A/N* For those of you who feel that regular eleven year olds don't
talk like this keep in mind that these are the children of, well, children.
Wouldn't you grow up fast?
Elisabeth had her head propped up on her hand, staring at the sleet that was falling in sheets against the window. The others had not bothered her when she returned from speaking to Kris and she had offered no explanation as to what had happened. In his lone compartment Kris pulled a tiny snapshot out of his pocket. He carried it with him everywhere but no one knew about it but him. It was a picture of a tiny little girl, in Kris's opinion the most beautiful little girl in the world. He sighed; he couldn't take care of a child. He watched Elisabeth's retreating back, she was only eleven, she didn't need to deal with issues like this. Neither did he but, as Marit often said, if you deliver the goods you have to expect problems with the merchandise. He put he picture back into his pocket and went back to his friends.
Hermione looked quizzically at Elisabeth at supper in the Great Hall later that evening, the normally bubbly, popular girl was sitting alone, picking listlessly at her food, finally she shoved her plate away and left the Great Hall. Hermione caught her daughter's eye and gestured towards the door, she followed a few minutes later and went up to her office. She past Kris Svenson on the way down and she noticed the handsome young man was not surrounded by his usual fan club. She shrugged and slipped in the office door.
"Anna, what's wrong with Elisabeth? Is she ill?"
"In a manner of speaking. I'm surprised Harry hasn't sent you a letter yet, or dad."
"Well what's going on?"
Anna told her and Hermione sighed. "Alright, well. Go and don't tell Elisabeth you were here. I have some things to take care of and then I'll go talk to her."
Anna nodded and left and Hermione collapsed into her desk. "Why me?" She asked her desk.
"With all due respect Professor, nothing is happening to you." The desk replied.
"Shut up." She said, kicking it sullenly. She opened her letters replying to parents and tossing forged excuse notes from students into her wastebasket. She arrived at the bottom of the pile and found what she had been looking for, a note from Harry. "Yes!"
"Glad you found what you're looking for." The desk said crankily.
"Oh hush." Hermione said, kicking off her shoes and leaning back to read the letter but it offered no clue. Hermione sighed. Oh well, she thought, if he wants me to know he'll tell me.
Harry opened the door, expecting to see Ron, or Draco, or even Hannah and seeing instead a wet, cold Kris Svenson. "Come in." Harry said, "Let me get you a drink."
Harry took his jacket and brought him a beer. "Come off it." He said when Kris looked at the drink, and then at Harry.
He smiled. "I need a little help Harry."
"With what?"
Kris swallowed. "I need some help."
"Shoot." Harry said.
"I want to get visitation rights."
"Kris, you're fifteen, when you aren't in school you're working."
"Ha! Try another wonder-boy."
"Look, I'm not a lawyer, if you want to get into the technicalities Malfoy's your man."
"Malfoy's my boss. Anyway, it's not the legalities I'm worried about. I need to know how to take care of a little girl."
"Quit smoking, quit drinking, quit staying out late and drop all your old friends."
"Really?"
"No, that's the last thing you want to do. Your kid will just end up resenting you and you'll be left a thirty-year old loser with a daughter who doesn't talk to you. Except for the smoking, which is disgusting and vile, and Nadia, who is also disgusting and vile, you don't really need to give anything up. Except for sleeping around. Then you'll end up with fifteen kids, a dead-end job and an over-weight wife who throws stuff at your head when she gets angry."
"Um, oh."
Harry smiled. "So what, your thinking that you'll take this kid for two weeks in summer and a week at Christmas?"
"Yeah, I guess until I get out of school."
Harry nodded. "Raising a daughter is the hardest thing you'll do in your life. It isn't like raising a boy where once he's out of diapers you can give him a ball and a broom and let him knock himself out, you constantly have to impress your daughter. It's a very unrewarding job because she tends to see you as a loser has-been and opts to do exactly what you tell her not to just to see what you'll say. But they're clever, you can't use reverse psychology on them because they know what you're doing. They may look very cute and innocent but they have 30,000,000 wheels that are constantly turning and constantly finidng your faults. But," he paused and smiled wistfully, "but when they do decide that maybe you aren't so bad it's more rewarding than any social life may have been."
"Natasha will spend most of her time with her mother. She will hate me."
"Au contraire, by the time she's old enough to start hating you she'll also be smart enough to understand everything you've done, everything you've given up for her is a symbol of how much you love her. You under-estimate yourself. But, you are also under-estimating how much work a child in general takes. I've spent almost half of my life with a child and although I've never regreted Elisabeth I have regreted having her so early. If you go forever without ever seeing Natasha she won't have as much resentment for you as if you had taken her and then given her back again.
"So, you think about this and get back to me. We'll talk to Malfoy about your descision and he'll deal out the legalities."
Kris nodded and Harry showed him to the door. "If I'm not mistaken you should be in school right now, how are you getting home?"
Kris convinced him that he had a way home and Harry shut the door and went back in. There was another knock on the door as Harry sat down and he got up to answer it, expecting Kris to be needing a ride.
"Oh hello Malfoy." He said, surprised.
"Oh hello, HARRY." Draco said with a touch of sarcasm.
"Speak of the devil." Harry muttered.
"And he'll come running. Are you going to invite me in or am I going to stand here and get cold and wet?"
"Oh, by all means, make yourself at home. Just don't touch the furniture, I just got it cleaned and I don't want your Slytherin germs mucking it up."
Draco rolled his eyes and dropped onto a chair. "I just got back from an extensive budget meeting. It was the most boring meeting I've ever been to. Thank you," he said, as Harry brought him a cup of tea. "I should have taken the Welsch up on their offer to play Seeker instead of being all noble and working for the home team."
"So what did you decide on the budget matters?"
"Everyone but me makes 3000 Galleons a year. Even that new kid, Unattractive or whatever they call him."
"Unattractive? How out of the loop are you?"
"Excuse me, but aren't you the guy who thought that Jingle Cats was a shoe brand?"
"Well how was I supposed to know she wanted a CD my singing cats? Jesus."
Draco grinned. "How out of the loop are you?" he mimicked. "Anyway, why did you want to see me?"
"Actually, I originally just wanted to visit or whatever but Svenson was just here with an intersting venture."
"Uh-oh. Interseting ventures are pften dangerous."
"I know. Get this, fifteen year old kid, wants to get visitation rights for his one year old. I told him you would help him with the legalities."
"What did you put in this tea Harry, or did you say what I thought you said?"
"I know. Barking mad he is, but I don't reckon we could stop him and I don't reckon it's our job to stop him."
Draco sighed. "No, I suppose you're right but, well do you think he can handle it?"
"He's more mature than I was at fifteen."
"He's more mature than you were at nineteen."
"You just be quiet. I'm not the one who stole furniture from the Hufflepuff common room."
"Yes you are, you stole a chaise lounge and a shag rug. I "borrowed" a love seat."
"Oh, so now we're getting technical about the furniture are we? And "borrowed"? Ha! You still have thatt hing in your living room. You have a sheet thrown over it. I know these things."
Elisabeth had her head propped up on her hand, staring at the sleet that was falling in sheets against the window. The others had not bothered her when she returned from speaking to Kris and she had offered no explanation as to what had happened. In his lone compartment Kris pulled a tiny snapshot out of his pocket. He carried it with him everywhere but no one knew about it but him. It was a picture of a tiny little girl, in Kris's opinion the most beautiful little girl in the world. He sighed; he couldn't take care of a child. He watched Elisabeth's retreating back, she was only eleven, she didn't need to deal with issues like this. Neither did he but, as Marit often said, if you deliver the goods you have to expect problems with the merchandise. He put he picture back into his pocket and went back to his friends.
Hermione looked quizzically at Elisabeth at supper in the Great Hall later that evening, the normally bubbly, popular girl was sitting alone, picking listlessly at her food, finally she shoved her plate away and left the Great Hall. Hermione caught her daughter's eye and gestured towards the door, she followed a few minutes later and went up to her office. She past Kris Svenson on the way down and she noticed the handsome young man was not surrounded by his usual fan club. She shrugged and slipped in the office door.
"Anna, what's wrong with Elisabeth? Is she ill?"
"In a manner of speaking. I'm surprised Harry hasn't sent you a letter yet, or dad."
"Well what's going on?"
Anna told her and Hermione sighed. "Alright, well. Go and don't tell Elisabeth you were here. I have some things to take care of and then I'll go talk to her."
Anna nodded and left and Hermione collapsed into her desk. "Why me?" She asked her desk.
"With all due respect Professor, nothing is happening to you." The desk replied.
"Shut up." She said, kicking it sullenly. She opened her letters replying to parents and tossing forged excuse notes from students into her wastebasket. She arrived at the bottom of the pile and found what she had been looking for, a note from Harry. "Yes!"
"Glad you found what you're looking for." The desk said crankily.
"Oh hush." Hermione said, kicking off her shoes and leaning back to read the letter but it offered no clue. Hermione sighed. Oh well, she thought, if he wants me to know he'll tell me.
Harry opened the door, expecting to see Ron, or Draco, or even Hannah and seeing instead a wet, cold Kris Svenson. "Come in." Harry said, "Let me get you a drink."
Harry took his jacket and brought him a beer. "Come off it." He said when Kris looked at the drink, and then at Harry.
He smiled. "I need a little help Harry."
"With what?"
Kris swallowed. "I need some help."
"Shoot." Harry said.
"I want to get visitation rights."
"Kris, you're fifteen, when you aren't in school you're working."
"Ha! Try another wonder-boy."
"Look, I'm not a lawyer, if you want to get into the technicalities Malfoy's your man."
"Malfoy's my boss. Anyway, it's not the legalities I'm worried about. I need to know how to take care of a little girl."
"Quit smoking, quit drinking, quit staying out late and drop all your old friends."
"Really?"
"No, that's the last thing you want to do. Your kid will just end up resenting you and you'll be left a thirty-year old loser with a daughter who doesn't talk to you. Except for the smoking, which is disgusting and vile, and Nadia, who is also disgusting and vile, you don't really need to give anything up. Except for sleeping around. Then you'll end up with fifteen kids, a dead-end job and an over-weight wife who throws stuff at your head when she gets angry."
"Um, oh."
Harry smiled. "So what, your thinking that you'll take this kid for two weeks in summer and a week at Christmas?"
"Yeah, I guess until I get out of school."
Harry nodded. "Raising a daughter is the hardest thing you'll do in your life. It isn't like raising a boy where once he's out of diapers you can give him a ball and a broom and let him knock himself out, you constantly have to impress your daughter. It's a very unrewarding job because she tends to see you as a loser has-been and opts to do exactly what you tell her not to just to see what you'll say. But they're clever, you can't use reverse psychology on them because they know what you're doing. They may look very cute and innocent but they have 30,000,000 wheels that are constantly turning and constantly finidng your faults. But," he paused and smiled wistfully, "but when they do decide that maybe you aren't so bad it's more rewarding than any social life may have been."
"Natasha will spend most of her time with her mother. She will hate me."
"Au contraire, by the time she's old enough to start hating you she'll also be smart enough to understand everything you've done, everything you've given up for her is a symbol of how much you love her. You under-estimate yourself. But, you are also under-estimating how much work a child in general takes. I've spent almost half of my life with a child and although I've never regreted Elisabeth I have regreted having her so early. If you go forever without ever seeing Natasha she won't have as much resentment for you as if you had taken her and then given her back again.
"So, you think about this and get back to me. We'll talk to Malfoy about your descision and he'll deal out the legalities."
Kris nodded and Harry showed him to the door. "If I'm not mistaken you should be in school right now, how are you getting home?"
Kris convinced him that he had a way home and Harry shut the door and went back in. There was another knock on the door as Harry sat down and he got up to answer it, expecting Kris to be needing a ride.
"Oh hello Malfoy." He said, surprised.
"Oh hello, HARRY." Draco said with a touch of sarcasm.
"Speak of the devil." Harry muttered.
"And he'll come running. Are you going to invite me in or am I going to stand here and get cold and wet?"
"Oh, by all means, make yourself at home. Just don't touch the furniture, I just got it cleaned and I don't want your Slytherin germs mucking it up."
Draco rolled his eyes and dropped onto a chair. "I just got back from an extensive budget meeting. It was the most boring meeting I've ever been to. Thank you," he said, as Harry brought him a cup of tea. "I should have taken the Welsch up on their offer to play Seeker instead of being all noble and working for the home team."
"So what did you decide on the budget matters?"
"Everyone but me makes 3000 Galleons a year. Even that new kid, Unattractive or whatever they call him."
"Unattractive? How out of the loop are you?"
"Excuse me, but aren't you the guy who thought that Jingle Cats was a shoe brand?"
"Well how was I supposed to know she wanted a CD my singing cats? Jesus."
Draco grinned. "How out of the loop are you?" he mimicked. "Anyway, why did you want to see me?"
"Actually, I originally just wanted to visit or whatever but Svenson was just here with an intersting venture."
"Uh-oh. Interseting ventures are pften dangerous."
"I know. Get this, fifteen year old kid, wants to get visitation rights for his one year old. I told him you would help him with the legalities."
"What did you put in this tea Harry, or did you say what I thought you said?"
"I know. Barking mad he is, but I don't reckon we could stop him and I don't reckon it's our job to stop him."
Draco sighed. "No, I suppose you're right but, well do you think he can handle it?"
"He's more mature than I was at fifteen."
"He's more mature than you were at nineteen."
"You just be quiet. I'm not the one who stole furniture from the Hufflepuff common room."
"Yes you are, you stole a chaise lounge and a shag rug. I "borrowed" a love seat."
"Oh, so now we're getting technical about the furniture are we? And "borrowed"? Ha! You still have thatt hing in your living room. You have a sheet thrown over it. I know these things."