Christmas was a wonderful time of year at the Wentworth house. Ever since his father came home when he was eight Peyton was showered with gifts and spent every Christmas morning by the fireplace opening presents with the family. His younger sister was always eager to dig into her stocking and presents while Peyton just enjoyed having the family together. Christmas night usually meant a huge feast with his mother's family in Australia while boxing day was saved for the wider Wentworth family in London.

The time before then however was usually spent in Hogsmeade enjoying the annual winter festival. Peyton was wandering down High Street with his father at his side. His mother and sister were back in Diagon doing some last minute Christmas shopping allowing for the boys to have some genuine male bonding. The festival was still in full swing and while the afternoon began to wind down Peyton was at a loss as to what they should do next. They had already competed in a few sledding races, went skating, had hot cocoa and candy apples and took a carriage ride. There wasn't much left to do until the evening when Angelina and Helena returned so they could do some tree decorating as a family.

"So champ, how's Quidditch going?" Henry placed a fatherly hand on his son's back, proud that his eldest son was already as tall as him at only sixteen. He had a fleeting thought of how tall Xavier was now before pushing it from his mind. As far as his family was concerned Xavier and Athalia Tawse didn't exist and he planned on keeping it that way.

Peyton smiled at his father, "Great actually. We just had a big match against Gryffindor. I had to pitch in as Seeker since Sasha, you remember my best mate Sasha, he got suspended and I had to fill in for him. Luckily we had a back up chaser to take my place."

Henry gave him a surprised look, "Schlagenweit got suspended? How odd is that?"

"I know. Everyone thinks Headmistress Snark was out to get him. He was gone for the whole rest of term. Hopefully we can catch up when he returns."

However Peyton's words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as his father froze in his steps. His haunting grey blue eyes, the eyes he had passed down to his sons, were staring straight ahead his face slack as if he had just seen a ghost. Peyton looked from his father to the crowd ahead of them trying to figure out what had caused such a dramatic disturbance in the older man, "Dad? You alright?"

The holidays weren't as festive as Xavier had hoped they'd be. Spending time at the Chimaera was always great but he had been hoping to spent every moment he could canoodling his new girlfriend but Bella was nowhere to be found. Word had it that her crazy ass father had escaped from Azkaban and was sucking up all of her free time. Free time that could have been spent with Xavier, walking arm and arm down High Street, kissing under mistletoe and warming up by the fire.

Instead Xavier was once again walking down High Street by himself. He had no siblings to be spending the holidays with like most of his friends and his mother was back home in Montross fussing over preparations for the big Christmas feast that Grandma Anna was planning. Uncle Cin was running his business and couldn't be around, and like his mother Aunt Maddie was back home.

Xavier scanned the crowd looking for a friendly face. There was nothing like spending the holidays by yourself. Unfortunately instead of a friendly face Xavier's grey blue eyes settled on the one face he never thought he'd see again. The crowd around him seemed to blur at the edge of his vision, the only thing clear was the vision of Henry Wentworth frozen twenty feet in front of him. It had been almost ten years since Xavier had seen his father. He had always suspected that his father was dead, or obliviated, kidnapped, tortured anything but casually walking through the Winter Festival as if he didn't have a care in the world, as if he had never abandoned his wife and son.

All of Xavier's anger issues over the years had stemmed from the abandonment from his father and now that he was standing in front of him he was torn between going ballistic and breaking down and crying. Fortunately the choice was made for him. While Xavier closed in to meet up with his estranged father, the blurry crowd rippled enough to allow one more person to come into focus. Xavier's eyes burned with fury as he recognized the tall lanky horrible figure of none other than his rival Peyton. And three small words - "Dad? You alright?" - sent Xavier into a rage induced fury.

The shorter Slytherin tackled the taller Ravenclaw to the cobblestone street and without a care about who may be looking on he unleashed a flurry of fists to the other man's man face.

Peyton had been focusing on his father. He had never seen his dad look so terrified and yet there was something else to that look. Peyton thought he was just seeing things, that it was just a trick of the light but there were certainly tears brimming in the older man's eyes. What in the hell could have caused his father to start tearing up? And in the middle of Hogsmeade no less?

Peyton turned from his father to the crowd but barely got a chance to focus in on anyone in particular before he was tackled. A rush of sensations attacked him. The sudden harsh thud of the cobblestone beneath him, the chill of the snow around him and then the sharp, sudden and rather continuous pain of someone punching his face. It was an odd feeling knowing that he recognized those fists. The way he shouted, grunted and just the feel of those calloused knuckled Peyton knew long before he could actually see him that Xavier Tawse was the one pummeling him and it was an even weirder feeling knowing that he didn't even care why.

Peyton struggled to get Xavier off of him even offering a few choice jabs of his own mostly to Xavier's midsection. He could hear his father shouting and voices from the crowd around them but he couldn't make out any distinct words. Before Peyton knew it Xavier was being lifted off of him. Henry shoved the smaller Slytherin to the side and helped Peyton to his feet pulling out his handkerchief and wiping blood off Peyton's face.

Peyton wiped blood from his lips and looked to the writhing, heaving, rage filled Slytherin that looked ready to give their fight another go. Now that he was no longer being assaulted Peyton couldn't help but wonder what had set Xavier off this time, "What the hell Tawse?!" Peyton spat blood onto the cobblestone and licked his lips trying to figure out if Xavier had managed to knock out any teeth.

Before the other man could answer Henry had stepped forward, "Please son, let me explain."

Peyton's brow furrowed. The kind, gentle and pleading words were directed at Xavier instead of Peyton. What the hell was going on and why was his dad calling Xavier son? "Son?"

Xavier's rage had kept him from feeling the jabs to his stomach and sides as adrenaline was pumping through his veins. He wasn't even sure he comprehended why he was doing this anymore. The only thing he knew was that hearing Peyton call his father 'Dad' was enough to cause him to go into a blind fury even if he hadn't actually heard him correctly. He didn't know why Peyton had said it and he didn't really care. The only thing that mattered was his anger and getting it all out of his system.

Before he knew it he was being lifted off the older Ravenclaw and pushed off to the side. Xavier regained his footing but continued to glare at the other man as his father tended to his wounds. With adrenaline still pumping through his veins he was rearing and ready to go for round two but Henry was quickly stepping in between the two with a sympathetic look saying that he could explain.

"Explain what, Henry?" Xavier's refused the call the man in front of him 'father', "Explain where ye've been fer thee past eight years? Explain why yer walkin' through Hogsmeade like ye never left me an' mam to begin wit? Or how 'bout explainin' why in Salazar's name yer walking around wit Peyton?!"

Xavier's cool grey blue eyes looked to the bloodied Ravenclaw once more trying to stare him down but he seemed to be getting the same glare in return. Usually Peyton just accepted Xavier's anger and often inticed it. The two had been at it for years, it was just normal for them to be like this but now there was something much more sinister about their rivalry.

Peyton swallowed the lump in his throat as he came as close to the other two men as he dared. Just because his father was between the two of them didn't mean Xavier wouldn't try and attack him again. However curious he was about finding out why Xavier had attacked him, he was much more curious as to what his father and the Slytherin were talking about.

It wasn't that Peyton was stupid, or lacking common sense it was just that the situation in front of him was so far fetched that he couldn't dare himself to believe any of it. The pieces seemed even more jumbled than they normally would have been. His father had called Xavier son, Xavier had asked where Henry had been for the last eight years - the last eight years that Peyton had finally had his dad at home - and why he was acting as if he had never left Xavier and his mother. If those pieces actually fit together the way Peyton feared they would, then that meant that Xavier, his rival for the past four years, the only person in Hogwarts that he actually hated, was actually his brother?

"Dad?" But before Peyton could say anything more Henry had held up his hand giving his son a slightly exasperated and pleading look.

"Please, one angry and confused son at a time." He then turned to Xavier, "I didn't want to leave you and your mother Xav, believe me. I loved your mother, I really did but her family, the whole pressure of being a proper pureblood, it was all too much. I had to go back to Angie and Peyton, back to where life felt normal, felt good. I was so afraid of what your mother would think of me, what your Grandmother would do to me that I never came back."

Xavier swallowed a lump in his own throat but his was born of suppressed anger. As much as he wanted to just hit Henry until he made himself feel better he was doing everything he could to resist. He needed to know what was happening. He needed to know why he had spent the last eight years hating a man he apparently never really knew. Xavier knew full well that the truth was a dangerous thing but it was something he craved despite how horrible it might be.

Xavier scoffed and rolled his eyes as the man in front of him went on about how much he loved him and his mother. If he truly did love them he would have never left no matter how much he hated the society they belonged to, "So tha's it? Ye left 'cause ye couldn't handle bein' a pureblood? What kind o' feckin' bullocks is that?!"

However something had stopped him in his tracks, yanking him back to the other half of his father's explanation, "What you do mean went back?" Xavier's rage filled eyes turned from his father to his newly discovered half brother. Why hadn't he thought about it earlier? Peyton was a year older than him even if they were in the same year at school. If it was true that Henry actually was Peyton's father that meant he had not only abandoned Xavier's mother but he had cheated on her before Xavier was even born, possibly while they were actually married, "Ye cheated on mom?! And wit some muggle whore?! Ye filthy despicable, horrible, cheating, lying-" Xavier's rant was cut off by a swift back hand across his face.

Peyton was suddenly seeing his father in a whole new light and he didn't like what he saw. He had always thought of his father as a strong proud business man. A loving father that did what he could to provide for his family. Peyton had never blamed him for not being around when he was younger. His father was an important man that had to help with the family business. He tried to come home as often as possible, even managed to stay a whole month at the house when Helena was born. Peyton had never imagined that the reason his father wasn't around was because he was living with another family, taking care of another son. He felt dirty and betrayed. How could his father have never told him about any of this and to have that other son be Xavier? Peyton's entire world had just been turned upside down.

Henry was staring at his son fighting back the urge to beg and plead for forgiveness. He had never expected Xavier to be so angry at him for leaving. He had expected him to be so happy to see his lost father that he would just ignore the fact that he had not heard from him in eight years. Unfortunately Xavier really was his mother's son and had a lot more Tawse traits than Wentworth ones. He was tempted to try and reason with the angered Slytherin until he started to go off with that filthy mouth of his. Henry had never hit anyone before and was even reluctant to draw his wand but hearing those words, hearing his own son calling the woman he loved a whore was enough to set him off and he smacked him, much harder than he ever thought possible.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that." His voice shook with anger as he stared down at his youngest son, imposing down on him like only an enraged father could, "I did not cheat on your mother. I met Angie before I even married Athalia. Peyton was born before the wedding too. I wasn't about to abandon my son but I had made a promise to your mother that I couldn't break either. Everything became so much more complicated when you were born. I loved you even more than I loved your mother. You and Peyton were my world and I did everything I could to be a good father to both of you. In the end I just couldn't handle living a double life and I went to where I was happiest. I returned to Angie and Peyton and Helena but not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of you, Xavier. If I could have brought you with me I would have."

Xavier was rubbing his cheek. All the anger and rage had been smacked out of him. He suddenly realized how Maddie must have felt on Halloween. Xavier had been punched, hexed, jinxed, suffered nearly every kind of physical pain one could have inflicted on another or themselves but somehow being back handed by his own father when he was least expecting it was something that stung worse than anything he had ever experienced.

Tears were welling in his eyes as he was confronted with a horrible truth. His father had left because Peyton made him happier. No matter how much Henry claimed to love him, and wished he could have taken Xavier with him the truth was he didn't. He hadn't even tried. He didn't even have the decency to tell him where he was going or why he was leaving. Xavier couldn't imagine how he would have reacted to that sort of news when he was seven but it may have been a lot easier than finding out now or having spent the last eight years thinking his father was probably dead.

Xavier once again turned his eyes to Peyton. He wondered what it would have been like if he had been taken along. If he had spent the last half of his life living in some hidden away life with a brother and sister and some crazy step mother. He figured he'd still hate Peyton but it would probably be that normal sibling rivalry kind of hate that everyone experienced, rather than a searing burning hatred that was unexplained and fueled by some subconscious realization that Peyton was somehow related to him. He had just never expected how close their blood actually was.

"Were ye ever plannin' on tellin' me? On tellin' mom that ye aren't dead?" Xavier sneered at the man in front of him but didn't dare to raise his voice again. As much as he hated to admit it Henry was still his father and still held that sense of authority that no other man could, "She never remarried. She's never forgotten ye."

Peyton was shocked by not only the smack his father had given to Xavier but by his rival's response to it. If anything proved that Henry was Xavier's father it was that. Xavier had that same shocked and betrayed look in his cool blue eyes, eyes that Peyton just realized now were identical to his own, that could only come from a son who had angered their father. Peyton had to admit to himself that Xavier truly was his brother, he just didn't know what to do about it yet.

He stepped closer to the other two men coming to stand directly beside his father. He was still angry with him and feeling horribly betrayed by all of this but he couldn't just stand by and watch this all happen without saying something, to either his father or Xavier. All of this was his fault after all. If it weren't for him Xavier would have grown up with his father and led a relatively normal life. He may have even been a good person, after all Peyton was perfectly normal and he had always thought of that as being a result of his upbringing. Perhaps if Xavier had been raised by Henry for those missing eight years he would have been a much better person, he may have even been put into one of the other houses instead of being placed in Slytherin.

Peyton looked to his father for some sort of direction, wondering if he should say something or just wait until this whole mess was resolved. Not wanting to get hit by either men Peyton kept his mouth shut and instead kept a close eye on the conversation.

"No," Henry answered truthfully, "I never intended on telling you or your mother. I figured you would have been better off thinking I was dead rather than knowing I left you for another family. One that made me happier."

Peyton looked to his new brother, hurt for him by the words his father had just spoken, "Look, Xavier I'm sorry."

Xavier straightened himself up and set his jaw. He wiped away any hint of vulnerability or weakness in front of his father. So finally the truth came out. Henry Wentworth didn't give a crap about him or his mother. He was a lying, cheating scoundrel that only ever cared about himself and his own happiness. He had lived a double life, raising two families that he never intended to tell either of them about the other, even when he decided on which one he would stay with. He was a coward, afraid of facing his wife, afraid of what would happen if he told her he was leaving her for another woman.

Xavier narrowed his eyes, "As far as I'm concerned Henry, ye are dead." The tall muscular Slytherin turned his gaze to his brother, of course the weak Ravenclaw was being an idiot and apologizing for something he had nothing to do with, no control over, "Just don't Wentworth. It's not worth it. See ye later." With one last hateful glare to the man that used to be his father Xavier turned heel and headed back into the crowd, wondering if there was anything left in the village that could make him feel better.

Peyton watched Xavier leave feeling a sort of sympathy for him he never imagined he would. He had hated Xavier since the first day they had met on the Hogwarts express and was actually beyond happy that they hadn't been sorted into the same house. Peyton didn't think he could have managed to survive with Xavier as his room mate. If someone told him last week that he would actually feel sorry for Tawse he would have laughed in their face but now he was at a loss for words.

He turned to his father who was watching Xavier walk away with a mixture of pain and anger in his own expression. He soon cleared it though and turned to Peyton, guilt and compassion replacing any previous emotion, "Peyton, son, I'm sorry you had to see that. You know I did this to protect you. I love your mother and you and your sister so much. Athalia and Xavier were toxic. I had to get out of there. Someday you'll understand." He glanced back in the direction of Xavier's departure before putting on a false smile, "Why don't we go to the Three Broomsticks and get some Butterbeers?"

Peyton searched his father's face for a long moment. He hoped that someday he actually wouldn't understand. He didn't want to understand it, any of it, ever. He couldn't imagine what would possess a man to not only fall in love but be in love with two women at once and then leave one for the other, especially when children were involved. However he mirrored his father's false smile not wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was and nodded, "Whatever you want Dad."

~*~ END ~*~