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"Albus!" Deputy headmistress Minerva McGonagall barged into the headmasters office, shock and panic on her face
"Minerva?" Headmaster Albus Dumbledore blinked at the way his deputy and close friend barged into his office "what, may I ask, is the matter?"
"Harry potter!" McGonagall replied
"Mr Potter?!" Dumbledore jumped to his feet, Harry Potter was the boy-who-lived, the boy responsible for stopping Voldemort and Dumbledore knew he was the boy of the prophecy. He had last seen Harry when he had placed him with his relatives, the Dursleys. Dumbledore had great hopes for Harry, if all went well then Harry would be his successor and the next leader of the light. He was such an adorable baby. "What has happened to him?"
"He has sent his Hogwarts letter back, saying he does not wish to attend" McGonagall replied "Albus, imagine that! Harry Potter, son of Lily and James, not wishing to attend Hogwarts!"
"Worry not Minerva, I shall deal with this" Dumbledore promised her, all the while he was wondering what would cause Harry to refuse. He knew that the boy would likely not have a brilliant life at the Dursleys and expected him to jump at the opportunity to attend a school of magic, even if the Dursley's did treat him kindly he should still want to attend, after all what child wouldn't want to learn magic?
"And another thing" McGonagall continued, not the least bit calmed down by the headmasters words "you had left Mr Potter at the Dursleys?
"Yes?" Dumbledore nodded
"Then why is the address registered to an orphanage?!" McGonagall slammed the letter on the desk, showing the shocked wizard that it had indeed been registered to an orphanage.
Dumbledore, dressed in a green suit, accompanied Minerva McGonagall, who was dressed in muggle clothing as well, to the orphanage that Harry Potters letter was addressed to. Both had walked up to the first available staff member they could find.
"Greetings my dear" Albus smiled at the woman "I am Albus Dumbledore and with me is Professor McGonagall, we were hoping to talk to Mr Potter"
"Mr Potter?" The woman blinked "Harry Potter?"
"Yes" McGonagall nodded
"Are you two...positive that you want to meet him?" The woman asked, her tone of voice and face suggested that the answer should be 'no'
"Absolutely" Dumbledore nodded "you see, we are hear to offer Mr Potter a place at our school"
"Right, good luck with that" The woman said, making it clear that she thought they needed it "follow me then"
"Tell me, my dear, is there anything about Mr Potter that you'd like to tell us?" Albus spoke as they followed the woman
"Well" The woman sighed "for the most part he just wants to be left alone, he sticks to his room as much as possible. The younger kids like him, most of them anyway, he's had a few problems with the older kids"
"What sort of problems?" McGonagall asked
"Well, from what I and the rest of the staff have been able to gather, the other kids bothered him in some way and ended up hurt"
"Hurt?" Albus repeated
"Burnt, injured" The woman replied "now, most of the kids leave him alone. The younger ones keep him company sometimes but I just think he has a soft spot for them, he doesn't hurt anyone unless they bother him too much. A few weeks ago, one new kid came and tried to 'assert his dominance' on everyone. From what I've heard he tried that on Harry and the next day he was found crying in the basement. Jumps whenever Harry enters a room. The only other people Harry talks to is a family that lives nearby, he visits them from time to time and from what I understand, he is good friends with their daughter. Alright, Harry's room is the third on the left. Have fun" The woman turned and left
"Something doesn't feel right about this" McGonagall said as they walked to his room.
Eventually they found Harry's door, it was a wooden door with the words 'keep out' scratched into it. Needless to say, that did not fill either Professor with confidence. Dumbledore knocked once, no answer. He knocked again, and again, yet no reply.
"Harry?" He called "Mr Potter? We're coming in" He waved his wand and the door unlocked, he slowly pushed it open and entered the room, followed by Professor McGonagall.
The room wasn't very big, on the left was a cupboard and a bed while on the right was a desk, a chair and a shattered mirror above the desk. The floor boards were wooden while the walls and ceilings were a very plain white. Opposite from the door was a window, they found what they were looking for as he was currently sat on the window frame.
Sat with his head looking out the window and away from them was Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived and the boy they were searching for. He was wearing black shoes, blue jeans, a black hoodie with the hood up. His left leg was hanging down as he couldn't seem to fit both on top of the window frame, on top of his left arm was a bird, specifically a raven, which he gently stroked with his right hand.
"Mr Potter?" Dumbledore spoke again but Harry didn't respond "Mr Potter, I am Albus Dumbledore, I am currently the Headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, with me is Professor McGonagall"
"I thought" Harry spoke after several seconds of silence, still not looking back towards them, his voice slow with a deceptional calm added in "that I made it very clear that I wasn't interested in attending"
"And why ever not?" McGonagall asked
"I'm not fond of people" Harry answered
"Mr Potter" Dumbledore spoke after sharing a glance with his deputy "Hogwarts is the best magical school in the world, now I understand that it may be hard for you to believe in magic..."
"Oh, I believe" Harry interrupted with an amused voice "I believe in magic, I do, I just don't want to attend your school"
"But Mr Potter, we are the best..."
"Says you" Harry interrupted again "but you'd be slightly biased in that opinion"
"Mr Potter, it is required for you to attend at least five years of magical training" Dumbledore said, trying an alternative method
"Says who?" Harry asked curiously
"The magical equivalent of a government" McGonagall answered "you are required to proceed with at least five years of training, though nearly everyone continues with seven so they can complete their education and maximise their..."
"What happens if I refuse?" Harry cut her off "Will I be forced to attend?"
"Mr Potter" Dumbledore sighed "I do not know what action will be taken as I don't ever recall anyone ever refusing Hogwarts, it is something I can look up later though I imagine that it won't be something either of us would like, would you please look this way?"
Harry stopped stroking his raven, the bird turned and glared at Dumbledore and McGonagall, clearly blaming them for upsetting its human. That cost it some, frankly well-deserved, attention and caused problems for its human. It expressed its anger by unleashing a shrill sound at both members of the Hogwarts staff, who were shocked by the sudden outburst, how dare they cause problems?! It only proceeded to stop when Harry started stroking the bird and giving the bird some attention again.
"So, what you're saying is I have to go?" Harry asked
"Yes, Mr Potter" McGonagall nodded, silence took over the room as it appeared that Harry was thinking.
"Mr Potter?" Dumbledore said after a few minutes, wondering if the boy would speak
"In that case" Harry turned his head towards them, McGonagall and Dumbledore let out a small gasp of surprise when both of them saw that Harry was wearing a plain white mask that was shaped like a skull. The mask had two eyeholes, which allowed them both to see his green eyes, Dumbledore noted that his left eye was slightly smaller than his right. The higher straps of the mask started from the eyes of the mask and rested on his ears, while the lower straps were just under his ear, among some black hair that could just be made out from under the hood "I will attend under protest"
"Mr Potter?"
"I will attend your damn school, but be warned that I will not do anything I do not wish to do"
"Mr Potter, please remove your mask" Dumbledore requested
"No" Harry refused "unless you have more business with me, I'd like you to leave"
"Mr Potter, you will need to get to Diagon alley to get your school supplies. Professor McGonagall will accompany you"
"No, I will go on my own" Harry turned his head away and looked at his raven
"You do not know where it is" McGonagall pointed out
"I would ask you to kindly stop making assumptions about my knowledge and tell me what else I need to know before you take your leave" Harry said as the raven nuzzled his hand
"Mr Potter" Dumbledore spoke as it seemed McGonagall was trying to maintain a grip on her anger "this is your Hogwarts letter, in it are a list of supplies" Dumbledore placed the letter on Harry's desk "you will need a key to access your trust vault at Gringotts banks, your key is in my possession, I insist that one of us accompany you so..."
"Why is my key in your possession?" Harry's head snapped towards Dumbledore at the same time as his raven
"Mr Potter, your parents left it to me before they died and..."
"A mistake on their part" Harry interrupted "or a lie on yours, I don't care which. Do you have my key on you?"
"Yes, Mr Potter" Dumbledore removed the key from his pockets "though I would like to assure that I am not lying, your parents..." Dumbledore was cut off when the raven jumped from Harry's arm and flew towards the headmaster, it yanked the key out of his hands with its claws and flew straight back to Harry and landed on his shoulder. It dropped the key into his hand.
"Good boy" Harry said to the raven before looking at the headmaster "I believe that our business is concluded, goodbye"
"Mr Potter, I..."
"I...said...goodbye" Harry said slowly
"Young man, that is no way to talk to the headmaster" McGonagall told him off, appalled at his attitude. This was not what she expected from the son of Lily and James
"Lady, I talk however I damn well want now leave please unless you happen to have something else of mine that you shouldn't"
"Very well" Dumbledore sighed as he and McGonagall stood up "you are sure you do not require our assistance?"
"Positive" Harry nodded
"A good day to you" Dumbledore nodded and walked out of the room along with McGonagall, they both walked out of the orphanage and as soon as they were in a safe spot Dumbledore apparated them both back to Hogwarts. Both were left thinking about a certain green eyed boy
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If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Phoenizbeelze
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