A/N:Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added this story/me to your favorites, and/or subscribed to this story/me and thank you to xxjust-a-nobodyxx for helping me work out some problems I was having with some later parts of this story and sorry for not waiting for you to proof-read this chapter, I wanted to go ahead and post it since it's been so long since I published the first chapter.
Please drop by my profile and cast your vote in the poll that can be found there about a new crossover I am planning. This one is a Harry Potter x Katekyo Hitman Reborn crossover. Details can be found on my profile. There will be a new poll for every new chapter of this story, so please check it out!
Chapter Two
"How is he doing?" A voice whispered.
"As well as can be expected. I want to keep him in the hospital for a few days if possible. I'm worried that the neglect he has suffered might make it more difficult for his body to fight off any infection that might come from the bite. Did they ever find out if the dog had it's rabies shots up to date?" Another voice, just as quite as the first, answered.
"Yes, the police called a little while ago and said the paper work checked out." The first voice, a man Harry sleepily realized, said. The voice sounded as if it were moving away from him and a second later the door opened. "If your done with the check up then why don't we move this conversation to my office. These boys deserve their rest."
"Yes, of course." The second voice, a kind sounding woman, replied. Then Harry felt someone pulling his blanket a bit higher and smoothing out the wrinkles before footsteps moved towards the door. Harry waited a while after the door closed again before cautiously opening his eyes and examining the room. He was in a hospital room, and there was a boy sleeping in the chair next to his bed. Harry moved to sit up only to freeze when trying to move his leg sent pain searing throughout his body.
What was that? Harry thought as he, more carefully this time, managed to sit up and move the blankets out of the way. His leg was covered in bandages from the knee down. Harry thought back to last night. He had finished with the garden and was heading to the shed when had he accidentally stepped on Ripper's tail. The next thing he remembered was pain as he tried to push the dog off, but the stupid thing wouldn't move. Then there was shouting and Harry had been desperately praying that he wouldn't do anything freakish again, he had just been let back out of the cupboard yesterday after being locked in for a week. Then there was more pain, shouting, and than someone, a teenager, managed to get Ripper to let go. Everything was fuzzy after that, Harry wanted to say he had felt someone holding him like Aunt Petunia would hold Dudley when he was hurt, but that was probably just a dream.
Harry looked at the boy again. He looks familiar. I think that he was the one who got Ripper off of me, but I think I have seen him a few times around the neighborhood as well...He's the one that has been taking pictures of the Dursleys and me! Why though? Speaking of the Dursleys...where are they? They must be so angry right now. At least if they lock me back up in the cupboard it will give my leg time to stop hurting before I have to go back to doing the chores.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Harry jumped a little when a voice interrupted his thoughts. During the time in which Harry's attention had wondered the teenager had woken up.
"Good morning," Harry replied nervously. "I'm fine."
"You leg is not bothering you?" The boy asked skeptically.
"Not as long as I don't move it." Harry answered honestly. "Who are you? You saved me from Ripper, right?"
"Yes I did, my name is Saguru Hakuba and I'm a detective. One of your teachers was concerned about you so they hired me to make sure that your family was treating you well." Saguru replied.
"Oh..." Harry said, not quite sure what to say about that. On the one hand he knew that the Dursleys treated him badly compared to how they treat Dudley, but was that bad enough that they would get in trouble? What would happen to him if they didn't get in trouble, but found out that someone had hired a detective to spy on them?
"From what I have seen and documented it is clear that your family does not treat you the way any child should be treated. There is a very high chance that the Dursley's will be punished for their treatment of you and you will never have to go back there again."
"Where will I go? And what if the Dursleys don't get in trouble for anything and I have to go back to them?"
"That will not happen. Even if the Dursleys try to influence the judge they will be unsuccessful in doing more than escaping punishment. You will definitely never have to go back to them again." Saguru said, dodging around the issue of where Harry will be living.
"Why would the adults even listen to you?" Harry asked.
"For many reasons; my parents have quite a bit of influence and money, and I have been important asset to the police in solving a great number of crimes. It is highly unlikely that a judge would chose to rule against my word when all the evidence is in my favor. It would not bode well for their career. Especially when you consider the fact that he Dursley never signed any official paperwork naming them as you legal guardians." Saguru explained.
"So you've worked with the police? What kind of cases have you worked on?" Harry asked, feeling more comfortable with Saguru now that he knew the teenager might be the one that has freed him from the Dursleys and trying to change to subject to something that was easier for him to understand.
"Well, recently I've been taking some time off of cases so that I can concentrate on my college work-"
"You're in college! You don't look that old!" Harry accused, before immediately apologizing and shrinking away from Saguru slightly.
"It's alright and thank you...I think." Saguru reassured making Harry relax once more. "I have always been advanced in my school work. As I was saying, I have only been taking cases that seemed the most important so that I could concentrate on school. A few months ago I was living in Japan living with my father, I helped out with the police quite often there."
"You lived in Japan! That's so cool! What is it like to live in another country?" Harry asked.
Meanwhile with Ms. Figg...
Arabella was watching from her livingroom window as the police searched Number 4 Privet Drive. I knew that those people weren't treating poor little Harry right! Dumbledore should have listened to me. She thought, recalling last nights drama when the police showed up at the Dursley's. Little Harry was carted off in an ambulance while Vernon was arrested for assaulting a police officer. This morning the police showed back up to arrest Petunia and Dudley was left in the care of Marge.
Should I tell Dumbledore about the Dursley's...No, I'm not entirely convinced that he will listen to reason. He is so convinced that the Dursley's would never harm Harry that he might get interfere with the trial and get Harry placed back with that horrible family. Harry will be much better off if he is adopted by another Muggle family. Then he will be able to grow up without becoming spoiled from all the attention he would get in the wizarding world while still receiving the love he deserves... But how to keep Dumbledore from knowing...
Arabella's thoughts were interrupted by an owl soaring through her kitchen window which faced a nearby thicket of trees. She had chosen this house because the trees would help disguise any owls she might receive during the daytime. This particular owl was from an old childhood friend of hers, Amelia Bones. Their parents had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts and they had raised their children together. When they had finally determined that Arabella was a squib her parents were more understanding than most. They had enrolled her in a muggle school and when Voldemort began to become a serious threat they sent her to live with her muggle aunt (her father was a half-blood). They kept in touch with her through the use of the muggle postal service. Amelia also stayed in touch with her and they remained great friends despite, maybe because, of their differences. These days Amelia kept Arabella in touch with what was going on in the Wizarding world and Arabella returned the favor by keeping Amelia up to date with current events in the Muggle world.
That's it! Arabella thought, grabbing her floo powder off of the mantle. Something that few people knew was that most squibs, like Arabella, did have some magic powers. She would never be able to properly handle a wand, but she could use magical transportation and make simple potions. So Arabella was able to use the floo connection to contact Amelia at her office.
"Amelia, darling, are you there?" Arabella asked, trying to look around the room as much as the fireplace would allow.
"Arabella? Is that you?" Amelia got up from her desk to kneel on a cushion in front of the fireplace that had been place there for just this occasion. "Is something wrong? You never floo me at work."
"You know how Dumbledore asked me to move here to keep an eye on Harry Potter? Well, I didn't tell you before because Dumbledore managed to convince me that I was over reacting, but the Muggle Family that he place little Harry with are simply horrid. I always thought it was strange that Harry was always so little when his cousin is the exact opposite, but Dumbledore convinced me that it much be genetics because the Uncle is also very large, but Harry's Aunt and parents were of a more healthy size. I thought he might have been a bit too skinny, but I just convinced myself that it was the baggy clothing that the child always wore. It was also strange that he never brought over any toys when the Dursleys let me watch him, but I was convinced once again that the child was just too polite and did not want to bring things over that might get in my way-"
"Arabella dear, what are you getting at?" Amelia asked, voice full of concern. Surely she can't be suggest what I think she is. She thought.
"Oh, excuse me. My point is that I was right! Those horrible relatives of Harry's were arrested today! I heard that they are being charged with child abuse and Vernon is also being charged with assaulting a police officer, you know the muggle Aurors? Poor little Harry was rushed out of there in an ambulance last night, that's a vehicle that muggles use to bring sick or injured people to the muggle Healers."
"Is he okay?" Amelia asked, shocked by the news.
"I've heard that he is doing fine, something about a dog bite. The reason why I flooed you, though, is that I'm concerned about what Dumbledore might do when he hears the news. He has always been so convinced that the Dursleys where a good family for Harry to be with." Arabella fretted.
"Surely he would listen to evidence?"
"I'm not sure... I think he might try to intervene in the trail and get Harry placed back into the custody of the Dursleys. I don't know what such an action would do to poor Harry after he finally has the chance to go live with another loving family."
"Do you think the Ministry should get involved? Have Harry adopted by a magical family?" Amelia asked.
"Oh no, could you imagine going from an abusive environment to being constantly mobbed with the attention the magical world would force on him! No I just wanted to know if you knew of a way we could keep Dumbledore from interfering and let the Muggles sort everything out? Then Harry could be adopted into a nice Muggle family." Arabella explained.
"Hmm, I might be able to convince the Minister to help... After all if this gets out to the press than it would cause such a scandal and he has been wanting to get one up on Dumbledore for a while now. Let me see what I can do over here and I'll get back to you. Keep me informed if anything major happens alright?" Amelia asked.
"Yes, of course. Thank you for your help, Amelia."
Back at the Hospital
"While it looks like you two are getting along well." A nurse said as she walked into the room.
"Of course," Saguru replied absently as he observed Harry shrinking back into the pillows on the hospital bed and pulling the blankets tighter around himself. "Is my mother still in the hospital?"
"She is with the Director of the hospital I think," The nurse replied, coming up beside the bed and smiling at Harry. "Hello dear, would you mind letting me check your leg?"
"I'm fine." Harry mumbled pulling the blankets up even more. "You don't have to."
"Harry," Saguru said, placing a hand on the boys shoulder. "She will not hurt you. She just needs to check the bandage. You could get sick if you leg is not looked after properly."
Harry stared at him for a few seconds, as if he were gauging how much trust he should put into Saguru's words, before reaching up to grab Saguru's hand. He pulled it off of his shoulder, but did not release it as he pushed the blankets off of him with his free hand and then shifted the injured leg towards the nurse. Saguru allowed Harry to hold his hand as the nurse finished her examination.
"Well, it looks like the bandages will be alright for a while longer. Get you mother to check them again when she stops by dear, they should need changed by then." The nurse instructed Saguru, taking note of how uncomfortable Harry was around her and not want to cause the young boy any more stress. She left as quickly as possible.
As soon as the door closed behind the nurse, Harry immediately relaxed and released Saguru's hand. "You said that you worked with the police while in Japan right?" Harry asked in an attempt to distract the older boy from his needy behavior as he release Saguru's hand.
"Yes," Saguru answered taking note of Harry's behavior, but willing to not speak about it to make the boy feel more comfortable.
"Did you ever see Kaitou KID?" Harry asked.
"Several times, I actually worked with the police to try to catch him. Why?" Saguru wondered, tensing a bit at the mention of the aggravating thief.
"No reason really," Harry muttered, suddenly becoming less confident as he sensed Saguru's reaction. "It's just Uncle Vernon mentioned him a few times before and he sounded interesting."
Hakuba took a few moments to compose himself before smiling at the boy. I suppose that a Magician Thief would be entertaining to a child. It wouldn't hurt to tell him a few stories, though I should probably try to be unbiased about the situation. He doesn't need a lecture on all the reasons why he should not like the thief right now while he is in the hospital. "Would you like to hear about some of the times I chased Kaitou KID?" He offered. The answering grin made putting aside his feelings for the thief much easier than Saguru would have ever believed possible.
Later that evening
"So Harry looks like he is doing fine. There are no signs of infection and the pain does not seem to be as bad as we predicted it would be." Sophia Hakuba stated to break the silence between her and her son as they walked back to their house near Privet Drive.
"Yes... however, there is something that I am concerned about." Saguru replied thoughtfully before lapsing into silence once more.
"What is it?" Sophia asked after giving her son a few moments to collect his thoughts.
"While I was with Harry today I observed that whenever an adult visited the room he would become very withdrawn, but when it was just the two of us in the room he was much more outgoing. Well, he might have been a bit too polite and too skittish at times, but when an adult was around he would hardly even talk." Saguru explained.
"Hmm." Sophia thought for a moment, recalling her own interactions with Harry that day. While the boy had only spoken when addressed, he had not seemed as introverted as Saguru was making him sound. "I thought he was just shy when I came in to change his bandages."
"That is because by the time that you had visited the room. I had spent some time telling him about you. He appeared more comfortable with you than with all the other adults that had come into his room earlier, but he still seemed reluctant to trust any adult." Saguru said.
"Well, when you think about his circumstances, his reactions do make sense. It is very likely that he will have a difficult time learning to trust adults again after his experience with those relatives of his." Sophia pointed out as they turned onto the pathway leading to their front door.
"I understand that. However, I am worried about how Harry will cope when he is put into the custody of Child Services. He will be surrounded by adults and if he gets passed around between foster homes then it is likely that he will never be able to regain any modicum of trust in adults." Saguru explained.
"I wouldn't worry about that too much. I'm sure that everything will work out." Sophia answered enigmatically. Saguru gave her a sharp look that she replied to with a secretive smile. Then she, seemingly, changed the subject. "Did you know that your father will be coming over to visit in a few weeks?"
"No. Why? He normally only visits during the holidays and you visit him during the summer to celebrate your anniversary and my birthday." Saguru wondered absently, most of his mind still trying to work out what his mother was plotting.
"Oh, no reason. We just thought it would be nice to mix things up a bit and he was able to arrange for some extra time off." She smiled, Saguru had always been so adorable when confronted with a problem he did not have all the answers to. Hopefully he will not be able to figure out the real reason for his father's visit just yet. It would be so nice to be able to surprise him again. It's been so long since we have been able to. She thought as the two entered their temporary home.
A/N: I'm not really all that happy with this chapter, but I can not think of how to improve it. Any advise on how to improve this chapter would be greatly appreciated. This chapter has many important things happening, but it is not very exciting. It might be a little while until the next chapter is up because I am thinking about posting the first chapter of another story I am working on. It will either be the other HPDC crossover I have mentioned on my profile or an HPKHR crossover that I have been thinking about writing. This story will be the one that is updated the most often however, because I am still working some issues out with the planning of the other stories. Anyone that is familiar with Reborn and would like to share you opinion on the pairing should be for that story should check out the poll on my profile.
Random fact about this chapter: My most common error that I found when proof-reading was with the words then/than.