Finding My Heart
It was November 2010 in London. The economy was slowly recovering but jobs were still hard to find and money was scarce. A landscaper, Walter, wiped his brow and scowled at the pile of dirt. His mind went back to his earlier conversation with Mr. Hickman and his henchmen. Mr. Hickman called himself a businessman but he was really a loan shark. Six months ago, Walter's wife, Cathy, developed a serious medical condition and desperately needed surgery. Walter who had just started his own landscaping business tried every legitimate means to find the money but in a moment of desperation turned to Mr. Hickman. Cathy had her surgery and was slowly recovering. Every penny that Walter made went to pay Mr. Hickman but with the high interest rates that he was being charged, Walter could never get caught up.
He was working at an office building near an alley that seemed unusually busy. He only barely noticed the almost constant stream of nicely-dressed people entering and exiting the alley all day but now near the end of the day had slowed to a trickle. On the other side of the alley was a newly demolished office building. The struggling economy broke many businesses and the government was removing redundant building to spur future development. As he started to put his tools away for the day, he heard a small mewling sound. He almost dismissed it as a stray cat but something about the sound nagged at his consciousness. He decided that a small look couldn't hurt and crossed over the the rubble and started to look around.
Harry Potter was angry. He had left the Ministry of Magic and had run into the last people that he wanted to see in the atrium. Ron and Hermione Weasley had entered the building as Harry was exiting. The two men scowled at each other and veered away from each other. After the defeat of Voldemort, the former Golden Trio returned to school to finish their education with the other survivors. The Wizarding world was not ready to leave their heroes in peace. Harry simply wanted to live his life and avoid the spotlight. HE had no problem with his friends basking in the adoration of the world but he just wanted a simple life. Ron Weasley had finally started getting some attention that he had always craved and no longer felt like just another "Weasley". He and Hermione quickly married upon graduation and bother started carriers at the Ministry. Harry chose to travel after graduation and slowly started to drift farther away from his attention seeking friends. He never attempted to restart his relationship with Ginny. She had quickly fallen head over heels in love with Neville Longbottom and remained firmly attached to his side. As Harry exited the alley entrance to the Ministry, he heard sounds of moving debris and noticed the muggle landscaper moving broken pieces of lumber.
Walter couldn't believe his eyes when he got closer to the building and saw a small arm under the debris. He quickly started moving pieces of rubble as the mewing sounds got louder. Harry almost started moving away when he also heard the mewling sounds. He quietly pulled his wand out a started casting detection spells under the debris. His spells revealed a small child who was badly hurt. A further spell revealed that the child was magical but radiating strange signs. Harry started to rush over to help the struggling muggle but did not want to draw attention to himself. He quickly shot a boosting spell at Walter who was quickly able to remove the debris away from the child. Before Harry could move, he was pushed aside as a witch quickly moved from the alley behind him to help the small child.
Padma Patil rushed to the side of the small child and started casting diagnostic spells. An accomplished healer, she had been filing some paperwork at the ministry to start her own clinic when she saw Harry in the alley with his wand out. As soon as she saw the hurt child, she brushed past Harry and started to work. Harry was quickly beside her and started to question the muggle. As the muggle explained what he heard and saw, Harry gently probed his mind and found out about Walter and his troubles. As an Unspeakable, Harry was allowed to use Legilimency to protect the magical world. He also cast a short Obliviate and sent the muggle back to work at the office building after depositing a small bundle into Walter's pocket. When Walter's head cleared he was at the office building with his tools packed, ready to head back home to his wife. As he reached into his pocket to get his cell phone to call her, he pulled out a small bundle of bills. It was enough money to pay off Mr. Hickman and pay some of his bills. With a lighter heart, he rushed home to his wife.