Runes of Reality

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Harry never had a life with the Dursleys because he grew up as Harry Devereux. 11 years later, he is Sorted into Slytherin. Amidst the constant animosity, Harry finds friendship and a will to change the negative perception associated with the Serpent House.

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Main Relationship Focus: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini/Theodore Nott Friendship
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama and Suspense
Rating: T for violence and language
Length: Epic
Warnings: Slight Dumbledore, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Justin bashing
Disclaimers: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Beta: The amazing Kathryn

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I: Rune of Life

"Lily, get Harry and run!"

"No, I won't leave without you!"

"There isn't any more time! Take Harry. I'll stall Voldemort."

"GO!"

"James, but –"

"I love you, Lily!"

"You think you can best me? You, a measly Auror and an average wizard ?Give me the child and I'll spare your life."

"Never."

"Avada Kedavra."

"JAMES!"

"Now, mudblood, hand over your son and I might let you live just yet."

"Never!"

"What disgusting courage. This is your last chance to spare your life, girl. Just step aside. No? Avada Kedavra."

"Ah, the little Potter boy. Avada Kedavra."

Then there was silence.

Cerulean eyes swept over her best friend's seemingly peaceful mansion and narrowed with suspicion. Something was definitely wrong, she realized as she felt the absence of the wards normally around the house. Her instincts tingling ominously, Rylia Devereux placed a pale, long-fingered hand onto the unwarded door and pushed. What met her gaze would stay emblazoned into her memories for the rest of her life.

Lily Potter sprawled bonelessly on the charred floor with her glorious flame coloured locks spilled around her, and her once-lively emerald eyes glassy and unseeing. By her side was a little raven-haired toddler who was staring at the corpse of his mother with something akin to confusion in the same viridian eyes she was so familiar with. Harry James Potter suddenly looked up and laid eyes on Rylia. Starting to tear up, he reached out with chubby arms, begging to be picked up.

Rylia crossed the distance between her and the baby within three long strides and enveloped the young child in a tight embrace as she stared long and hard at the corpse of her closest friend, sister, and confidante.

"Hush, Harry. We are going to make sure that your Mama and Dada will rest in peace because you will be well taken care of." At the soft lull of her voice, Harry stopped wailing and looked into his godmother's eyes before placing his head onto her shoulder. The Auror felt her heart shatter completely as she cast one last, lingering look at the empty shell of her best friend before Apparating away with practiced silence. In her place was a small note.

The air of promised vengeance hung in the atmosphere before dissipating as it seeped into the ground.

Rylia appeared in the Devereux Manor situated in Canada, the place she thought would be the safest to raise the boy who could grow up to be the one man who had a chance at defeating the Dark Lord without being disturbed or harassed. The twenty-one year old Auror was the last of the prestigious Devereux line that could be said to be on par with the Malfoy line. The heavily lashed orbs were coupled with the finely chiselled aristocratic features. Dark haired and alabaster skinned, Lady Devereux was indeed a beauty. A thin scar down her left eye was the only imperfection, marring an otherwise beautiful face.

"Welcome home, Mistress." A female house-elf with large blue eyes and was dressed in a clean white toga with the Devereux family crest, a raven protecting the arms of crest with its magnificent silver-streaked black wings.

Rylia nodded and replied.

"Lathy, I want you to prepare a room for a baby and get two of the most competent female elves in service." The house-elf's large eyes grew bigger when she understood the underlying meaning.

"Is this young Master?" Rylia nodded again, and the house-elf squealed uncharacteristically, causing slight amusement to flicker in the blue eyes.

"Lathy will go and prepare a room for young Master!" With a pop, the enthusiastic house-elf disappeared to carry out its orders.

Rylia peeked at her package that was currently dozing away peacefully on her shoulder and smiled softly as she ran her eyes over his cherubic features. Then her eyes widened as she saw a thin lightning-bolt-shaped scar resting under the dark, messy locks her godson sported. Then everything clicked; Lily's long interest in ancient rituals that had protective uses, her dedication to Charms, and her love for experimenting.

Everything was done to protect Harry and her closest friend was willing to sacrifice anything, even her life, if it meant being able to keep Harry from harm.

A tear coursed down her face as she put everything that happened from the beginning together. Then the azure eyes narrowed with frightening hatred as she hissed a promise into the air.

"I will make sure that you will die, Voldemort."

--

"What they're saying is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they are – dead."

Albus Dumbledore, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and the receiver of the Order of Merlin, First class, bowed his head. Minerva McGonagall gasped, placing a hand over her heart.

"Lily and James… I cannot believe it… I do not want to believe it… Oh, Albus…" Dumbledore reached out and patted hr on the shoulder.

"I know… I know…"

Minerva's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. What about Harry? They're saying that he tried to kill the boy but he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone. And now they can't find Harry."

"It is true that they couldn't find Harry's body, but they found a note instead." Albus then handed his trusted headmistress a piece of paper. Minerva took it and gave it a read.

Dumbledore,

I know that this note will eventually fall into your hands. Harry is safe with me. He will be in good care until Hogwarts. If you need to contact me, you know how.

Rylia Devereux

"It's – it's true?" Minerva faltered, "After all he has done… all the people that he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of Merlin did Harry survive?"

"Like she said in the note, we would not be sure, for we can only guess and we may never know. I trust Rylia and will leave the child in her care until the time comes for him to come to Hogwarts. She will raise him well in the absence of Lily and James."

Minerva pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Albus gave a great sniff and he bowed his head, usually twinkling sky blue eyes dulled in grief.

Dear Gods, please keep Harry safe…

--

"Harry, what did I say about you and Jean-Luc getting into the kitchen?" The five year-old only grinned unrepentantly and gave his mother a cheeky reply.

"Well, you said that we can't get into the ice-cream supply before dinner." Rylia raised an eyebrow and Harry pouted.

"Mother… but we were so hungry! We promise not to do it again…" Her son decided to flash his infallible puppy-dog eyes at her. Rylia groaned inwardly but nodded. The young boy and his blonde best friend grinned and hugged her around the legs.

Jean-Luc Johansson, the child of the Swedish-French couple who owned a similar residence next to the Devereux manor, met Harry purely by chance during a walk in the large park near the compound. The pair of boys had clicked on the spot, much to their parents' amusement. Since then, the families had grown closer, and it was not for the families to dine together.

"Please don't do it again, Harry, it's terribly unhealthy." Harry and Jean-Luc nodded solemnly before the older witch smiled crookedly and batted the boys away.

"Off with both of you, and don't come back before dinner!" Rylia smiled as the pair nodded eagerly and rushed off to play in the large backyard of the Manor, leaving her to her thoughts.

Rylia stared at the retreating back of her young son and her eyes dulled with sorrow. Harry James Potter grew up as Harry Devereux, the five-year-old son of Rylia Devereux, a little boy who knew nothing of his destiny or his status in the wizarding world. Running a hand through her chin-length raven locks, the woman's cobalt eyes darkened slightly with guilt.

Harry has been with her for a month since the terrible ordeal, and, despite having a her duties as an Auror, Rylia always made sure that she had time for her little godson. She was walking towards the light blue crib, holding a warm bottle of milk. When the young toddler saw the witch, he had his arms out, waving about.

Rylia only smiled softly and lifted the young child out of the crib, into her lap. Harry's emerald eyes sparkled with childish joy before the unexpected happened.

"Mama!"

The Auror froze, eyes wide with surprise as she stared at the child sitting in her lap. Just as she was about to brush that word away as a mistake, the toddler spoke up again.

"Mama!"

This time, it was undeniable. Rylia didn't have the heart to tell Harry otherwise. Smiling as she stroked the little boy's messy locks, she rearranged Harry so that his head was to be lying on the crook of her arm and hugged him tightly. Touching the toddler's mouth with the tip of the bottle, she began feeding Harry as he clutched onto the bottle.

A large part of her felt the surge of maternal happiness that came from holding the toddler in her arms. A smaller part of her reminded her that this was not her son, flooding her in guilt for stealing her best friend's son for her own.

What would Lily do in her place?

Deep down, Rylia knew her deceased friend would take in her son and raised him as her own if it had been Rylia's child. The Auror closed her eyes, crying silently as she mourned the loss of Lily Potter, one constant of her world.

A giggle broke her thoughts and she opened her eyes. The bottle of milk was finished, and Harry was smiling toothlessly at her as he pushed the empty bottle away from his mouth. Rylia smiled and bent down to plant a kiss on the baby's scarred forehead.

It was then when she realized that Harry already had a permanent place in her heart and that she will do whatever it took to protect him from harm. Nevertheless, Rylia would tell her young adopted son the truth when the day for the truth arrived.

Rylia had been raising Harry in her Canadian property, where the Boy Who Lived could live a childhood free of burdens and full of normality.

The witch had spent four of her best years with the child, nurturing him as he grew into a loveable, adorable boy. With the help of her house-elves, Rylia managed to bring up an inquisitive, lovable young child who had a touch of precociousness.

She was the happiest with Harry, her time at Hogwarts a close second. She knew that she would not change one bit of it for all of the gold in Gringotts.

She had done her best to bring Harry up correctly, including ingraining a love for books in the young boy. Recently, Harry had started requesting a story during the peaceful evenings they shared on days she had off her Auror duties.

And not to mention her work with Harry's etiquette, another characteristic that she had work hard to embed into Harry. Like any boy his age, he occasionally forgot himself or his lessons, but on the whole, he was very polite. No heir of hers would be a scoundrel with a vocabulary that would make even a seasoned auror blush. Her heir would turn out to be a fine young man. The only worry she had was the lack of social interaction. Harry's only friend was Jean-Luc, his the only family he ever saw. The isolation was necessary for his protection, but at times, Rylia fiercely regretted it.

At the thought of social interaction, her thoughts turned to education. In a few years time, she would begin Harry's training. While he started with a disadvantage in social connections, she refused to send him to Hogwarts without the prior training. He would need every advantage he could get. Her plan for Harry's training would include the normal subjects but would also be slightly unorthodox.

Little did she know that the unorthodox element of her training would attribute to her young son's choice of values that would eventually change the wizarding world.

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Mother and son were sitting comfortably on a cushioned armchair in the sitting room of the Devereux Manor. Jean-Luc and his family had just left after an enjoyable Christmas Eve dinner, prepared masterfully by the Devereux's house-elves. The elegant sitting room had a tall Christmas tree in a corner, decorated with random knickknacks that Harry and Lathy had put together. Underneath the tree, an impressive mound of presents sat.

"Mum, it's only three and a half hours away from Christmas!" Rylia nodded slowly as she soaked in the warmth that the fire and her son provided. She had just returned from a mission and had missed the young boy terribly while on the job. They sat in comfortable silence before Harry requested something unusual.

"Mother, could you sing me a song?"

After a moment of deliberation, Rylia nodded and started singing in a passable tune.

Harry laid his head on his mother's chest as she sang sweetly, lulling the young boy to sleep. Rylia smiled as she looked down at her half-asleep child.

When Rylia finished the last note of the song, she realized that her son had snuggled further into her and had fallen soundly asleep. She bent down again to plant a soft kiss on the young boy's head before falling into a peaceful sleep by the glowing embers of the diminishing fire.

--

Rylia stepped into her son's room and found Harry on the couch, studying a picture book on Magical Creatures of the Wizarding World. She smiled, finding the sight endearing, but sobered when she remembered her purpose.

"Harry," she called. Her son looked up and beamed.

"Hi Mum!" Rylia nearly buckled at the picture of innocence and childhood happiness her son was but steeled herself when she remembered her promise and reasons.

"It's time."

Harry frowned. "Time for what?"

"Put down your book, please, I want to bring you somewhere." Harry nodded and put down his book, following his mother through the corridors of the Ancestry Hall before stopping at a mirror. Harry raised his eyebrows when his mother placed a palm on the mirror, only to have the surface ripple like water.

"Sang Leo."

The mirror elongated vertically, large enough for a tall man to see his entire reflection. Rylia stepped through the mirror and disappeared from the corridor. Harry stared at the entrance for a few seconds before scurrying after his mother.

When he stepped over to the other side, Harry was greeted with a sight that rooted him to the ground. Almost every inch of space on the wall was littered with magical portraits.

It was then his mother decided to stop and talk to him. Rylia bent down on one knee in front of her awestruck young child. Harry stopped looking around the corridor and looked curiously at his mother, his questions obvious.

"Mother, why did you bring me here?" To Harry's surprise, sorrow flashed briefly across his mother's face before she answered.

"Harry," Rylia paused as she swept her gaze over her son and swallowed before continuing.

"You need to know that there are bad people out in the worlds, bad people who hurt the innocent. You don't want that, do you?" Harry, green eyes wide, shook his head immediately.

"I can help you become one of those people who stop these bad people, but first, you have to tell me that you want to do this." Rylia looked solemnly into her son's eyes.

Harry responded immediately. "I want it."

Rylia dropped her gaze and nodded, eyes dulling slightly. You really are James and Lily's son…

"You will have to train hard, and you will not have as much time to play with Jean-Luc." Harry smiled, eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"He'll understand because I'm making the world a better place."

--

"Good morning, Mother." The eleven year old looked up from his beginners' book of Potions; Rylia smiled and took a seat opposite her studious son.

"Good morning. How are your potions doing?" Harry grinned and explained.

"I'm almost done with the book. Can we try out the Pepperup recipe soon, please?" Rylia nodded, Harry was interested in Potions and beginning to show some skill in the art.

Rylia smiled inwardly as she thought. You're more like Lily everyday. If she were here, she'd be so proud of you…

"Have a good day, Mother." Rylia nodded as she took a bite of the delicious toast with strawberry spread. Suddenly there was a flurry of wings, and Rylia looked up to see an owl carrying a yellowed envelope and caught a flash of a familiar crest stamped on the front.

"Mother, if you don't go now, you'll be late." The letter dropped into the plate of uneaten fruits. Rylia muttered a spell and a silvery image of a woman's head appeared.

"Hello, Auror Devereux. What can I do for you?"

In her peripheral vision, Rylia could see her curious son reaching out for the letter.

"I'm calling in absent today, a personal emergency came up. If something is truly urgent, I can be contacted at my home." The head bobbed its agreement, and the image spoke.

"Understood, Auror Devereux. We will see you on Monday." Rylia cancelled the spell with a wave of her wand and prepared for the inevitable question.

"Mother, why does it say Harry James Potter?"

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Hello people! This new plot has been swimming inside my head for ages and it has been all planned out! Therefore, nobody has to worry about a screwed up timeline again :) and it is sort of a filler for the people who loved The Renegade Lord (currently under reconstruction). SO READ AND REVIEW!

This is the REVISED version!

Cheers,
Lex