TWO: You Never Know What Is To Come
- HTL -
Harry
I can safely say that a girl who could bloody well be the definition of the Japanese term 'Yamato Nadeshiko' asking out the male I personally believe to be the physical incarnation of lust is about the last thing I expected to see walking home from my second detention of the week. Yet, there it was.
A girl that looks slightly younger than me, with raven-colored hair falling to her waist and eyes a bright violet, and definitely more than curvy enough to entice anyone, let alone who she currently stood in front of. She bows, her cheeks flaring a bright red as she asks a question of the brunet who sits in front of me in classes.
"S-so, would you go out with me?!"
I could only stand on the bridge I had to cross on my way home, baffled at the scene in front me. In what world, exactly, did something like this happen? I continue to watch in befuddlement - though not at all surprised by the response of the boy, and it isn't until the beautiful girl is walking away, a small smile on her face belying something other than joy, that I just barely sense it.
It isn't even half as terror-inducing as the killing intent of one Tom Marvolo Riddle, but it is most bloody definitely killing intent. And that begs just one question: what would someone involved in the supernatural want with a perverted nobody like Hyoudou?
The only thing I can think of is that he's pissed off someone he definitely shouldn't have, but I doubt his perversions have earned killing him - yet, anyways.
I sigh as I add another thing to the list to talk about with Nel whenever she arrives. At this rate, I might need to actually write things down.
-0-
I glance around as I approach my house, sliding the key into the lock and opening the door. It doesn't look like she's here, but that doesn't exactly mean anything with our kind. Yet, the house is quiet when I walk in. The living room light is on, though, despite my having thought I turned it off; no other signs of anyone being here, however, so I figure I forgot to turn it off.
I continue through the house, throwing my school jacket over a chair in the dining room and proceeding to the stairs, heading for the bathroom. Phys Ed had been a bloody chore today, and I'm more than looking forward to a shower. I lower my head to run a hand through my hair as I grasp the handle.
Opening the bathroom door, however, leads to something I hadn't expected in my empty-except-for-me house. I do naught but stare blankly. Nearly snow white skin stares back. Then I take in blue and white stripes, and just the slightest hint of red behind them. My eyes trail up, taking in purple and white before - are those even real?
Finally, what I'm currently seeing registers in my mind, and I slam the door shut as I step back, nearly screeching out an apology.
An alto voice is my response.
"I should kill you a hundred times, you pervert!"
Considering the doors are always locked whenever I'm not here - not even getting into the wards Nel put up around the place - I have a very good idea as to who I just walked in on either preparing to go or finishing going to the bathroom.
An involuntary sigh leaves my lips as I lean against the wall.
"Isn't this just a bloody great first impression?" I mumble to myself. Nel won't ever let me hear the end of it, I know that already.
Finally, after a few moments, the bathroom door opens and the girl walks out, allowing me to properly take in her appearance.
Long, crimson hair - a shade or two off from Gremory's - tied into flowing pigtails with shorter bangs to frame her face, and, odd yet attractive at the same time, shining pink eyes - currently set in a frosty glare aimed at me. A purple blouse and white apron dress cover one of the two areas that had originally distracted me (and I'm not at all ashamed to admit I'm still wondering if they're real with how slim the rest of her is), while black stockings rise up under the skirt of her dress until you can no longer see them.
"Er- I'm sor-" THWACK!
My apology is cut off by the sound of skin meeting skin, and my head swings to the side, my cheek already stinging. I simply nod.
"Suppose I deserved that for gawking and not closing the door right away." I speak as I turn my head back to face the girl, a hand rubbing at my cheek. Her frosty glare lets up a tiny bit at my words.
"Glad to see you aren't a complete pervert."
I can't help the snort that escapes me, wondering how this girl would react to someone who most certainly is a complete pervert.
"To be fair, I hadn't realized Nel had arrived yet; nothing out of place from how it was this morning, no baggage or anything; you can't really blame me."
The girl tilts her head, confused, before she walks partway down the stairs and glances around the first floor once it's visible to her. After, she turns back to me, a slightly apologetic look on her face.
"I guess my sister took care of our bags already. She's at the store with Penelope-san right now. Sorry for, uh, assuming you did that on purpose." The girl speaks as she approaches me, stopping a little short of a meter ahead of me. "I'm Mio, Naruse Mio."
I restrain the near-instinctual arching of one of my eyebrows, curious as to what about this girl would interest Nel; nothing seemed at all out of the ordinary about her, aside from the color of her eyes - and her bust size a smaller part of my mind adds.
"No need to apologize. I did gawk like any hormonal teenager, after all. And what a sight it was." I state with a wry grin, leaving her to sputter for a moment, her cheeks a light pink, before her eyes narrow at me. But I push on, grin never leaving my face. " I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
The girl's eyes widen more than just no longer glaring for a moment after my last name leaves my lips.
"You're- Penelope-san didn't mention you were adopted."
I just barely keep my eyes from narrowing at that - Nel told them the cover, then. I hadn't noticed it the first time, but this girl is calling Nel, Penelope - that's all the signal I need, regardless if it just leaves even more questions in my mind. Bloody wonderful.
I quirk a brow at the beautiful redhead now.
"Does it really matter?"
Naruse peers at me for a moment, pink eyes narrowed, before shaking her head.
"Not really. It just surprised me."
I nod as I turn, waving a hand behind me as I begin walking down the stairs.
"You thirsty, Naruse-san?" I ask as I look at her over my shoulder.
"Just a water, please." I nod as I proceed to the kitchen, my gaze sliding right past the door next to the stove, just as I know Naruse's did -without her even noticing it - as she walks behind me; I know perfectly well how that bit of magic works, and it still amazes me sometimes.
As I pull the fridge open and lean in, the sound of the front door opening greets my ears. I grab a can of soda - I never had understood why wizards liked pumpkin juice, of all things - for myself and a water for the girl behind me. I hear footsteps approaching as I close the fridge door.
"Mio-chan!" a voice even higher-pitched than Naruse Mio's brings my gaze to who I'm guessing is the sister she mentioned. Where Mio has curves in spades, however, this girl has just the slightest bit of them; I'd guess her to be about middle school age by how round her face still is. Unlike Mio's crimson hair tamed by putting them in pigtails, hers was a straight, brilliant silver, and her eyes shone just as violet as Shitori's, if not even brighter due to the mischief obvious in them.
"Hello, Mi- oh, Harry! You're home!" my gaze turns from the cute girl currently speaking to her older sister to the woman who had spent the past two years looking out for me by herself, and with her husband the three before that.
A head of thick, silvery-blonde hair and shining, ocean blue eyes; tall - even taller than me by just a centimeter or two - and svelte, she looked more like she belonged on the runway than anywhere else, even while dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. Typical of a Veela.
I'm only thankful this one has been alive more than long enough to have mastered control of her Allure, otherwise half of my focus would be on not having a problem anytime I'm near her; not a good thing to be experiencing near the closest thing I have to a mother.
Of course, if she ever knew I had thought about anything even remotely relating to her age, I'd have an entirely different type of problem on my hands; the very much being on fire kind of problem.
A smile crosses my lips as she quickly closes the gap between us, her arms nearly crushing my ribs as she yanks me into a hug.
"I missed you, Hazza." is mumbled into the hair covering my forehead.
My arms loop around the woman I hadn't seen in over two months now, breathing in the ozone-like scent that always permeated the air around her.
"Missed you too, Nel."
After a few moments, she pulls away, a grin on her face while I feel thoughts not my own push into my mind for but a moment.
'Go with it, Hazza. I'll explain tonight once these two have gone to sleep.'
The grin leaves her face, a look entering her eyes that I know to be fake after all the time I've spent with her, but I'm more than sure the two girls standing on either side of her are fooled.
"I've got some news, Harry…something I should have told you a while ago. I'm, uh… I'm getting married!"
My eyes widen before the thought she had slipped into my head registers.
"Uh…what?"
A grin growing on her face, Nel throws her hands in the air with a shout of her last three words. Wrapping her arms around the two girls standing at either side of her, she continues.
"At least, possibly. We want to do a trial run, first; my son and his daughters."
I stare blankly as Nel winks at me over the top of the silver-haired girl's head when she pulls said girl in front of her.
"This is Naruse Maria, and you've already met Mio."
Just- I- what the bloody fuck is going on?!
- HTL -
Mio
I watch as the messy-haired boy's - Harry - face goes through a variety of emotions, the primary ones being shock, confusion, followed lastly by anger. It's almost ironic how similar that look is to the one I'm sure was on my face six months ago, despite the completely different circumstances.
I almost feel bad about what my attendant - closer to the role she was playing than actually being just an attendant, though - and I plan to do but I push the feeling down. There are things that I need to do, and this is a part of that, no matter how much I'd rather not have to do it. Besides, it would just be done to me if I wasn't the one doing it.
"I…why is this the first time you're telling me anything, Nel?"
His voice doesn't sound quite as angry as I'd expected, though; there's a hint of melancholy to it. I look out of the side of my eyes at the woman who's memories Maria had manipulated to see a bit of sadness in her eyes.
"I- I didn't really know how to tell you when I first started dating him, and then things just kept moving forward. I never could figure out how to tell you, so… here we are." the woman spoke with a shrug at the end.
The raven-haired teen looks away before taking a sip from the can of whatever he was drinking, reminding me of the water he had grabbed for me.
Reaching for it, I take a sip, keeping an eye on him to gauge his reactions; best to know just what Maria and I will have to put up with until Penelope goes on her 'work trip' Maria had implanted. At least it is actual work; I don't have to feel bad about that part.
His face contorts through a few different emotions before settling on confusion as he looks back at the platinum-haired woman.
"Trial run?"
Penelope smiles at her son once again at that question; I'm guessing that means he's at least willing to listen.
"That's right; their father left on a business trip yesterday; they'll be staying with us while he's gone."
His left eyebrow rises at that.
"How long is this business trip, exactly?"
The woman glances down at that, a nervous look on her face.
"...six months."
The boy grabs his can, taking a large gulp from it, twice, thrice, before setting it back down. His eyebrows furrow as his eyes narrow in a glare at the woman raising him.
"You're bloody well lucky I love you, Nel."
A small smile stretches the beyond beautiful woman's lips as she hugs her adoptive son.
-0-
I let out a sigh as I sink into the bathtub, trying not to think about what had occurred in this room earlier - and right outside of it. I don't know what to think about Harry Potter, even if his first impression left everything to be desired. And then he flirted with me afterwards - once - before acting as if nothing at all had happened.
Finally, he only gave away a few glimpses of emotion when told what was happening. That worried me more than anything, even if he is human. I'll have to convince Maria to help me get him to take us on a tour of the town sometime in the next few days, just so I can get a read on him.
I can't trust him; I can't trust anyone but Maria.
- HTL -
'Penelope'
I lean back to gaze at the stars as I take a seat on the bench next to the large oak tree in the backyard, already lost in thought.
I could tell as soon as I spoke the words that it took everything Harry had to not react - violently. He'd always had a hair trigger temper - even if it tended to burn out quickly - and my husband's imbecilic mistake had only compounded on that; of course, it was the same mistake that would eventually save Harry's life - at the cost of my husband's. One other half for another.
"Promise you'll keep him safe if something happens to me, Nellie!"
His second last words spoken to me, just before 'I love you'. Here I am, possibly breaking that promise. Even if it is to save more lives than just Harry's.
I know that despite the girls thinking he had left while they were upstairs, Harry is currently in the Fidelius-charmed space below the house, venting his emotions by flying - as much as he loved it, it was the alternative he'd been forced to take up following his Fourth Year at Hogwarts (and what a bloody fucking disaster that was, I can't help but think anytime that year comes up), rather than his tried and true method of blowing things up.
As much as I prefer this method, I'd rather my son how he used to be; I'd rather there still be a fire in his eyes. That look…
My eyes drop the moment the screeching of a door reaches my ear, and I take in Harry approaching me, annoyance and anger obvious in his gait and expression.
"I checked. Both of them are out cold. So, what exactly is going on?"
"Not here." is all I say as I stand from my seat, leading Harry where I'm sure he had just walked from; I'd simply learned it was best to let him make the first approach.
My fingers twitch at the low growl in his throat. Some good, some bitter, and some near-unbearable memories are stirred by that growl.
We barely clear the bottom step into the Fidelius space before he speaks up.
"Well, Nel?"
I breathe a sigh, knowing not only just the length this conversation will be, but the sheer importance of it.
"How much did Nic tell you about the Biblical Factions back when I made him?"
He peers at me, curiosity swirling with the anger in his eyes.
"Just the basics. Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils. The Great War. The Devils' Civil War. That's about it."
I can't help but to shake my head at that; the one annoying thing about my husband. He never paid attention to things until they were on his doorstep. Unless he heard about some tome or magical artifact, that is. Or a very unique boy.
"Those two girls think they've memory charmed me into believing I'm marrying their fictional father."
His eyes widen and his left hand twitches.
"What the hell? Why would you pretend it worked?!"
Getting closer, I think to myself, to the big blow up. I just need to convince him after the initial explosion.
"That would be because of just who Naruse Mio is, Hazza."
I can't help the chuckle as he once again twitches at me using my nickname for him in a serious conversation; that would be Nic's fault, I think amusingly. Harry had brought out the… man-child in him more than anything else ever could.
"And that is?" he finally speaks after a few moments.
"Most of the supernatural world believes that Lucifer, and I mean the Original Lucifer, died in the Civil War shortly after he returned from the Great War. The only Original Satan to do so, in fact, even if just barely. He wanted to continue the War, and while some Devils were only too willing, the majority weren't.
"The story goes that he was killed at the hands of the current holder of the title Lucifer."
I see Harry's hands tighten into and out of fists, already starting to catch on to where I'm going the moment I said 'story'.
"I learned a few months ago that story is false. Lucifer escaped, albeit barely yet again. And he fled into the human world. He would go on to spend the rest of his years in hiding here."
Now his jaw clenches, before speaking through his clenched teeth. His eyes are flashing with barely suppressed wrath.
"Mio is half-human and half-devil, isn't she?"
I tense, knowing the blow up is here, before I nod at my son.
"What the bloody FUCK, Perenelle?!" I stay tensed, knowing that I have to be prepared for what is likely to be my only chance. "I told you I wanted one, ONE bloody thing when you dragged me halfway around the globe! And now you bring, quite literally I might add, the daughter of the Devil into my life!"
"And do you know how many people want her dead or enslaved for that very reason, Harry?!"
Another growl rips from his throat, this one louder.
"That is our problem, how?" his entire frame is shaking, and I can only thank Morgana that that hasn't worked or activated in years.
"She was raised believing she was a normal human by foster parents. They're dead now. All the help she has is Maria."
There. The first chink in his armor. Just listen, Hazza, please.
"You still haven't said how that affects us, Perenelle."
Teeth still clenched, but his eyes aren't as stormy now. The initial explosion is falling.
"What do you think would've happened to you had Nic and I not stepped in?" I ask, looking straight into his eyes; he flinches away for a moment before meeting my eyes, the storm starting to brew again.
"What, you want me to return the favor?! That world has already robbed me of everything! Bloody fucking twice!" Chink number two. I'm sorry, Harry.
Now for the last piece. I continue looking into his eyes, taking the storm in them dead on as I speak.
"Do you know who that girl reminds me of when I look at her?"
Confusion enters the storm of his eyes again.
"What?"
"Do you know who Naruse Mio reminds me of when I look at her?" I pause for a small moment, but continue speaking before Harry has the chance to respond. "She reminds me of a very unique twelve-year-old boy. The one I met almost five years ago."
Harry flinches back again, his eyes finally widening a bit from the glare they had remained in all this time.
"What?" is breathed from his lips very differently this time; hardly any anger, almost all confusion and curiosity. Chink number three. Please, work.
"I look at that girl, and I'm reminded of a boy who has spent his entire life unloved and ignored at best, abused at worst. But that boy still has so much good in him that he looked in a mirror that shows the heart's greatest desire and saw his family."
Harry's eyes grow even wider, and his hands unclench at his sides. The storm that had darkened his eyes starts to recede.
"All you've ever wanted is people to live your life with, Hazza. That girl needs a family. More than that, she needs people on her side, or she will die. It doesn't matter if it's tomorrow or even a few months from now, she will. I'm not the only one aware of her existence. I'm just the only one on her side right now."
Harry's chin falls to his chest, his Potter-typical hair blocking his emerald eyes from my view.
"I'm… nothing. I couldn't protect a single damn thing."
I rest a hand on my son's cheek, lifting his guilt-ridden eyes to meet mine. I know exactly what he's talking about, and this will help that undeserved guilt of his.
"That was never your fault, Harry. And you couldn't save Nic when he was already saving you. He learned that from you, you know?"
I ignore the tears I feel start running down my cheeks. Oh, Nic.
"It's funny, really. My husband lives for over half a millennium, only to find his hero in a twelve-year-old."
I feel Harry's tears on my hands, and rub his cheek as I pull him into a hug.
"I'm not a hero…" his voice is weak as he states this, denying the very title he had spent four years trying to live up to.
"You were to Nic, Hazza. You are to me." His arms tighten around me, a sob making its way from his throat at those words. I take a deep, shuddering breath, before asking the question that will decide everything.
"Tell me, Harry, is that twelve-year-old still in there?"
After a few moments of silence - silence in which I'm sure Harry is remembering those events as well as I still do - bright emerald eyes peer into mine, and there it is; the start of that oh-so-recognizable fire in his eyes. The spark, the life, my husband died to protect.
- HTL -
Harry
"All the help she has is Maria." Nellie, all the help he has is…
I can't stop the shaking in my body, the anger flowing through my veins. She has to know exactly what she's doing. So why the hell is she doing it?!
"You still haven't told me how that affect us, Perenelle."
Beyond my anger, I see her eyes darken, from the ocean on a clear day to a stormy one.
My flinch at her response is an involuntary one; how could I not think about what would've happened to me? I had done that everyday for a bloody year, before it finally sunk in that I had a home.
I'd lost everything to that world twice now; what would ever make going back worth it?
What hits me the hardest, though, is her second last question; or rather, her answer to it.
"I look at that girl, and I'm reminded of a boy who has spent his entire life unloved and ignored at best, abused at worst. But that boy still has so much good in him that he looked in a mirror that shows the heart's greatest desire and saw his family."
-0-
"I see you've come to visit the Mirror again, Harry." I whipped around, the cloak about my shoulders falling off and rendering me visible once again.
"H-Headmaster Dumbledore!" I had no doubt I was about to be expelled.
"Do relax, Harry, you will be in no trouble tonight. Let us call this a bit of… youthful wandering on both of our parts, yes?"
I stared at the aged wizard, unsure whether the man I honestly thought to be barmy was being serious or not.
"I have, however, come here tonight to tell you something, Harry."
"Er- yes, sir?"
The old man smiled softly, his blue eyes losing their twinkle.
"This is a very special magical artifact, Harry. It is known as the Mirror of Erised. Would you care to guess why?"
I thought over what I had seen in the mirror, even if the name alone was a giveaway. What I knew, in my heart, to be my parents stood around me, along with multiple indiscernible figures. I guessed those figures to be the family I would make myself, if my desire ever came true. But that's nothing more than a wish.
"It shows what we want the most, even if we're denying that desire."
The Headmaster glanced away from the mirror and met my eyes, a look I had never seen before in his own eyes.
"Indeed, Harry. Suffice to say, many have wasted away in front of this Mirror. It will be moved tonight, and I would ask you not go searching for it again."
I nodded, only thankful that I wasn't about to be expelled and sent back to my relatives. And then, the Headmaster's voice interrupted my thoughts.
"I daresay you've a ways to go in order to get to the Slytherin Dormitory, no, Harry? Best be on your way, unless you would like Mr. Filch to catch you." the old wizard stated, his usual twinkle back in his eyes.
-0-
"Tell me, kid, what did you see in the Mirror?"
I stared, wide-eyed at the man in front me in the Headmaster's Office.
"You-you're-Nic-Nicolas-"
The dark-haired man in front of me sighed exasperatedly.
"Yes, yes, I'm Nicolas Flamel. Now, tell me, what did you see in the Mirror?" THWACK!
The sound of skin meeting skin echoed as the hand of the blonde woman stood next to bloodyNicolas Flamel met the back of his head.
"Ow, Nellie!"
The almost regal-looking woman glared at the man.
"That is enough, Nic."
I glanced down, mumbling my answer to Nicolas Flamel's question before I could stop myself.
"...a family."
The heads of both man and woman snapped in my direction.
"What was that, Harry?"
"A family. Not my bloody relatives. An actual family!"
And then the arguing started. Not only between the man and woman in front of me, whom I could still hardly believe the identities of, but the Headmaster and McGonagall too. I hardly remember any of it, with how utterly exhausted I was after the events under that damned trap door.
But I do remember watching as the man turned to his wife, a grin broadening his features.
"Absolutely not."
"Nellie, all he has is…"
-0-
I had thought that desire was answered once, already; only for that family to be torn apart, just like my first one.
And now she wants me to try again? After I'd already failed?
"I'm… nothing. I couldn't protect a single damn thing."
I feel a warm palm softly press against my cheek and lift, forcing me to meet dark oceanic eyes.
"That was never your fault, Harry. And you couldn't save Nic when he was already saving you. He learned that from you, you know?"
I go rigid at those words; how could Nicolas Flamel have learned anything from an idiot like me?
"It's funny, really. My husband lives for over half a millennium, only to find his hero in a twelve-year-old."
Hero. I had heard that title thrown at me so many times, and not for the first time I find myself wishing it were actually true.
"I'm not a hero…" I find the power to voice after Perenelle pulls me into a hug, wiping away the tears involuntarily rolling down my cheeks.
If I was, then maybe- I shake that thought off before it can take hold; there's no use thinking about what-ifs.
"You were to Nic, Hazza. You are to me." My arms tighten around her waist, a sob racking my body.
I hear her take a deep breath, obviously preparing to speak.
"Tell me, Harry, is that twelve-year-old still in there?"
-0-
"You are, far and away, the most stubborn twelve-year-old I've ever met, Harry Potter." a wry voice stated from behind me.
I spun around, nearly dropping the wand in my hand. I was somewhat surprised I hadn't already, or collapsed, with how long I'd been out here. But I couldn't stop. I had to do this.
"M-Mr. Fl-"
The man's voice sounded before I even spoke his name.
"I've told you to call me Nicolas or Nic too many times already, Harry. Don't make me add another time to the list." his lips quirked into a smirk as the words left them.
"S-sorry, Nicolas."
"So, what were you working on, kid?"
I looked down to the wand in my hand, yellow sparks still coming from it, and then back to Nicolas Flamel.
"I- uh… Lightning."
The man's eyebrows rose, then his eyes flit to the wand in my hand.
"Now, that's interesting. Why that element?"
Instinctively, my right hand rose to rub at the inflamed scar on my forehead.
"All anyone ever notices is this bloody scar. So, I'm going to own it."
A grin spreads on the face of the dark-haired man, his azure eyes twinkling just like the Headmaster's.
"Well, I suppose I'd best help, then."
"W-what?!" I sputtered, my eyes widening. Nicolas' grin only widened, though.
"That is what a family does, Harry."
And just like that, tears were streaking down my face.
-0-
The fingers on my hand twitch, and I just barely keep from reaching for the pale scar on my forehead.
That is what a family does, Harry.
Those same words had rung in my head for weeks after Nic said them to me.
And then I recall the last thing Nicolas Flamel ever said to me.
Nellie will handle things now, Harry. She's never once led me wrong. You'll keep each other safe.
My hands clench, and I already know my answer, no matter how much I want to say the exact opposite. No matter how much I'd rather just run and not look back, or how much I just want to rage at the world.
Nic would never forgive me, and I'm not sure I could forgive myself, if I walked away.
Perenelle's mind is already made up. I'm not about to lose her, too. Not like everything else that's mattered.
- HTL -
AN: I will say now that Harry is most definitely still angry, and will be for a little while; the thing is, Harry is driven by his desire for family. Following the death of Nicolas Flamel (which will be explained eventually), that family consists solely of 'Penelope'/Perenelle and Harry himself.
And while Perenelle says Harry influenced Nicolas, Nic left just as much of a mark on Harry - especially regarding their thoughts about family.
In other words, as much as Harry wants nothing to do with the supernatural world, Perenelle has made the choice to protect Mio, and Harry refuses to abandon or lose the only family he has.
Now, Perenelle. Was she being manipulative this chapter? Most definitely. I see her as one of those mothers who know just what to say to get their kids to do what they want. And the woman has spent centuries wanting her own child; she's damn well going to push him to be the best he can be when she finally gets one, even if it means coercing him into it.
More than that, though, Harry suffers from serious guilt over past events, a couple of which I've hinted at. Perenelle sees Mio as a way for Harry to recover from that guilt.