Work Text:
May 1998
"Hey little guy." Harry said leaning over the crib and looking down at his godson for the very first time. The infant looked up at him with wide brown eyes and a head full of blue hair and cooed. "My name is Harry Potter. And you are probably one of the few people in the wizarding world to who that means absolutely nothing." He added as an after thought, laughing as he leaned on the railing of the crib.
The child looked up at him and attempted to laugh, but rather his hair flashed from black to red to blue, and he broke into wailing tears.
"Oh don't cry." Harry muttered failing his arms about as if that could make any bit of a difference. He reached down and placed his hands underneath the small child and lifted; genuinely surprised with such little effort was needed to remove Teddy from his crib. He held the boy at an arms length for a moment before leaning back into the rocking chair in the corner.
Teddy looked up at Harry in an expression which he interpreted as complete annoyance in the way the infant was being handled. "Hey I know I'm rubbish at this." Harry said as he drew the child in closer to his body, cradling him in what he assumed was the correct position. "But you're going to have to get used to me, I'm not going anywhere mister."
He rocked the child back and forth, until it seemed Teddy had settled into a comfortable state. Harry could understand why the motion was so comforting, the chair allowing him to move effortlessly in a pulsing rhythm. He could have very well closed his own eyes and gone to sleep at that moment knowing that no one from the ministry was going to come and ask for a statement, or that he wasn't going to be harassed by letters saying he should be the next minster of magic.
Here in this room it was just him and his godson, the tiny little life he was now somewhat responsible for taking care of. How am I going to take care of him, am I even holding him properly. Harry thought as he looked down at the boy whose eyes were heavy with sleep. Andromeda of course was going to raise him primarily, but Harry didn’t want him to end up like Neville.
"So I'm your godfather." He whispered to the room at large. "Which means since your parents died, I'm kind of like your - godfather." He paused and looked at the kid. They were both orphans left to live in the shadow of their parents. Even in his sleepy state he had the same facial features of Remus Lupin. Of course Teddy would be able to will away the resemblance when he was older, but Harry knew he wouldn't. Even though Harry himself was tiered of hearing just how much he looked like his father, or how he had his mothers eyes, he would never willingly change those features. They were his connection to the parents he never knew and Harry new deep down Teddy would be just the same way.
"My parents died when I was a baby too, we'll discuss how to handle that when your older. Anyway I want to be this guy who you can talk to and trust. For example one day you can come and ask me about how to talk to girls, because by them I will have figured out how to talk to girls. I'll teach you things that are boring, and things that are cool, and you'll probably go through a phase where you'll hate me. But I'm always going to be here, because you don’t really care that I am the Harry Potter, you just want someone to hold you."
Harry sighed and looked down at the sleeping child. It wasn't fair that his parents were dead, but Harry could make sure that Teddy Lupin knew how much his parents loved him. He watched the little boy sleep peaceful for almost half an hour before he put him down in his crib and headed back downstairs.
Andromeda was sitting by the fireplace, a small smile on her face as she saw Harry come down unscathed.
"I told you, he wasn't going to combust in your arms." She gestured for Harry to sit down and he sunk into the couch. He was almost ashamed that he had ever mistaken her for Bellatrix, as he watched her pour him a cup of tea he saw just how little resemblance there was.
"Yeah." Harry muttered as he took a long sip "He's perfect."
Andromeda gave a small laugh and looked quizzically at him. "They all are when they are babies, get them a bit older though and, you were a handle at that-" She stopped seeing Harry's confusion.
"Did you know my parents."
"Not really." Andromeda whispered, she tilted her head and pondered. "No one ever told you did they."
"Told me what." Harry whispered worried.
Andromeda looked quite chuffed "Harry you were the first person ever know to survive the killing curse, did you really think Dumbledore would just drop you off on the muggles doorsteps with out having a healer look over you first." She paused as he comprehended what she was saying. "You were dropped off at your aunt and uncles on the second of November. But Hagrid brought you to me after he rescued you from Godric's Hollow."
"Why."
"Back them I was a consultant for the Aurors when they needed medical expertise, I worked particularly often with Alastor Moody. I knew about the Order of the Phoenix. I would have joined if my family wasn't so fond of threatening the lives of my husband and daughter. I was the only healer Dumbledore could trust and had knowledge of such dark magic."
"Oh" Harry whispered understatedly. "Why are you telling me this."
"Because right now you are in still in shock, the trauma you experienced is never going to fade away completely. And I know Harry, more than you can imagine, I know what you are feeling. And when you hold him, when I held you all I could feel was guilt. Your parents had died and you were going to live some unknown life with muggles." She paused and leaned forward in her arm chair. "War isn’t fair, we have buried enough bodies to know that nothing can ever change that fact. But I have always lived by the principle that we should live our life as it is unfolding and not wait. That’s the way I raised my daughter and its how I intend to raise her son. I want you to know that it is never going to get easier, but some of the pain and bad feelings will be replaced in the years to come with unknowable joys. And I want you to know Harry that my door will always be open to you, and to anyone who needs it."
Harry sunk back further into the chair and looked at Andromeda Tonks, the woman who had truly lost so much more than he could imagine. She had lost her husband, her daughter, her sister, her son in law, her friends, and he still had so many people left.
"I understand that Teddy is…" The words seemed to dissipate in the air "I still would like to help raise him anyway I can."
Andromeda nodded, "We'll work something out. Where are you staying tonight?" Harry hesitated to answer, Grimmauld was a mess and "You can stay here, but if he cries in the night, you are very much welcomes to help."