Careful What You Wish For

Summary: Just looking to get his family back, Harry wishes Voldemort never existed. He never expected his like to become this! Can he deal with a new family, new friends, a new girlfriend, and new rivals, all while trying to return back to his own world? AU obviously + OCs, non-can pairings.

Chapter 1:
His Wish

Harry walked along the courtyard of his old school, fiddling with his newly repaired wand. It was over. Voldemort was gone, dead, never to return again… He sat under the beech tree he'd done homework under every now and then with his friends. He laid his head back against the bark wanting so much to just fall asleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw another person who had lost their lives to this war. His parents… Sirius… Dumbledore… Snape… Even Fred, whose smile was contagious and pranks hilarious, and Colin Creevey, who used to flash his camera nonstop in Harry's face, were both gone. And Remus and Tonks died, leaving poor Teddy orphaned…

Trying to make a world where he could live a happier life… Harry could hear Remus's words echo in his mind. How could anyone be happy when they had no parents? Harry knew firsthand the answer: they couldn't. He began to feel fury. At what? The Death Eaters who killed mercilessly, even if their target was their own flesh and blood? Voldemort for recruiting followers who thought anyone less than Pureblood was scum, despite Voldemort's own Half-blood heritage? He grabbed his wand, and pointed it at the ground, drowning a colony of ants in the grass.

"Hey, Potter…" Harry turned towards the source of the voice, shocked; he had believed he was alone out here.

"Malfoy," Harry greeted, unsure of what the blond wanted. They weren't exactly on friendly terms, but that was to be expected.

Draco walked over and sat down beside Harry, also leaning back onto the bark. "I guess I owe you an apology…"

"Yeah, you do," Harry said. Then, trying to lighten the mood, he added, "When we were on that broom, you squeezed me so tight, you almost broke my ribs."

Draco let a small smile grace his face, something new to Harry. "I mean it. I didn't really want you dead, but my father thought … bringing you to him…"

"I know. I understand…" Draco looked at him, a bit shocked. "You didn't sell us out."

"Huh?"

"At your Manor. You never really confirmed that it was us – Hermione, Ron, and I. But I know you knew."

"Is that why you did it?" he asked, looking at the ground.

"Did what?" Harry asked.

"Saved me, up there," Draco motioned to the castle with a nod. "Twice. Or was that just your hero-complex playing its part?"

"I couldn't let someone die, if I could stop it."

"So, it was your hero-complex."

"If that's how you see it…"

There was an awkward silence. "Thanks."

Harry was a bit surprised. "Um, you're welcome."

There was another silence, this one a bit more comfortable than the last. "They're going to bring the Slytherins back soon, question them about their parents. Blaise and Pansy are probably terrified. The Greengrass girls will hopefully be okay, their father wasn't a Death Eater. My parents and I are probably on a one-way trip to Azkaban…"

"I'll put in a good word."

"Why? 'Well, yes, the Malfoys did try to kill me and hand me over to the Dark Lord on numerous occasions, but don't imprison them!'"

"For your mother," Harry explained simply.

"What does Mum have to do with this?"

"When they thought I was dead, she was asked to check. She saw I was alive, but she lied. I know she didn't do it for me, but it was touching. She wanted to make sure you were alright, and knew the only way into the castle was with the Death Eaters."

"And what do we have to do as a thank-you for this?"

"Try to get her to reconnect with her sister."

"Her sister's dead."

"You know who I mean."

"I can't guarantee anything," Draco said, biting his lip. "But I'll try."

"We could've been friends," Harry mused.

"What are you talking about, Potter?"

"We're more alike than either of us realized." Noticing the scoff the blond sent his way, Harry continued. "I mean, well, we're both Seekers. We were both given tasks that seemed almost impossible, and people expected more from us than we knew we could accomplish. We've both risked our lives for our friends, if not always succeeding…" Harry saw a look of disconcertion pass on Draco's face, and he knew he was thinking about Crabbe. "I'm sorry, by the way. About Crabbe…"

"He wasn't always that… malicious. I blame the Carrows."

"And…" Harry continued, voicing another similarity between the two. "Neither of us could have ever killed someone."

"But you just…" Draco started, motioning towards the castle, in regards to Harry's defeat of Voldemort.

"I didn't say the curse. The wand just… protected me," Harry elaborated.

"You don't think you could've done it?"

"No. Despite that he was such a horrible, coldblooded murderer, I don't think I would've been able to really mean it."

Draco didn't reply to Harry's comment, probably because he wasn't sure what to say. "How would our lives be different, you know, if he didn't exist?"

"I'd have my parents," Harry mused. "So would Teddy. And Sirius would still be alive. And … and Dumbledore…"

"My parents would have never risked time in Azkaban. Hell I would never have risked time in Azkaban…"

"I just…" Harry hesitated, not knowing exactly why. "I just wish," he began, ignoring the odd spark he felt in his pocket, where the Elder Wand still resided, "that Voldemort – Tom Riddle – was never even born." He looked down and thought he may have seen red sparks from his robes, but as soon as they came, they were gone. Shrugging it off as a figment of his imagination, he turned to look at Malfoy.

"You know what, Potter? For what it's worth, I do, too."

A/N: Okay, it's a rocky start, but I had this idea and wanted to try it. Just so you know, there WILL be OCs (and I'll do my best to make them not Mary-Sues. There will be OMCs and OFCs) As I warned above, it will be AU. And I'll do my best to update, but I'm going back to school soon – all honors classes – so I'll be a bit busy.