Family Ties

Summary: October of his 6th year, everyone turns against Harry due to Dumbledore's manipulations. Severus Snape helps Harry transfer to a school in the US where he becomes the member of a team of assassins who adopt him as a member of their family. A year later Harry returns to Hogwarts to finish the war and brings his new friends with him. What happens when Harry stops being nice, Severus quits spying, and they realize something big? And why exactly does Welsh get nervous when in the same room as Snape?
Characters: Arthur, Arthur/Molly, Draco, Dudley, Dumbledore, Fred, Fred/George/Other, George, Hagrid, Harry, Minerva, Molly, Original Character, Other, Petunia, Remus, Remus/OtherMale, Ron, Severus, Severus/Sirius, Sirius
Genres: Angst/Tragedy, Romance, Alternate Universe, Action/Adventure, First Time, Bonding
Rating: M+
Warnings: Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Spoilers, MPreg, Character Death, Self harm, Threesome, OOC-ness

Disclaimer: I was born in the southern part of the US and have never been to England in my life. I don't own any part of the Potterverse. I don't think I even own the title... I might have snagged it from one of the thousands of fics I've read.

You might need these:
thoughts
&Welsh talking to someone mentally&
&&Ephraim talking to Welsh mentally&&
$Harry talking to Welsh mentally$

Chapter One- Big Sister's Thoughts

Standing outside the Great Hall, I wonder how I am going to make it through this year without someone noticing. This is a school of magic for crying out load! The fact that I am not human is like a bomb waiting to go off, it is not a matter of if but when.

I look at the young man standing beside me. He may not look like it, but this is one powerful person. At 5'10", he can't be considered tall but he has a presence about him that makes him seem like a giant. Add to it a light golden tan, wild black hair, captivating green eyes, and a gentle voice and he could be and angel… or a model. We're the same height and coloring making us look like brother and sister. This is probably a good thing since he likes to steal my clothes.

Thinking back to this summer, I square my shoulders and prepare myself to become a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I made a promise and I always keep my word.

Flashback

Lying awake in the barracks I listen to the sounds that can only be heard in the quite of twilight. The owls in the Owlery are restless due to very little post lately, the cicadas are chirping, and in the distance a wolf howls at the full moon. These sounds are normal for the middle of July at Hollstone Military Academy and School for Magic.

One sound that's more recently become a norm is the sound of rustling sheets from the bunk across from mine. Team Dragon received a new member in January, one Harold Jameson Potter.

The kid didn't look like much when he got here. He was too thin, too pale, and looked as though he hadn't eaten or slept in months. He's still on the thin side but he's filling out with training and eating decent meals when he's too tired to remember whatever it is that has him scared.

During the day, Harry's just like the rest of us. During the day, he's a soldier in training for a war not of our making, he's 'Horntail' a member of Team Dragon, a comrade, a brother, a friend. During the day, he's another lost soul in this world trying to find a place they fit in when the rest have turned their backs.

From the little he's said the others think may fall into the same category as the rest of our group. We are what the 'Brass' call potentials. Each of us has the potential to be the 'Savior of the Wizarding World'. All of us were born on July 30th or 31st of the same year. There's a prophecy out there that says someone born at the end of July to parents who had "thrice defied the Dark Lord" would be "marked as his equal" and that they would "have the power the Dark Lord knows not". Perhaps, since Harry was the last one 'marked', the other six of us were just warm ups.

The others have very little information to go on when it comes to Harry. I, however, have the whole story. For some reason, people find it easier to talk to me. It may have something to do with the fact that I'm mute. Due to carelessness on the part of my mother's Healer, my vocal chords were damaged beyond repair. Without the ability to talk I have become a great listener.

Harry begins to whimper at whatever he sees when he dreams at night so I get up and go over to him. I sit beside him on his cot and trail my fingertips down the side of his face. He stills almost immediately. I take his hand and use my thumb to draw circles gently on his wrist.

His eyes drift open and I see pain in his emerald gaze. At my questioning look, he tells me what he dreamt.

"Halloween. When they turned on me. Cedric in the graveyard, my parents, Sirius, Snape after Voldemort's latest meeting."

I pull him up into my arms and just hold him until he calms down and drifts back to sleep. He won't have any more dreams tonight. He never does after I wake him.

Tonight, instead of heading back to my own bead after I lay him back down, I sit and watch him as he sleeps. I wonder how someone so kind and sweet could exist after living through such hell.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and reach up to hold it. It seems to be a ritual of sorts between the two of us. I comfort Harry and Ephraim comforts me.

Ephraim is my boyfriend/fiancé/soul-mate. He's been there for me since we both came to Hollstone. He's my protector. He watches over me and I keep him grounded in reality, or so he says.

Ephraim wraps his arm around me and bends down to kiss my cheek.

"You've adopted him haven't you Welsh?"

I nod my head. Yes, I've adopted Harry into my family. He's become my brother. I squeeze the hand I'm still holding to ask if it's all right.

"It's fine. I actually think it's a good thing. He needs family and what better than those who understand him and what he's been through."

I open my mind to the link we share. It's not used often, because of how hard it is to use, but we still use it just to adjust to the sensation of being connected. Once we bond, it should be much easier.

&When he goes back, we will go with him.&

&&Don't you mean if he goes back?&&

&He'll go. His conscience demands it. My guess is around the end of October. He'll go back and be what everyone expects him to be. He'll go after Voldemort by himself if need be.&

&&He won't go alone, Welsh. If nothing else, he'll go and you'll track him down before killing Voldy yourself and then giving Horntail an earful.&&

&Am I that bad, Swamps?&

&&Only to the ones you care about. It's not a bad thing, being protective of us. It's just that you've taken it so far as to have it down to an art. It used to be you had to beat the crap out of us to knock anything in to our hard heads, now all you have to do is look at us to have every single person in the Academy squirming like a four year old.&&

&Yes, we'll go back with him. I'll talk to the Commandant in the morning so we can get started on the paperwork. Now, come to bed, Love. It's late and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow if we're going to have him ready in time.&

I lay my free hand over Harry's heart and silently promise to do everything in my power to help him make it through this. A tingle spreads up my arm and across my chest and I know that my pledge has been accepted.

Ephraim releases me from his arms as I stand up from the cot. I turn to walk back to bed with my beloved. Ephraim turns his head to look at me and smiles letting me known that he understands and accepts what I've done. Behind me I hear a sigh and a soft voice saying "thank you, Big Sister".

Always, Little Brother.

End Flashback

The next day, Harry finally gathered up the courage to ask me why I disappeared for a couple of hours each day. It was the day I found I could speak telepathically to those I considered family.

Flashback

It was lunchtime. Ephraim sits in his usual spot on my left. The seat to my right has been left open for Harry, as it has been since a week after he got here.

Harry sits down beside me at the lunch table and stares at his plate as if he's lost in thought.

I touch his hand to get his attention and when he looks up at me, I raise an eyebrow in question.

"Where do you go?"

Our group goes quiet at the question. Ephraim goes to tell him something but I hold up a hand to stop him. I lock gazes with Harry and push my thoughts towards him.

&I need time each day to meditate and I can't do that around any one but Ephraim yet&

"$What the HELL?$"

&There's no need to shout Harry. I didn't know how to get it across to you and Ephraim was going to give you the standard bull we give most who ask so I thought I would try to reach you like I talk to Ephraim. I apologize. If it upsets you, I won't do it again.&

$It doesn't upset me because I trust you. It's just that I didn't knowyou could and wasn't prepared for it.$

&I didn't know it would work. If it hadn't, I was going to get Ephraim to tell you the truth later.&

$Okay. Why do you have to meditate?$

&I have an explosive temper that strikes when I'm not careful. I use meditation to help keep it in check. Also, during meditation I can take of my glamour charms and be myself.&

$Glamours?$

&I'm pureblooded Royal Elf, Harry. I can't exactly walk around with pointed ears and runes all over my body. I push the limits as it is with my hair. In case you haven't noticed, people around here don't exactly go about with jewel-toned streaks in their hair.&

$But I thought that the Royal Elves stuck mostly to Europe.$

&They do. My family moved to the US as soon as my mom found out about the Prophesy. That was a month before they were murdered by Death Eaters. Dad had just gotten a job here at the Academy to teach Swordsmanship. That's how my name got on the list. We're originally from Wales.&

$That explains why Adam says you go to Europe for two weeks each August. You're keeping up a dual citizenship.$

&That would be it. And now you know the reason why people get a chuckle whenever someone calls me 'Welsh'. It's a play on words.&

$Thank you for telling me.$

&Always, Little Brother.&

Harry smiles and we both turn back to our lunch. Harry gets pulled into a discussion on Quidditch and Ephraim catches my eye silently questioning.

I smile at him and reach under the table to take his hand. There's no need to explain because he already understands, he's just curious about this latest development. I shrug my shoulders then pointedly at his plate. He would rather figure out every angle of this new quirk than anything else. By glancing at his plate I have made my position known. If there's time after we eat.

End Flashback

Harry hasn't called me 'Big Sister' again since that night but it doesn't matter, I still call him 'Little Brother'.

I look over Harry's head to where Ephraim stands on his other side. At 6'7", he stands out in a crowd. I call him a beacon in the midst of the teeming masses. His dark face usually cracks open in a large grin at that. His braids are covered in beads that match the streaks in my hair. He has a booming laugh that's so infectious you just can't help to share in the joy. His warm golden eyes are alive with mischief most of the time but they can harden showing just how serious this laid back man can be. It's when his eyes are hard that you get a true feeling of just how ruthless Ephraim is when he's angry.

We nod at each other and I take Harry's hand to reassure him as Ephraim pushes open the massive oak doors before us. The rest of our team will arrive tomorrow. Together Team Dragon can survive anything but will we as individuals make it out whole? My doubts begin to resurface as the doors open and the magic of those gathered behind them reaches me. There's someone here just like me. This can't be good.

This isn't about me, it's about Harry, I chide myself. We're here to help Little Brother and nothing else matters.

I just hope that Harry's truly ready for this.


AN: I apologize if the denotations are a bit confusing. They were the only ones that worked. I don't know if Parsletongue will make an appearance or not. I don't know what I'll do if it does.

If you find anything wrong or just have a question, please review and let me know.

-Charli a.k.a. Madness