Thicker Than Water

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: Once more with feeling?

AN: Okay, so here's the weekly update. I kinda decided to split this section up into two or three, not sure how many yet, but I felt it needed to be that way so it wasn't too overwhelming. Anyway, enough of my ranting.

Chapter 5: The Woes of Petunia Dursley

The next morning, Petunia Dursley found the four boys still entangled on the bed. A faint smile pulled at her lips at the sight, though she wasn't sure why her son was there but now wasn't the time to investigate. Vernon was still in the house and she needed to get them up before he left for work, or there'd be hell to pay. Before she could move into the room, however, a bright green eye zeroed in on her over the shoulder of the tall unibanged teen.

"Don't wake them," Trowa said quietly, the smooth timbre not disturbing the other three on the bed.

Petunia shook her head, her eyes conveying her apology. She couldn't do that. Vernon expected Harry to make his breakfast, so he could have a good yell at him before work. That had been the way of things for most of the past fifteen years. The one visible green eye narrowed slightly, though the rest of his face remained impassive.

"I'll do it," Trowa quickly untangled himself from the mass of bodies, causing Harry to whimper slightly and shift closer to Duo, who gladly pulled him closer like a teddy bear.

Petunia quickly covered her mouth, trying to hide the smile that threatened to blossom across her face, as tears sprang to her eyes. Even after all those years apart, the three of them still reacted the same way to each other. Her eyes shifted to the teen who had just gotten up, just to make sure he was really there, before turning around and closing the door to give him some privacy while he dressed.

Not five minutes later, the tallest of her nephews arrived in the kitchen, dressed in a green turtleneck and light blue jeans, and began pulling things out of the fridge without a word to his aunt. Petunia watched him in slight fascination, having thought he'd wake up Harry and Daniel and the three of them would come down together, not that he'd take on Harry's chores himself. Though it being Troy, she shouldn't have been that surprised, he had always looked out for the other two, even when they'd been infants.

Trowa continued making breakfast in silence, not sure why his aunt was still in the room. Why couldn't she have made it herself? Why force Harry to do it? She obviously wasn't incompetent in the kitchen, judging by the size of her husband and son.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry stumbled into the kitchen, dressed in Dudley's hand-me-downs as usual, and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Quatre hot on his heels, looking for all the world like he was trying to stop the little raven from doing what he was planning.

"Sorry, Aunt Petunia," the bespectacled boy muttered with a yawn, moving over to the fridge. "I'll have breakfast ready soon."

"Sit," the unibanged teen went over and began directing him to the table, nodding for the blond to do the same. "I've got breakfast."

Harry blinked owlishly at him, not quite sure what to make of this enigma of a brother he had received. He didn't argue though, since Aunt Petunia was letting the taller teen do it.

"Harry," Trowa turned slightly toward his brother, still stirring whatever he had on the stove, "could you go wake up Duo? Tell him I made breakfast, he'll get up."

The dark haired teen's brow furrowed slightly, but he moved to do as requested, the silence in the kitchen was beginning to get to him anyway. He made his way quietly up the stairs, knowing his uncle wouldn't be up for another ten minutes at least and he didn't want to the one to wake him. He slipped into his room and saw his brother sprawled across the small bed, his braid beginning to come undone at certain points. He wondered idly why Duo kept it that way, but quickly shook it off, it wasn't his place to ask.

Harry shook his head slightly, and approached the bed on silent feet. He leaned over and reached out a hand to shake one of the bare shoulders. Before he could, however, a hand captured his wrist and pulled him down, effectively pinning him to the bed, a gun pointed at his temple. Wide emerald eyes met hard amethyst, before the latter softened and the gun moved away from his head.

"God, Harry," Duo rubbed is neck sheepishly, pulling the other teen into a tight, one armed hug, "don't sneak up on me like that. I could've killed you."

"Sorry," Harry said rather breathlessly, burying his head in the shoulder in front of him, willing himself not to shed the tears pooling on his lashes, he'd not been that scared in a long time, not even facing Voldemort at the Ministry. "I didn't mean to. Trowa sent me up here to wake you up."

"Next time," the braided teen pulled back slightly, looking into the watery green depths, "just call from the door. That's what the guys did. It's less likely to get you shot."

"I'll remember that," Harry sniffed, rubbing his sleeves over his eyes, trying to hide the evidence from his brother. "Anyway," he straightened up, "Trowa says breakfast is ready."

"Tro cooked?" a grin spread across the heart-shaped face. "Sweet! Let's go."

He grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him out of the room, not bothering to get dressed. It was all Harry could do to keep up with the braided teen as he flew down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Petunia looked up as the pair scrambled into the kitchen, her eyes narrowed in disapproval as she eyed her nephew's state of dress, or rather lack thereof. Trowa turned slightly, but only shook his head at his brother's actions, knowing no one would be able to change the self-proclaimed Shinigami. Duo seemed oblivious to all this as he made his way over to the table, still pulling Harry along for the ride, and took a seat.

The auburn haired teen turned from the stove and quickly located the flatware. He placed five settings on the table, one in front of each of the other four and one for himself, leaving two on the counter for his uncle and Dudley. He then began scooping eggs and sausage onto the plates, Duo's and Harry's portions slightly larger than his, Quatre's, or his aunt's, still managing to leave a generous amount on the stove.

"Awwwwwww," the braided teen pouted slightly as he looked down at his plate. "Tro-waaa, there's no bacon."

"You'll live, Duo," the unibanged teen said quietly, picking up his fork and starting in on his own plate.

Harry quickly began eating, knowing if his uncle showed up he'd be forced to leave the table. As he ate, he watched his two brothers curiously. He wasn't sure what to make of either of them. True, they'd talked the previous evening, but there was still so much he didn't know. In fact, he wasn't even sure what was so special about them, only what little Vernon had let slip about the notorious Gundam pilots on occasion, and what Hermione had said.

Duo was also watching his brother as he ate, only his thoughts were far from pleasant. The raven haired teen ate in a similar fashion to himself, one the other pilots loved to tease him about but was impossible to break. His arm was curled around his plate, the fork in constant motion as if he wasn't sure how long the food was actually going to stay in front of him. The braided teen had learned that method on the streets, not knowing if he'd even have a next meal, but Harry shouldn't have that habit, considering he'd lived with family his whole life. Family was supposed to protect and care for one another.

Trowa kept an eye on both his brothers, making sure they ate what they were given while the rest of his attention was on the woman sitting across from them. He could tell his aunt disapproved of Duo's choice to come downstairs in his boxers, but the fact that she hadn't said anything gave her some points in his book. He hoped to have a long talk with her later, as some of her actions and mannerisms contradicted one another.

Quatre, meanwhile, was having some difficulty concentrating on the food in front of him. He managed to keep it under the table, but his hand kept twitching, itching to reach up and rub at his heart from all the different emotions pouring off the set of brothers.

Not long after the boys had finished eating what was given them, there was a sound like thunder coming from the direction of the other room. A moment later, Vernon Dursley entered the kitchen and took his seat at the head of the table. His beady, blue eyes landed on Harry, who had just set down his fork.

"Boy!" Vernon snapped. "Get my food! You know better than to eat before Dudley and I have had our fill!"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon," Harry bowed his head and scrambled to his feet. "I'll get your breakfast now."

The three former pilots watched the raven do just as he'd said and laid a plate in front of the obese man. He then went over and grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee, once again setting it in front of their uncle.

"Now," Vernon said, eyeing his nephew disapprovingly, "I expect you to do as you're told today. I won't tolerate any cheek from you just because we have guests."

"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry nodded dully, before his eyes lit up slightly. "If that's all, I'd like to go write a letter now. I need to tell my godfather about my brothers."

Vernon's face, which had started to purple as his nephew continued talking, took on a very pasty color as what he was saying actually sunk in. The three pilots subtly shared a confused look, but decided they'd question him about it later.

"Go," Vernon waved him off hastily. "Tell him whatever you like. We didn't do anything to you."

Harry smirked slightly, reminding the former terrorists slightly of their fearless leader, before sending them a look and tossing his head in the direction of the door, indicating they should follow him. The trio did as instructed and followed the raven haired teen out into the hallway and up to the bedroom the brothers shared, none of them saying a word.

"Oh that was too fun," Harry laughed, as they gained the sanctuary of the room. "He won't dare do anything while I've got that hanging over his head."

"What?" Duo asked, sharing a look with Trowa. "Is your godfather that scary?"

"Only to Uncle Vernon," emerald eyes danced with mirth. "Of course, he thinks he's an escaped convict, which he is, but he was recently cleared of all charges, but Uncle Vernon doesn't know that."

"Cool!" the braided teen laughed, finally understanding. "So you really gonna write him and tell him about us?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "He'd probably remember the two of you. He was my, our dad's best friend. And anyway, we have about half an hour before Uncle Vernon leaves for work and it's safe to wander around again."

Harry sat down at the desk in the room and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. He pursed his lips in thought for a moment, not sure what he'd be able to put in writing. Finally, he sighed and dipped the quill in the ink and set it to paper, Duo looking over his shoulder all the while.

Padfoot,

I hope this finds you well, and you're not too bored. I'm doing good, still enduring, but with you at my back it makes things easier.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that Prongs' other foals are here. Okay, not all of them, one of them went home with Mione, for… reasons. I do really want to talk to you about that, cause apparently Prongs liked to visit other fields. Anyway, you should come see them, they're cute.

On another note, Mione's doing a twin thing now. Weird, I know, but maybe a male Mione wouldn't be so bad. My aunt also has another brat. Not my uncle's though. It's nice, though to have a nice cousin. Isn't the FRA great!

I know you'll have many questions, but I think that's about all that's fit to write.

Your godson

"That's a strange letter," Duo frowned, reading over his brother's shoulder. "It doesn't make any sense, unless you know what's going on."

"It will to Sirius," Harry cocked his head to the side innocently. "I can't just put anything into a letter. At this point in time, it's very possible that it could be intercepted and the information used by our enemies."

"I can understand that," the braided teen nodded. "So, we gonna send it as soon as Uncle Pig leaves?"

"No," Harry barely held back a snicker. "I'm going to send it with Hedwig, as soon as she gets here, anyway."

He'd let the snowy owl, that had been an eleventh birthday present from the Hogwarts groundskeeper, loose after he'd found out the Dursleys weren't taking him straight home. He knew she'd find her way back, she'd never failed him yet. And sure enough, just as the loud bang of the front door sounded throughout the house, indicating his uncle's departure for work, a large white owl swooped in through the bedroom window.

Two guns were trained on the bird as she landed gracefully on Harry's shoulder. Large amber eyes gave the new teens a reproving glare before she turned her attention back to her master.

"Hey, girl," he said, petting her feathers. "You two can put the guns away, it's just Hedwig, my owl. Anyway," he held up the, now rolled up, letter for the owl to see, "can you please take this to Sirius for me? Don't give me that look," the owl had given him a stern stare. "I know you just got back, but I really need to get this to Sirius. I'll give you an extra treat when you get back."

She gave a rather exasperated sounding hoot and extended her leg. With a smile, Harry tied the letter to her leg and sent her off back through the window. He then turned to his brothers and cousin, who were watching the owl disappear from sight.

"Well, shall we go down and see what Aunt Petunia has for us to do today?" he asked with a slight shake of his head.

"Yeah, sure," Duo beamed, tearing his eyes away from the small speck that was his brother's owl.

Harry led the other teens back down the stairs, after Duo had finally put some clothes on, and into the kitchen. The sight that greeted him was rather surprising. Dudley had apparently joined his parents while the four of them had been upstairs, but that wasn't what surprised him. No, it was the fact that his overweight cousin and his aunt were busy doing the dishes. That had never happened in all the years he'd been a Privet Drive.

"Oh, there you four are," Petunia said rather cheerfully. "Have a seat. Diddikins and I will be over in just a moment."

"Mum!" Dudley rolled his eyes slightly at the nickname, and pulled a face so only the other boys could see.

Duo laughed as he plopped down in the seat he'd occupied earlier. Trowa and Quatre just shook their heads as they joined him at the table. Harry hesitated, still in a mild state of shock, before his brothers reached out and guided him into the empty seat between them. Not five minutes later, the two Dursleys were seated across from them, all with various drinks in their hands.

"So, did you boys have any plans for today?" Petunia asked, taking a dainty sip of her tea.

"Nope," Duo shook his head, lifting his own mug of coffee to his lips. "Just thought we'd chill and get to know you good folks a bit better."

"Actually," Trowa looked up from where he'd been toying with his own coffee, "we wanted to ask some questions, if that's alright?"

"Ask away, Troy," she smiled kindly at the unibanged teen, a smile Harry knew she mainly reserved specifically for Dudley. "I have some as well, considering you were both presumed dead. And… and Soren was sent away."

"We'll answer what we can," the braided teen beamed. "Let it not be said that Duo Maxwell lied."

"What happened that you thought we were dead?" the tall former clown frowned slightly, they hadn't covered that in their discussion with the others the previous evening.

"When you three were just babies," Petunia sniffed slightly, "Lily and James, your parents, were attacked and killed. Harry was brought to our doorstep, with a note saying that he was the only one left of his family."

"They weren't there," Harry shook his head adamantly.

"How would you know that?" Dudley looked at him curiously. "You wouldn't remember that, would you?"

"You remember the dementors," he met his cousin's eyes, who nodded and gave a slight shudder. "They force you to relive your worst memories. When I first came into contact with them, the worst memory I had was my parents' death. I heard both their final moments, and they never mentioned either of you, they were just worried about me. Having gone through that memory, I know they would have worried about the others' safety as well, considering they were willing to die for mine."

"You're right, Harry," his aunt gave him a watery smile. "They both loved you three so much. You'd never have found anyone more proud of you than James, except perhaps Sirius, though that always confused me, and Lily would dote on you three hand and foot."

"Maybe," Duo scratched his chin in thought, "maybe they were more concerned about Harry, since he was just a baby and all."

Petunia barely managed to keep herself from laughing outright at that statement, "You seem to be under the misguided impression, Daniel, that you and Troy are older than Harry."

"What?!" the braided teen looked at her in disbelief, his brothers sharing the sentiment. "You mean this squirt's older than us?"

"Not at all," she chuckled. "Troy is the eldest, by about half an hour, then you, Daniel, and Harry was born third, roughly forty-five minutes after Troy."

"I thought you hated my mum," Harry cut in, not sure what the hell was going on with his aunt. "Why in the hell would you know when her triplets were born if you never talked to her?"

"It's true," Petunia sighed, placing her cup down quietly. "Lily and I had our differences, especially after she went to Hogwarts and I was refused admittance."

"What?!" the raven haired teen looked at her in disbelief.

"Yes," she shook her head, a slight smile on her face. "I wanted to go to school with Lily, and even wrote Dumbledore, asking to be allowed in. However, I was not able to go, as I have no magic.

"We did not get along during her seven years of schooling," she continued quietly. "It was my fault, and I knew that, but I couldn't let it go. She was doing extraordinary things, and I was jealous because I couldn't do them as well. I finished school around the same time she did, and then went on to marry Vernon, while she went and married James, though I'm just glad she didn't marry that Snape boy."

"Whoa, wait," Harry held up his hand, his face slightly green. "You don't mean Severus Snape, do you? My mum was not close to him, was she?"

"How would you know Severus Snape?" she gave him a funny look. "He used to live in our hometown when we were little, and he was the one who kept filling Lily's head with stories of the wizarding world before they headed off to school. I'm sure if I looked in the attic I could find the box of pictures my mother took of the two of them over the years, they were practically inseparable until after their fifth year of school. In fact, I do believe he is Troy's godfather."

"Oh god, I'm going to be sick," Harry banged his head on the table. "You're telling me that that greasy git is somehow connected to my family?"

"How do you know Snape?" Petunia scowled at the description, it fit the young man she remember perfectly.

"He's my Potions professor," he said to the table. "And he hates me."

"Hmm," her lips pursed in thought. "I'll have to send a letter to him. Anyway, as I was saying, it was right after I had Dudley that it happened. I had a very bad case of postpartum depression. Vernon was always at work, or drinking and shouting; I was constantly taking care of an infant; Lily was unattainable; and my parents were dead; I had no one to turn to. I don't know, to this day, how your mother found out about it, but she stormed into the house, seven months pregnant, got Dudley dressed and into a carrier, and proceeded to drag me from the house. We ended up at a small café down the road and we started talking. It was like no time had passed and nothing had ever come between us.

"We met every day for two weeks," she shook her head sadly. "In that time, she convinced me to leave Vernon and move in with her. This also includes Soren's story as well, because in the first week of living at the Potters', I met his father."

"Mum, you left dad?" Dudley blinked at her in shocked confusion.

"I did," she nodded. "I was actually in the process of divorcing him when Soren was born."

"If you were that close to being free of him, why did you come back?" the larger teen banged his fist on the table in anger, causing the others to tense in anticipation. "I know you've never been happy here, so why?"

"I had no choice, Duddy," tears filled her blue eyes as she pulled her son into a hug. "He threatened to take you away from me, and he had the lawyers to back him up. Remus and I discussed it at length and we decided it was best that I go back, at least for awhile, I knew that, even with everything going on there, that Soren would be well taken care of, but I couldn't guarantee that with you and Vernon."

"I'm sorry, Mum," Dudley held his mother tight.

"It wasn't your fault," Petunia gave a watery smile.

"Wait," Harry held up his hand, interrupting the moment. "You don't mean Remus Lupin, do you?"

"For you to know his last name, you've obviously met him," she pulled away from her son and dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. "Dare I ask how?"

"He was my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in third year," the raven sighed, raking his hands through his hair.

"At least he's doing well for himself," she sniffed, smiling bitterly. "Anyway, Lily and I became close again. About a week after I moved in with them, I moved in with Remus. It was a whirlwind romance, and with Sirius and James in the picture, there was no stopping it. Then, on July 31st A.C. 180, just after midnight, I got an owl from James." Here she paused, reached into her pocket, withdrew a rumpled piece of parchment, and handed it to Harry. "Here, you can read it."

Tuney! Lils had TRIPLETS! Three of them! All boys! She said I needed to tell you! There's Troy Remus, Daniel Sirius, and Harry James! Troy was born at 10:30, Danny at 11, and Harry at 11:45! Oh, she was also wondering if you'd be Troy's godmother? We've got Sniv… I mean Snape, acting as his godfather. Harry's godparents are Padfoot and Cissa. Danny's are Moony and Minerva. Well, other than that, have Moony bring you by in the morning so you can see them. Lils wants you to bring Dudders too! Till tomorrow, James Potter

"Damn, what was he on?" Duo scratched the back of his head. "And where can I get some?"

"Duo," Trowa said quietly.

"Fine," the braided teen began scooting away from his older brother. "I'm just kidding, shesh. Ya don't have to take my head off. So what we need to do is contact one of these five people and find out what happened to us. One of them is bound to know something."

"I've already contacted Padfoot," Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "He is my godfather after all. Anyway, who's Cissa? Though I don't know if I can take any more surprises today."

"Hmm, let me think," Petunia frowned in thought. "She's a blonde woman. I do believe she is Sirius' cousin. Lily was the godmother to her son as well. Oh yes, that's it: Narcissa Malfoy."

Harry, who had just taken a drink of water, spit it out all over the table. Duo reached over and clapped him on the back, making sure he didn't choke. He coughed a few times before looking incredulously at his aunt.

"You're telling me," he scowled, "that Narcissa Malfoy is my godmother?! My life is over!"

"Stop being so melodramatic, Harry," his aunt huffed. "She is a very lovely woman. I had the opportunity to meet her on several occasions, which brings me back to my story. The next day, I got to see the three of you for the first time. You were still at the hospital, St. Mungo's. After she was released from the hospital, Lily and I met up about once a week, only we made it a sort of play date for the four of you, occasionally Narcissa would join us with her son. Oh, and Sirius' children as well."

"What?" he asked resignedly.

"He's had a set of twins, Aries and… Hermione? Or maybe that was your friend's name wasn't it? Maybe it was Artimus," she shook her head. "Anyway, During that time, I also found out I was pregnant with Soren," she turned to her other son. "Remus was so worried when he found out, given his condition."

"You are seriously okay with his condition?" Harry asked incredulously, deciding to ignore the new information about his godfather for the moment, he'd come back to it later, preferably with the man himself.

"Remus Lupin is the nicest man I have ever had the pleasure of meeting," Petunia glared at him. "Anyway, the pregnancy was really hard on me. If it hadn't been for Lily and Snape I probably would've lost him. As it was, I went into labor three months early and was admitted to St. Mungo's. The healers managed to save both of us, thankfully. For about the next six months or so we were all so happy.

"However, all that changed when Lily and James went into hiding, shortly after you three had your first birthday. As I explained earlier, I left Soren with Remus, took Dudley and returned to Vernon. The next thing I knew, Harry was on my doorstep with a note from Dumbledore."

"Damn," Duo leaned back so his chair only rested on the back two legs. "We really need to get in touch with the godparents. Anyone got their phone numbers? Cause I'd really like to know why I had to run the streets of L2 and Trowa was raised by those mercs."

"Excuse me?" Petunia blinked in shock, she did not hear what she thought she just heard, it was unfathomable.

Bang, bang, bang. All eyes swiveled in the direction of the door, though none of them could see it from the kitchen. Duo and Trowa instinctively reached for their guns, old habits and all that.

"I'll be right back," Petunia said quietly, pushing rapidly to her feet.

Before she could leave the room, however, they all heard the door crash open and slam against the wall in the hall. Both former pilots were now on their feet, guns raised, and pointed at the kitchen door, ready to take out the intruders. Quatre grabbed both Dudley and Harry and pulled them toward the back door, ready to make a break for it if necessary.

"Where are they?!" growled a rough voice that Harry almost recognized.

"Quiet you," another familiar voice admonished. "Tuney! Harry! Anyone home?"

Ammie: Okay, so there it is, the weekly update. Sorry it's a bit late, been dealing with RL, sometimes being an adult is frustrating. Anyway, please let me know what you think.