Disclaimer: No matter what I think, no matter what I say, I do not own Harry Potter... Yet! MWHUAHAHAHAHAZA! (Looks at men in black suits who have just entered the room) I mean it all belongs to Ms. Rowling! Eep! Don't hurt me!

Summary: Petunia Evans never married Vernon Dursley and was great friends with her sister Lily. When Lily dies, Petunia raises her son, Harry, and tells him everything about his past at the fragile age of eight. Even things some people would rather he not know. When wizards kill Petunia, Harry is forced to live on the streets constantly on the run from the wizards that killed her. How will Harry grow up without anyone to care for him or even look out for him?

A Life Alone
Chapter One
By Loony

"Harry could you come down here? We need to talk," Petunia Evans shouted up the narrow stairs. Petunia was a tall, thin woman with dark hair and a long, thin neck that was perfect for spying on the neighbours. She was a quiet, timid woman who mostly kept to herself. Petunia was very nosey - that was why she spent so much time spying on the neighbors - but she never really expressed her views to anyone for fear of an awkward moment or ridicule. Anyone except Harry that was.

A small head appeared from around the corner at the top of the stairs, peered down, and said, "Whatever it is, I didn't do it! They made a mistake!" Harry Potter, a healthy eight-year-old boy, had messy black hair that was currently gelled up in short spikes. He had bright, shimmering, green eyes that held a picture of pure innocence that would deceive anyone who did not know him well.

Upon seeing his aunt's grave face, he bounced down the stairs in such a way that only a child could. Looking at his Aunt Petunia's face, Harry tried to decipher what it was that she wanted to talk to him about. Could he have done something terribly wrong? Had gluing the teachers cutlery onto the tables been taking it too far? Before he could ask, however, Petunia spoke.

"I-I-I have something t-to tell you. S-something that you should h-have been brought up kn-kn-knowing."

Harry was confused. Why had Aunt Petunia stuttered? She was never nervous around him. It must be something horrible or really hard for her to say or both. And really important, he added. Harry tried his best to make it as easy as he could for her to say.

"It's alright," he said gently. "You're telling me now. Take all the time you need." Harry wasn't angry in the slightest anyway. This was the first secret (that he knew of) Aunt Petunia had kept from him. Perhaps he would have been annoyed if she had waited until he was much older to tell him but that didn't matter. What mattered was making whatever it was as comfortable as possible for Aunt Petunia to say.

Petunia still looked troubled and was shaking slightly as she said, "Well, em, you see, I er, well..."

"Yes?" Harry prompted kindly.

"Em, well, lets see, there is a lot of things I haven't told you," she began carefully. "About your parents."

At the mention of his parents, Harry's eyes widened in shock. Ever since he could remember whenever he had asked about his parents he had been told, "Someday I'll tell you, when your ready." He had given up trying to find out about them a long time ago. Harry knew there was some secret behind his mother and father that his aunt would tell him when she was ready but he had not thought that day would come for a long time. Now that that day was here, he wished to make it as easy for his aunt as he could.

"I will tell you tell you everything about them but you mustn't ask any questions or interrupt until I'm done," Petunia continued with slightly more confidence. Harry, feeling this was reasonable, inclined for her to go on. "You may not believe me at first Harry, but you must for it is all very real. Your parents were a great witch and a great wizard."

Harry stared, eyes widening, eyebrows rising.

"Well, I suppose I should start with your mother. The summer before your mother was due to start high school she received a letter. A letter that told her she had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Naturally she assumed it was a practical joke, so she threw the letter away but the letter had aroused suspicion in your mother and I. It had been addressed to Lily of course, at our house but it had also been addressed to her room. But how had they known where she slept? We dismissed it but the next day another letter came, identical to the first, requesting Lily to send her reply back by owl. You can imagine our confusion. It was almost as if they - whoever sent the letter - knew that we had thrown the first out. We threw this letter away as before but another came the next day, and the next. We continued to throw them out but more always came. Lily a witch? Preposterous! But what about some of the things Lily had done? The letters came in such vast quantities that we could no longer ignore them. We read through them thoroughly. The next day a 'wizard' came to our house and told us about the magical world. We were skeptical of course, but the wizard showed us magic that could not have possibly been tricks. Your mother went off to the magic school for seven long years, only returning for the holidays. But there was trouble in the magic world."

Petunia took a deep breath. "An evil wizard was gathering followers. His name is so terrible that even now it is said that if you speak his name, he or his followers will slowly and painfully kill you and torture your friends and family. I daren't say it. This wizard was killing anyone who wasn't completely magical. While your mother was at Hogwarts, she despised a boy for everything he said and did. In her opinion he was nothing but a bully and a womanizer. She changed her mid completely about him when she and him were made head boy and head girl. She fell in love with him. His name was James Potter, your father. Shortly after they left school you were born and shortly after that, a man told them of a prophecy that had been made about you. Lily told me the prophecies contents even though she was under strict orders to tell no one. The prophecy went something like this,

The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches...

Born to those who have thrice defied him,

Born as the seventh month dies...

And the dark lord shall mark him as his equal,

But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...

And either must die at the hand of the other

For neither can live while the other survives...

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...

It means that you will either have to kill the-person-whose-name-I-cannot-say or be killed by him but you will have great power which will be to your great advantage. Lily, like your father, wanted to protect you so they put some fancy magical protection thing on the house where you used to live. For this spell they needed to have one person know where the house was and only that person would be able to tell someone elsewhere you were. Lily told the man who had told them the prophecy that the secret keeper was James's best friend, Sirius Black (your godfather). The man then told several other people. Your parents changed the secret keeper, however, to a less obvious choice. They changed to Peter Pettigrew and I believe the man-who-knew-about-the-prophecy knew about this change but chose not to say anything. Peter Pettigrew betrayed Lily and James and on Halloween the man-whose-name-is-dangerous-for-me-to-say came to the house. He killed your father in battle and then proceeded to kill your mother whilst she tried to protect you. When the man-who-murdered-your-parents turned to kill you, he vanished and all his powers disappeared along with him. The other man, to whom I have referred to multiple times, would like you to believe that you survived the death curse because Lily sacrificed her life to save yours but really the curse didn't rebound. You just survived somehow and sent your own curse back at the man-who-tried-to-kill-you. The other man does not want you to know about the great amount of power you have.

"Now, when Sirius Black heard about what happened he went to the ruins of your house to take you and raise you like Lily and James wanted but a messenger from the man who knew the prophecy got there first. Sirius then went to attack Pettigrew for what he had done but Pettigrew framed him and transformed into a rat after blowing up the street giving the impression Sirius had murdered thirteen non-magical by-standers along with your parents. The man-who-concealed-a-lot did not help Sirius escape going to wizard prison.

"I am sure you are wondering why I keep referring to a 'man' rather than give him a name. The reason I keep referring to a 'man' is because if I say his name, he will know immediately what I have been telling you, against his wishes. His spies and spells are everywhere and when he finds out (which I do not think will take very long) he will have me killed but he will claim that I was under the control of the-man-whose-name-I-cannot-say who is his most despised enemy. The manipulative man is the reason Lily and James are dead. The whole magical world thinks very lowly of normal non-magical people even if they don't realize it. The manipulative man will try and bend you to his will and force you to do whatever he wants. He is the headmaster of Hogwarts. Once I am dead he will move you to a place where he can keep a very close eye on you. It would be safest for you Harry, if you grow up in the normal world.

"I will give you a bit of money so you can get to the middle of a large town but that is all I can do. You must not trust anyone who thinks lowly of non-magic people. You must not let yourself be manipulated in any way. I am sorry Harry but this is the way it must be."

Harry, who had sat silently throughout the entire tale, could only stare open mouthed. He was a wizard? Well, he supposed, that would explain a few things but… magic wasn't real, was it? And he had two psychotic wizards after him? He had heard of course of evil wizards after children in fairy tales but in them there was only one evil wizard after the hero or heroine and fairy tales weren't real. Did that mean that because there were two wizards after him that it actually could happen? Did that even make sense? Did anything? His aunt hadn't lied to him before so why should she start now? Harry continued to ponder.

Petunia gasped, attracting Harry's attention at once. "They're here," She said barely above a whisper, voice trembling.

"So soon?" Harry asked alarmed.

"Yes! You have to get out of here! No there's no time to pack! No time! There's no time to go the normal way! Go! Now! Just picture yourself somewhere in London and go! Picture it very hard!"

"But-but-b-," Harry stuttered bewilderedly. All of this made absolutely no sense!

"But nothing!" Petunia shrieked. " Get out of here NOW!

"But what about you?"

"Don't bother about me! I've known for ages that the day I told you would be the day they found a way to get rid of me! Now go!

"But-!"

"Go, Harry, before it's too late!"

"But they might-?"

"Go!"

"What if they-"

"Go while you still can!"

"Why don't you-?"

"GO!"

Harry, deciding that his aunt's mind was made up and that he could do nothing to change it, did as she requested. The last thing he saw before he disappeared was the door bursting open in the living room and his aunt's terrified face.

Several men and women burst through, wands drawn, faces determined. Petunia barely had time to give a sigh of relief as she saw Harry leave before the men and women entered. One of them shouted, "Stay where you are Deatheater and tell us what you've done with Petunia and the boy!"

"Who are you calling Deatheater," Petunia said with boldness she did not know she possessed. She did not phrase it as a question either, but said it angrily through clenched teeth.

"You scumbag!" another shouted. "What have you done with the real Petunia?"

"The real Petunia died years ago when your lot killed her family. This is all that's left of me!" She said quietly, tears in her eyes. In the silence, not one person missed what she said.

"Liar!" barked a ruff voice.

Petunia ran to the back of the room, picked up a vase and threw it at them in a desperate attempt to get away. A witch with brown hair ducked as it flew over her head. Another shouted a strange word at her and a red beam came out of their wand, heading straight for Petunia.

Every person in the room was astonished when the beam was absorbed in an invisible shield that surrounded her. Including Petunia.

Petunia continued to attempt to fight her way to the exit amidst their spells, every one of which was absorbed in the same invisible shield. Each attempt to bring her down was to no avail. Some of the spells were not absorbed in the shield however, but were rebounded straight at their castor who fell from the force of the spells. Petunia was almost at the exit when a wizard, seeing no other way, shot a green beam at her. The beam went right through the shield and hit Petunia square in the chest. She fell to the ground, her last thoughts of her nephew, Harry Potter.

"Well done Mad-Eye!" said a witch with brown hair.

"Don't congratulate me yet, Hestia," replied the wizard "Mad-Eye" solemnly. "We need to find that boy and soon. Before another Deatheater finds him and helps poison his mind against us."

"If he believed that one," said a stern looking witch. "Then we'll have to wipe his memories too. Otherwise the wizarding world may never be free of You-Know-Who."

"Right, let's find that boy!"

xXxXxX

In a dark alleyway behind some shops and restaurants, Harry Potter fell to his knees panting. He had been trying to protect his aunt with his new found power with all his might but it hadn't been enough. He had helped her a little, but he had still failed.

Petunia Evans, Harry Potter's only relative, was dead.

TBC

xXxXxX

A.N. (Authors Notes): Well there's chapter one. Please review if you liked or disliked it. Criticism very welcome, I'm never going to improve if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong. :P And if you don't review I shall personally come and hunt you down and pour water on your head.