Chapter 8
Seven years later.
Harry Potter was stood at the cooker in the kitchen of his home in Godric's Hallow, busily making food. Ginny Potter was somewhere else in the house - probably bathroom - as Teddy Lupin looked in through the open back door. Ginny was always peeing these days, the little boy thought. Pregnant with her first kid, she was huge. Teddy thought it was a little creepy, really. A baby, growing inside her.
Ginny had explained how the baby got food and oxygen from her. Like a leech or something.
Harry was fixing the food a lot lately, because he didn't want Ginny straining herself. Ginny was usually happy with this, although Teddy remembered only too clearly the times when she'd hexed Harry for things like "breathing loudly" and "being annoying". Bat bogeys aside, though, Harry seemed to be enjoying the whole experience.
With Harry busy and Ginny somewhere else in the house, Teddy slipped through the back door, his hands behind his back, and tried to move swiftly and silently across the kitchen, praying that the clumsiness he'd inherited from his mother wouldn't strike again.
"What is it this time, Teddy?" Harry said, without turning round. The six year old stopped dead and turned slowly to face the back of his godfather.
"How do you always know?" Teddy demanded, clearly annoyed.
"I know you." Harry replied simply, turning around to face Teddy. "Come on, what is it?"
With a loud sigh, Teddy drew his hands in front of him again, revealing the small, ugly frog clutched in his left fist.
"Another one?" Harry said mildly, raising his eyebrows. "Don't you think he'd be happier out there, Teddy?" Teddy shook his head.
"He was sat on the wall looking at me. He wanted to come inside, Harry." Teddy lowered his eyes to the floor, a guilty and sad expression on his face.
Teddy knew that look was bound to get him his own way from his godfather, and Harry knew that Teddy knew this. Somehow, he still couldn't resist.
"If he'll fit in the tank, you can keep him." Harry sighed.
"Thank you." Teddy said loudly, and ran to Harry, swiftly hugged him, then shot for the stairs. Harry heard him knock something over in the hall. "It's not broken!" The boy yelled, and thudded up the stairs.
The kid was obsessed with animals. He had just captured his fifth frog. He had a pet mouse he'd "rescued" from their cat, a hamster he'd badgered Harry into buying him almost a year ago, a tortoise he'd gotten for his last birthday, several fish in another tank in his room, a small lizard he'd talked Ron into buying him last year while Ron looked after him for just two hours, and was eagerly awaiting his eleventh birthday, for which Hagrid had promised him an owl.
"He's going to need a bigger frog tank." Ginny said as she walked into the kitchen. Harry turned to face her and shook his head.
"Nu-uh. I told him he can only have what fits in the tank. He's not getting a bigger one." Ginny raised one eyebrow at him, and Harry reluctantly grinned and glanced at the door. "There's a chance he might believe it." He said in a stage whisper.
"Harry, he's six. Not stupid." Ginny replied, shaking her head and smiling at him. "You always give in to him."
"Not always. I said no to the Hippogriff, didn't I?"
"No, actually, you said he could have a tortoise for his birthday instead. If he hadn't agreed, guess who'd be feeding a Hippogriff every morning."
"OK...well...Ha. The unicorn. I told him he could have one of the baby unicorns Hagrid showed us."
"No, Hagrid told him he couldn't. Said it wasn't fair to keep them as pets." Ginny corrected. Harry stayed silent, thinking...thinking...
"OK, so I give in. So do you." When you can't defend, attack...
"Course I do, he's the cutest little boy I've ever seen." Ginny said casually, sitting down at the table. "Are you going to Phoenix House tomorrow?"
Phoenix House was what used to be number 12 Grimmauld Place. After remodelling it completely, Hermione performing tricky spells and charms Harry had no desire to try to understand to destory Mrs. Black's portrait, and removing and replacing certain protective charms, it was now an orphanage for witches and wizards. It was Tom Riddle who'd inspired the idea - if he hadn't grown up with Muggles, would he still have been what he was? - as well as his own upbringing. Of course, he would have had to live with the Dursley's, magical orphanage or not, but it was the thought that counted.
So Phoenix House took in orphaned magical kids, and employed several house elves. Hermione had got several Elf-rights laws passed - mistreated house-elves could be rescued from the family that they were working for, there was an elf working in the department of the regulation and control of magical animals, and a lot of families paid their elves. House elves rescued were helped to find new homes, or employed at Phoenix House.
Harry and Ron still couldn't believe she'd actually managed it.
"I thought I'd call in after practice." Harry replied, turning back to the cooker. Seeker for the Chudley Cannons, he'd long since stopped working at the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, which was still running strong. "Why?"
"I'm watching Victoire tomorrow." Ginny replied.
"Ah. OK, I'll make it a short visit." Harry said. Both Teddy and Victoire were sweet little kids, but together they had the mysterious power to drain the adult looking after them of all energy. As Ginny was running on limited energy as it was...
"Right. And tell mum not to make too much food for Teddy's birthday party, OK?"
"You know she'll make loads anyway."
"Yeah, but at least we've told her." Ginny shrugged. With her children grown and having all moved out, Molly Weasley ran Phoenix house with a few other people. The other Weasley's were always good for helping out, too. "Teddy, food!" Ginny called, as Harry began serving. "And wash your hands." They heard running footsteps, the sound of the tap running for barely a second, and Teddy running down the stairs.
"You could at least pretend to wash your hands." Ginny sighed, as the boy sat in front of her.
"I do." Teddy replied.
"I meant convincingly."
"Oh. OK." Teddy shrugged, and began to eat while Harry and Ginny exchanged looks of amusement.
----
Harry walked into Phoenix House, heard the noise of running feet and saw someone small disappearing up the stairs.
"Hi Ralph." Harry called. He received no reply, but that didn't concern him. Ralph had never spoken to or in front of Harry. Impressed and intimidated by him, the boy would sometimes be hovering in doorways, watching Harry.
It was a little creepy, but the kid was harmless.
Harry walked towards the stairs to the kitchen, glancing into the living room as he did so. The living room, dining room and kitchen were the only rooms not converted into bedrooms, and there were kids scatters in all three. Sirius room, also, remained the same, but it was off limits to both staff and children.
But at Phoenix House they tried their best to make the place like a home, like a family.
It wasn't the same, of course. But Harry hoped it helped.
A few of the kids waved or said hi, one or two looked at it, mesmerised. He waved back before walking into the kitchen. Several house elves were at work; he knew there were a couple more cleaning somwhere, but he walked past them all to the end of the kitchen.
"And we stir...and add some of this - that's my little secret, so don't you tell anyone, OK?" The small, dark haired girl watching Molly Weasley cook nodded solemnly. Half the kids in the place knew all of Molly's little cooking secrets, and yet none of them realised they weren't the only one.
"Hey Molly." Harry said. "Hey Helena." He added to the little girl.
"Oh, hi, Harry."
"Hi." Helena said shyly. Harry smiled at her. Helena was one of the first kids they'd got here, abandoned by her parents at a few months old. They still didn't know why, or who her parents actually were. Her eyes lowered to Harry's hand, saw the glittering gold snitch clutched there, and looked back up at Harry's face hopefully.
"Don't let this one out, OK?" Harry replied, letting it go. The snitch flew out of the door; Helena chased after it, and several squeals and whoops from upstairs told him more kids had seen it. Smiling, he leaned against the work top.
"They only lose them, Harry." Molly sighed. He brought a snitch here whenever they got too slow to practice with.
"Yeah, but they love them while they have them, don't they? Anything new?" He added.
"Not really. Neville and Luna have been by."
"Yeah? How's Lizzie working out?" He asked brightly. Neville and Luna had adopted an orphan from Phoenix House only two weeks ago, something Harry loved them for. There weren't many magical orphans out there, not now the war was over, but there were even less couples willing to take them in.
"She's happy. I think she missed some of her friends a little bit, though, so they brought her to see the other kids. Luna's already talking about another."
"She'd adopt them all if Neville would agree to it." Harry said dismissively. Molly smiled.
"Neville said that too."
"I have to tell you not to make too much food for Teddy's birthday party."
"I never make too much." Mrs. Weasley said accusatorily.
"Just the messenger." Harry said, holding his hands up. "Don't shoot."
"Well, tell Ginny I never make too much. Go tell the kids to set the table, please. They know who's turn it is." Molly said, waving her wand with one hand and stirring something with the other.
"OK, and then I'll have to get out of here. Ginny's watching Victoire."
"OK, dear. I'll see you at the party." Molly replied, and Harry turned out of the kitchen. The rota on the dining room doorway told him who to search out; he found them, told them, and headed back for the door. Several kids called "bye" brightly to him. He opened the door, caught the new snitch before it could escape and handed it to the little boy who'd been chasing it before stepping out.
It was mostly a catch-up I guess. Don't ask why Teddy's an animal nut, I have no idea. It just came to me. Maybe he spends too much time with Hagrid. What do you think about the orphanage? I found it weird that no magical ones were ever mentioned...and it seemed like something Harry might do so...
