Ten-year-old Harry sat chewing his lip nervously, hands smoothing down his trousers over and over again as he stared at the letter on the table in front of him. Outside, an owl hooted at the silvery moon just visible over the top of the trees that stretched up towards the midnight sky.

In the corner, the clock ticked overly loudly and Harry found himself counting the seconds as they passed, one of his fingers tapping with each new noise. He stilled, however, when he heard the front door open and his head snapped up as he got hurriedly to his feet, moving across the kitchen into the hallway where he could see the silhouette of a slim, blonde woman hanging her coat on a hook by the door. "Maman?"

The woman gasped, whirling around. "Harry!" a flash of her wand had the candle on the dresser nearby lighting up so that they could see each other. "You startled me- Why aren't you in bed? It's late."

Harry fiddled with the hem of his pyjama top. "I needed to talk to you."

"What's wrong?" his mother moved forward, eyes scanning over him to check for injuries even as her wand slipped into her hand. Harry couldn't help but grin.

"Nothings wrong. It's just… my Hogwarts letter came." He explained. Understanding flashed across her face.

"Oh…" she breathed. "Well?"

Harry bit his lip. "I don't know." He confessed. Her face softened, and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"It's your choice baby. Always yours."

"I know. I think that's the problem." He sighed wryly, leaning into her. She smiled sadly out of his view, stroking a hand over his messy hair. "Will you be angry if I choose to go?"

"No." she answered instantly, drawing back to she could look at him. "Harry, I loved Hogwarts. I had some of the best times of my life there, and I would support you one hundred percent if you choose to go. And equally, if you don't I'll support you in that as well." Harry sighed, inclining his head. His mother smiled at him gently. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Harry nodded with a grin, trailing after her into the kitchen. "Mistress Emmeline!" came a squeaky voice from the corner. They both looked around.

"Good evening Missy." Emmeline greeted warmly. "Did we wake you?"

"Oh no!" The elf shook her head furiously. "Missy was awake. Can I's be helping yous?"

"No, thank you. Go to bed, Harry and I will be doing so ourselves soon enough." Emmeline encouraged. The elf nodded, bidding them goodnight before vanishing with a click of her fingers and Harry slid into a chair at the table, returning to stare at the letter as his mother moved around the kitchen.

"Do you think my birth parents would be angry if I didn't go?" He asked after a while.

"No sweetheart. They would want you to be happy, no matter what." Emmeline replied gently, placing a mug in front of him and settling into her own chair. Harry nodded silently. They sat in comfortable silence, broken only by sips of their drinks.

"I… I think…" Harry started shyly. His mother tilted her head. "I think I want to go. I mean, I can come home if I don't like it, right?"

"In a heartbeat." Emmeline promised, taking his hand. Harry grinned at her.

"Then let's do it. What's the worst that can happen?"

Emmeline groaned. "Oh Merlin, haven't you learnt by now to never say that?"

"But Maman, why can't we go after dance practice?" Harry heard his sister complain as he came running down the stairs.

"Because we need several hours at Le Boulevard to get everything Harry needs and I won't have you walking home from practice alone."

"Maman, we live in the most boring area of Paris. What is going to happen?"

"Rosalie, that is enough. I've told you twice, I am not telling you again." Emmeline sighed in frustration, looking up to see Harry at the door. "Got your letters?" Harry nodded, holding them up for her to see. "Good- don't lose them. Missy, we're going! We'll be back by dark. Hopefully."

She ushered Harry and Rosalie out the door, shutting it firmly behind and glancing up and down the street. "Okay let's go."

The nearest floo point was at a small pub on the other side of the park close to their home, and Harry couldn't help joining his sister in racing at full speed up the street in the morning sunshine. "Be careful!" Emmeline called but she was laughing too.

"I'm going to beat you!" Rosalie called over her shoulder, her blonde braids flying behind her.

"Never!" Harry yelled back, putting on a burst of speed and managing to catch her up just as she hit the old oak tree. They both collapsed to the ground, panting and laughing.

"You're really going to Hogwarts?" Rosalie asked him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I am." He reached to tug on her plait. "I'll be home at christmas though. You won't get rid of me that easily, little sister."

She grinned. "I'm going to miss you. And if you tell anyone I said that I will hit you." She smiled sweetly. Harry chuckled.

"Wouldn't dare." He promised.

"Rosalie Marlene, if you get grass stains on that dress I'll make you wash it without help!" Emmeline called out as she came into view. Both kids knew that 'help' referred to magic. Rose glanced down at the jean dress she was wearing and rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't even see a grass stain." She complained under her breath but got to her feet anyway. "You never tell Harry to be careful of grass stains."

"That's because Harry doesn't have a tendency to ruin everything he puts on by lunchtime." Emmeline teased her, dropping a kiss to her head. "Come on."

The three arrived quickly at the pub, Le Lutin Lilas and waved to Monsieur Henri behind the bar. "Harry first, then you Rosalie." Emmeline ordered. "Wait for me on the other end."

"Oui maman." The children sighed together. Harry grabbed a handful of floo powder.

"Le boulevard!' he called and stepped into the fireplace. The usual dizzying rush went past, snapshots of lives that flew by more quickly than he could register them until he felt himself slow and then he was on the floor on the other end, coughing and spluttering.

"Bonjour Monsieur." Came the amused voice from behind him. He looked up, peering through the dirty lenses of his glasses.

"Bonjour Marie." He groaned, taking the offered hand and scrambling to his feet. He choked slightly at the soot, but then felt a whoosh of magic over him and blinked up at Marie, who was standing with her wand and a smirk. Before he could say anything, the floo lit up again and Rosalie tumbled out, caught by Marie before she could hit the floor.

"Bonjour Marie. Merci." Rosalie greeted her, standing straight and brushing a loose lock of hair from her eyes.

"Bonjour." Marie smiled, cleaning her off as well just as their mother stepped through, already clean and without a hair out of place.

"How do you do that?" Harry complained good naturedly. She smiled.

"Practice. Bonjour Marie." She greeted the older woman, exchanging pleasantries in fast paced French before bidding her goodbye and taking Rosalie by the hand. "Come along you two."

"Au revoir Marie." She and Harry called out as they were tugged from the pub, Harry's own hand quickly being gripped by his mother when he drifted towards the broom merchants.

"Maybe later." His mother told him as they headed towards the apothecary. Emmeline bought her own ingredients while Harry went to find a cauldron and beginner's potions set.

"Beginner's." He wrinkled his nose.

"Careful Harry. You do want your head to fit through the door don't you?" Rose teased. He stuck his tongue out at her but kept quiet as they continued around the rest of the shops.

"We'll have to get your robes in London." His mother noted absently. "They won't sell Hogwarts robes here… we'll get you a wand there as well."

Harry looked at her in confusion. "Why do I need another wand?"

"Because turning up to Hogwarts with a French made wand several years old might provoke a few questions we don't want to answer." Emmeline pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

Harry looked sheepish. "Oh…"

They walked on through the street until outside of the bookstore Emmeline's watch began to vibrate. "Bother." She sighed. "I need to deal with this." She eyed them both. "Can you two be trusted to fetch the books alone?"

"Yes!" Harry and Rose nodded vigorously. Their mother didn't look convinced.

"Okay. Harry, if they don't have the English versions of the ones you need…"

"I don't mind the French versions." Harry assured her. "Will remind me of home."

"Alright then. One extra one each!" she called over her shoulder as she pressed her fingers to her watch. Harry and Rosalie grinned at each other.

"Half each?" Rose offered. Harry grinned, ripping the list in half and handing one piece to her before he wandered off into the shelves and lost himself amongst the pages.

He loved books, his whole family did and it had become custom for his mother to buy them a book every time they came into central Paris. Harry found the books he needed with ease, mostly in French but he didn't mind that. He also found some battered copies of other books that looked useful- he put them in his cauldron to ask his mother about later and went to browse the other volumes until he heard Emmeline calling his name.

"I'm here!" he answered, poking his head around the shelf to find her just in front of him.

"Find everything?" she checked. He nodded.

"Rosie has the other half."

His mother looked around. "Rosalie? Oú est-tu?"

"Ici Maman!"

They followed her voice and found her sitting on the floor looking troubled, a book in her hands. "Rosie?"

She looked up, handing the book in her hands to her mother who frowned as she read the cover. Harry peeked over her shoulder.

"With the defeat of the greatest wizard of our time, many wizards and witches now ask what comes next." He read. "Harry Potter is hailed as the saviour of the wizarding world- however this author asks what danger has he been put in with this title? Is it possible that-?"

"Enough." His mother interrupted. She placed the book back on the shelf and helped Rosalie to her feet. "Ignore it- it's just groundless speculation. Let's go and pay."

Emmeline had always been perfectly frank with Harry about the danger he may be in, from Voldemort or his followers. He remembered her sitting down at explaining the history to him, right up to his parents' deaths and the current danger. He'd been inconsolable over the fact that he might have placed her and Rose in danger.

"Harry James." Emmeline had said firmly. "I knew perfectly well what I was getting myself and Rosie into at the start of all this. You are not at fault here, not in any way."

"You could be hurt because of me, because I'm here! Without me you'd be safe!" Harry had protested vehemently. Emmeline shook her head.

"I could be hurt crossing the road tomorrow. I could be hurt everyday at work. I could be hurt making dinner tonight. Every one of us risks our lives just by being alive honey. Safe is relative."

"But what if you get hurt? Or Rosie? What if he comes after me again?"

"Then we'll make sure you're ready for him if he does." Emmeline had comforted gently.

And she had. Somehow, she'd balanced Harry and Rosie's childhoods between being normal children and preparing them for the worst, not that either them had known it at first.

Both had attended muggle school during the day, leading to them easily becoming fluent in French, something their mother was particularly happy about. After school, they had a range of clubs and activities each night. On Mondays it was gymnastics which Rosalie loved and Harry disliked immensely, on Tuesday's Krav Maga, something they were both good at. Wednesday's was dance, and swimming was on Thursdays, which each week Harry would bounce happily to and Rosalie loathed. Each attended music lessons on Fridays- Rosalie excelled with any instrument, although she preferred piano or singing while Harry, after much trial and error found that he was fairly proficient with a guitar or violin. On Saturdays, Rosalie attended a performing arts school while Harry played football at local club. They would walk home together in the early afternoon, clean up and eat something before settling down in the study with their mother. The study was actually in the attic, a warm and cosy room of gentle red and yellow filled with bookshelves lining every wall and three desks- a larger one tucked into one corner, facing the room and covered with papers and two smaller ones side by side nestled between two bookshelves. There were several comfortable seats placed around the fireplace as well. Here, Emmeline would teach them magic.

Practical work was carefully performed only under the strict supervision of their mother or occasionally Missy. A lot of their work was theory based, ranging from history to arithmancy. Occasionally, herbology required trips to the garden and potions took place in their mother's personal lab in the cellar but otherwise even astronomy occurred in the attic, which was warded carefully in case of stray spells, as well as blocking the events in the attic from the prying eyes of anyone watching which unfortunately included the ministry and the underage magic act. "The rules are slightly less strict than in Britain." Their mother had explained. "Some underage magic is allowed under certain circumstances... Teaching the two of you early isn't one of them however. And although they wouldn't be able to tell who cast the spell, we should try not to attract too much attention." But Emmeline saw no reason in preventing them from practicing the spells if they were careful, and so the lessons continued.

"But Emmy." Harry had asked worriedly after about six months after he'd first arrived in France. "You're not actually teaching us much defence. Being able to dance is all well and good, but how is that going to help if the death eaters come?"

Emmeline had smiled gently at him, brushing a hand over his hair as Rosalie watched them anxiously. "Baby, everything you and Rosie do is about defence." She told him.

"How?"

"You dance because it makes you graceful and light on your feet, something you will need if you ever find yourself in a fight. Dance gives you the ability to dodge faster, to move quicker and more efficiently should you ever need to. Swimming is just for the obvious- you both need to learn how because magic may not always be around to save you. Krav Maga is to give you an upper hand- I've yet to meet any witch or wizard who uses anything but a wand, so you will not only have a skill they don't but also an element of surprise. Gymnastics makes you flexible and graceful, much like dance- it's easier to dodge spells, cast them and it helps your balance which in turn improves your dance and martial arts. All of these along with football keep you fit and healthy, able to run if you need it- yes, run, don't look at me like that. You will not always be able to fight Harry, sometimes the other person will simply be faster, more powerful or better trained and running away is not cowardly, it's just common sense. The music is an outlet for you, yes, but it also improves your concentration and your ability to do multiple tasks at once; your fingers doing different things exercises your brain and music uses the same parts of your brain as other subjects like math. All of this has been about defence Harry- just because I'm trying to give you a childhood and not training you to be a soldier doesn't mean I'm leaving you defenceless."

Harry nodded and smiled shyly at her, sliding his arms around her waist in silent apology while Rosie just smiled cheerfully at him.

Sunday's were different altogether- Emmeline wouldn't have to work and so she would take them on trips. Harry lost count of the hours spent in the louvre or other tourist attractions, and magic allowed them to visit other places just as easily. London, New York and Australia were some of the more memorable trips, although they'd been all over the world. Those bigger trips were usually saved for special occasions though- picnics or trips to the zoo or park were just as popular.

His childhood may not have been normal, but he'd loved it and wouldn't have changed it for the world.