Previously on Ties That Bind I

"Alex?" Harry asked. His cousin looked down at him slightly.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Will...wielding the dagger change me?"

Alex stopped walking and turned to look his young cousin in the eye. Harry chewed his lip nervously, green eyes looking up sadly.

"That depends on what you mean. The weapons created by the Dark Elves aren't made to destroy and enslave the free peoples of the Known Lands. They were forged in a time of great need. Their masters feel the power of the weapons anytime the weapon is used. When you first feel the power of the sword enter you it's frightening. But, when weapons of power are used in great need the sword is used as a great tool to protect those that may not be saved otherwise."

Alex could see Harry was puzzled by his words. The adventurer felt torn. Wielding Moon Slayer was a hard thing to explain. Sindar understood well enough because the elf carried his own magic blades. How do you explain it all to an eleven year old boy?

Alex stopped Harry with a soft hand on the shoulder. The blonde haired man knelt down so he was at eye level with the child. "Harry, your dagger holds the power needed to protect yourself and others. Don't worry so much about what can happen. Respect yourself and your opponents. All you can do is learn to use your abilities to the best of your knowledge. Ok?"

His cousin nodded, black curls bouncing with every move of his head.

Harry sat in one of the many sitting rooms, staring at the letter on the end table. It was his Hogwarts letter. Alex had explained that Hogwarts was a school for people like them, wizards.

The black-haired wizard propped his head up with his left hand. No matter what his cousin said, he still didn't like the idea of going to a school he'd never heard of until yesterday. The only other wizard he'd ever known was Whalen and now he was going to attend a school full of them?

He felt lost in his own home. Normally he would have talked to Alex about all of this, but the adventurer was up in his room signing papers so he could legally take care of him. Harry couldn't help but feel like an inconvenience.

Last night, he'd have been blind not to notice the look of longing on Alex's face when they were sharing stories about adventures. Though he didn't say it, Harry knew his cousin missed going on adventures. The truth was Alex had given up a lot to take care of Harry: adventures, friends and countless wizarding duties in the Known Lands.

The black-haired boy sighed. Alex worried about taking care of him because of his fame and the lies Albus Dumbledore had told the Wizarding World. There was a good chance, no matter what papers Alex signed and legal hoops he went through, that Harry could be taken from the only home he'd ever loved. What would happen to Alex?

Alex was a smart and resourceful wizard, but that didn't mean he could go up against dozens of wizards at once and win. What if he went off to school and never saw Alex again? Everyone was doing their best to shield him from the cruelty of the outside world as much as possible because he was still a 'child'.

As far as he was concerned, the Dursleys stole a very large and irreparable part of his childhood that could never be returned. He wasn't a naive child anymore who didn't understand the workings of adults.

Dumbledore would be out for three things. First, to figure out where he'd been for the last six years and who took him. Second, find out who Alex was, how he'd known all of the Headmaster's nitty gritty secrets and get payback. And third, do anything in his power to take Harry away from Alex, control him, and use the Boy-Who-Lived to regain his tarnished reputation.

Harry moved his hand so he could rest his head in its place on the arm of the couch. For once he wished his life was as simple and carefree as all the other kids his age.

Maybe Hogwarts would be boring and uneventful.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts…

Albus Dumbledore was having a bad day. No, scratch that. It was a bad week, period.

He'd heard whisperings about a new wizard in Britain. One that was powerful, stealthy and hid in the shadows. Albus had tried all he could to learn more about this elusive figure, but despite all his attempts, he failed to find out more than a few misguided whispers.

The Headmaster shook his head. It was official. In one single day all of his political power had been stripped. His position as Chief Wizengamot was gone as well as his family chair.

Albus was a master of working in the shadows to gently sway the public to his view on government. Who ever was behind all this was smart, ruthless, and had contacts in all the right places. And he didn't even know the name of this mysterious enemy.

Minerva had been understandably cold towards him for the last while. He flinched internally. Maybe he went a little too far by submitting 'that one statement' saying the Dursley's were concerned for their missing nephew. The Dursley's missed Harry Potter like anyone misses a plague.

Albus' withered hands came up to touch his pale face. Everything had been going so right and now it was all in shambles, ripped to shreds in less than a second. Whatever remained of Voldemort's supporters were no doubt celebrating his exodus from the wizengamot. This new wizard was dangerous, and by every possibility, dark.

Whoever the player was, they are more dangerous than he first anticipated. Nevermind, Harry Potter was due to start Hogwarts this coming school year. The Ministry had probable cause to remove him from his place in the Wizengamot, but they couldn't relieve him of his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Hogwarts was his last trump card against his new adversary besides the will of James and Lily Potter. The school was a perfect place to 'influence' the new generation.

Albus was quite an accomplished wizard when it came to Legitimacy. All he needed was to exchange a glance or two with Harry and all would be as it should be. He'd know who took the child from his 'loving' home with the Dursleys.

He'd convince Harry Potter about how sorry he was about his relatives. Perhaps in a year or too the boy would be willing to move back in with his aunt and uncle, after he convinced the Wizengamot how much the Dursleys had changed and learned after their unfortunate arrests. Albus needed the boy to trust him.

Albus knew about the abuse, how could he not. When he dropped Harry off on the doorstep he took the time, all those years ago, to erect charms that monitored Harry's health. The charms had been weaved into the wards, which were then tied to a single artifact sitting on his desk.

Albus cursed his bad luck mentally. All of the wards, enchantments, and charms simultaneously broke the night Harry Potter went missing. Wards so powerful, not even Albus would have been able to break if he'd needed to. One that night, Albus knew just how complacent he'd been.

It was all his fault Harry had gone missing. Whoever broke the wards most likely has a magic level over a thousand. Equal or more powerful than Merlin himself.

But it was for the greater good he reminded himself when a pang of guilt prung up.

The boy didn't know he was one of the seven horcruxes Voldemort made to cheat death. It was disheartening to know the boy had to die in his mission to kill Voldemort. But, that was his duty. Placing him with the Dursleys was necessary. Harry needed to know what it was like to have every hate you for what you were. That way the boy would be more willing to die when the time came. If he was correct in his assumptions, the Durselys would turn Harry Potter evil, but willing to do anything to protect every else, at the cost of his own life.

It was for the greater good…

Somehow that sentiment wasn't a good of a balm to his heart like it used to be.

Tink, tink.

Albus looked up, the wards notified Minerva was coming up to his office. His door slid open.

Minerva was dressed in dark brown robes with her hair pulled back tightly in a bun at the nape of her neck. A thick sheaf of paper was in her hand. It was the student registry, he thought off handedly.

"Minerva, good to see you, lemon drop?"

Minerva scowled at him and promptly shoved the parchment under his nose. "The confirmations just came in. They're all there."

Albus looked like an over-eager puppy. "All of them, even…"

Minerva looked even more sour than before, if that was possible.

"If you mean, Harry Potter, then yes." She snapped in a frosty tone. "His confirmation just came in an hour ago."

"An hour, my dear? Why didn't you notify me sooner?' Albus asked with a surprised tone.

It was the straw that broke the camel back. The Transfiguration Professor's resolve snapped. "Why! Because I am sick and tired of your attitude! You expect everyone to bow to your will! I'm not your puppet, Albus! I may work at this school, but I don't owe my allegiance to anyone else, but me!"

Albus stood up, eyes twinkling in an attempt to allow her to calm down. "Minerva I know how you must feel-"

"How do I feel!? No Albus the only thing you understand and care for is yourself, and your so called 'greater good'!" Minerva snatched up the parchment briskly. "I warned you Albus! I warned you about those filthy, good for nothing muggles! And what did you tell me? 'It's for the best'. Things have changed Albus, don't you feel it? All of Britain is changed. Your name is worse than mud right now. Someone is pulling the strings to get you out of the public limelight And I applaud them. I applaud them for doing the one thing no one else has the guts to do. Watch your back, Albus. From here on out, you're all on your own."

She spun around, and disappeared through the open door way. But not before her last words echoed in Albus' ear at a louder frequency then any sonorus charm could manage.

"You're on your own, best of luck!"