Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

If one was to think that being war heros and defeating the most powerful dark wizard of the century would earn them perks, benefits and fame, they were dead wrong. The wizards were, for the lack of better words, a backward society. When the world was on the brink of a technological revolution they still prefered to communicate via owls and listen to the radio. Harry Potter had done all that, defeated the most powerful dark wizard of his time, fought in a war, saved the world, all that jazz, and where did that leave him you’d ask. It left him overworked, underpaid, and regretting his life choices by the hour. The Auror department had looked so glamorous to the eighteen year old when he had been offered the job. The salary had seemed hefty and the hero complex had yet to wear off. The golden trio had joined the force but unbeknown to Harry, his friends had their plan Bs already mapped out. Hermione left just short of a year after joining, as soon as her college admission was confirmed, she now practised under the biggest wizarding law firm Bricks & Briggs, on her way to become a partner in her next five year plan. Ron went to work with George at the shop after two years. He was now in his last year of college for his bachelors in business management. And then there was the Saviour of the people, the Golden boy, the Youngest in whatever he did; youngest Lead investigator on the force, and then youngest candidate to have his name in the list for the next Head Auror. But the job was demanding, and on better days, hell. Then in 2003, two years ago, Andromeda Tonks passed away leaving Teddy under his care. At that time his work load had been lesser. For a while it had seemed he could make it. The job had become easier, his relationship with Ginny was going strong albeit them having been on and off since they started dating, and Teddy was adjusting wonderfully. But then not even a year later Ginny broke up with him, his boss declared he would be retiring in three years and the Scroll of Prospective Head Auror that decided who would get the post, showed his name along with six others. The entirety of 2004 went by with Harry balancing his job and taking care of Teddy with the help of Kreacher and Dipsy. But 2005 was not so kind. Two names were eliminated from the scroll and the competition was fierce. It was a kill or be killed situation, and Harry was in no mood to lose. The only way out would be if they hired a deputy head before the head auror retired, but that was more dream than reality.

So, in March of the same year he put out a Classified for the position of a live-in nanny.

The unusual demands would make it hard to find someone willing. But that made them all the more important. Someone who could do this should be able to handle his half-in-half-out lifestyle. 

Even though it should have been expected, the unexpected call came on a friday night at around 10:30. Kreacher heard the ringing from the kitchen. Potter didn’t appear after the third ring so he hopped over to take the call. 

Before he could even answer, the other person spoke up, “Hi, I am calling about the babysitting job.” So it was about that; he sent a mind link to Dipsy to call the master to the living area. “Yes, Master shall be with you in a moment.”

Dipsy appeared in his office with a loud crack, startling Harry. 

“Master shall take call ,'' Kreacher says. Call for young Master Teddy’s nanny.” That was unexpected. Getting up he made his way down to the phone. 

“Thank you for holding the phone.” he said, taking it from Kreacher. 

“Yes, hello, I was interested in the position you advertised in the Daily Prophet. I would like to discuss your terms for living arrangements and my pay.”

“Yes, thank you for reaching out, I was not entirely comfortable with providing my address, so if you could tell me about your qualifications and why you need the job, we can discuss meeting up” the woman sounded young, she was polite so far and Harry didn’t sense any redflages so far. 

“Of Course, I’ve completed my bachelors in education and have worked for two months as a substitute teacher in Greengale Primary. I want to pursue my Masters in British history. But I haven't been able to find a job yet.”

She told him all about her muggle pursuits but the bigger question was what were her wizarding qualifications. 

“Are you a Hogwarts graduate?” The question was met with a pregnant pause, “I am not” she replied, followed by a sigh. 

“It’s okay, I don’t mean to judge you on that, your muggle qualifications seem adequate.” 

He could practically hear the relief in her words as she said after a sigh, “Where shall we meet to finalise this?” 

“At King William park, I’ll meet you there at noon this Sunday.” he said, “I hope it’s to your convenience.” 

“It is. But how will I recognise you?”

“I’m around 5’9” with shoulder length hair, I keep them in a bun. I’ll be wearing a brown leather jacket and carrying a yellow umbrella with brown teddy bears on it.” he completed in a straight laced voice. The receiver on the other end transferred ears as he heard a jingle and the person on the other end giggled.

“That is a very detailed description, if anything, your umbrella will be enough for me to find you.” he could hear the grin in her voice, and it brought an unconscious smile on his face. 

“If it’s all settled then I’d like to call it a night now, I have to get up early tomorrow morning.” 

“Goodnight then Mr Stewart.” 

Harry put the phone down and went back up to his room. He hoped it would be a good Sunday. 

Sunday rolled in sooner than expected, but it would just go to show how out of touch with things Harry really was for one day to feel like it was both a blink and a lifetime. 

He left Teddy in the care of the house elves and made his way to the garage. Being an adult was difficult. It was actually even tougher to be a guardian. Harry knew it was just his resentment talking but he felt it would be so much better had he been in a relationship or been a parent. At least he would have a support system for himself then. 

Harry decided it was a nice enough day to bring out his motorbike, and it would be a good idea to take it out on a little spin as it had been quite a while since he last rode. 

King William park was busier than expected for Sunday noon. There was a group enjoying a picnic under a tree while three children ran around playing in front of the adults. Harry parked and made his way to the nearest free bench. If being an auror had brought one positive thing in Harry's life, it was making him punctual. He did not expect everyone to be ‘as’ on time as he was, he hadn't been like that before training, but it always felt nice when someone else also arrived as early as he was used to.

Said someone did not come on time. In fact she was running ten minutes late now. That meant Harry had been sitting under the afternoon sun for the past fifteen minutes watching the children play. A cold wind blew, the trees swayed, and the leaves sang. The smell of soil and the city whiffed past him and he closed his eyes to take in the feeling. A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his peace, turning around to inquire, he came face to face with a black hat. 

“May I help you?” was the most logical thing to ask in such a situation. The person moved back a bit. She was wearing an orange formal dress with what Harry could only assume was a quarter of a jacket. 

“Mr. Stewart” she half asked, “I called the day before for the nanny position.” 

Realisation struck Harry as he remembered the reason he had actually come here. 

“I’m sorry, I was a bit out of it, I’ve been here a while you see” He stood up, the bite evident in his tone, and turned to greet the woman in front of him. 

The first thing he noticed was the sunglasses on her eyes. They were a pretty (big) pair, the frame reaching her cheekbone. She wore a baseball cap and a denim jacket paired with a white t-shirt. It was giving him major soccer mom vibes. 

A voice at the back of his seemed to think that was a very admirable trait. 

"Let's take this to someplace quiet." Harry suggested. "There is a Starbucks down the road." 

"Sure" she replied with a smile "I'd love that." 

With a nod in her direction he led the way.

It was not the best idea to go there and Harry realised it as soon as they crossed the window. The place was jam packed and he was pretty sure their order would take a while with how long the line was. 

“How about someplace else?” she suggested looking a bit uncomfortable. 

“Sure, would you like to eat something? There’s a few good places around here.”

Agreeing on light food they then made their way, meandering around the foot traffic until they reached a quaint little place that was smelling of heavenly potatoes.

"Let's stop here." Harry suggested and his companion just nodded and went along. 

He found a table for two and made his way there. It was not something Harry had been expecting, as he sat down, he saw she was still standing. He saw her features morph and as if pulled out of a daze she abruptly sat down. A waiter came to save them from the awkwardness that would have endured. Placing their orders was easy, the house specialty was jalapeño chips with cheese. And that definitely sounded appealing. 

It was finally time to get down to business, and game face on, Harry took to questioning  the suspect her. 

"The first thing I'd like to know is how long you're willing to work. It will be the most important factor in your employment." 

She took off her shades then, and the olive green eyes that stared back at him looked much younger than he had thought before. 

" It might be a bit awkward to say this now, but you still haven't asked for my name." 

And it hit Harry then, like a subway train, that he still hadn't asked for her name. He couldn't wait to hire her, if it had come to the point that he'd forgotten to ask her name, he was in serious need of some sleep. 

" I apologise. Life has not been the kindest to me." he said, " Please. If I may know your name."