I don't own Harry Potter, I'm just having a little fun for a while.
Sorry that it has taken so long to get this up, had quiet a bit of trouble with this chapter. Well it's done. I want to thank all of you that have reviewed so far, thank you for the support. Whenever I get stuck like this I look at past reviews. It makes me what to write, so I final gave up on my muse doing any work about two hours ago and looked to you guys, it worked, this chapter is now finished.
I hope you like the Colonel in this chapter.
Enjoy!
Day Seven – The Colonel
Marge woke up and rolled out of bed, she was up early again today. She had been since the second day after Harry's arrival in her home. She yawned as she went and gathered her things for a quick shower. It didn't take her long to be dressed and ready for the day. She walked out of her room and into Harry's. He was still asleep; she tucked the quilt around him a little more and left the room. He could do with a nice lie in, since he was always up early.
She went down stairs and started on breakfast. She left Harry's for now, she would wait until he was actually awake to start it. As she cooked she mulled over her brother and sister in law. She wanted to inform the authorities about what was going on, but she loved her brother, even if he was a complete bastard to little Harry.
I she informed them she knew she would get Dudley, but what about Harry? The little tyke had no one but petunia. Would they even let her have him, since Dudley could cause problems with Harry? Dudley was also a handful at the best of times; always demanding something whether it be food or attention he always wanted something. If he was always like that would she end up neglecting the adorable little boy herself?
There was also the fact that she wanted Harry and not Dudley. She wanted the little boy that lay asleep upstairs as he own son. She wondered if she could get custody away from he brother. Would they be willing to let him go? She had some serious planning to do.
She finished her breakfast and started on the dogs breakfast. With practiced ease she did the seven bowls of food. She smiled to herself; she would be bringing the puppies in today, as they would be starting to be weaned onto solid food. She poured some milk into a bowl for the pups.
She had to make three trips with all the bowls. She put them all down and then went and got the milk bowl and a tea towel, just in case. She placed it down in front of the pups and watched them as they started to drink from it. A few moments later she started laughing, she bent down and picked up one of the pups, which had gone head first into the bowl of milk, luckily not upsetting the milk over the others that surrounded the bowl.
"You silly thing," she told the pup as she cleaned him up. It was a good thing she had picked up the old tea towel before she left the house.
She watched them until the milk was gone, with no more accidents. She collected the bowels and headed back into the kitchen. When she entered she saw Harry sitting quietly at the table.
"Breakfast for you now," she smiled at him as she ruffled his hair as she went past him to the bread bin.
"I really don't need breakfast," he murmured still a little sleepy.
"You'll have breakfast. You want to grow up to be big and strong don't you?" she asked him softly as she started some toast for him.
"Yes but…" he trailed off not able to think o an excuse. He knew that crying wouldn't do anything.
"You'll eat," she told him, "Have you finished the book you borrowed from me?"
"Almost Aunt Marge, it's really good." He smiled back at her.
"Good to hear you're enjoying it. Now if you finish tonight and you promise to eat all the meals today, with no fuss. I'll let you borrow the next one." She bribed him. She only wanted to do that until he stopped making a fuss about eating. As soon as he was eating normally she'd let him borrow a book whenever he wanted to.
"Really?" he asked his green eyes becoming brighter with the thought.
"Yes, really," she smiled at him as his toast popped up and she buttered it. She went to the cupbard and grabbed the strawberry ham. She put the jam on one of the slices so he would taste it. "I want you to try the am alright?" she said to him softly.
"Okay Aunt merge." He smiled back shyly.
She placed the toast in front of him and left him to eat as she cleaned the dog bowls. She watched him as he ate the toast and looked sceptically at the slices with the jam on it. She filled a glass of milk and set that down as well.
"Eat up Harry, we're going to see a friend of mine today." She encouraged him softly.
"Yes aunt Marge." He nodded as he began to eat. His eyes going wide with a happy smile blossoming on his face as he ate the toast and jam for the first time in his little life.
It didn't take long for him to finish his toast. He drank his milk quickly and got up bringing the empty plate and glass to the sink. Aunt Marge took them from him and washed them up. Harry standing next to her all the time, in case she wanted him for anything.
"Right, let's get you dressed. We'll be spending lunch with a very good friend of mine." She told him as the two made their way to Harry's room to get him ready for the day. "Before we go, we'll be having the puppies in the house so we can trying them with a little mushed up puppy food and milk." She told him as she ran a bath for him.
"Really?" he asked as he watched her, "can I help as well, I'll do what I'm told, I will, I promise,2 he almost begged her to help with the puppies, he really wanted to play with them as well.
"Yes you can help, and after you can have a little play until it's time to go." She smiled down at him, "now lets get you ready to face the day." She added as she finished running the bath and helped him out of his pyjama's.
XxXxX
The puppies were in the kitchen, after she had made sure each of them had a taste of the food on offer she stood back to watch the mess. She knew there would be mess, there wasn't a single time that she did this that there wasn't. It was also why she put down plenty of newspaper over the floor. Harry was stood by her smiling and giving the occasional giggle, mainly when one of the pups ended up in the bowel instead of the food inside of the pup.
One of the pups, that looked like its mother, a true Labrador with a shiny golden coat, kept going to Harry. The first time Harry had been a little afraid to stoke the pup, but after Marge nodded to him that it would be fine, he stroked the little thing every time it was near. The only problem was it kept jumping up at the little boy, getting all the food that it had stepped in all over Harry.
Marge couldn't help but laugh a little at the state of him, especially when Harry decided it would be all right to sit on the floor and let any of the pups climb all over him. But that one pup had decided after a few moment of the others being around him that he was hers and growled when the others came near. Marge looked thoughtful after that, looking at the protective pup, which was unusual at this age, and the contented little boy stroking her fur.
"Come on Harry, they have all eaten their fill," Marge said as she started picked up one of the pups and cleaned him off, "you'll have to help me clean them off, all right Harry?" she asked him as she held out an old towel for him to use.
"Yes Aunt Marge," he smiled up at her as he picked up the pup that had decided he was hers and cleaned her first.
Marge and Harry had finished cleaning up the pups and then took them back to their mother. Though Harry's little adoptee started to cry as soon as Harry started moving away. Harry went back and bent down to her.
"It's okay, I'm still around, you have to be with your mommy now." He told her giving her a quick pat on the head through the fencing.
The pup then went off to her mother as Harry got up and the two went back to the kitchen.
They finished cleaning the kitchen and themselves, and since they would be seeing a friend, Marge decided to make sure they were dressed up a little. Harry was then dressed in some of the smarter clothes that Marge had brought him; even she was dressed nicely in a deep blue two-piece suit. She had tried to brush his hair into some semblance of order, but it didn't work, she gave a small huffy smile at the lad.
"Nothing doing with that mop is there?" she smiled.
"Aunt Petunia cut it all off once, but it came back the next day." Harry told her quietly.
"Unusual," was all Marge could think of saying.
"Aunt Petunia said it was my freakishness that caused it." He murmured wondering if now she knew something like that, would she then be the next to turn against him and hurt him.
"You're not a freak, you're a little boy Harry, and at the moment a very adorable one." She told him, vowing to think more about what Harry to her later. She turned and grabbed their coats, putting Harry's on first helping him with the toggle on his. Then putting on her own coat.
The two walked out of the door with Marge turning for a moment to look at her pet and tell him, "guard the home Ripper."
With an answering woof the front door was closed and locked and the two made their way down the garden path to Marge's next-door neighbour. The front garden was neat and tidy with only a few flowery plants along the sides of the path. Pretty colours but low maintenance, just the thing for an old bachelor.
Marge knocked on the door and waited for it to be answered.
"Hello Margery," came the smooth tones of one Tiberius Fubster as he opened the door for them.
"Tiberius, you're looking well, seams the time with your family has brought you back to full health." She smiled at him, he had gone to visit family when he became a little ill, the next day he left to visit family. He only had a nephew, who was married and had a young son.
"Ah, spending time with them was enjoyable, was able to help sort out some outstanding family business as well, and sort out some of my nephews more obscure views and bring them back to the family values." He smiled at her.
"Wish I could do the same, I need to straighten out that blasted brother of my and his wife." Marge growled a little as she spoke of her brother.
"Anything I could help with?" he asked her, she had been a good friend to him for a while now.
Marge thought for a moment, "best talk about it when little ears aren't around," she told him as she looked down to the little boy that was holding her hand.
"And who is this little one?" he asked her as he knelt down to Harry height, "may I ask your name lad?" he then asked the child that was beginning to move slowly behind Aunt Marge's large form.
"Harry sir," he said quietly and politely, looking at the ground.
"Well Harry, it's nice to meet you, my name is Tiberius. Now head up and let me have a proper look at you." He added.
Harry slowly lifted his head up and looked at the man before him. The man had silvery blue eyes that looked happy, his silvery blond hair was long and pulled back neatly. As Tiberius got a good look at the small child he almost gasped in shock, there was a very familiar scar adorning his forehead. He refrained from mentioning it, since it looked like the lad and his friend didn't know about it all.
"Well, come in, I have some nice carver ham for our lunch time sandwiches." He said as he stood up and led the two into his home.
XxXxX
For dinner the three had gone back to Marge's home. Dinner had been quiet, since Harry was still a little shy around Tiberius. For most of the day Harry had stayed out of the way, a little unsure of the new person in his life, even if it was only going to be for a little while.
"Come on Harry, bed time." Marge said around eight, she could see that he was getting sleepy. "I'll be back down in a little while," she told Tiberius that was sitting in the armchair.
"Of course, good night Harry," he said to the child.
"Yes aunt Marge," he nodded as he got up from his spot on the floor behind the sofa "good night sir," he added as he turned and faced Tiberius and then latched onto Marge's hand as she took him up stairs.
"You're very quiet today Harry," she murmured as she helped him get ready for bed.
Harry looked at her and asked softly with a little fear, "did I do something wrong?"
"Oh no Harry, you didn't you were so good today and so well behaved, I have no doubt that Tiberius is very happy that you're such a well behaved little boy." She told him as she hugged him, would he always think he had done something? She wondered to herself.
"Okay," he said as he hugged the woman back, he wondered if this was how it felt if his mother had hugged him.
"Right, let's finished getting you ready for bed and then another chapter of Mr Galliano's Circus I think." She smiled at him as she let him go. She really wanted this child, well, time to plot with the best of them.
"thank you," he grinned happily as he finished getting dressed and almost jumped into bed.
She tucked him in and picked up the book she had left on his bedside table. She settled down beside him and started to read chapter two, "Jimmy Makes Friends with the circus folk," she read the title for the chapter, "The next day, as soon as afternoon school was over, Jimmy ran off to the circus field." She started.
It took the whole chapter before she could hear the steady breathing that told her Harry was fast asleep. She put the bookmarker back in and put the book down. She stood up and watched over him for a moment, she bent down and placed a small kiss on his forehead. Smiling she made sure he was tucked in and went back down stairs.
"So Margery, what is going on?" he asked as soon as she was sat down again.
"my brother and the rest of his family have gone on holiday, leaving me with Harry. Now this is the first time I've met the lad. And from all the stories and the moaning my brother and the wife of his do about him I thought I would have a hellion on my hands. Instead I found a painfully shy little boy, who keeps out of sight as much as possible, wont eat, doesn't believe that he should have a bed. The second day he was here I found him asleep in the utility room on an old rug, with a t-shirt as a blanket, a t-shirt it that freezing cold room. The first morning he cooked me breakfast." She told him, shaking her head at the memories of the last week, "Tiberius, that's not even the worst of it."
Tiberius looked at her and could see that his dear friend was distressed by what she was thinking about, "tell me Margery, maybe I can help," he offered.
"I hope so, because if Harry has to go back to my brother I am going to cause such a stink that no one will want to even know his face let alone name, same goes for her too." She said firmly.
"Tell me what has happened, I thought you loved your brother, you're always so proud of him when talking about him," he questioned her, wondering what could have changed her view of him in the time he had been away.
Marge sighed, "He is an abusive bastard that doesn't deserve to be a father. I found welts on Harry, and I know from experience that a belt, not just a hand, made them. God Tiberius, the first time I bathed him I could count every rib, he is so thin, and I keep thinking if the wind got too strong he would just fly away from me. He weight less that two or three of the puppies, I swear. They have him believing he is a freak. He is such a precious child."
"That's not all is there?" he asked her.
"No, I've fallen for him, as you know when Mathew died I said I would never find anyone else," she said as she mention the fiancé that she was to wed some seven years ago, "but even though I was content with just having a nephew in Dudley, I still want a child of my own. I want Harry, as mine."
Tiberius sighed, yes he remembered Mathew, the young man has save his life when death eaters had attacked the nearby village. He had made a vow that he would watch over Margery for him, and he was going to keep to it, even if the vow was made to a Muggle about a Muggle. "I'll do what ever it is to make sure Harry stays with you, it will take time, but I have a slight idea." It would mean talking with his nephew again, but he had no doubt that something could be done.
"Thank you Tiberius, sometimes I wonder what would have happened to me if you and Mathew hadn't been friends." She smiled at him.
He smiled back, she maybe a Muggle, but if she had been a pureblood he had no doubt what he would have done when he first met her. "do not worry Margery."
"Thank you all the same," she nodded to him, "cup of tea before you have to go?" she asked as she stood up.
"Would be lovely, thank you," he smiled as she went off to the kitchen. It wasn't very often that he had chance to plot like this, even though the matter was serious and could affect the world he truly belonged to, he didn't mind, he always liked a challenge.
Well what do you think, do you like Tiberius Fubster? I have no doubt that you should be able to guess who his nephew is. I hope I also answered some questions that popped up in some reviews.
Read and review and tell me what you all think.
