Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't have ever killed Fred, Sirius, Tonks or Lupin or made Dumbledore gay.

Summery: Lily and James Potter never died in that tragic accident on Halloween. Voldemort has finally been defeated, and Harry and the others are returning to Hogwarts to finish their education. What happens when Harry discovers the truth and that everyone has been lying to him for the past 17 years? DH Compatible – oh believe me, it will be. Read and find out how! R&R!

A/N: Hope you enjoy this. This is sort of my prologue-ish chapter. XP

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Chapter 1
The Ones Who Lived

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1st November 1981

A young couple sat in at a table in the corner of the Leaky Cauldron. They were easily forgotten due to the large amounts of wizards and witches that were celebrating and they were pale and miserable-looking. The two were reading the Daily Prophet, scanning the front cover which blared a picture of a house in ruins.

YOU-KNOW-WHO DEFEATED!

By Regina Knight

In the late hours of last night, You-Know-Who, the dark wizard that started the war was finally defeated by none other than an infant. It was in Godric's Hollow where the miraculous activity occurred. Lily and James Potter were the unfortunate residents of the house and lost their lives while trying to escape. It was their son that vanquished the Dark Lord.

Harry Potter, age 1, survived the attack with nothing more than a scar, which has been said to be in the shape of a lightning bolt. The scar will be with the boy for the rest of his life due to the fact that it is a cursed scar. There is still no clear idea on how the young child was able to survive the Killing Curse but no doubt, whatever it was has rid this world of the dark wizard.

The child has been removed from the scene of the crime and has reported to be taken to live in the muggle world. It is believed that Harry will grow up with his aunt and uncle from his mother's side of the family. But when he returns his name will be down in the history books as Harry Potter: The Boy-Who-Lived!

Continues pages 3, 4 and 6

The woman looked as if she was ready to cry as everyone in the room raised their glasses to "The Boy Who Lived". The man continued to read the newspaper, burying his despair within its pages. He came across a small article, hidden away in the corner where no one but people like him would pay attention to.

Disappearances reach 19

Two more people have gone missing, no doubt kidnapped by You-Know-Who and his followers. The people in question are James Richardson, 45 and his fiancé, Lily Balters, 43, were last seen on Friday, and neighbours report that their home has been empty ever since. It is believed that the couple went into hiding knowing that You-Know-Who would come after them because Miss Balters is a muggle. No insight on the whereabouts of the two. This most recent disappearance brings the total to 19 missing wizards and witches.

The man folded up the newspaper and gave his wife's arm a comforting squeeze.

'We could – would have died, James' she murmured.

'Shh. Not so loud, love. We don't want to be caught.' He put his finger to his lips but at the same time began rubbing her back as she let the tears fall freely from her eyes.

'He's going to live with P-Petunia. He'll never be happy there. I want my son, why can't we just say we're alive? You-Know-Who is dead… I mean: look around.' James looked around the small pub and watched people laugh, cheer and smile at the great news.

'I don't think he's gone. I think he's still out there, just too tired to carry on. There was no body when we came, think logically. There's no way a wizard that powerful could have been defeated by our son.' She pondered on the thought for a while. She entwined one of her brown locks with her finger, she admired the colour: she was used to her original auburn hair but they were still wearing glamour charms and their appearances were unrecognisable.

- Flashback -

Lily laughed as James held her hand as they walked home. It had felt like forever since they had quality time like this, and this feeling was rare to find during the war. She hated going into hiding, and the fact that they had to wear glamour charms when they went out tonight. James pulled her in for a long and passionate kiss. She ran her other hand through his dirty blonde hair and deepened the kiss. He broke the kiss seconds later, he never did that.

'Lily… Lily!' James yelled, letting go of her hand and raced up the footpath. She stared at the Dark Mark that lay just above the ruins that once was her home. She ran to keep up with her husband: her son was still inside.

Once she reached the ruins, she saw that they were black and burnt. The whole house was a wreck, everything was blown to pieces. She saw a body lying on the floor. She took a step closer to the figure and saw a man with untidy black hair, his glasses askew and his face wore an expression that was a cross of surprise and anger. She would have believed that this was her husband if he wasn't standing next to her, his hand squeezing her shoulder gently. She shrugged him off and heard the most melodic sound: her child's cries.

She ran for and up the stairs, feeling a wave of relief and happiness wash over her as the cries grew louder. Just as she reached the top floor, her husband grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He put his finger to his lips and pointed to a large figure that was standing in the rubble of the nursery.

'It's going to be aright' Harry. I got you,' said a gruff voice. Harry's cries started to soften as the large figure bent down and picked him up from the rubble. The figure walked down the stairs, not noticing the couple hidden in the shadows. Lily listened to each booming footstep as Harry was taken away from her. She wanted to run after him, scream that she was alive but James held a firm grip on her.

She listened as she heard Sirius voice travel up the stairs as he talked to Hagrid outside. James finally let go of her once the sound of a motorbike faded off in the distance. It was then she broke down in tears.

- End Flashback-

'So we just… leave him?' she asked quietly.

'We have to, love. We can't let anyone know we're alive; not Dumbledore, not Sirius… not even…especially not Harry, I'm afraid.' Tears began to build up in his eyes. 'We're gonna have to start a new life. New names, new home, new friends, new lifestyles: the lot.'

'On one condition,' Lily said, sobering up. 'If I can't have my son now… if we can't contact him: we must let him lead his life. We must never let him know the truth. If...' she lowered her voice more, 'You-Know-Who really is still out there, then he's going to go after him. And we can't go to his aid.'

'But Lils-'

'No, James,' she said sharply. 'He's better off not knowing us if it comes to that. He will have so many questions and none of them will be positive, I guarantee that. He will hate us if he knew the truth. So tell me which one is it? Do we never talk to our son again? Or do we rescue him from my deranged sister?' She knew she had him. She wanted her son so badly, what monster would keep a mother from her child? And family was so important to James, how could he refuse?

James thought about it. Each one was a dead end, it was a difficult choice. Give up his son like that? She had made it sound as if he wanted that, but we wouldn't love anything more than for them to live happily. But if he took his son, they could be a family but he was certain You-Know-Who was still alive, and they would have to relive the past 6 months all over again. He couldn't do that again…

'Fine,' he sighed. 'He stays with Petunia. It's going to be hard but it has to be this way. But I suppose if we told to the Marauders…'

'NO! If I can't have my son then you can't have your friends. You said it yourself: no one can know. And plus, if you told them then the truth might slip out. Like it did with Peter,' she spat out the name with disgust. James clenched his fist. Wormtail, he thought, if I ever see him again. I'll kill him.

Lily was trying to push him into saying that they could get Harry. That's all she wanted, Harry was her world.

'Fine: No friends. I'm going to get some more drinks,' he said and left her feeling completely dumbfounded at the table. Each step he took was his way of saying that he was walking away from this life. And how heavy each step was, and the fact that he swayed with his footsteps was a sign that he didn't really want this: but he's son needed a risk free world. When You-Know-Who comes back, he knew that deep down he would go straight for the family whom he didn't kill. His son was better off.

Lily sat at the table; she buried her face in her hands and wept. She lost her son, and there was now nothing she could do about it. She had never felt so much pain. Why? She questioned. Why did we have to be the ones who lived?

A/N: You like? Review please!! Maybe looking for a BETA on this story.