Dumbledore paused a moment as if waiting for Harry to speak but Harry simply sat waiting. Dumbledore sighed again.
"First, one must understand the time. We had been on the edge of losing the war when Tom attacked your family. It was almost an accepted fact that it was only a matter of time until the Death Eaters won. Many were preparing to flee our island or trying to show how 'Pureblooded' they were to protect themselves when the Death Eaters took over. Then suddenly the war was over and we'd won. Most of the country spent the next week in celebration.
"I arrived at your parents' house shortly after their deaths. The wards were all down and the house was on fire. I put out the fire and checked on you. Aside from the scar on your forehead you merely slept. An Auror investigation team arrived to remove Tom's remains and determine what had occurred at the house. I was summoned to the Ministry and left you under the supervision of a Hogwarts elf.
"At the Ministry it was pure chaos. News of Tom's demise was celebrated and rumours of your survival of the Killing Curse were already starting to spread. Shortly after my arrival at the Ministry I was approached and casually asked who would be taking custody of the Boy-Who-Lived. It was the first time I'd ever heard the moniker that has followed you since. I quickly learnt there was an effort to have you assigned to the guardianship of one of two families. The first was the hand-picked successor of Minister Bagshot, Cornelius Fudge. The second was her main rival, the Head of the DMLE, Bartimus Crouch. It was not difficult to realize they were simply interested in you for the political capital it would accrue for them."
Harry paled at the mention of the two men. He did not doubt Dumbledore's assessment of the two wizard's interest in having custody of an orphaned half-blood child of a non-aristocratic family.
Dumbledore continued. "Officially, I was only the Headmaster of Hogwarts at the time, not the Chief Warlock nor involved with the ICW. As such, I had limited authority. I sent Hagrid to collect you that night from your parents' house. I had him spend a full day with you while I attempted to enact your parents' wills. With both parties within the Wizengamot blocking it, I quickly saw it was futile and sent word via Fawkes to Hagrid to meet me at your Aunt's house. Petunia was your only living blood relative within two degrees of relation. As such, even a politically motivated Ministry would have a hard time removing you from her care. I had hoped it would only be necessary for you to be there a short time until I could have James and Lily's wills executed."
Dumbledore smile ruefully. "I told Professor McGonagall about my plan early on. Do you know she spent the whole day watching the Dursleys in her Animagus form? She was rather against the plan, calling them 'the worst sort of Muggles.' Alas, she was correct as usual.
"We left you on the step with a warming, a notice-me-not, and sleeping charms in place. The wards I enacted required Petunia to voluntarily take you in. If I had forced you into her arms the magic would have failed. Her lifting you out of the basket with no prompting was sufficient for the magic for consider her action the voluntary acceptance of your guardianship.
"It took one week to execute the wills that named Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, and Dolores Dearborn as your guardians. Unfortunately, Dolores, who was your mother's Gryffindor roommate and best friend, was killed one month before your parents. Sirius was in prison for betraying your parents and killing Mr Pettigrew. And while the Ministry would have allowed a werewolf to take in any other half-blood orphan, they blocked his effort to take custody of you even to the point of placing a ward on you to prevent his approaching you on pain of Azkaban. By that time, young Barty Crouch had already been revealed a Death Eater, leaving Cornelius as the primary candidate to be named your guardian unless you went to your aunt. I made the best decision I could under the circumstances."
Harry shivered at the thought of being raised in Fudge's house. While the man had been friendly enough the summer after Harry's First year, the events of Third year and the Quidditch World Cup left little doubt of the man's true character. Harry had a sudden vision of being raised along with the son of Fudge's 'good friend' Lucius Malfoy. The thought made Harry sick.
The Headmaster continued to speak unaware of the horrible visions crossing Harry's eyes. "By the time I became Chief Warlock five years later, Lucius Malfoy and Tom's other followers had again established themselves in the Ministry and Wizengamot. Attempting to open up the issue of your guardianship would have risked your assignment to one of those families. I am sure you can appreciate why I would not risk it."
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