So this is AU of course, so Aunt Muriel is now Aunt Murel and she is Molly's aunt and the Weasley children, she is their great aunt. This chapter explains somewhat what happened to Harry. Mentions of abuse, but nothing at all graphic.
Chapter Two: A Great Aunt
Harry smiled, he was happy and felt free, Aunt Murel was a battleax but in all the good ways. When she found out Harry liked to dance and do what he called "street jumping" which was what later would be called parkour she made sure he had a safe space to do that. She loved him, truly did as she saw he was a good young man. That he did not want to go the way of his parents at all. He reminded her of his grandfather and grandmother both, in all the good ways.
There was one person that Harry had yet to meet and Murel knew that it would work out. Alastor Moody had on paper retired due to the fact he was not physically up to the task anymore. However that was not the full truth. Truth was he blamed himself for how he treated a young wizard who wanted to get past his families evil past. He felt he drove that poor young wizard to his death and so retired and had instead took on the task of training up Neville and teaching him that those with families who went evil were not necessarily evil themselves. He was going to give Harry a chance, a chance he already had earned.
"So what are you thinking of?" Fred asked walking up to the formidable course that Harry had just finished.
"You look very thoughtful today." George said.
"I have a lot on my mind, you know my parents dropped me off at my aunt and uncles house, probably thought they would be back for me. Yet we all know what happened, my aunt and uncle were not very nice, they liked to beat me and make me unhappy. Well I started school and one thing led to another, I ended up in a Children's home that treated me very good."
"You deserved it." Fred said.
"You are not your parents." George added.
"I know and this home was, the sisters took children of criminals, made things of us, they loved us, me and I can't let them down." Harry said. "What is Moody like?"
"Well very ugly." Fred said and Harry did not see Moody was right behind him but the twins did see him.
"Yes, he has one real eye and one really big magical blue one, and his nose, well it's there but it looks sewn on." George added.
"Oh and he has a peg leg." Fred went on.
"And he scares the children due to how grumpy and mean he is." George went on.
"He is standing right behind me is he not?" Harry asked.
"I am, and you lads, well ye have yer father in ye." Moody said. "Jokesters the lot of ye Weasley brood."
Harry turned to look at Moody and he smiled, he knew this man, oh he had his eye covered and was clad in muggle clothing, but he knew him. This man had saved him from his relations, had got him to the sisters and then left. This was Alastor Moody, that nameless man he owed so much to and now he had a name. Someone in the magical world cared for him even before he came to Hogwarts. Harry walked up and stuck out his hand, and instead of Moody teaching him a lesson, he took it. This lad had been worth saving and so he had, his parents were the betrayers, the murders and more, but not Harry. Harry was innocent.
"Good t' meet ye formally lad." Moody said, "now these fine lads need a lesson in manners."
"Oh would you look at the time." Fred said.
"Yes, we really must go." George added.
In a flash they had thrown down very muggle colorful smoke bombs and when that smoke cleared, the twins were gone. Moody laughed, let the lads have fun, he could take them but why? Let them win once and a while. He turned to Harry and sized up the lad, tall like his grandfather, looked much like him at this age too. Wary, cautious and careful too, street-smart he was, hardened. Yet he was good and on the right side. That he could do tricks only others could dream of, well that was why he had brought another, why Augusta let him bring her grandson, the Potter-Longbottom alliance did not have to die for what James Potter did.
"I brought Neville Longbottom, must warn ye, he is a scrapper, don't get on his bad side." Moody said.
"I would not dream of it." Harry said as a smaller cubby boy came into the room, "really would not, so you are Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter grandson of Fleamont Potter."
"And not like your traitor of a father from what I hear." Neville said, "care for a sparring match?"
"Er, sure," Harry said.
It turned out Neville looked like a cubby weakling but was anything but, he was able to fight very well and Harry was on his back rather quickly. Harry was not put out at all, in fact he grinned, he so looked forward to the day Neville came to Hogwarts, that was going to be a good day indeed. Neville would come trained and no-one would dare do anything to him. Harry was going to bring back the Potter-Longbottom alliance that his father had torn down in his wicked acts. Harry was a good scrapper, had to be growing up as he had but Neville was far better. Harry though was good at Parkour and started to teach Neville, Fred and George were naturals, very cat-like and Neville remined Harry of a bear in how he went through the course.
Fred and George in fact spent much of their summer here with Harry and Neville and they even brought Ron a few times. Ginny had snuck over and when they tried to stop her from using the course Moody stepped in and scolded them. They took it with good grace and from then on Ginny was over here when she wanted to be and her friend Luna. They could be giggly girls but when it came to training they settled down and took that seriously, as seriously as nine year old girls could. Yet it was near the end of summer that something happened that got Harry worried for Luna. He was working out when she came in red eyed from crying and Ginny went to her as did Harry.
"Mummy is dead!" Luna sobbed, "t-the healers tried to save her and she is dead!"
"I am so sorry." Harry said meaning it, yet he did not know what to do but Ginny did, "what can I do?"
"A cup of hot chocolate will help." Murel said walking up, "then rest, I will send Alastor to check on Xeno."
Harry wanted to help but he had to get ready to head back to school and he knew just what to do to cheer up Luna just a tiny bit. Molly Weasley was going to help the poor child and Ginny already offered to share her room as long as Luna needed to stay with them. Xeno needed care himself and could not take care of her at the time. Harry was looking forward to school and Neville was too though he seemed a bit sad.
"I will not have you here, one more year then I can be at Hogwarts." Neville said, "oh I get to make potions, uncle Severus, er professor Snape set me the task to make all first year potions before I get to Hogwarts, does not want me to blow up the classroom you see."
"Right, I am sorry what happened to him." Harry said meaning it.
"Don't be, it's not your fault." Neville said, "he knows it too, just give him time right?"
"Yea, I can do that, he lives with you, his family was killed right?"
"On his mother's side, his parents fled along with his younger sister and brother. Professor Snape does not know where they are at." Neville said.
"Yes because if he did my dear mother would have tortured that out of him." Harry nearly spat, "she helped burn down most of Spinner's End and Cokeworth and helped kill a thousand people. Just how evil does one have to get?"
"Not your fault mate." Fred said.
"No" George added.
"Now we need to plan a gift for Luna." Fred chimed in.
"To cheer her up!" George added.
Harry smiled, and knew he had good friends in Fred and George. He looked forward to heading back to Hogwarts. He now had a right to feel like he did not deserve to be treated badly though he still felt guilt for what his parents had done. Getting back to Hogwarts felt good and his dorm was as inviting as the year before. Yet there were questions and that was how he found himself in Sprout's office a week after he got back.
"You have concerns?" Sprout said.
"Yes, I do, what caused my mother to go so bad, to choose the path she did?" Harry said, "I don't' understand."
"Most of us have a hard time." Sprout said, "she was a bright happy child but something happened, it was at the end of her fifth year we saw warning signs when she hexed a defenseless Severus Snape, it was Sirius Black who stepped in to stop her."
"She was muggleborn, why join the dark lord V?" Harry asked.
"I think it was power, he stated he cared about purebloods but he had all sorts of people." Sprout said, "yes he had a few muggleborn and yes they were mainly what muggles call cannon fodder but he had them. Lily on meeting him was enthralled and so joined."
"So he was a liar and evil." Harry said.
"Yes, he wanted to turn the world into what he wanted, which was him in total control, the pureblood thing was all an act as far as I can tell. It did one good thing, you noticed how large Hogsmeade is?"
"Yes."
"Well, it is now nearly back to what it was in the middle ages size-wise, ten thousand call her home and Hogshead is restored as a town of five thousand and Hogsback as a town of two. The great walls were rebuilt too around Hogwarts and the hedge was restored as well. But still too many died and so many fled, the torture and depravity made Grindlewald look kindly and he was, he killed quickly and never tortured but he still was evil too mind you."
"Which is why all captured death eaters were executed by being put through wait that can't be true can it? That veil is not real is it?" Harry asked.
"No, not that I know of, no what they meant, well by putting through the veil is that they put them through the veil of fire, that way they cannot come back." Sprout said. "Potter money helped restore the Vale here."
"Oh good! I am glad, I was hoping that it was used for good." Harry said, "I don't want my parent's wealth after what they did."
"I do not blame you." Sprout said, "you are such a good lad, so like your grandparents."
"Thank you." Harry said. "I want to do them proud."
He left and went back to the sett to study with Fred and George. By the look on their faces they had managed to get a gift to Luna to cheer her up. They headed to the library to study with Lee Jordan and Cho Chang. Fred and George were starting to prank and were in fine form. Their pranks were funny, non-harmful and non-humiliating, rather they were funny and ones everyone could get a laugh from. So they had "borrowed" a Hogwarts toilet seat and sent it to Luna, to cheer her up. Of course the next day that toilet seat came back, with a howler from their mother. Sprout took ten points and gave the lads a detention all while doing her level best to not smile at what they did.
Second year Harry thought was as good as first year. Though it hurt to learn why his mother had turned and done what she did, at least he knew that the unnamed one or you know who or the dark lord V was a liar. He would do anything to gain power and it seemed his mother was just as power hungry as anyone else. He actually could see his father easily joining, after all he was a bully in school but his mother had been kind and loving until she wasn't. Could people change that fast? He knew the answer and yes they could, his aunt had been kind to him until she wasn't and now she was in prison along with his uncle.
"So what do you think now?" Fred said as they came to the end of another year.
"Of our standing as the prankster kings?" George added.
"Give it a few more years." Harry replied.
"You two are a menace to all." Percy said walking up.
"And I intend to pay you back for that lovely prank." Charlie said walking up, "my last year here and well my dear brothers."
"Mum loves us best." Fred said.
"She does indeed." George added.
"No that is Luna and then Ginny and then Ronnikins and Bill then the rest of us." Charlie said.
"Oh yes, Ronnikins is her favorite son, can't see what she sees in tat bottomless pit." Percy said with a smile.
The Weasley boys liked to tease Ron, but truly he was lucky to be alive. His mother had been in Diagon Ally with him to go to Gringotts when he was a baby. There was a death eater attack and Molly managed to kill Yaxley and as he had no heirs, the modest fortune when to the Weasley family. Ron had been cursed and it was touch and go for a long time. Yet now he was as normal a wizard boy as he could be when for so long he could have died. So what if he was a bit spoiled because of that? He needed it and his brothers did not mind at all. Harry had a great school year, and never even had to interact with his former as he called him godfather at all. Madam Prewett saw to that, and she was different at school than home, more strict but Harry did not mind, she cared about him after all.
Up in the headmaster's office an aged man was reflecting. He wondered just how so many of the students who went through Hogwarts could have gone so bad. Was he to blame? After the war and the executions of so many death eaters he was allowed to make reforms. Reforms that brought more teaching staff, now aside from the first year classes and the fifth, and seventh year classes, heads of houses only taught those years. The other years were taught by other qualified staff. This gave heads of houses more time with their students. What was more is that Dumbledore had hired (and this to severe protest) one Remus Lupin to be his secretary and take care of much of his paperwork and that of much of the staff.
When Remus started he was most certainly a werewolf, and he did most of his work outside the castle away from students. Yet with the cure that Severus had come up with he was now very safe, and though he still could turn to a wolf, it was at will and he was not a danger to anyone. He had been forbidden by Sirius Black to see Harry, and that hurt. Sirius had been betrayed that was true but his actions were just as bad as his former friends. Remus was hurt too but he wanted to reach out to Harry, but Harry had to meet with him first.
"So much death and for what." Dumbledore said, "I must confess it does not make sense why Lily became a death eater, she was so kind and gentle, yet there was no spell to turn her, she just did."
"I could see James but not her, which was a surprise." Remus replied, "still hurts they did that but what caused them to and to leave Harry as they did? What sort of parents were they? I can't even understand."
"Nor can I but evil never makes sense really, why give up everything to do what they did?"
"I wish I could see Harry." Remus said.
"That will take time, and once he turns seventeen you can see him, I wish there was another way."
"As do I, but Sirius, he is too hurt to see how he is hurting everyone else." Remus said, "I would give him time."
"Yes, perhaps that is the best way." Dumbledore said. "I wish there was more we could do."
"So do I." Remus agreed.
The war with Grindlewald had been bad, but the war with Voldemort was even worse. It was as if the world had lost it's mind and now everyone was picking up the pieces from that. Dumbledore felt every bit his great age and wondered yet again what he could have done or said differently. At least they had Severus though he could do things that were questionable to say the least, or that was the rumors. Death eaters died, that was all Dumbledore needed to know, he had not joined Voldemort at all.
Deep in the bank of Gringotts a lone teller worked on a ledger. Soon, if all went well the owner would be back and claiming the titles and family vaults. He certainly was nearly the age he could and the keeper of the keys from the last head of the house should keep his word. There was so much that could go wrong of course but Griphook had a good feeling. Too bad humans could be so narrow minded, they called goblin's children eaters and worse yet look what they did? Goblins could be cruel creatures but none of them ever claimed the title of dark lord or lady after all.
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So the why as to Lily going evil is not fully explained except it was of her own free will. There was no revenge she was seeking she just decided power and then bloodlust was far more important to her than anything else. It seems a poor excuse that she chose evil but then many murderers do the same, there just is no rhyme or reason for it at the end of the day.
Again, Sirius is not a bad guy here, just someone so very badly hurt he can't see past the his hurt to see what he is doing to others. He has to learn to trust again and that is going to be very hard for him.
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