Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling
The chosen will seek the one that he once tore,
And the Dark Lord will seek his sworn foe as before
thus each will be felled once by the other,
and each will in time shield one another...
Thrice he stands before him, their battle giving rise
To wills fierce at malice, to own kin's due demise
One mother's love to save, and the other's to empower
Strength to gather allies that shall never cower
A son to three fathers, all burden a role
Each of them to forge a piece that builds the whole
A sacrifice be made to weave the providence
Ushering the unknown age into dominance
The divination professor unexpectedly exclaimed these verses to the headmaster, snapped out of her trance, and collapsed onto the ground. They were in his office, presumably going over the school curriculum for the year.
Slightly startled by this sudden proclamation, Dumbledore regained enough composure to cast a reviving spell and hover his hand over Sybill to search for injuries. Luckily, there were none. Staggering back on her feet, she looked around inquiringly.
"Huh... I must have drifted off... My apologies - tiring thing, these visions... where were we, headmaster?" inquired Trelawney, faint traces of the entranced state still noticeable by her grimaces.
"I believe that will be all for now. It would do you good to rest for the time being. We will continue our business in more proper time," Dumbledore replied with concern on his face.
"Ah, certainly. Well then, until next time..." the Divination professor said, as she sleepily walked out of the office.
The old wizard had not expected to hear another real prophecy from Sybill Trelawney that day. And yet, there it was. He extracted the troubling fresh memory out to the pensieve.
What could this mean? He could only guess. He once again went over the fateful prophecy that scored Sybill her current job.
"Has the course been altered? Perhaps something did happen to the boy," Dumbledore wondered aloud.
This prophecy was of greater scope and told of a more vague and unclear future. He needed to ponder over this. Nevertheless, it seemed to have concerned the same boy.
"In any case, it would not harm to send another trusted person to carefully oversee him for a while. That one piece of the prophecy concerns me too... Perhaps a little "nudge" could be in order.."
While he did request Arabella Fig to keep a close watch over Harry, and he had confidence in her, Ms. Fig was a squib and would lack the subtlety and sensitivity that magic concealment and intel would provide. Dumbledore was aware that the Dursleys were less than agreeable, albeit acceptable to his cause, but he would nonetheless take a closer look into the boy's life. Although frequently busy, professor McGonagall showed worry over the boy's guardians, was an animagus, and could be trusted as much as he could trust Hagrid. She certainly would see to it.
With classes done, the old wizard approached the transfiguration professor.
"Good day, Albus," said professor McGonagall.
"Certainly a peculiar one, Minerva," replied Dumbledore.
"Why so?" asked McGonagall.
"It would seem I've witnessed another important prophecy from Sybill today," replied Dumbledore. "One that is of the same, if not greater importance than the one of her past."
"Goodness... what does it foretell?" asked the old witch, visibly taken aback by abrupt news.
"If you would follow me..." Dumbledore made a slight gesture towards his office.
McGonagall was looking at Albus with a mixture of confusion and agitation, having heard the prophecy's contents.
"What do you think this means, Albus?" the old witch asked.
"I've yet to establish an idea. I trust you, and I felt it necessary to reveal this and imprint its gravity, as I'm about to ask a rather taxing favor of you," Dumbledore replied.
"What might that favor be?" McGonagall wondered, uneasy expression still on her face.
"I would like you to pay a closer look into Harry's life in Privet Drive. It need not be swift, it would be preferable if you took your time to carefully observe the family. I'm fully aware that you would need to adjust your near-filled schedule, but I believe you are the most appropriate person for the task, Minerva," Dumbledore said.
McGonagall pursed her lips. "I'll see what I can do. I trust you think the prophecy is connected to him? This kind of delicate concern is what you should've shown when we brought the boy to that family's doorstep," she said, almost with a reprimanding tone in her voice.
"I'm certain you recognize my reasons. I do keep an eye on Harry," replied Dumbledore.
"Nevertheless, a closer inspection to how he was treated would've sufficed," said McGonagall. She sighed. "Well then, I will observe them for the time being. I pray to see a fragment of pleasant impression."
Minerva McGonagall was absentmindedly looking through the window of her office. It had been nearly two years since her husband died. She sometimes felt the wee hours of the night to be more painful to bear, as the memories of him were still strongly etched in her mind and there was little to do to distract her. Still, she was aware of her obligations and hoped to get some sleep before visiting Harry Potter tomorrow. She walked to her desk and retrieved a small, violet vial, drank it swiftly, and went to her bedroom.
Harry Potter was a peculiar boy. Strange things happened all around him, things far beyond what one would consider "normal". And his family, the Dursleys, a secretive, proud lot, lived on Privet Drive 4, Little Whinging. Well, they were his adoptive family - his uncle Vernon, aunt Petunia, and cousin Dudley. His mom and dad died in a car crash, apparently. To Dursleys, they were less than agreeable. They were just as strange as Harry, and they thought Harry took after them. They tried "stamping out" whatever weirdness was in Harry but to no avail. The young boy would just irritate them further.
Their pampered son, Dudley, did not take kindly to Harry. Ever since they were toddlers, Dudley was out to bother his frail cousin. Yet, very frequently, that "weirdness" started coming out, stronger and stronger. Once particularly, Vernon's sister, Marge, brought her favorite dog, Ripper, for Dudley's 6th birthday, on which Harry accidentally stepped. Ripper chased him up a tree - adults not eager to help him, mind you, and Harry got so distressed that a bout of weirdness came quite strong this time - the tree was shaken to the point of ripping from its roots, and fell to the yard, destroying large parts of the fence.
Each time this abnormality was to happen, Harry was punished. Sometimes they gave him less food, other times they locked him in a cupboard. Sure enough, the cupboard started slowly collapsing, and food mysteriously appeared in front of Harry to eat. They threatened that he will be sent to school for "lost cases". But Harry's documents were nowhere to be found once they set on the quest. A day later, they reappeared. They neglected him, to the point that Harry thought of an imaginary friend, and once strange morning a garden statue started talking to him. Eventually, the cupboard collapsed. They tried fixing it, but the bloody thing gave way the moment Harry went in. The boy was unharmed, somehow. Frustrated, Dursleys were forced to give Dudley's spare room to Harry. That had, however, come at a cost. Harry was already wearing Dudley's second-hand clothes, now, there would be no new clothes for him for years to come, and what he had had to be washed by him.
One fine morning, a silver tabby cat started appearing to roam around the quiet neighborhood of Privet Drive, particularly close to Vernon Dursley's home. No one paid much attention to her, except for one Arabella Fig, who at one point seemed to try to communicate with the cat. Nothing unexpected though, the woman was a cat nutter anyway. The cat seemed to fancy Vernon's house for some reason, and she was quite adept at wandering about it undetected.
There seemed to be quite the turmoil happening inside the Dursley residence. Petunia wanted to finally stamp out Harry's weird, unsettled hair - naturally, by shaving him bald, except for the small part in the front. In a matter of hours, Harry's hair regrew again. Thinking Harry was making a fool of her, Petunia threatened not to feed the boy for 3 days if he did it again. After getting the wonderful haircut again, strangely, it stayed that way. This, of course, made Harry look particularly guilty, so Dursleys decided to cut his food to make him "think over his behavior".
Looking particularly drained, hungry and lacking sleep (as Dudley was pounding on his doors late at night since the former overslept and couldn't fall asleep), in tattered clothes and with that ridiculous haircut, Harry was tasked with tending to the garden after cooking a meal for the family. Petunia began teaching Harry cooking from a very young age, and he was a fast learner - which was very convenient for the Dursleys. He let himself fall onto the ground and get lost in thoughts for a moment, dreading his impending chore. As he was eyeing the neighborhood, he noticed that silver tabby cat laying on the porch of a neighboring house again. It oddly felt like the cat was watching him. He dismissed the thought and rose back up, fearing that his meals might get cut further lest he hurries with the work.
Harry was sniggering in his room. For once, his "abnormality" worked in his favor. After inadvertently changing the colors of the flowers yesterday, uncle Vernon forcefully dragged him into the house and locked him in, while sputtering accusingly of things like "wanting to embarrass his family" and "being ungrateful". None of that mattered, however. He discovered that he could use his "weirdness" powers to make Dudley's illustrated fantasy books appear in his room. They proved to be an incredibly useful skill - he could plunge himself into these imaginary worlds for a time and forget about his life. Naturally, the Dursleys didn't exactly give him anything to read, let alone fantasy, so he doesn't "get any more ruddy ideas". His reading improved fairly quickly, and he was lost in thoughts whenever he didn't have to focus or worry about whatever else Dursleys got going for him.
Things went on like this for a couple of months. Dudley's untouched illustrated books helped him not only shield himself from the ever-increasing animosity of his aunt and uncle, but from his nightmares as well. Recently a particular one had been bothering him for a while. A green flash and cold, raspy laughter. He couldn't really figure it out, except that it tended to surface whenever he used his weird powers. Harry found out he could somehow eavesdrop on Dursleys even though they were a floor and two walls away.
He tended to listen to gauge how to behave based on how irritated his uncle and aunt were. Today was a particularly bad day - after seeing Harry amusingly levitate his watering can, uncle Vernon once again dragged him into the house, yelling all the while about how he won't let the boy out of it if he goes on to "put his strangeness on display". That Vernon also sealed all of Harry's windows with metal bars did not help his cause. Harry decided it was best not to go out of his room unless ordered. He opened his window and dreamily looked into the distance. Before long, a tear rolled down his cheeks. Feeling embarrassed, he quickly wiped it off, not before noticing that silver tabby cat looking at him again.
"Are you lonely too?" Harry asked the cat.
Of course, he wouldn't get an answer back, but he could've sworn he caught a glimpse of a nod.
"I am very lonely. My uncle won't let me be with other kids, because he thinks I'm too weird and I will make something bad happen. I want friends. I hope you have friends," Harry said with a solemn smile.
"Well, anyway, I want to read this awesome book I borrowed from my cousin. See you!"
With that, he closed his window and went to bed, snapping his fingers and bringing some of the last books Dudley had that he hasn't read yet.
McGonagall was twirling her wand in her office, head resting on her free hand. She had her suspicions, certainly, but this was not what she expected. Is this really the better option? Harry was better growing up far from wizarding fame that would eventually follow him were he to stay with a magical family, that much was true. Despite that, his treatment at Dursley's home was appalling. It pained her to see the boy who so reminded her of his parents treated like that. Lily and James sacrificed so much, only for Harry to go through this. Worse, the situation seemed to be getting gradually poorer, as the boy's feats of accidental magic were extraordinary and increasing, and the family did not take kindly to that.
Even from a cold, calculating perspective, the boy might eventually begin suppressing his magic, and she was fully aware of the terrifying consequences that might arise from such circumstances. Harry also had talent in magic, that was clear. Great talent, from the looks of it.
"Are you lonely too?" - the memory flashed before the old witch. Seeing the child cry in person softened her heart.
"I want friends, I really hope you have friends" a kid, Lily and James' child no less, caged like that. underfed, crying, without one trace of affection...
Not if she could help it.
Then she remembered - One mother's love to save, and the other's to empower
For the first time in a while, a smile betrayed Minerva's face. Had Dumbledore counted on this contingency?
"I take it your venture has reached its end, professor," Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
Minerva faced him with a stern, determined face. "Yes, it has. I'm afraid to say the boy is severely mistreated. I have been watching the family carefully over a few months, as you know, whenever I feasibly could. They are paranoid about his displays of magic, hide him from the world, and, dare I say, treat him like a caged animal at times. While he isn't starved, he's not fed properly either and suffers insults, demeaning remarks, and blackmail. Leaving him with them was a mistake," she finished.
The headmaster made an uncomfortable face. "Ms. Figg's report was not so severe..."
"Ms. Figg is a squib, as you said yourself, and she wouldn't be able to keep an active watch over the family. Certainly not as nuanced as I did. It is by no means her fault that she didn't catch wind of just how poor Harry's treatment is. I already told you, the family conceals themselves fairly well."
There was silence for a moment.
"Albus, I want to take him."
A flicker of apparent surprise showed itself in Dumbledore's voice "You yourself want to take Harry?" he asked.
"Yes. I have reflected on this for a while and my decision is final. Surely that wretched family will consider it a miracle too," McGonagall said with vapid disdain.
"But Lily's protection-"
"You are more than aware of what you can do for me, Albus. It is riskier, I admit, but we should be safe. Believe me, I have faith in this boy's strength. I believe that if he's raised with care, he will grow to be a great wizard. A bloody terrific one in fact! This child is at great risk of becoming ruined, even developing an obscurus under this family! You've seen my judgment before and you know it holds its weight. Place us under the fidelius charm. I want you to be our secret keeper," replied McGonagall.
"If that is what you truly want, Minerva, then I would be willing to indulge you. I must say I had not expected this," said Dumbledore.
"Oh, I'm sure you hadn't," replied Minerva, shooting a sly smile at the headmaster. The two understood each other.
"I will pay them a visit tomorrow, then. I expect they won't show terrible grief nor resistance to Harry's departure," said the old witch.
"It would seem unlikely," replied Dumbledore.
When Professor McGonagall left, Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle. Prophecies were a fickle thing, but he believed he made the right choice.
And so, a very stern-looking woman was about to show up on an unsuspecting family's doorstep.