This was inspired by a combination of A Father's Courage by FatherSnape (although the only thing that's the same is that Harry has to take care of a kid) and the various creature inheritance fanfictions I've read on this sight. I don't know how my mind melds these types of things together, but there you have it.

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Chapter One

Harry didn't know what time it was, nor did he care. He sat on the old swing set and rocked back and forth. The sun was high in the sky, but Harry was terrified. Four years at Hogwarts, and all four years threatened his life! If he kept going in the direction he thought he was, Harry knew before the end of his seventh year he'd be six feet under.

It was the beginning of summer, and his friends still hadn't contacted him.

Harry wondered what the point of it all was. If there was a greater deity, what were their plans for him? Probably amusement, Harry thought. Harry knew he was Fate's punching bag, but he wouldn't know the extent until this day.

Harry continued swinging and swinging, until he saw something strange. A young girl of sixteen was crying, carrying a bundle down the street. As if she felt his eyes on her, she turned and looked at him. She tensed, holding the bundle closer to her, then darted off past Harry's line of sight.

Strange. And nothing more was thought on the matter.

Harry walked home. He kept an eye out for Dudley and his gang, but Harry knew they were probably out terrorizing a group of pre-teens. He wished he could help, but without magic, Harry knew he was nothing.

He was so careful watching for danger, Harry didn't look down and see the bundle on the front porch until he almost stepped on it. Huh?

It was a baby blue thing, wrapped tightly around whatever was inside. Harry picked it up. A wail sounded.

The baby, for that was what was in the bundle, screamed and cried at its disturbed slumber. Harry jumped, almost dropping the kid. He was quick to walk inside, knowing how the neighbors would get and how Aunt Petunia would in turn become. He tried rocking the babe, although he had no clue if he was doing this right. Apparently so, when less than five minutes later, the baby was softly snoring.

Harry noticed a note in the child's hand as he walked into the kitchen. He was glad none of his relatives were home or they would have a fit. Even if it wasn't his fault the baby was there, Harry knew he would somehow be the one to blame for it.

Harry set the baby on the table. While he could manage holding it in two hands, he didn't think it was safe to hold the child in one hand, especially as he didn't know the proper way how. He pulled the note from the kid's hand, the pudgy thing gripping air in its wake. Harry supposed the baby was cute. It had black hair and a pudgy body. Pudgy face, pudgy fingers, pudgy toes. Harry just didn't understand why girls cooed over this type of stuff.

The writing on the note was shaky. Whoever left the baby here obviously was nervous to do so.

Dudley, the note read.

I… don't know where to start. Do you remember me, the girl you met at that party? The punch was spiked, and we woke up together? Yeah… that girl.

Turns out, the birds and the bees talk was true, heh.

Guess what, you're a father! I was able to get away with only my parents knowing I got pregnant, and I tried to make sure no one saw me leave him on the front porch. They didn't want me to keep him, not that I did either, but instead of letting me take this boy directly to the orphanage, they made me take him to you, so you would know about him and could meet him. I knew you wouldn't be home at this time. I just couldn't face you. If you want to, you can leave him in an orphanage, so your family's reputation won't get damaged.

His name is Tom.

The note wasn't signed. Harry couldn't believe – no, scratch that, he could believe Dudley would get a random girl pregnant. He just didn't know how to process it. He stared at the boy. In all honesty, the boy must have gotten his looks from his mother. Even now, Harry could tell he looked nothing like Dudley.

For the rest of the day, Harry waited on his relatives. He couldn't feed the poor child, it was still in the breast-feeding stage. He could, though, comfort him and hold him. Harry found some nappies in the back of the cupboard in the bathroom, so he was able to change him. Harry thought for sure that such old things against the kid's bum would have been painful, but the kid didn't cry.

The boy was fairly easy to take care of, much more so than how hard Aunt Petunia made his babyhood out to be (although not precious Dudders, the little angel).

Harry was resting on the couch, the baby (Harry refused to think of him as Tom) snuggled into his chest when Aunt Petunia got home. She walked through the door and went through her normal routine of finding some tea to drink in the kitchen. She had just been at tea time with the neighbors, but Number Nine's tea was just dreadful. When she put the kettle on to boil, she walked into the living room, only to scream.

Immediately, the baby started crying, Harry shushing and rocking and glaring at the one who ruined the peacefulness.

"What is that-that thing doing here?" she demanded. No doubt, she thought Harry was the one at fault for the baby in her house.

"Look at the note on the kitchen table," Harry ground out. Sure, the kid was easy to take care of, but that didn't mean he hadn't worked hard to make him comfortable. He was just abandoned by his mother, after all. Harry kind of pitied the little thing.

Petunia marched her way into the kitchen. How dare that boy knock some girl up! What will the neighbors think?

She fainted when she read that Dudley was the one at fault.

The kettle whistled, the baby shrieked, and Harry sighed. Guess she was not going to be any help. Then he snickered. Wonder how the Dursleys will handle this one!

I think when one starts writing on fanfiction, somehow more ideas start popping up in one's head. I don't know how I'll finish these (if I manage to at all). So, I have a question for you all. If you update twice in a twenty-four-hour period, will the site say that you updated only once? On my other fic, Hellhounds Are Not Emo!, I updated both yesterday and today, although it only says I updated yesterday. Any clues about what's going on?

Also, what changes a fanfic to AU? Fanfiction is about changing one to many things and the consequences of those changes, at least in longer stories. The only ones I could see that that wouldn't apply to would be if the story is situated on the future or on completely different characters within the same world.

If you liked it, make sure to review, follow, or favorite. And if you see anything worth suggesting (grammar, ways to improve, etc.) just let me know!