What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing
Harry only absentmindedly registered how Daphne introduced a bunch of children to him, as his mind was occupied by the realisation that he should have brought a birthday present for the girl, who had been kind enough to invite him to her party. As he had never had a birthday party let alone a present and did not even know when his birthday was, the idea had never crossed his mind, before he saw the other children arrive carrying gifts that were wrapped in colourful papers.
"Hi, I'm Harry," he introduced himself, trying to smile at the children in spite of his predicament.
"Hi Harry, I'm Neville and I'm your godbrother," a boy told him, causing Harry to give the boy a questioning look.
"I'm sorry, Neville, but what is a godbrother?" he asked in a small voice.
"Your mother was my godmother and mine yours," Neville explained. "Too bad that they're both unavailable; otherwise, we'd have grown up as brothers. My Gran wanted to take you in, but Professor Dumbledore insisted that you had to live with your relatives. I'm only six hours older than you, by the way."
Harry smiled, feeling very happy about the other boy's revelations. "Oh, I'd have loved that. My relatives don't like me at all, and they hate magic."
"Really?" Neville enquired, his eyes narrowing.
"Why in the world do you have to live with them then?" a girl with red hair and chocolate brown eyes enquired. "From what my Auntie told me, many people wanted to become your guardians, but Dumbledore refused to them all. He even made himself your guardian and locked your parents' Will, so that no one knows what they'd have wanted for you."
"Susan, are you sure?" Astoria, who was still sitting next to Harry, enquired, seemingly angry.
"Yes," Susan replied, matter-of-factly.
"I wonder if he knows that Harry is being abused by his relatives," Daphne spoke up.
"Susan, maybe we need to speak with your aunt later on. Perhaps, she'll be able to help Harry," Cygnus Greengrass added, causing the girl to nod.
"Of course, Lord Greengrass. We can call her over at any time. Even if she can't help against Professor Dumbledore, she's best friends with Unspeakable Croaker."
"Come and let me introduce you to some other guests." Daphne motioned Harry to follow her and introduced him to Tracey Davis, Fay Dunbar, Sue Li and Luna Lovegood.
"Daphne," Harry whispered, once they were not surrounded by anyone else, "I'm sorry, I should have brought you a birthday present, but I didn't know, because I've never received one, plus I don't have any money to buy a gift. I'd have picked a few flowers for you though had I known. I'm very sorry."
"Harry," Daphne replied, smiling at him, "there's no need to be sorry, and there's no need for a present either. I'm very happy to have you here, and I'm sure that everyone else is equally thrilled to get to know you. Don't worry about anything now and just try to enjoy yourself. Would you like to sit between Astoria and me?"
Only then did Harry realise that the girl was leading him into a very elegant looking dining room that was occupied by a large table surrounded by many chairs. She instructed everyone to sit down and have some cake. An enormous cake in the form of what seemed to be a horse stood in the centre of the table. He hesitantly lowered himself into the seat between Daphne and Astoria, already feeling very much reassured in their presence.
"That's a unicorn cake," Astoria informed him.
'Oh right, with a horn like the unicorns in the fairy tale, which we read at school,' Harry recognised.
"It looks very nice," he commented, thinking, 'How strange. The Dursleys never want me to sit at the table with them, and these girls, who barely even know me, just tell me to sit between them. I'm really glad to be here; everyone is so very nice to me.'
"Harry," a red headed boy suddenly addressed him from the opposite side of the table. "Is it true that you're friends with a unicorn and slaughtered a dragon? My sister talks about nothing else but you the whole day."
"Shut up, Ronald," the girl who was sitting next to the boy and had equally red hair, hissed, slightly kicking him in the side.
"What?" Harry blurted out in disbelief and confusion. "I don't know what you're speaking about," he added, glad when Daphne and Astoria gave him encouraging nods. 'Why would the boy say such a thing?' he wondered.
"Harry, someone has published a series of books about a magical wonder boy, who does all strange things and is always displayed as a hero," Neville, who was sitting on Daphne's other side, informed him in a soft voice. "He's named Harry Potter after you but otherwise has nothing to do with you."
"No one should be allowed to use Harry's name like that," the girl, who had introduced herself to Harry as Sue Li, spoke up. "Harry could take the publisher to court and possibly get a lot of money out of this."
"Good point," Daphne agreed. "We'll talk about the matter with my parents later on."
Harry thoroughly enjoyed his piece of cake, thinking that it was the most delicious food that he had ever tasted. However, when Astoria offered him another piece, he sadly had to decline, as he felt completely full.
Finally, the whole party went out into the garden, which was at least ten times the size of the Dursleys' garden, of which his aunt was always so proud. After just playing forth and back with a red ball like the children in his primary school sometimes did, they decided to play Hiding, and Daphne had to go inside, slowly count to fifty and then come to look for everyone.
Smirking, Harry hurried towards the small lake, having noticed that the grass on the opposite shore was high enough to hide behind. When he lowered himself onto the ground, feeling certain that Daphne would not be able to see him from the other side of the lake, he noticed, to his surprise, that one of the girls had followed him. She simply sat on the ground next to him and began to speak.
"Hi Harry, I'm Luna – just in case you didn't know," she said, pleasantly. "I think that wrackspurts are clouding the headmaster's mind for him to force you to live with your muggle relatives. You must tell the Greengrasses that it's wrackspurts, and they need to get help from the Unspeakables. They're the only ones able to override the headmaster's decisions. I wish you good luck."
"Thanks Luna," Harry replied, smiling. "Everyone is so nice to me. I really don't want to go back to my relatives. Ever," he added as an afterthought.
"Don't go back then," Luna suggested, smiling. "We will all help you, and you can visit each of us. If they don't allow you to stay with one of our families, you can just take turns visiting until you go to Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore can't forbid you to visit your friends."
"Are we… friends?" Harry asked, shyly, somehow liking the girl, although she seemed a little strange to him, stranger even than all the other young witches and wizards.
Luna cast him a cheery look from bright blue eyes that reminded Harry of the summer sky. "Yes Harry, I'd like to be your friend, and I know that everyone else does, too."
"Thanks Luna," Harry replied, smiling broadly at the prospect of having gained so many friends, really nice girls and boys, who above everything could do magic just like himself.
The children were brought back to reality, when Daphne showed up right behind them.
"Oh, am I interrupting something?" she asked in apparent amusement, causing Harry to realise that Luna and he were unconsciously leaning into each other.
"Ah no, sorry," he hurried to stammer, casting Luna an apologetic look, only to realise that the girl did not seem to mind at all.
"Good hiding spot," Daphne commended them. "You were the last to be found."
HP
Too soon for Harry's liking, the party was over, and the other children had to return home. Harry remained, feeling slightly unsure, as he did not know what would be expected of him. He felt just a little relieved, when Susan returned from the entrance hall.
"Auntie is going to bring Unspeakable Croaker in a few minutes' time," Susan announced, while Astoria pulled Harry over to the sofa for the second time that afternoon.
Just a moment later, Harry was introduced to Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic.
"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry wondered, unaware that he had voiced his thought.
"Yes dear, and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is analogue to the Police Department in a muggle government," Amelia explained, patiently, before she introduced her companion, who was wearing a grey hood covering his face. "This is Unspeakable Croaker, the head of the Unspeakables. They could be compared to Scotland Yard in the muggle world."
Harry nodded in understanding, waiting for the questions that were sure to come. However, before the adults could even begin to ask, a small, strange creature appeared in the middle of the room – right out of nothing.
Harry stared at the creature, wide-eyed, however, with interest.
"Harry, this is Tanny, our house-elf," Jessica Greengrass introduced the elf, who then proceeded to announce that dinner had been served in the dining room.
"Now let's head to the dining room and talk about what we can do to help Harry over dinner," Cygnus Greengrass decided. "Is that all right with you, Amelia, Unspeakable Croaker?"
Both adults nodded, and Harry trailed behind Daphne and Susan, walking next to Astoria. 'Maybe I don't have to return to the Dursleys,' he thought, hoping very much for a wonder like he had done on a daily basis during the last eight years.
Once again, he sat between the two sisters, opposite of Madame Bones and Unspeakable Croaker.
When everyone had filled their plates, Cygnus Greengrass spoke up. "Amelia and Unspeakable Croaker, thank you so much for joining us on such a short notice. In fact, our children decided to do what we weren't allowed to do – invite Harry Potter for a party. Only when he arrived here earlier this afternoon, did we learn that he was at least verbally abused and neglected by his so-called family. He did not even know about magic."
"He lives in the cupboard under the stairs," Astoria blurted out, accusingly. "Luna told me that. She spent some time with Harry, when we played Hiding."
"She said that wrackspurts were clouding the headmaster's brain," Harry heard himself speak, before he even realised that he had voiced his thought.
"I believe that Miss Lovegood is correct," Croaker agreed.
"The problem is that Dumbledore is Harry's guardian," Amelia spoke up, "and that he sealed the Potters' Will, so that there's nothing that we can do about it."
"Oh, we can and we will," Croaker said, grimly.
"If we don't return Harry to his relatives, they or Dumbledore could accuse all of us of child abduction," Amelia explained, sighing.
"The Dursleys will just be happy that I'm gone," Harry spoke up in a small voice.
"But still, it would be seen as child abduction, and Dumbledore could have us thrown into prison for it. Croaker, is there anything that you can do about it?" Cygnus enquired in a firm voice. "We'd love to just keep Harry here."
Realising that everyone looked at the Unspeakable in apparent expectation, Harry followed their move; however, Croaker remained pensive for a few minutes. When he finally spoke up, he directly addressed Harry.
"Harry, do I understand it correctly that you don't wish to return to your relatives'?" he enquired.
"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, giving the Unspeakable a worried look.
"Very well then, would you perhaps be interested and willing to join the Unspeakables and work together with us?" Croaker continued to ask.
Harry shrugged. "I don't know what will be expected of me, but if you believe that I'd be adequate for it, I'd love to do so," he replied, feeling very uncertain about the matter. "I'm used to do garden work, cooking and cleaning," he added in a barely audible voice, not noticing that it caused the adults to stare at him in apparent shock.
"Neither of those things you'll have to do with us," Croaker replied in a firm voice. "Everything will of course be explained to you. As Amelia Bones mentioned, we do the work that Scotland Yard does in the muggle world. Sometimes, we fight evil wizards, but we do much research, and we also work together with the muggle authorities. We are allowed to do things, which Amelia's department is not permitted to do, even if they're the so-called police in the magical world. Why I'm suggesting this to you is that you could be emancipated in the magical world if you were to become an Unspeakable."
"Will Harry nevertheless be able to attend Hogwarts together with us?" Daphne enquired, giving Harry a concerned look.
"Of course," Croaker confirmed. "During his time at Hogwarts, he'll only attend meetings and training once or twice a week and not during class time. That won't be a problem at all."
"Excuse me, sir," Harry spoke up in a small voice. He had not understood everything that the Unspeakable had explained.
"Harry, emancipated means that the magical world will see you as an adult, so that you may decide for yourself where you wish to live. You could live here with us or with any of the children, who were here this afternoon. Everyone would be willing to take you in," Cygnus explained, giving Harry an encouraging nod.
"Would you really…"
"Of course, Harry," Astoria interrupted his hesitant beginning of a question, which she seemed to have expected. "We'd love to have you here, won't we, Daphne?"
"Of course," Daphne confirmed, smiling broadly. "I always wanted a brother."
"Well, then I suggest that you accompany me to the Unspeakables' office to see to the formalities. We've never employed a nine-year-old, but everything has to be a first case sometime," Croaker addressed Harry, who nodded, eagerly.
"Before you leave," Cygnus began, turning to Amelia. "We'd like to instigate a Wizengamot meeting, in which Albus can be brought to court and rid of his headmaster's position at least."
Amelia nodded in understanding. "I'll see to it. You'll hear from me," she promised.
"Auntie," Susan spoke up in a firm voice. "Please see to it that all the children of the Great Alliance are allowed to attend the Wizengamot meeting as guests and witnesses."
"I will," her aunt promised, looking at the Greengrasses. "Thank you so much for bringing the problem to our attention. I'll probably contact you tomorrow. Harry, are you all right staying here? Otherwise, Susan and I would love to welcome you into our home at any time. As soon as we can access your parents' will, we'll see whom they wanted to take care of you in any case."
"Thank you very much," Harry replied, before he turned to his hosts. "Lord and Lady Greengrass, are you sure that you don't mind having me until then?"
"We're very much sure," Jessica confirmed, giving him a warm smile that caused Harry to feel extremely happy.
"Well, then I'm going to take Harry with me for a while. I'll return him to you in an hour or two," Croaker decided, and Harry nodded in understanding.
HP
Croaker firmly gripped Harry's arm, right before the world around them began to turn around and vanished from his eyes. When the movement finally stopped, Harry found himself in an office, which was full with papers wherever he looked. At least that was his first impression. He instinctively reached out for the grey robes that Croaker handed him.
"You'll get your own, but for now, they'll have to do," he said and instructed him, "Never run around these halls without your robes. Only your closest teammates may know about your identity, and only if you really trust them."
"All right sir," Harry replied and obediently donned the robes, nodding gratefully, when Croaker shrank them to fit him with a flick of his hand.
"Come with me," Croaker instructed him and led them into a larger room, which from the equipment seemed to be a training room. However, there was a corner with tables and comfortable looking chairs, which were occupied by several people wearing the same grey robes as Croaker and himself.
"Hello everyone, this is Flash," Croaker introduced him. "He's only nine, but he's going to join us from today onwards. I need one of you to make an investigation into Gringotts. Ra, would you be willing? I suppose that I'll be able to add Flash to team 5."
"Aye," another Unspeakable replied, nodding affirmatively.
"Fetch me the will of James and Lily Potter," Croaker instructed his colleague, who merely nodded, before he vanished from the spot, soundlessly.
"That was Unspeakable Apparition," Croaker explained, smirking. "One of the first things that you're going to learn here." Turning to the only wizard, who was not wearing a cloak, he added, "Devil, I expect you to train Flash. As I said, he's only nine, he doesn't know any magic yet, and he's going to attend Hogwarts from next summer onwards."
"All right," Devil replied, before he looked at Harry. "I expect you to train hard and make your team proud. As Croaker informed us a minute ago, you're going to belong to team 5. Raros?" he addressed another Unspeakable.
"Yes Devil, I know," the person sitting next to him replied. "Welcome to team 5, Flash."
"Thank you, sir," Harry replied, uncertainly. 'How am I ever to distinguish these people if they're wearing hoods all the time?' he wondered. 'At least Devil isn't wearing one, and he's my trainer,' he thought, feeling slightly relieved at the idea.
"Our team consists of five members then, you and I as well as Ra, Meta and Mento. Ra is the leader of team five, and you are to follow his instructions. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir," Harry replied, just went Ra returned carrying a couple of papers.
"Raros and Flash, accompany us to my office," Croaker instructed them, and Harry hurried to follow the three Unspeakables into what he knew not to be Croaker's office but seemed to be the team room of team five. At least the door was decorated with a large '5'.
"Flash, would you mind your teammates knowing your identity?" Croaker enquired.
"No sir," Harry replied, positively, before he followed Croaker's instruction to take off his hood.
To his surprise, Ra and Raros took theirs off as well, and Harry noticed in surprise that Ra was a very old wizard, while Raros had about the age that Harry assumed his parents should have if they were alive. They did not tell him their real names, but Harry did not care, knowing that they would mean nothing to him.
"Well, that makes sense, considering that we're going to read your parents Will here," Ra quipped, smirking, before Croaker quickly explained to Ra and Raros about Harry's situation.
"This is not the real Will of your parents, but a copy that Ra made earlier. The original is still with Gringotts," he informed Harry, who nodded in understanding, staring at the Unspeakables in expectation.
tbc...?
Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the first chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome.