A.N.
Thanks to Sakura Lisel for pointing out an inconsistency with who was Minister of Magic in this chapter. Updated March 30, 2016.
Title: Harry Potter and the Manifesting Magic
Chapter 1 The Unique Ability
Harry James Potter was an infant of two months of age, and at the moment, his awareness was limited to the presence of people around him, being held by his parents, and the feel of a constant and powerful burning flame in his chest. He enjoyed being held and listening to the sounds of those around him. He and those who knew him were completely unaware that, even at his young age, he had more power than any witch or wizard had ever possessed before.
Harry was currently being held in the arms of his mother, Lily Potter, a woman with long red hair and green eyes like his. She was rocking him gently in a comfortable looking chair, surrounded by some other furniture, moving pictures of various photographs including him at different stages of development, and a few low coffee tables. The sitting room had an air of contentment, a feel of welcome. As Lily continued to rock Harry, she looked down at him and smiled lovingly, kissing his sleeping face gently.
"I love you, Harry." She whispered quietly.
The other parent of Harry, James Potter, quietly entered the sitting room. His mop of messy black hair was identical to Harry's own, which was growing in. He looked lovingly at Lily holding Harry, she standing up as he approached.
"Here." She said, handing Harry to him. James smiled down at his son as he held him, still overjoyed to have such a miracle of life to care for despite their initial concerns.
"How was he today?" He asked.
"Pretty well, actually." Lily responded. "He's learning how to hold on to things. He laughed at some of the things I had him feel. I think he liked it."
"Good." James responded, still smiling. "I'll lay Harry in his crib and come down to talk with you some more. I've got some news to tell you about death eater movements."
Lily tensed a little and sighed. The war with Voldemort wasn't going well, and everyone feared for their children. The Potter's feared for Harry more than most, though, as they'd been made aware, by Professor Dumbledore, that Voldemort might have a special interest in him, though what it was, he hadn't elaborated on yet. In addition to their concerns about Voldemort or his death eaters coming after him, they had more worry than many due to Harry being blind. They tried not to let that cloud their judgement in his case, though, and made an effort to show him everything they could in the world.
Lily put out some tea and scones for their discussion, and by the time she'd finished, James sat across from her at the table.
"I put some calming draft in the tea, I thought we could use it." Lily said.
"Good thinking." James replied as he took a sip, sighing as the hot liquid moved down his throat.
"What's the news?" Lily asked, already looking calmer as she sipped her tea.
"It seems Rookwood has joined, but no official word on that has been given." James responded.
"Someone from the Unspeakable's is on Voldemort's side now? How far into the ministry are they going to get?" Lily asked.
"I don't know." James responded with a deep sigh. "But sooner or later, I'm sure he's going to have the entire ministry under his thumb."
"I've been doing some research also, on ways we could protect our son." Lily said. "I think, under the right circumstances, either of us could sacrifice ourselves and protect him against any known magic or harm."
"Let's save that as a last resort. I want him to have his parents as he grows up." James said.
"Of course." Lily responded. "But I'm not closed to the possibility, either."
"Of course not." James responded. "But there's also something else you should know. Voldemort's on the move again, terrorizing muggle neighborhoods."
"My sister, is she safe?" Lily asked.
Though Petunia Dursley hated magic and was quite jealous of Lily, she still cared for her sister despite the horrible treatment she'd received from her over the years. James smiled at Lily's question, having anticipated it.
"Yes, she's safe. I knew you'd want to know, so I checked on her. She's still got that pig of a boy Dudley, too." James said.
"Be nice, James, we don't need to be insulting to her family." Lily responded in a chiding way.
"You're right, of course." James said with a sigh.
"Anything else I need to know about?" Lily asked.
"No, nothing." James replied.
The days passed, and Harry showed no signs of accidental magic. His awareness grew along with the feel of the warm flame in his chest. He often sank himself into the feeling and giggled, though his parents or anyone else around didn't know what he was giggling at. He loved the soothing feeling, loved to let the flame wrap around him and move throughout his body. He was blissfully unaware of being blind, his world lacking any sight due to his being born without optic nerves. The condition had never before been encountered by the healers Harry had been taken to, but all had told his parents that there was no way to cure him, that he would be blind throughout his life.
Being only three months old now, Harry often woke in his crib, scared of being alone. He loved being held most of all, and usually, when he cried, someone would come to hold him. As he often did, Harry woke and felt alone, heard nothing around him. He felt anxiety, but this time, he also felt a change in his flame. It was reacting to his desperation to have someone with him as he squirmed in his blanket. He was about to cry out when he heard breathing next to him, felt something brush his cheek. Unknown to him, a girl a little taller and larger than him had appeared in the crib next to him, her body twitching and flailing a little. Harry could feel that there was something different about the flame, though, as if it was somehow closer to him, changing somehow. The girl rolled toward him, then Harry felt a very warm hand on his cheek, fingers resting against his lips. He felt a little more relaxed, then even more so when the girl pulled him to her in strong, efficient movements, pressing his head to her chest where he could hear her fast heartbeat and breathing. He lay on her body and sucked on one of her fingers in his mouth, content and drifting off to sleep. The girl lay still, responded to his movements to keep him close, and gazed at the ceiling with focused, dark eyes, her facial expression a calm, placid one.
Lily woke about ten minutes after the appearance of Harry's flame girl, aware that something seemed to be missing. Unnerved, she quietly climbed from bed, waking James in the process. Both of them had become light sleepers with Harry around, he usually crying out to them around this time. That was it, Lily thought, quickly pulling out her wand, heart pounding. In response to her movements, James rolled quietly from the bed and also drew his wand, checking the wards.
"No breach. There's no intruders." James whispered to Lily as the two of them made their way from their room and into Harry's.
Lily turned on the light and quickly looked around the room. One of the advantages to having a child that was blind was not worrying about their aversion to sudden bright light. Squinting slightly from the light herself, Lily noticed that Harry wasn't the only one in the crib. Her heart beat harder as she hurried over, though kept her footsteps quiet, not wanting to wake Harry. James did the same, and as Lily examined the dark-eyed, dark-haired girl laying placidly under Harry and staring at the ceiling, James waved his wand over both her and Harry.
"What is she?" Lily asked. "How did she get in here without breaching the wards?"
Lily reached toward Harry and gently tried to pull the girl's unnaturally warm hands away from him as she held him to her. She was inhumanly strong, though, like trying to move a statue. She was far from that, though, as she focused her dark eyes on Lily and stared at her face, seeming to gain its every detail with a single look. The placid look never left her face, and she shuddered from its emotionlessness.
"I just checked for magical bonds." James whispered. "The girl reads as... Something I don't recognize, but her bond to Harry is more powerful than anything I've ever seen before. It's not any sort of bond that will subvert his will or control him, it's the opposite. Harry seems to be in control of her somehow."
"How do you know?" Lily asked.
"I performed a gentle Legilimency probe." James said. "It didn't wake Harry and didn't seem to bother the girl. It looks like she came about through some type of accidental magic."
"What?" Lily asked. Both were still whispering, but Lily's voice contained a tone of worry. James gently grabbed her arm and pulled her to the other side of the room. The girl intently and emotionlessly observed.
"From what I could tell, Harry woke scared. You know how he gets if we're not there when he wakes up." James said quietly. "He seems to always feel a flame, warm and soothing, in his chest. It changed from what I sensed was it's norm, and she appeared, held him, reacted to exactly what he wanted."
"So she's his magic?" Lily asked.
"It seems so." James responded. "That's what I felt, and if that's true, it's more powerful than anything any magical user has ever had before, but also presents difficulties. How do we teach Harry something if he's got Magic to do things for him?"
"Is that what we're calling her, Magic?" Lily asked.
"Unless you've got a better name." James responded.
"I don't know." Lily sighed. "She's strong, it was like trying to move a statue, a very warm and living statue. If she's always that strong, and Harry doesn't want to cooperate with something we're trying to teach him..." Lily trailed off.
"We'll have to figure out how to deal with this." James said after a long moment passed, both parents watching Harry laying curled on Magic, contently sucking on one of her fingers, she watching them with a placid, emotionless gaze.
"Yes, and soon." Lily replied.
After watching Harry and Magic for a few minutes, the parents left the room. As always, they left the door open as they climbed back into bed, both of them thinking. Their sleep, as a result, was restless and felt longer than it would have been otherwise.
Magic understood more than Harry, but didn't understand what her parents had been talking about. She was Harry, but also was someone outside of himself that wasn't him, as she knew everything he knew, had all of his memories and experiences, though she felt only a calm serenity. She knew his wishes and desires even before he was aware of them, and as a result, she pulled away from him three hours later. Quietly, she reached up, grasping for the crib bar, though couldn't find it. Instead, she grabbed its material and pulled herself up it with ease, used her hands to hold herself over the side, then fell flat on her face with a thud that Lily and James heard. She rolled from side to side, experimented and pushed herself up, tried to figure out how to balance. The skills she learned would be known by Harry, but he wouldn't have the memories she had, especially of sight. She didn't know what anything looked like, but she knew what things felt like, her recall of information perfect. She only knew what two people looked like, and that was her parents, who were hurrying into the room to find her on the floor, trying to move across the floor. She placidly looked at them and went still, knowing that Harry had been picked up by them, reasoning she would also be held. It wasn't what she wanted, though, but through her being held, she had a plan to communicate what Harry wanted.
Her parents didn't pick her up. They watched her, kept their distance. Magic let out a quiet whimper of sound and saw one of them come closer. She rose her hands and tried to reach for the parent, watching long things moving on its head as one of her parents picked her up. She sniffed, recognized her mother holding her in her arms. She didn't squirm around like Harry did, though, knowing he only did because he wasn't in full control of his body. Instead, she looked at her face, remembered it. She then looked at Harry and reached for him.
"I think she wants to hold him." Lily said, though Magic didn't understand the words.
James gently picked Harry up, watching Lily holding Magic.
"I don't know if it's wise to keep them in contact with each other." James said.
Magic decided they weren't moving fast enough. Harry was going to wake soon, and he would be hungry and need to drink. She switched their places, she now settled in the arms of James, her father, as Harry was settled in Lily's arms. She saw Lily watching her with wide eyes, pulling on James' sleeve to try and get him to move closer. He didn't, so Magic stared at Lily, linking Harry's memories of touch with sight and pointing.
"I think she's telling us that Harry's going to be hungry." James softly said.
"Let's see." Lily said as she carefully opened the front of her robe so Harry could nurse.
Harry's green eyes opened, glazed with sightlessness and moving erratically as always. Lily drew him close, and almost immediately, he began to feed. Magic settled in the arms of James and memorized his face, then in one smooth motion, rolled from his arms.
"No!" James and Lily shouted as Magic slammed to the floor. She felt no pain, but Harry had been startled. He wanted comfort, and Lily was gently stroking his head.
"It's okay, sweetie, I was just scared. It's okay, Harry." Lily crooned soothingly, rocking him.
Harry could still hear her quickly beating heart and feel her trembling, but his initial feeling of being startled didn't last very long at all. Before Lily had been half way through speaking soothingly to him, he was once again relaxed, nursing and comfortably nestled in her arms. James was waving his wand over Magic as she watched, feeling the spells settling on her and scanning her, not harming her. They were different than anything she knew, and as she saw the light, she tried to touch it. She couldn't, but didn't understand why. James, in turn, looked up from her and over to Lily.
"All of her readings... It's like she's Harry, and she doesn't have any injuries." He said, then looked back at her as she pushed herself on to her stomach and lifted her upper body.
"What do we do with her?" Lily asked uncertainly.
"Since she's Harry's Magic, we'll care for her, just like we care for Harry. She's a part of him, and I don't want to neglect her in any way." James said, resolute in his decision as he crouched next to Magic, she staring at him and remaining still.
Lily watched as James reached out, moving Magic's legs into a familiar position of someone crawling. James then moved her arms and legs in the motions of crawling. Magic quickly picked them up and crawled around him in a circle, turned and went straight, turned the opposite direction and came back toward him, having expertly gained the skill. James then said, "That's crawling, Magic. Want to try standing and walking next?"
Magic only gazed at him as he reached out toward her, not moving, but observing each movement intently. She rose her hands and pressed them to his, staring at them and noting their differences, stared into his eyes, then back down at their hands.
"These are our hands, Magic." He explained calmly, hiding the awkwardness he felt at trying to deal with Magic, who acted far differently than Harry, with a placid, emotionless calm that seemed unchanging.
Lily watched as James reached out, gently pulling Magic to her feet. She stared around from her new perspective, her legs easily able to hold her up. Her long robe was barely above the floor, and her head turned as her eyes scanned quickly. James held her wrists, but as she stared steadily at him, he carefully released them, though stopped her from falling.
"Stay standing, okay?" James said.
It took a few times, but eventually, Magic remained standing upright. She tried to turn and stumbled, falling and using her hands to break her fall. James let her, though watched to make sure she didn't get hurt. Instead of crying or wanting to be picked up, she pushed herself up and tried to stand. She fell a couple times, but her persistence paid off. She was able to stand and balance perfectly, then tried to take a step. She staggered, but didn't fall. James and Lily watched her with mounting excitement as she started to take a few stumbling steps, but she managed to quickly learn walking as well, and soon, was walking around James, then around Lily.
"Good job, Magic!" James said, excited. "That's walking!"
Magic, still standing, moved her hands, her jaw, different parts of her body, quickly gaining the coordination and dexterity for fine motor skills. She then moved to the bucket of toys and opened its lid, taking some of the toys out. She touched each one, looked at them intently, sniffed them, and even tasted them. She meticulously went through each of them, her examination swift, but very focused. As Lily finished feeding Harry, Magic turned and watched as she burped him, stared at his blissfully happy face. She responded to his wishes again, walking over to Lily and holding out her arms.
"You want to hold Harry?" She asked as she carefully lowered Harry into her arms.
She didn't let him go until she was completely confident that Magic had a firm hold of Harry. After she did, Magic brought Harry over to the toys and carefully put him down on the floor. He was still wrapped in a blanket, but Magic didn't resume her focus on the toys. Instead, she focused on Harry, examining every part of him, including inside his diaper. James and Lily watched carefully as Magic touched Harry's face, then let him lick at her skin as she tasted one of his hands. After a moment, James snapped his fingers and said, "I'm sorry, Lily, I've got to get to work. Will you be okay with these two?"
"Yes, I'll be fine." Lily responded, she and James starting to accept that Magic was going to be involved in their lives, and likely remain with Harry for quite some time.
"Okay." James responded. "Bye-bye, Harry and Magic, daddy's going to work."
Magic didn't respond, examining Harry's hair and sucking on it a little, letting him do the same to hers. Lily heard James disapparate after a minute, and assured that he was safely at work, knelt next to Harry and Magic, watching as Magic pushed Harry's hands on her face and ran them through her hair, letting him taste the long strands.
"You two enjoying each other?" Lily asked with a smile.
Harry cooed around one of Magic's fingers, sucking on it contently. Magic lay down next to him and put an arm around him, then rolled over so he lay on her body. Harry looked happy, and Magic looked placid and calm.
"You need to have that diaper of yours changed, Harry." Lily said after a moment, gently pulling him from Magic and allowing him to suck on his pacifier.
Magic followed as Lily got out one of his clean diapers and entered the bathroom. Lily tried to occupy Harry with things he liked to touch. Magic put her hands in his and let him touch her. He wasn't coordinated, but he did his best, seeming fascinated by Magic. It was a distraction for him as Lily changed his diaper. Magic intently observed everything, watching all that occurred. When Lily finished and picked Harry up, Magic followed them, watched as she showed Harry things and spoke to him about what he was touching. She even took him outside and let him touch the grass, explaining to him what it was. Magic touched and sniffed what Harry touched, examining it from her point of view, and when Harry grew tired, she stood next to Lily as she rocked him to sleep, then gently lay him in the crib.
"Want to come with me, Magic, do you need to eat?" Lily asked, crouching down as Magic looked at her.
She didn't speak, and Lily gently lifted her from the floor. Magic didn't resist her as she moved toward the door, but when she started to leave the room, Magic pushed back on her shoulders. Lily put her down, watching as she moved toward Harry, apparently wanting to remain near him. Lily watched her climb easily into the crib and hold him close, and now without worries that Magic would do anything to Harry that might, unintentionally be harmful, was able to observe the scene and realize how cute it was. Taking out a small camera she carried around with her for moments like these, she snapped a photo, smiling. She then activated a monitoring charm around both Harry and Magic before performing her daily chores.
Something like blindness in the magical world was extremely rare, due to the spells, potions, and replacement eyes that were available. Fortunately, Lily and James had no compunctions about searching other means for helping Harry, and through muggle channels, had been able to get in contact with a woman named Angela Turner, a squib. Since she had not only taught blind people, but knew of the magical world, she had been the perfect solution to their difficulty. She had worked with Harry a little to show him many things, and show his parents how to deal with him as a blind person, informed them that he may not have the curiosity about his world that other children had about theirs. He was starting to gain it, though, but still didn't have the ability to move from room to room, at least, hadn't had it until Magic came along. When Harry woke two hours later from his nap, he was a little hungry, but determined to figure out how to move. Magic showed him in the best way for him to learn, but he simply wasn't strong enough or coordinated enough to properly crawl or walk. It was frustrating to Harry, but Magic held him close and hummed, letting Harry listen to the sound she made, his ear against her chest. It distracted him and successfully prevented him from crying out loud. Magic had responded to his wishes once again, and nearly instant results had occurred. Carrying Harry, Magic walked from his room and found Lily in hers, who smiled at her as she carried Harry over to her.
"Is Harry hungry again?" Lily asked, reasoning that if Magic was hungry, she would be the one to try and nurse from her. Perhaps she didn't need to eat, then, Lily thought.
Magic simply put Harry in Lily's arms as she bent over so she could reach, and when Harry started to nurse, Magic watched intently. She was aware of Harry's emotions and knew he was happy. Magic remained close, though, and observed. Unlike other children, she lacked curiosity about the world. Her world was centered on Harry and his needs, just as his magic would be if it hadn't manifested itself to create this girl. It was a strange relationship, Lily thought, but it seemed to suit Harry. Given his power, however, she knew that it was critical he be hidden from the world so that Voldemort wouldn't go after him, try to kill him or make him an ally. Alone with Harry and Magic in the house, Lily kept Harry close and silently began to plan, thinking intently.
That evening, Lord Voldemort silently appeared on the street leading to the house of the Potter's. He was silent and invisible, and rather than wait, as he had originally planned, he decided he would attack the weakest of the children first. The Potter boy was, according to the research his Death Eaters had conducted, blind. With him out of the equation, the Longbottom boy, Neville, would be next. No one would oppose him then. Lord Voldemort's smirk was cold and cruel, his red eyes glinting with satisfied amusement.
The invisible Voldemort moved up to the house, sensing the pathetic wards that surrounded it as the Muggles went about their ridiculous celebration of Halloween. Waving his wand in a complex pattern, he made an opening that would use his own magical signature to bridge the gap in the wards when he'd enter, and would hide any attempt to breach the wards. In addition, he inserted himself as a recognized member of the household. It would likely be detected within an hour, but that was of little consequence. Stepping through the wards, Voldemort noted with satisfaction how they closed behind him. Waving his wand in several more complex patterns, he blocked the use of apparation, Portkeys, and Floo. Gazing through the window, he noticed how the Potter's were doting over Harry Potter, the blind boy. There was another, though, a girl that he'd not heard of in his research. The Potter boy would be first, Voldemort concluded as he moved silently to the front door.
With a bang, the door was blown off its hinges. Voldemort appeared, laughing, as James Potter ran into the hallway, shouting, "Get Harry out!"
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted.
A flash of green illuminated every item in the hallway, and James Potter collapsed to the ground, dead. Laughing with satisfaction, Voldemort ran toward the stairs where Lily Potter was carrying Harry, and holding the hand of the girl he'd seen before. He appeared in front of her and blocked her way, red eyes glaring.
"Let him go, girl, and step aside." Voldemort stated in a coldly calm voice.
"No!" Lily shouted with desperation as she backed up, Harry in her arms, the girl's hand gripped tightly in hers.
"You need not die, girl. Hand over the boy and your treachery will be forgiven." Voldemort stated. "I will not warn you again."
Lily quickly placed Harry on the ground, released the girl, then jumped over her son and shouted wildly, "Kill me instead, don't kill him! Please!"
"Stand aside!" Voldemort called.
"No! Kill me, not him, spare his life!" Lily shouted.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort coldly shouted.
In yet another flash of green, Lily collapsed, dead. Harry was cooing and making pathetically mindless sounds, the girl touching his face and hair gently as her placid expression and level gaze settled on him. The pathetic blind boy was unaware that his mother had been killed, and as for the girl, there was something quite strange about her. His face twisted into an expression of disgust as he glared down at the children, deciding to spare them their weak, mindless lives.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted, eyes focused on Harry.
The green light flew from his wand. The girl's hand intercepted it as she reached out for it. Voldemort's eyes widened as the light stopped, pooled in her palm and seemed to expand. It grew brighter, stronger, and the children were obscured by it. Voldemort knew when to run, and now was the time. He turned and quickly moved toward the exit, never seeing the wave of green that slammed into his body and caused the front of the house to explode in a spectacular explosion. Harry, too young to understand anything that happened, was held by Magic, who repaired the damage to his ears and hummed, rocking him, and keeping her hair in reach of his sucking mouth. He quickly drifted to sleep, and moments later, Albus Dumbledore apparated outside the house and ran toward it, realizing he'd come too late to save the Potter's, though Harry and a girl he didn't recognize had survived. After swiftly running some tests of his own, he concluded, as James and Lily had, that the girl was Harry's magic.
"Can you understand me, my dear?" Dumbledore asked, looking into Magic's placid gaze.
She didn't respond, only turned and began to move toward the stairs. Dumbledore quickly knelt next to her and grasped her shoulders, turning her unresisting body to face him. Gazing into her eyes, Dumbledore did the only thing he could do. He entered her mind, learned she was Magic, and realized that she and Harry had no understanding of what had just happened. Delving into her memories and thoughts, he observed how James Potter had been killed, how Lily had sacrificed herself for Harry and his magic, and watched how Magic had sent Voldemort's killing curse, magnified, back at him. Clever, he thought, that Lily would use such a counter-charm of sacrifice. Because of Magic's form at the moment, a construct of energy that was almost detectible as being human, he knew that, had Lily not sacrificed herself for Harry at the minimum, the killing curse would have likely passed through Magic's hand and killed Harry, which would have prevented her own existence from continuing.
Dumbledore knew that Harry and Magic would need to be kept safe at all costs, and given the sacrifice Lily had made, perhaps the Dursley family would do, he thought to himself, mulling over the idea in his mind as he gently pulled Magic with him from the house, though she began to resist him as they stepped outside.
"For Harry." Dumbledore said, conjuring a comfortable, fuzzy, and warm blanket that he gently wrapped around the young boy, and not wanting them to be seen, waved his wand and cloaked them with invisibility. He would have wrapped up Magic, though knew she was impervious to any physical discomfort, at least, for the moment.
It was best to keep this from the press, to keep Voldemort's defeat a mystery. Though Harry was protected at the Dursley's and that location kept a secret, as with all good plans, Dumbledore's plan to keep Harry's survival of the killing curse from the press failed. It didn't take much for the reporters to glean information that James and Lily were killed by Voldemort, who used the killing curse, and his defeat was because of a failed attempt to kill their son, Harry. No one knew of Magic except the Dursley's, since she was with Harry there, and after Dumbledore spent two exhausting hours explaining the situation to the Dursley family, he returned to Hogwarts.
Rather than Floo directly into his office, Dumbledore walked up the path leading to the entrance hall, thinking as he headed toward his office, considering everything he knew about Magic and Harry. Their bond was certainly a unique one, to be sure, and while not dark magic, Magic's form being what it currently was reminded him a great deal of dark magic. Harry's magical power, however, seemed to be so great that he could easily sustain Magic as she was, though Dumbledore had his theories on precisely what might happen, given that Magic would be sharing meals with Harry at the Dursley's. It would be interesting to see if his guesses were correct in the future, when both came to Hogwarts. For now, however, he knew keeping Magic a secret was vital, lest anyone attempt to harm her, or treat Harry any differently than he was likely already going to be treated. Sighing and continuing to ponder, Dumbledore opened the door to his office, only to find a pacing Sirius Black within.
"Where is he?" Sirius asked, immediately facing Dumbledore.
"Before I tell you, I must have two promises from you." Dumbledore responded in a firm and serious tone of voice.
"What?" Sirius asked, looking anxious to see Harry.
"You must not take Harry from his place of residence, and you must not tell anyone of what you know." Dumbledore said.
"Fine, I'll do that. Now where is he?" Sirius asked.
"He is with the Dursley..." Dumbledore began.
"How could you leave him with those people!" Sirius shouted.
"As I am sure you are already aware, James and Lily Potter are dead. Their sacrifice protected Harry from death, more accurately, Lily's sacrifice. The same protection remains as long as Harry stays with a relative of Lily. The closest, and only one available, was Petunia Dursley. He must remain there if he is to remain safe from those wishing him harm." Dumbledore explained firmly.
"I can protect him just as well. He's not staying there." Sirius said.
Before they could continue their conversation, the fireplace glowed green and Remus Lupin, looking quite battered as if having just come from a duel, Flooed in.
"Professor!" He said to Dumbledore, panting and looking frantic. "I know who the spy is, it's Pettigrew!"
"That little rat!" Sirius roared, and before anyone could stop him, grabbed some Floo powder and went to Peter Pettigrew's house.
Eventually, Sirius tracked Peter down on a muggle street, where he implicated Sirius as being one of Voldemort's death eaters, escaping and leaving behind a finger for everyone to find. The Aurors found Sirius laughing, though didn't recognize his shocked mental state, simply took him to Azkaban. In his attempt to overthrow the decision, Dumbledore was stripped of all his titles except that of Headmaster of Hogwarts, as he seemed to do that job best. In the words of the unthinking Minister Bagnold, "Perhaps, Mr. Dumbledore, you've got too many positions to be dealing with at one time. I think it's best if you restrict your work to the Headmaster position at Hogwarts, which you seem to do well at, rather than chasing a lie that, to be honest, is quite unbelievable. The evidence is against you, Dumbledore, so I suggest you stop pushing this matter."
Needless to say, Dumbledore's opinion of the ministry, which was already a low one, grew even lower at that patronizing attitude and what the fools had done. Harry Potter was safe, though, as was his magic. Given the Dursley's reluctant's to take him in, Dumbledore imagined that Harry might not be cared for as lovingly as he'd been with his parents, but hoped he had convinced the Dursley's to care for him without any sign of abuse. With more time on his hands now, Dumbledore scheduled several appointments to check on the Dursley's, see how they were doing, send them notes every once in a while to ensure that Harry wasn't being mistreated. He also arranged to visit the innocent Sirius Black, and while it may do nothing, decided to continue to push for his freedom. Ten days after Dumbledore placed Harry with the Dursley's, he sat behind his desk and sighed deeply, head in his hands.
"I hope I have done the right thing." He said to himself. "I shall make sure of it, Harry Potter."