The man, who appeared to be about 55 years of age with silver coloured mid-shoulder length hair, wearing a medium brown lightweight woollen suit with vest and a hideous bright orange tie that made it look like he was about to burst into flame, sat in his usual chair in front of the roaring fire at the back of the small but cozy bar in the Midwest college town that he had been frequenting for almost six years now.

A foster mother expects to give her foster child shelter for a while. But when Millie took Michael in, she found herself giving -- and getting -- much, much more.

Edited 30.Dec.2016
Revised 14. Jan. 2017

Forced to start over in a new state without knowing where anything is.
Plus a school that got national attention not once but twice

Harry Potter and the Trouble With Neurotypicals: Book Three.
Or, "Aspie Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

Note: I do not own this. J. K. Rowling does. This is just fan fiction. No money is being made.

Note 2: There may be a few bits and pieces lifted word-for-word from the canon material. I tried to do that as little as possible, though.

Chapter 4: Shadows

“Well, looks like we’re the first to arrive,” Stuart mused as he steered the car containing himself and his fiancée into the designated parking spot outside the studio where they’d be spending the rest of the day.

“If you think that means we can be the first to leave, forget it,” Jamie said with a smug grin. “Cheer up! I know you don’t like being on this side of the camera, but it IS only for one day, you won’t be wearing anything extravagant, and you yourself said this whole shoot was a great idea.”

Jimmy is a typical 7 year old boy, This week he's going to visit his Aunty and cousin Paige. While there though, he discovers something about himself, another part of him, and he loves it.

(This is the first chapter, I will post more if people like this)

"The Many Faces of Adira Potter: Chapter 22"
By = Fayanora

Chapter Twenty-two: The Quidditch Cup

Note 1: Text in 'Italics and British quotes' is Parseltongue.

Note 2: Once more, I apologize for the bits and pieces of canon dialogue/narration here and there.

Ryan continues to be at odds with his new parents, especially regarding his language, which continues to impact his screen time, the allotment needed in order to check and send e-mails to Eve and Greg. The illusion of choice presented frustrates Ryan, who quickly realizes that an option is not acceptable unless vetted by ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’.

Excerpt:
Kathryn looked momentarily defeated, and then she pulled out her credit card, grabbed me by the wrist while saying, “Ring me through please, Alexis. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Moments later, I was being dragged through the parking lot.

The car door swung open and Kathryn put me in the backseat. She slid into the driver’s seat, while the child locks on either side of me clicked shut. Like a snake, Kathryn’s head slithered into my view, the rest of her body either attached to some terrible monster or simply hidden by her seat.

Kaylee’s adoptive parents are revealed, and the slow and final dismantling of Ryan Sullivan begins. Trapped with those who treat him exactly as he looks, Ryan is desperate to maintain his adult and male self, but is he too far gone? Still, his new parents offer a new beginning, an opportunity to right the wrongs of his previous life, but most importantly, a chance to be loved unconditionally.

Excerpt: Ms. McDavid said, “Oh I’m sure she’ll adjust fine, Kathryn. Just keep in mind what I told you too, Kaylee’s probably picked up some bad habits working in Hollywood. It’s a different lifestyle, so expect some strange behaviour. That’s why it’s important to make sure she has as normal a childhood as possible.”

The man, whose name I recalled was Thomas, said, “What do you mean, Ms. McDavid?”

Ms. McDavid smiled, “Don’t be in a hurry to let her grow up too fast. Kids her age want a lot of independence, but you can’t forget how old she is. She’ll need your help to guide her. She’s also got a very active little imagination. Try and encourage her to use it as much as possible. But most of all, just let her be a kid!”

With the decision regarding the adoption looming, Eve and Ryan grow closer- the former enemies now connecting on a deeper level- beyond even friends. With this closeness, however, comes jealousy from an unlikely source. As this occurs, Ryan’s adoptive parents are revealed.

Excerpt: I was groggy, but I understood the instructions. The memory of the betrayal still cut deeply, and the wound was corrupted, oozing blackened blood. Mrs. Feinstein, the only person who didn’t lie to me, go behind my back in this life, had acted as a reference for someone other than Greg and Eve.

Apparently, our friendship meant more to me than I initially believed because my heart ached, while my head buzzed with a million reasons for her disloyalty. Did she distrust Greg and Eve, question their parenting, have money at stake in it, simply hate me and want to hurt me? At least the whole thing with Sophia at the park was an accident caused by the overzealousness of a child, but here- there was no excusing her behaviour.

Is withholding the truth the same as an outright lie? What was done to protect Ryan’s vulnerable mind has driven the equivalent of a railroad spike into the fledging relationship between the two former enemies. Yet, the public adoption draws near and all must remain idyllic in the household, even with the betrayal.
Excerpt:

I wanted to run away. It is what I always did. Jessica continued to speak, but I didn’t hear anything. The barking dogs, the sweet incessant nattering of Jessica, her voice akin to taking a bite of candy and finding a railroad spike inside- all of it disappeared the instant I slipped out of Jessica’s grip and ran.

I ran as fast as I could, each section of chain link fence passing in a flash. Seconds later, I felt a firm hand dig into my shoulder, stopping my momentum dead.

Jessica said softly, “I don’t know if it’s the serum doing this to you, or if a part of you actually wants it, but if you don’t want me to say anything to Eve I won’t. You need to know though that there’s probably going to be a point of no return. And it’s going to be soon.”

With the arrival of Jessica’s niece, Ryan is in grave danger. Telling Jessica the truth could save him from the mousy little girl, but it is no easy task. Ryan’s attempt to grasp at his fleeting masculinity and his genuine feelings for the woman could ultimately doom him, leaving a mirror image of the demure Brianna.

Excerpt:

My heart fluttered, allowing the fog to once again cloud my mind. Jessica gave the case another shake, dislodging a Barbie who had been stubbornly hanging from the lip of the container. It fell within an inch of my hand. I looked down and saw beautiful golden tresses mixed with purple and pink and a slender body wearing a pretty light blue bathing suit. Despite the fog, the doll’s ever smiling face sent a shiver of fear up my spine. I knew that taking the plastic toy into my hands would place my mind in a child-like state, one where imagination was boundless. Memories of the toilet paper roll Olaf watching Elsa skate gracefully across the bathroom floor flooded in, causing my hand to recoil from the doll. I couldn’t help but feel like an addict, the uneasy hand reaching toward the pill, the pipe, the needle- knowing that one hit would bring clouded bliss, but like the drug, it would erase my identity, everything I was, until only a smiling little girl remained. Perhaps one at docile and timid as Brianna. Her perfect twin.

Ryan’s foolish and childish behaviour causes Eve to take a firmer stance with him. Meanwhile, despite his earlier bravado, Ryan learns just how deeply the serum runs. While he struggles with this, a simple knock on the door of the apartment changes everything.

Excerpt: I nodded, “No more closed door bullshit?”

Eve said, “None. We can talk about the adoption too. You’ve got a choice in this, Ryan. If you don’t want us to adopt you, we can look at other options. The best thing for you now though is to try to maintain control. Fight your impulses. You might find that when you start putting your thoughts down that you can better understand yourself and what you are going through.”

I had expected a completely different conversation, one that involved a lot of screaming and threats. If anything, I was impressed with Eve’s calm demeanour. That feeling of warmth was still there, but now that I understood what Eve was trying to do, it felt different. Maybe she was really just trying to help?

The world now knows of Kaylee’s existence. As talk of adoption heats up, Ryan’s mind, twisted by the serum begins to play tricks on him. Meanwhile, Ryan struggles with trying to reassert his identity through something other than the formerly tantalizing opposite sex.

Excerpt: But this was nothing like the sudden warmth I felt when the little girl hugged her mother. The warmth was not heat, unlike a blanket covering a shivering form, it elicited a response from my heart. I knew heartache, at least as long it took for me to find another girl, and another, to fill the void left by Hannah, but this was something else entirely.

My heart, my chest, my brain- everything was filled to bursting with an overwhelming sense of love- to give and receive it in an immeasurable fashion. The only thing similar to it was the intense, incredible high I got from sex, but it wasn’t lust, the hard wrenching of parts, stares and longing, until the moment of climax, and then nothing- no, it was something real. Lasting.

And that’s why it scared the fuck out of me. Because it didn’t exist. To me it had to be the serum, and I was staring at my future if I embraced this world.

A woman’s body- an object of sexual desire, meant to titillate, to spur the fantasies of males young and old alike, yet for Ryan Sullivan, now simply flesh and bones. This realization, which has shaken his masculinity to its core has left him vulnerable to the whims of a somewhat bossy little girl. For the former alpha male, with this seemingly critical piece gone, what else is there left? Why continue the fight?

Excerpt: A tingle of pleasure ran up my spine followed by a contented sigh. I knew that the girl wasn’t my real mother, and that she was probably only eight years old, but she made me feel like I was a little boy again. A memory flashed- my mom lifting me out of the bath, and then rubbing me dry before wrapping me in a towel. I slipped into a cozy bed, wearing my favourite Batman PJs, the ones with the tear in the left armpit. It was a time when that hated target, the person I eventually wouldn’t respect, wouldn’t listen to, when she was mommy. It was a perfect, pure memory, and the further I descended into its warm embrace, the more my life- the one where I struggled to survive, where I wore pain and betrayal and loss like tattoos, angry lines and spiteful colours striking a pattern of cynicism, distrust and excess- the more that life faded away.

Gone as if it had never existed.

I never wanted this moment to end.

Ryan faces the consequences for mouthing off to Mrs. Feinstein in a way that puts his acting skills to the ultimate test. Meanwhile, the continued vulnerability displayed by Ryan brings out Eve’s softer side, and while it brings the two closer together, the closeness raises concerns, especially with regard to Eve’s strange behaviour.

Excerpt:
I felt my mouth droop into a frown, my emotions fluctuating wildly, like a roller coaster suddenly thrown into reverse. I looked up and Eve’s features had softened. Her caramel skin was radiant, her eyes welcoming, and her mouth formed a gentle smile. Her expression screamed, “Tell me what’s wrong, baby girl, and I’ll make it better.”

I pulled away from her, stomping my feet in the shiny black shoes that Eve was making me wear. I hated the little straps that went across my stockinged feet. I had worn a similar outfit in the studio with the same dress. I cursed myself for bringing the dresses and shoes from the studio, but I didn’t have any other outfits outside of the sparkly blue butterfly shirt and jeans. Still, it meant that I could avoid a shopping trip with Eve, which would undoubtedly have crushed my male ego even further.

While there is safety within the walls of the apartment, away from the prying eyes of the outside world, Ryan continues to struggle with who he is becoming, as the serum persists in eroding his masculine and adult identity. Meanwhile, Eve, who seems to have warmed to Ryan, attempts to get him to open up concerning what happened in the studio. Finally, even tucked away safe within the walls, Ryan cannot be saved from himself, and a brief exchange threatens that very safety.

Excerpt: I narrowed my eyes, while feeling my lower lip gently lower into a pout, “Do you really think I’m that weak? And Elsa and Anna were apart for ten years, living in the same castle. We could have done the same thing in the apartment.”

A look of shock crossed Eve’s features, her eyebrows shooting upward, and her mouth momentarily agape. She composed herself, and the softness, which had become commonplace, returned. It was a look I had seen rarely in the woman before my change, but the doe-like tenderness and warmth in her eyes, and even the way she held her mouth, in a slight and comforting smile- it made me want to spill my guts to her- to tell her everything.