AUTHOR'S NOTES: So ever since I discovered the TV show 'Judging Amy' I always had the idea in my head-what if Harry Potter ACTUALLY had been in the child services system?

If you've never seen the show, there are full episodes on YouTube but here's the gist: Maxine Gray is a social worker for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. (DCF, for short.) She is a very kind person, but she does have a no-nonsense, foot-down, 'You-WILL-listen-to-me' attitude. If she sees a child who needs help, she will fight for them and she's very stubborn.

Maxine's daughter, Amy, is a juvenile court judge. After a divorce, Amy moved back home with her own daughter, Lauren. While she tried to remain impartial, Amy also often finds herself advocating for the young people who comes through her courtroom.

Other characters to note in this story are Peter and Jillian Gray (Maxine's son and daughter-in-law) and Kyle McCarty (Maxine's nephew who is also a doctor handling Harry's medical care.)

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

STORY SUMMARY: After the Dursleys ditch Harry for good after 'GoF', Harry's social worker is determined to find him a loving home-possibly within her own family. When Dumbledore finds out about this, he tries to collect Harry as he believes the teenager is still only safe with his blood relatives.

HARRY POTTER: Untitled

('Judging Amy' crossover)

xxxxxxxxx

It was a strange thing, watching your past come back like an old friend you thought was long gone.

In fact, it took Maxine Gray a moment to truly grasp what she was looking at.

Decades ago—more than she liked to think about—Maxine had been set to go to school to learn how to use her magical abilities. When her mother died, she'd put the magical world aside and focused on her family. She grew up, went to college, had a family of her own, and never wasted time wondering what could have been.

That's not to say that she didn't still keep up to date on things. She kept in touch with some friends in the wizarding world and she still read the wizarding newspapers now and then.

But staring at the 15-year-old teenager sitting in the conference room, a knapsack on the table next to him and a pair of forearm crutches leaning against his chair, Maxine felt the life she'd left long behind come charging back.

Turning to her supervisor, Sean Potter, Maxine gave him a disbelieving look. "Sean… please tell me that's not who I think it is."

Sean looked at the black-haired teenager before turning back to Maxine. "His uncle claimed they were in town for a vacation," Sean explained, ready to stop his best social worker if she started for the conference room before he gave her all the details. "Vernon Dursley dropped Harry off by the side of the road along with papers surrendering custody."

Seeing the fire in Maxine's eyes, Sean pressed on, handing Maxine two files. "Harry's medical file from England… and the evaluation your nephew did on Harry last week."

The fire turned icy as Maxine narrowed her eyes at her boss. "Harry has been here for a week… and you are only now telling me about it?" Snatching the files out of Sean's hands, she glared at him. "Furthermore, you contacted Kyle about this before you spoke to me?"

When Maxine turned towards the conference room, Sean quickly grabbed her arm to stop her, letting go quickly when she looked about ready to hit him. "Maxine, finding a placement is going to be almost impossible. Unless you know someone who's prepared for someone like—"

"It's been two years since you found out about the magical world, Sean," Maxine cut in, her anger ebbing. "Surely by now you can say the word 'wizard'."

"Not and maintain my sanity," Sean replied, following Maxing to her desk and watching as she sat down and donned her glasses to look over the files. "Sorry, Maxine," he added, sincerely. "I should have told you sooner."

"Harry Potter is one of the most important people in the wizarding world, Sean," Maxine explained as she read. "He defeated Voldemort and is widely considered to be a hero. The fact that he is in the United States with nothing mentioned is what worries me." Flicking her gaze at her boss, she said, "I'm sorry for getting angry at you." When she noticed that Sean had sat down next to her desk, Maxine removed her glasses and sat back in her chair, ready to listen. "Tell me everything that's going on with Harry."

x

In the conference room, Harry wasn't sure what to feel as he looked around the office. The social worker who had brought him here from the hospital—Sean something—was talking to an older woman who looked like someone's grandmother.

Sitting back in his chair, Harry stretched his right leg out a bit, trying not to wince as he did so. He should be used to pain, but sometimes it just got to him sometimes when he was tired… like now.

After the debacle with Dobby, the house elf, before his 2nd year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Vernon Dursley had broken both of Harry's legs to make sure he couldn't escape his room.

Without proper treatment for almost a month and a half—and only escaping when the family of Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley, had shown up—Harry's legs hadn't healed properly, leaving him with a pronounced limp.

Ron's mother—Molly Weasley—had done what she could to heal Harry's legs using magic, but because the bones had started to heal naturally—albeit improperly—there was still permanent damage. After a quidditch accident later that school year resulted in his right knee and tibia being fractured by a rogue bludger-and an incompetently cast healing spell-Harry's limp had gotten even worse, causing him to need additional support when walking, thus the crutches.

Things had gotten slightly better after Harry's 3rd year—thanks to some strategic threats of retaliation from the wizarding world, specifically Harry's escaped-from-Azkaban-Prison godfather. Petunia had taken Harry to the nearest hospital for reparative surgery, since the botched healing spell somehow limited further magical healing.

Vernon hadn't responded well to his wife's actions and seemed to be plotting something as soon as Harry had returned to Privet Drive after his 4th year at Hogwarts.

Sure enough, Vernon Dursley abruptly announced to the family—and Harry—that they were taking a vacation to Connecticut in the United States, and they would be staying for two weeks. Worried about what might happen to his belongings in his absence, Harry had immediately written a note to the Weasleys saying that they needed to retrieve his school trunk from Number 4 Privet Drive and if they hadn't heard from him in 3 weeks, to contact Albus Dumbledore.

3 days ago, while heading for the airport, Vernon had dropped Harry off in front of a local library with only his wand, knapsack, and a sealed envelope before speeding away down the road.

The local police had been called once Harry had gone into the library and explained what had happened to one of the librarians and the police had taken him to the local hospital for an evaluation before contacting the Department of Children and Families.

Hearing the conference room door open, Harry sat up as he pulled himself back to the present.

The older woman came in, closing the door before sitting down. "Hello, Harry. I'm Maxine Gray. I'm a social worker with DCF." After a moment, she added, "I am also a witch."

Harry looked surprised to hear that and he asked, "Where did you go to school?"

Maxine gave Harry a sad smile. "I never got to go to a wizarding school, actually. My mother died when I was young so I had to help my family. But I do try to keep up with the goings-on in the wizarding world." Giving Harry a keen look, she went on. "Which is how I know about you."

Harry nodded, thoughtfully. "The Dursleys abandoned me. Guess that means you're going to put me in a foster home or something, yeah?"

Maxine lightly tapped her fingers on the files on the table before deciding to be honest. "Given your physical disability and the fact that you are a wizard, it will be very difficult finding a suitable foster home for you, Harry."

Harry let out a resigned sigh as he turned away from the social worker. "So I'm on my own, then, is that it?"

"No," Maxine replied, firmly, glancing through the glass at her boss before turning her attention back to Harry. "Despite the fact that it is heavily frowned upon, I have decided to personally take you in until another option can be found."

"Y-You're taking me home with you?" Harry asked in disbelief.

Maxine nodded in confirmation. "While you are temporarily under my care, I would like to take you to a private medical center that specializes in magical care to see if anything can be done to fix your legs."

Harry shrugged, doubtfully at that prospect. "The school nurse at Hogwarts tried regrowing the bones in my legs already," he explained. "Undid some of the damage of my left leg but the right leg is too messed up. Plus, about two years ago, my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at the time used some spell that had the rotten side effect of making me immune to further magical healing in that leg."

Taking in the information Harry provided, Maxine glanced down at the medical files she had on Harry and after a long pause, she fixed the teenager with a look before she asked, "Did Kyle—Dr. McCarty—talk to you about surgery?"

Harry gave her a wry smile as he nodded slowly. "You mean reparative surgery where they re-fracture my legs, set the bones, and I end up spending the next 3 months in casts and who knows how long in braces… or the surgery where I get one or both legs amputated?" When Maxine looked surprised at how blasé Harry spoke about the situation, he shrugged. "When I was 13, doctors were able to fix my left leg a bit. They managed to get the bones to heal correctly—more or less, anyway. My left knee and ankle don't like supporting my weight too long without the braces. But my right leg is a mess and the doctors all seem to believe cutting it off would be the best way to go."

Studying her new charge intently, Maxine asked, "What do you want to do?" When Harry seemed to be considering his options, she added, "Since you are now technically a ward of Connecticut, the state pays for any and all medical care you may need."

Shrugging again, Harry didn't know what to say. Since magic didn't seem to be an option for fixing his legs, he'd assumed that he'd just have to live with his situation since it was unlikely that his aunt and uncle would pay for any further surgery.

Glancing at her watch and noticing the time, Maxine gave Harry a warm smile and put a comforting hand on his arm, ignoring Harry's slight flinch when she did so. "We don't have to figure out anything right this minute. It's getting late and I don't know about you, but I'm ready for dinner."

Harry grabbed his crutches and slowly stood, leaning on the table as he put most of his weight on his left leg. As he reached down for his knapsack, he was stopped by Maxine who grabbed the bag instead. "Thank you, Mrs. Gray."

"Call me Maxine," the social worker replied as Harry slid his arms through the cuffs at the top of his crutches and grasped the handles. "Shall we?" she said as she went to the door.

"Lead the way," Harry said, limping out the door and over to Maxine's desk where she quickly gathered up her things and lead the way out to her car, Harry following behind her.

The smells of Italian cooking greeted Maxine as she opened the door, stepping aside to let Harry into the house. "Hello!" she called, jovially, as she hung up her jacket and purse. "Anybody home?"

"In the kitchen, Grandma!" a young girl shouted before talking with someone.

Maxine led the way to the kitchen and stopped when she saw her fiancé—millionaire businessman Jared Duff—making lasagna with her 10-year-old granddaughter, Lauren. "Jared," Maxine said, surprised as she gave Lauren a quick hug. "What are you doing here?" Looking around, she added, "Where's Jillian? I thought she was watching Lauren today."

"Oh, Jillian went to go pick up ice cream for dessert," Jared explained, with a smile. "I'd stopped by to take you out to eat, so I said I'd keep an eye on Lauren till one of you got home."

"We're making lasagna for dinner!" Lauren said, pointing to the noodles, cheese, and meat sauce sitting in bowls on the counter.

"And it looks like it will be delicious," Maxine replied, sincerely, smiling. Hearing Harry behind her, she ushered the boy over to the counter and gestured for him to sit down. "Jared, Lauren… this is Harry Potter. He'll be staying here for a while."

Lauren beamed at Harry and grabbed a spoon of the meat sauce, offering him a bite. "Aunt Jillian and Jared helped me make it. What do you think?"

Harry took the spoon and tasted the ragu, licking his lips as he tasted the beef, sausage, onions, garlic, herbs, and tomatoes. "It's excellent," he said, handing the spoon back.

"What happened to your legs?" Lauren asked as she spotted Harry's crutches and the bottoms of his leg braces.

"Car accident," Harry replied, the lie coming quickly. "I was taking a walk and some drunk motorist hit me. Messed up my legs pretty bad."

"I've never broken a bone before," Lauren said, frowning slightly. "Does it hurt?"

Harry nodded, thoughtfully. "It hurt a lot. Still hurts," he added, indicating the crutches. "But hopefully—" he looked over at Maxine. "—I'll be able to get some surgery soon to make things a bit easier on me."

Jared, who had finished layering the lasagna in the meantime, smiled warmly at Harry. "Is there anything I can get you, Harry?"

"Er… something to drink, if you don't mind," Harry said, trying not to feel awkward about people waiting on him. He had the same problem whenever he was at the Weasleys' home and he figured it was just a result of how he was always treated by the Dursleys.

As Jared handed Harry a bottle of juice from the fridge, he caught Maxine's eye and the look she gave him, indicating she needed to talk to him in private. "Lauren, tell Jillian she can put dinner in the oven when she gets back, alright?" When Lauren nodded, turning her attention to Harry, Jared followed his fiancée out to the living room, giving her a kiss before asking, "Harry's your latest case, I take it?'

Maxine nodded, allowing herself to be distraught for a moment. "Harry was not injured in a car accident. His uncle broke his legs when he tried to run away from home." Taking a moment to make sure that Lauren wasn't eavesdropping, she added, "Harry is a wizard. And unfortunately, there isn't a database—at least, as far as I know—for foster parents in the wizarding world."

Jared nodded, thoughtfully. "That's why you brought Harry home with you?" he asked, suspecting there was more to the story.

"I suspect in a few days, someone will discover that Harry is no longer in the custody of his relatives and someone from the wizarding world will take him back to England where…" Maxine took a deep breath and tried to collect herself. "…Where I will no longer be able to keep an eye on him."

"And you were hoping that maybe Amy could pull some strings…help you keep Harry here in the States?" Jared concluded, knowingly.

"Well… maybe…" Maxine replied, being purposefully vague about it. "At the very least, I want Harry to be able to get the help he needs: Counseling for the psychological abuse…medical treatment for the physical injuries."

Hearing the front door open, Maxine didn't elaborate on the issue as her daughter-in-law, Jillian, came in with two bags loaded with half gallon cartons of ice cream. "Sorry it took so long, Jared," Jillian said, quickly as closed the door. "Maxine, you're home early," she went on, talking in her usual rambling manner. "We're making a big batch of lasagna for dinner since Peter's bringing Ned over as well. Kyle called earlier and he'll be here for dinner, too. Amy's hoping to get out on time, depending on her case load. But with the garlic bread I picked up and a big salad, I think we'll have enough for everyone, don't you?"

Before Maxine or Jared could get a word in, Jillian went on. "Of course, just to be safe, I bought extra ice cream and some brownie mixes for dessert. Be back in a minute—I'm going to get this ice cream in the freezer."

"Would it surprise you to know-?" Maxine said, quietly, once Jillian was out of earshot. "—that Jillian avoids caffeine as much as possible?"

Jared smiled and nodded, pulling Maxine in for a hug and a slow, tender kiss before guiding her towards the kitchen.

xxx

At dinner, Harry felt as welcomed in the Gray household as he was by the Weasleys. He tried not to laugh at how boisterous and energetic Jillian was and he liked her husband, Peter, who was a very practical, down to Earth person.

As Maxine and Kyle explained Harry's circumstances—Maxine leaving out the parts pertaining to the wizarding world—Amy straightened up, looking from her mother to Harry. No doubt she was looking at the situation from a professional standpoint as well as from the point of view of a loving mother.

Peter looked shocked and horrified and when Maxine encouraged Harry to tell the truth about his legs, Lauren got up from her chair and immediately went over to Harry, giving him a hug.

Harry hugged the young girl back, trying not to start tearing up as he did so.

There was a real sense of camaraderie to the Gray family, and immediately, Peter and Jillian asked Amy and Maxine about the possibility of adoption.

"Mom, can I talk to you in the kitchen, please?" Amy asked, standing up from the table.

Maxine followed, certain that she was about to get a lecture from 'Judge Gray' which would be followed by the real feelings of 'Amy the Mother'.

Meanwhile, Harry looked surprised at Peter who gave him a warm smile in return. "Wait, you… You'd really be willing to adopt me? But you just met me."

Peter nodded, enthusiastically, delighted that Harry was okay with the idea. "Harry, you need someplace where you're loved and cared for. Jillian and I aren't wealthy, but we can give you that."

"And if I know Maxine," Jared said, sipping his glass of wine. "—she'll do everything she can to help."

Jillian reached across the table and put a hand on Harry's forearm. "Even if you don't end up with us," she promised. "—you can always call any of us if you need anything."

"That goes for me, too, Harry," Jared offered, giving the teenager a warm smile.

Harry couldn't hold back his tears anymore and he started softly crying, overwhelmed by how much this family had embraced him, even though they'd just met him.

Jillian handed her 2-year-old son, Ned, to her husband before getting up and moving so she was sitting down next to Harry. Pulling the teenager into a motherly hug, she felt him hug back as he sobbed on her shoulder. "It'll all be okay, Harry. I promise."

x

In the kitchen, Maxine waited for a lecture but was surprised when Amy asked, "So why did you really bring Harry home, Ma?" After a moment, Amy leaned against the counter as she let out a sigh. "I saw the wand sticking out of his pocket, Mom. Harry's a wizard, isn't he?"

It took Maxine a while to find her voice, and when she did, all she could say was, "Who told you? Did Sean call you earlier?"

Amy gave her mother a warm smile. "Dad. He told me and Peter when we were kids. He used to joke that you'd turn us into frogs if we didn't do our homework."

Feeling a bit relieved that her daughter and older son knew more about what was going on, Maxine asked, "And what about Peter and Jillian adopting Harry?"

Amy sighed again, shrugging as she thought about the whole situation. "I don't know about how magical law works, Ma. I-I'd have to read up on policies and…" Catching herself and realizing what her mother really wanted to know, Amy gave another shrug. "It wouldn't be easy. They'd have to deal with Harry's medical care… A-And what about the surgery Kyle mentioned?"

"All perfectly good questions," Maxine replied, not sure how to reply to any of them. "Since Harry is currently a ward of the state of Connecticut, Harry's medical care is paid by government. I don't know what Harry wants to do regarding further surgery on his legs." Thinking about Harry, she added, "I can't imagine making that kind of decision."

Waiting until Maxine looked at her directly, Amy said, "Maybe someone else needs to make the decision for him." At Maxine's look, she went on. "You're his social worker right now, Mom. What is in Harry's best interest?"

The conversation paused as Peter and Kyle came into the kitchen heading for the counter and refrigerator. "Jillian sent us in here for dessert," Peter explained as he pulled the ice cream out of the freezer while Kyle retrieved plates and bowls.

"That sounds delightful," Maxine said, brightly as she pulled out a platter for the cooled brownies that Amy was taking out of the baking dishes. "Why don't you and Kyle go bring the dinner dishes back and Amy and I will be back in shortly with dessert?"

With a knowing smirk, Kyle set down the pile of dishes he'd been holding and shooed Peter out as he said, "I think that's code for getting rid of us for a few more moments."

But talk was brief as Amy just gave her mother a look. "Think about it, Ma."

"You're right," Maxine agreed, stacking the cartons of ice cream with the platter of brownies on top. "And we should discuss this later when I'm not trying to balance dessert."

Out at the dining room table, Harry tried to protest when Maxine immediately put a large brownie on his plate and Jillian gave him an ample serving of ice cream. "I'm still kind of full from dinner," Harry said over the grumblings of his stomach.

"Harry, you barely ate anything at dinner," Maxine replied in a no-nonsense tone. "Now eat up."

Although at first Harry just had a couple bites to pacify his hosts, his appetite kicked in full force and before he knew it, he was looking at an empty plate and bowl.

After dessert—which included two helpings for Harry—Jillian caught Maxine's look and offered to help Lauren get ready for bed.

While Amy and Jared cleared away the last of the dishes, Maxine, Peter, and Kyle started talking business with Harry.

"Harry, do you know how much time we might have before someone comes looking for you?" Maxine asked, trying to come up with a timeline.

Harry shrugged, thinking of the letter he'd sent to the Weasleys. "Before I came to Connecticut, I told my best friend, Ron, that if he didn't hear from me in 3 weeks, to contact our school headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. But the more I've thought about it," he added. "—the more I've been worrying that he'd try to send me back to the Dursleys."

Peter looked from Harry to his mother, clearly confused. "Wait, wouldn't this Dumbledore guy have to contact whatever England's version of child services is?"

"My parents died when I was a baby," Harry explained. "They didn't leave directives on what should happen to me if they were gone. They trusted Dumbledore since he was headmaster when they were in school, so…"

Maxine's mind was working overtime as she took everything into account. The first thing that needed to be done was to delay any legal action Albus Dumbledore might take in order to get Harry somewhere safe. "Then I am going to call Sean," Maxine said as she stood up from the table. "And first thing in the morning, he and I will try and find a judge to issue a temporary custody order."

When Maxine left, Kyle turned to Harry, looking both concerned and somehow eager. "It would probably also be harder for this guy to get custody of you, Harry… if you were in the hospital… and under doctor's orders to stay for an extended period of time."

Harry caught on immediately and slowly nodded. "Like if I was recovering from having my leg amputated…"

"Exactly," Kyle replied, sadly. "I can call the hospital tonight and get you into surgery as soon as possible."

Harry's mouth went dry as he realized that this was his last chance to keep both legs. But was all the pain associated with reparative surgery worth it? Nodding, he said, quietly, "Okay. Amputation it is."

Kyle gave Harry a reassuring look and pulled out his cellphone to call the hospital he worked at.

Peter looked at Harry and asked, "Are you okay?"

Before Harry could respond, there was a knock at the front door.

"Now who could that possibly be?" Maxine grumbled as she went to the door.

But Harry had a sinking feeling he knew who it was and slowly got to his feet, grabbing his crutches and following his social worker out to the living room, Amy, Jared, Kyle, and Peter following. Even Jillian was coming back down the stairs, her curiosity piqued.

Maxine opened the door, her hand tensing on the wood, trying to fight the urge to slam the door closed on the visitor.

Albus Dumbledore looked at the Gray family and he couldn't help but notice the way they were keeping Harry almost hidden from view. "Forgive the intrusion," Dumbledore said at last, stepping into the house. "But I believe we have much to discuss."

A/N: Next chapter... what went on after Harry left Privet Drive and what happened after the Dursleys came back.