Those whom I never met

The bad brother

Disclaimer stands strong!

Chapter 11

James Sirius Potter strolled down Diagon Alley. He headed back down to the ice cream parlour, after his prolonged adventure in Diagon Alley and a quick visit to Knockturn Alley, which was a lot scarier in 1995 than it had been in 2016, when he, Fred and Louis had sneaked out there only to be dragged out by their earlobes by their furious mothers. James hadn't even made it to Borgin & Burge's, when a scary looking hag had spooked him so much, he practically ran away.

No, it had not been his best idea to visit Knockturn Alley by himself and without a wand, but he was alive, and more the wiser. Now he was sure to bring Fred with him the next time.

James returned to the ice cream parlour, expecting to find his little brother dutifully waiting for him. When he could not find Albus, James gulped, and he felt cold shivers run through his body.

"Mum's going to kill me. Twice."

He did not, however, think much of his missing brother. James Sirius Potter, at the tender age of twelve, was not what his mother called 'considerate' towards others nor was he responsible. So naturally, it took him a while to fully comprehend that his little brother was missing in the year of 1995, alone and without a wand. And only then did it occur to him to seek help. And to panic a bit more, this time for Al's sake and not his own.

*****

Albus Severus Potter woke up in a large, comfortable bed. He soon found out that he could not move a muscle and, having suffered under James and his older cousins' reign, he recognised the effect of Petrificus Totalus immediately. Al began to panic. He was in a place he did not recognise, cursed and unable to move and apparently, someone had kidnapped him in broad daylight.

"Good, you're awake," said a voice near him, but Albus could not turn his head to see who had spoken. He felt the curse lift, but as soon as he rose up on the bed, ropes tied around him, pinning his arms against his torso. He saw  a woman with blonde hair and high cheekbones, and a boy roughly the age of fifteen, who looked so much like her he had to be her son. The woman spoke again, her voice cold and calculating.

"Now, I have some questions for you, boy."

*****

When James finally made his way back to Grimmauld Place, after searching for Al for an hour in hope of avoiding the trouble he was in, he was prepared to face the wrath of his grandmother and parents. The one he did not remember to fear was Lily.

"You idiot! How stupid can you be, leaving him there alone? Just wait until Mummy and Daddy hear about this, you'll suffer so much James Sirius Potter! And when we find Al, I will personally seal the Unbreakable Vow between you two so that you'll be his slave for at least a month. You're supposed to be the big brother, how could you..." Then Lily, the fierce and cunning little Lily, burst into tears and ran upstairs, a door slamming shut loudly a second later.

James felt horrible. He was used to being a disappointment to his parents, but Lily... he was supposed to be her hero. He was her oldest brother, and now she couldn't even look at him. And he had let Al down too. He was so used to Al just following after him, not really standing up for himself when James teased him, the golden boy of their family, the only one with Gran Lily's eyes and the one who looked just as much like their Dad as their Dad looked like Grandpa James. 

*****

Al looked at the woman and the boy.

"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me? What do you want?"

The woman smiled at him, while the boy sneered.

"My name is Narcissa and this is my son, Draco."

The names rang a bell.
"Malfoy?" The woman nodded.
"What do you want?" Al was on his guard, he knew enough of the Malfoys from his dad's stories. At least, how the Malfoys were during the war.

"Well, I was shopping with my son for his school supplies, when we bumped into you. I could not believe my eyes, because you look so much like another boy we know. So naturally, we had to take you, you see. There is no way that the resemblance between you two is a coincidence. And I need to know what is happening. So..." She took a small vial from a table beside her, and with the help of her son, she forced the liquid into Al's mouth and made him swallow it, pouring water into his mouth just to make sure it all went down.

"That liquid contained Veritaserum, enough of it to make you talk. So tell me, my dear, what is your name?"

Al tried to resist but the urge to tell the truth was too strong.

"Albus." He spat out. The woman laughed.
"Ah, I see I need to be precise with you. What is your full name, dear?"

"Albus Severus Potter."

He watched with great delight as the Malfoys stiffened and shared a look.

*****

While Albus was being interrogated, James was trying to hear what the adults were discussing.

They would not let him in, as they were having an emergency meeting about Albus, which seemed stupid to James. It was his brother they were talking about, after all. A big knot twisted in James' stomach. His brother, whom he had abandoned and who was now missing because of that. He would not blame his mum if she decided to skin him alive and use it for a tapestry. At least, not much.

James went back upstairs, where all the others who were not allowed into the meeting were procrastinating, all except for Hermione of course.

They waited, and waited.

The twins got bored and decided to blow something up. Well, at least they now knew where Roxy's tendency to blow things up came from. Lily still refused to speak to him, and continued to ignore him. James felt even more terrible.

Finally, Ted came in with Sirius. They had serious looks on their faces.

"We are going to look for Al, but... It's not looking good, guys. We have no leads, only that he disappeared on Diagon Alley. That is not lot to go on with." Sirius said.

"But you're the Order! You have to find him! He's my brother!" James yelled at them.

"We'll do everything we can, trust me James." It seemed a bit hard for Sirius to call James by his name. He flinched a bit every time he did.

Teddy hugged him, and James hugged him back tightly.

"It's all my fault. I was the one to drag him to Diagon Alley, and I was the one who left him." He cried against his big brother's shoulder, and felt other people coming to hug him too. His teenaged parents hugged him tightly, comforting him as best as they could.

"Come here, Lils," James said to his sister, who was on the verge of tears. Lily rushed into his arms, and for a while, the Potters of the future embraced each other, wishing their missing part back with them safe and sound.

*****

After the Malfoys recovered from the shock Al had caused, Narcissa turned back to him.

"Albus Severus Potter," she dragged the words, as if testing how they sounded.

"And what, my dear Albus, is your relationship to Harry Potter?"

"He's my dad," came out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Albus paled. Narcissa's eyes widened and her mouth curved into a smile.

"It seems we do indeed have a lot to talk about, Albus Potter."

Here it is! Let me know what you think about this one by voting and commenting, they all mean a lot to me!