I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Extended Family
Chapter 124 – Looking Cool
Takes place not too long after chapter 103.
"I am so sorry," Nathan repeated.
"Nate, it's fine," Harry said, grinning in Nathan's direction. "I know it was an accident."
It was the end of practice and things had ended in rather spectacular fashion. Harry had come out of a dive after harassing the Chasers and straightened, sitting up. Which led to him taking a Bludger directly to the face. The Bludgers they used in practice were a bit slower and not as hard as the regular Bludgers but they were still fast enough and more than hard enough to hit hard and create a suitable impact. Harry had thankfully only been above the ground by a few feet and landed on his backside after being knocked off his broom.
His nose broke, which was easily fixed. Katie was healing the rest of the blunt-force trauma away. Unfortunately, there was a casualty that could not be healed so easily or completely.
"Hate to say it, but I think it's broken for good," Tina said sadly, looking down at the broken remains of Harry's glasses. "Repairing charms aren't really doing more than barely holding them together."
"They are pretty old," Harry said. "I guess it's time."
"Oh in that case, you should see my cousin," Nathan said brightly. "He's an optometrist and has his own office."
"Ooh, magical or Muggle?" Katie asked.
"He does both actually! Most of his patients are magical but he sees Muggle friends and family. I can get you his address in a bit."
"I haven't had my eyes checked in a while," Harry said. "Sure, sounds good to me."
"It's on me," Nathan said.
"I can afford it," Harry snorted before wincing a little, touching his nose.
"I really do feel bad, and I am offering for more selfish reasons," Nathan said. He looked askance to the side at a growling Dahlia floating in the air and still waving a Beater's bat at him. "As in completely self-preservation ones."
After the team had landed to check up on Harry and to make sure he was okay, Dahlia who had been sitting and watching with Katie, had scooped up an errant bat and toddled over to Nathan and attacked him out of a desire for revenge. Nathan had gotten a surprisingly solid whack across the rear that made him whoop from pain and surprise and he had fled from the angry toddler who chased after him with remarkable determination. Shelia had rescued him from further harm, laughing her arse off, and had Dahlia dangling in midair next to her.
"Why does she still have the bat?" Miranda sighed.
"You can try taking it from her," Shelia suggested.
"Dally, sweetie, give me the bat," Tanya said.
"No!" Dahlia cried, flailing with it.
"Dally, everything's okay and you defended your Daddy's honor very well," Tanya said, fighting her own laughter. "Come on, be a good girl and give me the bat before you hit someone else with it."
Harry chuckled and got up with Katie's help and walked over to Dahlia, taking the bat from her easily and handing it to Tanya before holding his daughter. "It's okay Dally, it was an accident and Daddy's okay. I just don't see very well without my glasses and we'll have to get new ones for me." He squinted a little. "We should probably get your eyes checked too, just in case."
"We'll make it a family thing," Katie smiled, giggling when Dahlia squinted with her father.
Dahlia kissed Harry between the eyes. "All better?"
He kissed her back and hugged her close. "All better! Dally kisses are the best healing."
"Stop being so adorable," Flora smiled. "I don't want any babies of my own yet but gosh she's making me consider it."
"Hey, you've been around my sprogs, why don't they tick your clock?" Shelia asked, aggrieved.
"Yeah, same," Tanya said indignantly.
"Dahlia's like, extra concentrated adorable," Flora said. "Extra strength."
"Okay fair, mine are giant pains in my arse," Shelia laughed. "I love them but it's true."
Katie took the card that Nathan offered with a big smile. "Dally, it was an accident and Uncle Nate is very sorry. I know you were protecting Daddy but will you be a good girl and apologize?"
"No!"
"Dally," Harry clucked gently. "Please?"
Dahlia pouted and looked at Nathan. "'m sorry," she said grudgingly.
"We're fine, no problem," Nathan smiled. "Though I will admit, I now have a new fear of something very small and very angry chasing me with a bat."
"Hey you learned something today," Sam smiled. "I also learned that that is a legitimate fear of mine too."
-0-
"Ooh, I know that shiner," Oliver whistled. He let go of a squirming Hadley that toddled over to Harry. "Bludger to the face?"
"Bludger to the face," Harry confirmed, scooping up Hadley that went straight to him and held her arms up. "It was a beautiful shot. Too bad my face was in the way." He smiled when Hadley kissed him messily on the face. "I feel better! Thank you, Hadley." He kissed her back and held her close as she snuggled closer.
"Your glasses are very crooked," Alicia observed, smiling at the scene.
"They're being held up by copious charms," Harry laughed. "We're going to the optometrist tomorrow to get a check and get some new glasses."
"Oh nice. Let me know how it goes. I've been meaning to get checked too," Oliver said. He smiled when Dahlia started climbing up Harry's leg. "She's being extra clingy too?"
"She was there for the hit, poor thing," Harry said, twisting a bit and scooping her up in his other arm. "And she decided to take revenge for me, which is equal parts heart-warming and worrying."
"What did she do?" Alicia asked eagerly.
"Grabbed a bat and went after Nate," Katie laughed. "Which really shouldn't be that funny but it kinda was. And oddly adorable in an incredibly concerning way."
"What a good girl," Alicia praised. "Meeting violence with violence is sometimes applicable and necessary."
"Don't teach them that," Katie said.
"Apparently I didn't have to," Alicia replied smugly.
The Floo roared and George came out of it carrying Hailey with Angelina following close behind. "Heeeey I know that injury," George said as he walked over. "Bludger to the face?"
"Sure was," Harry confirmed. "Aww what's wrong Hailey?"
"She just wants to be with her Papa," George chuckled. "Looks like your hands are full though, literally. Here, sit." He waited for Harry to sit before settling Hailey on top of him. "There we go."
Angelina smiled as the little girls cuddled against Harry. "Bun snuggling heals many wounds."
"It sure does," Harry said, voice muffled by love and the girls.
-0-
"Wow, nice looking place," Harry said.
The Potters had apparated to Diagon Alley and then left through the Leaky Cauldron to walk into London. Nathan's cousin's office was actually close to the Cauldron and they reached it easily after a short walk. The office was a cozy little place with large windows and racks of glasses against the walls. It was brightly lit and very clean, and a woman greeted them as they entered.
"Hello there," she said with a bright smile.
"Hello," Katie smiled back. "We have appointments? The Potters."
"Oh yes! Welcome to M-Eyes," the woman said warmly. "M for magical to the ones that know of course. My name is Amanda, I run the front of the office. Dr. Chiang is seeing a patient right now and will be with you soon."
"Do you get a lot of walk-ins?" Katie asked.
"Only from people that know about us. We have a charm similar to the Cauldron where Muggles don't notice us so less likely for accidental walk-in patients," Amanda said. "If you've been a patient here and need to walk-in, we're usually able to accommodate. All the Muggles we see are people with magical family members or friends."
Amanda smiled at Dahlia who was being held by Harry. "And you must be Dahlia! I'm very jealous of you. I've tried to hit Nathan many times and can never quite get to do it." She grinned as Harry and Katie laughed. "Dr Chiang is my older brother and Nate's our cousin. He told us to be extra nice to you three and warned me what would happen if we weren't."
"We're not that bad," Harry laughed. "Are we?"
"Not undeservedly," Katie laughed.
Katie did their paperwork since Harry's glasses were still precariously perched and Dahlia refused to be put down. When they finished, a man dressed in a white coat walked a person in robes out and they chatted and the other person left after paying. "Hello," the man greeted. "Nice to meet you. Dr Chiang, but you can call me Greg."
"Pleased to meet you," Katie said and they shook hands. "Are you a Muggle doctor too?"
"Oh yes. After I finished Hogwarts and finished Healer training, I went to optometry school," Greg smiled. "Did a lot of schooling but I was curious to see eye health and treatment from both ends. Just in case I needed to do it mundanely as well. I think I got the best of both worlds, with a lot of work of course."
"That's so interesting. I'd love to chat more with you later," Katie said.
"Sure thing! Who would like to go first?"
"I'll take Dahlia back with me and we can go first," Harry said. "You can do mine first so she can see it and won't get afraid."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Greg said comfortably. He smiled at Dahlia. "Now I won't do anything to hurt your father, I promise."
"I thought he'd hide that little story," Harry laughed.
"Oh he knew once he told Amanda, the story would be family knowledge within minutes," Greg chuckled richly. "And honestly, it's really funny." He led Harry and Dahlia back to a nice exam room. After Harry sat in the large chair, he did a few specialized diagnostic charms while chatting with Harry, asking simple questions and inspecting his old glasses. He shone a light from his wand into Harry's eyes and looked at them closely.
Then he flicked his wand and a large phoropter floated in front of Harry's eyes and he controlled it with flicks of his wand, changing the lenses and asking Harry to read letters on the far wall. After some testing, he nodded, content. "Alright. Got your refraction done and not a lot of change from your last prescription so that'll be good. You shouldn't have much trouble adjusting."
"Whew, that's a relief," Harry said. "And no damage from the Bludger?"
"Nope, not a bit. You got some nice healing right after, right? Then you don't have anything to worry about. No retinal damage, shouldn't develop a rosette cataract but we'll have to watch for that in the future, but everything looks great. Now, it's little Miss Dahlia's turn."
Having seen Harry go through everything, Dahlia was calm throughout the exam. She sat comfortably on Harry's lap, holding his arms around her. She did not have a firm grasp on her letters yet but could easily identify shapes and went through the refraction using those instead.
"I have a question, how come the majority of magical kids don't seem to need glasses? I was usually the only one," Harry asked.
"Well from what I've gathered, a child's magic generally helps them stay fairly fit and stable. A person's refractive error mostly comes from the shape of the eye. How long the back is, the strength of the inner natural lens, and the shape of the cornea. As a magical child grows, their magic helps them a lot. If a child needs glasses, their magic might be too strong and it either over or under corrects their eyes. Or if they have an injury or a processing disorder."
"Ah, that makes sense," Harry says.
"Eventually, just like Muggles, a magical's magic will lessen somewhat in physical things and that's why they'll need glasses to see clearly. All perfectly normal. Have you noticed anything that concerns you with Dahlia?"
"No. I noticed she squints a lot but at her physical at St Mungo's, the pediatric healer determined she didn't have a refractive error and she squints when I do."
"Adorable," Greg smiled. "And they're right. She's not having any need for a prescription."
"That's great news," Harry smiled. "Right Dally?"
Dahlia shook her head and pouted. "Want glasses."
"Why?" Harry asked, concerned. He melted when she pointed at him. "Aw, you want to be like me? Trust me, you don't want glasses," he smiled when she nodded and burrowed her face into him.
"Maybe we can get her a pair without any power in the lenses," Greg smiled. "Something similar to the ones you pick out. No charge."
"I'll pay," Harry laughed. "You really don't have to give us any special treatment."
"Of course we do. You're Nathan's teammates and he did break your last pair," Greg said warmly. "Plus it amuses me greatly to hear what Dahlia did."
When Katie went back for her exam, Harry wandered around the main floor, looking at the frames available. Amanda came to help him, holding a tray to put the ones he was interested in. They walked about until Katie came out and she did not need any glasses to see well.
"Oh, really?" Katie laughed when she saw a pair that Harry was trying on.
"What, you don't like them?" Harry asked, smiling from behind cat's-eyes frames colored purple with gold stars along the side. "I thought they'd fit Portree."
"You can get them to wear only when you're playing," Katie said, shaking her head.
Harry chuckled. "I think I'll stick with what I usually go for," he said, showing her simple round frames made of metal.
"They really suit you," Katie smiled. "Nice and handsome."
"These then? Wonderful." Amanda sat at a desk and took the frames and then summoned a set of lenses from a cabinet. She tapped the desk and then had Harry put the frames on to measure and adjust them.
"How long does it take to make them?" Katie asked.
"Simple prescriptions like this only takes minutes," Amanda said. "Charms will cut and shape the lenses to fit the frames. Complicated ones can take longer but this won't take long at all. We also charm them to be extra impact-resistant and durable while enchanting the lenses to be scratch-resistant at base. Some professions need some special addons that we can do if you want or need, like them turning dark in the sun for protection."
"Ooh, I like that," Harry said. He and Katie and Dahlia watched with great interest as Amanda incanted and tapped on the lenses and the frames, watching her measure and cut the lenses down to fit the frame. The glasses undulated on the desk, magic flowing over them and they shifted and changed slowly.
"There we are, all done!" Amanda handed the glasses to Harry. "Try them out."
Harry smiled when he put the glasses on, the world sharpening and becoming clear to him. "Amazing! I see great! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome!" Amanda smiled from ear to ear. "And Greg already told me so here is a pair without any power in the lenses." She tapped them with her wand and they shrunk and she gently put them on Dahlia who beamed happily. "Gosh, what a cutie."
Harry grinned, seeing how happy Dahlia looked. "Say, so weird request. Could I possibly get two more of those? I'll pay of course. It's for my goddaughters, I have a feeling that if they see Dahlia with them, we might have some trouble if they don't get some."
"Oooh good idea," Katie said. "And I agree."
"Also, I have a funny idea that I would absolutely pay for," Harry said. He explained it.
"Sure, to all of that and I'd love a picture of both the girls and the other idea. If they're cute enough to do an advertisement, I'd be in your debt," Amanda laughed.
-0-
"You are entirely too cute in glasses," Alicia said, kissing her daughter who wore her glasses happily. "Goodness me, my heart."
"Yeah seriously," Angelina said, smiling at Hailey wearing her own and smiling widely too. "The place is good?"
"Really good," Harry said. "Super nice, fast, didn't try to upsell or anything. Definitely going to see them for yearly exams."
"Might as well go too then," Angelina said. "Be nice to not have to worry about it. How much were the glasses?"
"For the girls? Nothing. I bought mine and another one and it made up for these."
"You got a second pair?" Alicia asked.
"Sort of." Harry whistled and smiled when Hedwig came flying down, landing on his arm.
"Is she wearing sunglasses?!" Angelina laughed.
Hedwig puffed her chest out and struck a devastatingly cool pose, wearing a pair of stylish black sunglasses. She tilted her head slightly, showing them off.
"I wanted to get her something for flying in the sun when she needs them," Harry smiled. He rubbed his head against Hedwig who nuzzled him happily and lovingly. "They're shrunk down to fit her, charms to stay up since she doesn't have external ears like us, and if they fall off, they'll stick to her harness."
"Are those Ray bans?" Hermione asked, impressed.
"Yup! Greg has a bunch of them for sale and when I saw them, I knew I wanted to get a pair for Hedwig." Harry said.
"She looks so good in them," Katie said. "I wish I looked that good in sunglasses."
"And I got transitions that also turn on a charm," Harry said. He tapped his frames and his lenses darkened. "Neat, huh?"
"Very neat," Alicia said. She started laughing. "My goodness, it's like you and Hedwig dressed up to match!"
"We're cool like that," Harry said and Hedwig cheeped loudly in agreement.
"Yeah you are," Katie smiled.
-0-0-0-
AshokaTheGreat - Thank you. It was fun to think of real world applications of transfiguration like that and you know I always try to work on funny dialogue. Glad you are still enjoying.
Ghostwriter - Thank you very much.
odonnellzoo99 - Yeah. She absolutely would put him through goalposts too, and not through the hoop. At least it is loving embarassment. Allegedly.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Glad I could help provide a pick up. Artorious is a fun character even if he only showed up twice. Thank you.
TheSphynx - I've been playing with a short mini series with that idea in this setting but I'm sort of still embroiled in my other main project right now. We will see.
alix33 - Leslie will get there with such excellent teachers.
poka - Hive mind bunnies. It's nice to see people get to know Harry from outside other views.
albinlundholm3 - Thank you. I'm sure more of those style chapters will appear here and there as I get ideas for them. Glad you enjoyed.
Urgwaew - Good to see you. Dingus and Dongus made me laugh when I thought of it. No, Oliver still calls Harry, Sir Harry in honor of that deal they struck way back in Harry's third year, when Oliver promised to call Harry that if they won the Championship since Harry wanted to be a knight. My best to you.