A/N: Hello, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to actually click on my story and actually read this terribly long and boring author's note. I just want to say a couple of things before we get started:
1) This fic is alternate universe. Kind of. It follows all the books, but…well…you'll see what I mean.
2) The characters will probably act OOC, so I hope you keep in mind that this is an AU fanfiction so they will probably act differently than they would in the books. I'm trying very hard to keep them in character. Let me know if it's too unrealistically OOC, though, so I can fix it.
3) I don't speak Britlish. I'm sorry if I got something wrong!
4)I got the idea from It's a Wonderful Life. It's a wonderful movie, and if you have not already seen it, please do so. Anyway, it's not very similar, but if you stretch, you might see a similarity or two.
5) Grammar and Spelling: Okay, I am sort of a grammar nerd, so I really hope I don't make too many mistakes. Please let me know if I do.
6) Constructive criticism is strongly requested. I always want to know what I can do with my stories to make them better. Even though this is my first fanfic, I ask that you do not go easy on me in your comments.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS, IDEAS, OR ANYTHING CREATED BY J. K. ROWLING (but I do have a copy of the books, but that doesn't really count.)! I DON'T OWN IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE EITHER! I just own…um…what do I own? Oh yeah! I own Clear Creek Avenue, since it came from my own imagination!
Thank you for sticking with me this far! Now, what you've all been waiting for: Here is…. A Lovely Life!
"Mph," Harry grunted. His head had been aching for hours now. Harry had woken up in an alley in some unfamiliar town. His wand was missing and he could practically hear Hermione's voice scolding him for losing it. He had tried apparating to Grimmauld Place and the Burrow, but for some reason, he hadn't moved an inch. He had waited for the Knight Bus, but it had not shown any signs of showing up. Harry had started walking. He had no idea where he was walking, but it gave him something to do. He continued to walk forward.
By 6:00 PM, Harry had come to a quiet neighborhood. He noticed he was on Clear Creek Avenue, as the street sign so plainly indicated. He continued his journey. He glanced at a house to his right and noticed a redheaded woman in her late twenties or early thirties walking to the front door. She stopped abruptly, and scanned the area behind her. She noticed Harry and let out a small scream. Harry stood still, unsure of what course of action to take.
"Who are you?" she asked quietly.
"Dudley Dursley," he answered automatically. Giving his cousin's name had become a habit during the war. Considering the war had just ended, it was instinct to lie. The woman didn't seem to believe him and ran towards him. Before Harry knew what was happening, she was moving his bangs back to reveal his lightning bolt scar. Harry froze.
"Potter," she whispered. Her face contorted into an expression of pure hatred. "Why are you here?" she questioned.
"I don't know. I just woke up here," Harry answered.
"Really?" she asked. It was very obvious that she did not trust a single word he said. There was also something strikingly familiar about her. The red hair, chocolate brown eyes, freckled face…
"It's been fifteen years since we last heard from you," she continued. "By the looks of it, you haven't aged a day. Where have you been? What were you doing that was more important than-"
"Fire," came a male voice from the front door of the house. Harry assumed he was her husband, just because of how they looked at each other. Except…the man looked exactly like –
"Sirius Black," the woman named "Fire" snapped, marching up to where his figure stood in the doorway. Harry stared in shock at his supposedly dead godfather. "I've told you time and time again! You. Are. Not. Well. You need to stay in bed. You aren't strong enough to go walking around –"
"Nonsense," the man chuckled. "I'm doing just fine. Now let my godson in. I think you're scaring him." He sent a crooked grin in Harry's direction.
"That's sort of the point, Sirius," Fire said tightly. "I'm hoping that maybe he'll get out of here and never come back."
"You don't mean that," Sirius said.
"I mean every word I said," she hissed.
"Fire, listen to me." He grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. "We can fix it. Make it so everything's okay. That's why he's here. That's why I came out of the veil." Fire stopped protesting.
"Fine," she muttered. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy it."
"I didn't expect you to," Sirius told her calmly. "Now go get inside. I think Teddy was pulling Rosie's hair, and she's crying-"
"I knew I shouldn't have let you have a 'Maruader Chat' with Teddy! I knew it would only lead to trouble! I knew you would teach him to follow in your awful bullying ways! I knew –" she continued her rant as she walked inside to solve the issues of her children.
"'ello, Harry," Sirius greeted awkwardly once Fire was gone.
"Sirius? How? I saw…you died…" Harry could not speak coherently.
"Well that's not a proper way to greet your godfather after all these years!"
"Sorry, Sirius,"" Harry said. "I'm just confused. How are you here? Does this mean I'm dead?"
"We'll discuss it inside," Sirius said, completely serious now. Harry wasn't sure if he felt comfortable being in the same building as the redhead who was clearly insane. He expressed this concern, but Sirius only barked out a laugh.
"Oh, Fire? Don't worry about her. She's actually a lot nicer than she comes off. She only puts up that act because she was hurt. Badly." Sirius's voice lost its laughter. "She's lost almost everyone close to her, and those who didn't die…well…"
"Who is she? I feel like I should know her…" Harry asked.
"You haven't recognized her yet?" Sirius asked. "I admit, she does look a bit different from what you remember, but it's been fifteen years, you know, she's not going to look sixteen-years-old!"
"What do you mean by, 'it's been fifteen years'?" Harry asked in shock.
"Come inside." Sirius said. Harry obliged, and Sirius shut and locked the door behind them.
Aaaaand….CUT! First chapter complete! How was it? Please review to let me know! I'll try to update ASAP…
Feel free to try and make guesses of what's going on. You'll probably get it right away, since I'm terrible at being subtle. Oh well.
Now, RIP IT TO SHREDS! MUAHAHA...sorry. I've got a really sadistic friend, and I think she's worn off on me...
Until next time!
-Lee's Descendent