Harry and all the characters in this story belong to the esteemed J.K. Rowling. I’m not making any money off it, and after all isn’t imitation the best flattery anyway?
When he got to the park Emma was already there waiting for him on the swing, there was also a woman who Harry figured had to be her mom. They looked almost identical with the same brown hair and eyes. When Emma saw Harry she jumped off the swing and ran up to him,
“Hey Harry!” She said
“Hey yourself, how are you? Is that your mum?” Harry waved at the older woman.
“Yeah, she said she wanted to meet you. Come on.” She pulled him over to her mom.
“Hi I’m Joy, Emmaline’s mother. She’s talked non-stop about you for the last week so I decided that I should come down and meet the famous Harry Potter.”
“Yes, Harry Potter,” he instinctively moved his hair to cover his scar, “its nice to meet you, your daughter is really nice.”
“Thank you; she says the same about you.” Joy looked at the scrawny young boy, taking in his oversized clothes and unusual scar. “Would you like to have brunch with us? It would be nice to talk to you some more, and I’m sure Emma here would enjoy it.” She added, hoping that she might be able to feed this boy, even though it appeared his family didn’t.
“Yeah! I’d love to,” Harry was glad for any excuse to get away from the Dursley’s and he could do with some food.
Emma took Harry’s hand, and the three headed up the street to her house. When Harry entered it he immediately could tell that this was a loving family. There were pictures of Emma and her family on the walls, and everything had a homey feel to it that the Dursleys’ lacked.
“Your house is really nice, it smells really good too.” Harry said to Joy.
“Thank you, we try and make it feel nice and cozy, you probably smell the crumble cake that’s baking.” Joy was surprised at how polite and mild-mannered the young boy was, no he wasn’t a boy, he’s a man, she corrected herself. His eyes make him look like he’s a hundred years old. Joys motherly intuition told her that he was dealing with some large problem, something which had caused him to skip over his childhood.
“C’mon Harry! Over here into the kitchen, we have lots of food.” Emma dragged him into the kitchen and sat him down. Joy opened up the oven and pulled out the steaming cake and cut each of them a piece; there was also bacon, eggs, and orange juice on the table. For a while the room was only filled with the sounds of the silverware hitting plates as they ate.
“Thank you for having me over Emma, I get really bored over the summer so it’s nice to do something every once and a while. I can’t wait ‘till school starts.” Harry said as they cleaned up.
Emma laughed, “Silly why would you want to go back to school? Summer’s fun!”
“Because it’s more of a home to me than anywhere else,” he said quietly.
“Do you not do anything with your parents over the summer?” Joy asked.
“No, my parents were killed when I was one, I live with my Aunt and Uncle, and they usually don’t like to acknowledge I don’t even live with them.” He said with a sour laugh.
“Oh, I’m sorry; Emma lost her father, Harold too, in a car accident. If you don’t mind me asking, how did your parents die?” Joy asked softly.
Harry tried to think of a story in his mind which would not reveal him as a wizard yet still explain what happened. In the end though, he decided to just tell part of the truth.
“Well, my parent’s were murdered by a man named Tom Riddle. He killed both of them, and tried to kill me. He couldn’t though, but left me with this scar.” He lifted his bangs out of the way so they could see the lightning bolt scar he was so famous for.
“Did they ever catch the man who did it?” Emma asked.
“No, he ran away after that, no one could find him. Some said he was killed… but he was seen again last year.” Harry stated, satisfied that the story made at least some sense.
“Well I’m sorry that happened to you. You said that you live with your Aunt and Uncle now, how are they?” Joy said patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.
“They’re….ok…. I guess, I mean they feed me and clothe me. My Aunt never liked her sister, or my dad, so they don’t exactly love me. I’m more like a tenant or something. They’re as happy to see me go off to school as I was.”
“Oh, well I’m sorry to hear that. Do you like your school though; do you go to the one near here?” Jay asked, she hadn’t seen the boy at Emma’s school and most of the neighborhood kids went there.
“Nope, I go to a boarding school even though the Dursleys say I go to St. Brutus’s School for the Incurably Criminal.”
“Really? I went to a boarding school too, what’s it called?” Joy asked.
Harry hesitated for a moment, but then decided to tell them because they would most likely be figuring out soon enough.
“It’s called Hogwarts, it’s in
“It sounds cool, I wish I could go to a school like that it would be wicked!” Emma said excitedly.
“I’ve never heard of a school by that name, but Emma’s right it does sound wonderful, I could see why you love it so much. Do you have to apply?” Joy asked, it sounded like a great school and she herself had enjoyed boarding school. Maybe Emma would too.
“Actually I just got a note one day saying that I was accepted into it, apparently my mum and dad had me signed up for it. It was one of the happiest days of my life.” Harry said happily, thinking about what a shock it will be to Emma and Joy if they got the letter.
“Well I’ll have to look into that, I enjoyed my boarding school experience and I’m sure Emmaline would too.” Joy glanced at her watch and gasped. “Oh no, I’m sorry I’m going to have to go I have a case that I should be working on. Harry you’re more than welcome to stay with Emma if you want to. Emma I’ll be at my office, you know the number, and I’ll be home around six alright?” She bent down and kissed her daughter on the forehead.
“I think I’ll be going home also, I have some chores I need to do, I’ll see you tomorrow at the swings Emma?” Harry smiled at the little girl.
“Sure, same time, same place. See ya Harry!” She hugged him around the waist.
