If I owned Harry Potter, I would be living in a mansion somewhere warm. But no. I'm freezing my ass off here. Enjoy.
ALSO! I have decided that this is HarryxMany. At least two. Not sure who, and how many, but more than one, so if that makes you uncomfortable, please don't continue.
It wasn't long after the incident with his parents happened that Harry began to feel bad. He had an explosive temper, but he always felt bad about making someone feel shitty about something they'd done. He was just lying with Tony, who had fallen back asleep, when he muttered, "Dammit!" and detangled himself from Tony. He needed to apologize.
Harry dragged his feet on the way to the doorway; he took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the kitchen; all conversation stopped. He stood with his back ramrod straight, knowing he'd best make a good impression, especially if he wanted to stay. Sharp eyes glanced over the weary faces in front of him. He didn't like apologizing in the best situations, much less here. "I want to apologize." The faces morphed into shock, except for Dumbledore and his damn twinkle. "I am not used to waking up in a strange place with strange people, especially when you took Tony from me." He didn't suggest doing that. Tony was the only one who kept him from lashing out and killing people. His moral compass had been deemed not useful on the streets, and had subsequently been ignored until it faded out of existence. Except in matters concerning Tony. He turned to Dumbledore. Then, when I found him, I saw you entering his mind. I did not know if you were hurting him, or if he was okay." He faced his 'family'. "Lilly, in no way was the manner that I spoke to you acceptable. I express my sincerest apologies." After all, they couldn't possibly have seen what would happen to him at the loving hands of his aunt and uncle. After a few seconds of waiting for a reply that they were too shocked to give, he coughed awkwardly into his hand. "Well, I'll just... er.." There was nothing left to do but turn on his heel and walk out. Being cruel and not caring about feelings was so much easier.
A call of "Wait!" halted him in his tracks, though he didn't turn around. "Harry... I... I know that you don't think of me as a mother..." Lilly started. "But please, don't shut us out. We're your family!"
That was the wrong thing to say to Harry. The young man's lips thinned and he laughed bitterly. "Don't use that bullshit excuse on me. Family? Maybe we once were, but you gave up that right when you decided to abandon me so you had more time to spend with Daniel. Your precious Boy Who Lived. I am willing to be on speaking terms with you. Pleasant , even, but we need to get one thing straight. You are not my family. You didn't want me before, and you can't have me now. I have a new family now." His voice softened unintentionally, oddly reminiscent of the boy that James had left at the doorstep of the Dursley. Huh. Harry had thought him dead. "You might want to re-think the word 'family'." He couldn't stand it if they left him again. Before they could say a word, he fled, cursing himself the entire way.
Lilly was almost in tears. Her poor baby! When did he become so jaded and afraid of abandonment that he wouldn't even let her, his mother in? Though, she supposed it was partially her fault. Anyone could see that Harry didn't like the lime-light that his family was always thrust into. They'd thought that this would be best for him, a place where he could quietly grow up with his cousin. Though... maybe she should have checked on him. At least once. She could tell something had happened to him there, and their reactions when the Potters showed up at their doorstep. Harry hadn't been there for two years, at least. They'd dropped him off when he was four... he'd waited for them for four years. Four years before he gave up on them ever coming back. And now... Well. She could certainly understand where he was coming from.
Her other son, Danny, didn't seem to see it the same way. "Well, that was rude. It seems that the street rat can't manage to play nice for five minutes. James and Ron laughed, but Lilly found the joke repulsive. That was her son. Hers.
"Daniel Remus!" she hissed at him, startling the boy. At his shocked face, she softened. Daniel was her son too, and he was the one who was destined to defeat the dark lord. He was more important, and that was the reason they gave up Harry in the first place. "I'm sorry, baby. But that's your brother. Don't talk about him like that."
"Did you hear the way that he talked to you? He might be my brother, but you're my mum. He can't speak that way to you and expect to get away with it!" Daniel said. Lilly sighed. He really was just trying to be sweet.
Lilly smiled at him and quelled the urge to kiss the savior on the top of his head. "I know, sweetie. I know. But he's still trying to get used to us.
It was hard to accept that, but Daniel supposed that there was no other way. So Harry was off limits to tease in front of his mother, but that didn't mean that he was going to stop. Harry ran off and then when they finally got him back, he's an ass to everyone. No, he needed to be taught his place.
HPTWHPTWHPTWHPTWHPTWHPTWHPTWHPTWHPTWHPTW
Harry was bored. No, more than bored. He was utterly, completely, mind-numbingly bored out of his sanity! He'd been here for one week. One week of doing nothing and he was so bored that he was contemplating reading! He did enjoy the occasional book, but he'd been looking through these books and they were on nothing but magic and dark arts. And he'd flipped through one of them and was bored within the first five minutes. No torturing or maiming for him, thank you!
So, he did what all kids do when they get bored. He went out. Of course, most teenagers didn't leave at four in the morning with naught but a note to Tony and a plea to keep quiet. And, of course, Tony would acquiesce. He would refuse to say a word.
He smiled softly as he slipped out of Tony's bed. He'd taken to sleeping with the boy so that the headmaster would never have a chance to get inside his head again. He locked the door with four different spells, each that would wake Tony if anyone but he tried to get in, and then he slipped out the door and down the stairs, intent on making it out. And he was lucky. He'd earned their trust by being a good little boy. Apologizing and all that shit. They no longer had guards about everywhere. And so, he made it out easily.
Fresh(ish) London air, oh, it was good to be back.
Tony chuckled as he watched the adults in the room pace. He seemed at ease with them, but inside, he was really tense. He always hated it when Harry left, but this was sort of interesting. It was nice to know where his next meal was coming from. He did feel a little bit bad for them though. They were worrying so much for Harry… "You know, you shouldn't worry so much about him."
Everyone was silent for a long time as they looked at him, and Tony looked at them for a long moment before he realized why they were so surprised, and then he realized that other than a quiet, "thank you" here and there, he hadn't spoken a word to them. Only whispered softly in Harry's ear every so often. "What?" Sirius said, making sure he heard correctly. Tony never spoke. Though he was always kind and mild mannered.
"Harry disappears a lot. He'll sometimes stay gone for days and days. He should come back within two." He never stayed gone for longer than two, but that one day that he spent ten away… well, after that, he kept it down to two. "He'd never leave me alone." Not without some sort of protection from these people. "He doesn't trust you guys yet. Thinks you're going to hurt me." Tony let out a little giggle. "Y-You're too kind for that." He didn't know about his mental walls being breached. Harry hadn't told him.
"Well of course we wouldn't hurt you!" Mrs. Weasley said, a little insulted that Harry would think that little of them. That granted her a smile from Tony.
He loved the people here. He loved the way that Hermione and Ron looked at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, and the way that Daniel and Ginny skirted around each other. He adored the way that Mrs. Weasley smiled at him slightly every time he murmured a thank you, the way that Lilly's eyebrows would draw together when she was thinking, and the way that James and Daniel and Sirius and Ron would sometimes play pranks on the others. He loved them, and he'd barely spoken ten words to them collectively. "That's what I told him! But, well, he doesn't trust easily, and the way that you brought us here made us kind of weary of all of you." Tony looked up from his hands clasped in his lap. He was horribly shy and he really didn't look into people's eyes very often, but he felt comfortable with these people. "Would… Would you perhaps have any tea? I like the way you make it, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, yes, of course! Let me just get up and-" As she stood, Tony stood up as well, feeling sort of guilty for making her get up. He didn't mean to do that, he was just a little thirsty.
"No, no, let me go with you, okay? I didn't mean to put you out of your way." He'd been told he was a burden over and over again, so every time that he asked something of someone, he always felt that he had to prove he wasn't, do as much as he could to help them out. "I really am sorry. Please, don't do anything, I can get it."
Sirius and James put a hand on each shoulder and pushed him back into the plush seat he had just vacated. "Nu-uh, not yet. Molly can get it. You have a lot to account for," Sirius said. "First off, we need to know both of your stories." What happened to his child!?
"I can't tell you Harry's. What little I know is not mine to share." He shifted uncomfortably. "I can tell you mine though. If you like." He'd rather keep everything to himself, but if he couldn't, this was the second best option. Keep it between this group of people. "B-But… I mean, it's personal. I want unbreakable vows that you will not tell anyone without my permission. And no loopholes. I don't want people to know, okay? It… Well, it's… please." Above all else, he had massive self-preservation skills. He knew that he wanted no one to know about this. "And that includes the old man who I woke up with, I don't know his name. Harry doesn't trust him, and he told me not to either."
James and Sirius looked at each other. James said, "Kids, go with Molly. You're not allowed to hear this." They had a feeling that it would be bad. Something wasn't adding up with this. The look in his eyes was haunted, he didn't want to talk about this, and possibly with good reason. Those who'd been tortured by Death Eaters had the exact same look. "Now!" And Lilly shooed the kids into another room. James and Sirius put up a few charms to keep the kids from hearing. "So what happened. Why don't you like taking about whatever happened to you?"
"Why… Why can't this wait until Harry gets home?" He shuffled in his chair and refused to meet either men's eyes. "Why is it so important to you? Do I have to do this?"
"No, because we're supposed to take care of you now, and yes," Sirius intoned. "Tony, c'mon. It's not so bad. It's only me and Jamie here."
"It took me three years to tell Harry anything at all. Even with begging and pleading and puppy dog eyes," Tony said, Harry had the most adorable puppy dog eyes. "But… I suppose that I have to tell you now, don't I?" The warmth and light in his eyes died. "Nekos are born human. We get our power as a blessing from the gods, or so the old story goes. No one knows where we get our powers, but it's rumored in social circles that having a neko in the family means that there's creature blood in the line. I was kept hidden, I was kept isolated, I was kept in the basement from the time I was five years old. That's when a neko's power emerges. Six if you're less powerful.
"By the time that I was six, they threatened to sell me on the black market as a se-" He cut himself off and continued on a new track. "They started beating me. When I was seven, they actually sold me. Not even to a good home like I'd hoped- they sold me to a muggle freak show. I thought- I thought I was worth at least something to them." He looked up at them. "Do you want to see my scars? I can recount the stories of each and every one. Nekos have an uncanny ability for remembering things best left forgotten. Harry's collection is a bit more impressive than mine."
James looked a bit sick. "N-No, no continue."
"Well, when I was eight, I got lucky. My magic came in. I managed to unlock the cage door and slip away into the night. About ten months later, I found Harry, and we've been together ever since." He looked up and noticed a quick quotes quill in the air. His eyes, somehow, looked even more dead. "So it seems Harry was right. I really can't trust anyone here." He stood up and as Sirius grabbed for his shoulder he slipped under his arm with an enraged hiss. "Don't touch me." And then he stalked up to his bed room, locking the door. He wanted Harry back.
Oh, god, I'm sorry you guys! I've been bogged down with schoolwork and stuff! If I had any time I would have written, and it would have turned out better than this. I finished it at 1:30 in the morning, so be kind, please.
