Chapter 3
“Hello?”
“Hey, Joey!”
“Martin! How are you?”
“Good, thanks. You?”
“Good, Good. What’s up?”
“Listen, they found Harry.”
“Really?! Where was he?”
“A man named John Greenwood found him lying on the side of the road in his neighborhood. He brought Harry to the police and they went to the hospital to give him a DNA test, to see who he was and then they called me.”
“The side of the road?! Either that was just some bad Murphy’s Law or I have some very strong words to give someone.”
“Well, I’m not sure how he got there, but I think he was with Lily’s old Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.”
“Why wasn’t he with Sirius?”
“Apparently he’s been arrested for murder.”
“But that doesn’t sound like him at all!”
“I know… something fishy is going on…”
“I agree. So you’re saying Harry was with Dumbledore?”
“I think so at least. Can't think of where else."
"What about Remus?"
"Don't you remember? He said he didn't want to look after Harry just in case something happened."
"Oh yeah, werewolf problems. But anyway, what's going to happen now?"
"Well one of us has to go get Harry and bring him home."
"I think you should do it Martin. I already have a Murphy boy so it'll probably be easier for you."
"That's a good point. And Bridget's already ok'ed it… so yeah, sure, I'll do it!"
"Great! Listen, I have to go now, but keep me updated?"
"Of course! Bye!"
"Bye!"
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So it was decided, Martin would head to England to pick up his nephew and raise him as his own.
He left the next morning by himself, leaving his wife and daughter at home. He had been on airplanes before but they always made him really nervous with all the many things that could go wrong.
Luckily, by some miracle, nothing happened and he arrived safely and in one piece.
He only planned to stay at least a week so he rented out a hotel room. He mentally sighed at the money he was bound to be charged because of some damages done to the room during his stay. Thank God for the specially made insurance specifically for Murphy's Law.
The first thing he did after settling into his hotel room was head to the Hospital that his nephew was at. The drive between the two was decently short and the only thing that happened was an oil spill on the road that he narrowly avoided.
“Hello,” he said to the hospital secretary lady, “I’m here to see Dr. Patrick.”
She typed a bit on her computer, then stood up, “Right this way, sir.”
They walked down a long hallway with different patient rooms before stopping at one of the doors. The secretary opened the door and let him in, then left back to her desk.
Inside was Dr. Patrick’s office. It was small and homey, decorated very plainly but with personality all the same. She was sitting at her desk on her computer, but looked up and smiled at him when he entered.
“Martin, so good to see you,” they shook hands and he sat down, “You’ve grown.”
He blushed and chuckled, “I guess, it’s good to see you again.”
“Look, I’m so sorry about Lily. She was a bright young girl,” the doctor smiled fondly, “I didn’t see her as much as you, your brother, or father of course, but she was great.”
“Yeah,” Martin sighed, “She was.”
They then got down to business, discussing how he would get Harry into his custody.
“Now, I may only be a doctor, but I’m sure you’ll need to show the will for legalization of your rights to him.”
Martin frowned, “The problem is, the will was burned up in the house fire that killed my sister and brother-in-law. They were a little old fashioned and only had that one paper copy.” The house fire bit was a lie they were forced to tell others to keep the magical world a secret. And it was true that they only had the one paper because wizards really were into all that all fashioned stuff.
Dr. Patrick frowned, “Well that is troubling.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “But I’m not too worried. It makes sense that Harry would go into the custody of his closest living family.”
“What about the father’s side?”
“Not in the picture,” Martin shook his head.
“Well, I’d say you’re good to go then,” she stood, “Come on, I’ll bring you to him.”
They walked through a few different hallways until they reached the baby room. It wasn’t hard to tell which crib had Harry in it. There was one that was a few feet away from the rest, and a caution sign in front of it that said, “CAUTION WATCH OUT FOR MURPHY’S LAW” Martin chuckled at the sight of it.
They both walked over to it and Martin looked down at his nephew for the first time. He could say with full confidence that it was love at first sight, just like with Sara. The little baby cooed at him and he could genuinely feel his heart melting. He noticed a lightning shaped scar on Harry’s head and thought, ‘How peculiar,’ but dismissed it quickly.
Martin reached down and picked him up, rocking him slowly. He was so preoccupied he didn’t notice that all the other baby cribs behind him were rolling around and into each other, like bumper cars. Dr. Patrick trying her best to save them all.
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The next week was full of visiting Harry in the hospital (no babies allowed in the hotel), dodging falling bricks, and signing paperwork. Once he was officially and legally Harry’s guardian and father, Martin actually went to his rented room and cried to himself, both in joy and in sadness.
His last day in England was his most interesting. He was given an address and went to visit the home of John Greenwood. He wanted to thank him for finding Harry and bringing him to safety.
He stood outside the door and nervously rang the doorbell. After it rang, there was silence for a few moments before the door opened up. John was a tall man, just about Martin’s height, with dark brown hair and kind eyes. He looked to be a little bit older than him, just by a few years, and was looking at Martin curiously.
“Can I help you?” John asked.
Martin smiled at him, “Hello, you’re John Greenwood, correct?”
“Mmhmm.”
“I’m Martin Murphy,” They shook hands, “I just wanted to stop by to offer my thanks.”
John looked a little flustered, “It was no problem, just what anyone would do.”
“Still,” Martin said, “Thank you.”
John invited him into his home and they sat together for a few hours just talking with each other. John told Martin about his life and vise versa. Martin answered some questions about Murphy’s Law and they even exchanged numbers. It was really nice.
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Again, luckily the plane ride home was uneventful. Martin was extremely grateful for that, worried for Harry’s safety and all. Waiting for them at the airport was his lovely wife and amazing daughter. They both ran up and hugged him. And he hugged them back just as, if not more, strongly.
When they pulled back, Martin gently directed little Sara towards the stroller with Harry in it. “Look,” he whispered, “It’s your new baby brother.”
Sara looked at the baby in awe, stars shining in her eyes. Brigette and Martin looked at the sight softly. Truly not everything went wrong, because this was perfect.
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Raising Harry was tough, and not just because of Murphy’s Law. He was a fussy baby, often crying if left alone for even a second. But the two parents were always on top of it. Change a diaper? Check. Feed the kids? Check. Stop inevitable accidents that left the house in ruins from hurting the kids? Check.
On the plus side, Sara was a model older sister. She played with Harry when ever she could. Read to him. Even shared her love for that Dr. Zone show she really seemed to latch onto. It really pushed a weight off Martina and Brigette’s chests that their kids were getting along so well.
One thing was a bit odd though. Whenever they referred to him as Harry he didn’t pay much attention, which is of course normal for a one year old, but what wasn’t normal was what happened one day as the Murphy family all sat in the living room together.
Sara and Harry were sitting on the floor together and she was trying to teach him words. “Say, Sara! Saaarrrraaa!” When her brother just looked at her blankly, she groaned, “Mommy, Daddy, why won’t Harry speak yet?”
Martin smiled at them, “Well, sweetie, all babies learn to talk at their own pace. You said your first words a few months older than Harry is now.”
Brigette nodded in agreement, “And, hey, maybe try things other than your own name? How about his name?”
Sara thought about it for a second then smiled, “Ok! Harry! Harrrryyyyy!”
“Milo!” Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Harry. He was clapping his little baby hands in delight, “Milo!”
“Did-did he just say…?” Brigette trailed off.
“His first word! Oh my God!” Martin picked Harry up and twirled him around. Sara giggled and clapped. Martin stopped and stood still in confusion, “His first word was his middle name?”
Brigette walked over to the rest of the family and kissed Harry’s forehead smiling, “How strange.”
Sara jumped up and down trying to get her parents’ attention, “Why’d he say Milo?”
“Um, we don’t really know,” Martin shrugged, “I do know that Lily wanted his first name to be Milo until James won with Harry.”
Brigette laughed, “Well it seems like, Milo,” she emphasised, “agrees with Lily.”
From then on they referred to the baby as Milo. Milo Murphy.
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Honestly, unlike what they had thought would happen, accidental magic didn’t seem to be a problem. When Martin was growing up with Joey and Lily, Lily’s accidental magic had both helped and worsened Murphy’s Law incidents.
Plenty of crazy things happened around Milo, but either it was all Murphy, or they just weren’t able to tell the difference. But either way, with his backpack he got from his babysitter, Veronica, he was unstoppable. Truly one of the most capable Murphy in generations.
Martin and Brigette were actually really open about his origins. Milo knew he was adopted, that his mom and dad were his aunt and uncle. He knew he went by his middle name, and he knew that his real last name was Potter.
Milo was generally pretty ok with these things. Of course there would be times he asked about his birth parents, or tried to think of himself as Harry Potter (which made him feel uncomfortable so he stopped). He was a happy kid, regardless of the bad luck he had.
He also asked about the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. He knew the story behind each and everyone of his many scars, but not this one. Unfortunately his parents had no answer.
Was he aware that he was a wizard? Well, sort of. He knew his parents were magical, and so assumed he was too, but also knew he wasn’t showing any magical signs. Like his parents, his theory was that his accidental magic was just hidden behind his Murphy’s luck, but sometimes he honestly thought he really was just a muggle.
Milo was told all about Hogwarts from his parents, well all they knew about it of course. Stories that Lily told her family through letters and on break. And while he wouldn’t mind going, he loved his current school and would dread leaving all his friends. There was also that he lived in America so if anything he would be going to Ilvermorny. But no letter came and they never reached out.
His eleventh birthday was just the same as every year, a party that went up in flames and police involvement, but overall fun times. But that year, he had given up on the thought of ever learning magic.
And, honestly, after the initial shock and sadness, he was able to come to terms with it pretty easily. Milo accepted that he would just be a muggle and with a smile on his face.
Of course, learning magic would still be cool, but he would hate to leave his current life! He loved his current life! School work wasn’t fun, but he loved his classmates and most of the teachers. He loved his town and the crazy adventures he went on. And most of all he loved his friends and family who were always there for him. Milo could never give any of that up. And with any luck, he would never need to.