Darkness finds the Muggles?

Title: Darkness Finds the Muggles?

Rating: PG-13

Author: Adam

Summary: AU. Harry is 17. He's at St. Brutus' and has never heard of the magical world. But where's his magical ability? Read on and find out...

PROLOGUE

"It's true? Has Voldemort finally gone?" A female voice asked sharply.

"Yes, Voldemort has been defeated." A man replied.

"Who? Who defeated him? Surely, not you?!" The woman's voice asked in clipped tones.

"No, it was not me, although all the magazines claimed it would be myself, I knew that it was not destined, and I was correct." The man replied, his eyes twinkling in the light.

"The prophecy was true then? The one who was marked defeated You-Know...sorry, Voldemort?"

"The prophecy was incorrect. Unfortunately, Neville Longbottom has joined his parents in St. Mungo's hospital. That was my only mistake; leaving poor Neville with the two people I thought I could trust, the two people who were supposed to protect him!" The man said, his voice slowly rising with every word.

"No! Albus, surely you can't be telling me..."

"Yes, Minerva, I am. James and Lily Potter have joined the side of the Dark."

"But..."

"But nothing. They are gone, lost to us. Thank Merlin we managed to get Harry out of there many years ago, before it was too late..."

And a thousand miles away, a young man named Harry Potter woke up, confused and wondering what that dream meant.

CHAPTER 1

"POTTER!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm awake." 17 year old Harry Potter mumbled as he dragged himself out of bed before stumbling to the washbasin opposite the window, which had bars nailed to it. He splashed his face with cold water before pulling on his clothes and walking over to his door. Which was locked.

"Damn!" cried Harry, before raising one hand and knocking on his door, before standing back and waiting as it was unlocked. After about 5 minutes, it was unlocked, and Harry immediately stormed out the tiny room and past the man who had unlocked it, but was stopped by the man, who grabbed the back of his jumper and threw him back into the room, before locking the door again. "You stay in there until I decide you leave, not you!" He shouted, before thundering down the stairs.

Harry just stared at the door in disbelief, before turning round, picking up a chair, and throwing it at the door. He then collapsed on his bed with a hard expression on his face, staring at the ceiling, waiting. "One more day...one more day until I'm 18, then I'm out of here and he knows it, that's why Stone's being a complete prat." He muttered, before turning to the calendar and putting a cross through July 30. He lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes, and stiffened up as he remembered his dream from the night before.

*FLASHBACK*

"Voldemort is dead"...

"James and Lily Potter have joined the side of the Dark."...

Harry suddenly opened his eyes wide and sat up. "But I thought they were dead...why is that old man talking about my parents like that?" He looked confused, before reaching under his bed and pulling out a small box with a few pieces of paper in. He reached for the top piece, which was his birth certificate, and glanced at it as if to say `are you real?' before putting it back in and reaching for another document, his parents' death certificate. “It says right here, James and Lily Potter, died October 31^st, 1981, cause of death unknown.” Harry thought to himself “so why was that old man talking about them? Then again, could that have been in 1981?”

Thoroughly confused, Harry put the box back under his bed and went to leave the room, only to find that the door was still locked. He kicked the door, and was shocked when a crack appeared.

Smiling lightly, he continued to kick the door, lightly at first and then harder when he realised that the door was slowly breaking down bit by bit by bit. After about 30 minutes Harry had created a small hole in the door that he could just about fit through, grimacing as he slid through the hole, catching splinters in the back of his neck.

As he stood up, he wryly thought that if he was the expected height and weight for his age then he wouldn't have been able to fit through that hole, “Thank Stone for being an evil git and underfeeding me” he thought before walking down the stairs to find an empty institution. Bewildered, he walked into the kitchen to find empty cupboards and empty drawers, before slowly walking around the ground floor, only to find every room empty.

“They were going to leave me, starve me!” Harry said to himself, his voice becoming louder with every word. He walked into the main socializing room, only to find that it was bare of all furniture. Increasingly angry, Harry stalked to the main door and stopped as the door swung open as he neared it. Suspicious, Harry crept towards the door, and grabbed the only thing left in the bare hall, which was an umbrella.

Pointing the umbrella ahead of him, Harry left the institution, walking down the path and past the sign “St. Brutus' Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys” which had a “SOLD” sign hanging off the bottom of it.

Walking through the town of Little Whinging, Harry realised that he had no money whatsoever and only the clothes on his back. He turned round to head back to the centre, only to find that he was totally lost and had no clue where anything or anybody was, so he decided that all he had to do was find shelter for the evening. As he walked past the main bank, he spotted a local policeman walking down the street towards him.

Knowing that he had the St Brutus uniform on, Harry ducked down a side alley and out of sight, not realising that the copper had spotted him and was currently radioing into his station for backup.

Harry waited 20 minutes for the copper to move on, but when it became apparent that the copper hadn't gone past, Harry realised he was in trouble and continued to walk down the alley, only to find it was a dead end.

“Bugger” Harry thought to himself as he slowly turned round and walked back up the alley, and emerged to find the policeman stood against a wall, obviously waiting for Harry to re-emerge.

“You from St. Brutus, lad?” the copper growled at Harry. Harry slowly nodded and watched as the copper produced a pair of handcuffs, before grabbing Harry and pinning him to the wall. “You're under arrest for breaking out of a parole centre. You do not have to say anything…”

Harry tuned the copper out; he was used to the police cautions by now, this being his 34^th. He grinned wryly to himself as he stood by the copper, waiting for transport to the holding cells at the police station based in the outskirts of Little Whinging. As the police car pulled up, Harry started laughing. The policemen, and onlookers, just looked confused as Harry was led into the police car and driven away, laughing maniacally.

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Title: Darkness Finds the Muggles?

Rating: PG-13

Author: Adam

Summary: AU. Harry is 17. He's at St. Brutus' and has never heard of the magical world. But where's his magical ability? Read on and find out...

CHAPTER 2

Albus Dumbledore peered over his half-moon silver spectacles and watched as Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape argued over last year's House Cup results (incidentally, Ravenclaw won) and about who was going to win it this year. He allowed himself a little smile as he thought about the recent defeat of Voldemort and the joyous celebrations that were still taking place within the wizarding world. The smile soon disappeared off his face though as he remembered the casualties, the stench of death on the fields outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the wide open eyes of the dead bodies, the people he had failed to protect…

“Albus!” Professor McGonagall shouted, “Did you just hear what I said?” The Transfiguration Professor glared at the old man, whilst the tall, imposing figure of the Potions Master stood in the background, stone faced but with onyx eyes shining with unheard laughter.

“No, Minerva, please do enlighten us.” Albus replied, eyes twinkling with mirth, watching as McGonagall slowly calmed down, and sank into a chair opposite the Headmaster,

“I said that, maybe we should now look into the whereabouts of one Harry Potter, especially as we have lost his parents, we don't exactly want to lose him now do we?” At this, Severus was heard to mumble something like “and we care?” but was quiet under a hard glare from Minerva, who turned round and missed Severus glare straight back at her. “Bringing Harry Potter back now, with his 18^th birthday so close, could safeguard the future of the wizarding world Albus, and you know it. The spell wears off then and…”

“What spell?!” Severus exclaimed loudly from the corner. “The spell I put on young Harry on October 31^st, many years ago.” Albus said gravely, sinking into his chair and relaxing as Fawkes, his phoenix, flew over to him and landed on his shoulder. Albus reached up to stroke the phoenix's feathers, as Fawkes let out a soothing note that calmed everyone in the room.

“Albus, what spell did you use?” Both Minerva and Severus asked at the same time.

“Veneficus Clausus”

“Veneficus Clausus” Minerva exclaimed loudly, as Snape groaned and sunk lower into his chair. “You used the Magical Block spell? What were you thinking!?”

“About the fate of the wizarding world.” Albus replied calmly, as he reached into one of the many drawers in his desk and pulled out a small paper bag. “Sherbet Lemon?”

“Now is not the time for sweets Albus! Who knows what effects that spell has had on Potter! You do know of the effects, don't you?” Minerva looked at Severus before turning back to Albus; “That spell could amplify his powers when it is released, the boy won't be able to control them, and who knows what will happen! Well done Albus, now We. Have. To. Find. Harry. Potter.”

“I know.” Albus replied, walking over to the window and looking out over the Hogwarts grounds. “And that is going to be the hard part.”

“Hard part?” Snape queried. “What do you mean the hard part?” Minerva asked.

“I don't actually know where Mr. Potter is at the moment.” Albus admitted, sighing. “Last I heard he was in St. Brutus' Secure Centre, but he escaped earlier on today, after the centre left him there alone.” Albus walked over and passed a newspaper over the desk to Snape, who picked it up and read.

“Care centre shut down…owner arrested…reports of neglect, mistreatment…most serious case a boy named Harry Potter…Dumbledore! You sent him there!” Snape snarled. “Of all the places, you sent him there! Nobody, not even James Potter's son, deserves that much horror.”

“Which is why we need to find him, and fast.” Albus sighed, “If we don't, the future of the wizarding world could drastically change, and I don't mean for the better. If we don't get hold of Potter, and Voldemort's few living supporters do…” Dumbledore was cut off by the sound of the spiral staircase moving, and his office door opening. Professor Sybill Trelawney glided in, eyes blinking behind huge glasses. She looked over at McGonagall and Snape before turning her full attention to the Headmaster, who glanced over to see Minerva's disapproving look at Trelawney and Snape's usual sneer.

“Minerva, Severus, if we could continue this discussion another time, maybe?” Dumbledore's eyes were back to their customary twinkling as Minerva and Severus left, not before Minerva gave Trelawney another disapproving scowl.

“Sit, my dear Sybill.” Dumbledore nodded at the chair Severus had vacated before sitting down himself. “What can I do for you on this day of all days?”

“Well,” Trelawney replied mistily, “I was sat in my tower, gazing deeply into the Orb…”

“What did you see, Sybill?” Dumbledore tried, but failed, to keep the irritation out of his voice as Sybill continued “when I saw something I didn't want to see. I saw Death. I saw your death, Albus, at the hands of the hero.”

“That won't happen Sybill, I can assure you. Our hero will NOT turn dark. They will not!” Albus shouted, stunning Sybill and Fawkes. “I am ultimately confident. They will not turn dark.”

“Well, Albus, remember what I have told you. Things aren't always what they seem.” Sybill replied haughtily, in an eerie normal voice laced with anger. “They will turn, and it will be the outcast who will facilitate this. They will turn, and you will die.” Sybill emphasised this last word as she stormed out of Dumbledore's office, slamming the door behind her, causing the many portraits to wake up and a couple of books to fall off their shelves. Albus groaned, and returned to his chair, picking up a quill made of a phoenix feather and beginning to write.

“Dear Mr. Potter…”

Fawkes hooted softly as Albus wrote the letter, watching mournfully as Albus stopped, threw the parchment in his fire and started writing the letter again. Albus finally looked up when Fawkes started to cry loudly. “You think I should try and find him in person?” Fawkes hooted in agreement. “Then tell me how, because I have no clue as to the whereabouts of Mr Potter.” Albus raged at no-one in particular before collapsing into his chair. “I have failed him, and I know it. I must find Harry Potter, before it is too late.”

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