"AN: I am back! I am really sorry for the loooooooong time of no updates. Hubby's surgery went well, and then he ha dto back because of an infection... then he was home and then back with getting the screws out, and then back with an infection and surgery for the other foot where they had to remove a bit of bone that had become infected... i found out i have gained a seasonal allergy or seasonal asthma... then when i finally thought i could get back to all of this... the sewer main to my house backed up... so there was that to deal with... but now everything has calmed down a bit in my life, so i can get back to this :)/p
"Again sorry for the long delay, and I am not going to have set schedule for updates, though in November it will be pretty regular, because that is National Novel writing month...
Hope you all enjoy this one, the next one might have some time leaps so that I can get them on the train... but it all depends on how the flow goes. As always this is just a rough draft and all i did was try to fix spelling.../p
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"Is there anything else I can do for you right now Emma?" Clara asked as she followed her and children back downstairs, her voice laced with concern.
"No," she replied slowly. "What you told us after the scans last night is taking some time to digest. However Dan and I really have not had a lot of time to discuss things." Hermione looked back to her mother worriedly as the tone of the conversation. "Nothing to worry about Hermione, I promise."
"Oh, I didn't mean to worry you too," Clara said looking at the young girl. "It is all just an offer to heal things that are currently healed but didn't do the best of job. Like Harry with some of his injuries, and while the medical field does what they can, sometimes magic can just do better at some things."
The young Hermione nodded in acceptance of this information and moved back into the kitchen to find out what they were having for breakfast.
"You just take your time with it then," the older woman said with a pat on her arm. "Get in touch with me after the kids are off to school."
"Thank you again Clara," Emma said as she smiled at the witch. "I might have a lot of questions for you in the coming years. For now though I think I will just keep these kids on their potions and ready for their schooling adventure. Hard to think that they will be leaving in less than a month now, and that we have two boys to look after as well."
"Well even if you need to just talk, please don't hesitate. You and your husband are wonderful people for taking in both boys, and I don't think that either is going to give you much trouble, at least until after their first year of school is done. While this is a change for you it is for them as well." She gave the younger woman a quick hug and then moved to the entry to Apparate away, "but remember even if you just want to talk about nothing, feel free to contact me."
"Thank you again," she replied gratefully before the crack sounded and the woman was gone.

Emma entered the kitchen to find her husband and Amelia having coffee with the kids ate. Quickly she grabbed her own mug and joined them.
"i will have to leave for the office soon," Amelia said, "but thank you for this cup. I am going to need it with all the paperwork I have to get through."
"I'll have to head to the practice today," Dan said eyeing his wife.
"I know, and thankfully I only have that one new patient late this afternoon. So I am going to leave the three here for a few hours while I go stock up on food for two growing boys," she said with a grin. "I am also going to give that magic cookbook a try and see if I can't make one of Gram's favorites," she smiled thinking about the lost recipes of her family that might just have been found.
"Well if you need help with anything feel free to ask, I am not a cook so I can't help you there. However I can help with other things, as the kids are also now my responsibility as well," she said with a smile. "My niece, Susan, is also my ward. She spends a lot of her time with her friends at their homes as well, but it might be nice for her to meet these three as well and spend some time with them. I'll be bringing her and her friend Hanna with us on Saturday for shopping."
"Perfect," Dan said with a wide smile.
"Yes, even if they don't all become best friends, at least that will be two more people they know," Emma said with a smile and felt some worry leave her.
"Well it will be even better I feel that Susan and Hannah meet some people with a very different upbringing then they have had. The girls have never met a muggle-born, let alone a muggle. Also since these three are going to be coming into the magical world, it would be good for them to meet kids their own age and talk about how growing up was very different for them."
"Oh I am sure Hermione will question them about everything," Emma said with a chuckle.
"Susan will be interested as well. Hannah is a bit shy, but once she gets used to the others she will open up," the witch said before draining her cup and setting it on the counter. "Sadly though I must be off. I have things to file, cases to look at, and I am sure people to yell at," she said with a wry grin. "Owl me if anything comes up."
"Thank you again," Dan said as he escorted the woman out to the entry for her to magic herself away.

The hot shower was heavenly to him as he dried off and dressed in the bathroom. It was much larger than the one his relatives had, and had a welcoming feel, rather than the sterile perfection his aunt had favored. The towels were mismatched on the bar, only a few things were color coordinated, and the toothpaste tube had been squeezed from the middle. He couldn't help but smile as he brushed his teeth. These changes were the best things that had ever happened to him so far. Then he looked at himself in the mirror.
For a few moments he just stared at himself and the almost invisible scar on his forehead. Carefully he touched it and felt how it had healed since just yesterday. There was barely a raise up from the scar tissue, and it felt smooth. In fact now he realized once more how great his own body felt. For the first time ever he was getting what he needed to be a healthy kid, and with luck by the time he got to school, no glasses either. No more begin almost blind without them, no more worrying about them breaking and having to fix them with tape or glue.
With a quick stop back into his own room to toss things into the laundry hamper he headed downstairs in time to wave at Madame Bones before she left.
"Ready for breakfast and your first round of potions Harry?" Dan asked the young man as he came into view.
"Food, yes. Potions," he paused and sighed, "yes. I know that they are going to help me, and I wont be on them forever, but I just wish it was a one time thing and done."
"Don't we all," Dan said with a laugh. "Don't we all. Sadly we must all take medicine every now and again, but with luck yours wont have that nasty cherry flavor that you can't seem to ever get rid of."
Harry couldn't help but shudder at that thought of the dreaded Cherry Flavor so many medicines favored. It didn't even taste like a cherry and the whole thing was always so vile and he was right, it took forever to get that off of your tongue.
"Good morning Harry," Emma said as she set down a stack of pancakes at an empty chair for the lad. "Have some breakfast, and I shall get everyone's potions for the day."
He sat and began to tuck into the food as Dan got himself another cup of coffee, and Emma brought over three chemistry style test tube racks made of wood, each one with a name on it and placed it in front of the correct child.
"Unless we are having company over these will stay at your seat at the table. As it was explained to me, you are to take your potions with a meal to help them work better. Also the vials will fill for the dose you need to take at that meal, and for the most part that will be breakfast only. Harry starting tonight you will be taking your eye potion with dinner, and every other night from here after. That is the only evening one anyone will have to take unless you do get ill. She said that the healing of eyes will take time but that it goes faster while you sleep because you are not trying to focus and look at things. So resting eyes are healing eyes," she said with a grin.
"Now then, onto house rules," Dan began, "and I will make this quick since I have to get going very soon. No horseplay or violence in the house. Magic might be able to heal you faster but let's not get hurt in the first place, so no running on the stairs either. Keep the music and the television to a dull roar, the neighbors are not interested in knowing what you are watching. Treat each other with respect, and at least one hour of reading, and one hour of physical activity a day." He looked at the three of them and grinned, "since I hear you have a lot of stairs I say use the treadmill, bike, and rowing machine, but only with an adult present. You may as well prepare for those stairs and such now rather than feel out of breath and dying of exhaustion on your first day of classes."
"Also if any the three of you just need to talk, we are both here for you and will be as nonjudgmental as we can be. You boys are now part of this family, and we hope that the two of you will let us help you both grow into wonderful young men, and let us get to know you as well," Emma added with a smile.
"Right, and now I must be off, got a cavity to fill on a ten year old," Dan said with a grin. "Rather nice to know you kids wont have to have those since potions can be used to keep your teeth strong, though I will expect to hear more about how the wizarding world cares for their teeth too," and with that he set his now empty mug down and gave a wave as he headed to the garage to leave.
"I too am going to be off for a bit. I want the three of you to relax and get to know each other better as friends while I go to stock us up on more groceries. There will be some junk food purchased but not a lot, I warn you all now." She looked over the three of them carefully, "Since it is only Thursday, and I took tomorrow off as well from the practice, I will be teaching the three of you the basics of cooking if you don't already know them."
"You're going to try to make Gram's favorites," Hermione shrieked with joy.
"Yes, I want to try the cookbook out. So I will need help in the kitchen, and it will be a good learning experience and get to know you better time for me," Emma said with a smile at the boys.
"Harry already knows how to cook really well Mrs. Granger," Dudley said glumly looking at his plate. "My parents made him do almost all the cooking, and all of the clean up."
"It's OK Dudley," Harry said and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "I actually came to love doing the cooking, and found it fun."
"Really?" he asked back to his cousin.
"Really. I know you don't know much about the kitchen, but that means maybe I can help Mrs. Granger teach as well," he said with a grin. "I've never helped teach anything before."
"Well then, that is decided. Now boys, you don't have to call my Mrs. Granger all the time, but I don't expect you to call me mum either. So feel free to call me Emma, or Auntie, or even Auntie Em," she said with a grin as her daughter groaned at the reference. Her mother couldn't help but smile at the reaction before she continued, "now, once you finish your meals and those potions rinse the dishes and place them in the washer. Hermione can show you around the house, but I do think it might be good for you three to find out what each of you likes and likes, those kind of things. That way you can find more to talk about, and help each other out while at school. I'll be back in a couple of hours," and with that she also left.
"Well bottoms up I guess," Harry said taking the first vial from his rack and downing it. He had expected some vile taste like he had recalled from the times he had seen in his memories of first year. However these actually tasted fairly nice. "Not as bad as I thought it would be. They don't taste bad," he said looking at the other two.
Both Dudley and Hermione were not really trusting of this reaction, however they too had found the taste almost pleasant.
"Wow," Dudley stated looking tat the small rack with his name. "The medicine companies could learn a thing or two from them. Wouldn't be such a fight to get me to take my meds if they tasted like this."

After breakfast was done and dishes away the three went to the living room to sit and chat. Here Hermione became her old self and she dug out three different colored notebooks and pens handing one of each to the boys and taking one pair for herself.
"What is this for?" Dudley asked very confused.
"Lists," she beamed proudly. "I know it is not a cool thing to do, but it helps me to keep things straight. So since we each have a notebook, we can each make a list of likes, and dislikes, and things we are good at or not so good at. Then mum and dad can read them as well to get to know you both better, but also if we let each other read them, then we can help each other with what skills we already have, and get help with things we aren't so good at."
"Like I'm good at cooking and cleaning," Harry said catching on to what he thought she was up to, "but I'm not very good at being social?"
"So like I am really good at video games, but not so good with school work," Dudley said catching on as well.
"I'm really good at school work, because I am really good at reading and remembering things. That's one big reason I was seen as a know-it-all bookworm at school and didn't have many friends. So I'd like to be friends with both of you to get better at being one, and I can help you find better ways to learn and study," she said with a hopeful smile.
"I'm not really sure what I am all that good at," Dudley replied looking at the blank paper before him, "well other than video games."
"Not to worry," she said reassuringly. "These are so you can write as we go and learn about one another. If we take them with us around the house, then we can write in them as we figure things out. So don't feel rushed, I'm not sure what I can really put in mine either."
"Well since this isn't something we have to do right now," Harry said looking at the two, "why don't we make a list of what we want to pick up when we go shopping again."
"Brilliant! I'll go get my list of first year items so we can start from there," Hermione said and dashed from the room.
"How are you doing Dud?"
"I dunno. I mean this is all kind of strange and twilight zone for me. Dad hits me, and then I'm a wizard, and now here, and," he looked at his cousin. "It all feels so unreal. I mean I like it so far, and knowing that Aunt Marge isn't going to take me away from here, but this is all so different."
"I know what you mean. On the bright side though, you don't have to go to Smeltings, and you get to learn magic," he said with a small grin.
"Yeah, magic is going to make up for a lot of things I think," Dudley said with a small nod. "I'm kinda scared about having magic, after what mum and dad said for all those years, but I'm still me right?"
"Yeah, you're still you. I know they said some horrible things, but it doesn't change that you will always be you. With or without magic, you can only be you," he said as Hermione came back into the room with her list of 1st year supplies. Dudley looked a bit confused but nodded at his words, as he tried to understand what he meant.
"Right well, here's the list," she said spreading it out before the newest wizard. "We can get all of these things on Saturday in Diagon Alley."
"Parchment and quills?" the large boy said confused. "What are those?"
"Parchment is like paper, and quills are feather that you dip into ink in order to write with," she said without he lecture tone.
"Oh, well," he looked at the list again and then to the two of them. "Wouldn't a bunch of pens and mechanical pencils, and notebooks be better?"
Hermione opened her mouth to say something to the contrary, but stopped and closed her mouth trying to figure out a valid argument for this. For his part Harry was also going through his own memories to find out if there was any real reason he couldn't have brought modern supplies.
"The parchment is measured in feet, so perhaps the professors just ask for a length like that for work instead of pages?" Hermione said still trying to figure out why she had never questioned it before either.
"What if we took our notes in notebooks, and then wrote assignments on parchment?" the green eyed boy said with an idea forming in his head, "I mean my handwriting is not the best, and if I have to learn to write all over again with a quill that will take more than the time we have now."
"Actually," the bushy girl said while her mind spun ideas out by the second, "I took a calligraphy class last summer. So I could teach you both a bit of that, and we could get those pens at the art supply store. Writing our assignments might take more time, but they will look much nicer than if we tried a quill on day one. Even so, we can ask Madame Bones when we go shopping about pens and paper." Taking a page from her own notebook she began to write down the school supplies they might want to pick up in the muggle world. "What else can you think of wanting Dudley? You too Harry, let's get a good list so that we can be well prepared for school. If we don't use it, then we can bring it back during holiday, and if we find we need something we didn't think of, we can pick it up then as well," she smiled broadly to the two boys. "This is going to be so exciting! I have two friends going to school with me, and the fact that we are all in the same boat at being new to this!"
Well that last part was a partial lie, the two had their memories. Granted their bodies had never cast a spell really, so it would all be about re-teaching their bodies how to cast and move, and for Harry also learning how to live without glasses and a different height, weight, and ability to learn. Just what would their year bring? Would he have to save Hermione from a Troll again, or would someone else get cornered by it? Would he have to go through the petty war with Draco?

Emma came home to find the three talking about what they should get for school, and she left them to their list instead of asking them for help bringing in the groceries. The talk of Trapper keepers, pencil bags, folders, and board games, had put a smile onto her own face.
While at the store she had pushed the trolley absentmindedly praying that the three kids would become fast close friends. It was always a worry in her mind that Dudley would go back to being a bully, but it seemed that the shock of what happened may have helped change him completely. Hoping that would stay true through to school and during was another thing entirely, but that would have to be dealt with as it happened. Talking with Amelia would definitely help put her mind at ease, and the fact that the woman would be able to go there and check up on the kids to make certain they were doing well.
She and Dan had always wanted a second, and perhaps even a third child, but things just had not been on their side. Now with the fostering of the two boys, they finally had a full home, and it made her feel so happy. Dan was beside himself with the fact that he now had two boys to talk to and even teach how to shoot sidearms as well as a shotgun. There was also going to be the talk of football and rugby in the house, and the fact that this was going to happen made her smile. These two boys needed a better home life, and if the two of them let it happen, they would be quickly part of the family and being there would feel even more like home than where they had been.
They were not big on yelling, and never really had to with their daughter, but boys on the other hand could get a bit rowdy. Time would tell with how they would need to discipline the two boys, though she really hoped that they wouldn't have to worry about that until they came home at the end of the school year, at least by that point they would have a better rules list that would need to be stuck to. That would mean summer rules, and school rules, and with luck the school rules would not be too strict that they would feel the need to be overly rowdy when they came back from school.

Dan arrived home to find his wife finishing dinner alone in the kitchen with no sign of the kids.
"Everything alright?" he asked puzzled by the lack of noise.
"Very much so," she smiled back to him. "The kids are still making a shopping list of things they want to bring to school. Between organizers, and standard school things, they want to bring some board games and other things like that. I think I heard Clue mentioned, and Trivial Pursuit."
"Maybe I should explain to the kids that they should never go against Hermione in a trivia game, and that a betting pool for her to stomp people would be perfectly alright," he smirked.
"Don't you dare! We do not need the kids gambling at their age!" she glared at him while brandishing a wooden spoon at him, "speaking of, why don't you go get them for dinner. They missed lunch because I did not want to interrupt, and I doubt they even know what time it is."

Soon enough the kitchen table was filled with food and the five of them surrounding it, all eating and talking about what they would need for school, or need to talk with their magical guardian about. It was all so lively, and filled with laughter at comments and even some playful mock teasing among the three kids. Emma couldn't help but smile, magic did truly exist and here were three magical children, two of which were choosing the go forwards and try to forgive and forget the past, and make a new start not only with one another but also with the rest of the world.
Another surprise came after dinner when the three claimed that they would do the rest of the clean up. Obviously it was too early for Harry to take his potion to help with his eyes, so the three would then retire to the living room once more to finish deciding who would bring what in each of their trunks, and what would be on the side for when they came home at holiday to take back with them.
"It almost feels like they have been friends for years," Dan said as Emma joining him in the study across the hall from where the kids were debating about which board games were best.
"I know, and it just seems right. I guess it is like they said yesterday, magic is helping them become friends faster. That and I think they all just needed a pair of good friends to begin with," she smiled snuggling close to her husband on the couch.
"Well this makes me feel a lot more confident on sending Hermione off to some boarding school in Scotland. She will have two friends, and they will likely protect her from bullies as well," he said before kissing the top of his wife's head.
"Let's not forget the head of the magical law enforcement is their other guardian as well. That also is another thing that makes me feel good about this, and the fact that they will get to meet two more kids before heading off to school." Turning her head she looked up at her spouse, "I was thinking that it might be fun to invite the two girls they meet this weekend over sometime this summer, so that they get a chance to really see what the non-magical world is like. Maybe take them to a movie, the zoo, or the amusement park?"
"Now that sounds like a fun weekend," he chuckled. "We definitely need to make that happen as a last hurrah before school."