Chapter 3
It was only a few hours after eating before Harry wanted to leave the burrow, and go check on his godfather. The relief Harry had felt when he saw that Sirius was still alive back at Hogwarts was unmeasured. Harry felt as though he had gotten very little time with Sirius since he had first met him when he was thirteen, and Harry decided that making up for lost time with the man who was ideally supposed to raise him was one thing he wanted for his immediate future. Ron and Hermione of course came with Harry as they used the floo network to travel to Grimmauld Place.
The first thing Harry heard as he stepped out of the fireplace was a baby crying. Harry remembered that Sirius had invited Remus and Teddy to come live with him after the death of Tonks, and he felt a painful twinge of guilt in his chest. Following the sound of Teddy crying, Harry soon found the baby in a crib in a spare room that appeared to have been hastily turned into a nursery. Harry didn’t have much experience with babies at all, but he still picked Teddy up and cradled him the way he had seen others do before.
“Where are Sirius and Professor Lupin?” Hermione asked, finding it strange that they weren’t there when Teddy started crying.
“I’m not sure, but we should find them.” Harry said. Teddy calmed a bit as Harry held him, physical contact seeming to be exactly what he needed. Harry had just barely finished speaking when Remus came rushing into the room, looking rather frazzled, but he visibly relaxed when he saw that Harry had Teddy.
“I woke up when I heard him crying. I was still getting out of bed when he stopped, I thought maybe he’d…” Remus couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence, but he didn’t need to for the kids to know what he meant. He thought for a second that Teddy had died, much like his mother had, along with so many friends and family.
“He’s ok professor, Harry’s got him.” Hermione assured.
“Hermione, I haven’t been your teacher in years, and we just fought a war together. You can call me Remus.” Hermione blushed a little, but Ron and Harry smiled at her fondly.
Despite everything they had all been through, and everything they had seen in the last seven years, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still, in a lot of ways, the same kids they were when they met. Hermione was still as smart, and studious, loving to learn, even when what she was learning was how to kill a seemingly immortal wizard. Ron was still just as loyal, and giving. He offered up his home, his bed, and his whole heart to Harry and Hermione, even when they might not have deserved it. Harry was still just as brave, and just as strong as he had always been in life, and that strength only seemed to grow. The three friends had learned a lot from each other, and were still learning more. That was another thing that Harry was sure of for his future, no matter what, he wanted Ron and Hermione to be a part of it.
“How are you three doing?” Harry asked Remus.
“About as good as we can be.” Remus said, looking like he was close to collapsing at any point. He reached for Teddy, and Harry handed him over no problem. Remus hugged Teddy close, clinging to him like a lifeline, and Harry supposed he kind of was.
“Where’s Sirius?” Harry asked, wanting to see his godfather.
“I think he’s in the kitchen.” Remus answered. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I need to go lay back down. I’m exhausted all the time now.”
“Go ahead and rest Pro - Remus.” Hermione said kindly. “We’ll go talk to Sirius.”
Harry said goodbye and hugged Remus gently, making sure to be mindful of the little baby in his arms, then he went downstairs to go find Sirius. Sure enough, the man was in the kitchen, looking almost as ragged as he did when Harry met him in the forbidden forest back in his third year. Sirius was just staring into the pantry, not seeming to actually register much of what he was seeing, and looking more like he was just lost in thought.
“Sirius?” Harry called out softly, causing Sirius to come out of his own head, and back into the present. He turned around and smiled softly at the trio before coming over to hug all of them, squeezing Harry especially close.
Sirius was the one who found James and Lily’s bodies after Voldemort had killed them, and that was a night that he often still dreamed about. Seeing Harry, who looked so much like his father, seemingly dead and being carried back to Hogwarts was almost too much for Sirius to bear. Being able to hug Harry close, hearing his heartbeat and feeling him breathe brought Sirius some comfort.
“I spoke to Molly through the floo network. She said that you three have barely left one another alone long enough for one of you to go to the bathroom.” Sirius said, gesturing for the three kids to have a seat at the dining table while he made some tea.
“We just - we can’t…” Hermione struggled to find the words, and the other two boys weren’t much better off. It was hard for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to explain exactly why they were so reluctant to give each other much breathing room, but the answer was really quite simple. They needed each other. The kids would eventually be able to separate from one another, and do things on their own, but at the moment they were still too scared, and their wounds were too raw.
“You don’t have to explain, I get it.” Sirius assured. “We were all the same way during the war, and to be honest, me inviting Mooney to live here was for me, just as much as him.”
Remus slept for the majority of the trio’s visit, but none of them held that against him. Harry was looking forward to getting to spend more time with Remus and Sirius, and getting to know them better without the war hanging over their heads. Before, it almost felt like everytime Harry got to see his parent’s best friends, and his godfather, it was because the world was about to come to an end. So now that it was all over, now that Voldemort was gone, and the world was finally at peace, Harry had plenty of time to get to know his family, and his new godson.