DISCLAIMER: All characters found in the story belong to JK Rowling.

Summary: What if Lily and James weren't killed by Lord Voldemort? What if it was his grandmother who shielded Harry from Voldemort? How would Harry's life be different? Not an original idea, I know, but there are some parts of the books in here.

CHAPTER 1: The Attack in Godric's Hollow and the Aftermath

OCTOBER 31,1981

It was a quiet Halloween night. There were no signs of clouds in the sky. The stars were shining brightly. A little cottage located in Godric's Hollow was covered in all sorts of Halloween decorations. It wasn't the only one, though. It seemed that all houses had the same decorations as the cottage. Not a single house didn't have decorations. This cottage, had little hedges surrounding it, with a small gate in front. It had black pointy edges which made it clear that entering the lot would be hard, that is, if you were going to do it the Muggle way.

This cottage belonged to Lily and James Potter, and their now one-year-old son, Harry. It was quite small in the interior, which was a good thing since they were a rather small family. Both Lily and James were fresh out of Hogwarts. Both were 21 years old, and full of high spirits. James was training to be an Auror, but Lily, for the time being, was at home, taking care of Harry.

Ever since little Harry was born, James and Lily had a little difficulty in protecting him. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had told them that they needed to go into hiding. They didn't know the reason why, though. That information Dumbledore had withheld. While settling down in Godric's Hollow, Dumbledore had asked James if he could borrow his Invisibility Cloak.

"I would like to borrow this, that is, if you don't mind," Dumbledore said to James a few days after settling in. James was slightly suspicious about this. Why would Dumbledore want to look at my Cloak?, he thought to himself. Dumbledore had his reasons. Reasons in which he didn't want share with James just yet. He gave it to him.

It was on this night that Amelia Potter, James' mum, had visited her son and his family. Charles Potter, her husband, died when James was still 17. Anyway, Amelia wanted to see her first grandson. Amelia has long red hair, almost the same color as Lily's, but with hazel eyes like James's. She was wearing a long dark red robe, which covered over her jeans and sweater. She claimed it was a little cold. She and Lily were at the couch in the living room, spending some time with each other. They had both just put Harry into sleep. Lily sent out a Patronus to James saying that if he was arriving home soon, he should be quiet so as to not wake the baby up. That little feat, the talking Patronus, was invented by Dumbledore. He taught it to all of his Order of the Phoenix members, including Amelia.

Let me explain something before I go back to the story. The Order of the Phoenix was a secret society created by Dumbledore to stop Lord Voldemort aka, You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Notable members of this organization were Amelia, Lily, and James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mundungus Fletcher, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, and a lot more.

Back to the story. James was on the way home after a tiring Order mission. He wasn't hurt that bad. Just some bruises and the like. He was certain that Lily was going to fix them. After all, she was really good at healing charms. He arrived at the front door and slowly opened it, careful not to wake Harry, or scared his wife and mum. He slowly walked towards the living room and acknowledged the women in there.

"Hey, Lily. How's little Harry doing?" James asked. Lily had long red hair with bright green eyes. She was wearing a purple sweater, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. James, on the other hand, has unruly jet black hair which can't keep still, no matter how many times he had tried to comb it. He was wearing a black shirt, a brown coat, jeans, and dress shoes. He had just come home after a rigorous Auror training. He was very tired.

"He's sleeping now. He'll be fine." Lily replied. James went over to her and leaned in for a quick kiss. Lily felt much better after that. He seemed to make her better no matter how bad her day was. It wasn't that bad, though. It was just tiring, since Harry cried for most of the day. Lily went to the kitchen to prepare for dinner, while James went to the couch to watch some TV. After a few months, he still found it hard to use the Muggle TV. Lily found it funny, seeing him struggle with the remote. After that, he went over to his mum and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

The volume of the TV was quite loud, so both of them didn't hear what was going on outside. Currently, there were 3 people walking over to their house. They were completely oblivious to everything that had been happening. The Muggle news was doing a report on a few mysteriously killed people.

The reported went on about a family of 5 who were killed by unknown reasons (for the Muggles, of course). He showed pictures of the family as well as the crime scene. He mentioned that it was strange that the whole family looked relatively healthy. He didn't understand who or what killed them. Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort, or You-Know-Who to other wizards and witches, was a very powerful Dark Wizard. He was the most powerful one ever since Gellert Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore himself. You-Know-Who was after little Harry, for reasons not many people knew. It all started from this little prophecy that Sybil Trelawney, the Divination teacher of Hogwarts had made. You-Know-Who had heard the beginning of it. Not the entire thing, mind you. As of now, he, Mulciber, and Peter Pettigrew (friend of James, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin) were on their way to the Potter home.

Mulciber was a pretty tall man, standing at 5'8. He had dirty blonder hair and blue eyes. Peter Pettigrew was there because he was the Potters' Secret-Keeper. He was a short dumpy man. The only people that knew Peter was the Secret-Keeper were the Death Eaters, Sirius, the Potters, and Dumbledore. No one else knew. They all thought that the Secret-Keeper was Sirius. Peter needed to show You-Know-Who and Mulciber the place where the Potters' lived. They were inches away from the gate now. They all took out their wands.

Inside the house, James had a feeling that something was wrong. He took out his wand, ran over to Lily, and said "Lily! Take Harry and go! It's him! Run! I'll hold him off! Mum! Go with Lily!"

"What about you?" Lily asked, fearful. She didn't want anything to happen to him. She wanted to help him, but she knew he wouldn't let her do that.

"I'll be fine. I will try to locate you when the problem is gone." He replied quickly. He tried to put on a brave face for her, but deep inside, he was scared. Scared of what will happen to his family if they didn't come out safely. He would rather die himself rather than witness either Lily or Harry die. It would trouble him for the rest of his life.

"NO! I want to help you! You can't do this on your own!" Lily exclaimed, as she, James, and Amelia ran up the stairs to Harry's room. He was sleeping quietly, not knowing what is going on. He looked so peaceful, that it was bad if they woke him up. They didn't have any choice right now, though.

"You can't, Lily! I can't bear seeing you in pain!" James cried. It was true. He loved Lily so much. He can't bear any of this. "I love you, Lily" he whispered in her ear. He's not sure whether those were his last words to her.

"I love you too, James. Just know that I always had." They gave each other one last kiss. It lasted for a few seconds. They heard a blast from the outside. There was a ripple of laughter. They both knew at once that that laugh belonged to Mulciber. This angered James. He cursed, gave Lily one last kiss, and headed out. Lily didn't know what she should do. Should she leave with Harry, or fight alongside her husband? This was a difficult choice. She placed Harry in a hidden room in the house, one where no one but the Potters knew about. Not even their Secret-Keeper, Peter, knew about this hidden room.

"Mum! Can you stay here with Harry for a while?" asked Lily frantically.

"What are you going to do?" replied Amelia.

"I'm gonna fight alongside James!" exclaimed Lily. Amelia was both frightened and shocked at what her daughter-in-law said. She wanted to go with her, but she knew how stubborn she was.

"Fine, but do be careful. I don't want anything to happen to the both of you."

She gave Lily a kiss on the cheek and urged her to go already. She smiled and then went to join her husband, who seemed shocked when he saw her coming towards him. "I thought I told you to leave with Harry!" James yelled. This didn't bother her one bit. "I had to help you, you prat!" she yelled in the same tone. "Now is not the time to argue! Mulciber is coming!"

As if on cue, Mulciber blasted the door open. He found both of the Potters there, with their wands out. He laughed hard. "Do you really think that both of you could get me?" he shrieked. "Crucio!" he yelled, pointing his wand straight at Lily. She screamed in pain. This was unbearable for James.

"LILY!" How could he just let this happen? Mulciber obviously had no intentions of stopping, especially since Lily was a muggle-born. "Expelliarmus!" he yelled. It was not a good spell to do at this time, but it was the first thing that popped into his head.

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR!" Mulciber roared. "Accio Wand!" he Summoned the wand, and placed the Cruciatus Curse on James instead. He let out a rather painful yell.

Lily was scared. "Lily! Harry!" James managed to yell, even in the midst of torture. The look on his eyes suggested that he was going to be okay. Lily hesitated, but she went over to Harry. She took him to his room, and set him on his crib. He was screaming and shrieking.

"Shh! It's okay, Harry! No need to cry!" Lily assured him. She, along with Amelia, tried their best to calm him down. Once he did, Lily went back downstairs once more. She saw James fell, who looked like he was dead. He wasn't, though. He was just pretending he was, so that Mulciber would stop. It seemed to work. He let out an evil cackle and worked on to Lily. He didn't even bother to check his pulse because he had a feeling that he did die.

"Crucio!"

Lily screamed. "Do you have anything to say, you little Mudblood?" Mulciber whispered.

"Not Harry! Please, not Harry! Kill me, instead! I know you killed James!" Lily screamed.

Mulciber laughed. "Yes, I did kill your husband. I've tortured him until he died. You didn't need to die, you know. I may hate Mudbloods, but you were of no importance right now. All we want is your beloved son. Give him to us." As he said this, Lily felt something. It's a feeling that he was lying. Shee had the feeling that James was still alive. Nonsense. I heard James scream. There's no way he can still be alive. She thought. Ah, but there's a possibility. Don't give up hope on Harry. She argued with herself.

"NO! I will never give Harry to you!" Lily screamed.

Mulciber continued on torturing her, and Peter entered the room. He looked alarmed. He said something in Mulciber's ear. He stopped, and went out of the room. "Peter! Help me! Save Harry!" Lily cried.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I must make a confession. Ever since we left Hogwarts, I worked as a spy for You-Know-Who. I have the Dark Mark," Peter began, showing the Mark on his left arm. Lily widened her eyes. "I've been telling him everything. I've even told him where you went to vacation. Remember last month? You went to Greece? It was I who sent the Death Eaters there. It was a mistake making me your Secret-Keeper. I tried talking to you about making your Secret-Keeper to be Remus, but no! You thought he was the spy! Sadly, you were mistaken! I've played my part well, since who would suspect someone like me?"

"I must do this, Lily. I have no choice. CRUCIO!" Peter continued. Lily screamed once again. She fell on the floor, looking lifeless, when in reality, it was the exact opposite. She tried her best to look like she was hit by the Killing Curse. After a few moments, Mulciber came back to the room.

"Well done, Pettigrew! Now, go fetch the Dark Lord. He has to kill the child" Mulciber commanded. NO! Lily wanted to scream. Was she doing the right thing? Pretending to die? It didn't help Harry in any way.

Voldemort entered the house and passed James's unmoving body, assuming he was dead. He ignored him and continued on in the house, searching for the child. Eventually, he found the child. In the nursery, silent. "Ah. Here you are," he said "Come to die."

"NO! I WILL NOT LET YOU HARM THIS BABY!" cried out a voice at the left of the 'Dark Lord'.

Voldemort looked around, wondering who owned that voice. Then, something shimmered and then Amelia appeared. Voldemort let out an evil cackle.

"Ah! If it isn't the little grandmummy! Did you come here to see your only grandson dead?" Voldemort sneered.

"You will not harm Harry," repeated the aging woman. She stood in between Voldemort and Harry, shielding the baby from view. "If you want to kill someone tonight, kill me instead. This baby had done nothing to you."

"Very well. Not only will I kill the baby, but you as well," said Voldemort.

"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled, aiming his wand at Amelia's chest. The flash of green light was the last thing the woman saw before she fell down to the ground, dead. Downstairs, Lily and James heard everything. They were still on the floor, looking harmed, but they didn't stop the tears that were flowing out from their eyes. Luckily for them, Mulciber didn't see it.

Voldemort then went towards baby Harry. He pointed his wand towards the baby's forehead. The baby's eyes grew wide as he somehow realized what he was going to do.

"Avada Kedavra!" there it was. The Killing Curse. A flash of green light, the cottage blew on the side. "What is this? The boy lives! No!" he screamed. Lily lay there, shocked. Also, she had a weird tingling feeling on her body. A feeling that she couldn't explain. How can a little baby survive the Killing Curse? Something had happened. No one in the house was sure what. You-Know-Who screamed, and disappeared. Forever? For a few years? No one knew. All they knew was that a baby survived the Killing Curse, with 'dead' parents on the floor. Eventually, Aurors came, and they examined to damage. They went over to where James lay. They assumed they are dead, until James said.

"I'm somewhat fine. Got hit by the Cruciatus Curse," he said, as he ran over to check on Lily. He saw her, and said "Lily? Lily! Please! Are you okay?" The people in the house heard the desperation on his voice. Lily turned, with a very small smile on her face. James breathed a sigh of relief. He saw the Aurors by the door.

They asked Lily what happened after she heard James fall on the floor. "I was placing Harry on the crib, I told Amelia to watch over Harry and went back here to help James. Then I heard Mulciber. He put the Cruciatus Curse on James and I. He placed it on us several times until we both landed on the floor. He stopped and assumed we were dead. Lucky for us he didn't check our pulses. He went outside and called Voldemort and brought him upstairs, to where Amelia and Harry were."

"WHAT? Wait! What happened to my mum?" exclaimed James. Everyone in the room exchanged alarmed looks and dashed over the stairs. They went into the nursery and saw the scene. Amelia was sprawled over the floor, with a pleading expression on her face, as if she asked Voldemort to kill her instead of the baby (which she did).

James and Lily comforted each other, and placed Harry in their arms. They were hugging each other, celebrating and mourning at the same time, since Harry, now nicknamed the Boy Who Lived, had defeated Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Wizard since Grindelwald. A few hours later, the Aurors and the Potters went to Hogwarts to talk to Professor Dumbledore. They didn't need to explain what happened, since of course, Dumbledore knew.

"I know that little Harry has defeated Voldemort," Dumbledore began. Everyone winced as he said his name, but he continued on. "But I suggest you move to another house. There's no guarantee that he won't return. If he does eventually, he will head over to Godric's Hollow, assuming you still live there."

"How could he assume that? He thought we're dead," Lily asked. Why did Voldemort think that? He would've thought that they moved Harry to a Muggle home or something.

"No, he didn't. He knew that you were still alive when he entered the house" Dumbledore replied. Once again, everyone was stunned. The same question was going through their minds. Only James had the courage to say it out loud.

"If he knew we were alive, why didn't he attack us?"

"Well, he didn't because Mulciber and another person was there. I'm not sure who the other person was, though. If he attacked then Mulciber would curse in rampage. I think he would want to reprimand Mulciber for failing in the plan."

"I knew who the other person was. I've seen him. He was the one who put the Cruciatus Curse on me after Mulciber did. I think you'll be quite shocked when you knew who it was." Lily spoke up, courage gaining as she said each word. Everyone's attention turned to her now.

"Who was it, Lily?" Kingsley asked, curious. He wasn't the only one, though. Everyone was. Even Dumbledore.

"Peter. Peter Pettigrew" Lily replied. She was right. They were all shocked.

"Impossible! Peter Pettigrew work for You-Know-Who? I remember him in my school years. He was a bit of a coward." exclaimed an unknown Auror at the back. "You are quite right," Dumbledore said.

They continued discussing about this, until they realized what time it was. Dumbledore has arranged a house for them at Richardson Village. The Potters went there immediately. A few days later, they held a small funeral for Amelia Potter, the woman who shielded Harry from Voldemort. A grandmother's love is just as strong as a mother's. Everything from then on changed. A lot of Death Eaters had been sent to Azkaban, even Peter Pettigrew since not only was he a Death Eater, but he also killed 13 Muggles within a half-mile radius of him (confirmed by Sirius). When it was on the Daily Prophet that Peter was in Azkaban, Lily and James were very happy.

`•.¸(¨`•.•¸.•´...×..¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)

YEARS LATER:

Harry grew up at Richardson Village, playing games with Ron Weasley, a little boy with red hair and freckles. He was Harry's age and from time to time they went to each other's house. The Potters and the Weasleys met once when they accidentally bumped into each other at Diagon Alley. Other times they were joined by Fred and George, Ron's older twin brothers. Percy, Charlie, and Bill were starting Hogwarts as the other children grew up. The youngest and only girl in the family, Ginny, was always excited when she dropped off her brothers at Hogwarts.

These last few years were a happy one for both families. Lily was able to find work, as a trainee Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. James was already an honorary Auror. It was becoming more fun now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gone. Harry's childhood was a great one. Once in a while, Lily forced her family to visit Petunia's even though she knew full well that Petunia hated her ever since she got her Hogwarts letter. As expected, the Dursleys hated Harry. All except for Dudley. One night when Harry and Dudley were both 10 years old, the two boys were in Dudley's room, since both of their parents were arguing about something.

"You know, Harry, I've never hated you. I just acted like it to please Mum." Dudley said. He was a very plump boy, who looked twice his age. His mother, Petunia or Lily's sister, was thin, bony, blonde, and horse-faced. Vernon was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, though he has a large mustache. Dudley was very much like his father. The resemblance is not hard to miss. Harry was shocked. He thought that the whole family hated him. Well, he was sort of wrong now. Dudley's words were reassuring to him. They sat silent for a while. They heard their parents downstairs arguing over something they're not sure of.

"YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JEALOUS OF ME EVER SINCE I GOT THAT LETTER FROM HOGWARTS!" Lily screamed. The boys jumped. Lily had been known to have quite the temper. Harry hoped he hadn't inherited that trait. His mum was quite scary when she's yelling. Even scarier than dad. Harry and Dudley went out of Dudley's room to hear more. They noticed that Petunia looked a little scared. It's unusual, since Petunia was never the one who got scared. She might the only woman in the family, but she's the bravest one out of the 3 of them.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT!" shrieked Petunia, with a hint of fear in her voice. She wasn't as loud as her sister, and they both knew it. Their husbands were holding them, making sure they didn't have a go at each other. Harry and Dudley sat at the foot of the stairs, wanting to see the action.

Their fight continued on, each comeback more gruesome than the last. Harry and Dudley were caught by James. "Boys! Go to Dudley's room! You might not want to see this!" Before they had a chance to escape however, the women stopped shouting. They turned to their boys, panting from all that shouting.

"How much of that did you hear?" Lily asked in a low voice.

"Ever since you said that mum was jealous of you getting a letter from- what was it?- Pigwarts?" Dudley replied.

"It's Hogwarts, Dudley." James said softly.

"It doesn't matter what name it is! Either way, it was a mistake inviting you here!" Petunia exclaimed. Vernon grunted, and Dudley merely whimpered. He had a feeling that this would be the last time he saw Harry. Those were harsh words. Everyone knew it, even Petunia. She may hate her sister, but those words were too harsh, but she didn't try to apologize for what she said.

"A mistake, is it? Fine. You never get over your old childhood grudges against me anyway." Lily scoffed. This was James and Harry's signal to leave. Harry said a quick goodbye to Dudley, ran over to his parents and they used the Dursleys' fireplace to Floo themselves home. He never even bothered saying goodbye to his aunt and uncle. Not that he needed to. If he did, they would've ignored him, anyway.

"Who does she think she is? Saying she was never jealous! I can see it in her eyes! She even wrote to Dumbledore letting her go to Hogwarts!" Lily said, pacing in the living room. Harry sat on the couch, looking shocked at the last statement, as James went over to comfort his distressed wife.

"Sh. It's okay, Lily. No need to get upset." James said, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. She seemed to be quite happier after that. It was a good thing they ate before coming over. They all knew something like that was about to happen. The truth was, Lily didn't want to go. She only did so because she thought Petunia had already forgotten the hatred she felt. She was wrong. I should give up right now. Petunia will never let go of our childhood grudges. Lily thought, as she helped Harry to bed. She should forget about this night, for Harry's sake.

Next day, the Potters acted as if last night never happened at all. James was trying to be normal for Lily, and it seemed to be helping. She was over by the stove, cooking eggs and bacon for the 3 of them. James was over by the couch, reading the Daily Prophet. The front page was mostly articles made by Rita Skeeter, one of his most hated writers. He had every right to hate her. Most of her articles were rubbish. She always stretched out the truth, making up things to make people hate what the article was about. Sadly for her, it made people hate her instead of the subject of her articles. Harry came down the stairs, greeted his parents, and took his place at the dinner table.

"Hello, mum, dad." Harry said. Lily looked up from her cooking to smile at her son. James stood up from the couch, and gave Lily a kiss on the cheek, and Harry, a hug. He, too, sat at the dinner table just as Lily was finishing preparing their breakfast. It was delicious, as usual. Lily was an excellent cook. Once breakfast is over, James bid goodbye to his family, as he went to work. Hours later, Lily took Harry to the Weasleys since she had to go to work herself. Lily was always worried if she left her 10-year-old son at home, alone. She did that once, and she vowed to herself never to do it again.

FLASHBACK

9-year-old Harry was asleep on the couch when Lily Apparated home and called for Harry.

"Harry? Where are you? Let's have a snack!" yelled Lily around the house. A few minutes later and he hadn't replied, she began to worry. She went to the living room and screamed, jerking Harry awake. Harry's foot was covered with some blood. Some of it was on the cloth that Harry placed on it.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! WHAT HAPPENED?" yelled Lily angrily. Harry began to cower in fear. Lily saw this, and calmed down, repeating her question, as she tended to Harry's foot.

"I-I was a-at the at-attic," stuttered Harry. Lily's eyebrows were raised. Harry rarely stuttered. He stuttered either when he's angry or scared. Maybe he was scared this time. "I was looking for one of your photo albums to look at, when something fell near my foot. It had sharp edges so it cut my skin. It really hurt mum. I never saw what it was. I decided to stop looking and mustered up my strength to lie down on the couch. Then I fell asleep on the couch until you scared me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just so worried. You could've waited for me to come home. I could've helped you looking for that album. You need to be careful next time, okay? But you will still be punished. You were in the attic even when I told you earlier in the morning not to go in. I'll just cast up your foot and we wait for your father to come home."

Harry gulped. He was always afraid when his father was going to give out punishments. There was now a cast on Harry's foot. Lily tended to it professionally, seeing as she worked in St. Mungo's. A few hours later, James came home and saw Harry watching TV with a cast on his foot. He went over to his son immediately, worry etched on his face.

"Harry, tell me what happened to your foot," demanded James. Harry sighed and retold the story to his father. James looked over at Lily to see if he was lying or not. Lily shook her head.

"James, you're gonna have to give out a punishment for this," said Lily. James looked a little disappointed at that. He didn't want to, but he had to in order to be in good terms with his family. He needed to be fair. So, he gave out a rather fair punishment.

"No Quidditch for a month." Lily nodded her head in approval, and Harry gaped at his father. He never banned Quidditch before!

"Alright, fine," pouted Harry, trying to look cute. Lily saw that, and shook her head at James. James, on the other hand, was oblivious to what his wife was doing.

"Oh, fine. No punishment, but you're not allowed to be alone in the house anymore." sighed James. Lily looked shocked. She sighed as well, but she did however agree that Harry wasn't allowed in the house alone anymore.

END FLASHBACK

The Burrow, aka the Weasley home, was always full of people. Harry went over and played with Ron, Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. They invited Percy, but he always denied, since he would 'study'.

Ginny, the youngest Weasley and the only girl in a few generations, wasn't allowed to play with her brothers. So, she always sat near the clearing behind her home, and watched her brothers and Harry play. She always had this little crush on Harry, ever since she first heard of the You-Know-Who story. She's not doing a good job in hiding it. Whenever she and Harry would be in the same room, she always knocked something over, causing her brothers to snicker. She blushed and was speechless, something that would shock Ron.

"I wonder why she's speechless whenever she's around you. Normally, she would never shut up." Ron told Harry that afternoon, as they were sitting under a tree, relaxing. It was a lovely sunny day. Perfect weather to relax. They were talking mostly about Quidditch, since they had nothing else to talk about. Ron was going on about his team, the Chudley Cannons. Harry doesn't know which team he supported yet. Mostly since he only knows 3 (Chudley Cannons, Holyhead Harpies and Puddlemere United)

At the end of each day for the last 6 months, Lily and James together fetched Harry and took him home. He told his parents about his day and they would be happy for him. On weekends, they went to Diagon Alley (that is, if they don't have anything to do) and ate ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He ate all sorts of flavors. Like that one with raspberry sauce and chopped nuts. He always enjoyed visiting Diagon Alley. He also can't wait until he came here to buy his Hogwarts stuff. They still had 2 weeks to go, after all. While he was waiting for his birthday, Harry woas just be at home, looking bored. His parents tried to make him do things, but sooner or later he found them boring. He became so depressed, that on the day of his birthday, he woke up forgetting all about it. That is, until he woke up and went downstairs for breakfast. Half sleepy, he trudged down towards the dining room. He was very sleepy, until -

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley yelled. He jumped back in surprise, suddenly awake. "It's my birthday today?" he asked. Everyone laughed.

"Nice reaction, Harry. Wondering if it's your birthday. I expected you to jump up and down in excitement" Sirius said with a snicker, earning him a smack in the head by none other than Lily. Everyone else laughed in response. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley helped the Potters in preparing for Harry's party, but not after Harry opens his presents.

"Wow! A broomstick! Thanks, Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, holding his new broomstick, a Nimbus 2000.

"Can I try after you, Harry?" Ron said, excitedly. His brothers wanted to try as well.

"Sirius! You should know that first years aren't allowed brooms!" Lily and Molly both said.

"But, mum! I wouldn't bring it to Hogwarts! I'll leave it here!" Harry protested.

"He's right, Lils. He'll leave it here. We'll take good care of it." James reassured her. Lily was still a little miffed, but she reluctantly agreed. He opened a few more presents. He got a jumper from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, chocolates from Ron and his brothers, and a new quill from Ginny. Remus got him a book about Quidditch. It was mostly James who was thanking Remus for Harry's gift. It was an amusing sight to see. He wanted his parents' gift for last.

"Come up, Harry. Your gift from your mum and I is in your room. I must ask you to close your eyes, though." James said, leading Harry, eyes closed, to his room. He was led to the front of table. Harry could tell, since he had his arms in front of him, afraid his father bumped him into a wall. Thankfully, he didn't.

"Okay, Harry. Open your eyes." Harry did as he was told, and gasped. Perched on the table in a cage was a beautiful snow owl. "OH MY GOD!" He yelled loudly. Everyone else was laughing downstairs. They probably heard it. He turned and gave his father a huge hug. He brought his new owl downstairs to show everyone. Naturally, they gasped. They let the owl out and placed herself on Harry's shoulder, being stroked by the people in the room.

"What are you going to call her, Harry?" Fred, or was it George?, asked. Harry wondered at this. He didn't know any good names. He looked around and saw his mum's old school textbook lying on the coffee table. He ran towards it, opened it, and looked for possible names. After turning a few pages, he found the name he liked the best.

"I'm going to call her Hedwig," Harry said proudly. Hedwig hooted in response, seeming to like her new name. Once Harry opened all of his presents, the Weasleys and the Potters all went to the Burrow to prepare for Harry's party. Harry and the boys were trying out Harry's new broom. Everything was turning out good today. Harry thought.