AN: Hi! Here is the start of my new story. It is another one of those Harry has a brother who is the boy who lived-story that a lot of people get the urge to write. I hope you like it!

The Hardships of Family

Harry Potter was lying on his back on his new broom, a Nimbus 2000, and watching the clear blue sky with the occasional thin cloud. It had been a birthday present from his godfather, his only birthday present in fact since his parents hadn't even noticed he had a birthday. All their focus had been on his little spoiled brother David, The-Boy-Who-Lived and their oldest was all but forgotten. It had been that way ever since the Dark Lord Voldemort had tried to kill his brother and somehow gotten destroyed himself in the process on Halloween ten years ago David had been celebrated as The-Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the wizard world and pride of the Potters. Harry had also been in the room but he had only been four at the time and he couldn't remember it. Apparently, Dumbledore had known who the wizard world's savior was by the lightning bolt scar on David's forehead. Since, Harry had been forced to take care of himself and been neglected by his parents as all their focus was on David until they got a daughter, Désirée. Harry was happy that Daisy wasn't neglected as he was but it also saddened him. It showed that his parents were capable of dividing their attention from The-Boy-Who-Lived but still they neglected Harry.

Harry thought that he had gotten over it but it still hurt to not be noticed by your parents. The only one who had remembered him aside from Sirius was his adorable little sister Désirée and she had showered him in hugs and sloppy kisses as well as drawn a picture of him flying on his broom since she was not old enough to buy a present, nor did he ever expect her to. She would always be his cute little sister and the only one in his family that he actually cared about.

Cruising in the sky Harry thought about his life. He never felt as alive as he did when he was flying and he was yearning for his fourth year at Hogwarts so that he could go back and play Quidditch once again.

He was often asked why he was a chaser and if he didn't want to be a seeker instead. There has always been this craze about seekers but Harry didn't understand it. The position seeker was not a team position. All the other positions, chaser, keeper and beater required teamwork but the seeker was barely a part of the game. That was the weakness of Quidditch. No matter how bad a team was, if they had a good enough seeker they could win nearly every game. The seeker earned 150 points for catching the snitch which, in Harry's opinion, was far too much for a far too easy job. If Harry had it his way the position seeker in Quidditch would be removed and Quidditch would be played more like the muggle game of football with a time limit. It would make for a much more interesting game. The seekers could have their own sport, chasing that lame little ball. Nevertheless, Harry knew that trying to remove the seeker position would require a lot of work as well as meet a lot of opposition so he couldn't really be bothered. Instead he would just show everybody that he would win every game without depending on the seeker of his team.

He turned around on his broom and soared smoothly to his home, if he could call it that. His true home ever since he was eleven had been Hogwarts. Either way he landed outside the dining room. When he peered in through the window he saw his whole family sitting there and eating, the last family dinner before David went to Hogwarts for his first time. A plate had not been laid out for Harry, nor did he expect one to. His father, James, was gesturing heavily with his arms and David was trying, in vain, to contain his laughter. It was, in short, a glance into the life of a perfect family, almost.

Harry shrugged and went in through the kitchen door and slammed it behind him, not bothering to hide his coming from his family. He then proceeded to cook himself an easy meal of eggs and bacon. The noise had interrupted the family's dinner but after a moment of silence they quickly returned to their moment of a jolly good time.

A little pissed, Harry took his plate with him and walked through the diner up to his room, ignoring and getting ignored as he passed the diner. Only Daisy looked at him with her big hazel eyes as he walked past but she didn't say anything.

Once inside his room he flicked his hand and the door closed behind him. He ate quickly and then got to bed, not caring how early it was. Tomorrow he would finally go back to Hogwarts where he had a life. Where he felt home.

.

Harry woke with a groan. Somehow, his little sister had gotten into his room despite him locking it with magic yesterday and now she was jumping on him. She had beautiful scarlet hair and hazel eyes big as teacups. Her waking him up by jumping on him hadn't been so bad before, when she was smaller, but now she was eight and growing rapidly. He responded to her jumping by smiling and sitting up. Then he grabbed her under the arms and lifted her off the bed, much to her delight.

"Harry! Harry! We are going to King's Cross in an hour! Let's go!" She squealed.

She saw how his smile fell but he instantly put it on again, although a little more strained.

"Alright, alright. Could you leave so I could get dressed?"

Nodding, she skipped out the door and called to David who was busy packing his trunk by the sounds of it. Harry, having packed his trunk weeks ago after Sirius had taken him to Diagon Alley on his birthday was already finished. He went down to eat some breakfast, once again, eggs and bacon. Although he had basically taken care of himself since he was four and could cook quite a variety of dishes it wasn't the most important thing on his mind.

After he ate he went up to his room again and waited, trying to meditate like monks he had seen in muggle movies since he had nothing to do. Once it was time to leave he heard a small knock on his door and once again Daisy entered his room.

"Aren't you coming, Harry?" She asked with wide eyes.

"I'll be right there," Harry answered. "You go first."

"Daisy, baby! We need to go or we'll be late!" Lily shouted from downstairs.

The cute little girl gave him a quick hug which he returned before skipping down to her mother.

"Mommy, what about Harry?"

Harry groaned inwardly.

"Harry?" Lily answered, confused, before James called upon them.

"Lily, what are we waiting for? Come on, let's go!"

"Right. Come now, Daisy."

"But, Harr.." and they were gone.

Harry went downstairs with his trunk and took out his mirror to call Sirius but it was unnecessary as Sirius was already there, in the kitchen.

"You ready, pup?" He asked simply, eyeing him up and down, to which Harry simply nodded and they apparated to King's Cross. Without Sirius he wasn't sure if he would have been able to get to and from Hogwarts ever since he started. It wasn't his parents who he had shown his letter from Hogwarts but it was Sirius. It was also Sirius who had taken him to Diagon Alley. During his childhood and the summers since he began school Harry had spent a lot of time at Sirius place. They never spoke of why he spent so much time with Sirius; it was more like an unspoken agreement between them and Harry knew that Sirius understood. Sirius had simply been there for him and thus he had played a big part in Harry's upbringing. Although Harry looked a lot like his father except a few features like he didn't wear glasses and his hair wasn't as tousled, his personality was much more like Sirius, playful and charming. Not that he got to show it much at home.

Once they were at King's Cross Harry hurried onto platform 9 ¾ with Sirius hot on his heels. He wanted to get on early so he could find a compartment all to himself. Despite going to bed early the evening before he was still tired. He gave Sirius a quick goodbye hug and thanks for bringing him there and climbed onto train. He found an empty compartment almost immediately and sat at the window, looking out on the station bustling with noisy people saying their goodbyes.

After a short while he witnessed a meeting he had hoped to avoid.

"Sirius!" His father exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Harry could see Sirius shooting a glance towards his compartment and he shrank down a little in his seat, hoping not to be seen through the window.

"I was bringing your son here so he could go to Hogwarts." Sirius hissed through clenched teeth and James almost recoiled at the venom in his friend's voice.

"David?" He asked confused, but he and Lily had brought David here.

It was like a punch straight to his heart. Harry fought the urge to not cry. He hadn't cried all summer and Merlin be damned he would not cry now, when he would soon be home and all would be well.

"No, James," Sirius began dangerously. "Your other son, Harry." As realization dawned on James face but he didn't do anything Sirius sneered and turned on his heels in disgust.

James, thinking his friend must have woken up on the bad side of the bed, shrugged and walked back to where Lily was standing with Daisy. He picked his daughter up and put her on his shoulders where she could see over all the heads. Daisy was looking around anxiously, searching for something and when she saw Harry peering out of the window she brightened considerably. She waved violently and almost fell off her father's shoulders. Harry smiled uneasily and waved back as the train started to move.

.

James was a little puzzled as he returned back to Lily and his adorable daughter. She reached up towards him with her thin arms and laughingly he lifted her up and set her on his shoulders.

"Hey, Lils. I saw Sirius here." He began to his wife.

"Oh? What was he doing here?"

"He said he dropped off Harry."

"Harry! Harry!" Daisy repeated and started waving violently, causing James to almost drop her. He figured she must have seen David.

"Harry?" Lily asked, perplexed. Daisy had talked about Harry before as well.

"Yes, you know? Our son." James said finally.

"Oh. When was the last time you saw Harry?" She said, trying to put a face to the name.

James pondered for a few moments before answering. "I don't know. I swear he has been home this summer, but I don't remember picking him up from Hogwarts…"

"Me neither," Lily agreed.

Looking sourly at her parents, Daisy added to the conversation, "Harry was home for his birthday. He got lots of hugs and kisses and a drawing from me!" She laughed at the last part because Harry had been very happy for the drawing and played with her the whole day since all the grown-ups attention had been on her brother, David.

"Birthday, when?" James and Lily asked in unison, dreading the answer.

"Same day as David!" Daisy squealed as she was brought down from her dad's shoulders, the train already far out of sight.

"Oh," her parents both said. They each wore very pained expressions as they prepared to return to their home. They had a lot of thinking to do.

.

As soon as the train was out of the station, Harry had lied down and tried to sleep. It was incredibly difficult however as the corridor outside was full of whispering. Then there was a knock on the door. Swearing silently to himself, Harry went up to open it to find three third year Gryffindor girls already in their robes.

He flashed them a smile and waited for them to speak. One of them, he believed her name was Angelina Johnson, spoke up with red-tinted cheeks. "H-hi, Mr. Potter…"

"Hi, and please, call me Harry," he interrupted.

"Hi, Harry," she tried again, blushing a little, "you see, we were wondering if… well, there weren't any empty, so…"

"You were wondering if you could sit here with me." Harry finished for her. Angelina and the other girls nodded. Harry, being extremely tired didn't really care anyway. He would be able to sleep either way. "Sure." He said with a smile and a nod and invited them in.

Once they were all inside they presented themselves. Angelina Johnson, a tanned girl with long black hair was sitting next to him. Opposite him sat Alicia Spinnet who also was tanned with brown hair to her shoulders. Harry recognized them both from Quidditch. Next to Alicia, however, was a girl he didn't recognize. Her name was Patricia Stimpson and she had short blond hair and looked like she had been inside all summer. They seemed to be a group of cheerful girls and love gossip and they started immediately, throwing the occasional nervous glance at Harry who was leaning against the window sill and doing his best to sleep.

Finally, after a while, they reached a subject Harry had rather they hadn't, the rumor that The-Boy-Who-Lived was going to Hogwarts this year.

"Isn't David Potter going to Hogwarts this year?" Patricia inquired, looking straight at Harry.

"I think so," Alicia agreed and turned to Harry nervously, "Well, Po-… Harry?"

"Yes, my little world-savior brother is starting Hogwarts this year." He sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Neither of the girls seemed to have noticed though, as they began to speculate on the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Do you think he is handsome?"

"Do you think he is good at Quidditch?"

There was a sneer coming from Harry's left side at this. "If he is anything like Harry he should be more than good."

"I hope he'll become a Gryffindor."

The last comment made Harry chuckle slightly under his breath. You won't need to worry about that.

The others looked at him expectantly for a few seconds before Patricia spoke up.

"Well, you're his brother. How is he?"

This was exactly what Harry had feared. It happened when he began Hogwarts as well. First, people had been surprised that The-Boy-Who-Lived had a brother and second they had bombarded him with questions about his little miracle of a brother. Questions he had refused to answer. According to some it was because he was simply jealous of his brother's greatness and although he would never admit it, he was jealous of his brother, but not of his so called 'greatness'. After some time, he showed his excellence in his studies and on the Quidditch pitch and stopped bothering him about it but it seemed that history was about to repeat itself. Unless he put a stop to it right now.

"Who cares?" He blurted out and surprised them all with his outburst. "You will get to see how my slimy git of a brother is soon enough." Three pair of eyes stared at him with mouths gaping open and he felt a little bad for sounding like he was mad at them. "I am sorry. I have not slept very well tonight and I took it out on you lovely ladies. Now, I would like to take a nap until we reach Hogsmeade. Would you mind waking me before we get there so I have time to change?" He smiled at them and they forgave him without hesitation and then promised to wake him up in time.

The next thing Harry knew, he was asleep.

Waking up ten minutes before they reached Hogsmeade, Harry politely bade the girls to step outside while he quickly changed to his school robes.

Much to the pleasure of the girls he made some smalltalk before they reached the station. As soon as the doors opened he made his way towards the carriages.

"Oi! Harry!" Someone called from behind him.

Harry turned and couldn't stop himself from grinning. The other person also wore a big grin on his face. They walked towards each other and hugged.

"It's been a long time, Archie." Harry said warmly to his friend. Archibald Mimosa and Harry met in their first year and ever since they realized they shared a love for the Chaser position in Quidditch they had been nearly inseparable. Also, an important note, Archie hates his name and will jinx anyone who doesn't use Archie instead of it.

"Yes, why did you never answer my letters?" Archie narrowed his eyes accusatorily.

"You know I hate writing letters, Archie." Harry explained, tired of having the same argument every time. Archie simply shrugged and let it go.

"So, how was summer?"

Harry shrugged in answer. Archie knew about his situation and it was not the right time to talk about it as they picked a carriage which they coincidentally shared with the same girls Harry had been sharing his compartment with.

During the ride Archie flirted outrageously with the girls, much to both theirs and Harry's amusement. Harry, on the other hand sat quietly on the edge and peering out into the forest, oblivious to the glances the girls were sending. Archie noticed them and smiled as he tried even harder to divert their attention from Harry.

Harry could barely wait to get to the feast. His whole body was tense and full of energy. He wanted to jump out of the slow carriage and run to the castle but that wouldn't do. He stopped in his thinking. Why wouldn't that do? It wasn't like there were any rules against it, not that he knew of anyway. And so Harry Potter made up his mind. He stood up quickly, surprising the other residents of his carriage.

"What're you doing, Harry?" Archie asked of his friend, though he had an idea as he saw the glint in Harry's eyes.

"See you at the feast Archie," he apologized and then made a grandiose bow to the girls. "My ladies, I hope I will have the pleasure of seeing you in the halls Hogwarts." He took the hand of the girl closest to him, Angelina, and kissed her hand causing her to blush furiously. Then he stood straight again and before anyone was the wiser he leapt off the carriage, landing midstep and immediately took off running towards the castle.

He could hear the people calling out to him from the carriages as he passed them but he ignored it. He was so close to finally being home where he belonged and nothing would stop him from getting there faster.

AN: I hope you liked and don't hesitate to review! The chapters for this one will be really slow but after May they will come out pretty smoothly.