Harry Potter Morgendorffer Part Four
Daria is the creation of Glenn Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers. I own neither, and neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this story. I am writing for my own amusement and for ego gratification.
What if Minerva McGonagall had been able to persuade Professor McGonagall to place baby Harry Potter with different blood relatives instead of with Petunia Dursley and her husband: the Morgendorffers from MTV's Daria?
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Jake and the two older visitors continued to make small talk while Helen was on the phone first with her mother, then with her older sister Rita. Della handed little Harry over to Jake. Jake played a little with Harry, Harry giggled and smiled, but then crawled over to the side of where Jake was sitting.
"So who is this?" said Della, as an auburn-haired baby crawled into the small living room to look at the strange adults.
"This is my daughter Daria," said Jake, bending over and picking her up.
Daria looked across from her father's lap at Baby Harry with a look that said "Who's he and what's he doing here?"
"Daria, can you say Hello to these nice ladies?" said Jake.
Daria stared at the two witches for a moment, frowned, then turned her head away. Minerva was struck by the baby's green eyes; they looked so much like Lily's.
"Sorry," said Jake, "but she's not very sociable."
"May I hold her?" asked Della.
Jake looked at Della Braden and decided that this was a woman who he could trust. He picked up baby Daria and handed her to Della.
Daria squirmed, kicked, and turned her head away. In spite of that, it didn't take Della Braden very long to charm Daria long enough for her to feel comfortable sitting with her.
In the meantime, Jake resumed trying to make friends with Baby Harry. Harry was wary of Jake at first, but then decided that this big guy was OK, even if he wasn't Dad, Padfoot, or Moony, then settled down.
"Hey, fella, you look like somebody who's had a rough time, haven't you?" said Jake, holding Harry in his arms..
Helen came in a few minutes later. "I've just talked to my mother," she said. "You managed to impress her. She thinks you're legitimate."
"She also informed me that there is an organization in the US called MACUSA which handles social programs and legal matters for magical people. I'd like to be put in touch with it so I can talk to a couple of their representatives about Baby Harry's status and the ins and outs of legal adoption." Minerva could hear the undertones as clear as crystal; two strange women came into her home, claimed they were witches, and then claimed that the strange baby they brought with them was some sort of relatives. Helen Morgendorffer was not about to risk her career and her family on accusations of baby-napping by criminal extortionists.
Minerva McGonagall approved. Clearly there was more depth to Helen Morgendorffer than she'd thought. Helen Morgendorffer might be a Muggle and might not have believed that witchcraft was real or knowingly had any dealings with witches until a few minutes ago, but she didn't let the existence of real magic overwhelm her. Instead, she started cross-checking Minerva's background story. She'd begun by consulting with her mother and her sister to see if she and Della had visited them, then started asking about the legal aspects of adopting little Harry. After somehow finding out about the existence of the American magical government, Mrs. Morgendorffer then demanded to be put in touch with representatives. Minerva decided that despite Helen Morgendorffer's "workaholism," she not only had intelligence but mettle as well. Despite the differences of age, nationality, and parentage, she could see that this woman sprung from the same base stock that gave birth to Lily Evans Potter.
"By your account, I'm only Harry's great-aunt," said Helen. "Obviously my sister had at least one daughter. Can you tell me about her family?"
"Yes," said Minerva. "Your older sister married Broderick Bowen and had a daughters. Her daughter married Garry Evans. They in turn had two daughters: Petunia and Lily. The younger sister, Lily Evans Potter, was Harry's mother. The older sister was Petunia Evans Dursley."
"Are Rose and Broderick still living?" asked Helen.
"No," said Minerva. She noted Helen's reaction; she looked disturbed. Quite understandably; Rose was only fourteen years older than she was.
"Is this Petunia still living?" asked Helen.
"She is. She lives in a town near London called Little Whinging and is married to a Vernon Dursley," Minerva replied.
"And what happened to Lily?" asked Helen.
"Lily and her husband were murdered by a multiple murderer who called himself Lord Voldemort. She died defending her baby," said Minerva.
"And Lily's older sister. Why didn't she choose to take in Harry after her sister and her husband died? She is closer kin than I am," said Helen. Even without Albus Dumbledore's legilimency, Minerva could hear the sub-text: "I'm still not entirely convinced that this Lily Potter was my niece, and I suspect that there is a lot more that you aren't telling me. You'd better not tell me that this woman and her husband were involved in drugs or money-laundering."
"I'd like to talk to these MACUSA people and talk to them soon," said Helen. "Then I'd like to talk to this Petunia to discuss her sister and how she died."
Some rumor she'd heard somewhere recurred to her: something about witches using owls and ravens to communicate with each other.
"How do you people communicate with each other?" asked Helen.
"We use owls and the floo," said Minerva, caught off-balance.
"I don't have either," said Helen. "We do have a telephone and I've recently gotten an e-mail account set up. Can you get these MACUSA people to use either one of them?"
"We can set up another meeting tomorrow, if that's convenient."
Helen thought about her schedule. "I'd be willing to talk again tomorrow, but I'm not sure we can do much business. It's a weekend, and I suspect that this MACUSA takes the weekend off like everybody else."