Disclaimer: Sadly, Harry Potter is not mine. Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling.

Chapter I

"I demand custody of Harry Potter."

Albus Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes dimmed at Andromeda Tonks's request.

"My dear girl, Harry is perfectly well and happy with his aunt. He must live with her in order for the blood wards to work."

Andromeda took a challenging step toward the aged headmaster. "You and I both know quite well that there are no wards around the Muggles' house. And even if there were any, I could keep them up just as well. In case your memory is failing you in your old age, I feel compelled to remind you that I am related to James Potter through his mother Dorea Black."

Dumbledore smiled apologetically at her. "I'm afraid it does not work this way. It was Lily who sacrificed herself for young Harry, not James. There is no alternative, my girl."

Andromeda raised her chin slightly. Strands of her curly black hair fell back, pronouncing her already regal looks. "I promised both James and Sirius I would protect the boy. By Merlin, Albus, if you do not give me Harry Potter, I will show you why people fear us Blacks, disowned or not."

Her voice trembled with suppressed rage. Nine years she had conferred this subject with the Ministry of Magic, signing documents and making deals. She had visited the goblins responsible for the Potter accounts at Gringotts and forced them to unseal the Potters' will, which clearly stated she had every right to gain custody of Harry if something happened to his parents and godfather. And after all that, she was back in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. She had got nowhere!

Dumbledore didn't seem at all distressed. "Your loyalty to the Potters is admirable, but I had hoped you would have given up after so many years of unsuccessful attempts. There is a reason I placed Harry with his aunt, Andromeda."

And at that moment, Albus Dumbledore was infinitely grateful that Andromeda Tonks could not have been more different from her sister. Her steel grey eyes flashed with fury and she rose to her full height, towering over him.

"Albus Dumbledore, how dare you question my loyalty to the Potters? To my own family? The fact remains that Sirius Black was the last guardian on the list before me. James and Lily trusted him with their only son. They said in front of witnesses, Albus, that if anything were to happen to Sirius, they wanted me to care for Harry. And since it has been nine years since their deaths, nine years since Sirius's incarceration, I do believe it is my right to gain custody of Harry. Do not think I will surrender because you oh so conveniently decided to seal the Potters' will."

Dumbledore made to open his mouth, but Andromeda unsheathed her wand, steadily holding it to his crooked nose.

"I do not wish to hear your excuses, Albus. I have loyal friends who are powerful lords; I have connections in the Board of Education. I never thought I would be reduced to threatening of all strategies, but if you do not give me Harry Potter, I will be forced to relieve you of your status of Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Dumbledore sighed. He had to choose between protecting Harry and doing what he thought was best for the young boy, and working at Hogwarts, where he revelled in the feeling of communicating with his fellow professors and students.

The castle was his entire life. He had had the honour of educating the sharpest and most talented of wizards – Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, Filius Flitwick, Severus Snape, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans and, most unfortunately, Tom Riddle, had all once studied under him.

Could Andromeda possibly be a better guardian than Petunia Evans? She certainly believed that the wards were fake. That was false. The wards were weak, undependable, but they were there. And in just a year, Harry would be going to Hogwarts. Severus and Minerva could be trusted with the task of protecting Harry from Voldemort. Until the time of the prophecy came true...

Dumbledore closed his eyes. "Here are the papers," he said weakly, handing Andromeda a file. "Harry Potter is at Number Four, Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey."

Andromeda quickly looked over the papers. She conjured a quill and signed them before thanking her former headmaster and disappearing. She Apparated to Privet Drive, trying to spot Number Four. She had discussed this a million times with Ted and Dora. Ted had been a bit sceptic at first, not knowing if he could manage caring for another child, but had accepted faster than Andromeda had expected. Dora had been ecstatic about having a younger sibling.

With a heavy heart, Andromeda realised that Dora had been anticipating this moment for years. So much had changed since then... Hesitantly, Andromeda knocked smartly on Harry's relatives' door.

She instinctively raised her chin and straightened her back, making herself as regal and intimidating as possible, just as her mother had taught her so many years ago. Old habits die hard, Andromeda thought with a rueful smile.

The door was opened by a bony child of about eight or nine years of age.

"Good afternoon, madam," the boy said softly.

Andromeda realised with a jolt that it was Harry Potter looking up at her with a curious look, his mouth slightly open. She bent down a little.

"Are you Harry Potter?" she asked kindly, adopting the tone she used with the smaller children she worked with at St Mungo's Hospital.

The boy frowned in confusion. "Yes, madam. Please come in."

Andromeda smiled at him and showed herself into the unnaturally clean Muggle home. How did Muggles manage to keep everything so organised without having House Elves?

"Boy!" a male voice thundered. "Who's at the door?"

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. "Mr Dursley, I'm assuming," she said delicately, offering her hand to the spherical man. "My name is Andromeda Tonks. It is my pleasure. As you may have guessed, I am here for your nephew."

The man grunted. "What did he do now?"

Andromeda frowned. "I am a relative of his father's. I wish to gain custody of Harry, Mr Dursley."

Harry gasped. He had often dreamed of some distant relative taking him away, but he had begun thinking that it would never happen.

Andromeda heard the gasp and turned to look at the boy. She sighed slightly. "Of course, if you wish to stay here, Harry, I will by no means force you to come with me. The choice is entirely yours."

Harry shook his head frantically. "No!" Then he blushed. "I-I mean, I'd love to leave Privet Drive. T-Thank you, madam!"

The man – Dursley – rounded on his nephew. "After all the trouble we've been through because of you, boy!" he roared. "We've fed you and clothed you and do you show the slightest bit of gratitude? NO! AFTER ALL THE FREAKISH THINGS YOU DO, RUINING OUR NORMAL FAMILY –,"

"Mr Dursley, I suggest you restrain yourself, or I will be obligated to use force. I do not take kindly to my ward being referred to as ungrateful, or the slandering of magic."

Harry blinked, seemingly unaffected by his uncle's fit. "Magic? I thought magic wasn't real?"

Andromeda pulled out her wand and pointed it at Dursley. She couldn't choose whether to turn his attire more... feminine or to Densaugeo his teeth. Deciding the latter would be the less psychologically traumatising option, Andromeda performed the spell and watched amusedly as Dursley came to look even more like a walrus than before.

Harry's eyes widened comically. He gasped and stared for a few minutes. Then he began laughing softly. Andromeda vowed to never let her daughter find out about this. Dursley tried to yell at her to reverse the spell, but she only cast a petrifying curse. The Ministry was practically owned by Lucius Malfoy. Cissa would convince him not to get her in trouble for cursing a Muggle... She hoped that's what would happen, at least.

"So... What'll it be, Harry?"

"I-I want to go with you."

Harry knew it was incredibly foolish of him. He had just learned that magic was indeed real and that this woman was some relative of his fathers. She seemed quite nice. And even if she wasn't, she couldn't be worse than the Dursleys, could she?

Harry knew he had to make up his mind before Aunt Petunia and Dudley returned from the department store.

"Can I ask a question first?"

The woman nodded, smiling slightly. "Of course. Magic can often be rather confusing."

Harry bit his lip. "Did my mum and dad have magic? Do I?"

"Yes," the woman said confidently. "I know for a fact that your parents did have magic, and you most definitely inherited that. Your parents were, in fact, two of the most powerful wizards I ever met."

Harry considered this for a moment. So Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had lied to him. His parents hadn't been layabout drunks. They hadn't died in a car crash. They had been the best wizards this woman knew!

"What were their names?" Harry asked quietly, feeling relief wash over him at his last thought.

The woman blinked once. Twice. "Did your relatives," she said in a deceptively calm tone, "never tell you the names of your parents?"

Harry backed away slightly. He really didn't like angering someone who could make people's teeth grow a metre long with just a flick of their wrist.

"Their names were James and Lily. I will tell you anything you want to know about them, without any exceptions, once we get home. Do you need help getting your things?"

Harry grinned brightly at her. "Thank you," he said excitedly.

He opened the door to his cupboard and began packing Dudley's oversized clothes in a sack.

"Harry," Andromeda said idly. "What are you doing in the cupboard?"

Harry turned around, Dudley's castoffs still in his hands. He hadn't thought that it wasn't exactly normal to be using a cupboard as a bedroom. The woman crossed the living room in a couple of strides and snatched the shirt from his hand.

"This... is yours?" she said, clearly appalled.

"Yes, madam," Harry mumbled.

"And you keep your things in the cupboard?"

Harry didn't say anything.

"This thing's the size of a tablecloth," the woman said crossly. "You have no need of this. We will get you proper clothes."

She took his hand and walked him out of Number Four, stopping by Dursley's petrified form. "If I were a lesser person, Dursley..."

With that, they Apparated to Nottinghamshire, where the Tonkses resided.

"Madam," Harry said reluctantly. "I've got no money."

Andromeda frowned at him. "Firstly, I will not have you use such titles with me, Harry. Secondly, you are my ward. You don't need money; we will cover everything you need.

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "So what am I supposed to do with magic now?"

Andromeda smiled slightly. She had never heard that question before. "You're going to attend a school named Hogwarts. You'll be taught to control your magic there. Your parents attended that school too. You're going to have a wand and textbooks and cauldrons..."

"What's Hogwarts like?"

"I have a daughter who will be in her seventh and final year in September, Harry. She can tell you more about it when you ask her. Meanwhile, I have to teach you etiquette, history and politics."

Harry blinked. All that sounded hard. "Why? Do they teach that at Hogwarts?"

Andromeda laughed. "Sadly, no. But the Potters, Harry... You come from a very old family of wizards. By no means does that make you superior to any other wizard, mind you, but it would be a shame if you didn't know your own family's history. You'll have to take a seat in a council called the Wizengamot when you turn seventeen, so you have to learn politics early. Most children from old families start when they're eight or nine."

Reaching the gate, Andromeda keyed Harry to the wards and swung the door open. The pair crossed a colourful, somewhat messy garden and entered a large house with an arched door made of oak and ivy creeping up on the walls.

"Merlin and Mordred, that ivy's getting out of hand again," Andromeda muttered to herself. "I should have the House Elf clear it out."

"What's a House Elf?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's a creature which bonds itself to wizards and witches by serving their family. For a House Elf, being dismissed, which is done by giving it clothes, is a matter of great shame. Most of them will most likely never recover from such an experience."

Harry nodded in understanding as Andromeda showed him in. The living room walls were a pleasant shade of yellow. They were mostly covered in pictures and portraits that moved. Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Magic really existed.

Andromeda smiled at her ward. "Well... this is it, Harry. Why don't you rest tonight and we'll go to Diagon Alley tomorrow for a little bit of shopping. Come, I'll show you to your room."

They ascended the stairs and stopped at the second door on the left. "It's right across my daughter Dora's room," Andromeda explained. "Speaking of which, she should be here any moment."

Harry nodded at her. "Thank you, madam."

Andromeda raised an eyebrow and Harry remembered that he wasn't supposed to call her that.

"Aunt Andromeda will do, Harry. We are, by extension, related, after all. Aunt Andy's fine with me if you feel better using it."

Harry was quiet for a moment. "Do you have a family tree I can see? If it's no trouble, I mean. I just..."

"Bonnie!" Andromeda, or rather Aunt Andy called out.

A short, skeletal creature with an oversized head, big, round eyes and bat-like ears appeared in the room, bowing so that its nose touched the floor. Harry supposed that was a House Elf.

"Bonnie, would you please find a genealogy tree of the Potters for us? I believe we have one in the library."

Bonnie bowed again. "Of course, mistress. Who is young master here?"

"This is Harry; my ward," Andromeda told the elf.

"Bonnie is very honoured to meets young master Harry," the elf said. "Bonnie's mama always said mistress needed little boy. Bonnie's mama tolds master Ted so, she did."

Andromeda blinked. "Bonnie, is your family trying to convince my husband to sire a son?"

"Bonnie is finding genealogy tree, mistress!" Bonnie cried, avoiding the question.

With a crack, the elf disappeared. Andromeda shook her head fondly.

"You've had a long day, Harry. Rest."

Harry nodded and sat on his new bed. He leaned against the headboard. The room was quite nice – it light green walls, one of which was used entirely as a bookcase, a large window, a wooden desk lined with metal trinkets and instruments, and a telescope by the window.

Andromeda was still wondering how to tell Harry about his parents. If he hadn't known about magic, then he most definitely had no idea about Voldemort. Deciding on leaving Harry to rest, she slipped out of the room and retreated to the living room.

Harry lay in bed for hours, studying his family tree. Once he had involuntarily memorised every name on it, he put the parchment on the desk and looked through the bookcase. He had never had so many things of his own. And those were his own – Aunt Andy had said so.

Harry pulled out a thick tome about Hogwarts; he wanted to know everything about it before going there. The book was titled Hogwarts: The Founding of Magic. He was a hundred pages or so into the book when his door swung open, revealing a girl with neon pink hair, black, spiked clothing and a cheery grin.

"Hey," she said cheerfully, sitting on an armchair by the bookcase and propping her feet up on the wooden chair by the desk. "You're Harry, I take it?"

Harry nervously put the book down. "Y-Yeah..."

The girl grinned. "I'm Dora. Dora Tonks. I suppose mum's confined you to this bed, telling you to rest?"

Harry smiled slightly, relaxing. "She said it's been a long day for me."

Dora snorted. "Figures. Hey – I suppose we're siblings now. Want me to show you how to ride a broom?"

Harry gaped. "Ride a –,"

"Broom," Dora supplied. "Let's go. We have a spare one in the shed."

"But Mrs – I mean, Aunt Andy told me to rest."

Dora rolled her eyes. "Yeah, rest. Not die of boredom. Besides, we're living together now. Don't expect me to let you lock yourself up and read all day."

Harry shrugged helplessly. "If you're sure your mum won't be mad..."

Dora waved him off and motioned for him to stand up. She opened the door and waited for him to catch up. She swung an arm around his shoulder and walked beside him.

"Mum already loves you. She won't say no. You like it here, eh?"

Harry nodded excitedly. "It's so much better than it was for me at my relatives' house."

Dora hummed. "They're Muggles, aren't they?"

"Muggles?" Harry said questioningly.

"Non-magical people. That's what we call them," Dora explained as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

Aunt Andy heard them and looked up from the letter she was writing. "Oh, Dora, I told you to let the poor boy rest. You'll both have enough time to get in trouble later."

"Come on, mum. He needs to get out of that room. He's not sick, for Merlin's sake. I want to teach him how to ride a broom."

Andromeda glanced at Harry's hopeful expression. "Alright, but you'll be back by dinnertime. And mind the warding shields around the house."

And just like that, two complete strangers flew around the garden until Ted Tonks came home and Andromeda called them both in. Harry could hardly wait for tomorrow – he'd see Diagon Alley, learn about his family and about Hogwarts and start his routine with the Tonks family.