Disclaimer: I don't own HP. JKR owns HP.

A/N: Okay so I would have had this chapter out about two months ago but my stupid computer kept either not saving the file or losing it after it was saved. I have successfully employed the use of the USB stick and have rewritten this thing for about the 5th time. Luckily that means that all my favorite parts of the other revisions are all here in this one. So it should be five times better :)

"Oh Harry dear, before you leave. I pulled out the old baby clothes for Teddy to try on. If anything fits you're more than welcome to take it." Mrs. Weasley had stopped Harry just as he was refastening his godson into the baby carrier. For a moment Harry hesitated, remembering Ron's 'hand-me-down' dress robes- but then mentally slapped himself. No one in their right mind would dress a baby that hideously.

"Thanks," he said hoisting both Teddy and carrier into his arms, "Do you want me to look at them now or come back tomorrow."

"Now is fine- if you're not too tired of us," Mrs. Weasley winked, "I left them upstairs in Percy's old bedroom. They've been in his closet for ages."

Knowing the way Harry excused himself from the group, many of whom were caught up in a very raucous game of gobstones.

Harry lugged the carrier up to the second floor, being careful not to bump it against anything.

Harry pushed open the door, neatly marked 'Percy', and saw the box almost immediately. A large dust covered bin sat, very out of place, in the meticulously tidy room. Percy's room seemed to emanate all things... Percy. From the perfectly arranged desk to the books on the shelf- which were in order according to size. Even the bedspread- a very dull looking navy blue, seemed to fit the bill when thinking of Percy.

Harry sat Teddy down by the bed and went about opening the box, which was labeled "boys". He couldn't help but wonder if there was a smaller box of girls' clothes somewhere in the closet, and if he could possibly acquire them for future blackmail of his girlfriend.

Surprisingly, many of the clothes in the box were actually pretty adorable.

"What do you think?" Harry held a teal onesie out towards teddy and was amazed at how well it matched his current hair color.

"I think it clashes." Said a voice behind him, "but then again- it never really looked good with red hair either."

Harry whirled around and felt his heart drop. Almost immediately he was mentally berating himself for feeling that way.

"George!" He said, trying to plaster a smile on his face, "I didn't hear you come in."

George merely shrugged, years of sneaking and pranking had made him virtually silent when walking. There was an awkward silence between the two men.

"So... how are you doing?" Harry asked- wishing immediately that he hadn't said it. How did he expect George to respond, 'Oh I just lost my best friend and brother but I'm right as rain'.

George simply shrugged. He slouched over to the bed and plopped himself down on it. Harry tried not to but out of the corner of his eye he glanced at the door, wanting someone to come in and talk to them. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't said anything to George since before Fred's funeral. And at that time he had already been to six of the fourteen funerals that he had ended up attending that month.

Harry continued to unpack the box in the silence that George's presence seemed to fill. Should he say something to him? Would he start the conversation himself? Did he even want to talk? Why had he come to Harry? All of the other Weasley's were dealing with Fred's loss- why couldn't he go to one of them? He had chosen Harry- the only person in the entire house who didn't know what losing a brother felt like.

"He's... he's awful cute, isn't he?" George said, leaning down to get a better view of the tiny baby in the crib, "How old is he?"

"Er... two months or so." Harry said, "He was born in April."

"April..." George said, "April's a good month..."

"Yeah." Harry replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Could I...?" George said holding out his hands towards Teddy.

"Yeah!" Harry said, a bit over enthusiastically- glad that Teddy was a good enough distraction for George, "I- I mean, sure." He gently pulled Teddy from the carrier and placed him in George's awaiting arms, "He's a pretty good listener."

Holding Teddy seemed to placate George for a while and Harry decided to try to get through the box as quickly as possible. He had formed a pile of maybe's and a pile of definite no's- which contained a pair of bright orange booties and a knitted baby kilt.

"That was mine, you know." George said acknowledging the green sweater Harry had in his hands. Looking down Harry noticed for the first time a large G embroidered into the chest. Harry glanced into the box and felt his spirit sink as he saw a matching outfit with an F on the front. There was no way he could continue his search through the box without drawing attention to the sweater.

Harry stopped, not sure what to do. Should he brush aside the memory of Fred, along with his old clothes or should he bring the subject up and risk having George be hurt?

"I'm sorry." Harry said suddenly, surprising both himself and his red headed companion.

"For what?"

"I couldn't save them all... I couldn't save him... and I want you to know that I'm-"

"That you're sorry? You honestly believe that you can be sorry and it's all going to be okay?" George wasn't looking at him, but Harry could tell that he was furious.

"I know that there is nothing I can say that will make it better but-"

"Harry Potter," George stopped him, "I don't want you to ever say you are sorry for my brother's murder again. You saved a lot of people that night but Fred died to protect just as many people as you did. The only difference is that you... it's that you made it and he didn't. It's not anyone's fault but the one who killed him, and it's especially not the fault of someone who tried to save him."

Harry was speechless. It had probably taken George many sleepless nights to come up with this.

"He'll never leave us, George."

George nodded, but Harry knew that he had to say more. From personal experience he knew that these words were only partially comforting. So without really knowing what he was doing he opened his mouth hoping to channel some inner wisdom that someone else had said to him at some point.

"I don't know why everything turned out how it did, or why I'm even here to talk about it, but I do know that there is a certain reason why each and every one of us is here. Maybe your legacy will be to carry on remembering Fred and the goodness that he carried. Just like mine is to remember Remus and Tonks... for Teddy."

He realized the weight of his statement after he had said it.

"I guess...I just don't know where to go from here. I can't see myself doing anything that I was used to. I don't know how I'm going to keep running the store- Fred was always the brains of it all..." George trailed off, getting lost in his grief again.

"You are going to run the shop." Harry said, maybe a tad bit too forceful, "You're going to keep going because to give up would be an insult to Fred. He wouldn't want you to waste your life mourning him, but to live a full life remembering him."

George was looking at him with something in his eyes that Harry had never seen in one of the Weasley twins. He couldn't really describe if fully but if he could put a word on it then he would have said seriousness. Well maybe the war had put something in everyone's eyes that wouldn't clear for some time.

George reached over and pulled Fred's sweater from the box and held it up to Teddy.

"The color looks good on you, but I don't think the letter goes well. Unless Harry decides to change your name to Feddy."

Harry couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll have many sweaters in the future."

"Yeah, I was wondering why mum was stocking up on teal yarn." George's face had gone back to it's natural grinning state, but Harry could see that his eyes were still full of sadness. They would probably be that way for many years.

Harry glanced down into the box and nearly died laughing. From within the bowels of the box he pulled out the laciest frilliest pinkest tutu that he had ever seen.

"Who's was this?"

"Hmmm..." George said, "Probably Percy's." Harry could feel real tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes as he doubled up, sliding down the side of the bed.

"That... explains... a lot!" He managed to get out between mirthless laughing.

George joined him, "I was just kidding. It was Gin's- mum must have put it in the wrong box."

Harry imagined a tiny baby in such a ridiculous getup- red hair blazing and lip pouting.

After they had calmed down some George replaced Teddy in the carrier and pawed through the remaining clothes.

"None of the rest of these are any good. The older kiddies were born in the early 70's and unless you're trying to bring back paisley and mini-fringed vests I don't think you should scar yourself looking at all this."

Harry pulled himself up and found himself locked in a bear hug. Although unexpected Harry managed to pull himself together to thump George on the back a few times before they both pulled away.

"Thanks, Harry." George said.

"I didn't really do anything." He shrugged. He hadn't even talked a lot.

"You listened. I really needed that."

George began to leave but Harry called out to him.

"Your mom made roast tonight. You should go down and have some- they're all good listeners too."

George stood in the doorway, his back to Harry for a very long time. Finally he sighed, "I probably should go down. I mean without us who's going to tell jokes."

Harry wasn't sure if he should worry a bit about George taking the 'remembering Fred' thing too seriously, but decided that he would just worry about it later.

Teddy was squalling again- tired of being left unattended for so long.

Harry stuffed a few of the clothes back into the box and found the small green sweater with a G on the front.

'You're going to be okay, George.' Harry thought, carefully folding the tiny sweater and placing it back in the box. Then with a jolt Harry realized that the matching sweater had mysteriously dissapeared at some point in the last ten minutes.

Sighing he picked Teddy up, partially to stop his godson from becoming seriously put-out with him and paritally to have something to hold onto.

Harry stared down into his godson's eyes, finding his own green reflected there.

"You know I'm not going to let you go, right? I won't let anything happen to you. I won't let anyone hurt you and I'll be here for as long as I can."

Teddy sneezed and Harry felt the tiny droplets cover his face.

"Oh! Oh Ted! That is disgusting!" Teddy gave a toothless squeal of delight at his utter ruining of the tender moment, "I had my mouth open and everything, goof-ball..."

Harry wiped part of his face on his sleeve, making Teddy squirm in delight.

"What do I look funny to you!" He said tickling the baby's tummy.

"Well if I have to look funny then so do you." Harry said holding up the bright pink tutu. Teddy's face was instantly serious in as much disdain as a two month old could muster.

Laughing Harry tossed the tutu on top of the other clothes and in a one-handed gravity defying act had replaced the lid and still held on to his squirmy godson.

He buckled Teddy back into the carrier and stuffed the hand-me-downs into the diaper bag. As Harry made his way past the sitting room he heard laughter coming from it's occupants. There were the Weasley's in all of their glory. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arm in arm. Bill and Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Ron and Ginny all sufficiently covered in gobstone sap. And then there was George- radiating an energy that Harry hadn't seen since his fifth year at Hogwarts.

Hermione was waiting for him in the kitchen.

She smiled as he walked in, "I know that you talked to him."

"Talked to who?" Harry said innocently, not really wanting to get into the conversation.

"Thank you." Harry looked at her.

"Hermione... we've all got to get through this together. It's just something that we'll have to work on."

She nodded but he could see tears forming in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked pulling her chin up so she couldn't look away from him.

"Nothings wrong... it's- I guess it's just all becoming right again."

He nodded and hugged her- glad that, through it all, he hadn't lost his sister.

"So... I'm going to go before Teddy explodes and I start crying from all this bonding I've done."

"Harry Potter? Cry? Never." She said.

Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder from the jar above the fireplace and glanced back her way.

Before he could say anything she said, "If you need any help tonight don't hesitate to call any of us. It's probably going to be rough."

"Yep," Harry said, "but that's just part of the adventure."

A/N: So I'll be concluding this pretty quick but I have a few other Teddy fics that I want to be starting soon. For now I'm going to be updating whenever the muses clobber me in the face for procrastinating.

Also I am in college. I'm getting ready to start nursing school. It's stressful. So I don't know when I'm updating next.

Thanks again for reading. Please post a review and tell me what you liked/didn't like/think was stupid/wish I hadn't said.

Have a magical day!

Lee