Cordelia smiled peacefully as her and Harry strolled through the garden. The sun shone brightly in the sky and she leaned her head back, closing her eyes in order to take in the warmth. Harry looked up at the beautiful woman and smiled as well.
"You know," he said before he could stop himself "I've always imagined that my mother would do that."
Cordelia looked down into his bright green eyes and smiled softly.
"Yes," she said softly "I'm sure she did."
They kept walking in silence through the dirt field and away from the large house behind them.
"Do you imagine her often?"
Harry paused and thought for a moment before answering.
"I used to."
A large, billowing tree nearby shaded the doctor and patient from the sun and Cordelia was delighted to realize there was a stone bench at it's roots that would allow them rest from their midday stroll. Harry gestured to the warm stone and allowed her to take rest in the shade, but he himself remained stiffly standing nearby.
"I used to wonder what my parents were like," he continued, his hands grasping one another behind him "I wondered who they were, who they were going to be, who they could have been."
"Who do you imagine they could have been?" Cordelia asked, her voice gentle and soft on the wind.
"My mother," Harry said without hesitation "would likely have been a muggle doctor. I think she would have tried to take wizard medicines and muggle medicines and tried to unite them in a stronger format."
"Fascinating," Cordelia leaned forward and propped her chin up on her hand "what made you come to that conclusion?"
"I don't know," Harry said honestly.
"And your father, who do you think he would have been?" She asked.
"Probably something basic," Harry said in a rush "like a teacher or a police officer,"
Cordelia's eyes brightened with her thoughts.
"Basic?" she asked "do you consider your father to be common?"
"I suppose so," Harry responded "I don't really think about James often. Growing up it was easier to ignore my lack of parental figures when I was so busy all the time."
"Ah, yes," she straightened "Harry do you mind me asking about your childhood?"
The boy immediately tensed.
"I'd rather not talk about it," he admitted.
"Of course," Cordelia said "when you are ready we can discuss that part of your life,"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry sighed in relief and loosened his tie. His trunk sat open at the end of his bed and all of Harry's school items were strewn about the room in distress. Large grey eyes stared at the mess in horror at Harry's waist.
"What happened to your trunk, Master Harry?" Demetry asked in shock "I packed it for you this morning."
Harry frowned down at the house elf before walking into the room, kicking aside a book that held Lockhart's photo on the cover.
"I had to find something," Harry said with a frown.
The boy flopped onto the bed and buried his face in the pillows. A loud groan was muffled by the goose feathers inside. Suddenly Harry lifted his head and a hopeful expression crossed his face.
"Is Dad coming back tonight?"
"No, sir," Demetry said with a hint of empathy in his voice "He has been summoned to Durmstrang Academy to tend to business again."
Harry sighed and let his face hit the pillow once more. Again he jumped up hopefully and looked at the small house elf.
"What about Cadence?" Harry asked.
"Master Cadence has been summoned to Miss. Camilla's. As I hear it Miss. Prudence has come down with a fever and Miss. Patience just had her tonsils removed."
Harry groaned in his pillow again.
"Sure, Harry, you can come live with us not a problem! Oh, but do know you will be taking care of the ranch while we disappear for weeks at a time- hope you don't have an issue with that after all, you are an adult and can handle the responsibility," Harry said in a pompous voice, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling "Oh wait I forgot you are only twelve and that would be neglectful parenting."
"It's better than living with the Dursley's," Demetry pointed out, earning a pillow to the face.
The elf hit the floor with the impact and pouted over the top of the pillow.
