Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters and I am not making any money from this story.
Pairing(s): Theo/Harry, Oliver/Harry, Roger/Harry, Cedric/Harry
Rating: R

~HP~

Time skip
Harry slowly started to come to attention. His head hurt and as he whimpered due to the pain, fingers began to gently card through his hair. It felt nice. It was what his mum used to do when he was sick when he was younger.

He forced his eyes opened and was relieved for the dimness of the room. The person rubbing his scalp wasn't his mother, but Theo. He smiled at the continued motions, grateful that Theo didn't stop. His eyes began to feel heavy, so he closed them once again and thought back to the last two years.

~HP~

After he became a Gryffindor with his brother, he was sure his and Theo's tentative truce would end, but by clapping for him after the sorting, Harry saw that Theo was willing to try. Unfortunately, the Weasley prat from the Hogwarts Express was also sorted into Gryffindor and actually had the nerve to sit with them.

In the dormitory, the Potter twins claimed two beds next to each other; Harry's was closest to the window and Evan's in the middle. Thankfully, Neville, a friend of theirs since childhood took the bed on the other side of Evan and wouldn't move no matter how much Ron Weasley whined. Their other two dorm mates, Seamus and Dean, seemed pretty cool. Dean grew up in the Muggle world, and Harry tried to make him feel welcome by talking about his mum.

Their first day of class, they had Potions first thing in the morning. Harry groaned. Their dad and Uncle Sirius had warned them about Professor Snape and they didn't think the class would be pleasant. It was a Gryffindor-Slytherin class and Harry waved to Theo when he walked in. Theo nodded in his direction. He sat with Evan towards the back and pulled Neville next to them before Ron could take the empty seat. Ron was forced to sit by some bushy-haired Gryffindor girl whose name Harry couldn't remember.

It was worse than Harry feared. As soon as Snape walked in, he started in on Evan because of his celebrity status. Harry tightened his grip on his wand. Evan squeezing his leg in warning was the only thing that stopped him from hexing the professor. When class got underway, Harry became a target for many insults as well, much to the Slytherins' amusement. The only Slytherin not snickering was Theo.

After they all got used to the schedules, Harry and Theo began to spend some time alone to get to know each other. They found out about their shared love of reading and discussed favourite types of books. It wasn't much, but it was enough to break the ice. After they became more familiar with each other, Evan eventually began to join them. Harry had thought Theo would be angry, but he took it in stride. To be fair, Harry had asked about a friend of Theo's joining them, but Theo had quickly declined.

Soon, everyone had become aware of Theo fraternizing with Gryffindors and vice versa on the parts of Harry and Evan. The Slytherin first year most vocal about his displeasure was Draco Malfoy, and the Gryffindor first year most vocal was Ron Weasley. The twins ignored the taunts from their house as Theo did with the Slytherins.

When Malfoy and his goons ganged up on Neville, the twins went against the pale Slytherin prince. Theo surprised them by standing with them. Harry had expected Theo to just stay neutral. When Draco took Neville's Remembrall in the air and Harry followed on his broom, ignoring Evan's pleas to get down, he ended up as the youngest Seeker in a century. Even though he knew Evan was proud of him in his own way, he could also see a little jealousy in Evan's eyes.

That was why the explosive fight that came a couple days after wasn't a big surprise. It didn't stop him from moping though. He was sitting on the bleachers at the Quidditch field when Theo joined him. Theo didn't talk. Despite the short time they knew each other, Theo knew enough about Harry to know he would talk when ready and no one would be able to force him. Sure enough, he was correct. "Evan always gets attention because he's the bloody Boy Who Lived. I'm usually fine with that. I'm a bit like Neville in that I don't like being in the spotlight too much. I'm finally doing something worthwhile, something I feel like I deserve, and something good. I'm getting praise from people I barely know, something that has never happened, and I admit it feels nice, and Evan is jealous. I am always happy for him when something good happens to him, but he can't be the same for me? I thought brothers were supposed to support each other," Harry finished in a whisper.

Silence hung in the air before Theo replied. "Harry, you two are twins. Pretty much no bond is stronger than that. Look at Fred and George Weasley. Even with that strong of a bond, you two are bound to have disagreements. Evan is not used to not getting all of the attention and that's why he's jealous. That doesn't mean he's not happy for you. I'm sure your parents will set him straight as they will most likely get either a Floo Call or a letter home after that very public fight. You'll see. Things will get back to normal soon enough."

"I hope so." Theo had been right, of course, and they were back to being best friends.

Harry and Evan became good friends with Fred and George, and true to their word, they began to train them to take over as pranksters. Harry and Evan also made a couple of friends from Hufflepuff in the forms of Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. Fred and George weren't the only twins they befriended either. Parvati and Padma Patil, in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses respectively, became good friends. Harry hit it off really well with Parvati because of her bookishness.

No matter what obstacle got in their way, Harry and Evan stood together. Theo and Harry's friendship solidified and the two of them being seen around the castle together was a regular occurrence. They both had similar studious personalities, both almost in Ravenclaw, so it was very common for them to study together. Most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins hated it. Even when the betrothal came to light, they still didn't accept the friendship, but the petty rivalries were ignored.

Even the Philosopher's Stone and Quirrell didn't change anything between them. In fact, Theo helped the Potter twins figure out the truth and was there for the obstacles. Although Theo and Evan weren't able to go the whole way, Harry faced Quirrell in a final confrontation and was victorious.

When Harry woke up in the hospital wing with his brother curled next to him on the bed, they didn't see Headmaster Dumbledore's calculating eyes or their parents' worried frowns as Theo recounted the story.

During their second year, it was more of the same. Theo and Harry became closer, much to Evan's amusement and sometimes jealousy of not having his brother's full attention or time any longer. Evan quickly got over it when their parents reminded him about the future marriage. The closer the two of them could become before the wedding, the better it would be for Harry. Evan wanted his brother to be happy so he swallowed down any bitterness he was feeling.

Snape was as bad as ever, ignoring Evan most of the time and giving his complete attention to targeting Harry with his malicious insults, actually insinuating that Harry was corrupting one of his snakes. Evan felt his blood boil and Theo didn't look much better. While Evan knew there was nothing he could do, Theo took advantage of being a Slytherin when class was almost over for the day. He insulted Snape and demanded fairness for his future husband. Theo remarked that even though they did their homework together, checking each other's work, while Theo always got an 'O', Harry got an 'A' which was unacceptable. Snape snarled out that he had detention every Saturday and Sunday for the next month, but didn't dare take points from his own house. "Class dismissed," Snape finished before leaving.

Harry was a bit red faced in embarrassment after Theo's impassioned speech, but as Theo's housemates' glares turned on him for defending a Gryffindor, Harry hugged the slightly taller boy, which Theo returned.

Evan smiled. It was nice to see that Theo did care about his brother in some way, even if they may never fall in love with each other.

That year the trio, becoming known as the misfit trio, never to their faces of course, had a new mystery to solve. What was petrifying the students? It led them to a girl's bathroom and into the hidden Chamber of Secrets.

That was why Harry was now in the hospital. Harry had finished off the basilisk with the Gryffindor sword, but he had felt a strange magic as he took hold. After slaying the giant snake, he wasn't able to let go of the sword. Even now, he still had a grip on it and couldn't seem to loosen his fingers.

Theo and Evan only left his side when forced out of the infirmary by Madame Pomfrey. During the next week, Dumbledore continuously ran diagnostics, trying to discover why Harry's magic was reacting to the sword the way it was. After failed attempts at finding information, Dumbledore and Snape tried to forcibly take the sword.

Theo watched warily from the sidelines, having a bad feeling. Sure enough, Theo's instincts were proved to be right on. A golden hue began to emanate from Harry's body before wings began to sprout. Harry screamed in pain. Theo, fearful for Harry, tried to go to him, only to be held back by Snape. Harry's eyes turned a beady black and his pert nose morphed into an eagle's beak. His body now had fur covering it. His hands became eagle talons and his feet became lion paws as his new tail swished back and forth in agitation.

Now an animal of some kind, Harry growled warningly as his body hovered over the Gryffindor sword.

"Headmaster?"

"Yes, Severus, my boy?"

"You're golden boy is now a Griffin."

"Not permanently. Although I'm not sure why this was a side effect of the sword, I know about this type of shape shifting. It's similar to an Animagus transformation, except you can't learn it. You need to be chosen and it's considered a high honour. With a griffin shape shifter, they have a strong urge to guard a treasure of some kind. It is considered of utmost importance to them. It seems that Harry will be keeping the sword as that is what his griffin side has latched onto."

"How long will it last?" Theo risked asking.

"When his Griffin side deems it safe, he will automatically transform back. The good news is that it won't be painful now. Only the first transformation is painful because it's forced."

They waited it out and eventually Harry was back in human form. Afterwards, he slumped in exhaustion. As Harry slept it off, Theo took his place next to Harry's bed. Snape left to brew some potions for the infirmary, and Dumbledore went to go make some Floo Calls to Harry's family. There would be a lot of adjustments to make in the future.