Chapter Four
Rose smiled happily as she made her way down to dinner; in truth, she had been feeling almost high since Harry had appeared, and each day she awoke to a letter from him, left her sobbing happily as she read each word.
For weeks she had endured constant badgering about Harry and how was it possible that her baby brother had returned when all thought him lost, but she didn't care a wit, her brother was back, and that was all that mattered as far as she was concerned.
"Good morning, my humble subjects!" Rose called happily as she took her seat at the Gryffindor table, "You may all bask in my presence, now!"
The table echoed with laughter as most of Gryffindor was used to Rose's antics by now; she had been blessed to receive her mother's good lucks and brains and her father's proclivity for pranks and a bit of rule-breaking here and there.
Rose had been injured during the last Quidditch game when a bludger was sent her way by way of one of the Slytherin's beaters; the result had been that Rose had fallen a dozen feet and broken two of her ribs and her left leg and had to spend the weekend in the Hospital Wing.
"Our queen has returned to us!" Fred Weasley cried dramatically,
"All hail the Queen!" George Weasley finished, making Rose laugh at her two best friends and co-conspirators in creating chaos and pranking the ever-loving daylights out of the school; they had met aboard the train in the first year and been thick as thieves ever since, to the anxiety and stress of the teaching staff. The table echoed with cries of "All hail the Queen" before laughter broke out in full; even Professor McGonagall at the head table looked as though she was fighting not to laugh.
As the laughter finally began to die down, Rose looked over at the two people who were most in her thoughts, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry had told Rose how much those two meant to him, and since he had been sent to a new world away from his first friends, Rose was determined to rectify this situation by giving them back to Harry.
"Hey, your name's Hermione, isn't it?" Rose asked, making the girl jump slightly as the supposed 'Queen of Gryffindor' took notice of her.
"Y-yes, can I help you?"
"Indeed you can!" Rose said with a grin, "My little brother will be attending school after the holidays and could use a friend, he doesn't know much about our world, and due to the life he's led, I know he's very lonely, even if he doesn't say so. So, would you be willing to look after him for me? I think you two would make fast friends."
Hermione's eyes widened almost comically before tears appeared in them, making Rose smile sadly; she knew how hard the girl had had it these last few weeks, with everyone calling her a "Know-it-all" for no other reason than she was more intelligent than most in her year. The way Rose saw it, she was simply helping the girl make a friend while at the same time giving Harry back his.
Hermione quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve before answering, a huge smile gracing her features,
"I would love to!" She cried enthusiastically before a blush took over her face, and she regained her composure, "I…. I mean, it would be my pleasure to get to know your little brother."
"Great!" Rose said happily, "I'll introduce the two of you next term. I'm sure he'll be excited to make a friend. In the meantime, how about you write him a letter or two. I'm sure he'd appreciate it."
Rose turned back to her breakfast, surreptitiously watching the Muggle-born from the corner of her eye and fighting not to smile at how happy Hermione suddenly seemed at the prospect of a new friend at Hogwarts.
"One down," Rose thought happily as she turned her gaze toward the red-head little brother of her two best friends, "Now just have to figure out how to snag the last one. Perhaps I can get mum and dad to invite the Weasleys over for Christmas. That might work!"
As Rose silently conspired, a grin appeared on her face that all those who knew her knew meant trouble was close at hand.
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Lily smiled as she watched her son asleep in his bed; almost every night for the past two months, she had come and sat beside Harry, doing nothing more than watching him sleep.
For so long, she had felt like someone had ripped out her heart, leaving nothing behind but a hole that nothing seemed able to fill; over the years, her family had helped immeasurably until, at last, the pain seemed like a dull throb, and yet it was still there.
But then, Lily had been blessed with a miracle, and her son, her baby, had been returned to her, and finally, the pain was completely gone; she didn't know if she should thank God or Fate or even Mother Magic, and to be honest, she didn't care, all that mattered was that her sweet baby had been given back and she would die before she ever let him go again.
Gently, Lily ran her hand over Harry's head, making the boy smile in his sleep and lean into her touch; Lily felt unshed tears form in her eyes as she ran her hand across her son's head a second time, and then a third.
As Lily pulled her hand away, Harry suddenly began to twitch and moan, making Lily pale slightly. Harry had been plagued by nightmares since moving into Potter Manor, and each time, Lily felt as though her heart was breaking all over again as she watched what the years of abuse had done to her child.
"Please…..I'll be good….Please don't leave me….." Harry moaned pathetically as he began to twitch more violently, "Please! Don't go!"
"Harry! Sweetie, wake up!" Lily called as she gently touched his shoulder and tried to shake him awake, "It's okay! Mummy's here!"
Harry's eyes shot open, and it took him a moment to remember where he was as he took in his surroundings with a terrified expression; seeing Lily, Harry launched himself into her arms and began to shake as he sobbed into her chest as Lily gently rubbed his back.
"I dreamed you left me behind!" Harry cried, "That I was all alone again!"
"Shh, it's alright, Harry," Lily said soothingly, "I'm here, and I will never leave you this time. None of us will!"
"You promise?" Harry asked piteously,
"I promise, Harry," Lily said in a soft voice,
"As do I, champ," a deep voice said a moment later, making the pair turn to look as James strode into the room and joined in the hug, "We're not going anywhere this time, Harry."
They stayed there until Harry fell back asleep, and Lily gently lowered him back to his bed; both gave Harry a quick kiss before making their way back to their own bedroom,
"I've been thinking," James said as Lily curled up next to him, "Perhaps Harry needs more help than we can offer."
"What do you mean?" Lily asked, propping herself up on one elbow to look at her husband,
"I mean that Harry is a broken little boy, and as much as we might not want to admit it, he needs help. The fact that he hasn't turned into a sociopath or something after all he's suffered is nothing short of astounding, to be honest."
"So what do we do?" Lily asked, hating the truth she heard in James' words,
"I saw we make an appointment at St. Mungo's and have Harry checked out by a mind healer. They are more qualified to help our little boy than we are."
"Are you sure about this?" Lily asked in a scared voice, "What if they try to take him away?"
"Then they die," James said simply, making Lily shiver, "I won't lose him again, but Harry needs to talk to someone before he starts at Hogwarts."
"…. Ok," Lily said at last, "I'll Floo St. Mungo's in the morning and schedule an appointment for him."
It's going to be okay, Lily," James said as he wrapped his arm around her and held her tight, "You'll see. Everything will be fine."
"I hope so, James," Lily whispered, "If I lose him again, I won't survive it."
James said nothing, simply holding his wife tighter as the two fell asleep in each other's arms.
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A few days later found a nervous Harry sitting next to his parents as they waited to be seen by the mind-healer; as the minutes ticked by, and still, no one came out of the door, Harry began to grow nervous and started to shuffle in his seat unconsciously until James placed a calming hand on the boy's shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, Harry," James said in a soothing voice, "I promise nothing bad is going to happen, okay?"
"Okay, dad," Harry replied softly, making James smile down at him; James loved hearing Harry call him 'dad' and doubted he would ever get tired of it.
Suddenly, the door opened, and an elderly witch with dark auburn hair, wearing white robes, came out and approached the trio,
"Good morning, my name is Healer Harriet Stowe," the witch said warmly, "Are you the Potter family?"
"We are," Lily replied back as she shook Harriet's offered hand, "I'm Lily. This is James, and this little guy is Harry."
"Hello," Harry said shyly as he took the witch's hand and shook it,
"Good morning, Harry," Harriet said with a warm smile, "Would you like to join me so we can talk for a little while?"
"Okay…." Harry replied as he nervously rose from his seat and followed Healer Stowe into her office; a moment later, the door closed behind the pair, leaving James and Lily alone to worry and wonder at what might happen.
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Author's Note:
I apologize for the short chapter, but I hope this chapter soothes you until I have more time on my hands to write more.