Chapter 00

It was the kind of day that would cause any man to weep. Professor Dubaius Osras was not the kind of man to ever find his way to tears, yet at the moment he could not help himself as the droplets fell from his face. The droplets traced along his cheeks and then to the chin. If they do not drip from the edge of the chin, they continue down the ridges of his neck and dampening the collar of his shirt.

"He's gone..." were the only audible words he barely managed to whisper as he looked at the faces of three cloaked men opened the doors of his prison. The cramped space in which he came to be too familiar for the last year. Papers with incoherent writings and notes were spread across the room and on the walls in a menacing mess.

"Professor Osras," the voices of one of the men break through after calling his name for the fourth time. They held his arms, helping him walk out of the little prison. "Everything is going to be alright. You-Know-Who is gone, everyone is safe now."

"He's gone..." he said once more and his emerald eyes seem to twinkle all of the sudden as he looked at the face of one of the men with wands in their hands. It finally entered his consciousness that these men were in fact aurors, policing wizards under the Ministry of Magic. As if his body had a mind of its own, he reached out and gripped the arms of the nearest one. "Where are they? Where is my family?! Are they safe?"

The other two aurors peeled the slightly mad Professor from the one he had within a vice grip. They tried to calm him down, but he seemed to be in a state that was difficult to bring peace to. So instead, there was a sudden spark, similar to a firework, and he was instantly sedated. He fell limp and was caught just before hitting the floor.

"How do we tell him?" one of the Aurors, by the name of Kingsley Shacklebolt. His voice hovered with genuine concern.

"We will allow someone else more equipped in the Ministry deal with this," one of the other aurors spoke as they used their wand to levitate the Professor's body and walk him out of the place he was held captive.

"I am glad to see you alive and well.. for the most part," a nervous tone wriggled a bit from the diplomatic Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic for the Britain division. His thin mustache was pinched at the ends and his hair perfectly combed. It was as if he dressed up for this specific occasion, which he did. No one else was steeled for the task to tell the most famous Dragonologist in the wizarding world the news.

"It is good to see you Cornelius," the hoarse whisper left the lips of the exhausted Dubaius. He was still groggy from the spell as it was wearing off. In the blur, he could tell he was in one of the courtrooms in the Ministry. It was empty with just himself and the minister. Fudge raised a hand signaling one of the elves for water. A cup was instantly served and Professor Osras grabbed it to gulp it down. "Thank you... now I need to ask... where is my family?"

"Dubaius..." Fudge started off as his words seemed to have escaped his grasp. "We found your family. Your daughter, Delia was her name, yes? She is alive and well. We found her in your wife's arms."

"Ah... it's good to hear," he found himself smiling. Then he connected the words, and the reality clicked when the last puzzle piece was pressed in place. His emerald eyes practically grayed as he leaned into the table, feeling sick. "Ria... she isn't... is she?"

"I'm terribly sorry Dubaius..." Fudge felt the knot in his throat as he watch the man break down sob into his own arms. "She used her body to protect her daughter from being seen when the Death Eaters came. They were killing all of the hostages and... she wanted to make sure Delia... lived..."

"Where is she?" Dubaius lifted his head, his eyes puffed with red soreness. He seemed desperate, but he needed to see his only family left.

"Bring her in," Fudge stated. Soon enough, a carriage is wheeled in with a baby Delia inside. She was fast asleep within the wrappings of her blanket. Dubaius approached the carriage and his eyes began to hold another set of tears, but they were a mixture of emotions. Somehow, hope and happiness to see his daughter after so many months away from her, it made the sense of loss bearable.

"My little pumpkin," he whispered as he lifted her out of the carriage and pulled her in close. She remained asleep and the sight of her face brought a sense of peace. "I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Fudge," Amelia Bones walked into the room. Fudge looked up a bit irritated by the interruption. The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement ignored it and spoke, "The Potter boy has been successfully transported to a safe location. Professor Dumbledore personally dealt with it himself."

"What happened?" Dubaius looked up from his daughter and in the direction of the two ministry personnel.

"Ah, well," Fudge grumbled a bit.

"Lily and James Potter were both killed in their home," Bones picked up the hint from Fudge. "You-Know-Who came to their son, Harry Potter, and for some untold reason he could not kill him. Whatever happened, it backfired on You-Know-Who and he is now gone. Everyone who was under his control fell out of the trance or disappeared. We've caught most of the Death Eaters."

"James..." Dubaius frowned deeply. "While it is good news that we are free of the eleven years of torment, let us not forget those who gave their lives for this."

"Of course not," Fudge was a bit sharp in his response, but his face calmed when he caught himself being overly defensive. "Dubaius, we want you to know that the Ministry of Magic is here for you. Ms. Bones, please have someone take him and his daughter home."

"I will at once," she responded and waited for Dubaius to place the baby Delia into the carriage and escorted them outside of the room.

Once out of the courtroom, Dubaius began to push the carriage with Amelia Bones beside him as they made their way down the hall. The click of their shoes were all that were heard as they remained in silence. Amelia looked over to him for a moment, her face holding a question and sadness. She was working to try and console, but she felt a bit at a loss as to how to do so.

"No need to feel pity for me," Dubaius stated as he looked over to her, noticing her working up words in her silence. Amelia's eyebrows raised a bit in surprise. "At first, the initial thought was that all of my family was dead. I felt it in my core that something happened, so the fact I have anyone... I feel... I was given something. I am at least able to have my daughter. So many people lost everything, so who is to say I wasn't one of the lucky few who still have someone to hold onto. Those were afflicted during the wars, who of them can say the same? When that young Potter gets older, how will it pain him to know that his parents were taken from him by a madman, with no one else to truly understand?"

Amelia couldn't help but feel a swelling within her chest. The whole wizarding world was celebrating, and yet it was difficult to forget the massive loss of those who were taken. At the same time, the two of them definitely felt an odd cooling relief. The horror had finally come to a halt. No more You-Know-Who to destroy lives. Thanks to a boy... the Boy-Who-Lived.

Suddenly the pause of silence was broken by another set of voices from another hall. It was coming from within another courtroom. The voice was sickly familiar. Unable to help himself, Dubaius turned the carriage in the direction to make clear of the murmuring sounds.

"Professor, we should get going to get you home," Amelia tried to state to get back on task.

"It will just be a moment," he replied when he turned his head in her direction. "I know that voice."

Walking at the edge of the slightly opened door, he stood by it. He looked in to see several of Ministry folks setting up parchments in front of them. The way the courtrooms were set up, was that the Ministry members sit in a crescent shape around a narrow circle. In the middle would stand the defendant and their witnesses for their case. The case hadn't started yet, but there seems to be a bantering between a ministry member and the one in the middle.

"If it were up to me, you and your wife would be both locked away to rot in the cells," a gruff voice bitterly stated. "You took so many lives... why should you even be given the chance to speak."

"The point of a trial to show innocence until proven otherwise," a cool response was stated in return. The recognized voice came from the well known, Lucien Malfoy. Dubaius felt a sudden chill in his spine. It was the same voice that would sometimes be heard outside of his cell. He was about to rush in, but Amelia caught him by the arm. Lucien continued, "we were betwitched. Forced to do the bidding of You-Know-Who without control over ourselves. We are indeed terribly sorry for everything that happened under his insanity, but there was nothing that could have been done to work against the said magic. That is what this trial is for. If I truly was a true Death Eater, do you not think I would come and declare my innocence? I am far too intelligent for such a thing, I would have made myself scarce, but I did not. I came straight here to confess what has been done and state my standing in all of the mess caused by the Dark Lord."

"Very well... once the Minister enters, we will begin," the ministry member muttered.

Dubaius was led away from the door as he fought the desire to run into the courtroom and tackle the platinum haired wizard and physically lay his skeleton fists into his face. However, he looked at his daughter and sighed. It was much better to avoid the conflict, regardless of how he felt about it. He continued down the correct hall and followed Amelia on the way out.

Dubiaus was led to the Floo Network, which was full of hustle and fast paced walking of wizards and witches going in and out of the fireplaces set with the green flames showing the floo powder activating.

"Are you certain you don't prefer us to escort you home?" Amelia frowned with two aurors standing behind her.

"Yes, I am certain," he said. He had his wand in his hand. He felt more energized after an elixir was given to him by one of the ministry members. "I want to fix up my home and get my daughter in her room as soon as I can. This is the fastest way, aside from Port Key, but she is too young for that."

"Ah, I understand," Amelia nodded. "If you ever need anything, feel free to send an owl. We are here to help."

"Right, thank you," he stated. He pulled out some Floo powder into his hand and tossed it into one of the free spaces. Before pushing the carriage through, he looked at Amelia. "Where was the boy sent?"

"Potter?" she asked. He nodded in response. She took a rather deep breath before exhaling. "Reports stated that he was sent to live with his only living relatives. Some muggle family."

"That is rather horrid fate," Dubaius stated as he gripped onto the carriage. "Hopefully he will be loved, at least."

"We certainly hope so," she stated in agreement. "Farewell, for now, Professor."

"Until next time then," he stated and walked through the fireplace.

(Author's Note: I used the book and movie as my references, so many things will go align with the original story. This is about a character that does not exist, but it is basically Harry's story from a different perspective with added flair.)