I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail.

It was an ordinary day in Magnolia Town. With a modest population of sixty thousand or so, the port city in the southeastern region of the country and kingdom of Fiore was a bustling hive of activity, its citizens dashing to and fro in pursuit of their respective errands. Ships of numerous shapes and sizes bordered the waterfront as merchant sailors unloaded their cargo to be later sold in the numerous markets nearby. Whole crates of fabrics, spices, and items of an arcane nature, both mundane and exotic were carried off their floating carriages to be stored in one of the many neighboring warehouses, while other ships unloaded their load of people seeking family and fortune from other lands.

From one of these boats stepped off a young girl by the name of Erza Scarlet. The girl, nearly twelve years of age, bore a mane of hair of the same brilliant hue as her name, as well as a single brown eye displaying a hardness normally seen in battle-hardened soldiers three times her age. Her attire was a set of filthy rags fit for a beggar covered by a simple plate armor slightly too large for her frame, a single small rucksack of items that she had managed to procure, and a patch covering her right eye, once white but now stained with dirt and salt. She had come to Magnolia Town to fulfill her promise to her fallen friend and mentor, a wizened old man that she knew simply as "Grandpa Rob". She had said once that she wanted to become a wizard like he was, and with his death, her desire to fulfill that promise burned even greater than before. To that end, she set sail for Magnolia Town in order to join the wizard's guild that he had once been a part of, known as Fairy Tail.

Guilds are groups of wizards that join together to deal with problems that many others cannot deal with, for a fee. Though some would call this mercenary in nature – and indeed, some guilds hired themselves out as soldiers of fortune – many more see themselves as places where powerful and like-minded individuals can come together in fraternity to improve themselves and the lives of others. Fairy Tail in particular was regarded as the strongest guild in all of Fiore. Erza sought to honor Grandpa Rob's memory by joining Fairy Tail and becoming the strongest wizard that she could possibly be.

Unfortunately, as she stepped off the boat she realized that she had no idea how to get to Fairy Tail, nor indeed how to navigate the city in general. Even from the docks she could tell that the streets into the city twisted and curved in ways that could leave those unfamiliar with the cityscape lost with frightening ease. Erza felt a wave of apprehension build up in her stomach when she saw the crowds of people, and resolved to try and find the guild hall herself before asking anyone for directions. She weaved through the crowd, the people too wrapped up in their own worlds to pay much attention to the one-eyed vagrant girl.

Though she did not find the guild hall, or a map that would lead her there, Erza did find a particular store that caught her attention. The store was thirty feet wide by her estimation, and painted a light blue that mirrored the sky's hue. Above the door in large, flowing script read the words "Auntie Sweetie's Cakes & Things, est. X751". Behind the establishment's windows was the largest assortment of desserts that she had ever seen. Cakes, parfaits, pastries, and all other manner of decadent confections tempted the young girl with their bright colors and promises of sugary delight that made her mouth water in anticipation. Spotting a sign next to the door, Erza felt her hopes shatter when she saw what it read: "All you can eat, 3000" followed by the stylized curved symbol that symbolized jewels, the currency of Fiore. It had taken months for Erza to scrape up enough money to purchase passage to Magnolia Town, and now had barely over three hundred jewels left to her name. She did not know how long she had simply stood there, gazing forlornly at the treats sequestered behind the pane of glass, when she heard a voice laughing behind her.

"So are you gonna go in, or are you just going to stare at it all day?" the voice asked in amusement. Reacting on instinct, Erza reached out with her magic and summoned a short sword that she had previously stored in another dimension into her hand, spinning around to face the person addressing her. "Whoa, be careful there, girly! You could hurt someone with that thing!" the person – a man, she noticed – exclaimed, his voice carrying an unfamiliar accent.

He was a younger man; in his early or mid-twenties she would later hazard a guess. He wore a plain, long-sleeved gray button-up shirt, a pair of black, fingerless cloth gloves, and brown pants and boots. A simple black wizard's robe hung loosely on his shoulders, and around his neck hung a silver chain holding a strange pendant: A vertical line enclosed by a circle, which was further enclosed by a triangle. He had a head of ink-black hair that could charitably be described as a rat's nest that came down just above his eyes. Behind a set of round glasses were two brilliant green orbs that reminded her of Grandpa Rob: An air of wisdom greater than his youthful face would imply, along with a hint of mischief. Despite his declaration of alarm, the man did not seem to be intimidated by the blade currently pointing at him; in fact, he seemed to find the whole situation amusing, if the grin on his face was any indication.

"Where are your parents?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to one side in confusion. Having determined that the man before her was not currently a threat, Erza banished her blade to its resting place.

"…I don't have any," she eventually muttered softly. Her words caused the man's grin to fade away.

"Ah," he noted awkwardly, apparently unable to say anything else. As she expected, Erza saw pity in the man's eyes; she also saw something else. Understanding? After a few tense moments, the man's cheerful demeanor returned in force. "So, what's your name, little one?" he asked.

"Erza," the young girl replied. "Erza Scarlet."

"Lovely to meet you, Erza. My name is Harry," the man introduced himself, extending his hand out in an offering of greeting. After a moment's hesitation, Erza reached out and shook his hand, Harry smiling at the girl's firm grip. "So, you're probably pretty hungry right now, considering how intently you were staring at that cake earlier," he said with a teasing smile. Erza opened her mouth to deny it, but a grumbling from her stomach spoke volumes more than any words could. "That's what I thought," he drawled. "Tell you what, I'm feeling a bit puckish myself, so why don't you join me for a bite?" he offered, adding, "It'll be my treat."

Erza was about to open her mouth to refuse the offer before she was interrupted, the grumbling of her empty stomach speaking louder than any words. The man seemed honest enough, and she doubted that she could purchase anything substantial with what meager savings she had left, so she decided that it would be best to accept his offer.

When they entered the restaurant, Erza could not help but be amazed by what she saw. It was a decently-sized room with two dozen or so tables, the walls painted a pleasantly off-white color and the windows highlighted with pale yellow curtains. Several long tables covered with desserts of all kinds stood in the center of the room, its delectable offerings free for anyone to grab. Though it was in reality a fairly ordinary-looking restaurant, to Erza's sheltered sensibilities it might as well have been a dining hall from the royal palace itself.

She consumed the desserts with great gusto, consuming them so quickly that the treats seemed to disappear off their plates. Her favorite by far was the strawberry cake; she had consumed nearly an entire cake by herself within minutes.

"Slow down there, you'll make yourself sick if you keep that up," Harry said, laughing at the display even as he kept one arm wrapped protectively around his own fruit tart, lest it be swept up in the maelstrom of Erza's appetite.

"Sorry," she mumbled with her mouth full of apple pie before she swallowed and began to eat at a more reasonable pace. "I'll pay you back for this someday," she declared.

"Ah, it's no trouble," Harry replied with a dismissive wave. Before Erza could respond, he added, "But if it really bothers you that much, you can start by telling me what you're doing here in Magnolia."

"I'm here for Fairy Tail," Erza said. "A friend of mine was part of that guild, so I came here to join it."

"I see," Harry said. "And your friend, where is he?" he asked. Erza cast her gaze downwards, and Harry could see the sadness on her face.

"…He died," she muttered softly. She heard Harry make a hissing noise and looked up to see a grimace of his face, along with the same look of understanding as before.

"I'm sorry," the older man said. "Both for your friend's death and for my bringing it up; it was insensitive of me to ask." Erza did not respond, and they spent the next several minutes eating in uncomfortable silence. "Well, if you're going to be joining Fairy Tail, you're not going in dressed like that; good first impressions and all," Harry said, suddenly back to his cheerful self. "So after we're done here, we'll go get you some new clothes. And no arguments," he quickly added when he saw Erza open her mouth to retort.

"Why are you doing this?" the girl asked instead. Harry picked at his food while he considered the words that he would use.

"Because of your face," he finally said. He chuckled at her confused expression before he explained further. "You have a certain look, the kind that shows that you've seen horrible things, things that you desperately want to forget, but can't." Harry sighed before taking a drink to moisten his throat. "It's a look that no child should bear. It's also a look I used to have myself, a long time ago. So I guess what I'm saying is that you could say that I'm helping you partly out of pity, and partly out of empathy." Erza could think of nothing to say in response to his confession, so she ate in silence. After the two had eaten their fill, they left, Harry guiding them towards a place where they could purchase new clothes for her.

"So how did you get that look?" Erza asked as they navigated the winding streets of Magnolia Town. "If you don't mind me asking." Harry stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh as he lost himself in his memories. He suddenly had the presence of a much older and wearier man.

"I was in a war," he said softly as they began to walk again at a slower pace. "A long time ago; wasn't much older than you, actually. I saw a lot of good friends die. Did some things I'm not proud of. Seen a lot of things that I'd like to forget, but can't." He opened his mouth, but for a moment no sound came out, like he was considering whether or not he should continue. Eventually, he said, "And the thing is, those kinds of memories never leave you. They always stick around, and the harder you try to forget them, the harder they hit back when you do remember. The only thing you can do is accept it, and try to live with it."

"So how do you live with it?" Erza asked, drinking in his every word.

"You surround yourself with people you can care about," Harry answered. "I had a few friends who survived, so we leaned on each other for support during the rough times. Later on I got married and started a family; that kept me sane then." A second later, Harry's somber aura suddenly disappeared like someone had flipped a switch in his mind, leaving him in his previously cheerful state. "But enough with this depressing talk," he said with a bright smile, "we've got to get you ready for a meeting with Fairy Tail!"

With an increased pace the duo managed to arrive at the clothing store that Harry was looking for. Erza carefully perused the selection of children's clothes before settling on a white button-up blouse with a red tie, dark blue pants, and a white skirt that reached just past her knees. Though it looked well on her, she felt that something was missing from her attire. Spotting a glint of light in the corner of her eye, she found a set of armor, a simple, plain breastplate with matching shoulder guards made by the renowned armor manufacturer Hearts Kreuz. She instantly fell in love with it, but was soon heartbroken when she saw that not only did it cost nearly 20,000 jewels, but it was much too big for her, the design more suited for an adult than a small child like her. But Harry flashed a mysterious smile before purchasing the armor as if the cost were no object to him. Once they left the store and went down a more secluded street, Harry stopped and asked Erza to put on the armor.

"Trust me," he said with his usual smile. Erza did not find the wide, toothy grin particularly reassuring, but the man had yet to lead her astray, so she decided to give him the benefit of a doubt and slipped the armor on. It weighed heavily on her shoulders, the shoulder guards leading down past her elbows and the bottom of the breastplate nearly reaching her knees. Harry reached into his left sleeve and withdrew a long, slim rod of dark wood with a tapered end – a magic wand, Erza realized. With a wave and a flick of the wand, the armor began to shrink itself around her body. "Well, what do you think?" he asked. Erza performed a variety of movements and exercises to test the maneuverability of the armor.

"It's perfect," she declared. And indeed in her mind it was: It was so light and flexible, she barely noticed that she even had it on; it was like it had been custom made for her instead of being bought off of a shelf several sizes too large.

Eventually the pair found themselves standing before the doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall. Harry pushed the doors open, and the sight that greeted them made Erza blink her eyes in confusion. The scene before her seemed less like a meeting place for the kingdom's greatest wizards and more like a particularly rowdy pub. The room was filled with the cacophony of several loud conversations, along with more than one fight. The closest one seemed to be between a girl close to Erza's age and the man closer to Harry's age that she currently had in a headlock. The girl had long white hair pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a tight, revealing all-black attire consisting of a tank top that revealed her entire midriff, shorts, boots that reached up to her thighs, and collar. The man she was currently choking wore a white jacket over a dark blue shirt, with short blue hair and a shadow of a moustache on his lips.

"Mirajane, not getting into any trouble, I hope?" Harry asked chipperly. This caused the girl to stop her efforts and look up in shock before hastily arranging herself as if she were hanging her arm over the man's shoulder.

"Harry!" she exclaimed loudly, plastering a big, fake grin on her face. "No trouble here! Nope, just hanging out with my good buddy Macao here!" She pulled the man in closer while giving a nervous chuckle; the man just blinked in confusion.

"That's good," Harry said, either oblivious or uncaring at the teenager's obvious insincerity. "I'd hate to have a repeat our last discussion, don't you agree?" Though his voice and appearance remained cheerful, Erza thought she detected the slightest hint of menace in his words. This was confirmed when Mirajane suddenly went paler than she already and nervous sweat started to bead on her forehead.

"T-that won't be necessary," she stuttered slightly, fear evident in her tone. "Like I said, I'm just hanging out with my buddies!" As if to reinforce her declaration, she pulled in a man with a large, conical hairdo that had just sat down. Like his neighbor in Mirajane's "loving" embrace, he seemed mostly confused about the events occurring about him.

"Mm-hmm," Harry hummed, looking skeptical but apparently willing to let the matter drop when he turned to Macao. "So Macao, how's the wife doing?" he asked.

"Due any day now," the blue-haired man strained out; apparently, even when Mirajane was acting friendly, she still held him in a death grip. "Thanks for asking. Who's the girl?"

"New recruit," Harry explained. "Is Makarov here?" he asked, nonchalantly tilting his head to dodge a flying mug.

"Nah, he went out for something," Macao replied as he rubbed his sore neck, Mirajane having disappeared to another part of the guild. "He should be back any minute now."

"Guess we'll just wait here then," Harry said as he sat down across from the blue-haired man. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a book and began to read, occasionally ducking to avoid flying debris. The leather-bound book had no title, and Erza suspected that some magic was involved in its concealment due to the fact that, despite causing no changes in the shape of his clothing, the book in Harry's hand was almost as large across as his torso.

"So are you a member of Fairy Tail as well?" Erza asked as she sat down next to Harry.

"Yup," Harry quipped, setting down his book and pulling off his left glove to reveal the symbol of the guild stamped onto the back of his left hand in crimson ink. "I don't take too many missions though." He seemed to think for a moment before amending himself. "Not solo, anyway. I often tag along with others; I just help out here and there." This caused both Macao and his companion – who he would later introduce as Wakaba – to burst out laughing.

"You're selling yourself a bit short there, my good man," the tube-haired man chuckled. Turning to face Erza, he pointed at Harry and said, "Because of this man, Fairy Tail is richer than it's ever been! If he's around whenever someone wrecks something during a job, he'll just wave his wand and fix it right up, good as new! And when he's around during times like this," he continued, waving his arms around to indicate the madness surrounding them, "he saves us a fortune in repairs. One time, a few of us were chasing down this monster that had leveled a town, and Harry here fixed it all like it never happened!"

"And if you recall, I was bedridden for almost two weeks due to exhaustion," Harry pointed out as he flipped a page in his book. "That particular application of my talents is not one I employ very often."

"Ehh, true…" Wakaba conceded.

"He also goes around town fixing broken things that people have," Macao contributed to the conversation. "And he knows some healing magic, so he patches up the minor injuries too. People around here call him the 'Fixer' because of it." He gave a soft chuckle before turning to Harry and saying, "You're probably the only one Porylusica even remotely likes because of that."

"Better not let her hear you say that," the bespectacled wizard replied in a deadpan. "She'd likely wash your mouth out with soap if she heard that." Erza blinked in confusion, unfamiliar with this "Porylusica" person. A loud bang coming from the entrance of the guild hall silenced all activity. Standing in the doorway was the largest man Erza had ever seen, his pointed had just barely brushing the top of the threshold.

"I leave you hooligans alone for ten minutes, and you're already trying to tear the guild hall apart?" the giant demanded in a loud, booming voice. As he stepped further into the building, his body shrank like a balloon releasing its air until he became an old man, barely exceeding Erza in height. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped," he said with a defeated sigh. Noticing Erza, his mood seemed to pick up. "Well, who's this lovely young lady?" he asked.

"Master Makarov?" Erza asked. At the old man's nod, she continued. "My name is Erza Scarlet," she introduced herself with a slight, clumsy bow. "I knew of friend of yours, Rob was his name."

"Robert?" Makarov exclaimed in surprise. "I thought he died. How is the old coot?" he asked excitedly. Erza's expression turned gloomy and she could not meet his gaze; the old master understood immediately. "I see," he said softly, silently mourning his lost friend once more. "I suppose he's at peace now, at least," he muttered mostly to himself. "You've probably come a long way to deliver that news, young lady. Is there any other business you'd like to attend here?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Erza replied, matching her gaze with his. "I'm here to request entry into Fairy Tail." Makarov raised a single eyebrow in interest.

"Really?" he asked, intrigued. "While I'm not opposed to it, what sort of magical skills do you have?"

"I saw her using requip magic," Harry said before Erza could answer. This seemed to impress the old wizard.

"Requip magic, eh?" he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "That could make you quite a powerful and versatile wizard with the right training. Very well, Miss Scarlet, I accept your request to join our guild." While Makarov explained the guild's rules and guidelines to Erza, Macao had gone behind the bar and produced a stamp and a pad of ink.

"Where do you want it, and what color?" he asked once Makarov had finished his lecture.

"Blue on my left arm, please," Erza answered as she removed her left shoulder guard and pulled up her sleeve. Macao pressed the stamp into the ink and pressed it again onto the skin of her arm. When he pulled back, the symbol of Fairy Tail was stained onto her skin in a dark blue. "Congratulations, you are now officially a member of Fairy Tail," he said as he stashed the equipment away. Erza felt a hand clasp on her shoulder and looked up to see Harry smiling down at her.

"Welcome to the family, kid," he said warmly. As others gathered around to welcome their newest addition, Erza remembered what Harry had said about his family helping him deal with his memories, and felt a smile growing on her face as well.

A family; she could get used to that.

This fic was inspired by a few fics, namely TeninChwang's The Curse of Immortality as well as several of the Master of Death fics that seem to have popped up here recently – particularly cwysaphyre's Avengers crossover Wanderer. Incidentally, I recommend that you check both those fics out.

I don't plan on making this story especially long. While nothing is set in stone, I currently plan to only have one or two more chapters of comparable length to this one. By the end of this story, I do intend to explain Harry's presence in the Fairy Tail 'verse.

I hope you liked it, and don't forget to leave a review.