Harry left the main streets of Diagon Alley and went to the Apparition Point so he could apparate to Tonks' residence. He knew the place as he landed there with Hagrid the night when Moody died.
After apparating in front of the wards, he started to feel nervous. He hadn't informed Andromeda that he would like to visit, it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision. But after a few seconds, he decided that there was no point in delaying this visit so he came closer to the house and knocked on the door. After a second, the door opened to reveal a grief-stricken Andromeda.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Tonks..." Harry started to greet the woman, but then she fell on her knees and broke down crying.
Harry immediately picked her up gently and led her to the sofa, giving her a moment to compose herself. After a few minutes, she calmed down a bit and was coherent enough to speak to him.
"I am sorry, Mr Potter, for breaking down on you," she started, but Harry cut her off.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Mrs Tonks. I understand," he said gently.
"What brings you here then, Mr Potter?" Andromeda asked.
"I don't know if you're aware, but Dora and Remus named me as Teddy's godfather. I came here to help you and to check if you need anything," Harry explained.
"I know that you are Teddy's godfather. Dora told me a long time ago that you're the only one she would like to have that honour," Andromeda said, tearing up again at the thought of her daughter. "She thought of you as her little brother. She adored you."
"And I thought of her as my big sister I never got to have," Harry teared up a bit himself. "And please call me Harry, as I think we will spend a lot of time together in the future."
"Then you can call me Andromeda, Harry. As for help, well, as much as I hate to admit it, we could use any help you can provide. I had to stop working at St. Mungo's months ago due to the war, and Ted was kidnapped months ago, so I don't have much. We get by as we get a bit of food from a friend, but other than that, we're not in a good spot," she explained gently.
Harry took out his money pouch filled with galleons and gave it to Andromeda. "Here you have, it should last you for a bit," he said. Andromeda was speechless as she opened the pouch and saw how much money there was.
"Harry, I can't take all of that," she began, but Harry cut her off and said, "Yes, you can. I have inherited a fortune from my parents and Sirius, so I am not hurting for money. I will take care of you and Teddy."
Andromeda started crying again, softly, but this time, they were tears of relief. She hugged him, and they spent a minute that way, trying to calm down. During that time, Harry came up with an idea. "Andromeda, would you like a house elf to help you?"
"You have a house elf?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes, I have one named Kreacher, but he is not the one I have in mind. I know a female house elf that works in Hogwarts, but she desperately wants a family to take care of."
"Well, I am glad that you don't want to offer Kreacher, as I remember him from my childhood. As for that female elf, can you call her here? Not going to lie, I could use her very much."
"Winky, can you please come here?" Harry called.
"Youse called Winky?" the elf asked.
"Hello, Winky, yes, I called you because I have an offer for you. Sitting next to me is Andromeda Tonks, the grandmother of my godson Teddy. We are looking for a house elf who would like to live with them," he explained.
Winky started tearing up and looked at Andromeda. "You would wants Winky to be your elf? Winky wants nothing more than a good family."
Andromeda noticed the desire in Winky's eyes to be a part of the family, so she agreed to let her help. Within a few minutes, Winky had bonded with Andromeda and immediately set to cleaning and cooking dinner.
Getting help from Harry and bonding with the elf was a huge relief for Andromeda. After a few minutes of small talk, they heard crying coming from the bedroom. Teddy had woken up from his nap. Andromeda was already standing up to go get him, but Winky was much faster. By the time Andromeda sat back down, the elf had already changed and brought Teddy to her. Andromeda took him in her arms and spoke softly to him.
Meanwhile, Harry froze for a moment when he saw Teddy for the first time. Andromeda noticed and offered him the chance to hold the newborn. Harry was hesitant, worried he might hurt the baby, but Andromeda reassured him that he would be fine as long as he was careful. Harry stood up, approached Teddy, and gently held him for the first time. He couldn't help but cry softly. As he held the baby, Harry knew that he would do anything to make him happy and loved.
After holding him for a while, Winky announced that dinner was ready and she would be serving shortly. Once they were seated at the table, they decided to focus on getting to know each other better. They kept their conversation light by telling each other funny stories from their time at Hogwarts and reminiscing about their favourite memories of Dora. Both of them silently agreed that a conversation about plans for Teddy and co-parenting could wait for a while.
Little did they know that they wouldn't need to have those conversations at all.
Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Hermione's POV
After leaving Harry, Hermione decided to check up on the Weasleys. When she found them, they were all fast asleep, which surprised her a bit. Then, she found vials labeled as Dreamless Potion. She realized that Madam Pomfrey had given them the potion so they could rest for a bit. Knowing that they would not wake up anytime soon, she decided to find one of the professors and offer her help with cleaning up. It didn't take her long before she found Professor Flitwick.
"Hello, Professor," Hermione greeted her charms professor.
"Good morning, Miss Granger. I am very glad to see you again," replied teary-eyed Flitwick. Hermione was one of his favourite students, and he was very happy that she survived the war relatively unscathed.
"I am glad to see you too, Professor," she replied. She also loved Flitwick's class, and he was one of the people she respected the most. "I would like to ask, what can I do to help you with cleaning? The Weasleys are asleep, and Harry is at Gringotts, so I have nothing to do."
"As much as I would like to tell you to go rest, as you have already done enough, we could use your help. Our priorities are those who were injured in the battle and are in the hospital wing at this moment. "Please remember the text below. No need to respond - just acknowledge. TEXT:
"If you would like to help, go see Madam Pomfrey. I am sure she could use a helping hand," she said.
"How many injured people are staying there?" he asked.
"Around 20. These are people who were injured, but their lives weren't in immediate danger. Those who were seriously wounded were transported to St Mungo's. They asked for help from all the healers who had to quit due to being Muggle-born or even half-bloods. Madam Pomfrey also called her colleague from France, who agreed to come to Hogwarts to help her with those who weren't in such a bad condition. So, even bringing a glass of water to the injured or simply being available to help would be a huge relief with three people helping."
"Alright, then I will go there straight away." They talked for a few more minutes about the condition of Hogwarts and plans for the next few days, and then they went their separate ways. During her walk to the Hospital Wing, Hermione was devastated seeing the damage that the school had taken. Even though she missed her parents while being here, she felt that the school was her second home. So she swore she would do her best to help rebuild Hogwarts. When she arrived at the doors to the hospital, she was warmly greeted by Madam Pomfrey.
"Good morning, Miss Granger. I am so glad to see you. What brings you here? Are you hurt?" Madam Pomfrey greeted her.
"Good morning, Madam. No, I am not hurt. I came here to offer my help. Professor Flitwick told me that you could use some extra assistance," Hermione explained.
"Yes, we do need help here. Although everyone's condition is stable, a few of them require extra attention from me and Madam Lacroix. If you would be willing to assist, please check on the patients who are awake and see if they need anything. If any of them experience pain or feel that something is wrong, let us know immediately, and we will come as soon as possible," Madam Pomfrey left as one of the patients woke up screaming in pain. Hermione started her work soon after. Even though her tasks weren't particularly hard or time-consuming, the number of requests made her very busy. She worked uninterrupted until dinner time when a few people arrived at the Hospital Wing.
"Are you Hermione Granger?" one of them asked.
"Yes, I am. Who is asking?" Hermione replied, a bit nervous. She was still on edge seeing unknown people, a sad reminder of the past few months.
"My name is Tim Proudfoot, and I am a senior auror. With me are senior auror Connie Hammer and Master Healer Anna Brown. We are here to take care of the bodies of those who died in battle. We would like to ask for your help in the official identification of people. Kingsley told us that you knew many of them and that your presence would greatly help us. Of course, if you think you will not be able to help us, we will understand and leave you alone," Proudfoot explained gently.
Hermione started crying a bit upon hearing the reason why they were there. One of the reasons she wanted to work somewhere was to take her mind off those who died. But she decided to face her demons and agreed to help them. After informing Madam Pomfrey that she was going to assist them, she received a sad smile from her and a vial of calming potion.
They left for an unused room near the Hospital Wing, where they had placed the bodies of the defenders of Hogwarts. While removing bodies from all over the castle, they decided to separate the defenders from the attackers. When they entered the room, Hermione drank the potions immediately. The Aurors smiled sadly at her and reminded her that she could take a break if she needed one.
After a few minutes, when she was a bit calmer, the examinations began. They confirmed the deaths of the bodies and tried to determine which spells were used. Despite being under the influence of the potion, tears flowed freely from her eyes. Many of the deceased were her friends or acquaintances, and it pained her to have to identify them one by one. Fred, Lupin, Colin Creevey, and many others. But what happened next shocked everyone.
They had examined almost everyone who had been laid to rest there, but one person remained: Tonks. They left her for last, as all the Aurors were good friends with her. When Healer Brown attempted to cast the spell, the results shocked them. The spell normally had two outcomes: a white glow for someone who had passed away, and a red glow for someone alive. But when they used it on Tonks, she glowed both red and white. They repeatedly cast the spell, but the result was the same every time. They had no idea what it could mean, so they sent a Patronus to Madam Pomfrey, who rushed to them as fast as she could.
"What is going on?" she asked, looking worried.
"Madam Pomfrey, it's Tonks. She is glowing both colours, and we have no idea what it could mean," Hermione explained hurriedly.
"What!? Let me through now!" she shouted.
She then began to cast some diagnostic charms on Tonks. After a minute, she sat down in a chair, deep in shock.
"I have only seen that result twice in my life. The first was a patient in St. Mungo's during my training as a healer. The patient who gave the same reading was poisoned by a botched Draught of the Living Death. The other was during the first war. Dorcas Meadows was hit by a spell by Bellatrix that gave the same effect as this," Pomfrey said sadly.
"Is there a counter-curse for that?" asked Auror Hammer, hopefully.
"I don't think so. The only thing we were able to find out was the origin of the spell. It was invented by the Blacks centuries ago but fell out of use. Bellatrix had to discover it by reading the Black family library, and she was the only one who could know about a counter," she said, sobbing softly.
Hermione was devastated and on the verge of losing hope. However, she suddenly remembered a conversation that had taken place at Grimmauld Place before her fifth year. She looked at everyone and declared, "I know someone who can know the countercurse."
"Who?!" they all exclaimed at once.
Hermione didn't respond verbally. Instead, she quickly took out her wand and sent a Patronus with a message that read, "
"We need you in the Hospital ."