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Chapter Four

Harry stood admiring the motorbike. He'd never driven one before, on land or in the air. His last experience with it was too traumatic to relive, but since he didn't have a broom, it was either this or apparition.

He wanted to procrastinate as long as possible. The visit to Andromeda was going to be difficult at best, and he really wished that he weren't going alone. Of course he couldn't have asked Ginny to go with him, but he seriously considered dragging Hermione. Their months together had gotten him used to her presence, and she could always say the right thing in a situation where he was at a loss for words. However, he knew that Ron needed Hermione right now, and, after all, Teddy was HIS godson, so this was probably something he should pursue alone.

Harry tentatively raised a leg over the bike and sat down. He glanced at the various switches, buttons, and knobs and wondered what in hell he was thinking. "Oh well, here it goes," Harry muttered to himself, and pushed a green button that appeared to be the ignition. The bike sprung to life and raced out of the shed. Harry held on for dear life as it rose higher and higher into the air, smoke and dust sputtering out of the exhaust pipe. Finally, the bike seemed to reach a level altitude, and Harry had to regroup and figure out how to steer.

After a few minutes of soaring through the air, Harry realized he was actually enjoying himself. Mr. Weasley was right, he still preferred a broom, but this form of transportation would do in a pinch, and would come in handy if he had a lot of luggage to carry.

He started to descend near the Tonks' house. The only time he had ever been there was the last time he had ridden this motorbike—a night full of unhappy memories. The landing went surprisingly well, and he laughed in spite of himself at the realization that he was much better at this than Hagrid.

Trying to collect his thoughts and prepare himself for the coming conversation, Harry knocked on the door. Even though it was dark outside, it still early evening, and there was a light on in the front room, so he knew Andromeda was home. She answered the door with a tearstained face, and he immediately felt guilty for bothering her. "Harry!" she exclaimed, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Tonks, I…I wanted to talk to you about Teddy."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Now?"

"Well, I feel that this is as good a time as any. May I come in?" She obliged, and led him into the sitting room. There were baby things strewn all across the room, and there was food on the table that had obviously been left out for a couple of days.

"Sorry it's a mess. I haven't felt much like cleaning since…" she looked right into Harry's eyes. "Honestly if not for Teddy, I wouldn't have the energy to get out of bed."

Harry nodded sympathetically and sat down on the couch. "Mrs. Tonks, I'm sure you know that Remus and Tonks made me Teddy's godfather." She nodded in reply and gazed at him with a tired, but curious, expression. "Well, I didn't get to spend much time with my godfather, but he was a tremendous influence on me, and I really wish he'd been around when I was growing up. So I'd like to do that for Teddy. Be around, that is."

She didn't say anything for a long time, but instead just looked him straight in the eye, as if assessing him. Finally, she took a deep breath and spoke. "Teddy is the only family I have left. He is the only reminder I have of my husband and my daughter. I'm not inclined to share him with someone who may put him in harm's way." Harry felt shocked, and attempted to keep a straight face as she continued. "That being said, you have proven yourself to be extremely brave and caring. The way I understand it, you were willing to sacrifice yourself in order to save everyone else at the battle, so I cannot deny that you are a caring young man. And Remus trusted you and valued your opinion above virtually everyone else on this earth, so yes, I suppose you do deserve to be in Teddy's life. And it will be a great comfort to me to know that he has a strong role model." She smiled softly.

Harry reached out a hand and clasped her shoulder. "Thank you." He smiled. "May I see him?"

She nodded and pointed back towards what Harry guessed to be the bedrooms. He walked quickly towards the first door and noticed that a makeshift nursery had been constructed. He walked toward the crib and peered down for the first time at the sleeping baby, whose hands were clutched tightly in fists around his blankets. Harry reached down and smoothed the fluff of turquoise hair back with his hand. Teddy had no idea that his parents were dead, no idea that they had sacrificed themselves in much the same way that Harry's own parents had, in order to make the world a better place for their child. He would keep his promise to Lupin, and someday he would tell Teddy exactly why his parents died. He would make sure that Teddy understood.

Two hours later, Harry was standing outside Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. He'd been waiting around on the street for a while, willing himself to go in. This was a much more daunting task than facing Andromeda. It had been months since he'd been inside his godfather's old house, and had no idea what the state of it would be since the Death Eaters had gotten in. He nervously clutched his holly wand, his hand twitching as he tried to gather enough courage to go in alone.

"This is stupid," he muttered to himself, "I should have brought Kingsley or some Aurors with me." But the Gryffindor bravery finally won out, and he managed to walk up the steps and into the door.

It was oddly silent. The portrait of Sirius' mother hung awkwardly on the wall. Someone had managed to break the sticking charm and had evidently searched to see if there was anything hidden behind the portrait. Sirius' mother no longer occupied it, and Harry was glad of this because it meant there was no one to scream at him.

He muttered "Lumos" and walked down the hall. Finally, an idea occurred to him and he felt absolutely stupid for not thinking of it sooner. "Kreacher?" he asked, and immediately, the house elf popped out of nowhere and landed in the hallway in front of him.

"Ah, Master Harry has returned home! What must Kreacher do?"

Harry let out a sigh of relief. "Well Kreacher, we need to find out what damage was done, and try to make this place a home again."

"Yes, sir!" Kreacher snapped his fingers and a light turned on in the hall. "Kreacher shall get straight to work!"

By midnight, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place looked similar to the way Harry, Ron and Hermione had left it before leaving for the Ministry. The Death Eaters had searched every room of the house, leaving destruction in their wake, but it appeared that nothing was missing. Harry was actually slightly relieved that they had been able to remove the portraits that were stuck to the walls, except for the fact that many of the Gryffindor decorations that Sirius had in his room were now torn and scattered across the floor. To his great delight, however, the picture of the Marauders was still intact, and his father, Sirius, and Remus were smiling up at him from the floor next to the bed. Harry had a sudden urge to cut Pettigrew out of the picture, but he resisted, folded the photo, and placed it on top of the desk.

Kreacher was absolutely giddy that he had returned to his beloved home. He threw himself into returning it to the glory it had seen for those few weeks while Harry and his friends were seeking refuge. Harry felt certain that in a few days time, the house would be quite fit to live in once more.

Out of habit, Harry cast a few protective enchantments around the dwelling before traipsing up to bed. He hadn't properly slept since the battle, and once his head hit the pillow, he realized that he'd been running on pure adrenaline for days. His eyes drifted shut and he thought of Ginny, and the possibility that maybe, just maybe, they could make this London location their permanent home together.