So I know I've got a few other stories in progress at the moment, and I haven't updated in a while, but I've got some massive block going on, and I'm getting more involved in my own writing (which is pulling my interest away from the Harry Potter fandom). Anyway, after a few weeks of near-insomnia, this idea came up and I started writing. Reviews are always appreciated; but updates likely won't be frequent, so keep that in mind.

Prologue

To Petunia Dudley nee Evans

I apologize for the abrupt interruption of your life, and I apologize for the suddenness of this all, but your nephew is in need of your immediate help.

There is a war going on in our world, and your sister and her husband have been forced into hiding. They, and your niece, managed to make it to their safe-house before the enemy found them, but in the chaos, Harry was left behind.

Because the entire Potter family has gone into hiding, I have been unable to contact them, and I have been forced to take extreme measures when it comes to ensuring the welfare of this child. It has reached my attention that you have recently had a child, and I have the hope that you will be willing to take in your nephew for the time being.

It is my hope that this conflict will reach a swift conclusion so that the Potter family can come out of hiding, and so that Harry can once again be reunited with the rest of his family. If it does not resolve itself soon enough, I will be forced to leave Harry with you until he reaches the age of eleven. At that time, he will be brought back into our world, regardless of the status of the war, and I can only hope that he will be able to be successfully reunited with the Potter family at that time.

As long as he remains in your custody, I will send you a monthly cash stipend to assist with the cost of raising Harry.

I thank you in advance for your consideration, and I hope that I will collect him before he is still a young child.

I appreciate your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Petunia sighed and looked down at the child resting in the basket, not entirely sure what to think. It was half past two in the morning, and she'd been up for the past three hours because Dudley hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days. This wasn't something she wanted to deal with at the moment, but it didn't look like she had much of a choice. The distant rumbling of thunder only helped cement her decision. She picked up the basket and brought it inside.

Once she'd shut the door behind herself, she picked the child - Harry, apparently - up out of the basket, and watched as he settled himself in her arms.

The boy had brilliant green eyes, reminding Petunia a great deal of her mother's eyes, and a soft layer of black hair on his head. He looked to be maybe four months old, though he felt a little bit too lightweight to be a completely healthy four month old. He smiled tiredly up at her and gurgled quietly.

"Well hello there, Harry," she said with a slight smile at the child, tucking the letter into the pocket of her robe and walking upstairs to Dudley's room.

Dudley was still fussing in his crib, albeit quieter than before, but the moment Petunia set Harry in the crib with him, Dudley fell quiet. He reached over and grabbed hold of one of Harry's hand, giggling wildly when Harry pulled his hand out of Dudley's hold and stuck his tongue out at the older child. Dudley then fisted one of his hands in the blanket that Harry was wrapped in. The smaller child smiled at the boy and closed his eyes, appearing to go to sleep.

That seemed to settle it.

Petunia smiled and took a seat in the rocking chair next to the crib, not wanting to stray too far from the children. She pulled the letter out of her pocket and slipped it underneath the rug in the room, not sure what else to do about it at the moment. She leaned back in the rocking chair and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep while Dudley was currently entertained with the newcomer.

She woke up with a start when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "What time is it?" she asked, smiling when she recognized her husband.

"Just after eight," Vernon said quietly. He held up a brown paper bag. "I picked up your favorite pastry from the diner in town on my way back from the airport," he said.

Petunia smiled and stood up, stretching a bit as she walked out of the room with Vernon.

After they were downstairs and Vernon had set a plate with the chocolate pastry in front of Petunia, he motioned toward the stairs. "I don't recall you having twins," he said.

She shook her head. "Margery Donahue, from a few blocks over, came by around two in the morning with the boy," she said, surprising herself with how easily she was coming up with the lie. "Her daughter Alison came home to raise the boy with Margery's help, but she apparently eloped with a near-stranger and left the child alone in the basement for nearly a full day."

"And Margery can't raise the child?"

"Her sister is having some health problems, so she's going to Portugal to take care of her for the next few months," Petunia said, remembering Margery telling her that at the grocery store a few days ago. "She asked if I would be able to take care of him, and I agreed," she said. "He and Dudley got along right away, and there's not too much of an age difference between them, so it didn't seem like too much trouble at the time."

Vernon was silent for a long moment. "What's the boy's name?" he asked.

"Cody Harrison Donahue," Petunia said after she finished off her pastry. "Though she's been calling him Harry, apparently.

"You're taking Dudley for a doctor's appointment later today, aren't you?" Vernon asked.

"At eleven thirty, yes," she said. "Why?"

"Bring Harrison with you and make sure that he's alright. After that, if he's a healthy child, I'll contact our lawyer and go through with officially adopting him, if that's what you want."

Petunia nodded. "Thank you, Vernon," she said. "Do you need to go to work?"

"I had today off to fly back, but I caught an earlier flight," he said.

Upstairs, the two boys shifted in the crib, and Dudley tugged on the blanket that Harry was wrapped up in before drifting off to sleep.