Chapter One ::: Albus Dumbledore, Illegal Intruder
Harry James Potter grinned lazily as he lounged around in one of his mother's tangerine trees. He'd be skinned alive if he was ever caught, but he had no worry at the moment. His mother and his aunt, the only enforcers of the "don't climb that tree, Henry James!" rule, were off seeing over a business transaction, leaving only Uncle Johnny and Yosaku to watch over him.
The former bounty hunters were doing a spectacular job of it, rushing around the orchard in a panic as they searched for the young boy. Harry grinned much like the Cheshire cat, and sat back, watching the chaos unfold.
He would come down eventually, of course, but only after he'd caused quite a bit of worry, and then he would slip away into the house and wait for the men's return.
It was a tradition he'd been practicing ever since he was a little boy and he'd never once been caught in the act, though he wasn't without a few close calls.
He waited for about twenty minutes more before dropping silently out of the tree, peeling himself a tangerine as he sauntered lazily back to the house.
"My goodness," an unfamiliar voice chuckled, making Harry pause in the doorway, his one visible eye narrowed suspiciously. The other was hidden behind a curtain of dark auburn hair. "You've certainly changed, dear boy."
"No offense, old man." Harry said flatly, subtly sliding into a defensive stance. His fingers continued at their job of peeling the tangerine. "But who are you and what are you doing in my mother's house?"
"Ah, I see I've been rather rude." the old man said silently and Harry looked him over a bit incredulously. "I am Albus Dumbledore, a friend of your birth family."
Albus Dumbledore looked even older than Grandpa Garp was and that guy was old. At least, to Harry he was. Garp was the grandpa of Luffy for crying out loud. And that was kind of saying something.
"Uh-huh," Harry said flatly. "That's great. Y'know, I don't remember that much about my birth family, but I do remember that I was locked in a closet for most of my time with them and that pretty much makes them complete assholes. Forgive me for not being welcoming to you because of that. I have a family now – one that wouldn't be too kind to someone breaking into their houses. Mom especially."
"Regretfully, nothing can be done to right what your aunt and uncle did to you as a child." Dumbledore said solemnly. "I offer you my most sincere apologies, Mr. Potter. I hope you can forgive an old man for his mistakes. I had hoped that your aunt would have some shred of love for her sister's son, but alas, that was not the case. I am exceptionally glad to see you alive and well today, though, and I can assure you that your relatives have been dealt with in accordance to their actions and you will never have to see them again."
Harry relaxed a bit at that, grinning slightly. "Well, that doesn't really change anything, but I can hope it'll quell the nightmares some."
Dumbledore offered him a fond smile. "Regardless of the actions of your aunt, however, I want you to know that your parents did love you very much, Harry, and did everything a parent possibly could to keep you safe and happy for the short time that you were with them."
Harry tilted his head to the side. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to hear more about them. I love Mom and Papa very much, but I admit I am a bit curious as to why I was left with such horrible people. But, first, let me call my uncles so they don't run themselves to death looking for me. Plus, no offense, but I don't completely trust you yet."
Dumbledore beamed at him. "Of course, Harry – if I may call you that. You're right not to trust a stranger who has invited himself into your home so suddenly."
"Invited himself?" Harry snorted, raising an eyebrow and grinning. "Gimme a moment."
Several hours later, Albus Dumbledore excused himself from the house in the middle of the tangerine grove and Harry sat at the table, sniffling slightly from in between Johnny and Yosaku. The bounty hunters eyed him with a mixture of anxiety and worry, wanting to reach out and comfort him, yet not knowing how.
The DenDen Mushi sighed from its place atop the table. Before Harry and Dumbledore had really begun talking, Nami and Sanji (Mom and Papa) had been called up to listen in for themselves, the pair listening mostly in silence as Dumbledore explained the fate of Lily and James Potter, the Dark Wizard Voldemort's attack on the Potters, and his speculations on how Harry accidently Apparated himself into an alternate dimension that Dumbledore had only been able to reach with the aid of his phoenix familiar.
Harry had taken his magical heritage with a grain of salt (it did explain a few of his childhood incidents) but it was his parents' murder that had done him in. He had no doubt that Lily and James Potter had loved him as much as his Momma and Papa did now, and his heart ached at the thought of never meeting the people who gave their lives up for him.
"Shortcake," Sanji said quietly, voice filling the nearly silent house with ease. "I'm coming to get you tonight, okay? Pack your bags and everything and we'll head back to the Baratie. It's a bit closer to Nami-swan's business meeting than Cocoyashi is. We'll pick her up on the way back, alright?"
"Sure, Pops." Harry sniffled, dragging his sleeve across his nose to wipe away his snot. The boy frowned in disgust and pulled off his jacket. "Yuck! I'll see you guys later then? I'm gonna go get ready to leave..."
Sanji and Nami quickly bid him goodbye and Harry slipped away from the table, briefly acknowledging Johnny and Yosaku's announcement that they were going to bring back dinner from the resturant in Cocoyashi Village.
Harry fell on his bed with a sigh, gazing blearily at his reflection in the wall-mirror. Bright green eyes under a curtain of dark auburn hair stared back at him with astonishing clarity. Those were his mother's eyes - the eyes of Lily Evans Potter. Harry supposedly looked like her, according to Dumbledore, at least in the eyes and the hair color (the coloring was artificial though, his natural hair a deep black), but he had his father's shape of face and sharp nose.
Harry wondered if they'd be proud of a boy who was raised by ex-pirates and didn't have parents who were married to each other, let alone romantic with one another (Sanji's advances in Nami's direction were usually met with a harsh fist).
He must have stayed there like that for much longer than he realized because suddenly the skies outside were dark and his Papa was kneeling beside his bed.
"You didn't pack at all, did you?" Sanji asked wryly, sliding his hands under Harry's slightly numb body and lifting him up.
"Um, no?"
Sanji laughed a bit. "Well, I guess that's alright considering the circumstances. How're you holding up, shortcake?"
"M'tired," Harry admitted, pressing his face into Sanji's jacket like he'd done as a child, inhaling the comforting smell of sea air and cigarettes and spices like he'd never get enough of it. He'd missed his father greatly."Kind of confused."
"Hmm," Sanji hummed, manuvering around Harry's bedroom and packing away his things with his free hand like it was nothing. The chef moved like he wasn't even holding Harry.
The boy looked up at his father nervously. "Pops... am I a good son?"
Sanji's brow furrowed and he placed the last of Harry's socks in his bag before sitting back on the bed, the boy still cradled to his chest.
"Harry, you're the most wonderful kid a guy could ever ask for." Sanji said seriously, rocking slightly as if Harry were still five years old and needing a nap. "If this is about your mom and dad, you've got nothing to worry about. Any parent would be proud of a tough, smart kid like you. I don't say this a lot, but I do love you, shortcake. And I'm really proud of you."
The blond tangled his hand in thick locks of red and pressed a quick kiss to Harry's head before setting the boy back on his feet.
Harry sniffled slightly before throwing his arms around Sanji's neck. "Love you too, Pops."
Nami frowned at the letter in her hand as she read aloud:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
"What the hell is a Mugwump?" Nami asked incredulously, eyebrows in danger of disappearing into her hairline.
"This guy's got more titles than Usopp on a good day," Sanji laughed, leaning back in his chair and taking a long drag from his cigarette.
"A school called Hogwarts?" Zeff grunted, looking annoyed (then again, he almost always looked like that). "Who the hell names something that?"
"Come on guys," Harry whined, slouching over the table. "I want to hear the rest of the letter!"
"Alright, alright," Nami rolled her eyes and waved her sons quips off before continuing.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September1. We await your own by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
"Since we've already told old man Dumbledore that Harry said yes, then we don't really need to... 'owl' a reply, right?" Sanji asked, looking a bit weirded out by the use of messenger birds. Really, everyone used snails these days!
"It's just a technicality," Nami confirmed, folding the letter back up and sliding it into its envelope. She handed it back to Harry with a small smile. "Guess you're going to boarding school, hun."
Harry grinned back at her broadly. "Looks like it!" His expression changed to excitement. "When can we go and get my supplies? How're we gonna get there? I think it'll be really cool to see a Wizard's Market, don't you? Do you think they'll accept our money or will we have to exchange it?"
Sanji dropped a hand over Harry's mouth, effectively stopping the slew of questions. Zeff sighed in relief.
"Cool it, shortcake. Dumbledore left us with all the answers. Lily and James left you a trust fund specifically for school. It'll be more than enough for all your supplies so Nami and I can buy you some other stuff if it catches your eye. But not a lot. Dumbledore left us with something called a 'Port Key' that's designed to pull us from one dimension to the next – at least, that's what he said – and it'll take us back here whenever we're ready to go."
Harry pulled Sanji's hand down so he could blurt out: "When?!"
"Tomorrow's Sunday, isn't it?" Nami said thoughtfully. "We could go then."
"It'll be the only day you can go," Zeff grunted, pushing himself to his feet. "Start out early when business is slow, that way we'll get rid of your shitty cooking for the day."
Sanji, as expected, bristled and leapt at the old man. "What'd you say, you shitty geezer?!"
"Stupid Eggplant!"
Harry watched his father and grandpa fight with interest as Nami ignored them all and began writing out a plan for the next day.
A/N: Rewrite of Golden Dreams, sequel to Pops, Accidental Magic, Snowfall, Mama, Fly Merry Fly, Akagami, and Crush.
Anyways, to explain the ages of the Straw Hats, I'm saying that Sanji found Harry when he was about 23-24 (so 2 or 3 years post-time skip) and Harry was three then, so now Sanji's about 31-32 (and so is Zoro).
Age chart: Luffy & Usopp = 29-30; Zoro & Sanji = 31-32; Nami = 30-31; Chopper = 28-29; Robin = 40-41; Franky = 46-47; Brooke = 100-101; Boa Hancock = 41-42.
Review please!