Weasley Twins - A Fate You Can't Escape

Chapter 121 - Dragon Days

I sigh loudly and pull myself from my comfortable bed.  Teddy is screaming.  Again.  He won't sleep longer than thirty minutes, and I am losing my mind.

I bend, scooping the red faced infant from the crib. 

"Shush Teddy.  Please."  I beg him softly, tears of exhaustion pricking in my eyes.  His response is to scream louder.  I sob, clutching him to my chest, rocking him back and forth.

I hear the door open and a tired Charlie pokes his head in.

"Still not taking the formula?"  He asks, pushing his long hair from his eyes.

"No.  I don't know what to do.  I've tried six different types and he hates all of them.  He won't sleep because he's hungry, but every time I give him a bottle he screams more."  I cry, feeling helpless.  

"Here, I'll take him.  You go rest."  Charlie takes the baby out of my arms, rubbing his tiny little back.

"But you have work!"  I protest, but my yawn betrays me.

"And you have a kid to take care of.  Which you can't do properly if you don't sleep."  He leaves me room, taking the baby with him.  When the door closes, I reluctantly crawl into bed.  The second I close my eyes, I'm asleep.

***

I am awoken hours later by the sound of voices talking in the living room.  I groggily sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.  I recognize Charlie as one of them, but the other, I don't know.  Probably one of his friends or something.  I sigh, tossing the blankets off of me and stumble out into the hall.  I am wearing formula stained sweats and one of Charlie's old Gryffindor tee-shirts.  My hair is in a four day old braid, and I look a disaster.  Which is exactly how I feel.

"Good afternoon!"  Charlie greets me with a smile.  A woman stands next to him, holding little Teddy.  I am a bit uncomfortable with a stranger holding him, but I trust Charlie and look to him for an explanation.

"This is Maya.  She's one of the doctors here."  Charlie introduces her.  "I asked her to come take a look at Teddy to see if she could help with his eating and sleeping issues."

"Oh, thanks Charlie."  I smile, relaxing a bit as the woman hold out a hand for me to shake.  "I'm Hazel."

"It's nice to meet you."  Maya says in a thick German accent.  

"So do you have any ideas for what we can try with Teddy?"  I ask, taking a seat at the small breakfast bar.

"I think I have a couple of options we can look into."  She hands the baby back to Charlie.  "I would like to try a mediation for reflux and see if that helps.  If not, we may have to look into an allergy to something in the formulas.  Both of these issues are common enough issues in infants, and shouldn't be a major concern as long as it gets treated."

She gives us the medication for us to try and leaves to resume her shift.

"Thanks for doing this Charlie."  I kiss the fuzzy tuft off red hair on Teddy's head.  He seems to be quite content with the color for now.  His eyes still look like mine though.

"No problem, Hazel."

"What would you do without your Uncle Charlie, huh?"  I coo to the baby, enjoying the small warm bundle in my arms.

"Uncle Charlie?"  My roommate gasps dramatically. 

"Well yeah.  I mean I feel like it would be strange for you to be dad.  I'm not even sure if I want to be called "mum" in any capacity."  I shrug.

"No!  I love it."  He beams, at the two of us.  "I'm Uncle Charlie."

"Okay, okay.  Now is there any coffee?"  I laugh, enjoying how much the title means to him.

"Of course!"

***

Apparently Maya was a complete genius.

Within a week of being on the medication, Teddy is a transformed baby.  He's putting on weight well, and he's so much more happy.  I could kiss that woman.

I strap little Teddy into the babywear and head to the lab within the hospital.  Since I'm here, I have offered my services with brewing potions.  Teddy still sleeps a lot, so it's easy to take him along.

"Good morning!"  I call to Mr. Haynes at the front desk as I head on back.

"Hello Hazel!  Hello Teddy!"  He waves to us as we pass. 

I am so grateful how welcoming Charlie's friends and coworkers are to me.  Although I'm pretty sure some of them think we're lying when we say Teddy isn't our bio kid.  The baby refuses to change from the ginger hair.

The day goes by pretty calmly.  Well, except for when Charlie comes and visits.  He had to stop to get a new row of stitches in his arm after play wrestling with one of the baby dragons.

"I had to come see my human baby too."  He informs me, kissing the sleeping baby on the head.  "He's much more gentle than my dragon babies."

"Who knew the wild dragon tamer, Charlie Weasley, was such a softie."  I tease, smiling widely.

"How can I not be?  Have you seen Teddy's face?  He's just too cute to resist."  Charlie kisses the baby one more time before heading back out.  "See you tonight!  I'm making tacos for dinner!"

"Sounds great.  Bye Charlie."  I call as he exits the room.

After work, I head back to our house and work on writing some letter while Charlie cooks dinner.  I write to Andromeda, informing her of all the newest updates on Teddy.  She's been quite worried about his feeding situation.  

I also write Mia.  I haven't been able to contact her since the war, but I keep trying.  Until I hear otherwise, I am going to presume she's out there somewhere.

I wish I could write to Snape.  But the papers say he's still in prison.  He trial isn't until next month.  I wonder if I'll be called in for that.  The Wizengamot had a lot of trials to work through.  I was lucky that I didn't have to wait very long.  I suppose Draco and I had been considered smaller cases.  According to the news, he's on house arrest until school starts, where he is mandated to finish his uncompleted seventh year.  If he does so, he'll be free.

After finishing my other notes, I decide to write one to Ginny.  I haven't contacted her at all since my release.  Both Charlie and Bill said they'd keep quiet about my whereabouts until I was ready, which I am grateful for.  I'm not sure where I'd be if I hadn't run into them at Gringotts. 

'G,

Hello.  First off, I want to thank you for your appearance at my trial.  If there is ever a way I can repay you, please let me know.

Second, I am well.  I am safe.  Actually I am in Romania staying with Charlie for a while.  In an unexpected turn of events, I have custody of Teddy Lupin and Charlie is helping me figure out the whole parenting thing.

I am not ready to return.  I still have a lot to figure out.  I'd rather certain people not know where I am, so please keep this between us.  Well, you can tell Harry.  He is Teddy's godfather after all.

Perhaps we could meet up in a few weeks?  I miss you terribly, and I'm sure Harry would love to see Teddy again.

Love,

H'

I put on the password Ginny and I used back at school.  I just gives me a strange sense of security.  Just put "H" in the corner for return address when I post it.  She should know what to do.

Once Charlie's owl departs with the notes, dinner is ready.  Leaving Teddy asleep in his cot, I quietly close the door and head into the kitchen.

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Hey loves.  I'm sorry I've been so sketchy with the updates.  I've been dealing with some medical issues with my family and haven't had the time to write.  I haven't forgotten about you guys, and I'll do my best to update as much as I can!  Thank you so much for reading!  (ps the comments make my day so pls leave all the comments thx)