Title: Teddy in Wonderland
Author: razra_eizel
Prompt: # 1 by capitu
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This piece of fiction is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made, no copyright or trademark infringement, or offense is intended. All characters depicted in sexual situations are above the age of consent.
Warnings: none really, aside from possible OOCness
Epilogue compliant? yes, to an extent
Word Count: 3060
A/N: a bit of a deviation from the original prompt, but hopefully not too much.
Summary: Teddy has social anxiety, and finds it really hard to deal with people in general. His favourite place to be is Wonderland, a bookshop that his cousin Draco owns. Of course, as his guardian, wherever Teddy goes, Harry has to go as well, no matter how much he protests

(AO3 LINK)

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Draco looked up from his book when he heard the bell jingle, and looked back down when he didn’t see anyone. It was then that he saw Teddy, the lower half of his face hidden in his scarf, toddling awkwardly towards him.

“Hello, Teddy,” Draco greeted with a kind smile. Although he had a bad reputation, he wasn’t heartless, and as proven during the War, he always put family first; and Teddy was family.

“Hello, Cousin Draco,” Teddy greeted, his voice muffled by his thick grey scarf. “Have you got something for me?”

“Maybe I do,” Draco said. He walked over to a stack of books at the corner, and carried it back to the front counter. “These children’s books just came in last week, and I haven’t had time to sort through them yet. I’ll order more if they’re good, but do you want to read some of them and let me know what you think?”

“Okay,” Teddy agreed, nodding slightly. He browsed through the titles, and picked one about dragons that piqued his interest.

“Where’s your guardian?” Draco asked as he leaned down on his elbows on the counter. “He’s usually right behind you.”

“He’s next door, getting some pastries,” Teddy answered, looking up at Draco. “Will you join us?”

“If there are no customers,” Draco said. “Take a seat, Teddy. I’ll bring your milk.”

Teddy’s eyes shone slightly, and Draco ruffled his hair. The boy walked over to a cache by the window, where two huge armchairs sat. Between the two was a small, round coffee table, with a small vase on it.

Years ago, after the trial, his mother and him were allowed to stay in Wizarding England with the provision that they weren’t to use magic for five years. They also couldn’t leave the area, so that the Aurors could keep an eye on them.

Thankfully, their funds weren’t completely seized by the Ministry, and knowing that no one would hire him, or trust any potion he made, Draco turned to business. He discussed possible business ventures at length with his mother, but he decided on one when he heard from Andromeda that they found out that Teddy had social anxiety and couldn’t be among a crowd.

They found out about it the hard way after the Weasleys organised a birthday party for him, but it ended up spooking him.

Opening a bookshop was one of the ventures he had considered. It didn’t require much magic, although the sorting would be easier and quicker if he had access to magic. However, he found that the act of sorting through books was meditative and helped him calm down.

He named the shop Wonderland. It felt fitting, somehow. The reading space took nearly half of the entire shop, but that was what made the shop favoured by the locals. They liked having a quiet, comfortable place to read.

He also served free coffee and tea with any purchase, and some of his patrons stayed for hours just sitting and reading the book they just bought.

As promised, he went to heat some milk in a small pan and poured it into a mug. He also placed some marshmallows in it, although it was plain milk.

“Here you go,” Draco said as he set the mug down on the coffee table, kneeling so that he was eye level with Teddy. “Is it interesting?”

“Mm,” Teddy hummed. “It’s okay. Maybe it will get better.”

For a four-year-old (Teddy kept insisting that he was close to five now), Teddy was extremely intelligent. He learned to read very early on, and had an extensive vocabulary compared to children his own age. He also preferred to read on his own, rather than have someone else read to him, which was why Draco always left him to his own devices.

“If you don’t like it, there are others,” Draco said. “Well, have fun.”

Draco stood up to walk back to the counter, but stopped when he saw Teddy looking at him expectantly. He smiled to himself and reached out a hand to pet Teddy’s head.

“You are too adorable sometimes,” he said. He looked around, making sure no one was looking their way, and bent down to whisper to Teddy. “Do you mind a kiss?”

After all, he had a reputation to uphold.

Teddy shook his head slightly, pulling his scarf down to reveal the rest of his face. He leaned up to peck Draco on his lips (something that he weirdly was comfortable with doing to Draco, but not to anyone else, which caused extreme jealousy on Andromeda’s part) while Draco smiled against the kiss.

And of course that was how Harry found them.

“If you two weren’t related, I would have called the police,” Harry said with amusement in his eyes as he placed a paper bag full of pastries next to Teddy’s mug of milk.

“Oh, shove off,” Draco said as he rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous that Teddy wouldn’t kiss you.”

“Ew,” Teddy said, and the two looked at him in confusion. “That would be like kissing Father. I mean, nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not for me, I suppose.”

“Wait,” Draco said, “isn’t kissing me like kissing your father? And why wouldn’t you kiss Aunt Andromeda in that case?”

Teddy lifted his scarf back up to his nose, but Harry could see a flash of cheeky grin before his mouth disappeared behind the woollen scarf, and he snorted to hold back laughter.

“Ugh, you two,” Draco grumbled as he stomped all the way back to the counter.

Harry settled down in the other armchair and sighed.

“Are you happy here?” he asked as he looked at Teddy, who had returned to reading his book.

Teddy nodded, and he leaned back against the armchair with a contented sigh. He had promised himself that he would be a good guardian for Teddy, and if he had to spend hours in a bookshop with him to make sure he was comfortable, then so be it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time in a bookshop, haven’t you?” Hermione commented as she stirred the spoonful of sugar she just dumped into her tea. “Did you at least learn anything new?”

“Ha ha,” Harry said as he rolled his eyes. “I’m not you. I prefer fiction to history books, and interestingly, children’s books nowadays are pretty good too.”

“So you read Teddy’s books, you mean?”

“Kind of,” Harry said with a shrug. “Sometimes he wants to talk about them, so I read them too just so I can keep up with their conversation.”

Hermione smiled and patted his arm. “You’re a good person, Harry,” she said, “and I’m sure you’d be good for him. But honestly, with the amount of time you spend at the bookshop, I was expecting more. Did you end up asleep in the armchair or something?”

Harry looked away guiltily and Hermione sighed.

“Maybe I should come visit someday,” she said. “I’d love to see the place.”

“It’s nice, I suppose,” Harry commented. “He did well with himself. I know he chose a bookshop in the end because of Teddy too.”

“Unlike you, Harry, there are people who actually like to read,” Hermione said with a snort. “I’m sure he likes to read too. He has to be able to give recommendations, doesn’t he?”

“Maybe you should work there,” Harry said sarcastically. “Imagine having all the books you could read for free, and the many people you can exchange knowledge with.”

“You’re giving me ideas.”

“Ugh, I don’t think Ron would agree to that. And why would the secretary of the minister himself work as an employee in a bookshop?”

“Why not,” Hermione said, taking a sip of her tea. “There’s no job more glamorous than the other. I would rather sort books and talk with fellow bookworms than sort files and kiss pompous arses.”

“Your future employer was a pompous arse.”

“Was,” Hermione said with a small twitch of her lips. “I think the fact that Teddy likes him better than you proves that he isn’t that bad anymore.”

“Hey, I resent that!”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Cousin Draco.”

Draco turned when he was called and saw Teddy walking towards him. He knelt down so he was eye level with Teddy, and allowed the boy to give him a peck.

“You’re early today,” Draco commented. “Don’t you have school?”

“It’s the school holiday,” Teddy said softly. “They have an excursion but I didn’t want to go.”

“Oh? Where are they going?” Draco asked curiously.

The school Teddy went to was a relatively small school, and the class size wasn’t big, so he didn’t have too much trouble. He sometimes chose to skip some excursions, but there were some he went to as well.

“The local zoo,” Harry said as he walked up to them, struggling with three paper cups in his hands.

“Potter,” Draco said, “did you forget that you are a wizard?”

“Maybe I got too used to living like a Muggle,” Harry said with a shrug. He set the cups on the counter and handed the small one to Teddy.

“Thank you, Harry.”

“Here’s your chocolate,” Harry said as he handed another cup to Draco, who looked surprised.

“Thanks, I suppose,” Draco said as he gingerly accepted the cup.

“It’s not poisoned,” Harry said with a huff, “and not too much sugar. I know you get sugar high.”

“I don’t!”

“That’s okay, Cousin Draco, I do too.”

“But I don’t!” Draco protested.

“Anyway, come on, we have to go,” Harry said as he patted Teddy’s head. “Say bye, Teddy.”

“Oh, where are you going?” Draco asked Teddy who was frowning.

“He has a play date with Rose and Hugo, but he wanted to come see you first,” Harry said, ruffling Teddy’s hair.

“They don’t give up, do they?” Draco asked in amusement. “But that’s good. I know you don’t like crowds, but if you can have some good friends, that would be good, you know.”

“Like you and Aunt Pansy?” Teddy asked.

Draco paused, but then nodded. “Yes, like me and Aunt Pansy.”

“Okay,” Teddy said with a nod. “Bye bye kiss?”

Draco chuckled and peppered kisses all over Teddy’s forehead and cheeks.

“Be good, now,” he said, “and remember, if anyone hits you, you hit back harder.”

“I don’t think that’s a good advice for little kids…”

“Oh, hush, Potter. What do you know?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Much to Ron and Draco’s surprise, Hermione did end up applying for work at Wonderland. To Ron’s relief, she didn’t quit her job as the secretary to the Minister yet. She had applied for a two-month long break, and while on break, had applied to work at the bookshop.

Draco was hesitant at first, but he knew how much she loved books from their Hogwarts years, so he decided that maybe she could help him choose which books to stock for the adults. Also, it would be good to have someone with a different taste from his to give recommendations to their customers.

Teddy also somehow got more used to Hermione, as he saw her more often now, which made her happy. She did have a soft spot for the quiet, studious boy, after all. Harry theorised that maybe she saw a little bit of herself in Teddy.

One month later, Harry had to leave for a week-long assignment in Russia. He had tried to bargain with Kingsley, because he didn’t want to leave Teddy alone, but Teddy had told him to go.

“Really, Harry, I’ll be fine,” Teddy said with his hands on his hips, and Harry idly wondered who he learned that from. “I’ll stay with Cousin Draco and Aunt Narcissa. Grandmamma will be there too, so don’t worry, okay?”

“Alright, fine,” Harry relented. “If there is anything, give me a call, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you in a week, then, I suppose,” Harry said, “and I’ll bring back presents for you and the others.”

“Okay,” Teddy repeated. “Bye bye, Harry.”

“No kisses for me?” Harry teased.

“No.”

“Aww, you wound me.”

Three days into the assignment, Harry received a picture message from Hermione (really, mobile phones were probably one of the best Muggle inventions. Arthur readily agreed with him on that). It was a close up picture of Teddy and Draco cuddled up together while napping in one of the huge armchairs in the bookshop.

The caption read “to fuel your fantasy”.

He replied with the middle finger emoji.

It didn’t stop him from saving the picture and making it his phone’s background picture.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

At the end of the two months, Hermione had seriously considered resigning from her position at the Ministry to work full time at the bookshop. Draco had just acquired the next door’s building and had planned for an expansion.

Business had been going well, and he heard some of his customers said that the local library had decreased their story time sessions because they were short on volunteers. It made him think, and that was what he planned to do with the new area once it was fully renovated and integrated with the main shop.

Ron had been against the idea, but Rose and Hugo had fallen in love with Wonderland too. He couldn’t really blame them though; the place was cosy, and the free coffee didn’t hurt. He mostly stuck with graphic novels and some short fictions, but he could see the appeal.

“It’s not like money is a worry with us, is it, Mr Famous Quidditch Player?” Hermione teasingly asked Ron one night. “We can bring Rose and Hugo to story time when the room is ready. And maybe I can volunteer there too.”

“If you’re working there, that’s not volunteering,” Ron pointed out.

“You know what I mean.”

Ron paused. “He really did it for Teddy, didn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said. “He wanted to see if Teddy would enjoy story time with the other children. It won’t be a big group, and he wouldn’t be the centre of attention, so he might.”

Ron smiled ruefully. “It’s weird to think of him as someone who thinks of others that much; even if it only applies to Teddy.”

“He did think of his family, you know,” Hermione said. “What he did during the War was for his mother.”

“I suppose,” Ron said. “Well, if you really want to, and he wants you to, then I guess I can’t stop you. You’ve been happier working there than at the Ministry anyway.”

“Thank you. I know you’ll agree with me.”

“I’m whipped.”

“You are.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Why are there so many Gryffindors here?” Draco complained when he saw the group sitting around one of the bigger reading tables. The usual suspects were there, with the addition of Neville and Luna.

“Why not? It’s good for business, right?” Hermione asked from his side.

“Ugh.”

“Surely you’re not going to turn customers away,” Hermione added.

“Shush, you,” Draco said with a huff. “And you deal with them.”

He left with a huff as Hermione laughed.

“Don’t mind him,” she said. “But why is everyone here?”

“Oh, we’re just curious about the bookshop,” Neville said.

“And I wanted to see how Draco is doing,” Luna added. “He seems to be doing well, which is good.”

“Personally or financially?”

“Both,” Luna said. “He’s at peace with himself now.”

No one asked how she knew. They had learned long ago that it was better to just accept whatever Luna said at face value.

“Maybe I should frequent this place from now on,” Luna said. “Pixies don’t like quiet places, and I’m running away from them for a while.”

Yet again, they wisely chose not to comment on whatever Luna said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Harry was watching Draco talk to Teddy when a mug of tea was suddenly slammed down in front of him. It was a miracle that nothing spilled, but then again, Hermione probably charmed the mug to not spill.

“You know, rather than pining away like that, you could just ask him out,” Hermione said primly, as if she didn’t just slam a porcelain mug down.

Harry scoffed as he picked up the mug. “Yeah, right.”

“I mean it,” Hermione said. “What made you hesitate? Are you questioning your Gryffindor traits now?”

“Well, I just don’t want to ruin things for Teddy,” Harry said with a sigh. “I mean, if things don’t work out, it’ll be awkward between us.”

“It’s not like he’ll distance himself from Teddy if he doesn’t like you,” Hermione said with a shrug. “And you’ll still bring Teddy here with you anyway. What’s your point?”

Harry thought about it, and decided that he indeed was using Teddy as an excuse. Even if it would be awkward between them, he was sure they wouldn’t let it get between each of them and Teddy.

With his mind made, he walked over to the two who were chatting about Teddy’s day at his playgroup.

“Yes? What is it, Potter?” Draco asked as he looked up at Harry when he noticed him standing there.

“I was wondering if… you’d like to go out for dinner with me sometime.”

“Finally. I thought you were never going to ask.”

Both Harry and Draco turned to look at Teddy, who was crossing his arms.

“Err, does this mean we have your blessing?” Harry asked hesitantly.

Teddy nodded. “But if you two split up, I’m going with Cousin Draco.”

Draco groaned. “You’ve been watching too much soap opera with Mother, young man.”

“Well, let’s not go there and doom this relationship before it even starts, okay?” Harry asked. “And why? Am I not a good guardian?” he half-whined.

“Well, you’ll be following Cousin Draco around anyway to ask for forgiveness, so I’ll still get to see the two of you if I go with him.”

“Don’t make me sound so needy.”

“That’s okay, Harry,” Teddy said as he patted Harry’s cheek. “Grandmamma said if you have a good thing, you have to fight for it and never let go.”

“Your grandmother is a wise woman,” Harry said, ruffling Teddy’s hair. “So… dinner?” he asked Draco again.

“Oh, I suppose I shall,” Draco said. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint Teddy, now, would we?”

Harry chuckled, then paused.

“Wait, why am I the one asking for forgiveness, anyway? Are you saying that if we have a fight, it’s always my fault?”