Chapter 4:
Teddy held his arm out as Grandma Molly applied a cream to a bruise on his arm. He looked around the Burrow's kitchen, his eyes stopping on the family clocks. Grandma Molly, who Teddy knew wasn't his biological grandmother, had found a duplicate to her first family clock. The first had his grandparents, uncles and aunt Ginny. The second had his aunts, uncle Harry and cousins. Teddy smiled at the clock. He didn't fully understand about his parent's deaths, and he lived both with his godfather and Grandma Dromeda, but he understood enough that Grandma Molly wasn't his real grandmother. The fact that she had him on the family clock and said she had six, not five, grandchildren made him happy. Most of the time, he forgot she wasn't his grandmother by blood.
"What are you looking at sweetheart?" Teddy jumped from his thoughts to look up at Grandma Molly, whose face had a worried smile.
"I was looking at your clocks." Teddy said, "We're all on Home." Grandma Molly smiled.
"Yes, you are, safe and sound. Auntie Ginny should be upstairs getting your bed ready. How do pancakes sound for breakfast?" Teddy jumped down from the chair he sat on, just realizing how hungry he was.
"Blueberry pancakes?" He asked hopefully. He and Victoria had helped Grandma Molly pick them a few days ago. Grandma Molly smiled.
"What a wonderful idea. We still have those fresh blueberries. Why don't you go upstairs to nap and in an hour or two we'll have blueberry pancakes." Teddy smiled, before hugging Grandma Molly. He then turned back to his uncle, who had been standing next to the table as he got fixed up.
"Ready pup?" Harry ruffled Teddy's hair, which turned black at the touch. Teddy walked up the stairs to the first bedroom. He quietly pushed the door open, glad he did as he saw his aunt gently placing Albus down. When she turned around, she smiled at Teddy.
"All fixed?" Teddy nodded as he tried to cover a yawn. Ginny led him to the bed he'd share with James, who was already out cold and lightly snoring. Teddy lifted the covers and saw his wolf was already in there. He smiled, knowing his aunt must have brought it up for him. One of his favorite things about bedtime was how his aunt Ginny would tuck him in and just to be silly she'd flip the corner of the blanket up, exposing his foot. Today she gave him a wink as she squeezed his big toe for a second. Teddy laughed before looking to his uncle, who looked deep in thought.
"I'm sorry I messed up, Uncle Harry." His uncle's head snapped up.
"Messed what up?" His uncle came towards him, crouching down.
"When I fell. I was just trying to see where the muggles were going and then I slipped. I'm sorry."
"Teddy, nothing that happened today was your fault. In fact, I'm really proud of you. You're the one who woke me up and gave us a heads up. And after that, you were able to keep calm and walk a fair distance. If anything, I'm really proud of you, just be more careful next time we're on a hill." Teddy smiled and reached up to hug his uncle, who happily return the tight bear hug.
"Goodnight, we'll wake you up soon for breakfast." Teddy rolled over to his side, as Uncle Harry moved towards the door. As he was about to close it, a thought popped into his head.
"Uncle Harry?" His uncle froze at the half-closed door. "Good morning." He smiled sheepishly. Teddy smiled as he heard his uncle chuckle before closing the door. Teddy yawned again and fell asleep.
Once in the hallway with the door shut behind him, Harry reached out for Ginny. The two embraced and stayed in each other's arms for a moment. The two didn't need to speak to know what the other was thinking. Too soon, the couple broke apart and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. They could hear new voices.
"There must be something left. We could go see. A group of us, we'd be ok together." Harry gave a small smile as he recognized the voice of his best friend, Ron.
"You'd have to be very careful and I suggest bringing Portkeys." As Harry came into the kitchen, he saw that a few more Weasleys had joined. Ron was leaning against the counter with Hermione sitting at the table, her hand over her round belly. Bill and Fleur sat on the couch with their family. Bill holding a grumpy looking Louis, and Dominique lying down with her head on Bill's leg and feet on her mother's lap. Harry could see a streak of silvery hair in the garden, the owner Victoire, Bill's oldest.
Suddenly the kitchen was blinded with the green light of the floo and Mr. Weasley walked out of the fireplace. He quickly dusted himself off before turning his family.
"Kingsley wants to have an Order meeting at one. Harry, I assume Grimmauld Place would be acceptable?" Harry nodded. He supposed he and Ginny would live there for now. It would be safer from Muggles and really any witch or wizard. They'd have to do some serious cleaning, even with Kreacher, who had become even slower in his old age.
"Until then, I'd like to go see if I can save anything of ours." Harry felt Ginny squeeze his hand reassuringly. "We'll take a Portkey, like Hermione said." Hermione nodded towards Harry, before waddling out the door to find an object to use.
When Hermione returned, she gave Ron a small, tin watering can. Ron held it up by its handle. Harry grabbed the open edge. Bill handed Louis to his mother before grabbing the side opposite Harry. A moment later the three went soaring through the air before landing on the ground outside the Potter's home. Bill and Ron landed on their feet, but Harry tumbled to the ground since he never truly got used to Portkeys. Ron helped pull Harry to his feet as Bill began to investigate the area.
The area was clear of all muggles and was as safe as possible for the three. Harry stood in front of his home. The roof had collapsed over the living room and caved in over James and Teddy's bedroom. The windows were shattered, both by the heat of the fire and the bullets that ricocheted through the house. The once green front door, was leaning and attached to the house by a single hinge. Harry walked through the doorway arch and looked around the remains of his burnt home. He heard Bill say something, but he wasn't listening. Instead, he could hear a small ringing in his ears as he walked around. Harry jumped when Ron placed his hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be ok. We'll save as much as possible." Harry could only nod as he began walking through the living room. A bookshelf towards the kitchen was relatively unharmed by the flames. A few had holes through them; these ones Harry ignored. Harry conjured a box and began adding the surviving books and albums. Harry pulled out a purple covered album with a corner torn off. He flipped it open to see Ginny standing with Luna Lovegood on the Quidditch field. He flipped the next page and saw more of their time at Hogwarts. Harry carefully placed the album in the box before opening the small toy chest against the wall. As he opened the chest, the melted plastic snapped. Harry tried to rescue the toys, but all had been melted together with the plastic from the toy chest. Next Harry began pulling the few surviving picture frames from the wall. Many had fallen from the walls and shattered, but surprisingly, these photos were much free from damage.
As Harry looked around, hoping for more, Ron appeared from the kitchen. He had a half-filled single box, compared to Harry's stuffed two.
"Sorry mate. Most of it is shattered and burnt beyond repair." Harry knew Ron would have saved everything he could, but he had to see the kitchen for himself. The kitchen table was nearly non-existent, and two cabinets had fallen to the ground. Harry could see all the shattered pieces surrounding the cabinets. The ceramic pieces had clearly been moved around as Ron searched for things to save.
"I got a few things from James room." Bill appeared hovering two boxes in front of him. "I grabbed the blanket Mom made him. It's burnt, but maybe she'll be able to fix it." Harry smiled as he saw a few things Bill had collected. James would be very happy his dragon stuffed animal had survived.
"Did you find anything in Teddy's?"
"Haven't checked. Haven't checked Albus' either." Harry nodded; he wasn't too worried about Albus' room. Most of Albus' things were in his and Ginny's room. They hadn't moved him into his own yet.
Harry carefully walked up the rickety stairs, now burnt black and covered in grey ash. He turned into his and Ginny's room. Somehow his face dropped farther. Their closet was completely destroyed. The area within and around was nothing but charcoal. Nothing was on the ground except a few things, burnt beyond recognition. At the end of their bed was a wooden hope chest they kept mostly blankets in. Harry pulled out a few blankets before reaching the bottom. There he found the first sweater Mrs. Weasley ever made him. He smiled as he saw it was utterly unscathed. As Harry stood, he noticed Mr. Weasley standing at the doorway.
"Where do you want me?" He said quietly.
"Teddy's room. I don't think we've looked there." Mr. Weasley nodded before turning towards Teddy's bedroom. A few minutes later, Harry heard voices arguing downstairs. Leaving his full box, Harry ran downstairs to investigate. He found Ron and George with their wands pointing at Mr. Brown, who in turn, held a gun facing them.
"Mr. Brown." Harry walked forward to face his neighbor. Surprising to both Harry and the others, Mr. Brown put his gun down immediately upon seeing Harry. Mr. Brown was an older gentleman, who took a walk down the road each day. He would always say hello to the kids as they played in the driveway. One time, he had bought Teddy new chalk when he had forgotten it out in the rain.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I thought they were looters." Harry smiled as Mr. Brown hobbled over with his cane and gun tucked away.
"No, they're my brother in laws. We came to get as much as possible." Harry looked over Mr. Brown. He still looked concerned, but in a friendly manner.
"How's Ginny? The kids? Are they alright? Martha and I woke up to the gunshots last night. We hid under the bed. Didn't know what was happening." Mr. Brown stopped in front of Harry. He could see his knuckles were white from the strong grip of his cane. Mr. Brown also was barefoot, clearly running to the rescue once he saw who he thought were looters.
"They're ok. Shaken, but ok." Mr. Brown looked relieved at the news. Mr. Brown turned back towards Ron and George. He extended a shaky hand. Ron took it.
"Wally Brown. I'm sorry I threaten you, but I thought you were here to steal. You hear on the news all the time about how people steal from the houses they've burnt."
"Appreciate you looking out for them. I'm Ron Weasley." George took a step forward, extending his hand.
"George Weasley." He said shaking Mr. Brown's hand. Mr. Brown turned back to Harry.
"Martha went upstairs to your bedroom. She took Ginny's jewelry and your wedding rings. We have them safe in our living room. I looked around your office. Tried to find any important documents you might need, but honestly, I just became very confused. Didn't take anything." Harry smiled, all his documents were on the wizarding world and wouldn't make sense to an old muggle.
"We'll keep them safe as long as you need us too. When you're ready to get them, come on over." Mr. Brown raised his cane towards the stairs behind Harry, before hobbling back towards his house.
"Thank you." Harry called to him before turning to see Mr. Weasley and Bill standing behind him on the stairs. The small group was joined by Ginny and Fleur soon after Mr. Brown returned home. As the others used the portkey to bring the boxes back and forth, Harry and Ginny walked over to the Browns. Mr. Brown welcomed them in immediately, calling for his wife.
Mrs. Brown came shuffling in at top speed, for an 86-year-old woman. She immediately embraced Ginny, telling her how happy the family was alright. She led Ginny to the living room where the few belongings they saved were. Mr. Brown sat in an old worn-out brown chair, motioning for Harry to sit as well.
"I am so sorry." Mr. Brown said. Harry nodded not knowing what to say. "This war has gotten out of hand. Attacking innocent civilians, with young children. It's awful."
"I don't know how innocent I am, but I never thought they'd attack my family." Harry leaned forward on the couch; his hand knotted together as he spoke.
"What makes you say that?" Mr. Brown said, obviously curious.
"I don't know how much you know about the Wizarding World, but I'm Harry Potter, not Harry Patternson." Harry watched as Mr. Brown thought his words over. He could not tell if he was familiar with who he was or not.
"Thank you so much Mr. Brown." Ginny came in, holding her jewelry box, along with two picture frames. Harry took his cue to stand as Mrs. Brown followed Ginny in.
"We are just happy we were able to save those and that you are all ok." Mrs. Brown walked Harry and Ginny out. As Harry was about to step out, Mr. Brown called out to him.
"See you soon, Chosen One."