A Very Happy Birthday Indeed
Social Services get involved. Harry is removed from the care of the Dursleys and placed in the care of his Godfather.
Harry's sixth birthday starts the same as any other day. He's in his cupboard. No-one has wished him a happy birthday or acknowledged the day. Well, except for his teacher - Mr. Wolfe - who wished him a happy birthday the previous day when he was leaving school and gave him a bar of chocolate, which Harry quickly ate before going home.
He also got to see his friend, the funny black dog that follows him to and from school every day for the past six months. It growled at the mean bullies - again - so they left him alone, and it rolled around on the grass and tried to walk on two legs and fell over, causing Harry to laugh.
He's resigned to missing this birthday when he hears a knock at the front door. He doesn't realise at that moment that things are about to change. He listens to his Uncle's voice as he answers it.
"I'm Amelia Bones and this is my colleague, Jaya Basu. We're from Social Services. Can we come in?"
From what Harry guesses, the women just walk inside, because he can hear Uncle Vernon complaining from behind them.
"I'm here to see Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley. There have been concerns raised by the school, and it's my duty to ensure that they're safe and well."
"Would you like to sit down in the lounge while I get them?" Aunt Petunia asks, her voice higher than Harry has ever heard it.
"No," Amelia says firmly. "I'll wait here." A long silence follows her words.
"What are you writing?" Aunt Petunia suddenly shrieks.
"Everything," Amelia replies. "This isn't a friendly visit, Mrs Dursley. We've had an influx of concerns raised, and I'm the person that deals with the special cases. I suggest you call for the children immediately. It'll only look worse if you don't."
When Aunt Petunia calls for them both with a shaking voice, Harry pushes open his cupboard, the door hitting both of the women's legs, causing them to jump in fright.
"What were you doing in there?" Jaya says. She tries to peek in, but Uncle Vernon moves to close the cupboard.
"Little tyke," he says, with a forced laugh. "He's got a little den in there." He reaches out to ruffle Harry's hair, but Harry flinches away, eyes wide.
Neither woman looks convinced, but then Dudley thunders down the stairs, stopping when he sees Harry. He stamps his foot.
"What's the freak doing out of his cupboard?" he demands. "I don't like it when he's out! Put him back in now!"
"I'll have that tea now," Amelia says, before pulling the door open and looking into Harry's cupboard.
Harry watches as Miss Basu escorts Dudley to the car.
"Dudley will be placed in the temporary custody of Ms. Marge Dursley until our investigation is complete," Amelia says, coldly. "It's clear that you're unfit to raise children based on how you've treated your nephew."
"But… you could leave Dudley," Aunt Petunia sobs. Uncle Vernon is red-faced and angry.
"I'm not letting this happen!" he roars.
"Mr. Dursley, if you lay a finger on me or my colleague, or attempt to stop us, I will be calling the police," Amelia threatens, taking her own step forward. Harry marvels at her bravery because Amelia is shorter than both the Dursleys, but looks like she's ready to fight them both. "My reports hold a lot of weight. You failed in your duty as guardians, and these are the consequences." She turns her gaze to Harry. "Did Miss Basu not help you pack?"
"I don't own anything," Harry says, and Amelia reaches for her notebook to make a note. Harry watches her. She's looking at the Dursleys in disgust. Her writing is flawless, though her eyes aren't on the page. It's like the pen has a mind of its own as it moves.
It was like that for the entire meeting, though that wasn't the strangest thing about it. The strangest thing was that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told the truth, even though it was clear that they didn't want to. Uncle Vernon was turning red in his attempts to stop talking, but the words still fell from their lips, and Amelia wrote every single word down.
'Burden.'
'Freak.'
'Unwanted.'
The words still ring in Harry's ears. It all still hurts.
They leave just as the rain starts. Harry shivers. He hasn't got a coat. Usually, he'd get Dudley's old coat, but Dudley ripped it clean in half in a tantrum.
"We'll walk fast," Amelia says. "I think the bus will be best." She strides over to the park and Harry rushes at her side. He knows there's no bus-stop here, but doesn't say anything in case she gets mad. The rain picks up very quickly and it doesn't take long for Harry to get drenched.
They stop at the back of the park away from the houses.
"I'm sorry," Amelia says gently, turning to Harry. "From what I gathered today, you don't have much inkling of your heritage, which is why we're getting the bus." She pauses, giving Harry a chance to respond but he doesn't, so she continues.
"Harry, the things you can do - they aren't 'freakish' or wrong. You can perform magic - or 'accidental magic' in your case. You're a wizard and you're part of a magical community."
"Are you… are you one too?" Harry asks, eyes wide. Uncle Vernon has always insisted that magic doesn't exist, but Harry trusts Amelia.
"I'm a witch," she says. Harry takes a step back and Amelia laughs softly. "Not the stereotypical witch that goes with muggle children's fairy tales, I'm simply a woman who can do magic. Your mother was a witch too, and your father was a wizard."
"She was?"
Amelia nods. "Would you like to see something cool?"
At Harry's nod, Amelia points a wooden stick - which Harry didn't even notice her pick up from the ground - towards the road and a triple-decker purple bus magically appears and pulls up in front of them.
"There are quicker ways to travel, but with your lack of knowledge of our world, I thought it best we take a means of transport that is more familiar to you," she says. "We can sit anywhere you like, come along, Harry."
He hesitates. The bus is cool and he wants to ride it, but he's scared.
"Where will we go?" he asks. "Aunt Petunia said that if I left, I'd be sent to an orphanage or be homeless. They said I have no other family and no-one else will have me."
Amelia frowns. "Harry, you've got a Godfather. He does want you, he's been fighting for six months, ever since he returned from… abroad. I'm sorry you spent all that time with the Dursleys. A prominent figure in our community assured us that you were safe and well. But this time I'll do home-visits to make sure you're safe and happy, okay?"
Harry nods. He holds her hand and gets on the bus, choosing the top deck.
The bus ride is magical. Amelia points her wand at him and Harry is dry and warm, but that's not the best part. It's when the bus squeezes through the narrowest of gaps, causing Harry to giggle.
Harry is excited for only a moment - when the house appears from between two houses - before feeling scared again.
What if this person hates him?
Amelia knocks on the door. It swings open quickly and they enter.
"Welcome to Grimmauld Place," a man says. Harry's gaze moves over his dark hair and his many tattoos. Aunt Petunia wouldn't like him at all. But he has a kind smile, which reassures Harry.
"Harry, this is Sirius Black, your new guardian." She pauses. "Ah, and this is Remus Lupin, his partner."
Harry can only stare. Remus Lupin, or as Harry knows him, Mr. Wolfe, his teacher.
Amelia hands Remus a file, talks to the adults for a minute and then says her goodbyes and leaves.
"You're my teacher," Harry states.
Remus smiles. "I am," he agrees. "We've been fighting for custody for six months, Harry. I wanted to keep a watch over you."
Sirius leans down and stares at Harry for a moment. "Hey, kid," he says. "Long time no see. I'm your Godfather. You used to call me Uncle Padfoot, and this is your Uncle Moony. I know things have been sh… I mean, tough, but that's going to change because you've got us now."
Harry nods, not sure what to say. He glances at Remus, who is frowning as he reads the report that Amelia gave him.
"So you've got one hour," Sirius continues. "One hour to go and see your room, pick something to wear - because you've got some new clothes up there - and explore."
"I have my own room?" Harry asks. He's never had a room before. Dudley had two rooms though.
Sirius nods. "Remus said we should let you pick everything. It's pretty basic now, but there's some bits in there and you can pick anything you like for it. We'll get posters and cool stuff once we know what you like."
"And in an hour, we're going to take you out for the rest of the day," Remus adds eagerly. "We'll take you to Diagon Alley, which is a magical street. You can pick anything you want from the toy shop for your birthday present, and get a bag of sweets from the sweet-shop. We'll have lunch there, and there's a farm full of magical creatures that you've never seen before."
"We're celebrating my birthday?" Harry asks, shocked.
Sirius nods his head.
"Will…" Harry is almost too scared to ask, but he manages to get the words out in a whisper. "Will I have a cake?"
"Course you will. Remus has ordered a massive chocolate cake," Sirius tells him with a grin. "We'll get some candles and everything." His smile softens. "Things will be different here, okay? Moony and I were your dad's best friends. We're going to make him proud."
"Speaking of your parents, we've put together a photo album for you," Remus adds. "Would you like to take a look at that later?"
"Can I see that first?" he asks.
"Of course," Sirius murmurs. "Anything you want, Harry." He leads Harry to the living room, where a large book sits on the table.
The men kneel on the floor next to Harry, and Harry opens the album, gasping at the moving picture. It's a little narrower than a picture usually is, as though it's been cropped. Harry pays that little mind. He looks at the four people in the picture.
A younger Sirius and Remus stand off to the side, Sirius' arm around Remus' waist as they smile at each other, but there in the middle of the picture is what really gets his attention.
"Are these my parents?" he asks, already knowing the answer. The woman has the same green eyes as him and she's beautiful. She smiles at him and he smiles back.
He looks at the man at her side. He's never seen a picture of his dad before, but his dad has the same crazy hair as Harry. His dad waves and Harry waves back, tears in his eyes.
"Yeah, the best people we've ever met," Sirius replies sadly.
Finally, Harry closes the album and stands, eager to see his room.
"Hey, wanna see something cool?" Sirius asks.
Harry nods. Suddenly a black dog is standing where Sirius just was, and Harry realises that it's his dog-friend that follows him to and from school.
That's when he realises the extent of it. Remus works at his school, and probably was the one to report the Dursleys to Social Services. Sirius as a dog, scaring away the bullies and making sure Harry got home safely. They've been looking out for him longer than he's realised.
Maybe he'll be happy here with Sirius and Remus after all.