Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter XIV: The Dirty Laundry

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Harry waited on the flames to rush up from the mighty hearth before him, and the minutes trickled by as if weighted down by bricks, but the silence was appreciated after the oddities of the last few hours. His nipple rings sent a random wave of chills down his body, a sensation he was not quite used to. He had not seen Lily yet today, and passed the time wondering about how his daughter might be acting today. Harry was sure that he could depend on her to be normal, at least more normal than his boys.

It was mid day at the Potter estate, and Harry wondered how long Luna was going to be away, Knoby seemed to know something, but he didn't dare ask the poor elf: he didn't want to make him betray Luna's confidence. He reflected on the day of Knoby's birth, it was a strange thing. The last time Harry had seen Winky before she arrived pregnant on his doorstep, she was working in the Hogwarts kitchens, well no, she had been drinking Butter Beer in the Hogwarts kitchens. They had decided to name him Knoby, as a homage to his father's name. Then Winky disappeared, leaving Knoby with the Potters.

There was a rustling of twigs in the hearth before a rush of green erupted from within. Harry rose from the chair and folded his hands in front of him, letting them lay at his center.

Teddy Lupin's hair was as blue as a robin's egg, and his ears on either side carried a twisted pair of black metal earrings. He wore a Dragon Hide jacket, that Harry knew once belonged to Fred Weasley, and from the outer pocket hung a golden pocket watch given to him from Harry on his seventeenth birthday. His wide eyes focused on Harry and he raised his hand in a salute to Harry, before he embraced his Godfather.

"Ted, good to see you." Harry patted him on the smooth jacket his Godson was wearing. Harry inhaled, he smelled of Butter Beer, a sure sign that he had been holed up in the The Three Broomsticks for most of the day.

"Wotcher, H Jay." Teddy said, breaking away from Harry after a few seconds.

Harry sighed heavily and smiled, Teddy reminded Harry so much of Tonks and Remus, the nose especially. It looked wolfish, that was surely of Remus' genes. The hair, now the hair was all Tonks. "Alright, Ted?"

"Right as a Wrackspurt." he said, a wry smile playing across his handsomely chiseled face.

Harry smiled, walking around the drawing room. "Been keeping busy at the Three Broomsticks, I assume?"

"Rosmerta won't let me escape, but nah. Not really. Fancies me a bit, she does. Bless her."

"Here we all were, thinking you'd go after younger women, what with Victoire and all."

"In my experience, love is like a well aged wine, it grows better with time."

"Well, you know your Mum had a thing for older men."

"See, I'm like me mum, save the wanting men thing. That's totally not my style."

"Didn't think it would be."

"Big changes round here, I hear, what has happened Harry?"

Harry's wand bounced side to side in his robes as he walked, and he sighed as he removed it, shutting the drawing room door. "Things have been really excellent here, Ted. It's amazing really."

"Are divorces really that great?"

"No no, not at all. I'm sorry. I mean, Luna, myself, Ginny & Draco are all getting along very well. The children seem so much happier now, and it's down to Ginny & I no longer fighting."

"See, told ya." Teddy said, putting his feet on a footstool and helping himself to a cup of wine that had been chilling on the table next to him. Teddy sipped at the wine gracefully, his fingers curling around the stem of the glass. "ya get rid of what's eatin' you, and your kids'll feel it too."

"Yeah, we do feel like a weights been lifted from us."

"So Luna and Gin are getting along then eh? That's excellent news Harry, but that Draco Malfoy? She still with him, eh?" he placed the glass down and rearranged himself on the chair, both his legs tucked under him now.

"Well, I mean he has improved since the war. He is nicer now."

"Yeah, mate, but what can she see in him? From what I've heard, keep it under yer' hat now, I've heard that Draco is as whimsy and childish as he ever was. That'll eventually rub off on the kids, Harry. You don't want your kids bein' wishy washy, now do ye?"

"No, Ted, I don't…I just want them to be happy. And I think in this environment, they will be. They've got all of us here and we love them deeply. Plus, hopefully with you back in town now, we'll have you around every other night like usual. I so missed your company."

"Yeah…you can try and talk to Ron if ya want, but it's rare you'll find conversation as good as mine."

"Nor should I find a source of modesty so shallow as yours."

"Gryffindors are the modest ones Harry, you confuse yourself with me."

"Right. So how was Saint Thomas?" Harry asked, taking a blueberry muffin off the table that also held the wine.

"It was alright. The girl, she was a bit too traditional for me. It wasn't so bad, since I didn't have to pay for a lick of the trip, but the company was a little boring after a while. She kept wanting me to tell her if I could metamorph places of my body other than my face. You'd think that females got the impression that all we ever think about is sex. Toshpot."

"That boring eh?"

"It wasn't even really that, not so much anyway, if only she had a sense of adventure. Now if she wanted to shag on the life boat, or on the beach, I would likely have been more inclined to drop me robes around her. Nah, Harry. She was just like the other girls, head in the clouds and no sense of excitement."

"Ted, you'll find a girl one day, I'd wager."

"I keep telling myself, look mate, Draco Malfoy can get Ginny Weasley, I know I can get someone."

Harry laughed, and took a bite from the muffin.

"So, Harry, speaking of Draco, I saw him flooining out of here like his robes were covered in shit. What's happenin' with him?"

Harry shrugged. "Beats me, I just know he's been running about lately trying to figure out the custody issue with Scorpius, apparently Astoria is making it difficult."
Teddy grimaced. "They should sort out their problems, nothing a little bit of fire whisky couldn't fix…you know the Malfoys…"

Harry looked at Teddy curiously. "Why do you care so much?"

Teddy shrugged off Harry's question in a cavalier way, not answering anything resolute. "It's a nice day, I think problems can be solved if one only opens his mind."

"If you say so."

"So how's Lily? And the boys? Better yet!" Teddy said, clapping his hands. "How's that engaging little house elf?"

"Oh they're all…quite well. Least, I think so."

"Oh?"

"You'll never believe what I saw today."

"Luna doing her dirty laundry?"

"No, no that was last night. I was playing the dirty shirt, she was the washing tub."

"Ooohoo oohhhkay. Harry, let's stop there mate, much as I love you, I don't want to picture you hanging out to dry. Now, Luna on the other hand, I'd quite like to ring her out."

Harry pointed his wand dangerously at Teddy. "Teddy, I couldn't help noticing a spot on your nose, looks like the perfect target for an intestine-intertwining hex."

Teddy rubbed his nose. "As I was saying, what did you see today?"

Harry smiled, and lowered his wand. "Have you ever heard of…oh never mind. I'd never get it right. Well, Knoby and Albus today, they were dancing to some Muggle hip hop artist."

"Freak dancing? Yeah, that's a little outdated. But it's probably good they're just doing that and not something more exotic."

"Like what?" Harry finished his muffin.

"Like snorting pixie powder off a goblins' toenail. Wizards in America are getting into some really strange habits."

Harry was inwardly thankful that his kids were well behaved little angels…as compared to the goblin…habits. "I'm so glad we live over here."

"So when are you and Luna tying the knot?"

The question caught Harry by surprise so completely that he answered truthfully, though he had no idea he was going to. "Soon, I hope…er…but I have no idea when that will be. December, maybe? In the mountains, the snow caps would be beautiful against Luna's hair."

"Sounds like you've given this a bit more thought than you're letting on old boy."

Harry smiled. "Come on, Luna will be home soon. I'm sure the kids are dying to see you."

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AN: Reviews loved. Maybe having a beta reader is not something I'm willing to commit to. Seems to take too long to get a reply, all the same, enjoy!

Love, TowerMage