I finally came up with another story idea, two of them actually. This next one takes place very shortly after the last one, meaning on Christmas day. It will be a shorter little story, but I do hope you enjoy this chapter.
Teddy woke up on Christmas morning with a childish excitement that most everyone gets. Teddy got out of bed and started opening up the presents he got. Victoire had given Teddy something that she'd clearly gotten from the muggle world; an adorable little stuffed wolf. Clearly Vicky knew him very well to know that even though he didn't seem like the type to like this kind of thing, he actually did, it was so cute. He also got a pleasant surprise when he saw that he had gotten a present from Ron, he really hadn't been expecting that. After all, Teddy and Ron had only gotten over their half a year long fight a few days before.
Teddy got another little shock, a non pleasant one, when he didn't see a present from Harry. Maybe Teddy was a little too old to care, but he was a bit hurt as well as confused that his Godfather hadn't gotten him something for Christmas. Teddy knew there must be a reason for this, so he decided to not dwell on it. He would be seeing Harry when he visited the Potters for the afternoon anyways; if Harry wanted to talk to him he could do it then.
Teddy went to go join his Grandmother for breakfast after he opened his presents. The rest of the morning was quiet and Teddy enjoyed it, things were never quiet at the Potter house or at Hogwarts and this was a nice break from the noise. However by the time Teddy was heading off to the Potter house he was ready for the company of other people besides just his grandmother, even if it did get quite loud at Harry's house. Teddy arrived at the Potter's house and was instantly jumped on by Albus and Lilly.
"Guys, give him room to breath," Harry laughs as he drags his kids off of the teenager.
"Why do you guys always do that?" Nine year old James asks, "It's not like you guys saw Teddy two days ago or anything."
"It's alright James, Rosie and Hugo do the same thing every time they see me, I guess I'm everyone's favorite toy." Teddy says. James just rolls his eyes at his siblings, then grins wickedly and unexpectedly pounces on top of Teddy, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
"Now that's how you tackle someone." James says victoriously.
"Yes, it is," Teddy says as he pushes James off of his stomach.
Harry just stood to the side and watched the whole thing with an amused look on his face. After Teddy had finally managed to get James, Albus, and Lilly off of him Harry says "Kids, I think your mother hid some cookies in the kitchen, why don't you go see if you can find them?" And just as Harry had expected his kids had immediately run off to find the said sweets.
"You only said that because you wanted to get rid of your kids for a minute." Teddy says accusingly.
"Yes, I did," Harry admits, "I wanted to talk to you, alone." Harry then leads Teddy into an empty room where they could talk without being overheard. Harry then turns to face Teddy.
"I'm sure you noticed that my present wasn't among those that you got this morning," Harry says, "Don't think that I forgot about you or anything like that, but your present is special and I thought it best if I gave it to you in person."
Harry then reaches into his pocket and takes out an old parchment that looked like it had no important value, but both Harry and Teddy knew better. This wasn't just any old parchment, it was so much more then that.
"I'm sure you know what this is." Harry says.
"The Marauders Map," Teddy whispers.
"Exactly," Harry says, "I got this map from Fred and George when I was in my third year at Hogwarts, it's been one of my most prized possessions since. But I don't go to Hogwarts anymore and don't really need a map of the school, so I'm giving it to you." And Harry passes the map along to Teddy, who takes it hesitantly.
"If it's one of your most prized possessions then shouldn't you be giving it to one of your sons?" Teddy asks.
"I was going to," Harry admits, "But then I realized that this map is yours just as much as it is mine." Harry could tell that Teddy was very confused, so he explained. "This map may have been given to me, but I always believed it to be mine because my father was one of the people who helped create it. I only recently remembered that your father also helped make it too, so this map is also yours."
"That makes sense, I guess." Teddy says, looking at the map.
"I'm sorry that I hadn't given it to you sooner, as I said, I only recently realized that you should have it." Harry says.
"It's okay," Teddy says quietly, "It doesn't really matter."
Harry looked at the boy and could tell that something was wrong, "You miss him, don't you?" Harry asks.
"I'm not really sure how I can miss someone when I barely even knew them," Teddy says, "But yes, I miss my dad."
"It's okay, honestly, I miss him too." Harry says. "You know, when I was at school your father taught me a spell that really helped whenever I missed my dad, maybe it could help you too."
"What spell was that?" Teddy asks, very curious.
"The Patronus charm." Harry says, "My Patronus was a stag, just like my fathers animagus, and I wouldn't be surprised if your Patronus was a wolf."
"Could you teach me how to do a Patronus?" Teddy asks.
"Er, no, I can't." Harry says, but he sees the disappointed look in Teddy's eyes and quickly explains. "Because I only ever see you during the holidays, and you're not allowed to do magic unless you're at Hogwarts. But maybe you could ask Neville if he could teach you, he's actually quite good at defensive spells."
Teddy rushed to his Godfather and hugged him, catching Harry off guard for a second, but Harry did return the hug.
"Thank you," Teddy says. Teddy and Harry stay like that for a minute, neither of them aware that Ginny, Lilly, James, and Albus were all watching them.
"I like when Dad and Teddy are like this." Lilly whispers,
"Yeah, so do I." Albus says, James just nods and says "I'm still a little mad that I don't get the map."
"Don't worry James, I'll be done with school in a few years, if you're good I might hand the map down to you." Teddy says. The three kids jump, they didn't know that Teddy and Harry had heard them.
"That would be awesome." James says. Harry and Ginny just shake their heads, amazed that their sons inconsiderate boldness.
"Alright guys, come on, time to eat." Ginny says. Everyone heads off to the kitchen again for Christmas dinner. Dinner was a noisy affair, but Teddy didn't mind at all, just as long as he was with people that he loved it was fine. And Teddy most diffidently loved the Potter family.
Okay, I really enjoyed that story and feel that it turned out good. The next chapter will have Vicky/Teddy in it, so look forward to that. Reviews, as always, would be amazing. Until next time.
