Potter's Purpose
In front of the Potter Family, Dumbledore did not act like a senior, but instead warmly extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Rehn Potter.
That's right, this is the family to which Harry Potter, the protagonist of the original book, belongs—a Pure-blood families with very little screen time and almost no presence in the original work.
The Potter Family, descended from the renowned 12th-century apothecary Linfred, was originally a prestigious Potions family. However, after Linfred's eldest son, Hadwin Potter, married the granddaughter of the third of the Peverell brothers and inherited the Cloak of Invisibility, perhaps realizing the dangers of possessing such a treasure, the entire family gradually became more low-key, and was not even included among the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
Even so, the Potter Family is not one to be underestimated.
Linfred had seven children, and the aforementioned Hadwin Potter, as the eldest son of the main branch of the family, was Harry's ancestor.
Before Harry's parents met with misfortune, James had a grandfather who worked in Wizengamot, and his family had a powerful background, which was one of the reasons for his spoiled and dissolute personality.
If James himself had not died in the First Wizarding War, he would certainly have been a pivotal figure in the wizarding world.
Not to mention the main family, even the branches of the Potter family are not unknown in the wizarding world.
As early as the 17th century, Rowle Potter, a descendant of one of the Potter Family, was already a member of the Wizengamot and was one of the strong supporters of the International Statute of Secrecy.
It's important to understand that among the Wizengamot members at the time, the radical faction, which strongly advocated declaring war on Muggle, was the mainstream. After all, how could wizards with near-omnipotent magical powers be willing to live a life of Tibet and running away to avoid conflict with Muggle? The fact that Rowle was able to successfully suppress this radical faction demonstrates his political power and skill.
Around the same time, another branch of the Potter Family immigrated to the United States. Abraham Potter was one of the descendants of this branch. After the MACUSA was established, Abraham was recruited by West Asia Jackson, the first president of the France, as one of the famous "Twelve Founding Auror".
This reveals that although these descendants of the Potter Family scattered around the world have almost no presence in the original world, they still possess an influence comparable to the top tier of Pure-blood families.
The old man's name was Charles Potter, a descendant of a branch of the Potter Family. His wife was Leah Black, and both of their names were recorded in the Black family, indicating that they were worthy of the approval of the Pure-blood families extremists.
"This is my second son— Jeffrey," the old man gestured to another slightly younger man behind him, "He's the captain of the Transylvania guard, you know, those Vampire and Zombie in Transylvania are never peaceful..."
Unlike his amiable brother, Jeffrey's face was cold. He did not immediately respond to Dumbledore's outstretched hand, leaving Dumbledore's hand awkwardly suspended in mid-air.
Dumbledore unperturbed; he maintained a polite smile and subtly withdrew his hand.
"Oh, Albus," the old man coughed softly, "Please forgive this child's rudeness; after all, our parting of ways back then wasn't exactly amicable..."
"Heh, it's nothing serious, Charles. We've known each other for many years. You must believe me, at over a hundred years old, I'm still quite tolerant of a young junior. Besides—" Dumbledore said gently, "It's really not your fault. I did have my faults back then, for not considering your feelings..."
"Hmph!" Jeffrey snorted, his lips moved, but in the end he chose to remain silent.
The old man, Charles Potter, finally spoke, "Fourteen years ago, when Henry's son and his wife perished, I suggested that we adopt his son. Even though our two families hadn't been in contact for decades, we were still members of the Potter Family, and at the time, living in Britain, we were absolutely the most qualified to adopt him—"
At this point, even Charles, whose tone had been consistently calm and polite, began to harden his voice. "And you, Dumbledore, once a friend of our family—you betrayed our trust, entrusting your child to a Muggle family!" Charles's voice suddenly rose. "Despite our repeated attempts to negotiate, you remained obstinate and didn't even offer us a reasonable explanation!"
"Hmph!" Jeffrey finally couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out what he had just been about to say, "What other explanation could he possibly have? To put it bluntly, he's just coveting the Potter Family's heirloom—that magical Invisibility Cloak!"
The scene fell silent for a moment.
A strange light shone in Dumbledore's eyes; he seemed to understand the group's purpose.
Indeed, he had a deep connection with this branch of the Potter Family, and had even considered bringing them into the Order of the Order of the Phoenix. He had even entrusted Charles with the important token that connected him to the magical Phoenix Book. Unfortunately, when it came to deciding Harry's custody, the two sides argued fiercely and eventually parted ways. Since then, he had never had any contact with these people. This was their first meeting in fourteen years.
Tsk tsk... Dumbledore knows all too well the character of Pure-blood families.
Although they share the same surname, the two families have become completely unrelated due to centuries of intermarriage and migration. Harry had never even met this family since birth, and even his father James probably didn't know of their existence.
Dumbledore had no idea that these people were proposing to adopt Harry out of family ties or a deep-rooted sense of kinship. Ultimately, what they wanted was the various inheritances Harry would receive, including, of course, the Cloak of Invisibility, one of the Deathly Hallows of Death.
Of course, on the surface, it would be difficult for Dumbledore to exonerate himself. After all, it was a well-known fact within the Order of the Order of the Phoenix that James had entrusted the Cloak of Invisibility to Dumbledore before his death. Although given his upright and dignified public image, it was unlikely that anyone would accuse him of coveting the cloak, if someone did raise the question, he would find it difficult to clear himself of suspicion.
Moreover, it was no secret that Harry was placed in the Dursley' care and suffered long-term abuse throughout his childhood. Even his most trusted right-hand woman, McGonagall, had criticized him for this.
Thinking of this, Dumbledore sighed.
He glanced at the other First Order of the Phoenix members who had just arrived from the fireplace, gave them an apologetic look, and then said, "That Invisibility Cloak belonged to Harry. I returned it to him during Harry first year at school..."
"As for entrusting Harry to the Dursley in the Muggle world, I've always owed you an explanation," Dumbledore nodded slightly and said, "I think now is the time to reveal all this..."