The return to Hope's flat was quiet. Harry seemed to think he'd said enough for one day and Hope was chewing through thoughts and plans. The roasted chicken she'd purchased earlier could be stretched over several good dinners, and she didn't regret the fruit, Harry needed it. But he also needed clothes.

They ate quickly, in silence. Hope set the dishes in the sink and directed Harry to the bath, showing him how to work the finicky nobs for a bath or shower and leaving him to make the choice alone. She waited for the water to run before calling.

"Lydia?"

"Hope! I was just about to call, how are… things?"

"Uh, well, that's why I'm calling, I've got a favor to ask."

"Anything, how can I help?"

"I, I hate to do this Lydie…" Hope paused, trying to squash the sticky feeling and blurting out: "Harry needs some things, he hasn't got anything, he didn't even have shoes on when I found him. And well, I don't get paid until Wednesday, I can get you back the moment the check clears, I promise."

"Goodness, please Hope, take a breath. I've got you covered."

"I- I'll pay you back Lydie, soon as I can."

"I know." Lydia muttered mutinously. It wasn't the first time Hope had refused outright charity. "But really, this isn't for you, its for the boy. So, you ought to accept a gift on his behalf, goodness knows you'll have enough new expenses."

Hope sighed, pressing the heel of her palm into her forehead. "I- alright, fine. Just a few necessaries… For Harry."

"That's my girl!" Lydia cooed through the line. "How's tomorrow? I'll pick you up?"

"You're the best, you know that?" Hope said, half-laughing with relief.

"Course!" Lydia answered sweetly, "I'll be there around ten."

The couch bed was made up and the dishes drying when Harry finally emerged from the bathroom in a clean set of sleep shorts and t-shirt. There was a new sort of shyness in his movements as he accepted the tea and biscuit Hope set out. She sat across from him and sipped her tea, tapping a pen thoughtfully against the waiting pad.

"There's a few things I'd like to know, if you're up for it?" Hope said. "About the Dursleys."

"Why do you want to know about them?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I'm going to ask them to sign over their guardianship rights, and I'm guessing they don't like being told what to do?" She smiled at Harry's sharp affirmative nod. "Right, so if I approached them and asked nicely, they'd probably tell me to shove off. And if I tried to bully them into signing, they'd balk against it. But if I know what they are like, I can make myself agreeable, and maybe we can avoid taking them to court."

Harry looked at her appraisingly and finally nodded.

A new list was created,

Dursleys:

Uptight- arrogant

flatter wealthy or powerful people

hate anything odd or unique.

Pride themselves on 'good breeding' and punctuality.

Saturday morning was a repeat of the previous one, though Harry ate his toast and banana with much more enthusiasm while Hope talked on the phone and jotted notes.

She arranged for a home visit with the case worker for the coming Thursday, called her boss to ask permission to bring Harry along for the work week, and a brief but important conversation with Detective Davin. They would meet him at the Dursleys that afternoon.

Hope washed up quickly, gently refusing Harry's offer to dry the dishes. "They'll dry all by themselves. We need to get ready to go out, Lydia 'll be here any minute." She grabbed a fresh tee from her room and rummaged up a pair of sweatpants from the hall closet that were just a little too big for him, still less ridiculous than the worn-through hand-me-downs he'd had on when she'd found him.

A hasty knock sounded as Harry shuffled into the bathroom to change.

"Hope! You look… well tired, but that's to be expected. Where is the new addition to the William's household?"

"Just getting himself ready, he's a little shy so try not to overwhelm him, will you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Lydia smiled brightly, perching herself on the chair nearest the door.

Hope tugged on the sleeves of her sweater and chewing on her bottom lip as they waited for Harry to emerge.

"You going to be alright out there sweetie?" Lydia asked, resting her hand over Hope's on the table. "I can take him, or we could just measure him and I'll figure out the rest…"

"It… I'll be alright, I've got to manage it, can't look after someone else if I can't brave downtown on a Saturday." Hope straightened up a little, returning the smile uncertainly. "Besides, I've got you to scare the strangers off for me."

A creak in the hall gave away the eavesdropper, and Harry peered around the corner sheepishly.

"Oh Harry, are you ready to go? Harry, this is Lydia, Lydia, meet Harry."

"Hello." Came Harry's soft voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry." Lydia stood and offered him a hand to shake, which he tentatively shook. "I'm looking forward to our expedition. Well, I'm ready if you are. Hope, have you got your list? Course you do."

Harry sat in the wide backseat of Lydia's car, watching out the windows and trying to print the landmarks into his mind-map. The traffic brought them to a crawl, but they did eventually break free of the press and left the car in a covered carpark next to the shopping mall.

"I'd like you to hold my hand while we're shopping, Harry, I don't want to lose you in the crowd." Hope said when she'd closed the door after him. He did as she asked, and the hard look on her face softened as she looked down at his palm in hers.

Unused to that kind of contact, Harry shivered a little. Her hand was warm, the pressure of her fingers, gentle. A new confidence seemed to infuse both of them as they approached the wide doors together.

Strangers gawked impolitely at the trio. It was easy enough to understand why. Harry, looking smaller than ever in oversized clothes and borrowed shoes, Hope wearing a thick, long-sleeved sweater on a warm summer day, and Lydia, who's perfectly coiffed updo matched her meticulous cream blouse and pencil skirt.

Hope's list was long enough, perfectly practical, but the amazement in Harry's face at Lydia's additions stopped her tongue. And thus, a brand-new pair of sneakers and a fancy button-up shirt were added to the pile of underwear, shirts, jeans, toiletries and a jacket.

And there was the jumper.

Hope had caught Harry running his hand over it with a longing expression, but it was still summer, and Lydia had already been so generous.

No one quite saw what happened, but somehow, in the moment between Harry last longing look at the soft blue sweater and them approaching the purchase counter, an identical sweater flopped off the top of the tall stack and fell onto the stack in Hope's arms.

"Oops, let me just put that back," Lydia said, reaching for it.

"Just a second…" Hope replied, looking from a hopeful Harry to the jumper. "Do you think I could loan an extra tenner, Lydia? It's Harry's birthday on Friday."

"Of course!" Lydia agreed, a wide smile on her open face.

Having accomplished what they'd come for, Lydia insisted on paying for lunch. The open-air courtyard was quieter than the mall had been and Lydia kept up a stream of pleasant conversation, batting her questions to Hope and Harry equally and answered it herself if neither of them did.

"Next thing's to get you some toys, cars? Blocks? What do you like?"

Harry shrugged, "don't know, what do they do?"

Lydia paused, perfectly startled by the question. "You know, I'm not really sure… we'll just have to go have a look, won't we?"

"Just a few Lydia." Hope interjected sternly.

"My treat, Hope." Lydia insisted, "Harry needs something to do while you're working, you are taking him to the restaurant, aren't you?"

"Just until I can figure out a sitter, Jacobs isn't exactly thrilled about the situation."

"You're too good for that place." Lydia said stoutly, not for the first time. "And Harry will be bored stiff waiting for your shift to end, I'll just get him some things to pass the time!"

"Fine, but nothing noisy and keep it small, I'm not sure where I'll fit all this-" Hope gestured at the pile of bags occupying the fourth chair, "-in the flat as it is."

"Hadn't thought of that." Lydia admitted, deflating a little. "You're not thinking of staying there, are you?"

Hope shook her head, looking past Lydia before she responded, "no, Harry needs a room and a proper bed of his own."

"I don't mind the couch, really, its much better than the old cot I used to have." Harry interrupted anxiously.

"We'll find a new place, I've got another three weeks on the lease, that'll give us time." Hope said, passing off his comment with a smile and a nervous glance over Lydia's shoulder again. "Say, that fellow over there, does he look familiar to either of you?" she motioned discretely in the direction of a man in a scruffy coat, the collar turned up as if to hide his face. Lydia made a show of shuffling the bags beside her and turned back with a short shake of the head.

"No one I know." Lydia answered quietly, calm, as if that sort of question wasn't out of the ordinary.

"Have you seen him before Harry?"

Harry seemed surprised to be consulted, but he looked the man over as he pretended to take a thoughtful bite of his sandwich. "Maybe… Kinda looks like a guy I saw when we were in the shoe shop; he was looking in the window."

Hope tensed in her seat, shooting another glance at the shifty looking man.

Their eyes met.

Hope looked away immediately, pretending to read a distant sign instead and letting her gaze pan back to where he stood.

The man was gone.

"We'll go somewhere else for the fun-stuff." Lydia suggested.

Hope scanned the courtyard carefully and nodded, "that's a good idea, I'll find a security guard to walk us out to the car."

Lydia didn't object and they were escorted by a rather austere looking middle-aged man.

The department store was two floors tall and Harry froze just inside the doors, pressing himself into Hope's side as he looked at the high ceilings and a group of children arguing loudly in the nearest section of toys.

Hope led the way to the escalator and they ascended above the ruckus to a quieter section, one half was filled to bursting with books and the other half carried an assortment of every art and craft a child could dream of.

Whether it was the scare of the stranger at the mall, or the riot of sound and colour in the children's store, Harry had grown steadily more withdrawn. Lydia offered him various things, oohing and ahhing over plaster kits and paint sets. Mostly silent, Harry shook his head at nearly everything except the paint set, when he squeezed Hope's hand and looked to her for approval.

"How about we start with some pencils and a sketch book and you can put that paint kit on your Christmas wish-list?" Hope offered gently.

"Christmas?" Harry asked, non-plussed.

"The Dursleys don't celebrate Christmas?" Hope lowered herself to his level, keeping a hold of his hand.

"Dudley always got loads of presents, but I never…" Harry whispered, blushing and ducking his head.

"Oh dear!" Lydia half wailed, looking perfectly distraught at the thought. "No Christmas gifts?"

"Lydia, could you find us a decent sketchbook? And a set of pencils, please?" Hope said, waving her away with a meaningful look. When she'd gone, Hope turned back to Harry. "Harry, could you look at me?"

He sniffled and rubbed his face with his free hand, raising his chin proudly as he met her eye.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Harry, I want you to know that," Hope said, "I wish I could say the same for your relatives."

Harry looked away again, his cheeks still hot with shame. "They said I cost too much to keep, that I should be 'grateful they bothered to feed me.'" There was a practiced ring to his voice as he finished, as though he was quoting from memory.

"That was wrong, its wrong to treat anyone that way, do you understand?" Hope asked, lifting his chin gently. "I might not have much Harry, but what's mine is yours, ok?"

Harry swallowed feebly and he blinked furiously against the moisture gathering in his eyes.

Hope saw the rising emotion in the overwhelmed boy and opened her arms in a silent invitation, her heart broke again as he looked confused by the gesture. Time seemed to slow and Hope's arms felt heavier with each breath, still she held her position, giving Harry time to decide what he wanted.

He moved tentatively, and then threw his arms around her neck with a sob, and buried his face in the soft collar of her sweater. A strange tingle ran through Hope as she embraced Harry, somehow, this felt natural to her, right even.

Lydia returned quietly with a small stack, pencils, a sharpener and eraser, sketchbook and a slim book with 'sketching for beginners' written on the spine.

"Are you ready to go home Harry?" Hope asked softly.

Harry nodded into her shoulder and released her, taking her offered hand tightly in his own and rubbing his face again.

Harry lay curled under the green blanket on the couch, paging through his new book and listening in as the two women sat at the little table chatting.

"Very status conscious huh." Lydia said in answer to Hope's description of the Dursleys and her plans. "We can work with that. I'll take you. My car fits the profile better, and I can pretend to be the nanny. You'll have to drive of course."

Hope smiled at her friend's easy way of solving problems. "Not sure anyone would buy you as my employee, dressed like you are."

"Oh, that's an easy fix, lend me one of your cardigans. Now what are you going to wear?"

Four pm on the dot, a deep blue sedan pulled into Number Four Privet Drive followed closely by a police vehicle.

The woman that approached the front door couldn't have looked more different than she had just an hour earlier. Her brown hair was immaculately swept up into an intricate knot, the sharp blazer, crisp blouse and black slacks she now wore wouldn't have looked out of place in a courtroom and there was a cool, impassive expression on her face. The face of a woman in perfect control.

Harry and Lydia stayed in the backseat as Hope and the Detective knocked on the front door.

Aunt Petunia folded her arms across her best dress, looking over the pair with suspicious distaste sparing only half a glance at the car and its other occupants. "On time. What a pleasant surprise." She said sarcastically as heavy footfalls approached behind her. "They're here Vernon."

"Oh, they are, are they? and parked a squad car in our drive? Trying to draw suspicion down on us? Well, I don't scare easy, no siree." Vernon Dursley exclaimed as he attempted to stare down the taller man and ignored Hope's presence entirely. "Well, come in if you must, and make it quick."

"Thank you, Sir." Hope answered calmly, stepping confidently past Vernon and walking into the sitting area Harry had told her Petunia was most proud of.

A tea tray and a selection of carefully cut sandwiches and squares waited in an elaborate arrangement.

Vernon settled himself on the large corner chair, glancing out the picture window at the spotless car again.

Petunia sat herself on the love seat and poured tea into a fine set of bone china. "tea?"

"No thank you," Hope answered crisply, refusing likewise her offer to take a seat. Standing instead near the mantle, looking over the assortment of delicate ornaments and photographs with a snobbish curl of her lip. "Nice home you have here."

"Thank you." Petunia said, shifting uncomfortably at the awkwardness of the situation but unable to break the conventions of proper etiquette herself, despite the dry tone Hope used.

"Well, get on with it." Vernon blustered. "You're here about the boy, that's what you said on the phone officer, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Detective Davin said, stepping more fully into the room. "I have a few questions for you."

"Fine, sit, sit." Vernon said, waving again at the couch.

Davin stayed where he was, filling the door frame and looking severe. "You've made a statement to the effect that the boy ran away several months ago?"

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Vernon countered.

"And therefore, you can't account for any injuries he may have been suffering from when he was recovered, is that right?"

"Precisely." Vernon huffed proudly, "can't be responsible if he was already out of the house."

Davin took another step into the room, towering over the seated man. "That's where I run into a little hiccup… see, the school says he was in attendance up until the last week of term, July the 8th to be precise."

"They must have mixed up the records." Vernon insisted.

"They also said they called you on the 10th, and you told them he was ill and you were withdrawing him from the school indefinitely."

Vernon exploded to his feet, his face red as he glared at Davin, "are you accusing me, sir?"

The detective smiled, and shook his head. "Not at all, just informing you of the discrepancy. I'm sure it'll all sort itself out."

"So, what exactly are you here about then?" Vernon spit out at Hope.

She met his eye with an icy patience that chilled his wrath. "Mr. Dursley, Mrs, Dursley, I am here to make you an offer." She passed the paperwork to Petunia, ignoring Vernon's confusion. "It is clear the boy doesn't fit into your family unit, it is a huge burden to take a child in, and I understand money might be a little tight." She raked her gaze over the décor again, and glanced obnoxiously at Lydia's watch on her wrist. "We can place the child in a more suitable environment, all you have to do is sign these forms."

"Money? Tight?" Vernon blundered under his breath, turning purple as his wife flipped the pages slowly, reading. "How, dare. We? Can't afford?"

Petunia looked up, squinting at Hope. "If we sign these, he can't be forced on us, ever again?"

"No, this constitutes a full legal relinquishment of rights and responsibility for the boy." Hope answered indifferently.

"Hush." Petunia admonished her husband sharply, bringing an end to his defiant muttering. She turned to the detective. "If we sign this, you can't charge us with neglect, right?"

"There is no solid evidence for a neglect charge ma'am, that's right." He answered lightly.

"And Dumbledore can't make us take him back?" She asked Hope, her eyes flicking back over the prepared papers.

"I do not know who you are referring to, but no, this filing would have to be overturned in court for it to even be considered, and you would have the right to refuse custody at that point." Hope said.

"Right. Have you got a pen?"

The Dursleys signed quickly, Hope followed suit, and the Detective witnessed the document.

"Now is that all?" Vernon demanded, still hot under the collar.

"I'd like to take Harry's belongings off your hands." Hope replied coolly.

A minute later a pillowcase full of things was thrust unceremoniously into her arms and they were ushered out the door.

"Doesn't seem right that they'll get away with it." Hope said, disgust colouring her tone as they walked away together.

Davin smiled at her with predatory grace, "there's not much of a case for neglect without forcing Harry to testify, but there's pretty solid evidence that they failed to report him missing and obstruction for lying to the school as they are mandatory reporters. It might not amount to more than a hefty fine, but it'll stay on record."

"Thank you, Detective."

"Hey, I'm just doing my job." He grinned again as he ducked into his car.

"How'd it go?" Lydia asked.

Harry- Hope noticed, was holding his breath.

Hope tossed the papers into the backseat, passed over the pillowcase and settled in behind the wheel. "We got what we came for." Scanning the street over her shoulder, Hope's attention was caught by the shadow of a man against the neighbor's fence. Dull brown hair, scruffy coat, turned up collar. He kept his head down as the car passed, but she caught him watching them leave in the left side mirror.

She stayed stern and alert until they were out of sight of the picture window and the shadowy figure. When neither were visible, she allowed the mask to fall, grinning into the rear-view mirror at Harry and a whooping Lydia.

"What did I tell you Harry! Hope could con a magician out of his hat, if she's got enough time to prepare!"

"I wouldn't go quite that far." Hope laughed, letting the relief wash away the nervous spark of fear. There was no need to freak Harry out further, his day had been long enough. "I just do what I can."

Harry clutched the pillowcase to his chest and met her eye in the mirror with a shy smile.