A/N: So I actually seem to be hitting a groove here. Finally things seem to be going my way with this story. I have to say that I love my new first chapter so much more than I did the original. And I hope everyone agrees. Also I am making some changes but they are for the betterment of the story though the original idea will still be the same so do not fear. I am just trying to make it a bit….yeah I can't think of a word. Lol.

Anyways! On to chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing and still make no money…literally…I'm jobless again

Chapter 2

Hard cerulean blue eyes watched the woman leave and nodded as he saw the acrobatic pilot glance in his direction. His gaze never wavered as the other, who was apparently his brother-in-law, stood and followed the woman, silent as a shadow. He was however, aware of the tension of the three still with him.

There was nothing he could do or say yet that would sooth either his lover or Trowa's. He could however, hope to sooth Wufei at least a little.

"There was nothing that could be done."

Onyx eyes looked to him for a moment before the other Oriental turned his gaze away. It was a dismissal, a sign that the other didn't want to talk about it just yet; though it had been meant to appear as if the cold barb that woman had so casually thrown had meant nothing to him. Heero however, knew better. He had seen the pain the past had caused their fifth. He had seen as the confusion, the grief and the guilt had forced him to join the daughter of a former enemy in order to seek redemption; a validation of some sort.

And he knew that for the moment, anything he did would only push their fifth further away. And so he said nothing, sending warning glances to the other two as they moved to speak. They would just have to wait, and be there when he fell; as they should have been from the beginning.

"She's gone."

Heero nodded, hearing the frustration and anger in the taller ones voice as he gestured for everyone to sit down.

As they all rearranged themselves around the table Heero glanced at the files they had been given. There were a total of seven, though some were significantly thicker than others, and each had a name written on top.

"Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley, Petunia Dursley nee Evans, Yuuta Potter, James Potter, Lily Potter nee Evans, and Esmerelda Potter."

Duo frowned and leaned forward slightly to look at the files his boyfriend was sorting through. He was worried, afraid that this revelation of a relationship between two of their own that was outside the five of them, would somehow change things. Change what they had strived so hard to gain. What they had fought for, spilled blood for.

Heero felt his American lover stiffen against his side and carefully slung one muscled arm over the others slim shoulders, hand moving to clasp the others braid in a firm grip, a comfort to the both of them.

Quatre too, had leaned forward to see the files from where he sat across from the other three with Trowa. It was worrying to him how thick some of the files were compared to others. And if he was correct, the rather thin file of Esmerelda Potter was the one Lady Une had been clutching.

"Perhaps it would be best to start with the adults? Perhaps the Potter adults as theirs seem to be quite a bit thinner than the others?"

Trowa nodded and reached out, taking the file of his apparent sister, Lily Potter nee Evans, from Heero's hand.

Flipping the file open his eyes widened and his breath hitched. He…remembered her.

"Trowa?"

Trowa couldn't tare his eyes away from the pictures held within the folder.

"I…used to dream of her."

His lover's gentle hand on his arm did little to soothe him this time as he lifted the picture from the file with reverent fingers. The picture was seemingly a simple one. A small girl, maybe 10 years of age, with long vibrant red hair and stunning emerald eyes so like his own smiled up at him, cradling a copper haired infant lovingly in her arms.

"I used to dream of someone singing to me. The voice was young so I always knew it wasn't an adult. And then sometimes I would get flashes of a little girl smiling at me, playing with me. But…I could never remember a name for either of us."

Wufei smiled thoughtfully from across the table, glancing at the picture that so fascinated Trowa. He could see the love this girl had for the boy in her arms. Wait…

"Trowa, there's something written on the back."

Startled, Trowa quickly flipped the picture over and stared at the names written there.

'Lily and Adrian A.C. 181'

"Adrian…that was my name?"

There was nothing any one could say and so Trowa carefully and rather reluctantly put the picture back before flipping quickly through the file, a frown forming on his face as he did, his mind returning to the task at hand for the moment.

"There are things missing…she seems to appear at age ten and then disappear again at age 11. She has only one year of school records. Then there is her marriage certificate, the birth certificate of her daughter, Esmerelda Potter in A.C. 190 and her death certificate in A.C. 191. Her own birth certificate isn't even here."

Quatre frowned in confusion and slipped under his lovers arm, getting a clearer view and giving them both much needed reassurance at the same time. After scanning the documents for himself though, Quatre's eyes narrowed and he deliberately took the folder from his boyfriend's hands. Pulling back, he muttered to himself and began intensely reading the few papers in the file.

Trowa blinked surprised by his blonde's actions before reluctantly turning his attention to the other three, more specifically Wufei and Duo. These two would likely know more about his question than the rest of them.

"Is it possible that she was adopted? Or even both of us?"

Duo frowned, thinking back for a moment. Before shaking his head.

"Nah. I went to school while at the orphanage and I know other kids do to. So she would have that record at least."

Wufei nodded, thinking back to what he knew about the governments systems.

"I agree. Also there should be information from before that time that an orphanage would have been obligated to file. At the very least there should be adoption papers and papers detailing how she came to be in an orphanage."

Quatre nodded, closing the file before him in an annoyed manner before setting it down in front of him.

"Both Wufei and Duo are correct lover. There is also something bothering me about this file but for the moment I'm not sure what."

Heero scowled darkly as he began flipping through his eldest brother's file; James Potter husband of Lily Evans.

"Quatre, follow that feeling and find out what it is. If there is something wrong then we need to know."

Quatre nodded, mind running through everything it could possibly come up with from his experience running his father's company. Heero meanwhile, scoffed and caught Trowa's eyes from over the top of his brother's folder.

"At least you have a year's worth of information. I have his birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate and his daughter's birth certificate."

Duo's head whipped around, braid flying out behind him.

"Nothing else?"

Heero shook his head, frustration mounting. What was going on with these files? He had hacked into enough data bases during the war to know that there should have been much more information than this.

"Nothing, school records, medical…there's nothing here."

Tossing down the file in irritation Heero picked up the file of Yuuta Potter, who was apparently his second oldest brother.

"And this one…has a birth certificate, an article from a paper stating he went missing and…a picture."

Quatre pulled himself from his thoughts and leaned forward, curious despite himself as to what the picture was. He could feel their leader's unease but also…a sense of amazement buried somewhere deep down.

"Picture?"

Holding on to the picture for a moment longer Heero finally placed it carefully on the table where everyone could see. This picture was more of a family portrait than anything, he could see that. He could see who had to be his father, with messy black hair so like his own, and laughing blue eyes standing beside who could only be his mother. Sitting in a chair she was a smiling and happy woman of Asian decent with flowing brown hair and smiling dark violet eyes. Sitting at her feet were two boys, one he knew had to be James, as he was the oldest and the only child without any Asian features, appearing to be around 10 or 11 years old. Beside him, smiling happily was another little boy he could only assume to be Yuuta, with spiky tri-colored hair and odd red violet eyes, around 4 or so years old. And then there was himself, for that was who it had to be, cradled lovingly in his mother's arms, no more than an infant.

"Charles, Ami, James, Yuuta…and little Ryouta…A.C. 181."

"…Hee-chan?"

Heero blinked dazedly, looking over at his lover, confusion clear in his eyes.

"Is this…what a family is supposed to look like? They look happy…not like Odin said…"

Duo's eyes cried out as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.

"I…can't tell you lover. I've never had that…but I think that is what it's supposed to be like. I'm sorry you didn't get to have that."

As the others attempted to get their bearings back, Wufei carefully took the file of the other two adults from the center of the table. He wished there was something he could do to help, but what could he do? His own clan hadn't exactly been the best example of what a family should be. He was just as clueless as the others when it came to what normal people considered 'family'. Holding back a sigh, Wufei began absently flipping through the folders in front of him, grimacing the further he got.

"This is disgusting."

Quatre frowned at the muttered words and looked up from where he had been whispering quietly to Trowa.

"Wufei?"

Wufei snorted and tossed the Dursley family photo onto the table where all of them grimaced at the sight.

"Alright…that's just wrong."

This family was nothing like any of the pictures they had looked at before. Two were obese, and sadly one was the 6 year old child. And the other was rather obviously anorexic. They also looked to be coming straight out of some Before Colony TV soap opera, they just looked that fake.

"Other than…their disturbing appearances…and the lack of any kind of resemblance to you or your sister…Petunia and Vernon Dursley have records spanning their entire lives. No discrepancies that I can tell from these files."

The others finished collecting themselves now that they had something else to focus on and Quatre nodded before taking the Dursley boy's file, almost afraid of what he would find.

"They really need to put this child on a diet. But other than that…no apparent discrepancies."

Duo frowned and took the file of Esmerelda Potter in his hands.

"So far it seems to be limited to the Potter family; including those marrying into it."

Everyone nodded, that was the only conclusion they could draw right now. Glancing at the pictures now spread on the table for comparison Duo carefully opened the folder he had and promptly saw red. Saying nothing as the others voiced their concern over his sudden tenseness Duo flipped quickly through the rather small file, reading Une's personal notes as well as noting what was and wasn't in the file.

With a snarl Duo threw the only picture in the file onto the table on top of the photo of the Dursley family.

"Esmerelda Leanne Potter, supposed ward of the Dursley family, 6 years old."

His wording was noted by all but they were too concerned at the moment with staring at the picture in front of them. There was no way this child was 6 years old. She was small and thin, they could see that in what little of her skin was shown from beneath the worn and baggy clothes that would obviously be much more suited to her much larger cousin. Her skin was pale and her cheeks appeared to be slightly sunken, there was little baby fat on this child. Her hair was also ragged and knotted, but it was her eyes that stuck with them, those tired and weary emerald orbs that stood out brightly against the rest of her pale appearance.

This wasn't what they had expected, or wanted to see, at all.

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They were so loud, the other kids. They ran and screamed, yelling when their friends were right in front of them…yet they weren't scared or angry. Well, maybe Dudley was, but the others weren't.

She would never understand them. Didn't they know that making more noise would get them in trouble? That they wouldn't get any food and would have to stay in the dark for a long time? But…Dudley never had to stay in the dark or be hungry.

Was it just her who was bad?

Emerald eyes dimming at the thought, the small girl turned from the door and made her way back inside, towards the library where she knew no one would bother her. Not even Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would bother her when she was in a library. Maybe it was because you weren't allowed to be loud in a library. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were always loud. Dudley too. But she never was. If you were quiet then no one would bother you. They forgot you were there and then everything was alright because if they forgot you then they couldn't hurt you.

Moving silently through the shelves filled with things within which to loose herself the child came to a stop and carefully selected a rather large book that had caught her eye. Holding the large book in her hands she frowned, confused, and brushed off the cover which, for some reason, was covered in dust. She had never seen a book in either the school or public library that was covered in dust. And she had definitely never seen one as old as this one before.

Brushing off the cover some more she scanned the title, interest causing a light to flow back into her jewel toned eyes. This looked interesting. And it was about something that had caught her interest only a little bit ago.

It was very recently that her teacher had told them stories and let them watch a movie about the Pyramids of Egypt and the Kings that had once ruled there; she had called them Pharaohs. That had been around a week ago, and though she had looked this was the first book she had found having to do with the subject.

The Kings of Egypt

Excited, the small girl wasted no time in taking the large, old book over to a table in a far back corner and settling down to read. And it wasn't long before her own problems disappeared and she became engrossed in the stories the book held, unaware that from just behind a nearby shelf a pair of dull blue eyes watched her closely for a moment before disappearing as if they had never been there at all.

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"So what are we going to do?"

Quatre waited patiently as the others thought it out; though he was nearly positive he knew what their decision would be. The question was…how would they go about it and what would the outcome be for those involved?

Trowa looked over at their leader, silently asking his newly-discovered brother-in-law's opinion, though he knew his own was already shinning in his visible eye, as was his resolve. Heero nodded and glanced around to discern the others reactions, before making the final decision.

"We cannot leave the girl where she is."

Duo growled as he nodded.

"Of course not! If so then what did we fight for?"

Wufei sighed, feeling the weight in his chest that he had come to associate with regret over the last few years. Had they really not made a true difference? Had his clan's sacrifice been for nothing? Had the second war changed nothing just as the first war hadn't? Pushing those doubts to the back of his mind as quickly as possible he resolved to meditate on it later, focusing on being the voice of reason for the moment.

"That is true…but what will happen should we intervene?"

Four pairs of eyes focused on him and Wufei blinked a moment before continuing.

"What do you plan to do?"

Trowa frowned, the question confusing him just as much as the emotion he could see hidden in those depthless orbs that he found he couldn't identify; though he certainly didn't like it being there.

"What do you mean?"

Quatre too frowned as he rubbed at his chest, his attention focused on Wufei as he almost absently answered his lover's question.

"I think he means what will happen to the child. Her living arrangements and such…correct?"

Wufei nodded as he looked once more at the picture of the child.

"Yes. Will you put her in an orphanage? …Or will you take her in?"

Heero frowned darkly for a moment, reaching out and wrapping one iron bending hand around the other Oriental's bicep.

"This is a group decision. That means that you are included as well."

Duo nodded and leaned to see around his lover, grin firmly in place.

"That's right 'Fei! So no more of this 'you' stuff alright? It's 'we', just as it always has been."

Quatre smiled and nodded his agreement as Trowa smirked beside him, both keeping their eyes firmly on their fifth.

Wufei hesitated for a moment before submitting to the others wills and words with a slight bow of his head, saying nothing despite the turmoil he could feel roiling inside himself once again.

"As for your question 'Fei, I say we raise her."

Four pairs of eyes locked on the braided pilot, each expressing their opinions on his level of sanity. Trowa was surprisingly the one who voiced it however.

"Five former terrorists, MALE terrorists at that, raising a young, likely abused, female?"

Quatre glared lightly at his lover, though he didn't deny the truth of that statement either.

"Duo, why not an orphanage; with people who would know how to care for her as we do not?"

The braided American crossed his arms over his chest, violet eyes darkening as he looked out into the tree's where the evening light was just beginning to filter in through the branches.

"Orphanage's aren't always the greatest of places to be. While Father Maxwell and Sister Helen did their best, they were shorthanded and a lot of the time they weren't able to give the kids the attention they all needed. I was also adopted a good number of times; and always returned. I've been there…and I don't want to see another child go through that if there is something I can do."

Violet eyes turned back to the photo they had left out on the table, taking in the eyes that reminded him so much of his own. There was a lack of hope in those eyes that told him she didn't expect to be saved. That this was all she really knew and she doubted there was anything else out there for her. He had seen those eyes every time he was returned from another home where he had been promised he would be loved and cared for. Every time that promise was broken he had seen that look…until eventually he had stopped believing.

He didn't want this child to stop believing as he once had.

"…Alright."

Everyone turned to look at Heero, noting the determined look in his eyes as he met each of theirs.

"I…am willing to try."

Quatre bit his lip gently for a moment before nodding.

"I'm sure one of my sisters would be willing to give us advice."

Wufei too nodded.

"It wouldn't be fair of us to save her only to leave her."

Trowa smiled, saying nothing as he nodded to their leader; expressing his opinion through his eyes alone as he looked over their group. This was his family. He had fought beside them, suffered beside them and at times even fought for them. This was the family he had chosen to stand by and the ones he had chosen to protect.

And if they were going to add a child to their midst, he had no problem extending his protection to her as well.

"Then we're agreed. She'll come live with us."

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She hadn't meant to, really she hadn't. But she had gotten so caught up in the book that she didn't even notice as the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day. She did notice, however, when a hand was placed lightly on her shoulder about an hour later.

Flinching away from the touch the small six year old tensed before a soft, soothing voice flowed over her, easing the tension in her body.

"I'm very happy to see you enjoy reading Esmerelda, one would not be able to tell by your performance in class."

Esmerelda frowned lightly, making sure to hide the expression behind her curtain of tangled black locks. That was something she hated, but knew was necessary. She wasn't allowed to do better than Dudley. If she did then she was beaten and left in the darkness with no food. She also wasn't allowed to tell anyone either, so the small girl pasted a smile on her face and looked up into her teachers calm silver eyes.

"I'm just looking at the pictures."

It was a lie of course, and while she didn't like to lie, she did know that it would make things easier in the long run.

Astoria Langstrom smiled lightly down into those earnest eyes, accepting the lie with ease even though she was well aware of what it truly was.

"Is that so? Well then, why don't you keep it?"

Emerald eyes widened in shocked surprise.

"But it's a library book!"

Astoria smiled and gently took the book from the child's small hands, frowning for just a second as she spotted bruises on those delicate arms as the child's long sleeves moved. Catching her expression the teacher flipped through the book before gently closing it and handing it to the girl.

"This isn't one of ours. Someone must have left it here. So you are welcome to it."

Awe in nearly every line of her body Esmerelda took the book carefully from her teacher, almost expecting it to be taken away as soon as she touched it as Uncle Vernon would have done. But it wasn't and for a moment she felt ashamed for even thinking that her favorite teacher would do something that cruel to her when the young woman had done nothing but care for her since school had begun.

"Thank you Ms. Astoria."

Nodding Astoria watched as the child reverently placed the book in her worn backpack and ran from the library with one last wave of her tiny hand.

"I wish there was more I could do for you. But I know I am a better help here…than anywhere else right now. I'm sorry, Esmerelda Potter."

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A/N: Well I have persevered! And in a decent amount of time too! Go me! Lol. Anyways I am now almost to graduation date and am currently flipping out since I will be relocating as soon as I find a job in my career…now if it was only cities I would be fine…but I'm looking at states away! Freaking! And there is so much that needs to be done before then!

So with that little freak out fest…I will get to the point…I am trying to write but school is coming first and sadly so are my freak out sessions! But I am trying and still nothing is abandoned.

Thanks and review!