AN: This chapter again mentions some of the abusive Dursley situation, though at this point it is just other characters assuming. Nothing is graphicly shown in this chapter, nor do I intend to in the future.
-HP-HP-HP-
When Harry next opened his eyes, he had to fight off the urge to throw up. Clutching his stomach, the boy fell to the ground and began taking deep breaths. As much as he had enjoyed his first ice cream treat, he wasn't keen on the thought of seeing it again so soon.
Apparating, Harry thought, is the worst.
It took a few minutes before Harry felt he could actually stand up and look around. When he did, all thoughts of his stomach (and the contents he dearly wanted to keep inside it) fled. On both his left and right were fireplaces lined up side-by-side. Every twenty seconds or so the flames inside a fireplace on the left would turn a deep green color and a person would step out, though they didn't appear to be burnt in any way. On his right he watched as a large man walked up to a fireplace, did something that made the flames turn the same deep green, then stepped into it and disappeared. Looking at the green flames, Harry thought, Maybe it's like the roads where green means go? All the fire I've seen is kinda an orangy-yellowy-red and red means stop. He opened his mouth to ask Newt what was happening when a loud crack! interrupted him mid-motion. A person had appeared a few feet in front of him from out of no-where. Harry turned to look up at Newt, mouth still open from the interrupted previous question.
Newt caught his look and gave a chuckle before gently tapping under Harry's chin and tugging the boy's hand to move him along. He explained, "That man ahead of us apparated in, just like we did. That's why we had to hide before we left ourselves, see? Randomly disappearing and appearing is not something muggles can do, right?"
"No, sir!" Harry said, glad that he knew at least something.
"Just 'Newt', remember, lad. But no indeed! Now, the fireplaces are there for people traveling using the floo network. Most wizard and witches have a fireplace in their house connected to the floo network and they are all interconnected, almost like muggle roads. Using a bit of special powder, you can step right in one fireplace and out the other! Of course," he interrupted himself to sternly say, "magic always comes with a cost, whether it be just becoming tired or otherwise, so make sure you remember that!" Returning to his jovial tone, Newt continued, "Anyway, like how apparating feels like you get all sucked down, using the floo makes you feel quite dizzy as you see all the fireplaces as you pass them by. It is a method used by many people, though, as not everyone can apparate, such as children. Maybe we can try it on our way out? It's either that or apparating again."
Harry wasn't sure which he would rather use. Though he still thought that apparating had been awful, Newt hadn't exactly made traveling by floo seem all that much better. In the end he decided that he would rather avoid apparating if possible.
"Floo, please, Newt," said Harry.
"Yes, I thought as much. Don't worry, you'll get used to both ways of travel soon enough, eh? First though we have to go up there and get signed in," Newt said, pointing in the direction that most people were walking in. Harry could see a desk marked 'Security' through the throngs of people.
"Um, Newt," Harry asked as they walked, "where are we exactly?"
Newt stopped walking, causing Harry to bump right in to him. Newt didn't seem to mind, instead turning back to look at Harry and saying, "Oh, Merlin, I forgot to tell you, didn't I? Harry, we're at the Ministry of Magic, the magical government building. It's right in London, though rather hidden to muggles, being underground and all. Now, we are here to talk to my brother Theseus, do you remember me mentioning him? He's the director of the DMLE, the magical police, so he should be able to help us out, wouldn't you say? Thank Merlin he doesn't retire until next week or it may be a little more difficult."
Harry was just about to ask who exactly 'Merlin' was and why Newt kept mentioning him but decided not to when Newts face turned very serious. "Now, Harry, we didn't really talk about it before and now's not a great time either, but, hmm, your name is rather distinctive in the wizarding world. To make things go just a tad faster right now, when it comes to signing in, I'm going to just say that you're my nephew, Harry Graves, alright?"
"Alright," Harry agreed. He wondered why Potter was a distinctive name in the wizarding world. Or maybe it's 'Harry'? 'Harry' or 'Potter,' which one is odder? he wondered, then giggled to himself at the rhyme.
Newt smiled and gently patted Harry's head, smoothing down his hair, before turning to head towards the security desk. At the desk was a small woman next to a strange contraption. Harry noticed that she was wearing a name tag that said 'Lynn,' so figured that at least Lynn wasn't a weird name in the wizarding world. He then thought of the man holding his hand, who had asked to be called Newt of all things, and giggled again to himself.
People were walking up to Lynn-the-security-witch and handing over their wands. She would drop their wands onto the metal plate of the contraption, which would cause the whole thing to vibrate for a minute before spitting out a piece of thick paper. She would check for something on the paper before handing the wands back to their owners and waving them through a little gate. Soon it was their turn.
"Names please," she practically chirped. Harry thought she sounded rather like a bird.
"Newton Scamander and my nephew Harry Graves," answered Newt.
She looked between Newt's impressive blue coat and Harry's raggedy outfit a few times, her cheerful expression falling and being replaced with furrowed brows. Harry grabbed the legs of his large cast-offs and blushed, ashamed. He had forgotten how much nicer Newt looked than he did.
When the woman clearly wasn't moving on, Newt added, "I'm here to go to the DMLE."
For some reason that seemed to clear things up for her. Her cheerful expression came back and Lynn said, "Alright, Mr. Scamander, wand please." While Newt's wand was put on the weird metal contraption that Harry could now see was labelled the "Wand Weigher 5000", she simply tapped her wand on a different piece of that thick paper. Words appeared on it that said "Harry Graves ACCOMPANIED BY Newton Scamander". She handed the paper over to Harry and said, "Press it firmly to your chest for a couple of seconds so the sticking charm will grab hold. All minors must be accompanied by an adult at all times, so make sure you don't get lost."
Harry nodded. He wasn't going to lose Newt, that was for sure. Following her instructions about the parchment, Harry realized that it must be some type of magical sticker.
After the sticker was attached and Newt's wand was returned, they were ushered on through to the main floor on the Ministry. Harry marveled at the large fountain as they walked by, wondering if all of the non-humans were real beings. When Harry asked Newt, Newt responded in the affirmative, clarifying that they were called centaurs, goblins, and house elves. However, he added, "They do rather look like that, physically, though a touch smaller, so don't be surprised if you see any non-human beings here today, okay? But they certainly don't act like humans are the best like that statue seems to think. Centaurs and goblins have completely separate cultures from humans, though they do overlap occasionally. House elves… well house elves have a different relationship with humans, but we can discuss that later. Anyway, just always make sure to be polite, Harry, and you'll be golden as a galleon."
Harry nodded, a bit overwhelmed, but knew that he would be as polite as possible no matter what. They entered an elevator and Harry realized something that had been bothering him since they arrived at the Ministry. "Um, Newt, why is everyone here wearing dresses?" he asked, trying to be quiet. Of course, in the small box everyone present could still hear him clearly. A woman in the back corner with flaming red hair chuckled kind-heartedly, as did a man with equally bright – though thinning – hair beside her. On their other side, however, the question caused a different man to scowl.
"In the wizarding world, at least in the United Kingdom, most adults wear robes. Some can be open, a bit like a long jacket, and clothes that are almost a muggle style can be seen underneath. Some others are a bit dress like, as you've said, and are closed in the front. On the other hand, some magical folk such as myself prefer to wear muggle style clothes. I do a lot of moving between the magical and muggle worlds and it's easier this way. Plus, muggle clothes are easier to move around in," Newt explained after glaring at the scowling man. Thankfully, the man left on the Level 6, the Department of Magical Transportation. Newt ushered Harry off of the lift on Level 2, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Harry saw the redheaded couple also get off on their level, though they stopped at a small office called "Misuse of Muggle Artefacts."
Newt pulled Harry along, passed desks where quills were writing on their own and papers were shuffling themselves. He even saw a paper fold itself into a paper airplane and fly across the room to someone else. Newt seemed to know exactly where to go, as was apparent when he led Harry to a door labeled, "Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Through the clear glass at the top of the door, Harry saw a woman sitting at desk, reading through some type of report with a quill in hand. Newt opened the door and ushered Harry in.
Looking up at their entrance, the woman smiled. "Ah, Newt," she acknowledged, "I've been wondering when you would stop by!"
"Hello, Rae," Newt smiled back. "Is Theseus in?"
"Yes, yes, though I don't believe he's expecting you, is he? Best knock first." She waved the two towards a door saying "Director Theseus Scamander." Newt gave the door a hard double knock and then waited until he heard the person inside shout, "Come in!"
Newt quickly opened the door and entered, Harry following behind. Sitting behind the desk was an old man, perhaps in his 80s to Harry's best guess, as he looked rather like a neighbor from Privet Drive who had celebrated his 80th birthday the past month.
"Ah, there's my baby brother!" the man said, getting up and practically pouncing around the desk to grab Newt in a hug. Harry was surprised to see that, though the man looked old, he didn't seem to be too restricted in his movements. He looked back and forth between the two men and thought, Newt really must have been the baby brother, he only looks around 30, much younger than the Director.
Newt returned the hug, patting the man on the back. He pulled away from the hug saying, "Thee, I saw you just this morning!"
"And yet, I may have expired in my old age since then," he exclaimed.
"You're only 9 years older than I am!"
"Exactly! 91 to my 100, practically a spring chicken. I mean, really, look at you, Newton, it's so unfair," the Director pouted.
"Ah, but you know that's not my fault. Besides, you're only 100, still plenty young for us magicals. I don't know why you're retiring, really. Getting lazy?" Newt teased.
"Nonsense!" The Director puffed up. "I've still got some fight left in me! Just maybe not as much as I should have, for a job like this. As director I don't go out in the field much, but if I do I wouldn't want to zig when I should have zagged, you know? I've made it this far with all my limbs and by Merlin I won't lose one now! Besides, Amelia will do great."
"Ah, well as great as Madam Bones will be, I'm in need of a little bit of your fight now, Thee. I've got someone I'd like to introduce you to."
The Director turned to look right at Harry, who was almost hidden by a chair. Harry got the impression that he had known Harry was there the whole time and had been just waiting to be introduced. His eyes narrowed as he looked Harry up and down, eyes settling in on the visitor's sticker for a moment before stopping at Harry's face, which was stuck in an expression of confusion as he tried to process what he had just overheard. Newt is how old? And the Director is 100? I didn't know people got that old!
"Hello, lad, I'm Director Scamander, this young tykes big brother. And who are you?" He held his hand out towards Harry.
Harry jumped when he saw the hand coming, but realized he was just wanting a hand shake. Feeling very adult, Harry stood up as tall as he could (though not on his tip-toes). He wasn't sure if he was supposed to use his proper name of 'Harry Potter' or if he should say 'Harry Graves' as his sticker proclaimed so he decided to do neither. Hoping it was alright, the boy grabbed his hand and said, "Harry, sir. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you as well," the Director said, gently shaking the hand twice. He turned to Newt and asked, "So how did you meet this fine lad?"
"We had a bit of a run in at the zoo, actually," Newt replied. "I was checking on the snakes and I hear this one speaking parseltongue." One of the Directors eyebrows rose and Newt nodded. "Yes, quite rare indeed! So of course I was curious. We got to chatting a bit and, well you remember how I can feel auras? I felt something rather… malevolent, shall we say, about young Harry. Of course I wasn't thinking it was him, but I did notice that young Harry here has a scar on his forehead." Newt gently reached out and pushed Harry's bangs aside from where they had been smoothed down earlier. Harry heard the Director give a small gasp and saw his eyes widen. I wonder if he can sense the darkness, too, Harry thought. He missed the strict look that Newt gave the older man, though he did see the Director take a breath and his 'listening face' return.
"I had Pickett confirm it for me and it appears that the malevolent energies reside in the scar. I told Harry that I should be able to get rid of it and he decided he would want me too, though he didn't think his guardians would be very understanding. They are his muggle aunt and uncle and apparently they hate magic. Harry had become separated from them at some point-"
"Right before the talking snake!" Harry interjected, being helpful.
"Right, yes, before the talking snake, so I said we would have to ask them for permission before I could just take him with me. Although Harry didn't quite want to, we looked all around the zoo and couldn't find them. When we went back to the parking lot, their vehicle was gone, so we came directly here," Newt said explained.
"And Newt said I could live with him and Percy!" Harry added, not sure why Newt had left out what he felt like was one of the most important parts of the day.
The Directors turned to look sternly at his brother. "Newt, he's not a crup! You can't just decide to adopt him like one of your creatures!"
"Thee," Newt said, voice patient, "what do my creatures all have in common?"
"They're magical?" the Director asked, confused at the topic change.
"Not always, actually," Newt replied. "No, what they all have in common is that they are lost and need a home. Sometimes, that home is back in the wild where they belong, but sometimes," his eyes drifted towards Harry. The Director's gaze followed. "Sometimes, they were hurt, or too young, or both," here his eyebrows raised, "and need to stay with me so that I can help them grow up. Now, take a look again at Mr. Potter and tell me that he doesn't need our help."
The Director did, knowing already that Newt was right. He hadn't missed the way that Harry had flinched when he'd offered his hand earlier. To start with, Theseus noticed the lad had more than the average child's amount of bruises. Some looked old, but others were bright and newer. Varying in size, they could be seen peeking out from behind the edges of his clothing, practically confirming his thoughts of domestic abuse. And what clothes he wore! They showed signs of being very nice once, but that time had long passed. They were several sizes too big, meaning that they must have been handed down directly instead of having been bought second hand. On top of that, the lad was little more than skin and bones and looked to be around five, though, when doing the quick math from when the war ended, he realized that boy should be eight. But Harry was the-boy-who-lived, how could he take him away from his remaining family?
But then again, Theseus thought as he straightened up from where he had become slightly slumped over to get a closer look, how can I not?
Striding across the room, he quickly opened the door and said, "Rae, I need Aurors Bones and Battaglia, please. Also, I'll need Madam Courtney from Wizarding Children Services." He began to shut the door before opening it once more and continuing, "Let's get some hot chocolates and some finger sandwiches too, please, I'm sure we could all use a bit of a pick me up."
-HP-HP-HP-
AN: Thanks to AO3 users lostclaw for Lynn, KashiZii for Rae, and Ale_aesthetic for Auror Battaglia. OC Madam Courtney is named for Barns Courtney. I hope you saw your namesakes when you were reading!
Speaking of, want to be a part of this fic? Leave a review with the small Easter egg cameo and your name and you may pop up as an OC in a future chapter!