AN: Well I have to say that the initial response has been great. I want to thank PukwudgiePuff for pointing out an inconsistency in the first chapter. I hope the adjustments that I made fixed it.
Harry honestly didn't know how to react to his new found family, partially because he had never had a family that he counted as such for long. That and he found that after the people he had thought were his family and the Wizarding World had taught him that he wasn't ever going to have something like them, suddenly having family was a scary thing. The former wizarding hero had been a punching bag and weapon too long and he didn't know how to be anything else yet. That would take time to figure out, and he only hoped that he had it. Harry still didn't think that they would keep him forever just yet, but he acknowledged that was yet another hang up from his previous life.
The real root of his unease with the Stackhouse's was the fact that they acted so normal, so caring all the time. That in itself made Harry wary, considering the Dursley's obsession with appearing normal and how much he had been told that was once thing that he wasn't. Young Harry had been treated like his very existence had threatened the families normality, Hogwarts age Harry had been taught that he was abnormal as can be because he had survived something no one else had, and teenage Harry had that reinforced when he repeated that feat and lived where he had been planned to die. The Harry of today was just waiting for his new family to realize what everyone else had always known, and when that happened he expected to be abandoned plain and simple.
The care was another thing that made him nervous- he wasn't used to that being directed towards him in a constant manner. Any care Harry had ever received had been fleeting- a passing fancy that never lasted too long and had ultimately only come about to stabilize him when he was straying too far into grief. And Merlin had it hurt when that care would be withdrawn and he would be left swinging in the cold with nothing to rely on. That experience made adjusting to a life where he seemingly had those things in spade was hard, even though it probably shouldn't be.
Harry hadn't really expected to survive Voldemort- the demented man was so much older than him and had knowledge that Harry could only dream about for one thing. The biggest reason though, was he had long caught on to the fact that he wasn't being taught how to live after the war was over- everything focused on getting him in fighting shape. He knew that the Potter family had been old, he should have had responsibilities that he would need to eventually tend to yet he knew nothing of them by the time he saw other children having to take on tasks relating to their family. Harry had managed to live past defeating that madman, and then like every time before that his world had come crashing down around him without much warning. Once it was all over all he had wanted was peace. What he got was an increasing number of people looking at him like he was plotting their deaths, even as they sang his praise.
Then came the calls for his death as he was trying to get information on how to get his House in order. Their reasoning for wanting him dead? It had been the fact that he had housed a shard of the Dark Lord for most of his life. Obviously the piece of long gone soul had tainted him, and he was going to go down the same path as the monster they had just seen defeated given time. Those calls had started with some of Dumbledore's people, those who had trained him to kill, and had pushed him into doing something he had wanted no part of ironically enough. It had hurt him more than letting the Dark Lord kill him so that shard was destroyed ever had. He was almost tempted to let them succeed, because it was obvious that he was never going to get the peace that he wanted.
When Hermione had told him that she had taken his protection into her own hands and contacted the family that his mother's diary had spoke of he had been angry with her. Harry didn't know how he was going to get away from this mess- had been ready not to if he was honest. But those people- his only living family- they didn't need to be dragged into a world that would probably see them dead because of their relation to him. Harry had found nothing on the family that even implied that they were aware of the magical world, so they would have no protection against it when the people who wanted him dead came calling. They were better off never knowing about him, so they would never be in the same danger he was in his mind.
Hermione wouldn't apologize for reaching out though, even when he raged at her, and when his great grandmother by marriage had shown up with Amelia Bones Harry had to fight hope that maybe his friend had done a good thing. Adele, or Grans as she preferred to be called, was going to take him home with her where he would get to meet his aunt and uncle. It didn't seem to matter to the older woman that his mother was the child of another man with her daughter-in law. Harry was her family as much as Sookie and Jason were, or so she claimed when he had questioned her reasons- actually getting upset that he would think otherwise.
The fire in the American woman's eyes made Harry want to believe her claims… but he was still unsure if she would eventually change her mind. No one stayed on his side forever after all- he even doubted that Hermione was in this for the long run, considering that he wouldn't speak with her without telling the world where he was and they were trying to hide the fact that she even knew anything. Everything ended with time, he had learned that much in his life.
Two months of being coddled, and fed until he thought that he would explode hadn't made the situation any less nerve wracking to Harry. The teen kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and all of this to be yanked away like so many things had been before it, and that was no way to live. He could feel his new family watching his reactions, and see their worry about him growing, but he wasn't able to shake what had been carved into him with painful permeance. Good things just didn't last, and if he accepted them then this was going to destroy him when he lost it. Sookie, his young aunt, seemed to try to take on the role of a mother- though the teen wasn't entirely sure that she knew that was what she was doing. She was just the kind of person that felt too much from what he had learned about her. That and she was kind of at the end of her wit on how to deal with him.
Sookie was… special among No-Maj, the young woman was what the wizarding world would call a natural Legilimens. She couldn't control it obviously, but she was used to seeing into other peoples head- their thoughts. He occluded most of the time, but even when his shields failed he was apparently thought free to her. He provided her with a no-thought zone in a world that had always tossed whatever was on a person's mind at her without meaning to. Harry almost wanted to toss her fondness and doting in the category of him being a shiny new toy that had it's uses, but he had a feeling if he said that out loud she would take offense. He couldn't help it though- life had always been centered around what he could do or provide to people around him.
Sookie's apparent love wasn't like the affection Mrs. Weasley had shown though, it was a fierce protectiveness and doting caring that try as he might he couldn't get enough of while being embarrassed all the same. She had helped him study for the exit exams at the local high school every day without fail, encouraging him when he felt like he was just wasting their time because he was never going to get all of this down. Harry might have, because they were now waiting to see if he knew enough to graduate. Harry had left all hopes of finishing his no-Maj education behind when he was 11 and Hagrid had told him that he was a Wizard. It had seemed like a fair trade off at that moment, but he'd come to regret it when he realized just how much not having that tied him in place in the wizarding world.
He had already graduated in the wizarding world, although considering he had defeated Voldemort and that had taken some intense studying as well he probably shouldn't be surprised about that. During the process of getting custody of him, Adele and Amelia had both highly suggested that he take his NEWTS as a way of helping to make sure that his lack of them couldn't be used to try and force him back into Britan's grasp. He hadn't been too sure that he could pass them without his last year of magical school, but the results didn't lie.
Harry Potter was now certified to use magic without getting pinged as underage- and wasn't that an odd feeling. Since the disaster with Dobby and then the Dementor he had been hyper aware of the fact that one slip meant that he would be railroaded, even if he was protecting himself. It had felt like another way to trap him, to control him. And he had hated it. As long as he was careful with just who saw him, he was free to cast whatever he liked to, and the freedom in that tasted sweet.
Occasionally, over the past couple of months, Harry would wonder if the wizarding world had gotten his location out of Hermione yet- she was the only one that knew where he was beyond Amelia Bones and the only one that they would really assume to ask since no one knew of his association with the older witch. Thinking about that would make him think about just how everything had been done. It had been brilliant and just a little scary, when he considered that the sheer vindictiveness could be turned on him should the Stackhouse matriarch ever change her mind about him.
The Dursley's had gotten their memories erased almost as soon as they had signed over custody to Adele, so even they wouldn't be any help to people looking for him. Amelia had made sure that nothing had been left to chance, considering what would happen to Harry if they failed. She had promised him that no amount of magic would recover the memories, ever, and he hadn't wanted to know what that had taken to ensure. Mind magic was delicate and scary to the teen, especially when he considered what could have been done to him had anyone felt the urge to tamper to make him more agreeable. Somehow he had gotten lucky there, considering luck was never on his side.
Custody wise they had taken great pains to make sure thing had been done by the book in the No-Maj world first and formost. The Magical side of things had needed a bit more... work, but Grans had handled the Dursley's by using their worst fears against them so she could have that additional layer of protection for both him and their family. She had handled initial reluctance the Dursley's had shown to losing their payday by some manipulation- which including jailing his aunt. Amelia stepped in to work the magic portions of the plan and then the deed had been done, and she had left Petunia right where she was instead of getting her released. It was the witch's only way to deal with the abuse, since she couldn't charge them in the Wizarding World without bringing attention to Harry's escape. Petunia wouldn't be seeing the light of day for a very long time, and everyone involved- minus her husband and son- was happy with that outcome.
And that was exactly how Harry had been taken from England without anyone from the British magical world aside from Amelia knowing. He was then registered here in the U.S. with his new papers making him a legal citizen without much fuss after that. The American Magicals were more than happy to provide him safe harbor since he had essentially been used as a child soldier in the British Wizarding War. They did not approve of things like that happening of course. If Britan tried to get him back, they would have a fight on their hands because of what they had done to him and used him for. That fact was maybe the only thing that Harry felt certain of in all of this oddly enough.
Sookie popped her head into his room and grinned at him, drawing him from his musing easily as his attention focused on her. Trust could be built, and while he had little good experience with letting people in, it just might not backfire on him this time. Not if the people involved actually meant their promises to him. Always being on edge was wearing the teen down, he needed something to change or it might break him.
"Hey kiddio, do you feel like exploring town with me? I think that you've been cooped up in this old house long enough. Waiting around won't make the results come in any faster." She asked him softly, a pleading tone in her voice. Harry knew that she wanted to get him used to life here, and in doing so relaxed enough to talk about things that he would rather not ever revisit. Sookie was just trying to help him cope, even if he wanted pretend that his life in England had been a nightmare. It was about time that he let her, he decided with an internal grimace. This wouldn't be easy and he doubted it would even be pleasant, but this was his life now.
He got up from his bed and nodded I agreement without saying a word. If Harry was going to live in this town, then having his aunt show him around wasn't the worst idea to be had. All he needed to do was take the first step to really accepting this. If he kept living like it was all going to be taken away from him, his life was going to be miserable, and he deserved to be happy. Didn't he? Sookie grinned at him with a wide smile that seemed to light up the room, looking pleased by his choice, and he couldn't resist a small smile in return.
"I'll just let you get dressed then, okay kiddio? We can come back home at any time if it gets to be too much, I promise." she assured him softly, before leaving as he nodded.
Harry laughed softly as the door closed behind his vibrant aunt, before heading over to his closet and pulling out some of the new clothes he'd gotten when had arrived here. Even though he had money himself his Great-grandmother had insisted that she be the one to buy his new wardrobe, because such things were her responsibility as the adult caring for him. He remembered the look on her face when he had protested the action, it had been something that resembled a cross of her having had trash shoved under her nose, and being in pain.
"Child I took you on as my responsibility when I got you away from those monsters in England. I'll buy you a house if I feel like it, and you'll just smile and thank me if you know what's best. Clothes are nothing, and your reaction just makes me wish I would have taken care of those miserable excuses for humans myself when I found out about you. Just be quiet and accept Grans coddling because it isn't going to stop." She had scolded him firmly, shaking her finger at him as she did. She was a force to be reckoned with, that much was clear to him already, and he admittedly didn't really know her all that well yet. Which was his fault, since he had been a bit of a recluse since she stormed into his life full of fury and on a mission to save him.
He finished dressing as he thought and met his aunt outside his room within a few minutes. She grinned just a little brighter at the sight of him and slowly put her arm around his body, hugging him closely after giving him the chance to move away if he didn't want to be touched. All of his new family was like this, especially Uncle Jason. The loud and rambunctious man had heard about his 'Uncle' Vernon and was trying to do everything that he could to make sure that Harry knew that he wouldn't ever raise his hands against the small teen. Not even in anger, and for a man that could be hot headed at times that was something he emphasized.
"Come on Kid, let's explore this place and introduce you to the locals. They might seem a little odd, but they are harmless for the most part. I'll let you know who to steer away from." She chirped cheerfully, before walking with him to the car. Having everyone being so gentle with him had been nice at first. He had needed to have time to himself and know that they respected him enough to allow it, but now it was getting annoying. He didn't really like being treated like glass, even if he knew why they were doing it. It was eerily reminiscent to the wizarding world treating him like a time bomb waiting to go off, and the reminder of that was rather unpleasant when it came to the same thing happening in his new life. He didn't like it at all, but to change the way they treated him, he needed to change the way he was behaving. She squeezed him a little tighter, as if in reactions to his thoughts and he smiled slightly at her as they set off on their adventure. And for once it wasn't an adventure that ended in him almost dying, which was kind of novel to the teen.
By the end of the trip Harry was convinced that Sookie was an amazing person, and if anyone had something other then that to say about her he would probably curse them. She had somehow gotten him to enjoy that first trip out of the house for something besides school testing and they ended the all day tour at Merlotte's Bar and Grille. The food was different from what he was used to, but that was true of most of what he had eaten since coming to America so he didn't pay that much mind as he ordered. It was good though, the atmosphere was cheery and warm. A perfect ending to a great day if there was such a thing. His aunt's boss was a little cute as well, though the older man held himself contained in a way that reminded Harry of Remus. That might have helped the bar feel familiar to him.
Sam was no werewolf though- beyond holding himself like Remus there were other smaller differences between the man who knew his parents and this guy. He obviously had some sort of secret, but Harry didn't think he was dangerous. Or rather he hoped Sam wasn't. With Vampires out of their coffins around the world, who knows what else was lurking beneath the surface- getting ready to either show their faces to the No-Maj or do anything to keep the secret the Vampire's move had put in jeopardy. That thought made him doubly glad of the fact that he could use magic freely these days. If someone threatened his family he would deal with it as best that he could- even if that was just stunning it and hoping to Merlin that he managed to get ahold of a magical authority before it woke up and ate his face.
While Harry might not know how to fully accept what his family was offering him, he wasn't about to lose it to anything that went bump in the shadows. He had already lost too many people to situations that he couldn't control over the years, he wouldn't add the last of his blood related family to that list. Harry James Potter was done being fate's bitch. He was going to fight to keep what was his, and if anyone didn't like that he would die protecting the Stackhouse family. Plain and simple. The decision helped center him almost- and suddenly things didn't seem as impossible to accept.
When they returned home that day Harry was more open. He interacted with Grans more, joked with Uncle Jason when he came around, and he let Sookie closer. His family appreciated the change, and started helping him look into colleges, once his results showed that he was on par with his senior year education wise. The get together Grans threw for him only served to introduce him to more of their circle- to incorporate him into their life in a more permanent manner. The Stackhouse home was finally feeling like it was somewhere that Harry would be living in long term, and less like it was only a temporary pit stop before he lost it all. He had started to lay down roots so to speak, and hoped that he wasn't mistaken for doing so. Harry wanted this to work out desperately. He would make it work out.