Explanations and attack

Rick Alsop, member of the Order of the Phoenix, apparated away from the fire-fight holding onto his arm wincing as he did so. Merlin, but those bloody Muggle weapons hurt like hell! Normally, he would be leaving for St. Mungos, although whether they'd be familiar with Muggle wounds was a question that begged answering. But tonight, he wouldn't be going to the hospital straight away. For you see, he had more than just one leader. Albus Dumbledore was a great man; there was no doubt about that. However, in a war like this, Dumbledore had no chance of winning the war. Times had changed since the end of the war with Grindlewald. They had only barely won the last war, and it was only because of a damned infant that they had won! However, times had changed. The Dark Lord had returned from the dead thanks to the loyalty of his most devoted servants, and it would be through them that he would rule. Normally, Rick would've been with his Death Eater brothers, yet, his master wanted a spy in the Order of the Phoenix, and so he got his spy in the Order in the Phoenix. Hopefully, his Lord would give to Alsop great riches and power that he would use for (as Dumbledore would say) the Greater Good. Of course, the Greater Good in reality would translate to becoming the Greater Good of Rick Alsop of course.

Just as Dumbledore and the other Order members had apparated away, Alsop had left behind a magical trace of himself. It wouldn't get the suspicions of Dumbledore up, there was little chance of that, but it would serve as a point to which Alsop could apparate to in case his master demanded it. He quickly appeared in front of a manor, straightening himself up as he took into view the manor. He smirked at the large house at the end of a large driveway. Statues dotted the landscape in images of ferocious animals. Snakes, Dementors, sharks and of course, the symbol of the Malfoys, the skeleton, all appeared to watch Alsop as he made the long march up the driveway to the base of the Dark Lord.

At the door, he was met by two Death Eaters on guard, who regarded Alsop, who still wore a blood-soaked Order symbol on his right breast above his heart, with disgust. Alsop sneered back at the two of them, before he passed the two Death Eaters, pausing quickly to spit at the feet of one of them. He quickly hurried on then, listening to the guard's cries of disgust and vows of revenge. Alsop simply chuckled darkly. No Death Eater would dare to touch one of the only two spies in the Order of the Phoenix. And even then, Alsop reckoned that he was regarded with more trust than Snape was. Who knows what side he was on? He may profess to be on the side of the Dark Lord, but he could still be on the side of the Phoenix. Hell, he mightn't even be on anyone's side other than his own!

After passing through several luxurious rooms and corridors, Alsop finally made it up to the room that was often referred to as "the throne room". This was the area in which the Dark Lord resided in with his Inner Circle of Death Eaters. Plots and plans were made daily here, and the future of the wizarding world would be decided in this very room. As Alsop walked along the corridor that led directly to the throne room, he was suddenly halted by one of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, Bellatrix Lestrange.

'Well, well,' she jeered, invading his personal space. 'Has our resident spy returned from the old fool's little club then?'

'Hello, Mrs. Lestrange.' He said uncomfortably, backing up slightly.

Unfortunately for him, Bellatrix noticed. 'Aw, is itty Ally scared of the big girl?' She giggled maniacally.

'No, Mrs. Lestrange. As riveting as this conversation is, however, I have news for the Dark Lord.'

Suddenly, Bellatrix's face changed from mocking to pure rage. Her hands almost a blur, Alsop almost screamed in pain as he felt her finger pressing hard into the bullet wound. 'Is itty Ally in pain?' She hissed. 'Should I let you go? Maybe I should kill you now. You're infected, contaminated. You're nothing more than a Mudblood-lover, aren't you?' She pressed harder, forcing Alsop onto his knees.

'No, I beg of you, I am loyal to the Dark Lord!'

Suddenly, the pain stopped, and Bellatrix stood over his body. 'And don't forget it.' She hissed, before stalking off.

Alsop grunted as he pulled himself off of the ground, glaring at Bellatrix's disappearing back. 'Crazy bitch,' he spat, getting off of the ground and stumbled his way to the throne room, clutching his shoulder. The Dark Lord wouldn't accept excuses off of any person. If they were late, then it was because of their own fault, and no one else's. He was just lucky that Bellatrix had let him go this early; otherwise he'd be facing a crucio off of the Dark Lord.

Stopping before a large double door, the absence of the usual two guards outside of the room made him gulp slightly. It appeared that the Dark Lord was busy already with some of his inner circle, and had no desire for their plans to be heard. But even so, the news that Alsop was bringing to the table was surely more important than what was going on in there. Standing up straight and ignoring his bleeding shoulder, he knocked twice and then stood back, as though he was back in school and was waiting outside of the Headmaster's office. There were a few minutes of silence, during which the pain in his shoulder became agonisingly painful, before a drawling voice called out, 'you may enter.'

Alsop opened the door with his arm, striding in towards a large chair in front of a table where various maps and documents were folding up and disappearing right before Alsop's eyes. He quickly knelt as the attention of the Dark Lord left Lucius Malfoy, who was regarding Alsop with a slight sneer on his face, and turned to Alsop.

'Why, Lucius, I do believe that our honoured spy has come back from his duties. Tell me, Alsop, what news do you bring that you deem to be extremely important enough to interrupt me and Lucius as we were busy planning raids? Because if it isn't important, then it won't just be me who will be dealing out punishment to you, I assure you.'

Lucius smiled, his eyes staring directly at Alsop, as he murmured, 'It would be a immense pleasure, my Lord, I can assure you.'

Alsop remained on his knees and kept his eyes to the ground. 'My Lord is too generous,' he murmured. 'However, the news that I bring to you is of the utmost importance, so I believe.'

'And so what news do you bring then, Alsop?' Voldemort asked, getting up from the chair and circling Alsop's kneeling body. 'What has the old man done now in an attempt to stop me?'

Alsop remained low as Voldemort stalked around him, as though he was nothing more than a rabbit being hunted by a lion, no, not like a lion, but more like a snake. 'My Lord, Dumbledore has found what he determines to be a weapon. He has found the person who we all believed to be dead. My Lord, he has found Harry Potter.' He winced, expecting a blow.

'What?!' Voldemort screamed in anger, 'what do you mean, he has been found?' Voldemort had stopped his prowling, and had directly stood in front of Alsop, grabbing him by the throat and holding him in the air, his slanted snake-like eyes staring with hatred into his. 'Harry Potter is dead, so I was assured by my most loyal followers.

'They were mistaken!' Alsop choked. 'He had survived running away, my Lord. He fled into London, where he appeared to take up with a group of people, who refer to themselves as "gangs". Dumbledore had somehow found out about the boy being still alive, and took a group of us to retrieve him.'

'Gah!' Voldemort yelled as he turned his back on Alsop. 'Tell me, what powers does the boy have?'

Alsop only just managed to control the impulse to raise his eyebrows. 'p – powers, Lord?'

'Crucio!'

Alsop screamed as he was racked with an unimaginable pain, that he could never truly describe to anyone. Finally, after what appeared to have been hours under the curse, Voldemort stopped. 'When I ask you a question, Alsop, not only do I demand it to be answered immediately, but I want it in detail with nothing left out, no matter how insignificant it may appear. I will have everything. Do you understand me?'

'Yes Lord,' Alsop choked out, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

'Well then, tell me everything you know.'

'My Lord, after the Wizarding world was informed of the Potter boy's flight from his relatives, the whole of England was scoured for any signs of the boy. None, however, were found, and gradually, despite calls from people such as Dumbledore to keep searching for the boy, it was generally accepted that Potter must have died. However, tonight, he was found. Dumbledore, after locating the boy, took me and several other Order members to a part of London that, for the lack of a better term, was a slum. The Potter boy appears to have lived there for a long time, and therefore lived in poverty. We found him in a Muggle flat, where he and various others like him resided. When we approached their area, we were suddenly engaged in a fight between them. They had Muggle weapons, we had wands. My Lord, you know that I have always believed Muggle weapons to be superior to ours. However, the Order took quite a lot of casualties. Out of the ten people sent, Dumbledore included, six of them were hit by the Muggle weapons, and I believe that two of them died.'

Voldemort looked at Alsop, his mind working furiously. 'The Order members, were they professionals?'

'No Lord, but –'

'Then it is not surprising that some died. They clearly did not know how to handle Muggle filth. Continue.'

'Yes my Lord. We then, after five minutes of fighting, had stunned the Muggle scum. One of the Order members crept behind Potter and managed to capture him using a Portkey. That was when we all apparated out of there.'

'Has the Potter boy shown any kind of powers?'

'During that entire fight, my Lord, we only ever saw him use his weapon. However, we were told beforehand by Dumbledore that the boy, in fact, has never experienced magic before.'

'What?' Voldemort said incredulously. 'Are you telling me that the very boy that Dumbledore has spent most of his life proclaiming that he will be the hope of the Wizarding World doesn't even know a spell that a first year would?'

'Yes my Lord.'

'Does the old man really believe that it'll be love that defeats me? Me? The single greatest wizard of all time? I knew he was a fool, but I didn't realise that he was crazy as well.' Voldemort shook his head in disgust, before he turned back to the table, waving his wand and causing various maps of London to appear.

'Where were you sent?'

Alsop looked over the maps for a few seconds, before he jabbed his finger down on a particular part of London. 'We were sent here, Lord.' His voice had no hesitation in it, for to show any would result in punishment. Voldemort waved his wand again, causing for the area which Alsop indicated to appear to maximum view. A huge detailed area of the area showed, with blue and red dots appearing over it. Voldemort appeared shocked for a while, before he chuckled darkly.

'Why, my dear Lucius,' he addressed Lucius, who had been lurking in the corner of the room. 'I do believe that fortune has favoured us once again.

'My Lord?'

'It just so happens, that that area is infested with our very own inferius squad.'

Lucius suddenly started chuckling darkly, while Voldemort smiled. He turned back to Alsop.

'Tell me, Alsop, what do you know of the inferi?' Without waiting for an answer, he continued talking. 'An inferi is essentially a dead body given limited intelligence. They are amongst the most useful weapons that I used in the last war, and served me well. They are utterly loyal to their master and are almost invincible. And it just so happens that the area where you pointed out Potter's area of residence is a major area where we kept our inferi.' He chuckled darkly, his hands rubbing together slowly.

'Let's give our Mr Potter a welcome to the wizarding world, shall we? We shall rid him of his old life, so that he may live his new life here without any distractions.' A cold smile spread across his face, as Lucius' laugh echoed through the room.

-------------------

He collapsed onto a wooden floor, curled up instinctively to protect himself from any kicks or punches while he was on the ground. A second later as he realised that he wasn't surrounded, he kicked out and rolled to the back of the room. Seeing people start to appear from nowhere, he searched the room, hoping to find something that he could use for cover. He grinned as he saw a massive table just standing there in front of him. Perfect.

He grabbed it by the side and with a huge burst of adrenalin, lifted it above his head and threw it against the wall onto its side, creating a make-shift barricade. He grinned as he leapt behind it and grabbed out of his pocket the hand pistol that he had put in there earlier. Raising his pistol, he saw in front of him several people.

A long white-bearded man was the first he noticed. His eyes were twinkling, and he looked like someone who you should trust, like it or not. Next to him was a greasy-haired guy whose hair looked as though it hadn't been washed in ages. His eyes were filled with contempt at the sight of Emerald. To the other side of the long-bearded man was a tired looking man, with an air of mustiness and exhaustion around him. His face was pale, but he looked at Emerald in wonderment. To the side of the room was another two people. One of them was a man, whose face spoke of hard times. He was skinny and didn't show much muscle, but like the tired looking man, he also looked at Emerald in astonishment. The other woman was a dumpy looking woman, who had red hair, and looked as though she might've been once pretty at an earlier stage in her life.

As he aimed the pistol up, the three men who stood together raised their strange sticks at Emerald. A standoff.

'Harry, put down that Muggle contraption.' The white-bearded man said, warning in his voice.

Emerald sneered, 'Look, I don't know who you are, I don't know how I got here, but I'll tell you two things right now. My name isn't Harry Potter, but Emerald. And I'm warning you now, you had better get out of my way and let me go, or else I'll pop one in that fat bitch over there.' He aimed the gun at the redhead, who bristled.

'How dare you!' Her voice started to rise in pitch. 'How dare you speak that way to the Headmaster and point whatever that, that thing is at me!' Her voice was very high now, reaching shrieking point now, Emerald's ears started to hurt. As she was just about to go off into a rant, Emerald aimed the gun at a plant pot in the corner of the room, and fired one bullet. The plant pot exploded into tiny pieces, and cut off the redhead in her rants, and caused everyone to aim cast protective shields over themselves and the redheaded woman.

Everyone froze and just stared at Emerald in shock. They'd seen the power of the Muggle weapons for themselves, they'd had to send off three Order members that had pieces of the Muggle weapons in them, but they hadn't really accepted it. Dumbledore's head was in a spin. If this was Harry James Potter, then it appeared that he had his work cut out for him. He would try the grandfatherly touch on the poor boy, maybe then he would be open for Dumbledore's help before he left for Hogwarts. Even if he didn't, he would still be going, but it would be so much more easier in the long run if Harry cooperated with him.

'Harry, my boy –'

'Oh for fuck's sake, old man! First of all, I'm not Harry Potter! And even if I was, I don't think you realise just how much it would piss me off if you said that. My name is Emerald! And will you fucking let me pass you, or do I have to kill that woman?'

At Emerald's last sentence, all the men, apart from the greasy haired guy moved closer towards the redhead. Emerald sneered at their actions. 'Take another step, and I will shoot her. Do you understand?'

All the men stopped, knowing that after the events of tonight, they could risk nothing. Already the Order of the Phoenix had taken its casualties, and to add insult to injury, it hadn't even been caused by Death Eaters, but Muggles! It was exactly these kinds of casualties that Dumbledore never risked whenever he sent the Order on their missions.

'Alright, Emerald' Dumbledore said hesitating. 'Just put down that, that thing, and we can have a nice talk.'

Emerald spat. 'That's a load of bollocks. Here's what we'll do, you can first drop those sticks of yours onto the ground.' At a look from Albus, everyone did so, but hesitantly. Emerald nodded his approval. 'Good, you freaks are learning. Now, kick your sticks over this way.' Again, with another look from Albus, they did so. 'Alright, everyone into the corner, nice and slowly.' As they backed away into a corner of the room, Emerald slowly came out of his make-shift barricade, still aiming his gun at the group of people.

He kept his eye on the group as he opened the door, and suddenly ran!

There were loads of corridors in front of him, Emerald picked one at random and just ran as fast as he could, not bothering to check out corners for any potential enemies. He could hear them behind him, he was sure of it. He didn't know what they were or what they wanted, but Emerald refused to be part of their little game. He had to get out of here, back to London and back to Shell. He needed them as much as they needed him. Whatever those people were going on about, him being called Harry Potter, well, he admitted that that could be the case, but even so, whatever life this Harry Potter had led, he had left it behind. Even at night, he still had nightmares about the abuse he'd been put through by the Dursleys.

Suddenly, as he ran along another corridor, he saw two identical redheads walking down the corridor before him. Upon seeing him, the pair halted and looked at each other incredulously. Emerald smirked as he lowered his shoulder to go in front of him, as he rammed into the pair of them at full speed. The two twins landed into the wall, while Emerald took no pain at all. He smirked, that was too easy.

As he turned yet another corner, a group of three teenagers were in front of him. Two redheads who were obviously brother and sister, and a brown-haired girl who froze as they saw him, they had obviously heard the shouts from behind him. Emerald growled as he realised that he wouldn't be able to hit them at full speed, and at least one of them would remain standing. There was only one thing that he could do. Emerald raised the gun, holding it in front of him and prepared to fire.

The brown-haired girl screamed at the sight of the gun, and dragged the two redheads, both of them kicking and yelling all the way, into another corridor. Obviously the brown haired girl knew about his gun and what it did.

He ran as fast as he could through the corridors, running down steps at every chance he got. He was sure that the strange people chasing him were just a few corridors behind him now. He was at a severe disadvantage. He couldn't utilise his complete speed due to the narrow and often short corridors, he didn't know where he was or where the door was to escape, in short, he was screwed if he didn't get out.

As he ran down yet another step of stairs, he finally realised that this had to be the last floor in which he could get out of. Running out of the staircase, he saw a last door and windows that showed the outside world. That had to be it! He ran for the door, faster, and faster. He reached out for the door handle, he –

BANG!

The door opened from the outside and whacked right into Emerald's face. As his consciousness faded and a pink-spike-haired girl who was in her twenties and looked incredibly shocked, bent over him giving a nice view of cleavage, there was only one word that went through his mind.

Shit…

---

Emerald groggily woke up as he felt a soft bed underneath him. He purposely kept his eyes closed and his face expressionless. It hadn't been the first time that he'd woken up in a position like this, and he'd trained himself for a long time every morning after waking up to keep himself in a half-sleep mode, which would give him the advantage of surprise. An enemy taken by surprise was already half defeated, after all.

He listened to the conversations of the people assembled in the room, hovering around him.

'But Albus,' the redheaded dumpy woman's voice said above him. 'You can't seriously be considering keeping him here. He's dangerous! He threatened me, for Merlin's sake!'

'Alas, Molly, we cannot let him go now. He is the hope of the entire Wizarding World, not just a pet project I'm conducting.'

'The hope of the entire Wizarding world?' A male voice asked. 'Albus, why whatever do you mean?'

'In good time, my dear Remus, in good time.'

Emerald sensed someone bend over him.

'So this is my godson then.' Another voice said. Emerald's mind boggled at that, but his expression still remained the same.

'Yes, Sirius. That would be our godson.' Remus' voice said.

'Hmm, he doesn't look anything like James, really. But his eyes, they're Lily's eyes.'

A round of agreements followed that statement.

'So then, Albus, what are your plans for Harry?'

'Well, obviously I'd have to sit him down and explain to him who and what he is to us in the Wizarding World. He'd also have to come to Hogwarts for his magical education. It's too dangerous for him out there in the streets; we did a great service to the poor boy when we collected him.'

Emerald felt anger start to build up in him. These freaks, wizards, grabbed him from where he was happy for some obtuse reason! They thought they were doing him a fucking favour? Those dicks! He felt his mask start to break, and he quickly collected himself, hoping that no one noticed. He was in luck, no-one did.

'Hogwarts, but Albus, the boy is feral! We don't know where he's been, what he's been doing, I doubt the boy can even read! And you to send him to Hogwarts? He'll corrupt half the children there within the first week, knowing him. He's the son of James Potter!' The voice held a distinctive hint of pride at the last sentence.

'And that just makes it even more imperative that we help the boy. Do you really think that James and Lily would've wanted their son to turn out like this? No, they would've wanted him to grow up respectable and happy, like every other child should. He would've had that as well, had he not run away from the Dursleys.'

Emerald was really pissed off now. Run away from the goddamn Dursleys? They had fucking abandoned him, thrown him into the boot of a car where he could hardly breathe, and thrown him god knows where!

Suddenly, he heard the door open and an aggravated male voice entered the room. 'What are you doing, Professor Dumbledore, in allowing something like him stay in the house? Look at him, he's, he's a Muggle!'

'No, Mr. Weasley, he's not a Muggle, although he was brought up like one.'

A small silence fell after that, before the voice spoke again. 'Is that why he's so dirty and skanky?'

A small wave of laughter broke out after his sentence. 'No, no, Mr. Weasley, he was just brought up in a terrible environment. His name, which I think that you ought to know, is Harry James Potter.'

The voice gasped, 'That's Harry Potter? The boy-who-lived?'

'Yes, Ron, and don't call him by his title, he's just a boy, even if he is Muggle-raised.' She said the last word scathingly.

'Sorry Mum. But surely that can't be Harry Potter? He looks nothing like him?'

'And how would you know what he looks like, Ron?'

'Well,' Ron hesitated. 'Uh, well, there're loads of pictures of him, aren't there. And the stories that we always hear about him looking like his father, James Potter. I've seen pictures of him, and he looks nothing alike. I mean, look at that tattoo for Merlin's sake, it's a snake!'

'Ronald! Don't swear!'

'Yes mum, sorry mum. But you have to admit; he looks nothing like a hero who defeated he-who-must-not-be-named! Looks more like a Slytherin to me.' Ron spat out the unfamiliar word.

'Yes, I do have to admit, Ronald, the tattoo is worrying.' Albus said.

'Perhaps we should have it taken off?' Molly said. 'I mean, it's hardly fitting for a Gryffindor, we'd be doing him a favour.'

'Yes, yes I do see your point Molly. Perhaps I should have it removed.'

Emerald heard something being drawn. His mind leapt to the conclusion that it was that stick. Maybe, if they were wizards, those sticks were actually wands?! He had to act, fast if he wanted to keep his last reminder of his past life. No doubt these people would've removed his gun and knife from his pockets, and any other items that while they would've dismissed as rubbish, had a special memory for him.

'But what if he doesn't go into Gryffindor, Albus?'

'That's our job, Remus. I would like Mr. Weasley here, Miss Weasley and Miss Granger to befriend our Mr. Potter here, and ensure that he's influenced towards the light. He needs to go into Gryffindor if he's to learn the correct ways of our world.'

There was another round of agreements with Albus's statement.

'But Professor, isn't he, well, you know, dangerous? Couldn't he threaten me and the girls?

'Nonsense Mr. Weasley. He has no wand, while the three of you have yours. We removed his Muggle weapons from him, and I'm perfectly sure that you can subdue him should he turn violent.'

'Yes, but Albus, I don't think that Harry needs to rely on his Muggle weapons. In fact, from the looks of him, I think that he is a weapon. Have you seen those muscles of his?' There was a slight envious undertone to the man's words. 'He must have worked really hard to achieve those.'

'He may have some muscles, Sirius, but he's far too thin for a child of his age. Once he's fully recovered, I'm sure that I can fatten him up a bit.'

'A very good idea, Molly. And now, I shall remove that awful tattoo from him.' He heard the man take a deep breath, and Emerald immediately decided that this was a good time to conveniently wake up, or escape. Either one worked for him.

Emerald opened his eyes and saw the long-bearded man standing over him holding his wand in his hand. He put a look of surprise on his face that was perfectly mirrored by the man and the people standing around him. Emerald instantly reacted, lashing out with his feet which connected with who he assumed to be Sirius and Remus, both of whom collapsed against the wall. He leapt past Albus and ran towards the door. He attempted to open it, but it refused to open. Swearing, he turned to face his opponents, his body in a fighting position.

However, none of the assembled people in the room were going towards him, instead, they held back at a distance, their wands in their hands. All but Albus had a worried look on their faces, and Remus and Sirius had a rueful look on their faces as they realized what had just happened to them.

'Harry –' Albus started.

'Emerald.' He corrected Albus. He wasn't allowing him to get the first punch in.

Albus sighed. 'Alright, Emerald, there's little point in trying to escape. The door is specifically locked against your magical aura, so it won't let you go I'm afraid.'

Emerald spat on the floor. Behind his back, he felt for the doorknob and tried to open it. It was no good. He sighed as he gave it up for a bad job. 'Fine, what do you people want with me?'

Albus smiled. 'We're going to help you, Har- Emerald.'

He laughed incredulously. 'Help me? You want to help me?'

'Yes.'

'So your definition of "help" is to follow me in the early hours of the morning, attack me and my friends, insult me, threaten me, remove treasured items from my unconscious body, try and change my physical appearance and then you want to turn me into a whole other person who doesn't exist? I've told you before, I'm, not, Harry, Potter! My name is Emerald!'

He saw Albus smile at him with pity, his eyes twinkling as he opened his mouth to say something. Emerald snapped completely. 'Don't you dare even try and make me feel guilty over something I've not done. Harry Potter, if he ever existed, is dead.'

If I ever was him, he died when he was thrown into the boot of a car and left there for four hours with half the amount of oxygen I needed. He died when he was punched by his uncle. He died when he attempted to tell someone, and was instead beaten by his uncle for it. He died when he was thrown into a cupboard when he was three, and he finally died happily when he realized that someone was willing to protect him at long last.'

'You, Albus Dumbledore, you dare claim that I ran away from a "loving", a "caring" home where I could've been happy? Shall I tell you what happened to that boy, Dumbledore? That boy who you dream about being a hero? He died, and if the boy who was with the Dursley's ever was Harry Potter, then he gave way to me, Emerald. I still dream of the constant attacks, the mental scaring, the sheer hatred I received from the Dursleys. I was a dog, Dumbledore, to them. A mistreated dog!'

An oppressing silence occurred as everyone in the room took in what they had just heard. Dumbledore looked completely shocked along with everyone else. Finally, it was Sirius who turned to Dumbledore.

'You,' he started with sheer anger in his voice. 'You condemned my godson, James and Lily's son, to that? You told me that they were safe with them, Albus. You told Remus that it wasn't in the best interests for Harry to live with him, for fear of being attacked. You failed, Albus. And you failed badly. You told us all that you would check up on Harry every week. Did you even go, Dumbledore? Or even worst, did you care?'

Albus just stood there, shocked to his core. 'I, I'm sorry Emerald. I just missed one week because of the Minister needing advice, and the next week I had to go do an important job, and I, I eventually just gave up. I kept forgetting to check on you.'

Emerald sneered at him. 'I don't want to hear it, Dumbledore. Just take me back. I have little interest in becoming a wizard.'

Albus shook his head, still remorseful. 'I'm sorry, my dear boy, but I can't. I can't tell you what exactly you're needed for, but your presence is important to the wizarding world.'

'For what? For a title that I was given? The-boy-who-lived? What does that even mean exactly? I know I'm alive, because I'm standing right here, talking to you now. Unwilling, I grant you, but I'm still here.'

'Like I said, Emerald,' Dumbledore was still plainly unwilling to use Emerald's name. 'I cannot tell you yet what you are needed for, but partly, yes, for the title.'

'Well why then? Go on, tell. What was so important that you had to kidnap me from everything I knew?'

Dumbledore sighed as a solemn mood hit the people in the room.

'It's a long story, Harry,' he ignored Emerald's objection. 'It all started on October 31st, 1981. You, with your parents, were in hiding at that time. It was at that time that a war in the wizarding world was going on. Lord Voldemort was trying to take over, while I, amongst other groups, was fighting against him.'

'Your parents were both responsible for several defeats of Lord Voldemort, and he tried to kill them. Thanks to a traitor amongst our ranks, however, he found them. He attacked that night. From what we know, he first killed your father, James, and then your mother, Lily. When Lily died, she invoked an ancient magic which gave you a shield against Lord Voldemort. He tried to kill you, but failed for some reason. He vanished into the wilderness, and we didn't see him again for a long time. His forces were captured and incarcerated, and that was the end of it, or so we thought.'

'Because you were the one who managed to banish Lord Voldemort, you achieved great fame in the wizarding world. Every child was raised hearing about how you defeated him. It was for that reason that I placed you with the Dursleys, so you wouldn't be corrupted by that fame, and turn out badly. I've known many people who became twisted because of fame, but it would've been all the more terrible had you gone down the same path as a mere child. Alas, I believed you were safe.'

'What followed was ten years of peace. Unfortunately, Voldemort wasn't gone. He possessed the body of one of my teachers, Quirinus Quirrell. Earlier that year, there was a special stone, the Philosopher's Stone. The possession of it would give its owner the necessary ingredient to create the Elixir of Life, which would turn any metal into gold, and would extend the life of it's creator by many, many years. Its owner, Nicolas Flamel, came to me and asked me to look after it, as he feared that some amongst the Goblins were working independently and could steal the Stone. I agreed to look after it in Hogwarts. I don't know how, but Lord Voldemort found out, and using Quirrell, he stole the stone and escaped. He created the Elixir of Life and brought himself back. Of course, I highly doubt he uses the stone anymore and has found some other way of remaining alive.'

'Lord Voldemort is back, Harry, and he has gathered his followers once again. The group you see before you,' he gestured to most of the people in the room. 'Are part of a group, the Order of the Phoenix, which I lead against Lord Voldemort. Sadly, we haven't had much impact against his forces, neither has the Ministry of Magic. Morale in the country is dire. This is where you come in, Harry. The reemergence of Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived will boost morale in the wizarding world, and may hopefully assist the Order in our goals to defeat Lord Voldemort.' He finally stopped, smiling at Emerald. 'So you see, my dear boy, this is why we need you.'

Emerald stared at them all in shock, before he burst out laughing. 'Oh, my god. Pathetic! Have you listened to yourselves? First of all, Lord Voldemort? What the hell kind of name is that? And why the hell have you all been flinching every time someone says that? Christ, it's a bloody name! And Dumbledore, I have little pleasure in becoming your propaganda tool for the masses. I have led my life independent of all others. My life does not belong to the wizarding world, or to your Order, or even you. In fact, who the hell are you anyway?'

'I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Warlock of-'

Emerald interrupted him. 'You're a headmaster?'

Dumbledore halted. 'Well, yes.'

'What is the primary function of a Headmaster?'

'Well, well it's…well, a headmaster makes all major decisions concerning the school. But I really don't see what this has to do with-'

'Exactly! The School! Not me. In fact, what business do you even have in the war? A headmaster is meant to help in school, not to kidnap people and lead groups. Your primary purpose is to help children! So where the hell do you get off in doing this?'

'Well…I…' Dumbledore hesitated, before thinking of a response. 'Well, Mr. Potter. Your name has been on Hogwarts' list of students ever since you were born. Therefore, as Headmaster, I have ever right in bringing you to Hogwarts.'

Emerald shrugged. 'Then I have no wish to go to Hogwarts.'

Dumbledore laughed incredulously. 'My boy, Hogwarts is the greatest wizard school in the world. Nowhere can compare to it. Besides, I have a responsibility to your parents to ensure that you get a decent education.'

'Well, even if I wanted to become a wizard, it would be my choice to which school I wanted to go to. And you've just admitted that Hogwarts isn't the only school in the world. Therefore, if I'm going to be forced into this, I want to know all about the other schools before I make my choice. And that includes interviews and tours.'

Dumbledore was completely dumbstruck. 'Mr. Potter, while that would normally be the case, this isn't the case for you. Firstly, there's a war going on, so all borders between us and other countries is closed. Therefore, even if we wanted to, you couldn't go to another school. Secondly, you would need the permission from the Ministry of Magic, and once they find out about you, then believe me, they will not let you go. And finally, you are far too old. No school would accept you at this stage of your life.'

'Oh…' Emerald couldn't think of any other reasons. 'Well fuck your school, fuck your titles and fuck your little Order.'

'I'm sorry; Mr. Potter, but you will have no choice in this. No matter what reasons you give to me now, it will not matter. You will be coming to Hogwarts, and Hogwarts will welcome you with open arms. Like it or not, Mr. Potter, you will be attending school.' Dumbledore's face showed a sign of amusement, along with everyone else's face apart from Molly.

'Well, I'm not a wizard though; I've never shown any ability of that kind!'

'Really Harry?' Dumbledore said with a small smile at the edge of his lips. 'Can you honestly say that nothing strange has ever happened to you that no one else can do?'

'Of course no-' Emerald's mind suddenly snapped back to a old job he'd once done. A bank job. It had been a success and a failure at the same time. They had managed to steal around £100,000, but at the cost of two lives. The police were just behind them, but Emerald had somehow done something, he'd hidden the truck that he and the others were in. They were in plain view, but they weren't…it was as though they were invisible. At the time, Emerald had put it down to luck, but now that he thought back…

Emerald growled. What was he going to do? His arguments had all been blasted apart; he had no way of escaping. There was only one thing that he could do. Cooperate until he could escape, and in the meantime, get as much out of it as possible. First things first, he needed some equipment from his home, and most importantly, he needed to see Shell.

He looked at Dumbledore. 'Look, if I go to Hogwarts, I want some things.'

'Well, my dear boy, it depends upon the suitability of them.'

'Well, can I at least ask you in private?' He said, pointedly looking at the surrounding people.

He smiled, 'but of course, Harry.'

'Emerald.'

'My friends, if you'd please, I believe me and "Emerald" here have some discussion to take place.'

With a last curious look behind them, the assembled people left the room. As soon as they were gone, Dumbledore turned to Emerald.

'So then, Mr. Potter, what is it you want?'

Emerald, just about to start yelling at Dumbledore again controlled his emotions. Why wouldn't the old bastard realize that his name was Emerald? He took a deep breath before beginning. 'Well, Dumbledore, I would like several things. Firstly, that I be allowed to go back to the ganghouse and gather some treasured items of mine. To prove that I won't run away, you can provide me with one of your Order members, preferably someone young who won't be as shocked about some of the things we get up to in there. Second, I am not returned to the Dursleys, otherwise, I cannot assure their safety. Instead, I will be returning to the ganghouse every holiday. I will not be returning to the Dursleys.

Dumbledore's face grew grim. 'Harry, I hope you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting about the Dursleys.'

'Well, if you mean am I going to get them, tie them up, gut them, use various objects to disembowel them, stab them, punch them, kick them, and in conclusion pay them back ten times what they did to me, then you are correct.'

Dumbledore sighed. 'Harry, I know that what the Dursley's did was cruel, but surely you can find it in your heart to forgive them.'

Emerald snarled. 'Look here, Dumbledore. My name isn't Harry Potter, accept it. He died a long time ago. Maybe I could've once been your hero, your inspiration. But I'm not. Harry Potter was killed a long time ago. I'm not sorry either. My life may have not been the most ideal ever, but I don't regret a single moment of it. Now, will you accept my deal or not. Should you refuse, then I promise that I can make your life difficult. You need a hero and an inspiration, and you need me to do that. Without me, you're in trouble.'

Dumbledore sighed. 'Emerald, I can send someone to collect the items that you need and if you want, I can have them deliver a message to them as well. As for the Dursley's, in light of your previous trials, I have decided that you won't have to return to the Dursley's completely, however, you must return occasionally. As much as it pains me to have you return to that place, the blood wards there must be restored.'

'Will your blood wards work if the Dursley's are all dead? Because that will be what'll happening. And before you say it, it's an absolute no to what you're going to say next'

'No? What would I be saying no to then, Harry?'

'My fucking name is Emerald, and I mean no, as in I will not return here summer after summer. I have my own allies and friends, and they do not involve the wizarding world. If I have to complete my studies, then I assure you, I will not be remaining in the Wizarding world, but rather, my world.'

Dumbledore frowned at that, Harry couldn't return to the Muggle world afterwards, he was far too important to his plans. The wizarding world needed to be reformed. The Ministry of Magic was far too corrupt to do any real good. Hardly any Death Eaters had been captured, and those who had were those unable to pay off the officials, or had done something to upset their master.

Dumbledore had done what he could to reform the Ministry. They had managed to remove the previous Minister of Magic temporarily as he was found to be corrupt and accepted too many bribes. Of course, when the Wizengamot had come to choose their new successor, the Wizengamot had been split into two factions. The faction for the light, and the faction for the dark. As it was necessary for at least three quarters of the Wizengamot to confirm the newly headed Minister of Magic. The result of this was that there was no overall leader of the Ministry, only Department Heads that more often than not were in rivalry against each other, causing for a serious deterioration in efficiency and government issues.

What was needed was a proper figurehead, somebody just like Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived. Once he had defeated Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the position of purebloods everywhere would be in jeopardy, and that would create a vacuum of power that Dumbledore had already planned to fill. However, to do that, the Boy-Who-Lived was needed, at the very least for his endorsement of the candidate that Dumbledore would have to choose, if he couldn't use Harry. Still, he had all of the school years to convince him otherwise.

'Harry, I cannot in all good conscience allow you to go back to the ganghouse. It is far too dangerous, and we have no safeguards against Lord Voldemort or his Death Eaters there. I'm sorry, but you cannot go back. That bleak period of your life is over.'

Emerald felt himself grow even more pissed off, if that was even possible. How dare that man try and tell him what to do, he had no idea of what Emerald had gotten through in his years. His entire life had been spent with the gang; he had loved with them, fought with them. If asked to give up his life for them, he would've agreed without a hesitation.

Rick, the cool, laidback guy who could never be surprised. He was always willing to lend a hand, always willing to have a laugh, always willing to fight to the end for his friends. He had always been willing to fight to save his friends, you couldn't ask for a more loyal friend when you were in need.

And Shell, beautiful Shell. She was another cool type, but was prone to all kinds of emotions when she got enough into it. She was willing to do anything for her friends, and she had always been willing to do anything for Emerald. He had never really thought about it, but maybe, just maybe, Shell had always held a torch for him, but had just never noticed it before.

'Dumbledore, for now, I have no choice. But one day, one day you'll push me too far, and then you'll regret it. You're close to that line now, so you better watch what you say. Don't forget now that we killed four of your guys, and we've wounded another six. Let's not make it more now, shall we?'

'Now then,' Emerald said, folding his arms. 'I just need one item, you got it? Just one.

'And that would be?'

'A electric guitar. I assume that you know what one of them looks like, right?'

Dumbledore shook his head, causing Emerald to groan. 'Do you not have anyone from my world that's in your precious Order?'

'Well, yes, in fact I do. I know someone. Yes, I think that Tonks ought to get it for you. Do you have a message that you wish to give to anyone?'

'Yeah, but I'm not telling it to you. You got any paper?'

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and conjured out of nowhere a piece of paper and a quill with ink. Emerald picked up the quill with disgust. 'What the hell is this meant to be?'

Dumbledore looked confused. 'I assumed you knew how to write, perhaps if I-'

'No! I can write and read perfectly well, I'm on about the fact that quills went out at least a hundred years ago, if not more! Have you people never heard of biros? Pens? Not even pencils?'

'We don't use those Muggle contractions. The Wizarding world as a whole likes tradition, and Quills are a large part of that.'

Emerald shook his head in disgust. What the hell was he getting into? He dipped the pen into the ink and started writing down his message before handing it to Dumbledore. At Dumbledore's inquisitive look, Emerald shrugged. 'No point looking, it's my own personal code. Many have tried to break it before, but I'm afraid that none of them have ever succeeded.'

Dumbledore nodded. 'I will respect your privacy and won't read it despite the temptation that it offers to me.' He smiled at Emerald. 'I may as well tell you some things about what'll happen tomorrow.

Emerald shrugged. 'Fine then. It's not like I have a choice.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'Excellent. Right, first of all, Hogwarts will have provided you with your schoolbooks. You will also be receiving a wand at a later date, but for now you'll have to make do with practical magical theory, as we won't have enough time to get you a wand. You will be taken to the train station tomorrow along with the others and will head off to Hogwarts. Now, at Hogwarts, we will be having a very special event. I may as well tell you now, but I must ask you to not tell anyone else of this.'

'This year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard tournament. Now, I realize that you have no idea what it is exactly, so I may as well tell you. The Triwizard tournament is a competition held between three schools, Hogwarts and two other schools in Bulgaria and France. However, it had been banned for quite a while as sadly one challenger died every time. However, this year, to try and cheer up our students and distract them from the war, we have decided to host it again. If all goes well, we will continue with the Triwizard tournament every four years.'

'Ok. Well, as long as you don't involve me in it. I have no intention of doing anything that I don't want to. I just want to get this over with without any complications. I just want to go home, Dumbledore. That's it. Understand?'

'Perfectly. Now, I'm sure that Sirius will be kind enough to take you to your bedroom. May as well get a couple of hours in, from what I've heard, you've been up for more than a day.'

'Whatever,' Emerald said dismissively as he walked to the door where he was greeted by Sirius, who looked him up and down. 'Yes, I'm cute. Get over it.' He sneered as Sirius bristled at the implication. Emerald waited for a moment. Sirius still hadn't moved. 'Well, where's my bedroom then?'

Sirius made to turn, but suddenly, a pink haired woman brushed past them, barging into the room where Dumbledore was. 'Dumbledore! The Muggles are under attack!'

'Where?'

'Where we just picked up Emerald!'

'What!?' Emerald shouted suddenly, turning on his heels. 'What the hell are you on about?'

'Inferi, they're attacking everyone there!'

Emerald turned blankly to Sirius. 'They mean zombies.'

'Shit!' Emerald turned to Dumbledore. 'Dumbledore, we're going there. You will give me my weapons, you will get your people and you are going to help me save my friends. Do you fucking understand me?'

Silently, Dumbledore nodded.

'Then what the fuck are we waiting for? Let's go kill some of these motherfuckers!'

Hey guys, well, here's you're cliffy for the day. Will Emerald be able to defeat the Inferi, or if you didn't guess already, the "Crazies"? This is my longest chapter so far, so I'm hoping that all of you will review, because I've really worked hard on this.

By the way, I've set up a poll. I think it'll be highly unlikely that there'll be a Emerald/Shell pairing. So, I've put up some more choices. If anyone has any suggestions that are popular (and aren't involving Granger or Weasley), then I'll put it on the poll. I'm out for unusual pairings, because I always like reading those kinds of pairings. So please, review or PM me with suggestions.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

From Kaeim.