A Different Start
Chapter 1
Placing the baby on the stoop, Dumbledore left a letter on top of him before disappearing into thin air. Although he believed that nobody had seen anything, across the street at number 5 Privet Drive, Michelle Evans had seen it all.
"Damn stupid idiot. What is he thinking placing a magical child with those no good muggles. Doesn't he realize that they place everything in being normal. God what an idiot, it was probably Dumbledore; he puts to much faith in people. I guess I'll have to save the poor child from his fate."
Turning around, she addressed her husband, who was sitting on the couch,
"Edward, a wizard just dropped a magical child in front of the Dursley's house, and I think we should do something about it."
"Are you serious, a magical child with the Dursleys? The poor child wouldn't last a year if even that. I know that your being a squib allows for you to have knowledge of the magical world. We could take the kid in and then use our connections to adopt him in both the muggle and magical world. Then when the time is right we could tell him of his heritage and even start advance training to prepare him for the magical world," he said in a thoughtful and serious voice.
Running to him, she gave him a hug and said,
"Thank you so much, I've wanted a child for so long, and a magical child would allow me to introduce them to the world I grew up in. I'm going to head over and pick up the child before he catches a cold from the night chill."
Moving to the window, Edward watched as his wife crossed the street and picked up the bundle from the steps of number 4 Privet Drive before returning to their house.
Entering the house, Michelle quietly closed the door before entering the living room to show their new boy to her husband. Whispering,
"Isn't he adorable? Even with this odd scar, he is the cutest baby I have ever seen. I'll just hold him for a while, but I need you to read this letter out loud, it might give us an idea of who he is and what happened."
Edward took the letter and opened it. Unfolding the letter, he began to read in a whisper as to not disturb the baby,
"Dear Mister and Missus Dursley, last night there was an attack on Missus Dursley's sister, Lily Potter and her family. Unfortunately Lily and her husband, James did not survive the encounter. However, Harry was able to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort with little harm to him. He is now known throughout the wizarding world as The-Boy-Who-Lived. Please raise him as if he were your son and tell him of his heritage sometime in the future. He is already assured a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding. Thank you for taking him in. His full name is Harry James Potter. Included are his birth certificate and the certificates of death for his parents. Raise him well. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding."
Silence prevailed as both Michelle and Edward took in what they had just heard. Finally, Michelle spoke up,
"We definitely have to adopt him now, and I think it would be wise to move into London also, just like your employer has been suggesting for years. However, we must first arrange his adoption, which means we have to decide what to do about his name. I'm also going to have to start educating him at a young age in the ways of the wizarding world, if we want him to be able to protect himself once he is in school."
"I agree. Harry is going to be vulnerable when he enters the magical world and we need to prepare him, so that he is able to take care of himself. On the subject of his name, I think that he should be Harold James Edward Potter-Evans, 'Harry' for short. This way we incorporate both of his families into his life. Tomorrow I'll start the adoption process in the muggle world, using my connections with the Prime Minister, while you go to the Ministry of Magic and use your contacts to gain custody of Harry, while also using bribes to keep their mouths closed. I'll take Harry with me and afterwards we can meet for lunch before for house to live in. We can discuss what to do more tomorrow. Now we sleep."
Getting up from their seats on the couch, the Evans headed upstairs to lay Harry down, and go to sleep themselves, in order to prepare for a hectic day.
Waking up early, Michelle feed Harry before dressing in her "important clothes" that would work in impressing the Ministry workers. Grabbing a bag of galleons, she left the house at the same time as Edward who was also dressed to impress as he headed to the office with Harry to take care of the adoption.
Several hours and three hundred galleons later, Michelle arrived at their favorite Chinese food restaurant in downtown London to meet up with Edward and Harry. Upon arriving at the restaurant, she entered to find Edward and Harry sitting at a table waiting her arrival. Sitting down she stated triumphantly,
"It's done, Harry is officially our child. I changed his name, adopted him, and bribed the clerk to keep it a secret. It all worked in our favor. How did it go on your side?"
"Well, I took him into the office with me, and spoke to the Prime Minister telling him a sob story on how we have tried for a baby for so many years and then just last night we found a baby on our steps stating that his parents were dead and that his relatives couldn't afford to keep him and that they would love it if my wife and I could him as our own. I then got him to expedite the paper work so that Harry could become our child today. He bought the story and filed all the forms, so Harry is ours in the eyes of the Muggle government."
Smiling at each other, they ordered food and ate while playing with Harry and conversing amongst themselves. After finishing lunch, they gathered Harry and went to baby store to pick up everything and more the Harry needed as a growing baby boy. Once they were done buying everything, the Evans began a search for a decent-sized house in a decent neighborhood. Luck was on their side when they found an affordable house near Hyde Park that had two extra bedrooms, one for guests and the other for a child in the future. They bought the house then and there and were told that they could move in as soon as they wanted to.
One week later the Evans of Surrey no longer existed as they became the Evans of Hyde Park, London.
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR.