The Making of a Father

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that may seem familiar. In fact, I own very little.

Author: DracaDelirus

Warnings: none that I can think of

Dedication: For 'Dad'

Nothing more need be said, I think - Nothing more, he agreed and winked.

DADDADDADDADDADDADDAD

"Hey Uncle Harry?"

"Yes, Teddy?"

"What are we digging for? I forget again."

Little seven-year-old Teddy Lupin sighed. He was getting tired of the game his godfather wanted to play. He wanted to do something else. The over-exaggerated sigh, and the look of utter boredom enveloping each and every one of Teddy's features, made Harry smile at the young boy in sympathy.

He was getting bored himself. Too bad the 'Accio' spell hadn't worked. That meant that what he was looking for either wasn't here any longer, or it was wedged in somewhere so tight that it couldn't come when called. Therefore, they had resorted to looking for it the muggle way. The pair was kneeling deep in the Forbidden Forest surrounding the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, searching through the spongy undergrowth on what was beginning to appear, even to him, to be a futile quest.

Harry Potter took a break from the hunt and sat back on his heels. Arching his back and stretching his arms over his head, he noticed a definite stiffness in his bones and muscles that weren't there the last time he'd visited this glade. Merlin he was feeling ancient.

Teddy mimicked his godfather's stretching movements, aping him exactly then ending with a plaintive "Are we done yet or what?"

Teddy was so like his mother Tonks with her limitless energy, and like her, Teddy expressed his emotions through his metamorphmagus abilities. Harry couldn't help but laugh with fondness as he remembered when he first met Tonks as a member of the advance guard who had showed up to rescue him from his muggle relatives, the summer before his fifth year.

"Don't laugh at me Uncle Harry!" Teddy pouted making his hair change from dull metallic silver to deep vibrant blue.

"I'm not Teddy, really I'm not," Harry swore before laughing even harder when his young godson's nose changed shape next.

"Yes, you are!" Teddy jumped to his feet and tried to stomp them angrily to show his displeasure, but the soft ground prevented him from making the outraged statement he'd intended. Instead, his foot tangled in a root and he fell backwards onto a small but sturdy twig buried halfway in the loam. The action of him sitting suddenly on the free end caused it to act like a teeter-totter. The buried end sprung up, dislodging a clump of dirt, which in turn flew through the air to bop his uncle on the forehead - smack centre of his famous scar.

"Oops!" Teddy giggled, hiding behind his hands, not a bit repentant.

"Oops is right, you little imp," Harry rubbed his forehead ruefully, aware once again, that Teddy had also inherited his mum's legendary clumsiness.

"Are you mad at me Uncle Harry? If you are… I suppose we could go back to Hogwarts now and give up this lovely outing… it's okay… I can take it."

Teddy heaved a fake sigh of regret, with fake tears of remorse welling up in his eyes. His Uncle George had advised him that if he ever needed to cry on cue to look at something bright, so he slyly glimpsed up at the pinpoints of sunshine trying their best to battle through the leafy canopy above, until his eyes watered up appropriately. Nevertheless, his hair changing to Weasley red gave him away.

"Fat chance Teddy-bear! You just want to go flying on that training broom Grandma Minerva gave you."

"Well… yes I do," Teddy admitted truthfully getting up and coming over to stand by Harry who was sitting on the ground. Putting a hand on his godfather's shoulder, he asked, "Is that so very wrong of me?"

The serious tone and his hair turning dark brown and curly were reminiscent of his Aunt Hermione.

"Ha-ha, no it's not," Harry agreed. He would almost prefer that too, only he'd come into the forest on a mission, and he was reluctant to leave before he finished. This was going to be his only opportunity to see it through.

"However, is that a proper penalty for beaming your old godfather with a rock?" he asked picking up the missile. It was unusually heavy. No wonder it smarted so much when it hit!

Harry crushed the clod in his fist until the earth started to break away from its solid core. When he opened his fingers the resurrection stone, albeit a bit grimy, rested in his palm.

Harry drew in a sharp breath.

When he'd dropped it in the glade seven years ago… could it really have been that long?… On his way to offer up his life to Voldemort in exchange for sparing those he loved, he never expected to live. He truly thought the secret of the stone's location would die with him. When despite the odds he did live, he made the decision never to look for the stone, in the hopes it would remain lost forever. He never intended to come back, never intended to seek it, never intended to use it again. However, no matter what he intended, or how much the world had changed since that day, everything was still the same - it was again desperate times and he was again a desperate, desperate man.

"Neat! I call dibs! Can I have it?" Teddy shouted, claiming it with all the positive entitlement of a seven-year-old.

"No Teddy you can't."

"Why not?" he pouted. "I was the one who found it."

"Because this is why I wanted you to come with me today. It's what we've been looking for."

"Why do we want it? It's broken," Teddy observed, fingering the dirt encrusted in the crack down the centre of the black stone.

Instead of answering him, Harry asked a question of his own.

"Would you like to meet some very special people?"

"I don't know… are they fun people?" Teddy asked doubtfully, worrying his lower lip just as Remus used to do when presented with a difficult question. To him, the code description 'very special' coming from an adult usually translated into 'dull and boring stick-in-the-muds' in seven-year-old-ese.

"Oh yes, VERY fun" Harry assured him and pulled him down onto his lap.

"Okay, fine, but then you haft to take me flying… really, really high," Teddy demanded as payment for his cooperation.

"Deal," Harry agreed and then started slowly turning the stone over in his hands three times. His mind immediately went back to that day so long ago when he'd last turned the stone in the glade. He only hoped the universe would forgive him for his weakness, and it would work a second time. He had nowhere else to turn for help if it didn't. He had already exhausted his other sources.

Harry held his breath as the shadowy figures started to swirl around him. It was working!

"Ghosts! No way! I'm outta here!" Teddy launched himself from Harry's lap in horror and hid behind the nearest tree. Ghosts were NOT fun! Peeves had been plaguing him ever since they got to the castle, hardly leaving him alone for a second, and popping out of walls at him at the oddest of times - EVEN IN THE BOY'S LOO!

"Why did you call us back Harry? Is something wrong?" Albus Dumbledore asked after looking about and seeing nothing amiss other than his beloved protégé kneeling in the centre of the grove with tears of relief running down his cheeks.

Harry looked at the circle of men surrounding him, his father - James Potter, his godfather - Sirius Black, his friend and teacher - Remus Lupin, his mentor - Albus Dumbledore, and the tension from months of trying to shoulder his fears alone, trickled off from him like a disillusionment charm ending.

"Nothing and everything Headmaster," he finally choked out.

"Albus, Harry - call me Albus. Everyone else does," the venerable old wizard replied cheerfully indicating the rest of the group gathered in the glade.

"Everyone else, does not," snarked a familiar voice who stepped out of the shadows of the trees, robes billowing to stand glowering with his arms crossed. Who else could make an entrance like that, even in death? None other than Severus Snape. Harry supposed that considering everything he shouldn't have been that surprised Snape was there, any more than he was that Albus Dumbledore had come unbidden too. Yet, he was.

"What are you doing here, Snape? I called for those who love me, just as I did seven years ago. If you're here now, why weren't you among the ones who came to me then?"

"That's Headmaster Snape to you Potter, and I was busy. Can't expect me to jump to your beck and call every time you feel whingey."

"Then why bother with me now?" Harry persisted clearly puzzled.

"Nothing better to do."

"Fine, be that way Snape," Sirius cut in, fed up with the other man's attitude.

"Thank you I will. Not that I needed your permission," Severus returned in a low even monotone.

Albus held up his hands as peacemaker. "Boys! Boys! Boys! We're here to help Harry, why don't we do that?"

"Thanks Albus," James smiled gratefully.

Ever since Severus had joined their merry little band in the afterlife, he and Sirius had been non-stop sniping and snarking. It was becoming wearisome to the rest of them, even though James knew full well the two were thoroughly enjoying every minute of their verbal duels. He supposed he should be grateful. It least it kept them busy, and out of everyone else's hair.

"Son, tell me what's wrong enough to call us back from the other side? Is it Lord Voldemort again?"

"It's much worse than that, Dad!"

"Grindelwald then?" Albus guessed stroking his beard.

"Much, much worse!"

"Delores Umbridge?" Sirius ventured.

"Merlin no!" Harry replied with a shudder.

"What is it then?" Severus asked exasperated.

"It's Ginny… she… she…" Harry paled and choked on the words.

"Ginny IS alright, isn't she?" James knelt down beside his son suddenly truly concerned, wishing only to be able to hug and comfort him in his obvious distress.

"She… she… she…"

"Spit it out Potter, we haven't got all day," Severus ordered gathering glares from the rest of the men. He gave them back a self-satisfied smirk when it produced the results he wanted.

"… she's going to have a baby! MINE! Any day now! What am I going to do? I don't know how to be a father!"

"Of course she is - and it's going to be a boy," James confirmed trying not to laugh at the look of abject terror on his son's face, as he knew the look all too well. It mirrored the one that had been plastered on his own face for months after he found out Lily was pregnant. However, it was priceless nonetheless, considering that Harry was the same one, who constantly wondered why Lord Voldemort felt he could possibly be a threat, when he himself was a baby.

"How… how do you know?" Harry gasped.

"Your mother told me."

Harry looked startled.

"What? You didn't think we wouldn't keep tabs on you? We may be dead, but we still care," James said, sitting down more comfortably now that he knew there weren't any new evil wizards or witches threatening his family.

"But what am I supposed to do Dad? It's a baby for Merlin's sake! One of those things with all the fingers and toes!"

"Well, I should hope so Son - ten of each," James smiled.

"But… what if there aren't enough of them! Ginny will kill me!"

This time James did laugh, "Ha-ha, no she won't. I can almost guarantee it."

"But what am I supposed to do if that happens?"

"You love your baby," James answered simply.

"Speaking of loving… have you decided on a name yet? I always loved mine… very stellar," Sirius dropped into the conversation oh-so nonchalantly.

"Er… Ginny suggested if it was a boy, we name him after my father. And of course you too," Harry added quickly seeing the look of jealousy in his godfather's eyes.

"JamesSirius Potter… I like it!" Sirius approved heartily.

"You would," Snape jabbed.

"Tell me again why you insisted on coming Snivellus?"

"I'm here looking for new botanical specimens."

"Then keep out of it," Sirius ordered.

'This time,' Snape said under his breath.

Remus cleared his throat. "Ah… 'Remus' isn't that bad of a name either… or did you forget me?" he asked sadly thinking of his own son.

"I would never forget you Remus. In fact, I brought someone with me to meet you."

"You did? Where? Who?"

"Psst! It's safe to come out now!" Harry signalled to Teddy who was still hiding behind a handy nearby tree, but peeking out every once in a while with curiosity.

The men looked friendly enough, except for the one who kept snarling at everyone, so Teddy scooted out from behind the tree, gave a wide berth to the scary man, and ran to Harry. Once there, he snuggled down in his lap where he knew he'd be safe in case Peeves was there somewhere too.

Remus caught his breath sharply… that heart shaped face… there was only one little boy that could possibly be.

"Hallo, you must be Teddy." Remus smiled gently and knelt down so he was more on eye level with the son he hadn't seen since he was an infant.

"Wotcher!" Teddy giggled at the ghost man. He wasn't scary at all! Not a bit like Peeves!

It wasn't long before Remus coaxed Teddy out of Harry's lap. When the two wandered off to get to know each other again, Harry asked James why Tonks wasn't there. He had brought Teddy for this once in a lifetime opportunity and he'd hoped to be able to introduce them both to their son. He'd thought everyone he loved beyond the veil would be here for him, in his time of need. Just as the first time.

"Sorry Harry, but when you called us, your heart only asked for help from those who had acted as a parent to you, at some time during your life. Tonks loved you yes, but as a friend, not a parent."

"Then where's Mum?"

James laughed, "Lily said to tell you she was leaving this one up to us. 'Guy stuff' she called it. So spill it, what has you all doom and gloom about the baby coming? You should be happy and busily pampering your wife, not out here in the middle of nowhere talking to dead men. There has to be more to it than what you've said, to come all this way."

"Er… what if I mess it up? I mean… I've… I've never been a dad before."

"Then who was that little boy that just went for a walk with Remus? It seems to me you've done a pretty good job with him so far."

"Who, Teddy? He doesn't count."

"Doesn't count? Don't ever let Remus hear you say that!" Sirius chided him.

"That's not what I meant! I meant, he wasn't mine to ruin. Andromeda is raising him. I just get him for an hour here and there. She wouldn't even let me come near him until he was house-broke!"

"House-broke?" Albus queried unfamiliar with the term.

"You know… nappies," Harry said holding his nose.

"Ah yes…"

"Not yours to ruin?" Snape snorted butting in and immediately getting to the crux of the real issue. "Just as you were not mine to ruin either Potter. See I told you it wasn't my fault how he turned out," he announced triumphantly to the group at large.

"Shuddit Sniv," Sirius sniped.

Severus just coolly raised one eyebrow. "If that's the best you can come up with mutt, I must decline. The point I was trying to make, was although I was not Potter's 'parent', as his teacher, I still fulfilled the role in your absence. I did the best I could with what you left me to work with."

"Oh, I get it," Sirius replied. "You were the stern dad, and I was the cool dad."

"Precisely. No! No! No! I take that back!" Severus tried to back-pedal the minute he realized what he had agreed with.

"Too late, you can't take it back," Sirius said smugly.

Albus laughed at the pair, and added his own description gleefully, "So that would have made me the wise dad."

"And Remus would have been the dad who was also a friend, and me… just the one who loved you more than life itself," James added to the mix with a catch in his voice. "Do you see what we're trying to say Son?"

"I think so… er… not really," Harry admitted miserably, although it was beginning to sound very similar to what Ginny had been saying repeatedly for months. "I just don't know, what makes a man into a father… that's why I had to talk with you. I need help and the Weasley's just didn't understand. They just keep saying it would come naturally. But don't you see? It's too important to mess up! I haven't been able to sleep for months worrying that I'll make a mistake. What if I can't give the baby what it needs? What if… what if I turn out like Uncle Vernon?!" The words rushed out finally putting voice to the root of his true concern.

"Harry, I hate to break it to you like this, but you will make mistakes. It's impossible to always do everything right," James started.

"But you won't always do everything wrong either," Sirius added.

"Just be the Harry I knew, and you'll do fine," Albus assured him.

"That's really all your baby will want - you," James finished with a knowing smile.

"How do you know?" Harry asked of the men, still unsure.

"Because I had the same fears when Lily was about to give birth to you, and you turned out alright."

"Only with my intervention," came Snape's voice from the back.

James just laughed at the comment. "Severus has a point. To answer your first question Harry - what does it take to make a man into a father? It takes more than just being the biological father, if that's all it took then I would've been the only one to answer your call. No, it takes several men rolled into one to be a father. Someone to discipline, when your son needs to learn a lesson for his own good. Someone to listen, and to be on his side when times get rough. Someone to teach him to aim for the stars ,and to have fun along the way. Someone to be a mentor, and help him reach his potential. Lastly, someone to love him no matter what."

"But how do I do all that? I'm just one person," Harry asked, overwhelmed by what lay ahead and seeing pitfall after pitfall.

"You take the best from the examples you've seen growing up, discard the rest, talk to your father-in-law and brothers-in-laws to get their advice, and then make up your own mind what to do."

"You forgot… and then ask Ginny," Lily's voice laughed lightly on the breeze.

"Er… yes Son, then ask your wife," James added sheepishly, as he and Harry stood up as Remus and Teddy (with half light brown hair and half bright pink) re-entered the glade.

"Do you have to leave already Daddy?" Teddy asked sadly, taking Harry's hand as Remus joined the other men who were already getting misty around the edges.

"I'll never really leave you Teddy. Remember what I told you? I'll always be right here and so will your mummy," Remus said, touching his chest over his heart and blowing a kiss for Tonks, to their son. "And if Peeves bothers you again, tell him he'll have to answer to me."

Teddy giggled at that suggestion and blew a kiss back. A very grateful Remus then turned and mouthed a 'thank you' to Harry as his shadow thinned and melted into those cast by the trees in the dappled light of the late afternoon.

"Wait! I have so much more to ask! I just got started! What do I tell Teddy and the baby about you and Tonks?"

"Whatever you think best… just don't make us out to be too whacked!" came Remus's shadowy reply.

"What do I tell them about girls, when they're ready to date?!" Harry called out in a panic as one by one Severus, Sirius, and James followed Remus's lead.

"Not to be caught snogging around her father…" came Sirius's thin advice.

"Better to spend the time studying their potions textbook…" countered Severus.

All that came from James, by way of advice on that topic, was a thinly disguised laugh. Harry wasn't sure if he was laughing at him, or at Sirius and Severus sparing again.

"Oh great, they're gone…" Harry muttered as the last one disappeared. He fingered the stone thoughtfully "Lot of good this did me. Suppose I don't need it anymore," he decided and started to pitch the stone back into the depths of the forest.

"Don't worry Harry. They'll always be with you when you need them the most, for they're in your heart," a wise voice came from behind, making him stop in mid throw.

Harry whirled around to see the vague outline of Albus Dumbledore still there.

"I thought everyone had gone!"

"Not quite my boy. Alas, I predict another crisis looming on the horizon," Albus foretold mysteriously as he faded a bit more.

"What's that?"

"You forgot to ask how to change a nappy," he said amused. Then very slowly, the rest of him disappeared - the grin and twinkling bright blue eyes fading last.

"Uncle Harry?"

"Yes, Teddy?"

"Who was that old man?"

"That Teddy was the Cheshire Cat, also known as Headmaster Dumbledore. Remind me to tell you about him someday," Harry laughed.

"Uncle Harry?"

"Yes, Teddy?"

"Can we go flying now?"

"Most definitely," Harry grinned as he swung the little boy up to his shoulders and started galloping out of the forest, pausing only long enough to thoughtfully tuck the stone deep into his pocket. There were always those nappies to worry about after all.

~fin~