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Text

"Spoken Words"

Thoughts

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2) slipping through the net

As Petunia Dursley opened the front door of her house at Private Drive, to put out the empty milk bottles as every morning, she started to scream. It was early morning of the 1. November. There in front of her lay an empty basket. Normal people wouldn't scream because of something like that but while Petunia pretended to be completely normal, she had a dark secret. That secret was about her sister and their world. Normally she denied to even having a sister and tried her hardest to pretend there wasn't another world out there but every time something suspicious or unexpected happened she couldn't help herself but blame them. Those freaks. Not even in her own mind she dared to think about them for what they were, she was too scared that any misguided thought would start to pull them into her life and she didn't want anything to do with those...

After her initial shock she grabbed the basket and brought it inside. As silent as possible without waking her baby son or husband she tore it down to pieces and burned the remains in the sink. All the while she hoped that the flames wouldn't just take the disgusting thing away but also every trace of... m.. m.. she couldn't even think the word.

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Petunia Dursley hadn't been the only one with a bad morning. Dumbledore felt every year of his life in his bones as he woke up and went to his magical instruments. Late at night he had already set up the detection system for the new blood wards waiting for them to start working. As the old wizard stood in front of his runes, instruments and books he couldn't believe what he saw. There was... nothing. The wards didn't work. How could that be? Had he made a mistake and didn't set the instruments properly? He didn't like that thought because it would mean that he had an mistake and that wasn't a thought that Dumbledore liked at all. He was the most brilliant and prodigious wizard in this century and even if he tried to carry a modest mask in public to himself he would never say that he had made a mistake. He had been even brilliant enough to remove all promising wizards which could have become a threat to his position from the picture. At first there had been Grindelwald... his friend had become to power hungry and had tried to take over the world not wanting Dumbledore at his side anymore, so he had defeated the wizard and now the other was suffering in Nurmengard for the mistake of throwing Dumbledore aside. With the next threat to his position he had acted much faster and had managed to bring Dippet to his side and deny Tom Riddle to spend more time in Hogwarts library than necessary, the boy had wanted to spend even summer at school. Not that he had been able to stop the young pupil from becoming a threat... even with all his precautions from keeping him away from dangerous knowledge the boy had denied his leadership and had tried to oppose him as "Dark Lord" it was ridiculous as if dark magic would be a threat to him. Fate had given Tom Riddle what he deserved, the wizard had been reduced to a weak wraith barely alive and that with help of his latest threat. Harry Potter had shown extraordinarily powerful accidental magic even at the age of one. Then when the prophecy had been spoken Dumbledore had known immediately that it meant Harry and not Neville. This time Dumbledore swore to himself that he would get Harry to his side and not loose him like Grindelwald or Voldemort, no this boy would adore him and love him because he would save him from his despicable guardians.

At least that was the plan but after checking over his surveillance system again Dumbledore couldn't find any mistake concerning his runes and charms. Something was wrong why didn't the wards work? He had no choice but to return to Private Drive and see for himself what had happened.

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If Petunia Dursley had thought that her morning was bad than she would be surprised just how bad her day was going to be. It started with a confused Vernon that came into the kitchen in the morning smelling that something had been burned. Then Dudley threw a tantrum and started to pollute her perfectly cleaned kitchen with throwing his breakfast around. She only had a few minutes of silence between wishing her husband a good day at work and cleaning the kitchen again when she was suddenly interrupted by the doorbell. As she went to answer it angrily sternly set in sending away anyone no matter what they tried to sale, she got the shock of her life. As she opened her door she needed to blink a few times before she could take in the appearance of the.. the.. the man in front of her completely. On her doorstep in broad daylight stood what only could be a bad joke but instinctively Petunia knew that it wasn't... it had to be one of them. The poor woman went completely white at that thought and tried to control her shaking hands. With only a whisper she was able to speak.

"Yes. What do you want?"

"Ahh, Petunia I'm sure you don't remember me but we have exchanged letters some years ago. My Name is Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore and I'm Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Petunia went even paler, inside of her fought two emotions about control. One was fear and the other was rage. She feared the power this man had and what he could do to her or her precious son but she was also enraged that this person dared to appear at her house in broad daylight, wearing those outrageous clothes and speak those foul names in front of her neighbours. Dumbledore of course knew about the inner turmoil of the woman in front of him, he always found it useful to use his extravagant robes to his advantage. Most of his political opponents would underestimate him because of them and because of his masterly trained grandfatherly smile. At the current situation it would allow him entrance to Private Drive as Petunia wouldn't want to risk her neighbours to see him. True to his prediction she overcame her shock and asked him inside. Her voice was laced with fear and hatred but he had reached his goal.

She couldn't believe that she would let him in, close to her Duddydrum but she couldn't let her neighbours find out with what kind of people she had to do. Especially if those people were wearing sky blue robes with yellow suns on top of them. Not that she would underestimate that person, contrary even he wasn't just powerful he was also insane and that made people even more dangerous in her opinion.

Dumbledore easily headed for the sitting room never minding that he hadn't been invited to have a seat. He was a bit miffed that she wouldn't offer him any tea but ignored her twitching eye as he simply sat down. He had more important things to do than to teach that muggle some manners. So he kept his perfected smile on his face and started the conversation as if it was the most normal thing in the world to have an old man in blue robes sitting in ones home. Petunia swallowed her anger down and took place as well.

"Petunia. What happened to Harry?"

His voice was calm on the outside but his magic wandered through the room and the house, searching, testing but with no success. Harry Potter wasn't here. He had feared it as he had arrived at Private Drive to see for the wards and finding them crumbled. What he didn't understand was how it was possible. They shouldn't have been able to give their nephew away... as soon as they would have laid eyes on him the magic would have been binding. He even had laced the letter with more compulsions for Petunia to make sure that she understood the importance of caring for Harry.

"I don't know what you speaking about... who is this Harry?"

Petunia knew that he would know that she knew of her nephew but she didn't see a reason why she would have to bring that cursed child up in this conversation... but then she remembered the basket. It couldn't be... could it?

"We both know that you know perfectly well what I'm asking but I will humour you. What has happened to your nephew that you have found this morning in a basket in front of your door?"

Wizards... seriously. No decent people would leave a child in a basket in the night in front of door and that in November. Wizards. Wait why would he leave that boy at her front step? She didn't want anything to do with those freaks.

"I don't know what has happened to that boy. I only found an empty basket and if there had been a child in it I would have given him to the child service. I don't want any of you in my house or close to my family."

Dumbledore got angry. What did the woman mean with empty basket. This was leading him nowhere so he used legillimence on her. Petunia felt a splitting headache and had the icy feeling that someone was in her mind. She had known that wizards could do that but Lily had told her that it was illegal and that no one would attack people without magic with such an attack and yet the headmaster of their school, the one that taught future generations of magical people just mind raped her.

He couldn't find any useful information. The woman had spoken the truth, as she had found the basket it had already been empty. Putting all the knowledge together that he had gathered about that matter he came to the conclusion that someone had removed Harry before the wards had been stabilized which had let to the current predicament. But who? He had the hope that it wasn't anyone from the death eaters because they would have killed the Dursleys as well but who would have had reason to look for the boy at Surrey and find him before morning... No one had known about his plan to place the boy there, except for McGonagall and Hagrid both were completely loyal to him and he knew for sure that Hagrid hadn't met anyone in the night to give away sensitive information without thinking. Minerva was too smart to give away such important information to anyone and she could care for herself... Sirius had hunted Pettigrew as he had planned and would be soon captured and thrown into Askaban. Hopefully Pettigrew would die during that encounter so no one could proof that Sirius wasn't the secret keeper. It was sad that he had to sacrifice Sirius as well he had been such an promising fighter but after his best mates death he wasn't in any mental state to be useful anyway. Remus couldn't have been it either, the werewolf may have found a trace of Harry's scent but he was out of country at least for another two weeks.

Dumbledore sighed he ran out of possibilities and sitting around in that muggle house wouldn't do anything good either. He got up and modified Petunia's memories, the woman forgot the entire encounter, even the basket incidence he would deal with her later after he had found the boy. If she wouldn't take him in freely than he had ways to force her.

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The third person having a very bad day was Severus Snape. Not that it made any difference anymore. He would be soon arrested as Death Eater and sentenced to Askaban were he would see Lily's dead body for the rest of his life. Not that he deserved anything better. He had failed to protect her. He had sent Voldemort after her... The broken man sat at the shabby couch in Spinners End and gulped down more fire whiskey. He hadn't just lost everything he had fought for but also his usefulness. With the war ended there was no more need for spies and so he waited for the aurors to come and capture him.

Lily how could I have failed to protect you... my heart you are gone forever.

Then someone knocked at the door.

Ah there they are, now at least it will be over.

"Severus open the door. It's important!"

Dumbledore? What did the old manipulator want with him? He had promised to keep Lily safe if Severus would work for him but she was dead. No he wouldn't open the door for him.

To Severus misfortune had Dumbledore no patience left and simply took the wards down and entered. On the outside he kept his grandfatherly facade but on the inside he loathed the man in front of him. If Severus wasn't so useful to him he would have handed him over to justice long ago but with Voldemort's return looming over their heads he couldn't risk to loose his spy. That didn't change the fact that he found the man's behaviour disgusting... drinking himself to oblivion because he had lost a woman that would have never been his anyway.

"Ahh Severus my boy, sadly I have to interrupt your deep thinking because a emergency has occurred."

"And why should I care? There is nothing in this world I care for anymore..."

"Severus you have promised to protect Lily's son... Harry got kidnapped."

"What?"

Even though Severus was drunk... very drunk as the emptied bottle of fire whiskey proofed, his thoughts got vigilant and revived within a second. What did that mean that the boy got lost. How would Dumbledore manage to lose a small baby?

"How? When? I thought you brought him to his relatives?"

Severus had to bite back a vile comment on Petunia but he couldn't allow himself a distraction now.

"Sadly I'm not sure myself. I only could determine that while we left Harry at his relatives house he got lost before he was brought in."

"You left him outside? Really?"

"He was put under warming and sleeping spells I didn't thought that anyone knew where to look for the boy, so I didn't see a danger with letting him at the doorstep."

Severus felt how a headache formed in his mind. He would need to take a potion soon. How could this old fool leave the most important baby of the wizarding world at a doorstep. He would never understand that man.

"Where there any breaches in the wards? Any traces left by wizards that could give us a lead on where to start looking?"

"No sadly I looked all over the house and the garden there was no trace and the register in the ministry didn't help as well not that I have counted on it, with all the celebrations going on, they would need months to work through all the illegal spells done that night. Not that anyone had been there at the ministry to record them in the first place."

Severus sighed but knew that there was no chance with getting something useful out of the ministry, not in it's current state. If he started to ask specific questions the wrong people could hear about Harry being lost and that would be too dangerous.

"Haven't you placed any tracking wards on the child?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"They wouldn't have worked with the wards that I have raised, as those would have protected the child from any kind of binding magic."

"So the wards work now? Then he is still close by."

"No sadly they have failed to settle and stabilize."

Severus couldn't believe the mess he found himself in but also knew why Dumbledore had chosen him to help. The only other person they could trust to know how to behave in the muggle world was Minerva and Dumbledore wouldn't risk telling her that he had lost Lily's son. Not that the former Death Eater wouldn't have paid a high prize to see that collision. He would have bet on Minerva for a clear victory, she would mob the floor with Dumbledore's head. The old man would deserve no less. Not that Severus cared for the boy but he understood the political value of the child and what would happen to the newly born peace in their world if word got out that they had lost their saviour.

While Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts to prepare for another meeting of the ICW, Severus looked for his Muggle clothes and apparated to Surrey. The tall slim man with the slightly oily hair and the hooked nose wasn't particularly happy that he had to look for a child but on the other hand was glad that he still had use for Dumbledore and wouldn't face Askaban anytime soon. He tried his hardest to not think about the potions he could brew in the meantime while he was forced to walk through the muggle neighbourhood and ask questions about a lost boy. He really tried but after the twentieth answer of:

"No good Sir we haven't seen anything last night."

His temper dragged him dangoursly into the direction of strangling those fools to death.

No, I'm no longer a Death Eater. It wouldn't be wise to kill those Muggles.

Thanks to his Occlumentic shields he could keep his desire in a mental cage.

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