Summary: This another story where everyone thinks Harry's brother is the Boy Who Lived. Harry runs away and comes back years later with a plan, a girlfriend and powerful. I know what you're all thinking: not another one! But this one is different. Rated M for safety.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
This chapter may contain thoughts inappropriate for younger readers...may not sure yet.
Old Friends
CHAPTER EIGHTIt had been a week, a whole long, long week that Harry Potter had been stuck with the Potter family. He had only seen Cissy twice in all that time, and they had not had sex since the morning before they had been 'captured' by the Order.
Harry had always considered himself a calm, determined, and unbeatable fighter. But if he ever abandoned a mission, it would most definitely be this one. Things had started out badly and only gotten worse. At first, he had thought he would be able to pull off the reluctant captive teenager act and ignore Lily and James Potter, as well as have limited interference from Yaxley as possible.
But no, the overall plan may have been going ideally, but Harry's personal plan was bad, bad, bad. Yaxley kept trying to get him and the Potter parents to make up. As though sticking them in the same room would somehow coax all of his private, locked up feelings to come pouring out, and they would all talk about it as a family, finally ending with a huge, old group hug. And the whole Potter family acted as though it were their sole purpose in life to cause this to happen.
Lily and James would ask Harry questions about himself, as though hoping they could actually convince him to spill out his life's story. Yeah, right. No thanks, not happening. But he kept telling himself he could deal with this. The arrival of this morning's Daily Prophet, however, had been the last straw.
Harry had just come down to breakfast, still very tired and grumpy. The time change was really getting to him. He stumbled into the kitchen to find Lily casually flipping the sausages with her wand, an angry expression on her face, staring at James and Yaxley, who were both reading what appeared to be the Daily Prophet, a grim look on both their faces.
Harry simply raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him, trying his hardest to make out what was in the paper without seeming overly interested. Thankfully, he was not forced to ask his question as Yaxley called him over as soon as he saw him.
"Harry, look at this," he said with a solemn look and handed the paper over to Harry.
Immediately the cause for the fuss was obvious. In big, bold writing on the front page of the Daily Prophet, the newspaper proclaimed: Wizarding World Lied To Brother of the "Boy Who Lived" : The Real Boy Who LivedThe enormous headline left no room for anything else on the page.
After reading the ridiculous article that talked about nothing but the deception and the cruel treatment and abuse Harry had received from his parents, and how he had finally been forced to run away at such a young age, Harry found himself unable to do anything but turn around and, with all his might, punch a hole in the kitchen wall.
Everyone had watched Harry carefully as he read the article, but no one had expected that. Harry quickly stormed upstairs to his previous and temporary bedroom, ignoring the shouts and noise directed at him from downstairs.
And that is where Harry found himself still. He had refused entry to everyone who had knocked at his door. Harry was sure that Nate and the rest of the guys were having a big laugh over this. Harry hated attention and was furious that this unexpected attention had been forced upon him. All he wanted right now was Cissy; he knew that she couldn't make fun of this, as there had been a whole page about their relationship and how they must have grown up, blah blah blah. It was ridiculous, infuriating, and completely suicidal of all the people involved with this.
Hearing a knock on his door, Harry sat up and readied himself to yell at the person on the other side when, without waiting for an answer, Cissy walked in. Harry laid back down as Cissy came over and straddled him. "How ya doing, hero?" she said with a slight accent, in a subtle attempt to imitate an American southerner.
Smiling, with one swift fluid movement Harry turned her so Cissy was now underneath him. "Peachy, doll-face."
"So, I hear that the Minister of Magic himself wants to meet you. That should be amusing. And then with the shopping trip tomorrow...this should be fun," Cissy teased casually with a small smirk.
"Fun, my ass," Harry mumbled against her hair, kissing her neck gently. But before anything good could start up, they were interrupted by none other than the Golden Boy himself.
"Hey, Harry. Mum wanted..." Yaxley began, opening the closed bedroom door. He promptly turned red and backed up, running into Ron, who was right behind him, as he saw the position Harry and Cissy were currently in. "Oh, sorry, sorry."
Harry sighed and flopped over onto his back, rolling his eyes at Cissy's laughter. "You might as well come in now. You ruined it," he called, frustration in his voice. Sanity finally returned to him. Cissy would never have sex here in the Potters' house; she had just been teasing him the whole time.
"Um, well, sorry 'bout that," Yaxley mumbled, still looking red as he came back into the room with an equally red-looking Ron entering right behind him. "I didn't mean to...I was just...Mum wanted to know if you wanted something to eat or...something," Yaxley said in a rush, still looking highly embarrassed.
"Forget that for now. What are they saying? What are they going to do to try and cover up the publicity?" Harry demanded.
Yaxley, who seemed to have calmed down a little by now, shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um. Harry, I really don't think they are going to do anything about it."
"WHAT? How can they not do anything?" Harry jumped up at this and began pacing back and forth, running his hand through his hair and muttering things to himself.
Cissy, totally ignoring him, addressed her question at Yaxley, who was watching Harry's pacing with a funny look. "Yax, who told the paper about this?" she asked calmly, and at her words, Harry stopped pacing immediately, staring intently at his brother.
"No clue, but I think it was done on Dumbledore's orders. Harry, what are you...where are you going, Harry!"
But Harry was not listening. He was already halfway down the stairs, intent on confronting his 'parents' about their all powerful leader.
- - - - - - - -
"God, I feel like a prisoner," Cissy muttered to Harry under her voice. James and Sirius were watching every movement they made as their rather large group walked down the bustling streets of Diagon Alley.
"We are," Harry muttered back. "We're prisoners of war. But hold on. We only have a few more months left at most." He bent down and making sure Black could see, he proceeded to kiss Cissy's face in random spots.
Giggling Cissy turned to Ginny, who had been watching them with a strange look. Almost like jealousy. "Ginny, what did you say the name of shop was where you got that cute little cloak?" Cissy asked in an almost superior way.
Ginny blushed and squeezed Yaxley's hand nervously. "Oh, it's really not anywhere. It was just a hand-me-down from Fleur, nothing special, really," she tried to convince Cissy, her blush deepening to match the color of her hair when she admitted that the cloak was a hand-me-down. She shot Yaxley a pleading look, but it was no use. He and Ron were still in deep conversation about the latest Quidditch match. And Hermione was getting more books, agreeing to meet up with them again later, which left Ginny alone.
James and Sirius had been very against the idea of all of them coming down to Diagon Alley together, fearing that Harry and Cissy would make a dash for freedom at the slightest opportunity and also worried about all the gossip that was sure to be spread by tomorrow's Daily Prophet.
It was only due to Lily's insistence that they needed to show the two teens they weren't prisoners that they had finally agreed--on the condition, however, that there would be ten Order members located around the Alley at all visable spots. And that he and Sirius were with them at all times. Of course Harry especially had not taken this very well but in the end and with some convincing from Cissy he had agreed.
They suddenly made a turn and were in front of Ollivander's. Lily and Mrs. Weasley had gone to get their other supplies before. But why were they in front of a wand place? They already had wands. And Harry thought Cissy would never be able to use any of these wands. She could only use her one wand that had been designed specially for her.
Harry informed James Potter of this fact as they stepped into the dusty wand shop."Why are we here? We have wands, custom made wands. We don't need to be here, James." Harry said this as coldly as he could and smirked when he saw James Potter flinch at his tone.
"I'm your father, call me Dad. Not James. And we are here because Professor Dumbledore thought it best if you had legal wands when you go to Hogwarts." The small group stirred uncertainly while they waited for the wandmaker.
"Um...hey, Dad. Would you mind if we," Yaxley began, gesturing at Ron, Ginny, and himself as he spoke, "go find Hermione? We'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron in half an hour."
James nodded, and the three teens left, Yaxley and Ginny hand in hand, disappearing into the crowded streets. That left only Sirius and him versus Harry and Cassy, left in an awkward silence. Thankfully, Ollivander chose that moment to appear, his pale eyes glued upon the two teens, who had their arms around each other.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Black. I can't say I'm surprised to see you here. What does surprise me is the fact that I have not seen you before this," Olivander said in a creepy, knowing voice.
"Mr. Potter, you first," he said promptly, not giving anyone time to reply.
Harry reluctantly stepped forward, and Ollivander studied him for a moment. "You already have a wand, I see. But you shall find that it will not suit your needs as well as one that actually chooses you as opposed to one that was constructed by force for you."
And with that, Ollivander had Harry waving wands for the next ten minutes, taking wands with a smile and replacing them almost as soon as they touched Harry's hand. A pile of fifty or so wand and boxes was growing in the middle of the room. Suddenly, the wandmaker stopped, snatching the latest wand back. A dazed look came over his face, followed by a curious one.
"I think that we have come to the conclusion here, Mr. Ollivander, that you simply don't have a wand that works for me, and it's better if I keep to my own wand, thank you very much," Harry said, turning away.
But Ollivander did not seem to have heard him, for he had vanished into the back of the store and could be heard rummaging around, muttering to himself. Finally he reappeared, holding a wand box as though it were about to explode in his face. He set it down gently and gestured at Harry to open it.
Curiosity overtaking him, Harry did so. He picked up the wand and automatically, a sense of power washed over everyone. The walls seemed to hum with magic. Hairs stood on end, and dust seemed to sparkle. The wand then set off a series of firework-like explosions in the small shop, sending a battery of colorful sparks toward the window that caused it to shatter.
Everyone in the room ducked, Harry shielding Cissy with his own body. After they were certain there was no more sparks or glass flying around, Sirius and James got up slowly, followed by an ecstatic-looking Ollivander. Harry and Cissy stood up more cautiously, shaking off fragments of glass from their hair and clothes.
"Mr. Ollivander, I am so sorry about that. Here, let me help," James said, raising his wand and repairing the window.
Mr. Ollivander, however, instead of looking furious or ordering them out of the store like a normal person would do, stood there looking as though someone had just told him that Christmas was now officially every day of the year. He seemed happier than anyone had ever seen him before.
"I remember every single wand that I have ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand, and that wand you now hold in your hand has a single phoenix feather in it. That phoenix only ever gave one other feather, and that feather's brother belongs to the wand that gave you and your brother those scars," he said, a smile stretching from one side of his ancient face to the other.
"Wait, wait, wait. You mean this wand's brother belongs to Voldemort?" James questioned, panicked. "What does that mean?"
"It means, Mr. Potter, that we can expect great things from him. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes--but great."
Turning around, he came face-to-face with Cassandra. She took a surprised step back and almost lost her balance, Harry only just managing to catch her before she fell.
"Miss Black, you next," he said, then all of a sudden, he stopped. The smile disappeared off his face as he looked at her. "Oh, Miss Black. This truly is a pleasure. Come with me." With that, he grabbed her arm and led her through the rows of wands that stood in tall shelves that stretched from ground to ceiling.
The rest of the group followed as he led them through the maze of shelves until he reached a specific row. Only then did he release Cassy's arm. He reached up and pulled off a box that was different from the rest. Instead of a brown, gray, or black case, it was light blue.
"I think you will find, Miss Black, that this is exactly what you have been looking for."
With a smirk and a raised eyebrow she replied, "I think not, Monsieur Ollivander. I really don't think you have what I need."
But before she was completely finished with her last sentence, Ollivander had wrested the wand out of its case and placed it in her hand. And with that, she gasped in surprise, for as the wand made contact with her hand, the whole room was yet again engulfed with the aura of power. But this feeling was different--darker, more emotional. Nothing visible happened, but it was obvious this wand was a perfect match.
"I think we'll take them," Sirius said, breaking the shocked silence.
No one said anything as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron, where it was agreed they would all meet. And indeed, everyone was already there by the time they arrived. Lily and Mrs. Weasley were loaded down with bags, as was Hermione.
As soon as Lily saw the uneasy looks on James and Sirius's faces, and Harry and Cassy whispering to each other animatedly, she got a sick feeling in her stomach. She had been so certain this would be a good idea. To take Harry out and show him that they were not the bad guys, that they would not treat him like a caged animal. But now...if they'd done something, it would be her fault. She had been the one so adamant that they go today.
With a desperate look at her husband, Lily walked over, expecting the worst. James however gave her a half-hearted smile and a peck on the cheek.
"Aw. Mum, Dad, must you do that in public?" Yaxley whined from behind them.
James turned around to give a sarcastic reply when an oily, snotty voice spoke from behind him. "Yes, I must say, I quite agree. It is disgusting, to say the least. Have you no sense of public decency?"
Yaxley growled at the figure as James, pushing Lily behind him protectively, turned around."What are you doing here, Malfoy? Come to meet some of your Death Eater pals for a little drink?" Yaxley sneered.
The whole group watched tensely. Some of the adults like Sirius and James would have liked nothing better than to wipe that smirk of the Malfoy heir's face.
"I don't have time for this rubbish from you, Potty. I need to speak to someone who has a higher IQ than a broomstick," he said, suddenly looking quite serous.
Draco Malfoy's eyes were glued as Harry and Cissy moved their way through the group, unnoticed by the others. Pathetic, he thought. This lot wouldn't notice if a flock of Hippogriffs ran right through them.
"Oh really, Mr. Malfoy? So why do you impose your presence on us, then? None of us have a mirror you can use," James said coldly. Oh, he knew it was wrong to hate a kid, but Yaxley had told him some pretty nasty stories about this particular boy, and he was sure he would bear the Dark Lord's brand soon.
"Oh, wait. I might have a mirror, Drake. You don't mind if it has lipstick on it, do you?"
The entire group turned in open-mouthed shock to stare at Cissy and Harry, who had somehow navigated from the back of the group to just behind Malfoy. And they watched with even more disgust as Draco Malfoy turned around, held out his arms with a broad smile, and with a laugh cried, "CALEX!"
She jumped into his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck as he spun her around. Draco set her down and with an arm over her shoulders, he did a complicated hand motion with Harry.
"You know each other?" Ron asked, appalled.
Ignoring him, Harry said something to Draco, and the three of them laughed.
"Cassy?" Lily Potter asked quietly.
She turned around and gave them a cheeky smile. "Old friends," was all she said before turning back away.
"Any chance at getting away for a few minutes?" Draco asked.
"None at all. I'm afraid that what ever you say to Harry, you have to say to all of us," James answered coldly. This earned him another sneer. Oh, how he'd love to...no, better not dwell on it.
"Fine then, have it your way, Potter," Draco replied. "As I was saying, I was just at your apartment, and it was trashed."
"Hey, watch it!" Cissy cried out as the rest of the listeners either gasped or looked at each other worriedly.
"No, no. Not that." Draco shook his head. "Even though I do wonder...but anyway. Your bed has been slashed--looks like a knife did it. Things are tossed everywhere. Someone's been looking for something. I called Erin and Tasha for you, and they said they'd come over and see if they could find out anything. I got my..." with a glance at their audience he continued awkwardly, "thing. Oh, and one more thing." With a taunting smirk, he leaned forward and starting chanting, "You got caught by the Order of the Phoenix, you got caught by the Order of the Phoenix."
Harry took a noncommittal swing at him. Draco already knew of the plan, but he just had to rub it in. Draco ducked the punch easily, but James, who had been standing behind him, had not seen it coming. Harry's fist collided with his jaw and made him stumble back. Draco knew how powerful Harry's joking punch could be, and he winced as he heard the sickening crunch of bone come from James Potter's jaw.
The group watched in shocked silence as Harry stood there limply. Sure, he had imagined doing this tons of times but to actually do it... Snapping out of their stupor, people began to act. Sirius lurched forward and tried to secure Harry's hands behind his back. Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared out of nowhere to help.
Lily and Molly rushed over to James, who was touching his jaw in shock. He had seen it was a joke, but the rest of the group, minus Cassy and Draco, had not. Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Yaxley went to help Lily and Molly in any way they could, while Cissy and Draco just stood there laughing.
And the group, with James in the lead, Flooed back to Godric's Hollow.
Kay, so let me know what you really think so fan. And there is plot...just not so much in this chapter. I would love for everyone to blow kisses at my wonderful beta. And thank you so much to all those who volunteered to take up the challenge I really am very thankful for it. So the next chapter should be up within a few days or so. Thanks for reading.