A/N: Thank you all again for the reviews. I really appreciate them and any ideas are welcome. Harry Potter is not mine this is a story from a fan.

A helping hand

C23 A night of wonder.

Andrea looked on as Minerva told Harry that he would never return to this place. His little eyes lighted up the moment he heard the words. But just like they always did with her they turned back into doubt.

When she heard her aunt telling her to take Harry to the fly chicken she had to hide a giggle. Her aunt would understand it but it always made her feel bad when she laughed as her aunt slipped up.

Harry didn't hear the slip-up or he just didn't know of those fast food restaurants. It gave her another feeling of blind fury, but she also knew that it would not be good for her if she went inside and beat up that whale of a man. "Come on Harry, you are coming with me tonight".

"Really," Harry asked again in disbelieve.

"Yes Harry, you are really coming home with me" Her smile got a little wider when she saw the excitement in his eyes. "Go, Harry, go to the car and I will say goodbye to my aunt and I will be right there".

"Really".

"Yes Harry, Really" and she turned back to Minerva. "I think he has forgotten everything and the only word he knows is really".

Minerva smiled as her niece walked away with a bouncing Harry in front of her.

*#*

In the car.

"Harry please sit back and fasten your seatbelt".

"But I don't want to make your car dirty" he whispered.

Andrea gave a small sigh. This could go on for a very long time, they may not have beaten him but his personal view was very bad. He didn't have any identity of his own and the only thing she saw was this broken-down boy that knew only one thing. He was too much; to dirty to freakish, if she would talk in the way of his uncle. She knew better but he didn't, the only thing he really knew was to survive. It would be a good trial if he had to deal with some of the purebloods, but not just yet. Harry what do you want. Mc Donalds or Kentucky fried chicken".

Harry had slid into the back of his seat as he was looking at all the buildings they were passing. "What are those".

"Those are fast food restaurants, Harry. They are named that way because you will get the food very fast".

"I think I heard Dudley say something about Mc Donalds. He, one's thanked his father for getting him a BigMac or something like that. Only I don't know what it is because I never got to go with them".

"Harry if you never went with them, then how do you know they went".

"Every time they went Dudley talked about it. The whole night he said how good it was and how he loved it. Then Uncle Vernon would promise him to take him again soon".

Andrea took a careful look at Harry as he was talking about it. His eyes were dull but other than that there was no reaction. He was telling it as of it was the most normal thing in the world. Dudley got everything and he never did. "Well this time I'm going to take you, and you can get anything you want". She was waiting for the 'really' but it never came. He just looked at her with big questioning eyes.

It was ten minutes later that they stopped in front of the first McDonalds she saw. Harry took a happy meal while Andrea took an adult meal. She didn't know the last time he had a full fill and didn't want to over feed him the first night he was with her.

As they sat down she could see how Harry was unwrapping his hamburger. It was like a present to him and the paper was made of silk in the way he folded it when he was done. She could even see him eyeing it and thinking about taking it with him.

Andrea just kept her eye on Harry and didn't say a thing. He was enjoying his food and was eating it with little tiny bites. They were so small that he wouldn't have to chew, yet he was chewing it to get every flavor he could get out of it.

It hurt her when she had to explain what he had to do with the sauce for his French fries. It was after that that she walked to the counter to get three more cups of sauce because he loved it so much.

"Come, Harry, it is time to go home," Andrea said as Harry was done with the puzzle.

Harry got out of his chair and started to grab the paper that had been around his hamburger. "No Harry, you don't have to take it, it is only a wrapping. It would be better if you took the puzzle. There is a Coloring page on the back of it".

At first, he yanked his hand away like it had been hurt the moment Andrea said No, as he waited he was ready himself for the shouting that would be coming his way. Yet there wasn't any, the only thing he heard was a soft voice telling him about a Coloring page on the back of his puzzle. So he turned the page around and forgot all about the wrapping paper from his Hamburger.

*#*

It was an hour later that Andrea walked Harry into her little apartment. He hadn't said much but she hadn't expected it. It had been a very busy and overwhelming day for him. She smiled a little as she could see his eyes fall because he was just too tired to stay awake. "Come on Harry, let's get you to bed".

Harry didn't respond but let himself be guided to a little room where there was an air bed lying on the ground with a sleeping bag on top of it. "Is that my bed?" Harry asked Andrea with a smile that was about to split his face in two.

"Sorry Harry it is not much but it is the best I can do for now".

"What, it is the best bed I ever had," he said still with that same smile on his face. He crawled onto the bed and fell asleep almost instantly".

*#*

"Andrea where are you" Minerva called as she walked into the little apartment that was owned by her niece.

"I'm here Aunty".

Minerva heard Andrea calling from a room down the hallway. She walked over and pushed the door open. There she saw her niece sitting on the ground brushing her fingers through the hairs of Harry as he slept peacefully on the air bed.

"I could not leave him, He never had McDonald's before and his cousin was there every week to then rub it into his face. He said it like he wasn't worthy enough to have it and he believed it. It is such a sweet boy and they just didn't care whether he lived or died" Andrea said as small tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Minerva walked back out of the room and closed the door behind her. She turned her head to Amelia and sighed deeply. "Do you think there is a chance that she will get custody over him".

"I'm sorry Minerva. The chances for that are slim to none. It will go to the Wizengamot and that will be a battle between Lucius and Albus. The only thing we can hope for is that Albus didn't know anything about this so we could get him to consider Andrea, other than that her chances are very, very slim.

A/N: This was it again at this time; see you all in the next chapter.