Title: Child of Hogwarts
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: None. Things will be different from the get go.
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: After seeing baby Harry interact with a Student after the death of his Parents, Dumbledore has a better idea of where Harry should be raised. Inside the halls of Hogwarts.
November 1st, 1981
Madam Pomphrey looked up from the small figure on the bed in front of her when the door to the Infirmary bust open. Miss Hopkirk, Sixth Year Ravenclaw, was supporting an injured Mister Shooter, also a Sixth Year Ravenclaw.
"Madam Pomphrey, we need help." Miss Hopkirk said.
"Put Mister Shooter on the bed." The Mediwitch said, gesturing to another of the Infirmary beds and she did a final spell on the small figure on the bed in front of her.
Once she had lowered her fellow Ravenclaw down onto the bed, Mafalda Hopkirk looked around Madam Pomphrey to see what was going on, only to discover a toddler laying on the bed. For a school where the youngest student is eleven years old, a toddler was a bit of a strange sight.
"I need your assistance, Miss Hopkirk." Madam Pomphrey said. "Young Mister Potter here needs feeding while I treat Mister Shooter. I trust you remember the lactation charm from your health lessons."
"What? You want me to…?" Mafalda began.
"Unless you would rather treat Mister Shooter while I feed Young Mister Potter here?" the Mediwitch replied evenly and turned to deal with the injured Ravenclaw before Mafalda could respond.
Mafalda blushed and, after a second's pause, began removing her outer robes and drawing the curtain around the bed containing the toddler. After casting the spell, unbuttoning her shirt and moving her bra out of the way, she warily brought the toddler to her breast.
Two hours later, when Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall entered the Infirmary, quietly discussing the Headmaster's plan to send Harry to his relatives, Mafalda was sitting calmly in a chair beside the bed where Harry had been earlier, now fully dressed apart from her outer Robes which were over the back of the chair, with Harry cradled in her arms as she gently rocked him.
"You're such a good little man." She said to herself before she even noticed the Professors.
"Miss Hopkirk." Dumbledore began but was cut off.
"Quiet." Mafalda whispered harshly. "He's asleep."
After a moment a look of horror crossed her face for having spoken like that to the Headmaster.
"You know, Minerva." Dumbledore said quietly. "I think I have just had a much better idea regarding Young Mister Potter."
McGonagall simply raised an eyebrow.
There was a hum of conversation in the room when Dumbledore and McGonagall entered, as did an unnoticed Madam Pomphrey who stood at the back of the hall holding Harry.
The large classroom was filled with all of the Sixth Year Girls from all four Houses, though they were in distinct groups based on their House. Dumbledore took a place at the front of the room while McGonagall took her place off to the side. Before Dumbledore could say anything, a hand went up from the Ravenclaw group. Dumbledore did not need to look at the student's face to know who it was.
"Yes, Miss Hopkirk?" Dumbledore said.
"How is the little man?" Mafalda asked, getting odd looks from the other girls.
"Asleep. Madam Pomphrey has him at the back of the room." Dumbledore said, indicating to the Mediwitch.
All the girls turned to look and more than a couple sighed at the sight of the toddler in the Mediwitch's arms.
"And he is why you have been called here." Dumbledore continued. "Young Harry Potter there lost his parents yesterday in a Death Eater attack. It appears Voldemort also was… defeated in the attack, most likely by Lily Potter in a self-sacrificial move."
Almost all of the girls shuddered at the Dark Lord's name as they all remember someone saying the name and the Death Eaters showing up almost immediately.
"Harry was brought here to be treated and it seems Miss Hopkirk at least has bonded with him." Dumbledore continued, though he could see from Poppy Pomphrey's face that the Mediwitch had also bonded with the young boy. "Given this it has been decided that you, the Sixth Year Witches, will be collectively given the responsibility for the care of Young Mister Potter. One of you would need to be watching him at all times. There is always a few of you with a spare period for every class and he will need to be in one of the dorms for the night."
"Why are we being selected?" One of the Slytherin girls asked.
"As Sixth Years, you are responsible enough to take this task." McGonagall said. "You do not have the pressure of the OWL or NEWT Exams, so have more time to care for him. Can you honestly say you would trust any of the boys to take care of a Toddler?"
That got a lot of nods from the girls.
"On that note." Dumbledore continued. "We will also require some volunteers to stay and take care of Mister Potter over the Christmas and Easter Holidays. You do not need to speak up now, and we do not expect the same people to do both sets of holidays. If you are interested, please let Professor McGonagall know."
There was a flurry of activity in the next few hours to get the schedule organised. There were meetings within each House of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Year Girls to discuss how to care for Harry; what to do in emergencies; the need for and use of the lactation charm; and availability schedules. The Fifth Year Girls were included mostly as they would be taking care of Harry the following year while Seventh Years were included partly to help head off any issue with the Boys and partly so the current Sixth Years would still be able to keep an eye on Harry next year. As a secondary benefit it gave a larger pool of girls who could care for Harry in an emergency.
'The Committee' was also formed, made up of the female Sixth Year Prefects and the Head Girl. The Committee was responsible for organising any issues involving Harry that extended across Houses, such as the rotational roster for evenings, nights and weekends as to where Harry would stay, so it was fair across all Houses; where handovers could happen where the girl finishing looking after Harry and the next girl to look after him were in different Houses and any other issues that may come up.
Throughout the afternoon and early evening, Madam Pomphrey and Professor McGonagall had kept Harry company in the Infirmary. They had kept him amused and giggling with a range of simple spells, like creating moving balls of light that changed colour, and a few not so simple spells. McGonagall had transfigured on of the spare pillows into a stuffed, squishy teddy bear that would hug Harry back every time he hugged it.
It was getting close to curfew when Mafalda Hopkirk entered and provided Professor McGonagall with the November schedule for who would be taking care of Harry during class times and which Houses had him in the evening and on Weekends, starting the following day. Mafalda was both a Prefect, and thus on the Committee, and had volunteered to come and provided the schedule in hopes of seeing 'her little man'.
Harry seemed to remember Mafalda because as soon a he saw her he reached out for her and she sat down on the bed and wrapped him in a big hug. Harry yawned and laid down on the bed, holding onto Mafalda's hand as if to drag her to lay beside him. With a look to both Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomphrey, both of whom nodded, she lay down and wrapped her arms around Harry.
Madam Pomphrey turned down the lights in the Infirmary and retreated to her office and rooms as Professor McGonagall left, leaving Mafalda alone with the tiny Harry who had wormed his way into her heart despite herself. Her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
TBC….
A/N: This was mostly a setup chapter and the next chapter will most likely be a series of short scenes to show some important or interesting events between now and when Harry turns eleven to show how he grew up at Hogwarts, away from the Dursley's influence. There will also be some major changes to the interactions between the Houses of Hogwarts and in the general Wizarding World as a result. There will be a decade of close co-operation between the houses and girls graduating from Hogwarts who had the common cause of caring for Harry Potter by the time he becomes a Student.