New Awakening

Trust in Love

As soon as Lily left the room with Harry, Theo's nervousness provided by his nightmare - that made him seek out his little brother for reassurance - returned full force. Even more now that it seemed like part of his fears were manifesting in the real world.

The little boy bit his lip and took a step backwards, wincing as his feet was punctured by an overlooked glass shard.

"Ouch, bloody hell-" Theo whine-cursed wincing at the pain.

"Theo, what have I told you about-" James started sternly turning around from the refrigerator with a carton of milk and some eggs. "Merlin, Theo! Are you hurt?" The worried father put the condiments he was holding on the nearest counter and bent down in front of his teary eyed son who was standing on his left leg and biting his lip. "Little man?"

The nickname was the key to unlocking Theo's emotions; the redhead launched himself on his father and broke down in sobs, heart wrenching ones that seemed to come from a wounded soul instead of a injured foot.

"Teddy?" James exhaled confused and put his hands under his son's armpits, lifting the boy up like a small child. The Unspeakable kissed the top of his firstborn's head over and over again. "Shhh gingerbread, daddy's here. What's wrong, huh? Are you hurt?" The raven-haired man repeated his question but Theo just squeezed his father tighter as if pleading not to let him go. "I'm here, little man, I want to help. Here let me have a look, okay? I will make it better, love." James Potter said in a soothing voice that hid well his concern.

He had not seen Theo cry like this in a long, long while and he knew his child, there was way more to it than what was let on. The man moved to sit his eldest son where Harry had been sitting a few minutes prior but the redhead's legs' grip on this father's hip just tightened.

"No!" The boy squeaked burying his puffy face further on his father's neck like a four year old or a koala would, which made James blink astonished. An extremely childish Theo was the opposite of how his son normally acted; Sure, Theo was still a little boy - at least for James - but he had been trying to act older for years.

"Teddy, please." The man tried to reason, kissing the boy's head and arranging his son higher on his hip but the boy shook his head. "Would you rather I called mummy?" James suggested since Theo had always been more attached to Lily, which usually made the Potter patriarch jealous though now jealousy was the last thing on his mind.

"Don't leave me, daddy." James stopped breathing for a few seconds, if he didn't know better he'd think it was little Harry on his arms for seeing Theo this vulnerable was something as rare as seeing a total eclipse. The man couldn't help but wonder what was the motive behind that plead.

James knew his boy like the back of his hand and was aware that whatever happened needed to be addressed immediately or his son would fall victim of his nerves and health as he always did when he was anxious.

Since Theo was just a tiny mop of fiery hair whenever he went through stressful situations, he developed fever and tummy ache. The redhead would vomit until he was dehydrated and had nothing left on his stomach - not even bile. A sick Theo was not easy to deal with, the boy would get incredibly moody and clingy. It's been a while since this situation last happened but James did not want to push his luck and have a sick child in his hands - or worse, to send his sick child to Hogwarts. Not that James would do that, he knew that Theo technically should be in school right now but rules be damned. Theo would stay at home until he was alright if it came to it.

"Shh, ginger. Daddy's here. I won't let you go, I will stay with you, okay? Let us both go upstairs, shall we love? Then we can talk and you can tell me what's on your mind." The man whispered emphasising the pronoun and rubbing the boy's back soothingly. Theo managed to nod between sobs and James made his way to the boy's bedroom and bathroom, he transferred the boy's weight to a single arm and used the other one to wet a hand towel before moving to Theo's navy blue lined bed. The raven-haired man sat down shifting his son so the boy was sitting sideways on his lap and pulled away so he could see Theo's face though not enough from to keep the crying child away from the comfort of his chest.