Chapter 4
While Kingsley and Lucretia were discussing the case of little Harry, both Harry and Tom were escorted through the ministry to the department of child welfare by the junior auror Kingsley had pointed out to them. The ministry itself was a world of wonder to Harry. Everywhere he looked there were things he had never seen before.
Everything he saw looked very old and nothing like what he had seen on the TV, whenever he was able to sneak a peak. The people they encountered looked all very stern and busy, wearing weird dress like clothes, even the men. They got to ride the elevator, something Harry had never done before, so he clutched at Tom's arm and tried to make himself as small as possible, just in case something happened.
Before he knew it, they were led to large reception area that was carpeted with a large play area in the corner. Tom led him over to it and Harry discovered a small bookshelf as well as a big toy chest which contained puzzles and pens and paper.
"Go ahead, you can either play or maybe we could check out the books and we'll try to read one together," Tom encouraged him. He sat down on one of the chairs that was right next to the play area. He had never read to a child before but figured he would be able to read a book for a small child such as Harry without problem.
While books and puzzles was something Harry knew from his relative's house, there was something different about the things in this play area. The puzzles didn't have construction trucks on them or animal pictures but the first puzzle Harry took out had a a weird scaley looking animal on the from of the box.
"What's that?" Harry asked. He had never seen that before.
"It's a dragon. That one looks like it's Hungarian Horntail. Dragons are large and dangerous. They can fly and breathe fire and most wizards stay as far away from them as possible. There's some dragons who live in Britain but nowhere near London." Tom explained and thought that this might be an opportunity to explain to Harry more about some basic things that would help the boy adjust to the wizarding world.
"Whoa!" Harry was in awe. He couldn't even imagine ever seeing something like this picture in real life. But Tom hadn't lied to him yet, so why should he lie about something dangerous like this?
Tom stood up and rummaged through the bookcase. He found some children's books his own parents had read to him, such as the tale of the three brothers. Harry would probably read this book at some point but Tom was looking for more picture books.
He found the picture book version of Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. This would be perfect. He got Harry to sit next to him and opened the book up. The painted pictures were moving and the young boy was entranced.
"This is one of the best book on magical creatures and animals. Let's have a look at all the othere dragons there are." Tom skimmed through the books until he got to the section about dragons. The illustrations were fantastic and the dragons were showing off, liking that the little boy was so amazed at them. Harry spend the better part of an hour just looking at the pictures, stroking the moving pictures. Tom had to give it to whomever enchanted the paintings, the dragons actually seemed to be interacting with Harry.
Eventually, Harry was able to tear himself away from the dragons and continued idly browsing through the rest of the book. he started from the front of the book. When he got to the acromantula, the spider actually scared Harry so much that he slammed the book shut. Tom was laughing, he himself had been startled.
"Wow, that was a scary spider. I have never liked them myself. Do you like spiders?"
"No, I don't. They sometimes bite me in my cupboard." And wow did that one sentence make Tom sober up quickly. He was about to suggest looking at a different book, but before he could, Kingsley and Lucretia entered the reception area and came straight towards Tom.
"Hey, Harry, looks like you found something to occupy yourself with," Lucretia leaned down to be on Harry's eyelevel, "would it be ok for you to spend a few minutes with Kingsley? You could show him what you've been doing just now. I need a quick word with Tom and then afterwards, I would like to talk with you, ok?"
To this, Harry nodded. Kingsley was pretty nice and he guessed he could show him the dragon pictures and tell him what he learned in the past hour.
Lucretia gestured to Tom to move farther away from Harry. While she would put up a privacy spell either way, she found it more tasteful to not discuss sensitive matters right next to the child it concerned.
After privacy wards were up and she was sure Harry wouldn't be able to understand them, she turned to Tom.
"So Tom, first of all, thank you for taking care of Harry and contacting Kingsley. From what I have learned so far, we should be really grateful that his aunt actually left him with you when she did. I wouldn't want to imagine what Harry would be like in another 7 years with them. Now, what is your impression of Harry?" The elderly witch almost shuddered at the thought of a child in the care of magic hating muggles for almost 10 years before the child would receive an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. That seemed like the perfect recipe to make an obscurus to her.
"Well, he is extremely polite, shy but seems like a good child." Tom didn't really know what the witch in front of him wanted to hear. He had only spend a short amount with the child and after the day he had, Tom was sceptical that this actually was the child's personality. Harry was probably too shocked and afraid to really be himself.
"Yes, that's the impression I had. I also noticed that he seemed to trust you a lot. You are probably the first adult that has shown him real kindness in his life that he can remember and the thought just breaks my heart. I have talked to Kingsley about what to do next. The protocol for cases such as this would mean taking Harry and placing him with a licensed foster family. In emergency cases, we have the opportunity to place Harry with a non-licensed, but approved adult. I was wondering if you would be willing to take Harry in for the next couple of days?"
Tom's thoughts raced. His gut had been sinking when Lucretia told him about placing Harry with a foster family. While he didn't really know the child and had certainly never wanted any himself, he couldn't help but become attached to him. His large, green eyes and his earnest way just tugged at Tom's heartstrings. Hope started to fill him when the head of child welfare asked him if he would be willing to care for Harry.
"Oh, well... wow... I mean, I never really imagined taking care of a child. What would I need to do to be approved and what's to happen with him in a few days?" In his mind, Tom was already planning on where Harry would sleep in the apartment over the Leaky Cauldron and how to manage both looking after the child and his pub.
"Well, we would do a quick home check to make sure you have enough space for him. We would equip you with emercency floo addresses for doctor's and a case worker, so you had someone to contact in case of emergency. For Harry's case, I will be his case worker. We would also ask you to swear an unbreakable Vow. You would need to swear to take care of Harry to the best of your abilities and not cause intentional harm, either through negligence or actual abuse. I would visit you daily, which I need to do both to check on Harry and start on getting the case together. We want him to settle down a bit from this whole ordeal but we still need to make sure that he gets a health check at St. Mungo's etc." Lucretia explained and saw Tom nod.
"Yes, I should be able to provide all that without a problem. But this would not be a long term solution? What do you have planned for him?"
"Well, Kingsley will be working on finding out how Harry could've been left with muggles without our knowledge. Meanwhile, I will be contacting the available people from Harry's family tree. From what we've seen, only Severus Snape seems to be available. For him, since we know he used to be a Death Eater, we would need to do an extensive backround check, maybe get some character references. He could of course refuse to take young Harry in. In that case, we would have to look for a more long term solution. Either with a long term foster care placement or adoption. But I don't want to jump the gun and plan too far ahead."
Again, Tom nodded. That seemed really reasonable. Severus sometimes frequented the Leaky Cauldron and Tom had never actually seen the man smile, a sneer seemed to be permanently plastered to his face. Maybe that was his public facade to stay safe, being a known Death Eater meant a lot of public antipathy directed at him. Tom was sure, from what he had seen so far, that Lucretia would not let Harry go to another potentially abusive or neglectful home.
"Ok, do you want to do the home check now and should we take Harry with us or should we leave him with Kingsley for a moment?" Tom was eager to get home and let Harry get some rest. He had seen how droopy he had gotten while looking at the book. The child was probably exhausted.
"Let's inform Harry that we will do this now and that he is welcome to come with us."
Lucretia cancelled the privacy charm and turned back to Harry.
"Ok, Harry, Tom here has agreed take you in for the next few days. I will come with both of you back to Tom's house to make sure you have everything you need for the night. For the next few days, I will come and visit you everyday. It's to again make sure that you are ok. Are you ready to go?" Lucretia explained all that while being on Harry's eyelevel. She hated talking down to children and Harry seemed like an exceptionally bright child who appreciated being in the loop.
"Ok. Are we going through the fireplace again? Can I borrow the book with the moving pictures?" Harry wasn't sure if he was ready for the squeezy-feeling again that he got the first time from traveling trhough the fireplace but he was hoping that he would get someplace cozy that he would be able to lay down and take a nap soon. He held out the book he and Tom had been looking at earlier to the eldery witch. After he got over the spider picture, the rest of the book was really interesting and Harry wanted more time to look at everything.
Lucretia was surprised. She knew that the book was a hit with most younger children but no one had ever asked to borrow it before.
"Yes, of course. You can take it with you for the next couple of days. Alright, if everyone is ready, we can go now. Kingsley, I don't think we will need you for the rest of today. I will come and see you tomorrow morning. If you have prior engagements, just send my receptionist a time and she will coordinate my schedule."
With that, the two adults and Harry went over to the fireplace in the reception area and flood back to the Leaky Cauldron. Lucretia went first, then Harry and Tom travelled together again. Once they stumbled out at the Leaky Cauldron, Tom cleaned them off before leading the way to his apartment. A small door next to the bar led them up a staircase and to an apartment door. He opened the door and ushed Lucretia and Harry inside.
"Welcome, Welcome. This is my apartment. I have 3 bedrooms up here. One is for my house elf Dippy. He is currently downstairs and manning the bar. If you need him, I think he could spare a couple of minutes," Tom explained, leading them around the apartment.
"This is my bedroom. Harry, if you need anything from me and I am inside, just knock on the door. If I am downstairs, you can either call for Dippy or come downstairs and get me. I will introduce you to Dippy in a bit. Next to my bedroom is his room. Again, I will tell him to be available to you at all times. If you need anything, you just need to knock or call his name."
Harry's eyes got large. He was never allowed to call for his aunt Petunia or uncle Vernon, especially if they were in their room. Not that he was ever outside his cupboard without them keeping an eye on him, just in case he did something freaky.
"And then this room is my guest room. I can transfigure the bed for something more child appropriate. Again, Harry, you are allowed to leave the room anytime you want or need. I can show you the bathroom next." Tom continued on, the guest room was nothing really to write home about but Lucretia appreciated that he explicitly explained to the child that he was allowed to leave the room at any time.
The next room Tom was showing them was the bathroom, again it was pretty standard. It had a large clawfoot tub, a toilet and sink with a potion cabinet and mirror. It would do.
"I do have a kitchen up here, but I don't really use it. Any food I eat is downstairs in the Leaky kitchens. If you feel uncomfortable downstairs, Harry, we could get some food up here. But we will figure it out," Tom directed it at Harry. In his opinion, Harry needed to understand everything and feel comfortable. Anything that Lucretia found unacceptable could be changed with a single spell and be rectified immediatly.
"Ok, I think I have seen enough for the home check. The guest bedroom should be fine for tonight, but as you've said it's probably more appropriate to transfigure something more suited towards children. I'm sure you and Harry will figure out what works for him in the next few days. Now, we only have the Vow to complete and then I can get on my way. Harry, would you like exploring your new room? Maybe get unpacked and settled in?"
The child nodded and although hesitant at first, turned around and walked back to the guest room. He had his animal book and his teddy bear, he should be fine.
The adults stayed in the hallway of the flat, Lucretia taking out her wand.
"It's not the standard unbreakable Vow as it only applies to you, so I am able to cast it. I will ask you a couple of questions, you will answer each question with the words "on my life and magic, I swear so mote it be". Are your ready?" At this, Tom nodded.
"Tom, do you swear to take care of the child placed in your care by this witch, Lucretia black Prewett, to the best of your abilities?"
"On my life and magic, I swear so mote it be."
"Do you swear to not cause intentional harm by either neglecting or abusing Harry James Potter?"
"On my life and magic, I swear so mote it be."
"Do you swear to provide Harry James Potter with food, shelter and all necessities the child needs to be healthy and happy?"
"On my life and magic, I swear so mote it be."
The magic around them swirled and settled down around Tom. The unbreakable Vow, whether traditional or adapted for cases such as this, left the vow-taking wizard with a mark that would remind them of their Vow constantly. For Tom, the mark magic chose was on the back of his hand. It presented as swirley lines, almost like scar tissue, slightly raised and swirling from his right hand up his forearm.
"Magic has accepted the Vow, so this emergency placement is recognizes by the department of child welfare. I will leave you to settle Harry in now. Tomorrow, I would like to check in with you after lunch. I would like to have my strategy meeting with Kingsley first, in case you or Harry have any more questions."
Lucretia turned back to the guest room to say goodbye to Harry.
"Harry, I will be taking my leave now. I just told Tom that I will come by tomorrow after lunch, alright? I will let you settle in and get some sleep, you are probably really tired. Have a good night, Harry and I will see you tomorrow," Lucretia smiled at him warmly and brushed his shoulder with her hand. She expected him to shy away from the contact, but he leaned into her. This told her that he probably hadn't experienced physical abuse. Most children who had, would never let a stranger touch them casually like that without flinching.
"Ok, Thank you, Mrs. Lucretia," Harry said earnestly. He was thankful for the adults. So far, no one had gotten annoyed with him or snapped at him. He hadn't even realised that adults could be nice like that. After he said goodbye, Lucretia left the flat and went back to her office at the ministry. The rest of her work day would probably be a long one. She seldomly took over cases as an active case worker anymore, her job was usually to oversee the other case workers in her department.
She had to get the documentation started and plan out the next steps. She wanted to get Harry in to see a healer at St. Mungo's as soon as possible. Furthermore, she needed to arrange a meeting with Gringotts. She would need to work with Kingsley on that as she needed a Wizengamot's order to access the wills of Lily and James Potter. Kingsley had told her he wanted to refer to the department of magical lineage. Harry's relatives appeared to be squib. She wanted to do a house visit at the Dursley's. First to corroborate with Petunia why she had simply left a child at a pub and then to make sure that Harry's cousin was safe at the residence. She should just call her husband and tell her she would not be home for dinner. It was already 5 p.m. and she would probably be another 2 hours at least.
Back at Tom's flat, Tom entered the guest room and sat on the bed next to Harry. With him, he had the small grocery bag the boy came with to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Ok, Harry. How about we unpack your things, the dresser can probably stay as it is. I saw you have a pair of PJs in there. So how about we get you to the bathroom and ready for bed. Then you can have some supper and you can read some in that new book of yours, ok?"
With that, he took Harry to the bathroom, just now realising that the boy hadn't been to the bathroom the entire afternoon. Harry hadn't said anything about needing to go and Tom was so unfamiliar with small children that he hadn't remembered to ask. He felt slightly bad about it and said it to Harry.
"That's ok. I only get bathroom time at aunt Petunia's twice a day. I'm really good at not having accidents," Harry explained, puffing out his chest. He couldn't even remember the last time he had had an accident.
"Oh..ok. Well, here you can have bathroom time anytime. If you feel like you need the bathroom, just go ahead. I want you to know that you will not be locked in your room and that you can come out any time, ok?"
Tom felt like he would have a really hard time, the more information Harry spilled about his family. The boy seemed so normal for all the stuff he had apparently been through. Tom really started to admire the small boy.
Tom and Harry completed the routine just as Tom had said they would. When Harry had asked to brush his teeth, Tom explained the toothbrushing-potion to Harry. He would need to pick up the children's version tomorrow, but just this once, the adult's version wouldn't cause harm. He instructed Harry on taking a sip in his mouth and swishing it all around his mouth before spitting it out. The boy was amazed at the minty-fresh feeling in his mouth and explained how he used to have a brush and would use a paste and scrub his teeth at his aunt's house, but he liked the potion much better.
Since Tom didn't have food in his apartment, he took Harry downstairs. He had transfigured a pair of slippers for the boy so he wouldn't be barefoot, and took Harry to the kitchen.
"Let me introduce you to Dippy. He is what we call a house elf. His species is small and they like to take care of homes and families. They need wizarding magic to live, so they get bonded to wizards and witches. I have been bonded to Dippy for about 10 years now and he manages the pub's kitchen for me. He will be excited to meet you, most elves love children."
Tom called Dippy over, just now noticing that even the house elf was slightly taller than Harry. The elf's eyes got huge and he started wringing his ears. Tom had never introduced a child to Dippy before.
"Master Tom?" The elf asked.
"Dippy, this is Harry. He will be staying with us for the next little while at least. I want you to take care of Harry. I have instructed him that he may knock on your door or call for you in case he needs anything. Is that ok?"
"Yes, yes, Master Tom. Dippy has been missing children, Master Tom." The elf started wringing his ears even more, his antsy nature infecting Harry. Tom looked down at Harry.
"Can you say hello to Dippy, Harry?"
"Hullo," Harry replied, trying to hide behind Tom.
"Well, this introduction is awkward enough. Dippy, could you make a few sandwhiches for us? Harry, what do you like on your sandwhiches? Do you like cheese or meat?"
"I don't know," Harry never really had meat or cheese on his sandwhiches. Usually, aunt Petunia would simply put some butter on the toast and call it good.
"I liked the sandwhiches I had earlier." Harry wanted to be brave and tell Tom. He might be able to get more of those.
"Oh, that's great. Dippy, could you make some more of those? Maybe another small bowl of stew? Could you send it upstairs? Thanks. Harry, let's go back upstairs and wait for your dinner there."
Before Harry turned around to walk back upstairs, he shyly waved at Dippy, who enthusiastcally waved back. Tom smiled. They would probably get along once they got to know each other a bit more.