Harry Potter - The Accidental Animagus

Chapter 6 - First Day of School

Minerva witnessed Albus returning to the castle after what had clearly been a very emotional meeting and quickly followed him to his office. Oddly, though, she couldn't get a read on him as he took his seat, and that likely meant something very out of the ordinary had happened.

"Albus, is anything wrong?" she asked. "What did that family want to talk to about?"

"Please sit, Minerva. Nothing is wrong," Albus said. "In fact, I was most fortunate to solve another of our problems. The Granger family has agreed to adopt Harry Potter and raise him alongside their daughter."

"Adopt him? So quickly?" Minerva tensed up and shot him one of her trademark unblinking stares. "Albus, if I find out you used a Compulsion Charm on those muggles..."

"I assure you I did nothing of the sort, nor did I even suggest the action to them. They came to their decision entirely on their own."

Minerva wasn't placated. "And did you allow them to come to this decision without knowing the risks that Mr. Potter carries with him?"

"On the contrary, the matter had already come up in our conversation yesterday. When I met with them today, they asked me most extensive questions about the nature of the threat and how they might be kept safe before making their decision. I must say that the Grangers are the most proactive set of muggle parents I have met in quite some time, and if their daughter takes after them, she will make a fine addition to your house."

And there was that slow blink again. The remark had caught her a bit off guard, though there was still something that confused her about the whole affair. "So you found Harry Potter after losing him for seven weeks," she said, "And then you find a new family for him overnight? How can you possibly explain that?" She started to wonder if Albus could possibly have staged some of it, though why would he?

"I think Sybill would be a better person with whom to discuss the vagaries of Fate..." he replied. "On a good day, anyway. But as I said yesterday, I think that perhaps the normal rules do not apply to Harry Potter."

Minerva couldn't help but wonder whether that was a good thing. "So what must be done now?"

"Quite a lot at the moment," Albus confirmed, "and I will need your help with some of it."

"How so?"

"First, I will be very busy this week making the security arrangements for the Granger residence. I'm sure you can handle anything that may come up in the meantime. Secondly, I would like to arrange your meeting with Mr. Potter and his new family. Would next Saturday be suitable?"

A much needed meeting, at that. She took only a moment to consider her schedule before answering, "Yes, I think that would work. And I will make contingencies for your being away this week."

"Very good, Minerva. I do believe we have set Mr. Potter on a much better path."

"Well, I should certainly hope so," she huffed. "Will you be informing anyone else of these arrangements?"

"Only those who need to know. He is still safer if his location is not widely known, and as we discussed four years ago, the political consequences of the Boy-Who-Lived being raised by muggles are best put off until he can speak for himself."

"Of course. I suppose that's for the best. And that's one more good reason that the boy escaped his relatives when he did," she reminded him.