This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.

The staff at Hogwarts make the final preparations to welcome the children and young adults with a sorting to remember. Various witches and wizards consider what will be different with the coming school year.

Chapter 13 Pawns on the Board at Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore felt the wards tingle, informing him that someone new had just entered Hogwarts. It was the morning of 15 September and the headmaster expected the wards to notify him that a dark creature was present when the werewolf Remus Lupin passed through the gates, but this individual was not a dark, cursed wizard that he could play as a pawn on the chess board that was Hogwarts.

The headmaster hurried from his office to the entrance hall to discover the identity of this stranger and fell silent when he saw that the new arrival was indeed Remus Lupin. Another pawn, Pomona Sprout, welcomed Remus Lupin to the castle with poorly concealed glee to have her teaching assistant arrive. Casting wandless spells to detect the presence of Polyjuice or glamours, Dumbledore's surprizes continued when all his spells found nothing except for the former Gryffindor prefect, standing there in slightly worn robes and looking very healthy.

"Professor Dumbledore, come and greet my Associate Professor for this fall term," Sprout said enthusiastically. Her recovery and physical therapy were progressing but the healer from Gringotts refused to release her. Remembering Remus from his years at Hogwarts, Pomona knew the werewolf would provide the labour need to allow the greenhouses to continue to produce the items needed for potions as well as helping lead the physical lessons with pots, soils and seedlings.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," Remus said with a bow though there was no offer of a handshake – unrelated wizards did not touch in social situations.

"Remus, it is good to see you after all these years," Dumbledore replied though he barely tipped his head in acknowledgement.

Both Sprout and Lupin noted that the headmaster used the wizard's first name without permission and the slight dip of his head was hardly the proper greeting for a new staff member.

"Pomona, I am certain that you have a long list of items to cover with Remus. Put him to work this afternoon," the headmaster said. "Now, you'll have to forgive me… I need to step over the warding room and check the wards before the children return."

Sprout's face was calm as she replied, "Certainly Albus, I remember Mr. Lupin's capabilities in the greenhouses well when he was a star pupil. Go play with your wards…"

The head of Hufflepuff house stared down the headmaster and the old wizard left without another word. However, there was a smile on her face when she turned to Remus and motioned for him to follow her.

"Where is your trunk?" she asked as they left the entrance hall for the door on the other side of the castle leading to the greenhouses.

Remus patted his coat pocket. "Shrinking charm; something we should teach all the children."

"There are many things we should teach the children but the curriculum hasn't changed in forty years… at least!"

Sprout showed Remus to his quarters, a furnished apartment near the door leading to the greenhouses.

"I requested this room to place you away from the hallways the students use the most during the day. There shouldn't be any students outside these doors after dark; any mischief makers in this hallway after dark are certain up to no good. During the day, they will pass your door going back and forth from the greenhouses. There is a classroom right beside the door where I hold lectures and an office beside it for your use if you need to meet with any student."

"Excellent," Remus replied. "And I will document any meeting with any student for your records."

"Good," the witch replied. "Drop off your trunk and change into work clothes. We have several jobs in the dirt and with plants to prepare for the students on the first."

*(+++++)*

Staring at the ward stones and the magic that rose from them at his command, Dumbledore was perplexed. The ward that notified him of any dark creature or person with the Dark Lord's mark on their arm was functioning perfectly. He 'poked' the ward with his wand and felt the twinge that bounced back from Severus Snape in the dungeons.

'Why didn't Remus show up as a werewolf?' the headmaster wondered. 'This can't be right…'

He fiddled with the wards for poisons, ill-intent, and rape. Each of the wards was unpowered but could be brought up to full power easily with a few motions of his wand.

*(+++++)*

In the Library

Irma Pince debated with herself several days before she made the final decision about 'the books.' She had been on vacation in Paris when the news of the fire at Hogwarts was published in the local papers. Once Minerva McGonagall assured Pince that 'her' library was undamaged during a long-distance flue-call, the witch completed her week in the city of lights and then began a leisurely return to Scotland on muggle trains. At the channel, she apparated across to Dover – Irma never enjoyed the choppy waters of the 'la Manche' as the French called the narrow body of water separating Britain from the rest of Europe.

She'd read where the British and the French were building – digging actually – a tunnel underneath the English Channel to connect Britain to Europe. The tunnel would allow trains to travel back and forth without the need for ferries or boats. Irma intended to take that train ride someday though none of her magical colleagues would believe her story afterwards.

Upon her return to Hogwarts and determining for herself that none of the school's collection of ancient scrolls, handwritten manuscripts, or rare printed books from earlier centuries had been damaged by smoke, flames, or water, Irma began her regular activities of preparing for the opening of school, now delayed until 1 October.

As she hurried to complete the innumerable tasks faithfully and correctly, Irma passed the 'returns' table twice without noticing the stack of books there; the table should be empty this time of year. On her third trip passing the table with several new books in her arms to add to the magical card catalogue, Irma noticed the condition of the spines of the books.

'How horrible! Who let these books get so dirty?' she fussed in her mind. 'None of my elves would…'

Remembering Minerva's bad news after the fire, Irma's lips pressed together in disapproving frown, somehow the headmaster allowed a dozen house elves to burn to death fighting the fire. 'The fire suppression ward wasn't at full power! If the governors knew that…'

The house elves loved Irma and her endless orders to clean and dust the thousands of books in the library. Each week, the elves faithfully wiped each shelf and book clean with gentle, lint free towels and banished each speck of dust to the greenhouses.

Once Irma updated the card catalogue and then shelved the new books appropriately, she returned to the table with the dusty books and picked up the top-most book.

'A Thousand Special Herbs for Potions', she read silently. 'What's this? Our copy disappeared twenty years ago! Where has it been?'

Glancing through the book's many beautifully hand-coloured illustrations and detailed descriptions that were written a century before, she muttered, "Severus Snape ordered this book for the library every year but Albus never approved the acquisition because 'there are too many deadly plants listed between the covers'."

She sneered. "More like the five hundred galleon price limited his purchase of those hideous robes."

Irma glanced through the other books and found four transfiguration masterpieces, history texts that argued against the ministry's positions, and three priceless handwritten books; the first on charms by Rowena Ravenclaw, the second on herbology by Helga Hufflepuff, and third the only book Godric Gryffindor ever wrote – a collection of bawdy limericks more suited to the tavern than a library.

'Well, no one will take them out of the library again!' she swore as she summoned one of the elderly house elves and together, they added the library's special charms to protect the books.

For two days she debated silently about how to handle the reappearance of the important and valuable texts before finally deciding. Once again, Irma summoned the old elf who supervised the elves in the castle. They turned one of the unused rooms in the back of the library as a new 'reading room' where students could take a book from the shelf and read it at a desk in the room but couldn't remove the book from the room.

"I want you to assign an elf to monitor this room even when the students are not here," Irma told the elf. "I realized who had the books and he'll want them back if he ever figures out where they are."

The elf nodded but uncharacteristically said nothing.

"The reading room will be more restricted than the 'restricted section'!" the librarian stated firmly.

"Missy Prince places these books into the reading rooms." affirmed the elf. "Everyone can read but no one can remove."

"Yes, and we won't announce them in the new book list… I will share the news slowly over the year with the professors."

*(+++++)*

Headmaster's Office

His office still smelled of smoke from the fire in August but the headmaster valued the effect the location had on visitors as they rose above the rest of the castle on the rotating staircase, the view from the windows… and the security the rooms gave him.

'What was a little smoky smell?'

The portraits of the headmasters remained asleep as they repaired themselves from heat and smoke damage when the fire flashed through the office and burned the headmaster's gaudy robes. Phineas Black had deserted his portrait frame while it was repaired. Dumbledore hoped the man's portrait was lost forever as the only other frame the former headmaster had was in the Black home in London that burned the same day.

The fire destroyed multiple prized possessions and Albus continued to dwell on the lost items; the pensive had been full of valuable memories, and the books lost were tomes of great magic he'd planned to explore someday. He'd removed the books from the library over the last twenty years to protect the minds of the children from dangerous information.

Most disappointing, the fire destroyed the Potter cloak of invisibility – he'd had Elder Wand for almost fifty years and the second of the three Deathly Hallows in his possession for ten years but without any hints from them on the location of the third hallow. The cloak would not work for him for some reason, no matter how much he studied the damn thing.

'Argh! Why are things so difficult sometimes?' he complained in his mind. 'The Hallows are not supposed to be able to be destroyed!'

Sighing he turned his attention to the new school year starting in just two weeks. The test for the imposter Harry Potter was in place off the third-floor corridor. He would see if the boy could 'save' the Philosopher's Stone from a dark wizard.

'I shall drop hints to Potter and his new best friend, Ron Weasley, that there were professors with dark intentions in the school,' he thought. Severus would play the part perfectly and Dumbledore would make certain the children realized there was something strange about man in the greenhouses as soon as the full moon came about. Consulting the calendar. Dumbledore frowned when he found the next full moon would occur in another eight days.

He shrugged and informed the office's silent walls, "Oh dear, a full moon is coming up on 23 September. Pomona will be angry the next morning when Remus doesn't report for work. The children will see the effects of the curse three times; 23 October, 21 November and 21 December…'

The headmaster paused for a moment and looked at his school calendar. 'To make up for the lost month of September, we will have the leaving feast for the holidays on the 22 December and leave from Hogsmeade on 23 December.'

The headmaster hoped that three months would be enough time for Potter to realize the man was a dark creature and to decide the werewolf was after the stone.

'Can Harry save the stone? Well, a reasonably facsimile of the Philosopher's Stone,' he mused. 'Only Nicholas would know it was false when he tried to use it again.'

He frowned, 'How will I ever get the real stone back from the goblins? Vicious, unpredictable creatures! They were supposed to send Hagrid and the boy to the dragon pits that day! Not make the stupid giant into a dragon keeper or help the boy. He can't be real! He just can't…'

'And when will Tom make another appearance? I know Quirrell was possessed by the spirit but what happened to drive him away?'

Pushing back from his desk, Dumbledore rose to wander about his office as he considered the possibilities.

'What will the boy-who-lived be like after two months with those devils?' Dumbledore mused as he considered the sleeping portraits of the former headmasters and the other fixtures in his office. Then his eyes landed upon the Sorting Hat, sleeping peacefully and waiting for the arrival of the children on the first.

'The sorting hat! What will happen when it tries to sort an imposter?'

Now, the headmaster proceeded to talk himself into a panic as his imagination ran wild; what if the fake Harry Potter had been talked into being Slytherin? Or any house except for Gryffindor? What if the goblins were fostering their own fake Harry Potter? Occasionally his mind considered the most impossible option; what if the boy really was the child of James and Lily Potter?

'Is that possible? Is 'Harry Potter' a real boy?'

On the last day of July, there had been no outrage from the goblins about Hagrid and the boy attempting to access the vault for the Potter heir. More importantly, there'd been no announcement from the ministry that the boy-who-lived had died at the hands of the goblins.

The next day when the fire erupted in Hogwarts, Dumbledore took his eye off the Gringotts situation – there were Aurors, school governors, the press, and curious wizards just showing up and expecting to be allowed to inspect his castle! In early September came the terse letter from Ollivander – the boy didn't take the yew and phoenix feather wand that Albus had charmed so carefully.

'When Tom returns, this Harry Potter won't have the advantage of the brother wand in his duels. It may all be over very soon,' Dumbledore decided.

As if it were reading his thoughts, his familiar began to honk, the strange sound that substituted for laughter by the magical bird. He ignored the moody creature – except for the speed of transportation, the phoenix was more trouble than it was worth.

*(+++++)*

Wrecking Minerva's World

Minerva McGonagall was a terse witch; her mastery in transfiguration opened the world for her but she chose to devote herself to teaching several generations of wizards and witches at Hogwarts without any consideration for a personal life.

Sprout and Pomphrey had long ago decided she carried a torch for the headmaster that had never been fulfilled. Flitwick appreciated McGonagall's professionalism and didn't bother with rumours of unrequited love.

When Dumbledore summoned his deputy to his office in late September, Minerva expected an ordinary request concerning preparations for the school year but Albus made the most unique request since October 1981 when he sent her to spy on some muggles in Surrey.

*(+++++)*

"Ah, Minerva, good morning," Albus greeted his faithful 'bishop' as she stepped from the stairs and onto the carpets that covered the stone floors of this tower.

"Yes, Albus, how can I be of assistance?" the deputy headmistress asked as she moved to stand in front of the large desk that dominated the office.

"There's a situation that I just became aware of and I need your help."

The witch waited patiently; the headmaster would get to the point when he was ready, not before. She'd known Albus Dumbledore since she was eleven years old and he seldom spoke clearly on any subject.

"During breakfast, I overheard Pomona speaking with Healer Troutman that she would be meeting young Mr. Potter at Gringotts after lunch to take the boy-who-lived to get his school robes."

"He's waited this late to get his robes?" Minerva asked. "Is there a problem with his money?"

"No, no… I am certain his money is well in hand at Gringotts."

Minerva waited a moment longer before she asked, "And what would you have me do?"

*(+++++)*

Once Minerva left his office to gather her cloak, Albus rose to gather his own. His plan was to apparate to Crawley and collect the Granger girl. Once the child was charmed with the information Albus wanted shared with Harry Potter, Minerva and the future Gryffindor student would haunt Diagon Alley until they found the boy-who-lived. Both witches would extol the virtues of Gryffindor House and direct the boy toward Dumbledore's plans.

But before he left his office, Albus had a moment of inspiration about moving additional pawns about the chess board. He hurried to the flue where he threw in powder, knelt, and called out, "The Burrow! Molly are you home?"

Almost immediately, a motherly woman's head appeared in the green flames. She smiled and quickly greeted the headmaster saying, "Albus! How are you? I'm about to pull out my hair with the boys still here in September…"

"Yes, yes… Molly, I need your help."

"Certainly, Albus. What can I do to help you?" asked the woman.

"Isn't your oldest son employed at Gringotts?"

The red-headed woman shook her head with evident disappointment. "Don't remind me… yes, Bill's still working for the goblins. I keep telling him to get a job at the ministry. That's what all good purebloods do!"

"Yes, yes. Now here's what I need you to do… This is to help Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter!" exclaimed the excitable witch.

"He's been locked up with the goblins for two full months or more. I fear the boy is trapped in those dank, underground caverns; I am certain the child is counting the days until he can escape to Hogwarts."

"Oh, the poor dear! Of course, Albus. You only had to ask."

*(+++++)*

At the staff table that evening, Sprout had a furious whispered conversation with Flitwick that Dumbledore ignored. Professor McGonagall's complexion altered between bright red and deathly white – she was embarrassed and furious at the same time.

"Minerva, whatever is the problem this evening?" Albus asked before the desserts were served. His deputy had not spoken to anyone for the entirety of the meal.

Remembering Pomona's words from Diagon Alley earlier in the day, McGonagall felt the scales fall from her eyes; 'Placing compulsion charms on a muggleborn? Attempting to influence a child before the sorting? Are you daft or are you so blinded by love for that old… Will you never see that you're nothing to him but a chess piece? You'll never be his 'queen', no matter what you sacrifice!'

Silently, the transfiguration professor rose and towered over the headmaster for a moment with her wand in her hand, before a single tear fell down her cheek. With great control over her emotions, Minerva McGonagall turned and fled the Great Hall.

Albus looked at the other senior members of his staff and asked, "Did Minerva lose a loved one today? She hasn't said anything about anyone being ill…"

Sprout took a sip from her teacup and didn't comment though Flitwick, a potential rook on Dumbledore's chess board, murmured, "I understand she had an eventful afternoon. Perhaps she did lose a loved one today. We'll see what develops."

Mystified by the diminutive professor's words, Dumbledore turned back to his delicious lemony tarts and some tea. Severus Snape and Healer Troutman, both rebellious pawns in the headmaster's games, exchanged glances but otherwise chose to stay out of the drama at the table. At the other end of the table, Remus, yet another pawn, kept silent as well but he already had interesting developments to share with his boss at MI5.

*(+++++)*

Medical Problems

Before he could escape from the Great Hall, Albus was trapped by the healer forced upon him by St. Mungo's! The man presented the headmaster with lists of expensive items that were required to properly stock the infirmary and a long list of examinations that would have to be completed on each student.

"I am certain we have a healthy group of children arriving on the first. This is unnecessary…" Dumbledore tried to argue but Healer Troutman refused to back down.

"If St. Mungo's standards are not satisfied by the tenth of October, then the school will close again! The records indicate you've had epidemics of wizard flu here every October since 1969! You don't examine the muggleborn students properly and even the purebloods have been caught ignoring the mandated vaccinations!"

"But it is so expensive," Dumbledore whined. He caught himself quickly but not before Flitwick and Snape both heard the plaintive tone.

Troutman continued, "And I will have two assistants here from the first until the tenth to assist with the examinations – a witch to help with the young women and a wizard to help with the young men."

"Again, an unnecessary expense!" argued Dumbledore.

Healer Troutman paused a moment before he asked, "How did you keep this school open with just Mediwitch Pomphrey? Do you know I examined all the Hogwarts records since you became headmaster and I discovered that on average, one child dies at Hogwarts every year! That's almost fifty children dead and you still tell everyone that Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain."

"There are many challenges for magical children," Dumbledore replied, wondering if he could destroy those records.

Troutman remained professional but inside he smirked before explaining, "The ICW was very interested in that fact when I sent all the records to their education department… you remember Clarice Espinosa don't you? She's been arguing for the last twenty years that Hogwarts is not the finest educational institution in the magical world. Now she's got proof."

After that pronouncement, the healer walked away quietly, ruining the rest of Dumbledore's evening.

*(+++++)*

The next morning was tense in the Great Hall during breakfast; Minerva still refused to speak to Dumbledore, and Troutman sat with his back to the wall so the headmaster could not approach him from behind to obliviate or charm him. Sprout, Flitwick and Remus spoke quietly without involving the others at the table.

Then Auror Alistair Moody stomped into the Great hall on his wooden leg and his pronouncements ruined Dumbledore's morning.

"Good morning, Alistair. How can I help you today?" Albus asked the disabled Auror who was without doubt a powerful knight in the chess games.

"Albus, Director Bones assigned me with job of Professor for the DADA classes this year. Where are the lesson plans from when I taught back in 1968?" the Auror asked gruffly with his magical eye watching each twitch of the headmaster's mouth and eyes.

"Times have changed since then Alistair," Dumbledore tried to argue.

The scared Auror spit on the clean floor before snarling, "I saw the pablum you've let the last six idiots teach who held the job. I'm going to give the kids a decent set of lessons for once and then you'll be in trouble next year when you try to put a jackass into the position!"

Then the Auror demanded, "Why haven't you ever tried to find out why no one lasts more than a single year as DADA professor?"

Albus Dumbledore was dumbfounded by Moody's suggestion and remained silent too long. Even in wizarding chess, the pieces didn't argue with you this viciously.

The Auror shook his head dismissively of the headmaster and expressed his opinion aloud, "You're growing senile, Albus!"

*(+++++)*

The morning owls began arriving with the Daily Prophet and personal correspondence for the professors. Ignoring the owls, Dumbledore tried to think of ways to overcome Moody's considerable investigative skills – the man would figure out his test for the boy-who-lived in the first week and then spoil everything.

Albus never noticed the other professors around him step away before the howler from Bill Weasley exploded in his face.

*(+++++)*

Harry heads to Hogwarts in the next chapter with Hedwig and his wand. He'll make friends and begin his education with magic.

*(+++++)*

Author Notes: Thanks for everyone's kind comments and reviews of 'Who is Harry Potter?' Allow me to clear up one point: Voldemort (Tom Riddle) and his horcruxes are gone, dead, kaput. The wards in Gringotts fried Quirrell and the shade of Voldemort in the Gringotts vault on 1 August. As the wards attacked Quirrell-Voldemort, the Dark Lord's magic tried to remain alive by pulling the magic from his horcruxes that were purposed with keeping him alive.

Fulfilling Trelawny's prophecy, the Dark Lord died by the hand of the son of a couple who'd defined the Dark Lord on the three occasions mandated by the prophecy. (Harry slammed the vault door shut, triggering the wards to examine the wizard trapped inside). This son (Harry Potter) was 'born' via the blood adoption on 31 July 1991 in the ritual room at the bank using the blood of James and Lily kept in stasis for ten years.

And Dumbledore doesn't know, nor would he believe, that the Dark Lord is gone, dead, kaput. There will be an investigation into the mysterious magical fires during Harry's second year but Dumbledore won't believe the evidence because it doesn't fit with his ideas.