Not too much to say for this chapter! Only a thanks to Ern Estine 13624 for the review. I really appreciate any feedback about my writing and love to know if people are enjoying it, so thanks! :)

Chapter Three

Old Friends

The first day of Malfoy's absence passed quickly. He had, as he said he would, waited until morning so he could say goodbye to Teddy. That morning Harry had collected Teddy from his room and taken him downstairs to the kitchen where Malfoy was already waiting, full dressed in a travelling cloak and with his trunk beside him.

He had bent down to Teddy's level as Harry had let the boy drop from his arms, his sharp, angular features softening slightly under the smile he had worn to talk to him. He hadn't, Harry gladly noted, used the words 'going away' to describe his absence to Teddy. Instead he had told him that now he was going to be living in England, he had to go back to France and pack up his house. Harry had watched on as Teddy nodded, leaving him once again taken aback by how much his godson seemed to know about Malfoy. Malfoy had offered Harry nothing more than a short nod and a curt "Potter" before pulling out a small, yet ornate silver orb which – as Malfoy spun, disappearing on the spot – Harry quickly determined to be a portkey. Harry had rolled his eyes to himself as Malfoy disappeared; portkeys were usually everyday objects like… boots or teaspoons – not fancy silver orbs. Trust Malfoy to demand the highest quality in everything.

The rest of that day passed as if it were being sped up by the opposite of a Status Spell. Harry fed and dressed Teddy, taking him out to muggle London to stock the empty cupboards with food. He took a small comfort in allowing Teddy to choose popular muggle treats; chocolate biscuits, bags of jelly bears, fizzy drinks – all the things Harry had seen as a child, but never been allowed to touch. Of course he wouldn't let Teddy have them all at once – but the treats seemed a small consolation for the pain he knew the young boy must be feeling. He was still aware that Teddy's favourite drink – pumpkin juice – was missing from his cupboards. Despite this, he didn't have to strength to go to Diagon Alley, or even Hogsmeade, and deal with the eyes of the wizarding world, sympathetic, offering empty words of sorry whilst using the apology to sneak a conversation with their hero, to shake the hand of the chosen one. When the time came for Harry to put Teddy to bed, he hadn't thought of Malfoy once.

Harry was halfway through a book about a young witch and her mischievous talking cat, hoping to soothe Teddy into a peaceful sleep with the happy tale, when he spoke, breaking his void of silence.

"When will Draco come home?" He asked, peering up at Harry from his pillow.

"I don't know." Harry answered in reply, for it was the truth. Until that moment, he hadn't thought of Malfoy; of what he was doing, where he was or how long he would be. Truth be told he had been, in fact, rather relieved with his absence, relishing in the way he no longer felt uneasy in his own home.

"Soon, I promise." Harry added, yet that part was a lie. Until that moment, he hadn't cared for Malfoy to return at all; however, as wide, innocent eyes bore up at him, speaking the first real words they had since learning of his grandmothers death, Harry found himself wishing – for Teddy – that Malfoy would return. Teddy said nothing in response, his eyes flickering back down to the book Harry held open against his lap. He picked up where he left off – halfway through a scene where the cat was singing in a bathtub – and allowed his thoughts to wander off as he read on. First, he couldn't deny the jealousy which bubbled within him as he thought of how much Malfoy must mean to Teddy. As he thought of this, his thoughts warped to how that meant Teddy must like Malfoy more than Harry, and how Harry wasn't good enough. Then his thoughts moved on to an irrational desire to prove he could best Malfoy in some way, to find a way in which he could cheer Teddy up which would not involve Malfoy's return. By the time the story was finished and Teddy was fast asleep in his arms Harry slipped away with the resolute – and absolutely ridiculous – notion that if he could get his hands on some pumpkin juice before the morning, he would be Teddy's favourite again.

Not particularly caring for the time, Harry left Teddy's room and moved upstairs to in search of parchment, quill, ink and Otus. The latter was Harry's dark brown spectacled owl; true to his breed, he had dark circles rimming his wide, amber eyes, giving the suggestion of a pair of glasses. It had taken Harry some time, and countless missed messages, to admit he needed a new owl. He didn't count the new owl as replacing Hedwig, for as soppy as it may make him seem, he knew she could never be replaced. He remembered the day he purchased Otus fondly; he had taken Teddy to Diagon Alley after telling him he needed his help to choose an owl. Teddy had instantly warmed to Otus, insisting Harry buy him without taking much more than a slight glance at the other owls on offer. When Harry had asked why Teddy didn't want to look at any of the other owls Teddy had simply replied;

"He looks like you, Uncle Harry. Look, he's got your glasses."

Harry smiled at the memory and, with Otus now following, headed downstairs to the his sitting room. His note was short, telling Hermione he had run out of pumpkin juice and asking if she could pick some up for Teddy. When Otus had flown proudly through Harry's open window he sat back, forgetting his thoughts as he watched the flames in his hearth flicker, warm and golden.

As the flames turned a sudden, bright emerald Harry jumped back in surprise. Before Harry had time to register that the change in colour meant an incoming Floo, Hermione had stepped out of the grate and was shaking soot from her clothes.

"Hermione?" He asked by way of greeting, knowing he was gaping a little in surprise.

"Oh, Harry!" The witch replied, instantly stepping forward and gathering him into a suffocating hug. Again, Harry was surprised. Such displays from Hermione only usually came in dangerous or upsetting circumstances; an impending task fighting a dragon in the Triwizard Tornument, or defeating the Darkest wizard of all time, for example.

Stepping back and eyeing him carefully, she began to explain herself. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like people barging in..." She trailed off, wearing an expression of a particularly pained puppy. She was right; Harry valued his privacy. The wards of his home only accepted Floo visits from Ron and Hermione and Floo calls from the wider Weasley family. Even his Auror partner had to owl him if he wanted to communicate; and that was a luxury in itself, as the wards Harry had placed around his home also stopped letters from everyone but a small selection of people. "But... We've been so worried Harry. Of course, we heard about Andromeda and I wrote but..." As she paused this time, Harry felt a heat of guilt crossing the back his neck. He knew the letter she was talking of; it came the day after Andromeda's death, the day before Harry went to the Ministry to collect Teddy and become his guardian. Harry had recognised her familiar, neat script but had declined to read the words they formed.

"Sorry, I er - I've been busy..." Harry excused pathetically, realising now how worried his friend must be after writing to him about Andromeda's death and only, three days later, receiving an owl about pumpkin juice in return.

"Of course, of course." Hermione replied with a wave of her hand, dismissing Harry's apology. "We expected as much, but still, we worried."

Harry warmed at his friends accepting, forgiving nature but his thoughts had returned to the reason for his letter in the first place. "Could you bring some pumpkin juice?"

Hermione slipped a hand in her pocket, pulling out a tiny bottle which she returned to size with an expert flick of her wand. A full bottle of pumpkin juice was now clenched in her palm. "How is he?" She asked softly, thankfully choosing not to comment on Harry's insane request. Harry didn't think he wanted to admit the reasoning behind it to anyone; as understanding as Hermione was, his response of 'I need to make Teddy happy so he likes Malfoy more than me' sounded crazy even to his own ears.

"Quiet, upset. He didn't even know, at first, I had to tell him..." Harry broke off, taking the pumpkin juice from her grasp to busy himself, to avoid feeling the welling of emotion as he recalled the heartbreaking conversation.

"Oh, Harry.. I can't imagine..." Hermione whispered, looking genuinely horrified as her now empty hand ghosted across a slightly rounded stomach. Harry glanced down, watching the path her movements took. He was surprised for a second to see the swell there, although it was only the blossoming evidence of a fact he already knew. It was the size of the bump that surprised him; the last time he had spoken to Hermione, she told him excitedly of her and Ron's news, before they had told either of their parents. As Harry now watched her caress the slight swell of her stomach, he realised with growing how long ago that conversation had been.

"Maybe you and Ron, if you're not busy that is, could come over for dinner tomorrow?" Harry asked in attempt to ease the guilt that was now gnawing away at him. "I mean, it would definitely be good for Teddy to have some familiar faces around." Familiar faces that aren't Draco Malfoy, Harry added, but only in his mind.

The smile he got in return was one of genuine happiness, as Hermione nodded happily. "Of course we can! I know Ron's worried too, I mean, he misses you. I know you work together, but with having different partners..." She trailed off and Harry nodded. He and Ron had trained as Auror's together, keeping a close knit friendship even as he broke things off with Ginny, even as he told his best friend he was gay. But they weren't partners - the department thought it best to 'spread their expertise' - and slowly, as his and Hermione's relationship moved forward, their contact had faded.

"Tomorrow, then. 6 o'clock." Harry said, forcing away the unpleasant thoughts. Hermione smiled and nodded once more, giving him a brief hug and a wave of farewell before she disappeared into the flames, calling out the address of the home she and Ron shared together.

Before Harry retired to bed that night, he stared for a long while at one of the photos on his sitting room wall. It was of himself, Ron and Hermione on their wedding day just over a year ago. Harry watched as the trio smiled and laughed for the camera and as Ron placed a kiss on his new wife's cheek. Harry knew, with an uncomfortable twist of his stomach, that this was when his contact with them both had begun to slip. Harry had slowly brought himself back, watching their happiness from a distance. Not resenting it, he promised himself, just watching it.

That night as he closed his eyes, Harry found himself willing his own tired thoughts to believe that he'd invited his friends for dinner to renew their fading friendship, not to provide Teddy with a distraction from Malfoy. Not to make sure Teddy could enjoy himself with Harry, without Malfoy around. Not to make sure that he became Teddy's favourite again.

But if Harry couldn't convince himself, then were his own excuses at all true?

Harry had once again found himself waking Teddy the next morning, as if the sadness which now weighed on the young boys heart also weight on his energy. Whenever Teddy slept over in the past he would be wake long before Harry, excitedly bouncing on the end of his bed, asking what they would do that day before he returned home to his grandmother.

Except now, he never would.

Harry pushed the sadness way, instead focusing all his efforts on cheering up the young wizard. He told him that Ron and Hermione, who Teddy had met before, were coming for dinner and asked if Teddy would like to help him bake a cake. In all honesty, Harry was terrible at baking, but he knew Teddy had enjoyed making cakes with his grandmother and was desperate to find something to bring a smile to his face once again.

Because, of course, the pumpkin juice hadn't worked; how could pumpkin juice replace a grandmother?

They set about their cake – a simple sponge, which Harry planned to let Teddy decorate in whichever way he liked – with Harry reading instructions from one of the many cookery and baking books he'd been given by Mrs Weasley when he first insisted on living alone (she'd made a great fuss of making sure he'd be eating properly, but as of yet the books had all lay untouched). Teddy followed Harry's every instruction, from carefully pouring eggs Harry had cracked into the flour to mixing the ingredients with a wooden spoon which was ridiculously oversized for Teddy's small grip, but was the only one Harry had been able to find. The cake soon went into the oven and Harry made lunch as it baked. When Harry's wand glowed with the familiar red light of the modified Tempus charm which served as a timer, he bent down to the oven to retrieve their cake.

Harry groaned inwardly as he pulled the attempt from the heat; it wasn't burnt, but it wasn't cooked properly, either. The outer edges were golden, suggesting the illusion of a perfect cake, yet the inside had sagged and sunk pitifully, leaving a shrunken, deflated lump on the tray.

Harry quickly murmured "Engorgio", using the charm to double the size of the cake so it looked a little more presentable. He plastered a smile onto his face as he presented the tray and a range of decorating tools to Teddy, but as he watched on he couldn't help feeling that the cake and his shoddy attempt to improve it was a perfect metaphor for his current feelings; pathetic and hopeless. All he wanted to do was to make Teddy smile again.

He threw himself into preparing dinner and giving Teddy a bath before Ron and Hermione arrived. When they did, Ron greeted him with a large slap on the back.

"Harry, mate, I know Hermione's said, but we're sorry." His best friends face was earnest as the apology left his lips and Harry gave a nod in appreciation of the gesture.

"Thanks, Ron." He replied, watching as Hermione bent to greet Teddy, speaking softly to him as they took a seat on the sofa in the sitting room. Harry took the opportunity to slip away into the kitchen until their meal was ready. When it was he called them through and they sat together, eating at the table. Harry watched on as Hermione made conversation with Teddy, naturally chatting to the young boy as if he was replying with enthusiasm to her every word. Teddy didn't appear as upset as he had done, but he was still quiet, still yet to smile. Ron joined in just as happily, chatting away to Teddy about dragons and broomsticks whenever his wife fell silent. As Harry cleared the plates, he watched as Ron leant over and placed a tender hand on his wife's stomach. The sight made his stomach twist painfully; that simple gesture, the love a mother and father had for their child, was something Teddy would never truly have. It was also, Harry knew, something he would never experience for himself. He would never have a wife, never tenderly cradle a pregnant stomach, never seen his own child born. As his gaze shifted to Teddy, who was glugging down his second glass of pumpkin juice, Harry admitted several things to himself. He knew Ron and Hermione's happiness was part of the reason his contact with them had slipped; although he was happy for them, their love made Harry feel like an outsider, like he was watching something he would never have. Secondly, he now knew, why Malfoy's presence bothered him so much; he wanted to be the most important person in Teddy's life now, he wanted to take the role that Hermione and Ron were soon to take, that Andromeda had little time to fulfil and Remus and Tonks even less so.

"Uncle Harry?" Teddy asked as he put down his empty glass.

"Yes?"

"Will Malfoy be back tomorrow?"

As the question spilled from Teddy's lips, Harry watched the way Hermione and Ron's jaws dropped open in surprise. Avoiding their questioning gazes, he turned to Teddy with a shrug.

"I don't know, Teddy, I told you. I'm sorry." He said, and he was. Sorry that he couldn't give him an answer, sorry that he couldn't cheer Teddy up, sorry that Malfoy once again appeared to best him in Teddy's affections.

Instead of responding to Harry's words, Teddy let out a long, drawn out yawn. Harry seized the opportunity, standing to stride across and lift him into his arms. "Bedtime for you, Ted." He announced, offering Ron and Hermione a small, brief smile that didn't reach his eyes before he swept from the room and upstairs to Teddy's room. He relished in the warmth in his arms and the way Teddy burrowed closer, finding comfort in his embrace. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, eyes softly closed as Harry tucked the covers of his bed around him. He watched the young boy sleep for a moment, knowing nothing but questions waited for him downstairs. With a sigh he carefully and quietly closed Teddy's bedroom door and crept back to the room in which he knew his friends would still be waiting.

Waiting they were, but they asked nothing. Instead they sat, staring at Harry, silently willing him for an explanation. Harry allowed the words to tumble from his lips, detailing everything from the moment he entered Carin's office to find Malfoy waiting, to the morning the blonde had returned to France to sort his affairs.

"Now Teddy won't stop asking about him.." Harry sighed as his speech came to a close, knowing his face betrayed the resentment he felt.

"That's only natural, Harry." Hermione said soothingly, reaching out across the table to place a hand over his. "He's already lost so much, it doesn't mean that he doesn't want you, just that he doesn't want to lose anyone else…"

Harry knew her words were true yet they did little to console him. Deep down he did know that Teddy would be the same if it was Harry who had left but it didn't stop the burning jealousy which consumed him when he thought of the influence Malfoy clearly had on Teddy's life.

"It's surprising, though, that Malfoy's willing to completely abandon his life to move over here for Teddy. I can understand that his mother wanted to build bridges again after the war, but I never thought… I mean, to drop your entire life and move, especially to a country where many of the wizards still disregard your name… He must have changed to do something like that… I mean, I know you supported him at the trials, and you were right, he's not evil… But this, this is more…" Hermione muttered on and Harry restrained himself from sighing aloud at her constant need to think aloud. He didn't want to hear about how big of a gesture Malfoy was making, or how he must have changed, or anything that shed any form of positive light on the git. He especially didn't want any acknowledgement of how Harry had been the first to tell the wizarding world Malfoy wasn't evil – his current overwhelmingly bitter mood as enough to almost make him wish he hadn't said a word and left him to rot.

Almost.

Thankfully, Ron was much more on his level.

"So the ferrets actually living here then?" He asked, receiving a sharp elbow in his ribs from Hermione for his comment.

"Yes." Harry sighed, raking his hands through his hair. "I had to offer, at least until he gets his money through from selling his properties in France and can find somewhere over here. The sooner the better, I say."

Ron nodded and Harry was glad to have his agreement.

"Guardianship is a serious thing though Harry. You'll both be responsible for Teddy, everything that happens in his life…" Hermione spoke up again and Harry had to resist the temptation to growl in annoyance. She certainly had a talent for making Harry face truths he didn't want to. He would, as long as he loved and cared for Teddy, have Malfoy in his life.

He faked a yawn, over exaggerating the gesture. It was, actually, quite late and although he wasn't tired he sought solace in his own company. Put more bluntly, he wanted to wallow in his own self-pity.

"We should go." Hermione said, standing as soon as she saw Harry's yawn. "Make sure you look after yourself, Harry. You know where we are if you need us, please don't forget that…" The look she gave him as she spoke made Harry's hard mood soften, guilt once again rising within him for turning her away so easily.

"I know, thank you." He said, rising to his feet to accept the hug she offered. Followed them through to the sitting room where the fire roared and would allow them to Floo home. With another farewell hug Hermione disappeared into the flames but Ron hung back.

"Seriously, mate, I know you've got a lot on but… We do worry about you. Don't forget about us, ok? Especially now you've got Teddy and that git to deal with." Ron clapped Harry firmly on his back, the strength of the manly gesture clearly over exaggerated to balance out his emotional words. "Like Hermione said, we're always here. Make sure you remember that."

"I know, thank you." He replied, repeating the same words he had to Hermione. He watched his friend disappear into the flames and released a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. In the same instance, a large horned owl tapped sharply on the glass of the sitting room window. Harry hurried over to allow the bird in; he didn't recognise it, yet he knew not anyone could get back his homes wards. He took the parchment and uncurled it, reading the neat, looped script which covered the page.

Potter,

Everything is in order here and I shall be returning to England tomorrow. In the papers we signed at the Ministry, there was a clause that allowed contact between ourselves to be permitted as we are both Teddy's guardians, so I know this owl will get through your wards. However, I think my physical presence will have less success getting past them as it wasn't explicitly stated that we would be sharing a residence. I was, of course, allowed into your home in the first instance as I arrived with you and did not leave during that time. I will return at 12 noon tomorrow and I would appreciate it if you could allow the wards to accept my direct return.

Malfoy

Harry sneered openly at the note in his hands, only looking up as he felt a brush of wind as the large owl flew out of the window – apparently Malfoy wasn't expecting a reply. He closed the window behind the bird, and threw the note into the flames, watching as the parchment turned to ash. He knew, however, that he had little choice than to alter the wards for Malfoy's return. He lifted his wand and murmured the elaborate Latin which would expose the wards to his magic. As an old, pureblood property, the ancient Black house had many layers of wards which could take hours and significant magical drain to work through. However Harry only had to alter the layer of wards set most recently, the ones he set himself as the owner of the property. He opened the wards which controlled his post, recognising the new name added to the persons whom were permitted to pass letters through the wards.

Draco Malfoy

Obviously he should read magical contracts more thoroughly before he signed them in future, Harry thought to himself as he wrapped his magic around the name. It would have been pointless anyway, he conceded, as he would need to contact Malfoy if they were to both be Teddy's guardians – it was hardly a point he could have disputed. His magic was now securely connected to Malfoy's name and Harry concentrated his mind and his magic on allowing the wards which controlled direct access to Harry's home to connect to Malfoy's signature. When he felt the tingle of magic which told him the wards had altered, Harry opened his eyes and murmured the incantation which would close the wards once more.

On his way to bed he paused at Teddy's door, pushing it open to allow the slightest crack through which Harry could gaze at his sleeping godson.

"Tomorrow.." He whispered through the gap in the door, as if his answer to Teddy's earlier question would seep through into his dreams.