Sorry, folks. The summer has been a little crazy, somewhere between a planned but abandoned wedding, 5-6 children all over the house and the weather not really playing along with the concept of "summer". So.. here's the next installment of Harry-nowhere-near-the-Dursleys story.

~~ - Harry's thoughts. He's just a lil tyke, but the abuse and the magic have done their parts in making him more mature than is good for him (often enough).

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk and looked at the vial he was holding. Carefully he tipped it and allowed the memory to flow into the pensieve. He sighed as he let himself review it again.

The receptionist politely greeted the distinguished looking elderly gentleman that had just closed the door behind himself. He walked over to her desk and politely inquired where he might get information on a child recently removed from his family's home. The receptionist equally politely asked for the name of the child, and when he gave it, picked up the phone. She very quietly spoke for a minute and then pointed him to the elevator. "Fourth floor, room 419, Sir. Mrs. Edgewater is expecting you." He smiled and nodded, walking over to the elevator and pushing the button.

He knocked on the door and entered when a female voice bade him to. Mrs. Edgewater was younger than he had expected, but dressed and behaved like someone a couple of decades her senior. She showed him to a visitor's chair and sat down facing him. "Would you like anything to drink, Mr... ?" she asked, deliberately leaving him with the open question. "Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore, Mrs. Edgewater, and a glass of water would be much appreciated," he answered with a smile. She rose and used the intercom to tell someone to bring a pitcher of water, cold preferrably, and 2 glasses. When she sat down, she proceeded to ask what his connection to young Master Potter was. Dumbledore explained that he had been Harry's parents' friend and had executed their will, including placing Harry with his relatives. He also immediately asked what the situation was and if he could see Harry as soon as possible, since of course he would sue for custody if the Dursley family forfeit it. Mrs. Edgewater's face looked as if she was fighting to keep her inner reactions under control at his words, but then the shutters came down and her face became smooth like a pristine lake. "As you are not a relation to young Mr. Potter, I am not at liberty to divulge his current state or location to you, Mr. Dumbledore. And since YOU were responsible for placing him with the Dursley family in the first place, I recommend firmly that you stay as far from this boy as humanly possible before I begin a full-scale investigation into your life that you could, in all likelihood, do without. For the record, you will be blacklisted in any kindergarten, school or daycare that Harry might attend, and immediate action will be taken against you, should you come even close to trying to locate him." Dumbledore sputtered, upset at which turn things had taken and did not resist when the social worker firmly grasped his elbow and escorted him all the way out of the building. She coldly bid him goodbye and slammed the door.

Albus only vaguely remembered the way he had taken to return to Hogwarts. He'd lost Harry. He was devastated and for one of the few times in his life, completely at a loss for the next course of action.

Tony was confused. He was sure he had seen the small boy race into his son's dresser. He was also sure there was no hidden compartment or secret backdoor. Nevertheless he ran his hands along the side of the wall and pushed some matchbox cars aside, wondering if he had gone mad - until he encountered something soft and realised he could hear low soft breaths emanating from someone that sounded as if he was in severe distress. He sat back and softly told Nate to go get Alicia. Then he sat next to the open door and began humming a lullaby that Nate had loved when he'd been smaller. After the third round he noticed that the small boy's breathing had returned to normal and he changed his strategy to story-telling. When Nate returned, holding Alicia's hand, he put his finger on his lips, pointed at the dresser and went on with the story as the other two sat down and looked at the empty space with raised eyebrows. Nate curled up in his mother's lap and she tousled his hair gently in reassurance.

After half an hour and more stories, with Nate getting involved in the telling, there was suddenly a soft fizzing sound from the back of the dresser, and Harry's pajamas flickered into view. Another five minutes later, with Tony unfazedly continuing the tale of the prince's advance through thorns and blooming roses, Harry climbed out and straight onto Tony's lap. When Tony gently put his arm around him, he tensed once but relaxed again when he felt that the intent was not to harm him. Alicia put a sleepy Nate to bed while Tony continued to sit with Harry, softly talking to him. Eventually, Nate had fallen asleep long ago, Harry got up and climbed into his bed, still firmly clinging to Tony's hand. He didn't let go until his eyes had closed and his body had relaxed in exhaustion.

Tony and Alicia sat until the wee hours of the morning, discussing possible reasons for what had just happened and finally went to bed too, frustrated with impossible conclusions.

The next morning, Nate woke with the feeling that things were not exactly normal and when he found Harry watching him calmly from the other bed, he remembered the smaller boy's interesting abilities and scooted over to convince him to show him how to disappear too. By the time Tony and Alicia came to get them dressed, the boys had built a tent out of their blankets and all the adults found of the two boys, were the giggling sounds and signs of an abducted flashlight under their blankets. They smiled at each other, glad that the morning was a definite improvement over the previous night. After dressing the boys and feeding them breakfast, they put them back in the car and returned to the daycare center. As soon as the boys were busy playing, the prospective foster parents went to find Rhonda.

Rhonda had been in conference with Mrs. Edgewater for the last hour and a half, both updating the other on their respective findings. When Dr. and Mrs. Davis walked in on them, their faces still displayed their reactions to the blatant neglect Harry had been subjected to.

After the Davis' had told their story of the previous night's adventure, Mrs. Edgewater proceeded to reveal what she had learned from the liaison officer in a rather secretive department of the Home Office. She passed out non-disclosure agreements before she started and after collecting the three signed copies, she told them about the magical inhabitants of the UK and the consequences of fostering and/or adopting a magical child, such as Harry was. She also pointed out that Harry Potter was not just any magical child. He was known as the Boy-who-lived. The only known survivor of an apparently fatal curse known to mankind. After the incident the previous night, the social worker wondered if it was even an option to place Harry with non-magical foster parents. She was surprised to see a flicker of sadness cross Alicia's face. Alicia had allowed Harry's vulnerability to get to her and knew that even after just a day, she would miss the small boy. She was also very much aware that she wanted what was best for him and would let him go if necessary.

Rhonda added her view that Harry had been malnourished, emotionally and physically abused, and she wasn't completely sure of the extent of a possibly sexual abuse as well. He would need therapy to have a chance to regain some of his childhood. Were they willing to cope with the consequences - both on the human and magical level?

Alicia and Tony requested some time to consider their options and left the building to walk to a park close by. They sat on a bench, silently holding hands and watching children play on the swings and slides placed there. After twenty minutes, Tony looked at Alicia and said, "A penny for your thoughts, Lish? Talk to me, please." She gave him a look that was a mixture of sadness and determination. "I want him, Tony. I know the going will be tough and explaining to Nate what Harry can and will do until he learns to control his magic is not going to be a piece of cake, but think about how he would fare now that he's showing at least a bit of trust towards someone and then they abandon him again? He deserves so much better than what life's dealt him so far. Let's do it, shall we?" He gave her a smile, put his arm around her and they stayed for another half hour, silent once more. Equally silently, they returned to the children's services building and stood at the door of the daycare group, watching their boys until Rhonda found them there. When she gave them a questioning look, they nodded and followed her to Mrs. Edgewater's office where they signed the necessary papers after another serious conversation with her.

When the daycare period ended in the early afternoon, the boys walked out to the wardrobe together, Nate helping Harry to tie his shoes and Harry excitedly holding the older boy's hand as they waited for the Davis' to pick them up. As soon as Nate saw them, he ran to hug Alicia while Harry hung back as if he could feel that something had changed today. But when Tony knelt and held his arms open, Harry for once trusted his instinct and flung himself at the patient man who'd not walked away, not yelled at him and simply been there like no one else before. Tony ended up carrying him all the way to the car, seating him and belting him in.

When they had arrived back at the Davis' place, Alicia took Nate upstairs for his shower while Tony sat Harry on top of the counter while he prepared their dinner. Harry watched for a few minutes, then asked politely if Tony wanted him to set the table. The adult laughed to cover up his surprise and shook his head, ruffling the small boy's hair and lifting him for a quick hug that Harry hesitantly returned. "You know, Harry.. we were going to wait until after dinner to tell you and Nate this, but I think I might as well tell you now. Alicia and I have asked to be your foster parents for good, if you would like to stay with us, that is. Think about it and don't worry. No one is going to get mad if you don't want to live here." ~Living here? Was he serious? With a bed of my own that wasn't under the stairs? In a room with a door I could open anytime I wanted to? A room with toys, no less? Tony must've lost his marbles if he even thought I'd say no to this.~ Harry gently laid his finger over Tony's mouth and just nodded, with the hint of a smile playing in the corners of his mouth. When the adult set him on his feet, he started looking through the cupboards for the dishes. He would set the table, even if they didn't demand it. For the first time in his life, Harry forgot to worry about possible punishments if he so much as opened the wrong cupboard. Tony eventually reached for the doors of the cupboard above the sink and wordlessly handed the small boy four plates. Then he proceeded to open the drawer containing the cutlery and watched with fascination as the small hands picked out the right number and correct cutlery for what he had been cooking. His heart wrenched at the thought of how badly this must have been drilled into Harry. But he also saw the beginnings of a carefree smile on his face and knew there was a chance things could work out.

When Nate bounded down the stairs in his jammies, Alicia remained at the top and beckoned Harry towards her. He walked up to her and took the hand she held out to him and allowed her to help him shower and put on pajamas as well, even though he was fully capable of doing all that for himself. Of course, Aunt Petunia had only done anything for him as long as he had "forgotten" the right quantities of shampoo and the like - couldn't have it if he used too much. She never bothered to show him how to change the temperature of the water, leaving it cold every single time since she wouldn't waste a drop of warm water on her bothersome nephew. Alicia of course made sure he was comfortable and warm, wrapping him in a big fluffy towel when he was clean. Then she tickled him silly before handing him his pajamas. She let him "fly" down the stairs in her arms, playing Spiderman with him, enjoying his squeals and shouts of happiness just as much as he did.

Alicia started thanking Nate for setting the table when Tony interrupted her and nodded towards Harry. "You set the table? Thank you, Harry, but you don't need to do this here." Her smile showed him she wasn't upset and he calmly said, "I know, Lisha. But I wanted to thank you for letting me stay." She placed a noisy smooch on his cheek and laughed when Nate said, "Better you than me, Harry!"

When the spaghetti had been eaten and the plates stacked in the dishwasher, the boys curled up in their beds and Alicia sat on the bean bag and read them a chapter of Nate's favorite book. Nate's preference changed almost every day, but she had declared they would read through one book before starting the next one. And so, Harry fell asleep to her soft voice reading Batman and Robin's adventure stories...

TBC

Thanks to everyone who's been reading this. 'tis much appreciated :)