Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Pirates of the Caribbean.
oOo
Hogwart's lake was utterly still, no wind rippling the glossy surface. That changed with a 'plop' as a small stone dropped into the water, creating ripples that spread out towards the figure sitting at the side of the lake. Harry stared at the ripples marring the flat surface, watching as they moved ever closer to him.
He sighed and looked up at the clouded sky, the moonlight barely passing through the heavy cover. If one had an imagination, the light which broke through in two places could almost be considered two eyes, watching the figure below… of course, then one would be distracted by the sound said figure made.
"I know ya c'n 'ear me, Akane. W'at's yer plan?" Silence was Harry's only response for several moments before a wind began to pick up, swirling between the nearby trees of the Forbidden Forest and sending the flat surface of the lake into rippling waves. Harry tilted his head towards the small wind speakers that formed near his head. The small creatures chattered back and forth at him.
"Choices—" "Future—" "Past—" "Time—" "Ships—" "Schools—" "Family—" "Friends—" "Magic—"
Harry rolled his eyes, muttered something uncomplimentary, and rose to his feet, stalking back towards the castle looming in the dark behind him. By the lake, the wind creatures faded away as the wind slowed and stopped. Above, the last remnants of the wind shifted the clouds just enough that the two 'eyes' faded away and the moonlight resumed its struggle against the cloud cover.
oOo
A somber attitude seemed to have enveloped everyone in the school the next morning. Several people eyed Harry, sitting at the Slytherin table—remembering his admission of "pirate" during the dueling tournament. Ignoring the stares, Blaise sat down across from the black-haired boy.
"Where'd Jack get to?" Harry looked up from the food on his plate.
"Hmmm? Ah. Jack wen' back, 'e 'ad ta keep Annamarie fr'm paintin' the Pearl purple, or som'thin', in 'is absence." A couple snickers from those nearby broke up some of the solemn mood that had invaded the Great Hall. Harry rolled one of his shoulders, beads clacking softly as the movement caused his hair to slide off his shoulders.
"'M plannin' t' 'ead back soon meself; ain't much more I nee' t' learn from 'ere. Always c'n botha Akane if'n I need ta do somthin' I don' know 'ow." A number of heads came up at these words, and Blaise nodded slowly.
"I see. Not planning to stay to really get to know your family?" Several eyes from the Gryffindor table turned towards the Slytherin and a few ears strained to hear the response. Harry just smiled slowly.
"I got ah family, ye've met one o' 'em. No' all family needs blood ties ta know one anot'er as such." With a nod to the Slytherins around him, Harry Sparrow stood up and headed towards the large doors that led out of the Hall. There was a finality of sorts in his step, one that many noticed.
Matt Potter rose from his seat at the Gryffindor table, wand clenched in one hand, and spoke loud enough for all in the room to hear.
"You're leaving, aren't you? Never mind the fact that you didn't bother to get to know your family, you just wanted to get something out of this and then leave!" The anger in his voice was easy to hear.
Harry paused right in front of the closed doors, and slowly turned to face the standing boy, beaded hair swinging around his head. Green eyes looked at the young boy with a slight glint—some affection, perhaps. His voice was calm, despite the accusing and angry tone he'd been addressed with.
"Aye. Yer family 'as lived all these years wi'ou' me; 'tis no' fair o' me t' barge in an' change all tha'. I knows yer parents were no' too 'appy when they los' their firs' son, bu' they 'ave anot'er ta be prou' of now. I may be a pirate, bu' I'm no' one t' try an' steal a family when I've got mah own." His head tilted slightly to the side, with seemingly all of the Hall's occupants listening to his every word.
"I've known me 'ole life tha' some day I'd 'ave a choice t'make. When I was stolen away, tha' changed me destiny. Akane tol' me 'bout it once, an' how me parents woulda been dead, an' I either dead or damaged. 'E always tol' me tha' someday I'd get a choice, a choice t'make me own destiny. An' now I'm choosin'. Imma goin' ta get me own ship, an' imma goin' t' choose freedom on the sea." Matt Potter had sat in his seat at some point during Harry's speech, joining the rest who were sitting and staring at the pirate that had just admitted that without his disappearance his family would have been dead. Up at the Head Table, Lily whimpered slightly as she leaned against James, who had an arm wrapped around her shoulders.
Harry merely smiled a slightly eccentric smile and put one hand over the ring on his other. With a soft word, he disappeared from Hogwarts and from that timeline, leaving behind a stunned school.
oOo
Two ships sailed across the deep sea, black sails billowing in the wind. At the wheel of one stood a man with slightly graying hair; at the other, a green-eyed man. The ships rocked upon the gentle waves, spray from slightly harsher waves occasionally shooting up into the sky.
The Black Pearl and the Freedom rode the waves side by side, both pirating ships filled with the laughter of the Sparrows and their crews.
oOo
Akane set the crystal ball aside, blue eyes nearly disappearing into the crinkles of his old smiling face. He turned towards the sky for a few minutes, continuing to smile, before reaching out and lifting up a sheet of parchment and a quill. One had found his happiness, but there were more destinies out there that could be changed for the better.
oOo
END
oOo
A/N: Well, I'm still not really sure if that's the ending I had planned when I started this story almost five years ago. Or even where I was heading when I last updated it almost four ago. I think it fits, though, so I'll leave it.
I'd like to apologize for taking so long to finish this; there are reasons I mainly write one-shots. I tend to decide halfway (or even 7/8s of the way) through a story that I don't like what I've written, and stop. Sometimes I come back, sometimes I don't; I'd like to thank everyone who continued to review despite my lack of updates., because your comments continued to remind me of the story. I'd especially like to thank Global Conquest-er, because I'd have to say that your review was probably the one that really made me think about finishing Picture A Pirate.
I will probably be avoiding writing chaptered fics again for at least a very long time, but thank you to everyone who has reviewed this one and who will review this one. I hope you did enjoy it.
-Kaaera