DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. It's all JKR's. Even though I did invent Jack Hammond… the rest of it- so not mine. Not even the general idea. See? Challenge from OhMagic:
Harry Potter never attended Hogwarts. Instead he was sent to St. Brutus's School for Incurably Criminal Boys. He has to eventually find out about the magically community, and when he does, he flat out refuses to be anyone's hero. He's lived a hard life and doesn't think he needs anyone else. Nor does he think it's his responsibility to protect the people who abandoned him with the Dursley's and left him to fend for him self at St. Brutus's.
PROLOGUE
Off a dark side street on the edge of London, two odd-looking men cautiously approached a derelict, seemingly abandoned small building with bits of plaster chipped from its surface. One of the men checked behind his back uncertainly before pulling out a narrow piece of wood and tapping swiftly against the door. The rotting wooden door immediately slid open and they both slipped in through the open crack and entered into a tidy office, complete with desk and chair, before the door closed behind them.
"I can't understand why the owls haven't been getting to the boy, Albus." A portly man wearing a bowler cap that appeared to be a few sizes small complained as he paced over to the desk and seated himself. "You must have sent half the owls in London, and you say they either return with the letter undelivered or they don't return at all… perhaps we should consider sending one of your faculty over to retrieve him. Or even an Auror… the school year is about to start, and if he is to attend, finally, we really must reach him before the end of the week." With a considerable amount of effort, the man managed to yank off the hat, and then Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, nervously twisted a lock of the revealed short hair around one of his stubby fingers. "Can you imagine, losing track of the Boy Who Lived? What will people say?"
"That is a fine idea," His companion, a lanky gentleman with a long, white mane of hair, said calmly. "I have already fielded numerous requests to fetch him; however, considering the circumstances, I think I should be the one to bring him here."
"Circumstances?" Fudge asked in indignation. "What circumstances? No, the more I think of it, the more I believe an Auror would be the most efficient. Certainly you can't leave the school for such a period of time, not when the other students will be arriving in a matter of days. And in these dangerous times… no, an Auror will be just the ticket."
"Your offer is exceedingly gracious, but I'm afraid I really must insist. According to his aunt and uncle, he has been sent to a boarding school for… particularly troublesome muggle children… and has been enrolled there for the past five years. I'd prefer, and I'm sure you'd agree, to bring as little attention to this oversight as possible. As you said so eloquently before, losing track of the 'Boy Who Lived' would look quite careless indeed."
"Well, first you tell me that the safety of Hogwarts has been compromised- and you bloody well know how, hiring that fool Squirrel or whatever his name was- so that we should hold off on the owls for a few years then suddenly it's time to bring him back and how was I supposed to know the damn fools had sent the child off? As if I have nothing better to do than keep records on a young boy, Boy Who Lived or not… being Minister of Magic is a very time-consuming-"
"Yes, I am aware that you are a very busy man." The other man interrupted, still managing to sound politely patient. "Which is why I have offered to see to the problem myself. You need not worry about it any longer, Cornelius. We have lost the advantage of time we once had, and we have kept him safely away from the wizarding world long enough. I will bring the boy to London, and we will see to things from there." And with that, Albus Dumbledore pulled himself up to his full height and disappeared into thin air.
