The Beginning Of A Lifetime Of Changes
It was Monday, August 1st 1983 and Petunia was walking up the stairs thinking.
Yesterday was Harry's third birthday and things were starting to change. Before things were easy, Harry was a baby, she couldn't hurt a baby. But, now that was over and she was concerned. He was becoming a lot more like his father with age and Petunia did not have good relations with the boy's father. Oh, what was she going to do?
Petunia walked into Harry's bedroom and saw the small boy sitting on the floor. Not a surprising position for a toddler. What was surprising however, or at least surprising for Harry, was that he was wearing messy pink nail polish. It had been painted by Vernon, that much was obvious. Although it had clearly been painted by inexperienced hands, three year old inexperienced hands, no way. She wished she could talk to her husband about it however, he had, unfortunately, left for work an hour prior.
"Harry, what happened to your nails?"
"Mommy! Daddy did them for me. Aren't they pretty!?"
Mommy and Daddy. Harry hadn't been living there long before he began calling them that. They tried to explain to him that they weren't his parents but the boy didn't care. He knew about James and Lily and still called them 'mommy and daddy' of course. But Petunia and Vernon had also received the titles. And after a while learned to go with it.
"Yes. They are very pretty, baby. But, why did he paint them?"
" 'Cause I wanted him to." Harry said giggling.
"Why did you want him to?"
"Because, mommy, there pretty. And don't you think I'm a pretty girl?"
"Well, yes you are pretty. But what do you mean by a 'pretty girl'? You're a boy."
"No I'm not! You know I'm not." The toddler said as if his (second) mother had said the sky was green.
"You are a boy." Petunia said sharply.
Standing up and not laughing anymore the child said "No I'm Not!".
"Don't raise your voice at me."
"Don't call me a boy."
"But, you are a boy."
"No I'm not."
Giving in Petunia said "Fine. You're a girl. If you want to call yourself one than I'll call you one. You need a new name I suppose, Harry isn't a very feminine name."
Petunia expected the toddler to get upset at this but she didn't so Petunia went on "What about Alexandria. Your mother always liked that name for a girl. Alexandria Jasmine. Jasmine is a flower which is a common name type for girls in my and your mothers family."
The young girl was quite for a second before saying "Alexandria Jasmine. Yes, mommy. Thank you!"
The child ran over and hugged her shocked mother.
This was going to be interesting.