A Prospect of Fun
A/N:Sorry, sorry, sorry... this was a hard chapter to write... freakin' writer's block hit in the middle of it... anyway, enjoy!
Ron said nothing for a long time. He shuffled to the bay window in the living room, staring out silently for a few minutes before turning back around to face Harry.
"Well, mate," he said, "Here's your chance to give that kid the childhood you never had."
A month later, Harry was up bright and early cooking breakfast for himself and Alex, since Ron had left earlier to work.
Just as Harry pulled the crispiest bacon he'd ever cooked (magic did help things, of course) off the stove, a tufty-haired Alex walked into the room rubbing his eyes, with the puppy Alex named Shadow trotting beside him.
"Morning, Alex. Did you sleep well?" Harry asked, placing a light breakfast in front of Alex. He nodded silently after taking a seat on top of an untouched copy of Hogwarts: A History (to Harry, courtesy of Hermione- hence the pristine appearance) to reach the table.
An awkward silence set in as the two began to eat. Shadow whined softly and Alex dropped him a bit of bacon. Harry pretended not to see anything, not wanting to tell off Alex when he'd just started really opening up and make him fearful again.
When Alex finished breakfast, he placed his dishes in the sink and went to the living room with Shadow, waiting on Harry to finish cleaning up so his "lessons" could begin. Harry flicked his wand at the sink and smiled slightly as the dishes began washing themselves- it had taken Hermione a week to help Harry get the hang of several household spells, and he still felt a small sense of pride when he managed to do it right.
"I'm sorry about yesterday, Uncle Harry," Alex said softly when Harry sat down across from him with a writing tablet and a pencil on his lap. Harry shrugged and handed Alex the materials.
"Accidental magic happens, Alex. I'm just sorry you felt threatened enough to lash out. Now, write your alphabet again, in the best handwriting you can. Don't worry about yesterday; Ron's alright."
The day before, after Ron and Harry had picked up Alex from the Weasley home, Harry had asked Alex to help them put away groceries. During the chore, Alex had tried to pick up the gallon of milk and dropped it. When Ron bent down to pick it up for Alex, the poor boy had panicked, thinking he was in trouble for dropping food, and a loud bang sounded as Ron's hand collided with the accidental form of protego, his hand burning as the magic fuelling the shield caused anything that came in contact with it to spark as if it were about to be consumed by fire. Ron yelled and swore, falling backwards onto Shadow, who had yelped and Ron was burned again as the shield was extended to Shadow in another burst of panic.
Fifteen minutes, tears, and a few Healing Charms later, Ron was fine and Alex had only puffy eyes as he cuddled Shadow and Harry tried to explain to him that dropping something was no reason for punishment, unless he'd been told not to touch it in the first place. Poor Alex had finally understood to Harry's satisfaction, rather than nodding without understanding he wasn't in trouble.
"I'm done, Uncle Harry," Alex said, breaking Harry out of his reverie. He mentally shook himself and smiled at Alex before looking over the notepad. He was impressed to see that Alex had actually rewritten the alphabet twice to correct his mistakes, and had done both the lower and upper cases.
"Good job, Alex! I can see your handwriting is getting much better, and you remembered the capital N faces the other way. I'm very proud," he said, ruffling the boy's hair briefly. Alex's face lit up with the praise, which made Harry's heart ache slightly as he remembered his own lack of praise as a child. "How about we go to Diagon Alley for a little treat? I think I remember promising ice cream if you learned your alphabet,"
Alex grinned. "Yeah!" He jumped off the couch before skidding to a stop and asking, "Can Teddy come too?"
Harry smiled briefly. "We'll have to ask Mrs. Weasley, but if she says it's okay then it's fine with me," he answered. Alex smiled again and ran off to his room to wash up and dress while Harry made his way to the Floo to ask Molly if she'd mind having Teddy off her hands for a bit.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful! In fact, I need a few things from the apothecary and I haven't seen George in a week- I'll come with you," Mrs. Weasley trilled, her face lighting up at the prospect of seeing her son.
Harry nodded and stepped back as the flames roared higher and Mrs. Weasley and Teddy stepped through the flames. Teddy looked up at Harry and smiled, showing two dark spaces where his baby teeth had fallen out. His turquoise hair and bright green eyes made Harry smile wistfully- Tonks peered out of those eyes, no matter what color they happened to be, just as Remus presented himself in Teddy's attitude and demeanor most of the time.
"Teddy!" Alex raced forward from his room, with Shadow following close behind, to greet his friend. "Teddy, show Uncle Harry that pig nose you did the other day! With the pink hair!"
Teddy grinned at his younger friend and complied, making pig noises to go along with it. Harry forced himself to laugh, suddenly hit with a pang of sorrow. Shaking it off, he ruffled Teddy's hair and said, "You know, you looked like a boy version of your mum when you did that. She used to make us laugh by changing her nose into different animal types,"
Mrs. Weasley nodded, rubbing Harry's arm to jolt him out of Memory Lane. "What do you say we get going? I bet Uncle George would be so happy to see you both!" Cheering, both boys went through the Floo with Mrs. Weasley as Harry thanked his lucky stars for having the two rambunctious boys around.
Smiling slightly to himself, Harry took a bit of the Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace as he noticed the flames start turning orange again.
He hoped "Uncle George" was ready and willing to deal with two miniature Freds, and stepped into the grate to enjoy the day with Alex.
