Disclaimer: All the characters in this story belong to JK Rowling, and I have no rights to Harry Potter.

THE ACCEPTANCE LETTER

Date: 31 July 1991

Location: Styncon Garden

Harry spent almost every day in July looking out the window in his room, anxiously awaiting the owl that would bring his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. His birthday wasn't until the end of July, and his acceptance letter would come a week before his birthday, but Harry didn't care. He wanted his letter now. Surely, wanting it badly enough would make it come faster.

"Will it come today, Mum?"

"I don't tell the owls when to deliver letters."

"But you could tell them, couldn't you?"

"And how would I do that?"

"You and Dad always talk to Dumbledore over the phone, tell him to send it faster."

"Dumbledore won't be writing the letter, the Deputy Headmistress will."

"Then tell her to send my letter faster."

"Be patient."

On Tuesday, Neville got his acceptance letter. This only worsened Harry's mood. He walked into the dining room looking resigned. He picked at his eggs and nibbled on his toast. He even refused sausages.

"What's the matter?" Dad asked.

"I'm not going to Hogwarts."

"What? When did you decide this?"

"My letter hasn't come. I don't think I'll be going."

"You're not eleven yet. It'll come soon."

And with all the grave sagacity only a nearly eleven-year-old boy could muster he said, "No. I've come to terms with my fate. I'll not be a real wizard after all."

James wanted to laugh. He tried very hard not to laugh. With a twitching mouth he patted his son's arm, choked out in the most sympathetic tone he could manage, "I'm sure it will come soon," then nearly ran to Lily in the next room to tell her what had just happened.

James and Lily spent the rest of the morning talking Harry out of his strange low. He was back in the living room, watching re-runs of He-Man.

Harry barely ate dinner that night, and he could hardly sleep that night.

The next morning, Harry was awoken at sunrise by something tapping at the window. Harry had hardly looked at what it was before he scrambled to get the glass open. An owl fluttered in and dropped a thick envelope into his lap. It was addressed in a typewritten font to:

Mr. H. Potter

The Room in the Ground Floor

Styncon Garden

Yate, Gloucestershire

Turning his envelope over, hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms. A lion, a badger, an eagle and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

He'd been waiting for this moment for all his life.

This was his acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

"Mum! Dad!" he shouted.

The owl screeched as Harry bolted to his feet and sent the bird tumbling onto the floor.

"Mum! Dad!" It was louder than Harry had been on any Christmas morning as he ran up the stairs, triggering the buzzer in the fourth step, running into the master bedroom and bouncing onto their bed. Dad groaned at the weight and Mum rolled over with a sigh.

"It came, did it?" Dad mumbled and fumbled for his glasses on the dressing table. He didn't find them, but his hand tightened around his wand. With a wave of his wand, his glasses came to him, but so did Harry's. He muttered an apology as he sat up and gave Harry back his glasses.

"Spells before seven, Jimmy, we've talked about this," Mum said groggily as she too sat up.

"Right, right," he groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "Well, congrats, Harry. Did you open it?"

Harry proceeded to rip open the parchment, "Carefully, or you'll tear it," Mum warned and Harry drew his letter out, typed onto a crisp white piece of paper.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin – First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Former Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Warlocks)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please turn over to find a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on the 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than the 31st of July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry looked at both of his parents. "You have the Merlin Order thing right?". He only got slight smiles in return.

"Can we go to Diagon Alley today?"

"No, no," Mum shook her head. "We've got a lot to do to get ready for your birthday next week. We'll go to Diagon Alley afterwards."

The next week was a flurry of excitement. Cleaning the house from top to bottom, pruning the garden in the back. Mum said the wild look gave it character; Dad was worried it looked alive and could eat the guests. Harry thought it would actually be exciting if the plants could eat the guests. He thought it was overkill for a party to which only family and close friends were invited.

On the day of the party, a large cake was set in the garden under a small tent. Uncles Sirius and Remus arrived early and helped Dad set up the tent and added a few minor enchantments to keep the summer heat from beating down on the guests, few though they may be.

Neville Longbottom was the first to arrive, with Uncle Frank and Aunt Alice. Aunt Alice was Dad's older sister. Then came Dudley Evans, with Aunt Petunia, who was Mum's older sister. The Tonks family arrived a short while later.

The children naturally grouped together – Harry, Neville and Dudley – they had known each other since they were babies, and Harry was cousins with the other two boys. They were all headed to Hogwarts in the autumn. Neville, in fact, was born just half an hour before Harry was, and they usually had a joint birthday party.

"You wonder what houses we'll be in?" Dudley asked. He was a rather stocky boy, slightly overweight, and had beady black eyes with dark brown hair.

"I know I'll be in Gryffindor, of course." Harry shrugged. Both his parents had been in Gryffindor.

"I honestly don't care what house I'm in." Dudley replied "And before you start going off on me, Harry, Aunt Alice was in Hufflepuff and your grandma was in Slytherin."

"I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff," Neville moaned, and worked his way through his second helping of cake with the steady pace of a marathon runner. He was a round faced, chubby boy, with black hair, just like Harry's. He was the spitting image of Aunt Alice, without all the scars or the limp.

"It doesn't matter where we end up," Harry scolded. "Dora was in Hufflepuff, and both her parents were Slytherins."

The three boys turned their heads to look at Nymphadora 'Dora' Tonks chatting with Uncle Sirius. Her hair was bubble gum pink, and while she spoke, she was tapping her fingernails against the table. Her fingers would roll once, perfectly normal, but then they'd grow long like dragon claws or tiny and sharp like cat claws every few clicks.

She clearly noticed them, as she walked over. "Wotcher brats!"

"Hello, Dora!"

"Look at you, all ready to go to Hogwarts," she said. "Tell me, though, did your parents tell you how you're sorted into Houses?"

At their refusal, she got a glint in her eyes that nobody recognised. "Oh, it's a long, long essay. One thousand five hundred words, minimum," she continued with a smirk "And then there's the practical."

"What's the practical?" Dudley asked nervously.

"Facing a dragon, of course."

Harry and Dora burst into laughter. Neville looked slightly ill.

Before Harry and Dudley could assure Neville that Dora was joking, Dora said "It's a shame though, Harry, first years can't bring brooms."

Harry choked on the pop he was drinking. He hadn't seen that in his letter. Suddenly Hogwarts didn't seem all that exciting.

"You can smuggle it in, loads of people do it all the time." Dora added.

This made Harry wonder. Could he convince Dad to let him smuggle in a broomstick? It would have to be behind Mum's back, of course. She would never approve of it. But he knew Dad had been Quidditch captain in school. Surely, he would understand.

As the sun set and the evening settled in, the guests began to say their goodbyes. The Tonkses first, then Neville and the Longbottoms – Dora lingered a little while longer, until finally excusing herself. The last guests were Dudley and Aunt Petunia, and of course Uncles Sirius and Remus were still there.

Harry and Dudley had moved into Harry's room, and were taking turns playing Tetris on Harry's Gameboy, that he got as a Christmas present two years ago. They were on their third round, and their eyes kept drifting to the drawing room. Aunt Petunia was speaking and the boys were trying very hard to listen, but she was too quiet for them to hear anything other than murmurs.

"He has a right to know," Uncle Sirius' voice said, much louder than anyone else. Someone tried to shush him, but he wasn't listening. "I mean it. If I was him. I'd expect to be told. I wouldn't take no for an answer."

Harry and Dudley glanced at each other, and in silent agreement, paused the game and crept to the back door so they could hear the adults clearly.

"Lily's right," Uncle Remus said. "We can't tell him that."

Uncle Sirius made a disgruntled noise, but he had nothing further to say.

"Are you sure you don't want me here, Lily?" Aunt Petunia asked. "I mean, I'm his favourite aunt, and I know he'll appreciate the extra ear."

"Thank you," Mum interrupted, "Honestly, Tuney, thank you. But I think… I think we should break it to him first, get him used to it. And we do have someone coming to help. Perhaps afterwards… Harry knows he can ring you or Dudley whenever he wants."

The sound of chairs moving sent Harry and Dudley darting back to the Gameboy, looking as innocent as they could. Harry whistled the theme to Tetris, hoping that he looked more like he was concentrating on the game and less like he was worrying over what his family had said.

When Aunt Petunia came into the room, Harry and Dudley got to their feet.

Aunt Petunia was a tall, slender woman, with flowing blonde locks and warm chocolate brown eyes, so she towered over the boys as she talked. "Hello Dudders, Harry," she greeted. "Time to go," and Harry turned the Gameboy off and got into the drawing room.

Harry and Dudley said rather awkward goodbyes, with furtive glances to each of their parents, and then Mum and Dad walked Dudley and Aunt Petunia out.

Uncle Sirius sank into a rather plush armchair, and Uncle Remus took a seat on the edge of the sofa. Harry sat on the armrest of Uncle Sirius' chair.

"Did you have a good birthday, Harry?" Uncle Remus asked with a smile.

"Yes, I did. Only –" he stopped, unsure of how to ask after their secret conversation.

"Only what?" Uncle Sirius raised an eyebrow at him.

"What were you talking about? Are you telling me?"

"At least wait for your mum and dad," Uncle Sirius half-laughed. If either of his uncles were disappointed in him for eavesdropping, they didn't show it.

Mum and Dad walked in to the room with a bottle of whiskey, four glasses and a coffee mug, and a bottle of Coca-Cola for him.

"Rough weekend?" Dad asked as he sat down next to Remus.

"Not as bad as it could have been."

Dad nodded understandably. "If there were any damages –"

"Thank you Jim. You've always been too generous."

It was a compliment which Dad only shrugged at. "Can't be generous if I've got too much of it," and Uncle Sirius snorted.

Harry moved from Uncle Sirius' arm rest to sit beside Dad. "Dad, what are you going to tell me?"

Dad's face lost a shade of colour. "Just be patient. Give Mum and I a minute. And we're waiting on –"

There was a thunderous knock at the door, and a weary smile slipped over Dad's face.

"Waiting on Hagrid."

Author's Notes: This was first written sometime in the summer of 2023, when I read AidanChase's incredible "Harry Potter: Everyone Lives AU". You can call this series of stories my version of that story, but I have changed quite a few things in the story, as I had a few qualms with that fic. I have finished about 3/4ths of the first book so far.

I had no intention for posting this, until I was encouraged by a few friends to do so. This is my first story on the site, so constructive criticism is welcome.

About Dudley: Lily and Petunia never really had a fallout. (Reasons for this will be revealed later). Petunia and Vernon divorced in 1983 after Dudley started showing signs of accidental magic, Petunia got custody of Dudley and took the Evans surname again.

To read the original series of stories that inspired this, search for "Harry Potter: Everyone Lives AU" and you will get the AO3 link for the entire series.