Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind

By: ForeversNobody

Rating/Warning: uuuuummmm, imma have to go with M, just cuz I like to swear and also, I plan on making this a slash fic and therefore give as many lemons (and limes) as I want and/or as my readers request… I will warn you at the beginning of chapters which ones will contain lemons/limes

Blah = thinking

(*blushes* sry this wasn't in other chapters! But I'm sure you're all smart enough to have figured that out *winks*)

Authors Ramblings: I wish I could offer you guys guaranteed updates weekly instead of as random as they've been, unfortunately my muse doesn't work like that. She likes to randomly take scenes I've 'written' and go "no, no – that doesn't sound right to me, forget it!" and I can literally not remember what I had decided to happen, other than a general outline, and have to re-write it *sweat drops* she's confusing, so please bear with me!

Now, I really don't like doing this because if I do it once, I'll prolly end up doing it again soooo – if you leave a review PLEASE SIGN IN TO DO SO!! Instead of doing it anonymously or as least include an email address I can respond to… I don't like taking up space in the authors notes for answers to questions that are left in reviews… so, like I said I'M ONLY DOING THIS ONCE!!

Betty_Boop: she hailed a cab; she didn't want to wait and 'waste her day' any longer

Kat1132: seeing as the computer hates me (she managed to randomly delete the software for my CD drive) prolly not? If I can figure out how to do it, without messing up the story, then yea – but Lucy (my computer) is a bitch so… *shrugs*

I am American who has never traveled out of my country (even to Canada – I know, sad), but I will try my hardest to stick to British slang and customs – feel free to correct me if I get it wrong!

You'll have to excuse any and all mistakes as my Beta has taken an indefinite hiatus cuz her computer has officially died! Lol so, if anyone is willing to beta, just PM me here and we'll go from there, k?

Pairing(s): yeeeeeeaaaaa – imma let you figure that out on your own for now ;)

Summary: He had given up on wishing for a new family years ago – long before he found out he was a wizard and the horrible truth about what had happened to his parents. But sometimes, Gods are just as good at procrastinating as humans – but they get to their duties, eventually.

Chapter 4:

His aunt had been none-too-pleased to see him return when he exited the preventer's issued car on Wednesday several hours after she had stormed out of the Headquarters. She immediately set him to cleaning the upstairs and doing the laundry, and made sure she had given him his chore list for the next day. She eyed him carefully as he climbed the stairs to start on his work before turning into the family room to watch her Soaps. (1)

By the time he finished his chores, he was exhausted and his ribs and ankle were throbbing in unison. He sat down at the desk by his bedroom window and just stared at the parchment in front of him. How in the world do you word this type of question? Twenty minutes and 15 crumpled pages later, Harry decided on a short, blunt one sentence letter – he was honestly too exhausted to get his brain working to come up with anything longer or more detailed.

Snuffles,

I know this sounds absurd, but is it possible that I have an older sibling?

Love,

Harry

He strapped it to Hedwig, let her out the window, then crawled into bed without even bothering to change.

The next day was not much better. His uncle had heard an edited version of the previous day from his aunt and felt he needed to remind Harry not to bother her again today. By the end of the 'lecture' his head and ribs were throbbing anew.

Harry stole into the bathroom and snuck some pain relievers while he was putting the laundry away. He prayed his aunt wouldn't notice they were missing or he'd really be in for it.

Hedwig had yet to return by dinnertime, but Harry thought nothing of it. He had no idea where Sirius was, so that meant it could take her anywhere from a day to two weeks before she even reached him, let alone come back with a response.

Harry honestly didn't think he could honestly wait that long. His dreams of having a family had faded long before he had even started primary school, but one small part of him was always going to hope. Even then, he didn't logically think this supposed brother would want him - the Dursley's certainly hadn't.

Now, He knew they were a poor excuse to base anything off of, but when it had been ingrained in your head for as long as you could remember that you were a useless, unwanted, stupid freak, you tended to believe it. And Even when those assumptions had been proven wrong time and again, there was still that little voice in the back of your head that just waited for the right moment to remind you that you were unlovable. That no one wanted to touch you because you were a dirty freak; that other people were worthy of love and you weren't.

So, as much as he wanted to meet this brother, he had his reservations. I shouldn't have sent Sirius that letter, it was stupid – my maybe-brother would be safer if no one found out about him, anyways. He would just be one more person for Voldemort to take away from me in the end.

Sitting on the back deck, waiting for the Dursley's to finish their meal so he could eat and finish cleaning before heading to bed, Harry Potter dropped his head into his hands and fought the urge to cry.

Lying in bed, later that night, Harry was observing his yearly ritual – counting down the minutes to his birthday. He had fifteen minutes to go. His brain was running through a hundred different scenarios on how the meeting with his brother could go. He was so distracted, he didn't even notice when he began to doze off, when his fantasies turned into real dreams – and he finally fell asleep.

His eyes shot open – something had woken him, but he didn't know what. Realizing he could see, indicating he had dozed off with his glasses on, Harry turned to look at his clock. 1:27am. Damn, missed it – that's a first, though.

He shifted around in his bed, trying to get comfortable when he realized there was something moving in the shadows near his door. Harry didn't even think as he grabbed his wand and tried to focus on the movement. He began to panic when he remembered that he daren't use magic for fear of expulsion. Squinting, he noticed that whatever it was, was swinging like the pendulum in a grandfather clock. Sitting up and leaning forward, he squinted harder, trying to make out the shape – by this point he had lowered his wand. He was so focused on the far object that he didn't notice what was right in his face until something long and pink darted out and slobbered all over the left side of his face. Strangling an undignified shriek, Harry threw himself so hard backwards so hard that he toppled off his twin bed. Untangling himself from the sheets, Harry straightened his glasses and looked up reprovingly at Padfoot, who now had his front paws on the bed – head cocked, tongue lolling and tail still wagging slowly back and forth. (2)

Harry sighed and shook his head before hauling himself back up onto the bed, and motioned for Sirius to fully join him. The massive animagus leaped onto the bed and curled up on top of Harry's feet – immensely enjoying the ear scratching Harry was bestowing upon him.

"Honestly, Sirius, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" His tone was only half stern.

Sirius morphed back into his human form, still wearing his doggy grin. "It was fun – and entertaining!" He looked completely unapologetic.

Harry just shook his head. "How did you get here so fast anyway? I figured you'd be in Fiji or something." Harry looked anxious "You did get my letter, right?"

Sirius' face suddenly hardened. "I did." He leaned over and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Where did you hear that, Harry?" He didn't look upset, but he didn't look particularly happy either.

Harry winced at the pressure Sirius was unwittingly putting on his sore ribs – the tumble from the bed hadn't helped, either. Sirius' frown deepened and he released his godson, looking none-too-happy at the reaction. "What happened?" There was no emotion in his voice.

Harry looked away, but answered – he knew better than to try and lie to Sirius by now. "Dudley and his gang were bothering me while I was gardening on Wednesday." He spoke fast as his godfather looked like he was going to run into his cousin's bedroom and give him a 'talking to'. "No, really! I'm fine! Honest! Think they're just bruised and the pressure was only slightly irritating."

Sirius sighed and gave Harry a gentle hug – an unspoken apology for having to leave him here in this hell. "Can you answer my question, pup? Who told you that you had a brother?"

Wary, but excited that Sirius wasn't immediately denying it (it was really true?!), Harry explained everything that had happened since he got back to Privet Drive for the holidays, down to the DNA evidence even though he knew Sirius only had a rudimentary knowledge of muggle life and would probably not understand much if any of it. He had honestly expected Sirius to adamantly deny all of it – and was completely floored when he didn't.

Sirius readjusted himself so that he and Harry were leaning against the headboard. "You did have an older brother. Your parents were too young and still in school, so they gave him to a family that James' parents knew who could take good care of him." Here, he paused and closed his eyes. "Callum – your brother – lived with the Merryfeathers for two years when there was a sudden fire in their complex. They were living in a muggle flat sector on one of the colonies…?" Sirius sounded confused and stumbled over the terms, which led Harry to believe that he was just repeating something he had been told – most likely by Lily, so Harry nodded to show he knew what Sirius was referring to. "Cameron, Sophia and Callum Merryfeather died along with over 500 other people." Sirius was choked up, but tried valiantly not to show it.

Harry leaned over into him and prepared himself to shatter his godfather's perceptions. "Callum survived, Siri."

Sirius was stunned. "He couldn't have – he was just a baby!"

Harry gave Sirius an incredulous look, as if to say do you realize who you are talking to?! "I guess achieving the impossible is a family trait." Sirius looked sheepish. "The muggles found him, Siri. He'd been living on that colony, I guess – they said they'd tell me more after he got back from his latest mission." Harry grinned. "He's part of the Preventers – um, the muggle version of the Aurors crossed with the M.L.E."

Sirius was still sitting in shock, speechless – but was beginning to smile.

Harry resolved himself to broach the subject. "I spoke with their head, the Director of Preventers. She's willing to give you the benefit of doubt if you were to come in and speak with her about any information you might have on her agent's past." Harry looked nervously at Sirius for his reaction.

Sirius frowned. "I don't know, Hal (4), that could be dangerous. And anyway, I'd be spotted entering their offices for sure."

At this Harry grinned and shook his head. "No, you can go in as Padfoot. Don't ask me how, because I have no clue, but the Director and at least one of her Agents knows about our world – they recognized me."

Sirius was still wary, but smiled and shook his head – he really couldn't deny his godson anything. "Alright, kiddo, we'll go first thing in the morning, ok?" Harry nodded. "Now, Happy Birthday! And go to bed." Sirius grinned as he shifted out of Harry's way allowing him to lie down properly. Transforming, Padfoot curled up at Harry's feet and watched his godson drift off, before following him into dreamland.

Petunia Dursley scowled as she glanced at the clock once more. 8:05am. That stupid brat still isn't up?! Vernon needs to leave for work in just over an hour and Diddy will be up soon too! HMPH! She finished getting dressed and stormed down the hall, intent on giving her freak of a nephew a piece of her mind.

Throwing open the door with a loud slam; she stifled a shriek as a monster perched on the end of the bed leapt to its four feet, snarling.

Harry shot up; looking around blearily for what had woken him this time. Registering that someone was standing in his doorway, he could tell by the size that it was his aunt. It took him a second longer to notice that the rumbling he heard wasn't the house shaking, but Padfoot's vicious snarling. His eyes widened. "Sirius! Stop it!" He shoved his glasses on his face and turned his horrified gaze onto his aunt. She looked torn between being terrified and ready to spit nails.

"YOU! You let that – that mongrel into my house?! How DARE you!" Petunia made to advance on Harry, but the dog moved in front of him and raised its hackles higher.

Harry panicked and latched on to Padfoots scruff, wrapping his arm around the dog's neck. "Sirius, please! Stop!"

Petunia finally seemed to register what her nephew was calling the dog. She paled. "That thing is your godfather?!" she backed up again to lean against the door.

Sirius, recognizing that he could use this to his advantage, transformed and advanced on the woman. "What could possibly be wrong enough to warrant you storming in here like there was a Cerberus on your tail at this time of the morning?!"

Petunia tired valiantly to regain her footing in the confrontation. "What are you doing here?! I should call the authorities right now and turn you in!" She shrank back even further at his maniacal laughter.

"Who in their right mind would believe you? You'd have no proof!" To prove his point, he changed into Padfoot and back within a span of seconds. Petunia now looked terrified. Sirius sneered. "Would you kindly answer my question now?" He sounded anything but kind.

Petunia looked like that was the last thing she wanted to do, but complied – who knew what a full grown, psychotic wizard was capable of? "The boy is supposed to be downstairs by now making breakfast; Vernon and Dudley will be getting up soon." She kept it as concise as possible.

"Harry will not be making breakfast for you or those pigs," Sirius' tone was positively venomous – Petunia tried to make herself disappear into the door. "We shall be going out for the day and I don't know when we'll return. Don't expect him back before late this evening." He glanced over at Harry who looked torn between smiling in relief and gratitude and wanting to bolt downstairs to placate his aunt. Sirius continued. "Now, I suggest, Petunia, that you head downstairs, unless you want your lards of a husband and son to starve – apparently it takes over an hour to cook their breakfasts."

Petunia sneered and made as if to smack Harry on her way out, but Sirius' growling stopped her. Even as a human, he had a vicious sounding growl.

Sirius shut the door behind her and turned a critical eye on Harry. "What do you say we wrap your ribs and ankle, and then be on our way?" Harry looked startled that Sirius had noticed his discomfort, then sheepish. Sirius pulled his wand out of his robes and performed the spells, wrapping ace bandages around his torso and ankle before transforming into Padfoot and bounding over to lick Harry's face.

Seeing as it was still the middle of the morning, Harry and Padfoot had to hunt down an alley to summon the Knight Bus. Harry had some muggle money for the summer, but nowhere near enough to take a cab from Little Whinging to London and still have any left. He had been using the muggle money to buy food when the Dursleys took to starving him – the snacks and sweets from Hermione and Ron were just not enough to survive on.

The Knight Bus dropped them in an alley about a block down from the Preventers building. Stan and Ernie had seemed reluctant to let the massive dog on, but when Harry assured them Snuffles would be on his best behavior, they conceded. The fact that Padfoot had bounded up to one of the beds, jumped on it and promptly gone to sleep didn't hurt matters, either.

Walking to the Preventers HQ, Harry was getting some odd looks. It took him a while, but then he realized it was probably due to the fact that he was walking such a large dog without a collar or leash. He sunk his hand into Padfoots scruff for the second time that morning and most of the looks subsided.

When they reached the front of the building, Padfoot slowed to a stop. Harry, nervous and anxious to see what Sirius was planning, stopped with him. Sirius was eyeing the security checkpoint with a calculating look. Harry shrunk back; that was not a good look on his godfather.

Padfoot suddenly turned to Harry, a large doggy smile splitting his face. He knocked Harry's feet out from underneath him and promptly tossed Harry so that he landed on Padfoot's back. Harry's automatic reaction was to grab as much fur as possible and hold on for dear life – as Sirius had shot forward.

Padfoot shot forward, leapt over the security tables, bypassing the metal detectors and sending civilians and guards alike scattering. Realizing Sirius's intent, Harry began quickly whispering directions into the dog's ear on how to get to Une's office.

They quickly managed to lose their pursuers, but Harry knew they would be found eventually. He was so not looking forward to that.

They finally arrived in the waiting room outside of Une's office, startling the hell out of the secretary. Harry jumped off Padfoots back and approach the secretary to try and explain that they were here to see Director Une.

Padfoot calmly walked over to the large double doors, reared onto his back legs and promptly began scratching incessantly at them.

The secretary was now completely ignoring Harry and staring in horror at the dog destroying her boss's doors. The Director was not going to be happy about this. Marisol just prayed the woman didn't come out shooting.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion from the hallway. Harry froze. Their pursuers had caught up with them. Then Padfoot yelped loudly, causing all eyes to turn to him. Harry swung around to see the doors Sirius had been scratching on had been opened and the dog was now leaning with his front paws on the chest of Director Une. Harry groaned and wondered if it was possible to sink into the floor.

Une just stared at the scene before her. There had to be 15 M.P.s (3) crowding into her waiting area. Marisol looked beside herself, not knowing how to deal with the situation. Harry Potter was standing in front of the secretary's desk wringing his hands and looking mortified. She then looked down at the animal using her as a footstool. It grinned and cocked its head at her before lunging forward and giving her a slobbery kiss. She glared at the mutt. "Down."

She was scarier than McGonagall when she was mad. Sirius obeyed and for good measure sat too, still wagging his tail.

Une looked at the M.P.s for an explanation. The leader spoke up. "Ma'am. The boy and his dog completely by-passed security. We apologize that they managed to get this far – we'll take them into custody now – and call his parents."

Harry winced at the mention of his parents.

Une gave him a calculating look. "Actually, Mr. Potter has a standing appointment with me. If you would, though, Officer – Marikesh - search him as is protocol, then you can all be on your way." Une gestured for Harry to walk over to the M.P.s who patted him down and declared him 'clean'.

Une nodded as the M.P.s left she turned to Marisol. "Hold my calls and cancel all my morning appointments. And when you get a chance, put a call in to WinterHaven. Have them all report to my office at -" She looked at her watch, 10:00 "At 11:00 sharp – if they ask what it is concerning, just tell them I have News."

Marisol nodded and breathed a sigh of relief as the boy and his – dog – followed Une into her office. At least she could say her job was never dull.

Une led them into her office and motioned Harry to a chair. She did not expect the dog to jump up on the other one, she glared at it again. "Down." This time, however, it did not comply with her firm voice. She gave it a calculating look.

Harry thought he better intervene before the director decided shooting his godfather would be a good way to get him to listen. "I'm sorry, he's just showing off. I think he was really just playing the part for the officers back there, although with him its hard to tell most of the time." Harry gave his godfather an exasperated look.

"Oi! I resent that remark!" Instead of Padfoot, Sirius was now sitting comfortably in the second chair.

Experiencing magic was still fascinating to Une, even after watching Treize (and later, Mariemaia) achieve feats that completely defied logic and physics. Sometimes she wished she wasn't a muggle, just so she could experience the thrill first hand. But after learning what witches and wizards could do to each other in a battle, she decided she liked muggle wars better – they were more predictable and therefore you were more able to protect yourself.

So as much as she was used to magic, watching a dog turn into a man was still a shock. Then she realized what she had just witnessed. She narrowed her eyes. "So that's how you've been evading authorities. But can't the, uh – Aurors? – detect you?"

Sirius turned to examine the fierce looking woman. Harry said she knew about the magical world, so Sirius had just assumed she was a muggleborn. Apparently, she wasn't – she was just an ordinary muggle. "No, Ma'am. The only way to know if someone is an animagus is for them to register at the Ministry – and seeing as I became one illegally and while I was still in school, I never registered." He didn't not sound the least bit sorry. "Plus, I was an Auror and having the element of surprise would have been great in a tight spot."

Une had to agree with that, she knew all too well how a clever disguise could mean life or death to a soldier or officer. But that didn't change the fact that this man was a convicted mass murderer. "You do realize, Mr. Black, that until I can prove you innocent, I cannot let you leave here."

Sirius grinned and shook his head. "I will stay here and explain as much as I can – about my framing and Callum – but I'm afraid to say that the minute I feel my freedom is threatened, I will be forced to flee."

"Mr. Black, I cannot in good conscience let you go free without proof of your innocence. And you'll have to excuse me if I cant just accept the word of a child." Une nodded at Harry who looked indignant at being referred to as a child.

"Would Albus Dumbledore's word suffice?" Sirius' grin was back in full force.

Une looked skeptical, but if he could back it up she would have no argument. She didn't personally know Dumbledore, but she knew he was a very prominent figure in the wizarding world and a staunch supporter of the 'Light' fighting against Voldemort in their last war. If he could vouch for Sirius Black and provide her with proof of his innocence, she would not arrest him. "I will need your word, sir, that until I have spoken with Mr. Dumbledore that you will not leave England."

Sirius shook his head. "I'm afraid I cant do that, Ma'am. I am part of the resistance again and if I am called for a job, I cannot decline it. I can say that if I am asked to leave Britain, I shall have my godson contact you with a way to reach me and a promise to return any correspondences of yours."

Unes' eyebrows shot up. "The resistance?"

Sirius gave Harry's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Voldemort is back, alive and at full power, Director. He completed a Dark ritual during the Tri-Wizard Tournament which took place at Hogwarts this past school year. Dumbledore has recalled all the former members of the Order of the Phoenix to help."

Une sank into her chair. "Dear Lord." She was so sick and tired of wars and fighting. That was why she had created the Preventers – to put an end to all that insanity.

"My sentiments exactly." Harry had been quiet up to this point out of sheer force of habit; when adults spoke, freaks were not to be seen or especially heard – Dursley rule 2. "You're welcome to use my owl when she gets home tonight to send a message to Dumbledore. She should be delivering my friends' presents to me tonight around midnight – I could just send her to you after she rests a bit."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, that would be most helpful. Now, gentlemen, why don't we get down to business. First and foremost – Mr. Black, please give me your version of events on Halloween, AC 184 and the circumstances that led to your arrest."

Sirius gave her a quick run-down of everything that happened that year – making sure to note his lack of a proper trial and therefore inability to defend himself – as well as everything that had happened since his escape. Harry also interjected at certain points – specifically his version of the events of his third year and how Dumbledore had told Harry and Hermione how to save both Sirius and Buckbeak in one go.

The tale was so elaborate, that Une was hard pressed not to believe them, but she forced herself to reserve judgment until she had spoken with Dumbledore.

"I have a question, Director," Sirius sounded calm, but his body language was tense. "Harry is convinced that you've found his older brother. He's told me you have proof, but I'm unsure how to feel about that. I was there when Lily and James got the news about Callum and the Merryfeathers. Over 500 people died in the fire that killed them and destroyed their flat block. There is no logical way Callum survived." Sirius wanted desperately to believe what she was claiming, but he knew it was a very remote chance.

Une sat back and stared at Sirius. "It's very hard to explain unless you know the basics of blood and DNA testing. Without those I'm not sure you'd really understand what I'm explaining." She suddenly sat forward. "You said you were an Auror?" Sirius nodded, unsure of where she was going with that. "So you know and understand the theories – basic and complex – surrounding magical signatures?"

Sirius also sat forward and nodded. "The ability of a person's magical core to register differently but inherently similar depending on the focus they use. Magical cores have an inherent signature, unique to each wizard, which becomes slightly distorted when focused through a medium such as a wand or crystal - which is why a wizards chosen wand will work better for its intended user than anyone else. The distortion works naturally with the proper wielder's magic, enhancing it rather than countering or misdirecting it. It's also why wandless magic is so dangerous. The magic is focused directly from the core and is many times more powerful without the distortion. Aurors have recently been able to use that distortion to identify not only who cast a spell, but also if they used their own wand or someone else's.""

Une agreed. "Correct. No matter what focus is used the base power remains the same - that even if you were to pick up Harry's wand and use it, it would be completely unique to you – no other wizard could produce the same magical signature."

Une paused and tried to word this in a way the wizard could comprehend. "Now, apply this theory to the genes that make up humans – our blood. DNA cannot be duplicated naturally – with the sole exemption of identical twins, but I wont get into that. All family members tied by blood will share certain commonalities. Siblings will all be various combinations of their parents; half siblings will only share the traits of the shared parent. etcetera. We can identify familial relationships with high reliability out to the level of cousins, and decent reliability out to second cousins or the generation twice removed in either direction. Siblings are so closely tied that the system is considered infallible. There is always a margin for human error, but I assure you that our lab is one of the most respected and we tested multiple times to eliminate the possibility of contamination. Suffice it to say that there is no doubt in my or my Chief Doctors' mind that my agent is Mr. Potter's brother."

Sirius sat back in his chair, an enormous grin on his face. He turned to Harry. "I guess you were right – achieving the impossible does run in the family."

The silence in the room was interrupted by Une's computer beeping three times in quick succession. Une frowned. That was Sally's 'Urgent Message' alert. "Please excuse me for a minute gentleman." She shifted her chair over and began reading the message.

Sirius looked over at Harry again and frowned – he looked like he was in pain again. "You alright, kiddo?"

Harry looked up from his hands and just smiled. "Yea, I'm ok."

The sound of the office doors opening caused Harry and Sirius to turn around and look to see who had come in. Five men casually strolled in. Une didn't seem to notice, but then –

"Heero Yuy, put the gun away. Mr. Black is here of his own volition and is not to be shot." She finally looked up from her computer at the assembled group. "Or arrested."

Sirius was shocked that someone had pulled a weapon on him without his knowledge, but then again, he couldn't really see three of the five men – they were standing in a sort of triangle formation, with two, two and then one.

Harry stood up and eyed the group that had paused just inside the doorway. He wanted to see if he could pick out his brother before Une said anything. He went to immediately dismiss the girl with the braid who was standing next to a blonde that could pass for a Malfoy cousin, but then stopped, realizing that it was actually a man. A three foot braid? On a guy? Alarm bells were sounding in the back of his head, but he didn't know why. He spotted Agent Chang next to a man with hair to rival his own. The man at the very back with the unibang, however, sealed the deal. Harry could feel the blood draining from his face as he whipped around to face the director. "Gundam Pilots." He said, completely stunned. He was actually surprised he was still standing, he was so astonished. But then his legs gave out and he collapsed back into his chair. "You failed to tell me my brother was one of the Gundam Pilots." Harry dropped his head into his hands and therefore completely missed the collective flinch from the group of men.

Sirius was utterly confused, but knew from Harry's reaction that what he was talking about was both common knowledge and obvious and therefore he had to play along and pretend to know what was going on.

Before anyone could respond to his outburst, Harry suddenly sat up in his chair, grinning. He turned to Sirius. "Hermione can't yell at me anymore!" Everyone just looked confused at his apparent change of mood, so he pointed at the Gundam Pilots. "My 'saving-people thing'! It's obviously a family trait, so she can't yell at me – its not my fault!" Harry looked very pleased at his conclusion, practically bouncing in his seat.

Sirius was at a loss for how to respond to that.

A quiet snicker drew their attention back to the men standing in the doorway. "Gentlemen, please come in and have a seat."

Harry watched avidly at they came closer. He knew all of their names – no one in the muggle world didn't know their names - but he had only seen their pictures once or twice, so he didn't know who was who.

Sirius watched them as they approached and looked right at the one with the braid. He grinned. "if you aren't the spitting image of your mother, then I'm a Slytherin."

Duo stopped and stared at the man. He sure didn't act like the cold-blooded murderer the news had made him out to be.

Une nodded. "Duo Maxwell, meet your brother, Harry Potter and his Godfather, Sirius Black."

Duo nodded at Sirius and turned to look at his brother. The kid was still standing in front of his chair, wringing his hands and fidgeting – like he was afraid to approach them. Ok, what's with this kid? First he sounds like he's terrified to be related to a Gundam Pilot, then he's all excited about it and now he's back to terrified? What gives?! Remembering what Wufei had said, Duo made sure he was smiling as he walked over to Harry; he reached out to shake the kids hand and grasp his shoulder. He didn't miss the wince Harry tried, and failed, to conceal. Duo frowned, if the kids' ribs hurt because of the minute amount of pressure Duo was asserting on his shoulder, that meant they were broken.

Harry pasted on a smile and resisted the urge to sigh – or scream in frustration. His brother was already frowning at him when he had yet to say anything or really interact with Duo or the other guys. When Duo had finished scrutinizing him and turned back to face the other people in the room, Harry gave in and let his shoulders slump. So much for that hope.

Everyone in the room was now facing her, so Une decided to get the official meeting under way so they could get to the unofficial part sooner. "Everyone, please have a seat. Agents -" she turned to face the former pilots. "You have perfect timing; Mr. Black was just about to disclose his knowledge of your unique circumstances, Agent Maxwell."

Sirius took his cue, resisting the urge to grin like a maniac – he didn't want to scare the boy off, afterall. "I think I'll start with the basics; the name on your birth certificate is Callum Rhys Potter. You were born on April 1st, AC 180 to James Potter and Lily Evans." He sat back in his chair to be more comfortable during the long story.

"James and Lily didn't really get along until the end of 5th year, beginning of 6th." Harry snorted at the understatement, Sirius just smiled at him. "Ok – Lily hated James's guts, that is, until she saw him being himself – without the rest of us Marauders around." Sirius looked over at Harry, "He was defending a Ravenclaw 2nd year from a group of Gryffindor 6th years." Harry grinned. "Anyway, they started dating and then soon after Lily's 16th birthday, she found out she was pregnant. I found out by accident – James had sequestered himself in our bathroom and was having a furious argument with himself, out loud. Though, I think Lily went directly to Remus – he was her main confidant, after all."

Harry perked up. "Remus knows too?"

Sirius shook his head. "He knew Callum, but I didn't tell him about this -" He gestured towards the G-Boys. "I wanted to be sure first, before I told him." Sirius then glanced over at Harry again. "You sure know how to pull someone off task, kid. How's about I finish the story then you can ask all the questions you want, ok?"

Harry ducked his head and nodded sheepishly, but internally he winced. Stupid!! What did he think he was doing interrupting the adults?!

Sirius turned back around, serious again. "So Lily didn't want anyone to know, so they concealed the pregnancy. I know Mr. and Mrs. Evans and Mr. and Mrs. Potter knew – and maybe Madam Pomphrey, who was our schools Medi- Medical Worker." Sirius had to force himself to remember he was talking to muggles. "And then, like I said, myself and Remus Lupin. They weren't sure if they wanted to give the baby up, even though they were both still in school. James' parents helped solve the issue. They had some friends, an older couple whose kids were already full grown, but no grandkids yet. They agreed to take in Callum in an adjusted form of an Open Adoption, but rather than just giving Callum up, Lily wanted to be able to adopt him back at some point. James and Lily were in love, but they were also realistic – they knew they might not be together forever or even at the end of their educational careers – but they did agree to take care of Callum together."

Sirius paused momentarily to make sure they were all taking this in, and then kept on. "The Merryfeathers – Cameron and Sophia – took Callum in and kept Lily and James apprised of his life and accomplishments via photos and mail. Shortly after taking him in, they moved up to the L2 Colony to a new block of flats for a change of scenery and new experiences. By the time Lily and James graduated, they were engaged to be married and discussing bringing Callum home. They spoke extensively with the Merryfeathers and everyone agreed on checking in together at Christmas of that same year to talk about the situation. They eventually all agreed to meet and return Callum to his birth parents in July of AC 182 – but in May, Lily and James got some devastating news." Sirius stopped and had to compose himself. Even though it wasn't his son – and said substitute son was sitting right there – it was still hard to recall. "Lily and James got a message through Mr. and Mrs. Potter that there had been a fire on L2. Nearly all of the units making up the flats the Merryfeathers had been living in were gone. There had been a fire in the middle of the night – out of 700 people, families, 500 were gone – the buildings were nothing but ash and rubble. Apparently, even though the firemen had responded within a timely manner, there was a malfunction of the water system."

Duo snorted at this. When had anything on L2 ever worked when and how it was designed to? He had to shake his head at the tragedy of it, though – 500 people? That was a massive loss of life. And yet, I can all but guarantee nothing was done to fix the problem, even if it was in a 'wealthy' neighborhood.

"It was a devastating blow, and I don't think they ever really got over it." Sirius didn't sound like he was really over it either.

Duo finally spoke up. "So, I must have gotten out somehow. Though, how did a 2 year old get outside without his parents knowing at – what, 3 am?" He paused and looked anxious but, determined. "And may I ask what happened to my birth parents? All I know is that they died when I was three."

Sirius looked to Une for permission. "We have at least one theory – but the answer to both of those questions is complicated without an explanation of who and what you are first."

Sirius and Une noticed that three of the gundam pilots looked curiously confused, but Quatre and Wufei had perked up and were looking eager. Harry was too busy wringing his hands and alternating between looking fretfully at Duo, then back at his own shoes to really notice the change in atmosphere.

Chapter End: TBC


A/N:

HMPH! Did I say chapter 3 had a mind of its own? Yea – that's NOTHING compared to this one! Omg, this thing is 11 pages long (6,772 words, yikes!) and it was going to be like 20! It was all spos to take place in Une's office, but it would have been waaaaaaay too long, so I cut it in half… on the upside, this means that chapter 5 is well under way! And should be out in a week or two! :3

1 - A Soap Opera, sometimes called "Soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic romantic fiction presented in serial format on television; The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers as sponsors and producers. These early radio serials were broadcast in weekday daytime slots when mostly housewives would be available to listen; thus the shows were aimed at and consumed by a predominantly female audience.

2 – This actually happened to me before! Lol – its funny now, but scared the hell outta me at the time! My dog, Maggie (RIP) was an all-black border-collie mix and loved jumping on beds… One day when I had a ton of stuff in my arms and couldn't pull the cord for the light in my bedroom I noticed in the blackness (it was night time and only the hall light was on and didn't really spill into my room) that something was moving over my bed, so standing at the edge of the bed, I leaned in squinting to see what it was and didn't notice that her head was right next to mine until she licked my face… I near jumped out of my skin!

3 – M.P. stands for Military Police within the US armed forces; preventers is technically a military, but operates more like a police force. But they still need police to keep them in order.

4 – I don't like the nickname Har for Harry, I can't honestly see anyone actually using it in real life or accepting it being used towards them… Hal is the official nickname for Harold and Henry, so I figure it applies to Harry too :3