Chapter One: Phoenix Tears
"Mr. Black, please do watch where you're walking as you almost walked strait into Poppy and me as we were leaving my office," admonished Professor Minerva McGonagall, on the day our tale starts out.
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey," answered Sirius Black lifting his head with a most infuriated look on his face.
"What's got you so hot under the collar, Mr. Black?" asked Poppy.
"Our esteemed Headmaster," snarled Sirius sarcastically. "James and Lily named me Harry's godfather and asked me to help raise him if they were unable, but the great and mighty Albus Dumbledore won't even tell me where my godson is. Said it was for the bloody greater good."
"Now, Mr. Black, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but Dumbledore left little Harry with Lily's sister…" said Minerva.
"Petunia!" spat Sirius.
"Keep it down, Black, students are listening," Minerva ordered. "Let's continue our discussion in my office."
"Dumbledore left Harry with Petunia," said Sirius incredulously, as Minerva shut her door. "Lily said many times, that Petunia despised her and magic. Why, just last Christmas, Petunia even returned the Christmas card Lily had sent her unopened with a nasty note saying she wanted no more contact with her sister and the rest of us unnatural freaks."
"Albus will be most miffed at me for even suggesting this, but do you know of the copse of beech trees at the edge of the forest not far from the front gates?" asked Minerva. Seeing him nod, she added, "meet me there in about ten minutes, and we will Apparate to Petunia's home. By all means, please try not to be seen."
"Minerva, I am going to the hospital wing to get my bag and some potions and go along with you," said Poppy. "Little Harry is past due on a number of crucial immunizations and I intend to correct this."
"Ah, Minerva and Poppy are on their way to Hogsmeade most likely for a taste of Madam Rosemerta's most excellent meade at the Three Broomsticks," mused Albus Dumbledore to himself, as he gazed out his office windows in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Seeing Sirius Black making his way towards the thicket of birch trees he'd just seen Minerva and Poppy stroll into, he sighed, turning to look at his Phoenix familiar, "Fawkes, my friend, I do hope Minerva did not tell Sirius Black and others of young Harry Potter's whereabouts." Reaching out, he grasped Fawkes by his tail feathers, and added, "Please flash me to the Dursley home."
!
"Vernon, is that you?" called out Petunia Dursley, as she sat in her kitchen cleaning up their young son, Dudley after attempting to feed him his supper.
"Yes, my Pet, it's me," replied her very drunk husband, slurring his speech, as he staggered into their home. "Where's the freak? I just lost an important sale and promotion, it's all the freak's fault, and I want to beat the snot out of the little brat."
"He's in the cupboard, give him a good one for me," said Petunia. "He made little Diddy fall and hurt his bum running from him, so make the freak hurt, as well."
"Get out here, you little freak," spat Vernon, yanking open the door to their cupboard under the stairs, and roughly jerking little Harry James Potter from the cupboard after grabbing him by the hair. As the year and three month old toddler screamed out in fear and pain, the obese brute said, as he balled up his fist and punched the defenseless little boy as hard as he could in the face, "That's for costing me a sale and promotion…"
"HARRY!" cried Sirius, as he, Minerva, and Poppy, watched in horror from a window, as Harry's head snapped back from the blow to his face and strike the corner from one of the steps to a nearby stairway.
"STUPEFY!" shouted Minerva and Sirius, pointing their wands at the brute, as they came charging into the Dursley home while Poppy made a beeline directly to the gravely injured toddler.
"Minerva, Poppy, and Black, leave this…" said Dumbledore, as he and Fawkes flashed into the Dursley home. As Fawkes flew to aid Poppy with the critically injured toddler, he asked in a soft voice.,"What has happened here?"
"This brute of a lager lout just punched my godson in the face, and when I get done with this piece of dragon dung there won't anything left of him to bury," answered Sirius, as Petunia exited her kitchen door with her son waddling along behind her.
"Get out of my home, you freaks!" shrieked Petunia, seeing her unconscious husband on the floor.
"Why, hello, Spitoonia," said Sirius menacingly as he pointed his wand at Petunia. "We're only here because we saw your brutish husband punch a defenseless child and came to the poor lad's rescue."
"My husband just gave the freak what he deserved and didn't hurt him…" spat Petunia.
"Then, I do believe I shall strike your son with the same force the brute struck your sister's son…" added Sirius.
"You leave my son alone, he's innocent," wailed Petunia, standing protectively in front of Dudley.
"Just as Lily's son was innocent before the brute struck him," added Sirius, pointing his wand at Dudley.
"The freak cost my husband a sale and promotion, and made my son fall and hurt his bum, so he deserved what my normal husband gave him," said Petunia.
"It was most likely his own incompetence that cost the gormless plonker you married his sale and promotion, not a wee bairn just over a year old " said Minerva. "How a sweet and loving girl like Lily got stuck with a brainless tart like you as a sister is a travesty. In addition, there is not one even minute thing normal about you, your pathetic family, or this hovel you call a home."
"Now, Minerva and Mr. Black, I'm sure this is but a simple misunderstanding, and once Poppy sets young Harry to rights, we can be on our way and allow Harry and the Dursleys proceed in becoming a loving family," said Dumbledore in a calm soothing manner.
"Dumbledore, no, the reprobate tried to kill this precious boy," replied Poppy. "When I first examined the poor lad, he was seconds away from death, and it was only the tears from your own Phoenix what saved his life. If you leave the poor lad here with these mongrels, the next time we may not be so lucky. I still need to take him to the hospital wing to further assess his condition, and there is no way will I allow you to leave him here with these horrid Muggles."
"Dumbledore, if ye leave the wee bairn here after this brute tried to kill him, then I will resign my post at Hogwarts immediately and make sure everyone knows what a barmy old old codger ye have become," said Minerva in her thick Scottish tongue.
"You can start looking for another nurse for Hogwarts, to boot," said Poppy.
"As unpleasant as it is for me to do so," said Sirius, grimacing, "I will take up the Head of House for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, claim my families' seat on the Wizengamot, and immediately call for a vote of no confidence to remove you as Chief Warlock."
"I am sorry you all feel this way, but I must insist that young Harry remain here with his family," said Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore, I do believe your phoenix agrees with us," said Minerva, hearing Fawkes screech loudly while taking a protective posture between the aged wizard and injured toddler.
"As far as I'm concerned you can take my freak of a sister's bastard and leave," snapped Petunia. "The freak's been nothing but trouble since you left him here. I already had one baby to feed, clean, and change nappies for, I didn't need or want a second."
"Harry was potty trained and didn't need nappies months ago and has been feeding himself with little mess for about a month…" said Sirius.
"My normal still needs nappies and I have to feed him, and there's no way a freak could do what my own son couldn't do yet," replied Petunia smugly.
"Harry is a very intelligent little boy and he learns to master things very quickly," said Sirius. "Just by looking at him and your baby whale of a son I can tell Harry is loads more advanced than your son will be by age eight or nine."
"My son comes from superior breeding unlike you unnatural freaks," replied Petunia, as Dudley rushed from his hiding place behind his mother and attempt to kick Harry in the head.
"Get away from my son, you horrid beasts," screeched Petunia, after Minerva and Sirius both hit the obese toddler with stinging hexes. "Now, wake my husband up, get out of my home and take my sister's bastard with you. He's no longer welcome in my home, and if I see him again, I'll kill the bloody freak."
"Minerva, I must apologize to you for ignoring your advice that these people are the worst Muggles of all," said Dumbledore with a sigh. Looking directly at Petunia, he continued, "Mrs. Dursley, we shall be taking little Harry with us, and it is my sincere hope that he shall never again encounter the likes of ones as wretched and evil as you and your family. I told you when I last met with you, the protection Lily's loving sacrifice for her son would provide Harry would also protect you and your family. I am totally ashamed that in my setting up protections for Harry from the magical world I totally neglected to account for protection from his own family. Thus, when we leave here with Harry today, you and your family shall have not one bit of protection from the evildoers that caused Harry to become an orphan. Because of this, I believe you and your family would be much safer in another location, perhaps even another country."
"Look the wee bairn has awakened and is moving one of his hands to touch Fawkes' tail feathers," said Minerva.
"Poppy, if little Harry is ready to be moved, I will have Fawkes flash all of us to the hospital wing where you may continue treating him," said Dumbledore. "This way we can be assured no further harm may come to him while transporting him to Hogwarts."
"He is ready to be moved," said Poppy. "If you could, have Fawkes flash the whole lot of us next to a bed near my office."
"Of course," replied Dumbledore. "Mrs. Dursley, we are going to leave your husband as he is. He will reawaken on his own within the next hour or so and, if our paths never pass again then so be it."
"Fawkes, once Harry and the rest of us touch your tail-feathers, please flash us all close to Poppy's office at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.