My Big Baby Brother
By Ammie Hawk
Author's Note: Okay, I know I haven't written on practically anything for a year now, but it's time once again for my 12 days of Christmas. I'm trying my best to get out the allotted chapters, but life gave me a Christmas present this year and I now have 2 jobs, so it's going to be slow. However, here's the first installment of my Christmas presents to all of you. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 3: Mind Healers and Information
As soon as they arrived home from shopping, Harry sent the boys, who were starting to lag from their trip, upstairs for naps. This pronouncement had been met with rather loud objections, mostly from the hyperactive Duo, but in the end he had gotten his way and the five boys were now safely enclosed in their respective bedrooms. In the meantime, the Boy-Who-Lived was going to take this opportunity to make a few calls.
He made his way to the living room and quickly located his jar of floo powder. He grabbed a pinch and after lighting a small fire with his wand, tossed it into the flames.
"Madam Pomfrey, Hospital Wing, Hogwarts," he said just before he inserted his head into the green flames.
Within moments, he was looking around the office of the school nurse, but he didn't see the aforementioned nurse anywhere in sight.
"Madam Pomfrey?" he called out, hoping she was nearby.
"Who's there?" the nurse's confused voice floated in from the outer ward, and Harry belatedly thought that it was possible she could be with an injured student.
"It's Harry Potter," he called back, and really hoped she wasn't busy.
"Oh," she said as she entered the office. "And what have you done this time?"
"Eh, heh," he chuckled nervously, "well you see, ma'am, it's not me actually. I have someone at my house that I'd like you to take a look at, if you're not busy that is."
"What seems to be the problem?" she asked, her manner now turning professional.
"Well," he licked his lips, "I recently found out I have a brother. But that's not the issue. Apparently he was in an accident awhile back and lost his memory. He got it back, mostly, according to his friends, but there's still bits and pieces missing, and I was wondering, hoping really, that you might be able to help him."
"I'm not sure how much help I will be exactly," Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I'm not a Mind Healer, Potter. But I can drop by for a few minutes and take a look."
"Anything you can do would be helpful," Harry grinned. "I just kinda don't want to take him to St. Mungo's if I don't have to. The press would have a field day if something like this got out."
"I understand," she nodded. "Now stand aside. I'll come through now, if that's alright? I currently don't have any patients, but with the accident rate at this school that could change at any moment."
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," he nodded and then withdrew his head from the fire.
A moment later the healer came through the fire and began dusting herself off. Harry stepped forward to welcome her into his home.
888
Meanwhile, upstairs, the boys, who were supposed to be napping, all snuck out of their own rooms and congregated in Heero and Duo's room. As soon as they were all seated in various spots, four sets of eyes turned to the unibanged pilot, waiting for his report from earlier.
Trowa let out a sigh before beginning, "From what I was able to gather, it seems my brother may be more like us than we thought."
"Whatcha mean, Tro?" the braided boy asked from his position belly flopped on his and Heero's shared bed.
The former Heavyarms pilot's hands clenched in his lap as he thought back to the conversation he'd overheard earlier. He then recited word for word what he had heard. It took about five minutes to cover everything, despite the fact that what he'd actually heard being less than two minutes worth of speaking as he included his thoughts on who the various people mentioned were. By the time he had finished, the other boys all had various expressions on their faces, ranging from Quatre's sad look that other children had gone through what they had, to Heero's slight frown as he mentally sorted through the new information that had just been given them.
"Are we assuming then that Harry and his friends fought as part of Mariemaya's army?" Wufei finally asked, breaking the silence and turning puzzled eyes to the others. "Because as far as I am aware they had no earth based soldiers—everyone was trained and supplied with weapons on the colonies themselves. That means that logically, they wouldn't have been able to fight on that side. However, they could've fought on the side of the Earth Sphere during that conflict."
Trowa nodded thoughtfully, "True, but Harry would've only been twelve during the Eve Wars and as far as we know there weren't any rebels younger than us."
"All we can conclude," the blond leaned against his lover's side, "is that he hasn't had an easy life up to this point. For all we know it could be nothing more than a school thing."
"Hn," Heero pulled out his laptop and started searching for information. What did it really matter to him if this house didn't have internet access, he'd hack into the Preventers network if he had to.
"Kitty Quat's right," Duo chimed in, propping his chin on his hands, "there's lots of things that can make someone warped. Just cause he acts like us doesn't mean he was a soldier boy. Hey, hey, hey, maybe… maybe he's a gang boss! I mean, he's got scars and stuff. Anyone else notice the back of his right hand? Looked like someone got a dull knife and started carving into it. I couldn't read it though, seems like he don't want it seen, least not by us runts."
"I noticed it as well," the Chinese boy nodded. "The first part looked like it said, 'I will not', but I couldn't make out the rest. I believe you may be right about him keeping it from us. Though they didn't look fresh, they were at least a couple years old."
The other four pilots cringed minutely at the idea of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old undergoing that kind of torture. They had gone through worse during the wars, of course, but that had been so that no one else would have to. The idea that Trowa's little brother had been hurt that way did not sit well with them.
A small sound of surprise jerked all of their attention to Heero, who was staring at his computer screen with wide eyes. Knowing their fellow pilot was not easy to shock, the others all quickly gathered around him and the machine.
"What's up, Hee-chan?" Duo demanded, trying to look over the Wing pilot's shoulder. "What'd ya find?"
Heero pushed the computer back slightly, so everyone could see. Within a few minutes, all of them were staring at the screen in shock. This was NOT what they had been expecting.
"Well," Quatre cleared his throat, "that answers one question."
The article on the screen told of the death of cult leader Tom Marvolo Riddle, who had "terrorized" Great Britain off and on for twenty years and had been responsible for more than a thousand deaths. According to the article, Riddle and his cult the "Death Eaters" had been stalking, attacking, and taunting a young man for four years prior to his death. The young man, who wished to remain nameless, ended up killing him in self-defense late last May. And there in the middle of the screen, receiving an award for services rendered to the nation and trying to avoid the camera, was a very uncomfortable looking Harry Potter.
"Whoa," amethyst eyes widened as he leaned over Heero's shoulder for a better look. "Tro, your little bro is a lot like us!"
"Quatre's right, it does answer one question," Wufei scowled. "But it brings forth so many more. Why haven't we heard about this before? And why were the Preventers not called in to deal with the situation?"
"What else is my brother hiding?" emerald eyes hardened slightly, as he looked around at the others, as if they could answer his questions.
"So it appears that Harry and his friends were fighting against this Riddle character and his Death Eaters," the former Sandrock pilot shook his head. "And that explains so much. But it's not something we can help, it's over now, all we can do is help him feel at ease with us."
"Hn," the shaggy haired brunet nodded slowly. "We know the Preventers were not called in, it sounds like was happening before the Eve Wars even started, and from Harry's evasions and half explanations we can assume that he knows far more than he has said. Also, if this cult specifically targeted children it would make sense for them to be taught how to defend themselves."
The unibanged boy relaxed slightly as he realized that maybe, just maybe, his brother hadn't fought against him in the war. If he hadn't then, should he eventually learn of their pasts, at least there wouldn't be the worry of past grudges from actual events during the war, hopefully. There was still the possibility that Harry had connections to someone that was hurt due to a Gundam attack or in a search for the pilots but he'd known about that risk before. Those things were a lot easier to accept than the possibility that he might have been in a battle against his brother. If he had been in one of the suits OZ had sent after them in the first half of the Eve Wars then he could've killed Harry and never known it. His little brother could have died by his hand….
Trowa didn't realize that he had tensed again until he felt his blond lover wrap his slightly smaller arms around him and his body relaxed into his boyfriend's hold. Letting out a soft breath, he pushed the thoughts of what could have been away and tried to relax, focusing on his feelings for the small blond instead. Quatre beamed up at him as he felt Trowa's love and gave the other boy a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Ya know, there is one bright spot among all this gloom and doom," Duo grinned.
"Oh?" the others looked at him confused.
"Yep," the braided head bobbed up and down eagerly. "If this Riddle asshole really was stalkin' him, he's more than likely ta have some high tech security shit, right? Maybe not as high tech as our shit but still better than the run o' the mill, everyday shit piles ya see everywhere else."
Heero's brow creased in thought, but he could see the merit in what his lover was saying. He was about to open his mouth to agree but stopped as they all heard muffled steps coming up the stairs. Thinking quickly, Heero snapped the laptop shut and stuffed it under the bed, while the others all piled on the bed and proceeded to feign sleep, since they were supposed to be taking a nap.
They strained to hear a door open in the hallway, and Harry's surprisingly muffled voice. Then a moment later, the door opened and soft chuckles filled their ears. They heard their new guardian stealthily cross the room and come to a stop next to the bed.
"Trowa," he called quietly, they assumed he was trying not to disturb the rest of them. "Trowa."
The one visible green eye opened and locked with the other matching set above it.
"I need you to come with me, Trowa," the raven haired teen whispered. "Try not to disturb the others, okay?"
The former Heavyarms pilot nodded, and Harry took his leave as he disentangled himself from the others.
"Psst, Tro-wa," one amethyst eyes peeked open, "try and keep him busy. We'll use this time to have looksie around."
The unibanged boy nodded and then slipped quietly from the room. The other four quickly followed his lead and got off the bed.
"Trowa won't be able to keep Harry occupied forever," Wufei stretched as best he could. "I'll check kitchen area and the back garden."
"Hee-chan and I'll take a poke upstairs," Duo beamed, grabbing his boyfriend's hand.
"Duo will take upstairs," a cobalt glare was leveled on the braided boy. "I'll take the ground floor and the front of the house. Quatre, take this floor and check all the rooms."
The blond nodded, "We shouldn't worry about setting things up tonight. We'll make a list of what we need to do when we regroup."
With that they split up to finally check out the place they had now found themselves in.
88
Trowa followed Harry down the stairs and into the front room. He was about to ask what was going on when he noticed someone else in the room. It was a woman, in her fifties or sixties if he had to guess, and dressed in a rather old fashioned nurse's outfit. She looked nice enough, and the raven haired teen seemed relaxed in her company, but Trowa was surprised, and more than a little wary. They hadn't heard a door bell or car pull up from upstairs, so when had she arrived? How long had a stranger been inside the house with them, and why had none of them noticed?
"Trowa?" his brother called his attention away from the newcomer and his racing thoughts. "This is my old school nurse, Madam Pomfrey. I asked her to come here and take a look at you. She just needs to ask you a few questions."
The former Heavyarms pilot nodded slowly, but made no move toward the nurse, noting that Harry hadn't asked if he wanted to be examined by a stranger, even if his brother knew her quite well. The older, for now, teen was watching him closely and Trowa turned a carefully blank stare on him. However, Harry seemed to read the look quite well though and just motioned him forward.
"It won't take long," the Boy-Who-Lived shook his head, "and maybe she'll be able to tell us someone who can help you get the rest of your memories back."
The unibanged boy hesitated a moment before finally moving. He had to remember that he was a child now and if his brother, who was now his guardian, wanted him to be looked at by a medical professional then he couldn't say no, well not without good reason anyway. And besides, he was just a little bit curious as to how Harry had gotten to know the school nurse well enough for her to make a house call for a student that had already gradutated.
"You looked after my brother?" he asked quietly, leveling his one visible eye on the nurse.
"To tell you the truth," she beamed at him, motioning him towards one of the living room chairs, "he was one of my more frequent patients. The stories I could tell you about the mishaps Mr. Potter and his two friends got into. They were worse than when your father was in school."
Trowa saw Harry wince slightly out of the corner of his eye and carefully hid his amusement as he sat down; putting the fact that Madam Pomfrey had apparently looked after their father aside for later examination. Information on his brother was more important to him right now.
"What sort of trouble did they get into?" his brow rose curiously.
"I'm not sure Madam Pomfrey's stories about me are something she should be telling you about, Trowa," the raven haired wizard cut in. "Though I'm sure she knows some good ones about Mum and Dad, right Madam Pomfrey?"
"Oh yes," Madam Pomfrey chuckled at the brothers' antics. "The stunts your father would pull. But we can talk about that later. Trowa was it?" the boy nodded. "Well, Trowa, Harry told me you remember some things from before your accident. Can you tell me if you remembered them gradually or all in one go?"
"All at once," he didn't feel like explaining that that had only been because of his piloting the Zero system.
The nurse nodded, making notes on a clipboard Trowa hadn't seen before, "And have you remembered anything since that point?"
Trowa shook his head, now thinking of a plausible cover story on what had caused him to lose his memories if she asked. It probably wasn't the best idea to say his mobile suit was blown up in outer space by his boyfriend.
"I see," she frowned slightly. "Well, I can do a few tests now, but I think I should leave you with the name of a Mind Healer."
"That would be fine," Harry nodded. "Just as long as they can keep their mouths shut."
"Of course," she rolled her eyes and stood up.
She pulled something long and thin from her bag and moved behind Trowa before aforementioned pilot could get a good look at it. The former terrorist tensed instinctively, he did not like some strange person going behind him especially when they had strange instruments. He made to turn around so he could keep an eye on her, but suddenly Harry was crouched in front of him, holding his hands.
"Just stay still," he smiled kindly. "It'll all be over in a few seconds and then you can go."
Trowa stayed still, his eyes fixed on his brother's. Harry's eyes were as green as his own, but where his were unreadable, Harry's were open books. The unibanged boy could see the concern and warmth in them, and also the need to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. To Trowa it seemed like no time had passed at all before Madam Pomfrey was stepping away from him and saying that she had everything she needed and the moment between the brothers was broken.
"All done, dear," she moved over to her bag and began putting her things away. "Mr. Potter, I will be in touch later, I need to have a look at these first. Then I can get you in touch with the best person for the job required.
"Oh?" the former Gryffindor noticed Trowa stiffen slightly. "Anything we should be worried about?"
"No," she smiled reassuringly. "It's just standard procedure."
She stood up and the pair escorted her into the hallway. Trowa watched carefully as Harry let her out the front door and then fiddled with the portal for a few seconds. When the teen had finished, he turned and smiled down at the chibified boy.
"So, should we see if the others are up yet, or do you want to help me pick out something for dinner?"
"I'll help with dinner," Trowa answered quietly, spotting Heero lurking in the shadows. "Do you think we have to go to this presentation tonight?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "I was actually planning on calling one of my friends in to act as babysitter. You don't have to come if you don't want to, in fact it'll probably be really boring to the five of you."
The brothers made their way down to the kitchen, where Harry began searching through the pantry. As Trowa waited, he looked around the kitchen once again. It still puzzled him a bit why someone Harry's age would need a house this size. True, he had a boyfriend, but it was still really big. In fact this room alone looked like it could fit ten to twenty people without being overcrowded. He posed this question, in simpler terms, and his brother looked up and smiled.
"Oh, that, well," the wizard stumbled a bit, as if trying to find the right way to say this, "you see, I have a lot of friends and familyish people that visit. I mean, Bill's family is huge, he has five brothers and a sister and they visit regularly. And until I was seventeen, a lot of people lived here on a semi-regular basis. It does seem a bit big for me, but it was left to me by my godfather, so I just kinda took it over."
"So you grew up here?" Trowa asked curiously, that would make sense. If their parents had died awhile back, he would naturally go to his godfather.
"No," Harry's face went blank. There was a moment's pause and then he continued, in a less agitated tone, "My relatives wouldn't have liked it here, too abnormal for them."
The former pilot felt a twinge of sorrow at his words. Despite his apparent nonchalance, Harry had said those words with an undercoat of venom. Had his life been that bad? Of course, they didn't really know anything about their new guardian's past, except little things, and what they had just found out upstairs.
"Anyway, that's all in the past," the Boy-Who-Lived shook his head. "What do you want to eat? Any favorites?"
Staring at his brother, the unibanged boy shrugged. He really didn't have any preferences, save that the food was edible. And even if it wasn't, he could still eat it if he had to, as could the others. Even after the war, he and Heero probably would've lived off microwave dinners had the other pilots not taken it upon themselves to make sure that they didn't.
"Well," Harry just smiled, "we'll just have to fix that. Does macaroni and cheese sound good?"
Trowa nodded, it sounded fine to him. The raven haired teen finally came out of the pantry with several small boxes in his hands.
"Could you grab a saucepan for me?" Harry motioned with his elbow to the cupboard next to the stove, and when Trowa had retrieved it he nodded toward the sink. "And now fill it about halfway with water."
The former Heavyarms pilot did so, getting the pan on the stove before stepping back and watching Harry start the stove. The wizard then began pulling ingredients for a salad out of the fridge. Trowa just watched, even if it was a bit unusual for an eighteen-year-old boy to be so familiar with the kitchen, it was nice seeing his brother acting normal.
Harry smiled as Trowa stayed with him as he started dinner, instead of running back upstairs to be with his friends. It was still a bit early for dinner, but since they had missed lunch while they were shopping, he knew the boys needed to eat something more substantial than the ice cream they had earlier. He figured they could have something else before they went to bed with whoever he got to watch them for the evening. Speaking of which, he still needed to call Cho.
The younger, for now, brother was enjoying the companionable silence of the kitchen when he saw Harry suddenly stiffen and look toward the stairs. He was about to ask what was wrong when the raven haired teen burst out, "Bloody Hell!" and dashed out of the room and headed for the stairs.
88
After the boys had split up, Duo headed upstairs to snoop around. It didn't take him long to investigate the third floor, so he decided to check out the attic. After about twenty minutes of poking around the fully finished attic, he still hadn't found much but a lot of old junk and dust. There were several old fashioned trunks full of weird old clothes, but they held little interest for the former street rat. Just as he was about to head back downstairs, though, he spotted a door in the back corner, half hidden behind a sheet draped chair. He made his way over and tried the doorknob, which was locked.
"Weeelll," the braided boy chuckled to himself as he grabbed the aforementioned braid and deftly pulled a lock pick out of it, "what is Harry boy hiding in here? I think I'll just have looksie."
It was frustrating to all the boys that they knew so little about their new guardian. If he was keeping this door locked, maybe there would be some answers in there. Secrets were usually kept behind locked doors and Duo was determined to find out what they were.
After a couple minutes of trying, the self proclaimed Shinigami was getting frustrated and highly confused. This was the first lock he had not been able to open in less than a minute in over five years! He was sure the tumblers were aligned, yet it still remained firmly shut. What in the name of all things gundanium was going on here?
Stepping back, he scowled at the door. He tried his pick one more time, but when that didn't work he hauled off and punched the door as hard as he could just above the stubborn lock, muttering in frustration, "Open up you goddamned thing!" To his immense surprise, he heard a soft snap, not the sound of a lock, but it definitely came from the closed portal. He quickly looked over the door, there was no way he could've possibly damaged it in his current body, it was made of solid wood after all. Maybe it had just been jammed or something. Whatever the case, he shrugged off his confusion and eagerly began opening the door.
88
Harry took the stairs two at a time, trying to figure out what could have possibly triggered the wards. This particular ward was on a compartment in the attic that stored the remains of the Black family's extensive Dark Artifacts collection. He and Bill had tried to remove them from the house entirely, but due to curses laid on them by one of the Black ancestors, every time they tried to remove them, they would reappear back in the house. Finally after half a dozen tries, Harry decided to create a small room in the attic to store them until Bill had a chance to figure out what was actually on them, and then they both placed as many wards as they could think of around them to keep anyone from getting into them and getting hurt. They made it so the only one who could open the door and not get hurt was Harry himself, since it was unlikely he'd be controlled by an outside force.
And now, the wards were telling him that someone was trying to get in. But who could it be? None of the outside wards had gone off, and the only ones in the house were himself and the boys, and Muggles shouldn't be able to even see the door, let alone get it open. Had someone possibly snuck in while they'd been out? No, the wards would've notified him of anyone entering or exiting the property. That left only the boys, and that meant that at least one of them had magic and had stumbled across it. They must have just gotten curious. With that thought in mind, he increased his speed even more. When he finally reached the attic, he saw Duo with his hand on the door to the warded room, about to pull it open.
"DUO, STOP!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs as he lunged at the brunet, pushing him away from the door just as it opened and activated the anti-theft wards.
Original chapters written by Neph, Knoteach 102, and Dream of Stories
Ammie: Okay, I hope you like it, I'm considering this my 1st and 2nd day of Christmas presents to all of you. I SHOULD have another chapter up before I go to bed tonight, I have it finished just need to do a final edit and then post. Hopefully I will do better in the coming days, but as stated earlier, I just started 2 new jobs so my time is rather limited. Hopefully this will get me over the year long writer's block I've had. Anyway, let me know what you think.