Ensorcell (revising)

four

Harriet was told she wasn't needed in court when the day finally came for the Dursley's to be sentenced. They had been found guilty of numerous cases of child endangerment, abuse, torture, and a few other minor things, and would be going to prison for a long time. They were stripped of their rights to see Dudley, whom was sent to a temporary foster home, as Marge was just as incompetent as Vernon was. She couldn't help but laugh, considering that Vernon's greatest threat against Harriet was sending her to an orphanage or putting her up for adoption.

While this was all going down, she stayed with Charles and Logan in a cottage he owned a few hours from Little Whinging. It was quaint, suited them perfectly, and the professor always had groceries delivered and a staff that cooked and cleaned for them, so Harriet was rendered pretty much useless. They were stuck in custodial limbo, as Petunia and Vernon were awaiting their sentences and Harriet had to be formally adopted and/or fostered, much like most of the kids that Charles housed and taught.

Another social worker came to the cottage to ask the two experienced mutants questions about how they would accommodate her needs and desires, all the good stuff, before leaving
and promising to email or call within the next few days to let them know what to do. Harriet sobbed when the call came, hiding herself in a random closet to avoid the pitying gazes and uncomfortable silences as two grown men wouldn't know what to do with her emotion.

For the first time in Harriet's life, she was free. She didn't have an impending abuse waiting to happen, no chores that she had to complete just for her weekly glass of water. Now, there was no reason to wish for death to take her as the hunger pains consumed her in the darkness of her cupboard. But, that still didn't mean that Harriet had a family. She would still forever be envious of children with a mother and a father, be envious of cousins and siblings, and envious of the idea of having an aunt or an uncle.

Harriet wasn't an idiot. If she wasn't mutant, if she hadn't set Dudley on fire, she wouldn't be free. She only got this far because Charles and Logan were looking for her (something called a Cerebro told them about her initially, they just didn't know exactly where to look), because she was like them. If she wasn't, if she was just plain old Harriet, she probably would have died in that house.

Meanwhile, Harriet was building up the courage to ask to go to Diagon Alley. That was the turning point of her life, she could feel it, practically taste it. She had to go, and now that she had something like guardians, she could make her way through the shopping district to the bank to find out more about her family. That was what Poppy said anyway.

Poppy!

"I forgot Poppy and Rin!" she shouted to herself suddenly, in the middle of reading a few textbooks Charles had laid out for her, who was behind his desk in another part of the room. She was seated on the comfortable leather couches not far from where he was seated, or would it be wheeled?

The textbooks were mostly stuff for Harriet's classes, and she had a philosophy, algebra, literature, and a chemistry book splayed out in front of her on the couch, floor, and coffee table. Pages of notes were around her too as she eased through Charles' tests that he wanted her to complete. Since Harriet's teachers never cared for her, her test scores were useless to go off of; and she also just wanted to learn a little more. It would help her in class, anyway.

They were in the mansion, though no classes were yet in session. It was summer, still, and Charles said that their classes started the first week of September. Harriet's classes were meant to start then, and she was going to learn how to control her mutancy. She couldn't help but feel that those lessons wouldn't come anytime soon, and that feeling kept growing as her birthday crept closer and closer.

"Who are they, Harriet?" her professor asked, looking up from whatever paperwork he was doing.

"They're the snakes that led me to you and Logan."

He squinted his eyes at her, not replying for a moment.. "...right, and where are they?"

Was he really going to let her go back for them?

"The Dursley's garden, they've been there all week with no word from me," she answered, looking up at him finally in question. "Can I go back for them?"

Charles sighed, though not the usual sigh of disappointment Harriet was used to hearing. "Of course, we can, Harriet. They're your friends. Logan can take you to that other place, that alley, as well. He's already agreed."

She couldn't help the flush that lit up her cheeks, looking away in embarrassment. Harriet would say it sucked being around another telepath, but she'd be wrong. "Thanks, Charles," she mumbled, and he chuckled.

"There's no need; you've been waiting to go for a while. I won't hold you back from the answers you seek, those are yours."

So this was what it felt like to be supported?

~*~

Poppy and Rin were exactly where Harriet had left them the last time she gardened, and Poppy wouldn't talk to her for half an hour. Rin crawled out almost instantly, screaming her name and licking her face wherever he could. He wrapped himself a little too tightly around her neck in excitement, and Harriet had to pull him off while he hissed sheepishly.

"Please, come out, Poppy," Harriet whined, wiping away  the frustrated tears from her face, thumping back onto the grass as she admired Petunia's now almost dead flowers. She reached out to touch a petal of a tulip that was about to fall, and watched curiously as the flower seemed to regain vitality, standing up straight amongst its dying brethren.

Hmm, that was new.

Their was no time to dwell on it as Poppy finally slithered out, her head raised haughtily as she stopped a foot from where Harriet lay. They stared at each other for about five minutes before Poppy groaned loudly and leapt to play bite her hand. Harriet giggled at the weird feeling, as Poppy was unsuccessfully defanged, meaning that like half of her teeth were there but they didn't hurt, especially when she was holding back like she was. Rin usually had to catch all of her meals for her, and if you commented on it Poppy treated you with silence for a few days.

Once her laughter died down, and Poppy settled herself next to her adopted son on Harriet's wrist, and the little girl stood up after, brushing off her clothes and heading off to find Logan, who disappeared about an hour into Poppy's indignant silence.

"What happened, my hatchling?" Poppy asked, and Harriet began her tale of discovering Logan at the store, which she accidentally kept a secret from her most beloved friends, to the two coming over, to the social workers, and finally, to coming back for them.

Both snakes were just about the length of her arm now, and their heads were the side of golf balls. Rin had said that he was a mixed breed snake, which meant that he had both magical and no magical properties. Rin would grow to be the size of a magical snake, and live as long, though his scales were not impermeable and he was susceptible to allergies and poisons. He didn't mind, though. His scales were green with black patterns, and he had a black diamond right above his left eye. Poppy's scales were blue, purple and green with black patterns, and were hard as diamonds.

Harriet found Logan in the front yard, scaring off the nosy neighbors who had congregated in front of him. She approached her guardian, not trying to hide her friends at all, and looked uninterestingly at the swarm of middle-aged women that surrounded them.

"Oh, there you are, Harry," called the feeble Mrs. Figg, who used to babysit her when the Dursley's wanted family time out. "Where is your family?"

She smiled up at the old woman as innocently as she could. "Petunia and Vernon are in prison, and Dudley is in foster care."

The collective gasp that came from the gaggle of grays was hilarious, and they all fixed her with a nasty glare, though Figg looked more contemplative. "What lies have you been spouting now, child? They cared for you since you were a baby."

Logan looked like he wanted to say something, but Harriet shook her head at him, starting down the street toward their car. "You're more than welcome to pay their bail!"

She wasn't going to waste energy on women who will be dead next year.