Harry's Homecoming: Prologue
The toddler was afraid. He didn't know why he felt that way but he knew his Mum was afraid and that made him scared, too. His Mum quickly carried him up the stairs of their home, talking softly to him all the while. She held him a little too tightly for comfort and he started to cry. Mum shushed him and bounced him as she entered his nursery. A loud bang from downstairs startled him and he cried harder. Mum put him in his crib and gave him his favorite toy. Tears ran down her face and she quickly swiped them away in order to smile. Reaching down she ran her fingers through his unruly black hair, so much like his father's. Lightly, they traced his face, around his bright green eyes, down his nose, over his mouth. Leaning over she gave her son a lingering kiss on his cheek. Tears fell once again.
"Mummy and Daddy love you, very much. We're so sorry we failed you. We did everything we could to protect you."
The nursery door slammed open and a very imposing figure walked unhurriedly into the room. This man was scary. He didn't look like his Daddy at all. This man was very pale, had red glowing eyes, and no real nose, just a couple slits. There wasn't any hair on his head. His fingers were long and bony with sharp nails. His voice, when he spoke, was deceptively quiet.
"Move out of the way."
Mum turned to face the intruder, chin in the air. She held her arms out at her sides in effort to ward him away from the boy.
"Please not my baby!" she begged.
"Step aside. You need not die."
"No, please. Please, no, don't do this."
"Step. Aside. Now." The calm voice began to get angry.
"No. I won't."
"Very well. AVADA KEDAVRA!" the monster yelled, pointing a white stick.
A sickly green light headed for the woman. Just before it reached her, she took a final look at her son.
"Harry! Mummy loves you!"
"Mummy! Love!" the boy cried.
The light hit her and she fell, dead. The boy watched his Mummy fall and couldn't understand what had happened but knew it was something bad. He looked up at the monster, who was now pointing that stick at him. The monster smiled a hideous smile and uttered the same unfamiliar words he'd just used.
"Mummy? Love Mummy," the boy repeated, tearfully.
"Love," the monster scoffed. "Love won't save you. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The toddler watched as another beam of green light came speeding towards him. Just as that beam touched him a deafening sonic boom sounded, magnified by the close confines of the room. At the same instant, a blinding white light appeared and surrounded the terrified child. On the heels of the white light, an explosion rocked the house, blowing out one wall, collapsing a part of the roof. The little boy looked around for the monster but it seemed to have vanished. Only the white stick remained of the terrible presence. As he watched, a rat came along, picked up the stick and carried it off to whereabouts unknown.
Suddenly, more of the roof collapsed, right on top of the crib. The white glowing light reappeared and protected the child from harm. The combined weight of roof, crib, and child was too much for the floor and it gave way, sending the crib crashing to the floor below.
++++
People poured from their houses at the loud sound, looking around in confusion.
"Look!" cried one man, pointing at the decimated house, "Over there!"
Men rushed to the house, carefully entering the rubble to hunt for survivors. They found the man just inside the doorway. A little further inside, they found the woman. Both were dead. One man found the baby, still sitting in his crib, unhurt, except for a peculiarly shaped scar on his forehead. The man thought it odd that the boy uttered no sound. Throwing off the bit of roofing, the man picked up the young child and carried him out of the house.
None of the residents of Godric's Hollow were truly aware of what had transpired. No one had known the Potters beyond their names. They had no idea the little boy they had rescued was a wizard or that the scar he bore was the mark of deflected Killing Curse. Neither were they aware that little Harry had somehow vanquished a man so evil, the likes of which had never been known before.
By the time rescue services arrived, it was noticed by more than one person that the child still had not made a sound. A policeman took witness statements about the event and then walked over to the man holding the child.
"So, this is the little tyke who survived, huh?"
"This is him. There isn't any other family. What will happen to the boy?"
"If we can't find any family, he'll likely go to an orphanage."
The man with the boy grunted. "That's too bad."
The police officer tried to get the little one's attention by snapping his fingers near one of the boy's ears. Nothing. The officer pulled out a pen and clicked it on and off next to the boy's ear. Still nothing. Perplexed, he took out a set of keys and rattled them in the boy's ear. No response.
"That's odd," he said, scratching his chin, biting his lower lip.
"We noticed that, too. He's been quiet ever since he'd been pulled from the house. We don't think he can hear anymore. There was a loud boom. Maybe that hurt his ears. He used to be able to because I remember his parents always talking to him on the rare occasions they were out and about."
"Hmm. It's possible. We'll be sure and check him out, don't worry."
Finally, getting the child's attention, the officer took the boy from the man and walked over to a medical first responder, had a brief conversation with her, and left the baby. The woman examined the child from head to foot, paying special attention to his oddly shaped scar and his ears. When she was through, she made a note on a chart and took him to the local hospital for further evaluation.
Upon reaching the hospital, the toddler was checked by several doctors and they came to the same conclusion. A dangerously loud sound caused irreparable damage to the child's eardrums and inner ear nerve endings. Harry Potter would never hear again.
++++
Somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, a silver trinket began spinning on one of its many points. It went unnoticed for quite some time. A stern-looking witch and a aged wizard sat in an office at the top of a tower overlooking a school of magic. The two were having tea when the movement caught the witch's attention.
"Albus, why is that thing spinning?" she asked, pointing.
Albus Dumbledore turned and saw the instrument in question. Jumping up, he hurried over to the desk upon which it sat. After some careful, yet quick, study he hurried to the fireplace, grabbed some glittery powder and threw it into the flames. Kneeling, he stuck his head into the fire and began to speak. After repeating this action, he finally turned back to his companion.
"Minerva, that was the Potters' alarm. Something has happened. Contact Filius. We need him to look after the school until we return."
Noting the urgency in the Headmaster's voice, Minerva McGonagall didn't ask questions. Using Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, she sent a message to the Head of Ravenclaw House. Upon receiving a reply, she transfigured her emerald robes into a Muggle-style dress, following Dumbledore's example of transfiguring his own robes into a business suit.
"Albus, do you think it was You-Know-Who? How could they have been found?"
"I don't know but we need to get there quickly. Godric's Hollow is a Muggle town and someone might have seen something they weren't meant to."
The two headed out of the office and down the spiral staircase. Walking as swiftly as possible so as not to arouse suspicion, they made their way out the main doors.
"But I thought Godric's Hollow was a wizarding village," McGonagall continued their conversation.
"It used to be but for whatever reason magical folk left and Muggles moved in. James and Lily thought it the perfect hiding place."
Outside the main gates, Dumbledore paused long enough to take the other's arm. He had to Side-Along Apparate them since she had not been to the village. They disappeared with a quiet pop. They reappeared in a graveyard next to a little white church. As they walked into the square, they heard snippets of conversation.
"...those poor people to die that way..."
"...poor little kid...no family now..."
On the one hand confirming what he'd feared, but on the other relieved to hear Harry had survived, Albus continued to steadily walk toward the Potters' residence. A block away, they were barred from going further. Finding the person who seemed to be in charge, Albus stepped up to speak with her.
"What's happened?"
"Who are you?" she asked, suspiciously, eyeing the pair of strangers.
"We're friends of a family who lived on this block, James and Lily Potter."
The policewoman's face immediately changed into one of remorse. Motioning for the odd couple to follow her, she led them a short distance out of the hearing range of others.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this but your friends didn't survive the explosion. You see, a gas pipe exploded under their house, killing both adults. Their son survived. He was taken to a local hospital. That's all I can tell you right now."
"May we see the place?" Albus asked, staring deep into the woman's eyes.
"Of course," she replied as if she was in some sort of daze.
The aged pair bustled up the street to the remains of what used to be the Potters' safe haven. Seeing the destruction, Minerva gave a stifled cry and fought to hold back tears. Her companion also was shocked at the savagely demolished home. Reaching out with his magic he sensed a dark signature. One he'd recognize anywhere. He also sensed an overwhelming power of love and the banishment of the Dark Lord. How it happened or why, could wait. Harry needed to be found.
"He was here," he said, almost to himself. "Voldemort did this. Somehow Voldemort was reduced to nothing."
"What?" McGonagall, eyes wide. "He's gone? How?"
"Gone? No, I don't think so. Not permanently, anyway. As for how, I'm not sure though I have a theory. We need to find young Harry. He's the key."
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No family had been found to take young Harry so he was sent to a tiny orphanage. This orphanage was overcrowded and understaffed. One room overflowed with beds and cribs. In another room, long tables to feed the kids were situated close together. Another room had faded, and some broken, toys. There was a family room where potential parents met the kids. A run-down couch and chair were the only furniture in the room. The walls were stark white with framed photos of the same long-haired man with hair on his face. Usually, a bright light encircled the man's head. Other than photos, the only thing that hung on the walls were some sort of wide sticks stuck together. One stick lay against the wall up and down. A shorter one lay across the other near the top and was stuck to the longer one in some fashion. Some were plain but others had a man attached to them, arms outstretched along the short part. If one were to look closely, they'd see it appeared to be the same man as in the photos.
It was run by some very strict ladies who were passionate about their religion. They agreed to take in the little black-haired boy and within a day they noticed something strange about him. The first couple times it happened could have been explained away by wind but the third time made the ladies suspicious. Little Harry was sitting on a rug, alone, playing with some blocks, when he saw a bright shiny ball a few feet away that he thought would be neat to play with. Raising his hand, the ball suddenly rolled to him. His happiness was short-lived, however, when one of the caregivers took away the ball and smacked his hand. She shook her finger in his face, a look of horror on her face and spoke, though he couldn't hear the words. Saddened, he watched the lady take away all his toys. Miss Mummy and Daddy.
Another instance occurred regarding the black-haired, green-eyed boy. This time he'd been entertaining himself by levitating stuffed animals to different heights. One of the ladies saw this, picked him up quite forcefully and smacked both hands. She took him into a small room, sat him on a wooden chair and waited. Several other ladies entered, two of which were holding something.
They folded their hands together, closed their eyes, lips moving in silence. Afterwards, a round cold disc with a person on the front was pinned to his shirt. The Head lady had a worn book in her hand in which she opened and her lips moved again. A piece of cloth was placed around his shoulders. Out of no where, someone shoved one of those stick things from the walls, into his face. This particular one had the man on it. He felt them touch his head, saw their lips move, then something cold was poured over his head. The ladies then left him in that small, dark room, alone. Mummy. Love Mummy. Love Daddy. Want Mummy. Want Daddy. Silently, the little child cried.
++++
Albus and Minerva had found no trace of Harry at the hospital, not to mention when or where he'd gone. It was as if he no longer existed.
"How can this be? There must be some way to track him. What of the Trace?"
"Broken during the event that took his parents. For now, Harry is lost to us. Do not worry, I will not give up the search, no matter how long it may take."
Albus was unprepared for how long it actually would take.
++++
The next day, a man and woman came to look at all the kids. They were dressed in faded, somewhat shabby clothes. Smiles crossed their faces when they saw the timid boy with messy black hair and eyes like emeralds. After signing some papers, they took the little boy and left the building far behind. Unfortunately, little Harry's life just took a downward turn. The little boy, known as Harry Potter, vanished without a trace.