So, I just thought of this wednesday night when I realized Halloween was so close and I haven't done anything for it except wear Halloween stuff and go to a haunted corn maze. D: I LOVE Halloween, it's my favorite time of the year. For me to have not even decorated for it... well, anyways, here is a bittersweet one shot of our favorite wizard.
I had meant for this to have been uploaded on Halloween, but then it took longer to right than I had thought, and then I got distracted with anime. Escha and Logy no Atelier, Sailor Moon Crystal, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, RWBY Volume 2, and Fairy Tail 2014! XD
Warning: if anyone is out of character, sorry. The only book I own at this point is Cold Days (which is also the last book I've read to date) and it's hard to get to the library these days, so I've only read the series once and a few of these characters haven't made an appearance in a while.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!
Disclaimer: all rights to The Dresden Files go to Jim Butcher. I had nothing to do with it's creation, which is fortunate, because I would have ruined it. :D
"Harry, it's time to wake up."
I smile slightly as I recognize the voice and realize that I'm still dreaming.
"But I'm having such a wonderful dream." I mumble as I curl up on my side and pull the blankets over my head. I hear the soothing alto sigh and feel the bed dip in front of me with the owner's weight.
"Too bad. I did not get up early to make you breakfast just for you to let it go cold."
"You made me breakfast?" I question as the smell of eggs and bacon begins to scare the sleep away.
"Of course I did. Today is a special day, after all." Susan retorts as I finally sit up in the large bed and lean against the headboard.
Susan Rodriguez is still the dark striking beauty I remember her as. Her dark strait hair was longer than I had remembered, brushing her hips as apposed to her shoulders, but that was the only physical difference. The look in her eyes has changed though. She still had that dark lazy appeal to them, but there was more. A darkness lived there, but it was almost engulfed by a shining love that she now directed towards me. When I glance down at the tray of food in her hands, I see why. Sitting innocently on her left ring finger is the engagement ring I bought her accompanied by a simple but elegant wedding band.
"I think I may still be dreaming." I say as I glance down to my own left hand and see a matching wedding band around my ring finger.
"Why? Because your loving wife made you breakfast in bed?" Susan Dresden questions as she curls the sides of her full lips in an amused smile before leaning in for a sweet kiss.
'Hells bells, I've missed her!'
"No, not that. I just feel like things should be different." I whisper as my gorgeous wife slowly pulls away from my lips. She raises one eyebrow at my words and tilts her head to the side curiously.
"Oh?" the dark skinned beauty questions. She smiles once more and decides to play along. "Shall I clear things up for you while you eat then?"
"Yes, please."
"Very well." Susan acquiesces as she passes the tray of food towards me. She waits until I begin to enjoy my breakfast before beginning. "Well, where should I start?"
"Did Bianca ever invite me to a ball?"
"Yes, she did. I insisted on going with you, but you refused. You told me you weren't going and you wouldn't want me going either because it was too dangerous. Eventually, you had to go, but you took Micheal as your guest. I... didn't listen to your advice, and sneaked my way in anyways, and it wound up with me getting half turned into a vampire, among other things.
"After everything settled down, you tried to propose to me, but I refused and moved away so that I wouldn't hurt you. It took some time, but between the two of us, mostly you, we managed to find a cure. You healed me and we got married a few years later. It was a small affair, with our friends and family present. I don't know how we managed to keep all the young ladies from throwing themselves on Thomas or keep the electronics alive with you and Ebenezer in the room, but Thomas only danced with me and Justine and we didn't get any bills for damaged equipment, so we must have done something right.
"We went on our Honeymoon almost directly after our wedding. Our wedding present from Lia was an all expenses paid visit to a lovely little town in Italy. That is where we created our precious daughter Margaret Angelica.
"In between all of this is the usual trouble you get mixed up in: stopping evil wizards from taking over the world, fighting the Red and occasionally Black court vampires, avoiding becoming Mab's Winter Knight, training new recruits as a Warden of the White Council, making sure no one messes with Demonreach, etcetera."
"So, we're still at war with the Reds?"
"Yes."
"And I'm a Warden?"
"You have your own sword and everything." That surprised me. Well, most of what Susan just told me surprised me, but this is the easiest thing to focus on. Baby steps.
"I have a sword? Not just the cloak?"
"Nope, you have a sword. Warden Luccio made it for you." Susan says with a nod.
"She wasn't put in a younger body?" I question, making Susan frown slightly.
"She was briefly, but you were able to put her back into her body before killing the body switcher."
"Corpsetaker."
"Close enough. My point was, you put Luccio back into her body before killing the necromancer."
"How did I do that?"
"I don't know, honestly. I wasn't there." Susan says as she takes the empty tray from me and sets it on the bedside table. She finally drops the accepting look to give me a worried frown. "You should know most of this information a lot better than me. What's wrong, Harry?"
I contemplated telling her that everything was fine, I'm still half asleep is all, but this is Susan. She deserves to know.
So I told her everything. I told her about not being able to find a cure for her vampirism, about not being able to put Luccio back into her body, about not knowing about Maggie until she was kidnapped by Reds in order to sacrifice her in a ritual that would wipe out her entire line, having to become Mab's Winter Knight when I became paralyzed, killing Susan during her change to a full vampire to save our daughter, everything. I didn't stop until parkour training on Demonreach, the last thing I remember before waking up here.
Susan takes my story in stride, listening attentively without interrupting, occasionally nodding or rubbing my arm when the need arose. When I was done talking, she scoots over to kneel at my side and hugs me tenderly.
"Oh, Harry." Susan whispers hoarsely into my hair. "Is there ever a time where the higher beings don't make you suffer?"
"Well, there's the time I spend with you, for one." I admit quietly, trying and failing to hide my breaking voice. I feel her shake her head as she tightens her hold on me. I return the embrace with equal, if not more, fervor than Susan did. I really have no idea how I managed to survive so long without her.
"Daddy? Are you okay?"
As if sensing my heartache and swooping in for the rescue like a miniature superhero, Maggie appears in the doorway accompanied by Mouse and Mister. She was small, but not as small as she was at Chichén Itzá. Her dark hair was tousled from sleep and her large dark eyes were still foggy from just waking up, but she still managed to shoot me a look of concern. She wore a set of black pajamas with red fire balls and green gusts of wind on them and dangling from her neck is a silver pentacle necklace that looked brand new. I must have made it for her like my mom did for Thomas and I. One arm wrapped around a plush wizard doll and the other raised to tangle her fingers in Mouse's fur.
"Oh, Maggie. I didn't know you were up." Susan says with a smile as she tries to wipe away tears without Maggie seeing, but from the fog disappearing from her narrowing eyes, she wasn't successful.
"It's almost ten o clock and I wanted to give Daddy his gift."Maggie explains with a frown. Mouse nods at this, the wrapped package held gently in his powerful jaws is proof of her statement. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"Nothing, sweetie. Just a bad dream, is all." Susan assures as she beckons the child forward. "Come here and say good morning to your father."
"Okay." Maggie says slowly as she steps forward and crawls onto the bed to get comfortable in my lap. Mouse follows her next to the bed and sets the package in my daughters lap, then sits down and lays his massive head next to me. Maggie thanks the wooly mammoth with a smile and an energetic pet on the head before throwing her arms around me in a loving hug. "Happy Birthday Daddy!"
"Thank you Maggie." I thank as I wrap my arms around her this time. I may have held on a little to long, but if Maggie minded, she didn't say as much. Susan looked on with an almost pained smile on her face, making me almost regret telling her my story. She is not someone I want to lie to or keep secrets from, but she isn't one I want to hurt either, so knowing I caused that expression to grace her features was difficult, to say the least.
Once I get a hold of myself, I let go and rub Mouse's head, partly to thank him for helping Maggie and partly to assure him that I was okay, before picking up the surprisingly well wrapped gift.
"Maggie, my present is beautiful. Did you wrap this yourself?"
"Almost. Mommy helped me a little." Maggie admits as she shifts in my lap to lean her back against my chest instead of sitting sideways.
"It's true. She did do most of the wrapping." Susan praises as she sits down and leans against me on Mouse's opposing side. "Our little girl is quite the talented gift wrapper."
"Then I will have to give the present the unwrapping it deserves." I say seriously, before vigorously tearing the ribbons and paper off of the cardboard box. Susan and Maggie cheer at this, clapping as the Halloween wrapping paper falls to the floor. Mister growls in disdain at this and hops onto the bed to be with the rest of the family. I smile at the monstrous cat and pause to give him the attention he demands. He purrs happily before settling on Susan's lap, giving me the go ahead to continue. When I finally get the small box open, I stop in surprise when I see what's in it. "A shield bracelet?"
"Yup. I made it for you! It'll keep you extra protected when you go out fighting monsters!" Maggie announces proudly, making me smile fondly at my sweet little girl. The bracelet was obviously amateurishly made, with flat wood beads bought at a local craft store and painted to look like simple medieval shields, and there was no magic in it, but the time and care put into it's creation was definite.
"Thank you, sweetheart. I'll wear it always."
"Good." Maggie says with a nod. Susan laughs at this and stands when Mister jumps off of her lap to more than likely find food.
"Okay, little protector. Let's get you fed and dressed so we can go to the park."
"We're going to the park?!" Maggie exclaims as her large eyes get even bigger with their widening in excitement.
"Of course. We have to meet up with everyone to celebrate your father's birthday, then we're going to take you trick-or-treating downtown."
"Yay!" Maggie cheers and hops off of the bed to race to her room. Susan laughs at this and turns to me to give me another hug.
"Your clothes are where they've always been, so you won't have to search for them. We shouldn't take too long to get ready, but you never know when it comes to girls, so feel free to take your time in the shower and getting dressed."
"Yes ma'am."
Susan smiles at me and gently cups a hand on my cheek, tracing the scars from the skinwalker incident, before following Maggie out of the door. I sigh and lay back down, rolling onto my side so that I could pet Mouse.
"I don't know what is real and what isn't anymore, Mouse." I confess when he pins me with worried doggy eyes. "I thought I knew, but then everything changed and got me confused."
Mouse whines and nuzzles his head into my palm, simultaneously comforting me and pulling me out of my little funk.
"Yeah, you're right. It's my birthday and I'm happy for once. I'll worry about my scrambled memories later and enjoy today."
Mouse huffs quietly at this and almost smiles before pulling the covers off with his teeth.
"All right, All right. I'm getting up." I grumble as I crawl out of bed and gather up a change of clothes.
I probably took a little too long in the shower, but when you are used to taking freezing cold showers and you step into a blessedly hot one, you find yourself taking your time. Which is just as well, because when I step out of the shower twenty minutes later, the girls are still getting dressed. I sigh and sit on the couch next to Mister as I prepare myself for a possibly long wait. Mister allows this, even standing up in order to relocate to my lap. I laugh quietly at the enormous cat and give him copious amounts of attention while waiting for Susan and Maggie.
Ten minutes later, two beautiful witches step into the room for my viewing pleasure.
"Sorry for making you wait, Harry. The hair and make up took longer than I expected." Susan apologizes.
"Uh, it's okay. I was just, spending time with Mister and Mouse." I manage to answer, slightly speechless at her modest-but-still-sexy black and red witch outfit, complete with a pointy hat and a good broom.
"Daddy, do I look pretty?" Maggie questions excitedly as she rushes in front of me and spins in a circle. Her dress basically looked like a black and purple version of her mothers, only cuter. She had a hat as well, but she traded her broom out for a wand.
"Of course you do, sweetheart! You look lovely!" Yes, I was gushing over my ridiculously adorable daughter. No, it's not unmanly to do so. Anyone that says differently can answer to my blasting rod.
"Yay!" Maggie cheers.
"Ready to go, Harry?" Susan questions as she grabs Mouses leash and tosses a key ring my way.
"What about my costume?" I was only wearing comfortable jeans and a Lord of the Rings t-shirt, not exactly costume material, unless you're going for nerd.
"Just wear your duster and bring your staff and blasting rod. People will know you're going for wizard and won't think you're crazy for doing so." My oh so loving wife answers brightly.
"Thanks, Susan."
"You know you love me."
"That, I do." Star and stones, do I know that.
"Here you go, Daddy!" Maggie chirps as she holds my blasting rod towards me. With how tall the coat rack and my staff are, I'm not surprised that the rod is the only thing the 13 year old can lift.
"Thank you, Maggie. You're so sweet." I praise. Her healthily pale cheeks blush with self satisfaction as she bobs her head in a nod and gives me a smile full of teeth.
"You're welcome!"
I slide the blasting rod into my belt to allow me to throw my mantled duster around my shoulders and pick up my six foot tall staff. Once I'm ready, the four of us (five, if you include Mister shooting up the stairs to disappear to who knows where) jog up the steps and stop in front of the Blue Beetle.
"Oh." I say simply as I see the beat up, multicolored Volkswagen Bug sitting innocently at the curb.
"Something wrong, Harry?" Susan questions as she sees my hesitance, snapping me out of memory lane.
"Oh, no. I'm fine. Thanks." I answer as I slowly step forward and unlock the trusty little vehicle.
Once inside, I take a moment to re familiarize myself with my car, vehemently denying the tears in my eyes the entire time. The bond between a man and his car is a strong one, especially with people that have their car as long as I have, or had until some jerk decided to blow it to bits in an attempt to kill me.
'Today is just full of surprises, isn't it?'
I start the engine and we make our way towards the park.
"Happy Birthday Harry!" Thomas congratulates the minute I am within hearing distance of the group milling around the gazebo. Sweet beautiful Justine lifts her head from last minute touches on decorations to send me a warm and loving smile.
"Harry, it's so good to see you!"
"Hi Thomas. Justine." I greet a little less enthusiastically, but still as loving, as I close the distance between us and let go of Mouse's leash.
"Hi Uncle Thomas! Aunt Justine!" Maggie greets as she plows into said vampire's legs.
"Hey there, little lady! Happy Halloween." Thomas wishes warmly, a loving smile on his face for his niece.
"Happy Halloween!" Maggie wishes back, then proceeds to wish everyone else present a happy Halloween, addressing them all as aunt and uncle. So, that's how she got away with it without telling everyone that Thomas and I are brothers...
"You're just in time. The last guest arrived minutes before you did." Justine informs as she steps forward to hug me tightly and tell me happy birthday before giving the same treatment to Susan and Maggie. But, you know, without the birthday wish. That would be weird.
"He lives." Murphy praises monotonously from the steps of the gazebo. Will and Georgia smile at this from their seats next to her, a young boy around Maggie's age sitting between them dressed as a werewolf. "You're always so busy with Council work, we hardly ever see you."
"He can't help being so busy. Thanks to the war, no one really has much free time." Ramirez comes to my aid without me needing to spare him a glance. Molly nods at this with a scowl on her face. Apparently, I haven't even had time to teach her lately. My poor apprentice is so neglected.
"Well, he could still find time to at least say hello every now and then. I'd like to see you when you don't need a doctor." Butters complains only halfheartedly. His beautiful wife Andi giggles at this.
"He's trying as hard as he can. We're lucky he's not even busier." Molly counteracts, shivering as she most likely remembers the current Winter Queen.
"Come now, we didn't gather here to nag at Harry to take more time off of work. We came here to wish him a Happy Birthday." My fairy godmother chides as she glides forward and embraces me. I hesitantly embrace her back, floored by her being so openly nice and whyissheevenhere?!
"Lia's right. Let's enjoy the party for what it is and leave work out of it." Micheal suggests. Everyone agrees wholeheartedly, especially the Carpenter children.
As I get herded towards the tables set up in the gazebo, I can't help but take note of the sheer number of people at the gathering. Other than the previously mentioned, there is also the rest of the Alphas, a good chunk of Special Investigations, the whole Carpenter family, a few members of the Paranet, even people like the now grown Faith Astor (identified by the faintly glowing ring on her finger) and the inconspicuous figure of Gard on the far side of the park giving me a nod before heading for an expensive car, were there.
"Are you really that surprised that so many people care for you?" Susan questions as she passes a plate of food into my hands.
"A little." I mumble as I accept the food. Murphy overhears our words and shakes her head.
"You've helped a lot of people, Harry. It's not that surprising that you have as many friends as you do enemies. Now sit down and enjoy your lunch and company like a good birthday boy."
"Yes, officer."
The rest of the day basically panned out like this. No monster attacks, no jobs. Just me and my loved ones. After lunch, we talked for a while before digging in to the cake and ice cream. After ice cream was presents, which were more numerous than the people in attendance. There was even a small present from Ivy and Kincaid, though I suspect that Kincaid's name was on the attached card purely for Ivy's sake.
After saying goodbye to our friends and family, our small family went trick-or-treating anywhere that was giving out candy this early in the day. Susan was right about my everyday clothes. While the duster tripped some people up, everyone knew I was 'dressed up' as a wizard the minute they saw my staff or blasting rod tucked into my belt. I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult. I decided to take it as a compliment.
I wasn't the popular one anyways. The real star of the show was Maggie. No one could get over how adorable my little girl was and she was such a sweetheart when accepting the praise. Susan got a lot of attention as well, like she should have, but a good lot of it was of the nature that made me wrap my arms around her possessively and glare until the onlookers ran away.
When we had trick-or-treated everywhere we could and Maggie was still full of energy, we took her to a haunted house. She screamed and clung to Susan, Mouse, and I multiple times throughout the place and even teared up a few times, but she laughed and smiled even more, so I took it as a job well done.
I was worried that we would continue to trick-or-treat and go to a haunted corn maze or something that night, but the next time we hopped into the Blue Beetle, Susan instructed me to drive home.
"Considering the dangers of Halloween night, especially for people like you and Maggie, we don't go to any of the events that take place at night." Susan explains while I drive back to the apartment. "That is why we did so much while the sun was up."
Once we get home, and let Mister back inside, Susan has me spend some much needed time with Maggie while she fixes up the table for a dinner of home made chili she had slow cooking all day. One bite of the spicy mix makes my eyes go wide.
"You made this from scratch?! It's delicious!"
"You say that every time Mommy makes food, Daddy." Maggie chides.
"I can't help it. You're mom's food is good. It may even rival Charity's cooking and she's a freaking Macgyver of the kitchen."
"Oh, stop! You're embarrassing me!" Susan says with a laugh.
"But you're so beautiful when you're embarrassed."
"Seriously!"
"Mommy and Daddy really love each other." Maggie observes, smiling and giggling at our banter instead of being grossed out by it like a normal kid.
"Yes, we do." Susan confirms with a sweet smile aimed my way. I smile as well, but turn back down to my food when my thoughts go elsewhere.
'Why couldn't this be my real life?'
Sensing the end to the conversation, wonderful amazing Susan attracts Maggie's attention with questions about what she got while trick or treating. This segways into how well she is doing in school and how much she enjoys her time being babysat by the Carpenters. I don't participate in the conversations, merely reacting appropriately to questions and statements aimed at me before directing it back to the mother and daughter. I was more than happy to simply listen to them talk and seeing them smiling and alive.
Dinner ends with still more peace. Susan ushers Maggie into the living room to play with Mouse while I help her wash the few dishes in the sink. Once they are done, she pulls a small cauldron out of a cupboard and pours water, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder into it before hanging it above the fire that cooked the chili.
"Was it hard relearning how to cook?" I question as I watch her slowly stir the chocolaty goodness.
"Not really. It's not like I had to relearn everything about cooking, just the methods. People cook all kinds of stuff using fire and non electrical equipment all the time while camping, so it didn't take me long to find the information I needed. After that, it was just a matter of correlating the heat of the flames to the heat of stoves and ovens, which made it easy enough to make things I wasn't familiar with cooking over a fire. Besides, it's not like I cook like this all the time. You have perfectly good kitchen appliances, if not old ones, that I can use whenever you aren't here, so I don't really mind."
As the chocolate syrup starts to boil, she adds a generous amount of milk and a few drops of vanilla to the mixture, then continues to stir until the liquid is hot again.
"That's good. I would have felt bad if I had made things even harder for you to live with me."
"You would feel bad anyways." Susan scoffs as the hot chocolate starts to steam again. She's right. I would have. "Seriously though, I don't mind. It was kinda fun learning how to use a wood burning stove."
"Good." I repeat as I take three mugs down from the cupboard and hold them out to Susan. She pulls the cauldron out of direct heat and ladles hot chocolate into the mugs, then takes them out of my hands to add little extras on top like mothers tend to do sometimes while I find a lid for the cauldron and cover the remaining drink. I know. I'm such an invaluable helper in the kitchen.
As I help her take the hot beverages into the living room Susan asks me a strange question.
"Could you go get chalk or whatever you need to draw a circle on the living room floor?"
"Okay." I acquiesce slowly as I free my hands of the hot chocolate. I turn and leave the room, hearing Susan tell Maggie to go to the bathroom before it starts, which gets me even more confused. What is it? And why do I need to draw a circle on the ground because of it?
I get what I need and enter the room once more, stopping as I see the T.V. Susan has set up on the mantle of the fireplace. Oh.
"You want me to make a circle around us so that we can watch T.V.?" I question as I warily approach the couch, eying the technology the whole time.
"Yes, actually. Once we're ready, I want you to draw a circle around the couch so that we can watch a movie without your magic destroying the T.V. and DVD player."
"Are all three of us going to be in the circle?" I inquire as I sit on the couch in question.
"Yes."
"Then how are we going to turn the power on or play the movie?"
"Mouse will do that for us."
"Mouse?" Now this I have got to see.
"Yes, Mouse." Susan answers with a nod as she holds something up with large buttons for me to see.* "This was made for someone with a service animal. The buttons are large enough for animal appendages to use them. There is usually only one button, but Thomas had one specially made for Mouse's use, since he's so much smarter than normal dogs. Once you have the circle up, he will turn the power on and play the movie. If something comes up and we need out of the circle, he can also turn the power off so that your magic doesn't destroy the T.V. and DVD player when the magic circle is broken."
"Huh. Why did I never think of that before?"
"You probably had no incentive to until Maggie wanted to watch movies like everyone else." Susan supplies as Maggie enters the room once again.
"Okay! I'm ready!"
"Good. We're ready too." Susan responds and gives her daughter her hot chocolate and sets her cauldron of candy nearby while I start drawing the circle. Before the circle is finished, I look up and get a confirmation from Susan. She nods, and I finish the circle with a bit of will, sending an invisible barrier up and around the couch.
For the next hour or two, I drank delicious hot chocolate and nibbled on candy that Maggie passed me while half laying curled up on the couch with my wife and daughter, keeping warm under layers of blankets and the crackling fire in the fireplace. I honestly couldn't tell you my thoughts on the movie if you were to ask me, but Maggie and Susan seemed to enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, it was a good movie. A live action Disney film about some dumb kid bringing witches back from the dead on Halloween night and having to stop them from sucking the lives out of little children, but my priorities were elsewhere. Namely, on absorbing as much as I could about Susan and Maggie. I didn't know when I was going to wake up from this remarkable dream, but I wanted to remember as much of it as I could.
The credits roll and we wait for Mouse to turn the power off, like the helpful walking rug he is, before I break the circle and carry a sleeping Maggie to bed. Seems like she was more tired than she had let on. I guess she really liked Halloween. As I tuck the blankets around Maggie's chin, Susan glides up to her bedside and sets the wizard doll next to her head. Both of us smile as she rolls onto her side and hugs the doll to her chest.
"Sweet girl, isn't she?" Susan whispers.
"One of the sweetest." I whisper back, voice cracking slightly as my throat starts to close with emotion. Ever observant Susan sees the change immediately and pulls me out of the room. Once we are safely out of hearing distance in my -our- room, Susan pops the question that has been nagging at her all day as she pulls out nightwear for bed.
"Have you seen her since your ghostly visit?"
"No, I haven't." I answer honestly as I sit on our bed and watch my stunning Susan sit at her small vanity to wipe her make up off.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm afraid."
"Afraid? Of what?"
"Of my enemies using her against me. Of her hating me for what I did. Lots of things."
"Don't you think that you might be hurting her more by staying away from her? You know from experience how painful it is not to have real family."
"I know. I just..." I trail off as wonderful, sensual Susan stands and slowing walks towards me while stripping off her witch costume.
"No more talk. We don't know how long you will be here, and I want you to remember tonight in case you wake up tomorrow in your other world."
I stopped talking for the rest of the night.
"Harry? Harry! Wake up!"
I groan as I come into consciousness, becoming depressed when I find myself lying on cold hard grassy ground as apposed to a warm bed with a thoroughly satisfied wife in my arms.
"Oh, good. He's alive." a female voices breathes in relief as I shift slightly and slowly open my eyes.
"Thomas? Molly?"
"You had us worried, little brother." Thomas informs with a relieved grin as he raises a hand still shaky with residual fear to push his dark hair out of his too handsome face. "Demonreach scared the crap out of us when it appeared the second we docked and told us that you had collapsed from the parasite in your head."
"Oh, I collapsed again." That explains why I'm lying on the ground outside. I usually try to fall asleep in the fix up cabin.
"I was able to remove the parasite, but it's done a lot of damage to you, so I couldn't be sure if you would be able to wake up." Molly explains, only slightly more composed than Thomas, having been the Winter Lady for the past 6 or so months and slightly better at hiding her emotions than Thomas.
"That explains why it feels like my brain is trying to hammer its way out of my skull."
"Yup. Other than the headache, how are you feeling?" Thomas questions with brotherly concern as he helps me sit up.
"Pretty good, physically. I kinda wish I wouldn't have woken up though. I was having such a wonderful dream."
"Yeah? About what?"
"It was a reality where Susan never died. I was able to cure her vampirism and we got married and raised Maggie together." I mumble. The shaky smiles on my brother and former apprentice melt away when they hear this.
"Oh, Harry. I..." Molly tries, but trails off, having nothing to say.
"It's okay. I'm fine. I knew it was a dream and that I had to wake up eventually. I just wish it would have lasted a little longer is all." I assure them and myself as I slowly stand with Thomas's aid. The looming figure of Demonreach tilted its head at my mumbled words, as if in confusion about why I would lie to my friends, but said nothing, which I am grateful for. They didn't need him to say anything to call my bs anyways.
"If you say so." Thomas acquiesces, frowning as he steers me towards Whatsup Dock. I notice the direction immediately and raise an eyebrow at him. "What? We're taking you off of the island for a while."
"You've been here by yourself for too long." Molly adds as she strides ahead of us to take the lead. I look back at Demonreach, who waves a long limb before vanishing like he was never there.
"Well, since we're going into Chicago anyways, can we make a stop somewhere before you take me where ever it is you're dragging me to?"
"Of course, little brother. Anywhere you like." Thomas allows with a fond grin. "Where to?"
"Micheal's place. I'd... like to meet my daughter."
"Finally." Molly grumbles with a backwards grin at me. "You should have done that a long time ago, boss."
"Hey, no disrespecting your master, padawan."
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, boss." Molly apologizes with a roll of her eyes and an extended tongue directed my way. I sigh at this lack of respect for ones elders but smile at the natural interactions. With everything that had happened lately, I was worried that things would be different between us. Looks like my paranoia was for naught.
As the Whatsup Dock comes into view, Thomas turns to me with a smile flashing too white teeth.
"Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday Harry."
End
Author's Note
*the remote thing for dogs was something I just made up. I don't know if that's actually a thing. I just wanted Harry to enjoy watching a movie with Susan and Maggie and that's the only way I could think of.
Also, here's a list of recommended songs, cause that's what I do at the end of chapters. I make a list of songs I listened to while writing or songs I recommend.
Songs (With a Halloween theme. :D)
This is Halloween by Danny Elfman (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
Movies of the Night parody by notliterally
Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.
I Put A Spell on You (Bette Midler Cover) by Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Hocus Pocus)
Thriller by Micheal Jackson
Something Wicked This Way Comes by John Williams (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)