The-Boy-Who-Lived

Leaving the bank behind, Harry and Professor McGonagall returned to the bustling alley. As they strolled, McGonagall found herself pondering how Harry had developed into the person he was. He bore a resemblance to his father, James, with his mother Lily's eyes, yet his personality was a stark departure from his parents'.

Harry's calculated demeanor, at just shy of eleven years old, struck her as unusual. In her opinion, it wasn't right for a child to be so composed. Suddenly, Harry's stomach grumbled, and he admitted, "Oh, I forgot I didn't eat lunch yet because Petunia was in a bad mood." He looked embarrassed as he explained his plan to eat once Petunia left for tea with her friends at three.

"Wait, you don't get to eat regularly if your relatives are in a bad mood?" Professor McGonagall asked, scandalized.

Harry responded matter-of-factly, "I did tell you I don't get along with them and would rather move out today if it was possible. Withholding meals is harmless for them, and I can get around that pretty well by now. I only need to wait until Petunia is out for tea, or I just eat raw vegetables from my patch in the garden."

"During the school year, it wasn't much of a problem, as my primary school had a canteen where we were given lunch. And they didn't dare not to pack me something for breakfast, as that would have got the teachers to suspect something being wrong with them. They're obsessed with being normal."

"That was harmless? What in the world did they do to you that you can think that that would be harmless?" Professor McGonagall asked, genuinely concerned.

Harry contemplated telling her. Until now, none of the adults had been able to do anything against the Dursleys, but perhaps magicals could. After all, the Dursleys feared magic, and if he played his cards right, perhaps he could even escape from there.

"Can we not talk about this here in the open?" Harry asked, showing resignation.

"Of course, let's go get a little snack. I can also tell you the story you wanted to hear and some things you need to be aware of then," she offered.

Harry nodded. Professor McGonagall chose a small bistro at the end of Diagon Alley. She ordered pumpkin juice for both of them and a fruit salad for herself. Harry decided to get a chicken steak with fries and carrots.

While they waited for their orders, Professor McGonagall asked Harry if she should start or if he wanted to.

Harry decided he wanted to know how his parents died first.

"Okay, Mr. Potter. I told you that James and Lily were part of the resistance against the dark wizard who tried to take over Great Britain. He and his followers believed in pureblood supremacy, based on the classifications of magical heritage.

There are purebloods, those with only magical ancestors until their great-grandparents. The ones in the next category are half-bloods, coming in different ways: having one magical parent and one non-magical parent, a pureblood parent and a non-pureblood parent, or both magical parents who are both not pureblooded.

Then there are Muggle-borns, those with two non-magical parents. You would be classified as a half-blood. Your father was a pureblood while your mother was Muggle-born.

Now, this dark wizard assembled followers around him. They were called Death Eaters and spread terror all over the county. They killed people without remorse. All those who opposed them were in danger. One of the only remaining safe places was Hogwarts.

There were rumors that the dark wizard, mostly called You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as people still fear to use his name, feared Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, and therefore never dared to attack."

"It was really dark times. Nobody knew whom they could trust anymore. The Ministry of Magic and Professor Dumbledore, who led a group of people that fought against You-Know-Who, tried to stop him, but he and his followers were winning the civil war. Your parents were some of his main targets as they refused to work for him."

"Professor Dumbledore got a warning that You-Know-Who would come after you, so they went into hiding with you. On Halloween 1981, he found your hiding place and went there. It was in Godric's Hollow, the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four witches and wizards that founded Hogwarts centuries ago, where he went to kill you all. He somehow got through the protective wards around your home and attacked."

"He killed your father and mother, and then he tried … he tried to kill you. I don't know why, perhaps he just wanted to end your family. The Potters had always been a light family and never supported any dark Lords."

"But here the mystery starts. When he shot the killing curse, one of three curses that are called unforgivable curses, at you, somehow the curse backfired at him. That's how you got the scar on your forehead. It's the mark of a dark curse hitting you. He vanished that evening. Nobody has seen or heard of him for ten years. Some say he is dead, but they never found a body. Some say he is biding his time, but why would he do that if he was strong enough to cause terror again?"

"The most probable theory is that he was weakened so much that he can't do anything at the moment and waits until he can get back his strength. Nobody definitely knows, but one thing everybody in the wizarding world does know. And that is that he vanished because of you. You are very famous in the wizarding world all around the world. But especially here in Britain. You are known as The-Boy-Who-Lived because nobody but you ever survived a killing curse," she said.

Harry was shocked. He didn't expect this. He was famous? He had never felt anything of that. The Dursleys definitely didn't treat him like a celebrity. This needed to be researched more intensely.

Professor McGonagall let him get his head around the news she had given him for a moment.

"Professor, you said he was called You-Know-Who, what was his real name?" Harry finally asked. She sighed, but he needed to know that as well.