No sooner had Harry taken a step towards the house with Andi when the front door flew open almost violently, making him jump and Andi shake her head. 

A rather strange girl stood in the doorframe, silhouetted by light streaming in from inside the house. Every piece of clothing that she was wearing was a different colour, her socks too, especially her socks. They were rainbow coloured and different on either foot. Her hair was a rainbow of colours too, and as she moved closer, Harry could see she had different coloured eyes as well. One pink, and the other purple. She was a bizarre spectacle to see, a walking kaleidoscopic effect. 

“Merlin’s shaggy armpits, is that Harry Potter? I've always wanted to meet you!” she yelled, throwing herself onto him for a full blown hug, squeezing him with a surprising amount of strength. 

Harry felt like he was being zapped by a static shock-like effect, one that warmed him up from the inside. As the warmth built, he felt amazing, like having a belly full of warm food, only better. He’d only experienced that a few times, and most of those were when he stayed with Mrs. Figg for a few days. 

The rainbow coloured girl yelped, letting go of Harry and stumbled away, tripping over a pot plant next to the porch step and falling on her backside with a grunt. For some strange reason, some of her features seemed to have melted away to reveal a different girl underneath. Her rainbow hair had turned dark black and curly, similar to his own. 

“Nymphadora!” Andi yelled, startled as she ran to the girl’s side. She pulled out her wand, pointing it at Nymphadora, and whispered something under her breath. Harry was feeling almost giddy after what happened, but it was dampened by concern for this friendly girl. 

“Is she alright? Are you alright?” he asked, coming up to stand near them, feeling too nervous to get any closer. 

“Ow. Mum, what the blimey hell was that?” Nymphadora asked, rubbing her bottom and wincing. She froze up suddenly, clapping her hands to her face and feeling all around with a look of horror. “What happened to my face?”

Andi gave her a concerned look. “You lost all of your transformations. Has that ever happened before?”

Nymphadora shuddered, covering her face with her hands, nodded briefly, before closing her eyes and leaning against the porch post with a sigh, looking exhausted. “Sometimes with any temporary changes I’ve made, if I’m not concentrating hard enough or I’m too tired I can lose them. I was practising changing how I look as quickly as I could before you arrived home. I didn’t get enough time to make them permanent as I usually do.”

“How did you know that we’d gotten home so quickly?” Andi asked. 

Harry decided he was going to start calling her Dora, at least in his head, it was a much better fit. 

Dora smiled happily, “Mad-Eye showed me a few neat detection wards. They let me know when you arrived.”

Instantly, Harry knew that Mad-Eye was the nickname that people called Alastor Moody. He had no idea how he knew, he just did. 

“Of course he did,” Andi muttered underneath her breath, before speaking up louder and with a much more sterner voice, “I hope he isn’t teaching you anything too inappropriate, young lady.” 

Dora snorted, opening her eyes to grin at her mum. “Of course he is! He’s Mad-Eye Moody. It’s in his name, innit?” 

Andi snorted as well, laughing quietly and shaking her head before standing up, offering a hand for Dora to take. “I suppose that’s true. Anyway, you seem to be ok, besides a slightly sore bum and minor magical exhaustion. But that’s it. Up you get, Nymphadora, I’ll cook you something nice to replenish your strength. 

Harry sighed in relief on hearing that Dora was alright. 

Dora frowned as she took Andi’s proffered hand, standing up with her assistance. “How many times have I asked you not to call me Nymphadora?” she pouted. 

Andi placed her fists on her hips, staring at Dora, “What’s wrong with Nymphadora? It’s a perfectly good name!”

Listening to them argue about names made Harry feel uncomfortable. “Nymphadora isn’t her real name, much like how Tonks wasn’t always yours. It’s like a wound that hasn’t healed for you. Much like Harry James doesn’t feel like my real name either.”

Both women turned to look at him startled, Dora was so surprised that she didn’t even look concerned that her face was showing without her changes. 

“I like this kid,” Dora said, giving him a tired smile, making Harry blush. 

Andi looked thoughtful. “How did you know about my name? I thought you were raised by muggles.”

Harry shrugged, feeling a little exposed at sharing his secret. “Honestly… I have no idea, I just get an idea of someone by their name, and sometimes I can tell if it’s their correct name or not.” 

Dora looked at him excitedly. “So… if Nymphadora isn’t my real name, what is my real name?” 

He smiled at her, her excitement was infectious. “Dora feels like a much better fit for you.”

She gave a solemn nod. “This is acceptable,” she replied, cracking up into a giggle a moment later, Harry joined her laughter after a brief hesitation. 

“Well… regardless of any of that. How are you feeling Harry? You don’t seem to have been affected by whatever happened to Nym- Dora. Did you notice anything?”

Looking bashfully down at his feet, Harry nodded. “Err… yes?”

With a concerned look on her face, Andi turned her wand on him, muttering the same thing as before. He felt her magic wash through him, making him shiver despite it being a fairly warm day out. Harry felt a magical connection form between his body and Andi’s wand briefly before it snapped, the magic sinking into his body. The tingling warmth felt similar to when Dora hugged him, just not as intense. 

Andi frowned. “What in The Morrigan’s name is going on?” 

A cold shiver ran up his spine at the mention of The Morrigan’s name. Which was strange, he’d never heard of her before, but he got the impression that she was someone that you absolutely did not want to get on the bad side of. 

“What is it, Mum?”

Andi, who had been frowning down at her wand, turned to look at Dora. “I’m not sure… I only got very basic information before the spell broke somehow. But of what I did get…” she shuddered, looking at Harry with a heartbroken expression. “I’m so sorry, Harry, for you being left in the so-called care of your family. It should never have happened.”

“What did you see?” Dora asked, bouncing up and down on her feet. 

Her mum turned a frown at her daughter. “Never you mind, that’s patient confidentiality. You should know that.”

Dora stopped bouncing and grimaced. “Oh, yeah… sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

He nodded towards Dora. “It’s fine,” he said, smiling at her. 

Andi smiled warmly at Dora. “It’ll be something you’ll need to keep in mind when you become an Auror, dear, remember that. Now, how about we have a nice breakfast. While I cook, I want you to go and find Harry some of your older clothes. I’d say grab something from your fathers wardrobe, but it’ll be hardly more comfortable than what he’s wearing now. I want to talk with Harry for a moment alone, if you wouldn’t mind, Ny- Dora?”

Dora flashed him a brilliant smile. “I’m happy that you’re here, Harry. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” With that, she twirled around and walked inside, closing the door behind her. 

“Let’s go inside and have a chat, we’ll be more comfortable there,” Andi said, gesturing to him to follow her. 

Harry suddenly felt nervous, he wasn’t sure exactly what it was that she wanted to talk to him about. 

The inside of the house was a little messy, but it was the ‘lived in’ kind of messy. It felt like a home for the people who lived in it, far more than number 4 Privet Drive ever had to Harry. 

“It’s alright. There’s nothing to be afraid of, okay?”

He nodded stiffly, not trusting himself to answer. 

Andi stepped into a small room that was set up as a comfortable home office space. A desk with a computer was against one wall, with a large and comfy-looking two seater lounge sat opposite. A small fireplace took up the wall facing the open doorway. Andi closed the door behind Harry as he stepped inside. “It’s just so you can have some privacy, okay? If you want me to leave the door open, I can.”

Harry shook his head. “No, it’s okay. I trust you,” he said, sitting down in the lounge. It was as comfortable as it had looked. 

His rescuer smiled at him, taking a seat on the office chair with a sigh. “So, you wouldn’t know this, but I’m actually a healer, which means that I heal people using a variety of spells and potions. That spell that I used on you earlier gave me some basic information about what ailments you have. Unfortunately, it failed on you for some reason, so instead of trying again, I thought I would do an examination of your injuries without using magic. 

“That would mean that you would have to take off your shirt and pants, but that’s it. And only if you are comfortable with it. If you aren’t, then I can try the spell again, or I can just ask you questions and work out what to do from your answers.”

After giving it some thought, Harry eventually nodded. “Maybe… we can try the spell again, first?”

Andi smiled encouragingly at him, before lifting up her wand and pointing it at him. “We can do that. Revelare Salutem!”

Harry felt the magic wash over him, forming a connection between himself and Andi’s wand once more. Almost immediately, the magic began breaking down as it seeped into his body, accompanied by the usual warm feeling. Let the spell work, please, please, let the spell work, he begged in his mind. To his surprise, he felt the warmth stop and the spell stabilise within him, reading his health before it ended the connection itself. Harry couldn’t help but feel strange after the spell ended. It reminded him of the many times that the Dursleys had denied him dinner. 

He heard Andi sigh with relief, then grimaced moments later. “Okay, it worked that time, thankfully.”

“I asked it to work and it worked. Is that how magic usually works?” Harry asked. 

Andi looked at him with an odd expression on her face. “What exactly do you mean by ‘asked it to work’?” 

Harry shrugged. “I was just sitting there thinking ‘please let the spell work.’ And it did!”

The Healer hummed to herself thoughtfully. “Certain magics can and do respond to our desires. It’s possible that whatever magical traits you have inherited are like that too.” 

“So do you know what it could be? Or mean?”

“I’m not completely sure, to be honest. I don’t wish to just come out and guess, not without knowing more. It could be something as simple as you having gone for so long without any ambient magic around you, that your body is siphoning as much as it can from whatever sources that it can. Including witches who hug you, or spells cast at you,” Andi eventually supplied, after a brief pause. 

Harry wasn’t sure if she was being completely honest with him, but he trusted her, so he wasn’t going to push her for more just yet. He didn’t want to make her regret bringing him into her home. “Is that a common thing to happen?”

Andi shook her head, “Not really, no. But just because it’s not common, doesn’t mean it’s not what’s happening. And if it is, then just spending time around witches and wizards will go a long way to alleviating your symptoms.”

He hummed, lost in thought for a moment. “My friend hugged me yesterday and she’s a witch, but nothing happened to her.” Harry paused as another completely different thought struck him. “Actually. How did you know to come and find me? Was it Hermione?”

“Is Hermione your friend? The Ministry has certain wards in place in muggle infrastructures for key phrases, and your name happens to be one of them. A Doctor Granger rang the police to report child abuse and named you. Naturally, this was flagged by the wards and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was notified. 

“Normally they wouldn’t be notified of things like this, but an exception was made for you. The department head, Madam Bones, decided to send myself, a healer that she trusts, and one of the best Aurors in the department to check up on you.” Andi hesitated for a moment, looking a little worried, “Do you know… about how your parents died, Harry? And about, You-Know-Who?”

Harry sighed, looking down at his hands folded up in his lap, before looking back up at Andi. “Yes, Hermione told me. She even showed me the eulogy for my parents in Hogwarts: A History. They were killed by a dark wizard, right?” 

Andi nodded with a sad expression on her face. “Yes, that’s right. I’m sure that Dora would lend you one of her history books that would explain some of what happened and why, and Ted, my husband, and I, will be around to answer any of your questions too. As would Dora, I’m sure.” She sighed, a thoughtful look passing over her briefly. “Now, I would like to give you some potions and to offer some minor healing spells. None of them are painful or invasive in any way, and you can always say no. They’ll make you feel better, but I’m worried that your body will siphon off the magic before they can work, so you’ll have to sit there and let them do their job. Would you like to try it?”

He gulped audibly, causing Andi to smile encouragingly at him. “I… think so? I mean, I’d like to try at least. If you think it’s for the best, that is.”

Andi nodded, her eyes twinkling with warmth and compassion. Harry was unused to seeing that directed at him, it made him feel funny. 

“I do, yes,” she said, a moment later. 

“Ok. Let’s do it.”

~~~

I’m sorry for using authors notes like this, but I wanted to see if it’ll stop a certain website stealing our stories.