CH28: Family Matters

Harry awoke to sunlight streaming through the windows, birds chirping, a pair of blue eyes staring down at him, the strong smell of breakfast in the air -

Hold on, back that up a bit.

He sat straight up in bed, nearly colliding with the head of brown hair leaning over him.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry yelled, rubbing his eyes. Samantha jumped backwards.

"I – I just wanted to see if you were awake," she stuttered. Harry glared at her.

"Now I am."

"I'm sorry." She stood taller and seemed to gain a bit of confidence. "It's just, we got off on the wrong foot yesterday – "

"You could say that again. I didn't mean that literally," he added when she opened her mouth again.

"Look." She sat down on the bed next to him. "We're family ... sort of, at least, and we'll be seeing a lot of each other, so I figured we should try to get to know each other."

"Fine. Whatever." He brushed past her and headed for the bathroom. He knew he was being a little childish, holding her attack on him yesterday over her, but he couldn't help it. He was fifteen. He was allowed to be childish sometimes.

As he left the room, he heard Sam sigh slightly. "Well that went well."


"What's going on?" Harry entered the Great Hall to an excited furor. He slid into a seat next to Sirius and joined the chatter.

"They are selecting a new Order of the Phoenix!" Hermione crowed excitedly. "It was in the Prophet this morning!" Harry raised a slightly disinterested eyebrow.

"That's it?"

Hermione glared at him. "This isn't something that happens everyday. The last one was fifty years ago."

Harry shrugged and started up a debate of good Defense Curses with Remus. This didn't concern him, why should he make such a fuss about it? There was no way this could affect his life.

Oh how wrong he was.


Harry reclined back in a seat in the Library, absorbing a good book, when he felt a slight tug on his pant leg. He glanced down and met, for the second time that day, a pair of innocent blue eyes.

"Why hello there," Harry greeted, putting down his book. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Alex," the child said shyly. Harry grinned at him. He was a cute one, with his floppy brown hair and rosy cheeks.

"I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you, Alex." The boy climbed up into a chair and sucked his thumb. "How old are you?"

"Five."

"Now what are you doing wandering around all by yourself?" The question was answered a moment later by the arrival of an older teenage girl and two smaller boys.

"I can't believe you lost him!" she screeched. Harry winced, making sure that Madame Pince was really out of the Library. "You two are so irresponsible! Wait until Mum finds out!" Her cheeks were blotchy and she looked on the verge of panic as she pushed a strand of long hair out of her face. It was then Harry realized why they looked so familiar: they all had the same eyes of his beloved godfather.

"It wasn't our fault," one of the boys stated calmly. "He ran away. How were we supposed to control his leg muscles?"

"Ever heard of the Leg-Locker Charm?"

"We aren't old enough to do magic yet. You know that, Carmine," the calm one explained. "We don't start school until next year."

"Plus, Vinny here wouldn't let me," said the other boy pouting. Harry blinked, momentarily confused, before he smiled. They were identical. Fred and George were going to love this. Vinny elbowed his brother in the arm, fighting back a smile.

"One of us has to be responsible, Davie."

"That's all well and good," Carmine interrupted. "But we still have to find Alex."

"Over here," Harry called out and the group turned around to look at them.


Carmine's Point-of-View

Carmine immediately ran over and scooped her brother into a big hug.

"There you are! Don't ever disappear like that again!" Alex gave her an angelic look.

"I was just spending time with Harry." Carmine looked over at the student who had waved them over. He wore a comfortable sweater and a worn pair of jeans that perfectly matched his relaxed expression. Smirking slightly, he looked her over with his mischievous green eyes.

"How many of you are there?" he asked bluntly. Davie giggled.

"Five. I know, it takes some getting used to."

"The more, the better," the boy mumbled and stood up, extending a hand. "I'm Harry, by the way." Vinny and Davie's smiles grew.

"The Harry? The one Uncle Siri talks about non-stop?"

"Only about good things I hope."

"Oh, of course."

Carmine examined the infamous Harry Potter. "Hmmm, from what my sister told me, I thought you would be more intimidating."

He looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry about that, sometimes my temper gets the better of me."

"Children!" a sudden yell came from the entrance of the library. A tall woman with curly brown hair stuck her head in. "Lunch in twenty minutes!" She quickly left, but then peered back around the corner again. "Harry! I haven't seen you since you were a baby. You grew up so handsome. Come down and get some good home cooked food. That can't have been feeding you very well over in those Death Eater Headquarters." She said this all very fast before speeding off back down the hall. Harry cocked his head to one side and gave the group a questioning look.

"That would be Mum," Davie said briefly. "Don't worry, you get used to her, too." Carmine smacked him on the arm.

"Dad's flying in tonight," added Vinny. "You'll like him, I'm sure of it."

Considering the family members he had met so far, Harry was sure of it too.