CHAPTER 4

It was the next morning. While Rose was still experimenting with her junior runes kit, Harry and Tom were enjoying glasses of fresh orange juice in the veranda overlooking the city.

"I'm glad you're here," Harry commented to Tom.

"It's so peaceful here, even in such a busy city. I am not looking forward to returning to the cold, drafty castle filled with noisy children."

"Rose can be noisy too."

"One versus several hundred is not a comparison."

"True." Hale appeared then and handed Harry a stack of papers. "It never ends."

"More holiday cards?"

"No. This is business stuff."

Tom raised his eyebrow. "Your research?"

"I wish."

"Don't leave me in suspense."

"After I adopted Rose, I had a blood test done at Gringotts that revealed the extent of her inheritance. I claimed everything on her behalf. A lot of people bequeathed her money, books, and houses. It's been endless getting through it all."

"Really?"

"Yes, people were so happy that the war was over that Rose was written into a lot of wills as a thank you."

"What have you done with it all?"

"I let the goblins deal with most of it for years. Now that Rose is older, and understands what's going on, we're investing."

"Investing? In what?"

"A lot of charities at the moment, helping the hungry, the poor, children, hospitals. That type of thing."

"You let a ten year old make financial decisions?"

"She wants to change the world, and who am I to stop her?"

"You're her father."

"I suppose I am."

"You don't seem happy to be dealing with it."

"It's a lot of paperwork. I'd rather focus on my medical research or Rose, than deal with politics."

Tom looked away for several minutes then turned back. "I didn't thank you."

"Whatever for?"

"For bringing me here."

"Oh that."

"Yes, that."

"Anyone know you were meeting with me yesterday?"

"No."

"Does anyone know we've been writing?"

"No. But Slughorn still wants to talk to you."

"Still? Can't he take a hint."

"He's insistent about wanting to know you. He's getting suspicious that you're hiding something."

"People are always looking for the next villain."

"Are you?"

Harry shrugged. "I slayed mine. I don't need another, least of all in myself."

"Isn't that what hero's do? Fight villains?"

"I don't claim to be a hero."

"What do you claim to be then?"

"Harry. I'm just Harry." His stare intense.

Tom broke their eye contact and changed the subject. "Before, you mentioned not trusting anyone with Rose. What about her godfather?"

"He's never really recovered from the war."

"Has he met Rose?"

"Of course. He's family."

"And he's around her?"

Harry lifted his left hand and rocked it back and forth. "Sort of."

"Go on then, you always pause before the interesting parts."

Harry laughed. "You just want to hear gossip."

"It's not gossip if it's true."

He signed some forms and turned back to Tom. "Once I made sure no one could take Rose away from me, I reached out to Regulus. It was after he was declared innocent but still in the hospital recovering."

"How did he respond?"

"Not well. There was a lot of shouting and threatening."

"How did you deal with that?"

"I pointed out that he would have had Rose all along had he thought of the child before running off half-cocked after his brother. Rose should have been his priority after her parents died, that's what godparents are for."

"Ouch. Right to the heart. I'm surprised he didn't run to the Ministry. Lucius worked there and has always had connections to the press as well."

Harry smirked. "Oh, he tried."

"What did you do?"

"Threatened to disappear. He either accepted the situation or he'd never see Rose again."

"And he accepted? You got an enraged Black to agree just like that?"

"With the urging of a magically binding contract."

"Impressive."

"Thank you."

"Do they have a relationship?"

"Yes. Not quite what I would like for Rose but at least he tells her about her parents."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Me, probably. I don't want Rose to be another James. Or Lily for that matter. Regulus still struggles with that."

"And the Ministry?"

"They haven't reached out at all. Everyone thinks she's still with Rowan and his beachball of a wife. I know Regulus has been ignoring Lucius for years so he doesn't know I have her. Their discord is not my problem. If Lucius was really friends with the Potters as everyone says, then he should have done more for Rose than dumping her on the doorstep of a muggle house."

"I see your point. Lucius did make that decision. At least he made the recommendation and the Ministry agreed."

"Yes. The same night that Dumbledore was killed. I still can't believe he was the Dark Lord behind it all. He simply took over what Grindelwald failed to do. He did it better and almost succeeded. It was kind of smart of him to kill the competition. Set himself up to be the hero."

Tom shifted in his seat. "Will Regulus be here for Christmas?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm dropping Rose off on Boxing Day. She'll stay with him until New Years. He's actually living with his Aunt, Andromeda Tonks, and her family. They have a little girl who is a few years older than Rose. They get on well. She'll have a lot of fun."

"Were you going to join them if I wasn't here?"

"No. I would be alone, well, with Hale. I don't have any other family and my social life has been exclusive to grabby single moms at Rose's football matches."

Tom gave him a scrutinizing look. "Who raised you?"

He took a long drink of water and smirked the entire time watching as Tom' patience diminished. "Why? You can guess how I was treated, let's leave it at that."

"Alright. What about now? Your name is in the papers. You're famous. That usually attracts unwanted relatives."

"They don't know."

"Excuse me?"

"They don't know of my accomplishments. When I was little, I was called a liar and a cheat if I had good grades so I hid them. Now, well, like I said, I'm a world away."

"How did you attend university without their support?"

"I found a way. I left and that's that."

"How did you manage?"

"A couple of forged signatures and Bob's your uncle. The school administrators left a lot to be desired as they never followed up but it worked out for me."

"Did you tell anyone at all? About how you were treated?"

"Not when I was very young. But when I was a bit older I did."

"What happened?"

"I told my teachers and they didn't believe me. I was ignored. I raised my concerns again and again to no avail. I stopped trying."

"Leaving a child with horrible guardians. I can't believe no one stepped in."

"My friends noticed and tried to help."

"Really?"

"Yes. I was eventually moved into my own room, out of the cupboard, but they placed bars on the window, locks on the door and a cat flat where they fed me through."

"WHAT!"

"Not so loud, don't alert Rose." Tom calmed down. "I was let out to do chores and use the toilet."

"But your friends helped?"

"They were worried about me since they hadn't heard from me in weeks so they stopped by. Stole their dad's car and even used it to rip the bars off the window."

"Is that when you left?"

"No, I went back. I had nowhere else to go."

"You let them abuse you!"

"Mind yourself! I didn't let them do anything, Tom! I was a child. Twelve years old. I shouldn't have to tell them that I needed to be fed!" He was glaring, face pinched.

"I apologize." Tom sighed and took a big gulp of his juice.

It was several minutes before Harry responded. "I survived but I lost a lot along the way. That's why I took Rose. Not to replace my son."

"I never said…"

"No. But you thought it. I would if I was in your shoes. It's alright. I wanted something better for her than magic hating relatives. The scars I have..." Harry closed his eyes. "I wish someone had found me."

"You've done an amazing job."

Harry smiled. "Thank you. I do the best I can. I just hope people will leave her alone once she steps back into the public."

"She's 'The Girl Who Lived'."

"That's nonsense."

"You don't like the title?"

"Of course I don't like the title. It carries too much pain. Everytime I hear it, it tells me that her parents are gone. She knows that already. How they died for her. It's being reminded constantly that she lost them. It's depressing. She has no recollection of them. Let alone what the masses will expect of her. That's a huge burden to place on the shoulders of a child."

"She's advanced. Years ahead of her peers. Isn't that pressure on itself?"

"Not really. She pushes herself because she wants to have credibility to her own name, not just from those she inherited. What she's doing, what she will do, that's her, not the storybook Rose Potter."

"You're a good role model."

Harry turned red at the compliment. "I want to show her that hard work pays off."

"Speaking of which. What are you working on now?"

"Dragon Pox."

"Why? A vaccine already exists."

"I'm developing a course of treatment for older patients suffering from it. The current vaccine is only for children, which is unfortunate for the rest of us."

"Children are immunized for it routinely. I don't see why you see the need."

"I wasn't."

"You weren't what?"

"Inoculated. I actually didn't get any of the magical ones until I adopted Rose. It's why I decided to be a healer. More needs to be done."

"You could have died of a number of illnesses!"

"I know, and I blame a lot of people including my school healer."

"What was wrong with your school healer?"

"I never received a proper medical check-up. And if the school did keep medical files on their students then the healer would have known that I was not inoculated."

"I see your point. School healers should check every student, every year."

"See, that's why even with your surly attitude you're an amazing educator. You care for your students." Harry patted Tom on the shoulder before turning his attention to the pile of papers.