Charmed Wizard

Harry was sitting in the living room watching a movie on television. There was nothing else for him to really do at the moment, as he didn't even have any of his text books, so he welcomed it when Piper turned the TV on for him.

Harry was soon interrupted when he heard the door. Soon, the woman he remembered meeting a couple of days ago came in. He couldn't remember her name.”

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello. I don't remember your name,” Harry said before muting the movie he was watching.

“That's okay. You've met a bunch of knew people recently. I'm Paige,” she said before walking over and joining him on the couch. “What are you watching.”

Harry shrugged. “Not sure. Um, you're related to me as well, yeah?”

“Yep. Phoebe's my sister,” Paige said.

“So you're my aunt too then. Bloody hell, it seems I have a big family,” Harry said. It was almost funny because he'd always wished he had a family. He'd only ever had the Dursleys, and he hardly call them family. He always wished there was more. Now that that wish had come true, it was terribly overwhelming. He supposed this was an example of needing to be careful what you wished for.

Paige nodded. “It's pretty scary isn't it. One minute, it's pretty much just you and the next there are all these people around that you don't know and they want to be a part of your life. I know how you feel.”

Harry snorted, making it clear he didn't believe her. How could anyone understand. He had apparently been ejected from his birth mother and transported into someone else's body. Who in the world could actually say they'd been through that.

“I do. I didn't grow up with my sisters. I didn't know them until I was an adult. I was adopted,” Paige said. She knew it wasn't completely the same, but she did understand what it was like to find out that your parents weren't your biological parents and she knew what it felt like to get used to a new family.

“Really?” Harry asked surprised.

Paige nodded. “I was about ten or eleven when I found out I was adopted. It freaked me out. I felt like my whole life had been turned upside down. I was scared that my parents would somehow stop loving me because I wasn't really theirs and I was hurt that my biological parents gave me up. I wondered if I did something wrong.” This was something she never even told her sisters. By the time she met them, she had adjusted to the fact that she was adopted and had no problems with it, but as a child, it was hard.

“It got better, right?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. After a lot of conversations with my parents, I realized they loved me just the same as if I was their blood. I also came to realize that sometimes parents have to give their kids up to give them a better life. It doesn't mean it was that easy when I met my sisters though. They were strangers to me and I don't know what place I had in their lives. It didn't help that I knew nothing about Magic at the time either. I was thrust into a world I didn't understand,” Paige explained.

Harry had to admit that if anyone could understand what he went through, it was Paige. She knew what it was like to find out she wasn't who she thought she was. In fact, it might even have been worse for her since she knew and loved her parents. “I suppose things should be easier for me than for you. I never knew my parents. I didn't have a loving family.”

“I don't know about that. I mean, finding out the life you knew wasn't the one you were supposed to live is freaky no matter what kind of life you've had. Plus, I know for a fact that it's not so easy to go from a terrible home life to a good one. I used to work at social services I know of a bunch of kids who have been uprooted from homes for their own good and placed in a better one. Most of the time, it's not an easy adjustment,” Paige explained.

“I...I never knew my parents. They died when I was eighteen months old. I've lived with my aunt and uncle every since. Well, I thought they were my aunt and uncle anyway. They told me my father was a drunk that got him and my mother killed. They've said many times that I should've died with them,” Harry said. He wasn't sure why he was opening up to a woman he'd only seen twice before this. Perhaps because she knew at least a little bit of what he was going through.

It took everything Paige had to keep a straight face and not go off on an angry rant. She hated child abusers. She'd seen a lot when she worked for social services and she found them to be by far the worst kind of human life on the planet. It took a real coward to bully a child, whether it be physically or verbally.

“I found out when I was eleven that none of that was true. My parents were killed by a wizard, and I was a wizard too. From then on, I went to school to learn Magic. I loved it, but it wasn't all so wonderful. The wizard that killed my parents, or who I thought were my parents, has tried to kill me nearly every year,” Harry explained.

“So your life has been filled with nothing but shock and drama practically your whole life,” Paige stated. No wonder the kid was having such a hard time with this. Any kid would have a hard time dealing with a new family he didn't know about, but her nephew had had to adjust to trauma after trauma and surprise after surprise. He'd probably reached his limit.

Harry nodded. He hadn't even gotten into the prophecy or Sirius dying. That all didn't help with this either. He'd just reached the point in his life where he wasn't sure he could take anything else.

“I know all this is really hard, but I just want you to know you have a family that truly loves you. Phoebe would do anything for you, as would Cole,” Paige said. As much as she hated Cole, she knew her former brother-in-law loved his son. She'd seen the look in his eyes when they'd brought Harry home unconscious and bloody. “The rest of us do to. You have a bunch of cousins who can't wait to meet you. I know your sisters can't wait either.”

“How many kids are there in this family?” Harry wondered.

“You'd make ten,” Paige said.

“Bloody hell! It reminds me of my friend Ron. He has six siblings,” Harry said.

“Well, all the kids are like siblings. They see each other almost every day,” Paige said.

“Um, would you mind if I had some time to myself. I just want to think for a it,” Harry said politely.

“Sure. I'm gonna go raid Piper's fridge,” Paige said before getting up and heading for the kitchen.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Harry found himself being led through a fairly large hat would now be his home by Cole and Phoebe. It was very nice looking. It was a bit larger than the Dursleys' house and had expensive looking furniture and appliances. He was quickly ushered upstairs and into a bedroom that would be his.

Harry looked around astonished. There was a large, comfortable looking bed in the middle of the room. Beside it, there was a night stand with a table lamp on top of it. Across from it, there was a large dresser for his clothes with a mirror attached. On the wall to the left of the bed was a desk and chair designed for reading and school work and on the right of the bed was a large closet.

Harry was shocked. Some of the things, he'd picked out when he went shopping with Phoebe, like the dresser and end table, but other things he hadn't. He'd seen the bed at the store, but thought it would be two much, so he picked a much smaller one. He didn't pick out the desk either, never even thinking of getting one. When he needed to do work, he was sure he could find a table around elsewhere. There was no reason to purchase something that must be so expensive.

Cole stepped behind his son and put a hand on his shoulder. “What do you think?”

“Y...You didn't have to. It's too much,” Harry said, still in awe. The room was twice the size of the one he had at the Dursleys and the furniture was nicer than he could've ever imagined.

“No, it's not. You deserve to have a nice room. We want that for you,” Cole said.

“But it must be so expensive,” Harry said.

“You don't need to worry about money. That's our job. And it's actually not that big a deal. I have a good job and your father was a lawyer. We make plenty of money to provide a nice room for you,” Phoebe assured him.

Harry went over and touched the bed post. 'Thank you. No one's gotten me anything like this before.”

“That's our job, to make sure you have what you need, and sometimes what you want too,” Phoebe said.

“You want us to give you some time to settle in?” Cole asked.

Harry nodded.

“We'll be downstairs,” Cole said before he and Phoebe walked out of the room.

“Did you see his face. My God, that was both awesome and depressing at the same time,” Phoebe said as they walked downstairs. She was glad her son was happy about his new room, but not so glad that he seemed so astonished that they, or anyone, would do something so nice for him. The look on his face was like they'd bought him a small mansion.

“Yeah, he shouldn't be so shocked to get nice things, and he certainly shouldn't worry about money,” Cole said, stopping and turning to her as they reached the living room.

“I swear, Cole, I could kill those people just at the thought of what they did to our boy,” Phoebe said.

“If I ever see them again, I will kill them,” Cole said firmly.

“I might just help you,” Phoebe said. She'd never actually hated someone so much that she thought about going out of their way to kill them, but then again, no human had ever harmed her children before. These people had gone out of their way to hurt her son and she wanted them to pay.

“I'm gonna order dinner soon. It's getting close to that time. Do you want to stay?” Cole asked. A part of him hoped she'd say no. The two of them had been quite cordial since they brought Harry home, aside from the scene when he said he wanted Harry to live with him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to tempt fate. And as much as he hated to admit, even to himself, being around Phoebe was hard for him. A large part of him hated her, but another part of him still loved her too.

“No, I have to go home for dinner. I promised the girls. If you don't mind though, I'll be by in the morning around breakfast time,” Phoebe said.

“That's fine,” Cole said.

“Okay, I'm gonna go back up and say goodbye to him,” Phoebe said before heading back up the stairs.