Here's the next chapter as promised!
Harry looked up from his cooking when his husband entered the kitchen.
"Welcome back home. Did you have a fight with a dragon or what?" he asked, eyes gleaming with mirth "You're covered in soot"
"Explosion in the lab… blasted soot doesn't want to vanish. I had to leave the car at work and apparate so I don't dirty it all." The man said with a mild expression of disgust before mumbling "I really hope it washes away"
"You're not getting into my bed in those conditions, so find a solution" Harry warned him
"Aye, aye. I'm off to shower" the man announced before darting in and leaving a sloppy kiss to Harry's cheek.
Harry chuckled amused. His husband could always put a smile on his face, no matter what.
"Papa's silly isn't he?" he cooed to the toddler babbling happily away on his high chair.
"I doubt Nate is going to answer you anytime soon, dad" Teddy grinned rushing through the kitchen
"Don't run on the stairs!" he shouted after him, already knowing that it would fall on deaf years "Don't you dare become a rascal like your big brother, you hear?"
"Bah"
"Exactly" he nodded satisfied with the answer before going back to the stove to check on dinner.
"Alright, I'm squeaky clean… though I may have had to scrub a little too hard to get rid of the soot" The man complained rubbing the red skin of his cheek.
"Aw, you poor dear"
"Laugh it up… I'll have my revenge. Who's my little man? Who is my little man?" the grumpy exterior completely vanished as the man turned to putty in front of his youngest son "yes, you are"
Harry watched fondly as the two interacted. The man was a natural with kids and it was sad to think that had they stayed behind in Great Britain, probably he wouldn't have been allowed to have children because of his condition. People were so prejudiced. He wasn't sure how much things had changed to be honest but in theory, they were now allowed if they could prove not to be a danger during the full moons. It was the way they would put it in practice that worried him.
"So, I was thinking. Since we have to go back and no amount of my whining or growling is going to change it…. Shouldn't we find a place to live? Camping under the starts sounds good and all, but I doubt our darling daughters would appreciate the sentiment"
Harry laughed imagining their twin monsters having to deal with icky insects. "You're right. I actually went ahead and contacted a muggle agency. They sent me several options to look through"
"Always prepared…"
Harry shrugged "If that's one thing that the years at Hogwarts taught me, it's to be always prepared"
"What requirements did you gave them?"
"Plenty of rooms, a cellar for your potion lab, a giant family room, a couple of rooms to turn into studies and a library. And, of course, a garden the size of a quidditch pitch" he counted off his fingers "I also told them that we would prefer a place that afforded us privacy, so as little neighborhood as possible, but with how the place is going to be big, they'll probably sent us a number of small manors to look through"
The man shrugged "Sounds good to me. Living in a muggle neighborhood has been a fun experience but I'll like the kids to be able to practice and see magic more freely than what is allowed here in the States."
"Yeah. It will still be a muggle place but we can put up wards so no one will see magic being performed. The alternative is old Grimmauld Place and…. Just no" Harry shook his head "By the way, Teddy sniffed our moods. I guess my nightmares and your whining hadn't been as subtle as we thought"
"Fu-dge…" Harry was extremely angry whenever someone cussed in front of the kids, it was something he didn't tolerate. He was glad he had been able to stop before the whole word came out or it would have meant an uncomfortable night cramped on the study couch.
"I talked to him but I'm not sure how much it worked. It's hard to argue how it will be all fine and dandy, when we are visibly struggling with going back"
"Ted's always been too smart for our own good"
"Yeah, and you teaching him the marauder's way didn't exactly help" Harry laughed
"Hmpf" the man sniffed "Marauding is in his blood!" the man declared "By the way, what's for dinner? I'm famished" he asked pitifully holding his stomach.
§§
Harry had stayed near the lake for hours before he felt calm enough to be around other people again without losing control of what little magic he had managed to replenish.
Slowly he started walking back towards the castle. He was not looking forward being surrounded by everyone. He was still feeling guilty about all the deaths caused by the battle and having people congratulate him for his victory made the bile rise to his throat all over again.
The grounds were completely destroyed. The only plant life still actually alive was the whoomphing willow, which had actually beaten its fair share of unsuspecting death eaters coming too close. There were huge patches of burnt grass, holes here and there and areas of loose earth. Everywhere there lingered the smell of smoke, burnt cloth and blood. Or maybe it was just his imagination, reacting to the scenery and the visible puddles of blood all over.
He had never been safe at Hogwarts, but the castle had always been his heaven away from the Dursleys. Now, he had trouble recognizing it and feeling at home. He just wanted to get as far away as possible.
"Harry! I've been looking all over for you!"
"Hermione. What is it?" he asked tiredly. He still hadn't slept a wink in two days and he was all but ready to crash. Too bad his brain wouldn't let him.
"Something happened. Professor McGonagall wishes to speak with you"
"What happened? Did someone die?" He asked ready to panic.
"No… no one else… just… Mrs. Tonks came and…" she stopped biting her lip "Maybe she should tell you about it"
He frowned, already expecting the worst. The woman probably considered him deranged and a danger to her grandson and came to tell him to stay as far away from them as humanly possible. He would never get to see Teddy.
"She's waiting for you in there" she said pointing to a room near the great hall doors.
He knocked and waited for her permission before entering.
She wasn't alone. Mrs. Tonks was indeed there, crying over the body of her daughter and rocking back and forth on her chair. She wasn't giving much attention to the body of her son in law, though, he noted bitterly.
"Mr. Potter" the transfiguration professor called "Thank you for joining us." He turned to look at her and saw that she was sitting near a conjured crib holding his sleeping godson. He itched to walk over and look at him, discover just how much he took after Remus and where instead he looked like Tonks, but refrained.
He didn't want to give the older woman anymore reason to hate him.
"We need to talk about the fate of young Mr. Lupin." She said without wasting anytime. "There's no need to look at Mrs. Tonks, Harry. Andromeda, I'm afraid, is taking the loss of her daughter extremely badly and we had to moderately sedate her. She's covered by a silencing bubble right now"
"Oh"
"I'm afraid that after losing her husband Ted, this is too much for her." The woman sighed "She… let's just say that she's not in her right mind and unjustly blamed Remus for Nymphadora's death"
"It's not his fault! HE told he to stay away!"
"I know that, Mr. Potter. And she knows too, but grief makes people say things they know are not true." Minerva tried to placate him "The fact of the matter is that the healer didn't recognize her fit for taking care of a toddler at the moment. She is a risk to herself and young Mr. Lupin too"
"What do you mean risk?" He demanded "Did she try to hurt Teddy?"
"No, she didn't. She did try to turn her wand on herself though and while fighting with the healer there were stray hexes that could have harmed the baby if I hadn't been here to shield him" she admitted. Andromeda was a close friend of hers and it pained her incredibly the thought of the other woman not being considered sane of mind and being stripped of he custody of the last family member she had. But Teddy's welfare came first.
"As his godfather, you have the right to take him in your custody. Otherwise he would become a ward of the Ministry"
"NO!" he shouted "I'm sorry… but no. I won't leave him to the Ministry, Merlin knows what they'll do just because his father was a werewolf. I'll take him"
"Are you sure? Taking care of a baby this young and raising him is not an easy task and you are certainly left worn from the war, more so than others"
"I can take care of him and I'm not too proud to seek the help I need" he stated resolutely.
"Very well. I took the liberty of procuring the necessary documents to pass the baby's custody to you. You only need to sign them"
With shaky steps he walked to the desk near his professor and signed them. He was officially Teddy's guardian.
"Harry" she gently called him "Here, cradle him into your arms and be careful to hold his head. He can't do that on his own yet and it's very delicate"
Confused, he tuned to see her ready to pass the sleeping baby to his arms. He almost wanted to refuse, he had never held a baby, hell, he had never been near one at all. He didn't want to hurt him or worse drop him.
Dropping him would be quite possible at the moment, his arms felt like a mix of lead that he couldn't move and as flabby as jelly.
Before he was able to formulate a coherent thought, the baby was actually in his arms and he looked down startled.
He was perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Rosy cheeked and a little pudgy, a cute button nose and pouty lips a little open in his sleep. He also smelled wonderful. A mix of talc and sunshine.
He could understand now why people said that parents fell in love at first sight with their children. Teddy was not his by blood but he sure felt like that.
He knew that he would be ready to raise hell and earth to protect this little miracle. The ministry only had to think wrongly of his godson and they would mourn Voldemort, for he would be far worse in his rage.
Not that he intended to remain there to let the Ministry try anything. He had wanted to leave even before the war was over, his resolve was only strengthened now by this new development.
"He's a pretty child, isn't he?" Minerva smiled
"He's beautiful" he murmured sitting on the chair that his professor had vacated so he could safely hold the baby with only one arm and caress his soft cheek with his other hand.
"Professor, will Mrs. Tonks be able to organize their funerals?"
"I do not know Harry" she admitted "she's mildly sedated now and the healer recommended having her followed by one of Mungo's mind healers if she doesn't get better in the next few days. I doubt that she will take well to having her custody removed…"
He chewed on his lip "She'll blame me…"
"Maybe. But it was the right thing to do and well within the healer's responsibilities." She said before offering "I can take care of the arrangements should she be unable too." The child should not be forced to take care of their funerals, especially with how close he had been to Remus. It was already hard enough for him, she thought.
"I… Remus would have liked to be next to Dad in Godric's Hollow. Sirius too… but..." he cleared his throat, not wanting to cry in front of his professor. "Unless Mrs. Tonks can organize something different for BOTH of them, they should be buried next to my parents"
"I will take care of it, I promise." She said solemnly "And I won't let Andromeda disregard Remus, he was a great man and loved Nymphadora with all his heart."
"Thank you" he croaked "I should go? Before the sedatives wear off and she tries to hex me too?"
"Probably for the best. I will stay with her"
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