Minerva McGonagall was heartbroken.
Only days ago, she had been helping Lily and James protect their daughter. How was she to know that, half an hour after, The Dark Lord would come, break into the house, and attempt to kill the very child she had been helping?
And poor Lily and James! Killed by the very man they were fighting, in their home, no less. It was horrible!
And now Albus Dumbledore was doing something very predictable: He was doing something completely stupid.
His idea of suitable caregivers for Lily's daughter consisted of Lily's sister and her husband, both of whom Lily, as well as James, hated. But he considered blood-bonds to be stronger than hate, and so he planned to place the baby there with the Dursleys, hoping that the idea of Lily's baby being their last connection to her, would override their hatred.
Minerva knew better. She, being very skilled in the arts of pick-pocketing when she was younger, had sneaked the letter Dumbledore had planned to leave with the babe, and read it. The contents, which were horrible under normal circumstances, were completely and utterly awful.
Dear Mr. and Missus. Durslee,
Unfortunately, your sister-slash-sister in law Lilly and her husband Jams hav bean cilled, bie the wurst wisard in the wurld: Lorde Vol Dee Mart. Aye amm asking u two tak kare of leetle Hairy-It Potater as if shee wer yor oone, and, wen shee is olde eenof, to tel her off her hair it age as a wit chh. Aye amm leefing her with u be cuz in hour wurld shee wil be famuz, and aye donut want her two end ap beeing full off her salf.
Thank u,
Al Bus Dumb Bell Door
Minerva had shuddered after reading it. Whatever Quick Quotes Quill Albus was using must have been very old! No successful professor can get away with spelling THAT atrocious!
She had watched the Dursleys before. They spoiled their son until he ate an unhealthy amount of candy, the wife continuously gossiped, and the husband regarded anyone who even appeared slightly different as if they had some horrible disease!
No. They wouldn't do. Unfortunately, the only person who James Potter and Lily Evans trusted enough to leave their daughter with, was in no position to take care of a child.
The young man, who had loved Lily, so much so as to give her his blessing on the upcoming marriage, and to ask James to take care of his daughter and to love her as if she were his own, and to willingly help with various wedding preparations, was, at the moment, probably running around Central London, infiltrating the sewers, and associating with the more dangerous of his homeless network, high as an airplane.
It was obvious he had taken their deaths much too hard. As soon as he had heard the news, delivered by Minerva herself, he had clammed up. She had checked up on him the first few days. He remained in the same spot, not having eaten, nor slept, staring at the same spot on the wall.
On the fourth day, he had gotten dressed, and had a familiar box in hand, one that hadn't been seen since before he met Lily.
Minerva knew she couldn't do anything. She had tried before, before Lily, but she knew she wasn't the one to help him out of the mess he fell into. That was the DI's division. He was the only one the young man trusted enough.
Minerva had no choice.
She couldn't take care of the child, and she knew Dumbledore would watch the house for a few years, to make sure they hadn't abandoned the child. Minerva couldn't do much, but she could do one thing. She could give Lily's daughter the privacy she deserved. Once she was introduced to the wizarding world as Harriet Potter, she would have no privacy from the fans and the reporters.
Plus, she couldn't give the Dursleys the impression that wizards were illiterate dunderheads.
So she did the only logical thing: She offered to watch the child while in cat form, in order for her to make sure that the Dursleys accepted the child. Albus, as always, agreed.
As soon as he left, Minerva took the letter, and, using a cleansing spell, wiped the page of every trace of the letter. She summoned her customary green ink and quill pen, and, setting the parchment onto the step next to the babe, began to write.
Dear Mrs. Dursley,
Your sister, Lily Evans, and her soon-to-be husband were killed on the night of Halloween by a serial killer and cult leader in our world. He attempted to kill their young daughter as well, but failed, for reasons unknown. Unfortunately, the only other person willing to take in their daughter is, at the moment, indisposed. It is, with great regret, my duty to ask you to take the responsibility and guardianship of their daughter, Hara Elisabeth H. Evans, and to care for her until she is of age.
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva folded the parchment up, tucked it into the blanket the small six-month old was wrapped in, and gave her the smallest of kisses on her forehead. She then, using a spell, returned her pen and ink to her office at Hogwarts, and transformed.
Had anyone been looking, they would have seen a street full of normal houses and gardens, a babe left on a porch, and an old tabby cat, curled up around the small bundle, prepared to accompany the poor baby until morning.
Hi!
I'm trying to write the first few chapters, so that I don't get writer's block on the second or third chapter. The chapters are shorter than what I usually do, but hopefully that is because they are the first few chapters, and not that I'm not writing as much.
Don't worry! I'll try to write more!
I can't think of any good send off, so: Bye!
Love,
mems1223