Chapter 2
Alice and Frank arrived in the front entry hall of Longbottom Manor to be met by one of the Longbottom house-elves as soon as they arrived. "Welcome home Master Frank, Mistress Alice how may Dappy serve you today?"
"First you can fix Harry here something to eat," Alice said. "Then you can prepare a bath and put him in Neville's room for tonight. We'll decide on other things tomorrow."
"This is Harry Potter, and he will be living with us from now, so you and the other house-elves are to treat him like family. Is that understood?" added Frank.
"Oh yes Master Frank," Dappy squealed in his high-pitched voice
"Now where is Neville?" asked Alice suddenly anxious to see her son.
"He is in the playroom, Mistress Alice," said Dappy. "Along with Mrs. Longbottom."
"Very well you can bring enough food for all of us there."
"Yes, Mistress Alice," said Dappy.
"Come along Harry," said Alice, taking Harry's hand and leading him to the room that had been set aside as a playroom for Neville and now it was Harry's as well. They entered the playroom to find Augusta Longbottom Frank's mother holding Neville on her lap and reading him a story. Neville was half asleep until he saw his mother and father enter the room.
"Mommy? Daddy? Arry?" this last was said as more of a question rather than a stated fact.
Neville had not been told that Harry might be coming to live with them for they hadn't been sure they could pull it off and get Dumbledore to agree to let them raise the Boy Who Lived, and they hadn't wanted to disappoint Neville if they hadn't been able to get the headmaster to agree.
"Yes, Harry," said Alice as she pushed Harry gently forward.
"Nev?" asked Harry as if he couldn't quite believe it. "Nev! Nev! Nev!
"Arry? Arry! Arry!" Neville chanted excitedly running as fast as his short legs could carry him.
Harry did the same and they met in the middle of the room and hugged each other.
Augusta smiled as she watched the two boys hug each other. Neville had been quite depressed over the last several months for he and Harry had been quite close and Neville was too young to understand that Lily and James had died, and that Harry was now living with his Muggle relatives and outside the wizarding world.
"Well, I see you managed to get Dumbledore to agree," said Augusta with a smile as she watched the two boys play. None of them had seen Neville this happy in months.
"It wasn't all that difficult once we had showed him our memories of the one time, we met Lily's sister and her husband. Seeing that was enough to get the headmaster to go check up on Harry and we convinced him to let us come along. Once he saw what the Dursleys were doing to him he agreed to let us have custody of him."
"And what exactly—" Augusta began.
Frank shook his head and looked over at where Harry and Neville were happily chatting and playing. "We'll talk later. After we feed these two and put them to bed."
Augusta picked up on the subtle hint immediately and nodded. It must be very bad indeed if Frank and Alice didn't want to talk about it in front of the boys.
Suddenly there was a pop and Dappy appeared carrying a tray that appeared almost too heavy for him to lift. The house-elf put it on the table in one corner of the room with what looked like hardly any effect at all.
"Will that be all masters?"
"Yes, Dappy thank you," said Alice.
The house-elf bowed then popped out of sight.
"Neville, Harry, time to eat," called Alice.
Both boys looked then got to their feet and raced to the table. "Food?" both boys questioned at the same time.
All three adults smiled at this and then Frank and Alice helped both boys into the adult sized chairs then used a little magic to raise the chairs a foot or so the boys could reach the table.
Both boys dug into the food with abandon using a spoon and fork with relative ease although both their cups of pumpkin juice had lids on them with little sprouts to drink from so they wouldn't spill.
Harry finished far earlier then Neville and just sat quietly and watched as the other four ate.
"You sure you've had enough Harry?" Alice asked in concern.
"Yes, Auntie Alice I'm full," answered Harry politely, patting his stomach.
"So, I suppose that means you don't have any room for chocolate cake?" asked Frank with a smirk.
"Choc'la'e?" Harry looked genuinely shocked at what Frank had said. "Really?"
The three adults looked at each other for Harry's shock could only mean one thing at that was that the Dursleys had probably never given him chocolate or very likely any sort of sweets at all which meant he hadn't had any since his parents' died six months ago. The Dursleys had probably lavished attention and other things upon their only son and left Harry with barely enough food to live.
"Of course, Harry," said Frank with a smile, "But try to finish a little more of your dinner first. You desperately need to gain some weight."
Harry nodded and dug into the food again and kept eating until the food was more than half gone. He then sat back again, and everybody could see his tummy was bulging. "Cake?" asked Harry hopefully.
"Cake?" repeated Neville.
"Cake, cake, cake," both Neville and Harry then chanted together.
All three adults smiled, "Look at what you've done now Frank," Alice gently chided her husband laughingly.
Frank only grinned, unrepentant. "Dappy," Frank called.
"Yes Master Frank?" asked Dappy as he popped into the room.
"Serve desert, please, after you take the dishes away."
"Yes, Master Frank," said Dappy cleaning up all the dishes then popping away to wherever the kitchen was located.
A few minutes later Dappy reappeared with a large tray with five plates of chocolate cake. Dappy then placed the plates in front of each of the people at the table
"Thank you, Dappy," said Alice.
"You're welcome, mistress," said Dappy popping out sight.
After desert was eaten both boys looked extremely sleepy but they both still had to have their baths.
"Bathtime, boys," said Alice.
Both boys looked as if they were going to their executions at Alice's statement and although the three adults tried, they couldn't help but laugh at the two boys' expressions.
"What is it about children and baths?" Alice asked with a chuckle.
~~~An Alternate Future~~~
Alice led both boys upstairs and then turned them over to Cizzy, a female house-elf. "Cizzy give the boys a bath will you then put them in Neville's bed for tonight. We'll see about getting Harry his own room tomorrow."
"Yes, Mistress Alice," Cizzy squeaked taking both boys by the hand with Neville and Harry protesting all the way.
"If you behave and get your bath, I'll be in to read you a story afterwards," Alice promised.
Both boys went quiet at that and meekly followed Cizzy to the bathroom
~~~An Alternate Future~~~
An hour later when both boys were asleep Alice headed downstairs and joined her husband and mother-in-law in the living room.
"So, you promised to tell me later," Augusta said.
"So, I did," Frank agreed and cast a privacy spell just in case before he continued. He then went on to tell his mother what they had discovered at the Dursleys. By the time he was done Augusta was seething as Frank and Alice had been when they had discovered how badly Harry was mistreated.
"It's a good thing I wasn't there I would have blasted those sorry excuse for Muggles into oblivion laws or no laws," Augusta said vehemently.
"I know mum," said Frank. "Both Alice and I had a difficult time controlling our tempers, but we managed."
"Barely," Alice added with a grimace. "As it is Harry is severely underweight and malnourished. The Dursley locked him in a boot cupboard for Merlin sakes and also according to what the headmaster managed to pick up from Harry's uncle mind using passive Legilimency there's been a multitude of other abuses some subtle, some not. Sometimes they wouldn't feed him for days if he displayed the least bit of what they considered abnormality."
"You know bursts of magic," said Frank. "And we all know that the unhappier a magical child is the more frequent incidents involving accidental magic."
"Harry also needs a whole new wardrobe. The clothes he has on apparently belonged to his cousin Dudley who is apparently much larger than him. They never bought him any new clothes or toys or anything and they expected him to do a whole list of chores that if he didn't finish then he didn't get fed."
"And sometimes his uncle would beat him for the least little mistake or accident," Frank added. "We're lucky he wasn't killed outright." The anger in Frank's voice was understandable for the other two felt the same way.
"We'll he's with us now," said Augusta. "And that's all that really matters. We'll take care of him and make sure he gains weight and show him that he is loved."
"We will," Alice promised. "Lily was one of the best friends I ever had and when she was killed—well you both know it took me months to come to terms with her death—but my point is that I promised her that if anything were to happen to her and James that I would at least stay in contact with him if he was raised by Sirius and if something happened to Sirius then that Frank and I would raise him like he was ours by blood and that is exactly what we are going to do."
"You realize of course that we can't tell him about the prophecy at least not until he's older?" said Frank.
"I know," said Alice.
"What prophecy is this?" asked Augusta.
"It goes like this, Augusta," said Alice. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
"We were told because it could very easily have been Neville instead of Harry that was supposed to defeat You-Know-Who."
"So that lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead—" Augusta began.
"Is where the Killing Curse struck and bounced back onto You-Know-Who. Albus believes that the reason Harry survived where no one else ever has is because Lily loved her son so much that her sacrifice of love protected him. Love is one of the most powerful feelings we possess and carries an equally powerful magic all its own. This is just his theory mind you."
"I see," said Augusta thoughtfully.
"And mum, you must promise to never tell another living soul what you know for if You-Know-Who ever found out he would try to rip the information from your mind and Albus says he only knows the first half of the prophecy and desperately wants to know the other half."
"So, the son of James and Lily Potter has a destiny to fulfill when he gets older," said Augusta.
"Yes, and if we're lucky he'll survive to live a relatively normal life afterwards and if not, well the whole wizarding world will mourn him, but the ones who knew him best will probably never recover completely if he dies just like we've never gotten over James's and Lily's deaths."
"Yes, losing the ones you love does tend to leave a hole in your heart where that person should be," Augusta agreed soberly. "Just like your father has left in mine."
"We'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen and help him all we can," said Alice. "But in the meantime, Harry needs to be protected and needs to know he is loved. Albus believes that it is love that will eventually defeat You-Know-Who and that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named doesn't believe in love at all as that is anathema to him."
"We also need to be prepared to deal with nightmares. I'll be astonished if he doesn't have any after his treatment at the Dursleys," said Frank.
All three nodded solemnly and made a pact between them. Harry would know he was loved and wanted and would never think that he wasn't cared for.
~~~An Alternate Future~~~
The next morning Harry awoke wondering groggily why his aunt hadn't called him by banging on his cupboard door. Also, he was very comfortable more comfortable then he could remember being in a very long time. Suddenly Harry heard a sound beside him that sounded almost like someone breathing. Suddenly his memories of the day before came flooding back and Harry opened his eyes to see a brown-haired boy asleep beside him. "Nev?" Harry whispered wonderingly as if he couldn't quite believe his friend was real. Harry watched his friend sleep for a few minutes each breath in and out seeming like a miracle because to him it meant that his Auntie Alice and Unca Frank really had rescued him from his much-hated relatives.
Harry lay there for a moment and savored the feeling safety and then slowly rose realizing he desperately needed to pee for his bladder was extremely full. Harry got up quietly and went searching for a bathroom. The room he was in was very big and elegant with several doors on either side of the main room. Harry just hoped one of them led to a bathroom because he would hate to embarrass himself by peeing in his underwear. Harry started opening doors and finally found a fully functioning bathroom behind the second door he opened.
Harry went to the bathroom, climbed up the step that was place there for Neville and sighed in relief when his bladder no longer felt like it was about to burst. Harry then crawled back into bed, snuggled back under the covers and within minutes he was fast asleep again.
~~~An Alternate Future~~~
A couple of hours later a house-elf appeared in the boys' room with a quiet pop. "Master Neville, Master Harry, it is time for you to get up. Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs."
The two boys groaned and opened their eyes blearily. "'hank you, Colby," said Neville.
"You're welcome, Master Neville. Also, I am here to help you both get dressed. Some of Master Neville's clothes have been altered to fit you Master Harry until Mistress Alice can take you to Diagon Alley later today.
Both boys got up reluctantly and allowed Colby to help them dress and then headed downstairs to join Frank and Alice for breakfast.
~~~An Alternate Future~~~
Later that same afternoon Alice escorted the two boys to Diagon Alley while Frank went to work. Both her and Frank were Aurors, but Alice had decided to take the next couple of weeks off to get Harry situated and a little more comfortable living with them.
All three headed immediately for Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Luckily for Alice they also did pants and shirts and other clothing necessities that were worn under the robes for Alice didn't know the first thing about shopping in Muggle London.
They entered Madam Malkin's and Alice started looking at the pre-made children's robes section.
"Do you need any assistance, Mrs. Longbottom?" asked Madam Malkin as she came out of the back room.
"Yes, I need some new robes for my nephew Harry here," said Alice. Before they had left Longbottom Manor Alice had cast a light glamor over Harry so that he wouldn't be so easily recognized as the Boy Who Lived. She didn't think Harry was equipped to handle people coming up to him for what appeared no reason and thanking him for his defeat of You-Know-Who at least not while he was still so young.
"Harry as in Harry—" Madam Malkin began before Alice gently put a finger to her lips for silence.
"As far as you know he is just my nephew Harry who has been living with some relatives of his that didn't treat him very well. We don't want his fame to go to his head."
Madam Malkin nodded in understanding and began measuring Harry after he had taken off his clothes. "You do realize he's severely underweight and malnourished?"
"I know, as I said his Muggle relatives didn't treat him very well and they only had him for six months. He just came to us yesterday."
"I see," said Madam Malkin in sympathy. Harry stood patiently as the lady measured him for new clothes and felt excited for these were the first new clothes he could remember having. "What a good boy you are," Madam Malkin told Harry approvingly as she finished her measurements.
"Mommy, can we go get ice cream?" asked Neville suddenly his face hopeful.
"Of course we can sweetie," Alice told her son. "But after we finish shopping, okay?"
Neville nodded and looked if not exactly happy to wait then resigned to it.
"Good boy you have," said Madam Malkin. "Most children his age would be screaming their little heads off if they didn't get what they wanted right then."
"Yes, Neville is a very even-tempered boy, at least so far, he is. He very rarely gets angry. He and Harry were best friends and well you know—"
Madam Malkin nodded understanding at what Alice couldn't say. Alice had stopped herself from saying that Neville and Harry had been best friends before the Potters had been killed.
"How many robes do you want and in what colors?"
"It's not just robes he needs underthings pants and shirts to," said Alice.
"It will take me a few days to do all that," Madam Malkin warned.
"That's fine," said Alice.
"I can do a robe, a pair of pants and a shirt for you in a couple of hours," said Madam Malkin. "The rest will take a couple of days."
"That's fine," said Alice with a smile. After that, Alice picked out some colors that would look good on Harry and then paid extra for expansion charms that would allow the clothes and robes to expand as Harry gained weight and height. Of course, the charms would only allow the cloth to expand so much, and eventually new clothes would have to be bought but probably not for at least a few years.
~~~An Alternate Future~~~