St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies – London.
The five adults and two children appeared in what would almost be universally recognised as a hospital waiting area. Letting go of Lily and Hermione's hands, Amelia went over to the reception desk. The witch on duty recognised her and gave a nod in greeting.
"Good morning Madame Bones." The smiling Blonde witch said. "How can we help you today?"
"I need to conduct a formal medical investigation so I will be needing one of the secure treatment suites. I have summoned Healer Tonks to perform a fully recorded examination that will be witnessed by myself and two of my Aurors." Amelia replied briskly.
"Certainly Madame Bones." The blonde witch returned. "Treatment area 4 on the second floor is free. Will you need a healer to witness the examination?" She enquired.
"No, that will not be necessary." Amelia replied. "Healer Pomfry will be present and can act as witness." She finished, turning to Poppy who nodded in agreement.
"Is there anything else St Mungo's can do for you?"
At this Poppy stepped forward.
"Is Healer Sinclair available for a consult?" She asked.
"He is not in at the moment, but I can ask him to come in if it is necessary."
"If he can, it would be best done today. We need to get the investigation examination out of the way first so we would not need him for at least a couple of hours." Poppy replied.
"I'll floo call him and ask him to come in and send him up once he arrives. Do you have any details you want me to pass on?"
"No, just inform him that it involves the patient we discussed yesterday."
"Very well, I'll let her know. Will anyone else be joining you?" The blonde witch asked.
"Aurors Dawlish and Shacklebolt as well as Healer Tonks. Please send them up when they arrive." Amelia replied.
"Certainly Madame Bones. You know the way."
At this Amelia nodded and turning to the group behind her, motioned for them to follow her. Turning back, she led the group through a set of double doors at the back of the reception area and down the corridor. They went up two flights of stairs and along another corridor before stopping outside another set of double doors. Taking her wand out, Amelia tapped a panel next to the door, it turned green and the doors opened. Leading the group inside, they found themselves in a large treatment room with a hospital bed in the middle, several shelves and cabinets on one wall and several chairs on another. Amelia turned to Lily.
"If you'll make yourself comfortable on the Bed, I'm sure Healer Tonks will be here shortly." She said with a smile.
Lily nodded and reluctantly climbed up onto the bed with Hermione, standing next to her. Their parents went over to the chairs and sat down, never taking their eyes off the two girls.
"What's going to happen?" Lily asked Amelia, feeling more than a little nervous. She reached her hand out and Hermione took it without comment.
"Basically, Healer Tonks will perform a hull magical scan of you and document the results. The original will be passed to your parents while certified copies will be logged with the DMLE and St Mungo's. As to what the examination will incur, Healer Tonks will describe that when she arrives as all Healers have their own method." Amelia replied.
Lily nodded and looked a little less worried, she had been examined by Doctors many times and this sounded very similar.
Amelia had barely finished speaking when the doors opened and a tall woman with black hair and almost purple eyes entered, followed by Shacklebolt. The woman wore robes similar to Poppy but had the same crest that Amelia and the Aurors had on their robes, covered by a cloak. She had a worried expression and went straight up to Amelia, while Shacklebolt stood next to the doors.
"You sent for me Madame Bones?" She said in a warm, almost silky voice, though her expression still expressed concern.
"I did." Amelia replied. "I need you to do full documented forensic examination of this young lady here." She indicated Lily. "Full protocols to be witnessed by myself, Poppy and Shacklebolt. As well as Dawlish, when he arrives."
The woman nodded, her expression clearing slightly. She had clearly done this sort of thing before.
"Is there anything else you can tell me before I begin?" She asked
Amelia shook her head.
"I would prefer to leave everything to you. We can discuss any issues after the examination is complete." She replied, her expression serious.
"Of course." Healer Tonks replied. "I'll get set up and hopefully Dawlish will be here by the time I'm done."
She went over to where Lily was sitting on the bed. She gave the girl a comforting smile.
"Hi there. I'm Healer Andromeda Tonks, What is your name My Dear?" She asked.
"I'm Lily, this is my Sister Hermione." The girl replied. "Can Hermione stay with me while you do your tests?" She asked.
"Of course." Andromeda replied with another smile. "I just need to get set up, then we'll try as get through this as painlessly as possible." She added, before going over to one of the cupboards and taking out what looked like paper, ink and an old style quill pen. She was about to take them back when Amelia interrupted her.
"You'll need to use a DMLE dicta-quill and parchment. I know the supplies here are good, but we can't take any risks." She said to the healer.
Andromeda looked puzzled but nodded.
"Of course Madame Bones." She replied. "Do you have some with you, or will Dawlish be bringing it?" She asked.
"I have them with me." Amelia replied, opening the briefcase like bag she carried and taking out a sheaf of paper, a pot of ink and a quill that was bright orange in colour. She handed them to Andromeda.
Andromeda nodded and went over to the small table by the end of the bed and set the papers down, opened the ink pot and laid the quill on top of the papers. She then removed her wand and took off her cloak. With a swish of her wand, the cloak flew from her hand to a hook on the wall.
This caused the four Grangers to collectively gasp. Andromeda looked closely at the four of them, but said nothing as she turned to Amelia.
"I'm ready to begin whenever Dawlish arrives." She said.
Amelia nodded and went over to Shacklebolt with whom she held a whispered conversation.
The two adult Grangers were doing the same thing and occasionally spoke to Poppy and Minerva who were sitting either side of them. Lily and Hermione were quiet, Lily was clearly drawing comfort from her Sister's touch but neither of them felt the need to speak.
About a quarter of an hour later, the doors opened again and Dawlish entered, he went straight over to Amelia.
"Problem?" She asked, seeing the expression on his face.
"Not really, more of an unexpected issue." He replied.
All the Grangers looked at Dawlish when he said this, with the adults getting up and approaching the three DMLE officers.
"What sort of issue?" Amelia asked.
"Well, as expected, there is no Magical Guardian in place for Hermione Granger." He started. "The usual procedure is apparently waiting until Hogwarts admission is formally accepted and then waiting to see if the parents nominate a Magical Guardian. Since the vast majority of non-magical parents are not informed of the need to do so, Headmaster Dumbledore takes on this role for most of the muggle-born students."
He paused and took out some papers. He separated the top two sheets and handed them to the Grangers.
"All you need to do is fill this in and sign it to nominate a Magical Guardian of your choice. As long as it is done before you sign the Hogwarts acceptance letter, Headmaster Dumbledore will have no legal redress." He finished.
The Grangers took the paperwork and gave it a quick look over, it was simple enough. They gave a nod in understanding.
"So what about Lily?" Emma asked.
"This is where the problem occurs." Dawlish replied. "Again, as expected, there is no Magical Guardian for Lily Evans-Granger, Lily Granger or even Lily Evans." He continued. "However under Harry Potter.."
Lily tensed up at this, but Hermione put her arm around Lily's shoulder and she soon relaxed.
"..there seems to be a mix up. According to the records, which were sealed by the way, he is in the custody of a member of our magical society and therefore does not need a Magical Guardian. This person is not named and there were no further details. Outside the seal was simple note that explains nothing, just asks more questions!"
"What does it say?" Amelia asked, getting impatient.
"It refers all enquiries to the office of the Chief Warlock!" Dawlish replied simply.
"Albus Dumbledore!" Amelia almost snarled. "Tell me you did not leave it at that?"
Dawlish made an annoyed sound.
"Of course not Boss." He replied. "I then went to the register of wills. Both James and Lily Potter left a will, but they were both sealed on the morning of 1st November 1981 by order of the Chief Warlock. Not liking where this was going, I went to the only other place where a copy of their wills might be."
"Gringotts!" Amelia stated.
Dawlish nodded before continuing.
"As you might expect, I did not get very far there. I did however manage to speak to the head of the Potter accounts, a delightful goblin by the name of Bladefist!" Dawlish remarked almost sarcastically. "While he would not give me any details, he did confirm they held a copy of the wills but they would only be opened when the heir to the house requested it!"
Amelia nodded.
"That's expected. The goblins take their jobs very seriously." She added.
Dan then took a step forward.
"What's Gringotts?" He asked.
Amelia had the good grace to blush slightly. She turned to face the Grangers.
"My apologies." She said. "Gringotts is the Wizarding bank. They also deal with inheritances as well as all forms of contracts. It appears that after we are finished here, we will need to take a trip there to see if we can get the wills read. If we can. It might explain a few things."
Dan nodded.
"Very well. But can we get on with the examination, Lily hates hospitals at the best of times." He replied.
Amelia nodded before turning to Andromeda.
"You may begin when ready!"
"Very well." Andromeda replied. "If all witnesses will gather round the bed. We can get started."
Poppy got up and headed over to the bed where she stood at the head, out of the way. She was joined by the three DMLE officers, who all seemed to have done this before. When they were all in place, Andromeda rolled up her sleeves.
"Right, for those of you who have not partaken in this before, let me explain how it will work. Once the quill starts recording, the only person to speak will be me unless I ask one of you a question. The only exception to this is that everyone, except the patient, will need to identify themselves clearly in turn. Does everyone understand?"
There were nods from around the table.
"Very well, then I'll begin."
She paused and waved her wand over the quill in a complicated motion. The quill rose into the air, dipped itself into the ink and prepared to write. As soon as it was ready, Andromeda began speaking.
"This is a forensic examination of live patient Lily Evans-Granger at the request of the DMLE by myself Senior Healer Andromeda Tonks, Senior DMLE Healer. Witnessing the examination are." She paused, and indicated Amelia.
"Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" She said, slowly and clearly.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt, Senior Investigative Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Shacklebolt stated as soon as Amelia was finished, again slowly and clearly.
"John Dawlish, Senior Investigative Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Dawlish spoke next, in the same manner as the other two.
"Poppy Pomfry. Senior Healer and Mediwitch for Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Poppy spoke next as she knew what was required.
Andromeda looked at Hermione, indicating that she needed to speak. Hermione nodded.
"Hermione Granger. Sister of the patient." Hermione said, slowly and clearly just as the others had.
Andromeda nodded in satisfaction before beginning the long process of fully examining her patient.
Headmasters Office – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At about the same time.
Dumbledore stumbled out of his private sleeping quarters and slumped into his chair. He had woken minutes before from his potion induced sleep and he had a raging headache. Opening the lower left drawer of his desk, he took out a vial containing a blue liquid. Uncorking the vial, he downed it in a single gulp. Seconds later his head cleared and he took a lemon drop from the dish on his desk and popped it into his mouth. Sighing in contentment, he leaned back in his chair to ponder the problem what was on his mind.
What to do about Harry Potter? That was the questioning going round his brain. He refused to refer to the boy by any other name and was confident that as soon as the Grangers realised that they could not argue, they would have no choice but to give in. He decided he would have to get the boy out of that house, as Magical Guardian he would make sure of it. But who to send the boy to? He wondered to himself. He would need a light sided family who would keep the boy humble. His immediate reaction was the Weasley's. However, since he wanted to make sure the boy made friends with Ronald separately, he dismissed that idea at once. He was going over a list of suitable families in his mind when he was interrupted by a cough. He looked up and saw the gargoyle on his desk move.
"Professor Snape requires admittance Headmaster!" The gargoyle stated.
"Allow him in." Dumbledore replied.
Not long later the door opened and Snape stepped in, he was carrying a potion.
"How are you feeling Headmaster?" The potions teacher asked.
"I had a headache when I awoke, but it is clear now." Dumbledore replied, before a thought occurred to him.
"What happened after I left Severus?" He asked.
Snape sat in one of the chairs opposite the desk and gave Dumbledore a run through of everything that occurred.
"Interesting, but that does not change anything. I am the boy's Magical Guardian and there is nothing anyone can do to change it! I may have to get young Mr Potter out of that house as quickly as possible. Do you have suggestions of a light family that would take him?" He enquired.
Snape looked at the Headmaster as if he had grown an extra head.
"You have no idea what you are dealing with Headmaster." Snape almost snapped. "While you might be the child's Magical Guardian, they are their legal parents under muggle law. Not only does our law state we cannot interfere with a child's parents, but if you try, they will simply head abroad to another school. And as for referring to the child as a boy, there is nothing masculine about the child and by now they will be at St Mungo's having a full diagnosis completed. They know what you did and are collecting the evidence to prove it!" Snape continued, getting angry by this point.
"What have I done Severus?" Dumbledore asked mildly.
"The binds on the child's magical core as well as the curses to inhibit intelligence and so on! What Merlin's name were you thinking of?" Snape demanded, jumping from his chair.
Dumbledore went white, realising that his plans had been discovered. He needed to put a stop to this.
"It was for the greater good Severus. Mr Potter has a destiny to fulfil and the only way he can do it is with my guidance. He cannot be too powerful or all will be lost!" Albus replied serenely, confident that he was right.
"You nearly made him a Squib!" Snape snapped. "How would that have helped?" He demanded.
If it were possible, Dumbledore went even whiter when he realised how far he had pushed it. It was then he remembered the extra binding he had put on when the boy had been left with his Aunt and Uncle. He had intended to make sure it was removed before the boy started Hogwarts but had forgotten to make any arrangements. Now it seemed to have come back to bite him.
"I have to go and see the Minister Severus, if you will excuse me!" Dumbledore said, getting up from his chair.
Severus looked at the old man in disgust before turning and leaving the office, his robes billowing behind him.
Dumbledore went to the fireplace, took a handful of floo powder from the pot on the mantelpiece and left in a blaze of green fire.
St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies – About two hours later.
"…And that concludes this forensic examination!" Andromeda concluded. She then waved her wand over the quill with stopped writing and laid itself down. The Healer was pale with a mixture of shock and anger. It was only her intense self-discipline that had prevented her from reacting to what she had discovered.
The rest of the adults were just as shocked. Even Poppy, who had some inkling of what to expect, was fighting to control her emotions. Hermione, who was in tears, now wrapped her arms around Lily. She was joined moments later by Emma. Dan stood behind his family, his face red and his hands balled into fists with the knuckles white with how hard he was squeezing. He looked directly at Amelia.
"What happens now?" He said in a surprisingly calm voice.
It took Amelia a few seconds to respond as she was still wrestling with her own emotions.
"I will make several authorised copies of this document." She said, indicating the stack of parchment that contained the notes from the examination. "You, as Lily's parents will get to keep the master copy. I recommend that you place it somewhere secure when you get home."
Dan gave a nod in understanding, waiting for the rest.
"In order to finalise the legalities of Lily's status, we need to head directly to Gringots and speak with the Potter Account Manager. Once we have confirmed Lily's status as the heir to the Potters, you should be able to view the Potter wills. This should confirm who Lily's magical guardian is. Once that is done, I will need to head to the Ministry to file the reports and ensure that an official investigation is opened in to why Lily was placed with her Aunt and Uncle in the first place."
Dan gave another nod.
"Is there a place near Gringots where we can have something to eat?" He asked. "Also we were given a book list by Professor McGonagall and we would like to pick up some of the suggested books."
Andromeda interrupted them.
"Before we can do that, I need to remove the inhibiting curses and remove the first part of the magical binding." She said, having finally calmed herself down.
"Can't you remove the whole binding?" Emma asked.
Andromeda shook her head.
"It would be too dangerous both for Lily and for you as her family for me to remove it all at once." She replied. "I will remove the binding to 75% today and if all goes well, I will come and see you in a weeks' time to take the binding down to 50%. I will then monitor the situation carefully and remover a further 25% of the binding as soon as I feel it is safe to do so. The final 25% will be removed not later than 1st August next year to give you a chance to get used to it before Lily starts Hogwarts."
"That's if she goes!" Muttered Dan.
"What do you mean?" Andromeda asked, shocked.
"I mean that, with Albus Dumbledore being either directly or indirectly responsible for everything that Lily has suffered, I don't trust him with either of my Daughter's educations!" Dan replied, his eyes till blazing.
Emma looked at Dan, before turning to the others.
"Before we make any decisions, we want to make sure that Dumbledore has no legal authority over Lily or Hermione. That is non-negotiable. It also might be an idea for the girls to meet some of their future classmates and for us to meet their parents. That way we can get a better understanding of the world of Witches and Wizards!" She said.
Amelia smiled at this.
"That sounds like an excellent idea. I have a Niece who will be in the same year as your girls and I know several of the parents of other children who will also be attending Hogwarts at the same time." She said, thinking that her shy Niece could only benefit from being friends with the two girls."
"If you want to know what Hogwarts is like, my Daughter is in her 6th year at the moment. I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you stories of the school." Andromeda added with a smile.
Dan and Emma looked at each other and nodded. Emma then turned to Andromeda.
"How long will it take to remove the curses and bindings?" She asked.
"Not very long." Andromeda replied. "We will need to keep an eye on Lily for the next few hours to make sure nothing unexpected happens." She then turned to Lily. "If you will lie back on the bed, I will undo everything I can today."
Lily nodded and, extracting herself from Hermione's arms, laid herself back on the bed.
"Make sure you record it!" Amelia said before Andromeda could start anything.
Nodding, Andromeda got a fresh sheet of parchment, activated the quill and began to mover her wand in a complicated series of motions. She continued for about 10 minutes before stopping the quill again.
"There you go. I've done as much as I feel I safely can today. All the curses are gone and your core binding is now down to 75%. Please try and sit up slowly." She said in her kind voice to Lily.
Lily gave a nod and slowly sat up. She then swung her feet over the edge of the bed, but stayed sitting.
"Do you feel up to standing?" Andromeda asked.
Lily nodded and slip off the bed. As soon as she was standing, she seemed to lose her balance and heeded to grab hold of Hermione to keep from falling over.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Dawlish, who was the closest, went to the door and opened it, revealing a middle aged man wearing the same kind of robes as Poppy and Andromeda. As soon as Poppy saw who it was she smiled.
"Ah, Healer Sinclair, perfect timing." She said, motioning for the Healer to enter.
"Healer Pomfry, Healer Tonks." The man greeted the two healers by name and nodded to the other adults.
Poppy went over and shook Sinclair's hand before indicating Lily.
"This is the young lady I spoke to you about yesterday." She said. "Lily Evans-Granger." She then turned to Lily. "Lily, this is Andrew Sinclair, the specialist Healer I spoke to you about."
Lily took a step towards Sinclair and held out her hand.
"Pleased to meet you." She greeted him with a smile.
"And you Miss Evans-Granger." He replied, giving her an appraising look and obviously liking what he saw.
"These are my Parents and Sister. Dan, Emma and Hermione Granger." Lily introduced the three most important people in her life."
Dan came over and shook the healer's hand.
"Dan Granger." He said as they shook hands.
Emma and Hermione followed his example before Sinclair turned back to Lily.
"I have a basic history from Poppy. If you have time, I would like to sit and talk to you all as a group as well as spending time with Lily on her own. It doesn't have to be today, but the sooner the better."
Dan could see Lily fidgeting from one foot to the other, a clear sign that she was nervous.
"We don't have much time today as we have several other things that need our urgent attention. However, we would be please to make an appointment to sit down with you in a week or so." Dan said with a smile.
"Excellent." Sinclair replied. "You can reach me here at St Mungo's. I am here every day so I should be able to manage my schedule to whatever time is convenient to you. I will await your owl!" At this, Sinclair spun on his heel and disappeared out of the door.
Poppy saw the looks on the faces of the Grangers and smiled.
"Don't mind Andrew. He always seems to be in a rush, but he is this country's foremost expert in Transgender Healing." She said.
Dan nodded and then looked at Amelia.
"We should get going. How long will Gringots take?" He asked.
"I expect no more than an hour or so. There will probably be paperwork to sign and you will need some money of you want to go shopping."
Dan looked at Lily and Hermione before exchanging a look with Emma. He then turned back to Amelia.
"Let's get going then. It appears we still have a lot to do!" He said, indicating the door.
"Do you need me to accompany you?" Andromeda asked.
Amelia shook her head.
"No. Your report should suffice. Though you may need to testify on the future." Amelia replied.
Andromeda nodded and promising to get in touch with regards to her Daughter talking to them about Hogwarts, gathers up her things and left.
Amelia then led the rest of the group put of the room and back to the waiting area where they apparated to Gringots.