Chapter One: First Movement

Katrina Kathy knocked on the door of Number Four Privet Drive in the early afternoon, having made sure to come while children were still busy in class. She was hoping to surprise her young student with his family when he got home. She never even considered any negative reaction on his family's part.

Petunia Dursley opened the door with and impatient expression. "Yes?" she asked shrewdly.

"Mrs. Dursley? My name is Katrina Kathy and I teach music at your son and nephew's school. I'm here about young Harry?" she smiled happily at the woman, noting with worry that the boney woman had paled at the mention of her nephew.

"Come in," she snapped and opened the door a bit wider. Katrina stepped in slowly, wary of anything this hostile woman could throw at her. How had such a woman raised the sweetest child she'd ever met?

"What has that brat done this time?" Petunia demanded.

"Oh nothing," Katrina laughed. "I'm here about the after school lessons that I've been giving him."

"What lessons?" Petunia looked shocked at the information.

"Piano lessons," Katrina elaborated and filed her lack of knowledge on this in her head for later. "Harry took a shining to both the piano and flute but unfortunately, he could only choose one to learn in class. Harry chose the flute and came to me later, asking if I could teach him the piano after school. I agreed and I must say, I've never seen anyone so talented in music in my life."

Petunia gained a glint in her eyes that spoke of curiosity, the first interest she had shown in her nephew the entire time. "Truthfully?" she asked.

"Oh yes, you've raised a fine child. He's ever so polite and kind. Dudley bullies him, probably out of jealously of sharing his parents, but he never shows any resentment or hostility towards his cousin for his treatment. I know raising your sister's child must have been hard but I must say you're doing a great job with both children. Dudley must be trying and it must be nice for your nephew to be so understanding of his cousin's plight."

Petunia's demeanor changed for frigid to warm in an instant and Katrina knew that she had hit the nail on the head. The woman must have been worried that Harry would start acting out due to his treatment so she brushed the early treatment off.

"I also suggest that you find a tutor for Dudley," Katrina added. "He seems to have trouble focusing in a classroom environment. I've noticed that he learns his notes and fingering for the trumpet much better when we are having class outside on a nice day than he does when inside. Some children learn better in different environments so maybe having him be tutored while outside or at home would help him pick up the material better."

Petunia gave a nod and the two descended into conversation about the boys quicker than one could say "Quidditch" if they knew what the sport was.

They both came to an arrangement where Harry would be given Katrina's old piano (she'd recently gotten a new one and had decided that Harry would benefit from her old one before approaching Petunia) and Petunia would take Harry to get a new flute. Petunia also decided, silently, that Harry would have to be moved to the spare junk room upstairs. It was a small price to pay but a tutor would notice if Harry returned to the cupboard every night.

When Harry and Dudley returned home that day, both were surprised by the sudden change of the rules in the house. Harry would be given his own room and be taken to get a new wardrobe. The young child would also be gaining a flute and a piano curtsey of the talk that one Katrina Kathy had had with his Aunt.

Dudley would be gaining a tutor for school work and the overweight seven year old was ecstatic that he'd finally be able to live up to his parents expectations. In the other world, Dudley Dursley grew to hate school and that he would never be what his parents wanted him to. This had led him to bulling those that did better than him in a fit of jealous rage. This world's Dudley had been well on his way to becoming that child but the actions of one teacher had made sure that Dudley would never feel that resentment.

Petunia Dursley had decided during her talk with the music teacher that there was a better way to get even with her sister. Lily had been the perfect child but had died young. Petunia, before that point, had been taking out her rage at Lily having magic, her anger at being saddled with her hated sister's son, on the child himself. Hearing the music teacher sing her praises for taking on that challenge and raising two fine young boys had given Petunia the idea for the ultimate revenge: she would raise both Dudley and Harry to be the best they could be, something her sister would never be able to do. It would be Petunia that was commended for her parenting skills and her kindness.

The way Harry was treated would never be the same.

To say that the music teacher became Harry's favorite teacher was an understatement. The seven year old adored the teacher and proclaimed, if only to himself, that he would never let anything happen to her.

Ever.

Harry looked around his new room in satisfaction. The room had once been cluttered and filled with broken toys that Dudley had no use for anymore. He had dragged his cousin in hear earlier to go through the trash and the other seven year old had been appalled that his parents had kept the trash. They had found a few things worth keeping (which Dudley had given to his cousin) but the rest was promptly pitched. To say that his aunt and uncle were relieved was an understatement. It seemed that they hadn't known what to do with the stuff and had been happy to see their seven year old son mature more in the span of a month than he had in his seven years of life.

The relationship between Harry and Dudley had improved ten-fold. Dudley's tutor had noticed budding anger management problems and had recommended that Dudley see a professional to learn how to control his anger. After two weeks of sessions, Dudley was like a different person altogether. Harry was somewhat relieved at this and had found that this new Dudley was someone that he liked.

Dudley had begun choosing his friends more wisely and had befriended Piers Polkis (another child that was seeing a specialist for Anger Management after a substitute teacher had noticed the signs) and Denise Wilkons, a boy who was a year older than them and participated in the Junior Football League.

Harry had also been integrated into the group after Dudley noticed that he was being isolated for his talent with music and his friendship with Mrs. Kathy (she'd gotten married to her fiancé a week after he chat with Petunia and her intended had hated his own name, Picani, and had taken her maiden name as his own instead of the other way around).

While Harry's life and relationship with his cousin was improving more than he could have ever hoped, his relationship with his aunt and uncle had become a mutual acceptance of each other's presence. There was no love lost between himself and the older Dursley's but after Katrina had realized that they weren't receiving any financial aid for his upkeep, the teacher had helped them file the correct paperwork to make sure that they started receiving funds. This money was dedicated solely to his needs and to help in buying food. This also improved Vernon's attitude towards his nephew and Harry continued doing work around the house as chores. The biggest difference was Dudley was now helping his cousin with the chores of his own free will.

The first thing that Petunia had done after receiving the Government Stipend for him was throw out the bed, desk, and beside table that were run down and falling apart in the unused room. A new regular sized bed frame and mattress was bought as well as a book shelf, desk, and bedside table. Petunia had taken her new goal to raise him better than his own parents would have very seriously. It wouldn't do to have someone she was raising live in an unsuitable room.

Harry had placed his new bed underneath his window where the old desk had been. The desk had then been placed on the opposite wall with the bookshelf right next to it. The wardrobe was filled with his clothes and left in its own corner. The bed frame they bought doubled as a dresser with a little cupboard between the four drawers. Harry had been pleased with this and had placed his new flute and music stand in the cupboard that would now be dedicated towards his music.

The piano took up the last of the wall space as it was placed only a little bit away from his bedside table. The door just barely opened all the way and Harry couldn't say that he wasn't pleased by the layout of the room.

The next thing they had done was to purchase a lamp (the one that had been in the room had turned out to be broken) and a new alarm clock that would go on his bedside table. Harry's glasses that had been taken from a donation bin were scrapped and he was taken to the eye doctor.

To the horror of Petunia and the doctor, Harry was discovered to have a severe case of Open-Angle Glaucoma. Harry was one of the cases were he had no symptoms and the fact that he was already experiencing vision loss. He had been forced to undergo laser treatment as the doctor was nearly positive that Harry was too advanced for eyedrops to be a viable option any longer. The doctor, Evan Sterling, was relieved that Petunia had brought him in and commended her on catching this before Harry had been blinded.

"This will cure it then?" Petunia demanded as Harry underwent the laser treatment.

"No," Dr. Sterling had said, shaking his head sadly. "Little Harry will have to use specially designed eyedrops for the rest of his life to make sure that it doesn't progress. Open-Angle Glaucoma cannot be cured, only maintained. I will want to check up on him again in a month."

Petunia had only nodded and made a follow-up appointment with him.

Harry was just glad that he wouldn't need glasses after all.

To say that his uncle and cousin had been surprised when he had returned without new glasses was not the correct assumption. Vernon had been horrified when the visit was explained to him and relieved they had not accidently caused the blindness of their nephew due to repercussions that they-who, Harry was not sure-would ensure that the Dursley's would face.

Now Harry was happily decorating his new room with the excitement that most seven year old children showed when given a new toy to play with and he was just placing the finishing touches on the walls. Pictures that he had drawn in school were now displayed proudly on the painted blue (Petunia had had Vernon repaint the room while they were out shopping) walls.

Life was good, the seven years old boy decided and the feeling of resentment towards the Dursley's, one that had started nearly a year before, and would have grown to make the budding musician and wizard a bitter and cruel man, evaporated into this air as if it had never existed.

Children, as everyone new, had a way of bouncing back from even the harshest of experiences. It was the actions of one music teacher that had prevented a horrid and painful future for the Dursley's and one Harry James Potter, as well as the Wizarding World as a whole.

Let me know what you think?

~MisteryMaiden~