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SIYE Time:13:29 on 28th March 2024
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A Man, a Boy and an Umbrella
By Pottermum

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Fluff, General, Romance
Warnings: Death, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 55
Summary: Harry is left to raise Teddy alone, following the deaths of all those close to him. They return to England after having lived in America for a long time. Harry wants to do what's best for Teddy. Meeting Ginny Weasley will change their lives,
Hitcount: Story Total: 27489; Chapter Total: 4326







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It was only later that night that Ginny realised the boy, Teddy, must be the son of Remus and Tonks. She had heard they'd married, but it had been many years since she had seen either of them.

She looked at the drawing, which she had propped up against the lamp on her bedside table. She didn't know why she was so drawn to it, but she really hoped she had a chance to pass it on to Harry. But there had been no mention of Harry in the press, no confirmation he was even in the country, let alone had attended the ceremony at Hogwarts.

She settled down into bed. It had been a long day, from the early morning service, to Tori's birthday party later at the Burrow. The little girl had asked Ginny about the boy she had seen, lamenting that he couldn't come to her party.

Ginny rolled over in bed to look at the drawing yet again. “Goodnight,” she said softly. “I hope, you're enjoying your time in England...and I hope...somehow I'll be able to give you this drawing.

It was the last thing she saw before she drifted off to sleep.

/*/*/*/*

Harry and Teddy had returned to Grimmauld Place where Teddy had a nap, his little body still adjusting to travelling by Portkey. Harry used the time to send a letter out to the goblins at Gringotts, letting them know he'd be by soon to see about setting up the Lupin's vaults in Teddy's name. He wished he had someone to watch over Teddy while he went, knowing the boy would soon get bored as he dealt with the multitude of paper work that was involved in transferring ownership.

When Teddy woke, he demanded they do something fun. Harry acquiesced, and to Teddy's delight, Harry took him to be London zoo. They spent the rest of the afternoon there, for the weather in England wasn't as bad as it had been earlier in Scotland. They picked up some fish and chips on their way back to Grimmauld Place. After tea and a bath, they listened to the wireless, discussing the day's events

" Rumour has it that Harry Potter himself may have been at Hogwarts today. If anyone can confirm this, please let us know. Or if the man himself is listening, Harry, you're always welcome to come in to the studio and talk to us personally," said the announcer.

“Come on now Lee, don't you think the Ministry would be shouting from the rooftops that Harry Potter was back in England,” scoffed another announcer

Harry rolled his eyes. He'd made it quite clear to Kingsley that if word got out from the Ministry then Harry would leave straight away. He was here in England to set things up for Teddy; do what was right for the boy. Anything else, like meeting people that had helped his family during the war, was just an added bonus if it worked out. He would not do any interviews and would not endorse any political figures, even to acknowledge the Ministry's help in his defeat. Sirius and Remus may have spoken highly of Kingsley, but he'd only become Minister of Magic after Voldemort's defeat, when Harry had returned to America.

“Well, we here at the radio station, formerly known as Potterwatch, welcome Harry Potter's return to England, if the rumours are true. Harry, if you're listening, we just want a chance to say thank you for saving our world." The voice sounded genuine.

“I think you just did,” said the second voice dryly. “Come on, we want to do more than thank him. We want to know everything- what happened when he went into the forest? Why did he leave England so suddenly. Did Sirius Black really kidnap him from his loving Muggle family? Does he have a girlfriend, boyfriend, wife and kids back in America? Does he think the Ministry has done a good job under Kingsley Shacklebolt? We want to know!” A fist slammed into the table.

Harry turned the wireless off. He owed them nothing; they weren't interested in the truth, anyway. He'd seen Sirius torn to shreds in the paper, after he escaped from Azkaban to rescue Harry from his life with the Dursleys. He'd seen Remus outed as a werewolf, forced to give up the first decent teaching job he'd had in years. At least Remus had come to live with Sirius and Harry after that, and Tonks followed some time later.

“What are we doing tomorrow, Harry?” asked Teddy, as Harry tucked him into bed

“Well, we have to go to Diagonal Alley and go to Gringotts, the wizarding bank. I have some papers to sign and we might go down to the vaults,” replied Harry, tucking him in and sitting on the side of his bed.

“That doesn't sound like fun,” said Teddy, wrinkling his nose.

“We can go shopping after,” enticed Harry.

“Good shopping or bad shopping?” asked Teddy, warily. Bad shopping was either groceries or clothes, both boring in Teddy's eyes.

“Mostly fun shopping,” promised Harry, “but we may get you some new clothes.”

“But mostly fun shopping,” clarified Teddy. When Harry smiled and nodded, he smiled back. “Okay then, night.” He closed his eyes and was asleep in minutes.

Harry stayed to watch him, wishing he could sleep as easily as him. He rarely slept more than five hours a night, laying in bed pondering the day just gone and wondering about the day to come. Again, he just wished he had someone he could unburden himself to, to share the load. It was times like this he missed Andromeda's company and counsel.

He'd felt lonely growing up with the Dursleys. An outsider, never fitting in. Alone. Then miraculously, Sirius turned up, and they'd had seven years together, a family finally. Remus had joined them, then Tonks. Andromeda had followed her daughter, joining them all when Tonks announced her pregnancy. Andromeda had stayed in America with Teddy when they'd all returned to face Voldemort for the last time. They'd left Andromeda and Teddy behind, a united team of four.

Only Harry had returned.

Sometimes Harry didn't know how to go on, but Teddy gave him a reason. Harry loved the little guy and was grateful he had Andromeda to help raise him, for Harry didn't have a clue.

But Andromeda had passed several months ago, a bad case of Dragon pox. Her passing left a gaping hole in Harry and Teddy's lives, and Harry had taken a years absence from his Auror training as he looked after Teddy.

Harry left a night light on for Teddy and went to his own room. He lay on the bed, thinking of his morning at Hogwarts. He fell asleep picturing waves of copper and gold.

/*/*/*/*


Ginny wandered down to the cafeteria, searching for something to eat to satisfy her appetite and see her through the next few hours of her shift. It had been quiet so far, thankfully. Ginny's training consisted of doing a rotation of different departments to find which one she wanted to specialise in. She was currently working in the Magical Bugs and Diseases ward. She had enjoyed the variation of the different wards, but overall, she was leaning towards a career in obstetrics.

Seeing that there wasn't much too appealing at the cafeteria, Ginny snagged a chicken salad sandwich and a juice, then headed to a table. She picked up the Daily Prophet, almost relieved not to see Harry's face on it, for it meant he was still incognito.

She was heading back to her floor when she almost literally bumped into Kingsley Shacklebolt.

“Oh, Minister, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there,” she apologised.

Kingsley laughed. “I'm a pretty hard guy to miss, Ginny. Anyway, no harm done. How are you, and the family? It was great to see you all there on Thursday.”

“We're all good, coming off a sugar high after Tori's third birthday party after the ceremony,” laughed Ginny. “It was a very moving ceremony, and I heard many people say the same,” she added.

“Good, good,” nodded Kingsley. “Well, I suppose I should-”

“Erm, excuse me for asking this, sir, but have you been in contact with Harry, er, Harry Potter?” asked Ginny, before he could leave. She had lowered her voice when mentioning Harry's name.

“And why would you be asking that, Ginny?” asked Kingsley, crossing his arms over his large chest and looking seriously at her.

Ginny looked around to make sure no-one was listening. “I met him at Hogwarts, you know, at the ceremony. I talked to him and Teddy briefly before he left.” Her voice was quiet and confidential.

“I hope you've kept that information to yourself. Harry has been quite firm in letting me know he doesn't want anyone to know he's here,” said Kinglsey.

“I haven't said anything, and I won't. I just have something that I think he'd like to see and maybe keep,” said Ginny.

Kingsley looked both amused and uncomfortable. “It's not a love letter or anything like that, is it? Merlin knows, we have someone working at the post office who only deals with fan letters for Harry.”

“NO! No, nothing like that. Someone I know is a really good artist, and he drew a picture of Harry and Teddy at the ceremony, oh, don't worry, he didn't realise who they were,” she said, as Kingsley began to look worried. “It really is a lovely drawing, and I think Harry should see it, and have it,” she finished.

“We-ell, I really don't know when or even if I'll see Harry again, but if you give it to me, I can-”

“No! Er, that is, I have it at home, as I didn't know I'd be seeing you today. Perhaps you could give Harry my address and he could come by?” she suggested hurriedly. “Teddy too, of course.” She hurriedly wrote her name and address on a card and handed it to him.

Kingsley now looked amused. “Give Harry Potter a woman's address and tell him she has something she wants to show him? Hmm, I'm afraid you'll have to join the queue, Ginny,” he said, grinning. “Harry wasn't named 'England's Most Eligible Bachelor' for nothing, you know.” His booming laugh made many people look around.

Ginny flushed. “Its not like that. Look, if you see Harry again, please tell him Ginny has something for him and give him my address. If he's not interested, then fine, I tried,” she said huffily. “Now, I really should go. Good day, Minister.”

Kingsley watched her go. “Red heads and their tempers!” he said to himself. He really hoped he did see Harry again. He hoped to entice him back to England permanently, by asking him to join the Auror department, in whatever capacity he wanted. Yes, it would, be quite a coup for Kingsley if he could succeed. He wondered if Ginny Weasley may hold the key to that happening.

/*/*/*/*

Their visit to Gringott's took longer than even Harry had anticipated. Sirius was right, the goblins took their security at the bank very seriously. His identity needed to be verified over and over, by wand, by blood, by document. Only then did the goblins allow him to visit his vault and make the transfer of ownership of Remus, Tonks and Andromeda's vaults to Teddy official.

Harry breathed a little easier when that was done, knowing that Teddy would be well looked after, financially. His only dilemma was in selecting someone to take care of Teddy, should anything happen to him. The goblins expected an answer, and so Harry temporarily nominated Kingsley Shacklebolt. He made a mental note to stop by to see the Minister and mention it to him.

After Gringott's, Harry treated Teddy to Florean Fortescue's ice cream. “So, Teddy, what do you want to do next? It looks like there is some sort of joke shop down there, or we could go in and look at the owls, and the cats, but no, we're not buying anything,” he said quickly, as Teddy opened his mouth excitedly. The little boys face dropped and he shrugged, suddenly disinterested.

“Or we could go to Muggle London again, go for a ride on one of those big red buses we saw yesterday, or go to the cinema, or -” said Harry.

“Movies! I wanna go to the movies,” said Teddy, perking up.

“You sure? We can go to the movies any time, even back home,” asked Harry. “Wouldn't you like to look around here?”

Teddy shook his head. “I wanna go to the movies,” he said stubbornly.

“Okay, okay. Look, while we're here, I'll just quickly see if I can speak with Minister Shacklebolt,” said Harry, using his wand to send their rubbish to the bin.

“Okay,” said Teddy, “but quickly.”

They went to the Ministry of Magic, and as luck would have it, Kingsley was just personally seeing off the Minister for Bulgaria, who had come for the ceremony. The press was around, always sniffing for a feel good story, so Harry hung back. Teddy was fascinated by the obelisk statue in the foyer, greeting all that entered the Ministry of Magic.

Finally, the Minister for Bulgaria and his entourage left. Kingsley made a statement and the press started to leave, anxious to make deadlines. From the corner of his eyes Kingsley recognised Harry, and when he was alone, he gestured for him to accompany him.

“Come on Teddy,” said Harry, grabbing the boy's hand.

“Harry,” greeted Kingsley quietly, with a friendly pat on his shoulder. “For someone who does not want to be noticed, you took a risk coming here today,” he said.

“A risk that paid off,” said Harry.

Kingsley laughed and nodded, gesturing for him to go to a private entrance. “This will take you straight to my office.”

Teddy immediately set off to investigate this new place. “Don't touch anything,” called Harry.

“I'm happy to see you again, Harry. How may I help you today?” asked Kingsley, settling behind his desk. “Tea, coffee?”

Harry shook his head. “No, thanks. I've spent most of the morning at Gringott's, and then we've just had an ice-cream. Think I'll wait for lunch, thanks all the same,” he said.

“We're going to the movies,” piped up Teddy, “real soon,” he reminded Harry.

Harry nodded, and turned back to Kingsley. “I just wanted to let you know that today I had to deal with Teddy's parents and grandparent's vaults. I have transferred everything into one vault for Teddy, when he's of age.” The boy had found something interesting and was paying them no attention.

“I also had to name a guardian for Teddy, in case anything happens to me. I hope it was okay, and its only temporary, but I named you, Minister,” said Harry solemnly, in an undertone.

Kingsley looked taken aback. “Me? Well, I-”

“You have to understand, I know nobody back here. Oh sure, I've heard names, Longbottom, Mcgonagall, Weasley, but they mean nothing to me. I'm going on Sirius and Remus' word for them. Even you, sir. They held you in high regard, and I know you fought well during the battle at Hogwarts, but I don't know the real you, no offence,” he tacked on.

“None taken. It means a lot that Sirius and Remus spoke well of me. I certainly thought highly of them, and Tonks too. She was a great Auror, I'd have her with me every time if I could,” he said sadly.

“All I ask is that you remain his nominated guardian temporarily. There may be one or two people back home that may want to be named instead, but I won't know until we return, and I can talk to them,” said Harry.

Kingsley frowned. “I'd hoped you'd think of England as home, maybe even consider moving here again. I could offer you a job as an Auror, immediate start. What do you say?” he asked hopefully.

“Teddy would always come first, Kingsley. You know I was training to be an Auror before Andi...well, I've taken a year's leave to get our lives sorted. This trip is playing a big part in that,” he said.

Kingsley nodded. “Of course, and I'm honoured that you thought of me when it came to naming a guardian,” said Kingsley.

“You're practically the only person I've met and talked to,” admitted Harry. He shrugged off thoughts of a pretty witch with hair of reds and golds.

Kingsley quickly remembered something. “Are you sure, Harry. Does the name, Ginny, mean anything to you?”

“Ginny? I met a girl named Ginny. She found Rupert for me, she was really nice,” said Teddy, climbing onto Harry's lap.

“Yes, we met a girl named Ginny at the ceremony,” agreed Harry, settling Teddy down.

“Well it just so happens that I saw her awhile ago, and she asked me about you,” said Kingsley.

“Me?” asked Harry and Teddy together. They looked at each other and grinned, then looked back at Kingsley expectantly.

Kingsley opened a drawer of his desk and took out a card. He reached over and handed it to Harry. “She told me she had something to show you, and if you liked it, you could keep it. That's her address, which she gave me to give to you,” he said, nodding at the card in Harry's hand.

“I like Ginny, can I keep her?” asked Teddy.

Kingsley laughed. “That's not for me to say, young man. Now tell me, what movie are you going to see today?” he asked, patting to his knee.

Teddy left Harry and ran over to Kingsley. He climbed onto his lap, completely at ease. “Ice Age. There's a woolly mammoth in it, and a tiger and a, a, -” He looked to Harry for help.

“A sloth,” murmured Harry, looking at the card, which simply gave Ginny's name and address.

“But there's no more mammoths any more. They're stinked,” said Teddy, picking up some items on Kingsley's desk, nearly dropping one.

Kingsley quickly reached for the heavy paperweight, an invaluable gift from the Minister of Magic in Australia. It was a replica of Uluru. “Stinked?” he asked, curiously.

“Ex-tinct,” provided Harry. He held up Ginny's card. “Er, did she say what she wanted to show me?”

“She did, but far be it for me to spoil a nice surprise. I know you've got a lot of fans clamouring to meet you, but trust me, Ginny's not like that, she's one of the good ones. You can trust her,” said Kingsley, letting Teddy use his special quill to draw. He hurriedly found the boy some parchment, lest he use the trade agreement he had just signed with the Minister from Bulgaria, to draw on.

“Yeah, I sensed that when we met. She seemed really nice and genuine, even when she realised who I was,” said Harry.

“The Weasleys are a fine family, Harry, and none more so than young Ginny. She fought in the battle too, you know,” said Kingsley, taking his kufi from the top of Teddy's head.

“Ginny is a member of the Weasley family?” asked Harry, surprised.

“Yes, she is the youngest of Molly and Arthur's seven children, and the only girl. Sadly, they lost one of their sons in the final battle at Hogwarts,” said Kingsley, giving Teddy a toffee. “So, you'll go and see her then? Otherwise I could perhaps get the item from her and give it to you myself,” he offered.

“IwanseeGinnee,” mumbled Teddy, his teeth stuck together from the toffee.

“Yes,” said Harry, pocketing the card. “I'll go and see her. We'll go and see her,” he amended, when Teddy pointed at himself.

“Yes, she was most clear that young Teddy was invited too,” said Kingsley. Teddy beamed.

“Thanks for your time, Kingsley,” said Harry, standing and offering a hand.

“You're most welcome, Harry. If there's anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please let me know,” said Kingsley, hurriedly retrieving his wand from Teddy's quick fingers.

“Bye, Kingsy,” called Teddy, as they left. Harry chuckled at the look on Kingsley's secretary at her boss being addressed so informally. “Let's go to the movies, then go see Ginny. I can tell her all about Manny and Sid, do ya think Ginny knows mammoths are stinked, Harry? Cos you know...” the little boy rambled on and on, luckily not noticing Harry wasn't really listening.

' What could Ginny possibly have to show him?' Harry wondered. Still it would be nice to see her again, and talk to her again.
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