Alright, I hope you're ready for some tension…namely a very pissed-off eleven-year-old...
CHAPTER 12: Anger Released
About a half an hour later, a silver stag appeared in the Weasleys' front lawn, speaking in Harry's voice. "We're ready for you to come over now," it said before disappearing into the air like a wisp of smoke. Whilst everybody else was excited for the trip, Teddy would rather be going anywhere else. Hermione and Ron took turns taking the children by Side-Along Apparition, making sure that the youngest were always with an adult while waiting to be transported.
The party was in full swing by the time everyone had arrived. All of Ron's siblings and their spouses had managed to attend: George and his pregnant wife, Angelina, Percy and Audrey with their two young daughters, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, still single and happy that way, and of course, Gran and Granddad Weasley. It was still a blow to the stomach for everyone when they were painfully reminded that Fred Weasley was no longer with them, but he was certainly not forgotten! Everyone was jubilant as they bustled about the cozy kitchen preparing for dinner. Teddy, however, was not really paying any attention to the festivities around him. He was too full of pent-up anger to enjoy himself.
Rage had been building up inside him, and seeing Harry placing food on the table so that everyone could eat put him over the edge. His hair and eyes turned blood red with ferocity as he screamed, unable to restrain the outburst.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THEM?" he yelled at Harry, causing the lights to flicker with this powerful explosion of emotion. Everyone stopped, shocked, as if frozen in time, unable to move. Hermione dropped the glass bowl of pudding she was holding, quickly repairing it with a flick of her wand as it smashed on the floor. Only Harry made any movement toward Teddy, trying to maintain his composure as he spoke.
"Teddy, what are you talking about?"
"I saw the memorial at Hogwarts, and I saw their names on the stones! I know how they died!" Teddy screamed, his voice wavering and his eyes swelling with tears of rage. Everyone in the room looked at each other in confusion and in some cases, fright. Had Teddy gone mad? Some of the smaller children, namely Lily and Hugo, began crying, terrified by Teddy's sudden outburst.
"I was going to tell you, Teddy," Harry began, trying to stay calm and hoping Teddy would understand, "but I had to leave on Auror business. I was going to tell you the morning before you left for Hogwarts," He had now reached Teddy, and tried to make him sit down in a chair in an effort to tranquilize him, but Teddy shook his hand away from his shoulder. In Teddy's eyes, Harry could have sworn he saw the same look that Remus had worn that day at Grimmauld Place during the row he had had with Harry. It was wolf-like.
"No!" Teddy screamed, pushing Harry away. "Ron's already told me everything! I know they tried to leave me; both of them did! They didn't want me! Why didn't you say anything? I had a right to know!" With that, he ran outside, and no one dared follow.
After Teddy had left, a silence clung to the air like Devil's Snare to its next victim. No one moved for several moments; it was as if Teddy's outburst had cast a body-binding spell upon the lot of them. Finally, Hermione turned to Ron, incredulous.
"Why on earth would you say his parents didn't want him?" she asked angrily.
"I didn't tell him that, exactly," Ron said, shying away as he usually did under a disapproving eye from his wife. "He wanted to know about his parents, so I told him what I knew."
"You stupid arse, Ronald!" Ginny accused quietly so that the children couldn't hear her choice of words. "He didn't know anything about them yet! We thought he was too young to hear about the Battle and about Voldemort, so we purposely didn't tell him!" Ginny hissed, looking downright mean as she glared at her brother. "Now look what you've done! The poor kid thinks his parents hated him!"
Ron backed away against the wall, as though he was trying to blend in with the floral wall paper in order to avoid the angry and disappointed glares his family was throwing in his direction.
"I didn't know!" He defended, his voice cracking a bit. "How was I supposed to know?"
"It's alright, Ron," said Harry. "I'll go and talk to him, make things right." Harry stole a glance out the kitchen window and sighed; Teddy had bolted across the front lawn and was making a beeline for one of several large bushes on the edge of the Potters' property. George, of course, was the one to break the uncomfortable silence that followed.
"Well, I don't know about you lot, but I happen to know that my sister here makes a delicious apple pie, and look! There it is, sitting all alone on the counter. Anyone, anyone?" He attempted, trying to ease the tension. Knowing now that Teddy wasn't about to run away, Harry attempted to paste a smile on his face as he took a slice of pie from the pan. Eventually, the guests recovered and the party recommenced, but it lacked the jubilance that had been present mere moments ago.
After a few more minutes, Harry decided it was time to find Teddy. He grabbed a warm piece of pie, pulled on a coat and ventured out into the frigid air to find his godson. As he had expected, Teddy had hidden himself in a giant, leafy bush, just as he used to do when he was five years old and angry that he hadn't been given dessert. As Harry approached, he saw Teddy's hair fade from the angry red he had seen earlier to a dark brown; it grew to hide his eyes as he turned away from Harry.
"Teddy, I'm sorry you're feeling this way," Harry began, half-expecting another row. The boy glowered at him, his eyes darkening.
"Go away."
"No," Harry replied, not willing to let this go.
Harry tried unsuccessfully to engage Teddy in conversation, but the boy simply turned his back and remained silent. Harry, incapable of getting any response, thought it best to let Teddy simmer down before trying to explain the truth about his parents.
"Come back inside when you're ready to talk, alright?" Harry set the pie down next to Teddy, making sure he could see it, gave his godson a pat on the shoulder (which was ignored) and reentered the house while Teddy merely gave a noncommittal nod, still facing away from his godfather.
Harry reentered the house dejected, and was met with three pairs of wondering, questioning eyes. Hermione, Ginny, and Ron were all standing together, sipping their butterbeer halfheartedly as they awaited Harry's words.
"Well?" Ron asked, clearly wanting an explanation. "What happened? Is Teddy alright?"
"Obviously he isn't!" Ginny snapped at him, still rather sour towards her brother due to his slip-up earlier.
Harry simply looked at them as he hung up his coat, silently shaking his head.
Aww! This was a sad chapter for me and my co-writer to write, but it was an essential one. Please review, it makes us write faster!
P.S. Was this chapter worth the wait? Sorry it took so long, I've been extremely busy with a summer project that I totally forgot about!
P.P.S. Thank you to everyone who's been reviewing, and special thank-yous to DobbyTheElf and Evan! You've been reviewing nonstop, and they're some of the best reviews we've gotten! I'm really glad you like the story so much : )
P.P.P.S. I added a poll to my profile regarding future stories…check it out and vote!
