Prologue

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Town of Surrey, Southern Pergrande Kingdom, Earth Land

Year X761

All was quiet in the little town of Surrey. Surrey was a average-sized town in the southern part of the Pergrande Kingdom. It had no garrison or military installation of any time and the biggest thing in the town was the Malfoy mansion located in the northern side of town. It had a average-sized market, a blacksmith manned by a man Grunning who was close to retiring and giving the store over to his apprentice Vernon Dursley and all the other necessities but beyond that had no noticeable landmark.

It was for this reason that the town had been spared the horrors of the recent civil war. No one was quite sure what began it but everyone knew the cause.

Mages.

In particular, one particular mage who self-styled himself Lord Voldemort had started a so-called revolution in which he planned to subjugate non-mages and turn them into little more than slaves and breeding material while mages lived as nobles. While the royal family had mages in their family, they had opposed Voldemort strongly. The Pergrande Kingdom had long reached a point where mages lived hand-in-hand with non-mages and it was hard to distinguish one from the other. The king himself had several relatives who used magic but they were never treated any different than the ones who didn't.

The king's rejection of Voldemort's ideal led to a civil war that lasted for over two decades and ripped the land apart as brother fought brother. Armies clashed across the lands and thousands died on both sides.

But the worst were the magical battles which scarred the land for years to come. Civilians were traumatized or outright killed just by being near those battles as mages battled indiscriminately. Slowly, the country that once embraced mages started to blame them for the atrocities of the war. By the time the war ended just two months ago, the hatred for mages had sunk into the populace till mages were literally run out of the kingdom or killed even after the war's end.

It didn't help that the original royal family had been all killed, leaving the former general of the Pergrande army as the new king. King George had lost his entire family to mages and in an act of revenge against those who practiced it, banned the use of magic in the kingdom forever. Anyone caught breaking the law would be either exiled or killed depending on how dangerous the mage in question was.

All this barely affected the town of Surrey, however. They were too far from any mayor important strategic point to be worth conquering by the rebels and while the Greengrasses were rich, they were also neutral in the conflict. They had no known mages in their family but most of their business involved selling magical lachryma to mages. For this reason, they had been left alone by both sides and been mostly untouched by the war.

However, at this moment in time Vernon Dursley wasn't thinking of any of these things. At the moment he was beyond happy because his mentor had formally announced that he would inherit the blacksmith shop within the year since old man Grunning had no sons to inherit it. That left Vernon as the closest thing to a son the man had and so he left everything to him.

Vernon was ecstatic because it meant he could finally provide a better life for his family. His wife Petunia and him had had a son about a year ago and things had been tight due to his low income. However, as the new owner of the blacksmith he would get the bulk of the earnings and that meant his income would triple if not more, more than enough to provide for his family.

Vernon was a large man, both due to genetics and due to the many hours spent working the forge. Most of his size was due to his large muscles and he looked strong enough to go toe to toe with Vulcans. He had short, dark hair, a bushy black moustache, with hardly any neck and small, blue eyes. Vernon was large both in size and personality and many in the town knew not to be around when he was angry at something.

As Vernon closed the blacksmith shop door, old man Grunning having retired over an hour ago, he noticed it was already getting dark. He had taken too long finishing up that last order it seemed so that meant Petunia would no doubt be furious for letting the food get cold. With things tight they couldn't afford to reheat the food when he arrived.

Vernon smiled as he realized that would be one of things that would change now.

Humming a little tune, Vernon made his way down the town main street toward his house near the outskirts of town. Not being originally from here, Vernon and his family were forced to build their house near the outskirts instead of closer to the center of the village. Thankfully, the forests around here were calm except for the occasional wild animal so there was little to fear.

As Vernon passed by a group of men who were talking so animatedly they didn't even notice him.

"... yes, it's been decided for certain."

"They're really closing Hogwarts? But it's been..."

Vernon froze when he heard that name but forced himself to keep going. It had nothing to do with him and Petunia's sister hadn't contacted them in years anyway. So much for sisterhood. It seems that once you get magic, everyone without it doesn't seem so important anymore.

Vernon pushed his dark thoughts from his mind and continued on his way, finally reaching his small two story and three bedroom house. It was modest compared to other homes but it was good enough for their needs.

With a smile, Vernon put the key in the lock and opened the door. "Petunia, honey, I'm home!"

"I-In here, darling!" came the strangely high-pitched reply of his wife from the living room.

Frowning slightly, Vernon shook it off and left his personal tools near the door like he always did as he slowly walked toward the living room.

"I'm sorry I'm so late, love, bu-" Vernon abruptly cut himself off when he realized they weren't alone.

Petunia was currently on the couch rocking young baby Dudley to sleep and making shushing sounds and sitting across from her on the old wicker chair was an old man.

The old man was tall and thin with silver hair and beard so long that they could probably be tucked into his belt. He had a very long and crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken at least twice. His eyes were a brilliant, soul-piercing shade of blue, and looked as though they sometimes twinkled like a child's though they were currently serious. He also wore half-moon spectacles and a robe of an eye-blinding shade of purple.

All in all, the old man looked like someone you wouldn't be caught dead associating with. The thing was that Vernon knew this man personally and everyone else in the kingdom would at least guess who he was by his looks alone.

After all, who didn't know how the great Albus Dumbledore, leader of the kingdom's army looked like?

Dumbledore smiled gently at the dumbfounded Vernon and gestured for him to sit. "Hello, Vernon. You look well. Please, don't stand on my account."

Vernon shut his mouth and narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore suspiciously before sitting beside his wife on the couch. "Hello, Dumbledore. I haven't seen you in a long time."

"Indeed," agreed Dumbledore amicably. "It had been near on 10 years I believe when you announced your engagement with young Petunia here. I am glad to see you two are still whole and happy. I trust life has treated you well?"

Vernon nodded hesitantly and slowly relaxed his previous stiff posture. "Yes, it has. Young Dudley was born a little over a year ago and just today I inherited the blacksmith shop from my mentor, old man Grunning."

Petunia gasped and looked up from shushing the strangely fussy baby Dudley. Usually Dudley would be out like a light at this hour so it was strange that Petunia was having trouble making him go to sleep. "Really, Vernon? Congratulations!"

Petunia wasn't the type of woman who would win beauty pageants. She was thin and slightly bony with a modest bosom and a slender figure. The pregnancy had left its marks and she was slightly pudgy in areas she wasn't before but was slowly working them off to regain her old figure. Despite this, Vernon thought her the most beautiful woman in the world and the proud smile on her face filled his heart with joy.

"Thank you, pumpkin," said Vernon as he laid a kiss on her cheek before turning back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled happily at the display before his eyes dimmed and he sighed. "I wish I could have come here with better news but sadly it seems destiny is against us." Sighing once more, Dumbledore dropped his bombshell. "I've come to inform you that young James and Lily Potter are dead."

Vernon felt as if all the air had left him at that startling revelation. To tell the truth, Vernon never liked the Potters. While he didn't hate magic, he always believed mages thought themselves better than the rest of them. They flaunted their magic for every little thing from simple household chores to even hard jobs like blacksmithing. Vernon had been forced to move to this small village to ply his trade simply because there were so many mages who did it cheaper and better using magic that he couldn't compete.

James Potter was the same. Very arrogant at time about his magic and he loved to show off, making Vernon feel inferior. James Potter had it all: wealth, looks and even magic; which made Vernon even greener with envy.

Despite this, Vernon wasn't a monster and he hadn't wanted the man dead. Away from them where he wouldn't bother them, sure, but never dead. Plus, despite everything between them Lily was still Petunia's sister and no doubt this hit her hard.

Sure enough, when he turned to his wife, Vernon saw the tear tracks he had previously missed due to Dumbledore's surprise appearance. It looked like Dumbledore had broken the news to her earlier and she had done her crying then. This was something Vernon was thankful for because while not emotionally dense, Vernon wasn't the best when it came to expressing his feelings and offering comfort. He insisted it was simply a male thing.

Hugging Petunia slightly in comfort, she smiled up at him and turned back to baby Dudley.

Vernon turned to Dumbledore and cleared his throat. "We thank you for informing us, Dumbledore. You didn't have to go all the way out here to tell us and we appreciate the gesture."

Dumbledore nodded his head in acceptance before speaking once more. "There is something else."

Vernon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Something else?"

Dumbledore nodded his head at Petunia, causing Vernon to turn to his wife in confusion. Rather than speak, Petunia moved the blankets covering the baby aside, showing that the baby in her arms was a one-year-old with black hair.

It was then that Vernon realized that the baby in his wife's arms was not Dudley but someone else and considering the conversation they'd been having...

"That is your nephew, Harry," explained Dumbledore patiently. "With his parents dead, he has nowhere else to go and I hoped..."

"... that we'd take him in," finished Vernon frustratingly. Vernon passed a hand down his face before sighing and grimacing.

It wasn't that he was against taking in his nephew. His problems with the boy's parents aside, he was his nephew. Blood takes care of blood, after all. But the problem was that at the moment they were still barely staying afloat. Vernon wouldn't get his first check as owner for a month and Vernon doubted they'd be able to feed all four for that long. It simply wasn't feasible.

"Look..." started Vernon hesitantly. "It's not that I'm against it. It's just that we aren't in the right place financially to take in another child. We are barely feeding ourselves as it is and-"

"That is no problem," said Dumbledore firmly. He took out a large sack from behind his back and dropped it on the table, showing it was full of gold galleons, the currency of the Pergrande Kingdome. The amount was more than enough to feed all four of them for four months. "A similar payment will be sent to you once every month to pay for his upkeep. The amount will increase as he grows and he needs more things. My only condition is that he be handed over to me when he reaches 16 years of age."

Vernon had been shocked at the amount of money presented him and barely shook himself from his stupor to hear his final statement. "16? Why 16?" Vernon's eyes narrowed as a thought came to mind. "He's a mage, isn't he?"

Dumbledore hesitated and nodded. "Yes, and quite a powerful one as well. But I wish for him to have a normal life before I teach him and so I leave him to you, his family, to raise."

Vernon grunted and thought quickly. On one hand, if anyone found out he was hiding a mage child, his whole family would be in danger. The money offered wasn't really worth his family's safety, was it?

On the other...

Vernon looked at baby Harry and his eyes softened. The boy was his nephew and Dumbledore was willing to pay for his upkeep and everything. He might not like magic due to blaming it for the recent war which took his parents, but that was no excuse for turning his back on his nephew.

His decision made, Vernon turned to Dumbledore. "Very well. We'll take him in but mind you that you don't forget to send your money every month. With the recent changes with the new king and everything as well as the recent rise of prices of certain goods, things might get tight if you don't send the money."

"Worry not," said a relieved Dumbledore. "I will send it regularly. If I can ask a boon? Do not tell Harry about his magical heritage until I arrive. I wish to be the one to introduce him to the world of magic."

Vernon squinted at the old man suspiciously but in the end only grunted. He didn't care to wonder why the man wanted it that way and simply passed it off as a mage thing. Mages are all weirdos as far as he was concerned.

Nodding in relief, Dumbledore got up to leave. "Now I will be taking my leave. The new king was kind enough to let me choose between exile or serving as his court mage and I have chosen the former. I am far too old to deal with the coming hatred of magic that will no doubt overcome the kingdom. If that is all, I bid you good day."

Vernon led Dumbledore to the door and watched as the old man left into the night. As behind him, Vernon heard baby Harry start to cry, he wondered if he had the right thing.

AN: And that's the prologue!

Once again, I moved this to the Orphanage in hopes of someone adopting the story idea since I can't do it right now. Might pick it up later though.

As always, Read and Review!