CHAPTER 18

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CHAPTER 18

As Elmi mentioned Harry's name, Elizabeth was taken aback. She couldn't help but wonder if it was just a coincidence, perhaps another wizard with a similar name. However, the surname "Potter" was quite unique, and it was typically associated with a certain member of the now-excluded Sacred Twenty-Eight. The possibility that this was the actual Boy Who Lived started to take hold in her mind.

If this was indeed Harry Potter, it posed a significant challenge for Elizabeth. She had no desire to become embroiled in the conflicts between the blood purists and Dumbledore's faction. While she held respect for Dumbledore as a former student of Hogwarts, her priority was to keep her family safe and far away from the turmoil. During most of the previous wizarding war, they had been residing outside of Britain, and Elizabeth knew that the true conflict had never truly ended. Many of Voldemort's followers claimed they had been under the Imperius Curse and pleaded innocence, and a significant number of them still roamed the streets, lurking.

Elizabeth found herself in a dilemma. She couldn't simply go to her friends in the Ministry to inquire about Harry, as she had no idea who might be listening or where the information might end up. Prior to this moment, Elizabeth never believed the rumors about Harry. Now, hearing about the thin and mistreated boy who was far from the elite Auror or Troll hunter some had claimed him to be, he was nothing but an ordinary boy.

Despite her reservations, Elizabeth understood that Elmi's determination meant he wouldn't let this issue rest. She had to find a way to help Harry without putting her family at risk.

...

After a few more days, Elizabeth was in Hogsmeade. After a short walk, she reached Three Broomsticks. After talking with Madam Rosmerta, the owner of the establishment, she was taken to the private room on the top floor. She waited for a few more minutes, and then the door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes with tartan patterns stood there. She had a very stern face. Elizabeth got up and welcomed her,

"Ah, Professor McGonagall, welcome. Please have a seat."

McGonagall courteously bowed her head, giving her a greeting, and took a seat,

"Miss Greengr... Sorry, Ms. Fawley, it's been a long time. What do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

McGonagall didn't know why she wrote her a letter out of the blue like this, but she was intrigued when she said it was vital. Elizabeth said,

"This is about a wizard boy. His relatives are abusing him, and I was looking for a way to rectify this problem."

McGonagall was puzzled and said,

"Ms. Fawley, wouldn't you be in a better position to help the boy better than me since you have a better connection in the Ministry than me?"

"The problem is the sensitivity of this boy's identity since he is the Boy Who Lived."

Upon hearing this, McGonagall's eyes become more serious and focused,

"Then, you did well to come to me. Could you please tell me what happened in detail so I could truly grasp what is happening?"

Elizabeth told her what she heard from Elmi to McGonagall, and with every word she spoke, McGonagall's face became more sullen. In the end, McGonagall said,

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention; I will discuss this with Albus."

...

"I knew we should not leave the child in their hand, Albus; I told you so many times those people were awful."

Dumbledore sat down on his chair and looked at McGonagall's eyes,

"I understand what you mean, Minerva, and I know I made a mistake with those people, but you knew as much as I did; this was the only way to keep the child truly safe, and you know it too; he cannot be raised in a magical household. It would be impossible to hide who he is, and it would have got into his head."

He sighed wearily,

"I have done many things I am not proud of, and this is one of them; it was either an orphanage or his relatives. I thought they would have looked after him better; that was a mistake, I accept that, but until Hogwarts, he needs to stay there. I will give my life for the boy if it comes to that, but he will heal; he has the heart of his mother. He is resilient. I would want nothing more than to have any other way, but there isn't one; he needs to grow up away from magic, or the fame might push him into darkness, too."

McGonagall was shocked,

"You, Did you observe him?"

"Yes, once in a while, I would observe him from a distance. I have a great debt to that boy but a whole country at stake, you know it as much as I do; all of Britain will self-destruct if we can't end this problem, and I don't for a second; he is gone. He might be weak or in some other form, but I can feel in my bones; he is not gone."

McGonagall looked at Albus with sad eyes,

"Albus, he might not be gone or not, but we have to make some changes at least. We cannot sacrifice a child's happiness for the betterment of others."

Dumbledore had a bit of anger in his eyes,

"Minerva, I didn't see you checking up on the boy all this time; I didn't see you taking him to any other place. Because you know it too, I know we are not doing the best we can do. There is no such thing as a perfect solution to this. I either sacrifice the future of a whole country or make a child's childhood a scarring experience. There isn't another way. They might be pigs, but they are not monsters."

This time, McGonagall started to get angry, too, 

"I did what I did because we trusted your vision and leading, but it is already over; the boy knows he is a wizard and magic is real. Under those people..." she suddered,

 "Now, the boy knows what he is. He will focus on his magic, and those people will try to suppress him. He still needs to stay at that home for four more years, and God forbid, if they go too far, they could create an Obscurus. It is too dangerous not to get involved with him."

Albus thought about it for a bit and relented,

"We might be able to sneak out of Hogwarts once or twice a few years, but we can't make regular visits to that home; we need someone unrelated to us but someone trusted."

McGonagall said,

"I have someone in mind; why don't we ask Ms. Fawley?"

"Who?"

"Ah, Elizabeth Greengrass, now she is Elizabeth Fawley; she is the one that brought this to my attention. Even though she is part of the Ministry, she knew she shouldn't go to the Ministry with this."