A Potter for Each

Harry, Boy, Brat, Harrison

A Potter for Each

Summary: WBWL, After believing his brother to be dead for three years Alex discovers that his twin Harry is in fact alive and a deatheater. When Harry unwillingly answers his question of why how will the supposed Boy Who Lived react, has the world's actions come back to kill them all? Dark!Harry

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter One: Harry, Boy, Brat, Harrison

Harry, age one, lays forgotten and unconscious in the rubble of what was once the Potter family cottage in Godric's Hollow, his twin, Alex currently being cared for by Medi-witch Poppy Pomphrey at the Hogwarts's hospital wing as all of Britain celebrated the fall of Lord Voldemort. The only thing keeping little Harry uncrushed and alive was an emerald green dome shaped shield that had surrounded him when the deadly curse had come in contact with him causing an angry red bleeding scar in the form of a lightning bolt on his forehead.

The shield would not fall until the next day when Sirius Black, just freed from Ministry custody, realized he wasn't with Alex.

Eventually, though, his Godfather wouldn't be there to stop everyone from forgetting him as he was lost in the shadow of his older brother.

- LINE -

Boy, age four, watches the large celebration happening in the Potter family manor from the shadows. He doesn't remember his name, though it might be something like Harold or Harley or Hadrian or maybe Harry but the whisper in the back of his mind is faint and hard to firmly grasp, though he knows the name of the other child that lives here very well. Alexander Charles Potter, or Alex for short, was the wonder child of their mother and father. Alex could do no wrong and today was his birthday. The banner that hung in the front hall boldly exclaimed, according to Mitsy the house elf that had taken care of him for as long as he could truly remember, "Happy Birthday Alex! Boy-Who-Lived Turns Four!". Mitsy says that it's his birthday today too but Boy doesn't truly believe her about that. After all, she also claims that the Potters are his parents, Alex is his twin, and that they all love him. Boy might have believed her at one point but after being ignored for his whole life it is getting a little hard to do so now. Vaguely he remembers two men, one with wild black hair the other with a head of tamed light brown, that had loved him arguing with mother and father about someone but after that, he has no memories of them so it was probably about as real as him having an actual name.

The party goes on around him as he watches, unnoticed as usual, wishing he could be in the library being taught how to read by Mitsy right now. But Mitsy was currently with the other elves preparing the large feast for the guests. He didn't care about the large party, the many presents, or the downpour of love and attention that Alex Potter would and was getting today. Boy was content with the small gathering of house elves, the promise of being taught how to read, and the leftover piece of birthday cake he would receive later.

Even if he wasn't Boy wouldn't say anything about it anyway, seeing as he had trouble speaking. He didn't know why, just that it was hard for him, the sounds ringing through the quiet much too loudly and unnaturally, his tongue twisting wrong around the words, and his sentence structure worse than a house elf's. Besides, Mitsy always seems to know what he wants to communicate anyway and there was no one else who ever wanted to talk to him.

No one else ever wanted him.

-LINE -

Brat, age seven and a half, watches out the window of the library that overlooks the Quidditch pitch as Father teaches Alex how to ride a broom by himself. Mother is standing just a little ways away from the two looking worried and anxious; scared that her precious little boy will hurt himself on his new top of the line Nimbus 1990. He wishes that he could join them and learn to but such things were for good children only, and Brat was unable to do anything right let alone be good enough to have the attention of his parents.

He is thinner than he was in the last memory the seventeen-year-old Alex had witnessed. And the seventh year cringes at the fact he knows why without even having witnessed any other memory from this time period. This was the time when Dad told the elves that if Harry wanted to eat he had to do so at the table with the rest of the family. He himself had complained that his twin didn't do things with them like he should and people had taken to questioning where Harry was at events. Looking at the boy he doesn't see a small boring Harry who was constantly teased by him and Ron for never being without a book yet refused to leave them alone. The tormenting jokes of being a Ravenclaw no longer funny in the least. After all...

... Present day Alex had seen a Harry that was much worse than an annoying yet quiet little brother who would end up in Ravenclaw and didn't eat with the family.

He desperately wishes for that time again. When Harry quietly stalked him trying to impress his amazing older brother with the newest knowledge he had learned that day. When Harry would sit under a tree in the yard and reads as Ron and he goofed around like boys their age "should". When Harry was constantly trying to spend time with him in little ways even if it was obvious the seven-year-old knew he wasn't wanted.

This seven-year-old Harry was thin from being denied meals, wore old clothing discarded from his twin's wardrobe, and was clutching a book titled "Quidditch Through the Ages" as tears threatened to surface on his face. Thinking back to all the snide comments that had seemed back then to be playful jabs aimed to get the one boy's attention he didn't feel he had Alex cringes. When HAD Harry learned to fly? Alex's memory seems all too happy to supply the answer...

... NEVER...

-LINE-

Eleven-year-old Harrison sits on his bed reading a book on potions from the Potter library. Noise travels up the stairs from the party going on that the Potters had been quite clear he wasn't invited too. Not that he would have gone downstairs if his life depended on it anyway. He tried to stay out of the way of his family as much as possible nowadays. He didn't like how James glared at him as if accusing him of something, always looking for some reason or another to disown him without causing a scandal that would tarnish the Potter name and make him look bad in the eyes of the public. He hated how Lilly simply acted as if he didn't exist even when he was standing right in front of her trying to ask her a question. Though what hurt the most were the times she looked in his direction and suddenly has this look of shocked surprise on her face. As if she suddenly remembered that she even had another son. In Harrison's mind though the absolute worst was Alexander. Because his brother aroused a sense of hope in him that always ALWAYS was ripped to shreds. And to put it simply, the savior of the wizarding world confused him to no end.

One minute the hazel-eyed boy was his brother. Smiling at him, asking him about what he was currently reading as if he actually cared, and offering to teach him things that James had taught him like Chess and how to fly. The next (Usually when someone shows up) Alexander either ignores him completely or makes fun of him. 440967 times Harrison has been told he will be sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor because of how boring he was. 138045 times he had been mocked for not being able to fly. 367852 times the boy had to comment about his eating habits as if Harrison himself chose not to eat. The mere idea of skipping a meal was horrifying to the eleven-year-old! After all, you could never tell when James and Lilly would remember to feed you next! And that was just three of Alexander's long list of things he bullied Harrison about. Though for some reason Harrison just couldn't stop trying to be near Alexander. It was as if some major part of him was missing whenever the boy wasn't around him. Like Ron said the twins in his family are; though not to the extreme Harrison had witnessed during one of Alexander's parties. He couldn't finish sentences, but he could tell what Alexander was feeling. And when he sees him he can't help but want to help him...

... But even that was dimming slightly...