Childhood's End Redux

Summary: Learning the extent of Harry's abuse at the end of his first year, McGonagall decides to press her claim as his Godmother and adopt him. She reveals to him the real reason his parents were killed. Now aware of what he must do and backed up by his two best friends and his new family, Harry must train to face the prophecy that is rushing towards him. Features a driven Harry. Harry/Hermione in later chapters.

Chapter 1- Sometimes Dreams Do Come True


Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. All credit goes to J.K. Rowling. I am just borrowing her sandbox to play in while I tell this story.

A/N: This story is complete redo of my old Childhood's End story. I finally have time to write again and I don't like a lot of what I wrote in my old story beyond a couple of the plot points. This is one of two first chapters of Harry Potter stories that I am putting up. Whichever one gets a better response will be the main story that I write, with the other one getting updates when I finish chapters for them.

This story is canon up until Harry is in the infirmary in the last chapter of the first book. This story follows book canon, not movie canon. In places where they differ, I went with what the books said. For your convenience I have provided a summary of the events of book one up until the point that the story begins.


Harry Potter is an abused 11-year-old child living in a cupboard under the stairs. Unexplained events continue to happen to him and around him. The single explanation that he could come up was magic, but even saying the word got him severely punished by his Aunt and Uncle. His hair would never stay cut, especially the time when his Aunt got angry and cut most of it off in a horrible haircut, only for the very next morning to have his hair back to normal. Sometimes he swore that he saw people bowing towards him on the street. The strangest thing however, was the fact he could talk to a snake at the zoo, along with vanishing the glass to allow the snake to go free. Soon after the situation with the snake at the zoo, Harry discovers that he is in fact a wizard. And that as a baby he defeated the greatest evil to ever stalk Wizarding Britain. A killing spell intended for him rebounded and killed the Dark Lord instead. At least, that is widely believed to be the case. Thus, Harry steps into a world that he is equally not ready and at the exact same time never more ready for. A world in which he is both famous, and has a great deal of money thanks to what his parents left behind. Harry picks up his supplies, and receives an owl from Hagrid in Diagon Alley. On the train to Hogwarts he meets two fellow students Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who quickly become his best friends. Once at Hogwarts, the three of them are sorted into Gryffindor, one of the four houses of Hogwarts.

This begins their many trials at Hogwarts. Harry discovers that he is a natural on a broom, and he becomes the youngest Seeker in almost 100 years for his house Quidditch team. At Halloween they battle a twelve-foot mountain troll together, knocking it out. As the year progresses they discover that Sorcerer's Stone was being kept guarded at Hogwarts. In Harry's first Quidditch match, someone tried to kill him by putting a curse on his broom, only for his most hated teacher Professor Snape to save his life. At Christmas Harry is given an invisibility cloak.

The courses at school was nothing like the world he left behind. The head of his house, Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration. One other that made an impact was Professor Snape, head of Slytherin and Potions Master. There was an instant dislike between them, and he learned that there was a history he had with his father, James Potter. Added to that, Snape favored one house only, Slytherin, causing the other houses to lose points in his class.

Standing by his side throughout all his trials thus far were his two best friends Ron and Hermione. Ron turned out to be a master chess player, and Hermione who despite being a muggle is the smartest student of their year. They learned that the Sorcerer's Stone was in danger and suspected Professor Snape of trying to steal it.

Near the end of the school year the trio decides to save the Sorcerer's Stone themselves. They head through the trapdoor, facing a series of trials. The first trail is to get past the giant three-headed dog guarding it, which requires the use of music. Next is a plant called the Devil's Snare which Hermione disposes of through the use of fire. Third is a series of flying keys, of which only one fits in the doorway that they need to go through. Harry's seeker reflexes come in handy here as he is able to catch the needed key on a broom. Next up is a life size chess game in which they have to play their way across the room. Ron took charge of this as he was the best chess player in the group. But in order for them to win Ron knew that he had to be taken knocked out. His sacrifice cleared the way for Harry and Hermione to advance.

Next up was a troll that was already knocked out, so they moved past that. The sixth task they had to complete was the potions room with flames blocking both doors, in which they had to solve a riddle in order to figure out which potions would allow them to move forward and which would allow them move back. Hermione noted how clever this was, because it involved no magic at all, and was a simple logic puzzle. With Hermione's help, Harry was able to get through the flames and she was able to get back.

Now Harry was all alone to face the final task. He stepped into a room where he found Professor Quirrell looking at the Mirror of Erised. That was the final test and a trap. Only one who saw himself getting the stone to protect it would be given the stone. Professor Quirrell was revealed to have been carrying around Voldemort around on the back of his head. Harry defeated Quirrell by grabbing hold of him as his touch activated the magic that his mother's death had left protecting him and burned Quirrell to a crisp.

Harry blacked out, and he was in the infirmary when he woke up again.


Dumbledore stood outside of the infirmary his hand on the doorknob. As he was about to go inside, he was stopped by Madam Pomfrey. She gave him a stern look which caused him to hold his hands up. "I assure you that I will do nothing to tire him out, but I must have a few words with him."

"It is funny you mention Harry Potter, Albus," she replied. "I got a chance to do a detailed exam, and you will never guess what I found," she said with sarcasm laced through her voice.

"I knew he came to school a bit underweight, but surely a year of good food has done wonders?" Dumbledore said, taken aback at her tone. His thoughts raced as he waited for her to go on. She only took this tone when it came to the safety of her charges. Something was clearly wrong, something she believed that he was overlooking.

"I had Professor McGonagall come and confirm this, because at first, I couldn't believe what my wand was telling me," she began.

Dumbledore felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his chest as she spoke. Had his choice to leave Harry with his blood relations caused the boy to be harmed? Those he had set to watch the house had never reported any outward signs of Harry being in danger. "Please go on. I need to hear this."

"He has been mistreated, beaten, and underfed for eleven years. He has bones that have been broken several times and have never healed properly. You must remove him from his home right away. This treatment cannot be allowed to stand," Madam Pomfrey informed him.

Dumbledore hung his head upon hearing was worse then he had feared. Eleven years of abuse suffered by the one who would one day save all of them again, and it was because he had been worried only about danger from without. "Mistakes were made, mostly by me. But, I assure you that those mistakes will be corrected right away. They will never abuse Harry under my watch again, you have my word on that." He would personally go and place protections on the house of Harry's Aunt and Uncle. Protections that would alert him the moment that they raised a hand against Harry, or in any other way mistreated him. He would also have a few pointed words with them about how they had treated Harry so far.

"Quite right, they won't," said a voice behind them causing them both to turn around.

McGonagall stalked up to them fury clear on her face and in her voice. She was literally shaking from anger and she had her wand out and pointed at Dumbledore. "You lied to me, Albus. You assured me that Harry would be safe. I wanted to take him after his parents died. But I foolishly allowed you to convince me that he was being left with good muggles who would take care of him as if he was their own. You assured me the protections that you placed on the house would protect Harry. Instead they abused my Godson for eleven years. No wonder we saw a mostly broken boy who arrived at Hogwarts, and not the Boy-Who-Lived. Do you know the amount of times I wanted to hug and comfort him this year? But I couldn't because I was following your orders to maintain my distance, to not be too involved with him."

Dumbledore held up his hands in a weak attempt to ward off her fury. "Minerva, I will put safeguards in place to protect Harry when he goes back. If they lift a hand towards him, we will know right away. You are welcome to assist me in crafting those safeguards."

"WHEN HE GOES BACK? Have you lost your mind, Albus? " McGonagall yelled at him.

"He has to return, the blood wards are tied to him being with family," Dumbledore protested.

"He...is...never...going...back...there…" McGonagall all but spat at him. With visible effort she forced herself to calm down as she put her wand away. "I will be using my rights under Wizarding law as his legally named Godmother and taking him home with me. As I should have done the night that Lily and James were murdered. God forgive me, I have failed Harry just as much as you did. But that ends as of this moment."

"But, Voldemort has returned. We know that for sure now. Those blood wards prevent him from going after Harry," Dumbledore said as he tried again to make her see reason. "The wards I plan to set up, they will protect him. When I have ever failed in that area?"

McGonagall gave him a cold look. "Are you suggesting that I am not capable of properly warding my house or protecting my Godson?"

"No, it's just...there is nothing I can say that will change your mind is there?" he asked her with a sigh. Very well, he had lost this battle, but the larger war remained to be won. And to do that, he needed Harry to remain under his influence. This was a small request in the larger scheme of things and one that by granting it would indebt both Minerva and Harry to him.

"Nothing at all," she replied.

"Very well, then it is settled. You won't mind if I assist you with properly warding your house do you?"

She gave him a smile, relaxing now that she had her way. "Not at all. I would welcome your help in fact."

"I must go talk to him. There are things he needs to know. You should come as Minerva since you will be his new parent. To offer him support as you are already aware of what fate has decreed for Harry."

Together, they walked into where Harry Potter was lying in his bed.

"Harry, my dear boy, what you did was a brave and amazing thing. You saved the stone from Voldemort," Dumbledore told him. "Because of your actions, Voldemort wasn't able to fully restore himself to the height of his powers."

"My friends?" Harry asked the Headmaster weakly.

"They have been up and around for a couple of days, and they will be happy that you are awake as they have spent as much time as is allowed with you. And more. They have sunk back after closing to sit with you using your cloak."

"Harry sat up more after hearing that, and it was then he spotted that McGonagall was also standing there. "Hello, Professor." Uh oh. Professor McGonagall is gonna be mad at the rule breaking. Plus now she also knew about his cloak. Hopefully she wouldn't try and take it.

She smiled down at him. "Call me Aunt when we are not in school please."

Harry's expression changed to one of puzzlement. "I...don't...understand?" She isn't mad at Ron and Hermione?

"Really, Minerva, is that anyway to tell Mr. Potter the big news?" Dumbledore chided her.

"What big news?" Harry asked her.

" I was close with your parents before they died," she began to explain to him. "It was their wish that I raise you if something ever happened to them. I wasn't able to do for the first eleven years of your life, and I am truly sorry that I ever left you with those muggles. But I can take you now."

McGonagall left out the part that Dumbledore had swore to her that Harry would be safe and well cared for, meanwhile not bothering to check up on him for eleven years. She would make him pay for that later another way. For now, the important thing was Harry.

She paused to look at his face closely. "That is if you want that. I won't force you to accept."

Harry's expression turned to shock as she spoke. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would get away from the Dursleys." Yes! I would like that very much...Prof...Aunt. To get away from my aunt and uncle, I would almost go live with Snape...almost."

"Professor Snape," Dumbledore corrected him. He clapped his hands together. "Now that your living situation is settled, we can get down to the main reason I came here. I have something to tell you, and it won't be easy to hear Harry."

"Headmaster, I have some questions," Harry began.

"After I finish what I need to say, I will tell you whatever you want to know I promise," Dumbledore cut him off.

Harry nodded at this.

"When you bought your wand it was mentioned that only other wand has ever been sold of that type."

"How could you know that, Headmaster?" Harry asked him as shock creeped into his voice. The Headmaster hadn't been there when he bought his wand. Maybe Hagrid had told him.

"When I saw your wand for the very first time, I knew right away that it was of a wand type only seen once before. For you see, the phoenix core in that wand comes from my phoenix, and well the other matching core in a wand was sold to Voldemort."

He paused to let that sink in before going on. I am sure that you are wondering why you ended up with the matching wand to the one that gave you scar. When Voldemort attempted to kill you, he marked you. He mistakenly gave you part of his magic."

Even here Dumbledore wasn't telling Harry the entire wasn't about to explain Horcruxes to an eleven-year-old, first year student. Also, he didn't have proof of what he suspected, and he knew for a fact that Voldemort wasn't aware that he might have turned Harry into a Horcrux. Dumbledore made a mental note to confirm his theory when he suggested that Minerva take Harry to a magical healer.

"Is that why I can speak to snakes?" Harry suddenly asked as he attempted to digest this news.

"You can speak to snakes?" Professor McGonagall asked him. She carefully kept her face clear as to not show that news upset her. Speaking with snakes was an ability normally linked with dark wizards.

Harry nodded. "I made the glass vanish in a snake cage at a zoo, and a snake told me he was going back to Brazil when I did. I thought I was crazy, but then I learned that I was a wizard," he said with a small chuckle.

"It makes sense, as Voldemort can also speak to snakes. It is possible he transferred that power over to you. In fact unless I am mistaken he did without intending to," Dumbledore confirmed.

"He put something in me?" Harry said with distress clear in his voice.

"No, he gave you an extra ability, nothing more," Minerva told him calmly.

"Anyway, I am sure you are wondering why Voldemort came after you and your parents. You weren't random targets. It has to do with a prophecy. Brace yourself Harry, this won't be easy to hear." He paused to give Harry a few moments to collect himself. "Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked him.

Harry nodded his heart racing. Finally, he was going to find out the truth about why his parents were killed. This had been the one thing he had wanted to know the most since he found out they didn't die in a car crash.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."

Harry listened to what he said, unable to completely understand what it meant. A tear ran down his face as he listened to the reason for his parents death.

What few things he managed to understand was 'Dark Lord will mark him as equal' and 'one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord'. It sounded right since the night where his parents died, he survived, marking him as unique. He was the only one to ever survive a killing curse. The one to be able to vanish the Dark Lord which he had done so earlier tonight. Still, it hurt to hear that his parents' death was caused by the prophecy. But he hadn't killed him. Not for good anyway. Otherwise the Headmaster wouldn't have brought it up like he did. And was going to have to according to this prophecy. Even if it wasn't entirely true, or true at all, Voldemort believed it was, and would keep coming after him. And what's more, Dumbledore believed it, and Dumbledore was a very powerful wizard, one of the most powerful ever. But he didn't know what was meant by the power that Dark Lord knows not.

McGonagall reached out and wrapped him in a half hug which Harry returned.

"Voldemort won't get you Harry," she assured him. "He will harm you over my dead body. And you will learn to defend yourself. None of this nonsense about you being too young" She shot Dumbledore a glare as she said that last part. Her desire to protect Harry allowed her to overcome her fear of saying Voldemort's name.

Tears continued to run down his face for several minutes as he continued to hug McGonagall. Finally, he reached up and wiped the tears clear of his eyes. "Does...does Voldemort know the entire prophecy?"

"I don't believe so, only the part about the one with the power to kill him being born." Dumbledore answered. He weighed if he should tell Harry the next part carefully. If he didn't do this correctly, Harry's relationship with him would be furthered strained than it already was. The central question was; could Harry handle any more shocks to his system right now or was this information that was better shared later on? He could remain silent and hope that Harry didn't ask him the logical next question.

"How did he learn about that much?" Harry asked his mind working furiously.

Dumbledore sighed at the expected question. "Do you trust me to know what you need to know, Harry?"

Harry nodded at that. "Yes, sir."

"Then, believe me that knowing this information serves no purpose. That person has already paid for their crimes, I assure you."

Harry relaxed a bit upon hearing that. "Okay, professor. How come Voldemort couldn't keep a grip on me? His skin burned every time he touched me."

"That is your mother's blessing Harry. When she died to save you, she left a magical...shield behind. That is why I left you at your blood relations house for 11 years. Staying there continued the magic which protected you. For you see as long as you were accepted by your family, however grudgingly, your mother's blessing remained strong. Voldemort has no concept of love, or the magical power that a mother's love can have."

He sighed as he shifted subjects " I had no idea that they were mistreating you the entire time. I didn't keep as close of watch on you as I should have. I trusted the wards to alert me if anything deadly happened to you. Can you forgive an old man for his failure, Harry?"

Harry gave him a quick nod. "Yes, sir." Now that he had a reason, it sort of made sense. It kept the protection his mother gave him by dying for him alive. A great wizard like Dumbledore must have a lot of demands on his time, so he just had made a mistake.

"What about the stone, sir? I remember seeing it in the mirror, and then, I had it in my pocket."

"Now we get to the heart of the matter. To get the Stone, one had to want it found for the right reasons. If one only claimed to use it for his own gain would only see themselves with that desire in the mirror. You wondered why you got it instead? Simple, you only wanted to find it and not use it. That is one of my more brilliant ideas between you and me," Dumbledore explained with a twinkle in his eyes.

"And the cloak sir? Do you know who sent it me? The note didn't say."

"Ah, that was me, I confess. Your father left it in my care, and I thought you might like to have it. Although, he didn't use it to save powerful magical stones from dark wizards," Dumbledore answered with a small chuckle.

"I could hardly have been seen handing you such a powerful magical item, so I had to send it the way that I did."

"I am going to have to kill him aren't I? Voldemort I mean?" Harry asked them.

Minerva exchanged looks with Dumbledore before Dumbledore answered. "We believe so. But you won't have to fight him alone. It is my job to get you ready for the battle. And Harry I have every intention of fighting by your side. But you must know that you will have to strike the final blow."

"And mine to protect you up until you are ready for that battle," McGonagall broke in. "And I take that very seriously. You will get the best training possible." And he would have an army at his back, an army capable of rivaling the Death Eaters of Voldemort, if she had her way. Furthermore, she would move the heavens themselves to protect Harry. This time when they battled Voldemort, they would do it correctly.

"You will begin to receive special training this summer," Dumbledore told him. "We don't know how much time we have before Voldemort returns in full to the height of his powers, only that he is likely to. And, yes Harry, your friends can join us assuming that their parents give the okay," Dumbledore told him with a smile as he guessed at what Harry was going to ask next.

"Sir, there is one other thing that is confusing me," Harry stated.

"Go on, Harry," Dumbledore urged him.

"Quirrell said that Snape..."

"Professor Snape, Harry." Dumbledore corrected him. " You will refer to him with his proper title while you are in my presence, do you understand?"

"Yes sir. Is it true that he and my father hated each other? Is that why Sn...Professor Snape hates me so much?"

"They didn't get along, but Professor Snape doesn't hate you. He has been working hard all school year to protect you. Though you haven't made that easy, Harry."

"You try working with him, sir. He's not the most pleasant teacher to be around."

"Admittedly, he isn't known for his people skills, but he is a powerful wizard, and he saved your life several times this year," Dumbledore told Harry. "Now enough about him. I think it is time that we allowed you to rest so that you can attend the end of the school feast." With that Dumbledore stood up, heading out towards the door.

"Sir…"

He stopped and turned around. "Yes, Harry?"

"Can my friends come visit?"

How could he refuse a young man the comfort of seeing his friends?"Very well, I understand that they are waiting outside. But five minutes only, and no getting out of bed. Madam Pomfrey would have my head if you injured yourself again when you should be resting."

"Yes sir," Harry answered.

'We will talk soon Harry," McGonagall promised him as she rose and left with Dumbledore.

"Thanks Aunt!" Harry said as a smile broke out on his face.

Soon enough, his friends, Ron and Hermione, came in. They were practically running to his side expressions mixed with worry and relief.

"What happened you, Harry? It has been three days," Ron asked his friend.

"Well, that is a bit of a long story," And, Harry proceeded to tell them everything that he had learned since he awoke.

Several times through his telling of his story he saw that Hermione wanted to give him hard hugs, but thankfully she held off each time and allowed him to finish.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks before he waved for her to go ahead.

"Um...Harry we are glad that Professor McGonagall is going to adopt you. We heard how bad your injuries were...and that some of them were inflicted by your aunt and uncle." Still she looked saddened slightly as she spoke.

"Mum was livid. I thought she was going to go curse them right away," Ron confirmed.

"And he means that literally," Hermione said. "The Headmaster had to talk her out of it."

Hermione was shifting from foot to foot as they spoke.

"What?" Harry asked, fearing more bad news.

She looked down at the ground. "Nothing...it's just that I asked my parents if they would be willing to adopt you, and I explained the situation to them. And I got an owl back today saying that they would. I was hoping that we could be family."

"You are already like family to me, Hermione," Harry told her. "Both of you are. You have treated me way better than my family ever did."

A smile broke out across her face upon hearing that. "Thank you, Harry."

Madam Pomfrey came bustling into the room. "Out you two, he needs to rest," she scolded them. She pulled her wand out muttering a spell under her breath as she pointed it at him. "This will help you sleep now Mr. Potter."

As Harry drifted off to sleep he heard her continue to mutter.

"Sometimes I want to strangle that man for what he puts the students through. What's next at the school? Dragons?"

He smiled as he rolled over and went to sleep.


The next evening, Harry walked down to the end of the year feast. He had implored his friends to go ahead early without them, so that they could enjoy the full feast. They in turn had promised to save a seat for him. After one final checkup, he had been cleared to go himself.

When he arrived the hall was already covered head to toe in the green and silver of the Slytherin house. This was to mark the 7th year in a row that they had taken home the house cup. An entire cycle of students had passed since any other house had claimed the glory. Banners portraying the serpent of Slytherin covered each of the walls, and a massive banner hung down from the rafters of the great hall. All in all, that banner looked very much like a championship title pendent that would be hung from the inside of a basketball or hockey arena.

When Harry walked into the great hall, silence descended as everyone stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at him. Rumor of the events under the trapdoor had been flying widely throughout the school in the days since the event had occurred. The intent had been to keep the events secret, so naturally the entire school knew what took place. At least a version of it.

Paying no mind to the sudden silence and stares of his fellow students, Harry walked over and sat down between Ron and Hermione. "So did I miss anything important?" he asked them.

"Just the first course of the meal. No big deal," Ron replied.

:"We are glad you are feeling up to the feast," Hermione added.

"I thought I was never going to get out of there," Harry said with a sigh. "At least the food was good, unlike regular hospitals."

Moments later, Dumbledore arrived, and all of the talking died down to hear what he had to say.

"Another wonderful year, in which hopefully much learning took place. Many of our wonderful students are here for the final time, it is my hope that Hogwarts has been an experience that you will always remember. A few words and reminders before I allow everyone to dig into the main course of the feast. First remember that assignments given over the summer, are expected to be turned in the very first day back. There will be no excuses allowed, as you have all summer to complete them. Second, I have been asked to remind you that underage magic is forbidden outside of the school, especially in cases in which our fine underage wizards will be returning to muggle homes. Do not use magic unless you are given a special pass to do so. and even then, only when an approved and registered tutor is there giving lessons."

Harry looked a question at was possible to get tutoring in magical subjects over the summer? That...when they...when... Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, had talked about giving him the best training possible, this must have been what they meant.

Ron nodded quickly before turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Now on to matters that I am sure every student here wants to hear about. The house cup needs awarding. Currently, the Slytherins are poised to take home their 7th cup in a row as they lead with 472 points."

This got a round of clapping from the Slytherin table, and dirty looks from the other houses.

"We cost our house the cup," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Maybe so, but we stopped Voldemort from rising by using the stone. That was more important," Harry whispered back.

"Would you two be quiet. I am trying to listen," Hermione snapped at both of them in a voice barely above a whisper.

"And Gryffindor is in last place with 312 points," Dumbledore was finishing up. He held up a hand to stop further cheers. Not that any were forthcoming.

"But, in light of end of the school year events, more points must be awarded."

This shocked the room into quiet, as people sat on the edge of their seats.

"Just a few minor point awards to some very deserving students," Dumbledore began as the room hung on his every word. "First, to Mr. Ron Weasley...fifty points for the best game of chess played at Hogwarts since I have been here."

The Gryffindors stood as one at this announcement, clapping and cheering Ron.

Ron blushed as he held up a hand to acknowledge their cheers for him.

"Good job mate," Harry told him with a smile when they sat back down.

"If I got points, you must have gotten them to and also Hermione," Ron reasoned.

"Think it will be enough for us to win?" Harry asked him.

Ron shrugged at this. "Don't know mate, but either way we won't be in last place, and it won't be our fault that we lost the house cup."

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for her ability to solve riddles while looking death in the face, I award Gryffindor another fifty points."

No sooner had Dumbledore spoken those words then the entire Gryffindor house was back on its feet, this time to cheer Hermione.

Hermione hide her face as people near her patted her on the back and hugged her.

Finally, after another long round of cheering the Gryffindors sat back down. Still they looked ready to explode again at the next words from Dumbledore. Two statements and they were up 100 points.

"There are all kinds of bravery, and the Gryffindor house is best known for that. it is far easier to stare down the wands of your most terrible foes, than it is to tell your friends no. It is for this reason that I award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

This time the Gryffindor table wasn't the only one to rise. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were cheering with each new point awarded. The entire great hall could sense that the house cup was about to be yanked out of the grasp of the Slytherins. Just 51 more points and the house cup would belong to the Gryffindors.

"Finally...to Mr. Harry Potter, I have two point awards. First, for the sheer nerve to act on what he knew to be right, without regard to the consequences to himself, I award him fifty points."

A hush fell over the great hall. Gryffindor and Slytherin were now tied in the points standings of the house cup. But wait, Dumbledore had said that another point award was coming. Excitement built up around the non Slytherin tables as word spread about what that meant.

"Second, for keeping his calm in the face of extreme danger, and using his head to figure out the puzzles in front of him, I award a further fifty points to Gryffindor. Which means that a change in the decorations is in order." With a wave of his wand the great hall now reflected the fact that Gryffindor had won the house cup, with the banners now showing the lion and the scarlet and gold colors of their house.

The great hall went nuts, with the students of the other three houses mobbing the four people responsible for the downfall for the Slytherins.

Finally, able to break free of the pile, Harry sat back down with his two friends. This was one of the happiest moments of his entire life, and one that he would look back on fondly as things grew progressively darker.


It felt strange to not be leaving on the train the next day with his friends, Harry reflected. Yet he was going home with his godmother Professor McGonagall who was insisting that he call her Aunt Minerva. That was a change that was going to take getting used to, as he had always been slightly in awe of her and scared of her wrath plenty of times while at school. It seemed like at times that she was always taking points away from him.

Still, she had escorted him to the train platform to allow him to say goodbye to his friends. Then, she had told him that she had some end of the year paperwork to take care of, and that he was to head back into the castle once he was done saying goodbye.

Hermione reached out to gather him into a hug which he didn't fight. "It's been a fun first year hasn't it, Harry?" she said after she broke the hug.

Ron looked at her like she had just grown a second head. "Fun? Are you daft? We fought a troll, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, how is that fun?"

"Harry fought Voldemort," Hermione said, drawing a gasp from Ron at the use of his name. "As for the rest, we learned way more than we otherwise would have."

"You can't use his name!" Ron scolded her, worry clear on his face.

"Why not? Harry uses it? And so does Professor Dumbledore," Hermione pointed out to him.

"Well Professor Dumbledore is...he's the only one that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is scared of. And Harry, is Harry. When does he ever follow the rules?" Ron said with a teasing grin.

"It is only a name. They don't have power over us unless we let them," Hermione responded.

Ron shook his head at that. "You don't understand, back in the war, he was literally He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He placed a charm on his name so that he was transported to whoever said his name. To say his name out loud meant death."

"If he is scared of Professor Dumbledore, how come Professor Dumbledore never confronted him?" Harry wondered out loud.

"He did a few times if mom's stories were anything to go by," Ron said.

"But he knew he couldn't win; he couldn't beat him. Remember the prophecy...Neither may live while the other is alive. One must kill the other," Hermione reminded him.

"But, you don't really believe that stuff do you?" Ron asked her.

"Professor Dumbledore seems to believe in it. That is enough for me. And it explains why I have been able to beat him twice now," Harry responded before she could.

Ron grinned as a thought struck him. "Does this mean that you can't be killed other than by him? Like if we shoved you in front of the train something would happen that would save you?"

"Ron!" Hermione scolded him.

As she refocused, she found both of them looking at her as if expecting something. "What?" she said. "Is there something on my face?"

"It is a good question, Hermione," Harry told her.

She was silent for a few minutes as she considered it. "I don't think that is how it works. Even if it is literally true, that doesn't mean that Harry can't be hurt or killed by other people. It just means that he contains within him the power to defeat the Dark Lord should it come to that."

"It is going to come down to me and him in the end, isn't it?" Harry asked. In his heart he knew that it would.

Ron placed a hand on his left shoulder while Hermione placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"You will always have us, mate," Ron began.

"We fight him right alongside you, every step of the way," Hermione promised him.

"Including the final battle. You won't have to stand alone," Ron finished up.

It was clear to Harry that they had talked about this ahead of time. This was what having real friends and real family was like, Harry knew. "Thank you, both of you. That makes me feel a lot better."

"Now, don't be a stranger this summer," Ron told him. "Mum wants you to come visit for a couple of weeks. I will be in touch by owl with details."

"You're going to have a great summer with Professor McGonagall teaching you. I bet you will learn loads this summer and be way ahead of us," Hermione said with a slight pout in her voice at that thought.

"I will ask her if you can attend the lessons as well, Hermione," Harry assured her.

Her face lit up at this. "You will? I mean, thank you."

Ron looked up at as the train gave the final boarding warning. "We have to go mate. Stay safe, and write us."

"I want to know all about your new home. I bet it will be so cool to live in a wizard home full time," Hermione said.

"I will write to both of you, I promise." Harry watched as they boarded the train, and he continued to watch as the train left the school. With a sigh, he turned around and headed back inside.

He had to wait for his new Aunt to finish up her paperwork before he could see his new home. Still, anything had to be better than another summer with his aunt and uncle. Sighing, he sat down on a bench to wait.

Harry had just about gone to sleep when he heard a sound behind him. Whirling, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the sound. It was Professor Snape.

"You will need to work on those reflexes if you hope to defeat the Dark Lord, Potter," Snape said with his usual sneering disdain.

Harry started to snap back at him, but he paused as he remembered that Dumbledore had told him that Snape had worked hard this year to protect him and save his life. "Excuse me, Professor Snape, I have a question," he began, trying to be more respectful towards Snape than he usually was.

Snape looked taken aback at that, but he motioned for Harry to go on.

"Sir, Professor Dumbledore said that you have been trying to save my life all year. Is that true?"

"Trying was the operative word, Potter. You continued to insist on exposing yourself to danger time and time again," Snape answered him.

"I don't understand, sir. I thought you hated me. Why would you try and save me?" Harry questioned him with confusion clear in his voice.

"I don't hate you, Potter. I hated your father, and I saw you as an extension of him. Your father was a natural bully, and we went at it for seven years."

My father was not a bully!Harry protested in his thoughts but didn't say out loud. Instead, he asked "Then, why work hard to save me?"

"I have my reasons, Potter. And, I choose not to share those reasons with you. It is enough that the Headmaster trusts me. Now, you were waiting on Professor McGonagall to be ready for you. She sent me to come get you."

With that, Snape turned and headed towards her office not checking to see if Harry was following him.

With little choice in the matter, Harry followed Snape, his mind whirling.

With no other students remaining in the castle, their passage was swift. Within minutes, they had arrived at the office of Professor McGonagall.

Everything in her office was very neat and tidy as usual. Harry remembered several times he was in the office. He doubted he would ever find it messy unless she was busy with paperwork. Magic certainly had its uses for keeping a room clean. Professor McGonagall dismissed Snape much as a teacher would with another teacher. "Ready to go, Harry?" she asked him.

"Er, yes Prof-Aunt. My stuff is already packed. Have they-?"

"Yes, Harry. They're already at our home. Come." Professor McGonagall led Harry out of the school and to the edge of the school's property, stopping just outside of the wards that protected the school grounds.


"Hold onto me." She offered him her hand which he took. She then Apparated.

The sensation of it got Harry feeling sick upon arrival. Everything was spinning!"Whoa!" He grabbed onto his Aunt's dress to steady himself.

"Sorry about that, Harry. I should have warned you."

When Harry no longer felt the need to throw up every time he opened his mouth, he said, "N-no problem, Professor. I've experienced stranger things."

"Aunt, not Professor," she corrected him, but with none of her usual sternness she used when she was addressing a naughty student.

"Sorry Aunt...that is going to take some getting used to," Harry responded as he shook off the last of the effects of the travel. He took that moment to look around at where they were. This was his new home after all.

They were standing outside of a two story house. It appeared very warm and welcoming while at the same time quite intimidating. The front porch had steps leading to the front door and had a rocking chair. Aunt Minerva led Harry to his new house once he got his balance back and had a good look at the house. He was not surprised to see a very clean and orderly room when they walked through a simple but decorated door.

The decorations were a sight to behold as Harry tried to see each one. "I would not touch things that you don't know what what touching them will do.," Aunt Minerva told him in a stern voice, albeit one filled with a good degree of warmth.

Harry froze in the process of reaching out to run his hand over one of the decorations. Moving away from them, he looked back to her.

"I will show you your room, so you can unpack." He nodded, following her up the stairs.

The hallway was carpeted with beautiful designs of dragons and other magical beasts that Harry didn't know, as she led him to his room. When he entered, it was bigger than he dreamed. It wasn't big as the dorm room at Hogwarts, but it was bigger than his cupboard under the stairs and even his cousin Dudley's room. Hedwig screeched when she saw Harry.

"Hedwig!" Harry walked over to allow her out of the cage. Hedwig flew out and made a perch on the natural perch above his bed. Harry took the opportunity to look around and saw how comfortable looking the room was. The poster bed was against the wall, against a side wall lay a dresser, and a desk. The floor was carpeted and the walls were currently in the Gryffindor colors of scarlet and gold, and a large banner hanging on the wall across from his bed, had the lion of the house in the same colors.

"I put them that way as a default," she explained to him. "You are welcome to change them to whatever color configuration you wish. I can change the colors or style with a wave of my wand. Whatever you want on the walls can be easily managed."

"I like it, Aunt. Reminds me of my first home, Hogwarts. Now, this is my second home, I'll leave it. Maybe later I'll change it." Harry started working on unpacking his things.

"You can unpack them later. Come, Harry. There's things I need to show you," Aunt Minerva said, leading Harry outside once more.

"What do you need to show me, Aunt?" He asked as he followed her back down stairs and outside on to the grounds.

"With you being here, the security of this house and the grounds need to be upgraded. To that end, several new wards need to be placed. Can you think of any that would be a good idea, Harry?" she asked him as she slipped into teacher mode once more.

"The charm that means that no one but one person can give out the location of where the house is?" He asked in a hesitant voice. That had been placed on his parents' house, but they had been betrayed.

She nodded, giving him a smile. "Yes, that is the Fidelius Charm. I have already talked this over with Professor Dumbledore, and he has agreed to be the secret keeper. We are protected because we are both considered to live here, but only he will be able to tell others where the house is located."`

"Why is the Fidelius Charm so great, Aunt Minerva?" Harry asked her. "My parents used it, and they still died."

She nodded at that. "Sadly, Harry, they choose to trust the wrong person. I offered to be their secret keeper, and so did Professor Dumbledore, but your parents thought that both of us would be clear choices, and they wanted to fool the Dark Lord. We had suspected that there was a spy within our group, but we didn't know who it was. We only found out the night of the attack on your parents. I wish we had seen the clues in front of us earlier, Harry. I failed you that night, and I failed you again by allowing you to be placed with your aunt and uncle. But I promise you this, I will not fail to protect you again, not while I draw breath in my body. You will always be safe here."

"Thank you Aunt Minerva, that brings me a lot of comfort," Harry told her. He knew his friends cared for him, but having a family that did as well was something that would take getting used to.

"Now about the strengths and weaknesses of the Fidelius Charm. As you are aware picking the proper secret keeper is the most important thing. And it has to be someone outside of the house the Fidelius Charm is being cast on. This means that you or I can't be secret keeper for our own house. The strength of the charm rests on the ability of the secret keeper to keep the location a secret."

"Couldn't someone compel them to give up that location?" Harry asked her. "I mean I know that, Professor Dumbledore, would die before he gave up the location willingly, but I remember that we learned in potions class that it is possible to brew a potion that compels the drinker to tell the truth to any questions asked."

"No, the location can't be forced by any known means. The information must be willingly given up by the secret keeper," she answered.

"Then, the person that betrayed my parents, he willingly did it? He wasn't forced to?"

"That is correct, Harry. Sirius Black chose to betray your father and mother, despite the fact that he and your father were best friends throughout their school years. They got into all kinds of trouble together, and spent many hours in my office," she said, her voice drifting back in remembrance. "I don't know what prompted him to go over to the Dark Lord. I would have never thought him capable of such a betrayal."

"What happened to him?" Harry asked her.

"He is in the wizard's prison, Azkaban. He will spend the rest of his life there. Escape is impossible."

"Can…" Harry paused as his voice broke from the combination of grief and anger. After taking a moment to collect himself he tried again. "Can we go visit him?"

Minerva seemed taken aback by this request. "We can if that is what you really want. I am sure it can be arranged. But I don't understand what you could hope to gain from such a visit."

"I want to ask him why he betrayed my parents. I want to look him in the eye while he tells me," Harry explained. "I have to know his reasons, I have to."

"Let me consider it, and get the arrangements started. We can have this conversation later on okay?" She knew that she needed to talk to Dumbledore about Harry's request. He could make it happen, provided that he approved of such a request.

Harry nodded at this. "Thank you."

"Now, let's get back to the topic at hand, the Fidelius Charm. We have already established that the only the secret keeper can hand out the location of a house protected under the spell. There is no known way to compel someone to give up this information, it must be given up willingly. The spell is among the most difficult to cast, because the secret is hidden inside of the soul of the target wizard. This is one of the oldest known spells. Now what do you think happens to a house that is placed under this spell, Harry? There are four things that happen as a result of the spell." she questioned him.

Harry took a few moments to consider things. "Well the house is invisible, it can't be seen to those that aren't told by the secret keeper right?"

"Very good. That is one of the four. Do you happen to know any of the other three?"

"I guess...um...you couldn't point out its location to someone who wasn't informed by the secret keeper. Which means that I won't be able to tell my friends where we live."

"Yes that is because it is unplottable," she confirmed.

"But, wait… what about the people that do knew about the location before the spell was cast? Does it make them forget somehow?"

She had been expecting that question at some point. "The spells causes them to forget the exact location even if they have memories of being there. They are unable to return to unless they are let in on the secret. They know the location exists, and they remember having been there, but they couldn't find it even if they were right on the exact street it was on. The other two things the spell does is it makes the house intangible, which means that objects and people just pass right through it unless they are in on the secret. This stops the house from falling under magical attack by those that have an idea of the basic location of the house. It is also soundproof. No sound will escape to give away the location. "

"I am still confused about how they can remember, yet not remember a location," Harry told her.

She nodded at that. "Yes that part confuses a lot of people when they study the spell. Just know that it works. I will be safe because I am casting the spell, I am including you in the list of people who are allowed to know as the spell is cast, so you won't forget where you live. Professor Dumbledore will be the secret keeper."

"So I will know the location, but be unable to tell anyone about it?" Harry asked.

"That is correct. Even those who are in on the secret can't spread that secret. One of two things changes this. First, after the death of the first secret keeper, in which case everyone they told becomes the new secret keepers. Second, the deaths of those the charm is intended to protect, that breaks the charm and everyone can see the house normally again."

"Is that the only protection that will be set up on the house?" Harry asked her. He was pleased that she was bothering to talk this over with him. Having adults who would treat him as something other than just a little kid was still new to him.

"No, Harry. There's the anti-muggle charm, which will keep muggles out. Also, I will be setting up an anti-intruder jinx as well which will stop unwanted guests from entering the grounds in nonstandard ways."

"All that to protect me?" he questioned her.

"Yes your protection has become the number one priority of the Order of the Phoenix," she explained. "To that end, I am sure that some of them will want to place more protection spells around my house."

"The Order of the Phoenix?" he questioned her, having never heard that name.

"Yes, created by Professor Dumbledore, during the first Wizarding war. Now that he has returned, I am sure that the order will be reborn. I was a member of the first order and we vowed to fight the Dark Lord at all costs. Your parents were also members, and so were Ron's parents, Harry," she told him.

That made things very simple for Harry. If his parents were members, and if their first goal was to protect him, then he had to be a member as well. And if he was a member, that meant that Ron and Hermione would want to be members as well. "I want to be a member as well," he told her.

"You can't we only allow wizards and witches who are of age and who are out of school to become members."

"But if everyone is putting their lives on the line to protect me, I have to be involved," Harry protested.

"That is their choice to make as they are of age adults. You are not an adult, and so that choice is mine to make for you. While you will receive the best training possible, I don't want you out there hunting down the Dark Lord." She put on her teacher face and voice. "Do I make myself clear, Harry?"

He knew better than to argue with that voice. "Yes mam."

"Good. Now that we have settled that, we should get ready for the arrival of Professor Dumbledore. When he arrives, I will cast the charm."


A/N: A couple of things I want to clear up ahead of time...

1. Yes this is a reboot. No the plot won't be exactly the same. Some of the same events will happen, but the overall plot will be different.

2. While I am a huge Harry Potter fan, I am an American. I don't have an instinctive grasp of the differences between how Americans speak English and how the British speak English. I will make mistakes, please point them out and I will fix them as quickly as I can.

3. I really do believe that Harry was abused by his Aunt and Uncle. Hints to that nature were dropped all throughout the early books, and if anything he was clearly underfed and unloved. I am treating him that way in this story, and you will see the ramifications of that going forward in later chapters. I won't shy away from the realities of what abuse does to a child.

4. I am changing how the Fidelius Charm works in this story. I am doing this close a major plot hole The Deathly Hollows brings up. In that book we learned that the secret keeper can be a person living under the Fidelius Charm. But that doesn't make sense in context of what happened to Harry's parents, because there is zero reason for James or Lily to not be their own secret keeper. Especially, because they were aware that they had a spy in their ranks but not who. I can't see them taking chances with Harry's safety like that because they knew that Voldemort wanted to kill Harry. So, in Childhood End Redux, the secret keeper of a Fidelius Charm has to be someone outside of the house who isn't living there.

5. While Harry will be driven in this story, he won't be super Harry or progress to the point that he is untouchable. That being said, in the books he shows flashes of being a very powerful Wizard, and this story will reflect the reality that he is capable of reaching those levels with the right push. Especially when it comes to offensive and defensive spells.

6. This story will evolve into Harry/Hermione in time. I don't hate Harry/Ginny, but I always felt like Hermione was a much better fit for him. They went through so much together that they should have taken their friendship to the next level. Also, Ron/Hermione never made any sense to me. Ron and Hermione are like brother and sister not a couple.

7. Unlike many Harry/Hermione stories, this story won't contain any Ron bashing. The golden trio will remain a trio. Ron was sometimes not the best friend moment to moment, but when push came to shove Ron was there fighting by Harry's side. Being aware of what Harry has to face from the very start will alter his friendship with Harry even further.

8. I picked McGonagall to adopt Harry because she is a bad ass and I feel like she is underused in a large number of stories. She was close to Lily and James, so she could have easily been named Harry's Godmother.

9. For the years, I am counting the summers as the summer of the previous year. Thus this summer will be the summer of year 1.

10. The title of the story is a nod to the novel Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. It is one of my favorite novels. For anyone who hasn't read it they really should. The novel is pretty short but it explores a lot of important themes that are explored in later science fiction novels. One of the main themes is looking past the surface to see what really lies underneath. That will be explored in this story as well.

Leave your questions and comments in the reviews and I will do my best to answer all serious questions.

Until next time…