Who: Harry and Lily Potter, Teddy Nott Where: The Potters' house When: Later after hearing about Molly and Fleur
The house seemed very crowded. They had a very big family, after all, and Lily was starting to lose track of who all had come over to say hello. She usually liked seeing so much family. Cousins to come play and aunts and uncles and friends to bring her presents. Those were all good things. But even at barely seven, she knew that these people were coming over for not very good things. Gran was gone and wasn't coming back. Something terrible had happened to Auntie Fleur. And people sure seemed to have a lot of questions to ask her mummy and daddy. Daddy had said he was going to stay home for a few days, but Lily hadn't known that most of his work was going to come by their house.
She was feeling very lost and sort of alone when the doorbell rang again. For a moment, she waited to see if anyone would run to it, but Mummy was still looking very sad and Daddy was talking to one of those people from the Ministry. "I'll get it!" she called needlessly, running to the door and skidding in her new shoes. She pulled over a step stool and climbed up, looking through the hole as she'd been taught. It was Uncle Teddy! "Who is it?" she called anyway, because Daddy had said they had to be extra extra careful, though she didn't know why.
Teddy couldn't help but grin at the little voice. He had left the children at home despite Harry's offer. He just didn't want his little ones exposed to more grief just then. "Uncle Teddy, baby!" He put his eye close up to the peep hole. "Seee?"
"Eeew," Lily declared, being much too close to a big person's eye. Gross. Still, she climbed down and put the stool back carefully before pulling the big door open. "Hi, Uncle Teddy. Did you come to play?" No one seemed to be coming to play. She knew it was because they were sad. It definitely seemed strange that Uncle Teddy would want to play when so many people didn't.
Teddy's heart went out to the little girl. He knew she was probably caught between confusion and guilt. He scooped her up and flung her around before pulling her close to his chest. He kissed her cheek. "Sure, I'll play, sweetie. But you have to share me with Mummy and Daddy too, alright?"
Lily couldn't help giggling when Uncle Teddy swung her around, but then she clamped her hand over her mouth. No one was laughing, either. "I'm supposed to be quiet," she told him earnestly. "But it's kinda hard." She clung to him just a little bit more than she usually would. It had been a very, very long day.
"Oh, sweetheart." He kept hugging her tightly as he moved toward one of the extra, but rarely used rooms. "It's alright to laugh still. Grandma wouldn't want you to be sad." He sat on a chair, placing the girl gingerly on his laps. He tilted her chin up with one hand. "I love you, you know that? And the girls told me to tell you they can't wait to play again!"
Tilting her head, Lily studied him carefully. He sure seemed to mean it. "But Grandma isn't here anymore," she informed him. "She went away. And she's not coming back and I don't think I'm supposed to laugh when she isn't coming back anymore."
"Ah." Teddy nodded seriously. He always believed taking children seriously was important. "Well, I felt that way when Auntie Hermione went away too. But know what? I don't think she'd want me to be sad forever." He reached for her hair, stroking gently. It was almost amazing how much he loved her. He often felt a stranger to Harry and Ginny (even all those years later) but those kids…well, he'd die for them.
Though Mummy and Daddy had given her lots of hugs when they'd first told her, they'd been very busy afterwards. And very sad themselves. So when Uncle Teddy rubbed her hair, Lily leaned into him, hiding her face in his chest. "Is Gran with her, now? Auntie Mione?"
Teddy's heart did the normal leap as he considered his slain wife, but he didn't let on. "Absolutely. I bet your grandma is after Hermione to eat and sleep and everything."
Lily giggled again, but the sound was muffled this time as she continued hiding. "So Auntie Mione won't be lonely in Heaven now. I was worried." She heaved a sigh much too big for such a little body. "I don't know if Mummy can bake biscuits as good as Gran's, though."
"Well, have you ever had my mum's? Pretty darn good." He nuzzled into her nose with his own. He did not like hearing that big sigh. Not at all.
"Really?" Lily asked curiously. "I don't think so. Would she make them for me sometime?" She didn't know Uncle Teddy's mummy very well. Or his daddy. Just a little bit. But she always liked making new friends. And she could use some just then. Who would be her Grandma now? Daddy didn't have one she could have and now Mummy didn't either.
"I'm sure she'd love to make them for you. She adores little girls and boys, you know." Teddy bounced the little girl with his knee. "Up you go!"
Lily had to fight not to squeal. "Uncle Teddyyyyy," she whined, scrunching her face. "You're not supposed to do that anymore, I'm big now. I could fall off!"
"You're big?" He pouted. "Lily! Too big for your old Uncle Teddy?" Teddy shook his head in sadness as he stopped bouncing her.
Carefully, she took his face between her hands and sighed. "No, not too big for you. Not for now, at least, but I will be. And then you really won't be able to cause I won't fit no more."
"Well, then I have to get all my Lily fixes NOW don't I?" He rested his forehead against her. "You are still my little princess?"
Nodding, Lily kissed the tip of his nose. "Uh huh. I'll always be your little princess even when I'm a big princess." Auntie Mione used to say so, at least. And Lily still believed anything her aunt had said, especially the part where she could do anything she wanted, even if she was a girl. And some things, especially because she was a girl.
Teddy laughed at the nose kiss and tickled her sides in return. "Well, I am VERY glad to hear that, Lily-girl. Cause I'd be REALLLLY sad if you weren't."
"I don't want you to be sad no more, Uncle Teddy," Lily said quite seriously. "It makes me hurt in my tummy." Nodding, she tucked both hands around his neck. "And now lots of people are sad again and it hurts again and it makes me feel like it did when I had the flu and Mummy had to make me soup and stuff."
"Oh, sweetheart…" Teddy returned the hug fully. "I'm okay. I promise. Your tummy doesn't have to hurt. I know it seems everyone's sad right now, but they will be happy again. Cross my heart, little one."
Nuzzling into her uncle, Lily nodded. She wanted to believe him. She sure did. But Mummy looked so very sad.
Harry had been busy. While he'd promised to stay with Ginny and his sons and daughter, he was still trying to help with the investigation as much as he could. He wanted to get to the root of the problem. Now. He was angry, he was hurt, and he was sick of feeling this way.
But he was also trying desperately not to ignore the kids. And he'd lost track of Lily in the crowd. Nearly panicking, he rushed to see if the backdoor was locked, and then hurried to the front. And on his way, found exactly who he was looking for, plus one. "There you are," he breathed, touching the back of Lily's head. "And when did you get here?" he asked, addressing Teddy. "I didn't hear the door."
"You were busy," Lily told him, peeking up at her daddy. "So I went to get it. It was just Uncle Teddy."
"Just me?" Teddy feigned insult before winking at Harry. "Don't worry, mate. She asked who I was and everything."
Releasing a breath, Harry nodded. "You looked through the hole and asked? That's my good girl."
Lily nodded, hugging her uncle a bit tighter. "He came to play and to talk to you and mummy, he said so."
At that, Harry smiled. "Well, good thing I found him, huh? I think you were going to keep him all to yourself."
"Well, can you blame her?" Teddy rubbed the small back as he smiled at Harry. "My apologies for not greeting you sooner, but Lily here….irresistible, no?"
Harry grinned, then, his first genuine one in hours. "You won't get any argument from me," he said fondly, but leaned down to his daughter. "Can you do me a favor, Lils? I don't remember where I left my drink. Can you go get me a butterbeer from the kitchen? And maybe one of those juiceboxes for you, too? Can you carry them both, do you think?"
Feeling rather important at being asked to do such an important task, but reluctant to leave her uncle, Lily looked up at him suspicously. "Will you be okay?" she questioned, sounding much older than seven.
"Me?" Teddy held a hand to his heart. "Course! If you give me one VERY big kiss and hug that is."
Flinging her arms around him, Lily squeezed tightly before dropping a smacking kiss against his lips. "Okay, there." She climbed down from his lap and impulsively gave her father a squeeze around his knees. "Do you want something to drink too, Uncle Teddy?" she asked before beginning her adventure toward the kitchen.
"No, thank you, princess." He flashed her a last smile, watching her leave the room. Once she was gone, he stood and held his hand out to Harry. "So sorry, mate. So sorry."
"It's alright," Harry replied, taking the offered hand and giving it more of a squeeze than a shake before releasing it. "I--no, I suppose it isn't, but thank you. I don't even know what to say when people say that, you know?" Of course he knew. Teddy had likely heard it more than enough himself.
Teddy gripped Harry's hand as well, nodding at the man's words. "Oh, boy do I know. Yet…here I am saying it." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had gotten it cut recently which was a good sign. He was becoming his old self albeit a lonlier version. "How's Ginny? The boys?"
Swallowing hard, Harry shrugged. "I don't know, really. Ginny's holding up as well as she can, considering. The boys--well, they get it more than Lily, I think. James is trying to be tough but... And Alby..." Shaking his head, Harry closed his eyes for a long moment. "I wish...that I could take this all from them."
Teddy rested a warm hand at Harry's shoulder. "You can't, Harry. Unfortunately. But they're tough. They are."
"They're just babies," Harry said softly, not realising how vulnerable he'd sounded. "All of them. They don't need this." And it was his fault. Maybe he'd been right so long ago when he'd pulled away from everyone; maybe he should have stayed away, not let anyone or anything convince him to come back.
"No, but neither did any of us. Or anyone else who lost a loved one." Teddy shrugged. "Life isn't easy, Harry. Even for children, sadly."
Harry nodded absently, reaching up to absently chew one of his thumb nails. "I know. Doesn't make it easier. You know you'd absorb it all for Billy and the girls if you could. I can wish it. Even if... I can't. I know I can't. But I want so much for them not to hurt like we all have."
"Of course I would. Any parent would." Teddy gripped Harry's shoulder harder. "Mate, listen? Alright? They won't. This isn't the same thing."
"Isn't it?" Harry whispered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure neither his children nor his wife could hear him. "So Voldemort's dead. We all know he wasn't the only one who held those ideals. Tell me you haven't noticed a pattern. Tell me, Teddy, because I have and it scares me out of my mind."
"I know he wasn't, but, Harry...he was pure evil. He was...insane." Teddy shrugged, half-wanting to flee. He wasn't ready for this conversation. "Fanatics are one thing."
A half anxious and half smug expression crossed Harry's face. "Evil? Insane? He was human. It could've been anyone. The Lestranges would've gone the same way, had they not had him to follow. I don't believe they were the only ones, either. I've been working my arse off to solve Hermione's...her murder. I promised you I would. And I'm telling you, I don't like the looks of it. At all."
Teddy swallowed hard. He thought of his uncle and parents and glanced away. "Dad says they were the exception. He says most were just...just lost and looking for someone to follow."
Harry couldn't help it. He scoffed slightly. "I want to believe that," he said carefully. "But honestly? People who are lost and looking for someone to follow don't attack muggleborns and small children and innocent families just having a bite to eat. Not long after their leader is gone." Almost two decades. They'd let their guards down. He'd let himself relax.
"Yet...once you are into something...the psyche is amazing, Harry. I've been reading all about that muggle Holocaust? Against Jewish people?" Teddy squeezed his eyes shut. "To read about how ordinary men became killers...well. It seems almost anyone can be under some circumstances." It was a bitter pill to swallow, but, well, it was true.
"Almost anyone? Almost anyone can be driven mad, as well. Clinging to beliefs for that long? Have you heard of a man named Barty Crouch, Teddy? Or rather, his son?"
"I never said I disagreed, Harry. I only hope whatever movement this is won't have such a deranged leader." Teddy didn't bother answering Harry's question. Honestly, how could he have NOT heard?
Slowly, Harry shook his head. "I hope you're right," he conceded. "Because...Merlin, I don't want to fight this again." But he would. There was even more at stake now, three little faces that looked up to him for help and guidance and baths and goodnight kisses. "I just...really don't know anymore."
"I don't think anyone wants to," Teddy admitted. "Especially when so many of us have little ones now..." He trailed off, ashamed to admit he'd rather stay out of it than leave his babies orphans.
The thought terrified him, but if Harry could read Teddy's thoughts, he might have agreed. It was hard, though. On the one hand, he loved his children more than his own life. On the other, this was partially his doing and he'd be selfish to not fight it. "It's different now," he admitted. "Most of them are so much younger than we were."
"And not ready to be without us." It was a simple statement, but powerful.
"But if we don't fight back..." Harry paused, swallowing hard. "Then God only knows the world they'll grow up in. I don't know what to do."
"Hope it doesn't come to that. It's all we CAN do." Teddy struggled to believe that himself, but, really, what else could anyone do?
Harry wasn't ready with a response. It was nearly impossible to be. And he didn't have to, as a small body went running right into his legs. The serious expression mostly drained from his face as he looked down at his daughter with a smile.
Lily's arms were full from the butterbeer he'd asked for, plus an extra, and a juicebox clutched in her hand. "Here," she declared, though Harry had to reach down to take the drink for himself. She then moved over to her uncle, offering him the second and climbing into his lap. "I brought you one anyway cause you like them. Will you help me with my straw, Uncle Teddy?"
Pushing back the little prick of hurt that she'd chosen Teddy to help her, Harry instead watched the scene with a smile.
If Teddy knew Harry was hurt, he'd have simply assured him that he was chosen because he didn't live with her. As it was, he grinned at the little girl, accepting the drink. "Why, that is very nice of you, little one." He peeled the straw from its wrapper and stuck it in. "There you go. What flavor is that?"
"Umm." Lily glanced at the box before taking a long sip. "Strawberry. I think."
"Strawberry-kiwi," Harry confirmed, giving a little laugh. "Impulse buy, that's why I don't get to do the shopping much."
"No!" Lily protested, leaning back into Teddy's chest. "I like this one. It is fun. Do you like kiwi?" she asked her uncle inquisitively.
"Sure I do. It is a little green fruit in a brown skin. Very yummy." He cast Harry an amused glance. "I promised Lily I'd bring the children next time. So they can all play."
Harry nodded, though a bit absently. It'd be nice to have more kids in the house. For one, it'd ease the pain they were all feeling. And for another, it was good to have so many in one place, with extra eyes to keep an eye on everyone. "That's fine, just fine. I haven't seen them in too long as it is. We'd love to have them."
"I'm glad. They were a bit put out that I wouldn't bring them today. Tomorrow maybe?"
"Brilliant," Harry confirmed, hoping Ginny would agree. But being around the children had been almost therapeutic for him, and he was relatively sure she'd think so, too.
Lily bounced excitedly, juice clutched in both hands. "Sophia should bring her new doll!" Then, realising what she'd said, she wrinkled her nose. "I mean, so I can pull its hair."
Teddy laughed at that and gave her a little push. "Sophia would get very angry if you did that, you know."
Pulling the box away from her mouth, Lily pouted. "I didn't mean it," she whispered. "Not really. But Alby and James can't hear me say that, okay?"
Teddy held a finger to his lips. "Our secret."
Reassured, Lily beamed, then paused as she remembered she wasn't supposed to be laughing and smiling and that probably included playing dolls with Sophia. Her happy expression faded considerably. "Okay," she said instead, her voice quiet. "Daddy, can Uncle Teddy stay a while?"
"As long as he wants to, baby girl," Harry confirmed. "Until he has to go home."
"Actually...I've a better idea. Possibly?" He cast Harry a hopeful look. He sensed Lily wasn't feeling comfortable and he hated that. "Why don't I take her over to my home for a bit? Mum can make those biscuits I promised and she can play with that doll."
Harry hesitated. While he knew there were few places she'd be safer than the Notts', he was fearful of letting any of his little ones out of his sight. "Well..." he began, but was quickly interrupted.
"Please, Daddy?" Lily pleaded, looking up at him with large, familiar green eyes. "Please? Just for a little while?"
He could hardly say no to that. "Well, if you're sure it won't be any trouble to have her."
"None." Teddy flashed Harry an understanding smile before kissing Lily's cheek. "I'll have her back before you can even miss her."
Harry nodded, his heart in his throat as he bent to give his daughter a hug from Teddy's lap. "You be good, okay? Say please and thank you and mind your manners. And don't pull Sophia's doll's hair even if Billy's watching, okay?"
Returning the hug a bit tighter than she might have if visiting her uncle's house ordinarily, Lily nodded. "I will, Daddy. I'll be super good, you'll see."
Teddy laughed and stood up with the little girl in his arms. "Want to apparate, Lily-girl? You can hold real tight now."
"Eeew, apparating," Harry teased, but buried his nose in Lily's shoulder. "Hold on, okay? And remember to hold your nose after to make your ears feel better." Well, it worked for him, at least.
Lily giggled and gripped her uncle's neck. "Okay, I'm ready! Don't let go, Uncle Teddy, you'll splonch me!"
"Splinch," Harry corrected, a wistful look on his face.
"NEVER!" Teddy beamed at Harry before patting the man's back. "Take care, alright?"
"You, too," Harry confirmed, giving a small nod. "Go on, have a good time, don't let the little monster walk all over you." He was teasing, though, and he blew Lily a kiss before Teddy could leave.
Teddy let the girl catch the kiss before holding her close. With a pop they were gone.