Disclaimer:

I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...

Mischief Managed Damn It!

Title: Book 1, Chapter 3

Posted Date: February 3rd 2020

"It would seem that the day has finally arrived." Harry let out a breath as he looked down in the box carrier at the thick envelope baring the coat of arms for the school where his parents were taught magic and where the headmaster who had an unhealthy interest in him was. Next to said box, another box was being filled with other letters and small packages, each one attached with a small note on the type of magic which was attached and whether it had been removed, and with the coat of arms from Gringotts.

With a flick of his fingers, circular sigils with symbols, binary numbers and runes from various cultures appeared on top of the envelope to scan the letter, making it glow a variety of colors before said colors came off of it and condensed themselves into small balls. Harry snorted derisively as he recognized the colors and checked the readings of the search, it would seem that three years after having the barrier installed did not dissuade his spies from trying to get his location. He dispelled them away after taking notes of them before using a hover charm on the envelope and moved it to the next room for testing.

The old factory had changed over the years in the time Harry had taken it and used it as his hideaway. Gone were the dusty walls with peeling paint and huge cracks letting in the rain. Gone were the empty floors and rusted pipes. Gone were the empty rooms with a few broken furniture and wet floors. Gone were the dead plot of land that looked like it would be unsuitable for planting.

Oh no, Harry gave it the 'Potter' treatment.

The outside of the factory perimeter had been cleared up and replanted with trees that he got under an alias with help from Gringotts to hide the factory from view, not that it required much as the old road leading to the place was broken up and covered from the weeds over the years. Also under his alias, the factory had been brought and went through the proper channels to ensure no one would suspect the place being taken over by a soon-to-be eleven year old.

The walls had been repaired using concrete that had been created with the old mixer he fixed up with runes and restored to their former state, enforced with the symbols and magical runes to ensure they would not be subjected to time, weather nor any attacks from outside. The floors have been swept, repaired, washed vigorously and with a touch of fire, polished to the point it shone like marble. The entire floor space had been split onto four areas, with each of the original markers that designated the different stations given a fresh coat of paint and a color rune to indicate which areas were for which type of experiments or training.

The power source for the old factory had undergone a few iterations since the first implementation; what started out as a large canvas of symbols and runes involving lightning, power and energy spanning almost the entire wall of the old generator room, with what used to be a web of wires haphazardly arranged like an electrician's nightmare, was now fitted onto a single table size metal plate, with a series of cables attached to it that linked them to the rest of the factory, giving the place an almost infinite supply of power as long as the runes do not burn out too quickly, and even then that was resolved with the concept of heat capacitors that used runes to capture the heat and store them as energy and a couple of runes representing ice to cool the plate at the same time.

The furniture were those he managed to salvage from all over the neighbourhood and fixed with some odd bits and pieces alongside his runes and magic, depending on the needs of his work. The empty plot of land, a couple of the storage units and one of the smaller rooms inside the factory have been converted into greenhouses to grow his fruits and vegetables for food, medicinal herbs for general treatments, and even a test-bed to try his hand at crossbreeding plants with a mix of science and magic. The rooms at both the lower and upper levels were cleaned up and fixed for Harry to use for different purposes:

Two rooms meant for all of his testing of magic 'Force', one room to try out different runes and testing of combination spells, and a larger room to serve as his laboratory for potions and chemical making.

A room designated for his make-shift gym with whatever trash he could gather to create his own weights or equipment for both his physical and 'Force' training purposes. He won't be a body builder like Arnold but at least he was fixing his body from the damages of his upbringing and would be in good shape.

A study room filled with books of various subjects, both mundane and magical, and whatever notes he had on his experiments, complete with diagrams and stick-it notes. Those were given a cupboard of their own for quick reference but hidden behind a false wall in case someone tried to infiltrate the area.

A smaller room for his sleepovers when he had to work overnight, complete with a refurbished bed and a proper bathroom (Harry was so grateful for cleaning and repairing charms, not to mention lots of junk that was still usable, and more importantly, proper plumbing!)

The room that he was at a moment ago was meant to receive and hold any mail for him, mundane or otherwise. One section of the room was solely for the mail that came from the magical side of the world, a good thing too since the amount of mail coming in quite fast was substantial despite it being rerouted to Gringotts through their carrier service for the checking of curses, compulsions and traps. Much of it was standard 'thank-you' cards that he got a pen to automatically write out a standard reply with the occasional deviation to ensure people did not try to compare them. The gifts that come with them would be noted so that the senders could have a more personal reply. Those that were more dangerous would be tagged and sent to the magic division of police to settle, and if per chance the packages and occasional letter managed to bypass Gringotts because of the address naming like that silly 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' title or because the delivery method was not something they could think of, his personal wards and delivery box would redirect them to the special containment he had set up there so that he could send them off to Gringotts or examine himself. His mundane mail was not much, basically a set-up box he connected with an external mail-box to grab his applications from middle schools, catalogs and oddities that were addressed to him

The security room was given new life with salvaged security cameras, two television screens and detection wards placed at different parts of the perimeter around the factory and key entrances. That was certainly a hassle as his first few attempts were failures in detecting anything passing through, then they became too successful as it caught every bird, rabbit, lizard and even spiders. It got to the point that Harry had to craft some animal wards to discourage the animals to come near the stones to isolate them until he could fix the system. After that he linked his cameras and television to his rune power system and let them do the monitoring.

One of the more previously damaged and now buffed-up rooms was designated his water collection, filtration and cleansing room. Harry had to salvage usable water tanks and fix them up with references from books and his metal-smith lecturer from summer camp before etching runes to clean its contents. The water itself came from either the old plumbing that was still left there, the nearby river, the rain collected from the roof via the ducts and his runes, and even the runic system that called upon water in the event of a dry season, all of it channeled through the cracks that he fixed up with some old pipes and imagination to go to the tanks to undergo multiple stages of filtering, boiling and cleansing before getting stored into the biggest storage tank he could get and fixed up with expansion runes to store the water properly for consumption and watering the plants.

Currently the room he was going about checking his Hogwarts letter was designed for containment and 'de-cursing' of any suspicious packages that ended up in his carrier-boxes, considering all that was going on in his life. And for this particular letter, Harry got the feeling that it would be sent in a different manner from the rest to ensure he was clueless to the world and to sneak in something that would likely be detrimental for his health.

Too bad for the old man that he had planned for such an issue.

"Okay then, let's see what type of spells you are laden with today?" Harry hummed as he placed the envelope on a metal plate riddled with symbols and runes, placed that inside a clear plastic box and pressed a rune at the side to send a small bout of gas inside to cover the letter and plate. Almost immediately, the symbols on the plate started lighting up like a Christmas tree upon contact and the alarms that Harry had the foresight of lowering the volume started sounding at the detection of multiple spells. The pen next to the box came upright and started writing on the paper the names of the spells detected and their effects, each one making his eyebrow rise further to his hair. By the time it finished, Harry was honestly considering a different school and maybe a change in identity and working in the mountains as a farmer for sheep.

In total, there were five tracking spells on different parts of the envelope and letter, eight compulsion spells of varying effects, one double-layered portkey that was rather ingenious with the second hidden beneath the first which would only be activated once the first was removed and the recipient touched the letter, a stunning spell, a time-delayed magic disrupter and at least ten magic binding spells to limit his powers, alongside three potions cleverly laced into the parchment and ink to increase his fear towards some people and make him see others as his 'saviours'.

A fair bit of overkill for Harry in his opinion.

"This is ridiculous, then again with that stunt in the newspaper and the bank, that may have been a given." Harry remarked as he activated another set of runes to remove all the spells and neutralized the potions, some of which were done with rather violent reactions and took a while to remove. He waited for a while longer for the gas to be sucked out before opening the box to grab the plate with the letter supposedly free of whatever spells on it. Placing it on the table, he reached out only to pause with his finger just two inches away from the envelope and pulled it back with a thought. Turning around, Harry went to a cupboard nearby, open a drawer, and grabbed a mannequin of a person's hand attached to a stand. He tested to see if it worked before returning to the table and manipulated it to touch the letter with a finger, wincing as the sound of glass shattering filled the room and the envelope glowed brightly for a moment before stopping.

Good thing he practiced constant vigilance, else that would have been bad.

(Somewhere in London, a certain Auror about to retire paused in his training of his cadet to look outside the room, a smile appearing on his scarred face with his one eye moving crazily in its socket which made his cadet go pale and her hair changed to a dull gray from the fright. The man then turned and yelled praises at someone practicing his favourite motto, before pushing his cadet even further, making the cadet curse at whoever made the Auror become more zealous in the training.)

Harry sneezed briefly and sniffled with puzzled eyes at the suddenness, before grabbing a pair of tongs by the table while the hand managed to get the letter out of the envelope and the plate neutralized the remainder of the spells and potions on it. Pinching a corner of the letter, Harry took another breath and proceeded to read it.

At first glance, it was your standard acceptance letter into the school of magic alongside a stationary list, nothing too insidious. But Harry had the benefit of knowing from a past muggleborn and could tell that he was missing the standard booklet for those born as first-generation or raised outside of wizard society. Furthermore, the list of books was missing a few other titles that were meant to aid in transition of magic and based on the ones present, they were outdated by at least a decade. And lastly, the letter was phrased in a manner that suggested rather arrogantly that the prospective student would just accept the invitation without the option to refuse, and that they should be grateful for the opportunity.

Someone was honestly trying to limit his knowledge to the new world, if not the others who could be joining Hogwarts.

At this point Harry was considering his few options at his disposal. He knew that there were other schools that taught magic, but there were very few that would cater to his demands of keeping his mundane subjects. He was not going to give up his regular work and research to cater to the whims of these inbred morons, and as sure as hell not going to let them keep him in their society. He had made some plans on the day he went to visit Gringotts and had gone through with a couple on subsequent visits. They were small and likely insignificant, but in the long run would help greatly with what was still his eventual goal.

To be completely free of those who seek to control him.

He had already dealt with the Dursleys after his foray into the Magical World and Gringotts. Now it was time to deal with the wizards and witches of Britain.

With that in mind, Harry placed the letter back on the plate and went to his study to grab some paper and pen, pausing along the way to grab the special anti-tracking ink.

It was time to write a response.

~ooOOoo~

In a certain castle of magic in the highlands of Scotland, a certain half-goblin by the name of Filius Flitwick was going through his paperwork while occasionally checking on the incoming applications of prospective students. Normally Minerva would be handling this but she was currently visiting a few of the children in London and had to ask him for assistance. Since he had finished with his own visits, Filius agreed to help her sort the applications until she returned, using the time to deal with the last minute paperwork that sprung due to the questions made by the parents who wanted to know about the education or for students graduating in the coming year.

Not that monitoring the applications was a hard thing to do considering the low number of applications this year, nor was it a happy matter to consider. Hogwarts had been experiencing a decline of students with the low birth rates to begin with in Magical Britain, particularly among the pure-bloods as opposed to the blooming numbers of the muggleborns and the half-bloods. Add to the fact that the pure-bloods were also experiencing an upsurge of Squibs and it was a very sobering view for every sorting of the year. Filius understood like much of his goblin brethren that the main reason was the massive inbreeding among the wizards to keep the line 'pure', which was absolute rubbish to say the least.

But this batch was one of the groups most affected by the last blood war with Voldemort, what with multiple families being killed by the Death Eaters or driven out of the country, regardless of blood type. Many of the old blood families were either gone or one step out of the door, and the few that remained were practically reduced to one heir each. Other families had lost their heirs and were either trying to bring forth another to continue the line or had lost hope to the loss. Many were those he had taught in Hogwarts, their names engraved on a small stone tablet he had in his office as a way to remember them.

So many innocent lives lost to the monster that became the boogey-man of the magical community of Britain, through death or manipulations. Yet arguably speaking, more lives were saved thanks to one child.

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.

A sad expression appeared on the Charms Professor as he paused in his writing and reminisced about his favourite student that had graced the halls of Hogwarts and whom he got the pleasure to teach. Lily Potter nee Evans was a very curious young lady who enjoyed the intricacies of a spell, the workings of potions, and the enjoyment of magic in all of its beauty and grace. She was passionate in her work and had the intelligence to go beyond the boundaries to create her own set of spells. She was gentle like her maiden name who maintained a friendly disposition to all, all while retaining a fire that would burn those who incite her wrath. Filius took great delight taking her under his wing and teaching her all that he had ever learned over the years, taking joy at how she pushed some of the spells to the logical extreme and how she would come up with very creative ideas for the most mundane of spells. Many of the others in the past remarked that she was a closet Ravenclaw stuck in Gryffindor, and that he was unlucky to not have her in his house. He merely answered that they were just jealous that he had all of her attention while they made do with the pranksters of the period.

He would also like to point out that Lily was his apprentice as opposed to him getting tied with Horace Slughorn to grab her attention. He was not losing ground to that potion master no matter what anyone said!

With a sigh, his thoughts then went to her son as he continued with his work. He remembered seeing the little one soon after his birth, and how Lily seemed to have the sun in her as she gently held Harry on her rocking chair. Filius admitted to being a little nervous to hold the child in his arms at her coaxing, but seeing the child look at him with curious eyes made him feel very happy for the chance, considering James Potter was not around often to help out in the household.

He had heard rumours of her son being sent to some relatives after that dreadful night, but for the life of him he could not recall any from James's side, or at least those that would take Harry in without strings attached. There was the possibility of the Black family, but considering the current generation that was not possible except perhaps Andromeda. But on Lily's side…

The ink dripped from his hovering quill as a frown appeared on his face. He had heard about Lily's sister, mostly from the time when the poor girl was distressed during fifth year when there was apparently an argument between the two. It took a bit of coaxing for her to spill her broken relationship with Petunia who was jealous of her magical gift and had openly called her derogatory names which soured their relationship over the five years in Hogwarts until the woman had evidently tried to hurt Lily with her then boyfriend. Lily was so distraught that Filius had to grant her some Calming Draught to ease her before she could talk properly without being hysterical. Filius admitted to himself that day that he was genuinely afraid for her and the manner the sister reacted so badly, and prayed that any children Lily gave birth to would be spared Petunia's attention.

He also recalled how Minerva had argued with Albus on Harry's placement a few times after the incident that took away his prodigy but the old man merely ignored her warnings and just gave his usual assurance that it was 'For the Greater Good' that Harry was kept at the Dursleys. While she had given up after a few months, Filius had tried on his end to check on Harry but somehow, he was blocked from it. The only clue that he was alive was from his cousins working at the bank, and Albus's constant words that Harry was safe.

Well, that part was definitely a lie.

Around the year 1988, Albus had rushed out of Hogwarts in agitation and returned later in the evening in a huff, barely keeping back his irritation of a matter. The next few weeks gave the staff front row seats to Albus getting more frustrated at a problem that he was not telling. It was the next year close to Harry's birthday that they got an inkling as to what it was. That morning, the Great Hall had never sounded so silent as the occupants took up the Daily Prophet and stared at the front page with wide eyes at the title heading that stated Harry giving his first interview.

To summarize the article, Harry Potter had apparently made contact with one of the reporters to give them a quick interview to which he wanted it to be truthful in the presence of two Aurors and a lawyer that was asked to help. With their aid as witnesses, he and the reporter in question signed a contract and gave an oath as proof that he would be telling the truth provided he had the right to deny answers to questions not related to the topic or infringing on his privacy, and that the prophet did not misquote him on purpose.

Harry then let the citizens of Britain know how grateful he was for the tributes sent to him over the years and that he was only starting to reply back to the letters and well-wishers due to the tightness of the security around him, apologizing at the same time for the period he was unable to reply to them. When asked his opinion on his survival, Harry firmly believed that the honor was to be given to Lily since she was the one protecting him, and he questioned how anyone got their 'acknowledged' facts about his survival since only his parents, You-Know-Who and Harry were in the house with him as the only survivor and witness. He was quick to emphasize that the stories that were in Flourish and Blotts were clearly fiction and that he was planning some legal action to deal with those who had used his name without his permission. He also gave his opinion that the citizens should not base him solely on those stories but rather through interacting with him, making a joke about how he would have remembered being on a dragon when he was dealing with his relatives' dog.

It was at the latter that a question was asked about his guardians, and while he did not give a location, Harry had expressed curiosity and confusion regarding Albus, stating that he had never heard, spoken or even met the old man in all the time he was raised in the muggle world; he only knew his relatives and teachers as the guardians, and that he was only starting to understand the scope of the wizarding world through his own explorations and never through any lessons that Albus was supposed to give to him as his supposed guardian. Harry then rounded the interview by expressing his well-wishes to those who had taken the time to write to him and he hoped to reply them all soon.

Before Minerva got a chance to speak, Albus was out of his chair and out of the door at the side, no doubt to find out why Harry was at the Daily Prophet office and likely to mitigate whatever perceived damage done with this article, only to return in the afternoon in a rage. Based on the article written by the reporter from the previous interview the next day, Albus had failed in his attempt to retract the article considering Barnabas Cuffe was fired along with other unscrupulous reporters and the Daily Prophet was now under new management that emphasized on the truth being published, and the apparent lawyer for Harry Potter appearing with a restraining order to ensure he could not interfere in his client's matters anymore, and that he should not be anywhere near the boy while undergoing investigations for his misconduct. The article then continued about how the lawyer was suing the different authors for using Harry's name without permission and not paying the loyalties in the process. Last he heard, at least eight were chewed out and forced to make amends with a hefty fine added on top.

There was also an incident that had happened at Gringotts on the same day that saw Albus cursing loudly in the open while the armed goblins ushered him out with spears, allowing the then gossip writer Rita Skeeter to speculate that Albus had been taking liberty from Harry Potter's vaults and making others question him for his reasons to go and insert himself into the boy's matters since he clearly did not do so before.

That week saw a lot of Howlers coming to Hogwarts for the old man. Filius could not recall the last time the mail room had withstood the number of explosions given off by that many Howlers to the point the walls were blackened by them and the scent of smoke was strong enough to knock out one of the house elves sent to clean the room.

Filius would normally dismiss such articles but this was one that he had to take note as it was making Albus unusually tensed. He always knew that Albus had an almost impulsive desire to control anything and everyone just so he could stay on top of matters that were mostly not of his damn business, but when it came to Lily's son, there seemed to be an obsession that made the half-goblin wary of his intentions. Even after the article and the hits that saw his positions at the Wizengamot and the ICW challenged, Albus appeared to have weathered the storm that hit him and continued his grandfather act while trying to get to Harry. Pomona, Babbling and Vector shared his concerns for the child while Severus was in his usual brooding mood and sprouting every bit of venom on 'the spoiled Potter brat', and Minerva seemed to alternate between worrying and exasperation for some odd reason. Sometime after that, the headmaster was agitated again, this time about some people needed to be released for the 'Greater Good'. That last bit was muttered while Filius was going through the old passage that led to his office so he ended up pausing to listen what the old man said before he came out of the entrance once the old man left the area.

Thankfully when Filius checked with his sources, his cousins confirmed that the boy was safe and well away from Albus, without him able to access the boy's vaults anymore (Something that shocked and angered Filius for the wizard's audacity). Curiously they were also amused by the boy about something but kept their mouths shut when asked, stating that he would get the chance sooner or later to find out.

How curious indeed.

His thoughts broke when a delivery owl entered through the window and deposited the application envelope on the desk before leaving for rest. Automatically, the envelope opened up to let the letter made out of that clear white paper he had seen for the past few years fly out before it went to the stack of envelopes at the side to prove the letter had been delivered and answered. The letter itself settled on the desk in between two stacks of letters to indicate that the writer had something to clarify before indicating their choice, with the light chiming from the instrument on the desk indicating that it was the last letter for the day.

Filius reached forward to grab it when his eyes fell on the lettering and went wide. All thoughts about his paperwork disappeared as his shaking arm finished the journey and grabbed the letter by the edge lightly. Taking a quick breath, Filius drew it to him and started reading.

To whom it concerns,

I have a few questions regarding your courses and the type of education you are providing. I would like to discuss these questions with a member of the staff before I decide on joining Hogwarts since I have options in both the muggle world and the magic world for my education, not to mention I have been invited to take up on higher courses in the country. While I might have some understanding of Magical Britain, I am still muggle raised so I would hope that you have pamphlets with information for those raised outside so that I can get a better understanding of Hogwarts.

To be clear, I am only answering this letter because of the multiple attempts to track my location. As of this writing, two other acceptance letters had appeared with more tracking spells applied by someone in your school. I would think that it is a rude gesture to have such spells on mere student letters and pray that it is not a standard for your world. There should be no misunderstanding that I am currently undecided on attending Hogwarts and that it should not be construed as me agreeing to go to your school.

If you are open to a meeting, I have freed up my schedule for the week based on my old location. I hope to have a good discussion with someone who genuinely has the interests of prospective students in mind.

Regards,

Harrison James Potter

Filius had to read it two more times slowly before he placed the letter back on the desk and leaned back in the chair, his mind being filled with the words of the letter and his thoughts on the boy.

Intellectually, he could understand where the boy was going, after all he was raised on the outside and from the letter suggested, the boy was sceptical about the whole 'magic deal', especially where his education was concerned. And while it was not stated outright, Filius read through the lines that Harry was suspicious of Albus trying to track him through the letters, not the first time Albus would do such a thing but this was going to be one of the issues that could come up for that discussion.

Emotionally, Filius was hoping that Harry would attend the same school as his parents and see if he had the same passion for charms as his mother. He would be unhappy but understanding if Harry wanted to be well away from Albus and end up going to another school. He also knew that the public would be very unhappy if that happened and it could go two ways; either get rid of Albus or force Harry into coming, both with very dire results.

He should be letting Minerva handle this since she would need to be more familiar with the muggle education system and how to appease muggleborns of their worries, but as of late she seemed to have lost whatever fire she had over the years and simply went along with Albus's orders without a complaint. Filius had no doubt that if she tried to handle this with Harry, chances were good that he would not comply without a fight and things would get really hairy, especially if Albus decides to stick his crooked nose in to the matter.

What to do?

The goblin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pocket watch with a silver chain, with a small bronze battle axe and the logo of Gringotts bank attached to said chain. The watch was made by a five-month pregnant Lily who wanted to thank him for his aid in her first successful charm creation to be approved by the IW Board and at the same time approached him with a request to look after her child if something ever happened to her. He looked at it for a while even as a cat Patronus came through the door with Minerva's voice saying that she was on her way back so he could leave the office. Then he looked at the letter one more time before gripping the watch tightly. He had failed to help her son when he was younger, now he would make sure to grab this chance to do so.

This was his chance to make things right for Lily.

With a quick hop off his chair, a quick note to Minerva and stuffing the letter into his pocket, Filius went out of the office and to his own office to collect the necessary documents to help those muggleborns or muggle-raised magicals before making his way to the front gates. If he recalled the address correctly, he should be around Privet Drive, and if he made it quickly enough, he could get to the child in time. But as he was almost at the gates, a certain unwelcome voice called out to him.

"Ah Filius, fancy seeing you out here." Albus Dumbledore came strolling down the path, his eyes doing that fake twinkle in his eyes. "I thought you have finished your visits of students earlier."

"I have." Filius answered while ensuring his mind-palace was in place and keeping his voice as cheerful as possible. "I was actually holding the fort for Minerva until she came back, now I am heading off to visit an old friend I have not got a chance to talk with for some time."

"I see, then I should not keep you waiting then. Just a quick question." Filius raised an eyebrow to get his question. "I am expecting a reply from Mister Potter on his attendance, has he replied yet? I might need to send another if he has not gotten it."

'Oh you would hope to get a reply.' Filius thought privately as he pondered his question quickly 'Or perhaps you are hoping he has not replied so that you could harass for his answer.' He would no doubt consider doing so to drive a point, it might be best to tell a white lie in this case.

"Minerva only just sent the lot with the alphabets 'M' to 'P' this morning. I doubt he would get it that quickly. At most he would reply back either tomorrow or the day after. We can send a letter by then."

"Ah, I see." Filius's eyes were quick to detect the twitch or the odd twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, and there was a light tone of 'something' evident in his words that made Filius want to grab his wand for some odd reason. "I was thinking perhaps we could just send a quick reminder to him in case he did not get it. This way we can organize a guide for him to know the wizard world."

"You should not need to send him a reminder too early, or too many." Filius stressed the last few words. "You might end up frustrating him enough that he would stay out of Hogwarts instead of joining. Furthermore, I believe that he already knows something of our world, or have you forgotten that interview he did?" At that, Filius could tell from the dimming twinkle and the light clenching of the jawline that Albus was straining to keep his temper at the reminder of that disaster.

"Yes well, it would be nicer if he had someone who knew his parents well enough that they could get along like Hagrid. He could show young Harry along Diagon Alley on his birthday, this way he would not be so overwhelmed when he comes to Hogwarts." Albus said with his usual caring manner.

'Son of a silver-tongued fox, this man is unbelievable!'

"That may not be the wise thing to do. The boy would likely have gotten some information on supposed family friends, and would probably have a negative impression of them for not visiting him. I will also remind you that it is Mr Potter's choice to decide whether to come to Hogwarts or to another school, not yours. Don't push him." Filius glared at the headmaster who seemed to realize that he may have tipped his hand too early at someone not intended. Before the old man could do anything, the half-goblin turned and stomped his way out of the front gate and immediately left the premises through Apparation. He was not sure if he could hold his temper long enough to avoid hexing the damn wizard to bits for trying to manipulate the young lad!

He would soon forget his anger as he appeared at the boundaries of Privet Drive and found himself caught by surprise from the wards that was encompassing it, almost bending over from the sheer pressure of said wards.

'By the gods, what sort of wards are these?!' Filius almost gasped as he tried to straighten his back under the pressure on his shoulders. At first, he thought this was the rumored wards that Albus used to protect the Potter Heir, but this did not have his signature 'flavor' nor anyone he knew. And he could not help the chilling image of a hungry wolf with its teeth on his neck, waiting for him to make a move to bite it off before eating him alive. All he could think over and over in his mind was him wanting to talk with the young boy about his education and not doing any harm to him. What seemed like hours had passed when it was actually seconds before the weight had shifted and he was able to breath easily again, this time with the odd thought of said wolf no longer having its teeth on his neck and not being aggressive but still keeping an eye on him if he made a false move. With a few deep breaths and an unconscious rub of his neck where he felt the teeth, he straightened himself up and made his way on to Privet Drive, shivering slightly as the wards were constantly scanning him for intentions. Despite the risks, a part of his mind could not help but marvel at the wards encompassing the area. This was certainly not a standard ward system that he was familiar with, if he had to make a guess it was a combination of other types to make this version, but who was the creator?

His thoughts got interrupted when he arrived at the street only to realize that he did not know the exact address. He cursed mentally at forgetting such a detail, he would have to use his location spell.

"... Heard the Potter kid was getting an offer from some university?"

"Queen Mary University, they found out about his application tests in the science subjects for the middle schools and sent him a test to try out. From what I was told, the kid aced it and now he is being considered to move up the level to get a future placement there."

"Damn, that kid is going far! Wished my kid made that much effort."

Filius turned to see two men walking in the opposite direction discussing something. Hurrying along on his two small feet, he managed to get to them quickly. "Excuse me gentlemen, may I ask you something?"

"Sure thing." The two turned around, briefly looked about in confusion before looking down at Filius, one of them raising an eyebrow at his apparent height. "What do you need mate?"

"I could not help but overhear your conversation." Filius started speaking as he considered his words correcting. "Am I right in assuming that Mister Potter is called Harry Potter?"

"Depends." Both men narrowed their eyes at him with the speaker talking with a slightly harder tone. "Who wants to know and why?" Inwardly, Filius approved at how protective the men were for the young man, now he needed to appease them.

"My name is Filius Flitwick, a professor from Hogwarts Academy for The Gifted." Filius gave his cover story, thankful that he had kept in touch with his muggleborn students to know what was told to others if prompted. "His parents were once students of mine and his name was entered into a waiting list. I am trying to find him so that I could ask whether he was interested in joining, but I am having issues since I don't have his current address."

"His parents?" Filius noted the air shifting slightly while the two men looked to each other. The second man who had not spoken thus far made his opening statement. "Those don't happen to be the ones that got drunk, abandon the boy and got killed in a car crash?" It was only sheer control from his duelling days that stopped Filius from losing his temper and hexing the crap out of anyone in sight, but it was a near thing as he made his opinion very clear.

"Drunk? Abandon?! CAR CRASH?!" The two men took a step back as he growled fiercely courtesy of his goblin heritage. "Those two were good people who loved their child, and Lily hated drinking more than anything! And they most certainly did not die from a car-crash! Who dares to spread such rubbish!"

"Petunia Dursley. I knew that woman was trouble since Harry's fifth month." The second man muttered darkly. "It did not make sense why she kept going with that story despite all that had happened."

"What had happened?" Filius was dreading the answer.

"It is not our story to tell. But rest assured that the Dursleys are getting their just desserts. If you want it, you may try to ask Mister Potter." The first man spoke firmly but kinder now. "If you are looking for him, try the workshop near the elementary school. Just head down the street, turn left at the junction, a right after the second and you will see the sign-post for Down Street. He should be there at this time."

"I see, thank you for that. Have a good day." Filius may have been a touch rude when giving his thanks and goodbyes, but his mind was going nuts at the information he was given. Clearly the relationship between Lily and Petunia was more caustic than he had anticipated, to spread such lies about them and the child! His goblin heritage was practically demanding that he took up his battle axe and hacked the woman to bits, but the human side was telling him to first find the boy to make sure he was safe, ONLY THEN will he go after the woman and her family to curse them to oblivion.

It spoke of how deeply he cared for Lily and how affected he was from that conversation that he made his way to the workshop in a daze without stopping and only looked up when the sound of children talking broke his thoughts and drew his attention to the crowd of children that was exiting the area with the sounds of the bell ringing from the building. Filius looked at the group attentively while considering the possibilities of the boy's appearance; currently the most widespread description was the boy resembling his father with green eyes like his mother and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead, with a few detractors claiming the reverse with him taking on more of his mother's appearance. A part of him hoped that it was the latter if only to settle his elderly heart.

Filius waited as he watched the children either getting picked up by their parents or made their way home on foot, his heart sinking as the numbers dwindled and no sight of the young Potter was found. Maybe he was too late?

"Excuse me sir, are you per chance looking for me?"

Filius turned around on instinct, his duelling senses ringing in alarm at the sudden presence that came from behind him without any feedback. Before him was a child that was perhaps a little smaller than the average eleven-year-old dressed somewhat informally in his short-sleeved shirt, brown pants and well-worn sneakers. He appeared to have spent a fair bit of time in the sun based on the coloration of his skin, but that did not detract from the light build that was already appearing on his body, the young yet somewhat mature face that still held a child's youth framed with the dark hair that was slightly messy in a nice manner and cut short, the emerald eyes that reminded him so much of his favorite prodigy showing amusement at his reaction, and perhaps the most damning, the extremely faint outline of an old scar shaped as a lightning bolt that would probably go unnoticed unless one was looking for it specifically up close.

"Good evening, professor." The young man gave a smile that was a mix of Lily's kindness and James's mischievousness. "I believe you wish to see me regarding my questions and application to Hogwarts?"