We are live outside King Georges hospital where the first ever male birth is taking place. The patient, one Vernon Dursley was committed to the Barley Lane asylum earlier in the year after the pressure of being pregnant caused him to have a psychotic break. His partner, who cannot be named for legal reasons, reported him to the authorities after he started saying that it was the Freaks fault for doing Freakish things to get him pregnant. This was followed by increasingly violent outbursts whenever the word 'magic' was used in his hearing. With me is Dr Houston. Dr, you have been examining Mr Dursley since he was committed, what can you tell me about his pregnancy.
He has one other child from his ex-wife, according to the records this child has the same Sexual Development Disorder as the father, though it expressed itself early. We have one more confirmed case, a schoolteacher in Manchester of a similar age to Mr Dursley. He turned up pregnant a few weeks ago after he and his wife had been trying for many years.
Harry turns off the TV as he puts his things together for meeting his friends in the Realm of Magic. As he grabs his shoes from the front door his next-door neighbours front garden catches his eye through the privacy glass. Opening the front door and stepping out, he watches as the old picket fence is replaced with a low brick wall while the neighbour is standing there with a glazed look on their face.
It doesn't take long for the glazed look to fade and they look around and catch sight of Harry, "Good morning. Do you like the new wall?"
"Uh huh. Er." – Harry licks his lips – "How long have you been able to do this?"
"Oh, probably around 3 months. Though I only found out this feature when the ball and chain replaced the couch the other day."
"Oh." Harry says weakly, "Have you found the inventory yet? The little picture that looks like a box in the bottom right-hand corner." He adds when he gets a blank look from his neighbour.
"Oh, that's what that is, we did wonder. It didn't seem to do anything when we looked the first time. I have to say, that new school you're going to seems to have done you a world of good. I think this is the longest I've every talked to you before."
Harry shakes his head, "It's not the school sir."
His neighbour nods, "Ah, yes terrible business that. We should have known he was a bit touched in the head. I'm sorry to say that he seemed to be a fine upstanding young man when he and his wife moved here. Thinner too, now are there any other quick tips you can give me?"
"Ah, erm, look in a mirror? Also, use your mobile phone."
"Mobile phone?"
"Somewhere in the bottom left."
"Oh, right the portable computer thing."
"You can also call any of your friends with it."
"Can you really? I thought it was just one of those fancy PDA's. We've got one indoors, though it chews through batteries like nobody's business. Well, this is far more convenient than the brick I keep in the car. Well, I'll just go and let the old lady know about that. Enjoy your day."
Feeling rather stunned, Harry grabs his things and heads off to the Realm of Magic to tell his friends about what just happened.
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Sophie hugs Alenia, the Demi-lich, to her chest as she dismounts the train at Kings Cross. This year has been amazing, but now she has to go home. Home where she's never been good enough, where her opinions don't matter because she was born a girl. Home where her mother died giving birth to her stillborn brother. Home where all she has is loyalty and hard work, and her Father and step-mother are waiting for her to be old enough to be wed to a nice 3rd or 4th son that's willing to give up their name. She's sure that if the family charter didn't explicitly state that only children from the first marriage could inherit, or that the Heir and presumptive had to attend Hogwarts she'd have been shipped off to Emerys. What is it that her father keeps saying, oh yes, 'Education is wasted on women, they only need to know enough to care for the house and the children.'
"Do not let these thoughts weigh you down child. You have me with you now, and you have influential friends at school. I can see from your thoughts that Hufflepuff has been considered the house for those that are not good enough for another house. But loyalty and hard work has produced more Heroes than in born talent ever has. In the 2000 years I've been active I've seen courageous adventures die because they overestimated their abilities, the intelligent do nothing because they never knew enough, and the cunning and ambitious feed like jackals in the courts. However, the people that have always stood out are the ones that prize loyalty and hard work over anything else. The best smiths, carpenters, seamstresses, and adventurers all worked hard to master their skills, and they were all loyal to their friends and companions. Your loyalty to your friends has already been rewarded, and it will continue to be rewarded. Let us go and greet your family together."
Sophie takes in a shuddering breath as Alenia repeats what she just said in her native language. When she finishes listening to the translation she scans the crowd for her father. She could see her step-brother talking to father and gesturing towards her and her classmates. As she walks over, her father looks at her with a complicated expression on his face that settles into something that looks like grudging acceptance. To Sophie the wait to use the Floo feels like she's waiting for the executioner to call her name, when the time came she almost missed the exit, which is something she hadn't done since she was 8.
Once the last person is through the floo, Sophie's father locks the floo before turning towards her.
"Well done in cultivating such powerful connections at school. The first thing you are going to do is get rid of that thing in your arms. Then your mother is going to take you shopping for suitable formal wear."
Whatever he was going to say next will stay forever unknown as Alenia rises into the air, "How dare you refer to me as a thing. Not only am I your daughters bonded familiar, I am also a Demilich in my own right. Sophie is her own person and I will not have you undoing all of the progress she's made in coming out of her shell just so that the heir to your family is pliant to your desires. While I am sure that my charge would not wish me to be this confrontational, I have watched her dreams and seen the way you have moulded her into a passive child that will do everything you tell her to. No more, and don't even consider filliacide in order to get around your family charter. "
"What?" Sophie exclaims.
Alenia turns to look at Sophie, "I found out that all families must register their charter at the ministry while I was browsing the library one evening. I sent off for a copy in your name as the heir apparent, it's in your book bag." – she turns back to Sophie's father – "As I was saying, I know that in a few years the time limit will pass where Sophie's death will immediately pass the headship to the nearest cadet branch. I'm not saying that you were even considering it, but I will react punitively to any attempt on her life."
Sophie's father blanches, as he'd not even considered that as an option. While the family charter says that women can only hold Regency for the family until an heir comes of age, Sophie is still his daughter, and the daughter of the woman he married for love as well as responsibility.
"Yes, well." He blusters trying to get his thoughts back on track, "That was never something I had considered, and I would never consider."
"No, instead you chose to kill her spirit. To make her meek and mouldable."
"I only taught her the things she'd need to know to make a suitable wife."
"Like your own wife?"
"Yes, she was the mediator. Strong, intelligent, but would just let you talk until you made a mistake. She was always able to explain other points of view."
"Does that sound like your daughter?"
Sophie watches at her father just falls silent at that point. Even her brother has fallen silent. All of them jump when Alenia says, "Sophie, would you be able to show me your bedroom?"
Wondering what just happened, she leads her familiar up to her bedroom when her father fails to object.
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As Harry appears near the arch Hermione's voice rings out, "There you are, we've all been waiting for you."
Harry huff before responding, "Sorry about that, I got caught up in a chat with my next-door neighbour. They've started using the interface."
"Lucky them." One of his friends grouses from the group sitting on the grass by a flower bed.
Hermione carries on, "It wouldn't be such a problem if owl's could reach you. But with only 4 of us able to contact you, if you're even sleeping on earth, these meetings are important."
Harry makes his way over to the group and plops himself down on the grass, "I know, I know. And I'm sorry, it was just unexpected that's all."
Hermione sits down next to him, making it clear that she was still staking her claim early. While she was doing that Daphne speaks up, "Well, we're all here now. What should we do today?"
Sally-Anne raises her hand before saying softly, "I've got my new leg, so I'd love to go to Alton Towers. Mum and Dad took me there once just after my accident, and I couldn't enjoy the place properly."
Shenjing smiles at her charge and master, "While I think that is a fine idea, I don't think that you can afford it even with the savings your family are making with magic. Why don't we visit the Museums in London instead? We could all get a group pass for £20 that will allow us into most of the museums for the day. The leaky is also near enough that we could meet up there and walk."
Tracy sighs, "Not to be a spoil sport, but I think that if we're going to be doing things in the muggle world, the first thing that needs to happen is that we go shopping. Being a half-blood I've got enough in my wardrobe to get by out in London, but I wouldn't fancy Daph, Megan or Susan's chances, let alone Leanne, Ernest, or Spohie."
"Hey!" Ernest objects, "I have Jodhpurs, paddock boots, and a shirt and jumper."
Sally, Harry and Hermione look at him blankly so Daphne quickly fills them in, "They're the name of clothing items used in riding horses. A lot of pure-blood houses still practice the art, and you can't really do that outside the wards in robes."
"Hey, it's muggle attire. Lots of people on Emmerdale Farm wear them. I watched it on the Tee Vee that you put in the common room."
Hermione sighs, "Well, at least you have some idea, and it's not in the shell suit range of ideas. So I guess the first thing is to grab some money and head to a Littlewoods to buy everyone some clothes. But first, Xingwei, would you mind grabbing Mum's Littlewoods catalogue so that everyone has a chance to look at what's in this year?"
"Sure, I'll be right back. Don't forget we're leaving for France on the 18th."
As Xingwei heads to the portal Hermione snaps her fingers, "Oh, yeah. Mum and Dad are taking us to the south of France for two weeks. We'll be coming here for Harry's birthday, but apart from that we'll be taking in the sun near Nice. Please don't send any Owl's while we're away as we're going to be in muggle areas."
Daphne nods, "Thanks for letting us know, I won't send you an invitation for my families summer ball then. Harry, I'm afraid that my father has decided to invite Dani over Harry, so we'll need to ensure you have formal attire if you choose to attend. Be aware that he's probably going to try and introduce you to one of my cousins with hope of developing a relationship, and eventually a betrothal contract."
Susan speaks up after that, "Auntie has got us all tickets to the ministry ball on the 8th August, apparently the Minister practically shoved the tickets in her hands when he realised that Harry was one of my friends."
Harry's shoulders sag at the news, while he managed to avoid the loner attribute, he's still not yet that social. As Neville, Ernest, and Justin all add their own dates to the pile Hermione squeezes his hand and whispers, "Don't worry, I'll get a calendar and we can put all of the dates down. While it might seem like a lot, it sounds like there's less than 1 a week."
When she put it like that it did seem much better, also, as if summoned by his misery, Sunbeam swoops down to land on his shoulder and chirps and sings softly into his ear.
It wasn't long after that before Xingwei returned with a few copies of the catalogue as well as a Tupperware container full of freshly baked cookies. With her reappearance the talk of balls and social events stopped in favour of looking at clothing, with the muggleborn and Harry being pulled into different groups to explain what they were looking at. Later that day a small crowd of Hufflepuffs made their way into the Littlewoods closest to Charring Cross and bought clothing for further outings into the muggle world.