Chapter 3

There was only one attack after Voldemort's defeat, and that was on the Longbottoms 3 days afterwards. The Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr had attacked the manor, in a rage at the news their master was gone, they were determined to carry out the final orders he had given them: Kill Neville Longbottom. Although they were all powerful, highly talented and fully capable of taking down the wards, it had severely weakened all 4 of them to do so. It would have taken a lot out of Voldemort too had he done it, even with his natural power as well as the rituals augmenting it. When they finally got through the wards, they were met by four aurors and Lord and Lady Longbottom themselves, they being two of the best aurors the Ministry had. The Lestranges and Crouch Junior still managed to take down three of the four aurors before being hit by stunners, the aurors not being allowed to use lethal spells and being no match for the Inner Circle Death Eaters anyway.

Pettigrew had also been caught in his animagus form attempting to board a ferry to France. The Ministry, in one of their rare moments of functionality, had stationed several aurors and anti-animagus wards, as well as several other wards and detection charms, at all major ports and airports to prevent his escape. They had ended up catching him and several other Death Eaters trying to leave the country by muggle methods.

Other than that, the Wizarding World started to return to how it was before: Diagon Alley no longer held its grey, foreboding air that would stop people going there if for anything less than an emergency. Gone were the boarded up shops, wanted posters and informational leaflets telling passers-by what to do in an attack. In their place, colourful advertisements screamed about celebratory offers, children looked around wide eyed and adults enjoyed being able to something as ordinary as shop without fearing for their lives. The Wizarding World was back to being vibrant and joyful, but beneath that veneer the pit of corruption that had been present for years festered and writhed.

Most of the Inner Circle had bought their way out of prosecution, using the Imperius as an excuse; an excuse that anybody with a shred of common sense could see was a lie. But no one had ever accused wizards and witches of being intelligent, the British ones in particular. Gold spoke and Fudge listened, having been put in place when Minister Bagnold was killed in an assault on the Ministry. Fudge had been her undersecretary and was a below average wizard, as most undersecretaries tended to be. Ministers did not to like feeling threatened by their own staff, after all. He was also an invertebrate of the worst kind; weak-filled, feeble and filled with greed. But they couldn't get rid of him, unfortunately. He was elected and therefore had a term of 7 years, unless he managed to do something on the rather short list of things that could get him impeached.

With the Potters, they had been adjusting to their newly found fame. Being the Heir to an Ancient and Noble house all his life, James was used to attention, revelled in it during his younger years. But the sheer level of scrutiny they were under was unbelievable. They had learnt to deal with it quickly though; James took on a few more aspects of his younger self and became slightly more arrogant than before, though not in the extreme. Even Lily had become a bit more proud, but it was to be expected after being thrust into the limelight. The first time they had gone out to Diagon Alley they had been mobbed beyond belief, even James and Lily had been distinctly uncomfortable while Harry had been utterly terrified. They didn't take him out much anymore, although he was getting better slowly. He still slept with his door open, but during the day didn't panic if it was closed.

The months-long separation had only strengthened the bond between Harry and Nymphadora, who were rarely seen without the other at this point. They had even moved an extra bed into Harry's room after she had stayed the night in one of the guest rooms, but had snuck in with Harry. At this age there was nothing to worry about, though it could be a problem when they were older. Andromeda and her husband Ted had laughingly declined their offer for them to movie into the manor, even though most of their time when they weren't working was spent there anyway. Ted and Andi were partners in a magical law firm - Andi was widely known as one of the best defence barristers in the country, while Ted could battle the Goblins over property law and come out with a deal that made even the Goblins grudgingly respect him.

Harry's fifth birthday had come around in November, and the Potters had invited all their family friends and used it as an occasion to reconnect with people they had been out of touch with while in hiding, or who had fled the country completely. The cake was bigger than Harry himself and he had received mounds of chocolate and sweets, which he gleefully shared with his best friend before his mother took them, giving him an extra handful at his pouted protest. From his parents, he received a new training broom which he raced around on while the older attendees compared his natural ability to his father. By far his favourite present though was a book of myths and legends given to him by the Tonks. He loved his books, and since receiving this one had been seen reading it whenever Nymphadora wasn't around. While wizards and witches grew and matured much quicker than muggles, and squibs to a slightly lesser extent, Harry was an extremely smart child even then.

It was in mid-June of the year following Voldemort's defeat that anything of note happened concerning the Potters. Dumbledore arrived unannounced, looking nearly as grim as he had in the days of the war, and they immediately escorted him to James study and erected privacy wards, before looking at the old Headmaster with a mix of fear and apprehension.

"The Lestranges and a number of other incarcerated Death Eaters attempted an escape this morning, and came exceedingly close to doing so. The 8 guards stationed at Azkaban and a further 5 aurors from the defence force were killed."

The gasp from James and Lily told him they had realised the consequences of a mass breakout from Azkaban, but he had to make sure they fully realised the dangers to them personally.

"I suspect you would be their first targets, your child being responsible for their master's defeat. And we are not even considering those that escaped prosecution and the Unmarked. I know you know the dangers your family faces, but I thought a reminder was necessary lest we get complacent in the time of peace, temporary though it may be. I have also visited the Longbottoms and several other Order members, but I fear you would be their primary targets, and your family is most at risk."

"What do you mean most at risk?" The two Potters asked in unison.

"The intense public scrutiny of your family provides a wealth of information on your lives, giving any potential attacks much more time to plan and hence they would be much more effective. You are, in essence, required to attend many public functions that would be perfect opportunities for an attack, even a covert one such as a poisoning would be relatively easy to achieve, particularly using the Imperius. And you have two small children. Jack would be the primary target, but they would most certainly use Harry against you, and of the two he concerns me more. Tell me Lily, James, has young Harry ever shown any instances of accidental magic?"

The more James and Lily thought about it, the more concerned they became. Harry had never once shown accidental magic, even during the fire that nearly killed him. Was there something wrong with him?

"Are you saying he's a squib Albus? Can't you check with that spell the specialists used on Jack at St Mungos?" The frantic look in James' eyes as he asked betrayed shock and fear, as well as a hint of shame. He was lucky Lily did not notice.

"There is no spell to measure magical power, I am sorry to say. The spell used on young Jack at St Mungos measured the contents of his magical core, not his magical power itself. You see, it is a common misconception that magical power is the determined by the size of one's core. All magical beings have a magical core, squibs included. It has been theorised that even muggles have one but simply do not possess the ability to absorb magic with which to fill it, though it has not been tested. What actually determines one's magical power is the magical concentration in their core. For example, a weak wizard has the exact same magical core as a powerful wizard of the same physical size. However, the concentration of magic in his core will be far lower and so, to perform the same spell with the same power, what would take a weak wizard half their core would take a powerful wizard a fraction of his. Unfortunately, there is no spell that measures magical concentration."

Tears streaming down her face, Lily stubbornly muttered denials under her breath. There was no way her baby was a squib. She didn't care obviously, she would love him all the same, but he would be unable to fully experience the world she fell in love with when she was eleven. He wouldn't be able to get a job in the magical world when he was older, would be looked down on by the rest of society. When Nymphadora goes to Hogwarts, instead of not seeing her for two years before he would go, he would not see her for seven.

"Why are you only telling us this now?" The anger in her voice made it quite clear she wanted a straight answer.

"I wanted him to have as much of his childhood as possible before it was marred by his lack of magic. But now, I fear that he would be killed, being unable to defend himself as he is. He is no longer safe in the Wizarding World."

In truth, his concern for Harry's safety was only a part of his reasoning, albeit it a not insignificant part. Another was that it would be cruel to bring up such an obviously intelligent child in the magical world, a world so filled with knowledge and mysteries, only then to tell him he cannot do any of it. It would kill any child's spirit. If he was sent to the muggle world now, while he would know of the magical world, he would not be brought up in it, would not be taunted by it. He would be judged on what he possesses instead of what he does not; able to go to university and become a doctor or a physicist, a teacher or a zoologist. It would be kinder.

There was, however, a third and final reason in his mind, one that made him feel a stab of guilt when he thought about it. Some called him a manipulator and a chess-master, and he was astute enough to know it was true to some extent. He only had to look at his handling of James and Lily since they were in Hogwarts to see that. James' father had never trusted nor liked him, so he cultivated a closer than usual relationship with his son, made easier by James' prodigious talent in transfiguration - private lessons in his sixth and seventh year gained him James' trust. The purpose of his attempt was to gain the use of the Potter's power in the Wizengamot, their wealth, knowledge and reputation for good. He had no intention of stealing from them, but fighting a war was not cheap and the Order needed funding. For Lily, it was obvious from her first year that she was an incredibly talented witch that would likely get snatched up by a research facility, if not the Unspeakables, despite her limited career opportunities due to her muggle heritage. So he showed more interest in her. He offered his help when he saw her in the library, being sure to appear more like a friend than just the headmaster. That coupled with his reputation as 'Leader of the Light', and it had got to the point where she believed almost anything he said, something which made him both preen in accomplishment and cringe in shame. When she and James had started dating, he knew he then had a considerable amount of influence over the Potter family, as well as two powerful magicals on their own merit.

His final reason was far less emotional, originating from the coldness of his personality that he had tried so hard to purge after his sister had died. The reason was simple: Jack Potter was the Boy-Who-Lived and would need to be trained for Voldemort's return. He would need the full support and attention of his parents, and that could not happen with Harry there.

Lily's voice snapped him out of his momentary reflection, and he quickly turned his attention to her.

"I understand Albus. What do you think we should do?"

"I suggest he be sent to the muggle world, that way he can grow up and be educated in the world he will ultimately have to live in. I cannot imagine the pain of growing up in the magical world, yet being unable to use it. I believe you have a muggle sister, Lily?"

"Petunia hated magic, if she has not let go of that she would not treat Harry kindly,"

"This is the same sister who wrote to me, begging to come to Hogwarts? I am sure she would love her nephew, he is family after all."

"She didn't seem as bad when we saw her a couple of years ago, Lils. I think maybe Albus is right."

After a few minutes of conflicted and painful thought, Lily tearfully agreed. But only if they got to have a while longer with him, until just before Jack's birthday, she didn't want to give up her little boy straight away.

As he left, Dumbledore suggested they not tell Sirius or Andromeda, they would never allow it and would keep Harry chained to the bottom of the Wizarding World to spare themselves the pain of separation, which to Albus would be the height of selfishness. Though, he had a feeling Sirius would give up magic until he felt Harry was ready to be told the truth, and would send him to the best schools money could buy. But Harry would still be a target, and he needed Sirius to be willing to drop everything at a moment's notice if ever the peace was shattered. Sirius was Lord Black, and as such had tremendous political power and blackmail material that could prove invaluable. Even without that, Sirius was the Order's most capable fighter. His knowledge of the darkest of magics made him a demon on the battlefield; curses were countered before even getting close, and were then returned with equal ferocity and even more power.

That was the other thing that made Albus wary of Sirius Black. Albus did not like killing, and had sworn never to do so after the death of Ariana. He still did not know whose Killing Curse had struck her down, and could not bring himself to view the memory in his pensieve for fear it was his. Sirius on the other hand had no problems with using the same and even worse magic than what the Death Eaters sent towards him, and had argued several times in Order meetings that they were all too soft and forgiving. "Wars are not won with stunners" he would say. While many would agree, Moody most enthusiastically, the rest of the Order still did not approve of the curses he used. In Albus' mind, a person who would cast magic that melted the skin from someone's flesh or liquefy organs and not feel disgusted with themselves after doing so was not fit to care for a child.

~Scene Change~

Harry seemed to notice the extra attention he was getting in the following months, and the happy smile on his face as he jabbered on about his day with Nymphadora or the newest story he'd read made the thought of giving him away agonising. Lily was especially hard hit, she put on a mask in front of everyone else, but when alone with her thoughts it took everything she had not to crack.

Finally, they realised they couldn't put it off anymore. Dumbledore had flooed to say he had set the protection wards around Petunia's home when they were out one morning, all that needed to be done was activate them and cast one more spell. The more they delayed the harder it would be, especially if they waited until after Jacks birthday. Going from the celebration of his brother's life to being told he was being sent away would only cause Harry extra pain.

So, on the morning of July 29, Harry was called into his father's study. He had never been in here before, so he was nervous about why he was now, but also a little excited about seeing something he wasn't allowed to before. The sad faces of his parents and the presence of Mr Dumbledore only served to make him more anxious.

"Harry, honey, do you remember when we had to hide from the bad men?"

"Uh-huh, but you beat them. We even had a party," Harry's anxiety had turned to confusion at his mother's opening statement, his childish eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes, but didn't beat all of them. There are still some of them out there, and they want to hurt our family again. Do you understand, son?"

Still confused, Harry just nodded.

"It's not safe here anymore Harry. We need to hide again, so you're going to go and live with your aunt for a while, okay? We have to stay here, but you will be safe there."

Realising what was going on, tears started to flow down his cheeks and fall onto the plush carpet of the study like raindrops. He was being sent away?

"Wh-why can't you come too?"

"If we came you wouldn't be safe Harry, we need you to be okay."

He didn't want to leave. He loved his parents and Nymmie and Sirius and his little brother. He didn't want to go. But he knew his parents needed him to, so he would go. They wouldn't lie to him, wouldn't hurt him on purpose. Shakily nodding his acceptance, he quickly ran and buried his head in his mum's stomach and held on, knowing he wouldn't see them for a while. His mum held on just as tightly, her own face streaked with tears. Stepping back, he sniffled a few more times before turning to look at Mr Dumbledore, who was standing solemnly in the corner. He hadn't met Mr Dumbledore that much, but he had always been kind to him.

"Come, my boy, all of your things have already been packed by a house elf. Let us go and meet your aunt, hold on to my hand."

A few seconds later, Dumbledore and Harry disappeared in the swirl of a portkey, and Lily broke down in heartbroken sobs while James comforted her, feeling simultaneously that things were about to get easier yet so much harder. Little did they know that this decision would later be considered the worst they would ever make.

~Scene Change~

In a perfectly normal alley off of a perfectly normal street, a young boy with piercing green eyes and an old man with a long silver beard spun into existence. Once the boy had managed to pull himself up from the grimy pavement on which he had fallen, they set off out of the alley after a flick of the man's wand to change his flamboyant robes into something more appropriate. The street was stifling in its sameness, as if they were simply looking at the same house in a carnival mirror of some sort. The same white fences, the same black doors with bronze knockers, the same German car in the driveway next to the same perfectly pruned bushes. It was unnatural.

A pair of narrowed eyes peered through half closed curtains as they approached. The boy looked so much like her freak sister's husband; she already hated him, the spawn of the sister who had left her behind to go to that freakish school. It had always been Lily. She was the smart one, the pretty one, the magical one. The jealousy of her childhood had festered and decayed into genuine hatred for her sister, and her son simply because he was hers.

Rushing to the door, she opened the door just before they reached it, motioning them in angrily so the neighbours didn't see. What would they say if they saw an old man with a beard to his knees entering her house? She would be the subject of the mutterings of the whole neighbourhood!

Slamming the door behind them, Petunia turned around and glared, not wanting the unnatural man to be there a second longer than he had to be.

"This is young Harry, your nephew. As agreed, he will be staying here for a while in return for me upholding my end of the bargain. I need only activate the wards and cast one more spell, for both Harry's safety and yours, and then I will be on my way." Unknown to the Potters, Dumbledore had had to pay the Dursleys to take care of Harry. Luckily, there was still some funds in the Order vault, and while he knew it would someday be needed when Voldemort returned, this was more important in the here and now. He believed it was simply to pay for his upbringing, doing so out of their own pocket may not be possible on a single salary after all.

"Get on with it then, I don't have all day."

Dumbledore took a deep breath and started muttering various strange words in various languages, his wand ducking, weaving and twirling in ever more complex patterns. Finally, he stopped and tapped his wand once to Harry's forehead, and then once to his own.

The final spell he had cast was a charm much like the Fidelius, though even more obscure. It had taken Lily weeks of searching to find the Fidelius charm, it would have taken months more to find this. Called the Animam Celaret charm, Latin for "conceal the soul", it hides the target of the spell much like the Fidelius would; preventing all forms of tracking and concealing the secret of their location in a single person, someone looking for him could stare right at him and have no idea.

The difference between this spell and the Fidelius is that it conceals a person, and continues to do so no matter where they go until the spell breaks, while the Fidelius hides a fixed location. The Animam Celaret only worked to hide somebody from other magicals, and had been used to infiltrate enemy territory to great effect in various conflicts, except for the Goblin wars – The Goblins, while magical, where only mildly affected by the charm. It acted more like a strong notice-me-not charm against them. It did also have the unfortunate drawback of breaking when used on multiple people close to one another, which made it unsuitable for the Potters even if they did find out about it. They would never have cast it on just one of their children.

He turned back to Petunia and Harry with a tired smile on his face, that last spell really was draining for someone of his years, and noticed Harry looking at him in awe, causing a pang of sadness to shoot through him. He had been hoping to go over the details of their agreement one more time, but the pinched expression on her face told him that he would be overstaying his welcome if he did so.

"Go before Vernon gets home, I don't want him to have to deal with you. Make sure the neighbours don't see you."

With a last smile of farewell to Harry, he left 4 Privet Drive and returned to the alley to apparate away with only a small glance back, hopeful that Harry would find happiness there.