"Oh, dear Merlin no", she whispered. Looming over her at an impressively intimidating eight feet tall, floating just inches off of the floor, a being of pure shadow, that flowed like shifting sand. A pair of blood red eyes observing her, judging her, determining her worth.

Instinctively she put herself between Harry and the nightmarish monster. With shaky hands, she gripped her wand and spoke, "Y-y-you will not," began her confidence a facade, "harm this child". The tip of her wand glowing a harsh white. In her mind she knew no spell that could stop this beast from killing her and beginning a rampage the would likely end in the deaths of thousands.

The figure floated and she waited, until it moved, it slowly floated towards her. Her hands shaky as they were, remained aimed on the monster, but her mouth produced no sound, a deep, paralyzing fear gripped her. She clenched her eyes, awaiting excruciating pain, but the forms split and moved around her. She turned to watch as it crossed over to the sleeping form on her couch.

She gasped as she saw that it picked up the small child and cradled it to it's chest, the boy pressing himself deeper into the shadows, until the creature seemed to be absorbed by the human body and Harry was gently lowered onto the sofa, completely undisturbed.

She stood in that spot, watching Harry's chest rise and fall in his content sleep. Until a soft pop from behind her startled the elderly woman into nearly jumping out of her skin.

"Mistress McGonagall, the soup is read for young Master Potter." the diminutive house elf carrying the tray, stated, looking over a lightly steaming bowl.

"I, I, yes. Thank you Flipsy." she stammered to regain her composure. "I will be in my study, remember my instructions." The elf bowed in response, with a small chirp, "Yes Mistress."

As McGonagall began walking out of the room, she paused by the door frame and turned to her elf, "Flipsy, nothing you see here regarding young Mister Potter is to be spoken of to anyone without my permission. Do you understand, this is very important." She stated.

"Yes Mistress McGonagall. I not be's speaking of young Master Potter to anyone." She bowed once more.

While Flipsy was her personal House Elf, since she spent so much time at Hogwarts she allowed Flipsy to work with the Hogwarts elves, so it was possible that if someone was looking for information that the elves might know, and the fewer people that knew about Harry right now, the more time that she had to prepare for whatever the world piled on to that boy on the couch who had already been through so much.

For how exhausting of a day it was for Harry it was no surprise that he slept through until the next morning. Flipsy making sure that he consumed some soup even while sleeping so the boy didn't starve.


It startled him waking up in an unusual place, he just assumed he was still asleep because he had never felt thing comfortable before. Until a soft pop and a creature that wasn't much smaller than him, with large, round eyes and big floppy eyes peered at him from the over the arm of the couch he was sitting on. He yelled in surprise at the being until it popped away, alarming him more.

"Ok, I'm dreaming, everything is going to be fine," he rubbed his arms, trying his best to calm himself. "I'll wake up and be in my room, I just have to weather these hallucinations for a few more days and then my punishment will be over and I can finally see the sun and have some bread and water." he began rocking back and forth muttering to himself. "It's not the first time I hallucinated, I'll survive this too." He attempted to assure himself.

Until he heard from behind him someone clearing their throat. A woman who looked to be in her mid-forties, if some of the women he saw at his aunt's book club, where they mostly drank cheap wine and complained about their husbands or the cute teen grocer down at the local market.

As McGonagall walked around the sofa, steadily and making sure she and her hands were always in Harry's field of view, she sat down in an armchair across from him. "It's important that I let him control the flow of the conversation. If I push him at all he could withdraw into himself, so I will wait and let him make the first move." She thought to herself.

Harry stared, he had never been in a situation like this before. The older woman was just sitting and staring at him. He heard a soft pop to his left as the creature from earlier was back in the same position of looking at him from side of the couch he was on. "I'm on the furniture," he reasoned out, quickly shuffling himself off the couch.

McGonagall watched Harry suddenly move to get up from where he was sitting. Confused as to what caused him to decide he needed to change his seating she asked the first question, clearing her throat again, "Harry," she calmly stated getting the young boys attention, he froze and looked at her. It was an expression she saw on some of her students who got caught doing something they really shouldn't, not something befitting the current situation. "Is there something wrong with the couch?" it seemed an innocent question, until he muttered an answer that she couldn't hear. She promptly stood up and in 3 quick steps was standing next to the boy who then pressed himself into the arm of the sofa, covering his head with his arms.

Getting on her knees in front of the boy, in a soothing voice asked another question, "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't hear your answer, could you please say it again?" looking at him from his eye that was peaking out between his arms. Even when shielding his head and other vital parts he never took his eyes off of the woman in front of him.

"I," he hiccuped, "I'm not allowed on the furniture." McGonagall scoffed.

"Of course you are allowed on to be on the furniture," her thick Scottish accent returning when his answer brought a bit of mirth into her voice. "It's what I bought it for after all."

"But freaks have to sit on the floor, like the other mongrels." he said, "My relatives would..." Only to be cut off by the older woman.

"Those relatives of yours" said with an icy tone remembering the Dursleys. "Do not decide the rules in my house and will no longer decide the rules for you. So if you want to sit on the couch, you are more than welcome to."

"Oh," such a simple response. Harry was more confused than anything else, the Dursleys not deciding how he spent his time. So Harry sidled his way back over to the sofa and lifted himself backwards onto the cushion. He watched the strange woman move back her chair opposite him and sit down once more.

And again she waited until he was ready. After a few tense minutes of silence between the occupants of the room, Harry's stomach growled which sounded like a large jungle cat with how it seemed to echo around the still room. Harry made no acknowledgment of the noise, the Dursleys never cared if he was hungry and he went without food for long periods of time the pains were easy to ignore.

McGonagall was trying so hard to maintain the normal stoic visage she kept up for nine months of the year, with the other students at Hogwarts it worked, they were always cautious around her, never up to any nonsense, even if she secretly enjoyed their fun. It reminded her of better times.

But to see Harry, who very much looked like James, try to play off innocence at something as clear as an empty tummy, it broke right through her demeanor and she started chuckling. It was a confused Harry who asked if she was alright, thinking he had done something wrong.

"Oh no Mr. Potter, you did nothing wrong," she answered whilst wiping a stray tear from her eye. "If you are hungry say so, we can have breakfast together." At the sudden realization he hopped off of the couch once more and began apologizing.

"I'm sorry, your right," he moved toward the door, "I need to make breakfast." stopping at the door frame, "I don't know where the kitchen is." looked at the woman who hadn't even risen from the chair.

"Oh we will have none of that," she waved him off. "You are my guest, you shouldn't be making breakfast, not the least is what I have Flipsy for." Harry heard the same soft pop again, his eyes darting towards a corner of the room where he noticed the small creature behind the seated woman. McGonagall followed his line of sight to see that Flipsy was behind her. "Wow, nothing gets past him, he tracks movement with practiced ease. Let's hope it translates to his own motions." The educator in her pondered, knowing that with being able to track small motion and quick changes is one of the hard parts of dueling, she could teach him the spells and Flitwick, a world class duelist, could teach him the rules and techniques, but sizing your opponent and their motions, that was all up to the skill and practice of the duelist. "And it seems young Mr. Potter has had plenty of practice" a small grimace graced her features, realization on why his skills had to already be raised to the same level of trained duelists.

Looking back at the young boy and smiling, "Now what would you like for breakfast?" she asked him. Harry just shuffled his feet, he never had been asked what he wanted, just told what he was to make, sometimes he would get the cold left over scraps of whatever Vernon or Dudley weren't able to shove down, but he was otherwise left to water and toast. "Umm," he started nervously, still unsure if this was all a ruse and if his relatives were waiting just to pull the rug out from under him and lock him back in his room.

McGonagall patiently waited, "Either this boy has so many favorite foods or more likely has never been given a choice in what he eats." Flipsy, with her large ears could clearly hear the boy even from across the room, eagerly listened to hear what food she could make for The Harry Potter, "Oh if the other castle elves knew who she was cooking for, they would be so jealous, I know Boopsy talks about how great it was to serve food to the Headmaster personally for a week, but hah, beat this you straight eared little so and so."

"Pa-pancakes," Harry said sheepishly, he always cooked them on the weekends and he even had some cold ones after the Dursleys had finished eating and he thought they tasted pretty good. The Dursleys made him cook for them for so long he got good at it, or else.

With a soft pop, Flipsy was off into the kitchen to prepare the best pancakes she had ever made in her life. Harry turned his full attention back to the older woman, never having taken her completely out of his sight even when focusing on the strange creature that seemed to teleport around the room.

Now the silence returned as he stared at the woman, "Umm," he collected his thoughts, Vernon and Petunia didn't like talking to him, so they instilled in him to know what he was going to say so he can leave them be as quickly as possible. "I um, I'm sorry, I don't know your name." He said simply. It would be hard to interact with this strange woman if he didn't know what to call her.

That information struck her, she never did introduce herself, in the chaos from the previous day she never actually told him who she was. "I am Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, I am the Head of Gryffindor and I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I like your mother am a witch, you are wizard just as your father was."

This was completely new information to him as the only thing the Dursleys ever told Harry about his parents was the his father was a drunk and his mother a whore who died in a car crash abandoning him to his relatives. This was the first time he could meet someone who would tell him more about his parents.

"What, um," he struggled through his emotions, a roiling torrent of confusion, curiosity, and anger swept through him. "What were they like?"

Wistful longing danced across the woman's face, these fond memories making her feel older than she was, to remember the better times and her favorite students. "Oh Harry, they were wonderful. Your father was so headstrong, he was playful and so very popular, he just had this air about him, that made one want to have fun and dance in the sun." seeing Harry inching closer to her to hear her story, "It's just like having a grandchild of my own, to tell stories to." she smiled down at the child, she spent many Halloween commemorating the Potters and their sacrifice with her colleagues and old friends, but now was the chance for her to pass it down to their son, who lost more than most and seemed to have still been giving all of these years. "Well it's time to start giving back" she decided.

Noticing she had gone quiet for a bit, he moved ever closer, until he was at the arm of the chair McGonagall was sitting in. "And my mother?" he asked hopefully.

McGonagall lounged in her chair, recalling the bright and youthful witch she taught, "Your mother, Lily, was the smartest, kindest and most beautiful woman I ever had the good fortune to meet." remembering the red-headed girl and her fascination with everything the world had to offer, "She was friends with everyone, the favorite of every teacher, studious but always making time for friends, she was warm and had such a big heart."

As she trailed off her rambling about the late Mrs. Potter, Harry lowered his gaze, "Do you." he started, McGonagall looked at the young boy, no, man, no one who had to go through what he did would ever be considered a boy. "Do you think they would have loved me?" he quietly asked.

McGonagall's heart was breaking, "No child should ever have to wonder if their parents loved them" she reached down and wrapped the small boy into her arms. "With all their heart." she moved his messy hair out of the way of his eyes, twin emerald orbs staring up at her with longing. "They loved you more than life itself. That's why they gave their lives to protect you. So never doubt that you, Harry James Potter, are loved."

To dream of loving parents was a recurrence for the child, many nights hoping for someone to finally come and take him away from the pain and suffering, other nights wishing he had died with them. But to hear that his parents loved him, it was more than he could take. He wept, not in pain, not in sadness, but joy. To love is a powerful feeling, to be loved in return is so much more. A feeling the boy never had before welled up inside him, a warmth and comfort that can only come from the love of a parent. Even if they were gone, he could still feel it in him, through death and time.

He was Harry Potter, and he was loved.


As he wept into McGonagall's chest, Flipsy silently returned to the room, breakfast was ready for the two of them, but she didn't want to disturb the two humans.

It was a half an hour later when Harry finally settled down, his stomach took that chance to remind him that it wanted to be sated. McGonagall giggled, something the 55 year old woman hadn't done in decades. "Let's go have some breakfast and then get you cleaned up. How about that?" gazing down at the child curled in her lap. His response was nodding, Harry wasn't sure if he could even speak let alone make a sound.

With the two of them in the dining room, Harry sat down to what he considered a large plate of food, it wasn't the same mountain that Dudley would have but it was more than he had ever been given at one time. Looking to McGonagall for her approval she motioned for him to begin eating. Despite how hungry he was, he maintained what manner were instilled into him by his relatives, so he ate with a certain grace that came from making sure no food was missed. He didn't notice or didn't care that tears were falling from his face onto his food, he had never eaten anything so nice before in his life. McGonagall watched with a happy heart that she was able to bring such joy to someone who needed it for something so simple as talking about people she loved and a good meal.

"This is what I have been missing, a child to call my own, Elphinstone never bore me a child and I had given up on Dougal after his murder. Maybe this is the chance I never had." She thought to herself as she watched the young boy clean his plate. She finished her meal a little bit after Harry had, since she spent much of it just watching the boy.

She looked at the wonder on the boys face as the plates disappeared right in front of him. "That was Flipsy, she is taking care of cleaning up after breakfast." noticing the confusion on his face as he looked around the room trying to find the small creature he noticed earlier.

"House elves are rarely seen when working, so she stayed hidden for most of the meal." she told Harry to settle him down.

"But I wanted to thank her for the wonderful food," he complained. McGonagall chuckled at the young lad.

"Oh you are so much like your mother, always thanking the house elves for doing the chores," she started, Harry blushing at the compliment. "House elves are very good at their job and I assure you she heard what you said." she watched the boy look around the room more hoping to catch a glance of the house elf since she had to be near by to hear him.

She knew the elf had heard the compliments and that the elf would be in high spirits, it was one thing to be praised by their master, but house elves were distant relatives of fairies and those magical creatures loved the innocence of children so to a house elf, the words of children meant that much more to them.

"Now Harry it's time to get washed up, then I'll call a friend to take a look at you. But only if you want me to." she asked

Harry was confused, he was emotional, but he was given a choice, if he said no, nothing would happen, but he wondered, what if he said yes. "Ms. McGonagall has been really nice to me, so maybe her friends are also nice. Should I trust her a little longer?"

"I think I would like that," he accepted her offer. McGonagall rose from her chair and walked out of the room, hearing the soft patter of small footsteps meant that Harry had started to follower her.


Turning down the hallway into the bathroom, stood a large claw-footed tub, one McGonagall spent some nights relaxing in, warm water soothing aching muscles and a glass of wine to soothe her headache of dealing with the generations of children she taught. She loved them all but after twenty five years sometimes you just needed a break.

She reached toward the faucet and pulled both handles down, the tub filling with above warm water, a light steam rolling off of the surface. She grabbed a few objects from the counter top and transfigured them into bath toys, something for Harry to play with as she washed his hair. The child was eleven years old and capable of cleaning himself but she was feeling motherly and wanted to indulge by washing the boy herself.

Noticing that Harry was just staring at her, she motioned with her hand, "The water is fine mister Potter, in you go." he grabbed the hem of what could barely be called a shirt and fidgeted with the frayed fabric.

"Umm, are you going to stay?" he asked nervously, not entirely sure about getting naked in front of someone he had just met.

"Yes Harry, I am going to make sure you get clean." she answered, "It looks like you had not had a proper bath in years." Noticing the boy now staring at the ground. "Is something the matter?" she asked.

"The Dursleys, would just spray me off with a hose usually, when they complained about my smell."

"Then I think it important I stay, to make sure you know how to clean yourself the right way and not like I suspect many boys older than you, off lathering cologne or cleaning charms on themselves. We can all tell who does that." She joked at the blushing boy. "He has the strangest gaps in his learning, so I have to be careful not to assume he knows things children half his age do. Oh those dreadful muggles." She smiled cheerfully as she saw the boy begin to take off his clothing.

She was just about to turn her head to give the child some privacy, until the she saw them in plain view. She had seen the more recent bruises and scars and the ones not covered by the holes in the overly large clothes. But now to see all of him, in proper lighting, she gasped again.

All over his chest, thighs and back were deep purple bruises some which had began to fade into shades of orange. Long and drawn out cuts littered his arms and back, some looking like lashes from a belt, others she shuddered to think about what this child had to endure. His legs and arms were mismatched sizes, indicating numerous breaks over the years and now that she could see him out of the oversized clothes his posture was atrocious, quite possibly from a deformed spine and malnutrition.

The worst she saw was on his left forarm, the word, Freak, was deeply scarred in, possibly over years of application. His wrists had numerous small scars that indicated. She threw up in her mouth at the sight of clearly self inflicted wounds. "This child had tried to kill himself, at least once before" she didn't understand what possessed those monsters he lived with to do such a thing to a child, with tear filled eyes she pulled herself closer to Harry's small form, him ashamed of showing his body to another person.

Drawing in the shaking child to her, she hugged him deeply, "Oh Harry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." she crooned and rubbed his head. "No one should ever had to suffer like you did." Harry muttered a response, one that held no vigor or life in it.

"It's okay, I'm used to it."

"This is most certainly not okay, even Azkaban treats it's prisoners better than that." She cleared her throat and dried her eyes, "No Harry, it's not okay. You should never have been left with those relatives of yours, I told Dumbledore not to put you with them, and I am sorry I didn't fight harder for you."

Harry's eyes widened, "She knew I was at the Dursleys." This information was critical to his next few decisions, "If she put me there once, she could put me back, I don't want to go back." Harry struggled in her grasp and pushed his way out of her embrace.

The pain she felt at seeing the result of one bad decision was nothing to compare it to seeing the look of absolute betrayal on the child who just an hour ago was crying because he learned his parents loved him.

Before she could utter a word, Harry was backing away from her, "You left me with them," he uttered, with such hatred. The lights in the room began flickering, "You knew where I was, you could have saved me. You, you, you, anytime could have found me." objects on the edge of the counter fell to the floor as the entire house began to rattle. "If you didn't I could have, something might be." Harry struggled to get the hundreds of conflicting thoughts in his mind to coalesce into actual words. He began gasping for air.

McGonagall watch as Harry's magic swelled in him as he emotions overrode the normal restraint people had to using magic, something that children learn growing up to have a better grasp on. It's why accidental magic was not classified as wandless magic, it had no control and couldn't be projected into conscious thought, children could use their magic to get things they wanted but never truly understand the process to do so.

She wasn't afraid, not this time. If by some circumstance his magic lashed out at her, she would accept it, she played a part in the suffering Harry endured and by her honor she would take the consequences of her actions in stride. What happened as the boy began stammering words, obviously trying to speak multiple thoughts at once.

Arms of shadowy sand formed behind Harry and pulled him into it's deep embrace. She watched in awe at the sight, it was still scary to see a manifested Obscurus, but to see one that was capable of independent thought, she never imagined, all rumors of Obscuri was that they were mindless destructive forces that drained the host and disappeared on the death of the child.

This one seemed like a protector, reacting to Harry's emotions or needs. As Harry buried his face into the figure, McGonagall made a choice, she acted. "Harry," she called his name, but only getting the Obscurus' attention, "Harry, please listen to me." she quietly said, "I swear, if I knew what was happening to you, myself and most everyone I know would have been breaking down the door to come to your rescue. But I let someone else make that decision for me, I shouldn't have. It was a mistake, one that I deeply and truly regret seeing the results of it." she waited to see if he would respond. The only indication he may have heard her, was that he peeked his head out from between the arms of his manifestation.

"I can't go back and fix that mistake, but I hope in time," she chose the words carefully, "that some day I can make up for it all, I promise you won't go back to those people ever again, I won't allow it."

Harry stared at her for a long minute, "Do you mean it?" he asked. "I never have to go back?" The hope in his voice, belied the fear, that this was all just a trick.

"I swear, nothing can make me take you back there if you don't want to go, and I will always come get you if you find yourself with them again." She promised him, "I have a feeling this promise will be tested very soon"

Harry stepped out of the grasp of the Obscurus slowly, he moved with caution towards her, reaching out his hand. "Pinky promise?" he raised his smallest digit. She took his in her own.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." She had learned that from a small muggleborn girl about ten years prior. Harry smiled at her, to him it was the most sacred bond a person could make. McGonagall knew that she was treading on thin ice with the young man in front of her, that his trust was hard won and easily lost, but something else also told her that his loyalty was unshakable.

"Now about that bath?" she asked, the original reason for coming in the room almost forgotten in the moment. Harry nodded and climbed his naked form into the water, Minerva stared at the Obscurus who simply floated and watched her, "Obviously it doesn't seem to fully trust me with Harry's safety, yet for some reason I feel better knowing he had something with him."

As she washed what seemed to be caked on dirt and blood from his body, explaining how to make sure to clean behind his ears and his private area, she heard a soft pop, followed by a yelp, then another soft pop a second later. "Flipsy must have seen the Obscurus as well." Knowing it was still floating behind her, she could feel it's presence, which didn't make her feel as cold as it once did.

She saw in a reflection as the form swirled toward her, moving around her like the dark river and back into Harry, he smiled, feeling the familiar comfort that must have come with years of it being his only companion.

She heard the soft pop of Flipsy reentering the room, a sigh of relief and then her popping out again. After around a half of hour of making sure Harry was clean, Harry pulled himself out of the tub and handed him a towel to dry off. He reached for it and was distracted by how pruny his hands had gotten. Minerva chuckled, "Yeah that happens if you stay in the water too long."

"Woah," turning his hand over to inspect it, the lack of sunlight in the last few days faded his tan, his lack of food and emaciation left him looking the part of a very small vampire. After his fascination with the wrinkles on his skin he looked over to try to find his clothes on the floor, instead a neat stack of new clothes, were waiting for him.

"These aren't mine," he lifted them up to show McGonagall that it wasn't the same as the hand me downs from Dudley.

Curiously McGonagall called for Flipsy, when the elf popped in she asked where the clothes came from as she didn't keep clothes for boys in her house. "Oh those be from the Comes and Goes Room at Hogwarts." she stated matter-of-factly.

"What is the 'Comes and Goes Room'?" she inquired.

"It bes a room that comes and goes, the house elves have used it to store lost, broken and abandoned items over the centuries that the castle has been built. Anything that the house elves can't return or fix goes in there at the end of the year." She shuffled her feat, she didn't want her mistress to think she was a sneaky thief.

"Oh, well if it's been abandoned, I guess that's fine for now." She answered, knowing that Harry did need clothes more than a storage room at the castle did. "I'll have to have the castle elves show me this Comes and Goes Room at some point. Might be able to help with that budget shortfall."

Turning back to Harry who before looked like he was swimming in his old clothes, looked to be eight or nine years old instead of eleven like he should now that the clothes were better fitting on him. "Now to do something about that."


Taking Harry by the hand and walking back to the living room they were in before, McGonagall waved for Harry to sit on the sofa, Flipsy popped in with a tea tray. "Now Harry I'm going to call that friend of mine to come and examine you, do you still want that?" deciding to let him make the final decision.

"Umm, okay," he answered. Confused because he didn't see a telephone anywhere in the room. He watched as she walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of powder out of a cup attached to the mantle. Tossing it in she declared, "Hogwarts Infirmary." And then stuck her head in the flames.

Harry yelped and rushed over to try and pull the crazy woman out of the fire, only to see she wasn't burning but could hear her talking. Not enough to understand what she was saying but to know that it was a casual conversation. Unsure of what to do he stayed beside the Deputy Headmistress and held onto her robes and waited for her to pull her head out of the fire.

A few minutes later, McGonagall stood up and smiled down at the boy clinging to her clothes. "Oh I'm sorry Harry, I forgot you don't know what Floo powder is," Harry looking at her with a confused expression was all the answer she needed, she then explained to him that Flooing was a way to transport or talk to people through fireplaces and that it was perfectly safe.

He did his best to understand the strange ways of the wizarding world but was only left with one question, "Why fireplaces?" he asked.

McGonagall was stumped, she always just did it, never wonder why it. "I'm not rightly sure Harry, it's just one of those things everyone just accepts."

As that was the best answer he was going to get he just shrugged and seated himself back on the sofa. After a few minutes the fireplace burst into green flames and a woman stepped out.

She was dressed like a WW2 nurse, so he guessed she must be some kind of doctor. "Hello Minerva, now what seems to be the problem that you have to call me personally, swear me to secrecy before I can even come through and to bring nearly everything in the infirmary that isn't bolted to the floor?" She huffed, it was one thing to go see one of the professors in their private rooms, or even homes, usually when they were doing something that going to Saint Mungo's would raise some questions they would rather not get answered, "Merlin knows how many times I was called to Snape's or Dumbledore's office because they were messing with some untested dark magic and nearly maimed themselves because of it."

She calmly stared at her colleague until she noticed the small child sitting on the sofa, staring at her. With an unseemly squeal she bustled her way over to the child, "Oh Minnie, I didn't know you had grandkids, oh he is just adorable." she preened his hair, until she shifted the locks from his forehead and saw the infamous scar. "Oh, Minerva, is this who I think it is?" she turned to the older woman.

Looking down at the floor, she sighed before returning her gaze to the schools nurse. "Sadly, yes, this is Harry Potter and he needs our help." she pointed at the boy still wrapped in her arms.

Standing up Madame Pomfrey tried to regain some semblance of professionalism, "Well then we should bring in Dumbledore, he should." only to be rudely cut off by the other witch.

"No, absolutely not, Dumbledore and myself had parts to play in this situation and he will not be told until necessary." Pomfrey taken aback by the witches reluctance to involve the Headmaster, sighing once again she knew she had to explain herself, "Just examine him in every way you can, once your done, I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. But until then it is between the three of us. Do you understand?"

Madame Pomfrey was incensed, normally anytime she had to do an examination on a student their head of house was informed, but during the summer it would be their magical guardian or parent she would disclose information too, as she didn't know who Mr. Potters were, she would need to speak with Dumbledore to find that information out. But something about the situation was raising red flags with her, it was something about Harry that seemed off. "I'll do my examinations, then when everything comes back far less than whatever McGonagall thinks it is, then we'll go see the Headmaster."

So she pulled out various instruments and set them around Harry, raising her wand and tapping a quill to float over partchment, she diligently set herself to work. Her expression hardened rapidly, underneath her stoic professionalism her anger roiled. "What the buggering hell is this, nothing I'm seeing is right, this has to be a sick joke. How would he even be alive with that many, oh god,".

After ten minutes of scanning and checking her tools to make sure they weren't completely destroyed or tampered with, she exhaled loudly, turning to the older witch. "Who?" was all she asked, with a murderous air behind the words.

"The people Dumbledore and myself left him with almost a decade ago." She sheepishly answered, she wasn't proud that the decision she made that long ago was so wrong, but she would not deny it, not pretend it didn't happen.

"And you didn't think to do anything about it until now." The nurse accused her, sticking her wand out.

"I didn't know until yesterday, when I went to do my visits to the muggleborn students. Now get that wand out of my face and tell me what we can do to help him," the teacher demanded.

With a huff, the school nurse flicked her wand and the scroll that had filled up with various injuries and problems the boy had suffered through. "I'll start with the easiest to fix, nearly every bone in his body has been broken, more than once it seems for many of them. So over the next few weeks I am going to have to come by, vanish some of them and begin the process of regrowing all of them, so they can develop with out any of the fractures and disfigured healing." McGonagall sighed, the fact that the easiest thing to fix would be to essentially rebuild his entire skeletal structure was not a good sign.

"Then the malnutrition, it's terrible, nutrient potions are not going to cut it on this one. I can try to brew up potions specially designed for him, but some of the ingredients, I'll need a potions master to do it right or I wouldn't feel comfortable dosing him with them." She continued.

"Surely it can't be that bad?" McGonagall inquired.

If it wasn't so morbid it would be funny, "It's far worse, normal nutrient potions are made with mostly steeped bark and other plants, I could brew those with my eyes closed with what Sprout keeps in her sheds, the one's Mr. Potter needs are going to have to have a Re'em blood for the base, to strengthen his muscles, while and I can't believe I'm saying this, unicorn blood to try and reverse some of the damage to his body." Pomfrey was shaking her head.

"Both of those are Class B non-tradeable substances by the Ministry." Minerva gasped.

"Yes that's the problem, that unless we give a damn good reason the ministry isn't going to go sending out a supply of the ingredients needed, even Saint Mungo's has a waiting period and an inspection before they are able to get their hands on it from the Ministry." Pomfrey explained.

"And if we told them what and who it was for, they would probably allow the sale," she continued, "But the resulting investigation will turn over everything they find to understand what happened." She began glaring, "So what happened then?"

"I didn't ask Harry the specifics of what he endured, but what I saw was enough that I almost killed the muggles that did it." Minerva answered, ashamed that she lost control that previous morning. "But we need you," started, then shook her head, "He needs you to do this." she emphasized.

Sighing to herself, "I swore an oath to help those who needed it, and I've met few people who needed it more than that young man over there. Oh the favors I'm going to owe Severus to give up his time and totally legally obtained potion ingredients." The witch grumbled, "Fine, I'll see that it gets done, you owe me so much for this."

McGonagall just hugged her friend, "Thank you, I really mean that."

"However when I looked at his eyes," she started staring at the boy who got disinterested when the two started speaking words he didn't understand, boredom was common for him so he just patiently waited to see the result of their conversation.

"Something is in there, moving just behind his eyes." she shivered, "It scares me, what the hell is that?"

Minerva raised her hand, "I swear I will tell you, later, once we get him started on his treatment, we can inform the other staff members, no names of course, but we as the faculty have to be aware of the danger present and what needs to be done for his treatment."

Madame Pomfrey didn't like that answer, but she knew right now it was the best she was going to get at the moment. So she accepted, her duty outweighing her curiosity, for now.

The nurse left through the floo, to begin preparing for the long and frankly quite painful treatment the boy would need to go over to have him ready by the time he began Hogwarts.


Seeing that Harry was confused McGonagall sat down in the chair across from him once more. "Now I'm sure you have many questions, I will try to do my best to answer them for you. How about we talk about it over lunch?"

Harry's stomach grumbled again, not used to getting to eat so much food it was trying to compensate for as much as it could. Harry blushed, not used to eating more than once a day.

So when the two of them sat down at the table it was soon covered in a spread of sandwiches and juice. Harry cleanly ate his fill and then asked, what the purpose of the nurse seeing him was.

"Well Harry, what is going to happen is that we, mostly her, are going to start you on a long process to try and undo the damage that your body has suffered over the years." She waited to see comprehension on his face. Once she had it she continued. "Good, now the first thing is that periodically, which means over time, Madame Pomfrey will come by to vanish some of your bones then provide you with a potion that will regrow them, without all of the breaks and improper healing they had, this should correct much of your posture and the lopsidedness of your body. Are you following?"

Harry somewhat understood the words, though the thought of having his bones disappear and then regrow sounds awful, he would like to have new bones. "Sorta, will it hurt?" he asked, not that pain was unusual to the boy, he just wondered what it would be like.

McGonagall shook her head, "Well I've never had a bone regrown, but I have heard it is unpleasant, not painful though, just that most people don't want to do whatever it is they did to have to have the bone regrown again."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Then we will have our potions master, that is someone who has the highest level of expertise with brewing potions, make some very special potions to help heal your body to the level it should be at and help your body grow further, this will take the longest time and I don't think you will be done by the time you go to Hogwarts."

"I'm going to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. He knew she taught there, but for him to go was entirely different.

"Of course it was in the letter," she paused, "That I didn't actually deliver yet." sighing again, "Oh how things were easier years ago." She pulled out her wand, "Accio Harry's Hogwarts Acceptance Letter". Which point a shuffling of paper sounded in the next room as an envelop flew into the room and McGonagall's outstretched hand. Handing it to the boy across from her.

"Dear Mr. Potter" he began reading. Instead of excitement that she expected to see on his face, just disappointment and shame. When he finished he set the letters down and sniffled.

"What's wrong Harry, aren't you happy to be going to the same school your parents did?" she asked.

"I can't," he quietly said, tears stinging his eyes.

"Why can't you go?" She knew he was having problems, but she wasn't aware of any that would prevent him from attending the school term.

"I don't have any of this stuff." He held out the required items list. "I don't have a cauldron, I don't have an owl and I don't have a wand. I can't go." then the tears flowed. He was so excited to go somewhere he might be wanted, somewhere his parents went. But finding out it had requirements and supplies, that he didn't have, it was crushing.

"Then we will go get that stuff for you, tomorrow we will go to Diagon Alley and purchase your school supplies." She gave a solution, hoping it would cheer him up. This only caused him to cry more.

"I don't have any money." He now felt the effect of pauperism, before at the Dursleys he had no need for money as his needs were just want he could do to avoid a beating and not starve. Now he was in a different world and he couldn't rely on the old routine anymore.

"I'm most assured that you have money," she scoffed. "The Potters were an Ancient family." she started, "Now that I think about it, Harry stopping You-Know-Who, should have made the Potters a Noble house as well, since he personally wiped out three Noble and Most Ancient houses."

"So tomorrow our first stop will be to go to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, to get money for your supplies. I'm certain a witch as smart as your mother set up a trust fund for your education."

"Not only that, as the sole survivor of the House of Potter, should mean he has access to the entire Potter accounts."

"Really, I would have money," his enthusiasm growing, "I can really go to the school my mom and dad went to?"

"Absolutely, I will not have the child of my favorite students not get the best education possible." She sat up taller, education was the foundation of a brilliant future and she was going to make sure Harry had the best.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the different subjects taught at the school and McGonagall shared more stories about his parents with him. Until he was tuckered out and Flipsy prepared a bedroom for him. He was amazed because he never had a bed before.

Harry dreamed of being in a castle, learning magic and having friends. A cool, shadowy hand softly caressing him as he slept. The form taking a more even shape as the features settled into a face, it wasn't yet recognizable but in time, maybe.


Author's Notes: Awwwww yeah, Chapter 2. Thanks to all the readers, I hope you enjoyed it. So here is the second part, hopefully one more before Harry get's on a train.

So first of all, yes in 1703 there was a massive cyclone that hit southern Britain, it killed over a thousand people, this is a real event, I decided that fit the 200+ years since a confirmed Obscurus and decided that it was really that which caused the destruction and that the Obliviators covered it up, so it leads to the question of what other events were actually magical in nature that got covered up?

Second, I am going over the ages of various people to determine who would have met who and who would only have heard of them, so this is to make more sense when I have people talk later.

Third, I forget.

Fourth, I hope the amount of Hurt is matched by the amount of comfort that if provided. I want people to feel the pain in the writing but also to have hope it gets better.

Fifth, unless theres a big push, the Dursleys are pretty much out of the story, unless maybe later something is said in passing, but right now they might as well be dead.

Sixth, Next chapter is all about Diagon Alley, the Greedy Goblins, Meeting Malfoy and Old Men Machinations.

Seventh, my outline for this chapter went far longer than this one did, so most of that will be Chapter 3 instead, which I will try to upload in a few days, this is helping me sort out ideas for Magician's Secret and Boy who Linc'ed, I have not abandoned those. The USJ will take time, I need to figure out placement of like 40 kids and stuff.

Seventh, yes I wrote seventh twice, wanted to see who noticed.

Ninth, House elves are people, they have their own customs, so I decided female house elves are catty as shit. Which adds some personality to them.

Tenth, Technically Re'em Blood isn't listed as a Non-tradeable item, but Unicorn blood is, just not what category it is, so I decided they would be B, highly regulated but not like Dragon or Manitcore eggs.

Thank you to all my new followers and favoriters. Shout out to PattiCobain, the first person to hit a follow on this story. Hope you enjoy.

Thank you Vukk again for finding that huge small plot hole, it annoyed me that something that obvious got overlooked. Hope you and others can point out where else I dropped the ball in other chapters.

Enjoy, and leave brutal reviews.