Dumbledore

I let out a groan as I woke up and saw that I was alive. At least something good came out of the murder of at least a dozen people. Something selfish, but good nonetheless.

I sighed.

Harry's voice came, "You alive, mate?"

I sat up, my head in my hands as a headache threatened to take over. I growled out, "Yeah, I am. How did you bring us here anyway?"

Harry's face turned red as he looked at the ground, he said, "My first instinct was to apparate us out of there and somehow, it worked."

I looked at him for a good minute before snapping at him, "You used a dangerous skill - teleportation, right? - on both of us when we could have died and it somehow worked?!"

He shrugged and then said, "That's the story of my life, Benny. And yeah, it's teleportation."

"You never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Never."

I looked at the cloudy sky and then asked, "Unsubtly changing the subject, where the hell are we?"

He looked at the tall trees and smiled softly, I immediately knew that he had been here in his past life before he died. He always smiled this soft and sad smile that melts your heart, whenever something from his past life is in his sight or on his mind. He said, "We are in the Forest of Dean. When we were hinting Horcruxes, Hermione brought us here."

I nodded and then asked, "Is it an important place?"

He shrugged and leaned by a tree, which looked like a child attempting to look like a cool dude (it was really hilarious by the way), and then said, "Not really important, a hideout of sorts. I told you, didn't I?"

"I can forget stuff, Harry."

"Um, anyway, I don't really remember everything we did here but I do remember that Ron and I killed the Locket Horcrux here," Harry said, his eyes closed.

"The one that you stole from that torturous stain against humanity?"

"Yeah."

I asked, "So, what do we do?"

He said, "I dunno, mate, you got anything in that brain of yours?"

"What do you think?"
_

"So, we are ten now."

"Yeah."

"How?"

"I don't know, ask your mum."

"Haha, shut up, shorty."

"Oi, I am not short, you are just a monster."

"Whatever, Harry."

Harry kicked a pebble and then asked, "What do people do normally?"

I shrugged and sat down on the stump of a tree, I responded, "I don't know, I think some do hobbies and others just sit around, being bored."

"What can be hobbies?"

I thought for a minute before answering, "Reading, writing, doing sports, singing, dancing, cooking, drawing, painting, sketching, travelling . . . and . . . I don't know anymore . . ."

Harry let out a sigh and then asked, "What are your hobbies? You are usually just dragging yourself along the floor."

I shrugged and then said, "I used to read, write and draw in my previous life. Here, I haven't had any interest in those things. I used to exercise once in a while or sing when I wanted to. I would probably go back to it soon, boredom is so boring."

Harry said, "I have never had hobbies, I was always busy with something. I don't know what to do, mate. No matter how much this free time is liberating, I am too fucking bored."

I said, "We will eventually find something at Hogwarts, right?"

Harry nodded and said, "Of course, mate. I have gotten this chance somehow and . . . I will not let people die again, but, most importantly, I will never let my family die. I will kill Voldemort and for that, I will train myself."

"We, we will kill Voldemort. You will teach me magic, okay?" I said.

Harry gave a small smile and said, "Of course, I will."

"Thanks, Harry."

"You're family too, Benny."

I couldn't say another word, not even a word of gratitude as the words settled in my heart.

Family.
_

It is weird how things change as a person adapts to their new surroundings.

It is also weird how much the people you met shape you to be who you are.

But most importantly, it is weird how a second chance changes you.

My life has had many regrets, I will be the first to admit it. I have always to change them, always wanted to be better than I was, but I knew I could not, everything reminded me of failures and how I can never grow from my tiny little box.

A second chance changed everything.

For the first time, I saw a murder.

For the first time, I had a friend.

Things get worse as they get better, it seems. I may not like to remember my life, I always just liked to go on, see the future with closed eyes, imagine a new world within my mind, promise to be better than I was and try even a little bit, to make the world happier. But now, I can look fondly back and say that this made me the person I am.

I am not different than I was but I am happier.

And that made a difference.

I may have seen dark things happen, like the mother of my new body dying and the attack of the Death Eaters, but I have also seen things like that before, like the accidental murder I did once or how I died myself. Look, I know the Attack of Death Eaters was much more gruesome but honestly, I am too tired of death to be sad about it anymore.

I accept it.

What can I do to stop death? Life is too short to worry about it.

I just know one thing: I will help Harry, he has helped me in a way I didn't know I wanted it, whenever I tried to make people laugh, it was because I wanted the same, and . . . Harry made me laugh.

"Family," I muttered to myself, as I looked at the dark sky, with stars lightening my view.

Harry snorted in his sleep.

I chuckled and closed my eyes, time to think of sleep until it blesses me.
_

"When will the Hogwarts teacher come?" I asked as I ate a piece of toast.

Harry answered, "At the latest, a week before our birthday. We will 'know' of magic by the end of the first week of August."

And so, we waited for days. Our birthday came and went away with Harry and I roaming the forest alone that day.

Nobody came.

And then, they came.

It was about three days after our birthday when they came.

Harry and I were resting in the shade of a tree, Harry meditating and I was doing nothing. The bush then ruffled and I heard voices after a loud crack. I heard mutterings but they were unclear to me.

A tired man said, "Silence! Stop acting like children."

An impatient man said, "Let's get him, come on!"

A woman sighed and then said, "There are two boys here, Charlie, you may be excited about one but don't forget that they are probably a package deal."

The impatient man, Charlie, grumbled, "I know, I know, let's still be fast about getting them. I want to see them!"

I heard a man give some rough laughter and then the bush rustling again. Harry called out, "Did you know that we can hear you loudly and clearly?"

The first man said, "I, of course, knew, boys, but I had wanted to get them to act in some semblance of etiquette. Sadly, I failed."

The last man said roughly, "That's why I suggested to apparate far away from them and then walking to them."

The second man, still impatient, muttered something and then came into my vision. He was not a tall man but was bulky. He looked to be in his late 40s with greying black hair that was messier than I thought possible and light brown eyes that twinkled in the light. He also had some stubble and a scar on his neck.

He gasped and then walked towards us quickly. He stopped some distance away and I met his eyes and then followed them. He was looking at Harry with awe.

He said nervously, "Hello Harry, I am Charlus Potter."
_

I found out that the four people who came were Alastor Moody, Albus Dumbledore, Dorea and Charlus Potter. Albus Dumbledore was the tired old man, Moody was the rough and rude man while Dorea was the only woman. Charlus seemed to be the only immature among us, including Harry and me.

Albus Dumbledore was a tall man with shoulder-length white hair and a long beard that was tied as it reached his chest. He was a skinny man with golden half-moon glasses and a smile that can put the Sun to shame. His blue eyes twinkled with joy every time I saw him.

Alastor Moody looked to be the same age as Charlus but was shorter and bulkier than him. He had short dark grey hair with blonde highlights and sharp brown eyes that seemed to be looking at everything. He limped as he walked and his face had many sharp scars.

Dorea Potter had very pale skin and equally dark black hair. Her hair was very curly and seemed to be annoying her at every turn. She had light blue eyes that looked fascinating to me and her height was really short. She was almost as short as me, and I was an eleven-year-old (I may be taller than the average person but I am still eleven). She seemed to have a permanent smile.

Harry and I looked at each other. They had 'explained' magic to us, which we seemed to be taking in very well. I had to stop myself from chuckling at some points which I knew. There were points though that I did not know, so it was beneficial to me.

Charlus asked, "So, what are you two kids doing in this forest?"

I looked at Harry and then down at the ground sadly, I was still sad about those deaths. Harry said, "Um, Charlus, you see, our orphanage, some men came with green lights and sticks, and then - then, they did something, like -"

I stopped Harry, who was really bad at explaining things and then said, "They used the sticks to throw green lights at everyone in the orphanage. Harry and I were very scared and we ran away. . . . I think everyone died there."

Dumbledore closed his eyes and then muttered, "So much waste of life, and witnessed by two so young." and then looked at us sadly. He said, "I am sorry, Harry, Benjamin, that you had to witness the Death Eaters."

Knowing that we weren't told of them, Harry and I asked simultaneously, "Death Eaters, what are they?"

And so, the current political atmosphere of the Wizarding World was explained to us. Sadly, I did not have as much patience as Harry to listen to everything but I did understand the basics.

Moody asked Dumbledore, "Should we take them to the Ministry now or what? Will Potter take the other kid too?"

I looked at him and then at the Potters. I asked, "What do you mean?"

Charlus laughed nervously and Moody explained, "You see, kid, most of the orphans in the Wizarding World either go to muggle orphanages or to the closest blood family they have. Since we don't know your blood family, we have to check with the Ministry to get you home.

"Look, kid, Potter only came here because the brat with his name was here. Potter and his wife will take him to the Ministry and register him as their ward immediately, his backstory is pretty clear. You? You can only live with Potter if he agrees which can be very difficult."

I asked, "Why would it be difficult?"

Dorea explained nervously, "Because of the recent climate, everyone is distrustful of muggleborns since most attacks happen near them, so we will have to buy expensive defences if we have to shelter you and also, we have to keep your residence secret.

"Oh."

"I will not come, then." A voice from beside me said.

I looked at Harry questioningly. He wanted to meet his family for the longest of times and now, he is denying them for me? We would stay at Hogwarts nonetheless, it doesn't matter. Why is he doing this?

Harry said, "He is like my brother. We were born at the same time, we lived together since that day, even after the attack on the orphanage. Either we both come or we both go to another orphanage."

Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully and then said, "Harry, we can check Ben's blood records at the Ministry and then we can ask his family if you two can visit each other daily. And anyway, both of you will come to Hogwarts, you two would live together there."

Harry nodded and said, "I can agree with that. If that doesn't happen, we go to another muggle orphanage together."

Charlus and Dorea looked down sadly.

I know I could fault them for not taking me in but I could understand why they would not want to do that. They were already straining their money by taking in Harry and I would be an extra burden. Also, they do not want to risk the lives of their family, which I can agree with.

I sighed and said, "Let's just get my records."
_

It wasn't really simple.

The Ministry of Magic was divided into ten levels, nine of which were regularly used and eight of which were common knowledge, at least, according to Harry.

Level Two was for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, where Hitwizards and Aurors dominated the space while the large minority was covered by small departments. One of which was the Office for the Welfare of Wizarding Children, which dealt with orphans, inheritances, family lines and the crimes that minors committed.

A small part of it was the Wizarding Examination Authority, which dealt with OWLs, NEWTs and the overall education system of the country.

The Department wasn't large or really busy but it was important, according to Harry, and now, I had business here.

Dumbledore went to the first person he saw, an ancient woman who was probably older than Dumbledore and talked to her for some time. He then came back and told Harry and me, "That, children, was Griselda Marchbanks, the oldest employee working in the Ministry. One of her first assignments was to examine my OWLs.

"Now, come with me, Madam Marchbanks has told me where to go."

Whoa, the old lady was old.

Bloody Hell.

Harry didn't seem surprised. Was he examined by Marchbanks too? Wow.

Dumbledore led us to a small office and knocked on the door. A man with a scowl opened the door and gulped as he saw Moody, he gestured for us to enter.

Inside the room, he sat on a comfortable looking chair. He said, "My name is Alexander Prince, what can I do for you?"

Moody growled at him and Prince seemed to shift into his chair. Dumbledore raised his eyebrow at Moody, who said, "This man was once captured for murdering a woman but was let out due to the lack of evidence. The case was never solved and no other suspect was ever found."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at Prince while Charlus and Dorea shifted away from the man, back towards the door. Moody continued growling at the man and Harry looked at the man with curiosity, I was fairly sure that he was questioning if the man was innocent or not.

I looked at him and Prince looked like he would rather be at any other place. The man then growled impatiently, "Look, people, I know I am a suspicious guy but I did nothing wrong. Now, why are you here?"

Dumbledore corrected his glasses and said, "Mister Prince, I apologise for that situation. Now, I wanted to ask if you can check the family lines of one of the boys I have brought with me. His name is Benjamin Magnus Adelwen."

Prince muttered, "Great, another difficult case" with a sigh and then said, "I haven't heard of an Adelwen family anywhere and I know lots of families, Dumbledore. I will need a few drops of his blood and consult the Unspeakables before I can tell you if he is a muggleborn or not."

Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction and then said, "Thank you, Mister Prince, we will pay your fees after we have the results."

Prince said loudly as we left, "You will have to pay according to the complexity of the case, Dumbledore, or you can tell the Goblins to transfer the payment from his vault to mine if he is not a muggleborn."

Dumbledore smiled and said calmly, "I will, my boy."

We got out of the office and quickly took the way to the Atrium.

Dumbledore told the Potter couple and Harry, "Charlus, Dorea, Harry, you may go to the Potter Manor. I will take young Benjamin with me until he gets the results, I know a person who would be happy to be his guardian during this time."

The Potters and Harry nodded, the latter being unhappy but complying, and then walked toward another room which lead out of the large hall.

Dumbledore explained to me, "They are going to use the Floo Fireplaces, my boy. A Floo Fireplace is a magical transport, which is typically a fireplace, in which you can travel from a fireplace using a special powder, which is made from the Floo plant largely. It turns the fire green, which makes it possible to travel through it. You will learn about the plant in your Herbology classes in your second year."

I hadn't fully known what Floo was, since Harry hadn't really explained things but just old about them. 'Travelling with a magic powder' is not a suitable explanation, no matter how accurate it is, I am a curious guy.

I nodded and Dumbledore then turned to Moody. He spoke in a polite voice, "Auror Moody, thank you for accompanying us on our journey today."

Moody nodded and said in a gruff voice, "Yeah, yeah, welcome, Dumbledore. I would be going now, my job here is done." and with that, the rude man turned and walked away.

Dumbledore chuckled and I looked at him, the old man said, "Alastor was always a rough but kind boy, I have seen him protect many children from bullying when he was in school. He does not really change his expression from a scowl but oh, you should have seen him and Poppy Pomfrey run around the castle."

I almost grinned at the image of this man running around with an old nurse (Harry had told me who Pomfrey was) but then asked, "Where am I going?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment and then said, "I would have taken you to Bathilda Bagshot's cottage, my boy, but she is getting rather old, though do not let her hear I said that about her. I would have also taken you to my brother's house but he rather likes to be alone and I do not think he would be the best influence."

Dumbledore suddenly smiled widely and chuckled slightly, he said, "I believe we can ask him. The boy is getting a little lonely as of late."

I suddenly asked, "Do you call everyone 'boy' or 'girl'?"

He looked at me for a second before smiling and saying, "Only if I fondly remember them, my boy. I have been a teacher for a very long time and only recently became a Headmaster, I remember teaching many people throughout the ages and you cannot just forget the first time you met a person when meeting them. I remember many people fondly. They are always going to be my students."

He looked left and right before bending his back and whispering to me, "And, anyway, you cannot just not remember how many troubles they did as children. Oh, I have loads of memories!"

He stood straight and said, "There was this boy, Arthur, and this girl, Molly. Both of them loved each other deeply but they didn't even see that for years!"

He chuckled some more and then said to me, "Now, my boy, let's go to your temporary guardian's house."

I nodded and we started walking.

Time to get a house for free.