Title: The Boys Who Lived
Author: Shara Lunison
Beta: Batsutousai
Rating for this Chapter: K+
Pairings: Harry/Henry (OMC), several others—none of them canon
Warnings: SLASH, eventual twincest, slightly manipulative!Dumbledore, grey Harry/Henry, OoC-ness, others as I think of them.
Summary: The Potter twins are attacked by Voldemort and somehow defeat him. Now the Dark Lord has returned and they have to choose between light and dark. SLASH, Twincest, rated M for later chapters.
Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Did you know that September 1993 had a blue moon? A full moon on the 1st of September and on the 30th. So Lupin shouldn't even have been at the feast in Jo's version. I do wish she had done her homework for these things.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Shunned
Harry and Henry were the first to enter the Great Hall, and they took seats at the Gryffindor table so that they would be able to speak to their friends first thing. As the older students began to file into the room, however, they wondered if they would have been better off to sit with the Slytherins.
Dead silence rang through the hall as everyone got their first looks at the Dark Marks on their faces. Most of the Gryffindors sat as far away from them as possible. Only once Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and some of the other students in their own year had created a buffer did anyone sit nearby.
"What happened?" Hermione whispered frantically as soon as everyone had surrounded the twins.
"I should think that would be obvious." Henry sneered. Hermione jerked back as if slapped.
"Hen, it's not their fault," Harry told his brother. He leaned forward over the table to answer Hermione's question, "The Dark Lord gained some knowledge that Dumbledore had been keeping a secret from us and him—that's why he Marked us."
She opened her mouth to ask what the information was, but Ron—showing remarkable sense for once—told her not to ask after something like that where everyone could hear. "If it was bad enough that You-Know-Who Marked them, then it's not something we should talk about at dinner. Besides, the Sorting is starting."
In through the doors of the Great Hall trooped the line of tiny first years. Several of them looked positively terrified at the sight of the twins at the Gryffindor table. The first few who were sorted into the lion house chose to sit as far from them as possible.
"I don't see Draco," Henry whispered to Harry worriedly when the first Slytherin was sorted.
Harry peered over the tops of the heads between them and the Slytherin table and frowned as he too noticed that the distinctive blond head of hair was not present. "You don't think something happened to him?" he asked.
"Remember, Snape told us that Draco had been locked in his room all summer. What if his dad found out we were still friends last year?"
"Maybe he'll be here in the morning?" Harry asked, without much hope. They would just have to wait and see.
Finally the feast began, and the twins were surprised when McGonagall came down from the head table with a message. "The Headmaster asks that you meet him in his office after the feast is over. Make sure you ask a prefect for your dormitory password before you go." She gave them an encouraging smile, trying to ensure them they weren't in trouble, before returning to her seat.
"What's that about, you think?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. "Maybe he's finally decided to answer our letters."
"Or maybe he's going to expel us," Henry said pessimistically.
"Don't be silly," Hermione said breezily, "Professor McGonagall wouldn't have smiled if you were going to be expelled."
Everyone had a little laugh at that and they finished dinner and made sure to ask the fifth year prefect for the password just before Dumbledore ended the feast.
They ended up following the crowd of Gryffindors up to the seventh floor, since the Headmaster's tower entrance was on the same level as the Fat Lady's portrait. After managing to peel away from the crowd, they made their way to the gargoyle and found it had already been moved aside for them to travel up the revolving staircase.
Harry knocked politely before entering, and the twins took the two chairs positioned in front of Dumbledore's desk. The man in question was standing to one side, looking out the window with his hands joined behind him.
"You wanted to see us, Professor?" Harry prompted the old man.
Dumbledore just nodded a couple of times and absently moved to sit in his chair.
"I have received a missive that has prompted me to offer you both a second chance," he announced.
"Pardon?" Henry said. The man had been ignoring all of their letters—what could have changed his mind?
"I find it most curious that an escaped criminal such as Sirius Black would somehow get his hands on your Hogsmeade permission forms, much less have access to an owl that I know to belong to you both."
Henry looked confused, but Harry blushed furiously and looked down at his hands.
"You mean, Sirius Black signed our forms?" Henry said incredulously. "But how…oh." He suddenly remembered Harry's odd conversation with Gryff and looked at his brother accusingly.
Harry grinned sheepishly.
"I am not concerned that you have had relations with the man. He is your godfather, after all, and I have always believed that he may have been innocent. Alas, I was never able to convince the Wizengamot to vote in the majority so he could receive a trial." Dumbledore conjured a tea set with three cups and offered the pot to the boys, who both accepted. "On the contrary, I find myself somewhat amused at your ability to get past my precautions in keeping you away from the village this year."
"Voldemort is going to attack regardless of our presence, Headmaster," Henry said quietly. "Now that people are starting to believe that he's back, he's been making plans."
Dumbledore gave them a sharp look. "How do you know that? Has he been calling you?"
Harry shook his head. "No, but we've been having dreams and waking visions of his activities ever since he returned. Something about our scars is creating a connection that lets us view him when he's angry or upset, and I think the Dark Mark is amplifying that connection and causing us to view every Death Eater meeting."
"Extraordinary!" Dumbledore said, delighted. The twins just grimaced. "This makes it easier for me to rethink my stance on you both. Without Severus, the Order of the Phoenix is somewhat without a good source of inside information. You can spy without the personal risk that was posed to him, and I believe I can trust you to be truthful. In addition, I have been investigating the matter of Voldemort's horcruxes, and I think you may be of some use there as well."
"How so?" Henry asked. "And what changed your mind so thoroughly?"
The Headmaster chuckled a little and pulled a scrap of parchment out of the pile of papers on his desk. "I received this letter of dire warning from Sirius along with your permission forms. It says:
"Dear Albus,
"You must be a complete and utter wanker if you think my godsons are a danger to anyone—much less to a school full of children. If you don't do something to help and protect them, I will earn my title of fugitive by kidnapping the children and teaching them horrible pranks to play on you and the rest of the professors until you capitulate.
"Alternately, I'll just enlist the Weasley twins. From what I've heard the boys say about them, they would be worthy successors to the Marauders.
"I hope you live in fear of your pride and your life.
"Yours truly,
Sirius Orion Black
Marauder Second in Command
1st Ever Azkaban Escapee
Godfather to the Boys-Who-Lived"
Dumbledore laughed again as he placed the letter back on his desk. "Not the most threatening of notes, but it reassured me that my efforts to bring him to trial were just. Only an innocent man would use pranks as a threat, in my opinion.
"Now, I believe you also wished to know what I had in mind for you this year. Since your forms are signed, I cannot keep you out of Hogsmeade. I would, however, appreciate it if you used the utmost discretion should you choose to attend. As you no doubt noticed at dinner, I have hired Horace Slughorn as the new Potions professor—I need you both to attempt to befriend him by any means. The reason for this will be explained in due time.
"As for the horcruxes, I will send you a notice for a time when I would like you to come visit me for extra lessons of a sort. I have some research that must be finished before these lessons can begin, and I also believe that Horace will be integral to my ultimate plan. Suffice to say, I do not yet have all the answers I need, but I will share them with you when I have formed my final opinion on the matter."
The twins both gave him slightly confused and disgruntled expressions, but agreed to this plan nonetheless.
"Wonderful! Now you may return to your dormitories. If you have any trouble with any students, please take your concerns to Professor McGonagall. She has been made aware of your situation and I believe she may be more capable of helping you than I."
"Yes, Professor," they chorused, returning their tea cups and standing to exit the office.
"Oh, and boys, do make sure to notify Sirius somehow that I have acquiesced to his request."
With nods, they left the office and returned to their dormitory for some well-deserved sleep.
-o-0-o-
The next morning, the twins snuck out of the dormitory early and hid in the kitchens to better discuss Dumbledore's plans.
"He's barmy if he thinks we're going to trust him now," Henry said, biting into a buttered scone.
"Yeah, but this is probably the best way to find out what he's up to, short of getting into the Order."
"True." Henry shrugged. "And it sounds like he's going to trust us with information about the horcruxes—so maybe we'll learn how to destroy them."
"I wonder what his research is all about, though. I mean, surely a book that mentioned horcruxes would tell us how to get rid of one."
Henry shrugged again and leaned back into his seat with a cup of tea. "Regardless, it sounds like the only thing we can do right now is try to butter up Slughorn. We should probably go get our timetables."
They finished their breakfast and wandered into the Great Hall and sat at the Slytherin table, looking once more for Draco, who was still absent.
"Blaise!" Harry hissed across the table to one of Draco's dorm mates, and one of the few they knew was not closely associated with the Malfoys or the Dark Lord. "Where's Draco?"
"Hospital wing," Blaise said indifferently. "No one saw him on the train, either, but I hear he was a right mess by the time he got here."
Henry blanched and almost stood up right then and there to go see his best friend, but Harry held him back.
"Let's grab out timetables first. If we're lucky, we'll have a free period this morning to go see him."
At that moment Professor Slughorn, their new head of house, came along to give them their timetables.
"Let's see, oh yes! The Potter twins…" Slughorn looked up and got his first good look at the twins. "Oh my! Dear Merlin, boys. I had heard, but I hardly dared to believe that you had taken the Mark. This public show of support will not help you gain much favor with the world, I can assure you!"
"It's not a public show of support, Professor," Henry told the balding and fat man as they took their schedules from him. "We weren't exactly given a choice about whether we wanted it or not."
"Oh, yes. Of course, of course. If you'll excuse me…" Slughorn scurried away as fast as his short little legs could carry him.
"It hardly matters what the world thinks of us anyway," Harry muttered.
"Well, it clearly matters to him. Remember, Har, we're supposed to make friends with him," Henry whispered.
Harry nodded and looked at their combined timetable. "Look, we don't have anything until Herbology this evening. We can spend the whole morning with Draco."
"I wonder how they intend us to do our electives, what with the bond being stretched too far and everything," Henry mentioned as they stood to head up to the hospital wing. "I suppose it's not like we're both doing something at the same time, so we can just see if the bond will stretch and if not, stay somewhere nearby."
The hospital wing was quiet this early in the morning. They were surprised to see Professor Dumbledore sitting by Draco's bed and talking to him quietly. Whatever conversation they were having ended as soon as the twins entered the room.
"Ah, Harry and Henry. I was just telling Draco that you would probably be up to see him shortly."
"Thank you, Professor," Henry said.
"I'll just leave you three to catch up, then."
The twins waited for the old man to completely leave the room before sitting beside Draco's bed.
"What happened," Henry asked with concern, noticing that his friend's bandages were wrapped around his whole torso.
"My father," Draco whispered bitterly. "He asked my opinion of my former friends after a year of supposedly shunning you, and I decided to try and take a stand. I told him that I still thought you were wonderful and that I would like to still be friends with you. He didn't like that much."
"Sounds like an understatement," Harry observed sadly.
"He spent the entire summer trying to reeducate me on the matter. Every time I said something contrary to what he wanted me to believe, I got a new lash. As you might imagine, that happened quite a lot."
"What are you going to do now?" Henry asked.
Draco sighed and a pained expression crossed his face. "My father is still courting the Dark Lord in the Manor. I'm to be Marked when I turn sixteen."
The twins hissed in sympathy, knowing first hand what kind of sentence that was.
"But I'm not going to do it," Draco said firmly. He was staring off into space towards the ceiling. "I intend to renounce the Malfoy name and my claim as heir to the Lordship. Unless my parents have another child, the Ministry will claim all of our properties, seats, and money when they die."
"Is that what Dumbledore was talking to you about?" Harry asked.
Draco nodded. "That, and where I would be living once I did so. I have an aunt who was estranged from the Black family. I'm going to write her a letter and see if they'll take me."
Henry blinked in surprise. "You're related to the Blacks?"
"Yes, my mother's maiden name was Black. She had two sisters—Bellatrix Lestrange, and Andromeda Tonks. They're both married now. But I wouldn't choose to live with Aunt Bella for all the money and titles in the world. She and her husband are both Death Eaters and in Azkaban."
"Our godfather is Sirius Black, who just escaped. Except he's innocent and sounds rather fun," Harry confided.
Draco grinned. "If his name got cleared and he adopted you, we'd be third cousins!"
"Who would want to adopt us?" Henry scoffed, then grinned in return. "Though that would be wicked."
"Do you two have classes to get to?" Draco asked.
"Nope, we're free until Herbology just before dinner. Has anyone offered to bring you the assignments yet?" Harry asked.
"No, would you? I think the Slytherins are in Herbology right now, and I doubt they'll remember."
"Sure thing," Henry promised. "We should let you rest some, eh? We'll come back after lunch to chat some more and stay until class starts."
"Thanks," Draco said sincerely. "I…I'm really going to need my friends this year. I'm glad to know that you were worth all the hell I went through this summer."
"No problem, mate," they answered and then left as they had noticed their friend getting drowsy from the pain potions he had been given.
-o-0-o-
Draco was released from the hospital on Saturday morning, and so had only three classes worth of work to make up. With the twins, Ron, and Hermione's help, they plowed through the Herbology, Charms, and History work with little trouble.
The group spent the weekend catching up with each other. Their estrangement from Draco the year before made things a little awkward until he shared his plans with the others. Ron told them on Sunday that his mother had offered Draco a home if Andromeda wouldn't or couldn't take him.
On Monday morning, Henry had Arithmancy without Harry and they tested their bond to see how it would handle the distance if Harry remained in their dormitory. After the hour of class was over, they were both feeling a little sore but it was otherwise a success.
That afternoon they had first Potions and then Defense, both with an unknown professor.
Slughorn started class in a much different manner than Snape ever had. On a table at the front of the room, he had two dozen different potions set up that he was using for every class that week. The third years recognized a few of these, having brewed them during their first two years. The professor had prepared several of the potions from the third year curriculum to test their knowledge and to see who had been reading ahead.
To no one's surprise, Hermione earned most of the points for the first half of class, which somehow made Slughorn like her a great deal.
To the twins' surprise, considering the task Dumbledore had set them, the professor studiously avoided their tables or even looking at them. Of course, most of the class except their friends was doing this, but it did make things difficult when you had a question. It was almost like Snape all over again, ignoring Hermione's quivering hand every time he asked a question.
At the end of class, they had brewed one of the potions on the table and everyone who created a superior version of the draft seemed to be receiving a little note from the professor. Everyone, that is, except Harry and Henry who had both brewed quite well, as they usually did.
On the way to Defense, they asked Hermione what it was.
"An invitation to the Slug Club," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "He's almost as bad as Lockhart, but actually knows what he's doing. I'm not sure if I should be horrified to be invited or honored."
"The Slug Club?" Harry asked.
"It's something he started the last time he was a professor here. He gathers together all of the smartest or most connected students in the school and starts a club with them. They gather and have parties and make connections with each other and other such nonsense," Draco told them. "That was way back in the early forties, though."
Henry thought about the time period with a frown. "How do you know about that? Your parents wouldn't even have been born yet."
Draco paled and looked around nervously before leaning close. "My father told me the Dark Lord was a member when he was here. And most of his top Death Eaters were also members of the club. It's how he recruited so many while he was still in school."
Harry and Henry exchanged a glance. Perhaps this had something to do with Dumbledore's request?
When they reached the door to the Defense classroom, they saw their new professor up close for the first time. He had apparently been ill on the night of the feast and couldn't make it, so Dumbledore had introduced him that weekend. He was still looking a little ill in the twins' opinion, but seemed rather chipper despite that.
"Hasn't someone mentioned Remus Lupin being friends with our parents?" Henry asked his brother as they waited in the hall for the rest of the class to arrive.
"Yeah, I think so. Do you think he was friends with Sirius, too? Maybe we should talk to him after class."
Professor Lupin waited for everyone to arrive and then led them to the faculty lounge on the same floor. Slughorn was inside and seemed delighted to see his third year Gryffindor and Slytherin class attempt a practical demonstration.
"I found a boggart in the wardrobe in here over the weekend, and I thought it would be an excellent first lesson for my third years," Lupin was telling Slughorn.
They had, of course, all done the reading for this class ahead of time and knew what a boggart was. Most of them were a little nervous about possibly facing their worst fear.
"I'd like to let everyone get a crack at it, as I'm likely to include this in the practical exam at the end of the year, and it would be a nasty surprise if some of you don't know your worst fear. Can someone tell me a little about the boggart?"
Harry managed to beat Hermione in the hand-raising, and gave a short explanation.
"Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor. Now, I know it sounds daunting, but there's a simple spell that will help us to deter the creature. Repeat after me: riddikulus."
The class dutifully repeated the spell several times and then formed up into a line at the professor's direction.
Ron faced off with a spider, Hermione with Professor McGonagall, and Draco with his own father, which made many of his classmates whisper frantically to each other at the things the man said to his own son. When it came to be Harry's turn, the professor looked at him and then Henry behind him with concern and said, "I know I said everyone should have a go, but I worry that your boggart might turn into Voldemort or…"
"I'm not afraid of Voldemort, Professor," Harry said firmly, a little surprised that the man had said his actual name.
"I see. All right then." Lupin stepped back, opening the door of the wardrobe as he did. What emerged was something more terrible than anything that had come before. It seeped a cold mist across the room and sucked all of the life and warmth and happy feelings from everyone present.
Harry raised his wand and desperately tried to summon up something funny for the creature to do. He wasn't even sure what it was. How could he be afraid of it?
The professor, realizing that Harry couldn't do anything, jumped in front of the boggart and it changed into a luminescent orb hovering in the air. "Riddikulus," the professor said softly, and Harry stepped out of line to let his brother take a crack.
And suddenly Harry was lying there on the ground, apparently dead. Standing over him and laughing was a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, who kept switching ages as they watched. Henry clutched for his brother's hand, and reassured that he was still there and alive, he cast riddikulus on the boggart of Voldemort. The specter began to age faster and faster, until there was nothing but an old man standing there, hunched and crooked, and coughing as he tried to laugh.
The class laughed and with a puff of smoke, the boggart disappeared. Henry immediately took Harry in his arms and clutched him close, refusing to let go.
"Excellent!" Lupin cried, "Did we get everyone? Good. I would like ten inches about boggarts for our class tomorrow and read the chapter on hinkypunks in your text. Class dismissed."
Everyone turned to leave the lounge, chattering excitedly about the first good defense class they had ever had. Harry, Henry, and Draco were called back though.
"I noticed that you three had some particularly hard fears to conquer, and I wondered if you would like to talk?"
Draco shook his head and said, "I knew my fear before I saw it, Professor. I have been making plans so that I won't have to return home ever again."
Lupin nodded, and Draco glanced at his friends before leaving the room.
"We'll see you at dinner," Harry promised.
Henry had his brother's hand in a white-knuckled grip.
"I must say I was a little surprised at yours, Harry," Lupin confessed. "And who was the boy—or man—in your boggart, Henry?"
"Voldemort," he whispered.
Lupin looked surprised. "I remember him looking quite different the last time I saw him."
"He was probably much older before. He's been reborn much younger, since," Harry offered. "What was that thing I faced, anyway? It was horrible."
"It's called a dementor. They're the guards of Azkaban prison, and the Headmaster has informed me that they may be coming to guard the school because Sirius Black hasn't been caught yet."
The twins exchanged glances.
"Did you know him, and our parents?" Harry asked.
Lupin looked surprised, but nodded readily. "Yes. We were all rather good friends, and a boy named Peter Pettigrew as well. But then your parents had to go into hiding and Sirius…" he got an angry and helpless expression on his face.
"It wasn't him, Professor," Henry told him softly, still shaken by his boggart. "Sirius was innocent."
Their Professor gave them a blank look for several moments. "Forgive me boys, but how could you possibly know that?"
"Sirius was never given a trial, was he?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore told us he kept pressing for one, but they always voted against him. I'll admit we haven't spoken to Sirius about this ourselves, but we think he's innocent. We just don't know how or why things happened the way they did."
Lupin sighed. "I'm sorry, but I can't believe that. He was the Secret Keeper—only he could have told someone where your parents were hiding."
"But what if he wasn't? What if it was someone else? Peter, for instance?" Henry asked.
Lupin shook his head. "If you can prove that to me, or find some way to question Sirius, I might be able to accept it. But for now, I reserve judgment. Why don't you come and see me this weekend and we can talk? I did know both of your parents, and I doubt you've talked to many people who can say that."
"Just Snape," Harry said bitterly.
The professor nodded. "Yes, he was good friends with Lily for many years. Let's say, afternoon on Saturday in my office?"
The twins nodded.
"All right, I'll see you then."
The twins left the room to head to dinner and Harry said, "We need to write a letter to Sirius."
Henry nodded his agreement, and they decided to work on it that night.
-o-0-o-
Dear Gryff,
An old friend of yours is our new Defense professor. We were telling him all about you and we think he'd like to meet you properly. If you can, meet us by Hagrid's hut at noon on Saturday.
Love,
Harry and Henry
-o-0-o-
Abe looked suspiciously between the letter addressed to Gryff and the dog in question. "I don't know why they're writing to you. I have my suspicions, mind. Keep your nose clean, and don't bring me any trouble, you hear?"
Gryff lifted one paw to cover his nose in shame and Abe grunted before handing him the letter. The barkeep picked up a glass to polish and watched as the dog carried the letter in his mouth out to his doghouse. "I'm beginning to think that Potters attract trouble," he told the empty bar.
-o-0-o-
~Shara
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