Fledgling
Written by Christina E Lupin
A/N: Ahh… it feels good to have a day off finally. And I think my muse is ready to do some updating! Thank you to all of you for reviewing the second chapter of this fic. I must say, I love reading your reviews. I feel so privileged to have you all reading this. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it!
Fledgling
Chapter Three: Accepting
Fawkes made himself appear inside Hogwarts castle, right on the perch the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had made for him. The said wizard was currently holding a small meeting with the professors. The phoenix made a noise in the back of his throat. There were more pressing matters than a silly little meeting about the upcoming school year.
It was then that Dumbledore turned toward the phoenix, his blue eyes twinkling. "Yes, Fawkes? You wanted to add something?"
Yes, Albus, Fawkes replied, opening his speech so all of the professors could hear as well. I am afraid that I have come bearing bad news. I happened to find myself in Surrey this evening and I visited young Mister Potter. It seems that all is not well. He is treated worse than wizards treat house elves and begs for salvation.
Professor Severus Snape, resident Potions Master, snorted. "I'm afraid to burst your bubble, phoenix, but Potter must be lying. Everyone bows to the famous Boy-Who-Lived."
You are the one who is mistaken, Severus. You are blinded by hatred of Mister Potter's father. The sins of the father should not reflect back on the child, who has no idea what happened. Besides, as you all know, phoenixes never lie, especially about their charges.
Everyone who had been in the Order of the Phoenix few years back knew what Fawkes was mentioning. James and Lily Potter had told them about the special connection between the phoenix and their son. It is considered a blessing upon the witch or wizard who shares such a bond with a creature of the light.
"What do you want us to do, Fawkes?" Professor Minerva McGonagall asked. "Unless there is proof, and I am sure that there is, there is nothing that can be done. And if it is proven that Mister Potter is being abused, then a new guardian would have to be assigned. It would take years to find a suitable witch or wizard or even Muggle to take guardianship of the young child."
Fawkes made another noise similar to the one he let out earlier. Leave the finding of a suitable guardian up to me, Minerva. And you will get your proof. Allow me to bring young Mister Potter along with me and I am sure that he would be willing to show you your proof. And the phoenix disappeared in a flash of flames, leaving the professors behind.
Snape turned to look the headmaster in the eyes. "You have to learn how to control that bird, Albus."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Severus, my friend, one cannot control a phoenix, especially a phoenix so attached to its fledgling. He is looking out for the boy, as he should be."
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It had only seemed like minutes since Fawkes had left Harry and when the phoenix arrived back at Number Four, he looked on in disbelief as his fledgling was still picking at the weeds from the garden. The boy's hands had a couple scratches and were barely bleeding. Just barely.
Harry, Fawkes announced.
Harry turned back around, his face lighting up with a smile. "You came back."
Yes, I have. Did you doubt me, fledgling?
Harry shook his head but Fawkes saw the flicker of doubt in the boy's green eyes. For once in his life, he wanted to fly into the house and torch the entire house, give the boy's guardians hell for not caring.
You should never doubt me, Harry. I will always be here for you. But I did not come here for idle chitchat. I have talked to some people and they want to meet you before they make any decisions. What I need you to do is to let me grab hold of your shoulders and I can take you there.
Harry's eyes grew big. "R-really? But I thought magic doesn't exist."
If magic did not exist, would I be here in front of you, talking to you?
The boy thought about that and he smiled again. "Okay."
Fawkes let out a trill and he perched himself on the boy's shoulder, careful not to squeeze too hard. Harry was really thin for a seven-year-old child. The phoenix let out a hiss before he and the boy vanished from the yard, unseen.
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For Harry, it was quite the adventure. One moment, he was in the backyard of his family's house and the next he was in a large circular office filled with many distracting instruments and moving portraits. He had never seen anything like it. He finally turned his attention to the people inside the office, looking at him with varying emotions.
"Welcome, Harry m'boy," the older man spoke up. "I must say, you have grown since we have last seen you."
"You know who I am?" Harry asked, blinking his eyes in disbelief.
"The whole world knows about you, boy," a scary-looking man snapped, glaring at Harry with his beetle black eyes.
"That's enough, Severus. You are scaring the poor boy," an older woman admonished. She reminded Harry of Mrs. Figg a little. Only this woman didn't have any cats nor did she seem insane. Then the woman smiled. "We only want you to answer some questions, Harry. Can you do that?"
Harry nodded, his green eyes looking at all of them. He never knew how much he affected the entire staff just by standing there.
"He looks just like James," a small man squeaked. He was perched on top of several books. "But he seems to have some of Lily in him, especially those eyes. She always had the prettiest eyes."
"We can only hope that he acts more like his mother, or we will never survive another James Potter," another woman spoke up. She had wild gray hair and the most intriguing eyes Harry had ever seen: yellow. "Though, we could use James' Quidditch skills once again."
"You know my parents?" Harry inquired.
"They both went to this school," the old man said. "Surely you knew that?"
The boy shook his head. "Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always told me that they never held a job, got drunk, and that they died in a car crash."
Harry took a step back when the people let out yells and shook their fists. Fawkes trilled and rubbed his head on Harry's hair, trying to calm the boy down. Inside, he was screaming just as much as everyone else. James and Lily dying in a car crash? How preposterous.
The old man called for silence and gradually the adults calmed down, though their faces still expressed their anger. "What your aunt and uncle told you, Harry, is wrong. Your parents, James and Lily, were the best witch and wizard you could ever find. They were skilled and they loved each other greatly, just like they loved you."
Dumbledore is right, Harry, Fawkes said only to Harry. They adored you so much.
"Now, Harry, we would like you to ask you some questions," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "You don't have to answer them if you don't want to, but we would like complete honesty from you."
The older woman started first. "Did your guardians ever hurt you, Harry? Raise a hand against you?"
From his position on the floor, Harry nodded, his eyes staring right at the woman. "Especially if I did something wrong."
"Like what?" the scary man asked sharply.
Harry flinched. The phoenix hissed at the man, who only glared at the bird. "If I didn't get my chores done. If I got higher grades than my cousin. If I did anything…. freakish."
Now the scary man looked intrigued. "Freakish?"
"One time, at school, Dudley was chasing me around the playground, along with his gang of friends. They thought I had cheated off of Dudley's test earlier that day. I wanted to get away from them. One moment I was running from them, the next I was standing on top of the roof."
Harry shifted uncomfortably as everyone stared at him. He vaguely felt much like a lab rat.
"Very impressive," Dumbledore said slowly. "You managed to Apparate, which means to transport yourself to a place you desire, on to the roof to get away from your cousin. What you did, Harry, was use magic."
The older woman glanced at Dumbledore. "Albus, Apparating at such a young age is almost unheard of. He should be willing objects toward him, not vanishing and reappearing at a different place."
"I know, Minerva. But we will talk about this later." Then Dumbledore turned back to Harry. "What kind of chores were you assigned?"
Harry instantly ticked off a long list, not paying any attention to the witches and wizards' reactions. It was only when Fawkes squeezed his shoulder that he looked to the adults. Even the scary man wore an expression of anger on his face.
"No child should do that many chores," Minerva spoke up. "And even some of them should never be handled by a child."
Dumbledore let out a sigh, looking much older. "I am sorry, my boy. I had thought leaving you with your remaining family would be the safest option, but I was wrong. I had known Petunia hated her sister but never to this extent. Regardless of the wards, I will have to take you out. Your happiness is more valued than your protection."
"But… where would I go?" Harry asked, folding his legs to his chest and wrapping his thin arms around his knees.
"For now, you will stay here until I find someone to take you in." Dumbledore turned to Minerva. "Minerva, I would like the child to stay with you in your quarters until that time. Is that adequate?"
The older woman smiled. "Yes." She shot Harry a fond look.
"That is settled, then. Harry, Minerva will take you back so you can gather your things. I will be sending some people over later to arrest your family and take them to court. You will never see them again."
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Whew. This is quite the chapter, eh? More will be revealed in the next chapter. Look for it! Also, who do you want to adopt young Harry? I already know who I am going to do, but I want to see what you guys think.