Author's note: Once again, this chapter was written by Leda Medea with very few alterations by myself. She also added an explanation of Harry's behaviour to this chapter and I believe it explains everything so well I would include it here, it clears up any confusion of why Harry is so trusting and is, like much of the chapter, Leda's own words and so I shall put it in quote marks.
This chapter is "trying to clear up the confusion as to why Harry was so trusting. See, I imagined Harry to be an impressionable little boy who was only looking to be loved. He only saw how kind Dumbledore and Remus were, versus how cold and mean the Dursleys were, and picked which option he thought was better. I mean, he's only six. He doesn't know any better."
Hope that clears up any confusion! Oh and before I forget, I am going on holiday on Monday 28th June and I shall not be back until August 2nd. There will be no updates in that time as I will not have internet access, I just wanted to let you know so you didn't think I had abandoned the story.
Now onto the chapter!
Chapter 4:
Ooooh…
Harry Potter had just entered Hogwarts castle for the first time, and was quite amazed, to say the least. He had many questions, but remembered the old grey man's warning and bit down hard on his lips to stop the flood of questions coming out. The Dursleys hated questions too.
Bloody Hell!
Harry had looked up into the great hall to see the beautiful, cloudless and sunny sky charmed into the ceiling. Inwardly he rebuked himself for his foul language, a habit he had unfortunately picked up from Dudley and his gang. Although he was but six years old, he had an extensive knowledge of vulgarities, having had them hurled at him by his peers on a daily basis. He shuddered to himself, thinking of the daily 'Harry Hunting's' Dudley's crew insisted upon. Usually he came out the winner, being a fairly excellent runner. But sometimes he was caught, usually by Piers Polkiss, and beaten into submission while being screamed at for no particular reason. Harry realized he never had to go through another hunt again, suddenly, and smiled.
This castle is enormous…almost as big as our whole neighbourhood! I don't think they'll make me sleep in a cupboard here...
Harry hadn't really thought much about leaving the Dursley household so abruptly; the only thing he wanted was to get away, and fast. The two men looked nice enough, if a little strange…and nothing could be worse than living with the Dursley family.
The younger man, Ray-moose, or something weird like that…had said he was a friend of Harry's parents. Harry had never really known the two, as his aunt and uncle held a particular disdain for anything concerning Harry's parents and refused to talk about them at all in their 'normal' household. Pretending he wasn't hurt by his relatives' actions, Harry focused instead on his surroundings, making sure to remember (or at least try) what path they were taking.
"All right, young one. You may ask your questions now."
Harry's eyes bugged as they reached the top of the winding stairs and arrived into a very large, very strange office…or something like that. Curious objects, ranging in size, colour, shape, and volume, covered almost all of the room, save the portraits on the walls, the desk in the middle of the floor, and the black stand Harry could only assume was a bird's perch. He gasped as he realized he had been correct; a large, crimson-coloured bird appeared in a burst of flames and sat upon the perch, caw-ing at Harry curiously. Harry's eyes widened and he looked at the wizened old man to his left.
"Ah, I'm presuming Fawkes is your first question?"
Harry nodded. Thousands of other questions still swimming in his mind.
"Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes are very rare, very impressive birds with amazing talents, such as the fire transport as you just witnessed. You will probably never see another phoenix in your lifetime, as it is almost unheard of to see one at all. Fawkes came into my possession after a long journey I took through the Forest of Gamar…I had been on the journey for quite some time when I found him, perching on a high branch in an olive tree, singing a phoenix song. He followed me back to my home, and has been my companion ever since."
"Oh," Harry said softly. "He's very pretty."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, yes he is. Why don't you go introduce yourself? Fawkes looks a bit curious as to who you are."
Harry walked over to the magnificent bird perched next to Dumbledore's desk and said softly, "Hello Fawkes. My name is Harry Potter. You're very pretty."
Fawkes let out a chirp and flew onto Harry's shoulder, making the little boy giggle in delight.
"Ah, I see he's taken a liking to you!" Dumbledore chuckled. "You may come see him any time you wish."
Harry grinned in gratitude at the man before turning back to stroking the bird in front of him. "Sir," he began, "why did you come get me? I mean, I'm glad you did, very glad, sir. But why-"
Remus answered. "Harry, I know this is strange for you. I must admit, it's a little odd for all of us. You see, Harry, after what happened when you were a baby, no one was prepared for the enormous task to raise a child except for your aunt and uncle. We-" Remus coughed and then corrected himself.
"Well…Dumbledore, thought that you would grow up loved and adored in their household, being told all about your parents and cherished like their own son. We were wrong. But by the time we had realized this, you were already six, and the damage was done. I hope you know, Harry, that you were not treated so dismally because no one loved you- the opposite is true. We all cared for you so much that we wanted the best for you, and we…he, thought the Dursley family could provide that whereas we could not."
"I understand, Mr. Remoose."
Remus chuckled. "Just call me Moony, Harry."
"Okay, Moony... What did you mean earlier, if you don't mind me asking? You said an auror is like a policeman in your world. Why do you have a different world, sir?"
Remus paused. How was he even supposed to begin to explain the wizarding world to a six-year-old child? Especially the child who was the famous boy-who-lived? Seeing the younger man's confusion, Dumbledore cleared his throat and began his explanation to the little boy.
"Harry…have you ever done something you couldn't explain? Ever made something happen when it should have been impossible, possibly when you were particularly angry or scared?"
Harry could recall dozens of times he'd had strange things happen while he was in a particularly strong mood, but he didn't want the two men to think he was a freak…so he shrugged his shoulders.
Dumbledore smiled softly. "Harry, it's completely normal. What you've done is something only some people can do. Do you know what magic is, Harry?"
Harry's eyes widened as he slowly nodded. "But…are you saying…I'm a-"
"You're a wizard, Harry."
