The Alchemist Apprentice

By Aragon Potter

Summary: Having had enough of the abuse of his relatives a young Harry Potter decides to leave Private Drive. Shortly after leaving, Harry meets a strange couple who take him in and introduce him to a whole new world…the world of Magic and Alchemy.

Previously:

"Nicolas…" pleaded Pernelle, "Harry needs a good home, a place where he can grow up happy and safe and be around people who can love and nurture him, something every child needs and deserves. We can give him that and more, he will be safe with us, no-one will know that we have him."

"But dear, we can't, just…"

"But nothing!" rounded Perenelle, "Nicolas we can help Harry in ways that not even Dumbledore can't. You know as well as I do that Voldermort is not truly gone, he will eventually return, and once he does he will come after Harry, as he was the one who defeated Voldermort and his mere existence is a challenge to him. By taking Harry in, we can not only protect him, but also give him a fighting chance in the future."

Hearing his wife's arguments, Nicolas let out a weary sigh and feel his resolve breaking. He could see the point she was trying to make, but he still had his reservation about it, and did not like the idea of going behind one of his oldest living friends back. But after an hour-long "discussion," the elderly alchemist finally gave in to his wife's will.

"Sigh, Very well Perenelle, you win, and we will keep Albus in the dark…for the time being. Also I think it would be wise that if we "do" take Harry in, that we should tell "her" as well."

Pleased that she had finally convinced her husband, Perenelle beamed a brilliant smile down on her husband before nodding her head in agreement and kissing him on his right cheek while rushing out of the room to tell Harry the good news.

No sooner had Perenelle left the room, Nicolas smiled to himself, since it had been a long time since he had seen his wife smile like that, and if taking Harry in made Perenelle smile like that again. Then it would be more than worth the risk to the old Alchemist.

Deciding to follow after his wife, Nicolas began to muse at the idea of teaching Harry since it had been a long time since he had an apprentice.

"I wonder if Harry would be interested in learning alchemy?" the famed alchemist thought as he left the study.

Spells

Thinking

Chapter 2: Home

-In a Cottage in Devon-

After finishing their discussion in Nicolas's study, the two Flamel's made their way back to the living room and found Harry sitting quietly reading the book Perenelle had given him.

"Are you enjoying the book, Harry?" Nicolas asked suddenly, gaining the young boy's attention.

Looking up from the book, Harry nodded, "Yea, it's cool, but there is still some stuff that I don't get, but I like watching the moving pictures."

Smiling and nodding, the Flamels then asked Harry if they could talk to him about some things.

Curious as to what they wanted to talk to him about, Harry closed the book and placed it down on the coffee table and looking back up at the elderly pair.

"Tell me Harry do you like it here?" Nicolas asked.

"Yea, I do" Harry replied, while fighting against the small feeling that was slowly forming in his stomach, filling with something he had not felt in a very long time, hope. "Why?"

"Well you see..."continued Perenelle, wanting to be the one who would tell Harry. "Nicolas and I have been talking, and we were wondering if you would like to stay here with us?"

"Really?" asked Harry, not believing that this was actually happening, that the kind elderly couple were offering to take him in. But as quickly as this new found happiness began to form, the Dursley's abuse suddenly reared its head, causing him to stare down at the floor. "Why would do that? I'm just a freak, I'm nothing special..." But before he could say anything more Perenelle made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around Harry's in a nurturing manner. "Don't say such things dear, you're not a freak, you're a very special boy."

"I'm nothing special" Harry replied, while continuing to stare at the floor.

"On the contrary Harry, you're very special..." Nicolas added, joining the conversation. "You are a wizard.

At the mention of him being a wizard, Harry immediately looked up from the floor and stared at the elderly man in surprise, "I-I-I'm a wizard, l-like you?"

"Yes," said Nicolas, smiling over at the boy.

"M-M-Me, a wizard?" said Harry, still trying to believe what he was being told. Instead of being pleased or excited at the idea of being a wizards and having powers. The boy felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he be possibly be a wizard? He'd spent his entire life being clouted by his cousin Dudley and his Uncle Vernon, while being bullied and bossed around by his Aunt Petunia, who treated like a servant. If he was really was a wizard, why hadn't he turned them into warty toads every time they had beat him or locked him in his cupboard?

"M-Mr Flamel" Harry said quietly, looking back at the floor, "I think you made a mistake. I don't, I can be a wizard, I-I'm Harry, just Harry."

But to the surprise of the boy, the elderly coupled just chuckled.

"Nonsense dear" Perenelle cooed "Of course you're a wizard, tell me have you ever made things happen when you were scared, or angry?

Looking into the small fire in the fireplace, Harry began to think about it...every odd thing that happened that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry...chased by Dudley and his little gang of delinquents, he had somehow found himself out of their reach...dreading going to school after his aunt had tried cut his hair, he'd managed to make it grown back...he even remembered a time when he was very young, his cousin Dudley had thrown a handful of mashed potatoes at him from across the table. But before it could hit him, the potatoes somehow turned around and hit Dudley straight in the face. After that Uncle Vernon locked him in the cupboard for a week, letting him out only to go to school. If he was wizard, it would also explain the strange glows he would see sometimes around people and objects.

Harry then looked back at Perenelle, smiling, and saw that Perenelle was positively beaming down at him.

"See dear?" said the elderly woman, "How could you not be a wizard, in fact you are very famous in our world."

At the mention of being famous, a puzzled look appeared on Harry's face, "Me, famous."

Having already guessed that Harry would not know that he was famous in the wizarding world, the Flamels were already prepared for this question.

"Yes Harry, in our world you're very famous, as are your parents, in fact I dare say there isn't anyone in the magical world who hasn't at least heard your name?"

Surprised for the second time today, Harry once again found himself questioning himself. How could he, Harry, be famous, he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was a wizard and had magical powers. But now he was being told that he was also famous and that everyone in another world knew him, knew his parents. All his life he had been told by the Dursleys that his parents had been nothing but vagrants who got themselves killed in a car crash.

"W-Were my parents also like yo-I mean, like us?"

"Yes," Nicolas replied, nodding his head slowly. "Your father was a wizard, like you and I, and your mother was a witch, like Perenelle, and from what I understand both were quite powerful, meaning you could be just a powerful, if not more."

"Did you know them?" asked Harry, hoping that he might learn something about them, but to his disappointment both Flamels shook their heads.

"Alas my boy, no, we did not" Nicolas said sadly, "All we know about them is what we've heard and been told by friends of ours. But from what we have heard, they were both very kind and courageous people, who died protecting you."

At the mention of his parents dying protecting him Harry's eyes widened in shock, "Protecting me? From what?"

Looking at one another both Flamels seemed hesitant, Perenelle even tightened her arms around him, as if they were afraid to tell him.

"Please!" begged Harry, he needed to know what happened to his parents.

Sighing, the elderly Alchemist knew that Harry needed to know the truth about what happened to him, and that he would not give up until he did. "Very well Harry, you deserve to know the truth. Nearly twenty years ago, here in England, a powerful Dark wizard by the name of Voldermort rose to power, gathering followers and terrorizing the entire country in an attempt to take over. You see, Harry, Voldermort believed that the magic belonged only to Pure-Bloods, that all other magical people are inferior. He wanted to create a magical nation with Pure-bloods in charge, and him ruling them, like a king."

"Pure-blood?" asked Harry, failing to understand the meaning behind the world.

"It's a term for wizards and witches to describe magical families who have a purely or somewhat pure magical heritage." answered Perenelle, before scoffing. "It's utter nonsense, it's just something old wizarding families created so that they make themselves seem more esteem. There is not a witch or wizard in existence whose blood has not mingled with that of Muggles. Yet they foolishly believe that their magical lineage makes them more powerful."

"Agreed" joined Nicolas, whom seemed to share his wife's dislike of the Pure-blood term. "The belief in that an all wizarding lineages is not only ignorant, but foolish as well. I would be what many people in the magical world would refer to as a Pure-blood, given how my family has produced many wizards and witches over the years. Yet Perenelle here, a muggle-born, is much more powerful than I, in fact your mother Harry was also a muggle-born, and yet she was exceedingly bright and powerful from what I understand. Those "so-called" pure-blood families maintain their "alleged" purity by disowning, banishing, or lying about Muggles or Muggle-borns on their family trees. There not a single "true" Pure-blood existing today, if there ever was any to begin with. Yet these families attempt to foist their hypocrisy upon the rest of us by telling us to ban works dealing with the truths they deny. They even continue to practice inbreeding, believing it is the only way to keep their line "Pure," again this is nonsense, and they fail to see that such actions would only cause wizarding lines to die out or can cause impotence. If we did not have children with muggles or muggle-borns, the wizarding race would die out."

"Muggle?" asked a confused Harry, after hearing the term several times.

"It's a term given by magical families to describe non-magical people" Perenelle answered, causing Harry to look up at her. "Originally wizards and witches would refer to non-magical people as mundane, since they could not use magic and had no remarkable abilities. Over time though the term evolved into mug or muggle, meaning gullible person, which I always found insulting, since muggles are far simple or ignorant. They have done many extraordinary things with their science, things that have surpassed even the magical world. They simply have trouble understanding magic, much like most magical people have trouble understanding their science and technology."

"And muggle-born?" asked Harry hesitantly. "Does that mean that a magical person whose parents are both mug-gle," saying the word slowly, still trying to get use to the term.

"Correct" said Nicolas, "From time to time the ability to do magic can appear in non-magical families, hence the term muggle-born. This of course proves want we stated earlier about the term Pure-blood being nonsense, although most Pure-bloods would deny this, but at one point or another, their ancestors were at one time muggle, making them descendants of muggle-born."

"There is also a possibility..." joined Perenelle. "That some muggle-born witches and wizards today might simply be descendants of wizards and witches, who left the magical world to live as a muggle, and lost the knowledge of their wizarding lineage. The ability to use magic could then resurface unexpectedly many generations later, although that might not be the case for everyone in a family, much like your mother and those things," once again refusing to acknowledge the Dursley's as people for what they had done.

Despite not fully understanding the wizarding hierarchy, Harry just nodded his head in the hope that they would get back to matter at hand, his parents. "So, if this V-Volder-mort..." saying his name slowly, "was trying to take over, why didn't anyone try to stop him and his followers?"

"Many did" answered Nicolas, now realizing that he and Perenelle had be side tracked in their explanation of Pure-bloods, muggles and muggle-borns. "But most had been killed by Voldermort or his followers, Voldermort was a very powerful wizard, and his followers often kept their faces hidden, making it hard for people to identify them. It was probably one of the reasons why the British Ministry of Magic had so much trouble fighting them."

"Wait, British Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.

"Of course" said Perenelle, smiling down at Harry when he looked up at her in surprise. "Even the magical world needs a ruling group to keep things in order, there many different magical governments all over the world, in every nation in fact."

"What do they do?"

"Well like any government, they're required to keep law and order in our world, as well as keep muggles from learning of us and other magical beings."

"Why?" asked Harry, unable to stop himself from asking.

"Because it would be better for everyone" explained Nicolas, gaining Harry's attention. "You see Harry, if we were to show ourselves to muggles it could cause panic and confusion. We've seen this happen over the years in regards to witch trials. Now although muggles have evolved passed such things and are more rational, it does not mean they could still not act negatively to it, much like your Aunt and Uncle did. They simply cannot understand magic, and people tend to fear and hate things they cannot understand. The same could easily be said for witches and wizards, since the magical world often has little understanding of the non-magical world, and do not understand muggles science and technology."

"You seem to understand" said Harry, remembering how Perenelle had stated that muggles weren't stupid as magical people thought and that they could do a lot with their technology.

Smiling at Harry, Nicolas simply nodded, "Well Perenelle and I are somewhat odd in that way, unlike most wizarding people, we tend to keep in touch with things in the non-magical world. But there is still much we do not understand, such as this new thing muggles call the in-ter-net, I simply cannot understand how they do the things they say they do with it with no wires or anything, it simply makes no sense."

Unable to hide their amusement at how vexed the Alchemist seemed to be with understanding how the internet worked, Harry and Perenelle smiled. But despite being sidetracked once again, the two went back explaining what happen to Harry and his parents and why they were famous.

"Back then, the only person that Voldermort seemed to be afraid of was Albus Dumbledore, an old friend of ours, who is considered by many, the most powerful wizard alive today," Nicolas explained before continuing. "Now your parents were among the many wizarding families who resisted Voldermorts attempts in taking control and were close supports of Dumbledore as well, which leads many to believe why Voldermort went after them."

"What happened?" asked Harry, almost dreading to hear the answer.

Sighing deeply, Nicolas continued the story, "Six years ago, on Halloween night, when you were only one, Voldermort arrived at Godric's Hollow, the village where you are your parents were living and killed them."

Saying nothing, Harry simply turned to stare at the burning fire, all his life he had been told that his parents had died in a tragic accident. But now he had just learned that they had been murdered, by a man called Voldermort. It was also in this moment that Harry then began to remember a blinding flash of green light, which seemed clearer now than it had ever been before, he also began to remember something else he had failed to remember. For the first time in his life he remembered a high cold cruel laugh, the laugh of his parent's murder, Voldermort.

After staring at the fire for a minute, Harry felt Perenelle's hand on his left shoulder squeezing it gentle, turning away from the fire and smiling kindly at the elderly woman, knowing that she was trying to comfort him.

Nodding his thanks, Harry turned his attention back to Nicolas, in the hope of answer something else that bothered him. "Why am I alive, why didn't Voldermort kill me as well?"

Looking at his wife, who simply nodded, Nicolas turned back to look at Harry, who seemed more than determined to know more. "No one knows, and how you survived is considered one of the greatest mysteries in modern history, there are of course many theories, but no-one knows exactly what happened. You see when Voldermort tried to kill you, he used a powerful spell called the Killing Curse, which as the name suggest, kills anyone who it hits. That's why you have the scar on the forehead, and that's why you are so famous, no -one has ever survived being hit by that curse before, and that is also why people in the magical world refer to you as the Boy Who Lived."

"You said there are theories, do you have one?" Harry asked suddenly, causing the elderly man to smirk a little. Harry had proven more astute than he had expected.

"Yes, Perenelle and I have recently come up with a theory with how you survived, although it is still only a theory, we believe it makes the most sense. You see Harry, because we are able to wield magic it is closely influenced by our emotions, where certain spells are linked to what we are feeling. The Killing Curse that Voldermort used is fuelled by a person's anger and wish the kill another, and as I told you before, no one has ever survived, let alone blocked, a Killing Curse before, at least not until you. Our theory is before your mother died she shielded you with her body, enacting a powerful spell called sacrificial protection charm which protected you from harm."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Harry.

"Love" Nicolas replied simply.

"Love?" repeated Harry, not understanding the elderly man.

"You see Harry; as I mentioned before, the spell Voldermort used is fuelled and powered by anger and hate, meaning that the perfect counter to it is love, which is their natural opposite. The spell that your mother enacted is an ancient and extremely powerful spell powered by love. But in order for the spell to come into effect, one person must die in order for the other to live, the sacrificing person must also be given the option to live, but consciously choose death instead. To quote a line from the muggle bible, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." That is why we believe that when your mother had the chance to live, she instead choose to die protecting you thereby enacting the charm."

When Nicolas finished his explanation, Harry again remained silent; so many emotions were running through his head, anger for Voldermort killing his parent, pain at finally knowing how and why his parents had died. But out of all the emotions he was feeling, none were as strong as the feeling swelling inside his heart, a warmth sensation that seemed to fill his entire heart and could only be described as love, love for his mother, who had died protecting him. For his entire life Harry had always wondered one thing, had he ever been loved, the Dursleys had never loved him, and he's never loved them in return, they had also treated him as nothing more than a hindrance and never made him feel otherwise. But his parents, he had always wondered if his parents loved him, he had always assumed they had, but never knew for certain, but now he did, now he knew they had loved him, the fact that he was alive here and now proved that."

After finally knowing what happened to his parents, Harry suddenly remembered something he wanted to know, "What happened to Voldermort after he failed to kill me?"

"Ah, a good question" said Nicolas, "Although most people don't know what exactly happened to him that night, we believe that when he tried to kill you the spell he used backfired and hit him."

"So he's dead then" said Harry with some satisfaction, but to his surprise Nicolas shook his head.

"No, according to Albus, Voldermort is still alive."

"Albus, you mean that Dumbledore guy, the one Voldermort was afraid of?"

"Yes" answered Perenelle, "Albus believes that Voldermort is still alive thanks to one of the dark spells he used on himself to make himself more powerful. The only reason he is unable to do anything is because he is too weak, his body was destroyed when he failed to kill you that is also why you are so famous. You defeated Voldermort when no one else could, not even Albus, who you should know was also the one who decided to send you to live with those things."

"WHAT?!" shouted Harry, anger filling his head upon learning that it was Dumbledore who sent him to live with his abusers.

"Harry please calm down, there are reasons for what Albus did" Nicolas pleaded, as tried to calm the furious boy down, while his wife did nothing, seemly satisfied with exposing what the headmaster of Hogswarts had done.

Shortly after Harry finally calm down and decided to listen to what Nicolas had to say. "Harry I understand your anger for what Albus did, but I can assure you he had his reasons for it."

"What sort of reason?" asked the younger boy hotly, while sitting back down.

"You see Harry, I believe that Albus sent you there for your protection..." explained Nicolas, but no sooner had he said the words protection, the furious boy stood up again.

"PROTECTION?! You saw what they did to me?! How is that protecting me?!" yelled Harry, with such force that his accidental magic erupted, causing a nearby vase to explode, sending fragments and water everywhere.

"Please Harry, calm down and let me explain" Nicolas pleaded, trying to keep the boy from breaking anything more. "The reason Albus sent you there was because of the spell that your mother used to protect you?"

"Huh?"

"You see Harry, I believe that like us, Albus figured out what happened in your home when Voldermort attacked it. He then sent you to your Aunt and Uncle and placed a powerful spell over their home called Blood wards."

"Blood wards?" repeated Harry, having never heard of the term.

"Yes, you see Harry Blood wards are a powerful protection Charm that was created long ago by wizarding families to protect their homes. The wards were designed to protect a family from harm, so long as they lived in the same place and called it home, no enemy could enter their home or harm them in it. We believe that Albus combined the protection spell that your mother gave you with the Blood wards, giving you the best possible defence. Both spells involved blood and it was your mother's blood that was shed, the same blood that you share with your Aunt and cousin, which would protect you, not only from Voldermort but his followers as well."

"His Followers?" asked Harry, having remembered Nicolas mentioning that Voldermort had followers.

"Yes, although Voldermort was defeated, his followers were still on the loose and many of them were every bit as cruel and evil as he was. Given the chance, I'm certain they would've come after you in revenge for defeating their master."

"But weren't they all caught after Voldermort was defeated?" asked Harry as he began to calm down.

"Sadly no" said Perenelle, joining the conversation. "Although many were captured or killed after Voldermort's fall. There were some who still managed to escape, using their money or influence and calming to being controlled by Voldermort."

"If the spell was supposed to protect me from harm why didn't it protect me when I was being attacked by my Uncle and cousin?" asked Harry, still angry, but not as much as before.

"Alas Harry, no spell is truly prefect, the spell does not protect you from harm from those who live with your or share the same blood as you" Nicolas answered sadly, remembering what he had seen in Harry's memories.

After Nicolas had finished explaining how the Blood wards worked, Harry began to calm down, but just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly stood up again, his face chalk-white, when he realized something. "Wait! If I was sent to my Aunt for protection, does that mean that you're going to send me back?!" Although he could no longer remember exactly what the Dursley's had done to him, he still remembered that he had been beaten and abused, along with the fear and suffering that he felt every day. The very thought of returning to that hell hole they called a house, terrified Harry more than anything.

"Heavens no dear" Perenelle declared as she stood up from the arm rest and placed her arm around Harry, in trying to calm the panicking boy down, while gently pushing him back down to the chair, still keeping her arms around his.

"Harry, I can assure you, Perenelle and I have no intention of sending you back to your relatives, regardless of the protection it provides you, it is clearly not worth it...Furthermore it would pointless now at this point."

"Why's that?" asked Harry, although he was relieved to hear that he would not be sent back to the Dursley's. He was curious by what Nicolas meant when he said it would be pointless for him to be sent back."

"You see Harry as I mentioned before, for Blood wards to work correctly, you must regard your relatives residents as your home, but that ended when you ran away, and you no longer regard it as your home. Even if we were to send you back, the wards would no longer work, since you still would not consider it home and were forced to return."

"So does that mean I don't ever have to go back?" asked Harry, daring to hope that he would never have to see the Dursley's ugly faces ever again.

"I can assure you Harry, if Perenelle and I have any say in things, you will never have to see them again" Nicolas replied with a reassuring smile. "Which also leads us to the earlier matter that were discussing, would you like to stay here with us? It is of course your choice, but if you want, we can bring your to the British Ministry of Magic, where they will try to help you."

"Yes!" Harry said almost immediately, "I loved to stay you."

Hearing Harry say "Yes" both Flamel almost immediately beamed at the boy and before he knew what happened, he was enveloped in a tight hug by Perenelle, who was surprising strong for an elderly woman.

After Mrs Flamel had finally let him go from her hug, Harry immediately began bombarding the Flamels with different questions about the magical world and when he could start learning magic.

The Flamel's were of course very accommodating, and answered all his questions and told him about Hogswarts, which would be where he would most likely go to learn magic. They also went on to explain that for the time being, they would have to keep the fact that he was staying with them hidden from everyone, otherwise people might believe they kidnapped him and tried to take him away.

Understanding the reason for secrecy and not wanting to leave the only people who showed him any real kindness in his life, Harry nodded. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel excited when he learned that there was a school for magic. His mood although almost immediately soured when he learned that Dumbledore was the headmaster of the school.

Despite understanding why he had been sent to the Dursley's, and that Dumbledore had only his the best intentions at heart. Harry could not help but feel angry and resentful towards the man, because of him he had been forced to live with his abusive relatives, and not once had Dumbledore checked on him to make sure he was okay.

The Flamel's had of course assured him that they did not believe that Dumbledore had sent him there knowing that he would be abused. But despite their assurance, Harry was not sure if he could ever fully trust the man.

When he asked if there were any other magical schools he could go to, the Flamels told him there were, but he would be required to go to Hogswart. They suspected that he already had his name down to attend Hogswart and would have to attend at least one year at Hogswart before being allowed to change schools.

"Do you think, I could learn any magic from you?" Harry asked suddenly; as he was eager learn more about magic.

Looking at one another, the Flamel's smiled at how excited Harry was about learning magic.

"Yes, I believe there are a few things Nicolas and I could teach you" said Perenelle with a knowing as she took out her wand and pointed it at the broken vase before saying "Reparo" causing the broken vase to almost immediately repair itself.

At the same time, Nicolas notice Harry flinch slightly when Perenelle used the spell, as if he had been temporary blinded by the light of the spell. Curious by Harry's actions the elderly Alchemist decided to try something.

Flexing his magic slightly, Nicolas called out to the young boy, "Harry could you tell me what you see?" This question of course caught Perenelle attention, but before she could comment Harry spoke. "What do you mean?"

"Do you see anything strange around me, like a sort of glow?"

"Eh yea, you kind of have a pale green glow around you, but the glow is a bit stronger than it normally is, is that your magic?" asked Harry, after learning that witches and wizards actually existed, Harry suspected that the strange glow he would sometimes see around people and things was magic.

"That it is my boy" said Nicolas with a smile a she eyes began to sparkly brightly. "The fact that you can see it, tells me that our instincts about you were right, you're indeed a special young man."

"But can't all wizards see magic?" asked Harry in surprise.

"To a certain degree yes, wizards and witches can see magic, but only when we cast a spell or release large amounts of magic at once. Most of the time, magic is invisible to us" explained Perenelle, who now realized the same thing her husband had about Harry.

"Tell me Harry?" asked Nicolas, "How long have you been able to see these glows?"

"I always have" Harry replied, for as long as he could remember he could see these strange glows around certain people and objects.

"I see" the elderly man hummed, scratching his chin as he listened to Harry explain what he could see. "What else can you tell me?"

"Well most of the time the glows I see are different, your glow is pale green, while Mrs Flamel's is bright silver and is much bigger and stronger. Also the house and most of the paintings and things here all glow, but they are different colours."

Humming again Nicolas stared at the young man before him, "There's no doubt about, the boy has the gift, I can't believe we didn't see the signs sooner. Obviously he needs to be trained to use his gift properly, otherwise it could harm him."

"Is there something wrong with me?" Harry asked with some concern in his voice, fearing that after just finding a place where he belongs, he would once again become some sort of outcast or freak.

"No, No, dear" Perenelle said, placing her hand on his shoulders again, assuring him that everything was fine. "In fact what you are describing tells us that you are much more special than we thought, even in our world."

"What do you mean?"

"From what you've just told me Harry, we believe you have a unique ability called Aura Sight" Nicolas answered.

"Aura Sight?" repeated Harry, unsure if this was good or bad.

"Yes" Nicolas replied, "Aura Sight is a rare and highly valued ability that appears in certain magical families from time to time and very few people have it. You see Harry; all magic emanates a sort of magical Aura around them, but most people are unable to see it, only people, like you, with your unique sight can see it. It is a very useful ability to have, with it you can detect people or objects that are invisible, see hidden doorways and rooms or when they are in disguise, with enough skill and training you can even predict when people are going to attack or are under a spell."

Surprised by this new revelation, Harry could help but feel little be excited at learning how to use his new revealed ability. "Do you think you could help me with it?"

Smiling Nicolas and Perenelle nodded, "Yes I believe we can, although your ability is rare, we have met one or two people with your ability, so I'm certain we can help."

"You needn't worry Harry; we'll help you in whatever way we can" Perenelle said with a kind and reassuring smile. "And please, from now on, think of our home as your home."

At the mention of home, Harry was again filled with a warm sensation, similar to the one he felt early when he learned that he had indeed been loved by his parents. "Home with the Flamels, I like the sound of that."

---

At the same time inside the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was busy working at his desk. But his attention soon turned away from the papers he was reading when heheard a loud noise coming from an instrument in his office, which had just activated.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts immediately headed to the small table where his instruments were located and he was shocked to see the condition of the Blood wards inside young Harry Potter's home.

"The protection! It's unravelling!" Albus whispered to himself in horror. "I must get to Harry's house immediately."

With no time to waste the elderly man turned around and took hold of his loyal familiar, Fawkes, and asked him to take him to Number four Private Drive.

-Several Hours Later at Hogwarts, Great Hall-

Later that night, when all the students at Hogswarts were in their beds asleep, a large body of people gathered together in the Great Hall. These people were members of the secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Lord Voldemort and his followers during the last Great Magical War, the Order of the Phoenix.

The Head table had been expanded to fit all the members of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore had called an emergency meeting for the evening. He looked across the table as the last members straggled into the hall. Some of the Professors at Hogwarts were members, including Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, Minerva being one of the few original members still alive. Severus, sitting at the table with his trademark sneer prominent on his face, had joined during the war with Voldemort as a spy in Voldemort's ranks. Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout and Septima Vector had been recent recruits who joined just after Voldemort's defeat.

Arthur and Molly Weasley were in attendance, who like Filius Pomona and Septima had been accepted as members shortly after Voldemort's defeat. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt was there as well as several other Aurors, including Hestia Jones who attended Hogwarts at the same time as James and Lily and been a close friend of Lily's, and a few Hit Wizards. Other original members including Dedalus Diggle and his old friend Elphias Doge, as well as the paranoid, now retired Auror, Alastor Moody. Andromeda Tonks and Ted Tonks sat near Kingsley, Emmeline Vance and Mundungus Fletcher, the former not liking having to sit near the known thief, but decided to let it go for the time being.

There were also several dozen other members there that had not taken part in Order affairs before during the last war, members such Arabella Figg, who was at the table with eyes red and puffy from crying, no doubt blaming herself for what had transpired. Sitting next to her, doing his best to comfort her was the gentle half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, who offered the weeping woman a dirty spotted handkerchief.

Finally, Albus' eyes came to rest on the man he knew would take the news the worst. Remus Lupin a childhood friend of Lily and James.

After the last Order member was seated, Dumbledore cleared his throat to get their attention. "Thank you, everyone, for coming this evening. I am afraid that everything you hear this meeting will be almost entirely bad news."

At this, several people around the table exchanged worried glances. Their meetings hadn't been filled with bad news since Voldemort had been defeated. "Does it have something to do with You-Know-Who?" Arthur Weasley asked worriedly.

No. This has to do with … Harry Potter," Dumbledore replied. The entire table immediately erupted in nervous chatter when he said this.

"What has happened?" asked a grave-looking Remus, his voice cutting through the chatter.

"Today one of my instruments activated and informed me that the Blood wards, which were protecting Harry's home, fell."

As soon as Albus and finished entire table immediately erupted chaos, everyone demanding answers about what happened, the loudest of them being Remus, who demanded to know what happened to his best friend's son. "Dumbledore what happened to Harry, you said that the Blood wards you placed around Dursley's home would give him the best possible protection, did someone break them somehow?!"

"No" said Dumbledore firmly, "From what I understand the Blood wards collapsed because Harry no longer lives there."

"Then where is he?!" asked Remus urgently.

Sighing wearily, the old Headmaster shook his head, "I'm afraid I do not have any idea as to where Harry has gone. According to what I've learned from visiting Private Drive, Harry ran away almost three months ago."

"THREE MONTHS?!" roared the normally composed werewolf, who now stood up from his seat, and looked angry than anyone had ever seen him. "AND WE'RE ONLY LEARNING OF THIS NOW?!"

"Albus, why didn't the wards tell us that Harry left sooner?" asked Minerva, who was sitting next to the Headmaster.

"The wards were sololy created to protect Harry and to warn me if he was in danger. So long as Harry was alive and consider Private Drive his home, the wards would remain active. Until recently the wards remained active, so I was unaware that he had ever left."

It was at this point, that Molly Weasley suddenly spoke, "Then if the wards have failed, does that mean the dear has...?" but before she could say the dreaded words that everyone was now thinking.

"I honestly cannot say" replied Dumbledore with no small amount of grief, since he had been the one who sent Harry to the Dursely's. "But I remain hopeful that he is, since there is another possibility why the wards failed, as I mentioned before, the wards would remain active so long as Harry was alive or considered his relative's residences his home. The magic that involved creating the Blood wards were very powerful, and since Harry's Aunt and Cousin, who share in Harry's mother blood, still resided there, the wards were slow to fade when Harry left. This means that the wards just simply collapsed due to Harry no longer living there"

"Why on earth would he leave?" asked professor Sprout, but as soon as she had asked this, ideas began to form in the others head, none of them good. Albus himself did not answer the question right away, and looked older and more tired than any of them had ever seen him look before, even during the War.

After few moments of awkward silence, Albus finally spoke, bracing himself would he knew would come once he revealed the truth. "From what I understand, it seems Harry was being abused by his relatives."

As expected, no sooner had the words of Harry being abused left Dumbledore's lips, chaos ensued as the hall was filled with angry voices. Almost everyone sitting at the table stood up from their seats shouting and demanding answers to their questions and why the wards did not tell them of his abuse. Remus was once again the loudest of the group, and even when Dumbledore was able to regain order, it did not stop him from glaring angrily at the old man, who he held personally responsible for what happened to Harry.

Once he had everyone calmed down, Dumbledore began to explain what happened when he arrived at Private Drive. "After I learned of the wards collapsed, I quickly made my way to Private Drive, curtsy of Fawkes. When I arrived and asked to see Harry, both Mr and Mrs Dursely were more than a little reluctant to speak to me and stated that Harry had not lived there since late June. Naturally I became curious by the news and asked them to explain further, they then told me that Harry had stolen some things from them and ran away. When I asked them why they had not informed myself or the muggle authorities, they simply stated that he was no longer their concern. Becoming suspicious, I then asked to see Harry's room in the hope of finding some clues as to why he left and where he could have gone. But no sooner had I asked, both Mr and Mrs Durlsey became hostile towards me, demanding that I leave their home. Eventually I was able convince them to let me in and see his room, or at least what they called his room." It was at this point that a dark shadow then appeared over Dumbledores face, where his normally twinkly blue eyes dimmed.

"Dumbledore please" begged Remus, he needed to know what Harry had gone through there.

Slowly lifting his head, looking every bit as old as he was, Dumbledore continued. "It seems the Dursley's had Harry living inside a small cupboard beneath their stairs and locked him in it every night before going to bed. Upon learning of his living conditions, I then questioned the Dursley's on their treatment of Harry, but they refused to answer any of my questions, which I ashamed to admit, forced me to use my Legilimency skills to learn what happen to Harry. There I learned that Harry had lived inside the cupboard since he was two, and was constantly mistreated. His Uncle seemly beating him almost on a daily basis, as a form of stress relief after work" explained the elder Headmaster, using the term "stress" loosely. The images of Harry being beaten by his Uncle still haunted him, since it was his fault that Harry was there. "The Dursley's son, Harry's cousin, I am saddened to say, followed his father's behaviour and added to these beatings, where he and his friends constantly beat and harassed Harry at school and ensured that he had no friends or support. Harry's Aunt, Lily's sister, I regret to say was not much better, where she had him work around their house like a common house elf, with little rest or food."

When Dumbledore finished, Remus and most of the other Order members were pale. McGonagall spoke up with a shaking voice. "Albus, I told you! I warned you that they hated magic. I told you not to leave him with those people" using the word people loosely.

Dumbledore, feeling older than he ever had before, looked down at the table in shame and self loathing. "Yes, Minerva, putting him there was probably one of the worst mistakes of my life. I just could not believe that anyone could treat a child the way Harry was treated, especially their own nephew."

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Dumbledore went on to explain, in detail, what exactly the Durlsey's had done to Harry. From looking at the Dursley's memories, Dumbledore learned that Vernon started off with just hitting or punching Harry, when he didn't something right or broke something by accident. When Harry turned four, Vernon then started beating him with his belt, and after that he started on frying pans and rounder's bats, and it went from there, using various other things.

When Dumbledore finally finished, an hour and a half later, everyone at the table had the same horrified and disgusted looks on their faces. Every woman, including Minerva, Molly, and Pomona were crying, including some of the men, after learning what Harry had been put through at that house. Several others including Remus and Severus all looked like they were considering the exact same thing.

This of course did not surprise Dumbledore, given how close Remus was to Harry's father James, and Severus towards Harry's mother, Lily. It was probably the only time where the two men could actually find common ground with one another and could agree on something.

Several minutes later, a hard-faced Remus Lupin began to rise from his seat. "Excuse me; I have something I need to do." He literally growled this sentence out, his wolf side began to the surface.

"Remus!" called Dumbledore, "I know that you are thinking of going to Privet drive, and probably killing the Dursleys, but please sit down. Killing them will not help us find Harry and will only have you placed in Azkaban, next to Sirius."

"So your saying I should just let this go?!" Remus snarled out, all composure lost, his eyes burning with anger, as he wanted nothing more than to rip the Dursley's apart, limb by limb, with his bare hands.

"Yes" replied a sombre Dumbledore, receiving many shocked looks from everyone.

"Albus?!" cried Professor McGonagall in shock, not believing her own ears. "You mean to let them go...? After everything they did to the boy?"

"There is nothing we can do Minerva" said Dumbledore. "With Harry missing and no-one coming forward to say that he was being abused, we have no evidence to present to the muggle authorities for them to charge the Dursley's with. Neither can we charge the Dursley's ourselves since there are laws which prevent us from punishing muggles."

"So they get away with abusing and beating Harry almost to death, while he could be lying in street somewhere dying, if he's not already dead!" yelled Remus, furious that the Dursley weren't going to punish for their crimes.

"Yes" said Dumbledore sadly, not liking the idea either, but for ill or good, those laws had been placed for a reason. "Remus, everyone I understand you anger and frustration, believe me I do, but now is not the time for this, we must now focus all our attention on finding Harry."

"He wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you!" hissed the former marauder, cutting deeper than any wound that Dumbledore had ever suffered before. They were made even worse due to the fact that they were true, it was his fault.

Closing his eyes momentarily, the aged Headmaster looked up at his former student. "Yes I am well aware of the part I played in all this Remus, which is why I am focusing so hard on finding Harry, so please sit," gesturing to his seat.

"You'd better hope we find him, Dumbledore, because none of us are forgetting that it was you that put him in that hell hole over our protests. He'd have been better off living with Sirius, after he murdered Peter and those muggles. The worst he could've done was kill him, which I think would've been better than what he went through with those monsters. I'm holding you personally responsible if he died, and one day you will have to face Lily and James and explain to them how you failed both them and Harry." Having said his piece, Remus reluctantly sat back down.

After Remus had taken back his seat, Arthur Weasley decided to ask Dumbledore something that had been bothering him, ever since he first heard that Harry was being abused by his relatives. "Excuse me Headmaster, I was wondering, why didn't the Blood wards protect Harry from his relatives, abuse?"

At this question everyone turned to look at Dumbledore, since Arthur had raised a good question.

Sighing again, Dumbledore answered. "Alas, there is one key flaw in both the Blood wards and the protection that Harry's mother placed on him. The spell dose not protect residents from those who share the same blood as them and who live with them. I am ashamed to admit that I never even considered the possibility. But in the event that something else happened, I had someone monitor Harry."

"WHO!" demanded Remus angrily, as this person clearly had note being doing their job.

"M-M-Me" said the now puffy eyed Arabella Figg, who had justly calmed herself down. "A-A-A year or two after sending Harry to Private Drive, Albus asked me to move to Little Whinging to watch Harry and warn him of any problems that may occur."

"And a wonderful job you did at that" Snape sneered coldly, giving the female Squip one of his infamous dark glares, which he normally reserved for students of Gryffindor house. Being more than a little intimidated by the Potion master's glare, the old woman couldn't help flinched at the glare.

Gathering what courage she had left, the old Squip meet Snape's glare, which would have impressed many a Gryffindor. "I had no idea that the poor boy was being abused, if I had I would've call Albus immediately, and then sic my cats on the lot of them!"

Unconvinced, the hooked nosed man scoffed, "Hmph, the fact that you were unaware of what was happening to Potter means you were either blind or simply incompetent. The fact that you he had been gone for three months and still never alerted the Headmaster of it, proves that!"

Before Arabella could respond to Severus's remark, Dumbledore raised his hand, restoring order and preventing any further arguments from happening.

"Severus that is quite enough, Arabella is not a fault at here, Harry's Uncle made sure that he would not tell anyone that he was being abused, by convincing him that no-one would believe him and threatened further physical harm should he attempt to tell anyone. She could not have known what was happening inside the Dursley's residence. Furthermore the Dursley's often kept Harry inside or out of sight and only sent him to her residence when they needed to, meaning it wasn't uncommon for Arabella to not see Harry for long periods."

Knowing that it would be pointless to argue further, Snape simply nodded, although gave Arabella another dark glare, indicating that he still believed that she was at least "partly" responsible for what happened and for not seeing it sooner.

To her credit the elderly Squip did not flinch at his glare this time and stared right back at the man. But deep down inside her, she agreed with Snape and felt that in some small way, she was at fault for what happened and blamed herself for not seeing the signs sooner. She also knew that it would be a long time before she could forgive herself, if she ever could.

The rest of the meeting was spent poring over a large map of London, since it was the most logical place to start, and decided to separate areas for different teams to search. Dumbledore then went on to say that he would contact the Minster Bagnold first thing in the morning and tell her of the situation and have Harry's picture placed on the front page of the Daily Prophet. This way they would have the resource of both the Ministry of Magic and the entire wizarding population of Great Britian, searching for Harry. (1)

-Next Morning at The Flamel's Residence-

Following the events of yesterday evening, with Harry agreeing to live with the Flamels, Perenelle was busy clearing up the kitchen after breakfast.

Wanting to make himself useful to the kind elderly couple, Harry gathered the plates and placed them in the cabinet.

Shortly after putting the plates away, a large brown Owl, carrying a rolled up piece of paper, screeched into the kitchen through the open back window and landed on the table next to Nicolas, who was just finishing off a glass of pumpkin juice.

Surprised by this, Harry immediately turned to Mrs Flamel who explained that in the wizarding world, Owls were used as massagers to carry letters, parcels and other things across the world for wizard, like the muggle post.

When Perenelle finished explaining, Harry nodded his head, but couldn't help find the whole thing a little strange, interesting, but strange none the less. He also suspected that this would not be the only strange thing he would see in the magical world.

After paying the brown Owl and sending it on his way, Nicolas began to unroll the paper to read it. But no sooner had he opened up the paper, he let out a loud gasp of surprise, causing both Perenelle and Harry look at him with concern.

"Nicolas what his is it?" asked the worried Perenelle.

"This!" replied the Alchemist, as he laid the newspaper flat-out on the table, with a large drawing of Harry on the front paper, with the heading "BOY-WHO-LIVED MISSING!" written in large bold letters.

BOY-WHO-LIVED MISSING!

By Rita Skeeter

At eight o'clock this morning, the Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold called for a Press Conference at the Ministry of Magic Atrium. At exactly half eight, Minister Bagnold announced the disappearance of one Harry James Potter, more commonly known as the Boy Who Lived, famed for not only being the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse. But for also defeating He Who Must Not Be Named almost six years ago next month, at the tender age of one year.

According Professor Albus Dumbledore, whom had accompanied the Minister into the Atrium, Harry Potter disappeared from his muggle relatives' residence, (which is where he has resided ever since he defeated He Who Must Not Be Named), almost three months ago. When asked why this news was only being released now, neither Professor Dumbledore nor Minister Bagnold were willing comment on the matter, or give an acceptable explanation, leading to several rumours emerging. The chief among them being that Harry Potter was kidnapped by Death Eater remnants, wishing to avenge their fallen master at the hands of Harry Potter. Other rumours though have suggested that the young boy has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom, although this seems unlikely, due to no ransom demands have been received by either the Ministry or Harry Potter's relatives. Another rumour though has been leaked from an unconfirmed source inside the Ministry, suggesting that Harry Potter ran away. Why exactly has yet to be revealed, although it is this reporter's humble opinion that the reason may be linked to why both Professor Dumbledore and Minister Bagnold have been so reluctant in revealing the exact nature of our young saviour's disappearance. If true, one cannot help but wonder what made the young boy feel he needed to run away, and why exactly both Professor Dumbledore and Minister Bagnold feel the need to keep it secret.

Upon announcing the disappearance of Harry Potter, Minister Bagnold has pledged the full support of the Ministry of Magic in finding Harry Potter, stating that she and the Ministry will use all the resources at their disposes, and will not rest until they found him.

Shortly after, Professor Dumbledore announced the formation of an independent voluntary group dedicated to the search of Harry Potter. Anyone wishing to join is asked to please go to either the Hog's Head, or the Three Broomsticks, in Hogsmeade, which will be acting at the Headquarters for the group. Professor Dumbledore also went on to make a plea, asking for the entire magical community's help in the search for Harry Potter, and asking for any information that could lead to the locating of Boy Who Lived. But after being missing for three months, this reporter cannot help but wonder what the chances in finding are, and can only pray that we can find him alive and safe.

For any information about the whereabouts of Harry Potter or possible sighting of him, please go to or send your letters to either the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Harry Potter Search and Rescue voluntary group.

Once they had finished reading the article, Perenelle and Nicolas almost immediately looked up from the newspaper and stared at each other, knowing that this put them in an difficult situation. When they decided to take Harry in, both thought they had time on side, given how Dumbledore had failed to notice Harry's disappearance, but now it seemed the old Headmaster had finally realized Harry had left Private Drive. But what worried them the most was the timing of all this, it was no coincidence that on the day after they had taken Harry into their home, Dumbledore and the British Ministry of Magic discovered that Harry had run away from the Dursley's.

"What does all this mean?" Harry suddenly asked, still staring at the drawing of him, reminding the two Flamels that he was here with them.

"To be honest Harry, I'm not sure exactly, but it does pose a problem for us" Nicolas replied, sitting back down.

"Do you think they somehow know that we have Harry?" Perenelle asked.

"I don't believe so" said Nicolas, shaking his head. "If they knew, we would have Albus and half the Auror's in Britain breaking down our doors."

"But the timing of all this...it's clearly not a coincidence" said Perenelle.

"Agreed" Nicolas replied, "Obviously we missed something regarding the Blood wards, or I may have accidentally alerted Albus somehow, when I went to check the wards around Harry's relative's home."

Before Perenelle could respond, Harry made his presence know again. "If they know that I'm missing, then does that mean they'll find out what the Dursley's did to me?" the young boy asked with some concern. He didn't like the idea of more people knowing what happened to him, especially strangers, the only reason he had allowed the Flamels to look into his memories of his beatings was because they had been so kind to him. Feeding, clothing him, and allowing them to stay with them.

Hearing the concern in Harry's voice when he asked about other people learning of his abuse, Mrs Flamel gently placed her arms around him, hoping to comfort him a little. Nicolas though remained in his seat and stared sadly at him, knowing exactly why Harry was asking this. Despite having done nothing wrong, Harry still felt what the Dursley's did to him was somehow his fault, which Nicolas guessed was what the Dursely's were aiming for. He was also probably ashamed of other people seeing him so weak and helpless. This sadly was a common thing when it came to people being abused, often enough the victims are so ashamed that they allowed this to happen to themselves it prevents them from coming forward or asking for help. It took all the courage Harry had to leave his abusers with hardly anything but the clothes on his back, and it was even harder for him when he allowed them to see his memories. But now it seemed that everyone in the wizarding world was going to learn exactly what happened to him. The poor boy simply just wanted to forget the Private Drive and move on with his life.

"Yes Harry, in fact I'd be surprised if Albus hasn't already discovered what they did to you. I also suspect that other people are now beginning to question your relatives treatment of you, it won't be long before other people figure out what they've done to you."

Nodding his head, Harry sat down on nearest chair, clearly upset by everything that happened. "Will they go to jail?"

Sadly Nicolas shook his head, "I'm sorry Harry, but that seems unlikely, there are laws which prevent wizards from punishing muggles in such manners. It prevents wizards and witches from abusing their magical powers on muggles."

"Figures" Harry muttered bitterly. Although he hated the idea of more people knowing what was done to him, he thought he could at least take solace that the Dursleys would finally be punished. But as usual, somehow they had gotten away with what they did.

After placing a sympatric hand on Harry's shoulder, Perenelle looked over to her husband. "I'm surprised that they haven't released the news of who those beasts did to Harry on the news, is Dumbledore trying to cover it up?"

"No, I don't believe so" replied Nicolas, shaking his head. "Albus cares little about what people say or think about him. I believe he hasn't released the news because he wants to keep everyone focus on finding Harry. If he released the news now, people would waste time demanding answers and punishment for what happened."

"Makes sense" Perenelle remarked, since Harry had run away three months ago, Albus and the others had no clue as to where he was, and didn't want to waste anymore time. "Then again, this could be the British Minister's doing, I understand that she is planning on retiring soon. Having Harry disappear under her watch is not something she probably wants at the end of her term as Minister for Magic. Despite the fact that it was Albus who placed Harry with those horrid beasts, people are likely to blame her for allowing Albus to do it and for not checking on Harry. She might be hopping that if the Ministry finds Harry quickly; it might save her reputation and lessen people's anger when it is released that Harry was abused."

"That is indeed another possibility" Nicolas replied; he knew most politicians were more worried about covering their own behinds than doing the right thing. It was also possible that Albus agreed to the Minister's request so that he could gain the Ministry's resources and manpower, thereby increasing their chances in finding Harry. "Regardless of their reason for hiding Harry's abuse, the fact that they revealed that Harry is missing makes things more complicated."

Realizing that she needed to talk to her husband alone, Perenelle asked Harry if they could talk alone.

Nodding Harry left without any argument, and was in fact grateful to be allowed leave, giving him some much-needed space and time to think about everything that had happened.

As soon as Harry had left, Perenelle quickly placed a silencing ward around the kitchen and turned to her husband, who was busy going over everything in his head, trying to figure out the best way to handle the situation. But his thoughts were quickly interrupted when he heard his wife calling out to him.

"I'm sorry dear, you were saying?"

"I was asking what do you think we should do? We can't send him to the British Ministry of Magic."

"Agreed" replied Nicolas, surprising his wife by how quickly he agreed with her, but was even more surprised by what he said next, "Nor can we send him to Albus."

"Harry has been both physically and mental abused almost his entire life, he has just learned that his parents were murdered and that not only is he famous, but is a wizard as well. Right now his emotional state is very fragile, you saw how low his self-esteem was and how hesitant he was in trusting us, if we were to send him to the British Ministry of Magic, it would be a disaster. He would be completely overwhelmed by everything that would happen and wouldn't know who to trust or what to do. The same thing would happen if sent him to Albus, and from what we saw Harry doesn't exactly hold Albus in high regard." (2)

"Can you blame him?" the silver haired woman asked. "Ignoring his good intentions, Albus was the one who sent him there. Knowing Albus, he probably just left him at their doorstep with nothing but a note."

"Now Perenelle don't you think you're being a bit overly harsh? Albus has more than enough sense to know not to do something so foolish."

"Hmph, I wouldn't be surprised if he did" the elder Flamel replied with a huff.

"Still, if we were to send Harry to either the Ministry or Albus, we could be doing more harm than good, and even if we ignore his emotional problems, there is also the fact that Harry could very likely end up in a worse place than before. Once people learn of Harry's abuse, and that Albus was the one who placed him there, his influence and popularity with people will plummet and his enemies will surely take advantage of it. There are more than a few former Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban and have a considerable amount of influence in the British Ministry of Magic. More than likely they would discredit Albus for his failings on Harry and manoeuvre themselves to take guardianship of Harry and then manipulate and use him for their own means."

"Well we can't stay here" stated Perenelle. "All of Magical Britain will be on the lookout for Harry, even if we disguised him, there's still a chance that someone might see through the disguise, and we can't keep him locked up in here until Hogswarts."

"I know" said Nicolas, agreeing with his wife. "That's why I believe it might be best if we return to France, with Harry. There at least we have allies and supporters who can help us keep him hidden until it is time for him to return."

"Yes, I think that would be best" Perenelle said, while at the same time making a mental list of friends and allies could help them, which included one of her descendant's, Marquis, a prominent member of the French Ministry of Magic and last direct descendant of her later elder sister Joan.

Shortly after, Perenelle's musing was interrupted by her husband, when she heard him speaking to her. "I also think we need to make contact with Sh'lainn, she deserves to know this, it could affect her, and she could help us with Harry."

Agreeing with her husband's suggestion, Perenelle nodded, where she then went over to the fire-place and used their private Floo network. After making contact with Sh'lainn, the two Flamel's patiently waited for her arrive. Thankfully they did not have to wait long, as the kitchen fire soon busted into flames, announcing the arrival of their guest.

Sh'lainn was an attractive young woman with a slender build and a pale complexion, and looked to be in her late teens or earlier twenties. She was fairly tall; roughly five foot five, with short bright red hair and bright sea-green eyes, that shone with an aged intelligence that rivalled the Flamels, as though she had seen more things than most people her age. Underneath her eyes she had freckles, which masked her nose and contrasted her skin, rendering the freckles blood-red, and a small mole on her right cheek. Her attire consisted of brown leather pants with brown leather boots, a white midriff top with long sleeves (that showed her figure quite nicely) and a short white cloak. She carried her wand in a small wand holster on her right hip and on her back she carried a pair of short curved Scimitars. This was of course highly unusual to see in the magical world today, since most wizards and witches only ever carried wands, believing bladed weapons were pointless. (3)

No sooner had Sh'lainn stepped out of the fire, she was immediately engulfed in a strong hug by Perenelle, who had quickly crossed the distance between the two. "Sh'lainn dear it's been too long, how are you?"

"It's good to see you too gran" Sh'lainn grunted with a painful smile, despite Perenelle's appearance, the elderly woman was surprisingly strong, especially when you consider her age.

"Perenelle, let the poor girl go and let her breath" Nicolas said with an amused smile.

Letting Sh'lainn go, Perenelle looked Sh'lainn over, "You're so pale and thin, have you been eating enough? Sh'lainn dear you should take better care of yourself; you come over more often," fussed the older woman and she smoothed the Sh'lainn clothes.

"I've always been pale or have forgotten in your old age?" laughed the younger woman's in vague Irish accent. "And yes, I eat plenty."

Once Perenelle stopped her fusing over Sh'lainn, walked over to Nicolas and gave him a strong hugged, which the old man happily returned.

"So what was so urgent that you two needed to call me over right after I finished my late shift at work?" Sh'lainn asked, as she and the Flamels sat down. "As you can imagine, things are pretty hectic in Ireland, with Harry Potter going missing and all. The British Ministry of Magic has even asked the Irish Ministry to help out in their search."

Glancing at one at his wife, Nicolas braced himself for what would happen next, choosing his words careful. "Sh'lainn, the reason we called you here is because we know where Harry Potter is?"

"You do?" asked Sh'lainn in surprise, "Where?"

"He's here dear, in this house" Perenelle answered.

"What?!" cried Sh'lainn, "Then why haven't you called the British Ministry or Dumbledore, the whole country is on the lookout for him."

"Because we don't intend to hand Harry back to them" Nicolas explained, "Perenelle and I have decided to take Harry in and plan to return to France with him"

"YOUR PLANNING TO DO WHAT?!" shouted Sh'lainn as she stood up from her and stared at her grandparents with a look of complete and utter shock. "You can't be seriously?! All of Britain is going stir crazy trying to find this kid, if you take him and the Brits find out, you could be causing an international incident. Not to mention they could have you charged with kidnapping and Merlin knows what else."

Hoping to settle the young woman down, Nicolas raised his hands in a calming manner. "Please, Sh'lainn there is more to the story than what you are being told, and I can assure you we did not kidnap Harry. He is here completely of his own free well, please sit down, we can explain everything."

For the next twenty minutes, Nicolas and Perenelle explained to Sh'lainn how they met Harry and learned that he was being mistreated by the Durleys.

"So he was abused by his relatives?" asked Sh'lainn, frowning at the news, when the Flamels nodded. "If that's true why didn't the Ministry reveal this? And why haven't you contacted Professor Dumbledore, surely he could help?"

"I'm afraid Albus is part of the problem, you see, he was the one who placed Harry with his relatives" explained Nicolas.

"Wait!" said Sh'lainn, "Are you saying he knew that they would abuse him." She had known the aged headmaster for years and refused to believe that he knew Harry's relatives would abuse him.

"No we don't" Perenelle replied. "But we believe Albus might have suspected that Harry would not be treated very well, he would not send Harry there without having an idea of what they were like. Also he never once went to check up on Harry while there, meaning we cannot trust Ablus's judgement when it comes to Harry. If we sent him to Albus we can't be sure that he won't make the same mistake again and send him to another bad home."

"There's also the fact that Harry doesn't practically like or trust Dumbledore after he learned that he was the one who sent him to his relatives" added Nicolas. "If we sent him to Albus, he would probably run away again, regardless of whom Albus sent him to, as far as Harry is concern they would be strangers to him, and understandably he has trouble trusting people."

"I see" said Sh'lainn, now beginning to understand where her parents were coming from. "I'm also guessing that you aren't going to send him to the British Ministry of Magic because you're afraid that one of those Death Eaters families who bribed their way out of Azkaban might use their influence their to get Harry to stay with them as there ward." As a member of the Irish magical law enforcement, Sh'lainn was well aware of just how many of Voldemort's followers were imprisoned and how many were "cleared" of all charges. She shuddered to what those people would do him if they ever got a hold of Harry, and what they would make him do for them.

"Yes" Nicolas said. "And that is another reason we decided not give Harry to Albus. People are already beginning to ask questions about why Harry disappeared, and once Albus's part in what happened to Harry is revealed, his influence with the Ministry and the people will plummet, allowing those same family to take advantage of it. Even if that wasn't a factor, we would also have to think of the emotional a mental harm it could cause Harry should we hand him over to the British Ministry or Albus."

"How so?" asked Sh'lainn, signalling for her grandfather to continue.

"Harry has only recently learned that he is famous and that he is a wizard, and has spent most of his life being physically and mentally abused by his relatives. If we handed him over to the British Ministry or Albus, Harry would immediately put under the spotlight of the entire magical world. That's enough to turn any normal person's head, but can you imagine the kind of trauma that would cause to a seven-year old boy like him? After everything that was done to him? He would be completely overwhelmed and terrified by it all, causing him to break down and lose all sense of himself."

Nodding again, Sh'lainn then decided to ask something that had bothered her, "Still what I don't understand is why did Professor Dumbledore sentHarry to his muggle relatives in the first place? I mean, there would probably be tons of good magical families would've gladly taken him and raised him as their own."

At this question, Perenelle and Nicolas explained their theory of the Blood wards and the protection charm that they believe Harry's mother placed on him when she died. When they finished their explanation, Sh'lainn once again found herself agreeing with her parents, their theory was sound and it certainly made a lot of sense if you thought about it.

Nicolas and Perenelle also went on to explain that given how Voldemort was still out there, they believed that they could help teach Harry and prepare him for his eventual confrontation with the Dark Lord. Knowing that Voldermort would not allow Harry to live, after he defeated him, and so long as Harry was alive, people would continue to resist Voldermort.

When the two elder Flamels had finished, Sh'lainn let out a deep sigh, her grandparents had put her in a difficult situation. Although she was not part of the British Ministry of Magic, she was a member of the Irish Ministry of Magic, whom the British Ministry had requested assistance from. By not informing the British Ministry of Harry location, and allowing her parents escape to another country with him, was grounds not only for dismissal, but also be sent to Uaimh prison (4), (Ireland's magical prison), or worse Azkaban. Still she couldn't turn her parents in, not after everything they had done for her, and they had brought up several good points about Harry and what would happen to him should they return him to Dumbledore or the British Ministry. She also knew that her parent never did anything without good reasons, and so after several minutes of heavy thought, Sh'lainn decided to trust her parents.

"So what would you like me to do?" Sh'lainn finally asked, looking at her grandparents, who smiled at having her support.

"Nothing at this time my dear" Nicolas said, "Perenelle and I already know how we will leave the country with Harry, without raising suspicion. But if possible could you keep us updated on the British Ministry's progress on locating Harry. That way if they get close we can keep ahead of them."

"That shouldn't be a problem" said Sh'lainn, nodding. "Reilly's been gathering people to send to Britain to help in the search. I can volunteer to join the group that's going and get close to know where they are focusing the searches."

"Good" replied Nicolas, "Although once we leave for France, I certain we'll be safe, Albus and the Ministry will mostly likely focus their attention on the British Isles. Should they try searching in France, Perenelle and I still have a few friends in the French Ministry who can help keep us from being discovered."

"What about the stone?" asked Sh'lainn, "Will you take it with you?"

"No" said Nicolas, shaking his head. "If we removed the stone from Gringotts, Albus will undoubtedly learn of it and become suspicious of our sudden departure. The stone is safe enough where it is, Perenelle and I have enough elixir to keep us going for a while. Should we need more I can return to Britian without notice and make more."

"Does Harry know the truth about you yet?" Sh'lainn asked.

"No" Nicolas replied, shaking his head. "Harry is still trying to grips with everything he has just learned; he doesn't know that we're immortal yet. We decided it would better if we took things slowly."

Agreeing with their decision, Sh'lainn and her parents spent the rest of the time discussion how exactly they would leave Britain without alert Dumbledore or the Ministry.

Once everything was decided, the Flamels decided it might be best to introduce Sh'lainn to Harry, and lowered the silencing wards around the kitchen. But when Perenelle called Harry, she received no answer, causing them to worry.

"I looked around the front yard and the surrounding grounds, but I didn't find him" Sh'lainn said, entering the living room

"He's not in my study either" Nicolas replied.

"There's no sign of him upstairs, but the bag with his belongings are gone" said Perenelle, coming down the stairs.

"Could he have run away again?" Sh'lainn asked.

"But why? He seemed so excited when we asked him to stay with us" said Perenelle.

"I think Harry might be trying to protect us" Nicolas answered, causing the two women to look at him curiously.

"After seeing the paper, I believe Harry decided that it would be better if he were to leave, so that he wouldn't cause us anymore trouble."

"Nonsense" Perenelle cried, "How can he think that he would cause us trouble?"

"Perenelle, we can't forget, Harry was mistreated most of his life, so its second nature for him to think that something like this is his fault."

"Grandad's right" added Sh'lainn, "It would make sense, and besides I have an idea of what's the kid is going through."

At mention of Sh'lainn knowing of what Harry was going through, a grim look appeared on both Flamel's faces

"We should search for Harry now!" said Perenelle, but before she could even take a step out of the room, she was stop by Sh'lainn, who called out to her.

"Wait! You two should stay here, let me find him and talk some sense into him."

"I'm not so sure that is wise Sh'lainn" Nicolas replied, "Harry has trouble trusting people and if you try approach him, he might get scared."

"Don't worry, I know what to say and what to do, it's after all one of the reasons why you asked me over and told me about him, isn't?"

Knowing that it would be pointless in denying it, the two Flamels simply nodded.

"But how will you find him?" asked Perenelle. "He could have gone anywhere."

Smiling, Sh'lainn replied, "I track Dark Wizards and criminals all over the world for a living; I think I can handle finding a seven-year old kid."

Before leaving, Nicolas took out a small object from his pocket and handed it to her, nodding her thanks; Sh'lainn walked out of the room and left the house.

---

A few miles away from the Flamels home, Harry walked silently through the fields, avoiding the roads to reduce the chances of being seen.

It had been an hour and a half since he had left Flamels after deciding that it would better if he left. He felt bad that he had left them without leaving so much as a note behind to say goodbye, considering how kind they had been. But he figured that if he had, they would've tried to stop him from leaving.

"Maybe the Dursely's were right about me, maybe all I ever do is cause people trouble" Harry mumbled to himself, as he walked past a large tree.

"My grandmother would be upset to hear you say that" an unknown voice said in a strange accent.

Surprised by the voice, Harry quickly began to search the field for the person, when he looked up, he saw a tall young red haired woman sitting atop the tree, smiling down at him. The woman as very attractive and he could tell that she was magical by the Dark grey aura surrounding her.

"Nice to finally meet you Harry Potter, I've heard quite a bit about you."

Not knowing who the person was, and fearing that she might be one of the Dark Wizards that the Flamels mention to him, Harry turned and began to run. But before he could get very far, the woman jumped off the tree and preformed a perfect mid-air flip, landing right in front of him, causing him to fall backwards.

"Ow" said Harry, after falling flat on his, now, sore rear.

"That wasn't very nice" said the woman, who was still smiling at him as she offered her hand to help. But instead Harry picked himself up and took several steps back.

Un-offended by Harry's refusal to take her hand, the young woman continued to smile at Harry, it what seemed to be an attempt to keep him calm and assure him that she meant him no harm.

"W-W-Who are you?" Harry asked, while slowly preparing to make another run for it.

"My name is Sh'lainn Flynn Flamel, you know my grandparents Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel."

"You're their granddaughter?" Harry asked in surprise, unaware that the Flamels had a granddaughter let alone any children to begin with.

"How do I know your telling the truth?" he asked, on the chance that Sh'lainn was lying to him in the hope of gaining his trust.

Expecting this, Sh'lainn took out and showed him a small gold pocket watch, which quickly Harry recognised. "I believe you tried to steal this from my grandfather in the street a few days ago, which is also how you met my parents, who are worried about you, you left rather suddenly, without even saying goodbye."

Unwilling to look Sh'lainn in the face, Harry stared at the ground, he mumbled, "They're better off without me, all I ever seem to do is cause people trouble."

"My grandparents don't see you as trouble, they want to help you Harry, if you just let them."

"No!" shouted Harry, looking back up at Sh'lainn. "If I go back, the Ministry or that Dumbledore guy will find out, and they'll get in trouble for helping me."

"You underestimate my grandparents too much Harry, they're more than capable of handling Dumbledore and Ministry."

"It doesn't matter, all I ever seem to do is cause trouble with people, they're better off not knowing me" Harry retorted stubbornly, as he turned around but glanced back at Sh'lainn. "Please tell Mr and Mrs Flamel that I am sorry, and that I'm gratefully for everything they did for me."

"You should tell them yourself" Sh'lainn replied.

Turning away from the redheaded woman, Harry replied "I'm better off alone" and then started to walk away.

"You're wrong Harry, nobody is better off alone. You may think that what you're doing is right, but it isn't, all you're doing is simply running away."

At the mention of running away, Harry suddenly stopped and spun around, scowling angrily at the woman. "Don't act like you know me, you don't know a single thing about me!"

"Actually Harry I know quite a bit about you" Sh'lainn replied calmly. "I know that for the past six years you've lived with your Aunt and Uncle, who abused you for as long as you can remember. I also know that three months ago, you finally gathered enough courage to leave that place and have lived on the streets ever since then."

"So they told you," commented Harry, no longer caring, since it was only a matter of time before everyone knew what happened to him.

"Yes, but that's all they told me, they didn't go into details or anything, they said that since it was your story, you should be the one to tell me what happened. The two of use have more in common than you might think."

"Just because you know that I was abused, doesn't mean you understand me or what I am feeling" Harry retorted coolly, where he began to turn around and walk away. But before he could even take five steps away, Sh'lainn said "When you lived with your relatives they made you feel like trash or filth, that you were a mistake born into this world, and they made damn sure to remind you of that every day, so that you could never forget. Every day was like waking up from one nightmare to the next, and every night you would cry yourself to sleep or lay awake wondering what you ever did to deserve this and wishing sometimes that you were never born, just to escape the pain and loneliness. Whenever you did better that others or tried to do something, it was either taken away from you or they'd beat you down, to remind you of your place. No-one else ever seemed to care about you, in their eyes you were a stain that they couldn't get rid of, and anyone that might have helped, simply ignored you or didn't care enough to even try, which is why you are so hesitant to trust anyone. Eventually you could no longer stand it and decided to leave, but when you did, despite everything that happened there, you couldn't help but feel sad, it was the only home you had ever known, and it reminded you that you were now truly alone with nothing."

When Sh'lainn finished, Harry was left speechless, despite not knowing him, Sh'lainn described how he had felt perfectly, and how the Dursleys made him feel.

"Did the Flamels...?" Harry began, but before he could say anymore, Sh'lainn shook her head, already knowing what he was thinking.

"No, as I said before my grandparents simply told me that you were abused by them, they didn't go into details about what they did."

"Then how did you...?"

At this question a sad smile appeared on Sh'lainn beautiful face, "Like you Harry, I was abused by my family."

His eyes widening, Harry opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even utter a word, Sh'lainn cut him off, knowing exactly what he thought she was saying, "No, not Nicolas or Perenelle, they never harmed me, nor would they ever."

"But you said..." a now confused Harry asked, but before he could finish, he was again cut off by Sh'lainn.

"Yes, I know, but it is a bit more complicated than you think" the older woman explained, before taking out her wand from her holster and conjuring two small chairs, taking the one nearest to her while indicating to the one opposite her to Harry. "You might want to sit, this could take a while."

Cautiously, a now curious Harry walked over to the chair and took the seat, and waited for Sh'lainn to explain.

"First off, Nicolas and Perenelle are not my biolgical grandparents, like you they took me in and later adopted me as their granddaughter, and ever since then I've consider them my grandparents in every way. Secondly I am not exactly what you would call a normal witch, if you can call a witch normal to begin with" Sh'lainn said carefully. She knew what she would say next could decide everything, but to gain Harry's trust she needed to be honest with him and show him he could trust her.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, becoming more curious, since Sh'lainn seemed somewhat hesitant with what she was about to say next.

"Well for starters, I'm much older than I look."

"How much older?" asked the boy, thinking she couldn't be any older than thirty.

"I am eighty-six years old, and will be eighty-seven next month" answered Sh'lainn, shocking Harry, who naturally found the news hard to accept.

"B-But how is that's impossible, h-ho-how can you look so, so..."

"So hot?" joked the smirking Sh'lainn, hoping to ease the tension between the two, causing the now embarrassed Harry to blush, since there was no denying that Sh'lainn was a very attractive woman.

Eventually though all joking was put aside, and the mood soon become serious again when Sh'lainn answered Harry's question. "There is a reason for why I look so young, but before I say anything, I what to tell you that no matter what you see, it is me, and that I will not harm you, okay?"

Indicating that he understood, Harry's eyes suddenly widen to the size of saucers when he Sh'lainn's eyes turned bright yellow and long sharp fang-like teeth grew from her mouth.

"Y-You're a Vampire!" shouted Harry, jumping out of his seat in fright. Although Harry had never been really allowed to watch telly he had seen enough pictures and clips of movies and heard enough stories to know a vampire when he saw one.

"I'm not a vampire!" Sh'lainn hissed becoming angry at the suggestion, making her appearance even more menacing, causing Harry to squirm under her harsh stare. Realizing what she was doing, Sh'lainn reverted back to her original state, looking more than a little ashamed. "I'm sorry Harry, I sometimes lose my temper when people call me a vampire, please sit down, and I will explain everything, I promise."

For a moment Harry did nothing, choosing to stare cautiously at the young women, who calmly stared back at him. Eventually his curiosity finally got the better of him, and he slowly retook his seat, although remained on guard.

Once Harry had sat back down on the chair, Sh'lainn began to explain, "As I said, I am not a vampire, at least not entirely, I am a Dhampir, or a Dhampiresa, if you want to be correct."

"A Dam-fere?" Harry said slowly, having never heard of the word before.

"A Dhampir" repeated Sh'lainn, "It is what a Half-Vampire is called."

"A Half-Vampire?" asked Harry, still confused, having never heard of one before, since you were either a Vampire or not.

"Dhampir are children who have one parent that is a Vampire, and another that is human" Sh'lainn answered. "My mother was a Vampire and my father was human, a wizard in fact, which is why I can do magic."

"How can you withstand sunlight, doesn't it hurt?"

"Dhampir aren't affected by sunlight or garlic, but we are stronger, faster and more agile than a normal person, we can track people down by their smell and even see in the dark."

"What about Crosses and Holy Water or a stake through the heart?"

Half smiling, at how curious Harry had now become, Sh'lainn shook her head, "Crosses and Holy Water only work in the muggle movies and to be honest a stake through the heart would kill anyone."

"Do you sleep in a coffin?"

Sh'lainn just laugh at this question, "Merlin no, I sleep in a bed just like everyone else, even Vampires don't do that anyone, except maybe the more traditional lot, heaven's know why."

"Are you immortal?"

"No, and neither real Vampires. Muggles just think they are immortal because they age so slowly, but Vampires can die of old age, as can Dhampir. At most Vampire and Dhampir can live to be over two or three hundred years" answered Sh'lainn.

"What about drinking blood?" asked Harry, but almost immediately regretted asking the question when he Sh'lainn's smile reverted into a deep scowl. "Technically yes, but only when I absolutely have to, eating regular food does me fine."

Seeing that the idea of her drinking blood upset her, Harry decided to change the subject, asking how she came to be adopted by the Flamels.

Welcoming the change in conversation, Sh'lainn began her story. "To understand everything, I will have to start at the beginning. I was born in 1900 in County Galway, Ireland. As I just mentioned earlier, my mother was a Vampire and my father was a wizard, whom my mother briefly had an affair with. I never knew him, and was raised solely by mother. When I was two, my mother married a powerful Vampire Lord, Bran Blake, who was the head of the largest and most powerful Vampire Coven in the British Isles."

"Coven?" interrupted Harry, confused again by the world.

"It's what's a group of Vampires living together is called" Sh'lainn explained, before continuing with her story. "After my mother married Bran, we became part of his Coven, but because I was Dhampir, my presences there wasn't entirely welcome by the other members."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Vampires are an extremely proud, if not somewhat arrogant and obnoxious race of magical beings, due to their long history in the magical word, not mention the fame they've gained from all the books and movies that muggles have made about them. To them a half-breed like me was an insult to their "pure" and "noble" lineage and race, and should be put down" said Sh'lainn, sneering as she said the words "pure" and "noble", highlighting her disgust. "In the beginning I was ignored by most of them, and spoken to only when they had to, but they made no effort to hide their dislike and would often glare at me, mutter words like half-breed, mongrel, bastard and filth when they walked past me. The few children that lived there were even worse, when I turned five and began my education in the Vampiric and magical worlds. I had no friends and was teased and bullied by the other children on a daily basis, sometimes I would even get into fights, where they would gang up on me. The adults of course did nothing and would either watch or just ignore what was happening to me"

"Didn't your parents try to stop it?" asked Harry, causing Sh'lainn to scoff.

"Tsk, hardly, my stepfather Bran hated me more than anyone else in the coven; to him I was nothing but a stain on his coven that he had to accept. It also didn't help that I would answer him back and he wasn't afraid to hit me when I was disrespectful or spoke out of turn. My birth mother...," spitting out the word like if was venom, "wasn't that much better. In the beginning she tried to comfort me, telling me that things would get better over time, and that they would accept me if I acted more like a proper Lady and Vampire. But no matter how hard I tried, it never seemed good enough for them, and if I did do better than the other children at something, I would either be accused of cheating or be beaten by the other children for making them look like fools. When I tried to stand up or even defend myself, I was punished, where my mother would lock me in the room for days, refusing to let me out until I apologised to everyone in Coven. Eventually my mother finally began to realize that I would never be accepted, and that I would never be what she wanted me to be, a little girl who would say nothing unless spoke to, do whatever she was told without question or argument, and smile and act like a doll around everyone. She also began to fear that she would lose her newfound status as the wife of the Coven head, so she began to distance herself from me, visiting me less and less in my room, until not at all, she avoided or ignored as much as she could and spoke to me only when she had to. Finally when I was nine, she gave birth to my half-sister Aoife, a "pure" Vampire, it was then that I realized that I would always be nothing more than filthy half-breed in their eyes, and that things would only get worse with my sister's birth. So one day I decided to leave, when everyone was asleep, and I never looked back."

When Sh'lainn finished, Harry realized that Sh'lainn had been right; they did indeed have more in common than he had thought, and her past eerily reminded him of his own past with the Dursley's. He also knew that she was telling her the truth by the look in her eyes when she remembered her past, eyes filled with anger, loneliness and pain, it was the same look he often seen in himself when he looked at himself in the mirror. When Harry asked when she met the Flamels, she explained that after travelling around the countryside for a year, living on the streets or in old abandoned buildings, she was found by the elderly couple in Dublin, rooting for leftovers in garbage bins of a restaurant they'd been dinning at. Upon seeing her, and realizing that she was a Dhampir they took her in, clothed and fed her, they eventually even got her to open up to them and tell them why she ran away.

A year later they adopted her as their granddaughter, and when she turned eleven they enrolled her to Hogswarts, with the help Dumbledore, who had just become a teacher there, resulting in the strong friendship that they shared with the future Headmaster.

For the next two hours the two continued their conversation, where Harry even shared some of his own personal experiences with the Dursley, feeling that it was only right, given how Sh'lainn opened up to him. Although he could no longer remember the beatings, he was aware of them and how bad they were. Eventually the conversation turned to more pleasant things, about the different things in the magical world and comparing them to the muggle world.

After some time Harry decided to ask Sh'lainn something that he had wondered about ever since he first saw her. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you carry swords on your back?" finding the idea of someone still carrying swords strange, especially when she could use magic.

"I used them in my job; you see I am a Hit-wizard."

"A Hit-what?"

"A Hit-wizards, we're sort of like the magical version for police, we track down and capture Dark Wizards and criminals."

"Sounds cool."

"Oh, it is" Sh'lainn replied with a smile, "Beats being an Auror any day, Merlin knows I'd go crazy being stuck in an office with all that paperwork."

"Auror?" asked Harry.

"They're similar to Hit-wizards like me; they track down and capture Dark Wizards, although they have other duties, like protecting the ministry, gathering intelligence and guarding ministry officials. You could say that they're like the magical version of the America muggle FBI. Hit-wizards although are more like federal marshals, we focus solely on capturing criminals and Dark Wizards, transporting them to prison and guarding them. Also unlike Aurors, we can chase after Dark Wizards to other countries, and are out in the field more often."

"Do you travel a lot?"

"All over" Sh'lainn informed, "Not to brag or anything, but I pretty good at it, my abilities make me very valuable in tracking Dark Wizards and interrogating suspects when on the field."

"When you say abilities, you mean being a Half-Vampire?"

"Sort of, it is true that my Vampiric heritage gives me a distinct advantage over other wizards. But I have other abilities that make me valuable, like being an empath."

"A What?

"An empath is a person who is gifted with the ability to sense other people's emotions" Sh'lainn explained. This was of course another reason why the Flamels had asked for her help, since empaths also had the ability to help people like Harry cope with their emotional pain and help heal their emotional scares. "It comes in quite handy when questioning people, since I can tell if they are lying or hiding something."

"Is that how you knew what I was feeling?" asked Harry, feeling somewhat violated.

"No" replied Sh'lainn, shaking her head, "I didn't have to, as I told you before, I know what it is like to be mistreated by people who are supposed to care for you."

After a few minutes of somewhat awkward silence between the two, Harry spoke, in a low quiet voice. "Being able to feel what other people can, is that something you can learn?"

"No" Sh'lainn answered, "It's a rare ability that only certain people can have, and can only be inherited by certain people in a family. I suspect that is one of the reasons why certain pureblood families are so fixated on keeping their bloodlines pure," sneering slightly when she said the word pure. "I'm guessing I inherited my empathic abilities from my birth father, or at least someone from his family, since Vampires don't have the ability."

"So it's sort of like Aura sight?" Harry asked, surprising Sh'lainn by how he knew of it.

"Yes, both abilities can be considered hereditary, but I'm surprised that you know of it, considering how you just learned about the magical word and few days ago."

"Actually Mr and Mrs Flamel told me about it, they say I have Aura sight" explained Harry.

"Really?" remarked Sh'lainn, surprised that she was only learning of this now. But her surprise was soon replaced by amusement and smiled at the younger boy, "It seems you and I are more alike than I thought Harry. Aura sight is a rare a valued ability, I know many who wish they have it, including myself, it has many uses in my line of work."

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by this, and not use to having people pay so much attention to him, Harry cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "It's nothing, sometimes it can be a real pain" he murmured.

Smiling sympathetically, Sh'lainn nodded, "I understand, believe me, but with the Flamels help, I was able to control my ability, meaning they can help you too."

Looking at Sh'lainn, Harry could tell that she did indeed understand, in fact he suspected that her ability was harder to live with than she'd let on. He could only imagine how hard it must have been for her to feel all the other Vampires negative emotions towards her, everyday for nine years

"So Harry, what do you say, will you come back with me to my parents?" asked Sh'lainn. "If you don't, I won't force you, but you should know they can help you, just like they did me."

"But what about the Ministry and Dumbledore?"

"Trust me, my grandparents are more than capable of handling them, they've been around a lot longer than I have."

"How much longer?" asked Harry, not knowing how old the Flamels actually were, but figured they had to be in the late Nineties if not over a hundred for them to have adopted Sh'lainn when she was nine, which was baffling, although they old, they didn't look to be over a hundred.

Smiling again, Sh'lainn replied, "You'll have to ask them, it's their story to tell."

After much heavy thought, considering everything that he had learned from Sh'lainn, about her past, how the Flamels had helped her and how they could help him. Harry decided to return to the Flamels home with Sh'lainn and put his trust in them.

When Harry agreed to return home with her, the young Dhampir smiled, pleased by his decision. "I'm glad to hear it, if I didn't come back with you my mother would've through quite the fit over it."

Half-smiling at this, Harry nodded and then accompanied he back home.

---

When Sh'lainn returned with Harry, the young boy was quickly engulfed in a strong hug, courteous of Mrs Flamel, who then immediately began to look him over for any injuries.

Once she had made sure that he wasn't hurt, Perenelle immediately began to scold Harry on leaving the house the way he did and how he made them worry.

Harry of course felt awful for upsetting the Flamels so much and apologised for worrying them. But before he could explain his reasons for leaving, Mrs Flamel immediately enveloped him in another strong hug, which very nearly broke his back.

"It's alright dear, we understand why you felt you needed to leave, but what you need to understand is that we want to help you."

"Indeed" added Nicolas, walking up next to his wife and Harry, "We can help you in many ways Harry, but only if you will trust us and give us a chance."

"I trust you" said Harry, causing the Flamels and Sh'lainn smile and nod, where they then led Harry to the living room to explain their plan to leave the country. But before the two elder Flamel's could begin to explain, Sh'lainn suggested that it might be best to tell Harry the whole truth about them first, showing that they would keep no secrets from him.

Naturally at first, the Flamel's were hesitant and did not want to overwhelm Harry by revealing too much too quickly. But when Sh'lainn assured them that he could handle it, they decided to trust her judgement and tell him.

"Tell me Harry, how old do you think we are?" Nicolas asked, turning to Harry.

"EEhh, over ninety I guess" replied Harry, since if Sh'lainn was eighty-seven he figured that they would have to be a least ten years older than her.

Chuckling, Nicolas then said, "Well then, would it surprise you to learn that both of us are over six hundred years old."

"Huh?!" said Harry, unable to say anything else, since what the man was telling him was impossible. Under most normal situations, Harry would've thought that the man was trying to pulling his leg, or was simply nuts. But given how he had just recently learned that magic was real and that he was a wizard, not to mention had a talk to a real life eighty-seven year old Half-Vampire, he was willing to give the elderly man the benefit of the doubt.

Smiling sympathetically, Sh'lainn could already guess what was going through the raven hair boy head, since she had those very same thought. Her own reaction to the news was very much the same, and for a while she too had trouble believing it.

"Your over six hundred years old" Harry repeated, still trying to wrap her head around the news, but still couldn't understand how it was possible for someone to be that old.

"Yes" Nicolas replied, "Although to be exact, I am six hundred and sixty-one years old, Perenelle although is much older than me, as she is six hundred and sixty-four years old." But as soon as he had said this, the elderly man receive and slap to the arm, courtesy of his wife, who had disapproving frown on her face, not missing her husband's teasing remark.

When Harry turned to Sh'lainn, the female Half-Vampire simply nodded, confirming the Flamel's story.

"H-H-How?" was Harry's only question. "I mean, can everyone in the magical world live that long?"

"No, although wizards have a much longer life expectancy than muggles, we do die of old age; most wizards don't live past one hundred and fifty."

"Then how can you...?" Harry began, but was interrupted by Nicolas, already knowing what he was going to ask.

"The reason Perenelle and I are still alive is thanks to a powerful magical artifact that I created long ago called the Philosopher's Stone. With it I can create the a substance called the Elixir of Life, which extends the drinker's lifespan, as well as transform any metal into pure gold."

"If the stone can do all that, why are you living here, and not in mansion or castle?" asked Harry, since the stone basically offered them limitless wealth, allowing them have anything they could ever want.

"Despite what you might think Harry, wealth does not bring happiness" Perenelle replied wisely. "In the beginning it might seem like your happy, but it is sort lived and any joy you may gain will disappear. Besides Nicolas and I have never been interesting in those sorts of things, we prefer the simpler life."

"Indeed" agreed Nicolas, "There is also the fact that using the stone's power can have a negative effect. If we to use the stone's power in such an open way, we would be assaulted by an endless stream of enemies, who would want the stone's power for themselves, which is another reason why we prefer to live in a much more humble way."

"I guess I never really thought of it like that" Harry replied, since he hadn't realized that the stone would draw out people's envy and greed. A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying, it was something that almost everyone would want for themselves.

"Where is the stone now?" Harry asked, wondering if you could be allowed see it.

"It's somewhere safe" Nicolas replied, "We try to avoid having it with us as much as possible, on the chance that it might be stolen."

"I suppose that makes sense" said Harry, although felt a little disappointed that he couldn't at least see the stone.

Shortly after the Flamels revealed the truth about themselves the conversation turned back their plan to leaving the country.

According to Perenelle their plan was to use the muggle sea port in Dorset to escape to France, knowing that all magical transport leaving the country were monitored by the British Ministry of Magic. The plan was to use something called the Polyjuice Potion, which would change his appearance, in the unlikely event that the British Ministry had people on the lookout for him at the ports. Once in France, the Flamel's would use their connections in the French Ministry of Magic to discretely adopt Harry as their Grandson and making him a French Citizen.

Upon learning that the Flamels wanted to adopt him and make him a part of their family, Harry found himself at a loss for words. For as long as he could remember, Harry had always dreamed being taken away from the Dursleys and being taken in by some long-lost relatives. Although this wasn't exactly how he had envisioned things, he would not change a single thing.

Once they had decided on the finer details of the plan, such as when they would leave and when they would all meet up again, along with some other details. The sounds of several stomachs growling were heard.

Realizing that it was already long past lunch time, Perenelle decided that they would have a late lunch, and insisted that Sh'lainn stay and make it a family meal. Not one to turn down a home cook meal, the red-headed Dhampir agreed.

Getting up from her seat, Sh'lainn signalled Harry to follow her, "Come on squirt, let go set up to table while mom cooks lunch."

"Squirt?" Harry repeated, failing to understand why Sh'lainn was calling him that.

"Yea, Squirt, your basically part of the family now, so that means, I reserve the right to tease and annoy you whenever I want" the red headed witch replied with a mischievous smirk.

Still getting use to the idea of actually being part of a family, Harry just smiled and nodded, before following after her into the kitchen with the Flamels.

"Family...I definitely like the sound of that!"

N/A.

Well that's it for another chapter of The Alchemist Apprentice; I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed it, and the introduction of Sh'lainn the Dhampir.

As some of you can guess the next Chapter will involve Harry staying in France with the Flamels, as well as showing how he copes with living in a foreign nation. There will of course be a bit of a time skip, but it won't be much, only a few months. The next Chapter will also show him making some new friends, and before you ask if they will be OC or cannon, you will just have to wait and see, since that would be spoiling the story.

Now I am sure many of you are asking, why I am still having Harry go to Hogswarts instead of having him go to Beauxbatons Academy, which was where the Flamels went and is in France. The answer of course is rather simply, first off, we simply don't know enough about Beauxbatons Academy and what it is like for me to have Harry go there. Secondly if I did that I would have to create several OC's for Harry to make friends with and create completely new adventures for him to have and it could complicate things in the story. Now Harry having new adventures in a different school may seem like a good thing to some readers. But the problem with that is that it would cause the story to drag, and I know many other readers would be demanding that I hurry up and get to the cannon story-line. I would also have no excuse to send Harry to Hogswart for the Triwizard Championship since only seventh year students from Beauxbatons went to Hogswarts and as we know Harry was in his fourth year at that time. This is why I have decided to keep Harry in Hogswart, but don't worry; I'll change things up enough to keep things interesting.

Also for those who want Harry to have new adventures, you won't have to worry, he will still have them, in fact Harry's summers with the Flamels will be just as interesting as his school years, and will make new friends and see new things.

Again as always, read and review, I enjoy reading people's opinion on the chapter and on the story in general. I will do my best to reply to all your reviews, as I believe an author should respond to his readers. But please note that I cannot respond to anonymous reviews and if you wish for me to respond to your questions you must become a member of Fanfiction.

Suggestions are welcomed and will be given serious thought.

In regards to my grammar and spelling mistakes, I am well aware that both are far from perfect and that it may be a problem with some reader. But they cannot be avoided I have no official Beta to help me, and I am doing my best to make as few mistakes as possible.

Now in regards to flames, they are as always not welcomed on this story or on any of my other stories. If you don't like the story that's your opinion, and it is fine, I do not force anyone to read my stories. But I do not like reading people trash talking my stories, and acting like they are experts on writing, especially from people who have never written a story themselves. If I receive any flames, the review will be either deleted or the flamers will be flamed back by me, I am not afraid to stand up for my stories and defend my actions.

Again hope everyone enjoyed the Chapter, and please look out for my other stories, The Raikage, Rise of The Raikage, Rogue Shinigami, White Fire Prince, Brother's Bond and Hope of the Senju Clan.

Author's Note:

(1). Fudge did not become Minister for Magic until 1990, meaning his predecessor Millicent Bagnold was still in office at the time when Harry ran away.

(2). Again please note, I am not bashing Dumbledore, I just showing that the man is not perfect and that he makes mistakes, which have consequences.

(3). Go to Larkin 2727 Photobucket and look up the Alchemist Apprantice Album for images of Sh'lainn and her swords

(4). Uaimh is Irish for Crypt; more information on this prison will be given later in the story.

Extra Notes:

Name: Sh'lainn Flynn Flamel

Date of Birth: 24 October 1900

Age: 86, almost 87

Race: Dhampir (Half Vampire)/ Dhampiresa (Half Vampire Girl)

Wand: Unknown

History: Sh'lainn was born in Galway Ireland in 1900, her mother was a vampire and her father was a wizard, who Sh'lainn never knew. When she was two, Sh'lainn's mother married the head of a local Vampire Coven and moved to his estate.

Repulsed by Sh'lainn half human lineage, most of the other Coven members, including Sh'lainn stepfather, mocked or insulted her on a daily basis, referring her as an inferior half-breed or mongrel. Hoping to find acceptance with the members of the Coven, Sh'lainn did her best to ignore their insults and tried to act as a proper "Vampire", as he mother suggested earlier, before she began distancing herself from Sh'lainn and began ignoring her, fearing she would lose her new-found status in the Coven.

When Sh'lainn was nine she ran away, realizing she would never find acceptance in the Coven after her mother gave birth to her sister half-sister Aoife, a "pure" Vampire. For the next year Sh'lainn travelled and lived on the streets of Dublin until she was taken in by the Flamels, who found her rummaging in bins for food.

Shortly after being taken in, the Flamels enrolled her into Hogwarts, thanks to the help of the recently installed Transfiguration professor, Albus Dumbledore, who spoke on her behalf to allow her entry, thus beginning the strong friendship between him and the Flamels. During her time in Hogswarts, Sh'lainn overcame the bigotry that she suffered from some of her classmates, (due to her half breed status), and showed great promise.

At a later point, after Voldermort was defeated she became a Hit Wizard for the Irish Ministry for Magic.

Appearance: Despite her age Sh'lainn looks to be in her late teens or early twenties. She is fairly tall, roughly five foot five, with short bright red hair, bright sea-green eyes, with freckles right below, which masked her nose and contrasted her skin, rendering the freckles blood-red, and a small mole on her right cheek. Her attire consists of brown leather pants with brown leather boots, a white midriff top with long sleeves (that showed her figure quite nicely) and a short white cloak. On her back she carried a pair of short curved Scimitars, with a simple brown grip, gold pommel and no guard.

She has a vague Irish accent, and sharp fangs which appear whenever she wishes them to, her eyes can also turn from bright green to bright yellow.

Personality: Despite the harshness of her earlier years, Sh'lainn is fairly easygoing person, with a tomboyish and playful attitude, and enjoys hanging in the muggle world, stating that "muggles know how to have fun".

She can be stubborn, bold, rough, and even short-tempered and relishes the chance to display her combat abilities against her enemies. But when the situation calls for it, she can be serious and is very knowledgeable and studious, thanks to her advance years. She also has a deep dark, if not ruthless, side to her when it comes to the mention of her birth mother or Vampires in general, thanks to her harsh childhood.

Despite her lineage Sh'lainn greatly dislikes the idea drinking blood and revolts at the mere smell or sight of it, becoming almost sick, and becomes angry at anyone mentioning her drinking it. She cares very deeply for the Flamels viewing them as her "true" parents, who in turn view her as the daughter they never had.

Skill/Abilities: Due to her Vampire Lineage, Sh'lainn is much stronger and faster than a normal person and heals at a faster rate, giving her a distinct advantage over her opponents. She is also extremely agile and very stealthy, where she could easily sneak up on a person without them knowing. But unlike "true" Vampires she is not affected by garlic or sunlight and does not need to drink blood, unless she is heavily injured.

Thanks to her many years under Perenelle tutelage, and advance years. Sh'lainn is an accomplished dualist and fighter, to the point where she could stand up to the legendary Auror Alastor Moody, and is skilled in both offensive and defensive magic.

Unlike most wizards and witches, Sh'lainn is also skilled in several muggle fighting arts, which she learned from her travels. She is also skilled in using swords, specifically with two twin short swords, which she often carries on her back, and can fight using both swords at once or a sword in one hand and a wand in another.

Unique Trait: Shláine is an empath, allowing her to perceive/feel the mental or emotional state of another person.