(October 31st, 2006)

As emergency officials arrived at Number 4 Privet Dr., firefighters immediately began a long and fruitless attempt to put out the inferno in front of their eyes. It was unlike anything any of the firefighters had ever seen before. A pure white inferno had engulfed the building and its two neighboring houses, claiming the lives of all but one resident of the three houses. A young boy who appeared to be only four years old but who didn't have a record of ever living at the house where the fire started. Upon asking people in the neighborhood, the local law enforcement learned Harry Potter, as they learned from one of the neighbors was his name, was in fact older than he seemed at 6 years of age. The firefighters were discussing what these flames could be and could only call them white phosphorus flames, impossible to put out and extremely dangerous. How it came to engulf the house, let alone how young Harry had escaped unburned and with only a few tattered old clothes, was a mystery.

Harry was taken to the hospital for an examination and the doctors frowned as he shied away from all of them when they tried to get close and after they finally managed to get close, they knew why. Broken bones, lacerations, bruises, and clear signs of malnutrition, it was a wonder Harry had managed to exit the home as soon as emergency services arrived. It was as they went to reset a bone that hadn't healed properly that things started to happen to Harry that they couldn't explain. As they set the bone, they found it instantly moved back into the position it had been in before whatever beating this had occurred from and had seamlessly healed itself, not just set into a position like they had been trying to do but healed entirely. Before they could even investigate what had happened, white flames, like the ones they had been told consumed the house he was in, erupted from his body. Most of the doctors and nurses fled and attempted to get the ongoing surgeries to leave as well. Only one stayed behind as she observed the flames.

They hadn't moved from the body or spread to anything nearby. They engulfed the body in its entirety and instantly seemed to die down. As they died, the flames revealed Harry, no longer covered by the cloth or was connected to the machines that kept him breathing and were transfusing blood into his system. He was completely unburned and no longer seemed as malnourished as he had when he was brought in. Danielle Strauss watched as the boy woke up and rubbed his eyes, feeling groggy. A shout from the hall caught her attention and the sound of a scuffle alerted her to someone being fought outside the surgery room. She moved to Harry and stood between him and the doors as they opened, almost on their own and a masked and hooded man entered the room. She watched as he leveled a stick at her before uttering a single phrase. "Avada Kedavra!" Danielle gasped as a blast of sickly green lightning struck her. The next thing she knew, she was gasping as breath entered her lungs again and she was suddenly on the ground, looking up at the ceiling and feeling cold. She felt hands on her skin, shaking her and looked beside her to see Harry shaking her, frantically, as tears streamed down his face.

She looked down and saw her clothes were missing, ashes surrounding her, and a charred corpse was lying where the man had been not too long ago. She looked at Harry as she sat up and gasped as he threw his arms around her in relief. She looked around and saw white flames on the body of the man who… she didn't know what he had done. Knocked her out? But why had she gasped when she woke up then? She hugged the boy to her and sighed as her mind raced and she tried to make sense of everything that was happening. She looked up as a popping sound filled the room and saw two people standing across the room from the exit that hadn't been there before. "This is the source of the magical exposure, Amelia," said a man who seemed to have been in one too many fights, if his scarred-up face was anything to go by. She gasped as she saw the prosthetic eye he had whir around in his socket before settling on her and Harry. The woman seemed to be a few years older than Danielle herself and had long red hair tied in a bun. The two looked around the room, sticks aiming about the place until the man noticed the body at the entrance. "Bloody hell."

"Mad Eye," asked Amelia.

"There's the ruddy Death Eater at the door. Malfoy, it looks like."

"Guess he can't claim Imperius anymore." Danielle's eyes met Amelia's and she maneuvered herself between the two unusual people and Harry. "Dammit. What the hell was he doing, attacking a Muggle hospital like this?"

"Look at the boy, Lass. See anything familiar?" Amelia sheathed her wand and knelt beside the doctor, looking at the boy.

"He looks like James. Is this Harry?"

"What do you want with him," exclaimed Danielle as she kept herself between the newcomers and Harry, not caring if her body was exposed to the man with the weird eye.

"Easy. Easy. We came here investigating an illegal exposure of magic."

"Magic isn't real. I don't know who you are but stay away from him!"

"We're not going to hurt him, Lass," said the man, Mad Eye. "We didn't even know he was here. We were after that one." He pointed with his walking stick to the corpse behind her.

"Harry," asked the woman. "Harry." The boy didn't look at her, keeping his face buried in Danielle's chest to avoid contact. "What's wrong with him?"

"He doesn't respond to his name," said Danielle. "We think the people he was with never referred to him by name. Just another form of abuse he's suffered."

"Abuse? Where has he been?"

"According to one of the neighbors of the house he was found exiting as it burned, his blood relative's. Petunia Dursley and her husband, Vernon."

"The Dursley's," spat Mad Eye before moving towards them and looking at Harry. "Look at me, Lad." Harry didn't respond at first but looked up as he felt a persistent gaze. "Do you know where you are?" Harry nodded. "Do you know your name?"

"Boy," said Harry softly, fearing the man in front of him and clinging to the woman who had tried protecting him.

"No. Your name is Harry Potter." He looked at Amelia. "Conjure them some clothes and let's get them to the DMLE. I think it would be safer for them if we go over what happened there rather than in this ruddy hospital." Danielle gasped as the woman aimed her stick at the ground in front of her and two sets of what looked like robes appeared on the ground. She reached out tepidly and felt they were solid and not some sort of illusion. "Put them on, quickly. The sooner we leave here, the better." Danielle looked at the man before Amelia addressed him.

"Why her," she asked.

"Because she's now linked to the boy, if I'm reading the eye right."

"Linked," asked both women in confusion. Danielle looked at Harry and found him clinging to her again, looking nervous and finding comfort in her embrace.

"It'll be better if I explain when we're not at risk of being walked in on." Amelia turned to Danielle and Harry.

"Let's get you both dressed, then," she said. Danielle frowned slightly before helping Harry into the robes his size before getting into hers. "You'll both need to prepare yourselves. This next part can be a bit uncomfortable. Harry, please take Moody's hand. Miss, take mine. It's easier with two people rather than three."

"What is," asked Danielle. Moody looked at Harry and made sure his roaming eye stayed still so as not to upset the boy and, after some ushering from Danielle, Harry took his hand. Danielle took Amelia's and after a few moments, wished she hadn't. She keeled over and threw up her lunch after the most uncomfortable feeling she had ever felt overcame her. Amelia held back her hair and vanished her vomit when she was done. Harry glared at the woman and ran to Danielle, hugging her.

"She's fine, Lad," said Moody. "Apparation tends to make your stomach churn when your not used to it." Danielle looked up and noticed they were no longer in the hospital. Instead they were in a torchlit room, a drastic difference between the fluorescent lights they were under just a moment ago.

"What-what just happened? Where are we?!"

"Calm down, Lass," said Moody. "It's just magical travel. I think you Muggles call it tele… something."

"Teleportation," said Amelia. "Lily Potter spoke of it once." Harry looked at Amelia at that.

"That's my mum," he said, timidly.

"You know that?" Amelia knelt down to him.

"Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always insulted her. Calling her a freak like me. Aunt Petunia mentioned her sister Lily to Marge once and I knew her name."

"Who was Marge," asked Amelia.

"Uncle Vernon's sister." Harry curled up against Danielle. "Her dogs hurt…" Danielle hugged him as he rubbed at his ankles.

"Merlin. What in the world has he been through?"

"Nothing a child should ever go through," said Danielle before she looked at them. "Who are you people?"

"Let's go into my office and we'll have a chat," said Amelia. Danielle kept Harry close as more people appeared behind them with a pop and she stared slightly before she followed Amelia and Moody. Harry looked up as paper airplanes flew over their heads back and forth and idle chatter filling the room. Danielle didn't know what to make of this place or the series of events that had just transpired. Harry bursting into flames and suddenly being completely healthy, the masked man and these two and now suddenly being in this place when just a minute prior, she had been in the hospital she'd worked in for four years. She and Harry sat down, and Amelia sat in a chair across from them behind a desk as Moody stood next to her. "Now then, ma'am, may we know your name?"

"I… I'm Doctor Danielle Strauss. I was one of the surgeons working on Harry before he suddenly burst into flames."

"He what?!"

"Phoenix fire," said Moody. "Only seen it once, but never in a human."

"Moody, explain."

"Miss Strauss. Do you know what a phoenix is?"

"A mythical creature from Greek mythology," started Danielle.

"Not mythical. It's real Lass, as is magic. And Harry here comes from two magical parents, James and Lily Potter, may they rest in peace."

"Magic isn't…"

"Then how do you explain the flames? Eh? Or being killed and then being reborn from the same flames? Or arriving here and Amelia vanishing your bile afterwards?" Danielle stared at him before looking away as his eye whirred about in his head again. "Magic is real. We've just been keeping it a secret from you Muggles for centuries for our own protection. That's why we appeared in the room. Unsanctioned magic had been used to kill multiple Muggles, and now we know why. He was trying to get to the boy."

"Me," asked Harry.

"Aye, Lad. Your parents made a lot of enemies years ago as they helped fight against the Dark Lord, the man who killed them and gave you that little blemish on your forehead, and many people think you managed to beat him despite evidence to the contrary." Danielle blinked before turning to Harry and noticing the unusual lightning shaped scar on his forehead that was the only scar left from after the flames. "The man that killed you, Miss Strauss was one of Voldemort's followers. I could only tell cause of the teeth in the bastard's mouth."

"What do you mean she was reborn," asked Amelia.

"Is it right to assume that you put yourself between the lad and the bastard, Andrews?" Danielle nodded. "Lad, what did you feel when she did that?"

"I…I don't know. I don't remember what happened. I just heard the man say something, Miss Strauss fell and then… I don't know what happened. I just remember the flames appearing and screaming before I tried seeing if she was ok."

"What words did he say?"

"I… I think it was… what those magicians say for a trick. Abracadabra?"

"Avada Kedavra," said Danielle. "That's what he said."

"Killing curse," said Amelia. "A forbidden spell in the magical world."

"More than likely, the lad felt fear, anger and worry all at once. And these white flames appeared to protect him."

"They've never happened before," said Harry. "Why now?"

"Can't say without knowing what happened." Moody handed Danielle a flask after popping the lid. "Drink up. You could use it."

"You still haven't explained the reborn comment," said Amelia.

"Somehow, I think Potter can use phoenix fire to heal himself and essentially bring them back from death. I think it also protects him from harm as evidenced from Malfoy's fate and I'm guessing his relative's house." Moody growled slightly as his roaming eye whirred to a section of the room outside her office. "What the bloody hell is he doing here?"

"What's wrong?"

"Albus is making a beeline for your office."

"What?" Amelia stepped out of her office and over to the aged headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore? Is something wrong?"

"Hello, Amelia," said Albus Dumbledore. "Everything is just fine."

"Then why are you here?"

"I was informed that Harry's family was burned in a fire. He wasn't among the bodies, so I wanted to alert you of the fact."

"And how did you learn that, Albus," asked Moody as he stepped into the hall. "It only just happened. You claimed you had no clue as to the lad's whereabouts."

"Ah, hello old friend."

"Answer the question, Albus."

"You watched it happen," said Harry. Albus turned to the boy who was staring at him behind Moody, Danielle's hand in his own. "You were outside the house in the crowd."

"Albus. Explain."

"I've seen you before then…"

"I'm sure you haven't, Harry my boy," said Albus. Harry gripped his head as the words 'my boy' echoed in his head.

"You said that to my Dad…" Amelia turned to Harry. "You put me at the Dursley's and…" He looked at Amelia. "What's an elemental bind?" Moody turned to Albus.

"You did what," shouted the old Auror.

"What is that," asked Amelia.

"It's an ancient binding that prevents one from using most of their magical power using a basic element as the binding agent. It's not meant to be used on a bloody child, Albus!" Harry recoiled at the shouting, Vernon's own shouting leaving bad memories for the child.

"Is that bad," asked Danielle.

"Binding a child's magic can have major repercussions if it isn't removed once they turn 2 when their magic starts to manifest," said Amelia.

"And Elemental Bindings are created to be permanent," said Moody. "They're only used on bloody criminals!"

"How does one place this elemental binding," asked Danielle.

"You'd need the knowledge and an aspect of the element in order to use it. Like your phoenix, perhaps, Albus?"

"What I did was to ensure the Death Eaters wouldn't easily find him."

"You're lying," said Harry. "You said it was so my magic wouldn't get out of control at that house."

"What," exclaimed Amelia.

"He said it was for the Greater Good."

"Albus," growled Moody. Harry looked at the man with the weird eye and saw he drew out the stick he saw him holding before they left. "You better have a good reasoning for this." Albus looked at Moody and hesitated reaching for his own wand as he glanced around the room as he felt the eyes of the other Auror's in the room on him and the old Dark Mage hunter.

"I assure you. I had everything under control, Alastor," said Dumbledore. "Everything I did was for the betterment of the Magical World."

"This child suffered under that family," shouted Danielle. "Before we got here, he was suffering from multiple broken bones, scars, bruises and more than likely psychological scars due to abuse! You left him with those people, and it seems like you had a feeling what would happen to them there!" Danielle stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Dumbledore's chest. "I saw what his magic was doing as we tried to put his bones back in place after improper healing. It was mending the bone itself in a way I've never seen before. I don't know what the hell you were doing, but you put this boy in danger!"

"Albus," said Amelia. "I can charge you for child abuse by proxy for this."

"I had hoped that Lily's sister would show him the same affection Lily would show for her own son," said Dumbledore.

"Don't you dare give me that crap," shouted Danielle. Amelia stepped back and held Harry back as the woman's short blonde hair burst into flames. "All of this reeks of premeditation. Harry seems to remember you binding his magic somehow and you did this before sending them to the Dursley house, knowing his magic may act out, meaning you more than likely knew what would happen if he was placed there!" Albus stared at the doctor's hair before addressing her.

"I did not wish any harm to come to Harry."

"I hope not," said Amelia. "Because if this doesn't turn out to be one giant mistake, I will bring you in on charges, Dumbledore."

"Noted. Now, I must find another place suitable for Harry to…"

"I'm not going with you," said Harry as he clung to Danielle. Dumbledore finally took notice of the woman who chewed him out.

"I'm sorry, miss. You are?"

"Doctor Danielle Strauss," said Danielle. "And if you think I'm going to let him go with someone as bad a judge a character as Prince Diamond, you're a fucking idiot!"

"Good luck separating them, Dumbledore," said Moody with a chuckle. "Seeing as they're linked."

"They're what," asked Dumbledore.

"They're linked. The lad brought her back to life after Malfoy murdered her. And the resulting magic linked them together."

"What do you mean, brought back from death?"

"Just that. Somehow Malfoy learned where he ended up and attacked the Muggle hospital we found him in. Malfoy was burned to a crisp and phoenix fire was the culprit."

"That… that's impossible."

"Not if Harry absorbed his bindings. Which most likely happened when the bloody house caught fire." Harry looked at the old man and saw another stick slide into his hand. Harry blinked and found himself behind the man as the adults shouted at each other and grabbed the stick out of the man's hand when he tried aiming it at Danielle. Dumbledore faltered slightly as Alastor and Amelia reacted and knocked him off his feet with twin disarming spells. Harry looked at the stick in his hand and blinked as it turned into tinder in his hand.

"No!" Harry stared as it burned to a crisp, but the flames didn't burn him.

"Bloody hell, Lad," said Moody. "What did you do?" Harry looked at the man.

"Was that because of me," he asked.

"And then some."

"Dumbledore," said Amelia as Danielle went to Harry to examine his hands. "You should get back to Hogwarts. I'm sure you must be incredibly busy right now." Dumbledore stared at Harry and jumped slightly as he spotted a spark in the boy's eyes. An eerie spark that was equally hot and cold to the aged professor.

"I… I am… thank you, Amelia," said Dumbledore before he stood up. He bid goodbye to his former student and his friend before leaving. Danielle breathed deeply before hugging Harry as she saw no burns and the nerves of yelling off someone who could potentially turn her into a toad wore off.

"I think I will take that drink," said Danielle.

"I'd imagine so," said Amelia. They moved back into Amelia's office and the redhead sighed. "And I'm supposed to take charge soon? Morgana's tits, this is stressful."

"Take charge," asked Danielle.

"Right, we never explained. This is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We monitor illegal uses of magic and ensure that magic remains a secret to the Muggles and that no one uses their magic to break the law."

"You're police," said Harry.

"Essentially, yes."

"You mentioned Harry's parents were murdered?"

"Years ago," said Moody. "The Wizarding World was in the middle of a war led by a Dark Wizard named Voldemort. James and Lily Potter both worked to try and stop him and his followers, the Death Eaters. About a year after Harry was born, Voldemort managed to convince one of their friends to betray them and turn them into him. He then tracked them down and murdered them." Harry frowned slightly and held Danielle's hand. "Harry's parents died heroes. The same night they were killed, whatever his mother did put an end the Voldemort and the war. When the Death Eaters lost their leader, they all but gave up. Only the more fanatical ones kept causing terror until we apprehended them."

"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told me they died in a car crash," said Harry.

"They wanted to put them down and keep you down," said Danielle. "Nothing they said, about your parents, about you, was true. They just wanted to control you. Trust me, I know how that feels." Danielle moved her collar and showed an old burn scar on her right clavicle. "You're not the only one who had abusive relatives." She turned to Moody. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this. When you said we're linked…"

"When Harry brought you back with phoenix fire, it formed a connection between you both. Sort of like a parental bond, more than likely when you protected him without a second thought. He's never encountered something like that since his parents."

"So, what? I've adopted him?"

"More like magic has declared you mother and son," said Amelia. "Don't ask us how, even after all of this time even we don't know how magic can do these things."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means he's your responsibility," said Moody as he handed back the flask. "And you'll need to be taught more about the Magical World, especially given what we've just seen."

"What?"

"When you were tearing Dumbledore a new one, your hair turned into flames."

"It what?!"

"It was cool," said Harry with a slight smile. Danielle stared at the boy for a moment before reaching up timidly to touch her hair and found it was normal.

"Please tell me you're having me on."

"We aren't," said Amelia. "Danielle? You said Harry burst into flames before Malfoy came in, right?"

"That's right."

"Were you alone in the room?"

"No. There's always a team of surgeons and nurses when doing a surgery."

"So they saw Harry burst into flames?"

"Yes and they fled before the flames died down." Amelia sighed.

"I was afraid of that. And because of the unnatural nature of the Dursley fire would probably mean they will think you were caught in the blaze as well."

"Wait. They think I'm dead?"

"Possibly," said Moody. "Especially since we were only notified of Malfoy's reckless exposure of magic and weren't aware of the fire until we got back. They likely found the ashes left behind by the phoenix fire and assumed the worst after everything was said and done."

"Can't you do something to not think that? I love my job."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," said Amelia. "Whatever happened between you and Harry has essentially given you some control over fire, if your flaming hair is anything to go by. If your anger were to get the better of you again…"

"It would spark my hair up. Christ…"

"Considering it would be considered a form of accidental magic, we can't keep altering memories for you alone, unfortunately."

"So what the hell am I going to do? I spent my life working to my career. I…"

"I know this isn't ideal, but we find ourselves in a rather unusual situation." Amelia sighed before looking her in the eye. "Do you have any family? Any loved ones?"

"Just some friends. I abandoned my family when they didn't do anything while my grandfather… Danielle stopped talking before sighing. "That's it. No one else." Amelia shook her head.

"I'm sorry." Moody looked at the doctor.

"You'll need to adjust to this new life," he said. "You'll need to learn all you can to fit in, the both of you will." He looked to Amelia who nodded before addressing the two.

"There is a lot about our world that will take some time to get used to, particularly the politics. Things are run differently in this world. Compared to the modern world, we're still relatively in the Dark Ages, use of magic meaning we don't rely on technology as much as you do, especially since the two do not mix well more often than not."

"How differently," asked Danielle.

"Well, we still have lords, ladies and Houses. And things are not as… progressive as your world, namely when it comes to specific people, people from non-magical families, to get anywhere in the magical world due to the Pureblood movement."

"The what?"

"It's the movement that sprang up cause of Voldemort," said Moody. "They think that only families born with magic should practice and have it, never mind their own families were in the same boat at the beginning of their line, bloody idiots. Not a single old family has always had magic. We've been here since the time of Merlin and more families pop up all the time from new blood getting magic at random times, it's how we progress and move on, if it were just the 'Pure' as they put it, we'd have died off long ago."

"Harry has spent enough time not knowing who he is," said Amelia. "You're both welcome to stay with me and my niece while you learn of our world and however long you need."

"One thing," said Danielle. "You said that Malfoy man was a Death Eater, correct?"

"Yes."

"Have they always been searching for Harry?"

"They have."

"So how did he find him?"

"Bloody good question," said Moody. "And the right one we should be asking at the moment. What the hell could drive Malfoy to attack Potter without a plan and how could he have known where the lad was? Those are what we need to find out." Harry stared at a nearby torch and held out his hand to it, watching as the flames moved from the stand to his hand and forming into a blue ball, unbeknownst to the adults as they spoke. Harry stared at the flames as they danced in his palm before closing his hand and snuffing them out as his hand covered itself with frost.