Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: The Continuance of Evolution of a Family, Harry and Hunter have come to Hogwarts.
As Harry passed the barrier onto Platform 9 3/4, he found himself almost bouncing in excitement; he was finally going to Hogwarts! He got a brief glimpse of the scarlet steam engine before the reporters closed in. As the cameras flashed, Harry made sure that he was firmly out of sight behind his brother and parents, firmly sandwiched between Sirius and Remus. Disappointed at having his first sight of the platform and Hogwarts Express thus spoiled; Harry leaned against Sirius's side and shielded his face against the glare of the camera flashes. As he did so, Harry's eyes fell on someone standing at one of the train entrances, watching his family; the doorway was elevated enough for the boy, possibly a first year, to easily see over the heads of the adults. For a long moment, their eyes met, but then another camera flashed and Harry closed his eyes and almost clung to Sirius.
Hunter, Harry knew, couldn't look away, and would be seeing spots for a while afterwards, but that didn't mean that Harry had to suffer his brother's fame. Although, what with his vanishing on their birthday after completely misunderstanding just what the party was about, Harry knew he should have been right next to his brother to support him. Being the camera-shy brother, though, had its advantages. For instance, he wasn't required to actually speak to the reporters, which was just fine with him. One day, Harry hoped, he'd have the courage to actually smart off to the reporters, but not now. Now, he used the adults around him as a shield against them, and was grateful that they let him.
Padfoot rubbed his shoulder and Harry looked up at him. The two exchanged understanding smiles as the reporters dispersed and Harry took the time to look around. Just beyond the horrid Rita Skeeter, Harry spotted Hermione Granger with two people who were clearly her parents, and then Draco Malfoy was going past, and others that Harry didn't know, but knew would be his classmates.
Harry's exploring by sight was halted by the arrival of a large family of red heads, the Weasleys, Harry figured, with that many red heads. Harry looked first at the stocky identical twins, skipped over the fussy prefect and briefly settled on a boy with dirt on his nose. Then he saw her, half hidden behind a woman who could only be Mrs. Weasley, a pretty red haired girl who was looking right back at him shyly. Harry smiled at her and, with a look of fear, she ducked behind Mrs. Weasley; Harry looked away as well, wondering if she would be coming to Hogwarts this year.
"Harry," Lily said, smiling at her son.
"Yes Mom?" Harry asked, walking to her.
Lily hugged her son, "It's time for you to get on the train. Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"Hunter will be there," Harry said. "Everything's going to be fine." It was the only acceptable answer, Harry knew, but he also had to ask her one last question, "Mom?"
"Yes Harry?" Lily asked.
"What if I'm not a Gryffindor?" Harry asked, quietly, "What if they hate me?"
"I will always love you," Lily replied, hugging him, "it doesn't matter."
"What if I'm a Slytherin?" Harry asked.
"No matter what house you're in," Lily repeated. She stood and looked at James, "Right James?"
"Right," James replied, hugging his son, "No matter what house you go into, you will always be my son." He stood up, "Just try not to be a Slytherin, ok?"
Harry nodded, "I will try my best. I don't want to be pranked by the Marauders; I want to be a Marauder!"
"That's my boy," James said. The whistle blew, "Now let's get you two and your luggage on board." He tapped Hunter and Harry's trunks, lifting them into the air and lead them to the train. It took a few minutes, but the boys found an empty compartment for themselves. Of course, by the time they were settled, whispers had started on the train about how Hunter Potter was on the train. Harry pulled out one of the transfiguration books that Sirius had gotten him, and looked at Hunter, "If they start coming to stare, I'm going to read. There's no point in encouraging them to be rude."
Hunter rolled his eyes, "Reading's no fun, c'mon Harry, let's play Exploding Snap instead!"
Harry hesitated, he did want to continue reading, but he loved Exploding Snap too. Finally he nodded, "Sure, let's play."
Hunter pulled the cards of his bag and the two of them settled down to play. They were barely started when the door slid open, "Excuse me."
The pair looked up to find a red haired boy in the door, Harry recognized him from the platform, "May I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
Harry glanced at Hunter, who nodded, "Sure," Harry said.
The boy sat down beside Hunter, "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."
Harry looked at Hunter again, and saw the laughter in his eyes, "Well, Ron-Ron Weasley, I'm Harry, and my twin is Hunter, we're Potters."
Ron stared at him for a very long moment, "Hunter Potter?" He managed.
"Yes?" Hunter asked, absently as he shuffled his cards.
"As in, the Boy-Who-Lived, Hunter Potter?" Ron continued, awe struck to be sitting with Hunter Potter. Harry leaned back and relaxed, Hunter could have this one.
"You could say that," Hunter agreed. He looked over at Ron and tilted his head to one side, "Are you all right, Ron-Ron?"
"Yeah," Ron said, "but it's just, Ron. Not…Ron-Ron."
"Ok, Ron," Hunter said. "You did walk into that one." Ron blushed, and Harry tilted his head towards his cards, a motion that Hunter caught. "Want to play Exploding Snap?" Hunter offered, holding up his cards.
"Sure," Ron said. He started to relax, and then yelped and dug into his pocket to reveal an old gray rat. "Sorry, this is Scabbers, my rat. Percy gave him to me when he got an owl for making Prefect," Ron said.
"Cool," Hunter said, "I wanted to get a rat, but Mum said no. I had to get an owl instead. That's Pronglet, the brown one. The white one is Harry's, but I don't know his name."
"Her name," Harry said as he shuffled the deck carefully, "is Hedwig."
"Sorry, but you said you hadn't named her yet."
"I decided this morning," Harry replied, "Padfoot said it was a good name; but, he also said that Snowy was a good name when I asked."
"You told Padfoot first?" Hunter asked.
"No," Harry said, "I gave him a list of names and asked what he thought. He doesn't know which one I chose. You're the first."
"Ok," Hunter replied with a smile. He turned back to Ron, "Is Percy your only brother?"
"No," Ron replied, "I've got five older brothers and a little sister named Ginny. She'll start next year. Bill and Charlie are out of school now, but Percy's here, and Prefect as well as Fred and George, they're third years and identical twins, and pranksters. You'd best be careful and not eat anything they give you."
Harry gave Hunter a look, and both of them flashed Ron mischievous grins, "Pranksters, huh?" Hunter said, "Well, we'll see if the two of us can't give them a run for their money."
"That would be something to see, just watch out for Percy, he's a stickler for rules and such. He'd dock points or something if he caught you. Then he'd lecture you, it's horrible." Ron shuddered.
"Right," Harry said, "prank the twins, avoid Percy. Can we play now?"
The cards were quickly re-dealt and the trio began to play. The ride was pretty uneventful until after the snack cart had come by. Then the students began to visit, starting with the Muggleborn witch, Hermione Granger. "Hello again, Harry," Hermione said.
"How are you, Hermione? Did you enjoy the books I recommended?"
"I'm fine, and I've enjoyed the books, you were right, they are good for Muggleborns. Have you seen a toad, by chance? A boy named Neville lost one."
"No, sorry," Harry replied. "You wouldn't mean Neville Longbottom would you?"
"Yes," Hermione said.
"Oh, ok. Look, forgive my manners, Hermione, this is my twin, Hunter and that's Ron Weasley. Ron, Hunter, this is Hermione, we met in Diagon Alley." Harry said.
"Pleasure," Hermione said. "I'd stay, but I said I'd help look."
"That's all right," Hunter said with a smile, "It was nice to meet you."
"Same here," Ron added.
Hermione closed the door and headed back down the hall. "When did you meet her?" Hunter asked.
"Our birthday, when I went out with Padfoot and Moony; she was looking for good books for a Muggleborn and I recommended some. She'll probably be in Ravenclaw; she had the look of a bookworm at Florish and Blots'." Harry shrugged.
"Oh, when mom and dad got all mad because you didn't tell them you were going," Hunter said.
"I told them I was going over to Padfoot's place, it's not my fault they weren't paying attention." Harry replied.
"Not mine either," Hunter said.
"No, it was when he sent that…thing. Mom and Pa wanted to top it, and I butted in." Harry shrugged, "They don't pay attention to me much anyways, and you know it."
"One moment, Ron," Hunter said politely, "Harry, auser vain," he ordered in 'Twin'.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Koover deis, Hunter, hambil lide sho car."
"Jesovo," Hunter replied, sitting back with a huff, "Sorry 'bout that, Ron. My twin seems to be playing the fatalist today."
"What language was that?" Ron asked.
"It's 'Twin'. Each set of twins born has a language that they speak growing up and never forget." Harry said, "Nobody but the other twin understands it. It's not even magic, because Mom's got a Muggle cousin with twin girls, and they speak 'Twin' to. As twins grow older, and their personalities become more defined and individual, 'Twin' as a language is left behind. It's not like Twin-Speak."
"This is when a set of twins will..." Hunter interjected with a grin at his brother.
"…Finish each other's sentence." Harry finished with a grin right back at Hunter.
Hunter turned to Ron, "We don't do that a lot, that's mostly for twins who are so alike that they're practically sharing a brain. Harry's quiet and serious and likes reading, I'm talkative, outgoing and prefer action."
"Fred and George, my older brothers, are twins, and they talk like that all the time, it drives everyone nuts." Ron said.
"Love to see them try it with us," Hunter said boastfully, "We'll have them so twisted they won't know if they're coming or going."
Harry nodded when Ron looked at him, but he didn't think twice about opening his book up. That is, until the door came open was again. "Well, well, well, I see the rumors are true. Hunter Potter has come to Hogwarts."
Harry looked over his book at Draco Malfoy and snorted, "You need another foot, at the least, and ten years to pull that off, Malfoy," he said. Harry gave Hunter a look before continuing. "You look constipated. Besides, you aren't in Slytherin yet, despite what your father says. You could wind up in Hufflepuff, or worse, as a Gryffindor."
Hunter clamped his hand over Ron's mouth and nodded slightly to Harry. "Of course I'll be in Slytherin!" Draco said, his voice going high and shrill.
"Really? You sure screamed Ravenclaw at the bookstore the other day. Did you forget to take your Slytherin pills that morning?" Harry smiled at Draco, "And it takes a lot of guts to go up against the Boy-Who-Lived alone, especially after what he did to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. My godfather said that the Hollow smelled like a carnal house for weeks after that Halloween. Is that your Gryffindor showing, then?"
Draco stared at Harry for a long moment, his mouth open, and squeaks emerging with every breath. He took a step back, and then a second. "You should try to be more friendly, Draco," Harry said, leaning forward, "isn't that the defining trait of the Hufflepuffs?" Draco whimpered, spun and ran off. Harry got up and shut the door and returned to his seat before looking at Hunter, whose shoulders were shaking. "You wanted to say something, Ron?" Harry asked.
Hunter released Ron's mouth to clamp both over his own, "A Malfoy in Gryffindor? Are you crazy?" Ron demanded.
"Actually," Harry said, contemplating the blond haired boy who had just left, "I think he'd do better in Hufflepuff. They like warm fuzzies more than Gryffindor, and Draco needs all the warm fuzzies he can get."
Hunter broke down, his howls of laughter filling the cabin as he leaned back against the side of the carriage. Harry shook his head, "See, he takes nothing seriously, he's the perfect Gryffindor," Harry shrugged.
The door slid open, "Who made Malfoy cry?"
Harry looked up, and Ron groaned softly, "What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Malfoy is in the loo and it sounds like he's crying. All he says besides 'go way' that is clear is 'stupid Potter'." The red haired boy explained, puffing his chest slightly to show off a prefect's badge.
"I wasn't trying to make him cry," Harry replied, shrugging, "I just wanted him to go away. He walked in here looking for trouble and got upset when I gave it to him. Honestly, if he can't handle it, he shouldn't start trouble. At that, I told him he was more a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor than a Slytherin. Nothing that upsetting."
Hunter snickered, "You made Malfoy cry, Harry, that's great!"
"Come on, Percy," Ron said, "we aren't even at Hogwarts yet."
The boy, Percy, looked at Ron, "You shouldn't be a bully, Ron."
"He wasn't," Harry said, "nobody said anything besides me, and I wasn't being a bully. Besides the rules say that until we're sorted, we aren't technically students, and there for, Prefects can't actually punish us. As long as no magic or physical force is used, you can't do much of anything. And if you dock points after we get sorted without a valid reason we'd have grounds for protest with our Head of House because it would be punishment for something a non-student did."
Ron cleared his throat and said, tentatively, "Uh, Percy, this is Harry and Hunter Potter. Harry, Hunter, this is my brother, Percy, the Gryffindor Prefect." Percy stared at him for a long moment before closing the door. "Wow," Ron said, "I thought he was going to lecture us."
"He can't," Harry said, "not really. He doesn't have the authority just yet, and he knows it. Padfoot told me about it before we left; so I knew I could say pretty much anything as long as I didn't pull my wand, or leave my seat, there's no way I could have gotten in trouble."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Hunter demanded.
"Because, for some reason, Padfoot thinks I'm the devil-child and you are a perfect angel and don't need to worry about the rules. I don't think he's forgiven me for that accidental magic a few years back." Harry replied, picking his book up again.
Hunter sniggered and then explained to Ron, "Padfoot is Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. A few years ago, he tried to sneak up on Harry in his Animagus form. He's a big, black dog, to be exact. Well, Padfoot snuck up on Harry, all right, scared Harry real good. Thing is, Harry's magic has always been quick to respond to his emotions, so a good jolt of fear sent his magic to act, but his reluctance to hurt his so-called attacker, only back him off, well, it changed Padfoot. It really changed him; right into a puppy. A very cute puppy; Mum caught him and dunked him into a bath tub, scrubbed him down and then got in an argument with Harry over what color bows the puppy should have. They ended up with red and gold, actually, and because Harry won on the colors, Mum painted his nails to match. It took them a month to change Padfoot back. Mum carried him everywhere, and all the girls couldn't resist bows and nail polish changes every day. Padfoot hasn't tried to sneak attack Harry ever since, even though it was clearly accidental magic."
Ron was laughing while Hunter told the story, but Harry only shook his head, "I think it was Pa that made it the worse," Harry told them. "He saw Padfoot jumping off the stairs at me, and saw him become a puppy. He couldn't stop laughing long enough to try to change him back, that's why Mom even knows about it, because Padfoot had to go to her. Mom had him in the bath before she even knew he was Padfoot."
The door opened and Hermione stuck her head in, "We're almost there, you three should change quickly!"
The trio looked at each other as the door shut and got to work. It didn't take long before they were seated again, dressed in their robes and picking up the last of their mess. "I'd love to be an Animagus," Ron commented, "can you imagine?"
"Yes," Harry and Hunter said in unison.
"But Mom's got Dad'n'Padfoot on oath, they can't teach us before we're sixteen at the youngest. It's not fair, they were Animagus by fifteen." Hunter continued.
Harry braced himself as the train stopped, and shook his head, "Life's not fair, Hunter. Adjust." He opened the door to the compartment and slipped into the crowd.
He overheard Ron clearly, "Blimey, mate, is he always like that?"
"Harry is very serious, Ron," Hunter replied, "Mum say's he's always been like that."
Harry shook his head and made his way off the train to find Hagrid, the overly large caretaker who would carry them to Hogwarts. He didn't try to reunite with Hunter, preferring to make his own impressions of Hogwarts and the other students. As such, he shortly found himself in a boat with Hermione and two students he didn't know. "I'm Harry," he offered as the boat started off.
"Neville Longbottom," one of the others replied, he was a small, round-faced boy who clutched his toad tightly.
"Blaise Zabini," the other boy said with a nod. It was difficult to tell in the fading light, but Harry thought that Blaise was the boy who had met his eyes on the platform that morning.
"Hermione Granger," Hermione offered to the two boys.
They hushed as Hogwarts came into view, the great castle rising against the night sky like a black mountain covered in stars. Each window of the castle, it appeared, was lit up, a welcoming glow that was reflected in the lake and mixed on the water with the bright stars above.
With Hermione beside him, and Blaise and Neville close behind him, Harry led the way for the First Years until his way was barred by a large wooden door. Hagrid, who nodded to Harry as he caught up, banged on said door, a hollow boom that echoed in the night with all the fury of thunder.
The door opened enough for a stern faced witch to look out, "Yes?"
"I brought the First Years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid rumbled.
Professor McGonagall opened the door all the way with a single hand, "Very well," she said, her eyes flitting to each face in the group, "Come along then." She turned and headed down the stone-walled corridor, leading them to start a journey that Harry could feel stretching into the future.