Disclaimer: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not making any money from this story, merely playing in her playground.
Sorry the update has been so long in coming. I have been dealing with RL issues. There will be a new chapter of A Normal Life out soon too for those fans who read it. I know this chapter is a bit short, I hope to give you a much longer one next time.
Also – A big shout out of THANKS to my beta, Hippothestrowl for all of his hard work giving me feedback on this story.
-Cosmyk
The Muggles' Son
Chapter 4: Discoveries and Nightmares
Eloise tapped the computer screen in frustration. There was no record of anything relating to Lily Rose Evans after the age of 11, and nothing at all about a Lily Potter, not even a marriage certificate. It was just a blank. She reached for the phone and dialed a number. A few unsatisfying moments later, she disconnected the call, straining to keep from slamming the receiver down irritably. Even her contact at MI5 couldn't give her any information about Lily or James Potter. "Hmm…I wonder…" she muttered under her breath. Of course, it made sense when she thought about it. She reached into her desk drawer, pulled out a piece of parchment and, using her ball-point pen, began to compose a letter. A few minutes later, a small lovebird was winging its way toward London.
Three hours later, she was cursing under her breath as she read the message from her contact in the Wizarding world. She'd left that life behind after her move to England which had coincided with the divorce from her first husband. The civil war the wizards of Britain were engaged in had given her no interest in leaving the Muggle world. The words on the page just reinforced that decision…
Dear Madam,
It is with regret that I must inform you that the people you seek are no longer among the living. Mr. and Mrs. Potter unfortunately met with an untimely end at the hands of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who disappeared at the same time. Their son is the only living member of the Potter family at this time. He has no known relatives, and his current whereabouts are at this time unknown.
Sincerely,
Sinnok Sharptooth
Gringotts Head Correspondent – Gringotts Britain
Eloise massaged the headache beginning to form between her eyes. She glanced at the playpen in her office where Harry Potter lay sleeping. Poor tyke orphaned and unwanted. Well, maybe not wholly unwanted, she conceded, remembering the Creeveys. Knowing that he was magical made things easier; she could cut a few corners that she wouldn't normally be able to do with a child who had a government record. Cracking her knuckles, she set to work.
Thirty-six hours later, Patrick and Diana Creevey were jolted from a sound sleep by Harry's shrill screams which were followed almost immediately by Colin's. They rushed into the nursery to see Harry sitting up in the center of his new crib screaming at the top of his lungs, a loud, terrified wail. A faint white nimbus of light surrounded him and the entire room seemed to tremble around them. His screams had awakened Colin who was thrashing in his crib, his frantic wails joining Harry's. They separated, each to a child, Patrick scooping up Harry as Diana swept Colin into her arms. The baby immediately quieted, but Harry's screams continued. "MaaaaaaaMaaaaaaaaa!" the child wailed, his eyes still screwed tightly shut. A pulse of light burst from the little body, pushing Patrick forcibly away from him. Harry fell back onto the bed and his eyes snapped open, his screams abruptly quieting. The room stilled and the light faded. Harry squinted up at Patrick. "MuMu?"
Patrick shook his head as he knelt by the bed, pushing the strange occurrences to the back of his mind in the face of the child's need. "I'm not MuMu, I'm Patrick. I'm gonna be your new Daddy."
"Haa-ee wan mama!"
"Your mama is gone, honey," Diana confided, lowering herself down to the child's level, still bouncing Colin on her shoulder.
"Wan Mama!"
She passed Colin off to Patrick who eased back to give his wife room.
"Baby, your mama's not coming back. Can I be your mama?"
"No! Wan mama!" Harry began to wail again and Patrick slipped out of the room, knowing Diana would know the best way to handle the situation.
Diana picked up the crying boy, cuddling his stiff body close as she rubbed his back and crooned an Irish lullaby to him. She swayed from side to side in a soothing rocking motion. Harry began to unconsciously relax against her, his small body shaking with sobs as he buried his face in her shoulder. She sighed, realizing this would probably be a nightly occurrence for some time. The social worker had been very tight lipped about what had happened to the boy's parents, but from the little she could gather, it had been some sort of home invasion gone wrong; she was almost certain the child had witnessed his parents' murders, it was the only thing she could reckon that would have him wake screaming. She had nothing but sympathy for him – and love, lots of love. A bit disturbed by the shaking room and the strange light, she pondered what it could mean as she soothed the distraught child, but as no one had been harmed by whatever it was, she shrugged it off.
It was nearly half an hour before Harry's sobs quieted and he slipped back into slumber. She gently laid him back in his crib and tucked the blanket up over his shoulders. The small golden balls still whizzed back and forth across his pajamas and she made a mental note to shop for clothes for him first thing after breakfast. She was thankful for the two changes of clothing the social worker had left for him to wear; she wasn't sure how she and Patrick would explain moving pajamas to anyone. The clothes were obviously used, but still in very good condition, and fit him well. She had also dropped off a package of diapers for them since the ones they had were not large enough for a healthy toddler.
Diana tiptoed out of the room, careful not to make a noise that would disturb Harry. She peered into her bedroom, but it was empty. Patrick must be in the parlor, she decided. Creeping slowly through the hall, she stuck her head in the parlor: Patrick was snoring on the sofa, one arm draped protectively across Colin's tiny body. Both were sound asleep. She smiled at that and slipped into the kitchen.
Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep any longer, she poured the last dregs of the coffee pot into her cup, then, pulling her coat from the hook beside the door and slipping into her shoes, she stepped out onto the porch, reveling in the early morning chill as she sipped the unsweetened coffee dregs. She smiled to herself as she reminisced about the look on her husband's face the first time he'd seen her drink the last vestiges of the day-old coffee pot. He had been thoroughly revolted at the idea that anyone would drink their coffee without copious amounts of cream and sugar. The fact that she drank it cold after it had sat in the bottom of the pot all day just gave him the willies. Diana chuckled as she downed half of the cup, glad he loved her enough to accept her quirks. She couldn't stand anything in her coffee. She liked it black and super strong, hence the reason she let it sit and steep all day before drinking it, a habit she had picked up from her late father.
Movement to her left caught her eye. Amanda Prewitt stood on the porch next door, nursing a cup of steaming coffee. Knowing Patrick would wake should either child cry out, she slipped down the steps to greet her oldest friend. As she got closer, she could see the worry lines furrowing the other woman's brow.
"Is everything okay? How is little Gwen?" Diana asked, embracing Amanda with one arm, careful to avoid spilling either of their coffees.
Amanda's face contorted in the grimace of someone battered by deep emotional pain; she drew in several shuddering breaths before answering. "Gwen is getting worse…Finster and I are taking her into the hospital today for the surgery…She's hardly more than twelve pounds…The doctor says with surgery this young…" Amanda's words were punctuated by harsh gasps as she choked back tears. She continued on in a hoarse whisper a few moments later, "…she's only got a twenty percent chance of surviving…but it's more than she will have if that hole in her heart isn't repaired soon," Amanda's voice broke on a sob. "Oh, Diana, I love her so much. When Finster brought her home, I wasn't sure we were doing the right thing taking in his cousin's child, but now I wouldn't trade her for anything. I'm so scared!" For the second time that night, Diana was a shoulder for someone's tears. She rubbed her friend's back in the same manner she had Harry's, her heart twinging in sympathy. It wasn't long before Amanda's tears turned to sniffles and she straightened up, wiping her eyes with her wrists.
"Oh, look at me, I'm getting you all messy. You are too good, letting my bawl all over you," she fluttered, trying to regain her composure.
"It's not the first time and it won't be the last. We are best friends for life and that's what a best friend does." Diana paused, and then attempted to distract Amanda from her worries about baby Gwen. "Little Harry was distraught tonight too; I think he may have witnessed his parents' murder. In all my years as a preschool teacher, I've never heard any child scream like that. The social worker wouldn't tell us much, just that his parents were killed – a home invasion, I think she said. They don't know how long he was there with her body before someone removed him from the scene."
"Are they going to let you adopt him?" Amanda inquired, glad for the distraction, she could feel her toes beginning to chill inside her slippers, but she ignored them, trying to focus on her friend's problems for once instead of her own.
"Yes. Apparently his mother's sister wants nothing to do with him. The social worker is bringing the papers for us to sign tomorrow morning, I'm just glad she let him stay with us in the meantime. It gives him time to get used to us." The elation was clear in Diana's voice. Her fingers were beginning to ache from the cold now, and she knew she would have to go in soon.
"Call me when she goes into surgery and we will come pray for her with you." She shivered slightly in the cold morning air. "It's getting mighty cold out here, I'd better get inside and start on some scones and chocolate for Pat," she hugged Amanda once more and hurried back to her house, sending up a prayer to whoever was listening up there to watch over baby Guinevere and see her safe through her surgery.
A/N: Well, that's another chapter done. Sorry to all of my followers for the delay in posting. Job search has been sucking the juice out of me. I am going to make an extra effort to post a chapter a week on at least one story if I can.
Cosmyk