a half past late | harry

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

teddy dropped his cloak over the back of the first chair he came across in his living room and he ran both his hands over his face, scrubbing them up and down for a second before pushing them into his hair to muse it. it had been a long day and it was going to be just a tad bit longer. he had plans to meet harry, now that he had revealed himself to those close to him that he was actually alive and mostly well. it had been the biggest shock to the system when his godfather had turned up one day, after months of grieving and countless denials that he'd been dead, he was still alive. something that teddy was more than grateful for. he glanced at his watch, his eyes following the seconds hand as it ticked slowly around it's face before he shook himself out of it.

he had time before he had to leave again, just enough to sit down, kick his feet back and have five minutes with nothing but his own thoughts. he'd been too tired to think really the last few days, like a weariness had set into his bones and was refusing to shake. it was only because they'd been working so hard trying to track down the escaped prisoners, it was seeming to be an endless task and one that teddy didn't see ending anytime soon. he dropped onto his couch and kicked his shoes off, rested his head back and stared at the ceiling. it didn't take long for him to drift off into a deep sleep.

he had no idea how long he'd been out when he was startled awake by a knock at his door. at some point he'd laid down on the couch apparently, but he couldn't recall it. he pushed himself up so he was sitting and brought a hand over his mouth as a cough forced itself from his chest. he took a moment before he stood, the room tilting just slightly as he heard the knock again. shit, harry. he looked at his watch and frowned when he read the time, it was a good few hours since he'd had to leave but apparently, he hadn't. he ran his hand over his face as he walked to the door, trying to convince himself that it was just the busy schedule catching up to him and not the illness that had been plaguing the wizarding population of britain. he turned the handle on his front door, braced a hand on the doorframe to keep himself on his feet as he opened the door to the now familiar face standing there. "i didn't forget, promise."

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Harry raised an eyebrow as his disheveled godson opened the door, claiming he didn't forget that the two of them were meeting. Harry didn't drink the polyjuice potion this time, it was easy to hide underneath a cloak when he was just apparating a short distance to his nephews place. "Alright, Ted," he said with a nod, definitely not believing that the boy hadn't forgotten. Harry didn't mind, though. He knew Teddy was busy. He stepped inside, glad to see all the curtains were already closed so that he could remove his cloak once the door was shut. He glanced around, seeing the cloak over the chair and the indentation on the couch, she shoes tossed over the side.

He glanced back at Teddy, a proud grin on his face. "So, napping? If you need to sleep, by all means. I'll just read a book or something," he teased.

@edward

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

teddy chuckled a little when harry offered to read him a story. he walked across the room to open one of the cupboards on the side, which held his, thankfully at the moment, somewhat small firewhiskey collection. "i can't remember the last time you read me a story actually." he said, a sort of nostalgic smile crossing his face as he grabbed a bottle from the shelf before turning back to his godfather.

"since i was late, my shout?" he said as he grabbed two small glasses and he crossed back to his couch so he could drop onto it. he still felt tired but there was a small spark of energy that had been injected into his soul by his nap. he set the two glasses down on his coffee table and he rested his elbows on his knee's, waiting for harry to give the go ahead.

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His godson mentioned Harry reading him a story and Harry smiled too, finding it ironic that the boy grabbed a bottle right when they were talking about his childhood. "Well, now I can read you even more horror stories, right?" not that Harry really cared for those. His life had always kind of been a horror story, more or less. He loved the good times but man, there were definitely bad times.

Harry nodded at Teds offer, moving to sit on the couch as well. "By all means," Harry waved a hand of approval. Harry loved being able to bond with Teddy as an adult. It was one of his main joys. The kid made him a father before he really even was one, and not in a bad way. Harry gained all the knowledge of how much you can love another person, even more so/differently than your romantic partner.

@edward

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

teddy chuckled a little as harry said he'd be able to read him more horror stories. he shook his head a little. "not a fan of those, i prefer stories about funny little elves." he joked as he tilted the bottle up and poured some of the liquid in. he'd never liked stories that had a scary ending, he'd always been more of a funny story or a story that had an ending that was somewhat happy. maybe it was a subconscious thing but he'd never really thought about it. and then when he'd grown up real life had becomg a horror story almost in itself so he didn't need to hear about it in stories, he'd lived through some things in scary stories.

he slid the glass towards harry as he'd sat down and he picked up his own glass, settling back into the couch as he took a sip before nursing it on his knee, his glance moving to his godfathers. "how's ginny?" he asked. he'd wanted to go over and see her for a while but things had gone to hell at work and sometimes there wasn't enough time to sit down between the end of shift and start of shift. he felt like he'd been slightly detached from all the people he'd called his family in the last few months and he hated it.

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Teddy said he wasn't a fan of scary stories and Harry sighed with relief. "Thank goodness, we can skip those," he agreed. He watched his godson pour the liquid and pursed his lips a little. He was incredibly... steady handed. Like he was use to doing this often. Harry probably was just overthinking. Either way, Harry was grateful that they had this time together.

Teddy asked how his wife was and Harry smiled softly, taking a sip from his drink before answering. "She is... Ginny. Stronger than ever, better than me at everything. The usual," he answered softly. He shrugged again, leaning comfortably into the couch. "I just feel like everyone is... sick of me. I guess."

@edward

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

"she wouldn't be ginny if she wasn't outshining you." he said with a grin as he took his seat and brought the glass to his lips for a drink. ginny had been one of the first women that teddy had admired for being strong and it had been hard to watch her go from someone who was strong and sure of herself to someone who couldn't remember some of the best and most important things in their life. it had been hard to watch harry, james, al and lily go through it too but he was glad that things were getting there.

teddy frowned a little as harry said he felt like everyone was sick of him. he highly doubted that was the case, he'd only been back in their lives for a little while. "no one's sick of you harry. i'm pretty sure i can say that without much doubt." he said as he took another long sip of the drink, draining the glass in almost a mouthful. there was no grimace, he was used to the taste by now. it had been his friend when he'd lost almost everyone and it was a welcome taste by now. "why do you think that anyway?"

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Harry raised a glass, "I'll cheers to my wife," he commented before taking a long sip. Teddy assured him that no one was sick of him but asked why he thought that. Harry shrugged, "because I keep leaving and coming back. I'll admit, I'm a little tired of me too. Everyone expects me to be this great wizard who has all the answers but I have nothing," he shook his head, sighing. "Ron even suggested to me the other day that I should come back and run for Minister when Hermiones term ends. Minister, really? I could never do that. I don't have any answers, Edward," he sat up a little, making eye contact with his godson. "I always wanted to have all the answers for you, Ted. Sometimes I didn't. You never punished me for that, and I thank you."

@edward

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

"just think of the comeback stories?" teddy said, trying to help ease harry's ill feeling. sure, did he wish his godfather wasn't in hiding, sure. did he think that it might be better for him to reveal himself? yeah some days. maybe things would get better if he did but there was also the chance that they could get worse. it was a game of chance and chance needed to be played smart. "of course he did." teddy said with a slight grin as he downed the last of his drink and he leaned forward to pour another two fingers wortk into the glass. he looked at harry as he talked about answers. that was the million dollar statment. "i never expected answers." he'd never needed someone who could tell him everything. he'd just needed someone to be there for him and luckily he'd had that in spades. "the world doesn't need someone who has all the answers. it needs someone who gives a damn and has the gumption to do something about everything." he said as he took another long sip of his drink.

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Teddy joked about the 'comeback stories' and Harry smiled, only a tiny bit. He wasn't feeling at ease at all, really. He didn't think that his coming back should be big news to anyone. He hated being famous, but he took the responsibility seriously. Teddy wasn't surprised that Ron suggested he run for minister either. Ron always wanted Harry to step into the limelight when necessary. But when Teddy said "I never expected answers"... that's what made Harry really feel better. Teddy went on, clearly an incredible wise young man, wiser than Harry's influence would have created. Harry reached a hand over and clapped the other man on the back gently, "I do give a damn," he said firmly. He removed his hand to take another long sip of his drink, almost emptying the glass but stopping short. He pulled his arm in from of this face, assessing the glass at eye level. "And I would kill for James and-or Albus to join us sometime," he lowered the glass, then looks back at Teddy with a slight grimace, "do they hate me?"[/]b

@edward

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

teddy felt his godfather clap his hand on his back and he nodded slightly. he knew that harry gave a damn and was just doing what he needed to protect his family but there was still something in teddy that felt like he wasn't sharing about why he was still in hiding. but he wouldn't pry, not yet. "i know." he said simply, the honesty clear in his voice. he didn't doubt that harry cared, not in the slightest. "that'd be great. you ask them and i'll be here." he said as he smiled into his glass, tipping back the liquid once more, his hand still steady on the glass. then harry asked a question that made teddy sit up slightly and he had to think about it for a second, not really sure how to answer.

"i don't know." he said, truthfully. it hurt him that he'd have to admit that but it was the truth. but he did have a little bit of personal insight that he could share with his godfather. "i think, it's more they're hurt about what you did." he said softly, reaching for the bottle that was on the table and tipping more of the liquid into it. "they'd just lost their mother. then they lost you to." he said softly, hoping the implication in there was that he himself has lost both of them as well. "that's what i think anyway." he said as he took a sip of the whiskey, savouring it for a moment before he spoke again.

"i hate my parents sometimes, for leaving me." he said, his voice soft, a rare moment of honesty about how he was feeling making his eyes lock onto the glass as he spoke. "it's still easier to hate them than to try and understand why they left." he took a deep breath. "i know they thought it was the right thing, that there were bigger reasons than me in their choice but knowing that doesn't make it any easier."