Is Ignorance Really Bliss?
Chapter 1: A Look at the Family
Summary: What if Sirius stayed Secret Keeper? What I during that time, Lily and James had a second son? What if Voldemort found the Potters around two years later then the actual date in the book? What if Harry really defeated the Dark Lord as a baby *no mother's love* but people assume it was his brother who did? What if Harry is actually ignored and shunned by everyone *and I do mean everyone* while his brother gets everyone's attention? A lot of what ifs, but that's what's Alternate Universe is for!
Disclaimer: Do people actually read this? What's the point in even saying it? Harry Potter does not belong to me! It belongs to the -oh so talented J.K Rowling, whom I'm still mad at from OOTP character's death!
Author's Note: Okie Dokie. Just in case people might think that I stole this plot from another story. The story, Fugitive Prince *in my favorites* has a plot kind of similar, but not that much. It's actually pretty different, besides the fact that the younger brother gets all the credit. But this story and the plot are mine. To tell you the truth, I actually got this story from another fic, and if I find it, I'll tell you the title. *The plot is still different! I only got the idea, not the plot!*
* *
"DAMN IT!" James Potter cursed when he saw the Daily Prophet, an article about another deatheater attack.
"Frank and Alice Longbottom are recently recovering at St.Mungos, but the healers there doubt if they should ever regain their sanity." James read the article over again. The Longbottoms were close friends of his back at Hogwarts, and world-know Aurors.
"Voldemort is making my life a living hell," James groaned, slumping in his seat. For the past 2½ years, he and his wife Lily have stayed secretly hidden in a house with their two sons, Harry and Jacob. They all were in hiding, currently being on Voldemort's hit list. James and Lily were never told why they were in danger, but assumed it was James' job that made them targets. They were safely hidden away since James' best friend, Sirius Black, was their secret keeper.
A shout caused James to look over his shoulder to see a comical site. There was his wife, Lily, trying to calm their youngest son, Jacob, who in fact was screaming his head off. Her red hair was flying everywhere as she took many attempts at making funny faces to Jacob, hoping that he would stop crying and screaming. Jacob's appearances were like his mother in many ways. He had red hair, and a fair complexion. But he missed out one of his mother's most distinguished feature, her green eyes, which were said to sparkle like diamonds. He instead had his father's hazel eyes, which couldn't even compare to Lily's. ((no offence to Prongs ^.^))
It seemed that her eyes were inherited by her oldest son, Harry. Harry was exactly a year older than Jacob, exact to the date. A rather odd thing, since both of their birthdays is on July 31. While Jacob took on Lily's appearances, Harry took his father's. Even at an early age, his black hair was as messy as his father's. He had his father's build and complexion, and would look very much like his father when grown up. That was assured of.
While Jacob took after his mother's looks and Harry after his father's, their personalities were reversed. Jacob, like his dad, tended to be loud and restless, while Harry was more like his mother, quiet and patient. If James' friends were allowed to visit, they would find this rather funny.
Lily kept on making faces, and even tried to sing to Jacob, trying to calm him down, but it caused him to wail louder. James took action and snatched Jacob from Lily's grasp, and rocked his arms back in forth, hoping to lull the baby to sleep. After a few minutes, it worked, and the house was brought to silence.
"Where's Harry?" asked Lily, obviously frustrated that her *clumsy* husband was able to calm down the child while she had failed.
"He's right there," James stated pointing at Harry with his free hand. ". PLAYING WITH MY WAND!!" he cried as he saw purple sparks fly around Harry.
Indeed, the little Potter had James' wand, and was squealing with delight as he saw the rainbow of flashes. His *toy* was quickly snatched up by Lily, ending his fun.
"I told you! You shouldn't leave your wand lying around the house!" Lily yelled at her husband.
"I left it on the counter! How on earth did Harry get my wand when it was on the counter?"
With a mumble that sounded suspiciously like "Idiot" Lily whacked James on the head.
"HEY!" James cried. "You don't hit a man holding a ba." His cry was stopped when Lily grabbed Jacob from him.
"Any more excuses?" she asked sweetly.
"Baahh.. Women. We'll never understand them, will we Harry?" He asked his son, who watching the whole argument, looking amused.
Lily placed Jacob in his crib, than joined her husband, looking at Harry.
James, seeing that Lily was still mad at him, decided to ask a question that was on his mind a lot.
"Harry is already three, and the only words he spoke were the Marauders' nicknames! ONCE! After that, he just stopped talking! Should we get worried yet?"
"Maybe he needs to see the other Marauders. Maybe the site of them will get him to address them. After all, his first word wasn't Prongs."
"Gaahh! I almost forgot about that. Anyways, I thought about it, and now have the perfect reason why Harry won't speak anymore!"
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't have anything else to say!"
"James you idiot!" and with that, Lily whacked James in the head yet again. Harry immediately began laughing seeing his mother's display of *affection* to his dad.
"Oww.." James rubbed his head tenderly.
For 2 ½ years, James and Lily never had contact from the outside world, so it was hard not to get bored, but with their silly arguments, they were able to keep busy. Plus, it was so easy to argue when you're *stranded* with only one person, besides their sons who hardly spoke a word.
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Sirius Black was not having a good time. Sure, he had fun with Remus and Peter, but it just wasn't the same without his best buddy James. Having fun with Remus and Peter were rare. He rarely spoke to Remus and Peter though, but had good reasons. Sirius wasn't sure of what side of the war Remus was on. Remus was known to be a werewolf. When they were kids, Sirius never had a thing against that. Hell, he became an unregistered animagus because of that. But childhood memories were over, and he needed to grow up. It was simple. Remus is a werewolf. A werewolf is a dark creature. The Dark Lord recruits dark creatures to join him. Sirius wasn't sure if Remus was on the dark side, but there were many possibilities. Thus, his connections with him dwindled down a bit. Peter was a different matter. He always seemed to be busy and somewhere over Europe. That struck odd to Sirius, since Peter's job was mostly paperwork, which didn't include any traveling. But Sirius didn't question.
Sirius himself was an Auror. He used to work side by side with James, but that changed when he discovered that James was in danger. He was surprised when James asked him to be secret keeper of his family, but he accepted immediately, eager to help his friend. No one besides the Potter, himself, and Dumbledore knew where they were. It was strictly kept secret so the deatheaters wouldn't go after him. Everyone else was informed that the Potters were hiding somewhere in America.
Sirius missed James a lot. He especially missed James' son Harry, who he used to play with all of the time. He remembered how Harry always managed to make anyone smile, no matter the circumstances. Harry always seemed to favor him out of everyone. Including the other Marauders, and even his own parents!
****FLASHBACK****
"Who's your favorite Marauder?" Sirius cooed in a *creepy* baby voice at the baby Harry, who had just turned one year old. The Potters, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were at the Potter's place, gathered in the Living Room, celebrating Harry's first birthday. Everyone was filled with ice cream and cake, and was just relaxing. James perked up his ears when he heard Sirius' question.
"Favorite Marauder? Its Prongs of course! Isn't it Harry?" He took Harry from Sirius arms, and began to tickle him, repeating his question continually to the laughing and shrieking Harry.
"No fair Prongs! You can't bribe him by tickling him! Gimme Harry! The answer is obviously Padfoot!! GIMMEE!!!"
"That's where you two are wrong. Harry loves it when I play with him. It's Wormtail he favors!"
"Technically, Harry should like the Prongs the most, since James is his dad. *AHA! James cried* But. we all know that Harry is a smart kid, and loves to spend time with the most sensible Marauder, which is of course Moony!"
"In your dreams Moony!"
"Me! Me! He favors me!"
"I'm his father!!"
"So? I'm his godfather!! Gimmee my godson!
"He's my godson too!"
"Well, I'm his favorite!"
"No you're not!"
"Yes I am!!"
"NO!"
"YES!
"NO!"
"YES!
"NO!"
"YES!
"NO!"
"YES!
"How about you let Harry decide?"
The screaming stopped when a new voice came. Lily watched the whole argument with an amused look across her face.
"And pray tell, Lily, how do you propose we do that?" Sirius muttered sarcastically.
"You four, form a straight line in front of Harry, and whoever he goes to first, he favors the most. *under her breath* and it better not be Sirius"
"HEY!" Sirius yelled, since he obviously heard her comment.
"Never mind, just do it!"
Surprisingly, the Marauders obeyed Lily, and formed a straight line in front of Harry. *From right to left: Wormtail: Moony: Prongs: Padfoot*
Harry glanced at the four, and then began to crawl to the area between Moony and Prongs. He then slowly turned right, but before James could rejoice, Harry crawled toward Padfoot, lifting his arms, beckoning to be picked up, saying "Pafoo! Pafoo!" His first word.
The other three didn't even care that they lost. They were all in shock. Sirius hesitantly picked up Harry, staring at him in shock. Then Lily screeched as she ran across the room, snatching Harry from Sirius' grasp, and hugging the child.
"He said his first word! He said his first word!" the mother happily cried.
The still shocked Marauders glanced at Harry to Sirius, Harry to Sirius, until Sirius' voice added the whole event up with one word.
"Dang."
****END FLASHBACK****
Yep, Harry's first word was indeed his nickname. James' was extremely mad, and even tried to throttle him.
'Good memories' Sirius thought with a smile. Though having a memory with your best friend intent on pummeling you is not that of a good one.
* *
Gwendellen Snape: Wow, my first and only review so far. Thanks for the review, it really made my day!
*see here readers? One review made me make another chapter. Feel the power of reviews!*
More Author's Note: What can I say? My actual first chapter in 'Is Ignorance Really Bliss?' I feel like jumping up and down!! Actually, I don't since I'll get in trouble from downstairs. *Gleep* I just want to say something about the title. Does the word Ignorance mean the same thing as Ignored? I thought at first, but now I'm not so sure. This story is based on Harry getting ignored later in his years *certainly not now!* so that's how I decided the title. I heard the saying Ignorance is Bliss, and it seemed good to use. But if the word Ignorance is not the same as ignored, then the title is quite incorrect. *Gleep* I sure hope it's not. Anyways, stare at the pretty purple button below. Yes, that's the button that will decide the continuing of this fic. Hope you review!
Summary: What if Sirius stayed Secret Keeper? What I during that time, Lily and James had a second son? What if Voldemort found the Potters around two years later then the actual date in the book? What if Harry really defeated the Dark Lord as a baby *no mother's love* but people assume it was his brother who did? What if Harry is actually ignored and shunned by everyone *and I do mean everyone* while his brother gets everyone's attention? A lot of what ifs, but that's what's Alternate Universe is for!
Disclaimer: Do people actually read this? What's the point in even saying it? Harry Potter does not belong to me! It belongs to the -oh so talented J.K Rowling, whom I'm still mad at from OOTP character's death!
Author's Note: Okie Dokie. Just in case people might think that I stole this plot from another story. The story, Fugitive Prince *in my favorites* has a plot kind of similar, but not that much. It's actually pretty different, besides the fact that the younger brother gets all the credit. But this story and the plot are mine. To tell you the truth, I actually got this story from another fic, and if I find it, I'll tell you the title. *The plot is still different! I only got the idea, not the plot!*
* *
"DAMN IT!" James Potter cursed when he saw the Daily Prophet, an article about another deatheater attack.
"Frank and Alice Longbottom are recently recovering at St.Mungos, but the healers there doubt if they should ever regain their sanity." James read the article over again. The Longbottoms were close friends of his back at Hogwarts, and world-know Aurors.
"Voldemort is making my life a living hell," James groaned, slumping in his seat. For the past 2½ years, he and his wife Lily have stayed secretly hidden in a house with their two sons, Harry and Jacob. They all were in hiding, currently being on Voldemort's hit list. James and Lily were never told why they were in danger, but assumed it was James' job that made them targets. They were safely hidden away since James' best friend, Sirius Black, was their secret keeper.
A shout caused James to look over his shoulder to see a comical site. There was his wife, Lily, trying to calm their youngest son, Jacob, who in fact was screaming his head off. Her red hair was flying everywhere as she took many attempts at making funny faces to Jacob, hoping that he would stop crying and screaming. Jacob's appearances were like his mother in many ways. He had red hair, and a fair complexion. But he missed out one of his mother's most distinguished feature, her green eyes, which were said to sparkle like diamonds. He instead had his father's hazel eyes, which couldn't even compare to Lily's. ((no offence to Prongs ^.^))
It seemed that her eyes were inherited by her oldest son, Harry. Harry was exactly a year older than Jacob, exact to the date. A rather odd thing, since both of their birthdays is on July 31. While Jacob took on Lily's appearances, Harry took his father's. Even at an early age, his black hair was as messy as his father's. He had his father's build and complexion, and would look very much like his father when grown up. That was assured of.
While Jacob took after his mother's looks and Harry after his father's, their personalities were reversed. Jacob, like his dad, tended to be loud and restless, while Harry was more like his mother, quiet and patient. If James' friends were allowed to visit, they would find this rather funny.
Lily kept on making faces, and even tried to sing to Jacob, trying to calm him down, but it caused him to wail louder. James took action and snatched Jacob from Lily's grasp, and rocked his arms back in forth, hoping to lull the baby to sleep. After a few minutes, it worked, and the house was brought to silence.
"Where's Harry?" asked Lily, obviously frustrated that her *clumsy* husband was able to calm down the child while she had failed.
"He's right there," James stated pointing at Harry with his free hand. ". PLAYING WITH MY WAND!!" he cried as he saw purple sparks fly around Harry.
Indeed, the little Potter had James' wand, and was squealing with delight as he saw the rainbow of flashes. His *toy* was quickly snatched up by Lily, ending his fun.
"I told you! You shouldn't leave your wand lying around the house!" Lily yelled at her husband.
"I left it on the counter! How on earth did Harry get my wand when it was on the counter?"
With a mumble that sounded suspiciously like "Idiot" Lily whacked James on the head.
"HEY!" James cried. "You don't hit a man holding a ba." His cry was stopped when Lily grabbed Jacob from him.
"Any more excuses?" she asked sweetly.
"Baahh.. Women. We'll never understand them, will we Harry?" He asked his son, who watching the whole argument, looking amused.
Lily placed Jacob in his crib, than joined her husband, looking at Harry.
James, seeing that Lily was still mad at him, decided to ask a question that was on his mind a lot.
"Harry is already three, and the only words he spoke were the Marauders' nicknames! ONCE! After that, he just stopped talking! Should we get worried yet?"
"Maybe he needs to see the other Marauders. Maybe the site of them will get him to address them. After all, his first word wasn't Prongs."
"Gaahh! I almost forgot about that. Anyways, I thought about it, and now have the perfect reason why Harry won't speak anymore!"
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't have anything else to say!"
"James you idiot!" and with that, Lily whacked James in the head yet again. Harry immediately began laughing seeing his mother's display of *affection* to his dad.
"Oww.." James rubbed his head tenderly.
For 2 ½ years, James and Lily never had contact from the outside world, so it was hard not to get bored, but with their silly arguments, they were able to keep busy. Plus, it was so easy to argue when you're *stranded* with only one person, besides their sons who hardly spoke a word.
***********************************************
Sirius Black was not having a good time. Sure, he had fun with Remus and Peter, but it just wasn't the same without his best buddy James. Having fun with Remus and Peter were rare. He rarely spoke to Remus and Peter though, but had good reasons. Sirius wasn't sure of what side of the war Remus was on. Remus was known to be a werewolf. When they were kids, Sirius never had a thing against that. Hell, he became an unregistered animagus because of that. But childhood memories were over, and he needed to grow up. It was simple. Remus is a werewolf. A werewolf is a dark creature. The Dark Lord recruits dark creatures to join him. Sirius wasn't sure if Remus was on the dark side, but there were many possibilities. Thus, his connections with him dwindled down a bit. Peter was a different matter. He always seemed to be busy and somewhere over Europe. That struck odd to Sirius, since Peter's job was mostly paperwork, which didn't include any traveling. But Sirius didn't question.
Sirius himself was an Auror. He used to work side by side with James, but that changed when he discovered that James was in danger. He was surprised when James asked him to be secret keeper of his family, but he accepted immediately, eager to help his friend. No one besides the Potter, himself, and Dumbledore knew where they were. It was strictly kept secret so the deatheaters wouldn't go after him. Everyone else was informed that the Potters were hiding somewhere in America.
Sirius missed James a lot. He especially missed James' son Harry, who he used to play with all of the time. He remembered how Harry always managed to make anyone smile, no matter the circumstances. Harry always seemed to favor him out of everyone. Including the other Marauders, and even his own parents!
****FLASHBACK****
"Who's your favorite Marauder?" Sirius cooed in a *creepy* baby voice at the baby Harry, who had just turned one year old. The Potters, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were at the Potter's place, gathered in the Living Room, celebrating Harry's first birthday. Everyone was filled with ice cream and cake, and was just relaxing. James perked up his ears when he heard Sirius' question.
"Favorite Marauder? Its Prongs of course! Isn't it Harry?" He took Harry from Sirius arms, and began to tickle him, repeating his question continually to the laughing and shrieking Harry.
"No fair Prongs! You can't bribe him by tickling him! Gimme Harry! The answer is obviously Padfoot!! GIMMEE!!!"
"That's where you two are wrong. Harry loves it when I play with him. It's Wormtail he favors!"
"Technically, Harry should like the Prongs the most, since James is his dad. *AHA! James cried* But. we all know that Harry is a smart kid, and loves to spend time with the most sensible Marauder, which is of course Moony!"
"In your dreams Moony!"
"Me! Me! He favors me!"
"I'm his father!!"
"So? I'm his godfather!! Gimmee my godson!
"He's my godson too!"
"Well, I'm his favorite!"
"No you're not!"
"Yes I am!!"
"NO!"
"YES!
"NO!"
"YES!
"NO!"
"YES!
"NO!"
"YES!
"How about you let Harry decide?"
The screaming stopped when a new voice came. Lily watched the whole argument with an amused look across her face.
"And pray tell, Lily, how do you propose we do that?" Sirius muttered sarcastically.
"You four, form a straight line in front of Harry, and whoever he goes to first, he favors the most. *under her breath* and it better not be Sirius"
"HEY!" Sirius yelled, since he obviously heard her comment.
"Never mind, just do it!"
Surprisingly, the Marauders obeyed Lily, and formed a straight line in front of Harry. *From right to left: Wormtail: Moony: Prongs: Padfoot*
Harry glanced at the four, and then began to crawl to the area between Moony and Prongs. He then slowly turned right, but before James could rejoice, Harry crawled toward Padfoot, lifting his arms, beckoning to be picked up, saying "Pafoo! Pafoo!" His first word.
The other three didn't even care that they lost. They were all in shock. Sirius hesitantly picked up Harry, staring at him in shock. Then Lily screeched as she ran across the room, snatching Harry from Sirius' grasp, and hugging the child.
"He said his first word! He said his first word!" the mother happily cried.
The still shocked Marauders glanced at Harry to Sirius, Harry to Sirius, until Sirius' voice added the whole event up with one word.
"Dang."
****END FLASHBACK****
Yep, Harry's first word was indeed his nickname. James' was extremely mad, and even tried to throttle him.
'Good memories' Sirius thought with a smile. Though having a memory with your best friend intent on pummeling you is not that of a good one.
* *
Gwendellen Snape: Wow, my first and only review so far. Thanks for the review, it really made my day!
*see here readers? One review made me make another chapter. Feel the power of reviews!*
More Author's Note: What can I say? My actual first chapter in 'Is Ignorance Really Bliss?' I feel like jumping up and down!! Actually, I don't since I'll get in trouble from downstairs. *Gleep* I just want to say something about the title. Does the word Ignorance mean the same thing as Ignored? I thought at first, but now I'm not so sure. This story is based on Harry getting ignored later in his years *certainly not now!* so that's how I decided the title. I heard the saying Ignorance is Bliss, and it seemed good to use. But if the word Ignorance is not the same as ignored, then the title is quite incorrect. *Gleep* I sure hope it's not. Anyways, stare at the pretty purple button below. Yes, that's the button that will decide the continuing of this fic. Hope you review!