Simple Twist of Fate

Chapter 2: Growing Up Potter
A/N: The nice reviews are really overwhelming, thanks guys. And to answer some of the questions. The fate of Neville is still up in the air. The scene was so messy that they can't confirm or deny his survival at this time. Also, no, Harry is not the Boy Who Lived. In fact, there isn't a Boy Who Lived, because Voldemort never actually died. Well, I hope that answered some questions and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

"Come here, Harry, come to mommy." Lily told Harry in a very sweet manner as she held out her arms for him to walk into. James was holding his arms above his head, making sure he didn't let go until he was ready and Sirius was sitting with Remus on the couch watching the whole affair.

The two weeks since the attack were going very well for the Potters, all though they couldn't wait to move out of 12 Grimmauld Place once their new home was ready. It's not that they didn't enjoy living with Sirius and Remus, but they needed to get on with living their lives on their own. That and 12 Grimmauld Place wasn't exactly the epitome of happiness. It was still inhabited of the memory of Sirius' pro-blood purity mother and since they were fighting for the resistance, the Potters weren't what one would call welcomed guests.

"Come on, Harry. You can do it." Lily smiled at him and James let go allowing to take three steps into Lily's arms as Remus snapped a wizard's picture. Once he reached her arms, Harry collapsed into them and she pulled him into a big hug.

James walked over to the couch were Sirius and Remus were seated. "The Order will be here soon, right?" Just then, Arthur came out of the fire place holding Ron, accompanied by Amos Diggory, and Xeno Lovegood holding his daughter Luna. "Ah welcome, it's good to see all of you." James exclaimed shaking each of their hands.

"We're so glad all of you are all right. We were all worried sick when we heard about the attack. Molly was devastated when she heard about Frank and Alice, I don't think she could have handled you." Arthur told his friends as he set Ron down on the floor with Harry.

"It must have been a One Eyed Transparent Jlarmonican spying on you..." Xeno placed his daughter on the floor with the other two children.

Remus, Sirius, and James looked at each other with questioning looks on their faces and then they looked at Arthur who was rolling his eyes. "A what?" Sirius finally got the courage to ask.

"A One Eyed Transparent Jlarmonican..." Xeno told him condescendingly as if it were a common thing. "They sneak into your house through chimneys and spy on the people in it. I've known You-Know-Who's been using them since the start. Quite clever if you ask me."

Rather than question it more, the three decided to let it go and convene in the dining room with Lily watching the children. Soon afterwards Molly Weasley came with Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny from the Burrow (Arthur had been at The Lovegood House with Ron prior to his arrival). "Lily, I'm sure this meeting will concern you more than it will me. Leave all of them to me." Lily thanked her with a hug and ran into the Dining Room where a meeting table was set up.

Lily was surprised that in her time of watching Harry and his friends, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Severus Snape, Kingsley Shacklebolt (the newest Auror) and Alastor Moody had arrived and were already discussing the attack. "Lily, it's good of you to join us." Dumbledore greeted her as he magically pulled another chair up to the table between Sirius and James. "I was just explaining to everyone about Peter Pettigrew and asking if anyone had any suggestions of how to prevent future betrayals."

"You've heard my idea several times, Albus, but for some reason you keep saying no." Snape stated to Dumbledore cooly.

"I will not subject my allies to random veritiserum tests. The one thing that makes us better than Voldemort is our ability to trust." Dumbledore reminded the greasy black haired man sitting to his right. That line struck a chord with most people at the table. Not only did Dumbledore trust Snape enough to sit in on the Order meetings, but he hired him as The Potions Master after Horace Slughorn retired last year. "Now, Lily. Since you're here, I think we should move on to protection. Regardless of his so called disappearance, he still wants Harry."

Lily's heart sank. She knew this was most likely true, but she hated the way Dumbledore said it. "What do we do?"

"We've been setting up a Muggle home for you. Voldemort doesn't think highly of Muggles at all. He won't waste his time with them until the Wizards are all gone. That would be the best place for you to hide." Dumbledore recited as if he were trying to sell beach front property.

She wasn't sure what to make of the whole ordeal. She grew up among Muggles, but had she been away from them so long that she couldn't do it again. "What about our magic?" she asked him.

"You will be able to use it, but not over use it. We're not exactly sure of what Voldemort is capable of." The room shuttered a bit at his name. Dumbledore was constantly trying to make them understand that fearing the name only makes him more powerful. "He might be able to detect suspicious magic."

Lily and James looked at each other knowingly. She could tell that he didn't especially want to live around Muggles. He liked her parents well enough, but everyone else, like her sister, weren't exactly high on his list of who to send Christmas cards to. "James..."

He nodded and relented to Lily. He knew it was for the best, especially for their son and Lily's secret. "We'll take it, Albus. You're right it is the best thing we have going now." She smiled at James and nodded her head.

"You know, since we're all here... hold on... MOLLY!" James yelled into the other room. "Come on in here, we have an announcement to make." Molly came running in with both Ginny and Harry in he arms, Charlie was holding Luna and Percy with Ron and Fred and George tumbling in shaped into little balls.

Lily and James smiled at each other again and clasped hands. "Well, I'm pregnant again." The whole crowd burst out into applause and joy. This was exactly what they needed in the dark time they were in. They all forgot about Voldemort, except for Moody who was off brooding in the corner thinking of ways they could track Voldemort.

In the month that followed, the work on their house in a little London suburb was complete and they moved into it with no incidence. It certainly wasn't Godric's Hollow, but it was a nice comfortable little place to call home. It was small, yet big enough for an expanding family That was good because on June 15th, they welcomed Carolyn Potter into the world and about one year later on April 5th, Lily gave birth to Christopher Potter.

Harry grew up to be a normal child despite having the unique ties to Voldemort that no other child of his age could say they had, except for Neville Longbottom, God rest his soul. He began walking and talking a little bit later normal age, but nothing too odd.

On nice days, Lily used to take Harry, Carolyn and Christopher down to the park. Most of the time, they went very normal, very Muggle as James used to put it, but one time when Harry was five something really different happened. It was a strangely beautiful December day. A fresh coat of snow had fallen on the ground the night before and it was if all of Britain was a Winter Wonderland. The park looked like one of those paintings where the snow was fluffy, covering trees and houses with smoke was coming out of every chimney.

"Mommy...?" Harry whimpered. "What if I'm not like you?" He asked his mother.
She was surprised at his question. First, he was only five. Most children weren't odd if they didn't display magic up until they were nine, some maybe even later. Also, she wondered what had prompted this. He didn't really spend much time with witches and wizards his own age. Ron and Ginny came sometimes when Molly and Lily would have tea, but otherwise he was oblivious to the use of magic by his peers.

"Sweetie, there's nothing to worry about. Just because Ron has already developed his magic doesn't mean you won't." Lily sweetly told her son as she continued to push the stroller that held Harry's brother and sister. The walked a little bit more until they saw a man with two girls that looked very familiar to the.

"Ms... Potter?" The man asked as he got closer to them.

"Yes?" She knew she had seen his face before but for some reason, she could place where.

"Oh dear, this must be terribly awkward. I'm David Granger from next door. I just realized we haven't formally met in the passed five years. Marie and I are always so terribly busy." David reached his hand out to his neighbor and she shook it.
Lily then remembered a few times how she had seen him working in the yard a couple times. "Ah yes. How are you?" She warmly greeted him as if they had known each other for years.

"I'm quite fine. Beautiful day we're having here. Except these two are running me through a loop." He pointed to his two girls and smiled. "This is Julie and my youngest, Hermione. She looks about the same age as your oldest."

Suddenly several snow birds in the sky began to fly backwards and several trees began to teleport to different places around the park. Apparently Mr. Granger didn't see anything as he continued talking, but Lily wasn't so fortunate. She looked down at Harry who had a questioning look on his face. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but we must be going. It's getting late." She said quickly and walked away, not looking back to see if the problem had corrected itself.

"JAMES! You're not going to believe what happened at the park today!" She called as she entered the house with her three children. "Harry did his first magic today!"

James ran towards his son and picked him up in his arms to bring him in for a big hug. "That's wonderful, my boy! This calls for a celebration!" With in a few hours the Potters had arrived at Dumbledore's Office where they were met by Sirius and Remus.

"Congratulations, Harry. In accordance with my duties as your Godfather, I brought it upon myself to get you your first owl." Sirius lifted a blanket off of a cage and revealed to Harry a beautiful white snowy owl. "Now, remember don't let your father take this away from you." Sirius looked up at James and gave him a sarcastic look.

"Thank you, Unca Siryus." Harry smiled at his Uncle and took the cage with him to the opposite side of the room to show Ron and Ginny.

The gathering was a great time for all parties involved. James and Lily really didn't have much contact with the magical world now that they were in pseudo hiding. They still regularly got together with Remus and Sirius and Lily had tea with Molly Weasley every now and then, but otherwise their meetings were few.

"Albus... Do you think we could have words?" James asked the old Hogwarts headmaster with a sense of worry in his voice.

"Of course, James." The two wizards exited the room and began to walk through the halls of the school.

"Merlin, it hasn't changed a bit since I left. Yet it has... it doesn't seem as happy as it used to. The joy is gone." James reminisced and bowed his head. Back when he was younger, Voldemort wasn't the foremost on everyone's mind, in fact he didn't start to truly gain power until his and Lily's 6th year. "I want the truth, Albus... how is the war going?"

"Deceptively well. Voldemort has gone into hiding because of that loss five years ago. He's spending time building an army while he deceives the world that he doesn't exist anymore. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange have gone back to work among others." Dumbledore shook his head and sighed lowly. He wasn't one to admit defeat easily, but he couldn't help feeling down about this one.

"Lestrange and Malfoy? They were the ones responsible for the Death of the Longbottoms. How the hell can they be allowed back in the ministry?" James exclaimed disgustedly with another string of colorful metaphors accompanying it. Luckily, it was the Christmas holiday.

"That was close to my reaction. But, they denied it and they are so talented in occulumency that veritiserum won't work on them. They also claimed that they were under the influence of the imperius curse... again that can't be verified, so they're being given the benefit of the doubt." Dumbledore didn't try to hide the contempt in his voice. The normally whimsical old wizard was starting to show the fatigue that war brought on people. "There's also a child. Bella has a new baby who I just know is Neville, yet I cannot prove it..."

"This is the calm before the storm, James. And I fear for the future. After seeing what Harry's first display of magic, I believe he will be one of our last hopes."

Dumbledore was right in a way. Voldemort didn't reveal himself, but there were countless mysterious disappearances that were unexplainable by Muggle and Wizard Law Enforcement teams. The Potters nor the rest of the Order ever said anything, but it had to be Voldemort. There was no other answer.

"You know, Carolyn. You're probably a squib." Harry teased his sister as they were playing a game of wizard's chess. Harry was nine, his sister was seven and she too had yet to display any type of magic.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"AM NOT! MOMMY!" She yelled out to the other room where Lily and James were washing the dishes from the meal before. Both James and Lily came running out of the kitchen to see the table, the chess set and Harry on the floor in a large heap with Carolyn standing over it with her arms held out in front of her.

"Honey... did you do that?" Lily beamed at her daughter's first display of magic. Carolyn simply shook her head as if she though she were in trouble, but rather than yell, Lily picked her up and gave her a big hug.

"Harry, why don't we go for a little walk." His father told him while picking him up from the mess that was on the floor. They exited the house and began to walk around the block. "Harry, I've been meaning to tell you something for sometime now."

Harry looked up questionably at his father. Was it about his magic? Was he really not a wizard? Would he not be going to Hogwarts with Ron in three years? "What is it?"

"I don't know if anyone ever told you, but the wizarding world is at war. There hasn't been a real battle in years, but we are none the less at war." James bent his head down to look into his sons eyes, who obviously didn't understand. "Years ago, there was a dark wizard named... Voldemort. He was as evil as they come and he didn't think very highly of Muggle Born and Half-Blood witches and wizards like your mother."

"Why didn't he like Mom?" Harry asked, still seemingly confused.

"Well, no one is exactly sure, but he felt they were unworthy of magic. And he tried to wipe out everyone like that." James tried to say it as simply as he could, but he was having trouble. How do you describe something as dark as war to a nine year old? "There's something else. Before you were born a witch saw the future and she saw that there was a child who would destroy Voldemort."

"And did he?" Harry asked the first question that came to mind.

"No... at least not yet. You see, that child is you." James got it out as fast as he could, worried about Harry's reaction. "When you were just a baby, Voldemort attacked our wizardly home in hopes to get to you before you could get to him."

Harry began to look a bit worried at the new revelation. "Dad...?"

"Your Uncles Sirius and Remus and Dumbledore were there to help us out and we got him to go away. He actually hasn't been seen since." James tried to calm his son down who was visibly about to break down at the new information he got from his father. "We were going to wait until before you went to Hogwarts, but I felt that you needed to know now."

Harry nodded and they didn't talk for the rest of the walk, but before they got back to their house, James leaned into Harry. "Hey, want to go to Florean Fortesue's Ice Cream Parlour for Dessert in Diagon Alley?" Harry smiled up at his Dad and nodded vigorously.

Harry handled the knowledge very well, at least that's what James and Lily thought. They didn't dare tell Harry about Neville for more than obvious reasons. He didn't need to be worrying about his life at this time. The next two years went on with out much incidence besides his brother having his first magical experience. It wasn't nearly as magnificent as Harry's or Carolyn's, but it came earlier.

One of the bigger problems in Harry's young life were the experiences at Muggle school. He didn't go around advertising his wizardry, but everyone knew there was something different about him. He did have several fiends, but he didn't enjoy universal popularity. There was only one person who was more on the outside than he was and she was Hermione Granger.

Throughout their years going to the same school and living next door, they never spoke a word to each other. Hermione just plain didn't talk and Harry didn't talk to her in fear of becoming even more of a social outcast. "Hey brainy!" One of Harry's friends tossed an orange at her. Though he didn't exactly want to be friends with her, he did feel sorry for her. No one should have to take abuse like that.

"Hey guys, maybe you should lay off. What'd she ever do to you?" Harry asked his friends rather affirmatively. He didn't expect it to come out that way, but it did.

"What? Is she your Girlfriend or something. Potter and Granger sittin' in a tree..."

"Bloody hell, you guys are so immature." Harry got up from his seat at the lunch table and walked out of the cafeteria. When he got home he relayed the story to his father.

"It wouldn't hurt for you to make some more Muggle friends. What do you think of Hermione?" His father asked him after listening to the whole story.

Harry looked up at his father and pondered the question a little bit. "Well, she's kind of weird..."

"Harry, you're a wizard living among non-magical folk. And in the future you're destined to destroy the darkest wizard of all time... I wouldn't exactly call that normal." Both Harry and James laughed at that one. Ever since that talk last year, James and Harry were closer than ever, not that they weren't close before.

"I just can't wait to get out of this place. How long do I have?" Harry whimpered in a fake sad voice.

"This time next year you'll be studying for your mid term exams and getting ready to visit us for the Christmas holiday. Just you wait. It will be amazing." James kissed his son on the forehead and walked out of the room to see what Lily was doing.

Sure enough, right on the dot on July 31st, 1991, Harry received his letter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that September. "Congratulations, Harry." James clapped Harry on the back after reading the letter. "What do you say we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get supplies and books."

Diagon Alley was one of the most fantastic places Harry had ever seen. He had been there many times a child, but he never appreciated the true wonder of it. This was his world now and he would spend as much time trying to soak it all in.

"Now, we should probably get your your wand first..." James suggested looking towards Ollivander.

They walked into Ollivander's shop and Harry thought he had stepped into heaven. There were wands of every shape and size lining the wall and upon seeing them his eyes grew as wide as saucers and lit up. He had dreamed of this is whole life, even picking up random twigs in the yard and pretending to hex his sister.

"'ello..." A crackley voice spoke from behind the counter. Harry stepped back for a second, bumping into his little sister because of the the odd almost deranged voice the man had.. "Ow can I 'elp you t'day, master..."

"Yes, Mr. Ollivander. Do you remember me...?" James asked him.

"Ah yes... Potter. James Potter. 11 inches long, made out of mahogany with a dragon heartstring core... pliable and excellent for Transfiguration." Ollivander smiled at James at the preciseness of his memory as James nodded. "I remember every wand I ever sold."

Harry looked around as the two men talked about the use of James' wand and how it was holding up after all these years. "Hey, Dad... What about this one." Harry asked pointing to a 12 inch rosewood with a dragon heartstring.

"Give't a flick." Ollivander offered and Harry did so, sending a blast that went right passed his sister's head and knocking a couple wands off a nearby shelf. "Ah... powerful young wizard we 'ave 'ere... Try a phoenix feather wand... Dumbledore uses one... as does You-Know-Who."

"I don't think I want a wand similar to You Know Who's." Harry expressed a bit of worry in his voice as he looked up at his father.

"Harry, a wand isn't evil in itself. It can be used for evil, but that has nothing to do with the wand. Look at Albus Dumbledore. He's the greatest wizard of all time and uses a similar wand to You-Know-Who." James clapped his son on the back to reassure him and Harry nodded.

It was as if Ollivander didn't even need to see Harry's decision he had already reached for a large collection of phoenix feather wands. After trying close to a dozen, Ollivander reached for what seemed to be the last hope. One made of holley, 11 inches long with a Phoenix feather. "Try this."

Harry picked it up and gave it a tired flick and to his surprise nothing blew up. In fact, the wand tip began to glow fiercely as if it were saying yes. "Wonderful, wonderful." Ollivander smiled at himself and gave them the wand for half off. The three of them exited the shop and decided that it was time for lunch.

After lunch at The Leaky Cauldron, James figured that he wouldn't have enough money to complete the rest of the purchases so they made way to Gringotts. "God, going to school costs a hell of a lot more than it did when I was a kid. Here, I'm going to show you something that neither of you have ever seen before."

The three of them walked into the bank and saw three people that they never expected to see in there. Right before them arguing with a Goblin was The Granger Family. "David Granger?" James Potter shouted out in a state of shock as he walked over to them.

"Is this Muggle a friend of yours, Potter?" the Goblin asked James with a large amount of annoyance in his voice.

"Their my neighbors. What's the problem Griphook?"

"They don't understand our ways, Potter. Not that you wizards are much better. How's that sword by the way that Dumbledore has in his office..." Harry didn't know this Griphook very well at all, but he knew that he didn't like him all that much. He never really had met a more unpleasant person in his life.

After ten minutes of arguing with the Goblin, James settled the dispute and Griphook passed over a cloth pouch filled with wizarding coins. "David, your daughter's a wizard?"

"Hermione is. You can imagine how shocking it was when we found out... a man named Albus Dumbledore came to our home and explained it all to us... It's still all a blur." David seemed to be tired and very much overwhelmed.

James clapped his hand on David's back. "Why don't you all come with us. I know my way around pretty well. We just have to get something out of our account."

The Hermione who was sitting next to Harry on the cart was exactly the same Hermione he knew from school. He gathered that she wasn't much of a talker in general. "So... you're a witch?"

"Guess so." Harry was a bit put off. He was trying his hardest to make a new friend to have at Hogwarts, but it wasn't working she was too quiet. A few minutes later she spoke again to break the silence. "Are you nervous?" she asked in a quiet, sweet voice.

"Actually, no. My Dad's a wizard and my Mom's a witch. It's always where I felt like I belonged, even before I got my letter. Are you?" Harry asked back, hoping for more of an answer than a simple yes or no.

"Oh yeah..." She smiled a little bit. "Ever since I was little, I've been a good student. I was probably close to the top of the class... now I'm completely starting new. What if I'm not good enough, Harry?"

Harry smiled. He never really expected Hermione to be like this. He expected to be quiet, which in a way she was, but he never expected her to be so insecure. "Hey, I know. I'll teach you about the Wizarding world. I'm pretty new myself to the whole world, but I can help a little bit."

"Really?! You mean kind of like friends do?" She exclaimed. At this point he realized only what he believe before hand. She wasn't used to having friends.

"No, Hermione... I mean exactly like friends." She engulfed him in a vice like hug, but quickly pulled away, looking embarrassed. "It's okay. Hugs are fine, 'Mione."

As the rest of the summer wore on, James and Lily rarely ever saw their son or daughter. They were both always next door at the Grangers, helping her read through all the books that she purchased at Flourish and Botts. Harry enjoyed giving the lessons and making a new friend. He wasn't as socially awkward as Hermione, but he wasn't used to having many friends. This was a welcomed experience.

"Bloody hell, Hermione. It's getting to the point where you know more than me... you've been practicing." Harry winked at her from across the table.

"Every night. I have a reputation to keep." She returned his smile.

"Well, then I guess I'll have to stop helping you learn about our world." Their study sessions rarely stuck to studying. They were mainly in place to get to know and enjoy each other. Both of their parents saw that the union was good for them. The Grangers were initially worried that their daughter would have no friends. And the Potters thought that the weight of Voldemort would crush Harry.

"Hey, Mione, I better be going. Mum wanted me home so we could have dinner one last time as a family before tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow at Eleven. We'll sit together on the train with some people that I know from growing up." Harry smiled at her again and gave her a quick hug as he walked out the door.

As excited as he was for Hogwarts his whole life, he was even more excited now. He could only dream about all the fantastic things awaiting he and his new best friend.

A/N: I think I'm going to end it here. I was going to feature the train ride, but I decided against it. I will add more with Hermione in the next chapter (It might even be closer to her than Harry, not sure though). Hope you like it, Please read and review.

P.S. I know there were no scenes with Harry's little brother, but I feel there will be times for that in later chapters.

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