Chapter – IV

Minerva and Severus stared.

"Albus? You do know what that means, right?" Minerva asked, concerned.

"It means that Harry will become my blood son and heir," Albus answered, although his eyes twinkled with mischief, knowing that that wasn't what she meant.

Her lips straightened into a straight line and her eyes grew hard, "You know what I mean, Albus."

Albus sighed, all joking leaving his features, "I know that this also means that Harry will lose most of what ties him to his family, including most of his Potter features, and will turn into a Dumbledore by both blood and name, however, I believe that it's for the best."

"It also means that the only thing that Harry will have from his family would be his past, which he might or might not know, depending on what you decide, Albus. I don't think that's a very good-"

"Excuse me Minerva, but I believe the Headmaster is correct." Severus interrupted.

Minerva's eyes settled on him as one of her eyebrows flew up.

Severus rolled his eyes, "Think about it. In less than a week, the boy will be pronounced dead. In a week, Harry Potter will not exist anymore. How will we explain to the world that he's still alive in a few years when they all believe him to be long dead?"

Minerva sighed, but reluctantly nodded her ascent.

"The best way is to make him a completely new person. New looks. New name. New family. And no way to trace him back to his past. That is, of course, until we deem it the right time for the world to understand and the truth to come out." Albus explained.

The other two nodded their understanding.

Severus' eyebrows furrowed together as he looked at Albus in thought, "Although, I'm curious, Headmaster, as to why you decided to adopt the child instead of asking a family to take him in."

Albus' grip tightened on the arms of his seat, "I can't trust anyone with Harry and I wouldn't feel content unless I see him every day with me after what his parents had done to him."

Minerva looked him in the eye and smiled softly, her face looking gentler with her smile, "But that's not the only reason, is it, Albus?"

An involuntary smile grew on his face as he looked back at her and thought of the boy who was currently playing with Hagrid, "You know me too well, Minerva. The other reason is because I already consider Harry as my son and I know that he'll make my life much brighter."

"Anyhow, we need to plan for the next few yea-"

Before Albus could finish his sentence, the door was kicked down by a panting, crying Hagrid.

"I didn't mean teh, Professor, I swear. I was just checkin' on Fang when I turned around, 'e wasn't there. I searched everywhere, bu' I can't find 'im," He heaved out.

Albus could feel his heart drop to the pit of his stomach as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly ran out of the door of his office, down the stairs and past the gargoyle.

Albus rushed through the long corridors of the school, Severus, Minerva and Hagrid on his heels.

Finally, they reached the main entrance of the school and pushed the door open, dashing outside.

Realizing that if they searched in an unorganized way they'll never find Harry, Severus shouted, "Mcgonagal, search the lake. Headmaster, search the forbidden forest. Hagrid, come with me, we're going to search the green houses. Whoever finds him should fire off a few sparks in the sky."

All of them nodded and separated, each heading to their destination as quickly as they can.

Albus entered the dark forest, his heart thrumming in his ears as he pictured what might have happened to Harry or will happen if they don't find him. He willed his heart beat to slow down as his sharp, sea – blue eyes scanned the area around him.

Moving deeper into the forest, he lit his wand and quickened his pace, shouting his son's name, "Harry!"

Albus listened, but no response came. He moved between the thickening trees, his grip tightening on his wand as his eyes landed on a dead form in the middle of a clearing. The form was way too large to be Harry, but Albus still rushed to it, only to discover that it's just a freshly hunted deer.

That discovery didn't ease his fears, quite the contrary, if anything they increased. The fact that there was a dead deer meant that there was some type of predator that was on the hunt for food at that moment. And Harry might still be in the forest.

Albus' ears caught on a soft sound. He stilled. The sound was getting a bit louder and louder by the minute. It was getting closer. It sounded like hooves scraping at the ground as their owner ran through the forest.

Then he saw them. A horse. No, a centaur. With a child on its back.

The centaur, Firenze, stopped in front of Albus and set down a pale Harry on the ground, who immediately ran to Albus, his tiny hands clutching onto his father's robe like he's clutching onto the last strands of his life. And maybe he was, but in a different sense.

Sighing in relief, Albus picked Harry up and held him close to his chest and Harry buried his face into his robes.

Albus' arms tightened around the young boy when he felt his robe starting to get wet with salty tears.

He looked back at the centaur, "Thank you, Firenze."

Firenze nodded his head, "Your son wandered into the forest and met Aragog. The acromantula thought that it'd be funny if he gave your heir a small scare. As you could see, it didn't turn out very well and young Dumbledore here got a bit shook up."

With that said, the half human, half horse turned around and disappeared into the thick curtain of trees.

Albus planted a small kiss on Harry's head and took out his wand, firing a few red sparks into the air. He then strolled out of the woods with his son back in his arms again.

A/N: I know this chapter is like 4 days late, but I honestly didn't have time to write since I had loads of tests to study for.

Reviews:

Chapter One:

Hyperion Detra – Thanks! I hope you stick around for the rest of the story!

Remustonkslupin – What I meant by that was that Harry started talking before his brother. Like, for example, if Charlus started talking when he was 11 months old, then Harry uttered his first words at 7 months. I understand what you mean and I can see why you wouldn't want to continue reading the story since not everyone likes this plot.

Lunaz – I understand your point but I'm trying to make Charlus a bit like, I guess we can say Dudley Dursley. But the main thing is to have Harry be a bit more likeable without changing his character way too much.

Chapter 2:

Nsaifnabi – I'm looking forward to writing that chapter myself when the time comes.

Vszasza10 – Thank You! I'll try my best to keep the story interesting.

Lisicarmela - …I don't understand/speak Spanish…*I'm sorry.*

Roostertheking – I get your point but I needed to have a chapter where they bonded and this is what happened…but thanks for telling me!

Chapter 3:

Nadasnape – Thanks!

Someguy the anon – Thanks! I know what you mean, but if I went slower then there would be more chapters like chapter 2…and that chapter wasn't that good to be honest.

Guest – Thank You!

Twinkle – This review honestly made my day! Thank you so much and I'm going to try my best to keep this story interesting.

PS: Please review so I can get to know the problems with the story or my writing so that I could improve.