Disclaimer: I still don't own them.

A/N: Hello everyone! Happy 2012! I hope you all had a good vacation, I did. :) So, to start, I already finished this chapter even before I uploaded the last two, but I changed some of its contents and I am finally satisfied with the results. I wanted to start the year right and write more chapters, study for upcoming exams and do more things. It has gone fairly well and I hope it will stay that way.

I hope you'll be kind enough to review this chapter, you know I would want to know your opinions about it to give me more inspiration to write. Please help me out by sending reviews! I especially loved your opinions last time! :)

Lastly, I wanted to thank you for all the support/favorites/awesome words/opinions/etc. that you gave me the past year. I know I am still new and there are so many things I need to learn, especially when I reread the first chapters but I am getting there. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for everything! This chapter is still unBETA-ed because FeartheOrdinary and I are still working on the first few chapters. Still, enjoy. :)


Chapter 25: Start Anew

When working with reports, the only thing you would hear were the scratches of your pen as it made contact with the paper as your face scrunched up with concentration.

My cubicle was filled with piles of books and papers, all of which I was. . .or I guess, should be studying. The headquarters was silent at the moment, for the others were on missions and those who remained were focused on finishing their reports.

Sometimes I wondered how time passed so quickly. Only a few more missions and I would finally become a full-fledged Auror and wear an official badge. I would start from the beginning. . .but now, as something more.

I scribbled the details I gained after our last investigation, jotting down the information that would help in the trials to come. Sometimes, I would stop to think of something to write, on other times, I do it to check on my godson, who was happily looking at a picture book at the corner of the office.

My mates would often ask why I brought Teddy today. I didn't have any particular reason why, except that the only work I had to do was to submit the papers that were piling on my desk. I was too excited to wait after work to pick him up because weekend was coming, so I went to their house early and brought him here to spare Andromeda some load off. He was a delight in this gloomy office and people would always play with him when they got stressed out.

With a sigh, I looked at my handy work, rereading the file thoroughly. I carefully scribbled some details that were left behind and put the finished report on the top of my books. Suddenly, Erik Levy entered the office with a huge smile on his face, greeting everyone in the room.

He gave a high five to Robert Mueller and Michelle Richards, who scowled when he interrupted them. Then he passed by Senior Auror Robards and handed him a piece of paper.

I wasn't even surprised when he stopped in front of me, moments later.

"Hey, mate. Welcome back to reality," I quipped.

Erik barked at my remark and patted me on the shoulder. "I never thought that there will come a day when being in this office will be. . .lovely."

My brows quirked upward as I eyed him suspiciously. "Er – really?"

A frown appeared on his face as he gave me a nudge on the rib. "Come on, Harry. Can't you see that I am trying to be optimistic about things?"

I kept a nonchalant façade. "Considering that you've been missing for the past few weeks? No."

He hung his head down and made a sign of surrender that I couldn't help but laugh. "I was joking, mate. How has fatherhood treated you?"

I have known Erik since the day we started training. He was a mischievous bloke but we always admired his dedication to his work. We were always teamed up together during field works and missions and he was our wardbreaker. When we were at the office, both of us always talked to pass the time and for some unknown reason, I felt light-hearted towards him, especially because he respected us.

Out of all my acquaintances at work, he was the only one who was brave enough to secure himself a seat during some weekend dinners with the Weasleys or the Tonks'. He was close to Ron, who he managed to beat in wizard's chess and he was married to a half-blood witch named Elizabeth Wallace.

I saw his eyes light up at my question and a goofy grin erupted from his face as he said, "It's like –– falling in love again." His smile widened and I realized that he wasn't speaking to me anymore, or to anyone in particular, as his eyes twinkled. "I can't really explain it, Harry. But on the first time I held my son, I felt responsible and my heart. . .wanted to drown with too much happiness. You can't really describe it, you know?"

I suddenly turned my gaze towards Teddy, who still had his attention on the book, and smiled. "Yeah."

Erik followed my gaze and observed how my godson flipped the page to look at the next, his face scrunched up in concentration as he pointed his grubby little hands on the picture. "The little tyke is growing too fast, you need to secure some pictures now."

As I watched my godson lovingly, I couldn't help but remember the first time I saw him. He looked so small then, so pure, that you wouldn't feel anything but love for the little guy. And now, he was already talking and walking and asking too many questions. "I know."

Amused, he nudged me on the shoulder and leaned on my ear to whisper, "And someday, you and Hermione will have a little Potter that will certainly bring you mischief."

I gave him a playful nudge in the arm as he laughed. I didn't want to respond to his words. Partly, it was because I wanted it to come true and also, because I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Speaking of which, why did you bring him here?" Erik asked, confused.

I turned my attention back to him and felt my cheeks flush at the question. "Er – its complicated. I picked him up early so that we could go home straight after work."

His brow quirked upwards with my words. "And you didn't even consider that the poor kid will be bored out of his mind if you kept him in a prison full of papers?"

"Er – truthfully, I didn't think about it," I said.

His shoulders sagged as he let out a sigh. "You'll have to be thankful he inherited Hermione's love for books, otherwise he would've wrecked some havoc by now."

At his words, I couldn't help but smile as I turned to him and called, "Teddy!"

The little guy lowered the book and looked at me with a huge smile on his face that I had no choice but to give him an equally big grin. I made a gesture for him to come here and he jumped out of the couch and ran towards my waiting arms. When he finally reached us, he looked at me with inquiring eyes. "What, Dada?" he said.

I gestured Teddy towards Erik, who stooped down his level and waved his hand to say hello. "Say hello to Uncle Erik. Do you remember him?"

I observed how my godson looked at him with curious eyes. Silence enveloped us for a while as Erik and I occasionally exchange glances.

Then, Teddy examined Erik a little and held out his book towards him with a satisfied smile. "You tell Teddy stories!" he squealed happily and hugged Erik, burying his face on his stomach which caught him by surprise. Teddy giggled as Erik started attacking him with tickles and hid behind my chair, taking a peek whenever he saw Erik move. I observed the two of them silently. When Erik started crawling towards him, he pointed his finger and shouted, "No more tickles, I'll tell Mama!"

Both Erik and I fought very hard to fight the swell of laughter that rose from our throats at Teddy's words, but wound up choking instead. It made us laugh even harder, causing the child to cast a confused look at both of us as he changed his hair color into mousy brown. He pulled my shirt and when I looked at him, he asked, "Why are you laughing?"

I bit my lip and lunged out of my seat to hug the little boy and tousle his hair, shaking with laughter that I was trying to suppress. "Nothing, Ted. Dada will be finished soon, then we can go home."

His eyes flared with excitement at my words that his color changed again to orange. "Mama there?"

A chuckle escaped my lips at his question as I gave him a pat on the head. "Yes, little guy. You'll see her soon."

His eyes suddenly gleamed with delight and he gave me a hug. "I wuv you, Dada."

Taken aback, I tightened my hug on the little guy and kissed the crown of his head. He giggled and kissed me on the cheek, turning his hair color into black. After a few minutes of playful laughter, he looked at me and said, "Teddy play now."

I let him go and he ran back towards the couch, the book in tow. Erik and I both observed how he started flipping the pages again with a satisfied smile on his face. I didn't know how but, Teddy was always content in a corner if he had a book in hand. It was interesting, though I shouldn't be surprised because it was Hermione who taught him that.

"I'm surprised both of you still let him call you 'Dada and Mama' after this long," Erik finally said.

I stood up and took a seat again, pondering his question as I looked at his inquiring eyes. "We tried, but he was adamant to call us like that. He calls his real parents 'Mum and Daddy' and often asked about them but yeah, we're still his 'Mama and Dada'."

"Really now? Well, he takes after his 'Mama' but he has your mischievous streak."

I shook my head at his words, "Oh you don't know the half of it."

He shifted his gaze and searched the nearby cubicle for a chair before turning his attention back to me. "I don't need to know. I hope he and Callum will be good friends when he grows up."

"I hope so, too." With a sigh, I watched as Briggs, a Senior Officer, stopped and went down Teddy's level. Briggs laughed as the little guy energetically reenacted a story of some sort and I couldn't help but smile when Briggs gave him a piggyback ride, especially because people loved him.

Then, I turned back my attention to Erik again.

He was now eating a sandwich and offered me one, which I silently declined. I told him that I would be going home soon, now that I finished my reports. He suddenly felt crestfallen and I couldn't help but look at his cubicle, only to find mountains of paperwork waiting for him. I gave him a pat on the shoulder as I laughed, and told him that he should start soon.

After that, both of us parted as I gathered my things, took Teddy from Briggs and left my finished files at the table near the Head Auror's office. We carefully maneuvered our way out of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, passing through the different divisions and entering the lift as we sang a nursery rhyme with silly smiles on our faces. Those who saw us were shocked and their mouths were wide open as they stopped whatever they were doing to stare at us in wonder. Sometimes, I even wondered what they were thinking now that they saw the one-who-defeated-Voldemort singing a nursery rhyme.

We carefully made our way out of the lift and into the Atrium as we sang. Once in a while, Teddy would request that we sing another song and on another, he would just ask me a bunch of questions like why some people had to wear pointed hats or how magic made the statue move.

At his curiosity, I couldn't help but ponder how he was able to see things we normally overlooked. It still amazed me to no end when I was able to learn something new through his questions and when there were times that I couldn't answer, I often asked Hermione and she would just stare at me, agape.

I reckon that as we grow up, we tend to forget the small things and looked at the whole, thereby failing to appreciate what we had or what was there before us. . .only to be reminded by a child. Teddy is no different from other children who let people see and appreciate the beauty in what they saw.

With a smile, I told him to hold tight as I apparated home.

Finally, we found ourselves outside Grimmauld and I let Teddy ride on my back as I entered the door. We sang another nursery rhyme while I pushed the door open and as soon as we arrived inside, I put him down. He ran, shouting for his 'Mama'. I laughed at his actions and put my cloak on the stand near the door before I followed him.

But his noise died out as he stopped in the living room, staring at something. Curious, I hastened my pace and when I arrived at his side, Dudley stood before us, clutching a mug.

Truthfully, I was shocked to see him here. We exchanged a few short more letters in the past, after Hermione told me of her brief encounter with him. But to actually see him now?

I studied his features for a while. So much has changed during the years that I didn't see him. His hair was still neatly combed and he wore an office uniform, but he wasn't the pudgy boy who once bullied me before, his face was softer, lighter. He looked very. . .different, kind of like how Hermione described him.

I stood there with my jaws slacked, staring at him with wide eyes as he offered me a smile. Silence followed suit, I never really knew what I should say to him, especially now.

But Teddy giggled and offered his hand to him. "Hiya! I'm Teddy!"

Dudley seemed taken aback by my godson's actions, but like all the others, he went down his level and shook his hand, earning him a hug from the little boy. "What's your name, mister?"

He tousled his hair and laughed as he said, "I'm Dudley, Dudley Dursley. Nice to meet you, little Teddy."

The boy nodded his head and gave him a small smile. "Nice to. . .meet. . .you!"

He heard some noise in the kitchen and shifted his head to look at the direction of the sound. For a while, I observed him, occasionally glancing at Dudley's reaction. Then, his face lit up in revelation and he looked at Dudley again. "I better go and greet my Mama. Nice. . .to. . .meet you."

The boy giggled and I watched him as he ran towards the kitchen. Slightly worried, I shouted. "Be careful, Ted. You don't want you to have boo-boos, do you?"

Teddy stopped on his tracks and gave me a small grin. "Okay, Dada." Then, with renewed vigor, he resumed running into the kitchen while shouting, "Mamaaaaaaa, Teddy's heeeeere!"

I silently listened to the shuffling of his two little feet, when I knew he wasn't running anymore, I shifted my attention back to my cousin and ran a hand through my hair. "Sorry about that."

Dudley chuckled, his gaze still on the direction Teddy disappeared into. "It's all right."

I gave Dudley a small smile and he returned it. Awkward silence followed us soon as we nervously looked at each other, sometimes listening to Teddy's enthusiastic voice in the kitchen. I cleared my throat when I realized that I should start being a good host and I carefully gestured Dudley towards the seat, he silently complied.

"Er – well, how are you?" I started, scratching the back of my neck.

He gave me a small smile as he said, "All right. I'm sorry I had to barge in your house without informing you."

"Right. Er – well, its all right," I said, running out of things to say. Silently, I berated myself for making such a foolish behavior in front of Dudley, who only nodded at me and took a sip of his drink. I didn't know what to say at this moment, for I only talked to him in letters and almost all of them consisted of the simple, how are you and I'm well. Sometimes, I would tell him of work or my godson, but it was just. . .that.

"How have you been?" he asked.

I scratched the back of my head and offered him a warm smile. "Brilliant. I mean, er –"

"Harry? Tell Dudley that its time to eat," Hermione shouted.

"Er – right. Come Big D."

I led Dudley in the direction of the dining area. During our little walk, I managed to show him the various photos that we passed, occasionally telling him the story behind it. Both of us shared a little laugh sometimes, when he would tell me stories about his latest adventures and the tension that once enveloped us began to cease. Conversation erupted and I listened to his rant about his boss, while I told him about mine.

When we arrived, I guided him to his seat as Hermione settled Teddy in his high chair. She gave him his bowl of cereals and a spoon and the child happily munched on his food.

Food magically began to fill the table, along with kitchenware. Hermione sat down beside me, looking dishelved and tired. My face scrunched up in a frown but Hermione ignored me and gave a warm smile to Dudley.

"I'm sorry if I haven't the chance to cook decent food, Dudley. Please enjoy this instead," she said.

Dudley shook his head and smiled back at Hermione. "No, not at all. This is perfect."

Satisfied, Hermione's eyes lit up from Dudleys words and all of us started eating silently. Sometimes, Hermione would fuss about the mess Teddy made and would wipe his face but her tired face troubled me. When I knew I couldn't take it anymore, I carefully leaned towards her ear. "Where are the elves?"

"They're cleaning the rooms. I thought I would spare them the trouble," she whispered.

A smile erupted from my features and I kissed her cheeks. "Be sure not to worry about work later, its our day off."

Afterwards, Dudley and I resumed our conversation. Often times, Hermione would chime in and I would notice the comfortable conversation that the two shared. I never saw my cousin this close to a friend, much less, Hermione. I felt happy and contented at the gesture, for I never thought that a blood relative would be this close to her.

And of course, there was Teddy. The little boy was pretty intent on telling Hermione about the "big people" he met during his stay at the office and she would listen intently at his every word. Dudley noticed this and smiled at the gesture, for the little boy loved his 'Mama' very much. When he finally resumed eating his food, due to Hermione's insistence more than anything else, Dudley turned to me.

"So, are you two together?" He asked her as he chewed on his food.

I gave a big grin and noticed how a blush crept on Hermione's cheeks as her gaze went towards her lap. "Y-yes."

I put my arm on her shoulder, pulling her closer. Dudley's face beamed at the ministration and said, "Brilliant. How long?"

"Er – I can't remember, never counted," I chimed with a grin. His face turned to me and he stopped chewing his food. "Why?"

I shrugged because I couldn't really answer the question. Both of us never cared about how many months had passed since then, even though Ginny and Ron still reminded us, every now and then.

This time though, it was Hermione who answered, "Harry and I really don't care much about it, honestly. There are far too many things to worry about."

"But – why? Surely it is special?" he asked, horror-struck at the revelation.

"It is, mate. But well, time doesn't matter much if you're together, does it?" I said.

Sighing, Dudley only nodded his head in surrender. I eyed Hermione, silently asking for help to relieve the tension that suddenly started to build once more. She seemed to get the idea and gave a warm smile at Dudley. "Oh we don't want to bore you with details, do we?" she grinned, standing up to put more food on his plate. "What about you? Harry said you found a job."

Dudley's eyes lit with the question and he answered enthusiastically. " Found a good job in the city as a Sales Manager."

"That's great, mate! Good job."

Hermione and I both congratulated him for a job well done and a light conversation resumed as we ate. We spent a few hours laughing at stories and playing with Teddy, who was very happy to see new faces inside the house. We talked about loads of things, but we never did mention the past. We talked about his new job and his parents, who were now spending vacation on an island in Hawaii and sometimes, we listened as Teddy told us repeatedly about the people he met today. As the night wore on and Dudley left, we left the mess to the enthusiastic elves.

When I saw Hermione give a few last minute instructions to the elves, I decided to tuck a sleeping Teddy into bed and lifted him into my arms. He squirmed and shifted, but I was glad that he didn't wake up.

I was about to leave the kitchen when Hermione pulled my shirt to stop me.

I stared at her with questioning eyes, but she turned away and observed the elves as they cleaned the table. "Harry. I want to ask you something."

Sensing her nervousness, I smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "What is it, love?"

She hesitated, twiddling with her fingers as the muscles of her jaws tried to work. "I'll be going to Shell Cottage tomorrow so that Fleur will have company while Bill is away and I want you to. . .come."

I stared at her for a while while I tried to ingest her words. I knew why she asked, she was afraid I'll turn her down. Shell Cottage didn't leave me good memories, especially since the last war, so I never had the. . .heart to visit it ever since and she knew that.

During Weasley dinners, Bill and Fleur would often suggest that we visit them and I would keep silent while the others enthusiastically agreed. When Hermione asked, I often shrugged and told her nothing. I guess that I just didn't feel comfortable, especially when I remember memories that I wanted so much to forget.

I snaked my hand on her waist to pull her closer, kissing the crown of her head. She nervously looked at me, as if waiting to be turned down. For a while, I observed how she fiddled with her fingers and how her feet shuffled in uneasiness and I pondered about the thought for a while as silence enveloped the room.

If I went to Shell Cottage, I would remember that dreadful time in Malfoy Manor and all the memories associated with, Hermione's screams, Dobby's unstaring eyes, bloodstained shirts, headaches. . .they were all linked with the place.

But as I looked at the faint hope shining in her eyes, I realized that maybe, I could finally see Dobby's grave and give him a proper gift. Then, we could play in the sands and swim in the water, I'm sure Teddy would love that or we could spend the day chatting with Fleur, who was already on the third trimester of her pregnancy. . .maybe, we could start anew.

If I should give it a chance, I could change those dreadful memories and fill them up with new ones. I'm sure Hermione would appreciate it, so would Teddy. . .and I knew I would, too. With a smile, I gave her a kiss on the lips and stared at her warm brown eyes as I said, "All right, why not?"


A/N: Please R&R! Haha. I wanted you guys to at least see Harry in the office, some interaction with his mate, Erik and how he interacts with his godson. I hope the chapter did some justice to my imagination. :)

You'll see Shell Cottage in the next one and see Bill and Fleur (yeah, you'll read about Bill too). Some characters will FINALLY make some appearances afterward and I hope they will.