Twenty-Three

A/N: I'm so happy that this story has gained such a positive response. I honestly wasn't sure about it at first, but you guys are just the best. Thanks to everyone who has supported this story so far! I do hope you continue to enjoy it. – HF

Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing.

-:-

July 31, 2003 – 3:00 p.m.

Harry walks through the front door of his house, thoroughly happy to be home at last. His day at work had been frustrating with all the new rookies that had joined the Auror Department, freshly out of their seventh year of Hogwarts. He is still a little peeved about one specific incident that involved a rookie named Anthony, a package to be delivered to the Department of Mysteries for evaluation, a small explosion, and quite a lot of cleaning up. When he left, they were still trying to get the scorch marks off of the walls on the Fifth Floor.

He steps into the living room, intent on hunting down his wife, and maybe getting something to eat as well, but stops when he hears a childish giggle of glee. He turns just in time to be hit with a colorful blur.

"Oomph," he grunts as he hits the ground, his legs tangled with something a lot smaller than him. He pushes himself onto his elbows and looks down. He can't stop the smile that creeps across his face as he sees that that smaller something was in fact his five year-old godson.

Teddy's skin was a silky olive color, though it's getting fairer the longer Harry stares. The toddler Metamophamagus's hair is a bright, lurid green that's almost painful to look at. His eyes keep switching from an unnatural shade of turquoise blue, to vibrant gold each time the little boy blinks. He is wearing flannel pajamas with tiny little broomsticks that actually fly within the fabric, and his green hair is damp and curly.

"Unca Harry!" Teddy chirps happily, in that innocent toddler voice that always gets him out of trouble with his adopted aunties.

Harry smiles affectionately and ruffles the boy's hair. "Hey Bear, what are you doing here?"

"He's supposed to be drying his hair with Aunt Ginny, but someone won't sit still enough for me to charm it dry," says a voice that is caught between annoyance and amusement.

Harry climbs to his feet and pulls his godson into his arms before turning to face his wife. He immediately has to force back a hysterical laugh as he takes in her disheveled appearance.

Her red hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail with a few loose strands clinging to her neck. She has a disgruntled pout on her face, and her wand is sticking out of the pocket of her robes. She is also completely soaked. Her plum-colored robes, a gift from Luna for her birthday last year, are drenched and clinging her slim frame.

"Gin," he hides his laughter behind a hasty cough. "What happened?"

She groans as she walks toward the two boys, the smaller of which buries his face in his godfather's neck. "Andromeda was feeling ill this morning, so I offered to take Teddy off of her hands for the day. We made cookies for you for dessert tonight, but Teddy decided that it would be a good idea to dump the rest on his head. I gave him a bath and changed his clothes, but he wasn't exactly cooperative. Now I'm wet and cold and I still need to make dinner."

Harry chuckles before dropping a kiss on her down-turned mouth. He smiles against her lips when he hears Teddy's cries of "Eww! She's a girl! You got cooties now Unca Harry!"

Ginny's lip twitches madly as she struggles to hold back a smile. She forces herself to look stern. "Teddy Remus Lupin, I do not have cooties! And your hair is still wet," she chides with her hands on her hips, looking terrifyingly like her mother.

'I wonder if my mum would have done that too,' he thinks with a twinge of sadness. He's always the most emotional on his birthday. Granted, it has gotten better in the last few years, (he suspects it has to do with the redhead currently tickling a squirming Teddy) but he still wishes his parents were here to see his new family.

"Are you alright Love?" Ginny's voice breaks his train of thought. He meets her eyes and understanding flashes across her face. Instead of voicing her thoughts, she just gives him a soft smile. "How about you watch Teddy Bear while I make dinner?" She suggests gently.

"Yeah," he nods.

She smiles, glances at Teddy, before leaning in a giving him a slightly exaggerated kiss. She laughs as she walks away to the sound of Teddy's declarations of disgust.

Once the kitchen door closes behind her Harry looks down at the small boy in his arms. "So, what should we do Bear?"

Teddy adopts a look of concentration, his hair darkening to navy blue as he does so. Harry nearly coos at how adorable his little face is all scrunched up as he thinks so hard. Finally the boy looks at his godfather's face and smiles sweetly. "Can we go for a ride on your broom?" He asks hopefully.

Harry pretends to think about it. "Hmmm… Well Bear, I'm sort of tired from working all day….." he teases.

"Please Unca Harry!" He whines.

"Alright Bear, I'll make you a deal. You let me dry your hair and we'll go for a ride in the backyard while your aunt makes dinner. That way you don't catch a cold. Your Grandma Andy would send me a Howler if you came home with the sniffles."

Teddy beams at him. "Deal!"

Harry kneels down and places the five year-old on his feet before drawing his wand out of his sleeve. "Calidaerem*," He murmurs, a stream of warm air emitting from his wand and drying the boy's hair in seconds.

Harry hums absently under his breath as he carries the boy on his shoulders out back to the broom shed. He steps inside the wooden shack and surveys the gathered broomsticks. Ginny has a number of them for when she practices for her job, and Harry himself has started a sort of collection. He feels another twinge as he thinks of his old Firebolt, a gift from Sirius that had been lost during the war. He's never bought a new one; it just brings back too many memories for him.

He selects one of his favorite brooms: his Silver Arrow. He had acquired it from an elderly wizard back when he was in Ireland for a case for work. Silver Arrows are very hard to come by, especially one still in flying condition. After the creator, Leonard Jewkes, died, they stopped manufacturing them. Only around one hundred have survived over time.

It's Harry's favorite broom. The way it flies through the air reminds him a lot of his first broom, the Nimbus 2000. The Arrow is smooth and glossy, with a faint silver gleam to it. Its twigs are straight and form the shape of an arrowhead, and it's capable of going up to seventy miles an hour. Not that Harry intends to go even half that with a toddler onboard.

Teddy is almost bouncing with excitement as his godfather pulls him up to sit on his lap. The boy leans forward and wraps his small hands as far around the broom handle as he can. Harry puts his arms on either side of the five year-old, holding the broom steady. He gently guides the broom up into the air, staying low in case Teddy falls.

For the next half hour, Harry performs loops and turns and diagonals for his ecstatic godson, said godson letting out whoops and squeals of delight. When Teddy starts to let out small shivers, Harry lands by the shed and calls it a night.

He puts the Arrow back where it was and the two boys head inside. The house is warm and smells strongly of onion soup, one of Harry's favorite meals. Harry picks up Teddy and plops down on the couch, holding the boy in his arms. He pulls a blanket over them both, rubbing Teddy's small arms to warm him faster.

They sit in companionable silence, Teddy content with being held in his "Unca Harry's" arms. Harry glances down and notices that the boy's hair has turned a pleasant light blonde color, and his skin was freckly like Ginny's. Harry can't help but be awed by the fiver year-olds abilities. He knows that Teddy can't really control it yet, unless he concentrates really hard, but it's still a remarkable talent. Harry smiles a bit sadly as he remembers Tonks's custom bubblegum-pink hair.

As if the boy could sense his godfather's thoughts, he turns his head and looks up at Harry with big, soft brown eyes that remind the twenty-three year-old man of a doe. "Will you tell me 'bout my Mum and Dad?" His voice is soft, thoughtful.

Harry pauses, wondering what to say. It's not the first time that Teddy's asked, but Harry was always safe with saying, "When you're older." But now he wonders if it's finally time. After all, hadn't he been desperate for knowledge of his parents by Teddy's age? Harry will be damn sure that Teddy never has to suffer with neglect like he had.

Harry's eyes go glossy as he thinks back. "Your Mum, she was a brilliant witch, an Auror. She was a Metamorphamagus, just like you. Her favorite color for her hair was bubble-gum pink, but I'm not sure what it was naturally. She loved to entertain Aunt Hermione and Aunt Ginny by changing her nose into animal snouts. She had been a Hufflepuff at school, and she was as clumsy as can be. She had a heart of gold, and was almost like an older sister to me. And she loved you very, very much."

He pauses again, looking down to see Teddy's face. He can't stifle the gasp that escapes when he sees that Teddy's hair is now exactly the shade of bright, bubblegum pink that Tonks loved. The boy's eyes were still brown, and Harry thinks that it might actually be his natural color, seeing as it resembles Remus's so much.

"And Dad?" The boy whispers.

Harry swallows. Talking about the Marauders (Wormtail excluded) is always difficult for him. "Your Dad…he was probably the closest thing to a father I ever had. Sirius... Padfoot... he was my godfather, but he wasn't always there for me. Your Dad always supported me, and helped me.

"I met him when I was in my Third Year at Hogwarts; he was my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and a brilliant one at that. He was the only teacher I ever really liked. He loved teaching, and he loved chocolate. He taught me so many things, the best being the Patronus Charm. He was Moony, the faithful Gryffindor and last true Marauder. He guided me for years after that. He loved your Mum, and he loved you. They would both be so proud of you, Teddy."

Teddy remains silent as he soaks in all the new information. Harry wipes away a few stray tears that glisten on the boy's cheeks. How long they sit like that, Harry doesn't know. Occasionally he will recall some other tidbit of information about Remus and Tonks, until eventually Ginny calls them in for dinner.

-:-

~Later that night at around 11:00~

He's just about asleep when he feels something prod his arm. With an incoherent grunt, he turns to face his still wide-awake wife. "Wha'?"

'Oh, super question, Harry. Really witty it is.'

Ginny bites her lip and stares into his eyes. The nervousness in her eyes wakes Harry up quickly, and he twists his body and puts his arm around her waist. "What is it Gin?" His voice is hoarse from sleepiness, but much more alert.

She continues to worry her lip with her teeth. "I was just thinking….." she trails off uncertainly, looking down.

'It's not like her to be lost for words…..' He thinks warily.

He puts his fingers under her chin and raises her head to face him. "What?"

"Have you ever….do you ever think about children? Us having them I mean," she says quickly, her ears turning faintly pink.

Harry blinks rapidly. Does he?

He won't deny the fact that he's always pictured himself one day having children with Ginny. He wants to be a father, though he's nearly petrified of the thought. He doesn't exactly have a lot of experience with kids. Sure, he watches Teddy quite often, and he sees his various nieces and nephews every Sunday when the Weasley (extended) family have dinner, but he's never taken care of a child, newborn or otherwise, for an extended period of time.

Also, he's afraid that he won't be a good father. He doesn't remember his own father, aside from stories and that brief time he saw him with the Resurrection Stone. Sirius and Remus were role models, for a while, but that hadn't really give him the material he needs to become a dad.

He forces himself back to the present conversation. "Sometimes," he states honestly. "Do you?" he says, almost hesitantly.

Ginny nods, her brown eyes wide and sincere. "I do," she says. "And I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I know Mum's mentioned it a few times, and the boys are all starting to have families, apart from Charlie of course but he's content with his dragons in Romania. I know we've talked about it occasionally, but we've never made any plans. We've been so comfortable lately that I didn't really want to bring it up, but I saw you with Teddy today, and I couldn't help but wish we had a child of our own.

"I know that I would have to stop being a Chaser, but that's okay. It's not as if I planned on continuing to be a Quidditch player for the rest of my life. There are plenty of jobs that extend into the Quidditch world without being a player, I'm sure I could find something. I overheard at your last office party that the old Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet was retiring. And you make plenty of money with the Aurors that we'd be perfectly fine if I had to take a leave from working if I was pregnant. I want a baby, Harry. Do you?"

Harry's mind is spinning with thought at her speech. She wants a baby. That's understandable considering how much time she's spent watching her various sisters-in-law become mothers. He admits to wanting children, yes, but are they ready?

She's right; they would be supported if she stops working because he has more than enough money to throw around even if he stops working. There is plenty of room in their house to have a nursery added, and still have room for his office and Teddy's room.

Molly would be ecstatic, and so would the rest of their family. More to the point, his wife would be beyond thrilled. Who was he to deny her a life as a mother? It isn't that he didn't want children; it's that he is afraid.

How can he be a good father when, for the majority of his childhood, his despicable Uncle Vernon was his only role model? He wouldn't know the first thing about raising a child and not screw it up in some way. How could he do this?

Then a thought occurs to him. He wouldn't be alone. It would be Ginny's child as well. How in Merlin's name could he not want a child that was a part of him, and a part of the woman he loves? She would be an incredible mother, and she would help him, teach him.

They would be parents together. And really, is there even another possibility?

"Yes," he tells her, meeting her hopeful brown eyes.

She lets out a breath he hadn't been aware she was holding and blinks at him. "Really?" There is so much emotion in her voice that he can't help but lean in a press his forehead against hers, their lips an inch apart.

"Really," he breathes.

She closes the distance between them and crushes her lips to his with a fierce passion. He willingly matches her happiness, excitement, and maybe a little bit of nervousness with his own. And he is happy, extremely so.

She pulls back, her brown eyes glowing. "I love you," she says, putting every ounce of emotion into her voice.

In answer he kisses her again. He won't deny that he is just as excited as his wife is about discovering a new path in their lives.

-:-

A/N:

*J.K. Rowling mentions briefly the Hot-Air Charm when Hermione dries her robes, I think in the Order of the Phoenix. She never gave the incantation, so I created on myself. The word Calidaerem comes from the Latin words calidum meaning hot, and aerem meaning air.

So this chapter was a little hard to write. I wanted to show his concerns and joy towards the thought of being a dad. And who doesn't love a fatherly Harry? I hope you enjoyed little Teddy's part, he'll be in the story later on as well. I'm aware of the fact that my major problem with writing is my tendency to switch tenses between past and present. I've decided to write the rest of the story firmly in the present tense. I hope I caught my errors. Also, a question: Should Ginny be pregnant in the next chapter, or should James already be born? I haven't decided yet. I'm happy that I'm starting to pick up on this story. I really do love writing it. Reviews are lovely. You should write one :D – HF A/N#2: Now edited for grammar mistakes. (3/30/13)