Harry Brown and the mauraders

Muriel Brown was sitting in one of the hotels downstairs bar lounges waiting for the family to arrive, her husband David was upstairs in what would be the boys rooms reading and explaining to Severus the intricates of model railway building and how wonderful the Great Western Railway was, she was sure she had heard the word Didcot in their intense conversation.  Which if she was correct meant that the family would be taking a day trip to the hateful railway attraction again. 

Severus had seemed fascinated with the railway magazines and books that David had with him, it had been a disappointment to him to realise that their son Harry had no interest in railways, trains models or otherwise.  The boy would always help David out, and had and would help David build, test and run their layouts but it was never the boys greatest love.  Harry loved and was good at most sports including  football, rugby, carpet bowls, tennis, squash and athletics.  Over the years he had made a lot of friends with his adopted niece Jordan, but what was nice was that Harry ensured that there was no bullying either in his circle of friends.  And he ensured that his friends never bullied or targeted weaker or different children.

In fact over the years Harry friends parents had joined their extended unofficial family, and during the years they had all met up in each other houses to attend the obligatory children’s parties and barbecues etc.  It was a pleasant shock that even when Harry had gone to boarding school, the circle of friends had still included them.  Some of the families were attending the sporting event this weekend, as it had come to be seen as a fun weekend.  Muriel knew as well that the whole group of them would be camping down on the campsite that their families caravan was on for a week of laughs, and just enjoying every bodies company, including the rest of the family.  And to visit the Great Dorset Steam festival before the children had to return to school.

Muriel looked up from her novel to see Rob trying to help steer his father Brian to their table.  They managed to make it with out to many broken feet being run over by the scooter she noticed.  After the greetings, and Rob managing to buy everybody a drink at the bar,  Rob enquired about Dave and Severus whereabouts.  Muriel explained that Dave was with Severus in the boys room keeping him company, they were hoping to explain the new situation to Harry first before allowing the onslaught of the rest of their crowd to be introduced to Severus.

Brain just looked wearily at her and suggested “That perhaps introducing Severus to a few of the family first might help him not be so over whelmed when facing the shebang later on this evening of his new family and friends”  So with that idea in mind Muriel took them upstairs to the boys room.

The room itself was large and spacious, and could quite comfortably fit in a small bedsit in it,  although there were chalets available most of the family had decided long ago to stay in the comfortable five star hotel rooms.  They knocked on the hotel door, and Severus opened it gaping at Muriel and the two strangers behind her, he suddenly looked round and bolted into the bathroom trying to hide from the two wizards he knew where there with Harry’s nice mum.

Severus wasn’t stupid, and knew that he was only tolerated by a few people including his mum and da.  Severus had wanted to be friends with the local children in his street but his mother had punished him when she saw him playing with those lowly mundanes, and the neighbours although liking Severus were very wary of antagonising his drunken father.  Although they had tried  numerous times over the years to try and get the police or authorities to intervene and take Severus into the local authorities care.   This was impressive, when a person realised that Spinners End was a area where the unofficial law was to mind your own business, if you didn’t then it was only matter a of time before someone took offense at your interest in their affairs.   The other law followed in Spinners end were the local authorities services including the social work department and police were never spoken to by anyone.  The only officials allowed free pass onto Spinners end normally were the Fire service and the ambulance and GP Doctors and the Community nurses.   Spinners End was a very rough area to live, but the inhabitants did look out for each other, older people and the vulnerable including children were looked after by the residents.  It had done the police or local authority officers no favours when they were powerless to move the Snape child to a safer place.

Severus first friend had been the angel in his eyes Lilly Evans, she sat next to him in class and ensured that the other children didn’t bully him.  It was perhaps a shame that Severus for whatever reason had been enrolled in the infant and junior school in Lilly’s catchment area and not his own.  The children that attended his school would have bullied him for coming from the bad part of town if Lilly hadn’t apparently protected him fiercely.  The school was excellent academically, and the teachers had tried to integrate Severus with his class mates.  But for some reason they failed to achieve their aims, and they and others local authority organisations and departments had not been able to remove the child from his abusive home. 

Severus run and hid himself in the enormous bath, of course ensuring that the bathroom door was locked and the curtain round the bath was closed to hide him.  It was a little time later that Harry’s mum found him trying not to cry about his dream life being over.  She took one look at him, picked him up and cuddled him tight, and in hushed whispers that you would use on a scared or wounded animal reassured him that he was never to go back to his parents again.

Severus looked at her with his large dark onyx eyes and with hic cups asked “But who are those two wizards with you, one looks just like this auror who brought me back to my parents the last time I ran away.   He even said that my da had to be firmer with me, and that I did to be taught to obey my betters and elders”  Muriel was shocked, how could anybody return a child to the environment they had found Severus in last week, she took a deep breath and explained who Rob and Brain were.  Severus climbed down from her lap and went to the doorway and asked in a hopeful but frightened voice “So you will be my new Grandpa Rob and Grandpa Brain then?”  and both men nodded, promising Severus that before anybody returned him to his old family they would have to run the gauntlet of his new extended family.  And with what can only be Slytherin tactics Severus asked ever so nicely, did they have an sweets in their pockets to ward off the feelings off weakness and dizziness he had felt, after all everybody knew that chocolate was the best medicine against most ailments.   And if chocolate was not available then other lesser sweets would have to do!    So it ended up with Severus and his new parents and Grandpas fussing over him, if this is what Harry’s family was like, why on earth had he wanted to go to Hogwarts last year was beyond him.   

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It was on the refreshment break on the motorway services, that Uncle Conrad informed Harry about his new adopted brother, his best friend Severus.  Conrad knew that his sister and husband with the best intentions had wanted to explain to Harry first what they had done.  But Conrad after discussing it with his wife Rosemary and her sister Janice and the rest of the family, had decided that it was for the best to prepare Harry before they reached the Blackpool hotel later that afternoon.

The motorway services were like nearly every British services, they were built around a carpark and had a basic hotel like a Travel Lodge  inn, a food and entertainment court.  Harry was ecstatic, he knew that today he could literally pig out on McDonalds or KFC, most probably both and then play on the amusement arcade for a bit and his parents would not be there to silently admonish him for it.   Oh his parents spoilt him, and being a lot older than his other friends parents, he had managed to skim by on his school work, only working for an average grades.  Not like his friends Shaun or John.  They were black Caribbean and their parents expected them to top of their class, or at the very least average A’s for their school course work, and to be fair all his friends including his cousin Jordan had their parents on their arses about how important obtaining the right grades in the right GCSE and A level subjects were.  His and Jordan’s groups of friends included Black children, Asian and Indian children, Polish, Pilipino and of course white children.  His parents although obtaining their degrees and having professional careers, were more laid back and just wanted Harry to do well in his school but also enjoy himself and not stress his self out over achieving high grades.  They believed that Harry just wasn’t very intelligent and didn’t want to pressurise him too much.  Perhaps it was his Slytherin cunning coming  into play, but when the rest the family especially his Aunt Rosemary and her sister Aunt Janice had mention quite strongly to his mother about Harry sloping of on his school work, he had accidently  left the internet pages open on articles on high achieving children committing suicide because of parental and peer pressure.  His mum had been quite frim with the rest of the family after seeing the articles and even over ruled his dad for once, her precious special sensitive little boy was not going to be pressurised into committing suicide because he couldn’t produce the grades expected of him.  Jordan and the rest of  their friends had repeatedly informed him what a lucky sod, git etc he was.  His dad, Aunts and the rest of the family had muttered out of the hearing of his mother admittedly that he had yet again pulled a fast one and if they had any say in the matter he would be pushed to reach his full potential.  And every day he sent a thankful prayer to the gods and Merlin above that he had managed to hood wink his mother.   The only good thing about attending Hogwarts was the grading system, his parents especially his mother had no idea what the grades stood for.  He knew he could have got a Troll and passed it of as a pass and they would have been none the wiser.  But luckily he had got acceptable in all his subjects and grades, and his parents had seen the report card and assumed wrongly that Harry had got top passes because the letter A was the grade supplied.  He had of course ensured that the list of gradings and their meanings that all parents received with the report had gone missing,  was it his fault that the school owls dropped pieces of useless parchment over Southern England when delivering mail.

So he sat at one of the plastic tables with his Aunt, Jordan and her  Great Gran, who everybody called Nanny Jean.  It had surprised him to find out that Nanny Jean was coming to Blackpool with them, normally she hated anywhere she considered wet, cold and substandard, which really meant most of the British Isles, but she had when they were younger accompanied the family to these holidays and outings to babysit him and Jordan.  She had stated quite secretively to them in  the car that she had come to start looking after a child during the weekend.  Harry and he knew Jordan was in agreement that they hoped Nanny Jean wasn’t expecting to baby sit them.  How could they play and accomplish little things with her dodging their footsteps.  It was a shame, but the old dear still believed they were three or four years old when she had looked after them for their parents.   But now they were teenagers and NEEDED THEIR SPACE  away from prying and concerned eyes!  Come on the Hogwarts professors thought they could catch them most nights after curview at, the only one who could come close to Nanny Jean unerring sense of mischief and rule breaking that children did was Flitch the caretaker.

He saw his Uncle coming back with the first part of their groups food order, his and Jordan’s.    Now perhaps his order was a tad excessive in the fact he had ordered a double Big Mac meal, large fries, Large Strawberry Milk Shake with two Large Cokes as well.  A double cheese burger and 2 apple and custard pies and to be fair he was still eyeing up getting a 17inch pizza from Pizza hut to munch on the way with the left over coke, he was after all a growing boy and had not had any fast food whilst at Hogwarts.  Also his parents would never ever condoned normally food from a fast food restaurant.    He separated out his order from Jordan’s and started to munch through it.  It was soon after that  when the five of them were contently eating when his Aunt Rosemary dropped their little  bomb shell to him and Jordan with just blurting out “Harry, your parents have officially adopted your best friend Severus.  Apparently they were the only people who could quickly because of your friendship.  They are waiting with Severus for you at Blackpool.  Severus has been very ill, and has had to stay in hospital this week, the injuries he suffered (from his abusive parents, Harry correctly surmised) have not only been physical in nature.  The hospital thinks that Severus has suffered some very serious and long lasting brain damage” Harry sat at the table shell shock and sick with worry,  his treat forgotten in front of him.  Jordan held his hand comfortingly, Severus couldn’t be that hurt.  His best friend and now brother from Hogwarts couldn’t be that badly injured, oh Severus even as teenager had a sarcastic wit and intellect that you fell in love with, when you were allowed by him to become his friend.  He remembered all the times that Severus had patiently gone through their school work with Harry trying to fix it into his dunderhead brain as he called it, if you were lucky enough to become Severus friend there wasn’t enough that Severus would do to help you.   Harry then thought that Dumbledore had better hide very well or be dead when he graduated from Hogwarts because he was going to ensure that he paid Dumbledore back for every injury and slight he had been dealt with.   The three unforgivables were to too good for the old coot, they were too quick and humane for him.  Oh Harry knew from his old time line that there were light spells and magic that outcomes were far more torturous and slow acting then any dark magic including the unforgivables, pity that in this time line Severus had not created his cutting spell yet. 

But Harry realised he was glad and grateful that Severus had been saved from his families hellhole, even if he was severely brain damaged.  Harry at this moment in time would take anything to keep Severus safe and alive with his family, then Harry sat there stunned when he realised that Lilly Evans had to have known about the abuse Severus suffered at home.  Where was the compassionate, courageous fighter that put family and friends first that he had been told about.  Everybody who spoke about his mother stated that she was intelligent, hardworking, courageous, loyal etc.  So why hadn’t she gone to the professors or her parents informing them about Severus home life.   Perhaps it was case of not speaking ill of the dead, or the people who had described Lilly to him had been her favourite professors and friends!

Harry’s Uncle then broke into his thoughts, to confirm that because of the extra work required in looking after Severus.  Uncle Conrad and Aunt Rosemary had offered and his parents reluctantly agreed to ensure that Harry was happy at Hogwarts and was reaching his full potential, just to stop his parents from undue worrying etc.  Oh crap thought Harry as his Uncle produced with a flourish his Hogwarts report card with a breakdown of his grades.  He may thank merlin that he now has Severus as a brother, but did it have to come with his Aunt and Uncle taking over his education.  Their insane standards were the very same as his friends and Jordan’s parents if not harder, they expected him to do very well in  all his subjects and get Outstanding’s and not just coast along obtaining Averages.  His uncle said that they would be having a little discussion about his school report during the weekend and next week.  And all his cousin do was grin madly at him and put her thumbs up, as if to say welcome to my world!

It was after the rest of the family had caught up with Harry and Jordan and had a break that they restarted their journey north to Blackpool.  Nanny Jean had been persuaded to travel in another car, and Jordan’s Nan and Rosemary’s mother joined them in their car.  Jordan leant over to Harry and whispered “Well at least Nanny Jean isn’t here to baby sit us, I think she is here to help look after Severus.  If we play this right, then she will focus most of her attention on Severus leaving us relatively alone!”  well thought Harry at least there were more positive outcomes with his parents adopting Severus then negative.  Pity about his mother’s relatives managing to take over his education, well at least he had something in common to moan about with his friends when  he next saw them.

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Harry Brown was not the only Hogwarts student having his report card dissected in front of them, James Potter had been sitting in his father’s study Lord Charles Potter.  Listening to the old fool berate him again for his lack of effect into his school work, and his behaviour towards other students as well.

James loved his parents, but did not respect them and their advice.  He had always been the favoured Godchild of one Albus Dumbledore who had ensured that his parents, especially his father disappointment had no effect on James or his life.  James had thought that when he started to attend Hogwarts, he did not have to worry about his parents and especially his father finding out about his dismal work ethic and adventures.  He had wrongly assumed that the Hogwarts professors including his head of house and the half creature  the diminutive idiot Flitwick would be too scared of Dumbledore’s wrath to truthfully report his  behaviour and inattention in their classes.  James had only passed most of his subjects by persuading his peers to assist him with his course work.   But obviously if his fathers out dated reaction was anything to go on he would have to be more circumspect in his pranking of other students especially the cracker Snivellous, the stupid git should never have received a letter of invitation to Hogwarts.  To make it even worse one of  cracker Snivellous best friends was the girl who knew he would marry after school a mundane witch called Lilly Evans. 

Lord Charlus Harry Potter looked over his glasses at his wayward son, and internally sighed.  Yet again he was trying to instil into him some common sense and courtesy.  If he knew it would have any effect then he would have used corporal punishment on his son like his peer Lord Orion Black.  But he had seen that corporal punishment only hardened the child towards the parent who administered it. 

Lord Charlus Potter was worried about his sons and families future.  He knew he was very ill, he was after very old even for a wizard and his health had been deteriorating slowly over the years.  He had what the mundanes called a slow growing tumour,  nothing that the magical healers had done had stopped or slowed the tumour down.  When he gone to the mundane specialists like his friend Colonel Brandon had suggested they had said it was too late to cure the illness, or they were able to accomplish was to slow the evitable down, and because he was a wizard, the evitable could be quite a bit longer than a mundane’s.   He had hoped that he would survive until James had grown up and graduated from Hogwarts school, but he could see that Dumbledore’s influence with his wife’s over protectiveness and pampering would most probably never result in his son maturing enough to become the Potter Lord and head of house.  It was with this heavy heart that Charlus was speaking to the Goblin and his best friend Colonel Christopher Brandon to ensure that the Potter estate and Lordship was safe.  It meant in reality removing James as his heir and placing the estate in its entirety and political power in a regents hand till his grandson a Charlus Harry Potter became of age.  A gypsy seerer had informed him when his only son was a baby in arms, that he would never have the correct attributes or character to be a good Lord and that his Grandson one Charlus  Harry Potter would grow up to be the man his father never was.  Charlus had dismissed the gypsies words and warnings, but he grown to see this past year that the gypsy had been right in her warnings, and he was reluctantly taking action to ensure his Grandson and his legacy was safe in the Goblins and the regents hands.   But what could he do now to try to turn his son away from his bad choices he was determined to make, any punishment or guidance he gave to James would be migrated by Dumbledore’s actions and his wife’s pampering. 

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Sirius Black was lying down on his bed in the heir suite of his families town house Grimmauld place, his father had canned severely him for his school report.  And he was now on restriction for the rest of the summer holidays. 

Sirius hated his family and their friends and dark side acquaintances including the Brandon’s, he would be getting his own back on his cousins the Black sisters over the coming weeks, he knew that Bella and Cissy would have been over joyed to informed his parents of his pranking of other undesirable children.

As a good light supporter and one of Gryffindor top cats literally, he knew it was his right and expected of him and his friends the marauders to prank and hex anybody that deserved it.  That included the evil dark members of the Snake house, especially the two friends Harry Brown and the cracker Snivellous.  Looking around the well-lit and opulently furnished room he knew it was his right as the future Light Lord Black to decide who should be breathe to breathe in his presence.

He had to follow the man he had grown to love and adore over the year his best friend’s God farther Albus Dumbledore.   Albus had made it quite clear to him and the other light side supporters students who were the right sort.  The unofficial hierarchy of the light side was

Albus Dumbledore

The right sort were rich, influential, powerful and well connected light supporters that included him and James.

Other light supporting pure bloods

Everybody who had been in the official light house at Hogwarts (Gryffindor obviously)

Other wizards and witches that were useful or held influential positions in the ministry and the magical society

Wealthy Half breeds light supporters

Wealthy mud blood witches and wizards

Some creatures that could be exploited and used for the light sides causes, everybody else was below his and the other influential light side supporters notice.  Which meant he and his fellow Gryffindor’s had  almost three quarters of the school to Lord over literally.

He was in the only Hogwarts house that had the light side supporters in it.  The other two houses had a mixture of dark and light supporters, and the Snakes were not only the smallest house but was the only house where the evil and corrupt were sorted into. 

He belonged to the house that had won the school cup almost consistently for the last twenty years, ever since Albus had become headmaster.  Gryffindor ruled supreme on the Quidditch pitch against the other houses, everybody that was not a Gryffindor quaked when they walked past them, the other houses students knew better than to try to get any Gryffindor punished, and tittle tattling was dealt with swiftly.  After all it was the right and privilege of the best in society to punish the weaker citizens. 

Sirius  had soon realized was in the Gryffindor house, it was everybody for themselves. The Gryffindor tower was like a war zone most nights, with the lower and higher common rooms full of noisy prats who made up the most of his housemates, they would include also include his friends in the marauders stab you in the back to get a good grade, or even get out of trouble.  He had learned quickly to his cost, not to leave any schoolwork around, cause some arsehole would copy it, okay he had done it, copied a piece of work on history assignment, changed a few words here and there, rephrased a few sentences, if the person was stupid enough to leave their work around he’d use it thank you very much. But at least thought he had picked his friends carefully, very carefully, by careful selecting of friends, he had friends passed most of the subjects, including potions.

Potions one class they had to share with the corrupt snakes house, what joy and fun it was to ensure the snakes potion was totally ruined.  It had been such a lark to throw a reactive ingredient into the cracker’s cauldron when they were brewing the boil cure lotion, except the ingredient was deflected into another’s students cauldron.  The student a wealthy mundane from his house had been sent home permanently from Hogwarts when she was blinded by the ruined potion being covered over her. The potion had got into her eyes, the tossed ingredient turned the potion into the engorging potion extreme, oh he knew that the ingredient would alter the potion.  But it had been to brighten up the lesson and to hex the cracker again, after all it would have been hilarious to see his conk growing to at least three times its normal size.  But instead of Snivellous nose the potion had managed to affect his fellow Gryffindor’s eyes and she had been blinded when her eye balls burst form the effects of the potion.  Dumbledore had been for once furious with the maunders, and his punishment had been the cane and detention with the caretaker squib for a month.  Apparently the mundane parents were suing the school because of a little prank that had gone wrong.  But it still made Sirius chuckle to think what Snivellous would have looked like when if the prank had gone right!  He felt absolutely awful and sick when he thought what had happened to his Gryffindor peer in that class, but as the Gryffindor mill had stated potions was the most dangerous class.  Students were always being injured, some seriously and permanently like this fellow peer, or in some cases there had been fatal accidents in the class., especially with an incompetent baboon in charge of the class like old Sluggy!

Sirius knew lying on the bed, that he and his fellow Gryffindor’s were in the right.  Only dark and dangerous criminals and dark lords came from the Snake house.  No matter what his parents said or did to change his abhorrent attitude or behaviour according to them, he knew he was in the right and was a truly good and upstanding wizard, not like the cracker Snivellous and his friend Harry Brown.  Both of the snakes Sirius realised would need to be brought down to earth as painfully as possible when the next school year commenced.