Chapter eleven

Harry strapped the harness to his body, then placed Teddy inside it and strapped him up before picking up his bag.

'I must say Harry, you look unusual,' Andromeda grinned as she shook her head.

Harry chuckled, 'I suppose I would, but are you sure he'll be fine with apparition?'

'Yes, as long as he can feel you and you hold them close and tight, babies get used to it very easily. I have apparated with him a few times Harry, so did Dora and Remus, so he is used to it now.'

'Alright, I better go, I'm not sure how long I'll be though.'

'Spend time with your son and somewhere away from here. You have to get used to taking him out.'

'I know, it's just my first time so I'm a little nervous. Okay, I'm off,' Harry grinned then stared down at Teddy who was asleep against him. He went outside, looked once more at his son then apparated away. Since there were no enchantments around Hogwarts yet, Harry was able to apparate straight onto the grounds. He made his way into the destroyed castle, and the first thing he noticed was all the rubble had been cleared away. Harry had been worrying about that, he didn't want to trip while holding Teddy. He stepped to the wrecked doors of the great hall and saw Professor McGonagall talking to some of the staff.

'Okay Teddy, time to let others know about us,' Harry bent down and kissed his head, then slowly walked towards his old teachers, 'Professor.'

All heads turned, some with their mouths open as they saw the little bundle of dark hair.

'Harry, I knew you were coming here, but I wasn't expecting you to bring your godson with you.'

'Actually there's something I need to say, it's going to be known soon anyway. But Teddy isn't my godson, he's my son. Long story, but Remus knew and was okay with it. He always planned to tell me, he just never got the chance.'

'Remus knew and you're Teddy's father. I think you need to explain Harry.'

'Before my last birthday, I was overwhelmed with what I had to do, so one night I needed to feel Sirius, I went to Grimmauld place and found Tonks crying. I had no idea why and she wouldn't tell me. Well, I was holding her trying to calm her down and one thing led to another,' Harry looked down at his son, 'Remus couldn't father children, that's why she was crying and why she, well, did that with me. She knew what she was doing then told Remus after and they were both okay because Tonks got pregnant, but to me instead of Remus. So at the moment I'm staying with Andromeda to learn what I need to care for a baby before I move into my place with him,' Harry kissed his head again before looking up and noticed the surprise or shock on everyone's face. 'I only found out after, Remus left me a letter. He's full name is Teddy Remus Potter.'

'When I heard Nymphadora was pregnant, I did wonder. I know werewolves can't reproduce.'

'I didn't know anything about that, it's all been a big shock to me. But I love Teddy, my son,' Harry grinned.

'I must say, it's strange to see a baby strapped to your chest. What is that thing he's in?'

'It's a muggle harness, I know you can use magic to do this, Andromeda explained, but I felt better using this. He's nice and snug and I get to keep my hands free.'

'You do know this is going to cause quite a stir when word gets out. It's well known that Remus was friends with your father.'

'I know, but I can't say I'm sorry,' Harry looked down at Teddy and noticed he was slowly waking, 'Hey my little man,' Harry grinned as Teddy gave him a smile then made a few noises.

'I should take you to Severus, he is expecting you. Now Kingsley has spoken with him and he explained his part, but he will need some information from you.'

'Yeah, I've been expecting to hear from him.'

'Alright, let's head upstairs,' Minerva nodded to her staff then walked off with Harry, 'You're not even eighteen yet Harry, this is a big responsibility. Are you sure you can do this?'

'I'm sure now, at first I wasn't, but Andromeda's been really good. She's been showing me how to do everything, then she goes out for a while every day so I can get used to being alone with him. Today is the first day I've taken him out and I've been a bit nervous about that. It's all so daunting, what's involved with taking care of a child, but a baby, even more so.'

'Yes, there is a lot involved, but he seems happy. From what I can see of him, he does look like you. I saw you twice when you were a baby, Lily and James brought you to order meetings. Sometimes they didn't, one would stay home with you.'

'Oh, I never knew that, but I don't know much about my parents. I don't want that for Teddy, he's going to know me, Andromeda and I are going to tell him about Tonks and about Remus. When he's old enough we will explain how I came to be his father and not Remus, without the details of course.'

'I think that shocked me more than anything. I can understand Nymphadora doing that though, she always wanted to be a mother, she had a natural mothering instinct. But choosing you to become pregnant to is not something I would have expected from her, mainly because of your age.'

'Andromeda said apart from just good timing, we were alone, she said that she wanted someone close to Remus, so he would feel comfortable and the father would. Remus said in his letter that he hoped we could have worked this out so the four of us could be a family. I was so surprised at how easily Remus accepted the fact that his wife, well, had sex with me.'

'Remus wanted his wife to be a mother, that was one of his concerns when he married Nymphadora. They never had time to really discuss any of that. I think that's why Remus used to love spending time with you when you were a baby, it gave him a chance to see what being a parent was like even though he knew he could never be one himself. Alright, now I should mention this, Severus seems to be a little different than what we were all used to. He explained that the way he acted, how hard he was, it was all part of his act to make Voldemort believe he truly was his. Some was because he didn't want to get close to anyone again. He's not the man you thought you knew Harry.'

'I used to see a look on him when he stared at me and wondered what it meant. Sometimes I got the feeling he didn't want to hate me, but couldn't let go of my looks, my father's face.'

'I believe that was part of it. Since you did bring your son here, after you've finished with Severus, come up to my office. I'm sure Albus would love to see Teddy.'

'I'll be there Professor, thanks,' Harry smiled then waited until she walked off then took a deep breath before opening the door ready to talk to the man that had been his mother's best friend.