It was a rather long and heated emergency meeting of the Wizengamot that had brought Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, to the Ministry of Magic. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge wanted nothing more than to swiftly and viciously condemn a group of werewolves that succeeded in kidnapping the German Minister of Magic's daughter while she visited Britain with her uncle, Johann Wolf, the German Magical Ambassador, for the summer. It was clear to many that Fudge was trying to save face, since the girl was taken while under British Auror protection and it was Johann's man that found and rescued the girl.
It was a simple case with more than enough evidence to convict the perpetrators to Azkaban but the Wizengamot was divided four ways; Fudge wanted them hauled away to Azkaban immediately via a kangaroo court, the pro-Pure Blood families advocated for immediate execution right there on the Wizengamot floor, some wanted to mitigate possible unrest from the innocent and mostly peaceful werewolf communities, and finally everyone else wanted to make sure some semblance of due process and justice was upheld. It was only Albus' political standing, careful negotiating, and occasional warning that allowed the trial to proceed at all. The final verdict was to imprison the leader of the group to Azkaban for life and the rest for 20 years.
When the trial had concluded, Albus was invited to join the Ambassador for tea. Seeing the opportunity to hopefully prevent violence to potentially innocent werewolf communities in Germany, he accepted. The two spoke at length of the trial. Johann admitted that the punishment was fair, though he would have preferred something more severe for targeting his niece. Looking at the time, The Ambassador excused himself to attend to other matters but insisted Dumbledore finish his tea.
And so Albus finds himself in an empty Ministry office, sipping some rather wonderful tea. His thoughts, however, are still contemplating the trial. He will need to send a message Mr. Remus Lupin about contacting some of the peaceful lycanthropes to assuage any concerns they have. Their involvement in the First Wizarding War could not be overlooked but Dumbledore had worked hard to protect as many innocents as he could, forging a fragile, if tense, peace between the two communities. He had hoped to pass laws that would elevate them to equal standing to most wizards, and thus bring the powerful faction into the Light. But he has been blocked at every turn by the Pure Blood families, who in turn have tried to eradicate and dehumanize them. And these recent events will only add to fuel to the fire. He may have to settle with a promise of neutrality should dark forces arise again.
Albus frowns; it's been almost 10 years since Voldemort rampaged across Great Britain but many of the wounds haven't healed. No one dares speak his name, his more troublesome followers have managed to elude justice and currently walk as free men and women, and many of the magical families that stood with him as allies against the Pure Blood fanatics in the Wizengamot were extinguished. For all the good Dumbledore has done in the world, perhaps his biggest failure was not reaching out to a young child who did not know what love was. Maybe if he had tried harder, maybe if he had fought to have the boy be placed in his custody or that of a loving family, perhaps if he had been wiser, then this all could have been avoided. Perhaps then his second biggest failure could have been avoided.
Albus massages his temple. He can still recall with vivid clarity the evening of the 31st of October of 1981; he had gone to check in on the Potter family only to find their home in complete disarray. James and Lily Potter were tearing the house apart searching for their children. They were missing. A pit of dread opened up within him as he feared the worst: Voldemort had somehow taken the children. He knew that Voldemort knew that James and Lily Potter's children were important but Albus never thought he would do something so overt, rash, and potentially unnecessary.
The search continued for hours and involved all his allies against the Dark Lord. All his allies but one: Peter Pettigrew, a good friend of the Potters ever since they went to Hogwarts together. Now Albus feared he may not have been as good a friend as they all believed.
Albus wasted no time tracking down and apparating to Peter's location. He arrived outside a ruined house, clearly destroyed by magic. Albus rushed into the ruins in a panic, finding Peter in what may have once been a living room. Before Albus could interfere, Peter disappeared into thin air. Albus was about to give chase when he heard a child's cries. Underneath some rubble, he found Elizabeth Jane Potter, one of the Potter twins. But Harry James Potter was nowhere to be found.
They searched all of Great Britain for weeks. Almost every day, Albus was coordinating with the Potters, their closest friends, and the Aurors to find the boy. Even when the Aurors called off the search, Albus continued looking. Even when James gave up, Albus continued looking. He'd go as far as to say that he has never stopped looking for young boy with the brilliant green eyes of his mother.
Between being headmaster of Hogwarts and traveling the world, Dumbledore was always on the lookout for a boy with untidy black hair and emerald green eyes. Like Lily, he strongly believed Harry still lives. Or perhaps it's the final hope of a remorseful old man.
Dumbledore removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had considered removing the memory of that night and keeping it somewhere else but he could never bring himself to do it. He needed to remember why he's incapable of looking Lily Potter in the eyes. He needed to remember why Halloween no longer brought much joy to the wizened warlock.
Lost in thought, Albus reached into his robes and retrieved a cloth bag full of dull yellow candies wrapped in paper. A smile crept onto his face as he unwrapped a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth. Perhaps he will inquire with Lily if he may join them for dinner tonight. Young Elizabeth is sure to have gotten her acceptance letter to Hogwarts by now. And if she hasn't, then he can always present it to her over dinner. It was unorthodox but it brought Albus peace to see the girl happy.
A knock on the door brings Albus out of his thoughts. The door opens and a curious boy enters; his jet black hair is contained by a strange three-cornored hat he's seen in old Muggle paintings, a leather eye patch covers one of his hazel eyes, and he's wearing robes similar to Ambassador Johann. The boy can't be older than 12 but Albus can't help but raise an eyebrow at him, not just because the boy seems to be unsupervised in the Ministry of Magic but because he gives Albus a large business smile that the old wizard has always associated with mischief.
"Hello," greets Albus in his best professor voice.
"Greetings," replies the boy confidently, "Are you by any chance Herr Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
"I am indeed. And who might you be?"
"Wonderful! I'm Hermann Jäger! It is an absolute honor to meet you, Mr. Dumbledore, sir," Hermann said as he closed the door behind him and extending his hand.
"Hermann Jäger? Are you the son of Johann's bodyguard?" Dumbledore asked, shaking the boys hand. He was surprised to find the boy's hand was rough and strong, like that of an experienced craftsman or Auror.
"No sir. I am Ambassador Johann Wolf's and Lady Karla Wolf's bodyguard," the boy said proudly.
Dumbledore looked at the boy with apprehension. Never in his time as headmaster had a child delivered such an obvious lie with so much confidence. Not even Fred and George Weasley who were often in his office after a particularly flashy prank on the student body.
"Well, Mr. Hermann, it was a pleasure to meet you but I'm afraid I must be off," Albus began as he put away his lemon drops.
Before Albus could rise from his chair, Hermann produced his wand from his robes and gave it a nonchalant flick. Suddenly, very powerful silence and privacy wards surrounded the office. They weren't just strong by a child's standard; Albus suspected only a handful of people in the Ministry's employ could create such powerful charms. Perhaps there was some truth to the young man's statement. Albus also noted that there were no wards preventing him from leaving. Perhaps the boy forgot or perhaps he was free to leave if he so chose. Either way, Dumbledore rolled his wand in his hand.
"I apologize for taking up your time, sir, but I have a question I could really use your help with," Hermann said, his fake business smile evaporating into a mild but honest grin.
"And you have only this one question?"
"Yes sir. And as Headmaster of Hogwarts, I believe you are in the unique position to be able to answer it."
"Am I, now?" asked Dumbledore as he leaned back in his seat, "Very well, I shall answer your question as best I can in the short time I have."
"Thank you, sir," the boy said as he produced an envelope from his robes.
"I received this letter a earlier today, Headmaster. Could you please inform me as to how it happened to be sent to me?"
Albus took the envelope from Hermann. He recognized it immediately: it was thick and heavy, made of yellow parchment. If the purple wax seal was still intact, it would bear a coat of arms with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a letter H. Albus turned the letter over and nearly dropped it. On the front was a single name in emerald green ink. He stared at the boy in disbelief. The boy, in turn, had gentlest smile that Albus had seen in a very long time.