Disclaimer:The Harry Potter universe is NOT mine! It belongs to JK Rowling, Warner Bros and Scholastic Books, I only own copies of the books and films. I am just having some fun in the sandbox that Rowling created. There will be some OCs that I've created that will inhabit the Wizarding World.

Author's Note: Just want to let everyone know that this story will not completely line up with the canon story as set down by JK Rowling when she created the amazing Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The main change to the Harry Potter timeline is that Hogwarts starts two years later than in canon, so Harry and company start their first year Sept. 1, 1993. The events of the Harry Potter story remain the same, up until the start of this story, so books 1-5 all happen in the same fashion, just two years later. The other main change is that there will be a deeper exploration of the Potter family.

'How could things have changed so much?' Albus Dumbledore thought sitting at his desk in his office.

Less than a month ago, Dumbledore was internally basking in the vindication of being proven correct about Tom's return. While there was some grief for the death of Sirius Black, Dumbledore believed it to be a worthy sacrifice as it led to Tom's reveal. But ever since term had ended, things had shifted.

The first inkling of trouble was that Harry had managed to avoid his guard and sneak away from Privet Drive. From what he later gathered, Harry told his Aunt that he had gone to the library, and when Harry returned, he had some books but Dumbledore knew there was something more to it. He had decided to address it with Harry when he removed him from Privet Drive on his birthday.

The second setback Dumbledore suffered was one of his own makings. He had underestimated the protections that Tom had placed upon the ring. The Withering Curse was a nasty addition, and Dumbledore should have easily dispelled it but the shock of seeing what was set in the ring had overwhelmed his caution, and it cost him. It was only through Severus' quick actions that had allowed them to contain the curse to his left hand.

But the third and largest domino to fall was receiving word that Harry had left Privet Drive in the company of two Muggles. And what compounded the issue is that the person on duty that day was Mundungus Fletcher who had neglected to place any type of tracking charm on the Muggles or even thought to follow the vehicle they had left it. Instead, he had panicked, blindly Apparating to Hogwarts and had Splinched himself.

Poppy had fixed Dung up but it had cost them precious time. By the time Dung had recovered enough to be questioned, the trail had gone cold. The wards around Privet Drive had fallen, and with them, the secondary charms Dumbledore had placed on Harry had fallen as well. Even the charms that Dumbledore had placed on several of Harry's possessions had stopped responding. That had caused Dumbledore to nearly panic as it meant who ever had taken Harry were not Muggles. The only thing that had given Dumbledore any hope was that Severus had reported that Tom did not have Harry either.

As soon as Dung had reported that Harry was gone, Dumbledore had wanted to go to Privet Drive, to get answers from the Dursleys. But Poppy had confined him to bed as he recovered, and Dumbledore would not send Severus, so it was two full days after Harry had left Privet Drive that Dumbledore managed to confront the Dursleys.

"Hello…" Petunia said as she opened the front door.

"Good evening Petunia, might I come inside?" Dumbledore asked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her entire frame trembling.

"You know why I am here but I would prefer to have this conversation inside," Dumbledore said, "unless you'd like to continue it out here where all can see."

Petunia stepped aside and shut the door as soon as Dumbledore had entered the house.

"Excellent, how where is your husband Petunia? I believe he should be present as well."

"Who was at the door Pet?" Vernon's voice echoed down the hall before he was seen coming out of the kitchen. "You!" he bellowed. "Leave us alone! We don't want you here old man. The boy is not here!"

"And that is why I am here Vernon," Dumbledore said. "I would like to know why you let your nephew leave in the company of two strangers, away from where he was safe."

"We didn't want him!" Vernon thundered, his face beginning to turn puce. "You left him on our doorstep without so much as a bye your leave. Just a letter saying that we had to take him and that he was an orphan because his parents got themselves killed."

"He was your nephew, your blood Petunia," Dumbledore said, ignoring Vernon's shouting. "While he resided here, he and you were protected. Those protections have fallen."

"And if you hadn't brought him here, we wouldn't be in any danger from your kind," Petunia said. "We wanted nothing to do with your kind, we just wanted to be left alone."

"Who did Harry leave with?" Dumbledore asked, his face growing dark. "Where did they take him?"

"We don't know!" Vernon said, stepping up beside his wife. "The freak apparently went to a recruiting station and managed to hoodwink them into taking him."

"Recruiting station?" Dumbledore asked.

"For Her Majesty's Army," Petunia said.

"Why would Harry do such a thing?" Dumbledore said to himself but Petunia and Vernon heard him.

"We don't care, the boy is gone and we are glad for it," Vernon said. "Now you have your answers, now leave us alone!"

"Do you know who these men were?" Dumbledore asked, feeling slightly panicked.

"No, all they said is that the boy came by the station and they decided to come find him," Petunia said. "We do not know anything else about the boy, now please leave."

Dumbledore sighed but nodded and Disapparated with a sharp crack, causing Petunia to scream and Vernon to bellow.

"Headmaster, Potions Master Snape is waiting outside."

Dumbledore blinked as the voice of one of his predecessors speak from their portrait on the wall.

"Ah Severus, good evening," Dumbledore said as Snape entered the office, holding a goblet filled with a steaming potion. "Thank you for that Severus, please set it on the desk."

"Of course, Headmaster," Snape said, placing the goblet on the desk beside the Headmaster. "Has there been any word?"

"No there has been no word of young Harry," Dumbledore said. "I have attempted to send Harry an owl but they refuse to travel, and Fawkes is still too weak from his last burning day."

"Have any of Potter's conspirators come forward?" Snape asked. "Surely they had some idea of what Potter was planning."

"Harry's friends were apparently kept in the dark as were we," Dumbledore said. "Both Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger only received one letter from young Harry before he left his family. In them, there was no indication of anything amiss, only that he asked for some time to mourn Sirius."

"And that was obviously a rouse," Snape sneered. "As for the mutt, good riddance."

"That is enough Severus," Dumbledore barked, glancing at Snape. "While you had your reasons for disliking Sirius, I will not have you disparage his memory. He was a very brave man, much like yourself, and you do yourself ill by doing so."

Snape bowed his head at the rebuke.

"Now, have you heard anything about young Harry on your end?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, the Dark Lord is unaware of Potter's disappearance," Snape said. "He is focused on something else, as well as planning on breaking out the supporters that were captured at the Ministry."

"Some good news at the very least," Dumbledore said.

"Headmaster, what if Potter just ran for the hills?" Snape asked. "He might have lied to his caretakers and just taken the coward's way out."

"Harry is no coward Severus," Dumbledore said. "It is not in his character to flee. That is why I believe young Harry did go to this recruiting station."

"If he truly has joined the Muggle army, what are you doing to do?" Severus asked.

"We must find him soon," Dumbledore said. "It is possible that young Harry believes that the Muggles have some way of helping him in his fight against Tom. While the Muggles are not the inept mongrels that Tom believes them to be, they have not become so advanced as to overcome magic."

"I hope you are correct Headmaster," Snape said. "Potter has not shown anything worthy of this faith in him. He is as arrogant as his father was, believing that his name and fame will carry him."

"You see what you wish to see Severus," Dumbledore said as he picked up the goblet and after toasting Severus, downed it with a grimace.

"I shall have another dose prepared for tomorrow Headmaster," Severus said, picking up the goblet.

"Thank you Severus."

Snape nodded, and recognizing the dismissal, took his leave from the Headmaster's office. As the door closed, Snape heard Dumbledore think out loud, "Harry, where are you?"

It wasn't just in an old magical castle up in the highlands of Scotland where the disappearance of Harry Potter was being discussed. In a tall, teetering house that seemed to defy the laws of gravity, Harry Potter was also the main topic of discussion.

"How could Albus have let his happen?" Molly Weasley asked as she waved her wand about, setting the used dishes from dinner to wash themselves. "Those Muggles were awful to poor Harry, so of course he would run away. Why would Albus keep sending him back there?"

"I am sure Albus had his reasons," Arthur Weasley said.

"Reasons, bah," Molly huffed. "He could have come right here; he would have been safe and happy. He was in pain after what happened at the Ministry, he should have been around those who love him, his family. You saw how Harry was at Headquarters last summer, he was so angry and in so much pain and yet Albus kept him away from his friends, his family. And now he did the same thing again."

"I know you are worried Molly, I am worried as well," Arthur said, "but I am sure Albus will find Harry, and everything will be fine."

Molly just huffed as she turned back toward the sink.

A thin flesh-colored string quickly withdrew from beneath the kitchen door.

"What did you hear?" Ron asked as Ginny stepped into his room along with Hermione.

"Only that mum is seemingly losing faith in Dumbledore," Ginny said as she sat down on the camp bed across from Ron, Hermione sat down beside her.

"Really?" Ron asked, his eyes wide.

"It's true," Hermione said. "Your mother is not happy that Harry was sent back to the Dursleys again. For two straight years now, Harry has seen someone close to him die, and instead of being with friends and family who will support and love him, he's shipped off to his relatives who we all know mistreat him."

"But doesn't Harry have to go back there to recharge some wards or something?" Ron asked.

"Does recharging some nebulous wards mean that Harry should suffer?" Hermione fired back.

"Whoa Hermione, I agree with you," Ron asked holding his hands out as Hermione had gotten to her feet. "You are right, Harry should be here. We know that the Muggles don't care for Harry, but what can we really do? This is Dumbledore we are talking about; he must have his reasons."

"I don't care what his reasons are Ronald," Hermione said. "Remember last summer when Harry finally arrived at Headquarters, he was so angry. And rightfully so."

"But that was because he wasn't getting any news," Ron said, "and we couldn't put anything in our letters anyway."

"I think what Hermione means is that not getting news was only part of it," Ginny said. "Harry probably felt abandoned last summer right after seeing Cedric killed. Now imagine what he must feel after seeing Sirius killed by that crazed bitch Bellatrix, then he duels You-Know-Who, and then gets sent back to a place where he doesn't want to be."

The trio fell silent as they each pondered Ginny's question.

"He's got to be furious," Ron said breaking the silence. "I don't know how he handles everything. I probably would have gone around the twist if I was in Harry's shoes."

"How do we make things right with Harry?" Hermione asked. "I mean, yes, we've been allowed to exchange letters with him but what real help would that give him?"

"We support him," Ginny said firmly. "When they find him, and when he comes back, we support him. We let him know that we support him, and will have his back."

"What if he doesn't come back?" Ron asked.

"What are you saying Ronald! Of course Harry will come back," Hermione snapped. "How can you say that?"

"Look Hermione, I want Harry here," Ron said. "But like we said earlier, he has been through a lot, more than anyone I know, but what if it was too much? I mean, he's lost his parents, now Sirius, he's got You-Know-Who after his head for his entire life, and all what happened last year, it is enough to make anyone crack."

"Harry isn't crazy!"

"Calm down Hermione," Ron said. "I am not saying he is but I have to wonder if all that Harry has dealt with in his life has gotten just too much, and he decided to leave."

"What do you mean Ronald?"

"What if Harry decided to do a runner? That he decided he had had enough and got out."

"Are you calling Harry a coward?" Ginny asked.

"Of course not, don't try and put words in my mouth," Ron snapped. "I would never call Harry a coward, he is the bravest bloke I know but I just wonder if he just felt overwhelmed and decided to leave and get away."

"No," Hermione said. "I do not believe Harry would run away, he's always striven to do what is right. He would not leave us behind, let alone leave us at all. Whatever is going on with Harry, he's doing what he believes to be right."

A/N: And there you have it, the newest chapter of this tale. A bit shorter than what I usually provide but the story necessitated the shorter length. Please let me know what you all think of the tale thus far. And until next time MTFBWY