The Paranoid Harry Potter

Nymphadora Tonks frowned at the area marked on the map.

"Are you sure you can't narrow this down further Sir? Only, that's an awfully large area to cover. You've got Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam, all within the section marked here."

"Unfortunately it is the best I can do at the current time my dear. I will of course endeavour to get a more precise fix on Harry's whereabouts but that will take time. Time we do not have. Still things are not quite as impossible as they seem at first glance. There are only a few magical settlements within that area. Harry must be in one of those. The largest settlement is in The Hague, it contains their Ministry of Magic and their largest shopping district - their version of our Diagon Alley. That would undoubtedly be the best place to start," said Dumbledore.

"Wouldn't we be able to get a better fix on his position if we took your uhhh...compass with us?" asked Remus, looking at the large homing device that Dumbledore had constructed.

"Perhaps, unfortunately I am still working on it. It is much too fragile to move at the present time. There is also the fact that it is much too risky to carry it out into the field. If it were to be lost or damaged in any way then we would have absolutely no way of tracking Harry," answered Dumbledore.

"I fail to see why you insist on me going along on this wild goose chase," sneered Snape. "Surely, you have someone else who could search for the boy."

"Out of the three of you, it is you who knows Harry best, Severus. Lupin only taught him for a year, you have been his teacher for four years. Who else could I send?"

"Oh, I don't know - Hagrid? Why not McGonagall? She is his head of house after all. How about someone who actually wants to search for the arrogant brat?" said Snape.

"Enough, Severus, Hagrid is far too conspicuous and Minerva is far too busy with her duties as Deputy Headmistress. You will go with Remus and Nymphadora..."

"Don't call me Nymphadora," interrupted Tonks automatically.

Dumbledore grunted with irritation.

"Yes, as I was saying, Severus you are the best person for the job. You will go with Tonks and Remus and you will find Harry and bring him back safe. Is that understood?"

"Of course Headmaster, after all heaven forbid that I should ever get to spend my time doing things I want to do..." muttered Snape. "And how am I supposed to explain my absence to the Dark Lord? I suppose that is my problem as well."

Dumbledore wished he could put his head in his hands. These were the people he had to work with. Why could no one just do what they were told? Why did they all...Unfortunately they were the best that he had at the current time. Sirius could not leave Grimauld Place. Alastor...how he wished he could send Alastor. Unfortunately the man was still recovering from his imprisonment at the hands of Barty Crouch Junior. He could hardly send him traipsing all over Europe.

No, Snape, Tonks and Lupin were his best bet. They would find Harry.

....

Nymphadora Tonks was in a hurry. They had gotten into Amsterdam quite late the night before and she had been dead tired. By the time she got up she found that Lupin and Snape had already left for the day, leaving behind a note telling her to meet them at Magischstraat, the magical shopping street in Amsterdam. It had taken her several cups of coffee before she felt ready to face the day.

So far searching for Harry had been quite frustrating. There had been absolutely no trace of him in The Hague. The local magical government had no records of any incoming portkeys or apparatition from Britain during the time period in which Harry had disappeared from England. Nor had they been able to find anyone who had seen him.

She was also quite upset with the two men who had accompanied her. They had not even thought to ask if she knew how to get to Magischstraat. As it was, she was lucky that she had picked up a guidebook before leaving England.

She was waiting to cross the road when she saw him. There he was sitting at a small cafe having a cup of coffee. His hair was shorter than the pictures she had seen of him, but his profile was unmistakable. She couldn't believe her luck. She had done it. She had found Harry Potter. She hurried across the road, dodging a couple of cyclists as she ran. She caught up with him just as he was standing up to leave. She grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Harry..." she started as she found herself looking into a pair of startled brown eyes - brown, not green. She stared at his unmarked forehead. Oh dear.

"I'm sorry," she said, terribly embarrassed at having grabbed the arm of a complete stranger. "I thought you were someone else."

....

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