Albus had been lying in that position for hours. It was a testament to the fact that it was the first time Teddy had gone along with his dad on a serious Auror mission. James and Lily were at hogwarts and they hadnt been informed so that they wouldnt get distracted from their studies. It wasnt from lack of trying that they hadnt figured out what was going on. The tone of the letters they received from their mother and Albus had changed and they knew something was up, and when they inquired about the same, the letter-writers didnt relent and kept up the facade that everything was okay.
But as Albus would say, it was not. How dare he! How dare Teddy put him in this position. Ted was just a kid! It was his first year of training, but because he performed so well in his exams he had been selected for the mission, granted, as an assisting auror but still! Al knew what was at stake for this mission.. Amycus and Alecto Carrow had been spotted recently. They had been building a gang of the surviving death eaters.. hoping to become the next dark Lords. After months of thinking there was a deadly viral disease spreading amongst the muggles which even led to a lockdown, ministry of magic realised after careful study of the case (as they suspected something fishy in the first place) that it was in fact not caused by viruses but by complicated poisoning charms struck by wizards which caused slow decay of the body and spread on its own from one human to other. Wizards were naturally immune from it.
Al remembered how one night when Ginny, Harry and Teddy thought he was sleeping while they were discussing upon the aformentioned subject, he evasdropped from the first floor railing using Uncle Georges extendable ears (that had successfully been hid out of Ginnys radar). Harry was talking about how this was a very clever way to attack the muggles, and that while Voldemort had a way of terrorizing people openly, Carrows were playing a completely different and much dangerous game here. They took the sneaky back door and at this rate they would have killed most muggles, had the ministry not put a stop to it. We would never know their next move so its pertinent we catch them as fast as possible, whos to say they wouldnt attack the muggle-borns next. Ginnys voice was odd.. dark, something Al hadnt heard before from his mother. His dad used to get like that sometimes, lost somewhere far away from all of them, but his mum, he thought, probably hid it better. It was in those moments Al could sense the demons of their past reaching out from their eyes and lips, not quite showing themselves but lurking in the shadows. It made Als skin crawl, made him feel the rage rise in him as he thought about all those people who had made his friends and family demon-ridden.
Ginny, and to an extent, Albus had been in correspondance with the ministry regarding the mission, what with Harry being the head auror and everything. There was a sense of increasing dread as the days passed by. And finally today was the attack and capture day (atleast thats what the aurors called it). When Albus got the news he felt his chest tighten and bile rising in his throat. His dad had gone on loads of dangerous missions over the years, yet it never got easier.. the feeling of impending doom and nerve-numbing scariness was all too familiar to him. But life was never that simple was it, this time there was the added fear of Teddy.. who Al thought for the umpteenth time, was still a child! How could they. And that is how Al wound up in the condition he was in now, not able to do or say anything except lay on his stomach across his bed with head resting on his hands listening to the clock tick by.
He was angry at dad for taking Teddy along (though very reluctantly after a lot of pleading from Ted), angry at Teddy for going along (when Ted very well knew how dangerous it was), angry at his mom for letting all this happen (though it wasnt like it was in her hands), angry at himself for not being able to change their mind and being only 13 he could be of no help and finally angry at the world for producing dark wizards. So, you could say, he was.. angry overall. His bitter contemplation over all this was broken by a soft knock on the door. As Ginny walked in without waiting for an answer, Al stayed in the same position barely acknowledging her entrance.
"Albus Potter, you have been lying here for 3 hours! You better get up this instant", she continued in a softer almost pleading tone, "Its a sunday.. common, you always say how its the only day you get the time to complete all your letters and stock up on WWW products, as much as I hate that", she added with a dirty look. When Albus just grunted in response with a weak "leave me alone", she sighed and sat beside him on the bed. Al looked at her with a what-do-you-want expression. "Al I know its hard, hell its hard for me too. But you cant just lie here all day, thats just gonna make it worse. You know your dad wouldnt want you t-"
"Oh do not pull the dad-wouldnt-want card! Clearly only what he want and doesnt want matters.. what about what I want!?", he continued a bit pleadingly too "Mom I really cannot do anything else right now. It just feels so fuckin bad"
"No cursing in this house mister. And they are gonna be okay", Ginny said firmly and with a finality in her voice. "And you are going to help me in the kitchen. No excuses". With a final "I love you" she left the room and trudged back downstairs.
Albus sighed, knowing he was defeated as there was no arguing with mum after she used that tone. He dragged himself out of bed while every fibre of his being screamed otherwise. Making dinner definitely improved his mood though, whether he would like to admit it or not. There was something about getting up and moving about that made time go faster and by the time they were done, after having pondered over what Gin had said he too felt convinced that they were going to be okay. I mean afterall, Harry Potter was the chosen one.. the one who defeated frickin voldemort. And he would protect Teddy with his life. Harry sure had sustained various injuries during his different missions, but never anything too serious. He had always been fine in the end. Al hoped it would be the same this time.
After dinner, mother and son settled on the sofa for a movie night. Ginny thought it would be a good distraction. But after fifteen minutes into it Albus lost interest and his mind started to wander off elsewhere as minds often do. Sure they were skilled and all, but the Carrows were.. they had been death eaters. He had heard from Rose at one of the weasley gatherings that they had cast the dark mark a year ago near Lambeth, London.. the birth place of voldemort. Whos to say what they were or werent capable of. And ofcourse they had a special vendetta against Harry. The amount of protective wards Harry had put over the house told Al how scared he was some ex-death eater would come for his family. He was deathly scared to send his children somewhere on their own that wasnt hogwarts or the burrow. All his previous anxiety and fear started coming back with full force. He continued staring at the screen as he tried hard not to throw up.
He could have fooled others but not Ginny. She cast worried glances his way before finally turning off the tv. "Do you wanna just sit and listen to some music?". Al nodded smiling, music always helped. They cuddled up together. As it neared midnight Als heart started hammering. They should be back to the office by now, and he knew dad would send a message immediately when they arrived. Ginny noticed it was pretty late and half-heartedly urged Al to go to bed. She knew, he wouldnt relent, from several past experiences. She conjoured a blanket and put it over Albus and herself.
After a harrowing waiting of two hours, the stag appeared from the front door. Harrys exhausted voice filled the room, "We are okay. We are back at headquarters. Will be home in five minutes". Al felt a giddy relief, suddenly the world looked so much brighter. After he had processed the fact that his dad and Teddy were completely okay and unhurt, he realised that dad hadnt said anything about the mission.. which could only mean one thing.
Teddy stumbled out of the fireplace looking ashen faced with bags under his eyes and before he could even properly step out Al hugged him fiercely almost knocking him over. Ginny crossed the distance in two steps and hugged both of them, her eyes full to the brim with tears threatening to fall. "I love you Teddy. Where is dad?"
"I love you too Al. He is coming in a minute, giving out some instructions to the senior aurors"
He couldnt keep it in anymore, all the frustration and anxiety he had been feeling burst out and as he had no idea how to express it, he lashed out at Ted. He pushed him with both hands, and being half his height didnt help much. Teddy was startled, but he didnt have to be confused for too long as the reason for Als sudden outburst became apparent soon enough.
"Who do you think you are? You might be the best auror trainee or whatever but you cant be so big-headed that you dont realise how dangerous this was". Ted looked surprised and a bit hurt by the accusations. Al was about to continue his rant but was interrupted by the arrival of Harry Potter. Al turned onto him instead.
"And you! Wasnt it enough for you to have fought voldemort and won? You have to go around saving the world everyday? You are selfish, thats what you are! I hate you, both of you". To say the least, Harry was shocked, having expected hugs and how-are-yous. Al just turned on his heel and stomped upstairs. Harrys mouth hung open, his eyebrows raised in apprehension as he stared from Ginny to Teddy and back. Ted wore a wary expression, biting his lip. "Wha- just happened?"
Teddy explained warily, "He burst out at me too, saying how I should have known how dangerous the mission was and I was way in over my head and stuff"
Harry, seemed to have come to his senses, as he sprang into action immediately. His sons words hurt, but he knew Al was more hurt right now and he needed him. Ginny turned to face him before he disappeared up the stairs, "Harry, it will be okay", and she offered a weak smile. She turned back to Teddy and led him into the kitchen to feed him up, saying how much he had dried up in a week. She resembled Molly Weasley in quite a few aspects, and this was one of them.
Harry heard crying as he got closer to Als room and he quickened his pace, as each sob hit him like an arrow to the heart. "Al its okay, I am not mad", he said hugging him trying to soothe him. "Im sorry dad its too hard. Everytime you go. Why cant you find another job?"
Harry gave out a sigh, "Al there are some things in life you know you have to do. Its something that just feels right. Fighting dark forces is like that for me", Harry looked at Albus with pleading eyes, wanting him to understand.
"You have already gone through so much. It hurts to see you like this"
"But Al thats the thing, I am not hurting anymore.. I am happy, I have an awesome wife and 4 amazing children whom I love more than anything in the world. I am fighting for them.. I want them to live in a world exempt from darkness. I am happy cuz I am doing it for you."
When Al didnt look convinced, he was struck with an idea, "You know what? Do you wanna know what you are getting for christmas this year", he said with a playful smirk.
Al looked suspicious and confused at this sudden change of topic, "Whats that got to do with anything?"
"Well.. you will get a walkie-talkie.. that way we can stay in contact better whenever Im gone. How does that sound?"
Al was hopeful but tried to seem non-chalant, "But those things dont work around magic, thats why we dont have them in the wizarding world"
"Well, with some help from aunt Hermione I can put some charms on it so that this one works, just for you", he said with a growing smile.
Al couldnt help but give a teary smile back. He hugged Harry with full force.
"I dont hate you dad, I love you". It was kindof hard for a thirteen year old to say two I-love-yous in a day, but this wasnt just any other day afterall.
"I love you too Al"
With that he gently pushed Al back onto the pillow and drew a blanket over him. "Now go to sleep or your mum will kill me"
Albus was so tired he could have dropped off the moment his head hit the pillow, but he willed his consciouness to work for few more seconds as he told Harry that he wanted to apologise to Ted. But before Harry could answer, a voice from the doorway said "Its okay Al. I understand". Teddy was standing in the doorframe with a calm expression.
Albus drifted off peacefully with dreams of walkie-talkies with legs and wizards fighting on horses with swords and him in the middle refreeing them. In the years to come he would realise that things did get easier as he grew up. He had more faith in his dad and Teddy was getting older. He would go on to become a muggle doctor and that meant even though he couldnt help Harry when he was injured on a mission, he could help many others who were fighting in some way or the other. Harry and Ginny were so proud.