"Hey Dromeda!" Harry greeted as he stepped out of the swirling green flames.
"Good morning, dear," she walked into the sitting room, a bag already slung over her shoulder. "Thanks for watching Teddy for a bit."
"Of course," he shoved his hands into his pockets, watching the witch bustle around the room collecting things to put into her bag. "I'll be back in about two hours. Teddy should be waking up any minute now. I have his food laid out in the kitchen so you can feed him when he wakes up, then just play until I get back. Easy enough?"
"Yup, sounds good," Harry nodded, making a mental checklist. There were only two things. He can handle that.
"All right, then I'll be off. Let me know if you need anything," she waved over her shoulder and stepped outside before turning on the spot and disappearing from sight. He hadn't heard any cries yet, so he walked around the back of the couch and collapsed into, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The same couch that he had woken up from the night he left Privet Drive about a year ago, he couldn't help but think. That's over now, he told himself firmly. Yet the flashes that lit up the dark night sky could not be erased from his memory.
Barely a few seconds after sitting down, he pushed himself off and walked into the kitchen where he saw a tiny bottle, already full, waiting for him. He wandered around the house aimlessly, trying not to look at the pictures on the wall of her family, all who had passed during the war. Eventually, when he heard the soft cries of a newborn, he hurried into the room and saw the baby on its back with a toothless smile and two chubby hands holding one of his feet at an angle that only babies can achieve.
"Hey buddy," Harry said softly over the edge of the crib. Teddy's hair was a light brown that perfectly matched Lupin's, but as he became more awake, it began to turn a light blue that matched his bedroom walls. Reaching over the bars, he picked up the baby and held him in his arms like Dromeda had instructed him to, careful to support his head. Did she say to feed him right when he woke up? Harry bit his lip, trying to decide. Teddy just stared at him, completely unaware of the decision making process.
"Are you hungry, bud?" he asked, not really expecting an answer, but thinking that an answer would be nice nonetheless. Teddy continued to stare at him. "You'd probably start crying if you were hungry, right?" Making a decision, Harry walked to the center of the room where a playmat was laid out and he carefully set his godson down and he immediately grabbed his feet again. Harry pulled a box full of toys towards him and held up the colorful rings, watching his tiny fist grab and hit the dangling shapes.
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"I made you some tea," Ron approached Hermione with a warm mug and sat on the chair next to her just outside the Burrow. She looked up from her newspaper with a smile and murmured 'thanks.'
"Is there honey in here?" she asked after taking her first sip.
"Er... yeah. You always add honey so I figured that's just how you like it, but if you don't--"
"No, no, I do like my tea with honey. I'm just surprised you knew, that's all," she told a blushing Ron.
"What are you reading?" Ron asked to change the subject from his awkwardness.
"That article about us in the Prophet. I still have your copy too if you want."
"Sure," he said and took the identical paper that she held out. Side by side, they read the summary of what had happened over the past year with Ron snorting occasionally.
"What?" Hermione finally asked, unable to see what was humorous about what happened.
"Listen to this: 'Harry Potter led the wrongfully accused muggle-borns into a lift, still guarded by his powerful stag patronus and he, along with Ron and Hermione, made their daring escape out from under the clutch of corruption.'" He read aloud from the paper in a dramatic voice as if he was telling a ghost story, making Hermione giggle.
"Harry is not going to like all this," she responded ruefully.
"Tell me about it, the noble git," he added as an afterthought.
"Just wait until you reach the end. Here: 'He circled You-Know-You slowly, yet clearly in control with his wand ready to strike at a moment's notice, knowing that history was watching his every move.'" She matched his melodramatic voice and shook her head at the end. "So dramatic."
"You know, he'd always say that it sounded cooler than it actually was." Ron looked off, lost in his thoughts, and Hermione gazed at his freckled cheeks before turning back to the paper.
"Okay! Okay! I take it you're hungry now!" Harry picked up the screaming baby frantically and walked as fast as he dared into the kitchen. He tried to bounce the baby gently to calm him since he had seen some parents do that in the park, but nothing seemed to work.
"Shhh, it's okay, here we go," he said quietly to the crying child, attempting to uncap the bottle with one hand. He carried the two onto the couch again and sat Teddy on his lap so that his back was pressed against Harry's stomach. Teddy thrashed against him with his pudgy hands stuck in the air and Harry had to wrap an arm around the baby just to keep him upright.
"Here! Drink it!" he said, trying to get the bottle into his mouth. Once it was finally in between his tiny lips, he squeezed the sides slightly to let some of the formula out. Just as he squeezed it, Teddy thrashed again and sent the bottle flying out of his hands and a small stream of liquid squirted onto Teddy and Harry. He whipped out his wand and the bottle came flying back towards him.
"Come on, Teddy. Aren't you hungry?" he mumbled, trying again to put the bottle to his lips. Eventually, he accepted defeat and realized he needed help. Carefully, he set Teddy onto the carpet at his feet, far away from anything else, and hurried to the fireplace where a bag of floo powder sat. He got on his knees and stuck his head into the green flames, hoping someone would answer his pleas. Barely a minute later, Ginny stepped through the swirling fire and took one look at Harry's formula-dripping face and started to laugh hysterically.
"Ginny!" he said pleadingly through her giggles. "He won't eat! I've been trying for forever now!"
"Okay, okay," she said, getting a hold of her contagious chuckles. She walked over to the still crying baby and picked him up tenderly. She cradled him close to her chest and in a soothing voice, eventually got him to quiet. Wordlessly, he handed her the bottle and he began to drink calmly. "There!" she declared her victory.
"Babies drink lying down?" he asked incredulously. She turned to him with a skeptical eyebrow raised.
"Yeees," she said, drawing the word out and trying not to laugh again. Harry's mouth formed a small 'o' in realization. She just shook her head at him and continued to bounce Teddy in her arms until he wouldn't drink any more. "Now we have to burp him," she said matter-of-factly. She lifted him up so that his head rested on her shoulder.
"Don't you need a towel or a rag over your shoulder?" Harry asked.
"No," she replied confidently and patted his back. He burped quickly and sent saliva dripping down her back.
"Eww! Teddy!" Ginny cried, immediately holding him out at an arm's length, causing more saliva to fall on her sleeves.
"Told ya," Harry said grinning.
"Shut up, Potter," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just clean this up." He pointed his wand at the floor and then her shirt and siphoned away the liquid.
"I hate not being able to do magic yet," she complained as she brought Teddy back into her arms. "It's so frustrating!"
"You almost can though," Harry responded, sitting next to her on the couch, no longer caring about his past experiences with it. She nodded, but her attention was brought back to Teddy as he grabbed her finger. They sat fawning over the adorable baby until a faint pop meant Dromeda had returned outside.
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"Hey 'Mione?" Ron asked hesitantly after she had turned back to flip through the newspaper.
"Hmm?" she said absentmindedly, her eyes darting across the pages.
"So I know that we're, you know, a thing now," he began uncomfortably. Hermione looked up from her paper, clearly amused at his awkwardness. "But, do you want to... I don't know... go get something to eat sometime?" He looked at her hopefully, still wringing his hands. Hermione grinned at how nervous he was even though they had kissed multiple times and technically slept together.
"Ronald Billius Weasley, are you asking me on a date?" she teased.
"I wish you didn't know my middle name," he groaned and slumped into his chair. "But yes, yes I am. What do you say?"
"I'd love to," she said and leaned over to kiss him. "Besides, I wanted to ask you if you'd come to Australia with me whenever Kingsley finds my parents."
"You want me to go with you?" he said and he leaned back to be able to see Hermione fully.
"Yeah, if you're willing to. I think it would be nice to have someone there for me," she admitted quietly. Ron looked at her, still confused on his purpose on the trip. "My parents had a strict rule that I was never allowed to do magic on them, and then I went and erased their memories, made them move out of the country, and basically made them miss a year of their lives." Tears were forming from the corners of her eyes. "They're going to be so mad and--and... and what if they don't forgive me?"
"Oh 'Mione," he said softly, pulling her onto his chair and hugging her. "I'm sure they'll understand once they know what happened. You did it to keep them safe." She sniffled loudly and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I mean, I know they won't forgive me instantly, but I just hope that our relationship isn't completely ruined!" She wiped her eyes, appreciating the relief she got from admitting to her fears.
"You're their daughter. Parents can never stay mad at their kids for that long. Look at Percy! My parents forgave him the second he apologized!" She nodded and gave a watery smile.
"Yeah... yeah. You're probably right," she said, trying to convince herself. They sat there silently comforting each other, enjoying the warmth of the sun until the house suddenly grew louder.
"Sounds like Harry's back," Ron said smiling. "Come on, I have an idea." He pulled Hermione up by her hand and they walked back into the Burrow. Ginny and Harry were both hunched over with laughter, but the second the back door squeaked open, Harry stopped abruptly and swung around with a hand already reaching for his wand. He relaxed as quickly as he had tensed when he saw them, and Ginny let out a final chuckle before falling silent.
"How do you guys feel about a lunch hike and picnic?" Ron asked them, still holding Hermione's hand.
"Sure!" Ginny said excitedly. "We can hike up to the Lovegood's!" The trio exchanged a nervous glance.
"Er... yeah. Maybe," Harry rescinded uncertainly, quite sure that they would not be walking there.
"Hang on, I'll go get George. A walk outside would be good for him," she responded decisively. She sprinted up the stairs, leaving Harry with only a trace of a flowery perfume.
"George?" she barged into his room to find him sitting by a box of old prototypes. He looked up at her expectantly. "We're going on a hike and having a little picnic. Wanna come?"
"No thanks." His head drooped back down, but Ginny wouldn't leave. Instead she sat on the bed next to him and leaned towards him.
"It'll be good for you to get out of the house for a bit, yeah?" A tear slid down his face and he just shook his head mutely.
"He wouldn't want you to be sad, George," she said softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "He'd probably just make some joke that there's no length of time respectable enough to mourn him." He smiled faintly and looked at the wall directly ahead of him.
"You don't have to come if you don't want to," she said and stood from the bed. She ruffled his hair lightly and walked to the door. Surprisingly, she heard the bed heave and knew that George had stood afterall.
An owl appeared right outside the kitchen window in front of the slices of bread Harry had laid out for sandwiches. It tapped the closed glass impatiently until someone noticed him and gratefully flew into the room over Harry's head. The owl landed on the counter and allowed him to remove the letter, this time enclosed with a different official looking seal.
To Mr. Harry Potter,
An official would like to come to your current place of residence on this Thursday at two p.m. too read the will of Mr. Remus John Lupin who regretfully passed away on the second of May. Please send back a letter notifying us if you have an objection to this date or time, or if we will see you then.
Harry quickly wrote back a quick response that this time will indeed work for him and sent the owl on its way. With a pang in his chest, Harry let his head fall back and ignored the stinging at the edges of his eyes. His heart ached at the vision of Teddy with his grandmother and at the surprise of one of his losses being brought up so suddenly. Slowly, he went back to the slices of bread to sandwich them together, thinking of his favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
The sun shone down on the quiet hills and the grass swayed gracefully in the breeze. Ginny stood at the top of the hill they were climbing, looking down at them impatiently. When they finally reached the peak, Harry dropped the blanket he carried onto the grass and the two of them spread it across the ground while Ginny kicked pebbles onto the edges to keep it from flying away. She then flopped onto the blanket and began pulling out their hastily made sandwiches while Ron and Hermione joined her. George stood a little ways away, his hands in his pockets, looking wistfully at the Burrow and the surrounding fields.
"Hey," Harry said as he walked over to him.
"Hey," he responded automatically.
"Do you want to talk?" Harry continued to look forward, following George's lead.
"It's been almost a month. Just a bloody month," he said bitterly. "And everyone is trying to go back to normal." Harry's eyebrows furrowed, but he continued to look forward.
"No one's back to normal," he contradicted gently.
"Well maybe for you. You're not used to having a happy family or..." George's anger disappeared as quickly as it came when he realized what he was saying. Harry had turned harshly towards him, his eyes blazing. "Sorry," he muttered, silently cursing himself. Harry forced himself to smile blankly and turn back to face the Burrow when really, his insides were reeling. But George needed him.
"You're right. I'm not used to this," he said vaguely, wondering if he meant having a family or a life of relative peace. Probably a mix of both. "But no one is back to normal," he reaffirmed. "Hermione still has nightmares. Ron talks to her late at night about missing Fred. Ginny is constantly practicing Quidditch alone when she used to hate not being surrounded by people. I barely get any sleep. No one is perfectly happy yet, George." He hung his head and took a deep breath before looking up again.
"I miss him," he said softly into the wind.
"I know," Harry whispered. "I do too."