7

Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind

By: ForeversNobody

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (that wonderful universe belongs to Ms. Rowling); nor do I own Gundam Wing (I believe that honor still lies with Bandai, but I could be wrong – their website is being difficult and not letting me do searches to see…)

Rating/Warning: uuuuummmm, imma have to go with M, just cuz I like to swear and also, I plan on making this a slash fic and therefore give as many lemons (and limes) as I want and/or as my readers request… I will warn you at the beginning of chapters which ones will contain lemons/limes

Authors Ramblings: I appreciate constructive criticism and reviews – including, but not limited to requests or thoughts on how a scene should go – but flames will be summarily ignored and deleted… you don't like, you don't have to read past the chapter you stumbled upon, and if you do decide to read the whole thing and still wanna flame? Well – it's your own fault for being retarded and reading through a whole story you hated! Duh! It's not like I super-glued it to your hands and forced you to read it! It is possible to stop reading! Hell, I did it with the gag Twilight series (though, in my defense, I was sorta forced to read it outloud, but that is neither here nor there!)

I am American who has never traveled out of my country (even to Canada – I know, sad), but I will try my hardest to stick to British slang and customs – feel free to correct me if I get it wrong!

Oh! And 'Italics' is thoughts

Genre: Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure

Pairing(s): yeeeeeeaaaaa – imma let you figure that out on your own for now ;)

Summary: He had given up on wishing for a new family years ago – long before he found out he was a wizard and the horrible truth about what had happened to his parents. But sometimes, Gods are just as good at procrastinating as humans – but they get to their duties, eventually.

CHAPTER 1

Summers were always hard. Even with the threat of Sirius, which admittedly had only started last year, the Dursleys figured out early on that if they monitored his letters, they could get away with anything – short of murder. Needless to say, Harry was not looking forward to his summer.

Watching the other cars pass by on the way home from Kings Cross was by no means enthralling, but at least it helped him drown out Dudley and ignore his aunt and uncle.

Pulling onto Privet Drive, Harry noticed the cars first because they were parked on the street – resident were too finicky about the appearance of their neighborhood to park on the street. When they got closer, he noticed the official seal on the doors. ESUN? That peaked his interest, but passing by, they were empty. So much for a bit of excitement. "BOY!" Harry jumped and twisted around in his seat. "Get out of the car! Your things are to be locked away immediately and then you're to go to your Aunt for your chore list – no dawdling, you hear?!" Vernon Dursley's face wasn't quite its 'normal' puce – but the summer was young yet. "MOVE!" Harry scrambled for the door handle and stumbled out of the car. Regaining his equilibrium, Harry walked to the boot to get his trunk and Hedwig's collapsed cage. Vernon had glared so hard at her when Harry had gotten off the train, that he felt it was safer all around to release her and send her to Ron until his birthday.

Anticipating Uncle Vernon's orders, Harry had enlisted Ron and Hermione's help to cast two time-released charms – a feather-light on his trunk and a shrinking charm on some of his more personal things (invisibility cloak, photo album and some class work) – that were set to release tonight at midnight. This gave him ample time to bring it all inside, store it and not have to face the wrath of his relatives.

Pretending to drag an extremely heavy trunk to the door, Harry noticed that his relatives had stopped before going inside and were speaking with two uniformed men that Harry didn't recognize. Thinking they were delivering some sales pitch, he continued to 'struggle' with his things, but upon closer listening Harry figured out he was wrong. "…just some information on how and where to register."

"Now see here! We know where all of our family is, why would we have to register for this thing?!" Vernon Dursley didn't like being told what to do and was looking very put-upon. Realization dawned on Harry that having 'the boy' home today and this on top would not mean a good day, so he wisely decided to just fade into the background. Starting on his chores early sounded good. Stopping briefly and going over what he had just thought again, Harry figured the stress of being home was already getting to him if he wanted to do his chores.

"I'm sorry sir, but it was signed into law on the 14th of March of this year. Because it's such a daunting task, we've had to section things and that is why it took us so long to get the information to you. This week happens to be Surrey's designated week. You'll need to come down sometime between today and Friday. Now, I just need to confirm some things in our system – so we can do this on your doorstep, or we can go inside and sit down for five minutes, it's up to you." The Preventers either didn't notice that Vernon was livid or they just didn't care – Harry was betting on the latter and had to stifle a snicker.

Petunia chose then to step in and prevent Vernon from being arrested "As you can see, we just arrived home – but if you'll give us a moment to compose ourselves, I believe I can have some proper tea set up and we can get this whole situation sorted out. Gentlemen?" She gestured for the officers to follow her and Vernon inside.

Watching his aunt lead the way into the kitchen, Harry figured he'd have a couple of minutes to himself while they sorted this out before he had to start his chores. He smiled to himself – he might even be able to sneak his trunk upstairs and get some more things out if it while his Aunt and Uncle were occupied.

Before he could get past the first couple of steps, one of the Preventers stopped him. "Sorry kid, we need the whole family here for this, please." He gestured for Harry to precede him into the kitchen. Harry sighed, but changed direction – dragging his trunk to the cupboard with him - and headed towards the kitchen ahead of the Preventer. Entering the kitchen, Aunt Petunia was at the stove counter setting up the tea with Uncle Vernon, Dudley and the other Preventer were sitting at the table.

"Now, you're going to need to bring these forms with you when you come down to Headquarters, so we'll just fill in the basic areas and the rest will be taken care of when you come in." The Preventer seemed to be immune to Uncle Vernon's glare and was polite when Aunt Petunia served the tea. "All we need right now are your full names, dates of birth, address, contact phone numbers and Citizen Identification Numbers.(1)"

The first Preventer, an Agent Stanson, pulled out four forms and passed one to each of the Dursleys. He looked over at Harry who was leaning against the wall and smiled "Well, since we all seem to be taking up the table, why don't you just tell me your information and then I'll just have you sign it when we're done?"

Harry shrugged. "Harry James Potter. Born - "

"Potter? Not Dursley?" Harry resisted the urge to shudder.

"No. I am his Maternal Aunt. My sister - passed away 14 years ago." Aunt Petunia cut in with a clipped voice. .

Agent Stanson looked confused for a moment before pulling out his pocket vid phone. "Did you adopt Mr. Potter?" He asked without looking up "Because we have no records of that…"

Uncle Vernon sat straighter and looked like he was going to rant at them, but Aunt Petunia once again cut in "No, but we are his legal guardians – I have all of his paperwork if you need it." Her tone of voice suggested she thought he shouldn't need it, but the second Preventer – Agent Ngala – nodded.

"That would be good, Ma'am." Petunia looked put-upon, but stalked off upstairs.

She came back a couple of minutes later carrying a firebox just as Vernon, Dudley and Harry finished filling out their forms. Placing the box on the table, she shifted through the papers and soon came up with a birth certificate and guardianship papers. Harry was confused as to when or how she got these things – on top of the fact that he was moderately sure that he was born at St. Mungos. His mind was racing trying to come up with plausible answers his Aunt might think these Preventers would accept.

"I don't recognize the name of this clinic, is it local?" Agent Ngala was scrutinizing the paperwork. "Local to the city my sister and her family lived in at the time. It closed down a couple of years ago – we got a call to make sure we had all the original paperwork for him before their copies were destroyed." Agent Stanson nodded as Agent Ngala continued to peruse the guardianship papers.

"Well, this seems to be in order, but do you know why this was never processed with the ESUN?"

Uncle Vernon glared at the man like he was an idiot "Because the ESUN didn't exist, boy!"

Harry snickered as he watched Agent Ngala reign himself in and – it looked like – count to ten in his head, while Agent Stanson rolled his eyes heavenward and sighed inaudibly. "The actual ESUN may not have existed, sir" Agent Ngala replied, having apparently calmed himself. "However, we have all of the old Alliance records and what little info OZ had as well."

Aunt Petunia sniffed. "Well, it's not my responsibility! I assumed the – the executor of the Potter's estate had taken care of it all!" At the word executor, she turned and glared at Harry, who took that to mean Aunt Petunia thought Dumbledore had taken care of everything, because he had set up all the paperwork that allowed Harry to exist in the muggle world. After all, the Dursleys hadn't had any trouble registering him for primary or secondary – even though he had never attended Stonewall Secondary.

Agent Ngala handed the papers back to Aunt Petunia, while Agent Stanson collected and organized the forms. "Now, these are all in order, but in light of the guardianship paperwork, I need you to come down and file them right away. You might as well all come down now, too, just to get this all out of the way." Agent Stanson said

"Now see here!" Uncle Vernon, outraged, was out of his chair and in Agent Stanson's face causing Harry to startle violently and flinch towards the door. "You can't just go around ordering ordinary, law-abiding citizens to give up their day on a whim like this! We'll come down when we're ready and have it planned out!"

Agent Ngala stood up and faced Uncle Vernon. "Sir. We can and just did – not having this paperwork filed is a severe offense, we could legally take your nephew and your son from you for this. Or we could just take you into custody right now if you refuse to cooperate. So, which is it going to be – the easy way or your way?"

Harry wanted desperately to run from the room before Uncle Vernon remembered that he was there and started using him as a stress relief, but he knew that as soon as he moved, Uncle Vernon's eyes would be on him.

His fears turned out to be unfounded as Aunt Petunia once again diffused the situation. "FINE! We'll go." She paused for the dramatic effect "Are we at least allowed to take our own car?"

Both agents relaxed visibly. "Certainly, Ma'am. But to make things more comfortable for at least one direction, why don't you and your nephew ride with us?" Agent Stanson asked, though by the tone of his voice, Harry could tell it wasn't really a request. Harry figured they didn't buy the whole 'unfiled paperwork due to verbal misunderstanding' and were looking for excuses to get answers out of him and his Aunt without Uncle Vernon present.

The car ride was quite uneventful – the Preventers didn't actually question them too much, beyond some more general info on how there was such a large misunderstanding between Petunia and the 'lawyer' or executor of the Potters' wills. Harry couldn't decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing. The Preventers did make a couple of radio calls ahead to, Harry assumed, notify the lab and Child Service departments that they were on their way in with a civilian family. Harry had to guess at a lot of what was being said, as they were using mostly number codes to relay information.

The Preventers London Headquarters was big – 3-4 stories in some places, but still very non-descript. The whole thing was a dark gray – similar to the stonework for really old, weather-beaten castles. The inside, however, appeared to be state-of-the-art. Key and fingerprint pads were the only ways to open a lot of the doors. There were also metal detectors, as well as x-ray machines – the Preventers went through a significantly less invasive scan than Harry or the Dursleys.

Harry had to duck his head to hide the mad giggle that wanted to escape at one point because Uncle Vernon was trying, and failing, not to get explosively mad as he underwent the most invasive scan. One of those vid calls must have been to warn these guys to double check him. Agent Ngala noticed Harry's response and winked at him.

The walk to the lab was winding, but didn't take nearly as long as Harry assumed it would. Then he remembered the Preventers probably had to deal with a lot of Uncle Vernon-type people and a long walk would mean more time listening to them bitch and moan – which was exactly what his Uncle was doing now. Thankfully, it was mostly to Aunt Petunia and under his breath – at least he had some form of self-preservation instinct.

Once inside the laboratory's waiting area, both of their Preventer escorts froze and immediately stood at attention. A woman wearing her dirty blonde hair in two elegant twists that fell over both of her shoulders was approaching them.

She stopped and returned their salutes before speaking. "Gentlemen. At ease"

"Major Po! We were unaware you were going to be working today." Agent Ngala finally said, while Agent Stanson looked to be at a loss for words.

"Technically I'm not – I'm just here to pick up the latest batch of blood samples to be entered into the database." She held up a large dark green cooler.

"Oh, well – would you mind waiting another couple of minutes? We were just escorting this family in to do just that, and I'm sure they'd appreciate the expediency." Here Agent Ngala looked pointedly at Uncle Vernon, who was visibly agitated.

Major Po gave the Preventers a wry smile. "Sure. It shouldn't hurt the samples any if I wait another few minutes."

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were called in first, followed by Dudley and then Harry. Harry couldn't honestly compare muggle medicine to magical – the procedures were just too different. He did, however, appreciate the muggles' tendency to warn you when something was going to hurt or taste disgusting. Mediwizards just sort of assumed you knew and therefore didn't both warning their patients. He winced at the pin prick, but smiled at the nurse as she taped the gauze over the needle mark and gave him a lolly as he walked out.

In the car on the way home, Harry realized that between the blood samples and stopping off at Child Services department to file the paperwork, they had only been at Preventers HQ for just over an hour. Harry snorted Uncle Vernon bitching and moaning delayed us more than it took to get to HQ, get everything squared away and back on our way home!

Once again, Harry realized too late that they were back Privet Dr. and in the Dursley's driveway. This time, however, he was not simple yelled at to get out of the car – the door he was leaning against was unceremoniously ripped open. Harry threw his hands out to brace his fall against the pavement and succeeded in protecting his face. His legs, though, has gotten tangled up in the sweater Dudley had taken off during the trip home and thrown at Harry's feet so that he 'didn't have to be bothered with it anymore'. In the split second he had to react, Harry hadn't remembered this until he felt something snap in his left ankle as he tumbled to the asphalt. He didn't cry out – he knew better – be he couldn't stop the wince or sharp inhalation.

"Get up, you stupid boy!" His Aunt's shriek was quieter than usual, but Harry just chalked it up to the fact that they were still outside.

Struggling to stand on his broken ankle, Harry was at least glad that he hadn't hurt his hands or wrists – he would be in serious trouble if he couldn't use his hands. At least he could use the walls and banisters to get around on one foot. Hobbling through the front door, Uncle Vernon shoved him from behind and sent him sprawling through the kitchen door causing him to crash to the floor and go skidding across the linoleum until his back ended up pressed against the cabinets. "Get up and get outside right now and start your chores! I don't even want to think I hear you until dinner time, got it?!" Uncle Vernon hollered as he stalked over to the kitchen table. Aunt Petunia sneered at him as she dug into the ice box pulling out things to make an afternoon snack for Dudley and Vernon.

Harry sighed as he let his head bang lightly back onto the cabinets. Welcome home.

Chapter End: TBC


AN: 1 – in the USA, the government uses Social Security Numbers [SSN] to serve as forms of ID and help with retirement funds to all citizens. The idea being that you pay into Social Security and get that money back when you retire as a sort of pension; its not looking good for future generations. Anyhoo, these SSNs also serve as ways of proving identity and help the government keep track of the number of legal citizens. I chose to assume that England/Great Britain uses something similar, though I do not know for sure and therefore just made something up - feel free to correct me and let me know if there is such a thing and I will change it!