2 The Name

It was a quiet night with almost no wind. A peculiar scene was happening at No. 4, Private Drive, London.

There was a middle-aged woman in a typical witch hat, sitting inside the drawing room along with a couple who were presumably the owners of the house.

The man was sweating like a pig and had a constipated expression on his red face. The woman was a lot more composed but still looked terrified just like the man.

Whereas the woman in the witch hat was the epitome of elegance and solemness. She sat there drinking tea, like nothing in the whole world could affect her. She was dressed in black robes, slightly heeled sandals with a few charms and accessories on her fingers.

There was a pendant hanging on her neck by a silver thread. It was shaped like a cat carved out of sapphire crystals and looked really expensive.

She had a pointed nose, thin lips with an expression which looked like she disapproved of everything inside the house. She had the aura of your typical school principal, who had never broken any rule in her life and would make you wish you never broke one either if you ever got caught by her.

As she finished her tea, the teacup and the saucer floated from her hands onto the table. The man's eyes almost popped out of his head as he let out an almost painful moan like someone just poked his ass.

"So shall we get to the point?" asked the witch while critically watching the scared duo.

"Y…..Yea….Yeah..ahem I mean yes if you please", replied the wife all the while holding her husband's trembling hands.

"That's good. So Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, as you can see, we are in a bit of a pickle here. I assume you have already met the child that my colleague, Rubeus Hagrid brought to you a few minutes ago from your sister's house. Originally, we thought of leaving him here on your doorsteps but I just couldn't go through with it and figured that you folks at least need some explanation as to what was going on. A lot of it has been written in the letter he had on him but I doubt you would have bothered to read it properly. So here I am to inform you of the current situation and to resolve any doubts you might have." The witch took a moment to gather her thoughts and started speaking again.

"Petunia, he is your sister's son and due to the tragic accident of your sister and her husband, you are now his last living relative.

I know it might be a little inconvenient to raise somebody else's child but considering that he is related to you by blood and due to some very unmentionable extenuating circumstances, I have no other choice but to leave this child in your care. I hope you would take into account your relationship with his mother and raise him as your own."

Many emotions went through the couple's face during the witch's speech and by the end of it, the wife looked a little less scared and there was a complex emotion in her eyes whereas the husband's face looked even redder and ready to burst at any moment.

Seeing as they were not responding, the witch cleared her throat with a slight cough and the red-faced husband practically jumped out of his skin.

"Well? Mr. and Mrs. Dursley?" prompted the witch.

"Ah yes..yes….m…magic lady…ma'am…"

"Please call me Minerva."

"Yes yes, magic lady Minerva…"

"Just Minerva please", interrupted the witch with a disapproving curl of her thin lips.

"Ahem..", said the red-faced man,"You see Ms. Minerva, its been a really crazy night. All of a sudden, we get the news that my sister in law and her husband, whom we haven't seen in ages, and who also didn't invite us to their wedding by the way, are now dead. On top of it, they were some kind of crazy magicians and that they had a son who we now have to take care of until he becomes an adult. Am I right so far?"

"Yes, except the crazy part. Although one of them might have had a few screws loose in his youth but there were perfectly sane I assure you. Also, we prefer the term wizards over magicians."

"Yes yes Ms. Minerva, please forgive my husband for his language. It's not every day that we have a mag...wizard in our house. So it's a lot to take in", the wife said, trying to placate the situation.

"Its alright Petunia, I understand. Well then, any questions? No? Good!

I have done what I came here for and the rest is up to you. He will receive a letter from Hogwarts when he turns eleven, so until then please take care of him and of yourself."

The witch got up after saying her part and not giving the squeamish husband any chance to retort.

She got out of the house and just as she was about to leave, she remembered something and suddenly turned around.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

The couple almost fell down from fright because of her sudden turnaround.

"W..What is it M..Ms Mi…Minerva?"

"The child already has a name"

"O..Ok. So what is it?"

The witch spoke the name and vanished right from their doorsteps. There was only a slight whooshing sound of the wind and the last words of the witch lingered in the air…

"The child shall be known as Harry.....Harry Potter."