Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.
NOT A RE-WRITE! First chapters are just consolidated since people wanted longer ones. This will mean, however, that the next chapters will take longer to update.
Notes: This will have canon couples. I'm not much better at romance than JKR, but I'll try to develop the relationships better than Remus and Tonks "Btw we're married and have a baby lol" Lupin; Harry and Ginny "Let's kiss, have three kids, and name our son Albus Severus" Potter; and Ron and Hermione "Rights for house-elves! Kiss! Two kids!" Weasley while still keeping all of them in character.
Also this will be mostly canon-compliant with HBP, but with enough difference that it affects the future forever more.
Part One: Victory belongs to the most persevering.
Mrs. Weasley saw him as small and helpless.
Lupin saw him as just a child.
Neither of them liked that Sirius saw him as a warrior, but then, they should have expected it. Sirius was wild and uncontrollable: that was the nature of a Black. He wanted Harry to be prepared, because he had the utmost faith that Harry would survive. But it was just a dream that Sirius never got to see.
That Harry wasn't sure would ever happen.
Staring into the mirror, he traced the lightning bolt scar upon his forehead. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and his lips twisted. He hoped that it rained so much that Aunt Petunia's precious flowers drowned.
Harry turned his gaze to the knife. This was the day that he had been waiting for. As soon as the door closed behind the Dursley family, he went to the kitchen. The car disappeared down the street, not to return for another two days. Unable to find Aunt Petunia's pills, he had chosen to take the sharpest knife and headed to the bathroom.
Then, steeling himself against the pain, Harry made the first cut.
That was for Sirius.
The next one was for Cedric.
Then two more for his parents.
Each cut was a story symbolizing the soul that had been lost.
Dumbledore expected him to be a great defender of the world, but Harry didn't know what he could do as a single person standing in the way of Voldemort. That was the tipping point where Harry broke. He could no longer bend and just take what life had given him.
As the light outside faded, Harry watched the blood drain out of him. He thought of Sirius, a brilliant light that had ceased burning, and hoped his godfather would be there waiting for him on the other side.
It took Remus forever to find the Head Healer. When the nurse found out he bore no relation to Harry Potter, she refused to admit him into the hospital past the visitor's check-in point. Eventually Remus managed to argue with enough people that he was allowed into Harry's room.
The sight of Harry lying there, unresponsive and pale, almost made Remus stop breathing. It was like seeing James' lifeless all over again.
Remus collapsed into the seat beside the bed and lowered his head into his hands. You did this, he told himself.
You didn't trust Sirius and left him to rot in Azkaban.
You abandoned Harry and left him to suffer in an abusive household.
Don't be so hard on yourself, Moony, a voice that sounded suspiciously like James said, except Remus had long ago forgotten the sound of his friend's voice. In his mind's eye he even had difficulty imagining James; instead it was Harry, green eyes full of grief, and beside him Sirius, gray eyes glaring.
Remus took Harry's hand into his own. "Come on, Harry," he whispered. "You can't leave me, too."
He stayed there, waiting for Harry to wake up, until the nurse came to kick him out.
Tonks was in the lobby. She caught his eye, and he gave a short nod. He saw her shoulders relax slightly before he stepped into the Floo. Despite the guard being dismissed, too busy with other duties to watch Harry, she and Remus had kept to the original assignment. After noticing that Harry hadn't been seen around the house for an entire day, she had been the one to sneak inside and find him in a pool of his own blood.
When Remus stumbled out of the fireplace, too exhausted to hold himself up, Arthur Weasley was there to catch him.
"Remus," Molly whispered, standing from her seat. "Remus, how is…"
She trailed off, unable to form the question into reality.
Around the living room sat all of the Weasley children except Percy. Even Charlie was there, looking awkward but similarly concerned. He and Bill had Ron and Ginny in between them on the couch, and Fred and George were at their feet.
"He…" Remus swallowed thickly. "He's… alive."
They stared at him, breathlessly waiting for more information.
"And stable," he added lamely.
There was a deep, profound silence rife with worry. Then, realizing he wasn't wanting to say everything in front of the children, Molly turned to them.
"Off to bed with you lot," she ordered.
"No," Ron said.
It was just one word, but the quiet authority in it made her reel back in surprise.
"Harry's our friend," George said. "We're staying."
"We'll use the Extendable Ears if we have to," Fred added.
Ginny crossed her arms in defiance, her chin lifting as if daring them to kick her out. "We'll find out either way."
Flustered, Molly looked toward Arthur, but he just shrugged in reluctant acquiescence. With no support from him, she turned to Remus.
"They deserve to know," Remus murmured, as much to her as to himself. He remembered a time, not too long ago, of youth willing to fight and easily letting go of their carefree lives in the process. These children, sheltered inside a dilapidated house full of love, reminded him of them.
Molly looked like she was about to protest, but then she sighed and nodded. Arthur took her hand guided her back to her chair, and Remus sat down as well.
"There's not much to it," Remus admitted quietly. "His family didn't leave him with any food, and the blood loss… I'm not sure how long it'd been when Tonks found him. She healed him as best she could, sent a patronus to me and Dumbledore, and took Harry to St. Mungo's. That's it. We still haven't heard from Dumbledore."
"I'm sure we will soon," murmured Molly.
"You believe Dumbledore implicitly," Sirius said, kicking his booted feet up onto the table and leaning back in his chair.
"So do you," retorted Remus.
Sirius smiled into his Firewhiskey, his eyes glittering dangerously. "I don't trust anyone."
"Remus?" Molly touched his arm lightly, concern in her bright brown eyes.
He shook himself from the memory. "I'm sorry," he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" she said gently. "Percy's room - "
She caught herself.
"We have an extra room if you'd like to stay here."
He released a shaky breath and smiled at her. "I think I'll take you up on that. Thank you, Molly."
Outside the storm was growing deadly. Climbing the stairs after Ron, who was showing him to the room, Remus thought that if it weren't for the magic supporting it, then the house would have fallen long ago.
When Dumbledore arrived the next day, Molly hurried to greet him and get him some refreshments. Remus, however, was much more reserved. Dumbledore sat serenely in the Weasley family's living room, sipping at a cup of tea, and looking at Remus with sparkling blue eyes over the rim.
Remus wanted to grab the cup and smash it to alleviate some of the pressure that seemed to be gripping his chest.
"Would you like some tea as well, Remus?" Molly asked.
"No, thank you," he responded shortly.
Dumbledore set his cup down and sighed. "Remus, are we going to do this again?"
"They trusted you!" Remus burst out. "I trusted you!"
Molly, who was pouring him a cup despite his refusal, startled so badly that the tea spilled over the table. She hurried to clean it up, but both Dumbledore and Remus ignored her mumbling apologies.
"The boy could never have gone to you, Remus," Dumbledore said quietly. "Even if you were not a werewolf, Harry would still need the protection his mother's blood gives him."
"A protection that is now useless since Voldemort has her blood, too," Remus bit out.
Dumbledore's eyes widened minutely before his expression settled into a calm one again. Remus felt a stab of victory at being able to ruffle him, although it had been Sirius, searching in the Black library for ways to obtain Harry, that had figured it out.
Molly, still knelt on the floor, gasped. "Is that true?"
She looked between them, her eyes scanning each of their faces. Dumbledore lowered his gaze.
"Then that's it." Molly stood and propped her hands on her hips. "Harry will be coming here when he's released. Bill has already updated the wards, so there's no need to worry about that."
"You don't understand," Dumbledore began.
"Then explain it to us," Remus snapped. He came to stand beside Molly, and together, even in her short stature, they towered over the elderly headmaster. "Tell us why it's necessary that Harry live where not only is he not loved, but he has no protection from Death Eaters."
"He is protected," Dumbledore said calmly. "I have Arabella Figg watching him."
It took Remus a moment to recall the name.
"A Squib?" he said incredulously. "What can a Squib do against Death Eaters?"
"Harry will be staying with us," Molly repeated, her eyes blazing with determination. "I think you had best leave, Headmaster."
AN: This story was actually all planned out, but then I wrote the blood line excuse from Dumbledore, and I thought, 'Surely one of the characters would realize that, too?' because that was the first thing that came to mind when I was reading OotP: Voldemort has Harry's blood. So yeah, might take a while to update, because now I have to rethink some of the story line.
Things this story will not have:
Poor, misunderstood Snape. Is he a hero? Yes. Is he a good man? Definitely not. Even Rowling agrees on this. However, he will have a slight redemption arc… but not enough for there to ever be a Severus Potter (not that the original arc was enough for that, either). Besides, Remus will have more of a role in Harry's life now.
LBGT couples. I have it in my next-generation stories to show how people are more accepting, but it's not necessary for this story.
Bashing of the Weasley family and Hermione. They'll just be human.
Things this story will have:
Possible OOC. I'm not JKR, after all.
Remus becoming more of an uncle to Harry and taking an active part in Harry's life instead of wallowing in self-pity for seventeen years.
Possible idioms that aren't British. I try not to use them, but sometimes I don't realize it is one.
A flawed Dumbledore whom Harry won't automatically forgive. He'll have a redemption of his own, though. Possibly enough for there to be an Albus Potter.