1. Rescue Song

I'm gonna rescue you

So you can rescue me too

Make it a rendezvous

-Mr. Little Jeans

Hogwarts July 31st 1989 Pre-Hogwarts era

Hogwarts castle was a magnificent sight no matter the time of day. Whether it's stone walls are being caressed by the rising sun, or if it's massive structure is silhouetted against an orange sunset, the castle with all its personality and charm, will always be a second home to its occupants.

Now however, it's normally bustling hallways and flame filled fireplaces were empty of life, except for perhaps the dungeons were a surly potions master lurked, or the deputy headmistress's office where a rather stern, but fair woman sat addressing letters for the new batch of first years.

Or the headmaster's bizarrely decorated office, which was about to become much more lively than the rest of the castle, for a woman was on her way there right now.

A woman sporting strawberry blonde hair that was sweeter than her temperament and aquamarine eyes that were burning with hidden rage.

Lynn McLaughlin was not an easy person to please, as in her years of growing up she had many things taken away from her, such as her childhood, her friends and her openness to love.

She was a loner, with only the drive of giving the students she taught a better childhood than she received. And it was that drive that sent her through Albus Dumbledore's office door without the courtesy of knocking.

Professor Dumbledore showed no signs of surprise at her rude entrance, and instead looked up calmly from whatever papers he'd been studying previously.

"Ah Professor McLaughlin, what a pleasant surprise. Sugar quill?" The headmaster gestured towards a large bowl of brightly coloured sugar quills.

"Petunia Evans," Lynn spat out, nostrils flaring along with her impatience for Dumbledore's calm demeanour. "You left my godson on the doorstep of Petunia bloody Evans?!"

The normal twinkle in the aged man's eyes went out like a light, and a sudden wave of weariness washed over his shoulders. He took off his glasses to rub at his eyes, knowing fully well that the incoming battle would not be easily won.

She practically snarled when he offered no response, and began to pace his office. "I went to their house, after I finally managed to pull the information out of Hagrid. Took a few bottles of mead mind you. He's malnourished! Slaving away in that bloody house whilst his aunt and uncle sneers at him and orders him around like a house elf!!!'"

The portraits of the previous headmasters, usually pretending to sleep when the current headmaster was conversing with others, all stared in shock at the furious woman pacing the room.

"Miss McLaughlin, it is in Harry's best interest for him to stay with his mother's blood relative," he explained slowly. "The blood magic used-"

"I know. You told me all this 7 years ago when you refused to give me my godson," she interrupted coldly. "But that was before I realised you left him with the Dursleys! I can protect him myself, with or without blood magic. There's no need for him to be abused by family that will never love him!"

Dumbledore sighed heavily and placed his half moon spectacles back on, folding his hands in front of him on the desk. "Miss McLaughlin, I know this is hard to understand, but Harry is much better off away from the dangers of the wizarding world. If Lord Voldemort is to return-"

"Voldemort is dead," she snapped.

"Voldemort is still out there and both you and I know it," he replied strongly. "You can See him, can't you Professor?"

Lynn's face paled slightly at the reminder, and knew she couldn't deny his claims. "Yes I can see him," she agreed quietly, jaw clenching. "Only flashes. He is weak. Neither living or dead. He does not have the strength or resources to go after Harry, sir."

Her aquamarine eyes met his electric blue, conveying her desperation to the man. "I will see him coming, I can protect Harry, Professor! NO child deserves to be treated like the scum of the earth! Look what happened to Severus! To.. to Sirius! To-"

To me.

She cut herself off, collecting her emotions before continuing in a much more calm manner.

"You cannot stop me Professor. I'm going to bring him back to his world tomorrow. I'm going to bring him home tomorrow," she told him, her gaze not wavering from his.

"I really must insist you live him with his relatives, Miss McLaughlin," Dumbledore said. "I cannot allow you to take Harry. It is for the better."

Lynn's face hardened into a sneer that would make Snape proud, and she chose her words with the intention for them to hurt.

"All for the Greater Good, am I right Professor?"

Then she left the office. She left with guilt eating at her for throwing Dumbledore's past with Grindelwald in his face, but she knew it was necessary.

It was her responsibility to keep Harry safe.

Privet Drive 31st July 12:13pm

Privet Drive was a rather boring place, with its houses in a row, identical to the next one. The only differences really were the front gardens, as all the inhabitants of Privet Drive seemed to be in a silent gardening competition with each other to see who had the best array of flowers.

Lynn apparated on the street corner with a sharp crack, quickly looking around to ensure no muggles had spotted her. Once certain that she hadn't broken the international statute of secrecy, she approached number four with purposeful steps, hellbent on doing what she came here to do.

A knock on 4 Privet Drive's painted door caused Petunia Dursley to jump. Muttering under her breath, she turned down the heat so whatever she was cooking wouldn't burn, and rushed to open the door.

However, the person behind it was not what Petunia expected at all.

"Hey Tuney, what's the craic?"

Petunia's eyes bulged out. Lynn smirked in amusement, brushing past the horse faced woman and stepping into her home. "You do remember me right? My hair what a bit lighter back then, I suppose. I was thinking of dyeing it. Maybe blonde? I don't think I'd really suit a darker colour. It wouldn't do wonders for my complexion."

Petunia was progressively turning paler as Lynn continued to make light conversation, indignant sounds escaping from her lips at the intruder in her home.

"Y-y-you... what do you think you're doing? I don't want one of your kind here!"

Lynn continued as if she had never heard her, tilting her head as she inspected the pristine house. Everything was white, the walls, the tiled floor, the furniture. She she felt like she was in some sort of showroom, not a person's home. The photos hanging on the wall were the only personal decorations she could see, and strangely enough, none had Harry in them.

"You would think that there wasn't another human being in this house," Lynn mused quietly, but loud enough for Petunia to hear her. "Tell me Petunia, where's your nephew?"

"My-my nephew?"

Lynn turned to look at her, and held back a snort at how terrified the woman looked. Served her right for treating Harry like dirt.

"Yes, your nephew, my godson, your sister's child, my best friend's son. Where is he? With that idiot of a husband? Maybe he's out with your overfed Dudders?"

This time she did snort at the nickname she heard the woman call her son yesterday while she was observing them.

"Vernon and Dudley are out shopping," Petunia said meekly, avoiding the real question. Lynn rolled her eyes and levelled the woman with a glare.

"Where's my godson Petunia?"

Petunia opened her mouth to stutter out a reply, but a small thump interrupted her. Lynn whipped her head towards the noise, her eyes settling on a tiny door under the stairs. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Another quieter sound came from the cupboard, like somebody was moving around to get more comfortable.

She slowly looked over her shoulder at Petunia, who was quivering in fear, her lower lip trembling.

"You didn't-" Lynn's voice cut off as she inhaled sharply, fighting to keep her temper in check. "You didn't lock him in a cupboard on his birthday."

When she was given no reply, she huffed in irritation and approached the cupboard, quickly unbolting the door and ripping it wide open. An unruly haired boy of seven fell out onto the hallway floor. Obviously he'd been eavesdropping on Petunia's conversation.

Normally Harry ignored whatever friend Petunia had over, their conversations usually boring or full of gossip on other women in the community. However this new visitor sounded quite different from the Dursleys' usual guests, and it wasn't just the Irish accent.

Harry went pink as he scrambled off the floor, glancing at Petunia in fear of her reaction. She liked to pretend that he didn't exist, and it annoyed her immensely when her neighbours or friends got a good look at him.

However she didn't look as enraged as she normally did. In fact, she looked as if she was about to throw up.

"Well, well. You must be Harry Potter!"

Harry turned his attention away from his aunt and instead took in the woman standing in front of him. She had long, wavy red hair that seemed to dance every time she moved her head. Her eyes were soft as she smiled at him, and Harry felt rather embarrassed of his first impression on her.

The woman did not seem to mind. Instead she held out her hand for him to shake, and introduced herself brightly.

"I'm Lynn McLaughlin, and I assume you heard who I am through the door of your cupboard?"

Harry turned even pinker at her awareness of his eavesdropping, but he couldn't help but hope that this wasn't some kind of cruel joke the Dursleys were playing on him. He shook her outstretched hand cautiously, giving Petunia another weary glance.

"Are- are you really my godmother?" he asked, emerald green eyes shining with hope.

Lynn couldn't help but be pleased by how eager he seemed for her answer to be positive. However, that feeling quickly disappeared. It only served as a reminder of just how awful his relatives had been to him.

"Yes I am," she confirmed, her lips tugging into a rare smile. She couldn't recall the last time she smiled. "And I'm here to bring you home, unless you'd rather stay of course."

Harry didn't even spare his aunt a second glance as he shook his head vigorously.

"Great! Let's just pack your things and..."

She took in her godson's attire and grew even more annoyed at the muggles. The t-shirt he was wearing was ridiculously loose on his shoulders, and the only reason his jeans weren't slipping off his skinny waist was because of a belt.

Could they not have at least bought him his own clothes instead of passing down old ones from the whale of a child they had raised?

"Actually, never mind. We'll get you new ones. Bring whatever you like and we'll leave immediately."

Harry stepped into his cupboard and retrieved a single toy horse, the object easily fitting in his pocket. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned to leave with Harry, when suddenly the summer light shining from the doorway was blotted out by a humongous figure.

Vernon Dursley was a beast of a man, and Lynn thought he very much resembled a walrus wearing a handlebar moustache. He took one look at his shaken wife, before coming to the conclusion that Lynn was invading his home.

"Who in the devil's are you supposed to be?" he growled out, stepping foot into the home. His son entered behind him, wearing a sneer directed towards Harry.

Harry shrunk back at the sight of his uncle, hiding behind Lynn. Lynn straightened her back, and raised an arched eyebrow at the man.

"The wicked witch of the West," she smiled. "I assume you're Vermin?"

"Vernon," he growled, taking another threatening step towards the woman.

"Ah sorry Vernam. Well I'll just be leaving with Harry, so don't mind us," Lynn said cheerfully, holding out her hand for Harry, which he instantly grasped.

"He's not going anywhere, freak," he spat, advancing towards them, fully set on grabbing Harry and throwing him back into his cupboard.

Lynn's amused eyes hardened to ice, and she fluidly brandished her wand, just as he reached out for his nephew. Vernon froze, his beady eyes crossing over to keep them on the wand as she raised the weapon to point between his brows.

"It seems that you're wrong," Lynn smiled, her tone light, but her expression promising consequences. "You see... I'm not particularly pleased with the way you've been treating my godson like a slave."

Vernon's face greatly resembled a shrivelled prune as he steadily turned more purple. Petunia wrapped her bony arms tightly around Dudley behind them, comforting the boy who looked more interested in the ice cream he had in his grasp than his father's situation.

"I won't be intimidated by you in my own home," he said. "He won't be going! That crackpot left him on our doorstep after those freaks got themselves blown up!"

Lynn's soft expression morphed into a snarl, and she whipped her wand arm back and slashed it through the air. "Melofors!"

A large pumpkin appeared out of thin air and encased itself around Vernon's head. Petunia screeched loudly, covering Dudley's eyes and backing into the living room. Vernon roared, reaching up and trying in vain to rip the pumpkin from his head.

"Get it off! Get it off!"

Harry doubled over, peals of laughter escaping him. Lynn smirked, pocketing her wand and continuing down the hallway with Harry's hand still in hers. They left behind the stench of burning food (Petunia's cooking was undoubtedly ruined) and Vernon's yells, already closer within five minutes of meeting each other, than Harry had ever been with his relatives with the 7 years he'd been living with them.

"Well that was fun," Lynn grinned, Vernon's yells still audible from the house. She shut the front door tightly so no one would be able to see them, and led Harry down the drive and towards a nearby train station.

"Let's get the train. I live in London you see."

"How did you do that?!" Harry questioned, skipping slightly from the sheer excitement of finally leaving that god awful house.

Lynn gave Harry an incredulous look, hoping that he was only surprised because he'd never seen magic before, and not because he was never told the truth. "You mean... you don't know?"

Harry shook his head, urging Lynn to continue.

"Well... I'm a witch," Lynn told him, smirking slightly at his shocked face.

"And you're a wizard, Harry."

This chapter has been rewritten btw.

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