Whoa, chapter two? I didn't think I was going to keep writing this story! shakes head in amasement The things you do when you're bored...

LostChapter 2

It was a cold December afternoon, and the Potter household was bustling with activity. It was two weeks until Christmas, but that wasn't what excited everyone. No, the bustling about was because it was Silas Potter's fifth birthday.

Six year old Harry wandered about the house, trying to stay out of everyone's way as they set up for his brother's party. He didn't see what was so important about this day in particular, he just knew that it wasn't fair, and that he never got a party on his birthday. The only thing that he thought was important was the fact that uncle Moony was coming. Sighing, he wandered towards the entry hall, hoping to greet uncle Moony before he got caught up in the day's events. Moony was already in the hall talking to one of the other guests when Harry entered.

Moony had been off on a trip to India for the past year and a half, following another lead to find the cure for his lycanthropy, and Harry had missed him dearly. The defeat of Voldemort had been a great chance for Remus, for he could openly work on finding a cure for his lycanthropy. It was difficult during the war, because he was always needed to help out in some way for the resistance. Harry of course knew all about this from the stories he'd heard from his two uncles, but he didn't care, he didn't like it.

"Uncle Moony!" He called out excitedly, hoping to catch his favorite uncle's attention. Smiling, Moony turned around and swung Harry up into his arms.

"Hey there Pup, how have you been? I hope you haven't been getting into any trouble because I haven't been around to keep an eye on you."

Harry shook his head solemnly and blinked his two, big, cute green eyes, causing Remus to chuckle softly. Still smiling, he put Harry back down on the floor.

"Let's go wish your little brother happy birthday, ok Pup?" Pup was Remus' pet name for Harry, and it always had been. James and Lily had tried to convince him to call Silas cub too, but it hadn't felt right to Remus. Instead, Silas had the nickname of Pronglet, and that was good enough for James.

Harry didn't really like that idea but nodded, reaching up to grasp his uncle's hand with his own. Remus smiled down at his adopted nephew sadly, wishing he could do something that would make the boy stop being sad all the time.

The two entered the living room, where there were already many gifts piled up all around the room. Silas had many admirers, and often received many gifts on birthdays and on Christmas.

Silas was sitting in his favorite chair, playing chess with his father. James looked up when the two entered, and smiled when he saw his friend.

"Moony, old pal, nice to see you! Have you come to celebrate our wonderful son's birthday?" He asked, completely ignoring Harry. Remus noticed this right away, and stored it in his memory in case it was important.

"Was the rumor true?"

"No. It was another dead end" Remus told him, flopping down in a chair. Harry climbed up onto his lap with a picture book he'd picked up off the floor.

"Hey Pup, have you learned how to read yet"

"Uhuh, but I still like looking at the pictures" Harry said shyly and opened the book.

Silas glared at Harry, angry that his older brother was getting all the attention. He smirked inwardly as he came up with a plan that would get Harry in trouble. Lily came into the room at that moment, carrying a tray with snacks on it. Smiling, she placed it in front of Silas.

"Stop trying to be better than me, you didn't kill the Dark Lord." He said snootily. Harry just sat there, looking down at his hands.

"Yes honey, you killed the dark lord, now eat up." Remus frowned inwardly at this, not quite understanding what was going on, and not sure that he liked what he saw.

"Are you sure you should be encouraging that kind of animosity between your children?" Remus asked in surprise.

Lily blinked and looked at him, and then smiled. "Remus, what are you talking about? It's true isn't it? And Silas needs all the encouragement he can get for when Voldemort comes back." She looked fondly at the son in question before continuing. "And Silas has finally become toilet trained. I'm so proud of him!"

Remus was startled. It was almost as if she'd forgotten that Harry had become toilet trained at three and a half. Still frowning inwardly, he spoke up "Harry learned how to read." But Lily had already left the room.

Harry knew what his uncle was trying to do, and he knew that it wouldn't work. His mom and dad never cared about that kind of stuff unless it was Silas doing them. He didn't want his uncle to know how miserable he was, because that would make him mad, and then he would get mad at Mom and Dad. Then things would get even worse for Harry, and uncle Moony would have to leave. The same thing had happened to uncle Padfoot half a year ago, and Harry hadn't seen him since. Harry didn't want Moony to have to go as well, so he quickly diverted his uncle's attention to the book in his lap.

The party started two hours later, and there were lots of guests. Harry stayed near the walls while he watched everything happen. He knew he wasn't welcome. But for some reason, because uncle Moony was there, he felt obligated to try and interact with the guests. Gathering up his courage, he walked towards the nearest group of people. There were three of them. Two had red hair, and were clearly related, while the other had brown hair. He approached shyly, afraid of how they would react, but still wanting to be friends. The first one to notice him was the smaller red-head, a girl.

"Hi there, who're you? I'm Ginny, you look funny."

Harry was taken aback by her bluntness, and found that he could only stutter in reply. The older red-head took pity on him.

"Ginny, don't be mean." He berated her, before turning to Harry. "I'm Ron, and she's my little sister." Harry smiled weakly at him.

"I'm Harry. You probably know my younger brother, Silas. Everybody seems to know him."

Ron stared at him, wide eyed. "You're Silas Potter's older brother!" He exclaimed, and Harry winced. "Yeah, and he's not as great as everyone thinks he is."

It was at this moment that the other boy chose to join in the conversation. "I know. Gran says that he can be right horrible at times" He lowered his voice and continued "I've even heard her say that he can be positively slytherin at times." The other three children stared at him in shock.

"No way." Ron whispered, but Harry just sighed. "Knew it." Was all Ginny said in response to the news. The other boy just shrugged. "It's just what Gran said. By the way, I'm Neville."

The party was much more enjoyable after that. The four children spent most of their time avoiding the adults and the other guests, gossiping, and playing games. Harry was having the time of his life. It all ended far too soon for his liking. Sadly, he wouldn't see his new friends again until five years later…

AN: please review, I need lots of ideas, because I have no idea what I'm going to do for this story...

I'm going to clear something up in case you have any questions. In this story, Harry doesn't have a scar, he has a small tattoo in the chape of a running wolf on his left forearm, the mark of the curse is his eyes changing from brown to green. No, Harry is not a werewolf, and the meaning of the tattoo will be revealed later. Harry will be in gryffindor, and will be best friends with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. Silas will be in Slytherin, because he's a slimy little git. I will try to follow the story line of the books as much as I can, but I might not be able to. Sirius will come back later, but I have no idea how, or why I even had him leave. Silas is a spoiled little brat, and Lily and James are probably going to become nasty people. Remus was off looking for a cure for lycanthropy, and hasn't seen the Potters for a year and a half. Harry's most prized possession is awolf stuffy that Remus gave hims for his third birthday, and will show up later. Yes, it will have significance.If you have any other questions, Review!

-Crimson Dragongem