Harry approached the stone gargoyle and said the password from Professor McGonagall's note. The Gargoyle jumped out of the way, and Harry stepped onto the revolving staircase. When he got to the top, Harry reached out for the gold doorknocker. But before he could touch it, he heard the familiar voice that he had grown accustomed to.

"Come in, Harry." said the voice on the other side of the door- Professor Dumbledore's voice. He already felt more at home in 15 minutes that ever before, except maybe at the Weasley House.

Harry entered the room, all of the interesting objects emitting little puffs of smoke and steam and little whistle noises from all directions. He saw someone else in the room, but he couldn't see their face because the chair was facing the left side of the room. There was another chair facing the right side of the room that Harry understood as his chair.

"It's so good to see you, Harry. Won't you take a seat?" Professor Dumbledore said, moving his hand in the direction of the chair. Harry sat down in the chair, his heart racing with nervousness. He felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest.

"Well, I'm going to get straight to the point. When I turn these chairs around, both of your lives will change forever, because the person sitting in front of you will be most helpful to you in the future. I ask you to please keep as calm as you can, but I fear that it might not work. I will now turn the chairs." Dumbledore said.

With the turn of those chairs, everything would literally change forever……….

"BLOODY HELL, PROFESSOR!!!!! WHO IS THAT?????" Hal exclaimed, obviously overwhelmed. He had oddly jumped out of his chair, ran around it, and sat down in about 5 seconds. He has the most shocked look on his face, and he kept glancing back and forth from Harry to Professor Dumbledore.

Harry didn't overreact at all. He just put his head in his hands and sighed deeply. Things like this just kept happening to him. He had learned not to freak out, but he was still in a state of shock. He looked up at Professor Dumbledore after about a minute. He had to ask.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? Things might have been a lot easier on me if he would have been with me. Why didn't you tell me I had a brother, especially a twin brother??? WHY??" Harry shouted. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated and angry he got. Why did everything have to be so secretive? He had a brother. Things would have been different with him around, not just might.

"Harry, I didn't tell you about Hal because we wanted to keep him safe from all of this madness. Voldemort didn't know about Hal, the only thing he knew about was you. You wouldn't want to put someone in the same situation that you are in, would you?" Dumbledore said in the most peaceful tone he could.

"Well, no, but why tell me now? If Hal was safe away from here, then why bring him here?" Harry questioned, this made no sense to him at all. Maybe his mind was still fuzzy with shock.

"Somehow, Lord Voldemort has gotten word of Hal's existence, and there is no one in America to protect him other there. Plus, we didn't want to keep this from you or Hal any longer, with the uprising war and everything." Dumbledore answered.

"Wait a minute!!!" Hal said, seizing the opportunity of the small silence. "You are going to have to back up and explain some things to me. First of all, where are our parents?" Hal asked, trying desperately to find some answers. All this back and forth between the others in the room was driving him crazy. None of this conversation made any sense from the beginning, and confusion was welling up with every passing second.

"I hate to tell you this, but your parents were murdered by a person called Lord Voldemort when you and Harry were one year old. Lord Voldemort had been plotting forming his own "wizard-turned bad" army to receive somewhat of a title of the most powerful wizard in the world. His plan backfired when he stormed into the Potter's house that night. Voldemort used the killing curse on your father first, then on your mother. Harry would have died that night too if it hadn't been for you mother. When she died, she left all of her love to protect Harry from peril. As you see, it worked. When Voldemort used the curse on Harry, it sort of ricocheted off of Harry and hit himself. He didn't get the full dose of the curse, but it was enough for Voldemort to be called defeated. The only remnants of the attack remain in Harry, and possibly you. Some odd abilities that Harry possesses are there because some of Voldemort's powers were transferred to him through that scar on his forehead." Dumbledore explained.

Hal was still overwhelmed, but not so much that he couldn't ask more questions.

"Where was I when all this happened?" Hal asked quickly.

"One of your parent's friends, Remus Lupin, had taken you to a quidditch match that night. Harry didn't go with you because your parents couldn't afford to send both of you. By what Remus told me, you seemed more eager to go to the match than Harry did, so that's why you ended up going." Dumbledore said.

"Then, how come he's got a scar?" Harry asked in the middle of all the explaining.

"Some twins have an uncanny ability of a type of telepathy. The Weasley twins are a prime example as you know, Harry. Things have happened in the past that when something significantly horrible happened to one twin and they obtained a substantial cut, they transfer some of the pain and effect to the other twin. I think that's what happened here. When Voldemort's curse hit Harry and made the cut, he transferred the pain to you, Hal, and it left the cut. You were still at the quidditch match when it happened, Hal. Mr. Lupin told me that when he saw the cut on you head, he thought you had fallen and bumped you head on something sharp. He realized he was mistaken when he found out what happened." Dumbledore explained.

There was an odd silence, seeing as both boys were stunned to hear about their connection was so strong. They just sat there, mulling over the information that they just heard. Harry had given up on saying anything else. He was afraid of any more surprising information left unsaid, fearing that he might faint. But Dumbledore had more to say.

"I apologize to both of you for keeping you apart for so long, but we wanted to keep Hal away from all the madness, seeing as you, Harry, had no choice but to be right in the middle. But now that Voldemort knows about you now, Hal, there was nothing else that we could do but to tell you who you really were. The whole magical world thought that Harry had defeated Voldemort that night, but we found out differently during Harry's first year at Hogwarts. His soul still remained, but he had no body. Last year, Voldemort got a new body at the expense of another student's life and some of Harry's blood. Now, he seeks revenge. Voldemort will be coming after you both now, so you both have to be prepared to defend yourselves. Of course, The Order of the Phoenix will always be here to protect both of you, but you have to always be prepared. Harry has been through a lot difficult encounters with Lord Voldemort and has had a lot of close calls, but he has been triumphant. The same trials seems evident to you also, Ha--" Professor Dumbledore said, but was interrupted by Harry jumping out of his seat.

"NO!!! THIS IS MY BURDEN!! NOBODY DESERVES WHAT I'VE HAD TO GO THROUGH, AND I WON'T LET SOMEONE ESLE GO THROUGH THE SAME!!! ESPECIALLY MY OWN BROTHER!" Harry shouted, breathing deeply, and then collapsing with grief back into his chair. He put his head back into his hands, as a single tear fell to the floor. The stress of his summer and the rest of his past seemed to come rushing back to him like a hurricane. He just wished that it would all go away, but he knew it wouldn't.

Hal was amazed at how someone he barely knew could be so protective over someone. It felt good to know that he was loved by someone, but the situation he was in did scare him. What kind of stuff was going to happen to him, and what kind of stuff had already happened to Harry? He would have to wait to find out, but he was willing to do whatever he needed to do to help Harry defeat this Voldemort guy. He knew a lot of things about self defense….. maybe that would help them in whatever kind of war was going on…

"Harry, whatever it is you need me to do, I'll do it." Hal said, breaking the silence. "Anything to help you, and I guess me, beat this guy."

"You don't know what you getting yourself into." Harry said, quietly.

"I was in it when it started, I just didn't know it. But now I do, so there is no getting out if it, not that I was going to run even if I had the option. There's no getting rid of me now." Hal said, quite confident in his decision.

"Harry, I know you don't want someone to have to share you heartache, which is completely noble of you, but Hal is in the same situation as you now. You wouldn't want to encounter an attack from Voldemort or a death eater and not know anything about either one of them, would you? You have to teach Hal the things about those battles that I can't. You know better than I what it's like to be a teenager facing one of the most powerful, most evil wizards in the world, and live to tell about it. He needs you, and now you need him." Dumbledore said.

"All right, I guess I would like some more help. Ron and Hermione will be happy." Harry said, laughing slightly.

"Oh, that reminds me Harry, you need to write The Weasleys a letter explaining the details of this meeting. Don't go into great detail. You'll get to explain more when the others arrive. Just tell them about Hal, you know, the stuff you think they would like to know. Harry, I trust you know where you and Hal will be staying. I've already shown him the dormitory. Why don't you find some way to get to know each other better, maybe go down to the quidditch pitch later. And thank you for being so cooperative. You two are dismissed." Professor Dumbledore said. He smiled at them both as if he were reminiscing about something. It was different to Dumbledore seeing the both of them together again after so long, but he was delighted. This is exactly what Harry needed, even though he didn't want to admit it.

The walk back to the common room was a little awkward, but not as much to be expected. They talked a little about how shocking everything was, but that was the extent of the conversation for a few minutes. Hal's mind was swelling with curiosity, everywhere he looked, portraits were moving about, greeting them as they passed. He also heard them saying things like "There's two of them now?" and "oh no, another troublemaker." Harry heard everything they were saying all this stuff the portraits were talking about, and seeing as he was still a little on edge, he kinda snapped.

"Let me get something clear so you can tell all the other portraits so they can get the memo. Yes, there are two of us. You'll find out his name in time, and no, there is not another troublemaker here because there wasn't one here in the first place. And we aren't deaf, we can hear all your rude and quite atrocious comments. Any other questions while I'm listening? Good. Since I've pretty much clarified your minds of all doubt or unbelief, we will be on our way in peace." Harry said in a stern voice, he made sure he got his point across. He hated all the gossip that went around Hogwarts when school was in, but having to endure it when hardly any students were there? Things were mad!

Hal nearly died out laughing, Harry had told them!, but he kept his composure. That curiosity kept gnawing at his insides; he couldn't wait any longer to ask. He had to figure some of this stuff out. He finally asked….

"Harry, who exactly is this Voldy- Lord guy you and the professor were talking about. I've pretty much figured out that he's your enemy and he's out to get us, but you beat him once, so what's so bad about him now?" Hal asked.

"Oh, well, Voldemort has been really looking for revenge ever since I came here. During my first year, he would have probably lived forever if I hadn't obtained the sorcerer's stone from one of his followers. The stone had special powers to keep someone alive forever if he wanted, perfect if you wanted to rule the world. Second year, he tried to kill me through what I guess you would call a 16-year-old version of himself, but I got away again. I really didn't have an encounter with Voldemort my third year, but I met my godfather, well our godfather, who I will tell you about later (Harry was afraid of eavesdroppers). Last year is when Voldemort got his body back. He killed another student right in front of me, and he nearly got me again, but I got lucky again by using the right spell against him, and the help of the spirits of our parents. This year, who knows what will happen." Harry sighed, and looked down at the floor as they walked.

"Whoa, doesn't look like luck to me. Seems like your pretty good at defending yourself." Hal said with just a hint of amazement in his voice.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without help from Professor Dumbledore and my friends of course." Harry said, but really wanted to get off that subject. Too many memories. "So, do you play quidditch?"

The conversation welled up from there. When the got to the common room, they grabbed their quidditch gear and headed to the quidditch pitch. Hal flew over to the hoops, and traced one of the rings. He couldn't believe that he was on an actual quidditch pitch. He never thought anything like this would happen to him, but it was. This is what he wanted but he had already gotten so much more.

Harry was amazed at Hal's keeper skills. Harry started out really easy, barley lobbing the quaffle Hal's way, but he could tell Hal was getting bored. He kicked it up a notch, and another, and another until it was nearly dark. Hal hadn't missed one pass that came towards him. Hal was also amazed at Harry skills as a seeker. Harry had released the fastest snitch that the school had and closed his eyes to give it time to get hidden. Harry had caught the snitch in about 3 minutes time, but not before making one of the most astonishing dives Hal had ever seen. They stayed at the pitch until they could hardly see their hands in front of their faces. They would have stayed longer, but Harry remembered the letter he had to write. They gathered all the equipment and walked back to the common room, not wasting a moment in conversation.

Harry sat down in one of the chairs beside the fire, a piece of parchment and a quill in hand. Hal had bewitched his muggle CD player to work without batteries or a plug-in and put some kind of music on. Harry liked the lyrics to the song, it sounded like what he needed to do in his ongoing battle to live. "When all you got to keep is strong Move along, move along like I know you do, And even when your hope is gone, Move along, move along just to make it through, Move along, Move along." Yeah, it pretty much outlined his life.

Harry tried to start on his letter, but he couldn't put his emotions into words. Everything he put down on the paper just didn't live up to the excitement of finding a long lost sibling. Then, he had an idea, the perfect way to tell the Weasleys what had happened. He got up quickly and ran upstairs. He came back with some powder and his shoes. Hal looked up from his daze and jumped up as well.

"Hey, where are you going?" Hal said, eyes open wide.

"I can't tell the Weasleys about you through a letter. Those people are my family, and this is not something you say in a letter. I'm going over to their house right now." Harry said quickly as he pulled on his shoes.

"How are you getting there?" Hal asked.

"With floo powder." Harry said, heading for the fireplace and extinguishing it super-fast. Then it hit him. "Well, you will have to come with me. That would make it loads more fun, surprising them. And you will get to meet everyone. Perfect. Oh, and do you know how to use floo powder?" Harry questioned.

"Umm, I think. Get into the fireplace, say where you want to go, and drop the powder, right?" Hal answered.

"Yeah, ok, were going to a place called Number 12, Grimmauld Place so just say that, make sure you say it clearly. Wait a few minutes before you come, that way it would be more surprising." Harry said, smiling at all the thoughts running through his mind. He stepped into the fireplace and shouted "Number 12, Grimmauld Place!" and with a bursting of green flames, he was off.

11:00 p.m.: Mrs. Weasley was in the living room, getting a head start on her Christmas knitting. Mr. Weasley was reading the Daily Prophet in his recliner. Everything was very peaceful, seeing as everyone was in their rooms, trying to go to sleep. Mr. Weasley was about to doze off when he heard a loud thud behind him, coming from the fireplace. He jumped up and pulled out his wand. Whoever it was jumped up as well and said calmly:

"Whoa, Mr. Weasley, hold on. It's just me, Harry. Sorry to scare you, I just had to tell you something." Harry whispered.

"Goodness, Harry! Nearly made me have a heart attack." Mrs. Weasley whispered rather loudly. "What is so important that you couldn't have told us in a letter?"

"Is everything all right, mum? The other's are coming down." said a voice from the other side of the room.

"Well, I don't know, Ginny dear. Harry's here. He has something to tell us something." Mr. Weasley said. Others began filling the room.

"Yeah, well, the reason Professor Dumbledore had me come a few days early to school was to introduce me to someone right? I just couldn't tell you this in a letter. It's too important. Well, I never knew that I had a ---." Harry said excitedly, but was interrupted by another loud thud.

"A BROTHER?" Ginny shouted, but when Hal walked into the light even more shouts erupted.

"A TWIN BROTHER? WHOA!" Ron yelled.

Everyone was excitedly asking questions, and talking about all kinds of stuff. Mrs. Weasley gave both boys one of her famous hugs, and so did Ginny. All the others exchanged a manly hug. With all this commotion, nobody even heard someone come into the house.

Hermione saw the person who she wanted to greet first. The messy hair gave it all away. She tapped the boy on the shoulder, and he turned around quickly.

"Hey, Har--. Wait, your not Harry. Who are you?" Hermione questioned, taking a step back.

"Whoa, Hermione, how could you tell that he wasn't Harry." Ron asked, astonished.

"He didn't even speak to you yet."

"What are you all talking about? Where's Harry? Who is this, his long lost twin brother?" Hermione said sarcastically.

"Actually, yeah." Harry said, as he walked up and stood beside Hal.

Hermione fainted right there, but quickly regained consciousness. Harry explained the whole situation to Hermione and all the others, and before they knew it, it was 1:00 a.m. They all said their goodbyes, and the boys headed back to the castle.