AN: Hello everyone, it's been a while since I started a new story and this one has been toiling in my mind for a few days now. I don't know how far this story will go, or how it may so end, however I do know that this is an idea I have not tried before so it is going to be an interesting ride and I hope we all enjoy it together.
Harry looked around the room, his bedroom that he had occupied for more than forty years. Every aspect of the room was etched upon his memory, just like every other aspect of the house and those whom had occupied it over the years he had called the place home. His eyes fell upon the portraits of both his wives that sat upon his bedside table.
Ginny, his first wife had been the most fierce and adventurous person he had ever known. She had shown him so many things during their thirteen years together, years that he had cherished. She had died during a Quidditch accident during the first game of what was to be her thirteenth season on both the Holly Head Harpies and the United Kingdom International Quidditch Team. It had left him to raise his three children with her on his own.
A year later Ron had died after a raid gone wrong during his second year as Head of Auror Office, leaving Hermione and their two children in grief. The entire Weasley family had mourned together, pulling both himself and her deeper into the fold than ever. Yet, it was their shared grief that brought him and Hermione together.
They had continued to remain close after their years at Hogwarts, Harry had joined Ron in the Auror Office, rising to Head of the Auror Office within five years. He had named Ron his Lieutenant and when he later rose to Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement two years later Ron was unanimously chosen to replace him as Head of the Auror Office. It was normal for them all to spend holidays and birthdays together simply because they were family, but the three friends went beyond that meeting often throughout the week for dinner and frequently on the weekends when their children were still at home and even after they had started Hogwarts.
In the two years after Ron's death Harry and Hermione had steadily grown ever closer, and soon he began to realize that he felt for her in a way that he had not expected to feel for anyone ever again. It surprised him further when he found that she too had held feelings for him, feelings that she had quieted away years earlier when he had never revealed any signs of sharing those feelings in return, though he had long come to realize he had loved her in so many ways and just never realized it far longer then he ever had Ginny.
Despite their fear of what the Weasley's would say the two ended up dating, though they were surprised when the family gave their blessing. They spent the next fifty-three years happily married, raising their children together and helping to raise their grandchildren. Rose, Hugo, James, Albus and Lilly had all been supportive of their parents relationship and they had all become a very close family in the years that followed.
Ten years ago Hermione had fallen to Dragon Pox, and Harry had retired from the Ministry, fading away from public life. He had spent the last decade mourning not only his dearest friend, but also his greatest love. Ginny had been a wonderful wife, but Hermione had always been there for him and had known what he needed and when, she had always known how to calm his temper and had from the beginning of their friendship always done her best to understand him and help him to the best of her abilities because she genuinely cared deeply about him.
He sighed, as he closed his eyes letting his memories replay again as he felt a deep coldness settling into the room despite the warmth of the late July afternoon. He could hear his granddaughter Minerva in the next room practicing on the piano, she had been his caretaker for the last two years. He could feel the ticking of the clock on the mantle in his very bones as the coldness seeped closer too him, slowly filling him, the sound of the piano growing dull and dim.
'Oh dearest friend, if it be true and I be thy master.' He thought quietly to himself, as he continued to feel his body fading from his consciousness. 'If I truly be the master of Death, grant now this wish I might ask. Let me have a second chance, a chance to redo everything, to undo mistakes that were made and the chance to spend my entire life with the one I love most of all again, grant me this...please...'
The thoughts faded as he felt the last vestiges of his life slip into a blank void upon which only a single solitary point of light emerged. Curious he bent his focus to the light, moving ever closer to it as he hovered in the darkness. He wondered what it was, what strange journey this could be. He knew one thing with distinct asurity though he could not explain how, if he continued to follow the light he would see her again.
Petunia awoke with her alarm, Vernon grumbling in his sleep as she quickly snapped it off. She crossed through their dark bedroom and out into the hall, grabbing her bathrobe and pulling it tight as she closed the door. Entering the bathroom she quickly brushed her teeth and rinsed her face before going through her mind on what she would make for breakfast that morning.
She had been surprised by Vernon's mention of her sister the evening before, it was not like him to ever mention their secret especially so openly. She sighed, whatever it was that had suddenly caused him to bring up Lilly it was well worth forgetting and quickly she decided. She left the now damp towel she had dried her face and hands on laying on the counter and left the room dipping into Dudley's room to check on him.
The ball of blankets that was her son lay soundly snoring as a faint ray of sunshine peeked through the curtain windows across the floor. She smiled quietly, proudly to herself before slipping back into the hall and heading down the stairs. Entering her pristine kitchen she began to pull packets of bacon and a carton of eggs from the fridge, setting them on the counter before returning for the milk.
She looked at the nearly empty jug and sighed, luckily today was milk delivery she was just glad that there was enough left for pancakes and cereal for Dudders. Returning to the counter she began to pull down the necessary things she would need and soon the smell of fresh breakfast was filling the kitchen.
She was just setting the table when she heard the sound of her husband on the stairs. He entered a few moments later and she smiled as he slouched to the table, immediately seizing his coffee with little more than a grunt to her. She smiled, knowing this was his way of thanking her.
"I hope the milkman is early today." She said, pouring the last of the milk into the cereal she was making for Dudley. "If Diddykins wants more than one bowl of cereal he will have to wait."
"Better set the empty bottles on the stoop." he said, pointing at the box she kept the empty bottles in for return.
"I'll go do that now, then go up and wake Dudders." She said, standing and grabbing the box up from its storage space. "Back a pip."
She kissed him gently on the cheek and then left the room, heading down the hall to the front door. She undid the bolt and opened the door, staring out into the misty morning air. She could feel the November chill settling into her bones and quickly stopped to set the box of empty bottles on the step.
She screamed at the sight that met her, a baby with jet black hair wrapped in a blanket lay nestled on their step. At her sound the infant woke, squalling into the early morning air as it jostled about and a letter fell onto the ground from within the blanket.
Vernon was at her side instantly, grabbing up the baby and the letter as he quickly brought her back into the house. She followed him back into the kitchen where she was surprised when he handed her the letter, thin scrawling text showed that it was addressed to her.
Taking the letter she sat down and began to read, clutching the table as she did so.
Mrs. Petunia Dursley,
I am afraid that it falls upon me to be the bearer of great sorrow in this moment of great misfortune. I must inform you that in the late hours of last night your Sister, Lilly, and her husband James were both murdered. I understand that it has been many years since you and your Sister were on speaking terms, however her son Harry now requires a guardian to raise him and ensure that no harm befalls him. As you and your family are his only living relatives it is to you that Harry is to be sent to be raised.
I understand that this will be a time of great sadness and loss, I hope that in this shared grief you will come to love Harry and raise him as your own. However, I must tell you that it was for her son that your sister sacrificed her life to the hands of Lord Voldemort. I say this to you because in taking on the custody of Harry you should be aware of what all that entails.
Your Sister and her Husband sought to aid me and several others of our kind to bring down a Dark Wizard who had our world engulfed in war. This Dark Wizard, seeking to kill your nephew due to fear that he may become a rival to him later in life, visited the residence of your Sister last night in Godric's Hollow and murdered both Lilly and James. In his attempt to murder your nephew Harry, he was vanquished, though not for good I fear.
Harry has been left with a scar on his forehead, the only evidence left behind of the curse that backfired on Lord Voldemort. I beseech you now, as you are the only other person who can ensure the protection that Harry will now need until he is of age. You share the blood of your Sister, blood whose protection can guarantee the survival and safety of her child. I ask you now to set aside your differences with your sister and raise her child and to provide him the safety that only you can.
There is nothing that will be needed of you for this protection to be enacted, the moment that you agree to keep Harry and raise him as his guardians you and your family will also be protected by the same protection so long as Harry may call your house home. Alongside raising Harry, I ask that once he begins attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry you continue to allow him to return to your home every summer for the summer holidays, at least for the beginning of those holidays he may of course visit friends. I only ask this of your until he reaches his seventeenth birthday, for upon that day he reaches adulthood within the Magical World. On that day the protection provided through the shared blood from your sister will end and Harry will no longer have that protection.
Know this, if you refuse to take in your nephew it is likely that he will die. There are many that followed Lord Voldemort, idealizing him and the atrocities he believed in. Believing that their rightful place was to rule over all lesser being including Muggles. They nearly tore our world apart and they were well aware of the threat that the Dark Lord feared Harry to be. It is likely that should you refuse to take him in, those followers will be allowed to find him and either manipulate or kill him to serve their own ends or to bring back their Lord and Master.
I ask you to think how you would feel if it were your son in Harry's position. Would you as a mother, refuse a child who could surely face death or worse, a child whose own mother is no longer able to provide protection to her son in any other way. I will know your answer once you finish reading this letter thanks to a charm I have placed upon it. Should you agree to keep Harry I will drop by this afternoon to discuss everything further, otherwise I will drop by to pick up Harry and take him elsewhere.
I hope again that you will take him in and show him the love and affection that I know you, as a mother, are able to provide and will protect him as if he were your own son.
Sincerely,
Albus P. W. B. Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Order of Merlin First Class
Petunia looked up from the letter, a strange sense of dread hanging over her. Her sister was dead, she had not seen her sister in years, not since she had declared she no longer had a sister, just before she married Vernon and moved to Privet Drive. She felt the anger and the disappointment wash over her at everything her sister had ever gotten that she did not. She also felt the jealousy and the anger fade to the hurt and the pain of loosing the last member of her family, her parents had died a year before in a car crash, she realized suddenly that she could tell that to the boy without having to reveal everything else until it was time.
"What the bloody hell is this all about?" Demanded Vernon as she turned to find him watching her. "Who is this, what is in that letter?"
The baby in Vernon's arms began to wail again at the distress of her husband and she stood, taking her nephew from him and slipping the letter into her bathrobe pocket to put away later. She gently rocked the baby, soothing him as best she could despite her own nerves.
"This is our nephew." She said pointedly, indicating the baby in her arms. "Lilly and her husband James are dead, Harry was brought to us as we are his only remaining living family."
Vernon stared at her looking between her and the baby. "You're sister is dead?" He asked, staring at the place where she had put the letter. "And we are to raise one of them?"
"Yes." She said deciding on the spot that she would raise her nephew, that she would do what she could to protect him whether she liked the situation or not. "Now, go get ready for work. We will have a visitor around noon, make sure you are home."
Vernon stared at her in disbelief but did as she bade. She tidied up from their breakfast and went upstairs to wake Dudders, taking Harry with her as she did so. As she entered Dudley's room he woke, staring up at her with a wide grin before he caught sight of the new baby in her arms.
With a start she realized that they were nearly the same age, Harry seemed to only be a few months, possibly only a few weeks younger than Dudley. Whatever am I going to do? She thought quietly as she lifted Dudley from his cradle and settled Harry down to sleep again, smiling softly as he sank back down into the blankets bundled around him. She quietly slipped back out of the room, taking a now squirming Dudley down to breakfast.
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AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I am intrigued to see where this story will lead. I don't know how frequently the chapters for this story will come out, but I will do my best to keep everything rolling in a timely and orderly fashion. Let me know what you think and I will be back with another chapter soon.