What If… Harry Potter

Harry Potter was seven years old when it happened. He had been on the run from his cousin Dudley and his gang during recess and he had been cornered in a little used area near the school's playground that was a dead end near the school's kitchens. The only thing Harry could reasonably get to and hide behind were the tall garbage dumpsters. His bullies were right behind him, too.

Just when Harry had almost resigned himself to another severe beating, he gathered his courage one more time and resolved to himself that he would be safe this time. He poured on the speed and ran as fast as his little underdeveloped legs could carry him to the end of the closed alley and leapt towards the dumpsters as he closed his eyes and made his fondest wish once more.

I need to go where I'm safe! Harry thought with all his might.

There was a loud crack of thunder that echoed through the whole schoolyard, as if a storm had suddenly appeared and lightning had flashed. Dudley and his gang were confused when they rounded the corner and saw that the dead end that they had herded their target into was empty.

Harry Potter had disappeared.

Even with Harry's undeserved bad reputation for being a delinquent, a missing child was a big thing for any community. The call went out for volunteers and everyone gathered together to search. Cars were stopped at random, houses checked, and every body of water and forest area were scoured for any sign of the boy. No matter where everyone looked, he was nowhere to be found.

A week later, it was the magical community that rallied for the same purpose. The boy-who-lived needed to be found and they used a lot of resources to search. The only person that didn't participate was a specific headmaster of a magical school, because he knew it was pointless. All of the devices he had used to keep an eye on the boy were broken.

Albus Dumbledore let a single tear roll down his cheek and held a silver bobble in his hands. It was the one that was linked to Harry's very life force and it was silent and immobile.

The old man despaired for what the wizarding world would become without their saviour.

*

Harry somehow felt like he was squeezed through a straw. It didn't really hurt and was just uncomfortable. It seemed to go on longer than he thought he was able to jump and then he was suddenly on the school roof. He blinked his eyes exactly three times before he carefully moved over to the edge and looked down at the ground.

“Hey! There's someone up there!” A little girl shouted and pointed.

Harry felt really embarrassed as everyone looked over at him. He knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble, because all of the teachers ran over to him. He covered his ears to block out the shouts of anger and moved back from the edge, not realizing the adults were only asking if he was okay and weren't angry at all.

The fire department was called and they used one of their building scaling ladders. A big burly fireman left off his helmet and climbed up the ladder with a huge smile on his face. He knew the kid was terrified and wanted to put him at ease.

“Hi, there!” The fireman said when he reached the roof and waved. “Can you tell me your name?”

“It's H-H-Harry.” Harry said, his voice trembling.

“Well, H-H-Harry, come on over here and I'll get you down.”

Harry looked scared and the fireman held in his sigh.

“It's all right, Harry. You're going to be okay.” The fireman reassured him.

Harry knew that wasn't true. As soon as his aunt and uncle heard about this, they were going to lock him in his cupboard for a week with only bread and water. Any weird things gained him a lot of grief from them and this was one of the biggest things he had ever had happen to him. He really really really didn't want to go down to the ground and face them.

The fireman saw him curl in on himself and let out the sigh he held. He climbed up and stepped off the ladder onto the roof. Thankfully, the scared boy didn't try to run or move away and the fireman gently picked him up. Harry hugged himself and felt resignation fill him as he let the fireman carry him to his impending doom.

“He's terrified!” One of the women teachers said when she saw the state Harry was in and she walked over to the ladder as the fireman reached the ground. “May I?”

The fireman nodded at his partner and he handed the woman a blanket. With her ready, the fireman gently put Harry into her blanket covered arms.

“Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're okay.” The woman whispered as she wrapped the blanket around Harry and cuddled him as she used a hand to pet his messy hair. “You're safe now.”

Harry had never been hugged or petted before and he opened his eyes to ask what was going on, only to see a weird look on his teacher's usually angry face. He was so surprised by the change that he forgot that he wasn't supposed to ask her questions.

“Mrs. Haversham... you... you're... what are you doing?” Harry asked.

The woman's welcoming face changed to surprised. “I was comforting you.” She said and then her eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”

Harry stopped breathing for a moment, because when his teachers forgot something, that usually meant he was definitely getting a beating when he went home. It happened after he had changed her hair blue last year and the year before that when the nurse had yelled at him for not coming to her for his injuries and her glass cabinet had shattered for some reason.

The fireman saw the boy try to huddle in on himself even more than he already was and motioned for the woman to hand Harry back to him. The confused woman did so and wondered why just asking a simple question had made the scared boy clam up like that.

“No more school for you today.” The fireman said and brought Harry over to the guy that was a paramedic in his normal day job.

After a little check-up to prove that he was currently unhurt, Harry refused to answer any more questions about how he climbed up onto the roof after saying only once that he didn't know. On the plus side, he hadn't seen Dudley or his gang hunting for him, which was a relief.

“Let's get you home.” The fireman said.

Harry reluctantly told him Aunt Petunia's name and his address at Number 4, Privet Drive. He stayed quiet during the ride and shook his head no when the truck driver offered to let him use the siren and the horn. He didn't need a worse beating for causing so much noise in his aunt's nice and peaceful neighborhood. She could barely stand it when he creaked the stairs when walking to the bathroom.

The two firemen exchanged worried looks over a child that didn't want to have fun and blow the horn of a full-sized firetruck. That was not normal behavior.

The firetruck came to a stop in front of the Dursley house, despite Harry's emphatic pleas to stop at the end of the street instead. He was almost completely hunched over, now that they were at his house. The spectacle had drawn all of the housewives and mothers out of their houses to look over at the rare appearance of a firetruck without a fire anywhere nearby.

The fireman that rescued Harry helped him climb down from the truck and Harry hung his head down with his chin pressed to his chest. The dejected look really worried the fireman and he put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. Harry didn't react, except to sigh in resignation and started walking. The two of them walked up the little walk to the front door and paused.

The fireman waited for Harry to take out a key to open the door, only to be surprised when the boy instead rang the doorbell. What kind of family doesn't give their kid a key to their own house? The fireman asked himself.

The door opened and a tall skinny woman stood there. “Yes? What can I help you with?”

“Petunia Dursley?” The fireman asked and she nodded. “We found this young man on the roof of Surrey Elementary School about half an hour ago.”

Petunia looked confused. “I'm not sure what that has to... do with...” She stopped talking when her eyes locked onto Harry's messy hair. “H-Harry? Is... is that you?”

“Yes, it's me.” Harry said sadly as he finally lifted his head to look up at her, only to stare with his mouth hung open.

Petunia's hair was dirty blonde instead of black and it was perfectly styled in waves, her lips were full and not a thin line, and her usual horse-like face was heart-shaped and she was even wearing make-up!

“You're so pretty!” Harry blurted.

Petunia blushed at the sincere compliment. “Thank you, Harry.” She said and stepped forward before she knelt and took him into a hug.

Harry stiffened and didn't move, because his aunt was hugging him. That was two women he thought hated him and they had given him hugs. On the same day, too!

Petunia softly laughed at his resistance and let him go. “Harry, you're too young to say such things to an adult. Save them for your future girlfriend.”

The fireman chuckled and his building worries had been alleviated. He attributed the boy's reluctance to the scary event and he would reassure the other firemen. “Now that he's safe with you, we need to get back to the station.”

Petunia stood and held a hand out to him. “Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate it.”

The fireman took her hand and carefully shook it. “Enough to accept a dinner date?”

Harry's mouth dropped open again, because a fireman had just asked his aunt out.

Petunia blushed again and let his hand go as she showed off the diamond ring and wedding ring on her other hand. “I'm sorry, I'm spoken for.”

“Of course you are, the lucky bloke.” The fireman said and laughed. “My apologies.”

Petunia waved his apology away. “I'll take it for the compliment it is.”

“Thank you, miss.” The fireman said and nodded before he looked down at Harry and saw his surprised face. “Don't mention that to your uncle.”

Harry shook his head several times, because he would never, ever tell his uncle something like that. He didn't want to die. The fireman patted his shoulder, smiled at Petunia, and walked back over to the firetruck. The driver waved and blew the horn, popped the siren for a second, and drove away.

“Come inside.” Petunia said in a bland voice.

Harry nodded and followed her inside the house. It looked exactly like it had that morning and Harry was almost relieved that he would be spending some time inside his cupboard after all of the surprises he had just had. He reached for the door to unlock it and Petunia took his hand instead.

Petunia led him into the kitchen and sat him in his usual chair at the table, then she went to the telephone and dialed a number. She whispered several things and there was a scream from the receiver. She whispered a few more things and hung up without waiting for an answer.

With that important task done, Petunia walked around the kitchen to start the tea. She did up a tray with cups and saucers, dishes for sugar and milk, and added some fancy biscuits. When the tea boiled, she added it to the tea pot and sat down at the kitchen table across from the boy. A well served cup of tea was given to Harry and then one was placed in front of herself.

“So.” Petunia said and took a sip of tea. “How are you here?”

Harry couldn't stop his embarrassed blush as he explained how Dudley had chased him around with his friends and were about to corner him, then how Harry had tried to jump onto the dumpsters behind the school's kitchen and somehow ended up on the roof after being squeezed tightly. He told her how one of the other kids saw him up there afterwards and the fire department was called and rescued him.

“I see.” Petunia said and nibbled on a cookie and poured herself another cup of tea. “I will speak to Dudley about your accusation.”

Harry sighed and ducked his head. He knew that meant that she was going to ignore it.

“However, I asked you how you are here, not why.” Petunia said.

Harry blinked his eyes at her several times. Was he supposed to remind her that he lived there in the cupboard under the stairs or something? Didn't she already know that?

Petunia saw his confusion and took a deep breath before she let it out in a long sigh. She took several moments to compose herself before she spoke in a soft whisper. “Harry, you died almost a year ago.”

Harry was so startled by her words that he felt like his stomach had just dropped a hundred feet, his vision wavered, and he fainted.

*

“Lils, for the seventh and final time, the result of the Paternus charm is the same.” James Potter said and cancelled the spell. “Whatever that twisted thing is on your sister's couch, it has two parents. James Fleamont Potter and Lily Jasmine Evans.”

*CRACK!*

Lily Potter's hand stung from slapping her husband so hard. She had never raised her hand to him, ever, and the shocked look on James' embarrassed face was one for the history books. The red hand print wasn't going to fade soon, either.

“That so-called twisted thing has a name! It's Harry! Harry JAMES Potter!” Lily said, angrily.

“B-b-b-but... Lils...” James started to say.

“Don't you dare Lils me!” Lily said with squinted eyes. “Just because your middle name is Charlus and mine is Jillian, named after our grandparents, that doesn't mean that boy is any less your son than he is mine!”

“But... he's not... our son.” James whispered haltingly as he slowly rubbed his sore face.

“We'll see about that.” Lily asked and turned to her lifelong friend. “Sev! Is it ready?”

Severus stirred the complicated potion one last time. “I calculate that it needs exactly one more minute to finish.”

Lily walked across the living room to the portable potions lab and quickly prepped the sheet of parchment. “Thank you for coming right over as soon as I called, Sev. This means a lot to me.”

Severus held in his smile and nodded. He knew that she knew that he would always drop everything to come to her aid. He always had and he always would. Lily did know that and her hand rested briefly on his forearm as she beamed a smile at him.

“This could be conclusive or it could be nothing like you expected.” Severus warned her.

“I know! Isn't it exciting?!?” Lily exclaimed and resisted the urge to hug the man. She could have brewed the potion herself, only she was too nervous and high strung about the whole situation to remain calm enough to not mess up one of the critical steps.

Severus let out a single chuckle at her enthusiasm and Lily laughed, which broke the building tension in the room. Petunia covered her mouth to muffle her own laugh and James let out a sigh.

“Set out the three goblets.” Severus said and Lily placed them beside the cauldron. “I'll need a drop of each of your blood, non-magically retrieved.”

Lily conjured three needles as Severus poured the potion into the three goblets and she poked her own finger and put a single drop into the first goblet. She handed a needle to her husband and James poked his own finger to add a drop to the second goblet.

“Thank you.” Lily said and James nodded. She carried the third goblet over to the small boy on the couch and poked his finger to put a single drop into it. She brought Harry's potion back to Severus and he poured the entire goblet's contents onto the sheet of parchment and it absorbed it all.

The four adults watched as the name Harry James Potter appeared on the paper and two red lines drew from it to grow two more names, his parents, then it grew to show their parents and then their parents. None of them were surprised to see the different middle names for all of them.

Severus poured Lily's potion on top of her name on the paper and nothing happened for a moment, then the middle name changed briefly and a second line grew to join to Harry's name and then another line grew to show the name of her other child, her daughter Primrose Potter.

The secondary lines went up from Lily's name and joined with every other name on the paper above the other Lily's name. After several tense seconds, the paper shimmered and the lines merged as the middle names flipped between the original and the new ones.

“YES!” Lily gasped and jumped happily, then she hugged her best friend. “Thank you!”

Snape accepted the hug and motioned to the last goblet.

“Go ahead. It won't make any difference to the confirmation, though. If my blood and Harry's is the same, my husband's blood has to be the same as his, too.”

Severus nodded and poured the last goblet onto and into the parchment over James Potter's name. Lily was right and it did the same thing as hers did with drawing second lines to each name, then everything merged and only the middle names flickered and rolled between different names.

“It seems the only changes are the middle names.” Severus said to Lily. “While that Harry's family members are all named after their parents, yours are named after your grandparents.”

“So, he's both our son and not our son.” James said and tried to inject some realism into the situation.

Lily almost barked angrily at him and held her tongue. Her eyes said it all.

“You can't seriously think that...” James started to say.

“Not. Another. Word.” Lily said to him, her voice like ice. She gave him one more glare and then smiled as she looked at Severus. “You examined him closely while prepping for the potion. Can you tell me why he's as small as he was a year ago? Was he in stasis or something? He still looks like he hasn't turned six yet and he's supposed to be several months past seven.”

Severus sighed and rolled up the parchment and sealed it before he handed it to her to keep as proof. “I don't think you want to know why.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop by ten degrees as Lily's cool gaze almost skewered the man in place. “Explain that, please.” She said sweetly.

Severus felt how deadly the threat was and swallowed audibly. He wanted to lie to her, he really did. Unfortunately, she knew that he never would. Being honest with each other had saved their friendship more times than he could count. He just hoped she didn't hold him responsible this time.

“Harry Potter has been... starved and beaten... for nearly as long as he's been alive.” Severus told her.

There was almost a hum sound in the air for a moment, then all of the glass items in the room completely shattered and sprayed all over the carpet. Severus, James, and Petunia stepped back from Lily as her eyes glowed and her long red hair started floating around her head.

“Excuse me, Sev. I think I may have misheard you.” Lily said with her voice barely above a growl. “I could have sworn you said that someone has grievously harmed my son and stunted his growth. On purpose.”

“Lils, he's not really your...” James started to say and his words were cut off as he was hit by a wandless Depulso spell. He flew across the room and landed on the floor in a heap, unconscious.

Lily walked over to a nervous looking Severus and gave him a deadly smile. “You will tell me exactly what happened to him and you will help me fix as much of it as you can.”

Severus didn't even glance at his partially wrecked portable potions lab. “Of course, Lily. Anything for you. You know that.”

The room suddenly went back to a normal temperature and Lily's hair stopped floating.

“Wonderful.” Lily said and smiled at him. It was slightly strained and no one commented on it or on her fairly large and destructive bout of accidental magic.

There were two soft cracks of apparition and the back door of the house opened before two Aurors in red robes rushed inside, ran across the kitchen, and slid to a stop in the living room. They both assessed the situation and saw the annoyed face of the redheaded woman and looked at the unconscious form of her husband and their boss, Head Auror James Potter.

“It's a family matter.” Lily said, her voice once more like ice.

“Understood, ma'am.” One of the Aurors said and put his wand away. “Can we expect a report in a few days or maybe next week? Whenever you're not busy?”

Lily smiled a genuine smile. “Of course, gentlemen. I'll include the praise for your quick response as well.”

Both Aurors nodded and left just as quickly as they had arrived. No one in their right mind would ever defy the legendary Lily Potter when she was angry.

*

Harry Potter felt like he was floating on a cloud. He couldn't remember why he felt that way or what happened to get him to this state, and he was too comfortable to care. He had never felt so good in all his life and that made him decide that he never wanted to wake up. It was just too bad that decision was not up to him.

“Hey.” A cute little girl's voice said as a small hand touched his shoulder and shook him. “Wake up.”

Harry did his best to try and hold onto that soft cloud feeling and ignored her.

“Wake up.” She said again and shook him. “Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.”

Harry mumbled something that even he couldn't make out and rolled over as he ducked his head under the thick blanket. If he could just get a bit more peace and quiet, he could get that great feeling back.

“Mum said you have to get up.” The girl's voice said. “She said you're my brother and not my brother. Are you going to die like he did? Cause he died.”

Harry caught his breath at her words and he didn't know what to think. He was a brother? Did he die? Is that what happened to him? Those questions and more went through his head as he gave up on trying to go back to sleep and pushed the blanket off as he sat up. He somehow found his thick frame glasses nearby and put them on.

“You look like my brother. He didn't wear glasses. Are your eyes bad? Dad has his fixed years ago. Yours were, too. No, that's my brother. But, you're my brother now. Your eyes should be fixed, too.”

Harry looked at the little girl with green eyes and red pigtails and he had no idea how he was supposed to act. He had never had friends before and he didn't have a little sister. The only person he ever spent any time with was Dudley and he definitely would never treat anyone like Dudley treated him.

“I'll tell mum you're up.” The girl said and walked over to the open doorway. “MUM! HE'S UP!”

Harry was too surprised by her yell to laugh.

“If he wasn't already, he would be now!” Lily's shout responded. “Pyjamas are okay for breakfast!”

“I WANT PANCAKES! WE CAN'T EAT PYJAMAS!” The girl yelled back.

“ROSE! I meant it's okay to wear them!” Lily shouted.

“I DON'T WANNA WEAR PANCAKES!” Rose yelled and sat down on the floor to play with several stuffed toys, as if she hadn't just had an argument about eating and wearing breakfast.

“Bloody hell.” Lily groused and her voice somehow echoed off the walls. “Just get your butt down here and bring your brother with you!”

“OKAY!” Rose yelled and stood with a little toy dragon in her arms. She walked over to the bed and held her hand out to Harry.

Harry, having no clue what was going on or where he was, took the hand without thinking about it and slid out of bed. He let Rose lead him out of the bedroom and down the hall, down the stairs, and into a foyer. They walked down another hallway and ended up in a huge kitchen.

“Good morning, Harry.” Lily said and turned away from the stove. “I'm your mother, Lily Potter.” She admitted without preamble as her eyes roamed over him from head to toe. “I'm so glad you're feeling better.”

Harry wasn't sure what she meant, then he realized something. He wasn't sore anymore. His joints usually hurt in the mornings and his legs didn't ache after running so much.

“Please, have a seat and the pancakes will be ready in a minute.” Lily said and pointed to a chair at the kitchen table.

Harry sat as the redheaded woman that looked just like Rose helped the little girl up onto her own chair and the little girl looked both expectant and impatient.

“Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes.” Rose sang and used her hands to flap the toy dragon's wings.

Harry sat there and took the whole surreal scene in. He watched as the woman that claimed to be his mother made breakfast all on her own and he wasn't ordered to take over. It was unheard of. He always had to finish cooking breakfast. Always.

Lily hummed happily and cooked up a small stack of pancakes that she split between two plates and placed one in front of Rose and one in front of him. She added a dab of butter to both plates and then used a silver dish to pour maple syrup over both stacks.

“I'm allowed to have butter and syrup?!?” Harry asked, shocked.

Lily's hand paused and she barely managed to stop the flow of syrup over his pancakes before it flooded the plate. “Yes, Harry. You can have as much as you want.” She said and placed the silver dish beside his plate. “Help yourself if you feel like you need more.”

Harry looked at his soaked pancakes and couldn't believe it. His eyes went to the left and then to the right, because he fully expected someone to yell at him and say that it was only a joke and would replace the tasty food with burnt toast and a touch of marmalade.

Lily watched as Harry cautiously picked up his fork, then in a complete turnaround from caution, he ate like someone was going to steal it from him and shoved as much into his mouth as he could and as fast as he could. She would have laughed if she hadn't realized that Harry genuinely thought he needed to eat it quickly or it would be taken from him.

Of course, Rose saw Harry tearing into his pancakes like a maniac and she did her best to copy him. To Lily's surprise, she didn't choke from eating so fast or made a mess. Just like Harry, she kept the controlled chaos to just her plate, her mouth, and one very sticky hand that held the pancakes steady. She licked her hand and the plate clean, too.

“I think someone needs a bath.” Lily suggested.

“BATH TIME!” Rose yelled and made Harry jump, which made her laugh a high pitched laugh. She hopped off her chair and ran from the room, laughing the whole time. Thankfully, she clutched the toy dragon with her clean hand and made airplane sounds as she flew it through the air and ran up the stairs with it.

“I need to check on her and make sure she's not covering the bathroom in water.” Lily said and Harry nodded. She walked around the table and lightly touched his shoulder. His flinch made her frown slightly, then she smiled brightly at him and left the kitchen at a run to chase after her daughter.

Harry sat there for several minutes before he realized that he had eaten and the woman that fed him hadn't. He knew what to do and quickly washed up in the sink before he checked the kitchen cupboards and the refrigerator. He gathered what he needed and soon had a full English Breakfast cooking and was pretty proud of himself for it.

By the time Lily returned to the kitchen, she froze in the doorway because her nose was filled with delicious smells, her stomach rumbled in anticipation, and her eyes widened at the sight. Harry had cooked a perfect hearty breakfast for her and had served her proper place setting at the kitchen table.

“I wasn't sure how many people needed to eat, so I made enough to be saved for tomorrow.” Harry said, a bit sheepishly. He had actually only made his Uncle Vernon's portion and it turned out to be a lot of food when placed on a normal-sized plate.

“Harry, you didn't have to do this.” Lily said as her eyes quickly took in the kitchen that didn't look any messier than it had been after she had cooked pancakes. What did he do with the dirty pans?

Harry blushed a little at her words, because he felt like he did have to. “Well, I... I'm used to it.”

Lily walked over to him and gave him a hopeful look before she very slowly put her arms around him and hugged him. She felt him stiffen at first, then he seemed to melt into her arms and his head tucked into her chest. She felt her blouse become damp and she was sure that he was crying.

Without a word, Harry let her go and wiped at his eyes as he turned away, clearly embarrassed.

“I'm starving, so I better eat before it gets cold.” Lily said and saw Harry's nod. She sat down and started to eat, then she had to clamp her mouth shut to muffle her moan. The food was delicious!

Harry couldn't stop himself from looking over at the sound and saw the woman that claimed to be his mother as she happily ate the food he had made for her. He felt happy to see the pleased look on her face and he pulled the dirty pans out from inside the oven to start scrubbing them.

That's where he hid them! It's so simple to get them out of the way until they can be washed. Lily thought in surprise and continued to eat.

The two of them stayed in the kitchen until Harry finished washing the pans and dishes, then Lily helped wrap up the rest of the food and they put it into the refrigerator.

“I think you need a bath, too.” Lily said.

Harry nodded and followed her upstairs to the large bathroom.

“Time's up, sweetie.” Lily said to Rose as she grabbed a big fluffy towel. “Harry needs to take a bath.”

“STAY!” Rose yelled and squeezed the rubber ducky, put it under the water, and let it go.

“Rose, you're going to look like a prune if you stay in any longer.” Lily said and her daughter ignored her as she lifted the rubber ducky and squeezed it at her mother. Luckily, she had faced the duck's mouth towards herself and the spray of water splashed her and hadn't soaked Lily.

“WAHHHH!” Rose cried and threw the rubber ducky across the room. “Yucky! Wet!”

Harry had already stripped off to wait for the tub and laughed when Rose's prank backfired.

Lily knelt beside the tub with a sigh and dried off her daughter's face with a towel. “There we go. You're okay now.”

“YAY!” Rose yelled and grabbed the toy boat to play with it and her previous unhappy state was completely forgotten. “Vrrooom! Vrrooom!” She said and splashed in the water as she played.

Lily shook her head at her antics and changed from kneeling beside the tub to sitting down beside it. “Harry? You don't mind waiting, do you? I can't change the water until Rose is done.”

“That's okay. I'm only allowed a bath after the water's dirty anyway.” Harry said and climbed in. “It's still warm and not cold!”

Lily caught her breath and tried to not react to what he just said, because the clear negligence annoyed her greatly. She composed herself and washed and played with Rose as she also watched Harry diligently wash himself all over.

No spot was left unscrubbed and Lily was surprised that he could handle the bath all by himself. Harry might have been seven years old; but, he looked barely older than her five year old daughter and Lily suspected that he had been taking care of himself for far too long and it strained her heart.

After the bath, Lily dried off Rose and she watched as Harry dried himself off, even his hair. It was just like his father's and stuck up all over the place in the classic Potter men's messy bird's nest. She took the both of them to Rose's bedroom to dress her daughter first. Tights and a dress were chosen and a ponytail made from the little girl's hair. Lily also let Rose put her hair into a ponytail, too.

Harry tried to tell the woman that he had no clothes to change into and Lily brought him and Rose to his room and opened the walk-in closet. To Harry's surprise, almost everything fit him perfectly.

Lily tried to not cry when Harry dressed in nice pants and a dress shirt that was a little baggy on him, which proved to her that he really was small for his age. Unless they could correct the damage that had been done, he would always be small for his age and her heart felt like it was being crushed.

“Don't worry, Harry. My friend Sev and I are already working on a few things that should help you grow.” Lily said to reassure him and herself, then she carried Rose with her and led Harry back downstairs into the den. “In fact, he'll be by tonight with the potions to fix your eyesight.”

“Wh-what?” Harry asked, confused. “Potions? What are they?”

Lily stopped breathing for several seconds and stared at him. “H-Harry, you... you don't know?”

“Know what?” Harry asked.

“I need to sit down for a minute.” Lily said and locked the room's door, put Rose down beside the couch, and handed her the toy dragon.

Harry was too distracted to wonder where the toy dragon had come from. He also didn't notice it floating above Rose's hands as she laughed and laid back on the floor to stare up at it.

“Harry, I have a few things that I need to explain to you before anything else happens.” Lily said.

Harry couldn't stop his next words if he had tried. “Like why you didn't die in a car crash?”

“A... a car crash?” Lily asked, shocked.

“I was told that my dad was lazy and a drunk and you both died when driving.” Harry's hand went to his scar. “That's how I got this.”

Lily stared at his forehead and tears came to her eyes. She held her arms out to him and Harry didn't know why he walked over to her, until her arms went around him and he didn't fight the feeling this time.

Harry's arms went around her and he held on as he rested his head on her shoulder. “You're not dead. You're not dead.” He whispered and started to silently cry.

“No, I'm not.” Lily said and clutched her son tightly. “And neither are you.”

The two of them stayed there for quite some time and cried themselves out. When they were done, they both were reluctant to let go. Lily conjured a cloth napkin and wiped Harry's face off, then vanished it and created another one for herself to dry her tears.

“What was that? How did you do that?” Harry asked, surprised.

“That's another thing I need to tell you, Harry.” Lily said and held up the wet cloth. “Magic is real.”

Harry's mouth opened and made a little 'o' of surprise.

Lily couldn't resist doing the trick she had used to show Rose about magic. “How do you make a napkin dance?”

“I dunno.” Harry responded.

“You blow a little boogie into it.” Lily said and made a honking noise as she pretended to blow her nose in the napkin. Harry laughed at her and then gasped when she tossed it onto the desk and cast the animate spell on it. The thing did a little dance across the desk blotter and then it jumped off the edge and into the trashcan.

“B-b-brilliant.” Harry whispered as he stared at the trashcan with wide eyes.

“Oh, Harry.” Lily said and hugged him again. “I have so much more to show you before I start teaching you your school lessons.”

“Okay.” Harry said and hugged her back.

*

James Potter sat at his desk and he didn't want to admit that he was nervous. He had finally gotten over losing his son and his parents to Dragon Pox almost a year ago and now there was suddenly another boy that appeared from literally nowhere that claimed to be his son.

His eyes looked at the sealed scroll on his desk and he wanted to ignore it. He really did. Unfortunately, his wife would cause him immense problems if he didn't go to Gringotts to register the change in his family's heir status as soon as possible. He didn't want to, though. That boy was not his son, even if they somehow shared blood.

The problem was, Lily had never gotten over their son's senseless death and now she was fighting to keep this new Harry as a replacement. That the boy was nearly the same size he had been when he died was devastating for James' argument against her keeping him.

If Harry had looked as old as he should have been, there wouldn't have been much of a problem keeping him at a distance. Unfortunately, he looked small and underfed, was clearly abused, and that set off all of Lily's protective instincts and she was firmly into mother bear mode where the boy was concerned.

James rubbed his chest where a large bruise had formed after his wife's spell had hit him and knocked him out. She had never slapped him before or ever raised her wand in anger at him after they had started dating and then married. Before that, she had done it a few times when he was being a prat. He sighed and went to his fireplace and tossed in a pinch of floo powder.

“Potter Manor, Den.” James said and waited for the connection and stuck his head into the green fire. “Lils? Are you there? I just had a horrible thought.”

Lily walked over to the fire and saw her husband's face. “What is it? I was just giving Harry a school assessment test.”

James ignored that, because it was further proof that the boy was not his son. “You need to find out if he's had his inoculations for both muggle and wizard diseases.”

Lily gasped and dropped to her knees. “Get out of the floo! I need to call St. Mungo's immediately!”

Before James could react or even protest, he was shoved back with a Depulso spell and slammed into the front of his desk with a bang. He rubbed his sore head and watched as the flames died. The office door opened and Senior Auror Amelia Bones looked down at him with a smile on her face.

“Don't say it.” James said and climbed to his feet with a groan.

“You need to stop poking Mama Bear.” Amelia said with a grin.

“I said not to say it.” James sighed and sat on the front of his desk.

“Uh huh.” Amelia said and crossed her arms under her fairly large breasts. “Gowain has already shared the memory of what happened yesterday.”

James slapped a hand to his face. “I told him several times to not use the pensieve to show personal memories. It's for work only.”

“He was filing his report about an attack on his boss and excessive magic use in a muggle neighborhood. He also added it to Lily's file.” Amelia admitted.

James dropped his head in defeat. “Please tell me that Minister Crouch doesn't know about it.”

“About what?” Amelia grinned. “That you were felled by your wife, again, or that you somehow have a family member back from the dead as if no time has passed?”

“Now you know why I didn't want Robards sharing his memory.” James said with a sigh. “Who did he show it to?”

“Who didn't he show it to?” Amelia asked and laughed.

James reached across his desk and picked up the sealed scroll and nodded. “I'll be out of the office for an hour.”

Amelia saw the seal on the scroll and nodded as she stepped aside. “I'll hold down the fort while you're busy.”

“Thank you.” James said and tried to walk by her.

Amelia caught his arm and he stopped beside her. “James, don't.”

James didn't look at her face. “I don't know what you mean.”

Amelia gripped his arm tightly, almost bruising it. “You have an unbelievable chance here. Something that every parent would kill for.” She whispered. “Don't screw this up for yourself or your family.”

James softly sighed. “I don't know if I can stop myself from doing that.”

Amelia reached up with her other hand to grip his chin and turned his head to face her. “I've known Lily for nearly as long as you've been married, James. She will literally destroy you if you don't smarten up.”

James closed his eyes and leaned forward just enough to rest his forehead on hers. “Why couldn't I have met you before we left Hogwarts?”

Amelia let out a chuckle. “You did. You were just too obsessed with a certain redheaded beauty to notice me in the year above you.”

James opened his eyes to look into her hazel ones. “You don't have to keep reminding me that I'm a complete dunce.”

Amelia smiled and puckered her lips as if to give him a kiss and then laughed. “Yes, I do!”

James laughed, too. “Just for that, you can handle the Runcorn interrogation this afternoon.”

“You finally admit my brilliance? There's hope for you yet!” Amelia said and let his arm go.

James gave her his trademark roguish grin. “I'm a sucker for competent women.”

Amelia couldn't resist roughing up his hair with her hand before she motioned to his office door. “Good luck.”

James nodded and left the office as he felt his resolve to keep his distance from this new Harry dissolve away. It had taken the attention of a woman that desired him to give him the right perspective. Nothing had ever happened between them and that wasn't the point. The potential was there and Amelia had shown him that was what was important. It wasn't what didn't happen, it was what can happen next.

Amelia stared at the closed office door and she regretted that James was a dedicated family man, even if that was what had made him so appealing in the first place. She put her hand to her nose and took a long sniff from it and sighed as his smell filled her nostrils.

“Life is full of regrets, James.” Amelia said and sat behind the desk that her boss had kept warm by his mere presence. She looked at the picture on his desk and smiled sadly at the three faces of his family, because there used to be four and now there would be four again. “Good luck indeed.”

*

“This is brilliant!” Harry exclaimed as he looked around at the room that he could easily see.

Lily looked immensely pleased and she hugged her son and looked at Severus. “Thank you again.”

“I needed to get more samples anyway.” Severus said and packed his restored portable potions lab away. “I hope you can spare a few hours on the weekend to help me work on the formulas and recipes. It's going to take a lot of trial and error to do everything we can for him.”

“I've set aside all of Saturday, so when you can, pop over and we can get started.” Lily told him. “I just hope the inoculations won't interfere with them.”

Severus let out a sigh before he could stop himself.

“Oh, damn. It's going to?” Lily asked, worried.

“We need to wait at least two weeks before we can start.” Severus said and opened his potions lab. “It also invalidates these samples. They are contaminated with other potions.” He informed them and vanished them.

“I'm sorry.” Harry said and ducked his head, embarrassed.

“No! It's not your fault!” Lily said and hugged Harry again. “When James called and said to check if you had the inoculations, I had to get you checked immediately and then treated to be safe to be around everyone.”

“Your mother is right. We knew that you needed to be treated for a lot of things. We just didn't realize you would need everything that a child that grew up muggle would need.” Severus explained.

Harry nodded and hugged Lily as she petted his hair.

“I should go. James will be home soon.” Severus said.

Lily grinned at him. “You're escaping before the fireworks?”

Severus smiled slightly. “Escaping? Never. It's a strategic withdrawal.”

Lily softly laughed. “All right, get out of here. I'll see you again next week for the potions seminar.”

Severus nodded to her, nodded at Harry, and he stepped into the fireplace with a sprinkle of floo powder and disappeared in green flames.

Harry suddenly felt nervous. He knew what she meant when she meant fireworks. It explained why the man that was supposed to be his father had been missing that morning. Vernon also avoided Petunia when they were fighting and it was always his fault, even when he hadn't done anything. It was blamed on him anyway.

“Shh. It's okay.” Lily whispered and eased her embrace only long enough to kneel and she tucked Harry's head into the crook of her neck and held him tightly. “I will never let anyone hurt you, Harry. Never again. I am your mother and I love you.”

Harry felt the tears come again and he didn't try to fight them like he usually did. Being hugged and cared for... being loved... had destroyed all of his hard-fought emotional walls that he had built to protect himself. He let out a sob and his tears flowed as he cried.

Lily stood up with him in her arms and carried him over to the couch. She sat down and Harry curled up onto her lap to keep hugging her. “My handsome little boy.” She cooed. “You've been so strong and brave and I'm so proud of you.”

Harry felt a huge surge of emotions well up inside and he almost felt like he was going to burst. “M-m-mum!”

Lily started crying herself at his emphatic plea. It was his first verbal acceptance of the truth and her own wellspring of emotions rose to match his. The two of them cried and held each other for quite some time.

This was the scene that James Potter stepped out of the floo to witness. He had a folder of papers and several wrapped things in his arms, only to drop them when his own emotions couldn't be contained. He stumbled over to the couch and knelt in front of his wife and they locked eyes. Both were full of tears and there was only a brief pause before Lily gave him a nod.

James smiled in return and then he leaned forward and hugged the both of them. Not a word was said for several minutes, then Harry let Lily go and turned to hug James just as tightly.

“Dad! I missed you so much!” Harry cried.

“I missed you, too.” James said, calmly. “My boy. My little boy.”

Lily gave James a smouldering look that he hadn't seen in over a year, then she kissed him briefly and passionately. James was a little stunned by it and almost didn't see her give Harry's cheek a kiss as well. The three of them stayed there for nearly ten minutes, until James realized his knees were getting sore. He reluctantly let his wife and son go and then groaned when he slowly stood up.

“Pain potion is in the bathroom cupboard.” Lily said as her hand suggestively ran down his thigh and rubbed his knee. She blushed a moment later at the nearly instant bulge in her husband's pants.

James handed Harry a napkin and his voice was a bit husky. “Harry? Why don't you go upstairs to your room and play for a while? Rose should be getting up from her nap soon.”

Harry nodded and let him go, gave Lily a brief hug, and hopped off the couch to almost flee from the room. He had never been comfortable expressing emotions and he had just cried in front of both of his parents. He resolved to do better in the future, despite the evidence that he had cried a lot since he woke up that day.

James had barely made sure the door closed before he vanished his and Lily's clothes and dove onto his eager wife. Lily's moans were loud as she and her husband joined together after so long. The couple once again proved that their problems had never included anything that involved the bedroom.

*

From that day forward, the Potter Family were inseparable and everything was mostly perfect. They spent time together when they could, Lily taught both children schooling during the weekdays and basic magic things on the weekends. As far as everyone else was concerned, they were inordinately happy.

The only downside was that despite Lily's and Severus' best efforts, they couldn't completely correct the damage that Harry's body had suffered because of malnourishment. He had been stuffed to bursting with nutrient potions, liberally applied Skele-grow after vanishing badly healed bones, and they even had muggle surgeons remove all the little white scars on Harry's back and arms from Vernon's belt.

Harry had eventually told them all about the other Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, about everything they did to him, and about their terror of a son Dudley. He only did that so he could explain about all of his injuries and why his joints used to ache.

In return, Lily and James told him about what happened to their family. Harry learned that he had gotten his scar the night that an evil wizard had come to kill him. His honorary uncles Remus and Peter had sacrificed themselves to protect him when their ex-best friend had betrayed them.

When Harry asked why they never had his scar healed or removed, they said it was a mark of pride that he chose to wear to honor his uncles. He couldn't argue that wasn't a good reason, even if his relatives had always picked on him about it, and he told them so.

Lily offered to have it removed and Harry refused, then asked for his parents to tell him about his uncles. He wanted to remember them, too. That had earned him several hugs and an extra dessert after supper.

Harry eventually met several other kids near his own age. The problem was that he was still smaller than them. After seeing him look very awkward trying to play with her friend's son Neville and James' friend Amelia's niece Susan Bones, Lily decided to change what his age group was going to mean.

It was a little awkward for James and Lily to contact Hogwarts to have them delay Harry's sorting for a year, mainly because that had never been done before. The thing was, with his underdeveloped body, it was better to hold him back for a year and let him become friends with kids his own size. Harry heartily agreed.

It wasn't long before Harry had playdates with Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, Astoria Greengrass, Eddy Bones, the Creevey brothers Colin and Dennis, Romilda Vane, Hilary Erskine, Kerry Strickland, Marylin Dunbar, Sean Peakes, and Alicia Malfoy.

Not surprisingly, Harry was still a little shy while trying to make friends. On the plus side, no one was taller or bigger than him, so he was more relaxed. The girls liked that Harry was shy and wasn't a loud and brayish boy like most of the ones they had already met and they also liked playing with Rose, since the girl was always happy and wanted to play.

“Who do you think will approach us first for a promissory contract?” James asked his wife in a whisper as they watched the last of the test play-dates with the Malfoy girl.

Lily fought down her instinctual rejection of such barbarism. Harry was hers, dammit! She only got him back a few months ago and... she stopped herself again from overreacting and actually thought about it. Her eyes went to the platinum blonde girl that looked just as shy as Harry when Rose seemed to corner them and made them play tea party with her with real tea.

“Definitely the Weasley, Vane, and Malfoy families.” Lily admitted. “Greengrass for a close second.”

James chuckled. “Not Lovegood? Selene was really interested in Harry.”

Lily huffed. “You know that wasn't for her daughter's sake.”

James barked a laugh and put an arm around her waist. “Is that jealousy I hear, my dear?”

“Yes.” Lily said before she could stop herself.

James lost the smile. “Lily?”

Lily sighed. “I... we... just got him back. We shouldn't sign away his future prospects so soon.”

James nodded in understanding. If they did sign a promissory contract, then at least one weekend a month would be dedicated to them letting their families get to know each other and to allow any future contracts to be negotiated in good faith.

“Why don't we ask Harry tonight who he likes to spend time with?” James offered. “That way, we're not forcing anything. It will be his choice and we can add a provision that if it doesn't work out for either his friendship or ours with their parents, no one's feelings are hurt.”

Lily gave her son a pointed look for several moments and tried to make a decision. Because she was looking, she noticed Alicia Malfoy's small hand as it gently took Harry's under the little tea table. Her eyes went to his face and then the girl's, only to see matching blushes and neither of them pulled their hands away.

“All right.” Lily said, resigned to the prospect.

“Lils, it's not the end of the world. We might not get any offers at all.” James said, as if everyone denying his son was a good thing. It wasn't and he would rage in private if that ever happened. He had to keep a brave front up for now and plastered a huge smile on his face.

Lily snorted and laughed at his fake smile. “I guess I'm not the only one worried about it.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” James lied.

Lily leaned against him and sighed. “One day at a time, James. It's all we can do.”

James turned his head and gave her cheek a kiss. “You always were the strong one, Lils.”

Lily looked at the boy that was slowly healing emotionally from all of the verbal abuse he had suffered and she was more than grateful that he had escaped from that nightmare and also saved her family from their own.

After she had lost her Harry, it had severely wounded her. A month later, she was falling apart. A year later, she was an emotional wreck and she hadn't been sure of how much more emotional devastation she could fend off while trying to keep her family together and take care of a little girl that needed her.

Now? Now Lily had her little boy back and he was just as emotionally wounded as she was. They had broken down and cried a lot about it and they were better for it. They were stronger. They were more sure of themselves and that it wasn't a dream. They had each other and their family had been saved.

The two Potter parents watched as Alicia Malfoy picked up the only chocolate chip cookie in the pile and take a bite, then she turned slightly and held it out to Harry. Harry blushed in embarrassment and then he took a bite, too. Apparently, chocolate chip was both of their favorite flavor of cookie.

“Maybe we won't have to wait as long as you think.” Lily whispered to her husband.

The fake smile on James' face changed to a real one as he nodded.

*

Narcissa Malfoy smiled as she watched the pensieve memory of her daughter's interactions with the resurrected Potter boy. His family had claimed he had been caught in some kind of magical time stasis coma or some such nonsense instead of dying from incurable Dragon Pox.

She didn't believe that and no one else did, either. They had done something to get the boy back, probably some dark secret family ritual, and now he was back as if he had never left. The difference in his personality was a huge hurdle for everyone to get over, too. Instead of the happy and outgoing boy he used to be, he was withdrawn, shy, quiet, and reclusive.

Harry Potter acted just like her daughter Alicia after her father's death, which was why Narcissa knew that the boy had been resurrected. Only after experiencing severe trauma would someone's personality change so drastically. He had also not grown an inch in over a year, so despite being well over seven, he looked barely six.

Of course, Narcissa would never say anything or admit to their secret. She had too much to gain by keeping quiet and she secretly wished that whatever dark ritual they used could have brought her own stillbirth son back to life. She deeply regretted not keeping little Draco's body all these years in order to try.

She finished filling out the proposal and fully expected that by the end of the week, James and Lily would accept the very favorable terms she offered. The chance to join their family wealth together and to expand both into new markets and grow their fortunes, would be worth having their children promised to each other.

Plus, they looked absolutely adorable when they shared that cookie. Narcissa thought happily and folded the contract. Her eagle owl accepted a treat and the letter, then winged its way out of the house. I want to see that smile on my daughter's face again!

The clack of her high-heeled shoes echoed in the hallway as Narcissa strode towards her daughter's room. She knocked once and opened the door just enough to peek in.

“Hello, mother.” Alicia said in a soft tone.

“I'm glad you're not busy.” Narcissa said and opened the door all the way. “I just came to tell you I sent off a friendship contract to the Potters.”

Alicia looked confused for a second, then her eyes widened and a smile grew on her face.

There it is! Narcissa thought and smiled back. “I hope you don't mind that I invited Harry over this weekend.”

Alicia shook her head and she looked thoughtful. “We need cookies made.”

POP! “Misses be wanting Dobby!” Their house elf said, happily.

Alicia nodded. “Do you know how to make chocolate chip cookies?”

“Yes, Misses! I bees making them!” Dobby responded enthusiastically.

“I want a pile of peanut butter ones and one chocolate chip one hidden underneath.” Alicia said.

Narcissa felt very proud that her daughter had already planned to recreate her first happy memory with the Potter boy. It was so very cunning!

“I bees making yous the best cookies ever, Misses! Dobby promises!” Dobby said and popped away.

Narcissa waited until her daughter looked at her before she spoke. “Well done, Alicia.”

Alicia blushed a little at the praise and went back to her schoolwork.

Narcissa slowly closed the door and felt happy, because the last thing she saw was the smile that was still on her daughter's face. Yes, she had decided that she would agree to anything the Potters wanted in order to keep Alicia happy.

*

Harry slowly woke up from a wonderful dream that was filled with warm baths, fluffy towels, and for some reason, a hot facecloth pressing on his face. He opened his eyes, only for that pressing on his face to still be there. He blinked his eyes several times because he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.

Is that a picture of a teddy bear? Harry asked himself.

“ROSE! Did you wake your bother yet?” Lily shouted.

“NO!” Rose responded and sat up.

To Harry's shock, the weight shifted on his face and his eyes widened when the edge of a nightdress flopped over his eyes. His little sister was sitting on his head!

“Hurry up! The eggs are getting cold!” Lily said.

“OKAY!” Rose said and seemed to stiffen.

Oh, no! Harry thought as dread filled him.

*PPPPFFFFFFFT!*

“GAH!” *cough!* *cough!* Harry choked and pushed her butt off of his face.

Rose laughed and tumbled off of the bed, flopped onto the floor, and ran from the room.

Harry's eyes were red as he desperately tried to expel the smell from his mouth and nose. The problem was that each breath he tried to take only let him breathe in more stink and not fresh air. He rolled over and tumbled from the bed himself and flopped onto the floor, coughed a few more times, gagged once, and finally took in a breath of relatively clean air.

Why does the carpet smell like berries? Harry asked himself and laid there on the floor.

About ten minutes later, Lily entered his room and saw her son laying flat on the floor taking small shallow breaths. “The little stinker finally got you too, I see.”

Harry didn't greet her and waved a single hand at her. “Just leave me here.”

Lily laughed and walked into the room, knelt beside him, and ran a hand over his back to give him a good rubbing. “Before you declare a blood feud on her, you should know that when she does that, it means she's finally accepted you as family.”

Harry groaned and closed his eyes. “I'm a member of the Poop and Toot family?”

Lily snorted a laugh and rolled him onto his side before she picked him up. “I guess you could say that.” She said and hugged him close as she stood, then she walked out of the room with him in her arms. She would never admit that she didn't mind that he was still small enough for her to do that without struggling. “You're a bit young to understand that when a girl around your own age is comfortable around you, she won't bother trying to hide her bodily functions.”

Harry looked at her with horror in his eyes. “She's going to keep doing that?!?”

Lily laughed and snuggled him into her neck. “You should be grateful that it doesn't apply to all the girls around you and not just those close to your age.”

Harry wasn't sure what to say to that. He had met quite a few mothers the last few months during playdates with their children and he knew for a fact that he did NOT want to be around them when they farted. Okay, maybe he did know what to say.

“Thank Merlin!” Harry exclaimed and his mother laughed.

James joined them at the breakfast table and they ate breakfast. It had become a regular thing for them to eat meals as a family and they all enjoyed it. Afterwards, Lily took Rose to drop her off at the babysitters and James went to work.

Harry was left alone for about half an hour and he changed into his best clothes. They had a follow-up playdate with the Malfoys and it was at their mansion. He couldn't tell you how he felt about that, not after the lesson he had learned that morning. He was sure that he did want Alicia to be comfortable and he also was sure that he didn't want to smell her farts.

At least, Harry thought so. Ugh, now he was actually wondering what her farts smelled like. Would they be worse than his sister's? Would they be better? Would they smell sweet or rancid?

“Get out of my head, stupid thoughts!” Harry berated himself and smacked his temple a few times. He sighed when that didn't work and he went back downstairs to the den and waited in front of the fireplace.

Lily came back after spending some time with Alice and saw Harry dressed smartly. She grinned at him and took him into a tight hug and tossed more floo powder into the fireplace and called out their destination.

“Malfoy Manor.” Lily said and they swirled around like a spinning top and ended inside a large fireplace.

“Welcome, welcome.” Narcissa said in greeting. “It's so nice to see you, Lily.”

“Hi, Cissy.” Lily said and stepped out of the fireplace. She swiped her wand over herself and Harry to vanish the bit of ash that had gathered at the hems of their robes. “I hope we're not too early.”

“What was it that old barmy headmaster used to say? A wizard arrives exactly when he is supposed to?” Narcissa asked with a teasing smile.

Lily laughed. “He only said that to explain why he showed up whenever he remembered to!”

Narcissa laughed as well. “Yes, that makes more sense than it should.” She said and looked down at Harry. “Hello, young man. I'm glad you agreed to come visit today.”

Harry blushed a little. “It... it was no trouble, Missus Malfoy.”

“You have such good manners! Thank you, Harry.” Narcissa beamed a smile at him. “Why don't you head over to the playroom? Alicia should be there waiting for you.”

Harry looked at Lily and she nodded.

“It's down the hallway and it's through the second door on the right.” Narcissa said.

Harry gave her a sight bow and walked out of the reception room.

“Alicia has missed him terribly.” Narcissa whispered as she looked back at Lily.

“Really? They only met the once.” Lily commented.

Narcissa laughed softly. “My daughter almost never smiles and whenever I mentioned his name, she smiled.”

Lily looked surprised. “That really is a huge change.”

Narcissa nodded. “As I said in my letter, they are more alike than either of us could have suspected.” She said and waved for Lily to follow her. “I won't ask about what happened to your son to cause such a change in him, even if things develop more than I suspect they will between our children.”

“Thank you.” Lily said. She did not want anyone but family and close friends to ever know that Harry wasn't the original Harry. He was her Harry now and that was all that mattered.

“Tea?” Narcissa asked.

“Please. I delayed enjoying one during breakfast in anticipation.” Lily admitted.

Narcissa looked pleased as she sat down beside a small table in the solarium and Lily sat across from her. An elaborate tea set appeared on the table with a little pop and Narcissa dished up two cups and served one to Lily.

“Thank you.” Lily said to Narcissa just as a small plate of still hot tea biscuits and scones appeared beside the tea service. “And thank you to you, too.”

“EEP!” An invisible Dobby exclaimed and disappeared with a pop.

Narcissa laughed before she sipped her tea. “I believe we are going to get along swimmingly, Lily.”

Lily smirked at her and took a sip of a very good cup of tea. “I think that depends on if our children are going to be compatible.”

Narcissa smirked back. “I should probably tell you about how my brilliant little darling had already planned to recreate the infamous cookie sharing escapade from their first encounter.”

Lily couldn't stop her bark of laughter. “She didn't!”

“I didn't have to prompt her or anything! It was adorable!” Narcissa said happily and both women laughed.

*

Alicia laid on her stomach in the playroom and she admired the model train of the Hogwarts Express engine and caboose as it rode along the toy track. It had been a present for her doing so well on her schoolwork and she looked forward to earning more train cars as she did her test assignments. If she planned appropriately, she could have a full passenger train car compliment by the time she enrolled at Hogwarts in five years.

“H-hi.” Harry said from the doorway.

Alicia looked up and smiled a small smile at him. “H-hi.”

“Can.. can I...”

Alicia nodded and Harry walked over to her. He sat down beside her and he couldn't stop himself as he looked at her butt. The trauma of that morning would stay with him for a long time, as would his mother's explanation about what the whole thing meant. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

Alicia saw him looking at her butt and had no idea what he was doing. “Harry?”

Harry blushed and looked at her face. “S-sorry, I... I just...”

Alicia ignored her train and gave him her full attention.

Harry sighed at the pointed stare and started to explain what had happened and why he was looking at her there. He was waiting for either proof or for nothing to happen, which was really hard to explain, considering he couldn't decide if he wanted her to toot for him or not. It was all very confusing.

Alicia couldn't stop her giggle at the look on Harry's face. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do anything like that in front of any boy, especially Harry. It was not lady-like at all and her mother would be mortified if she didn't compose herself at all times.

Then again, they were promised to each other, so they would spend a lot of time together and that could include baths and sharing things, just like Harry had shared with Rose. After a motion of her hand to her butt, Alicia returned her attention to the train and rested her chin on her hands.

Harry was a bit reluctant to accept, then he shrugged and laid down on the floor and rested his head on her legs. He took a tentative sniff and didn't smell anything, so he moved his head as close as he could without touching and took a bigger sniff. There was nothing but the smell of cloth, so he relaxed.

Maybe some girls had toots that don't smell? Harry asked himself and turned his head to look up at the ceiling. He stared at it for a few minutes before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

An invisible Dobby had a hand over his mouth to stop his laugh as a little toot came out of his Misses. He snapped his fingers to send it away and he stayed there to watch as his Misses also drifted off to sleep.

It was the start of an epic friendship that would grow into a legendary marriage between two remarkable people.

*

Instead of the agreed upon one weekend a month as per the promissory contract, practically every weekend involved some kind of visit between the two families. Harry was either at the Malfoy Manor with Alicia or she was at the Potter Manor with Harry. Since they were relatively the same size, they got along very well when they played games, sat at tables, or lounged around on the floor.

Schoolwork and classes held by both Lily Potter and Narcissa Malfoy were shared and compared, which enhanced the learning experience for their children. Where one mother was weak in a certain subject, the other compensated and filled in the gap. It was a win win situation for everyone and they were all happy.

Constant babysitters were also a huge benefit. Both the Potters and Narcissa Malfoy enjoyed the extra time they managed to get for themselves when their children were with the other family. It was quickly becoming an essential part of their lives and they were grateful for it.

*

Years passed and it soon became time for Harry and Alicia to head off to Hogwarts. Thanks to Lily's previous intervention, Harry was 12 when he received his Hogwarts letter. His yearmates would be a year younger than him and he was perfectly fine with that. He was their size and he thanked his mother profusely for making sure that he was comfortable with his friends.

After years of lessons in etiquette and proper behavior, Harry was well suited to fit in with his fellow students. He did his best to not let his emotions overwhelm him when Alicia broke public protocol and took his hand when they reached the platform to board the train.

Narcissa smiled at her daughter and nodded. “I'm glad you finally decided that establishing your claim for others to see was more important than keeping it a secret to only yourselves.”

“Thank you, mother.” Alicia said and briefly smiled back.

“Don't get into trouble on the first night.” James Potter said with a grin and patted his son's shoulder.

“I'll wait until tomorrow night, then?” Harry asked, cheekily.

“Ha ha!” James barked and gave him a quick hug and let him go. “Don't forget to give Neville a greeting. He might be in the year above you; but, that boy needs friends more than he needs his plants.”

“Okay, dad.” Harry said and didn't let his girlfriend's hand go to give his sister a one-arm hug. “I'll write you every week to tell you about how awful it is to be away from yoooouuur farts.”

“HEY!” Rose yelled and smacked him on the forehead. “That's private, that is!”

Harry laughed and broke public protocol himself as he gave his sister a kiss on the cheek.

“EWWW!” Rose shouted and pretended to gag as she wiped at her cheek several times.

“Have fun, you two.” Lily said and gave Harry a hug and then Alicia. “We'll see you both at Christmas.”

Narcissa gave her daughter a hug first and then hugged Harry. “I am very proud of you both.”

Harry blushed a little because the hugs that Alicia's mother gave him felt a lot different than his own mother's hugs. He wasn't sure why, though. They pretty much treated him the same for the last few years and their chests were about the same size, so the hugs themselves should have been nearly identical.

Narcissa's smile increased at his reaction and let him go. “Just remember, we don't care what House you are sorted into, unless it's Hufflepuff. We'll rush to the school with our wands at the ready and will withdraw you immediately.”

“Cissy!” Lily gasped and the other woman laughed. “Oh, you!”

Narcissa gave her arm a light pat and winked at James.

“All right, off with you.” James said and waved them away. “Go find a compartment and then look for your friends.”

“Okay, dad.” Harry said.

“Yes, Mr. Potter.” Alicia said at the same time.

The two students grasped hands again and pulled their trunks behind them. They climbed onto the train and easily found an empty compartment, stuffed their trunks into the overhead racks after standing on the bench seats, and went exploring. They found Luna first and she was with Ginny Weasley.

“Before you ask, I stayed over at Luna's last night.” Ginny said and rolled her eyes at her friends as they laughed. “I'll go out when the train's about to leave to say goodbye to my mum.”

“You need a real clock to put next to your family's clock.” Alicia said and sat down across from Luna. “Hello, cousin.”

“Hello.” Luna said with a normal smile. “Mum said to let you know that our great grandmother plans on holding court on Samhain.”

“Her ritual never works.” Alicia said with a shake of her head. “She would be better served if she held services at the Veil of Death instead of Stonehenge.”

Luna giggled. “Mum did say their rejection letter was quite the howler.”

“Ugh! No puns! No no no!” Harry said and covered his ears. “Please, I beg you!”

Ginny, Luna, and Alicia laughed at him.

“I'm going to go find Romilda and Colin.” Harry said and stepped back towards the door. “They should be near Neville somewhere.”

“Give them my best.” Alicia said and Harry nodded before he left and closed the door.

“I can't believe that always works to get him to run away.” Ginny pointed out.

“I think he knows I do it just to give him an excuse to leave us alone.” Luna said, wisely.

“Harry is considerate like that.” Alicia said and gave her two friends a questioning look. “Are you sure you want to change Houses for us?”

Both Ginny and Luna sat on either side of her and gave her hugs.

“We talked to everyone we could and we know what a huge change it is to go into a House you're not really suited for.” Ginny said. “Neville is the best example. He is the least Griffindorish Griffindor we've ever met.”

“That's the fault of his parents. The boy has two green thumbs and they want him to ignore his talents to become an Auror like his father.” Alicia said with a sigh.

“I also heard that last year there were two Ravenclaws that went into Slytherin and one went into Griffindor, a Slytheryn that went into Hufflepuff and one into Griffindor, three Hufflepuffs that went into Griffindor and two into Slytherin, and a Griffindor that went into Slytherin. It's ridiculous.” Ginny said. “This year is going to be different.”

Luna nodded. “Mummy said that if we stick to the plan, we're going to destroy the sorting ceremony.”

Alicia let a huge smile grow on her face. “Wonderful.”

Her two friends adopted matching smiles. They always liked it when an elaborate plan of theirs came together.

*

Out of the 66 first year students being sorted, 3 of them were muggleborns, 6 were muggle raised, and 15 were considered purebloods. The other 42 were half-bloods and most of them knew each other and had seen or visited each other and the purebloods over the years.

They gathered in a group in front of the staff table and it was an eclectic mix of wizards and witches. A lot of the staff were relatively young compared to the aged Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and Deputy Headmaster Professor Slughorn. They had been teaching for decades and had many decades left in them.

Professor Slughorn prepped the Sorting Hat and the stool for the children to use, then unfurled the Scroll of Names and started calling them. The first two went into Hufflepuff and he kept calling names. A Ravenclaw, a Slytherin, another two Hufflepuffs, a Griffindor, and then more Hufflepuffs.

At the twentieth name, the teachers started exchanging concerned looks, because they were mostly Hufflepuffs. When Slughorn reached the thirtieth name, the concerned looks had become worried. By the fiftieth name, their faces were pale. When Slughorn finished with the last name and rolled up the scroll, the entire Great Hall was completely silent. They had a good reason to be, though.

There were 50 Hufflepuffs.

The 16 remaining students were scattered over the other three Houses and the teachers had no idea what they were going to do. The schedules were usually previously set and the student names were added to the appropriate classes under their House. The classes had enough room to include 10 to 15 students from two different Houses and it let them interact with the other Houses.

As it stood now, the first years in the other three Houses were enough to make up only half of a class and the rest were all Hufflepuffs. It was ridiculous. There was no way to split them into appropriate classes and there was no way to fit them all into a single class, especially if they were supposed to spend time with the students from the other Houses.

In fact, the Hufflepuff table was not long enough to hold all of the new students. Only about twenty of them had squeezed together to sit and the rest stood awkwardly around the end of the table.

“Oh dear.” Minerva whispered and stared at the debacle that she and the staff were faced with. The food problem was going to be the immediate one to sort out for the welcoming feast and she wouldn't think about the sleeping arrangements until halfway through the meal. There was no way that Hufflepuff could handle 50 new first years.

All of the staff failed to see three very smug smiles on the faces of three of the newest Hufflepuffs.

*

It took several days of cancelled classes for the professors to work on the first year problem and then they decided to use the Great Hall for classes. With 50 students in a single House and the rules against splitting them up to different classes, they had no choice but to teach all of the first years at the same time.

The Great Hall had to be rearranged for meals as well. The Hufflepuff table had been expanded and made into an 'L' shape to accommodate all of the extra students and the other three tables reduced in length to fit. It made moving around the hall pretty awkward.

The Hufflepuff common room had become the first year dorm and it was full of bunk beds. Two walls were erected to make a hallway from the door outside to the normal dorms and a door added to the right for the 22 boys and to the left for the 28 girls. Not surprisingly, the boys side was fairly quiet and the girl's side was boisterous.

For the girls, it was like the world's biggest sleepover party every night and they thought it was the best thing to ever happen to them. They had fun, talked, and carried on. They quickly became great friends and school was easy, because they only had to go to one place to learn and to eat. There were no long treks across the castle or difficulty finding where a particular classroom was.

The boys didn't seem to care either way and went along with the girls, because they had been smart and accepted that this was the way things were going to be from now on and followed their lead.

Of course, the rest of the students in the other years were quickly becoming jealous of how easy the first years had it. One of the most vocal of them was a boy named Ronald Weasley, Ginny's older brother.

On particular day in October, Ginny had enough of his complaining and verbally lashed out at him for being so stupid, then she ordered him to intentionally fail his year so he could hang out with all the younger kids and the entire school would make fun of him. Every. Single. Day.

Ron shut up after that. Everyone stealthily thanked Ginny and she had been given many hugs and pats on the back. Her most precious memory was when Alicia's promised boy had given her a kiss on the cheek. It had been her first and she would remember Harry's name for the rest of her life.

Time moved on and Christmas break soon arrived. Harry and Alicia went home with a few of their friends on the train and greeted their families with hugs and kisses. They would spend it at Malfoy Manor this year and Dobby couldn't have been happier to have so much work.

Presents were exchanged and Alicia cooed over the emerald necklace that Harry had given her, bought out of his own money. Harry had blushed at her gift, because she had given it to him under the mistletoe and then given him his very first kiss on the lips. It was the best Christmas ever.

Their parents had watched the exchange and felt quite proud that their relationship was moving along so well and upgraded the promissory contract to one of courting intent.

Time moved on again and Harry's life seemed filled with learning magic, having a best friend that was a girl, doing homework, and just being a kid. There was no real pressure, no special adventures, and definitely no hidden dangers anywhere in the school.

As far as Harry was concerned, the life he had lived before was just a nightmare and he had woken up into the perfect world. He was with the loving family that he had always wished for, even if it included an annoying little sister, and there was nothing else he could ever want.

Harry Potter was happy and it was all because of one accidental apparition.