Chapter Text
Albus Dumbledore stood outside Privet Drive. It was dark, save for a few lampposts conveniently located at every street corner. Most people living in the houses down the street were safely tucked away in their beds, not knowing what had happened several hours before.
Dumbledore had recently found out about the deaths of James and Lily Potter. That saddened him to an extent, especially since he had failed them when they trusted him to protect them from the wrath of the Dark Lord Voldemort. According to one of his agents, the dark lord was killed when he attacked the Potter family. The agent mentioned the disappearance of Seamus Rowes and his son, Sean Rowes, which happened shortly after Seamus's daughters Joanna Rowes Black and Shannon Rowes Snape disappeared. Dumbledore knew it was a matter of time before Sirius Black and Severus Snape would come after him and demand answers about their wives' disappearance.
But that was for a different time. Right now, he had something more important to do.
He stared at a huge gray cat that came to nestle up beside him. The cat transformed into a woman. Minerva McGonagall was no stranger to these evening meetings, as she often participated in those meetings. But she didn't agree to this one, especially if it was in an area populated exclusively by Muggles.
She said to him, "Albus, I think that this is a bad idea. Sending him to live with Muggles is a mistake."
"Minerva, my dear, you should know that Muggle families are having magical children while pureblood wizarding families are dying out due to a lack of children," said Dumbledore. "Many wizards and witches today have a magical parent and a non-magical parent. I know that Petunia and Lily Evans attended Hogwarts because they both had magic in them."
"Indeed," McGonagall said as she glared at her husband. "And what would make you think that Petunia would be willing to take in Harry Potter? When last I checked, she had married a Muggle, something that is frowned upon in wizarding society. Is there no other magical family we could send him to?"
"I know Molly Weasley had begged me to let her keep Harry when she first heard the story about him, but I had to turn her down," said Dumbledore. "I insisted that his family would want to see him first."
"Always have to be the sentimental one, aren't you, Albus?" McGonagall snapped. "You do realize that you've earned her wrath, and I know Molly Weasley and her wrath. She won't forgive you for this, not if you know she came from the Prewett family. That family is notorious for hexing anyone who dares to cross them."
"This is for the best, my dear," said Dumbledore. "Harry needs his family, and he needs his childhood. He needs the chance to grow up and live a decent life. He doesn't need the fame and glory. He’s too young for that."
"And Alexander Ulrich experienced fame and glory and it hasn't gone to his head," McGonagall snapped as she thought about Irina Ulrich's newborn son. Sandy was born in Liverpool three weeks before the deaths of his grandparents, Paul Alexander Ulrich and Isabella Braumlein-Crenshaw Ulrich. Many people believed that the couple was killed in the traffic accident that killed over 65 people. (Of course, the traffic accident was actually a wizard attack.) Irina, their only child, believed that Dumbledore had her parents killed for a mysterious reason. As such, she left the Order of the Phoenix soon after her parents’ funerals.
"That’s because Irina is hell-bent on keeping anything fame-related away from her son. She also isn’t letting anyone magical near her house," said Dumbledore. "She's a stubborn woman, and she refuses to trust me."
"She'll never trust you since she believes that you caused the accident that killed her parents three weeks after Sandy was born," said McGonagall. "In fact, I don’t think your spy in the Ulrich family is very useful. That family is stubborn, and they won't let the fact that Paul and Isabella Ulrich were killed at your hands go."
"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "If Irina knew what was good for her, she would beg for my forgiveness the first chance that she got. Instead of doing that, she wants my head on a spike and the hung over the London Bridge. She may be a powerful spellcaster, but why does she have to be so stubborn?"
Just then, a huge motorbike roared into view and pulled up in front of the two old wizards. A huge man stepped off the bike and retrieved a basket from the sidecar. The man said, "I've found him in the ruined house."
"Where did you get that bike?" McGonagall snapped at him, not approving of the fact that the man was riding on a Muggle bike. Didn't he know how dangerous Muggle bikes were? He could have fallen off the bike and gotten hurt.
"Sirius loaned it to me," said the man. "He asked me to keep an eye on it until it was safe for him to retrieve it."
"Indeed," said Dumbledore. "Now, where is the baby?"
"Right here," the man said as he opened up the basket and revealed a small boy lying inside it. He was asleep, wrapped up in a blanket, and clutching at something that looked like a blue raven. A scar in the shape of a lightning bolt was on his head over his right eye.
McGonagall said, "You're sure no one saw you, Rubeus?"
Rubeus Hagrid frowned as he stared at the two old wizards. "I had a few minutes to take Harry and leave before the Muggle authorities came to question me. Sirius is talking to them right now as we speak."
Dumbledore frowned; he would have to punish Sirius Black for that later. He then said, "I have made up my mind. The boy stays with the Dursley family. I don’t want anyone outside that family to raise him. If that occurs, then that family will be cursed. If the Dursleys give Harry away, the Dursleys will die and the adoptive family that gets Harry will be cursed. I will make sure that the boy arrives at Hogwarts unhappy with his life and completely dependent on me."
McGonagall shook her head, as she knew this would not end well. She and Hagrid vanished before anyone could see them.
Dumbledore frowned, knowing that the plan was set in motion. He set the basket in front of #4 Privet Drive and slipped a letter on top. He then backed away from the porch and disappeared into the night.
Petunia Evans Dursley saw the baby lying asleep on the front porch the next day. She had found out about her sister Lily’s death from a letter that was placed on top of the blankets. She picked up the baby and thought now who on earth would place my baby nephew on the front porch? Don’t they know he could have froze in the night, or someone could have carried him off without me knowing it? Or to make things worse, he could have wandered off and no one would have noticed until it was too late. She walked back into the house with the baby, not knowing what to do next.
Her husband, Vernon Dursley, saw Harry and frowned. He wasn’t ready to take in an orphan, especially one with magic inside him. After Petunia told him about her finding Harry on the front porch, he said, "Well, isn’t there anyone else out there who can take care of Harry?"
Petunia gasped. She knew her brother Carlyle Evans wouldn’t take charge of the baby. There was also the matter of the near-annihilation of the entire Potter family for her to consider. "Not that I know of," she replied. "You would think that people would have some sense when it comes to matters such as this."
"I know," Vernon said as he read the letter. "If this Dumbledore actually cared about Harry as he claimed, he would've came here himself and explained everything to us instead of dropping the kid off like a package from the UPS and expecting us to take care of him. Dudley’s already a handful, so why would we want to introduce another baby into this house?"
"There has to be another family out there who would want to take care of him," Petunia frowned. "A family that actually knows about magic."
"What about your brother Carlyle?" Vernon suggested.
Petunia glared at him. "Have you lost your mind, Vernon Dursley?" she hissed, making their baby son Dudley cry. "My brother isn't the type of man who you would trust to look after a puppy, let alone a baby. Why would you even suggest that?" Vernon was surprised; Petunia would normally hold her temper in situations such as these. Since she found out about her sister’s death and would be burdened with the task of raising baby Harry, the woman was ill-tempered, as it were.
"Why not your brother?" he wondered.
"Because that good-for-nothing idiot dropped out of Hogwarts to go backpacking in South America when he was 17 years old," said Petunia. "I'm still angry with him because he had abandoned our family to run around with those so-called "normal" friends of his."
"What about you?" Vernon asked.
"I was kicked out of Hogwarts when I was 15 years old and had to spend the rest of my school years in Stonecrest High School," Petunia said with a sigh. "Of course, Lee mocked me because I couldn't use magic even though he could barely do anything beyond a child's level of magic. She sighed and went to comfort a crying Harry. "If only I could get him back for humiliating me for not being able to complete my magical education, we’ll see…"
She set baby Harry down on a small cot and read the letter, hoping to find a clue about who had killed her sister. Petunia knew they weren't exactly close, not since things went sour for her after her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. That was when she discovered she could do a limited amount of magic. Because of that, she was forced to leave Hogwarts and attend a Muggle school.
Naturally, Albus Dumbledore was displeased with the school government forcing Petunia to leave. Even though he made threats, the school government refused to budge. Petunia decided that because the old man had poked his nose in her life once again, she would make him pay for it. And Harry Potter was the perfect bargaining chip to destroy all of Dumbledore's plans.
Several days after Harry came to live with the Dursleys, James Harold Potter and Lily Marie Evans-Potter were buried. Baby Harry cried, and so did Petunia. Vernon frowned and shook his head. Baby Dudley was asleep the entire time. As the pastor read the final funerary rites, the person Petunia had hoped to never see again came to the funeral.
Carlyle Ariel Evans (who liked to be called "Lee") shrugged as he came towards the graves of Lily and James Potter. He had the same red hair as Lily, yet his eyes were blue like Petunia's. (Petunia had gotten the infamous blond hair from her mother, Gloria Williams Evans.)
Yet Carlyle did not come alone, as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman stood next to him. She was inappropriately dressed for the season in England, as it was wet and rainy. While everyone wore funeral attire, Carlyle and the mysterious woman wore t-shirts and shorts, as if they were dressed for a day at the beach instead of going to a funeral.
"So, you’ve decided to show your face here after all these years," Petunia snapped. Carlyle Evans did not look at her or say anything. "Where were you when mum and dad died? Where were you when Lily and I needed you? Oh, I know; you were too damn busy lollygagging on those bloody Californian beaches, were you not?"
"I," Lee began.
"It doesn’t matter what you have to say!" Petunia snapped as she turned to look at him. "You abandoned us when we needed you, Lee!! Why would you do that? Do you realize what you've done when you left us? Mum, dad, and Lily are dead! I’m the only member of the Evans family here and this," she pointed to Harry, "is her poor child."
"Who, him?" said Lee. "Don't tell me; our sister married that useless Severus Snape, didn't she? Because if she did..."
"She married James Potter," Petunia said in turn.
"I see," Lee said. "What a travesty! Lily didn't listen to me when I told her not to marry James! Now look at her! She's dead and now you're stuck raising her kid."
"So she was talking to you?" said Petunia. "Because she sure as hell wasn't talking to me..."
"Well, you and her were planning for her to marry Severus Snape while James Potter was planning to marry Shannon Rowes," said Lee. "Yet due to someone's manipulations, James married Lily while Severus gained Shannon as a consolation prize. And now, everything is a huge mess and Harry is paying for that person's lies."
"And who is she?" Vernon said as he pointed to the woman standing next to Lee. "Some gold-digging whore you picked up while you were in California?
"Well, this is my wife, Mary Lewis," said Lee. "We got married last year and decided to come here." He stared at Harry and said, "Well, to be honest, Mary and I were in Scotland, not California when we got the call..."
"What call?" said Petunia.
"The call for Mary and I to take in a child," said Lee. "Yesterday, I received a call that a young boy who recently lost his family needs emergency foster care." He stared at Harry as he said, "And I'm taking that kid, if you don't mind."
"And why would you want to do that?" said Vernon. "What would make you want to raise a child, let alone Harry?"
"Because it's clearly evident that you and my sister can't handle the responsibility of raising a magical child like Harry," Lee said as he glared at Petunia. Mary read the letter from Dumbledore and said, "If this Dumbledore fellow actually cared about Harry, which he doesn't, then he would have come to your house and explained everything to you like a normal person. Since he didn't do that, well, he's lost all rights to the boy. Lee and I will be taking care of him, and you'll be lucky if you're even allowed to even look at him."
"Indeed you will," said Petunia.
"And if you even think about suing me for custody, I'll make sure to crush you in court," said Lee. "I've gone to Harvard University, as it were, and I'm now a rich and powerful lawyer, so you and your wizard friend can say goodbye to whatever future that you've got planned for Harry. He will be a respectable boy and not play with magic..."
Unknown to them, Dumbledore was also at the funeral. He frowned as he saw the confrontation between Petunia and her brother Carlyle, knowing that he had another member of the Evans family to deal with. He could not allow Carlyle to get involved in Harry’s life. According to him, Harry Potter was not supposed to have a decent childhood, nor would he have other relatives to confide in. This would not do at all.
He knew he had to punish Carlyle Evans for interfering with his plans, but how would he get away with it without Petunia finding out about his involvement in her sister’s
That’s the end of that part of the story. But here’s what happens next…
Upon their arrival to Little Whinging, Lee and Mary moved to #185 Privet Drive, which was far from Vernon and Petunia. Also, Lee and his wife decided to raise baby Harry as their own. Petunia was very upset about this arrangement, as Lee and Mary seemed to be no good at raising children, let alone Harry. Dumbledore also wasn't pleased with this arrangement, as his plans to train Harry as a soldier would go awry, no thanks to Carlyle Ariel Evans.
Speaking of plans going awry, Dumbledore’s 5-year-old daughter Amber helped her 3-year-old best friend Willa Tyrell escape from her cruel older brothers. Willa’s story was that her mother had died when she was born, and her cruel older brothers never let her forget that. Her father, Marcus, was worried about his daughter and tried to protect her from her brothers as only a father could. During the funeral for James and Lily, Amber snuck Willa out of the house when no one was looking and they took the next train to Hogwarts. That story will eventually intertwine with Harry's story.
Well, Harry’s story was about to begin in a way no one anticipated…