Chapter 17: The-Boy-Who-Left (III)
Alastor Moody was not having a good way… He knew his day was ruined when he received a Patronus message from Albus Dumbledore in the morning. He did not know what the man wanted from him, but he would bet his only remaining eye that it won't be anything good, and lo and behold… He was right.
"Minerva" Alastor grunted as he gave the woman a nod.
"Hello, Alastor" Minerva greeted Alastor with a displeased look on her face.
"Received a message from Albus! Ruined my morning" Alastor growled as he grabbed his hip flask and took a large sip.
"Aye… Even I am not having a good morning" Minerva muttered with a scowl on her face.
Alastor sneered… "Albus said you needed my help. Where am I and what do you need?" Alastor griped hurriedly as his Magical eye rolled around with his usual scowl marring his face.
Minerva released a snort… "According to this Hogwarts letter, this is where Harry Potter was living, but right now nobody is here. The house is empty and whoever was living here, recently left" Minerva extended the letter toward Alastor.
Alastor's Magical eye creepily rolled around before fixing on the letter… He grabbed the letter warily and took a sniff. Minerva's lips thinned at the display, but she refrained from making any comments.
"He shouldn't have left the boy at the Dursleys in the first place" Alastor sniffed as he returned the letter to Minerva. Three years ago, all of a sudden Albus reached out to him and told him that Harry Potter ran away from his home, and the boy needed to be found.
It didn't take long for Alastor to figure out that something was wrong… Alastor simply paid the Dursleys a visit and he knew why the boy ran away. If he was in the boy's place then he would have probably killed the monsters before running away. The Dursleys would fit perfectly with the people who burned their kind at the stake in the middle ages.
Alastor did not know why Albus decided to place the boy in such a place. He wouldn't be surprised if the boy decided to join the Death Eaters for everything he went through. He guessed Albus probably knew what was happening at the Dursleys, after all, he had hired a bloody squib to keep an eye on the boy.
Even though Alastor was quite displeased with the man, he still agreed to help out as the boy needed to be found. He owed that much to the boy's parents… He also decided not to blow the whistle as a lot of so-called pardoned Death Eaters were in positions in the Ministry. If the news got out, then the Death Eaters would do everything in their power to find the boy…
"I agree" Minerva sniffed. "I even warned him about the Dursleys. They are the worst sort of Muggles" Minerva added unhappily.
Alastor grunted in agreement. "Whatever… Can't change the past. Show me the house" Alastor bit out and Minerva started to lead the man toward the Russel Farmhouse.
"At least, the boy had a roof over his head" Alastor muttered in an amused tone, and Minerva couldn't help but agree with him. Minerva led him inside the house and Alastor immediately came to a halt… His Magical eye spinning wildly, taking everything in. "Bloody hell!!" Alastor cursed loudly.
"Whoever helped the boy escape the Dursleys is Magical" Alastor declared as a matter of factly.
Minerva couldn't help but raise her brows at him in question. "How do you know that? Your eye can see Magic too?" Minerva asked curiously and Alastor simply scoffed.
"Hmph! It's not that simple, Minerva" Alastor huffed as he took another swig from his hip flask. "You saw the outside of the house. There is no way someone could have kept the interior in such nice condition… At least, not with Muggle means" Alastor explained grumpily and after thinking for a bit, Minerva nodded her head in understanding.
For the next few minutes, Alastor simply looked around the house with a scowl on his face. The duo finally climbed down into the basement and Alastor took another swig from his hip flask. "Yeah… There is where they had placed the Ward Stone" Alastor muttered as he pointed out the hole in the floor.
"Really? I thought Ward Stones are quite expensive" Minerva questioned with a look of shock on her face.
"Aye… Ward Stones are expensive and the boy should have a lot of gold in his vaults" Alastor barked out unhappily.
"But I have his trust vault key right here…" Minerva said as she pulled out a Gringotts vault key from her robes. Alastor gave a key a look before releasing a snort.
"So? He could have gotten himself a new key or the one helping him could have paid for the Ward Stone" Alastor sniffed and started to leave the basement. "The problem is, the boy never went to Gringotts. A couple of my contacts have been keeping an eye on Gringotts for three years" Alastor blurted out dismissively.
"So, the one helping him probably gave him the gold…" Minerva trailed off while nodding her head. "But, you have been looking for Harry for three years, right?" Minerva asked and after getting a grunt which sounded much like an 'Aye' from Alastor, Minerva decided to continue.
"So, didn't you find a single clue about who could have helped him? I mean only the Pureblood Families could probably buy a Ward Stone for someone outside their family and Purebloods like to boast" Minerva deduced with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Right, but there is someone else who could have helped the boy" Alastor bit out bitterly. He cursed himself for not considering the fact that the Potters could have had a house elf… There was no way a boy without any sort of Magical education could keep the house so well maintained. If an adult was helping the boy then they could have done so, but just like Minerva deduced, they would have boasted.
Whoever was living in the house recently moved out… Due to the lack of dust in the house, they probably moved out in the morning, and from the marks on the floor, they took a lot of furniture along with them. There is no way Wizard or Witch could have moved out so easily along with so much furniture, but it would be a piece of cake if a house elf was involved.
"Potter was living with a house elf… I need to talk with Albus" Alastor bit out bitterly. He was still angry at himself for ignoring the fact that a house elf could be helping the boy. Albus told him to meet at Number 4 Privet Drive after he was done inspecting the house. "You go back, I will meet with Albus" Alastor barked, and before Minerva could say anything, Alastor Disapparated with a loud crack.
Minerva wasn't able to stop a hiss from escaping her mouth… After a few moments of silence, she took a deep breath and Disapparated with a loud crack…
<Line Break>
~~Headmaster's Office, Ilvermorny~~
Carlson carefully contemplated his options… He could either lie to the boy and seize control over every aspect of his life or he could be honest with the boy and let him be in control of his own life… He could also go with something in between. He had so many options, but not all of them were good.
If he tried to control the boy, it could end up blowing in his face and if he left the boy to his own devices then the boy might leave him behind… Carlson started to wonder if he should go with something in between. Taking the Hardliner or the Liberal route could make his life extremely difficult…
No… He couldn't use a heavy hand. He needed to be extremely careful. He needed Harry to trust him and it was quite clear that Harry didn't trust him even though the boy accepted help from him. So, Harry will probably disappear if he tried anything heavy-handed and if he succeeded, then the boy will simply bide his time and stab him in the back when the time is right.
There was also a chance that someone was probably helping the boy… Not only that, but Harry also has a house elf. So, Carlson decided to take the Liberal route… It was risky, but it was much better than having the boy turn against him…
"Well, you can choose me or anyone from my staff as your guardian…" Carlson revealed thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin. Then all of a sudden, a wild idea popped inside his mind… "I know, you do not have any reason to trust me or any of my staff, at least, as of right now since you haven't met any of them and I might come off as someone with ulterior motives, so I will understand if you don't choose us" Carlson said while nodding his head.
Harry simply stared at Carlson and didn't bother to say anything… Carlson took it as a sign to continue. "So, how about you choose someone from the 7th year? Some of them are old enough to become guardians" Carlson suggested. He already had a certain girl in his mind, but he decided not to mention any names… He wanted Harry to reach out to the girl himself. Carlson guessed that Harry probably had a good impression of the girl…
"And about the power they will have over you?" Carlson asked and after getting a nod from Harry he decided to continue. "It is up to you… If you want, then they will be your guardian only in name or if you want, they can be like any other responsible guardian… I will leave it up to you to decide" Carlson explained with a smile.
"Alright…" Harry said while nodding his head. "Can I have some time to think?" Harry asked and Carlson immediately agreed.
"Of course, take your time. Just decide before the school starts" Carlson said and Harry nodded his head in understanding. "Good. Now that the elephant in the room is dealt with… Do you want to retire to your apartment or do you want to look around?" Carlson asked as he inclined his head.
"Look around… Will it be alright if I visit the library and look around?" Harry asked and after thinking for a bit, Carlson agreed with the request…
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