Summary: The desperate wish of Sylvia Potter, twin of the spoilt BWL Harry Potter, causes a very different decision at King's Cross Station.
A/N: If you've taken the time to read this, thank you. I stumbled upon the HP fanfiction community per se a month ago and have been tearing through almost all the fictions that are interesting. Thus, with nothing left to read and a lingering plot bunny, I just had to write this.
This idea originates from Silver Aegis's "Harry Potter and the New Life" and Light Avatar's "In Search of a Family". If you haven't read either you're missing out on a lot. Basically I'm taking the two stories and mixing them up with twists of my own.
To clear a few things up,
There is no slash whatsoever. No offense to those who enjoy them, I just don't.
Harry is powerful, not sure how powerful I'll make him but it won't be godly.
There will be no strange powers, just the normal "foolish wand waving". That means Harry isn't going to suddenly take out his sword and slaughter countless wizards.
There might be LE/HP later on, but I'm not sure though I'm leaning on that option very heavily.
Once again, thank you for reading this A/N. I won't keep you further. R/R
The Brother I Always Wanted.
Chapter One.
Too Bad Dumbledore.
Levicorpus!
A girl, no older then eleven was hung in the air by an invisible force grasping on her ankle. She tilted her head slightly to catch eyes full of mirth and cruelty. Those emerald eyes, oh how she hated them. How many times would she have to suffer through this torment? She wasn't safe in her home or school. What kind of karma did she get in her past life?
"So 'ickle Sylvie, tell me what I should do to you this time?" taunted Harry. He started to wave his wand around, causing her body to spin in mid-air.
"You won't get away with this!" grounded out Sylvia. Harry raised a finger and started to wiggle it back and forth.
"Ah, but that's where you err. I always get away with things, for I am the boy who lived. And you are always wrong." sneered Harry, "And tonight I reckon those idiots living at home are going to get my owl about what 'ickle Sylvie has done to poor Harry."
"Why won't you leave me alone?" Sylvia pleaded, "Is it not enough that you already have everything?" At this point, her eyes started to get moist with tears.
"Of course it isn't! Why am I doing this? Because I can! Now, how does being locked in a closet sound to you?"
"N-no! Please! Not again! I'll even tell everyone you were the one who saved the stone! Not me!"
"Too late, they believe anyway. Good night dear sister. I won't be seeing you on the train tomorrow!"
As the door shut click and his laughter echoed down the hallway, she pull her knees in and streams of tears started pouring out.
"What did I do to deserve this?" she sobbed silently, "I just wish my brother would disappear, or at least he would be nicer to me."
She never stopped crying.
"I've got to go back, haven't I?"
"That is up to you."
"I've got a choice?"
"Oh yes." Dumbledore smiled at him. "We are in King's Cross, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to . . . let's say . . . board a train."
"And where would it take me?"
"On," said Dumbledore simply.
Suddenly a voice echoed throughout the station.
"What did I do to deserve this?" a choked voice cried out, "I just wish my brother would disappear, or at least be nicer to me."
A mirror appeared in front of Harry, but instead of a reflection it showed a beautiful red head girl with the greenest eyes he'd ever seen, crying in a closet by herself. It made him feel a pang of guilt for some reason, but why? Did he know this girl? He had never met her in his life! A hand grasped his shoulder and turned him around.
"My boy we shouldn't be idling around. You have to go, now! The battle is still happening."
Harry almost relented and walked back, but the sobbing visage of the girl made him feel a stabbing sensation in his heart. He just couldn't let her suffer like this. Something was simply compelling him to reach out to her and comfort her. With a swift motion, he jerked around and dashed into the mirror, ignoring Dumbledore's cries of dismay.
"No! You're not supposed to…."
In the days to come he would describe it as worse than using a Port-Key. It felt like being in a tornado with years of information being funneled into his brain. Apparently the girl's name was Sylvia and in this alternate dimension she was his sister. Saying that he was a prat to her was a gross understatement. His parallel-self bullied and abused her daily. Worst off, he always got away with it because his living parents had spoilt him rotten and let him get away with it. It made him feel bad, really bad inside. How could he do this to her? Guilt swelled up in his chest causing him to stop breathing for a moment before he cried himself to sleep, swearing that he would correct his mistakes.
He woke up with a jerk. His hands reached up to his face and wiped away the tears that lingered behind. Slightly disoriented, it took him a moment to realize what was going on before he flung himself out of bed and burst through the portrait hole. Using as much strength as his legs could provide, he propelled through the hallways to the closet were he left her.
Alohomora!
The door slowly creaked open to show the surprised face of Sylvia Potter. He swept her into his arms and started to whisper apologies to her while cradling her back and forth. She started to tense up but he only held her tighter to himself.
Sylvia had a cruddy morning. When she woke up her entire body stunk and was laced with sweat. She tried to push the door open with all her strength but the locking charm couldn't be broken by physical means. Why did she think leaving her wand behind was a good idea? Slowly she resigned herself and pulled her knees to her head when suddenly the door slowly opened to reveal the face of the last person she expected to see.
Harry.
If that wasn't strange enough, he had pulled her into his embrace and started to desperately apologize to her. She felt drips of water flowing onto her shoulder and started to realize that he was crying. This was strange…very strange. What's happening? Why was her brother being nice to her? Was this a trick? Yes, this was a trick. Using her limp hands she tried to push him off her but he wouldn't let go and only held on to her tighter.
"Let go of me! You're not fooling me you know!"
"I'm sorry, so sorry. Don't hate me, please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it I'm sorry. Sorry…"
She felt him letting go and watched as his body collapse onto the floor in a mangled heap. A strange emotion welled up in her. She should be feeling happy to see him in such a pathetic state but for some reason she didn't know what to feel.
"Hey…what's wrong with you? Hey! Wake up! Dunderhead! What are you doing on the floor? Come on! Explain! I don't understand what's going on with you!"
She didn't know how long she just sat there, staring at the broken form of Harry Potter. He seemed so sad. At times he started moaning to himself. Who is Cedric? Instinctively she started to run her hands through his hair. It felt strangely soothing. Soon he started to stir and she stepped back, as if to protect herself. As he groggily pulled himself up she found herself staring into his eyes. They looked so different, full of guilt and pain. She asked herself the same question she asked many times over the hours, just what had happened to her brother? Could it be that by some convoluted logic that her wish had come through? No, not possible. Better to hear it from the arse hole himself.
Harry slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring at the stone floor. Slowly, he pushed himself up and managed to stand, albeit somewhat shaky. He found himself looking at the frightened form of his sister, but there was also a hint of curiosity? Neither could tear their eyes away from one another. The silence was almost palpable. Harry started to fidget nervously. What could he say? What should he do? He knew she would hate him. Better start somewhere I guess.
"Er…Hi Sylvia." Stammered Harry nervously. Sylvia's eyes narrowed. Since when could he act so well?
"Sylvia? What happened to 'ickle Sylvie?" she snapped. He flinched back and looked down at his feet. He murmured something that she didn't quite get.
"You're gonna have to speak louder…"
"I'm sorry. I know you won't believe me but I'll do whatever it takes." declared Harry. He grabbed her shoulders. "Anything, just name it. I'll do it. Even be your servant. I'll listen. I've been a prat to you for so long and I've realized that."
She was stunned. Did her wish really come through? Heaving out a sigh she pushed his arms apart and slapped him hard. He stumbled backwards with a look of surprise on his face.
"There, I've always wanted to do that." she shouted loudly. Inside, she expected him to retaliate, but instead he simply nodded and started to stare at his feet again.
"Okay. What else do you want to do?"
"Give me all your money!" Harry took out his pouch and held it out for her to take.
"Now grovel at my feet!" He bent down and started to kiss her feet. She didn't know whether to believe whether this was a joke or not. He seemed to be going to the extreme if it really was a joke.
"Okay! Okay! Stop! I believe you. Take your pouch back." Said Sylvia. She gave it back to him and he kept it but daren't look at her face.
"Do you forgive me?"
"Not yet, but I can give you a chance…" She didn't get to finish as he lunged forward and swung his arms around her.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you! Best sister ever!" squealed Harry.
"Alright, alright. Enough already. Look we better get to the train before we're…" she started before she caught a glimpsed at the window. It was dark outside.
"Damn! We missed the train. What now?" Harry seemed to take a contemplative pose for a moment.
"We could always fly right? My Nimbus 2000 is pretty fast!"
"But you're the only one with a…you're not suggesting we take the same broom!"
"Come on! It'll be fine!" declared Harry. "But if you really don't want to you could fly back alone. I'll find another way back." She couldn't help it. Looking at him biting his lip and looking so concerned for her she conceded to his request.
Minutes later, they met back in the Gryffindor common room with their trunks. Harry took out his wand and started waving it causing the trunks to shrink in size. He took them and stuffed them into his pocket.
"Harry?"
"Mmh?"
"How did you learn the shrinking charm? We don't learn it till third year."
"I uhh…read ahead!" Ha! Nice save!
"Oh alright, we better go before they start worrying about us." Worrying about you most likely. They'll just start blaming me for this.
The ride back was silent. Harry steered the broom and was going at a leisure pace while his sister had wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on her back. Of all the times he had flown this was his favorite. It outranked even the ride with the hippogriph. Thinking back to his old life, he realized that in this short moment he felt happier than he had ever felt. Maybe this was what he had missed.
Family.
Silently, he vowed to protect his sister at all costs, even his life. She was just too precious to lose. Eventually they touched down in front of a house in Godric's Hollow. The pair nervously approached the door.
It didn't occur to him that he was finally meeting his parents till he reached the house. He started to get nervous. What were his parents like? He had only seen their photos and spent countless nights imagining what they would be like. The stories that Sirius would tell him about them, he hoped they were true.
Slowly, he turned the handle and pushed the door open to find a spectacled man pacing the floor furiously. The man's head jerked violently when he saw them and started to stomp forward.
"Where have you two been! Did you know how worried we were? Your mother is tearing through the streets just looking for you." He turned his angry gaze at Sylvia. "SYLVIA POTTER! It was you who caused this didn't you? How could you make us worry about your brother like this?"
"But I didn't…"
"Don't deny it! You've always been jealous of your brother so you did this right?"
"No…"
Harry had silently watched his father berate her. Was this it? The rumored James Potter that Sirius told him all about? This arse hole? He would have continued watching in a daze if his father hadn't grabbed Sylvia by the arm and dragged her in. Acting on reflex, he whipped his wand out.
Expelliarmus!
James was caught by surprise but managed to dodge out of the way. Harry shot two more expelliarmus at him but James had raised a protégo shield against him. Pouring all his strength, Harry fired.
Stupefy!
The stunner shattered the barrier and slammed straight into him, flinging his body half way across the room. Sylvia was shocked. She hadn't expected him to protect her like this! She watched as Harry strode forward and kneeled down at the body.
Petrificus Totalus.
Eneverate.
His body awoke with a sharp intake of air. He found himself staring at Harry.
"Harry what the hell are you doing?" demanded James. Harry's face crunched into a frown.
"Protecting my sister you arse! What kind of a father are you? Forget it, I don't want to hear your excuse. You're gonna lie here till mother gets home."
Silencio.
Harry tugged his sister by her sleeve.
"Hey if you keep imitating a gold fish the flies are going to get in." chuckled Harry. It seemed to snap her out of her daze.
"That was amazing! When did you learn to duel like that! And why did you duel him anyway…not like I like him but….you know…"
He simply gave her a smile. "Tomorrow okay? I promise to tell you tomorrow. For now, let's get some sleep, I'm tired." He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her up the stairs into her room. When she was finally in bed, he was still standing at the door.
"Well?"
"What?"
"Why are you still standing there?"
"Cause..Um…I was wondering if…"
"Spit it out already!"
"Well could I sleep with you tonight? I know this is strange but…please?"
She sighed. Stranger things had happened today. Ah what the heck. She shifted her body into the bed and patted the spot beside her.
"Fine but only tonight."
He got into bed with her and fell asleep. Unconsciously, he had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest tightly. She didn't complain. He was warm and comfortable.
After a nerve wrecking, fruitless night of searching, Lily Potter came across two strange sights. Her husband on the floor in a full body bind and the twins sleeping in bed together.
What the hell?
A/N: And that's a wrap. I know it's not really good but ah well I tried. Please review. Should I continue with this?
On an unrelated note, James lost to Harry simply because Harry is stronger. If James lost to voldemort in 5 seconds and Harry could stand his ground, Harry is obviously stronger.