3. Guardianship

A/N: This chapter was kind of fun to write.

Minerva had left early that morning, looking forward to a day of Christmas shopping with Arabella, the only one of her three sisters who didn't constantly hint that Minerva should have married and settled down long ago. Of course, Arabella was also the only sister that knew that Minerva was hopelessly in love with Albus Dumbledore. That's beside the point. Minerva had left the school, expecting to return with her Christmas shopping done. She hadn't expected to return with the-boy-who-lived-to-be-abandoned-by-his-relatives. Yet, here she was, walking through the corridors of the school to see how Harry was doing after practically badgering Albus into letting her become the boy's new guardian. As she pondered this, a new thought occurred to her. "Albus, we are going to need to make some changes to my rooms to accommodate Harry."

"Yes, and perhaps to mine as well," he mused, looking thoughtful. Minerva stopped, startled. Albus continued for a few more paces before stopping and turning to look at her. "Minerva? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, of course not. You just surprised me."

"I can still do that?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling.

She smiled as she covered the distance between them and slipped her arm through his once more. "Yes, you can."

"My, my. Will wonders never cease?" They continued on their journey to the hospital wing.

When they arrived, they found Harry sleeping peacefully, wearing clean pajamas and the worst of the dirt and grime scrubbed away. Poppy rose from her seat at Harry's bedside. "How is he, Poppy?"

"He's doing much better, Minerva," Poppy replied. "His lungs are clear and he's breathing easier. The rest is up to him."

Albus smiled as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Poppy. I imagine Alastor is missing you right now."

"He came down and helped me change Harry's clothes," Poppy told them, blushing faintly.

Minerva reached out and squeezed her friend's shoulder. "We'll keep an eye on Harry, Poppy. Go to Alastor."

"Let me know when he wakes up," Poppy told them, waiting until each had nodded before turning and heading to her rooms.

Minerva wasted no time occupying the chair Poppy had left beside the bed. A wave of Albus' wand stretched the chair into a seat for two, complete with cushions, and he sat down next to her, resting his arm along the back of the chair. Minerva was very aware of his arm pressing against her shoulders and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Deciding to ignore it for the time being, she turned her attention to Harry. He seemed to be breathing more easily than he had earlier and he looked more peaceful, too. Minerva smiled her relief and unconsciously leaned into Albus. Soon, the long day combined with the roller coaster ride of emotions she'd gone through conspired to put her to sleep, her head nestled on Albus' shoulder.

Where was he? It almost smelled like a hospital, but not quite. He remembered his Uncle Vernon taking him to the junkyard and leaving him there to die. He clearly recalled stumbling his way through the junkyard, trying to find someplace to keep out of the cold. The car hadn't been ideal, but it was better than nothing. Then the tall woman with black hair had shown up and taken him to Mrs. Figg's house. Mrs. Figg had insisted on him eating a bowl of soup. He'd just finished it when a wave of dizziness hit and he fell into darkness. Now he was awake and obviously in a bed: a soft, comfortable bed, with clean sheets and a warm blanket.

Deciding he wasn't going to learn anything if he kept his eyes closed, Harry slowly opened them and stared at the sight. The tall woman was seated beside his bed, asleep. A tall, thin man with a silver mane of hair and matching beard sat beside her, holding her even as he slept. As Harry watched them, the man's eyes opened and bright blue eyes met Harry's bright green ones. "Hello, Harry."

"Who're you?" Harry asked, vaguely remembering seeing him earlier. "Where'm I?"

"I am Albus Dumbledore," the man replied, seeming in no hurry to relinquish his hold on the woman snuggled against him. "You are in a hospital wing."

Harry slowly processed the information, and then remembered a name, "Miss McGonagall?"

"That would be me," the woman supplied, slowly straightening up. "How are you feeling, Harry?"

The boy considered that for a moment, processing the information his body was sending him. "Gooder. Doesn't hurt to breathe and my head doesn't hurt, either."

"Better." Miss McGonagall was smiling.

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Not 'gooder', Harry-lad. 'Better'." She patted his foot under the blanket. "It's good to hear you're feeling better."

Mr. Dumbledore stood up suddenly and strode out of sight. "Where he going?"

"To get Madam Pomfrey," Miss McGonagall explained.

Harry thought about that, a woman's face with warm gray eyes and surrounded by tawny gold hair suddenly popping up in his mind's eye, along with a name. "Poppy?"

"Yes, that's her first name." Miss McGonagall nodded.

Harry looked around the room before coming back to Miss McGonagall. "Do I haveta go back?"

"Go back?" She looked puzzled for a moment before her eyes widened. "Oh, no, Harry-lad, you don't have to go back to your aunt, uncle, and cousin."

"Are you the Child Protective Services people?" he asked, his voice very small.

She shook her head, sitting on the bed. "No, but your parents named Albus the executor of their will. He can determine if your current guardians are unfit and who your new guardian should be."

"Are you my new guardian?" he asked, looking up at her hopefully.

To say that Minerva was surprised was a gross understatement. She'd planned on asking Harry what he thought of her as his new guardian, but to have him ask if she was going to be his new guardian, well, it threw her for a loop and she could only stare at him. As time passed without an answer from her, Harry's face fell. This galvanized Minerva into action. She quickly pulled him to her, hugging him close. "You just caught me by surprise, Harry-lad. I've already discussed it with Albus and he's agreed to let me be your new guardian."

"Who's Albus?" Harry asked, pulling back so he could look up at Minerva, but not pulling out of her arms.

Both of them jumped when Albus' voice answered the question. "I am he." Striding forward with Poppy right behind him, Albus offered his hand to Harry. "Albus Dumbledore, at your service, m'boy."

"H'lo." Harry hesitantly shook Albus' hand without removing himself from Minerva's lap. He looked over at Poppy. "Are you Madam Pomfrey?"

Poppy looked startled to be addressed by the boy, but recovered quickly enough. "Yes, I am."

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry solemnly offered his hand to the school nurse, who shook it with only a slightly bewildered expression on her face.

Minerva was hard-pressed to keep her amusement to herself. "I need to examine you, Harry, but I can't do that while you're in Minerva's lap."

"Can she hold my hand?" Harry asked, sounding fearful. Minerva's arms tightened briefly around the boy, wondering how he'd managed to squirm his way into her heart in so short a time.

Poppy smiled as she nodded. "Yes, she can."

Looking relieved, Harry reluctantly disentangled himself from Minerva's embrace and sat on the edge of the bed, his bare feet dangling above the floor. When Poppy pulled out her wand to perform a Diagnostic spell, Harry flinched. Minerva squeezed his hand. "It's all right, Harry-lad, she's not going to hurt you."

"What's the stick for, then?" Harry asked, his wide, frightened eyes on Poppy's wand.

The three adults exchanged looks before Albus answered, "It's not a stick, Harry. It's a wand."

"A wand?" Harry repeated, looking at Minerva for confirmation. Her throat thick with emotion, she could only nod. "For doing," his voice dropped to a whisper, "magic?"

He clapped his free hand to his mouth and looked fearfully at the others. Minerva's heart wrenched in her chest at what that meant. "Yes, Harry-lad, for doing magic."

"You mean, there really is magic?" Harry asked, barely whispering the last word.

Minerva nodded. "Yes, we can all do magic."

"I can't, though," Harry answered dejectedly, looking down at the floor.

Minerva turned his head to look at her. "Yes, you can, Harry-lad. You're a wizard."

"How can I be a wizard?" Harry looked confused. "Wizards look like Mr. Dumbledore and can do all sorts of things. I'm just--just Harry."

Chuckling, Albus stepped forward and rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, have you ever made something happen that you couldn't explain away?"

"There was that awful jumper of Dudley's that Aunt Petunia tried to make me wear," Harry admitted after a moment's thought. "The harder she tried to get it on me, the smaller it grew. It wouldn't even have fit a dog by the time she gave up."

Minerva ruffled his hair. "You see? You are a wizard!"

"What does it mean to be one, though?" Harry questioned, puzzled. "I mean I don't feel any different."

Minerva smiled fondly. "It means you'll get a wand and learn how to do magic properly."

"Oh. All right!" Harry's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

Poppy stepped forward now. "I'm going to cast a spell that will let me know how you're doing, Harry. It won't hurt a bit, except maybe tingle."

Harry swallowed, but nodded bravely. "Go ahead."

"Diagnosio!" Poppy intoned, sweeping her wand over Harry's head.

He sat very still as the pink light swept over him, and then giggled when it was gone. "That tickled!"

"It does have a tendency to do that," Minerva commented as Poppy pointed her wand at the chart she'd brought with her and it glowed pink for a moment.

While they waited for Poppy to peruse the information, Harry leaned against Minerva with a contented sigh. Minerva wrapped her arm around him and absently rubbed his back. He really was a sweet boy. "You're recovering nicely, Harry, but you'll have to stay here in the hospital wing for a little longer."

Harry nodded and suddenly asked, "Can I take a bath?"

"A bath?" all three adults echoed.

Harry ducked his head. "I mean, it's been ages since I had one."

"Of course, you can take a bath, Harry-lad," Minerva was the first to recover. "Are you going to need help?"

Poppy answered for Harry. "Yes, he'll need help." Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Poppy spoke first. "You're still recovering your strength. It's for your own safety that I insist."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Harry smiled brilliantly at the school nurse.

She smiled back. "You're welcome, Harry." She looked at Minerva. "You know where the bathroom is."

"Indeed, I do, Poppy," Minerva replied, having been required to use it more than once. "Come along, Harry-lad."

As Minerva easily picked up the boy and carried him over to the bathroom, Albus spoke up. "Minerva, might I have a quick word with you?"

"Of course, Albus." Minerva set Harry on his feet in the bathroom. "I'll be right back."

Harry nodded. "All right."

Minerva ruffled his hair before standing and moving over to where Albus waited. "Yes, Albus?"

"Do you wish to be assigned guardianship of Harry, or do you wish to adopt him?" Albus asked quietly as Poppy bustled into the bathroom to help Harry.

A/N2: When Harry woke up to find Albus and Minerva sitting by the bed, it was the next morning.