Wednesday And The Boy Who Lived

The Addams Estate

The drive between the institution that Harry had known his entire life was only a mere 30 minutes away from his new home but it felt like a lifetime. He didn't know much about small talk and the family he had joined expressed no interest in filling awkward silences with mundane blather, so the ride was quiet as a grave except for the occasional bump in the pavement. He spent the ride imagining the very best and worst scenarios about his new accommodations. The family had presented themselves as odd but unashamed. Maybe they would use him for slave labor, or be terribly cruel. But they didn't seem the type. Maybe they were artists or wealthy aristocrats. He couldn't picture either Mr. or Mrs. Addams going and punching a clock for the duration of their week, and certainly not the Uncle Fester. He sat and wondered a great many things about them, but said nothing.

Harry daydreamed about sitting down for meals together as a family, or presenting them with his schoolwork and having them tell him they were proud of him, Harry Potter, now Addams. He finally had a family, it might not be the parents that were taken from him but he would cherish these Addams no matter what. They chose him.  He was so absorbed in his fantasies that he hadn't noticed pulling through an ornate wrought iron gate until Wednesday nudged him slightly and pointed, with a slight lift of her chin, to the estate looming in the distance.

Harry's jaw went slack. Whatever he had been imagining had not compared in the slightest to what appeared before him. The closest comparison would be akin to a castle. The building stabbed the sky with two masterfully crafted towers, and the tops of the entry was flanked with traditional gargoyles whose eyes seemed to follow the car as it made its way forward. The entryway was a grand set of black wooden doors carved with intricate patterns that he could see from the car. They grinded to a halt on the gravel driveway directly in front of the entrance and a towering beast of a man appeared as if from thin air to open the doors for Mr. and Mrs. Addams and then the back for the children and Harry. The man loomed over them at least 7 feet tall dressed sharply in a butler's uniform. He too said nothing and proceeded to open the entryway door for them with a nod of his enormous head.  

The family all gathered in the foyer and then turned to face Harry. Mrs. Addams addressed him warmly.

"Welcome Home, Harry. Anything here is yours, and you'll have your own room as well, unless you'd prefer to room with Pugsley." He looked at the portly boy and the boy growled at him and then laughed goofily. "Ah, nevermind, I think he might try to hang you from your toes if you share his room. There's a multitude of rooms available, so you may choose one after I give you a tour of your new home, if you're feeling up for it." She was so considerate, Harry thought. He was a bit drowsy during the drive but seeing the estate had filled him with very giddy energy so he answered enthusiastically, "I would love to see everything, Mrs. Addams. Thank you."

She chuckled softly, "Dear child, I cannot have you calling me Mrs. anything. You are family now so you may call me anything but that. Mother, if you're so inclined, but at the very least you may use my first name, Morticia, or Tish. Same for my darling husband, he detests being called Mr. Addams by anyone other than business associates. Gomez or father would be best, darling Harry." She gave him a look of adoration and took his hand to show him around. Wednesday trailed silently along, but Pugsley and both Gomez and Fester, even the butler, had all wandered quietly away.

His new mother walked as if she was dancing, almost gliding along the stone floors. Through the foyer was a grand living room decorated with all sorts of gothic decor. There was some sort of large animal skeleton suspended from the ceiling as a chandelier with candles along its length. It resembled a large lizard, but Harry had never heard of anything that large. Maybe they were paleontologists who collected dinosaur bones. He asked timidly, "Is that a dinosaur skeleton, it's got wings but the head doesn't look like a pterodactyl?"