He stood there, just staring at the door. He knew that it was off-limits, but like all little boys, forbidden things are just that much more enticing. Harry had been living with the man who rescued him from his uncle ever since that day in the alley. He had been wary of his new guardian at first, but as the weeks passed and he wasn't hurt, Harry slowly came to trust his "Uncle Jethro." Harry had just received the best Christmas present of his life, when his new guardian told him that he would adopt Harry if Harry wanted him to. Harry had been ecstatic, and agreed immediately. Now, Harry was feeling more comfortable with his new dad, even though he had yet to actually call him "Dad", and was testing his boundaries. This was the only room in the whole house that he had been forbidden from entering, and he wanted to find out what was so special about this room that he wasn't allowed to enter it.

Casting a quick glance to both sides, Harry dashed across the hall and put his ear up against the heavy wooden door. Not hearing anything from inside, he slowly turned the knob. Slightly surprised that the door was not locked, Harry turned the knob all the way and pushed the door open. Harry looked around once again to make sure no one had heard the slight creak as the door opened before he quietly slipped through the crack in the barely open door. Eager to discover exactly what was hidden in the forbidden room, Harry forgot to make certain that the door closed completely behind him. Light spilled into the room through the crack in the door, allowing Harry to see that he was standing on a landing at the top of a flight of stairs. Nearly overcome with excitement and not a little bit of nervousness, Harry started down the steps.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, the young seven year-old squinted as he tried to see through the darkness to make out what was in the room. He felt his nervousness increasing as he peered into the strange shadows cast by unknown objects. Harry began to realize just how ill-planned his little expedition was as he began to panic in the dark. He turned to start back up the steps, but looking up he saw the sliver of light still coming through the open door. His courage bolstered by this reminder of the light, he turned back around and determinedly inched his way into the dark room. After a few steps, he bumped into what he could tell was a table. Something fell off the table and hit his foot before landing with a dull clack on the concrete floor. Fighting back the urge to cry, Harry carefully sat down on the floor before rubbing his aching foot. A few minutes later, the pain had dulled to a low throb. As the pain receded, Harry began to search blindly for the item that had fallen off of the table. Feeling around with his hands, he quickly found the cause of his pain and picked it up. He could feel the grain of the wood beneath his fingers as he gently rubbed his hands over what he realized was a toy rocking-horse. The horse's ears, nose, body, legs, and the gently curved runners all slipped like silk underneath his small questing hands. Harry could not help but want to see the toy horse in the light, so he stood up and began making his way back up the stairs to the door. There, by the light streaming through the door, he examined the horse he held in his hands. He was in awe of the beauty inherent in this one simple toy. He couldn't recall ever seeing Dudley with such a toy as this! Dudley only ever had the most expensive, manufactured, and usually technological toys. Harry, of course, had never received anything even close to resembling a toy from his relatives, much less one of such quality work as the hand-carved rocking-horse in his hands.

Shaking off his depressing train of thought, Harry did what he should have done upon entering the room, and looked for a light switch. Finally finding one, he flipped it up and the room was suddenly bathed in light. He quickly went back down the stairs only to stop in shock, with one foot still on the last step, as he took in the sight that greeted him. There were toys, everywhere! There were big toys and little toys, toys for girls and toys for boys, plain wooden toys, and brightly painted toys. It was a veritable wonderland! Harry could hardly believe his eyes as he tried to look at everything at once. He slowly, and very gently, set the wooden rocking-horse back on the table he had bumped into, and then just stood there in wonder as his brain whirled.

This must be Santa's workshop! He thought. And if this is Santa's workshop…that must mean that Uncle Jethro is Santa! I knew that Santa was real! The Dursleys always told me that I wasn't good enough to get presents from Santa, but now Santa has adopted me! He chose me, and rescued me, out of all the little boys and girls in the world! At this thought, Harry's face lit up with joy and he began to dance around the room. He, Harry, was the luckiest little boy in the world, because he got Santa as his new dad for Christmas!