A/N: Sorry for the shortness of the last chapter! I hope this one will be longer for you I just had my first ever Nandos…..very happy
Teddy wandered further into the forest, looking for somewhere he could do his business without people on the road seeing him. As he snuck a little further in, he could hear a loud voice, male, at a guess, and quite grumpy. It didn't sound like he was talking to anyone….but he did sound really angry. Teddy decided it was probably best to walk away from him, and go quietly.
The voice was coming from his left, so Teddy swerved away from the right. The trees were thinning out now, swooping into a clearing. He could see a shiny car glinting in the sun light. It was a fairly large, ugly car. Teddy guessed it belonged to the man he could hear, and it seemed to suit him.
Sticking to the trees, Teddy headed around the side of the car. He could see a woman in the front, and didn't want her to see him when he dropped his trousers. He quickly did this, pulled them up again, and started to look around, with a renewed energy.
It was very hot that day, so he took off his coat and hung it on a branch, before moving into a shady area of the woods. He could see now that it wasn't just a lady in the car, but also a boy about his own age. The angry man had come back now, and seemed to be arguing about something with the lady. The child in the back seemed quite upset by the argument.
Moving closer, Teddy could hear them clearly now. He was still far enough away not to be able to see them clearly, but Teddy had always had peculiarly good hearing. He could hear the man talking mostly. Words like freak, brat, worthless, were flung about. Teddy could also hear a name. Two names.
Potter.
And the lady in the car kept saying 'Aaron'.
Teddy realised with a start that this must be Harry's uncle! The man who'd taken Aaron!
It occurred to Teddy that he should go and get Harry, but then he heard a slapping sound, and the thought left his head immediately. He turned back to look at the car, and crept closer.
He could see that the angry man was very red in the face now, with his face right up close against Aaron's, who looked scared. The lady looked scared too.
The man grabbed hold of the woman's hand, and dragged her out of the car. Teddy was scared they'd find him for a minute, before he pulled her in the opposite direction.
Teddy took his chance, and ran towards the car, staying low. Tapping on the window where Aaron was sat, Teddy felt the door slowly open.
Aaron stuck his head out, looking confused. When he saw Teddy, he grinned, and leapt out of the car. As they snuck back into the trees, Teddy looked closely at the small boy he considered to be his friend. He didn't look too bad. There was a scratch on his face, and a bruise on his arm, but they could have gotten there any way.
Teddy kept telling himself that, and was starting to believe it, just when somebody roughly grabbed the back of his t-shirt, stopping him and Aaron in their tracks.
Teddy yelped. It hurt.
From the other side of the woods, Harry and Dudley both heard the yelps at the same time. Dudley, who knew his father was nearby, pegged it into the trees. Harry, less aware of the danger his godson could be in, followed behind.
Both men got to the clearing at around the same time. Harry wasn't terribly shocked to see Vernon, but Vernon spluttered at the sight of his nephew, his face slowly turning red again.
"What are you doing here, freak?" He spat into the ground. "Haven't you ruined my family enough?"
"Actually," Harry said in a calm voice, "It's my family I'm more concerned with, as I can't seem to see my godson."
Dudley walked around the side of the car, whilst his father stood talking – if talking is the right word – to Harry. His mother gave him a watery smile from the front seat of the car, but Dudley barely glanced at her. He wanted to know where his son was.
Walking further around, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Aaron sat in the back seat. He was less relieved to see that Aaron's hands had been tied together with string, meaning he couldn't get out of the car if he wanted to.
"Harry!" Dudley called. "Aaron's here but I can't see Teddy."
"Oh so that boy is related to you is he?" Vernon sneered. "I wondered why he looked familiar. I bet he's a freak too, the lot of you should be banished."
Dudley had pulled open the car door, and was at this point unbuckling his son's seatbelt. Aaron had never looked so happy to see his father. Dudley asked him quietly if he knew where Teddy was, but Aaron shook his head.
"Granddad made me and grandma wait in the trees." Aaron said quietly, looking at his feat.
Dudley hugged his son, and started working on undoing the string.
Harry, hearing this, lost his patience.
He drew his wand. He pointed it straight at Vernon's throat, who started quivering like a trifle.
"Dursley, I am losing patience. You tell me where my godson is, so help me you tell me now." Harry hissed at the man, walking towards him. Vernon backed slowly away, until he eventually hit his car and could go no further.
Harry was very angry. Teddy was the best thing in his life and this man was hiding him from him. Jabbing his wand again at Vernon's throat, Vernon hastily nodded towards the trunk of his car. As soon as Harry moved away to the trunk, Vernon was gone. He hastily ran around the corner and disappeared into the suburbs of Eynsham.
At this point, Dudley had freed Aaron's hands. The first thing Aaron did was to fling his arms around his father, and hug him for dear life.
He had been so scared by his granddad. Vernon had grabbed them both by the back of the neck. Aaron he had been fairly gently with, but Teddy looked as though he had been being hurt. Petuina had come out too, and she had stayed with Aaron in the woods, while Vernon 'dealt' with Teddy.
Aaron didn't think he could ever trust either of his grandparents again. He just wanted to go home.
Harry wrenched open the trunk of the car. Looking up at him was his, at that moment, very tiny Godson.
Harry rushed to pick him up. Like Aaron, his hands and his feet were tied together. He had a bump on his head, but didn't appear to be badly hurt. Harry had no idea what Vernon was planning, but imagined that he'd panicked. Using magic to untie Teddy in an instant, Teddy leapt into his arms.
Petunia sat on the side lines, watching the two men comfort their children in a way that she had never been able to. She had lost her sister, her nephew. Now she had a choice between losing her husband, or her son and grandson. She didn't know what to do.
She looked over at Harry and could see so much of her sister in him. Despite how she's acted, she'd loved Lilly. But a lifetime of being jealous, and left out, had made her hard, and cold. Maybe she could change that.
Dudley knew now that sending his son to Hogwarts was the right thing to do. Aaron had to learn that despite what Vernon had said, he was not a freak. He was special, and could do great things.
Harry had sat on the floor, and had Teddy in his lap. Teddy was a bit big to be cuddled like this, but at that time he didn't care. He just wanted to be close to the man he knew had protected him. At that moment he wasn't worrying that Harry would love Aaron more. Right here, right now, Harry was with him. Not with Aaron, with him.
Sometimes, Teddy wished Harry was his Dad.
And always, Harry wished Teddy was his son.
A/N: So I know it's not overly long….I'm sorry. I do promise that the Hogwarts chapters will be longer!