Chapter Two

 

  Dumbledore looked over the various people sitting in his office. Each of the Heads of Houses were here, as well as the Head Boy and Girl, along with a number of Ministry officials. He sent a smile to Poppy as she joined the group, a clutch of parchments in her hand.

  "Here they are, Albus," she said as she lay the parchments on his desk and took a seat next to Professor McGonagall.

  "This meeting," Dumbledore began, "is about the mysterious young man that arrived on our Quidditch pitch two days ago. Poppy has been looking after him. She took a picture of him so that we could see what he looks like when cleaned up."

  The nurse held up the photograph. The boy laying on the bed blushed as all those in the room looked at the picture.

  "He looks a lot like a cross between Mr Potter here and his friend Mr Black," Professor McGonagall said as she looked at the picture.

  "Those eyes, though," Professor Flitwick commented. He looked at the Head Girl sitting next to him as she looked over the picture. "They are like Miss Evans, here."

  The picture back to him, Dumbledore could see a kind of resemblance, but knew it to be impossible. James was the last of the Potters, and the eighteen year old didn't have any children. Still, the boy in the picture had the same facial structure as James, but didn't wear glasses. His black hair lay untamed down his back, reaching his waist. Green eyes that somehow looked haunted by events that the boy couldn't remember looked up at him before he shyly turned away from the scrutiny of the headmaster, the scar on his forehead highlighted by the afternoon sunlight from a nearby window.

  "Thank you, Poppy, for taking this. Now, please tell us the extent of Harry's injuries?"

  Poppy nodded. "His physical and magical reserves were hit pretty severely, whether it is from the curse that sent him to the middle of our Quidditch pitch or from the battle he was in before that."

  "Battle?" the Minister of Magic, Antonio Parks, asked as he sat up straighter in his chair. "There hasn't been a battle in quite a while."

  The nurse shook her head. "The wounds were quite recent, some of them still bleeding. Wherever he was, the battle looked to be fierce. Harry has several cracked ribs, as well as a concussion, fractured left femur, two broken fingers and both ankles are sprained."

  Everyone was silent as they processed this information.

  "What about his memory loss?" Dumbledore asked after a moment.

  "He can remember different spells, but he has no clue as to who he is other than the name Harry," Poppy replied.

  Dumbledore looked at the papers before handing them to the Minister. "He can do wandless magic?"

  Poppy nodded. "I found that he was quite able to conjure a glass of water after I told him that he couldn't have anymore for the night."

  James Potter snorted, obviously trying to hold back a laugh. The teachers eyed him with a serious look as the Ministry officials looked to the Minister.

  "He did this even with his magical reserves depleted?" Professor Handel, Head of Slytherin House, asked.

  "They aren't depleted," the nurse said. "They are low compared to what I found he should have, but even right now he has more power than I do at my best."

  Breaths were sucked in.

  "He is powerful, then," Dumbledore said in the grave silence that had fallen over the room.

  "Yes."

  "Then we should take him back to the Ministry and ask him about whether he works for You-Know-Who," the Deputy Minister, Cornelius Fudge said pompously.

  Minister Parks shook his head. "If he can't remember who he is, then questioning him on his involvement in this war is useless."

  Fudge eyed his superior before slouching in his chair. "What should we do, then?" he asked in a slightly sulky tone of voice.

  "Albus?" Parks asked as he looked over the parchment in his hand. "If I can get the agreement of the board of governors, will he be able to stay here as a student? From what Madam Pomfrey has found he is around seventeen or eighteen. That would put him in seventh year. As he knows some spells, it would be wise to teach him about them if he can't remember about his personal life. It may be hard for him to understand when to use, or not use, the spells."

  Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "That would be a wise idea." He turned to Poppy. "What were some of the spells he used?"

  "Several different summoning charms, as well as transfiguring a goblet into a mirror."

  "He did this wandless?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Most transfigurations can't be done without a wand, and certainly not a mirror."

  "He wanted to know what he looked like," Poppy stated.

  "Poor thing," Lily Evan's voice was quiet in the room, yet all of them heard her.

  "If he stays," James Potter began, "will he be sorted into one of the houses?"

  Dumbledore looked at the Heads of Houses. Seeing that they agreed he nodded. "As soon as he is well and the governors say that he can stay, he will be sorted."

 

******

  The meeting broken into a smaller group of Dumbledore and the Ministry officials, James and Lily walked slowly back to Gryffinor tower.

  "I wish Madam Pomfrey hadn't made us promise not to visit the infirmary," James said as the walked down the final hallway to the entrance. "I wanted to see what this Harry guy looks like."

  "Jamie, you'll see him in a couple of days. Madam Pomfrey said that he needed a lot of rest, and I highly doubt that with you around he won't get any."

  James faked a hurt look, but laughed when he saw mocking face Lily wore. "Sure, Lils," he said as he stopped at the portrait guarding the entrance to their common room. "I guess I can wait. I'm not sure Padfoot can, though."

  "I can't what?" a voice called as Lily gave the password.

  The Head Boy and Girl turned around to find Sirius Black and Remus Lupin standing a couple yards behind them. In their hands were various goodies from the kitchen.

  "Hey, Remy," Lily said as she slipped past the portrait.

  "I don't get a hello?" Sirius whined as he looked between his friends.

  James shook his head and grabbed some things from both Sirius and Remus' arms before they could drop anything. "I'm staying out of this one."

  Remus nodded his head. "Count me out as well."

  Sirius huffed as he struggled through the hole to the common room, refusing to drop any of the food in his arms. "I can tell I'm really loved around here."

  James straightened up and looked around the common room. "Where's Pete?"

  Sirius shrugged his shoulders.

  "He said that he was going to talk to Skye," Remus said as he sent the food in his arms down on their regular table.

  "Skye Gordon, Ravenclaw?" James asked.

  Sirius nodded. "I don't know what he sees in her. She's nasty enough to be in Slytherin."

  "Padfoot," Remus chided. "Not everyone in Slytherin's bad."

  "You're just saying that 'cause you have a crush on Snape."

  Sirius' comment hit the mark as a blush spread over Remus' cheeks, even as he vehemently denied it. "I do not! Severus /is/ nice."

  James watched as his two friends bantered easily as Sirius teased Remus about his feelings for the boy behind the top potions mark in their year. As he sat eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean, he wondered just who the boy in the hospital wing really was and where he had come from. He was so deep in thought that when Sirius suddenly slapped him on the back, he choked on the popcorn flavoured bean he had just stuck in his mouth.

  Gasping for air, he reached over and hit his friend, trying to hack up the bean at the same time.

  "Padfoot!" he got out once the bean lay in his hand. "Look what you did! Now I'll never be able to eat another one of these, since you almost killed me with it!"

  Sirius laughed at him as an indignant look crossed James' face. "Oh, I hope it wasn't your favorite flavour."

  "It was!"

  That stopped the other boy, his laughter suddenly falling silent. "It was?"

  "Yes!" James shouted, startling the other Gryffindors in the common room. "Popcorn," he said in a sad voice. "I'll never be able to think of it again without thinking of the friend that tried to kill me with it."

  A snort coming from Remus broke the tableau, cracking up James and Sirius.

  "So," Sirius began slyly once they had stopped laughing. "What was the meeting about? Was it about that guy from the game?"

  James nodded. "I can't tell you much more than that until Madam Pomfrey releases him from the infirmary, which should be in a couple of days. But it looks like he'll be a student here when he does."

  "Wicked," Sirius breathed. "So, what's his name?"

  "He doesn't know," James said, eyeing the rest of the beans that lay in front of him on the table.

  "He doesn't remember anything?" Remus asked as he opened one of the butterbeer bottles they had appropriated from the kitchen. "If he doesn't, how can we tell which side he's on?"

  James shrugged his shoulder. "We don't."

 

 

******

  Harry did not like the man that stood to his right. The partly balding man looked at him like he was some kind of criminal, or more accurately like a bug he was studying.

  He knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, or at least he thought he hadn't. Even if he couldn't remember his name - even though he was pretty sure his first name was Harry - or his birthday or his parents, he somehow knew if he would feel guilt if he had done something wrong. But, he was stuck with the pompous git...

  He could remember someone saying something like that, someone with red - bright red - hair. A friend, maybe?

  "Harry?"

  Dumbledore gave him a reassuring smile, the twinkle in his eyes relaxing Harry just a bit.

  "Sir?"

  "Minister Parks has asked the board of governors for the school if you would be allowed to become a student until we figure out just who you are. Would you like to do so?"

  Harry quickly thought about it. He had the feeling he had been in school, the indistinct murmuring of other students around him as he stirred something in front of him. He felt content here, as if it were home, and he didn't really want to leave it.

  "I'd like that," he answered. "But won't I need books?"

  Dumbledore smiled. "I will be getting them, and the governors have waived the fee for the moment as this is a special occurance."

  Harry gave a small half-smile. "Thank you, sir."

 

~*~

  Half an hour later, Madam Pomfrey pronounced him fit and ready for schooling. Professor Dumbledore came back into the infirmary, this time alone.

  "Now, Harry. At dinner tonight we will need to sort you. Once you are sorted into a house, it will be like your home. Hopefully you will be able to find some friends while we are working out the questions before us."

  Nodding, Harry looked down at the pyjamas he was wearing. "What about clothes, sir?"

  "I will take care of that as well, Harry."

  Harry opened his mouth to protest the expense.

  "No, Harry," Dumbledore said. "I have the feeling that you are special, and this is the least I can do to see you comfortable here."

  The headmaster rose and handed Harry a bundle that had been laying on the bed next to his. "These are for you to wear while we go to Diagon Alley to get you your things and a wand."

  "A wand?" Harry asked, a confused look in his green eyes. "Is that like that stick Madam Pomfrey was waving around?"

  Dumbledore chuckled at his description. This boy in front of him held more power than even he himself did and could do powerful magic without a wand. It would be interesting to see how he reacted when he got one.