Those 19 years: A Harry Potter fanfiction

Chapter 15

Harry's POV:

I come home from work to hear Teddy yelling; I rush up the stairs to find Ginny sitting on the floor, sobbing, her face in her hands and her knees brought up tightly to her chest.

"Gin!" I rush over to her, anxious.

"Oh Harry!" she exlaims. "I took Teddy to the park and when we got home he asked why he couldn't have his parents and when I told him that they were protecting Hogwarts, he said that he wanted them and then he started screaming and crying for them. I tried to calm him down but if I tried to pick him up he would hit me." Ginny cries into my chest, fat tears softly rolling down her cheeks.

"Shh... Ginny, it's okay."

"Mummy!" Teddy cries, Ginny sobs even harder.

"I'm gonna see if I can calm him down." I promise. I pick her up and lay her in our bed, kiss her cheek and hurry into Teddy's room.

"Teddy Bear, what's wrong?" I ask gently.

"I want my mummy and daddy!" He sobs, his hair going from bright red to a light shade of blue.

"Teddy, they are at Hogwarts."

"No! I want them!" He screams. I pick him up while he cries get louder and he starts to hit me, his tiny hands curled into tight fists. "No! I want my mummy!" I lay back in the rocking chair and set him on my lap, pressing his face into my chest. I rock the chair back and forth, back and forth. I don't say anything because I know I'll make him more upset. His cries don't cease, they just get a little quieter, so I carefully place him back in his bed. I know I can't comfort him. I can't whisper 'it'll be alright' because that would be a lie, but he'll just have to learn to live with the fact that his parents are protecting Hogwarts. Not him.

"I love you Teddy Bear," I murmur, slipping out of the room and I quietly closing the door behind me.

I can still hear his cries from our bedroom. "Harry, are you okay?" Ginny asks me, worried.

"I..." I take a shaky breath, "I don't know Gin. I really don't know." She pulls me close to her and I cry, something I don't do very often but listening to my godson's cries rips my heart apart. They finally settle down and he falls asleep. I just don't want Teddy to grow up like I did. I want him to know that I'll always be there for him.

As soon as I wake up the next morning I go into Teddy's room, "Teddy Bear?" I call softly, knowing he is probably awake by now.

He is sitting upright in his bed, his hair a sad blue color, "I want my mummy." He sobs again. I pick him up and sit in the rocking chair. Again, he starts to hit me. "No! I want my mummy and daddy! Not you!" "Teddy I know you want your mum and dad, I want my mum and dad too. My mum and dad are protecting me too, did you know that Ted?" He shakes his head. "They are. And so are Ginny's mum and dad, but in a different way. Teddy, you're still young so I'll make it simple." I start to rock the chair back and forth. "I don't know why you and I were chosen to be raised by someone else, but Teddy you'll have something that no other friend will have, you know what that is Teddy?"

"No, what?" he looks up expectantly at me, his big round eyes blinking so innocently.

"Me," I smile. "You'll always have me. I promise you that. And you have Ginny, and who doesn't love her? You have Ron and Hermione. You have your grandma. And Vic's grandma. You have Bill and Fleur, and Charlie and Percy. We will always be with you Teddy, but I will always, always be here for you. I know that in a couple of years, you probably won't remember this conversation but I will always be happy to remind you how many people love you." I pull him to my chest and he wraps his arms around my neck.