I do not own rights to Harry Potter, this is just a Christmas fic I wrote. I was going to publish yesterday but the holidays were busy here.
I hope you enjoy
"I'm warning you, boy, you better not burn this house down," Vernon Dursley warned his five-year-old nephew as he watched his wife strap Dudley into the back seat of the car which was entirely full of toys and things to keep Dudley entertained on the drive to Marge's. "Or next time you will be locked in your cupboard with a bucket and pack of noodles."
"Vernon, I'm not sure this is okay," Petunia Dursley said nervously.
"He'll be fine, won't you boy?" Vernon turned to face Harry who gave a grand nod. He was five years old, he went to school; he was a big boy and wouldn't make a mess or get any boo-boos.
"See," Vernon grunted loudly, clapping his hands together as Dudley began loudly crying for chicken nuggets. Harry's stomach growled. "We'll be back after the New Year."
Uncle Vernon opened the car door and slid into the driver's seat. Once the door was closed, he poked his head out the window and looked at his nephew with an odd sort of smile, "Write a letter to Santa, if you've been good, you'll get what you ask for."
"Okay," Harry replied and Uncle Vernon began loudly laughing as he drove the car out of the driveway, the only thing louder than his laughter was Dudley's wails.
Dudley was allowed to cry, but Harry wasn't. That was a big rule.
Harry went into the house and locked the door, something Aunt Petunia made both Harry and Dudley do every single time. It was to keep bad guys out and Harry didn't want bad guys in the house.
Harry padded his way to the living room and found a piece of paper and a crayon on the coffee table and began writing his letter to Santa.
Dear Santa,
I am Harry and I have been a good boy. I think but I gets ylled at. I want a new family for Christmas. I do not think my aunt and uncle like me. Please give me a family with a bed and food.
Thank you
Harry Potter
Harry put the letter in the mangy old sock hanging over the fireplace that was his. Dudley's was yellow and sparkly.
Harry started in the decorated room and went to the kitchen. Aunt Petunia had left enough plates of food for every day they would be gone. Harry grabbed a plate with bread and cheese and quietly ate while he watched the snow fall in the window.
Two days later, Harry got bored of the quiet house and decided he wanted to play outside. So when he was done eating the bread and cheese for the morning, he decided he would go to the playground down the road.
He couldn't reach his jacket and he was sad because he liked the jacket. It was new and Aunt Petunia bought it when the school wrote home and asked them to get Harry a jacket.
He went out the door and locked the door with the key inside the mailbox.
Lucius Malloy was in charge of Draco today. A few days a week, Lucius took Draco so Narcissa could work, she had her own successful line of cosmetics and sometimes the things she needed to do required far more attention than she could offer while minding a five-year-old.
Lucius had decided to take Draco to a park in a nearby muggle neighbourhood; Draco needed to learn to socialise with muggles as trips into the muggle world were sometimes unavoidable and Lucius would not allow his son to be one of the foolish wizards who enter into the muggle world completely unaware of what anything was and how to act accordingly. It just looked bad when an adult appeared not to know how to dry their hands or enter into a car.
Lucius had dressed Draco in a muggle snow suit and of course, undressed and redressed the boy when he promptly announced he needed to pee as they were walking out the door. Draco sat in the backseat of the car, staring around at the Christmas decorations until they arrived at the playground.
Once Draco was out of the car, Lucius reached into the back seat and grabbed Draco's discarded gloves before turning around and seeing that his son had already run off.
"The boy can't sit still for a second, can he?" Lucius muttered to himself as he walked towards the fort Draco was in. He wrestled the gloves onto the child and made his way to a seat and groaned when he saw the gloves already discarded into the snow.
Lucius pulled out a book and read while Draco played, occasionally he; 'd look up to make sure Draco was still where he could see him and he'd return to his book.
After a while, he put his book away and walked over to where Draco was assembling a tower with a little boy with unwashed black hair and wearing only ripped trousers and a windbreaker with uncovered hands and no hat. That was concerning.
"Draco, who is your friend," Lucius asked Draco, watching the boy stiffen.
"He's a kid, we are building a house," Draco said. "The ants are going to live here for Christmas."
"I see," Lucius said, glancing at the boy who was extremely thin but his clothes were far too big.
"What's your name, son?" He did his best not to sound intimidating, he even put the can that also contained his wand behind his back.
"My name is Harry Potter, sir," the boy spoke softly, green eyes wide as though waiting to be yelled at or worse. Lucius never had to fight so hard to school his expression in his life. This child was the beloved hero of the wizarding world and he looked like his last meal was far too long ago and he was not at all dressed for the -20 temperatures.
Lucius looked closer and found the lightning scar on his forward. He forced even breaths out, this child was said to be receiving the best care, education and parenting and by appearance alone, it was clear he wasn't even receiving substandard.
"Where is your family?" Lucius asked him, watching the boys. "Do they know you're here?"
Perhaps they were unaware Harry had left their house but that did not explain his weight, quality of clothes and unbrushed and unwashed hair.
"No."
Lucius nodded.
"I think I would like to speak to them. Can you take me to your family?"
Harry frowned and shook his head. Lucius frowned. Maybe he was told not to bring strangers home. The boy was only five and he would not know who Lucius was, so this made sense.
"Can you bring them here?"
"They aren't home."
Lucius frowned deeper. A five-year-old with as many potential enemies and threats should not be unsupervised.
"Do you know when they'll be home?"
"Um, after the New Year. They are at my uncle's sister's house," Harry said softly.
Lucius's mind whirled. It was currently 22nd of December and the new year was over a week away and he had never heard of a five-year-old being left unaccompanied for that length of time.
"Harlow," Harry said casually.
That was over an hour's drive away.
"Where is your babysitter?"
Harry looked confused.
"I don't need one, I'm five and I am a big boy and I didn't burn down the house or anything," Harry smiled proudly.
"Is that so? Can you show me, I'd love to see," Lucius said, now wanting to investigate and witness the disaster that was a five-year-old 'taking care of a house' for who knows how long.
"Yes! I did a good job! Come with me," Harry said standing up, revealing he was wearing worn trainers. He followed Harry and Draco to a house.
"Close your eyes, people can't see the key," Harry said audibly picking something out of the mailbox before running over to another part of the step.
"OK."
Lucius opened his eyes to see Harry had tipped over a frog statue… clever, very clever.
The house was cleaner than he thought it would be. If it had been Draco, it would have taken months to clean the mess.
"I have been eating all my meals," Harry opened the fridge and showed them little bags of bread and cheese.
He proudly showed them his made bed in the boot cupboard under the stairs and that he had brushed his teeth and gotten dressed independently. His clothes were all too big and ratty, the cupboard was filled with spiders and dust and his only toy was a little toy soldier.
"Would you like to come play at my house with Draco?" Lucius said, he was not going to allow this child to stay in this house. Harry's eyes glowed like he'd just been offered the moon and Draco's eyes glowed as he jumped up and down.
"I need to come home to eat my supper," Harry told the man and Lucius's mind jumped back to one of the many bags of food that were hardly enough to feed anyone, let alone a growing child.
"Why don't we make it a sleepover?"
"A sleepover, I never had one before. I'm going to get my clothes!"
Draco grinned widely.
"I never had a friend sleepover! Can I show him my toys and my broom? Is he the Harry Potter from the books?" Draco fired off so many questions and Lucius's head was barely processing a single word, so her tousled his son's blond hair and just said, "Sure thing, son."
Narcissa Malfoy enjoyed the little things. Tea on the back porch when her husband and son were away was enough to get her creative juices flowing while she stared at her backyard for inspiration. Nature was a beautiful place to draw inspiration, but it took a lot of work to focus on anything besides the swans engaging the garden gnomes in battle right now.
The gnomes yelled and the geese honked back. Feathers and gnomes flew and Narcissa was at a loss for who would win. This was indeed strange behaviour.
"Cissa! Cissa!"
Narcissa frowned, they had been gone a while but Lucius tended to keep Draco as close to bedtime as he could.
"Mummy, mummy! I'm having a sleepover! A sleepover! Can you believe it? Can he borrow my clothes? His don't smell too good!"
Draco's babble left her confused and his excitement was nothing compared to the visible worry on Lucius's usually stoic face and the tiny boy trembling behind her husband, practically swimming in over warn clothes and black knotted hair and… a lightning bolt on his forehead.
"Oh, yes dear and ask Dobby to cast a cleaning spell and make sure the clothes are shrunk," Narcissa said slowly, making sure to maintain eye contact to ensure this was her husband's plan as well.
"Come on, Harry," Draco said, grabbing Harry's hand. "Gosh, your hand is cold!"
The boys ran off, Draco taking his time because Harry wasn't very fast, probably because he was too busy staring at everything.
"Honey, what…"
"I'll tell you but first, I need Severus… I need his medical expertise and it's easier to explain this once."
Lucius made a floo call and Narcissa was about to open her mouth but a scream upstairs cut the silence almost as effectively as Lucius shouting to floo the Potion Master's office before sticking his head into the green flames.
Narcissa rushed upstairs and entered her son's pale yellow bedroom, little Harry Potter was cowered behind Draco's bed, while Draco tried to coax him out, telling him Dobby needed to fix his clothes.
"Harry, dear, would you feel better if I held your hand? I'm Draco's mummy," she said softly, having plenty of experience with kids.
Harry eyed her nervously and held out a very tiny hand from behind Draco's bed. She guided him out and tried not to react to how cold his hands were or the fact that she could feel his bones right under his skin. This was not a healthy child.
"House-elves are nice, Harry," Draco told Harry, "don't you have a house elf?"
"Like Santa's elves?"
"I is Dobby, I work for Malfoy family. I is sorry I scared Master Harry Potter when I be cleaning him. Master Draco laughs," Dobby said, nervously, unsure how to react to a cowering child. Narcissa was sure no one had ever reacted like that to him.
"Dobby, why don't you make the boys some soup… Harry dear, do you have any allergies? Foods that make you feel poorly?"
"Peanuts make my throat tingly," Harry said and Narcissa told Dobby no nuts of any kind but to make a healthy and filling soup.
Narcissa brushed Harry's hair and helped him into a pair of pyjamas and soon, she heard her husband approaching with Severus Snape. Narissa mentally took notes of his visible ribs and healing bruises and did her best to hold back any reactions.
The man halted at the door upon seeing Harry Potter standing there.
"Is that who I think it is?"
"Yes."
"And why, pray tell, is he here and… I thought he was only a bit younger than Draco?"
Harry gripped Narcissa's hand tightly and Narcissa decided to pick him up and see if he'd be okay with it. He tensed up but soon relaxed a little bit.
"I found him at the park, alone and…"
"Harry is allowed to stay home alone, all by himself. Can I?"
"No!" The answer came from both Narcissa and Lucius who very much trusted their elves but knew their son could be a lot at times.
"Home alone? Aren't you five?" Severus asked Harry.
Harry nodded into Narcissa's shoulder.
"Mmm hmm, Aunt Tunia and Uncle Vernon went to see Aunt Marge. They'll be back on New Year's."
"Who was watching him, surely Dumbledore had someone…"
"Do you really think if the old coot had someone watching him, I'd have been allowed within breathing distance of him? Let alone able to just walk off with him because Merlin forbid their golden child to be influenced in any way by a Slytherin," Lucius muttered. "The boy is… Dobby!"
The elf popped in and Harry shrieked, burrowing, hugging his wife tighter.
"Yes, Master Lucius."
"Please take Draco down to make special cupcakes for himself and Harry to share!"
Draco began bouncing at the idea of sugar on a school night.
"I love having sleepovers!"
Once Draco was gone, Lucius explained it all to Severus, whose only reaction to anything was his lips progressively thinned and his breathing became more and more calculated and rhythmic, like he was containing his reaction.
"Tunia… Potter, is your Aunt Petunia raising you?"
Harry nodded.
"Can you do medical scans?"
Severus pursed his lips and observed the trembling child, the child would not be still long enough right now. "It's best to wait until he is asleep… Draco said he's sleeping over?"
"Would you rather I return him to his empty him to sleep in his cupboard and eat bread and cheese? Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, Severus."
"Yes, I will wait til he is asleep, he seems too timid and wouldn't sit still long enough," Severus said, in a deadly calm voice.
That night, Narcissa had fed the boys, read a story and made sure they were deep asleep with enhanced melatonin before sending in Severus to cast the diagnostic spells; she was sure Harry would be a lighter sleeper than Draco and wanted to ensure he slept through the scans.
Narcissa and Lucius sat in the sitting room in silence waiting. Dobby had brought out some whiskey but neither were interested in indulging that night.
After what seemed like an hour, Severus appeared in the room, with a long bit of parchment.
"Are you done with this?"
"Yes, we don't want any," Lucius said, pushing the whiskey and glass to Severus who simply took the bottle and took a long swig.
"That bad?"
"You have no idea. He's malnourished, with a few unhealed bones, and a bit of internal bleeding. I took the liberty of moving a couple of healing potions directly into his stomach. He should notice a difference in the morning but I should let you know, as an educator, I am legally required to report this. However, I know someone who can handle this discretely."
"What will you need?" Lucius asked.
"This paper and you because you saw everything," Severus told the man. "They may want to see the property but we can deal with that tomorrow morning. Narcissa, are you okay to watch Harry tomorrow while I take your husband to Grinngotts?"
"Of course, we will get ready for Christmas," Narcissa grinned. Even if they only had Harry for this Christmas, they could make it his best Christmas ever.
Harry could see morning sunlight through his eyelids and feel the warmth against his skin. It was strange to feel sunlight when he first woke up. It was so nice. He loved it. He rubbed his feet against the supper soft sheets and gripped the blankets in his hands.
The tiny creature from yesterday popped into the room, Harry jumped and his heart raced but then he remembered that Dobby had given him cupcakes last night and hadn't been mad when Harry spilled his milk.
"Did Master Harry Potter sleep well last night?"
Harry nodded, looking around the room. He was in a huge bed that felt like a cloud. The room was purple.
"The bathroom be there. Lady Malfoy will be in to help fill the bath because it is too big for little masters to bathe without an adult," Dobby told Harry. He was wearing a green and red elf costume with sparkles.
"I maked this outfit last night with fabric from Lady Malfoy," Dobby grinned before popping away. Harry blinked. That was so cool.
He ran into the bathroom and used the toilet while staring at the pool-sized tub.
When Narcissa came in, the helped him fill the bath with strawberry bubbles that he could toss around and once he was dressed in warm clothes, he got to go and eat breakfast with Draco.
When breakfast was over, the dishes popped away before Harry could try to pick them up. He didn't want to get in trouble for not cleaning up.
"Do we have to do chores now?"
Narcissa shook her head.
"It's Christmas Eve, darling," Narcissa told him. "I won't make you do chores on Christmas Eve."
"Yup, I never do chores on Christmas," Draco told Harry.
Narcissa watched the boys decorate cookies. Harry was terrified about getting icing on the table and that was after Narcissa convinced him he was allowed to decorate the cookies.
Severus and Lucius had gone out at dawn, after having spent the night sending out owls.
Lunch had left Harry nervous because he had already eaten once that day but she had gotten him to eat, making sure to have the kitchen elf add every nutrient potion that Severus had deemed Harry needed.
Narcissa loved watching Harry's green eyes grow wide with amazement anytime he saw anything magical. He loved the pictures, the self-cleaning dishes, the toys and even the games. Everything was so new to him and it made her feel warm inside to see his eyes light up but heartbroken because that was the world he was born to be a part of.
It was wrong to think he didn't know about magic and one day he was going to need to know. He was so well known, children read bedtime stories about him and he didn't know his own story. It seemed so wrong. She did her best not to dwell, after all, it was Christmas.
It was almost supper by the time Lucius returned home and he was grinning eye to eye.
"I will watch the boys while you speak with your wife."
Lucius pulled her into the guest room Harry had been staying in. Severus could be heard talking about herbs with the boys.
"I know this is a huge ask but Amilia Bones met us at Gringotts and came with the legal goblins to the residence of 4 Privet Drive where they all agreed that Mister Harry Potter's living arrangement was unacceptable, unsafe and the evident neglect, emotional abuse and physical abuse were enough to render the Dursleys as unfit. As of noon today, they have been stripped custody of both Harry and likely Dudley," Lucius informed his wife.
He stood in front of Narcissa, examining her expression carefully.
"That is wonderful, do you know where he will be going?"
Lucius studied his wife closer, examining her mood and reflecting on how happy she looked with both boys when he had gotten home.
"Well, we spent some time talking and I may have volunteered our home but I told them I'd have to speak with you first. I know it's not a lot of notice but…"
"You want to adopt Harry Potter?"
It wasn't a question the way she asked, she simply wanted to make sure she had heard him correctly.
"Yes."
"There may be backlash, people won't be happy," Narcissa said quietly. She was referring to one long-bearded individual and it was rather obvious to Lucius as well.
"Which is why we need to act quickly before he can get wind of this," Lucius told her. "He sent him to those muggles, who knows where else the careless coot would send him?"
Narcissa nodded. It was imperative, time was not on their side and she was not allowing that little boy to go back to that house.
"Okay, what do you need to do? What do I need to do?"
"Well," Lucius, for the first time in his life, looked sheepish, "it's already done, we just need you to sign here and it will be finalized."
Narcissa picked up a quill and the sound of Draco and Harry laughing together flooded downstairs. This was their new future.
Once the paper was signed, it disappeared with a puff of black smoke and it was done.
The rest of the night was filled with decking the lounge. After eating, they sat by the chimney and sipped Hot Chocolate which was 'the best thing Harry had ever tasted'. It was half eight when the flames roared to life and a large bit of parchment floated out and into Narcissa's hand.
Official Guardianship with Intent of Adoption
This document recognises that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are now sole guardians to Mister Harry James Potter with the intent to adopt. The adoption process is under special circumstances and has hereby been granted.
These circumstances are for safety and privacy but it will be recognised that from this day forth 25th of December 1986 Harry James Potter, now Harry James Potter-Malfoy will be the legal son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. This is officially legally binding and the official certificate of Adoption will be in the Malfoy Vital Document Vault.
This decision was made by myself, Millicent Bagnold, and Amelia Bones and witnessed by Severus Snape and with the approval of Wizarding Protective Services. We wish you a Happy Christmas to your new family.
Millicent Magnold
Minister of Magic
"Harry, will you come here, please?"
The little boy nervously approached Narcissa and was promptly pulled into her lap.
"Come Draco," she said, patting her other knee and the boy dashed over, sitting on her knee without hesitation. Narcissa noted the weight difference and hoped with time, that would dissipate.
She held the document for the boys to see.
"Do you know what this means?"
They both stared at the paper in confusion.
"That's my name!" Harry said, pointing to the word Harry.
"That's my name!" Draco said, pointing to Malfoy.
"That says 'Harry James Potter… Mal…"
"Malfoy!" Draco said happily.
"That's right. This is an acknowledgement of adoption. Do you know what adoption means?"
Two heads shook.
"That means we adopted you, Harry and you get to live here with us as our son and Draco's brother!"
"I get to live here?"
"I get a brother?"
"That's right. We will love, take care of and make sure you are happy and healthy. You won't have to go back to your aunt and uncle's house again," Narcissa told the boys who were both smiling.
"Does that mean I get to sleep in that same bed and eat all the times I'm hungry and play with toys?"
"Of course!"
"Wicked!"
"Come on, Harry, let's go tell Dobby!" Draco grabbed his new brother's hand and ran off with him.
"This is the best Christmas ever!" Harry shouted as he did his best to keep up.
"I agree," Narcissa told her husband with a kiss on his lips. "This is his first best Christmas ever!"
"You're already plotting, dearest," Lucius said, smiling.
"Yes, I am. We have a lot to do now, he'll need tutoring and clothes and glasses and…"
"That can all wait until after boxing day? For tonight and tomorrow, let's let him enjoy his 'first best Christmas ever'," Lucius said, taking out the letter he had found stuck to the fireplace of 4 Privet Drive with a wad of gum and smiling fondly, enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve with his family.