DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.

6 Months Previous

June 17th, 1984

"Are you sure about this?" A woman's voice cut into the crisp silence of the dark room. Her companion- a man in a dark cloak, a hood pulled over his head- put his hand on her shoulder.

"Of course. You realize why this is necessary, right? To think- when He returns, to have the savior of the Wizarding World on our side…" The man trailed off. The woman gulped.

"Yes, yes, of course, but why does it have to be our—"

"You know why. This is the only way. Quickly, grab the blanket." The man interrupted. The woman bent down, avoiding the rubble that was spread out in the room, and grabbed the blanket that the man had pointed at. She ran a long, pale finger along the frayed edge before standing up.

"Here it is. Are you sure we will have all that is needed though?" She asked worriedly. The man gave an impatient sigh.

"Yes, yes, of course. This plan has been two years in the making, everything will work out. Now, quickly, we must leave." The man grabbed the woman's arm before quickly apparating away.

With a soft pop, the man and woman landed in a large room. Unlike the previous room that they had been in, this one was in perfect condition with beautiful adornments all around. The woman walked over to a bed in the corner of the room.

"He is asleep. Must we do this now? Can't we wait until morning?" She asked, softly placing a hand on the sleeping child in the bed.

"No, we must move swiftly. Take him, now. I shall do the rest of the work." The man answered. The woman sighed sadly, picking up the child, who cooed and moved restlessly in her arms.

"Hush now, my child. It'll be over soon." She said before she apparated away.

The man stared at the empty place the woman had stood before. With a deep sigh, he pointed his wand at the bed.

"Incendio!" He cried. The bed caught fire immediately. Smoke filled the room, and the man utter one more incantation before apparating away.

"Morsmorde!"

And he was gone.

CHILD MURDER!

Malfoy Heir Burned Alive; Killers Still At Large

By Carney McLaughlin

Late last night, four masked assailants, as reported by Malfoy Manor house elves, forced themselves into the home and killed Draco Malfoy, 4, as he slept in his bed. After the wicked deed was done, the assailants left- but not before leaving the dreaded "Dark Mark" of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named above the ruined remains of the child's bed.

"The Malfoys are distraught, obviously," An insider told this Daily Prophet.

And who could commit such a heinous act? Evidence seem to point to the three years deceased Dark Lord's followers- The Death Eaters. The Death Eaters, during the dark years of the war, were known for leaving the Dark Mark at crime scenes. Lucius Malfoy, 30, and father of the victim, was rumored to be a Death Eater during the war, but it was found that he was merely a victim of the Imperius Curse, and has since helped bring many ex-Death Eaters to justice. Could this have been that cause of the vendetta the Death Eaters have against this upstanding man of society? We talked to our insider for more information.

"It's not very well known, but the Malfoy's have been very involved in trying to locate Harry Potter." Our source told us.

They are, of course, referring to Harry Potter, vanquisher of You-Know-Who. Potter has been missing since late 1981, only a few months after he killed You-Know-Who. But what could The Boy Who Lived have to do with the Draco Malfoy's death?

"I think the Malfoys were getting a little too close for comfort for the ones who have little Harry hostage. That's why the killed Draco- as a warning, to get them to stop looking." The insider speculated.

Could this be true? Are the Malfoys really close to finding Harry Potter?

As much of a joyous occasion as finding Harry would be, it is a sad thing that it would be forever tinted with the spilt blood of an innocent child.

Present Day

January 5th, 1985

"Amos! Amos! Come here, quickly!"

Amos Diggory shot up from where he was seated on the floor. He had been playing with his sons Cedric, who was six, and Harry, who was four.

"Eileen?" He asked, having heard his wife's frantic call only moments before, "What is it?"

"You need to see this!" She said. Amos walked into the room where she was, the kitchen, and saw her leaning over the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

"What is it?" Amos asked. Eileen motioned towards the blaring headline at the top of the page.

THE BOY WHO LIVED FOUND!

"What?!" Amos cried in disbelief. He ran, peaking his head around the corner to check on the boys in the living room. Harry was still there, contently playing with a toy hippogriff. Returning to Eileen, Amos voiced his confusion, "I don't understand! Harry's right there!"

Eileen looked pale and gulped before answering. "You must read the article. I don't know what's going on either."

Amos nodded before grabbing the newspaper.

THE BOY WHO LIVED FOUND!

Harry Potter, 4, Found Alive and Well Last Month

By Caroline Terrence

The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter has been located, aurors report. It had been kept secret due to safety concerns for the child.

Missing since November of 1981, Potter has been long speculated to have been taken by a group of disgruntled Death Eater enacting revenge against the child who killed their leader.

While we currently don't know all the details of the boy's kidnapping and subsequent captivity, we do know who is responsible for finding the child— Lucius Malfoy.

Malfoy, who's own son Draco died last June, has been ruthlessly searching for Harry Potter for the better part of three years. He was able to sit down and talk to us about his search and what drove him to dedicate his life to finding Harry, even after his own family tragedy.

DP: Thank you, Mr. Malfoy, for sitting down with the Daily Prophet today.

LM: Please, call me Lucius. And it's my pleasure.

DP: Thank you, Lucius. Now, I must ask you, how did you do this? Hundreds have searched for Harry since his disappearance in 1981, and most have given up, assuming he was dead. How is that after all this time, you haven't given up, and you've done the impossible, finding him?

LM: Perseverance. Strength. Faith. I just knew Harry had to still be alive, he had to be. I just couldn't think about that little boy, a babe, our savior, dead. So I kept looking, kept searching. My wife has supported me throughout the whole search. She is my rock.

DP: Amazing. But even more amazing is that you've kept going all these years, even though, and I hope you don't mind me bring this up, the death of your own son. It's rumored that perhaps your search for Harry is directly linked to Draco's murder. How is it that you kept going despite this.

LM: (deep breath) No, no, it's fine. I can speak about it now. Draco's…Draco's death in June was meant to discourage me, to stop me from searching for Harry, but, really it did just the opposite. I kept looking, kept looking, because of Draco's death. I wasn't going to let another little boy die from these monsters like Draco was. I looked because of Draco.

DP: Simply amazing. You, sir, are a true hero. How will you move on after all this?

LM: I don't know. I don't know. Narcissa, my wife, and I have actually considered adopting young Harry. He has no home to go to, since it was discovered that those muggles he was originally put with were abusive towards him. It just breaks our hearts that in the three short years since his parents were murdered, he hasn't had a loving home.

DP: That's very noble of you. I'm sure The Boy Who Lived will be very pleased with his new mum and dad.

LM: Thank you, thank you.

(See Page 5 for full page picture of The Boy Who Lived, provided by the Malfoys)

Amos looked up from the article, eyes wide, before flipping to page 5. There was a picture of a young boy, who, Amos admitted to himself, looked just like a young James Potter. The boy's hair was messy and black, and his eyes, framed by round glasses, were an emerald green that Amos recognized.

"Those are Harry's eyes!" Eileen said beside him. Amos nodded grimly.

"Those are Lily Potter's eyes, and that child looks exactly like her and James' son."

"But, Amos, that's impossible!"

"I know that, you know that, Remus, Molly and Arthur know that, and, I'd wager that Lucius Malfoy knows that. But everyone else certainly doesn't know that." Amos replied.

"Malfoy? What do you suppose he's doing with this fake Harry?" Eileen wondered.

"I don't know…I don't know. Whatever it is, it can't be good." Amos replied.

Albus Dumbledore sat at his, hands steepled, in deep thought.

So, someone had led it slip that Harry had been found. Albus' mind flickered back to a few weeks before when he had gotten a floo call…

He had been sitting at his desk after lunch reading when a head popped up in his fireplace.

"Sir! Sir!" A voice cried. Albus had gotten up and kneeled before the young man in his floo.

"How may I help you young man?"

"I am Auror Mortimer Giles, sir. It is urgent that you accompany me back to the ministry."

"May I ask what's going on?" The young man shook his head.

"Sorry, Professor. It's top secret. The Minister requests you come immediately."

Albus' eyebrows rose in amusement. "The Minister, you say? If Cornelius is involved, I suppose it must be dreadfully important, indeed. Any hint at all?"

Mortimer's eyes flickered nervously before he whispered, "We have found Harry Potter."

All hints of amusement were gone from Albus' face. "You are sure?"

"Very."

"I shall come in a moment." Albus replied. Mortimer's face disappeared, leaving Albus deep in thought…

Albus shook his head from his memories. He had been searching for Harry for years now, shouldn't he be happy? But no, no, something felt wrong. Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater! Severus had confirmed it.

Albus' mouth was set in a grim line. No, no this couldn't be right. That child, who looked so achingly like Lily and James' son that Albus' heart had stopped when he had first seen him, just couldn't be the real Harry Potter.

It would be so simple though, Albus reflected, to accept that the Harry found was the Harry, but it was just too good to be true—and too entangled with the Malfoys. But then, where could the real Harry Potter be?

Harry Diggory walked over to his bestest friend in the whole, wide world.

"Ron!" He said happily. Ron, who had been looking at a picture book, smiled at Harry.

Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mum who made really good food, smiled at Harry. "Hello dear, did you walk all the way to our house by yourself?"

Harry nodded happily. "Mummy and daddy were busy today, and they said I could walk by myself."

"Well, you boys have fun, okay?" Mrs. Weasley said.

Harry nodded. "Okay! We're going to go play with Hermione. She doesn't have muggle school today since it's Saturday." Ron made a face at Harry's proclamation, but nodded along with his friend regardless.

"And you boys know not to use or talk about magic around Hermione, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasely!"

"Yes, Mummy!" Harry and Ron said simultaneously. The two boys then can out of the Burrow in the direction of the village.

As they approached a hill, Ron looked at Harry. "Do we have to play with Hermione today? She's boring."

Harry frowned. "No she's not."

"She's just a muggle. It's not fun not playing magic games."

"Her stories are funny." Harry reasoned. Ron reluctantly nodded agreement.

"Some of them. I still like Babbitty Rabbitty better though." Ron replied. He still wasn't convinced about going to play with Hermione. "Isn't it stupid having to pretend to be muggles all the time though, Harry?"

"Kind of. But it'd be mean to stop playing with Hermione. Come on, Ron, we're almost to her house. Race you?" Harry said, deflecting Ron's complaining with a competitive grin.

"You're on! Last one there's a rotten gnome!" Ron cried before sprinting away. Harry laughed before following.

"Mum! Mum! Harry and Ron are coming!"

Janine Granger looked fondly at her daughter who was looking out of the window in excitement. No matter how strange her first meeting was with the Weasely's and Diggory's, she would be forever grateful for the joy Harry Diggory and Ron Weasely brought her daughter.

Hermione had started at her new school, and Janine could already tell it made Hermione unhappy. It wasn't the learning though that bothered the five-year-old, on the contrary, Hermione loved learning and her teachers. It was the students.

Though she never said a thing, Janine knew Hermione was being bullied. She had spoken to the teacher, but he seemed nonchalant about the matter, arguing that 'kids would be kids.' But, no matter what an awful week of school Hermione had, there was always a bright spot.

Every Saturday Harry and Ron would come running to come see her.

Unable to contain her excitement, Hermione hopped to the door, ripping it open with a wide grin.

"Harry! Ron!" She exclaimed happily.

"Hey Hermione!" Harry said, enthusiastically waving. Ron waved beside Harry, and if he was a bit less enthusiastic, well, Hermione was too pleased to even notice.

"Come in! Mum just made some snacks. I have a new book to show you!" Hermione turned back into the house, missing the exasperated look that Ron shot Harry.

After the children had eaten, the tree ran upstairs to Hermione's room. Though only five years old, she already had an impressive collection of books. Running to the nightstand beside her bed, she grabbed her latest addition.

"Look! Look! It's called The Three Musketeers! It made me think of the three of us!" Hermione said, a bit shyly. This time, she didn't miss the slight eye roll Ron gave.

Before Hermione could say anything however, Harry spoke up. "What's it about, Hermione?"

Hermione excitedly babbled away about sword fights and rescues to her friends. However, she eventually realized that neither were listening, choosing rather to poke each other. Tears prickled in her eyes.

"Why do you even bother playing with me? You guys don't even like me!" She exclaimed. Harry and Ron stopped poking, and looked at her with guilty faces.

"Sorry, Hermione!" Harry said. Ron nodded next to him.

"Sorry, Hermione. It's not your fault you're boring." Ron said. Harry slapped his arm as more tears fell down Hermione's face.

"I thought we were friends! Like the Three Musketeers in my stories! But…but you two are no better than the bullies at school! Just go away!" She cried, throwing her book at them.

"Ow!" Ron said as it hit his arm.

"We're sorry, Hermione! We didn't mean to be bullies." Harry told her.

"Liar! You think I'm boring. You think I'm weird. You…YOU THINK I'M A FREAK!" She screamed, eyes squeezed shut with her hands balled into fists at her side.

The door open behind Harry and Ron as Mrs. Granger stepped into the room.

"What's going on in here? Hermione, are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"No one likes me!" Hermione yelled. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Hermione was lifted into the air.

Mrs. Granger screamed as Harry and Ron looked up in awe.

"What, what's happening?!" Hermione said, eyes popping open as she looked down in surprise.

"Oh boy!" Ron exclaimed, "Wait till I tell George! Wow! Our Hermione, a witch!"

Hermione frowned angrily, still hovering in the air. "A witch! That's a mean thing to say!"

"No, Hermione. He means you're magical, like us!" Harry said happily.

"I don't understand!" Hermione replied.

"Just wait here! I'll go get dad, he'll explain!" Harry said, before running out the door.

And then Mrs. Janine Granger fainted dead on the floor.

A witch.

Her daughter was…a witch.

It wasn't a sentence Janine thought she'd ever even think when she first held her infant daughter. But, it was true.

Hermione was magical, and she was a witch.

Amos Diggory had come over and, after reviving Janine from her fainting spell, had explained everything to her and a worried Mark who had just returned from the market.

There was a whole magical world hidden right under everyone's nose. A world her daughter was apparently a part of.

Harry and Ron were ecstatic, of course. They had immediately taken it upon themselves to explain all aspects of magic to Hermione. But annoyance lingered in Janine, having heard some of the children's argument earlier.

So what, now that Hermione was one of them, magical, they would except her fully? Hermione was so eager for friendship that all was forgiven and forgotten very easily. Too easily.

Janine resolved that she would watch. They were all so young, so immature, that it really was too early to say anything. The boys were only four. Janine was confident that eventually they would appreciate Hermione fully for who she was, especially now that they didn't have to keep a huge part of themselves secret.

Janine smiled, watching as Hermione and Harry giggled as Ron animatedly recounted a story– had he said Babbitty Rabbitty? What in the world…– to his friends. Yes, Janine thought to herself, they would be just fine.

It had been a long day, Eileen thought as she relaxed in her chair.

They were treating the Grangers to a real Weasely-Diggory picnic, complete with pranks, food, and a wild quidditch match, since the Grangers now knew of magic. It was certainly a nice change from her tense morning, she thought watching Hermione instructing Harry and Ron how to sword fight.

After the terrifying article in the Daily Prophet, Amos and Arthur had rushed to the Ministry in an attempt to gain any more information as to what was going on, but everyone involved with the matter was quite close lipped.

In fact, the only information they managed to get was in itself worrying:

It was official, Lucius Malfoy was going to adopt Harry Potter.

The woman reclined in her chair, comforting the crying child.

"Hush, hush, don't cry." She said soothingly.

"Mummy, mummy, it hurts!" The little boy in her arms cried. He was scratching the black hair on his head frantically, and the woman watched with horror as the boy's features began morphing.

Just as the hair on the boy's head was turning to a white blonde color, a man walked into the room.

"Narcissa! What are you doing? I told you to keep him in his room while that happened!"

Narcissa Malfoy frowned while rubbing soothing circles on the boy's back. "It's warmer in here, and the warmth helps with the pain I find."

Lucius Malfoy's eyes softened. "Fine, fine, but if a house elf walks in- obliviate them."

"Yes, husband, I know what to do." She replied tersely. Lucius rolled his eyes before swooping out. Narcissa turned back to the child, who was still now.

"There, there, it's all over now. How do you feel? Would you like some water?"

The boy sniffled a little, rubbing a hand of his eye. "Yes, mummy."

Narcissa smiled, "Come now, Draco. I'll get you some and then tuck you into bed."

Woah.

Just woah...

FOUR MONTHS! FOUR MONTHS! That's how long it's been since I've last updated. In my defense...school! And writer's block! And stuffy stuffy stuff stuff stuff!

But like seriously, I'm so sorry. I had so much trouble with this story. I almost considered abandoning it...until I was hit by an idea! A spectacular idea! And so I wrote this :D I hoped you liked it, as I thought it turned out rather well :)

I'm still pretty busy with school, but I'm hoping I'll be able to update again before the end of the month.

Thanks for reading, and please review :)