Karina Potter, Aunt Marauder

Chapter 19

(Going to skip a good amount of time. I can't go on day by day.)

Days went by, and things got better. Karina was able to handle caring for Harry, while at the same time managing her job. 

Remus was excellent when keeping the papers. Moody was a little reluctant to let one his Aurors stay at home when she could be in the office studying and practicing, but he knew the situation as well as the two of them, and he gave in to letting Remus do all of the paperwork, and even admitted that Remus was better than him.

Because it was impossible for Karina to relay everything that would happen on the field, they used their Patronuses to record what would happen, and they would be what passed messages back and forth. Remus used his to let her know that there was trouble, she'd apparate Harry to the office for Remus to watch while she was out, her Patronus would monitor everything for their paperwork, then she'd leave the Patronus with him when she came back to pick up Harry. It had become a near perfect working machine, even if Remus was dealing with his "furry little problem". Because he hardly took a day off, Karina had convinced Moody that Remus could get a few days off every month. And that just so happened to be when the full moon was on the rise, and he would take his potion to keep him calm, so he would hide out at Karina's until everything had passed. On good weeks with his potion, he would even play with Harry like he was just a massive puppy dog.

The days had turned to weeks, and the weeks became months, then years. Harry's third and fourth birthday had come and gone with lots of celebration. He was speaking near full sentences, and Karina truly felt like she was his mother. She never could forget that she was only his aunt, as lots of reminders lay in a box in her bedroom, including Harry's birth certificate with Lily and James's names on it, but she finally got the courage to take the things in the box to the Potter's vault. Not only was Harry's birth certificate inside, but lots of special, personal things that had belonged to Lily and James that she wanted to keep safe for Harry to look at when he was older.

So one fine morning, she and Harry dressed in cool clothing, as it was nearing the summer, and they set out for Gringotts. 

Diagon Alley wasn't very busy that day. Mostly parents trying to bargain a bit to get their children's school things before the busy time hit and prices went up. Younger children running about and playing, occasionally an accidental bout of magic escaping them, getting either praise or scolding from their parents, depending on the incident.  Many of the children were in school, however, the elder ones being away at Hogwarts and the younger ones at the small, primary school that had opened up for them. Normally, wizarding parents would have to homeschool their children to teach them basic knowledge, such as reading and writing and arithmetic. But, a local witch had decided she would teach the children for busy parents who had work during the day. Karina had thought about enrolling Harry after the summer was over, but she was concerned he wouldn't meet the cut off for the age limit. School started on September first, the same as Hogwarts, and Harry would turn five just the day before. She wasn't sure if he met the specifications, but she'd ask the teacher while she was here. 

They went to Gringotts, and Harry moved to be closer to Karina. The goblins had always made him a little uneasy.

"Hello." She greeted the goblin she was met with, who looked at her as though she had a bug crawling out of her nose. "I'd like to place some things in the vault of Harry Potter?" She gestured to the box of items in her right arm, Harry holding her left hand. 

"Do you have the key to the vault of Harry Potter?" The goblin grumbled, and she let out a sigh, before setting the box of items onto the counter and digging into her pockets, then having to take the key back from Harry, who had found searching through her coat for sweets, and handed it to the goblin. "Follow me, please." She took the box in her arm again, and led Harry to the carts that would take them down to the vaults. She covered the box with her coat, using her wand to pin it down so nothing would fly out, and held Harry tightly in her arms as they and the goblin were flung down the tracks in the cart, heading for the vault, Harry burying his face in Karina's chest out of fear. He didn't like the cart at all.

"Key please." The goblin said, holding out his hands as they arrived and got out of the cart. She handed him the key, holding Harry on her hip so he wouldn't fall over from dizziness. The goblin opened the vault for her, and she entered, quickly placing the box in and walking out as fast as she could, not daring to look around the vault at the mass amount of gold that was around, nor to the other things that her brother and his wife had held dear to them.

As soon as they left the vaults and left Gringotts, Karina thought that she and Harry deserved some ice cream. They went down to Florean Fortescue's and both ordered a strawberry ice cream cone.

As they ate, Karina noticed a mass amount of children and parents surrounding a flyer on the window, and went to see, making sure Harry was secure in his child's seat. He was four, but he was still pretty, so he was okay in it.

When she finally saw the flyer, she saw that it was a flyer and a sign up sheet for a Quidditch team! A little league Quidditch team called the Pygmy Puffs made for little kids! "Well, isn't that just something?" She commented, smiling, just as she heard a chuckle from behind her, and turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing behind her, with Narcissa and their son.

"You're not actually considering putting your nephew onto the team, are you? He'd never make it against Draco." She felt her blood boil.

"We'll see about that." She growled, before picking up the quill left by the sheet and signing Harry on at once. We'll see who doesn't make it!