I'm the wrong age, gender, and nationality to be JK Rowling, so I don't own Harry Potter, dammit.

Chapter 1 – Abandoned

In the very early morning hours just before dawn, the peace of the Surrey neighborhood was shattered by the roar of a car engine. The car sped down the road at breakneck speed and was gone just as quickly as it came. The birds and small animals in the area that were actively foraging for their early morning breakfast scattered in fright at the sound and voiced their displeasure in their own way at having their routine disturbed in such a rude fashion. As it was the way of small animals everywhere, they soon overcame their fright and returned to their search for food.

It was fortunate for the occupants of the vehicle and for other drivers on the road that there were no other cars in the area at this early morning hour. Indeed, if there were any police vehicles that observed the speeding vehicle, they would have pulled it over and cited the driver for reckless endangerment and quite possibly taken the driver to jail. Since there was nothing and no one to impede its progress, the car sped on through the foggy pre-dawn gloom.

Inside the vehicle, the driver gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. He kept his eyes straight ahead and ignored the fearful whimpers of the woman in the passenger seat and the hysterical screams of his young son strapped into his car seat behind him. He glanced into the rear view mirror and scowled at the...other one, sleeping peacefully in a wicker basket as if it didn't have a care in the world.

Vernon Dursley was a man on a mission, and that mission was to return his life and family to his idea of normal as soon as humanly possible. Oh, his life and the lives of his family were fine and dandy right up until the very early morning hours of November 2, 1981, when he was rudely awoken by the enraged screaming of his wife. He threw on a robe and ran downstairs as fast as his large frame could carry him to see his wife Petunia backing away from the open front door and pointing to a wicker basket placed on the stoop. Walking closer, he saw that there was a young black haired child with a nasty scar on his forehead sleeping peacefully in it. Looking around at the other houses to see if any of the neighbors heard his wife shout, he picked up the basket, closed the front door, and brought the basket inside and placed it on the dining room table.

Now that he didn't have to worry about something that his nosy neighbors might see and gossip about, he looked closer at the basket and the child inside. Tucked into the blanket that was wrapped around the child, he noticed an envelope made of a strange kind of paper with Petunia's name on it written in green ink. Pulling it out and turning it over, he saw that it wasn't sealed in the normal way, but had a wax seal with a strange symbol and name in the middle of it.

"Hogwarts? What kind of a name is that? Is it a place or a person? What do you know about this, Pet?" Turning to his wife, he saw that Petunia's complexion turned chalky white as she staggered back and sat down heavily on one of the dining room chairs.

"Pet, are you all right? It sounds like you know something about this Hogwarts." Petunia weakly shook her head in response.

"No, Vernon, I'm not all right! Hogwarts is the place where those...freaks learn about...magic." Vernon shivered as she said the last word in a hateful hiss. "If they wrote that letter, that means that the boy is one of them!" Again, the last word was spat out with more hate and venom than Vernon had ever heard come from his wife.

Blinking in a bit of shock, Vernon looked again at the letter in his hands. 'Maybe this will have some answers as to just what is going on' he thought as he looked back at Petunia. "It's addressed to you, do you want to open it?" She backed away as if the letter would burn her fingers if she touched it and shook her head. Sighing, Vernon broke the seal and unfolded the single page contained inside. Petunia looked over his shoulder as they both read.

Dear Petunia Evans Dursley,

Greetings and Salutations. My name is Albus Percival Wulric Brian Dumbledore. We have never met, but we have corresponded in the past. It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I inform you that your sister and her husband were attacked last night by a dark wizard that goes by the name of Lord Voldemort and lost their lives in the encounter. You have my deepest condolences and I am very sorry for your loss.

However, there is one happy note on this night of tragedy. Even though his parents were killed, somehow your young nephew Harry not only survived the encounter with the dark wizard but also vanquished him, hopefully for good. I'm not exactly sure how he managed to survive, but I suspect that it's the result of not only the protections that your sister built around him, but also of her selfless sacrifice so that her son could live. Because of this sacrifice, the protections around young Harry will remain active as long as he lives with someone of his immediate blood family. Sadly, since every member of James Potter's family is deceased, you have the distinction of being the last of Harry's blood kin.

These protections are so powerful, they would extend to protect your family as well and hide your entire family from any wizards seeking to harm him and yourselves. Even though the dark wizard himself was defeated, his minions are still on the loose and are more than likely looking for revenge for their fallen Lord. All you have to do to enable these protections around your family is to take Harry into your home and treat him as one of your family.

I am aware that unexpectedly taking another child into your family would create a harsh financial burden on yourselves. With that being said, I will deposit 500 pounds monthly into your bank account to offset the costs of raising young Harry. You will receive this amount monthly until Harry receives his Hogwarts letter when he turns eleven, after which new arrangements will be made.

Remember, keep Harry with you and keep him safe.

Sincerely,

Albus Percival Wulric Brian Dumbledore

Vernon crumpled the page in his fist and tried to tear it apart, but it resisted his attempts to destroy it. He could tell Petunia was angry as well by the death grip she had on his arm. Vernon was enraged that these freaks would force this...this...thing onto his nice, normal family without giving him a choice or a chance to say no. He asked Petunia if they could simply dump it off at an orphanage, but she said that there were ways they would know if they did that and bring it back. So, in order to avoid any further contact with...them, they came up with a plan to get rid of the abomination and keep the freaks out of their life for good.

Vernon was originally going to do this alone, but Petunia didn't want to stay in the house in case they came back to check to see whether or not if they took it into their home. Of course, she didn't want to leave her precious Dudley alone so she strapped him into his car seat in the back. Vernon tried putting the basket with the thing into the boot of the car, but the lid wouldn't close properly so he threw the basket into the back seat without securing it as if it was a load of laundry. Driving out of Surrey as fast as the company car would go, Vernon searched for a place as far away from his house as possible to drop the thing off. Oh, he wasn't going to kill it himself, as Petunia felt that they had ways of knowing if he tried hurting it, but if some animal came along and had a bit of a snack..., oh well, no skin off his nose.

The sky was turning lighter when the car pulled off the main highway onto a dirt road that ran into some thick woods. After driving for several miles, Vernon pulled off to the side next to a clearing so he could turn the car around. He took the basket out of the back seat and left it at the base of a tree. He stood back and sneered at the contents of the basket for a moment, then went back to his car and drove away without looking back.

A/N: This is the first chapter in a multi-chapter story I have planned. It is also the first Harry Potter story that I have written. Please leave reviews after reading to let me know what you think about it.