Chapter 2: Meetings and Playtime

Mrs. Petunia Dursley opened the door on November 1st to put out the milk bottles on her clean doorstep. The first thing she noticed when she bent down was that the earth surrounding all of her prised rose bushes was a nasty black sludge. She gasped in a harsh breath and straightened up, running in her carpet slippers toward the garden. There were no more rose bushes, no more plants of any kind in fact. Her garden was now home to a host of creatures that could only be found in what could be described as a bog or a marsh.

Before her feet could sink into the muck, she ran back inside and slammed the door. Picking up the telephone, she began to call every contractor she knew, trying to see if the bog could be dug up and fresh earth put down. While she was busy doing that, a long, skinny arm dug down deep into the mess and pulled out a grainy black substance. If you knew where to look for it, you could easily find the remnants of a banshee tear, especially if you knew the symptoms of one being planted. Words flowed through the mind of the hand's owner, and the grim mouth smiled briefly. The boy was safe. "Poor Miralene," thought the owner of the thin arm, "This must not have been easy for you." Black boots trod the grass down as the figure left the bog. The grass sprung up immediately after the footsteps were taken, as though there never was anyone there in the first place. Only the tiniest of pops was heard to herald the figure's departure.

Hannette, the olive skinned woman, sat in a rocking chair near the crib of one Harry Potter. Her fingers moved busily as she knitted with a soft blue yarn. What was she, you might ask? Well, surprisingly, she wasn't a vela or a banshee, though you could tell that from her looks. She was… Different, and had powers similar to her sister. The small clock in the corner chimed 8 times and the little boy stirred in his crib. Hannette put down her knitting and stood to bend over him.

"Good morning deary," she cooed softly. "It's time to get up now and have breakfast."

"Mumma?"Harry asked, looking around at the strange room.

"Your mummy's not here sweeting," said Hannette sadly. "She had to go to heaven. One day when you're very old you can see her again."

"Dada?" Harry asked, tears trickling down his face.

"Your daddy's in heaven too deary," Hannette said sadly. "I am your new auntie Hannette."

The faerie on Harry's headboard chimed a little tinkling note, and Harry calmed down a little. He stood up and tried to climb out of his crib, but Hannette just stood and lifted him out in one smooth motion. She hugged the warm child to herself and brought him into the ensuite bathroom. He pulled his pants down himself and Hannette settled him on the training pottie. A few seconds later and Hannette smiled proudly at Harry.

"You're such a big boy Harry my dove," she praised him as she got him all dressed in a new nappy and clothes. "Your new mummy and other auntie will be so proud of you."

Miralene was making Harry's breakfast ready, while Alice cooked for herself and Hannette. Alice moved from the stove briefly to receive an envelope from an owl, looked at the handwriting and after tossing it to Miralene went back to flipping eggs. Miralene caught the letter in her teeth as she sliced bananas into Harry's oatmeal. She knew what was inside it, and she would deal with it later.

As she heard the pattering footsteps of a child down the stairs, she stuck the envelope into her apron pocket. Hannette hoisted Harry into his highchair and Miralene bent over him a little, but far enough she hoped he wouldn't throw his breakfast at her. She smiled sweetly at Harry, revealing her yellow misshapen teeth.

"Good morning Harry my sparrow," she said to him. "I'm your new mummy. Please don't be scared of me. I'll never scream at you."

Harry waved shyly, flinching at her unflattering visage. He dug a spoon into his oatmeal and began to eat messily. Alice tossed a wet rag to Miralene, which she used to help Harry clean his face and hands with when he was done. It didn't take him long to finish, and he did in fact throw a slice of banana at her which slid down her forehead.

Everyone in the room laughed, including her. The harsh sound wasn't great on the ears but Harry was too busy giggling at the yellow smear on her face to notice. After everyone had eaten and cleaned up, Miralene let Harry loose in the house and he began to explore it.

With the help of the faeries, which he tried to catch, he was able to make it to the sitting room without hitting anything. He plopped his little bum in front of a big wooden box and slapped it with his little hands. He tried to pry the lid open, but Miralene did that for him before he could hurt himself.

"You smart little boy, Harry," she said, ruffling his hair. "You found the toy box! Let's see what's in here shall we?"

It didn't take long to see what was in there, for one of the toys was very eager to get out of the box. Alice stood a ways back, twiddling her wand to make sure the magical toy was doing what it was supposed to do. A big plush wolf jumped out of the box and growled, head up as it circled Harry.

"Mooey?" Harry asked.

Alice twiddled her wand again, programing the toy to that trigger word. The wolf ran over and thrust its head under Harry's hand. Moony howled, pawing at the air. Harry hugged Moony to him and the wolf went still. When Harry let go to dive into the toy box again, Moony prowled around it, barking occasionally.

"How did you get a picture of Remus' wolf form Hannette?" Miralene asked.

"Oh I have my ways," said Hannette, playfully rescuing Harry from a toy snake who was chasing him across the floor.

Miralene picked up Harry and tickled his tummy. The boy squealed and giggled, wriggling to be put down. The banshee obliged, sticking him right in the middle of the toy box. A purple toy bus almost ran Harry over, opening and closing its doors. It was chased away by a toy goblin who almost stepped on Harry's legs. A toy stag and doe sandwiched Harry and he rolled around in his box of toys, till Moony jumped on his hind legs and barked in Harry's ear.

"Mooey!" Harry yelled with surprise, literally jumping toward the ceiling in fright.

"Alice!" was heard from 2 throats as a cushion of air stopped Harry's fall.

Moony licked Harry with a rough cloth tongue when he returned to the ground. Harry yawned and pulled Moony toward him.

"Where Mooey?" he asked sleepily. "Want Mooey."

"He'll be here soon," Allice said with truth in her words. "We would never keep him from you."

Alice picked up Harry and Moony, tucking them up on the couch for a little nap. She smiled at Harry, who's eyes were almost closed. Auntie loves you Harry.

Dear Mira,

Fabulous trick you played on the muggles there. I applaud your forethought to bury the tear. Next time you might want to tuck it away for later use.

K

A/N Hello beautiful souls. I'm sooo happy for all the follows and favorites. Let me know what or whom you'd like to see in the story. Rosebloom.