Harry Potter Morgendorffer Part Seven
Daria is the creation of Glenn Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers, as are its characters and situations. I don't own them, and neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this story. I am writing for my own amusement and for ego gratification.
What if Minerva McGonagall had been able to persuade Professor McGonagall to place baby Harry Potter with different blood relatives instead of with Petunia Dursley and her husband: the Morgendorffers from MTV's Daria?
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Helen realized that she'd probably have other blood tests with Baby Harry and Professor McGonagall present, but decided that she wanted her own evidence, evidence that she'd gathered and collated herself, and not have to rely on the word of Minerva McGonagall or Della Braden.
A short time later, she found herself entering a block of buildings on Congress that must have gone up some time in the previous century or right before the First World War. Helen had often seen those buildings and wondered why they were still standing there. They didn't belong to the city or state, they didn't seem to be museums, and she didn't remember seeing any of them ever open. Nevertheless, she and Mrs. Powter entered the door of a four story Victorian building in the middle of the block and went inside.
Again, there was a receptionist's desk and a door, behind which there was another receptionist's desk and another door. The second desk had a pair of goblins behind it. She stepped through the second door and found herself in a bank lobby; very old fashioned compared to the newer human-run bank lobbies up and down Congress Street, but definitely a bank lobby. The cashiers and bankers were also goblins. One goblin was an anomaly. Lots of goblins was—disorienting.
Mrs. Powter quickly managed to find a goblin to perform a paternity test and they were ushered into a small office. Helen wondered how they could fit in what seemed to be such huge interior space into what were small exteriors.
"This will require a little bit of blood," said Speedicutt, picking up a dagger.
"Is that dagger clean?" asked Helen. "I do worry about HIV."
"Understandable," said Speedicutt. "We do clean these blades after use, and then let them sit in sunlight for a time. It kills the HIV retrovirus. Could you extend your right hand, please?"
"Let's do this," said Helen, trying to make a game face. She extended her right hand and let the goblin take it in his as he picked up the blade on his desk.
She swallowed and let the goblin make a small, thin cut on her index finger. That blade was sharp; she scarcely felt any pain.
The goblin murmured something she didn't catch, then slipped a blank parchment under her hand.
"Now let a few blood droplets fall on the page," he said. A few drops of Helen's blood fell onto the parchment and names and lines began to form.
Helen stared at the parchment, fascinated. Curious, she first looked at the top of the document, not at the bottom, which was just about where she should be. Aside from one family thread marked Barksdale and another for her mother's family, there were not only half-familiar names but others that she didn't. Who were the Rosiers, she wondered. And what was so special about the Flint family? The lower part of the parchment not only listed her immediate family, but also cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other grandparents, as well as annotations as to whether they were witches, wizards, squibs, or No-Majs. She could probably spend hours looking at it.
Focus, Helen, she told herself. It was time to put Professor McGonagall's claim about Baby Harry to the test. She found her father's name and his descendants. Four, not three daughters like she'd previously assumed. And just like Ms. McGonagall had said, her oldest sister had a daughter. That daughter had two daughters, and both of them had borne sons. The younger daughter, Lily, had had a son with a James Potter and his name was Harry.
She handed the parchment to Mrs. Powter. Mrs. Powter studied the document carefully, her eyebrows raising as she her eyes reached the bottom of the document.
"Mrs. Morgendorffer, I apologize for not believing it, but you are indeed related to THE Harry Potter," she said.
"I don't know about granting custody for Harry, but you have a very strong claim based on ties of blood," she continued.
Mrs. Powter resumed studying the document. Helen could tell that she was now studying the top of the page, which Helen had only cursorily examined. "Mrs. Morgendorffer, you may not believe this, but your mother's family is descended from one of North America's more distinguished magical families," she said.
"Really?" said Helen.
"You're descended from the Heaths," said Mrs. Powter. "The Heaths were one of the oldest Anglo-American wizarding families in North America. The first Heaths arrived in New England in 1640 and continued to play a prominent role in North America's magical community until the male lines finally died out in the 1870's. Many of North America's remaining old magical families boast of Heath ancestry."
"Does this help or hurt my case?" asked Helen.
"I think it would help," said Mrs. Powter.
Helen thanked the goblin and gave him a couple of business cards. The goblin read one and then lit up in a predatory smile, saying "We'll be getting in touch with you, Mrs. Morgendorffer."
After leaving the bank, Helen called the hotel where Ms. McGonagall and Ms. Braden were staying and asked them to mind Baby Harry that evening. When she got home that afternoon, Helen brought take-out for herself, Jake, and Daria. She and Jake needed time and space to talk.
"I've been running around all over downtown Austin doing research, Jakey," she said.
"That's great, Helen!" said Jake.
"I don't know for sure, but it looks like we could adopt little Harry. I had blood tests done and I discovered that I do have a great-nephew named Harry Potter. if this really IS my grand-nephew, we can adopt him.."
"Great!" said Jake. "We could have a boy as well as a girl around the place!"
"What do you think, kiddo?" he said to Daria.
Daria looked back at him with considerably less enthusiasm.
"Maybe," she said.
"Do you want to keep going, Jakey?" said Helen.
"Yes," said Jake.