Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I'm not making any money from this story.

A/N: New Castle is a real town, but as far as I know there's no Reed Drive there. I just really liked the name. Any resemblance to the actual town of New Castle is purely coincidental.

Harry Potter and the Heirs of Scaith

Chapter One: Hogwarts?

1.

It was a hot June day about a quarter 'til two in the afternoon. Ben Brewster was in the back yard of the Brewster house. The ten-year-old boy was playing with his football, practicing various kicks and maneuvers. Several of the kids at school insisted that it was a soccer ball, but Ben figured that since nearly every country in the world called the white and black sphere a football he had the overwhelming majority on his side.

Ben was quick and graceful. He was a natural at football, and he was hoping for a spot on his school team, the Fallon Cannonballs, when he started middle school in the Autumn. Ben and his twin brother Steve both loved sports, though Steve preferred to be a spectator rather than participant.

At the moment, Stephen Brewster was taking advantage of their babysitter's absence to work on a project in the basement. Ben was playing where he was because his position gave him a good view of the street Sissy Dunlap would use to return while leaving him close enough to the basement door to signal his brother when he saw her coming.

Ben didn't expect Sissy to return for a while. She had gone to the convenience store four blocks away supposedly to get ice cream for the twins, but Stephen had overheard her agreeing to meet her boyfriend there "accidentally". Ben hoped she'd remember to buy the ice cream after she spoke with her boyfriend. Otherwise, it would melt before she returned.

The black haired boy forgot about Sissy Dunlap when he saw a huge owl come diving out of the sky. Ben had never seen an owl out in the daytime, and the bird that was approaching looked to be an incredibly large great horned owl.

The giant circled the house. Then, it dove again, this time toward Ben. Like a dive bomber, the huge owl released something it was carrying and started to pull up. The boy's ice blue eyes went wide, and he instinctively dodged.

The huge owl landed in the walnut tree between the Brewster yard and the next and began to groom itself. Ben cautiously looked at what was dropped while moving to keep the owl in sight. He was surprised to find two envelopes laying on the ground. Ben sat his ball down and carefully picked the envelopes up.

The envelopes were made of some heavy, yellowish material that didn't feel like paper to Ben. They were sealed with purple wax that was stamped with a large letter H surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake. Ben flipped one of the envelopes over to find something written there in emerald green ink.

Mr. S. Scaith (Brewster)

105 Reed Drive

New Castle

Virginia

The second letter was the same, except that it was addressed to "Mr. B. Scaith (Brewster)" instead. Ben looked up at the tree to find the owl was still perched there, watching him expectantly. Ben hurried over to the basement door and knocked three times, paused for a count of two and then knocked twice more. About two minutes later, the door opened and Ben's twin brother came out.

"What's up?" Stephen Brewster asked. Then, he noticed the envelopes Ben was holding. Ben pointed to the huge owl in the tree.

"That owl brought these letters and dropped them at me." Ben showed the letters to his brother. "I've never seen a horned owl so big."

"I don't think it's a horned owl," Stephen said. "Their eyes are yellow. That owl's eyes are orange. I think if might be an eagle owl, but those don't live around here." Stephen accepted the letters and examined them. Ben wasn't surprised by his twin knowing about owls. He was much more of a bookworm than Ben, and was the Trivial Pursuit champion of the Brewster family. "These envelopes are made of parchment."

"What's parch mint? It that like pa-porpoise?"

"No, papyrus is made from cut and pressed reeds. Parchment is made from dried sheep's skin."

"Have you ever heard of owls deliverin' mail before?" Ben asked, still keeping one eye on the patiently waiting bird. It didn't look like it had any intention to attack, but its huge talons were pretty scary.

"I've read about pigeons being used to deliver messages, but not any other sort of bird," Stephen answered. "I think these letters are for us. Our initials are S and B and our last name is Brewster."

"But what about Scaith? What's Scaith mean?"

"I don't know," Stephen said thoughtfully. "Maybe the answer is in the letters." Stephen took a pen knife from his pocket and used it to open one of the letters. There were two sheets of Parchment inside the envelope. Stephen unfolded the first and looked at it.

"What's it say?" Ben asked. Stephen started to read it out loud.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Stephen said. "Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, Grand Sorc, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed... Confederation? of Wizards."

"Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Ben asked fear and hope warring in his mind. "There are schools for magic?"

"Looks that way," Stephen said. Then, he continued reading. "Dear Mr. Scaith. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September first. We await your owl by no later than July thirty-first. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress." Ben smiled when his brother stopped reading.

"Wow, they want you to come to their school!" he said happily.

"No, they want us to come to their school." Stephen held up the second letter. "You got one, too." Ben's smile faded quickly to a look of puzzlement. "But, I don't know how to do magic..."

Stephen had discovered his ability to perform magical rituals two years earlier while goofing about with a book of magic Ben had been given for his eighth birthday. Richard Brewster had thought he was buying a book about stage magic. Ben hadn't told his father what the book really was, since he didn't want him to feel bad about getting the wrong present. Months later, Stephen had decided to perform one of the rituals just for fun, and it had worked. There had been a flash of blue light, and the neighbor's dog appeared. The brothers had been very happy afterward that Stephen hadn't tried to summon something dangerous, like the tiger Ben had suggested.

Ben had tried to perform the rituals in the book, but none that seemed safe enough to try had worked for him. Ben had decided that he just didn't have the talent.

"Maybe you do, but you just haven't figured out how yet," Stephen said hopefully. "Maybe they can teach you how." Stephen had always felt it was unfair for him to have magic and Ben not to. Now, maybe that could change.

"Speakin' of magic, did you finish the ritual you were working on?" Ben asked. Stephen pulled a gold ring with a small diamond out of his pocket. There were still small traces of a blue glow on the ring, but they would fade soon. He handed the ring to Ben.

"The luck ritual worked," Stephen said. "Sneak this back to Mom and she should win the next time she buys a lottery ticket." Even without the magic book Ben had wanted, his natural dexterity helped him become skillful at slight of hand. Ben had been the one to pocket the ring when their mother was making bread dough. She had noticed it missing after she washed her hands and Ben felt bad about upsetting her.

Stephen had a practical view. The family was having a rough time financially, even with both parents working. Susan Brewster had started playing the lottery in the hope of winning enough money to help the family. Stephen was sure that his little luck ritual wouldn't be enough to win the main lottery, but their mother only played the scratch tickets anyway. It should help her win a jackpot on one of those. Ben would sneak the ring into his mother's apron, or else pretend to find it on the floor. Then, she just had to put it on.

"Why do the letters call us Mr. Scaith?" Ben asked. "Could they be for somebody else?"

"I don't think so," Stephen said. "On the envelope they had our last name in parentheses. Maybe the second page has the answer?" Both brothers eagerly looked at the second sheet of parchment. They read for a moment, their expressions going from hopeful to puzzled to frustrated.

"Wands? Cauldrons? Dragon hide gloves?" Stephen said. "I don't think K-Mart has any of that stuff." Stephen wondered how they would get the things they needed, how much they would cost, and what this Scaith business was all about. There was no return address on the letters, so he also wondered how they'd get in touch with the school if their parents said they could attend. "Hang on..." Stephen muttered out loud. He went back to the first page and looked at the bottom. "We await your owl no later than July thirty-first..."

Both twins came upon the same idea. As one, they looked up to see if the huge owl was still there. The bird was grooming its feathers, still perched on the same branch as before. Maybe it was waiting to see if it needed to take a letter back.

"How do we get it come down to us?" Stephen asked.

"Pardon me," Ben said politely. The owl's orange eyes locked onto him. "Could you take a letter back for us?" The Owl nodded and flew down to the two brothers, landing on the clothesline pole.

"How'd you know it would do that?" Stephen asked his twin.

"I didn't," Ben said with a shrug. "I just thought it was worth a try." Ben looked at the owl again. "Wait right there while I get a pen and some paper." Ben ran into the house, leaving Stephen alone with the huge owl.

After a couple of minutes, Ben returned with a notebook and pen. He handed them to his twin. Stephen thanked Ben, and started writing. While he wrote, Ben opened a can of Vienna Sausage and offered one to the owl. While the owl ate the food, Ben looked over his twin's shoulder to see what he was writing.

Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall

We need to show our letters to our parents and ask them if they will let us come to your school. We don't have an owl to send messages with. Is there another way for us to contact you? We also need to know where we are to go to get the books and stuff that we need for school and could you please tell us why you call us Scaith?

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Ben and Stephen Brewster

"What do you think?" Stephen asked his brother.

"Looks good to me." Ben answered. "I guess it's ready to go."

He finished feeding the Vienna sausage to the owl while Stephen tied the note to the bird's leg. Once the message was secure, the owl spread his large wings and took to the air. The two brother's watched the Owl as it flew away.

"Stephen?"

"Yeah?"

"What's a Grand Sork?"

2.

Susan Brewster was relieved to find her engagement ring in the pocket of her apron when she was fixing supper that evening. She had thought that she'd checked the pocket already, but guessed that she just hadn't been careful enough. She was in a good mood when the family sat down to eat. Her husband was also in a good mood. He'd had a good day at work. But Susan Brewster could tell there was something up with her sons.

Normally, both boys would have seconds, but Ben and Stephen had barely touched their food. So far that summer, Ben had talked excitedly about soccer while they ate. That night, he was quiet and he kept glancing at his twin.

"How was your day, boys?" Richard asked his sons after he finished talking about how smoothly things had gone at work.

"Huh?" Ben said. He'd been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't really heard the question.

"It was fine," Stephen said. Then, he took a forkful of meatloaf and potatoes.

"Oh," Ben said then. "I... um... practiced with my football in the back yard."

"Tim and Rodger didn't come over to practice with you?" Richard asked. Tim and Rodger were two of Ben's friends from school. They lived nearby and were almost as fond of soccer as Ben.

"Tim's visitin' his grandparents for the week," Ben answered. "Rodger was busy." Ben had actually told Rodger that he would be busy so that Stephen could have some privacy to perform his ritual. Remembering that reminded Ben of the letters from Hogwarts. He frowned down at his plate.

"Alright," Susan said as she looked back and forth between the two boys. "What happened that you don't want to tell us about?" She wondered if they'd pulled a prank on Sissy, but Susan was sure if they had that she would have told her and Richard when they came home.

The twins had agreed that it would be a good idea to wait until after supper to speak with their parents about the letters. They thought that their parents deserved to at least have a pleasant meal before they sprung such outrageous news on them. Stephen saw the way their mother was looking at them, and he knew their plan wasn't going to work out.

Stephen looked into his brother's eyes and nodded solemnly. Then, both boys took out their Hogwarts letters.

"An owl brought us these letters," Stephen said with an utterly serious tone. He offered his letter to their mother while Ben offered his to their father. "We aren't sure what to make of them." Silence reigned as Mr. and Mrs. Brewster read the letters. When they were done, the two adults looked a little uneasy.

"It's some kind of joke," Richard said, though he didn't sound as certain as he wanted. "There's no such thing as a school that teaches witchcraft. Maybe they mean stage magic?"

"What's all this about cauldrons and these books and dragon hide gloves?" Mrs. Brewster asked. "Dragon hide??" Both adults looked upset, and the twins noticed that neither had mentioned the oddity of how they were addressed in the letters.

"Why do you think the letters call us Mr. Scaith?" Ben asked. "And our last name is in parentheses?"

"Maybe they're really for someone else?" Richard said nervously.

"Twin brothers with our same first initials, the same age as us, and what about the address?" Stephen asked. He tried to not let his suspicion show, but the alarmed way Ben looked at him suggested Stephen hadn't be totally successful.

"It doesn't say anything about twins or these Scaith people being ten years old, or even brothers. The B and S could stand for Beatrice and Samantha for all we know," Richard objected.

"The body of each letter starts with 'Dear Mr. Scaith', so they're meant for two males. The lists of books and equipment are both for 'first years'. That would mean that they would probably be the same age. They have the same last name, and are expected to be found at the same address. That would probably make them twin brothers." Stephen answered, his suspicious gaze boring into Richard. "We just finished elementary school, and are getting ready to start our first year of middle school. If this Hogwarts starts in the elementary level, they would have sent the letters to the parents of B and S Scaith, since most four-year-olds don't read very well. So, the letters are probably for boys just getting ready to start middle school or equivalent, so boys our age."

Susan Brewster took a deep breath, and let it out with a sigh. She looked weary and sad. Ben was suddenly fearful of what she was about to say, but Stephen thought he might know already.

"We adopted you when you were babies," Susan said to her sons. "We planned on telling you when you were older."

"So, our last name really is Scaith?" Stephen asked.

"We don't know," Richard answered. "They didn't know your last name. They only knew you were named Benjamin and Stephen because those names were on your clothing when you were found."

"Found?" Ben asked in surprise. "Like on the steps in a basket?" He thought it sounded like something out of a movie.

"No," Susan said softly with a sad frown. "They told us about you being found in a car after it crashed. Your mother was with you, but she died before the rescue squad arrived. She didn't have any identification with her, and they never had any luck finding your father or the rest of your family. They didn't know your last name. I guess it could be Scaith." Both twins were saddened and surprised to learn that their birth mother was dead, though Stephen didn't let his feelings show.

"This is all some kinda sick joke!" Richard said angrily. "If somebody knows about your birth family, why didn't they come forward sooner? Why these lies about magic and some kinda school?"

"Magic is real," Stephen said as calmly as he could manage. Both of his parents looked at the boy with surprise and dawning worry. "I've known magic is real for a couple of years now. If you let me, I can show you."

3.

Ben and Stephen spent the next day hanging out with their friends and trying to take their minds off of how anxious they were. The twins had a lot to be anxious about.

Their parents had thought Stephen was delusional when he said that magic was real. Their worry had grown as the boys took them to the corner of the basement where Stephen performed his magical rituals. The ritual, with the strange symbols their son drew on the floor, the incantations and strange gestures took about ten minutes. Then, the Brewsters' worry turned to jaw dropping shock when a kitten appeared out of thin air and a flash of light.

Their parents hadn't had much choice but to accept that magic was real after that demonstration. However, knowing that magic was real and that one of their sons could use it failed to calm the Brewsters' worry. They had grilled the twins about what sort of spells they had been casting and whether or not they had been talking with spirits or if the magic required them to make sacrifices. They forbade Stephen from performing any more rituals until they were sure he wasn't risking his immortal soul in the process.

Even after the twins had convinced their parents that they weren't unknowingly worshipping Satan, the Brewsters had been reluctant to consider sending Ben and Stephen to Hogwarts. They asked how far away the school was, how much the tuition would be and if there was any financial aid. Stephen felt like a perfect fool for not thinking of asking about those things in his letter. The tuition was probably the biggest barrier they had to overcome. Even if their parents agreed to let them go to Hogwarts, the Brewsters weren't rich.

On top of all that, there was still the Scaith matter. Ben and Stephen had spent most of their lives thinking that the Brewsters were their natural parents. Now, they knew that they were adopted, that their birth mother was dead, and that they might be named Scaith. They weren't hit too hard by the knowledge of their mother's death since neither Ben nor Stephen could even remember her, but suddenly feeling as if they didn't really know who they were was very distressing.

Their friends began to leave around five in the evening. Soon, it was just the two brothers and the kitten sitting on their porch. Ben dangled a piece of yarn for his new little friend to play with while Stephen sat close by.

"Think we'll ever find out where this little guy came from?" Ben asked his brother. The yellow kitten that had appeared inside Stephen's summoning circle had not been wearing a collar. Unlike when he had summoned the neighbor's dog, Stephen hadn't been thinking of a specific animal when he had summoned the kitten. He had just wanted to summon a cat.

"I don't know," Stephen said with a shrug. Sissy was in the house and might come onto the porch at any time, so neither brother mentioned magic. "I don't think he's from the neighborhood though." Ben smiled, and Stephen guessed what his twin was thinking. "You want to keep him."

"Well why not?" Ben asked while he watched the little cat swat at the yarn. "If we can't find where he belongs, we can't just toss Tybalt out to fend for himself."

"Tybalt?" Stephen asked with a half smile. "Not Neo, or Optimus Prime, or maybe Spongebob?" Ben rolled his eyes at his sarcastic, bookworm brother.

"None of those are cat names," Ben said.

"And Tybalt is?" Stephen asked with a smirk.

"Yes," Ben said with conviction. "Like in those stories Maw Maw Hogan used to read us when were were little. Tybalt was the Prince of Cats." After a moment Stephen remembered. Their grandmother would read fairy tales to them back before they started school. Tybalt had been a character in the stories about Reynard the Fox.

"Wasn't he one of the villains?" Stephen asked. Ben shrugged.

"Maybe, but this Tybalt is one of the good guys. Aren'tcha, Tybalt?" The kitten caught the yarn and managed to bite it. Then, the boys heard someone coming up the walk. They looked to find a man they didn't recognize.

The man had had a plump, round face and short dark hair. He wore gold rimmed glasses and a strange, hunter green suit, royal purple cravat and emerald green cloak that looked very uncomfortable in the summer heat. He smiled as his sharp, dark eyes took in the brothers.

"Hello," the man said with a definite English accent. "I am Gawain Stump, a solicitor in the firm of Greerson, Stump and Pryce. I'm here to see Masters Stephen and Benjamin... Brewster. Would you two be they?"

"Yes, sir," Ben said after a moment of surprised silence. "Why do you want to see us?" The twins backed away as the stranger came up onto the porch. Mr. Stump's smile became a frown of puzzlement. Then, his beady eyes widened in understanding. The man in the unusual suit stopped moving toward the boys and raised his hands in a allaying gesture.

"I don't mean you lads any harm. I'm here on behalf of Alcestis Scaith to investigate your claim of Scaith blood," the man said in a reasonable and calm voice.

"We didn't make any claim," Ben said frowning. He felt like Mr. Stump was accusing them of something. "The letters from Hogwarts said it."

"Oh?" Gawain Stump said with a touch of surprise. "Well, it doesn't matter in any case. A claim was made, and I'm here to determine if you two are truly members of House Scaith. If this proves to be the case, I am also to help you obtain your school supplies." The screen door creaked, and the twins glanced over to see Sissy Dunlap come out onto the porch.

"Your mom just called," Sissy began. Then, she noticed the stranger. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Hello, miss. I'm Gawain Stump," the man said with a smile that seemed less genuine to the twins. "I gather that Mr. and Mrs. Brewster are not at home?"

"Mrs. Stump is on the way home now," Sissy answered. She looked at the brothers. "You boys go get cleaned up. Your mom's bringin' supper home." Once the kids were inside, Sissy asked the man to wait on the porch and offered to bring him a glass of lemonade. She wasn't comfortable with the idea of asking the man into the house. He seemed a bit creepy in his outlandish clothes. Sissy reminded herself that Mrs. Stump would be home in a few minutes. Then, she could decide what to do about the stranger.

---

--

-

-