"Well, there were a few robes I've tried that looked pretty good but…" his godson eyed his grandmother a little nervously and seemed glad to see that Andromeda was completely engaged in her conversation with Ginny, "I know that I have never known him… but I really want to wear something from my dad on my wedding day, to make sure that he will be a part of it… Even though it's the same with my mum, Gran will be there so in a way I feel like my mum will be represented." Harry, who had secretly placed his invisibility cloak inside an inside pocket of his wedding dress robes for the same reason, could certainly relate to Teddy's sentiments. Had he had her mother's blanket in his possession at the time of his wedding, he would certainly had brought it with him as well.
"Unfortunately, for all Gran knows, my dad seemed to only have three sets of robes at the time of his death, the one he had on that night, which could not be salvaged that they had to dress him in another set of robes out of his humble collection when he was buried, and the last one which was given to me as a sort of keepsake. It had already been very shabby and patched everywhere when I first laid eyes on it that even Aunt Molly could not perform her miracles on it. The option to transform it into a piece of cloth had been brought up but there's so little of it that the resulting cloth would be too small for a whole set of robes that the best we could do is to stitch it somewhere on the dress robes, most likely on the back, that I don't think it'd be worth it because the change would be irreversible. And of course, it had been a war time wedding that my parents had opted out of getting rings at the time."
The dress robes in the wizarding world, with the notable exception of the lace robes Ron had worn to the Yule Ball in their fourth year, tended to be very simple (and dull in Harry's opinions) in design, that even those worn in weddings looked mostly plain on their bodies except for the occasional details on the sleeves, collar or a hood. Harry's mind drifted towards the Muggle suits before he frantically took out his phone to search for a picture.
"What are you doing, Harry? Are you trying to... show me something?" Teddy was very confused to see his godfather urgently taping on the Muggle phone. Being so close with the Potters, he was significantly more knowledgeable than the average wizard about Muggle technologies but had only tried using a phone himself a handful of times.
Because Harry had never been particularly exposed to Muggle etiquette and he had never actually worn a formal Muggle suit, it took him a few minutes to find what he was looking for but he eagerly shoved the still Muggle image of a pocket square seemingly casually yet artistically folded into a suit pocket to Teddy, "This is a Muggle thing but I think if done right, even a piece of cloth cut directly from a shabby robe won't look too bad as a… hmm what is it, a p-pocket square. This way you won't need to transform the whole set of robes into cloth and it could easily be stitched right back onto the original robes after the ceremony."
Teddy's eyes lighted up the moment he registered what he was looking at. "This is brilliant, Harry! Thank you so much, I'm sure Aunt Molly would not have any difficulty in altering the robes I end up deciding even if the store won't make a pocket." Robes designers could be rather similar to fashion designers in the Muggle world that they did not always take requests well, especially ones which would change their beloved designs.
A thought came up to Harry but he was not sure if it was the right thing to ask, but surely it was the thoughts behind a gesture that mattered the most, right?
"Hmm, Teddy?"
"Yes." His godson's look of elated excitement changed into one of slight confusion, he asked when he saw that Harry seemed to struggle to find his words, "What is it?"
"A-About your robes… if you would like to wear something of sentimental values, I'm wondering… it's absolutely fine if this is not something you want, but what I mean is, you're welcome to wear my wedding dress robes if you like. You're a bit taller than me but that set of robes is of rather good quality and I'm sure a store or Molly won't have much of a problem altering it to fit your si…" Harry remembered his dress robes had a much longer train than his regular work robes. He stopped talking as he saw that Teddy was openly gaping at him in silence.
"Sur-" Teddy began cautiously after failing to say anything for half a minute, "Surely you'd like to save it for James… or Albus for that matter?"
"Well, knowing James, I'm sure that he'd much rather get the latest, most expensive make he… or we could afford by the time he would get married. Even if he… they" Harry amended as he gave Albus a look, "would like to wear their old man's twenty-plus-year-old robes on their wedding day, surely it could be altered again after your wedding."
Still, Teddy seemed to be trying very hard to control his excitement as he gave James, who was now talking with Vic and Lily, an anxious look. "I'd love to… but…"
"If you really worry about this so much, why don't we just call James over to ask him?" asked the impatient Albus. "For your information, I certainly don't care about what I'd wear on my wedding day, that's, if I'm ever getting married at all."
Harry's heart sank a little at his son's pessimistic statement regarding his future marriage, surely he would want to have his own family someday? But then, he certainly did not remember thinking much about marriage himself when he had been fourteen years old either. Teddy, for his part, let out a nervous laugh before saying, "You're right, Albus, I'd prefer to hear it from James about whether he would mind for me to wear Harry's wedding robes."
Harry was about to call out for James but his eldest son had already turned towards them at the mention of his name, "Are you talking about me?"
"Would you mind coming over, James?" James was standing in front of them within a second.
"What's it? You guys are making me nervous."
"We're talking about Teddy's wedding, James. I'd like to lend him my old wedding dress robes but I need to know if this is okay for you or would you prefer for me to save them for you."
"No offense, dad, but by the time I'm getting married, your robes would be almost thirty years too old. You did look good in them in the pictures but I'd far rather get something chic and special for myself."
His son turned towards Teddy, "The robes are all yours, Ted." He then said more to himself than to his family, "I've never realised how sentimental my brothers are, first it's Albus with his Nimbus 2000 and now it's you. Are you really sure that you want such an old set of robes though? I mean, it's an once-in-a-lifetime excuse for you to indulge."
Teddy answered firmly, "I'm absolutely sure that I would love to wear Harry's robes." His godson gave Harry a look of such love and respect that he could feel his heart burst, he could not imagine how he would feel one day when one of his own children would be getting married. But then Teddy seemed to remember something as Harry saw a look of doubt replacing his resolve. "But Harry?"
Teddy's nervousness was certainly making him uneasy. "Yes? What's wrong?"
"Are you really sure that it's okay for me to alter the robes to add a pocket? Because resizing them to fit me is one thing, adding the pocket would change the design and I'm not sure if that'd be a reversible change?"
Harry had to laugh at this, "Of course I wouldn't mind! I wouldn't have suggested it if I have a problem with it." He placed his hands on his godson's shoulders, which did not feel as much like the fatherly gesture it was meant to be because he actually had to reach up slightly to do so. "I would be very proud to see you dressed in them and it'll be an honour for me to see a piece of Remus attached to them. Your father would be extremely proud of the wonderful young man you have become."
Despite having grown up as an orphan, Teddy had always been a remarkably optimistic boy that even Harry had rarely ever seen his godson cried, so he was genuinely alarmed to see the ever cheerful metamorphmagus blinked rapidly for a few times before him pulling his godfather in for yet another embrace. As he remembered that night when Remus happily hugged him at Shell Cottage before asking him to be Teddy's godfather, he allowed himself to believe that he had done the best job he could possibly do. At least he had surely never failed his godson the way he had failed his own son, who appeared rather pleased to be hugged by his emotional godbrother himself immediately after Teddy had finally released Harry.
Harry was totally expecting to see Albus waiting for him to cook breakfast together while holding a mug of milk in his hands when he arrived at the living room at eight forty-five on Easter Sunday that he was pleasantly surprised to find it empty.
A part of him was very glad to think that his son was possibly still sleeping soundly past eight for once. Another part of him had enjoyed those breakfast cooking sessions with Albus so much that he was actually tempted to check in on Al just to see if it would be possible for them to cook together again. He understood completely that letting his troubled son sleep peacefully was what any good father should do but one could never fully control his heart.
Harry felt ashamed to admit to himself how difficult it was for him to suppress that temptation to wake up the boy for his personal gratification that they would be bonding through family activities the way other fathers and sons would do easily, including the Malfoys with the building of their Pygmy Puffs' house. He had to remind himself that Albus sleeping normally without being plagued with nightmares was his biggest wish at the moment and in fact, the ultimate goal he had been working so hard towards. In addition, there would be plenty of time left in the day for him to spend with Al, despite the inevitable presence of his other family members and later the entire extended Weasley family, which sometimes caused him to struggle to say anything to his son.
He found himself distractedly looking up every few seconds while preparing the ingredients but once he started cooking, he focused all his attention into getting things right that it was easy to forget his longing to spend time with Albus. Partly to distract himself and partly to make the best use of the occasion, he decided to cook a fancier version of egg toast, the kind in which he had to cut a hole in the middle of a slice of bread in which he pour the egg, which was a bit tricky for him to teach a beginner like Albus. Harry's version, which was Ginny's all-time favourite breakfast, also included diced tomatoes, bacon bits with some cheese. The toast would be golden brown, buttery and crispy, the egg white would be soft but not burned, the yolk would be intact and not liquidy when broken and the melted cheese would form a perfect caramelised crust. He did not really remember who did it (he believed it to be James) but someone had christened the dish Ginny's special many years ago.
Ginny was the first among his families to be woken up by the appetising aroma of his cheesy egg toast, "Ah, I've guessed right." She reached a hand towards the skillet on the stove as if she was going to pick up the toast directly but was blocked protectively by him. He slided the toast onto a plate before handing it to her. She was about to pick it up when she moved over to put the plate on the dining table instead, "I'll wait for the kids." She placed a temperature-regulating spell on the dish, which somehow could even preserve the texture of a dish for hours, before returning to his side.
"Are you sure you want to wait to have breakfast together with the kids? It's been a while since I last cooked Ginny's special and I could totally make you a second helping after if you don't want them teasing you for eating too soon, it's not like you can't finish another one." Despite having retired from her team for fifteen years, even Harry could not fully fathom how Ginny could still eat as if she was training ten hours a day yet maintaining most of her Chaser's muscles. She only eat that much sometime but she was undoubtedly a Weasley through and through.
"Nah, I like my Ginny's special but I like watching my very focused husband more." Harry could feel himself blushing but he tried to look as impassive as he could while carefully cracking an egg right into the hole of the bread slice. The skillet was only big enough for one toast at a time. While he could cook a few toasts at once with the help of magic, he found them to taste better when he took the time to cook them one-by-one.
Unexpectedly, his wife let out a deep sigh, "How much do I have to pay to hire you as my full-time chef?"
"What in Dumbledore's name are you talking about? I do all the cooking here."
"True, but don't you know the meaning of 'full-time'? Did I tell you about that time when no one remembered to order Muggle takeout and we ran out of everything that I had to cook eggs for the kids? I've never been so humiliated in my entire life." It had been two summers ago and James had made sure to tease his mother every chance he had gotten till this day. Since then, Harry had always made sure to stock up on Muggle canned soups and frozen dinners so his family would not "starve to death" as James had helpfully put it.
Harry cleared his throat, "You might have mentioned it once or twice."
Ginny's lip curled into a mischievous smile, "At least I can ask my talented boy Albus to cook eggs for me if this ever happens again." Harry thought his son would likely be too shy to cook for his siblings on his own that he did not say anything in return.
As if she was reading his mind, she said, "He just need to build up his confidence that's all and I've seen James talking with Albus much more these days so I don't think he'll give Al a hard time if he does cook for us. I think there's something really likable about boys… or men ..." She playfully squeezed his arm and said, "who can cook. Who knows, maybe Albus will even try to cook with Scorpius sometime, that sounds like a fun thing to do at their sleepover."
This reminded Harry that they had arranged with Draco for Albus to have his sleepover at the Malfoy Manor on Tuesday. He would likely have to work overtime again on the first few days following a holiday that Albus would not miss much at home to be gone for two days. Normally, he could not see teenage boys cooking for fun at sleepovers but Albus and Scorpius had rarely behaved like other teenage wizards either as he remembered Scorpius' excitement when he had recounted receiving a bread recipe book from Rose as a Christmas present.
"Speaking of which, I'm actually a bit surprised that Albus is not up cooking with you again. He's been waking up early every day since he's been ba..."
Harry did not have time to digest the information because they were interrupted by his eldest son.
"Morning, mum and dad!" James cried out cheerfully. He walked over to pick up one of the plates and dramatically breathed in the smell of the finished egg toast. "May I just take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for your wonderful cooking skills, dad? A day is always off to a good start when you cook breakfast."
"That's flattering, did you use up your allowances again?" Harry answered drily.
James pressed a hand onto his chest and feigned a hurt expression. "What do you take me for, dad? You know how much better your homemade breakfasts are comparing to cereals and bread rolls. I just thought that I haven't told you enough what an amazing dad and role model you've been to me."
There was an amused smirk on Ginny's face, "James, cut it out."
"Fine, I just want to take the opportunity to give you two a few helpful suggestions regarding my upcoming birthday present."
Ginny let out a hearty laugh, "Good one, James. You do remember it's tradition to give you a watch on your seventeenth birthday, right?"
James had seen Teddy and each of his older cousins acquired their watches so he had definitely been aware of the tradition but it was obvious from the way his son had visually deflated that he had completely forgotten about it. "Oh, that doesn't mean you can't give me an additional present though?"
"Well, I thought you wouldn't want us to be thrifty when it comes to your watch. I mean, you'll be wearing the watch for many years to come." Ginny flashed her wrist watch, which she had been wearing since her seventeenth birthday despite its hand-me-down status, towards their disappointed son.
"I suppose you have a point…"
Harry had just done cooking and placing the toasts on separate plates. He walked over to hand his son the remaining plates to take over to the dining room so he could clean up the kitchen, he whispered to James' ear when he was next to him, "Let me know what you like some other time." His son gave him a fleeting hopeful look.
Ginny rolled her eyes, "James, you might as well say it out loud here. Harry, I know you love your kids but you should make him work hard for an extra present, or at least beg harder." James and Harry both looked embarrassed to be called out by Ginny and had unconsciously hung their heads a little.
"Good morning everyone!" Lily took in the scene of the kitchen before saying. "Dad, James, what did you two do this time?"
A/N: Thank you kahn 1969, Ronnie Jane, Criis46, HogwartsDreamer113, Scorpiusisthebest, AxelsFire96 and JennH for commenting, you're all amazing. I really enjoyed writing Teddy with Harry, who had always meant to reflect each other as orphans with a godfather. I know Harry wears a three-piece-suit on stage but I'm not a fan of how Muggle-looking his work clothes look like so I'm just gonna pretend that's not what he wears. I've no idea why I keep coming back to write about breakfast and why I spend so much time writing about food, haha. Second half of the chapter was completely unplanned but then again, it feels like most of the chapters these days are "unplanned" to me.
Every comment means the world to me ;)