Thank you so much for reading and following Chapter 1! Specifically, thanks to GrimmHarry for leaving a review! Again, there are strong mentions of abuse, PTSD, and trauma in this chapter. Like I said before, I have most of this story written so I'm going to post frequently until all chapters are up.
They stepped into the kitchen. It was small and very unlike Aunt Petunia's. Nothing was shiny, silver, or spotless, but Harry rather enjoyed it that way, it further separated his relatives from these people. "Ginny dear, run along upstairs and wash your hands for breakfast, and make sure your brothers are awake." The girl did as instructed, and that left Harry and Molly alone in the kitchen. "Harry, dear, what do you like to eat? We have sausages on the stove, but I can whip up something else if you'd rather have that. I can also make you some toast to go with it. What do you think?" Harry was shocked. He had never been asked what he'd like to eat before, and nothing sounded quite as good to him right now as a nice sausage and toast.
"That sounds good, thank you." He said quietly, still standing near the doorway.
"Well, ok. I'll fix it for you. Why don't you come over and sit down? It's much better to eat at the table." Yet another new thing. He had never been allowed to eat with the Dursley's before, when he did get to eat it was the leftovers they didn't eat, and he had to eat in the kitchen.
Soon enough, his breakfast was done and he gazed down at the plate she had set in front of him in amazement. He had three sausages. All golden brown and hot, ready for him to eat. Alongside it was two actual pieces of toast, topped with melted butter, not at all like the hard, cold crusts he was used to. "Is all this for me?" He almost couldn't believe it.
"Well of course it is! You didn't expect me to only give you one sausage now, did you?" Molly's smile faded as she realized that yes, that was what the boy had expected. Her heart hurt for him and it angered her to think of the people that had allowed him this kind of childhood. "Well go on, eat up!"
Harry didn't need to be told twice. He picked up his fork and ate his sausage quickly, so she wouldn't change her mind and take it away. Molly sat down across from him and watched him eat. "Harry," She began gently. "Can you tell me anything about where you came from or what happened to you?" Harry looked up at her, still not completely sure he could trust her. "That's ok, you just eat. I'll be right back." She stood up from the table and walked away. He couldn't see where she had gone but he heard her call, "Ginny, can you come down for a minute?" Harry heard footsteps coming down the stairs and into the kitchen. Ginny sat down across from him, her legs dangling off the chair because they were too short to reach the ground. Her mother had placed her own plate at the chair and she began to eat. She watched Harry the whole time as she ate her toast, her eyes seeming to follow his every move. Finally, once Harry had finished his whole breakfast, she spoke.
"I'm Ginny. I don't think I really introduced myself. I'm six, and I have six older brothers. My three oldest brothers are at school. Bill is the oldest, he's sixteen. Then there's Charlie, he's fourteen. My brother Percy is eleven, and then George, Fred, and Ron are all at home because they're too young to go to school. Fred and George are nine, they're twins, and Ron is seven, like how old you said you were." Harry was surprised how much Ginny could say in one breath. "Hey, could you see the bus we rode on earlier?"
Harry just nodded, unsure as to what kind of person wouldn't be able to see it.
"Wow." Ginny's eyes widened. "Do you know what wizards are?" She asked this question in almost a whisper.
"What?" He wasn't sure he had heard her right.
"You know, like wizards and magic and stuff?" Harry looked at her curiously.
"Ginevra. Come here." Harry caught Ginny's eye roll as she hopped up from the table. Molly had returned to the kitchen and Harry guessed she had heard what she had asked him.
The mother and daughter stepped to where they thought they were out of earshot of the table, where Harry sat looking around at the various odd aspects of their house. He could still faintly hear their conversation and tried his best not to eavesdrop, but he couldn't help but listen in a little.
"He said he could see the Knight Bus, mum! I thought you said only wizards and witches could see it!"
"I did, Ginny, but we barely know anything about him. He's scared, and I don't want to throw everything on him at once." Just as she finished, her three youngest sons thundered down the stairs. "Boys, come here." She stopped them as they passed her to eat breakfast. "There's a little boy named Harry in the kitchen. We don't know much about him, but we know he's Ron's age. Ginny and I found him in the park today, and he told us he didn't have anyone, so we brought him here. I want you three to be nice, and don't pull anything," She looked directly at the twins. "He's very timid and scared. I don't know where he's come from or what he's experienced, but I don't think it was good and I know pranking won't help. Now let's go in the kitchen and wash up for breakfast." The three boys nodded and washed their hands at the kitchen sink.
Harry watched the three boys carefully as they entered the kitchen. There were two older ones, who Harry figured were the twins, Fred and George if he remembered right. The third one Harry knew to be named Ron, and though Ginny had said he was Harry's age, he was quite a bit taller than the black-haired boy. The three did little but cast Harry stares, though only when they thought he wasn't paying attention. Harry knew they were trying to be polite and not stare, but they were doing a poor job. They collected their breakfast and sat down at the table; the twins on one side of Ginny, and Ron on the other. Molly followed them, but she sat next to Harry, his anxious behavior increasing as she did so.
"Harry, dear. How was breakfast?"
"It was very nice, thank you." Harry wasn't really worried about them hurting him anymore, they seemed too nice for that. He was still very concerned that if he wasn't good enough they would throw him out, and he'd be caught by someone else who would hurt him, or worse, take him back to his aunt and uncle. He thought if he was very respectful and didn't make a mess, they would not think of him as a burden and maybe let him stay with them, even for another few hours before he went back into the cold.
"I'm glad, honey. Are you still hungry?"
"A bit." He replied in his smallest voice. "But, that's ok" He quickly defended himself. "I'm used to being hungry, you don't need to give me any more of your food."
"Nonsense. If you're still hungry, why shouldn't you have some more? We have plenty." She stood up to get him another plate of sausage and toast, and when she returned, he was nervously tapping his foot against the leg of his chair. "What's the matter?"
"It's just that, usually I don't get to eat firsts, and I never get seconds. I don't want to be an ungrateful brat."
Molly was beginning to become furious with whoever his previous guardians were. Her children were watching the exchange cautiously, unsure of how to respond. "Harry, you're not an ungrateful brat." She spread her arms to hug him and immediately realized her mistake as he jumped up from his chair. She could tell it was a reflex built over time and experience. "Hey, it's ok, you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I just want you to feel safe." He looked at her with eyes still full of fear, but his body relaxed. "You can have seconds at every meal here if you want. You can even have thirds if you really want them." She smiled at him. "Come on, sit down and keep eating, I'll introduce you to the boys." She introduced each of her boys to him and they told them about themselves. Molly watched Harry throughout these interactions and could tell he was feeling more relaxed.
"Okay, Harry." She turned to him again when her boys were done talking. "Let's think about getting you some dry clothes. I'm sure Ron has something you can fit into." She looked at her youngest son as she said this and he hopped up to grab an outfit. "How about a bath? That would help warm you up." He shook his head urgently.
"I- just the clothes, please."
"Why don't you want a bath?"
"Baths, they're scary. I want to be able to breathe." The little boy was very aware of the piercing stares of the other children.
"Honey, your head will be above the water, like it always is, right?" She so hoped she was correct in this statement. The mother was becoming increasingly horrified at what she thought the boy was implying.
Harry didn't say anything, just looked at his palms in his lap.
"Ok, would you rather have a shower?" Again she received no response. "You'll feel much better. I can help you if you want."
"Alright." He replied in a small voice, still not budging his intent eyes. "But I don't want help, I can do it on my own."
"Okay, that's alright. I don't need to help you." She was just relieved he agreed to anything. Ron had returned and handed her the clothes, sitting back down next to his sister.
"Here, Harry. Take these clothes on upstairs, I'll be up in a second. The bathroom is two flights of stairs up." Harry nodded nervously and took the outfit in shaking hands. He headed up the stairs and Molly noticed he walked with a bit of a limp.
"Thank you kids for being nice to him. You can see he's really nervous." She watched as her daughter whispered something to Fred.
"Is he really? How do you know?"
"He could see the Knight Bus!" Molly could hear that whisper.
"Wicked!" George exclaimed. "I wonder if he knows."
"You will say nothing to him. Is that clear?" She had to make sure Harry felt safe with their family, and springing all that on him at once would scare him for sure.
"Wait, mum. His name is Harry, right? He's most likely a wizard," Fred exchanged a look with his twin and the latter continued the other brother's thought.
"Could he be Harry Potter?"
Molly had to be honest, the thought hadn't occurred to her but there was some truth to what her sons were saying. He had mentioned he didn't have parents. Everything seemed to line up, but she couldn't be sure, and it wasn't top of the priority list right now. All she knew is that there was a child, one that almost indefinitely had been abused, up in her bathroom and she needed to take care of him. She heard Ginny gasp a little at her brother's assumptions. Ginny had been reading stories about Harry since she was a baby and she had always wanted to meet him.
"I don't know, boys. Now, I'm going to see how he's doing with his bath, I want you to put your dishes in the sink and then you can go play in the garden. Fred, George, watch your sister, make sure she stays off your brooms." She gave them all a stern look and followed Harry's footsteps up the stairs.
