Disclaimer: only in my wildest dreams to I own the Harry Potter world and its characters.

Chapter Two:

Home Sweet Burrow

"I will send one more letter, let him find it and read it. That day I will come and talk to him and give him his father's wand and we will let him decide for himself whether or not he wishes to attend Hogwarts," said Harry.

"Oh that sounds like the best idea, darling," said Ginny as she rubbed her growing belly.

Harry had ended his afternoon by apparating to the Burrow. It was like going home. He had walked in and received one of the famous bone-crushing hugs from Mrs. Weasley, and a hearty handshake from Mr. Weasley. The smells wafting from the kitchen made him remember Bill's comment about going hungry to dinner. It had become tradition for the Weasley clan to have dinner together on Thursday nights. As the family grew, the table merely added to its length and accommodated more Weasleys.

Everyone made the effort to come. Bill and Fleur and their two children along with Charlie and his wife and son had arrived by Floo. Fred and George always made a point to lock up the store early and come with their wives. Ron and Hermione and their four children, and Harry and Ginny completed the happy clan. Nothing made Mrs. Weasley more happy than looking at the clock and seeing all the hands pointing to "home" and then to see them sitting around the table laughing and talking about the week.

Harry also enjoyed himself immensely. He not only got to see his best friends once a week, but he was finally part of a family; a family that cared about him and supported him. After the events that would have been his seventh year at Hogwarts Harry and Ginny had kept on seeing each other, but Harry did not want to marry her right away because she was working through an apprenticeship and he was training to be an Auror. Then he worked for several years as an Auror and she established herself in her profession. Just when Ginny was becoming impatient, the possibility to work at Hogwarts had come up. Harry worked for one year as the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and they had married in the fall. The very next year, he had been approached by McGonagall about being Headmaster. The Wizengamot had debated it for several months, and so had he and Ginny. But he was glad with his decision, he enjoyed the work, and it was a perfect cover for his other responsibilities.

Ron and Hermione had wasted no time after finishing at Hogwarts. They were married within two months and their eldest had been born within a year after they were married. They were happy together, Hermione with her books and the children and later a job with the Ministry, and Ron with his job at the Ministry and with their friendly bickering.

They all enjoyed the evening and ended it with tea, treacle tart and entertainment from the twins. But then the children began to rub their eyes and yawn and deny they were in the least bit tired, and Harry mentioned that he wanted to get Ginny home to rest. In all honesty, he needed the rest as much as she did, and he wanted to get home to be alone with her and talk to her about the day.

They carefully apparated home and got ready for bed. On his way back from the bathroom to brush his teeth, Harry paused at the door of the nursery for the baby. He was going to be a father. He was amazed every time he thought about it, but he was terrified that he wouldn't be a good father.

When Ron and Hermione had Michael, Harry was awed by the relationship between Ron and his son. So now, with the prospect of having his own son, Harry was excited to begin the relationship. He wanted to teach his son how to fly a broom, how to play Quidditch, and give him lots of memories so that he could have the strongest Patronus in the class. In essence, Harry wanted to give his son everything he felt he had missed out on.

Harry took one last glimpse at the small crib in the corner and the stuffed animals on his old Hogwarts trunk. Hermione had thoughtfully bought the baby a dog, a wolf, and a stag in London. Ginny and Hermione had taken days to decide the decorations for the nursery and weeks to finish it. It was a happy Quidditch scene, complete with a snitch mobile. With one last sigh Harry padded quietly down the hallway to bed, and to his wife who was calling to him.

Daniel woke up the next morning with his stomach grumbling. He had been having a very strange dream. He had been at school and the bullies were poking fun at him, when a big strong man, whose face he could not see but who he was sure was his father, came along and sent them flying up to the roof of the school. Then the man took him by the hand and they went to buy ice cream. It was a happy dream, but Daniel could not figure out how the man had made those boys end up on the roof of the school.

He put on some clothes and made his way down the steep stairs to the kitchen. His mother was already there, humming and making breakfast. The eggs smelled delicious, and Daniel was getting really hungry. His mother seemed to be in a better mood than most days, and Daniel felt optimistic about the day.

"Here, Daniel, sit down and eat some breakfast, you grow more and more everyday. Soon we will have to go and get you some new clothes!" she said with more enthusiasm than Daniel had ever heard her put into one sentence.

"Thanks Mum! Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

"Why yes I did, quite well in fact."

Daniel noticed that she kept staring out the window, as if waiting for something to happen. He looked at her puzzled and she tried to pretend that she was only looking at the curtains. "They are awfully dirty by now, don't you think, Daniel? I should wash those curtains."

"Hmmm," was all that he managed to say as his mouth was full of eggs and toast. He took another bite and looked up towards the window, in time to see an owl swooping in towards the window. He marvelled at how odd it was to see and owl in broad daylight.

Then the owl began to peck at the window, and his mother stood up and went to the window to open it. Daniel was shocked, he was beginning to wonder if maybe this was just the second part of the dream he had been having.

"Here Daniel, this is for you," said his mother, handing him an envelope that she had untied from the owl's leg. "Oh my, it's been so long, I don't think I have any owl treats," she said to the owl. "Here, how about a bit of toast?" she asked, handing the disgruntled owl a piece of dry toast. The owl took the toast in his mouth and flew off looking very miffed.

Daniel nearly choked on his eggs as he looked at the envelope his mother was handing him. It was addressed to:

Mr. D. Waikely

Number 8 Quarry Trail

Grinshill, Shropshire

"Well," said his mother, "aren't you going to open it?"

"Do you know what this is about?" he asked.

"Yes, just go ahead and open it!"

Something clicked in his head, "Does this have anything to do with the man in the yard yesterday?" he asked. As soon as he said it, his mother's look of shock made him wish he hadn't said it.

"Yes, but it has more to do with your father, me, and most importantly about you. So open it and find out!" she said, recovering.

Daniel slowly turned the fat envelope over; he could not remember the last time he had received anything in the mail. On the back of the rough parchment paper envelope was a gummy purple seal; much like ones that Daniel had read were used to write official letters from kings. A large, ornate letter "H" was pressed into the wax of the seal. He could not figure out why a king would be sending him post.

With trembling fingers, Daniel slowly opened the envelope, trying to savour the moment. Inside was another piece of parchment.

Dear Mr. Waikely,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The term begins on September first. Please send your reply by owl no later than the 31st of July. Please note the enclosed sheet with all your necessary school supplies.

Sincerely,

Harry James Potter

Headmaster

Daniel stared at the envelope like it was a joke. His mother was smiling at him, but when she saw his expression, her face fell.

"I am so sorry Daniel, to spring this on you in this way; it really isn't fair at all. Your father would be so proud of you right now," she said.

"I don't understand, Mum."

"Daniel, love, your father was a wizard, I am a witch, and you are a young wizard. You have been chosen to go to this school so that you can learn how to use your abilities."

Daniel was only able to stare at her silently. The people in town always whispered about his mother when they went to market, they said she was crazy. What if they were right? What if his mother was really ill?

"Daniel, you don't believe me now, but that man that you saw in the yard the other day, he is coming here, and he wants to talk to you. He wants to tell you about your father. I am sorry, I just can't talk to you about that, it is too hard for me. He is an old friend of your father's and the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Daniel was finding it hard to swallow now. A friend of his father's, he was finally going to know more about his father. It was all too much to take in.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get ready, Harry should be here within the hour," said his mother lovingly.

Daniel obeyed, but he was almost sure that the man would never come, that his mother was really not well, that she would not be able to take care of him, that people would whisper about her. What if he was separated from her? Where would he go? Who would he live with? And the strange letter, it made no sense. He laid it carefully on his desk and sat on his bed to look at it.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but his mother interrupted his thoughts, "Daniel, please come down, Professor Potter is here."

"Coming, Mum!" he managed. The knot in his throat was too much for him to swallow.

He slowly made his way downstairs, filled with mixed emotions. He was scared that his mother was not thinking clearly. He was curious about his father and angry because no one had told him anything about him before. But his curiosity got the best of him and he made his way down the stairs to find out what this was really all about.

Author's Note: Sorry about the super duper long wait, it was a combination of quite a few things, technical difficulties, a change in betas, thanks to my old one, and best of luck and an extra special thanks to the new one who is helping me take on this project. Please, as always, leave a review, the review button doesn't bite. The next chapter is called "Pieces to the Puzzle" so you guys will find out a lot more back story on the characters. Hope you've enjoyed it so far, in the mean time, happy reading!