Jacqueline Morse woke up on November 1st feeling very glad that it was a Sunday. Though as a solicitor she still had paperwork to do, she at least didn't have to go through the bother of putting herself together to go into the company office. Instead, she'll be working from home today and could afford to wake up after the sun had already risen.

After a cup of coffee and a quick breakfast, Jackie made it to her office only to notice that one of the cabinets was emitting a soft glow. Quickly making her way to the cabinet and going through the drawers, she finally found the document that was the cause of the glow. Reading it as she made her way to her desk, Jackie fell onto her chair with a sigh. "Oh, Lily…"

Jacqueline Morse was born the third and youngest child of parents who had thought their child-rearing days were long behind them. Jackie's older siblings had already left the nest, one married to her sweetheart and the other attending Cambridge for a chemistry degree. Jackie spent most of her childhood shuffled between school and various extracurricular activities and summer camps because her parents (already in their forties when she was born) didn't have the energy for an active child, especially one who so often was the center of interesting events. When a letter arrived the summer after her 11th birthday, everyone was quite content with the idea of Jackie going off to a magical boarding school, though her brother insisted on homeschooling her in the summers for her non-magical subjects.

Jackie thoroughly enjoyed her time in Hufflepuff - though she made many friends, she also did her best to learn as much magic as she could. However, by her fourth year, she could see which way the wind was blowing and had no expectations of staying in the magical world past her Hogwarts graduation. Muggleborns were not welcome and Jackie wasn't going to waste her time elbowing her way into a society that was so broken to begin with. Instead, Jackie went to university to get her law degree and became a practicing solicitor. She did send a business card to Dumbledore in case any muggleborns or their parents wanted muggle legal services from someone in the know. This was how she met Lily and James Potter.

They had come asking her to set up a trust fund for their yet unborn child. As James Potter did not exist in the muggle world, everything was set up under the name Lily Evans.

£100,000 was put into a trust fund for the later named Hadrian James Potter with Lily acting as the trustee. Should anything happen to Lily, Jackie was to take over in the role of a trustee until Harry gained his legal majority. The money was quickly used to buy two townhouses in London with their rent profit (£200) being used to buy 5-year treasury bonds. Harry Potter was to be granted full control of his trust fund on his 18th birthday (as it was the legal age for the non-magical world).

Now, almost two years later, something had happened to Lily. Jackie would have to venture into the magical world to find out how Lily met her end as well as what her role as the trustee would require from her. Harry was still alive as the document (magical in nature for all that it followed muggle legal formatting) had gone into effect, though it did not give an address for him. It seemed Jackie would have to venture back into the magical world to find out what happened.

Privet Dr. was the epitome of cookie cutter, which did not bode well for raising a magical child. In such a structured environment, any unusual activity would stand out like a pink plastic flamingo. No witch or wizard in their right mind would choose to live somewhere that would so risk the Statute of Secrecy. Thankful that she had decided to drive her car rather than apparate, Jackie parked on the street and made her way to the front door of #4.

Jackie's trip to Diagon Alley had allowed her to learn of the unfortunate events surrounding Lily's death, but it was only late on November 1st that the contract had given her an address for Harry.

Knocking on the door lead to a minute long wait before a long-necked young woman answered. Though it was obvious she was frazzled, the blonde woman had made an effort with her appearance, wearing a flowered blouse and minimal makeup.

"Good afternoon, may I help you?" There was a slight edge of impatience to the women's voice, but she was otherwise polite.

"Yes, I am the trustee for Harry Potter's trust fund and we have business to discuss. May I come in?"

"Are-are you one of them?" The woman paled and her voice broke. "Do you know what happened to my sister?"

Sitting down in a scrupulously clean living room across from a weeping Petunia Dursley was not a comfortable position to be in. Jackie tried to soften the news as much as possible, but the letter left by Dumbledore had been to the point though not as informative. And anyway, Jackie was not an emotional person to begin with and so had trouble dealing with the emotional outbursts of others. Petunia had been well on her way to turning her grief and ill feelings towards her sister to hatred and bitterness for her nephew, feelings that were shared by her husband. Thankfully, Jackie's appearance has stopped that… kind of.

Vernon Dursley was currently busy reading the paperwork for Harry's trust fund in the hopes that he would be able to access it (which will never happen as the Potters and Jackie had been meticulous when crafting it). Unfortunately for him, Jackie had to directly pay for everything in person, meaning they couldn't even buy something for their own son, Dudley, and claim that it was for Harry. As such, Jackie was going to be very involved in Harry's life for the foreseeable future.

"This is outrageous! We're his guardians so we should be controlling this money, not some solicitor who won't even be living with the boy! If the parents trusted you so much, why isn't he living with you?" Vernon's face was purpling in frustration as he finally set the papers down on the table. He was already upset that he had to call in sick to work due to his nephew's unwelcome arrival, now it seemed that he could not even financially profit from being forced to house him.

Jackie had also been forced to take a day off, though as Harry was actually a client of hers she didn't have as much explaining to do to her own boss. Instead, she merely had to reschedule a couple of client meetings.

"Believe it or not, Mr. Dursley, I would have preferred for him to do so. Unfortunately, if what Dumbledore wrote is true, then there are great benefits to your family and to Harry for him to live here. Now, this does not mean that I expect you to take attention away from dear Dudley. Give me time to investigate further regarding this 'blood protection' and then we can speak about what options are available to us. In the meantime, are you willing to allow him to stay here, for perhaps the next month at least?"

"What options?" Petunia sniffled as she seemed to reach the end of her breakdown.

"Daycare, summer camps and multiple extracurricular activities that will all limit the amount of time you will be expected to physically care for him. We will stretch the £200 as far as it will go to reduce the added burden you've been left with."

"Just for the month?"

"Yes, and I can go shopping with you today to pick up a few things for him."

"I'll give you a list." Petunia offered quickly. "I need to clean out the spare bedroom to make room for his things."

"That will do."

Jackie, in an effort to stretch her budget, bought most of the list's contents (clothing, baby furniture, etc.) from a nearby second-hand store. A quick reparo, tergeo, and scourgify made everything good as new and she was able to choose furniture pieces that had an antique feel to them and were made from good quality wood. Harry's drinking and eating utensils, as well as diapers and similar items, were bought new, though she attempted to find items made from natural fibers (except for the diapers) - for some reason, plastics had a habit of degrading over time in the presence of magic, and she didn't want Harry ingesting any harmful runoff. This meant that she spent almost the entire £200 just for that shopping trip. She did make sure to get slightly larger clothing so it would last him a few months (how fast did toddlers grow in any case?) before she would have to replace them, and she spent a few pounds on some toys so that he would have something to play with. It was unlikely that the Dursleys would allow him to share in Dudley's things. Thankfully, they could be expected to feed him for the month at least, though she would have to talk to someone with a toddler to find out what a decent food budget would be.

After dropping everything off at #4, Jackie drove her car to Charing Cross and parked it before heading through The Leaky Cauldron to Gringotts. Luckily, the line wasn't too long to get to a teller and she quickly came to the counter.

"Good morning, I am here on behalf of a client would like to see their financial records with Gringotts." Jackie handed over the trust fund contract as she spoke, which the goblin (Gnarlak according to the nameplate) immediately began to peruse. Jackie had found that while her muted emotions sometimes intimidated other humans, the goblins appreciated the lack of dramatics and friendly overtures.

"This looks legitimate, please move to the side and an accountant will be with you shortly." Gnarlak handed the contract back and pointed to his left where a few (uncomfortable) seats were available.

Before too long Jackie and another goblin (this one introduced himself as Belgorod) made their way to a private office to discuss Harry's account.

"Upon confirmation of their demise, the accounts of Lily and James Potter were cleared out and closed, with everything being moved to Mr. Potter's trust vault." Here, Belgorod gave Jackie a very stern look. "This vault is currently inaccessible by anyone, including Mr. Potter. Should he be accepted into Hogwarts, a key will be made available to him with his acceptance letter that will allow him to access the vault once a year. On his 17th birthday, the vault will mature to a standard Gringotts account and Mr. Potter will have full access. At this time, I am not at liberty to disclose any further information regarding Mr. Potter's account to anyone."

Jackie huffed even as she nodded. "I understand." No wonder the Potters had wanted a muggle trust fund set up. Honestly, it was one less responsibility for Jackie as she would not have to worry about Harry's wizarding finances, though this meant that she would have to get very creative to be able to financially support Harry and not leave him at the mercy of the Dursley's lacking generosity.

"There is an issue that Gringott's is not able to deal with that you perhaps can." Belgorod began leadingly, and when he saw he had her full attention once again, he continued. "Gringotts standard accounts do not allow for anything other than currency to be kept in them. However, accounts that are locked such as trust vaults may hold other items such as furniture. Gringotts does not have the authority to collect Mr. Potter's non-liquid assets and place them into the trust vault, but as his trustee, you do."

Jackie sat up straight. "I'll swing by Godric's Hollow to clear out the cottage."

Belgorod shook his head and reached into one of the desk drawers for a form. "That will not be necessary, Gringotts can send a team to collect all items, including those that were removed from the site, you only need to sign a form authorizing us to do so."

It was a simple and straightforward legal piece that paid Gringott's 25 galleons to collect all items rightfully belonging to one Hadrian James Potter that were not currently in his (or Jackie's) possession and placing them into Harry's vault within 48 hours. After signing it, another goblin was called in to take the contract and put together a team to act on it immediately.

This gave Jackie another idea. "Does Harry have any properties or investments left to him from his parents, other than the trust fund I oversee?"

Belgorod smirked and produces a sheath of papers. "The Potter's have a farming estate in Wales that produces 800 galleons in annual profit, of which 100 can be accessed by Mr. Potter but the rest will go directly into his vault. This estate is also the traditional home of the Potters. Mr. Potter also has a 5% interest in Sleakeasy's Hair Potion, which amounts to an income of approximately 300 galleons a year, depending on sales. The 400 galleons had up to this point been used to pay rent for the cottage in Godric's Hollow, which is actually the property of Madam Bagshot, as well as living costs. I suppose this money, which amounts to £100 a month, can instead be transferred to Mr. Potter's muggle trust fund for you to oversee."

"Excellent! If there is nothing else…?" Jackie continued when Belgorod shook his head. "I do have a question regarding any toys or photographs retrieved by Gringotts; is there a chance of those being handed over to Mr. Potter right away?"

Belgorod was shaking his head again. "Everything will be placed in his vault. If we allowed him to keep anything, then that leaves room for items that had been lent to others by the Potters to be kept by those currently in possession until Mr. Potter comes of age and recalls them."

"I understand. Thank you for your time." Jackie got up and with a last nod to Belgorod, made her way out of the office. Now she had to find someone trustworthy who was also knowledgeable about blood wards. The curse breaking teams working for the goblins were not allowed to take on private clients or provide private consults. The only other option was the small shop front kept by retired curse breakers willing to consult, but that was in Knockturn Alley and Jackie had never been there before. Well, first time for everything.

Returning to Privet Drive after a long day of driving back and forth was not Jackie's idea of a peaceful end to her workday, but she still had to discuss Harry's situation with Dursley's.

Sitting on the same couch across from Petunia and Vernon with Harry and Dudley playing on the floor, Jackie took a deep breath and started talking.

"I talked to someone who had more experience and they were able to confirm what Dumbledore had written with regards to the protection. Not only would it protect Harry, but it would also protect you three. Are you willing to take him in?"

Petunia and Vernon looked at each other before facing Jackie again. "Pet had planned to return to work this January. We were going to send Dudley to a nearby child care center, and if you will pay the boy's fees, and for his clothes and whatnot, then we will be willing to take him in… so long as nothing freakish happens." Vernon began turning red while Petunia paled at the last part.

Jackie gave a slow blink. "If you mean magic," the Dursleys flinched. "Then Harry most likely will only exhibit obvious signs of it when he is in danger or when he is feeling particularly strong emotions. In most cases, muggles don't even notice because they are so willing to turn a blind eye to the supernatural."

"So long as the neighbors don't notice anything, he can stay." Petunia stated with a narrow-eyed look at Harry. "The child care center gives a discount to Grunnings employees. I can drop him off with Dudley and pick him up after work."

"How much exactly will it be?" Jackie was worried - she only had £300 a month, and children were not cheap.

"It's usually £230 a month, but with the Grunnings discount and paying less for the second child, Harry's will come to £200." Petunia saw Jackie's look and explained. "I called and asked. However, that would not leave anything for his other expenses." Petunia's tone turned frigid at the last part.

"Excellent. Do not worry, I talked to the goblins and they were willing to provide an additional £100 a month for Harry's care. I should also let you know that I will be taking Harry out on Saturday; he needs to be checked over by a healer and insure all his vaccinations are up to snuff."

After checking on Harry's new room (small, but it would do for a toddler and it fit in all the furniture she had bought him) and saying a final goodbye, Jackie left the Dursleys and finally went home.

Saturday came quickly and before long Jackie found herself knocking on the Dursleys' door again, ready to take Harry to St. Mungo's. The trip was uneventful, and Jackie made sure to charm Harry's hair and eyes light brown to keep him from being recognized. She had booked the appointment under her own name (though still with a child specialist) to lessen the chance of wizards making a bother over their 'boy-who-lived'.

Healer Dunphy was a pleasant matronly witch who was happy to throw privacy charms her office when Jackie asked, though she seemed disapproving until Jackie undid the charms on Harry.

"HARRY POTTER! Wha-?"

"PLEASE, Healer Dunphy, there's no reason to shout!" Jackie said even as she worked to calm Harry down after the loud noise had upset him.

Dunphy looked somewhat embarrassed and apologetic. "Apologies, I just wasn't expecting this. You want a full exam then?"

"Yes, please."

Harry was reasonably healthy, with only two issues of concern. He was short-sighted, and the dark energy residue in his scar. In the end, Jackie agreed to involve the head of the curse related injuries department in trying to minimize the impact of Harry's scar.

Healer McLagan was just as surprised to see Harry as Dunphy, but he did prove useful at least.

"A simple cleansing ritual should do the trick, and the sooner the better. A few more years and the dark residue would be too attached to him to remove. We can perform one here, shouldn't take more than an hour."

With Jackie's permission, the two healers went through with a cleansing ritual, which ended with a screaming Harry that had thick dark smoke coming out of his scar. Unfortunately, it was still a curse scar and so could not be healed completely, though the angry red coloring it was had was now merely a thin pink line. Harry also seemed more aware and energetic after the ritual, which lead the healers to believe that his magic had been overworking itself in an effort to fight off the infection.

This gave Dunphy the idea to redo Harry's checkup, finding that his sight had slightly improved. He would still need glasses, but when before he could barely distinguish the door from the wall, he now would only need them when trying to make out details from a distance (like the writing on road signs… once he learns to read, obviously). Unfortunately, the eyes (and the brain for that matter) were delicate tissue that could not be magically healed beyond basic wound care. Unlike muggles who used donated bodies to further medical science, wizards were aware of too many dark rituals that required magical flesh to allow anyone access to their dead bodies. This has hampered the magical healing community, though they have often used muggle bodies to conduct their own research. Unfortunately, while this improved their understanding of anatomy, the presence of magic had a large impact on physiology, limiting the amount of usefulness muggle bodies provided.

Thankful that that was over with, Jackie made an appointment for Harry to see both healers again in six months before replacing the color charms on Harry and leaving St. Mungo's. The trip to and from St. Mungos had been made in Jackie's red Austin Allegro, which had a weak cushioning charm on all the seats but was otherwise non-magical. Harry's car seat, however, had a stronger cushioning charm as well as magical toys that lit up if he touched them. This was because the baby seat had not been purchased but instead transfigured from raw wood, meaning it would hold better than a plastic seat would and was safer for Harry since it also had a sticking charm for him. Jackie had bought an actual muggle car seat that would go in the Dursley's car as they would not have appreciated her magical one.

Once they'd made it back to #4, Harry was put down for a nap while Jackie sat with the Dursleys to plan out the details of Harry's life until Hogwarts. They had been relieved to know that Harry was free of magical residue, and to receive muggle-seeming health records for Harry.

"For now, I can care for him along with Dudders, so long as he stays calm and doesn't do anything freakish. Once the new year starts, he will be spending most of the day at the daycare center on weekdays." Petunia began only for Vernon to aggressively interrupt.

"Yes, and we expect you to pay for his food and to take him during the weekends so we could have family time for ourselves." His beady eyes dared Jackie to argue with him, though honestly, she didn't know why.

"That is actually what I was going to suggest. I can buy toddler food specifically for Harry, and I'm more than happy to take him during the weekends, but unfortunately he will have to sleep here at night due to the blood wards. According to the expert, the more time he spends here when he's young, the stronger the wards will be." Jackie took a deep breath - she expected them to refuse the next suggestions, but there really was no alternative. "I will be apparating Harry back here at night and picking him up in the morning." At their confused looks, she explained. "Teleporting - using magic to travel instantaneously."

"No! Out of the question! How dare you even sugg-" Vernon blustered as he ballooned up and turned purple. Petunia meanwhile just shook her head, looking disapproving.

"You want him gone during the day, but he must sleep here if you want him to consider this his home, especially as he will be in daycare for most of the week. I will apparate directly in and out of his room, the neighbors won't notice a thing." Jackie lost her patience when they continued to argue. "Listen, you either want the protection for your family or you don't! This is a very powerful deterrent to any magical wishing you harm, and unless your willing to make some compromises, I can't work with you. I will take Harry myself, leaving you unprotected!"

It took another hour before Dursleys finally started to see reason, and allowed Jackie to apparate in their home. It was agreed that on weekends, she would arrive at 9 am to pick-up Harry and return him at 7 pm, and that she would be responsible for preparing him for bed. It was also agreed that Harry would have no magical toys or books in his room at #4 and that Dudley would remain ignorant of the existence of magic. Jackie did point out that it was normal for young children to believe in fairies and dragons, and that by reacting so negatively the Dursleys would only draw attention to themselves. As such, it was decided that once Harry was in primary school, Jackie would begin to teach him to keep magic secret. Jackie was also not allowed to tell him anything specific about the existence of the actual magical world until he could be trusted to not tell Dudley. This meant that while he could read children's stories like Babbity Rabbity, he would not be exposed to Diagon Alley or be told that he was a wizard from a long line of self-governing witches and wizards. He would still see magical healers, but as he would not be exposed to muggle hospitals, by the time he realizes there are differences between wands and needles, he would be old enough to keep quiet about it.

Deciding that they'd had enough of each others company for the time being, and having hammered out Harry's schedule for the next couple of years, Jackie and the Dursley's said their goodbyes and Jackie made her out. She did leave £30 (Gringott's had come through with the additional £100 a month a few days previously) to pay for Harry's food that month. Petunia had promised to make a list of Harry's likes and dislikes to help Jackie shop for him the next month.

When Jackie made it home, she didn't even bother to remove her shoes, she just fell into her bed with a grunt. Hopefully, her dealings with the Dursleys will get better as they became more familiar, but she doubted it.

AN: Since there is no Horcrux negatively influencing them, the Dursley's aren't as mean and abusive as in canon, though still not nice people by any means. R&R please, even if it's negative, and let me know if I should do a montage of Harry's childhood or if I should skip to Hogwarts.