Chapter 16 – Neville's Advice

In the months following Bill and Fleur's arrival, Teddy did his best to stay as far away from Bill as possible. To his complete surprise, once Bill had recovered from the shock, he seemed simply thrilled with the news of Victoire's pregnancy. But as odd as Teddy found this, he wasn't taking any chances, and avoided Bill as much as he could.

Fleur had been the one that had come off worse since hearing the news. Teddy often saw her babbling extremely fast in French to either Victoire or herself. She was as nervous as Teddy had first been, constantly worrying about how Victoire and Teddy would raise the baby and how Victoire would cope with her studies. They had been staying in Hogsmeade with Neville's wife, Hannah, but were frequently seen around the castle.

Everything seemed to be going great though, and although he really shouldn't have, Teddy didn't think he'd ever felt happier in his life. He was in a place that he loved, surrounded by people that he loved, and expecting a baby that he would love, just as much as he loved the girl who was carrying it in her womb.

Teddy often found himself whistling absentmindedly as he strolled through the castle. He wasn't allowed in any classes, so he had to preoccupy himself during these times. On this particular occasion he'd decided he would take a stroll around the edge of the lake. On his way down, he nearly collided with Neville, who was travelling in the opposite direction.

"Professor Longbottom – I'm so sorry!" he apologised quickly.

Neville merely chuckled as he straightened his robes. "It's Neville, Teddy; I'm not your teacher any more. And I'd tell you to watch where you're going, but I understand that you've got a lot on your mind right now."

Teddy smiled gratefully. "Thanks prof – err, Neville."

"So how long is it now?" Neville asked conversationally, as the two of them walked down the corridor together.

"The nurse said it could be anything from a week to a month," Teddy gulped nervously.

Victoire had been looking huge recently, and often Teddy had placed his hands on her bump and felt the baby kicking. It had been very moving, but the same feeling that he wasn't ready to be a father had been hanging around him lately. He could be a father in a just a week's time.

Victoire was still attending all her lessons and trying to do as much school work as she possibly could. Teddy felt a huge amount of respect for her. All he did every day was wander around the castle.

"You must be nervous," Neville said sympathetically. Teddy couldn't respond. All he did was nod, but Neville seemed to understand. "Do you know the gender yet?" he asked, trying to coax some proper words from Teddy.

"The nurse knows but she won't tell us, and Victoire doesn't want to know but she thinks it's a girl," Teddy told him.

"And do you know what you're going to do yet?"

This was a question that he had asked himself so many times, yet he could still find no answer. Without really thinking, Teddy suddenly burst into tears. Victoire had been crying a lot for the past nine months and he had been the strong, unemotional rock that she could rely on to support and protect her. He didn't have time for tears.

But in that moment, with the baby possibly coming in a week and nobody but his old school professor around, Teddy couldn't contain them anymore.

Instinctively, Neville put a reassuring arm around Teddy's shoulders and patted him in a fatherly fashion.

"I – I d-don't know what to do!" Teddy sobbed, letting out nine months of emotion. "I'm too young – I have no clue what I'm doing!"

Neville didn't say anything. He just listened patiently as Teddy poured out his heart, and for this, Teddy was extremely grateful. He needed someone who could listen to him – not somebody who would constantly tell him that it was alright and that everything would be fine. Because it wasn't, and Neville seemed to understand this.

"I'm sorry," Teddy muttered after he was done, feeling suddenly embarrassed.

Neville only smiled in the same polite and friendly way that he always did. "Don't worry about it, Teddy – I think you needed that. Nobody really understands what you're going through here, but you have to realise that there are a lot of people around the world who are in the same boat as you. And I don't think any of them have as much love and support as you and Victoire do here."

Teddy hadn't thought about this. There must be plenty of young men his age who were expectant fathers and had no idea what they were doing. Thinking about this made him crave the company of his own father. But Neville was a perfect substitute right then.

"Have you ever had children?" Teddy asked curiously. He was certain that Neville didn't have any, but he seemed like the kind of man that would be good with children and would like them. So why didn't he? He was Harry's age, and he had three children, two of whom were already at Hogwarts.

"I've always wanted children," Neville said in a dreamy way, "but Hannah can't have them."

His eyes seemed to glaze over with sadness. Teddy felt a horrid, sick feeling in his gut. He hadn't considered this, and thinking about it made him feel extremely selfish. He hadn't even thought of the many people around the world who were unable to have children, and here he was, expecting one that he didn't particularly want. There were many more deserving fathers than he. And Neville was one of them.

"I'm so sorry," Teddy said quietly, feeling embarrassed. After all, he had just had a long rant about how unprepared and undeserving he was of his child, and how inconvenient the pregnancy was. "Can't anything be done magically?" He'd always assumed that magic could fix everything.

As if reading his thoughts, Neville said "Teddy, there are a lot of things that we can fix with magic, but you have to remember that we're humans as well. Sometimes there are things that magic just can't fix..."

Teddy felt a lot of sympathy for Neville, and a lot of respect.

"But we've come to accept it and we're happy the way we are, so it's not really a problem," Neville concluded.

Teddy's respect increased. If Neville could accept the fact that he would never have children, Teddy could accept the fact that he was having a child, whether he wanted to or not.

"Oh, Merlin!" Neville yelped suddenly, glancing down at his pocket watch. "I was supposed to be in a lesson ten minutes ago!" And with that, he ran full pelt along the corridor, heading in the direction of the greenhouses, leaving Teddy feeling very alone.

Teddy abandoned his idea of a stroll around the lake and instead rushed off to the hospital wing in search for the nurse. She rushed over quickly, as if expecting urgent news.

"What is it Teddy? Is Victoire alright?" she asked hurriedly.

"Oh yeah – she's fine. I was just wondering if I could talk to you."

The nurse looked taken aback. She glanced around the room to check all her patients were alright before saying, "Very well then, Teddy, what is it?"

"I was wondering if people with Veela genes had any, err, special magic qualities?" he said, choosing his words carefully.

She looked baffled. "Well, yes, I've no doubt you've noticed that they tend to be very attractive and desirable to men, more so than ordinary witches."

"No," Teddy said impatiently. "I mean, like healing powers or something." He felt stupid for bringing it up, but he was curious and wanted to know.

"Not that I'm aware of..." The nurse seemed to be inspecting him suspiciously, as if to see whether he was joking or not.

"It's just, I don't understand why or how, but when Victoire sings, she can heal cuts." He went red. Although he knew it was true, saying it out loud sounded like a load of nonsense.

But the nurse looked deep in thought. "How curious," she muttered. "I don't suppose anybody would have tested witches with Veela genes for things like that. Apparently nobody but yourself," she added with a chuckle.

Teddy just felt relieved that she didn't think he was talking rubbish. "Do you think it could lead to anything special?" he asked hopefully, imagining him and Victoire sprawled across the front page of the Daily Prophet for their discovery in medical advances.

"I think a lot of people will be eager to learn of this and learn exactly what her capabilities are, but I think she'll be rather busy for a while."

Teddy went to respond, but in that moment, none other than Victoire's younger brother, Louis, burst into the hospital wing at top speed. He slid to a halt in front of them, panting heavily.

"Miss – I got told to come immediately – Victoire – her water just broke!"