Chapter 1

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

We do not know how to start this letter but also realize we must. James's and Lily's deaths a few months ago was a shock to all who knew them well, but it was also not unexpected, we all know why even if I can't take a chance of mentioning in this letter. However, since James and Lily are dead and Sirius is in Azkaban—even though we don't believe for a moment, he did all those horrible crimes he has been accused of—we are next in the Potter's will to raise their son, Harry.
We know you are worried about Harry's safety from those who would do him harm but over the last several months Frank, Augusta and I have put up more wards around Longbottom Manor that no one with the least evil intentions could get through them. Remus Lupin has been helping us and has even invented a ward that reacts to anyone who has the Dark Mark
Frank and I of course realize that not all people who agree with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named views are actual Death Eaters, but you also must realize that Harry's happiness must mean something. Frank and I have discussed it, and we know that James has no living relatives, and that the only family Lily had left was her sister Petunia and her nephew Dudley. If you have placed Harry with his relatives—and we can't see who else you could have put him with—then you must realize that Petunia and her family hate magic, hate it so much that Petunia wouldn't even acknowledge she had a sister after Lily married James. Is that really the best kind of environment for a child to grow up in, especially the Boy Who Lived?
I know you think they will accept him but believe me when I tell you that Harry's relatives are the worst kind of Muggles. They hate anything they do not understand, and I can guarantee they will not treat Harry well.
Professor Dumbledore we are asking you—no begging you—to let us take Harry and raise him as one of our own. We love him as much as we love our own son. He and our son are best friends, and Neville cries himself to sleep every night wondering what has happened to his best friend and playmate. We try to comfort him as best we can but are having little success. Both of us think that the only solace for his tears is to see Harry again.
Do not force us to take legal action. We might not be as powerful as you, but we could cause a big enough stink that would get you tons of owls from people concerned about the environment the Boy Who Lived was growing up in. Please don't force us to take such action because we will if we must.

Sincerely
Frank and Alice Longbottom

Dumbledore put down the letter from the Longbottoms and sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose deep in thought. Had he done the right thing in placing Harry with his relatives? It had seemed like such a perfect solution at the time, but if the Longbottoms were in any way correct then Harry could be in a situation that would not be healthy for the Boy Who Lived or in fact for any child.
But it was safer for Harry, wasn't it? Sure, his relatives might mistreat him, but didn't the blood protection outweigh that? He didn't know anymore. He just didn't know.
As for the legal complications Dumbledore wasn't as concerned about those as he was about Harry's safety. It was true that both the Longbottoms came from old, rich pureblood families and had a lot of influence, but he also knew that normally neither Frank nor Alice thought that way. They must be truly concerned about Harry for them to make such a threat.
Finally, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair deep in thought wondering if he had made a monumental mistake; a mistake that could come back to haunt him in the years to come.

~~~An Alternate Future~~~

A few days later

Frank Longbottom stormed into Dumbledore's office without knocking his wife Alice close behind looking just as furious but showing it in a different way than her husband. It had been several months since the night of the Potters' murder by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and since Sirius who had been named Harry's Godfather was in Azkaban they had expected to get custody of the Potters son Harry. The Longbottoms and the Potters had been friends all the way through school and when the news had reached Alice and Frank of their murders, they had been shocked and even more so when they found out that it was believed the Sirius Black had betrayed them although neither Alice nor Frank believed it there wasn't much, they could do about it. However, they could try to get custody of Harry whom both suspected had been sent to live with his relatives. Both Frank and Alice had met Petunia and Vernon and the Potters' wedding briefly and neither had been impressed with their attitude. It was clear that both hated magic and had only come because Lily had begged them to. Frank and Alice of course knew that a lot of Muggles feared what they did not understand but these were the sort of Muggles that if Harry was left with them for any length of time he would be traumatized beyond redemption.
Alice Longbottom had a roundish face with dark brown hair that tended to slightly curl at the end and kind, gentle brown eyes. She was slightly shorter then Frank by a couple of inches but her strong personality more than made up for her lack of height. Alice and Frank had fallen in love while they were still at Hogwarts and luckily came from similar backgrounds so that their parents didn't object to their marriage. Unfortunately, the wizarding world; especially the purebloods were steeped in tradition and although some of them were more modern then others a lot of them still fought to keep their lines pure. Of course, a lot of purebloods had broken with that tradition and married who they wanted and of course, they were sometimes disowned because of it. Andromeda Black Tonks was a perfect example of that for she had married Ted Tonks who was a Muggle-born wizard. The Blacks were usually evil and supported Voldemort's causes. The only ones not to turn out like that in the last generation were Andromeda, Sirius and their Uncle Alphard.
As for Frank he was almost six feet tall although he missed that by a couple of inches and had short blond hair, blue eyes and a face that had sharp almost aristocratic cheekbones and stubborn chin. He was also lightly muscled which came from his years as a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
"Frank, Alice what can I do for you on this fine day?" asked Dumbledore his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles perched on the end of his nose.
"You know perfectly well what we want headmaster," Frank told Dumbledore anger sparking in his eyes.
"Ah so this is about Harry?" asked Dumbledore calmly.
"We have sent you several letters requesting custody of Harry, since Sirius is in Azkaban. We are next in line to get him and instead we know you sent him to Lily's nasty relatives since there are really no other place, you could have taken him," said Frank.
"We want to know why we didn't get custody of him since Lily named me as the godmother and the next to take and raise Harry if anything were to happen to them and Sirius. And the only possible other choice would be to send him to those awful relatives of his the Dursleys as Frank has just said."
"I know this hard for you to understand, Frank, Alice, but Harry is much safer at his relatives," said Dumbledore. "I know the Dursleys are Muggle but the protection that Lily left upon him when she died is a type of blood protection. Harry must dwell with those of his blood in order for those shields to be effective and so Voldemort can't find him until Harry is ready to fight him." The Longbottoms involuntarily shuddered at the name as Dumbledore continued. "When Lily died in order to save her only son that sacrifice had the effect of giving Harry extra protection but in order for it to be effective…" Dumbledore trailed off. "Well, I'm sure you understand."
"We understand that you think this is necessary, but you never met the Dursleys. Both Alice and I met them just once at Lily's and James's wedding. They are the worst kind of Muggles you can imagine. They hate magic and they refuse to get to know any of our kind at all. To them, we are unnatural and all witches and wizards or anybody showing signs of magic should be burned at the stake or drowned at birth like a sack of kittens."
"That's a tad harsh, Frank," Dumbledore protested.
Frank shook his head and said, "What you fail to understand, headmaster, is that Lily's sister Petunia said these exact same words to me when I introduced myself and Alice. If Harry is left in their care, I would be very surprised if his psyche isn't done permit damage. Don't force us to take this to court, because we will if we must."
"We realize you think you have Harry's best interest at heart but leaving him with his relatives who hate any and all magic and by extension anyone that shows signs of it—" Alice paused then said, "Well I'm sure you get the idea."
Dumbledore sighed and considered their words then said, "Can I see your memories of meeting the Dursleys?"
"Of course," Frank and Alice agreed after glancing at each other. Both Longbottoms concentrated really hard on the memory of the Potters' wedding day then put the tips of their wands too their heads and drew out long silvery string like substances from their temples. They then deposited them into the Pensieve that was sitting on a corner of Dumbledore's desk.
"We'll wait out here," Frank offered. "Neither one of us want to particularly view that scene again."
"Very well," said Dumbledore then touching a fingertip to the silvery liquid that was the memories of the Longbottoms and immediately his consciousness was sucked into the memory leaving his physical body behind.

~~~An Alternate Future~~~

Half an hour later Dumbledore returned, and he looked far from his usual cheerful self. The famous twinkle that was normally in his eyes was gone and he looked worried.
"I believe you might be correct," said Dumbledore. "They appear to be the worst sort of Muggles. I believe I will go and check on Harry and see how he's doing."
"We'll come with you," said Alice immediately when Dumbledore looked about to object. "Harry knows us," she added quickly. "We used to visit Lily and James often so that Harry and Neville could get to know each other. Our sons were the best of friends and would play together for hours."
"Neville's been rather depressed since the Potters' murder because he hasn't seen Harry. He's too young to understand that the Potters are dead, and that Harry is with people who don't believe in magic. All he knows is that his best playmate has abandoned him."
"Very well," Dumbledore sighed seeing that neither could be dissuaded. All three headed out the door and towards the front entrance of Hogwarts for they had to get off the grounds before they could Apparate.

~~~An Alternate Future~~~

Twenty minutes later they Apparated in-between two houses and then slowly walked up Privet Drive. Before they had Apparated they had transfigured their robes into something Muggles might wear. Both Frank and Dumbledore wore nice modern-day suits in dark colors while Alice had on a pair of casual slacks and a nice shirt with long sleeves as the day was rather chilly.
Dumbledore calmly rang the bell, and it was answered almost immediately by a very big man. "Whatever you're selling we don't want any," the big man started and began to slam the door in the threes faces.
"Now just a moment Mr. Dursley I have yet to introduce myself," began Dumbledore preventing the door from closing by inserting the cane he was carrying into the crack. "I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Vernon was by this time gaping and Dumbledore ignoring the Longbottoms entirely. "Now, just so you know we have come to check up on Harry to make sure he is being treated well," Dumbledore added calmly.
"You freaks will not set one foot in my house," Vernon roared his face going as red as a beet as he again tried to slam the front door in their faces.
"Mr. Dursley, this will only take a moment and the sooner you let us in to see the boy the sooner we can leave, but I assure you we will not go until we have seen Harry."
Vernon went even more red in the face, but he knew there was nothing he could do if he didn't want to attract the attention of the neighbors and even if they didn't attract attention this man could more than likely turn him and his entire family into toads or something worse if he wasn't careful.
Finally, Vernon opened the door and let the two men and one woman into his home then closed the front door. He swore to himself however that after this was over, he was going to beat the freak so hard that he'd have permanent scars, if he survived at all. He should have known taking his freak of a nephew in was a bad idea; he should have drowned him in the river the moment he found him on his doorstep.
Vernon led them to the living room and said he'd be right back and true to his word no more than five minutes later Vernon pushed a small form into the living room and shut the door.

~~~An Alternate Future~~~

Young 2-year-old Harry Potter stared at the three strangers for a moment then perked up in recognition of the two younger ones. "Auntie Alice, Unca Frank?" the 2-year-old questioned as if almost afraid to believe it was them. Alice was immediately out of her chair and kneeling in front of Harry which made him shrink back just a little for a moment before he ran into his godmother's arms. Alice picked the two-year-old with James's messy black hair and Lily's startling green eyes up in her arms and Harry rested his head against her shoulder in contentment. "Love y'u."
"I love you too, Harry," said Alice softly as she walked back over to her chair and sat back down. "He doesn't weigh hardly anything and definitely not as much as a two-year-old should. I can feel his ribs through his shirt and just look at how he's dressed," Alice said starting to seethe with anger again. "Even if he was at his correct weight, these clothes would still be way too big for him. Are you still going to tell us that it is a good idea to keep him here?" said Alice gesturing around with her free hand. "He's malnourished and he's only been with them a few months. What do you think they'll do to if he stays with them for the next few years?"
"Harry, would it be okay if we ask you some questions?" asked Dumbledore gently.
Harry looked at the older man with the long white hair and beard and twinkling blue eyes cautiously for a moment but otherwise didn't respond.
"Harry," said Frank gently taking the boy out of his wife's arms. "This is Albus Dumbledore the headmaster of the school that your parents and we attended. He's the one that arranged for you to come live with your aunt and uncle after your parents were killed. The headmaster just wants to ask you a few questions; do you think you can answer his questions truthfully? He won't hurt you I promise."
"'kay, Unca Frank," Harry responded.
Frank handed the small underweight boy to the headmaster and Dumbledore placed Harry gently on his lap. "Now Harry how are your aunt and uncle treating you?" Dumbledore asked and as he was speaking, he looked into Harry's green eyes that were so much like Lily's and very gently used a passive form of Legilimency to go through Harry's memories.
"'hey don' let me play and they lock me in the cup'oard for da's on end." And so, Harry went on to tell them of his treatment at the hands of the Dursleys and although at times he was a little hard to understand they learned enough to make their blood boil.
"You were right," Dumbledore admitted to the Longbottoms. "I had no idea that Lily's relatives would treat him so badly. I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn't convinced me to come check up on him today."
"At the very least he would have come to Hogwarts malnourished and at the worst…" Frank stopped and shuddered again, "well best not to think about it."
"Unca Frank, Auntie Alice, are you goin' to t'ke me 'way?"
"Yes, we are," Frank assured putting Harry on his lap again before looking at the headmaster.
"Yes, we are going to take you out of here," said Dumbledore. "I was wrong to put you with your relatives, but at the time it was my only option to keep you safe from people who would have done you harm. But now I believe it's best if you go live your godmother and her family."
"We have a son your age," said Alice. "Do you remember Neville? You and he used to play together all the time before your parents were killed."
"Nev?" Harry questioned perking up at this.
Yes, Nev," said Alice as she hugged Harry to her.
Suddenly the door to the parlor opened and Vernon came through looking nervous but also furious. "Well, just about done, are you?" The way it was phrased said that they had better be.
"We are done," Dumbledore agreed in a mild voice. "Mr. Dursley, I left young Harry on your doorstep expecting you would treat him like your own, but instead I find a long list of abuses both physical and mental. I should bring you and your wife up on charges but since we want to protect Harry, we won't. However, we will take him out of your dubious care. Frank and Alice have volunteered to raise him along with their own son Neville."
"You can't just take him out of our home," Vernon blustered.
"Oh, yes we can," Alice told him, grimly. "Lily named me his godmother and it is written in hers and James's will that if anything were to happen to them or to Sirius Black who was named Harry's godfather then we were next in line to take him. If we'd had our way, we would have had him from the first." At this statement Alice shot Dumbledore a glare then continued, "You don't deserve to take care of a goldfish much less a child."
"If we had our way then we would hex you and your wife so bad that you would be grateful we let you live at all," Frank told Vernon who went even paler at his words. "Fortunately, for you I don't want trouble with the Ministry of Magic for hexing a couple of Muggles no matter how richly they deserve it."
"Starving a child, locking him in a cupboard with no food or water and you call us freaks. Tell us which ones of us are really the freaks here? You abused Harry just because he is a little different then you and can-do magic and who cannot help if they are born being able to do things you Muggles can't," Alice added her gentle brown eyes blazing in anger. "Come along Harry, let's gather your things and get out of here before I do something I'll regret."
"Yes, Auntie Alice," said Harry grabbing her hand and leading her to his cupboard. Harry opened the door and went in to gather his few belongings.
"We'll have to see about getting you some new clothes," Alice observed trying her best to remain calm as she looked into the cupboard Harry had been forced to live in for the last six months. "Ones that fit. We can't have you going around looking like a ragbag. Besides your parents wouldn't have wanted you wearing clothes that are at least three sizes too big for you and hand-me-downs to boot."
"Th'y'e Dudley's."
"Dudley?"
"Co'sin," said Harry in a tone of voice that Alice had no trouble deciphering. Some bullying there she figured and that also meant the Dursleys were bound to know about it and had allowed it anyway. This admission made Alice even more furious, and she picked Harry up in her arms shrinking his belongings not that there was much. Harry would need everything clothes, robes, shoes, toys—everything.
"Come on Harry let's go home," said Frank taking the boy out of his wife's arms and Apparating on the spot, Alice and Dumbledore following seconds later.

~~~An Alternate Future~~~