DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…
A/N: Longest Chapter yet, do not expect more this long as a matter of course. I admit, there is some repetition here as Harry learns of more family. But there's loads of new stuff too…
Several readers have asked:
IF THE KIDS ARE AT THAT SCHOOL AND GET FOUR YEARS OF TRAINING, EVEN THOUGH THEY WILL ONLY AGE A MONTH PHYSICALLY AND MAGICALLY, HOW CAN THEY RELATE TO KIDS THEIR OWN AGE BACK HOME? WON'T THEY AGE EMOTIONALLY? WON'T THEY SEE THEIR AGE PEERS AS IMMATURE?
First off, I see all three as mature for their age, but that's relative to gits like Ron.
When they finish their summer in Japan, you can add 4 years and 40 days to their "ages" from when they started. As stated, they will only age 30 days physically and magically. But will they really age that little emotionally? No. True, they will be more mature. To the extent emotional maturity is based upon life experience and intellectual growth, they will be much older - certainly that much wiser. But there is a physical component as well. Most notably puberty. Emotionally, this is a sea change for all. They will not suffer through that until after they are done with the Watanabe School. There will not be any crushes or dating or romance for these three. While they like each other, they do not and cannot (and in Harry and Clarice's case should never) like each other in the romantic sense.
Emotionally, they will not grow to their full potential until they pass through their hormonal years - which will happen when their physical age allows it. They are more likely to see kids their age as silly an foolish about some things, but not as immature (at least not if they would not have held that opinion before.)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: OFFICE W
Harry and the others spent a significant amount of time with Sirius that Saturday. What puzzled Harry was that Sensei had not made an appearance at all. He always had before. It was not until Harry and the others returned home that Sensei finally decided to appear.
Harry asked why he had remained invisible and Sensei said he needed a little time. Sirius had been very important to Sensei in the prior time line and Sensei had lost Sirius at a particularly hard time in his life. Even after a century and a half, the pain of that loss was still there. He assured Harry that the loss he suffered would not occur now. Sirius was a wanted fugitive who had escaped from Azkaban the entire time Sensei had known him. He was in hiding the whole time and Sensei believed that this was a factor in his Sirius's untimely demise.
Harry's Sirius was a free man and would not be cut off from Harry or the rest of the world. This, Sensei believed, was important as the events in his timeline could not occur in this one. Sensei believed that this new Sirius would be much happier than the one he knew and would be much closer to Harry and the others. Part of the reason Sensei lost his Sirius was because of an incident where they had a slight falling out and Sensei decided not to confide in Sirius for a time. Had that not happened, things may well have been different.
Sensei also told the others that he would appear when Sirius was around one day. But he felt that it should wait until after Sirius was out of the hospital. Sensei appeared to Harry in hospital because he was in this timeline for Harry. While he hoped to help Harry set some things right that were unrelated to the broader future, it was the broader future that was important. Harry could tell Sirius about Sensei, but should leave out any significant details for now, such as being from the future or trying to change it.
"Just say I'm an old retired professor and wizard who's taken to liking you and Hermione and Clarice and want to teach you what I can, okay? When he's out of the hospital, I will make my introduction, provided of course that he can see me. But I don't think that will be a problem."
After checking the children's mental exercises and giving them more to work on, Sensei's Sunday lecture was more on wizarding society in Britain. In particular, he spoke about witches in society and what he said offended Hermione and Clarice. Witches were generally second class citizens. They had rights, but without money of their own or a wizard patron such as a father or husband, they did not generally have the same opportunities as wizards. This was particularly true in government. Advancement was by patronage as much as it was by ability if not more so. Few witches rose to significant posts in the Ministry, the current Minister for Magic and Head of Magical Law Enforcement being notable exceptions. Magical Britain was not quite centuries behind non-magical Britain. In fact, centuries ago its attitudes towards women, which had not ever changed, were far more progressive than in the rest of Britain. The key criticism was the attitudes remained unchanged and now there was a noticeable disparity.
This led to a discussion of magical marriages. It shocked the group to learn that arranged marriages were still common place, particularly with the Pureblood Elitists. It shocked the Grangers as to how young a couple could be and still legally marry, provided they had the consent of their magical guardians. Thirteen was far too young, the Grangers felt. Harry and Hermione quietly agreed. What really incensed Hermione was that the arranged marriages almost always were financial transactions. The marriages were arranged for either political or financial gain. The grooms family typically paid the bride's for their daughter's hand. Wizard boys were assests because they were heirs and had opportunities. Witches were assets to their family's because they could bring a dowry.
Sensei stressed that this custom was mostly restricted to the Noble Houses and even then, not all houses followed it. The Potters in particular did not. For generations, each male potter tended to marry for love and not money or gain. In many cases, the bride was a Muggle Born. Harry's father was deemed a pure blood only because of a historical fluke as his mother through his great-great grandmother were not Muggle Borns. His Great-grandmother Dorea Black was the only arranged marriage in his line in fifteen generations.
Still, the practice existed. It's existence was one of many factors that marginalized women and was something that would have to change in the future. Any attitude that treated a person differently because of what they were born as opposed to what they could accomplish perpetuated the bigotry and hatred that had led to the horrible future wars.
It was also shocking to learn that, under certain exceptional circumstances, a wizard could take more than one wife. The primary exceptions were where the wizard by inheritance or will was the last male Head of more than one Noble House. Under those circumstances, he was allowed one wife per house so that each wife could produce an undisputed heir. Sensei stressed that this rarely ever occurred and even then, it was never required, just allowed.
One thing that had come out when they were visiting with Sirius was that Remus, largely due to his "little furry problem," was unemployed. Everyone felt that was wrong. True, during the full moon it might not be advisable for him to be working around other people, but the rest of the time he was safe. The Grangers had a talk after the children went to sleep that Saturday night. Sunday afternoon, after Sensei's "class," the whole family returned to St. Mungo's to visit Sirius and the elder Grangers hoped that Remus would be there as well. He was.
The Grangers offered him a job. The wage was not great, but it was clearly the best offer he had had in a long time. He would act as mentor and a supervisor for the children during the week. Four days a week, while the children were home, he would look after them and make sure they didn't burn the house down while the elder Grangers attended to their Dental practice. Wednesdays and weekends he could take off, but he was not uninvited during those days. The Grangers said that the children needed to learn about their world and that meant they needed a witch or wizard to guide them. Remus leapt at the opportunity.
Of course, he and Sirius did learn of the Granger's summer plans. They learned that the children would spend most of July at a magical school in Japan and were told what they would learn there.
"Wait a tic," Sirius interrupted, "you're telling us these three will have completed their O.W.L.s by the end of this summer?"
"Yes," Robert said. "That's what Minnie told us. O.W.L.s this summer, N.E.W.T.s next summer, Masters Certifications the summers after that, not to mention university degrees."
"Why?"
"Because we can. As parents, it's our job to provide the best for our children and everything we've been told, we've read and we've learned suggests this is the best and most comprehensive education we can possibly provide for them."
"What about Hogwarts? What about meeting other children like them from around here?"
"Hogwarts is years away. As we understand it, most magical children in magical families are home schooled until they are accepted to magical secondary school, right?"
Sirius nodded.
"Well, we've already met a family called the Weasleys and with your help, we can figure out how to get them together. Likewise, you may know of others. Most important, as I understand it magic travel is faster than non-magic at least in Britain. The Weasleys live in Devon which is hours from our place in Essex. Having a wizard should help these kids meet children like themselves."
So it was generally agreed that for the foreseeable future, Remus would act as their guide and mentor while after Sirius got out of hospital, he would do whatever it was godfathers did. It was understood they probably would be seeing a lot of Sirius Black for a time, although Sirius did say he was hoping to return to his job as an Auror, well Auror-in-Training. He did not need the money, but he had a need to be useful again. The one benefit to having both Sirius and Remus in their lives was that Harry and Clarice would learn all about their parents and the Potter family. Remus also promised Hermione that he and McGonagall would do the same for her.
Monday arrived and Remus arrived just before breakfast. Harry and Clarice had completed their assignments and were officially done with school. Hermione, on the other hand, still had a week of class left. She left for school with her parents and Remus and the other children spent the day together. In the afternoon, they went to visit Sirius again and Remus introduced the children to Apparition, a form of magical transportation. Hermione was quite jealous to learn of that when she finally got home, so Remus took her to Diagon Alley to buy a (as in one) book to demonstrate apparition to her. The three children were convinced that they loved magic.
TUESDAY - JUNE 21, 1988 - THAMES HOUSE, LONDON, U.K.
Roger Grant picked up the phone on his desk and pressed a couple of numbers.
"Vi? Get Evans and Greengrass in here, as soon as possible."
She told him she would and Roger returned to the Potter file on his desk. What had alarmed him was the recent updates that indicated the kid was set to leave the country. A passport and Visa application had been processed through the Foreign Ministry in seeming record time for one Harry James Potter of 16 Willow Way, Loughton Essex. In addition, Visas had also been fast tracked for Hermione Granger and Clarice Jameson as they already had passports. They were all student Visas and what little information that was in the filed indicated that they were heading to Japan for a month and then to the States.
Equally intriguing was the fact that at the same time as Potter's application sped through the usually glacially slow Foreign Ministry, another did as well. It was for one Minerva McGonagall. McGonagall was known to Office W and there was quite a dossier on the woman. She was not considered a threat, far from it, but she was considered a person of some importance in the magical world and therefore a person of interest to Office W who also were trying to get a better picture of this parallel Britain. McGonagall was Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which was said to be somewhere in Scotland. Hogwarts was the oldest and most prestigious school of magic in the British Isles, moreover it was headed by one Albus Dumbledore who was another person of interest to Office W.
The McGonagall dossier showed that she was a very independent woman. She clearly was not a supporter or sympathizer with the terrorists, yet neither was she a known supporter of the Ministry of Magic. She had been highly critical of the Ministry for years. Also of interest to Roger Grant was the fact that despite being Dumbledore's Deputy, she was not on any list in Office W of witches and wizards thought to be affiliated with Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. In Grant's mind this meant two things: first, she was a first class educator and loyal to her school, and second, she was not personally loyal to Dumbledore. While the children might be too young for potential recruitment, McGonagall was not.
What had Grant thinking along those lines was information that the three children and McGonagall were booked on the same British Airways flight to Osaka, Japan departing June 28th. Why would a witch need to fly on an airplane? It was obvious to Grant she was escorting the children to wherever they were going. The children's return flight would be on July 30th. McGonagall would return to Britain July 3rd and return to Japan along with the Grangers July 28th apparently to escort the children home. What interest were these children to her? Surely, a woman of her station had better things to do than escort children who were too young to even know about magic, much less attend her school.
It made no sense to Roger Grant and he wanted answers - yesterday! A knock on his door brought him back from his contemplations.
"Enter!" he barked. The door opened and Agents Evans and Greengrass entered his office. "You two see the info from Foreign on Potter?"
The two men nodded.
"Any thoughts?"
"As to the children? Not really," Michael Evans said. "They are going to Japan for some reason, but I doubt it's of much concern."
"The interesting information is on their minder," Greengrass added.
"My thoughts exactly," Grant said. "Something of interest is up, wouldn't you two agree?"
The two men nodded.
"You would agree that this is probably not a threat to the internal security of the realm?" Grant asked.
"Yes Sir, it probably is not," Evans said. "But now that we have a tab on Potter, almost anything involving him is of interest to Her Majesty's Government."
"The lad had something to do with the take down of the Death Eater terrorists back in '81 and '82," Greengrass added. "As a small child, he somehow defeated their leader. Don't ask me how. No one knows how. At least no one who's talking and in a position to know. The uproar over his death, as short lived as it was, was an indication of his continued importance to the magicals."
"Any ideas as to why it was short lived?"
"Wards," Greengrass replied.
Granted nodded. He knew a lot about wards. As a non-magical, he could not make them, but Office W had a whole reference library on many magical subjects and warding was of keen interest. They had developed technologies that could defeat certain kinds of wards during the last war which was one of the reasons why they had been so effective at killing Death Eaters.
"Any idea what kind?"
"No sir. Nothing in our database explains the specific aspects we have observed. But, the phenomenon is best explained by some kind of ward that protects the kid."
"Would it stop us?"
"I can't say. It might. It probably would stop me if I intended to do harm. Might stop me regardless."
Grant nodded. "You two think now might be a good time to get to know this Potter a little better?"
"Um…"
"Mike, he is after all, your nephew."
Evans nodded. "That might serve as an excuse. You suggest overt or covert contact?"
"Use your discretion. Just make sure they know they are not targets of a Security Service investigation. And be discreet. I don't want our colleagues in MI-6 thinking this overseas trip gives them jurisdiction."
"Yes sir."
"And make it soon! Preferably before the lot of them leave the country."
"Yes Sir!" The two men then realized they had been dismissed and left their boss's office.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1988 - OUTSIDE 16 WILLOW WAY, LOUGHTON, ESSEX, U.K.
In the lightening just before dawn, the door to a non-descript van opened and a man entered. The van looked to an outsider to be a company vehicle used by some telecommunications company, complete with extension ladders stored on top and a company logo emblazoned on the side advertising its purpose and ownership. The reality was far different. The van was a surveillance vehicle complete with visual, night vision and infra-red cameras and various methods of detecting electronic communications. It also had gadgets that most similar vehicles would not have. It had magic detectors.
The van belonged to Office W of the State Security Service, more commonly known as MI-5 and was parked with a clear view of the house of interest, the residence of one Dr. Robert and Dr. Rose Granger and their adopted and foster children.
"So?" Mike Evans asked.
"Powerful wards," David Greengrass replied. "Never seen the like to be honest. It's a multi-layered defense with each layer being more dangerous to a potential attacker than the last. Fair bet if we meant the Grangers harm, I would probably be dead."
"What kind of defenses?"
"Many of them appear standard, but none of them are. Truth is, this is new even to me. Outer protection extends approximately three hundred meters in every direction from the house. The first line is a version of and AF, AP and AA ward." This was Office W jargon for Anti-Floo, Anti-Portkey and Anti-Apparition, three forms of near instantaneous magical transport. "But, they are not like any I've encountered before."
"How so?"
"Well, they appear to be normal," Dave said. "So one would assume that if you were to try and apparate or portkey into the perimeter, you'd bounce off quite violently. But, rather than a barrier, these wards are a shunt. Instead of bouncing off, you'll find yourself coming out of transit up to two hundred miles away in any direction."
"That means you could wind up in the Bay of Biscay or the Channel?"
"It's possible."
"Ouch."
"Especially when one considers most magicals never learn to swim."
"Anything else?"
"Well, standard AF, AP and AA's are total. No one enters and no one leaves. These appear keyed. If someone is keyed into the warding scheme, the AF, AA and AP's do not exist for them unless…"
"Unless?"
"There's an intent ward at the outer boundary as well.
"What's that?"
"Very rare, is what. If I was keyed in but intended harm to the protected location, the intent ward would cancel the key. Off I go for a swim. It would seem to protect the target from change in heart as well as any kind of compulsion charm. Basically, if you are not invited, good luck getting in the front door, as it were."
"But you did?"
"In a van! Not with magic. Now, at two hundred meters there's a form of anti-magic ward."
"What's that?"
"Typically, it's a ward that prevents magic from being detected. Fair few Pureblood homes have something like that so children can get around the Decree for Reasonably Restrictions on Underage Sorcery. The ones here are far more powerful. Not only can no magic be detected, magic cannot get in and offensive magic will not work unless the attacker is both keyed into the wards and defending the protected target. Basically, I cannot use magic here unless I am keyed into the wards. Moreover, if I was carrying a wand or any other magical object that might threaten the target, I couldn't get past that ward at all."
"And magical creatures?"
"Not even a Dementor can cross that line and survive."
"Bloody hell! Guess it's a good thing you're not magically armed."
Agent Greengrass shrugged. "Just don't be surprised if when we leave I have no memory of our time here."
"Why?"
"At one hundred meters, there is a memory ward. It will wipe the memory of any unwanted guests should they ever manage to leave. Again, as I have no wand, it has not affected me yet. Were I so armed, I am sure I would now be totally clueless. Moreover, it is that ward which I believe has effective erased the name Harry Potter from the minds of most of my world. I don't know why I am unaffected, but my wife and daughters are. I guess it is because I have chosen to serve Her Majesty and the Muggles over magic. But that's only a guess."
"Is there more?" Mike asked.
"Inside one hundred meters, the defenses get down right nasty."
"And they're not already?"
"I could live to make it to that line. I would give up my wand, my memory and my ability to flee magically, but I could advance on the target. Across that line, the wards are far less merciful. Suffices to say, a magical enemy cannot cross the threshold of that house and live to assail those within and under the protections. "
"So can we approach?"
"As Muggles?" David Greengrass said. "Yes. The wards do not stop and are not designed to stop Muggles. There's no Muggle Repelling Ward at all. But were I to approach as a wizard, wand in hand? You wouldn't want to be anywhere near me, Mike."
"So you've never encountered anything like this?"
"Neither Hogwarts nor Gringotts is so well protected. These wards are all but impregnable to an enemy of those within. There are not even warding stones! The easy way to defeat a geographically fixed ward is to find the stones that mark its boundary. So far as I can tell, there are not any here. This magic is either unknown or so ancient as to be forgotten to men, goblins and elves."
"I take it you're impressed?"
"I'd love to pick the brain of the warder. I fear, however, it is Dumbledore. Whether he intended this is another question altogether."
Mike nodded. To Office W of MI-5, magical and non-magical alike, Dumbledore was more like Neville Chamberlain than Winston Churchill. He had argued restraint in the last war and as a result thousands died. Were it not for the secret efforts of MI-5, thousands more would have perished as the legitimate magical government was reluctant to fight to win, as in shoot to kill. Their enemies (and MI-5) were not so squeamish.
Two loud cracks broke the pensiveness in the van. The two men bent towards their cameras and began scanning. There were two people nearing the door to the target house who had been nowhere in sight moments before.
"Apparition?" Mike asked.
"Probable," David replied. "I have to assume these two are keyed into the wards. Oh my!"
"What?"
"Don't recognize the bloke, but the woman is none other than Minerva McGonagall!"
"Bloke's probably an 'M.'" Mike said.
Dave nodded in agreement.
"Door!"
The two looked as the front door to the home opened even before the couple had reached it. A man they knew as Dr. Robert Granger and a girl they knew as his daughter Hermione stepped out and greeted the couple briefly before continuing to the BMW in the drive and getting in and driving away. The other two entered the house.
"Guess they're rather chummy," Mike noted.
"Where do we go from here, boss?" David asked.
Michael Evans thought about it for a moment. "Give them a few minutes to get comfy. Then you and I will have a meet with my niece and nephew in a semi-official capacity," he said with a chuckle.
"Boss?"
"Ring the door, flash the ID and say we need to talk to the boy and girl. 'Tis true to an extent."
"It is, but why?"
"You think the rest of that lot will let me meet my niece and nephew in private? Especially after what that waste of my half-sister and her family did to the boy? Follow my lead. Act natural. This could be a banner day for Office W!"
Several minutes later, the two men left their van and walked towards the front door of the house they had been observing. David Greengrass alighted from the van fearing the inevitable. The wards were instant death or worse for any wizard who meant the occupants harm. He did not, but he was hardly there as a friend either. Each step where he retained his magic, memory and pulse made him relax, but only a little. There were a witch and wizard in the house and he'd bet the van that they had wands. He and his partner were unarmed. He watched as his partner rang the bell.
They knew who the woman was who opened the door.
"Rose Granger, I presume?" Mike asked.
She nodded.
Evans held up his MI-5 credentials. "Agent Michael Evans, State Security Service, Ma'am. This is my partner, Agent Greengrass. We are here about the events at Little Whinging, Surrey involving one Harry Potter. Is he here?"
The woman nodded.
"We also need to speak with one Clarice Jameson about another event we believe may be related. Is she here?"
"She is. They are. But if you think we'll turn them over…"
"That is not our intention, Ma'am. Just some questions and we'll be off. May be nothing. Then again, any information at this juncture is appreciated. Can we come in?"
The woman nodded curtly and ushered the two men into a large parlor. "They're changing," she said. "Can I offer you some tea?"
"That would be lovely, Ma'am," David Greengrass said, "Thank you." He had taken his boss's cue and decided to be as non-threatening as possible. Several minutes later, she returned with a tea service. As the tea was being poured, two children entered along with the two adults they observed earlier.
"Professor McGonagall," David Greengrass said, "it has been a while."
The older woman looked at him in confusion. "I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage, Sir," she replied.
"David Greengrass, Slytherin Class of '73. It's been a while since I was your student."
"But you're MI-5?"
"Indeed. When I left Hogwarts I became an Auror. But neither the Ministry of Magic nor anyone else seemed to see that there was a war on with Voldemort and his terrorists. My loyalty is with Great Britain and her Majesty the Queen. At least we stood and fought!"
"And all but won," Michael Evans said. "Fair few magicals bolted to Her Majesty's Service during the war. We are from Office W. Those of us who are not magical knew of your world before joining. My wife is a witch and so was one of my two half sisters. I my wife and I have eight children, all magical. Two are out of school and working, three are in school and my three youngest are not. My two youngest are about the same age as your children here."
"Why are you here?" Harry asked. "Are you going to take us away from the Grangers?"
"No Harry. We have neither the desire nor the authority to do that. We are here because Her Majesty's government cares about all her subjects, magical included and wants to foster better relations with your world. I am here because this particular meeting is of personal interest to me."
"How so?" McGonagall asked.
"Harry and Clarice are my nephew and niece," Michael Evans said. "Or half nephew and niece." He saw Harry pale with fear. He knew why. "Harry," Michael said softly, "I am not Petunia. I never liked her. She hated magic for some reason and refused it. I married a witch and all my children are like you. I cannot fear nor hate you for your gift. I live with your gift all the time. My other half-sister was your Mum. I'll admit I knew neither well. I was nineteen when your Mum was born.
"My father was your grandfather. I was born in '41 during the War. My Dad was flying with the R.A.F. at the time. He was a fighter pilot. My Mum was killed in late 1944 when the Germans began launching rockets at London. I was away with family at the time. A rocket hit our home dead on and killed my Mum. Dad married years later and your Aunt Petunia and Mum were his children from that marriage.
"Dad never had an issue with magic and I most certainly do not. The Evans is on again, off again magical and has been for a long, long time. Your Aunt Petunia was - well, she was a disappointment in so many ways. Why she married that cretin Dursley is beyond me. I was at their wedding and the fat bastard assumed I hated magic as much as he did. Made some off color remarks about it and I felt I had no choice but to rearrange his face right there at the reception. Broke the bastards nose and arm in the end."
"Did the world a small service," the unknown wizard said.
"Not enough of one," Mike Evans said. "Should have killed the git! From what I've read about Harry's life until recently…"
"Why didn't you," Harry began…
Mike knew the question was why didn't he take Harry. "Son," he said, "I was a lot older than your mother. I seldom met your Mum. I liked her, but did not really know her. Never liked Petunia. She was always a piece of work.
"Petunia was a bright girl, but never applied herself. She assumed things would come her way without effort. She could have gone on to university had she tried, but she did not. She had issues and those issues led her to that fat bastard Dursley.
"You're Mum was at least as smart as her sister, but worked for everything she could achieve. They were both very smart, but very different. At least, that is what I remember. Your Mum was her father's daughter. Your aunt was her mother's. My Dad was all about earning your place. My step-mum was all about marrying it.
"I met your Mum three times. The first time was when she was ten. The last time was at her wedding. My Dad remarried years after my Mum was killed and I never got along with your grandmum so I stayed away. At your Mum's wedding, I had the misfortune to run into my sister Petunia. She had the sense to leave that fat git husband of hers behind. By then, I was married to a witch and when she found out she told me in no uncertain terms that I and my freak family were not welcome in her home. Had I known you had been placed with them, I probably would have petitioned for custody or something."
"Oh."
"Can I ask you something Harry?"
Harry nodded.
"Are you happy here with the Grangers?"
"Yes."
"Would you mind if your uncle came to visit you and your sister from time to time?"
The boy began to cry. Mrs. Granger knelt down and pulled the poor boy into a hug as he cried. This was one of so many new experiences to Harry since the Grangers had come into his life. It took him a while to calm down. When he did, he looked at his long lost uncle and said. "I'm sorry. It's just…"
"No worries, Harry," Mr. Evans said soothingly.
"F-for as long as I can remember, I thought no one loved me. No one could love me! I was a freak and didn't deserve to be liked by anyone. Until I woke up in hospital, I never had a hug and my family was never nice to me. I thought I deserved that for some reason. Now, ever since I woke up it's like all that was a dream. I'm still getting used to this. I'm still getting used to the idea that I can be liked and loved. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Harry."
"I would like to get to know what's left of my real family, Uncle - er …"
"Mike," Evans said. "You and Clarice can call me Uncle Mike."
"Now I have a few questions for you, Mr. Evans," McGonagall said. "You say you're from MI-5? That's part of the Muggle government, yes?"
"It is."
"Yet you know about magic and your office fights against it?"
"That is a grossly oversimplified statement of what we do," he answered. "What is now Office W was established back in the 1920's. A similar office was set up in what became MI-6 or the Secret Intelligence Service. They were set up for the same reason - Gellert Grindewald. He was a nasty wizard on the continent and was bent on conquest, at least of the magical world. MI-6 types fought against him. My office was tasked with keeping an eye on the British magicals and preventing Gridewald from exporting his war across the Channel. We like to think we did a pretty good job of it. We've always been staffed with people like me: non-magicals who know about magic and people like David here: magicals loyal to Her Majesty and the British Empire. One thing we learned during that was the importance of keeping an eye on the Magical world.
"We don't consider magic itself a threat and I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of magicals are law abiding subjects. But, there are always a few who are not, just like in our world. MI-5 is tasked with ensuring the internal security of Britain. We conduct counter-espionage operations, we are the intelligence arm in ongoing counter-terrorism activities here at home and we are also tasked with certain law enforcement and surveillance activities.
"Office W does everything MI-5 does, but our focus is on magical threats and trying to establish a relationship within your world. I regret, while we are good at keeping tabs on and dealing with threats as they arise, we have never had much success in establishing close contacts within the magical world, much less any kind of working relationship with your government. Were it not for the witches and wizards in our ranks and families, we would have little or no contact at all."
"Is this a social call or business?" McGonagall asked.
"A little of both."
"Both?" all three adults asked in unison.
Mike Evans nodded. "Oh, where to begin. Right then…
"One person of interest is Dr. Robert Granger."
"Why?" Rose asked in horror.
"Nothing to fear, Ma'am. Years ago then Captain Granger was a team leader in two-two squadron of the S.A.S. He led a raid against a Death Eater stronghold. It was very successful. Bagged over forty magical terrorists that night."
"Bagged?"
"Killed," Evans deadpanned. "Your last war was a source of frustration for Her Majesty's government. It seemed you world was not interested in winning it. As it was spilling over into the population at large, we classified Death Eaters as terrorists and threats to National Security and moved to deal with them directly. Ninety percent of the Death Eaters killed in that war were killed by us and not by you."
"That's why I joined up," David added. "As an Auror, my hands were tied. The Death Eaters could kill, we could not. Because of the magical government's Pureblood alignment, we were not authorized lethal force for fear we might kill some scion of a noble house. It was a bloody civil war for Merlin's sake! Killing the odd scion was necessary if we wanted to win! MI-5 saw it that way and were it not for us, the bastards might actually have won."
"They almost did," McGonagall said. "They were close."
"Not as close as you or they think," Mike Evans said. "What was close was a massive intervention by Her Majesty's forces. Had your Ministry fallen to the terrorists, we would have intervened militarily. It may have been bloody, but there are more soldiers in the British Army than there are witches and wizards in the British Isles. It would have gone quite badly for the magical world. Then, Harry happened."
Harry looked surprised.
"You do know most magicals believed you defeated Voldemort?"
Harry nodded.
"Apparently, our intel on him was accurate. Cut off the head of that organization and it collapsed. Harry, of course, has been a person of interest to MI-5 ever since. We don't know how he did what he said to have done."
"No one does," McGonagall said.
"Still," David picked up, "he's been of interest ever since. Then again, until recently no one knew where he was. And had Mike here bothered to check on his sister…"
"I had no cause to," Mike protested, "and if you ever met her and her husband, you would not want to see them ever again."
"Basically, Harry Potter became a cold case," David said. "That is until about a month ago."
"The fire?" McGonagall asked.
Mike and David nodded. "We would have stopped by for a chat anyway, but what piqued our curiosity were the two other children who lived here. After we learned that the Grangers had taken Harry into foster care in record time, we found out about Hermione and Clarice. They are magicals."
"How did you know that?" McGonagall asked.
"Because their birth certificates on record are what we call M-forges."
"What's that?" Rose asked.
"An M-forge document is a legally valid forgery prepared by Gringotts for people from the magical world who need documentation in the non-magical world. They hide the specifics of magic from us lowly non-magical types. We at Office W, however, know what they are.
"We became curious. The odds of the Grangers here having three magical children or even two placed in their care are long, to say the least. Then there's the recent business."
"What do you mean?" Rose asked.
"Within the last week or so, two M-Forge passports and four M-forge Visas were issued to this address. While we really are not concerned with your upcoming trip to Japan, we are curious as to why Professor Minerva McGonagall is part of the party. It was not expected. After all, she is the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. What interest are these three to her? And if she knows about Harry here, why is that not public knowledge?"
"Then there are the wards surrounding this house," David added. "Very curious."
"Well, if you must know," McGonagall said, "I happen to be Hermione's maternal Great-grandmother so this is all that is left of my family. I also happen to be Harry and Clarice's magical guardian. So, I am going to accompany them on their trip to Japan."
"Where they will stay for a month yet you will return?"
"They are attending a magical school there."
"Interesting. I didn't think you could send children so young to magical school."
"Not here in Britain," McGonagall said. "Nor elsewhere in Europe. But in Asia and the Americas, you can send them at age six."
"And they get their wands at that time?"
McGonagall nodded.
"Wands than cannot be traced by your Ministry?"
"How…? what do you mean?"
"Despite what your people are told, the Ministry cannot really detect magic, underage or otherwise, unless it is exceedingly powerful. They can, however, detect a wand's signature provided it's on record with the Ministry. All wands sold in Britain or passing through magical customs must be registered. But you are going Muggle. It means your foreign bought wands will not pass through Ministry scrutiny which means they cannot be detected."
"That cunning old bastard!" McGonagall laughed.
"Who?" David asked, "Dumbledore?"
"I can assure you, Sir, Dumbledore would prefer it if he could track Harry! He has it in for the boy for some reason. No, there is another who wants Harry to be able to make his own way in this world without undue interference from those who seek to control him, namely Dumbledore and the Ministry. Each, of course, for their own selfish reasons none of which have to do with Harry's best interests or well being."
"Why would the Ministry or Dumbledore want to control a seven year old boy?" Mike asked. "Seems rather pointless to me."
"I am certain the current Minister has little more than a passing interest in the boy," McGonagall said. "Bagnold has a fairly high popularity rating. There are others, however, who would love to gain control over him for their own ends. The Potter seat on the Wizengamot controls more votes than any other House. Throw in the fact that he is the famous 'Boy-Who-Lived' and that could mean serious political gains to whomever managed to gain control."
"Such as?"
"Fudge."
Remus laughed. "That fraud? He's nothing more than the head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. What bloody good would Harry serve?"
"It's well known he aspires to higher things, Remus."
"Just what I need! Fudge with more power!"
"And don't forget Barty Crouch," McGonagall added. "He was well on his way to becoming Minister for Magic one day when it turned out his son was a Death Eater. Head of Magical Law Enforcement has traditionally been a stepping stone to that office and he was the head. When his son and the Lestranges tortured the Longbottoms not long after Harry encountered You-Know-Who, Crouch lost all credibility and was reassigned to the Department of International Cooperation which, as you know Remus, is a political dead end."
"Great! One has been and one never will be!"
"Let's just hope Millie does not desire to retire anytime soon. She tends to be above such posturing."
"I take it you don't have much of an opinion as to Crouch or Fudge," Mike asked Remus. "Mr.?"
"Lupin," Remus said, "Remus Lupin. And no I don't. When he was head of Magical Law Enforcement, he and Dumbledore saw to it that my friend Sirius Black - Harry and Clarice's godfather - was sent to prison without trial for a crime he did not commit. As for Fudge, let's just say his office should be renamed the Department for the Eradication of Intelligent, Magical Creatures."
"What do you mean?" Mike asked.
"When Sirius Black, James and Lily Potter and I finished Hogwarts in '78, there was a war on against the Death Eaters. We all joined the Order of the Phoenix as well as the Auror Corps. Lily had to drop out when she became pregnant with Harry here. James left when Dumbledore sent him and his wife into hiding. Sirius and I stayed with it and, as it was war time, we finished our abbreviated training in July of 1980.
"We were supposedly up and comers in the Department. We were both protégés of Alastor Moody, probably one of the best combat Auror's ever. November of '81, Crouch saw to it we lost Sirius as he had an Auror and Harry's godfather sent off to Azkaban without a trial even though it was impossible for Sirius to have committed the crime alleged."
"And what was that crime," Mike asked.
"When Voldemort murdered Harry and Clarice's parents, Sirius knew who had betrayed them. Everyone, including me, thought that Sirius was the Potter's Secret Keeper and therefore through the magic of the wards cast to hide the Potters, the only person who could betray them. At the last minute, Sirius refused. He suggested he become a decoy while someone whom nobody could ever suspect became the true Secret Keeper. That someone was Peter Pettigrew, a friend of our from school. What none of us knew until later was that Pettigrew was already an apprentice Death Eater.
"Anyway, not long after the attack occurred, Sirius was off after Pettigrew. He cornered the rat in a muggle market a few days later. Pettigrew faked his own death, killing a dozen Muggles at the same time and Crouch assumed the real mass murderer was Sirius. No trial. Everyone thought that, even me," Remus sniffed. "Sirius was my best friend. I knew he could not have done it, yet with James and Lily dead and Harry and Clarice missing, I believed the press.
"So I soldiered on in the Auror Corps for another three years and was promoted twice. Then Fudge became head of the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He rammed a bill through the Wizengamot making it illegal for someone like me to hold a job in magical Britain. Over the protests of my bosses and the new head of Magical Law Enforcement, I got the sack in early '85. Been working on the Muggle side in menial jobs ever since."
"Why were you sacked?" Mike and Harry asked in unison.
"Because I'm a werewolf."
"That hardly seems fair," Harry said. "You're not a monster."
"Thank you, Harry," Remus said softly. "That means a lot."
"Welcome," Harry said softly. "Why are people so mean?"
"I don't know, Harry. Some people just are."
"Werewolf, eh?" Mike said. "And a fully trained Auror?"
Remus nodded.
"Ever here of a Were named Fenir Greyback?"
"Met him once," Remus said darkly. "I was about Clarice's age when I did. He bit me and made me what I am. Why?"
"You have a job?"
"The Granger's hired me as a minder and tutor for their kids just recently. While they are home during the summer, I'll take care of them during the weekdays so the Doctors can go to work. Rose here said she'd take Wednesdays off, but I can still come over and help out. Why?"
"Grayback's the one mutt from Voldemort's terrorists we want," David said. "Killed a load of kids during the War and by our estimation the end of the War has not really stopped his predations. We want to find him and take him out permanently. Problem is, it's hard to find a Were who does not wish to be found, unless…"
"You use another Were to track him," Remus nodded.
"Can't make you any promises," Mike said, "but we've been trying to recruit a Were into Office W for decades. I'll need to talk to the Boss man, but here's my work number," Mike said handing Remus a card. "When the kids are off to Japan, give me a ring and we'll set up an interview. You would be an entry level field agent. Pays about 25,000 quid a year."
"That's far more than I've been making recently."
"You will have to pay Muggle taxes."
"Small price to pay to become an agent again."
"You're thinking of working with the Muggles," McGonagall gasped.
"I am an Auror by trade. From what these two said, that's what I'll be again. I'll just be catching Dark Wizards for Her Majesty rather than the Ministry. Besides, the pay is better than I was making as an Auror."
"I crossed," David said. "I'm a Pureblood and have been working for Her Majesty's Security Service for thirteen years. I crossed because I wanted to work for a government interested in doing away with the Death Eaters. I have a wife and four daughters to worry about and I feel safer on the Muggle side than on the magical. The Muggles made a serious effort last time. The Ministry did not."
"Four daughters?" Rose asked. "Are they witches?"
"Three are for certain. The fourth is still too young to be certain but probably is," David said. "Daphne's eight and our oldest. Astoria is six. Rene is four and Jessie is two. Why?"
"Well, Harry, Clarice and Hermione only recently learned about magic and about their true natures. For various reasons, they never really had friends before. Harry because of his home environment and Hermione and Clarice in part because of their magic. We went to Diagon Alley for a spot of shopping before going to visit Sirius Black - who's been released and exonerated by the way - at St. Mungo's. The kids met a magical family named the Weasley's and my husband, Minnie and I have had talks since. We think it would be a good idea for them to meet with and maybe make friends with children around their age who are magical, and especially those from magical families."
"I'll talk to my better half," David said. "Sounds like an idea. We are a Pureblood family, although due to my job our house has Muggle technology like television, computers and such. Still, we are hooked up to the Floo network and are warded."
"Where do you live?"
"London."
"May I offer a similar situation?" Mike asked. "Harry and Clarice have eight Evans cousins, all are magical. My oldest, Sharon is 21 and is a Healer at St. Mungos. Eddie is 19 and in the British Army. He's going to be offered a position in Office W when his enlistment is up. Jason is 16, Amber 14 and Michelle 12. They are all students at St. George's Academy of Magic here in London. Aaron is 10 and the twins - Cynthia and Billy are 8. They attend non-magical primary, but will transfer to St. George's when they are 11, just like their Mum and older siblings. We also live in London and are more non-magical in life style than David's family."
"Would Hermione be invited?" Harry asked.
"You are my nephew, she is your family. Of course."
"Please?" Clarice asked looking at Rose.
"I think this is a wonderful idea," McGonagall said.
"I'll talk to Robert about it later," Rose said. "In any event, it will not be until we get back from America in August."
"And what will you be doing in America?" Remus asked.
Rose was surprised it was not one of the Office W men.
"They're taking the kids to Disney World," Mike responded.
Rose gasped.
"Sorry, but Harry and the others are persons of interest."