Chapter 14

The letter was the last straw. When Teddy's owl circled his desk that evening, beating his little wings and sending the essays Harry was marking flying, he knew something was wrong. Moony dropped the tiny piece of parchment he held and chirped expectantly. Even as he began to read the note, Harry absent-mindedly handed the owl a couple of the treats he kept in his drawer. Moony chirped again and with another flurry of flaps he was gone.

'Harry, please don't be mad. I can't make it to dinner tonight. I promised Finn I would help him with transfiguration but I'll make it up to you I swear. Teddy.'

Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had been at Hogwarts for a month and he had barely seen Teddy outside of class time at all. All he had received were hurried sentences because Teddy always seemed to have things to do or people to meet. Their Sunday dinner together had quickly become the highlight of his week. He knew that was a little sad but being a teacher had not been anything like Harry had expected. It was a shock to see this whole other side of Hogwarts, the side tasked with making everything run smoothly for the students. Harry had known it was going to be hard but nothing could have prepared him for how much work it entailed.

He was behind on his marking and he was behind on his lesson plans. The course plans Alessandra had left behind had been enough to even put even himself to sleep as he was teaching the class. So that left Harry with the task of rewriting them for each year level even as he struggled to mark all the papers he set as homework.

It would have been fine if marking simply involved ticks and crosses but McGonagall had them writing feedback which was both positive and negative. He tried to remember what his own teachers had said when he was at Hogwarts but he had spent so much of his time chasing one crazy threat after another that something as trivial as feedback had barely registered when he was a student. Hell, if he hadn't had Hermione hounding him, he would have probably failed most of his assignments altogether.

Either way, the fact was he was completely and utterly clueless when it came to giving constructive criticism. After he'd almost made a second year cry with the honesty of his critique he had rushed to Neville for advice.

"Mate, you need to tell her what she did well first and then…" he paused to read the offending red feedback he had given his student. Harry watched him wince and felt like even more of a monster than he had when he was offering tissues to the weeping girl. "This is too honest," Neville informed him. "She's twelve years old, reword this so it doesn't sound quite as… harsh. Perhaps finish it on a positive note as well, for good measure."

"But she's twelve years old!" Harry had argued. "I can't sugarcoat it for her. That would be like lying."

Neville sighed. "Harry, I think I know what the problem is," he said gently. "You've spent too long training Aurors or on missions where honesty could mean the difference between life and death." Harry nodded. He could see the truth in his friend's words. "You haven't had a lot of time with children-"

"That's not true, I helped raise Teddy! And Rose and Hugo are always over at my place."

"Well then, tell me honestly. Would you be able to read this to Rose if it was an essay that she wrote?"

Harry reread the feedback he had so carelessly written at midnight the day before he was supposed to hand them back to the class. He hadn't been picturing a young girl in pigtails with a shy smile. He had just wanted to finish so he could get some sleep. The words were harsh enough to crush any twelve-year-old. There was no way he would have been so cruel if it were to Rose.

"I was just being honest," Harry had whispered.

Neville nodded. "I know you were. When I'm writing these I like to picture that the student was sitting right there in my office and then I write down what I would say."

"How are you so good at this, Neville?" Harry sighed.

"A lot of practice," Neville had told him with an encouraging smile. "You'll get the hang of it. I think we can make an excellent professor out of you yet."

Harry had thanked him and they had gone to Hogsmeade that night for drinks. The man had been a godsend. If it wasn't for him Harry would have probably quit after his first week.

Harry frowned down at the stacks of parchment he still had to attend to. The owl had scattered the most pressing pile, which he had to hand back to the third years tomorrow afternoon.

It took him all of two seconds to make up his mind. Snatching the papers he needed for tomorrow, he made for his room. If he was going to be alone tonight he may as well do it with a bottle of fire whiskey on hand.

Hogwarts Professors were given rather lavish suites, at least compared to the dorm room he had shared with the other Gryffindor boys. His four-poster bed was twice the size it had been as a student and there were a couple of couches by the fire. A large mahogany desk sat by the window that overlooked the Quidditch pitch. Oh yeah and the water pressure in the shower was amazing. All in all it was rather comfortable.

Settling in one of the couches, Harry poured himself a drink and spread the papers out beside him. With a flick of his wand the fire roared to life and with another the snacks Kreacher had brought up for him earlier floated towards him.

The house elf had taken the news of Harry's new employment much better than Harry had expected. He had immediately extended his work at Hogwarts to six day, returning to Grimmauld place once a week for 'dusting and upkeep' as he called it. Harry was just glad the elf hadn't burned the house down around them or threatened bodily harm if Harry left.

Kreacher seemed surprisingly happier here and served Harry with renewed vigor. He'd appear within a second when he was summoned with a look on his wrinkled face that may even be mistaken for a smile. A pleasant smile. At least one of them seemed to be having the time of their lives, Harry decided.

Dining alone was just as painful as Harry had expected it to be. Sure, he could have gone down to take his meal with the rest of the staff and students at the Great Hall but he was not quite drunk enough to even pretend to be anything but miserable. Instead he downed some more whiskey with the food the house elves brought up, as they had done every week. Luckily they didn't comment on his lack of company. Although Harry did catch Binky giving him a sympathetic look as she followed Kreacher to the door.

Harry glared at his food and filled his glass up once more.

If Harry had been any less inebriated he would have noticed that it was one in the morning. Draco being the early bird that he was usually woke up at five, which meant he was in bed by eleven. Harry knew all of this because- well he didn't actually know why he knew any of that actually.

Either way, he was right. Draco was not a night person.

"'Arry?" he said, voice scratchy like he'd just woken up. His hair was a mess and oh yeah, how could Harry forget he slept shirtless? "That you?"

"Draco!" Harry called, "did I wake you?" Of fucking course I did.

He watched Draco come closer to the fire. "S'alright," said the man, hands at his eyes like he was trying to rub the sleep away. "What's wrong?" He looked worried now. "Harry, are you drunk?"

"Bit tipsy," Harry hummed. He settled back on the rug by the fire because it was getting tiring stooping down to peer into the flames. Also he kind of wanted to get closer to Draco. "I wanted to get absolutely hammered like I used to but I have an early class to teach tomorrow. You know what it's like being a professor. You have to actually turn up and pay attention." He frowned thoughtfully. "It's a terribly huge responsibility. I did not give half our professors enough credit. Especially Binns. It must be dreadful teaching a subject that boring."

Draco sighed and it looked to Harry like he was contemplating just going back to sleep. Instead the man moved forward and mirrored Harry, sitting cross-legged in front of his own fire.

"Go on then, tell me all about it."

And so Harry did.

While they had spoken a few times over the course of the month it had simply been light conversation about their respective days. Harry had been happier just letting Draco tell him all about the new job he had at an apothecary and his plans to apply for a Potions mastery. When Harry had wrinkled his nose at the furniture set Draco had brought, the man had just laughed, telling him that being the interior design expert that he was, Harry was welcome to come over and make any changes he liked during the holidays.

For the first time, Harry offloaded everything that had happened during his first month. How much he was struggling with the responsibility and the expectations now that he had all these children's education to look after. How he had to rewrite the entire syllabus but the books he was looking through were so monotonous even he had a hard time paging through them. He told Draco about the second year he made cry and the whispers he had overheard from a couple of fourth years about how they had been looking forward to having Harry Potter as their teacher so much but now Defence was just boring.

"I defeated Voldemort! I've been an Auror for 10 bloody years and I can't even keep a class of 1st years awake for a couple of hours, Draco, what's wrong with me?"

Before Draco could comfort him he swiftly moved on to Teddy.

"I barely see him at all!" Harry cried, trying and failing not to sound bitter. "I thought being here meant I could still be close to him but we just seem to be growing further and further apart. He sent me a note through his owl, telling me he couldn't make it to dinner tonight because he had to help a friend with homework! The only time I see him anymore are during class and at meals. Has he written to you?"

Draco chewed at his lip before finally nodding. "This morning."

Harry huffed. "You probably know more about his week than I do and I live in the same castle as him." He wasn't even trying to be bitter now. The jealousy made his skin prickle like tiny needles poking at him, teasing him. "Maybe this job wasn't a good idea. I'm as shoddy a teacher as I was an Auror."

"Oh c'mon Harry, don't be dramatic. You were the best Auror on the force and you know it," said Draco firmly.

"Robards wouldn't let me-"

"And since when has Robards been a good judge of anything?"

Harry shrugged. "My students don't like me. They find my classes boring even after I rewrote all those course plans. I mean, Defence was my favourite class, the one I found the most interesting at Hogwarts. I managed to mess up the best subject, Draco."

"You said you were rewriting the lesson plans based on the textbooks McGonagall was giving you, right?" Draco asked, his hands drawing patterns on the rug. He was watching Harry with an intensity that was kind of unnerving, even through the flames.

"Yeah, I've read more textbooks in the past month than I did in my six years at Hogwarts."

"Well then, there's your problem!" Draco said, gesturing wildly for emphasis. Harry could almost imagine him crying Eureka! "Those textbooks are so boring they would make Binns himself look like the king of entertainment. You can't rely on them if you want to make your lessons anything but mundane. And trust me, if they aren't interested your students won't learn a thing."

"But I'm supposed to be teaching them Draco! I'm supposed to be filling their heads with knowledge, not throwing them a party. As boring as they are, those textbooks will teach them everything they need to know about defence. If they'd only stay awake long enough to-"

"Not everything, Harry," Draco interrupted. "You know as well as I do that a text book can't teach you to fight, nor can it teach you to defend. It takes an element of practice."

"I do a practical every week."

"Let me guess, you show them caged pixies, they each practice stunning charms and the lesson went smoothly."

"Well I wasn't exactly going to let loose a cage full of freshly caught Cornish pixies on my class, was I? I'm not Lockhart, Draco."

Draco snorted. "Thank Merlin for that. But you have to admit, that was a rather memorable lesson, was it not?"

"Are you saying I should wreak havoc on my class and let my students be attacked by wild pixies, Draco?" Harry demanded. "Remember that time I said you would make an excellent Professor? I was wrong. You'd be an absolute menace."

Draco rolled his eyes. "No, that's not-never mind." He shook his head and frowned, opening his mouth like he was going to say something but then changing his mind.

"Go on," said Harry at last if only to break the silence.

Finally Draco cleared his throat. "Look, you're Harry bloody Potter. You don't need a text book! Like you said before, you defeated Voldemort and you've been an Auror for ten years. You have the knowledge Harry, the practical knowledge. Sure, let them read from their textbook for homework and make them write essays but during class time your goal is to educate them. Teach them what you've learned from your own experiences, teach them the mistakes you made on the field as an Auror so they can avoid making the same ones. Teach them the tricks that no book could. They want to listen to you and they want to learn so teach them."

Harry sucked in a breath. "That was really good advice," he said softly.

Draco smiled. "Glad I could be of service." His smile faded though as quickly as it appeared. "Now, about Teddy…"

"It's fine Draco, I just needed to get it off my chest. I'm not mad that you two talk or anything, I just wish I could see him more. But there's always Sunday dinner next week, right?" Harry sighed when he saw that pinched look of worry clear on Draco's face. "I'm a grown up, I understand that he's busy with his friends. Besides, I just told you how busy I am. We're both just… busy, so you can stop fretting."

"You're lonely," said Draco and it wasn't a question.

"I have Neville and McGonagall. Well, actually Neville is with Ginny on the weekends but the other teachers are here."

"Would you like me to come over for a while?" Draco asked softly. "I can't stay, I have work in the morning but I can sit with you."

Harry took a long time to answer. He could see how close Draco's eyes were to shutting, how the man was fighting to keep them open. He knew he was being selfish when he nodded, standing up to find his wand.

He opened up the floo connection so Draco could step through. Just as the other man was rising from his living room floor and brushing himself off, Harry heard a knock. Apparently Draco heard it too because he was staring questioningly at the door behind Harry.

"Apparently we're not the only ones awake at two in the morning," said Draco with a yawn.

"Hmm," Harry hummed, just staring at the door until he heard another knock. This was enough to spur him forward. He opened the door only to find the corridor outside was empty. Puzzled, he stepped out, looking left and right before finally stepping back in and shutting the door. "It was probably just a-" he yelped when he walked into something warm and invisible.

"Teddy!" Harry grumbled, snatching the invisibility cloak from his sheepish godson.

"Sorry," said the boy. "I was going to scare you but I mistimed."

"It's past curfew, shouldn't you be in bed?" Harry asked, grinning anyway.

"Shouldn't we all?" came Draco's voice from the fireplace.

"Draco!" Teddy cried, rushing over to see his cousin.

"May I please retire to my bed now, Potter?" Draco drawled. Harry could see he was smiling warmly though.

"Yeah, sorry I woke you."

"How about you make it up to me by calling me at a reasonable hour tomorrow for a chat and perhaps more regularly too."

Harry smiled. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Good night, then," said Draco, "You too, Teddy."

"Night, Draco." When the flames died away, the boy turned on Harry immediately. "Harry I'm so sorry, I know I've been terrible at keeping in touch lately." Before Harry even knew what was happening he had a pair of arms wrapped around him. He returned the hug of course until Teddy pulled back and all but jumped onto the couch.

Sitting cross-legged he pulled his wand from his sleeve and waved it in a precise movement he had obviously been practicing. "Wingardium LeviOsa!" he cried, pointing at the platter of snacks Harry had left on the small coffee table. The tray rose and floated towards the boy even as he guided it. It wavered once, threatening to drop, Harry even pulled out his own wand to save it just in case but with a look of extreme concentration Teddy regained control, letting it settle beside him on the couch.

"I've been practicing," he said proudly before shoving a cookie in his mouth, chewing happily.

"I can see that," Harry said, still gob smacked. The last time he was here the boy could barely manage to make a pen hover an inch off that table. He plopped down on the couch next to Teddy and grabbed a cookie of his own. "You know I gave you that cloak so you could sneak out of my room after curfew, not sneak in here."

Teddy shrugged. "I haven't seen you in ages," he complained. "I missed you."

Harry couldn't help but smile. (Actually it was a battle not to look too excited). "I missed you too, kid." He ruffled Teddy's hair, laughing when the boy tried to squirm out of reach.

"So how was your day?" Teddy asked, still leaning away like he was expecting another attack.

"Boring," Harry sighed. "I've been marking all day."

"Well it's your fault for assigning so much homework," Teddy grumbled. "Honestly, I don't know why the professors complain when all they have to do is not make us write all those essays."

"I really hope you've finished all your homework, Ted. I'll also be checking with Professor Flitwick if you turned up to your first class tomorrow morning."

Teddy made a face and groaned. "What's the point of having my godfather as a professor if I can't even skip a class or two?"

"Why, for these delightful conversations of course," Harry smiled toothily. "Now go on, tell me about your week."

Teddy sat back and stretched before launching into a detailed account of his week. He told Harry about the new friends he made and all the exciting new spells he had been taught. He complained about the massive amounts of homework the teachers had dumped on him recently and how it was unfair only third years and above could go to Hogsmeade. He asked Harry for the troll in the dungeon story from his own first year Halloween dinner, telling him that his friend Nasreen in second year had told him how amazing Halloween at Hogwarts was. Finally, he gestured towards the flames and told Harry how nice it was to see Draco again.

"Perhaps we can invite him over for dinner next Sunday, how about that?" said Harry smiling.

Teddy nodded. "I'd like that."

"We can have your grandmother over too."

Teddy nodded. "I've been writing to her every day. She sent me a howler when I forgot for a week."

Harry laughed. "At least you won't forget ever again."

Teddy shook his head vigorously. "It was horrible. Everyone was looking at me. They haven't stared at me like that since the sorting hat put me in Hufflepuff." Teddy cringed at the memory. "I still don't get why it was such a big deal, I mean my Mom was in Hufflepuff too. Isn't that common? To be put in the same house as family?"

"Your Mom was quite possibly the first of the Black family to be sorted into Hufflepuff, even your grandmother was in Slytherin. Then there was your Dad, one of the bravest men I knew. And well, I guess there's also me to some extent, everyone knows I'm your godfather." Harry shrugged. "No one really knew what to expect when you walked up there. They would have stared no matter what happened."

"If only I'd been put in Ravenclaw," grinned Teddy. "That would have had them talking."

Harry laughed too. "Ted, I'm really happy you haven't forgotten about your poor godfather and I'm thrilled you visited," said Harry, as he watched the boy yawn and stretch beside him. "However it's getting late and you have class in a few hours."

Teddy yawned again. "Hmm, I guess you're right. Are you sure you can't have a little chat with Flitwick? Tell him I'm too sick to attend?"

"Absolutely not," grinned Harry.

Teddy groaned. "You're the worst," he said, picking up the invisibility cloak from where Harry had left it draped over the couch. "Love you."

"Love you too, Ted," Harry called even as Teddy disappeared. He heard footsteps and then the sound of his door opening and closing. Making his way to his bed, Harry flopped down, smiling contently up at the ceiling.

A/N: So apparently I am full of lies. This chapter turned into such a monster that I had to split it in half. Either way we are really close to the end folks. Thank you so much for sticking with me, I know it's been almost a year but you kept me going every step of the way! xx