Chapter 36

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 8:00 AM

Tucked deep within the mountains of Scotland, in a hidden valley near a rather unique and antiquated village that does not exist on any 'normal' map, sits an old castle. The castle had been converted into a school for young magicals over a thousand years earlier and christened Hogwarts after the flowers one of the school's four founders cherished. The village below the castle was called Hogsmeade and was the only all wizarding village that remained within the United Kingdom.

Seated behind an enormous desk, high in one of the many towers of Hogwarts, was an old wizard with a crooked nose, long white hair, and a longer white beard. The man wore bright red robes covered with rampant gold lions and gold trim, high heeled red leather boots, a red and gold pointed wizard's hat, and a pair of half-moon glasses behind which sat a pair of vibrant blue eyes that twinkled incessantly. This wizard was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Order of Merlin (First Class), and Grand Sorcerer.

Albus Dumbledore was, above all else, a very influential man who did his best to guide the wizarding world despite being spread thin between the three highly demanding jobs he'd been roped into taking through the years (only one of which he'd actually wanted). Luckily, two of the three positions were ones that could be dealt with from a distance for the most part and on a quarterly basis; allowing the man to focus most of his energy into running the school that had become his home many decades earlier.

Over the past ten years, Albus had often allowed his thoughts to turn to the young child that he felt he'd abandoned to a hard life (it would be a life without magic, after all) in an effort to save him from a harder life and prepare him for his destiny. Today, just three days before said child's eleventh birthday, was one such time as the young boy in question would soon make his long awaited return to the wizarding world in order to start his magical education. Like each of the previous times he'd dwelled on the child, Albus wondered if his decision to leave little Harry Potter on the doorstep of his only surviving family so that the muggle family might raise him until he was ready to shoulder his responsibilities had been the right choice.

Today, Albus would finally receive an answer to that question and it would not be the answer he hoped to receive.

Several floors below the venerable old wizard in a sparsely decorated office, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of House Gryffindor, Professor of Transfiguration, Cat Animagus, and avid Quidditch fan was busy filling out, addressing, and sending off letters of invitation to this year's crop of new students in addition to the booklists for all returning students. Minerva had also questioned Albus's decision all those years ago. She'd spent the past ten years hounding Albus for confirmation that young Harry was growing up healthy and happy despite her belief that the family he'd been left with the night his parents had been murdered were the 'worst sort of muggles imaginable'.

Minerva would have preferred to raise the child herself; the stern witch had been very fond of both little Harry's mother and father. She had bowed to Albus's wishes on the matter though; her faith and trust in the older wizard strong enough for him to believe he knew what he was doing. Yet, despite Albus's reassurances that Harry was growing up 'just fine', Minerva feared that things had not been easy for the son of two of her favorite lions. She knew that Lily and her sister had had a falling out after Lily had been accepted into Hogwarts; she'd spent many a night comforting the young witch over her sister's spiteful words and hurtful actions during Lily's seven years at the school.

Minerva feared that the bad blood between their sisters would see poor Harry bearing the brunt of Petunia's hate (she had long ago learned that some people could never let go of their grudges and that children often made convenient targets for adults because they weren't always strong enough to fight back). Part of her also feared that Harry would end up with an attitude far worse than his father's early selfish and immature attitude due to the way his relatives had catered to their son's whims the one time she'd observed the family.

She couldn't decide which would be worse; a spoil rotten brat that believed the world should cater to his every whim or an introverted and downtrodden waif that flinched at his own shadow.

When the owl assigned to deliver young Harry Potter's invitation for the coming school year refused to deliver the letter, the Deputy Headmistress had immediately brought the matter to Albus with a demand for him to get to the bottom of things. Additional attempts were made to deliver the letter but none of the school's postal owls would take the letter. Albus had then given the task to his beloved phoenix only for the bird to trill out a mournful song as he turned the school invitation to ash before burying his head beneath his wing and weeping (a terrible sign indeed for phoenixes rarely ever wasted tears on something as trivial as emotions).

Certain that there must be some sort of mistake, Albus had Minerva draw up a new invitation and sent Rubeus Hagrid (Hogwarts' Gamekeeper, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, and half giant) to personally deliver the standard invitation to the child; the large man was a trusted staff member that was intimidating enough to get answers out of the Dursleys but gentle enough not to frighten Harry in the process. Hagrid also knew exactly where the Dursleys lived; information that very few people within the magical world had access to.

Hagrid had left just twenty minutes after Fawkes had torched the first letter and was expected to be gone for the rest of the day; the gentle giant also entrusted to take young Harry to Diagon Alley in order to purchase his school supplies (Hagrid was the ideal bodyguard, after all, despite not being a fully qualified wizard). It was therefore something of a shock for Albus when the groundskeeper burst back into his office in a fine fury barely an hour after he'd left; the door breaking under the force Hagrid had applied to open it.

"He's gone, Professor! The ruddy muggles said they never found a child on their porch," Hagrid wailed as he marched up to the desk and slammed his fists down on it, cracking the magnificent piece of furniture in his fury. "They claimed they didn't even know who I was talkin' about!"

"Hagrid, calm yourself, I'm certain the Dursleys were just trying to protect their nephew and that it was all just a big misunderstanding. The devices I have tied to the wards indicate that the wards are as strong as ever and Arabella has sent me reports through the years of seeing the boy on a number of occasions. I will send Severus along to clear things up in your place; seeing the face of an old acquaintance will undoubtedly reassure young Harry's relatives that the boy is in no danger from us."

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