Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Well, I own copies of the books, but the concept and everything belongs to the excellent writer J.K. Rowling. I am not making money off this and this is written merely for entertainment and improve my writing skills. So don't bother to sue me. I have very little money anyway.
Summary: Based on a Harry Potter dream I had in which Harry was rescued from the Dursleys at the age of five by a woman who was Lily's first cousin. He is brought up with four other magical children around his age that his 'aunt' adopted and attends Hogwarts.
Harry James Potter, aged five, lay huddled on his cot in the cupboard under the stairs. Tears that he had refused to let fall in the presence of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon now welled up in his eyes and splattered on the thin pillow. His relatives were very annoyed with him. In kindergarten that day, Dudley had knocked down the block tower Harry had been building with another girl. The girl, Crystal, had been annoyed and went to tell the teacher, Mrs. Hargreaves.
Harry had stood next to the pile of blocks, looking at his cousin, who had smirked and said, "That tower was stupid and was gonna fall anyway. I did you a favor." Stirrings of anger had suddenly struck Harry and the next thing he knew, several of the blocks had somehow flown up and hit his cousin. Dudley burst into wails and shouted, "Harry hit me with the blocks!"
Mrs. Hargreaves had rushed over and said, "Now Harry, that's not how we do things in kindergarten. Just because your cousin knocked over the tower doesn't mean you can throw blocks at him."
"But I didn't touch the blocks!" protested Harry.
Crystal, who'd apparently seen everything, added, "It's true, Mrs. Hargreaves. I saw it all! The blocks flew up by themselves, like magic!"
Mrs. Hargreaves had sighed, said magic didn't exist, and put both Harry and Dudley in time out. When the two boys had gone home, Dudley reported the incident to his parents. Aunt Petunia had been mad enough to actually give Harry a smack on the arm for hurting her precious Dudley. Uncle Vernon had yelled very loudly, ranting on about how ungrateful Harry was and used some words that Harry didn't understand, being only five. Then he'd shaken Harry, threatened to give him the spanking of his life if he ever laid a finger on Dudley again, and setenced him to a week in his cupboard when he wasn't in school, along with no dinner that evening.
Why do these weird things happen? Harry thought, wiping his eyes. I don't mean to be bad. And I didn't touch those blocks or Dudley.
The next day at school, Crystal Jennings approached Harry, hazel eyes excited. "I told my Aunt Jess what happened yesterday. She wants to see your aunt and uncle after school and talk."
"Your aunt?" asked Harry, confused. "Why not your mummy and daddy?"
Crystal sighed. "Because my mummy and dad are dead and went to Heaven. I was only a baby. Aunt Jess 'dopted me. She's not my real aunt, but she 'dopted me 'cause she was friends with my mummy. And 'cause I don't have any close rel'tives."
Matt Lesley came running over. "Mrs. Hargreaves says I can pick the story to read today. Wnat to help me pick, Crystal?" Then he looked over at Harry and said, "You can help, too, Harry."
As the three of them looked over the books, Harry suddenly remembered that Matt and Crystal were adopted brother and sister. Matt had said so on the first day of school when everyone had to introduce themselves and tell a little bit about themselves.
Harry picked up the book The Owl and the Pussycat and said, "How about this one?"
"I like Green Eggs and Ham better," said Matt.
"But you don't even like eggs, Matt!" protested Crystal. "'Cept when Aunt Jess uses them to make pancakes, cookies, and cake."
"It's a book," said Matt, sounding superior. "I don't have to eat the eggs in them. Just listen to the guy sayin' to Sam I am that 'I do not like them in a box, I do not like them with a fox.'"
Crystal giggled. "All right, good point. Let's ask Mrs. Hargreaves if she can read both books."
After school, a young woman with long red-gold hair and blue-green eyes appeared. She was dressed in a crisp white blouse and pale green skirt. A girl of four, who had the same brown hair as Matt, but with gray eyes instead of brown, was next to her.
"That's my sister, Reanne," said Matt. "My real sister, not 'dopted."
A girl with blonde pigtails came running from the other kindergarten classroom to her. "Aunt Jess, can we go to Harry's house now?"
Harry turned to Matt and Crystal, surprised. "That's Stella, our 'dopted sister," said Crystal. "She was at the orphanage with me and Aunt Jess 'cided to 'dopt her too when she came to 'dopt me."
The woman approached Harry. "Hello, Harry. When Crystal told me about you yesterday, I was very surprised to hear about you. You see, I am the cousin of your mother and Aunt Petunia. Your mum and I went to school together and were friends. After I adopted these kids, I moved here during the summer, but I didn't realize that you lived here. If I had, I would contacted you earlier. In fact, I would have found you when you were a baby and taken you to live with me."
Harry stared at the woman, eyes wide. "You want me to live with you?"
"Yes," she said, smiling. "I want to adopt you like I have with these four. I'm Jessica Evans, by the way, but you can call me Aunt Jess."
When Aunt Petunia answered the door, her eyes widened in shock when she saw Jess. "Jessica Evans!" she gasped, face pale. She grabbed the doorknob and said harshly, "What do you want? And why are you here? I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you ever again at my wedding like I did with -with- Lily."
"Well, my adopted daughter Crystal mentioned Harry yesterday," answered Jess. "When I heard, I decided then and there to adopt him. I know you have no love for magic and our kind, and therefore would not love Harry. As I am his closest remaining relative after you, I felt it best if I took him from your hands and brought him up instead. Tomorrow we can go through the legal process of having custody of Harry be transferred to me. I intend to take Harry home with me right now, though."
"Take him then!" snapped Petunia. "He's an ungrateful little boy, and showing signs of freakiness like his dratted parents. You can deal with the brat. Vernon and I are only too happy to foist him on you. We'll call our lawyer tonight and get this done as quickly as possible."
"Fine," said Jess, raising a brow. "We'll need to get Harry's things first." When she saw that Harry's room had been a cupboard, her brows raised even further and her eyes flashed with anger. "If I wouldn't get in trouble, I would hex you into next century for this, Petunia. I am certainly going to mention this to the authorities, and I will speak to Dumbledore. He won't be happy at all to relaize that he placed Harry with someone who would treat their own nephew like that!"
She grabbed the sack with Harry's few things and gestured everyone to the car. Crystal, Matt, and Stella exchanged somber looks. Reanne, who didn't understand things as well, asked innocently, "Why did you have to sleep in a cupboard, Harry?"
Harry didn't really know what to say, but Stella said, "'Cause his aunt and uncle didn't like Harry, that's why. Now stop asking questions 'bout it, Rae. Can't you see Aunt Jess is mad 'bout it?"
Once in Aunt Jess' large house at the edge of town, Harry was installed in a bedroom next to Matt's. It was virtually identical to Matt's, except without the moving posters of people flying on broomsticks and chasing balls, or posing on the ground, with brooms in their hands. Then Aunt Jess sat Harry down and explained everything. First of all, magic was real, and Harry's parents had been witch and wizard. She did a bit of magic to prove it. Then she told about an evil wizard named Voldemort who didn't like Muggleborns. She broke off for a few minutes to explain about Muggles, Muggleborns, halfbloods, and purebloods. Finally she explained that Voldemort had killed Lily and James Potter, but Lily's sacrifice for her son must have done something so that Voldemort couldn't kill Harry.
Harry was amazed, and said, "Really? My mum and dad didn't die in a car crash, Aunt Jess?"
"No, the evil wizard Voldemort killed them." Aunt Jess' face darkened. "The Dursleys were lying. Anyway, because you survived the Killing Curse when nobody else has before, you are famous. In the wizarding world anyway. Now you can't tell anyone about this. Muggles aren't supposed to know about the wizarding world. If you do mention magic to your classmates or someone else, they have to think it's just a story, that isn't real. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded and promised not to tell Muggles about magic. Then Aunt Jess found some of Matt's clothes for Harry to wear until she could go shopping for new clothes for him the next day, and made dinner.
The next day, the process began for Aunt Jess to adopt Harry. She used a little magic to help speed things along. After a week, with Harry having to tell a nice social worker about his time at the Dursleys, the papers were signed and Aunt Jess adopted him. Harry then began his new life with four adopted siblings and a wonderful aunt.