New Beginnings
Arriving home, Harry and Teddy were welcomed by a delicious smell filling the hallways and rooms of the Black family’s old house. With Teddy in his arms, who had just noticed that he had little hands with which he played, Harry went into the dining room. There, Harry found the source of the mouth-watering aroma.
“Evening, Master,” the old house-elf said.
“Hello, Kreacher. You’ve prepared food, I see...” Harry replied, noticing the meal Kreacher had prepared.
Kreacher nodded and warily eyed the baby in Harry’s arms.
“Kreacher, meet Edward Remus Lupin, or Teddy for short,” Harry said, holding the newborn proudly towards the elf. “He'll be living with us—I kind of adopted him. So, be nice to him! If I go to heaven, he’ll be your new master in the worst-case scenario.” Harry grinned teasingly at Kreacher.
The house-elf, looking a bit annoyed, seemed to look forward even more to dying before Harry Potter did. “The boy is in good care,” Kreacher said curtly, before leaving the room to tend to other chores around the house.
Harry sat down at the table and carefully placed Teddy on his lap, holding him with one arm while eating with the other. Having a house-elf wasn’t as bad as Harry had thought it would be, though he would never say that out loud because he knew Hermione would immediately kill him for even considering it. Lost in his thoughts, he ate the food Kreacher had prepared for him, and boy, was it good.
Suddenly, he felt his arm getting wet. Looking down, he saw Teddy sucking on his own hand, which he had just discovered. In doing so, he drooled all over Harry’s arm.
“Oh no, Teddy, that’s not food,” Harry said quickly, pulling Teddy’s hand out of his mouth. This sudden reaction frightened Teddy, and his tears began to flow. Like a ticking time bomb, Teddy’s breathing quickened until he exploded into a loud cry.
“Oh, bloody hell—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Harry said frantically. “Shh, shh...” He carefully lifted Teddy onto his chest, stood up, and began pacing back and forth, trying to calm him down. “It’s alright, Teddy. Nothing happened,” he whispered, gently rubbing the baby’s back.
It took Harry a few minutes, but eventually, he managed to calm the baby. As he did, pride swelled in Harry’s chest.
Then, Harry smelled something disgusting coming from Teddy. “Oh, bloody hell, seriously? Right now? While you're on my arm?” Teddy just giggled, clearly amused. Harry scowled. Oh, you little devil, he thought as he made his way to change the boy’s diaper for the first time. It was more complicated than he thought. It took him ten minutes, and he had to stop three times because he almost threw up. The faces he made seemed to amuse Teddy even more.
“Well, I’m definitely going to be Dad of the Year!” Harry said proudly, fully aware that he could only manage this because Andromeda Tonks had explained everything to him. But he chose to ignore that fact.
Back in Harry’s arms, Teddy started yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Oh, are you ready for your sleep? Well, that makes it easier for me, since it’s already pretty late!” Harry said. He carried Teddy up to the boy’s bedroom, changed him into thicker pajamas, and placed him in his crib.
Harry spun the mobile hanging over the bed to distract the newborn. As Teddy watched the mobile spin in amazement, Harry gently rocked the crib back and forth, creating the illusion that Teddy was still in someone’s arms. He stayed by the crib until Teddy’s eyes closed, and the baby finally drifted off to sleep.
Harry went to get himself ready for bed, and as he lay down, he couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation he had with Kingsley. He would start his training soon... Would he be good enough for that? How would he manage with Teddy? How would his friends react? These questions kept floating through his mind and grew larger after he roughly fell asleep.
The next morning, he woke to chirping and scratching at the window. Harry put on his glasses and looked toward the window where the noises were coming from.
"An owl? This early in the morning?" he muttered to himself.
He got up and opened the window, letting the owl fly into the room. Harry took the parchment roll that the owl had for him and gave the barn owl a snack to thank her. After the exchange, the owl flew back, leaving Harry with the letter, which he carefully examined.
“It’s not from the Ministry…” he said, opening the seal and quickly scanning the letter. “It’s from McGonagall!” he said excitedly, reading it a second time.
Dear Mr. Potter,
In light of recent events and the defeat of the Dark Lord, it is now time for the first meeting of the Order after the war.
Mrs. Weasley has kindly offered to host this very special meeting, so please ensure your attendance this Saturday at one o'clock in the evening.
I look forward to seeing you on that day.
For your safety and protection, please do not respond to this letter and do not share details of this meeting with anyone.
With gratitude,
Professor and Headmistress M. McGonagall
"Well, Teddy and I seem to have plans this Saturday," Harry laughed, already looking forward to seeing everyone again. He put the parchment away and then went into the children’s room.
As he walked in, he was surprised to find Teddy and Kreacher. And Kreacher was feeding him?
“What are you doing here, Kreacher?” he asked, feeling a bit confused.
“The young boy started crying, and I figured he was getting hungry. So I fed him,” Kreacher explained.
“Thank you…” Harry said, still unsure how to feel about it. He took out some fresh clothes for Teddy and picked him up. “I’ll take care of the rest. Thank you, Kreacher. I appreciate it.” The elf just rolled his eyes and left the room.
Harry was confused by Kreacher's behavior. Sure, the house-elf had become kinder to him, but that was partly because the elf was bonded to Harry. Still, Kreacher didn’t usually tolerate other witches and wizards. So, him taking care of Teddy was unexpected. But before Harry could think more about it, the smell of a very stinky diaper brought him back to reality.
“Ew,” he said, grimacing as he quickly changed Teddy’s diaper and put fresh clothes on him.
Harry then gave Teddy a room tour—not that the baby would understand, but Teddy’s amazed and giggling reactions were enough to make it worth it. For the rest of the day, it was just the two of them, cuddling up, with Harry taking care of the baby.