Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: So thanks to my dear readers for the wonderful support during the last few chapters. Thanks especially to those who gave some time to send me their wonderful reviews. So far, so good. :)

Chapter 7: Lullaby

A loud wail woke me up in the middle of the night. The sun wasn't even out yet and everyone was still asleep. I immediately went to the kitchen to prepare milk while carrying a crying Teddy in my arms. When I finally put him to sleep and went back to bed, memories from yesterday replayed themselves in my mind. . .again.

After our little 'dinner', I went to the Ministry to give a letter to Kingsley, asking for permission if we could be allowed to put muggle devices and electricity in Grimmauld. Too tired to do anything else, I played with my little Godson and went to bed. But now, I wondered on how I should spend this day and the next days to come, especially now that she would be spending it with us.

I was happy, excited even, to begin the day and spend time with both of them. Yet, I am worried about what Ron would say if he found out that Hermione was spending her vacation here, with me.

Ron. What would happen if he found out that Hermione was staying at Grimmauld? Would he feel angry at us for keeping it from him? Or would he feel like I was betraying him? One of them was the woman you love, Potter! Of course you already know what you would do.

The woman you love and your best friend. Both were different, yet both were the same. . .you love them. Would I be able to pick between the two? It would be excruciatingly painful to bear. I didn't want to see a friendship destroyed over these matters when all I wanted was for the two of them to be happy, even when it would cause me my own. I shook the thoughts away and closed my eyes. I guess I would just have to ask Hermione then.

By the time that I snapped out of yet another reign of thoughts, Teddy was already awake. His wide brown eyes kept looking at me and bubbles were formed on his tiny lips. I stared at him and smiled as he squealed in delight when he saw me, his hair color changing from mousy brown to light blue. It made me a happy Godfather who laughed with mirth as I tried to wipe his face and take him in my arms, not noticing that a bushy-haired woman was already standing near the freshly opened door of the room.

"Hello little guy, you're finally awake again, huh? You gave Uncle Harry a hard time trying to figure out what you wanted. Sorry for not knowing how to best take care of you. I guess I am not good with babies, am I?" I let my nose touch his and smiled at the sight of the squealing baby. I felt responsible and overly protective towards the little guy. He was a part of my family. I felt that taking care of him would be the greatest thing I could accomplish right now. Whenever I see his delighted face, my worries and problems would melt away.

A feminine laugh, so gentle and sincere, suddenly echoed inside the room. I stopped and tilted my head towards the direction of the familiar voice, smiling at the sight of Hermione Granger standing near my doorway, a smile dominating from her features.

"You look great with a baby Harry, it looks so. . .natural."

She headed towards our location and picked up the baby from my arms. She rocked him back and forth as I watched with amusement, both of us laughing at the sight of the little guy squealing in delight.

"I swear, one of these days, you are going to give me a heart attack!" She stuck her tongue at me and cooed at Teddy who enthusiastically talked back to his Aunt Hermione.

"Teddy, meet your Aunt Hermione; your Godfather is very lucky to have her as his best friend, she saved me loads of time." AndI'm grateful because she was the woman that I chose to love.

"Oh Teddy, your dear Godfather is just being modest. It was him who was ready to sacrifice his life to defeat a madman. Honestly Harry, if the baby could understand us, he'll think we're mental."

"Well, I am being honest." Both of us looked at each other and laughed. It was such a natural thing we could do, now that Voldemort was gone. Even Teddy joined our little fun, gurgling and laughing as both of us turned our attention to him.

Suddenly, a bad smell, strong and ghastly, entered my nostrils. I sniffed, trying to locate the source of the smell and touched Hermione's shoulders.

"Hold on, something smells funny."

Hermione looked at me as a glint of amusement played on her lips. A smiling Teddy making another set of bubbles with his mouth attracted my attention. My face crumpled when I finally saw where the smell was coming from.

"Well, it looks like little Teddy needs to change his nappies. Why don't you give it to him Uncle Harry?" A crooked smile played on her lips as a twinkle suddenly erupted from her chocolate eyes. I looked at her, dismayed. Teddy really picked up a good time to do this.

"Brilliant. Help me then."

I was greeted by a laugh, making me more confused with the situation. I really didn't know how I would do it, even if I already know the basics. I never had any experience on giving a baby a diaper change. Seeing the look on my face, Hermione uttered a sigh.

"What's wrong Harry? You have defeated a dragon and have slain the darkest wizard of all time. Don't tell me you are afraid to handle diapers. You should learn how to do it, think about how you will handle the future baby Potters."

I couldn't really imagine thinking about that right now. I could think of this as a good learning experience. . .but then, my mind was still thinking of ways how I could handle it. . .correctly.

"Er – can't I just use magic to make the thing vanish? Surely I will be able to cast a good enough spell to make it disappear? Scourgify, perhaps?"

"You are being ridiculous Mr. Potter! You won't learn anything if you keep on using spells to do your dirty work."

I give up then.

"Alright, alright, just tell me if I am doing it right. I don't want the house stained and for Teddy to suffer at my inexperienced hands."

I looked at Teddy who gave me a response by changing his hair color back to mousy brown. "Well little guy, It is time for you to change your diaper but please don't make your poor Godfather suffer." I tickled his sides and was rewarded by a giggle, which prompted a smile to erupt from my lips.

"Can you hold him for a while? I'll go get his things." I kissed his cheek and when I was fairly satisfied that he was comfortable, I quietly went outside the room.

I left his baby bag at the couch yesterday because after the sudden events that took place, I became too engulfed with them that I forgot to bring it up in my room. When I picked up the whole bag and went for the stairs, a gentle voice, an innocent voice, made me stop as it soothed my quivers and relaxed my soul.

". . .baby close your eyes
And rest your weary mind
Let me hold you close, I'll sing you this lullaby

Let your worries go
You'll fall asleep
Think of nothing more
Memories will keep

Your dreams will turn to gold
And you will wake and find
Then you'll hold a smile all day from this lullaby"

It was like a sound of a mother singing to her child, so gentle and sweet. It sent an involuntary smile on my face and gave peace to my heart. I opened the door as quietly as I could, I didn't want that gentle voice to stop singing.

What captivated me more was when I saw Hermione cradling the baby, a smile was on her face as she sang. Of course, who else would it be?

I watched her and tried to find a comfortable position where I would enjoy silently looking at them, marveling at the scene before me.

For a moment, I imagined myself as a dad, looking at my wife. . .no, Hermione as she held our child. I would've given everything I had just for that scene to come true. I closed my eyes, immersing at the song. . .at the moment. When she finished singing, I opened my eyes just in time to see her looking at me. She walked towards my location, handling the sleeping Teddy to me. My mind was flooded by emotions as I tried to get Teddy settled in my arms.

"Sorry, I just thought that singing a lullaby would calm him because he started crying as soon as you went outside. I didn't realize that he has gotten sleepy."

I nodded my head as she carefully fixed the blanket that was on the bed. Then we started changing Teddy's nappies. . .or, she did. She gave me instructions as I tried to take in and learn from the experience. She was amazing at handling the baby, like she was meant for this. She did the task carefully and gently, not even eliciting a sound of disapproval from the sleeping infant. When she was done, she lifted him and settled him in her arms as she hummed another lullaby.

"You'll make a good mum someday," I blurted out.

She smiled at me, glint spreading in those brown orbs. "Really?"

I nodded as we stared at the little guy who stirred uncomfortably because of our noise. She held him tightly and tried to lull him back to sleep as we both looked at him, at the little baby, with such care and love that melted my heart.

"He looks so calm, Harry. I want him to grow up in a peaceful place, full of love, without any fear for the future.

I smiled at the thought. "Of course he will, we will make sure of it."

The three of us spent the day going to both wizarding and muggle places to shop for things that Hermione would put in her room. We shopped tirelessly for some furniture like book racks, a new sofa for the living room, and as Hermione insisted, some clocks. I bought a muggle camera and a photo album, after she persuaded me that we could magically make them move.

People stared at us while we walk and some even talked to us. I was thankful enough that no bloody person was following us, I guess it helped that they were busy with the upcoming events, what with the Death Eater trials and Kingsley's request that professional interviews should be done with his consent and our approval.

We talked about many things while shopping. Hermione mostly told me about the Weasleys, how they were doing after I left and her visit on Fleur and Bill's Shell Cottage. I have seen them a few times when I was still at the Burrow, but I didn't get the chance to visit their place after settling in Grimmauld.

It was especially because the place was still a constant reminder that Dobby was dead that I didn't want to visit it for now. Frankly, I didn't think I would be able to stand it, knowing that Shell Cottage was where he took his final breath.

I told her news about the upcoming trial of the alleged Death Eaters, of how the Malfoys achieved freedom because of Narcissa's insistence that they were forced to do his bidding and that she. . .lied for me.

We even talked about how I would tell Ron that Hermione was with me, without triggering any awkwardness or sadness. We basically agreed that we would send him a letter that contained a note about Hermione's decision to stay with me and help me with Teddy. Sadly, Hermione also included that she would want some space away from him, so I guess I won't be seeing him for a while.

When we got home, I helped Hermione decorate her room and made dinner so that she could spend her time with Teddy. When I finished, I went back inside the room to see a familiar scene that never failed to warm my heart.

Hermione was holding a baby Teddy, a smile etched on her face as she cooed at the laughing infant. I immediately left and went to get the camera I just bought. With a click, I captured the moment that was and would always be special to me in many ways.

The flashed startled her but it was quickly replaced with a smile when she saw what I was doing. "Here, you hold him while I capture a picture of the two of you."

I immediately nodded and asked if we could take a picture which included the three of us. She magically suspended the camera in the air and took many photos. We laughed a lot at our ridiculous poses and smiled at the pictures taken. These moments that were not captured by the camera were what made it special, simple pleasures that mean a lot to the people who hold the memory.

After a while, Hermione started humming to my very sleepy Godson who fussed at us. I kissed his forehead before I started fixing his cot.

"We should put him to sleep, otherwise we will not be able to eat dinner. Here, Uncle Harry, your Godson is waiting for you." Hermione handed Teddy to me again and took the camera away. The baby yawned and looked at me.

"Hello little one, time to go to bed." I tried to rock him as gently as I could and while I was trying to make him fall asleep, Hermione sang the lullaby again. I smiled as I saw the little guy succumb into a deep, peaceful sleep. When he was finally in a deep sleep, I put him back in his makeshift cot.

"I never knew you were good at singing." She stared at me and lowered her head; a blush crept to her cheeks as I laughed at her reaction.

"I never had the liberty of letting the two of you listen to my voice while we were at Hogwarts. We were, after all, in a war at that time. I don't really sing you know? I just thought Teddy would like a lullaby."

"Well, you can be a great singer. . . really."

"Honestly Harry, everyone can sing. It would be a great pleasure of mine to hear your voice too."

"I have a frog's voice, I can only croak. But I will make an exception one day, Ms. Granger. Don't throw tomatoes on me though, I wouldn't appreciate it." We looked at each other and laughed at the joke before we started observing the sleeping child with adoring eyes.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you already decided what to do? I heard from Ron that you have already accepted the Auror Training Program that Kingsley offered."

"I did. Kingsley told me that I would be going back to Hogwarts to train advanced magic in different fields, seeing that people who teach in Hogwarts were both veterans of war and former members of the Order. I won't be attending classes, mind you, and I guess I would be spending a whole lot in the library for a bit of light reading."

I winked at her and she looked at me with shining eyes. "Well, at least you're still inside the walls of Hogwarts and I can still see you there. Don't worry, I will help you with the books. Ron is not attending Auror training until the shop is settled. When will you go to Hogwarts?"

"Kingsley said he will send me a letter regarding the final date but it will be around the first week of August. School term starts on September. What about you? What are you planning to do after graduating from school?"

"I plan to work at the Ministry. I don't know what I would want to do yet, but I would want to be a voice to anyone who would need it. Funny though, because I told you guys that I wouldn't meddle with affairs involving the law."

I remembered her genuine care for the elves and for other beings when we were still at Hogwarts and how she valued justice. She wanted to fight for the rights of people and I know that her never ending determination would capture the people's hearts. With a smile, I tried to assure her that everything would be fine. "You'll do a fine job there, seeing how determined you are on your work once you set your mind to something. We'll make a great team in that Department."

"Thank you Harry, it means a lot. You too, I know you will become a great Auror."

I stared at her, happiness radiating from my eyes. "Thanks Hermione, it means a lot too er– coming from you."

In her eyes, I saw comfort, enthusiasm, care, silent understanding and love, even when there was still a particular flicker of fear that was present. She did not judge me and understood what I had to do. How could you look straight into those eyes and not love them? Those eyes that promised so much, eyes that saw the depth of my soul.

I suddenly stood up and cleared my throat, feeling embarrassed while I heard my thoughts ring in my ears. "We should head downstairs, the food is ready."