The Not-Father

Prologue

June 4, 1998

Whoosh!

A sound!

Turn, look!

Green light! Green flash- death!

Duck! Fight! Run!

He is coming!

Get ready!

Stupe-

The thoughts were all rushing around the man's head and before he knew it, he was across the room, pinning his assailant to the wall by the neck, wand out and pointed right under their chin. His messy black hair was in his eyes, and his glasses were crooked, but he didn't care. Someone was here to hurt him- a Death Eater, probably. After all, with Voldemort still active, he wasn't safe-

"Harry?"

The man blinked. There was no Death Eater trespassing into his home. Andromeda Tonks, née Black, was being pinned to the wall. She was holding a two month old baby boy with bright green hair in her arms. It all came back. He had killed Voldemort over a month ago, in the final battle at Hogwarts. He was no longer a threat. Sure, there were still a few remaining Death Eaters and pureblood extremists out to get him, but at least there was no more Voldemort.

"Harry!" That was Ginny Weasley, his girlfriend. "Harry, let Andromeda and Teddy in. It's over. The war's over."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, releasing his guest. "I forget that the war's over, sometimes. I'm still always on alert- habit from being on the run for so long."

"No problem," Andromeda replied, brushing ash and soot off of herself and the baby, whose hair was rapidly turning jet black to mimic Harry's.

Ginny got up from her place at the table and walked over to where Harry and Andromeda were. "Hello, Dromeda," she greeted, "Hi Teddy!"

The baby giggled and red streaks began appearing in his hair.

"Good evening, Harry, Ginny," Andromeda Tonks said. "I'm sorry that this is so sudden, but I need to talk to Harry for a moment."

Harry nodded. "Ginny, can you give us a moment? I'll be quick." He kissed her on the cheek and watched as she went back to the dining room to begin clearing the table of their simple dinner before going to get changed to go to bed.

Harry turned back to the witch standing next to him. "So, what do you need to talk about, Dromeda?"

She looked a bit guilty. "It's Teddy," she said finally. "Honestly, this war has taken its toll on me, and right now, I don't think that I'm going to be able to raise him to the best of my abilities. He reminds me so much of his parents- especially Dora- and it still hurts so much. I know it's not fair to him if I just abandoned him, but I honestly think he may be better off away from me, at least for a few years. You're his godfather; could you and Ginny take care of him, at least for a year or two?" she asked.

Harry frowned. He wasn't sure if he was ready to take on the task either. He and Ginny were still sorting out their problems, not to mention their nightmares that often woke each other up in the middle of the night. But Andromeda had lost a lot in the war- she lost her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and almost all of her Black family relatives, save for a few. She wasn't young, either, and Harry could see how similar Teddy Lupin was to Nymphadora Tonks.

"If you want me to be honest," he replied, "I don't know if Ginny and I are ready to raise a child yet. The war has taken its toll on us as well, and to be frank, we still wake up screaming from nightmares sometimes." Okay, that was a lie: they wake up like that every night, if not multiple times a night.

"Oh. I see," Andromeda said, a little downcast. "It's just that I need my time to recollect myself; I'm thinking about spending the year off in the muggle world."

Harry hesitated. He looked from his godfather's aunt to his godson. Merlin, Teddy was a beautiful baby. It had nothing to do with his Metamorphing abilities- no, there was just this air, this air of innocence and purity around him that just made him stand out and almost glow. Maybe it was because he's just his godson, which makes him inclined to believe that he's beautiful. Or maybe it was just the fact that here he was, an innocent child born after one of the darkest times in wizarding history. And that was what cracked him. Teddy Lupin was looking at him, having reverted back to his natural looks, with big blue eyes. He smiled and reached up for Harry.

Harry sighed. There was no way he could refuse.

"Alright," he told her, picking Teddy up. His soft little body radiated warmth and Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you so much, Harry," Andromeda gushed, "I will come visit him. You can owl me any time and I'll come to help. I cannot thank you enough for this. Say goodbye to Ginny for me."

She walked back over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder, and stepping inside, she threw the powder down, shouting, "Tonks' household!"

Ginny emerged from their room, wearing a light blue bathrobe. "She left?"

Harry nodded.

"Wait, why is Teddy still here?"

"We're taking care of him for the next year."

"Oh. Oka- wait, WHAT?"

Harry quickly explained the situation to Ginny. She looked like she was about to disagree- "But Harry, I have to go to school next year, and you've got to take your NEWTs!" but Harry quickly won her over.

"But Ginny, can't you see? It's too early for Andromeda to care for him, and if we force him on her, she may end up detesting him for surviving while her husband and daughter didn't, and then he'll grow up the same way I did!"

Ginny frowned. "Fine. But next time you make such an important decision, you better consult me first, or I will Bat-Bogey you so hard that when you wake up, you'll already have great-grandchildren, Harry James Potter!"

Harry only smiled sheepishly. It seems like Ted Remus Lupin was his, now. At least it was only for a year.

A/N: How did you guys like it? Do you want me to continue? I just want to warn you that this is all that I've written, and I won't be updating until I finish the whole story. I just wanted to see the response. I haven't attempted any Harry Potter fanfictions yet (though it is my favorite series of all time), but I think that I'm ready to try. Please review with any corrections, questions, or comments, and follow if you want to see it continued. I'll continue it no matter what, but it's nice to know that there are people who want to read it. :)

I apologize in advance, because the rest probably won't be coming soon- these chapters will be longer than the ones in my VA fics, so it'll take me a much longer time, and unlike the other fics I've written, I'm going to finish a rough draft of this one before posting any more. So I'm sorry about keeping you guys waiting. There will be more information on my profile whenever I get closer to finishing or am about to update.

~42