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OTTO MARLOWE LOVED HIS SISTER MORE THAN ANYTHING, SHE WAS PRACTICALLY HIS SECOND MOTHER. First year was difficult for the young boy, he wanted to be sorted into Hufflepuuff, just like his sister, but instead the sorting hat sent him to Gryffindor, which he didn't understand why. Otto didn't particuarly see himself as brave, nor fierce, but the sorting hat saw something in Otto that he didn't see in himself.
The young boy hadn't really thought too much into it when she told him she was pregnant, but he had thought into it when he saw Diana and James Potter talking.
James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were well-known across the Gryffindor house, as well as Hogwarts. Otto had looked up to James Potter since the day he was assigned to the house; the Potter lad didn't know Otto, and why would he, Otto was in first year and he was in seventh; the two didn't exactly mix, but he always smiled at the youngster when he saw him. Otto couldn't help but admire the seventh year; he felt he was cool, he liked the pranks he performed, he liked his confidence, and he liked the fact that he had a close circle of friends; he was everything Otto wished to be when he grew up.
And his sister was now dating him? Well, he assumed she was. Otto couldn't help but think that they were looking at each other lovingly the day Otto had left them to talk, the way Otto had seen a picture of his mum and dad looking at each other in school, so surely they had to be dating, only people who were dating would look at each other like that, that's what his mum had told him when she gave him the photos of his parents.
Otto was curious, he decided he needed to ask, but he didn't want to make his sister uncomfortable with the question, so he needed to ask the next best person, James Potter. Otto was a Gryffindor, born with courage in his blood, he just needed to find it.
The young boy knew exactly where to find the marauders, and most importantly with James Potter. They were most likely with his sister, something Otto once again found confusing, she had never mentioned them before to him or his mother when back home from the holidays. Diana usually told them everything about her year, the friends she made, what she did, there were no secrets, but it was somehow all very confusing to him, had they all of a sudden become friends to the point that they followed him around?
Walking into his common room, he found the marauders sat on the sofa in front of the fire, however, Diana was not there, he guessed she was either in class or with one of her friends. Otto felt nervous as he walked over to the sofa, none of the marauders had noticed him yet, he wasn't sure what to exactly do when stood infront of them.
"Excuse me," he said shyly, as the four boys turned to look at him, he couldn't help but feel more intimidated than ever.
James was the only one to recognise him, he smiled at the boy whose cheeks had turned red. "Hey buddy, Otto right? Diana has told me a lot about you."
Otto began playing with his hands, and the boys noticed his nervousness, Remus smiled at the boy, noticing himself as a young boy in Otto.
"Y-yeah i'm Otto, nice to meet you." Diana had told James how Otto looked up to him and the other boys and couldn't help but feel a sense of protectiveness over Otto, especially since he was Diana's brother and important to her, which meant he was important to him, he couldn't help but feel like wanting to take Otto under his wing when seeing how shy Otto acted around others.
"Do you wanna come sit down with us, mate? You don't have to be nervous around us." Sirius said to him, giving him a encouraging smile as Otto just nodded, murmuring a "thank you" before sitting down on the sofa next to James.
"So, Otto, how are you liking Hogwarts so far?" Remus asked, trying to make the boy more comfortable by getting him into a conversation.
Otto sighed, "it's okay, I like the castle and quidditch of course, but I find it difficult to make friends, i-i think people think i'm weird." He said as James raised his eyebrow, feeling bad for the young boy.
"Why would they think you're weird, Otto?"
"I don't talk a lot, I get nervous, i'm not like you guys, you're so confident, I don't think I could ever be like that. DiDi tells me to find the Gryffindor spirit deep inside me and to just be myself, but I don't think i've found that just yet." All the four boys looked at each other, they knew how it felt, they had been first years once too, it took a while for them to get out of their shells.
"Well worry no longer, we're your friends now, and we're going to help you come more out your shell, anything you need come to us. You can even join in on our pranks if you want and help us with Quidditch, Diana told us how much you love it, we'll get you flying good in no time." James said as the others nodded, already liking the young boy as he began smiling from ear to ear, not quite sure what to say.
"Thank's Mr Potter!"
"Mr Potter is my dad, you can call me James, we're all friends Otto, you don't have to be so formal." James and the others laughed, they weren't use to being called such formal names, but the young boy was so sweet it couldn't help but melt their hearts slightly.
"H-how did you all become such friends with DiDi, she never mentioned you guys before." He asked, as James scratched the back of his head.
"Well you see Otto, James and your sister decided to slee-" Sirius got cut off with a slap on the back of the head by James, not wanting to Sirius finish his sentence.
"Why don't I talk to Otto about this privately, ey?" James said, eyeing Sirius, telling him basically to get lost before he says something that Otto didn't need to hear.
"Alright, alright I get it." Sirius said smirking, "c'mon moony, wormy, we know where we're not needed." Remus rolled his eyes at his friend, "you and your massive gob, Sirius. Nice to meet you, Otto, we're always around if you need anything, just don't go to Sirius."
"Hey!" Sirius said to Remus, mock offended. "Come to me if you need any advice on girl," he said winking at Otto, "he's eleven." Remus rolled his eyes, pushing Sirius and Peter out the common room as Sirius shrugged, not knowing what the problem was.
James chuckled, "sorry about them, they mean well."
"Do you love my sister?" Otto said, trying to get straight to the point as James looked shocked, not quite knowing where the question as come from.
James was stumped as to how to respond to an eleven-year-old's query. James had always been taught as a child that having a kid was between two people who loved one other and were usually married. How can you explain that you don't love each other, but you like each other, and that you're friends despite having a one-night stand? It was difficult to explain to anyone, let alone a child.
"Oh Otto, I-i don't think we love each other, we're friends, your sister is a wonderful person." James told him, as Otto just nodded.
"She told me she was having a baby," Otto whispered, not looking at James but instead at his lap. "Are you the dad?"
James gulped, nervously. He didn't know why he was so nervous to answer the question, "Yeah, I am, but you can't tell anyone Otto, Diana doesn't want anyone to know yet."
Otto nodded, he wouldn't tell anyone, he would never share his sisters secrets. "My dad died just after I was born, I never knew him. DiDi and mum said that he'd love me so much if he was here, but he's not here is he, so how would they know?" Otto shrugged, as James put his hands on the young boys shoulder sympathetically. "I just wanted to ask if you were the dad because I wanted to tell you to look after the baby. It sucks not having a dad to look after you, to teach you quidditch, to talk to. Me and Diana would know, she says it doesn't bother her, but I know it does, I just didn't want her baby to feel the same way."
"I'm not leaving, Otto, they're everything to me, i'll be there every step of the way." Otto Marlowe was wise just like his sister, and in that moment, James Potter understood why she loved and was so protective over her little brother.
James Potter made a promise to Otto that day, that he would look after the baby, Diana and the young boy until his dying day. They were his family now, and Potter's never turned their backs on family, blood or not.
