Chapter One
Dumbledore's Mistake
Author's note: In my story, the Dursley family has recently sold their home in the small rural village of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire and moved to Little Whinging, Surrey. Not aware of this, Albus Dumbledore leaves the recently orphaned Harry James Potter not with his aunt, as he had intended, but someone else, instead.
"Albus, I've been observing the Muggles who live here all day, and you won't find a better family to leave little Harry Potter with than the family that lives here," said Professor Minerva McGonagall from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "They don't have any children of their own, but the family next door in Number 19 has a darling little girl not too much older than Harry, that will make him an excellent playmate."
"Minerva, I am so happy you approve," said Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts, placing a basket containing young Harry Potter wrapped snug and warm in a blanket on the steps in front of the door at house Number 17 Park Lane, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. "It will be in young Harry's best interests for us to leave him here with his mother's sister. Additionally, I have written young Harry's aunt a letter which explains the tragedy that happened to her nephew, and she will be able to explain all to him when his is a bit older."
"Albus, are you certain little Harry will be better off here?" asked Minerva.
"Minerva, please do not fret, for it will be much better for young Harry to live here away from all of the hullabaloo created by the demise of Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "Now let's not linger here in the dark any longer, or it is bound to attract the attention of the Muggles."
"Albus, for this dear child's sake, I hope you know what you're doing," said Minerva before she Apparated away.
!
"Luv, please take this letter out to the letter box for me," said the newlywed, Glenda Wilkinson, to her husband of about two weeks, Barry, as she was making coffee the next morning.
"Sure thing, Luv," replied Barry, taking the letter from his wife after kissing her good morning.
"Luv, could you please go down to the corner grocery store, and get us some milk for our tea and Hermione's cereal?" asked Barry's and Glenda's new next-door neighbor, the Dr. Jean Granger to her husband and dental practice partner, the Dr. Lionel Granger.
"Anything for the two most wonderful girls in the entire world," said the tall athletic dental surgeon, kissing his wife's and daughter's cheeks.
"Glenda, Glenda,, come quickly; someone's left a baby in a basket at our frond door!" shouted Barry upon opening the front door of their new home and inadvertently brushing against the basket containing little Harry James Potter with one of his feet.
"Barry, did I hear you right?" exclaimed Lionel, having just exited him home and racing over to see what Barry was shouting about. "Someone left a baby at your doorstep in the middle of the night."
"You, heard me correctly, Dr. Granger," replied Barry, as his wife exited their door
"Oh, the poor dear," said Glenda, bending down to take the still sleeping baby from the basket and lovingly hold him in her arms.
"Oh look, an envelope just fell out of the basket when you picked up the baby," said Barry, seeing an envelope fall out of the basket, as Glenda picked the baby up. As he was reaching down to pick it up, a gust of wind blew it into the foyer of his and Glenda's home.
"What a darling little boy," said Glenda, carrying the baby into her home. "What kind of monster would leave a baby boy at someone's door in the middle of the night?"
"I don't know," replied Barry, picking up the letter. "Maybe this letter I just chased down will provide some answers as to why this precious child was abandoned in front of complete strangers' door. Additionally, it has always amazed me at how ladies such as you, Luv, can take one look at a baby and instantly know whether said baby was a boy or a girl."
"Barry, this baby is wrapped in a blue blanket which indicates the baby is a boy," explained Glenda. "If the baby was a girl, she'd have a pink blanket."
"Oh, I get it, now," remarked Barry. "Blue is for boys and pink is for girls. How ingenious, but I do wish people would share this information with us blokes more often."
"Barry, why don't you open the envelope and read its contents to us," suggested Glenda. "Dr. Granger, if you wish, you may join us while Barry reads the letter."
"As we are neighbors and hopefully, soon to be friends, please call me Lionel," replied Lionel. Sighing, he added, "As much as I'd like to, I'm afraid I must decline your generous offer, for I must go down to the corner grocery and pick up some milk for our daughter, Hermione's, breakfast."
"We have some milk I just bought yesterday, why don't you get your wife and daughter, and we can listen to Barry read this letter in our kitchen while the two little ones enjoy their breakfast," remarked Glenda.
"Thank-you, Glenda, I do believe I will do just that," said Lionel. "If you'll pardon me for a few minutes, I'll dash back to my home to retrieve my wife and daughter."
"Luv, did you forget to take your wallet with you?" asked Jean, seeing her husband enter their kitchen mere minutes after left.
"No, dear, someone abandoned a toddler on the Wilkinson's' front steps and they've invited us to join them for breakfast while Barry reads us a letter someone left with the abandoned child," said Lionel, lifting his daughter, Hermione, from her special chair and booster seat.
"You mean to tell me, someone abandoned a small child on complete strangers' door steps on a cold November night!" exclaimed Jean.
"As ghastly as it sounds, some reprobate abandoned a child in the dead of the night in front of our neighbors' front door," said Hermione.
"You take Hermione with you; I'll grab her booster seat, and let's make our way next door," said Jean. Entering the Wilkinson's' home with her husband and daughter, she spotted the now wide-awake baby boy sitting on Glenda's lap, she commented, "What are striking little boy. Who in their right mind would leave such a darling little angel on someone's doorstep in the middle of a cold November night?"
"That's exactly what Glenda said, when she first laid eyes on the handsome lil tyke," said Barry.
"Now, if you'll join us in our kitchen, we can feed these two darling angels their breakfast while Barry reads the letter that some gormless plonker probably thinks gives them the right to abandon a baby on someone's doorstep," said Glenda.
"That's odd," commented Barry, removing a letter from the envelope. "There's a wax seal sealing this envelope, and it's written on paper like our ancestors used centuries ago. Anyway, the letter reads as follows:
Dearest Petunia,
This past October 31, someone, of whom I dare not mention in this letter, murdered your sister, Lily, and her husband, James, leaving their son, Harry James Potter, an orphan. Because, you and your family are little Harry's only surviving relatives, I am leaving him in your care with the hope and prayers that you will freely give him a loving home and raise him as if he were your own child. I fully understand raising a child can be a financial burden on the ones providing him with a home, and thus I have made arrangements to provide you with a two hundred galleon per month stipend which will be paid to the bank account you jot down on the enclosed form. This stipend will be deposited automatically on the first Monday of each month to you from Gringotts Bank into your own banking account in your own Pounds Sterling based on the current conversion rate at the time of each monthly deposit. The current conversion rate is just over five Pounds Sterling for each galleon, and has remained at this level for the past fifty some odd years.
Additionally, I must inform you that little Harry is a Wizard, and this means, that beginning from about age seven, from time to time throughout his young life he will be prone to what is called accidental magic. You see, usually beginning at about age seven, magical children are prone to using magic accidentally when feeling excited, angry, sad, scared, or confused as a form of self defense. They typically have little or no control over such magic. Because of this, beginning at the age of eleven, little Harry will be invited to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he will be taught how to control his magic, as well as, train him for acceptance into a career of his choice. However, I must add, that in some instances extremely gifted magical children can be prone to bouts of accidental magic as early as age one.
Enclosed, you will find a copy of little Harry's birth certificate, the form to set up your stipend's direct deposit, and a form granting you guardianship of little Harry in the non-magical world should you sign it.
Sincerely yours,
Albus Dumbledore.
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" asked Jean. "Who in their right mind would leave a baby outside someone's door right just a few days after their parents had been murdered?"
"What about this bit about accidental magic and little Harry being a wizard?" Lionel asked, casting a quick glance at his daughter and the young boy in question.
"What I am about to tell you will most likely sound a bit unbelievable to you…" answered Barry.
"What's happening to the two children!" gasped Glenda after seeing Hermione reach out to touch Harry's right hand with her left.
"They're glowing!" exclaimed Jean. "When they first touched, Hermione was surrounded by a blue aura and Harry a red, and, now, they're both surrounded by a golden yellow aura. It doesn't seem to be hurting them as they're both giggling, and we can still touch them, but what does this mean?"
"I believe what's happening to these two youngsters can at least be partially explained by what I was about to tell you," replied Barry. "You see, Doctors Granger there are spread throughout the entire planet an unknown number of people who have been blessed with the ability to use magic, and apparently little Harry and your young daughter are two of them."
"The ability to use magic," said the skeptical Lionel. "You mean like witches and wizards we've seen on the telly and in movies?"
"Yes, Doctors. Granger, that is exactly what I am talking about," said Barry. "Tell me, other than these two children glowing, has there ever been anything which happened around young Hermione that you could not explain?"
"Just this morning, I discovered Hermione sitting up in her crib looking at one of her picture books, and I am most certain I put said book on her bookshelf when I tucked her into bed last night," answered Jean. "Could these two glowing and me finding Hermione looking at her picture book be examples of this accidental magic this Dumbledore wrote about in his letter?"
"Yes, I am quite certain these are examples of the accidental magic Albus Dumbledore wrote about in his letter," answered Barry.
"Barry, please pardon my doubt, but just how do you know about this magical community?" asked Lionel.
"Well, you see, I am what is called a Squib in the magical world; which means a non-magical person born to a witch and a wizard," answered Barry. "Even though I do not possess the ability to use magic, I was still raised by magical parents. As my father and I were both only children, I do not have any siblings or first cousins, but I do have a fair number of second cousins who are magical. The only ones I am even remotely familiar with are the family of my second cousin Molly who lives in the small town of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon. As far as I know, I am the only Squib in my entire extended family and feel most fortunate that I was not born into another family. Even though I was a Squib, my parents still loved my very much, and that is why they insisted that I get a good non-magical education."
"Barry, it's not that we don't believe you, as there have been dozens of things happening to or around our little girl that we cannot explain, but can you tell us more about these magical people?" asked Lionel.
"Tell me, have you ever noticed adults of all ages running around dressed in rather old fashioned and mismatched clothing?" asked Barry.
"You mean like the bloke that the locals call Compo who runs around with Norman Clegg and Glenda's Uncle Seymour?" asked Lionel
"Although Mr. Simmonite does dress a bit odd, I am talking about people going about dressed in long dark robes with hoods," answered Barry.
"Just yesterday morning, when I was taking Hermione for her immunization shots, I saw a group of older men all dressed in heavy black robes with hoods on them," said Jean. "At the time, I thought they were a group of Monks from a monastery, but from what you've just described, they could well have been a group of these magical people."
"Where did you see these older men?" asked Barry.
"They were crossing the road not far from Charing Cross Road in London," answered Jean.
"There's a magical shopping area hidden behind an equally hidden pub on Charing Cross Road, perhaps they were headed there," said Barry.
"This letter accompanying little Harry and what you've told us, does give us a possible explanation for all the odd unexplained things that have happened to or around Hermione, but what are we going to do about the fact someone left a small child at complete strangers' door in the wee hours of the night?" asked Lionel.
"The letter was addressed to someone named Petunia, and Petunia was the name of the mother in the family from whom Barry and I bought this house from just before we married two short weeks ago," said Glenda. "Perhaps who ever abandoned this child on our doorstep intended to leave him with this Petunia's family."
"Well, I, for one, am glad little Harry was left with you and not those horrid people you bought this house from," remarked Jean. "We've never met a more rude, snobbish, and snooping into other people's business than that lot. Before they sold the house to you two, a number of families in this neighborhood were considering selling and moving, and we were all forever grateful when two fine people such as the two of many moved in to the neighborhood."
"Is that why everyone in this neighborhood has been so welcoming to us?" questioned Barry.
"No, Barry, everyone except for the family that lived here before you is most welcoming," said Jean. "I just believe you and Glenda received an extra good welcoming because we were all so relieved that someone as nice as you had moved in."
"I helped arrange the mortgage for the Dursley family's new home a few weeks before our wedding, and I must say I agree with your assessment of them being rude," said Barry. Stroking his chin, he added, "I wander if their dispositions were the reason they had some much trouble selling this house, and the reason why they lowered the price to the point where Glenda and I could very easily afford it."
"Well, whatever the reason, I'm so glad Harry was left with us and not people like that," commented Glenda.
"Does that mean you like for us to take little Harry into our home?" asked Barry.
"Yes, Luv, I would," answered Glenda. "Before we married, we talked about starting a family someday, so why not start by becoming at least foster parents to this handsome little boy?"
"I have nothing against taking the little tyke in, because the monthly stipend Mr. Dumbledore wrote about is more than enough to help the financial burden of raising a child, but what are we going to tell your dad and mum, and all the people we interact with regularly?" asked Barry.
"Barry, you know me dad and mum are both grandchildren of Squibs and already know about wizards and witches, so we'll just tell them the truth about little Harry," answered Glenda. "Not to mention, most of the people we interact with, including all the ladies I have coffee and tea with are related in some way to wizards, witches, and squibs. We'll just tell everyone we've decided to become foster parents, and little Harry is the child we are fostering. Besides, having this handsome little fellow in our house will help learn more about being parents for when we have our own little bundles of joy. Why, I'd say in a few years, you could even teach him a bit about playing golf."
"It would be nice having a little me around, wouldn't it," said the smiling Barry. "I just hope your father doesn't get to him so that he likes spending most of his time tinkering with cars."
"Barry, you know me father spends his time in his shed to keep away from getting in me mother's way, so don't worry," replied Glenda.
"Barry, in the letter you read to us, it said that at age eleven little Harry will be invited to attend a magical school called Hogwarts, can you tell us more about this Hogwarts?" asked Jean.
"Hogwarts is a school of magic located somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, and as the letter states magical children such as little Hermione and little Harry are invited to attend there around the time of their eleventh birthdays," answered Harry.
"If the monster that abandoned an infant a little more than a year old on someone's doorstep in the middle of a cold November night is any indication of what these magical types are like, then I'm not sure I'm going to let my little girl attend such a place," replied Jean.
!
"Albus, that instrument on the table just to your left is glowing," said Minerva McGonagall while seating across from Dumbledore in the Headmasters' Office in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Ah, this is wonderful new, indeed," said Albus turning to gaze up at said instrument. "I attuned this particular device to alert me when little Harry was accepted into his aunt's home, and the color it is now glowing he has been loving taken into her home. I have charmed this device to alert me as to Harry's health and general well-being, as well. Additionally, I have made arrangements for Arabella Figg to move to a home not far from Harry's aunt, so that she may help us by reporting on Harry's well-being, as well."
AN: In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Ron Weasley told Harry Potter that his mother had a second cousin who was an accountant and was never spoken of by the Weasley family. In my story, I decided to use my imagination to make the character of Barry Wilkinson from the long running sitcom, the Last of the Summer Wine be Molly Weasley's Squib second cousin and he and his wife Glenda to be the ones to raise 'The-Boy-Who-Lived.'.