A/N: Like most people, I've had a lot going on in my life recently, so I've neglected my writing duties. I just want you all to know, that even if I take months to update- I'm not abandoning this story. As usual, I have no beta, so I apologise if you come across any mistakes. Thanks for being patient!

Carry On My Wayward Wizard

Chapter 2

Albus Dumbledore paced up and down his office. Today was August the 29th, the day he would finally meet Harry Potter again. After receiving the boy's letter a few months back, they had both agreed that he'd arrive at Hogwarts a few days early to see what year he would be able to join, and obviously answer all of the questions Dumbledore surely had.

The fact that the boy already knew about Hogwarts, proved that he had been receiving the letters the school sent to him. He clearly did not want to attend the school before, so why now? The elderly man continued to pace, as he anxiously waited for the boy along who held the answers to his questions.

Intruding on his train of thought, Dumbledore felt the wards in his office shift, alerting him that the portkey he gave to Harry had been activated, and that his guest would be here any second. He was eager to meet this 'mysterious' Vic, who took the wizarding saviour in and raised him as his own. He was pleased to hear that Harry had been raised by a muggle instead of a wizard. It meant that he was able to sympathise with the Order's plight and the light side of wizarding Britain.

The boy and his guardian arrived promptly at the agreed time without a glitch. The Headmaster's eyes first glanced at a man in his early forties, with shaggy, unkempt hair, dressed in black-coloured, leather, muggle clothing. By his side stood a teenage boy, with unusual black hair, emerald eyes and the infamous scar. Harry was dressed in almost identical clothing as Vic, even sporting a similar expression as his foster father.

"Ah, Professor Dumbledore, I assume?" Vic asked as he walked over to the older man with an outstretched hand.

The headmaster accepted the hand with a smile, "Yes, and you must be the guardian of Mr Potter, Vic?"

Vic nodded in response as Dumbldore turned his attentions on to Harry.

"And you, my boy, must be Harry" he said with his grandfatherly smile still in place.

Harry took the elderly man's hand and sensed that he wouldn't be seeing eye to eye with him. He knew that the headmaster was going to try and make him participate in the war, siding with the light, and eventually defeat Voldemort. He knew of the prophecy, and from what he had read up on prior to his Hogwarts education, he also knew that Albus Dumbledore was a man who would do anything for "the greater good". Even if it meant forcing a sixteen year old boy into the middle of a war, to clean up a mess he could have dealt with himself.

Harry did not care for the actual war itself, but the crazed maniac who was heading it. Voldemort had not only killed his parents, but he was also attacking innocent muggles. Having spent most of his life saving people from demons, vampires and everything else that went bump in the night, Voldemort was no different. He was a threat that needed to be eradicated immediately. However, Harry was not going to let himself get sucked into this world or it's politics, or anything that went past killing Voldemort himself. His life was already abnormal without the magical world getting involved. Moreover, it seemed like most pureblood types were prejudice against muggles or those who were raised by them, and that didn't sit right with him. Vic was the most incredible person Harry knew. He had seen that man take on the world for Harry, and muggle or not, that was admirable.

"Why don't you and your Guardian take a seat, and we'll proceed from there."

Harry and Vic followed Dumbledore to his desk and sat down on the chairs placed in front of it.

The headmaster still had his grandfatherly smile in place, now with an added twinkle in his eye. It reminded Harry of a vampire trying to lure its meal.

"Now, Mr Potter, you have been quite a mystery. I must admit, I have many questions I'd like to be answered, if you'd allow me?"

He regarded the old man for a second, and didn't find a reason not to be truthful to him. Even though he wanted to use Harry as a pawn, he knew that it was only because he cared about his fellow wizards and witches, and didn't wish to see any more harm come to pass.

He nodded once more.

"Good. Now, you've obviously read up on Hogwarts since your first letter. What I want to know is, how much do you know about this world, Harry?" Dumbledore asked inquisitively.

Harry smirked at the old man. He definitely wasn't a fool. He could see how Albus Dumbledore became the leader of the light with a brain like his.

"I won't lie to you, headmaster. I know about the war, I know that I'm "The Boy Who Lived", I know about Voldemort, and I know that he needs to be stopped. I also know that there's a prophecy stating that I'm the only one who can defeat him."

He let the Dumbledore stay in his stupor as he thought back to the time he discovered his "destiny".

Harry found out about the prophecy when he was fourteen. On one of his many trips to Knockturn Alley, he overheard a group of men, now known to be Death Eaters, talking of a prophecy about their lord and 'the Potter boy' that they had to somehow retrieve. Their dilemma, however, was that only either Voldemort or Harry himself could get it from the Department of Mysteries. With Voldemort being enemy no.1 in the Wizarding World, he couldn't just show up at the Ministry of Magic and take it. With also no trace of Harry in the Wizarding World, there was no way he could retrieve it. Or so they thought. An angry Voldemort assigned his lackeys to concoct a plan to either allow him access to the Department of Mysteries himself, or a way one of his followers could take the prophecy themselves.. What they didn't know, was whilst they were still thinking up a plan, Harry snuck into the ministry and took the prophecy himself. Hardly a difficult feat for the hunter/wizard.

He brought the orb straight back home and showed Vic the ominous message. After a few hours of discussion, they both decided that destroying the prophecy would be for the best, so Voldemort would never have the chance to hear the full thing.

Dumbledore had appeared to overcome his initial shock, and spoke again.

"Then it seems like you're up to speed. My next question regards your intent. Why now, why wait five extra years before re-entering our world?"

Vic and Harry smiled at each other, before Vic nodded at Harry, signalling that it was okay for him to tell the truth.

"I waited until I was ready. An eleven year old venturing into a world where a maniac is out to kill him, didn't sound smart. I al-"

"But you would've been under our protection, my boy. There is nowhere safer than Hogwarts. I'm surprised you weren't discovered without magical protection." Dumbledore rushed out.

Vic sent another look to Harry. Even though he wasn't a wizard like his surrogate son, they had always seemed to be able to know what the other was thinking.

"If you don't mind, Professor Dumbledore, but I'd like to continue." Harry said sweetly.

The headmaster quickly became embarrassed of his outburst, and nodded for Harry to continue.

"I wasn't ready to join your world, since I was already learning a different set of skills that would benefit me greatly."

Dumbledore looked at Harry questioningly. "You see, sir, Vic is not an ordinary muggle- he's a hunter."

"Harry, I don't see why hunting animals would stop you from coming here, or why you'd think this would protect you." Dumbledore said, losing his grandfather persona as quickly as he jumped to conclusions.

Vic laughed at the man before speaking.

"We don't hunt animals, Dumbledore. I don't suppose you wizards know about the dangers that lurk outside of your world? The demons, vampires, werewolves, shifters, renegade angels and everything else that would give most of your students nightmares- they exist, old man and we take care of them. It's how I found Harry."

The old man was flabbergasted. Muggles that hunt vampires and werewolves was entirely a new concept for him. It wasn't even the fact that there were muggles that knew of these creatures existence, that was common. It was the fact that there were certain muggles that hunted them, and even had the strength to take them on.

"This is an unexpected development."

He couldn't bring himself to say anything more. His mind was too busy thinking about how Harry and Vic's extracurricular activities will affect his plans. Harry's father's best friend, and trusted member of the Order of the Phoenix happened to be a werewolf, one of the creatures Harry hunts. He needed to make sure that Harry takes an oath of some sort to not harm Remus and any other creature that may help the light in their plight against Voldemort.

"You don't seem so thrilled, Dumbleore. I thought my extra skills would be welcome here. Voldemort wouldn't expect his muggle-raised enemy to be more than sufficient in hunting monsters like himself." Harry asked confusedly.

"It's not that my boy." he paused, "You see, the primary organisation against Voldemort, The Order of the Phoenix, has a werewolf in its midst, and if I bring you in, I'd be afraid that things may not go too well between you and Remus."

Harry laughed.

"Remus? Is that what he calls himself? This world is even more bizarre than I thought. You willingly work with those beasts?"

"Mr Potter, if you could refrain from calling Remus a beast. He was your father's best friend, and he stands to be one of the bravest and most honourable men I know. Now, I'm not sure about your muggle werewolves, but here in the wizarding world, lycanthropy can be controlled to a certain extent. We have a potion that allows for the mind of the wizard to still be present during the full moon. He is anything but a beast."

Harry felt a little guilty for judging the company Dumbledore keeps too quickly. He should've kept his opinions to himself and assessed the Order when he met them himself. He also felt foolish for assuming that the werewolves in the wizarding world were of the same calibre as the muggle werewolves. As much as he'd like to say he knew a lot about this world, there were clearly things he still needed to learn, and that's why he finally decided to come to Hogwarts in the first place, to learn.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. I did not mean to offend you or your friend. The werewolves I've dealt with have been mindless killers, and sometimes I forget how different this world is compared to the one I grew up in."

Dumbledore only saw honesty in the boy's eyes and smiled.

"It's fine, my boy. You've come here to learn, and learn you will."

The meeting went on for another hour after that, with Dumbledore asking questions about the extent of Harry's knowledge and what he should expect from Harry whilst attending Hogwarts.

"It seems like you know far more than I expected you to, Harry, but I would still like for you to take your OWLs to prove that you belong in the sixth year before putting you in there."

"Those wizarding exam thingys, right?" Dumbledore nodded. "Makes sense, and you wouldn't want others to think that you've been lenient on me because I'm the 'chosen one'."

The headmaster beamed at that. The whole reason why he wanted Harry with the Dursley's, was to help the boy understand humility. Growing up in a world where the majority worships the ground he walks on, would've done nothing but inflate his ego. The fact that Harry did not want to receive special treatment in any way, showed him that he was a grounded youth.

"Great! If you and Mr Vic could return tomorrow at 9am so we can assess you formally, I would be thankful."

The meeting ended with Dumbledore handing Harry two portkeys, one for the journey home and another for the journey back to Hogwarts for the morning.

Dumbledore was left alone in his quarters to go over the scene that just took place. He could not believe his luck. When he found out that Harry was alive and well, he was happy, but he thought that taking the boy from the muggle world at 16 and trying to teach him everything he needed to defeat the dark lord, seemed like it would take too much time- time they no longer had. But nothing could've prepared him this Harry Potter. One who knew about the world he was born into, with more knowledge on magic than he could've hoped, along with some more questionable skills.

The 'hunting' aspect of Harry's life, had been a curveball he wasn't expecting. For the child to grow up knowing to how kill at such an early age, was not something he thought James and Lily would've wanted for their son. However, Dumbledore knew that one day Harry would have to kill one of the greatest wizards of all time, and him already knowing how to take a life and cope with it, was something he wouldn't have been able to teach the boy. A small part of him was thankful for Vic teaching Harry this before coming to the castle.

The boy was nothing like he expected, but maybe that would give them the upper hand in the end. Albus knew he had to wait on Harry's OWL scores to determine if there was much hope. Regardless of his hunting abilities, not being able to duel with a wand at least, would be nothing but a handicap on the whole situation. He hoped that the boy was a sufficient tutor to himself over the years.

Another issue Albus knew he had to deal with, was the matter of Severus Snape. The two were going to meet tomorrow, and he already knew that Severus would mistake Harry's confidence and warrior-like attitude for being arrogance.

With a sigh, the old man retired for the night, with thoughts of tomorrow on his mind.