THIS CHAPTER WAS ALSO WRITTEN BY LADY SHINIGAMI2!

PART 2: MEETING THE FAMILY: ENTER DUMBLEDORE

The first thing Harry saw when he woke up was a young man, not even eighteen years old, sleeping in a chair at his bedside. The young man had pale skin, a perfectly shaped and proportioned face, and slightly messy black hair. He looked a lot like Harry.

"You must be Tom. The only family I have left." Said Harry quietly, not wanting to wake up his newfound brother.

"And you are Harry, my little brother." Tom opened his eyes slowly, revealing them to be blood red in color. Tom gave him a small smile. "I always wanted a little brother."

"I always wanted a family. Did Mom send you a letter?" Tom nodded. "Yes, she did. She wrote that I had a brother and that it was my job to care of him, give him a home, this manor, Slythindor Manor, is ours. She said she had some friends who might be willing to adopt us, but told me to check with you first. She explained that shortly after I finished my sixth year, I somehow jumped through time 50-odd years. Was Mom a time traveler as well?" Tom asked, and Harry realized that Lily had lied to Tom about his future, Harry's past. He decided to go along with the lie, at least until Tom was ready to know the truth, which could be a while.

"She was. When you were born, she started, against her will, to return to her own time, and she couldn't take you with her. I have a question; do you know anyone by the name of Voldemort?"

Tom looked startled. "Yeah, I used that name only with my closest friends in an effort to rid myself of my father's name. Why?"

"A Dark wizard named Voldemort started killing people over twenty years ago. He killed Mom and my Dad. Most people think he's you. Guess someone took your name." Said Harry, dancing around the truth.

"Why?"

"Because you were a Slytherin. I'm their Golden Boy, the one who is supposed to save the world, but no one knows that I was almost a Slytherin. Imagine that." Said Harry, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. Tom gave him an odd look.

"Why are you their hero?"

"Because I'm the only one in the history of magic to be immune to the Killing Curse. I'm the Boy Who Lived. Voldemort's gone now, because of me."

"So we're both orphans. Did you go to an orphanage?"

"No, I was placed in the house you found me in by Dumbledore. Speaking of that, what condition was I in when you found me?" Harry wasn't looking forward to Tom's reply.

"You were dying, Harry. Almost all your ribs were broken over the course of the past month, left leg was broken, your right wrist was shattered, your left arm broken, and slashed you with a knife, a large one at that. Bruises on your throat indicated recent strangling, and you were covered in bruises, fresh and old. A punctured lung, major internal bleeding, and the list goes on. What happened in that house?" Tom asked, his face grim, and Harry looked down.

"Harry, who did this to you?"

"My uncle. He made me believe I deserved it. He's right, too." Harry's whisper was barely audible.

"That's bullshit, and you know it. I can tell you feel guilty about something, something horrible, but whatever it was, it wasn't your fault. No one deserves this, least of all a child." Tom moved to sit next to Harry on the bed and he wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"I haven't been a child for a long time. I stopped being one when I started fighting evil, and people I knew and cared about died because of me. I am normal; I have power that is dangerous, and I'm just a tool anyway, to be thrown away when my purpose is done. I hate being the Boy Who Lived, when so many others have died." Harry kept his gaze locked on the floor.

"Harry, listen to me. You have most likely saved far more lives than those who have died and from what I understand you were at war. War has casualties and there's nothing anyone can do about it. And you do have a purpose, you do have meaning to those who love you for who you are, not what you represent. Also, take a look at our family; the rest of us weren't normal. Mom and I were time travelers! You understand, little brother?"

Harry was quiet for a while before he nodded. "Yeah, I understand, big brother. Thanks."

"Well, if we're done with all the angsty stuff, what do you say to a birthday party? It's my privilege as your older brother and guardian to do stuff like this, so I'm doing it! You write to your friends and send the letters out with Kryslin. There's parchment and ink on the desk. I'll be in the kitchen making some breakfast." Tom grinned and Harry smiled.

"Thank you Tom. I've never had a birthday party before. I'll be down when I'm done." Harry got off the bed and sat down at the desk in front of a large window. He didn't hear Tom leave the room as he started to write to Ron.

Dear Ron,

Guess what! I'm gone from the Dursleys' forever! I found out that I have a brother, so Tom is my guardian and we have a manor and everything! Also, Tom's giving me my first birthday party, and I want you and the rest of the redheads you call family to spend the day here. If Hermione is with you, drag her along too. Don't be too surprised by Tom's falcon, Kryslin, and write back. You can get here by flooing to Slythindor Manor.

Harry

Harry put his finished letter to Ron aside and started writing to Sirius and maybe Remus, grinning at the thought that they might have finally gotten together.

Dear Sirius (and Remus),

I'm finally free of the Dursleys' forever, long story, and no, I tell you about it now. I was wondering if sometime in mom's last year, did she disappear for any great amount of time? In a Charms accident? I'm asking because something came out of that, and I now have an older brother, who's treating me great, by the way, so don't worry about me. Tom's giving me my first ever birthday party, so I want you guys to come. Write back, and floo to Slythindor Manor.

See you guys later, and have you two finally hooked up yet?

Love Harry

After finishing the letter to his godfather, Harry considered if you should write to Dumbledore. He decided he should, at the very least to inform the Headmaster of his whereabouts.

Professor Dumbledore,

I thought that you would like to know that I am not living with the Dursleys' any longer. I have found a blood relative with a closer bloodline to mine, and he is quite powerful in magic, so I should be safe. The next part you'll find disturbing; my older brother is Tom Riddle. However, there is nothing to worry about, as Voldemort has literally been de-aged back to the age of seventeen. He remembers nothing of his future. This was made possible by Lily, our mother, and a unique Charm that she invented.

Professor, I feel that there is no need for alarm. Tom has already accepted me as his family, and he rescued me from my uncle's house last night. That's right, I said 'rescued'. I was dying in that house, Professor, dying from wounds inflicted by my 'family'.

I now live in Slythindor Manor, owned by my mother, and Professor, she asked me to give Tom a chance for a family, like me. 'He deserves it too, doesn't he?' end quote.

This is my only chance for a family, and I will not allow anyone to ruin it for me, including you.

Harry Potter

Harry gave all three letters to Kryslin, tying them to his leg before the predator bird flew swiftly out the open window. Suddenly hungry, Harry quickly showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt found in the armoire on the other side of the room.

Once out of his room, Harry caught the distinct smell of a wonderfully cooked breakfast and followed his nose to the kitchens, memorizing the way as he went along.

In the kitchen, he found his older brother hovering over a stove, making pancakes as a couple of house elves scurried about with bacon and eggs. Tom hadn't noticed him yet, and Harry just stared in amazement. He didn't know Tom knew how to cook.

"Hey," said Tom, looking over his shoulder before paying attention to the pancakes again. "Sit down, I'm almost done now." Grinning, Harry sat down and watched Tom as he cooked.

"I didn't know you could cook. It smells great, though." Tom flashed a grin at Harry, mocking and challenging. "Oh, I can cook, alright, and you'll never find out the secret to my famous scrambled eggs!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"Its merely truth. None of the cooks at the orphanage could figure it out, or get the secret out of me, so what chances do you have?"

Harry chuckled softly. "I'll find out, trust me. A few people might be coming over today. My best friend Ron and his family, the Weasleys, Hermione, Sirius and Remus. I also wrote to Dumbledore to inform him of my whereabouts. Dumbledore is one of those people who think that you are Voldemort, and he's always fought to destroy Voldemort, so attack. I want him to know about you, and that I won't let him destroy my family. If he comes here, be nice to him, ok?" Harry asked as they ate and Tom was quiet for several minutes before he nodded, smiling at Harry, who grinned back.

When the two of them finished their breakfast, Tom gave Harry a tour of the manor, through the corridors and rooms, and through the grounds of the manor, grounds that stretched across the countryside for several miles. Finally, they settled into the gardens, where lilies grew in abundance and fountains flowed while the gentle breeze blew through the many trees.

"You know, Harry, in mom's letter to me, she told me that when her parents died, she inherited this Manor and a fortune, and upon her death, that fortune would be kept in a secret vault until you transferred it into your account when you came of age. Mom made a comparison; she said that our fortune, by now, is almost doubled that of the Malfoy family fortune. We can have whatever we want without consequence. What do you say to that, little brother?" Tom started snickering at Harry's surprised and delighted expression.

"Are you serious? Nice, now I don't have to deal with Malfoy's shit about how rich he is! Take that, Draco Malfoy!"

"There is a Malfoy at Hogwarts now? I knew a Malfoy in the fifties, went by the name of Lucifer. He and I weren't the best of friends, mainly because I said his name was too clichéd." Said Tom and Harry laughed.

"Yeah, there's a boy in my year, Draco Malfoy, and we're always at each other's throats," Harry started to say, but Tom interrupted him with a grin.

"Well, there is that saying, 'my only love sprung from my only hate'..." he trailed off and Harry punched him in the arm.

"As I was saying, I've only his father, Lucius, a few times, but I really think that Draco is really sexy! I figured that out last year, Christmas time. Not that he can ever know that I like him; he hates me!"

Tom laughed. "Well, you never know..." He stood up and he helped Harry to his feet. They started back towards the manor and Harry spotted Kryslin coming back in the distance.

"Kryslin's back. He reach us at the doors." Harry grinned at Tom's startled look. "I'm Gryffindor's Seeker."

"That would explain your excellent eyesight."

Tom went inside to start preparing for the day, warning Harry to stay away from the back yard and the kitchens on pain of death. Chuckling, Harry waited for Kryslin to settle on his shoulder before heading for the library. Inside the large room, the small falcon took his perch on the fireplace mantle and he watched as Harry opened and read his three letters.

Dear Harry,

What do you mean you got a brother? 'Mione and I are waiting for an explanation, but I suppose it'll have to wait until we get to Slythindor Manor.

'Mione said that she's read something about Slythindor Manor, and it has something to do with brothers. Apparently, only a pair of brothers can live in Slythindor Manor. According to our esteemed bookworm, these brothers have to be opposites in some way... God, now I'm staring to sound like her!

Mum also said something about Slythindor Manor. According to her, only those with both Gryffindor and Slytherin traits. How is that even possible, mate? I think it is impossible, but 'Mione thinks otherwise.

We'll be over there by noon, see ya there, mate!

Ron

P.S. Harry, I want a detailed explanation when we get, and we've all contributed to your gifts!

Love, Hermione

Dear Harry,

We're both glad you're safe, but how did you know that Lily had disappeared in our seventh year? Neither of us had told you that. Well, I'm sure that you'll explain later. Sirius will come as Snuffles, at least until we know who else is attending today. See you soon, Harry, we'll be there around noon.

Remus

P.S. Your new brother, how that happened, I'll never know, is treating you good! Otherwise, I'll have to beat him up! Just kidding!

Stay safe, kid.

Love, Sirius

Dear Harry,

I do hope for the sake of the wizarding world that you are correct. However, should you be mistaken, not only will I destroy Tom, I will have you expelled for endangering the lives of those around you. The consequences of your actions will be severe.

Tom Riddle started his reign of terror in his sixth year, with the Chamber of Secrets; don't forget that!

The fact that you are currently living in Slythindor manor disturbs me, as Slythindor Manor is spelled for those who possess both Slytherin and Gryffindor traits, meaning that you are unpredictable.

I warn you to be cautious when dealing with Tom; he's very charming and very devious.

I will be Flooing within the hour.

Albus Dumbledore.

Furious, Harry tore up Dumbledore's letter and tossed into the empty fireplace, moments before it lit up with an emerald flame, signaling Floo travel. As Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the transport fire, Harry had his wand trained in him, startled, but still angry.

This was written by Lady Shinigami2! Review it! The next chapter will be written by me, hope it turns out as good as what Lady Shinigami2 already wrote!