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In the Days That Followed | ||||||
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Category: Post-Hogwarts, Post-DH/AB Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Other, Ron Weasley, Teddy Lupin Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff, General, Romance Warnings: None Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 42 Summary: The final battle has been won and the war against Voldemort is finally over for good, but there is still the aftermath to battle through. Hitcount: Story Total: 23654; Chapter Total: 1715 Author's Notes: A big thank you to Arnel for taking the time to beta read this for me! (Edited - 19/08/2021) |
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The freshly inscribed names stood out boldly on the tombstone, serving to remind Harry just how much had been lost because of one mad-man desperate for power. He felt unable to tear his eyes away as he mourned the last connection he’d had to his parents. It was only when he felt the movement of the small baby that lay in his arms that he finally looked away and down at the one person who would, one day, understand the pain and grief that Harry felt. “It’s not fair that I was able to get to know your parents,” he quietly said to Teddy as the little boy settled back into his godfather’s arms, “and you will never know them. They loved you so much that, like my own parents, they were willing to give their lives to make sure you could live in a happier, peaceful world.” A small smile crossed Harry’s lips as he watched his godson’s hair slowly begin to change from sandy brown to black. He was looking forward to watching this child grow up before his eyes, knowing that he would be loved and cherished by those around him. Ginny had reminded him of this as he struggled that morning to get himself ready for the one funeral he had been dreading. Thankfully, with her support, he had made it through the service and was now sitting in front of the graves of Remus and Tonks, holding his godson in his arms as Ginny waited nearby with two Aurors who had been assigned to Harry for the near future. Harry could admit to himself that he was interested to see what sort of person his godson would become. Would he be similar to his parents with a love for pranks or would his personality be influenced by him being raised by his grandmother and Harry? Somehow, Harry didn’t think it mattered as he suspected that Teddy would develop a love for fun and pranks all thanks to his Metamorphic skills and the fact that he would be raised around the Weasleys. “Your parents were two of the best people I knew,” Harry quietly told his godson, even though he knew Teddy had no comprehension of what he was being told. “Your dad was best friends with my dad and my godfather. I have a feeling that they are altogether now, playing pranks and driving our mums mad. They won’t be happy about not being with us, but they will be about us being in each other’s lives.” He was grateful that it had not been expected of him to become Teddy’s parent as he was far from ready to be a father. However, he did recognise that he would be the father-figure in godson’s life. He couldn’t and refused to replace Remus, but he could at least attempt to provide the support and advice that his father’s friend had given him in the few years they’d had together. “Your father was a patient and kind man,” Harry continued as Teddy grasped one of his fingers in his small hand. “He was my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher when I was in my third year at Hogwarts. He taught me how to cast a Patronus that year to help me protect myself against the Dementors that were stationed at the school. I was always frustrated when I didn’t manage to cast the spell, but your father remained patient as I worked hard to cast a spell that many adults cannot even perform.” Harry pulled his wand out from the pocket of his robe and allowed the feeling of love he had for both Ginny and Teddy wash over him before he uttered the two words needed. Prongs appeared before him, and his godson’s eyes swivelled towards the light. He knew Teddy would not be able to see the shape of his Patronus, but he hoped that he could feel the love Harry had used to power it. “My Patronus is a stag,” Harry said as he watched the light fade away, “and I call him Prongs as I have been told that it looks just like my dad’s Animagus form. Your father’s Patronus was a wolf as was your mother’s once she fell in love with him. I think he hated it because of how it reminded him of the fact that he was a werewolf. Not that I think he had anything to be ashamed of, especially as he chose to live his life as a good man rather than allow himself to be taken over by that side of him.” Just saying those words made Harry realise he needed to speak to Kingsley about the Ministry taking the necessary steps to ease the restrictions on those suffering from Lycanthropy and providing them more support to integrate into society more easily. Perhaps it would even help those who had turned their backs on those who still loved them for who they were and hadn’t cared about their little furry problem. “Your mum, on the other hand, genuinely did not care about what people thought of her,” Harry continued at the thought of just how different Tonks had been personality-wise to Remus. “No, that’s not completely true as she did care about what your father thought of her. The best thing about your mum, though, was the fact that she believed me about Voldemort returning and how she wanted to help protect me even though we had never met. I think, somehow, you are going to have all the best traits of your parents and that will make you an extremely special person.” Harry tore his eyes from his godson and looked back at the tombstone of his two friends. “I hate that you are not here to raise Teddy,” Harry said as he felt the grief take over once more, not caring that tears were beginning to run down his face. “I know that Teddy will have a better life than I did as a child, but I am scared about how he will react when he is told about why you are not here to raise him. It isn’t right that Voldemort was able to gain so much power that he tore apart families. You deserve to be here with him as a happy family.” In the corner of his eye, Harry noticed his favourite shade of red, causing him to look towards it. He couldn’t help the smile of seeing Teddy’s hair shifting from black to the same shade of red that Ginny’s hair was. “While I know you are too young to control your powers, I still think you know just how to put a smile on my face. You keep doing that for me, Teddy, and I promise that I will give you a childhood that is full of love and happiness. I promise I will never let you feel the way I did growing up. You will always feel wanted and loved. Always.” Making sure his godson was safe and secure in his arms, Harry carefully stood up before looking back down at the two graves. “Thank you for trusting me to be his godfather. I promise I’ll do my best to raise him as you would have.” Harry walked away from the grave and over to where Ginny had remained waiting for him. He was grateful that she immediately wrapped her arms around him and Teddy, providing them both with much-needed comfort. “Are you ready to head back to Andromeda’s now?” Ginny quietly asked when she pulled away. Before Harry could answer his girlfriend’s question, a flash of light caught their attention, causing the couple to look in the direction from which it had come. Neither of them was happy to discover a photographer standing across the road from the entrance to the graveyard, smiling in glee at the photo he had just captured. “What the hell!” Harry said in exasperation. “Do they honestly think that this is the best place to be coming to just so they can get a stupid photo of me?” “You need to calm down, Harry,” Ginny replied as she moved closer to him. “You’re starting to upset Teddy.” His godson had begun to squirm in his arms and was on the verge of bursting into tears. He didn’t want this sort of interference from the press if it was going to cause distress to the people he loved and definitely not once he and Ginny began their own family. He was going to have to talk to Kingsley about what he needed to do about requesting privacy from the press. “Sorry, Mr Potter,” one of the Aurors said, who Harry knew to be Auror Williamson. “I thought we had managed to disperse all of the press who had turned up, but it seems we have managed to miss one. Please go ahead to your next location and we will follow you once we have confiscated the camera film.” “Thank you,” Ginny politely replied as Harry just nodded in acknowledgement. Not wanting to hang around any longer than he needed to, Harry took Ginny’s hand firmly in his own as he made certain that he had a secure hold on Teddy before he turned on the spot, Apparating away from the graveyard before any more photos could be taken. HP&GW “There you are!” Molly exclaimed when Harry and Ginny finally arrived at Andromeda’s house. “I was starting to get worried about how long you were taking.” “Sorry, Mum,” Ginny replied as she gave her mum a hug. “Harry just needed a few minutes before we left. It didn’t help that there was a photographer waiting to capture a picture of us as we left.” “Did they manage to get one?” “The Aurors said that they would handle it,” Harry explained as he rocked Teddy, who was a little upset from the feeling of Apparating. “Hopefully, there will not be a photo tomorrow as Kingsley said that was when my statement was due to be printed. I don’t want a photo and any speculation that might come with it to overshadow the statement.” Harry was not worried about anything that was said about him. He knew he would not be able to avoid the press and their interest in him, but he did want them to leave Ginny and Teddy alone. He knew speculation about Teddy’s parentage would be rife if that photo was printed. He was going to have to be honest about the important moments in his life if he was going to avoid incorrect information being printed and there was only one publication that he trusted to tell the truth. He was going to need to speak to Luna as soon as he possibly could. “Well, if it does, I am sure Kingsley will help you set the record straight,” Molly said soothingly. “Actually, I think I have a way to handle that, Molly. I just need to speak to Andromeda.” “What do you need to speak to me about, Harry?” came Andromeda’s voice from behind him, causing Harry to turn to face her. “A photographer was waiting for me and Ginny when we left the graveyard and they managed to capture a photo of us with Teddy,” Harry explained, worried about how his godson’s grandmother would react. “The Aurors should have taken care of it by confiscating the camera from the person, but I still don’t trust that a copy of that photo will not somehow find its way into the paper tomorrow morning.” Andromeda’s face softened in understanding, causing Harry to relax. “It’s ok, Harry,” she kindly told him. “From the moment Remus and my daughter told me that they wanted you to be Teddy’s godfather, I knew that there would be times when this would happen. However, I also know, from how fiercely Remus justified choosing you, that you will protect Teddy with your life. So, I am not annoyed by the fact that it happened, but I am angry that the photographer felt that my daughter and son-in-law’s funeral was a suitable time to capture a photo of you.” The knot in Harry’s chest that had begun to form from the moment they had noticed the flash of the camera, finally began to loosen. He was in awe of how determined Remus had been to have him as godfather and that Andromeda trusted him with her grandson, even though they had only spent a few hours together at best. “I want you to know that Arthur and I feel the same way when it comes to our daughter, Harry,” Molly said, surprising both Harry and Ginny. “While I would rather keep her at home safe and where I can see her, I know that I cannot do that to her, and I know you’ll keep her safe. If I tried, she would just try to sneak out, which Fred would have done if he had been in her position.” Harry felt overwhelmed by the amount of trust the two women had in him when it came to their families. He knew if they continued with what he believed to be underserved praise, then he would find himself in tears for the second time that day. He had never been one to cry that often, but since he had defeated Voldemort, he found that he couldn’t stop the tears if they wanted to come. While he understood that crying was a natural thing, he still preferred to keep those moments behind closed doors and only in front of Ginny. Therefore, he was grateful when Teddy began to whine for attention. “I think it’s time for Teddy to have a nap,” Andromeda said, carefully extracting the baby from Harry’s arms. “If you would excuse us for a moment.” “I am going to go and help her,” Harry said, turning to Ginny once the older witch disappeared up the stairs. “I need to ask her permission to do something, and I would much rather ask her in private. I will be back shortly.” He leaned over and kissed his girlfriend before heading upstairs. He did not know what room belonged to Teddy as he had only briefly seen downstairs when he and Hagrid had arrived there before taking their Portkey to The Burrow the previous summer. Thankfully, he could hear Andromeda speaking softly to the baby, so he followed her voice and found the pair in the only bedroom that had its door open. Harry gently knocked on the door as he slowly entered the bedroom, causing the older witch to look up in surprise. “I’m sorry to disturb you,” Harry said apologetically, “but I was hoping that you wouldn’t mind me helping with Teddy. I figured there was no time like the present to start learning how to care for him.” “Well, I have already changed his nappy, but I don’t see any harm in you helping me settle him down for a nap.” Harry walked over to the changing table where Teddy lay. The boy was still a little grizzly, but his eyes appeared to light up when Harry stepped into his eyeline and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead, causing Teddy’s hair to begin to shift to black. Andromeda handed Harry two pieces of clothing before patiently guiding him in how to dress Teddy and showing him how to hold the baby so he wouldn’t hurt Teddy’s neck as he did so. The bodysuit was certainly much easier to put on and do up than the sleepsuit was. Harry knew he would have messed it up had he been by himself. By the time Harry had finished dressing his godson, Teddy had begun to yawn. He carefully picked up the baby, cradling him in his arms and walked over to the cot. However, Harry was reluctant to place Teddy down for a nap, wanting to keep a hold of him for the moment. “Why don’t you take a seat in the rocking chair?” Andromeda suggested on noticing Harry’s reluctance to let go of her grandson. Harry did as she suggested and settled into the chair without taking his eyes off of Teddy. It amazed him to see his godson willingly fall asleep in his arms, knowing that he felt comfortable and secure in his godfather’s arms. “Please don’t resent Molly for this, but she told me that your childhood with your Muggle relatives was not ideal,” Andromeda said to Harry, causing him to look up at the older witch. “For me, it certainly explained just why Remus refused to concede to any other suggestion but you to be godfather to Teddy. It also makes me wonder if he believed that he would not survive the war as he chose the one person who he knew would be able to understand the position Teddy has been left in. I know that there will be times in the future when my grandson will struggle with the loss of his parents, and I have absolutely no qualms about sending him to see you when he needs someone to talk to.” For a moment, Harry felt horrified at discovering that Andromeda had been informed of his less-than-ideal childhood. It had always been something he had tried to keep quiet, only revealing little bits about it here and there. The feeling gave way to an understanding that the older witch knew that his past would impact just how determined he was to make sure that Teddy would not be made to feel the way he had growing up. His godson was going to be overwhelmed with love from not just Harry and his grandmother, but all the people who were a part of their lives. “I just want him to have what I never did,” Harry quietly confessed. “The only thing I cannot guarantee him is privacy, especially after what happened before we arrived here. So, if it is ok with you, I would like to release a statement that makes clear who Teddy is and his relationship to me. I am hoping that by doing so the press will allow you and Teddy the privacy you deserve.” “I think that it is a good idea,” Andromeda said with a smile on her face. “I will leave you be for a short while. Come back downstairs when you are ready.” Harry looked back down at the sleeping child in his arms as Andromeda quietly left the room. He had meant what he had said about giving Teddy everything that he had never had. Yet, he also knew that the relationship was more than just providing for and protecting Teddy, it was a connection to the Marauders that only the two of them would ever share. He had thought this morning that he had lost that last real connection to his parents because of the loss of Remus, but now he knew that it was not the case. Somehow, he would find a way for him and Teddy to live up to the Marauders’ name and keep their memories alive. |
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