Sign the Way
Harry sat down on a bench and watched as Teddy and David ran off to play together. It was a rare beautiful day in early November. Harry and his family were still adapting. They were still taking lessons in Sign Language, but they were doing way better now and Teddy was less bothered too. He smiled as Teddy waved his way. He opened his bag and brought out a book so he could read while still keeping an eye on the boys. He had barely started reading when his phone buzzed.
David's mother was asking him to take David for the night. Something had come up at work, and she wouldn't been home until late. If he recalled correctly, Joshua was out of the country on business, so David didn't have anyone else nearby. He shook his head and sighed.
~I'll take him home and make sure he gets to school tomorrow - Harry~
He sent his response and looked back over at the boys. They seemed to be happy enough playing for now. There was no need to stop their fun. He pulled his back up and started reading.
Teddy and David rejoined him eventually, and Teddy poked him. "Hey, cub. You two feeling done for now?" he asked.
Teddy nodded. "Yeah, let's go home," he said as he signed.
"What do you guys think of some take out and a film?" Harry asked as he got up.
"What about mum?" David asked. His mum had told him he needed to be home before dinner, and Mr Harry had said he would drive him home.
"Something came up at work and Diane won't be home until really late tonight, so she asked if we could house you," Harry said. "You'll see her again tomorrow after school."
David nodded. "Okay," he said. He didn't really mind. It was nice to stay with Teddy and his family. He took Teddy's hand, and they went with Harry home so they could get the car. They rented Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before picking up some pizza and heading home again.
Harry made sure the boys were engaged before he went through his mail and checked commissions. He sighed as he read through a bigger job. He wasn't short on money, but they wanted him specifically. He felt a pulse from one of his bracelets and looked up.
"What's the matter?" Andromeda asked.
"A job in Norway. It is a hotel in Fauske," Harry said. "They are asking for me specifically."
Andromeda nodded slowly. "Let's talk to Teddy about it, but I don't see why we shouldn't all go," she said. "I have heard winter in Norway can be quite beautiful." She grabbed a slice of pizza and sat down next to him. He showed her the letter and she read it as she ate. Her opinion didn't change. She wouldn't mind going. "How long will you need?" she asked.
"Probably two weeks or so, assuming I work six hours a day. I won't be up for much else, though."
"Please just stay for three weeks and take it at four hours," Andromeda said. "Teddy and I can return without you for a few days. We don't want to you work that long hours unless you have to."
Harry smiled at her. "Okay," he said. He rose from the table as he grabbed a piece of pizza and headed into the living room to check on the boys. They seemed to be having fun if their expressions were anything to go by. He grabbed their pizza box and carried it back to the kitchen so he could fold it up and put it in the recycling before heading into Teddy's room to get a mattress ready for David. He could take the guest room, but David and Teddy usually preferred staying in the same room.
Teddy and David came walking out of the living room once the film was done and poked at Harry. "Can we play some?" Teddy asked.
Harry checked the time. They had been out rather late already. "No, but if you get ready quickly, I can read for longer," he said.
Teddy smiled. "Okay," he said happily. They disappeared for a moment while Harry walked over to Teddy's bed and sat down. He was handed, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and leaned back, so both boys could see the pictures. "Chapter one, Lucy looks into a wardrobe. Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about…"
Andromeda looked into the bedroom as Harry started on chapter two and smiled at them. It gladdened her a lot that Harry could still do this because she knew it meant a lot to Teddy.
David looked up at Teddy and then over at his father. He knew Teddy didn't have a mother, and they lived with his grandmother. Though Teddy had said something about another house a few times, it was just far away from school. He thought it didn't really seem to matter. He would never want to lose his mum, but you didn't have to have one to be happy. "Your dad is really good at reading," David said after he had wrapped his duvet around him. "Sometimes it is hard to remember that he can't hear."
Teddy nodded. "That's why we often sign as well as speak," he said. He lay down and looked up at the ceiling. "It reminds people and lets them know so they don't get confused when he doesn't respond to them."
"I guess that make sense," David said. "I wonder what happens to Peter and his siblings."
Teddy smiled. He knew already because this wasn't the first time Harry read the book to him, but he wouldn't say anything to David.
The next morning went by in a blur. Harry got both boys out the door and on their way to school somehow. They were even on time which was amazing, all on its own. He dropped them off and headed back home before teleporting to his current project. He had no lack of customers, and no one argued his hours. He did a good job and people knew that.
Time went by until suddenly Christmas was only a week away.
Molly smiled sadly as she watched Harry sit down next to Ron. Teddy was playing with Victoire outside. It was good to have the entire family home, Harry and his son included. They were a broken bunch, but she loved them all the same, and they needed each other. The only thing that bothered her was her inability to remember that Harry couldn't hear now. It made her feel bad every time she forgot.
"Don't worry so much about it," Arthur said as he noticed her expression. He could guess what she was thinking. "Harry doesn't take offence."
Molly sighed. "I know, I just wish…" she fell silent. She wished for a lot of things that would never happen.
Harry laughed and talked. Most of the time you couldn't tell that he was deaf. It was only when you spoke to him, and he wasn't looking at you, that it was obvious. Unless of course you wanted to convince yourself that he was ignoring you. That would not have been a safe thing to claim in the Burrow, though.
Padma sat down next to Harry and spoke to him about adding child wards to their house. She was blushing and Harry was smiling at her. Of course, he would help them with wards. Their house was small enough that it wouldn't take him long at all to do either, so he could probably take care of it before leaving for Norway.
The door opened and Ginny walked in with her boyfriend. It was her first time bringing him, and she felt a little nervous about it. She looked around at her family and smiled until she saw Harry. He was sitting leisurely leaned back with a soft smile on his lips as he spoke to Padma. She should probably have realised he would be there. Ron had talked about him for a while now.
Padma laughed at something Harry said before punching him on the shoulder and moving away. Ginny saw the opportunity for what it was and walked in with Adrian following behind her. "Hey Harry," she said. "How is life treating you."
Harry didn't react, and Ginny reached out and poked him. He blinked, surprised, and turned towards her. He moved so she and Adrian could sit down next to him. "Hi Ginny. Did you say something?" he asked apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I'm deaf, so I can't hear you." he tapped his ear.
"But you…"
"I can speak, and I can read lips fairly well by now," Harry said. "So I can hold a conversation if I'm looking at you and I can see what you are saying."
Adrian shifted in his seat and moved so he was also facing Harry. "I can sign if you want?" he said and signed.
Ginny looked at her boyfriend. "I didn't know you can sign," she said. "It can't be that common, is it? Wouldn't Healers just fix it."
Adrian shook his head and he was signing, especially since Ginny wasn't looking at Harry any more. "Sometimes the injury is too bad or something goes wrong, and it can't be healed. I have a cousin who is deaf, so most of my family knows how to sign to her."
"My magic was too active after I was hit by the blast of an explosion and healed me incorrectly," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders. "There is nothing we can do about it, so we are slowly adapting." He smiled at Teddy as his son brought Victoire inside. "Hey cub," he held his arms out and pulled Teddy onto his lap. "You are cold."
Ginny stared at the boy in Harry's lap. He had to be at least seven. His hair was dark brown and his eyes just as bright green as Harry's eyes were. She was confused. She knew they hadn't been an item during the war, and Harry had disappeared into Gringotts right after. When would he have fathered a child?
Teddy looked up at the woman sitting next to his father. She was staring at him. He knew that look. "My birth parents were Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin," he said.
Harry rolled his eyes because Adrian was still signing. He wondered if he even thought about it. "I adopted Teddy when he was five," he said softly. "He is my son, and he looks like me because he shares his mother's ability."
Ginny shook herself out of it. That made so much more sense, and she was not going to get hung up on it. "I was asking how life was treating you," she said. She was curious what he had been up to. Ron had mentioned him, but he hadn't said much about him.
Harry smiled as he kissed Teddy's hair. "We are doing okay. The lack of hearing aside. Teddy is on his fourth year of school. I am booked with work for the foreseeable future. So we are keeping busy."
"What do you work with?" Adrian asked.
"Wards," Harry said. "I'm a Master Warder, trained by the Nation and part of the Enclave of Warders. Unlike most of my brethren, I have no issues working under the sky."
Ginny shook her head. "That's what you did all those years?" she asked.
"Oh, for most of it, certainly," Harry said. He smiled. "How about you. I have seen that you play for the Harpies."
"I do. It is a lot of fun, but well…" Ginny looked at Adrian. "We are considering the future, and maybe it is about time to quit soon."
"That seems to be the theme for tonight," Harry said. "Poor Hogwarts. Maybe we can convince the board to add some more wards before any Weasleys start. He looked at Teddy. "Or you know any descendant of the original Marauders."
George grinned. "Right, Teddy is the oldest. He will pave the road for the rest of them," he said as he bounced little Fred on his leg.
"Thank you, Adrian," Harry said. It was a lot easier keeping up with the conversation when he could just focus on one person. He was very grateful for that.
George looked at the guy sitting next to his sister. "You seem familiar," he said. He narrowed his eyes in a comical fashion as he tried to figure out why that was the case.
"Seeker for Slytherin when I started playing," Harry said calmly. "Was good at it too until he either went to focus on his studies or was ousted by Lord Malfoy to give room for his son. Not that anyone will ever know."
Adrian chuckled. "You sound like you have dealings with him," he said.
"I study from across the room. I try to keep out of his schemes," Harry said. "I'd rather have nothing to do with him."
"Wise choice," Adrian said with a smile. It seemed that he would be accepted. "Not that worried about a snake in your midst, then?" he asked, hoping they took it as a joke.
"Eh, you can't be worse than Harry," Ron said. "He is vicious if you catch him on a bad day. That didn't get any better now that he can't hear the people around him."
"He was in Gryffindor," Adrian said.
"Candy," George exclaimed. "They are finally done, and we are publishing right before Christmas. It is the number one must have, or your family will never speak to you again." He summoned a box and held it out to Harry and Teddy.
Once everyone had crabbed a candy, George closed the box. "Now these will reveal your true house of Hogwarts. It was a task and a half to make them good enough to really tell where people belong, but now it is done. Your hair will turn the colour of your house for an hour before fading out."
"Ready, three, two, one," Ron said.
Everyone popped the candies in their mouths. It was a nice raspberry flavour. Most of the room were still redheads, though the shade had changed considerably. Ginny held a mirror up for Adrian, and he saw his own black locks now coloured bright green.
Teddy's hair was bright yellow and Harry's hair was still mixed between red and green. At least it was half-and-half now and not mixed this time. Teddy signed to him and he laughed. "Andy's hair would be green," he said. "There is no way it wouldn't be."
Adrian shook his head. He didn't know Harry well enough to really have an opinion. He seemed nice enough. He watched the family as they continued. It looked like Teddy was signing for his dad for a bit before he got tired.
Ginny studied Harry as she sat there listening to her siblings. He had changed. It wasn't just that he was deaf now. There was so much more about him that was different. She tapped Harry's leg, and he turned back to her. "I was furious with you, you know," she said. She felt like he should know this. "You just up and left without telling anyone. Then the article in the Prophet came out and you seemed so defeated. They branded you and you didn't even react. I was on board with Hermione when she went raging and raving to Gringotts. That was until Bill sat me down at asked me to stop. I decided to listen to him. I returned to Hogwarts and took my last year there before I went into Quidditch. I stopped caring about you. You didn't matter to me."
Harry smiled. "I don't mind that," he said. "I wouldn't have wanted you to get hung up on me."
"Then Ron told us that you were back. You were talking to him, and you seemed quite happy," Ginny said. "I got angry again, and I knew it wouldn't be fair on either of us if I approached you then. I haven't really been avoiding you for a while now, but I guess we haven't met up for other reasons."
"I see," Harry said calmly. He understood her. "I think you had every right to be angry."
Ginny smiled at him. "Thank you," she said. She was glad there seemed to be no hard feelings now. That meant a lot to her. She leaned back against Adrian and looked around happily. This was good. Everyone seemed okay with her choice of partner, and she had finally spoken to Harry again. It felt good.
…
In the next few days, Harry warded Ron and Padma's house. Then it was time for them to head to Norway. Teddy looked at the snow clad hills and mountains. He had been a bit weary of going abroad again, but both Harry and Andromeda had assured him that nothing bad was going to happen, and he believed them. He bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly. He had never seen this much snow before, and he wanted to go out and play.
"Thank you," Harry said as he received the keys to their rooms. He looked around the hotel. From the outside it looked like a traditional wooden house with red walls and black roof. The inside was nice and clean, and the magical part of the hotel was entirely underwater. They headed down in the lift using a panel warded from nomags.
"This is so cool," Teddy said as he looked around. He took his father's hand and walked with him until a man wearing fancy traditional robes in white and gray with red detailing walked up to them. Teddy moved back to his grandmother so he wouldn't be in the way.
"Warder Black and family. How wonderful for you to join us," the man said. "I am Olav Myrdal. I run this hotel. I have heard amazing thing about your work." He turned to Andromeda. "I hope you don't mind me steeling him," he said.
"Not at all," Andromeda said. She took the key from Harry and headed with Teddy toward their room so they could drop their things off.
"So," Olav said.
"Can I stop you there before you start speaking and walking," Harry said. "I'm deaf. So I won't be able to keep up with you if you turn away from me."
"Oh, well, that is not a problem at all," Olav said as he raised his hands. 'I happen to know how to sign.'
Harry smiled. 'Then I guess we can do that instead,' he signed back. He walked with Olav, learning what wards the man wanted and what he wanted to get done. It was nothing overly strange. The wards were getting old and needed to be repaired, but they didn't want to shut down their business,and taking the wards down might flood the whole hotel. That's where Harry came in. As someone who could work with people in the wards and with his ability to interweave the old wards with the new ones, he was the most logical choice.
For the next few days before Christmas Eve as that was the day traditionally celebrated in Norway, Harry worked hard on the wards starting quite early in the morning while Teddy and Andromeda travelled around Fauske. They found a place to go sledding and spent a lot of time outside in the snow. Teddy had made friends with several other children, and they were quickly included in the warm Norwegian Christmas mood.
When Christmas Eve rolled around, they were invited to a hotel wide celebration with song and dance and laughter. Harry was sitting back against a wall watching everyone. There was so much going on that he couldn't hear, but it didn't feel the same loss he would have at home. Leaving home had been a better idea than he had first thought, and Teddy was quite obviously having a blast trying to keep up with songs sung in a language he didn't speak.
They went to bed late that night.
That didn't stop Teddy from being up at six the next morning. He climbed into bed with Harry and curled up against him. A smile spread over his face as Harry slowly started telling a story.
Andromeda eventually walked into the room, got them out of bed, and the three of them got dressed and headed out for breakfast. They returned to their room after to exchange gifts sent over from Britain or wherever Luna was at the time.
After the gifts, they headed out and played around in the now until their noses and fingers were red and cold. There were a lot of pictures taken and all of them were laughing. Teddy touched the frost in his father's hair as he rode on his back. It wasn't the same, but Harry was still Harry.
"Love you, Teddy," Harry said as he kissed his son's forehead that night.
'Love you too,' Teddy signed.
Harry moved back and headed out. He could get some work in before bed. He hugged Andy and told her where he was heading of too before walking over to the section he was working on. He sat down and activated his magesight. He focused on the wards and wove through the bright strands slowly as he added more strings. He worked for two hours before he felt the buzz of his timer. He moved back to normal sight and rolled his shoulders. That would have to be enough for now.
A fish swam by the window as Harry walked up to it. He smiled softly. This place was quite extraordinary. The water was as dark as the sky outside. A hand landed on the small of his back and he moved away quickly as a spell danced in the palm of his hand.
"Whoa, I just came to check on you." A friendly smile was flashed Harry's way.
Harry cancelled the spell, but he didn't relax any. "You have checked. I'm fine," he said cautiously.
"You seem so tense. I just wanted to see if I could relieve some of that tension. Come on, don't tell me you are straight. I've seen the way you look at some of the guys around here."
"Whether I like men or not is irrelevant. I'm not currently looking for a partner, be that for a single night or a longer time," Harry said. "I'm not interested."
"Oh, come on. I can even make sure you make it back safe and sound to your room when we're done. You look like you could do with a good fuck."
Harry shook his head and sighed before he walked out of the room. He teleported over to his room, so the man wouldn't know where he stayed. That usually wasn't allowed, but he held the wards, so he could cheat just a bit.
Andromeda looked up at him. She noticed the annoyed look on his face. "What is wrong?" she asked.
"Another guest who does not appreciate the meaning of the word no," Harry said. "He thought I need to get laid, and he was very insistent."
Andromeda sighed. "Well, I'll help you out if you need me too," she said.
"That is very appreciated. I need to expand my shield so it warns me when someone is about to walk up on me from behind," Harry said. "I don't like it happening."
"Make is spell sensitive if you can," Andromeda said. "I agree with you. If that was something you used hearing for before, then please make sure you are safe."
…
'Dad, that guy is staring at you again?' Teddy signed.
Harry sighed. 'Just ignore him,' he signed back. He looked at Andromeda and she shook her head. 'I'll deal with him if he comes over here,' she signed.
'Why is he staring at you?' Teddy asked.
'Don't worry about it, Teddy. Andy and I are handling it,' Harry said. 'He just wants something from me and I have said no.' He was so glad Andromeda was there to keep an eye on things. Thought he wished this guy would just leave them alone. He really wasn't interested.
Teddy scrunched his nose. 'If you have told him no, then why does he continue?' he signed.
'Because some people don't take no for an answer. It is rude and annoying, but they don't care,' Andromeda signed.
'I'm seriously considering just releasing the well. I doubt he would be able to take it,' Harry signed.
"Only if you have no other choice," Andromeda signed back before standing up slowly. She walked around Harry as the man moved closer. "Leave us alone," she said.
The man's eyes narrowed at her. "No real man would let a woman speak for him," he sneered. "Too scared to talk to me yourself."
"You do realise that my Lord is deaf. Your words have no meaning to him," Andromeda said calmly.
"He is also employed by the establishment and I will not have my workers harassed, Mr Svensson," Mr Myrdal said as he walked up to them. "You will leave him alone or leave the hotel. That choice is up to you." He waved security over as Mr Svensson built himself up to really get going.
Andromeda moved back to her table. 'I think that is the last we see of him,' she signed. 'Mr Myrdal was not impressed with his behaviour.'
Harry nodded. 'Thank you,' he signed. Then he smiled as a bunch of Teddy's new friends came over and dragged him with them.
'I better keep up with that,' Andromeda signed. 'See you later.'
Harry signed back before finishing his tea and clearing their table. He still had quite a lot of work to do, and he better get going.
New Year's rolled around, after which Teddy and Andromeda headed home. Harry stayed another ten days to finish his work, and Mr Myrdal was very impressed with the wards as they were handed back to him.
Harry was glad to be going back home.