Chapter One: The Discovery
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I was cleaning out the attic when I found something that would change my life forever. I had been sent there as a punishment for scoring higher than Dudley on my end of year report, which I thought was rather unfair considering the boy still had trouble spelling words such as "door" and "buy" despite being age nine. At any rate, despite my protests I had been sent to the attic to clean, and was not allowed out until it was spotless. I had been working for about half an hour, when after moving a large box full of Christmas decorations to the side in order to remove a dust bunny, I found a large trunk covered in faded pale blue leather. The metal fixtures were dull, but looked like they could be made from brass. I crawled closer to take a better look and saw a bronze plague on the top labelled "Lily Evans". I wasn't entirely sure, as my dear aunt had made a distinctive point not to mention my parents, but I thought that could have been my mother's name.
My interest piqued, I dragged the trunk into the small patch of light coming in from the skylight. The ceiling was a little higher here, allowing me sit upon my knees instead of having to continue crawling. I tried to lift open the lid, but found it to be locked. However, after careful examination of the lock itself I realized there was no keyhole, just an ornate brass piece with a small indent in the middle. I place my hand on it in confusion, but pulled it back quickly after I felt a sharp pain on my thumb. There was a quiet clicking noise, and the lid popped open. A quick glance at my hand revealed a small scratch, like a pin prick on my thumb, but I was quickly distracted by what lay inside the trunk. Pushing the lid back the whole way, I let my gaze feast eagerly upon the only things belonging to my mother I had ever seen.
The contents were neatly organised. A small stack of books lay to the left, each covered in dust. There was a small velvet box next to them, a little bit larger than a matchbox, as well as two letters with my name on them. There was what appeared to be a black velvet cloak with a broach lying on it alongside a expensive looking golden watch. I picked up the letters first to take a look. They were weird. The paper was a lot heavier than the normal stuff and creamy colored, with a crest depicting a griffin holding what looked like a stick coming in one claw, a sword in the other. Written underneath it were the words "Virtus, Honos, Magus". I picked up the first letter and sat back upon my haunches to better read it.
Dear Hadrian,
If you are reading this then it means that we are no longer with you, and for that I am deeply sorry. We never wanted to leave you, but if you are still alive and we are not, then I can assume that chances are we died for you, and I want you to know that there is nothing in this world I would rather die for. I want you to have the best life you possibly can, even if that means we are not there to see it. Just because we are no longer with you it doesn't mean that we have stopped loving you, and don't you ever forget that. There are things you need to know, and since I doubt Dumbledore will be willing to tell you, at least before it's too late, I will put them in this letter.
The reason Voldemort targeted us is because of a prophecy made earlier this year, stating that the one who could finaly defeat ord Voldemort (one of the worst Dark Wizards in our history) would be born at the end of July. That could have meant you or Neville Longbottom. When this information was leaked to Voldemort he decided to come after us, so we went into hiding. But, if you're reading this then Voldemort failed, and we didn't die in vain. This means that you have your entire life ahead of you Harry, and I want you to live it. Don't spend your life going after revenge if Peter survived, killing him won't undo his betrayal. Which reminds me, keep an eye on Sirius. He probably blames himself for suggesting that we make Peter our secret keeper, but he needs to understand that he wasn't the one that sold us out to Voldemort. Peter was, and Sirius needs to remember that before he does something stupid by trying to avenge us.
I have left you a collection of books my mother bought for me when I was starting Hogwarts. They're some of the most useful books those unused to the magical world can find, but unfortunately they went out of print in my sixth year. Anyway, they cover the basics of all the subjects you will study in your first year. Read them, learn them and use them. I expect you to be in the top five of your year, both your father and I were and I want you to have the choice to whatever you want with your life, and that means having good grades. Now, I know your father might tell you different, but I don't care what house you're in. Choose the one that you will be best in. There is a lot of prejudice in the Wizarding world, especially against minorities. Slytherins may have a bad reputation, but the traits of cunning and ambition are certainly not to be discouraged, in the same way that being in Hufflepuff doesn't make you weak and being in Ravenclaw doesn't make you a "nerd". Each house has different attributes, but none are more valuable than the other. You should be cunning and resourceful, loyal and hardworking, intelligent and knowledgeable and brave and chivalrous.
But, that's all I have time to say. I love you Harry, we both do, and don't you ever forget that. You have your entire life ahead of you Harry. Play quidditch, fall in love, and get good grades. Make your own choices Harry. Make us proud.
Love, Mum.
I took a deep breath and put that letter down. For the first time I could remember I wasn't crying purely out of grief, there was happiness there too. Despite what my relatives may have told me here in my hands was indisputable proof that my parents had loved me. I eagerly ripped open the second letter, thinking that it may have been from my father. This one was in a different handwriting, but the paper was stamped with the same crest.
Harry,
I know your mother has already told you how much we love you, and how sorry we are that we're not with you, but I want you understand that in no way is this is your fault. I know Lily, and if you have her personality in the same way you have her eyes then you will inevitably take the weight of the whole world on your shoulders. You need to understand this Harry, that in life we make our own choices, and at the end of the day we only have ourselves to blame for those choices. No-one else.
But, there are some things you need to know, and I'm so sorry I can't tell you in person, but this is the best I can do. You live in a world of magic Harry, and represent a certain position inside of it. You are the last surviving heir to the Potter family, and with that comes certain responsibilities. I've left you several books about Wizarding Customs, etiquette and law. You will need to read those in order to fully understand our world. When you go to Gringotts ask for Canton, he's the goblin in charge of our family account and can let you know more about your responsibilities as a Head of an Ancient and Noble House. You can only claim Headship of the House Potter when you turn eleven, but you will still need to maintain a certain image until then. Read the books we left you, they will help with that.
However, let's put the serious stuff aside. If you look in the trunk you should find a book labelled "The Marauder's Handbook". Inside is every single prank the Marauders (myself, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew) came up with. In the book you will find us referred to by nicknames, I was Prongs, Sirius was Padfoot, Remus was Moony and Peter was Wormtail. We had these nicknames because we were animagi. Admittedly that was illegal, and I don't want you to even consider learning the transformation until you are at least thirteen years old, but I have left you a book you might find helpful when the time comes. In case you were wondering, I was a stag, Sirius was a dog and Peter was a rat. Remus however was not a animagus, he was a different case. He had, and I'm assuming still has, what we used to call his "furry little problem". Remus was a werewolf, but that doesn't change the fact the Remus is one of the kindest and smartest men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Don't let the wizarding prejudices affect your opinion of people Harry, no one can be defined by one particular label. Don't ever forget that. Do the House of Potter proud Harry, just like I know you can.
Love, Dad.
After finishing the second letter I placed it gingerly down next to the other one and sat, staring at the trunk while my thoughts whirled at a thousand miles an hour. I did have a family, and they had loved me. I lay down under the skylight, and just stared through it, relishing for the first time the feeling of being loved. My relatives weren't really abusive, don't get me wrong, but they weren't exactly loving either. I could never remember being praised by them, and it had taken me until age five to realise that my name wasn't actually "Freak". That had been a surprise. Hadrian. That was what my mother had called me in her letter. I liked it, and decided that I would rather be known by Hadrian from then on. Harry didn't have any good memories attached to it.
I'd been sitting for about hour, just re-reading my parents' letters when a few particular things occurred to me. I may have only been eight, but I was fairly certain that I had never heard of "the Wizarding World" or "quidditch". I picked up a couple of the books, because I figured that there might be some helpful information in them. The first ones I grabbed were a stack of small books, held together with a rubber band. They were all the same size, but each was a different colour, and there were eight in total. I removed the rubber band and laid them all down in front of me. Each was bound in a different color leather, and had a different title on the front, but they all had the same author. The books appeared to guides to various aspects of the Wizarding World, primarily school subjects, produced for "muggle-born" students (that was written in the blurb on the back). I assumed that meant children not born in the Wizarding World, so I made a mental note to read them later as they looked tremendously useful. I placed them all to the side in a neat stack and picked up the next book, labelled "Wizarding Laws and Customs", which was one of the books my Dad had mentioned in his letter. I also found a copy of "The Art of Becoming an Animagus", "Etiquette for Children" and "The Ancient and Noble Houses of Britain". I placed these books with the others and carefully unfolded the cloak. It was made of what looked like black cotton, and was lined inside with pale grey silk. The broach was in the shape of the same crest I had found in the letter, and was made of what appeared to be pure gold. The watch had a black strap and a golden clock face. It also looked to be made of gold, but the clock hands were white and the numbers were black. There was an imprint on the clock face of the family crest, with the family words inscribed neatly above it.
Finally I opened the small velvet box. Nestled inside was a key made of what looked like brass and had the Potter family crest shaped into the handle. It wasn't very big, but the grooves looked extremely complicated, which gave me the impression that it was for something valuable. I added that to the pile of stuff I had found, and after collecting it all together I carefully climbed back out of the attic and hurried to my cupboard. Checking to make sure the coast was clear, I opened the door and quickly put the stuff under what passed as my blanket and then ran back upstairs to continue cleaning before anyone realized I had left. It wasn't a really big issue, the Durlseys didn't pay attention to me as long as I did their chores and made their food, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Even as I continued working, in what can only be described as the most unpleasant attic in Surrey, I couldn't keep a smile of my face. There was whole world out there, a world that sounded far better than the one I was in currently in, and I was only one step away from entering it and getting out of this one for good. It was about damn time.