Chapter Text
Harry Potter was 18 years old and tired of his life. He was tired of the reporters hounding him day and night. He was tired of the ministry trying to use him. He was tired of everyone acting as though they knew him just because they had read about him in the papers. But most of all, he was tired about not being able to go anywhere, do anything, without a commotion being caused. Thankfully he had friends who cared about him. Hermione arranged a meeting and offered her flat as a center of command.
“Hey mate,” said Ron, “I have an idea for you. We all know that the loonies around here will pay through the nose for pictures of you in the buff. You could make millions over in America as one of the Chippendale blokes.
Before Harry could react, George grabbed him from behind, holding Harry in place as he transfigured Harry's clothes into a provocative fireman outfit.
“George!” Harry shouted. “Turn it back before I make you! Whatever pants come with this costume are cutting off my circulation!”
Hermione stood up and cast sonorus on herself in order to be heard over the Weasley's laughing and Harry's yelling.
“Quiet all of you,” she said, her voice calm and loud. “Ron, be quiet if you can't be serious. Harry is facing a real problem here.” She returned Harry's clothes to normal and sat back down, crossing her ankles and smoothing out her skirt. “Now, does anyone here have a real suggestion?”
“Aww, come on 'Mione, I was just having a little bit of fun,” said Ron, his face almost as red as his hair.
“Ronald Billius Weasley-” Hermione began.
“I'll be serious!”
“I have an option,” said Neville. He wiped his dirt-stained hands on his pants self consciously as everyone turned to look at him. “Erm, if he wanted to, I mean, well...he could...”
“Go on Neville,” encouraged Hermione.
“Well, I recently received an owl from a herbologist in Brazil. They're starting a five year long research program on some of the rarer species of cacti found in South America. The program is run by muggles. It would be a perfect place to get away, and they have a few spots still open.”
“I appreciate it Neville, but that sound more like your thing than mine,” said Harry.
“You can come work with me an' the dragons,” offered Charlie.
“No way,” said George. “I'm opening a muggle branch of the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. Harry can work there!”
“Harry could always visit Washington in America. I've heard that there's an abundance of strange creatures over there. I wonder if you could even see a snorkack,” said Luna, her voice soft and dreamy.
“Harry, what do you want to do?” Hermione asked.
“Er, I don't really know. I mean, I don't want to just hide somewhere, but I need to get away. I'm going crazy here 'Mione.”
“Harry,” Hermione said, “You want to help people, right?”
Harry nodded.
“You want to get away from the magical world for a while, right?”
He nodded again.
“Why don't you and I start a business as muggle caretakers? We'll have to take a couple of courses on home healthcare, but it shouldn't take more than a couple of months to get certified. We won't be considered doctors, but it is a good profession that will keep you out of the public eye.”
Nearly a year later, Harry and Hermione got their first customer. Ms. Anne-Sophie Grantaine was suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus and needed someone to look after her and her ten-year-old son. She couldn't afford to pay them the standard fee for their services, but both Harry and Hermione agreed that it wouldn't be an issue. Harry would go and live with the Grantaines, taking care of their everyday needs while Hermione researched how to cure Anne-Sophie of her illness.
On April 12th, 2000, Harry Potter found himself in France, standing outside of a house. The door had been slammed in his face just moments prior by a young blonde.
___________
René Tamaki Richard de Grantaine took one look at the dark haired man in the doorway and closed the door.
“René, darling, who was it,” asked Anne-Sophie.
“Someone who had the wrong house mother. He claimed that he had been hired by you as a live-in healer. Don't worry mama. I'm big enough to protect you from dangerous visitors now,” replied Tamaki.
“Darling, I did hire him. Open the door now and apologize for your behavior. He is here to look after the two of us.”
“But mother! I don't need anyone but you, and I'm big enough to take care of you now.”
“René,” his mother warned.
Tamaki gave a dramatic sigh and pulled the door open. “I guess you have the right house. I'm sorry for slamming the door on you.”
The man was rather short for a grown-up, and he had a scruffy look about him that put Tamaki on edge. His black hair was messy, and his green eyes obscured by chunky glasses. He was wearing a suit that appeared to be a size too big and he slouched horribly. Tamaki hoped that the man would not stick around for long.
Anne-Sophie, Tamaki's mother, walked into the parlor, smiling gently at Tamaki and the visitor.
“Mr. Potter, I appreciate you coming all the way out here to assist us. I do understand that the fee is less than you usually offer, but it is all I am-”
“Ms. Grantaine, please slow down, je parle seulement un peu français*,” said Mr. Potter in a mix of slightly mangled French and English.
“I apologize Mr. Potter,” said Anne. “I was told that you spoke french.”
“My associate Ms. Granger is the one who is fluent. I am still learning. I hope this won't be too much of a problem.”
“Mother, why are the two of you speaking in English? I cannot understand you!” Tamaki whinged.
“In a moment René. It is no problem Mr. Potter. René will show you to where you will be staying. René, please show Mr. Potter to the guest room, and be polite.”
“But Mother!” Tamaki's purple-hued eyes were filling with crocodile tears. He did not want the man to stay. He and his mother were fine without the scruffy intruder.
“No René. Please just take Mr. Potter to his room. I am feeling tired.”
Tamaki's shoulders slumped as he grabbed the intruder by the sleeve and dragged him into the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
“We don't need you. Mother and I can do just fine without anyone else,” said Tamaki, his mouth drawn down in a frown. “I'm ten. That's old enough to take care of mama.”
The intruder smiled softly. “You protect your mother. I make her sick no more. We work together to make well her,” he said in halting french.
Tamaki gave a cold glare. “I don't need help. She is mine to protect. You aren't wanted here.”
Harry Potter walked into the guest bedroom alone, leaving the angry child in the hallway. This job was going to be a bit more difficult than he had previously thought. He had no idea of how to deal with children.
____________
The next morning, Tamaki awoke to the smell of pancakes. He sprung out of his bed and ran to the kitchen, his bare feet flying noisily. Pancake days were always the days when Mother was feeling her best. He reached the kitchen in record time and saw something terrible. In the kitchen was the intruder wearing the rose color apron that Tamaki had purchased for Mother's day, making pancakes and talking to Tamaki's mother. Such behavior was not acceptable!
Anne-Sophie noticed the dark aura emanating from the kitchen doorway. She hid a small smile behind a dainty hand at the sight of her son glaring at Harry as though he were a most hated enemy. She hoped that her darling boy would come to accept the caretaker with time. “René, darling, won't you come take a seat next to mama and have some breakfast?,” she asked.
Tamaki ran into the kitchen and sat so close to his mother that he was practically in her lap. He would show the intruder that mother was his and his alone.
Harry chocked back a laugh at the sight of the little blond glaring daggers at him. The kid couldn't be threatening if he tried. “Mr. Grantaine, what would you like in your pancakes? We have blueberries, chocolate chips, or plain.”
“I don't want any,”Tamaki declared, folding his arms over his chest. There was no way he was eating food prepared by this invader.
“René, could you help me finish my pancakes then? There's no way that I could possibly eat all of these by myself. We also have whipped cream for you to put on top. It would be a shame to let these pancakes go to waste. After all, Mr. Potter prepared them the commoner way,” said Anne-Sophie.
Tamaki's eyes went wide and he looked down at the half eaten pancakes on his mother's plate. They did look delicious, and mama hated it when he wasted food.
Anne-Sophie slid the container of whipped cream towards Tamaki. “Please,” she said.
Tamaki's stomach grumbled and his resolve broke. Fifteen pancakes later, he admitted to himself that the intruder could stay, if only to be a cook. That didn't mean that he was going to let the man close to mother.
______
“Ms. Grantaine, do you mind if we speak in English for just a little while? I need to make sure that I record the proper information for my associate, Ms. Granger,” said Harry as he flipped through the forms Hermione had sent for him to fill out.
“English would be fine,” responded Anne-Sophie.
“Ah, right then. Erm, do you know much about your disorder?”
Anne-Sophie looked down at her folded hands. “Not much. The previous doctor gave me a pamphlet, but I had trouble understanding most of it.”
“Er, systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease. That means that your immune system is attacking your body. There isn't a known cure yet, but there are ways to alleviate the individual symptoms,” explained Harry. “What I need you to do is tell me the symptoms that affect you so that we can properly treat them.”
Anne-Sophie continued looking at her hands. “There is no cure?”
Harry looked up from the papers and tried to meet Anne-Sophie's eyes. “There isn't a cure yet,” he said softly. “That doesn't mean that one can't be made. My friend Hermione is working on it right now, and she won't stop until a cure is found, even if she has to work a miracle. Until a cure is found, I'll be here to make sure that you get everything you need to feel better, so don't worry, alright? I'm pants at dealing with worried women.”
Anne-Sophie looked up and and chuckled, gracing Harry with a small smile. “I trust you and Ms. Granger to do your best.”
Harry nodded, a little bit embarrassed. He began to list the different symptoms, checking them off on the list as Anne-Sophie informed him of the ones she suffered from.
Meanwhile, a young boy stood in the hallway, his ear to the door. He had started crying when the intruder had said that there was no cure. How dare that man tell his mother such a thing! He had almost gone into the room to force the man out, but then something had changed. The intruder's tone became softer and warmer, like a comforter on a cold morning. The intruder spoke words of a search for a cure and a promise of comfort until a cure was found. Then Tamaki heard his mother laugh. He supposed the intruder could stay as long as he made Tamaki's mother feel better. That didn't mean that he accepted the man!
_______
One month later, an energetic Tamaki ran into his mother's room before the sun rose. He had been tossing and turning all night before finally coming to a decision.
“Mother,” Tamaki began as he jumped onto his mother's bed, waking her up. “I have decided. I am going to marry Harry.”
“René, dearest, it is too early in the morning for this,” said Anne-Sophie as she tried to burrow back down into her pillows and go back to sleep.
“But mother! You are supposed to marry the person you are closest too, and then you become family. I want Harry to be family.”
Anne-Sophie let out a small groan.
“Mother! Are you alright? Are you hurting somewhere?”
A pair of small hands began to pat her head and shoulders, searching for injury.
“No, I'm not hurt. I had just forgotten how similar you are to a man that I once loved. I suppose that you had better go tell Mr. Potter your intentions.”
Tamaki smiled brilliantly. “Mother, he told us to call him Harry weeks ago! Do you think he will say yes?”
Without waiting for a response, Tamaki jumped off of the bed and flew out of the room. Seconds later, he was bouncing on Harry's bed, trying to wake him up.
“Harry, Harry, Harry! You must wake up now! I have something important to say!”
Harry placed his pillow on top of his head and tried to ignore the bouncing blond.
“Haaaaaaaarrrrrrrrryyyyyyy! Harry, Harry, Ha-”
“What in Merlin's name is so important René?” Harry growled irritably, his voice still sleep-rough.
“I want you to marry me so that we can be family!”
Harry's eyes flew wide open in surprise. He took a deep breath and counted to five before responding. “René, you can't just go around asking people to marry you. Besides there are other ways to become a family without marrying someone. If you truly thing of yourselves as a family, then you are a family.”
Tamaki nodded vigorously before speaking again. “So will you marry me?”
“Ask me when you're older. Now go back to bed.”
Tamaki pressed a quick kiss to Harry's cheek and jumped out of bed before the man could swat him on the back of the head. “Don't think that I'll forget Harry! I promise that we will become family. Until then, never leave me okay? Always stay with me,” said Tamaki exuberantly.
Harry shook his head and went back to sleep, a small smile on his face.