Brothers Of The Heart

Seto Kaiba has always been very protective of his younger brother, so how will he react to finding out that Mokuba was Harry Potter before Seto decided to "adopt" him? Will Dumbledore be able to convince either Seto or Mokuba that 'Harry Potter' needs to go to Hogwarts?

-WARNINGS-
There will be slash (boyxboy)!
Child abuse, Dumbledore bashing (although he won't be evil so much as extremely manipulative, if only slightly well-meaning), possible Weasley/Hermione/Ministry bashing as well, though nothing is set in stone yet.

Enjoy the Story!

The Dursleys had been planning their business trip/vacation to Japan for months, and so it was with horror that Vernon Dursley received the news that Mrs Figg, the only person they could find who was willing to take four-year-old Harry Potter in for a full week, was no longer able to do so, something about a death in the family. They were leaving in two days, that left little to no time to find a new babysitter. After discussing options with Petunia, Vernon ruled out leaving the freak in the cupboard all week, Petunia didn't want to have to deal with the smell, and it was decided that they would have to take him with them.

It was with great reluctance, though, that Vernon went about getting Harry a ticket. Luckily, or not he grumbled to himself, the man was able to procure another seat on such short notice. Granted it was one of the cheapest seats, not first class like his family's seats, but he wouldn't have paid extra for the freak even if it had been in the plans all along.

- - - - - - -

The ragged boy had expected to be set to work when he was yanked from his cupboard that morning, so when he was tossed in the tub and told to wash himself, he did so as quickly as possible. Emerging from the cold water to find clean clothes only a size or two too big for him brought a small smile to his lips. Maybe his relatives had decided that he wasn't a freak, maybe they were trying to make up for their actions...

The car ride was a novelty, never having been in one he enjoyed the new experience, although he had to force himself to keep from squealing with excitement. His aunt had given him a piece of toast before they left, it hadn't even been burnt, and he wanted to do nothing that would make them change their minds.

The small boy stared in wonder out the airplane window, he was so high up. The cars looked like quick, little ants running down the roads. He wondered what everything would look like from the ground; he hadn't been allowed outside of his cupboard that often, much less outside the house – except for when he was sent to tend the garden. Vaguely he wondered where his aunt, uncle and cousin were, Uncle Vernon had warned him to behave before handing him over to a nice lady in a blue dress as they got on the plane. He smiled at the memory, fingering the small wingssticker she had given him, appreciating the fact that Dudley wasn't there to steal it from him.

- - - - - - -

The plane arrived in Japan without incident, and Harry was led off by the stewardess who delivered him to the Dursleys. Then he was dragged along behind them, with a growl from Vernon at having to touch the freak.

Once in the motel, Harry was tossed into a corner, where he sat, staring at his relatives as they prepared to go out. Dudley was set down on the bed, the bag overflowing with his toys next to him. Dudley looked from the toys to Harry, as if trying to decide something.

The next thing Harry knew, he was being bombarded with hard objects, shrinking into the corner in an effort to protect himself. Dudley was laughing, gleefully throwing his toys as hard as he could. The two adults were ignoring the children, Dudley was happy and that was all that mattered.

The corner of a particularly hard block hit Harry's head and he yelped in pain. Then, there was nothing. Had Dudley's aim failed? He peeked through his fingers to find a shiny wall protecting him. He could see the toys bouncing off of it. Dudley's laughter turned to cries of frustration that caught his parents attention.

Petunia turned around, and saw the shield and the toys bouncing back. It was then that one toy thrown particularly hard rebounded, clipping Dudley's arm as it flew past him. The boy promptly burst into tears. "Vernon, he's using it!" She grabbed her son off the bed, backing away from the smaller boy's show of magic. Her husband approached the blue shield, his face growing redder with every step. Seeing his uncle's anger, Harry squeezed his eyes closed, willing the freakish shield to go away. It vanished, though Harry did not notice until he was lifted into the air by the firm grip on his shirt.

"Boy," Vernon's voice held anger and apprehension, though all Harry knew was that it meant punishment – he had been bad and lost any chance for his relatives to love him. "You dare to hurt our Dudley with your... evil freakishness!" He dropped Harry to the floor, where the small boy's arm cracked as he landed on it.

The large man slipped his belt off, ignoring the child's whimper of pain, and began to beat him, the belt whistling through the air with each stroke. Petunia watched the brutish display with satisfaction, as she held her large son tightly, the boy had hurt her son, and therefore deserved every painful moment of his punishment.

Harry curled himself into a ball as the belt struck his body, silent tears streaming down his face. He hadn't meant to be bad, he couldn't help it. Vernon, somehow unsatisfied by the near lack of reaction, turned the belt around, the metal clasp no longer a handle, but a weapon. The belt buckle hit Harry's side, drawing blood as the boy screamed, no longer able to hold the pain in. Vernon smiled smugly, bringing the belt up for another swing.

Again and again, the belt fell on the helpless boy, only stopping when the obese man's arm grew tired. A few solid kicks to the boy's torso finished off the beating, leaving Vernon standing over the now unconscious boy, a look of triumph on his face.

Suddenly, there was a quick knock on the door. Vernon and Petunia froze – as much as the freak deserved his punishment there was no way they could explain it without giving up their hard-earned image of normality.

Moving with unnatural speed for someone so large, Vernon kicked the boy under the bed, where he was hidden from sight by the bed-skirt. Petunia covered the carpet that the boy had been laying on with a small blanket, setting Dudley down on top of it, along with a few of his toys to keep him happy.

A quick glance across the room made sure that everything appeared normal, and Vernon opened the door with an annoyed "Yes?"

"Mr. Dursley?" The uniformed man read the name from a slip of paper held in his hand before glancing at the large, quickly reddening man in front of him.

Vernon nodded apprehensively, "There have been several complaints about the noise. I realize that you have children," the man nodded towards the toddler on the floor who was banging two of his toys together violently, "but I must warn you, this is a highly regarded establishment and we will have to ask that you keep the noise to a minimum. The other guests have the right to a peaceful stay, and if it is necessary, we will be forced to remove you from the premises."

"Of course," Vernon sighed in visible relief, "We'll do our best to keep the noise down." The man nodded farewell, before turning to walk away. The door shut behind him with a loud bang as Vernon pulled it closed.

"Pet, pack the bags." Vernon knelt down to reach under the bed, grabbing the boy's ankle and yanking him out of hiding. "We're going to make sure the freak will never hurt our Dudley again."

Petunia rushed over to the suitcases, shoving the items that had been pulled out in their short time there back in forcefully. "What about the other freaks?" She asked, her expression guarded with apprehension, though she didn't look away from her task.

"It's been three years, Pet. Not once have they checked up on him. We could have left him out in the cold that first day and he would have followed his parents." Vernon grimaced at the thought that taking the brat in had been completely pointless. "And if they do come around looking for him, we'll just tell them the truth – that we would not stand for him hurting our son, so we had to get rid of him."

Petunia looked towards her husband, the fear in her eyes slowly dissipating. "What will we do with the boy? They'll know if we just leave him to die in an alley."

"We'll find an orphanage – leave him on the front step just as he was left on ours. Their kind deserves nothing less. And that way, if he dies, it will not be our fault."

With the conversation finished, it was only a matter of minutes before the small family was ready to leave. Vernon pulled the luggage stacked on the wheeled trolley, Petunia pushed Dudley in his stroller, the diaper bag full of toys stashed in the basket. They appeared to be a perfectly normal family of three, with the broken body of the freak hidden in the topmost bag in their pile of luggage.

They managed to check out with very little delay, the manager had not been pleased about the noise that had come from their room, and as such was extremely glad they had taken it upon themselves to leave before he had to force them to.

Young Harry's fate was decided in the hour following their exit from the hotel, though he did not know it. The Dursleys had hailed a cab and ordered the driver to take them to the nearest orphanage. Not even bothering to learn the name of the institute, Vernon carried the boy to the steps, Petunia and Dudley waiting in the cab. Pulling the boy out of the bag, ignoring his state of unconsciousness and his muted whimpers, he laid the broken child on the steps, keeping the bag as he ran (though it resembled a fast waddle) back to the car.

- - - - - - - insert line - - - - - - -

Some believe in fate, while others believe that 'fate' is nothing more than coincidence. Either way, whether it was fated or merely coincidental, it was no accident that the orphanage door was opened, only moments after the Dursleys drove away, by a small boy – one who would grow to need Harry just as much as Harry needed him now, though neither of them knew it yet.

Does everything make sense?

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

Just to clarify the abuse bit: before the trip, the most damage Vernon/Petunia inflicted was a swat on the head, depriving him of food for a day or two, or locking him in his cupboard for a period of time. They have been verbally abusing him since before he could understand their words, but never any serious physical abuse. But, that was his first act of accidental magic, and since Dudley was hurt, no matter how minor that hurt really was, the Dursleys' fear and anger at the sight of magic was increased.

The shield didn't protect him from Vernon because he didn't want it to come back. He willed it to go away, and it did.

Oh, just in case I didn't make it clear enough, Harry has no idea that he has a name. He has never been called by his name, only 'freak', 'boy', and other similarly derogative names.

Thanks for reading!