Past Mistakes
Chapter three
Sibling Similarity
To his growing horror, Harry found out that they would travel by floo. He hated the floo. And when Lily stepped into the roaring, green flames and uttered "Godric's Hollow. Potter Cottage." He felt like throwing up. James -he refused to think of him as his father- nudged his elbow and Harry reluctantly followed.
Soon enough, he stumbled out of another fireplace, planting his face gracefully on the floor. "Ow." He muttered, slowly picking himself up. He refrained from looking around, even as James appeared next, almost trampling him in the process.
"Merlin!" He exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!" He looked him over concernedly. "I forgot you're not well yet." He looked guilty and a little sheepish at the thought. Harry said nothing, but kept his gaze fixed on his own shoes. "I'll take you to the guest room. You can rest as long as you want." He assured him worriedly.
Harry simply nodded.
"The kids are over at a friend's house at the moment. We thought it best if you had some peace and quiet before being pestered by them." James continued, as if he didn't notice Harry's growing discomfort.
"Thanks." Harry murmured wearily, trudging after James up the stairs.
"Lily will let you know once lunch is ready." Harry nodded and was then left alone. He looked around. He was in a room dominated by a large bed, with curtains in a soft blue colour. The walls were a creamy white with blue flowers. It gave, all in all, a very soothing impression. Harry stumbled over to the bed -already exhausted- and collapsed on top of it. He didn't even bother to take off his glasses before he was asleep.
.o.O.o.
"Can we at least go upstairs a take a peek at him?" Her only daughter asked for what felt like the tenth time.
"Absolutely not!" Lily prompted, leaving no room for argument. Dorea visibly deflated.
"But it's not fair! You and dad already met him." She complained. Sebastian simply waited silently beside her. He was the only of her children who had inherited her red hair. The rest of them had James' black, unruly bird's nest. Harry, of course, had her eyes, and so did Sebastian. He looked more like her than James, even thought you could see the similarities in the shape of his face and his mouth. Dorea, on the other hand, had both James' hair and eyes. She was almost an exact replica of her father, even down to her temperament and personality. She could be outright reckless from time to time, and Lily couldn't help but sigh and send her husband an exasperated look. To which he only grinned sheepishly.
"If he's tired, then we will let him sleep." Lily cut her daughter off. "He's been through a lot." She added, just for good measure.
"But-"
"I'm sure we will have lots of time to get to know him, Rea. Especially when we go to Hogwarts." Sebastian said calmly, eyeing his sister impatiently.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Where's Harry, then?" She changed the subject.
Lily felt like rolling her eyes. And wasn't that a startling thought? They now had two Harry... They'd have to do something about that.
"He hasn't come back yet." She said, turning back to her cooking. Their unexpected guest had slept all through lunch and it would soon be dinnertime. Lily could easily admit she was worried about him. Seventeen or not, he was so thin! And he had a haunted look in his eyes she never wanted to see in any child ever again.
"When will he be back?" Sebastian asked evenly.
Lily glanced at the clock on the wall. "In a few minutes." She assured. "Your father is getting him as we speak."
"Ok." And Sebastian walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Dorea watched him incredulously a moment, before deflating and following suit. Lily smiled. If those two hadn't been born as twins, she didn't know what she would have done.
By the time James and Harry arrived, Lily was finishing setting the table, making sure to add an extra plate.
"He's still not down?" James glanced towards the stairs, a worried frown marring his face. Lily shook her head.
"I'll go and wake him up." She said, putting down the last plate.
"Let me!" Dorea jumped up from her seat.
"No. Leave it to your mother." James voice interrupted before she could run off.
Harry just listened to it all with a perplexed, pensive look on his face. Lily wondered what all this was like for him.
"Wait here. I'll go and get him, and then we'll eat." Lily smiled at her pouting daughter. Sebastian simply nodded expectantly.
Lily headed up the stairs and nervously approached their guest bedroom. Sirius or Remus were its most usual occupants, but not at the moment. James had practically had to threaten Sirius to make sure the man didn't come barging in tonight. She somehow couldn't picture this Harry to appreciate even more people staring at him and questioning him. Lily knocked gently on the door.
"Harry?" She called out uncertainly. "Are you awake?" No answer. She took a deep breath and slowly cracked the door open and peered inside. The curtains were drawn and it took a moment to adjust to the muted light. She opened the door completely and stepped inside, staring at the dark figure on the bed. "Harry." She spoke softly as she gently took a hold of the boy's shoulder to shake him awake. The response was immediate. Harry shot up off the bed and had his wand pointed at her face in a matter of seconds. Lily stood frozen beside the bed.
"Uh, Harry?" She wondered if he remembered where he was.
Harry blinked and found himself staring up in an achingly familiar face. His own green eyes were blinking back at him with concern. His gaze fell to his wand, which he held pointing at the woman's face. Blushing, he immediately lowered it.
"I- I'm so sorry." He stammered confusedly. "W-where...?"
"You're in Godric's Hollow, in our home." Lily told him with a small, tentative smile. Harry took a few deep breaths and slowly sank down to sit on the bed.
"You're Lily Potter." Harry mumbled tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face. There was a multitude of emotions in his voice when speaking her name. Lily almost flinched at the suppressed grief, longing and... fear?
"I am." She answered calmly. "Dinner is ready." She added at his questioning glance. "The rest of the family is downstairs. But if you don't feel up to it, I can say you wanted to sleep some more and bring you a plate later."
"...That's ok. I can't hide out here all the time." Harry muttered wryly. "But, thank you." He really appreciated the offer. More than she might realise. Lily nodded and led the way towards the door, but Harry hesitated. "Uhm."
Lily turned to look at him.
"What are they expecting of me?" He asked her hesitantly. The only family dinner he had ever truly been part of, was with the Weasleys.
"Expecting of you? Nothing. You eat, and then do whatever you want." Lily answered, a mystified expression on her face. "We've told them who you are already, along with a quick explanation as to how you ended up here." She assured him, wondering if that was why he seemed so nervous.
Harry simply nodded and followed her down the stairs. He could hear the friendly banter even before he saw them, and it felt as if a cold hand took hold of his heart. Lily went to her seat, but Harry found himself unable to join them. He didn't belong here. He ended up staring at his counterpart. He could tell -even when the bloke was sitting down- that he was taller and sturdier than him. His green eyes shone with suppressed laughter in an unguarded way Harry's never had.
"Hi!" The girl -his sister?- exclaimed excitedly, drawing everyone's attention to Harry. He couldn't press out a smile, so he simply nodded warily. "You don't look like our brother." She pointed out, staring from Harry to his counterpart and back again.
"We've led very different lives." Harry answered mutedly as he edged over to the empty chair. He didn't know if he ought to be glad it was next to Lily.
"How can you tell?" The girl looked perplexed. Harry's eyes shot to first Lily and then James.
"I just can." He shrugged. "What's your name?"
"You mean there's no me in your world?" She sounded torn between pouting and snickering. Harry shook his head. "I'm Dorea. This is my baby brother Sebastian." She introduced what must be her twin. Harry felt himself staring at the younger boy, that might have been his sibling if his parents hadn't been murdered.
"You look a lot like your mother." Harry mused softly.
"I know." Sebastian nodded. "We're twelve and will begin our second year at Hogwarts in September." He informed evenly. "We're both in Gryffindor." He added after a moment's thought.
"Me too." The other Harry said. "But you already knew that, right?"
"I suppose." Harry wasn't so sure, thought. The Sorting hat had wanted to place him in Slytherin.
"Is it true you're really seventeen?" The other Harry asked curiously.
Harry nodded as Lily began to fill his plate with food.
"So what are your grades like? You must've taken your NEWTs by now." James asked.
Harry hesitated. "I didn't go back for my seventh year." He slowly revealed. There was a stunned silence around the table for a moment.
"And mum let you do that?" Sebastian asked curiously. He shot his mother an incredulous look.
"...there were certain circumstances." Harry muttered. Damn it. He wasn't exactly doing himself any favours here.
"Your world was at war." Lily said as calmly as she was capable of. Harry simply nodded. How bad must it have been for her son not to go back to school?
Harry remained silent for most of the dinner, listening to the conversations of the family he had been forced to stay with. He truly would have preferred to stay at Hogwarts, even if he had been all alone. As dinner was wrapping up, Lily took up an issue she had contemplated all day.
"So." She got the rest of the table's occupant's attention. "We can't have two Harry in one house. It'll be far too confusing." She began lightly.
"Uh.." Harry blinked. "You're free to call me something else." He shrugged. He glanced at his counterpart. It wouldn't really be fair to expect the boy to give up his name in addition to sharing his family.
"Are you sure?" James asked.
Harry nodded. "Yes. I am proud of the name my parents gave me, but I can see how it would quickly become confusing."
"Pick something cool." Dorea cut in, grinning at him.
Harry glanced at Lily uncertainly. Bloody hell, this was difficult.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Lily asked. Harry shook his head. "Then James and I will think about it." She shot her husband a warm smile. James had to bite back a grin.
"It's as if we're expecting all over again." He joked. At Harry's confused look, he explained. "Lily and I argued almost the entire pregnancy when Sebastian and Dorea were about to be born."
"Oh." He hadn't thought about that. "So what do we do after dinner?" He asked, just to have something to say.
"Whatever we want." Harry said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's the summer holidays."
"Are there any chores I should be aware of?" Harry eventually asked, feeling very out of place.
"Not really." Lily waved the question away. "I manage most things on my own. Otherwise I'll let you know."
This was truly bizarre. When Lily began to clear the table, Harry automatically rose to help her. The other children just stared in wonder as he began to do the dishes.
"You don't have to do that, you know." James said, hiding his conflicting emotions. Harry looked up, as if startled.
"I'm used to it." He shrugged. "And I don't mind." He added, just in case. And he truly didn't. As a matter of fact, he found the familiar movements calming, and it gave him a chance to think and gather his thoughts. He effectively ignored the flabbergasted looks he recieved from the children in the room, but they eventually just shrugged and moved into the sitting room.
It was some time later, when Harry was sitting on the couch, watching the three siblings play a round of exploding snap, that Lily approached him.
"Harry." She said to get his attention. His counterpart also raised his head at the sound of the name. Lily grinned. "James and I have been discussing it, and what do you think of Damien?" She waited expectantly for a response. "I've always like that name."
"Uh, sure. Why not?" Harry, now Damien, said. "So, uh, Damien, huh." He tried the name out and shrugged. "I don't have anything against it."
"Damien. That's cool." Dorea grinned widely. "This is brilliant. Like suddenly getting another brother!" She laughed.
"So, Damien. Would you like to join our game here or what?" Sebastian asked. It seemed everyone wanted to try saying his new -even if it was temporary- name at least once.
"Sure." Damien slid off the couch and joined the others on the floor.
.o.O.o.
