Chapter 1
“How do you always end up in situations like this?!” he hears his brother asking, exasperated. Harry rolls his eyes at him and ignores him, continuing to flip through all the money they had collected today. 37 pounds, not bad. Harry thinks through what they should do with the money, ignoring his brother who is still going on about the situation.
They always save at least half of what they steal a day for when it’s most needed, so he pockets half of it and puts it into his savings wallet. The one they always keep on person if needed and to keep safe. They already have food since yesterday where they had met up with Gill.
The brothers had met Gill when they first had run away. Harry was 8 and his little brother, Dorian was 6. It had been far too easy to run away as their aunt and uncle couldn’t be bothered to care about them, always raving about how they should have been more grateful for taking them in, feeding and clothing them. Yeah, they should be grateful for abuse.
Harry had first heard the word abuse when he was 8 years old. He was reading a book on psychology. It had taken a while for the librarian to stop looking at him in suspicion every time he showed up at the library to read. Dorian was of course sitting next to him, learning how to write calligraphy because Harry had a feeling it would be important in the future.
He was reading about the nature versus nurture debate, when he read about how abuse could change a child. It was then it all clicked. They were clothed in too big hand me downs from their too big of a cousin Dudley. Harry still can’t wear baggy clothes due to this, it was a trauma response apparently. When he wears them Harry feels small, like his body and mind doesn’t matter, it’s like the air is pushing him inside himself.
They got beaten when they did freaky stuff, things that break the laws of physics. Belt raining on their backs, blood flowing, conditioned not to beg because it didn’t help. The other watches, making fear flowing between them, desperately trying to stop it. Nothing worked.
Forced to learn how to cook as soon as they could reach the stove, making the food but not being allowed to eat themself, unless they smuggled something out. Harry often did that, smuggling enough food for him and his brother, but giving most of it to Dorian. He sometimes got caught, making Vernon beat him with a belt again, but by the time he was 6 he figured out how to take some food without anyone noticing.
Forced to take care of the garden. Working entire days, in the hot sun, nothing to drink or eat, just so that Petunia could win some prize for best garden.
Sleeping in a cupboard that wasn’t meant for one person, least of all two. Being looked inside, without food or water for weeks. Only each other for company, but they weren’t allowed to be too loud, it would make guests realize that they weren’t a perfect family.
All of that was abuse, Harry realized as he read that book. He knew that they wouldn’t survive for too much longer, the beating had gotten worse and they had almost died too many times.
He ran away that same night, with his brother. He had planned to do it later so that he could have time to prepare, but Dorian was beaten so badly that night that Harry thought he was going to die. So he ran with his brother, not knowing where to go.
They ended up on a bus on their way to London. If you ask Harry now how he managed to get there he could not for the life of him remember. All that he remembered from that night were feelings of pure panic, it felt like his mind was falling into itself and he could do nothing to get out of it. He remembers the ragged breaths he took, the feeling of water running down his body. The sound of thunder, making him jump. The dark closing in on him, despite that, feeling calmer in the dark.
They ended up in London. But having never been there they didn’t know where to go. Dorian was still injured and leaning heavily against his side. They sat down at a bench and stayed there for the night. With Dorian falling asleep for a short while before waking up with a start, and doing it again and again. Harry stayed awake, thinking about what he should do now. Looking up at the stars he thinks about all their stories, some Greek and others Roman. Most of the stars were hard to see but Harry had the entire star sky memorized since he was little, astrology always being an interest of him.
That was how Gill found them. He took one look at them and recognized them as kindred spirits. He took them in, being 17 years old but owning a house where he helped young children. He showed them self defense, how to pickpocket, how to manipulate and much more. The other children there also helped and soon they all lived there together. Harry likes Gill a lot, he doesn’t sugarcoat how awful the world is, he doesn’t give them false hope. The only thing he gives them is a chance to live and survive.
When he noticed how much Harry liked science and reading he helped him get a library card so he could go there and borrow books whenever he wanted. When he noticed that Dorian needed better glasses he took him to an eye doctor to get new glasses and he wouldn’t accept any payment. When he noticed that another kid staying there, Lousia, liked to draw he bought her a sketchbook and some pencils.
Harry and Dorian have left Gills house now, but they still visit sometimes. Like yesterday where they all had dinner together and Gill sent some of the leftovers with them.
“Are you even listening to me?” Dorian asked when Harry hadn’t replied to his rant. Harry rolls his eyes again “Yes, it was stupid of me to almost get caught. No, I have no idea who the people in weird clothing were. Yes I won’t let them catch me”. Dorian nods, seemingly mollified. He nods towards the money “What do you want to do with today's money?” he asks.
Harry thinks a little, they have food and clothes and nothing really to do with it. They could just use the money for pleasure, having no expectations. “We could get some ice cream” he suggests to his brother. Dorian nods and begins to walk away without him. Dorian always loved ice cream.
Harry jogs a little to catch up with Dorian and falls into step with him. It must make a bit of a weird picture, to see the two of them walking. A child of 11 years and a child of 9 years. The 11 year old has shiny black neck-long curly hair while the 9 year old has a chaotic mop of chestnut hair. The 11 year old has striking blue eyes that flashes silver sometimes, while the 9 year old has emerald green eyes that sometimes flashes like the killing curse. The 11 year old looks like a preppy kid wearing gray slacks with a white button up and a black leather jacket, making him look too old for his age. While the 9 year old was wearing a queen t-shirt and a leather jacket with a bunch of tags on it and a pair of jeans. They were both wearing a pair of docs.
You would not know that they were brothers if you saw them beside each other, but if one takes time to look a little bit closer you could see it. Their matching cheekbones, their nose. But they were brothers nonetheless.
As they sit there, eating their ice cream, Harry eating a mint chocolate chip and Dorian eating a cookie dough one, they notice a pair of eyes on them. The brothers make eye contact as they notice, but make no move to leave.
The eyes stay on them for the entire time they eat their ice cream, talking softly. Harry explains how they all can see colors due to light reflecting some cells in their eyes making them see colors. It is something he often does, goes onto rants about something he has learned and finds interesting. Dorian, listening, not so much about what is said but more to his brother's voice, he often finds comfort in that voice. The voice who has always been with him. The voice who talks softly as to not scare him with sharp voices, which is something he still has problems with. The voice who has told him multiple stories so that he can fall asleep. The only voice that he will listen to and do as it says, because it’s his brother's voice who will always protect him.
As they are fishing up their ice cream and throwing away their trash a person walks up to them. It’s the man that has been following them for a while. Wearing strange black robes and an annoyed expression.
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Severus Snape was annoyed. He had spent 3 days hunting a child who seemed to be doing everything to avoid him. It was annoying but Severus could respect someone who could escape easily and did not trust easily either. The child's name was apparently Harry Potter, the big brother of Dorian Potter the-boy-who-lived. Stupid name if you asked Severus.
But now he had finally caught up with them. They stood in front of him now, both wearing blank expressions, not smiling as they had done earlier.
The elder of them, the one whose name was Harry Potter even though he looked very little like a Potter and more like a Black was dressed in refined clothes on his small but lithe body. The younger, which he believed to be Dorian, was wearing something that looked an awful lot like something Sirius Black would be wearing in his youth but looked an awful lot like his father, but he had Lily's eyes. To avoid thinking of Lily he started doing what he came here for.
“Good day Mr.Potter. My name is Severus Snape and I teach potions at Hogwarts, I’ve come to give you your acceptance letter” he said holding out the letter for him to take, which he did. Harry opened the envelope and held it up so both he and Dorian could read it. When he finished they were both looking at him with a note of disbelief in their expressions, though the younger of the pair hid his emotions better than the elder.
“This explains so much” Potter the elder breathed out, a look in his eyes telling him he wasn’t really there. He seems to snap out of it and looks at Severus “Where can I buy school supplies and do they give out money for those who don’t have enough money to go?”
Severus looks at him again. Judging by the clothes the pair of them wore he would not think that they were poor, but perhaps they just wanted to not look suspicious, which a person does if they look poor. He had after all seen them both pickpocket a lot of people and seemed to be sleeping on the roof of some apartment building.
“You will have to go to Diagon Alley, I will escort you later as it is my job to do so and I believe that your parents left you some money”.
The boys look at each other in shock before looking at him in shock and determination. They seemed to have had a silent conversation with each other.
Potter the elder, apparently the talker out of the two nodded at him and gestured for him to lead the way.