A Boy No Longer Named Brian
Summery: Not every father loves their sons and every friendship has its secrets. Not all powerful wizards have normal up bringings. Tom Riddle changed his name to separate himself from his muggle family. Harry Potter went into a violent rage when his godfather was killed. And Brian…
How could one with such a twisted childhood become one so powerful that people remember him, even years after his death, as the most powerful wizard of all time? If you told him that one day he would be a hero, he would only say, "But I'm Brian. Just Brian."
This is Brian's last year at Hogwarts, about two - three weeks into the school year. His memory is the last day of summer vacation.
AN: Hallows Dissregarded, there is no spoilers. I wrote this six month before Hallows came out! This story is rated PG-13 for Alcohol Abuse and Violence. Susanna is my character. Please respect that. The character, Brian Jr., is not mine he's JKR's giggles. So is the epilogue. You can find it in OOTP, chapter 37 "The Lost Prophecy", pages 821-823 American hardback version. Please R&R.
Brian gazed into the dieing embers of the once roaring fire in Gryffindor tower. It was growing very late as the last few people yawned and went to their dormitories for the night. Soon the last bushy haired blond woke with a start, realized she was asleep using her textbook as a pillow, and she too collected her things and went to bed. But Brian knew that it would be useless to go to sleep while thinking of last summer.
Brian rubbed his arm, with the ghost of the past hunting him. Even after the weeks following the horrible event, his bruises where still there. He was lucky that the ones on his face cleared up quickly, they where only visible for the first few days of school, but the ones on his arms where still tender to the touch.
The minutes ticked by slowly and the night grew older but Brian's thoughts didn't stir away from the past. His body was fighting to stay awake but his mind showed no sign of tiring as the battle in his blue eyes was unwavering as Brian barley even blinked. He was in such deep concentration that he didn't even notice a girl quietly tiptoe down the stairs from the girls' dormitories until she said his name.
"Brian?"
Brian was so startled, he jumped and stumbled on his own feet. He caught himself and looked up to see the girl walking towards him, giggling at his clumsiness. She was skinny and the white nightgown framed her angelically. Her wavy black hair flowed well past her waist and was tied loosely into a ponytail with a long red ribbon.
Brian rolled his eyes and sat down again. He was in no mood to talk to his friend. He didn't want to talk to anyone about the past, especially her. She would worry and try to weasel out every detail about the incident. Brian was just not ready to share such a dark secret of his past.
The girl didn't understand that he wanted to be left alone so she sat down next to him. A few moments past as Brian looked in to the glowing red cinders and the girl looked at Brian. The silence was too much for the girl so she spoke up.
"Brian, why aren't you in bed?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Brian responded.
"I couldn't sleep." Her voce was innocent and friendly, "Usually studying puts me out like a sleeping potion, but for some reason not even History of Magic homework can put me to sleep."
Brian thought for a moment, should he tell her the truth? They where best friends after all. But then again, she might react badly to it. He decided against it and told a reasonable lie that she would probable fall for.
"I can't sleep either. I'm just too nervous about that Charms test tomorrow." Brian held his breath. Did she buy it? Did she believe his lie? He looked at her and the expression on her face made his hart sink. Her arms where folded and one of her eyebrows was raised. The message was clear, she saw right through that sorry excuse of a lie.
"After seven years of friendship I think that you would know better than to lie to me. Brian lets face it, you're a bad liar. Your lying skills are worse than your Charms skills. "
"Maybe I can lie. It's just your amazing lie detector that always catches me off guard."
"Than what is bothering you?"
Brian looked down at his folded hands. He didn't really want to tell her but it would be useless to keep it from her. She would find out eventually, whether by his will or by force, but it was worth one more try to keep his secret.
"It is getting late. I should be going to bed." Brian started to stand up but it was not enough to stop his interrogation. The girl grabbed his arm to stop him from standing up.
"Brian, look me in the eye and tell me the truth." Her grip sent pains throughout his bruised arm. The memories flooded his mind as he tried not to show his pain. He looked away to avoid eye contact.
"Not now, I'm going to bed." Brian said trying to free his arm. But the girl just tightened her grip.
"You're just trying to avoid me." That was the truth but he didn't want to say it to her face.
"No, I'm not."
"You're lying again."
"Susanna..."
"Brian, just look at me. I want to know what's wrong. You've had this attitude for weeks." Susanna's voice grew louder and Brian's voice grew stronger to match the rising tension.
"Susanna, I'm not going to let you look into my mind."
"Than tell me."
"No!" Brian freed his arm and looked down on Susanna. He knew she would not give up that easily.
Than he felt what he was anticipating. The soft buzz at the back of his mind that alerted him of an intruding mind. He tried to clear his mind of all thoughts but it was no good. She was already close to what he was hiding. Both gave a good fight trying to retain their goal. He tried to create a barrier around his mind one more time but it was too late. A cloud was covering his eyes as his memory of last summer flooded back like a rushing river after a storm. The worst part was that his best friend could see his memories too and it was too late to stop it.
AN: Dun Dun Dun! Next chap is a flashback! gasp If you don't review, Dumbledore and his twin Gandalf the White will shmite you!