AUTHOR'S NOTES: One of the things I'm trying to do with this story is focus on how Harry acts as a victim of abuse. I touch on the issue here and there sometimes in my other stories, but I usually shy away from bringing the issue too much into the spotlight.

With that said, if anyone has suggestions on how I can improve in that regard, please let me know.

Also, if anyone has questions regarding the TV show Judging Amy, just ask and I will fill in details as best I can.

Chapter 4

4 Days Ago…

Waking up Saturday afternoon, Harry was surprised when he saw Jillian Gray still sitting by his bed. "You're still here?" he muttered, drowsily, as he adjusted the hospital bed and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table.

"I thought you might want some company when you woke up," Jillian replied, handing over a take-out container. Catching Harry's look, she smiled. "I ran out for a moment to pick up some lunch for you. Eat," she directed when Harry opened the container to find two chili cheese dogs, French fries, and a couple cookies.

"I-I'm not that hungry," Harry protested, weakly. He felt bad refusing food, but he also felt uncomfortable with people buying or giving him meals and treats when he'd done nothing to earn it.

But Jillian wasn't fooled in the slightest and fixed Harry with a stern look. "You need to eat, Harry. Kyle says you're significantly underweight for your age and he's worried about complications with your surgery."

"Complications like what?" Harry asked, frowning with concern. He'd overheard doctors say things about medical complications with him the few times Petunia Dursley had actually taken him to doctors, but his aunt had always blown them off. And whenever Harry had asked about the issue, she'd just snapped that it was none of his business and he should just shut up.

"Stroke, oversensitivity to anesthetics, immune system problems," Jillian replied, watching Harry's reaction. "Kyle says that you either need to get a couple good meals in you before your surgery, or he'll have to put you on a special IV formula and postpone the operation." Thinking that the teenager deserved to hear the whole situation, she went on. "And if you continue to refuse to eat… Kyle said that he'll put you on a feeding tube."

Harry looked from Jillian to the take-out container and began to eat, forcing himself to go slowly, for fear of making himself sick. After finishing a whole chili dog, half the fries, and a cookie, he finished off one of the bottles of water by his bedside before he said, "I-I'm not starving myself on purpose." Catching Jillian's look, he averted his gaze, embarrassed by what he'd said. "I just wanted you to know," he muttered, quietly. "I'm… I'm just not used to… to people really feeding me."

Not sure if she wanted to hear the whole story about what Harry was talking about, Jillian just sat for a moment, waiting to see if he would continue without prodding. Setting the take out container aside for a moment, she asked, "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, Harry."

Harry shook his head, running a hand through his messy black hair. "I wasn't allowed to eat with the Dursleys most times. I had to make everyone meals and clean up the kitchen before I could take something to my room. I wasn't allowed to eat unless I did all my chores. If I didn't finish, I didn't eat." Looking at the remainder of his lunch, he felt his stomach give a low grumble.

Jillian caught the look and handed the teenager the container once more, watching as he finished everything along with a second bottle of water. "How often did you go hungry?" she asked, sadly.

Shrugging, Harry couldn't recall, exactly. "Sometimes two or three days in a row. I'd try to sneak scraps when I was cooking, but if someone saw me, they'd—" He stopped, not wanting to finish the thought. "It… it was bad if I got caught." Looking away, he unconsciously flexed his left hand, remembering when Petunia had caught him sneaking bites of raw onion and potato when he was making a roast when he was 8.

He'd been without food since the previous morning and in desperation, Harry had started nibbling on the potato peelings and the ends of the onions. Petunia had spotted him and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him over to a clear spot of counter after grabbing a small fry pan from the cabinet underneath. Slamming Harry's left hand hard against the counter, she glared at him. "What did I tell you about stealing food?" she said, in a quiet, angry tone. When Harry struggled to pull away, Petunia set the pan down and slapped Harry hard in the face. "What did I tell you?!" she screamed, squeezing Harry's forearm tighter.

"I w-w-was h-h-hungry!" Harry stammered, sobbing, his eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry! I'm—"

But he was cut off as Petunia brought the pan down hard on his hand, slapping him again when he screamed with pain as several of the bones in his hand and fingers were broken.

After being thrown out of the house, Harry staggered over to Mrs. Figg's house, a neighbor who seemed to be the only person who actually cared about him.

An overnight trip to a private hospital later, Harry was back at #4 Privet Drive, his hand in a cast that encased all but his pinkie and index fingers.

His punishment for going to Mrs. Figg was a black eye, a split lip, and extra chores.

Pulled from the horrible memory by Jillian Gray putting a comforting hand on his upper arm, Harry tried to give her a smile in return, but he still felt the pull of his memories, drawing him back to all those years of pain and abuse.

X

That evening, after a meal of pizza and bottled juice—courtesy of Kyle—and a whole pint of ice cream—compliments of Jillian—Harry felt more stuffed than he'd been in a long time. And while Kyle was still concerned about Harry's low weight, he did notice that Harry had at least gained three pounds over the past few days.

As visiting hours concluded and the Gray family said their 'good night's, Harry suddenly found himself afraid of being alone at night, even when Kyle promised to check in on him.

"I'll stay," Amy volunteered, looking from Harry to her mother, brother, and sister-in-law. Taking off her jacket again and settling down in the chair closest to Harry's bed, Amy waited until everyone else had gone and the door was closed before giving Harry a knowing look. "You scared about tomorrow?"

Leaning back in his bed, Harry shrugged, not sure of how to describe how he felt. "Before you and your family… it didn't matter what happened to me," Harry said, finally. "If I died in surgery or something, my friends would be upset… but they'd move on. I was far away and there was nothing they could do. But with you lot here…with me… You'd care if something happened to me. I just… I actually feel alone without you lot nearby."

Leaning forward and waiting until Harry gave her his full attention. "You are not alone, Harry. You've got us, here… You have your friends in England. You're never alone." Thinking for a moment, Amy leaned back. "About a year ago, my best friend died of a heart attack. She'd been going through chemotherapy and radiation therapy for breast cancer. I felt so alone afterwards. I mean, I still had my family, but… something was missing from my life. I-I just… I needed someone to tell me—n-not what I wanted to hear or needed to hear, just…"

"Just someone to say the right thing," Harry finished, nodding, thoughtfully, thinking of Hermione.

Amy smiled and nodded, knowingly. "Exactly. And now I've found other people in my life who give me that." Pausing as she considered what she wanted to ask, Amy silently tried to gauge whether Harry was ready to make the first steps on the path to a better life. "If I called a friend who knows about… the kinds of things you've been through… would you be willing to talk with him?"

Harry sat up just a little bit. Part of him hated talking about the abuse. But before he could refuse, he again felt the pull of his memories. He hated thinking about everything, reliving in his head all the worst parts of his life. Maybe severing that tie was the first step to being okay. Nodding, he replied, "Yeah. Alright. Maybe the day after tomorrow?"

"I'll give him a call," Amy promised as Harry settled down for the night. "Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The entire Gray family was there to see Harry before he was taken into surgery the next morning. Giving everyone a thin smile, Harry wasn't sure how he felt as the orthopedic surgeon came in and marked where he'd be amputating Harry's leg.

"Second thoughts?" Kyle asked, studying Harry intently. "We can just do the repairs if you want to keep your leg."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Harry imagined what would happen if he kept his leg.

Lying in his hospital bed, Harry looked at his healing legs. His left knee and ankle were in immobilizer braces and propped up to keep his knee bent at a slight angle. Magic had been able help meld the replacement joints to Harry's bones and therefore he would only have to wear the braces for a couple weeks.

His right leg, however, was suspended in a traction rig, one external fixator rig around his thigh, and a second around his lower leg and ankle.

And that would only be the start. Once the doctors were certain that Harry did not require further surgery and that the bones and joints were healing properly, he would be in a full length leg cast from his foot to his hip, his leg still in traction to keep the limb immobile.

By the time he was due to go back to Hogwarts, Harry might be out of the traction rig, but he'd likely be in a wheelchair so as to get around the castle better. Once out of the cast, Harry would require a very rigorous physical therapy regimen.

Opening his eyes, Harry shook his head. Looking from his right leg to the surgeon, he nodded, resolutely. "Take it," he said, simply.

Once Harry was transferred over to a stretcher, Kyle, Maxine, and Jillian went with him to the surgical wing, Jillian and Maxine giving Harry hugs and good wishes before Kyle took the teenager into the operating room.

After leaving Harry in the capable hands of the surgical team, Kyle scrubbed up and went back to the operating room just as the anesthesiologist was putting the teenager under. Even though he was only there as an observer, Kyle knew he still had to follow protocol since it was a surgical suite.

Once Harry was unconscious and intubated, the surgeon got to work, severing Harry's leg.

Kyle ignored the casual banter of the doctors and nurses working on Harry but when one of the nurses handed over the bone saw, she shook her head, sadly, as she asked, "How'd the poor kid end up like this?"

Kyle looked at her and replied, "His uncle broke his legs to keep him from leaving the house."

The whole surgical team stopped and looked up, shock and horror on every one of their faces. "Bastard," the surgeon spat, angrily, as he started the saw and began cutting through Harry's femur. "I wish I was amputating that asshole's leg instead of this poor kid."

"I think all of us agree with you on that one," Kyle replied, watching as a nurse took the severed leg away to be disposed of.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

In the surgical waiting room, Amy sat with her daughter, Lauren, while Jillian and Peter worked on the adoption paperwork Maxine had given them.

Maxine was pacing about, partly out of anxiety but also because she was fighting the urge to go outside to smoke. Looking at her watch, she noted that it had been two hours since Harry had gone into surgery. Just as she was wondering if the surgical team were also working Harry's left knee and ankle, Maxine saw Kyle coming down the hallway, looking somewhat concerned. "Is Harry alright?" Maxine asked, quickly, drawing her family's attentions.

Kyle looked at the others and then turned to his aunt. "Harry's in recovery right now. He'll be there for about 2 to 3 hours while we make sure there are no other complications."

"What do you mean no other complications?" Peter asked, getting to his feet.

Kyle took a breath and explained. "Harry's reacting a little more strongly to the anesthetic than we'd expect. He's still intubated and we'll have to wait until he fully wakes up before we know the extent of his breathing problems."

"What kind of breathing problems?" Amy inquired, not liking the sound of it.

Kyle gestured for everyone to sit down first, and after they had done so, he replied, "In addition to rendering a patient unconscious, general anesthesia slows lung function which is why you always intubate and put the person on a respirator." When he saw that the others were following along—mostly, in Lauren's case—he added, "Harry's lungs aren't bouncing back as quickly as we'd like. We'll give it 24 hours, but if he's still having trouble breathing, he may need to remain on the respirator for an extended period of time."

"When can we see him?" Jillian asked, concernedly.

"After Harry's moved back to his regular room," Kyle said after a moment of thought. "If he's awake, don't get him too worked up."

The sun was just starting to set when Harry woke up that evening. Blinking hard against the lights in the room, he looked around, hoping there was someone there who could get the tube out of his mouth.

"Good, you're awake," a dark-haired woman in scrubs said as she entered the room. Smiling, she said, "I'm Dr. Labonte. You can call me Heather."

After retrieving his glasses from the table nearby, Harry pointed at the intubation tube and mimed pulling it out, hoping she'd catch on.

Heather shook her head as she adjusted Harry's bed so he was sitting up more before facing him. "No can do, Harry. Your lungs are still pretty weak from the anesthesia drugs. Dr. McCarty—Kyle—doesn't want to take the tube out yet."

Dropping his gaze as the doctor went to check on what remained of his leg, Harry was momentarily glad that he was on the respirator as he was pretty sure he would have stopped breathing otherwise.

There was maybe a quarter of the leg left and the stump was bandaged tightly. There was a tube extending from the bandage and Harry felt his stomach turn as he noticed that it was draining blood and fluid from the stump.

Leaning back, Harry felt his world spinning. He'd known what would happen, true, but actually seeing it was a different matter. He was without a piece of himself that he'd had forever.

"Do you want me to get your family?" Heather asked, noticing how upset Harry seemed.

The word threw Harry for a moment and he looked confused until he realized that Heather had meant the Grays. Nodding, he again stared at what was left of his leg, a dozen questions running through his mind.

How long until he could start using a prosthetic?

What about the joint replacement surgery on his other leg? Did that mean that he wouldn't be able to walk for an extended period of time?

If he had to use a wheelchair—how long? What if he still couldn't walk by the time the new year at Hogwarts began?

But also—what would he tell his friends, especially Sirius?

Number 12 Grimmauld Place

2 Weeks Later

"Where. Have. You. Been?!" Molly Weasley shrieked when Albus Dumbledore finally entered the townhouse after leaving to assess Harry Potter's situation. When the portrait of Sirius Black's mother began her usual barrage of screams and insults whenever she heard a ruckus, Molly whirled about and shouted, "Oh, shut it, you horrible old harpy!" Turning her attention back to the Hogwarts headmaster, Molly planted her hands firmly on her hips and fixed the older wizard with her best death glare. "No note! Not. One. Letter! No hint at all whether Harry was dead or alive! Do you have any idea how much we've all been losing our minds with worry over the poor boy?!"

"Er… Mum?" Ron asked, tentatively as he came up from the kitchen. "Sirius said that supper's ready."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said with a warm look at his student. "That sounds delight—"

"And who said that you get an invite?!" Molly snapped, blocking the hallway. In a calm, reassuring voice, she said to her son, "Tell the others I'll be there in a minute, dear."

Ron wasted no time bolting from the foyer to the kitchen where Hermione was waiting with a stack of plates. "Help me set the table, Ron," Hermione directed, as she grabbed silverware. As the two teenagers worked, she asked, "What was your mum on about upstairs?"

"Dumbledore's back," Ron said as he set the plates around the table.

Sirius, who was finishing a big pot of chicken stroganoff, looked up sharply. "What about Harry? Is he here, too?"

Ron shook his head as he helped carry bread and drinks to the table. "Dumbledore was alone. Mum was reading him the riot act when I left."

As everyone started to settle down to eat, Arthur Weasley looked up as his wife entered the kitchen, two letters in her hand.

"Is that from Harry?" Fred asked, pointing to the letters his mother set on the side table.

"Let's eat first," Molly said, firmly, trying not let her anger at Dumbledore spill onto her family, Sirius, and Remus Lupin.

No one thought questioning Molly Weasley was a wise idea, so they all did as directed and ate quickly, small talk kept to a bare minimum so as not to extend the meal longer than necessary.

Once plates had been cleared and drink glasses had been refilled—in anticipation of lengthy conversation—Molly shared the news from Dumbledore.

"Harry no longer has to worry about the Dursleys," she began, simply. "It turns out that Harry has another relative in the United States." Holding up a hand to hold off the questions, she went on. "Most likely, Harry will not be coming back to England before the start of term. He's in hospital right now—"

"What?!" Sirius exclaimed, ready to leap up and run off to his godson's side. He was stopped by Lupin who put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"And after he recovers," Molly finished, "He's going to be staying with a foster family who will be taking care of him from now on." Handing over the letters to Sirius, she watched him open them before reading the missives aloud.

"'To Hermione, Sirius, and the Weasleys,

I just wanted you to know that I'm okay…sort of. Given how bad my right leg was, the doctors here took it off. I'm also having the knee and ankle joints in my left leg replaced.

I know all of you are worried about me, but I'll be okay. My new family has been helping me with… well, dealing with what the Dursleys did to me. Peter and Jillian Gray are hoping to formally adopt me before August. Jillian's planning a huge birthday party for me and she's decorating my new bedroom in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw colors.

Peter's sister, Amy, is a juvenile court judge and she introduced me to a priest friend of hers who runs a support group for other abused teenagers. I tried saying that I don't really need counseling, but after a few sessions, I have to admit that it's helped to get some things out of my system.

I promise to write again soon, but cross-country owl post takes a while.

Harry'"

At first, no one knew what to say. On the one hand, they were relieved to hear that Harry was doing much better, but at the same time, the news about his physical condition was alarming to say the least.

Taking the other envelope, which was actually a set of 6 letters, Ginny read over the first one quickly before reading it aloud so the others could hear.

"'To Harry Potter's friends and godfather,

When my granddaughter, Lauren, found out that Harry was writing to you all, she insisted that everyone in the family write to you as well.

I suppose we should start by introducing ourselves. My name is Maxine Gray and I am Harry's social worker. My son, Peter, is petitioning to adopt Harry. I understand that you must all be worried about him, but I assure you, he couldn't possibly be any place better.

We're a very tight-knit family and my daughter and granddaughter still live in the same house I raised my family in. We all have dinner together at least 3 times a week and we are all very protective of one another.

If you have any questions about Harry's well-being, please do not hesitate to send a letter.

Maxine Gray'"

"She sounds a bit like you, Mum," Fred pointed out with a cheeky smile.

"Well, someone needs to look out for the poor boy," Molly replied, sipping her glass of water. Looking at the other letters, she asked, "Who are the other messages from?"

George picked up the next letter and chuckled as he looked around the table. "This one's from Mrs. Gray's granddaughter." Clearing his voice in a dramatic fashion, he put on a high-pitched 'little kid' voice as he read.

"'Hi! I'm Lauren Cassidy! I'm Amy's daughter, although I still have my daddy's last name since my parents got a divorce. Do wizards do that too? Harry wasn't sure.

I think it's so cool that Harry's part of the family since I always wanted a big brother. He's been telling lots about the school he goes to and I wish I was a witch so I could learn magic, too!

I hope you guys can come visit some time because it would be really neat to meet all of you!

Lauren'"

"I do believe I like this kid already, George," Fred said with a smile. "Just think—a young, impressionable mind to—"

"Don't. You. Dare!" Molly cut in, pointing a threatening finger at her twin sons.

The next letter was from Amy and Hermione read it, her inquisitive mind teeming with questions about her best friend's new caretakers.

"'My name is Amy Gray and…'" Hermione's voice caught for a second as she read on silently. Taking a deep breath, she gave a sniffle and went on. "'…and Harry's story broke my heart. I'm a judge in the Juvenile Court and I have heard my share of horrible tales of things family members have done to the children they're supposed to be protecting.

I think what hurts the most about Harry's case is… he had people who cared about him. He has all of you. But because of magical law, he couldn't be placed with people who loved him. I couldn't imagine being part of a family, yet not allowed to be with them.

I promise to give Harry all the love I, and the rest of my family, have to offer. I promise to help shape him into a loving, compassionate person who wants to help people.

Amy'"

Although no one was crying outright, everyone's eyes shone with unshed tears. Amy Gray's words had touched all of them and they could all tell that she was honest and sincere as could be.

Lupin took the next letter, clearing his throat before reading.

"'I'm Kyle McCarty and I'm Harry's doctor.

The funny thing is that even though my job was to heal Harry's body, I think my family has done a better job of healing his mind and spirit.

Maxine Gray is my aunt and when she met Harry I think it brought something out in her that I've never really seen before. Aunt Max has always had this 'mama bear' mentality when it comes to threats of any kind against the family, but Harry seems to bring it out more than usual.

I know all of you have concerns about Harry's physical condition and if he didn't say anything about it in his letter, you should know that he did lose his right leg. We also replaced Harry's knee and ankle joints in his left leg and updated some of the pins, screws, and plates in the bones.

I've already spoken to Albus Dumbledore about Harry's physical therapy regimen, and he's agreed to post a therapist at the school. You'll have to make sure that Harry sticks to his PT schedule. Otherwise, his condition could get worse.

I'm hoping to get Harry walking with crutches before he returns to Hogwarts.

Contact me or Maxine immediately if Harry is having any problems.

Dr. Kyle McCarty'"

Sirius frowned as he read the doctor's letter again to himself. He'd been thinking about Harry's injuries a lot lately, and when Dumbledore had left to go to the States, Sirius had hoped that Harry wasn't in danger.

But thinking about this latest news, Sirius realized that Harry's life was going to be harder than anyone had previously anticipated. The Ministry of Magic had been attacking Harry and Dumbledore for their claims that Voldemort was back. One particularly nasty article in The Daily Prophet had even insinuated that Harry's injuries were self-inflicted, suggesting that Harry had broken his own legs to garner more sympathy.

Lost in his own thoughts, Sirius paid little attention as Arthur Weasley read the letter from Maxine Gray's fiancé, Jared Duff, who seemed like a nice man who obviously cared for Harry the same way as a loving grandfather would.

Feeling someone nudge his arm, Sirius brought himself out of his ruminations as Molly handed him the final letter.

"I think you need to read this one, Sirius," Molly said with a gentle smile.

Sirius took the letter and after a moment, began to read.

"'To Harry's friends, and especially his godfather, Sirius,

I'm Peter Gray and my wife, Jillian, and I are adopting Harry.

From the moment we heard about Harry's past and what his other relatives had done to him, we knew we had to help him.

I work in insurance and when my customers have come to me with a claim, I've done my best to help them rebuild their lives and restore their sense of safety and support.

Jillian is a stay-at-home mother to our 2-year-old adopted son, Ned. One of the things I love so much about her is that she likes to fix things until she thinks they're perfect.

Because of this, I think that we are the perfect adoptive parents for Harry. I've been trying to help give Harry stability and reassurance that we're all here for him and he can confide in us without fear of judgment. Jillian has been giving Harry as much love and compassion as possible, and I know Kyle's worried about Harry, but my wife has been making sure Harry gets to physical therapy or counseling sessions, takes care of himself, and is taking his pain medication since he often hides how much pain he's really in.

I also want to say to Harry's godfather—Jillian and I would never think of trying to take the place of Harry's real parents. We're just trying to give Harry a loving, supportive environment to grow up in.

We hope to see most of you September 1st when we come over to England to take Harry to the train station,

Peter and Jillian Gray'"

Before James and Lily's deaths, Sirius would have considered Peter and Jillian too stuffy and somber. But knowing everything that Harry had been through with the Dursleys, Sirius knew that the Grays were exactly what Harry needed right now.

Of course, what Sirius really wanted at that moment was to see Harry—if only to make sure that his godson was really doing okay. Surely there had to be some way to visit without getting caught.

"Don't even think about it, Sirius Black," Molly warned, seeing the scheming look in the man's eyes. When Sirius tried to look innocent, Molly raised an eyebrow. "It's too dangerous for you to go gallivanting halfway around the world to see Harry. You can't risk going back to Azkaban—or worse."

Sighing dejectedly, Sirius nodded, dismally—about to agree with Molly when Hermione spoke up.

"I might have an idea for getting Sirius to the States safely," Hermione said, cautiously. Looking from Mrs. Weasley to Sirius, she said, "The potion we used before to disguise Sirius's animagus form."

Lupin shook his head, sadly. "While I commend you on a creative idea, Hermione, acquiring the permits to transport an animal internationally through muggle means would take a very long time and even wizarding transportation—"

But Hermione was ready for the argument, thinking of something she'd seen when she'd gone with her parents to France the previous summer. "But if the animal in question were a seeing-eye dog," she countered, grinning. "—it would be much less hassle. Especially if the person in question was a teenage girl traveling alone."

Sirius, Lupin, and the Weasleys stared at Hermione intently, each impressed with the young woman's careful thought.

"Okay, but why you?" Ron asked, feeling a bit jealous. "I mean, I'm Harry's best friend."

"But I have an official muggle passport," Hermione replied, quickly.

Thinking about the plan, Ginny asked, "How are you going to convince people you're actually blind? It would be really hard to pretend to not be able to see, right?"

Ron came up with a solution as he thought about the stuff he and the others had found sifting through Harry's meager belongings in his room at the Dursleys. "Harry had an old pair of glasses in his trunk," he said, looking at the others. "Maybe we can charm those so that Hermione can't see anything when she's wearing them?"

Wary about the young woman's acting abilities, Lupin fixed Hermione with a somber look. "All the same, Hermione, if someone finds out that you aren't actually blind, it could have severe repercussions."

The twins had been giving the plan some consideration and after exchanging a look, they both broke out in identical grins. "What if…?" George began.

"—she wears a blindfold with an invisibility charm on it?" Fred continued.

Before anyone pointed out the obvious flaws in that idea, George went on. "Specifically designed so that Hermione can't see—"

"—and no one else can see the blindfold?" Fred finished.

This time, Sirius and Lupin exchanged looks, Sirius cracking a smile as he thought about a spell he'd casted on Snape when they were at Hogwarts. "I think we might be able to help with that part," Lupin said, echoing Sirius's smile.

xxxx

The next day, Dumbledore returned to Grimmauld Place and while Molly Weasley was somewhat calmer in greeting him, she was still angry about the lack of communication.

Nevertheless, she discussed Hermione's plan about visiting Harry with the headmaster who also agreed to assist in the ruse. He also agreed that in order for the plan to be more effective, Hermione had to travel alone in order to gain the most sympathy.

"There's something else," Molly added, handing over several letters. "If you could see that Harry and his new family get these…?

A/N: Next chapter-Harry's birthday!