Disclaimer: Don't own it. JKR does. Adopted from Nia River. Only own original ideas.

Chapter 3

Fri, 7/2/1992

They arrived in a tangle of limbs, feet slamming into the ground before losing their balance, falling sprawled across the floor. Luckily Kyle landed on the bottom of the pile. Kyle was quite tall for his age now. He could say that he was almost as tall as Ron was yet with a lithe build. Harry on the other hand was quite small for a seven year old due to malnourishment and he would have been squished like a bug had Kyle landed on him and not the other way round.

After much awkward untangling and several apologises for the squashing of various limbs, the two managed to find their feet again. Then they stopped and stared in open mouthed awe.

Potter Manor certainly lived up to its name. The place was obviously fantastically wealthy, and was quite grand looking, but in a tasteful manner. They had arrived in a large entrance hall, much like that of Hogwarts in that a large staircase dominated the room and several large doors led off from it. That was where the similarities ended however.

The floor was done in polished marble, as was the staircase. The banisters were black and the railings and floors were done in white, all veined in gold. In the centre of the floor was inlaid the Potter crest in black marble among the white. The stairs were carpeted in blood red trimmed in gold; the lush sort of carpet that begged to be waked about on barefoot. The focus of the room was a large, beautiful, crystal chandelier, accented in gold. It hung from the ceiling and even unlit it reflected rainbows of colour about the room.

"Wow," Kyle whispered.

"You live here?" came Harry's awed voice.

"Apparently," at the questioning look he added, "I only inherited the place today. This is the first time I've ever seen it."

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it really is." Kyle had thought that it would be in need of cleaning but he hadn't contacted his House-Elves as he had wanted to collect Harry before Dumbledore caught wind of there being a new Lord Potter.

At the sound of creaking they both turned to look to the left. The huge door swung open a small way and through it walked a tiny creature with large pointed ears and enormous blue eyes. Thinking of House-Elves, Kyle thought. It was humming to itself merrily. Harry, having never seen a house-elf before, gave a small yelp of surprise, drawing the attention of the elf who in turn squeaked in shock.

"Who is youse?" the creature asked in a high squeaky voice, "What is youse doing here?"

Harry shifted his gaze nervously from the elf to his companion. Sensing his charge's uncertainty, Kyle rested a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze and was happy to feel the young boy relax somewhat. "Hello," he greeted the confused elf politely, "My name is Kyle Potter and this here is Harry Potter-" He got no further than that as the little elf began dancing around happily.

"Masters has come, Masters has come! Tilly is so happy!" she suddenly stopped dancing, "Oh, Tilly must tell to Old Kell the news!"

And with that she disappeared with a soft 'pop', leaving the two boys staring at where she had been in confusion.

"What was that?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Hermione would kill me, Kyle thought to himself. "That was a House-Elf. They're sort of servants in wizard homes who are bound to the family."

"Like how I used to be with the Dursleys?"

Kyle winced, "Yes sort of like that, only House-Elves enjoy serving their families. They consider it an honour."

"Why?"

"I don't know. They're strange like that. Unfortunately, some wizards don't appreciate them and treat them quite badly. I once knew an elf that was expected to iron his hands and bash his head about whenever he disobeyed or spoke badly of his master." Kyle said thinking of Dobby in his old life. For a second he wondered whether he would be able to find a way to free him of the Malfoys. While Dobby was a bit odd and eccentric he was a loyal friend. One that Kyle missed.

"That's terrible!" Harry looked horrified.

"I know. I don't know how many Elves that this manor has, but I did know that there was at least one and we'll have to make sure we treat them well." Kyle said giving Harry a stern look to make sure that he knew that Kyle was serious. While Kyle was sure that Harry would never dream of mistreating an Elf Kyle thought that it would be best that he tell Harry what he expected of him right from the beginning.

Kyle saw a determined look settle over Harry's face. As the boy nodded firmly he knew he had been correct in thinking that he would never have to worry about Harry mistreating their servants. At the sound of a soft pop, followed by another, they looked down to see that the house-elf Tilly had returned and another had Elf come with her.

The other Elf was perhaps the oldest he had ever seen barring Kreacher. He was stooped and heavily wrinkled, walking with the aid of a small knobbly cane. Unlike the demented Black elf however, his age seemed to give him a sort of dignity.

"You sees, Kell?" Tilly squeaked enthusiastically, "Masters! Masters in the manor again!"

"Yes," the elder elf's voice was a strange mixture; high yet croaky, "Youse are indeed Masters. Youse is wearing Potter rings. Greetings Masters, I is Kell."

"Yes. Greetings Masters," the younger elf said, "How may Tilly and Kell serve youse?"

"Well," said the elder Potter, "As I told Tilly before, I'm Kyle and this is Harry."

"Master James's sons!"

"Yes Tilly, James Potter's sons." Kyle nodded; a small sad smile on his face. It really was hard luck that he had never known his father in either dimension.

"What can Tilly be doing for her Masters?" Tilly looked very excited at the prospect of doing her masters wishes Kyle noted.

"Well could you please sort out two bedrooms for us to stay in," Kyle began. "We're going to be living here now you see." Tilly gave an excited squeak and Kell had a smile on his face. "But first would you mind drawing a bath for Harry. I think that it's time that we get him out of his cousins' rags and into something decent." Tilly squeaked again and this time even Harry had a small, hopeful smile on his face.

"Really?" Harry asked. "I get new clothes?"

"Well I'll have to shrink some of mine down so they'll fit you for now as we don't have time to go shopping this evening." Kyle glanced at his watch, it was almost six. "The shops would be closing now anyhow. But yes, we'll go shopping for new clothes soon. Go on with Tilly, Harry. I'll be up with your clothes in about half an hour to give you time to bathe. Okay?"

Harry nodded and went off with Tilly happily, the both of them babbling away at each other happily. Kyle however frowned when he noticed his brother was limping, favouring his left leg over his right. "Kell," Kyle said as soon as Harry and Tilly were out of earshot. "Do we by any chance have any bruise balms, bandages and pain potions here?"

"We do, Master." Kell said slowly. His eyes had tracked Harry's progress across the room as well. "I can get them for you, Master, when you is going to give Master Harry his clothes."

"Please do, Kell. For now though would you mind giving me a brief tour if it's not too much trouble on your behalf? I would like to see just where we'll be living from now on." Kell gave Kyle a smile and began to hobble over towards the marble staircase. Kyle was surprised with the old Elf's agility when he was climbing the stairs. It seemed that Kell would not be put out of commission for a good long time yet. At the top of the staircase Kell led Kyle off to the right and then turned down another hallway.

"This is where yours and Master Harry's rooms will be." Kell said pointing out two doors as they reached them. The doors were at the end of the hallway and a fair distance away from the Entrance Hall which would give both Kyle and Harry some privacy. Kell then led Kyle down a hall to the left and pointed out what was now Kyle's study as he was Lord Potter.

The tour ended roughly a half an hour later after Kell had shown Kyle the dining room and the parlour as well as pointed out the fully-sized Quidditch Pitch before stopping out a door in a random hallway. Kell then informed Kyle that this was where Harry was bathing in and then he said that he would be back momentarily with the supplies that Kyle had requested earlier.

When Kell popped away Kyle took out his trunk, laid it on the ground beside him and unshrunk it. Rummaging around in it he pulled out a pair of warm pyjamas and shrunk them down so that they would fit Harry. When they were roughly Harry's size Kyle ended the spell. Just when he was about to close the trunk Kyle stopped short and almost wanted to hit himself round the head. He quickly lifted the lid and pulled out a pair of boxers and shrunk them down to fit Harry as well. He then closed the trunk and stood up straight again to wait for Kell.

He wasn't long waiting as just then Kell popped back with the supplies that Kyle had asked for floating behind him in abundance. "Thank you, Kell." Kell nodded his acceptance of the thanks and waited for Kyle to take control of the levitation spell before he popped out. Kyle knocked on the bathroom door before entering. After hearing Harry's voice telling him that it was okay to come in he entered the bathroom. What he saw was Harry wrapped up in a huge bathrobe that made him look tiny and his hair was sopping wet and sticking to his forehead like glue. Harry looked very cute in Kyle's opinion.

"Here," Kyle handed the resized boxers to Harry and set the supplies down on the counter by the sink. "Put those on." Harry complied quickly, turning around and putting the boxers on under the bathrobe. "Before you get dressed properly though, I want you to tell me if you have any bruises or any aches or pains." Kyle watched Harry's face pale a little before he replied.

"It's okay." He said. He was shaking slightly Kyle noted as Harry pulled the bathrobe tighter around him as if to protect himself. "There's no bruises."

Kyle bit his lip, wondering what to say. He knew for a fact that there were bruises. He had once lived in Number Four, Privet Drive after all so he was well acquainted with Vernon Dursleys meaty fists. Then there was the fact that he'd seen Harry limping. Sighing inaudibly, Kyle spread a towel down on the tilled floor and sat down. He patted the space beside him and Harry took him up on the invitation hesitantly. Kyle could almost see the cogs working in his head as Harry tried to find a way to make Kyle think that there were no bruises.

With a small shake of his head Kyle decided that honesty would be the best way to get through to Harry. While there was no way that he was going to talk to him about his own experiences at the hands of Vernon Dursley that didn't mean that he couldn't talk to the boy about Kyle Potter's childhood. "You know when I was a little boy," he began. "About three or four years old. My mum got married to this man." Harry seemed both surprised and relieved at the apparent change of subject. "At first he was nice. He would take me and my mum shopping. He used to make my mum laugh and he would play with me. But then, after a while he changed."

Harry looked up at Kyle with his bright green eyes. "What happened?" He asked. Kyle almost didn't tell him. But, he felt that this was the best way to connect with Harry at the moment; and he needed to check his ankle at least to make sure that it was only sprained. If Harry needed medical attention then Kyle wanted to know so he could make his brother well.

"I don't really know. Jonathon – that was his name by the way," Kyle added at Harry's confused expression. "Well he used to stay out later. He began coming home drunk." Kyle kept his eyes on Harry's face as he watched the boy begin to make the connections between Kyle's old step-father and Vernon Dursley. "When he was drunk he was different. He began to hit my mum sometimes. Then, when I was about five he began to hit me as well."

"Why?" Harry asked his eyes wide.

"Stupid reasons really," Kyle replied truthfully. "I would forget to put something away or I would make too much noise but most of the time it was for no reason at all."

"But that isn't right!" Harry protested.

Kyle wrapped an arm around Harry's to-thin shoulders and hugged him close. "No it isn't right. Neither is it right that Vernon hit you, Harry." Harry immediately froze and then tried to escape from under Kyle's arm but Kyle just pulled him onto his lap for a proper hug. He was very careful as he knew that there was a strong possibility that Harry had painful bruises coating his body. "Listen to me Harry. I know that Vernon hit you. I don't think that he did, I know that he did. Why do you think that I came and got you out of there?"

"He didn't hit me." Harry was sobbing by this point but he was no longer trying to escape from Kyle's strong arms. "He didn't hit me, okay!"

"You know, Harry," Kyle said softly. He tightened his arms around Harry as he felt Harry hesitantly cling to him. Kyle was sure that he was the first person to comfort the boy when he crying in a long, long time. "You're the first person that I've told. About what Jonathon did I mean? My mum knew, but he hit her too and there wasn't a lot that she could do to stop Jonathon from getting to me. What I'm trying to say Harry is that it's okay. It wasn't your fault that he hit you and I'm not going to go tell anybody if you don't want me to. It can be our secret, so long as you let me heal your bruises."

"You promise," Harry turned his watery eyes on Kyle. "You won't tell anybody?"

"I promise. But, if we have to get a doctor then we will but we won't tell anybody anything that you don't want them to know. Okay?"

"Okay."

After that Harry was only a little hesitant when showing Kyle where he was hurt. Kyle had been correct in his assumption that Harry's ankle was injured. When he looked at it, it was swollen and bruised. Harry could move it though and he said that it was only sore when he walked on it so Kyle was pretty sure that it wasn't broken. To make sure though, he cast a basic diagnostic charm that he was surprised he knew. After that Kyle applied some bruise balm and strapped the ankle up in a tight bandage. He ended up having to do the same with Harry's ribs. The diagnostic charm showed that they were just bruised, like Harry's ankle, but Kyle figured that it wouldn't do any harm to strap them too.

Kyle had been so angry when he had seen the state of his little brother's abdomen that he had accidently released some of his magic, causing one of the glasses by the sink to shatter. He was seriously contemplating returning to Privet Drive to have it out with Vernon Dursley for what he had done to Harry. It was only the thought of being arrested for Muggle-Baiting or GBH that stopped him from going there though. If anything happened to him – Kyle – then Harry would have nobody and would probably get sent back to the Dursleys due to Dumbledore's precious Blood Wards.

"Kyle?" Harry said as he set down the glass of water he had been drinking to wash the horrid taste of the pain-relieving potion out of his mouth.

"Yes, Harry?" Kyle replied. He dried his hands on a towel and then stood up; stretching his legs out, trying to wake them up as he had spent so long kneeling on the floor in front of Harry.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Harry." Kyle smiled at him. "You're my little brother. I'm always going to be here to help you from now on. You just have to tell me when you need help so that I'll know. Okay?"

"Okay." Harry nodded before he yawned. "Oh and Kyle? I won't tell anybody what you told me. It'll be our secret as well."

Sat, 8/2/1992

Kyle awoke the next morning to unfamiliar surroundings. Confused, he looked around the room for some time before the memories of the previous evening filtered through to his conscious mind. Now wide awake and in the light of day, he jumped out of bed and looked about, taking in the details of his new room.

The bedroom was large and quite opulent. It was decorated in browns and teals, with bronze details. The bed was stood on a slightly raised platform and was a four-poster with chocolate coloured velvet drapes. Down from the platform there was a small sitting area with comfortable looking sofas and delicate coffee tables, etched with patterns of forest scenes, the etchings inlaid with bronze. Three doors led off from the room. The large one on the opposite wall he recalled led out to the hall. He assumed the smaller doors led to a closet and an en suite of some description.

Realising with some disgust that he had not bathed since the night before he left his own world, he decided to make use of the bathroom. Moving over to his trunk where it sat at the end of his bed, he tapped it with his wand to return it to normal size. Selecting an outfit to get changed into, he made a choice and headed for the door on the left. It seemed he had guessed right, as he found himself in the en suite. What he had not expected however, was the size of the room. It was easily the largest bathroom he had ever seen. It carried on the colour scheme of the bedroom and, with the marble floors, large sunken pool and many taps; it reminded him of an even grander version of the prefect's bathroom.

He spent some time fiddling with various taps, and ended up with a pool filled with white soapy bubbles as well as blue ones, the latter of which were scented with wood, fresh air and newly cut grass, bringing to mind the smell of Quidditch. In the end he indulged in the warm perfumed water for a good half hour before climbing out, drying himself off and getting dressed. He would have stayed longer but he wanted to check in on Harry and see if he had awoken yet.

A few minutes later found him standing outside in the hall before the door he vaguely recalled leading to the younger boy's room. After a soft knock elicited no response he carefully opened the door and stepped inside.

The room he found himself in reminded him of his own. There were a few differences however, the most obvious being the colour scheme. Harry's room was done in dark blues and beige, with accents of silver. Another difference was that while it still looked quite stylish, it was simpler and less mature looking than his was – more of a child's bedroom. Also, in place of a sitting area was a clear floor space with wooden chests off to the side which Kyle suspected were toy chests.

Focussing his attention on the raised bed, he climbed onto the platform and looked down at his little brother. The little boy slept soundly, one hand holding the blankets up under his chin and the other curled beside his face. Laying there in the centre of the huge bed, he looked even tinier than usual. Smiling fondly, Kyle sat on the edge of the bed, reaching a hand out to brush the boy's hair out of his eyes. At the gesture Harry stirred, blinking sleepily up at him and looking adorably confused. As Kyle brushed his hair from his face once more he seemed to wake up properly and looked up at the older boy shyly, his cheeks blushing slightly.

"Morning Harry, have a good sleep?"

"Good morning," the child smiled, "I had a great sleep. This is the softest bed I've ever been in!"

"I'm not surprised," he said sadly, remembering that he had spent the last years on a hard cot in a dark cupboard.

Harry must have realised the directions of his thoughts as his expression also fell. Wanting to make him smile again, Kyle grinned cheerfully. "Well, you'd best get used to it. This is your room from now on."

It worked better than expected as Harry's eyes became huge as he sat up quickly to inspect the room. "But it's huge!" the boy exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Huge?" Kyle pasted on a mock serious look, "Well, that won't do. You can't have a huge room," the little boy expressions almost turned disappointed before he continued, "You must have a humungously huge one!"

Harry burst into giggles. "But this is humungously huge!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," he gave a serious nod.

"Well, in that case, it's all yours." This earned Kyle another smile, "Now, how about we head down and get some breakfast?"

They had rather a lot of fun trying to find their way to the dining room. In the end they got so lost in the large manor that they had to call for Tilly to come and show them the way. Fortunately, the young elf seemed to find their predicament as amusing as they did. And so, the three of them ended up walking – well Kyle and Tilly did as Kyle was carrying Harry due to his sprained ankle – happily through the halls, Harry telling the elf enthusiastically of the secret passage he had discovered behind a hanging tapestry.

Tilly it seemed was quite well informed of the secret ways, for which Kyle was grateful. The younger boy had been thrilled at the find and was already talking about searching for some more. He had a feeling he would spend a lot of time in the months to come searching passageways for his charge when he got himself lost. It would be good to have the help of someone who knew their way around.

Finally they were led through two large double doors and into the dining room that Kell had shown Kyle the evening before. Kyle had not been at all surprised at how fantastic the room looked. He rather suspected the same could be said for the whole of the manor as it most certainly could be said for the rooms he had seen so far. Tilly led them to the head of the table where he was directed to sit, with Harry in the chair to his right, before she curtseyed and popped away. Harry looked about to ask a question when their end of the long table was suddenly filled with food. Having spent five years at Hogwarts this was part of the course for Kyle. Harry however was both surprised and impressed, jumping a little in his seat and then staring at the food in awe.

"Where did the food come from?"

Kyle looked up from the scone he was buttering, only just realising that the younger boy had been shocked by the arrival of breakfast.

"The kitchens; Libby would have set the food on a table similar to this one on the floor below. Then, she used magic to send it all up." The pair of them had met all the House-Elves before they had gone to bed the evening before. There were four Elves at Potter Manor – well five if you included the little Elfling Mina. Kell was the oldest and he was the Head Elf. Then there was Kell's son Gully and his mate Libby. Gully took care of the gardens while Libby took care of the kitchens. Tilly turned out to be Gully and Libby's first Elf child or Elfling and she kept the house clean and tidy and did the laundry. And little Mina was Gully's and Libby's little Elfling and Tilly's little sister. Both Kyle and Harry thought that she was adorable.

Harry was impressed by the magic and the older boy just knew he'd find him down in the kitchens sometime soon, questioning the motherly elf on how she had performed the magic. Just when the boy seemed about to eat something he paused. Confused, Kyle asked him what was wrong.

"It's just, I wasn't sure if I was allowed any. I didn't even cook this morning."

Kyle put down his scone and turned all his attention to the worrying boy, giving him a serious look. "Harry, look at me. Now what you need to understand is that this isn't the Dursleys. Things are going to be different here. For one, I will never withhold food from you. You can always be expected to get at least three meals a day. And none of those tiny portions you're used to. I expect you to eat enough to fill you up, understood?" Harry nodded, his eyes wide, "Good. Also, you won't have to cook all the meals or do all the work, mostly because it's not right to expect so much work from a child. And also partly because I'm sure the House-Elves would rebel if you tried to take all their work away," he added the last with a grin.

"They really like work that much?" Harry asked, scrunching up his nose.

"Yes, for some strange reason they do."

"Oh. So I won't ever have to do any work."

"Well," Kyle considered, "I think I'll negotiate with the Elves for a few chores for you to do. We don't want you turning into a spoiled, fat layabout like Dudley do we?"

Harry shook his head rapidly from side to side. "Oh, no. I never want to be like Dudley."

"Right, so we'll give you a few chores. Nothing too big though, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, now help yourself to some breakfast."

Kyle sat down behind the desk in his new study and pulled out a piece of clean parchment from the drawer. He had spoken to Harry over breakfast regarding the invitation that Kyle had accepted for dinner that evening at the Longbottoms. Obviously Kyle didn't feel that he could just appear with Harry in tow, nor did he think that Harry would be ready to meet new people. He had after all just met and moved in with Kyle yesterday. Kyle felt that introducing him to other people – especially people that Kyle himself did not know well – wouldn't be the best idea at the moment.

Harry however thought differently. Kyle wasn't sure whether it was the prospect of meeting a potential friend in Neville or what, but Harry wanted to have dinner with the Longbottoms. So Kyle was now writing to the Longbottoms to inform them that he had acquired a young guest who would be living with him for the foreseeable future and as much as he wanted to go to dinner that evening, he just couldn't in good conscience leave his guest alone. Instead, Kyle had conceded to his little brother's wish and decided to invite the Longbottoms over to Potter Manor for the evening. Libby had informed him that she was more than happy to cook for so many people.

With a sigh, still wondering if it was the right thing to do, Kyle tied the letter to Hedwig and watched her fly off towards Longbottom Manor. When he could see her no longer he turned and left the room in search of Harry who had told him that he would be in the library.

That evening at five to six Kyle was standing in front of the Floo with Harry in his arms. The boy's bruises around his mid-section had almost disappeared but as his ankle was still quite swollen Kyle was a little reluctant to let Harry put his weight on it for too long; hence him carrying him. Harry didn't seem to mind though; he seemed to like being this close to his brother. Kyle had an idea that it might be due to the way Petunia and Vernon treated the boy combined with their little heart to heart the evening before.

Kyle pushed the thoughts away and threw a pinch of Floo Powder into the grate. When the flames turned green he stepped in and called out 'Longbottom Manor' and spun away. He had explained about the magical way of travelling to Harry beforehand as he didn't want the lad to freak out too much when he stood him in flames.

They arrived in a swirl of green flames and Kyle could proudly say that he let neither himself nor Harry fall. Not to say that it hadn't been a close thing. Kyle set Harry down on his feet and then looking at the soot covering their clothes he gave a quick wave of his wand, tidying them up with a cleaning charm.

"Good evening, sirs." a high-pitched voice announced.

Harry saw the House-Elf first and gave a shy wave.

"Good evening," Kyle said then introduced them both, "I'm Kyle Potter and this is my little brother Harry." Kyle introduced Harry by name as he had not named him in his letter. That was partly the reason that he had been so surprised at the reply that he had received that afternoon from his letter to Alice. She had told him to bring his guest along. The more the merrier according to her.

"Oh, wonderful. Mistress Alice and Master Frank and Little Master Neville are looking forward to youse coming. Follow Denny and he will show honoured guests to the parlour."

The little Elf then hurriedly skipped over to a door, holding it open for them. Kyle offered his hand out to Harry as a means of comfort and support. He could see that his brother was nervous about this dinner and no doubt rethinking his acceptance of the invitation. He could also see that Harry's ankle was bothering him as he was still limping quite heavily. If the walk seemed too long then Kyle would just carry Harry. He would let Harry walk first as he had no intention of babying him in front of new acquaintances and in front of a potential friend for Harry. That would only embarrass him to no end and he would probably resent Kyle. Kyle vowed to keep an eye on Harry though as he didn't want him to damage the ankle further. He could kill those Dursleys!

As they followed Denny, Kyle took the opportunity to look around. They had arrived in what he assumed to be the Manor's entrance hall. Unlike his own home which was done in marble coloured black and whites with accents of red and gold, Longbottom Manor's entrance was done in browns and greens with silver detailing. The floor was of deeply polished timber as was the staircase, which was carpeted in a dark forest green. Tapestries of forests and battles as well as various old weapons and shields adorned the walls.

The door Denny ushered them through led down a short hallway and then through another door into the parlour. This room was bright, decorated in yellows and blues and with large windows. Portraits of garden scenes hung from the walls. All in all Longbottom Manor seemed a bit more modest than Potter Manor, but still spoke of great wealth all the same.

Denny indicated for the two of them to take a seat on a cushioned couch, done in sunshine yellow.

"Visitors be seated. Denny will tell the Mistress and Master of youse's arrival. Would guests like refreshments?" Kyle shook his head and politely declined and then the Elf was gone with a 'pop'. Now that they were alone he looked down to see how Harry was doing. The boy seemed unable to sit still, fidgeting nervously and playing with a loose thread on the pants Kyle had shrunken down for him whilst he nibbled on his bottom lip. With a smile he ruffled the child's dark hair.

"Hey!" Harry's hands shot up, trying to fix the mess he'd made. He just grinned unrepentantly in reply, glad to have distracted him. Just then the doors to the parlour opened. Both green eyed boys looked up, watching as Alice Longbottom walked in with a smile. Walking by her side was a tall man who Kyle assumed was Frank and a younger boy who could only have been Neville.

Kyle was immediately surprised by the boy's appearance. He reminded him very little of the Neville he remembered in his world. The only similarities seemed to be in his light brown hair, blue eyes and somewhat in his facial structure, although this boy's face showed far less chubbiness than the one he remembered. For that matter his entire form seemed less chubby. Not to say he was skinny, more that he was average and showed promise of growing into a muscular man in years to come. He stood at average height, although that made him much taller than the tiny Harry, and he carried himself with a confident, almost arrogant air. That was the most surprising part of all. His world's Neville Longbottom had been shy and timid, prone to breaking into stutters and tripping over his own feet. He wondered at such a difference in him merely from being raised by his parents instead of his grandmother.

Kyle stood up to greet his hosts as Harry stood beside him. Kyle gave Harry a surprised glance when the boy took his right hand which he had previously let go again.

"Kyle," Alice smiled, surprising him with a strong hug, "I'm so glad you came."

"Well thank you for inviting us," he replied, managing to get over his shock quickly enough to wrap the arm that wasn't being clung to by his brother in a now death grip around her.

"Not a problem." Alice released him and then smiled down at Harry. His scar was covered but Kyle didn't know if she knew who he was yet. He had given Harry's name to Denny and said that he was his brother but Kyle had no idea whether the Elf had relayed that information to his Mistress and Master. Kyle was snapped out of his musings when Alice started speaking again. "Now, I would like you both to meet husband Frank and my son Neville."

"How do you do?" Frank offered his hand to Kyle and shook with a firm handshake.

"I'm well, sir." Kyle replied with a smile. Frank already reminded Kyle of the Neville after fifth year. He was tall and had an intimidating air about him but his easy smile put Kyle at ease. Pity the same couldn't be said about Harry. Kyle noticed that the boy was now even more nervous than he had been before. He should have listened to his gut that said this wouldn't be a good idea. "And yourself?"

"None of that sir business with me lad." Frank said with a laugh as he released Kyle's hand. "It's Frank. I was good friends with your father before he died. I'd like to think myself as a pseudo-uncle to you, if you don't mind that is?"

"Not at all, Frank. I would like that very much." Kyle had heard Harry's quiet gasp when their father was mentioned and decided that it was time to introduce him to the collected company. He moved to stand behind Harry and put his left arm on his shoulder, letting his right arm lay across Harry's chest so the boy could keep hold of his hand if he wanted to. "I'd like to introduce the three of you to my little brother, Harry Potter."

Silence. For about ten seconds that is then Neville was staring at Harry or more accurately, Harry's forehead where his scar was obscured by his thick unruly hair. Alice obviously noticed the direction of his gaze also as she gave him a slight nudge and a pointed gaze, as though reminding him of something. Neville immediately stopped staring and instead gave them both a once over, as though deciding whether they were worth his time. It seemed he approved of them both however as he then gave them both a smile. "Pleasure to meet you both," he said politely.

Alice was staring at Harry with tears in her eyes. She looked as if all her dreams had come true. Kyle had told Harry that the Longbottoms had been friends with Lily and James Potter before they had died. He hadn't told Harry that Alice was his Godmother however. He'd wanted Harry to get used to his new situation in life before telling him that. Especially because as Alice was Harry's Godmother, she should have applied for custody when the Potter's died. Kyle wasn't sure of the particulars of the situation but he hadn't wanted Harry to resent the woman before he met her. Kyle was willing to give Alice the benefit of the doubt until he learned more about her reasons for leaving Harry with the Dursleys.

Frank looked slightly suspicious at the situation. Then again Kyle wasn't too surprised at that as the man was an Auror. It was in the job description to be suspicious.

Alice broke out of her stupor and took a hesitant step towards Harry. Harry in turn backed up a step into Kyle. Kyle merely squatted down so that he was the same height as Harry and wrapped both arms around him tightly. "They're not going to hurt you, Harry." He whispered so only Harry would hear. If he had been watching Frank though Kyle would have realised that his efforts of keeping his voice down was in vein as at least one Longbottom had heard exactly what he'd said. Kyle knew that Harry was scared; the boy was as tense as a board, well he had been until Kyle had embraced him from behind. Now, he was only slightly less tense.

"Remember what I told you last night? I will let nothing happen to you. I promise. But if you want to go home then just say the word. Okay?" Harry nodded slightly stepped forwards a little to indicate that he was okay. Kyle stood up and released him from the hug but he stepped up beside him and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders loosely to remind him that he was not alone.

Alice hadn't moved closer when she had seen and most probably felt the fear the boy had, that and the fact that Frank's hand on her arm had prevented her from moving closer to the boys. Now she looked highly suspicious like Frank. Kyle nearly sighed, just what he needed, over inquisitive adults poking their noses where it wasn't needed. He was just thankful that Neville just looked confused. Now, that was how Kyle remembered Neville to be when they had been younger. The thought wasn't malicious. No, Kyle knew that he was going to miss his quiet friend.

Once again Kyle was broken from his musings by Alice, Frank and Neville introducing themselves to Harry. Kyle was proud when Harry gave a shy hello in return.

"Well, Nora has cooked up a lovely dinner for us." Frank said, succeeding in breaking the tension. "Neville, son, why don't you show Harry to the dining room."

Harry gave Kyle an uncertain look. Kyle nodded encouragingly, giving his shoulders a quick squeeze and the boy turned around to nervously follow Neville who was waiting impatiently by the door. He seemed to have gotten over his confusion and awe of Harry's presence and the two younger boys hurried off leaving Alice, Frank and Kyle following behind at a more sedate pace.

For his part, Kyle was disconcerted by the Neville's behaviour. It reminded him uncomfortably of the superior manner of Draco Malfoy and he feared that Harry might react the same way to Neville as he had reacted to the Slytherin boy in his dimension. On second thought however, he remembered that his original dislike for Malfoy had stemmed more from the maliciousness in the boy than the haughtiness. Neville seemed to lack the malice although he was not at all lacking in a sense of self-importance.

Kyle was surprised that neither Alice nor Frank had enquired about Harry's presence in the Magical World. He knew that the pair of them was itching to ask but he was grateful that they had the common sense to not ask anything about those matter's in front of Harry.

Lunch turned out to be as delicious as Frank had predicted. Nora, the Longbottom kitchen elf, was a brilliant cook although not – as Harry had innocently stated in his quiet – as good as Libby. Their hostess had agreed in a hushed whisper, although she made him promise not to tell Nora less they hurt her feelings to which Harry gave a solemn nod.

The younger Potter boy opened up during the meal. Thankfully Kyle's momentary fears turned out to be baseless as he seemed to hit it off with Neville. He did get the impression however that Harry wanted several times to roll his eyes at his new friend's more snobbish comments. Lunch was just winding down to a close and Neville brought up the topic of flying.

"I'm quite a good flyer of course," Neville boasted, "Not a natural unfortunately but I work quite hard at it and I've really gotten very good."

Kyle had had to resist the urge to snort at the very idea of a Neville being in any way competent with a broomstick. Harry on the other hand was just confused.

"Flying?" he had asked and Neville had given him a look of disbelief.

"Yes. You know, on a broom."

"On a broom?" now it was Harry's turn to show disbelief, "Do you have black cats and pointed hats as well, and cackle over cauldrons."

"Well some people have black cats," Neville sounded perplexed, "And I have a few pointed hats and there are cauldrons in the potions room in the Manor's dungeons. Why we would cackle over them though I don't know."

Clearly none of the Longbottoms seemed to understand the reference and Kyle could restrain his laughter at their looks of utter confusion. Harry looked a little confused at his brother's reaction and Kyle managed to settle down after a moment.

"Is it true?" Harry asked. When Kyle nodded Harry's eyes grew quite round and his mouth hung open in a round 'o' of surprise. Deciding to fill their hosts in on the joke he explained the idea of the Muggle stereotypical witch.

"So do you fly too Kyle?" Harry asked and he nodded.

"I love it. It's one of the things I'm really good at."

"A natural are you?" Alice asked and he nodded again, "I'm not surprised. It seems to be a Potter family trait. No doubt Harry will be too when he learns to fly."

"Do you fly too ma'am?" Harry asked her.

"I do on occasion. I'm fairly average at it though. And do call me by my first name dear, I am after all your Go – ."

"My what?" Harry asked. Whatever Alice was about to say Kyle wasn't sure as she suddenly stopped, making a low gulping sound in the back of her throat. He looked on confused as she then turned an angry red before giving a very defeated sigh and burying her face in her hands. He was more than a little worried at her sudden change in attitude.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Kyle asked concerned.

"She's fine." It was Frank that answered but he too looked angry. Kyle had no idea what was going on. "Myself and Alice were good friends with your parents, Harry." Frank paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "We just cannot say how close due to a spell that was put on us shortly after your parents had died. Alice was just about to tell you when the spell kicked in, that's all."

Ah! A Secrecy Spell! That's what was wrong. "That would be why you and Alice never applied for custody then?" Kyle knew that he was being rude but he couldn't help it. Alice Longbottom was Harry's Godmother. Harry's parents were dead, as was his Godfather. Custody should have gone to Alice Longbottom not Petunia and Vernon Dursley. It had already been realised that Dumbledore had prevented the Will Reading, who was to say that he didn't put the Longbottoms under a Secrecy Spell as well?

"You know what we're not saying?" Alice asked in disbelief. Somebody knew! They could tell Harry! Oh, she hated this spell.

"I do." Was the simple reply.

"How?" Frank wondered.

Kyle showed them his Family Ring. "I became Lord Kyle Potter yesterday which emancipated me and allowed me to look through my father's and step-mother's will. It was mentioned in that." He hesitated a moment before saying, "The two of you were next in line for custody after Sirius."

Kyle could see that both Harry and Neville had no clue what was going on but he ignored them for the time being keeping his eyes on the elder Longbottoms. They were both staring right back at him, different expressions playing across their faces.

"Are you going to release the will?" Alice was the one who broke the silence first.

Kyle shook his head negatively. "No. I'll see to it that the wishes of my father and step-mother are met but I'll not have a Will Reading. If I hold a Reading then I lose all leverage over the person who was supposed to have it read and who placed Harry in the Muggle World. I am not going to give up custody of my brother though so you can save your voices if you want to argue about that."

Frank was silent, merely observing the conversation going on between Kyle and his wife. Finally he spoke. "I agree with Kyle, Dear. If the person who prevented the Reading is the same as the person who cast the spell on us is the same then Kyle will need every advantage he has if he ever has to oppose him. If not having a Reading gives him one more advantage then I say he should take it." When nodded in agreement with her husband, Frank turned back to face Kyle and continued. "However, I would like to know whether you are going to tell your brother what my wife failed in telling him."

Kyle nodded and looked at Harry. He could see that the boy was as tense as he had been when introductions were being made and he sighed. Not good. Without a word Kyle opened his arms and Harry only took a second before reaching up to him. Kyle pulled his brother up onto his lap and wrapped his arms around Harry's skinny little waist. He waited for Harry to relax before he spoke, aware of the three sets of eyes that were on them. "What Alice was trying to tell you earlier, Harry is pretty important." He began. "Alice here is your Godmother."

"Godmother," Harry's head cocked to the side in question, "What's a Godmother?"

"Well, if, for instance, something happened to me, you would probably go to live with her and Frank." This had been the wrong explanation however as Kyle felt Harry stiffen in his arms once again. "Not that anything is going to happen to me of course." this had the desired effect and Harry once again relaxed. "I guess it means that she's going to be an important person in your life."

"Godmother, does that mean she'll be like a mother? And Frank like a father?" Harry was directing his questions to Kyle, no doubt because he was still nervous in the presence of adults, not that Kyle blamed him of course.

"Maybe more like an aunt and uncle, I suppose," at the worried look he amended, "But a fun one. Nothing like Aunt Petunia or Uncle Vernon. I promise."

"Oh," Harry looked relieved, which didn't go unnoticed by the aforementioned adults. Then, as Harry's face turned thoughtful, he looked over at Frank and Alice and spoke shyly. "I think I'd like that."

Alice looked as if she was about to speak when Harry's face scrunched up in thought again. After a little prompting from Kyle, Harry asked, to both Alice's and Frank's shock whether he should call them 'Aunty Alice' and 'Uncle Frank.' Alice got a little teary-eyed at that and Kyle was sure that he hadn't imagined Frank's little smile.

"I think I should love for you to call me Aunty Alice." Alice managed eventually.

"O-oh," Neville stage whispered, re-entering the conversation. "She'll drown us in tears if we're not careful." They all laughed.

"What about Kyle?"

"What about Kyle, Harry dear?" Alice asked

"Well he doesn't have any real aunts either but he is my brother, so can he call you Aunty Alice and Uncle Frank too?" he asked innocently.

Kyle blushed in embarrassment, wanting to shush the boy. "Harry I don't-"

"Of course!" Frank interrupted cheerfully, "The pair of you can call us Uncle Frank and Aunt Alice if you want too."

Kyle tried to object a time or two but both Frank and Alice cut him off every time however, and in such a no-nonsense manner that he finally conceded. Besides, he could admit – even if only to himself – that the idea of having an honorary aunt and uncle who actually liked him was quite appealing.

Eventually dinner ended though when Harry had almost fell asleep into his Hot Chocolate and Kyle had announced that it was nearly eight thirty and time to go. He'd had to carry Harry to the Floo as the boy had started to limp heavily again.

They'd left with promises to return the next Saturday for lunch which would give the two boys plenty of time to get to know each other better – and plenty of time for the two elder Longbottoms to interrogate Kyle on his guardianship of Harry to their hearts content.

With one last goodbye from Kyle and a lazy wave from Harry who was struggling to keep his eyes open on Kyle's shoulder, Kyle threw some Floo Powder into the fire and stepped in – just about managing to not fall out the other end. Then he made his way to Harry's room where he helped the boy into the pyjamas he had given him the day before. As he watched his little brother's eyes close Kyle smiled softly to himself, a good night indeed.

Thanks for taking the time to read and thank you to all the reviewers. I really appreciate them. Please let me know what you think about this. I'm not to happy with this chapter to be honest. It was mostly to give a bit of background on Kyle's life as well as introducing the Potters to the Longbottoms.

Thanks again for reading and please review!

Ok, so just to let people know, I wont be able to update for a few weeks. Have exams at school in a few weeks and I just don't have the time to write properly. Hope ye all bare with me and I'll update as soon as possible.