Author note of importance:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you my latest idea that brews inside my mind. Now I do not promise much of it for now considering my prime objective is The Kiss of Death, which you can find on my account page.

This story is the product of my funky brain but the concept, characters, places (most of them) are not a product of my brain. The Harry Potter Characters, locations, most of the spells, potions and other items found in the books/movies belong to J.K. Rowling and I am simply borrowing them to play with.

Warnings:

This story contains child abuse, is a gender bender, and may contain other subjects that are not to some people's liking. I will warn people when or if those items do enter into the story. This chapter does show child abuse though so be warned.

So those who read, read with an open mind as I am an open minded person. I do not mind criticism, I actually appreciate it but outright flaming will not be tolerated and your review will be erased if permitted. I do because I enjoy writing not because I am super amazing grammar skills. My skills are crap compared to many and I know it but I do my best to write a beautifully written story.

Now to those who read this section I hope you enjoy the story and to those who didn't I also hope you do as well but you've been warned you simply chose not to read it.

Chapter I

Who did you see?

The Ministry was in turmoil as Aurors hurried from one place to another. An enormous magical discharge in a muggle area had alerted the magic sensors. Those sensors had alerted the Misuse of Magic department. In turn, they requested the help of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the situation.

One such person was the current head of the DMLE, Amelia Bones. Madam Bones to those under her; was strict and fair yet hardly ever participated in investigations. This case was an exception as it had grabbed her attention. She was curious to learn who had been able to produce such a large magical blast. The location being discernible muggle brought the worry to the forefront. It was hard to believe that none of them had noticed unusual activity in the area. Such a large explosion of magic was uncommon; however, it was dangerous as it could certainly reveal them to the muggle world. That was the reason for their involvement.

Gathering a team of her situation-appropriate Aurors took her very little time and with the location in hand; she led the small group to the muggle area. With the heavy muggle population and it being considerably early in the morning, they found it safer to appear in the neighbouring muggle park before hurrying towards their destination.

As they walked, they were surprised to find themselves surrounded by nothing but identical houses on either side. Each held perfectly manicured lawns, boarded with impeccably trimmed hedges. Everything about the area was unmistakably suburban and screamed average. The sight was rather disconcerting to most of them, as they were all rather used to their worlds unique and commonly audacious style of buildings and homes.

In front Number 4, a large group of individuals had gathered. The flashing lights of police cruisers, as well as a waiting ambulance, showed that something had happened. Something that the Ministry was not made aware, or in a worst-case scenario; the magic had been so visible that they were taking no precautions. A sea of spectators gathered on this side of the taped off area was even more of a concern.

Approaching one officer, Amelia rapidly showed him her badge and was allowed access to the scene. No sooner had they crossed the yellow line of tape did the door to Number 4 open and officers stepped into view.

The first two officers held between them a very willowy tall woman with mousy blonde hair and a long neck. She was dressed in a plain floral nightdress, her complexion pale as onlookers watched her being pushed into one of the waiting police cars. The next to be removed was a large woman, whose expression was one of fury as she barked at the police officers who were leading her to another police cruiser. Following swiftly behind them was two men with a cage between them. Growling and loud barking could be heard from inside.

"Don't you hurt my Rippy-pooh you mongrels! You have no right coming in my brother's good home and doing any of this!"

"The boy's a freak!" followed a bellow of rage forcing them all to turn and see a large individual being pulled from the house. Two of the bigger officers fought against him as they pulled him towards a police cruiser.

The individual was enormous, with no neck and a bushy moustache. Dressed in a red night robe that barely wrapped around his wide girth his pyjamas had blood splatter on them and his hands were shaking.

He was fighting against the police officers, face purple in rage as spit flew from his mouth. It took four officers to detain him and push him into the vehicle.

"The boy contaminates everything around him! He used his freakishness to get everything! I should have killed him when he was a baby, drowned him in the tub before he could grow to learn to be more freakish! Now, look at him! Turning himself into — into that! The freak should be killed!" The man continued, however, his roars soon became muffled, as the door to the car was slammed shut.

"Ma'am —" Murmured Auror Nymphadora Tonks, eyes glued to the seen in both shock and a bit a fear, fear of what they were about to find.

"We need to know what the bloody hell is going on here, Kingsley, notify the Minister, inform him that we need to have a joint team on this case. Clearly one of our own is involved. By the looks of it, this does not appear to be a good case either. We might - no we will need to involve The Children Care department and see about suitable guardians once this is settled. I will soon see who it is," Amelia ordered before moving towards the house.

Just as she reached the door of the house, she was forced to move aside as a gurney came out, three paramedics around it each looking very worried.

Looking down at the figure on the gurney, Amelia immediately spotted the long auburn hair that fell passed pale thin shoulders. The girl was only just taller than a twelve-year-old and was extremely pale and thin yet what stood out the most was the lightning bolt scar on the girl's forehead.

Eyes widening in shock she turned to Kingsley who hurried to catch up with her as she followed the paramedics.

"I have a feeling this concerns Harry Potter. Inform the Minister that this must be kept between us and a special team of investigators from the muggle side. Make sure nothing magical is found inside the house until then, have the others handle the scene as best they can. I will go with the child, something is definitely not right here and it isn't simply the clear signs of an abusive household. I'll inform you of any updates I may have." She declared which had Kingsley shooting the gurney a worried look before he gave a nod of agreement.

"Of course ma'am,"

With that, he left and she hurried to climb into the ambulance without protests from the paramedics. The moment the doors shut the ambulance took off and Amelia watched as the muggle worked to stabilise the pre-teen. As he worked, another began contacting the nearest hospital.

"We have a preteen, female, looking around twelve old with bruises, what appears to be a broken arm and possible damage to the ribcage heading into Ashtead Hospital. The patient is also showing signs of a very high fever, irregular pulse and dehydration. She is malnourished and has severe sunburns on her shoulders showing she might be suffering from a severe heat stroke. Most notable is the gunshot wound —"

As the information entered Amelia's mind, she couldn't help but stare at the child who was being hooked up to all sorts of muggle medical equipment. The teen was minuscule, even more so when the paramedics showed one of her wrists which were no bigger than the hand of a baby. Yet her mind was a hive of questions.

How could this be Harry Potter? It was a well-known fact that the boy was well a boy nevertheless before her, was evidence that said otherwise. The child before her was clearly female in body and looked very different from the pictures she had seen of the boy.

Harry Potter had short messy black hair; this girl had long auburn hair. Not the same colour as Lily Potters at all, actually it was far more similar to her own hair colour when she had been younger. Her skin tone was also very wrong, Harry Potter was described as slightly tanned yet this girl had a pale complexion. Something was not right here and she knew had had something to do with magic. Something had happened to the Potter Heir and nothing would be figured out until they were able to have Healers examine her and perhaps a Curse Breaker.

Pulled from her thoughts as they came to a stop, Amelia hurried from the ambulance and followed the gurney as they led it into the hospital. No sooner did they enter where they swiftly surrounded by nurses and doctors alike. Moving to the sidelines to be out of the way, she continued to follow the group until they arrived at a restricted section of the hospital.

Standing there, she watched through the windowpanes as the gurney turned a corner and disappeared from her sight.

It was clear that that household had many secrets, many of which were not good but this also brought into question James and Lily Potter. That was something she hated, she had known both James and Lily. She had worked with James, she had dated — no she would not think of him.

Pushing that thought out of her mind, she ran a shaking hand over her face before letting a tired sigh leave her lips. She had met little Harry when Lily had presented him to them. She remembered Lily telling them that they had kept the pregnancy as quiet as possible, not even telling anybody they were expected and using charms to hide the pregnancy. For safety, they had explained, now her mind was beginning to doubt that.

"Bloody hell," she groaned tiredly feeling more and more exhausted as she moved to sit on one of the chairs. "This is going to turn into a bloody mess,"

Resting her head in her hands, she tried to calm herself yet she had no luck as a moment later a figure approached her forcing her to look up to find a Healer she knew all too well.

Healer Chalisse White was an exceptional Healer, earning top grades during her time at Hogwarts, she had instantly earned a spot at Saint Mungo's, and after two years, she had become one of the best. Nowadays she spent her time between Saint Mungo's and on call for the DMLE for when a child case got out of hand.

She was a beautiful woman, Amelia's own age with long blonde hair that was often pulled into a French twist. She had blue eyes and always wore dress pants with a blouse, today was no exception.

"Amelia, I hear we have one of our own in the emergency room with a gunshot wound," Chalisse greeted looking serious and composed if not a bit worried.

"We do, but more questions than what happened here need to be answered Chalisse, I have my strong suspicions that the girl is Harry Potter. I simply don't understand how it is possible," she confessed earning a wide eyes look from the Healer before she sat down a thoughtful look in place.

"Well, we could follow a reasonable explanation. You as well as I know what happened during the first war. Children were kidnapped, their appearance changed to fit the needs of others some were found, others were abandoned. It is entirely possible that Harry Potter was one of those children." Healer Chalisse concluded softly before she turned to Amalia. "I'll contact Gringotts see if we can borrow one of their better Curse Breakers once we have access to the young patient. For now, could you tell me what happened?"

"I don't know much Chalisse," Amelia confessed tiredly. "We were summoned to the scene after Misuse of Magic informed us about a large magical discharge in the area. We arrived to see what had caused it only to find muggle law enforcement and medical personnel already present. Gaining access, we saw three adults being detained while the paramedics were transporting the — patient — from the house. I strongly suspect abuse by what the man was shouting, and the paramedics were saying things like heat stroke, and malnourishment."

"I see, the fact that she was shot will hinder her healing but we'll do everything in our power to help her doctors get her back into good health," Chalisse began before drawing a deep breath. "These cases never get better, how could an adult harm a child to such a degree I could never understand."

Child abuse cases were very rare in the magical world, and it was a well-known fact that the abuse of a child in a magical family was punishable by life imprisonment in Azkaban. Children were considered a life blessing to the magical world as they lived long lives yes but their numbers were not as large as they once were. A child was precious to their world that was why child abuse cases were very rare among the magical world's population. The only reason they had a department for it was that most abuse cases came from the muggle world.

"I have Kingsley informing Fudge of the situation, we need to make sure that this case is handled by both parties who know of one another. It's imperative if we want to have the charges stick on both ends." Amelia remarked earning a nod from Chalisse.

"Good, I already have our end covered, the main surgeon working on the patient is my cousin, he's a muggle who knows about the magical world," Chalisse revealed before placing a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "We will find out the truth but for now let us keep the reporters as far away from this as we can,"

"That I can agree with."

Amelia Bones did not want to think what the papers would print if they got word of their saviour being abused, little alone the sudden change in gender. It would all be a shock and some people would try to take advantage of it to further their own gain. They did not need that at a time like this. Then, came the fact that the reporters would most likely come to the same conclusions she was coming to, the Potters being involved in some way to her kidnapping.

…

Privet Drive was still a mess as a new set of law enforcement arrived on scene. Every member of this team knew about the magical world because of some event of sorts. Most had family members in the magical world, some members had spouses that were magical or children that were magical. They had also worked with Aurors in the past during other cases that needed the two worlds to communicate.

Officer Patrick Holmes approached Number 4 with a critical eye. He had worked with Auror Kingsley Shackelbolt in the past. The man was a good law enforcement agent, reliable, intelligent, reasonable, and calm. To know he was handling this investigation was a bit relieving.

"Officer Holmes, welcome to Number Four Privet Drive," the man of his thoughts greeted as Officer Holmes entered the house.

Kingsley Shacklebolt had not changed an ounce since their last meeting. He was still tall, wearing his traditional purple and gold robes that had him standing out and had a sense of calmness around him that always seemed to affect others.

"Kingsley, I'd say it was nice seeing you again but under the circumstances, I will reserve that statement. What do we have?" He asked while accepting the man's hand to shake.

"Case of child abuse," The man grunted, a small tone of displeasure making itself known. "Three muggles resided in this home along with a magical. Although at this time four muggles and a magical are living here, a guest was staying in the house as well. All three were detained although one is a minor and currently with child services while the investigation is being handled."

"I see, I was told that extreme secrecy had to be handled with this case that reporters were not to be included until all the facts were known." Officer Holmes remarked earning a nod from the man as he was led upstairs on the first floor.

"That's because of who the victim is. Our records show that this house is the home of one magical student who's currently attending Hogwarts, Harry Potter." Kingsley explained soberly.

"Wait — I've heard that name before, Harry Potter — Potter — I worked with a Potter once, James Potter." Officer Holmes remarked earning a grunt from Kingsley.

"Harry Potter is James Potter's son. When James Potter was murdered along with his wife, on Halloween twelve years ago the boy was supposedly placed with his only living relatives." Kingsley explained before he pushed the door to a room open. "The thing is Amelia Bones — who is at the hospital at the moment — informed me that it is entirely possible that Harry Potter is, in fact, one of the kidnapped children of war. We are not too certain which one yet but after the Muggle doctors have had their time at healing the child we will be able to take over the care and dig deeper into that case of worms. What more is, at the moment, Harry Potter is considered a boy while the child who was taken from this house is in fact purely female."

"So, either the girl was cross-dressing as a boy her entire life —" "Or she didn't know she was a she." Kingsley finished before motioning to the room.

The room was clearly a bedroom, the smallest of the four if Officer Holmes trusted his gut. There was one single bed with a very lumpy mattress and threadbare sheets against one side. An armoire and dresser with a broken leg against another, a trunk at the foot of the bed and a bird cage on the dresser. There was one window in the room yet the window was covered in large metallic bars preventing the windows from being opened and escapes in the case of a fire. Sadly, it did not end there as Officer Holmes swiftly spotted the padlock from the outside as well as the dog flap. Additional evidence came when he moved towards the wastebasket to find human waste inside.

"This was the boy's — I mean girl's room," he grunted eyes narrowed.

It was clear that the girl's relatives had done everything in their power to make sure the girl suffered. They did not allow her out unless necessary; they gave her food in her room and limited her time outside.

"This is only the start of it all," Kingsley grunted before motioning him to follow him downstairs to the main level. There the man opened the door to the cupboard under the stairs. "Auror Tonks found this,"

Bending, Officer Holmes looked inside. The room was small and was clearly being used to house cleaning supplies now. However, as he looked closer, there was clear evidence that this room was not always used to store cleaning supplies. At some point in the last twelve years, this small broom closet had been used as a bedroom. The evidence came when Officer Holmes spotted the words carved on the wall spelling out Harry's room, and the small toy soldiers that were against one of the wooden beams.

"There is a lock on the door, showing they also locked the girl in here as well," Kingsley growled before motioning to follow him down into the basement. It was here that his fellow officers were now gathering evidence.

The basement seemed only to be used as storage space as it was unfinished. Yet evidence around them showed that the room had been used for something else, something far more nefarious that had transpired only a few short hours before hand.

A blood pool had formed on the cement floor, with blood splatter evident. Something else that was evident was the bullet that was lodged into the floor that officers were attempting to extract for evidence.

It was clear just what had happened in that basement and Officer Holmes felt his insides roll at the site. No matter how many cases of child abuse he handled, to learn that an adult would willingly kill or attempt to kill a child was appalling.

"Shot her in the side, horrible aim. Police were called as neighbours heard shooting and shouting from the house early this morning. The only reason officers stormed the house was because the male suspect attacked one of them. They found the girl lying on the ground, shivering, pale, and unresponsive." Kingsley explained tiredly.

"We're guessing that this is when the magical discharge went off, sending off our alarms or it could have happened before she was shot," Kingsley explained.

"Why were the other two adults charged?" Officer Holmes questioned while shaking his head.

"One woman had her dog attack officers as they tried arresting the male suspect. We also suspect that she had her dog attack the victim as well. The second woman was arrested for tampering with the scene as she tried to clean up the evidence."

"Joy, the entire family is bonkers," he grunted earning a nod of agreement from Kingsley.

"Kingsley, could you come up to the bedroom please," came a female voice.

"That would be Auror Tonks, let's see what she needs me for," he remarked before they both marched up the two flights of stairs to arrive at the bedroom already.

"I was looking through the room, the trunk clearly belongs to Harry Potter but it also has family heirlooms inside, we'll have to make sure it's secured," She remarked professionally. "I found an invisibility cloak inside that some might want to grab."

"Of course, Tonks could you bring it to Gringotts have it stashed in Potter's vault for safe keeping that way we don't have to worry about it." Kingsley requested earning a nod from Tonks.

"I can do that, better safe than sorry. You know what could happen if somebody stole a family heirloom." Tonks remarked knowingly.

"Yes, we're also going to need to dig into the Dursley's financials. They should have been paid for looking after their nep — niece, but I see clearly that not much was spent on her. Let's see where all that money is going."

…

It was late at night when Amelia was allowed into her victim's room. Entering it with Chalisse, they found the teen on a bed, hooked up to various muggle machines. She was pale yet doctors had assured them that she would make a full recovery.

"We'll be able to remove her from the muggle machines in about two days' time. For now, I've been given permission to perform very light diagnoses spells." Chalisse remarked while hurrying to the teen's side. "I was able to get my hands on a copy of Harry Potter's medical file. You might be aware that a copy is sent to St-Mungo's after every school year so that we can keep a record if they ever arrive for medical reasons. The folder isn't very extensive I'm afraid, something we'll have to fix. Also, any muggle medical documents will have to be combined as well."

"That we can do after, for now, can we confirm that this is Harry Potter?" Amelia questioned tiredly earning a nod from the Healer.

"Of course, I have a sample of not only her magical signature on file but also her blood on file," Chalisse answered before moving to the teen's side.

"How long will it take you?" Amelia questioned curiously.

"It should not take much time at all," Chalisse answered before removing her wand and setting some documents on the bedside table.

Sitting down on the edge, she slowly began running her wand over the young girl's chest. After that, she moved to something else until finally, she had her wanted results.

"Well, Amelia, my scans show that this is indeed the documented Harry Potter," Chalisse announced before beginning more scans.

Shoulders slumping in both relief and resignation, Amelia tried her best to take a deep breath and relax. At least they knew that this person was in fact who they had thought she was. Now, the questions had diminished although not as much as they would have liked. They had quite a few remaining and after what she had read from Kingsley's report, she was very certain that things were not going to go easy.

"I'm now performing some light scans to view her health and a diagnostic spell that will give me a list of all spells performed upon her body since her birth. They will be quite a few but I'm sure you have a way to shorten the stack by type of spell," Chalisse remarked softly, fully concentrated on her work.

"The spells were truly interested yes. We'll narrow it down to harmful spells, charms that could cause magic disorder, blocks and a few others." Amelia answered earning a nod from Chalisse.

"We also want to get a documented history of her injuries. Her — relatives — will be tried in magical courts. They might not be magical but they injured one of our own and will be tried for it. Of course, I can't very well send them to Azkaban but I will be sending them to a muggle facility."

"You have enough evidence?"

"Plentiful," Amelia growled before sitting down. "They're being charged with child abuse, child neglect, attempted murder, and plenty other charges."

"Good, what they did is unforgivable," Chalisse grumbled before finally tapping her wand against some parchment.

The second one took a little time and before long, they had a stack of documents on the young girl known as Harry Potter. By the time she had completed everything she could she had a large stack of documents to go through. Gathering them she bid her friend a good evening. A final mention of returning in the morning for potions was made before she left.

Tired by the day's events but knowing she couldn't leave the child on her own, she settled into a chair. Thankfully, it wasn't long before a soft knock at her looking up to find Kingsley standing in the doorway.

"Enter," she ordered allowing the man full access to the room.

"What is the verdict ma'am?" He questioned.

"We are indeed looking at Harry Potter I'm afraid. Merlin the press is going to get a field day when they hear about this." She answered tiredly before running a hand through her hair and turning to the child.

"We're doing our best to keep this entire story out of the press as much as possible. The thing is I think we're going to have a problem. There is a squib who lives not far from the area. She came to see what was happening." Kingsley explained yet Amelia swiftly connected the dots.

"She would have known Harry Potter lived in that house?"

"Exactly, now the question remains. Why would she be so curious about the boy — girl — she seemed rather worried when she saw us," He remarked. For a moment Amelia frowned before looking back to her Auror.

"Do you think she was placed there to keep an eye on the child?" She questioned and although Kingsley didn't say anything she knew his concerns. "First thing in the morning make your way to her house with Auror Tonks. Question her about her involvement with — our victim — if she doesn't comply, I will speak with her personally, in a cell."

"Of course ma'am — may I ask?" Kingsley asked curiously while his own dark brown eyes danced over the far too thin figure lying on the bed.

"Her doctor said that they are certain she will make a full physical recovery. She still has a fever, but it has gone down considerably. Chalisse will return tomorrow with more potions. For now, she will need rest. I don't expect her to wake up anytime tonight," Amelia gently answered before a yawn escaped her lips. "Could I ask you to inform Susan that I won't be returning to the manor tonight?" She asked earning a nod from the man.

"Of course ma'am," he agreed before leaving the room.