Disclaimer: All my fanfiction is written without the knowledge and permission of the original creators/authors/owners. I write for my own pleasure and the pleasure of others. I do not make money from this, nor do I try try to take credit for my work. All credit goes to the original creators/authors who are much better at it than I will ever be! Should the creators/authors of any of my work express their wish for my work to be removed, I will of course do so at once. A huge thank you goes to J.K. Rowling who is the creator of the HarryPotterverse - THANK YOU!

AN: IMPORTANT! This fanfic is almost defiantly going to be SLASH (HPSS), if this offends you, then please do not read! There will be defiantly be Hermione/Ron though.

Summary: A hidden prophecy tells of two wizarding brothers who will change the Wizarding World forever. On July 31st two Potter brothers are born, a new hope in a war-torn world. When Voldemort murders Lilly and James, an old wizard is put in a difficult position, for the prophecy tells that one brother will be their savior and the other will be his downfall. One son is taken to train to be a great wizarding warrior, while the other is hidden away from their world, neither knowing that the other exists. But fate will always have her way and the brothers are destined to meet again...

Blood Brothers

by AkashaWinters

Chapter 1

A Matter of National Security

Sixteen year old Oliver Potter, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas lay sprawled out under a willow tree at the edge of the lake, books scattered out in front of them. Dean was absentmindedly practicing charms, while Seamus made notes on Herbology and Oliver crammed in some last minute potions reading before the start of term test that Snape liked to through on them.

"I don't know what you're so worried about, Oliver," Dean commented, when the conversation returned to homework. "You're good at potions."

Oliver rubbed at the spiral shaped scar on his check and scowled, "Snape doesn't seem to think so."

Seamus shrugged his shoulders, "Snape doesn't think anyone's good except for his precious Slytherins."

"But he picks on me even more than the rest of you," Oliver complained, it was the same conversation over and over again, Snape hated the famous Oliver Potter and everyone new it.

"It's because you're actually good at potions, unlike the rest of us. It really annoys him." Seamus grinned, trying to cheer him up. It was true, Oliver had been assigned several personal tutors over the summer and he'd had plenty of help with potions recently. He was really beginning to get good marks, despite Snape's best attempts not to give them to him.

"I guess..." Oliver, lowered his book to look at his friends, running a hand through his hair to smooth down the short, russet brown locks.

"Listen, you've really got nothing to worry about, you're really good at potions and good at most of you're other subjects, you'll do fine. As for me and Dean..." Seamus shook his head.

"Huh...talk for yourself, I've actually done all my summer reading, unlike you, I'm going to pass all my subjects this year." Dean returned. Seamus punched his arm playfully.

"Listen, are you two going to come and visit me at he order headquarters again next summer? Only Dumbledore's been going on about how I'm going to need to do loads of training and stuff...he's got a whole timetable devised already and its only the first week of term, it's awful!" Oliver moaned.

"Yea, truly awful... being the boy who lived, having a whole ministry manor to yourself, getting everything paid for, having special tutors to make sure you won't fail exams, having Dumbledore give you a place on the Quidditch team, getting into every celebrity party for free, getting a whole box of your own for every Quidditch cup...yep, truly awful!" Seamus rolled his eyes at Oliver's melodramatics.

Oliver grinned, "Okay so there are some perks, but still you know, dead parents and all, and having to defeat evil dark wizard who's almost killed me three times!"

"Oh come on, you had body guards, Dumbledore and the ministry would never actually have let him get near enough to kill you." Seamus argued, teasing Oliver. They all knew Oliver was very brave and Seamus was sure that when the time came and the ministry and Dumbledore let the boy-who-lived get in on the action, he'd be great.

"And you do have Sirius and Remus..." Dean added, the pair had been very supportive of Oliver, throughout his life. He was lucky to have such a great Godfather. Even if he was always getting them into trouble by letting them do things they weren't supposed to do.

"Not to mention Tonks..." Seamus nudged him, while Oliver turned a shade of scarlet, then grinned. Oliver had had a crush on Tonks ever since forth year, when the witch had moved onto his bodyguard team. He also had a crush on Cho Chang, who played seeker against him and a seventh year Ravenclaw called Tara Jones.

"Well I can't help it if all the witches in the world are in love with me..." Oliver preened happily as Dean poked him and Seamus laughed.

A shadow loomed over them and the three boys looked up to see their potions master sneering down at them. "As usual, Mr. Potter, I am not surprised to hear that you are so busy talking about yourself that you've failed to notice that you are in fact fifteen minutes late for your next lesson." Snape smirked, "Twenty points from Griffindor...each."

The laughter was gone in a split second, but their good moods could not be quashed completely. The three boys groaned in unison, quickly gathering together their books they hurried away from a delighted-looking Snape to a probably furious-looking McGonagall.

HPSSHPSSHPSSHPSSHPSS

In the outskirts of London's East end, lay a forbidding looking brick building. Once a Victorian workhouse, its prison-like walls now housed almost a hundred teens with less than desirable pasts. Robert Niffleson, a short, balding man in his late forties, stood outside a pair of large iron gates to the muggle building. A nervous tick appeared near his eyebrow as his eyes fell on the sign introducing the the building as ' St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys'.

Bob, Minister for the Misuse of Magic, liked to think of himself as a competent Wizard and more than capable of blending into the muggle environment, but his latest job fell just outside of his comfort zone. The wizard was visiting the muggle detention centre to investigate a possible use of magic in the vicinity of muggles, he was doing so personally because they the witch/wizard using magic was apparently under 17 and for some reason was not registered. In fact, the only reason they knew that magic was being used at all was because a Squib had picked up on it while visiting the building. The minister rubbed at this forehead, he could feel the beginnings of a migraine and he suspected it was going to be a long day.

Taking a deep sigh, straightening his jacket, the minister pressed call on the comm system. A crackling met him from the speaker and then a woman's voice answered.

"Good Morning, St. Brutus's, how may I help?"

Leaning close to the muggle device, Bob put on his most superior voice, "Good morning, my name's Mr. Niffleson, I'm from the Ministry, I have a visit scheduled." Bob really hoped this would be a simple case of a harmless magical artifact that had fallen into the wrong hands, or perhaps a mistake all together. He could obliviate a few brains and no-one would be any the wiser.

"Of course Mr. Niffleson, we've been expecting you. Please make you're way to reception. Mr. Herbert will be waiting for you." With that the crackling ceased a loud click and grating noise ensued as the iron gates swung open, apparently of their own accord.

The Head Officer, Mr. Herbert, seemed to have strong views on the justice system, how much money they received and just how criminal his 'boys' were. The wizard was therefore slightly taken aback when he finally laid eyes on the centres criminals. The boys were not the big burly lads he had expected to see. Sure, some of the older ones were reasonably beefed up and tattooed, but the youngest looked barely 11 and many of the boys were underweight and poorly dressed in ill-fitting uniforms. While the muggle detention centre lacked the dementor guards that made the wizarding prison so infamous, the standard of care appeared to be much lower and their 'Carers' were openly heavy-handed with them. The whole atmosphere left the detective very dubious... these boys couldn't even do magic, how could they possibly be as dangerous as their Head Officer made out?

Shaking himself out of his thoughts; how the muggles managed their population wasn't his concern, Bob put his mind back on the job: detecting magic. Surreptitiously running a scan the wizard was surprised to find a high level of magical activity in the area, all apparently from a single signature. He groaned inwardly, so this was going to be a little more challenging.

"Tell me Mr. Herbert, are any of the boys here under 11 years old?" The Minister asked the Officer, interrupting his flow.

Mr. Herbert looked thrilled that his visitor seemed to be finally taking an interest in the visit and was more than happy to oblige him with the information, "No, our youngest is eleven, almost twelve years and our oldest are of course seventeen."

The minster adjusted his suit again and tried to hide a frown. That didn't make any sense; the only way a magical child using magic would not flag up immediately on their system were if they had not yet received their Hogwarts letter, and would therefore be under eleven years old. "Could you be mistaken?"

The officer gave the wizard an odd look. "I'm quite certain. All the records are reviewed constantly. It's very unusual as it is to have inmates that young. We have almost a hundred inmates here and of those only nine are under the age of fourteen, most of the inmates here are sixteen/seventeen. It's just the nature of their crimes, children that age tend not to commit as serious crimes." The officer explained.

"And what sort of crimes have these children committed?" The wizard asked, intrigued despite himself.

The officer swiped a plastic card across a panel next to the door in front of them as they entered the daytime area where the inmates where currently studying. "A range of crimes really, some more serious than others, but they've all been deemed too dangerous to be allowed out into the public"

"Such as", the minister prompted as he attempted to scan the room they'd just entered. He eyed up a group of younger boys crowded around a table reading from text books.

"Drug dealing, armed robbery, serial arson, GBH...rape, murder." The officer trailed off leading him through the dinning area and halting before the next door. "You wanted to see everywhere?"

The Minister nodded numbly, he felt shaken to think that these children could commit such crimes...even murder. Even without the help of magic, these muggles seemed to have no problem with harnessing power and violence. "What is GBH?"

"Grievous Bodily Harm." The Officer opened the next door. "Anything that causes serious, life-threatening or permanent damage. Anything from breaking bones to putting people into comas, paralysing, causing brain damage etc. This is the isolation block coming up. We've got five in today. Busy day."

They entered a a long hall with several doors off it, they first entered the only open door on their right. It was a lounge area with several TV's at one side and an officer in a blue uniform who was eating a pasty and had a book in one hand. "Morning Geoff." Mr. Herbert greeted the man. "How is everything today?" His voice seemed a little anxious.

The guard seemed not to notice as he chucked the end of his pasty in the bin, wiping his hand on a nearby tea towel. "Richardson's calmed down nicely, I think I'll have the boys let him out after lunch. Peters needs to see the doctors, what ever medication they've got him on isn't working, he was fine before they changed it. Dale and White are letting of some steam after a bit of a skirmish earlier...they won't be doing it again any time soon. Trust me." The guard loving stroked him baton that lay next to him on the table, causing a chill to run down the ministers' spine.

"How's Evans?" The head officer asked with a frown.

The guards mood seemed to darken instantly, a scowl appeared on his face. "He tried it on a gain this morning. You'd've thought he'd learned his lesson yesterday, apparently not. Gave us some hassle so he's a bit ruffed up at the moment. We'll have him sedated if he tries it again."

"Is sedation and 'ruffing up' really necessary?" The minister put in, he didn't like the way the guard was stroking his baton again. It wasn't unheard of for inmates at Azkaban to receive a beating now and again for misbehaving, but they were fully trained, adult wizards. These were teenagers, the same age as the students who attended Hogwarts.

Turning back to the minister the Head Officer looked slightly affronted, "The inmates here may only be teenagers, but they can be just as dangerous as the inmates at any of the other detention centres you've visited. Many of them aren't mentally stable, have very violent tenancies, and the older ones are just as big and strong as the guards. Are methods are sanctioned by law, we don't enjoy having to be heavy-handed with them, but we will do whatever is necessary to keep the other inmates and the staff safe."

"I understand," The Minster became distracted as his scanned picked up magic being used further down the hall. "Tell me, what was Mr. Evans' discretion that has warranted his isolation and beating?" If he could keep them talking, perhaps he could determine which inmate it was coming from.

A look was exchanged between the guard and the head officer. "Well, Evans is a special case. Most of the boys settle in all right and get on with it most of the time. They have fights occasionally and they tend to test the boundaries every so often, but after a few spells in isolation and they realise the gravity of their situation and it doesn't tend to be much of an issue."

Nodding, the guard continued, "Evans has been here almost three years, since he was thirteen, but he's never really settled in. Constantly causing problems here and there..."

Picking up where the guard trailed off, Mr. Herbert continued to explain Evans' unique situation as the minister isolated the area the magic was coming from. "It's not as though he's unintelligent and the psychologists assure us he hasn't got an anger problem per say, but sometimes he seems to loose control and lash out at the other inmates. Mostly ones who deserve it, but he has caused a lot of damage and with his history we just can't take that risk."

"And what is his history?" The minster, smiled inwardly, the magically signature was coming from the far end of the corridor on the left. He would have to persuade them to take him down there. The Head Officer was looking a little dubious at his request for information, "I have complete clearance for all access and information, its all in the documents that were sent to you from the ministry."

Pursing his lips in annoyance, the officer let out a breath then shrugged. "Well if you're that interested, he's been convicted for two accounts of GBH, concerning his foster dad and a police officer. One of our more serious cases and the reason we have to be so careful with his handling and behaviour around the inmates and staff."

Throwing caution to the wind, the minister plowed in, "Perhaps I can view the boys in isolation?"

Frowning at the request the head officer straightened to his full height, "I really don't think that's necessary. If you have any concerns about our policies, procedures or the inmate's welfare, than I suggest you come back with a formal review request."

Taking a step back from the angry muggle man, the minister thought quickly, "Really Mr. Herbert, you have already explained you procedures, I'm not here to review welfare concerns. In fact it is of no concern of to me at all."

Taken aback slightly, the officer seemed to deflate. "What exactly are you here for Mr. Niffleson? They were very vague on the phone."

What the heck, the minister thought, if it would get him what he needed. "If you allow me to see the inmates, I will tell you why I'm here."

Shortly they were making their way down the corridor past locked doors with tray holes and padded walls. "As you know I'm here on behalf of the ministry. We believe there may be holding an inmate we'd be interested in getting our hands on."

Both guard and officer seemed surprised. "You sure you've got the right place? I mean these boys are criminals, but they're not exactly the organised crimes sort. I doubt any of them would be any good as informants." The guard questioned.

"I'm quite sure," the wizard replied as he completely ignored the cells holding Richardson, Peters, Dale and White and heading straight the end of the corridor. "It's a matter of national security" he explained. The minister had only seen a few muggle movies, but this phrase usually silenced questioners, and besides, it was almost the truth; it was just wizarding security, rather than muggle.

As they neared the last cell, the guard pulled down the tray hole to reveal a large padded room that housed a bed, some reading material, and a teenage boy curled up in one corner. The magical presence hit the wizard straight away.

"That's him. He's the one."

End of Chapter 1...next time Harry meets his first Wizards and recalls his childhood. I just wanted to add that in the UK, while prison standard's have been known to be lax in the past, i'm guessing beating prisoner's is not sanctioned under law unless in self-defense. Mr. Herbert says their methods are sanctioned, what he's really saying is they don't have the proper man power and facilities to deal with their immates...hence the rough handling, which under the circumstances, the authorities probably wouldn't give them grief over. On top of that, when it comes to maintaining order with an out of control young wizard in their charge, its no wonder the muggles feel they have to resort to less desirable means of punishment and control.