AN: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.

Chapter 8: Dumbledore

After the smaller Potter twin turned eight, James was fed up with their accidental magic and how often he got minor injuries because of it. At first, he didn't know how to fix it, but eventually remembered the threats he'd made about binding the child's magic. And just as things began nearly a decade prior, he plotted and planned and devised a scheme.

If he told Dumbledore about his child's magic causing him harm, Dumbledore would likely be open to the idea of binding their magic. However, if Dumbledore asked why the child's magic was harming James, there could potentially be questions James wouldn't like to answer. Therefore, he shouldn't go into detail about what happened leading up to the… incidents.

With a general idea of what he was going to do, James floo called Dumbledore and had a lovely little chat about how the smaller Potter twin's illness apparently spread to their magic and caused them to harm James repeatedly. Dumbledore, of course, agreed to bind the poor child's magic so nobody got hurt. The Potters were a family, after all, and family loves each other and would absolutely never hurt one another.

A week later, the child's magic was bound. It didn't physically hurt, but it was certainly an odd experience for the child who had become so incredibly aware of suddenly having magic available at a moment's notice after not having it at all for their entire life.

Dumbledore didn't notice the brief look of triumph James showed once the child realized that mysterious warmth they occasionally felt was gone. In fact, Dumbledore missed all the signs of James being a less than stellar parent, from the child being excessively quiet to James practically ignoring their existence. So, he left the Potters' manor and went back to Hogwarts without feeling even a bit of guilt over removing the child's ability to defend themselves. Or maybe he did feel a bit guilty but acknowledged that it was for the greater good that the child couldn't hurt their father, because obviously the father in question hadn't done anything to warrant a concussion or three.

Back in Hogwarts, Dumbledore continued as he always had. At the time, it was near the end of term and students were rushing to study for exams rather than trying to maim each other over which house they were sorted into, so he had no reason not to sit around and enjoy the nice weather.

After he had been sitting for a while, his phoenix started trilling in a somewhat disapproving way. Dumbledore was quick to reassure the phoenix, saying, "It was only temporary, Fawkes! Poor James' daughter was having issues with her magic hurting James, so it was perfectly reasonable to bind her magic. Once she's recovered from whatever is affecting her magic to make it so violent, I can unbind it. It was for the greater good."

Dumbledore's phoenix spent the day squawking every time Dumbledore moved.

—-—

Back in the Potters' manor, James was back to his daily routine and so was his sickly little child. He set to work on his paperwork, his child went to the library to process the happenings of the day, and life went on.

Not a lot changed after that.

James went back to screaming without repercussions, the child went back to cowering in the library, and the sounds of turning pages, quills on parchment, and a child walking on hardwood floors went on without pause. Maybe they became even more quiet, but they never stopped. They continued as if the child had never started to think James would stop and they could all be a family again.

The people who knew of the smaller Potter twin's bound magic assumed it was for the best, as the magic in question had been lashing out at James and James was just so charming. Some people may have hesitated in deciding that it was fine that the child's magic was bound, but with Dumbledore's support and old money backing him, James wasn't viewed any differently. Occasionally, someone at the ministry may make small talk about it, saying things like, "Oh, it must have been so devastating to have your very own child's magic turn on you! I myself had a sibling whose magic was like that, and it was terrible to think they had hurt me of their own volition." or, "Well, her mother is a muggleborn, so… But I'm not prejudiced! I would never say the m-word."

And if the small child starts to feel like their skin is too tight or can't sit still without fidgeting as long as they could before, nobody notices. Everything goes back to how it was, with James being charming at the ministry and screaming at home, his sickly child hiding in the library, his celebrity son spending almost all of his time outside on a broom, and his wife staying home to be there for her son.

Life goes on.