My · Life

Harry reread the letter. And then he read it again. And again. And again. And looked at the picture. DudleyDudleyDudley and leave him in the hands of Wizard Social Services, he’ll just get shunted from foster home to foster home till he’s of age. And that’s not a life I want my cousin to have.” Hedwig hooted. “I guess I’ll just have to take him in. I’m sure Molly will help me.” He looked at the calendar and saw that July 31^st was two weeks away, plenty of time for him to consult Mrs. Weasley and to get the house child ready. He grabbed a spare piece of parchment and wrote a reply letter to his cousin. doesn’t want that. Harry sat back in his chair, thinking. “What should I do, Hedwig? I can’t let the boy be sent to the orphanage. But I can’t take care of him. I’m 23 years old. I’m supposed to be drinking until I puke every night and going to parties and things like that. Not raising a child. But I can’t let him grow up unloved like I did. If I get him from has a son who’s a wizard. And

Dudley,

 I’ll be there. Have the boy ready with all his stuff.

 Harry Potter

 He gave the note to Hedwig. “Feel up to another trip, girl? I need you to take this back to Dudley. Stop and rest if you need to. When you get home again, I’ll have a nice meal for you, okay?” Hedwig hooted and flew off.

Harry went back to his work, finishing it as fast as he could. He placed a large rat by Hedwig’s stand and cast a few charms on it so it would stay fresh until the owl got back. All that done, he Floo-ed to the Burrow.

“Harry!” Molly Weasley cried as he stepped out of the fireplace. She was sitting in the family room, knitting. He went over and kissed her cheek.

“Hello, Molly. I am in need of some advice.” He showed her Dudley’s letter and sat down on the couch, waiting anxiously while she read it.

“Are you going to take the boy in?” she asked.

“As of now, yes,” Harry said, nodding. “I thought about all the other options and decided that the best life the boy could have is with me. I’ll need your help, though. I don’t know a thing about kids much less raising them.”

Molly put her knitting needles away and leaned forward. “Well, there are quite a few books I can recommend. The first is The Healer’s Helpmate. I have a copy that you can have. I used it so much when the children were growing up that it’s kind of faded, so you actually might be better off buying your own copy. And who knows, the new copy may have new spells and potions that my copy doesn’t have.”

Harry pulled out a Muggle notebook and pen and wrote down ‘The Healer’s Helpmate’. “All right, what else?”

“Another book I used often was one called Practical Spells for Child-Rearing. It has all kinds of spells that are extremely useful when raising a child. My particular favourites are the Gripping Charm, the Tracking Charm, the Age Line, the Repairing Spell, the Repelling Charm, the Sealing Charm, the Immobilizing Charms, and practically every charm in the book. It’s definitely a must have.” Harry wrote down the title to that book as well. “Now, dear, have you given any thought to discipline? Discipline is definitely something you need to consider with a four-year-old. Four year olds like to test limits and they are very independent. I remember Percy loved testing how much independence I would let him have.”

Harry frowned. “Well, I haven’t given it much thought. What kinds of discipline are there?”

“Well, there is being sent to the naughty step, and the taking away of pocket money, and smacking, and the taking away of toys, and grounding and taking away dessert.” Molly said. “It all depends on the child. Smacking sometimes seemed to be the only way to get through to Fred and George, but Ron seemed to respond better to having his toys and/or dessert taken away. Ginny responded better to being sent to the naughty step.”

“What is the naughty step?” Harry asked, taking notes.

“The naughty step was a step in the middle of the stairs. The child was made to sit there, until he or she decided to behave again. We used it mainly for when they were throwing a fit. If they refused to stay, we’d use a sticking charm so that they couldn’t get up and a silencing charm if they were screaming. Of course, there were accidents. If there is a silencing charm in place then the child can’t tell you if they have to go to the potty. But a well cast Scourgify should take care of that mess easily. If you don’t have stairs in your home you can also use a boring corner in the house or a room that he can’t entertain himself in.”

Harry nodded, writing all the information down word for word. “Potty?” he asked.

Molly nodded and smiled. “If he’s four then he should be toilet trained by now, though he’ll probably still have accidents. It took poor Charlie until he was seven before he finally got the hang of it. I’d recommend putting a self-cleaning charm on the sheets every night before bed just in case he doesn’t wake up in time. And be prepared to wake up in the middle of the night to help him clean himself off and change his pants and PJs.”

They talked for a few hours, covering every topic from bath time to meal time to play time. At the end of their talk, Harry had filled the entire notebook up. He sighed as he looked at the pages. “I’m never going to be able to remember all of this! I’m going to screw this up. I know it.”

“Harry Potter,” Mrs. Weasley said her voice suddenly stern. “I don’t want to hear you talking like that. You’ll do a fine job with this boy and don’t worry if you mess up. Every parent messes up. Nobody’s perfect. The child won’t be scarred for life if you make a mistake. Don’t you ever talk like that again.”

Harry smiled. “Yes, ma’am. Molly, would you be willing to help me pick out things for Donald’s room? And pick out toys and proper wizard clothes?”

“I’d be delighted to help you, Harry dear. When should we go?”

“How about you come over to my house on Sunday and we’ll plan all we need and then go shopping in Diagon Alley on Monday?” suggested Harry.

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Molly said.

“Thank you so much for your help, Molly. I truly appreciate it. And if there’s anything I can do, name it and it’ll get done.” Harry headed towards the fireplace but turned back before he reached it. “Oh, I almost forgot! Would you do me the honour of being Donald’s Grandmum?”

The witch’s face lit up. “Oh, Harry, I’d love to! I barely get to see my other grandchildren as it is and I know you’ll bring this one around all the time.”

Harry smiled and nodded. “Oh, I’ll definitely bring him around.” He hugged and kissed his mother figure and Floo-ed back to his home.

Monday morning dawned bright and early. Harry Floo-ed to the Burrow to collect Mrs. Weasley and they both Floo-ed to the Leaky Cauldron. The pub was bustling with activity in a way it hadn’t been for a long time. The new barmaid (Tom had died in his sleep three years ago) was keeping the place thriving happily from the business. The pub was now a lot cleaner and more family friendly then it had been in years past. Harry escorted Molly out to the back and through the archway. Their first stop was the bookstore where they picked up the titles that the witch had suggested as well as a few others Molly saw and said looked good. After the bookshop they went to the furniture store and picked out a child-sized bedroom set. They took a break at Florean Fortescue’s ice cream parlour, which had been reopened after Florean had been rescued from the dungeon the Dark Lord’s prisoners were kept in. Harry paid for the snack and brought it back to the table where Molly was sitting. They started eating and Harry pulled out the Practical Spells for Child-Rearing book and started flipping through.

“The Opposite Charm,” he read aloud. “This charm is for children who respond to reverse psychology. It will make them do the opposite of what you told them not to do. If they refuse to eat their vegetables, cast the charm and tell them that they don’t want to eat the vegetables. Suddenly they will want to. Isn’t that kind of dangerous?”

“Yes, it is,” Molly said. “It can get very bad if you forget to take the charm off and then tell them not to go near the stove or something like that. I remember one time I cast it on Charlie and I forgot about it. He was three at the time. I was cooking dinner and he was playing next to the stove with some toy dragons. I had to leave the room for a minute and was too tired to cast a repelling charm, so I told him not to touch the stove and left. A few minutes later I hear a scream. The poor boy still has a scar on his palm. I wouldn’t use that charm, dear. It’s too dangerous. Stick with not letting them leave the table until they eat their vegetables. That usually works well, especially with little boys who have a hard time sitting still.”

Harry nodded and put the book away to read later. They finished their ice cream and continued shopping. They went to Gladrags Wizard Wear and the toy store. They stopped by the apothecary to pick up ingredients Molly told him that he always needed to keep in stock with a child around, and Eeylops Owl Emporium to pick up more owl treats for Hedwig. With all the shopping done, they Floo-ed back to the Burrow.

“Mum! There you are! And Harry, how are you, mate?” Bill Weasley stood up from his place on the sofa, grinning broadly as the two stepped out of the fireplace.

“Bill, what a pleasant surprise!” Molly cried and enveloped her eldest in a hug.

“Hey, Bill,” Harry said, grasping the man’s hand. “We were at Diagon Alley. Your mum was helping me do some shopping.”

“Are Fleur and the children here, Bill?” Molly asked, looking around.

“I brought the children here so Fleur could have some time to rest and relax without noise. They’re out in the garden. I’ll go get them.” He went to the back door and called, “Bo, Geneviève, come in please and greet your Grandmum!”

A little boy with strawberry-blond hair wearing a sailor suit ran in. “Dad! I saw a rabbit in the bush! It was brown! Can we get a pet rabbit? Please?”

“You need to ask your Mère, not me. Now, go greet your Grandmum.” Bill patted the boy on the bottom as he made his way over to Mrs. Weasley who had sat down in an armchair.

A little girl entered the room as Bo began chattering to Molly in French and Bill gently corrected him. She had obviously inherited Fleur’s Veela gene, which her silvery blonde curls attested to. She was wearing a pink dress with lots of lace and frills, a pink hat rimmed with pearls on her head.

“This is little Geneviève Margaret Weasley,” Bill said, picking her up. “She’s three. Can you say hello to your Grandmum, Genie?” He sat the little girl on Molly’s lap and guided Bo to stand in front of Harry. “Harry, this is Boniface William Weasley. He is five. Bo, this is Mr. Potter, one of my friends.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Potter,” Bo said politely. “Dad, can I go back outside now, please!”

“Yes, go ahead, but try to not get too dirty. Your Mère won’t be very happy if you come home covered in mud.” The boy nodded and raced back outside. “So, Harry, what were you shopping for?”

The two men sat down in the armchairs across from Molly, who was cooing at the little girl. “Well, my cousin sent me a letter the other day that said he thought his son was a wizard and he didn’t want to deal with it. He asked me to take the boy in, which I agreed to. I am going to pick the boy up a week from Thursday. His name is Donald Dudley Dursley and he’s four years old.”

“Oh, wow,” Bill said. “Welcome to fatherhood, Harry. But that sucks for the kid. He’s being abandoned by his parents and who knows how they’ve treated him. I mean, from your stories about them, I can’t imagine he’s been treated very well. If you have any questions or just need to hear some of the mistakes I’ve made to make yourself feel better, feel free to Floo me.”

“Thanks,” Harry said, standing up. “I need to go and start setting things up. Thanks for going with me, Molly. It was nice seeing you, Bill. I just may take you up on that offer.” He grabbed his bags and apparated home.

He put away his new books on a shelf and hung up the clothes in the wardrobe that was a part of the bedroom set that house-elves had delivered and set up. He placed the toys in the toy box and then went to his study. He sat down and started writing a letter.

Dear Ron and Hermione,

 -Harry Potter