The first thing that Harry noticed as he woke up was the feeling of something cold and wet resting on his forehead; as he slowly raised his hand to touch it, a gasp burst forth from his right, making him jump in fear before a voice squeaked out,
"Master Harry, you are awake! Jaya was so worried!"
Harry squinted in the direction of the house-elf before he felt his glasses being placed very gently on his face; a moment later, Harry saw Jaya looking at him with an expression of happiness mixed with weariness,
"How long was I asleep for?" Harry asked slowly as he raised himself up and pulled the wet washcloth from his forehead,
"Master Harry slept for a full day!" Jaya squeaked, "Jaya was beginning to worry that Master Harry might never open his eyes; Jaya is so happy to see you finally awake!"
"You stayed by my side the whole time?" Harry asked slowly, frowning as Jaya nodded her head quickly,
"Missus Wheezy tried to make Jaya leave, but Jaya wouldn't! Not until Master Harry woke up, I'll be letting the missus know that you are being awake; she was awful worried about you too!"
Without another word, Jaya jumped off of the stool she had been sitting on and ran out of the room, quickly closing the door behind her; for a moment, Harry stared after her before bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them,
"You're nothing but a freak! Who would want something like you?!"
Harry shut his eyes tight as the voice echoed in his head, and the memories of what had happened came back to him,
"They'll throw you in the street where you belong the moment you act up!"
Slowly, Harry began to sob as the words hit him again with all the force of a punch; uncle Vernon was right; Harry was a fool to think anyone would want him; nobody would ever want someone like him.
Harry sat in the dark sobbing when suddenly the door was flung open, making him jump in terror as Molly entered, a look of relief on her face, followed almost immediately by Jaya,
"Oh, Harry dear!" She cried happily as she strode toward him, "I'm so glad you're finally up; I was so worried!"
Instinctively, Harry flinched from Molly's embrace and backed away as tears fell freely down his cheeks; Molly stopped as she saw the movement, and a sad expression came across her face before she turned to Jaya,
"Jaya, would you please let the rest of the children know that Harry is awake?"
"Yes, missus, right away!" Jaya said happily as she turned to leave; before she could, though, Molly added,
"But don't let them up just yet; I'd like to speak to Harry alone for a little while if that's okay,"
Jaya nodded her head, that she understood before quickly leaving the room and softly closing the door behind her.
When they were left alone, Harry brought his knees back up to his chest as he watched Molly slowly move to the stool that Jaya had occupied before sitting down next to him; after a few moments of silence, Molly finally said in a soft voice,
"I am so sorry, Harry,"
Harry turned to look at her and saw that she looked like she was about to cry, which only seemed to make him feel worse,
"For what?" He asked in a low voice,
"I promised you that no one would ever hurt you again, and then I let this happen," Molly replied sadly,
"It's not your fault…." Then, before burying his face into his knees, Harry sniffled, "This always happens…."
"What does, dear?" Molly asked softly,
"Whenever something good happens to me, it's always taken away," Harry sobbed, the words breaking Molly's heart,
"When my aunt and uncle left me with Mrs. Figg, she let me play with her kitties," Harry said softly, "I had fun that day, but when I went back to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, they got mad and said I wasn't allowed to see her anymore, that freaks don't deserve to have fun."
Molly bit her lip hard to stop her from sobbing; more than anything, she wanted to reach out and hold the boy, and yet she knew that if she did, he would just flinch away from her; she needed to go slow and show him that she wouldn't hurt him.
"Harry, I promise you that you will never return to your Aunt and Uncle again," Molly said quickly, "You're a Weasley now, remember?"
"Until you decide to kick me out for doing something wrong…." Harry said sadly, making Molly pale slightly,
"We would never do that, Harry!" Molly cried, inwardly sobbing as Harry flinched away from her,
"Uncle Vernon said that the first time I do something unnatural, you'll throw me out!" Harry sobbed as he hugged his knees tighter.
Molly's mind raced, she could see that Harry was standing on the edge, and if she said or did the wrong thing, it might push him over; she needed to show him that he could trust her,
"Harry, listen to me very carefully," Molly said quickly, "That thing was not your uncle; it was a boggart,"
"A what?" Harry asked, looking up at her slowly,
"A boggart," Molly said again, "They're creatures that hide in dark places and show you what you're most afraid of; your terror becomes their weapon; what you saw was not real! It was just a cruel trick sent to you by a very evil person who only wanted to hurt you, do you understand?"
Harry stared at her for a moment in silence before lowering his face back to his knees,
"The monsters who were chasing me sent it, didn't they?" Harry asked in a broken voice; when Molly didn't answer, Harry began to cry even harder,
"I'm sorry, Molly, I didn't mean to bring the monsters here; Uncle Vernon was right about me; all I ever do is cause problems!"
"Harry, that is not true at all," Molly said soothingly, "You are a bright, wonderful little boy,"
Harry said nothing, simply buried his face in the blanket and shook with sobs,
"Arthur and I would never throw you out, Harry," Molly continued as she scooted a little closer, "We both love you and so do the rest of your new family; that's why we adopted you, and that is why we will never let anyone hurt you again."
Slowly, Molly reached out and placed her hand under Harry's chin, forcing his head up until he was looking into her eyes,
"You are a Weasley now, Harry. And we will never abandon you, nor will we ever hurt you or lie to you, do you understand?"
Harry stared into her fierce gaze in silence for a moment before his face crumpled, and he lunged, sobbing into her arms,
"There we go, Harry," Molly said softly as she rocked him back and forth, desperately trying to fight back the tears that threatened to come out, "Everything will be okay, I promise."
For several minutes, Molly sat there rocking Harry gently until he finally calmed down enough to pull away from her and rub his eyes,
"Now, why don't we go downstairs and get you something to eat?" Molly said warmly, "You must be starving after being asleep for so long. I know the other children will want to see you; we've all been so worried about you; poor Jaya absolutely refused to leave your bedside, no matter what I said."
Molly gently took Harry by the hand, and the two slowly left the room and began to descend the stairs as Molly told him how worried everyone was and how even though Arthur had had to return to work, he wanted to know the moment Harry woke up.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry jumped as multiple voices yelled out his name, and he quickly ducked behind Molly as the rest of the children ran up to him,
"We thought you'd never wake up, mate!" Ron said happily,
"Gave us a right fright, you did," Charlie added with a smile,
"Alright, that's enough, settle down!" Molly said after a few moments, "Harry dear, it's alright to come out; no one is going to hurt you,"
Harry slowly came out from behind Molly and saw that all the Weasley's were smiling at him, happy that he was alright, and he found himself crying again, much to the confusion of the room,
"What's wrong, Harry?" Fred (or George) asked quickly,
"I'm sorry for worrying you all," Harry cried, "I didn't mean to,"
"Harry, it's not your fault," Bill replied as he kneeled down before the boy, "And we don't blame you one bit for that boggart; we're just happy that you're alright, that's all that matters, okay?"
Harry slowly nodded his head as Bill turned to Ginny,
"Ginny's got something for you, don't you, Ginny?"
Harry looked at her as she slowly approached, her hands behind her back; with a smile, she brought her hands out to reveal Harry's bear,
"I gave him a bath and kept him safe for you," she said happily as Harry slowly reached out and took it,
"Thank you, Ginny," Harry said as he smiled through his tears.
Quickly wiping his face, Harry turned to Jaya, who was watching with a smile,
"Jaya, you can go get some rest now; I know you must be exhausted," Harry said softly,
"Thank you, Master Harry," Jaya said wearily, "Jaya will go rest now that you are being awake and safe."
With a final bow, Jaya quickly made her way up the stairs to the broom closet that Arthur had enlarged to make into her room,
"Now, let's all sit down and have a nice breakfast, and afterward, you all can go play outside while I let your father know that Harry is awake; how does that sound?" Molly asked as she picked Harry up and sat him down in his chair; cheers of agreement followed. Harry nodded happily as the others took their places, no one noticing the beetle that had just flown out the window.
XXXX
Molly considered herself a patient woman; she had to be after raising seven children. Especially after having to keep up with the terror twins, and yet the following month seemed to try her patience to the breaking point.
Not long after Harry had awakened, the burrow was bombarded with reporters from the 'Daily Prophet' asking to see Harry and asking a myriad of questions about the validity of Rita Skeeter's statements that he had been abused at the hands of muggles.
Accompanying the reporters were dozens of owls from the Ministry of Magic demanding a variety of answers as well, such as how did Harry escape his Aunt and Uncle? Did he have any information on who the Death Eaters were who had attacked the boy? How did the Weasley's manage to adopt Harry so fast? As well as a hundred other questions, comments, letters of support, and requests to speak with the boy, it got so bad that Molly began to just throw the letters into the fireplace rather than read them and threatened to hex any reporter who stepped onto her property, through it all, little Harry continually apologized for bringing the madness upon them, despite Molly's continuous assurances that she wasn't mad at him, nor did she hold him responsible.
The breaking point came when Molly opened the 'Daily Prophet' one morning to see another article by Rita Skeeter concerning Harry that made Molly turn red in incandescent rage,
"What's wrong, Molly?" Arthur had asked as he saw the change in his wife; without answering, Molly simply handed the paper to him and watched as he read:
Harry Potter receives trauma in lieu of cheer for his Birthday!
Birthdays are supposed to be a joyous occasion; a time to celebrate with family and friends, a time for presents and cake, with warm well-wishers by your side to enjoy it with you. This is especially true for children. Yet, for Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, this was not to be.
Harry Potter was never given a birthday in his many years with the muggles who abused him; the honor of giving him his first went to his newly adopted parents, Mr. Arthur Weasley and Mrs. Molly Weasley, and it should have been a happy day filled with laughter and joy.
Alas, this was not the case; instead, Harry Potter was sent a truly monstrous present by persons unknown in the form of a boggart which took the form of his muggle Uncle who had previously tortured the boy and caused such terror and panic in little Harry that he suffered a panic attack and had to have medical personnel rushed to his side. Who would send such a horrible gift to a child who had already suffered so much? And why was the gift not thoroughly checked by his new guardians before it was given to him in the first place? It is this reporter's opinion (and I know that many of my readers will agree, I'm sure) that perhaps Harry is not in as safe hands as the Weasley's would like us to believe. Perhaps he should be removed to more appropriate custodians who will better protect the boy from such trauma from reoccurring. And still, another question is unanswered, why have the muggles who so abused the boy that a mere boggart could send him into a full-blown panic attack not yet been punished? After requesting comment from Amelia Bones, the head of magical law enforcement, this reporter was rudely told to "Mind your own business, Ms. Skeeter, we are currently running an investigation and cannot speak about it until it is concluded."
And yet, after a month, Harry Potter's abusers remain unpunished, leaving this reporter to ask, does anyone even really care about the poor boy?
Arthur began to breathe heavily as he finished reading the article, trying with all his might to suppress the rage that threatened to consume him, while Molly looked positively murderous,
"How does she keep getting this information?!" Arthur demanded angrily as he threw the paper across the table
"Excuse me for a moment, Arthur," Molly said suddenly as she rose to her feet and stepped outside; a moment later, there was a loud 'BOOM' as though a cannon had gone off, and the whole house shook; Arthur quickly jumped to his feet and ran outside to find Molly breathing heavily and standing in front of a large crater, her wand pointed at it and sparks racing along its tip.
"What the bloody hell was that?!" Bill cried as he ran out of the house and towards his parents, the rest of the children not far behind,
"Watch your language!" Molly cried as she spun to face the children; seeing her angry expression, the kids stopped short, and Fred let out a long whistle as he saw the hole his mother had created,
"Blimey, mum, who made you mad?"
"Never you mind who it was!" Molly growled,
"Molly dear…." Arthur said softly, nodding his head at Harry, who was holding Ginny's hand and watching her with fear; with visible effort, Molly slowly calmed herself down and smiled at the group assembled before her,
"I'm sorry, children, I did not mean to lose my temper; why don't you all go take Harry and play some Quidditch? There's enough of you to make it an even game, and I'm sure Harry would enjoy learning to fly some more, wouldn't you, Harry?"
Harry shook his head quickly as a smile began to form on his face,
"Go on, then," Molly said warmly, "Off with you, and Bill will be in charge, so no funny business, understand?"
Grunts of approval followed her words before the children began to quickly disperse and follow Bill and Charlie towards the woodshed where they kept the brooms; a moment later, Molly and Arthur were alone.
"You shouldn't let her get to you like that, Mollywobbles," Arthur said soothingly as Molly began to wave her wand and clean up the mess she had made,
"Unfit to care for Harry; how DARE she say that?! We're the only ones who even give a damn about the poor boy! Dumbledore wanted to send him back to them!"
"I know, dear," Arthur said softly, "We both know it's not true,"
"Yes, but the rest of the world doesn't know that!" Molly cried as she turned to her husband suddenly, "What if they believe here lies and take him from us?!"
"We will never let that happen, Molly," Arthur said seriously, "Harry is our son in every way that matters, including legally, and I shall be damned if they take him from us!"
Molly looked him in the eye for a moment before he took her into his embrace and held her as she began to cry,
"Why can't they just leave the poor boy alone?"
"Because they're vermin who feed off the misery of others, and Rita Skeeter is the worst of them all!" Arthur replied angrily,
"On that point, you'll find that I agree wholeheartedly," a voice suddenly said, making the pair turn swiftly to see who had spoken and finding Dumbledore standing in their doorway with a sad expression,
"Professor Dumbledore, I'm sorry if you heard that; I didn't mean…." Molly began before Dumbledore held up a hand for peace,
"It's alright, Molly, I completely understand," he said as he made his way over to them, "The last few weeks have been exceptionally hard on us all, I imagine."
"They've been coming after you as well, then?" Arthur asked, frowning as Dumbledore nodded,
"Indeed they have; I've had dozens of owls from the Ministry demanding answers as to my involvement in Harry's abuse,"
"But you had no involvement aside from placing him there!" Molly cried angrily,
"Alas, my dear," Dumbledore said wearily, "That does make me involved; it is only due to the goodwill I have gained over many decades that I have not been charged, that and my assurances that the ones responsible will be brought to justice, which brings me to why I am here."
"What are you talking about, Albus?" Arthur asked softly, not liking the direction the conversation was going,
"I tried every trick I know to avoid this, but unfortunately, there seems to be no other way," Dumbledore said sadly, his head drooping,
"I'll ask again, Albus," Arthur asked softly, "What are you talking about?"
"The Wizengamot have decided to pursue formal charges against Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley; unfortunately, this means that Harry will have to testify in open court as to the nature of his abuse,"
Molly's face turned pale as the blood drained from it, and for a moment, she was rendered speechless before finally crying out,
"He can't! Albus, you can't let this happen!"
"Believe me, Molly, I have tried every trick I know to try and find a way to avoid making Harry testify," Dumbledore said sadly, "I have spoken to dozens of people, cashed in years of favors owed to me, and yet I cannot find a way to stop this. The minister himself demands it; he says that Harry Potter saved us. It would be a great dishonor to allow our savior to be abused and then have no justice for it."
"Albus, he's just a boy!" Molly cried, "You put him on the stand in front of those muggles, and he'll panic! I wouldn't be surprised if he's too terrified to even speak!"
"And even worse, if he does speak, the whole world will know what was done to him; he'll be looked at with pity; no child deserves that," Arthur added angrily,
"That at least I can promise will not be a problem," Dumbledore said quickly,
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked,
"As chief warlock of the Wizengamot, I have ensured that no press will be allowed to enter the courtroom, nothing that is said inside will be reported; it will be a sealed trial," Dumbledore replied,
"How can you promise that, though?" Molly asked angrily,
"I have made all of the members of the Wizengamot sign a magical document ensuring that should they ever speak a word of what occurs in the trial, they will find themselves in a great deal of anguish," Dumbledore's eyes flashed dangerously at the words and Molly, and Arthur gulped suddenly,
"When is it to be?" Molly asked sadly as a tear ran down her cheek,
"On the fifteenth of September," Dumbledore replied as he pulled a roll of parchment from his robe and handed it to the pair, "I have been relegated to an observer position due to my involvement in Harry's abuse, I will be allowed to sit in on the trial, but I am not allowed to speak nor give a vote on verdict or punishment. I am so sorry that this is even occurring; I had hoped to spare the boy any more pain and report his aunt and uncle to the muggle authorities to ensure their punishment."
"We'll make sure Harry is prepared for what is to come," Arthur said sadly as he put his arm around Molly, "He will need to be ready,"
"Please inform him how very sorry I am for this; it was never supposed to be this way," Dumbledore said sadly before offering a quick bow and turning to leave; a moment later, he was gone as he entered the house.
"Oh, Arthur, will the boy's suffering never end?" Molly whispered sadly, "How much more must he endure at the hands of those muggles?"
"This will be very hard on him," Arthur replied, "But Harry deserves justice, and when this is over, he shall have it,"
"And then?" Molly asked softly,
"And then, it will be our job to ensure he gets to spend the rest of his life knowing what it means to be safe and loved," Arthur said softly; Molly stared at him for a moment before kissing him gently on the lips,
"I promise I will give him that," she said softly,
"As do I, my love. As do I,"
XXXX
The next day saw the Weasley's (and Harry) all piling into Arthur's car and driving to King's Cross Station to get Bill, Charlie, and Percy on the train to Hogwarts; Harry had been curious as to how everyone would fit and was amazed when he saw that the inside had been magically enlarged so that everyone was able to sit quite comfortably. Percy's excitement at finally going to school was infectious. Soon the whole car was filled with laughter as they swiftly drove through traffic, arriving twenty minutes before the train was set to depart; Harry had been afraid when Molly told him how they were supposed to get to the platform and had closed his eyes tight when they had run at the wall. Still, after a moment of no impact, he had warily opened his eyes. He saw with delight that she had been telling the truth and before them was a ruby red train with 'Hogwarts Express' written across it.
"Now be sure to write us as often as you can, dear," Molly said as she gave Percy a final hug, "And make lots of friends, and don't be afraid to ask your brother for help if you don't understand something."
"Mum, I'll be fine!" Percy said exasperated, "I've been waiting my whole life for this!"
"And don't worry, mum, we'll keep him out of trouble," Bill added as he gave his mother a hug,
"I don't imagine it will require much work," Charlie said with a laugh, "It's not like we'll be dealing with the terror twins,"
"Hey!" Fred said in mock horror, "We take…."
"Offense to that!" George said, finishing his brother's sentence and making Charlie laugh.
The train whistle suddenly sounded, and the three hurriedly rushed to get on board as everyone watched them go and waved happily; a moment later, the three stuck their heads out of a compartment window and waved back, smiles plastered across their faces, the train rounded a bend a moment later and they were gone.
"Well, who's up for some ice cream before heading home?" Arthur chirped as they made their way back through the wall and into muggle London; Harry smiled happily and was about to reply when he heard a voice that stopped him in his tracks,
"What time is Marge supposed to arrive, dear?"
"Any minute now," another voice replied.
Harry gripped Molly's hand tight and began to shake as he recognized the voices,
"Harry?" Molly asked quickly, noticing immediately that something was wrong, "Harry, what is it?"
"M-Molly, it's them…." Harry whispered, his terror so great that he couldn't speak above a whisper
; before Molly could ask who Harry was referring to, a loud voice cried out,
"Mum, Dad, look! It's the freak!"
Molly quickly turned towards the voice and saw that it had come from an enormous child holding the hand of a skinny woman; standing next to the woman was an equally large man, and Molly recognized him immediately as the man whom the boggart had taken the form of.
"Well, I'll be; it is!" The man said in a loud voice before storming over to the Weasley's, Harry immediately dove behind Molly's legs and a moment later was shielded by Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George,
"Where have you been, boy?!" The man thundered as he came to a stop a few feet from Molly and Arthur,
"Do you have business with Harry, sir?" Arthur asked coolly, making the man stare at Arthur for a moment,
"He's my nephew. Does that answer your question?" Vernon growled angrily,
"No, it does not, I'm afraid," Arthur replied in forced politeness, "You see, my wife and I have adopted Harry, and that means that you no longer have any right to speak with him, especially since all you have ever done is abuse him."
"Abuse?!" Vernon snarled softly before staring down at Harry, visibly shaking behind Molly, "What lies have you been spreading now, freak?!"
"His name is Harry!" Molly snapped angrily, "Not that you ever cared to learn it, I imagine!"
"I'll call him whatever I damn well please; he was dropped on MY doorstep, and it was my food he ate for four years and my roof he slept under!"
"Yes, Harry told us how you cared for him while he was under your roof," Arthur hissed angrily; his emphasis on the word 'cared' showed he was being sarcastic, and Vernon purpled with rage as Arthur continued, "You beat him, starve him and locked him in a cupboard, you should be ashamed of yourself, sir!"
"How dare you speak to my husband that way!" Petunia screeched, "We never wanted the little monster in the first place! We took him in out of the goodness of our hearts, and all he did in return was cause unnaturalness to occur every chance he got, despite Vernon's attempts to correct the boy!"
"Correct him?" Molly hisses from between clenched teeth, "You call what you did correcting him? I saw his wounds when he first arrived at our home; what you did was torture!"
"He deserved it!" Vernon snarled, "He's a freak! A wicked unnatural…."
Whatever else Vernon had been about to say died in his throat as Molly pulled her wand from her purse and pointed it between Vernon's eyes,
"One more word, muggle!" She growled angrily, "One more word!"
Vernon's eyes went wide at the wand, and he whispered in shock,
"You're one of them!"
"Indeed I am!" Molly snapped back, "And if you say one more word against my son, so help me, I will turn you into a bug and stomp on you!"
"Your son?!" Petunia laughed, "He belongs to us! You have no legal right to him!"
"Point of fact, we do, actually," Arthur retorted as he put his hand on Molly's arm and forced it down, "As I said before, we adopted Harry more than a month ago, he is legally ours, and it is you who have no further right to him."
Vernon and Petunia stared in shock at the words and were rendered momentarily silent before Dudley spoke up,
"Who would ever want to adopt a weirdo like Harry? Does this mean I don't get to watch you punish him anymore, dad?"
"It certainly does not, fat boy!" Fred retorted,
"You will never hurt our brother again!" George added,
"How dare you speak to my son like that!" Petunia snapped at the twins before turning her attention to Molly, "It would seem as though your boys are in need of some manners; I can only imagine how bad of a mother you are if this is how you raise your brats!"
A moment later, Petunia was lying on the ground, holding her cheek in shock; the reason for this was due to Molly having slapped her hard across the face and sent her to the ground,
"You have NO right to speak of how to raise children!" Molly snarled, "I've only known you for five minutes, and I can already tell that your son is a spoiled, cruel monster like his father! And you are no better! I saw what you did to Harry! I saw the scars and bruises! He's your sister's son, your own flesh and blood, and you did that to him! How dare you?!"
The platform had gone eerily quiet, and Arthur saw that nearly everyone was watching the confrontation with sick fascination; with a grimace of distaste, Arthur put his arm around Molly and began to lead her away as Vernon knelt by his wife's side to see if she was alright,
"How dare you strike my wife!" Vernon snarled, "I'll see the lot of you arrested for this!"
"The only one who will be arrested is you, muggle," Arthur snapped, "You should receive a letter in a few days demanding your appearance in court for the charge of abuse of a minor; if I were you, I would try and find a good litigator, you're going to need one,"
Vernon paled visibly at the words and suddenly seemed to have lost his voice as Petunia was helped to her feet by Dudley,
"No one will ever believe the boy's lies!" Petunia screeched, though she looked just as pale as her husband,
"We shall see about that!" Molly spat as Arthur led her and the children away; when they had reached the car, Molly stopped and knelt down, placing her hands on Harry's shoulders,
"Are you alright, Harry?" She asked softly; the boy was still shaking and looked at her with wide eyes,
"I was so afraid they were going to take me back," he whispered, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes,
"Never, Harry," Molly said as she shook her head, "I will never let that happen, I promise,"
"Nor will I," Arthur added as he knelt down next to her,
"You called me your son…." Harry said softly,
"Well, of course, I did," Molly said warmly, "That's what you are, after all,
"Harry slowly smiled at her and wiped his eyes before wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug, which she swiftly returned,
"Now, who's up for ice cream?" Arthur asked quickly; cheers of approval followed this. As they loaded up into the car, Fred and George began a tickle fight with Harry and Ron in the back seat while Ginny cheered them on; Molly and Arthur watched happily from the front seat.