Two's Company
by Teddylonglong

All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, magically powerful Harry.

Minerva gently put the sleeping children into her own bed, before she called Malcolm, her personal house-elf, and asked him to add a nursery to her quarters.

"Please ask some other elves to help you," she instructed him in a soft voice.

"A nursery, Mistress Minerva?" Malcolm uncharacteristically asked in apparent disbelief.

"Yes Malcolm, I have suddenly gained two grandsons," Minerva replied, smiling. "Come." She led the elf into her bedroom, where both toddlers were peacefully asleep, almost as if everything that happened earlier had been nothing but a bad dream.

'Unfortunately, it was not just a nightmare,' she thought, as tears welled up in her eyes.

Returning to her living room, she quickly floo-called Poppy to see if her best friend was still up and about.

"Minnie, what happened?" Poppy enquired, only to add, "Is it true?"

"Yes. I'd like to have some tea," Minerva replied, trying to keep her tears back.

"I'll come over," always understanding Poppy replied. "Let me step through."

"Thanks," Minerva breathed and walked away from the fireplace, only for her best friend to step out of it a mere instant later.

"Minnie, what happened, apart from the obvious?" Poppy repeated her earlier question.

"Come," Minerva simply said and showed her to her bedroom, causing the healer to let out a gasp.

"Who in the world are these boys?" she enquired, only to add, "Little Harry I suppose, but the other one?"

"Harry and what seems to be his twin brother," Minerva informed her. "Both have a large scar on their forehead, and while Harry has green eyes like Lily's, his brother has black eyes."

Poppy silently waved her wand over the boys, before she shook her head and stepped back into the living room. "Please bring them to me first thing in the morning, so that I can examine their scars," she instructed Minerva. "I don't want to disturb them now, considering that they had a traumatic evening. I believe that what they have is more than a simple scar. It must be a curse scar with some dark residue, but I'll hopefully be able to tell you more in the morning. I'm not sure if the dark residue that my spell showed me came from one boy or both," she added, thoughtfully.

"Will they be all right?" Minerva asked, worriedly.

"They will," Poppy promised in a soothing voice, giving her a reassuring smile.

"What am I going to do with them during the day?" Minerva changed the topic, trusting her best friend to see to it that the boys were going to be all right. "Shall I take them to class with me? But they need to be taught things. Should I ask the elves to teach them?"

"Do you want me to ask Mum if she's willing to come back and teach them?" Poppy suggested. "I'd be happy to have her here, and I believe that she'd love to look after the little ones."

"Really?" Minerva asked in excitement. She knew Theresa Pomfrey well, as she had spent much time with Poppy and her mother during the summer holidays. After her own mother had died, her muggle father had begun to resent her and did not want his freaky daughter at home during the summer months. At that time, she had always been welcome to stay at the Pomfreys' home or their quarters at Hogwarts.

"I'll call her first thing in the morning," Poppy promised. "You better head to Gringotts as soon as possible to gain the guardianship over Harry and his twin brother. Perhaps the Potters' will might give you some insight about his twin brother. Bring them to me, before you leave, and I'll look after them."

"I better do that," Minerva agreed, thoughtfully. "I still don't trust Albus to do something with or rather against them. He was so adamant to place them in front of the Dursleys' doorstep." Shaking her head in annoyance, she added, "Only the twins' strong will made him reconsider for the time being. As to the twin, I can't understand why the Potters never told me about him or had me babysit him together with Harry. It's a complete mystery. They both called me Granny Mina though. Oh well, thank Merlin I have two free periods during the first two classes tomorrow, so I'll have time enough to speak with the goblins."

"I'd ask if someone obliviated you, but I also know Harry Potter as an only child," Poppy added, trying to recall the circumstances around the boy's birth. "Lily had problems at birth, which caused me to send her to St. Mungo's," she remembered. "But I never heard that she gave birth to two boys."

HP

Minerva spent the night more or less sleepless on the sofa in the living room, not wanting to disturb the two toddlers, who were fast asleep in her bed in the form of a large Y.

When she quietly crept into her bedroom the following morning, both boys were wide awake and sitting in her bed, quietly looking at each other.

'It's almost as if they were communicating through telepathy,' Minerva thought, before she dismissed the idea as absurd and greeted the boys in a soft voice.

"You are Harry, is that correct?" she asked the green-eyed twin.

"Yef," Harry replied, nodding his head, as he gave her a genuine smile.

"I Henwy," the onyx-eyed twin replied to her unasked question, equally smiling at her.

"Very well, now, do you remember what happened last night?" she enquired, berating herself for not having considered what to ask the boys beforehand.

Henry nodded, and Harry quickly followed his example.

"Very well, I have brought you to Hogwarts with me, and I intend to keep you here with me," Minerva informed them, only to sigh in relief, when Poppy strode into the room.

'Thank Merlin, she has much more experience with small children than me,' Minerva thought, gratefully, as she watched Poppy cast diagnostic spells at the boys.

"Their scars are just simple scars," her friend finally informed her. "I must have been mistaken last night." Turning back to the twins, she asked, "Your heads don't hurt now, do they?"

Both children shook their heads.

"Now, let's get you all cleaned up, and then you're going to come with me to the Great Hall for breakfast. How's that?"

Minerva smiled, when the twins nodded in apparent excitement. 'Oh right, Harry loved the Great Hall, when I showed him the ceiling a few weeks ago. Perhaps he still remembers it,' she thought, when she readied herself for her visit to Gringotts, deciding that she could have breakfast later on.

HP

Amelia Bones stared at her niece Susan in shock. Susan had been an only child; now, however, there were two girls lying in her crib. They looked identical; however, while Susan's eyes were green, the other girl had onyx eyes.

"Good morning, girls," she greeted them, smiling broadly.

A double "Mownin" penetrated her ears, and she turned to the black-eyed girl. "I'm sorry, but where have you come from and what is your name?"

"I am Sandwa, Susan's twin," the girl replied, and Amelia was just about to further question the girl, when she recalled that she was only 17 months old and not a criminal for interrogation at the Auror's office.

Moreover, she could not help feeling happy at the idea of having two nieces who felt like daughters to her instead of just one. 'Perhaps the Unspeakables will be able to find out what happened,' she thought, as she gently cleaned and dressed the girls.

To her relief, Sandra was able to eat at least as well as Susan, who was already very clean compared to other magical children, whom she had met so far.

"I will be back in the afternoon as usual," she told the girls after having breakfast together and left them with Dolly, her house-elf, receiving two sloppy kisses from the girls.

To her relief, Dolly was as surprised as herself at Sandra's sudden appearance. 'I already wondered if something was wrong with my mind,' she thought, as she stepped into the fireplace to head to the ministry.

HP

Minerva entered Gringotts and requested to speak with the Potters' account manager.

"Lady McGonagall, the Potters' account manager is Buckbean. Please wait a moment, while I call him," the goblin in charge informed her, before he bustled away.

'Buckbean, right, Lily told me about him a few weeks ago,' Minerva recalled, just when another goblin arrived.

"Lady McGonagall, I am Buckbean. Please follow me into my office," he invited her, and Minerva swiftly followed the goblin, who seemed relatively friendly for a goblin.

From the interior of his office, she noticed soon that he had to be a fairly high-ranking goblin.

"I trust that this is about the events of last night?" he enquired, once she had taken the offered seat.

"Yes sir," Minerva replied. "I wish to claim custody over Harry and Henry please, and I'd also like to see the Potters' will."

Buckbean opened a large folder that was lying on his desk and quietly began to read. It only took a few minutes, before he looked up and said, "As you are mentioned in the will, I am allowed to inform you about it. The Potters wish either you, the Longbottoms, Sirius Black or Amelia Bones to take over the guardianship over Harry. It is explicitly written that he must not be sent to his muggle relatives, the Dursleys."

"Does it say anything about his twin brother Henry?" Minerva enquired, causing Buckbean to cast her a surprised look.

"His twin brother?" the goblin clarified, questioningly.

"Yes. I didn't even know that he has a twin brother," she explained, helplessly.

"This is very interesting," Buckbean replied – much to her annoyance.

'I don't think this is interesting. It's rather too mysterious for my liking,' she thought in annoyance, however, did not voice her thoughts.

"Unspeakable Raros approached me this morning," Buckbean informed her, "and it appears that another twin has suddenly turned up last night."

"What?" Minerva blurted out in disbelief.

"Amelia Bones claims that her niece Susan has suddenly gained a twin sister," Buckbean said, pensively. "It looks as if these occurrences were somehow related."

'That's even stranger,' Minerva thought, before she asked, "Should I contact Amelia and ask about it?"

"I would recommend that you speak with Madam Bones," Buckbean replied, seemingly pensive. "Right now, the Unspeakables are also looking into the matter; however, they are not aware of any type of crime or any other matter of concern. If they have any news concerning these events, they will contact you and Madam Bones."

HP

Harry felt sad but happy at the same time. He badly missed his mummy, and the events of the previous evening had been a huge shock. However, as soon as his forehead had begun to hurt, when the green light had hit him, Henry had appeared right next to him, and he had immediately made him feel better. Harry did not know how, but he was certain that it had been Henry who had made him all better. Ever since then, he had stayed with him, and right now, they were together at Hogwarts. Harry absolutely loved Hogwarts, just like he loved his Granny Minerva and Aunt Poppy.

At breakfast, they had met the other professors. Harry already knew some of them, and most of them had been very nice to the twins. There was one professor, who seemed really grumpy, and Henry had told him that he did not like the headmaster.

'It's nice to have Henry with me,' he thought, even if he had no idea where the other boy had come from let alone why he was together with him all of a sudden. As everyone else seemed to take the matter for granted, however, he did not bother to ask but decided to just be as happy as possible, even if he still missed his mummy.

Currently, Aunt Theresa was playing with Henry and him, which was much fun.

"Harry, are you all right?" the older lady suddenly enquired in a soft voice, giving him a sharp look.

"Yef," Harry replied and went back to enjoying himself playing with her and Henry.

HP

Susan felt very happy. Her mummy loved her very much, but she was always busy working, and Susan used to remain alone with the house-elves during the day. All of a sudden, however, she had gained a sister, who was about her own size, could talk as well as her and loved to play as much as herself. Sandra was very nice, and they played happily together, so that the time before their mummy came home passed quite fast.

"Lub you, Sandwa," she told her new twin, pressing a sloppy kiss onto the girl's cheek.

"I lub you, too, Susan," her sister replied, smiling.

"Today, I received a call from my old teacher at Hogwarts," their mother informed them, when she came home in the evening. "She is the grandmother of Harry Potter and his twin brother, and she asked me if you would be willing to come over and play with them on Sunday."

"Yes pwease," Sandra replied, just what Susan thought.

She nodded, eagerly.

HP

Thirty hours later, when Harry and Henry were fast asleep in their nursery in Minerva's quarters, Minerva, the other heads of the houses and the headmaster had tea with Poppy and Theresa in the healer's office like they often did in the evening after curfew.

Albus let out a deep sigh. "Theresa, as happy as I am to have you back here at the school, I'm afraid that I will have to take the Potter twins to the Dursleys'. It is important for them to live with their aunt to have blood wards protect them from possible enemies such as Death Eaters. After what happened to the Longbottoms last night, I believe that it's even more important for them to have their aunt's protection."

"No!" Minerva replied in a firm voice, glaring at the headmaster, when – much to her surprise – help came from an unexpected source.

Severus, her youngest colleague and head of Slytherin, let out a scoff. "I have known Lily and Petunia since we were children, and Petunia has always hated magic. Blood wards must be based on love to be efficient, and knowing Petunia I am one hundred percent certain that she's not willing to love a freak, which is what she used to call Lily and me ever since we set foot into Hogwarts."

"In Lily's and James' will, it says that they shouldn't be placed with the Dursleys anyway," Minerva added, grimly, feeling very grateful towards her younger colleague for assisting in her disagreement with the headmaster.

"As much as it annoys me to have two miniature versions of James Potter running around Hogwarts," Severus continued to speak, grimly, "unfortunately, I must agree with Minerva. Lily's sons don't deserve having to live with Petunia."

"Severus," Poppy spoke up in a soft voice, "considering that they're Lily's sons, perhaps they'll be as adapt at brewing potions as she was. You might be able to raise yourself two assistants by teaching them from an early time onwards."

Letting out another scoff, Severus countered, "If they have more of Potter's genes than of hers, as it appears to be, they won't be willing to do any work at all."

"Nonsense," Theresa disagreed. "They're very nice and alert children, and if you figure out how to teach two toddlers about potions, I am sure that they will be interested. Just try it out, my boy."

To Minerva's surprise, Severus nodded in apparent understanding. "I will," he promised, "if that's all right with you, Minerva?"

"Of course," Minerva replied, smiling. "Thank you, Severus."

HP

The headmaster, however, was still not convinced that things were as they should be.

'I need to figure out, why there are suddenly two boys, although there is only supposed to be one,' he decided. 'It might have something to do with Voldemort.'

"Surely not," Minerva contradicted, when he voiced his thoughts. "Why would Amelia suddenly have two nieces then?"

'That's true,' Albus thought; however, still was not convinced.

His chance to find out something arrived on Sunday morning at breakfast, when the twins were sitting in their high chairs between Minerva and him at the head table.

"Would you like a strawberry?" he addressed the twin next to him, and when the boy looked at him, he unobtrusively cast a light Legilimency spell.

HP

Minerva would never forget this day, which began with the headmaster falling from his chair at the head table – much to the students' exhilaration – and continued to shock her.

tbc...?

Are you interested? Thank you for your kind comments on the first chapter. Please tell me what you thought about this chapter and what you expect from this story. My muse appreciates the feedback.

Next chapter "Onyx Eyes".