FIC: Unlocking the Chains 2/?
Title: Unlocking the Chains 2/?
Author: Milady78
Fandoms: Harry Potter and Angel
Summary: Wesley receives an interesting phone call about an unknown cousin from Surrey.
Rating: FR-13
Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Everything from the B:tVS/A:tS verse belongs to Joss Whedon.
Reminder: The Potter-verse has been moved up 12 years.
Thanks again to little_details and my beta deiticlast for all of their help.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
September 4, 2002
Wesley sighed deeply as he followed the signs for the M25 in his rental car. This was not how he had hoped to return to England. Was it really only three and a half years since he left with bravado and egotistical pride? All that arrogance and bluster in a poor attempt to hide his fear and lack of experience. In the futile hope that he might one day be seen as worthy in his father’s eyes.
Strange that on returning in failure thrice over, it was not his father’s stern face that haunted him the most. For such a brief time he had had a real home and family. One built not by blood, but by camaraderie and respect. Purpose. All gone now.
He had packed up his flat and made arrangements for his things to be sent once he found a new place to stay. He had even secretly returned to the Hyperion to retrieve the rest of his books. That chapter of his life was over.
It was still unclear what this new chapter would bring. He didn’t even know if he was going to be the permanent guardian of Harry. His unknown cousin, Petunia, could recover from her injuries. Marjorie Dursley might change her mind about taking custody of the boy. Members of the Potter family could be found. Petunia could regain consciousness long enough to assign a different guardian for Harry.
As he pulled into a parking spot near the address the case worker had given for her office, he tried to put aside his doubts. He didn’t know what the future would hold. What he did know was that he had promised to take temporary custody of a ten year old boy.
The Bohg'dar demons from yesterday sounded less terrifying. At least he knew what to do when faced with the three-horned demon.
Sadly, decapitation wasn’t an option when dealing with small boys. Unless they were Petra’Panith demons.
*****
“Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, I’m Lorraine Hughes. We spoke on the phone yesterday.” Miss Hughes was a plain woman, probably only a few years older than him, with light brown hair. She looked thin and frail, but her handshake was firm.
“Miss Hughes.” As he sat in the chair by her desk he asked, “ Has there been any improvement in Mrs. Dursley’s condition?”
“I’m afraid not. For privacy reasons I haven’t been given details on her medical condition. What I do know is that she received severe trauma to the chest and head and is currently intubated and sedated. The nurses I have talked to have implied that her condition has worsened in the last 24 hours.”
“Have you been able to find any other relatives of Harry?”
“Only you and your mother.”
Wesley always felt better when dealing with facts. “What have you found out about his parents?”
Miss Hughes began looking through an open file folder on her desk. He could see what looked like copies of a number of official documents inside the folder. “Lily Nicola Evans’ birth certificate states that she was born on the 30th of January 1972 in the town of Cokeworth. Her parents were Keith and Sylvia Evans. They died in a car crash in 1991. Keith Evans only had one sibling, your Mother. Sylvia Evans had two brothers. Terence Cox died in 1965 during the Indonesia-Malaysia conflict. Nigel Cox died of blood loss in 1975 after being mugged in London. There is a marriage certificate on file at the General Registry Office for Lily and James Brayden Potter (age 19) for the 15th of March 1991. This is the first record I have found for James Potter. Harry James Potter‘s birth certificate states that he was born in his home in Godric‘s Hollow on the 31st of July 1992. According to the death certificates both Lily and James died of smoke inhalation at their home on 31st of October 1993. ”
“They died at home. Was Harry hurt?”
“According to the police records, Harry was staying with friends of the family that night.”
“Friends? Have you checked with them for information about James Potter’s family?“
She gave a wry smile before answering, “It’s a good idea. Unfortunately, the police records do not list the name or address of the people looking after Harry that night. I’ve tried to contact a Mr. Al Bee, the person who wrote the report. I had hoped he might either have kept notes from that night or remembered more details. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find him.” As she looked back down at her desk, Wesley could not help but notice how tired she looked. “The death certificate does give Mr. Potter’s birth date, the 27th of March 1972. No occupation was listed for either of the Potters. And as I mentioned on the phone, no will for the Potters have been found. I also looked for school records in the hopes of finding more information about Harry’s parents. I could only find Lily‘s primary school records. There are no A-level exams on file for Lily Evans or a James Brayden Potter with the birth date of 27th of March 1972.”
“The scarcity of records, especially for James Potter seems strange.”
She shrugged, “Records are occasionally lost or misfiled. It’s also possible that they went to school abroad.”
“Could I have a copy of what you have found? I worked as a private detective while I was in Los Angeles. I might be able to find out more.”
“Of course.”
“What can you tell me about Harry?”
“He’s ten years old. He just started Year 6 at Magnolia Primary School on Monday, the day of the accident. I’ve looked over his school records. His end of Year 5 assessment placed him at Level 2 in a number of subjects. Math and English seemed to be giving him the most difficulty. This is based on the NC, National Curriculum. Ideally, students starting Year 6 should be at Level 3 and end the year at Level 4. Also at the end of Year 6, he will be taking the SATs. His teachers also noted in his file that he is quiet in class and doesn’t appear to have any friends. There has been some concern about his socialization. Personally, I found Harry polite, but withdrawn. Not unexpected, given the circumstances.”
Questions raced through Wesley’s mind. Socialization? Were the teachers overreacting or was there a real problem? How does one treat socialization problems? It could be nothing. Had the Watcher’s Academy cared about such things, he would probably have had “socialization problems” written in his file somewhere. Wincing internally, it probably was an accurate description for him back then. In his minds-eye he saw Cordelia, but not the short haired blond that he had last seen. This Cordelia had long brown hair and a vitality and strength of spirit that years of visions had drained away. His mental image of Cordelia spoke, “Like you‘re so much better, now. Social-butterfly you are not, Watcher-boy.”
Mentally shaking his head, the child’s socialization and school work, while important, were not today’s problem. Wesley asked, “And where is Harry now? The Hospital?”
“Children under the age of 12 are not allowed in Mrs. Dursley’s Ward. Yesterday and today Harry went to school.” She pulled out another file folder from a file cabinet beside her. “You have just enough time to file out these forms.”
He could feel his hand cramping just looking at the large stack of forms he was supposed to fill out. Apparently the “paperless society” that people always talked about and his inner-bibliophile secretly feared was an urban myth.
He definitely preferred Bohg'dar demons.