A/N: Chapter three for your reading pleasure!
Disclaimer: (checks Bank Statement) Nope, its official, I don't own Harry Potter...Drat, foiled again
The deputy headmistress looked down at the long list that she had in front of her.
"Good lord, forty eight muggle-borns in England this year! This is going to be a long summer of contacting scared muggle families." Inevitably one or two of the muggle born magical children would not consent to magical instruction. She scanned the list carefully taking in all the records of
contact information, short biographies of the parents and the careful records of accidental magic and if any
memories had been modified because of said accidental magic. It also provided a copy of their muggle school transcripts so they could see what kind of student they had been. Here eyebrows raised as she looked over they meticulous records for Hermione Granger, every grade in her record was the same, A's across they board. "She'll be a Ravenclaw, that's for sure and certain.
She chuckled, reading over a few more records, she read the heading of one name, gasped and dropped the ream of of parchment she had been holing.
"That's not possible!" She said in slow disbelief. Abandoning all presences she hastily regathered her papers and hurried out of here office as she walked the ridiculous amount of space between the head of Gryffindor's house and the headmaster's office, she however did not notice the distance at all.
She was panting slightly as she approached the large stone gargoyles.
"Bertie Bot!" She quipped to the statues that flanked either side of the rather ornate door. The statues nodded and sprang apart and the door turned to reveal a set of spiral steeps. She steeped on the stairs and it began to grind upwards. The impatient professor tapped her foot on the stair willing it to move faster. Reaching the top, she hastily knocked on the door.
"Come in Minerva" came a cheerful voice.
The professor pushed open the heavy oaken door and looked around the circular office. Over the years nothing really changed here. It was always quiet and peaceful, the decor casual and elegant. All and all it seemed to fit the eccentric genius very well.
Dumbledore's clear blue eyes lost their twinkle immediately as he saw the professor's still shocked expression. Wordlessly she walked up to the aged headmaster's desk and slid the parchment across for his examination.
Dumbledore's eyes scanned the page without comment and he sunk into his chair. removing his glasses he rubbed his eyes and pursued the parchment no less than three more times.
"Are you sure this information is accurate?" Dumbledore asked, his voice low and soft, he searched the gaze of the professor before him.
"The book has never yet been wrong..." she paused, "although there of course is a first time for everything." She glanced at the parchment on the desk, reading the address where he lived. "Albus! He died! We went to his funereal for god's sake." She said emphatically, dropping into one of the plush chintz chairs facing the headmaster's desk.
"No body was found Minerva, we all just assumed..." He said, his voice echoing the thoughts that reverberated in her mind.
Harry James Potter
Born- July 31 1986
St. Cathrine's Children's Home
424 North Main St.
Wallingford
Surrey England
Father: James Harold Potter: Gryffindor, Head Boy, Quidditch captain Graduated 1982
Attended United Kingdom Auror academy, worked for English Ministry of Magic
Deceased-October 31 1988
Mother: Lily Evans Potter: Gryffindor Prefect, Head Girl, Graduated 1982
Attended St. Sebastian's School of the Healing Arts, worked for St. Mungo's Hospital
Deceased-October 31 1988
Legal Guardian: Sirius Black
Gryffindor, Graduated Magna Cum Laude, 1982
Attended United Kingdom Auror academy, worked for English Ministry of Magic
Arrested-October 31 1988
Escaped June 5th 1992
Placed Illegally in the care of:
Vernon Dursley: Muggle Drill salesman
Deceased-November 13th 1988
Petunia Dursley: Muggle housewife
Deceased-November 13th 1988
Currently residing in:
St. Cathrine's Children's Home: Muggle orphanage for abandoned and surrendered children.
424 North Main St.
Wallingford
Surrey England.
Coordinator: Rachel Simmons
"How could this have happened?" She asked, her voice very quiet.
"I have no idea, however I intend to find out." Dumbledore resolved, rising from the chair.
"Albus! It says here that Sirius Black is the child's legal guardian!" The professor said weakly.
"Yes Minerva, that is indeed the case." Dumbledore said resignedly as he headed out his door, Minerva hot on his heels.
"But what are you going to do Albus?" She asked, not liking the look her wise friend had about him. "Have you written the first year letters yet?" He asked, vaguely. Minerva was thrown, "Why, yes, yes of course." She said, reaching into her bag and retrieving the parchment envelopes glittering with emerald ink.
"I will take care of contacting Mr. Potter." He said smoothly.
"But what about the statute? We are only supposed to divulge the information to immediate family..." She began, ringing her hands slightly.
"It has been done before." He said cryptically, and he strode out of the front doors to an awaiting threstial pulled carriage waiting to draw him to safe apparating distance.
He reached out and stroked the soft coat of the bay threstil before him. Whispering words into the animal's flicking ears, he patted him and hopped into the body of the carriage. With a soft click of his tongue, the animal was of at a rocking trot.
Dumbledore was lost in thought as the carriage slowed to a halt and the sounds of the bustling village of Hogsmead hit his ears. Stepping out of the carriage, he transfigured his violet robes and hat into a navy blue suit with a matching derby. Pulling a slip of parchment he read the address to himself with a crack he was gone.
He stood and looked down the fairly deserted street and saw house after house. Looking around he saw a man staring open mouthed at him, standing not ten feet away, a look of mingled fear and shock competing for facial space.
Dumbledore reached into his pocket slightly and withdrew his slender wand. Muttering softly, he watched calmly as the man's eyes went slightly out of focus. Smiling blandly as he stowed his wand safely, he nodded to the man.
"Nice weather we've been having." He said conversationally. The man before him beamed, "Beautiful! I just hope it'll last..." He said, as he continued on his walk as though he had completely forgotten the rather remarkable sight he had just witnessed.
Dumbledore continued up the street until he saw a large blue house on the corner with a low garden fence. A wooden sign in the garden confirmed his suspicions.
"St. Cathrine's Children's Home"
Dumbledore continued up the path and knocked on the large red door.
Rachel looked out her window on the second story of the St. Cathrine's Children's Home to see an old man with a long silver beard walking up the path. She frowned and looked at her appointment book; she hadn't remembered making an appointment this morning. She flipped the pages and saw to her immense surprise, the name Albus Dumbledore was written neatly in the allocated time slot, in her own neat penmanship. Flustered, she closed the book and hastily straightened her desk. She was not one to forget appointments, but here, she had done just that. She made her way out of the office just as she heard the bell ring on the door. Smiling, she puled it open and welcomed the elderly man inside.
"Good Morning, Mr. Dumbledore. " She smiled winningly. "I'm glad you could make it today" She said convincingly, trying to cover her near blunder. The old man's blue eyes sparkled with a youth that his aged body didn't match. "Yes, sorry if I'm a bit late, I had a shock up at my school and I've been slightly distracted ever since." He said smoothly with a benign smile. Rachel frowned slightly, She was a bright woman, and generally, if she had a conversation, she didn't normally forget it., especially if she had a memory jog in the form of an aged and rather distinguished looking apparent headmaster. "And I'm sorry, what school did you say you came from?" She asked, hoping she wouldn't offend the man if he had indeed mentioned it earlier.
"It's a very select boarding school in Scotland; it's a family school." He said, folding his hands on the desk in front of him.
What do you mean, a family school?" she asked incredulously, surely this professor knew the concepts of an orphanage... "Mr. Potter's name has been down for our school since his birth, all the Potters have attended." He said smoothly.
Any semblance of control of the situation Rachel had claimed had fled her entirely. "There is no Potter boy here..." She said shaking her head ruefully.
Dumbledore merely smiled at her. "I do believe that he is known as Robbie here?" He said with a twinkle in his eyes. "We would have notified Mr. Potter of our school sooner, however we have had a time tracking him down. We had no idea where he was after we learned that his Aunt and Uncle were killed. Harry was not found with them..." Dumbledore looked across the oaken desk at the flustered coordinator.
Rachel, as the coordinator of an orphanage had heard her share of unbelievable and far fetched stories, but this by far was one of the strangest she had ever heard.
"Robbie was found in a park.." she started, but stopped as Dumbledore interrupted her. "Near number four privet drive in Little Whigning Surrey." Rachel looked down at Robbie's file and her eyes widened slightly. "How did you.." she began before the aged professor continued. "On the very same day of the deaths of Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley." He continued. "The Dursley's were Harry's only blood relatives, Petunia being the only sister of Lily Evans Potter. Harry's parents, who were very dear friends of mine died on October 31st 1988. Harry was placed with his Aunt and Uncle, who were then killed about two weeks later on November 13th. We, of course were notified about this, and found out that the boy had been taken here, where he appeared to be safe, so we left it until he turned 11." Dumbledore explained. Rachel had long since thrown propriety out the window and was gaping open mouthed at the professor before her.
"If you would like more proof that the boy you have is in fact Harry James Potter, here are his birth records, and finger prints." He said smoothly. He ducked down and began fishing though his briefcase, Rachel had no way of seeing the long slender piece of wood that he slipped out of his pocket and changed the parchment to reflect what he wanted it to contain.
"Curiously enough, last time I saw Harry he had a rather startlingly shaped cut on his forehead. Did that scar?" He asked conversationally.
Now Rachel for the first time was having faith this might just be the real deal. "Yes, just like a..." Dumbledore smiled at her, "Lighting bolt." He finished. He straightened up and handed her a crisp manila folder that had not been in her briefcase at all but had appeared in his hand under the desk.
Rachel looked at the folder and saw the pictures of two people.
"Lily and James Potter." Read the caption. The woman had the shade of green almond shaped eyes that Rachel had seen on only one person. Robbie. James was another story, it was like looking at a twenty five year old carbon copy of Robbie, with hazel eyes, even the glasses were the same.
She read over the birth records of the boy. She had her own records, all the children were always finger printed when they arrived, to try and match children with hospital records. Clearly they had missed this boy. Pulling Robbie's file, she wouldn't have known a match if it had bitten her on the face, but she would be willing to bet that it would fit like a glove. No, fingerprints weren't what was convincing Rachel of the authenticity of this seemingly crazy story, no, it was the pictures of the parents, the fusion of Robbie that was staring at him. No, not Robbie, she reminded herself, it was actually Harry, Harry James Potter.
She had been staring at the folder with intensity. It was not every day that the children here were ever provided with stories, generally they were just cast aways from dead beats. However, in a hand written section that was paper-clipped to the file read the history of the boy's parents.
It seemed that Lily Potter had been a doctor, and James Potter had been an investigator, clearly, this was not a regular case of abandonment, then again, nothing about this case was regular.
Suddenly she snapped back to reality while she was reading about Lily's school records at the same school the professor had mentioned.
Something was clicking in the recesses of Rachel's mind. "What did you say this school of yours is called? Rachel asked, her fingers lacing together as she laid her hands on her desk.
Dumbledore smiled and looked at her. "It's called Hogwarts."
"Robbie's a wizard! That would explain a lot." Rachel muttered under her breath. Dumbledore was stunned at what he was hearing, "Excuse me? What did you say?" He stammered.
Rachel didn't seem to have heard him, her gaze suddenly turned steely, as she looked over at the aged headmaster. "How could this happen, how did he fall through the cracks? Why is he even in a muggle orphanage at all? Doesn't your government have an institution set up for wizard orphans?" She asked accusingly. For the past nine years, she had known there was something special about Robbie, some of the peculiarities that had occurred around him had almost seemed familiar. Now she knew why, it was because it was highly reminiscent of her brother.
Dumbledore seemed to regain composure, he looked over his half moon spectacles at the woman staring at him with sparking eyes. "I am assuming then, that you have magical relatives?" He asked calmly. "Yes, yes I do." She started, "My brother was muggle-born." She continued. Dumbledore looked at the parchment he had in his hand. "I don't remember teaching a Mr. Simmons." He said confusedly.
"Richard went to the Sydney Institute of Magic." She quipped. "He married a witch from the area and lives in Queensland now." She finished.
Dumbledore nodded. As strange as this was becoming, it oddly made the situation a whole lot easier. Less to lie about.
After a few minuets which for the most part included Rachel staring at her hands, clearly deeply in thought. Dumbledore began to grow restless. "Well, do you suppose we might go talk with Harry?" He asked, shifting in his seat. Rachel snapped to attention. "Oh! Yes, yes of course, right this way." She said hurriedly. Sanding and striding across the room. Dumbledore followed her, his hat held slightly shaking in his hands. This was all slightly too familiar for his tastes. Rachel led him up three flights of stairs, Dumbledore was happy to see the cheerful and seemingly caring environment that the children seemed to live in. however, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this encounter.
What about this encounter is spot on anyways, I am visiting a supposedly dead child, living in a muggle orphanage run by a woman who knows who I am... Dumbledore thought wryly to himself.
"Don't worry about the funds either, Harry was left a trust fund by his parents before they died. He'll get the remainder of his money once he turns seventeen." Dumbledore said as he climbed the stairs.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Money is the last thing that Robbie needs to worry about anyways." She said casually. "He is one of the most well endowed children here, an incredibly wealthy, but obnoxiously vague beneficiary has sponsored him since the age of three." She said as she continued to walk the distance to the boy's room.
"Dumbledore's interests were piqued by that particular thread of information. "What was this beneficiary's name?" he asked.
Rachel thought for a moment before answering, "Orion, yes, that's it, Orion Black..." She quipped. Dumbledore's pace faltered momentarily. The Black's? His mind screamed at him. What would the Blacks have to do with a Potter? They hate each other, the only Black that ever liked a Potter was Sirius Black, but that's not possible! Dumbledore was becoming more and more uneasy as his thought snowball progressed. Nothing about this day has any semblance to what he had thought it would have been like.
He snapped to the present as he realized that the coordinator was still speaking. "Well, most of the children have sponsors, you know, well to do people use it as a tax write off and what not, but none are more generous than that Orion Black, he was a godsend, especially with all of Robbie's school costs and whatnot, those tutors didn't come cheep mind you..." She said.
Dumbledore was confused now, "Special tutors?" He asked, he had not been aware that Robbie had had any developmental problems.
"Yes, Robbie was almost taken away from our institution, due to his special needs. He didn't say a word to anyone until here was four, in fact we didn't think he even knew how to speak, then one day, this Orion Black started sending a check for the boy every month, and we weren't forced to send him to a government hospital...nothing really happened till Lee showed up though..." She said, stopping at a door with a cheerfully painted wooden sign reading "Kyle and Robbie." She knocked on the door and tentatively pushed it open. "Robbie?" She called softly into the room.
A pair of the most astonishingly pale blue-gray eyes pierced through Dumbledore. He had never seen such an intense stare from such a large dog. Truth be told, dogs made him slightly uncomfortable, and none to say the least when the stared at him such as the black brute was doing now. The giant dog leaped onto the small bed and began pawing at the covers. Dumbledore watched as the comforter began to move, presumably by the child underneath them. Rachel saw Dumbledore's look and spoke softly.
"That's Robbie's dog Lee, he's had him since he was four. That dog goes everywhere with him, and I mean everywhere!." She said nodding to the huge black dog. "Best dog I've ever met." She stated "At first, we were all rather leery of keeping the beastly thing, but that's when Robbie said his first words..." Rachel seemed to disappear in her own thoughts, "Well, we couldn't turn the dog out when a formerly mute little boy begged for him to stay..."
Dumbledore tuned out the coordinator as a tousled mop of shaggy black hair poked into view. The boy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked blearily into the room. Dumbledore stared with unconcealed wonder at the miniature version of James Potter sitting in front of him. When the child opened his eyes however, it was Lily Evan's gaze that held his.
"Robbie, this is professor Dumbledore. He has offered you a place at his school and..." Rachel's voice came to an abrupt halt when a crash was heard downstairs, followed by the pitter patter of little running feet. Dumbledore smiled knowingly at the wince Rachel gave as she shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please excuse me, I'll be back shortly." She smiled forcefully. Turning, she walked quickly down the hall, after shutting the door slightly behind her.
The boy and the elderly wizard regarded each other momentarily. Dumbledore had a myriad of different emotions playing through his mind. Seeing Harry, alive and well, a child he had thought dead lit a candle in his mind that he hadn't even known had gone out This child represented the hope-rekindled for the wizarding world. Neither can live while the other survives...The words that he had forcefully put out of his mind nearly a decade ago came crashing back, this time, not as a burden but as a promise, a promise in the form of the child Harry Potter.
Dumbledore noticed he was looking into the blank mask of the boy in front of him.
"Hello H-Robbie, My name is Professor Dumbledore, and I run a school school called Hogwarts.." He broke off when he saw the forlorn expression on the child's face, and heard a non-discernible mumble emit from his lips.
"Sorry, didn't quite catch that...I'm afraid you'll have to speak up a bit..." Dumbledore said not unkindly.
"They don't want me anymore," he stated morosely, "I know I've been here for nearly ten years, but I always thought..." Dumbledore was stunned. "Robbie, my school isn't for unwanted children, you are welcome to return here if you wish, if you do not like Hogwarts, it's a special place for very...gifted...boys and girls." He said quickly.
Robbie looked guarded, "A special school? I'm not bad, I swear, I don't mean to cause trouble, I don't even know how I cause trouble, I don't want to go away again!" He said fervently, his eyes widened with something akin to desperation.
Both the professor and the nervous child jumped when the door swung open.
"Hey Robbie, have you seen my football?" the boy with sandy colored hair said happily, haphazardly throwing things around the room as he rummaged through his closet. Grabbing the back and white checked ball, he straightened up, and noticed for the first time the aged man in the room as well.
"Oh..Hullo, who are you?" He asked quizzically. "That's Professor Dumbledore, I'm going to a privet school this fall.." Robbie said, throwing out his chest...
"Why?" Kyle said knitting his eyebrows, "What do they want with you Rob?" He asked confusedly.
Robbie's face twitched. "My name's not Rob..." He muttered with disdain.
Kyle snorted. "Ah, yes, that's right, your name isn't Robbie at all...it's something special! How could I forget!"
Robbie looked at the ground his shoulder's slumping forward.
"Come on Robbie, grow up, you're an urchin like the rest of us, a dumped little foundling..." Kyle said stuffing his things back into the closet
"That's not true!" Robbie said, his voice quiet, but angry. Only Dumbledore felt the surge of raw magic gathering in the room. "My parents loved me, and they died to save me!" Robbie said, his voice getting louder with each syllable.
It was Dumbledore's turn to be surprised, how did he know that?
"Oh please, you were abandoned just like the rest of us, left to die..." He sneered, "It's time to grow up!" The older boy said once more.
The boy dropped the ball he had been holding, and a look of fear marred his features. Quite suddenly his body was thrown across the room and into the slightly ajar door. The door slammed open and the boy tumbled into the hall slamming with a dull crunch against the hall wall.
Dumbledore quickly stood and ran over to the boy's side.
Pulling his wand from his pocket he whispered a soft, "Eneverate" and the older boy's eyes flickered open. He shrank back in unmasked fear, his wide eyes turned on Robbie.
"H-H-How did you d-do that?" he asked, his voice shaking.
Robbie was breathing fast and shallow, his hand covering his mouth, his eyes wide in panic. It was amazing how much the young child resembled a rabbit about to flee.
Dumbledore muttered one more word and Kyle's eyes slid out of focus. Dumbledore stood and offered a hand to the 'fallen' child.
"You shouldn't run so fast on these floors you know lad, they look quite slippery..." Dumbledore said, shaking a finger at him.
Kyle grinned sheepishly up at the elderly man. "You're right sir, and I normally don't, the other boys were waiting for me though, so I hurried..." He said, in explanation.
"Well, up you get, just try to be more careful next time, wouldn't want you to get hurt..." He said pulling the child to his feet.
Kyle walked into his room nonchalantly, brushing at his slightly scraped arm.
"Hey, Robbie, have you seen my football?" He asked, then spotting it on the ground, he picked it up and made to leave the room. Looking quizzically at his roommate, he asked, "Are you alright, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
Robbie nodded mutely, and shrugging Kyle left down the hall, at a walk.
Dumbledore turned his attention back into the room and saw the boy was pacing the floor, his head in his hands. "Oh god, oh god, oh god..." He was chanting under his breath, his breathing was still erratic.
He looked up at the older wizard fearfully, "Who are you? Don't lie!" He asked, it was more of a demand than a question.
"I told you Harry...I am Professor Dumbledore, and that is precisely the gift that I have been referring to." The boy stopped pacing and looked incredulously at the man before him. "Are you mad?" He said, clearly surprised at what the old wizard was proposing. Dumbledore chuckled slightly, "Some would say I am..." He smiled. The black dog sneezed twice. "Bless you Lee." The boy said automatically.
Something seemed to click in the boy's mind, as he thought back to what Dumbledore had said.
"What did you call me?" He asked, his eyes round in surprise.
Dumbledore was confused, he thought for a moment, and then smiled. "Harry. I called you Harry Potter, which is your name."
Harry sank to the bed. "So they aren't dreams...I knew I was different." Harry said slowly.
Dumbledore's ears perked up at this, what was that child speaking of...
"What dreams Harry?" Dumbledore gently prodded.
Harry seemed to go into himself, watching the emotion snatch out of his eyes was like watching a window snap shut. He screwed his now lifeless eyes shut and he drew his legs up to his chest once more, as though battening down the hatches for a monumental internal storm. He opened his mouth slightly, but no sound came out for a moment. Then, slowly, be began to talk, talk as though someone switched on a tape of a radio.
"James! He's here, it's him! Lily, I want you to take Harry and run, I'll hold him off, go go! No, no not Harry, kill me instead! Stand aside you silly girl...Avada Kedavra!"
Dumbledore was shocked. He could neither move, nor speak. Harry opened his eyes slightly, a single tear ran from his verdant eyes. The dog whined, and jumped onto the bed, resting his massive head in the boy's small lap.
"He laughed, everything went green, and that's all I remember." He said slowly, his normal voice back.
Dumbledore seemed to find his voice. "Harry, Harry, you remember what happened that Halloween?"
Harry was rubbing his scar slightly, confusion etched on his young face. "Halloween? Is that when it happened? Is that when they were killed?" He asked, he couldn't believe that after all these years, he was finally getting answers he never thought he would get.
"Yes Harry, they were..." Dumbledore breathed.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, seeming to make up his mind, he tried once more. "Professor, how did they die? All I remember is green, and people don't die from light..." He scoffed.
Dumbledore thought about what Harry had said just seconds earlier. Hearing a child utter those terrible words made him shiver, true, he had no idea what he was saying, but nonetheless, it was rather disconcerting.
"Harry, I think we hold save that conversation for a little later." Dumbledore said, pulling out a parchment envelope and handing it to the boy. Harry looked down at the parchment and read to his surprise , a name in glittering emerald ink, his name. His real name.
"Harry pulled open the envelope with trembling fingers. He unfolded the letter within, also made of the same heavy yellowed parchment.
"Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."
Harry gasped, "Witchcraft? Wizardry?" he asked, clearly quite confused.
Dumbledore nodded slightly to him. "You're a wizard Harry, as were your mother, father, and me. That's why I've come, I've come to offer you a place at my school. That's where you can learn how to control your magic." He said, with a slow smile creeping across his face.
"Magic, what I can do, is, is magic?" Harry said breathlessly. "I can't be a wizard, wizards aren't real...magic isn't real!" He said, absently stroking the head of his animagus.
Dumbledore smiled at him. "Who told you that?" He asked softly.
Harry shrugged, I don't know, Kyle, Joey, everyone!"
Dumbledore flicked his wrist as the boy talked, the toys and clothing that Kyle had strewn around the room began to place themselves back in the closet. Harry stopped talking and stared with wonder as the clothing folded itself and jumped neatly onto the shelves.
"You can do funny things too!" Harry said excitedly, moving to the edge of his bed.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, all witches and wizards can. Someday you too will be able to do things like this." He said quietly.
Harry looked at the open hall door. He looked as though he were trying to remember how to do something, and the door shut with a snap. Dumbledore was surprised to say the least. This boy seemed to have incredible control over his magic.
"The other kids call me a freak. They say that I will never fit in." He said quietly. "The teachers say I'm different, that I am 'special'." Harry spat the last word. "I always knew I wasn't like them, I always knew I was strange, I just didn't know why."
Dumbledore stroked his long silvery beard. Harry wasn't normal, even by wizarding standards. He was marked, and would be marked for life.
"Harry, how long have you been able to control your magic?" Dumbledore asked incredulously. Harry shrugged. "I don't know, when I was little, it used to be bad, you know? I would get angry and bad things happened ad everyone thought I was crazy. But I knew, I always knew I wasn't , that's when I started to try to do it on purpose. I started small,at first, and then as I got better, I would move things with out touching them. That's all I can really do, well, on purpose." Harry said, an excited sheen in his eyes. Harry read on down the letter. Reading the list of things he would need. Cauldrons, robes, spell books? Where was he going to find such things! Reaching the end of the list, his face fell
"Student's may being if they desire, an owl, a cat, or a toad. " Harry looked up sudden;y, the color draining from his face. "But professor, I can't go anywhere without lee..." Harry said said slowly, reaching out absently to pat the large black dog.
Dumbledore looked at the boy's obvious concern. "Harry, I'm sure Lee will be fine here...he's an awfully big dog." Dumbledore said gently.
Harry shook his head vigorously. "No, you said I don't have to go if I don't want to, well, I don't want to! I can't, I won't go anywhere without Lee." Harry said adamantly, his eyes ablaze with fierce determination.
Dumbledore sighed, the coming year at Hogwarts would have Harry Potter in the roster, anything else was sheer ludicrousness.
"Alright Harry, I supposed that Lee may attend as well, as long as he is well behaved. He will have to come to school another way that the train I'm afraid..." he said looking at the boy with a level gaze.
Harry looked confusedly at the aged headmaster. "Why?" He said, suspicion clearly mounting on his young face. "If you're thinking of getting rid of Lee and that I won't notice, I will..." He said, half standing out of his seat.
Dumbledore looked at the boy shrewdly. "Are you used to people trying to manipulate you?" He asked, his blue eyes losing their customary twinkle.
"I grew up in a state institution, where people assume you have the intelligence of a plank of wood, yes sir I would have to say manipulation in a way of life." The child sneered with malice that was not befit to his years.
Dumbledore was flooded with sympathy for the child that would have been the savior of the wizarding world, if only they could save him from himself.
"I can assure you Harry, that I am not trying to rid you of your familiar. I am merely stating that the Hogwarts Express is not the proper place for a large dog to sit for hours, he would be most uncomfortable, and he is too large to place in a crate in the luggage compartment designed for all the student's pets. When you go to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies, we can arrange for someone to take Lee to the school from there." Dumbledore explained. He spoke no longer in the normal tone he used for his students. There was something telling him that Harry Potter did not appreciate anything that might set him apart from the others.
Harry visibly relaxed. "I am sorry sir." he mumbled under his breath. "I'm just used to people trying to pull one over on me, they think me slow." He said gazing levelly, green, empty eyes boring into bright blue.
Dumbledore smiled. "It's quite alright, it has been assumed before, you are not the first, and will not be the last." He changed his course once more, and was now on to the business side of the meeting.
"Well, now that that is out of the way, I can have someone take you to London to buy your things with you, I think that we can arrange it for the last week in August, I will have..." He broke off with the vigorous shake of the child's head. Dumbledore looked curiously at the dark haired boy before him.
"I can do it on my own." He said hurriedly. "Rachel has to go to London every Thursday, I'll go with her and get my things while she's busy." He said. "I don't need help." He finished, glaring defiantly at the elderly man.
Dumbledore's expression was unreadable as he stood slowly, reaching into his robes.
"Alright Harry, here you are, this is your ticket to the train, it leaves from Kings Cross on September the first." He said handing the boy a slip of parchment. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small gold key. "This is a key to the trust fund your parents set up for you before you died." He explained as he put the key on the small table they had been sitting at. "I'll write out directions to the Leakey Cauldron, which is the entrance to Diagon Alley, where you can find all your school things. Don't be surprised if Rachel can't see it...it's, rather difficult to spot if you don't know where to look." He said evasively.
Harry snorted. "You mean Muggles can't see it." He said dryly. Dumbledore quirked one eyebrow and nodded. "It would appear that way." He said. "Ask for Tom and he'll show you how to get into the Alley. You need magic to do so, magic which you do not know." He said extending his hand to the young boy in front of him. Harry looked at the man for a second before shaking his hand.
"Thank you sir." He said solemnly . Dumbledore thought that might have been one of the boy's first genuine gratitude in a while. Looking around the institution he lived in, he couldn't really blame him.
He turned one last look and swore the dog winked at him before he shut the door behind him.
A/N: I do hope you liked it...Brownie points to the reviewers who can guess why Dumbledore found that whole meeting rather disconcerting...