Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
Authors note at the end of this chapter...
"Good morning students," McGonagall addressed the Great Hall. "A few announcements before we eat breakfast. Headmaster Dumbledore has decided to retire." She said briskly. Rumors of why were already circulating but she wasn't going to confirm them.
Everyone in the hall broke into gasps and whispers, occasionally glancing at Cassius and Draco, who stood in the back of the hall waiting for Cassius to be resorted.
"I am now your Headmistress," McGonagall continued. "Professor Snape is now your Deputy Headmaster. With my new duties, I have appointed Professor Lupin as Gryffindors head of house and Bill Weasley will by your new Transfiguration teacher."
"I didn't know that," Cassius murmured, scanning the head table. He smiled when he saw Bill. Bill gave him a wave.
"And as some of you have heard, we have a new student of sorts. Cassius Malfoy." Professor McGonagall announced.
"He's Harry Potter!" A third year Gryffindor yelled out.
"No, he is not," McGonagall said. "He never was. The real Harry Potter passed away when he was five years old. I am not at liberty to give you the details of what happened nor do I want any of you harassing either of the Malfoys. Now, Cassius Malfoy will be sorted into a House and then we can begin breakfast."
"But he's already a Gryffindor!" Another student called out.
McGonagall pursed her lips. "And perhaps he still will be. It is up to the hat." She stepped down and picked up the sorting hat. "Mr. Malfoy," she said kindly, nodding towards the stool.
Draco gave Cassius's shoulder a squeeze and a smile of encouragement. Cassius made his way to the stool as Draco walked over to sit at the Slytherin table.
The sorting hat settled on his head. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Finally, I can sort you as yourself."
"You knew?" Cassius asked in shock. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Wasn't my place," The hat responded. "I did try to give you a hint, by telling you you would do well in Slytherin."
"And now?" Cassius asked.
"You would still do well in Slytherin. You still have courage, talent, a good mind and a thirst to prove yourself...Gryffindor may give you some problems now..." the hat paused. "Better be...Slytherin!"
Gasps could be heard from the room and Cassius slid off the chair, his eyes going to his friends at the Gryffindor table. A lot of the Gryffindors looked upset, especially Ron. In fact, Ron was glaring at him.
"Traitorous scum!" Ron yelled.
Cassius flinched.
"Shut up Ron! Unless you want to vomit slugs again!" Hermione snapped at him, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
Cassius gave her a tentative smile and she smiled back. Hermione was still his friend, at least. Neville too, if his encouraging smile was anything to go by.
Cassius made his way to the Slytherin table. While some welcomed him with smiles, others looked at him with hostility. He quickly sat beside Draco, who drew him close to his side.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked softly.
"I'm fine," Cassius said. His eyes widened as Draco began filling his plate, making sure he had enough protein and fruits. I'm not a little kid, he wanted to snap but held back because, well, it was kinda nice to have someone care. Actually, it was really nice.
"Welcome to Slytherin, Cassius," Daphne Greengrass said brightly.
"Yeah, now you can be a part of the best House," Theo Nott winked.
"Ignore Theo, he's a snob," Daphne rolled her blue eyes.
"I am not!" Theo protested.
Cassius began to relax more.
"Astoria, eat your porridge," Daphne said suddenly to a younger girl, who resembled her. "It's good for you."
"But I don't like porridge," Astoria muttered as she reluctantly took a bite. She made a face.
"Sisters," Daphne shook her head with a smile.
"At least you're not trying to cut up her food for her like her first year here," Tracey Davies teased.
Cassius watched with interest. His entire life he had longed for a parent or even a older sibling to watch out for him. Even if it meant making sure he ate right. So far, Draco seemed to take to that naturally.
"Cass," Draco nudged him and looked pointedly at his plate.
"I'm eating," Cassius grinned as he took a big bite of his eggs.
"So Cass, will you be on our Quidditch team?" Theo asked eagerly.
Cassius paused. "But...Draco is your seeker."
"This year I will be Chaser, I'm too big for Seeker," Draco said. He glanced at Theo. "I don't know, he's pretty small for his age." Cassius was smaller than most of the other second years. He wasn't sure if it was safe for him to be playing. He knew Madam Pomfrey wanted him to gain some more weight.
"Seekers are supposed to be small," Theo insisted. "We already know how good of a player he is. He shouldn't have to give up Quidditch."
Cassius looked hopefully at Draco. Quidditch was one of the few things that kept him sane over the years. He frowned suddenly. Why was it Draco's decision? "I'll do it, if the team doesn't mind."
Draco shook his head. "You'll do it if Madam Pomfrey says it's safe for you to fly. And if I agree."
"Why do you have to agree?"
"Because not only am I your older brother, I am also your guardian," Draco said. He pointed at Cassius's plate with his fork. "Keep eating."
"Why do you even bother with him?" Pansy Parkinson sneered as she looked at Cassius. "He may look different but he is still the Harry Potter we have all hated for years."
"Speak for yourself, Parkinson," Daphne snapped.
"Ignore her, she is irrelevant," Draco said, glared at Pansy. She, Blaise Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle still hung to the beliefs of their death eater parents.
"You have fallen so far," Pansy muttered.
"Silencio," Theo said in a bored voice. He tucked his wand in his sleeve. "There, now we can enjoy our breakfast."
Cassius snickered at the furious look on Pansy's face. Maybe Slytherin wouldn't be so bad after all.
/
Cassius followed Draco into the Slytherin common room. Green lamps and silver chairs, black leather sofa's, dark wood cupboards, stone walls and there was fire crackling under an elaborate carved mantelpiece. The windows looked out into depths of the Hogwarts lake. "I forgot that this room was actually kind of cool," he remarked. "Totally different from Gryffindor, but not bad."
Draco spun around. "Wait. What do you mean you forgot? Have you been in here before?" He asked suspiciously.
"Um, maybe," Cassius avoided his gaze and went over to one of the windows to see if he could see the Giant Squid. He thought the view of underwater was soothing.
"Cassius," Daphne called over to him, waving him over to where she was standing with some younger years.
Cassius went over.
"Cassius, this is Jason Thormund, Sadie Dalbert, and Enzo Kenley. They are second years as well."
"Hi," Cassius said.
"Hi," Jason said with a friendly smile.
"So, is it weird to be a second year again?" Enzo asked bluntly. He yelped when Sadie slapped his arm. "Hey!"
"You're so rude!" Sadie huffed. She gave Cassius a apologetic look. "Don't mind my cousin, he's a prat sometimes."
"But not all the time. Sometimes he is okay," Jason grinned.
"Thanks guys. I feel the love." Enzo said sarcastically.
Cassius slowly grinned. He liked them. Maybe being twelve again would be fun.
"So will you be in the dorm with us?" Jason asked, indicating him and Enzo.
"Actually, Draco and I have private quarters," Cassius said. "Since we're still getting to know each other as brothers, the Headmistress suggested it."
"Lucky," Jason said with a sigh. "Living in a dorm with messy dorm mates is annoying."
"I'm not messy," Enzo said. "I just have a particular place for everything."
"Yeah, the floor," Jason muttered.
Cassius and Sadie snickered.
A touch on Cassius's shoulder had him looking up at his brother. "Time to go. It's getting late," Draco said.
"See you guys in class tomorrow," Cassius said.
Once in their quarters, Draco looked at Cassius. "So when were you in the Slytherin common room?" He was curious, he was sure he would have heard about it.
"Well," Cassius hesitated. "You can't mad for something that happened years ago, right?"
Draco made a face. "If I was going to punish you for every rule you broke over the years, I would do nothing else."
"Funny," Cassius scowled.
"Come on, tell me," Draco coaxed. He was really curious.
"Ron and I were in the common room our second year," Cassius admitted.
Draco's mouth dropped open. "Seriously? How? Did you use your cloak or something?"
"No. You let us in, actually."
"What? No, I didn't."
"We were disguised as Crabbe and Goyle."
Draco frowned and then his eyes widened. "You brewed Polyjuice potion?" His mouth dropped open in shock.
"Hermione did," Cassius said. "We wanted to know about the chamber of secrets and figured you would know so..."
"Unbelievable. Did none of the adults around keep an eye you three?" Draco asked in exasperation. "Do you know how dangerous that was?"
"Yeah," Cassius said. He snickered. "It didn't work out for Hermione. She took a hair from Millicent Bulstrode but it was a cat hair."
"She -" Draco turned away, to hide his grin. Okay, that was funny. He cleared his throat and then turned back around. "You guys shouldn't have done it. How did you even get the potion ingredients?"
"Uh," Cassius looked at him guiltily.
"I suppose we shouldn't tell Uncle Sev this story," Draco said dryly.
"I wouldn't recommend it," Cassius agreed.
Draco was quiet for a minute. "I knew Goyle couldn't read," he said after a moment.
"You remember," Cassius beamed.
"I should have suspected," Draco shook his head. "Seriously, Cass. The things you got up to."
Cassius shrugged and looked at the time. "We could have stayed in the common room for longer. It's not late."
"It's nine," Draco said, raising an eyebrow. "Your bedtime is in half an hour."
Cassius's mouth dropped open. "Bedtime?"
Draco gave him a slightly surprised look. "You went to bed at nine thirty this past weekend. I thought you knew that was your bedtime."
"No, I've just been sleepy cause of the potions I have to take," Cassius said. Pomfrey had him on some different potions to get him healthier. "I've never followed a bedtime."
"Never?" Draco asked incredulously.
"Curfew, yeah we had to be in our common rooms, but no one enforced a bedtime," Cassius shrugged.
"Your prefects didn't insist you go to bed? Even your first year here?"
"No. Percy tried the first couple of weeks but we didn't listen to him," Cassius shrugged.
Draco frowned. "He should have been more firm with you, then. Or at least have told Professor McGonagall that you weren't listening to him. Prefects in Slytherin are very strict about curfew and bedtimes. Uncle Sev would have their heads, otherwise. When I was a prefect, I made sure the younger years kept to their bedtime." He shrugged. "I'm surprised, with Professor McGonagall usually being so stern and all. Although, she does let the Gryffindors get away with a lot." he mused.
Cassius rolled his eyes. "And Snape favors his Slytherins, never punishes them or takes points."
"You'd be surprised. Uncle Sev doesn't do it in public but he will cut one of his Slytherins verbally to shreds if they've truly earned it. And he did assign us detentions, just not in front of the other Houses."
"Oh." Cassius said. He didn't know that. Huh.
"Go on and get ready for bed. I'll be in to say goodnight in a few minutes."
"But it's early!"
"It's almost nine-thirty and that is your bedtime," Draco said, clearing his books off the table he had been doing his homework on earlier.
"No."
Draco closed his eyes for a moment. Remembering what Madam Pomfrey had said, that Cassius would test him, he opened his eyes and fixed his brother with a firm look. "I've told you to do something. I expect you to do it."
"But I don't need a bedtime," Cassius said. "I don't want one."
"Tough."
Cassius just stared at Draco. He was really serious? Hmm, how could he wheedle out of this?
"Cass, do I really have to repeat myself?"
Cassius sighed. "Fine. I'll go get ready for bed. But you can't force me to sleep!" He stomped off.
Bratty little cub, Draco thought with amusement. Oh, he remembered hating having a bedtime when he was young. He'd thrown tantrums too, usually it just ended up with him in the corner and having an earlier bedtime. But this was all new for Cass, so he told himself to be a little more patient. Waiting five minutes, he went into his brothers room to find the twelve year in his pajamas lying on his bed, arms crossed and a defiant look on his face. Biting back a smile, Draco sat on the bed next to him. "Did you brush your teeth?"
"Yes," Cassius said mulishly.
Draco nodded and sat silently for a moment. "You know, Mother and Father were a little worried I would react badly to having a sibling. They worried I would be jealous. But I had friends who had younger siblings and I really wanted one." He said suddenly.
"So you weren't jealous?" Cassius asked curiously.
"Not at all. I couldn't wait. I kept asking our parents when you would arrive. I drove them crazy," Draco chuckled. "And I was over the moon that I would have a brother. When you were brought home from the hospital, I immediately asked if I could hold you."
Cassius smiled and then thought of something. "Draco? When is my birthday?"
Draco blinked. "Merlin, I can't believe I didn't think to tell you. August 10th."
"Huh. So I still have a summer birthday."
"Yes. We both do. For my birthday that year, Uncle Sev bought me a shirt that said Best Big Brother. I loved it." Draco chuckled. "He knew how excited I was."
"Really?" Cassius yawned.
"Yup." Draco began rubbing his arm soothingly. "Mother put you in my arms and I looked into your eyes and felt such love, such a bond. I loved you instantly. I knew I wanted to protect you, make sure you were always happy and safe. When you disappeared, I was devastated. We all were. We all felt we had failed you."
"Not your fault," Cassius said sleepily, his eyes closing.
"I know, but still. That connection is still there, Cass. I want you safe and happy, I want to protect and guide you." Draco said. "That's why I make sure you get enough sleep, eat healthy, why I'll be making sure you do your homework. I'm not trying to be a tyrant, I just want to take care of you. And you deserve for someone to take care of you." He looked down at his brother and smirked a little. Cass was fast asleep. He leaned down and kissed his forehead before getting up, leaving the room. "Goodnight, little brother."
/
"Granger!"
Hermione turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Malfoy? Can I help you with something?" Her eyes turned worried and she took a step towards him. "Is it Cassius? Is he okay?"
Draco relaxed. Yes, Cass still had a friend in Hermione. "Yes, he's doing just fine. And I have my answer."
"What was the question?" Hermione asked in exasperation.
"The question was if you still cared about Cass. If you still considered yourself a friend to him."
"Of course I do!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Not everyone feels that way. At least two Weasley's don't."
Hermione's face fell. "It's just Ron and Ginny who are being idiots. The rest of Weasley's still care for Cass. There are some other students though..."
Draco's face darkened. "Who are angry at him for not being who they want him to be?"
Hermione nodded reluctantly. "It's irritating and I'm hoping they come around to see reason. But Cass still has friends too. Neville, Luna, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, Padma Patil...they haven't turned on him."
Draco nodded slowly. "Who do you trust the most out of them?"
"Neville and Luna," Hermione answered automatically. "Why?"
"You remember second year when we had to have professor escort us to our classes?"
Understanding filled Hermione's eyes. "Are you afraid someone will hurt him?" She asked seriously.
"I don't know but I don't want to take the risk. I was hoping for help watching out for him just until things settle down."
"I'm more than happy to. Neville will too." Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. "Cassius isn't going to like this."
"Tough."
Hermione smiled a little. "You're going to have your hands full, Malfoy. Cassius has a tendency to rush into things without thinking, not because he's a troublemaker. He just reacts, especially if someone he cares about is in danger. And he's independent, he's always felt he had to take care of things himself. Ron and I, we had to talk him into letting us go with him on all those escapades. Especially the ministry. He didn't want us to go with him. He doesn't think about his own safety very well."
"I'll teach him to," Draco said determinedly.
Hermione's smile widened. "I'm actually glad he has you."
"Thanks Granger." Draco said wryly.
"Hermione."
Draco met her eyes and nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Hermione."
TBC:
A/N: So, some feedback I've received say the the story isn't believable, that Harry/Cassius shouldn't have to do school again, that he shouldn't take to Draco being his guardian so easily. But my thinking, once the aging potion was reversed Cassius truly became a twelve year old boy. He may even act younger emotionally because of his past. Plus he's more adorable to write that way. :)
As to doing school again, well he didn't really get a chance to focus much on his studies while worrying about Voldemort, basilisks, dementors, the tournament, umbridge etc. Now he can. And it will be easier for him since what he learns will be familiar. In my story, Harry/Cassius was broken and fragile. He wouldn't be ready to be an adult yet. So for me it makes sense to write it this way.
As for Draco, in my story he had already changed after losing his parents, something Harry/Cassius acknowledges in chapter two. I think that after finding out Draco is his brother, he would gravitate towards him. In canon, after spending months believing Sirius was out to kill him and had betrayed his parents he leaped at the chance to live with him minutes after finding out the truth. And Sirius was still a stranger. So I don't think it's a stretch that he would accept Draco as his guardian. Plus this isn't really a story about angst, more about brotherly love and bonding. =) Sorry for the ramble. Hope you are enjoying this story!