Hello, lovelies! It is time to finally re-upload this story as I have had enough time ro rewrite this first chapter completely and now I'm totally satisfied with it. I'd like to give .Xanda (author of the Rise of a Dark Lord, love that story, though haven't read that completely) a heads up because I realize this first chapter can resemble her story but I think it's really hard to write a story that is completely original with this kind of a theme. I know there are bunch of stories with similar storyline in some aspects and those stories are far too numeral to give credit to their authors individually - so I just give the credit for the orphanage arc to her and mention that this story contains several of my all-time-favourite Dark!Harry themes.

So, as I already mentioned, I have rewritten this first chapter and revised the second one and I hope that you guys like this story even with this new look. I have absolutely no memory of what I rambled in my original author's note - so I just hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. And I got a beta for this baby, these two chapters at least are beta'd by lovely Kamsu.

All of the characters and locations are the property of J.K. Rowling, there is no copyright infringement intended. I get no monetary profit with this story as this is made purely for entertainment purposes.

CHAPTER 1
Meeting the Boy Who Lived

It seemed like any other day in Godric's Hollow as the whole village was getting ready to celebrate either Halloween or the celebration of the Old Ways, Samhain. In the Potter house, everything was like it had always been. Lily held her son, Harry, in her arms as she listened with a gentle smile playing on her lips how James told them both about his day at work while Lily made preparations for the meal. Lily shifted Harry to her shoulder in order to reach the kitchen supplies a bit better without having to hand him over to James who was still rambling about his job as an Auror and how many Dark wizards they had caught so far. Lily remembered the number of times she had complained about her husband's job, claiming it too dangerous for a father of a small child – but James was always very passionate about his job. Lily surely could understand what he felt for his job, as she was familiar with that kind of passion and she was currently unable to have a permanent job as their son was far too young to be left alone – or even in to the care of his godfather.

Her attention was snapped back at James when he suddenly fell silent, probably due to Lily's lack of attention and she snorted, amused, before handing Harry to his father. James took the boy, a bit hesitant, but said nothing as his eyes followed his wife as she went to a cupboard over the stove and searched for something. James smiled as Harry uttered a soft 'gah' before tugging his father's shirt and plopping its corner into his mouth, gently teething it. James glanced up as he heard a clear laughter and smiled as he saw Lily staring at their son and laughing at the way how he worried the hem of James' shirt.

"Would you watch after him for a while?" Lily asked. "I need to make dinner and it would help a lot if I didn't need to balance an overactive toddler simultaneously."

James smiled at his wife appraisingly and tickled their son, who giggled happily. Lily sighed before turning to continue her cooking, leaving James to try to cope with Harry, who certainly was a handful time to time. James just watched as she tried to cook as fast as she possibly could, so that he wouldn't need to struggle with Harry any longer than absolutely needed. James turned his affectionate smile to his son and gently took the hem of his shirt out of Harry's mouth.

"Leave it be," he murmured and smoothed the fabric. Harry gave a little sigh and James laughed. "Yes, that's right. Aren't you a good boy."

Harry giggled and James smiled before shifting him a bit in his lap, trying to find a position where they both would be the most comfortable. He still found it hard sometimes to have a child, even though Harry was already twelve months old. Sometimes it was just hard to grasp that he was indeed a father and that Harry was his son, his. James chuckled when Harry started to squirm, indicating that it was time to get off from his father's lap and preoccupy himself with something else. James just smiled as he put his son down but never allowed him to get out of his sight. Even though he used to come home tired and act like he was still the ignorant teenager he remembered being while in Hogwarts, he was a very good father, feeling responsible for their child and willing to protect him from everything. He would always have enough time to play with their son – even if he was tired from all day of work and catching Dark wizards.

A gentle smile played on James' face as he followed his son with his gaze, sometimes snorting at something the boy had done, amused by his antics and always ready to react if something went wrong. Periodically, his eyes wandered at his wife, who still hassled at the oven, trying to create something wonderful for dinner and she too was keeping an eye on their child. James smiled and turned once more to look at Harry. With a snort he moved to lift him back to his lap when Harry crawled closer to their kneazle, probably to pull her tail or to bully her in some other way.

"Harry," James murmured, "leave the poor creature alone. She has done nothing to deserve to be bullied like that."

Harry seemed to ignore his father's words completely and tried to squirm out of his hold but James just chuckled, "Nope, dear, don't bully the kneazle." He planted a loving kiss on his son's nose, causing the toddler to squirm even more and scrunch his nose in disdain. James loved the way in which Harry seemed to hate being kissed on the nose.

He was still smiling when Lily gave a deep sigh before clattering around the cupboards, trying to find a plate or bowl and finally bringing James a steaming plate full of delicious looking stew. James smiled at his wife, thanking her wordlessly and nodding when she once again took Harry so that James could eat a bit more easily. Lily balanced the child on one of her arms, grabbed an empty glass from the table and walked to the tap to fill it before bringing it to James.

"Thanks honey," James murmured before eating his fill while Lily tried to keep their son preoccupied and away from bullying their pet kneazle.

Their peace, however, didn't last for long as they could hear silent steps from outside and after a short while they could see a bright green light shining through the sides of their front door. Lily turned to face the door, warily, trying to keep Harry away from the straight line of fire as she was trying to decide whether she needed to get Harry to the nursery and leave James to deal with this new threat. After all, he was the one who dealt with threats and Dark wizards regularly due to his occupation. Lily cast one last glance at the door before hurrying to the nursery, wanting to have Harry as safe as possible as it was more than likely that the intruder was either the Dark Lord himself or one of his minions. As she climbed the stairs up to Harry's room, she prepared herself to fight once more. She might not have been an Auror like her husband – but she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and as such she knew how to fight, though it was more than likely that this fight could be fatal and would be highly defensive on her side.

Lily put Harry gently into his crib and grabbed her wand before turning to face the door, preparing herself, though she hoped that James would manage to fend the intruder off – no matter how unlikely. She did not dare to even think about the option as it meant that she would have to acknowledge that if the intruder managed to get upstairs and to her and it would only happen if James was already dead. It was a scenario she had no will to meet – and so she waited, torn between choices, as she knew she could wait here with the knowledge that if the intruder managed to get upstairs it meant the worst or she could choose to go down, try to help James where the situation was the most dire.

Gripping her wand tightly she made her way towards the staircase but didn't manage to get far until James saw him and shook his head, tried to tell her to return to the nursery without needing to say a word. James met her eyes once, offered a reassuring smile even though they both knew that they were more than likely to die here, tonight, but it didn't make them stop fighting as they were willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to protect the life of their only son.

Lily gave only one look to the Dark Lord, as it indeed was the Dark Lord himself who had broken through their wards before fleeing into the nursery, locking the door behind her and positioning herself in front of the crib. She glanced at Harry over her shoulder, trying to shush him and soothe him so he wouldn't cry and alert the Dark Lord who most likely already knew where they were but had decided to get rid of James first as he was the threat now. She made sure her voice was always soft and gently, not to alert her son that something was wrong. If it would be only dependent of her, Harry would never know that something was terribly wrong today and would live his life happily. However, she knew she wouldn't be able to shelter her child forever, sooner or later he would need to step up and meet the world and all its threats. She could only hope that Harry would be ready by then.

When she heard the ruckus outside the nursery she felt the coldness of fear seep into her heart. She had absolutely no idea of how James was faring outside and she knew they both would need to face the Darkest wizard alive before they could call it a day – and it was highly likely that neither of them would actually be alive when the night was over. She mustered her courage and peeked outside the door and for a flimsiest of moments her gaze met James' and at that moment he shouted, "No, Lily, take Harry and run! It's him!"

Lily shivered. She had known that it was the Dark Lord they were fighting right now, but hearing it from James' lips made it so undeniably true it made her heart freeze. She pulled the door closed and cast every single locking charm she knew to ensure that the door would be at least a bit more secure, though it would not hold firm when Voldemort decided to blast it from its hinges. No spell that Lily had knowledge of would be able to hold against a wizard this Dark. She cast a worrying glance at her son who currently tried to stand up in his crib, using the wooden bars as his support. Lily smiled sadly, fear still tainting her heart as she walked closer to Harry's crib. She never loosened her grip of her wand as she wanted to be ready to defend him when the need would arise.

Her brave camaraderie wavered when she heard a soft thump from outside the door. She knew what that sound meant, she knew that James was dead, that he had been defeated in battle and murdered in cold blood – but there was nothing she could do. For a fleeting moment, she felt an urge to peek through the door – but she fought that urge, pushed it back into the depths of her heart, she didn't want to remember her husband dead, she wanted to maintain those lovely images she had of him while they were both still alive and well. Now that life had been taken from them and even if she was to survive this night it would never be the same. She would always be just a half from what she was – part of her soul stolen with her husband. She inhaled deeply and tightened her hold of her wand, this was to end now – and it wouldn't end well for her part, that much she knew as she would never step aside and let his son unprotected. Even if she was to be offered a chance to live by stepping aside, she would never take that chance.

The nursery door was blasted from its hinges and Lily held her wand levelled at the Dark Lord who crossed the threshold into the nursery. Her lips were pulled into a tight line and her green eyes blazed with purpose and barely contained fury. She had already lost her husband, she was not going to lose her son as well. She would rather fall fighting if it meant her child would be safe. However, as brave as she was, she could not fight down the mighty shiver she felt running down her spine as soon as she met the red gaze of the Dark Lord.

Those fiery red eyes looked at her with a sheer rage and disgust and Lily had to bite her lips in order not to whimper in fear those eyes ignited inside her. Instead, she just stood firmly in front of the crib of her son, trying to shelter Harry as long as she could.

"Step aside," the Dark Lord commanded, his voice the familiar shrill Lily could so easily remember. She tried to ignore the shivers it sent down her back. She did not budge. Not even when the Dark Lord levelled his wand at her.

"Step aside, you foolish girl."

Lily stood as still as a statue, her wand still trained at the Dark wizard, not willing to move a muscle, not willing to give the Dark Lord what he wished for, as it would have meant the death of her son even if it didn't mean her own death. She could easily see how annoyed the Dark wizard was becoming and she knew the moment of her death was slowly creeping forwards as she knew how much the Dark Lord hated headstrong people – especially when they stood against him.

"This is your last warning, girl. Step aside or I will kill you as I kill your son," the Dark Lord growled as he pointed his wand even straighter at Lily, who still refused to budge. Instead, she stood tall, stubborn, her flaming hair shining in the dim light of the nursery and her green eyes alight in proud flames.

"I will never step aside, Voldemort!" Lily almost snarled. As if she would give up the life of her son to save hers. It would never work that way and she knew that even the Dark Lord knew it. She could see it in the way his face tightened in the deep shadows of his hood.

The Dark Lord didn't say anything, he just stepped closer and cast a effortless Killing Curse at Lily's prone and determined form, taking an immense pleasure from seeing her lifeless body fall to the floor and finally clearing his path to the crib where a now serious toddler tried to stand up. He enjoyed how the child's expression changed as he moved forwards, preparing to cast the curse again, this time to finish the business he had come here for. As soon as the blasted child was finally dead, there would be no one to stop his rise to the absolute power. An unpleasant smile spread to his lips as he met the eyes of the last Potter and finally trained his wand at him. Almost gently he murmured, "Avada kedavra!"

As the green light flashed into being the Dark Lord screamed as he could feel his very soul shredding and ripping from his body. This hadn't been something he had intended or anticipated, this was something new and as the Dark Lord's soul left his tattered body, he knew something had gone horribly wrong.

o

Later that same day, one could find Albus Dumbledore standing at the Privet Drive, smiling to a cat and sometimes glances at the darkening sky. The sight of an old wizard smiling and occasionally speaking to a tabby cat would have possibly been odd for anyone who happened to see them, but as it currently was, they were quite unnoticeable as they stood in the shadows, waiting.

"Hagrid should be here soon," Albus murmured and smiled as the cat at his side gave a snort before transforming into a stern-looking woman with her hair tied into a tight bun.

"Hagrid? You're trusting him into the hands of that man?" she questioned, not so happy about the idea that Albus had allowed Rubeus Hagrid to be the one to transport young Harry to this place, to be placed into the care of his relatives.

"Why, Minerva, I would trust my life into the hands of Hagrid. I'm certain that he will be able to get Harry here with no trouble." Albus glanced quickly at his pocket watch. "Although, he seems to be a tad bit late, I hope there weren't any trouble."

Minerva gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head, smiling as she looked around before her expression started to grow grim.

"I'm sure that Hagrid has a heart in the right place but surely you cannot deny that he tends to be a wee bit careless sometimes. I am certain there would have been better candidates to take Harry and get him here safely than Hagrid," she said, not quite convinced that the half-giant was the best option possible. Albus just smiled at her in the manner she was sure was meant to be soothing but it did nothing to remove her worries.

Minerva opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound that seemed to fill the skies around them, causing them both to glance up, alarmed and not aware what the sound actually meant. The sound grew steadily closer and now Minerva could identify it as the sound of an engine, but she could see no headlight up or down the street, which meant that the sound must have come from the skies but it made little sense as she knew no motored vehicle that could actually fly. Before she however, could say a word they could both see the source of the rumbling noise as a huge motorbike fell out of the sky and landed, sliding for a moment before coming to a halt a few feet to their left. Minerva couldn't help but stare. Whatever she had expected, this was most certainly not it. She knew Hagrid's heritage and she had not expected to see a motorbike that could fit the man astride it.

"Where did you get the motorbike from?" Albus asked, quirking his eyebrow at the large man who just rubbed his beard before taking a small bundle from somewhere Minerva couldn't see. She could just hope that Hagrid hadn't carried young Harry here in his pocket. Who knew what kind of things the man kept in his pockets and it actually wasn't appropriate to carry a child in a pocket.

Hagrid lifted the goggles from his eyes and peered at Albus.

"Borrow'd it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid murmured as he handed Harry over to Albus who took him gently and peeked inside the blankets. "Young Sirius Black said I could take his bike, said he didn't need it anyway."

Albus nodded and glanced at Hagrid over his half-moon spectacles.

"There were no problems, I presume?"

His eyes were twinkling madly as he smiled at the half-giant who was still staring at the bundle on Albus' arms. Minerva, however, wasn't looking happy, she was staring at Albus with an expression that told clearly that she didn't like at all that the Headmaster was leaving young Harry Potter with his relatives – and she made sure she told them why she didn't wish the child to be placed in the care of these muggles.

"Albus," she said crisply, "surely you cannot mean to place him with these muggles. I have spent the day watching them – and I have noticed they are the worst kind of muggles imaginable. They seem to hate everything abnormal with passion and I fear what might become of your Harry if he had to grow up in that kind of a place."

Albus gave a deep sigh as he turned around to face Minerva and gave her a smile that was meant to be reassuring, although it did nothing to soothe Minerva's worries for young Harry's wellbeing.

"I assure you, Minerva that this is for the best of him. It is his best option right now as he deserves to have a proper childhood away from our world and the duties his fame will surely place on his shoulders. Sure, there would be several Wizarding families that would love to have him and raise him as one of their own – but he need to grow up away from all that, he needs to have a place where he can be just like any of us, completely normal and carefree. It's his mother's family who can make sure he'll have a childhood he deserves to have. I'm sure you cannot deny his right to be a child."

Minerva shook her head, not completely assured and her worries had not lessened even in the slightest but she wasn't capable of denying that Albus did have a point. Harry did deserve a chance to be a child but she weren't sure this was the place where that chance could be taken. She was afraid that these muggles wouldn't be the safest choice for a family out there but she also knew that it would prove to be a difficult task to change the Headmaster's mind when he had already decided upon something. She could just hope that her fears were proven wrong and this loathsome family could indeed give Harry a proper upbringing.

"I cannot help but worry. I have watched this family, Albus, seen how they interact with each other and it's clear that they despise everything they don't understand. I cannot help but fear, that if Harry had to grow up in a place like this, the odds are that he'll end up abused because of his magic or he'll end up picking up their attitudes towards magic and grow up thinking magic is something to be despised of, something to hate. This family is not a correct one to someone like Harry, this is not a place for a magical child."

Minerva, however, could see that her pleading was useless. Albus didn't want to listen to her, he had made his decision and she could only hope that it wouldn't backfire in the worst way possible. Helplessly, she watched how Albus placed young Harry in his blankets on the doorstep of the number four and left a letter on top of him, probably explaining the situation to the Dursleys and telling them they needed to take care of Lily and James Potter's son.

Minerva could only hope that the first impressions she had of this family were proven wrong after a while and that professor Dumbledore would be correct after all. Otherwise, she was afraid of what they would face when Harry would eventually be introduced to their world. So, to avoid further disagreements Minerva decided to stay silent even though she knew she probably should have fought for Harry more.

It took Albus approximately ten years to even begin to understand the gravity of the mistake he had made that fateful night in November 1, 1981, when he left Harry Potter on the doorstep of his relatives.

o

Ten years later Albus Dumbledore stood once again on the doorstep of the number four Privet Drive, only this time he was peering into the rain and currently putting his Put-Outer back into his robe pocket. It was finally the time to re-introduce young Harry Potter to the Wizarding World as his eleventh birthday had already passed and it was time to hand him his Hogwarts' letter. Albus had prepared carefully for this moment when the Dark Lord had finally been defeated. He had placed young Harry into the care of his relatives and Albus knew for sure they wouldn't be the best family for the child. Growing up with his relatives would make Harry affection-deprived and make him eager to please, something Albus himself could quite easily mold into the perfect Saviour the Wizarding Britain so desperately needed. Albus knew that after being constantly despised, hated and told useless, Harry would be pleasantly oblivious about what was good for him and ignorant in a way to his own wellbeing. He would help Albus save others while constantly walking towards his own eventual death as a martyr. Of course, there were times Albus felt incredibly weary and hated that he had to do something like this to a child but at those moments, he just thought this was for the greater good. When he was beginning to think he had made an error, all he needed to do was to think he had done the right thing considering the public and that this was something that had to be done in order to rid the Wizarding World of the great shadow of Voldemort – and he would feel better once again. He was just doing what was needed, not that he particularly liked it but nevertheless, it just had to be done.

Albus lifted his hand and knocked the door, plastering his most pleasant smile on his face and his eyes twinkled madly once again. He was, however, in for a nasty surprise as soon as the door was opened and he met the suspicious eyes of young Dudley Dursley, though Albus wasn't quite sure of his name. He kept he smile on his face despite the cold feeling that had started to settle inside his gut. This just wasn't right! Something was very, very wrong in here and he had no idea what he could do to make it right again. But first, he needed information.

"Is your mother home, my boy?" he asked. "I would like to have a quick word with her."

This caused the blonde boy to shudder before he turned to yell at his mother inside the house. "Mum, there's somebody at the door!"

It was quite easy for Albus to hear rapid steps from inside of the house, coming closer to the door. He smiled. Maybe now he could have some answers and get this business call done and over with. He had other things to attend to and he couldn't spend the entire day trying to get to Harry.

"Well, who is it Dudders?" a woman's voice asked and then a slim, horse-faced woman stepped to the door and into Albus' line of sight. His smile just got wider.

"Mrs. Dursley, I presume?"

The woman, Mrs. Dursley, just stared at him before frowning. After a while, she nodded and gave Albus one good look from head to toe. Then her expression changed. It was a look of complete disgust and disdain that overtook her narrow face and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" she asked, her hatred evident in the way how her voice was strained and how it clipped at the end. Albus just gave a deep sigh. This was going even worse now and he supposed that he could only do what could be done in order to save what little was left to be saved.

"I am professor Dumbledore and I'm here looking for young Harry. I presume he's inside?"

Now Mrs. Dursley actually glared at the older man, visibly annoyed. Before she answered to Albus, she turned to pat her son gently on the back and pushed him towards the staircase visible from Albus' spot at the door.

"Go, sweetheart, I got this. You go inside and Mummy will come to make you some supper soon enough. Isn't that good, Dudders?"

As soon as the boy had disappeared back into the house Mrs. Dursley turned to face Albus and crossed her arms across her chest. Somehow the look she was giving him made him to think that something had gone very terribly wrong, although Albus had no idea what it could be. He wasn't very sure what had happened as he had planned everything very carefully and there shouldn't have been any room left for errors – but apparently he had been wrong and now he would find it out in the worst way imaginable.

"The little freak hasn't lived with us for years. The very same day we found him on our doorstep, we took him to the police. I suppose they'd gotten rid of that little filth long time ago. We never bothered with him and I guess no one else did either."

Albus was beyond shocked. This wasn't expected, not at all. He hadn't meant this to happen as he had imagined that his explanation letter would be all that was needed to inform how crucial it was that Harry grew up with this family. He had thought he'd made it sure that there was no chance at all that Harry Potter would end up living somewhere completely different that where he was originally meant to. With his relatives Harry would have been happy – or maybe not so happy – and safe at the very least. Now, however, it seemed that his plans had been nowhere as good as he had believed them to be. These muggles had done something that shouldn't have been even possible when they had taken Harry to the muggle police. Albus also knew that there was no telling at all what they had done to the Saviour of the Wizarding World. To say the least, Albus wasn't happy, not at all. He had absolutely no desire to start a wild hunt across the muggle London, trying to find one child that had gone missing. He would just need to figure something else out now. One of his plans had already been thrown out of the window and he had no desire whatsoever to let that happen to his other plans concerning Harry Potter.

Albus sighed. He knew he needed some time to think, to reconsider his plans for Harry – and he definitely needed to consult his colleagues if he wanted to figure out the best way to handle this new turn of events he could have never guessed. He had always been so certain that the Dursleys would give Harry the home he needed, even though it was likely that the home these muggles would have given Harry could have been an abusive one. It still was something that was needed if Albus wanted his plans to succeed as they were meant to.

In his shell-shocked state, he could hardly give Mrs. Dursley a polite nod before turning his back at her and walking down the street until he found a spot that was safe to Disapparate to Hogwarts. He really wanted to get away from here, he needed to think, he needed someone to talk to and more importantly, he needed to find Harry as soon as humanely possible before he could even think about making any new plans considering the future and decide the best way to correct the damage done by the Dursleys. He could just hope that the damage wasn't irreparable and he could still find a way to mold Harry into a proper pawn.

As soon as Albus made it to the peace of his office, he gave Fawkes a quick glance but the phoenix was still asleep. He sat behind his table, leaned into his hands and just spent a while, staring into nothing before shaking his head and grabbing a handful of floo powder. He had things to do and to do that, he needed to have all the Heads of the Houses in his office. He had absolutely no interest at all to start looking for Harry manually as it would be of little help and doing it magically would be so much easier.

Minerva was one of the first ones to enter his office and took a seat next to his desk, giving Albus a worried look. Filius, Severus and Pomona followed shortly after and gathered around the table.

"You called for us?" Severus murmured, looking at the Headmaster incredulously as he tried to figure out the reason for this late call.

"Yes, I've just gotten news that Harry has never lived a day with his Aunt and Uncle. I suppose he's living in an orphanage now – and it is essential that we find him as soon as possible."

It took a while for these news to sink in but as soon as that happened the office was filled with urgent yelling and hasty words. Albus just lifted his hands and looked straight at Severus.

"Severus, I want you to find Harry and go and arrange a meeting with him. When you're done I'll accompany you and we'll tell Harry the truth about his heritage. I would give this task somebody else but I fear that Harry might be in the need of your healing potions and therefore it would only be beneficial to have you find him."

Severus just nodded and rushed out of the office. Albus just watched how the dark man's robes billowed behind him before resting his head against the headrest of his chair. He could only hope there still was something they could repair and a way to manipulate Harry into doing his will before everything would end in Harry's death in a fight against Voldemort.

o

Even later that evening, one could find two wizards standing outside a sloppy building neither of them had ever seen before. Neither of them actually desired to enter the house, as it was looking even more desolate than they had feared and they didn't even want to think that this was a place where Harry Potter had to live. The paint was flaking off at some places of the walls and the metal gates had several spots of rust colouring them. Both of the wizards thought that this place was hardly fit to be a residence for children as it was the last place they could imagine someone would build a children's home. They also hated the mere idea that a Wizarding child would have to endure living in this place. Even Albus couldn't help but feel eager to get Harry to the school, as this was probably even worse than it would have been if the Dursleys would have kept the child. And even the sight of the children's home made Albus think fifty years back and hated to be reminded of the fiasco of Tom Riddle.

Albus shook himself out of his memories and sighed when they made to the front door and knocked. They almost held their breaths as they waited until they could hear silent footsteps from the inside – before the door creaked open. Immediately Albus plastered a wide smile on his face and scowled at Severus who just looked as stoic as he always looked. Sometimes it would do for Severus to get rid of his masks, Albus wondered but said nothing as they entered the children's home after the woman who had opened the door.

"I guess yer here to take him?" the woman went straight to the point, clearly eager to get rid of the boy. Albus couldn't help but wonder why that was – but he supposed that they'll understand as soon as they'd finally meet Harry face to face.

"Well, not actually take him right away," Albus murmured. "We'll just speak to him for now and he'll come to us at the school as soon as the term begins. I suppose he'll want to stay at the school until the summer holiday as we don't allow students to live in the school outside terms."

The plump woman just shrugged and sighed, not really concerned. She glanced at the wizards over her shoulder and pointed towards the room at the far end of the corridor.

"Tha's his room. Ya can go there if ya want or if ye'd like to have a cuppa at the office then tha'll do as well."

Albus glanced at the direction she was pointing before giving Severus a look. Then he just smiled at the woman and nodded.

"I think we'll have a cuppa then. We have certain things to discuss with you anyway."

The woman said nothing, just shrugged and led the wizards into her office and shut the door after them. She them pointed them to take a seat and proceeded to pour all three of them a cup of tea. She handed them to her guests and gave them a look.

"Ye said ye wanted to talk 'bout him?"

Albus smiled.

"Yes, we do. As my colleague might have already explained to you, we are teachers in a boarding school young Harry's been enrolled into since his birth. As he turned eleven this year he is old enough to start studying there and we're here to explain certain practicalities to him and to prepare him to the upcoming term."

"I hardly see why's tha' a reason to talk with me," the woman said, smiling wearily. Albus just smiled lightly.

"We just want you to tell us about Harry. We don't know him like you do and we'd like to know him at least superficially as we'd like to know something about our students, before they come to school as it helps us to prepare the schedules to fit the needs of the children," Albus lied effortlessly. He pretty much couldn't tell this woman that he needed to have information about this boy in order to plan ahead the ways to manipulate the child and to mold him into a perfect pawn.

The woman still looked a bit suspicious though and Severus didn't actually help, smirking like that behind his cup of tea. She didn't say anything, though, just nodded before taking a good sip from her own cup.

"Ya'll take him still, no matter wha'?"

Severus had to fight a snort. Of course, they will take the bloody brat as Albus had already told her. Not that Severus was happy about it, considering who the child's father was, but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He just had to sit through it like they all had. And he had to admit that he, too, was a bit curious about this child.

"Yes, we'll take him," Albus assured her, his eyes once again twinkling madly. The woman just gave a deep sigh of relief.

"Well, I guess tha's at least better than havin' him here all the time."

Severus perked at that.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The woman just gave him a look. She shook her head slightly, as if she tried to get rid of some thoughts that irritated him.

"Well, he's a righ' menace, for starters." She took another sip from her tea. "He looks like he's one of those sweet kids, pretty an' all. He's polite, overly so, always so calm and exactly like those fellas ye'd love to adopt."

Albus started to look confused. It was clear he didn't quite crasp what was the problem here and Severus couldn't help but agree. So far, everything sounded like Harry Potter was a dream kid, something that most families would just love – and it didn't please Severus in the slightest. Still, there was clearly something off about the child if the way that the woman reacted to him was of any indication.

"Explain," Albus said swiftly, ordering the woman to tell them the rest of her story.

"I wouldn't say there's something really 'wrong' about the lad but something doesn't add up. His appearance doesn't seem to fit his personality at all."

"From what you've told us so far it seems that Harry's an angel," Albus whispered gently. She just shook her head.

"He's as far from tha' as possible. He's an intelligent fella but other kids bully him a lot. We have never once caught him hurting them but they seem to fear him dearly. And we've noticed tha' whenever he'd been bullied the other kids tend to get hurt. It's like he hurts those who's hurt him or crossed him in some other ways. By far he's been with us for ten years and he's gotten each an' every one of us petrified."

Severus was flabbergasted.

"Petrified?"

"Not literally, oh god, no. But he's got the entire home terrified of him. Most of the lasses here won't even go near his room."

Albus as beginning to feel quite worried now. He couldn't help but be reminded of another visit to an orphanage fifty years back. Not every detail was the same between these two cases, but there were similarities as they both had a small boy terrifying the people and hurting those who had hurt them. Albus hoped that Harry wouldn't turn out to be just like Tom in other aspects as well – but the beginning didn't look good at all.

"Are there anything odd about him? Like peculiar talents as such?" he questioned, eager to learn if this woman had witnessed any other oddities around Harry. He suspected that she would have. After all Harry was a wizard, and accidental magic tended to happen around untrained children especially in this age. He also wanted to know if Harry had shown any signs at all of possessing the Dark talent of Parseltongue.

The woman looked uneasy.

"Well, now tha' ye mention, yes. Everything seemed to be quite fine until he turned four. Things just started to happen around him, odd things, scary things. Tha's one reason everyone is terrified of him. Tha' was when the kids bullying him were startin' to get hurt. At first, it never was anything serious but then it gradually started to get worse. The kids would shatter their bones; one even had her humerus liquefied. No idea how tha' happened but it did. Then some of other kids would begin to come to us, telling that he'd made the little snakes in the garden attack them. It was just lucky that none of those snakes were venomous but that kinda sealed it. Everyone here is afraid of him. He seems to be okay and a sweet lad but that's just a front. I'm at loss with him; have absolutely no idea how to deal with him."

Albus sighed deeply. He knew his worst fears were slowly coming true. It appeared that young Harry did possess Parseltongue and even he had started to hurt people around him – yet another similarity between him and the Dark Lord. Now Albus understood it was essential to put all his plans on the move as soon as the child stepped on the Hogwarts perimeter.

"I think that's all we need to know. Now, if we could, we would like to see the boy."

The woman just shrugged and led them out of her office and down the corridor.

"Tha's his room. I'm not comin' in with ya, so you'll need to talk to him on your own."

Albus nodded. "That's quite alright. We just want to have a word with him and I guess we'll be leaving shortly."

The woman just nodded, gave them a quick glance and disappeared into his office, leaving the two wizards alone in the corridor. Neither of them were particularly happy about the idea of entering the room but they did have a job to do here so they had no choice. So Albus reached to open the door and they slipped in.

Neither of them had known what to expect when they finally saw Harry Potter. For a while they just stood by the door, staring at the small figure sitting beside the window, reading a book he held in his lap. Severus could easily see that this child had a posture that would make any pureblooded father proud as Harry's back was perfectly straight and he seemed to emit an air of an elegance and aristocracy around him. Severus had expected to find a boy with James' unruly mop of hair but what he saw in front of him was a child who had James' black hair but it was silky soft just like Lily's and reached down to his chin. The light from the street lamps outside the window lit his face and Severus could see that Harry was truly kind of angelic looking, certainly he had inherited Lily's eerie beauty which was only increased by the way how Harry's features seemed to scream 'Black' even though both Severus and Albus knew Harry was no Black.

Severus exhaled deeply as he realized what made this child stand even more out in the gloomy room Harry had to call his own. Severus could practically feel the magic pulsating in the room and by glancing at Albus he could see that the older man felt it too. It was kind of unsettling to realize that this was truly a powerful child that seemed to have his magic under control as Severus couldn't feel the power in the room growing unsteady. He could also feel the darker edge in the magic around the boy that made him feel edgy. He knew that it shouldn't have been possible for a child aged eleven to have such a complete control over his magic, wandless, nevertheless, and for it to have such a dark feel. It made Severus shiver. It just felt wrong.

It was Albus, who was the first one to pull himself together and get over his shock, he conjured two chairs for them, gesturing for Severus to take a seat as Harry already had one. When Severus turned to look at Harry again he noticed that the boy was looking at them, his head slightly tilted. With a start Severus realized that this child had eyes the colour of the Killing Curse. He could also see how curiously Harry was looking at Albus' wand which still was in the older man's hand. Then Harry smiled at them, a blinding smile that seemed all innocent and childish and for a while Severus had an impending feel that Harry would quite possibly end up being sorted into his House – and he wasn't quite so happy about it. He just thought that there was too much going on with this child and he didn't want to get pulled right middle of it.

Severus was brought back into the now when Albus cleared his throat and said cheerily, "Harry, it's a pleasure to meet you again. My name is professor Dumbledore and this is professor Snape beside me."

After a quick round of nods Harry smiled. The smile seemed to change his looks completely; it made the boy even more good-looking as the shy smile suited the boy well.

"I am pleasured to meet you too, sirs," Harry murmured and Severus couldn't help but notice that Harry's voice seemed to have a musical note to it and that Albus was beginning to look quite worried next to him.

Albus had been growing more and more worried as their meeting with Harry progressed. It had been quite easy to see that the child held the same kind of charisma than Tom Riddle had when he still was sane. They both were extremely good-looking and both controlled their magic unnaturally well. There just were far too many similarities between them to Albus to ignore and he couldn't stop thinking why these two children growing up in children's home had turned out to be so similar. It pained him to admit that these endless similarities between young Tom Riddle and the eleven years old boy made him quite worried... and downright scared.

"Harry, we are here to tell you about the school you've been invited. It is a boarding school up north and it's meant for children like you who are quite different than others around them."

Severus focused on Harry as he wanted to see how the boy reacted.

The change was so drastic and so instantaneous it actually made Severus terrified – quite a feat to be true with Severus' past as a spy. All of the innocence previously visible in the child's face vanished and even the air around them became tangible and the magic gathered around them. Cold and calculating look entered Harry's eyes as he stared at two professors. Severus couldn't even find a word to describe the look on Harry's face as it was something so unnatural and unattractive he had never even considered naming it.

"Yes?" Harry breathed and Severus could hear a slight tremor at the child's voice, hinting that they got him. Harry was enthusiastic and interested. The stoic mask, however, was still on place on Harry's face and Severus shivered. All of this just was so unnatural it shouldn't even be possible.

"The school is called Hogwarts and professor Snape here is one of our teachers. This school is meant for children with magic."

Harry didn't seem too surprised by this piece of information, Severus could see.

"Magic, huh?" Harry smiled.

"Yes," Albus said, not averting his eyes from Harry's small form. Harry met Albus' eyes and his smile turned ugly.

Harry's eyes were half-lidded as he kept his eyes on them both. It was unsettling to have a child looking at you like you were just a filth under his boot and Severus didn't like it at all. He knew there were so much going on with Harry and he could bet that none of it were good. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as humanely possible and get as far from the child as he could. It seemed that Albus was, for once, sharing his sentiments as he stood up from his chair and handed a small envelope to Harry who took it eagerly.

"Here's your list of needed supplies for this year and your train ticket. You'll find all needed instructions inside as well as the supply list. We will see you again September 1 at the school." Albus gave Harry an odd look. "Do you need any help with getting your supplies? I'm sure professor Snape wouldn't mind to oblige."

"No," Harry smiled, "I'm quite fine, thank you."

Albus gave Harry a look over his half-moon spectacles but Harry kept his face impassive. Severus shuddered at the thought how this child had completely shut off as soon as he had got the information he needed from them. Now he was even more certain that this child would most likely end up into his House and he definitely wasn't happy about it. But the boy had acted like a perfect Slytherin all day long so he could just say it wouldn't be a surprise to get this boy. He just was eager to leave.

Albus seemed to, once again, share his thoughts as the old man gave a sigh and walked to the door.

"Very well, m'boy. All you need for your school year can be found here in London. You just need to go to Charing Cross Road and find an inn called the Leaky Cauldron. Should you need help, you'd only need to ask for Tom, the bartender, and he'll help you out. Tom will show you through to Diagon Alley where you can find all the magical shops needed."

Harry's face remained emotionless as he glanced up at the professors through his fringe.

"Don't I need money or something? I'm afraid I don't have any."

Albus just smiled, although Severus could see that the smile didn't quite reach the older man's eyes that had lost their ever-present twinkle. They were both still shocked by the revelation they had got about Harry and what they have learned today. It would certainly take a while to get over everything and sort things out again. Severus, especially, wasn't looking forward to that at all.

"Don't worry, my boy, Hogwarts has a fund for orphaned children. Although, you won't be needing it as your parents left everything they owned for you. All you need is to pay a visit to Gringotts and the goblins will sort things out for you."

Severus could've sworn that the look that rose to Harry's face was one of the most terrifying looks he had seen so far. He was certain that even the Dark Lord couldn't be quite as intimidating. He hated the greedy and enthusiastic expression in the young boy's eyes at the mention of his parents.

"You knew my parents?" Harry asked, his voice barely calm. This was the most emotional they had seen him get so far – and it terrified them. All they had needed to do was to mention the boy's parents and it seemed that the sweet but oddly scary child they have encountered so far was replaced by something completely different and something unknown. Harry's green eyes shone with glee and a sly smile ad crept onto his lips which didn't make him look better at all.

"Yes, we did. Although, that is a story for some other time as professor Snape and I really should be going now. Remember, we will meet again as soon as the school starts in September."

Harry didn't say a word when they left. When Severus glanced back at the boy over his shoulder he could see him sitting once again in his chair, holding the letter in his hand and a smirk on his lips. Severus shuddered and hurried to follow Albus downstairs and out of the building.

As soon as they reached a safer spot, they both Apparated back into Hogwarts. They had some things to tell to their colleagues – and Severus knew none of them would be all so pleased when they would eventually find out the truth about Harry Potter.

o

At his office Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his head on his arms and a shell-shocked staff gathered all around him. He had just finished telling them what exactly had happened at the children's home. None of them were too pleased by the fact that they seemed to have lost young Mr. Potter and there was pretty much nothing they could do to change the situation. They could hardly take the child from the place he had lived his life in, even if it wasn't the most suitable option to choose from. They had school regulations and even if it was Harry Potter, they couldn't just go and change the protocol. If they did, the School Governors would never accept it, not when they were led by Lucius Malfoy.

Minerva stood unhappily next to Severus who appeared to be trying to blend into his surroundings, not quite comfortable being stared in a manner that left him feeling quite small and young again. He'd rather be down in the dungeons, trying to figure out a new experimental potion he had been working with most of the summer as it would be needed during the next term. Minerva, however, lowered her hand from her mouth and looked at Albus quite desperately.

"You have to tell me this isn't true, Albus!" she exclaimed, not wanting to believe what she had just heard – but all the same knowing there was no reason why Albus and Severus would have lied to her. She wanted to know that the young child Lily and James Potter had so proudly loved and died protecting had grown up to be something that could send chills running through Albus' spine as the boy reminded the older man of someone else.

"I'm afraid it is true, Minerva," Albus sighed, shaking his head gently. "I think we need to prepare for the worst as I fear that these similarities between the Dark Lord and Harry won't end here. We were in his room only for a small time and the matron would tell us only little about him, and I fear that the similarities might run deeper than that. We need to be prepared to take action, if our fears seem to be true when he enters the school."

"I'm sure it's not that bad, Albus! It just cannot be. How can you so sure that he will follow the path You-Know-Who laid down in his years? The boy hardly remembers facing him!" Filius piped in. Albus just sighed.

"Neither of you were there today, or approximately fifty years ago when I paid young Tom Riddle a very similar visit. The similarities between Tom and Harry are too big to ignore. Their situations seem to be almost exact replicas, almost identical with each other. The only – and the biggest – difference I've seen so far, is the fact that Harry was loved by his parents and lived with them for a year. We can only hope that his parents' love had left an affect."

Minerva looked stunned but couldn't help but try to think not everything was lost – yet.

"But, Albus, not everyone that had grown up in a children's home had turned out Dark. Tom Riddle was one of a kind and I am sure Harry Potter won't go down to follow that path. I hardly think it is possible as this is one of the most powerful Light schools in the Wizarding World. I think we can affect him by the way we treat him, we just need to encourage him to embrace his Light inheritance and to ignore whatever nurture he might have inclining towards the Dark."

Now Severus decided to interfere for the first time during this conversation. He could see that Minerva was scared for the boy, cared for the child and downright refused to believe there was something terribly wrong with the Potter boy.

"Minerva," Severus snapped, "you weren't there. You didn't hear how frightened the matron was, you didn't be there to realize the boy had hurt those who had hurt him – and you most importantly did not see him. He is frightening and I am certain that he will be as Dark as the magic I felt pulsating around him. He is strong and he is very Dark and I could recognize the similarities between him and the Dark Lord, even when not having met the Dark Lord in his teens. Their magic is similar and the boy will be the death of us, one day, of that I am certain."

"I think we should give the boy a chance," squealed Filius. "I agree with Minerva. If we guide him into the right direction, he might not follow the darer path."

"I'm not sure if that'll work with him," Albus murmured, still worried. "I think we just have to keep a keen eye on him and interfere if he tries to do something. As long as he is just a student, we should in my opinion to let him be. I'm afraid I made a mistake by leaving him to his relatives and I hope I'm not making yet another today, by letting him be who he currently is instead of trying to push him."

Minerva huffed.

"I remember trying to warn you, Albus, when you decided to leave him to that family. I told you they were the worst kind of muggles imaginable, no wonder they dropped him off."

Albus sighed. "Right, thank you Minerva. Well, I suggest we allow Harry to be, as long as he doesn't cause any harm to others. I hope that being sorted into Gryffindor might get him settled – although, I still advice you to keep an eye on him and report back immediately should you notice something about him. Maybe this will be all the push needed that will make him follow the path he needs to follow."

The professors nodded and one after another they left Headmaster's Office and returned to their duties, whatever they happened to be at the moment. When they all had gone, Albus Dumbledore leaned into his arms and gave a deep sigh.

"I fear that I have made yet another grave mistake, Fawkes," he murmured at his familiar.

The mighty red-gold phoenix trilled soothingly from its place on a golden perch and hid his head under his wing, before falling asleep and leaving the Headmaster alone with his musings.