I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

The Family that Chooses You

Chapter 48 – Unofficial Professional

The pounding on the door slowly woke Harry up. He blinked slowly, yawning widely. "I'm up," he said sleepily. "I'll get to making breakfast." He reached out for his glasses, groping in the wrong spot for a few moments before his brain woke up further.

"Oh right, I'm not at Number 4," he murmured. He still could not believe it. He was staying in the Leaky Cauldron until school started, and was away from the Dursleys. It was a dream come true if received in a very strange way.

The summer had started how it typically did. Harsh language and cruelty thrown at him from the Dursleys. He was able to stand up against some things. He was able to keep his school things with him, able to keep Dudley from trying to take his things or break them when he could not. He still suffered their verbal tirades but he knew nothing would stop that. He still had to do an inordinate number of chores. They had fed him the bare minimum and normally he would have suffered greatly with lack of food.

The wonderful box the girls had given him had saved his life, or at least made it more bearable. He was very careful with it, eating sparingly from it to preserve his supply. The few moments he could leave the house on errands he was able to buy things with his own money. An antique store had happily bought one of his Galleons he had. He figured it was something he should not do, but he was desperate. He was able to store the food he bought into the box and was thus able to sustain himself over time.

The first aid kit from Alicia helped too. The injuries he picked up from doing his chores healed much better and faster with the help from the kit.

The summer seemed tolerable for once. At least until Aunt Marge, Vernon's sister, arrived. It barely took two hours before her words drove Harry to rage.

And in his rage, he inflated her like a balloon with no idea how he did it or how to turn her back.

He fled Number 4 with all his possessions, wondering where he would go and how he would get to London. Seeing a large black dog caused him to accidentally summon the Knight Bus. The Bus had taken him to the Cauldron and he found the Minister of Magic waiting for him.

Harry expected to be punished but instead he was granted tentative freedom. He was to stay in Wizarding London, specifically at the Cauldron and Diagon Alley, until school started. He immediately agreed, delighted by this unexpected good fortune. When he asked why he was being allowed to make it through the incident unscathed so to speak, Fudge had blustered about letting him be safe since no real harm was done.

That had only been a few days ago and Harry still woke up feeling slightly confused. As if all of this was some wonderful dream and he would wake up in the terribly claustrophobic environment that was Number 4 Privet Drive.

The door continued to shake under the onslaught and he rose from the bed, stumbling. "Sorry!" he called out. "I'm coming!"

-0-

Samantha looked at her daughter with amusement bordering on embarrassment. "Katie, maybe he isn't in. If you keep pounding on the door, you're going to bother other guests."

Katie continued to hammer on the door. "Mister Tom said that he hadn't seen Harry leave yet. It's also later in the morning so he should be up by now. This is helping me work off my nervous energy otherwise I am going to lose it."

"I'm sure he's fine. Tom said he looked okay."

Katie shook her head and maintained her assault. "You didn't see him in the summer of last year. He looked horrible. If Mister Tom had barely seen him before, he wouldn't have a true frame of reference." She swung her hand back and as it flew forward the door opened. She squeaked with alarm as she fell in, suddenly robbed of the door that she braced herself against.

Harry's eyes opened wide with delight at seeing Katie then alarm at her suddenly falling towards him. He stepped forward to try and catch her but misjudged the distance. She angled her fist away and managed to miss him but hit him bodily with her shoulder instead. She stumbled and tripped, knocking him down with her falling after. Her head hit him in the nose causing both of them to see stars.

"Oh no Harry! Are you okay?" Katie asked hurriedly. Ignoring her throbbing forehead, she looked over the boy anxiously.

"Hi Katie!" he replied happily if slightly nasally. "I think I'm okay." He probed his nose gently. "Don't think it's broken, it's not even bleeding."

"Oh thank goodness." Relief that she had not broken his nose filled her. She then heard smothered laughter and she looked back, her eyes narrowing at her mother looking down at them and trying hard to not laugh loudly. "I'm glad you find this funny," Katie said waspishly, cheeks turning pink.

"It's hilarious," Samantha replied gleefully, holding her stomach. "Are you going to let the poor boy up?"

Katie realized she was lying on top of Harry and her cheeks turned deep red. She scrambled to her feet, helping Harry up as soon as she could. "Harry, this laughing woman, who is also a Medi-Witch and isn't helping us, is my mother Samantha. Mother, this is Harry."

"So I gathered," Samantha chuckled. "Hello Harry, it's very nice to meet you."

Harry tried to brush his unruly hair with his fingers to make it look somewhat presentable, which he knew would never happen. He was glad he fell asleep last night in his normal clothes; he would have been absolutely mortified if he was in his pajamas right now. He gulped and tried to smile. "H-Hello Mrs. Bell. It's very nice to meet you."

"Stop making him nervous Mum and check his nose please?" Katie glared at her mother.

"Alright, no need to badger your poor mother. May we step inside Harry?"

Harry nodded and led the two witches in. He scrambled about, throwing clothes into his trunk and trying to clear some of the clutter he developed.

"Harry, just sit down," Katie said clearly amused. "It's fine, we showed up unannounced and it's not bad in here. Better than the others in your dorm for sure."

He blushed and sat in a chair, hands folded in his lap. "How did you know I was here? I hadn't had time to send messages to everyone with Hedwig yet."

"My fault I'm afraid," Samantha said as she stood in front of Harry. "I'm just going to do a Diagnostic Charm to figure out the damage. Is that okay Harry?"

He nodded without hesitation. "Yes ma'am. Thank you."

Samantha arched an eyebrow and looked at Katie who looked equally shocked. "Really Harry? Just like that?" Katie asked, trying not to sound rude. She had honestly expected Harry to be more reluctant.

He nodded. "She's your Mum. Of course I trust her just like I trust you."

Katie flushed with pleasure.

Samantha smothered a grin. "Thank you Harry. Now where was I? Oh yes. So I was doing a late stint at St Mungo's and was asked to aid in a case of accidental magic. There was a Muggle woman who had been inflated and needed to be restored back to normal as well as the standard memory charm fix. I heard the one that did the accidental magic had ran and that the Minister of all people met with him. The next day on an errand to the Ministry, I talked to a friend who said the person wasn't being charged and was staying in Diagon Alley."

She performed the charm non-verbally and saw that his nose was mildly inflamed but unbroken. A simple charm would fix that. Normally she would have only checked the area with the charm but she let the charm go a little farther, doing a general full body check. As the charm revealed simple diagnoses, she felt herself frown more and more. She finally canceled the charm, knowing that it still had more to identify.

Katie knew her mother's moods and saw that while the charm ran, her mother was becoming more concerned. "Mum? Is everything okay?"

Samantha smiled cheerily, trying to allay Katie and Harry's apprehension. "Despite being struck by an incredibly dense object, your nose is just fine Harry. A simple anti-inflammatory charm will bring down the swelling." She giggled at her daughter's look of displeasure. "May I?"

"Yes please. Thank you very much," Harry replied easily.

"So polite. I hope it rubs off on Katie," Samantha said. Another non-verbal cast and Harry's nose went back to its normal shape. "There we are, as handsome as a niffler's snout."

Harry touched his nose and smiled brightly at the lack of pain. "Magic is wonderful!"

The witches laughed.

"Harry," Katie said as the laughter subsided, "did you really blow up your aunt?"

He looked sheepish. "Yes. I didn't mean to. But she said some really upsetting things about my mum and dad. Compared them to dogs with bad blood. Called my mum…" his voice died and he looked miserable.

"Her own sister?" Katie said indignantly. "I know I've said some bad things about my sister but I'd never say stuff like that."

"No this was Uncle Vernon's sister. Though Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't disagree with her."

Katie automatically hugged him. "Don't listen to them Harry."

"I try not to, but it's hard." His voice was quiet and shy.

Samantha snorted angrily. "I really shouldn't be saying this but I'm glad it took us a while to restore her. She looked very uncomfortable." She flushed a little at the looks from the young boy and young woman. "Just don't tell anyone I said that. I'm supposed to be impartial and all that."

Katie smiled, tickled by her mother's admission. "How have you been, Harry, since then?"

"I've been okay, great I mean now that I'm not at Number 4. The first few weeks weren't too bad. Your gift saved me. Oh!" He looked right at Samantha. "I'm really sorry for not thanking you sooner for the box. It really really helped me. I meant to write you a note directly about it but I couldn't send Hedwig out too much or else they'd get angry with me."

"I was happy to do it Harry," Samantha said. She really was and after seeing the state Harry was in, she wished she had done more. She had a thought. "Have you gotten all your school things yet?"

He nodded. "My first day after being here. It was fun taking my time and getting things that I wanted."

"Would you like to join us today then? If you've nothing else to do? We're getting Katie's things today."

It was obvious that he wanted to and equally obvious he was holding back. "I'd love to but I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Come with us Harry," Katie said eagerly. "It'll be fun. Since you've been around for a bit you can show us the good places."

"Oh yeah! I found some nice places to get things." He looked excited.

"Splendid," Samantha said warmly. "We'll wait for you downstairs. Head on down when you're ready." She and Katie left his room and stood in the downstairs bar area. She wrapped an arm around her daughter. "See, I told you he would be okay."

Katie smiled wanly. "I know. I was just nervous. I mean, anywhere away from his aunt and uncle is a vast improvement for him. I was just worried how he would look."

"He must have looked awful last summer for you to still be bothered by it," Samantha said kindly.

"It was like a nightmare," Katie said. She wiped a tear away. "Did…did your charm find anything else?"

Samantha winced. "Didn't think I was that obvious."

"I could tell. Localized diagnostic charms are pretty quick. You let this one go for a bit."

She sighed. "Well, don't go telling anyone, especially Harry because it is rather inappropriate, but there are some troubling things. I might try to write up some exercises and other things for you to take to school with you to help him recover some."

Katie hugged her hard. "Thanks Mum."

Samantha kissed her forehead. "There is some good news. Some of the older injuries, it looks like someone has tried to help here and there, undo some of the damage and heal things up." Her eyes twinkled a little. "My first mentor."

Katie thought for a moment then her face brightened with understanding. "Oh! Really? She must be doing a little here and there every time Harry ends up in the Infirmary."

"Sounds just like her," Samantha agreed. She waved an arm when Harry appeared at the staircase, looking for them. "Let's have a nice day together shall we?"

-0-

The day was very nice.

Harry really liked shopping with Katie and Samantha. It was clear that they had a warm and happy parent and child relationship, something he was a bit wistful over. They joked with one another and were respectful, but did not hesitate in saying things he would feel awkward saying to an adult, much less to a parent. It was clear that they loved each other deeply though.

He wished he had that. He hoped one day he would.

They did not make him feel awkward at all. He did not feel like someone they pitied and brought along. They included him in making decisions and listened to him without condescension. In fact, he felt quite proud when he showed them stores that he had found that they did not know. Places that sold certain supplies for cheaper without loss of quality.

After a while they began to see who could tell the most embarrassing story about the other and Harry loved every moment of it. It felt good to be included in a family dynamic like that.

Samantha watched carefully while they shopped. She knew it was a problem that she had. Even when she was not working, she could not completely turn off her work mind. No matter how relaxed she was, she always found herself thinking and wondering, debating, observing.

At first, she really did not want to do that to Harry. She knew he was incredibly self-conscious from what Katie told her, and she wanted to respect his privacy. Then again, Katie did want her to make as professional an opinion as she could, she had said as much. So Samantha said she would, as much as she could outside of the medical facility.

It was clear to her that Harry had copious injuries that he was dealing with, physical and mental and emotional. Some were recent, many were sustained over an extended period of time. It was also clear that he never had adequate treatment for many of them. He had been left to suffer, to deal with it on his own.

If she was being honest, she was incredibly surprised at how Harry acted with them. Sure, he was incredibly shy at first but as time passed, he became more open. In her experience, most people would have been very withdrawn, hostile, untrusting. Yet Harry was surprisingly resilient, showing a kindness and openness that she truly would not have expected.

It gave her hope.

She also smiled at how Harry treated Katie. He was very conscientious of her, considerate. It was clear he cared about her and trusted her. Just as clear that Katie was very fond and protective of him.

It made her happy to see them like that.

After getting all of Katie's things, they lingered for a while in Diagon Alley with Harry but finally Samantha looked at her watch. "We best get going Katie. We have a lot to do at home before we leave on our trip." She looked at Harry. "We're taking a family trip before school starts which is why we did our shopping early," she explained.

"Oh can you wait for one moment please?" Harry asked. At their nods he dashed off.

"Such a bright boy," Samantha murmured.

"He wasn't always like this," Katie said. "He used to be a lot more shy."

"I believe you. You have done wonders to help him. You and the rest of the team. I must admit, I was very worried about him."

"Me too," Katie whispered, leaning into her mother. "I still am." She sighed. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

Samantha shrugged uneasily. "Okay is relative. Will he be perfectly normal? I don't know, given what you've said he's gone through. Can he have a good life and be happy and overcome what he went through? I think so. It'll be hard, but it's possible."

"We'll get there," Katie said firmly.

Her daughter's determination made Samantha's heart sing. She kissed her head. "I'm so proud of you."

Harry returned carrying three brightly colored bags. "This one's for you," he said to Katie and handed her the red one. "This one is for your sister." He gave her the blue bag. Then he handed Samantha the silver bag. "This is for you and Mr. Bell. I don't know what kind of candy you both like but hopefully you do. I asked the shopkeeper for the best one for adults."

"Harry, you didn't have to do this!" Katie said.

"I know, but I wanted to. I really had fun today," he replied smiling.

Katie hugged him tightly.

Samantha felt touched by the boy's kindness. "That was very kind of you Harry. Thank you and I'm sure my husband and I will love it. May I give you a hug too?"

Harry nodded without hesitation and stepped into her arms. He was able to not flinch and he was surprised at first. Then he realized Samantha's presence was nice, it was familiar. She was so like Katie, in both build and personality, that he had felt at peace around her.

It was very nice.

He walked back with them to the Cauldron. The Bells would be using the Floo there to return home.

"If I can't send you a message these last few weeks I'll see you on the train," Katie said to him.

"Can't wait to see you again," he said. "Have fun on your trip. Thank you for seeing me and it was nice to meet you Ma'am."

"It was my pleasure. Next time though I insist you calling me Mrs. Bell."

He blushed and nodded. He waved until they stepped through the Floo. He felt a little lonely after they left but it was not the usual kind of loneliness. It was the kind where you had fun and was sad the fun ended, not the kind that dragged on you and took you to dark thoughts and dark memories.

He walked back to his room, eager for the school term to start soon.