Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, but I do own Diana/Grace.

'thoughts' are the thoughts of the characters

-thoughts- are the insights and interjections from the Grace part of Diana's personality

"dialogue"

-parseltongue-

Harry is six-years-old at this point in time, so the year is 1986.

As Diana dropped Harry back off at the childcare center, she once more noticed the glare from the same young man as before. Again, she wondered what his problem was, but as she had work, decided to put it out of her mind.

"Bye, Harry! Remember, I'll come back to pick you up at 5, okay? And we can look forward to shopping then!" Diana waved at Harry, who contrary to when she first dropped him off, smiled happily and nodded before running off. He ran into David, who appeared to have been waiting for him. His previously tensed shoulders had relaxed upon seeing Harry so obviously happy.

"So, how was your lunch? And who was that woman who came to pick you up?"

"Oh, it was amazing! I got eat fish and chips! And soda pop! Miss Young is the nicest, ever!" Harry exclaimed. He, surrounded as he was by negativity of the Dursleys', had long since learned to recognize disapproval and dislike in others. Thus, he knew that David disliked Miss Young, though he could not completely understand why. "Miss Young is our new neighbor. She moved in last week. Uncle and Aunt went on vacation and asked Miss Young to watch me, on a 'trial basis' is what Aunt said."

David's shoulders relaxed even further and the suspicious and almost dangerous look in his eyes lessened. "Oh, is that right? Well, I'm glad you are enjoying your time with her. Did your Aunt and Uncle know her before she moved in?"

"Nope! But I'm glad. I don't really like Aunt and Uncle's friends," Harry whispered.

"I see. Well, do you want to try your hand at a puzzle?" David asked, diverting Harry's attention. The woman might not be abusive but his Aunt and Uncle were definitely questionable. He would not let this go. David nodded to himself, the resolve in his eyes firm as he looked at the content Harry Potter playing with puzzles with the curiosity and enthusiasm of a child who had never truly played before.

He would wait and plan. And gather evidence.

And talk to this Diana Young.

At 5:00, an exhausted Diana was seen trudging through the hospital halls to the Child Care Center to pick up her temporary charge. She was bone-tired, but satisfied, fulfilled by her work. She spent the day facing doctors' arrogance and smug contempt, the impatience and complaints of patients, and questions of the patients' families and friends, running around all day on her feet with only her lunch with Harry as a break. Yet…yet, for the first time in her life, she spent her day earning her salary. She put her education to good use, helping the patients and easing the doctors' loads. For the first day of her life, she was a contributing member of society. Not only that, but in this job, she had the freedom to talk to the patients and provide a listening ear and a heart that truly cares. Perhaps it was her naiveté or her inexperience, but at this point in her life – at the start of her career – she was fully engaged with her work and patients. And it was wonderful.

She wondered what her family would say if they saw her now. Would they finally see how satisfying, fulfilling, necessary this was to Diana? Would they forgive her for her sudden departure? Would they understand?

She sighed, shaking her head. No use thinking such thoughts now, right before picking up with Harry.

A smile graced her face as she approached the children's playroom, hearing the laughter drifting even through the closed doors.

Diana opened the door, her smile widening at the sight that greeted her. Harry was playing what looked to be a game of 'House' with the children still in the playroom. He was the father, a very adorable and awkward father, holding a baby doll in his arms while one girl – a bald girl in a pair of hospital pajamas – directed him where to go and what do. Another girl bustled around collecting plastic toy foods and placing them on the table while another boy appeared to be the family dog, running around with his hands up and barking intermittently. A couple of volunteers, both relatively young and old, were in the room playing with the children and supervising. A few people – both volunteers and children, one of them including Harry – looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Diana!" Harry cried in happiness and relief upon seeing her. He put the doll down and ran to her, stopping right before he actually ran into her. "Is it time to go already?" He stood before her, tentative and unsure after his display of exuberance. He would definitely have been punished if he dared make such an "unsightly display" in front of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia…even though Dudley did so all the time. But he was allowed while Harry was not, because Dudley is a good boy while Harry is not.

"Yep, time to go. Do you want to say good-bye to your new friends?" Diana asked, smiling down at the boy. He relaxed a bit, seeing that she was not angry or disappointed or embarrassed but in fact happy, if not tired.

"Okay, I'll be right back!" This time he walked back to his new friends who had stopped the game at his sudden departure. "Bye guys! It was nice meeting you! I'll see you all tomorrow?"

"Mhm! Nice ta' meet ya' too Harry! Bye!" The puppy said, the other two girls chorusing a "See ya" after him. Harry waved and walked back to Diana.

"All ready then?"

"Yep!"

"Alright then, let's go! Time to get you new clothes!" Diana said, extending a hand for Harry to hold. Harry could not help but look shocked. Despite her consistent kindness toward him, Harry kept thinking that she would stop, releasing that he was a bad boy or just tiring of him. But even after a hard day of work, she was still so kind to him. Harry smiled tentatively and reached for her hand. His smile solidified when she gripped it gently, though firm enough to not lose a hold of him.

"We're still going? Even though you're so tired? I can wait until the weekend…" Harry mumbled.

"Nonsense! I told you we would be going shopping for your clothes today, so I will. I keep my word," Diana said, smiling, as they walked out of the hospital to her car.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, overwhelmed.

Diana simply smiled and helped buckle Harry in before she got into the car and started driving toward the shopping mall.

The ride to the mall – approximately 40 minutes away from the hospital – was initially silent, before Diana broke the silence.

"So, how was the rest of your day? It looked like you were having fun playing 'House'," Diana teased.

"It was a lot of fun! David played puzzles with me," Harry answered enthusiastically. "Oh yeah! David wanted me to tell you that he wants to talk to you, so could you please spare a few minutes of your time tomorrow?"

Diana was puzzled. "Is that the volunteer you were telling me about earlier, during lunch?"

"Yep," Harry nodded. "So, will you?"

"I don't see a problem with it. Sure."

"Okay, thanks!"

"So, what else did you do?" Diana asked, coaxing Harry to open up and feel the freedom to speak his mind.

"Well, after a while David had to go because his shift had ended. But he promised me that he would see me tomorrow! And some of the kids had to go too, but then those girls and that guy that I was playing 'House' with earlier came in and we became friends and started playing. The bald girl is Anna. She lives in the hospital, which is cool because the hospital has so many kids all the time and she must have a lot of friends, but she still played with me! And the other girl is Kathryn but she likes to be called Kat and the boy is Mike. He's pretty cool, too, but he's really silly! He was the puppy while Kat was the mum and I was the Da and Anna was the director." Harry continued to talk, filling the silence with his opinions of the people and the games that he played, until they reached the mall.

"Well, I'm glad you had such a fun time Harry. We're here now, do you know what you want?" Diana asked as she helped Harry unbuckle his seat belt. Harry seemed to turn shy at the question, falling silent. Diana resisted the urge to sigh.

"Well, how about I choose a few options and you tell me what you like and what you don't like, alright?" Harry nodded as they walked in, tightening his grip on her hand at the amount of people in the mall. It was full, even for a Monday night.

"Hm, how about we start at BhS, then Sainsbury for some household and other items?" Diana asked herself rhetorically, turning to head there. She turned her head to look at Harry when she felt resistance. "Yes?"

"Just…are-are you sure?" Harry asked, timidly, his head down. "I don't really need much of anything. Promise." Diana turned fully to face Harry with a small, contained sigh. She knelt down and lifted his face up, looking into his eyes.

"Harry Potter, I promised you clothes so we will buy you clothes. It is really no problem for me. In fact, it's a joy. I'm happy to buy you these things and to see you happy, do you hear me? And frankly, I'm sad that you're doubting my word," Diana said, gently scolding him. When his eyes started to water – whether from happiness or fear or sadness or stress, Diana didn't know – she hugged him tightly. "Harry, I promise you. It's not a problem, okay? So enough of this, now, okay?" She felt Harry nodding against her shoulder and let him go.

"Okay, let's go. To BhS, it is!" Diana said as she marched forward, disregarding the strange looks she was receiving from bystanders. It was worth it to see the doubt ease from Harry's eyes and the smile return to his face.

Yep, this story is continuing! I have some ideas that I'm just itching to get to!

But…I'm technically lenting from FF until Easter…so… hahah, I'm already breaking Lent, but I'm really trying for self-control and discipline so you guys might not see me for a while…maybe. Hah.