“Any day now, Harry, it’s on its way. They can’t mess this up. It’s all done by magic and untouched by human hand.”
“Thanks, Tom. It’s not close to sunrise yet. Shut up and let me sleep.”
-ooOOoo-
Later that day, at Hogwarts Castle, two witches chatted as they finished their morning tea.
“Pomona, the Letters of Acceptance should be finished. I’m going to the tower to collect the final list.”
Pomona sighed. “Well, Minerva, I hope there are more letters this year. Our numbers have declined noticeably. I know there is no proof, but I’m sure more wizarding families have moved away from this country again in the last year.”
An ancient magic quill was working hard in the little tower. The Quill of Acceptance was writing the Hogwarts Acceptance Letters. The letters were to be sent to the young witches and wizards who had been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, checked the list of names. Then, finally, she found the name she was waiting to see, Harry Potter. She smiled a small smile of satisfaction.
She checked the pile of letters and found the one addressed to Harry Potter.
Mr H. Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG253AZCHoh
Professor McGonagall frowned. What does ‘The Cupboard under the Stairs’ mean? She knew that the Dursleys were the worst sort of muggles. What is this? Have they been keeping Harry in some broom cupboard?
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was away attending International Confederation of Wizards meetings. Dumbledore was the Supreme Mugwump and presided over every ICW session. He was also the Chief Warlock of the British Wizengamot and presided over every Wizengamot session. Those political jobs left little time for Albus to attend to his duties at the school. He mostly appeared for significant events like feasts and an occasional evening meal and left immediately after.
Minerva McGonagall had to wait until Albus was available to determine what ‘The Cupboard under the Stairs’ meant. Albus had assured everyone that Harry was safe and well. He would not explain how he knew. He kept on saying that he had ways of checking on Harry.
Minerva had her suspicions about how Albus checked on Harry. There were little devices on display in the headmaster’s office. She knew that Albus made these trinkets himself. They whirred and randomly puffed smoke. This meant something to Albus that he never shared with anyone else. Minerva hoped the signs given to Albus told that Harry was safe and well.
Minerva instructed the Hogwarts elves to send the letters to the children of magical families by owl. Harry Potter was a half-blood who lived with a family who knew of magic. This meant that his letter would be delivered by an owl. The letters to the children of muggle families would be taken to their homes by Hogwarts staff.
Minerva went to Filius Flitwick’s office for another discussion. “Have you ever heard of the Book of Admittance having the wrong address?”
Filius looked surprised. “As a matter of fact, I have heard of an incident where the Book kept an old address. The girl’s family had been living at a place when the Book of Admittance accepted her name. But then the family started travelling and never stayed in one place long enough to call it home. So, the Book kept the first address because the family never had another home.”
Harry’s letter arrived at 4 Privet Drive. The owl perched on the rooftop. Owls were bred to deliver mail and small parcels for witches and wizards. They had been given magical abilities which were not typical for any animal. The owl delivering Harry’s letter knew that something was wrong. This was the address, but Mr H. Potter was not living there.
The owl waited for its magic to give her the new location for Mr H. Potter. Postal owl magic eventually resolved a new destination. The new destination was far to the north. Mr H. Potter was on an island north and east of Hogwarts. He was in the fortress prison of Azkaban.
-ooOOoo-
The mail-delivery owls arrived at the prison office. No prisoner was allowed to receive mail. All mail to prisoners was opened by the prison staff and examined. Very occasionally, prisoners were allowed to receive censored messages. Most prisoners heard nothing from the outside world.
The mail clerk opened the letter to Mr H. Potter.
“This is a joke, surely.”
The office supervisor walked over. “What is a joke?”
“This is a Hogwarts letter for Harry Potter. I worked out the date. The real Harry Potter will turn eleven soon, so he will get his Hogwarts letter. “
The supervisor took the letter. “I will cast the validation spells on it. If it’s a joke, we can burn it.”
The spells were cast. Each result of each incantation came up positive; the letter was genuine. So, the mail-delivery owl was right that Harry Potter was in Azkaban.
The letter was taken to the prison governor.
The governor checked the letter himself and then opened the prisoner roll book.
“We do have children here. Any child who exhibits uncontrollable dangerous magic must stay on the top level in the magic suppression cells. The dementors help to keep them quiet. Sadly, most of them die after a short time. Unfortunately, St Mungo’s can’t do anything for them if their magic outbursts kill people.”
One eleven-year-old boy was found in the roll. His name was Dudley Dursley.
-ooOOoo-
The dementors were driven away, and the governor and a guard approached Dudley Dursley’s cell.
“Dursley! Get up! Give me your hands! I’m going to take blood samples.”
The short and thin boy stood up. His prison uniform shirt fell to his knees. His face and arms had many scars, and his hair was long and filthy. As well, there were long scars on which no hair grew running across his scalp.
He slowly shuffled to the cell door and put his hands through the gaps between the bars.
The guard drew a knife and cut a long gash in the palm of each hand. The blood flow was captured in two phials.
The cuts closed up and healed. But now, there were new dark scars where the gashes had been made.
The governor and the guard walked away.
The boy had kept his eyes down and had not flinched or made a sound.
Once the governor was gone, the boy withdrew his hands, turned, walked to the cell’s back wall, and slumped onto the filthy floor.
Two identity-proving parchments were laid out in the governor’s office on a workbench. Three drops of blood from each phial were placed on each parchment.
The magic on the parchments wrote out the tested person’s name and parental names.
The results were both the same.
Name: Harry James Potter
Father: James Potter
Mother: Lily Potter
545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY80P4TXBNj
The governor went to his fireplace, took a handful of floo powder, and threw it into the fire.
“DMLE Director’s Office!”
The answer came back.
“Director’s Personal Assistant here. How can I help you?”
“Ask the Director to floo to Azkaban as soon as she can. We have a problem.”
-ooOOoo-
The emergency meeting started in the DMLE meeting room.
Director Amelia Bones started talking.
“We have a problem.
I have no idea how this happened.
We know that Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, is the ‘The Boy Who Lived’ and ‘The Saviour of the Wizarding World ‘.
We have assumed that Harry Potter has lived in a safe, secure home for the last ten years.
We have been told that he is being cared for and loved by his surviving family.
Many silly stories are circulating in wizarding society about his supposed adventures.
Today, I have discovered that the truth is that he has been locked up in the magic suppression cells at Azkaban with no one but Death Eaters and dementors for company. Harry was discovered because his Hogwarts Acceptance letter was delivered to Azkaban. The street address on the letter was 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. I assume the rollbook at Hogwarts only records the last known home address; Azkaban doesn’t seem to register as a home address.
I repeat - I have no idea how this happened.”
The DMLE officers gasped and muttered.
Amelia pointed at Fiona Vane, the Children’s Services Office manager.
“Get the files on Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley. Dudley Dursley is the name he was given when imprisoned.”
Amelia pointed at Kingsley Shacklebolt.
“Find Dumbledore today and get a meeting with him, wherever he is. According to Dumbledore, he is the person who got Potter’s relations to agree to hide him. Tell him what I told you. See if you can get any information out of him. I know that you are in the Order of the Phoenix. If you obey his orders and keep anything from me, I will ensure you get ten years in Azkaban.”
Shacklebolt nodded.
Amelia pointed at Rufus Scrimgeour.
“Scrimgeour, you are coming with me to Hogwarts after this meeting. We are going to get every detail we can from them. We will then go to Harry Potter’s last known home address. We probably will not find anything, but we have to look.”
Senior Auror Gore was next.
“Gore, talk to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes liaison officer. Ask them if there were any magical incidents at that address nine to ten years ago. Get all the details that you can find.”
Then it was Senior Auror Robards.
“Robards, go to St Mungo’s Secure Ward; Potter is there. We have a twenty-four-hour guard on him. I have blocked all access to him apart from St Mungo’s healers. Get a report from the healers. The first opinion I got from the emergency healer when I took him there was that Potter was on the edge of death from starvation and dehydration. He has been in that state for years.”
Amelia paused, and then she glared around at the faces looking at her.
“Remember this! Harry Potter has been abandoned in that hell hole for over nine years. His fellow prisoners were all in adjoining cells to his. They were Sirius Black, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange and Augustus Rookwood. Bartemius Crouch Junior was there for a short time until he died. We have no indication of Potter’s mental state. Potter was passive and unresponsive to me for the time it took to get him to St Mungo’s.”
The Director waited for the horrified murmurs to subside.
“We have to investigate this thoroughly. We must get answers to every question. It is not just the Minister and me who will suffer when the public backlash arrives. You are all involved now. You must be concerned about your career. Make sure that you miss nothing.
Everything is top secret for now. This story is significant. It is almost certain to leak out. Keep your mouths shut even if you can read it in the Daily Prophet. We don’t know what could happen or who will be blamed for what.”
-ooOOoo-
The boy was sitting at a small table.
Set out before him was the biggest meal that he could remember seeing.
They told him that it was all for him.
They said that he didn’t have to eat it all.
He was to stop eating if he felt pain or was unwell.
The meal was a bowl of thin soup, and a piece of white bread with the crusts cut off.
The bowl was white. It was smooth and perfectly round. It wasn’t chipped or cracked.
The bread was on a white plate. The plate was also perfect.
There was a steel spoon next to the bowl. The boy had never eaten anything with a spoon. Any liquid he was given in his cell was slopped into a wooden bowl, and he drank it from the bowl as he sat on the floor. The bowl was taken from him as soon as he finished drinking what was in it.
The boy picked up the bowl, holding it with both hands. Then, he lifted it to his lips to drink the soup.
“Harry, please don’t do that.” That was the green-robed nurse. She moved a seat and sat by his side.
“Have you ever used a spoon?”
The boy shook his head.
“Well, what you do is this. Pick up the spoon like a quill, then dip it into the soup and move it smoothly away from you.”
She showed the movement.
“Then lift the spoon to your lips and sip the soup from your spoon. You may blow a gentle puff over the spoon if the soup is too hot.”
The boy looked at the nurse. “You know that my name is Harry. How do you know that?”
The nurse looked unhappy.
“Your blood has been tested. You are Harry James Potter, heir to the Ancient House of Potter and the last surviving member of that family in Britain.”
The boy stared at the nurse. His green eyes seemed to penetrate her. She became uncomfortable.
“I have duties to perform. I shall be back soon.” She stood up and left the room.
The boy turned to his meal, slowly sipped the soup, and ate the bread.
The food did take a long time to eat. The healers had told him that his stomach and bowel were not used to getting regular meals. His digestion would have to be retrained as he was gradually returned to civilized society.
-ooOOoo-
Fiona Vane hurried back to her desk.
These thoughts ran through her mind.
Amelia Bones was a tough but fair boss. This, however, was much bigger than an overlooked detail.
She slammed the main office door and locked it.
“Get me the files on Harry James Potter and a child named Dudley Dursley.
Search for any incident at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
Search for any incidents in 1981 and 1982 connected with that locality and those names.
Director Bones is on the warpath over this. Get moving!”
A clerk came to the manager’s desk.
“This is the Harry Potter file. I put it onto the active list because he should be starting at Hogwarts this year.”
The manager and two officers moved to a workbench and opened the file. It was slim. There was almost nothing there.
“There is the Godric’s Hollow disaster.
The statements are what is commonly known.
Potter was found in the wreck of the cottage.
Rubeus Hagrid took him to Hogwarts.
Dumbledore claimed Magical Guardianship over Potter.
Dumbledore then arranged for him to be cared for by his blood relatives.
That is all; Dumbledore responded to queries about Potter with assurances that he was personally checking on Potter. As his Magical Guardian, he had the authority to hide the child away and be his sole protector.
He simply stated that Potter was happy and safe.
There is no mention of Azkaban.”
The following file was opened.
“Dudley Dursley, who is he?”
The clerk answered.
“A muggle boy; nothing about a connection with Potter is on the file.
The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes reported a massive uncontrolled outburst of magic at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. That is the home address of the Dursley family.
No official file shows that Potter was supposed to live there. If the book at Hogwarts had that place as his home address, it wouldn’t appear on any official file. That book is secret.”
The DMAC incident report was opened.
545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1IKU9lk5kh
An Outburst of Accidental Magic
at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England
Date: November 5, 1981
Time: 3:15 pm
Four people were found at the house.
Two adults and a fifteen-month-old child were dead.
They were mutilated beyond recognition.
The fourth child was injured but alive. The child was male and estimated to be fifteen months old. There were many wounds over his face and body.
His magical signature was determined. Then the magical signature on the house’s remains was detected. The comparison indicated that his magical outburst killed the others and destroyed the house’s interior.
There was nothing to identify him. There were no documents anywhere. However, a nametag was sewn into the collar of the shirt he was wearing. The name on the tag was Dudley Dursley.
That was the name that went into the report on the incident.
Dudley Dursley was found to be a massively powerful muggle-born child. But tragically, his magic was dangerously unstable to the extent that lives were in danger.
The surviving boy was taken to St Mungo’s Emergency.
The house was made to look like a gas explosion had killed the family.
The St Mungo’s Emergency report was opened.
545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfxYqakKXs
The Emergency Admittance of
Dudley Dursley
Date: November 5, 1981
Time: 4:07 pm
545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2jzqhUBkX
DMAC officer Wendy Hardcastle brought a fifteen-month-old boy to the Emergency Ward.
His name was Dudley Dursley. Dudley Dursley was examined and tested.
The DMAC officers who accompanied Dudley reported that he was the source of an outburst of uncontrolled accidental magic which killed three muggles.
There were many fresh scars on his head and body. They were typical of uncontrolled magical outburst injuries. The child's magic had healed the wounds, but the scars could not be removed.
His magical power was off the scale and wildly unstable. He couldn’t be kept in St Mungo’s Spell Damage Ward or anywhere except Azkaban. He had to be held in a magic suppression cell under the dementors' influence to ensure he didn’t kill anyone else.
Dudley was transferred to Azkaban to be kept in the magic suppression cells under constant dementor influence. The only alternative is to euthanise the child.
There was complete silence.
The question was asked. “Euthanise a baby? Is that legal?”
The manager responded. “The only way to stop such children from killing people is to euthanise them or send them to Azkaban. Before Azkaban had magic suppression cells, any baby found like this had to be killed.”
Another question was raised.
“Didn’t they have identity-proving parchments? Did they do that test?”
The manager shook her head.
“They did not have identity-proving parchments. They were not developed for another five years. At the time, the only way to do a blood identity test was to take him to Gringotts. The goblins would not accept him. He was too dangerous.”
-ooOOoo-
Kingsley Shacklebolt called Minerva McGonagall at her Hogwarts office.
“Minerva! I have to talk to the headmaster today. Can you tell me where he is?”
“The headmaster is attending the ICW conference at ICW headquarters in Rome. Today is the final session, and he will preside over the assembly. So, you can try his office in the ICW headquarters in Rome.”
“Thank you, Minerva. By the way, have you received a response to the Hogwarts acceptance letter sent to Harry Potter?”
“No! I haven’t had any reply. Should I be concerned?”
“Minerva! Amelia Bones and Senior Auror Scrimgeour will be coming to see you about Harry. Sorry, I have to go.”
Shacklebolt shut the floo call down.
Minerva sat and stared at the fireplace. She then started collecting every record of Harry Potter that she had in the official files. There was almost nothing.
-ooOOoo-
The floo did not respond again. Shacklebolt had called Dumbledore’s ICW office three times in an hour, and no one had answered.
The next call was made. Finally, the floo opened.
“Yes, Kingsley, what is it?” Dumbledore answered.
“Headmaster, we have a problem. There has been an incident at Azkaban. A prisoner has been transferred to St Mungo’s Secure Ward. A blood identity test was made. Unhappily, the test revealed that the prisoner is Harry Potter.” Shacklebolt waited for Dumbledore to reply.
“That is impossible, Kingsley. I checked on Harry; he is safe and well at his family’s home. This prisoner must be an imposter.”
“Please return to Hogwarts as soon as you can, Headmaster. Amelia Bones has taken an active interest in this matter, and I have to report to her tomorrow morning.”
Dumbledore muttered angrily.
“This is out of her jurisdiction. I am Harry’s Magical Guardian, and what I say concerning Harry is final. Tell her that.”
-ooOOoo-
The Deputy Headmistress met Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour at the main entrance steps.
“Minerva, thank you for seeing us today. Did you get my message about Harry Potter?”
“Yes, Amelia, I did. This is very confusing. The headmaster is certain that Harry is safe and well at his family’s house. He insists that this prisoner is an imposter.”
“I will investigate that possibility. Are you willing to give me a copy of anything you have on your files concerning Mr Potter?”
The Deputy Headmistress gave a slim file to the DMLE Director.
“This is it. We have the enrollment application Harry’s parents made when he was born. His fees and board were paid in full for all his years. The Quill of Acceptance made an address change in the Book of Admittance when Headmaster Dumbledore placed Harry with his relatives. That is all.”
Amelia looked at the pages and closed the file.
“We are going to that address now. I have now asked for the details of who owns the property from the muggle authorities. I will talk to the headmaster when he returns.”
Amelia was getting less happy by the minute. This was because an owl found her as she left the castle. The message revealed that 4 Privet Drive was now owned by Marjorie Dursley, Vernon Dursleys sister.
-ooOOoo-
The magical visitors landed in a secluded part of Privet Drive. They walked to number four and rang the doorbell. A dark-haired woman answered the door.
“Good afternoon, I am Detective Chief Inspector Bones. This is Detective Inspector Scrimgeour.”
The visitors waved genuine-looking police identity cards at the woman.
“We are looking for a boy named Harry Potter. He would be ten years old, nearly eleven. Do you know of anyone with that name living here?”
“No, sorry! We are renting this place. We have been here for the last nine years. That is me, my husband and our two sons.”
“So, you have never heard of Harry Potter?”
The woman paused and then answered.
“No, sorry! I don’t know that name. We know the family who used to live here died in a gas explosion and fire. When we moved in, the place had been entirely rebuilt. Inside was like new. I know that their name wasn’t Potter. It was something like Dursley.”
Amelia Bones looked at Scrimgeour and shook her head. “Well, thank you. We will ask the local uniformed police to doorknock the street, so someone will be around asking these questions again. We are going to make sure about this boy.”
“OK! Has this Potter boy done something bad?”
“No! He hasn’t. We are investigating people who should have cared for him and haven’t done their job. Thank you for your help. Good day.”
They returned to the Ministry.
-ooOOoo-
Amelia Bones started the meeting.
The reports were made. The last one came from the St Mungo’s healers.
St Mungo’s Rehabilitation Service
Status Report for Harry James Potter
Date: July 25, 1991
Time: 3:45 pm
Harry is severely malnourished.
He is ten per cent shorter than the average for his age and fifteen per cent lighter than the minimum healthy weight for his age and height.
His eyesight has been permanently compromised, probably by an injury. He seems to use his magic to sense his surroundings rather than use his eyes.
There are some miraculous results from his general health tests. He has no diseases which would typically result from prolonged malnutrition. He can walk and talk normally.
He has sharp wit and intelligence, although he is reluctant to reveal that.
The magic tests reveal that he has off-the-scale magical power. He also has extraordinary control over his magic. He can hold his magic back to the extent that he appears to be a squib, and then in the next second, he can exert Merlin-like power.
He completed the written tests usually given to ten-year-old children to measure their intellectual ability.
He completed these tests in minutes instead of the hour usually given.
He can read and write with adult levels of comprehension.
His handwriting is extraordinary. He writes with a cursive style not seen since Victorian times.
He has a comprehensive knowledge of magical society and has a high level of awareness of muggle society as well.
Intellectually, he is more than ready to attend Hogwarts.
His general behaviour and socialisation are matters of concern. The main issue is he shows almost no emotional variation. He is constantly calm and controlled. I can see this if any attempt is made to joke and get him to laugh. He responds with a steady, penetrating stare which is very unnerving.
We cannot recommend letting him go to Hogwarts until he has shown some progress with socialisation.
Amelia looked around at the faces. They were all looking at her.
Fiona Vane spoke first.
“What was that? That can’t possibly be right! He has been isolated in Azkaban with no family or teacher. How can he read and write like an adult? I can see how he has protected himself by closing up in a permanent shell. The constant exposure to the dementors has done that. What I want to know is who taught him?”
Scrimgeour cleared his throat. “It wasn’t a guard. They feed the prisoners twice a day. They might look to see if they are still alive. That is all.”
Scrimgeour looked around.
“That leaves the other prisoners. The cells in that block have bars along three sides. That is done so the prisoners can’t hide anything from a guard. Each prisoner can see and talk to another five prisoners. The prisoners are not isolated from each other. Usually, they are all so crazy that they tend to drive each other mad. I don’t know what happened to Potter in there.”
Amelia rapped her knuckles on the table.
“The prisoners in those other cells were Sirius Black, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and Augustus Rookwood. One or more of them must have taught him.”
“We can’t let him go to Hogwarts when he has been taught and tutored by Death Eaters,” Shacklebolt said.
“Why not! We let the Malfoy, Parkinson and Nott children go there.” Amelia answered.
“What about the uncontrolled magical outburst that killed those muggles? Did anything like that happen again?” Scrimgeour asked.
“The healers found no evidence of magical outbursts. In fact, they found that he has complete control of his magic.” Amelia answered.
“What is Dumbledore’s attitude? What did he say?” Scrimgeour asked.
“He didn’t accept that the prisoner was Harry Potter. Instead, he declared that the boy must be an imposter.” Shacklebolt answered.
“That is not helpful. We all know that the tests are reliable. Dumbledore is trying to hold things up until he can get control of the situation.” Fiona declared.
Amelia stood and prepared to leave. “I’m going to declare my personal interest in this case. House Bones has a formal alliance with House Potter. Rufus, you are in charge of the investigation from now on. I will act for Mr Potter until Dumbledore shows up and claims his Magical Guardianship again. If he keeps saying that this boy is an imposter, Dumbledore may insist that he be sent back to Azkaban for the rest of his life.”
“Dumbledore would never do that!” Shacklebolt shouted.
“Take your hero worship blinkers off, Kingsley! Dumbledore has failed in his duty to this boy. Don’t expect him to play nicely.”
Amelia marched out of the room.
545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSjYVn1W92
