Petunia couldn't stand it when Rilla came over to observe. Not only did the woman watch her every move, but she spent the day criticizing her. She wasn't sure how it was supposed to work, but was it typical for social workers, or whatever Rilla was to do that? Petunia had thought that the woman would stay quiet the entire time, but as each time she came over, it was worse than the last. Today was one of the worst days so far. In Petunia's opinion, since Rilla was so emotionally involved when it came to Harry, she shouldn't have been doing these observations anymore.

"You really shouldn't be this way around your son," Rilla told Petunia who she nearly knocked a plate on the floor. "Since the moment I entered this house, you've been nothing but an emotional wreck."

Rilla at the moment was sitting at the kitchen table, making notes while Petunia finished up the breakfast dishes. She'd found Rilla sitting on her doorstep after she'd dropped Dudley off at school.

"I'm normally not like this," Petunia responded.

She was shaking so much that it was hard to do her chores properly. All of Rilla's mean words hit home, and she knew the woman was one hundred percent right. Every insult she gave her, everything she said, she was right. Petunia was trying her hardest not to cry, which was why she was shaking so much. Rilla was always able to sense her moods, and Petunia didn't know how that was possible.

"Then get your act together!" Rilla snapped. "So far, I haven't seen any reason for why Dudley is safe with you. If you spend your days acting like-"

SMASH!

Petunia gasped. Her hands were shaking so much; she dropped a plate on the ground.

"Bad home environment," Rilla muttered as she wrote something down and then she looked up. "Clean that up. It's not safe for a five-year-old child for-"

"Dudley isn't even home!" Petunia snapped.

"You should be behaving as if he is. He could walk into the kitchen at any moment and step on that because you are careless!" Rilla retorted. "Another reason for him not to stay here."

"You are purposely making things up to make me look bad!" Petunia snapped. "You've already had your mind made up to have Dudder's taken away from us. Now you're here, and you're making me nervous on purpose so that-"

"How do you think Harry spent all his time here?" Rilla asked. "That little boy spent every day here feeling nervous because he was worried that he was going to make a mistake. He spent every day worried that at any second, he could be beaten! Most of the time he was! You think I'm giving you a rough time? How do you think an innocent little boy felt?"

"I feel horrible about it," Petunia told her as began blinking back her tears.

"But it took your sister-in-law whipping him for you to realize it," Rilla said. "If she'd never done that, both you and Vernon would never have felt remorse for your actions. You'd both still act as if the way you raised him was normal."

Petunia turned away to get a broom and dustbin. That had always been her favourite plate. Rilla was right; they hadn't felt remorse until that horrible moment. She'd had nightmares about that day ever since. She dreamt he was still with them, and she was fighting with Marge to stop whipping him. Harry was always much smaller in her dreams, and the night before, he had been covered in blood. She said this to Rilla while she cleaned up the broken plate.

"Good. I hope you have nightmares about it for the rest of your life," Rilla told her. "The nightmares are nothing compared to what Harry had to go through. On the day he was allowed to stay with the Weasley's forever, he was whipped!"

"I know," Petunia answered, dumping the broken pieces into the garbage.

"Do you really want to leave those pieces where Dudley can get them?" Rilla asked her. "Replace that garbage bag and put that old bag where Dudley can't get at it."

Petunia sighed, that had been the plan, but her son knew better than to go through the garbage anyway. She was tired of the old woman bossing her around though. She was tired of these wizarding people being around all the time. She'd thought once Harry was gone, that would be it.

"Stop telling me what to do in my house," Petunia finally snapped. "This house has always been safe for Dudley. I know you are doing everything you can to have him taken away, but you need a lot more than a bit of broken glass. I'm normally not this jumpy, but you are making me this way. I believe someone else should be observing me. You're biased now when it comes to Harry."

"I am very biased when it comes to Harry, but so is everyone. Not only is he an innocent little boy, but he is the Boy-Who-Lived! He is the one who got rid of You-Know-Who! It will come out what happened to him, sooner than we'd like though Albus is doing his best to stop that. Between you and me? I don't think he can keep it quiet for much longer. Too many people know. However, you are right," Rilla admitted. "I cannot have Dudley taken away over broken glass. In fact, I haven't even written anything down. I just wanted you to feel a smidgeon of how your nephew felt. The difference is that you're a grown woman and he is five. Imagine how I've made you feel, and imagine feeling that way every single day because you might get a beating. If Harry had dropped that plate, he'd have likely just had a spanking!"

Petunia stared. Did that mean that under all the observations they'd had since Harry left, Rilla had been teaching them a lesson? Since the first day she came, both she and Vernon had been tense, and Rilla had made them feel ten times worse because they'd been scared to make the wrong move. Each time they saw the elderly woman, they'd been scared that it was the last day they would see Dudders. They were both terrified that they were going to lose him forever if they made one wrong move, and Rilla apparently took advantage of that. Petunia closed her eyes and then opened them before asking this.

"Yes," Rilla responded. "Now I'll be honest, my main concern where it comes to Dudley is his weight. He is far too big for a five-year-old, and he isn't fit. You need to take care of that, and you also have to stop indulging him. Abuse can take on many forms Petunia, and though you and your husband aren't doing it on purpose, you are raising him to have both emotional and weight issues. Any time he asks for something, and you say no, he throws a temper tantrum, and then you give into him. You're supposed to be preparing him for when he is a grown up. If you continue to give into him, he'll behave that way as an adult. The boy needs more discipline and structure. You also need to teach him that it's wrong to be a bully. I've seen his school notes. You can nip it all in the bud now, and raise a productive and well mannered young man. How do you think it will look if twenty-year-old Dudley throws a temper tantrum at work?"

"But you're not taking him away?" Petunia asked ignoring most of what Rilla had said.

"I don't see the need for it yet, but if he continues on the road he is on, we may have to step in," Rilla told her. "As for Marge, I've already put in the recommendation that she no longer be allowed to be around him alone. I'm not sure when her hearing is, but if I find out that you've allowed her to be around him on her own-"

"She isn't allowed in this house," Petunia interrupted her.

Vernon had actually told Marge this, though Petunia agreed. The day of the whipping, on the way to the train station after Rilla and Albus Dumbledore had talked to Marge, Vernon had shouted at her. For once, Marge hadn't said anything which was unlike her. Usually, Marge always had to run her mouth about something, but her sister-in-law barely spoke. It made her wonder what it was that the wizards had said to her. Vernon had told her that for the time being, she wasn't allowed to come over. Marge hadn't even tried to contact them after that.

"That's good to hear," Rilla said. "I don't think I have to stay here much longer, Petunia. I'll be back in a month while Dudley and Vernon are around. Remember, I won't be telling you when I come. I'll be quiet next time, and I won't intimidate you. You deserve it, and you deserve more, but that's not my decision. I just felt you should understand how your nephew felt, though how he felt was ten times worse than how you did!"

Petunia didn't answer, but she didn't like how the wizards worked. They shouldn't have been allowed to operate that way. She wished there was a way to contact whoever the woman's superior was. She'd once written to Albus Dumbledore. Would she be able to do so again? Would he even be on her side after what Marge had done? He'd been more than willing to help them out before, but he'd been furious after Harry had been whipped. Not that she blamed him, but it wasn't hers or Vernon's fault. There had to be more than one of those wizarding types who did Rilla's job. She was an adult, and she didn't need to be taught a lesson like that. She was furious. She was stressed as it without having someone do what the old lady did.

Charlie felt like it was just a typical morning at Hogwarts. Not that this was a bad thing. He hadn't been living at the school for very long, but it already felt like home to him. He'd felt that way the moment he sat down at the Gryffindor table with his older brother. Perhaps it was because just like at home, there was always something going on. It was familiar. Around him, his classmates were laughing and talking, not too far down the table, Bill was reading through a textbook and eating some bacon. It reminded him of when he was surrounded by his siblings who would be laughing and talking, and it usually was Percy with his nose in a book.

Just as they did every morning, several owls flew into the Great Hall to drop off letters or parcels for the students of Hogwarts. Charlie looked up expectantly. Sometimes his mother would send a treat for them, or else one of their siblings sent a letter. Ron and Harry were just learning how to write letters to them, and a few times already, they'd sent them some letters. Ron's last message had been all about the Chudley Canons, the Quidditch team he'd started to like last summer. His little brother was quite stubborn when it came to them. He refused to listen when they told him that the team rarely won.

However, their family owl Errol wasn't apart of the owls that came that day. Charlie felt a bit disappointed, but he just shrugged it off. They would likely get a letter from their parents or one of the kids later in the week. He focused back on his breakfast again. He was halfway done when someone suddenly shouted:

"Hey, Weasley!"

Charlie looked up, and down the table, so did Bill. A dark-haired Slytherin boy in the third year who Charlie didn't recognize, was standing not too far from them, with the Daily Prophet clutched in his hand.

"Is it true Weasley?" He asked. "Is Harry Potter living with your family now?"

There was a murmur of 'Harry Potter?' all around them. Charlie felt as if he'd swallowed an ice cube. The secret was out. His family had tried their best to keep it hushed up, but they all knew it was just a matter of time. The Ministry had wanted the Daily Prophet to print what had happened to Harry for a while now, but Professor Dumbledore had managed to stop them. That was, up until now. He wondered why they suddenly changed their minds? The weekend they'd gone home, their father told them that the Ministry recognized how important for Harry's well-being to keep the abuse a secret. Apparently, it was crucial for some reason for the Wizarding community not to know where he was either. Charlie and Bill had discussed this, and both concluded it must have been because of how famous Harry was.

"What is it to you, Parkinson?" Bill asked as he set his book down.

"So it's true then. Harry Potter is living with the Weasley's?" The boy demanded. "Can your family really afford another mouth to feed?"

Charlie felt angry. He was so tired of people commenting on the size of their family, or the fact that they didn't have money. Why did people care so much? It didn't affect them at all. He got along with a lot of the people in his year, but there were many who looked down on him for not having any money.

"It's none of your business Richard," someone else said.

Charlie turned to see that it was a Hufflepuff girl in his year. Her name was Nymphadora Tonks, but she preferred to go by her last name. She couldn't stand her first name for some reason. Charlie didn't understand why as it was a nice name in his opinion for a cute girl like her. He smiled at her, grateful for the fact that she was stepping in.

"It's everyone's business where Harry Potter is," Richard Parkinson stated. "Why would they let a poor family like the Weasley's take him in? Is it true he was abused?" and then he held up the paper and said: "'Our sources say that Harry spent the last four years of his life brutally beaten every day. On the day the Weasley's adopted him, The-Boy-Who-Lived was whipped until-'"

"Stop!" Bill commanded as he stood up.

Charlie stood up as well. How had they found out? He knew it was easy for them to find out about the abuse, but how could they know about the whipping as well? He supposed it was because Marge Dursley had to go over a hearing about it now. He wasn't sure what his brother was going to do, but he knew Bill could have a terrible temper when provoked enough.

"Well is it true?"

The entire Great Hall was quiet now. It seemed every single person wanted to listen in. Charlie glanced over at the teacher's table. Why weren't they doing anything about this? As he thought this, he saw their Head of House Professor McGonagall making her way over to them. Professors Dumbledore, Snape, Flitwick were also making their way over. Charlie let out a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Parkinson, why don't you go with Professor Snape?" Professor McGonagall suggested.

"I haven't done anything wrong," Richard said with a shrug. "I just want to know if it's true. My little sister should be in the same year as Harry. I'm just curious is all."

"Causing a scene in the Great Hall would be considered wrong Mr. Parkinson," McGonagall told him.

Richard rolled his eyes but turned toward Snape who was his Head of House. Charlie shook his head, knowing that the boy likely wouldn't be punished. Snape often favoured his own house, and he'd already shown dislike for both Weasley boys. Meanwhile, Flitwick and Sprout were shooing their own students back to their house tables. Tonks grinned at Charlie before turning and heading back to the Hufflepuff table. Professor's McGonagall and Dumbledore were eying both Charlie and Bill.

"Why don't you two come with me?" Dumbledore suggested.

"We didn't do anything wrong," Charlie said quickly.

"I never said you did Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore responded. "Now come along, and we'll talk."

Charlie glanced at Bill apprehensively. He'd never had to talk to Dumbledore the entire time he'd been at school. He'd never even been sent to McGonagall for discipline reasons. Bill just gave him a weak smile as they followed their Headmaster out of the Great Hall. Behind them, they could hear people muttering about 'Harry Potter' and 'Weasley's' as they went. All eyes stared at them as they passed, and it was very uncomfortable. It put him in mind of sorting night when the whole school had watched him be sorted.

"Bill was just trying to stop him, sir," Charlie said the moment they entered the Great Hall.

"You're not in trouble dear boy," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Neither of you have done anything wrong. I believe you two would like to know what that article says first hand rather than from your schoolmates. I did do my best to keep it out of the Prophet, but there was only so much I could do. They've wanted to write that story since the abuse was discovered. I think it was the whipping that made them change their minds."

"But why would they want to write about that?" Bill asked. "It's horrible what happened to him! Wouldn't they want to protect him from that? Everyone already knows his story, but now they'll know he was abused too!"

"It's what sells," Dumbledore responded. "Harry Potter is The-Boy-Who-Lived, and everyone wants to know his story as it is. They don't see him as an innocent little boy. They see it as a way to gain readership by printing a story about a famous little boy who was abused. Everyone will want to read that story. The Daily Prophet has already sold out of copies, and they are reprinting as we speak."

"So selling a paper is more important than Harry?" Charlie asked flabbergasted. "He needs to grow and heal from this. Some days he is okay, but others he isn't! Sometimes he still thinks he should live in a cupboard. Most mornings, he still apologizes for being a burden!"

"Mum and dad had the whipping erased!" Bill exclaimed, his face reddening. "They didn't want him to remember what happened. He'll find out now! Even Ginny and Ron knew his story before we took him in! So I bet people his age will know everything that is in the Prophet. By the time he starts at Hogwarts, people will know. They might even try to remind him of it on his first day of school."

"I understand both your worries," Dumbledore said. "And we'll see what we can do to prevent some of that. I am going to go to the Ministry later when I get the chance, and I'll visit your parents as well."

Charlie wondered what their Headmaster could do though. He hadn't been able to stop them from printing the story, so what could he really do to prevent people from gossiping? Harry still didn't even know how his parents really died. Their parents still had him believing that his parents died in a car crash. They planned to tell him his real story soon, but they wanted to help him adjust to a new life first. Harry was still quite emotionally frail even though there were times when he seemed he was over the abuse. He'd accidentally knocked a cup on the floor on the weekend they'd gone home. He'd gotten up sobbing, and then he'd stood in a corner all on his own all the while calling himself a disgrace. It had taken their mother a few moments to explain that accidents were okay.

"What if people go to our house now to try to get a better look at him?" Bill asked.

"That can easily be stopped," Dumbledore told him in a kind voice. "Your parents know enough protective spells to prevent that, and I'll help out as well. Once reporters and other folk realize they can't get through to your home, they'll stop. Your parents knew this could happen when they took him in. They told me they were willing to do anything to protect him and all of you. They will, and I will help. Don't worry. Now, would you like a copy of that paper? I'll permit you to miss your first classes so you can go through it, and prepare yourselves."

Charlie wanted to read it, but he felt they needed to agree on this, so he looked to Bill for his decision. His older brother folded his arms and nodded.

"Of course we want to see it. I'd like to talk to my parents as soon as possible as well," Bill responded.

"I can arrange that for you. Why don't the two of you go up to your common room now? We'll send you one of our copies," Dumbledore told them. "I'll floo call your parents. I expect they'll want to talk to me soon enough."

Bill nodded and then beckoned for Charlie to follow. The moment Dumbledore was out of earshot, his older brother began a long complaint about Richard Parkinson, Dumbledore, The Daily Prophet, and The Ministry.

"You can't complain about Dumbledore too much," Charlie reasoned as they climbed up a set of steps. "He did try to stop this."

"I know but... I just don't get why Harry can't finally have some peace in his life," Bill said in frustration. "I thought once he was adopted by our family that he would be happy forever. Now it's just more drama for him. At least, for now, he can have some peace, but he's going to find out eventually, and I bet it will be hard for him when he does."

"For now, we have to deal with the drama," Charlie muttered though he most definitely didn't blame Harry for that, and he hoped Bill didn't think he did. He had a feeling that either people would try to befriend them, or else they were going to be bothered a lot more than usual.

Molly was feeling quite frazzled. It had been a very long day. Harry's story had finally come out in the Daily Prophet. Both she and Arthur knew that there was a chance it could happen, but they hadn't expected for it to happen so soon. It was only a few weeks since Harry had officially become a part of the family. Though the little boy seemed quite happy, they still had a lot of habits they needed him to break. They had enough going on with Harry's problems, and caring for the other children that they didn't need this on top of it.

Imagine her surprise when she'd glanced at the paper only to see a very recent picture of herself, Harry, and the younger children in Diagon Alley on the front page. She'd taken them all to get Harry a few things he needed. The picture showed her holding Ginny in her arms while she called out after Fred and George who were running around. Percy was off to the side holding Harry's hand, and Ron was trying to join in on the twins antics. They'd purposely taken a picture of her looking stressed to make it seem as if they had more than they could handle.

Percy usually liked to read the paper, and he'd nearly seen the picture. She'd had to snatch it away from quickly and put it up. He'd spent the rest of breakfast protesting that he wanted to read it. She wasn't even sure why a nine-year-old would want to read it in the first place. Part of her suspected it was because he wanted to seem like Arthur or Bill. She didn't think there was anything in there that should interest him, even if he was advanced for his age.

For some reason, for the rest of the day, all of the kids seemed to be on edge, and she wondered if they'd picked it up from her. Ginny was crying about almost everything, Ron fought with Fred and George all day, Harry kept putting himself in the corner or apologizing for being a burden, and Percy wouldn't stop complaining about the most insignificant things. It was a very tiring day, and she was relieved when Arthur came home from work. Though once the kids were settled down for supper, they suddenly couldn't find Harry which sent them into a panic. What if he'd gone outside only for someone to grab him? They'd put up protective spells, but perhaps they hadn't worked. After looking around for him everywhere, they finally found him in one of the closets, sobbing. He'd decided to punish himself because he'd tripped and he'd spilled juice on the clean laundry.

"I'm being a bad boy," he'd said when they'd found him. "I have to stay in here for a week with no meals."

It took a bit for them to convince him that he didn't need to be punished and that he didn't have to stay in the closet. At times she thought they were making significant progress with him, and then days like today happened. She had a feeling he sensed stress since it was usually when someone was upset that he would punish himself.

Now finally the children were all in bed, and they could relax. They were expecting Dumbledore to come over at any time to discuss it. Neither blamed him. They knew he'd tried his best, but there was only so much he could do to prevent it from getting out. All anyone could care about was selling a story, unfortunately. She had a feeling they were going to have to tell Harry sooner rather than later the real story about his parents. She'd wanted to wait until he was six or seven but that likely wasn't plausible anymore.

All of this was on her mind while she and Arthur sat in the living-room waiting for Albus to come over. As she was thinking about it, she heard her name. She looked up to Harry standing in an old pair of Fred's pajamas. They were red with feet attached to them. He looked rather cute in them. Harry did have a vault full of gold which Dumbledore told her they could use on him, but she'd decided against it. That money was for Harry to use when he went to school, and for when he was an adult. He would be fine using the other children's things for the time being. She didn't mind spending the money on him, she'd adopted him after all, and the vault full of gold meant nothing to her.

"Why are you up Harry?" She asked as he made his way over to her. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Arthur who had the Prophet quickly hid it behind his back before Harry could see the picture.

"No," Harry answered. "Molly, even though my mummy and daddy are dead, I still love them a lot."

"Of course you do dear," she said as she lifted him onto her lap. "You'll always love your mummy and daddy, and they love you."

Harry nodded.

"Arthur told me they are looking down on me," Harry told her.

"Yes I did, and they are," Arthur said. "They love you, and they want you to be happy."

"I know," Harry said as he glanced at him. "Would they be upset that I have a new mummy and daddy now?"

Molly finally understood where he was going with this. He was likely feeling guilty because he loved them now as well.

"No, they wouldn't. They would be delighted knowing that you are in a loving home now," Molly told him. "I'm sure they're smiling right now because you are happy with us."

"Love isn't only meant for a few people Harry," Arthur added. "You can love as many people as you want. We have eight children now, and we love all of you equally. I'm sure you feel the same way about us as you do your parents."

Harry nodded.

"I do," he said. "So, I was wondering, would it be okay if I called you mummy and daddy instead of Molly and Arthur? Would my mummy and daddy be okay with that? Would you?"

Molly had to blink quickly to hold in her tears. She'd actually wanted him to call her mummy for a while now, but she wanted him to be comfortable. She hadn't requested him to call her mummy, or Arthur, daddy in case it made him uncomfortable. She felt thrilled that he wanted to call them that, and she found it very sweet that he wanted to make sure it was okay with his parents as well. He was such a kind child who thought of others before himself. Every day since she'd had him, she couldn't understand how his aunt and uncle could hurt such a sweet and innocent boy.

"Yes, of course, it's okay sweetheart," she told him. "I'm sure your mummy and daddy would be fine with it. They both know that you know who your mummy and daddy are but they'll be happy to know that you think of us that way too."

"And I won't be spanked?" Harry asked.

"Harry, we've told you that you'll never be spanked again. We most definitely won't spank you for calling us mummy and daddy," Arthur said. "We're both pleased that you want to call us that."

"I accidentally called Aunt Petunia mummy, and she spanked me very hard," Harry said. "She was very angry that I called her that. I really didn't mean to. I was feeling sad about my mummy, and I accidentally said it. I had to stay in my cupboard for a long time."

"Harry, we've told you that what your aunt and uncle did was very wrong," Molly told him. "It was very bad for her to spank you over that. I am very happy that you want to call me mummy. I'm glad that you can see me as your mummy too."

"And I'm happy that you see me as your daddy too," Arthur said. "We brought you into our family for a reason mate."

"Okay," Harry said, and then he climbed off her lap. "I'm going back to bed. Good night, mummy and daddy."