THE OTHER BOY WHO LIVED
Disclaimer: I don't own it, wouldn't want to. I'm often bipolar in this fandom - I generally hate it with a firey welsh passion, but sometimes old habits die hard, I suppose.
I DEMAND REVIEWS AND COMMENTS! This is just a stupid 'get it out of my head!' idea that I don't even know is worth the binary codes it used to produce. Unbetaed, even. Should I write more, yay or nay?
000 Chapter One 000
Jacob Prisby gazed around at the decor of the strangest office he'd ever seen in his life. The constant theme in the entire establishment was that of the medieval century. The woodwork was anchient, but still perfectly polished. Any paperwork was done on roll parchements, sealed by ribbon and a tad of wax with the school emblem stamped upon it. The stone walls were lined with pictures of previous headmasters - not lined, covered. As a matter of fact, if they weren't sleeping, whispering amongst themselves or visiting neighbors, some were gone from their frames all together. But they certainly weren't the weirdest things in the tower room.
"And last, but certainly not least, the subject of your sorting. This is normally a large part of the ceramony at the begining of the year," the well-aged man in front of him said in a melodious tone as he carried a hat that looked even older than him up to the boy.
"And I've nearly finished my song for next year!" it proudly rhasped. Jacob was dully suprised as the tattered cloth moved it's lipless mouth. "Shall I keep with traditions, sir?"
"I think it would be for the best to skip it, just this once," Dumbledore smiled. "Wouldn't want to make you repeat yourself next year."
"You have a point," it admitted, and they both turned their attention to Jacob as the rim was fitted onto his head. It was only a moment before it gave a soft purr, seemingly right in his ear. "Aye, your relation is obvious. The both of you have very similar minds. A tad too impulsive for Ravenclaw, and your main concern is to ensure your surivival despite what anyone else thinks of you. That only leaves two more options.."
Jacob's lips parted, knowing the two remaining houses by name, but nothing more. As if it read his mind, for indeed it seemed capable, the Sorting Hat intruppted.
"Yes.. and this time, my precious student, your mind is not tainted and swayed by biast opinions. From now on, you decide the meaning of terms. Therefor - SLYTHERIN!"
"Inside voices, please," Dumbledore reminded calmly, smiling as he took the hat off to replace it at the shelf. He went to his desk then, scribling something on a parchament and at the exact moment that he lifted his quill it dissapeared with a sharp pop. "It is official, then. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I wish you the best of your attendance here. May you find all that you are looking for."
Jacob nodded softly, a bit overwellmed by the transgressions of the evening and deciding to remain quiet.
"Due to the fact that we've come to an end just after curfew," the headmaster continued, adjusting his half-moon glasses, "I supose I'll leave the rest to you. You will probly meet in the Great Hall, for breakfast tommarow morning." Dumbledore nodded then to the rather creepy looking man who had arrived at the door, who stepped forward.
"This is our Potion's Master, Profossor Snape. He is Head of the Slytherin House, and will show you down to your room. Don't fret - you're belongs are already at your bedside," he reassured again as he rose, sidestepped his desk and held out his hand to his newest student, which Jacob shaked breifly after standing aswell.
"Thank you, sir," the boy replied with a nod of his head. He realized that the Professor was eyeing him for the moment, and tried not to return the gaze as he turned toward the man.
"Goodnight, Headmaster," Snape said to Dumbledore. He paused for a moment, eyeing Jacob with a rather unreadable expression, then abruptly turned with a flare in his cape muttering, "Come along, then, it's a good ways down to the dungeons."
"Dungeons?" Jacob couldn't help but mummble to himself with a soft smirk. On second thought, where else would this pale, cryptic looking man come from.
"Did I studder?" Snape returned rather coldly, preventing further questions for the rest of the journey to the Slytherin common room.
"The password is 'factitious'," he said aloud once they reached a seemingly dead end, and the stones of the wall sprang to life to form a doorway, "And it must be kept to yourself and those of your house. It changes every month or so, so pay attention." He continued on, both in walk and in word, guiding Jacob into the fire-lit room. Despite the fact it was after curfew hour, the chairs and sofas were rather congested with diffrent classes finishing up homework or recounting stories. When Snape walked in they spared only momentary glances to him and the boy who followed, with the exception of a single third-year.
"What are you doing here?" he sneered loudly, standing from the circle of students who had been listening to a story he was narrorating. They glanced up again, this time a common glare passing across their eyes after an initial startle, but none to the extent of that on Draco Malfoy's face. Jacob cocked and eyebrow as all of the attention within the room was suddenly turned to him and this other boy.
"Malfoy, settle down," Snape drawled in unintrest. The boy looked momentarily shocked.
"But sir, what's a Gryffidor," an older boy who scanned Jacob shamelessly asked, saying the word like most people say 'disembowled', "doing in our Commons?"
"Harry Potter, no less." Malfoy spat.
"What a delightful bunch," Jacob couldn't help but smirk the slightest bit after mumbling aloud to himself, watching the blonde's nose flare.
"Who would be delightful if they had to suffer your presence outside of the mandatory schoolday?" he growled.
"May I introduce to you," Snape broke in, "a new student, Jacob Prisby. I assure you all, despite his appearance he is, in fact, a Slytherin. I was present for the Sorting Hat's decision only a short time ago. Now, Prisby, the third years' room is down the staircase and the second door to your left. As the headmaster said, your things should already be there."
"Thank you, sir." With a nod, Snape left him standing there, and without his backing presence Jacob instantly felt the aura of issolation completely consume his form. The room was staring at him now, muttering silently amungst themselves. They were a rather pale, feral-looking lot, an obvious choice for the cool dungeon rooms, and didn't provide much intrest to him.
As he turned to head for the staircase, Malfoy spoke up again. His voice was low, and his eyes still narrowed. ".. Jeffery and Marianne Prisby?" he asked.
Jacob glanced over to him, pausing for a moment. "Yes," he replied, in ackowlagment to his parents' names.
"I remeber my father mentioning them. They never had a child," he replied, one of his pale eyebrows cocking. The rest of the room had fallen silent.
Jacob smirked, "That's right," he said, continuing down the steps. If anyone had wanted to know more, they didn't have the gall to call him back down.
It wasn't until a while later, when a pair of boys wandered up to their beds and saw their new classmate spralled out on the bed that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere earlier this afternoon, his head resting on one arm while the other held a book over his head, that Jacob was spoken to.
"So why is it," Theodore Nott inquired, crossing his arms as his companion leaned against the dark oak post of Jacob's bed, "That you bare a disturbing resemblence to Harry Potter?"
"Coincidence," Jacob replied shortly, not feeling them worthy of any further details. He never looked away from the pages of the paperback before him, though he had stopped reading.
"I find that hard to believe," the other scoffed.
"Though he doesn't have the scar," Graham Pritchard pointed out.
"And his glasses arn't as terrible an eyesore,"
"He's not as pathetically scrawny, either,"
"If the two of you are done eyeing me like horny schoolboys," Jacob said in a warning tone, finally glancing beneath his book. That shut them up for a moment.
"You are an item of fascination, Prisby." Nott smirked devilishly at length.
"And you certainly have Malfoy throwing a wobbley."
"Who?" Jacob asked in utter disintrest, slipping off his thin, rectangular-framed glasses and placing them onto the nightstand beside his bed.
Both boys stared for a moment, to his further annoyance.
"You know, without the glasses.."
".. The two of you look hardly alike."
He'd had enough, and picked up his wand, reminding them of a threat. "If you will, gentlemen, I'd like to go to sleep. Though I am deeply concerned about my judgment and worth, I'm terribly exhausted, and hope to bid you both good night."
He stared each boy down breifly, as they shrugged the sarcasum off and walked away from the foot of his bed. But before he could close his curtains, the door of the room flew open, and in stalked the blonde from before.
"Well?"
"Bloody hell," he groaned as another boy stormed into the room, sweeping back a stray bang aristocratically. He was followed by three others - one plump and ugly, one smaller and weasil-like, and one very tall and lanky. All sneering. "Draco Malfoy, I presume?"
Draco ignored the sarcasum- well, his comment in general. "So, who, exactly, are you? I victum of genetical circumstance? A celebrity impersonator? Or maybe the evil, long lost twin? Or are you who you so obviously apear to be, and this is just some poor, unplanned Gryffindor plot to put their House Hero undercover, fool that old bat of a headmaster and sneak into our commons?"
Jacob couldn't help but be amused, even though it was an unwritten rule that only Malfoy and his croonies were aloud to smirk after he spoke. When he laughed, Draco did not look happy.
"I know for a fact," he said in a lower voice, "that the Prisby family was a barren one. So how can you suddenly apear?"
"Have you ever heard of a thing called 'adoption', mate?" Jacob smiled. He pulled his knees up and folded his arms casually over them, looking terribly friendly. Malfoy bristled beneath the supirior tone.
"Of course. But that just leads to the big question - who are you, and why do you-"
"Look like 'Harry Potter'" Jacob said in stereo to him. Draco's lip twitched in anger as the opposing boy smiled at him the exact same way the boy they spoke of does. There was even the same curve to the apples of his cheeks, and his eyes glittered brightly, expecially when unframed. Malfoy actually hadn't noticed the boy's glasses were off. "Well, isn't that just a precious little secret I can tease over your head then, eh? I'm feeling a bit sleepy, to be honest, so maybe I'll tell you tommarow."
"Prisby-!" Draco snapped as the curtains of his bed were sealed tightly around the bedposts. He was outraged at such blantent lack of respect. He was a Malfoy, and even on the first day as a smug little first year he had the respect of the entire house. On the first week, when everyone was snapping at one another, judging their peers, he was automatically decided as the alpha. No question.
And the confrontation with this new boy caused Goyle to snicker - just the tiniest bit. Draco glared eternal damnation at him, instantly silencing the boy, and with his dignity damaged stormed to his own bed and sealed the curtains with a ragous flick of his wand.
"Hey Prisby!"
"Why are you calling him?"
"Because he needs to get his arse out of bed, like the rest of us!"
"What does it matter to you?"
"It... if he get's to sleep in, why shouldn't we?" Graham Pritchard quickly recovered, giving Theodore a small frown.
His objective was achieved anyway. Jacob rolled over and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He gazed around the room - his eyesight wasn't so bad that he couldn't see, it just mad him dizzy after a short while without them. The light was dim, and he decided that he like the dungeons due to the lack of morning sunlight.
Everyone else had already dressed and showered, and there was a soft babble coming from up the stairs. He glanced momentarily at his watch, but to his displeasure the muggle object had stopped sometime the day before. In a rather reluctant haste, he went about the morning duties of dressing and washing, arriving in the commons with his hair jet black and curling at the ends.
"What time is it?" he asked a group of younger students, hoping to get less lip from them.
"We don't know," one replied shortly.
".. Do any of you have any watch batteries?" he inquired next.
".. any what?"
"Nevermind," he sighed, ignoring the smirk on the pale girls' lips. "Are you capable of telling me where the Great Hall is?"
They would look indignant if they overlooked his apparent ignorance. "It's those subtle, ceiling-tall oak doors just inside the entrance hall. The whole school eats there throughout the day, so they are rather quiet-"
Muttering to himself over their cheeky attitude, Jacob simply exited the commons. The school became slowly brighter as he left the dungeons to the first level of the castle, and by the light chatter of the students it seemed it was merely his bad luck to be bunked with the aggitating prats of the school. No wonder they were shoved into the dungeons.
The wonderfully decorated wooden doors of the Great Hall were propped open, revealing five tables - one for each house, judging by the overadornments of the diffrent color pairings, and a shorter table for the faculty. For living in such an aparently humongous castle, the school seemed relativly small - about three hundread students in total. He stood at the doors for a long moment, leaning to the side of the frame as diffrent groups of people came in for breakfast. At one point, a chubby, friendly looking boy made to say hello to him as Jacob lazily adjusted the silver and green tie about his neck. When the boy's gazed dropped to it, so did his smile, and with a confussed look he went to the far right table.
In a curiousity he almost felt embaressed about, Jacob watched him go, squirming into a seat by a redhead and brunette. He leaned over one boy, making a comment to the one on the other side of the girl. Then, all four gazes turned to him, and he felt a soft lurch in his chest. He still hadn't decided if he wanted to go after Harry, or wait for his brother to come to him.
"Wow," Hermione said with a soft tone of awe, "Neville's right, he looks a lot like you, Harry."
"Oh god, don't tell me you've got a twin, too!" Ron laughed, turning his grin to his friend.
Harry only had a faint smile on his lips, looking rather intrigued. He watched the boy stare back awkwardly, then straighten, brush the messy hair that looked so much like his own, then - "He's a Slytherin," Harry said in suprise, as if the whole idea was suddenly wrong.
"Must be the evil one.." Seamus, seated across from them and having heard it all, offered teasingly. "It a rule somewhere, one in every set of twins is born evil."
"What about Fred and George, then?" Angelina, sitting nearby, chimmed in. The group turned to the always-obnoxious boys not too far away either, sitting across from one another and attempting to flick spoonfuls of eggs into one other's mouths. The Hufflepuff behind George didn't find it too funny that there were missed bits in her thick hair, though her friend offered the encouragment that Fred was just a poor shot.
"Oy, Fred! George!" Angelina called, proving the hufflepuff right as George's face was splattered with egg.
"What?" they cried in stereo.
"Which one of you is the evil twin?" Seamus asked.
"I am!"
"No you arn't, I am," George sighed.
Being the infamous tricksters, they had to come up with unrelated, and irrelevent, reasoning to prove themselves. "You are not. I switched us at birth, my name is really George, and I never told you. That's how evil I am."
"I hypnotized you into beliving that when we were seven."
"I have the scars on my elbow to prove I was born on the left!"
"What's the left have to do with anything?"
"Because you were the right one," Fred winked.
"... Those scars of yours were from falling off your broom two weeks ago." George sweetly pointed out.
"They're both evil," Ron sighed, as his brothers went on to bicker. "So much for your theory, Seamus."
"... But anyways," Harry smirked softly, ignoring the food fight the twins were now starting. "Who was that kid? I've never seen him before."
"Me either.." someone said, as others agreed.
"We always have Potions to look forward to," Hermione reminded with a little smile. "We can just pinch Pansy into telling us - you know her mouth."
Ron's mood, however, had soured slightly at the aspect of double potions that afternoon. "Great, that's what we need, a new Slytherin to piss us off."
"... I didn't even know this school had transfer students," Harry thought ouy loud, taking a bite of beacon.
It hadn't taken Jacob long to relize he'd mistakenly left all of his books in his trunk downstairs. Or to decide he was just too lazy to actually go an retrive them. It was his first day - what harm would it really do?
His first two classes hadn't actually required them. Firstly, he was put into the numbed state that comes in reaction to a hystorical overview by an old ghost for an hour and a half. After that, Professor Flitwick had him share with the only other Slytherin who wasn't all too pratish to him - Graham. They actually shared a bit of wit as they watched their classmates with yellow and black scarves make terribly failed attempts, even putting Jacob's rabbit, who belched obnoxiously, to shame.
By that afternoon, Graham had dragged Theodore along to walk together to double-potions.
"Right. So, you've met Ravenclaws and, of course, Hufflepuffs," they both laughed in rememberance. "But now you'll see the worst of them all."
"Gryffindors," Theodore added with a smirk, picking up mid-conversasion.
"You've got it. But Snape hates them as much as the rest of us. If he's having a good day - or a bad, it really doesn't matter - it's quite the treat for us."
"By the way, will we finally find out about your scandalus connection with Potter?"
Graham, who had obviously forgotten, perked up and looked expectantly to Jacob. Who was searching the floor at the moment.
"Possibly," he offered. Graham smirked and Theodore rolled his eyes.
"Can't you just tell us?" Graham prodded.
".. I'm his brother," Jacob caved. That drew their attention in closer.
"Well, obviously," Theodore stated, "because you're certainly not his grandmum."
"Shut up, Theo," Graham laughed, turning back to Jacob. "Are you twins?"
"Pretty much," Jacob nodded again.
"Why don't you share last names?"
"I was born in the same family, but grew up with my adopted one."
"After the Dark Lord fell from power," Theo said in a lowered voice. His gaze was cold. "I heard they moved out into the middle of bloody nowhere."
Jacob smirked, avoiding it. "Yup. But here I am now."
"If you really are a Potter," Graham asked as they reached the final steps before the dungeon laboratories, sounding too playful to be rude, "then why arn't you a sodding Gryffindor, too?"
Jacob merely shrugged this time, too intrested in their classmates as he walked into the room. "Good afternoon, Professor," he offered politely to Snape, who was by the doorway. He tried not to smile at the startled flare in the nostrils of the man's prominant nose, before he recovered and muttered back 'Prisby.'
"Oh god," Theo groaned as they took their seats further inside. "Just, whatever you do, don't pull some cliche twin-switch trick, ever."
Jacob smirked. "Promise.. where is he?"
"He and the others take their precious time," Graham informed.
It was nearly seven minutes before Harry Potter walked in after a short parade of gold and crimson, flanked by two othes.
"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Never leave his side." Graham informed, staring after them in distaste.
Jacob, however, couldn't care. As soon as he walked into the room, both sets of bright emerald eyes met. One feinted casual disintrest, while the other looked honestly curious and slightly shy.
As Hermione finished reminding Ron for the millionth time that there was a purpose to Potions, despite how much it bored him, she glanced to Harry. He slowly sank into his seat, gaze fixed. She quickly followed it, and took her seat beside him.
"... The resemblance is even more noticable than earlier," she admitted, talking in a hush for no real reason - he was well out of earshot. The boy turned around when more than one gaze rested on him, unwilling to return so much intrest. "This can't just be a coincidence, Harry.."
"Maybe he's a cousin." Ron offered.
"Can't be. If I had an aunt and uncle out there, other than the Dursleys, someone would have told me."
They didn't even notice Malfoy wisk past them as they stared at the dark-haired boy across the room. Seamus, Dean and Neville watched curiously aswell, causing the boy to shift awkwardly and his companion to glare possesivly.
".. Slytherin!" Ron said outloud, as if baffled.
"Regaurdless," Hermione sighed, "You should go talk to him, Harry. Find out what this is all about."
Harry tugged his lower lip between his teeth, reluctantly rising from his seat.
"Class has begun, everyone sit," Snape suddenly said, glaring brifly at Harry, who plopped right back onto his stool.
When the students had worked themselves into silence, Snape began with a breif overview of last week's lessons, which, aparently, tied in with their next unit. Harry hardly heard a word more of it. He and Ron both knew Hermione would review for them again when they were to collect the array of ingredients on the desk he paced in front of, though Harry had other plans. When Snape was done with his brief lecture and casual threats, letting them retrive what they would need, Harry hopped up and was at the Slytherins' table before he'd really figured out what to say.
All three of them looked up, two with their usual sneer, but it wasn't them he was concerned with. "Umm.. Hello," he said awkwardly. His words faltered as he gazed down at the other boy, their eyes, identical to the lash, locking on one another intensly yet again.
".. Jacob Prisby," Harry was offered in a slow drawl, Jacob holding out his hand and breaking the silence between them. Harry took it eagerly, despite the fact he was shaking hands with a Slytherin. The thought didn't even cross his mind, because the hand had the same warm grip as his own.
"I'm Harry Potter. You're a new student, arn't you? I, um.."
"Couldn't help but notice the uncanny resembalence you bare to me?" Jacob said with a smirk flittering across his lips, looking just like a mirror smirking darkly at Harry. Which startled him.
"Y-yeah.. Are you-"
"Well, since the Professor is glaring with a malicious intent in our general direction," Jacob interupted with a small glance to the teacher, "I think it would be better if we talk later, after class."
Harry blinked and glanced up, breifly making eye contact with Snape and instantly regretting it. Hermione had already collect their supplies, and she and Ron were watching them now instead. "Yeah, you're probly right," he muttered, nodding his head and scurrying back to his own table.
"You do understand," Theo pointed out as they watched Harry leave, standing to go and collect their ingredents, "that the two of you can't become 'friends', right?"
Jacob laughed. "We probly are already, we just don't know it yet. Just like-"
"But it's unheard of," Graham piped up before the punchline, though his tone wasn't as sharp as Theo's. "The tradition simply won't allow it, not in our houses."
"We're brothers," Jacob reminded, rolling his eyes. "I really don't think-"
"Oh, but your wrong," Theo said, returning with his arms filled. There was a dark smirk on his face. "The sorting hat has been known to break up families before."
"We've been broken up for fourteen years now," Jacob said with a challenging gaze. "In all honesty, I couldn't care less about the unwritten commandments of the Slytherin house."
"If you thought your first day was hard, wait until you start tagging along with Golden-boy and Weasel. That sure as hell will get you a lot of affection. Believe in what you wish, but there will be conciquences," the other boy snapped.
"Settle down, both of you," Graham interupted. He'd already set up the cauldron and had it boiling. "We have to get this done, and I'm just short of hopless without your help, Theo, alright? So shut up, the both of you, and help me!"
Jacob and Theo glared at each other for a long, tense moment. However stubborn, Graham forced them to get over their diffrences and work on their assignment. They made good progress, when they avoided any type of other discussion.
(Work In Progress)