This is a Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl Crossover. Overused idea, true, but that doesn't make it any less fun to read or write. :)
Also, no pairings at all for this fic. Maybe a few slight hints here and there, but nothing set, explicit, or graphic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter or the Eiffel Tower, or the Statute of Liberty…etc. The list of what I don't own goes on forever.
The Secret World Beside Us
Chapter 1: Kidnapped in Broad Daylight
Artemis Fowl frowned at his reflection in the filthy bathroom mirror.
He was well aware that certain precautions had to be taken so that no potential assassins or similar criminally-minded individuals recognize him, but still, this was too much. He should have never agreed to this, especially when he learned it meant allowing Juliet to come near him with a bag of cosmetics. The wrestling-obsessed young woman had truly outdone herself and that was not necessary in a good way.
The teenager who stared back at him in the cracked mirror provided by the by the cheap hotel they were currently residing in, had very little in common with the habitually neat, well-dressed, intellectual that he truly was. Instead of the one blue eye and one hazel eye he had become accustomed to seeing, Juliet had forced him to don contacts. And she had chosen contacts that made his eyes a stunning emerald green color, no doubt just because she could. He could have had brown eyes, black even, but no, Juliet had purposely chosen a color that he would never willingly wear.
But the color of his eyes paled in comparison to the state of his hair. Instead of being smartly combed back like usual, Juliet had more or less dumped an entire jar of hair gel on his hair and spiked it in a dozen different directions, aside for one part which she combed down to cover his forehead. He now looked as though he had never even heard of a comb. Apparently, this was the Style.
But, overall, it was the clothes that were compelling him to kill Juliet. When Juliet had presented him with the outfit, Artemis had stubbornly stated that he would never be caught dead in such an outfit. And that was exactly why she had chosen it. She reasoned no one would ever recognize the genius in such clothes. Artemis reasoned she had only chosen them to annoy him, and it was working.
Instead of his usual tidy suit, Artemis was now dressed in faded, ripped jeans and a baggy, oversized black sweater with a black t-shirt on underneath. On his feet was a pair of scuffed, filthy trainers. And he had thought his punk outfit as "Archie" had been bad.
Artemis scowled. He looked like a street urchin.
But he had to admit, no one would be able to recognize him now.
.oo000HP&AF00oo.
Butler was worried. That was the first thing Artemis noted as they left the cheap hotel. The Etruscan bodyguard rarely worried, but lately had good reason to. Ever since Artemis had returned from his latest saving the world adventure, things had changed incredibly, both for the better and for the worse.
Artemis was now the brother of two extremely bright and mischievous twins, Myles and Beckett. They adored him. He managed to tolerate them. In truth, Artemis had grown rather fond of the twins, but he was not accustomed to being in the presence of children. It was tough to admit, but he really had no idea how to deal with individuals of their age, so he acted on instinct. And instinct told him to keep up his cool, intelligent façade, even if all he wanted was to hug the two and take part in their little games. His cold exterior never seemed to bother the twins however, and Artemis often found himself included in one of their little games, much to the delight of his parents.
Angeline and Artemis the First had been beside themselves with joy at Artemis's return, but he had been unable to accurately tell the truth behind his disappearance. So after a long inner debate involving morality, his newly acquired powers, and potential loss of freedom, he settled on 'suggesting' that he had been kidnapped. Unfortunately, he had failed to accurately foresee just how seriously parents took the well being of their child.
At once, Butler and Juliet had been rehired and Artemis was placed under their vigilant care. The fairy story Butler had revealed to them in desperation was forgotten, a fact that Artemis might have had a hand in, and the Fowls focused on making their home as impenetrable as possible. The security system at Fowl Manor had been updated, cameras were installed everywhere, and many rules were set down. Normally, Artemis would have simply found ways to deflect the newfound overprotection of his parents, but an event occurred that forced him to change his mind.
Actually, it was several, twenty-two to be exact, events which all had the same goal.
Kidnap Artemis Fowl II.
Luckily, Butler and pure dumb luck had saved him, but now extra precautions were a must whenever he traveled, or his parents would refuse to let him out the front door. For instance, his current costume which was all for the sake of the family trip to Britain. Artemis, Butler, and Juliet had just arrived in order to meet up Artemis's parents and the twins who had left a week earlier for their nice family vacation. So far, everything was running smoothly.
If one overlooked the small fact that Juliet had lost the location of the restaurant they were meeting Artemis's parents at.
As they walked down a busy street, Artemis wondered why they had let Juliet carry the slip of paper with the address of the restaurant written on it. It would have been much easier to keep track of the location himself.
It would have been even better if he had brought his laptop, GPS, or, at the very least, a cell phone. But his mother had made it quite clear that no work and no electronics would be permitted on this vacation. The Fowl family would relax and spend quality time together for the next two weeks, she had insisted; Artemis could go back to being a distant teenager once the vacation was over. After taking into account all the worry he had caused her, Artemis found himself unable to disobey, something he was truly regretting at the moment.
Butler scanned the block for the tenth time, unduly tense.
"Calm down, old friend," Artemis said in a carefully casual voice. He hadn't missed the bodyguard's frequent scanning of the area. "On this street only every second building is a restaurant and the restaurant we're searching for is within a thirty black radius, so that leaves us with only sixty different possibilities…"
His voice trailed off as he realized that he was not making the situation any better. He really needed to work on his comforting skills.
"Nice, Artemis," Juliet snickered, looking as the latest fashions in a nearby shop window. "I'm sure Dom feels so much better now."
Artemis sent her a glare that clearly told her that her input was not needed or appreciated.
Taking the hint, Juliet abandoned the fashions and turned towards her brother. "Lighten up, Dom. We'll find them. After all, we've got a genius to help us."
Butler frowned at his sister. Here was yet another reason why Juliet would never make a good bodyguard. She rarely took anything seriously. The only reason she had agreed to be Artemis's bodyguard was because she was truly worried about the boy genius. "The longer Artemis stays out in the open like this, the better target he is for potential assassins and kidnappers."
Juliet slapped Butler lightly on his back. "Don't worry. Artemis, don't you dare get yourself kidnapped or I'll kill you myself, understand?"
Artemis rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched slightly. "Wonderful choices you've given me Juliet, stay with my kidnappers or get killed by you."
He turned towards Butler who was once again scanning the street.
"Butler, everything will be fine. I can take care of myself now a little. Some of what you and Juliet have been attempting to teach me must have sunk in."
Butler smiled slightly, feeling immensely fond of the two younger individual's attempts to cheer him up. It was kind of them, but he would only cease worrying when Artemis was safe with his parents. Though the young boy hid it carefully, Butler could tell he could not wait to be reunited with his family for a relaxing vacation. For the first time in years, the entire Fowl family would be spending quality time with each other.
Artemis turned his attention to the shops lining the streets once he saw the smile. None of the names of any of the restaurants appeared to be familiar. Then he spotted a small shop on the far left on the other side of the street called Fabled Haven. Something stirred in his memory. The name appeared to be familiar; was it the restaurant they were searching for?
"I'm going to check that shop." He said, heading towards it.
He was across the street, weaving deftly through the crowd, before Butler and Juliet could stop him. The two attempted to go after him but a sudden rush of traffic halted them in their tracks. Oblivious to the fact that Butler and Juliet had not followed, Artemis studied the shop. It was quite old and badly in need of a new coat of paint, preferably in a different color. There was a sign in the window proclaiming the day's special: Monkey Brain Soup.
This cannot be the meeting place, Artemis thought, turning away from the building.
The cardboard boxes next to the door exploded without warning. Startled, Artemis fell backwards, staring numbly at the burning debris.
A bomb? he thought, dazed. No, a bomb would have caused more damage, blown off a limb or two at this distance.
Then he was aware of Butler's and Juliet's shouts and two men in long black coats, carrying sticks, running towards him.
"Artemis, run!" Juliet shouted desperately as Butler attempted to find a way through the heavy traffic.
Without a second thought, Artemis got up and ran, away from the advancing men and away from Butler and Juliet. Pushing gaping people aside, he ran, faster than he had ever run before, mentally making a note to thank Juliet later for choosing surprisingly sensible shoes. The streetlamp exploded as he passed, causing several nearby people to scream.
An increasing number of people had realized that something was wrong, but instead of helping him, they were hindering him by standing dumbly in his way.
"Move!" he snapped, shoving two individuals out of the way with his elbows as he desperately tried not to trip.
Ignoring their curses and protests, he glanced back hoping against hope that he was just being paranoid and no one was chasing him.
No such luck.
The men were still after him, murderous expressions on their faces, their sticks held out in front of them. There was a flash of light and a nearby window shattered, showering him with thousands of tiny pieces of glass. How in the world were they doing that?
Ignoring the sting of the glass and gasping for breath, Artemis ran on, hoping the men would give up the chase before he ran out of energy. He turned right into an alley, hoping that he would be able to lose his pursuers in the darkness.
But the alley led to a dead end.
Trapped, he immediately began looking for a way out, a ladder, a stack of boxes, something to help him get over the huge brick wall blocking his way. But there was nothing other than pieces of trash. The sound of pounding footsteps alerted him to the arrival of his pursuers. Artemis whipped around just in time to see one of the men, the fairer one, point his stick at him and shout a strange word, possibly in Latin.
"Expelliarmus!"
Artemis felt himself thrown backwards and slammed into the wall closing the alley off, hard. He slid to the ground, too dazed to protest when his shoulders were roughly grabbed by one of the men.
"We got Potter!" a gruff voice said gleefully, as Artemis was pulled to his feet.
Potter? Artemis thought, disoriented. Who's Potter?
"Let's get out of here before the bloody Order arrives." A second voice said, impatiently. His grip on Artemis's tightened painfully.
Order? What Order? What is going on? Artemis's stomach seemed to sink into itself with dread.
"Don't squirm, Potter," the first voice snickered into his ear. "Or you'll accidentally get splinched."
Splinched?
The hand on his shoulder tightened further and suddenly Artemis felt a jerk around his navel. Panicking and unable to breathe, he struggled for the breath to scream but before he could, the feeling abruptly vanished.
Opening his eyes, he hadn't even realized that he had shut them, Artemis saw that he was in some sort of room, not the dark alley.
Stomach drooping to what felt like the core of the earth, he gulped.
He had been kidnapped in broad daylight and had no idea how it had happened.
.oo000HP&AF000oo.