Christmas Story 2018 - In the Spirit, part 3 (H/D)

Title: In the Spirit – Part 3
Author: sesheta_66
Prompts used: slythindor100’s early bird prompt 6: cuddle weather pillow (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 12: tobogganing
Word Count: ~1K
Rating: PG, for now
Warning: none
Summary: Harry had a rough Christmas last year, to say the least. But things are looking up this year, and he plans to embrace the season, even if he is still single.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.

On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2

OR on AO3



In the Spirit – Part 3

"Uncle Harry!" Harry found himself nearly knocked to the ground by his godson.

He grinned at Teddy and squeezed him while he still could. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the blue-haired urchin was too old for such things, and he wanted to soak up the affection while it was still so generously bestowed on him. "Hey, little man."

"I’m not little," he insisted, hair turning a deep purple.

Harry barely managed to grab him round the waist and, as Teddy tried to wriggle away, lift him into the air. "Until you reach my shoulders or I can’t do this anymore--" He swung his godson around until the purple hair lightened and Teddy started to giggle "--you will be my little man."

Harry put his godson down as his giggles subsided and his hair returned to its familiar turquoise hue. "But not ..."

"Relax," Harry said as he ruffled Teddy’s hair. "You don’t think I’d embarrass you in public, do you?"

Teddy seemed to consider that for a while before hesitantly saying, "I guess not."

"I mean I could if you’d like."

"No, no!"

"Fair enough. Only in front of family. You’re safe around friends."

He grinned. Harry knew he was playing up the tough boy thing even though he loved when Harry did fun stuff with him. "No promises where Ron’s concerned, though."

Teddy looked scandalised. "He wouldn’t!"

"I daresay he might at that."

"You’ll tell him not to, right?"

Harry laughed. "I think that’d be like issuing him a challenge." Teddy scowled. "But I reckon he’s got Rose and Hugo to embarrass. If you don’t draw too much attention to yourself around him, he probably won’t even think about it."

"You think?"

Harry shrugged. "It’s the best you can hope for." Harry noticed his anxious look and opted to divert the conversation in another direction. "Let’s help Grandma with dinner."

Twenty minutes later, they’d been kicked out of the kitchen – apparently underfoot isn’t the same thing as helpful – and sent to retrieve some of the winter toys from the basement. As Harry pulled the old toboggan out, Teddy excitedly asked, "Can we go again this year?"

"Of course we can." Teddy’s hair went a vivid shade of turquoise. "Once we have some snow."

Shifting his eyes between Harry and the sled, he said, "Can’t you just make snow?"

Harry held out his wand and directed it into the corner. Snow spewed from the end of it, forming a two-foot tall pile of the white stuff. "Sure can."

"Cool!"

"Alas, no. I can’t seem to master that part of the spell, and it ends up a sticky mess under the skis. It looks great, but is completely useless for practical purposes."

"What?" Teddy’s face was screwed up in confusion.

"I can make it, but it’s not good enough to toboggan on. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for the real stuff."

He let out a "Hmpf," then dived in to retrieve more from the pile. "What’s that?" he asked, pointing upwards.



Harry grinned. A small cushion sat atop a bureau, with the embroidered words, "Cuddle weather" on it. "That is a pillow that Ginny and I found a few years back. Not sure how it ended up in here." He recalled the antiquing day the two of them had had and Ron’s mocking of him for it. He hadn’t expected to enjoy the day as much as he had, but there you go. Ginny had seen the pillow and insisted on buying it. They’d had it with them when ... He shook the thought away.

"Should we give it back to her?" Teddy asked.

Not that he’d ever admit it to Harry, but Teddy looked a bit disappointed at the thought. Harry thought it highly unlikely – despite their recently renewed, though still tentative friendship – that Ginny would want a constant reminder of the good old times between them. She had, after all, removed all her possessions when they’d first called it quits, and hadn’t asked for anything else. Still, he’d better ask before giving it away, even if he had paid for it. "I’ll check with her next time we talk."

Teddy looked like he wanted to say something, looked into Harry’s eyes, then changed his mind.

"You miss her, don’t you?" Harry asked, thinking he knew what was troubling Teddy.

"A little. But I’m not supposed to say. Grandma said you might not like that."

"It’s okay, little man. You can say anything to me. I promise."

Teddy hugged him unexpectedly. "I do miss her."

Harry hugged him back. "Me too." Even if I don’t want back what we had.

Part 4