Fractured Sins

Chapter One

Albus apparated onto the pavement with a faint crack, years of using the technique allowing him to dull the sound of his arrival.

A moment later James and Lily Potter appeared beside him, their own announcement a much sharper sound that carried in the evening air, but the couple did not care for that.

Instead, their eyes were riveted to the building before them, faces pale and drawn. Albus sighed and he also took a moment to examine the institution.

The building was a grim place; three stories of grey walls in a uniform rectangle, sloping roof a darker shade, and the windows were few and small.

A high fence of black bars encircled the building, their tips curving inwards to as to dissuade any possible escapes, and though there was an area of grass between fence and building it was brown and dry in the summer heat.

Despite the depressing atmosphere it was in a good state of repair; no rubbish littering the ground, no signs of vandalism or the like.

Still, the overall impression of the place was that it was not one you entered light-heartedly.

Albus managed an encouraging smile when the Potters looked to him for guidance, though the twinkle was noticeably absent from his eyes.

"Let us not keep young Harry waiting,"

He said gently, waiting for their nods before striding towards the gate.

There was a small metal box attached to a thicker bar with a small button on it, which he pressed.

After a moment of silence a crackling comes from the box, and a voice said, "Please state your name and business."

"Albus Dumbledore, Lily Potter and James Potter, here to visit Hadrian Avaric,"

He said, barely hesitating over the name.

It was one that he'd only recently begun to associate with Harry Potter, the boy he'd been trying to find for the better part of eight years, ever since the Dursleys had first been noticed missing.

Search efforts had dwindled out in recent years when previous attempts proved fruitless, and Albus and the Potters had all but given up.

They'd hoped when Harry turned eleven that his Hogwarts letter would reveal his location, but his birthday came and went with no letter ever being written by the enchanted quill.

The Potters had grieved the son they'd never known, assuming him dead, and Albus had reluctantly accepted his failure to keep the younger Potter twin alive.

It was only through a stroke of pure luck that they'd realised their mistake.

"Please come to the reception," the female voice said dully, and there was a beep from the metal gate.

Albus pushed it open and made his way towards the institution's doors, the Potters trailing behind him.

The reception was much more welcoming than the outside of the building, with walls painted a pale cream and a dark wooden floor.

There were several chairs along one wall and a table with an assortment of magazines, and on the other wall was a television which was currently switched off.

In each corner was a camera that swivelled to get a full view of the room.

Albus walked towards the desk directly ahead of him, where a young woman with black hair in a tight bun sat behind a computer.

The badge on his shirt said that he was L .Gibson.

Mister Gibson glanced up at them when they entered, blue eyes examining them as they approached his desk.