A/N: Harry Potter and his world belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and anyone that has received licensing rights. I am grateful she gives us the privilege of playing in her world.

Chapter 1

July, 1991

Godric's Hollow, West Country, England

Harry was reading a charms book again. He was trying to while away the time waiting for Mrs. Lovegood to come over with Luna. His mum had said they were coming over today.

Every few minutes, he would look out the window onto the small front lawn with the hedge that their House-elf made sure was meticulously maintained.

His mum was in her lab, like she usually was on days Mrs. Lovegood would come over. Lily Potter was a crack Potioneer and Charms Master. Pandora Lovegood was a crazy experimentalist that had helped his mum make many new potions.

He heard the door to her lab open. "Willow, I don't want you going in there for today. I have something brewing that I don't want disturbed," his mum said.

"Yes, Mistress," their house elf said.

Harry liked the small house elf. He looked at her more like a sister, always finding ways to annoy her and getting a stinging hex or something to keep him inline. His mum said he was like his father that way, always getting into trouble.

Sometimes, he wished he knew his father, but he had died before he was born. Some of the stories Uncle Remus told him about his father and their friends made him wonder how they had never been kicked out of Hogwarts or wound up in a cell in the DMLE. He wasn't sure he wanted to get up to that type of mischief.

His mum, though, always looked at his Uncle fondly when he would tell him those stories. Sometimes he wondered if she was as big a troublemaker but doubted it with the way she always caught him.

"Harry, are you still at that window?"

He turned to see the vibrant redhaired woman. Her green eyes looked just like his, while his hair and many of his features looked like the man smiling at them from the mantle. "You said Luna was coming over today," he told her.

She shook her head. "After lunch, dear. Why don't you come out into the garden with me and then I can make you some lunch in an hour or so."

"I was reading dad's old charms book," he told her. It was one of the few things that made him feel connected to his father. There were notes in some of the margins, and old parchments with notes, many he didn't quite understand yet, but he could tell they were notes on new spells or ways to combine known spells.

She gave him a look. "Harry, that was our third year book. You don't get your wand until next summer and I don't want you trying to blow things up your first year. Let's go."

He couldn't wait to get his wand. His mum had already told him she would show him how to properly use it before he went to Hogwarts. Until then, he would keep reading all he could on anything in their library.

Maybe he could convince mum to go to Gringott's. She would visit there from time to time to get old books from their vaults. Every once in a while, she would let him take one too, after she looked at it and made sure it wasn't anything bad. Usually she only allowed him to take the old family or wizarding history books, saying most of the one he really found interesting, like The Darkest Arts and how to counter them or A Treatise on Asphodel and Dragons blood in Potions, were too advanced for him.

He found that frustrating.

His mum had moved away while he closed the book and held it. "Come on you. Getting your hands dirty is a good thing."

He made a face and put the book down.

"I saw that," she called from the kitchen.

"Saw what," he asked moving to follow her.

"That face, young man."

He scrunched his nose again. How did she know! "I didn't make a face."

"You're making one right now. Grab your gloves."

He looked totally perplexed as he walked into the kitchen. "How can you know," he asked her as she took up her gloves from the shelf above the seat next to the back door and put on her Wellingtons.

"You are too much like your father at times. He used to do the same thing."

"Did dad have to be dragged out to weed the garden while you pruned the best plants," he asked.

"I never had to drag him. He knew what was good for him. Now, stop being petulant before I take all the books out of your room," she threatened.

He looked at her shocked. "You wouldn't."

She gave him an eye. "Want to try me?"

He knew not to press his mum or challenge her. She always accepted and most of the time came out on top. He clamped his mouth shut. He really didn't mind helping her with the garden. It had dozens of plants used in potions and his mum always explained what they were, why they were important and what they did in potions. Pulling some weeds to help her and learn how to take what they needed from the plants properly was a fair payment. Besides, it wasn't like she didn't pick as many or more weeds while gathering ingredients.

By the time they were done, his mum had a huge dirty streak on her forehead and his arms were covered in dirt after having to dig up some roots of a rare butterfly bush. Everyone thought it was the butterfly like flowers that were important in potions. His mum had taught him that the roots held the most potent juices. The problem was they were hard to get. Every time he would expose a small clump that had grown away from the bush, they squirmed and began to bury themselves again like worms.

He placed the jar on the table that had a dozen of the clusters in dirt. He could see them all squirming to get to the bottom of the jar. "Go wash and I'll have some sandwiches ready soon."

He looked at the clock. "It's almost one," he said, excited that they would be here soon.

She chuckled. "Go. I suppose I should make Luna something too."

He ran out of the kitchen, up the stairs and ran his arms under the faucet. When he was satisfied his arms and hands were clean, he looked in the mirror and saw his face was as dirty as his mum's. He just finished cleaning it, the clean cloth he had started with now blackened and dirty, when the bell at the door rang.

"There here," he called out.

Harry didn't get to play with many children his age. Luna and the Weasley girl, Ginny, being some of the very few. Sometimes he would play with Hannah Abbott when her mum would watch him or his mum would watch her, but she was a year older and not always interested in playing with him. That, and she had just received her letter to Hogwarts and was going in September.

He bounced out of the bathroom and ran down the stairs. "Where's the heard of erumpants," his mum called out to him as he raced to the door.

"They just ran past me," he said with a smile to her as he grabbed the nob and through it open. "Hello Mrs. Lovegood. Luna."

Mrs. Lovegood smiled. "I don't remember seeing any erumphants running by me," she said to him.

He felt abashed. "You just missed them," he told her.

His mum came up and gently hit him on the head. "I swear it seems like a herd of them come through this house some days. Afternoon, Luna. You look lovely in that dress and I love your necklace."

He rubbed his head. It didn't hurt, but he didn't like to be chastised by his mum either. Luna was looking at him with her sky blue eyes and head cocked to the side. She had a yellow sundress on with a necklace of butterbeer bottle caps.

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," she said in that voice that made her sound far away. He always wondered why she sounded like that.

"Pandora, nice to see you again," his mum said as they moved into the house.

"You know you have some fairies in your gardens," she said to him.

"Where," his mum said. "They better not be getting at the tentaculars again."

"Oh no, Mrs. Potter. These were moth-winged fairies. They like your hedgerow," she said. "Daddy said they keep a house safe."

Her mum looked at her mum, who just shrugged. Harry didn't question it. Luna had a great imagination, and more often than not, they found half of what she described. "Thank you, Luna. Harry was just going to have a late lunch. I put a plate out for you too and then maybe you and Harry can go clear out those fairies."

Her mum closed her eyes and scrunched her face. "Is it that late already? I thought it was still mid-morning. Xenophilius is out of country for the week working on an article for the Quibbler. He's usually good at remembering lunch."

Luna smiled as Harry pulled her away. "I figured as much, Pandora. You can always drop Luna off here when you want."

"Did your mum make ham or corned beef sandwiches? I really like corned beef," she told him.

"I don't know," he said as they went into the kitchen. Willow was busying herself with cleaning up the items that his mum had left out.

"Hello, Willow," Luna said in a friendly way. "Would you care to eat lunch with us?"

Willow turned and looked at the girl with huge eyes. "Oh, no, Miss. It isn't proper."

He shook his head. "Mum tries to all the time, but she always refused."

"Willow shouldn't eat at the same table, Master Harry," the elf told him. "Willow was trained the proper way to serve a wizard."

"Willow, you know mum says you can do whatever you want," he told her.

Willow smiled at him as she hovered a broom over to her. "Willow is doing as she wants, Master Harry. Willow will not sit at a table with a wizard. It just isn't proper."

He rolled his eyes and sat. "Willow, would you like to help catch some fairies?"

The elf looked at her concerned. "Mistress does not like fairies. They eat her garden. I will get them in just a moment."

"Willow, you don't have too. Luna said she saw some in the hedgerow and mum said we could catch them. She just wants to know if you want to join," he said looking at his sandwich. "Luna, this is corned beef. You want it?"

Luna looked at him. He watched Willow slink back and get back to her cleaning. He didn't like how she just tried to meld away like that when she thought she wasn't needed.

Luna looked at her sandwich. "I am good, Harry. This is corned beef as well."

By now, their mothers had retreated into his mum's lab under the stairs. Harry was very hungry and ate in silence as Luna started to tell him about the latest camping trip she had gone with her father and mother a few weeks ago to look for moon frogs in Norway.

Apparently, they could be found at times in moon pools on nights of the full moon. They lived on the moon, but would come down on the rays of the full moon to spawn.

He didn't question her, knowing that her father had already found three beasts that everyone thought extinct or made up. He believed in the gulping plimpies after seeing a fox dive into what they thought was a shallow pool. The poor animal was probably looking for a quick meal of the small fish. Instead, it never came back up after being dragged below the surface. He had been on a camping trip with her family when that happened in the backcountry of the Highlands last summer.

They just hadn't been able to catch any to get proof. The water was always much deeper than it looked when they caught sight of the fish in those Highland streams and their nets just never reached far enough.

When they were done, they put their plates in the sink. "I can wash those, Master Harry," Willow said coming out of nowhere. He knew his mum would cuff his ears if he didn't do something he was perfectly capable of.

"Thank you, Willow. I can do it," he said using the hand pump.

His mum had kept it because his father liked it. The rest of the cottage had all modern plumbing. Luna looked around the kitchen as he cleaned their plates and glasses.

"Harry, where do you have empty jars? Glass jars are the best for holding the fairies," Luna asked him.

"Cupboard by the stairs," he told her, drying off the cleaned dishes. His mum always kept a clean supply to gather fresh herbs, potion ingredients or to hold preserves she would make at times.

Luna opened it and took an armful of jars. He walked past her and knocked on the door to his mum's lab.

"It's open," he heard her say.

Luna came up behind him. "We finished eating and I cleaned up the plates."

Mrs. Lovegood and her were looking at notes on a table next to a bubbling cauldron. "Very good, dear."

"We were going to go outside," he told her.

She pointed to something on a parchment. "I like this idea. We should make sure the gilliweed is boiled down first."

"You've had it stewing for hours, Lily."

"I know, but the last time I stirred it, it still looked like there were strands. We may need to consider mashing it next time before we add it," she told Mrs. Lovegood.

"But if we pop the seed pods before they simmer in the fluxweed, that will negate the water breathing we are trying for," Luna's mum said.

"Mum, we're going outside," he said again.

She looked up at them this time. "Hold that thought, Pandora." His mum came over to them. "If you two are going after fairies, I want you to use the dragonhide gloves. I don't want you having a reaction again if they bite you."

Harry touched his hand. The last fairies had not been happy when they tried to get them away from the garden. "Yes, mum."

"Lily, I think I have it," Mrs. Lovegood exclaimed. "It just needs a few shavings of korralle to stabilize the breakdown process."

His mum turned and her eyes went wide. "Pandora, stop," she cried out. He recognized the jar holding small shavings of an erumpant horn in oil. They were kept in oil to keep them from blowing up. Mrs. Lovegood had taken one out with some golden tongs and was holding it over the cauldron.

The woman looked surprised at the outburst and dropped the tongs. His mother was fast. Her wand was out and a shield was up. The explosion occurred the second the horn shaving hit the potion.

Harry grabbed Luna and threw her to the floor. The jars bounced out of her hands. One or two breaking against the wall. He landed on top of her, trying to shield her. His mum stood there, her shield protecting them as the house shook from the force of the explosion. He knew there were wards up to prevent anything like this from destroying the house, but when he looked back, his stomach turned.

The worktable, cauldron and all the notes lay in pieces all around the center ring in the floor of the room. All the pieces were blackened, smoking or burning. Most of the shelves were untouched, and his mother's desk was only slightly singed. What turned his stomach was the half-mangled body of Mrs. Lovegood on the floor.

"Mum," Luna said in a tremulous voice.

"Oh, Merlin," his mother said before dropping her shield. "Pandora!" she said moving into the room and hitting the wards. "Damn it." She flicked her wand and was able to step into the ruined center of her lab.

"Mum," Luna said getting up.

Harry scrambled away and started to throw up. "Mum," Luna said sounding like a lost child as his mum started to curse and cry.

A/N: NOTES ON THIS STORY

Please feel free to skip or to come back to these notes Later.

This story is made to be very AU. It is made to be a total what-if. Chapter length will probably vary. This first one is just to see if people are interested.

First off, Harry is not the Chosen One. He is a year younger. Neville will be the Chosen One.

Second, this will be a Harry-Luna story. No promises or current plans for other future pairings.

Third - Background:

James Potter died during a raid around the time of the fall of Voldemort, after Pettigrew betrayed them. Sirius was setup as the fall guy for James and in the deaths of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Neville is the Boy-Who-Lived. He will be more like he was in book 5-7 for personality.

Lily survived, not knowing she was pregnant at the time. Harry's birthday will still be July 31, which is about correct if she was just pregnant with him on Halloween. (I am a math geek, so typical 40 week gestation, start week of Oct 27, 1980, due date around August 2, 1981)

Should be Harry and Luna perspective almost exclusively.

Remus will have a large part in Harry's life.

Growing up in a different environment, Harry will be OC in some regards, and his actions will be more on the periphery of the main story as he and his friends have adventures outside the main events of the books. Most likely becoming a hero again, but not the one Neville is destined to become.

I am not changing the age or background of anyone else right now, but no promises for the future.

Fourth, I am planning this to span year 1-7, and maybe beyond, but don't really want to be more than 8-12 chapters per year. This may change. Just don't want a 200 chapter epic.

Lastly, I will adopt a six class blocks a day schedule. Three blocks in the morning, and three after lunch. School starts by 8:30 AM. This is just how I plan things.