Albus Dumbledore felt a sudden cold chill overcome him and he looked down to see his bracelet visible. Ever since Lily and James had died he had put a bracelet on his arm to alert him to Harry's health in case he ever was in dire need. This must mean that something had happened to the blood wards at Privet Drive. He quickly stood from the head table and rushed out of the Great Hall not noticing that Minerva McGonagall was on his heels. He continued down the hall and out the front door not taking a moment to slow down as he headed for the apparation point.
"Albus! Where are you going?" Minerva demanded grabbing her husband's wrist.
"I'm sorry Minnie, there's something wrong with Harry." Albus informed his wife showing the very visible bracelet and Minerva quickly released his wrist.
"Be careful Albus...and Al...please bring him home." Minerva begged and Albus simply nodded before apparting away.
As soon as he saw number 4 Privet Drive, Albus's heart sank and he almost fell to his knees. What he saw was a terrible sight; the house was in shambles from a fire and people were being carried out on stretchers. He shook his head and hurried forward as he spotted Petunia.
"Excuse me sir, who are you?" a paramedic asked eyeing him curiously. No doubt the sight of an elderly man in outdated muggle attire, luckily he'd transfigured it before running over, was an odd occurrence.
"I'm responsible for this woman's nephew, Harry, and I need to know if he was home during this." Albus hurried out and the paramedic nodded and motioned him forward. Petunia was barely conscious, but at the sight of him her eyes popped open wider.
"Petunia...was Harry home?" Albus questioned anxiously. For some reason Petunia turned whiter before her eyes started to leak tears.
"No...he no longer lives here...we got rid of him when he was three and a half...we just didn't tell you." Petunia admitted and swallowed thickly.
"Where is he?" Albus demanded shocking the paramedic.
"An orphanage, about thirty miles from here, it's called The Typical and Uncanny Orphanage." Petunia mumbled out and Albus understood all too well; it was an orphanage that took both magical and muggle children.
"I see...why Petunia?" Albus demanded again.
"Everything got complicated...he started acting like Lily when she was at school... we tried to find family of James Potter, but...well you'll find out yourself...now leave me alone." Petunia snapped and Albus turned and stalked away leaving a very confused paramedic behind.
The Typical and Uncanny Orphanage sat in the middle of a field, so that it was secluded in case of accidental magic. Squibs ran the orphanage because they understood how to function in both worlds and how to care for all types of children. Though the site that met Albus's eyes was similar to the sight he'd just left behind. Aurors were everywhere and medi-witches and wizards were running in and out of the orphanage.
"Albus! What are you doing here?" Alastor Moody questioned curiously.
"Alastor, what's happened here?" Albus questioned ignoring his friend's curiosity for the moment.
"It's bad...Albus, one of the workers beat a child...and someone I know you'll know." Alastor admitted motioning for Albus to follow him into the orphanage. Inside the orphanage furniture was tossed here and there, scorch marks filled the walls, and screams could be heard coming from the next room.
"That's the person that did this; she posed as a squib under polyjuice to gain entrance in order to hurt this one particular kid. The only problem is no one even knows the kid's name." Alastor admitted and opened the door opposite the ones where the screams originated from.
Albus took in the badly burnt body that was obviously one of the workers; the woman's arms and legs were covered with what looked like second degree burns and her face was littered with a mixture of first and second degree.
"What's the matter Albus, don't you recognize me?" the woman teased and Albus's heart stopped.
"Arabella? Who did this to you?" Albus demanded stepping beside her and sitting in a vacant chair.
"Albus...Harry...he's here; Petunia dropped him off almost two years ago. I would have told you, but Albus...there's things you need to know. Get him out of here and run a heritage analysis. He's hurt though...make sure he has his baubles..." Arabella trailed off and Albus was afraid she'd died.
"Arabella?" Albus shouted and the medi-witch placed a finger to her lips.
"She's fine Headmaster; simply sleeping. I gave her a small dose of a sleeping potion and she'd been fighting it while talking to you." The medi-witch assured and Albus nodded before rising again.
"Please make sure you keep me informed of her condition. When she's better I'd like to have her moved somewhere safe." Albus requested and the medi-witch nodded at Albus before he turned and followed Alastor out.
"Who did this to her? Do you know where Harry is?" Albus questioned hurriedly.
"That's where it actually gets odd...the woman is supposed to be dead. Albus...it was Walburga Black. I don't even know how she's still alive. Harry is in the room with Kingsley Shacklebot and a medi-witch...he hasn't spoken yet." Alastor winced and looked up to see Albus's eyes darken a shade.
"I...I should never have left him with Lily's sister, but I thought it was the only way to keep him safe. So many people that were loyal to Riddle were pushing for custody of him and leaving him with a blood relative was the only way to get around it. I just hope one day he can forgive me." Albus admitted to one of his most trusted friends.
"You are not responsible for everything that happens, Albus. You protected him from Riddle's followers and thought that it would be enough. The important thing is to make sure that he has a loving family now...and to keep him safe." Alastor reassured and Albus nodded before heading into the room that Alastor had pointed to.