Author's Note: In the prologue, Ginny is an infant, Ron and Harry are one, Fred and George are three, Percy is five, Charlie is thirteen, and Bill is fifteen.

Of Fate

Prologue

Night had fallen upon Privet Drive. Everything was dark and quiet; no one and nothing was moving. Except for a couple of people, the likes of whom had never been seen here before. Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore stood in the driveway of Number Four, talking in low, hushed tones.

"Harry is to be left in the care of his aunt and uncle," Albus said. "I've written a letter explaining everything to them."

Minerva gave Albus a disbelieving look.

"Harry Potter stay here?" she asked. "With these people? Albus, they are the worst sort of Muggles imaginable! They will likely detest his very being."

"Petunia Dursley is Lilly Potter's last remaining blood relative," Albus told her, "and that blood connection is what is needed to properly protect Harry. So long as he remains under his aunt's roof, he will come to no harm."

"Is that the only option?" Minerva asked. "I'm sure there are dozens of wizarding families who would be delighted to adopt him."

"I'm afraid that it's the only choice we have," Albus said. Glancing down at his watch he added, "Hagrid should be here at any moment with Harry."

A few seconds later, as though his words had summoned the man in question, a large flying motorcycle dropped out of the sky, landing only a few feet from them. The rider, a giant of a man, stepped off, carefully cradling a blanket-swaddled bundle to his chest.

"He's asleep," Hagrid said in a low voice. "Nodded off as we was flyin' over Bristol."

Looking around at the still houses, he asked, "This is the place, then? Poor Harry, goin' ter live with Muggles."

"It is the only choice," Albus repeated, echoing his earlier sentiment to Minerva. "Give him here, Hagrid."

"Careful, don't wake him," Hagrid said, handing over his precious burden.

Albus nodded and, moving swiftly now, went up the walk and placed Harry on the doorstep. Tucking a sealed envelope into the folds of the blanket, he stepped back and joined the other two.

"Goodbye, Harry," he said softly. "Until we meet again."

The three disappeared, leaving the street as silent as it had been before their arrival. The hours until dawn passed slowly, broken when the Dursley's front door opened.

Vernon Dursley had been planning on going into the office early, but the sight of the baby on his front step ruined all that. Bending with great difficulty, he grabbed the envelope and broke the seal. After reading the letter twice over, he picked up the now-awake baby and set off to his car.

"I don't care what that old crackpot thinks," he hissed at the baby as he started the car. "We're not keeping you. And I'm certainly not going to tell Petunia. The last thing she needs is have her day ruined by hearing about her freak of a sister."

Backing down the driveway, he started down Privet Drive and just kept driving. He'd driven for over an hour before he reached his destination: the secluded countryside. Here, the houses were few and far between, with people who kept to themselves. It was the perfect place to drop off the annoying brat, with no one the wiser. With luck, someone would keep the brat and he and Petunia would never have to hear the name Harry Potter ever again.

At the first house he came to, Vernon stopped the car and got out, taking the baby with him. Going up the walk, he unceremoniously placed the baby on the front step. Taking out the letter that had been left with him, he proceeded to ink out every mention of his and Petunia's names and address, so that the brat couldn't possibly be traced back to them. He replaced the letter in the folds of the blanket, got back into his car, and drove off without so much as a backward glance at the nephew he was abandoning.

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Molly Weasly awoke early, planning on fixing breakfast early, before anyone else got up. But, upon going down to the kitchen, she found that someone had beaten her down there. Her five-year-old son, Percy, sat at the kitchen table. And he wasn't alone.

"Percy, what is that?" Molly demanded, staring in horror at the thing that her son was holding.

"Mousie!" Percy said eagerly, proudly proffering the large gray rat for his mother's inspection.

"Percy, honey, don't you think we should let that rat go in the garden?" Molly asked.

"My mousie!" Percy cried, pouting as he pulled the rat closer to him.

"He's my pet," he said, a second later, smiling as charmingly as he could.

"Honey, wouldn't you rather have a healthy pet?" Molly asked plaintively, taking in the rat's worn, battered appearance and missing toe.

" I want to keep him," Percy insisted, on the verge of tears. "Please?"

"All right," Molly said, sighing. "But you need to take good care of him, and he's not to go in the kitchen, understand?"

"Okay," Percy said agreeably. "I'm going to name him Scabbers!"

Watching him dash off, Molly chuckled to herself and turned to start making breakfast. But, she was rudely interrupted by a loud yowl coming from the front of the house.

Opening the front door, she was brought up short by what she saw. A baby, wrapped snugly in blankets, was lying on the step, crying at the top of its lungs. A large cream envelope was tucked into the blankets.

"Arthur!" Molly cried. "Arthur, come quick!"

As her husband came running from upstairs, she bent and picked the baby up, rocking gently to soothe the wild crying.

"I found him on our front step," Molly told Arthur as he slid a piece of paper out of the envelope and began to read. "Why would anyone abandon a baby?"

"This isn't just any baby," Arthur said quietly, refolding the letter and replacing it in the envelope. "This is Harry Potter."