Disclaimer: I do not own the concept and characters of Harry Potter. No money is being made from this story. Thanks go to J.K. Rowling and her wonderful imagination for the Harry Potter universe.

Prologue

The first was born into a large family; one might say too large, and not exactly what you'd describe as normal. He grew up as the sixth child of seven; his five elder siblings all boys and his younger the only girl.

They lived together in a ramshackle little farmhouse that had been added to as the family grew, though not in any logical order and by no means were the extensions completed by a professional builder. As this particular family was magical, however, they hardly needed one and simply allowed their home to grow as necessary by way of their craft.

The boy's absent-minded father was the only bread-winner in the home and so perhaps could be excused for missing much of his children's lives; though he loved all of them he didn't have much time to spend with them. The mother might be forgiven for being disappointed in the birth of another son when she so desperately wanted a girl; becoming depressed enough that she foisted his care onto her other children and never truly bonded with him as she did with the others.

The eldest son had just started school and barely ever met his young sibling; the second-eldest might have been bitter about caring for the child in place of his parents, had he been that sort - but he wasn't and could be excused, perhaps, for forgetting the boy when he too went away to school and started living his own life. The third couldn't really understand the reasons behind the slight depression his mother suffered after the child's birth and reacted typically by copying her behaviour in ignoring him. The fourth and fifth sons, twins, grew up almost without realising he existed; until they discovered an unprotected target for the pranks they thought "funny". The girl-child, born almost a year after and the apple of her mother's eye, wasn't really interested in her next-eldest sibling; after all, the elder three were more interesting, and the twins were more fun.

Yes, they all might be excused, and forgiven - but it was cold comfort to Ronald Anius Weasley; who grew up unloved and uncared for.

The second was born to two very busy, boring, proper people; who had both studied dentistry at university for two different reasons, though the subject and career was hardly a passion for either of them and was soon left behind for other endeavours.

The father was an ambitious sort, using his marriage to further his business aspirations once his wife came into the inheritance of old money. He was very good at making that money grow, feeding it into the chain of medical practices he acquired, including the first dental clinic he'd been forced to work in.

The mother was not in any way interested in working, only completing her degree to gain the approval of a much disliked grandmother who believed in females being independent, in order to gain the inheritance she felt she deserved. She had chosen dentistry to annoy her sanctimonious father, with whom she'd never gotten along, who had thought the field beneath her. Well, it was, but she had the brains to do whatever she wanted, whether he approved or not. She was most careful in the choice of husband; for though she had no intention of working for money she did work hard for and craved the acknowledgement of her peers, enjoying an immaculate reputation among them cultivated by her charity work and had no intentions of that being ruined by the wrong sort of spouse.

They met when she was completing her internship in the same practice he worked as a junior dentist and became friends, soon discovering they had much to offer each other in a marriage. Indeed they fit very well together, he managing their finances and she their professional and personal reputations. Though neither found the love of their lives in the other they were, perhaps, too selfish to ever experience such a thing anyway and so were happy with their circumstances.

It was for this reason that they saw an unforeseen pregnancy as just another 'situation' that needed to be 'handled correctly'. It wouldn't be at all appropriate to terminate the pregnancy and in any case they should have at least one offspring, they acknowledged, as that was how things were done. So they hired a nanny to go with their cook and gardener and their lives went on mostly uninterrupted by the arrival of their new daughter.

The nanny was a squib who recognised the signs of a magical baby and was vastly unimpressed that a brat born of two muggles would be a part of a world she had been denied; becoming more and more bitter as the years went on and causing no end of heartache to her innocent charge. The gardener had no use for children, especially ones than might stomp all over his hard work - so the girl was only allowed in his domain when properly supervised. As for the cook, though he was an exuberant and loving man who developed a soft spot for his employer's daughter, he was also extremely busy and liked to partake in a little too much port than was strictly necessary or good for him. While some solace could occasionally be found for the girl in the warm kitchen there really was very little he could do for a small child.

She took to studying, in an effort to gain attention from her parents. While gaining the praise of her teachers however, this obtained her none of her parents affections and no friends. Still, she developed an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, and knew that when the time came, she would leave her unloving home behind with little regret.

And so, Hermione Madison Granger grew up neglected and friendless.

The third was born to two loving parents, and lived an almost idyllic life until he was the age of one and a half years, whereupon his parents were cruelly murdered and their murderer subsequently defeated when he tried to implement his murdering ways upon the young child. Taken – for his own protection, of course – to his only living blood relative and watched over by a squib who lived two streets away, the young boy settled into his new life.

Of course, no-one could really blame the watcher for being away visiting family at the time the great upheaval in the young boy's life occurred, especially considering she really only resided on Wisteria Walk for a few months out of that particular year, anyway.

It was really not her fault she hadn't noticed when a new family moved into the house, or that she didn't notice for over a year and a half; although it took only the course of one afternoon for her to gain all the information in the matter. Her neighbours were very obliging – they couldn't believe she had missed something so scandalous – and it was important for everyone to know the full story, after all.

How the husband had been reported for child abuse by the school. How the wife had left the area with her son in shame. How the young nephew had been put into the child protection system, a really nice orphanage not too far away. How, when the husband had been released on bail, he'd gone to the orphanage in a drunken rage and tried to kill the boy. How the child had run away from his uncle and the police had been unable to find him. Very sad; tragic really, they whispered in barely restrained glee.

After Arabella Figg had reported the situation, Albus Dumbledore attempted to find the child himself. When he couldn't, he decided to keep it quiet; it would be too dangerous if anyone – specifically, anyone who had supported the Dark Lord – found out that the young one was so vulnerable; all he could do was hope the boy came to rest in a safe and loving home. In the meantime, his agents would continue searching.

All the good intentions in the world didn't help Harrison Chase Potter, who grew up abused and afraid.

A/N: Hope you enjoy the re-write of this "what if?" story; it was my first story and I'm looking forward to finishing it. Any constructive criticism is welcomed; I will be editing this myself, so please let me know if you spot any errors in spelling or grammar. Thanks! I have deliberately changed the middle names of the trio; please note that Ron's middle name is pronounced An-eye-us. Ok?