Chapter 6 – At the Potters'
"Teddy!" Harry exclaimed, as he opened the door to his nineteen-year-old godson. "I was wondering when we were going to see you again," he said with a smile, opening the door wide for Teddy to enter the Potter house.
"Teddy!?" bellowed a curious voice from somewhere within the house. At once, three eager young faces were peering up at Teddy from behind their father's back, before he'd even taken a step inside.
"Teddy, Teddy, Teddy!" Lily Potter squealed with delight, bouncing up and down like an excited rabbit. "Mummy and Daddy are taking me to Diagon Alley today to buy me my very own owl!" she told him excitedly.
"Actually," James interrupted, "We're going so I can get a new cauldron. Mine broke," he told Teddy with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Actually," Harry announced authoritatively, "We're going so that Albus can get all of his gear for Hogwarts." He ruffled his youngest son's hair proudly, whilst Lily looked sulky. "You're more than welcome to come with us if you want".
Teddy shifted from foot to foot nervously. "Sure, Harry, but I was kinda hoping that I could have a quick word with you... privately," he added, leaning in and muttering so that only Harry could hear. Meanwhile the three Potter children struck up an argument about which shop they would go to first.
Harry understood and gave him a wise nod. "Absolutely. Right, you lot," he said, turning toward his arguing children. "Go get ready and find your mother, and for goodness sake, stop this arguing or we won't go to Diagon Alley at all!"
At once, Lily and Albus ran off in a hurry. James, however, was slightly hesitant and wanted to hang around with Teddy, but after a stern look from his father, he too hurried off into the house. Harry shut the door as Teddy walked inside and they went into the lounge.
Harry closed the door carefully. "Right, Teddy – what's up? You don't look completely focused," he said, folding his arms.
Teddy sunk down onto one of the sofas, burying his head in his hands for a brief moment. "It's... It's Victoire," he sighed. Harry choked on his tea that had appeared from nowhere. He didn't say anything though, waiting for Teddy to get to his point, although he had a feeling he knew what was coming.
"Harry," Teddy said abruptly. "Do you think I would be a good boyfriend?"
Harry smiled, coming to sit down next to Teddy. "Teddy, honestly, I'm flattered... but you know, Ginny needs me too much, and you're not really my type," he teased.
Teddy looked up at him, confused. Harry laughed at his baffled expression. "Okay, Teddy, I'm sorry, I'm done with the joking now. Truthfully, I think you'd be perfect for a certain young girl. You've just got to be brave enough to make a move and turn on the charm," he assured him.
Teddy frowned uncomfortably. "What if... What if I'd already made a move? Quite a big move?"
"Wow, really?" Harry asked, surprised. "What are we talking about here? Did you tell her about your feelings? Did you kiss her?"
Teddy nodded, feeling embarrassed. "Yeah, she came round last night – she fell out with her parents. And we talked, and we kissed, and then..." He didn't know how to say the words to Harry, who was, after all, the fatherly figure in his life.
But Harry's eyes widened in realisation. "Teddy," he said cautiously. "You're not telling me that you and Victoire...?" An expression half of concern, and half of amusement, appeared on his face.
Teddy nodded in confirmation, confessing everything that had happened. After he was done, the two men sat back in a tense silence. Harry chuckled to himself, before slapping Teddy on the shoulder affectionately. "Oh, Teddy. It's not a problem, just be careful. And don't mess around with her," he warned. "You know, if Bill finds out he's gonna kill you."
Teddy laughed nervously. "I know, but I'm not messing with her," he promised. "I really like Victoire... a lot. I have for a while."
Harry laughed again. "Trust me, Teddy, I know. We all know."
Teddy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wait, what do you mean? Who knows!?"
"Ever since you two were toddlers, you were inseparable. Anybody who's seen you together could tell you'd fall in love."
"Well, thanks for the heads up!" Teddy said in a mock angry voice.
"We even placed bets. Which means I owe Ron some galleons..." Harry said miserably.
"What!?"
"I had my money on you two getting together when you were both still at Hogwarts," Harry explained with a smirk. "Ron disagreed – he said you'd wait till you were older, which means you let me down, and I am short of ten galleons!"
The two of them stood up as a clamour of feet and loud arguing voices approached from upstairs. As they walked towards the door back to the mayhem of reality, Teddy threw his arms around Harry as he would have done his real dad. Harry patted him on the back in a loving manner.
"Thanks, Harry," Teddy murmured.
"No problem," Harry responded, beaming down at his godson. He was proud Teddy and Victoire had finally begun the relationship that the whole family had predicted since they were tiny.
It was madness back in the hallway, with the addition of Ginny, bustling around looking for various things she may have forgotten to put in her bag. "Teddy!" she said fondly, spotting the handsome young man with startling blue hair. She kissed him on the cheek hurriedly, before rushing back into the kitchen for her wand.
"Teddy, watch this cool thing I learnt to do! I can turn Albus' hair blue like yours!" James exclaimed as the older boy chuckled. Albus looked horrified, and promptly ducked out of the way of James swinging his wand around, whilst Lily ran away shrieking.
"James!" Ginny snapped, grabbing his wand from his grip, as she appeared back in the hallway. "What did we tell you?" she demanded furiously, reminding Harry scarily of her mother. "You're not allowed to touch your wand until September. You don't want to get expelled, do you?"
James laughed, with a casual "whatever," and decided to go and kick Albus instead.
As the Potters herded their children into the car, Teddy smiled to himself, pleased to be included in the family as one of their own.
"To the Leaky Cauldron!" Lily yelled excitedly, whilst her two brothers whooped and climbed into the 7-seater car.
As Harry, Ginny, and Teddy made their way over to the car, Harry leaned in close to whisper in Ginny's ear. "You'll never guess what Teddy and Victoire have been up to," he said with a wink in Teddy's direction. Teddy's face went red with embarrassment as Harry waggled his eyebrows suggestively until Ginny understood. She gasped and stared at Teddy with a look of pure shock, which faded into an understanding 'they-are-teenagers-after-all' expression.
As they cruised along the road at a speed much higher than the Muggle limitation, the sun shone down through the windows, making Teddy feel like the happiest man alive. Maybe he was. After all, he thought, surely what he and Victoire shared was love, and who wouldn't feel like the happiest man alive when they were in love?