Snapshots From Life

Chapter 19 - Dinner Guests

Ginny walked in the front door of Grimmauld Place. Her lunch with Andromeda ran a little late so she was late getting to her meeting with Gwen. Thank goodness the meeting with her was informal. Gwen just wanted to talk to her about being the captain of the team and to talk about things Ginny could expect. Gwen also gave her some tips on running the team. The lunch with Andromeda, on the other hand, wasn't so informal. Ginny decided to talk to her about Teddy calling her mum. It worried Ginny even though she was thrilled that Teddy thought of her that way. Ginny couldn't help feeling a little guilty about it. It was bothering her just a bit. Knowing that Harry knew next to nothing about his own parents until he met Sirius, Ginny made sure that Teddy knew who his parents were. She never, ever wanted to replace Tonks, she just wanted Teddy to receive the love that he deserved. Andromeda told her not to worry and said that Teddy knew where he came from. Andromeda also said that when Teddy sees photos of Tonks and Remus, he calls them mother and father. She told Ginny that it was only natural that Teddy would consider her his mum. "Dora is Mother, Remus is Father, I'm Gran, Harry is Harry, and you, my dear child, are Mummy. And that's fine. He loves you, relish in it!" she told her at lunch. Andromeda seemed happy about it and that made Ginny feel better about it all. She decided to embrace it all.

Ginny hung her jacket on the coat rack by the door. As she placed her handbag on the table in the hall, she pulled out two envelopes. She could hear Harry talking in the kitchen with at least two other people. That meant Tom and his niece Bunty had already arrived for dinner.

Ginny called out, "I'm home!"

Right on cue, a blue haired little boy came bolting out of the kitchen straight to Ginny. With a smile on his face and his hair turning fire red to match Ginny's, Teddy yelled out, "MUMMY!!"

Ginny squatted down and open her arms to receive him and yelled back, "TEDDY!" Ginny had stopped calling him Ted Ted when Teddy decided he was too old for that nickname.

Once Teddy reached Ginny, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly while he kissed Ginny's cheek. He then said matter-of-factly, "You're late."

Ginny hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Despite him being too big, Ginny lifted Teddy up and placed him on her hip. She then proceeded to walk down the hall towards the kitchen. Ginny smiled at the boy as she said, "You're right and I'm sorry."

Teddy rested his head on Ginny's shoulder, "It's ok Mummy. I'm just glad your home." He lifted his head up and excitedly said, "You have to meet my new friend!" Ginny smiled. Teddy was so good at making friends. He made friends wherever he went. When they went out shopping, he knew everybody. He knew their name, and they knew him too. He knew the wizard at the butcher shop, the witch at the produce stand, and the young wizard who bagged their groceries at the market. It never ceased to amaze Harry and Ginny how many people Teddy had befriended.

When Ginny and Teddy walked into the kitchen, she placed him back on the floor, Ginny said, "I'm sorry I'm late. My lunch and my meeting ran a little long."

Harry stood up. He hugged and kissed his wife, "That's ok. I started the meatloaf with some help from Teddy." Harry smiled at Teddy. Teddy gave him a thumbs up gesture.

Tom also stood and said, "Good evening Mrs. Potter."

Ginny smiled at Tom, "Hello Tom. It's good to see you again."

Teddy took Ginny's hand and walked her over to where Bunty was sitting. With his hand, he motioned to Bunty, "Mummy, this my friend Bunty Warrington. Bunty, this is my mum, Ginny Potter." Bunty looked to be about 18 years old with red hair, like her uncle, cut to about shoulder length and she had bright blue eyes. She was a pretty girl by most standards. Even though she was sitting, Ginny could tell she had a thin build. The girl was grinning from ear to ear as she stood and extended her hand to Ginny.