Geminus: Year One by watercrystals
Summary: When everything Draco and Harry knew about their lives crumble, can Severus be there to pick up the pieces and give the twin boys a family they'd always wanted?
Categories: Teacher Snape > Professor Snape, Parental Snape > Guardian Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Fred George, Hagrid, McGonagall, Neville, Original Character, Other, Ron, Tonks
Snape Flavour: Canon Snape, Snape Comforts, Snape is Stern
Genres: Angst, Family, General, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Media Type: None
Tags: Kidnapped, Ravenclaw!Harry, Runaway, Spying on Harry! Snape
Takes Place: 1st Year
Warnings: Neglect
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 5 Completed: No Word count: 17595 Read: 14609 Published: 08 Apr 2017 Updated: 10 May 2017
King's Cross by watercrystals
Author's Notes:
Some lines were borrowed from JK Rowling, which I do not own.This will occasionally happen, so just assume I don't own anything you may recognize.

Draco was a boy who contradicted himself by being both quietly reserved and prone to loud complaints.

Enough initial shock and fear of Muggle Privet Drive had worn off that he'd become quite fed up. Draco was hungry and cold in ways he'd never experienced at Malfoy Manor, and lashed out by threatening Dudley with pretend magic. Harry, though conflicted at first, would often egg his brother on in payback for years of torment at the hands of Dudley and his gang.

Their favourite was offering to give Dudley pig ears to match his tail.

During his stay at Privet Drive, Draco learned more than just how to use a toaster or microwave. When Harry almost dropped a heavy pot of stew, Petunia smacked his shoulder with a metal spoon. Draco froze by the counter and didn't know what to do. He'd received the same from Lucius' cane and knew it hurt.

Since Hagrid's visit almost a month earlier, the Dursleys kept away from Harry (then Draco) in fear of magic. Vernon still hadn't discussed Draco's presence in the house, but there were no shortage of rants and rages about “nonsense” the boys could be blamed for.

When Harry checked if the spoon bruised his shoulder, his brother noticed older bruises he didn't dare ask about. The lesson bothered Draco on a deep level - to know that being feared did not automatically make one safe.

When Draco wandered streets one afternoon, he figured out that baggy clothes weren't some disgraceful Muggle style. Other kids were dressed rather nicely, increasing Draco's disgust towards his brother's hand-me-downs. Thinking of the Weasleys, he'd run back to the house and emptied half of his own clothes into Harry's arms. His brother hugged him tight, then Draco went downstairs to bully Dudley into giving up a decent shirt.

It was the first time he'd broken quiet observation and taken action.

With three days until the twins left for Hogwarts, Vernon finally looked up from his newspaper one morning to narrow eyes directly at Draco. Having been about to give Dudley another scare, and be damned with Petunia's resulting fury, Draco quickly shrank back.

'So,' Vernon said, startling everyone in the kitchen – including Dudley, who looked away from the television. 'Draco Potter – funny name. Can't say your parents had much imagination.'

'Yeah, because “Dudley” is such a great name,' Harry said sarcastically, scrubbing dishes in the kitchen sink.

'Mind your tongue, boy,' Vernon snarled at Harry.

Petunia, sensing the mounting tension, took Dudley into the living room to watch his favourite cartoons. Draco defiantly raised his chin, forcing himself to meet Vernon's eyes and not back down from the first proper conversation he'd had with his uncle.

'Raised by freaks, were you?' Vernon asked.

'I...' Draco grunted, stopping himself. He stood stiff, and nodded. Although Petunia doled out a fair share of injuries, Harry's bruises were a clear warning not to anger Vernon.

'Twins...' The large man disapprovingly glanced at Harry. 'Two of the same bad seed – just as freaky and ungrateful. We won't have it, you know. Not after you two are off to that school of yours.'

'What do you mean?' Harry asked.

'He means we're not allowed back,' Draco said, anger melting to defeat. Once again, he'd be kicked out – was there no one who could tolerate him in their house?

'Precisely,' their uncle said with an unpleasant smirk.

'Vernon...' Petunia re-entered the kitchen, having a talent for eavesdropping. Her eyes wide with reluctance, it seemed she might defend them, but their aunt pressed her lips into a thin line and that was it.

Draco ran upstairs.

He kicked the dresser and dropped onto the bed, growling under breath. He ignored his brother's footsteps and dip in the mattress. His owl, Pepper, swooped to land on Draco's knee and nuzzled his hand until the boy pat him.

The brothers didn't speak of Vernon's threat.

The next day, they wandered to a park not far from Privet Drive. Draco learned to use swings, and they took turns on the slide, then tried to make Hogwarts in the sandpit. The circular platform Draco clung to, while Harry ran on the side to spin it faster, was almost as thrilling as riding a broom.

The twins laughed together in ways they weren't accustomed to, before dragging themselves back to the house when dark clouds gathered above – yet not so dark to overcome the gloom within.

Draco sat in the living room, watching the rain through a lace-curtained window. Lucius' shout echoed in his ears, as he'd told Draco to shut up and get out. Narcissa helped Draco pack and made sure he didn't forget anything important, but her eyes were just as cold and unloving that day. He'd tried so hard to be their son. Draco never found out if something changed, or if the Malfoys were always that way and he'd simply been blind to it.

'Sickle for your thoughts?' Harry wandered in, having finished cleaning the upstairs bathroom.

Draco watched Mrs Figg raise a bright umbrella. He only met her once, when the Dursleys took Dudley to see a Muggle healer about his tail. Her house smelled of cabbages and cats, but she was the nicest Muggle he knew so far.

'Draco?' his brother tried again.

'How do we get to King's Cross?' Draco reluctantly turned. 'It's tomorrow, and no one's mentioned it.'

'I just asked,' Harry said. 'They're taking Dudley to London to get his tail removed. Uncle Vernon says he'll drop us at the station, and we should...Pack anything we want to keep.'

'Because we're not coming back,' Draco said. 'Fine. We'll find somewhere else.'

'Where?' Harry peered hopelessly through the window. 'We've no family left.'

Draco thought of Tonks and knew it was not entirely true, but wasn't ready for that conversation. It got under his skin how he cringed less at spending two weeks in a Muggle house with Muggle relatives than the idea of living with Nymphadora's mudblood father. What sort of future did he have, or person would he become, if Draco couldn't escape the Malfoys' influence and lies?

Perhaps something broke inside him that just couldn't be fixed.

~ G ~ 

The real test came the next morning, though Draco didn't realise at the time.

He and Harry woke very early, sneaking downstairs to steal pieces of fruit as they had a long journey ahead of them. Packing was quick; everything they owned fit into their trunks with minimal compromise.

With Hedwig and Pepper safely secured in cages, the boys vacated their former room. They cooked breakfast for the Dursleys and kept comments to themselves; it may be their last day in that house, but they still relied on the Muggles for transport to the station.

'And flip,' Harry instructed, making hand motions.

Draco gripped the tool and flipped, watching the pancake land in the pan. Petunia lingered behind them, telling him what not to do, but was satisfied with his efforts. It was his first attempt to cook anything, and Draco was proud of the edible result.

'Where's my coffee?' Vernon barked from the table.

'Sorry, Uncle Vernon!' Harry gasped, hurrying to fill the mug.

'Harry...' Draco panicked, stacking the pancake on a plate. 'What-?'

'Use the spoon.' Petunia took over teaching, pointing to a jug of batter.

Draco carefully formed another pancake, barely breathing until the jug was back on the counter. He'd only helped at all with the bribe of eating one afterwards, having never tasted regular pancakes cooked by Muggle means. The Malfoys only preferred fancy food prepared by house-elves, and those pancakes had more things in them than he could name. Narcissa was capable of cooking simple meals, but Draco had never seen her do so.

Cooking was rather similar to brewing potions, and he believed both were just as likely to explode if a mistake was made. Draco's anxiety of using a Muggle stove was worth it; he and Harry hurriedly ate a spongy and sweet, blueberry pancake each. The rest went to Dudley, whose gluttony effectively rid the twins of their appetites.

And then, it was all over; their stay at Privet Drive ended.

Harry and Draco dragged their trunks and cages outside, pausing long enough to give the house a final glance. Squashed against the window by Harry and Dudley in the back seat, Draco's heart raced as his brother buckled the seatbelt for him. He didn't trust Muggle transport at all, and yelped when Vernon's key roared the car to life.

'I don't like this,' Draco said, staring wide-eyed through the window at other Muggle vehicles blurring by. 'I don't like this at all.'

'We're almost there,' Harry assured him.

Draco's stomach reacted badly, but was saved by the arrival at King's Cross Station. He shot out of the car, not even sure how he opened the door, and exhaled the longest breath of his life. Harry didn't laugh or mock Draco for his fear of cars, whereas Dudley never missed an opportunity to do so.

'Here you are,' Vernon said, leading them into the station.

He got the boys a trolley each and helped load their belongings.

'Funny way to get to your school, the train,' he said. 'Where is it, anyway?'

Harry and Draco didn't reply, having decided they wouldn't make a fuss that morning, even if baited.

'Have a good term,' Vernon said with nasty satisfaction. 'And good riddance.'

The twins watched the Dursleys leave the station, which felt quite a lot bigger once the Muggles were gone. Draco was glad not to see them again, but Harry's miserable slouch prevented him from saying so. Draco, attempting to give his brother something better to focus on, reminded him of their plan.

Harry crouched to dig through his trunk, frowning as he lifted a small container.

'Just put them in, like we practised,' Draco encouraged.

Harry nodded, taking a breath. He struggled with the magical contact lenses at first, and winced when poking himself in the eye. Harry blinked rapidly, gladly tucking his glasses into his pocket. He glanced at his brother for approval.

'Much better.' Draco nodded. 'How does it look?'

'Wow!' Harry's green eyes widened as he turned on the spot. 'It's so clear!'

'What'd you expect?' He rolled his eyes. 'Let's go, Harry. We can't miss the train.'

'Platform nine and three quarters,' Harry read off his ticket, as they pushed trolleys through the station. 'Where is it?'

'How should I know?' Draco huffed, ignoring Pepper energetically hooting at passing Muggles.

Distracted by strange clothes and devices, Draco was often reminded to watch where he was going. The clocked ticked overhead, reminding them they had to hurry before their train left. With nowhere to go back to, the twins grew desperate. Draco refused to ask anyone, while Harry questioned every person who looked like they might know where to go.

None of them did.

They stood near platforms nine and ten, Draco assuming that surely someone else would be trying to get onto the magical platform as well. With fifteen minutes before the Hogwarts Express was due to depart, they overheard a witch talking about Muggles.

'All right, Percy – you go first.'

Harry and Draco caught up the group as a teenage boy passed through the stone barrier between platforms.

'Red hair and hand-me-down robes,' Draco sneered quietly. 'They must be Weasleys.'

'Is that bad?' Harry frowned, examining the family.

'No,' Draco decided. He refused to be what the Malfoys wanted, but also didn't want to turn his own brother against him.

'He's not Fred, I am!' a red-haired twin exclaimed.

'Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother,' the other joined in.

Draco and Harry exchanged smiles, then watched as the older twins went through the barrier. Draco reckoned he'd figured out how to get onto the platform, but kept it to himself as Harry pushed forward and asked for help.

'How to get onto the platform?' the witch smiled warmly at them. 'Not to worry, dear, Ron's new too.' She indicated to her youngest son, who nodded in greeting.

The Potter twins listened intently and braced themselves.

Draco went first, knowing Harry was as wary of running at the wall as Draco had been to ride in a moving car. He pushed his trolley forward and felt a rush when passing through the barrier.

Standing on the magical platform with Harry shed the horrible past month they'd both had, even if only for a moment. Ron came through next, almost bumping into Draco. The honey-haired boy clenched his jaw to withhold a remark, and followed Harry to the luggage compartment.

'Want a hand?' One of the Weasley twins asked, as Draco and Harry struggled to lift their trunks.

'Yes, please,' Harry panted.

'Oi, Fred!' the twin called out. 'C'mere and help!'

Draco stepped back, letting them hoist his trunk aboard. The Weasleys were blood traitors and poor – easy insults were hard to dismiss. He stayed quiet and reminded himself those were lies too. He'd initially been disgusted to learn his mother was a mudblood, but his time at Privet Drive opened Draco's eyes to see beyond a Malfoy's narrow view of the world.

'Thanks,' Harry said.

'No problem,' Fred said, glancing at the time. 'Better get in.'

The Potter twins wandered through the train, searching for an empty compartment. Draco shoved anyone aside who got too close, not caring who he offended, while Harry muttered apologies on his behalf. Older students laughed and bustled around them - younger years were timid by comparison.

Draco, like Harry, was equally cautious and eager for the journey ahead.

'Here!' Harry opened a compartment door, slipping inside.

'Finally.' Draco sat across from him, glancing through the window at waving families with sad smiles.

Unable to watch, he kept his gaze on the hallway for anyone he'd have to tell to go away.

A whistle sounded. Harry grinned as the station began to peel away into buildings and countrysides.

'This is brilliant!'

'Yeah,' Draco said. He sat straighter, willing his worries to stay behind on the station. He wanted to be surrounded by magic again, and what better place to feel at home than Hogwarts?

'Anyone sitting there?' a voice caught their attention. A brown-haired boy peered through the open door, holding a toad with both hands, and eyed the space beside Harry.

'Do you see anyone sitting there?' Draco retorted.

'You can join us, if you like?' Harry added. 'We don't mind.'

'Thanks!' The boy hurried inside. 'I'm Neville, and this is Trevor.'

Draco cringed at the toad while Harry shared their names. He leaned back, pleased he was finally on his way to Hogwarts, but didn't care for conversation. He wasn't anti-social and didn't want people to think he was, but Draco didn't know how to muster the politeness and patience Harry showed Neville. When the compartment door opened again, he decided to try to make friends.

Draco only wished he could see the look on Lucius' face if he could see how this day went.

'Excuse me?' Ron stood at the doorway. 'Do you mind? Everywhere else is full.'

'Not at all,' Draco beat Harry to the reply.

The redhead smiled and sat beside him. Draco fought the urge to recoil, considering if it was cheating if he pretended to be friendly until he got used to it.

'I don't think we met properly,' the redhead said. 'I'm Ron Weasley.'

'Harry Potter.'

'Neville Longbottom'

'Dra-' Having opened his mouth to speak, Draco choked when hearing Neville's surname. 'Er, Draco Potter.'

'Oh, are you twins?' Ron wondered, to which Harry nodded. 'Wicked.'

'Are all your family wizards?' Harry asked.

Draco was glad it was his brother who started that conversation, else he'd have another internal dilemma to deal with. It was reassuring to share a compartment with two boys also from magical families; Draco needed more than two weeks in a Muggle house to break years of habits and teachings.

'I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts,' Ron said miserably. He listed great things his older brothers had done, which were impressive, but something about the way he said it intrigued Draco.

'You're in their shadow?' Draco asked. 'They've done it all, so if you do good it's not the same because they did it first.'

'That's right.' Ron nodded. 'I've even got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat.' He frowned, lifting a sleeping rat from his jacket.

Remembering Harry's rags from Dudley, Draco clenched his fists and could hardly believe there were wizards who lacked their own belongings. As a Malfoy, he'd never been left wanting for any item he needed – food, clothes, a broomstick...

'Maybe you'll be something they weren't?' Harry offered.

'Like what?' Ron asked. 'There's nothing left.'

'There must be something,' Neville said, adjusting his freedom-yearning toad.

'Do you think you'll be in the same house as them?' Draco nudged Ron. 'Gryffindor, right?'

'Probably.' Ron frowned. 'My whole family are Gryffindors. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.'

'Our parents were Gryffindors,' Draco said, glaring. 'But I lived with Slytherins for a while.'

'Why?' Neville stared, as if it was such a terrifying concept.

'Doesn't matter,' Harry said. 'We're not them. I read about the houses, and just because our parents or family were sorted somewhere doesn't mean we will be. Or have to be.'

'It's true.' Draco nodded. 'There were identical triplets who each went to a different house, years ago. One of them ended up in Azkaban for murder, and another was the Auror to put her there.'

That story gave him nightmares, but Draco would rather die than admit it.

'Bet the murderer was Slytherin,' Ron muttered.

'Gryffindor, actually,' Draco sneered back.

Ron huffed, returning attention to his rat. Draco winced, mentally berating himself – he was meant to be making friends not stirring rivalries. His preparations for Hogwarts hadn't included this.

'You any good at chess?' Draco asked, glancing around the compartment.

'Good at chess?' Ron snorted. 'Yeah! I mean, I always win against my brothers.'

'I'm terrible.' Neville shook his head.

'We should play a game sometime,' Draco suggested to Ron. 'Harry's rubbish at it-'

'Hey!' His brother grumbled.

'-So I'd appreciate a decent challenge.'

'Deal,' Ron agreed, extending his hand.

Draco hesitated, staring at the offer before inhaling a sharp breath. He shook hands with his unlikely new friend. Not that he held much merit to the title, as the sorting ceremony often separated budding friendships. Weasleys go to Gryffindor and Malfoys went to Slytherin.

The boys fell quiet for a while, staring at cows and sheep as the train rumbled along the tracks.

Whatever Neville and Ron thought of the Potter twins greatly improved when the trolley came around. Harry and Draco, free from Dursley food restrictions, leapt to their feet. Fishing Galleons out of their pockets, the twins bought as many sweets as they could carry. They tipped treats on either seat to share with Ron and Neville.

'I've been wanting to start collecting these,' Harry said, ripping open a chocolate frog. He was startled by the enchantment, which escaped out a window, but happy with the Dumbledore card.

Draco had grabbed his tin of rare cards when he'd left Malfoy Manor, and knew they might come in handy to trade if making friends got too difficult. Leaving meant he never had to learn what a burden it would be to have Crabbe and Goyle follow him around everywhere. Not that Draco needed anyone besides Harry, but there'd never been a chance of forging real friendships while trapped under the Malfoy shadow.

'In, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos,' Harry was saying, amazing the other two.

Jealously crept up Draco's neck, with how easily his brother got along with the others, and he considered a topic for discussion to rectify it. Before he'd formed a witty plan, the door slid open and a girl looked in – just as Ron raised his battered wand.

'I wondered if...' the girl with bushy hair said, but halted. 'Oh, are you doing magic? Lets see, then.'

Draco glared at her, while others focused on Ron's attempt to turn his rat yellow. The Potter twins cringed at the spoken phrase, but kept quiet as Ron's ears reddened when it didn't work.

'Nice try,' Neville mumbled.

'Are you sure that's a real spell?' The girl, who said her name was Hermione, scoffed. 'Well, it's not very good, is it?'

Draco grit his teeth as she spoke fast about spells working for her, and revealed her muggle-born status. Ron stared at his rat with flushed cheeks and a frown. In a very different life, Draco would have mocked the boy's second-hand robes and obvious lack of magical understanding, but seeing Ron so embarrassed stirred something else.

Draco did everything wrong in the eyes of Malfoys, then Dursleys, and he'd had quite enough of it all.

'Of course it wasn't a real spell,' Draco rudely interrupted Hermione. 'He was only joking. You barged in here uninvited, what did you expect would happen? No one asked your opinion, Know-It-All.'

Hermione gasped, clearly hurt, and hurried from the compartment. Draco ignored Harry's frown, not feeling the least bit guilty for his choice.

'Thanks,' Ron said.

'Don't let anyone tell you you're not good enough, Weasley,' Draco said, angrily thinking of his own failure to do exactly that. 'Your brother was playing a joke, and you should have known that wasn't a real spell, but it doesn't mean she gets to walk all over you.'

'You're right.' Ron nodded, though he didn't seem so sure. 'Thanks, again.'

'Don't mention it.' Draco shrugged.

'So, what's your Quidditch team?' the redhead asked around.

Draco considered how insane his life had become, where he spent two weeks like a Muggle then defended a Weasley. Shuddering, he imagined how worse things could get. Even so, his twin was worth heart-attack-inducing toasters and the many hits to his pride.

As they continued their journey into late afternoon, Draco ate sweets and boasted Quidditch knowledge. At least one thing happened on the train that Draco hadn't thought could be possible – he made friends. Only time would tell if those forming friendships could survive the sorting, as a horrible thought suddenly occurred to Draco: what if he couldn't escape the Malfoy shadow and ended up in Slytherin?

Or worse, what if he and Harry were separated into different houses?

To be continued...
End Notes:
Do you have any sorting predictions? If so, I'd love to hear them! I hope everyone's still enjoying this story.


This story archived at http://www.potionsandsnitches.org/fanfiction/viewstory.php?sid=3391