Inheritance

MISSING

On the morning of July 31, Albus Dumbledore arrived at number 4 Privet Drive to speak to one Harry Potter. After the events at the Ministry the year before, Albus felt it was in everyone's best interest that Harry understand what was to happen in the following year, especially pertaining to his 17th birthday.

With a pleasant smile on his face, Albus knocked on the door. What happened next was not what he was expecting.

Petunia opened the door to see a man wearing colorful robes, with a long white beard tucked into his belt. As soon as she saw him her face contorted with disgust.

"Go Away!" She screeched. "He's not here so you can stop bothering us now."

Dumbledore froze, the pleasant smile on his face slowly sagging.

"Not here?" He asked. "Do you know where he went?"

"How should I know?" Petunia responded, not nearly as loud as she had been. "The boy just up and left. Only half done the dishes too. I came down the next morning and they're just lying in the sink! He could have at least finished his chores before he left like that."

Fear settled in Albus's stomach as Petunia continued her tirade. Harry Potter was missing, left without a trace and in the middle of doing the dishes. Had he been kidnapped? No, no, no. If he had been kidnapped then the family would have known… unless... unless maybe Harry was being threatened to keep quiet. Or did he run away? He had just suffered a great loss with Sirius gone. No, Harry wouldn't run away, even under such great duress.

"When was this?" Albus asked when he caught up to himself.

Petunia thought for a moment.

"Two weeks ago. About then, at least." She declared.

Albus pushed his way inside, ignoring Petunia's shout. Two weeks there would still be some residual energy left from any magic performed. Using an emergency call all of the Order Members carry, Albus summoned Tonks and Kingsley. The two Aurors arrived moments later to see the frazzled Dumbledore in the Dursley's sitting room.

"Harry is not here." Dumbledore declared solemnly. "He disappeared two weeks ago, but there might be enough residual energy that will tell us what happened."

The Aurors nodded an began their search as Petunia gave up her screeching and just took a seat. An hour later the Pair was finished and returned to Dumbledore who brought the three of them back to Grimwald Place. By the time they arrived the rest of the Order had convened. The trio was immediately bombarded by a number of cries of "what is it?" and variations by the the room's occupants.

Dumbledore waited until the room quieted before beginning. "This morning I arrived at Harry's House only to discover that the boy has been missing for the past two weeks-"

The room erupted again. This time with concern, shock and worry. Again Dumbledore waited for the room to quiet before continuing his story.

"I immediately called our two Aurors to search the premises. And now they will tell us what they found in their search."

Kingsley inclined his head to Dumbledore before stepping forward to address the whole room. "Tonks and I investigated the residence of number 4 Privet Drive after Albus here called us in a little over an hour ago. He told us, as he told you, that Mr. Potter had gone missing. After a thorough examination of the residence we concluded that since summer began, Mr. Potter's magic has increased tenfold"

The rest of the room started at that, Albus with them. Potter was already a powerful wizard, but he was young and apparently just had a magical growth spurt. Just how powerful was the boy going to be?

"Tonks and I could only detect two spells", Kingsley continued. "The first, was an alohomora, used on the hall cupboard. The area is used for storage and we believe Harry's trunk may have been stored there. The only other spell was a self-appariton moments after the alohomora. Based on these facts, the only viable conclusion is that Mr. Potter did it himself. And since the Ministry was not notified of underage magic, we can only assume Mr. Potter has gone through his Inheritance."

A shocked silence reigned at the end of Kingsley's report, but only for a moment. All at once everyone was trying to speak over everyone else. Inheritance at 16! That was unheard of. Harry was precocious, but this was too much.

The ruckus continued until Dumbledore called attention, and even then it took him close to five minutes to calm the Order. Finally everyone settled back down. Dumbledore calmly explain to the group that it was very important that they found Harry before Voldemort's men did. He asked them to look in places that they felt Harry might be and dismissed them.

For the entire rest of the month the Order scoured Britain looking for the boy, but Harry was nowhere to be found.

TBC...

Author's Note

This is going to be a romance, but Harry wont tell me who he's with, so I'm asking you, my readers, to tell me who you're thinking. See the poll.