Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that Harry Potter belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and that I am most definitely up to no good.

A/N: I will be putting a previous chapter summary at the top of each new chapter from here on out. Mostly because I just feel like it but also because I think it will help people to know what's going on so they don't have to read the previous chapter to try and remember what the heck is happening. Read it or not, it's totally up to you.

Previous Chapter Summary: Nick seeks Dumbledore's help after there are repeated attempts to steal the Philospher's Stone from his home. After deciding on a course of action to keep the stone safe, Nick tells Dumbledore that there are two stipulations that must be met before he would fully agree to hiding the stone at Hogwarts. In the end, Dumbledore has no choice but to allow both Nick and Nell to teach at Hogwarts as well as to meet with Harry Potter before he starts his first year to help teach him what he needs to know about the magical world.

It was now July 12th and Nicolas stood with Perenelle beside him as they gazed at the house before them on Privet Drive. It was a nice house, if not so very plain, but there was something missing from it. As he looked up and down the street at all of the other identical houses with their near identical cars and shrubbery he realized what it was. To him, what made a house a home is its distinct individuality from other houses, how it slowly but surely takes on a reflection of those that inhabit it, but he saw nothing to distinguish this house from the next, other than the fact that it bore the number 4 beside its door. Both Flamels gave a slight shudder of disgust that they didn't quite understand and proceeded up the walkway.

After ringing the doorbell they waited somewhat anxiously for it to be answered. They had spoken often over the years about taking young Harry into their home and raising him but Albus had kept putting them off, telling them that he was in a safe place and being taken care of by family. Neither Flamel really liked the vague answers and misdirections Albus had been tossing around when they tried to get more out of him but, with nothing to bargain with, they weren't really in a position to push the issue.

Now that they had gotten the go ahead, they were planning on speaking with Harry's relatives about allowing them to take him in for the rest of the summer to get him better acquainted with the magical world before school started and then, if he was ok with it, becoming his magical guardians for while he was attending Hogwarts. They figured that since Harry's aunt and uncle were rather hesitant about magic and probably did not care to visit their world, he may be lacking in some areas in regards to it and wished to remedy that. As Perenelle shifted slightly in anticipation they heard a shout from within that made them both look at each other and scowl.

"Boy, get the door, now!"

There was quiet again for a few seconds before they heard the unmistakable signs of someone unlocking a deadbolt and then the door opened wide. A small boy stood before them, encased in clothes that were several times too big for him and wearing round rimmed glasses that seemed to be kept together with massive amounts of tape. Though he was a bit shorter and skinnier than an average almost 11 year old should be, there was no doubt in either Flamels mind that this was Harry Potter. If James' signature untidy black hair didn't give it away then Lily's sparkling emerald green eyes, that were now looking up at them with mild curiosity, certainly did.

"Hello. May I help you?" He asked politely while attempting to pull up the shirt that had slid down off his shoulder.

"Yes, my name is Nicolas Flamel and this is my wife Perenelle. We would like to speak with a Mr. and Mrs. Dursley please." Nicolas said after a slight pause and gave the lad a warm smile.

Harry was indeed quite curious about the couple standing before him. The man looked to be in his early 40's with light brown hair that, though cropped short, stuck out every which way of its own accord, hazel eyes that almost appeared golden in the sunlight and very prominent laugh lines. He wore a crisp white dress shirt that was tucked neatly into his black trousers with what looked to be rather expensive dress shoes. The woman seemed to be a few years younger and had long dark auburn hair that was pinned back and fell in cascading waves behind her, electric blue eyes, and an affectionate smile that Harry didn't really understand but couldn't help returning with a small smile of his own. She wore a navy blue dress that clung to her down to the waist and then flowed freely all the way to the ground with sleeves that ended just below her elbows and a cream colored silk ribbon tied into a bow around her midriff. Harry had to admit that, while the woman was very pretty, they both looked quite ordinary, yet, there was something strange about them that he couldn't seem to place.

He was brought out of his musings with a yell from Uncle Vernon. "Well, who is it?"

Harry started and then mumbled an apology as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment upon realizing that he had been staring at the two. "It's a Mr. and Mrs. Flamel, they came to speak with you and Aunt Petunia." He shouted slightly over his shoulder so as to be heard in the living room.

He heard his Uncle getting up out of his chair muttering profusely to himself and just as he came around the corner, Aunt Petunia bustled through the kitchen door while running her hands down her dress to smooth out any non existent wrinkles. Harry stepped to the side as they approached the doorway to give them room and was just able to catch the look of approval that flashed across his Aunts face as she sized up their visitors.

Uncle Vernon stepped forward extending his hand to Mr. Flamel and said with polite superiority. "Hello, I'm Vernon Dursley and this is my wife Petunia."

Handshakes were given all around as Nicolas introduced himself and Perenelle again after which Uncle Vernon turned towards Harry and barked. "Go into the kitchen and look after the dinner."

Before Harry could even make a move Perenelle stepped forward slightly. "Actually Mr. Dursley, we were hoping Harry could be included, what we have to discuss concerns him just as much as you."

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia gave her suspicious glares. In their opinion, anybody who would want to speak to or about Harry had to be trouble. "And what is it you want to speak to us about?"

"Such things are best discussed in private I think. May we come in?" Though it was phrased as a question, there was little doubt in anyone's mind that her request would be denied.

Aunt Petunia must have realized what this might look like to the neighbors because she looked around hurriedly and then snapped. "Let them in Vernon before somebody notices."

He grudgingly stepped to the side to let them in as Aunt Petunia turned around to lead them into the living room. "Well, go on then." He growled and gave Harry a shove after closing the door behind them.

"Would you like some tea?" Aunt Petunia asked, ever the hostess, as she gestured for them to sit on the couch and then sat across from them on the love seat next to Uncle Vernon's chair. Harry stayed near the doorway and off to the side to try and draw as little attention to himself as possible.

"No thank you, we're fine." Perenelle said as she looked around the room, noticing that not one of the many pictures adorning the walls and surfaces were of Harry.

"Well then, what did—" Uncle Vernon was interrupted by the arrival of Dudley and his ever present Smelting's cane.

"Who was at the door?"

"A Mr. and Mrs. Flamel here to talk about the boy. This is our son Dudley," Aunt Petunia beamed with pride at her son as she introduced him, "Why don't you come and sit next to mummy Popkin." Dudley eyed the two visitors with interest as he made his way over to his mother, whacking Harry in the shin with his cane as he passed.

After a look of disapproval thrown at the large boy, Perenelle turned towards Harry. "Harry dear, would you like to sit down as well? There is plenty of room here on the couch."

It was a simple question but it was said with such sincerity and kindness that it momentarily threw Harry off balance. So much so, that he was sitting down next to the lovely Mrs. Flamel before he even registered that he had, in fact, moved. Never before had Harry been spoken to like that, especially by an adult, and some of the trepidation that he had been feeling about this meeting left him.

When he looked across from him, Harry could see a look of disgust mingled with anger written across his Uncle's face. All trace of niceties were immediately thrown out the window. "What is it you want to talk about? We haven't got all night you know."

Nicolas spoke up, leaning forward slightly to rest his elbows on his knees. "Well, we wanted to speak to you about Harry attending Hogwarts this coming September. We were—"

Uncle Vernon was on his feet in a flash, face as red as a tomato, and shaking with unbridled rage. "Out! Get out of my house!"

Aunt Petunia, who had gone very pale, let out a slight squeak and gripped the arm of the love seat tightly. Dudley looked deeply confused but Harry wasn't sure if it was in response to his parent's sudden change in behavior or not, since he always looked that way.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said get out, I don't want any more of you freaks in my home!"

Harry had never seen his Uncle so upset before and he had no idea what Hogwarts was or what was going on or who these people even were, but he had the unmistakable feeling that he didn't want them to leave. He was trying to figure out how to convey this without drawing his Uncle's anger onto him when Nicolas spoke again.

"That is quite enough of that Mr. Dursley." He didn't stand to confront Uncle Vernon, he didn't even raise his voice, but Uncle Vernon went quiet none the less.

A long silence followed and Harry's curiosity finally got the best of him. "Um, what's Hogwarts? I thought I was going to Stonewall next year."

"What's Hogwarts?" Perenelle repeated softly, turning towards Harry slightly with a look of shock as Uncle Vernon started up again.

"You are going to Stonewall boy, and you'll be grateful for it."

Nicolas and Perenelle had had just about enough of these people, and they hadn't even been in their presence for more than five minutes. Originally, they had wanted to present their plans to both Harry and the Dursleys and allow them a few days to talk and think it over before making a decision, but now, they simply wanted to take the child away from here and never look back. The contrast between Harry and his cousin and how each was treated told them that there was something seriously wrong here.

When Harry asked what Hogwarts was, neither Flamel knew quite what to say. They had anticipated needing to explain the more complicated aspects of the magical world, like floo travel or how to interact with goblins if you wanted to stay on their good side but never were they expecting that he wouldn't even know about Hogwarts. It was clear from their behavior that Mr. and Mrs. Dursley disliked magic a great deal more than Albus had let on, even going so far as to call them freaks, and there was no telling what they may or may not have told Harry about their world. The very thought of them telling him nothing of magic was very troublesome as that would mean they would need to take a more delicate approach when explaining things so as not to frighten or overwhelm him.

Deciding to start from the beginning to gauge just how in the dark he possibly was, Perenelle turned towards Harry completely, ignoring the large man standing before her, and lay a hand gently on his shoulder. "Harry, what do you know about your parents?"

There was a pause as a look of confusion passed across his face. "Well, just that my dad was unemployed, a drunk and that both he and my mum died in a car crash."

Perenelle had never been so angry in her life. That these people would treat the memory of two great friends and heroes with such disrespect was unforgivable. She had met Lily when she was 16 while shopping in Diagon Alley and they had bonded quite spectacularly over their love of Charms and spell crafting. It wasn't long after they had met that she had introduced the bright young girl to Nicolas, who had taken an instant liking to her, which was a pleasant surprise, since he could be so fickle when it came to other people sometimes. Through Lily, they had eventually met James, who took some getting used to but was eventually regarded as a close friend as well.

Time can be a difficult thing, especially for those that have seen so much of it passing them by, that they don't realize just how much they might be missing. Months, years, and sometimes even decades seemed to run together and pass by both Flamels before they would think to pay more attention to the things going on around them. And so, it wasn't until about 5 years after they had all met that Nicolas finally decided to ask Lily about becoming his apprentice. Of course by that time the war was at its peak, Harry had just turned 1, and there were whispers that Voldemort was after the Potters. When they spoke about going into hiding both Flamels had a feeling that they would never see their young friends again and they must have felt the same because Lily made Nicolas promise that, if anything did happen to them, he would take Harry on to be his apprentice instead, once he was old enough.

After being told about the attack at Godric's Hollow, both were devastated yet thankful at the same time. They had lost two of the best people they had ever had the pleasure of knowing in their long lives but at least their friends could rest in peace knowing that their son was alive and well. They would no doubt be turning in their graves if they knew where he had ended up.

At Harry's admission, Perenelle stiffened and the hand on his shoulder tightened before she turned an enraged glare towards his Aunt. "How could you?"

Nicolas had noticed that Mr. Dursley had been about to start shouting again but the shear venom and anger in his wife's voice stopped him cold. "After everything they did for our world, everything they did for Harry, how could you even bring yourself to lie to him about them like that?"

Harry was somewhat ashamed at the scant knowledge he had about his parents, though it was difficult to find anything out when you weren't allowed to ask questions and your relatives refused to speak on the subject even when you did, he still felt that he should know more. When Mrs. Flamel's grip tightened on his shoulder he had thought that she was angry at him for his lack of knowledge but looking up and seeing her glare pinned on his Aunt he let out a slight sigh of relief. Somehow, he knew that only a fool would want to cross paths with this woman.

With his next outburst, Uncle Vernon confirmed Harry's long held belief that he was, in fact, a fool, "Like it matters, they were just good for nothing weirdos and the world is better off without them in our opinion, if only they could have taken their freak of a son with them and saved us all this trouble."

The silence that followed that statement was so absolute that you could undoubtedly hear a pin drop 5 miles away. Nicolas and Perenelle could not believe that such people could have been entrusted with Harry's care for all these years and Harry still come out as the seemingly sweet young man sitting beside them, who seemed quite nonplussed about what his own Uncle had just said about him, as if this wasn't the first time he had heard it.

With the realization that this was probably true, Perenelle's anger broke and she shot out of her seat to face down one of the most loathsome people she had ever encountered. She could feel her power sizzling just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed, but didn't want to lose control for fear of frightening Harry. She did however allow some of it to flow into her eyes, causing them to glow slightly, which only the Dursleys could see, and caused all three to flinch and shrink back.

"Now you listen here you filthy excuse for a human being, I will not tolerate you speaking about Harry, James, or Lily like that again in our presence. Do I make myself clear?" The Dursleys could only nod their heads at the steel in her voice. "Now, we came here in the hopes of working with you on what would be best for Harry attending Hogwarts but now it seems that we have some explanations for him before he decides whether or not he actually does want to go and you will stay silent while we answer any questions he may have."

"How dare you—"

"That was not a request!" She shouted over Uncle Vernon and he sat back down, face purple with rage, but didn't say another word.

Perenelle sat back down as well, feeling the calming hand of her husband on her shoulder she leaned back far enough so that Nicolas could have a good view of Harry, and took a few deep breaths to get her temper under control.

Harry was stunned that his Uncle had just been told off in his own home but he couldn't quite keep the delight of getting to watch it happen off his face. He really was liking these people more and more by the minute and even though he still didn't know what this Hogwarts place was he couldn't think of anything that would make him not want to go.

Since Perenelle still seemed a bit hot under the collar Nicolas decided to take over until she was able to calm down somewhat. As kind as she was to those that deserved it, she could tear strips off a dragon in defense of those same people if she believed they needed the protecting. He had always been a laid back person who rarely showed his temper and knew that most people that didn't know them well would think that Perenelle wore the pants in the relationship but the truth of the matter was that they shared everything equally and complemented each other perfectly.

He leaned forward a bit more and faced Harry, getting the child's attention. "Harry, what my wife and I are about to tell you may seem unbelievable but we would like you to bare with us while we try to explain as best we can alright?"

"Ok, I'll try not to ask too many questions." Harry said softly and sat forward slightly in anticipation of possibly getting to know more about his parents.

Nicolas chuckled lightly. "Actually, we expect you to have quite a few questions for us and are ready to answer every one of them that we are able to, to the best of our ability."

Harry could only nod his head in understanding at this and waited for Nicolas to continue.

"Now the first thing we need to get out into the open and is probably going to be the most unbelievable part is that you Harry, are a wizard." He paused for a moment to gauge Harry's reaction to this but he looked too stunned to say anything so he continued. "I myself am a wizard, as was your father while Nell, like your mother, is a witch."

A thousand questions seemed to explode all at once inside Harry's mind as he tried to process this. It really was very unbelievable and if his Aunt and Uncle didn't look like they were about to have a stroke at hearing Mr. Flamel's words then he may even think this was some kind of prank but their reaction was telling enough, as well as the fact that the Dursleys didn't do pranks. "I'm a wizard?"

The words came out in little more than a whisper but Nicolas heard them loud and clear. "Yes you are Harry. Like Nell and myself, you can do magic."

Despite himself, Harry began to get excited at those words and a small smile slowly formed across his face.

"Up until now, any magic that you would have done was most likely done by mistake at times that you were feeling emotionally charged. We call these occurrences accidental magic because, well, that is exactly what they are, magic that children perform by accident when they get angry or scared and sometimes even when they get excited," He stopped his explanation as a look of understanding flitted across Harry's face, "Do you recall any situations that you couldn't explain at the time but now you think may have actually been accidental magic Harry?"

Harry hesitated for a moment then said softly, "I got upset at my teacher once and turned her wig blue," At Nicolas' encouraging nod he pressed on, "Then there was that time that Dudley and his friends were chasing me behind the school and I suddenly found myself on top of the roof when I was trying to jump behind some rubbish bins. There are a few others but the most recent was just a few weeks ago when we went to the zoo for Dudley's birthday, I was talking to a boa constrictor when Dudley came up from behind me and shoved me to the ground. The next thing I knew, the glass to the snakes habitat had disappeared and it escaped."

When he saw Nicolas and Perenelle's eyes widen he quickly added, "I didn't do it on purpose…" but he stopped when Perenelle gave him a reassuring smile and pat on the knee.

"We know you wouldn't have done that on purpose Harry, we were more curious about you talking to the snake. Did you mean that you were simply speaking to it like some people do their pets or were you actually conversing with it?"

Harry hesitated again and his eyes darted to Uncle Vernon, remembering how upset he had gotten when Piers had told them he had been talking to the snake. Nicolas saw this and hurried to assure the young boy. "Harry, no matter what your answer, we will not be angry with you, we are simply curious."

"Well, at first I was just talking to it, not really expecting anything but then it started to respond like it understood me. Right before it disappeared I could have sworn I heard it say that it was headed to Brazil…" What had started out as a somewhat enthusiastic story ended on barely a whisper as Harry realized how stupid he must sound. He gazed up at the Flamels, anticipating looks of disbelief and possibly even anger but he was derailed once again as both simply looked thoughtful.

They looked at each other and after a moment Nicolas gave his wife a small nod before turning back to him. "It seems that you have the ability to speak Parseltongue, or the language of the serpents. It is a rare ability with quite a history but I think it would be better if we speak more on it later. Lets get back to our previous discussion shall we?"

Harry really would have liked more information on this ability but he nodded his head in agreement anyway.

"Now, we have established that you have had your fair share of accidental magic and though it is usually harmless there are times, like the zoo, when the consequences of the magic done can lead to potentially dangerous situations. It is because of this that once magical children are old enough they must learn to control their magic and the most common way to do this is to attend a magical school. There are several magical schools across the world but the one you will be attending is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is located in Scotland and is where both of your parents attended."

Perenelle chose to take over at this point, "And that brings us to the very delicate subject of your parents Harry. Your father was most definitely not unemployed, nor was he a drunk, and they certainly did not die in a car crash," She paused a moment to send a glare at the Dursleys but her gaze softened when she turned to look back at Harry. "They were exceptionally brave individuals and they loved you more than anything in the world, so much so, that they both gave their lives in order to protect you."

Harry saw Perenelle's eyes tear up and she blinked furiously to keep them from falling and he saw Nicolas behind her with his head bowed and his hands clasped together firmly. He himself felt like he had a lump in his throat and had to swallow a few times before he could speak, even then his voice sounded rather small and weak, "What happened?"

"About ten years before you were born, a very dark wizard who called himself Lord Voldemort started to rise to power and gather followers to begin a terrible campaign to do away with and enslave those that he deemed unworthy or beneath him. You see Harry, in the Wizarding world there are those that believe themselves above everyone else because they have what is referred to as pure blood, which really just means that they haven't had any non-magical, or muggle as people are fond of calling them here, ancestors for a few generations. Oh, they like to think that none of their ancestors were non-magical but you can always find a few if you trace the family tree back far enough. Anyway, Voldemort gathered many pure-blood families to his cause as well as half-bloods, witches and wizards usually with one magical parent and one non-magical, and attempted to take over the British magical community. While they did manage to take the lives of many witches, wizards, and non-magicals they were not able to gain a foothold in the Ministry of Magic before the war ended quite abruptly in 1981.

"We aren't entirely sure what started it or if it was simply because they were so against him but Voldemort chose to go after you and your parents personally. They eventually went into hiding in early October of 1981 but Voldemort soon found them and on Halloween night he showed up at the cottage where you were all living and attacked," Perenelle cleared her throat and took a deep breath before continuing, "From the evidence left behind, it looks as if your father attempted to hold Voldemort off while Lily tried to escape with you but she was unable to do so. Once he killed James he went into your nursery where he killed Lily as she was trying to protect you and then he turned his wand on you. It's not completely clear exactly what happened then, Nick and I believe that Lily must have cast some sort of protection spell on you, but when Voldemort tried to kill you his spell rebounded back onto him and destroyed his body. It seems that you were unharmed except for the scar on your forehead, which is where the spell hit." She finished her story and gazed at Harry, wary of his reaction to hearing that his parents had been murdered by a psychopath.

Harry was absolutely speechless, going from believing that your parents had died in a drunken car crash to finding out that they had actually been killed trying to protect him from some dark wizard, it was rather understandable that it took him a moment to recover but once he did he felt both sorrow at the way they had died and great pride for the people they had been.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he jumped slightly when Perenelle laid her hand on his, "Are you going to be alright Harry?" At his small nod she squeezed his hand gently, "There is more to the story but I think it would be best to wait a bit before we go further into it."

"Yes," Nicolas spoke up, "I think we should get back to Hogwarts and how we are going to go about getting all of your school supplies. We were going to speak to your relatives," he sent a glare of his own their way, "about becoming your magical guardians while you are at school and helping you with anything you need in regards to magic but it seems we do not see eye to eye on exactly what your future entails."

Uncle Vernon chose that moment to speak up again, "To right you are, we won't allow him to go to any magic school and even if we did, we certainly wouldn't use any of our hard earned money to pay for it."

"There is nothing you can do to stop it as long as Harry wishes to attend. He has had his name down in the Hogwarts register since the day he was born and the Ministry of Magic covers the cost of all Hogwarts student's tuition. Nick and I will of course purchase any school supplies he might need." Perenelle countered, though she knew that Lily and James would have set up a trust account for Harry with Gringotts that would indeed cover anything he would need until he came into his inheritance at 17 she wasn't sure at this point whether or not the Dursley's aversion to magic would extend to the large amounts of wizarding money Harry owned and so chose not to speak of it.

"If he goes to that freak school he won't be allowed to step foot in this house again. I won't have any of that nonsense around my family!" Uncle Vernon bellowed, spittle flying.

"Well we would be more than happy to adopt him entirely." At this she turned to Harry and gave him a small smile. "That is, if you would like us to Harry, the decision is completely up to you and you will have time to decide."

"You would want me?" Harry asked with a look of bewilderment and not a little bit of hope.

"Of course we would sweetheart. We wouldn't make the offer if we weren't serious about it and we would be delighted for you to become a part of our family." Perenelle said projecting all of the seriousness and affection she could into the last statement.

"I'd like that too." He blurted without a second thought.

Tears of happiness welled in Perenelle's eyes as a smile so radiant it put the sun to shame, spread across her face. When Harry looked at Nicolas he saw a matching smile as he reached across his wife and gave his knee a reassuring squeeze. "You have no idea how much that means to us Harry. It has been a while since we had a child of our own, we would have taken you in when you were a baby but, unfortunately, it was decided that you would be safest here."

Harry's heart swelled at his words and he knew that he had made the right choice. This man and woman had shown him more love and affection in the last 30 minutes than his Aunt and Uncle had in the last 10 years and he couldn't wait to find out what it would be like to be a part of a proper family.

"That settles it then, take him and get out." Uncle Vernon snarled.

"Vernon, what about the wards?" Aunt Petunia asked quietly. Everybody could tell that she wanted Harry gone just as much as Uncle Vernon and was reluctant to mention anything that might force them to keep him.

"Oh, I can answer that for you Mrs. Dursley," Perenelle stated with great relish, having recognized the blood wards surrounding the house when they walked up, "When we take Harry from here and adopt him, he will no longer consider this place as home, how he even could before now is a complete mystery, and the blood wards that were constructed to protect both him and you, will fall. At that point you really only have two options to choose from, you can take your family and flee or you can stay here to wait and see whether the dark wizards we spoke of decide to come find you. They were quite upset at the fall of their master, you see, and there could be some out there still seeking revenge for it."

Both adults looked justifiably frightened at hearing this but Nicolas and Perenelle were way past caring, they had warned them and that was enough to keep their consciences clean should anything unfortunate happen.

"Well I don't think we should take up any more of your time, we will just get Harry's things and be on our way," Perenelle said and stood. She couldn't wait to be out of this place. "Why don't you show me your room Harry and I'll help you pack."

Harry hesitated a moment then nodded his head and began leading the way towards where he had been forced to sleep for the past ten years while Nicolas stayed back to watch the Dursleys, who he noticed looked slightly nervous. It wasn't but a few moments later that he heard a strangled cry from Perenelle and got up swiftly to see what was wrong. Before he could get very far she stormed back into the room with a look of pure fury on her face and headed straight for Petunia Dursley, who had also stood.

"How could any mother treat a child like that?" She fumed and slapped the woman across the face so hard that she fell back onto the love seat. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Now you see here—" Vernon Dursley started and began to get out of his chair but froze as Perenelle drew her wand with lightning speed and pointed it at him.

"Just give me a reason Dursley and you'll get to find out first hand what it would be like to spend the rest of your life as a toad." She threatened and Nicolas could tell that she was very close to losing all semblance of control. All three Dursleys were staring at her in horror and Petunia Dursley had tears in her eyes as she cupped her slowly reddening cheek.

Nicolas stepped forward before any of them could do anything stupid and placed a hand gently over her wand hand, "Come now ma chérie, what has gotten you so upset?"

"They made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs Nicolas," she snarled and her voice shook with repressed rage, "They even have a lock on the outside of the door and everything."

Nicolas' hand tightened on hers as he took this in and he glared down at the Dursleys as well. Before he could say anything in response however, Harry came around the corner with a small bag of what looked like clothes and peered at Perenelle's wand with both fascination and a bit of concern. He turned back to his wife and put gentle pressure on her hand until she lowered it, "As much as I would like to see them pay for their treatment of Harry, I say we let the Children's Welfare Department handle them."

After a moment Perenelle gave a stiff nod, turned abruptly, and walked towards Harry, "Let's go Harry dear, its getting rather late and we still need to get you settled into a room at our cottage. Is this everything?" She asked in concern and took the small bag from him. At his nod she gave him a reassuring smile, "Well we can go shopping for some proper clothes tomorrow, these look like they would just about fit a baby elephant."

Nicolas saw Vernon and Petunia Dursley bristle at the dig towards their son, since it was obvious that the clothes had once belonged to him, but they wisely chose not to say anything. As Perenelle led Harry outside, neither even giving the Dursleys a backward glance, he went to take a look at the cupboard himself, wanting to confirm what his wife had said with his own eyes. The small cot looked quite pathetic in the small space and with all the cleaning supplies on the shelves, there was hardly any room for any personal items. Actually seeing this allowed him to better understand Perenelle's anger and he had to restrain himself from marching into that room and doing exactly what she had threatened just a few moments before.

He closed the door in disgust, pulled his wand, and cast a locking charm as well as a small ward around the area so that the Dursleys wouldn't be able to destroy the evidence, should someone from the Ministry wish to come and investigate the matter. On his way out the door he turned towards the family, who still looked rather frightened and spoke softly, "I will be heading to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow to speak with the Head of the Department of Children's Welfare, who I will have open an investigation into your treatment of Harry as well as to start the process of officially adopting him. Should you choose to fight us on this I can assure you that not only will you lose but I will personally make sure that every newspaper in Europe runs the story in glaring detail on the front page. Do you understand me?" He was thinking of doing this anyways but they didn't really need to know that at them moment.

After receiving their confirmation, he gave them a disdainful look, turned, and walked out the door to join Perenelle and Harry who were waiting for him on the sidewalk. He could see a smile on Harry's face as Perenelle spoke softly to him and as he got closer he noticed that she must have cast a shrinking charm on the clothes he wore so as to make them more comfortable until they could get him some new ones. "We ready to go?"

Harry nodded vigorously and couldn't hold in the smile that spread across his face as he walked with the Flamels down the street until they hit a small alleyway and stopped. Nicolas looked around to ensure that there was nobody about, then turned to Harry, "Alright Harry we are about to do something called apparating, it's a form of magical transportation which allows witches and wizards to teleport from one place to another in a short amount of time. Now, you must have an apparition license in order to do this on your own as it can be rather dangerous if you botch it up but we will be side-along apparating you so you don't have anything to worry about. It will be slightly uncomfortable though so make sure that you have a tight grip on both of our hands and simply think about going with us alright?"

Harry looked slightly apprehensive at hearing this but he was also excited to see more magic. It had been fun watching his clothes shrink after Perenelle had made a swift swishing motion with her wand and pointed it straight at his shirt and trousers. At their reassuring smiles he tentatively grabbed each of their hands and closed his eyes in anticipation as he left Privet Drive for what he hoped would be the last time.