Harry had only vague memories of living somewhere different than Home. He could remember a thin, angry woman with an unkind and shrill voice. He could remember a fat blonde man who always yelled. He could remember a child who would pull his hair. He had feelings of deep unhappiness when he thought of his time before Home, although he could not remember any specific details explaining where those unhappy feelings came from. He remembered angry words, but not what the words were. He could remember feeling sad, but not the reason for the sadness.

He had been three years old when the Ministry had taken him away from the angry yelling people. His caretakers had told him the story enough times that he could tell it himself as if it came from his memory and not a story told to him by others. The Ministry, he knew, wanted to protect him and keep him happy. They had built him a special place, his Home, where he would grow up happy with all the things he needed. The Ministry built Home just for Harry. His caretakers praised the Ministry for their love and devotion of Harry, and Harry idolized the wonderful people his caretakers spoke of with such admiration.

Home was made up of four large rooms and two smaller ones. Of the larger rooms was a bedroom, with a comfortable bed large enough for five Harry’s and a closet full of clothes. Another was a schoolroom, where his caretakers taught him math and reading. He had two playrooms, which were called ‘Inside’ and ‘Outside’. Inside was full of toys and games, and Outside had large toys he could climb on, sand to build in, and a slide. He had a special room where he ate his meals, and another room called his ‘Quiet Room’. The Quiet Room had a large couch and shelves lined with books and quiet games. Quiet Room was Harry’s favorite.

Every day, one of his five caretakers would wake him with a cheerful greeting. Harry loved it when Julie woke him, as she always sat on the bed and stroked his hair singing him a special good morning song. Julie was a tall blonde woman, with a kind face and sparkly blue eyes. Her voice was calming and sweet, reminding Harry of a song bird.

After getting dressed he would eat breakfast in the smaller eating room. Harry would sit at the table and tell his caretaker what he wanted to eat, and the food would appear moments later right in front of him. Harry never questioned where the food came from. It had always shown up this way. After breakfast he would play in the Outside room, then his caretaker would call him for learning time. Harry enjoyed learning time, especially with his caretaker Mitchell who would always read him stories and could make funny voices for each of the characters. Mitchell was tall, broad, and dark haired, with dark eyes that crinkled when he smiled. His laugh was loud and jovial, and Harry couldn’t help but giggle whenever he heard Mitchell’s infectious laugh. Harry learned all the basic things a child should know, and his caretakers also gave him basic instruction in magical theory. His caretakers were all able to perform magic and Harry delighted in watching them use their wands to fetch books from a shelf, banish the used dishes from the table, or make his stuffed animals dance around the room. They all assured him that he could do magic when he was older, but Harry was impatient to try. He had only one rule at Home, and that was to never touch a wand. When he was five years old he had tried to take Mitchell’s wand while the man was reading a story. Mitchell had shocked him by grabbing his wrist and slapping his hand hard, sternly scolding him for breaking the rule. Harry had never been punished by any of his caretakers before, and it had taken Mitchell over an hour to calm the boy’s crying. Harry had never touched a wand after that.

After learning time Harry had lunch, played more, had a second learning session, dinner, more play, and bed. Each day the same, although the caretakers would rotate around. He had a morning caretaker and a night caretaker, and they would change shifts after his second learning session. Julie and Mitchell were Harry’s favorites, but Brandon, Sarah, and Hannah were nice too. It was important that Harry liked his caretakers, he was told. Sometimes one of his caretakers would leave one day and not come back. Julie and Mitchell had never left him, not since he got to Home. When one of the caretakers would not come back, Julie or Mitchell would bring a new one with them to meet Harry when they came to Home. They would ask Harry if he liked the new caretaker after spending the day together. If Harry said no, he never saw the new caretaker again. If Harry said yes, then the caretaker would be added to the rotation. That was how he got Brandon, Sarah, and Hannah. His caretakers told him that they were there to keep him happy and healthy. If one of Harry’s toys broke, they fixed it. If he had a nightmare, they would hold him until he fell back asleep. If Harry did not want to have a learning session, they would play with him instead. If Harry didn’t like his food, they would bring him something else. Harry just had to ask and his caretakers would give. He did not consider this to be strange, he had lived this way since he could remember. For five years he had lived at Home. On his last birthday, when he turned 8, all of his caretakers came to Home at the same time and they had a party. Sometimes Harry would ask his caretakers where they were when they were not at Home with Harry. They would always pat his head and praise his inquisitiveness, but had never answered his question. Sometimes Harry would ask why the Ministry had built Home for him. They would smile and call him ‘such a curious child!’ and distract him with a toy.

And so had Harry lived for many years, doted on every minute of every day in the same large square building. He was peaceful and happy, well cared for and loved by his caretakers.

Unbeknownst to the happy child, the Ministry had not built Home just for him. And Harry and his caretakers were the only ones to refer to it as ‘Home’. To everyone else, it was the ‘National Harry Potter Exhibit and Museum’.

While Harry had been told many stories throughout his young life, the story of his personal history was never revealed to him. When Harry was born the magical world was in a state of fear and panic. An evil wizard by the name of Voldemort had gathered followers and was daily rising in power and influence, his main tools of trade being torture and murder. Voldemort had targeted Harry for death when he was just 18 months old, and in the attack that followed Harry’s parents were killed. For reasons unknown to the magical community, Harry had survived the killing curse aimed at him by Voldemort. The spell had backfired and destroyed Voldemort instead. Harry became known as ‘The Boy Who Lived’, the only person ever known to have survived the killing curse, and his defeat of the dark wizard was celebrated for weeks after the event. There was not a wizard or witch in England who didn’t know his name, and Harry became a celebrity before he could talk. Immediately following the death of his parents he was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle until the Ministry removed him from their care two years later and placed him in a facility where he would be cared for around the clock. A large two story building was devoted to Harry, the upstairs portion containing objects from his childhood and details of his defeat of Voldemort. Tour guides lead the public through various rooms outlining Harry’s first eighteen months of life and the rise and fall of Voldemort, including a recreation of Harry’s destroyed childhood bedroom. The downstairs housed Harry himself, and every day people flocked to the museum to get a look at the celebrity child. The walls from the inside of Harry’s Home appeared solid, but in reality were spelled so that people could crowd in the space outside to view Harry as he went about his day. Harry was blissfully unaware that at any given time there were dozens of adults and children staring at him through the walls as he learned and played. The only spaces where he was not watched were his Quiet room and the dining room.

Days turned to weeks turned to years, and the popularity of The Boy Who Lived waned as the world moved on from the war. The Ministry had earned a small fortune charging people to enter the museum, but as attendance dropped it became clear that a decision must be made on what to do with the child. Shortly after his 8th birthday, the staff of five caretakers was lessened to three. Harry noticed the change, but was unaffected by it. He still had Julie and Mitchell and was fond of Hannah, and so continued about his days in Home satisfied with his caretaker’s explanation that the other caretakers had left so that the remaining group could spend more time with him. A few months later, Hannah was removed from the facility. And shortly after that, Julie tearfully said her goodbyes. Harry was upset by Julie’s leaving and wailed for her return in the days after her departure, but Mitchell did his best to distract him. Mitchell now stayed with him every day from breakfast to bed time, and Harry was so fearful that Mitchell would leave as well that he clung to the man like a leech.

The Ministry made the decision to close the museum a week after Harry’s 9th birthday. They called on the Headmaster of a wizarding school, a powerful wizard named Albus Dumbledore, to arrange for the boy’s care. Dumbledore had been named Harry’s liaison in the wizarding world in the last will and testament left behind by Harry’s parents, a fact that the Ministry had ignored until now. Dumbledore had fought for Harry when the museum had first opened, but the Ministry had stubbornly refused to honor his wishes to release Harry from being an entertainment attraction. Unable to sway the government officials, Dumbledore had eventually stopped trying to remove Harry from the facility. He was sent quarterly updates on Harry’s progress as he grew but the man refused to visit the museum, stating that watching a child grow as if he were a zoo attraction was inhumane and distasteful. Nobody was allowed to enter the rooms that housed the boy except for the caretakers.

Dumbledore gave a public outcry when the decision to close the museum was made, demonizing the Ministry’s decision to raise a boy in such an unorthodox way and the irreparable damage they had likely done to his character. Dumbledore demanded the Ministry make a public apology and introduced a law that would make such child exploitation illegal. The law passed unanimously, the court officials meeting together to discuss the details the same day that Mitchell sat Harry down to explain what was happening.

Harry had been scared and confused when Mitchell told him that he would be leaving Home.

“But where will I go?” Harry had cried, burying his face in Mitchell’s shoulder.

“There is a man named Professor Dumbledore who found a new caretaker for you, little guy.” Mitchell had said softly, patting Harry on the back to try and calm him down. “He will be your guardian now, and will take good care of you.”

“But why can’t my new caretaker come to Home like you do?” Harry had sniffed, asking the question for the fourth time.

Mitchell sighed, “Harry, I know this is very hard for you. Nobody will live in Home anymore, it is being closed. You will have a new home with your new guardian. It will be different, and maybe a little scary at first so you will have to be brave, but I know you will be happy there just like you are here.” Harry shook his head and disbelief and continued to cry.

Dumbledore had arranged for Harry to be taken in by a young potions professor, Severus Snape. There were many challenges ahead for a young boy being thrust back into normal life after being catered to for so long. Dumbledore had received countless messages from wizarding families across the country offering to take in Harry once the announcement of the museum’s closure was made, but Dumbledore rejected all of them. His main concern was Harry growing up normally from this point on, and continuing to be pampered due to his celebrity would not be good for the boy. He needed boundaries, something he had never had before, and someone who would not be blinded by his celebrity status to mold the boy into a normal child. Dumbledore knew that Snape would be strict but fair, and would see a boy in need of guidance rather than the champion who defeated the Dark Lord.

Snape had been less than thrilled at being chosen for the position, but had eventually acknowledged the logic behind it. It had taken Dumbledore two weeks to convince the man to agree to the task. Snape had outright refused when first presented with the idea, but countless hours of discussion had led to an agreement.

And so it was that on the same day the Child Exploitation Act was signed into law, the same day Mitchell had sat Harry down and told him of the move, Snape was begrudgingly cleaning the spare bedroom in his house in preparation of Harry’s arrival the next day.