The atmosphere is filled with awkward tension as the four siblings sit around the cramped table. Harry shifts uncomfortably in his chair, glancing at his sister. Lea still looks exhausted, though, Harry notes, she's staring at the menu with a ravenous expression.
"What can I get y'all to drink?" His attention is pulled from his twin and to the waitress as she steps up to their table. Their eldest brother speaks before either of them can.
"Beer for me, coffee for him," Dean gestures to Sam beside him before waving his hand toward Harry and Lea. "Two cokes for the kids."
"Perfect." The waitress flicks her braids over her shoulder as she scribbles the drink on her notepad. "I'll be right back with those to get your order." She flashes their eldest brother a smile before flouncing off. Dean's gaze follows her, a slight smirk on his lips.
"We can speak for ourselves." Harry winces as Lea snaps beside him, scowling at the older Winchester brother across from her. Exhausted and starving never leaves his sister in a good mood.
"Hm?" Dean finally trails his eyes away from the waitress, focusing on their sister.
"We're not kids, you don't need to order for us." Lea's glare is lethal. Harry withholds a sigh at his sister's overdramatics.
"You hardly look twelve." Their brother rolls his eyes, before looking at the menu in front of him. Harry glances at Sam across from him and they share a sympathetic look.
"Sorry, it's hard to hit a growth spurt when you live in a cupboard." Harry isn't able to hold back the flinch, Lea's hissed words bringing painful reminders of their childhood to the forefront of his mind. She must be really irritable to willingly mention the Dursleys and their actions in any capacity.
Lea turns her glare back to her own menu just as Dean and Sam both zero in their gazes upon her. Before either of them can open their mouths, the waitress arrives back with their drinks.
"Here ya go." Her voice is overly cheerful as she passes out the glasses, leaning over the table. "Now, what can I get started for you?"
"Double cheeseburger with extra fries." Lea speaks before anyone else can, handing her menu back to the woman. "Please."
There's a moment of silence before Sam clears his throat and places his own order. "Grilled cheese, side salad."
"Same as her." Dean shrugs, gesturing at Lea as he hands his and Sam's menus over.
"Er… Me too, but now extra fries, please ma'am." Harry slides his menu to the woman, trying to ignore the tension settling around his siblings once again.
"Be right out!" The waitress' grin looks painfully wide as she sashays away.
"Cupboard?"
Sam is the one to break the silence a couple of minutes later. Harry focuses on his fingers, picking at a hangnail. Why did Lea have to say that? He sends an irritated kick to his sister's ankle under the table.
"Fucking Godric." Lea hisses before glaring at him. "The hell was that for?"
Harry glares right back, anger rising in his chest. She knows what it was for. With a huff, his twin rolls her eyes. She turns back to their brothers.
"Forget it. It's no business of yours." She reaches under the table, rubbing a hand over the ankle he hit, shooting Harry another glare.
"The hell it isn't." Dean's features more into a scowl almost identical to the one on Lea's face. "'Specially if you're wanting Sammy to sign those guardianship papers."
"Oh, shut it! We can find a different guardian if we need to." His sister practically spits the words. Harry can't help but notice the beginning of static in her hair.
"Really? So you two didn't actually need to cross an ocean to get my signature, then?" Sam speaks up, looking between the twins with an unimpressed expression.
"Technically, we didn't jump the pond for you . We came looking for John."
"And he isn't here, is he? Which means you need Sammy." Dean smirks, victory on his face.
Lea's cheeks flush and Harry feels the static grow before he hears the first spark of magic in his twin's hair. "We don't need anybody. Getting Sam to sign would be easier since we share blood, but I can find someone else. There are tons of people that would disown their own children to adopt Harry."
Both Winchesters look at her in confusion as Lea glares. Harry groans, scrubbing a hand down his face. "Lea, shut the fuck up."
She looks over at him, offended. "Excuse me?"
Harry pushes his chair back and stands, tugging Lea to her feet. "We need to talk." He pulls them both toward the bathroom, locking the door behind them as they enter. He rounds on his sister, feeling his own magic spark at his fingertips. "Are you trying to get us killed?"
Lea takes a step back, furrowing her brows. "What?"
Harry pulls at his hair, groaning again in frustration. "The Statue of Secrecy? Our muggle brothers? Are you trying to expose us?"
She stares at him for a moment before waving a hand flippantly. "So what if they figure it out? Legally, family is allowed to know."
He gapes at Lea for a moment before snapping his mouth shut. "Lea, what do you think abducted you?"
She looks thrown for a moment before answering. "Wizards?"
They were vampires but that's close enough for Harry to make his point. "And what do you think Sam and Dean did to them?"
She blinks a few times before her face breaks out in horror. "Please tell me that I didn't lead us away from Deatheaters and straight to Witch Hunters."
Harry nods grimly. "They hunt and kill anything freaky. Family business, apparently. John taught them."
Lea buries her face in her hands, cursing for several long seconds. Eventually, she looks up again. "We've got to go."
"Go where, 'Zalea? Aunt Petunia signed away her rights, Sirius is trapped in his haunted house, and Voldemort is back in action. Where could we possibly go?"
"I don't know! France? Australia? Somewhere away from all these people set on killing us."
The twins stay silent for a couple of moments, but thinking. "Maybe we should have just stayed in Surrey."
A mix of emotions crosses his sister's face before she shakes her head. "No. Not when that bastard and all his followers are sure to be looking for you. We'd be sitting ducks."
Harry shrugs. At least he's fought Voldemort before. He knows what to expect there. He watches as Lea begins to pace the length of the small restroom.
"Okay. Here's the plan. We lay low and play nice with the hunters until we get the tall one's signature. Then we make a run for it and find a place to hide out until we decide about school." Decide? More like a fight about school. Lea has been adamant that they aren't going back to Hogwarts since the moment she got to Harry in the infirmary after the third task. Harry still thinks that's the safest place for them. Lea said he's an idiot with no sense of self preservation.
"Fine." He sighs, running a hand through his hair again. "We should probably get back out there."
After another moment of silence, the twins finally leave the restroom and trudge back to their waiting brothers. Lea walks faster when she puts the food waiting on them. Sliding into her seat, she wastes no time and shoving four fries in her mouth simultaneously. Harry wrinkles his nose at her as he takes his own seat.
"You're eating like Ron." He mutters, taking a fry from his own plate.
Lea shoots him a half heartedly glare, biting into her burger. She swallows a large bite with hardly any time spent chewing. "Sorry, were you the one to be kidnapped and starved?"
"This month? No. But last month…" Lea glares harder as Harry grins teasingly. They've hardly talked about the third task. He gets close to hyperventilating anytime he imagines Cedric's limp body. Shaking the thoughts, Harry turns back to his meal.
Both twins startle when Sam clears his throat, having almost forgotten their older brothers were even there. "So, ready to talk about the cupboard."
Harry and Lea share a glance, staring at one another for a moment. Lea lifts her shoulder the slightest bit. Harry turns to face the Winchesters, taking a sip of his drink. "Lea was exaggerating. She does that a lot."
His sister nods her head, swallowing another large bite of burger. She washes it down with her coke. For a second, she pauses and stares at the drink before looking at Harry, blinking in surprise. "No wonder Dudley is addicted to these. This is better than Butterbeer."
Harry snorts but nods his agreement.
"You drink beer?" Sam seems concerned now.
"What kind of name is 'Dudley?'" Dean speaks at the same time.
Harry and Lea answer simultaneously, both focusing on Sam's question.
"I prefer whiskey."
"Butterbeer is nonalcoholic."
The twins turn to each other in tandem, Harry raising his brows in surprise. "When the bloody hell have you ever tried whiskey?"
Lea shrugs, lips pulling up in a smirk. "Just because your night at the Yule Ball was boring doesn't mean mine was. My date kept me supplied with firewhiskey spiked punch."
Harry frowns. "Fred didn't give me any."
Her sister tilts her nose in the air. "You weren't the one he wanted to kiss, Harold."
All three males sputter, causing their sister to burst into a fit of giggles. Lea eats a few fries before turning to Dean. "Dudley is our cousin, unfortunately. I'd say he acts like a pig, but that would be an insult to swine everywhere."
Harry suppresses a chuckle, thinking of the tail Hagrid gave their cousin upon their first meeting.
"You have other relatives?" Sam leans forward, seeming to decide to brush past the underage drinking for the moment.
The twins make identical faces of disgust at the thought of their relations, though Harry nods in answer.
"We lived with our Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon until recently. Their son Dudley is a few months older than us. Our aunt was our mum's sister."
"Did something happen to them? Why aren't you still with them?" Dean eats the rest of his burger as Sam questions them, seeming content to listen to the conversation for the moment.
Lea answers after she takes the last bite of her fries. "We decided that it was best we parted ways. The Dursleys agreed and Petunia signed the papers." Her voice is nonchalant, her attention focused on the remainder of her half eaten burger.
"Let me get this straight. You aunt and uncle, who I assume you've lived with for some time, willingly signed away their rights to two fourteen year olds without another guardian lined up for them. Then, you two travel by yourselves to a new country in search of a man you've never met." Sam's forehead wrinkles as he furrows his brows. Both older brothers stare at the twins incredulously.
"Pretty much." Lea nods. She finishes her burger before draining her glass of fizzy soda. Harry sighs, wondering how much damage control he might have to do.
"What happened to your mom?" Dean speaks up again, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.
"Murdered." Can Lea never have tact?
"Our mum and dad were killed by a terrorist when we were one. We lived with our relatives after that." Harry explains. He resists the urge to fidget, uncomfortable with the topic of their parents' deaths.
"Dad?" Dean sounds confused.
Lea glances at Harry with a frown. "Our step-dad, technically, I guess. But he was still our dad. We didn't know about John until last summer when a friend of our parents told us."
Yeah, Sirius had been super helpful with his explanation of their parentage.
"You've got Lily's eyes, Harry, but the rest must be all John."
Harry blinks at his godfather, glancing at his sister. Lea looks just as confused as he does. "I think you meant James, Sirius." His twin offers helpfully. Harry shrugs, looking around the park to make sure no one has taken notice of them. They should be hidden well by the trees, but you never can be too careful when your last name is Potter.
"Of course not." Sirius chuckles, flapping a hand at them. "I mean John. You know, your father?" He looks at the siblings as if they are the ones speaking nonsense.
"Sirius, James Potter is our dad." Harry speaks slowly. Could so many years in Azkaban have Sirius confused.
He certainly looks confused. "Well, yeah. James is your dad , but John is your father ."
The twins share another look. "Sirius, what in the name of Merlin are you talking about?"
The gaunt man looks at them blankly for a moment. "Do you not know?"
"Know what?" Lea's voice has a touch of anxiety, barely noticeable unless you truly know her.
"About John!" Sirius throws his hands up exasperatedly. "Your father ."
"Sirius, are you okay?" Harry's beginning to get concerned for their godfather. Maybe he's a little more mad than they feared. They've only been out of school for a few weeks, but the two other times he's visited at Privet Drive Sirius seemed much more level headed.
"Your parents left a will! Somebody was supposed to tell you!" The escaped prisoner tugs at his matted hair, a manic gleam in his eye.
"Why don't you tell us?" Harry says softly. Lea steps closer to him as they wait.
"Your parents, Lily and James, that is, they wanted a baby. Fucking crazy of them to want one in the middle of a war, but that was their problem, not mine. But, anyway, James caught a curse during an auror raid that left him sterile. So, on their honeymoon they went to America and picked this one bloke out of a bar for Lily to sleep with." Both twins cringe away from the man in disgust at the thought of their mother sleeping with anyone. "A few months later, they had you two."
Silence settles between the three, Sirius' words hanging heavily in the air.
"You mean that James Potter, the man that everyone claims Harry to look like, is not even our dad?" Lea's voice is high in pitch as she reaches out to clutch Harry's sleeve.
"No, James is your dad. He loved you guys more than anything in this world. He's just not the dad that made you." The man smiles as if his explanation is simple, not a life changing concept for the Potter twins. "And Harry looks nothing like James. He just happens to wear glasses and have dark hair. People see what they want to see."
"Just wait a minute. Who is John?"
"His name is John Winchester, a bloke from the States. I think he told Lily he was from the 'midwest?' And he had two other kids, too, I believe. Two boys that are older than the two of you."
"Why has no one ever told us this?" Harry tugs at his own hair, pushing down his frustrated magic. Lea shares no such compunction, the air around her already becoming staticy.
"I have no idea. Remus at least should have said something. He knew!" Sirius scowls at the ground before smiling back at the two kids. "I better get going before Buckbeak misses me too much."
Both twins are suddenly wrapped in a quick hug, something they are still not used to receiving from anyone. "Love you Flower, Prongslet!"
Before either of them can do much more than tense from the contact, their godfather apparates away.
"So you just left the people that raised you for a stranger?" There's almost a growl to Dean's voice, a tone that makes Harry tense unintentionally. Lea's magic becomes heavy in the air once again.
"Yep." His sister pops the 'p' in the words, seemingly calm. Her clenched fists under the table give away her fear at the perceived threat.
"That's… not concerning at all." Sam mutters, actually sounding very much concerned.
"Not a thing to worry about." Lea tries to grin and grimaces instead. "Harry, pass me the wallet with the weird American money."
Harry raises his brow at his twin before digging through his bag that he had brought in. Lea had brought hers as well, both of them ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
"We'll pay." Dean states, pulling his own wallet out of his pocket. Harry looks between him and Lea, knowing that this won't end well.
"No need." His sister says briskly, hand still held out and waiting for their wallet.
"Yes need. You're kids." Merlin's balls, can their brother not antagonize their sister for once?
Just as Lea opens her mouth to retort, Dean stands from the table and strides quickly to the cash register. She frowns before shooting a look at their remaining brother. "We're not bloody kids." She grumbles.
Sam and Harry snort a laugh at the same time. The two look at one another in surprise before Sam turns back to Lea. "You're half our age. Practically babies."
Their sister lets out a groan before snagging one of Harry's remaining fries. He can't help but be amused by the aggressive manner in which she eats it.
"Let's hit the road." Dean knocks his knuckles on the table as he reappears, already looking impatient. Grabbing their bags, the Potter twins follow the Winchester brothers out of the diner.