Summary: Harry/Alex and Beth celebrate their eleventh birthday and they and their cousins are told about Alex's true identity. The trip to Diagon Alley follows, where they find the wizarding world in an uproar since Harry Potter has apparently gone missing as he's not living with his relatives as everyone thought.
"Wake up, Alex!" shouted Beth loudly in her brother's ear.
Alex jerked awake and sat up, an annoyed look on his face as he glanced at the clock on the bedside dresser. "It's only fifteen past seven and you know we're allowed to sleep in until eight on weekends and the summer, Beth."
"Well, it's August third," retorted Beth. "Our birthday. And there's something else. I was downstairs a minute ago and these arrived for us." She held up two envelopes.
Alex forgot to be annoyed as he exclaimed in delight, "You mean our Hogwarts letters arrived?" He lept out of bed and snatched one of the letters. It wasn't until he had opened the envelope and unfolded the letter inside that he realized that he had grabbed his sister's by mistake. He handed her the letter and envelope and grabbed his,
Beth smirked in amusement as he opened his letter. "Did your head get unscrewed this morning? Or do you need to ask Mum for a Memory Potion, Alex?"
"Oh shut up, Beth," snapped Alex. "It's not like you never became excited before that you've made mistakes." He skimmed the letter and saw that it was exactly the same as the ones his older cousins had gotten, except for the name. Then he glanced through the booklist and saw that it was identical also, except for the book assigned for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Get dressed and brush your teeth and everything," ordered Beth. "Uncle Remus and Mum are making our birthday breakfast right now, and Dad says we can go to Diagon Alley to get our school things tomorrow. And don't forget about our party this afternoon, Beth, or I'll really ask Mum to give you a Memory Potion."
Alex let his sister's teasing pass and merely went to the bathroom connected between their bedrooms to take a shower and brush his teeth. Half an hour later, he went downstairs to the kitchen, dressed in a green shirt that matched his eyes and white shorts. Beth was wearing a white shirt and a pale green skirt.
"Good morning and Happy Birthday, Alex," said Mrs. Romanov, pausing from flipping chocolate chip pancakes to kiss her son on the cheek and hug him.
"Thanks Mum," said Alex, returning the hug and kiss. His father ruffled his hair and wished him a happy birthday as well. Remus did the same and handed him a plate with a small stack of pancakes and two strips of bacon and a glass of orange juice.
"Thank you, Uncle Remus." Alex took plate and glass to the table and sat down. He poured syrup on his pancakes and dug in, for chocolate chip pancakes were his favorite breakfast food.
After breakfast, he and Beth helped their mother make the birthday cakes, chocolate with vanilla frosting for him and vanilla with whipped cream frosting and strawberries for Beth. At ten o'clock, they Flooed to Aunt Maria's house, where the party was being held as she had the biggest yard. Ron, Ginny, and the Weasley twins were already there, and a minute later Neville arrived by Floo. A few minutes after that, Luna showed up, having walked from her house since it was nearby. Cedric Diggory, a friend of Cara's and on friendly terms with Beth and Alex, also came. The rest of the cousins turned up not long after that, and two teams were formed for a Quidditch game, since there were fourteen kids.
Alex was captain of one team and chose Ron for Keeper, Ginny, Neville, and Vera for Chasers, and his cousins Jonas and Ivan for beaters. Beth was the other captain and chose Cara for Keeper, Cedric for Seeker, Fred and George for beaters, and Luna and David for Chasers. All the balls were spelled not to leave the playing area so that none of them would escape and perhaps be found by a Muggle in Ottery St. Catchpole.
Though Fred and George were the better beaters, Ginny was a better Chaser, except against Beth, who was equally good. Alex, who was best at playing Seeker, spotted the Snitch before Cedric, and despite not having quite as good a broom, caught it first, winning the game for his team. The teams then played another game, and this time Beth's team won, for although Cedric and Alex spotted the Snitch at the same time, Cedric caught it first due to his faster broom.
After that, they had lunch, followed by the two birthday cakes and presents. Alex got a snowy owl from his maternal grandparents, a journal and quill from his paternal grandparents, a Potions book from his mother, and a Defense book from his father. His cousins and sister had given him sweets and various Muggle books and Remus and Fiona had given him a set of green dress robes and a Snitch. Fred and George had given him some prank items, Neville a Herbology book, Ron and Ginny a box of sweets, Luna a book on obscure magical creatures, and Cedric a pair of Seeker gloves. Beth had gotten identical presents, except her pet was a kneazle/cat crossbreed obtained from a Squib friend of Fiona's that breed cats and kneazles, the titles of her books were different, and the gloves Cedric gave were for a Chaser. Their aunts and uncles would give them their presents that evening, since they had work and couldn't come to the party.
The kids then played Exploding Snap and Gobstones until four o'clock, which was when the party ended. The Weasleys, Luna, Neville, and Cedric went home. Ana and Stephan cleaned up, while the grandmothers went inside to make dinner.
When the aunts and uncles arrived, they handed Beth and Alex their presents. Beth's presents consisted of jewelry and hair clips, while Alex's consisted of a watch and a Quidditch book. Dinner was served not long after that, and Alex noticed that the adults kept glancing at him while they were eating. When it ended, Aunt Maria asked, "Could everyone please remain seated? There is something important that we adults have to tell you, er, younger guys, and it involves Alex, which must be kept a secret unless he says otherwise."
Alex looked confused, while Beth and his cousins all turned to look at him. Ana Romanov cleared her throat. "This is going to come as a shock to you, Alex, but you are adopted, You are not really Beth's twin brother or born Alexander Romanov. Your real birth name is Harry James Potter."
"You mean Alex is really the most famous wizard in recent history, except maybe for Dumbledore!" exclaimed Ivan in shock.
Alex just sat there, unable to speak or move, as he digested all this. Next to him, Beth protested, "But that can't be true! We look alike, except for the whole gender thing. And he doesn't have the lightning-shaped scar that Harry Potter is supposed to-" She trailed off as she remembered something. "Oh, is that why you have Alex apply that cream once a month?"
Stephan nodded. "The cream hides his scar."
Alex finally found his voice. "That's impossible. I can't really be Harry Potter, can I?"
"You are," said Remus. "When your parents died, you were sent to live with your Muggle aunt and uncle on your mother's side of the family, since they were your only remaining relatives. However, it seems that they didn't want to keep you, for your uncle left you on the steps of the church in your town."
Ana took up the tale. "Well, I was taking my usual morning walk and saw your uncle leave you. I told him off and informed him that if he didn't want you, then I would adopt you. On my way back home, I noticed your scar and realized who you were. Stephan and I made the decision to change your name and have you be Beth's twin. We gave you an Adoption Potion so you would look like one of the family, and told your adoptive grandparents and aunts and uncles the truth. We all decided to tell you the truth about your heritage once you turned eleven and was about to start Hogwarts."
"Oh," said Alex faintly. He thought things over, then continued, "It's a good thing I got adopted then. If my aunt and uncle didn't want me, I can imagine that my life would have been horrible if they had decided to keep me. This way I have a loving and wonderful family and great friends. Er, Uncle Remus, is this why you're Beth's and my tutor? You said once that you were friends with the Pot-I mean my birth parents."
Remus nodded. "Your adoptive parents contacted me, since I was the only friend of your birth parents still available. They were kind enough to let me see you whenever I wanted, and when I objected to being provided the Wolfsbane Potion for free, decided to hire me, first as your and Beth's baby-sitter and later on as your tutor, so I could pay for it that way."
Ana took a jar out of pocket and beckoned Alex over. She applied a cream that would counter the effects of the one he had on, then Aunt Sarah conjured a mirror. Alex gazed at his reflection and saw the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. Faced with this evidence, he had to accept that he really was Harry Potter. He then lowered the mirror and let his adoptive sister and cousins look at him. They all gasped upon seeing the scar, but nobody commented. Stephan then handed him the cream that would hide the scar and Alex applied it on.
When he was done, he declared, "I don't want to reveal myself to the rest of the wizarding world. I've been Alex Romanov for almost ten years of my life and really don't want people fussing over me for something I don't remember and caused the death of my birth parents. Do you know why my blood aunt and uncle didn't want me?"
"Apparently they hated magic like my parents did," said Aunt Sarah. "You know how my parents disowned me when it turned out I was a witch and insisted on going to Hogwarts."
"Well, you got a new family, Sarah," said Ana with a smile. "We became friends and you spent all your holidays at my home, and after you married Niko, we became sisters."
Vera looked around at her siblings and cousins, then said from her position as the eldest of them, "We swear not to reveal the truth about your heritage."
Alex nodded, knowing that he could trust them and that they were all capable of keeping secrets. He turned to his adoptive parents. "What about my friends? Could I tell them, or at least Ron and Neville since they're starting Hogwarts this year too, about my real identity and stuff?"
"This is your secret, Alex," said Ana. "You are the one to decide whom you want to know about it outside of the family, Remus, and Fiona."
"Okay, then," replied Alex. "I think I will tell my friends, though maybe not right away. I want to make sure Ron won't blurt it out by accident if he got too worked up or something."
The adults then cleared the table and washed the dishes, except for Remus, who answered questions that Alex had about his birth parents. He was pleased to find that he had inherited his father's talent at Quidditch (though James Potter had been a Chaser) and his mother's talent at Potions.
The next day Beth and Alex went to Diagon Alley, where they found that the rest of the wizarding world was in an uproar over Harry Potter's disappearance. For some mysterious reason, his name was not in the book that listed all Hogwarts students when it came time to send out the letters. However, his name wasn't listed as being a Squib, either, so a letter was written to him and sent out There was no reply, and after more letters had been sent out with still no reply, it was discovered that Harry Potter wasn't living with his relatives at all. The Dursleys had admitted that they hated anything they considered abnormal, including magic, and so had decided to abandon their nephew. Unfortunately, Mr. Dursley didn't remember the name of the town where the church he had left Harry at was located in, or what the woman that had seen him had looked like, so now a search was going on for the Boy-Who-Lived.
Alex exchanged amused looks with Beth, finding the whole situation rather funny. He was right under their noses, but nobody outside of his adoptive family, Remus, Fiona, and later his friends would ever know.
At Gringotts, the Romanovs had a meeting with a goblin named Griphook, who confirmed Alex's real identity with a drop of his blood and promised on the behalf of the Goblin Nation to keep it a secret. Alex was then given access to the vault his birth parents had left him, and notified about the two properties he had inherited. One was in Godric Hollow, where he had lived with his parents before their deaths, and the other had belonged to his blood paternal grandparents.
Alex took a look at his vault, and after some begging, his adoptive parents let him withdraw some spending money. After that, they went to the Romanov vault, where Mr. and Mrs. Romanov withdrew fifty Galleons, some Sickles and Knuts, and let Beth take some for her spending money. The group then met the Weasleys and Neville and his grandmother in the lobby of the bank. Neville was very relieved to have gotten his letter, for he hadn't shown any signs of magic until his seventh birthday, when he'd fallen off the Shooting Star that he'd gotten and had bounced to the ground, suffering no injury at all. After that, he had only had two more incidents of accidental magic, compared to the at least eight times that Alex and Beth had, and his relatives were worried that he still might be more of a Squib enough to attend Hogwarts until Fiona had told them that she had shown no signs of magic at all. The Hogwarts letter had removed any lingering doubts, and pleased Neville's Great-uncle Algie so much that he'd bought Neville a toad.
The three families went to Flourish and Blotts for the books, where Ron had to get all his secondhand, since his family didn't have all that much money. That was followed by Madam Malkin's for robes. Out of the Weasley family, only Percy got new robes, for he had been made prefect. Ron muttered that he would be wearing his oldest brother Bill's old robes when Alex gave him a questioning look. Alex flushed and wished he hadn't looked questioningly, for he knew that his friend Ron could be a bit touchy sometimes about not having much money. Not that the Romanovs were well-off, either, but they at least were able to afford new things. On the other hand, there was only Beth and Alex. If they had as many children as the Weasleys, then it would probably be more difficult to afford new things for everyone.
Potions supplies, cauldrons, parchment, quills, ink, scales, and telescopes followed, Ron's cauldron, scales, and telescope were all secondhand. The final stop of the day was for wands. Ron was going to use his brother Charlie's old wand, but then Mrs. Romanov insisted on buying him his own wand as a very early Christmas present. Mrs. Weasley gave in at the end and after several tries, Ron was the proud owner of a fourteen-inch ash wand with unicorn hair core. Beth got a wand of hazel, ten-and-a-half inches, with a phoenix feather core. Alex ended up trying just about every wand in the shop before the right one chose him. By this point, the Weasleys had left, and so had the Longbottoms, as Neville was going to use his father's wand instead getting one of his own. Alex's wand was holly, eleven inches, and the core was a phoenix feather. According to Mr, Ollivander, the phoenix that had given the feather had also given one other, which was the core of the wand that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had.
Alex was very surprised to hear that his wand was the brother wand of Voldemort's. His parents exchanged looks, wondering what this meant. After a moment of silence, Mr. Romanov paid for the two wands and the family left. Silence continued as they went to the Leaky Cauldron and Flooed home with their purchases. Alex decided that his wand's relation to Voldemort's couldn't be helped, like his blood relation to the Dursleys, and after lunch, began looking through his new school books.
Next chapter: Alex and Beth leave for Hogwarts. They meet Hermione Granger on the Hogwarts Express. Beth takes a liking to her, while Ron finds Hermione rather annoying and Alex partially agrees. Neville remains undecided.
Author's Note: When Harry Potter got adopted by the Romanovs and his name and birthday changed, the Hogwarts book that lists all magical students immediately changed his entry as well to reflect it.