Chapter 2
Dumbledore called the staff meeting to order. The week was over and he wanted to know how the students were doing. If there were any trouble students and anything they needed to work on.
"Now that every one is here, I would like to start out with commenting on the beginning of the year prank that the Weasley twins pulled. It was very entertaining to see every one colored pink. Well, all except the Slytherins which is strange. Severus, what do you make of that?"
"No idea." Severus said. Actually he did have an idea. He had seen Potter whisper to Malfoy. He had watched as the whispering continued down the table and then no one had touched the potatoes.
"Well, must have been a fluke. Someone must have heard the twins talk about it. Now. Minerva, how are your Gryffindors?"
"Everyone is fine. We have a muggleborn that is in the top of her class. There is only two students who comes close to her. Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy. The three of them are in some kind of competition for the top. Her scores are the highest I have seen since ......" Minerva trailed off. Dumbledore lost a little of his twinkle.
"Yes, well. That just proves that muggleborns are just as good as the others. Filius?"
"Ah, yes, Ms. Granger. She got the levitation charm on the first try with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter quickly following. My Ravenclaws are fine, but no one comes close to those three in scores."
"Same here, Albus. Those three are not afraid to get dirty. Mr. Potter, has been known to show a few students a thing or two about the plants. The only one in this case that comes close is Mr. Longbottom. He's a natural. The plants listen to him and trust him. They flourish under his care."
"Quirnus?"
"Y-y-yess. The s-s-students are doing nic-c-c-ly. Mr. P-p-p-otter, exccccelsss in defenssssse. He sssseeemsss highly interssteddddd"
"Severus?"
"The students are just as abysmal as always. Longbottom is going to kill us all one of these days. He can't go a day without blowing something up. Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter are top of the class. Followed behind by Granger."
"Well, it seems that we have some friendly competition going on in the first years."
"Albus, I have been wondering, why Mr. Potter's name is Melanthios? I thought the Potters had named him Harry?"
"Ah, Minerva. I have no idea. I, too, remember Lily introducing him as Harry. He was the replica of James at the time."
"What happened? There is no James in him now?"
Severus mumbled, "Thank Merlin" Everyone ignored him and Minerva continued talking.
"Do you think those people renamed him? It would explain why his name changed. But why Melanthios? What does it mean."
"Alas, I believe it is Greek, and it means Dark Flower. Lily's family has a long going tradition of naming their girls after flowers. I remember she was expecting a girl and had a list of flower names picked out. If she had named him, and called him Harry, it would explain his name. He does have dark features. The dark hair and his eyes are a very dark green from what I could see."
"It still doesn't explain his appearance, no offense, Severus, but he looks more like you than James."
"Yes, that is the question here. When I put him on the doorstep to his relatives, he had unruly hair and his eyes almost glowed they were so green. So, what happened? Has anyone seen his scar?"
"It's not there, Albus. I looked." Filius spoke up.
"Well, I think I might like to question him. See if we can't have some of these questions answered. Maybe I should pay a visit to his family first. Severus, Minerva, would you please accompany me. This meeting is adjourned"
An hour later they found themselves in front of a modest two story little house in Little Whinging, Surrey. Dumbledore walked to the door and knocked. It was opened by tall, skinny, horse faced woman. She seen them and pursed her lips.
"Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting you. I expected you to come sooner once you found out. Seeing as you have him with you." She said pointing to Severus.
Petunia seen the shock flickered across their faces and quickly realized they didn't know. She averted her eyes from theirs and tried to remember what her sister said about people reading minds. She knew it was quite illegal but that didn't stop some people. She thought of an ocean seen while she led them into the sitting room. She quickly prepared tea while clearing her mind of anything remotely having to do with Theo. She thought of the last vacation they went on which was the beach. Lily had told her that if she thought of something that brought high emotion, it would help block out the stuff she didn't want people to know. She served up the tea and sat down facing her uninvited guests.
"Now, why were you expecting us?" Dumbledore began.
Petunia could feel eyes almost boring into the top of her head. She thought about how much she missed Lily as she let the scene of Theo play in the ocean run through her mind. She felt the eyes turn away and she looked up to see the dark man she knew as Severus look away. She cleared her throat.
"Well, his name for one. His full name is Melanthios Kleon Potter. Lily told everyone his name was Harry James for his protection. There are some things about Theo that you don't know. If you think he is some fame seeking boy, your wrong. He has had a hard life here." Petunia looked away but continued, "My son and husband, constantly bully him. The tease him and put him down. Vernon wanted to make him sleep in the cupboard. Look, I don't pretend to like magic. It took my sister and parents away from me. First to that school, then it killed them, but I love my nephew. I will do anything to protect him. Even from the people trying to protect him too. I play referee between my family and keep them away from Theo as much as possible. But, Theo, is very advanced for his age. He doesn't need my protection against his enemy's. He learned to take care of himself. He can get out of almost any situation, and do it with a finesse that makes escape artists look like toddlers. Everyone loves him, and most don't even know him. He can charm anyone if he puts him mind to it. But he doesn't. He doesn't open up to anyone. He keeps to himself. He doesn't let anyone get close. I think I am the only one he has ever opened up to. The only time I have seen him cry was last year. Even as a baby, he didn't cry. He would whine if he was hungry, but most of the time he used magic to bring his food to him."
"If you don't mind my asking what was last year?" Severus asked. Petunia gave him a glare that might even make Voldemort back off before answering.
"Last year was when I told him about his past. I told him about his mother, and the man who killed her. I told him everything. About how the man killed his mother and grandparents on both sides. About why his mother named him what she did. About what I knew of his father......Anyway, it was after that that he closed himself off even more. That day it was like a piece of him died. But I won't apologize for telling him. He needed to know."
Dumbledore nodded at her. She made sure she was still thinking about the vacation. She noticed that they were getting up and wanted to say one last thing. She looked at Severus.
"She loved you."
Severus turned back to her, his face even paler. "Excuse me?"
Petunia gave a small smile, "She loved you. She told me. Not even a month before she was killed. She came to see me. She had a feeling that she wouldn't live to see Theo's 2nd birthday. She also knew it was a possibility that Theo would come here instead of with his godfather. So, she loved you. She hoped for the best. She wanted to believe that it was different from how it looked. But she didn't want to risk Theo's life for a off chance that things weren't as they seemed. She cried when she talked about you. Don't get me wrong, she loved James too, but it wasn't the same. I remember how she would come home from school during the holidays and tell me about everything. When she came to you, something in her eyes would change. I haven't seen emotion like that since my parents. When you joined that man, it broke something in her. She wasn't the same. She stayed locked in her room for almost two weeks. We were ready to break the door down and drag her to the hospital. I've read her books. The ones on defense. She looked like one of those zombie things. Finally, I was able to get a hold of her owl and write to the first name I could think of. It was the only name she talked about as much as you. Only she was usually complaining about him. James came and unlocked the door. Three hours later they came out and announced that she was moving out and in with him. Two weeks after that, they were getting married. She looked happy, but it was there. In her eyes. It was like the light went out. It only came back on when Theo was born. I was there. No one knows, but James called me. I seen them before James could bring those friends of his in. When she looked at Theo, there was a spark in her eyes. She died protecting him. Theo has told me. He remembers that night."
"He remembers his parents getting killed?" Minerva whispered. Their faces were white.
Petunia nodded. "He used to wake up screaming as a baby. Babbling about a green light, and cruel laughter. When he was seven, he actually told me his whole dream. They were in the living room, when they felt the house vibrate. James jumped up and told Lily to take Harry and run. She grabbed him and ran to his room. Theo said she was looking for something. She set him in his crib. And grabbed her wand. She was making movements with it in the air, while looking for something. Theo heard James yelling at someone to leave. Yelling about a rat and how they should have known. Then it was silent. He told me that a man that looked like a snake with red eyes came into the room and told Lily to move. That she didn't have to die. She pleaded with him to take her and not Theo. She put herself in front of Theo and refused to move. The man said something and Lily died. Then Theo seen a want pointed at his forehead. He said he looked at the man, and he remembers something flickering across the red eyes. Like he was seeing something. The man shook his head and said two words. Theo remembers a lot of green light, and a pain across his head. Then white light, screaming and a loud explosion. He said everything was dark for a while. He guesses he passed out. He woke up to arguing. A man with long black hair was arguing with a giant man. He was talking about how he wanted Harry. The giant said something about you. Then the long haired man said to take him that he had someone to hunt down. Again about a rat. Theo remembers a motorcycle and flying. Then me. We pieced this together over a couple years. His dreams have always been fragmented. But that is the gist of it. Like I said before, Theo has trust issues. He was 15 months old and watched his mother die and then someone tried to kill him. His whole world was broken apart in those few minutes. He believes that if he allows himself to get close to anyone that they will either be taken away or leave willing once they find out about him."
"What do you mean about him?" Dumbledore asked.
Petunia shook her head and looked away. "I said enough. I think you should leave."
When they were back in Dumbledores office. It was close to lunch. They finally sat down and thought about all they had learned today. Finally Minerva broke the silence.
"He remembers. A little baby. He was only a baby and he remembers. I can't believe it. Albus, I get the feeling that woman was hiding something."
"Your right Minerva. Severus did you get anything?"
"No, Albus. Someone coached her on occulemecy. All I got was fragments. The one that stood out was Mr. Potter on the couch reading a piece of parchment crying. The rest was what looked like a vacation to the beach. She wasn't able to clear her mind, and she didn't have shields but she did a good job thinking about something totally different."
"I think it's time to bring Mr. Potter in for an interview." Dumbledore said.
Please review. I will post again in a couple of days.
