I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Harry Potter

Two days. It had only been two days since Charlus Potter, Charlie to his friends, had seen Voldemort return. Two days since he had been forced to participate in his rebirthing ritual. One day since he had told Harry through their mirrors. Charlie was almost more scared of his twin's reaction than he was of Voldemort himself.

Charlie sighed quietly as Dumbledore continued his speech about choosing between doing what's right and what's easy. What empty words. Protecting Harry when they were children would have been right. Abandoning him and never once, in almost ten years, checking up on him was easy. He should really just stick to his usual end of the year tripe and have done with it.

Charlie was sitting, as he always did, at the seat at the Gryffindor table closest to the staff table, with Hermione sitting directly across from him and Ron on her left. Neville was sitting on Harry's right, though he didn't quite know why. Why not sit with his girlfriend? He and Charlie weren't particularly close, even after sharing a room for six years. Unless the two had broken up? Charlie had thought that Ginny was had been looking rather unhappy the past few weeks.

Ah well. None of his business, really. He was more concerned with what Harry would do about Voldemort's return, for Charlie had no doubt that he would do something, and the fact that he had been unable to contact his brother ever since Harry had cut off their conversation the previous day did nothing to make Charlie feel better.

He could feel his parents' concerned gazes on him, but he paid them no heed. Not because he disliked them, but because he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to pay any attention to them. And besides, if either of them wanted to talk to him, they could do it whenever they wanted. It's not like they didn't teach at the school; anything they might have wanted to say about Voldemort's return could have been said at any point the previous day.

While Charlie Potter sat in silence, Harry Potter was storming up the path to Hogwarts castle, closely followed by a girl his own age with black hair going about halfway down her back and brown eyes the colour of coffee. She had tan skin and was about three inches shorter than Harry, who was himself only five-six. "I'm telling you, Harry," she said as she hurried to keep up with him, "Charlie can take care of himself."

Harry stopped walking and turned to face her. "He's my brother, Cal. I won't let him face this alone."

"I'm not suggesting that you do," she replied soothingly, taking his hand in hers. "I'm just saying that storming into the Great Hall probably isn't a good idea. What do you always say?"

Harry sighed. "Think before acting."

"And what are you doing?"

"Acting before thinking. I know Calliope, but I want to do this."

"You want to face them? James and Lily and Dumbledore? Harry, you've done everything you could to avoid them ever since you . . ."

"I know, Calliope," he repeated softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he did. "But I need to face them sometime. It might as well be now."

The girl, Calliope, sighed and pulled Harry into a hug. "Just don't say anything you'll regret."

Harry stroked her hair as he answered. "I don't think I can. But I'll try to not be too extreme, alright?"

"I was afraid of that. But it's the best I'm getting, isn't it?" she asked, speaking into his chest.

"Sorry, love," Harry smiled.

The two held each other for another moment before setting off again, this time at a much more relaxed pace. "How do you want to do this?" Calliope asked once they had reached the front doors.

Harry stopped and turned to face her. "How about I act like I was before? I can march up to Charlie and act like the typical overprotective older brother-"

"Act?"

Harry smiled and kissed the top of her head, but otherwise acted as if he hadn't heard her. "-and I can deal with James and Lily when they try to talk to me."

"And Dumbledore?"

"Can't get a read on him. We'll just have to wait and see." Harry took a deep breath. "Ready?"

Calliope nodded, so he pushed both doors open and stepped in through the middle. He strode purposefully through the Entrance Hall, which was large but empty, straight to the double doors of the Great Hall, where he repeated his performance at the front doors.

Dumbledore stopped talking abruptly when the doors opened. Harry paid him no mind as his eyes swept the hall until they landed on his brother, sitting at the far edge of the table furthest to the right. Harry stormed over to Charlie, forcing himself to look annoyed. After having seen James, Lily, and Dumbledore, it wasn't very hard.

"Identify yourself!" Dumbledore called, which Harry completely disregarded.

"Arm," he said when he reached Charlie, who gulped slightly and tried for an innocent smile.

"Sorry?" he asked. "There's nothing-"

Harry abruptly grabbed his brother's left arm and lifted the sleeve, revealing a scar running down the forearm. "Who?" He leaned forward very slightly and whispered, so that only Charlie could hear him, "just play along." The two glared at each other for a moment, no one else in the Hall moving or speaking (except for Calliope, who was hurrying up to the two brothers and looking reproachful).

Charlie sighed. "Crouch Jr. Happy now?"

"Not until he's dead," Harry snarled venomously. "No one fucks with my little brother."

At this, there was a collective gasp followed by a deafening silence before Lily Potter stood shakily, tears in her eyes. "Harry?" she asked, sounding more hopeful than anyone there had ever heard her.

Harry's eyes flicked over to her for the briefest of moments before returning to his twin's. "C'mon. You're telling me everything." Harry lifted Charlie by the elbow of his left arm, which he still hadn't relinquished, and began to drag him towards the Entrance Hall, Charlie muttering darkly about stupid older brothers.

"Ehem," Calliope said, standing in front of the doors with her arms crossed.

"Hey, Cal," Charlie said dejectedly. "What're you doing here?"

"Trying to keep this idiot from doing exactly what he's doing," she sighed resignedly.

Harry glared at Calliope, who glared right back, as the rest of the Hall's occupants struggled to process what they were seeing and hearing. James and Lily Potter rushed over to the three teenagers standing by the doors. Charlie didn't notice either of them (and Harry and Calliope simply refused to acknowledge them) until Lily tried to pull Harry into a hug from behind.

Harry dropped Charlie's arm and spun away, drawing his wand as he did. "Don't touch me!" he hissed, no longer acting: his fury with his so-called parents was completely genuine.

Lily recoiled as though Harry had struck her, her eyes welling up with tears again. James watched, confused, before leveling his wand at Harry. "Don't talk to her like that!" he snapped.

Charlie grabbed his wrist and lowered his arm, frowning at his father. "Perhaps," Dumbledore said from his spot at the high table, "this is a conversation best held in private?"

Harry nodded indifferently and walked over to the Entrance Hall. As he reached her, Calliope turned on her heels and fell into step with him. Charlie shrugged at his parents and followed the other two. James and Lily exchanged a look before hurrying after them, James closing and locking the door behind him.

Lily absentmindedly cast a few privacy charms around them before she turned to Harry, looking as though she was only keeping herself from launching herself at him with great effort. Harry stood with his left hand on his hip while his right loosely gripped his wand. Calliope stood right next to him, also holding her wand.

James and Lily were standing right next to each other, directly in front of the doors to the Great Hall, putting them about five feet away from Harry and Calliope. Charlie, meanwhile, stood about halfway between the two couples, looking distinctly terrified.

"Well," Harry asked, breaking the tense silence, "what do you want?"

"How dare-" James began heatedly before Harry cut him off.

"How dare I be so rude to my own parents? I don't know, James, how dare my own parents dump me on the doorstep of an abusive household and never bother to check up on me once in the ten years I spent there? I think the better question is how dare you? How dare you consider yourselves my parents after that? How dare you even do it? How dare you justify it to yourselves? How dare you speak to me after it? Fuck, how dare you even look at me?!"

Harry was breathing hard by the end of his rant, now clutching his wand as though preparing for a fight, which he might well have been. Calliope tucked her own wand into its holster, which was attached to her wrist, and stepped behind Harry, wrapping her arms around him. He visibly relaxed, leaning into her touch, eliciting a small chuckle from a very relieved Charlie.

"Anything else?" Harry asked tonelessly, reaching up with his left arm to grab one of Calliope's.

Lily tore herself away from the interaction, which she had become transfixed watching, and spoke up. "Where were you? We looked everywhere for you when you didn't reply to your Hogwarts letters!"

"Evidently you didn't," Harry replied, still keeping his voice even, though he was struggling mightily to do it. "I was at another magic school. A better one, in fact. If you'd actually looked, you'd have found me in second. Hell, I wasn't even registered under a pseudonym! And why the fuck didn't you look for me before then? Why leave me with them at all?!"

"It was for your own protection!" Lily cried, tears welling up once again. "Albus said that you would be a target if you lived with us! Please, Son-"

"Don't you dare call me that!" Harry screamed, face contorted in rage. "I was beaten and worked like a slave because of you! The Dursleys hated me more than anything! I didn't even know my own name until I started school! The teacher had to call it four times because the only thing I had ever been called for as long as I could remember was 'freak!' And even then, I only knew to answer because Dudley told me to!"

Calliope tightened her hold on him, whispering words of comfort to him, and he responded by tightening his own hold on her arm.

"They made me live in the cupboard under the stairs. Sometimes they wouldn't let me out for weeks at a time. I cooked all the meals and wasn't allowed to eat anything more than what was needed to keep me alive. If I hadn't been a wizard, if my own magic hadn't healed the damage to my body, I would have died fifty times over from the beatings Vernon gave me, not to mention the malnourishment."

Harry eyed them coldly for a moment before: "never refer to yourselves as my parents, nor me as your son, ever again."

Neither James nor Lily spoke, both having been stunned into silence. Charlie, who had already heard all of this from Harry before, was watching his older brother sadly. Harry and Calliope just stood there, silently taking comfort in each others' presences.

"Anything you have to say for yourselves?" Harry asked when he could trust himself to speak again.

James was the first to recover. "We," he gulped nervously, "we have some questions, Harry, if that's alright?"

"Don't patronise me," Harry replied tonelessly. "And ask your damn questions."

"Where have you been all this time?" Lily asked again.

Harry sighed and gave Calliope's arm a light squeeze. She let go of him and he took a step back so that they were standing next to each other again, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Like I said, I was at school."

"Where, though?" James asked impatiently.

"Watch your tone, James. I have no reason to answer your questions other than the fact that I want to. Don't make me change my mind. As for where I was specifically, I was at Durmstrang."

Lily's mouth dropped open and James gave an indignant shout. "No son of mine-"

Harry dropped the arm he had draped around Calliope's shoulders and turned on his heel. "We'll be in touch, Charlie," he said as he began walking to the front doors, which were still open from when he and Calliope had entered the school.

"Wait!" Lily called desperately after him. Harry stopped, but didn't turn. "We're sorry! We won't do it again! Just- please stay."

Harry sighed and turned, walking back to where he had been previously. "Yes, I was educated at Durmstrang Academy for the past six years. What of it?"

"They teach Dark magic!"

"I'm not having this. fucking. conversation. Either move on to a point worth discussing or stop wasting our time."

"How did you end up at Durmstrang?" Lily asked before James could respond.

"Calliope's parents told me about it when I showed them my Hogwarts letter. They told me about how it differed from Hogwarts, and I elected to enroll there, instead."

"Can you tell us who she is? And how you two know each other?"

Harry heaved a great sigh and mimicked Calliope's earlier actions, stepping behind and wrapping his arms around her. "Calliope Sanna. Her family moved into the house across the street from the one you left me in when we were eight, and she enrolled in my school. She was my first friend since she was the only person Dudley couldn't intimidate into antagonising or ignoring me. When I got my Hogwarts letter, I eventually figured out that she was a witch, and after I showed it to her, her parents told me about Durmstrang. I've spent all of my holidays with them ever since."

"What's your relationship, exactly?" James asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Harry and Calliope, speaking in unison, replied, "we're engaged."

Lily's eyes began to water yet again, though James glared at Calliope. "Have you set a date?" the former asked tearfully.

Harry's face shifted into a contented smile as he spoke. "The winter solstice."

"You never told me that!" Charlie exclaimed, slightly annoyed.

"Well we only just agreed three days ago," Harry replied defensively. "I couldn't get ahold of you until you called me yesterday, and what with Voldemort's rebirth and all . . ."

"You two have been in contact?" Lily asked, shocked that Charlie would keep such a secret from her and James.

"Since I started Durmstrang," Harry replied, grinning at Charlie. "Although we didn't meet in person until the Quidditch World Cup three years ago."

"We'd've noticed," James said dismissively.

"Your over inflated sense of self worth never ceases to amaze and disgust me, James," Harry replied tonelessly. Calliope chuckled, earning her a death glare from James that she completely ignored. "Obviously I was in disguise."

"How'd you even get tickets, then?" James asked, still not seeming to believe Harry.

"We told you at the time," Calliope spoke up, finally entering into the conversation. "We're friends of Victor's; he got us tickets."

Lily's eyes widened in shock. "I remember you! You introduced yourselves as Harry and Janet!"

"I just wanted to see your reaction to meeting someone with the same name as your supposedly missing son. I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed," Harry said dispassionately. "I'd expected some visible reaction, but I suppose that any parent who would completely abandon their child like that probably wouldn't be overly bothered by a reminder of their having done so."

"Don't you dare-" James began furiously before Harry cut him off.

"It's fascinating that you keep doing that: you get angry every time I make any reference to what you two did to me, almost like you think that I haven't got a right to be angry about it. I assure you, James, that were our positions reversed, you would make everything I've said look like a polite handshake and a request for a reconciliation."

"He's right, of course," Calliope added. "You recognise that, don't you, Mrs Potter? You understand that my fiance has every right and reason to despise you two?"

"How dare-" James snarled before Harry interrupted him yet again.

"Lily, either make him behave or make him leave. Any other questions?"

"If you knew he was safe, why didn't you tell us?" James asked Charlie accusingly.

"He asked me not to," Charlie replied, shrugging as he did. "The first time he ever wrote me, he just assured me that it wasn't a hoax and that he had a valid reason for not wanting either of you to know, which I would find out about over time. I didn't know all of what he went through for the longest time, he'd only tell me about it in little pieces; it's the only reason I can stand either of you.

"Harry's told me a million times not to ruin any of my relationships, particularly not with either of you, over him, and I kind of see his point: even if you were terrible to him, you were pretty good parents to me, and he refused to get in the way of that."

This pronouncement was met with a deafening silence, which Harry filled after almost a full minute. "Don't look so bloody shocked. He's my little brother, why the hell would I let myself come between you? He deserves to have parents, just like anyone."

"Well said, dear," Calliope smiled.

"Thank you, love," Harry replied, kissing the top of her head.

James, who had turned slightly green watching Harry interact with Calliope, sneered at him. "How noble of you."

"James!" Lily gasped, genuinely shocked at his behavior.

"It amazes me that he actually believes that he has the moral high ground here," Calliope said, speaking mostly to Harry.

"It's weird," Harry agreed, eying James with something that looked like scientific interest. Pulling himself together, Harry turned to address Lily, whom he had long since decided was far less unreasonable than her husband. "Well, that's about all I can stomach for today. Calliope and I are transferring to Hogwarts next term, so I expect we'll see rather more of each other than I'm even remotely comfortable with, Professor.

"Oh, and speaking of nobility, James, there's no need to officially disown me: I've already been down to Gringotts to get that process started; the goblins have timed it so that it'll be completed the morning before Calliope and I marry.

"See you, Charlie," Harry said, turning back to his brother.

"Yeah, see you," Charlie replied, frowning slightly. That Harry and Calliope intended to transfer to Hogwarts was news to him, news that he found somewhat foreboding. "Look after him, will you, Cal?"

"Someone has to," Calliope said, smiling despite the nature of their discussion.

With that, Harry and Calliope turned and left, closing the doors behind them. The second the doors were fully closed, Harry slumped against them, sliding into a sitting position.

"You alright?" Calliope asked, concern evident in her expression and tone.

"I will be," Harry said slowly. "It's just . . . hard . . . dealing with them, you know? Especially James; at least Lily has the decency to be ashamed of herself, but he acts like he's done nothing wrong."

"C'mon, Harry. Let's go home," Calliope said, offering him a hand, which he took gratefully.

"Yeah. Home." And with that, the two of them set off.

AN: This was originally meant as the start of a much longer series, but I just had so much on my plate that I decided to leave it a one-shot for the time being. I've had this chapter finished for over a month now, but I didn't want to post it until I had some concrete plans for it. Well, I now have concrete plans: wait and see. At this moment, my attention is divided between four other stories, all of which will require a lot of time dedicated to them, so if I do ever wind up coming back to this, it'll be in a few years.

With that out of the way, there's a few things I want to address that will become clear over the course of the story if I choose to continue it but are left ambiguous (and really shouldn't be) until I do so: Harry and Charlie are identical twins with Harry being older by about twenty minutes, James' behavior is mostly him lashing out because he doesn't really know how to handle the situation and feels incredibly guilty but doesn't know how to deal with said guilt, Dumbledore assumed that Charlie would be super powerful (since he was The Boy Who Lived and all that) and could hold his own, but decided that Harry was too weak to deal with any potential attacks and that he would be safer with the Dursleys, and this takes place in an AU where Voldemort used a very different overly-complicated plot to kidnap The Potter Brat at the end of his sixth year so as to use his blood in a rebirthing . . . ceremony . . . ritual . . . thing.

As for the image, I couldn't find any fanart of Harry and a twin (let alone an identical one) whatsoever (which kind of surprised me, to be perfectly honest), so I used some of Fred and George, instead, figuring that they were close enough. If anyone knows of any, please let me know via a review or PM! Also, to address the reason why this isn't listed as a Harry/OC story in the characters section despite Harry being engaged to an OC: the OC up there refers to Charlie, not to Calliope. Yeah, she's important to the story and all, but the relationships I really wanted to focus on were the ones between the Potters, so I figured it made more sense to leave the story as Harry and OC, rather than [Harry and OC]. I think that's everything, but I might wind up adding to this AN in the future. Either way, thanks for reading! Duke out!

PS: To clear up several potential points of confusion at once, I have a pretty decent idea of where I want this story to go, so I write about it as though it has certain aspects that it doesn't yet, but will in future. In particular, I mention in the description that "Ron will not be treated kindly in this story," and yet, Ron has yet to say or do anything. The reason for that is that when Ron does appear, it'll be as someone who has yet to get over his jealousy, and thus resents the fact that two people whom he regards as random strangers pop up out of nowhere and start monopolising his best friend's time.