Magic.
It wasn't something our young Potter has ever considered before. True, that weird things had happened to him before, but he had never associated it with magic. Wasn't it just all but childish fairytales to put little kids to sleep? Potter has never really brought himself to think about it before, since the boy had been too busy trying to survive in his own cruel reality. But what if it was real? That he, Harry Potter, could really do magic.
"I see that my question isn't going anywhere. How about we put it like this."
Hermione sighed as she finally had enough of waiting for his answer. Whilst, the little boy stared off to space. She snapped her fingers repeatedly to reclaim his attention once again.
"Sorry." He said sheepishly realizing what he has done.
"Okay. If you're truly sorry then answer this, have you- has anything weird happened around you? You know, like flying objects or exploding things?" She asked.
Harry remembered the time where he wish he could have some food to ea when his Uncle Vernon punished him, for something his cousin Dudley did by not giving him any meal for a week. Then a whole loaf of bread came levitating towards him from the kitchen. His Uncle Vernon was so mad he turned red in fury, after seeing the piece of bread lying on the little boy's hands. But both of them knew he was more mad at discovering the boy's display of freakishness again.
"Y-yes. But h-how can you say its really magic?" Harry replied back stuttering with a question.
The little girl hesitated if she could trust her answer with this boy. From what she has observed, the boy was very honest. But could she trust him? She looked at his green emerald eyes and decided.
"Because it happened to me too."
Harry was silent after he heard her answer. All those weird things that happened to him, happened to her too. So was it really magic? The boy couldn't think properly. Many crazy things have happened to him today. His young brain couldn't seem to process all these information. Though strangely his heart was betraying his inner turmoil.
He was happy.
He stared back at her chocolate brown warm eyes and he was sure. Somehow in this odd cruel world, he was able to find a nice decent girl like Hermione that could do strange magical things like him. And pretty too.
Maybe this was it. The fates or magic granted him his wish, a friend he could spend the rest of his life with, someone who he could share all his problems with, so he would never have to feel lonliness anymore.
"What-"
Before Harry could even finish his question, an old tall woman with greying reddish hair entered the guest room. She wore a white peasant shirt over a long flowy floral skirt bearing a tray of milk with cookies in her hands. Despite her appearance being very inviting, the boy couldn't help but tense up with another strange presence in the room.
"Hermione, I called your parents and they said said they'll be home around five. Is the little boy- ........Oh."
The woman was taken aback finding the said little boy they've found, sitting upright in bed. Meanwhile, Harry was contemplating whether he should make a run for it or not. But then again where would he go?
He felt the soft tingling sensation returned again in his hand and looked down to see Hermione holding his hand once again. She gave it a soft squeeze as if reassuring him that everything was going to be alright. And oddly enough, her presence made him believe it will. Harry found himself relaxing in her touch.
"H-hello." He carefully said.
"Hello to you as well, dear."
The woman replied, her thick German accent showing as she slowly approached the bed where the two children sat, not to alarm the lost child.
She smiled.
"Nanny Gracie, this is Harry Potter. Harry, this Nanny Gracie." The little girl said introducing the two strangers to one another.
"I see you have gotten acquainted with our little visitor." The old nanny commented.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am." Potter said.
"My, what a well mannered boy. It's a pleasure to met you too, dear."
The old woman placed down the tray on the unoccupied bedside table, discreetly eyeing the two kids held each other's hands. She hid a knowing smile.
"You should be lying down, dearie. You have a fever. I've made some porridge. Here you go. Eat up." The woman handed him the bowl.
"Hermione, my Engel?" The woman called.
"Yes, Nanny?" The little girl answered.
"Harry needs his hand to eat." She remarked.
Abruptly, the two kids both retreated their hand to their sides and looked down to hide their growing blush.
(π•π)
Harry quickly dug in his porridge and gobbled it up till the very last grain. This was the most decent meal he had in weeks.
Hermione sat beside Harry on the bed watching amusedly as he ate with gusto while nibbling her cookie. It amused her seeing him eat like a little kid. But then again there was really nothing to it as both of them would still be considered as little kids, themselves.
Nanny Gracie gave her a pointed glance. Getting the message, the little girl directed her focus solely on munching her favorite chocolate chip cookie. It was rude to stare while others were eating.
"Here have some cookies as well, Harry." The nanny said handing him a platter of cookies and a tall glass of milk.
"Thank you, Ma'am. The porridge was delicious." Harry replied taking the milk and a cookie from the platter she offered.
"Hermione, stay here with Harry, dear, while I'll go clean up in the kitchen."
She stood up leaving the two children by themselves in the room. The woman sensed that the little child was more comfortable with her Hermione alone. She will have to push her questions for the little lost boy later after he gets settled.
"Let me help you, Ma'am."
Harry offered. The boy wasn't used to someone being so kind to him without him doing anything for return. So having Hermione's nanny bring him a tray full of food and clean after his meal was also a first experience for him as well.
"Nonsense, laddie. I've just finish bandaging your wounds and you have a broken leg. We wouldn't want to worsen your condition. Now do we?" The woman tucked the little boy in bed.
"Good patients rest in bed."
The boy blushed experiencing how it was to be properly treated like the little kid he was for the first time. She smiled and turned away.
"Take care of Harry for me while I clean up downstairs. Will you, my sweet Engel?"
"Yes, Nanny!" The little girl answered in cheerful delight.
Both the kids watched as the old woman leave the room with the tray of dishes. After they were left completely alone, Hermione went straight back away to business.
"So what did you do?"
"Huh?"
Potter replied confused. Hermione rolled her eyes. Apparently, he wasn't much quick in the head as she hope he would be. Though it may just have to do with the fact that he was still in a stranger's home.
"Magic?" She said.
"Oh." He uttered in reply, finally catching up to topic.
"Yes ~Oh. Tell me. What kind of magical feat did you do?" She ordered.
Bossy. He thought. But it didn't bother him at all. Actually, Harry found her bossy-ness oddly cute and adorable. She wasn't mean bossy like his Uncle Vernon. He knew she was only excited finding a person who could do extraordinary like her as he was. Though she was much more willing to show her excitement than he did. It was cute. The little boy found her cute.
"M-making stuff float, I guess." He admitted. The little girl gasped and squealed with glee.
"Wait here." She ordered.
The boy followed her request seeing that he couldn't move so himself with his broken leg and waited as the little girl run out of the room. He took this time to assess his situation.
The room was fairly big, definitely much bigger than his cupboard. It had a table on each side of a large bed where he laid and two glass stained windows on either side of the wall. One was opened. He could see the setting sun.
Young Harry Potter couldn't believe any of the things that was happening presently in his life. He felt as if he was living a dream and was afraid to wake up to be beaten by his abusive uncle or mean cousin and his friend again. None of these things seemed real to him. The soft bed, warm food, clean clothes, all of these seemed to be nothing more than a dream. But the pain that struck in his leg as he tried to move reminded him that this was reality.
'Hermione Jane Granger.'
He thought. An image of the sweet little girl popped in his head. In his opinion, the girl was a ball of many odd things as Harry was not used to someone being nice or the very least civil towards him.
Hermione was nice but pushy, gentle but energetic to a fault and sweet but extremely bossy. Though Harry didn't mind being ordered or pushed around by Hermione at all. He also find her over energetic-ness over certain topics quite amusing. Perhaps, he was the odd one afterall.
"You have to see this!"
Hermione came bursting out from the guest room's door armed with a pile of thick books in hand, which laid them across the bed as she sat beside him.
"What are these?" He asked.
"They're books- " A small grin stretched across the bushy brown haired girl's face.
"About magic."
(°×°)
Evening came when Mr. and Mrs. Granger arrived at their house in Riverside from London. The two couple quickly canceled all their other appointments at their dental clinic after hearing the news about a little lost boy found in their home. They rung the bell.
"Cristine. Ben. Welcome back." Nanny Gracie opened the front door greeting them in.
"Where's Hermione?"
Mrs. Granger asked giving into perturbation after a long hour drive here from the city as overly anxious as any mothers came to be after hearing something concerning about their only precious child.
"Engel's up stairs with the boy. She's fine. Healthy as she could ever be." The nanny replied which made them both smile in relief.
"Thank you for all your help, Grace." Mr. Granger said.
"Its my pleasure, Ben. Hermione has been like a second granddaughter of mine, such a sweet dear." The old woman smiled.
"We'll take it from here. You're own granddaughter must be waiting eagerly for you." Mrs. Granger said.
"She'll be fine with my husband. Derrek always seem to have a knack at keeping our precious Schatzi entertained. But I'll be damned if he makes a tomboy out of my little lady, with all his rusty cars and tools by the time I get home- " The couple laughed.
Nanny Gracie and her spouse, Derrek Schmeid was one of the few retired old couple that lived here in Riverside, along with their grandkid. She worked as a freelance gardener. She and her husband had lived there for almost 20 years and have helped the Grangers settle in when they first have moved here at Riverside. The old couple have been living here with their granddaughter ever since they retired.
Cristine and Benjamin Granger were old highschool sweethearts that decided to take up their p.h.D in dentristy together. After college, they immediately went away and decided to tie the knot. A year later, little Hermione Granger was born. But of course in today's economy, newly grads marrying off and having a child together was very difficult without money.
That was why the Grangers work very hard each day to provide only the best for their little girl. Now, the two were one of the renounced dentists couple in London City. But sadly, their job has prevented them from spending much time with their baby. It was the sacrifice they had to make in order to provide the best for their precious Hermione.
Luckily, Nanny Grace was there to look after their baby when they could not. She was like a second parent to her, even to them.
"I would like to ask if you could spare me a minute or so of your time. There is something I'd like to discuss with you about." The old woman spoked.
They all headed to the greeting room to hear what Nanny Gracie had to talk about. Mr. and Mrs. Granger sat beside each other on the couch whilst the old granny rested on a single couch chair beside him.
"Its about the lost boy." She began.
"What about the child?" Ben inquired.
"When Hermione found the boy unconscious in your backyard, the boy was covered with lots of injuries." A frown marred the nanny's usual serene smile. "And I doubt that all of them were purely by accident."
Tension suddenly filled the room's atmosphere as the two couple begun to think of what to make of Grace's words.
"Was he assualted?" Ben questioned. The woman nodded gravely.
"Most of his injuries show signs of physical abuse. I even found some very purplish bruises on the child's neck in the shape of fingers."
"Who could ever do such a thing to a little child?" Cristine cried. Ben wrapped around his arm to calm his furious wife.
"I share your sentiments as well, Cristine. That is why I wanted to ask something of you for me. Consider it as your payment for all my babysitting hours." The old granny smiled.
Try as they might, Nanny Gracie has always refused the high wages the Grangers offered to give. Her nanny-ing services were always free of charge. Taking care of a sweet little girl like her Engel was no trouble at all. Though it didn't meant that the Grangers would stop looking for an opportunity to repay the old woman for everything she has done for them someway. But Grace has always refused all the expensive gifts they offered to her during holidays or regular days.
"Anything." The couple agreed.
"Would you let the boy stay here for a couple of weeks? It would be unwise to call the authorities now as the poor child is very wary of strangers especially adults. Be careful when you approach the lost child. He seemed extremely frightened when I went to check on him."
"It would be our pleasure to help the poor boy. There's no need for you to ask of us for that." Mr. Granger said. The old woman nodded.
"Well then, I must be going now. Derrek and our little Schatzi should be waiting for me. " The Grangers escorted the old Nanny to the door and said their farewells.
('-')
"Let's go check on the kids."
Cristine spoke. And both the older Grangers headed straight towards the stairs. They were both shocked and pleasantly alarmed as they heard a boisterous laughter as they walk towards the stairs. Both parent silently peeked outside the slightly ajar door to the room where the two kids currently stayed. Disbelief passed through both parent's expression as they discovered the owner of the boisterous laughter they heard was actually their daughter's.
Cristine couldn't remember the last time where she had heard her baby laugh like that. The two parents knew that their daughter wasn't gifted with natural socializing skills within circles her age. They brushed it off as her being shy at first. But now that she started going to elementary school, both parents have noticed other children purposely isolating their daughter because of her much superior intellectual difference to them who preferred watching Dora and Sesame Street rather than reading the 'Theory of Human Evolution' and 'Unlocking the Secret of Human Minds' like her. Hermione had never complained nor presented this matter to her parents though.
Hermione has always been a brave independent little girl who opted to face her problems on her own. Although, both of the Grangers couldn't help but worry that their little girl would continue to struggle, with no one to support her and would eventually lead her to isolate herself from others, even them.
So the young mother found great joy and overwhelming sense of security for her daughter's future when she found a young boy sitting across her beautiful baby girl, the very reason both she and her husband could once again hear the melodious heartfelt laughter of their daughter. Though a mother having joyous feelings with regard to her six year old daughter laying in bed with the said boy, who could potentially be her object of affection in the future was still odd, Cristine has made her final decision. If having this boy is what it takes to hear her little girl laugh, she wanted this boy constantly present in her daughter's life.
Ben though had other thoughts. The young father was currently having mixed feelings about this matter. He was ecstatic that her little princess has now found a new friend, who was an actual living being that didn't come printed out from a publishing house or the library. But the fact that the said new friend was a boy had Ben reining in his overprotective father mode. He could see the smile of adoration and wonder as the boy stared at his laughing daughter. It was the same look he has when he gaze at his beautiful wife when she laughs.
Alarms immediately set off for this overprotective father when he witness the two snuggling up as they move to sleep. Just as he was about to pry his daughter off the little chap, his uncharacteristically happy wife had beat him to it. Cristine tucked the two little children better bed. Whilst, Ben mumbled behind his wife. The boy got lucky tonight. Though tomorrow was another story.
This overprotective father was fully set on interrogating this kid who had the guts to wrap his arms around his precious princess.
Only as he got closer inspection of the boy did his thoughts froze from the too sudden tracks it was taking for a father with a little six year old daughter, when he saw the boy's battered body up close. It was only then he remembered that this was a lost child who was most likely abused then abandoned or ran away from his home
"I want this boy." Cristine said with conviction as she continued to gaze at the two snuggling children. Ben eyes widened.
"What?" Her husband uttered asking for clarification.
"I want us to apply as a legal guardian family of this boy." She answered with no less conviction. Even Ben could sense that this was another potential argument he could not win. But then again when did he ever win against his wife.
"Why not just adopt the boy if you had taken such a keen to him?" Ben questioned further dreading her answer. With both of them knowing the other's thoughts, Cristine decided to tease and push her husband's buttons a bit.
"That would certainly create a problem for the kids if they ever decided to get married in the future." And just as his wife expected, Ben face erupted in red rage.
"THERE IS NO WAY AM I GOING TO BE A PART OF SOME DISTURBING MATCHMAKING PLAN OF YOURS TO GIVE AWAY OUR BABY'S HAND TO SOME KID SHE JUST ME-"
Cristine immediately put a stop of her husband's tirade by slapping her hand over her husband's mouth, failing to hide her amused laughter.
"Shhh. The kids are sleeping." She placed a finger over her own lips to shush him.
"MHHNN...MNNMM...NMMHHHMMM! DON'T EVER JOKE ABOUT THAT AGAIN!"
"Who said I was joking."
His jaw hit the ground.
"Are you serious?!" He whispered scream looking at his wife with great disbelief. She smiled feeling a bit guilty messing with her own husband.
"As serious when I said 'I do' when I married you."
Cristine wrap her arms around her husband waist and laid her head on his chest. This immediately calmed down his furious mood. After a few calming seconds, he returned her embrace.
"Do remember how our parents were so against our decision when we told them we were getting married?" She felt him hesitantly nod through their embrace, unsure where this conversation was heading.
"It got to the point where we decided to elope. Luckily, this force them to concede our wish. But even if they didn't, I would happily go through our previous plan. After all, you are the only man in this world who makes me happy." Ben looked adoringly at the love behind her warm eyes and knew he had lost.
"And that kid makes our Hermione happy, Ben."
He groaned. Seven long years of marriage he should been already use to his wife's antics. Ben should have known there was always going to be a catch. Cristine wasn't usually big on giving sweet cheesy lines unless there was something she wants. He rubbed his face with his hands.
"But marriage. Really, Cristine? They're both barely even ten years old. How would you know they would want to marry each other in the future?" She smirked. They both knew she was already winning this argument.
"Mother instincts."
"Great. Just great. My baby is going to get sacked early just because her crazy mother feels like she will."
This made her laugh. She slowly grabbed both his hand covering his exasperated face and forcing him to look at her directly in the eyes.
"Look. I'm not saying that we should adopt this boy so he could one day steal away your little girl away from you. Hermione will always be her daddy's precious princess."
A smile crept its way to this overprotective fathers face with these words.
"But I want this kid to be a constant part of our baby's life. Is it so wrong for a mother to want her baby girl to be happy? Not even a day has past from them meeting each other, this boy has already have our princess laughing." Ben didn't liked the sound of that. Though he knew his wife had a point.
"So what I'm trying to say is that I just want this boy to be a friend, a friend that our Hermione gets to spend everyday with..... "
There was nothing wrong with a friend. Surely, it would place the boy a little further from this overprotective father's red zone. Cristine knew this and also saw knew that she had her husband accept her reasoning.
"Okay." He relented. She smiled.
" .......that would one day eventually marry our daughter." Christine just couldn't help but quickly added.
"You just won't let this marrying thing go. Won't you?" He groaned.
"Nope." She laughed. "Both of them will be good for each other, Ben. That boy has been through a lot. And our girl may help heal the deeper wounds this poor boy hides."
The man glanced once again the said boy wrapped around in his daughter's arms. Bruises covered his entire body. Black and blue finger marks surrounded his dainty neck. It wouldn't be too far fetched for him to say it was a miracle this boy survived whatever hell he had been. Broken bones. Malnourished body. Abused marks. Even some street children were in better condition that this kid. Ben knew right then that he could never truly push away this boy away from his daughter. From the way the kid smiled at her, he could sense that smiling wasn't a frequent occurrence in his life.
"Fine. You win."