Chapter 3: Finally back in the attic

(Warning: child abuse)

Although Avery had told Alex that they would continue investigating the attic the next day, there were many inconveniences that prevented them from going up there until several days later.

First, the next morning, even though Avery had gone to bed very late, she managed to wake up before everyone else to make breakfast.

James was still upset about the previous day's events, so he spent the entire breakfast badmouthing Severus and referring to him by the nickname he and Sirius had given him, Snivelly.

Avery was really fed up with how horrible her father talked about Severus, she admired him so much, after all she wanted to become as good at positions as he was. -"Dad, could you try to be nicer to Mr. Snape?"- She said, gathering all the courage she had.

Obviously, that comment didn't sit well with James at all. -"And who are you to order me around, you silly girl!"- He stood up angrily from his chair and walked over to Avery.

-"James!"- Lily said as she glared at him.

James clenched his fists and teeth as he threw Avery's breakfast on the floor -"Get the hell out of here and I don't want to see you eating until I say so"- He said in a cold voice.

Avery didn't mind not being able to eat, it's not like she ate much anyway, she ran out of the kitchen, once she was out of sight of her parents she smiled triumphantly at being able to go against her father for the first time.

But that wasn't the only punishment Avery received, Lily wanted to keep her as far away from James as possible, she was sick of his bad mood and didn't want Avery to make it worse, so she gave her double the chores. Which caused Avery to be very tired from all the work and not having slept well the night before, so Alex decided to let his sister rest, of course she would never say she was tired, so he had to convince her -"It's just that dad is very upset, I'm too scared, let's try it when he calms down"- Saying that Avery smiled at him and patted his head, doing what her brother wanted.

The next few days were just as hard for both, or rather all three of them. When Lily had finally returned Avery's chore routine to normal, a fight had broken out between Lily and James, another of the more usual things in the Potters' house. But James in a fit of rage had punched Alex, leaving him with a black eye. This caused Alex to seclude himself in his room and inside his closet, the safest place for him, for a couple more days.

When Alex had the courage to leave his room, both Avery and Harry took him for a walk in the suburbs. Harry had gone with the excuse that he didn't want to hear their parents yelling and completely ignored his little siblings, but he kept his eyes on them while Avery distracted Alex with anything, with animals with houses or anything that would make him smile again.

But after more than a week of typical hell, the perfect day, or rather the perfect night, arrived.

The day had started very strangely for everyone in the family, as usual Avery had woken up early to make breakfast, but Lily was already making it -"Mom?"- She looked at her confused.

-"Wake up your brothers, breakfast is ready"- Lily said indifferently.

Avery nodded and walked out of the kitchen, she was walking up the stairs when James was coming down them, she immediately moved to give way to him, she braced herself for some insult or push, but he walked past her, ignoring her. She was really confused and went to wake up her brothers. First she woke Harry who simply growled at her -"Come on, mom told me I had to wake you guys up to go downstairs for breakfast"- She said firmly as she shook her older brother.

Harry sat up immediately -"Okay, okay, whatever, I'll go, but don't bother me anymore"- He said as he got off the bed.

Avery smiled at him -"Of course big brother"- She said before walking out of his room.

Harry sighed sadly as he watched his sister leave the room, he hated that smile, it wasn't a real smile. He changed his clothes as he thought about what he could do today to keep his parents away from his little siblings. -"Maybe I'll ask Dad if we can train today"- He said, grimacing. -"And Mom's favorite magazine comes out today, if I look for it after breakfast she'll be reading it all day"- He was lost in thought before leaving his room and heading downstairs to the kitchen.

Avery walked into Alex's room -"Hey, Alex..."- She frowned when she saw the empty room, she looked for him in the bathroom and couldn't find him either. Then she decided to look for him in her room, and there he was sitting there looking at one of Avery's dresses. She walked stealthily towards him -"Do you like it?"- She said with a genuine smile.

Alex was startled and covered his face with his arms -"No, I'm sorry, I don't like it, I'm sorry, I'm sorry"-

Avery stopped smiling at that moment and hugged Alex -"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you"- She rubbed his back trying to comfort him.

Alex clung tightly to his sister until she calmed down, he looked down at the dress in fear before looking up at Avery -"I'm sorry, I was just...uh...uh..."- He was at a loss for words.

Avery sighed and patted his head -"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself to me, come on let's get some breakfast"- She helped him up, her baby brother used to be very obvious in what he wanted and what he liked, but she decided not to push him, after all under this roof he could never express himself the way he would like to. She felt the same way he did, she always wanted to try different clothes that weren't too fluffy and pink dresses, what a perfect little girl should wear, according to her parents.

Alex sighed in relief when she didn't ask anymore, he always liked pretty things, light and bright colors, things that his parents said were for girls. He never liked the clothes he wore, his clothes were always baggy, and they were only black and gray, a few others were blue, but they were always pure very dark shades, what a boy his age should wear to become a real man, according to his parents.

Breakfast was silent until James spoke, -"Today your mother and I are going to a party"- James said as he stood up from the table and left.

-"And you all know the routine, Harry you are in charge if anyone knocks on the door and Avery remember to make dinner for your brothers and get Alex to bed early, I don't want to find him awake when we get back, we could bring some friends over later"- Lily said before getting up -"And don't forget to do your chores for the day"- She said before leaving the kitchen.

-"Yeah, mom"- Harry said, holding back a sigh of relief, knowing that they would be going out all night. His parents didn't party much, well, his father did, but his mother didn't, so if Lily was going it meant it was a party with James' co-workers, i.e., an auror party, so they would have to pretend to be a happily married couple.

-"Yes, ma'am"- Avery had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at her mother's orders; she knew all that, even if she wasn't going out she was doing all that anyway. Avery was more of a parent to Alex and Harry than Lily and James were, more so to Alex, as it was, he wasn't getting any attention from their parents, so Avery was forced to raise him; their parents had assumed that because she was female and his twin she should take care of him.

Alex was relieved that his parents were leaving, a night free of fighting and yelling, but he felt horrible that he was once again being taken as a burden and a bother. He looked at his sister and smiled at her, -"Do you want me to help you do the dishes and with some of your chores?"-

Avery looked at Alex and smiled, -"You don't have to, that's my job"- She patted his head, -"Besides, now that they're gone for the night you can finally finish checking the attic"- She whispered to him before getting up and clearing the table, then setting about washing the dishes, -"Go to your room and read one of your new books"-

Alex sighed sadly before getting down from his chair, -"Alright, if you say so, that's what I'll do"- He said as he left the kitchen and went upstairs to his room. Once in his room, he opened his closet and went inside. Inside a box was his most prized possession, a stuffed snake, it was green and had red eyes. He had a vague memory of how he had gotten it, he knew his parents would never buy him something like that, he only remembers a hooded man who had given it to him, that man scared him a lot, he could never see his face, but from that day on that stuffed snake made him feel safe when Avery wasn't around. -"Again Avery wouldn't let me help her, every day I feel more and more useless, I know mom and dad say I am, but sometimes I think Avery thinks so too"- He talked to the stuffed animal, it was his only source of relief besides his only friend, so he talked to that stuffed animal every time he could.

Harry sighed before going to the room, on the way he looked at his parents who were in the living room talking. He could hear over the conversation, and it seemed that they were agreeing on different topics and things to say in case they were asked something at the party -"Why did they get married if they don't even tolerate each other"- He asked as he closed the door to his room. He lay down on his bed, a little relieved that he didn't have to do anything to keep his parents away from his siblings. For him this was all very hard, being chosen, carrying the future of the magical world on his shoulders, having to ignore his siblings and even say comments he knew hurt them, being his parents' favorite and getting all the attention and praise while he watched his siblings being abused. Although he knew he had to do something, he was also very afraid of his parents, he could appear confident and even rebellious it was just a cover he had acquired and other things James had instilled in him to act out. He turned to pull out a small box from his pillow, inside were the letters he had been given for his thirteenth birthday, -"I wish I was brave enough to be able to do something, but Dumbledore said I should be patient, once Voldemort was defeated everything would change"- He said hopefully, he took a deep breath and was just patient, he thought his parents were just acting this way because of stress over a possible war and that he was just trying to make them all strong, but that they would become loving even once it was all over. He just had to act a little more so that his parents would focus all their expectations on him and forget about his little siblings until they are loving to them.

The day continued relatively normally, the kids did what they normally do, Harry spent most of the day in the backyard training, but alone, James never went training with him. Alex locked in his room reading or writing in his notebooks, for the first time in a long time he could do that out of his closet, since Lily and James didn't fight all day. And even Avery, without James and Lily constantly fighting or Lily saying she should do her chores better, managed to finish all her chores for the day just before her parents left for the party.

Lily and James spent the whole day talking and then getting ready for the party, just when they were both ready the doorbell rang.

-"I get it"- Harry said as he got up from the couch. He opened the door and smiled, -"Uncle Sirius!"- He said with utmost joy and hugged him.

-"Harry, how's my favorite godson!"- Sirius said, hugging him back before going inside.

Avery came running out of the kitchen and hugged Sirius tightly -"Uncle Padfoot!"- She said happily.

-"Hey, my little princess, you look more beautiful every day"- Sirius said, hugging her back.

Alex came out of his room when he heard all the commotion and peeked over the staircase railing looking down.

Just then James and Lily were coming down, -"Hey Padfoot, good to see you"- He said as he walked towards him with a smile.

Sirius smiled at James, -"What are you talking about, you're the one who asked me to come so the three of us could get there together, Prongs"- He chuckled before looking up, -"Hey there, little man"- He said to Alex with a smile.

Alex smiled back -"Hey, Uncle Sirius"- He said without moving from where he stood.

Sirius sighed, -"That boy is still very shy"-

James sighed, -"I know, we're still working on it, but soon enough he'll be a man"- He said with confidence, -"Well, we'll talk about it later, let's go to the party"- He said as he and Sirius walked out the door.

Lily shot one last glance at the kids before leaving the house.

The three kids let out a restrained sigh as the adults left.

Harry looked at Avery, -"Hey, let's order a pizza, I'm craving that today"- He said casually, but he didn't want his sister to cook today, she deserved a break.

Avery shook her head -"It's no problem I can..."-

Harry sighed before interrupting her -"I don't care, I'll order pizza"- He said before turning to the landline phone.

-"But...but...but... okay, we'll have pizza"- Avery said with a sigh and looked at Alex with a smile -"You want pizza, Alex?"-

Alex smiled and went down the stairs -"Yeah, pizza"- He said happily.

Once the pizza arrived, Harry took his share and went upstairs to his room, Avery took the rest of the pizza and dragged Alex upstairs to his room -"Come on, eat, when you are done eating, we can finally go back to checking out the attic"-

Alex nodded and started eating. After his third slice he sighed -"Oh, I'm full"- He looked at his sister realizing that she hadn't eaten -"Aren't you going to eat? Dad's not here, he can't forbid you to eat"-

Avery shook her head -"I'm not hungry, but if you're done eating, let's go on with our adventure!"-

Alex sighed, but then smiled -"Okay, let's go!"- He said without being able to help but get excited.

They both ran down the hallway and up the stairs to the attic, since their parents weren't there they wouldn't have to be so careful, they each went to a box and started looking for more things that could be useful to know more about their mother and Snape's relationship.

Alex, after several minutes searching in a box, pulls out several letters and a diary. -"I found a diary and several letters; I think they are love letters"-

-"Read them!"- Avery approached him, very excited.

Alex takes one of the letters. -"Beloved Lily, I couldn't stop thinking about you, even though this is a very difficult mission we have both been put on, I know you are suffering a lot, but don't worry the war will be over soon, and we can be together, love you, Sev"-

-"Mr. Snape wrote that to mom?!"- Avery said shocked.

Alex nods -"Yes, and this I think is mom's reply"- He picks up another letter. -"My dear Severus. I regret all this very much, you are my best friend and the person I love the most, and I am sorry that you are suffering because of me. Even though I am with James now, and we have a son, very soon it will all be over, love you, Lily"-

-"I'm not going to lie to you this is kind of cute, but depressing"- Avery said, but Lily's letter seemed very strange to her, it sounded like a goodbye letter, but it seemed deeper than that. -"But I think we're right about the memories were altered, but I think both Dad's and Mr. Snape's memories!"- She kept going.

Alex nodded. -"Yeah, it looks like there was a mission, something caused them to split up and mom ended up together with dad, at some point dad's and Professor Snape's memories must have been altered, but mom's are still intact!"-

Avery thought for a moment -"Oh, but something doesn't make sense, they got married, but Mr. Snape's letter says that when the war is over they will be together, it's like mom was with dad first, and then she was going to be with Mr. Snape and not the other way around like you had thought, but something happened, but then when did they get married before or after Harry was born and if it was before why was Mr. Snape still waiting for mom?"-

Alex nodded at all those questions -"I guess you're right"- He took the diary he had found next to the letters and read it looking for an answer -"The diary looks like mom's, but what's written is not very clear"-

-"Give it to me"- Avery said before she took the diary from him and read it -"It looks like she was writing things she had to do and her thoughts"- She flipped through the pages until the last one and realizes that the diary ends the day of their birth -"See what it says here: I had twins, I don't know if that's a good thing or not"- She frowned.

Alex tilted his head -"That's weird, what else does it say?"-

Avery read some more -"The day Harry was born she wrote: I had a son, everything is going well"- She turned more pages -"This one is a few days after the dark lord disappeared, it says: I'm marrying Severus, everything is still going well, everything should be over soon"-

Alex frowns -"It's all very weird, then she married dad, they had Harry, and then she left with Professor Snape's, and then she went back to dad. There's nothing else?"- He says, feeling more confused.

Avery shook her head -"No it just says very few things, the diary starts with her writing: it's for the greater good, then the one that follows says: I'm marrying James, then she keeps saying: for the greater good or this ends soon, or I'm sorry or things like that, but there's nothing else relevant it seems like mom used this diary more as something to let off steam by constantly repeating the same words"- She sighed -"And yes it seems that after she had us she went back to dad, I gather that because here we are, but she didn't write anything else since we were born"-

Alex sighed -"I guess the only way to get the truth is to ask someone, but who, mom would kill us if we ask her she'll know we were here and if she didn't want us here it's because she didn't want us to be here"-

Avery's eyes lit up having an idea -"Maybe we could make Mr. Snape remember who we are with baby pictures if that's the case! Every spell has a way to counteract it and if not we could make a potion for it or use a spell if we try to do that!"-

Alex nods. -"Yeah, I agree, we can do that when we're at Hogwarts, plus there are lots of books there, some of them must have a useful potion or spell in them!"-

Avery smiles -"Operation memories has begun!"- She said excitedly.

Alex laughs, feeling excited. -"Well, we'll have to pack as many of our pictures as we can, let's also take the letters and the memory book can help you remember!"-

-"We'd better take everything now, I don't know if we can come back up here anymore"- Avery said, after all they almost got caught by their mother the first time they went up, and they had to wait over a week before they could go back up, she didn't think they would have any more chances like this. She takes the memory book, diary, and letters -"And I have a box of baby pictures in my room, so we can take that!"- She says happily.

Alex nods, but then a thought crosses his mind -"Hey, but mom seems to come to the attic a lot"- He says remembering the first time they came there wasn't so much dust -"She'll notice if all this stuff disappears"-

Avery thought for a moment before sighing -"Well, this was all in the bottom of the boxes, plus everything in here is really dusty, maybe she won't check the boxes, if we're lucky maybe she won't notice"-

Alex nodded -"Well, you have a point, if we put the boxes where we took the stuff out to the back of the attic it takes her a while to notice"- He proposed.

Avery nodded -"Okay, let's search some more, this may be our last time here, we should get everything we can"- She said before looking in another box, but found nothing. After checking a couple more boxes at the bottom she found gifts -"Over here!"-

Alex looked at her sticking his head out of a box -"What did you find!?"-

-"A box of gifts, looks like Mr. Snape gave all these to mom!"- Avery says as she pulls things out -"It's a bunch of enchanted roses, so they could be anniversary or Valentine's Day gifts"-

Alex looks at the things with a sad look on his face -"He must have really loved her a lot! Do you think we should take those too?"-

-"Yeah, they're very pretty roses. Mr. Snape must love mom very much or at least he did at some point"- Avery said with a sigh -"Not all of them, but one or two might be useful!"- She said as she took a couple of gifts.

Alex bit his lip -"You won't be able to take that much stuff, I'll take the letters and gifts in my trunk"- He said before taking the letters and gifts she took. -"We'd better get all this stuff cleaned up, we don't know when mom and dad will be back, the auror parties shouldn't end so late, besides mom said they'd be back with friends"-

Avery nodded before putting all the things they didn't need back in the boxes.

As Alex put away he couldn't help but say -"I have a question for you, even if we make Mr. Snape remember mom and us, what will happen to Harry? Things won't be like they used to be, and something really bad could happen. Besides, we don't know if he will love us as his children"- He didn't want their parents to treat them any worse, but he was more concerned about how this would affect Harry's life. Their older brother was hardly hit or insulted, just a few criticisms or slaps, but at the same time he received a lot of praise, and it seemed that his parents loved him more than them, he didn't want to ruin Harry's happiness.

Avery sighed -"Well I think he will like us and mom and dad will be mad, really mad"- She said as she nodded her head, she was hopeful that he would like them after all the connection she felt with him was very strong -"Well, in Harry's case, I don't think he will take it well either, but we have a right to know the truth"- She said trying not to feel guilty for her brother.

Alex sighed. -"Well, I guess we can't help it, but it will still be sad and kind of scary"- It's not like he liked his current life, but he didn't know any better. He didn't want worse things to happen, but as long as he was with Avery he would be fine and if she said Snape would like them, he decided to believe her.

Avery nodded, -"At least we won't be lied to anymore, and well, if our parents love Harry very much, that shouldn't change, should it?"-

Alex couldn't answer that question, their parents were very unpredictable, as he was putting one of the boxes at the back he dropped it -"Oh"- He knelt down to pick the things up when he found a very worn, old and dirty notebook -"What the..."-

-"But what are you two doing here?"- A voice sounded behind them.