A Soulless Angel

Dumbledore caught up with Harry as they walked into the lobby of Gringotts. Harry had been close to the doors when Dumbledore finally caught up to him. "I will escort you to the Leaky Cauldron," he told the younger wizard. "But I still must insist you spend your summer with someone."

"You mean someone who'll keep watch over me, to make sure I don't go dark?" Harry corrected, stopping and sneering at the elderly wizard, ignoring everyone nearby in the lobby.

Dumbledore flinched, knowing full well the younger wizard was going to keep twisting his well-founded fears and his beliefs until the bitter end. As he followed Harry out of Gringotts, easily picking him up using the white hair Harry now sported - the sight of the white hair made Dumbledore's heartache; he had not even believed or imagined the Dementors would have such a terrifying effect on the younger wizard, but then it was extraordinarily rare anything like that would happen - a part of him did wonder if he had made a major mistake in not relenting and using his impressive political acumen to just simply send Harry to the MACUSA as he wished and let him have a different life.

But sadly it was not that simple.

While Harry had fulfilled the prophecy, something for which he was truly grateful, as he had been manipulating Harry's life to make sure he survived and lived long enough for the prophecy to be ended, so the threat of Voldemort would be gone for good, Harry had suffered a terrible miscarriage of justice.

Dumbledore knew he could have just let the boy go off on his own, but it wasn't that simple. Dumbledore knew he had always known, Harry Potter had greater reasons to hate the magical world than even Lord Voldemort, and he could have become a Dark Lord who made Voldemort and Grindelwald look petty in comparison.

Dumbledore had lived through several wars already. He did not want to live through a new one; the only way to make this better was to help Harry heal. But it was only if Harry stayed here in the British magical community that the boy would heal; if he ran off, then he would never get over it, and it would cause him problems later in life.

But unfortunately, Harry just refused to see it, and he had already made sure he could never return to Gryffindor, which would make it that much harder for the boy to forgive his friends.

Dumbledore knew the Potters of the MACUSA had wanted to take the boy in since Lily and James were murdered, and the fact Harry knew of that and had become resentful because of it caused a massive complication but there was nothing he could do. What was done was done.

Dumbledore had kept them away, using all of his political connections to keep the American Potters away for Harry's entire life because the boy was needed; he could not just leave.

There had been times when he had considered what would have happened if he had let the American Potters take Harry. There was no doubt in his mind the boy would have grown up with a loving family, something Harry had always wanted, but Dumbledore had listened to the prophecy and he took the 'mark him as his equal' part strongly.

Tom Marvolo Riddle had hated living in the muggle orphanage. It had made him stronger and it had made him a violent, evil person. If Harry was raised in a loving environment, then he would have not been the equal of Voldemort, so he'd need to live a hard life. Dumbledore remembered every single time the monitoring charms keeping watch over Harry at Privet Drive had gone into overdrive, and he had forced himself to reflect it was all for the Greater Good.

He had known that Harry was being abused the whole time, but he had told himself it would be worth it in the long run.

And yet, Dumbledore had looked at the mounting pile of urgent letters, pleading for Harry to live with them, and he had reflected. Dumbledore knew that after the way he had treated them, the American Potters would refuse, just refuse to allow Harry to attend Hogwarts; it would be more of an act of spite in the case if he just gave in and let them have the boy after he'd lived with the Dursleys for several years of his childhood, which he understood since he had been keeping them away, but if he had just given them Harry after Voldemort murdered Lily and James, they would have wanted him closer to home.

Dumbledore had nothing against Ilvermorny; the American magical school had a rich history with close ties to Hogwarts, as Isolt Sayre, one of the founders, had always wanted to go to Hogwarts but she was stopped by her evil aunt, who just happened to be a distant relative of Lord Voldemort's, and she had recreated the American school in her image of Hogwarts, right down to the four Houses with one of which being a newer version of Ravenclaw with Pukwudgie being the new Hufflepuff although Thunderbird and Wampus could be considered Slytherin and Gryffindor, respectfully since adventurers did sometimes use cunning to attain their goals, while Wampus would be considered the American version of Gryffindor, and Isolt had included a sorting ceremony he had paid the school a visit, and they had a high standard of education, and he had thought about bringing in the Ilvermorny tradition of having championships in the various fields of magic near the end of the year, both for fun and as a way to boost the school's education, but he had never found the time.

But if he had let the American Potters take Harry, what would change?

Dumbledore thought about Harry's time at Hogwarts.

No Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore had deliberately leaked through his contacts, knowing Voldemort was paying attention to anything that could restore him to his full strength, the information relating to the Stone. Voldemort had become desperate enough to even have Quirrell try to break into Gringotts to get it.

What about the Chamber of Secrets? Dumbledore might have urged Arthur Weasley to add in more muggle protection laws, but he'd done it to corral Lucius Malfoy and his friends in a place where he could find a way to manipulate events to make it harder for Malfoy from causing more harm.

But Malfoy had gone too far.

He had slipped Riddle's diary into a book in Ginny Weasley's cauldron, as the girl was getting her school supplies. Dumbledore had wondered when he had confronted Malfoy with Harry at the end of that dreadful year if Lucius even knew it was a Horcrux. He doubted it really; Lucius Malfoy might not have known what a Horcrux could do, but surely he knew enough to know how important it was to someone as twisted as Voldemort.

Would Sirius Black have even escaped Azkaban? Dumbledore had a feeling he would have done it, but he knew everyone would have been curious about Black's words 'He's at Hogwarts.' Everyone would have been confused, assuming Black was talking about Harry, but they'd be confused as Harry was attending Ilvermorny in this alternate world. So who would Black be referring to?

There would likely be no Dementors involved, as even Fudge wasn't stupid enough to send a load of Dementors, without permission, to the MACUSA. They would not tolerate it, as the dangers of the breaking of the remaining remnants of the Rappaport laws prevented it, and the Americans would censure Fudge, and he would not want that.

The Triwizard Tournament was a must-have, however; Dumbledore had deliberately made sure Harry remained in the Tournament to use as bait for Voldemort's return. But how would a Harry who had lived in America, who hadn't been going through those yearly tests, have coped?

Dumbledore had a feeling Harry would have coped well; the American Potters routinely encouraged their children to take part in the yearly Ilvermorny competitions, so Harry would have had an impressive spell repertoire. But Dumbledore didn't know how Harry would have handled Voldemort.

But what would have happened if Harry had returned to Ilvermorny, to the MACUSA?

Oh, he knew without a shadow of a doubt Voldemort, when he would have returned, would have gone after Harry even if the boy never attended Hogwarts, but he would have gone after a Harry who had been living with his American family. Riddle's pride made him too predictable.

Dumbledore had believed the prophecy was invalid when he had come to believe Harry had committed those murders on that terrible night. It had happened so fast, and the elderly wizard had had problems coming to terms with just how fast, and how violent the curse had been; in many ways, Harry's self-imposed isolationism and his year of self-study worked against him, and it was easy for many to believe he was a Dark Lord in training, but Dumbledore had never been a man to be easily swayed.

It took a great deal for him to change his mind, and that night was no different. But as the evidence continued to stack up on Harry, namely the statements given by Crouch Junior in the guise of Alastor Moody and Severus Snape, both of whom he counted on as advisors and friends, despite how many people openly distrusted Severus, and rightfully so it seemed, Dumbledore had joined the accusers and he had snapped Harry's wand and stood back and let the boy be humiliated and thrown headfirst into prison.

Harry had paid the price for the Light's failure to - once again - learn from its mistakes, and its inability to even bother looking for the truth. Dumbledore caught up with Harry in the Leaky Cauldron, where he found the boy heading for the exit to go into muggle London. He mentally sighed when he saw Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys, and to his surprise, there was the addition in the form of Andromeda Tonks. He hadn't expected to see her. The last time he had seen her…it hadn't been pleasant. So many had wanted to take custody of Harry, and while some like Remus Lupin had backed off easily enough, others hadn't. He had needed to threaten a fair few of them to make his order stand.

But since Andromeda had never met Harry despite babysitting him and loving him like her own, she was a stranger in his eyes now and Dumbledore did not doubt in his mind, Harry was going to make her regret it. And he wished he had thought out how to treat the boy much better than before.

Xxxx

Harry wasn't happy to see the Weasleys in the Leaky Cauldron. He had left Gringotts with his custom wand, his Head of House ring which had given him the location of Potter Manor, and the means of getting in after it locked down after Fleamont and Euphemia Potter's deaths, and some muggle money and the key to the townhouse in London and another key to a house in Kent.

Harry had left the bank and he'd struggled to pass through the crowd, who were stunned to see him, but his use of magic to intimidate them had stopped them getting close.

Harry had held out hope he could leave the Wizarding World and go out into the muggle world. He planned to spend the next few weeks recovering from Azkaban, having fun and trying to get his life back together before he had to go back to Hogwarts.

Hogwarts…

Once upon a time, the school had been a safe haven, a way for him to grow as a wizard, but it was always marred by the never-ending 'adventures' while Dumbledore was content sitting in the background, never getting involved when so many things could have gone wrong. Harry knew the old wizard had known what was happening in the Chamber of Secrets, and instead of using his phoenix to help him, he'd been content doing nothing when any of the muggle-borns could have died. Looking back, Harry knew Dumbledore was merely using it as an opportunity to test him, but the way he'd set the whole thing up…

Harry had hoped once Voldemort was dead and buried, the old wizard would just let him go. He didn't want to set foot in Hogwarts again, the school was just too toxic and he wanted to get a fresh start. Sadly it was looking like he had to handle it for another two years.

Two years.

Harry grimaced at the thought of the fact while Granger and the Weasels had enjoyed a year, he'd lost a year of his life.

Seeing them in the Leaky Cauldron and knowing what they'd done made him feel almost sick. But there were other faces with them. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and a black-haired woman he didn't recognise were standing right in front of them. But what angered him was the female Auror who'd jeered at him the year before, the one with the weird hair, was standing next to her, looking at him hopefully but her stance made her look beyond pathetic. When they realised he was there, they stood up and looked hopefully at him.

Harry rolled his eyes, and he walked to the exit but his hand was curled around the handle of his custom wand. If they caused him any trouble then he was going to really enjoy lashing out, but he wasn't sure if the consequences would be worth it. He'd just come out of prison, he didn't want Fudge to have a reason to send him back.

"Harry, dear," Mrs Weasley blustered forward, but Harry took out his wand had jabbed it into her face, making her step back in sudden fear while the Weasleys tensed. "Harry, please-."

"No, leave me alone," Harry said.

"Harry, you must understand, the twins were hurt that-that night."

"So you decided I was guilty?" The disdain in Harry's voice was so thick you could cut it with a knife. "Tell me, Mrs Weasley, do you really think I'd want to spend any time with a family who lied about how dark and how evil I was? Nothing you say or do is going to make me change my mind, Mrs Weasley," Harry said, but his voice carried over every single hopeful individual in the pub, and with each word, their hopes were shredded. "Now, get this into your minds. I am going to leave this pub. Stay away from me. Don't try to contact me because I won't reply." Harry stepped around the Weasleys, ignoring the distraught expression on Mrs Weasley's face, wishing he could reveal how he'd known she had tried drugging him with potions, but he didn't have the energy for such a fallout.

"Wait, Harry, please come with us," the woman with Sirius suddenly said.

Harry sighed and turned to face her. When his eyes met the young female Auror's, his mind flashed back to the humiliation he felt on that dark day. Some of his anger must have been visible, it made everyone gasp and take a step back, some even palming the handles of their wands. Harry only became aware he was losing his temper when he realised the air was crackling. It took a moment for him to calm down.

"Why should I? I don't know you," Harry said coldly. The last thing he was going to do was to go anywhere with a strange witch.

The woman faltered. "My name is Andromeda Tonks, I was a friend of Lily and James."

Harry wondered if the woman was telling him the truth. So many had lied to him in the past, but he'd have expected someone to be a bit more original. In any case, Black and Lupin weren't contradicting her. "Really, so why haven't I seen any pictures of you in the album I owned? Why is it you never sent me any mail?"

Andromeda faltered even more, and she turned accusingly to Dumbledore who'd caught up with him, "I told you I could have looked after him. Now this is the result!"

"I had to leave him with the Dursleys, Andromeda," Dumbledore sighed, "we've been over this."

"But I could have taken him in when he grew older!" Andromeda Tonks snapped. "You threatened me with the Aurors when I kept trying to get close to him."

"Wait, Dumbledore threatened you just to keep you away from me?" Harry interrupted.

"I tried to meet you several times, Harry," Andromeda said softly, the sadness in her eyes making it clear he was seeing the truth. "But Dumbledore stopped me each time."

Harry looked between them both, "You were determined to keep me with the Dursleys, weren't you? Well, it worked out well, didn't it?"

"I didn't know what the Dursleys did, Harry," Dumbledore protested.

"Yeah fucking right," Harry snapped, growling when Mrs Weasley and Granger instinctively began having a go; really, didn't anyone have any spines? "SHUT UP!" Harry let the air crackle around him, just to shut them up. Suitably intimidated, everyone did as they were told. Harry turned to Andromeda, who looked at him hopefully. "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm not exactly the best of company right now, and I want to get my mind straight and truthfully I just want to be left alone."

Andromeda's face fell, but fortunately, unlike the others, she knew when to back off. "I understand," she said sadly, sending a resentful glare towards the female Auror, Black, and Dumbledore. "I hope you three are happy."

"You know these two?" Harry gestured to Black and the Auror.

Andromeda bit her lip. "Sirius is my idiot cousin," she ignored his indignant 'Hey!' Andromeda turned to the suddenly worried and shy Auror."And this is my daughter, who I'm far from happy with right now."

"She's your daughter?"

"Yes."

The expression on Harry's face made it clear his decision was forever going to be a resounding 'No' but he decided to keep things polite, mostly because Andromeda had done nothing to him. Even if she had tried to get to him, the answer was no. "We'll see how it goes, yes?" He said, and he turned and headed for the door.

"Harry, wait," Black called, but Harry ignored him, feeling he had wasted more than enough time. As he stepped through the doors into muggle London, he closed his eyes, and he was surprised when he felt them beginning to water. Quickly, he wiped them and headed off into London.