DISCLAIMER: Nope. Don't own Harry Potter yet...

A/N: Okay, so if you've gotten this far, thank you so much. I never realized how short these chapters were. They definitely looked longer in the other document, but oh well. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. Like I said, Harry will not be in this chapter, but I think he might be mentioned in the next one. I dunno, it's been a long time since I've read this myself. So, please enjoy. I know it's moving a bit slow, but it'll get better.

Chapter 1: "The Nanny"

Her eyes were squeezed shut as she heard the sound of giggling enter the room. Her black hair was splayed across the floor, and she felt it get caught on little feet. Little hands grabbed her shoulders and turned her over. She stuck out her tongue, playfully, mimicking someone dead.

"Quick, doctor!" a small girl with brown locks said, prodding the 'dead' girl's shoulder with her finger, "I think we're losing her."

A blonde boy raced into the room wearing a long white coat; his twin brother was at his heels.

"Nurse Marie," said the boy in the white coat, "What appears to be the problem?"

"I think Miss Maddy is dead…" the little girl named Marie, said worriedly.

Maddy gave a small groan. The 'doctor's' twin hurried over to her and pried open her eyelids.

"Eeew! Michael that's disgusting!" Marie cried as they saw the white of Maddy's eyeballs.

"Doctor! I do believe she needs immediate attention!" Michael said, stifling a laugh.

The doctor kneeled beside Maddy and all three of them peered over her. Maddy's eyes popped open and she reached out her arms in front of her. She grabbed whoever was closest to her, which happened to be Doctor Christopher, and started tickling him.

"Aah! Aah! Let go of me! Miss Maddy!" Christopher gasped between chuckles.

Marie and Michael dive-bombed Maddy in attempt to free their brother. Maddy grabbed Marie's sides and Marie burst out into a fit of giggles.

"What is going on in here?"

The four on the floor sat up suddenly. Marie's bow was askew, and Christopher's jacket was off one of his arms. Michael peered at the girl in the doorway through Maddy's arm.

Elizabeth, the eldest of the Wormwood children, stood in the doorway, glaring down at them. She looked remarkably like her mother: tall, slender and very proper. The Wormwood family was one of the richest in England, aside from the Royal Family, of course.

"Miss Maddy!" Elizabeth snapped, "You are our tutor, not our Nanny! You will lose your job if you continue with this tomfoolery!"

Maddy stood up and brushed off her frock. Her black hair was coming out of its bun. She approached Elizabeth and smirked.

"The result of not enough tomfoolery in their childhood is right in front of us. You are such a hard-pressed girl. You need a little fun in your life."

"My parents raised me to be a noble woman…" Elizabeth said crossly, "I have no time for fun…it gives you silly ideas…" she glanced at her younger siblings.

"You are not yet a woman. You are not a day over fifteen, so live a little and stop trying to grow up so fast. Being an adult is no picnic." Maddy made her way past Elizabeth and out the door, fixing her hair in the process.

"Neither is being a teenager…" Elizabeth said, following Maddy with piercing eyes.

Maddy glanced at Elizabeth over her shoulder, "Believe me…I know…"

Elizabeth turned back to her brothers and sister, each one now wearing a look of disappointment. She walked into the room and hurried them into their beds.

"Come now…Mrs. Edgar will be here soon and she will not be pleased if you are not in your night things…" she sighed, exasperatedly, "Christopher! What have you done to father's coat?"

"We were just playing, 'Liza…" Christopher whined.

Sure enough, a moment later, Maddy spotted old Mrs. Edgar coming down the hall toward her. Right behind her was her cat, Mr. Whisk. Maddy couldn't help but think that Mrs. Edgar and Mr. Filch would make an excellent couple. Mrs. Edgar was a spindly old widow who was very strict. Sometimes, Maddy would catch herself imagining Mrs. Edgar in a long brown cloak like the one Filch used to wear…

Don't think about that! Maddy told herself firmly. She did not like to think about her past, and she had been doing her best to forget it. Unfortunately, it was to no avail.

As Mrs. Edgar and Mr. Whisk passed her, Maddy stopped and turned around. A weird feeling in her stomach told her that she should stick around. When Mrs. Edgar disappeared into the children's room, Maddy pressed her ear to the door, secretly wishing she had one of Fred and George's Extendable Ears, then, shaking her head furiously for thinking of such a thing.

"All right, children, into bed! Now!" Mrs. Edgar's reedy voice cracked like a whip.

"Mrs. Edgar, will you tell us a story?" Marie's little voice piped up.

"Not now!" the old woman snapped, "Elizabeth, please retire to your room for the evening. You are not needed here."

"But Ma'am," Elizabeth said politely, "I always tuck them into bed…you know I-"

"Not tonight! They cannot remain reliant on you for the rest of their lives." Maddy could hear Mrs. Edgar's heels click across the hardwood floor. "They need to grow up!"

Maddy could imagine Mrs. Edgar with a hook for a hand, and the children running around like Peter Pan singing, "I won't grow up!". She moved quickly as she heard Elizabeth hurry toward the door. As she moved down the hall, Maddy could see tears forming in Elizabeth's eyes.

"Miss Maddy would tell us a story…" Christopher said matter-of-factly.

"Well, Miss Maddy is not here right now."

"But she would come back!" Michael chimed in.

"No!" Mrs. Edgar sounded angry. "You are to go to bed tonight without a story and without Miss Maddy…"

The room fell silent. Suddenly Marie spoke in the tiniest voice, so Maddy had to push her ear even harder to the wood, to understand what she was saying.

"Why can't Miss Maddy be our Nanny?"

Mrs. Edgar made a sound of annoyance. "I have half a mind to beat each of you-"

"We'll tell Mother and Father and you'll get fired!" Michael butt in.

Maddy readied herself for an explosion. It never came. Instead, she heard Mrs. Edgar's feet move across the floor to the door. Maddy stood up quickly.

Mrs. Edgar looked surprised to see Maddy at the door. She nodded curtly.

"The children desire to see you…"

Maddy nodded in return and entered the room. All three of them cheered as they saw her come through the door. Mrs. Edgar harrumphed and walked away with her nose in the air.

Maddy sat down on Christopher's bed and Marie and Michael gathered around her. She told them of a story with many creatures such as witches, goblins, dragons and giants. When she finished, all three of them sat there gazing intently at her, expecting another story.

"No, no…I think one is enough for tonight…"

Michael teetered on the edge of the bed, "I thought witches were terrible, evil, ugly old hags…"

Maddy looked shocked, and a tad offended; "Heavens no, my dear child! Hags are completely different from witches…no, no…. Most witches are good…and they cast good spells…"

"But not all of them…" Christopher said slowly. He was obviously the brightest of the bunch.

Maddy frowned, "No, I'm afraid not. Just like there are good and evil people in this world, there are good and evil witches…"

"What do evil witches do?" Marie asked nervously.

"Oh, they cast bad spells on people…make your toenails grow out to here…" she pointed to a spot on the bed a little past Marie's foot. Marie shrieked playfully and the boys laughed.

"Could they really do that?" Christopher asked.

Maddy chuckled, "Yes, they most certainly could…" (She could remember a time when she had witnessed the very spell…) "But not all bad witches or wizards use that spell. Some good witches and wizards could use it against bad witches or wizards…"

They all seemed very interested in hearing more. Maddy humored them for a while.

"Did you know your surname is a potion ingredient?"

"Really?!" they said unanimously.

"Yes it is. It is used in potions that help cure stomach, liver and brain illnesses…" She messed up Michael's hair. "It was also used in a very powerful potion call the Draught of Living Death."

"Wow…" Michael said in awe.

"Well…" Maddy stood up slowly. "I think you'd best get in bed. If you stay up too late, it'll be the end of my job…"

She tucked each of them into bed and kissed them on their foreheads. She extinguished the lights, and as she was leaving, she heard Christopher whisper.

"Mother and Father love Miss Maddy. They would never fire her. Now Mrs. Edgar we can lose. She's awful…"

Maddy couldn't help but smile as she closed the door and headed in the direction of her bedroom.

A/N: So, if you would...PLEASE REVIEW! I know this isn't like your typical HP fic, but I like things that are different. Things should start to unravel very soon and I'll make sure to update sometime in the next couple of days. (Updates will be frequent since the story is already written. I'm going to make some changes, but not too many.) Oh and yes, this will have some adult themes later on, since both Maddy and Harry are in their early 20's in this fic. There will also be some strong language, so it is definitely an M-rated story. (Sometimes...not for a while though.)