Double or Nothing
Disclaimer: We don't own any of these characters, we just play with them.
oOoOoOoOo
Chapter 2
oOoOoOoOo
Harry woke up early the next morning, much like he had to do every other morning while not at Hogwarts. He nearly panicked a moment, unsure of where he was until he spotted the boy in the other bed and the events of the night before came flooding back into his mind.
Sighing to himself, he got out of bed. Having no clothing of his own and not daring to borrow any of Jamie's, Harry padded downstairs and into the kitchen bare foot and in his pajamas; he didn't want to anger his parents by being late with making breakfast.
He tried to think of what to make for breakfast. It was Jamie's birthday so he thought he should probably make him his favorite meal; however, he didn't know what that was. He thought for a moment, an idea occurring to him. By all accounts, he and Jamie were the same person. So, it would stand to reason that they liked the same things. This in mind, Harry set about making scrambled eggs and bacon for three. Maybe, if there was some left over after his parents and Jamie ate, he would get to have a little.
Harry could feel a niggling of resentment coil its way around his heart. It was bad enough he was treated like dirt at the Dursleys, treated like a slave while Dudley was treated like a prince, but something about being treated that way by his own parents while Jamie, who was really him as well, got treated like a prince just hurt.
"You're up early." Lily's voice startled Harry out of his musings.
Harry jumped a bit, nearly being burned by some bacon grease from the frying pan.
"N-Not really, Ma'am." he said, turning back to flip the bacon before it burned.
"Oh, sorry, Harry. I didn't see your scar." Lily had mistaken Harry for Jamie. "Our Ha-Jamie doesn't normally get up this early. I guess there would be some differences between you two." She remarked.
Harry shrugged. He wouldn't have thought that Jamie would get up early anyway.
"I always have to get up this early. I get in trouble it breakfast is late; don't want to get in trouble." Harry mumbled, concentrating on manning both pans.
Lily frowned. "The Dursleys make you cook breakfast for them?" She asked.
"And lunch and dinner." Harry added.
Lily felt a surge of anger flow through her. She wanted nothing more than to go and hex her sister and her family. Pushing down the anger, she smiled and said, "Well, you don't need to cook here Harry. Why don't you go and sit down and I'll finish up?"
Harry looked uncomfortable. If he didn't cook then he had no chance of eating and, while he was used to today being no different from any other day, he had hoped he wouldn't have to go hungry on his birthday.
Lily noticed Harry's discomfort. "If you like, we can cook together," she offered. "How does that sound?"
"You don't have to help." Harry said, wringing his hands nervously.
Lily waved off Harry's protests. "I like to cook too, sweetie. I don't mind at all."
Biting his bottom lip, he nodded and moved over a bit to give his mother room at the stove; after all, if she liked to cook, it was not his place to deny her that. Lily happily moved next to Harry to mind the bacon. Looking at the cooking food, she gave a little frown. "Harry, dear, there isn't enough food here for four."
"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you having company? I didn't know! I thought... I'm sorry." Harry said with a small but audible whimper.
"Harry, calm down, honey. There's James, Jamie and me. Did you forget Jamie?" She asked. She supposed it might be natural Harry to forget his double, the concept being such a new development.
Harry shook his head panic in his eyes. "I didn't, I swear I didn't! I didn't forget him!!" Harry said frantically. If she thought he forgot Jamie, who knew what kind of trouble he would be in! Oh, if he ever forgot Dudley he'd never eat again!
"Calm down, Harry. You're not in any trouble." Lily made placating gestures. She looked at Harry thoughtfully. "But if you didn't forget anyone, why did you only put out enough for three?" She said, more than a little confused. If Harry was as experienced with cooking as he said, then he must know how to cook enough for the expected amount of people.
Harry took in a deep breath, looking at her with a rather confused expression. She had just listed all the people who were eating. That added up to three, and he had made enough for three. He didn't understand what his mum was going on about.
"Exactly, ma'am. Three, like you said; Dad, Jamie and you - that's three." he explained.
Lily looked at Harry with concern in her eyes. "Harry, dear, you forgot yourself. And please call me 'Mum.'"
"No, ma'a - Mum, I didn't... I... I'm not supposed to... I..." Harry stammered.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Lily was now alarmed. "Please tell me."
"I just.. I'm not s-supposed to make any for me. I... I maybe get to eat if there is leftover, if I'm good..." Harry looked down at his feet nervously.
Lily enveloped Harry in a hug. "You'll never have to worry about that here. You'll always have enough to eat." Lily murmured into his ear.
Harry could feel the tears start to prick his eyes. He clung to his mother, crying quietly.
Lily rubbed Harry's back as she aimed her wand and cast a stasis charm on the cooking food.
Harry pulled away and quickly swiped at his tears. "I-I'm sorry. I won't do that again," he sniffled.
Lily helped him wipe his tears away. "Won't do what again? You didn't do anything wrong, Harry." She said.
"Cry... not supposed to cry." he told her, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.
"Oh, honey, it's alright to cry." Lily said as she once more pulled him into an embrace.
"U-Uncle Vernon says its annoying and I wasn't allowed to." Harry sniffled.
"Well you aren't with those horrid people any more. Things are different." Lily reassured him, silently cursing her sister and her whale of a husband. "You can cry if you need to."
Harry nodded, his bottom lip trembling. He felt like crying a lot. Rubbing his eyes, he decided to try and fight them back. There was no need for his mother to think he was a big baby or something, so he quickly washed his hands and went back to cooking breakfast.
Lily joined Harry, adding some eggs and bacon to the ones cooking in the pan. She set to work making sure that the bacon didn't burn. It didn't take long for the duo to finish cooking, and soon it was ready to be plated up.
"Harry, why don't you go set the table, I'll finish up here." Lily said as she took the eggs off the stove.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said with a nod. He opened a couple of drawers before he found the silverware; pulling three sets of knives, spoons, and forks out, he easily set three places at the table.
After, Lily had finished plating up the meal, she brought it to the table. Noting that there were only three places, she frowned. "Harry, there are only three place settings here, but there should be four, sweetie."
Harry looked up at her, again confused.
"Y-You mean I'm allowed to eat with you?" He asked, shock showing in his brilliant green eyes.
"Of course you are! Where did you think we would have you eat, the floor?" Lily said lightly, suspecting she would not like the answer.
"I... Um... usually either locked in the cupboard under the stairs or locked in my room. I never really mind, though, honest!, as long as I could actually eat." he said, thinking that would reassure her.
Lily was seething. How dare they treat her baby like that! Oooh, how she wanted to hex her sister now!
Harry shrunk back a bit and let out an audible little whimper when he saw his mother's anger.
Lily noticed Harry's distress. "I'm sorry honey, I'm not mad at you. I just get so angry when I hear what those horrible people did to you."
"I-it's OK, really." Harry said, shuffling his feet again.
Lily let out a sigh. "No Harry, it's not okay. What those people did to you... was not okay. They had no right to treat you that way."
"It's all I know, I learned to make do I guess." Harry said with a small shrug.
Lily saw that her son was unconvinced, but decided to drop the matter. Harry would see in time that he could have a family that loved him. Putting a smile on her face, she said, "Well, anyway, why don't you go get another place setting, and I'll call James and Jamie."
Harry nodded, taking down a fourth place setting and put it in front of another chair.
Soon a bleary eyed James and yawning Jamie joined the duo at the table. Harry waited till they were seated and then started to serve everyone as he was accustomed to doing.
"Harry, you don't need to serve everyone, we can get our own food." Lily said as soon as she noticed Harry's intent.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I just... it's what I always have to do." He felt stupid, so he shuffled his feet and looked at the floor.
Jamie looked at his double, confused. Why was he behaving like such a wuss? Inwardly, James seethed. Harry seemed so shy and timid, very much unlike Jamie. It must be the influence of the Dursleys that made him so unsure of himself.
Harry shuffled a bit nervously, unsure of what to do now. He didn't know if he should sit down or wait or what he should do.
Lily looked up at Harry and smiled, "Sit down, honey," she said as she patted the seat of the chair next to her.
Harry nodded, thankful for the command, and sat down, his eyes shifting from each face of his family members. He could read the concern that his parents were feeling as well as the confusion that was written on Jamie's face. An awkward moment passed before Jamie dished himself some food and dug in.
Harry looked at his empty plate. He would wait till the others took what they wanted before even attempting to feed himself. He already thought himself lucky to be allowed to eat, let alone allowed to eat with the family, and he wasn't going to push it.
As Lily moved to serve herself, she paused. "Harry, dear, aren't you hungry? Help yourself."
"I um... yes ma'am," he said, spooning himself a small amount of eggs.
"It's 'Mum'." Lily corrected gently.
"Sorry... Mum," he said, blushing a bit.
The rest of the meal passed in smoothly. Lily was alternating between fussing over Harry and silently fuming at what the Dursleys had done to him. James was still trying to wake up, wishing that the cooking duo had thought to make coffee. Jamie sat just a little uncomfortably, and thought about the upcoming day, growing more and more excited as each moment passed.
"So when are we leaving for the amusement park?" He piped up at the end of the meal. Jamie had been looking forward to this all year; when he was five years old, his parents took him to Disneyland and, ever since, it was a tradition to go to a muggle amusement park on his birthday.
Lily's face fell, and James looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry honey, but we need to get your new brother some clothing and things. Well go to the amusement park tomorrow."
"But-" Jamie opened his mouth to protest, but his mother looked at him sadly and shook her head.
"You don't have to change your plans on my account." Harry said, not wanting Jamie to be all upset because of him.
"Nonsense! You need to have some clothes and belongings; you only arrived here with the clothes on your back." James said. "And you shouldn't need to borrow Jamie's all the time."
"I wasn't.. I mean, I wouldn't take his things!" Harry defended.
"We didn't mean that, Harry! But even still, you're brothers, you should be able to share some things." Lily said gently.
Harry nodded. "You don't have to get me anything. If you could just transfigure these into clothes, I'd be fine. Really." He didn't want to put them out and from the way Jamie was glaring at him now, he didn't think the other boy liked him all that much.
"Harry," Lily said gently, wanting her newest son to understand clearly what she was about to say, "having things of your own, such as your own clothing bought just for you, is not a privilege: it is your right. It is mine and your father's responsibility as parents to be sure that you have everything you need, Harry; it's not a burden for us, nor is it any trouble, to make sure that your needs are met."
"It's not fair! We always go to the amusement park on my birthday! I don't want to go shopping for clothes for him!" Jamie said while glaring at Harry.
Harry jumped and then looked at his feet, tears stinging his eyes.
"James Harold Potter that is quite enough!!" Lily scolded firmly. "You continue this temper tantrum and you can forget about the amusement park at all." She threatened. She then turned to Harry. "Why don't you go put on some clothes? You and Jamie are the same size, so go ahead and take something from his closet." She instructed.
Harry nodded with no small amount of hesitation. Deciding it was best to obey, he made his way to his and Jamie's shared room.
Without any warning, Harry felt himself being lifted from behind and spun about just as he entered the parlor from the kitchen, intent on heading upstairs.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRONGLET!" An exuberant voice bellowed.
Harry looked wide-eyed and panicked. His entire body stiffened. He let out a scared cry and a surge of uncontrolled magic surrounded them both. BANG! Harry's unexpected assailant was knocked backwards into the wall. The man seemed to get bigger and bigger, as if he was a human balloon. His entire body started to swell, starting with his fingers.
"Bloody hell!" The man exclaimed, staring down at his bulging hands.
Lily and James rushed in from the kitchen to see what the commotion was. James took one look at the other man and burst into laughter.
"Only you, Sirius, only you." James said wiping a tear away, laughter still in his voice.
Harry's eyes went, if possible, even wider, and he looked positively pale. Tears filled his eyes and he quickly went running the the relative safety of the room he shared with Jamie, or used to; he was sure he would be sent away now. He was more trouble then he was worth, just like Uncle Vernon had always told him.
The fireplace flared green and Remus stepped out of the Floo, a greeting on his lips that vanished as soon as he followed everyone's gaze and caught sight of the still-growing Sirius. "I always knew that you were full of hot air, Padfoot, but this is over doing it a bit." He dead-panned; he was able to hold a straight face for exactly two seconds before dissolving into laughter.
"Hey! You two idiots! Stop laughing and fix me!" Sirius exclaimed.
Sirius' mid-section had become so bloated that he could barely move his arms. Waving his useless arms in an attempt to reach his wand, he found to his horror that he had begun to rise up like a balloon. James and Remus laughed harder as Sirius sputtered indignantly.
It was at that moment that Jamie entered the room, drawn in by the laughter.
Sirius' eyes widened. "Bloody hell! There's two of them!" Sirius looked comical as he waved his arms and turned to James. "When did you have another one, and where has he been all these years?"
It was as James explained the situation that Lily's mirth quickly morphed to concern as she realized that Harry had sprinted off. Worried, she made her way upstairs to his room. Opening the door, she asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"I... I blew that man up!! I didn't mean to but he grabbed me and, and I thought..." Harry whimpered and looked at his feet.
"You thought what?" Lily prompted.
"I don't know! He g-grabbed me! I didn't know who he was! I was just scared," he admitted, feeling stupid.
"You don't know Sirius?" Lily asked curiously, as she rubbed Harry's back.
"No, I don't know him; never met him before." Harry told her.
Lily was confused. Sirius was such a big part of their lives, for Harry not to know him must mean...
"Should I know him?" Harry asked, startling Lily out of her musings.
"He's your father's best friend, and your godfather." Lily answered. "You really don't know him from your world?"
"No; I didn't even know I was a wizard till Hagrid came and got me and took me to Hogwarts." he told her.
Lily fumed once again at the neglect from her sister; how could they have denied his heritage from him?! Lily forced down the feelings and managed to smile at Harry. "Well, I'm sure he would love to meet you," she said. "Why don't we go downstairs? I'm sure James has fixed him up by now."
Harry shook his head and looked wide-eyed behind his glasses. "No!! No, I don't want to! I blew him up, he'll be mad."
"It's okay, Harry; he won't be mad. He'll think it was funny." Lily said soothingly as she dragged the protesting boy out of the room.
Harry dragged his feet a bit, he didn't want to go face that man... Sirius, was it?, again, not after he had blown him up like that, but his mum was persistent and soon he was standing back in front of the now-deflated stranger.
Harry shuffled his feet, unable to look at Sirius. "I'm s-sorry I blew you up, sir," he said in a small voice.
Sirius ruffled Harry's hair. "It's okay, kid. I'm sorry I startled you. Oh, and don't call me 'sir' - it's either Uncle Sirius or Padfoot."
Harry jumped back and crinkled his nose before reaching up and smoothing down his hair. As if it wasn't messy enough as it was, the man had to ruffle it and make it worse!
"Right, sorry, er Padfoot?" he looked up, confused. What kind of name was that? He cocked his head to the side and studied the man for a moment, thinking that he looked a bit familiar, and then it clicked. His photo album! This was the man, albeit about 13 years older, that was standing next to his parents in that wedding photo with a goofy smile and waving wildly!
"That's 'Uncle Padfoot.'" Sirius corrected.
Harry squirmed a bit; he wasn't sure he was comfortable calling a complete stranger 'uncle', so he quickly sought to change the subject and looked over at his father.
"What chores do I need to get done before you get home, sir?" he asked resignedly. He only hoped it wouldn't be as long as the ones from the Dursleys. It was his birthday, though he knew that meant nothing to anyone but him.
James looked confused. "You don't need to do any chores, Harry; it's your birthday. And besides, you wouldn't have any time, we still need to go shopping for clothes and things before the birthday party."
Harry looked at him, not understanding what his father was saying.
"But you're going out! I shouldn't just sit here; I might as well be useful. At least then the place would be clean for Jamie's party." Okay, so Harry was a bit thick, but he had no reason to think that this would be any different then when Dudley had a birthday, and his aunt and uncle took Dudley out for fun and left him with a list of chores so long he had no hopes of finishing them in time.
James sighed. "For one thing you won't be just sitting here, you're coming with us. And it's also your party too, we also need to get you a present." James said, and then looked thoughtful. "Oh, and call me 'Dad'," he said as an afterthought.
"I get to come with you??" Harry asked, completely and totally shocked. He didn't even register that James had told him it was his party as well, let alone anything about a present.
"Of course you're coming! How else will we know what you want?" James asked.
"What I want??" Harry asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"Yes, what colors and styles you want. As well as other things, like books and toys." James said, a little exasperated.
Harry stood silent for a bit, batting his eyes in disbelief. "I... You.. I mean, you don't have to buy me anything. I can just use the things Jamie doesn't want anymore." Harry said.
James sighed. He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, kneeling down so he could look Harry in the eye without the boy having to stretch his neck to look up at him.
"Harry, listen to me, because I'm only going to say this once," he said gently. "This is not your aunt and uncle's house. The way those people treated you was *wrong*. Like your mother told you, it is your *right* to have things of your own - not a privilege. You do not have to 'just use the things Jamie doesn't want anymore'. It would make your mother and I *very* happy for you to let us buy you the things that you need, like clothes, and the things that you want, like books and toys." He kept his tone gentle, not wanting Harry to think he was being scolded, but firm enough that the boy would know he meant every word he said.
"Do you understand what I'm telling you, Harry?"
Harry wasn't actually capable of speech at the moment, so he nodded his head as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.
James gave a reassuring smile. "Good, now how about I properly introduce you to your Uncles? Although you probably know their counter parts."
"I didn't know I had any other Uncles." Harry told him; it seemed there was a lot about his own life he didn't know.
"Well... They are your Uncles in every way but by blood. This here," James said as he pointed to Sirius, "is my best mate from school, and Jamie's Godfather, Sirius Black. And this," he said while pointing to Remus, "is another good friend from school, Remus Lupin."
Remus cleared his throat and the group looked at him curiously. "Harry, am I right that you do not know of us? Of our counter parts?"
Harry shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized, as if it was his fault he had never met them.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I just find it curious that we have never met before. We're so close to your father that I wonder what happened." Remus said gently, he didn't want to upset Harry anymore than he had to.
"Wait," Sirius said when it finally dawned on him that his Godson did indeed not know him, "why don't you know me?"
"You probably did something stupid," Remus said, rolling his eyes at Sirius.
"Hey!" Sirius exclaimed. "What about you!? He doesn't know you either!!"
"I hate to be the one to point this out, but if he doesn't know you and James and I are dead... well, it stands to reason you are probably dead in his time line as well because I know you two and I know that had you been alive, you would have moved heaven and earth to be with Harry. You never would have left him with my magic-hating sister and that nasty walrus she calls a husband." Lily said sadly; it hurt her to think about her Harry growing up alone and that her best friends might have died along with her and James.
It was at that moment that a soot covered Severus Snape stepped out of the fireplace.
Jamie's face immediately lit up. "Uncle Sev!" He exclaimed.
"SNAPE!!" Harry exclaimed. "What the hell is that greasy git doing here?!?!" Harry yelled. "Wait did you say 'Uncle Sev'?!!" This was too much for Harry. It wasn't fair! Not only did Jamie have parents and uncles, but a Snape that apparently wasn't an enemy. Why did Jamie have everything when he, Harry, had nothing??
"Harry James Potter! Apologize to Severus this instant!" Lily scolded.
"No, I won't! I won't apologise to the slimy, greasy git!!" Harry exclaimed.
Snape's eyes widened as he took in the sight of two Harry Potters. One of them was the nephew that he loved, but the other... The other seemed so hostile to him.
"Lily? What on earth is going on?" Snape exclaimed in both shock and confusion. "I know you do not have two children. And," his brows drew together, a very confused expression taking hold of his features, "did you just call him Harry?" He pointed a long finger at the new Harry.
"Yes, Sev. It's like this..." Lily launched into an explanation of the previous night, leaving out only the abuse that Harry had suffered. "And so the Harry that you know is now 'Jamie', and this Harry is still called 'Harry'."
The only indication of surprise was that Snape's eyebrows were practically up to his hairline, as he digested the information. "But that doesn't explain why he's so hostile to me."
Lily turned to Harry who was still glaring at Snape. "I want you to tell us why you are calling Sev such horrible names, young man!" Lily demanded sternly.
"Because he is nasty and horrible! He hates me and was never anything but mean to me! He called me names, gave me detention and docked house points for no reason!!" Harry said, glaring fiercely at the Potions Master.
Lily was taken aback by the vehemence with which Harry spoke. "Why would Severus treat you like that?" she asked.
Severus, for his part, was completely flabbergasted. He would never treat his best friend's son that way! What was so different about this alternate universe that Harry came from that he, apparently, was so nasty and horrible to Lily's son?
Jamie glared at his new brother. "Hey!" he shouted angrily. "You can't talk 'bout my Uncle Sev like that!! He'd never do anything like that!"
"He did; he does," Harry insisted. He then stomped off to his room without another word.
"Harry!" Lily called after him. She turned to Snape. "I'm sorry, Sev. He's normally such a sweet boy..." Lily trailed off, unsure of what else she could say and thoroughly confused by her newest son's behavior.
Severus gave a small shake of his head. "Obviously, the boy has cause to be upset. None of us truly know what he has endured, do we?"
Harry slammed the door to his room before stomping over to his bed and tossing himself down face first onto it. Snape??? Why Snape?? Of all the people in the wizarding world, it just had to be him, didn't it?
Severus turned the the group. With a sigh he said. "I'll go talk to him."
Lily looked apprehensive. "But Sev, if he's so hostile to you won't that make it worse?"
Severus gave her a tight smile. "He has to learn that I'm not the same man that he knew in his world. That I would never do those things to him."
Lily gave him a small smile and a nod of approval.
Severus turned to make his way up the stars to Jamie and Harry's room.
When he arrived he knocked on the door.
"Come in," Harry called in a tight voice, assuming it was one of his parents that had come to check on him.
Severus walked into the room. Given Harry's previous reaction, he wasn't surprised that Harry's expression changed the moment he walked though the door.
Seeing who it was, Harry's entire demeanor changed. His face became stormy and green eyes glared fiercely.
"Go away! There are no detentions to give or house points to take, so you can just sod off." Harry spat; he didn't know why he was so angry but it just seemed that Snape was the icing on the cake. Jamie got parents and Uncles and a Godfather who loved him and now he even had a nice Snape, while he, Harry, had gotten abused growing up and the one man who was the same between their two worlds was a complete arse to him in his time line but Jamie got a nice one. He got everything and it wasn't fair!!
"No, and if you don't change your tone, you can find out just what I can do to you, young man!" Snape said sternly.
Harry glared at the man who had intimidated him all year long, the man who had heaped more hatred on him when he was already bogged down by so much, and he could feel his anger begin to boil to the surface. A crackle of uncontrolled magic could be felt in the air as the boy's temper got away from him.
"I said sod off, you greasy git!!!" He screamed.
"Harry James Potter! This is your last chance to sit down and have a civil conversation like an adult. If you persist on acting like a child you will be treated like one." Snape scolded.
"NO! We aren't at school, and you cant tell me what to do! I don't have to do anything you say. You hate me and I hate you now go away!" The crackle around the room turned into angry gusts of forceful magic as Harry let go of the control he possessed over it.
Snape muttered a shield spell and made his way toward the angry boy. Reaching him, he angled Harry away from himself and landed five sharp swats. "You will cease this temper tantrum this instant, young man!"
Yelping, Harry froze, eyes wide. Both hands went back to cover his offended bottom. However, the shock to his system had caused the magic in the air to settle and the things that had started to lift from their spots fell back into their places.
"OWWWW! Y-You hit me!!! You can't do that!!" Angry eyes filled with shock and tears.
"I can and I will discipline you if I see fit. I have been doing so for your brother all his life." Snape sternly replied.
"I'm not him!!! You've been nothing but nasty to me all year! As if I wasn't hated enough, I didn't need a professor I had never even met before hating me as well for no reason!! You have no right to touch me!!" Harry was screaming now but he didn't care; all his emotions, raw and painful, were coming to the surface.
Snape sighed. "Harry, I am truly sorry for what you have endured from my counter part. But you have to understand I am not him. Please, won't you give me the chance to prove that to you?" Snape said pleadingly.
"But that's not fair!!" Harry said and then the dam broke; tears started to roll down his cheeks unchecked, and it didn't take long for the tears to turn into full all out sobs.
Severus reached out and pulled Harry into a hug. "What's not fair?" Severus asked.
Harry was past the point of being able, or even wanting, to fight. He latched onto the man's black robes, identical to the ones the Snape from his world wore.
"Jamie has e-everything, even a n-nice Snape! It isn't fair; it isn't!" Harry sobbed.
"I'm sorry that things have been so hard for you, but Jamie isn't the only one that has a 'nice Snape'. I'm here for you, Harry; you are just as much my nephew as he is." Snape said as gently as he could.
Harry pulled away from Snape a bit to look at him, his eyes filled with confusion.
"But I'm not your Harry, I just sort of stowed away here." Harry said. His biggest fear was that he was a burden and that he would never be loved like Jamie was.
"I don't care. You are my Harry now; you are my nephew now. There are times when I might discipline you and be strict with you, but I will never willingly or knowingly hurt you." Snape said with conviction.
Harry diverted his eyes. It was so hard to believe as much as he wanted to, when he was looking at someone identical to the man who had made his last two years so miserable. He wasn't sure he could separate the two. But Harry was a boy who wanted, who needed, love so badly... so badly that at times he felt like he was a bucket that had a hole in the bottom; no matter how hard one tried, it was impossible to fill.
His slight frame shook a bit, and he felt more tears slide down his cheeks.
Seeing that the boy was not calming down, Snape swept the slight boy up and sat down on the bed. Cradling him like he was a small child, Snape rocked the child gently and whispered reassurances. He prayed desperately that Harry would understand and believe him.
Harry clung to the man whom he had such warring feelings about and sobbed out his confusion. In one day his entire world had been turned upside down; though it was in a good way, it didn't make it any less difficult to understand.
Severus rocked Harry until his sobs had subsided.
"Better?" he asked, generating a handkerchief from his pocket.
Harry took the offered handkerchief and wiped at his face, shrugging slightly. He was so confused; everything was so different and, while he wanted to be with his parents more then anything, wanted to be loved and wanted, this entire thing was so scary to him and he longed for the safety of the familiar. Sure he was treated terribly, his friends weren't really his friends, and never wrote him like they said, but at least in his world he knew what was expected of him and what would happen. There, he knew how to be, but here... well, it was scary and confusing and Harry's head hurt with it all.
Severus sighed. "Are we okay now? Will you give me a chance to prove to you I am not my counterpart?"
Harry shrugged again. He wasn't so sure he would be able to separate the two, not after the year he had had, not when this Snape looked so much like the Snape from his world.
Severus sighed again. "We'll take it one day at a time," he said with some resignation. "Come, now, let's return to the others. They are probably worried about you."
"Yes, sir," Harry said, sliding from the man's lap and rubbing at his eyes.
Severus led the way back to the parlor where the worried group was gathered. James was talking quietly with Sirius and Remus, his brow was furrowed as he sneaked worried glances at the stairwell. Lily simply bit her lip as she waited for Severus and Harry to return. Jamie pouted. What was wrong with his double? His Uncle Sev would never do what he said!
Harry moved slowly behind Severus as they joined the others in the parlor. He bit his lip nervously, seeing all the glances his family was giving him.
Lily took in her son's puffy eyes and contrite disposition and knew her Sev had taken care of things. Walking over, she pulled Harry into a tight hug and kissed his head.
Harry snuggled into his mother's hug. She smelled of lavender and vanilla, soft and sweet and comforting, just like Harry always thought a mother should smell, and it calmed him. In that hug he felt safe and loved.
Lily held the boy for a few moments before pulling back.
"Go and get changed, and then let's go. We have a lot of shopping to do," she said, giving the boy a smile. Harry couldn't help but smile back.
The day at Diagon Alley went rather well, and Harry found he really enjoyed spending time with his new family; it felt good for once to be able to get new things and to know the people buying them for him really wanted to do it, that he wasn't a burden. It was a feeling he had never had before. Despite getting a bit sick going through the floo, which he had never done before, the day was very good. They went out for lunch and had a wonderful meal and Sirius even bought both boys new brooms. While Sirius was with Jamie and Harry in the broom store, Remus had sneaked off and picked Harry up a new owl. Lily had told him how Harry missed Hedwig and, even though he technically had one here, the boy deserved his own owl, so Remus picked a beautiful pygmy snowy owl. Se looked just like Hedwig; however, he was much, much smaller at a little less than half her size. Despite the owl's small size, it could still carry great weight and was very smart. Remus thought he was perfect for his new nephew.
Severus had also sneaked off (when, Harry did not know, but it seemed that man was very good at coming and going without anyone realizing) and bought him a most exquisite scale and measuring set along with stirrer. They were gold with rubies encrusted within the handles and platforms, the most gorgeous things he had ever seen. The piston and petal also matched; all and all it was not like anything harry had ever owned; in fact, he had never owned anything so magnificent. He could really brew proudly with such fine equipment! He even looked forward to Potions class where he would be able to use it and show it off.
Jamie couldn't help feel a bit jealous with all that was going on. He was still angry that they couldn't go to the park that day and, even though Uncle Sev had bought him a similar set the year before for starting Hogwarts, he still felt jealous that he had bought Harry such an extravagant present. Sev was HIS uncle! Jamie couldn't help feeling as if he might be being replaced.
He had no idea what Harry had been through in his own world. If he had, he may have been more sympathetic to his new brother but, as it stood, he thought the boy was an attention hog just wanting everyone to dote on him, and it made him resentful. He tried to suppress it; he wanted to like his new brother, to be close to him like twins were supposed to be. He guessed he would just have to try a bit harder. Maybe he would see if Harry wanted to go flying when they got home. If Harry loved flying as much as he did it was definitely something they could bond over.
Both Harry and Jamie were excited to try out their new brooms so when they got home, after having dinner at a rather swanky restaurant (which was quite a treat for Harry), James and Lily permitted them to try them out while they had some tea with Sirius, Severus and Remus.
Harry was an awesome flier, which really should not have surprised Jamie as, well, they were the same person. He was impressed with the barrel rolls he did and was compelled to show of a few tricks of his own.
"I bet you can't do this." Jamie said as he hung by his knees upside down and flew.
Harry grinned.
"Can too!!" he said mimicking the trick before righting himself. He then balanced himself, standing on the broom as it flew.
"Bet you can't do this!" he said.
Jamie looked wide-eyed.
"Bet I can!!" he declared, climbing up and balancing himself on the broom on his feet.
Both boys flew while standing on their brooms.
That was when James happened to look out the window. His eyes widened at what he saw, and he ran to his boys.
"James Harold Potter!!" He exclaimed, readying a cushioning charm just in case the boys startled and fell.
As predicted, both boys tumbled to the ground, followed by their brooms, and were safely caught by the cushioning charm.
"James Harold Potter, you know better than to do such dangerous tricks," he scolded. Pulling Jamie up from the ground, he landed five hard swats to his bottom and then grabbed Jamie's broom.
"This is mine for the rest of the weekend." He told him.
"OWWW! Dad!!" Jamie yelped. "That isn't fair!! It wasn't only me doing it." He pointed out. It wasn't fair; he was the only one getting in trouble when they had both done the same thing.
"You don't worry about Harry. That is my responsibility." James scolded.
James turned to Harry and Harry flinched. "I'm sorry!" Harry exclaimed pitifully.
James' eyes softened, and he reached out to Harry. "Just don't do it again, son." He said gently, ruffling Harry's hair.
Harry had braced himself for his own swats and was perplexed when they didn't come. Harry was as upset as Jamie was about his lack of punishment. It was apparent to Harry that his dad didn't care enough to punish him when he did dangerous things. He was mad that Jamie had risked his life and their dad punished him so he wouldn't do it again, but he didn't even scold Harry for it so Harry could only assume that he didn't care if Harry got hurt or killed.
That night when Harry went to sleep, he lay awake for several hours. His mind couldn't help mulling on the events of the day. He wondered if his parent's really cared about him. If they did, shouldn't they discipline him? Like they did Jamie? Maybe their love and concern were faked; maybe they didn't really think of him as their son. After all, he did just appear out of nowhere. Harry's mind was a whirl with those thoughts as he drifted off to sleep. Tears trickled down his face as he realized that his dreams were just that; dreams. He would never, and could never be loved like he had always longed to be. It was with those dreadful thoughts that he fell into a restless slumber.