A/N: Welcome! Who's excited for Cursed Child coming out tonight? I wanted to get this posted before the new book came out though, it starts off before the Epilogue of Deathly Hollows. This will be mostly centered on Harry and his relationship with Teddy, and how Harry rebuilds his life after the war, but a Harry/Hermione relationship will be slowly building through the chapters. This is just the beginning, a prologue of sorts, and I'd love to know what you think! With that said, I hope you enjoy!
Harry looked down at the child in his arms, his godson, Teddy. Teddy was staring back up at him, with bright green eyes. The resemblance to his parents was staggering, but the green eyes, Harry recognized as his own staring back at him. Teddy was only a couple weeks old, but he already was a metamorphagus like his mother. He felt so tiny in Harry's arms, so fragile and beautiful. Harry had never felt a love like this, he was overcome with emotion as he looked down. He knew in that moment he'd do anything for this little boy, he'd do anything to keep him safe, and to keep him happy. Harry watched as Teddy's eyes started to grow heavy, and with a few flow blinks, he was asleep in Harry's arms.
Remus, Teddy's father, had been a father figure for Harry, since Harry's third year at Hogwarts. He had been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Harry had ever had, he even taught Harry how to perform a patronus charm to defend himself, far before his time. That knowledge came in handy that year, when Harry used it to save the life of himself and his godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius, Remus, and Harry's own father had been best friends in school. When Harry wanted to know about his father, or his mother, he had usually taken his questions to either Sirius or Remus. Harry wanted to be able to offer the same for his godson when he grew up. He wanted to be the one Teddy could come to, for anything.
Then something sparked in his brain, Harry had an idea, but he'd need quite a bit of help. He placed his sleeping godson back in his crib and then made his way downstairs to where Andromeda was. She asked him about how it went with Teddy, and after telling her about the love he felt holding his godson, he told her about his idea. He could see the sadness etched on her face, but he also saw a glimmer in her eyes. She was proud of Harry and his idea, and that was all the incentive Harry needed to get started. Andromeda would keep Teddy with her until Harry was ready, and Harry promised he'd keep an open door so she could see her grandson any time.
Harry then apparated to Hogwarts, to find McGonagall. The castle was in the process of being repaired, and McGonagall was in charge. He found her in Dumbledore's old office, and she had moved her own things in, giving it a warmer feel. Dumbledore's office had always felt cold since his death, like something was missing, but McGonagall moving into it gave it back that warmth. Harry told her what he wanted to do, turn the house at Godric's Hollow into a home for he and Teddy. He saw her eyes grow cloudy with tears as he explained, she was proud of the idea, and of Harry. She taught him the charms and spells they were using on Hogwarts to rebuild it, and told him she would always be there to help him, with anything he needed.
Next up, he had to tell Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He then apparated to the Burrow, where he and his friends had been staying since the end of the war. He asked the three of them to join him in the room he had been staying in, and proceeded to tell them his plan. Ron and Hermione offered to help, but Harry wanted to do it on his own. Ginny took it the hardest, demanding to know why he wouldn't let her come along, to move in with him and Teddy. The war had tensions and emotions running high, and a lot of people, people they loved, were lost. Harry needed time to rebuild and settle down, and to make sure his decisions made during the war were ones he could live with moving forward. It wasn't that he didn't have feelings for Ginny, he just wasn't ready to commit to anything with her. He had to put Teddy first, every decision Harry made now affected Teddy, it was intimidating. Ginny stormed away from him, not wanted to hear anymore. He was sorry to hurt her, but he knew what he was doing was right. Ron and Hermione hugged him and told him, anything he and Teddy needed, they were there.
As he was holding Teddy, Harry had realized what he wanted to do moving forward. Harry needed space, but most importantly he needed to find a place where he could live with his godson, to raise him and keep him safe. Now that he was 18, he had access to all of the money his parents and Sirius had left behind for him. With it he could find a place to live, get Teddy everything he needed, and have enough money to stay home with Teddy until he figured out what to do next. He had been offered that he could start work with the Ministry, or he could return to Hogwarts for his last year, but Harry wasn't sure about either. He felt he was beyond school, after all that had happened, but he didn't want to take a job in the Ministry that meant more fighting and riddles. No, he'd settle down with his godson first and figure the rest out after. He would need something that had stable hours so he could be with Teddy, and something that didn't travel, and wasn't too dangerous. Teddy had already lost his parents; he wasn't going to lose him too.
That was when it hit him, Godric's Hollow. The home Harry himself had lived in with his parents when he was a baby. It had been left, standing dilapidated since the day Harry's parents had died, but that could be easy enough to fix. The war was over, Voldemort was gone, there was no reason to leave the house as a standing testament to the horror that had happened. Harry wanted to rebuild, to make it a home again. It was where it had all began for him, where his fate was written that he would be the one to take on Voldemort. It was also where Harry had his earliest, and only memory of his parents. Raising Teddy there would bring life back to the house, and make happy memories in a place that until then, only held bad.
This was it, everyone had been told, he had the tools he needed to get started, and when he was ready, Teddy would be joining him. He was going home.