Chapter 8
"I'm back" Cedric announced when he stepped out of the floo.
"We're in the kitchen, Ced" Andrea called back.
"Hey mum. How was James this morning?" Cedric asked as he set down some food containers on the counter.
"Had a little trouble when he didn't want to get out of the tub" Andrea said. "But he quickly changed his mind when I made those Quidditch figurines you bought fly."
"I guess we have another Quidditch in the family" Cedric said with a chuckle and kissed James on the head.
"How did telling your coach and team captain that you had to take a leave go?" Andrea asked. "You look relatively unharmed, so Oliver either took it well or had a heart attack."
"Oliver needed some more convincing than coach, but he's Harry's friend too, so he knows how much danger Harry gets into" Cedric said with a smile. "And he finally calmed down when I agreed to come in two days a week to help train the other seekers."
"Well, with Harry being in St. Mungo's for the rest of the month at least, I think you made the right decision" Andrea stated. "What are your plans for the day?"
"James and I are going to bring Harry lunch" Cedric replied.
"That's sweet, but did you have to settle for take away?" Andrea asked as she looked over the food containers. "I think Harry would really appreciate a home-cooked meal."
"Firstly, take away is fine once in a while" Cedric said. "Secondly, Harry is getting a home-cooked meal. He just won't know it was cooked by Damian."
"I've lost count of how many times he's saved your hide" Andrea said with a smile.
"Hey, Harry's needed saving lots of times too" Cedric returned.
"Yes, but in your case, you keep forgetting things for your dates" Andrea retorted. "In Harry's case, it's because some dark wizards are firing jinxes and curses at him."
"Let's just agree that both of those situations have very high stakes" Cedric said with a smile
The two adults shared a chuckle before Cedric began packing the food into a picnic basket while Andrea brought James upstairs to give him a bath, returning a few minutes later with her grandson and the baby bag.
"I thought you were just bringing Harry lunch" Andrea said. "Do you really think Joseph will let Harry leave St. Mungo's?"
"Harry can still walk, and it's not like he has some life-threatening disease" Cedric replied, shrinking the picnic basket before placing it in the baby bag. "If I can't, then I still have our secret weapon."
Cedric took James, and started bouncing him up and down, making his son laugh. The two boys gave Andrea a kiss on the cheek and flooed to St. Mungo's, smiling wide when they entered Harry's room.
"How are my two favorite men?" Harry asked with a smile.
"This one gave his grandma a little trouble during bath time" Cedric replied as he handed James to Harry, giving his husband a kiss before turning to Joseph. "How are things here."
"Progress is slow, but any progress is good" Joseph replied. "Harry was able to recall events until the end of the first task."
"So I remember how the school found out we were a couple" Harry said with a smirk, and Cedric blushed. "It's fine Ced. I probably would've done the same thing, had our positions been reversed."
"Well, I'll leave so you three can have lunch together already" Joseph said.
"Before you go, I was wondering if Harry, James and I could have lunch in the park" Cedric said, and got the expected response; a blank stare.
"That sounds really great" Harry said with a small smile.
"You really want to bring Harry out of here while he's still recovering?" Joseph asked.
"It's not like he's severely injured or dying" Cedric replied. "And I think Harry deserves some time outside."
"Even if Harry's not sick or injured, it's still risky for him to leave" Joseph returned. "What if you guys run into a ministry official or a reporter?"
"Then I'll deal with it" Cedric said. "Besides, won't it improve Harry's mood to go out with his family? Perhaps he'll have an easier time recalling memories if he's happy."
"Pwease, Uncle Joseph" Harry said in a makeshift baby voice while lifting up James.
"You'd have a lot more sway over me if you were my godchild" Joseph said when he bent over to be at eye-level with the youngest Potter.
James, having no idea of what was going on, merely laughed and took Joseph's glasses. Harry retrieved the taller raven's glasses, replacing it with James's favorite rattle.
"Sorry about that" Harry apologised as he handed the glasses back to his friend.
"You'd think he'd learn not to snatch glasses off of people's faces with you as his parent" Joseph said as he wiped the lenses.
"I've just learned to dodge him" Harry said with a chuckle.
"Well, not everyone has your reflexes" Joseph said. "I still have some reservations about Harry leaving St. Mungo's, but I will allow it if you have two aurors accompany you."
Cedric looked at Harry, who nodded, and told Joseph they were okay with it.
"I'll firecall Kingsley" Joseph said before he left.
"That went better than expected" Cedric said as he sat next to Harry's bed.
"What would you have done if Joseph said no?" Harry asked.
"I expected that I wouldn't be able to convince Joseph" Cedric replied. "But I knew he wouldn't be able to say no to James."
"Well, who could say no to our angel?" Harry asked as he kissed James's head.
"The aurors are here" Joseph said when he returned. "I want Harry back by three."
"We'll be back by then" Harry said as he handed James to Cedric, and entered the bathroom to change into a pair of skinny jeans and a red shirt. He then left the bathroom, picked up the baby bag, and after getting several warnings again from Joseph, Harry, Cedric and James left St. Mungo's.
"It's good to be out of there" Harry said with a smile as he and Cedric began walking towards the park. The aurors were keeping their distance to give the family privacy, which Harry appreciated. They arrived at their usual spot and in no time at all, Cedric had set everything up.
"So, what's for lunch?" Harry asked.
"For us, fish and chips, and mango pudding for dessert" Cedric said as he removed the lids from the food containers. "And for James, a cheese sandwich and mixed berries."
"It all smells lovely" Harry said with a smile. "Someone worked really hard this morning."
"I'll tell Damien you appreciated his work" Cedric said with a chuckle. "I would've cooked, but I had to talk to coach and Oliver this morning."
"About what?" Harry asked.
"I told them that I'd be taking a leave if absence for a while" Cedric replied and Harry looked surprised.
"But the new season is starting soon" Harry stated. "Why are you doing this now?"
"We don't know how long it will take you to recover your memories" Cedric said. "You're going to be in St. Mungo's for the rest of the month, and that's me being optimistic. I want to be home taking care of James."
"Still, you shouldn't put your dream of being the best seeker on hold just because of me" Harry said before Cedric wrapped an arm around him.
"I have plenty of dreams, but the most important one is making sure that my family is happy and taken care of" Cedric said.
Harry smiled and looked up at his husband, pressing a kiss onto the brunette's lips.
"Love you" Harry said.
"Love you too" Cedric returned with his own smile. "Now lets eat before the food gets cold."
As they ate, Harry and Cedric mostly talked about what Cedric and James could do while Harry was at St. Mungo's. As they talked, the things that had been bothering Cedric since he heard Harry lost his memories had come back. He wanted to talk about it, but he didn't want to ruin the lovely time they were having.
"Ced, what's wrong?" Harry asked.
"What?" Cedric asked back.
"You've been quiet for a few minutes now" Harry pointed out.
"There's just been something on my mind" Cedric said. "I don't want to ruin our outing."
"Hey, we're here for each other through everything, good and bad' Harry said. "Please tell me."
"Alright" Cedric said and took in a deep breath. "After getting home and James was in bed, I started thinking about how much you've forgotten, and it made me wonder...if you forgot that we were married."
"I did" Harry replied softly.
"That's unfortunate, but it's alright" Cedric said.
"No it's not" Harry said as he shook his head, sniffling a bit.
"Harry, it is. You had no control over what memories you lost" The brunette said as he pulled Harry into a tight hug. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's not your fault" Harry said. "When you came in and Joseph told me we were married, I was confused, but really happy. And then you came back with James, I was ecstatic. But then, I started to feel guilty because I couldn't remember anything; birthdays, holidays, not even our wedding."
"I know it seems bad, but you'll recover all your memories soon enough" Cedric said. "You've faced worse things before and succeeded, and you'll do it again."
Harry nodded and leaned back against his husband, calming down slowly as Cedric held him tightly and James played with his toys on Harry's lap.
"Tell me about how things were when I was pregnant" Harry said.
"Would that be alright?" Cedric asked. "Joseph is helping you with your memories from your fourth year."
"He didn't say anything about needing to recover memories in a specific order" Harry said. "And I'm not asking for any specific memories. I just want to know how I was."
"Well, you were amazing" Cedric said with a smile and kissed Harry's head. "Ever since you became an auror, that was what majority of your time was focused on; catching dark wizards, making things safe for everyone. You only took breaks from work when it was mandatory."
"I'm sure that's not true" Harry said with a slight blush.
"When you get those memories back, you'll see for yourself" Cedric said with a chuckle. "But when we found out you were pregnant, you immediately took a leave, and your whole world was all about our baby. You were extremely careful about everything. And you were so loving, even more so than normal. Everything you did, the first thought in your head was 'would this be bad for the baby.' And at the end, we were gifted with a healthy, beautiful baby boy."
Harry smiled and for a few minutes, the two of them just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the afternoon, the only sound being James laughing as he played.
"Thank you" Harry said. "I expect we've been through a lot, so thank you for everything."
"I love you Harry" Cedric said. "And if given the choice, I'd gladly go through everything again if it meant having you and James in my life."
The two shared a kiss, pulling away only when James began wanting attention. They spent the rest of their time playing with James, and as they headed back to St. Mungo's, Harry couldn't wait until he recovered all his memories and got out so he could make more with his family.
