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Pandora Lovegood was very polite if not a bit eccentric, and had a wealth of knowledge on proper child-rearing. Alabasandria found herself and Harry invited over to the Lovegood home for dinner.
And they ended up going. And they had a nice time. It was a bizarre experience for her and Harry. Harry, having only witnessed a dinner party through the cracks in the cupboard door, had assumed them boring and pretentious and as a way to tell golf jokes. Alabasandria, who made a point to not interact with people, had never been to any sort of social gathering at all.
Xenophilius and Pandora were weird enough people that they did not ask too many questions about her work or how she had spontaneously acquired a child. The most famous wizard child at that. The small talk was absurd and engaging, and the meal was delicious.
Alabasandria refused to admit that it had been nice to get out of her stuffy house for once but Harry had enjoyed himself immensely, bonding with Luna as they ran around outside chasing some imaginary creature.
They left after dinner, as apparently small children were supposed to go to bed early, and she escorted her charge to his room. The newly conjured bedroom was quite plain compared to the intense pastel nightmare Luna Lovegood's room had been. Dark blue walls complemented onyx black furniture, and the only pop of color was the orange dragon-themed bed sheets Harry had insisted he'd needed. She cast a spell to keep the room warm and then turned to the boy.
"Goodnight, then." She said curtly. "I'll wake you up early for your lessons."
"W-wait-" Harry asked. "Will you read me a bedtime story?"
"A what?"
"A bedtime story? Luna said her mum always reads her one, and Aunt Petunia used to do it with Dudley before he thought it was boring. I liked to listen in because I thought they were fun."
Alabasandria nodded, thoughtful. That sounded like something in one of the parenting books. Reading to a child helped them learn. This would be a useful exercise.
"Very well, I will go fetch something." She decided. Reading one of his new children's books about farm animals was a step too far outside her comfort zone. She was grateful her new ward was studious but she hoped he would be studious beyond the sounds a cow and a chicken made. A proper, adult book would be all she would suffer through. After a bit of deliberation, she found her old copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard. The Three Brothers would be an appropriate story considering Harry's ancestry and was only marginally childish. Look at her, compromising.
She paused a moment and sighed. How had her life turned into this?
A brief moment of consideration led to them both sitting in the bed, with Harry able to look at the words as she spoke. He leaned against her arm, practically in her lap, and watched with fascinated eyes as the pictures acted out the story. Her monotone voice soothed him and he was mostly asleep by the time she'd finished. However, once she was done, closing the book with a final snap, Harry clutched at her arm and refused to let her up.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Will you leave one of the lights er, candles on? I don't like the dark."
"I will."
The boy did not release her arm.
Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!
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