Duo's Family

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: I'm so tired, need coffee.

AN: Okay, so here's the next chapter. I hope I did a good job, I agonized over the big reveal about Harry's past, and I hope I made it believable. Oh and certain characters might be a bit OOC (coughSnapecough Sorry bout that) but I hope they're still believable.

About Dumbledore, I know in the summary I said I was going to make him evil, but I just can't do it. So he's just a manipulative, misinformed, old man who made a really big mistake. He won't be killed by the G-boys, I just can't kill him off in this fic, but his relationship with Harry will change, he will have no role in Harry's life outside of being his headmaster.

And I know I've made Harry a wuss so far, but that's about to change. I think, given the circumstances, he would've been rather skittish about everything. I mean, I have him coming from an abusive Muggle family, he's got a guilt complex, and he's been thrust into a new environment, those things do have an affect on people.

Oh, and on a side note, I've decided to pair Draco up with the twins, both of them.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, on with the show.

Chapter 10: Secrets Revealed

As soon as the door closed, Harry sank into himself. He knew what was coming, and he didn't want to face it. It was kind of sad really, he could stand up against the fiercest wizards of the age but he couldn't look anyone in the eye when confronted about his upbringing. True, he'd told Hermione about it, but that was only because she wouldn't drop it, and she was a rather observant girl anyway. Ron and the twins had found out quite by accident when they came to rescue him, but they never bothered him about it si he thought that they'd forgotten. But now, not only was his brother aware of the situation, but he was insisting he talk about it, not only with Dumbledore, Sirius, and Remus, but also his least favorite person, aside from Voldemort.

"Why is he staying?" Sirius pointed at Snape in anger.

"I believe Mr. Snape should answer that," Quatre smiled slightly. "Unless of course, he'd like me to explain."

"I would like to know why you asked me to stay and listen to the babbling of this insufferable brat," Snape scowled darkly.

"You really like to hide behind that mask, don't you?" the petite blonde chuckled slightly. "You can't hide what you feel from my Space Heart. I can feel your regret, anger, and fear over what Harry is about to tell you. I can feel the same emotions coming from Sirius. Dumbledore is confused and a little ashamed. Remus is resigned and a little angry, but he knows already, he told us."

"That's beside the point at the moment," Duo interjected, rolling his eyes.

"He's right," Trowa said quietly. "Right now we need to find out the depth of the abuse given to Harry."

"Here is what we know to be fact," Wufei sat up a bit straighter, giving Harry's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "The Dursleys treat Harry with disdain, bordering condemnation, while in public settings. Vernon Dursley has a tendency toward violence, even going so far as to physically assault a uniformed officer. Dudley Dursley has a record in his school for bullying."

"While all that may be true," Dumbledore interrupted. "That does not mean that they have ever laid a hand on Harry Potter, their ward."

"Okay, fair enough," Duo scoffed. "How do you explain away the fact that I witnessed Vernon Dursley slamming his fist into my brother's face, at the Preventers' office no less, and threatening worse when they left? And then there was the slight fact that he took a swing at me when he realized I had underhandedly taken Harry out of their custody."

"And there are the little signs," Quatre sighed. "The fact that Harry tenses up at almost any unexpected physical contact; the way he takes smaller portions of food than any of the others eating around him; his penchant for nightmares; and then the clincher, flinching when reprimanded, even kindly."

Here Snape scoffed, "That brat doesn't back down from a stern reprimand. In fact, he is always ready with a cheeky retort."

"Perhaps at school," the petite blonde nodded. "However, have you seen the way he openly obeys Duo's every command, even when older and closer people to Harry contradict him?"

"He's his brother," Sirius shook his head in disbelief, "of course he's going to listen to him."

"He is a fifteen year old teenager," Zechs gave the wizards an incredulous look. "I just met him yesterday, but I've never seen a boy his age snap to attention like that when given an order, except perhaps these five, but they are trained soldiers. Even my sister, who is a complete pacifist, will not bow to orders like that."

"Harry," Dumbledore said quietly, giving the boy a pointed look over his steepled fingers, "would you like to say anything about these accusations?"

"It wasn't that bad," Harry shrugged slightly. "So I didn't grow up like some people, it's not like I'm worse off for it."

"You see," the aged headmaster sat back with a rather smug look. "His friends must have been mistaken about the extent of his treatment, and as you have no physical proof, I don't see a point in us continuing this conversation."

"You shut up!" Duo growled menacingly.

"Harry, please don't make this difficult," Quatre said quietly, placing his hand over the raven haired teen's. "We want to help you, but in order to do that you have to tell us everything. You aren't going to be punished for speaking out against them. Please tell us what they did."

Harry looked into the teal eyes, tears welling up in his own, before looking back at the table. The blonde's words were nice and all, but what could they possibly do about it? They'd already taken him away from them. It's not like they could erase the past.

"We can't erase what they did," the Arabian pilot shook his head slightly, his statement catching Harry off guard. Could he read his mind? "And no, I can't read your mind," he chuckled slightly. "I can, however, read your emotions. As I said, we can't erase what they did, but we can have them punished for it. No one should get away with what they did. We won't judge you by this, Harry. Trust me, we've all been through difficult situations in the past, none of us are perfect. So please open up to us."

The young wizard took a shuddering breath and then began quietly, "I can't say growing up was easy, but it wasn't as bad as you all think. Sure, I was given the chores around the house and punished if I didn't do them right. But I had a roof over my head and food, most of the time."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Sirius held up his hand. "What do you mean, most of the time?"

"Well, sometimes, if I did something wrong they would send me to my cupboard without meals," Harry shrugged. "I learned early on how to get out and sneak food though."

"Cupboard?!" Duo said in outrage. "Those pigs kept you locked in a cupboard?"

"Yeah," the younger sibling waved it off. "That changed after my first Hogwarts letter arrived though, since it was addressed to it."

"When are these letters sent out?" Quatre looked at Dumbledore politely, but there was a hint of steel in his gaze.

"The summer before their first year," Dumbledore answered calmly.

"That would've made him ten years old!" his godfather yelled. "They kept him in a fucking cupboard for nine years?! How could you allow that, Dumbledore?"

"I—I didn't know," the old man blinked in apparent surprise.

"Don't lie, Albus," Snape glared at the headmaster. "You know perfectly well that Minerva addresses all the envelopes, and she would have said something if Harry Bloody Potter was living in a cupboard. Not to mention you have a list of where all the potentials are located."

"The cupboard aside," Quatre gave everyone around the table, except Harry, a cold look, his eyes narrowing as they scanned Dumbledore. "What other punishments did they give you, Harry, besides withholding food?"

"Well," Harry bit his lip, "Uncle Vernon would hit me sometimes. But mostly it was the food. And most of it stopped after my second year, but it all stopped after third."

"What happened those two years?" Trowa asked curiously.

"Well, after the twins and Ron rescued me before second year, they just gave up, and Aunt Marge came to visit, and I kind of ran away," Harry shook his head slightly. "Then after third year, I told them about my escaped convict godfather who would be checking up on me. I might've forgot to mention he was completely innocent."

"Why did they have to rescue you?" Heero's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Um, well, um," Harry fumbled slightly, but finally muttered. "A house elf did some magic in the house and I got an official notice from the Ministry reminding me not to use magic outside school so they locked me in my room with bars on my window and fed me once a day through a cat flap since they weren't scared I'd use magic on them anymore."

"Enough," Wufei's eyes flashed dangerously, as he tightened his hold on Harry. "That right there is enough to get the all thrown in jail. We even have witnesses."

"Yeah, but they could get off on a technicality there," Duo grimaced slightly. "Remember what dear old Uncle Vernon said to Lady Une. If he proved that Harry was unstable, then his actions would've been justified."

"Not if it's held in Preventers' court," the Chinese teen shook his head. "Lady Une didn't believe him then, and she wouldn't now."

"It wouldn't take too well in wizarding court either," Dumbledore sighed dramatically, "not after the events of last year."

"There you are wrong, Albus," Snape sneered. "The Daily Prophet extended a full apology to Potter after the Department of Mysteries fiasco. The wizarding world would be outraged if this got out, possibly even calling for the Kiss to be administered."

"Kiss?" Duo looked at the four adult wizards on the verge of hysterics. "They abuse my little brother and they get kissed for it?"

"The Dementor's Kiss," Sirius shuddered slightly, "where a dark creature, called a dementor, sucks your soul out through your mouth."

"Not a pleasant experience," Harry shuddered violently. "I've almost had it happen twice."

"I think that is enough for today," Quatre sighed quietly, not knowing how to get anymore out of the youngest in their midst. "We have enough to know that Harry has been neglected, if nothing else."

"Wait," Remus held up his hand. "Harry, is it true that Vernon used to punish you for doing better than your cousin in school?"

"Yeah," Harry scowled slightly at the werewolf, he'd only ever told Hermione about that. "He'd usually use his belt on me before throwing me into my cupboard, without dinner."

'There,' Quatre mouthed to Duo, who nodded in understanding.

"What else did he use to punish you with?" Trowa asked kindly, having seen his lover and friend's silent communication.

"Just the belt or his fists, or going without food," Harry shrugged, the unibanged teen's unassuming manner putting him at ease. "Aunt Petunia sometimes used the kitchen utensils if she was cooking instead of me, which wasn't often."

"Thank you, Harry," Zechs smirked slightly at how the pilots had worked that out of him. "That is enough to charge them with. Not even Relena could argue that people like that need to be put away."

Duo grinned triumphantly before sending Dumbledore an almost crazed look, "Now listen here, old man, and listen well, you meddle in my brother's life again, outside the realms of his performance at school, and I'll kill you, Shinigami style."

"What does that mean?" Snape scowled slightly, not liking the foreign term.

"It's Japanese," Duo chuckled. "It means God of Death. That was the title I gave myself during the war. Oh, and Dumbles, you can run along now, you're no longer needed."

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to protest but reconsidered when he noticed the glares coming from the five boys around the table. Once the door closed behind him, Duo turned his attention to Quatre.

"Okay, Quat, spill it, why'd you really make ole sourpuss stay behind?" he nodded in Snape's direction. "Besides the feelings he was giving off. And don't say that's it, I know how your mind works."

"It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together," the small blonde chuckled. "I thought I had already given the clue needed to figure it out."

"He's Harry's other godfather, isn't he?" Trowa gave his lover a small smile.

All the pilots turned to regard the Potions Master with new interest, while Remus was looking slightly gobsmacked. Sirius, however, began laughing hysterically.

"You're joking right?" he shook his head, still laughing. "Jamie boy wouldn't trust his son with that git."

"You have to remember, Sirius," Remus sighed quietly, glaring slightly at his boyfriend, "Lily got the final say in Harry's other godfather. And she and Severus were close during school."

"But…but Moony, it's Snivillus!" the Animagus protested, having been shocked out of his laughter. "Why would Prongs trust him?"

"Because Lily did," Snape glared at the Black heir maliciously. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand the depths of friendship and loyalty Lily and I shared."

"But why?" emerald eyes studied the dour man quizzically.

"Lily and I had been friends since before Hogwarts," Snape sighed quietly. "The only thing that kept us apart during our schooling was the fact that we were in rival houses. In fifth year, we had a slight disagreement that almost cost us our friendship. However, during our seventh year, shortly after Christmas, we made up and promised each other that we would never abandon our friendship again. I would have been named Devlan's godfather, but at the time, Lily was afraid of what James' reaction would be, so she agreed to let this mutt and werewolf take the honors. When she discovered she was pregnant with you," he gave a pointed look at Harry, "she began slowly suggesting to James that I was trustworthy. By the time you were born, she had won him over and I was named one of your godfathers."

"No, no, no," Harry shook his head, trying to clear it. "Why do you hate me? If you're my godfather, why do you treat me like something disgusting that ended up on your shoe?"

"Potter," Snape rested his head in his hand, then let out a rather gusty sigh. "Harry, I have always been deep within the Dark Lord's ranks, even before Devlan was born. After your parents' death, I couldn't very well walk up to their house and claim that I wanted to take charge of Harry Potter, the boy-who-had-just-defeated-the-Dark-Lord, especially since the only people who knew I was your godfather were Lily, James, and myself. It took a lot for Dumbledore just to keep me out of Azkaban.

"When you came to school, I couldn't show any feelings for you, other than distain, as would be fitting for your father's school nemesis. There are a lot of people besides you in this world, Harry, and I was looking out for my own skin, though it hurt tremendously to do so. You see, even though the Dark Lord had disappeared that Halloween night, there were still many Death Eaters that hadn't been caught, and I knew this. If word had gotten around that I was close to Harry Potter, my life would've been forfeit. And now, with the Dark Lord back and on the rise again, my chances double. I know it sounds petty and wrong, and it is, but I have done my best to keep you out of too much trouble and keep you on the right track."

"I see," Harry bowed his head and glared at the table, that was a lot to take in, but it made sense.

"Well," Quatre pushed slowly to his feet, "I'm sure there is much more that needs to be discussed, but as of right now, I think it would be best if we retired to our rooms. We've had a long day and I'm sure tomorrow will be just as chaotic."

"You're right, Quat, as usual," Duo gave a goofy grin, his joker mask firmly in place. "Oh, and Fei, could you bunk with Harry? Great."

Wufei just rolled his eyes at the American, but didn't argue. Sirius took this as his cue and got to his feet.

"Well, if you'll just follow me, I'll show you to your rooms," he said with a smile, but everyone saw the twitch in it, proclaiming it to be a front.

AN: Okay, next installment is up, let me know what you think, reviews fuel my need to write.