Not While I'm Around
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: Need coffee!
AN: Okay, here's the next chapter. I wasn't too sure about Harry's reaction to the news about his brother, so I went with one I've never used before. Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoy and on with the show.
Chapter 6: Denial is Not a River in Egypt
"Mr. Potter, may I present your brother, Trowa Barton."
"Ha," Harry snorted loudly. "You're joking right?"
He then doubled up in his chair, laughing hysterically. Malfoy quickly joined him, falling to the floor in his mirth. The pilots all shared confused looks at the boys' reactions to the news, though Trowa's was a bit pained, and the small blonde subtly reached over and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. They weren't sure what they were expecting, but this hadn't been it.
"That's too good," Malfoy finally choked out, wiping a tear from his eye. "Potter's got a brother," he snorted back another laugh. "Everyone would know if Harry Sodding Potter had a brother."
"As much as it pains me to agree with him," Harry took a deep breath to gain a semblance of control, "Malfoy's right. The entire wizarding world knew my name since I was one, I even have books written about me, I think they would know if I had a brother."
"DNA does not lie, Mr. Potter," Lady Une gave the two wizards a disapproving scowl.
"You know what," he rolled his eyes, "I can't really believe that. In the past seven years, I have personally been someone else, down to the voice and hair type, even vision; had a teacher who wasn't the person he was pretending to be, down to the wooden leg and fake eye, and had seven of me walking around my kitchen, I'm sorry if I'm a bit skeptical about a DNA test. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home now, you can call me if you're interested in hiring me." And with that being said, he turned on the spot and vanished.
Five confused gazes turned to the Head of the Preventers. Lady Une shook her head, not quite sure what to tell the former pilots, it's not like she could force the boy to believe she was telling the truth. She finally looked at the doctor for any form of explanation.
"I don't know," Sally sighed. "I have no clue what he was talking about. But I double checked the DNA myself, there was no mistake. Mr. Potter is Trowa's brother."
"Zechs," Une turned to the former OZ commander, "what was he talking about, being someone else?"
"He must've meant Polyjuice Potion," Draco answered for his cousin, shaking his head slightly. "I don't know when he used it, but the teacher he was talking about was actually a Death Eater in disguise, pretending to be Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody."
"What is this Polyjuice?" Heero asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously, remembering the term from what their captors had been talking about.
"It's a potion," Zechs shook his head, "used for the express purpose of turning one individual into another for the space of an hour. Not a potion taught at Hogwarts, though an overly ambitious person would be able to make it if they tried hard enough."
"Granger," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "No doubt Potter's mudblood friend made it at some point, she was always trying to show off."
"Draco," pale blue eyes glared at the younger blonde, "I will not tolerate that term used in my presence again. I would also suggest you not say it around the rest of the people in this room as well, for they will not take kindly to your prejudices."
"What does it mean?" Quatre asked curiously, he could tell it wasn't nice, even without Zechs' reprimand.
"It means dirty blood," the long haired blonde answered. "It is a common term among pureblood wizard elitists to refer to Muggle born witches and wizards, not a term used in polite society, as you can tell."
"That aside," the green eyed agent shook his head, "where would my brother go? I would like some answers, but only he will be able to give them."
"As I said before Potter left," Malfoy sneered, "Potter doesn't have a brother, everyone in our world would know if he did, and you lot insisting he does is not only wrong but entirely cruel."
"Be that as it may," Lady Une glared at the youngest wizard in the room, "mix-ups do tend to happen, no matter who you are. As for where he is," she turned to look at the unibanged teen, "I do have an address if you'd like to try and talk with him." She then addressed the other pilots as well, "The five of you are on leave until further notice. I suggest you use this time to figure out the mystery that is Harry James Potter."
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Harry landed in the kitchen of his house, trying desperately to hold in his fury. The little house elf, who had appeared to help him, silently disappeared, knowing his master didn't want to be disturbed at the moment. The raven haired teen whipped out his cell and began punching numbers in, almost breaking the phone in the process. After a couple failed attempts, he managed to calm down slightly and make the call. It rang twice before a voice he never wanted to hear again picked up.
"Hello, Dursley residence," his aunt answered cheerfully.
"Aunt Petunia," he tried for calm but his voice shook slightly. "Don't hang up. I know you don't want to hear from me, but I need to ask you something important."
"What is it, Harry?" she asked hurriedly. "There were two men here this morning looking for you. What have you done?"
"Nothing," he sighed, pacing the kitchen. "Now, I know you and my mum had a big falling out after she went to Hogwarts and you didn't, but I have to know if you heard anything about her having another child."
He heard a loud thunk, and could tell his aunt had just dropped onto the chair next to the phone.
"Why are you asking, Harry?" she asked rather breathlessly.
"I was at the Preventers earlier," he shook his head, trying to dispel the anger trying to lash out, "and they tried to tell me one of their agents is my brother."
"That's not possible," Petunia snarled, before he heard a door slam in the background. "I'm sorry, Harry, I have to go, Vernon's home and I don't want an argument."
With that the line went dead. Harry stared at his phone for a moment before sighing in defeat. He really couldn't blame his aunt for not wanting to talk with him, especially not with Vernon there. He sighed and decided to just go out for dinner, not in the mood to cook or clean on his own, even though he had a house elf that could do it for him.
Harry nodded decisively and made his way to the front door. As he walked down the street, he realized what he needed. He pulled his phone out again and quickly located the number. It rang once before a very familiar and welcome voice filled his ear.
"Hello?" Hermione asked. "Harry? Where are you? Why are you calling? Did something happen?"
"Hello, Hermione," he chuckled at her greeting. "I'm fine, nothing really big happened. Anyway, I was wondering if you and Ron were busy."
"Not really," she sighed in relief, at his light tone. "We were just brushing up for our last N.E.W.T. tomorrow: Defense Against the Dark Arts. As if we need to study for that."
"That's great," he smiled. "Listen, since I'm not interrupting anything terribly important, could you guys possibly come join me for dinner, I really need to talk to you."
"Where?" was all she said, and he shook his head ruefully, knowing he could always count on those two for anything.
"I'm heading to the cafe near Grimmauld Place," he looked around, just now realizing that was where his feet were taking him. "I'll meet you there."
"We'll be there," she answered and hung up.
Not five minutes later, Harry arrived at the small nondescript cafe. He smiled slightly as he spotted his two best friends standing outside, waiting for him. He quickened his pace, happy to see his friends once again.
As soon as Hermione spotted him, she abandoned her spot next to her boyfriend and ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. Ron just shook his head at their antics, but made his way over to them all the same.
"Hey mate," he greeted, slapping Harry on the back. "How're things in the real world? N.E.W.T.s suck."
"I know what you mean," Harry chuckled. "Anyway, let's continue this inside. I have a lot to talk with you two about, and I'm rather hungry too."
"Boys," Hermione shook her head slightly, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
The trio made their way into the cafe and found a small table in the back. A waitress took their drink order and then left them with the menus to figure out what they wanted to eat.
"By the way," Harry looked at Ron over the top of his menu, "since I invited you, I'm paying, and I don't want to hear any arguments."
"Fine," Ron rolled his eyes, his ears turning a slight pink.
Fifteen minutes later, their food arrived and they all began eating. They'd talked about inane things while they waited, Harry not wanting to be interrupted by someone outside their trio while telling them about what happened, and the other two not sure why he called them there.
"So, Harry," Hermione gave him a pointed look. "I don't think you called us here to talk about Quidditch. What's going on?"
"Well," he cleared his throat quietly, "I went to the Preventers today. I got registered, and then the strangest thing happened."
"What?" Ron asked, his fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
"I was given an interview slot right away," he shook his head. "The doctor, who arranged it, said that she was doing it because the people I'd need to talk to would be there today, and it'd save me months of waiting."
"That's great, Harry," Hermione beamed, reaching out and giving his hand an encouraging squeeze.
"Yeah, maybe," he sighed. "I don't know if I'll get the job though, considering I kinda blew up at the Head of the Preventers before I Apparated out."
"You performed magic in front of Muggles?" Ron gaped.
"I had permission from Kingsley," Harry rolled his eyes. "I had to tell them about magic, one of their agents was about to get in trouble because of me."
"Well, if you had permission," Hermione shrugged, "then there's no problem. But why did you blow up at Lady Une? I heard she can be really intimidating."
"It really didn't help that Malfoy was there," the raven haired wizard shook his head. "But she was adamant that I had a brother. You think I would've heard about that one before now."
"Not necessarily," Hermione bit her lip. "If there was some sort of mix up, it could be possible. I mean, children are given to the wrong parents all the time."
"You don't get it, Hermione," Ron said rather patronizingly. "St. Mungo's isn't like Muggle hospitals, the Healers are really competent. They don't mix up babies."
"They are still human, Ronald," the bushy haired witch said rather primly. "Magic is not foolproof. Harry could've been given to the Potter's by mistake, because as you said, we would've heard if Lily and James Potter had another child."
"No," Harry shook his head. "There's not a doubt in my mind that I'm Lily and James Potter's son. They're just under the impression that they had another one. Which, as my aunt said, isn't possible."
"You talked to your aunt?" the redhead gave him a scandalized look. "Why?"
"I figured she'd know if Mum and Dad had another child," he sighed. "But she said it wasn't possible. She didn't elaborate on it, as Vernon had just gotten home and she didn't want an argument."
"Well, did you talk to Remus?" Hermione cocked her head to the side curiously. "He would know if they were telling the truth."
"I hadn't thought about it," he slapped his palm to his forehead. "One would think he would've been the first one I called, but no, it was my aunt."
"It's an honest mistake," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Now, stop being such a drama queen and call him."
Harry chuckled and once again pulled out his cell phone. He dialed his pseudo uncle's number and it rang three times before a female voice answered.
"Hello, this Andromeda," she said cheerfully.
"Hello, Mrs. Tonks, it's Harry," he smiled sadly, it was hard hearing the older woman's voice, knowing how much she had lost. "Is Remus there?"
"Of course, dear," she answered pleasantly. "Just a moment, and I'll get him, he's with Teddy at the moment."
"Thanks," Harry shook his head, now was not the time to focus on other's problems, he'd have plenty of time to do that later.
A moment passed in silence before a rather tired voice sounded on the other line, "Hello?"
"Hey, Remus," he greeted, a smile coming to his face at the sound of the other man's voice. "How're things going?"
"They're good, Harry," the werewolf answered. "Why are you calling? Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"Why is it that both you and Hermione both seem to think something has happened when I call?" he shook his head slightly.
This caused the other man to chuckle, "We worry about you, Harry, that's all. So why are you calling?"
"Well, I found out something today," he sighed. "It's really bothering me because I know it can't be true, but part of me wishes it was."
"What were you told?" he asked quietly, his professor demeanor coming to the foreground.
"I was at the Preventers," he bit his lip, telling the older man was much harder than telling anyone else, "and before I left, they said I had a brother."
"Not possible," Remus said instantly, "Evan died right after you were born. Lily never even got to hold him."
"What?" Harry held the phone out, blinking at it in disbelief. "What do you mean?"
"You were a twin, Harry," the werewolf sighed. "Evan was born about half an hour before you were. Lily was still in labor when he was taken out of the room to get cleaned up, he didn't make it. He died before he was brought back into the room. I believe he is buried next to your parents."
Hermione grabbed the phone out of the raven haired teen's hand, "Was there more than one baby born that night?"
"Hermione," he chuckled slightly, "on any given day, there are about an average of ten wizarding children born in England. About half of them end up being delivered at St. Mungo's."
"So, logically," the witch shook her head, "there is a possibility that Harry's twin is still alive. There could've been a mix up."
"Just a moment," Remus said before silence fell over the line once again.
"See, Harry," she gave him a rather smug look, "even wizards and witches can make mistakes. Just because you never heard of him, doesn't mean he isn't your brother."
"There was another couple there that night," the werewolf's voice sounded again. "Andromeda was there with Lily at the time of the birth. She said that a squib couple had come in and had a baby boy at around the same time."
"So who's to say," she went on, "that the squib wasn't the one that died, and Harry's brother was given to them in a major mishap?"
"It could happen," the werewolf conceded. "Though, I think it would've been found out relatively quickly."
"Not necessarily," Hermione sighed in frustration. "There are case of children being given to the wrong parents and them not finding out until they're grown up and just happen to get a DNA test, or that they're dying of some inherited fatal disease. So why can't any of you accept the fact that this is one of those cases and be happy about it?"
"Okay, for argument's sake," Harry shook his head, "let's ay that this guy is my twin brother. What the bloody hell am I supposed to do about it?"
"You could get to know him," Remus suggested. "He would know nothing about your parents, you could start there. If nothing else, it could give him a place to belong, something to hold on to, to call his own."
"Fine," the raven haired wizard sighed, knowing what that was like. "I'll call Lady Une back tomorrow and see about getting in touch with this Trowa Barton. Bye Remus, I'll talk to you later."
He hung up the phone and then looked at his two best friends. Ron was shaking his head, still clearly confused, while Hermione had a rather smug look on her face. He shook his head, which was now starting to throb painfully.
"I'm gonna go, guys," he sighed, massaging his temples, "I've now got a headache. And, apparently, I've got to prepare to get to know my brother tomorrow. I'll see you later."
"Bye, Harry," Hermione got up and gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "You'll do fine, I have faith in you. And I expect you to invite us over in the near future to meet this brother of yours."
"Later, mate," Ron nodded, finally going back to his food.
Harry nodded once, then turned on his heel and left the restaurant. Once outside, he went to the alleyway beside the cafe and Apparated home, too weary at the moment to bother with walking.
Ammie: Yay, there it is. Chapter 6. I hope ya'll like it and that Harry's reaction was believable. Next chapter I'll give more interaction between Harry and the G-boys. Anyway, let me know what you think.