Unofficial Portkey Archive

Harry was coming on two weeks living with Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when he trekked up the lopsided stairs of the Burrow one late afternoon.

The September sun was setting, casting warm orange streams of light at random intervals along his journey, through the crooked, mis-matched windows, each separated ray like the blast conjured by a particularly well-performed spell.

As he reached one of the many lopsided landings along the dusty stairway, Harry heard a voice, emanating from a room further down the hall. Harry moved toward the source of the voice, his footsteps unintentionally quiet.

Peering around a wooden doorframe, he was met with the sight of Ginny and Teddy curled up in a carpeted spot on the floor.

Since Harry's arrival at the Burrow, Teddy had been a frequent and welcome visitor. When Teddy first began visiting two weeks ago, Harry felt that he was making good on the promise he'd made to Remus the night he used the Resurrection Stone.

While he was glad to keep the promise, Harry found personal joy in spending time with and taking care of Teddy.

Harry vowed to himself that there was no way he was going to allow Teddy to have a childhood even a minutia like his own had been.

Today, Teddy's hair rivaled the shade of Weasley-red, and his nose was dotted with freckles. While this was not Teddy's true appearance, Harry was not surprised at his current physical facade; Teddy had a tendency to mime the appearance of companions, especially if he was feeling uncomfortable, or if he did not know the person well.

It was not the first time Harry had seen Teddy Lupin look more like Teddy Weasley.

Ginny and Teddy made for a picturesque pair, bathed in the glow of the evening sun, Ginny's tone of voice slightly louder than Teddy's casual hums and sighs as she related a tale to the distracted baby.

Since Harry managed to stay hidden within the shadows of the hall, Ginny and Teddy did not realize his presence, so he listened.

Harry soon realized that he was the focus of Ginny's story; his first year at Hogwarts- the beginning. No matter how many times during his life he had overheard conversations he was not intended to hear, and even though Ginny was not talking about him in a negative way, hearing someone talk about him as if he were not there still elicited an unpleasant response inside of Harry; feelings of detachment and emptiness.

Plus, Harry hated being the center of attention, even if it was just a story.

Harry gazed momentarily, eyes unfocused, out of the window behind Ginny, and noticed that the sun was hardly even a sliver on the horizon. He rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the rapidly fading light.

Ginny continued her story of Harry's first year at Hogwarts. "…and after Ron was knocked off his horse, Harry moved to win the game of chess. They were very scared and tired, but Harry knew what he had to do. He went into the next room, but what he didn't know was that Voldemort was waiting for him."

But the potions and the riddle, Harry thought.

Harry did not have the heart to correct Ginny, to remind her of the crucial role Hermione played in the story.

Harry then remembered that Ginny may have no knowledge of Hermione's full part in capturing the Sorcerer's Stone before Voldemort could.

Harry figured that the inaccuracies of Ginny's story hardly mattered during those moments of Teddy's early life- he could not fully understand, not yet- and besides, Teddy seemed to have somehow drifted off to sleep without Ginny's notice.

Forgetting the purpose of his initial journey up the stairs of the Burrow, Harry turned from his position just outside of the room and walked back down the stairs, the continuation of Ginny's story dissipating into a dull murmur.

***

This chapter contains a lot of symbolism and foreshadowing, so if you think you might be reading too much into something… you're probably not!

I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to comment :)

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