Ok i wrote this a while back and it has been edited lots and is finally ready for siye hopefully
thanks to Allison and Tearlit
Tearlit for her idea and Allison as my beta
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A Different Life | ||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, General Warnings: None Rating: PG Reviews: 15 Summary: *** The author has been reminded via the e-mail address on file that this story is listed as incomplete and has not been updated in over 2 years *** *** The author has been reminded via the e-mail address on file that this story is listed as incomplete and has not been updated in over 2 years *** Harry grows up with his Aunt Sarah Evans instead of Aunt petunia, Lily had another sister an adopted sister. Sarah was single muggle born witch. Harry lives with Aunt petunia then Sarah visits her sees how he’s being treated. Hitcount: Story Total: 4334 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: |
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Chapter One: Living with the Dursleys Harry Potter lay in his cupboard fast asleep. Yet this did not last for long, as his Aunt Petunia was awake and outside his door. “Up! Get Up! Now!” Harry cracked his eyes opened at the loud rapping. “Up!” The rapping on the door stopped and footsteps could be heard fading away. The four-year-old boy rolled back over in his small bed and tried to go back to sleep when his aunt returned. “Are you up yet?” she demanded. “Almost,” said Harry. “Well, get a move on! You need to clean the kitchen while I prepare the guest room upstairs. Your aunt is coming to visit for the weekend.” Harry groaned. How could he forget Aunt Sarah was coming? Anytime there was company he was forced to get up early and help prepare everything while Dudley was allowed to lay in bed until breakfast was ready. Harry got out of bed and got dressed before heading towards the kitchen. He glanced at the digital clock mounted on the white wall of the hallway. The red numbers read 5:10 AM. He moved towards the door, but unfortunately, Harry didn’t make it into the kitchen. Just as he was about to open the door to the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Who would be here so early? If it was Aunt Sarah then she was really early and Aunt Petunia wasn’t going to be happy. He hadn’t even started on the kitchen. “Harry, get the door!” his aunt yelled from upstairs. When Harry opened the door, he gaped. There was Aunt Sarah standing in the doorway, her bags at her side, and a frown on her face. All Harry could think to say was, “What are you doing here so early?” “I just came early to see what my sister was hiding! I found out alright and I don’t like it,” the tall redhead proclaimed, looking down at the small boy. “What do you mean?” Harry asked still standing in the doorway. “She’s not treating you like her own child! She’s treating you like a slave while she spoils her own son rotten!” Aunt Sarah exclaimed. “Harry, who is at the door?” Aunt Petunia asked coming down the stairs. “It’s Aunt Sarah. She’s here early,” he said, waiting for Aunt Petunia’s reaction. “What?” Aunt petunia said sharply, looking up quickly. “Hello, sister. We need to talk. Now!” Aunt Sarah said. “Let’s go in the kitchen then. Harry, go take a bath,” Aunt Petunia said in a sweet tone he’d never heard before. “You want him to take a bath? Alone? He’s only four-years-old! What if something happened and he got hurt?” Aunt Sarah screeched at her bony sister. “He does it all the time; he’ll be fine, Sarah,” Aunt Petunia said in a calm voice. “Petunia, I’ve seen enough. I’m going to Dumbledore. I will raise him! You obviously are not capable of being a competent mother. Just because you got into a fight with Lily all those years ago over James does not mean you can treat her son so indecently; a poor little boy who has no say in the matter!” Aunt Sarah squatted down to Harry’s level. “Harry, I want you to go and get some clean clothes; you are going with me,” she said in a soothing voice to the tiny boy. “Ok, Aunt Sarah, I’ll be right back,” Harry said, running to his cupboard and grabbing every clean article of clothing as fast as he could. “I will be back tomorrow, Petunia, to collect the rest of his stuff,” Aunt Sarah said to Aunt Petunia. “Ok, I’m ready, Aunt Sarah,” Harry told her in an excited voice when he returned. Aunt Sarah was leading Harry through her house. Her house was a big one; she had to be rich. “Ok, this will be your room, Harry,” Aunt Sarah said as she opened the door to best guest bedroom she had. “Now, we are going to go give you a bath and get you back in bed. You look awful.” Aunt Sarah took his bag and laid it on the bed. Harry found himself being led him to the nearest bathroom, which was right across the hall. After Harry’s bath Aunt Sarah dressed him in the clothes that he brought and then looked at him, reached into her pocket pulled out a stick thing. “What’s that for?” Harry asked curiously. “Oh, this is my wand. I’m going to make some adjustments on your clothes,” she told him. She then waved her wand and he suddenly felt his clothes shrink around him until they fit perfectly on his small frame. “Wow!” Harry exclaimed looking down at his clothes. “Later, we can go shopping for some real clothes that will actually fit you,” Aunt Sarah declared. “Now you go on and get into bed. I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours for breakfast.” She covered the four-year-old with a blanket and tucked him in the large bed. “Sweet dreams, Harry.” And with that, she waved her wand and the room went dark, leaving Harry who was quickly falling back asleep. While Harry slept soundly upstairs other things were going on just below him. It was usual for people to visit the Evans residence but the traffic had increased considerably in the past hour. It seemed word had gotten out about Harry Potter changing locations and many questions were being raised. The press had several people staked out on the lawn and others were being pushed back out the door as Sarah tried to distinguish who were friends and who were curious onlookers. Finally, she spotted Remus Lupin, an old friend, trying to get through the crowd. Sarah’s eyes met his and she beckoned him inside. “I heard rumors at the Leaky Cauldron. Is it true? You have Harry now?” He asked almost excitedly once the door had shut behind him. “Yes, I have him now. I’m so sick and tired of my sister treating him like a house elf. Dumbledore has to be losing his touch,” Sarah said. “I trust Dumbledore, Sarah. He must have sent Harry there for a good reason. Have you discussed this with him?” he asked with a frown. "No, not quite yet but that is on the agenda,” she said uncertainly. “He will probably come by when he hears the news. I’m sure of it.” “Is that...wise, Sarah?” Remus asked slowly. "What do you mean ‘is that wise’? Of course it’s wise! If he stays there any longer it will probably turn into abuse," she answered, throwing her hands in the air. “But Dumbledore must have sent Harry to the Dursleys for a reason. There must be a dozen enchantments protecting him there!” Remus argued, his voice rising. "Remus, I’m sure he can place the same enchantments and wards here,” Sarah returned. “Besides do you really want him to grow up there?" “Well, I haven’t seen the place myself, what with Dumbledore keeping me busy with the Order...but it can’t be that bad, could it?” Remus responded. "The Order? Still? After all these years of no war, no Dark Lord, or Death Eaters killing someone every day?" she asked, her temper rising. “The Dark Lord may be gone, but the werewolves are not. I have been tailing them for the last three days. Dumbledore seems to feel that there might be trouble soon,” Remus said tiredly. "Werewolves? But the Order? It just doesn’t make sense.” “Our battles are not over, Sarah. We are still fighting the remains of Voldemort’s regime. It has been three years since his downfall, but Harry is still in grave danger.” Sarah looked slightly frightened, though still determined. “So you would rather see Harry skinny, pale, and unfed as long as he’s safe?” she stated angrily. “Of course not, Sarah. I care for the boy as much you do. But Dumbledore must have had his reasons,” Remus stated. A sharp knock on the front door prevented Sarah from responding. She walked up to the front door, prepared to tell off another reporter, but instead opened the door to find Albus Dumbledore standing in the doorway. “Good morning, Miss Evans. I see you have company,” Dumbledore said waving his hand to indicate the growing crowd outside her door. "Yes, I do have, most of which is not welcome. Now, I assume you’re here about Harry?" she asked patiently. “Indeed, I am. I was wondering why my charge is so very far from the dwelling in which I placed him,” Dumbledore said, eyes flashing dangerously as he walked into her kitchen. "Well, I was up for a visit again and I just got so tired of seeing him treated like a house-elf. I know you have the boy’s best interests in mind, Professor, but why would you want to put him through that his whole life?" Sarah asked, following him. “I am very aware of the boy’s living conditions. However, he was placed under very strict and specific enchantments; ones which are intended to keep him safe until he comes of age.” Dumbledore said, his blue eyes piercing her with a steady gaze. "And there isn’t any way you can place the same charms and enchantments here?" Sarah asked quickly, her voice raising an octave. “These are not simple enchantments, my dear Miss Evans. They would interfere with many of the protective charms you already have placed on your home, not to mention the inconvenience that would befall you and your guests because of them,” Dumbledore said, taking in a breath. “They are not meant to be taken lightly, but to provide the maximum amount of protection,” he explained. “Dumbledore, you know I will do anything if it means keeping my nephew safe. I would rather die knowing I did right by my sister’s son than to continue living with the knowledge that I stood aside and let Petunia destroy him.” The Hogwarts Headmaster looked sympathetically at the young witch. “I understand your desire to protect Harry, but have you considered the effects that the Wizarding world will have on him?” the older man said urgently. “He is famous for something he doesn’t remember or understand. Do you see how this can go to a child’s head? He needs to grow up away from this until he is at an age where he can understand it. I am afraid he will not get that privilege here,” he said waving his hand to the window where there were still people crowding the spacious lawn. “Harry shouldn't be shut out of the Wizarding world just because he's famous!” the redhead shrieked, hands on her hips. Dumbledore couldn’t help but smile sadly at how very much she looked like her late sister after her late husband had worked her into a temper. “You know very well, Albus that my house is suitable to keep out the pesky reporters. He will be more protected here than he will ever be at that Muggle slave house!” Sarah stressed, voice growing ever louder as she tried to win the argument over Harry. “Sarah, calm down, you don’t want to frighten him awake, now do you?” Remus broke in. Dumbledore said placidly, “Many of the enchantments protecting him hinge on the blood of the sacrifice his mother performed to save him. I suppose that I could move them here if you were absolutely sure you were ready to raise a rambunctious young boy.” “I wanted him the day Lily died, Albus! I begged you for him!” Sarah cried, her voice much softer now. “Yes, but you were still a teenager; you had just taken a post at the Ministry. I could hardly charge you with the care of a toddler.” “What about now? I’m set financially, especially since Mum and Dad left me quite a sum when they passed. My job is stable and when I have to travel I can provide a suitable arrangements; he could stay with Remus Lupin or Augusta Longbottom. I’m never gone that long, anyway, and my job is hardly a dangerous one.” When he still looked skeptical she continued, “You’ve seen where he was! Petunia will never love him as I do. He needs the love of a mother and that is something she will never be able to give him. She starves him already; did you know that? Imagine when he gets older. He will arrive at Hogwarts unloved, uncared for, and knowing less about magic than a dungbeetle. Do you really want that for him, Dumbledore?” Her voice fell even lower and she whispered, “Look what happened to the last boy that could have been helped but was left in less than desirable conditions? He started Hogwarts in just that way.” The light blue eyes clouded over and Dumbledore slowly nodded his head. “I would like him distanced from Wizarding society, at least a bit. Don’t flaunt him about everywhere.” “Would I do that?” “No, I don’t think you would.” The Headmaster sighed, “If you are prepared, you may be his guardian now. I will move the enchantments and inform Petunia straight away.” Dumbledore bowed and exited the room to fulfill his commitment. Just as the door shut behind him, a cry was heard from the upstairs. Sarah looked up at the ceiling and smiled. It is worth it, she thought happily to herself. |
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