If He's Anything Like Me
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: Only in my dreams
AN: Okay, so in honor of Single Appreciation Day aka Valentine's Day, I'm gonna post this for all the singles out there like me.
Chapter 6: The Return to Hogwarts
The rest of the summer passed relatively peacefully for the newly formed household. There were no more confrontations between the adults, and Harry and Draco met up at least once a day, in secret, and had what Draco called cuddle time. Harry couldn't complain though, he'd never felt as good as he did here. It was amazing the difference positive attention made, not only on his psyche but his physical well being as well.
On the last evening, Duo insisted they order pizza and have a movie night. So he had ordered a couple dozen pizzas and they all settled into the living room to watch. Harry ended up on the floor with Draco and Duo, while everyone else was scattered throughout the seats in the rest of the room.
After the second movie, Quatre announced it was time for bed. Duo and Draco both protested, but he held his ground and they all headed to bed.
The following morning, Heero woke Harry at eight and told him to shower and prepare for breakfast in one hour. Luckily, all his things had been packed the previous day. Or maybe it wasn't so much luck. All the adults, with the exception of Duo and Snape, had insisted he have everything ready before they'd had dinner.
When he finished getting ready, he made his way down to the dining room. Only Draco, Duo, Quatre, and Trowa were present. This confused him, it wasn't like the others to be late.
"Harry," the blond greeted when he took his seat. "We were just about to go over the plans for the morning."
"Okay," Harry nodded.
"After breakfast, Duo, Trowa, and myself will be taking you and Draco to the train station. Unfortunately," he took a deep breath, "Heero, Wufei, and Severus had to leave before seeing you off, as there was a last minute mandatory staff meeting at Hogwarts that they could not get out of. Draco, your parents said they would meet us at the station to see you off."
"Welp," Duo cut in, clapping his hands together, "sounds like a great plan. Now, let's eat and get this show on the road."
They continued the rest of the meal in silence. Once all the dishes were finally cleared, they made their way out to the waiting car. Trowa got behind the wheel while Duo took the back with the two boys, leaving the passenger seat for Quatre.
They pulled into the station at a quarter to eleven. Quatre went to get a trolley for the trunks and they all went into the station. They reached the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters at the same time as a troupe of red heads.
Duo didn't hesitate, but grabbed Draco's arm and sprinted through the barrier so the young Slytherin could have a few minutes with his parents. Quatre and Trowa held back for a moment to let the redheads go first, since they didn't seem to be paying attention to anyone else around them. When there were only three of them left, the eldest finally realized they weren't the only ones waiting for the train.
"Harry, dear," she said, spying the bespectacled boy, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Why don't you and Ron go through together? I'll take Ginny and you two can come right after us."
"Or," Quatre interjected with forced politeness, he had never met a woman he liked less than Molly Weasley, and that included Dorothy Catalonia, "you can take your son yourself, and we will take ours. I also feel it is highly irresponsible of you to think even for a moment of leaving two twelve year olds alone in a crowded London train station. Now, if you'll excuse me. Trowa, I'm going to go get these trunks on the train. I'll see you in a bit."
With that, he disappeared. Molly Weasley puffed up her chest indignantly, grabbed both of her children's hands and went through the barrier. The unibanged man put his hand on Harry's shoulder and steered him in the direction of the barrier.
About two feet from the barrier, however, Trowa pulled them to an abrupt halt. With a frown, he reached out and touched the now solid barrier.
"The barrier is sealed," the unibanged man said, more to himself than Harry, and pulled a phone out of his pocket. He hit a button and put the device to his ear. "Quatre," he said after a moment. "We can't get through the barrier, something has sealed it. He's not going to make the train, so I'm going to take him to Hogwarts myself. Something doesn't feel right, and I think it would be best if Wufei and Heero were with us."
He must've gotten the okay, because the next thing Harry knew, he was being lifted once again into the tall man's arms. He felt a strange squeezing sensation, like his entire being was being sucked through a tiny straw. When the feeling stopped, he was surprised to find them standing just outside the gates of Hogwarts.
Without saying anything, Trowa entered the gates and began the trek up to the school. As they walked, the unibanged man held his hand up and something silver flew out if it. It took the form of a lion as it entered the front doors.
"What happened?" Wufei met them at the doors.
"I'll explain once we are all together," he shook his head. "Let's just go to the room for now."
The Chinese man nodded and led them further into the castle. At first, Harry thought they were heading to Gryffindor tower, but as they reached the final staircase, they turned left. The corridor appeared to be empty, even of portraits, except for a lone pillar at the end. It looked like it had once been part of a pair, with what appeared to be a dragon circling around it, and the other disappearing over the course of time.
When they reached it, Wufei reached out and placed a hand on the dragon. The eyes glowed gold for a moment before the dragon circled around the pillar and disappeared into the wall. A moment later a door appeared and the raven haired man led them inside. Once it was closed behind them, Wufei turned to face the pair.
"The door is genetically coded to the four of us, and Harry, of course, since he shares our genes," he gave a brief smile in the boy's direction. "Heero and I worked on it this morning before the meeting began. It was originally guarded by a portrait of a dimwitted knight and his obscenely fat pony. The password was home. Any moron with half a brain could've gotten through, so we discarded the painting and created that. I would like to add a bit of your magic to it, if you would, so that it's not easily broken with ordinary magic."
"Of course, I'll get right on that," Trowa nodded.
Wufei nodded, before letting out a heavy sigh, "Unfortunately, I have to return to the staff meeting. As it is, the Headmaster didn't want me to leave in the first place."
"Go," the unibanged man leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "We'll be here when you return. As, I'm sure, will Quatre and Duo."
"Oh, we forget to include Duo in the spellwork," the Chinese man rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh well, we'll figure that out later. For now, just let them in and explain the process to Quatre."
With that being said, he turned and left the room. Trowa finally set Harry on his feet, before turning his attention to the closed doorway. Harry decided to leave him to it, and instead turned to take in his surroundings.
The room they were standing in was a living room, with a large fireplace and an oversized couch and two armchairs all facing it. To the right was an archway leading to a small kitchen. To the left was a stairway, that once he looked up it, led to a landing with three doors. He didn't dare go up them, but he assumed that was where the bedrooms were, though he wasn't sure why there were three, unless one was a bathroom.
"Well, that's about all I can do," Trowa's voice interrupted his musings. "Quatre and Duo should be here before long, why don't you and I see what's upstairs?"
He smiled and took Harry's hand in his own and headed up the stairs. Once at the top, he opened the door on the right.
"Looks like Heero claimed this room," the unibanged man nodded toward the bag at the foot of the king sized bed.
Apart from the bed there was a large wardrobe along one side and a doorway on the other. The door was ajar, and they could make out the shape of a large tub.
"Hm," Trowa shook his head and closed the door before making his way to the one across the landing, which was an exact replica of the previous. "And this would be mine and Wufei's. That would leave the last one as yours."
"Mine?" Harry looked up in confusion. "Why would it be mine? I stay in Gryffindor tower."
"Harry," he knelt down so he was eye level with his son, "I'm not saying you can't stay there. In fact, I encourage you to. I'm just letting you know it's here if you feel the need to get away, or for the holidays. You are our son and you are welcome here, that is why that room is yours."
"O-okay," Harry nodded, still not overly comfortable with having a family who actually wanted him.
"Well, why don't we go back down and wait for the others," Trowa gave a small, sad smile before getting up and heading back to the living room.
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Once he'd said goodbye to his parents and godfather, Draco boarded the train and began looking for his best friend. He was flanked almost immediately by the walking buffoons Crabbe and Goyle. He allowed them to follow for a few minutes until he spotted Blaise in a compartment by himself.
"Would you two get lost?" he rounded on them. "Go annoy someone else. I'll call if I need you."
The pair shared a look before shrugging and taking off down the corridor. The blond ran his hands through his hair in frustration, he really didn't know why he put up with those two. He sighed, straightened his hair and robes and then opened the door to the compartment.
"Hi, Dray," Blaise smiled once the door was closed again.
"Blaise," he nodded, taking the seat across from him. "How's your family doing?"
"They're fine," the other shook his head. "My aunt's about ready to pop. I can't say this to her, but she seems to get bigger every time I see her."
"Yeah, I've heard pregnant women get weird, you should hear some of the stories my dad tells," Draco shook his head. "Apparently, my mum was scary."
"Tell me about it," Blaise smirked. "Anyway, how'd the rest of your summer go? Did Potter give you too much trouble?"
"Oh my god, Blaise," grey eyes lit up animatedly, "he's so cute! You can't tell a soul this, but he's the same type of creature Uncle Duo is. And those stupid Muggles deprived him so much that one touch will turn him into a life-sized teddy bear. It gets so bad, sometimes, that he won't let go for hours. Not that you want to let him go, that's part of his power, but aside from that, he just looks too adorable to move."
"If I didn't know you better, Draco," the darker blond chuckled, "I'd say you have a crush."
"Oh shut up," Draco glared at him, but pink dusted his pale cheeks. "It's not like that, he's practically family now."
"Right," blue eyes danced in suppressed mirth. "I think I need to meet this new and improved Harry Potter. Anyway, want to see what my dad got me as my back to school present?"
"Yeah," the pale blond sat forward excitedly. "Didn't he give you your owl last year, just before you boarded the train?"
"Yeah," Blaise grinned, and pulled a rectangular package out of the knapsack he always carried with him, a habit he had engrained in him by his father from a very young age. He pulled the white envelope off and opened it.
Blaise,
This year's present is not just from me, but your father as well. He gave this to me while I was pregnant with you in the hopes that one day you might actually listen to him and I wouldn't corrupt you completely. Of course, he always thought he would live to see this day. He would be so proud of you, and the young man you are growing into, just as I am.
Love you always,
Dad
Blaise quickly refolded the letter and stashed it in his bag. He glanced over at his best friend, not so sure he wanted to share this with him anymore. However, he was a bit too far in for second thoughts. So, he ripped the plain brown paper back to reveal a dark blue, leather bound book. On the cover, emblazoned in fine gold lettering in read Defensive Basics: A Guide and at the bottom, in smaller lettering T.K. Rada.
"That's one of our textbooks," Draco frowned. "But that's not the standard issue."
"No," Blaise said huskily, emotions clouding his voice, "it's my dad's copy. I-I think my father wrote it."
He carefully opened the front cover. On the first page was a handwritten note in a refined script.
Milliardo,
I know I have been busy in recent months, what with the war and my recent imprisonment, but know that you and our son are never out of my thoughts. I know this is a small condolence, and I should be with you now more than ever. Just know that the fire between us will never die, not as long as our son, our Blaise, lives. Forgive me for naming him in a letter without consulting you, but I believe it fits, for wherever lightning strikes there is always fire.
On a separate note, I wrote this book for him. All my knowledge on defensive measures, both magic and non, to help guide him. Of course, I do plan on being there myself to teach him all of this in person, once this foolish war business is over, but it can't hurt to have a book behind me, especially with you whispering in his ear.
Take care of yourself and our son. I look forward to the day I can hold you again.
Love you always,
Treize
He couldn't stop the tears that streamed down his cheeks. He closed the book, not wanting to smudge the writing, and glanced in his friend's direction. The pale blond was staring fixedly out the window, for which Blaise was eternally grateful. After a few minutes, he dried his eyes and cleared his throat. Draco turned away from the window and they spent the rest of the journey playing Exploding Snap and talking of the coming year.
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At around noon, Wufei and Heero left the staff room, the meeting finally over. God, that man loved to hear himself talk, even more than Treize Khushrenada did. They both knew it was going to be a long few years, as long as Albus Dumbledore was headmaster.
"Why don't we just kill him?" the shaggy haired brunet asked in a monotone.
"Unfortunately, the war is over," the Chinese man sighed, "things aren't that simple anymore. However, I'm sure we can gather enough evidence to have him removed from the school. Any fool can see he's incompetent. Granted, he has power, but he should not be given any authority with that power, it's gone to his head, just like it did with Dermail. And like Dermail, it will not be an easy task to take him down, but with the five of us together again I think we'll manage quite nicely."
"Hn," a smirk pulled at the corners of the other's mouth.
"In the meantime," Wufei shook his head, "let's go find out what happened with our son."
Silence fell over them as they made their way to their suite of rooms. They found Severus heading in the same direction and decided to take pity on him and took him with them. The three of them entered the suite to find Trowa, Quatre, Duo, and Harry just sitting down for lunch. The trio of teachers joined them and they ate in rather companionable silence.
Once they were finished, Trowa turned his attention to the boy.
"Harry, why don't you take Minxy," a small house elf in a Hogwarts tea towel appeared at the mention of the name, "and go upstairs and tell her how you want your room decorated."
"O-okay," the raven haired boy nodded hesitantly.
"Don't worry," the unibanged man gave him a small reassuring smile, "just tell Minxy what you want, she's good at what she does."
"Thank you, Lord Trowa," the little elf said rather breathlessly at the praise. "Minxy will do her best."
"Now, Harry," the emerald gaze turned back to his son, "you're not in trouble, we just need to discuss a few things. However, when we're done, I'll come up and help you, how's that sound?"
"Okay," a small smile graced his features before he headed up the stairs with the house elf.
"What'd you do, Trowa," his husband barely managed to bite back a laugh, "befriend all the house elves in the castle?"
"No," Trowa shook his head. "Minxy just happened to be the one who brought us lunch. Though I do plan on meeting all of them before the day is out."
"Of course you will," onyx eyes rolled in fond annoyance. "Anyway, I believe we are actually here to discuss what happened to make Harry miss the train."
"Yes," Quatre frowned. "What did happen? You weren't even two minutes behind me. You don't think it was the Weasleys do you?"
"It wasn't the Weasleys," the unibanged man took a deep breath. "They are well meaning enough, if a bit pushy. But no, the magic that sealed the barrier was elven. A house elf to be exact. The creature left immediately after, so I didn't have the chance to question it. But if I sense it again, rest assured I will follow up. However, it couldn't have been the Weasleys, they are not wealthy or powerful enough to attract a house elf to them."
"We'll leave that to you, then," Heero interjected. "In the meantime, we'll have to up security outside of Hogwarts. Things should be safe enough within the school, however we will not let our guard down."
"Sounds good," the former clown put his hands on his knees in preparation to rise. "If there's nothing else, I think I'll head upstairs to help Harry."
"Actually, there was one more thing," Wufei shook his head. "Heero and I feel that we need to have Dumbledore removed from this school."
"Why?" Severus' brow rose incredulously. "Dumbledore's a good man and one of the best wizards of the age."
"So he claims," Heero glared him into silence. "His motives are far from pure and the power has gone to his head. He has convinced himself and most of the population that he is right and that they cannot hope to function without his guiding hand."
"Not another Romefeller," Duo groaned. "Didn't we already fight a war to stop that?"
"You're wrong," the Potions Master shook his head. "Dumbledore isn't like that."
"No, you're mistaken," the Chinese man interjected. "In the shot amount of time since we have entered the picture, he has shown gross, almost criminal, neglect of a student's abusive situation; interfered with a student's wellbeing outside the confines of the school, inside a government facility no less; and he undermined the school's board of governors, which is there specifically to keep him in check. Tell us again how he is not abusing his authority?"
"Well, when you put it like that," Severus conceded.
"Everything that was just said is circumstantial at best," the shaggy haired brunet continued. "We need hard evidence before we can move against him."
"And we will get it," there was a hint of steel in Quatre's voice as he agreed. "Between the five of us, I'm sure we can get enough."
Five identical, devious, smirks graced the former terrorists' faces, causing Severus to shiver slightly despite himself.
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Harry looked around at the room that was to be his. He wasn't sure what to do, he'd never decorated anything before. His gaze turned to the house elf, but she was just looking at him expectantly.
"Uh, Minxy?" he hoped he had gotten the name right.
"Yes, Little Lord Harry?" she squeaked happily.
"It's just Harry," he shook his head. "Anyway, I've never done this before, so I don't know what to do."
"Well, Harry," a scowl crossed her face, "Minxy has only ever done small things at Hogwarts, like cleaning the tapestries and banners, and maintaining the ceiling in the Great Hall. Unfortunately, Minxy is mostly a kitchen house elf."
"Wait, do you know the spells for the enchanted ceiling?" he asked surprised.
"Yes, Minxy does," she puffed out her chest in pride. "Minxy has to know the ancient spells to maintain them."
"Can you do them in here?" his voice was slightly breathless in anticipation.
"Of course Minxy can," she grinned. "Minxy would be honored to do anything for Harry, Lord Trowa's son."
Her large brown eyes traveled up to the ceiling and she began waving her arms and snapping occasionally. Harry watched her work with rapt attention. He had never seen magic performed like that before, and it was, to put it mildly, enthralling.
As she gave one final, loud snap, and the ceiling exploded into a bright almost cloudless day, the door silently opened inward
"Are you sure you want that as your ceiling?" a mildly amused voice broke the silence. "It might be a bit distracting when you want to sleep in."
"That's what a canopy and curtains are for," a spark of true delight shone in the emerald orbs, the first since he'd been taken in by his fathers.
Trowa threw his head back and laughed. It was nice to see the boy so carefree and happy. It was also quite infectious, and he wasn't sure which other parent that was from: Quatre or Duo.
"Well, we'll have to make sure they're extra thick, then," he fully entered the room. "Thank you, Minxy, I'll take it from here."
"Of course, Lord Trowa," the house elf bowed low. "Minxy will return to the kitchen now. If the Lord needs anything, don't hesitate to call."
He nodded as the little creature disappeared with a soft pop. He then turned his attention back to his son.
"So, speaking of the curtains," he went over to the bed and began rubbing the fabric between his fingers. "This is too thin," the fabric began changing at his touch, finally stopping on a thick velvet. "That's better. Now, what color would you like them?"
"How did you do that?" Harry asked instead, running his hand over the soft material.
"You can do it too, if you want," the unibanged man looked down at him.
"No, I can't," the raven head shook emphatically. "I have to have my wand, and I don't know a spell to do that."
"That's wizarding thinking," Trowa shook his head. "You are my son, which means elven magic is your birthright, and the only limit to that is your imagination. Here, I'll show you."
He held out his hand, which Harry took hesitantly. He placed both of their hands on the fabric, the smaller one held within his own.
"Now, focus," the unibanged man urged quietly. "Picture the color you want the fabric to become. Don't tell me, just picture it. Let it fill your mind. Now, transfer the color onto the fabric. Good. Open your eyes."
Harry's eyes fluttered open, not having realized he had closed them. A soft gasp escaped him as he looked at the new dark, forest green curtains.
"I did it," he chuckled slightly.
"You did," the former clown smiled proudly. "Though it is mildly surprising, but then again not, that you went with green. However, let's move on to the walls. Maybe we could follow the theme of the ceiling and use some places that you like or would like to visit."
"Like what?" the raven head cocked to the side.
"Well, is there somewhere on the grounds, or maybe your old neighborhood, you like to go? Perhaps the lake, a park, or maybe the forest?"
"The forest," he nodded, before his eyes lit up again, "and maybe the Quidditch pitch on the other one. We could put the forest on this wall," he pointed at the right hand wall, "and the pitch over there," he pointed across the room, "and then the lake over the door. But that leaves the far wall."
"I have an idea for that one," Trowa smiled slightly. "We'll remove the curtain from the head of your bed," and with a wave of his hand it was done, "and we'll make that wall space. It'll be nice for when you fall asleep. Space is so peaceful. And maybe over the summer, we can take a trip up there."
"I think I'd like that," Harry looked up at him shyly.
"Alright then, let's get to work."
Ammie: Okay, there it is. I know there's probably gonna be a lot of questions, but I'm hoping to explain them later on... Anyway, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.