I've started an exciting new project. I'm going back to Harry's early childhood and re-writing the story. It's quite and undertaking and it may take me a while, but I'm excited to see how this goes. I'd love to hear what my readers think of my work.

Just a few warnings... There's mention of child abuse and neglect, depression, violence, and some sexual content. If you're super sensitive to that stuff, you may want to steer clear, but there won't be anything too excessive here.

The sun beat down on the houses of Privet Drive. Nearly everyone was inside their homes because of the stifling summer heat. A silver tabby cat was sitting in the shade of a shrub, watching two young boys play in one of the neat little yards. One of them was chubby and blond, his face round and pink. The other boy was thin and had untidy dark hair and round glasses.

The blond was playing with a ball, kicking it and then chasing it after it. He was holding a blue ice lolly in one meaty fist. The brunet didn't have a toy to play with or an ice lolly. He glanced frequently at the various toys scattered on the lawn but he didn't touch them. He amused himself by chasing a bug in the grass.

The smaller boy managed to pick up the bug and held it gently in his palm. But, it was as if his contentedness drew the other boy's spitefulness. Abruptly, the blond tackled the smaller boy, knocking him to the ground. The brunet cried out in pain, but the larger boy didn't seem concerned.

The cat darted forward abruptly, hissing and growling, startling the larger child into backing away. And then a wicked smile curled on his face. He lunged for the cat, laughing unkindly. Then he drew his foot back, aiming to kick the tabby.

"No!" the brunet cried, pushing at the bigger boy, knocking the ice lolly to the ground. The blond halted his attack on the cat to turn on the smaller child, wrenching the brunet's arm and shoving him to the ground roughly. This time the smaller boy screamed in agony.

"Diddykins?" a woman called out, running out the front door of the house.

The chubby boy screwed up his face and wailed. "He made me drop my ice lolly! He pushed me!" the blond cried, though not shedding a single tear.

"My poor darling," the woman said, hugging the blond to her thin frame. She cast a look of disgust at the crying little boy on the ground. "Come inside Dudders. We'll get you a new ice lolly."

"I want two," the boy declared, following his mother inside the house.

The cat held very still, waiting until the door had closed. Then it crept closer to the weeping child, sniffing at his face and tentatively licking at his tears. He whimpered as he moved, carefully sitting up to cradle his left arm to his chest. The cat bit down on the bottom of the boys shirt, tugging him. Luckily, the little boy allowed it, letting the tabby guide him to rest in the shade of the bushes. He relaxed on his side, his chest heaving with sobs. The cat nuzzled him, purring loudly.

The cat got up to move away, stopping as the boy sat up with a whimper. Meowing softly, the tabby placed one foot on the boys cheek. "I'll st-stay here," the boy stuttered, swallowing hard. He laid back down when the cat chirruped in response, his green eyes watching as the cat disappeared through the hedge. A moment later there was a sort of cracking sound.

The boy closed his eyes, hoping to sleep away the worst of the pain. His tears continued to flow as he wished for the cat to return.

Minerva McGonagall stepped through the fireplace and into Albus Dumbledore's. "I warned you," she snarled without bothering with a proper greeting. "I told you that those muggles were the worst sort imaginable."

"Minerva, what's gotten you so worked up?" Albus asked, peering over his half moon spectacles. Minerva wasn't prone to hysterics, so he knew to take her seriously when she made such a dramatic entrance.

"Harry Potter is neglected and abused by those people," Minerva said, her tone ice cold.

"Surely, Petunia-"

"She left him outside alone after her useless lump of a son broke Harry's arm," Minerva snapped. She had the sudden urge to knock everything off of his desk. How could he have made such a horrible mistake?

Albus stood up, frowning in dismay. "We can't have that," he said firmly. He followed her through the green flames in the fireplace. He barely had time to recognize the living room he'd stepped into before she'd seized his arms and spun on the spot. They popped into a tidy yard behind one of the houses on Privet Drive. Albus recognized it as Arabella Figg's house.

Minerva transformed back into the silver tabby and took off around the hedges to the next yard. Albus sighed and followed her.

Minerva was both relieved and enraged to find the boy still huddled in the the shade of the bushes. He opened his watery green eyes and shuffled a bit to see the cat better without jostling his left arm. He looked a bit relieved until he saw an older man with a long white beard and funny clothes following the cat.

Harry gasped and sat up, scooting away from the man. His little face was blotchy from crying. The older man smiled a bit sadly. "It's alright Harry," he said kindly. "We're here to help you. I am Albus Dumbledore, and this is Minerva McGonagall," he explained, motioning to the tabby.

This drew a puzzled look from Harry. He sniffled and eyed the cat curiously. It was a very strange name for a cat. He reached out with his good arm and smiled slightly when the cat nuzzled his hand. But, Harry flinched and withdrew when he heard his aunt call out for him.

"Boy!" came Aunt Petunia's shrill voice. "What are you-" She stopped when she saw Albus. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"I was concerned over your nephew," Albus said lightly.

"He's fine," she retorted tersely. She leveled a glare at Harry. "Get in the house," she snapped.

Minerva growled in warning as Harry clambered to his feet.

"I think we need to have a little chat," Albus said grimly. "If we could come inside for a moment?"

"That is out of the question," Petunia said, taking a wary step back.

"I doubt that this is a conversation that you'd like to have in the yard Petunia," Albus said", pointedly. "And we are having this conversation," he added sternly. "It's not a request."

Petunia paled and hurried into the house. Harry followed her silently, his tears returning as his left arm throbbed horribly. Albus walked right into the house, politely holding it open for the cat to walk through. Vernon Dursley entered the living room, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of Albus. "Petunia, it's one of-" Vernon began, but his face quickly started to redden with anger. "I demand you leave at once. You're not welcome here."

Feeling a bit spiteful, Minerva transformed back into her human form, frightening a shriek out of Petunia. Harry gaped at her in shock and amazement. "How can you ignore a little boy with a broken arm?" she demanded.

"I'm sure it's not broken," Vernon responded, trying to sound dismissive but he was a bit tense. "He's always causing trouble."

Minerva frowned, watching Harry bow his head. She turned to Albus with an angry scowl. "Handle this," she pronounced furiously. Then she looked back at Harry. "Why don't you show me your room while the others talk," she suggested with a forced smile.

Harry moved without a word, not seeing the way Vernon and Petunia stiffened. He walked right toward the cupboard under the stairs. He opened the little door and winced at the gasp of horror from Minerva.

Minerva stared at the inside of the cupboard in shock. There was a small mat and a tattered blanket for the boy to sleep with. There were a few broken toys, but little else. "Albus," she called out, her voice shaking. "They've got him sleeping in the cupboard."

In a flash, Albus was at her side, his expression dismayed. Harry stood next to the little door, his frame trembling as he kept his head down submissively. It was a sobering sight, even setting aside his broken arm.

"I'm taking him out of here," Minerva said with forced calm. "He needs healing and a proper meal. You fix this, Albus," she commanded fiercely. "You fix this or so help me-" She left the open threat there, giving him a cold look before kneeling before Harry. "I'm going to take you to get your arm healed. And then you can have dinner."

Harry bit his lip, casting a frightened look at his Aunt and Uncle. They nodded jerkily, clearly not wanting to deny the angry woman anything that she might want to do. They looked rather frightened themselves.

"Come here my boy," Minerva said gently, guiding the boy closer and picking him up easily. "Just close your eyes tight," she instructed.

Harry closed his eyes, tightening his grip when he felt a sudden squeezing sensation. He groaned softly as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

"It's alright now. You can open your eyes," Minerva said, her arms still cradling him.

Harry looked around, amazed to find that he was now in a different house. The living room they were in appeared welcoming and comfortable with a dark green couch that looked very soft. Harry was quickly placed on the couch to discover that it was indeed quite soft. He looked up at Minerva in bewilderment. "How did we get here?" he asked with another little sniffle. His nose was running after shedding so many tears.

"Magic," Minerva told him with a little smile. "I use magic for a lot of things," she added, pulling out her wand and causing the tea set on the coffee table to levitate for a moment before carefully setting it back down.

Harry stared with wide eyes. "Will you show me more?" he requested hesitantly.

"Of course," Minerva agreed with a nod. "But first, we need to get you feeling better."

Harry watched as the woman tossed some kind of dust into the fireplace, causing green flames to appear. Then Minerva crouched down and stuck her head right into the flames. She remained their for a moment and then she'd pulled back and stood up, as if she hadn't just done something utterly bizarre. But, before Harry could question it, a second woman came out of the fireplace. She was wearing white robes.

"Poor lamb," the second woman said, looking Harry over. "Well, best start to work." She pulled out a wand and waved it over Harry, frowning in concentration. "Broken radius, contusions on the legs..." the woman muttered. "A mild concussion... Er- Is he very accident prone?" she asked uncertainly.

"Perhaps, but I doubt that is the problem here," Minerva said grimly.

The woman nodded, pulling a vial out of the pocket of her white robes. "Drink this for me dear," she said, not pausing before she held the vial to Harry's lips and guided him to tip his head back. Harry swallowed the potion, managing to keep it down despite the awful taste. "Good boy. Now we'll just wrap this up."

Minerva watched as Poppy Pomfrey gingerly wrapped Harry's arm. She'd gone to the house on Privet Drive many times over the last few years, checking up on little Harry in secret. She'd known for quite some time that Harry wasn't treated as well as he should have been. But, she hadn't been prepared to see him have his arm broken and then left alone to cry in pain. She had never imagined that they would lock such a sweet child in a cupboard under the stairs. Harry was treated with less regard than a family pet. If she hadn't made a habit of looking in on him, would the abuse and neglect have gotten worse?

Poppy finally turned to Minerva, her face grim. "He needs to keep those bandages on for three days to keep the bone stable, but he'll be perfectly fine," she said.

"Thank you Poppy," Minerva said, just as Albus came through the fireplace.

"Ah, Poppy," Albus greeted the Medi-witch. "How is young Harry?"

"On the mend," Poppy replied briskly. She gave Albus a stern look. "I don't know where you had the boy, but it was not safe for him there. He had a good number of injuries."

Albus nodded gravely, watching as Poppy murmured softly to Minerva before leaving through the fireplace. Albus opened his mouth to speak, but Minerva cut him off by addressing Harry.

"Come on then," she said, taking Harry's right hand in hers and leading him from the room. "You need to have dinner and then it's off to bed with you."

"Yes, ma'am," came the meek reply from Harry.

Harry was settled at the dining room table and very shortly was staring at a plate full of roasted chicken, potatoes and sprouts. He looked a little bewildered, glancing between the plate and Minerva. "That's for you," Minerva said, keeping her voice gentle. "Eat as much as you like, just don't make yourself sick."

"It's all for me?" Harry asked, shocked. Usually, he wasn't allowed to eat much, if at all, when he caused trouble. He nearly cried again when the stern looking woman smiled slightly and nodded at him. He had no idea what was going on, but he could enjoy this pleasant break from routine. His arm no longer hurt and maybe he could actually eat until the hunger finally subsided. He couldn't remember the last time that he hadn't felt hungry.

Minerva pulled Albus out of the dining room, casting a muffliato charm so Harry wouldn't overhear their conversation. "Well?" Minerva demanded.

"I've let the Dursley's know that their treatment of Harry is unacceptable," Albus said. "And we'll be checking on him to make sure that he's well cared for."

Minerva's expression darkened. "You cannot possibly be thinking of sending that poor child back," she snapped.

"They're his only family," Albus argued.

"That's not family," Minerva snarled. "They are blood relatives and nothing more. He deserves to be loved and cared for. He's been neglected and mistreated. He's obviously malnourished. He's only five Albus! You know as well as I do that there are a great many witches and wizards that would take him in."

"It's not that simple Minerva," Albus sighed. "Voldemort will return one day. I'm sure of it. And the blood wards will protect him."

"To hell with the blood wards," Minerva replied angrily. "That neglect and abuse is damaging mentally as much as physically. You risk Harry being warped and twisted with bitterness. What good is it to hide him behind the wards if it just turns him into another dark lord in the end?"

"That's a little extreme," Albus murmured, though the thought of Tom Riddles' time in a muggle orphanage made him wince internally.

"I won't have it," Minerva insisted, her voice shaking. "You are too blinded by your own logic in this. I don't want to do it, but I will fight you. I'll take it to the ministry if I have to. I won't let you send that poor child back into that house. Harry Potter will not be a victim of 'the greater good'." She declared stubbornly.

"Then what do you suggest?" Albus asked tiredly.

"I'll take care of him myself," Minerva replied immediately. "You know that he'd be safe with me."

"And what of Hogwarts?" he pressed. "You are a professor, and Hogwarts is no place for such a young boy."

Minerva thought for a moment, considering her options. "Remus Lupin," she said, smiling slightly. "We could leave Harry in his care when I have to be away. I'm sure that you could make allowances for me to be with Harry during the full moon."

Albus sighed, peering at Minerva over his half-moon spectacles. "Very well," he said with a reluctant nod. "I will strengthen your wards here and contact Remus for you. I'll meet with the minister as well."

"Good," Minerva said, sounding relieved. "I shall see you tomorrow." She turned and went to join Harry in the dining room.

Albus, having been abruptly dismissed, left the house in search of a certain werewolf.

Harry hummed at the taste of the chicken. He didn't think he'd ever had such a delicious meal. But, he was feeling very full so he set his fork down, yawning tiredly. He supposed that he'd be returning home now. Minerva had said that he needed to go to bed.

"Did you eat enough?" Minerva asked primly, looking down at him.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry responded. "Thank you."

"Good," Minerva nodded. "Then come with me. We'll get you cleaned up and I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."

Harry paused in the act of sliding off his chair. "I'm- You're not taking me home?" he asked uncertainly.

Minerva looked at him for a moment, considering. "Do you want to go home?" she asked. She waited a moment, while Harry appeared to think it over. "I don't think that your aunt and uncle were caring for you properly," she said carefully. "You shouldn't have to sleep under the stairs. You should be able to eat enough. You shouldn't be made to suffer with a broken arm. I knew your mother and father, and they wouldn't have wanted that for you."

"You knew my mum and dad?" Harry asked softly.

"I did," Minerva confirmed. "And I would be happy to tell you about them. But, that is a talk for another time. For now, I want to know if you would feel alright staying here with me."

Harry wasn't sure what to think. His aunt and uncle were his family, and he'd always thought that was just the way it was. It was strange to have someone that seemed concerned about him and what he wanted. He'd always been ignored in favor of Dudley. It would be nice to be away from Dudley at least. Finally, he nodded shyly and followed Minerva down a hallway.

The first stop was a bathroom where Harry was instructed to wash his hands and face. Once that was done, he was led to a bedroom. The room was sparsely furnished, but it did have a bed with a lovely blue and white quilt on it. Minerva used her wand to turn an old scarf into a set of pajamas and set them on the bed. She turned away so Harry could change and then helped him into the bed.

"Get some sleep," Minerva said, taking his glasses and setting them on a little table by the bed. "You are perfectly safe here. I'll see you in the morning."

Harry nodded, curling up and closing his eyes. Minerva put the lights out and left the room, a lump in her throat. That poor child was sweet and polite despite his horrid relatives. He'd had his parents taken away from him so cruelly, only to suffer further at the hands of his kin. She couldn't believe that Albus had planned to send him back. She knew that Albus felt that Harry would be vital if Voldemort ever returned, but allowing the child to suffer was too much. Nobody deserved that. Harry may indeed grow up to be powerful, but for now he was a scared, lonely little boy that needed someone to think of him as a child to be loved rather than a tool to be used.

Minerva had never married or had children. Her students were the closest that she'd managed to get to motherhood. But, she'd protect this child with her dying breath if that's what he needed. She'd never forget that he'd risked himself to protect her from Dudley while she'd been in cat form. That sort of selflessness was rare. It wasn't going to be easy, but she'd take care of the Boy Who Lived to the best of her ability. At that moment, her first concern was making sure he'd have clean clothes to put on the next morning. So, she moved to her fireplace. It was time to contact Molly Weasley.

Minerva woke the next morning, hearing her cabinets being opened and closed. She frowned and got out of bed, her graying hair held in a messy braid. She hurried down the hall and into the kitchen. There she found little Harry Potter, searching her cabinets and placing various food and cooking items on the counter. He jumped and dropped a carton of eggs when he noticed Minerva watching him curiously.

"I- I'm sorry," he gasped, bending to pick up the eggs.

"That's alright," Minerva assured him. "Are you hungry?"

"I always make breakfast for my aunt and uncle," he said, his eyes filling with tears when he realized that all of the eggs were broken.

Minerva pursed her lips in disapproval, though she was quick to hide the expression from Harry. "Well, I suppose they'll be doing their own cooking today," she said lightly. "As for you, I don't expect you to cook for me. It's my job to take care of you. Why don't you sit at the table and I'll bring you something." She watched as Harry nodded hesitantly and hurried to the dining room, as if he suspected there may still be punishment for his clumsiness.

Minerva sighed and cleaned up the eggs with a wave of her wand. Then she set about preparing a healthy breakfast for the little boy. They had a lot to accomplish that day. He needed a proper wardrobe and she planned to get him some toys and books. Eventually, she'd take him to meet the Weasley children, but first she was going to make him feel at home.