3

He didn't see her at the ministry for the next week, so when the weekend came around his stomach was in knots. He had been to the burrow on Wednesday night, informing Arthur and Molly that Amelia would be joining them. Arthur smiled when he said that she already told him, and he was happy Harry could convince her. He was changing Teddy's clothes on his bed because just when they were about to step in the floo for the burrow he puked all over himself and Harry. He wiggled a new shirt over his head, and when his head popped out, Harry said.

"You take the best time to puke all over us, don't you?" He tickled his belly. Teddy laughed, and Harry kissed the top of his head an sat him down on the floor. He discarded his own shirt and grabbed the first one in his closet and tugged it on. "Alright, ready to go little one?" He asked as he held out his hand. Teddy took it and followed him out of the room. Harry glanced at the clock above the fire mantle. "One thirty." He said to himself, before he looked down to Teddy. "We better get going before grannie Molly gets worried." And Amelia is left alone too long with the charming twins. He picked the boy up and stepped in the fireplace calling out the burrow.

HP

When the flames disappeared, the burrow's living room came into view. Percy and Ron were sitting at the round table near the window playing chess while the rest of the room was empty.

"Won-Won." Teddy said as he walked over to Ron. Ron groaned at the name, but when he saw the boy walk, his eyes turned large and his smile wide.

"Teddy!" He gasped, ignoring the game and turned in his seat to open his arms. "You're walking." When Teddy reached him, he picked him up and kissed his forehead.

"I told you a couple of days ago." Harry chuckled, as he glanced around the room.

"Yeah, I know. But seeing it, instead of hearing it, makes it real." He said to Harry while he tried to keep Teddy's chubby hands from the chess pieces.

"It's been real, alright." Harry laughed. "That boy is a menace. Now that he can walk, I have to lock everything up, close off the stairs and place cushioning charms on sharp corners." He heard the clattering of pots and pans from the kitchen. "So, where are the twins?"

"Oh, they are showing Amelia around the garden." Percy said as he ruffled Teddy's hair. "They've been on her the minute she walked in."

"Oh, right." He put on a forced smile. "Want to go say hi to grannie and grampa?" He asked Teddy. The boy clapped his hands excitedly and Ron put him down on the floor.

"Gannie!" He said excitedly and waddled over to Harry. Harry took his hand and walked to the kitchen. Molly was making meatball sandwiches at the counter, while Arthur was reading the Sunday newspaper. "Gannie!" Teddy called out again. Molly turned away from the counter and smiled as Harry and Teddy walked in. Harry let his hand go, and Teddy walked over to Molly, who was beaming at the little boy.

"Teddy!" She said once the boy reached her, and she picked him up. "You can walk all by yourself! You brilliant little boy." She peppered him with kisses.

"Do you want me to set the table?" Harry asked.

"That would be lovely, dear." Molly said, not taking her eyes off Teddy. "We're eating outside today."

Harry went to the cupboard to take out the plates, and Arthur folded his newspaper and stood up. "I'll help, Harry." He said before taking the silverware and glasses. "Amelia is already here. She arrived exactly at one." He said when he closed the drawer with his hip.

"The twins took her out to show her the garden and the forest." Molly said when she finally looked up from Teddy. "I swear, I told him not to go chase after her, but does he listen?"

"They are just being friendly, Molly. Especially since we invited her over to get to know some people from around here."

"It was my intention she get to know Harry and Ron."

"The more, the merrier, I'd say." Arthur turned towards the open garden door. "Let's go, Harry."

"Yeah." Harry nodded and followed him out. Molly set a wriggling Teddy on the floor, and the little man followed them out. Harry's eyes flickered over the garden, but he couldn't see the twins or Amelia. He and Arthur set the table quickly, and Arthur went back inside to help out his wife. Harry conjured a large blanket and laid it down on the grass, before he sat himself and Teddy on it.

He was blowing bubbles with a plastic muggle pink bubble blower with some kind of pony on it into the air. Teddy was standing between his legs, trying to catch the bubbles that flew by. When the bubbles started to turn into different colours, he knew who it was. He turned his head and saw Amelia pushing Fred in the wheelchair through the grass, while George stood next to her. She was tucking her wand behind her ear as she smiled to Harry and Teddy. Her hair was flowing freely over her shoulders, she was wearing a mint-green floral dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Fred looked up to her, said something which made her laugh loudly. Her laughter still boomed when they stopped next to his blanket.

"Still room for us on there?" She asked with a soft smile.

"Course." He smiled back while Teddy was walking towards them, the bubbles in the air ignored.

"Bye-bye." He babbled as he ended against Fred's legs and looked up to him and Amelia.

"Alright, little man." George said picking up Teddy. "Why do you always ignore me." He pouted as he tickled the boy. While George was busy with Teddy, Amelia wrapped her arm around Fred's waist and Fred put his around her shoulders and she helped him out of the wheelchair. Harry was about to stand up, but George shook his head and turned again to watch the pair. Fred didn't seem heavy to her. She just let him lean against her, and she slowly lowered them to the ground until they were seated, against each other. She's helping Fred, who's stuck in a wheelchair! Don't be that guy, Harry! He thought to himself.

"Thanks." Fred said softly

"Anytime." She smiled as she bumped his shoulder with hers. "Does your mum need help?" She asked the twins as George sat down with Teddy. Teddy crawled out of George's lap immediately and strode over to her and Fred. George pouted again as the boy walked away. Teddy stood there debating whose lap would be better.

"Nah, she always shoos us out of the kitchen when we want to help." George said with a wave of his hand.

"Maybe that's because you two always destroy half the kitchen when you're in there." Harry laughed as he watched Teddy climb into Fred's lap, but his eyes were on Amelia.

"Well..." George grinned and shot a wink to Amelia. "Amelia was just us about to tell us about her time in the Amazon."

"Oh, I don't think Harry wants to hear about that. It's quite boring." She said as she looked down.

"No." He said a little too quickly and three sets of eyes were on him. "I mean, I would like to hear it, if you want to." He said a little slower this time. She gave him a little smile, making his heart studder fast.

"Like I said, it's quite boring. It's not like there were other kids there. It was just me and my family." As soon as she started talking, Teddy crawled out of Fred's lap and into hers. His large brown eyes on her. "My parents' home schooled us from the start."

"Us?" He asked.

"My brother and I." She explained. Harry's mind went in overdrive. Was it him she was talking with on the phone? But what sister would threaten to hex his balls off. But since he had no siblings, who knows what they might say to each other. Harry so lost in thought, had missed part of the conversation, and heard her say. "That's when he got caught in vines ten feet in the air!" She laughed and the twins jumped in. Harry quickly laughed too, not wanting to show that his mind had drifted. "Fred and George told me about the shop." She said as she turned to Harry. Fred rearranged his legs before he leaned back on his hands, on hand behind Amelia's back. "I'm visiting next week. How's auror training going?"

"Good." He cleared his throat. "Next week, I'm going on my first mission without supervision. Just me and David."

"I guess you can't say what sort of mission it is?"

"Sorry." He grinned.

"Nervous?" She asked as she readjusted the boy in her lap.

"Yes and no. I've been against worse but now I won't have my two best friends with me."

"Ron's not your partner?"

"No, they wanted to separate us. To get us to thrive and whatnot." He said with a wave and a shrug. He saw Amelia's eyes flicker to Fred's foot, and he followed but he couldn't see anything. By the time he looked back to her, her eyes were on Teddy.

"Hm, I think that can be good. My brother and I always had each other, it took a while to do things without him, you know. But we both learned a lot from being apart."

"Do you differ much in age?"

"Almost 5 years." She said with a little smile. "He's the younger one. He turned 16 last month."

"He's still in South America with your parents?" Fred asked.

"No, since I moved here, I got him a place at Hogwarts. My parents didn't want him to get lonely out there. So, when I decided to move here, we transferred him to Hogwarts right after Christmas."

"Wow, that must be an adjustment." George said.

"It was, maybe still is. But it's been good for him. He's always been shy, but he quickly made friends and is truly flourishing there."

"What house is he in?" Fred asked.

"Oh, uhm." Harry saw the little adorable frown appear between her brows. "Something with a birds name in it."

"Ravenclaw." The three men chuckled.

"That's the one." She smiled coyly. "Sorry, my knowledge of Hogwarts is limited."

"Have you been there?" He asked.

"Yes, when I went to sign him up. I met with Headmistress McGonagall. She showed us around and explained how everything works. Adrian nearly fell down the stairs when -" She grinned as she spoke but stopped when a Patronus appeared in front of them.

"Auror Potter, come to headquarters immediately. There is an emergency." The eagle disappeared with that. And Harry had jumped up but looked torn as he looked from Teddy to the place the eagle disappeared from.

"HARRY!" They all turned to see Ron standing at the kitchen door. He must've gotten the same message.

"We'll look after him, Harry." Fred said. "If it turns late, mum has his crib ready."

"Right." He said with a fuzzy mind. "I- I should go." He kneeled down in front of Amelia and Teddy and kissed the top of his purple hair. "I'll be back soon. Be good, yeah." He kissed his head again, and his eyes flickered to Amelia, who's eyes were wide, filled with... concern? His thoughts were correct as she placed a hand on his arm.

"Be careful." Her voice but a whisper.

"HARRY!" Ron called out again. And he tore his eyes away from her and to the redhead in the doorway.

"I- uhm- I'll see you later." He stumbled over his words and stood up quickly. With a last look at Teddy, he walked to Ron and they apparated out of the garden.

HP

The moment Amelia saw Harry something shifted inside her. When her eyes met his in the crowded kitchen of the burrow, she could get lost in those green eyes of his, his messy black hair, you just wanted to run your hands through. When Percy told her who he was, she almost felt ashamed she didn't recognize him. But she saw the fear in his eyes, that she would be just like any other groupie, so she decided to tease Percy a little, and she couldn't help but wink at Harry when she said she thought he was a musician. She didn't grow up with knowing the boy-who-lived. She didn't grow up admiring a boy, who survived the killing curse, not once but twice. She just saw him as a handsome young man, with a smile that made her heart skip a beat.

When she found out who Teddy was and how he took responsibility for the little boy, she thought her heart would burst. He wasn't just a handsome man with remarkable skills and soon-to-be-auror, but he was a faithful, true-to-his-word and a loving man. But how come a guy like that is still single? She would find out that Sunday from the twins as they gave her a tour around the grounds of the burrow. They told her he dated their sister but when Teddy came into the picture, she didn't want to be weighed down by it. First, she felt angry. That their sister, Ginny, could be so selfish. But then she thought about what they all went through, a war at such a young age. Never really had a normal childhood, and the girl was only seventeen. She could understand why she chose to take a step back.

From the moment she stepped in the burrow, the twins had taken her out and started the tour. She didn't have a chance to talk to Ron or Percy, they just dragged her outside. The twins were quite the duo alright. They told her about the war and what happened to Fred, and why he was still stuck in a wheelchair. They told her they opened their joke shop again a few months back and invited her to come take a look. George had recently reconnected with Angelina, one of their best friends back in school and they been dating for three months. Fred wasn't interested in dating, he said he wanted to walk first before thinking about that again. She saw George's pained look; a look that said he wasn't sure he'd ever walk again. Because the healers said he should have walked about a month ago and since that still didn't happen by now, he would probably never walk again.

But when she saw Fred's toe move when they were sitting on the blanket, she knew he would walk again. She looked up to Fred, but he didn't seem to notice any movement. He had his head towards the sun, his freckles seemed to become more visible with each second. His red hair nearly reached his shoulders, which apparently made their mum go crazy.

When the eagle Patronus appeared in front of them, her heart stopped for a moment. Harry looked worried, not for himself but for Teddy. And when he kneeled down in front of her and kissed Teddy's head, she couldn't help but seek out his emerald, green eyes. And once they met, it was hard to tear them apart. She tentatively placed a hand on his arm and whispered. "Be careful." It seemed that Hary couldn't tear his eyes away from her either, only when Ron called out again, he stood up and was gone.

Teddy became restless in her lap, and she picked him up, so he was standing between her legs. "It's okay, little munchkin. He'll be back soon." She gave him an Eskimo kiss. She looked to the twins, who had their eyes on her. "What does he call Harry?" She asked, just when the twins exclaimed.

"You like him!"

"What?" The three of them said in unison.

Amelia cleared her throat and asked again. "What does Teddy call him?"

"He wanted him to call him Uncle Harry, but Teddy called him daddy on his own." George said.

"He's planning on telling him all about his parents with stories and such, so he knows who his real parents were and how brave they were." Fred continued.

"Daddy will be back, alright. You can have fun with your two goofy uncles over there." She tickled the boy until he started to giggle.

"For someone who was raised in the woods, you're good with kids." Fred pointed out.

"I didn't grow up in the woods." She huffed with a smile. "I've lived among other people before." She said as Teddy walked over to George, who looked over delighted, like it didn't happen much.

"So, you like Harry." Fred grinned.

"I just met him. I barely know him." She said as she stretched her legs out in front of her.

"But you want to." Fred and George wiggled their eyebrows.

"Maybe." She shrugged. "He's handsome, funny and kind. But he broke up with your sister not too long ago. And I enjoy sex as the next woman, but I'm not someone's rebound."

The twins' mouths dropped open in shock, just like she wanted. She grinned at them. "What seems to be the matter? Cat caught your tongue?" She snickered. Her snicker turned into a full-blown laugh, when Teddy stuck his entire fist in George's mouth. Fred too, started to laugh at his twin.

"Too bad Harry's the one that caught your eye." Fred winked at her and smiled. In the corner of her eye, she saw his foot twitch again.

"Lay down." She suddenly instructed. Fred's eyes were wide, and George looked at her flabbergasted, the tiny hand of Teddy in his. "Just do it." She waved impatiently. Fred gave his twin on last look before he did as he was told. "Close your eyes." Once again, he did as she asked.

"You know, there must be something trustworthy about you for me to do this." Fred mused as he crossed his arms behind his head. She placed a muffliatio charm over her and George, and George came closer intrigued.

"I don't want to get his hopes up, but I saw his foot twitch. Twice!" George's eyes went large and round, his brown eyes flickering between Fred and her. "Can you get his shoes off without him noticing?"

"Can I?" He huffed. "I'm a Weasley twin, you know."

"And you know, I'm not familiar with your reputation." She grinned. With a wave of her wand, the charm broke and when she turned back George had his shoes off already. Fred, none the wiser was still laying there with his eyes closed. She conjured two feathers, giving one to Teddy to play with and one she brushed against his bare foot. One, two, no three toes flinched from the touch of the feather. She looked up to George, who was watching in amazement, biting his lip, trying not to squeal. She brushed the feather on his other foot, but only one toe flinched there, but it was his big toe. She laid the feather on the blanket and pressed two fingers against his foot, one on the sole and one on the top. Fred's brows furrowed a little, before shrugging it off. She placed her other hand on the other foot and repeated the motion. Then his eyes shot open, he bolted up straight and looked from his feet to Amelia.

"Did - Did you feel it?" George asked nervously. Amelia still had her hands on his feet as she saw Fred nod his head slowly.

"How did you know to try this?" He asked softly.

"I saw your foot twitch, twice since I arrived. I thought it couldn't hurt to try."

"Lunch is ready!" Molly's voice came from the doorway. Amelia's hands shot away from his feet.

"Don't tell anyone, please. I want to know for sure if I'll be able to walk again."

"Yeah, sure." She looked over her shoulder to Molly and Arthur, who made their way over to them. "I may have some tricks to test the nerves in your legs. If you want, I – I can help."

"You would do that for me?" He asked as he tugged on his socks and shoes.

"For a war hero?" She winked. "Anytime." She stood up and helped him in his chair. George walked with Teddy on his hand towards the table. Looking over his shoulder every second, his eyes going from his legs to his twin's face, a twinkle of hope in his eyes.

"I can come by after work tomorrow, if you want?" She whispered as she pushed the wheelchair. Fred placed his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze, telling her he would appreciate the effort.

With the new information from Fred's legs, the continued conversation around the table, her mind didn't drift to Harry and the mission to much, just now and then. She didn't see Harry or Ron that day again. It was almost five when she went to leave. She kissed Teddy's head and the twins' cheek when she stood to go, whispering to the twins she would stop by tomorrow and went to thank Mr and Mrs Weasley for lunch and inviting her over. They told her she would be welcome anytime and handed her a box of leftovers, because according to Molly she was too skinny and she apparated home.