Disclaimer: I do not, in anyway own the wonderful world of Harry Potter, or Charmed. I am just dabbling in the world they left for us.

Chapter 51

Desperate.


"Are you absolutely sure about this, Albus? These are some pretty extraordinary claims, and against The-Boy-Who-Lived no less."

"Alas, I am as sure as I can be, Rufus. Ever since Lord Voldemort returned, Harry has been, how shall I put this, not his normal self?" The Headmaster sighed, "He is prone to visions that are a danger to himself and those around him and as much as I hate to say it, he is heading down a Dark path from which I am sure he will be unable to return."

Rufus Scrimgeour sat there staring at the Headmaster in silence. "What are you proposing we do to head off the….problem?"

The Headmaster gave a slight smirk, his eyes shining brighter than they had in a long while. "Ever since the start of term when I begin to notice the changes in young Mr. Potter, I have done my best to think of anything that might help and I believe I have come up with the best solution."

"Well, what is it?" Rufus asked.

"Seize guardianship from his Aunt and Uncle, since they don't care for the boy anyway, and make him a ward of the Ministry. Now, while it is not normal for a student to stay at Hogwarts over the Holiday, I do think that it is the only option. This way I…and of course the other professors who stay at the school over the holidays, can keep a close watch over him, making sure he is well trained and guided in the ways of the Light and away from the Darkness that Voldemort awoke in him when he tried and succeeded to posses Harry, Mr. Potter, that night at the Ministry last term."

"You seem to have thought this out, Albus."

"Minister, I made a mistake many years ago that I am not proud of that resulted in the rise of a Dark Lord. It is true that I am human and prone to mistakes, but I will not let another Dark Lord rise up again if I can help it."

"Am I to assume that this Dark Lord you speak of is…"

"Voldemort, indeed it was," he nodded.

"It is my job, as Minister for Magic, to make sure that there is peace and the Wizarding Community kept safe. So, Albus Dumbledore, you have this Ministers express permission to do as you see fit as long as it falls within the plans you have set before me."

"Thank you Minister," Dumbledore said as he stood and shook the Minister's hand. As he walked out of the office and through the many corridors of the Ministry, he popped a Lemon Drop into his mouth and gave a slight smirk. 'This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you Mr. Potter, but your safety is of the upmost importance and for the greater good'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yes, I was hoping that I may speak with Vernon Dursley?"

"May I ask who is calling on him?"

"Yes, my name is Zeke Eielson, and I am here on behalf of Kyoto Drilling Industries. I just need a moment of Mr. Dursleys time."

Petunia Dursley smiled and opened the door a bit wider so as to let the man through. "He is upstairs getting ready for the day, let me go and fetch him. Please have a seat," she said, gesturing to the sofa near the space heater. She then head out into the hall and up the stairs to get her husband.

It wasn't long before both of the Dursleys had made their way back down the stairs and Vernon greeted his guest. "Vernon Dursley at your service, Mr…"

"Eielson, Zeke Eielson," he said shaking Vernon's hand.

"Ah yes, Mr. Eielson, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Sitting up a bit straighter Zeke began, "Mr. Dursley, as I'm sure you're aware, Kyoto Drilling Industries is the largest supplier of Drills across the globe." At seeing Vernon nod, he continued, "Well, Mr. Kyoto is looking to fill a position that has recently come open, and would very much like to steal you away from Grunnings and have you fill said position."

"I am not sure…" Vernon began, but was cut off when Zeke leaned over to him and handed him a single sheet of paper with a smile.

Vernon held the paper between him and his wife so they could both read it and with each line they read, their eyes got bigger and their mouths opened wider. "This has got to be some sort of joke." Vernon sputtered.

"I assure you Mr. Dursley this is no joke. Mr. Kyoto drew that up himself and he never jokes when it come to business."

"What is it that I would be doing exactly?"

"As I am sure you can see sir that is several pay grades higher than what you are receiving now. That is because you are going to be overseeing and running the American Branch, specifically New York, which is going to be opening within the next two weeks or so."

Vernon had to take a deep breath before continuing. "You, or rather Mr. Kyoto, wants me to move to the states?"

"Move to, and run that particular branch," Zeke smiled.

"And that branch is set to open when?"

"About two weeks from now, though, upon your acceptance of this offer Mr. Kyoto would like for you to make the move as soon as possible, within the next two days that is."

"You mean to tell me that if I accept this offer I am going have to move my family to the United States?"

"And upon your acceptance of this offer Mr. Kyoto is willing to foot the entire bill for your move. So anything you may need: movers, packers, you name it, he is willing to provide it. Oh, and before I forget, Mr. Kyoto will fly your son over once the school term is complete."

"This is a lot of information to process, how long do I have to think about this offer?"

"Mr. Dursley, if I may, I too was approached to work for Mr. Kyoto for the position I now hold and have been with this company ever since. You don't say no to him, he is by far the best employer this side of the states and once you start working for him you will never want to stop. He is the best and does not make these kinds of offers if he thinks they will be turned down."

"I have heard of his reputation and very much want to take this offer, but there is still an issue of…"

"It has already been taken care of, sir."

"I'm sorry?" Vernon asked confusion evident in his voice.

"Mr. Kyoto covers everything before he makes an offer Mr. Dursley. Your accommodations have been taken care of. Your new house is ready and waiting for you to move in as soon as your plane lands."

"Vernon?"

Knowing what his wife was about to mention he turned to Zeke Eielson, who just sat there with a smile on his face, and said "I feel that I should inform you that I want to accept your offer however…"

"How far along are you, Mrs. Dursley?"

"Four months, this is our second child." Petunia smiled.

"Mr. Dursley," Zeke said as he reached into his black, leather briefcase and pulled out several official-looking papers. "As I have said since I sat down with you, Mr. Kyoto plans for everything."

"Where do I sign?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Rufus Scrimgeour sat behind his desk looking at the missive that had just crossed his desk. 'This is not good…'

"Minister, Albus Dumbledore is here to see you…"

He signed. "Send him in."

"Ah, Minister, I have great news" Dumbledore said as he crossed the distance between them, "I have procured and had all of the necessary paperwork signed and filed. Mr. Potter is now a ward of the Ministry."

"Albus please sit."

Noticing a change from the Minister he met with earlier in the day, he sat down. "Rufus, is everything okay?"

"No, Albus, it is not," Rufus shook his head.

"What has happened? Is it Voldemort?"

"No."

"Then what has happened, dear friend?"

"I am not sure how, but someone found out what you…we were trying to do and put a stop to it."

Now Dumbledore shook his head, "What do you mean someone 'put a stop to it'?"

"All of the paperwork you went through and had filed has been revoked. Any chances of getting Mr. Potter as a Ward of the Ministry are gone."

"This is not possible…"

"And yet it has been done, so I suggest that you put this behind you, Albus, and put your focus back on Hogwarts and the other students under your care."

"But Rufus, someone is making sure that what we want done is not accomplished, we need to find out who that person is and…"

"Drop it. Albus! It is done and there is nothing that can be done, so just leave it be."

Knowing that there was nothing else he could say to dissuade Rufus, Dumbledore stood and made his way out of the Ministers office for the second time that day. Just as he was about to turn on the spot to Disapperate, a voice called out his name.

"Albus Dumbledore, I didn't think I would be seeing you here at the Ministry today."

With a grace that denied his years, Dumbledore stopped mid-turn and spun to face the voice that had called out to him. "Ah, Ezekiel, it is a surprise to see you, how are you doing?"

"I am well, Albus, and yourself?" Ezekiel replied as he offered his hand to the Headmaster.

As Dumbledore took the offered hand, Ezekiel's briefcase slipped from his hands and landed on the ground, all of the papers that were in it spilled out across the floor.

"Oh dear, let me help you with those."

"It is quite alright Albus, nothing to worry about."

"Nonsense," And in one fluid motion Albus Dumbledore knelt to the ground and proceeded to pick some of the fallen papers. His keen eyes did not fail to miss that the forms he was picking up had a signature. Upon seeing that the signature belonged to Vernon Dursley everything just seemed to fit together like pieces of a puzzle. "It was you…"

"What are you talking about, Albus?"

"You are the one who got to Rufus; you are the one who stopped the paperwork from going through."

"Albus, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I'm sure you don't, but we shall see if you change your tune when you are taken before the Minister."

"You forget your place Dumbledore, and you also forget that I do not and never will answer to the Minister or the Wizengamot for that matter."

"We shall see about that." And in one swift movement, Dumbledore attempted to take the briefcase from Ezekiel's hands. "You are withholding information from the Ministry and could be put in Azkaban for what you have done."

"Albus Dumbledore," Ezekiel said, power coming off of him in waves, "You will let go of my briefcase, which holds confidential information regarding my department. And if you so much as attempt to steal from me again, I will see to it that you are stripped of your titles and removed as Headmaster of Hogwarts school." Then in a quieter voice, leaning closer to the Headmaster, he said, "You have stepped out of line one too many times, claiming to do things for the greater good, most recently with Mr. Potter. And no matter how hard you try, you will be met with opposition whenever you try to put him under your, or the Ministry's, thumb. He is far more protected than even you can imagine."

With that, Ezekiel dropped the fist-full of the Headmaster's robes he had grabbed a short moment ago, snapped his fingers, and vanished in a gust of wind.

Albus stood there staring at where the man had been. 'It appears that I may need to rethink how I am going to get to Harry so that he can be protected by the Order. He is too important for me to give up now.' And with that thought in mind, he turned on his heel and disapperated with a resounding crack.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And I'm going to guess that he wasn't very pleased with that."

"Of course he wasn't pleased Dargus, he likes to have it all under his close watch and if he doesn't, well, let's just say what happened between him and I was just a taste of how he would act."

"And you are sure that Mr. Potter's relatives will not be a problem?"

"Not an ounce of trouble." Ezekiel said with a smile.

"How did you do it, get them out of the country I mean. Was the offer even real?"

"Of course the offer was real Dargus, no matter what they did to young Mr. Potter when he was younger, they still are human beings and deserves to be treated as such. Even Harry realizes this."

"But did you….?"

"Yes," Ezekiel said nodding, "Though I must admit how much I do not like having to get involved on such a personal level and "meddle" the way Albus does, but he forced my hand."

"But now the Headmaster knows that you had something to do with it. He will step up his game and try even harder to get to Mr. Potter."

"Albus has no real proof that I did anything, he has his suspicions, but nothing more. And then there is the fact that he can't get to Harry."

"What did you do sir?"

"Let's just say that one of the forms that the Dursleys signed was a transfer of Guardianship form. While they were not his real guardians, they were related, however distantly, and therefore the proper forms had to be signed and filed even if it was just returning him to his proper family."

"And they would be?"

"No one you need to concern yourself with just now, maybe sometime in the future, but not now." Ezekiel replied with a smirk. "But right now I have a letter to send to someone, I have a situation that needs dealing with…"

"About that sir, are you sure it is wise to…"

"It really is of no consequence now, it would have come out eventually, but now that it has there are things that must be done."

"I apologize again sir for…"

"As I said before Dargus it is a moot point, and who knows, it might just be a good thing that this happened the way it did. Now, before we part ways today, tell me how is he doing?"

"As well as can be expected, but…"

"Well spit it out Dargus, I do not have all day."

"Well sir, upon completion of the meeting, there was some information revealed that shocked most of the Department, I included."

"And that would be?"

"Sir, it appears that…well, I could explain it to you, but I think you need to see this for yourself."

Ezekiel gave a small nod and followed his apprentice out of his office and down through one of the long corridors that led to an observation room. When they entered Ezekiel was caught off guard by what was going on before him. Now, this did not happen often, but when it did those who worked under him made it a point to not forget the look on their bosses face at the time. This time however, none of the Department heads' employees were looking at their boss; instead they were staring transfixed at the scene that was before them.

"It appears that all traces of it have been eradicated from his system."

"Now this is an interesting turn of events Dargus, very interesting indeed."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Headmaster just stared at the raven-haired boy in front of him. Over the last couple of days he had been going over anything that might be of help in keeping Harry safe and within his line of sight and it was only hours ago that he had thought of something. He was surprised that he had not thought of it sooner.

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Yes Harry, I am fine," The Headmaster said with a smile, "I was just…thinking."

"You said that you wanted to tell me something…"

"And indeed I do, I think that you will be quite pleased with this bit of news."

"I'm all ears professor."

"Now Harry, in the past I would not have been able to make this offer, but seeing as I have the okay from the ministry…I wanted to inform you that, if you want to that is, you may stay here at the school over the summer break."

"Actually sir, I already have plans for the summer. So thank you for the offer but I have to turn it down."

Harrys reply had caught the Headmaster off guard. He was sure that this would be the one thing to lure Harry away from whomever he had been with over the summer. "Are you sure Harry? You would have complete reign over the school, so to speak. The library and the common room would be yours."

"It really is a great offer sir, but as I have already said I have plans."

"What if I was to tell you that I had spoken to Ron and Ginnys mother and father as well as Miss. Grangers family and they have given consent for their children to stay at the school for the Holiday."

"Then I would know that you were telling me a lie as I have already spoken to the families you just mentioned and all of our summer plans are the same."

"Molly and Arthur didn't mention anything to me…" The Headmaster said, looking slightly affronted.

"With all due respect sir, people in the Order and those not in it, do not have to keep you updated on all aspects of their lives. Now, if it is alright with you sir, I have some things that I need to take care of before I turn in for the night."

Albus Dumbledore could only nod as he watched his prize pupil, his protégé, leave his office. On the outside he put on his calm face, but on the inside he was fuming. 'How could that old geezer of a Department Head do this to me? He got to the Dursleys and now he has gotten to Harry. What am I going to do?'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ugh, how could I have been so careless?" A figure exclaimed as he kicked the ground beneath his feet.

"Well you are a Gryffindor. Jumping into situations without thinking…"

"You are so not helping...and besides, that has nothing to do with it. My hood fell back when I was thrown to the ground…"

"Something that would not have happened if you hadn't decided to leave those kidnapping, well adult-napping, gits a little gift."

"Oh, you would have done it too, and you would have made the explosion even bigger."

"Well you've got me there." The second figure said with a smile. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I am going to follow orders, Rune, it is the only thing I can do. Besides, he thinks that this is probably for the best."

"If you say so," Rune said as he stood up, "And while you are following your orders, I will be off to bed getting a good night's rest."

"Thanks for your support in this." Spore said sarcastically as he made to follow his comrade up to the castle.

"Look Nev, you're a good person and even though you kind of screwed up here…"

Neville waited and when his friend did not continue he asked, "Are you going to finish that thought Rune?"

"Nope, that is all I got." Rune answered with a smile, playfully hitting his partner.

"Thanks."

They walked in silence through the halls of their school, completely invisible from so as not to get into trouble for being out past curfew. "So how long did they give you to set it all up?" Rune asked.

"Three weeks."

"That's not too bad. It could be a lot worse…"

Neville/Spore nodded and sighed, "That much I know."


A/N: So here it is, Chapter 51 (Which takes place one day after the events of the previous chapter.) I tried to find a way to put the date in here but it didn't quite work. I hope you liked it. I wanted to give you all a deeper look at how desperate Dumbledore is becoming and of course that means i needed to include Ezekiel. It is not as long as my last chapter, Sorry, but it is what I can give you all for waiting as patiently as you all did for chapter 50. Thanks for reading, and if there are those out there who read this story and are confused as to how i am mixing the two worlds...please message me through and i will explaine as best as I can without giving the big stuff away.

Until next time...

Mudbloodpotter.