The Love of a Mother

"Mummy," said Little Harry Potter.

"No," came the reply. "I'm your auntie, not your mum."

She was alone right now. For just now, for these first two or three years, she could pretend. She could play at being Harry's mother, if only in her heart. She would never say it; not now that Dudley was repeating her.

"There is only one Mummy, and only one Daddy, and you, Harry Potter, had both." -But you can never know what I think, can you? Oh, no! Never another someone special in my family. If Vernon only knew, if he even suspects...But he has Dudley, and I have...Harry.

Harry Potter cooed, like the remarkably charming two-year old that he was. It wasn't hard for him to find a place in Petunia's heart. She was so tired of waiting for someone to love. Dudley never smiled at her, never hugged her, and never ever called her Mummy. Loving Harry was a risky business, for like his parents, Harry would probably be a wizard one day.

A loud bang downstairs meant her husband, Vernon, was home early. Dudley started wiggling right away.

"Daddy!" Dudley shouted. "Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddy Daddyyyyyyy!"

He started bouncing up and down in his Walkomatic (he was a late walker), and started to open his mouth in the little sneer that meant he was about to wail. Petunia picked him up, shouldered his weight, and told Harry to follow along behind. Harry was padding along in one of Dudley's discarded old nightshirts. It was far too big for him, and he kept stumbling a little on the hem of the fabric. He had learned to recover quickly, however, and managed to keep up rather well.

"Just as well you learn to walk alone, Harry," she said. "I won't be able to escort you around very much longer. If I was soft to you now, you'd never get along later."

Harry gurgled agreement. Petunia had never seen such a happy baby in her life. He was amazing; no matter what happened, he always had a smile on his face. She wondered if she would ever be that happy.

Petunia stepped carefully downstairs, and Vernon was going into the liquor cabinet. This was either very good, or very bad. Vernon only drank when he had something to celebrate, or when something was very wrong. Petunia silently hoped it was something good; Vernon had just gone to sign a business contract for his drill company.

He handed her a drink first; that was a good sign.

"A toast," he said, eyes twinkling. "You're looking at the new Assistant Director of Grunnings."

She smiled, and put the glass to her lips. "Terrific! A promotion!" She stopped, and hoped he'd tell her if this finally meant a pay raise. She didn't want to make him mad by asking. Instead, she just smiled. He finished his drink in a few short gulps, and smiled back.

"Now go upstairs and change, Petunia. I've got a baby sitter coming over in twenty minutes. We have reservations at Chez Chat."

-Chez Chat? Thought Petunia. -I've been wanting to go there for years, but he's always said it's too expensive. This must mean he's getting better pay now. Oh, what do I have to wear? Oh, yes!-

She put Dudley down in his Walkomatic again, and ran upstairs to change. She had never been so excited to go to a restaurant in all her life. It was quite exclusive. She knew that reservations there were difficult to get, and wondered if Vernon had made them ahead of time. She heard Little Harry thumping up the stairs after her, and had just reached the top stair when she heard Vernon.

"He's a scrawny little git, innit' he? Not like my DUDLEY!!!!"

With a roar, he scooped up Dudley. He started tossing him nearly to the ceiling and catching him again. Dudley gurgled with pleasure, and started yelling "Daddy!" over and over. Shortly, Vernon was winded and put the boy down again. He laughed as he mopped his brow. "Yes, my Dudley's solid."

Petunia watched Harry climb the last of the steps, hidden from view at the top landing. She turned to go into the master bedroom, and opened the sliding closet. She heard Harry playing with one of Dudley's rattles, and walked over to take it out of his hand. But as she approached him, she saw that the rattle was suspended in the air, and every few seconds it was rattling all by itself.

"No!" she said quietly and fearfully, snatching the rattle out of the air. "Not yet, it's too soon; not yet." Little Harry was a little upset because his game had been cut short, and he snuffled a little. But then, he saw the moon in the big bay window, and went to have a look. Petunia put on her dress, hose, and makeup while he giggled at the moon.

She rummaged through her closet trying to find her heels. Finally, she found the lovely red strappy ones she had never dared to wear. Nodding, she fit them on, and clasped on her pearl earrings. She looked at herself in the mirror, then called Little Harry out of the room. He stumbled out after her, and thumped down the stairs.

Vernon looked at her coming down the stairs. She was wearing a cherry-red wrap dress, and her hair was up like she used to wear it in high school for the dances. He smiled at her, remembering their favorite song. Then, he saw her shoes.

"Petunia, aren't those shoes a bit...much?" asked Vernon.

She was saved from having to reply, because the doorbell rang at that exact moment. She turned back up the stairs as Vernon opened the door. From the voices below, it was the baby sitter. Petunia took off the strappy shoes, and put on some very plain flats instead. She practically tripped on Harry as she was coming down the stairs again.

"...and after his dinner," Vernon was saying, "Dudders like to lay about and watch television for a bit. When he's drowsy, then give 'im a bath. Dudley doesn't like getting wet much, so have it done quickly. Then send him straight to bed. If he's good, he gets a candy first."

"What about the other one?" the sitter asked, pointing at Harry.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that one, he takes care of himself," replied Vernon. He turned towards Petunia, and looked at her shoes. "Ah," he said approvingly, "much better."

The Ministry of Magic had been watching Harry ever since he was born, because he was likely to be a wizard. After all, he was from a famous wizarding family. Harry was kind of celebrity in his own right; he was the only wizard to thwart the death curse of the infamous wizard Lord Voldemort. To wizards and witches, he was known as The Boy Who Lived.

Cornelius Fudge, head of the Ministry of Magic, was leaning back at his desk. Suddenly, the Unintentional Magic Use board lit up. He glanced over to see what it was. The crystal ball that was attached to the board showed a picture of Little Harry Potter, levitating a baby rattle. He smiled, and saw that Harry's aunt was scolding him for using his magic. Harry's aunt wasn't a witch. She was just a regular person. A Muggle.

"Very encouraging," Mr. Fudge muttered to himself. "Very encouraging indeed."

All the same, he decided to dispatch a guardian to monitor Harry's magic use around Muggles for a few days. He knew that even a little magic wasn't good when Muggles were around. "Better safe than sorry," he muttered.

Mr. Fudge hit a button on his desk, and it buzzed.

"Weasley," he said briskly. "Get in here."

Moments later, Arthur Weasley, assistant of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, appeared in his door. His thick red hair was sticking out all over, and his worn clothes looked shabby compared to Mr. Fudge's nice ones.

"Yessir?" Arthur asked quietly.

"Weasley, come in, and close the door behind you. Take a seat."

Arthur gulped. He had never been called into Mr. Fudge's office before. He was scared, and a bit excited. He closed the door, and sat down.

Fudge cleared his throat.

"Weasley, you know a lot about Muggles."

"Y-yessir," he replied, feeling shabby in his old tweed robes.

"Good. For the next few days, I want you to watch over Harry Potter."

"The Harry Potter, sir?"

"Of course The Harry Potter. What other Harry Potters do you know?" Mr. Fudge chuckled, and Arthur gulped again.

"Well, yes sir, but - why?"

"Why, you say, Weasley? Little Harry Potter is getting his first taste of magic. Being that he's living with Muggles, I want him watched. After all, he is a very special little boy."

Arthur left Mr. Fudge's office. In some ways, it was an excellent assignment for him. He would get to study Muggles up-close, and Muggles intrigued him. However, it would mean leaving Molly alone with the children. He really didn't want to do that, but he saw no other choice. He hoped she would manage alright. Their second-youngest child, Ron, had just started experimenting with magic as well. So far he had turned all their clocks backwards, and turned Errol, the family owl, several shades of blue. His wife would definitely have a time of it. At least their second-eldest child, Charlie, could help out a bit since he wasn't at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This in mind, he gathered up his things, and headed home.

Arthur waved his wand, and cast the Apparate spell to bring him home. Suddenly, he was standing in his kitchen and was quickly surrounded by his sons. Percy was hopping up and down, and trying to show off his latest drawing. Fred and George (the twins) tried to grab one each of Percy's legs, and pull him to the down to the ground. Ron started screaming and so of course Ginny did too. Soon all of his children started to scream.

"Okay! Okay! Settle down!" Arthur boomed. They all lowered their voices. "Hello, honey," he said, kissing Molly.

"Hello, dear."

"How has the tribe been today?"

She rolled her eyes. "Ginny is getting another tooth. Ron has been perfectly stinking. Fred and George have been bothering poor Percy. Charlie's losing a tooth. An awful lot about teeth, don't you think?"

"Yes, it would seem so." He picked up the twins, put one on each shoulder, and spun them around gently and set them down. He sat down, put Ron in his lap, and held Percy's picture in his free hand.

"Wow, Perce - it's a real whopper! It looks just like-erm-"

"A flobbleworm," Molly supplied.

"A flobbleworm!" Arthur repeated. "Yes, yes, a flobbleworm." He thanked Molly silently.

When each of the kids had a chance to say hello, dinner was set out. After dinner, Molly and Arthur read the bedtime story. They crept out of the last of the kids' rooms after tucking them in, then set the dishes to washing themselves. Finally, Arthur sat down with Molly in their comfy chairs.

"Mol, I've been given an assignment by Mr. Fudge. I get to go watch over Harry Potter. His magical talents are emerging."

"Well, isn't that an unusual honor! Well since it's so important, why doesn't Mr. Fudge go himself? He hasn't any young children to watch after!"

"Now, Molly," said Arthur. "It could be a great opportunity for me. Besides, it's only for a few days. You know better than me that when a wizard's talent shows, it's usually all at once. After a few days, everything settles down. Then it only resurfaces-"

"-during times of extreme emotion or under proper magical training," Molly finished. "Yes, I know." She sighed. "All right, honey. And it is a noble cause. Poor dear, being brought up by Muggles instead of his proper wizard parents."

Arthur relaxed. "Thank you, dear. I knew you'd understand."

Arthur had Transfigured himself to look like an ordinary orange tomcat. He looked slightly mangy, but the disguise fooled even the brightest Muggle. He took a position in a tree, directly across from the nursery window of Number Four, Privet Drive. Dudley was throwing a tantrum, but that didn't seem unusual. Dudley's fits made Ron seem like an angel. What was unusual was the fact that Harry was entertaining himself with a private puppet show...and all the puppets were dancing by themselves. The wooden parts clinked together, as the strings made each of them move, suspended in air. Without a second thought, Arthur twitched his tail in the direction of the puppets, dispelling the magic. Harry looked miffed, but it was barely in time. At that moment, Petunia walked into the room to shush Dudley. Arthur hid himself behind a thick patch of leaves.

Petunia picked up Dudley, and sang softly to him. His fits redoubled, as he pounded her with his tiny fists. He wailed and cried, "Daddy!" Harry thought this whole thing was very funny, and started to giggle. Soon, however, Dudley quieted down. Even Muggle mothers had magic in their lullabies. Dudley yawned and finally fell fast asleep. Petunia tucked him in, and Harry watched silently. He yawned, and streached his sleepy arms towards her to ask her to put him to bed.

Arthur saw Petunia hesitate, as if stricken with fear.

"No, Harry," she whispered. "If Vernon ever saw..." But carefully, as though she were handling fine china, she picked up Harry and let him hold her around the neck. Harry yawned, curled his hands into the folds of her shirt, and fell asleep. Petunia looked at his little fists. Dudley only ever beat her with his fists, but Harry had only held her to him. She bounced Harry softly, and put him to bed. She turned away from Harry to check on Dudley. He was dreaming somewhat fitfully. Petunia was thankful that, today at least, he was taking a nap. That meant he might not be cranky later.

She turned towards the window, and closed it part of the way. She looked outward, and noticed a flicker of a red furry tail from a nearby tree. She looked closer, and spied Arthur.

"Get away, you ugly cat! Shoo!"

Arthur, realizing he'd been caught, cleared his throat and gave his best miaow. Petunia slammed the window shut, and turned away to check on the babies. Arthur swore to himself. Since he'd been seen, Petunia would surely keep a watchful eye on him. A cat was of course the only form he could Transfigure into, so he determined to keep a low profile. He hoped he wouldn't be spotted again.

Petunia always despised cats. Her wicked Aunt Ezmerelda had one when she was a child. It had never been a nice, pleasant creature. It was always lurking, hissing, and scratching. She remembered that the cat had always been an angel around Aunt Ezmerelda. However, the moment her aunt left the room, that cat would start leaping at Petunia, biting her leg or spitting and creeping away.

Arthur reminded her of this cat. He bore an unfortunate resemblance to it. Petunia was afraid that he might come into the house and hurt the babies. Petunia frowned at the idea; she would have to be careful of having the window closed. Then, a thought occurred to her: why not call the pound? If she did that, it would rid their neighborhood of another stray animal. She was sure it was a stray. She hadn't seen even a flea collar on it. Happy with herself, she picked up the phone.

Arthur had found his way onto the Dursley's rain gutter. He was picking his way towards the nursery when he saw a Muggle arrive. He was dressed in a funny suit, and carried something that looked vaguely like a pixie catcher. Arthur's curiosity was piqued. He almost gave himself away by asking what the device was. Then the Muggle placed an odd metal ladder beside him, and started to climb it. "Here, kitty kitty," the Muggle called. "Good kitty."

Something in the Muggle's eyes told Arthur to run, but he had to keep watch on Harry. Arthur jumped up on the roof, and hid behind the chimney. He cast a small Memory Charm to make the Muggle forget his task. The Muggle started scratching his head. At the same time, Petunia came out of the back door.

"Did you catch the cat, Mr. Finkley?" she inquired.

"Cat? Er, no. Musta-" he looked around blankly. "Musta got away."

He shook his head, and started coming down the ladder. Petunia sighed.

"Fine," she said quickly. "He'll stay away, if he knows what's good for him. If he comes back, I'll call you again."

"That's fine Mrs.-Mrs.-erm-Mrs.-" he stammered.

"Mrs. Dursley," Petunia said flatly.

"Yes, of course. Well," he said as he folded up his ladder, "If there's nothing else." The Muggle tipped his hat, and went away. Petunia looked around once more, then went inside. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. This was going to be harder than he expected.

Vernon came home angry. He burst in the door, threw down his briefcase, turned on his computer, and took a drink from the liquor cabinet. Petunia knew better than to talk to him right now. He was beside himself with rage. She bustled in the kitchen for a while, then went to get the boys. She mumbled something about needing salmon, and left.

She pushed the double baby carriage into the market, and the bag boy helped her put Dudley into the shopping cart. She grasped Harry's tiny fist, and walked towards the canned goods. She was looking at the label for a can of soup when a man bumped his cart into hers.

"Oh, so sorry," he said offhandedly. He began looking underneath the cart. "Where's the brakes for these?"

Petunia looked him over. "There are no brakes for it. It's a shopping cart."

"Oh." Little did she know that the man was none other than Arthur Weasley, and he had been Transfigured into the cat on Privet Drive. All she knew was that he was strange, and that was bad enough. Dudley tried to reach a brightly-colored display. Petunia guided him out of reach, and he started to wail. While Petunia was busy, Arthur slipped a tiny, invisible string around Harry's neck. It was a Watch-o-lot, a magic device that allowed a wizard to keep watch on a child while the wizard was out of the room. Arthur hid his movements by pretending to stumble. Then, he started to walk away.

"By the way," he said to Petunia, "how do you open these?" he asked, holding up a can of beans.

Petunia looked at him exactly as if he had grown a second head. Arthur knew that look because once, in a Potions class, he accidentally had grown a second head. "Try using a can opener," Petunia said.

"Oh! A can-" Arthur thought quickly. "Of course. Yes. I just...I forgot."

He spun on his heel, and left.

Arthur's plan was a success. It was originally invented for wizards that needed to watch over their children while they cast complicated spells. However, the Watch-o-lot was perfect for watching over Harry. Arthur was able to see Harry quite clearly in the Watch-o-lot monitor, and any more mischief Harry made was promptly ended. Arthur had found a spot where pigeons had abandoned their nest on the Dursley's roof. He had made it into a makeshift bed by stealing one of Petunia's old towels and placing it over the nest. He put the monitor on top of the towel, and jumped down any time he saw any magic. After a handful of days, Harry's antics began to ebb away. Arthur, having so many magical children of his own, knew it was time to go. To be sure, he waited until noon the following day. When nothing else happened, he proceeded to put the towel back on their back step, pocket the Watch-o-lot, and leave.

Petunia saw that Harry's magic seemed to be fading. It was encouraging. If Harry turned out somewhat normal, Vernon might let her be a little proud of him. She hoped against hope that would happen. If Harry grew up to be a freak, Petunia knew she couldn't afford to love him. After all, her sister Lily had been a freak, and look what had happened to her. Killed, murdered in the night! In her own house! -No, she thought, I know the cost of loving someone that is different. Dudley is normal. He will never be a freak. I have love. It is the love of a mother. She knew what her mistake had been. She would never let herself love too deeply again.

"Weasley!" Cornelius Fudge bellowed. "Good to see you."

"I've come to give you a report, sir," replied Arthur.

"Fine, Weasley, fine." He took the report from Arthur's hand. Without even looking at it, he threw it on his desk. "Sit down, Weasley. No need for formality. You did a fine job. Especially good about the can openers."

"I-I did, sir?"

"Yes, yes! Saw the whole thing."

"You did?"

"Of course! Saw it all on the Unintentional Magic Use board." Mr. Fudge pointed to a device on his desk. "Saw your little Ronny too," Mr. Fudge continued. "A strapping boy, that Ronald. Good set of pipes, that one."

"Thank you, sir." Arthur sat up straighter in his chair.

"Weasley, you have a number of children, I noticed."

Arthur's knees trembled. "Yessir," he replied.

"Well, I imagine at least one of them will come work for The Ministry of Magic one day, hmm?"

Arthur nodded. "Percy's showing signs...he's Ministry material, you can tell already."

"Ah," Mr. Fudge replied. "As I see it, if The Ministry is good to the people, the people will be good to The Ministry."

Arthur nodded nervously. "Too right."

"It is for this reason that I'm giving you this bonus. Thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations Weasley."

Mr. Fudge produced an envelope with an official seal on the back. The front only said 'TO: Mr. Arthur Weasley FROM: The Ministry of Magic'. Mr. Fudge and Arthur shook hands, and Arthur beamed with pride.

"Take the rest of the day off. You've earned it."

Arthur walked into his kitchen, scooped up Ginny onto his shoulders, and started dancing with Molly.

"Arthur!" yelped Molly, pretending to be shocked. "Not in front of the children!"

"Oh, pish-posh, Molly! Percy! Put on the music! Fred and George, go get your mum's purse! Charlie, go get everybody's sweaters! Ron, SCREAM!!!"
He stopped dancing long enough to tickle Ron, as he said this, and Ron screamed obligingly.

"What is all this business?" demanded Molly.

"Here, take a look!"

Arthur took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Molly. She looked at it, and covered her mouth. She started to cry silently. Arthur put his arms around her.

Suddenly, the music came blasting in from the sitting room. Percy pulled on Arthur's robes.

"Daddy, is Mummy okay?"

"She's fine, Perce."

Molly sniffed, and stroked Percy's hair. It was good to be home.