Disclaimer: See chapter 1
The Misplaced Potter
Chapter 5
In which plans are made
At his invitation, Sirius Black poured himself a glass of the headmaster's best cognac and then he sank into an overstuffed chair with a sigh of contentment. He was with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The long journey to Scotland from America had nearly exhausted him, as had the intense thirteen-month search for Harry Potter.
So much time had been lost in a fruitless investigation of the records of the various muggle social service agencies. It was only after he had gone back to Little Whinging and delved deeper into the lives of John and Candace Winters did Sirius finally get a lead on the whereabouts of the missing Harry Potter.
"A right handsome couple, they were," the green grocer in the Winters' old neighborhood had told Sirius. "And such a close family. You just don't see that sort of kinship much these days. The entire family was always getting together to celebrate one thing or another. That party they threw when their eldest daughter and her husband adopted their little boy was almost a carnival."
Sirius took a long sip of cognac.
"Harry is on a horse farm in the eastern part of America in the state of Kentucky." Sirius told them and then proceded to give very precise directions toHarry's home.
"How did he look?" Dumbledore said.
"It is unnerving how much he looks like James at that age," Sirius said. "Except his eyes, those are Lily's melancholy green eyes returned. He is perhaps a bit shorter and stockier then was James. His adoptive parents have cared for him well. He looked and smelled healthy. From what little I observed, Harry appeared to be a polite, friendly boy but he speaks with an atrocious American accent."
"Anything else?" McGonagall asked.
"That scar of his has all but disappeared," Sirius replied. "It was only the faintest of lines. I had to look very, very close just to be able to spot it. I thought you said that it would remain prominent, Headmaster."
Professor Dumbledore frowned in concentration. "It should have. A curse scar like that one is impervious to any magical attempts to remove them."
"Logically then, there is a muggle remedy for them," Professor McGonagall said. "Do you have anymore information, Sirius?"
"As you well know, Professor, people often confide in animals," Sirius answered with a grin. "Harry and his father weren't at home when I first arrived there but his mother was. She sat on the steps and petted me a bit all the while talking about the troubles between her husband and the soon to be new owners of the stables where her husband is the trainer and the manager. The upstart of it all is that they are planning to permanently return to Britain soon."
"That is definitely helpful," McGonagall said. "It should aid in persuading the parents in allowing Harry to attend Hogwarts if they are going to be in Britain also."
"You won't believe what they named Harry," Sirius said. "Henry John Porter."
"Henry John Porter." McGonagall said slowly. "Harry James Potter. That's quite a coincidence. It would have beneficial if they had named him something far more removed from his birth name however."
"Perhaps not," Dumbledore said. "The names are so close that the opposition will have had difficult time accepting the possibility that he is Harry Potter. They can not help but to think that if we were going to disguise him we would come up with a name that did not resemble his original name so closely."
Sirius finished off his drink and sat the thick crystal glass on the end table. "What deception are you planning, Headmaster? I thought the whole object of my search was to locate Harry and get him in Hogwarts."
"That has been the objective of the search, Sirius," Dumbledore reassured him. "And even if it takes a compulsion charm on his parents, Harry will be here at Hogwarts when the term begins next month."
Dumbledore eased back into his chair with satisfaction clearly on his face. Forming a steeple with his fingers, he continued. "This is working better than I had hoped. The lightening-bolt scar is prominent in all of the stories about the Boy who Lived. When this boy arrives without such a mark, he will not be associated with Harry Potter."
"Let me make myself clear, Professor Dumbledore," Sirius said. "The scar is still there, it is just very faint."
"What death eater can get close enough to notice it then?" Dumbledore said confidently.
"Only one," Sirius muttered.
"I trust Severus," the Headmaster said. "I believe that we can safely bring Henry Porter here and leave Harry Potter in the foggy realm of mystery. Any questions or comments?"
"Several," an angry Sirius Black barked. "He is my godson, the son of my closest friend; I want him in my life. In addition, there is a fortune in Gringotts that belongs to him. He deserves the life that it can afford him."
"Sirius," McGonagall began. "Do you love James Remus?"
Sirius looked at the professor in disbelief. "He and my wife are the very center of my life. I would gladly die for my son."
"So you would not put him in danger?"
"I can see where you're going with this, professor," Sirius said. "Do you honestly think that my taking an interest in Harry would put him in danger?"
"Your close friendship with James Potter was well known. The Marauders had, shall we say, certain notoriety in the British wizarding community especially among those of your generation," McGonagall said. "I would have to say that if you took an active and public interest in Henry Porter, someone who would appear to be nothing more than a boy from a muggle family; it would be tantamount to taking out a full page advert in the Daily Prophet announcing the return of Harry Potter."
"I can see that," Sirius grudgingly admitted.
"As to Harry's fortune," Dumbledore said. "Does he need it? Are his parents poor?"
"Poor? No," Sirius replied. "They are hardly wealthy but Mr. Porter apparently makes a good wage. They live simply but that seems to be a lifestyle choice on their part. I saw no signs of poverty when I was at their house."
"His money then can stay at Gringotts until he is an adult," Dumbledore said. "I will verify the matter with the goblins but I believe that under their rules, the bank will hold the monies of someone who has disappeared in trust for fifty years unless proof of death is shown before then so we still have thirty-nine more years before that is an issue and I believe that we have more then enough proof to convince Gringotts of Harry's identity when the time comes. Any other issues, Sirius."
"I'll stay away from Harry, Headmaster," he said reluctantly. "But the fact remains that Harry is his father's mirror image and Snape definitely has cause to remember what James looked like. He'll take one glance at Harry and send word to his fellow death eaters before the sorting ceremony is over with."
"And I keep reminding you that Severus is on our side," Professor Dumbledore rebuked him.
"Yes, you do," Sirius answered mildly but his tone of voice eloquently stated his opinion on the subject. "Nevertheless, I believe that he should not be told of 'Henry Porter's' true identity."
"On that we are in agreement. After all, the fewer people who know a secret, the safer is that secret." Dumbledore said. "Does that satisfy you, Sirius?"
"Satisfy me? I don't know, Headmaster," Sirius answered as he stood. "But I will obey you. Please, just keep Harry safe. I'd like to be able to tell him about his parents over a decanter of good brandy one day."
Dumbledore rose and extended his hand. "I give you my word that I will do all in my power to get Harry to that day. That was very good work you did in finding him, Sirius. I was not sure that it would prove to be possible. I am in your debt."
Sirius shook the Headmaster's hand. "Thank you, sir, but there is no debt owed except maybe to James and Lily. Who is going to give Harry his invitation to Hogwarts? An owl will have a hard time crossing the Atlantic."
"I will," Professor McGonagall said. "I'll take Maggie with me and make a holiday of it. It will expand her horizons and I am interested in seeing how much America has changed since I was there in 1955."
"Mama Minerva," Sirius teased. "Who would have ever thought that the woman who struck terror in the hearts of so many Gryffindors would become a doting mother?"
"As I recall, in your student days, you had some choice phrases to describe a man who devoted himself to only one woman," Professor McGonagall replied. "A man such as you have become."
Sirius laughed. "I openly confess to being totally whipped and by a muggle woman to boot. Let us both count our blessings. Good-bye, Professors. If you need me, I'll be on the Mediterranean for the next two weeks."
With a jaunty salute, Sirius left the office.
Albus went to his sideboard in the wake of Sirius' departure. In remembrance of the younger man's comment, the he poured himself a brandy and mixed a gillywater for Minerva.
"Thank you," Minerva said when Dumbledore handed her the drink. "Do you believe that the death eaters will be fooled by 'Henry Porter' especially if he does look like his father?"
Dumbledore eased himself down on the sofa next to her. "Fooled? Perhaps but I don't know. If we can keep them unsure as to his identity that should help keep Harry safe. I do not think that the death eaters will risk direct confrontation and exposure for anything less then absolute conviction."
"As to Harry's countenance," he continued. "How often have you met someone that reminded you of someone else? It is common enough occurrence and it brings us back to the lack of certainty."
"It's best never to underestimate your enemies," Minerva warned.
"At the risk of hubris, I'll say that I am never in danger of doing that," Dumbledore said sadly. "The pitiful truth is that Voldemort attracted some of the brightest of our people into his service."
"Aye," Minerva agreed.
Dumbledore downed his brandy. "While at the Porters try to discover how much the parents have told Harry about who he is. If they have kept him ignorant about his origins and he has no idea who he is other than Henry Porter then a legilimens would read that as the truth and it would take an occlumens of no small skill and more then a fair amount of time to find the memories of a three month old buried in the mind."
Minerva nodded and sipped her drink. She let her mind concentrate on the upcoming conference that she would have with the Porters. Such interviews that she had conducted in the past with muggle parents that had produced magical children had been surprisingly smooth. The parents inevitably, on a subconscious level, knew something was different about their child, something that they could not quite put a name to until a witch or wizard demonstrated to them that magic does truly exist and that their child had that ability.
"Do you think that you will have any difficulties convincing the Porters to send Harry to Hogwarts?" Albus asked after a moment.
"I was just thinking about that," She said. "No, I don't believe so. In my experience, transforming into a cat and back again at the beginning of the interview has the capacity of converting the most harden skeptics to a belief in magic and it inevitably excites the child about learning the art."
"Show-off," Albus said affectionately squeezing her hand.
"Any other instructions before I leave?" Minerva asked returning his squeeze.
"Yes," Dumbledore said. "I want you and Maggie to truly enjoy yourselves."