2.

Teddy had calmed down as his aunt moved towards Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Now, he was smiling excitedly and reaching for the door handle, which was far enough away for him not to grab it. Asteria kept telling him it wasn't open, but it never seemed to be comprehended by the infant in her arms. All he wanted to do was go inside and play. Which wouldn't be so bad if the shop was, you know, open. When she stopped in front of the door, Teddy reached again, banging his little hands against the glass window panel. Asteria scolded him, telling the child that he couldn't go around and hit things because he was excited. She knew he couldn't understand her, but it wouldn't stop her from teaching him better. She then knocked on the door, politely, and waited for someone to open the door.

They waited there for a few minutes, but no one answered. Just like she had assumed. Teddy looked sad, staring up at his aunt with big eyes. She rubbed his back gently, turning to walk back when suddenly the door swung open. Teddy giggled, smiling a no-tooth smile.

"Weezy!"

It took a moment for Asteria to realize that the man at the door was, in fact, George Weasley. There in the doorway stood a man with disheveled red hair, five o'clock shadow and bags under his eyes so dark that one could believe he was wearing makeup. He was leaner, from what she assumed was lack of eating, and it looked like he hadn't slept in days. No, weeks –scratch that, months. He seemed to be ill and detached from the rest of the world.

George sat in his office, going through bills that he had yet to pay. He ran a hand through his messy hair, sighing heavily before taking a deep breath and laying his head on the table. His breathing soon became even, his eyes closing as he began to drift into a dreamless sleep. Sleep had eluded him for months now and it was nice to close his eyes without seeing his brother behind his eyelids.

But his eyes snapped open as a loud rapping came to the door of the shop. Calming the racing of his heart, George stood and slowly made his way towards the stairs. Another knock came from the door, softer this time, as he leaned against the railing for support. George didn't bother making himself presentable. It wasn't going to help him anyway; it was probably Rita Skeeter, coming back for him. Crazy bat already knew he wasn't going to open to her, but she persisted.

He could hear muffled voices from the door as he approached it; it sounded like a mother scolding a child. The voice soon faded away though and George opened the door to see a dark haired woman about to walk away from his door. The child in her arms had the same bright red hair as him, the same freckles and pale complexion. George's heart stopped, his eyes widened. Thousands of ideas flew through his head at once, all leading to the same conclusion: this woman was bringing his child.

"Weezy!" the child cried, smiling brightly at the older man. George stared at the child then at the mother.

She stared back, eyes wide as she looked him over. George suddenly felt self-conscious as the pretty woman examined him. Who is she? She's bloody familiar, he asked himself, returning her gaze.

Then it hit him.

"Miss Tonks?"

"Mr. Weasley?"

"Weezy!"

George sighed in relief, falling against the wall, "Bloody hell…I thought…the hair…"

"This is Teddy, Mr. Weasley! Bloody hell, who do you take me for?"

He stared at her, recalling her from all the funerals they attended. Fred's, Tonks's, and Remus's…George took a deep breath again, looking down and flushing red. Asteria bit her lip, looking down at Teddy when he looked up at her again. She seemed in a natural state, taking care of the baby as if he were her own.

"Can I…uh, help you?" he asked her, staring at her as she bounced Teddy on her hip.

Asteria looked down for a moment, obviously thinking of a way to explain her motives of coming to see him. No one had come to visit George in quite some time, not even his own family. Mum came in every once in a while, but it was too much for both of them and she ended up leaving from the pain. Potter stopped by once, but he left the second George punched him in the face for killing his brother. I apologized…a few months later…The point was, though, that George Weasley had been locked in his house for a year and refused to do anything else.

"Well…Teddy, he kept pointing…at your shop. Then he started-,"

"Weezy!" Teddy cried again, holding his arms out to George. Asteria looked down a bit, biting her lip.

"Started saying that. And he started bawling because…because I have no idea. But he was so upset that I thought that maybe bringing him here would appease him…"

George nodded, looking down at Teddy who was still reaching out to him. He hesitated for a moment but soon motioned towards the child, asking silently to hold him. Asteria nodded and handed the child over to George, smiling softly as Teddy cuddled into George's shoulder. The older man was surprised for a moment, but recalled what had happened when Asteria ran off during her sister's funeral.

...

Teddy was crying hysterically into George's shirt, clutching his tie tightly. George merely held him, rocking him instinctively as he waited for the girl from the front to return for her nephew. After a few minutes, Teddy calmed down into a fit of hiccups and George pulled him away and looked down at him curiously.

"Hey there, Teddy…" he said softly, poking the baby's belly softly with his index finger. "I'm George Weasley…I guess, according to Ginny and Harry, I can be your uncle. Since Harry's your god-father."

Teddy stared up at him with wide eyes, his hair still the same color as his with the same complexion and freckles.

"Weezy?"

He smiled faintly –very faintly –and nodded, "Yup, Weasley."

Teddy calmed down more, laying his now brown haired head on George's chest, falling asleep.

...

"He's grown up, hasn't he?" George asked as Teddy nuzzled into his shoulder.

The ginger man couldn't help but smile softly at the infant in his arms. Asteria was smiling too, unable to control herself.

"He has, but he still cries every night for Dora," she replied quietly, watching the two.

George glanced over at the woman he used to attend school with. She was pretty when she wasn't crying but he could see the bags under her eyes, carefully concealed with makeup. The rims of her eyes were red, telling him that she really was still broken over her sister. It wasn't much of a surprise, though. He still cried over Fred, which was something that he rarely wanted to admit. It made him feel weak for it, but seeing that there was a pretty girl who was trying to hide the darkening bags under her eyes from the world made him feel slightly better.

For moment, neither of them spoke. Asteria was too caught up in watching George bounce Teddy in his arms. George was busy examining over the once-prefect with curious eyes. Both, though, could see Teddy curled up closer to George as they sat in silence. Asteria didn't seem to want to take the child from George, but she figured they needed to head home. George didn't want them to leave, though. They had been the first people to come visit him in over a year that didn't want to interview him about his loss and how it affected him. Teddy then yawned and they two adults caught each other's eyes with a small, vague smile.

"I should take him home…"

George smiled –genuinely smiled –at her, shaking his head. "I'll walk you over, since its getting dark, Miss Tonks."

"Please, call me Asteria," she said softly, looking up at him.

Nodding, he opened the shop door for her, "As long as I'm George."

For a moment, George wondered if it was a good choice to just walk out of the shop with some girl. Just go, you prat. It'll be good for you, something in his mind told him. He let out a small chuckle, causing Asteria to look up at him curiously. They shared a look before they headed for the shop across the road from his. Teddy was out cold in George's arms as Asteria unlocked the door of her bakery, switching the lights back on. George looked around, impressed. He'd only been in Asteria's shop once or twice before the war, and that was to grab a quick sweet for his sister, Ginny. Other than that, he and his brother had never thought much of her obviously successful store.

Asteria called softly for him to follow and he quickly moved to follow her up the stairs. Her apartment was homey and comfortable, to say the least. The walls were a bare for him, lacking pictures and other things that most homes had. It was tidy, though. It was much cleaner than his flat, which was covered with scattered articles of clothing and random, unused ideas from the shop that he'd never use. There were blankets and toys in the middle of the living room, but other than that, everything was where it was obviously supposed to be. It was nice.

She opened the door to Teddy's room, pressing a finger to her lips and letting him inside. George smiled at the décor of the room; it was very Tonks, in his opinion. On the floor were train tracks and blocks, and the walls were painted different colors with magic, which made the colors change every so often. The kid had a stuffed wolf in his bed and George felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He hadn't thought of Remus Lupin or Tonks in quite some time and it was hard dealing with the pain all of a sudden.

Taking a deep breath, he set the sleeping child in his bed. Immediately, Teddy took a hold of the plush, cuddling up close to it with a small smile on his face. George turned to Asteria, who was covering her mouth and fighting off tears. His eyes widened slightly, unsure of what to do.

"You should…uh…go, George. Th-thank you, for walking him over," she murmured out, ushering him towards the door.

Before he could protest, she had pushed him out of her home, shutting the door. George stood there for a moment, hearing a thud against the door and the sudden sound of uncontrollable sobs coming from behind the door. He stared at the door, frowning deeply.

"I'm sorry, Asteria…," he said quietly, looking down and turning, heading back down and into Diagon Alley.