Spreading his Wings - Learning to Fly

Author: FelesMagica

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling), nor the idea of Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys and good!Severus. I don't know who owns them, to say I'm sorry for borrowing them. If I would know, I would ask. However, I do own my plot.

Summary: Seeing the value of having a wizard in the family, the Dursleys treated Harry properly, gaining a new son in the process. They fostered Harry's curiosity and love of knowledge, changing his whole future. Ravenclaw!Harry

Genre: Family / Friendship

Challenge: This is an answer to Sharlmalfoy's "The Different Sorting Challenge"!

Warnings: This story may contain some swearing and spanking. Furthermore, it contains Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys, good!Severus and some minor bashings. Don't like it, then please don't read further.

Harry Potter was different. He knew since he was little that there was something about him that separated him from the others. Ever since he could think, he noticed the fine, yet very clear differences between him and other kids of his age. However, little Harry wasn't sad he was different. No, inwardly Harry was very pleased as he knew he was special in a good way.

After the sudden death of his parents, young Harry had been brought to his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys. The Dursleys lived in a very fine - one would be tempted to say snobbish - area in the suburbs of London city. Their house was neatly kept, not to be told apart from the neighbours' houses. It was painted in a clean white; the front yard was surrounded by flowers of different colours and some nice smelling bushes. All in all his relatives' home was quite an ordinary one.

When his relatives had first found him on their doorsteps they were less than pleased to be told to watch over him. They had a little son of their own, mere weeks older than Harry was and to be honest he was difficult enough. However, due to the letter and the more than threatening words in it shouldn't they be willing to keep him, the Dursleys finally allowed Harry to stay with grudging teeth. It wouldn't do them any good, would one of those men arrive at their home and disturb the perfect normal routine they had worked on for such a long time.

After a long shopping tour - the old fool had brought Harry to his relatives without providing him with anything a small baby would need so dearly to survive - the Dursleys furnished Harry's new room. Dudley's second bedroom, scarcely used due to the amount of toys residing in it, was moved and cleared out and then furnished with Harry's new things. A small, white bed was placed on the long side opposite of the door, a small table with two chairs placed under the window providing the room with light, a big, colourful carpet was placed in front of the bed, a big, white wardrobe placed next to the door and two shelves placed on each side of the window. They were filled with books and games for children they had to buy new, as Dudley tented to destroy his after short amounts of time. The walls had been painted in a light blue and several smaller pictures were hung up at the walls to make the room more comfortable.

When they had finished everything, Petunia and Vernon Dursley were more than pleased with themselves. Harry's room was not as big as Dudley's was, but it held everything a child could wish for and even more. For some moments, they had been debating about whether they should place the boy in the cupboard under the stairs, but soon after the thought had crossed their minds, they had pushed it away again. Harry was a family member and as such, he didn't deserve to be treated this way. Petunia might not have been fond of her sister and her husband, but if Petunia and Vernon had died, Lily would have taken Dudley in without complaining and would have raised him as another son of hers. To prove that she was as good as her sister, if not even better, Petunia decided against placing Harry there. Furthermore, it wouldn't be normal to do this to such a helpless, little baby, who had just lost his parents. And if there was one thing Petunia and Vernon Dursley hated more than untidiness, it was abnormality.

So it was decided to treat Harry as if any other family would treat an orphaned relative of theirs, with understanding, caring and love. For Harry later it had always been clear that Petunia and Vernon weren't his real parents, but honestly, he didn't care. They were there for him when he had a nightmare, they provided him with clothes, food and books, they tented his wounds when he had injured himself and they were there to tell him stories about his parents.

After Harry had been placed into their care, Petunia had taken her time to teach both boys how to walk and how to speak. Due to the amount of time the young boys spend together, they soon grew fond of each other and started to act like real brothers would do. When the two boys sat in Harry's or Dudley's room, Petunia and Vernon sometimes just would stand in the doorway, enjoying the way their son and their nephew acted. It was heartbreaking and breathtaking to see what good it did to Dudley to have another child living in their household.

When Harry and Dudley became three they went to the same kindergarten just a few blocks further. While Dudley would interact with other children, playing and joking with them, Harry would sit somewhere in a lonely corner, painting or reading a book. It was then that Harry's nursery-school teacher wanted to talk with Harry's guardians about his behaviour. She was deeply worried about Harry's social activities as he tended to isolate himself more and more with each passing day. Only Dudley would be able to break through his shell, sometimes being able to talk him into participating in their games. But when time passed, his actions got less and less successful and Harry isolated himself more and more.

Petunia and Vernon were concerned for their nephew. They had grown fond of him and this change in attitude and behaviour just surprised them. When all their efforts became fruitless and nothing seemed to work on Harry anymore, Petunia could finally take it anymore and took her nephew to a child psychologist. The young man talked with her for several hours and then decided to do the same with Harry. As she wasn't allowed to attend this meeting, Petunia had to wait in front of the door. Time didn't seem to pass by and Petunia started to walk up and down impatiently in front of the door, until finally the doctor and Harry had finished their meeting.

With trembling hands and fear clutching her heart, Petunia had followed the young doctor and carefully sat down on the chair he mentioned her. With an unconscious movement, Petunia Dursley grabbed Harry and then carefully placed him on her lap, stroking his hair absently in a loving and caring way. She feared for the worst, a traumatic experience, autism, a mental disease, just everything. But what the doctor told her, made her eyes grew wide and her breath hitch.

Harry, it seemed, didn't like to interact with children of his age as he didn't see it challenging enough. He loved to observe the changes in nature and people, loved to read and paint or just contemplate the things around him. Harry, the doctor told her, was very intelligent for his age and just didn't know what to do with the mind of his.

Petunia, after several moments of stunned silence was beneath herself with joy. Her Harry was normal, intelligent even and there was nothing wrong with him. The nice doctor encouraged her to send Harry to a primary school for highly talented children so he would learn how to interact with others who were just like him.

The moment Harry entered this special primary school, everything changed. He opened up more and more, he enjoyed reading and studying and finally he had made friends with a girl of his age and an older boy. Maria Maltems and Ibrahim Walton were the first best friends Harry ever had. They would visit Harry and his family often and soon became good friends with Dudley, too.

Petunia and Vernon were delighted by Harry's progress and tried to help and support him where they could. They bought him several books about science and everything he showed interest in, especially languages and later provided him with mind challenging games.

But Dudley on the other hand became more and more isolated until one day he would start to keep silent as soon as Harry entered the room. When Harry finally asked Dudley what was wrong - his cousin's behaviour had worried him for quite some time - Dudley confessed he felt like a total idiot, like some useless living being. He wasn't as intelligent as Harry and there wasn't able to be a competition to him. Harry was deeply touched when he heard of his cousin's fear of losing his parents love and of being nothing important, he nearly cried. But crying wouldn't help his cousin, so Harry forced himself to calm down and think logically. And then it hit him. With a big smile on his face, he told Dudley that it was true, that Dudley would never be able to beat Harry in intelligence. But that wasn't all that mattered. Harry was a lost case in sports, one of Dudley's favourite pass time activities. And so Harry encouraged the only logical thing. Dudley should improve in sports. So Harry could excel in intelligence and Dudley in sports. A broad smile was the answer to his suggestion and the next day Dudley had enrolled in the local boxing club, making his father extremely proud.

The years passed by and it was on Harry's seventh birthday that Petunia decided to talk with Harry about something she should have done much sooner. She had talked about this issue for a long time with Vernon and together they had finally come to the conclusion that there would be nothing bad about telling him. If they didn't and something strange happened, they would lose his trust and their authority for good.

They were sitting around the breakfast table, Harry's presents needed yet to be opened, when Petunia dropped the bomb. She told a completely stunned Harry that he was not only extremely intelligent, but also a wizard. This piece of news hit Harry deeply, as he would have never thought that such a thing as magic could be real. But Aunt Petunia insisted on Harry being a wizard, an extraordinary wizard none the less, and moved the whole family to the old, never used before attic. Once there she grabbed three huge chests and placed them in the middle of the room. In complete silence, the family sat down on the floor and waited for Petunia to continue with what she was doing.

Petunia sat down, sighed and then started her story. She told them how she grew up with her little sister Lily, Harry's mother and how everything just seemed perfect. They just did everything together, sharing the same friends and sometimes even sleeping in the same bed when they felt like it. Lily was always there for Petunia, as Petunia was always there for Lily.

And then, shortly after Lily had turned eleven, a letter changed everything. The Hogwarts acceptance letter had arrived and Lily was about to leave her sister for learning magic. Petunia had accompanied her sister together with her family to Diagon Alley. She had been awed and fascinated by what she had seen and there was where her problems had started. A little light of jealousy had started to appear in her chest and mind, soon burning brighter and brighter with each passing day, until it finally became a storm of hate, anger and deep jealousy.

When Lily had gone to Hogwarts, Petunia had felt abandoned. Lily would write them, the first weeks every single day, some months later only every once in a while and finally and after the winter holidays she would only write every few weeks. Lily would keep more and more to herself, studying all the time when she was at home or telling stories about everything he had experienced at Hogwarts. Petunia wanted to understand why Lily was so fascinated by this world, a world so different from her own, but each passing year it would get more and more difficult to understand her. And then, when Lily left for her last year at Hogwarts, everything got even worse.

Lily had written them that something bad had happened. People were dying, muggles as she called them, abducted, tortured and then killed. Professor Dumbledore, her headmaster, was founding a club, no, an order to fight against those who were causing all this mayhem in their world. Their work would be difficult, dangerous even, as Lily had told them, but she would join his order. She was one of the best witches who had ever attended Hogwarts and her help would be dearly needed.

Petunia had been against this idea. She thought it too dangerous. Lily would be fighting against those murderers, gaining their attention in the process. She would be on their killing list after a few months of work and if that, what she had told them was correct, she would not live very long while standing on this list. Probably she would be dead in less than a few years, a thought Petunia couldn't stand at all.

But Lily had insisted on joining this suicide mission. She saw it as her fate, as her destiny to those who were unable to help themselves. And no pleading and arguing from her family could change her mind.

And so the years passed. Lily had gotten to know better a former classmate of her, a wizard named James Potter, with whom she fell in love over the course of time. After one year of dating, Lily finally brought him home for a family meeting. The young man standing in front of them had surprised them all. He was good looking, charming and very educated. Lily told he was the heir of a very wealthy and respected wizarding family, something you noticed in how he behaved. Petunia had been happy for her sister. She had always longed for marrying and having a big family in the future and James just looked like the man who would provide her those wishes. And furthermore, Petunia had thought, James would be against Lily fighting in this war, as it would greatly endanger her and he seemed to really love her too much to lose her for such a thing.

But Petunia had been mistaken. James indeed was very much in love with her sister, but he was even more proud and brave than in love. He saw it as his duty for their community to fight, as he just like Lily, was one of the most powerful wizards graduating from Hogwarts. Together they had joined this obscure order and together they had started to work at the Ministry of Magic as something they called Aurors, wizarding special police. Their job was dangerous, several of their partners had already died doing their duty and several more would follow. It was a known fact, but just as the situation would get worse, the two of them would argue how important their job was. And the more people died, the more they fell in love with each other.

Their relationship was a foolish one. Based on nothing more than romantic and heroic feelings and a tiny bit of attraction for the other. They had nothing in common, except for their magical power and their feeling of duty. But three years after their graduation, they announced their engagement and their wedding in the near future. It was a foolish thing to do, as they attracted a lot of attention in doing so. He was a fighter for the light through and through, she was a muggleborn witch, the most powerful of her year and together they had killed and arrested more dark wizards than anyone else. Marrying while a war raged around them only placed them on an even higher spot in their enemies killing list.

The wedding took place in a very open and public place. Most of their friends had been invited, just like Petunia and her husband Vernon. To say Petunia had been enraged by what she saw would have been an understatement. They were at war, people died and here was her sister, getting piss drunk in an open place, where she could be attacked any moment. She had shouted at her sister, that what she was doing was wrong, to marry, get drunk and not care about your one safety while war raged around them, was just wrong. But her sister had ignored, told her to mind her own business and to just leave, if she didn't like what she saw. Petunia had been shocked. Her sister had changed dramatically. All this killing, people dying and having to live in fear must have taken their toll on her.

A year passed and Petunia barely saw her sister anymore. They had moved away, to some place that belonged to her husband, while Petunia had moved with her husband to Privet Drive. They lived their lives, living in fear and the constant knowledge that any day could be your last. Every morning and every night Petunia would watch the news, afraid that one day the murder of her sister would reach her via television. But nothing happened. Instead, the news of Lily having given birth to a baby boy named Harry reached her just four months after Petunia had given birth to Dudley.

Another year passed and everything got worse. More people were abducted, more people were tortured and even more people died. The muggle world was at a loss at what was happening, while the wizarding world wasn't able to live in constant fear and danger anymore. A huge wave of emigrants plagued the country, only weakening their defenses. Petunia wasn't able to watch the news so regularly anymore. Dudley was getting bigger and the bigger he got, the more attention he needed.

And then, at the morning after Halloween in 1990 it had happened. Petunia had opened the newspaper and was confronted with her sister's death. The entire front page was about how a young family had been killed in Godric's Hollow, her sister's last hide out. Their house had burned down to the ground, the corpses barely able to identify and their baby gone. Petunia had broken down, the loss of her sister had hit her quite badly and she had sworn to never get into any contact with the magical world anymore, as she blamed it for her sister's death.

A day passed and she noticed how her sister was famed as a heroine. She didn't understand it, though. Her sister was dead, how could this make her a heroine? The whole day she spent with collecting her sister's possessions, thing her sister had bought her over the course of the years. She collected her sister's photos, memorials of her existence; she collected her sister's letters, books, notes and other magical objects Petunia had guarded for her. All of her sister's belongings were placed in three, huge chests, placed on the attic and sealed, to never be opened again. The wizarding world had killed her sister; she would never forgive it for this act. The next morning they had found Harry on their front door steps.

When Petunia had finished her story, she had tears in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. Between sobs, she confessed to Harry she never wanted him to be a wizard, as being a witch had cost her sister's life. But during the last years she had noticed, that being a wizard was Harry's gift and that it wouldn't be fair from her side to negate Harry this gift. Harry had been quite baffled, but he understood his Aunt's reasoning. So when Petunia asked for forgiveness he just hugged her and stroked her back.

His seventh birthday became quite special. The whole day he would sit in the attic with his family, looking through old photos of his mother and his father, reading old newspaper articles concerning the happenings of this time and examining Lily's magical possessions. When it got dark outside, Petunia and Vernon helped Harry carry down all the books, letters and notes his mother had possessed and placed them on the right shelves in Harry's room. The wanted Harry to know more about magic and the best way to proceed was to let Harry read through his parents' schoolbooks and notes.

Two years passed and Harry learned everything about magic he could. He read his parents' schoolbooks, figuring out what different types of magic existed and how they worked. The subject called Transfiguration was the art of changing the properties of an object. He would later be able to vanish and conjure things due to a complicated spell. In Defence against the Dark Arts, he would learn some defensive techniques. Charms would be about the development of incantations for the use of bewitchment, something that sounded quite interesting but difficult at the same time. Potions would teach him the art of creating mixtures with magical effects, something that sounded like a strange mixture between cooking and Chemistry. In Herbology he would learn about magical plants, how to take care, utilize and combat them. History of Magic was self-explaining, as it was about the magical history and Astronomy would teach him the influence the stars and the cosmos had on the living world.

Those would be the subjects he would have to take for the first two years. In his third year, he would be able to decide which two subjects out of five he would take. Arithmancy was a special branch of magic concerned with the magical properties of numbers. It sounded very difficult but interesting at the same time. Ancient Runes would be the study of the ancient runic script. In Divination, he would be able to learn the art of predicting the future, something that sounded quite obscure. Care of Magical Creatures would instruct him how to take care for magical creatures and Muggle Studies would instruct him how to mix correctly with muggles. Harry wasn't sure yet, but he predicted he was going to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, as they sounded very interesting. Muggle Studies wasn't necessary for him to take, as he knew this already quite well and Divination and Care of Magical Creatures sounded like something he would be able to learn out of a book by himself.

Harry became quite engrossed with magic. He already had studied his parents' schoolbooks, while he had been studying for primary school. Magic sounded interesting, but never in his life would he neglect his normal studies for some information about magic. He had time enough to learn about this in his free time. He knew from his parents' letters, that his mother was a genius at Charms and Potions, while his father excelled at Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts. Harry didn't know for sure but he suspected this kind of affinity was hereditary and that those would be the easiest subjects for him, too.

Three years had passed since his Aunt had explained his heritage to him and everything had worked out perfectly. Uncle Vernon had been promoted several times and thanks to Harry's help, he had known how to correctly behave and act. Aunt Petunia was enjoying her time at home, cooking, reading and talking to the neighbours. A few months ago, a young family with two dogs and three little girls had moved in into the house next to them. Petunia had been beneath herself because of joy and had immediately invited them for tea. The three girls, all with blue eyes and long brown hair, were absolutely sweet and their parents were nice too. The Cohans would visit at least once a week and soon a great friendship between the two families had blossomed. Dudley excelled in his boxing club and became, after long rounds of training and a strict diet, one of the youngest boxing members of Surrey's boxing club.

All was going well, perfect even and Harry was waiting excitingly for his birthday to arrive. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had promised to make something special this year, as he now was finally becoming ten. Harry had been thinking for a while, what the perfect gift would be, but he couldn't figure it out. He had everything he needed; a huge room, clothes, toys, friends, a caring family and every wish granted should he only announce it. No, his material wealth was more than enough, he wouldn't need anymore of it or otherwise he would feel quite bad. So Harry had been thinking and thinking, throughout the nights and his spare free time and finally, two weeks before his birthday he found the perfect gift.

The next morning he had searched for his Aunt, asking her whether she would have time for a little chat. She had agreed, had lead him to the living room and then she had offered him some tea and biscuits. Harry took them gratefully as he was still unsure as how to approach his wish correctly. They had been eating and drinking for a while in silence, until his Aunt finally nudged him into telling her what was wrong. So Harry took all his remaining bravery and told her, in a calm and polite way, what he was wishing for his birthday.

To say his Aunt had been surprised would be an understatement. She nearly choked on her tea and needed several moments to compose herself. When she did, her eyes were wide in surprise and wonder, something like understanding and a little bit of longing glinting in them. Her lips had started to tremble lightly and her whole composure was the epitome of a struggle of feelings. Harry could see the tears in her eyes threatening to fall, but as soon as he had realized them, Petunia had wiped them away with the back of her hand. She slowly stood up, composed herself and then bent down to hug her nephew, promising him to speak with Vernon about his birthday wish.

The two weeks until his tenth birthday passed in a blur. Harry would barely see his aunt and his uncle as they seemed to be working hard. Every time he saw them, Vernon was searching for something on the internet or, reading one of Harry's parents schoolbooks. What he was searching for in them, Harry didn't know as he didn't dare to ask them. His aunt on the other hand was busy writing letters or speaking on the phone with different people about things he wasn't allowed to hear. They tried to hide something from him, Harry finally realized and this knowledge only made it worse.

The morning of his tenth birthday, Harry woke up with a start. The sun was shining and some birds were chirping but otherwise it was completely peaceful. With a slight frown, Harry wondered what could have woken him up. Shrugging his shoulders in indifference, Harry got off his bed and started to change in something more appropriate. Harry smiled broadly as he knew today was going to be a great day.

When Harry arrived in the kitchen, his aunt, uncle and cousin were already waiting for him. A small mountain of presents greeted him from behind the kitchen table and a richly set table greeted his hungry stomach. Hugs and kisses waved over him and as soon as he was able to breathe properly again, his aunt pulled him on a chair and told him to eat. Harry noticed, how his aunt and uncle were sending each other nervous gazes, but as he had his mouth full and knew it would be impolite to ask, Harry waited patiently for them to tell him what was on their minds.

As soon as they had finished eating, Harry was allowed to open his presents. Dozens of books greeted his eyes, most of them about magic and magical education, customs and basic knowledge. With a giddy smile on his face, Harry realized that his aunt and uncle had kept their words. They would allow him to study magic and to gather a great knowledge in its different branches. Finally, only one last letter was left for him to open.

Paying no real mind to it, Harry opened the letter, never realizing how the nervousness increased dramatically. He snatched the papers out of it and slowly began to read them. When he had reached the middle of the first page, his eyes suddenly grew wide and he had to gulp. Nervously he returned to the beginning of the letter and started to read it anew. When he had finally reached the bottom of the letter, his eyes were shining with tears and his hands were shaking.

Standing up from his chair, Harry went over to his aunt and uncle and hugged them dearly. "T-thank you so much."

His aunt was smiling and crying no less than him and eagerly returned the hug. "We thought it was the perfect present for you. I mean, you told me, you wanted to have a family. As your parents are dead and we can't easily revive them, this seemed to be the only solution. Don't get me wrong, we wanted this as much as you wanted it."

Reaching over to the letter, Petunia grabbed the papers and fetched a pen and knife. Turning around, she smiled at Harry and holds the pen for him to grab. "Don't you think it is time to sign the adoption papers?"

From this day on Harry Potter was known as Arian Evans. His parents Petunia and Vernon had supported his wish to change his name, so he could start a new life. Due to his parents properly research, they had found a ritual that would make Arian their son in more than just a legal way. His blood status and magic would stay as they were, just like his appearance, but in on each and every paper Petunia and Vernon would be his parents, just like Dudley would be his older brother.

The year passed in a blur. Arian had gotten used to having a real family rather quickly. His marks stayed up, his knowledge about magic increased and his whole posture and attitude changed. He nearly forgot that soon he would have to leave his family behind, to study at some foreign place he had read so many stories about. But one day, on his eleventh birthday, a brown owl appeared at the breakfast table, holding out its leg and waited for him to fetch the light brown letter.

With a fluttering heart, Arian looked at the seal, containing for different animals. Smiling broadly at his stunned parents and brother, Arian turned around and showed them the letter.

"My Hogwarts letter has arrived!"

A/N: I hope, you don't mind, I changed Harry Potter's name into Arian Evans. I had to do, it's important for the plot line.

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