1 Chapter 1 - Desperation

"Harry?" A voice whimpered, clearly in distress. Despite having lived in a cupboard for his whole life, Ellis had not gotten used to the confined space. He felt like he was being swallowed whole and was too weak and helpless to do anything about it. Which is why he sometimes wakes in the dead of night to seek comfort from his older brother.

Wordlessly, Harry draped about arm over Ellis's quivering form and brought him closer. Gradually, Ellis calmed down, taking in the comforting scent of his brother. Oddly enough, scent had always been his strongest sense. Harry smelled like air dried sheets and the forest: fresh but human. Ellis wondered why he smelled like that. Maybe it was because Harry was the one always doing laundry, or maybe it was because Ellis's definition of escape and comfort was the wilderness.

Eventually, the brothers drifted to sleep. They could only hope that the next day would be better than the last.

-+-

Harry slowly opened his eyes. He could never tell what time it was since he didn't have the luxury of a clock. Looking around, he sighed quietly. Waking up to the cramped, depressing interior of the cupboard under the stairs always seemed to bring down his mood. Fortunately, the Dursley's didn't seem to be awake yet, as there was a distinct lack of noise from the television.

"Ellis, wake up," Harry shook his brothers shoulder. There was a quiet moan of protest from the younger brother. Ellis has never been a morning person.

"G'mornin' Harry..." Ellis rubbed his eyes and yawned. As he was closest to the cupboard door, he opened it slowly and crawled out. Harry followed soon afterwards.

They made their way into the kitchen, where Ellis began to prepare breakfast for the Dursley's. There was an absurd amount of bacon, most of it for Dudley and Vernon, who liked their food to be as fattening as possible. Meanwhile, Harry prepared the greens to make Petunias salad.

Just as they were finishing, Ellis heard the stairs creak as the Dursley family made their way downstairs. While Ellis was forgiving to a fault, the Dursley's were an exception. He would never forget the long, agonizing nights without food. The times where they were locked in that god forsaken cupboard for days. But most of all, he would NEVER forgive them for hurting his brother.

"You better be done in two minutes Rat!" Dudley spat, crossing his arms as he sat impatiently in his seat. Ellis has just placed the last slice of French toast on the plate and Harry had finished cooking the eggs. Both brothers carried the food gingerly towards the table, taking care not to drop it lest they face the consequences.

The Dursley's almost managed to look like a happy, normal family. That is, if it weren't for the fact that standing at the end of the table were two malnourished ten year olds. Ellis and Harry looked at the spread of food they made longingly. Their stomachs rumbled, which was, of course, too much of a distraction for the Dursley's. The twins were promptly kicked out of the room.

One small mercy was the bread that Harry had managed to snatch. It was only one slice though, not nearly enough to feed two growing boys.

"You take it Ellis, you haven't eaten in two days," Harry insisted, ignoring his own hunger pains. Ellis was tempted, so tempted to accept, "No Harry! You haven't eaten for just as long!"

"Please," Harry pleaded, his eyes desperate. Ellis was still reluctant, but took the piece of bread. He then tore it down the middle and practically shoved one half into Harry's mouth.

"Eat," Ellis smiled warmly, trying to mask his own agony. Harry already had so many problems, he didn't want to be another. They ate slowly, trying to savor every bite.

"Hey Freak! Clean up, now!" Harry flinched and scurried towards the kitchen. Alone, Ellis tidied their tiny room. Tomorrow was Dudleys' birthday, which hopefully meant that the brothers could get some reprieve.

Harry came back thirty minutes later and the fleeting smell of lavender dish soap mixed with his usual scent.

"You ok?" Ellis asked, scooting over so that Harry could fit on their meager mattress. Harry nodded, a small smile of reassurance appearing on his face.

They spent the rest of the day waiting for the Dursley's to yell at them to do chores, but as the sun set, Harry couldn't help but think about their parents. What did they look like? Did they have Harry and Ellis's black hair? Or maybe Ellis's dark green eyes?

The question he thought about the most was: Did they love them?

-+-

"Wake up!" Petunia knocked repeatedly on the door until she was satisfied that Harry and Ellis were awake. Her duddykins birthday was today and she wasn't going to have these pathetic orphans ruin it!

Harry and Ellis both got up, only to be met with a cloud of dust as their cousin jumped on the stairs above them.

"Wake up! We're going to the zoo!" Dudley laughed, climbing the rest of the way down the stairs. The twins, thinking he had his fun, opened the cupboard door, only to have it slammed on them. Unfortunately for Ellis, his fingers were smashed, creating a loud crack. He yelped, bringing his injured hand close to his chest. Harry and Ellis have accumulated plenty of fractures over the years, but never anything broken. They took great care not to get that injured, especially since Vernon wasn't willing to spend any money for medical treatment.

"Ellis!" Harry exclaimed, his face filled with worry and anger. That brat had broken his baby brothers fingers!

"H-Harry... it hurts," Ellis moved his hand away from his chest, revealing that his index and middle finger were beginning to swell and turn purple.

"I know," Harry embraced his brother, being mindful of Ellis's injuries, "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Harry," Ellis winced, patting Harry on the back with his good hand.

"Rat! Freak! What's takin' so long!" Vernon yelled from the living room. Harry and Ellis could hear Dudley having a tantrum and Petunias soft attempts to quell his anger.

Harry and Ellis rushed towards the kitchen. Ellis, still nursing his wounds, was only able to do simple tasks. This left Harry with the brunt of the work, which made Ellis feel horrible.

"Bring me my coffee rat," Vernon ordered. He sneered at Ellis, watching as he worked with one hand, "What is this, a circus? Use both hands ya bloody idiot!"

"Sorry, my hand got injured," Ellis went to show him his left hand, but oddly enough, he noticed that the pain had stopped. He looked at the two fingers that were previously swollen, and was amazed to find that they had miraculously healed!

"Stop making excuses and bring me my coffee!" Vernon turned red with annoyance.

Ellis hurriedly made the coffee just the way Vernon liked it. He handed it to Vernon, who snatched it away from his small, pale hands and waved him away.

"How are your fingers-?" Harry's eyes widened as Ellis showed him his healed hand, "What?!"

"Yeah! That's why I thought too, must be magic or something!" Ellis smiled brightly, his dark green eyes meeting his brothers light green ones. They stared at each other for a moment, silently conversing with each other.

"To the car, now!" Petunia clapped her hands as if she was calling the dog over. The twins obeyed, and was just about to get in the car when Vernon roughly grabbed Ellis's long, braided hair.

"I'm warning you boys. Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week!" Vernon released Ellis, who was holding in a whimper. The car ride was long.

When they finally arrived at the zoo, Harry and Ellis clasped hands so they wouldn't be separated. The person at the ticket booth glanced at them with worry, but was distracted when Vernon ordered tickets.

Ellis couldn't have been happier. He was surrounded by all sorts of animals, all of whom seemed to be looking directly at him, and he had his brother. Ellis has grabbed a map from a booth that was handing them out and pointed to the giraffes.

"Let's go meet some giraffes!" Harry rolled his eyes fondly at his overeager brother and let Ellis drag him over to the exhibit. There, the giraffes stopped what they were doing and stared at Ellis, who was pressed against the bars that engaged them. His face was happy yet solemn. Happy because he hadn't seen any animals for a long time, sad because he didn't want these animals to be trapped.

The giraffes moved towards the boy, leaning down so their faces met.

"Hey. Wow, you are all so beautiful!" Ellis giggled, and the giraffes seemed to perk up at the sound. The surrounding humans looked on in awe as Ellis talked to the giraffes. Some started to record and others began to whisper to each other.

"Thank you, small one," A female giraffe responded. Although this had happened to Ellis before, he couldn't help but still be surprised by the fact that he could talk to animals.

"You are very welcome!" Ellis beamed. Harry, uncomfortable by the growing crowd, tugged on Ellis's sleeve. Ellis looked apologetically at the giraffes before maneuvering out of the crowd with his brother in tow.

After that, they went to the reptile exhibit. Harry seemed fond of the snakes, grinning as he watched the Boa constrictor. Unfortunately, Dudley and Vernon were also there.

"Make it move," Dudley looked at his father with a pout. Vernon complied, rapping the glass. The snake didn't move, so the father and son duo left. This left Harry and Ellis to admire the Boa in peace.

"Sorry about him, he doesn't understand what it's like, lying there day after day, having people press their ugly faces in on you," Harry apologized. Ellis nodded in agreement, "Yeah, what right do they have to demand something from you? You're already trapped, why do they have to make it more miserable?"

Suddenly, the snake blinked. Harry assumed that it was because Ellis was talking to it, but the snake then moved it's head towards Harry.

"You can understand me?" Harry asked excitedly, "It's just, I've never talked to a snake before... you talk to people often?"

The snake shakes it's head. Ellis was glad that Harry was enjoying himself. The twins had always shared a common adoration for animals. The now moving snake attracted the attention of Dudley, who quickly shoved Harry and Ellis out of the way.

"Mummy, dad, come here! Look at the snake!" Dudley presses his face against the glass, which suddenly disappears. He fell into a pool of water in the snakes enclosure, which had him flailing wildly. Harry couldn't help but chuckle. Ellis, having just gotten up from his fall, also giggled.

Now that the glass was gone, the snake took its chance to escape and slithered out of its cage to freedom. It stops in front of Harry and Ellis, "Thankssss."

"Anytime," both brothers answered consecutively. Chaos makes its way through the zoo. Dudley, now trapped in the snake exhibit, starts pounding on the glass. He calls out for Vernon and Petunia, who are both extremely confused at their sons ordeal.

Even as Ellis and Harry snicker, they can't help but feel like they are in deep, deep trouble.

-+-

When they got home, Vernon shoved Harry against a wall and grabbed his hair roughly. Harry yelped, and Ellis was tempted to shove Vernon but refrained. He would only be making their punishment worse.

"What happened?!" He demanded, practically growling. Harry told him the truth, "I don't know! One minute the glass was there and then it wasn't! It was like magic!"

Vernon scoffed at the word 'magic' like it was gum on his shoe, "There is no such thing as magic!" He dragged Harry to the cupboard and shoved him inside. Vernon then closed the cupboard door and locked it, much to the surprise of Ellis. Vernon then turned towards Ellis, grabbed his arm, and declared, "From now on your punishments will be served separately!"

"Wh-What? No! You can't!" Ellis tugged at his arm, desperate to get out of his grip, "Harry!"

Harry, trapped in darkness, could hear Ellis pleading. He could hear Vernon grunting as he beat Ellis to a pulp, being careful not to injure anywhere visible. After a while, Vernon got tired and stopped. Harry could hear Ellis sobbing from outside of the door.

-+-

Dudley, dressed in his school uniform, smiled widely as Petunia took his picture. She kept cooing at him, and Vernon looked on proudly. Meanwhile, Harry was comforting his brother. Harry checked his wounds. Nasty bruises were starting to form on Ellis's stomach and back.

Before Vernon decided that the twins would be punished separately, Harry and Ellis were mostly just locked in the cupboard and denied food. Now, Ellis took the brunt of the beatings and Harry was forced to listen. It was hell.

"Get the mail," Petunia commanded in her usual, condescending tone. Harry walked down the hallway towards the front door, where he picked up some letters from the floor. Surprisingly, one of them has his name on it and another had Ellis's.

Harry tried to conceal the letters addressed to him and his brother from the Dursley's, handing the other ones to Vernon. Dudley noticed the letters that Harry was hiding though, and loudly pointed it out. They argued, but Harry lost and the Dursley family read the letter.

Apparently, it had greatly disturbed Vernon, who boarded up the letter box. The next day, owls showed up all around the house, much to Vernons annoyance. He was unable to scare the owls away.

Incident after incident, Vernon got fed up with everything and decided that they were going to move far, far away. Some place that THEY couldn't find them.

-+-

"Make a wish, Harry," Ellis encouraged, his petite frame shivering from the cold. The cake that was drawn on the floor was blown away by Harry.

"Can you believe it? We're eleven!" Harry whispered. His voice held no excitement though. Vernon had become more violent because of all the letters, which created more pain for Ellis. Now, he was sporting a black eye and a broken nose after an excessive 'punishment'.

"Yeah," Ellis smiled weakly, hiding his wince. Suddenly, the door thumps in sync with the crash of thunder. The twins jump. Another thump at the door causes everyone to back away.

Harry tugs Ellis towards him as they hide behind a wall, meanwhile Dudley cowers on a windowsill. Petunia and Vernon appear, the latter holding a double barrel gun.

"Who's there? Ahh!" With one last bang, the door crashes to the floor, revealing a giant man.

"Sorry 'bout that!" Hagrid puts the door back. Vernon stupidly aims his gun at the man, threatening him and demanding him to leave. However, this does not frighten Hagrid, who simply bends to barrel of the gun upwards.

They talk for a while, Hagrid even gives the twins a cake. The giant stares at the twins and snarls when he spots the bruises on Ellis's face.

"Did you do this?!" Hagrid demands, pointing his umbrella at Vernon accusingly.

"No!" Vernon cowered and clutched what remained of his gun to his chest like a security blanket. Hagrid doesn't believe him, and is extremely tempted to hex the man, but refrains from doing so. He grins at the twins, and tells them that Harry is a wizard.

"What about me?" Ellis asked, "Is talking to animals not magical?"

"Hold on a minute, you can talk to animals?" Hagrid blinked in surprise. From what Dumbledore has told him, Ellis Potter was a squib. Talking to animals was definitely magical.

"You're not separating us, right?" Harry looked horrified. At first, he was excited to get away from the Dursley's, but he would never entertain the thought of abandoning his brother. They stuck together, no matter what. Harry wouldn't be going anywhere without Ellis.

"Umm..." Hagrid didn't have a good answer for that. Squibs didn't have any magic, so they couldn't attend Hogwarts. But from what he could see, the Dursley's were obviously abusive and neglectful. He couldn't, in good conscience, leave Ellis to suffer. "I can see what I can do..."

The twins looked relieved but still clutched each other tightly.

"Now, we're behind schedule, so let's be off!" Hagrid moved to walk out the door. Harry and Ellis grab their jackets and left the Dursley's behind.