Not knowing how long she fought, she connected with Harry to find out. He was four years old. He was in a cupboard? She saw that he had been starved and was seriously underweight. What had been going on? She began sifting through and organizing Harry's memories. Mama Dragon was stirring.
She set Harry's memories behind shields. He was too young to use Occlumency to set his own mindscape up. She instead set up a library where the memories were stored. The only ones that could open the library, and more importantly, access the memories were Harry and herself. Once everything was organized, she began playing his memories back.
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Harry cried in his crib. He didn't understand what had happened. His mama fell down when the bad man hit her with a green light. When he turned it on him, he was hit in the head. It hurt. "Mama, help!" he cried reaching for her. When she didn't move, he cried all the harder. Why couldn't she hear him?
His Uncle Padfoot burst into the room. He quickly scanned the room seeing Lily's body and the rags that were all that was left of Voldemort. He moved through the room to Harry. He picked him up. "I'm here, Prongslet. I can't believe Peter betrayed us." He was crying.
Sirius carried the child outside of the house. He was surprised by the presence of Hagrid. Hagrid was not one of the people who were supposed to know where the Potter's were sequestered. Even though the James and Lily were dead, Harry was still alive. The Fidelius should not have broken unless Peter was dead or the caster cancelled it. "Hagrid, what are you doing here?"
"The Headmaster asked me ter fetch Lil Harry." Hagrid strode closer to Sirius with a smile.
"No, I meant how did you know to come here? This is supposed to be protected." Sirius asked quizzically.
"I don' know nuthin 'bout protections. I'm on'y doin what I were asked." Hagrid shrugged his shoulders. "It looks like he's hurt. I'm sure Dumbledore will git 'im right as rain."
They continued arguing until Hagrid reached out to Sirius and clasped him on the shoulder. "Yer knowin', Sirius, Dumbledore only wans the bes' fer the lil tyke."
Sirius opened his mouth, stopped and shook himself. "You're right, Hagrid. I need to go after Peter."
He quickly handed Harry over. Harry struggled in the larger man's arms. "Unca Padfoo!" Sirius leaned over and kissed Harry.
"I'm going to find Peter, Harry. He betrayed us and I'm going to bring him in. I'll see you soon. Dumbledore will keep you safe." He kissed the child on his forehead. Harry's last sight of Sirius was his watching Hagrid and he leaving on the bike.
The memory flashed forward to when Hagrid passed Harry on to Dumbledore in his office.
"Thank you, Hagrid." The headmaster smiled at the man. "You may leave." Turning a sad look on to Harry, "I am sorry, my boy. Your parents are gone, but I will see that you are taken care of." He saw the open sore on the boy's head. He cast a quick diagnostic charm. When he saw the results, he murmured, "Tom, what have you done? I warned you of the dangers of making soul anchors." He then cast a quick healing charm on the boy. The bleeding stopped, but the mark was there.
Dumbledore used his wand and created a crib in his office. He laid Harry in it. He stared at the boy. "It will take a few days, but I'll have you safe and tucked away." He turned around and went to his desk. "I need a female house elf."
"You be needing Reepy, Headmaster?" squeaked a small elf.
"Yes, can you take care of little Harry here for a day or two?" He motioned to the crib. "He is an orphan and I need to arrange for his care."
"Of course, sir. I's be happy to!" she excitedly squealed. She loved children and Hogwarts elves rarely saw toddlers.
Dumbledore got up and moved to the fireplace. "That's wonderful. Make sure that no one else knows that the child is here. He is in grave danger from Lord Voldemort's followers. I will alert those who need to know that Harry is here." With that said, he flooed away.
"Reepy will be taking Young Master to the Room of Requirement. No one will be finding us there!" With a quick clap, the elf, Harry and the crib were gone.
The memories from the next two days were of Harry being taken care of by Reepy. Though she had been told to tell no one about Harry, Dumbledore didn't tell her not to tell her fellow elves. Harry's memory included a steady stream of house elves cooing over him and playing with him. When he cried for his parents, the elves quickly distracted him.
At some point, the memory was unclear, Harry was back in Dumbledore's office. "Reepy's bringin' Harry to youse, Headmaster! Is there anything more Reepy can be doing?"
"Thank you, what you've done is sufficient. Just hand him to Hagrid. I've found a good home for Harry to live." Dumbledore thanked the elf. "Hagrid, you know where to go?"
"Aye, I do."
"Then you best be to it. I will see you shortly." With that Dumbledore dismissed him.
The next thing Harry knew was that he was on a flying motorcycle. He thought it was great fun. When it landed, he was carried to a door and placed on the step. A hard edged object was placed in the basket with him. He was snuggled into a blanket and fell asleep.
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Lily was livid. There were many questions raised. Why did Sirius give Harry up? What was the touch? Hagrid doesn't have that strength of magic. Why didn't Poppy treat Harry? What about the wills?
She didn't have any answers. She did know that her son was hungry, starved and cold. She looked around the cupboard he was in with disdain. I will know why Petunia has treated you this way. She was never this mean when we were children.
She needed to get him out of here. She tried to speak, but made no sound. However, she quickly realized that with her connection to Harry, she may be able to speak through him. She absolutely will not take over his body. She didn't know how, but will find a way to act separately from Harry. It felt wrong when she took control. It wasn't her body. It wasn't even female. However, needs must.
"Mimsy, Potter family elf, I call you. Harry is in danger and needs you."
She waited for a minute. When she began to think the bond had been broken, there was a pop. As a spirit, she was more attuned to magical energy and her senses were overwhelmed. She saw the magic coalesce in the spot where Mimsy appeared. When she could look at Mimsy, she saw Mimsy's core and magic. It was a beautiful sight, the magic glowed white around and through the small elf. Since this was the first time that Lily had seen a magical since her death, she wasn't sure but felt that the elf was fairly strong in her magic.
"Mimsy heard Lady Lily! Where is she?" the elf desperately searched, "We were told she was dead. Where is this? Is that you Master Harry?" She moved forward to hold the child. She cast a glance around the space. Who put you in here? Mimsy will be finding out!" The elf said in disbelief.
Lily, still in control, broke in, "Mimsy, it's me Lily. Voldemort did kill me. I don't know how, but when Voldemort tried to kill Harry my spirit was pushed into him. Harry's still here. He's asleep. I will not control or possess my son." She saw that the elf was getting more anxious. "Mimsy, Harry needs to get away from here. He has been starved and worse."
Mimsy, now angry, broke in, "Mimsy will be taking Master Harry home! Wes take care of him."
"Yes, Mimsy. Before we move Harry, can you cast a spell to see if there are any charms on Harry?" Lily asked, "I am afraid that Dumbledore put him here on purpose."
Mimsy shook her head in agreement. She quickly cast the diagnostic charm to reveal all foreign magic on a person. Harry's body lit up. There were six separate charms that were obvious health and location tracking charms. Harry's core had been bound in certain areas. His main magical core was fine. However, his connection from the core to his head had been heavily throttled. There was one other area that was bound. Neither Lily nor Mimsy knew what it controlled.
"We need to move the tracking charms onto something or someone else." Lily thought. "Mimsy, I can't move the charms as they are attached to the body my spirit has also been attached to. Can you move them?"
"Of course, Lady Lily, Mimsy can." The elf stated. "Mimsy needs to know where they should be moved."
"We'll place them on Dudley." Lily said darkly, "This will be the first time he'll have done anything for someone else."
"Do you think Boro or Grov could change to look like Harry? I think we need to keep my sister's family believing that Harry s here." Lily asked.
"Elveses are not supposed to change their looks into wizards, Lady Lily." Mimsy's ears drooped.
"Isn't it that they are not to change in order to fool wizards and witches? We'll be fooling Muggles." Lily didn't like waltzing around rules that could get the elves hurt, but Harry cam first.
"Mimsy thinks that would be alright." Mimsy slowly agreed. "Who is Dudley?"
"Dudley is my sister Petunia's spoiled brat of a son. He has been taught that it is okay to bully. Harry has been his primary target." Lily stated with disgust. "Let's get this started. Boro, Grov can you come here?"
Boro and Grov immediately popped in. They knew Mimsy had been called and had been hoping a call would come for them. Lily was better prepared, but still took a few seconds to have her vision clear. She noted that the two male elves glow wasn't as strong as Mimsy's glow.
They were quickly brought up to speed and agreed to appear as Harry to the Dursleys. Lily told Mimsy where Dudley and his parents slept. Mimsy quickly pooped into their rooms and cast a sleeping charm on them that would not break until the morning. With that done, they apparated into Dudley's bedroom. Mimsy quickly moved the charms onto the boy.
"Lady Lily, the charms are moved." Mimsy rold Lily, "Mimsy doesn't know how to remove the blocks on Master Harry's core." She started to cry at her failure.
"Mimsy, you've done all that I could ask. We'll find a way to remove the blocks. I may be able to remove them. Now that I know where they are, with some time, we should be able to unwind them." Lily soothed the elf.
"Boro, Grov who's going to impersonate Harry?" Lily asked.
They looked at each other. "We decided to swap days, Lady Lily. Grov will take tomorrow and Boro will take the next." Boro looked at her for approval.
"That will be fine." Lily started to ask to go to the Potter estate but paused, "Has anyone tried to come onto any of the Potter properties since James and my death?"
"No, Lady Lily." Mimsy said, "No one."
"Good, let's go home." Lily turned to Grov, "I thank you for what you and Boro will be doing. This will help keep Harry safe."
With twin pops, the group separated. Lily, attached to Harry, Mimsy and Boro apparated to the Potter estate. Grov popped into the cupboard and changed his appearance to Harry's.
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The home stood as empty as it had been the night Voldemort and his toadies attacked. The spell damage was repaired, but that was all.
"Mimsy, we need to bring a bed into Harry's room. He needs all new clothes. He is also in need of healing potions to remove the taints of his abuse." Lily was in full mother mode. "Also, I need to know why Harry was with Petunia. Why weren't our wills probated? What happened to Sirius?" It was early morning and she started to feel Harry beginning to awaken. "Mimsy, Harry's waking up. He's going to be scared. Be gentle with him and let him know he's safe. We can talk again whenever Harry naps or sleeps." With that, she relinquished control of Harry's body.
As a spirit, she didn't need to use Harry's eyes to see. She also didn't need to sleep. She decided to look at Harry's core and try to determine how to remove the bindings. Lily knew that the core was going to be large. Even so, she was surprised. Harry's core had merged with hers. As she had absorbed Voldemort's magic and knowledge, his core strength had been given to Harry. His core was huge. It made Mimsy's look small. The color of his core was a mixture of white and grays. The areas around the bindings were dark gray. She wasn't sure, but felt that it was caused by the pressure from the magical flows restrictions. With her new senses, the bindings tasted distinctive. She was certain they had been placed by the same person.
Being in a magical home, she found that she could see the ambient magic. She knew that it would be easy for her to tap into the magic. Tapping into ambient magic is the way that magical ghosts maintained their abilities. She wanted to research this, but the bindings came first.
She refocused on the binds. The bindings were fascinating to look at. They were woven together from three strands of magic. Each of these had been pulled from Harry's original core. By using the magic of the bound person, the enchantment would not fail. Only one the death of the bound person, would the braiding typically be undone. She understood why most considered having magic bound a permanent procedure. Very few would be able to see the binding once applied.
The effect on Harry was to unnaturally restrict the flow of magic into the two bound areas into minimal flows. She was very concerned with the binding between her son's core and his brain. She had no idea of the impact that would have made on his development. Therefore, finding a way to remove this was her primary priority. Her secondary priority was to understand how all James and her failsafes failed. Her third priority was to find a way to interact with her son and others.
Even knowing how wrong a binding was, she marveled at how beautiful something so sinister could be. She could see where the magic for each thread started. She needed to follow each strand to its end. Only then would she be able to see how to unwrap the thing. Based on what she'd done to Voldemort's soul slice, she knew breaking the link to the threads at their source would hurt Harry. That would be the easy way. No, she would do this the right way.
She felt Harry wake up and gave him control back. She began watching his actions. She wanted to understand her son's mental state. He immediately panicked. He was in a large room. It had windows that overlooked a well-manicured lawn. The room was bare except for the bed he lay in. He saw a small creature standing next to his bed watching him.
Scrambling away from Mimsy, he ran to a corner. He didn't say anything. He curled into a ball to protect himself from being hurt.
Mimsy's heart was broken. She slowly inched towards the small four-year-old child. "Master Harry? I's Mimsy. Can't you be remembering me?"
Too much time and abuse had past. Harry no longer remembered the small elf. However, he did get a feeling of safety from her. He raised his head up hesitantly. He looked at Mimsy, but didn't make eye contact.
"It's okay, Little Master," she gently finished moving to him and began hugging him. "Mimsy be taking care of youse now. I took care of you with your mother, Lady Lily, until she died." She wished she could talk to the Lady again. She wept for the broken child in her arms. "Youse will never be with your Aunt's family again. You are home. Mimsy, Boro and Grove we's the house elves, we be with you now."
"Aunt and Uncle won't punish me anymore?"
"No! Mimsy promises that you won't be hit again." Mimsy paused, "Master Harry, will you let me be seeing how you be? I need to cast a spell. It be telling me how to get you strong."
"Spell? Uncle Vernon says there no such thing as magic."
"Your Uncle be's wrong. Watch me." Mimsy raised one arm from the hug and snapped her fingers. A plush griffin appeared next to Harry. "That was your favorite toy when youse was a baby."
"Will the spell hurt?" He queried.
With a gentle smile, "No Master Harry, Mimsy's spell won't be hurting you."
In a small, barely trusting voice, "Okay, but if it hurts, I won't like you."
She cast the spell. A small parchment appeared and filled with information. To distract him, she asked, "Let's be getting breakfast for young master."
Boro took that as his cue and popped the meal into the room. It was placed on a child-sized table with a chair ready for Harry. Boro had been watching the interaction and stayed well back from Harry. It made his blood boil in indignation what his charge had been through.
"I's be Boro, Master Harry. I's be one of your house elves." He introduced himself.
Mimsy unwrapped herself from the hug she had been holding Harry in. He stood up and walked to the table. "I don't have to finish any chores? I can eat?" Seeing them nodding yes, he continued, "What about the spell?"
Mimsy smiled, "It's already finished. Mimsy promised it wouldn't hurt."
Harry smiled, uncurled, and moved to the table and began eating. Each time he reached for more food, he hesitated looking at the elves. They would smile and motion for him to continue. Once the meal was finished, Boro took the remains away. Mimsy asked Harry to follow her to the bathroom.
Once he was in there, she had him take a long bath. This gave her the chance to see his body. He had marks on his back, legs and stomach. She felt sick with empathy. She couldn't understand how anyone could hurt a young child. She was his nanny elf. Harry would be healed and forget those terrible people. Once he was clean, she had clothes ready for him. They were some of his father's clothes from when he was two. She decided to review the findings of her health spell.
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Health History and Needs
Broken humerus, right arm. Greenstick fracture. Bone scar which will cause growth abnormalities. Increased possibility of muscle and tendon issues.
Broken Humerus, left arm. Displacement fracture. Bones not set. Misaligned. Misalignment will cause restricted range of motion, muscle tears, tendon stress, overcompensation in shoulder and elbow joints. Low level permanent pain.
Broken bones in left hand. Caused by pressure. Loss of strength and range of motion.
Long-term malnutrition. Brain development regressed. Stress on kidneys and liver. Overall growth diminished to ten percent of projected.
Ribs – multiple broken ribs. Healed by internal magic. Evidence of scarring on both lungs.
Diagnostic plan
Use healing age regression potion to reset the body's age back before malnutrition issues began.
Use Sleeping Draught – Vanish all damaged bones, Use Skele-Gro to regrow undamaged bones
Once bones are regrown, awaken patient.
Apply lung Clearing potion and Universal Nutrient Potion
Apply Child Strengthening potion
Allow all potions to clear.
Use Healing Age Progression potion to bring body back to current age.
Use Universal Nutrient potion weekly for six months.
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Harry had been badly abused, Mimsy realized. She was glad that with magic the physical damage could be handled. With Lady Lily's help, his mental scarring would be handled. She looked over at Harry. He was in his room, playing with the toys she had brought out. She decided to get the potions. She asked Boro to watch over and play with Harry, while she went to get them.
Meanwhile Lily was mentally following the strands of the mental binding on Harry. She was gaining grudging admiration for whoever had placed them on Harry. Initially she thought that it was a simple braid. However, it was from Harry's magic. This made it sticky. Once in place, each strand reinforced the others. This made the bind stiff and thus only allowed a trickle of power through. What horrified her was that the binds were also slowly closing up. As magic flowed through the tunnel, the stickiness of the braid captured small amounts of the flow. The binds had become slow acting tourniquets on Harry's core. If not removed, the flow to his brain and the other affected area would die. If the magic supporting his brain was cut off, Harry's intelligence and ability to reason would be compromised. They had to go.
She had an advantage. As a spirit, she could see and manipulate natural magic. Therefore, she could wrap the braids with her magic. Even though her and Voldemorts cores had been merged into Harry's, she could pull magic directly from the environment. She began experimenting. She found that once wrapped, a binding thread would absorb the wrapping through osmosis. In order to unwrap the braid, she would have to work fast when she was ready. Before she could attempt anything, she needed to follow each strand from beginning to its tie-off. Once she had it mapped, the method she would use to coat the threads quickly had to be considered.
Deciding to take a break, she looked in on Harry. He was still afraid. However, he was easily distracted and the elves were masters at taking care of children. She wished she could hold him. It was impossible. Until she or the elves came up with a way to allow her to be projected out from Harry, she was nothing more than a hitchhiker. There was one item she could make progress on. What happened after James and her deaths? They thought they had set up fail safes to keep Harry safe. She would ask Mimsy when Harry was asleep. Harry must be kept safe. He needed to know everything that she and Tom Riddle knew. How could she train him? He wasn't ready at four years old.