Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, any of the fictional locations or characters from the Harry Potter series or any other authors work. This is a work of reworked fiction using the world of Harry Potter. However, I do own this plot and any original characters hence forth created for the purposes of this story.

Shifter

V

Albus Dumbledore was sweating with nerves and feeling a cold dread forming in the pit of his stomach, as his bones felt like they wouldn't stop shaking. He was wearing a crisp muggle business suit and half-moon spectacles when he finally got a good look of 4 Privet Drive, even though he could already smell the smoke and hear the hissing of flames and water. He stared in horror as the flames still poured out in a raging inferno and having spread to the houses either side.

Vernon Dursley had not made it out of the house alive. From the reports he was still inside, but so was the innocent young lad, Harry Potter.

Petunia Dursley, Vernon's wife was with their son, Dudley. They stood by the police and it looked like Petunia had just been arrested by the muggles under suspicion for child neglect and abuse, possibly more but his lip-reading skills were rusty, and he couldn't quite hear over the roar of the firehoses.

Albus watched as Petunia was placed in the back of a police car while Dudley was taken away by a policewoman who was looking to be on the verge of arresting him just for being a selfish pain in the rear, and by the sound of it he could use a good hiding to sort him out. Albus knew that people didn't do that sort of thing to straighten children out any more in the muggle world, which was part of the reason the Magical World had to ban stuff like that too, but it never did him any harm. But then it didn't work very well, just made him sneakier, so maybe it did work out for him, helping him find some craftiness.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and strode over to the police car, as the officers stood by with the door open, and when Petunia saw him, she paled and tried to shield away within the car.

"Where's Harry Potter!" he demanded; his voice full of venom.

Petunia quivered under his gaze. "I-I d-don't know," she replied shaking while the police looked at them in surprise. "P-please!" she turned to them quickly. "This man's mental!" she declared unable to mention the other 'M' word even if she wanted too.

"Do beg my pardon officers!" Albus said as he stood up straight, trying to keep his cool as was his thing, but under the circumstances wasn't very easy. "I am the headmaster of Mr. Harry Potter's School for Gifted Children, and a dear old friend to his parents after they left the very same school. When young Harry's parents died, he went to his only living relatives. What happened here?" he asked, hopeful. "I heard that young Harry was attacked by someone."

The two police officers frowned before one spoke, "yes," he agreed with a tired sigh. "We got a call from a hysterical boy, said he had told people that the Dursley's were hurting him before and nobody believed him; they were already led to believe he was a troublemaker before anyone had supposedly met him, and some people believe things to readily without evidence to back up the claims.

"But we've spoken to a few kids around the area, some of the older ones admitted that they tried to tell their parents that Mr. Potter didn't do anything wrong, and that he was being blamed for things Dudley Dursley had done. And some have even admitted that they knew that the Dursley's were abusing Mr. Potter because Dudley Dursley bragged about it, but no one would ever listen to 'kids making up stories'.

"Anyway, the phone went dead not long into the call. It's only speculation, but we believe that Venom Dursley caught the boy on the phone, and he either killed him or the explosion got them both. The gas was on, and the boy said his uncle was trying to set him on fire.

"We'll have to wait until they get the flames out to be sure. Though, this fire does seem determined to burn forever. From what a neighbour said, Mrs. Dursley is a neat freak so all of those chemicals are probably accelerating the blaze."

Dumbledore nodded, shocked. This couldn't be happening. Not here. It had been a very long time since some bastard muggle with guardianship of a magical child had tried burning them alive. He heard it still happened, even in a few western countries occasionally like the US, but the UK was so accepting in recent years. Children at potential risk were normally monitored; like Harry was, but Albus realized he had been too light on his monitoring, and now all his devices were dead; just like-.

'Damn!'

He needed Harry. The world needed him for when Voldemort returned to destroy him once and for all, like the prophecy foretold. Now what could he do? Without, Harry and his surprising heroic nature everything could go down hill quickly once Voldemort returned.

It was then an idea sparked into his old mind; it was crazy and likely wouldn't ferment too much, but it was something at least. The other potential boy of the prophecy: Neville Longbottom. He would do, wouldn't he? He just had to make sure Voldemort marked him too, and yes, he did realize he was being crazy and grasping at straws, but he was desperate.

"Yes, I understand," Albus sighed in frustration as he was nearly one hundred per cent sure his Longbottom plan was flawed to abysmal failure. He finally regretted leaving the Boy-Who-Lived here, and perhaps he should have heeded Minerva's warnings. Harry had tried to tell him that he didn't want to go back to the Dursley's at the end of his first year, but Dumbledore brushed it off. That was a learning experience that was returning to rip him a new one.

Albus walked away with his shoulders slumped in defeat; he knew the more he thought about it; he knew that the Longbottom boy would be a useless substitute for the real deal, no offence to the boy, but he would never do, but his hands were tied; he had to try something. He could maybe help with the boy's confidence and some serious magical training because he needed it.

The headmaster soon found himself back at Hogwarts knocking on Professor McGonagall's office door to tell her the dreadful news. He didn't know how to word it, but he knew he should be prepared to run for his life as she might actually hex him to death as she had grown attached to Harry, even though she should have probably listened to the boy more, and fought for him to be removed from those vindictive muggles.

The woman called him in, and he noticed a black and silver phoenix sitting on the back of her chair, and McGonagall placing a letter into an envelope. He was tempted to overlook this unusual mail deliverer as it wasn't unheard of, but it was a distraction at least for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Where did the phoenix come from?" he asked only to stall having to tell her of the death of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"A student request," she replied as he took a seat in front of her desk. "A new girl... Senna Rose Nightly just moved back to England with her father. They've travelled a lot for his work, and other things recently, so she hasn't had a chance to settle into another school, or Hogwarts yet.

"She has been home-schooled, and now wants to join the other second years as they intend to live permanently in the UK, which will allow her father to travel during term times without worrying about her all the time I suppose. I was just about to send her acceptance letter with this phoenix they sent."

"Oh," the old man replied as it was over too quick, why couldn't her transfer be a long tale of adventure? "I'm sure she'll enjoy it here," he replied as he had to steady his breathing and ready himself for a fight that he was sure he still wouldn't see coming.

McGonagall nodded as she passed the envelope to the bird, and she flamed away.

"So, what happened, Albus? You rushed off quite fast earlier."

So, he slowly told her what happened…

… And yes, he did have lots of hexes to dodge...

... The nurse chose to see no reason why the old man would need her assistance and assured him he was perfectly fine...

... Albus would have an all over rash for a few weeks, and have to use muggle creams because Severus, his Potions Master was too terrified of the nurse and McGonagall to go against their ruling...

To Be Continued...