The walking stick:

Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry was at her desk working on the names of all the eleven year old witches and wizards who would be starting on September the first.

This year was going to bring a very special student, Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived. Even though she never agreed with Albus about placing Harry with his muggle aunt, as she didn't believe those muggles were right to raise a wizard child, especially one that wasn't there's, she knew there was nothing she could do. Her hope is that lily's sister, Petunia, would treat her nephew like family.

She stared down at the letter she was about to send to Harry Potter when she noticed the quill had finished writing the address on the envelope. She picked it up and was about to place the letter inside when she caught the name on the envelope and the address.

Harry Smith

The third largest bedroom

Hope's children's home for disabled children,

London

'Oh dear,' Minerva normally would take this straight to Albus but he was at a conference for the ICW in Sweden and wouldn't return for another week, 'I will need to go speak with him personally about this world,' Minerva looked at the envelope again, 'Disabled, oh my.'

Minerva left her office and hurried up to the hospital, 'Poppy.'

'Minerva, is something wrong?'

'Yes, as you know I'm sending all eleven year old children their letters. When I picked up this one I realise this could be a problem. You will need to see him straight away.'

Minerva held out the envelope to Poppy, 'So this boy has something wrong. If he's in a children's home, then he probably does not know of our world.'

'No, but Poppy, it's not Harry Smith, it's Harry Potter. They probably didn't know his name. I've visited orphaned muggleborns who had been given the last name of Smith when they have not be able to find out who the parents were. They will also use the name Jones quite often as well.'

'But we all know Albus put the boy with his muggle aunt.'

'I didn't want him left there but you know what Albus can get like. It seems they did not keep him. I plan to go first thing tomorrow and depending on what is wrong, I will either bring him here or send for you.'

'I'll make sure my bag is ready in case I need to go to him.'

Poppy and Minerva knew if there was something seriously wrong with the boy, it could cause problems for Albus. They also knew many might try to gain custody of the boy and some of those people might be dark. They would need to work on keeping this quiet for as long as possible until they could determine if something could be done to protect the boy.

Harry Potter was the-boy-who-lived. If he was given to a dark family, they would kill him for what happened to their master. It was thanks to Harry that Voldemort was destroyed. Many of his supporters paid their way out of prison. They had to protect the boy, somehow.

The following morning Minerva made her way to London. She did not like having to transfigure her robes into muggle clothes but she also knew she had no choice.

She found the house, cast a disillusionment charm on herself then quietly made her way inside. She watched and listened and noticed that all the children seemed to have something seriously wrong with them.

She studied every boy but so far she had not seen who she was looking for. Harry was the image of his father but she knew a child's looks could change. One thing that couldn't change was the lightning shaped scar on the boy's forehead. She carefully and quietly made her way through the house. She checked every room and still she hadn't found Harry. She saw the door leading outside into a back garden and saw a boy with dark red hair, the same colour as Lily Potter's hair. The boy was sitting on one of the garden chairs and there was a walking stick leaning against the chair. She worked out that the boy could at least walk if he used a walking stick so he wasn't as bad as she feared. She also realised that if this was Harry Potter, his hair had changed from black of his father's hair to dark red like his mother's. Which could mean his facial features had changed as well.

Minerva wanted to find more information before she spoke with Harry so she headed back inside and went to the room that looked like an office. She quietly cast a confundus charm to make the woman in there leave. Once she was alone, she went straight to the file cabinet.

It took Minerva a long time to get through Harry's file mainly to stop herself from crying. She found out that the Dursley's did keep Harry, then they abused him until the uncle hurt him so badly that his leg will never heal. They gave him up saying they couldn't care for a disabled child. She did see a note at the bottom, it said that Vernon Dursley ended up being sent to prison for attempted murder of Harry. He died a few months after arriving in jail from a heart attack. Petunia was also sent to jail, she was killed by the other women who found out that Petunia had abused a child. Their son Dudley had gone to Vernon's sister, but eventually he was sent to a juvenile jail. There was nothing else written about Dudley Dursley.

'At least Albus cannot try to force the boy to return. I best speak with him,' Minerva made a copy of the file, shrunk it and placed it inside her pocket before making her way back outside. A few more charms and she knew they would not be disturbed.

It took a while but Minerva explained to Harry who he is and all about magic. She explained how she always wanted to take him and care for him but she was talked out of it. She explained about the idea of where Harry should live and how he would be safer. That was the only reason she never took Harry after his parents died. Then she asks Harry if he would be okay if she ended up his guardian. Minerva wanted Harry to take his time and get to know her a little but they didn't have a lot of time. Albus would be back in a week and she needed to get Harry's living arrangements settled before the wrong people found out that he wasn't with his aunt. For now, he will be going to Hogwarts. He could remain in one of the unused staff quarters on the lower floors until Harry made up his mind. By the time Harry got to Hogwarts and to the hospital, he had made up his mind. He would like Minerva McGonagall to be his guardian. Minerva organised that instantly while Poppy went about examining Harry.

Poppy was explaining to Minerva, Pomona, Filius and Harry that the damage was too severe and too old for her to be able to heal any of it. The most she could do is make sure he always has potions on him for the pain. Poppy explained to Harry how quickly the potions work and all he would need is a sip. If he was in severe pain, then he was to take half the contents of the vial.

'We will need to work on placing Harry in either Hufflepuff or Slytherin,' Filius said, 'He could not climb all those stairs to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tower.'

'Not Slytherin, not with who their parents are. It would be too dangerous,' Minerva said.

'Why?' Harry stared at the adults around his bed.

'He had supporters and not all of them ended up in jail. Some of their children are already here and some are due to start. I would say most, if not all of them will end up in Slytherin.'

'Then it's best if Harry comes to my house,' Pomona smiled at Harry, 'Hufflepuff house is known for their loyalty and hard work. All houses can have loyal students but the sorting will find the strongest traits.'

'Ravenclaw are also known as hard working and are what many students call the smart house,' Filius said.

'Again, like the others, Gryffindor have hard working students but they are known for their bravery. Slytherin house is known for their cunning and even though I should not say this, most dark families were in Slytherin.'

'Which house were my parents in?'

'Gryffindor, but due to your problems, you would not be able to climb so many stairs to the tower as Gryffindor house is in one of the towers. There could be days where you would go up and down to your house room three times a day. Pomona is right, Hufflepuff would be best. It's on the ground floor, so one floor below where we are now.'

'My leg will give out if I'm climbing stairs or standing too long.'

'Yes, so Hufflepuff. I will organise that now with the hat so no one can try to get you to change houses. I doubt any will but it's better to have it all done properly right now, then no one can change it. We've had children who had problems that we had to place in either Hufflepuff or Slytherin before, so it will not be a problem. I will be right back with the hat.'

Harry watched the woman leave the hospital before he turned back to the others.

'Um, will I be able to get to all my classes?'

'We're going to work that out soon. We wanted Poppy to see you before we work on everything else. You will not be able to climb the stairs to get to charms, transfiguration or astronomy. Normally with care of magical creatures, you stand during that class. We won't have to worry about that until you are a third year, if you take that class as an elective. There are other classes that you might like to choose, that will work out at the end of your second year. Now, transfiguration is on the fourth floor, charms on the third floor and astronomy is on one of the towers. We'll need to work on that.'

'It's best if Harry sticks to the first two floors only, which means something will have to be done so he can get to all his classes,' Poppy said, 'He's leg will end up worse if he is made to climb stairs or stand too often.'

Minerva had spoken to the hat before she arrived back at the hospital. The hat instantly said Hufflepuff since the hat knew what type of children went into Slytherin. Hufflepuff was the best option.

Pomona helped Harry back to the Hufflepuff rooms. She got him settled in the first year boys room before she went to speak with Minerva.

'Apart from what Albus may want to work out for Harry, I am also concerned about Severus.'

'Yes, I am as well. I believe if I can get all the staff to support me, we can either force Albus to sack the man or we make sure Harry never has any class with him. We know Severus still wants the defence against the dark arts job, so far, Albus has preferred to keep him as the potions teacher. Right now we'll make sure Harry does not take potions with Severus but with Poppy, if she agrees.'

'I believe she will. If he ends up teaching defence, the between you and Filius, we can teach Harry what he needs. We've all heard his comments yet he hasn't met Harry.'

'He will want to get back at James and the only way he can do that is with Harry. If he takes points or gives him detention, I can make sure they will be cancelled straight away. Can you let the rest of the staff, apart from Quinirius and Severus know to meet in here after dinner. Oh and make sure Harry eats in his house room tonight. I would hate for Severus to come across him before we've had a chance to talk to him.'

That evening, Minerva spoke with the staff, minus two men. She explained about Harry and explained what she wanted. All of the staff that were there wanted what Minerva did and wanted to help the-boy-who-lived.

Minerva thanked them then made sure it was all legal. She was now Harry Potter's sole guardian, who had organised Poppy to teach Harry potions. If for any reason Albus had Severus take defence, then she would resign as transfiguration teacher, deputy head and head of house to become Harry's sole teacher for every subject. Minerva was only able to do this due to Harry's injuries which was caused by the people Albus left him with. She had Griselda Marchbanks and Amelia Bones sign off on everything. They were like most of the staff, they wanted to help the boy both also thought Snape should not be at Hogwarts.

Minerva was in her office finishing all her work but she was also waiting. An official letter from her, but signed by Amelia and Griselda was sitting on Albus' desk. Minerva knew he was due back any time. For all she knew, he had already returned to Hogwarts. The moment Albus read the letter, she expected him to either call her to his office or come to her office. Albus would know just how busy she was, so she expected him to appear at her office, sooner or later.

Minerva didn't know it but Albus had read the letter and went to the ministry. He first tried to get Harry's guardianship returned to the Dursley's, until he was told how Vernon and Petunia were dead and they died in jail. They were jailed for the attempted murder of Harry. Albus then tried to gain guardianship of Harry. That was when Amelia Bones confronted him. She had enough evidence that Albus could be sent to jail for his part in Harry's mistreatment. She also explained that if he tried to interfere in Harry's life, in any way, he would be gone from Hogwarts. His new guardian said she had already received permission to tutor Harry privately due to his injury but wanted to give him a chance at Hogwarts. Albus finally left, defeated. He also knew he would have no choice but to remove Severus Snape as a teacher at Hogwarts.

By the time Minerva and the staff who supported her arrived at the great hall for dinner, Pomona had escorted Harry to the Hufflepuff table. Albus was sitting at the staff table, alone. Minerva realised that Albus must have already sacked Snape. She wasn't sure why Quirrell was missing.

'I hoped she would treat her nephew as a son. It seems Petunia never changed.'

'She got worse, along with that husband and son of hers. Now tell me Albus, are we staying which would mean that man has left, or do I take Harry and leave Hogwarts?'

'He has gone, along with Quinirius. As you know, Severus was my spy. He told me that Quinirius is somehow involved with Voldemort's spirit. Once I realised how serious this was in regards to young Harry, I used the Hogwarts ghosts to separate Quinirius from the spirit. Quinirius did not survive and the ghosts were able to take care of the spirit. That is why I wanted Severus here so he could tell me when Voldemort's spirit tried to return properly. I always knew he would return and have been waiting to hear from Severus when it was close.'

'If you had restricted that man instead of allowing him to mistreat students, we might not have forced the issue. We had no choice since we've all heard him speak about a boy he does not know. Now as you have seen, Harry is in Hufflepuff, due to his injury, I had him sorted into that house straight away.'

'Yes, once I read your letter I did understand why that house would be best.' Even though Albus had hoped Harry Potter would go into Gryffindor so he could become friends with the Weasley children, who support him, he knew Minerva made the right decision. Harry would never be able to climb those stairs to the tower.

It was right at the end of the sorting of the new first years when a voice rang out about why Harry Potter wasn't sorted. That voice belonged to Ronald Weasley.

'Detention with Mr filch tomorrow night Mr Weasley for disrupting the welcoming feast,' Minerva glared at the boy.

'Sorry but we we told he would be here this year.'

Harry saw Minerva nod so he pushed himself up using his walking stick then stared around.

'I am here and I'm in Hufflepuff. But I am just a first year student, nothing more, nothing less,' Harry carefully sat down again but many had begun to ask about the walking stick. This time no one answered. Many of the Hufflepuff's noticed how uncomfortable Harry looked.

'Try to ignore it Harry, I'm sure it will ease once they get used to you being here,' Susan said.

'Yeah, professor McGonagall and sprout explained everything. I just don't like the attention.'

'It will stop Harry,' Cedric said giving him a smile.

When the feast finished, the prefects lead the first years out of the great hall. Most of the students stopped and watched as Harry Potter, using his cane, limped slowly out of the room with some of the Hufflepuff first years walking slowly with him. Pomona and many of the other staff all smiled at the caring attention the other Hufflepuff's were giving Harry.

The Slytherin's stayed behind to find out where their head of house was. Many were furious that they lost Snape and some realised that they would no longer have support. Many of the them also knew that they better behave or they could end up expelled.

Many of those Slytherin students wouldn't find out until the following morning when they received mail, that their parents lost their dark marks completely. Now they knew there was no chance of ever trying to have the muggleborns gone from the wizarding world.

One Slytherin boy had hoped to get Harry Potter on his side so he could explain how bad it was with the muggleborns. Now he knew the-boy-who-lived was in Hufflepuff, he would not support a Slytherin.

One Gryffindor boy had hoped to befriend the-boy-who-lived. He thought if he was friends with Harry Potter, it might help give him a better life along with his family. Now Harry was in Hufflepuff and he had been told by his brothers that the Hufflepuff's were very loyal to the ones in their house.

With only a few problems, Harry Potter ended up having a good year at Hogwarts. He made many friends, mainly in Hufflepuff but he also had a few friends from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

The staff had been able to work it for Harry to use a fireplace in Pomona's office so he could floo to each floor where his classes were. Cushioning charms had been placed on the floor as he kept falling when he left the floo. By the end of the school year, he was able to step out with his walking stick without falling.

Minerva had taken Harry away for Christmas so he could experience a proper Christmas with family. She opened her old home, which was a large manor house. She had the house elves of Hogwarts, clean and decorate it along with a large Christmas tree. Due to what she found out, Minerva went a little over the top when it came to the gifts she gave Harry. She had already bought him new clothes and shoes, now he had games and everything he needed to draw and paint. She found out that Harry liked to do art, so she made sure he had it all. She also took Harry shopping so he could buy for his friends. She was surprised when he handed her a gift on Christmas day. It was a beautiful emerald broach. The colour matched Harry's eyes. She instantly removed her old broach and pinned on her new broach, then she hugged Harry before kissing his head.

On the last day of the school term, Minerva finally had hope that Hogwarts would once again be a safe place for students to learn. At the beginning of the school term, four Slytherin students ended up expelled. Three left and enrolled in Durmstrang. Apart from that, Hogwarts was just another school. She always smiled as she saw how Harry was settling in, with his classes but also with his friends. Those friends ended up very protective of Harry and made sure to keep trouble makers away but also anyone that wanted to befriend Harry because he was the-boy-who-lived. Minerva would often give points to those friends. They never knew and she never told anyone.

Albus Dumbledore realised his deputy head had been right all along. The school was much better without Severus. He also realised he should have listened to her when she said the Dursley's were the worst sort of muggles. He had watched Harry closely when he began and saw how cautious he was, especially with adults. Within months, he began to allow himself to get close to Minerva and Pomona. Even though he was always polite, he never once smiled at Albus. That told the headmaster that Harry was still wary and it could take a long time before he began to trust any other adult. Albus still couldn't help smiling as he saw how many people Harry was friends with. As the students left for their summer holidays, all the Hufflepuff's, some Ravenclaw's and some Gryffindor's all wished Harry a good holiday. He waved at them all as they left.

Albus did a lot of thinking over the school year and realised he had been trying to do to much. He decided to resign as the head mugwump of the international confederation of wizards. He would remain as headmaster and chief warlock. Since the chief warlock wasn't a full time job, Albus knew it meant he could spend more time at Hogwarts. Now he was glad he did, he would be able to take the time to make sure he had the right teachers teaching, which would mean the students would have a better education than what they had been receiving.

Albus gave Harry a smile as he returned to the castle, then turned and walked towards his office. Albus hoped one day Harry would trust him, or at least like him. If he showed Harry he was not going to interfere in his life, then maybe the boy would soften towards him. For now, it was time for the staff's holiday, but it was also time for Harry to have a holiday with the woman he would come to think of as a grandmother, Minerva McGonagall.

The end: