Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or One Piece. The credit goes to J.K. Rowling and Eiichiro Oda.

AN: Oh my, it's been a loooooooooong time since I uploaded! D: I have loads of crap excuses, but mostly I have just been lazy… So sorry about that. Please forgive me? 3

Chapter 5

Harry woke up with a start, heart pounding in his chest. The darkness in his room was pressing down on Harry as he sat on his bed almost hyperventilating.

Sweat was dripping down his back and his whole body was shaking but none of that mattered, Harry barely even noticed any of this.

'No, no, no, no, no, no…' he chanted in his mind.

The night was silent and the calmness of the air around him felt surreal because of the emotional turmoil inside his chest. Tears gathering in his eyes Harry looked down at himself. Sure, everything looked the same, but he felt it. Something was missing.

His magic was missing.

When morning came Harry found himself nervous. He had spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in his bed, unable to sleep after the horrible realization that he had lost his magic. Currently he was sitting on his stool behind the counter and staring at a clock, hoping to make the time freeze. It was only 10 am, but who knew when that crazy pirate decided to show up and demand him to join his crew.

Don't think about it Harry. Stop thinking altogether.

It was a quiet morning and he had already cleaned any dirty spots and specks of dust he could find to take his mind of the happenings of the previous night. Not that it had helped.

Still, left with nothing else to do Harry drummed his fingers on the counter and watched Kei chat with the only customer in the bar. She had noticed something was off about him, Harry noted idly when the ex-pirate-turned-waitress shot him a suspicious glance.

Turning his gaze back to the clock he discovered it was indeed impossible not to let his mind wonder. Biting his lip anxiously, Harry was just about to ponder about his magic and the pros and cons of being a pirate for about an hundredth of time, when Kei decided she had had enough of his brooding. With a sudden movement the waitress startled Harry out of his thoughts by draping an arm around his shoulders.

"Stop worrying kid!" she said and ruffled his hair, grinning brightly. "It will only get you wrinkles. And you are way too cute to have wrinkles at 16!"

As a response Harry only glared at the woman half heartedly before dropping his gaze to the counters wooden surface and singed.

Taking that as an invitation to console him, Kei sat down on a stool beside him. "Seriously kid." she said, still having an arm on his shoulders and looking uncharacteristically sober "Don't you worry, no matter what you will always have a place in here"

That made Harry smile a bit. He knew that of course, but it still warmed his heart to hear it said. "I know" he said quietly.

"Then you know that you have nothing to worry" Kei continued, turning Harry's head so she could look him in the eye "I know you must be scared to just hop into a ship with some stranger but it will be worth it. Trust me, I was a pirate after all." she said smiling a little smile. "And…" suddenly the waitress turned hesitant.

"What?" frowned Harry at her behavior.

Kei singed and then looked him dead in the eye with a knowing gaze "And don't think I haven't seen the longing in your eyes. You want to go, don't deny it."

Harry startled. She was right in a way, of course. He wanted answers. And the only way to find them was to go out on the sea and search for them.

But he was also scared. Kei and Terry had given him so much, not only a place to stay but also belong to and he didn't want to lose it. But… what they also gave him was the skills to survive within this crazy world, how to defend himself against the dangers of the sea.

Now looking at Kei's gentle and honest expression he thought: That's right. This is my chance. If I want to know why I ended up here in the first place, the only way is to seek answers. Spending the rest of my life as a waiter certainly won't work.

"Yeah, your right", Harry answered his friend. At the same moment the bar's doors swung open and a pirate with a bright orange hat strolled inside the bar.

Harry made his decision then, and deep down he felt a feeling of calmness settle inside him. He already knew he had made the right choice when he saw Ace spot him from the other side of the bar and smile mischievously at him. And slowly Harry grinned back.

After spending half a year working as a waiter and becoming used to this world, he was finally ready for some adventure.

AN: a short chapter again, sorry. Buuh, bad me. Anyway, about why Harry lost his magic: In this fic the magic of the One Piece world takes it's form in haki and devils fruit and that kind of stuff. So technically Harry didn't lose his magic, it just took another form. Meaning he has the ability to use haki. If that makes any sense….