Chapter Text
Harry is going to murder Sirius Black. Just cold blooded murder. No regrets. Just death.
Okay. Maybe he’s not going to kill Sirius. But he is definitely going to yell at him as soon as he and Lea are safe. Whose idea was this anyway? Why did they have to come to America and find their long lost dad? They could have just ran away from Privet Drive and hidden out until September. But no, they had to get on a plane and find themselves in some place called Kansas.
For one, Harry is never stepping foot on a plane again, especially with Lea. Flying in a metal tube is much different than soaring through the sky on his Firebolt. Though, his discomfort was only multiplied by his sister’s terror. From the moment they were in the air until they touched the ground, Lea kept the tightest grip possible on his hand. He’s almost sure that she cracked his knuckles.
Landing in California had been a relief, until they realized that they had no idea where to go from there. Lea had been the one to think of a library. Figuring out the computer was a little difficult, but not impossible. It was almost fun to do when considering that they were never allowed to even look at Dudley’s computer.
Their internet search had led to many insights. Such as the fact that one of their brother’s, that Sirius was sure they had, was dead. And a serial killer. Which, honestly, was just on track for how their lives have been so far. Harry’s existence leads to him and Lea becoming orphans, their relatives hate them and treat them like rubbish, their parents’ murderer comes back to finish Harry off, Harry gets Lea bitten by a basilisk, they’re almost eaten by a werewolf, Harry is entered in the Torture Tournament and almost dies, and now their older brother is a dead serial killer. Par for the f*cking course.
Still, they continued the search for their father anyway. Somehow, Lea managed to track him to a house in Lawrence, Kansas. Several buses later, they find out that John Winchester hasn’t lived there for over twenty years. Though, they did get a phone number.
So, they got cell phones. Harry had been nervous that their magic would burn the mobiles up, but so far so good. They had cell phones, they had John’s phone number, everything was looking up.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Harry’s life if it didn’t all come crashing down.
They called John and it went about as well as expected.
“Hello?”
The voice was gruff.
“Hi, is this John Winchester?”
Harry had let Lea handle the phone call. She’s always been better with people than Harry. Well, that’s not completely true. Lea’s temper had gotten them in trouble loads of times, but she could still pretend to be nice better than Harry could.
It was a few seconds before the man answered. “John’s dead. Is there something I can do for you?”
Harry had just stared at his sister while she stared at the phone, heart sinking in his chest. He had been ready for her to hang up and the two of them find their way back to England when she spoke again.
“What about his son? Samuel?” Lea had her jaw set. Harry knew that look. That was the look she had when she decided they were going to Hogwarts, when she said that she would stay with Ron at the chess set while Harry and Hermione went forward, when she demanded to go after Ginny with Ron and Harry, when she yelled at Ministry officials for letting her brother be entered in a ‘death contest.’ Lea had made her mind up about something and she wasn’t going to settle until her task was done. Harry mentally apologized to the man on the other side of the call.
“What do you need with Sam?” The voice got even gruffer with the mention of their brother. Lea glanced at Harry before answering.
“I’m his sister.”
The silence after her statement seemed to stretch on forever before the man finally spoke again.
“Sam doesn’t have a sister.”
“Well, sorry to bend his wand, but he does now. A little brother, too. Apparently John got around in London about sixteen years ago.”
The man hung up.
Hung up. On Lea.
Harry winced at the look of shock that covered his twin’s face. It was quickly replaced by anger. Before she could attempt to call the person back, the mobile rang.
“Finally decide to listen?” Lea’s voice was sharp as she answered the phone.
“Say that John… fathered you and the other kid. What do you want?”
Harry flinched at his harsh tone. Why had they done this, again?
“Sam’s an adult, right? We just need him to sign some papers and we’ll be out of his hair.”
Harry still wasn’t sure how Lea had gotten Aunt Petunia to sign the papers. He knew that his aunt and uncle would gladly be rid of them, but they never did anything proper for Harry and Lea. He figured it would take an act of Parliament for them to sign and give them freedom.
“What kind of papers?” The man sounded suspicious, but he wasn’t rejecting them outright.
“We need a guardian on paper. Sam signs some documents for us and we never bother him again.”
There was another silence, this one even more tense than the last.
“How old are you, kid?”
“Fifteen. Now, can I talk to Sam?”
Well, they weren’t fifteen yet . But Harry supposed that was close enough.
“We’ll come to you. Where are you?”
The twins stared at one another for a moment before Harry nodded for her to answer.
“Kansas. Tell me where and when and we’ll meet you.”
“The Denny’s in Topeka. Two days, five o’clock.”
The line went dead before Lea could respond. She hung up the phone and turned to Harry.
“I don’t know what a Topeka is, but we should probably find a bloody map.”
Godric, Harry wouldn’t survive without her.
That had been two days ago. They found a map and realized that it wasn't as far as they feared. It would have been quicker if they had a car, but still it was only a couple hours and a couple buses. Harry had wanted to find someone that would drive them. Lea said that she didn’t ‘fancy getting kidnapped.’
Now, fifteen minutes before they’re supposed to meet their brother, they are being stalked by wizards.
Harry hadn’t really considered that he might be famous in America, too. They’d been walking from the bus station to the diner when he was recognized. Lea tried to cover for him, saying that his name was Henry Evans, not Harry Potter, but once his scar was spotted it was all over.
Now, hiding in an alley, Harry wishes that he’d bought a hat. He thought that his fringe was enough to cover the lightning like marks that stretch over his forehead, but apparently not. He struggles not to pout as he stands beside his sister as she peeks out of the alleyway.
“Okay, I think we finally lost them. Now, the Denny’s is across the street. Let’s just run and hope that I don’t have to confund the Americans.”
Harry barely has time to snort at her words before Lea’s hand locks around his wrist and tugs him forward. It’s only the past few years of quidditch training that keep him on his feet. She almost slings the door into the wall as they enter the diner, stumbling to a stop inside. Harry looks over Lea’s head (he’s still giddy that he’s the taller twin now) and scans the restaurant. Just as his eyes land on two blokes staring at them, his sister tugs him in that direction.
“Lea, we don’t know which one is Sam.” His words are hissed at her as he resists the urge to drag his feet so she’ll stop.
She glances back at him with an incredulous expression. “That guy looks just like you!” She rolls her eyes. “Come on, Harry.”
Harry’s lips twitch at the whine in her voice. They come to a stop at the table and Lea shoves him unceremoniously into one of the seats across from the two blokes. Harry finds himself facing the taller of the two. As he examines him, he decides that Lea is blind. They might have similar hair and eyes, but it’s not like Harry and the guy are twins. Lea plops into the chair next to him and gets right down to business.
She pulls the packet of papers from her bag and slaps them on the table. She looks at both men before settling her gaze on the shorter one. Harry suddenly realizes that the other man looks similar to Lea. They both do, actually.
“You’re supposed to be dead.” Her tone is factual as she stares at the green eyed man, eyebrow raised. Harry glances between them in confusion. Who does Lea think that guy is?
“You’re supposed to be fifteen.” The man crosses his arms over his chest as he leans back in his chair, eyeing both of them suspiciously.
Lea waves away his statement. “Fifteen, fourteen. There’s hardly a difference.” She turns her eyes to the one that sits across from Harry. “Now, I suppose you’re Sam, since this is Dean the dead man.”
She shoves the papers toward Sam as Harry stares at Dean with wide eyes. This was their dead, serial killer brother?
“Yeah, I am. Maybe you could tell us who you are?” Sam seems less hostile than Dean, not openly glaring at Lea in the way that makes Harry’s hair stand on end and his magic prickle his skin. Sam pulls the papers to him, beginning to read. Lea quickly hands him a pen before speaking.
“I’ve marked where we need your signature and initials and such. You sign and we’ll be gone.”
“He’s not signing anything until you tell us who you are.” Dean glares harder as he stares Lea down.
Harry’s sister returns his glare with her own angry gaze. Harry can practically feel her magic rising in irritation.
“Fine. I’m Lea Potter, this is my twin brother Harry. We’re fourteen, from Surrey, and ready to leave. Now, please sign. The. Damn. Papers.”
“Says here that your name is Azalea.” Sam’s tone is casual as he flips through the packet, yet to sign a single page.
Lea’s face reddens, from both anger and embarrassment, Harry is sure. He cuts in before Lea has a chance to break the Statue of Secrecy. “Yeah, mate, don’t call her that if you want to keep your limbs. Can you please just sign the papers? We promise not to bother you again.”
Harry places a firm hand on his twin’s shoulder as he speaks, silently pleading that she calms down. Lea has been on edge from the moment they left the Dursleys. Her mood only worsened when they found out that their surprise third parent was dead, too.
Dean leans forward. “Why should we believe anything you say? How are we supposed to know that our dad is your dad too?”
“Oh, I don’t know, probably a paternity test.” Lea snaps, shaking Harry’s hand off. “How are we supposed to know that you won’t kill us and add us to that string of murders that’s got you labeled a serial killer?”
Their oldest brother practically glowers as Sam answers for him. “That wasn’t Dean, that was a shift- some guy impersonating him.”
Sam finally looks up from the transfer of guardianship paperwork, setting down the pen without signing anything. Of course it couldn’t be easy for once.
“After a paternity test, I’ll consider signing.”
“Sammy!”
“What?!”
Dean and Lea shout their exclamations at the same time before glaring at each other once more. Harry can’t hold back a snort as he looks at them. Two sets of identical green eyes snap to him as they speak in tandem once more.
“What?”
Harry, again, can’t hold back his laugh as they growl at him in the exact same tone. “Oh- Oh my Godr-God.” He can hardly breathe through his chuckles.
After a few moments, he wipes his eyes before turning to Lea. She is leant back in her chair, arms crossed as she glares at him, brow raised.
“What?” She snaps again.
“Lea, he’s, you’re-” Harry takes another breath to keep from laughing at the identical expressions of aggravation on their faces. “He’s you! Or I suppose you’re him, since we’re younger. You’re just a short, red headed, female Dean.”
Lea and Dean glance at each other before both opening their mouths.
“Hell no.”
The two then stare in shock at their synced words before glaring again.
“Yeah, a paternity test is hardly necessary, but I want you two being Winchesters on paper before I sign anything.”
Harry turns his gaze back to Sam as he speaks, looking amusedly between Lea and Dean.
“We’re Potters.” Harry almost sighs as his sister snaps at their brothers again.
“Either way, you two can come back with us and we’ll get that test done.” Sam shrugs before sliding the papers and pen back to Lea.
“We’re not going anywhere without eating first.” Dean grumbles as he tries to flag down a waitress.
“We aren’t going anywhere with the two of you. Give us an address and we’ll meet you there. Better yet, just give us a call after the results come in and we’ll just meet you to sign the papers.” Lea has turned the full force of her glare on Sam now, gripping Harry’s hand tightly under the table. He knows that she’s preparing to bolt.
“How will you two even get there? How did you get here?” Sam doesn’t sound accusatory, just curious as he folds his hands.
“None of your business.” Lea snaps at the same time Harry speaks.
“Bus and plane.”
He ignores the sharp look Lea throws him.
“Well, it’ll be faster for you two to just ride with us.”
“You’re going to let these two grimy kids ride in my car?” Dean finally gives up on getting the attention of the waitress, turning to Sam with a frown instead.
Lea and Harry aren’t grimy. They just, well their clothes are old and torn so that’s probably what gave Dean that impression.
“You were a grimy kid that rode in the car, Dean.” Sam rolls his eyes with a shake of his head.
“It doesn’t matter because Harry and I aren’t riding with you.” It’s Harry’s turn to roll his eyes at his sibling this time. Lea is more stubborn than she has ever claimed Harry to be.
Dean grumbles before turning to look at her once more. At least he’s not outright glaring at her this time. “Look, kid. I get the whole ‘Stranger Danger’ and ‘I’m not riding with a serial killer,’ thing, I do. But we’re not going to let two kids hitchhike to South Dakota.”
Harry can feel her angry outburst before it happens. Lea stands, shoving her chair backwards as she snatches their documents off the table. “First, I’m not a kid. Second, just forget it. We’ll figure something else out.”
She turns to leave, looking at Harry pointedly. He glances nervously between her and their brothers. His hesitation causes Lea to stare at him incredulously before clenching her teeth and clearing her expression with a nod. “Harry, I’ll be outside. Do be quick before your stalkers come back.”
He winces as he watches his twin storm away. That’s going to be a great spat to have later.
“Damn.” He turns back to the two blokes, his brothers, with a sigh as Dean speaks.
“Sorry, Lea, well everyone said she inherited Mum’s temper.” Harry shrugs in apology as he looks at the bewildered expressions on the Winchesters’ faces.
“No, that was all Dad.” Sam’s voice is filled with surprise as he stares at the door Lea left through.
“You’re being stalked?” Dean’s voice is hard again as he stares at Harry intently.
“Er- well not exactly. Lea was overexaggerating. There were just a couple of blokes who wouldn’t leave us alone earlier.”
The two brothers continue to stare at him for a moment before Sam sighs and stands. “Come on, both of you.”
Harry and Dean both follow, though Harry swears that Dean mumbles something about burgers. He walks with Sam in front of him and Dean behind as they follow their sister out the door.
Except…
Lea isn’t outside waiting on Harry. Her backpack sits abandoned on the sidewalk, his twin nowhere in sight.
“sh*t.”
Harry agrees with Dean.
sh*te indeed.
-
Lea is a reasonable girl. Woman? Witch? Whatever. Anyway, she’s reasonable. She can understand Harry’s reluctance to leave the Winchesters. Their aunt, uncle, and cousin hate them, always have. It’s not hard to recognize that Harry might want to go with their new brothers. Especially since it's only ever been her and him, no one else. She gets it. Really.
But that doesn’t mean she has to like it.
It’s always been her and Harry. Even when they had Hermione and Ron, it still always comes back to depending on each other. So, hex her if she’s feeling a little hurt that Harry didn’t immediately follow her out of the diner.
Ugh.
She stands on the sidewalk outside, arms crossed as she taps her foot impatiently. Her backpack sits on the ground beside her, holding the papers that are burning a hole in her thoughts. Why couldn’t Sam just sign the damn thing?
They just need an adult to be their guardian on paper, one that would be hard to contest. A blood relation works best. There’s hardly one closer than a sibling. If Sam would sign then her and Harry could-could-
Well, she hasn’t thought that far yet, but they at least wouldn’t go back to the Dursleys. Lea would probably go to jail if they ever entered that house again, and Azkaban robes aren’t very flattering.
“There she is.” Lea’s head snaps to the side, gaze zeroing in on the man walking toward her. It’s one of the wizards from earlier. Surprisingly, he’s dressed like a muggle. His jeans, gray tee, and boots don’t make him look out of place compared to the attempts of dressing like a muggle she saw at the Quidditch World Cup last summer. He’s tall and dark, black hair cropped close to his head. Without the ridiculous cowboy hat he sported earlier, she can see his eyes and something about them is off. They shimmer in an unnatural way. “Little Miss Potter, all alone.”
She straightens, clenching her fists. Of course this is the perfect time for her wand to be tucked safely in her bag. “I told you, my name is Rose Evans. I don’t know who you’re looking for, but it’s not me.”
The man tilts his head to the side, looking her over with a smirk. “Maybe you’re not a Potter after all, then.” He inhales sharply. “No, you smell more like…” He laughs, as if in disbelief. “Mm, this might be even better.”
Lea takes a step back, alarm bells ringing in her head as the wizard stalks toward her. “Stay back!”
Before she can retreat further, she backs into something solid. A hand wraps around her throat before she can react, causing her to kick her legs frantically and claw the person as the hand squeezes, cutting off her airway.
The odd wizard finally reaches her, bringing a hand up to stroke the side of her face. He stares directly into her eyes with a crooked sort of smile. “No, definitely not a Potter.” Lea hardly has the strength to flinch away as he lowers his nose to her collar bone, sniffing her again. Her vision begins to go spotty. “You smell more like a Winchester.”
What has she gotten herself into now?
-
“So, what are the odds she went for a walk?”
Harry’s heart has yet to start beating again. Lea is nowhere in sight. Her backpack is on the ground. She just made a joke about stalkers. Lea is nowhere in sight.
When he realizes that his lungs are burning from lack of air, Harry takes a breath. He finally turns to Dean to answer his question. “She wouldn’t. Not when she told me that she would wait for me here. And especially not without her bag.”
“Damn it.” Dean groans, scrubbing down his face. He looks toward the sky for a moment before nodding. “Car. Now.”
Harry barely has time to snatch Lea’s bag from the ground before Dean is tugging him toward an older, black vehicle by the collar of his jumper. In any other circ*mstance, Harry would take a moment to admire the vehicle, but now is obviously not the time. He’s shoved into the back seat while his brothers slide into the front. Harry’s just being shoved by all his siblings tonight, isn’t he?
“The stalkers, what did they look like?”
Both Winchesters are turned in their seats, looking at Harry intently as they wait on his answer. “Well, er, there were two of them, both blokes. The taller one wore some odd hat that curled on the sides. I think Lea told me that it was a cow hat? She said that she’d seen it once when our uncle didn’t realize she could see the telly.”
“Cowboy hat.” Sam offers helpfully.
“Right, that. Well, the tall one was wearing that and had dark skin and eyes. He had on a denim jacket too, the nutter, as if it isn’t hot enough. The other had longer hair, blond and blue eyes. He was wearing long sleeves but had a scar that peeked out the end of his right arm.”
“Did anything seem off about them? Like their eyes or anything they said?” Sam urges while Dean turns forward, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
Harry hesitates. He can’t outright tell them about magic, can he? “No? I mean, they wouldn’t leave us alone but they just seemed like normal wi-blokes otherwise.”
There’s a few silent seconds before Dean sighs and cranks the car. “Of course we find the kid and immediately lose her.”
Technically, Lea found the Winchesters, but that might not be relevant at the moment. Harry sits quietly as they pull out of the parking lot, absently securing his seatbelt. How are they going to find Lea?
