Prophetess Of Hearts: It was magic interfering with the records. No normal orphanage is going to let a fifteen-year-old adopt a five-year-old, are they? Well, I don't think they would, but you never know!

PVipertooth: Thanks; it'll take pride of place on my shelf! Ooh, shiny! I'm glad you like Barbie, but I think if I had to put up with her, she'd drive me mad!

Mars Raven: What can I say? I liked the idea. *grins*

 The room was silent for five minutes while everyone wondered how to break the ice. The boy looked at Harry, Harry looked at Dudley, Dudley looked at Aunt Petunia and Aunt Petunia looked at Uncle Vernon who was half glaring, half staring at the Barbie, who alternated between smiling at Harry and the boy.

"Well…" Wendy decided to try and crack the silence. She picked up a pile of papers and started to file through them, stopping at points to pluck a paper out and set it on the table.

Eventually Dudley decided he could take no more. "Excuse me, but who are you?" This question earned a rare glare from his father.

The blonde started, apparently realising something. "Oh, I didn't introduce myself properly, did I?"

'Why do I expect her to say "Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter" when she gets like that?' Harry wondered.

If Barbie was expecting a reply, she was disappointed. All she received were stony stares from the Dursleys, a curious look from Harry, and a sullen glare from the boy. She carried on. "I'm Wendy Smith, Chief Residential Carer at Lonely Tots orphanage. I'm in charge of all the children that come into our care at Lonely Tots…"

'I pity those that get looked after by her' Harry thought this, but didn't say it.

"And our little visitor over there is Thomas."

"It's Tom." Tom, still sitting on the sofa, started to sulk.

"Anyway…" The Barbie started her engines again. "We got a letter a few weeks ago stating that a Mr Harry Potter wanted to adopt young Thomas."

"It's Tom!" Tom looked oh-so slightly angry at the use of his full name.

"Sorry, Thomas." Wendy started talking again, not noticing that Harry and Tom looked at each other, rolling their eyes in unison.

"So we carried out a few routine checks on Mr Potter. By the way, dear, what's your date of birth and birth town?

"31st July 1980, I was born in Wales" Harry replied. (A/N: I'm sure Godric's Hollow was in Wales)

"Good, then our sources are correct, we have the right Mr Potter. And tell me, do you feel you could be a good father figure to young Thomas?"

"Don't call me Thomas! I wanna be called Tom!" Harry turned to the side and saw that Tom had his fists balled up with the Barbie's ignorance of not using his nickname. Tom felt Harry's eyes on him and turned to give him a half apologetic, half sheepish smile that only a five-year-old could pull off.

Seeing the way that Tom reacted reminded Harry of himself. Harry thought about Hogwarts and the fact that a Muggle couldn't go. As he thought about that there came a persistent little voice in the back of his mind, telling him that Tom wasn't a Muggle, and that he would grow up to be a wizard. Harry wasn't sure what the voice was doing there, so chose to ignore it.

The voice refused to be silenced and carried on putting a point across until eventually Harry gave in and accepted that Hogwarts wouldn't be a problem. Harry looked up and realised just how long he had been sitting there thinking about the reactions of those at Hogwarts. Knowing that everyone would need some sort of answer he looked at Tom, wanting to know if Tom liked him and if Harry was ready to make a decision that could change his life forever.

Then, without warning, Tom decided to flick a Jelly Bean he'd found on the floor at Dudley. Said Jelly Bean suddenly found itself with a new place of residence; Dudley's left nostril!

Dudley howled and started clawing at his nose. Aunt Petunia jumped on Dudley and started pulling on his nose as though that would make the Bean drop out. Uncle Vernon sat there staring at his wife and his son as though they had suddenly each grown a second head! Cries and yells could be heard. (Mainly from Dudley)

Harry and Tom were doubled up on the sofa, tears of laughter rolling down their faces, just from watching the tangle formerly known as Dudley Dursley and his mother.

The Barbie- believe it or not- was still in her chair sifting through the pile of papers having said, or noticed, nothing at all! Harry wondered what reaction he'd get if he were to place a hurling hex on her chair. 'She'd probably still be sitting there with her papers and start chatting about these terrible earthquakes we've been getting' came his answer.

Ten minutes, many yells and shouts later, Dudley and Aunt Petunia found themselves back in their respective places. They both looked slightly worse for wear; Dudley had a nosebleed and Aunt Petunia had scratches on her face from where Dudley was trying to push her off.

ONLY THEN, did the Barbie decide to look up! "Goodness, what happened here then?" She asked taking in the sight of Harry and Tom still crying on the sofa, Dudley with a nosebleed and Aunt Petunia with a scratched up face.

Getting no answer she swivelled around to face Harry and said, "I do believe, Mr Potter, that you never answered my earlier question. Do you think that you could be a good father figure to Thomas?"

"I give up! I really do!" Tom flopped back on the sofa, defeated in what Harry had come to call the 'Battle of the Name'.

Harry looked at Tom, and started to smile. 'Look at the poor kid,' his thoughts were saying in a very Hermione-ish voice. 'He's exactly like you; no parents and forced to live with people who don't understand him. Can you really say "no" and leave him in the claws of this…this Barbie! Go on, look into his eyes and tell her you can't look after him. Hah! I don't think you can, can you?'

Pondering this a moment, Harry looked from Tom to the Barbie who looked ready to pounce on him again and then back to Tom. Tom caught Harry looking at him, and shot him a sideways smile. That settled it for Harry. Staring straight at the Barbie, he said:

"I think I could be the perfect father figure for Tom…"

******

OK, I'm evil leaving it there. Next chapter: The Dursley's reaction, past history and adoptions!