And here comes the first interlude chapter! There will be four, before Arc 2 starts, and it is my hope that they will answer a few of the questions that you, my dear readers, might be wanting to ask.

This chapter is rather short, as will the second, however the third and fourth interludes will be significantly longer, so please be patient!

Anyway, thanks for your continued support, and I hope you'll like this chapter!

I don't own Harry Potter or Sekirei, just this plot and my own original characters.

16

Interlude 1: The reactions

Lily was humming a cheery tune as she prepared breakfast. Today was the day she had waited for, for ten long years, the day she would be able to see her son again! Since Harry was their son, Dumbledore had told them they could be the ones to introduce him to the British magical world, and to take him to Diagon Alley. The Headmaster, after giving Harry his letter, would then drop him at Potter Manor to allow them to reconnect with him before they headed to Diagon Alley. She was positively ecstatic that the day had finally come to see her eldest again, and to introduce him to his siblings.

Both of them had been told about the special occasion, and they were both excited to meet their brother, the Boy-Who-Lived. Ivy had been so hyper that they had needed to give her a dreamless sleep potion, otherwise she would already have been outside waiting for the duo to pop up. Sirius, while less excited, had still been very eager to meet Harry, asking James if he would be able to play Quidditch with them.

Strong hands grasped her hips, and she smiled. Even now, after years of being married with James, he still knew how to make her happy.

"Good morning, flower. Excited?"

"Hhmm. I can't believe we're going to see Harry again!" she gushed, stopping the fire and piling the pancakes in the plates and levitating them to the table. "I can't wait to see him, James! What do you think he'll be like?"

With a smile, the Potter Head of family took a mock thoughtful expression.

"MMM, difficult. I'm sure he'll have my good looks, that's a given, and since he has your eyes, we're going to need to be careful about him breaking ladies' hearts left and right! He'll also be a wicked Quidditch player, so we'll have to keep an eye on him, or before we know it we'll be finding fangirls in his bed!" he laughed.

The crash of a saucer was the first indication that something was wrong, as James turned to see Lily narrowing her eyes angrily, while her wand was giving off sparks, showing how angry she was.

Don't worry, Harry-baby, Mommy will protect you from the evil girls who want to take you away from your family!

Let it be said that there is no mother more protective of her child than one who hadn't seen him for a decade.

-Break-

"Mom, are they going to be here soon?" asked Ivy, for the sixteenth time in the last half-hour.

"Don't worry, darling, they should be here soon." answered Lily, for the sixteenth time.

The Potter family was sitting in the living room, waiting for the arrival of the last member of their family. The children had wolfed down their breakfast, and while usually Lily would have scolded them harshly for their lack of manners, this time she simply told them to mind their manners, as she understood that they were eager to meet their older brother.

James was sitting in the sofa, twirling his wand in his fingers, while Sirius was sitting on the ground, playing with his toys while waiting for the arrival of his brother. Lily, for her part, was standing next to the window, with a clear view of the path leading to the manor, hoping to be the first to see her son arrive, while Ivy was reading a book while sending glances by the window as well.

Finally, a soft cracking sound caused Lily to look outside, and frown as she saw Dumbledore hastily walk up towards the manor's door.

Why is he alone? Where is Harry?

She felt something contract in her gut, an awful feeling of dread welling up inside her body. Dumbledore would never have left Harry alone, she knew he was far too interested in him for that, so why was he alone? Was there a problem?

She hadn't realized it yet, but her negative emotions had caused her magic to flare slightly, surprising those present. Lily had always had almost perfect control over whatever magic she emitted, so for her to cause such a display was worrying.

"Something wrong, Lily-flower?" asked James, standing up from his seat and looking worried at the puzzled expression on his wife's face.

"Dumbledore is here, but he is alone."

"Strange...Maybe he left Harry to Minnie, you know how eager she was to meet him too, remember?"

Still, neither of them could shake the feeling that something was wrong.

-Break-

"Ah, James, Lily." greeted Dumbledore, breathless, surprising the two Potters.

They had rarely seen the wizened old man look so tired, and to see him so out of breath did little to quell their worries about their son. Considering the bad feeling they shared, they had left the children in the living room, saying that they had to have a conversation with Dumbledore, to which the both of them had pouted but in the end had been forced to accept. That did not mean they weren't angry with their parents, but as they were children, there was little they could do to protest.

They could see that the old man was worried, extremely so, and they did not like what that implied, not one bit. The bad feeling they had grew tenfold simply by seeing the one man they considered as infallible look so old and worn, so unlike his usual bright, if a bit mad, self.

Lily had balled her hands into fists, shaking with worry, anger, sadness, and a plethora of negative emotions she couldn't even begin to identify and didn't want to identify at the moment. For now, all that mattered was a single fact: Dumbledore had promised to bring Harry to them on that day, yet had come alone, and looking worried. That did not bode well, not at all, and she was already having trouble preventing herself from taking out her wand and waving it in the face of the wizened old man in front of her until he told them where their son was.

"Where is he?"

Her voice wasn't cold, no, for cold was too kind to describe how devoid of warmth her usually beautiful voice was. Arctic was more accurate, and had James not been as concerned for the safety of his son as he was, he would have winced, as that voice was reserved for the worst displays of Lily's temper. There had only been two, as far as he knew, two times that she had used such a voice, and neither of them had ended well for the person on the receiving end of her ire. Padfoot, the poor man, still couldn't look at scissors without flinching, and still reflexively clutched his legs together whenever Lily was angry. If the old man didn't answer his wife's question soon, things would be ending badly for him, of that James was certain.

"Lily..."started Dumbledore, sounding apologetic, however he was prevented from continuing when Lily erupted.

"WHERE IS MY SON, DUMBLEDORE?! YOU PROMISED TO BRING HIM TODAY, SO WHERE IS HE?!"

Around the house, birds suddenly flew away, startled by the explosion of volume, and the Potter House Elves offered a small prayer for the fool who had angered their Mistress enough for her to screech like that. James hastily stepped away from his wife, knowing that when she was in that state she tended to curse first and ask questions later, and if her twitching fingers were any indication, she was sorely tempted to do just that. Though he was also angry, he wanted to hear what Dumbledore had to say before letting his temper show, but for now he couldn't do anything until his wife got her anger out of her.

"Lily..." tried to explain the old man, only to be cut off once again.

"DON'T "LILY" ME, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! I ASKED YOU WHERE MY SON WAS, SO ANSWER ME OR SO HELP ME YOU WILL HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO POPPY WHY YOU WERE CURSED!"

At that moment Dumbledore's head hung low, and he appeared to age ten years in one second. The sudden shift in his behavior was enough to stop Lily's rant, as it was unlike anything he used to act. Never before had she seen the old man looking so broken, so weak, and it filled her with dread to see him so vulnerable when she asked him about her son. Tears had already begun trailing down her cheeks as she thought the worst, and the old man's last words only served to confirm her fears:

"Lily, James...Harry has gone missing."

Silence. Complete and utter silence were the only words that could describe the sudden lack of sound surrounding the Potters, as Lily stared at the Leader of the Light, the man whom they had trusted with their lives and the lives of their friends during the War, who had just told them their son, whom they have given him in hopes he would be protected, had disappeared.

The silence only lasted a few seconds, as an agonized shriek, full of anger, sorrow and a multitude of emotions came from Lily, the redhead whipping out her wand and firing a curse at Dumbledore, who deflected it and the following ones, while James tried to stop his wife.

"WHY?! WHY DID HARRY GO MISSING?! DIDN'T YOU SAY HE WOULD BE PROTECTED?! DIDN'T YOU SAY HE WOULD BE SAFE?! ANSWER ME, DUMBLEDORE!"

The old man could only bow his head in shame as the distraught mother let out her anger on him, as it was her right since he had failed her. He deserved every bit of her scorn, which was why he wasn't stopping her from cursing him, though he still avoided her spells. He could feel the tears spilling from his eyes, as sorrow and regret tore at his heart. Still, he squashed those emotions, as he would have time to feel sorry for himself later, for the moment he needed to get some of Harry's old things, in order to track him down.

Fortunately for him, James had seemed to realize that his wife wouldn't calm down anytime soon, and as such had stunned her.

"Thank you, James."

The Head of the Potter family gave the old man a glare, his eyes usually sparking with mischief cold and angry. Despite his usual laidback behavior, people often forgot that he was one of the best Aurors in the DMLE, and that it was better to not get on his bad side. This was the man who had faced Voldemort three times and had come out alive, this was the man who had become known as the Death Eaters' worse nightmare, this was the father of the boy he had failed to protect.

"I didn't do it for you, Albus. I am just rational enough to understand that if you came here to tell us that, then you are already trying to find my son. And I'm sure that if Lily wasn't so angry with you, she'd understand that cursing you now won't help.

I'll help you get what you need, and after that I don't want to see you here until you have news about my son. If you so much as pop here without any news, Lily will be free to curse you to her heart's content. Am I clear?"

-Break-

"What do you mean, "Harry is missing"?" growled Sirius Black.

The best friend of James Potter and Lord Black was sitting with his friend at a table in Hogsmeade after a patrol. They had only just finished their shifts, and Sirius had taken the chance to ask his friend what was wrong. It had been easy to tell that something was wrong with James recently. He was distracted, no longer played pranks, and when his shifts were finished he always went home immediately, without spending time with his friends anymore.

While Sirius could admit he wasn't the brightest wand in the shop, he was still very perceptive, and it hadn't been all that hard to see that something was eating away at his best friend. They had known each other for years, being friends since their Hogwarts years, so they knew each other perfectly. At first, he had decided to leave his friend some space, thinking that James would eventually tell him the reason for his unusual behavior, but after three weeks of waiting he had had enough, and had dragged him for a drink at the Hog's Head, knowing that there at least they would have some space and privacy.

Still, he was having trouble believing his ears. He had just been told that his Godson, one Harry Potter, whom James and Lily had given to Dumbledore for protection, had just gone missing. He hadn't been very pleased with the decision, as he could see how the idea of separating from their child was hard on them, however he could agree with the old man on the fact that Harry was in danger. The fact that several attempts had been made on the Potter family in the years following Harry's victory over the Dark Lord had only comforted that grim truth: Harry was better off hidden away until he was of age to attend Hogwarts, and with Dumbledore hiding him away, he should be ready for whatever was waiting for him when he stepped foot in the castle.

Yet here he was, learning that the little bundle of joy he remembered, had just disappeared? He had trouble believing that. Scratch that, how was that even possible? Surely Dumbledore had taken precautions to ensure that such an event wouldn't come to pass? After all, there were countless ways of keeping track of someone, especially a child. Besides, the old man had been adamant that Harry would be safe, was safe, that meant he had to have checked his protections were foolproof, right?

"Just what I said, Padfoot. Harry is missing, been missing for weeks now." grumbled James, drinking his firewhiskey like it was water. "Lily's been beside herself, crying herself to sleep every night, even Ivy and Sirius can tell something's wrong and they're kids."

"And what is Dumbledore doing to find him?" growled Sirius. Harry was his pup, his family, and he would be damned before he let anyone harm him. Which is why he felt a lot of anger towards an old man, who had messed up big time as far as he was concerned. While he could understand that Dumbledore was not perfect, he better have a damn good reason for messing up with his Godson's safety.

"Don't know, though Minnie's said that he's spending all his time using obscure rituals and old magic to try and find him. Good news is he's alive, but for some reason there's no way to find or reach him. He's even asked Fawkes to find Harry, didn't find him at all."

Now that was worrying. While coming from a Dark family, Sirius knew quite a lot about Phoenixes, since even his family had acknowledged the power of the fiery birds. Not only were they immortal, burning down and restarting their lives as chicks when they died, but they were also very good at tracking people down so long as they knew them, and Harry had been introduced to the bird as a baby. For him to be unable to find Harry spoke volumes of whatever was preventing them from finding their missing pup.

Sirius growled as he clenched his fists. Dumbledore better find his Godson soon, or he was in trouble.

-Break-

Dumbledore sighed wearily as he perused yet another book in the hopes of finding something, anything, that might help him find Harry Potter. He had spent the last two months looking for the boy, ever since the Blood Wards had collapsed, causing a mini apocalypse among the instruments he used to monitor the boy. Now, all that was left was a single device tied to his health, letting him know that he was alive, and not dead, a meager consolation considering that he simply couldn't find Harry.

While he would freely admit the reasons he was looking for the Boy-Who-Lived weren't exactly noble, since he needed Harry at Hogwarts to ensure he was ready for when Tom came back, it was only part of the reasons he was looking for him. He knew all too well the feeling of a torn family, after what happened to his sister he and his brother barely spoke anymore, and he would never let that happen to the Potters, especially when the blame laid squarely with him, as it was he who had suggested that Harry was given away for his protection. As such, it was his duty to find the Boy-Who-Lived and return him to his family, even if he had to spend the next years researching every magic book in Europe!

A sad trill made him look up, his eyes coming to rest on a beautiful bird with crimson and gold feathers. His companion of many years trilled another few notes, and he smiled tiredly.

"Thank you, old friend. It is good to have you with me in this time of need."

Another sad trill.

"Yes, I know. Whoever took Harry from the Dursleys was thorough in eliminating all traces of their presence. I can only hope that whoever this mysterious person is, they are treating him right."

This time, the phoenix tilted its' head to the side, singing a few questioning notes.

"No, I do not think they harbor any ill will towards Harry, otherwise I would have been warned. So far it seems that they are taking good care of him, which is the only reason I am not bringing this to the DMLE."

An angry shriek and flapping of wings told him Fawkes didn't believe him. Sighing and taking off his glasses to rub his nose, he looked at the phoenix.

"Yes, I will admit that it is also partly because an investigation would be bad for me, but you understand that shaking the people's belief in me would be bad for when Tom comes back, don't you?"

As the magnificent bird shook his head, the old man felt a weight settle in his chest.

"Have I really fallen so far, Fawkes? Do you not trust me anymore?"

A soft croon made him smile softly as the light creature rubbed his head against his cheek.

"Thank you, Fawkes. I swear to you, I will find Harry. He is far too important for the future of Britain to be left alone, and he will need us to help him face his destiny, no matter how tragic it may be."

-Break-

Boy-Who-Lived missing!

By

Rita Skeeter

Ladies and gentlemen, the other day, this reporter was having a nice drink at the Hog's Head when she overheard a surprising piece of information. Lord Potter was telling his longtime friend, Lord Black, that his son, Harry Potter, better known as the Boy-Who-Lived after his defeat of You-Know-Who during the night of October,31st 1991, had gone missing!

If you remember well, dear readers, the Boy-Who-Lived was supposedly hidden away to be trained by none other than Albus Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock of the Wizenmagot and Headmaster of Hogwarts. Said Headmaster had at the time assured everyone that such an action was taken to protect the Boy-Who-Lived from the remnants of You-Know-Who's forces, who would undoubtedly search for the responsible of the demise of their master.

Despite numerous inquiries, the location of our Savior was kept secret by both the Potters and Albus Dumbledore, and even explicit inquiries by our Minister were left unanswered. As such, it was easy to assume that the security of the Boy-Who-Lived was what mattered most, however now that he is missing, this reporter cannot help but wonder if the supposed infallible security measures that protected him were anything but pretty lies. If someone managed to reach the Boy-Who-Lived despite Albus Dumbledore's protections, this reporter would like to know if everything was truly done to ensure the safety of young Harry Potter.

After careful investigation, it came at a shock to this reporter that the people who were left to raise the Boy-Who-Lived were not good wizards and witches, like everyone expected, but Muggles instead! Yes, you have read right, Albus Dumbledore left the Boy-Who-Lived to Muggles! This reporter cannot begin to express how distressed she was to learn that the scion of one of our most prominent families was left to rot with Muggles instead of being given the childhood of a magical child as he so deserved.

A second shock came when this reporter learnt that the Dursleys, the family left to raise the Boy-Who-Lived, and whom the Muggle sister of Lady Potter, one Petunia Dursley nee Evans, belonged to, had died several years ago during a trip to Asia. This would mean that the Boy-Who-Lived was either relocated, before Albus Dumbledore lost his track once again, or that he was missing for several years yet his absence was noticed only recently. Either case is equally as distressing, as it raises questions about Albus Dumbledore's ability to properly protect the Boy-Who-Lived.

This reporter does not know what you will do, dear readers, but she intends to ask our Ministry to uncover the truth and rescue the Boy-Who-Lived from those who would abduct him!

More about the Boy-Who-Lived, page 4.

More about Albus Dumbledore, page 7.

More about the Potters, page 11.

-Break-

To say that the atmosphere was cold would be an understatement, as it could be said that it was downright arctic. In the room several people were present, some standing, like the Potters, Severus Snape or Sirius Black, and others were sitting, like Albus Dumbledore or Minerva McGonnagal. Currently all the people present were glaring at Dumbledore, and the occasional twitch of their fingers towards their wands showed just how close the Headmaster was to be cursed or hexed.

"Explain."

Lily Potter's voice could have frozen the air itself with how cold it was, not that she could be blamed for her reaction. In truth, she was already under the effects of several calming draughts and potions, provided by Snape, who had graciously offered them to her after seeing her state, and despite his loathing of anything associated with the name Potter. Even he didn't wish to see his childhood friend in the state she had been after reading Rita Skeeter's article. She had been a mess, crying and snapping for everything, she had even spent the first two hours after having read the article cursing dueling dummies charmed to look like Dumbledore. None of them had survived and only the fact that each was made to repair itself from scratch each time prevented her from destroying all of them in less than two minutes.

"Very well."

Dumbledore seemed to have aged thirty years since the last time the Potters had seen him, not that they cared much. If what they had read was right, then the old man had a lot of explaining to do.

"I put Harry in Petunia's care because it was the best option at the time." he explained, getting outraged looks from the audience.

"The best option? THE BEST OPTION?! I TOLD YOU ALBUS, THAT THEY WERE THE WORST SORT OF MUGGLES I HAD EVER SEEN! ANYONE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RAISE HARRY BETTER THAN THEM!" screeched McGonnagal, gaining outraged looks from the Potters and Sirius.

"You knew, Minnie?"

At that Minerva cringed. Her former pupils' voice was thick with emotion, and she could tell that they felt betrayed that she hadn't told them of Harry's location, when she was privy of it.

"Please, Lily, James. Minerva is innocent, I merely wanted her to make sure that nobody would try to influence the Dursleys before I brought Harry there. I alone chose to put Harry with your sister. There is no need to take out your anger on her." said the Headmaster, looking at the two parents grieving their son.

While he knew Harry was alive and had told the Potters, it did not change the fact that they couldn't reach him, and as such, might not even be able to see him grow up. It was, in a sense, worse than knowing he was dead, as they still had the faint hope of finding their son.

"There were several reasons to put Harry with your sister, Lily. First and foremost was that Petunia was of your blood, which allowed me to put ancient protections around her house to protect Harry, protections that had he been living with anyone else, he wouldn't have."

Truth be told, the "ancient protections" were Blood Wards and were illegal, however they didn't need to know that. Luckily for Dumbledore, despite the current fiasco his image as someone knowing magics long lost to anyone else allowed him to be cryptic and avoid getting questioned too thoroughly. Had it been known that he had used Blood Magic to protect the Boy-Who-Lived, he would had lost what little he had managed to salvage from the chaos ensuing the article of Rita Skeeter. He had already lost his position of Chief Warlock and of Supreme Mugwump when he refused to say what protection he had put up, and he had come close to losing his position of Headmaster as well. He had only managed to keep it because of his past prowess and impeccable record as Headmaster.

"The second reason why he had to be sent to your sister was because she knew of our world, while not being a part of it. As such she would be able to explain to Harry about accidental magic and the basics of our society, which would allow him to fit in our society even if he was Muggle-raised. There was also the fact she would be able to explain the situation to him, as I left a letter with Harry to ensure she understood the importance of raising him correctly."

"That doesn't matter!" growled James. "I don't care about where you put Harry for now, though we will be discussing this later! What I want to know is how you could discover our son went missing years after the fact! That tells me more than I would like about how concerned you were with my son's safety, considering Lily and I kept asking for news about Harry, and you assured us he was fine! How could you know that when he's been missing for years and that you haven't been able to find him? That sounds awfully like lying to us!"

"I did not lie, James!" growled Dumbledore, unhappy to have one of his closest allies in the War question him. "Did you think I left Harry unmonitored? That I would callously drop your son and then ignore him? Of course not!

Not only had I incorporated several monitoring charms in the protections weaved around your son to make sure Harry was safe, but I had also planted Arabella Figgs to keep an eye on him!"

That made Sirius quirk an eyebrow.

"Arabella Figgs? Isn't she a Squib?"

"Indeed, Sirius. Which is why I chose her to keep an eye on Harry as one of his neighbors. She was to make sure that anything out of the ordinary was relayed to me."

"Oh. Then why isn't she here?" asked the former Gryffindor, looking around. "I mean, if we're looking for Harry, wouldn't she have a better idea of where he might be than us?"

Dumbledore looked down at that. Arabella Figgs had been a good friend, despite her obsession with Kneazles, and to learn she had died several years ago and that he hadn't noticed made him feel ashamed of himself.

"She is dead. From what I gathered from the neighbors, she died several years ago, before your son disappeared from the Dursleys. Nothing nefarious, she simply suffered from cardiac arrest, there are witnesses that attest to that. I am ashamed to admit I had no idea until I went to look for Harry."

"What?" choked Minerva, "Arabella died, and you didn't even know, Albus? How can that be?"

"I am old, Minerva. I have three positions that drain most of my time, and I was too confident in the protections I had put around Privet Drive. Arabella didn't call me often, barely once a year, so I did not notice her sudden lack of calls, since I had attributed it to her being too busy to call me. I often wanted to visit her, unfortunately I never had the opportunity as there was always some more pressing matters."

By now Lily Potter had lost her patience and had taken out her wand, pointing it on the old man. Neither James nor Sirius made a move to stop her, while Snape didn't seem to want to interfere and McGonnagal was too focused on Dumbledore to notice. Said wand was starting to emit sparks, and the air was growing steadily heavier with the magic coalescing around the formidable young witch.

"So that is your excuse?" she asked, her voice raising, "THAT IS WHY MY SON IS MISSING NOW?! BECAUSE YOU WERE BUSY?!"

By the end her voice had become a screech of anger, and the people present cringed at the volume. She was not the only one angry, however, as James Potter was livid and looked ready to curse the old man, barely restraining himself while Sirius didn't fare much better. As usual, Snape kept his cool, though there was a hint of anger in his charcoal eyes, especially considering how the woman he loved with all his heart was faring, not that he could blame her. He hadn't liked Dumbledore's plan, but the old man had been stubborn, too convinced of his own genius to listen to anyone. Now he was reaping what he had sown, and he wasn't about to interfere.

Finally, it was James who stopped the angry Lily, as the redhead was about to tear into him for stopping her, she fell silent at the look in her husband's eyes as he turned to look at the Headmaster. Unlike usual, his gaze held none of the respect usually seen for the old man, nor the mischievous spark he was known for.

"I have half a mind to fill a complaint to the DMLE for your actions, Headmaster. However, no matter how much I wish to make you pay for what you did, I can't. You are the only one able to find our son now, and having you stripped of your position would mean losing what little chance we have to one day see Harry."

Dumbledore felt as if he had just been struck, for James to say such a thing meant he truly meant it, and he felt shame and regret knowing that his own actions had caused one of his former students to resent him so.

"However, in light of what you told us, I can't entrust my children to you without worrying anymore. As such I want to take a job here, to make sure my children and any others are safe."

"I wish to do the same." intervened Lily, glaring at Dumbledore. "Binns needs someone to replace him, and James should be able to teach something other than Goblin rebellions. I would like to replace the Muggle Studies teacher, from what I've heard the woman is a Pureblood and still believes the most recent discovery of Muggles is electricity."

As the old man was about to reply, he was stopped by a glare from Lily.

"This is not negotiable, Dumbledore. Either you let us teach here or we'll enroll our children in another school. I will not lose another child because you were busy with your job. Now James let's go home, I want to hug Ivy and Sirius."

Without a care for Dumbledore's pleas for them to stay, the Potters left, the Floo glowing green as they departed for Potter Manor, leaving Sirius, Snape and McGonnagal to glare at the old man.

"Congratulations, Dumbledore." growled Sirius, baring his teeth like his Animagus form did when angry, "Countless generations of Potters studied at Hogwarts, and now you're risking to lose them forever because you were a careless idiot. I'm going home, and unless you've found my Godson, don't you dare come to visit unless to want to be pranked, Marauder style."

With that, the Lord Black left with a last glare towards the man he had respected like no other, willing to die for him, and who was the cause of his best friend's family's turmoil. A flash of green was all that signaled he left.

For several minutes there was silence until Snape spoke, his voice silky and cold.

"For once I agree with Black. If you need me, I will be in my lab, I have potions to attend to."

Once only McGonnagal and Dumbledore were left, the cat Animagus stared at her employer, her eyes red as she refrained from crying, though there was steel in her words and gaze. There was also pity, as she knew he had done his best, and had made a mistake. However, this was a mistake with heavy consequences, there was no denying it, and they needed to repair it.

"Albus...You will need help to find Harry. I will help you, but please, Albus, don't ever take a decision like this without consulting those involved again."

With that, she left to drink some brandy, she needed it.

-Break-

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, swore angrily as he drank a cup of brandy. He had been happy with his job so far, doing what needed to be done, earning himself some additional money from upstanding citizens by listening more closely to their advice than the ones of Dumbledore, and it had earned him a comfortable chunk of gold sitting in his vault. In fact, he had been so satisfied with his job that he had planned to run for minister for the next elections, after all there were no true opponents in the political field that he should be wary of, save Dumbledore, and the old man had already turned down the position many times.

However, his comfortable little world of lazing around and bribes had suddenly become far more difficult with Rita Skeeter's recent article, not that he couldn't understand the public's outrage. Leaving the Boy-Who-Lived with Muggles, really? The old man had clearly lost it to leave the heir of House Potter and their Savior to people who knew nothing of magic, and were little more than apes. Fortunately, he had nothing to do with the decision, which had allowed him to avoid a political scandal that would have undoubtedly caused him to resign otherwise. Still, he did not envy Dumbledore right now, from what he had learnt the man had been buried neck deep into Howlers the last days, and he had lost both his positions in the political world. Not that he minded, after all despite his frequent visits for advice, the old man hadn't seemed to understand the necessity to be careful on the topic of muggleborns and non-humans.

Anyway, back to his problems, while he didn't suffer from an invasion of Howlers, his mail had unfortunately suffered from the same growth, numerous people calling for him to search for the Boy-Who-Lived. He had already contacted Amelia Bones, telling her to send her Aurors to look for the boy, offering a comfortable sum from the Ministry's coffers to motivate them, as well as asked her to but a mission offer for the various Hit-Wizards currently in the country to look for the missing Potter. Now he could say in good faith that he had done everything in his power to look for the Boy-Who-Lived, and if he was indeed found, then it would boost his popularity tremendously! Of course, if he wasn't found, he would simply blame it on Dumbledore's inaptitude, after all it wasn't his fault if the trail was years old, was it?

-Break-

Lucius Malfoy was in an excellent mood. Since the news of the disappearance of the eldest Potter child, his principal opponents in the Wizenmagot hadn't attended, allowing him to further his plans and push forwards the much needed laws to protect their society from the likes of Veelas, Werewolves, or Vampires. While it wasn't the open hunt he desired, and would have had had his Lord still been alive, he had managed to make several laws pass that restrained their rights, which was already a start. He was nothing if not patient, after all.

Still, he had also taken care to hire several renowned Hit-Wizards to find the Boy-Who-Lived for him. He didn't know what he would do if the boy was found, though for the moment he was torn between keeping him captive and torturing him for making him suffer the indignation of having to claim to be Imperiused, or use him as a political tool. After all, if the boy was ignorant of the magical world, it would be easy to adopt him and raise him into a true Pureblood, unlike his birth family.

Decisions, decisions...

-Break-

Ivy glared at the back of the retreating Dumbledore. Since that day, her parents had changed, becoming noticeably more silent and withdrawn, her mother crying for the tiniest things. All that because the man they had respected had made a stupid, adult mistake and hadn't checked on her older brother enough. She knew what had happened, she had overheard her parents talking a few days ago, and she had been able to read the Prophet they had thought they had hidden.

To think that her adored older brother, Harry Potter, the person she looked up to, may not even know about magic made her mad. It was not normal! He was a wizard! He should know about magic! But nooo, Dumbledore had thought it would be intelligent to leave Harry with her Aunt, the one her mother said hated magic! Was the old man stupid? Even she could tell it was a bad idea, and she was nine!

Ever since that day, she had changed as well. She couldn't believe Sirius's reaction, her twin had just shrugged and said that with Dumbledore trying to find Harry, they shouldn't worry, but she didn't agree. Despite what most people thought, the Potters, or at least her in any case, were very aware that he could make mistakes and had his limits. She was almost certain the old man wouldn't find her amazing older brother. If he hadn't been able to even know Harry was missing, then the odds of him finding him were low at best.

No, she had little faith in the "Leader of the Light"'s abilities now, and her parents were too busy crying or looking at the old photos of her brother when he was still a baby to do anything. So she was going to find him, even if it took her years! She knew she was clever, her mother had said so, and her father had said that she had her mother's intelligence, so she was probably very, very intelligent. So once she finished Hogwarts, she'd look for her brother by herself. But for the moment, she'd need a head start if she wanted to learn as much as possible, so she sighed and went for the library, knowing that Occlumency helped learn better and faster.

At least it was a start.

So, what did you think? I hope I managed to make the reactions of the involved characters credible, and not too over the top. You will notice that I included Ivy Potter in this chapter, as her reaction, while not shown as much as her mother's, is just as extreme, as the fact that her older brother disappeared will heavily influence her life from then on.

Anyway, as usual, reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, but not flames.