Chapter 2
"Hello, who are you?", the perplexed man asked the child in front of him.
"Hello, can you help me please? I think my aunt has just left me."
"What do you mean, your aunt left you? Where is she? How did you get here?", the man walked towards the young boy, still looking around and waiting for someone else to appear.
"My aunt took me on the train and made me look for the sign of the big pot. I did magic today and she did not like that. Here.", Harry explained as best as he could and remembered the letter his aunt had given him. He held it out to the man. He was the only adult in the room, he would probably know what to do next.
Still confused, the man took the letter. He gestured to the young boy to sit down at one of the tables, then he took the seat opposite and looked at the letter in the dim light. The envelope was addressed to "Whomever it may concern". Dread filled the man. Before he opened the letter to read it, he looked at the boy again.
"What's your name and how old are you? My name is Tom and I own this pub, the Leaky Cauldron."
"M' name is Harry. I'm 4.", the boy mumbled and Tom was surprised. The boy was very small for his age, the bad feeling increased. If he was only 4 and did his first bout of accidental magic, he was either very powerful or in a heightened emotional state. And seeing as the child told him that he was just left here and his aunt did not like magic, it probably was not a positive emotional state. Tom swallowed and looked back to the letter.
"I will read the letter and then we'll figure out what to do next, ok? Did you come here all alone?"
"No, my aunt took me. She said she would wait outside."
Tom's head snapped up and he jumped out of his seat. Why hadn't the boy lead with that. His aunt was waiting outside! She was probably concerned why it had taken this long. He ran to the front door of the pub and pulled the door open, but outside, there was nobody. the street was completely empty, Tom even looked up and down the street but couldn't find anyone resembling a concerned and waiting aunt. Any hope that he still had vanished. he returned inside and went back to the table. the little boy, Harry, was slumped in on himself at the table, his shoulder's trembling.
"She's gone, right?", he mumbled out, tears clearly wanting to spill over.
"I'm sorry, Harry. There was no one outside. But we will figure it out. As I said, I will read the letter and then we will figure out what to do next, ok? We will be just fine.", Tom needed the last sentiment as much as the boy opposite of him. Tom finally took out the letter and opened it up. It was a single sheet of paper and just the first paragraph made him swallow hard.
"To Whomever it may concern,
the boy, Harry, has been left on our doorstep 3 years ago by one of your kind with nothing more than a note and I am now returning him in kind. We never asked for him and never wanted him or his freakish magic near our family.
He did his first bout of magic today, so he belongs with his people. We don't care what you do with him, whoever put him on our doorstep that nightnsaid he didn't have magical family left, which is why he had to come live with us. His father's name was James Potter, he was killed 3 years ago by Voldemort, his mother's name was Lily Potter, she was killed that night as well.
When he first came to us, the scar on his forehead was constantly inflamed and burst open, nothing of that sort has happened since. He is otherwise healthy, knows to take orders and is overall well behaved. You should find someone willing to take him in. With this letter, we wash our hands of him, we do not want to be contacted by your kind ever again. Everything he has ever owned is in the bag with him."
That was it, that was the entire letter and it told Tom so much. The boy in front of him was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived according to just about everyone in the wizarding world. He had vanquished the Dark Lord, only to be sent to a family who apparently hated everything about him. Tom looked around and found a small grocery bag the child had also carried inside. It said next to his chair.
"Could you hand me the bag, Harry?", he asked gently. The boy was starled, but did what was asked of him right away. He picked the bag up and handed it over to Tom. The bag was light enough and contained only a change of clothes, a blanket, a teddy bear with no stuffing in its body and another letter. This letter seemed to be written on parchment and could be the letter the aunt had alluded to in her own. Other than that, the boy had nothing.
Tom was unsure what to do next, so he decided to take care of the child first. Maybe in the meantime he could figue out what to do.
"Would you like something to drink? Or something to eat?", he asked gently. The boy just nodded, so Tom got up himself and went behind the bar. He filled a glass with pumpkin juice and called out to his house elf, Dippy. Dippy was the cook for the Leaky Cauldron and would be able to fix something up for the young child. He asked Dippy to make up a plate of sandwhiches and a bowl of stew, but told him he would pick it up at the window when it was done. He did not want to overwhelm the child with the appearance of a house elf or performing too much magic which the child did not appear to know much about yet.
He slid the glass over to Harry and sat down again.
"You said you did magic today? Tell me, what happened? Were you excited?"
The boy looked up and just from the look of it, Tom knew that he probably had not been excited.
"It was my outside time and aunt Petunia wanted to put me back in my cupboard. I made the door disappear, so aunt Petunia made me pack my things and got me here.", the boy mumbled, looking at the table. He hesitantly picked up the glass and took a careful sip of his juice. He seemed confused about the taste but didn't say anything.
"It's pumpkin juice. Have you ever had it before? it's very popular for magical children to drink. If you don't like it, I can get you some water." At that, the boy shook his head. The taste was unusual, but he had learned to never say no when it came to food and drink, since he never knew when or what he might be served next. Better the devil you know.
"And what do you mean about outside time and your cupboard? Can you tell me more about your day?", Tom continued on, trying to unpack the boy's statement.
"In the morning, my cousin goes to kindergarden. Then it's my outside time. My aunt let's me out of my cupboard. It's under the stairs. I get to play in the living room, I get breakfast und use the bathroom. Then I have to go back in my cupboard. Later, I get to have outside time again and then back to my cupboard.", the boy explained, starting to get self conscious. The man's expression and questions made him realise that something about the situation with his cupboard was not right.
"Ok, I understand. Thank you for telling me, Harry. While you eat, I will have to call someone from the aurors. That is the magical police. Since you are a child without a parent or someone to look after you, the aurors will take you in and will figure out a place or family for you to stay with, ok? But first, let me get your food.", Tom got up and got Harry his food. He was still in disbelief over this entire situation. How could someone simply abandon a child somewhere without knowing what would happen to said child?
After he got Harry his food, he moved towards the fireplace. He had some floopowder next to the fireplace and took some out. He threw it in the fireplace and called out:
"Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt's office, Ministry of Magic"
It took a short moment, but Kingsley's face appeared in the flames. Kingsley was one of the regular patrons of the Leaky Cauldron, so Tom had known him for quite some time. the senior auror was a quiet presence and could probably figure out what to do next.
"Tom, why are you calling me on a monday afternoon?", Kingsley was confused.
"Hi Kingsley, could you come through please? I have a situation that needs your attention. It's important, but not urgent. If you need a few minutes that's fine.", Tom did not want to disclose the situation via a floo call. It was much too delicate for that.
"Ok, I'm intrigued. Give me a couple minutes, I will be right there.", with that, Kingsley's head disappeared from the flames and the flames returned to normal. Tom huffed and walked back to Harry. The boy had apparently watched him the entire time. His eyes were big, food forgotten and mouth slightly open but he didn't dare ask questions.
"That was one of the aurors. His name is Kingsley Shacklebolt. He's a good friend, he will be able to help us out. And with the fire, that was a form of wizarding communication. It's called floo calling. Almost all fireplaces in the wizarding world are connected and we can use it to have conversations.", Tom had decided to explain everything to the young child. Since Harry had grown up in the muggle world, apparently with muggles that despised magic, he would have no idea about anything magical. Tom did not want Harry to be afraid of magic. He saw it every year with the new, muggle-born students that entered the magical world for the first time. Magic was overwhelming and he could't imagine how it would be for a small child that had just lost the only family he had ever known.
Just as he was finished with the explanation, Kingley appeared through the fireplace and dusted of his red auror robes.
"Harry, this is auror Shacklebolt. I will take him to the next room for a moment and explain everything. You can go ahead and finish your food. If you need anything, you can come to me, ok? You don't need to knock or you can call my name, ok?", he addressed the boy. He wanted to take Kingsley to a more private setting and explain everything and he didn't want to censor his thoughts on the muggle family. But there was no need for Harry to be there for the explanation. Tom was sure that he would be asked enough questions about everything soon enough.
Kingsley was slightly confused but followed Tom to the private room.
"Ok, Tom. I'm confused, what is going on?"
"Sorry, Kingsley for that. I was cleaning upstairs when I was notified someone had entered the pub. You know how quiet monday afternoons are, so I have a charm that alerts me when someone enters. When I got downstairs, I couldn't see anyone at first and all of a sudden I see this tiny boy just standing there. He told me that he had just been left by his aunt.", Tom started explaining and knew that Kingsley would interrupt him.
"What do you mean, he told you his aunt had just left him?"
"What I just told you, the boy said his aunt just left him. He handed me a letter, it was addressed to "Whomever it may concern". He told me that he did his first bout of accidental magic today and his aunt wanted to bring him somewhere where other people like him were. He told me that she had brought him to the pub and said she would wait outside, but there was no one there. She made him walk inside the pub and left as soon as he could no longer see him.", Tom was still in disbelief and staring to get angry, he more he thought about it. What kind of shrew would do that to a child? Kingsley also didn't know what to say to that. It sounded preposterous.
"I read the letter Harry gave me. You can read it yourself. But the boy is Harry Potter. He was apparently left on her doorstep 3 years ago, after the Potters were killed by You-know-Who. And she said she would return him in kind, now that he has done magic.
I asked him about the magic he did. He told me he vanished a door to his cupboard. The cupboard under the stairs he lives in.", Tom's voice turned sad. So much misery and drama for a child of only 4 years old. He handed the letter to Kingsley, who quickly read it. His face turned even more serious and Tom could see that he was also angry on the child's behalf.
"Ok, this entire situation is unusual. We will have to bring Harry to the ministry. We have the department for child welfare. They will probably place Harry with a foster family and we will start an investigation into how it was even possible for him to be placed with his aunt and we will probably open a case for child neglect. Just from what I've seen and heard from you, the child probably was neglected at best, outright abused at worst. Thank you for what you've done so far, Tom.", Kingsley internally sighed. If the child really was Harry Potter, the backlash of this entire situation was going to be monumental. But first, he needed to make sure that he got the child to the ministry and the department of child welfare.
Both Kingsley and Tom returned to the main room of the pub. Harry had apparently finished eating in the meantime and was sitting quietly in his chair. He had gotten his teddy bear out of the bag and was clutching it to his chest.
"Are you done eating, Harry? Would you like some more or are you full?", Tom said when he noticed the empty plate. Harry didn't respond verbally, simply shrugged, then nodded his head. Tom figured that meant that the child was full. Dippy had meant well and Tom was surprised that he had even managed to eat that much in the first place.
"Ok, good. Kingsley and I talked. He will take you to the ministry, ok? There is a department, they know how to take care of children and they will take care of you, ok?", Tom explained gently. As soon as he mentioned that Kingsley would take Harry away, he could see the panic in those huge, green eyes. The boy was afraid of what would happen to him and Tom could understand. In such a short time he had lost his family and was now expected to trust complete strangers with his safety and future.
"Do you want me to come with you? To make sure you are safe?", Tom asked. He wasn't sure why he offered. Usually, he did not like kids that much but Harry just tugged at his heart. Dippy would be able to take care of the Leaky while Tom was gone, mondays were slow days anyway.
Harry was relieved and nodded emphatically. He felt like Tom was someone he could trust, he had taken care of Harry so far, had given him food and something to drink. Took the time to explain things to Harry. He did not want to leave with the policeman he didn't know.
The adults looked at each other and nodded. Kingsley suggested flooing to his office. It would be less crowded and busy than the ministry entrance hall and probably less overwhelming for Harry.
"Ok, Harry. You know how I explained you the calls via the fireplace? Wizards can also travel like that. Kingley will do it first to demonstrate. Then we will go though. The travel will probably feel a bit weird for you, it will feel like you are squeezed all over your body. But the two of us will go together, so I will help you, ok? Do you want to carry your bag or should I?", Tom held out Harry's bag, but the boy seemed to have enough to do, simply comprehending what Tom had just told him and cuddling his teddy bear. He didn't even attempt to carry the bag.
They all walked over to the fireplace and Kingsley went first. He took some of the powder from the bowl on the fireplace mantle and threw it in the flames. As soon as the flames turned green, he stepped inside and announced loudly "Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt's office, Ministry of Magic" and with that, he was gone. Tom looked down at Harry and saw a slightly terrified child. And even though he seemed terrified, Harry followed Tom to the fireplace.
"Don't worry, Harry. The flames aren't hot, once you put the powder in. I have travelled thsi way countless times, I will take care of you. Do you want to take my hand?", Tom held out his hand that didn't hold the grocery bag.
"Here, you throw the powder inside the fireplace, ok?", Tom offered the bowl of floopowder and Harry hesitantly did as he was asked. As soon as the flames turned green, Tom entered the fireplace and Harry followed him. He was in awe, Tom had been right. The flames weren't hot! Before Harry could say anything, Tom already did.
"Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt't office, Ministry of Magic!"
And with that, the room of the Leaky Cauldron disappeared.