Chapter 1: A Special Request
Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a thin woman, in her mid sixties, and dressed in a green tartan plaid dress. Her dark hair was pulled neatly back into a bun, and her rectangular shaped spectacles sat squarely on her face adding to her serious expression. Parchment and scrolls lay neatly stacked upon her desk, along with two bottles of ink and two quills. In addition to her deputy headmistress duties, she taught transfiguration and served as the Head of Gryffindor House. She was an unerringly tidy and strict woman, who enjoyed teaching and found she had a knack for paperwork even if she did not always care to do it. Over her many years of teaching she had grown fond of several students, and always enjoyed seeing her former Gryffindor students at the school or while out in the wizarding world. Her warm, hazel eyes reviewed the notes before her and added some additional notes at the end. She kept a meticulous schedule, writing in appointments and additional notes to make her often hectic schedule easier. As such, she had begun to notice a troubling trend regarding one particular appointment. She now knew the problem had not just existed for the last several months, but had apparently gone on for years, unnoticed by her, and the thought bothered her greatly.
With a sigh, she carefully dried the ink on her new notes, and then placed the notes to the side of her desk. This September, Harry Potter would be returning to the magical world to attend Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As overseeing the letters sent to each student regarding the coming year was one of her responsibilities, she knew that Harry Potter's Hogwarts letter would be going out soon, and she wondered about how well the young man was doing at his relatives home. Albus had dismissed her concerns that day nearly ten years ago, insisting that they leave young Harry Potter at his muggle relatives' home. Minerva had not been impressed with them, and had questioned Albus over the years as to how Harry was doing. He always insisted the boy was doing well. Minerva wanted to confirm this for herself. She looked back down at the papers on her desk. Apparently, she had meant to check on young Harry multiple times as reflected by her old calendars and notes, and each time something had prevented her from following through with it. The notes she had reviewed yet again documented her musings about that, and she had finally acknowledged that perhaps Albus had done something to cause that particular reaction. What she did not understand, was why? Why would someone not want her to check in on the child? This time, she intended to follow through on her desire to check on Harry Potter. A knock sounded at her door interrupting her thoughts, and she smiled at her own cunning plan to circumvent whatever it was that prevented her from traveling to Surrey.
"Come in, Septima," she called pleased as the young Arithmancy professor entered the room. Minerva had spoken to her several weeks ago to set this appointment, and was pleased that phase one of her plan was now proceeding.
from Minerva McGonagall. The younger woman was dressed in dark blue robes trimmed in black that complemented her eyes and pale skin. A hand pushed an errant lock of black hair behind her ear before settling in her lap.
"Busy," she replied simply. "How are you?"
"Well, I just returned from a conference in the United States. It was amazing," she stated her enthusiasm obvious as she leaned forward in her seat, blue eyes sparkling.
"Excellent, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Minerva replied honestly. She enjoyed attending conferences as well, as it was an excellent opportunity to discuss her passion for transfiguration with other transfiguration masters. She frowned slightly as she realized that with her many duties at Hogwarts, she had not had time to attend a conference in several years.
"I am always amazed at how others approach the study of magic, especially arithmancy of course," the younger woman informed her. "This year's conference also included some lectures on advanced muggle mathematics and runes."
"It is always a rewarding experience to talk with other masters in your field. I have been so busy these last few years, that I have missed out on a lot of opportunities to connect with my colleagues," Minerva revealed with a sigh of regret. "I do enjoy the work I do here, but it does not leave me with much in the way of free time, even over the summer." Septima smiled warmly at her friend. She had known Minerva McGonagall all her life, as her mother and Minerva had gone to Hogwarts together and remained friends after graduating.
"Hello, Minerva. How is your summer?" Septima Vector returned the smile as she took a seat across
Perhaps you should consider requesting an assistant or seeing if the board would hire someone to help you by teaching the lower years. An apprentice might also be a good way to free up some of your time since they could assist with grading papers and teaching the younger years when needed," Septima suggested knowing these were all acceptable practices at Durmstrang when she had attended.
"All excellent suggestions, along with Filius's that I make Albus do more of the administrative duties or either resign from my head position of Gryffindor or from that of the Deputy Headmistress. It is certainly difficult to do both, and I worry at times that my Gryffindors are not getting enough of my attention," she confessed pondering the possibilities before shaking her head. "But then I did not ask you here to go over my busy schedule. Shall I request tea?"
"That's alright, Minerva. I planned on getting back to my unpacking, and preparing for the upcoming semester." The younger woman reassured her sitting back in her seat.
"Alright then, I'll get right to it," the older woman replied as she studied the woman in front of her. She had known Septima Vector's mother since the two were small. Although Septima had gone to Durmstrang for her schooling, she had worked at Hogwarts for the last five years, and Minerva felt confident that she could trust the young woman in front of her for the task ahead. "I have a favor to ask of you, that I do not feel I can trust to just anyone. I am always so busy going to the homes of the muggleborn students that I do not have the
anyone I am always so busy going to the homes of the muggleborn students that I do not nave the time to check on all of the students. And there is one student that I have a particular interest in who is starting this year. I also know that I am biased against his current guardians, and I would like a second opinion in terms of his upbringing. I was hoping you would be willing to take him his Hogwarts letter, and to explain things to him to prepare him for his reintroduction into the wizarding world."
"Isn't this something that you and the Headmaster work out between yourselves or the Heads of House?"
"Typically, yes, but I have heard Albus express that he feels the child's guardians will have explained the basics to him, and that an owl can deliver the letter to the child without the need for additional information. I doubt that is the case, and I do not want a situation where Albus then chooses to send either Severus or Hagrid to meet with the child and serve as his introduction to the wizarding world." Septima could understand Minerva's concerns as to the two Minerva mentioned. Hagrid was well meaning, but certainly not an ideal candidate to introduce a muggle raised child to the wizarding world. And Severus would be her last choice to be around children, as he barely seemed capable of standing them. She always wondered why he went into teaching when he certainly seemed to hate it.
"I suppose I could meet with a student and present the letter to him along with answering some basic questions. Would I also need to take the child to Diagon Alley?"
"You may need to do so, and I would prefer that you take him to Diagon Alley because he would be better served to get additional materials to help
better served to get additional nmaterials to help% him understand the wizarding world and his role in it. Even if his relatives explained the basics to him, they are muggles and would have no idea about many things that he will need to know. I was not supportive of Albus's decision to place him with his relatives, and I have abided by Albus's directive to not interfere. I have wanted to check in on him, but something always seems to prevent me from doing so. I want nothing more than to confirm that the child is alright, that my instincts ten years ago were incorrect, and to prepare him for returning to the wizarding world," Minerva explained herself fully because she really hoped that Albus was correct and that the child had been raised in a loving and supportive home. She also knew that sometimes Albus was so focused on the big picture that he often forgot about the details. She also wanted to insure that Harry received all of information that she would provide to new muggleborn students as well as some additional information on what it meant to be a Potter.
"Minerva, am I to take it, that you want me to personally deliver Harry Potter's Hogwarts letter and to check into his living situation with his muggle relatives," it was more a statement than a question, but Septima did not doubt that she was correct in her assumption as to the child Minerva was discussing.
"Yes, outside of Albus, I am the only other person who knows where Harry resides, and I want to reassure myself that we did the right thing. And if we didn't, then I will need assistance in trying to make it right." Septima's eyes widened at the older woman's last remark. She thought about what this could mean for her, and almost declined. However, something in the older woman's expression made her pause.
Tier pause.
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"Alright, I will deliver the letter to young Mr. Potter, and I will provide his introduction to the wizarding world."
"Thank you, Septima. I really appreciate this."
"It's alright, Minerva. I must confess to a certain amount of curiosity myself about the child, especially with what you have said and not said this afternoon. Will tomorrow do?"
"Of course, that would be fine," Minerva assured her. "Here is a letter for him. His proper letter has not been printed yet, but this will serve as an early introduction. The address is on the letter." Septima took the letter and carefully placed it in her bag.
"Thank you, Minerva. I shall report back to you after I have spoken with Mr. Potter."
"Thank you, Septima, and if you need anything else please let me know," Minerva replied as the other woman rose to leave.
"I will," Septima reassured her colleague and friend before she reached the door.
Once the younger woman had departed, Minerva McGonagall poured herself a glass of scotch. She sincerely hoped that Septima Vector discovered a healthy and happy ten year old Harry Potter, and then she could finally put to rest the impression that she had that the Dursleys really were the worst sort of muggles.
Author's Note: After reading numerous stories where either Hagrid or Snape take Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time, I wanted to see something different, a different introduction for Harry into the wizarding world. I have several chapterscompleted, but would appreciate feedback to help make the story better. I am not certain how far this story will go as of yet, but do have an outline of basic events. There is no deliberate bashing of any characters planned, and I aiming for realistic portrayals of the characters based on what we learn of them from canon. I look forward to any and all reviews.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters or universe. I am merely playing with them. No money is being made from this story.