CHAPTER ONE

Change of Plans

"Harry, you have no idea how much this helps me," Andromeda said, pushing her dark hair out of her face as she placed Teddy's overnight bag on the kitchen table. "I hate doing anything last minute, but I have to do this...for Ted."

Harry shrugged, smiling in spite of himself. "You know I'm always happy to look after Teddy. Please don't worry about it, Mrs. Tonks. You just worry about your sister-in-law."

"Are you sure you didn't have anything planned?"

There were times when Harry thought Andromeda looked almost identical to her late sister, Bellatrix, but this was not one of those moments. Her brown eyes were searching his desperately. He knew that she hated to inconvenience others, and it was because of this reason that Harry found himself unable to meet her eyes.

"I did," he admitted, sheepish under her pained reaction. "But I'm rescheduling it. It's no big deal."

"I feel so guilty," she replied.

Harry waved her off. "It really is no big deal. I already took a few days off work, and I promise you, my social life is not that interesting. Besides, Teddy is a lot cooler than anyone I know."

"Really?" Teddy asked, peering from behind his grandmother's skirts.

"I don't know any other kid that can make their hair blue, buddy."

It was like Christmas had come early for the boy. Neither of them seen him that excited since Hermione had told him that his impersonation of Harry looked spot-on, even though the boy had only been able to manage the black hair. Andromeda kissed her grandson goodbye. He stubbornly wiped it off his cheek. Ruffling the blue hair fondly, Harry told him to run upstairs and find Kreacher, who usually hid when the three-foot terror spent the night.

"I should warn you," Andromeda said, in a much better mood. "He's in an odd phase right now. I caught him lying to me, and I punished him so severely that he has vowed never to lie again."

"How is that a bad thing?"

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. "You'd be surprised, Harry. I'd best be going now, though. Ted's sister should almost be done with her treatment."

"Alright," Harry replied, leading her back to the fireplace. "I hope she feels better soon. And don't worry about Teddy. He'll be just fine with me."

She nodded. "Thank you, Harry. I owe you a favor."

He watched the blazing green fire consume her, and then she disappeared up the chimney and away from Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Grabbing Teddy's overnight bag, Harry slung it over his shoulder and walked upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms where Teddy usually slept. He passed Kreacher along the way; the elderly House Elf was mumbling more than usual, and Harry had to suppress a chuckle.

"Stop jumping on the bed, Teddy," he said, dropping the bag on the ground.

The four-year-old crossed his legs in midair and landed with a loud creak of old bed springs. He was definitely his mother's son. His head tilted curiously. "Why?"

"Because the bed is probably a hundred-years-old, and you're so strong you could probably break it. It belonged to my godfather's family, along with the house, and they have been passing this stuff down for generations. It's probably antique."

"But you could fix it with magic."

"But I don't want to fix it with magic."

"But you could."

Harry looked at the young boy's face, innocent and imploring, and he couldn't help but laugh. "You know, Teddy, I'm not going to lie. You are a too smart for your own good sometimes."

"I got punished for lying. Grandmother says it's bad," Teddy replied.

"I heard, and she's right."

Teddy pulled a face. "But you lied to Grandmother when she asked if you were busy."

"Oh dear," said Harry, running a hand through his messy black hair. "How do I explain this? You and your grandmother mean a lot to me, so I didn't want to upset her by saying that I couldn't watch you. Your Aunt Sara is not feeling very well, and your grandmother needed to go visit her. I'm doing her a favor. I guess, technically, I wasn't really lying because I went ahead and canceled my plans."

"Oh," Teddy replied, sliding off the bed. "What were you planning to do?"

"Take Ginny out to dinner."

Teddy stuck out his tongue, making a face of disgust.

"Trust me," said Harry, laughing. "You'll understand when you're older."

"But why would you want to do something so boring?"

"It's a fancy restaurant."

"Why?"

Harry frowned at all the questions. Four-year-olds could be so annoying sometimes. "Can you keep a secret, Teddy?"

Excitement blossomed in his gray eyes. He nodded quickly, standing up on tip-toe so he could lean closer toward Harry. "I'm good at keeping secrets! Is it dangerous?"

"Not exactly," said Harry. "Actually, I was going to ask Ginny to marry me."