The Headmaster looked strangely thoughtful, as if he was using the time to think hard about something that was being on his mind. They had seen that before, when something was preoccupying him. They wondered what it could be.
Upstairs meanwhile, Thomas and Veronica were in a serious discussion.
"Even if we ignore the whole magic issue, which I still have trouble with, you know this will be a very serious step, you know?" Veronica told her husband, pacing in a circle due to how nervous she was.
"I know, this is not how we planned to start in our new home," Thomas agreed.
Now, originally they had planned that while Thomas would expand his software company - he was a firm believer that computers were the future and he did manage to find a market in businesses switching to the new machines - Veronica would would do a few more years of office work, before becoming a full-time mother. Only now, should they accept, these plans were no longer possible.
Thomas then continued, "What concerns me even more, is, that the only alternative is Petunia. You got a taste of her, would you entrust the boy to her?"
Veronica did remember not only Petunia's hostility, but also how seriously overweight her son already looked at such a young age. She was not a mother herself, but she had an accurate feeling that Petunia did not have the necessary skills for raising a child - especially not one from parents she hated.
She plopped down onto the bed, looking frustrated. "Regardless what we decide, sacrifices have to be made. Truth to be told, I'm already thinking about taking him in, but it's such a difficult decision."
Thomas held her close. "Don't worry. I know we'll find a way..."
It took some more minutes before Thomas and Veronica returned.
"Well, we know it is a big step, but after thinking about it. Yes, we will take Harry in," Thomas told them.
"However, before anything happens, we need to be informed thoroughly. No way we stumble into this due to not having all the possible information," Veronica added.
They knew it would take considerable time to give the couple the whole picture, but right now they did have the time. This already was going way better than expected, so they didn't want to risk making the Evans' rethink their decision.
...Tuesday, November 3rd...
Vernon Dursley had a perfectly normal Tuesday morning. He hummed absently while tying up his most boring tie - which to an outsider would be baffling as they all looked the same. Walking down the stairs, he saw Petunia struggling with putting Dudley into a high chair and couldn't help but smile at his son's antics.
Reading that morning's Daily Mail, he only heard with half an ear his wife telling him that the Wilkens from Number 6 next door were trying to sell their house, as they were ready to move. She always enjoyed telling him the newest gossip. Finally, at half past eight, he picked up his briefcase to leave for work, again being amused, this time about Dudley's tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.
Life couldn't be better.
They were a comfortably middle-class English family, nothing even hinting they were in any way out of the norm. Of course Petunia and him knew they had to improve their status, and that meant among other things expensive goods to play the game and impress people. His job at Grunnings was paying off nicely, so there were no financial problems, which ruined other families playing the game of social ascension.
Everything was exactly the way he liked it. They were a perfectly normal family; nothing unusual in sight, especially since they had worked hard to keep such influences away - a topic strictly taboo in their house.
However, from the moment he left with the car, the day slowly started to become stranger, and even he, who tended to ignore things that didn't fit with how he viewed the world, started to notice
It started with the unusual amount of people walking around in strange clothes that were slowly raising his alarm level. People wearing cloaks and strange hats in screaming colors started to make him uncomfortable, but he tried his hardest to filter it out. After a productive morning in the company - which involved lots of shouting at various people - his trip to the bakery across the road for a bun finally brought things to a point where he could no longer ignore it.
These weirdos in their strange clothes should have been warning enough, but them talking about the Potters and their son finally caused his finely tuned alarm bells to ring. Back at his desk he wrestled with the decision, but finally decided to not tell his wife over the phone. No, such things were better done in person.
The Potters were a very sensitive topic with his wife Petunia.
He'd only met James Potter two times - and that was enough for him to classify the man as a loon and someone he didn't want to ever meet again. The man's ignorance of even the most simple topics and his absurd comparisons were proof enough to Vernon that the man was a lost cause. Honestly, who talked about brooms as if they are the greatest thing since sliced bread?
Thank all goodness they had not been forced to interact with them during the wedding. All their co-workes from Grunnings took more priority than these two weirdos. Yes, in his mind Petunia's insane sister had married an equally insane man.
Petunia had tried very hard for the past few years to ignore the very existence of her sister. She'd never been especially forthcoming about the exact reasons, but he guessed it was the same reason way she moved out of her parents' home as soon as reaching adulthood. As for the Potter son, they'd never met him and he didn't even bother to learn his name, though he guessed Petunia knew anyway. Straining his memory, he guessed it was something starting with an H. Perhaps it was Harold or Harvey.