Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I only wish I could say the same. Please don't sue me. Thank you.
Summary: Harry's the Boy-Who-Lived. William is his older brother, James is still alive and together the two try and protect Harry from the world. Even if they hate each others guts.
Featuring: Unspoiled!Harry, OverprotectiveBrother!William, OverprotectiveFather!James, OCs Alert and slash! Oh and incest-which-isn't-actually-incest for a sub-plot... bet you want to know what that's about :P
A.N. Just a little project that I wanted to see what the response would be... I haven't seen anyone write something like this yet (the sibling is always spoiled or someone is neglected or something or other...) so I thought I'd give it a try. Ocs abound cause there ain't enough people the same year as Will that I can pick out from canon... either that or I don't think they're cool enough haha...
If anyone would like to take this idea off me and run with it, go ahead :D just remember to give me a heads up so I can read it XD
Untitled (I couldn't even begin to try and name this fic... gah...)
Groggy eyes stared upwards with slight uncomprehending, Why am I looking at the ceiling? I don't remember going to bed yet... the little boy wondering, arms strangely feeling like they were made of lead.
Cobalt eyes suddenly widened in realisation, That Yoo-Hoo guy mum and dad always talk about! He found us! Not giving any thought to how the Dark Lord had done so for the moment, he jumped to his feet as fast as his heavy legs would let him and, seeing no sight of his mother nor his baby brother in the living room, he sprang up the stairs two steps at a time.
"No! Not my baby...!"
Mum! Harry! They're in trouble! The boy thought frantically as he hurried to where he heard her voice.
"Step aside girl!" shouted an unfamiliar voice.
That must be the Yoo-Hoo guy! I've got to do something! I can't let him hurt my mum or Harry! He tried opening the door but unfortunately it seemed to be locked from the inside and he didn't know how to do any magic yet! He tried banging on it, hoping desperately he'd somehow be able to get in. Damn it! Where's dad when you need him?!
"Leave them alone!" he shouted through the wooden door, fists unrelenting, "Leave my mum and my brother alone you... you... bastard!"
The occupants of the room fell silent for a moment.
"Well," the Dark Lord sneered at the frightened woman before him, "Looks like I missed someone on the way in. No matter, I'll deal with him after I'm done with you two."
"No! Don't you dare hurt him! He's only a child!" she screamed back at him, grip tightening around the wailing baby in her arms.
"I'm afraid you don't really have a choice in this. For you see, you'll be dead. Goodbye, mudblood. Goodbye, baby Potter," he smiled eerily at them as he aimed his wand at the mother frantically trying to cover her baby, "Avada Kedavra."
"NO!" the little boy standing just outside shouted, echoing that of his mothers, the sickening thud that followed ricocheting in his mind, "No..."
"Don't worry little boy, just your baby brother to go and you'll be soon joining them."
Aghast, the boy resumed his banging with renewed vigour, tears starting to stream down his face, no... NO!! Suddenly a light burst from within his hands and the door flew open, the little boy tumbling in at the unexpected change. He quickly pushed himself back up but it was too late...
"Avada Kedavra," the black-robed man intoned casually, wand this time aimed directly at the crying baby.
Cobalt eyes stared in horror as the green beam of light hurtled towards the baby still wrapped within the arms of the unmoving Lily Potter, glowing emerald eyes staring unseeingly ahead, "Harry!"
Blood red eyes watched with glee at the soon-defeat of the prophesised threat to his glorious reign only to snap shut as, as soon as the curse reached its target, a blinding light filled the room. The wizard once known as Tom Riddle, shrieked in agony as pain laced through every fibre of his body.
For the little boy, shielding his eyes, he watched in awe as soul of the person who had killed his mum seemed to be ripped from its physical body before it burst into flame, leaving the soul to flap around in the air. The boy hurriedly rushed forward, drawing his baby brother into his arms protectively and away from the growing fire. With one last dismayed look at the hollow shell of his mum, he streaked out of the room and tore down the stairs.
"Lily?! Lily where are you?!" a male voice yelled frantically.
"Dad!" the boy called out; grateful to hear that familiar voice though angry the older man hadn't been here earlier when his family had needed him.
From that day on, Harry James Potter was declared the Boy-Who-Lived, the wizarding world was at peace once more and young William Romulus Potter, with his icy cobalt stare, harboured a deep unrelenting grudge towards his father
A grudge that was surprisingly matched only by that James felt towards the eldest Potter child, though if you were to ask him why, his solitary reply would be a disgusted sneer...
-
"Merlin knows I've tried to raise you right but you've turned out to be nothing but a disappointment!" the man shouted, pacing the room in an agitated manner, "Slytherin! I can't believe you got sorted into Slytherin! Ravenclaw I could have understood with Moony's influence but Slytherin! And the ones you've made friends with – Death Eater Spawn the lot of them! You would have been better off renouncing that house and come straight home! And don't give me that look! I've had enough of your attitude! I've had enough of you! Why can't you be more like your brother?! Are you even listening to me?!"
The eldest Potter child casually flicked his braid over his shoulder in an act of disinterest as he stared into the fireplace as if it held the answers to the universe.
The youngest Potter could practically swear on his life that steam was coming out of his fuming dad's ears and that his head was rapidly turning into a tomato, not that he would mention it of course. As much as he liked making his older brother laugh (it wasn't too hard to imagine his dad's wide-eyed shocked expression if he mentioned it and his brother cackling in the background at the look), he liked living even more thank-you-very-much.
"THAT'S IT! GO TO YOUR ROOM! YOU'RE GROUNDED AND YOU ARE NOT TO LEAVE THAT ROOM UNTIL YOU GO BACK TO HOGWARTS OR UNLESS I SAY SO!" James Potter bellowed, thrusting his arm out aggressively and pointing towards William's room, "NO OWLS OR HOUSE ELVES EITHER!"
Cobalt eyes only rolled derisively in response and the lean first year student gracefully lifted himself out of the couch and strode swiftly towards his room, shutting the door with a soft click.
Poor little Harry, stuck in the middle, glanced uncertainly between his father and older brother. While arguments involving the two were practically commonplace in the Potter household, nonetheless, it hurt for him to have to watch his family be at such odds with each other. He loved them both and hated to have to choose between the two. This time was no different; should he join his brother in his room or stay down here with his dad?
Thankfully, the choice was taken out of his hands when James grunted rather brusquely that he was going over to Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus' house, tossing some powder in the fireplace and leaving without a goodbye through the floo.
As fast as he could without thundering up the stairs, Harry hurried over to his brother's bedroom door. Tentatively, he knocked twice and gently pushed the door in, poking his head inside once the gap was big enough.
His brother was seated at his desk, scribbling rapidly on a piece of parchment, tensing visibly when the door creaked open, ice-cold cobalt eyes turning to stare into Harry's emerald ones.
And then they softened.
William raised his hand towards his baby brother in a welcoming gesture and Harry, not wasting a single moment, rushed forward into his brother's embrace, hugging the older Potter tightly.
William wrapped his arms around Harry comforting, resting his chin lightly on the smaller head pressed against his chest and mumbling into the black locks of his brother's hair, "It's not your fault..." and then... "I'm sorry..."
Harry simply tightened his grip further.
-
Platform 9¾ bustled with activity once again as close-to-tears parents bid farewell to their eye-rolling children, hopping eagerly onto the train as soon as they could extract themselves from their mother's death grip.
For little Harry James Potter, among multiple others, this year would be his first year at Britain's most prestigious magic school, Hogwarts, and the first year away from the constant presence of his overprotective dad.
...Into the constant care of his overprotective brother. Harry resisted urge to sigh loudly, at least they'll be only one of them at the one time. As much as I love them, seriously, it gets annoying...
Apart from their physical appearance, constantly bearing over the youngest Potter's shoulder was the only other trait the other two Potter men shared.
"Dad, I'll be okay. Will will be there to look after me," Harry tried to measure his dad's response to that. ...Yep, it was the absolutely wrong thing to say. It was times like this he hated being a Potter; why couldn't he have inherited his mother's thinking-before-speaking-attitude instead?
"I wouldn't count on that," James said growled softly, eyes narrowing at his oldest son who silently glared back at him defiantly, "Slytherin and Gryffindor have long been rivals, the snakes would have nothing to do with a lion and vice versa. Doing otherwise would just cause you problems with your house that I think you would prefer to avoid."
Before Harry could argue another voice cut in, "James! Don't say that! What would Lily think if she heard you spouting anti-Slytherin sentiments again?"
"But Moony..." Sirius whined, "It's all true!"
"Shut up, Sirius. Not all Slytherins are bad," the werewolf snapped, rolling his eyes at the other two marauders' mock-gasps in shock, "Don't listen to your dad, Harry. Its true there's a rivalry but that's no reason to let it get between you and brother. Plus anyway, what's to say you won't get sorted into Slytherin yourself?" James and Sirius sputtered and protested madly at this; Remus merely ignored them, "Enjoy your first year at Hogwarts, Harry, study hard, listen to your professors and stay out of trouble. You too, Will, and be sure to look after yourself as much as I'm certain you will look after your brother," he said, moving forward to give both boys a tight hug, "And say hello to Severus for me will you?"
Will nodded before taking his little brother's hand, tugging his gently towards the train. The boys made their way back to compartment where they had left their trunks, Harry taking the chance to wave at his dad and godparents goodbye out the window while Will pulled out a potions book from within his trunk.
As the train departed from the train station, Harry sat back down and stared quizzically at his older brother. Feeling the stare, Will looked up from his book and raised his eyebrow in question.
"I was just wondering where your friends are. Should we go look for them?"
"Don't worry about them Harry, they know you're coming to Hogwarts and that I would stay with you. Once they're done with their socialising with the other purebloods, they will come look for me. Though... you should probably walk around a bit. Make a few friends before we get to the castle."
Harry shook his head in disagreement, "Nah, I can do that later, I'd rather stay here with you and meet your friends."
The two boys stared at each other for a second before dark cobalt eyes softened and the third year graced the younger boy with a rare smile.
"Oh, be still my beating heart! Is that a smile that adorns my love's face? And what a smile it is! What I would do to have it focused on me," said the tall red-haired boy who flung open the door, shattering the glass as it slammed against the wall in the process, "But alas! Who is this who has usurped my love's affection? En garde you scoundrel!" he shouted, waving his wand flamboyantly at Harry. Stunned, the emerald eyed boy turned his gaze towards his brother, eyebrows shooting into his fringe at the sight of Will dropping his head into his hands very un-Will-like with an audible groan.
A laughter broke in as a second red-head stepped inside, a twin of the first, "Me thinks your declarations are none appreciated, oh brother my brother," he said, fixing the broken pane of glass with a flick of his wand.
Will refrained from the urge to snort derisively and instead opted to stand and place a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Harry, these are the Weasley twins. Do not, under any circumstance, eat or even touch anything they give you," both Weasleys gasped, placing a hand over their 'aching' hearts from that 'callous' introduction, "Weasleys, this is my brother Harry. Do anything... 'untoward' to him and be prepared to suffer the painful consequences," he intoned impassively.
"Oh?"
"What sort-"
"-of consequences?"
"What? And ruin the surprise?" the Slytherin crooned icily, eyes devoid of emotion as he smirked maniacally at them, sending shivers down their spines.
"Haha... Right, of course," Fred laughed nervously at the look.
"We would never think of-"
"-doing anything like that."
"Especially to a first year!"
"In fact, we'll help deal out punishments-"
"-to anyone who'd even dared look at him in the wrong way."
"And to further show our good will-"
"-we'd even throw in a bodyguard!" they finished together with a flourish, dragging inside another red-head.
"Oy! What are you two knuckleheads doing! Le' go!"
"Messrs Potter and Potter."
"Let us introduce to you our youngest brother Ronniekins."
"Who will also be joining Hogwarts as a first year!"
"A pleasure," Will drawled.
But Ron Weasley didn't pay any attention to the Slytherin, instead opted to stare at the emerald eyed boy next to him, "Blimey! Aren't you-?"
"Yes," interrupted an annoyed Harry.
"And you have the-?"
"Yes," Harry said trying not to snap, flipping his fringe briefly to reveal his lightning bolt scar, only humouring the other boy because he was the brother of Will's friends.
Ron didn't seem to notice, "Wow...!"
Correctly deciphering Will's growing frown, the Weasley twins hurriedly pushed their little brother back out the door, "Well, we're still working on it."
"Hey! What are you-?!" Ron protested.
"But be sure that we will return-"
"-with a much more improved model."
"The perfect companion for young Harry!"
"And seeing how happy Harry will be with his new friend-"
"Maybe you'll reconsider my offer," George finished with a cheeky grin.
Before Will could reply, someone outside snorted. A tall blonde pushed his way inside, dragging in another blonde behind him, "Dream on Weasleys. Why would Harry want to be friends with a brain-dead fanboy like your brother?" he sneered at them before turning to the Potter brothers with a beauticious smile on his face, showing off his perfect rows of teeth.
Will looked to the heavens for patience while Harry was subconsciously reminded of a lion eyeing up his prey.
"Let me introduce myself, brother of my best friend or in other words, not a wannabe like the two idiots behind me," the twins made to argue but he waved them off with a nonchalant you've-had-your-chance wave, "I am Quinton Ense Vaisey but you may call me Quill as you're brother does ("See? Will even gave me a nickname unlike you two!" he added smugly as a side-note to the twins and in particular, the pouting George). Beside me is my cousin, Draco Malfoy, who will also be attending Hogwarts as a first year. Say hello Draco," he said, nudging the shorter boy forward.
Poor little Draco was very disgruntled at that moment. He had been talking to his friends when he was dragged unceremoniously half way through the train by his cousin. The older boy had told him that they were going to meet someone that Draco was going to make friends with and, as he had no choice in this, he'd do well to come up with a good way of introducing himself as he had been taught to. Staring at the other eleven year old before him, he realised the person his cousin was talking about was none other than Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.
Remembering his father's orders to befriend the youngest Potter, he supposed he should thank his cousin. However, between trying to stay upright and not crashing into anyone, it did not leave him time to spare to work on his cousin's advice. Seeing the other boy's expectant gaze, Draco quickly thought to his father's teachings, "My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford... You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," he said, holding out his hand to Harry.
This got him various reactions which Draco found quite baffling and a tad upsetting; the Potter siblings looked at him incredulously, his cousin Quinton choked disbelievingly, the Weasley twins guffawed loudly while their brother glared at him angrily.
"I can't believe it! With a line like that-"
"I'm surprised Malfoy can make any friends at all!" the twins said when they finally calmed down.
"Probably bribed them all," Ron said snidely. The twins started laughing uproariously again, slapping their brother on his back good-naturedly as they did so.
Draco flushed angrily and opened his mouth to insult them back but stopped when his cousin gestured to him to not to. With a huff the platinum blonde stalked past the Potters and sat down, staring out the window moodily with his arms crossed against his chest.
Quill shook his head in disbelief, wondering what exactly his pseudo-uncle was teaching his son, before turning his gaze back to his best friend and his brother, intent on doing some damage control in the eyes of Harry. Wouldn't do for his best friends' brother to dislike him now would it? But before he could say a single word, a surprised shout cut in.
"You're Slytherins!" Ron Weasley cried in horror, only just noticing the green ties and the Slytherin crest adorning the black robes of both Will and Quill.
"...You're point?"
"But- but... Fred and George...," the red-head stammered, "The Potters are a Light family..."
"...And?" Quill gleefully asked, recognising all too well where this was going.
"And- and... Slytherins are EVIL!"
Minus a hundred points for Weasley, the blonde thought with soft giggles, rewarding him a knowing look from Will.
"WHAT?!" Harry shouted angrily making most of the people in the compartment jump; it was one thing to get that from dad... "My brother is not evil! How dare you! You- you... poor excuse for animal refuse!"
Jaws dropped open and his brother sent him an amused look but he ignored those for the moment as he stalked up to Draco, who had turned back to look at the show. Harry thrust his hand out which Draco took as he looked up at him in surprise, "I'm sorry I doubted you about the wrong sort of people. I'd be honoured to be your friend Draco," he said, smiling at the blonde brightly.
-
The rest of the train ride went by relatively uneventfully. The group of seven were soon joined by Will and Quill's other two Slytherin friends – the tall black-haired half Chinese half English male KangXi Fortiori and the tiny brunette female Requiescat Inparce, affectionately known as Shi and Reks respectively – and the Weasley twins' friend Lee Jordan – complete with his arachnid-in-a-box, resulting in a high-pitched shriek from Ron and a round of laughter. The only disturbance was the brief appearance of a frizzy-haired first year muggleborn who talked a mile an hour. The youngest three boys all hope they wouldn't be sorted in the same house as the brown-haired witch, not wishing for their ears to be talked off, while the older students looked at each other and thought as one, "Ravenclaw."
When the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, the group stepped out as one, pulling many weird looks at the strange combination of Slytherin and Gryffindor, older and younger. With some reassurances (and some horror stories about the sorting from the twins), the group split – the first years down to the lake and the third years to their thestral-drawn carriages.
Leaving the Weasleys and Jordan to find another carriage (much to George's displeasure), Will stepped inside the first, joined by his three Slytherin friends.
"So... What house do you think Harry will be sorted into?" Quill asked curiously as the carriage left the station.
"Gryffindor," Will replied without pause. Seeing the quizzical looks on his friends' faces, he elaborated, "Not Ravenclaw nor Hufflepuff because, while they're attributes that Harry possess, they are greatly surpassed by how well he would fit into Slytherin and Gryffindor. And Slytherin... well..." His friends knew all too well what Will was going to say. James reaction to a Slytherin sorting would not be pleasant, beloved son or not. The father would no doubt feel greatly betrayed, "In any case, Harry knows I don't care which house he gets sorted into."
"Gryffindor it is then," Quill nodded, a little put-out by the fact.
"It is also safer this way," Reks added softly.
Will nodded in agreement, "Too many Slytherins would see Harry as a threat – both as the downfall of the Dark Lord and a Potter."
Quill fell silent at that. Will, seeing his friend's sudden change in mood, he nudged the blonde beside him lightly with elbow and gave him a look. Quill smiled softly in response.
Reks beamed happily, mood seemingly doing a complete turnabout at the exchange, "Aww! How sweet! What cute couple you two are!" she crooned at them, "Don't you think so Shi-chan?"
Shi merely grunted, dark eyes not lifting from the book in his hand.
"See, even Shi-chan agrees!"
Will and Quill looked at her with disgust, "Merlin, no! You need to cut down on the yaoi manga, Reks. You're hallucinating, seeing boy-love in places it most certainly does not exist. Anyway, that was a 'no' grunt! Shi understands that Will and I see each other as brothers, you know, platonically," Quill vehemently argued.
"Yeah, plus everyone knows Quill is obsessed with Professor Snape anyway," Will casually added his two cents.
The blonde spluttered incredulously at his friend, face turning red.
"It will be hard," Shi suddenly added. The other three looked at him blankly for a moment before realising that the tallest boy was steering them back to the more important matter at hand.
"Yes," Reks agreed, "while most will probably not care, there will be some opposed to you associating with your brother if he is sorted into Gryffindor."
"Can't be any worse than associating with some Weasleys," Quill joked.
Reks smiled, "True, but Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived and a Slytherin associating with the saviour of the wizarding world is a whole lot different than a Slytherin and a pair of decidedly Slytherin Gryffindors. Plus, Will, no doubt you'll be spending a lot more time with your brother than you ever have with the twins. The 'traditionalists' aren't going to just sit back with sneers on their face anymore..."
Will shrugged, "Let them snipe, I'll deal with it as it comes and I'll enlist the help of the Weasleys to deal with the Gryffindor counterparts. I won't let anyone come between me and my brother."
-
Meanwhile, Harry stepped anxiously into a small boat with Draco, Ron (though they were glaring at each menacingly as they did so) and another boy he hadn't seen in a while, "Neville!"
"Heya, Harry," the small brunette smiled.
"How've you been? I didn't see you on the train! I would've come and found you but you know how my brother is. Wouldn't let me out of his sight," Harry chattered happily.
"Haha, yes, I know. I was walking around looking for you when I realised Trevor had escaped again. A girl offered to help me," Neville flushed a little red, "And she wouldn't listen to a word I said! When I said tried to say I had some friends who could probably summon Trevor for me she completely ignored me and sent me down the other side of the train to search for it. The side I had already looked!"
Harry bit back his laughter while Draco snorted. Ron, however, had a look of growing realisation on his face, "She wouldn't happen to have frizzy-brown hair, this really bossy nature and talks like... like... crazy, would she?" he said, flailing his arms around at the word crazy for added effect.
"Yeh, she did," the brunette replied grimly as memories of the encounter came to the forefront of his mind once more.
"Blimey! We met her too, didn't we mates? She's like a hurricane!"
Even Draco joined in the solemn nodding at that exclamation.
"Careful Ron, she might hear you."
The red-head paled at that and spun around to see where the boat containing a certain witch was. He sighed in relief when he found her chattering away to some other students several boats away. The other boys sniggered at him.
Ron pouted at them but his annoyance disappeared when he saw something in the distance, "Hey look!" he pointed, "I can see the castle!"
Harry stared in awe at the magnificent castle. It was more amazing than what his brother and his dad had described to him. It seemed to reach into the heavens, low flying clouds winding around its archaic turrets. At its base, a seemingly never-ending sea of green stretched towards the dark forbidding forest in the background. He was finally here.
-
Then finally... "Potter, Harry!"
Whispers broke out immediately, people leaning past others trying to get a good look at the Boy-Who-Lived and pointing rudely at him as they gossiped to their friends. Harry ignored them as he had been taught, opting instead to take this chance to get a look at the head table. Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Headmaster Dumbledore and a few others he recognised from his brother's descriptions but they weren't the focus of his search however, instead he looked further down the table. Professor Snape. An enigmatic man, he was the one who had taken his older brother under his wing and, subsequently, many times the centre of his brother and dad's arguments. The man himself stared back at him, though without the malice as one would expect from his dad's rival, only a slight curiosity. No doubt Harry had his brother to thank for that.
Carefully placing the Sorting Hat upon his head, he waited patiently for his house to be called out.
Ah, Mr. Potter. I was wondering when you would finally come place me upon your head once more, the Hat mentally spoke to him.
Harry's eyebrows knitted in confusion, once more? But this is the first time I've been Sorted...
Nothing is as you believe, my boy, but here is not the place to speak of this. Now is the time of your sorting...Where do you wish to be placed?
Harry felt confused, more and more questions welling up in his mind, What do you mean by that? When can we speak of it? And why did you ask me what house? Aren't you the one who does the sorting?
Do not worry about what I have said just yet, Mr. Potter, there are far too many meddling minds around this place. In any case, all will be explained to you in due time. As for your sorting, you are a special case and I wish to give you the choice of which house you wish to be placed thing. Now think carefully on this, my boy. Though, might I add, I suggest you choose from either Slytherin or Gryffindor...
Then Gryffindor, Harry thought with certainty, As much as I would like to be in Slytherin with Will... My dad... Harry bit his lip.
Fret not, young one. I understand and as such you will be...
"Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table burst out in applause, the Weasley twins especially raucous, shouting "We got Potter! We got Potter!" at the top of their lungs while dancing a jig.
Harry smiled but then looked uncertainly at the Slytherin table, catching the cobalt gaze of his brother.
Knowing exactly what was on Harry's mind, Will smiled softly in response (getting many shocked gasps from the students around him in the process) and mouthed, "Welcome to Hogwarts."
Harry smiled brilliantly back at him.
R&R :) and no, I don't mean Rest and Relaxation :P