Lily did not know what to say… She was left completely speechless by the report her son received from Norton… Lily would never know how anybody could think that Sirius Black would betray them. He was like a brother to James… Sirius would have rather died rather than betray James in any manner.
Not only that, Sirius was in Azkaban… Lily already knew something else was going on, but it was too early to point any fingers. She didn't have all the information and right now, there was nothing she could do to help Sirius and Lily didn't even want to think about Alice. Her fate was worse than death…
Lily started to wonder what the fuck was happening in the Magical World… She always knew that they were nothing better than sheep. After all, she fought in the war and it wouldn't have been a war in the first place if the Ministry did their job, but they were busy kissing the arses of their precious Pureblood Lords when Voldemort started gaining power.
Not only that, if the people fought instead of hiding then they could have ended the war long ago and she didn't even want to start with Albus Bloody Dumbledore and his bloody Order. They were pathetic at best… Shame it took her so many years to understand that finally. You can't fight a war with Stunners and Disarming Charms.
Now the sheeple of Magical Britain decided to give to her son a glorified Title… 'The Boy-Who-Lived'. Lily would happily admit in the confines of her mind that the title was pretty nice, but she could never understand the fetish of British Magical people with hyphenated names. Though she was really looking forward to Cursing all the people who were making money by writing fake stories about her son.
Lily didn't mind the fact that the people were giving the credit for defeating Voldemort to her son, but she hated the fact that they decided to put him on a pedestal but never bothered to look for her son in all these years… She will never forgive the sheeple of Magical Britain, but she could still use their sheeple mentality for her own gains.
Well, Lily didn't want anything for these foolish people, but they could be useful for her son. Then there was also the fact that Voldemort wasn't dead as everyone believed… So, the sheeple were going to have some use in the future…
~~Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts~~
Albus finally returned to his office and slumped down in his chair while fiddling with his Wand. Finding Harry could have been so much easier if he had some of his blood, willingly given, of course. Now… Now he would have to ask some of his understanding friends for some help. If it was up to him, then he wouldn't have tried to involve anyone as the truth about Harry's childhood might come out in the open, but he didn't have a choice.
As of now, he has three full-time jobs… He is the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, he is also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and finally, he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was simply impossible for him to drop everything and look for Harry and people will also start talking if all of a sudden, he decided to take a sabbatical. It was simply impossible for any high-profile people like him to take a leave.
That wasn't the end of his worries… According to Petunia's memories, Harry was supposed to be locked inside the cupboard, but that didn't stop him from leaving… From Petunia's memories, he also knew that Harry was able to Apparate to the roof of his school under distress. Was it possible for Harry to repeat the act at his will?? It was a troubling thought…
There was also a chance that someone might have helped Harry escape, but who could have helped him? Did someone from the Magical World find the boy? Or was it possible that someone from the Muggle World took pity on the boy? But they should have informed the Muggle Aurors, right? Or did someone kidnap Harry? That would be the worst… Albus had so many questions but no answer.
Albus took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration… He couldn't ask any of his staff to look for the boy. Minerva would eat him alive and Severus would probably try to push to Curse the boy… Albus could have asked Hagrid to look for Harry, but Hagrid simply can't keep a secret. There was nobody else Albus would trust with the job in his staff.
After releasing a huge sigh… Albus put on his glasses and grabbed an empty parchment from the table. 'Let's see what Mundungus and Alastor are up to' Albus mused internally as he picked up his quill… The two of them had a lot of contacts, so if someone from Magical World got the boy, then the two of them would know and Alastor also had contacts in the Muggle World…
~~Random Farmhouse, Rutland~~
"Is this the place, Master Hadrian?" Norton asked wryly as he stared at the rundown farmhouse. Harry scratched his cheek nervously as he stared at the barely standing house in trepidation.
"I think so…" Harry muttered with an unsure look on his face. This was the address his mom gave him and she even warned him about the rundown condition of the house. 'At least the house is standing and it is way better than my cupboard' Harry thought before taking a deep breath and then he started to make his way toward the house.
'The house belonged to my aunt, Marigold Russel. She left me the house before she died… I was her favorite niece. Only my parents knew about this house and they passed away long ago. I haven't even told Petunia about the house… She was already a jealous bitch and if she found that our aunt gave me the house, then she would have hit the roof' Harry remembered Lily's words as he finally arrived in front of the house.
After a few seconds of silence, Harry finally turned toward Norton. "Let's go in and hope that the house doesn't fall over us" Harry said while chuckling, trying to lighten the mood. Harry was quite aware of the fact that Norton was really saddened about leaving the Potter manor.
Harry arrived at the porch and started to check the flowerpots. After receiving the house, Lily kept a spare key inside one of the flowerpots while she kept the other key on her person. That key was lost… Lily had no idea where she lost it, but it was gone. Harry finally found the key inside the third flowerpot.
The door unlocked with a click and he opened the door with a push and walked in… Norton followed him inside with a sullen look on his face. The interior of the house was covered in a thick layer of dust, but the condition of the interior was much better than the exterior. 'Yes… This could work. We can live here, but the house needs a thorough cleaning' Harry mused with a thoughtful look on his face when he was finally done looking around the house.
"Umm… Norton, can you clean the house?" Harry asked nervously and Norton looked like Christmas has come early.
"Of course, Master Hadrian. Norton be cleaning the house!!" Norton declared with a proud look on his face and disappeared with a pop.
"Well… That takes care of cleaning" Harry muttered blandly at the spot where Norton was standing before disappearing. "Anyway, I need to place the Ward Stone in the basement" Harry muttered to himself as he made his way toward the basement.
'Hadrian, you will need to take the Ward Stone with you. That will take care of Norton's bond… Norton is not bound to the manor, he is bound to the Ward Stone. The Wards won't function properly after you place the Ward Stone in my aunt's house, but they will be functional enough to keep you safe in a Muggle area.'
'After removing the Ward Stone, you need to go to each corner of the Ward line and grab the Pillar Stone. Even after removing the Ward Stone, you will be able to feel the Pillar Stones, so it won't be hard… The Pillar Stones are used to signify the boundary of the Ward line. Hadrian, you need to remember exactly how far the Pillar Stones are from the Ward Stone.'
'In my aunt's house, you can't increase the distance between the Ward Stone and the Pillar Stones or the Wards will fail… Hadrian, please be careful and I love you' With that his mom finished his explanation. The words still rang around in his mind…
Harry finally arrived at the basement and looked around… He noticed a few rats along with a few cockroaches running around and he didn't even have to look for spiders. The whole basement was filled with cobwebs and spiders. Harry didn't mind… He had a few spiders back in his cupboard and he talked with them whenever he felt lonely.
'There is a lot to be done before we can live here…' Harry rubbed the back of his head with a small frown…