Title: True Identities

Author: Gia

E-Mail: divinechild18@hotmail.com

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: None

Time: 5th Year

Summary: One dinner with his Sirius in the Leaky Cauldron changes Harry's life forever. A man, desperate from the loss of his own son, insists that Harry Potter is his son. What will Harry's friends do to get Harry back? And will Harry be able to handle the truth?

Disclaimer: I own not a thing.

Author Notes: Could it be? Is it true? Yes! GIA IS AAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^ Have you all missed me? ::heads nodded:: Do you all want to bludgeon me to death for making you wait long? ::more heads nodded:: Well then, you should be glad that the wait is over! I HAVE BROUGHT FORTH THE EIGHTH CHAPTER! QUICK REMINDER! IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, REREAD CHAPTER 6 AND CHAPTER 7 BECAUSE I MADE CHANGES THAT WILL ALTER THE REST OF THE STORY SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ IT! SERIOUSLY! XD

***

"So," Mark cleared his throat awkwardly, "What would you like to do today?"

Harry glanced at him as if he was crazy. Mark had to agree with that expression too. If he'd been kidnapped by two seemingly insane people, not explained why he was kidnapped, and suddenly asked what he wanted to do, he'd be looking at his captors just as weirdly. Grace hid a smile behind her hand as she watched her husband turn red at Harry's incredulous stare. "Well…"

Harry tilted his head curiously, waiting to see what this woman would say. If Harry thought about it, all thoughts aside, it wouldn't be surprising if Grace had only three photo albums with pictures of her own son. Harry assumed that their loss may have changed them a whole lot and were looking to Harry to fill that gap.

Harry decided to spare them, and him, from the awkwardness and asked them a question. "Don't you have a job?"

The two looked surprised at the random question. Harry continued, "Well, I mean, what do you do, to support yourselves? Don't you have work to get to?"

"Oh, yes, of course we do. It's just," he glanced at Grace, "we decided to spend some time away from work. Just a small break."

Harry remained silent, not missing that brief glance between the two adults. "Well, why don't we go out?"

The question was met by silence, rightly so, Harry conceded. "Well, I'm not really averse to staying inside or anything, it's just that I need some fresh air." And maybe a payphone to call someone… preferably Hermione's parents who could then alert Hogwarts.. Or maybe that was too much to hope for…

"I guess we could get more groceries. Grace?" His wife nodded uncertainly. Neither of them wanted to voice out what they were thinking. Going out would give Edward…

Harry sighed in exasperation. "I'm not going to run, if that's what you're thinking. Running now would get me nowhere."

Grace felt a bit guilty as she felt the faintest hint of relief. It certainly brightened her up considerably, ignoring the circumstances of Harry's statement. The whole thing felt like the proverbial conversation, "It's not that we don't trust you son…" Only, in this case, it would be followed by "It's not that we don't trust you son… it's just that we don't want you to run since we put a lot of effort into kidnapping you."

"Harry.." Mark searched for something to say, but to be brutally honest, what Harry said was exactly what he and Grace needed to hear. "I'll start the car then, why don't you go get dressed? I'm sure Grace can help."

Grace nodded gently, and hesitantly put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Come on Harry, let's see if I can find something for you to wear."

Harry allowed himself to be lead upstairs, trying to absorb this surreal implication. We're actually going out.

***

The car ride was a silent one. Harry, sitting in the back, made no effort to engage either of them in conversation, opting instead to look out the window. There was no clue as to where he could possibly be, no signs, nothing. Granted, Harry didn't expect to see any sign that spelled out his location, but how was he supposed to tell anyone where he was? The main thing about it was if he did manage to get a hold of a phone in the grocery store, who would he call? He hadn't exactly memorized Hermione's phone number, and could he really place a call out of the country with a payphone?

Sighing aloud, Harry drew his eyes away from the window and leaned back against his seat. What am I doing here?! Going grocery shopping with my psycho kidnappers?! He sighed again.

"Alright back there, Harry?" Grace asked concernedly.

"Fine." was his automatic reply.

"Oh… well, we're.. We're almost there." Grace grew silent, and Harry almost felt a bit sorry for her. She seemed genuinely focused on making him comfortable, but how was he supposed to react to that? He couldn't get too attached to these people. People who had an insane notion about him. He'd just wait it out, and maybe he might be able to get help. Maybe…

They neared a local grocery store and Mark parked. Harry pushed his door open and closed it behind himself when stepping out. Grace came up behind him, placing her hand on the small of his back and urged him onward. Mark came around after locking the car and they set off towards the entrance. For the slightest moments, Harry almost felt scarily normal. Something as simple as going grocery shopping, with people who treated him like… like their long-lost son no less, shouldn't have brought a feeling of contentment to him.

They walked through the sliding doors and Harry was immediately brought to attention all the people milling around. Employees at cash registers dealing out change, customers waiting impatiently in line, Harry half-expected people to jump to attention at the sight of him. Either know him instinctively from his scar or know exactly about his predicament and alert others to it. Silly, he knew, but he didn't feel too comfortable with the fact that he may just be feeling more than just resentment towards them. Perhaps it was a normal thing, after spending this amount of time with them, and only them, would it be natural for him to feel… okay with his situation? Probably not.

Mark steered a cart Harry hadn't noticed, and they proceeded to go down the aisles and picking products to buy. His eye trailed by a box with a picture of chocolate bars, and was suddenly reminded of his childhood treat. Mars Bars. His favorite! He felt a gaze directed at him and looked up to meet Mark's eyes. "Find something you like?" he asked kindly.

Harry averted his eyes, shrugging mutely. Mark seemed a bit put off at Harry's lack of reaction, but after a reassuring look from his wife, decided to let it go. Harry continued to trail behind the two as they searched for things to buy. At least it gave a chance for him to search for a way… how about finding a payphone at least? But wait.. He couldn't just walk off and say he had to go to the loo. No one was that thick… but what could he do?

Harry was brought from his planning at the sound of little girl shrieking at her mother. It was quickly apparent that she wanted to buy some type of snack but her mother had refused. Grace looked both disapproving and amused. Harry almost allowed an amused smile on his face as well before catching himself. Both Mark and Grace's attention seemed diverted for this small moment.. Maybe..

Harry stepped back cautiously, keeping his gaze on both of them. Another step. He was nearing the end of the aisle. The little girl let out a particularly loud scream and Harry used this to step out of the aisle quickly, but he didn't see where he was going and walked back into someone.

"Ow..! Damnit, kid, watch it!"

Harry looked up at the man but his apology died quickly on his lips. The first thing that caught Harry's attention was his red hair. It shouldn't be a surprise, red hair wasn't that uncommon, but it was a harsh reminder of the Weasleys'. The closest thing he had to a family. The man's face reminded him a bit of Ron's mother, something about his eyes. Harry looked away. "Sorry.."

The man's slight annoyance vanished and he smiled back apologetically. "Ah, forget it. No harm done, right? My name's Robert, by the way." he gave, what he hoped, was an engaging smile to the boy who looked like he was he going to cry.

"Oh! Uh.. Right, no harm done." Harry smiled back. "My name's Har--" a hand suddenly came down on his shoulder. Not the same man that reminded him of the Weasleys'. It was Mark.

"Is there a problem here?" Mark asked quietly.

Harry blanched and turned back around. "No.. just looking for the..er..--bathroom!" Robert, sensing something was wrong, quickly cut in before the man, he assumed was this boy's father, could speak. "Well, like I said before, it's over there. Go past the next three aisles and it'll be the door."

Harry smiled his thanks. "Right then, I'll just be going.." he made to move but another person joined the scene. Grace. "Mark! Have you found him?" she asked hurriedly, only then noticing Harry standing there.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Grace immediately pulled Harry towards her, away from both Mark and the man. Harry nearly growled in frustration. I was so close to escaping! Mark's cold expression vanished completely, surprising Robert, and turned into a cheery grin. "Sorry about that, can't be too careful with people the days.. I'm sure you understand?" Robert frowned for a split second before nodding lightly.

"Well, we've still got a lot of shopping to do, if you'll just excuse us." The woman, Robert assumed was the boy's mother, took this as her cue and gently steered Harry away. Harry glanced back at Robert, a near resemblance to a relative of the Weasleys', before turning back around. There was no chance of escaping today.

***

Patrick groaned, his head pounding and his stomach churning. That night at the bar, Jack encouraging him to loosen up a little. He should've never listened to the man. And speak of the devil…

"Patrick! Rise and shine! Our little vacation's over! We should be heading back to England!"

Patrick only groaned in response.

"Attaboy! If you couldn't hold your liquor, Patrick, then why'd you drink all them beer glasses? Trying to impress the ladies?" He chuckled loudly.

This time Patrick did give a response. He shot up in his bed, his mind acknowledging the fact he was in the same inn that Jack had dragged him to, and ran towards the bathroom. The sound of his retching made Jack wince in sympathy, but he continued to whistle as he packed his own bag. Time to head back to the station. He didn't expect that he missed anything important while he was gone.

How wrong he was.

***

Hermione sighed tiredly, feeling Ron do the same beside her. They were heading to the library, the day already over. It was sapping their energy just going to the classes and pretending that everything was fine. They received many questions about how Harry was doing, but for some who asked, it was just out of habit. Harry was always busy with something that they were just curious as to where he was. Conspiracy was a given.

To Ron's complete disgust, they ran into Draco Malfoy. They didn't register any surprise that he was accompanied by two other Slytherins. This time, Blaise and Goyle, and Crabbe was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh," Draco pretended to look surprised and put on a mock-concerned voice, "Is Potter at home? Is he missing his family? The baby.."

Goyle sniggered automatically, while Blaise chose to look smug at Draco's comment. "What's Potty doing now? Plotting with his relatives on how to reap the most fame? Disgusting." Draco spat.

"Shove off, Malfoy! No one asked you for your opinion!"

"Oh?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that I was granting idiots like you the privilege of my opinion. Dear me, Weasley, your stupidity knows no bounds."

Ron moved towards Draco but stopped himself from going any further. It wouldn't do to get into any trouble now. Hermione felt proud that Ron was able to keep himself in check, as it showed that Ron was certainly maturing in that area. No longer diving into a fight like he used to. However, in her opinion, Malfoy's sudden hatred was a bit unexpected. They hadn't done anything even closely related to Slytherins, much less Draco Malfoy.

"I don't see why you're so eager to know where Harry is, Malfoy. Missing your archrival, already?" She responded curtly. She didn't even wait for his reply, motioning for Ron to go with her as they both left Draco standing.

Once they were out of hearing range, Hermione practically beamed at Ron. He was quick to notice her smile. "What?"

"The way you handled yourself back there, Ron. You're definitely maturing."

"Yeah, well," Ron was already blushing, "I reckon he wasn't worth it, s'all. Nothing big."

Hermione only smiled wider, clasping his hand and squeezing it reassuringly. Slightly happier, the two decided to just go back to the Common Room.

*****

A/N: I usually thank my reviewers in the beginning, but this time I'd like to try thanking at the bottom of the chapter so people can go straight to reading the chapter. What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? Don't really care? I will hopefully get the next chapter out soon! IF YOU WANT UPDATES, LEAVE YOUR EMAIL AND A MESSAGE SAYING SO!