11. Kisses

James struggled to squirm forward, quiet whines of frustration and strain escaping his clenched, almost toothless gums. His feet kicked behind him as if he was swimming. He dug his fists into the carpet and rocked on his belly in an attempt to inch closer to Teddy who was also lying on his tummy, encouraging him with bright cheers. "You can do it! You're so close! Come on, James. Come here," he cooed. He stretched his arms out in front of him towards the baby. "Just a bit more."

James wanted to cry. He was trying so hard, but he wasn't moving at all. He kicked as hard as he could, his socked feet landing heavily behind him. He smacked his fists and scraped his elbows on the carpet. His eyes filled with tears as he shifted his legs, curling them.

"Come on, James," Teddy urged. "Come here. I know you can do it."

"Mmm," James sniffed sadly. His feet were scrambling by then. He just wanted to go forward!

His knees caught.

He lifted his hips up reflexively, his dark eyes widening with surprise.

Before he could topple forward on his face, he was gripped under his arms and then he was flying.

"Aaah!" he squealed.

"You did it!" Teddy laughed and twirled around. "You did it! You crawled!" He planted big, wet kisses on his baby brother's round cheeks and button nose and dimple chin. "You are such a big boy now."

James giggled.

The doorbell rang, prompting Teddy to gulp his milk twice as quickly while hopping from foot to foot. Andromeda told him to slow down, but he was almost done in any case. Milk dripped down his chin and onto his shirt. He didn't care. He didn't want to be late. He pulled the cup away with a loud exhale and then nearly slammed it on the table. "Gotta go, Gramma." He raced out the door.

Andromeda simply shook her head in defeat. He was growing up so fast. She set the cup down in the sink before running the water.

Without warning, she was tugged around and pulled down. "Oh?" she exclaimed.

Teddy threw his arms around her. "Love you." He pecked her cheek before zooming out of the kitchen again. By the time Andromeda had straightened up, the front door had slammed shut.

Teddy sat on his hands and nervously swung his legs as he watched Quidditch players fly out into the arena. The crowd was loud and the announcer was even louder. He was surrounded by the Wealseys in the private box, but he paid no heed to their snacking and chattering. He chewed on the side of his cheek while keeping his eyes on the entrance all the way down by the mascots. This was the very first match he had ever been to.

"NUMBER TWENTY SEVEN! GINEVRA WEASLEY! CHASER!"

Teddy jumped up to his feet just as his family cheered louder than ever. He leaned against the railing, holding on with white knuckles, and stared at the speck of green flying into the grounds.

Ginny flew up to meet her teammates while carefully breathing to calm the butterflies in her stomach. This was her first match since James was born. After flying a lap around the ground, she idled beside her fellow Chasers and took a moment for the familiar feeling to sink in.

"AUNTY GINNY!" Teddy shouted. His voice was drowned out by thousands of others. "AUNTY GINNY! OVER HERE!" He twisted his fists around the cold railing. "AUNTY GINNY!"

Ginny tried to spot her family. It took a little while, but she eventually caught sight of a private box filled with redheads. She couldn't help but smile.

Teddy gasped when he realized that Ginny had seen him. He flung his arms around as much as he could. "AUNTY GINNY! AUNTY GINNY!"

Ginny raised a hand to wave at Teddy.

"BE CAREFUL!" he shouted desperately. "DON'T FALL! BE CAREFUL, AUNTY GINNY!"

She couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but she could guess well enough. She responded with an exaggerated nod and then gave him a thumbs-up.

He blew her a kiss.

She caught it and pressed her hand to her heart.

"Oh no. It's okay. Don't cry." Teddy cupped Louis' face in his hands. "It was just an accident."

Louis couldn't stop his chin from trembling, no matter what Teddy said. He squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed, prompting Teddy to hug him close. "Sh," he murmured. "I said it's alright, didn't I?" He patted Louis' back slowly. "We'll tell Grandma Molly and she won't get mad. She can fix anything. She'll understand." He brushed his lips against Louis' forehead. "If you're crying, that means that you're really sorry, right?"

"Mhm." Louis pressed his grubby fists to his eyes. He was very sorry.

"Come on. We'll go together. Don't be sad." Teddy led Louis down the stairs. "Just don't tell her that we were playing with exploding marbles."

"Okay."

"Cause then Uncle George is gonna be in big trouble."

"You look magical."

Luna beamed at Teddy. "Thank you." She leaned forward to meet his eye. "I feel magical too."

"Do you want to dance?" He held his hand out.

"Why, yes!" She took his hand and stood up. "That would be lovely."

Teddy led her onto the crowded dance floor, cutting a line straight to the middle. Everyone made way for Luna since her brightly illuminated dress of green and lavender would be quite hard to miss. The bride and groom shared a private smile before stepping back a bit as well.

Teddy turned to Luna again and bowed before bringing her hand up to his lips for a gentlemanly kiss. She curtsied in turn, flaring her dress with ease to reveal more of its odd shimmering material.

Then they proceeded to cut the rug with wild abandon.

Harry smiled lazily when he felt a kiss on his lips and he cracked an eye open. Teddy crawled on top of him, sighing tiredly when he was wrapped up in a comfortable hug. "Just one hour, okay?" Harry whispered. He was met with a quiet grumble and, soon afterwards, heavy breathing. "Hmm…" He closed his eyes again, matching his breaths to Teddy's.