Title:
Summary: AU.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, never will.
A/N: I'm giving credit here to Darth-Vulturnus for helping me immensely with this fic. He helped clean up the mess I was making of it and was my BETA. Thanks again DV!
Happy Reading!
Chapter One
Holly Potter knew something was wrong. It had just turned 12:01 and she felt her chest tighten. She just knew something wasn't right. She'd felt the pain in her chest only moments before. Remus could see the colour drain from her face, telling him the something was very wrong. Holly and James were close as brother and sister, as twins usually are. That if James was hurt Holly knew, and vice versa. As such as soon as it happened the couple apparated to Godric's Hollow.
Holly stood in the snow covered street, looking up at the house in front of her. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black stood with her. Sirius had arrived soon after the couple; the Secret Keeper spell broken.
"Do you think they might have survived?" Sirius asked, knowing the answer before Holly spoke.
"James might have. He's not dead, I can tell that much. It doesn't hurt like that. But Lily…I don't know," She whispered, "They shouldn't have trusted Peter. I knew they shouldn't have trusted him. I never liked that stupid Rat! I had a feeling that he was going to run away. He always sided with power. That's why he stuck so close to us at School. He betrayed them, he might as well have hurt them himself!"
"I'm gonna kill him." Sirius snarled, moving towards his motorbike.
"Sirius, wait!" He stopped and turned slowly, "Don't. We can figure out what to do with Pettigrew later. If Lily and," Here Holly paused and closed her eyes to compose herself, "James are dead, however. It's strong magic but maybe Harry – maybe he survived. So he'll need all of us. We are his family now. His pack." She said. The men agreed. Sirius went in first and returned moments later with a bundle in his arms. A one-year-old child who's big green eyes gazed up at them. He was smiling though, he knew the faces. He waved his chubby little hands at Holly who took him from Sirius and cuddled him close.
"Oh, Harry. You are so very loved." She whispered. A soft 'pop' made them turn swiftly. But they all relaxed when they saw who it was.
"Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid." They said calmly.
"Holly, Sirius, Remus." The half-giant nodded at them all in turn, Professor Dumbledore simply observed them and the tiny bundle in Holly's arms.
"Oh dear. This is disastrous. What has happened?" Dumbledore asked, a little too calmly for Holly's liking.
"What has...What has happened?" Holly spluttered.
"Well, what has brought you three here?"
"Albus...I fear that Voldemort was here."
"Ah. So Harry is an orphan?" Dumbledore asked.
"It looks that way." Holly said holding her nephew close to her chest, where he yawned and snuggled in closer to her.
"Where was Lily?" Albus asked.
"Next to his cot." Sirius said.
"And James?" Albus asked, as he quirked an eyebrow.
"On the stairs." Sirius said.
"So that would mean that...Harry is now an orphan, would it not?" Albus remarked.
"Yes. What's your point, Albus?" Holly snapped.
"Harry needs to be protected. Perhaps even a normal, Muggle childhood. No doubt, Lily's sister would be a good choice." Albus said, a smile slowly crossed his face.
"But...Petunia hates magic. She never liked Lily after she started at Hogwarts! He'd be better off with Remus and me!" Holly said, a little louder than she meant to but not so loud as to upset Harry.
"Sorry, Holly. Harry would no doubt be happy with you and Remus. However, placing him with Petunia and Vernon assures me that Harry will be protected." Dumbledore said, softly. Holly looked down at the child in her arms.
"Protected? From what?" She asked, her tone was sharp and biting.
"Voldemort of course." Albus said, as if it were the most natural and obvious thing in the world.
"Tell me something Professor, have you ever heard of anyone surviving the killing curse? No? Then how is it that my one-year-old nephew has?" Holly asked.
"I believe that if my assumption is correct, Lily cast herself in front of the killing curse to protect her son. Letting a very powerful form of magic stop her son from being killed. Lily's love for Harry was so great that when she died a blood bond formed to protect him. That is why Petunia is the obvious choice." Albus explained.
"Albus, Harry won't be loved there. But, can you give me one minute? Can you do that?" Holly asked.
"Of course, Holly. You are Harry's Aunt after all." Dumbledore said. Holly smiled and stepped into the house, after giving Harry to Remus. She closed her eyes and inhaled softly. The smell of family was still lingering.
James' half empty Butterbeer had been knocked over in his haste to get Lily and Harry out of the house. His wand lay on the coffee table still. He hadn't been armed.
Holly knew Lily would be upstairs laid out in front of her son's cot. Holly made her way to the stairs and looked down at her brother. His eyes were closed and his glasses askew. Holly laughed softly and tilted James' glasses until they sat relatively straight. The man stirred. Holly gasped and stepped back falling over her own feet.
"Sirius! SIRIUS!" The older man ran in and pulled her to her feet. He held her to his chest as, together, they watched as their brother and best friend stirred from his stunning and appeared to wake 'from the dead'. James groaned as he sat up slowly, putting his hand to his head. He suddenly realized he wasn't alone.
"Siri? Sis? What are you both doing here?" James asked.
"Um, James…what do you remember?" Holly asked.
"It was Voldemort. He was here! I think he wanted to kill me but he didn't. Just stunned me…Lily…Lily! Harry!" James got to his feet and stumbling slightly ran up the stairs to his son's room. The heart-breaking cry that reached their ears made Holly start to cry and after extracting herself from Sirius' arms raced up after James.
"James? Jim, Harry is alive. This is powerful magic here." Holly whispered.
"Powerful?" He whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
"Yes, with Lily…taking the curse instead of Harry, she is placing a very powerful protection spell on him." Holly said, kneeling down beside him.
"What would that be?" James asked a little sharply.
"Love. By sacrificing herself for her son." Holly said.
Sirius nodded, "Lily died so Harry may live. Equal exchange of the highest order. A life for a life. It's one of the oldest, powerful and dangerous forms of magic. And He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named tried to break that deal."
As they looked at him in shock, Sirius shrugged, quipping, "What? I'm a Black. Just because I don't agree with my family's politics doesn't mean I'm uninformed." James nodded and slowly laid his wife back down and reached out to close her eyes. Then as he slowly got to his feet, Holly pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder.
It took a long moment but the pair made their way outside to the snow covered street. Hagrid was shocked to see James. Dumbledore simply nodded slowly, as if he understood perfectly what had happened.
"Lily?" Hagrid asked.
"No, I'm sorry, Hagrid. James is Harry's parent now." Holly said. Hagrid nodded.
"Harry...must be protected." Dumbledore said.
"He will be, Albus. We will all protect him." Remus said, seriously.
"My son stays with me." James said, taking his son from Remus.
"It's ok James. No one is going to take Harry away from you." Holly said, she turned to Hagrid and Dumbledore with a small smile.
"Well it seems that Harry is well looked after, Hagrid." Dumbledore said quietly. With a nod to his former student he and Hagrid disapparated.
Holly turned to James who was cuddling his son to his chest. She would never have thought that her troublemaking brother could be so...paternal.
"You are so loved Harry James Potter. Don't you ever forget that. Ever." She said as she kissed his forehead.
"We should go. It's late and who knows who else will turn up here. Come on Holly." Remus took his fiancée's arm as she nodded, letting him place a kiss to her temple.
"Well, James – let's go home." Holly said.
He nodded slowly in agreement, "That's probably best," James allowed, "Potter Manor. We need to talk about this." He said. The others agreed and they disapparated.
Leaving the snow covered street in Godric's Hollow silent and still.
One Year Later
"Hey, Holly looks like you were right. Someone got to Peter." Remus put the Prophet down in front of her. Holly had told Sirius one year ago to not go after Peter. It said that Peter Pettigrew had been killed. In a street full of Muggles.
"And all that had been left was a finger?" Holly said incredulously, cocking an eyebrow at the article. She found that incredibly hard to believe. But then stranger things had happened. Holly was grateful she'd told Sirius to wait. It seemed that maybe someone had got there before Sirius.
"Well that is unexpected. But like I said, Peter got what was coming to him. Betraying James and Lily...he's very lucky that James survived." Holly said.
"I think he's lucky that you stopped Sirius from killing him that night. If he had have gone through with it then we wouldn't be seeing Sirius for a very long time. He'd be thrown in Azkaban." Remus told her matter-of-factly. Holly glanced over to where Sirius sat with James as Harry napped on his father's lap. The Two-year-old was blissfully unaware of the troubles that still plagued the world he lived in. It was going to be a very different world to one Holly remembers.
5 Years Later
6-year-old Harry Potter sat by himself in the library of Potter Manor, a book open in his lap, reading. Harry wasn't much of a reader but he had a few favourites. He didn't mind being by himself, he was an only child after all, and had no magic cousins. He knew of his muggle cousin, Dudley, but didn't know him having never met the boy.
Harry liked that he could do whatever he wanted when he was by himself. He didn't have to do something he didn't want to because the other person wanted to do something different. He could play outside in the garden, ride around on his broomstick, talk with his Aunt as she cooked a meal or sit in the library and read a book.
He looked up when someone knocked on the table opposite him.
"Hey there, Harry." He smiled at Holly. She returned his smile as he closed his book and stretched out the kinks in his muscles.
"Hey. I was just reading." Harry said, with a shrug, she grinned at him.
"So I see. Well, lunch is ready, come on." Holly said, turning away. She jerked her head in the direction of the door, then walked away without waiting for him to follow.
Potter Manor was just large enough for the quartet, plus Sirius. James would be at work most days and would come home just in time to meet Sirius outside. Remus would greet the pair as they entered the house and Holly would playfully scold James from bringing home a stray dog. Sirius was not a permanent fixture in the house he was just always visiting. Harry was always delighted to see Sirius and when he asked his Godfather why he came around every day for dinner, Sirius simply replied that he'd never miss the chance to have some of Holly's wonderful food.
Of course, Harry knew his family wasn't perfect. No one's family was. But it was just what he wanted. He understood that his mother had died. But the circumstances were lost to him. He was too young yet to understand.
Ok this is like a second A/N but this will be updated slowly. I have only about 4 chapter written. So I will update but slowly. Please Review. It might make me write and update faster. Again a HUGE thanks to DV, he's been a such a help and you should check out his stories they are amazing!