The Years After

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Part 4 - Chapter 2 - Sept. 1, 1991

Sitting alone in her quiet office, a severe-looking woman frowned in mild confusion. Harry Potter, the son of Hogwarts alums James and Lily Potter, hadn't answered the Hogwarts letter that had been sent to him several times during the week leading up to his eleventh birthday. It appeared as though he hadn't received a single one of them. They had all returned unopened with extraordinarily confused owls. If the owls couldn't find him to deliver his letters to him, that could only indicate one thing. And that was something she fervently didn't want to believe was true.

Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall knew that Harry James Potter had to be alive—his name was still down in The Book. The Book recorded the birth of each and every magical child in England. And if they should die before gaining Hogwarts age, their names were stricken from The Book in brilliant red ink. However, Harry's name stood as unmarred as ever.

Minerva now knew for certain that Albus had lied about the death of Harry Potter all those many years ago. Actually, she had suspected it for years, and slowly had been secretly trying to find the boy. She had never let on to Albus that she knew one of his secrets; she simply worked tirelessly to find the poor boy who could be anywhere. She truly hoped she was not too late when she finally located the child.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

Severus, a frown permanently etched into his dour face, scanned the Great Hall for the Potter brat. He did not see him. He waited for the sorting. His name was not called. Severus found this all quite strange and knew that something was not right.

His Lord had confided in his most trusted servants that on the night of Oct. 31, 1981, he had failed to kill the Potter child. Severus and Lucius, the most lucid and trusted of his followers, were given the task of find out what went wrong. (Poor Bellatrix had got herself incarcerated after she, her husband and her brother-in-law had tortured the Longbottoms for information about the whereabouts of the Potter's son.) And now, on the first night of term, ten years after the child went missing and was claimed deceased, he still hadn't shown up.

Severus was well aware of the procedures for locating the children who were on the list of admittance to Hogwarts. Because he was next in command after Minerva, there were certain procedures he had been made aware of, should anything happen to her. And because of what he knew, he was certain that the Potter boy should have shown up for the first day of term.

Looking over the Head Table, he noticed Minerva's facial expression. A very faint frown marred her mouth, making her look more severe than usual. He could tell instantly that she knew something, something about why Potter wasn't present at the Sorting. And whatever was the cause, she didn't like it. Looking further down the table, he noted the headmaster. Dumbledore, appearing as opposite Minerva as possible, looked as pleased as punch. He wasn't surprised, then, that Harry Potter hadn't shown up for classes. Curious.