Title: One's Most Hated Name
Summary: Harry Potter's younger brother, Mark was thought to be the prophesized child and Harry was left to the orphanage where Voldemort attended. Harry's adventure as a first year student will turn for the worst.
Disclaimer: Dun own it….k?
So what do you think?" asked Jason Hamms rolling over on the couch so he could point to a young witch with blonde highlights in Witch Weekly.
Mark rolled his eyes, "Her! I hear that she wears enough glamourie charms on her that electric lamps go out when she steps in front of muggles."
Jason scrunched up his face, "Eklektric?"
"I swear Jason, if you ever pass Hogwarts year 2, I'm forcing you to take muggle studies," Samuel looked up from his charms book, on the bed he was belly-flopped on.
"Of course you would know, your parents are muggles after all," Jason retorted, "besides, I know what eklektric lamps are. They are the shiny-thingy-mabobbers on the muggle streets."
"Amazing Jason," Mark said aloud from his spot on the floor, "Malfoy himself could teach muggle studies better than you."
The three boys broke out into laughter as they imagined Lucius try to explain to pureblood Slytherins what was the exact function of a rubber duckie.
Mark's two best friends, Jason Hamms and Samuel Diston had decided to spend their winter vacations at the Potter's manor near Manchester. The Manor was decidedly huge as there were nearly twenty rooms in the house, including the living rooms, lounges, dining room and the kitchen.
"Did your parents let slip about when the first task was going to start?" Jason asked, eyes darting to the door as though he expected James and Lily to walk in that exact moment.
Mark shook his head, "Nope, they've been all hush-hush about it but I'd expect it to start very soon. Sirius told me that the first task was to be held within two weeks of the end of winter break."
"Alas, the end of winter break!" Jason announced dramatically as he yawned from his chair, letting the magazine slip from his hands.
Mark nodded sadly in agreement, "The end of the holidays means the due date of our homework. I haven't started yet. Have you guys?" Mark had hoped that if he were to suffer, his friends would be there to receive a T with him.
"Nope," Jason said before pointing to Samuel, "Ask Mr. Dictionary over there though, I bet he has the next few years of homework done."
Samuel looked up from his charms book once more and smiled sheepishly, "Well, it didn't hurt to start early, besides, I can spend the week however I want and you two will be stuck inside writing essays."
"Speaking of going outside," Jason said, "Let's go out to have a round of Quidditch, it's been forever since we saw Mark try that Wronski feint."
"Sorry guys, but I can't go out till my parents come home," Mark apologized, "They had some emergency at the Order." Mark loved being able to talk to his two friends openly about the Order as Jason's parent's were in it and Samuel could be trusted.
"Back on track, about the Tri-Wizard tournament, we never did figure out how Preston wormed his way into it, did we?" Samuel asked, genuinely interested about what spell Harry may have used to bypass the age line.
"Probably dark magic," Mark nodded bitterly, "All Slytherins use dark magic or will in the future. Also, he's only a first year! How is he able to get his name in, not to mention beat out all other competition, including the sixth and seventh years!"
"That bloody git!" Jason said, his face turning red, "I swear, one of these days I'll…I'll shove a blast-ended skewt down Preston's throat."
"Preston wouldn't wait there, and let you do anything to his throat," Samuel responded, returning to his book.
Mark smiled, "Then I'll help Jason shove it in the other way!"
Jason burst out into laughter, followed shortly but Mark while leaving Samuel to roll his eyes all the while holding out his book to hide his smile.
Lily personally hated the floo. 'Why did it have to be a fireplace? Why not a nice linen closet,' she thought as she clambered out of the soot-filled chimney.
Lily was soon pulled out of her thoughts and into the real world as she heard laughter coming from Mark's room. Gazing fearfully at James, she grasped his hand lightly.
"We'll have to do it sooner or later," James replied.
"But," Lily sounded reproachful; "You know how Harry and Mark acted around each other in school. How do you think Mark will take it?"
James wasn't surprised at the question, he himself had been wondering the exact same thing ever since he had left the meeting. How would Mark take the news that his arch nemesis at school is actually his long lost brother?
James ran a hand through his hair, "I honestly don't know Lils but I guess we'll find out soon."
Lily nodded, "I'll go get him."
"Even better, we dye his hair red and yellow for Gryffindor and turn his ears into house flags!" Mark laughed uncontrollably.
The door to Mark's room swung open to reveal Lily standing behind it. His mother smiled at him, "I hope you don't mean Severus."
Mark smiled, "We sure don't! We meant that Preston git. I bet dad and Sirius is willing to help! By the time we're through with Preston, he would want to leave Hogwarts and go to Durmstrang where he belongs!"
Jason nodded in agreement and gave little 'hnn's where he agreed with Mark.
Lily hid her feelings in front of the boys and nodded along.
Mark noticed that Lily's smile had faded was long gone by the time he was done with his revenge speech.
"Mum, what is it?" Mark asked, his eyebrows furrowed in curiosity.
"Sorry boys," Lily addressed to Jason and Samuel, "but I'll need to borrow Mark for a second here."
Both boys nodded and Mark left the room to be led to the drawing room.
Upon arriving, Mark noticed his father leaning against the fireplace, looking as though he hadn't slept for ages and his mother took a seat on the sofa and motioned for Mark to sit opposite her.
"Sweetie," Mark's mother started, "Your father and I have been really busy these days, but it's been really important business and we thought that you have a right to know."
Mark nodded for Lily to continue, "Remember when we once told you that you had an older brother that died?"
"Yeah, he was supposed to be like a year older than me, I think," Mark said, "But you don't mention him much." He really didn't know why his parents were talking about the boy now, didn't Voldemort kill him?
Jame's, not being the type that liked to prolong big news blurted his thoughts out, "We have found him. We've found Harry Potter."
Mark nodded slowly but he was still confused, "You've finally found his body?"
James and Lily shared a look and Lily nodded, implying that she was to do all the explaining.
"No, not quite," Lily said, "We know that your brother is alive and we found him right under our noses too."
Mark didn't know quite how to feel, he would have been more happy and ecstatic since he always wished for an older brother to play Quidditch and the likes but now, he wasn't so sure. He surprised by the news but what worried him was that his parents didn't feel quite so happy, or at least they looked worried.
"Well?" Mark asked expectantly, "Where is he? I mean, it would be so great to have my brother in Gryffindor with me! If he's as good at Quidditch than I am, then we might be able to flatten Slytherin in Quidditch! Dad, imagine the look on Flint's face when he losses, imagine the look on Preston's face!"
Mark noticed another look shared between his parents at the mention of Preston.
"What's wrong?" Mark asked worriedly.
"Mark, what we meant by having your brother live right under our noses is that he attended Hogwarts this year," Lily replied hurriedly, "In fact, he's in your year."
"Lils, I'll tell him," James nodded at his wife and made his way to Mark and sat on the armchair of the sofa Lily was sitting on.
"Mark, when we say that your brother is in your year is that we are by now pretty sure that his registration date of birth was wrongly entered and so he is actually twelve this year. He also got sorted into Slytherin, and made their Quidditch team," James nodded at Mark, hoping that his son would catch on.
"What do you mean?" Mark asked though he knew very well what his parents may be implying but he rather not think of it; it was kind of obvious that James was trying to prank Mark into thinking that Preston is his long dead brother but the jokes was rather humorless and distasteful.
"I mean," sighed James, "Harry Preston is in fact your brother. He's legally called Harry Potter."
Mark's frame went rigid solid. He dared not move and stared into his mother's face, hoping that he lips would twitch up into a smile but they remained still.
"No!," Mark shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, "Preston-, I mean Harry, no I mean Po-. He! He can't be my brother! Here's no way that out of all people he could be my brother!" Mark almost yelled the last bit out.
"Son-" James began, but he was cut off almost immediately.
"I know why he's not here!" Mark shouted furiously, "He's turned isn't he? That's why he kept his distance all year long. That's why he's Malfoy's friend, he wants to be a Death Eater doesn't he? I thought my life was unlucky, what with all the people staring at me all day but him! He was probably jealous that I'm the Chosen One right? Or else why wouldn't he be here with us?"
Lily had angry tears well up but she forced herself to remain calm, it wasn't everyday that someone find's out that their school rival is their brother. "Mark, he didn't recognize us! That why he kept his distance but now Voldemort's-"
"I know," Mark shook his head in sad denial, "He's with Voldemort. I mean we guessed that Preston would turn first but come on! Everything goes against me, the brother of the Chosen One, off to join the Death Eaters? I bet Voldemort's powerful, and that's why he wants Preston in the first place right? To get to me! That and of course to lick his shoes and crawl and beg-"
Slap!
The sound rang through the room and Mark's cheek was left slightly red.
Mark looked up disbelievingly at his parents, his mother had never slapped him before. They weren't really going to side with a Death Eater son, are they?
"Mark," James balled his fists, "Your brother, Harry, he did not side with Death Eaters. Voldemort had kidnapped him in an attempt to reach you but your brother refused to a near death condition, if he's not already, god-forbid, dead. Don't you ever accuse Harry to be a Death Eater."
Mark snapped his head up, "He didn't join Voldemort? But that's automatic death!"
James nodded, "Exactly, that's what your brother went through, you understand? Luckily he was able to escape and the Order is in the process of looking for him."
Mark winced. He didn't know that Pres- no, Harry was really that brave. Mark thought that privately, he wouldn't mind joining the side that get's rid of his enemy and for Harry, that would be Mark.
"I-, I didn't know. I didn't mean to…," Mark trailed off, clenching his hands and unclenching them.
"I know, son," James nodded, " I never meant to have done that to Harry either. But we owe him an apology and when things get settled, we can return to just being a family again."
Mark looked up thoughtfully at his dad, "Yeah, maybe Harry will help me fly my broomstick."
Lily smiled at the two till she noticed a red feather pop out from thin air.
"James, sorry to cut his short but…" Lily nodded at the phoenix feather that had just burst into flames.
James nodded to his wife and told Mark to go back to his room before flooing away with Lily.
Harry walked out of the hair salon. It had been a while since he last dyed his hair and the roots had grown out but he had it re-dyed brown. Also, he went to a store full of glasses and restocked a half-year supply of blue contact lenses and all the necessary items to care for them.
As per Harry's request, Voldemort had given him nearly two hundred pounds in muggle money on the second last day before the end of winter holidays. Voldemort's training had finally ended and man, was the training cruel. Harry's muscles ached from their last training session yesterday. He just about finished occlumency and even moved on to a bit of legilimency before he left to return to Hogwarts.
Flashback
Harry was laying face-up breathing in hard as beads of sweat made their way across his face to hit the floor.
"You have succeeded my expectations of you for these two weeks of training," Voldemort remarked, "However, this is still what it's called; training. When I send my Death Eaters information on our raids and targets, I will need you to honor my commands and perform your duty."
Harry grit his teeth, he was never used to being considered Voldemort's lackey but as Harry repeatedly reminded himself, his selfishness can put his two best friends in mortal danger.
"Sure," Harry responded, "How exactly will you get me the information on my missions?"
"I'll get some of Death Eaters to send you the details," Voldemort said handing Harry's wand back, though not bothering to help Harry up.
"Tomorrow, your first mission is a simple one. You will leave the manor and make your way to both muggle and wizarding London appearing to escape from Death Eaters and return to the Order from there. Take the wand and perform all your magic with it so that they will not suspect you to be able to perform wandless magic," Voldemort instructed.
"What will I say in case they ask what happened here at the manor?" Harry asked pulling himself off the floor.
"Say that you were kidnapped and ran away, do realized that I also recruited you on your wits," Voldemort retorted, "However, there may be a slight problem."
Harry faced the Dark Lord, "What is it?"
Voldemort waved Harry off, "Nevermind, either way in case they find out your real identity, you are still a Death Eater, albeit a high ranking one, you still serve me. Do not underestimate Dumbledore."
Harry nodded and responded in his usual hollow tone, "Yes, Voldemort."
End Flashback
Harry pushed the events of the past two weeks out of his head and went into a store that sold some winter jackets. It wasn't that he's not warm in his cloak but he knew that he was attracting some unwanted attention with his odd clothes. Harry finally chose, after some help, a professional-looking jacket with silver buttons.
Arabella Figg hung up the telephone excitedly and hurried to her fireplace, shoved her head in and said aloud, "Albus Dumbledore's office"
She was soon staring at Albus's many trinkets and scanned the room for Dumbledore and found him at his desk facing James and Lily whom just came back from telling Mark the news.
"Ahh, Arabella," Dumbledore welcomed, "How is the search going at the London orphanages."
"Dumbledore! Hello Lily, James. I've got good news" squeaked Figg "I've found a registered name with one Harry John Preston, but I haven't visited it yet as it is just outside of London. And as for transportation…"
Arabella Figg left open the ending indicating that as a squib, she wasn't able to travel so far since she wasn't able to operate wizarding ways of travel.
James and Lily both looked up at the same time. Lily looked at James and from all those years of being married, she knew exactly what James was thinking. They both wanted to know as much as possible about their long lost son, especially how he grew up to be what he is now.
"Albus," Lily started, "We wouldn't mind visiting this place and checking whether there are any of Harry's belongings left there."
"Also, I think it's best for us to do it, as we are his parents," James rasped out, curious to see how Harry grew up and the bed he slept in, "However what's bothering me, Albus is I found Harry at a motel but not an orphanage. How on Earth do you suppose he got there?"
"I suppose the only way to know is to visit the orphanage where he once lived in," Dumbledore answered, "If you two really desire to go, I suppose it is quite fitting for his parents to see his environment while growing up. Arabella, do you know the name of the orphanage?"
"Sure thing, Albus," Arabella's face left the fireplace for a few moments as she fumbled around for the name.
Reappearing in the fireplace, and to the shock of all three listeners, Arabella spoke aloud, "The name is St. Mary's Orphanage."
Walking down his usual old path that seemed like it was literally Memory Lane, Harry was headed to check up on some of his old friends at Keepers Alley but within a few minutes he heard a distinct, "Hey you!"
Turning around, he saw a ginger haired man with a sack full of cauldrons and a long grey cloak with a small globe hanging around his belt strap.
Voldemort had told him the member's of the Order and this had to be the ex-criminal, Mundungus Fletcher. Harry sighed, he knew that the Order would see him, which is why he actually roamed around London all day waiting to be seen and brought back to Hogwarts.
Harry pretended to be scared, "No, I won't join you. I'm not going to join You-Know-Who. Stupefy."
Harry had purposefully missed but it had got the job done and he began to run extremely slowly checking back to see Fletcher running after him whispering frantically into the globe.
Harry ran into a small café shop and ordered a latte while watching Mundungus Fletcher racing down the street.
Harry knew that sooner or later he would have to give himself up but he wanted to go over his story on what he was doing for these past two weeks.
James shifted uncomfortably in the back of the small taxi as the taxi halted. Lily handed the cab driver some ten pound notes. The two of them stepped out and faced a large orphanage surrounded by black iron-clad gates. James watched the taxi speed away desperately as he thought that they were at the wrong place. It was obvious why he thought that they were lost, the large building seemed just like the haunted mansions in those muggle films that Lily rented. Many windows were boarded up and the shingles on the roof barely hung on and the front yard had many wild grasses that grew to the height of their knees.
"Lils I don't think this is the right place," James noted.
"No, we actually are at the right address see this?" Lily wiped some cobwebs off a plate with cracked gold letterings noting "Saint Mary's Orphanage"
The couple exchanged nervous glances and opened the gate door and made their way to the house. Trying not to trip over the tall grass, they finally made their way in.
Opening the door, they half expected the inside to be empty as from the outside, the orphaned certainly looks abandoned. Inside still portrayed the same coldness as outside and the same falling apart state. They however, did not expect to see a desk clerk looking inquisitively at them.
"How can I help you?" the man asked.
"Is this not St. Mary's Orphanage?" Lilly asked disbelievingly.
"Yes, how may I help you?" the man responded slightly annoyed at the obvious reply to that question.
"Well, we came in regards of a Harry Po-, um, Harry Preston," Lily replied, "We'd like to see his official records here."
"Yes I remember the trouble maker", the man inquired, "and whom are you?"
"We are his parents, I believe an Arabella Figg called here a while ago to schedule us coming in," Lily replied taking a detailed look at the orphanage.
There weren't much noise in the orphanage, it was extremely hard to imagine that children actually lived here. She reflected how Mark was a giant handful and the noise that he and his friends make-. The boards were cracked and the rugs seemed even older than Dumbledore. Lily noticed the dramatic difference in environments between the way Harry grew up when compared to Mark.
"Ah, yes Mr and Mrs. Potter then?" the man shook Lily out of her thoughts.
"Yes, we are," James replied, "May we look around? I would also like to pick up anything that Harry may have left here."
"Sure thing, I'll get his files for you," the man noted and went to the backroom.
James rounded on Lily, "Lils, what on earth is this place?"
Lily replied, "I know what you mean, but this is the way our son grew up, so give it a chance. Besides they may just be under-funded. For all you know, the instructors and children here may be lovely."
James stroked his hair, "I hope you're right and this isn't just blind optimism."
Lily replied in a small voice, "Me too."
The clerk reappeared with a thin file and handed it to James, "I'll be right back with the Headmistress to show you the place." The clerk then promptly left.
James hungrily opened the file as though it were a treasure that connected them with Harry's past. James scanned the piece of paper:
Name: Harry James Potter
Room: 105
Roommate: Kyle Shawn Heartnet
Grades: (up till grade 3)
Math: A
English: A
Sciences: A
History/Geography: A
Detentions to date: 132
Medical: Abnormal freakish behavior when ill, windows breaking when contracted the flu.
Notes: Quiet, freakish and is always with Heartnet. Both cause trouble with combined detentions of over 200.
James smiled at the detentions part as well as the trouble part. He saw signs of himself in this report. The Marauders even got a combined total of 200 detentions together. James chuckled.
Lily however was worried when noticing the all too familiar word "freak". One that she was accustomed to hearing her muggle sister call her many times.
The clerk soon came in behind a stern looking woman with a tight bun on her head. Her wrinkled face showed an age of at least 70 years. The woman's eyes were as sharp as a hawks and her lips were pursed as though it had never cracked a smile in ages.
"This is Headmistress Funrit," the clerk said and now referring to the Potters, "Headmistress, they are Mr. and Mrs. Potter."
"I see, you can go," the Headmistress shooed the clerk off who obeyed immediately.
"What do you want?" the Headmistress asked impatiently.
"I would like to take a look around and see my son, Harry's room," Lily replied.
"Well fine, I suppose I should show you the damage that freak has done around the school," Funrit nodded for the two to follow.
James met Lily's eyes and followed nervously behind. They both shared the common thought, this isn't beginning with a good start.
Lily and James followed Funrit through corridors where Lily paused to peak inside a room they were passing. The room was full of nine or ten year olds with them sitting back impossibly straight answering math questions. Lily could hear the instructor's voice leak through the cracks.
"Mauras," the old man shouted in an army kind of way, "What will you get if you timed 6 by 4 divided by 9? To one decimal place."
The tiny girl answered automatically "2.6"
The instructor screwed up his face, "Stupid girl, since it's 2.66 we round to 2.7! I've taught this to you how many times? Come up!"
The girl immediately lost her composure and her eyes began to water. Slowly, she walked to the front of the class. None of her classmates defended her rather, they watched the girl with disinterest.
"What do we say Mauras?" the instructor said almost in a teasing way.
"I'm-, I'm sorry!" The girl squeaked out.
The old man brought out a ruler and cracked it once on her palm leaving an angry red burn.
Lily wrenched herself from the classroom window, her eyes were filled with tears of compassion for the small girl. How was she supposed to know up to the 3rd decimal to answer that question?
Funrit noticing Lily getting worked up stopped and backtracked and assessed the situation immediately, "The brat deserved it, besides it was only one crack of the ruler."
James looked at Lily in confusion as he didn't see what had occurred in the math classroom.
Lily defended the child, "How do nine or ten year olds answer such a hard question anyways? At that age, they should just do easy timetables!"
Funrit gave a nasty crackle, "Children reflect their environment and we want them to go out prepared for the harsh truth of reality. Besides this class isn't for neither nine nor ten year olds, they are for thirteen and fourteen year olds."
This time James gasped as he peaked to see the classroom that was at the root of the confrontation.
"These children look at least four year younger than they actually are! What are you feeding them?" James raged.
James knew that Funrit was doing them a favour by showing them around but this orphanage was ridiculous! The children were dressed with exceptionally large clothing and seemed too small that their age would actually allow. James felt rage at the lady for treating children so.
Funrit chuckled, "Every once or awhile we see concerned parents like you but don't you dare judge me. At least I'm keeping them alive. If it weren't for parents such as yourselves that gave up on their children or gave up searching for their children there wouldn't even be this orphanage. Such hypocrites! I'll show you to his room and leave you there. Find the exit yourselves."
Lily again felt tears well up inside her. Nothing this lady said was false. The sad and ugly truth is that she did in fact gave up Harry for Mark. Her choice haunted her all these years and just as she was getting better in the past few years, Harry came back and her horrible mistake resurfaced with a vengeance. She was the one who had Harry retreat to such a place.
Finally when Funrit halted in front of a door with a handwritten 105 on the door. Funrit opened to reveal a room the size of their main washroom. All it had was two beds with a narrow slit of walking space between them. The room had a high ceiling as it was on the same floor as the classrooms. A small window shone a dim amount of light.
No matter if the room was called a dormitory or whatever Funrit uses, this room appeared to be much like a prison cell inside Azkaban, however much less roomy. Lily was usually self-controlled in front of other and she'd seen so many unforgivable things in this orphanage that shock was able to prevent much of the tears from flowing.
James squeezed Lily's hand to reassure Lily that he was here. James was angry of what he was seeing but he was torn from screaming till his lungs give out and wanting to keep quiet to see more of Harry had been going through.
"I suppose that's it then," Funrit wrinkled her nose and was about to leave but James grabbed her forearm in a firm grip. "Where are his things? Where are Harry's personal belongings?"
Funrit smiled maliciously, "I suppose it's in room 249, he got transferred there like the others before him"
James shuddered at the way Funrit say 249 and the way she described the room.
Lily sniffled and asked, "What do mean? What's so special about room 249?"
"That's where we put all the freaks," Funrit upon noticing the shocked looks that she received elaborated, "Of my 70 years of working here I've seen many of them. Those that make freakish things happen like break window when they are mad and make things float. Harry Preston was certainly one of them, and room 249 is given to those who needs to be 'fixed'"
"SHOW ME WHERE YOU KEPT MY SON," James yelled finally choosing to create a ruckus than to actually follow this evil woman.
"No need to scream or I will call security and we'll see if you ever get to set foot on this place again!" Funrit sneered.
Lily knew that this was heading in a bad directly. "Headmistress Funrit, would you please show us to this room?" Lily said in a very strained polite way.
"I don't usually show this but I think if would be fun to see how you react. Follow me," smirked Funrit as she led the couple upstairs, "Preston stayed in room 105 from when he was 2 to 8 years old. As he was 8, he was too abnormal to keep with the other children so we kept him to room 249. Ah, here we are."
The three adults stopped in front of a metal door with a large slot at the bottom while Lily nauseatingly suspected to be a slit which meals went through.
Funrit smiled nastily as she watched the disgusted reactions of Lily and James as she revealed the room. The room had a larger window than the last one and was about the same size. There was a mattress on one corner and a toilet on another. The room had a mouldy smell and the mattress looked like it hadn't been washed in ages. It was definitely not somewhere a child should have been kept.
James went crazy. How could anyone do such a thing to an innocent child? How could Funrit ever imprison a child like this? James saw red as he ignored his wife's sobs and the old lady's age and was about to punch his white knuckles right into the old lady's shoulder if it weren't for Lily grabbing his fist desperately.
Funrit laughed, "If the reaction of parents were this funny, I would have shown this room to more of them!"
"How dare you…HOW DARE YOU even talk to us in such a way after us seeing how you treated our son!" James was ready to punch something again.
Maybe it was because the old fart was scared of James since Lily let go of his huge fist.
"Don't worry there, it's not as though we'd actually imprison him here," Funrit said nervously, "We let him out twice a week to shower and still assigned him homework from the books. Really! We even let his friend bring all his food and notebooks and explain all the work to Harry!"
James clenched his teeth and sat on the mattress with his head in his hands, not trusting himself to even speak and nodded to Lily to deal with Funrit.
Lily herself was still in shock as all though all of this hasn't even registered and she felt as though she were in a horrible nightmare but the clenching of her heart and the plummeting sensation she was dimly feeling allowed her to realize that this was indeed reality.
"How long was he here for?" Lily asked still stunned with this new piece of information.
"W-Well, since he was 8 to maybe 9 or 10," Funrit stuttered still keeping her eyes locked onto James.
"Maybe? MAYBE? You. Had. Better. Tell. Us. Everything. Right. NOW," James nearly screamed out the last part.
Funrit had the feeling that she should talk as long as she can before she feels the wrath that is James, "Well, I wasn't headmistress back then, but I had handled most everything and I recognized that Harry was one of them freaks and so I put him here because sometimes those freaks would hurt others unintentionally what with all the exploading glass. They really are menaces to society. I-"
Lily gave Funrit a dark look that Funrit immediately noticed.
Funrit continued, "Uhh…I meant that he may put others in danger and so I put him here and had him take all his meals here and we kept him doing homework which his friend Kyle took to him every day and they spent hours in this room together each day even on weekends. I had gotten used to Kyle taking care of his friend two years his junior that I almost completely forgot about the frea-, Harry, I mean Harry. I barely ever visit him upstairs but one day I suppose when he was 9, I suppose he ran away and a year later that annoying friend of his disappeared as well."
Lily cried hard of the bitter sweet story. Harry had all this going on but he still trusted in others and believed in his friend. Lily seemed like she finally came to and realized the gravity of the situation. Harry grew up in this strict world where mistakes a child would naturally make would earn him beatings and as a wizard, when his talents came to light, he was probably confused and with others calling him a freak, Harry probably hated magic rather than loved it and having parents cherish him. Lily gave a large sob and leaned against the cold wall for support.
James spoke quietly, "I supposed he really ran away when he was 10 but you didn't want to face the authorities and admit that two children ran away in the same year so you wrote it off as though Harry was a year younger and you reported that he ran away when he was 9."
Funrit looked somewhat relieved at James calm demeanor, "Well, you two can look around to see if he had anything, I'll take my leave now." Rushing away, Funrit's steps hurried down the corridor.
It took a while before the two could speak. How on Earth did Harry grow up. Lily always resented the way Petunia treated her but she never had her school and home combined in one and have all residents ignore her existence. Lily shed silent tears. Now she faces the prospect at Harry dying from the wounds he received from Voldemort. Lily had a surge of determination not to loose her son again.
"James, we should look around for anything that may be Harry's," Lily noted and began rummaging around.
James snapped out of his stupor, "Geez, Lily he lived in a prison for most of his life."
This added to Lily's resolve to search for any single thing she find that could help her connect to her eldest son. James began to look around as well and found some notebooks in the corner and opened them to read.
"What does it say?" Lily asked.
"Nothing much, just math questions. Wow, this is even harder than finding the purpose of a rubber duckie," James noted attempting to break the awkward silence that had dawned the couple.
Lily showed a ghost of a smile at Jame's retort.
"Lils, look at this," James said completely absorbed in the notebook, "See here, near the back, there's this single loose-leaf that looks like a diary entry."
Lily nodded. It wasn't exactly like a diary. I did not have a "dear diary" nor a specific flow of the daily events. Rather it was just a gathering of his thoughts. Lily sniffed at the fact that Harry probably never learned about diaries at this orphanage. Lily read the paper:
This is it. I am giving up on my parents ever finding me. Why would they? My whole life I was told I was a freak but I suppose I had kept out hope that maybe a family member would one day realize that I'm here but over these past 10 years. I've realized that no one will come. I'm not even sure who I am all I know is that my name Harry is real but John Preston was made to fit the bracelet's initials. I still don't understand why I can do things that others can't. For example, this bracelet I've been told that I've had since I was a baby. How could the bracelet possibly fit me as a baby as it does now? Why do glass always break when I'm mad? I've given up on feeling emotions, instead I kind of always feel numb towards everything for fear that something else 'freakish' will happen again. Anyways, Kyle and I are leaving soon. I need to find out who am I and what I am and behind these walls, I'll never go anywhere nor learn anything. If anyone ever finds this or if no one ever finds this. It's all fine, I'm closing this chapter of my life. Good bye and good riddance.
Lily's determination cracked a bit, as she let slide a tear.
James wrapped his arm around his wife and whispered, "It's fine, it's okay. At least he has a strong backbone and survived this whole ordeal, I can imagine worse happening."
Lily cried harder, "Much worse than giving magic a shot at Hogwarts and being tortured almost to death?"
James replied, "He's our son, and went against Voldemort. That in itself says a lot."
Harry paid for his latte and head out onto the streets and before too long, small pops rang about him as he saw cloaked Order members appear about him.
Harry continued his façade, though this time he pretended to be annoyed "Don't you think that you Death Eaters will be caught in the bright mid-afternoon? I won't join you so kill me here."
An Order member noted, "Harry! Oh thank goodness you're safe!"
Another plump woman with flaming red hair hugged Harry whispering how glad she was that Harry made it out alive.
Harry frowned, "What's going on?"
"Oh Harry, we'll tell you after you get a check-up done," the red-head nodded trembling to take Harry's hand. Harry didn't try to avoid the touch, it wasn't as though he hated the light side nor that he liked the light side; it was more that he didn't really care about the light or dark side winning.
"Grab hold of this," an older man handed something to Harry which he recognized as a portkey and felt the familiar tug of the navel before he landed in the nurse's office in Hogwarts.
A small whirling noise sounded and Lily picked up the globe to find Sirius screaming, "WE GOT HIM! We got Harry Potter."
Lily nodded to James, it was to be a long day.