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Forget Me Not

Summary-

Harry is a quiet boy, that is easily forgettable, sometimes even his own twin brother forgets about him. Dropped off at their relatives, the Dursleys, when they were only one year old, Harry and his twin grew up not knowing what love and friendship were.

Chapter one- Vanishing Glass

Evil laughter. A scream. A bright green light. Heat. Thick Smoke. A bushy head. Large, bushy arms. A deep, scratchy voice. A warm blanket. A loud rumble. A rush of wind. Hushed words. Hard ground. Silence.

"Up!" Two pairs of eyes; one an ocean blue, the other an emerald green; shot open as the shrill voice cut into the dream the two boys were having. "Get up!" The boys' aunt shrieked as she rapped on the door as the blue haired boy silently sighed as he grabbed his glasses and sat up on his cot. "Now!"

Haiden, the blue eyed boy, ran his hand through his unruly black hair trying to tame it some what as his eyes were drawn to his twin brother, Harry, as he silently crawled out from underneath the cot. Haiden watched as Harry curled up in front of the door with his legs pulled to his chest and his emerald green eyes look up at him. Haiden glanced away from his brother's eyes that seemed unnaturally large, but maybe it was because of how small Harry was compared to him, and he wasn't very large himself.

Haiden nearly jumped in fright when their aunt rapped on the door again. "Are you up yet?" She demanded.

"Nearly." Haiden called back knowing that his brother wouldn't seeing as Harry barely spoke out of fear of being punished. It seemed that whenever Harry opened his mouth something strange always happened.

"Well hurry up! I want Harry to look after the bacon, and don't you dare let it burn!" Their aunt snapped through the door and Harry nodded even though she could not see him. "I want everything to be perfect for Duddy's birthday." At that Haiden accidentally let a groan slip. "What did you say?"

"Nothing!" Haiden called back quickly, not wanting either him nor his brother to be beaten, especially not today. If they did anything to warrant a beating today it would be ten times worse than a normal beating. Today was special. Haiden let his eyes fall to his brother who had his chin resting on knees and was playing with a spider. The twins had no problem with spiders seeing as the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where they slept.

With a silent sigh, Haiden began to search the small space for their socks as he kept an eye on his brother. He didn't need his brother accidentally doing something that would cause them to be in trouble and thus getting a beating. Haiden knew his brother never actually tried getting them in trouble, but it seemed that the more Harry tried not to get into trouble, the more trouble he seemed to get them in. And Haiden would not allow that to happen today.

"Here." Haiden whispered to his brother as he handed him the nicest pair of socks they own, this pair of socks only had six holes in them. Harry took the socks from his brother with a silent nod of thanks before gently pushing the spider away from him and slipped the socks on, wiggling his big toe as it stuck out of a hole while taking Haiden and his shoes from their spot and handing his brother his shoes. "Ready?" Haiden asked after they had slipped their shoes on. After another silent nod from Harry, Haiden opened the cupboard door.

As quickly as Harry could, he slipped past his brother and lead them down the hall to the kitchen. "Don't you dare burn them." His aunt hissed at him when he took the pan from her allowing her to leave the room. Harry looked over his shoulder to his twin to see him standing out of the way by the kitchen door looking at the table that was covered with their cousin Dudley's birthday presents. Harry looked back at the bacon, flipping them, before looking over his other shoulder to the table.

From the looks of it, Dudley had gotten the new computer he had wanted, along with the second television and the racing bike. The reason why Dudley wanted a racing bike Haiden and Harry still remained a mystery to Haiden and Harry seeing as their cousin was very fat and hated exercise, unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Haiden, he had tried to make Harry a bunching bag, but could never catch him.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Haiden and Harry had always been small and skinny for their age, with Harry being the smaller of the two. The two looked smaller and skinnier than they actually were because all they were given to wear were old clothes of Dudley's. Dudley was about four times bigger then they were.

Haiden and Harry both had thin faces, knobbly knees, and black hair. Harry had large, bright emerald green eyes. Haiden, on the other hand, had dull ocean blue eyes that were hidden behind round glasses that were held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the time Dudley punched him on the nose. Haiden also had a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question Haiden could remember asking their Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.

"In the car crash when your parents died," she had told him looking as if she had smelled something rotten. "And don't ask questions."

The twins had learned early in their life with their relatives was that if they wanted a quite life with the Dursleys then they didn't asked any questions and did as they were told with no arguing.

Harry flipped the bacon again as their Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen. "Comb your hair, boy!" He barked at Haiden his way of a morning greeting. About once a week, Uncle Vernon would look over the top of his newspaper and shout that Haiden needed a haircut. Harry was sure that his brother had had more haircuts then the rest of the boys in their class put together, but it made no difference, Haiden's hair simply grew all over the place. While Harry's hair fell in waves to his shoulder and never seemed to fall out of place or look dirty like his brother's hair.

By the time Dudley entered the kitchen with his mother, Harry had finished cooking the bacon and had started frying eggs. Their cousin Dudley looked a lot like their Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Their Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel. Haiden and Harry both agreed that he looked more like a pig in a wig.

With the help of his twin, Harry put the plates of eggs and bacon on the table, which had been quite difficult as there hadn't been much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. Harry watched silently as his face fell and knew that he was about to throw a tantrum and began to silently eat his breakfast, along with his brother.

"Thirty-six," Dudley said as Harry took a sip of some water, "that's two less than last year."

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy." Aunt Petunia told him pointing out the present as Haiden and Harry quickly finished their breakfast.

"All right, thirty-seven then," Dudley said as his face began to turn red, alerting everyone that a tantrum was on the way. Harry, finished with his breakfast, quickly scooted away from the table as Haiden began to all but shovel the food into his mouth in case Dudley turned the table over.

"And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?" Aunt Petunia soothed. Dudley's face returned to it's normal color as he thought for a moment, though it looked like hard work for him.

"So I'll have thirty... thirty..." He said slowly.

"Thirty-nine, sweetums." Aunt Petunia said.

"Oh," Dudley said as he sat down heavily on the seat Harry had occupied just moments ago and grabbed the nearest parcel, "all right then."

"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father." Uncle Vernon said with a chuckle before somehow managing to reach over and ruffle Dudley's hair. "'Atta boy, Dudley!" Harry moved closer to his brother and sat down on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest to take up a little space as possible as the telephone rang. Aunt Petunia went and answered it as Uncle Vernon and Haiden watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. Dudley was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.

"Bad news, Vernon," she said, "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take them." She jerked her head in Haiden's direction as Harry got to his knees next to his brother to peer over the table at her and Vernon. Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap and glanced up at his brother to see that he had had the same reaction. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. And every year, Haiden and Harry were left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. The twins hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made them look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.

"Now what?" Aunt Petunia asked looking furiously at Haiden and Harry as if they had planned this. Harry shifted on his knees knowing that he should feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself that it would be a whole year before either he or his brother had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. Harry shifted on his knees again while glancing up at his brother who glanced down at him and knew they were feeling the same.

"We could phone Marge." Uncle Vernon suggested as Harry looked at him trying to hide his fear at being stuck with his Aunt Marge. That woman hated him and his brother with a passion, and Harry wouldn't put it past her to try and seriously harm if not murder him and his brother should they be forced to stay any length of time alone with her.

"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." Aunt Petunia said and Harry let out a breath he was holding in silent relief. Haiden and Harry were used to the Dursley's talking about them as if there weren't there or they were something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like slugs.

"What about what's-her-name, your friend, Yvonne?" Uncle Vernon suggested.

"On vacation in Majorca." Aunt Petunia snapped once again throwing a glare at Haiden and Harry as if they had some how made sure Yvonne had gone on vacation.

"You could just leave us here." Haiden put in hopefully, they would be able to watch whatever they wanted on television for a change, and they could maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer. Harry fought the urge to duck under the table when Aunt Petunia looked as if she'd swallowed a lemon, that look was usually followed by a slap.

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" She snarled, and at that moment Harry was quite glad she was on the other side of the table.

"We won't blow up the house." Haiden said softly, but the Dursley's were no longer listening.

"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," Aunt Petunia said slowly and Harry perked up, his brother and him and never been to a zoo before, heck they hadn't been any where other than school, Mrs Figg's, and the occasional market, "and leave them in the car." She finished.

"That car's new! They are not sitting in it alone!" Uncle Vernon snapped. Dudley began to cry loudly, in fact, he wasn't even really crying. It had been years since Dudley had actually cried, but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.

"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry. Mummy won't let them spoil your special day!" Aunt Petunia cried, flinging her arms around him.

"I... don't... want...him...t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. They always s-spoils everything!" He shot Haiden a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Harry and his twin shared a look as the doorbell rang.

"Oh, good Lord, they're here!" Aunt Petunia said frantically and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. The second Dudley had seen Piers step into the kitchen, he stopped pretending to cry.

Half an hour later, Harry who couldn't believe his and his twin's luck, was sitting on the floor of the Dursley's car in between his brother's legs while his brother sat in between Dudley and Piers on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. Their aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with them. But before they had left, their uncle had taken them aside.

"I'm warning you both," He had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Haiden's, "I warning both of you freaks, any funny business, anything at all, and the both of you will be in that cupboard until Christmas."

"We're not going to do anything," Haiden had promised grabbing Harry's hand, "honest." But their uncle hadn't believed Haiden. No one ever believed Haiden. And that was because no matter how many time or how much Haiden promised, strange things always happened and Harry had a feeling it was because of him. No matter how many times Haiden kept telling not only the Dursley's but him as well that things happened and neither of them had made them happen, Harry would always feel it was his fault.

And he had proof. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Haiden coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he had almost been bald, except for his bangs, which she had kept to 'hide that horrible scar'. Dudley had laughed himself silly at Haiden who had silently cried himself to sleep while Harry had run his fingers through what has left of Haiden's hair know that Haiden would be mocked and picked on when they went to school the next day. And as he had ran his fingers through his brother's hair, he had felt a tingle behind his nasal, as if he were about to sneeze, for a second before Haiden's hair began to grow in his fingers. When Aunt Petunia had seen Haiden's hair the next morning, him and his brother had been given a week in their cupboard for it.

Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force Harry into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's, brown with orange puff balls. But the harder she tried to pull it over his head, Harry had felt the tingle in his nasal, and the sweater began to shrink until it might have been able to fit a hand puppet, but certainly not Harry. Thankfully Aunt Petunia had decided that it must have shrunk in the was and, to both his and his twin's relief, had not punished them.

On the other hand, Harry had gotten him and his twin into terrible trouble when Harry had been found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley and his gang had been chasing Haiden and Harry as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursley's had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them that Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do, as Haiden shouted through the locked door of their cupboard, was jump behind the trash cans outside the kitchen doors with Haiden. Him and Haiden had come to the decision that the wind must have caught Harry mid-jump.

But today, Harry decided as he pulled his knees closer to his chest while hiding his smile in them, nothing was going to go wrong. Harry would make sure not to do anything that would cause that strange tingle in his nasal. Harry glanced over his shoulder to glance at his twin and aw the barely concealed excitement, with a small nod to himself Harry buried his face into his knees. Yes, Harry would make sure not to mess today up, just seeing his brother excited made the concentration and struggle he would be put under worth it.

Harry allowed himself to fall into a trance-like state as he listened to his Uncle Vernon complain to Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon liked to complain about things: people at work, Haiden and Harry, the council, Haiden and Harry, the bank, and Haiden and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.

"...roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums." Uncle Vernon said as a motorcycle over took them.

"I had a dream about a motorcycle," Haiden said catching Harry's attention as he, too, had had a dream about a motorcycle, though the one in his dream had been flying, "it was flying." Harry turned his head to look at his twin in shock, had they had the same dream? Harry winced in pain when the side of his head collided with the middle cupboard as Uncle Vernon slammed on his brakes to keep from crashing into the car in front of them. He turned around in his seat to glare at Haiden as Harry began to rub the newly forming bruise. His eyes widened slightly when he felt the tingle in his nasal again, and suddenly the pain left.

"MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" Uncle Vernon roared at Haiden causing Piers and Dudley to snicker and Harry let out a silent breath when he noticed no one had seemed to notice what had just happened.

"I know they don't." Haiden muttered cowering away from their uncle, "It was only a dream." Harry glanced at his brother as their Uncle turned back around and continued to drive. Harry could tell that Haiden was wishing he had never mentioned his dream. The twins knew that the one thing that the Dursleys hated then them asking questions it was Haiden talking about things acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter it it was in a dream or even a cartoon, they seemed the believe that it might give either Haiden or Harry ideas.

Harry gently touched his twin's leg, letting him know that he was there and everything would be all right. Harry wasn't shocked when Haiden nearly jumped and looked at him in shock, as if he had forgotten Harry was even there, this happened a lot. Since Harry was so small and quiet, he was constantly being forgotten, but Harry didn't mind. Harry knew that even if he slipped his brother's mind his twin would eventually realize he was either there or missing, and if he was missing he knew his brother were come find him again.

\

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowed with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lading in the van had asked Haiden and Harry what they wanted before they could hurry them away, they bought them a cheap lemon ice pop to share. It wasn't bad, either, Harry noted as him and his brother took turns licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching his head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except it wasn't blond. When Harry began to feel the start of the tingle in his nasal, he quickly pinched his nose and turned away from the gorilla.

Harry knew that Haiden had the best morning either of them had in a long time. Haiden and Harry were careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting Haiden. Harry made sure that anytime he felt that strange tingle in his nasal to pinch his nose and turn away from whatever he felt was causing it. It seemed to work. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another and Haiden and Harry were allowed to finish the first.

Harry should have known that it was all too good to last.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling ans slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can, bit at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In facet, it was fast asleep.

"Make it move." Dudley whined with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. Uncle Vernon tapped on the class, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again." Dudley ordered and Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. "This is boring." Dudley moaned before shuffling a way.

Harry moved in front of the tank as his brother made his way to another tank, a few tanks down. Harry looked intently at the snake, feeling a slight pull to the snake, Harry ignored seeing as it wasn't the tingle in his nasal. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if the snake had died of boredom itself, no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard a a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least him and his twin got to visit the rest of the house. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised it's head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.

It winked.

Harry stared at it in shock before quickly looking around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. Harry looked back at the snake and, even though he knew he should just walk away, winked back. The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised eyes to the ceiling before giving Harry a look that plainly said: "I get that all the time."

"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, and was pretty sure the snake could understand him, how he knew this he wasn't sure, "it must be really annoying."

The snake hissed out a 'Yes' as it nodded vigorously.

"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry read it: Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

"Was it nice there?"

The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see, so you've never been to Brazil?" As the head shook its head Harry was pulled away from the conversation by his twin grabbing his arm just seconds before a deafening shout behind the two caused all three of them to jump.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" At Piers's shout, Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

"Out of the way, you!" He said punching Haiden, who was closets to him, in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Haiden fell hard on the floor, bringing Harry with him since he was still holding onto Harry's arm. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened. Harry felt a tingle in his nasal, and before he could turn away, the glass that Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to vanished in the blink of an eye causing both boys to leap back in horror. Haiden and Harry sat on the floor in shock, Haiden pulling Harry closer to him as the great snake quickly uncoiled and slithered out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exit.

As the snake slid swiftly past him and Haiden, Haiden tightened his grip on Harry's arm as the snake hissed out a "Thanksss." And the only thing Harry could think to do was respond.

"No problem." He whispered feeling his twin's grip tighten even more.

"But the glass, where did the glass go?" The keeper of the reptile house kept muttering as the zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while apologizing over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed. But by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Haiden and Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say,

"Harry was talking to it, weren't you Harry?"

Uncle Vernon had waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry, and Haiden by default. He was so angry he could barely speak, though he did manage to say, "Go... cupboard... stay... no meals." Before he collapsed into a chair, Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.

/

As Harry lay under his twin's cot in their cupboard curled into a ball, tears silently slipping down his cheeks. He had messed up again and had ruined his brother's happiness. After they had been sent to their cupboard Haiden had turned to him and had quietly demanded to know what he had been thinking. Why had he been hissing at the snake? What had happened to the glass? All Harry could do was silently shake his head. He remembered he had opened his mouth to say something but all the had come out had been a tiny squeak of fear. He had honestly tried to be good today. Had tried to keep the tingle in his nasal from causing anything unnatural from happening. But he had failed.

Harry curled even more into himself when he heard his brother's stomach growl, causing his to respond with its own growl. He wished he had a watch so that he knew what time it was. He wished he knew what time it was so that he could see if the Dursleys had gone to bed allowing him safe passage to sneak out to the kitchen and at least get his brother something to snack on.

Haiden and Harry had lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as either of them could remember, ever since they were babies and their parents had died in that car crash. Neither twin could remember being in the car when their parents had died. Sometimes, though, when they strained their memories during long hours in their cupboard, they could come up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light, Haiden also got a burning pain on his forehead. This, they supposed, was the crash, though neither could imagine where all the green light came from. They couldn't remember their parents at all. Their aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course they were forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.

When Haiden had been younger he had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him and his brother away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were their only family. Yet, sometimes he thought, or maybe hoped, that strangers seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tine man in a violet top hat had bowed to him and his brother once while they were out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Haiden furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dress in all green had waved merrily at him and Harry once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Haiden tried to get a closer look.

At school, Haiden and Harry had no one but each other. And even then some times the twins didn't feel like the other wasn't there for them. Or at least that was how Haiden felt sometimes. What with all the times Harry got them into trouble, Haiden was beginning to wonder if his twin was doing it on purpose. Harry had been talking to the snake before the glass vanished.