Images are available in the AO3 version of this chapter.

Chapter 5

Sebastian and Naomi both watch the divider on platform 10 for Hermione and Harry, though their eyes keep twitching every time someone comes through. Sebastian has already checked the main concourse for the morbidly obese man that Harry left with last year, so they're hoping that Hermione's bringing the young girl home.

They're not waiting for too long before Hermione walks up to them with the young woman that must be Harry.

"Mum, Dad?"

Sebastian jumps at Hermione's voice and looks around for a second before seeing her standing in front of him, "Where did you come from?"

"We walked up to you from the portal over there."

Sebastian blinks a couple of times before Naomi asks, "Hermione dear, where's your trunks?"

Hermione beams, "Harry's mum's looking after them. Harry, this is my Mum and Dad, Mum, Dad, this is Harry."

Harry looks at the two adults, suddenly nervous, "Um, hello Mr Granger. Hello Mrs Granger."

Naomi crouches down slightly, "Harry dear, you can call us Mum and Dad, Aunt and Uncle, or Naomi and Sebastian while you call us family. Now, would you like to come with us, or would you prefer to return to the Dursleys?"

Harry freezes and stares at Naomi, fortunately Hermione speaks up, "He's never going back to the Dursleys. Oh, sorry I mean She's never going back to the Dursleys. Professor McGonagall gave me some letters for you. When she did, Harry almost dislocated my arm trying to pull me to the owlery to send them to you."

Naomi looks Harry in the eyes, "Is this true honey?"

Shyly Harry nods, not trusting herself to speak. When Naomi pulls her into a hug, Harry can't help tensing. To which Naomi only pauses long enough for Harry to pull away if she wanted to, before she finishes the motion, "Oh honey, I don't know what you went through there, but if you ever want to talk about it…"

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Harry kicks her heels on a waiting room bench in The Royal London Hospital, Hermione sat next to her has her nose in a medical text book that was lying around. Tears come to her eyes once more as she looks down at the four photos she's holding. They were taken in Diagon Alley this morning, where they stayed overnight in an Inn. After that, they took the tube to Whitechapel, where the hospital is. As she looks at the full body shot, Harry's glad that Gladrags sells a selection of muggle clothing, as these are far nicer clothes than the robes she was wearing at school. Next is her passport photo. Isn't that a fabulous thing, having her own passport.

Harry resists the urge to get her new passport out of her bag, instead looking at the last two photo's again, it doesn't matter that they're similar to the first one, they're the first photo's she's ever had of herself. As she reaches the last photo, she reaches up to the pendent lying around her neck, and tears start to fall again as she remembers Naomi picking it out for her.

"Hermione, do your parent's normally work on Sundays?" Harry nudges Hermione a couple of times, then repeats her question.

Hermione looks up from her book, "Huh? No, not normally. I seem to remember that last year they said that they'd taken shifts on the day I came back and the day after so that we have the first week together at home. It also gives them an excuse to give me my yearly check-up in front of the students. You'll probably be getting yours today too."

Harry shuffles nervously, "What's it like, as I've never been to the dentist."

"Mum and dad are really gentle, you'll need to sit with your mouth open for quite a while though as they look inside with a small mirror and scraper to check your teeth for weaknesses. If they've only got a couple of students, they'll probably have them look in too, otherwise they'll use a camera. It's really quite fascinating when they do that."

"Do you know how long they'll be? As I want to show mum my photos."

Hermione shakes her head, "Sorry, no. It depends on what they had scheduled first."

An hour later, Harry finds herself lying back in a large chair with Sebastian leaning over her with a camera. Around her is a large crowd of dental students.

"Are you doing ok there Harry?" Slightly wild eyed, Harry none the less nods, so Sebastian continues, "Good girl. It won't be too much longer, as it's unusual to see extended cuspids." Speaking louder, Sebastian points his intraoral camera at the teeth, "As you should all be able to see from both the x-rays and what I'm showing you on the camera, these teeth are naturally formed cuspids that are unusually elongated. Unlike the stories, these teeth are not retractable, and many parents find them distressing. So when you come across teeth like these in your practice, try to stress that they are perfectly natural and don't need any sort of cosmetic shaping. While inspecting them, you'll want to pay slightly more attention to the points here…"

Harry zones out as she watches the screen while Sebastian taps her teeth with his tool.

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Harry gazes out of the window as they leave Theydon Bois underground station in a black SUV. Beside her, Hermione's nose is back in a book again, this time something by a Stephen Hawking.

"Are you alright back there Harry?"

Harry looks up at Sebastian's voice, "I'm fine."

Naomi turns around in her chair, "Are you sure, you're very quiet."

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just…"

"This is all new, and you're not sure if it's going to be taken away from you. Sebastian and I bought a couple of books when we received Hermione's letter. I'm sorry that we're using the car if you're uncomfortable, we'd normally walk as it's less than a mile to the station, but we were expecting to have your trunks."

Harry smiles wanly, "It's ok, I left them with my mum."

"You have a mother? Why were you living with the Dursleys?"

Harry's about to answer when Sebastian calls, "We're here." And they do a sharp turn, and then drive through a pair of gates that start to close behind them, past a fountain, and pull up in front of a massive house.

Gawking, Harry doesn't notice Hermione get out until she's opened her door and is tugging on her arm, "Come on slow poke, I'll show you to your room. Then I'll show you to my house by the pond, and the Library, then the pool, and finally granny's house."

Naomi laughs, "Hermione, tonight we're just going to show Harry to her room, and eat some of the food that I'm sure that Jane's left for us. After that, we can talk about the ground rules and have a tour of the grounds. I'd also like to talk to Harry about her mother."

Hermione steps back with a pout, "Mrs Cruz is brilliant, she's been teaching me to read English, well her English anyway not English English. I think she knows almost as much as you and dad do."

Naomi laughs and shakes her head, "Well come on, then your father needs to put the car in the garage."

As they walk into the massive house, and Harry gawks at the interior, Naomi sighs, "Sorry about the size of the house, but Sebastian's grandparents bought it in the height of the blitz in World War 2. He was a technician at Stapleford airfield you see. He moved his whole family out here, including his parents, and it's been in the family since then. Anyway, your bedroom is by the stairs here."

Naomi indicates a door to the left before she continues walking past up a single step and past a closet through a single door, "Our bedroom is this one towards the front of the house, and Hermione's is the one down that corridor. We'd have put you in with Hermione, but we both thought you might like your privacy."

As they're walking back to Harry's room, Harry nervously ventures, "Um, what about the other bedrooms?"

Naomi waves her hand, "They only get used when we have guests. Well apart from the smallest room, that's where we store all of our hobbies that we're not currently interested in. Now this is your bedroom, it's the only other one with an on-suite bathroom."

Harry goggles when the door's opened to reveal a room that's bigger than the Durley's living room, and steps back shaking, "Through here is your bathroom… Harry, Harry honey. Hermione, run and get your father, tell him we need something calming."

Carefully, Naomi picks Harry up with a grunt, and frowns as she feels the girl shivering. Carefully, she lays Harry on the bed and sits beside her, stroking her hair, "Shh, shh, you're safe here."

It takes an hour, and several refreshes of Chamomile tea with honey, before Harry comes out of her anxiety attack to find she's not alone, and the bedroom door is still open. In front of her, the far side of the bedroom is almost a complete wall of square leaded glass.

"Are you ok honey?"

Harry looks up at Naomi, "They're not bars, just windows?"

Naomi nods, "Yes Harry, they're just windows. The only lock in the room is on your bathroom so that nobody can walk in on you accidentally."

"There's no cat flap?"

Hermione giggles, "We have a cat flap, but it's in the kitchen. I'll show you later."

Hesitantly, Harry gets up from the bed and cautiously walks over to the windows. There, she lifts up the latch and pushes it open with a little effort, as the paint sticks. Reaching up, she runs her hand over the leading of the window panes, and feels the slight bumps on the in and outside of the glass, "They're just windows, not bars."

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"Harry?"

Harry pulls her attention from the window looking out at the swimming pool at the sound of her name, "Yes Hermione?"

"Why is your draft version of your potions essay better than the one you're going to hand in?"

Harry looks down in alarm at the sheets of parchment in front of Hermione, her heart sinks as she realises that one of them is written in her mothers English, "Um, that one's for mum, and that one's for the school."

"But this one is so much better than the one for school. Why are you hiding what you can do?"

"Hermione," Sebastian's voice comes from the doorway causing Harry to jump, "don't pry. Just accept that she has good reasons for it. Now Harry, I came over here to talk to both of you, as there seems to be something odd going on around the house." Harry and Hermione both look up at Sebastian, "Have either of you been cleaning up before Jane gets here?"

Harry shakes her head, "No Sir, not since you told me off for doing breakfast and cleaning when we were going to Thorpe Park last week."

"Harry," Sebastian says gently, "please don't call me Sir, I'm not that sort of person, and you're not in trouble. Now, there's not going to be any punishment, are you sure you didn't do any cleaning up?"

Harry shakes her head harder, "No, er, Sebastian, I thought you'd been cleaning up so that I wouldn't."

Sebastian shakes his head, "Only to clear the table, and it's not just the kitchen, it's the whole house, including the laundry."

There's a slight pop, and a house elf appears standing by the window, "Dobby has been getting lots of work. The Great Harry Potter Miss is a truly good master. Dobby sorry Dobby not been cooking, Dobby not know how oven work."

Sebastian sags against the doorframe holding his chest, "Where did you come from?"

At the same time Harry says, "Dobby? How did you get here?"

Dobby looks between the two of them for a moment, "Dobby elf popped here. Dobby been feeding Hedwig owl too."

Sebastian shakes his head, and goes to the other room of the library where the kitchen is, to splash his face with water. While he is, Harry says, "Dobby, how are you doing? I'm sorry about not looking for you after the hospital wing, but my examination was quite, uncomfortable, and I completely forgot. Oh, and thank you for looking after Hedwig, is that why she didn't come looking for me?"

Dobby nods, "Dobby took good care of Miss Harry's Hedwig, made nest over pond and find mices in the storeroom for her when she arrived."

"Thank you Dobby, you're the best."

Shaking his head, Sebastian comes back in, "Did I miss anything?"

Hermione shakes her head, "No daddy, Harry just thanks Dobby for taking care of Hedwig."

"That's good… Um. What I originally came here to ask is if we could see if it's safe to meet your mother tonight, as it's the weekend, and then we're going to France for a month. We've been able to borrow an emergency defibrillator in case there's any problems."

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It's late evening when the family all sit down in the old ballroom, having pushed the chairs away to the walls.

"Dobby," Naomi calls softly, "could you join us here please?"

There's a soft pop, and Dobby appears with the rest of them, "Dobby's here."

Naomi smiles, "Dobby, Sebastian and I have been talking. We would like to know more about you, and what house elves are. Do you have any dietary requirements?"

"Dobby is a good elf, Dobby has a nest in the warm room."

Naomi shares a glance with Sebastian, "Dobby, what sort of food do you eat?"

Dobby shakes his head, "Dobby gets enough scraps, Nami Grangy not need worry."

"Harry, could you try asking him please?"

Harry looks stricken for a moment before she asks, "Dobby, what was your life like before we met in the headmasters office?"

Dobby starts to pull at his ears painfully, "Dobby was a good elf, but bad master made Dobby iron his fingers, or slam his head in the oven door, when Dobby wasn't a good elf."

Harry's voice hitches in her throat, "Dobby, what do house elves need to eat?"

"We's only need scraps to eat."

"No, I mean, what do you need to be healthy, is there anything that will make you sick if you eat it. Like furry bread makes us sick."

Dobby yanks on his ears, "Dobby is a bad elf as Dobby not know answer."

Harry shakes her head, but Naomi answers, "No Dobby, you're not a bad elf for not knowing. If you pretended to know, then that would be bad. Can you read and write?"

Dobby shakes his head, "Dobby is a bad elf, Dobby doesn't know how to do that."

"Dobby, not knowing how to do something doesn't make you bad. It just means that you will need to learn. Now, Harry said something about needing magic. What does that mean?"

Dobby lets up on his ears for a moment, "Elveses not have own magic, if no bond, get sick and die in few years."

"Well, you can't sleep in the boiler room as you could die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Tomorrow, we will sort out one of the bedrooms upstairs for you."

"Dobby is a good elf, Dobby only needs a small cubby hole to sleep in."

"Dobby, you are going to need a desk, a chair, and a bed. They won't fit in a cubbyhole. I'm sure you'll also end up with your own little bookshelf too once you've learnt to read and write."

"Dobby is a good elf."

"You are, which is why we will help you. You should also be wearing something better than an old tea towel."

Dobby shakes his head, "No give Dobby clothes. Dobby is a good elf."

Harry picks Dobby up easily and holds him in a hug, "Dobby, what does giving clothes mean to you?"

"It means Dobby is a bad elf, and Family no wants Dobby any more."

"Why does it mean that?"

"Dobby not know. Dobby is a bad elf."

Naomi shakes her head, "Let's come back to that another time. Sebby, are you sure I can't persuade you to let me do this?"

Sebastian shakes his head, "No Nem, you know you did better at the paramedic stuff than I did."

"Fine! Harry, how does this work?"

Harry shakes her head at the change in topic, "Um, I'll show you with Hermione first."

Grabbing Hermione's hand, she does the thing that allows her to transfer, and appears near her mother, "Hey mum, hello Sir Gryffindor."

Godric laughs, "When are you going to start calling me Godric."

"Um, I'm going to try and get Hermione's dad now. Bye!"

Harry comes back to her body, to the feeling of someone touching her throat gently. As she opens her eyes she can see Sebastian leaning over her, while Naomi does the same with Hermione.

"That freaky, your pulse just sped up just before you opened your eyes." Harry flinches before she registers the context, "Oh, sorry. Not you, the situation."

It takes Harry a couple of minutes to calm down from hearing that word, and once she'd done she looks at Sebastian, "Are you ready?"

Sebastian nods, "You're going to take me there, slow count to thirty, and then bring me back?"

Harry nods, "Yes."

Naomi stands up and brushes herself off before getting a large bag, and pulls out a respirator mask and the portable defibrillator, "I'm ready if you die."

Sebastian kisses his wife on the forehead before lying down, "Hopefully it won't come to that, as the children were still alive."

"They have magic, we don't."

"I know, that's why we're trying it for 30 seconds. I'm ready whenever you are Harry."

In the end, the journey to see his mother is anticlimactic, even though it took a lot more effort to do than Hermione did the first time.

When she returns, Naomi is just calmly monitoring Sebastian's pulse and breathing. Harry looks down at her hands, and sees a glowing blue orb there. Then she starts to gibber when Sebastian doesn't get up.

Naomi looks up at the noise, and sees Harry starting to freak out at something, "Harry, Harry, I need you to breath in and out slowly. Do you think you can do that for me? In… and Out… In… and Out…"

After several repetitions, and exaggerating the motions herself, Naomi can see that Harry is starting to get control of herself, "Harry, did you leave Sebastian behind?"

Harry shakes her head frantically, and lifts her hand, "I think he's here."

"Honey, whatever you're looking at, I can't see. So why don't you try putting it back in Sebastian the same way you took it out?"

"But what if I muck it up?"

"Then you'll take him back to see your mother and the sorting hat, and try again once you've spoken to them."

"I don't know how to do it though."

Forcing herself to stay calm, Naomi continues to talk Harry through her breakdown, "Harry, don't think about that. Do you know how you took him to see your mother?" Harry nods, "Well, why don't you try doing that backwards, start with whatever you felt and reverse it. If you pulled, push, if you tugged, shove. Can you do that for me?"

Silently Harry nods before taking Sebastian's hand and closing her eyes.

Naomi continues to calmly talk to Harry about this while she's trying things. But after several minutes nothing's worked, and Harry's about to give up when something gives slightly, as though she's found the edge of a root she needs to extract. With renewed hope, she tries to follow that edge with the glowing ball, something that's easier said than done.

By the time she opens her eyes, the sun has long fallen below the horizon, and the whole house is in darkness. Draped over Sebastian, Naomi is sobbing quietly.

"Mia, why are you crying?"

Naomi screams when Sebastian pulls her into a hug, and then she starts to laugh hysterically.