Chapter 3

Sherlock's method of informing Mrs. Hudson about her newest resident was to tell her he wanted to rent out 221c. As blunt as ever, this news was passed as Mrs. Hudson walked into the hall to see him carrying yet another box of experiments down the stairs.

"Did you and John have a falling out?" was the only thing the confused woman could think to ask, a look of concern coming over her features.

"No, of course not," Sherlock answered, "It's only one of John's new rules. Four year olds are not to have access to chemicals, body parts, glass, or flames."

"Four year olds?"

"Oh, yes. I have become guardian to my cousin. Anyway, John insists these experiments be moved, and he refused to have them in our bedroom."

"Bedroom?"

"Sherry needed his own room, of course."

Mrs. Hudson was quite ecstatic to meet young Harry Potter. After all, a child was something the married ones next door didn't have. John and Sherlock were quite pleased that they meet as well; Mycroft still hadn't sent the promised nanny, and John did not feel comfortable leaving Harry alone with only Sherlock to watch him in spite of the list of rules he had pinned to the wall.

"This is Sherrinford," Sherlock said as he led Mrs. Hudson to what used to be John's bedroom, "We call him Sherry. Sherry, say hello to Mrs. Hudson."

"Harry," John said, luckily arriving just in time to save Harry from Sherlock's latest attempt to give him a new name.

"No, it's alright," Sherlock insisted, "I read about it. Sherry is almost like Harry, and if you keep at it, he'll learn to come when he hears his name."

"…that's for puppies, Sherlock." Sherlock gave him that blank stare that said he didn't get where the problem was. John gave up for the moment, turning to Mrs. Hudson. "This is Harry Potter. Harry, can you say hello to Mrs. Hudson?"

"Hi," Harry answered dutifully despite his stare of uncertainty at this new stranger.

"Hello, Harry," Mrs. Hudson said, "I'm pleased to have you here." And then unable to resist the little boy any longer, she scooped him up with a squeal of excitement. Harry let Mrs. Hudson hug him, looking with some concern towards his guardians. The look was so Sherlock when confronted with a social situation he didn't understand that John gave the boy the usual encouraging smile without thinking. Harry smiled tentatively in return.

"It will be nice having a child about the place," Mrs. Hudson said enthusiastically, "One that is acting his age." She gave a sharp look towards Sherlock which the man completely missed as he was currently studying Harry's new toys with an odd intensity. Not that Harry had much at the moment, just a few bears and some crayons, though even that had seemed to overwhelm the small boy. The room itself was still furnished for a grown man, something John knew would have to be changed soon.

"Come along, Harry, you can help me bake a cake." Harry looked at John again, appearing worried. John offered the smile again.

"You can cook with Mrs. Hudson," he said, guessing the difficulty. Harry still looked confused but allowed himself to be led away. Sherlock frowned.

"You said four year olds are not allowed to cook. It's the first rule."

"Helping Mrs. Hudson cook is not the same thing as cooking himself," John answered, "Mrs. Hudson won't let him do any of the dangerous parts." Sherlock looked thoughtful.

Harry Watson learned because John finally gave in and called her. Explaining the delicate intricacies of the matter when his sister was already half convinced there was some sort of relationship between him and Sherlock had been difficult, especially when she visited in person to meet her nephew and noticed their sleeping arrangements. Luckily, she was more concerned with the state of the flat and her new nephew's bedroom, the lack of toys in particular.

"The bed is far too big for him," was one of the first things she noted, and quite true though Harry never seemed to have much trouble climbing in or out; he hadn't even succumbed to the temptation all small children face when presented with a large bed and jumped on it yet.

"Harry is good at climbing," was all John said, "We're working on it. We've only had him a week."

"A week! I've had a nephew for an entire week, and you're only just now telling me?"

There was an awkward silence during which John pointedly did not say why he might have wanted to wait so long to contact his sister, and she even more pointedly didn't ask, in spite of the look she sent him.

"So where is my nephew with the fantastic name, then?" Harry asked at last.

"With Sherlock," John answered, still cringing slightly at the idea, "Mrs. Hudson says they've gone to the park." Mrs. Hudson, for reasons John still didn't completely understand, had no difficulty with the idea of Sherlock being a responsible parent, and had apparently given the suggestion before shoving them out the door. She thought it would be good for both of them. John's hope was more along the lines that Sherlock didn't become distracted and leave the boy at the park.

"Well I hope they're back soon, I want to meet him!" She had even brought a present for the occasion. It was almost at that very moment that a door slammed open below.

"I do not see the point of the excursion, Mrs. Hudson," Sherlock declared, his voice carrying all the way up to where John and Harry still stood in young Harry's room, "Neither Lockson nor myself found any enjoyment in that place."

"Oh, Harry," they heard Mrs. Hudson reply, not so much because her voice carried as because they had moved to join them below, "Didn't you like playing in the park?"

Harry made no answer at all, or none that could be heard from the stairs.

"There were far too many ruffians running about the place," Sherlock declared for him, "And quite a few overly forward mothers." At that, Harry Watson laughed out loud and John managed a smile at the mental image of Sherlock being besieged by single mothers at the park. Sherlock and Harry looked up at the sound and Sherlock frowned briefly before taking on a smile that was far too innocent to be anything but evil.

"I, of course, was forced to inform them that I was already married."

In the end, John's sister did leave off teasing him in favor of getting to know her new nephew and presenting him with his gift. The boy appeared dubious about getting to know her but at both John and Sherlock's encouragement, he allowed her to fuss over him a bit and even smiled quite naturally when presented with the stuffed rabbit. He inspected it intensely before carrying it reverently to be placed in the row where his other animals were kept.

Harry Watson finally did leave, after reminding them again that she wouldn't mind playing babysitter from time to time, that the child's room needed serious work, that the boy himself was in dire need of spoiling, and a final admonishment directed at Sherlock that the name Harry was one of the most awesome in creation, and if he didn't leave off trying to change it she was going to take to calling him Sheldon.

Harry Potter had been with them for one week. Quite suddenly, John's legs felt a bit watery, and the lists in his head of things that needed to be done became just the slightest bit more solid; lists that not only needed to be done but would be done in the very near future.

"John?" Sherlock asked from suddenly quite close by, "Are you alright?"

"He's really ours, isn't he?" John asked.

"Ah."

"He's ours, forever and ever, and he will get older and older and bigger, and it's all down to us that he makes it to quite big without being killed or becoming a psychopath himself, and he needs doctors and toys and schooling and friends and help, and oh, God…"

"Breathe, John." Sherlock was looking quite concerned now, guiding the other man to sit down on the sofa.

"Sherlock? Why aren't you scared? Why aren't you terrified?" To this Sherlock's face was unreadable and it took the man a moment to answer. John was a bit afraid of the answer in fact, that the answer was something like 'because I don't care about the boy, really' or something equally cold and sociopathic, except that was unfair because Sherlock wasn't really like that and John knew it. When Sherlock finally did answer, it was nothing that he expected.

"Because I have you, John. You won't let me ruin him."

Neither spoke for a long moment after that, but the silence was far less charged and far more introspective than before, and John slowly felt his heart rate returning to normal.

"Right. We need to do some shopping tomorrow."

Nothing more was said on the matter, but from that moment John was no longer quite so scared to leave Harry alone in Sherlock's company. At least for a short while. John was convinced of Sherlock's good intentions, not brain dead.