Inheritance of Shadows

3. Trying to Establish New Routines

Hermione woke to a small heel pressing into her ribs.

She looked down to find Teddy by her side instead of his crib.

After such an accidental magic feat, he was now rolled sideways across her narrow mattress and sprawled starfish-style across her stomach. His hair—currently a sleepy, mussed periwinkle—tickled her chin. His currently golden hazel eyes blinking up at her sleepily.

“Up already?” she murmured, brushing curls from his forehead. "Breakfast?"

He giggled, the sound bright and unburdened, and launched himself upright. His hair brightened two shades at the idea of breakfast.

Hermione groaned softly and sat up. She had once organized O.W.L. revision timetables with military precision; now her life was waking up to a cheerful toddler who changed hair colors based on mood and had a talent for getting into cupboards she hadn’t child-proofed yet.

But she wouldn’t trade it for anything.

---

The first few days in La Push felt like building a life from wet sand—messy and a bit unstable, but hers. Teddy rose with the dawn every morning, demanding food, attention, and whatever interesting object he had spotted last.

Their new house was still half-empty, half-settled. Some boxes were unpacked. Others served as makeshift tables. A laundry basket doubled as a toy chest. Teddy dragged his stuffed wolf everywhere, even outside when Hermione hung their laundry (still nervous about using certain appliances around her new magic).

She tried, truly, to create a routine.

Breakfast.
Walk the yard.
Organize one room.
Lunch.
Nap (for Teddy—Hermione used the quiet to panic about finances which she didn't need to, the reparations after the war and Harry willing her half of what he had, had put them in a comfortable place. Still with a growing almost toddler Hermione worried).
More unpacking.
Bath.
Bedtime stories.
Sleep.

But life with a toddler had a habit of laughing at routines.

---

The house was nearly sentient with magic and yet it didn't look nearly old enough to be. Hermione wondered if perhaps it sat on a strong magical ley line.

The stove lit itself when Hermione approached, flames blooming as though her intent had already arrived. Cabinet doors swung open before she reached for them. The sink turned on and off as she passed, adjusting temperature without a word spoken.

Once, Teddy began fussing, and the rocking chair in the living room began moving on its own so smoothly Hermione thought for a moment she’d done it with her own instinct based magic.

Her chest tightened. Wandless magic had never been her strength before the transformation—but now everything was instinct. Emotion. Intention.

As she chopped fruit for Teddy, the knife floated out of her hand and began slicing on its own, matching her pacing thoughts.

“Alright,” she muttered, taking it back before it cleaved through the counter. “We’re going to work on boundaries.”

The house gave a soft hum. As though amused.

Hermione set about ensuring the house was safe, warded, and properly protected—but without a wand, the process was everything except predictable.

When she tried to establish a fireproof charm around the kitchen, the walls shimmered a dark lavender and held the scent of peppermint for two hours.

Attempting a simple dust-repelling charm made every surface in the living room briefly sticky.

Her attempt at wards… well.

She stepped through a doorway and walked straight into an invisible wall that her magic had apparently placed just to annoy her.

Teddy laughed at her misfortune until hiccups overtook him.

“Fine,” she grumbled, rubbing her nose. “We’ll refine that one later.”

Eventually, she surrendered to practicality and began writing a list—an actual parchment-and-quill list pinned to the fridge by a magnet shaped like a salmon.

To Get:
• proper toddler furniture
• carpets that don’t smell like the previous owners
• curtains for Teddy’s room
• garden gloves
• a new rocking chair (if magic eats the old one again)
• tea, lots of tea

She added one more line:

• bookshelves (obviously)

Hermione set Teddy on the floor with a bowl of cereal, and Hermione tried—genuinely tried—not to let her stress show.

But his hair betrayed her.

When she worried about bills (it would seem her mother's frugality had passed down to her):
his curls shifted to a faded brown.
When she felt overwhelmed: faint grey streaks appeared.
When she managed to laugh at his antics: bright canary yellow highlights shimmered through.

The most startling was when she stepped outside, overwhelmed by the scent of pine and sea spray, and breathed in the calm of the land she now called home.

Teddy’s hair turned deep forest green.

“Do you like it here too?” she whispered.

He nodded, shoving a fistful of cereal into his mouth.

Her heart softened.

---

By the end of the first week, Hermione couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Something watched them.

Not threatening—not even hidden, really. More like the forest itself had eyes, and several pairs of them. Teddy would pause mid-play and point toward the treeline with wide eyes, hair turning alert-blue. Hermione felt… not anxiety, but pressure. A steady awareness brushing against her magic, curious and quiet.

The same presences she’d felt the first day.
Never crossing the boundary of her property.
Never approaching.
Just watching.

She stepped outside late in the evening, the air cool and brimming with the scent of cedar. Shadows curled playfully at her ankles, responding to her heightened senses.

“I know you’re there,” she said softly to the forest.

The trees rustled.
A branch snapped somewhere deeper in the dark.
Then silence.

Hermione swallowed her instinctive shiver.

Not dangerous.
Not hostile.
Not human.

Yet she felt… oddly comforted.

As though the forest had accepted her the same way the house had.

She turned back toward the cottage where Teddy slept, his hair glowing warm-gold in the night light.

Something in the woods huffed—a soft exhale, almost a laugh.

Hermione exhaled, too.

“Curious neighbors,” she murmured, heading inside.

The shadows followed her like loyal, unseen wolves.