A True Slytherin

Chapter Seven

H POV

I stood silently beside the Minister's office door. It wasn't too hard to reach the place, with this disguise anyway. I changed my previous glamour so that I would look slightly older, with short black hair, plain brown eyes, and I changed into a set of my new black robes. Calmly looking around to make sure no one was nearby or looking in my direction, I quickly removed the glamour while slipping into the office. 'In order for this to work, I need to be the scared, vulnerable Gryffindor.'

I stood in front of the now closed door of the office, making myself seem small and nervous. I held my head down slightly, glancing up through my eyelashes at the man behind the desk who currently had a hand on his wand. I shifted, making sure my bangs moved enough so he would see my scar. The minister paused, eyes widening comically before he quickly calmed himself as much as possible. He put his wand down and gave a gentle smile,

"Harry, my boy, what brings you here?" I shifted again, bringing my head back up enough to look at him properly but not enough to where I was looking straight up.

"M-Mr. Minister, sir. I-I asked someone where I would go to ask about who I live with and they pointed me h-here." I gave a small sniffle, before glancing around nervously.

"Please, sit down Harry." He pointed towards the chair across from himself, "and you can just call me Cornelius, my boy. Why would you want to talk about who you live with? I am sure they are quite wonderful people."

I shook my head slightly, letting tears begin to crawl down my cheeks. Finally looking up completely I began stuttering out the truth.

"No, C-Cornelius sir, t-they aren't w-wonderful people at all. T-they beat m-me and st-starve me, and my b-b-bedroom is their c-cupboard under th-the stairs." by the time I finished talking, I had more tears falling, obscuring my vision slightly. 'Being able to cry at will really does come in handy. Hopefully he takes the bait.'

"W-w-what? How could that possibly be? Dumbledore said they were wonderful, nice people." Cornelius looked confused, and startled at the tears. I looked up at him with wide eyes, tilting my head very slightly to the left.

"Who's Dumbledore, s-sir?" I sniffled, watching as he paused for a moment.

"I do not understand. Dumbledore was supposed to be a big part of your life, since he is your magical guardian." I let the tears slowly stop, shifting in my chair slightly before letting myself sit a little straighter and an excited expression form on my face.

"Wait, I actually have heard of him! I just remembered the Goblins mentioned him when I went with Professor Snape to get some money! They mentioned Dumbledore had taken money from my vaults without me knowing. But I don't see what is wrong with an adult taking money from a child's vault." 'This is very tiring. I hope this finishes soon, I didn't expect pretending to be a Gryffindor would be tiring.'

"Since the money belongs to the child, anyone but that child needs permission from the child to use the money. But are you sure Dumbledore never visited you once?" The confused expression had returned, but mixed with barely concealed anger. I nodded my head quickly.

"I am positive he never visited. I would have remembered." I sat patiently, noticing that Cornelius began thinking over what I told him so far.

"Very well, Harry. With Dumbledore neglecting his duties as magical guardian, and stealing your money, plus your relatives abusing and neglecting you, I will have to remove Dumbledore as your magical guardian and take you out of your relative's care. I can place you in the care of someone else of your choosing. Normally I would choose, but since you are the Chosen One, I will make an exception." He gave a heavy sigh, before bringing out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Thank you sir!" I gave a wide grin, before letting it fall a few moments later, "but I don't know anyone here. Well, except for Professor Snape."

"Hmm. I can give you a list of choices. Since you know Professor Snape I will put him as an option. I don't reccomend him though due to his status as a death eater. A death eater is someone who supports the bad side. He isn't trustworthy at all. Minerva McGonagall will be my main recommendation. She is the Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts and part of the Order Of the Phoenix. A group of people who support the good side. The third person is Remus Lupin. I only recommend him because he was friends with your family. I don't trust him either because he is a werewolf. He isn't fully human. But like I said it is up to you."