Magecraft and Wizardry
Part One: The Misfit Mage
Chapter One: The Takamachi-Harlaown Family
When the sun began to rise, Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept all night, but given the circumstances that was unsurprising. He hated England. There was nothing here that he liked; he was here because his aunt was visiting her uncle one final time before he passed away. He and the rest of his family tagged along for support, otherwise he would probably be in Japan, in the Midori-ya café with his Momoko-baasan and Shiro-jiisan.
He began to prepare himself for the day. First he grabbed his glasses. When he was a boy, they were overly large, with thick black frames and large round lenses. After being taken in by his mothers, they got him new glasses, with frames better suited to his face. The lenses were rectangular and the frame itself was much thinner. Harry rather liked them.
He put on his glasses and dressed himself, choosing an outfit that was as close to being a uniform without actually being one as possible. If he had to describe it, he would say it looked a fair bit like the uniforms boys wore in Japanese schools. There were a few embellishments, of course. Everything was black except for the turquoise piping and the pin he wore on his breast pocket to indicate he was a Military Cadet, and another to indicate his mage rank: C+. No one would know what it meant, however, since it was a symbol utilized by the Time Space Administration Bureau; only a select few on earth knew anything about the TSAB. Harry knew about it though, had known for years, and even spent more than half of his life there, living with his adopted mothers and sister.
Officially, he was an Enforcer Cadet. He did not intend to join the military, something his family knew and understood, but he was more than willing to make use of the perks he got for having two incredibly famous mothers. The education and physical training he was getting at the TSAB Academy was second to none, even if he was only a low-level mage.
"Glaive," he said, reaching for a bottle of hair gel; his black hair was unruly, but that broke protocol in the TSAB Academy, so he had to take steps to tame it, even on leave. It wouldn't do to fall out of the habit. After all, unlike his mothers, he was not an Ace and could not get away with unruly hair.
[Yes, Sir] his Device intoned, the voice both mechanical and feminine.
"Establish connection please," He said, smoothing down his hair. It would make the lightning bolt scar in the middle of his forehead more visible, but he didn't mind.
[Establishing connection] Glaive said. The little blue triangle on his wrist, secured by a wristwatch band, glowed faintly and a turquoise sheen ran across the lenses of his glasses. [Connection secured. All functions fully operational.]
"Thank you Glaive," he replied, tying his hair back. It was not long, not really, but it was long enough that he could tie it off in the back and have a short tail visible; it also kept his hair from getting in his face when he was training. He straightened his jacket. No, not a uniform, but very close. Harry liked uniforms, liked the idea of everyone having to wear the same thing. He supposed that after years of having to wear his former cousin's ill-fitting clothing and being ridiculed for it, the sense of conformity, of blending in, was very attractive.
Prepared for the day, he left the room. It was not his room. His room was much smaller, but not claustrophobic like the cupboard under the stairs had been when he still lived with the Dursleys. His room was not nearly as lavish, either, and the bed was not as soft, the furniture not as luxurious; his room in general was far more Spartan and windowless. He missed his room. He did not care for the pomp and auspicious wealth of the Graham household in general, let alone in the room he was staying in. Perhaps he could leave a note in the kitchen and head out for his morning run. It would do him good to get out of the house for a time.
He made his way to the kitchen. Signum was there, her bright pink hair pulled back and her eyes closed. Harry wasn't fooled. Just because Signum's eyes were closed, it didn't mean anything. She was probably meditating. Her eyes flickered open, perfectly alert; he was right.
"Good morning, Aunt Signum," he greeted.
"It's awfully early to be up," she said. "Not comfortable being back here in England?"
"I prefer Mid-Childa," he answered.
She nodded once. "Understandable. Shall we spar later?"
It was a courtesy; she wasn't really asking. Harry sparred with her once a week. It served to remind him that he was an incredibly weak mage and she was incredibly powerful. It also helped him to develop his skills to such a degree that he could beat most A ranked mages despite his own meager ranking. Skill, not power, wins that day; such is the true warrior's way. It was a lesson she beat into him every week, without fail. Of course, when she said it, it was in Ancient Belkan, some sort of Knight's Creed.
"Yes, thank you," he said, another courtesy. Both knew they would spar later, and that Harry would limp away, tired, drained, but a little wiser. He was grateful, even if he personally preferred learning from his mothers. They were wonderful teachers, and their methods were far gentler while being just as thorough. Nanoha taught him to control his magic, while Fate taught him melee combat and helped him to understand the nature of magic and how it worked. In short, his Okaasan taught him the math and science he needed to understand his magic, and his Nanomum helped him use that knowledge to create and use his spells.
"Do you think we can do it today?" A new voice asked.
"Good morning Vivio nee-chan," he greeted his sister.
A girl with golden colored hair came in and sat at the table. She fixed him with her curious stare; one green eye, the other crimson. "Morning Harry. And are we doing it today?"
"That depends on if Aunt Hayate got the sizes."
"Of course I did," the woman in question, Yagami Hayate, answered as she walked in. She looked like she had gotten even less sleep than Harry, an impressive feat since Harry had not slept at all. But then, he often couldn't sleep. He was something of an insomniac. She produced two slips of paper. "Fate-chan's ring size," she handed the paper to Harry, "and Nanoha-chan's ring size," she handed that paper to Vivio. "So you're really going to do it?"
"Get them matching rings for Christmas? Of course," Vivio replied. She watched Hayate move toward the stove. "Should we wait for Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama? They said something about going out for breakfast."
"You know, matching rings sounds like an awfully suspicious gift. Are you trying to tell them something?" Hayate asked, leaning against the counter and smiling, a small measure of mirth returning to her tired eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry replied calmly, leaning back in his seat.
"Playing dumb doesn't suit you, Harry," Hayate chided with gentle amusement. "Matching rings for the best of friends? Yeah, sure. Sounds more like wedding bands to me."
Harry shared a look with Vivio. "They live in the same house," he began.
"They always cuddle on the couch and hold hands," Vivio continued.
"They sleep in the same bed," Harry went on.
"Where they also cuddle."
"And they have adopted two children together."
"Most people think they are a couple—except them."
"We're not trying to tell them anything."
"We just want to tell everyone else that our Mamas are off limits until they can figure things out for themselves."
"And in the meantime," Hayate chimed with a full blown grin, "I will start the betting pool. Ooh, maybe I will start a few. I was just going to go with when they figure out what the rings mean, but I might also go with reactions. Oh! What do you think about a third, which one will make the first move when they do figure it out?"
"Easy, Takamachi," Signum said. "Testarossa will be too stunned to do anything but stand there and blush. Unless she faints. It depends on how many people are there."
"Yeah, good point. Just two then," Hayate squirmed a little in excitement.
Harry smiled. He was glad Aunt Hayate was doing a little better, even if it was at his Okaasan's expense, especially since she was notoriously bashful.
Vivio giggled. "Do you remember that time some new recruit planted one on Fate-mama because of a dare?"
Harry grinned in reply; he did. He was there when a fresh-faced recruit ran up, grabbed her face and kissed her before running off. Her entire face flushed as she stared blankly after the girl, completely confused. Puzzled, she'd gone to find Nanoha and ask her about it; that much Harry knew nothing about, as he was not there. It still made her blush when anyone mentioned it, though.
"Good times, good times," Hayate grinned.
"We've had many, so you'll have to be more specific," a cheerful voice replied.
Harry smiled and turned around, his smile widening when he saw not one but two women standing there. "Okaasan, Nanomum, good morning."
"Good morning," Fate said, coming close and kissing him on the cheek. With anyone else, he would have made a fuss, but he never pushed Fate away; she was his Okaasan. "Happy birthday."
"Oh Harry!" Hayate cried. "Happy birthday! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot, what with…everything…ah, I'm sorry, with…the stuff going on, this is a really rotten, oh Harry, I—"
"It's alright, Aunt Hayate, I understand," he said, discreetly looking at the calendar: July 31st. It really was his birthday.
"You forgot again, didn't you?" Nanoha asked, smiling. She reached out to ruffle his hair, but he swatted her hand away. She grinned, amusement in her gaze. Harry got a terrible feeling that she had just made mussing his hair her goal for the day.
"Don't tease him, Nanoha," Fate said, pulling out a chair for her. Harry shared a look with Vivio and both rolled their eyes as Nanoha sat. "So Harry," Fate said, taking her own seat. "What would you like to do today? I had thought to go out for breakfast, but it occurred to me that I should ask you."
Harry couldn't keep the grin from his face. What a beautiful thing, the freedom of choice. It was the best gift he would get all day.
"We can go out," he said then paused, "if Aunt Hayate is up to it."
Hayate smiled wanly at him. "Ah, Harry, you're a sweet kid. I think my Knights and I will remain here today, but you and your family should definitely go out. There are a lot of things here that you just can't find on Mid-Childa, so you should take advantage while you can."
He smiled at her, but he had the feeling everyone knew it was forced. He hated England, and they knew it. He didn't care about the local attractions. He would just as soon raze it to the ground than chance a run-in with the Durselys. "Alright, Aunt Hayate. Do you need us to get you anything while we are out?"
She waved her hand absently. "No, I'm fine. If I need anything I will send one of my Knights, if any of them really need out of the house. Well, I should to go check on Aria and Lotte. I'll see you later—and happy birthday Harry."
"Thank you, Aunt Hayate." He watched her walk from the room, Signum on her heels this time.
Signum stopped and, without so much as looking over her shoulder, stated "I still expect a sparring match later," and continued on.
Harry chuckled softly. Ah, Signum, she never changed. Not even something as trivial as his birthday would stand in the way of training. It was part of her charm, he thought.
"So where do you want to go?" Nanomum asked.
Harry considered it for a moment. "Do you suppose we could find a Japanese restaurant serving breakfast?" He smiled sheepishly. "It's been awhile since I've had any. They don't serve anything like that at the Academy."
Truthfully, there was more to it than that. The Dursleys would never eat anything other than good-old-fashioned Englishmen's food. They stayed away from anything that could be called 'ethnic'. He also knew that Nanoha had not had any of her native cuisine in a while, and he liked to make his mothers happy. Fate gave him a look indicating she knew exactly why he wanted Japanese food, but wasn't going to say anything given that it was both his choice and his Nanomum was desperately trying not to show how excited she was about their impending meal.
Fate drove them—she loved driving almost as much as her car, and had paid extra to bring it along on the trip. It garnered more than a few envious stares. No one was worried about it getting stolen; as an Enforcer's car, it had a variety of defense mechanisms in place. Fate hummed a happy tune as she drove; Harry supposed that driving for her was as relaxing as flying was for him.
Luckily they found a little restaurant that opened early. The place was nearly empty, except for an elderly Japanese couple in the back, so they were seated quickly and their orders taken. Vivio gave a long suffering sigh. She didn't like Japanese cuisine nearly as much as he and Nanoha did. Too many greens for her, apparently. He'd make it up to her later.
The meal was uneventful and filled with mindless chatter. It was the sort of thing Harry could appreciate. He liked things to be ordinary. Here, they were just another family having breakfast together—even if they were all mages, no one in that family was actually related, and the parents were completely unaware that they were a couple. Well, it was ordinary for him, he supposed, and that was good enough.
Their next stop was a park for a walk—they couldn't run since there were other places to go, but the walk did the four of them good. Then they continued on to a theater for a matinee showing. It had taken twenty minutes to figure out what to watch (Harry was completely in the dark about the movies, living off-world), but he finally decided on a romantic comedy—the romance for his Okaasan (because despite how oblivious she could be, she really was a bit of a sap) and the comedy for his sister (he still owed her for breakfast). His Nanomum, impressively, managed to stay awake for the first ten minutes before she dozed off; she had a terrible time staying awake if things weren't exploding. He thought it was a decent enough movie and it was an entertaining way to pass the time.
Sharing a conspiratorial look with Vivio, Harry suggested a mall next. His mothers, knowing he did not care for shopping, were surprised to say the least, but went along with it. From there it was easy enough to go their separate ways—Nanomum wanted to go to the arcade and play games and his Okaasan would, naturally, indulge her. Not doing so had obviously never crossed her mind.
"Just browse for a little bit," Fate said. "If there is anything you want, we'll see about getting it later on. Be back here for lunch."
"Yes Okaasan," Harry replied as Vivio answered "Yes Fate-mama."
They did browse. Harry found a few books he was interested in, and Vivio found a new ribbon for Chris, whom she carried in her arms since it would shock people to see a floating rabbit. Harry and Vivio wandered around together, trading stories that were carefully edited to hide any details of the TSAB and some of their friends' more dubious origins. 'Like a robot' quickly became the favored euphemism for Combat Cyborg and 'like twins' meant clone. At one point, while they were talking about Subaru, a stranger started talking to them about cars. They slipped away not long after, both terribly confused.
Eventually, they casually made their way to a jewelry store. They'd been saving for well over a year, with every intention of buying their mothers beautiful rings, regardless of price. Considering all that Fate and Nanoha had done for them, they were more than willing to pay, and Hayate had even helped them a little as far as funding and converting their Mid-Childan allowance to the English pound system.
They split up, hoping to cover more ground faster. Vivio mastered her telepathy years ago, and while Harry could not initiate, he could respond once the connection was established. They stayed in almost constant contact, even when apart. They were having little luck. After ten minutes of browsing, a snooty woman stepped over to Harry with an obviously fake smile.
"Can I help you, young sir?" She asked.
"I'm looking for matching rings," he said. "Nothing fancy, but nothing ordinary, either. Oh, and this is one of the ring sizes." He pulled out the paper. "Vivio! Over here!" He sister ran up. He returned the woman's plastic smile. "She has the other size."
The woman's gaze flickered between him and Vivio as his sister approached. "Don't you two think you're a little young for this?"
Harry and Vivio frowned at one another. Too young? He considered it. It was a rather devious plan, and he had only turned fourteen that day. That must have been Aunt Hayate's influence.
"No, we're not. If you knew Aunt Hayate, you'd understand," Vivio replied. Harry nodded sagely. "So can you help us?"
The woman scoffed. "I am not about to help a couple of runaway kids pick out wedding rings they can't afford just because your parents say you can't be together!" She walked off in a huff, leaving Harry and Vivio staring at each other in abject horror at the very idea of marrying. They did the only suitable thing they could do; they fled the mall entirely.
Harry sat on a bench outside the main doors and shuddered. Marrying Vivio… the very idea. He shuddered again. Vivio herself looked like she was going to be ill. Harry didn't blame her, as he was feeling rather nauseous himself.
After a few minutes of collecting their thoughts and putting aside their queasiness, Vivio sighed. "That was a complete and total failure. As far as missions go, this is the worst result I've ever had. What are we going to do now?"
Harry shrugged helplessly. He was a smart kid, he knew, and he was raised to make intelligent choices, but for all of his knowledge he was not a genius. He had no idea how to go about getting the rings. He leaned back, letting his head hit the brick wall with a heavy thunk. He winced and rubbed his head, careful not to muss his hair.
"You're so vain," Vivio said, smirking at him.
"I am not!" He defended himself. "I just don't want to break protocol. I might be demoted."
"You're on leave."
"I don't want to fall out of the habit. Might lead to laziness and laziness leads to—"
"Forgetfulness, yeah I remember." She rolled her eyes. Considering she was Belkan herself, Harry always thought it was amusing that she did not care for the Belkan anecdotes Signum was so fond of, nor could she remember them as he did.
Harry frowned at her, but didn't say anything. She would only argue with him anyway. She wasn't like that with anyone else, so Harry assumed it was just a brother-sister thing. He leaned forward and looked around. Perhaps there was another store out here, something not affiliated with the mall so he would not have to go in and be mortified by that woman if he and Vivio ran into her again.
He looked left, looked right, went to talk to Vivio, then jerked around and looked right again.
"What is it?" Vivio asked, craning her neck to see.
"Do you see that?"
"See what?"
Harry leaned back to give her a better view, and pointed. Vivio followed the direction with her eyes, but shook her head. Then she frowned and cocked her head to the side. "Is that…what is that?"
"It looks like a witch stirring a leaking cauldron," Harry replied. "I think. Oh, it says right on there, The Leaky Cauldron."
"The Leaky Cauldron, huh? It's funny, I couldn't see it at first, but the longer I looked, the easier it was to see. It's like looking through one of Miss Teana's illusions, only hers are better."
Harry nodded; Teana's illusions were excellent. He shifted slightly in his seat. He felt an odd pull to this place, so much so that the words "let's go check it out," slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.
-THE PHOTO ALBUM-
SNAP!
There is a photograph of a little boy in a bed. He is thin, unnaturally so, face gaunt, lips pursed, and eyes empty. He stares warily at the blonde woman sitting on his bed. In her hands, the woman holds a bowl of soup.
The back reads: Graham Manor.
Harry (5) and Fate (19).
Far from England, on the distant planet called Mid-Childa, stands a quaint little house. It is called the Takamachi-Harlaown residence.
It is much loved by the occupants, but the Takamachi-Harlaown family did not always live in that cozy little house. Before, the two women and their daughter lived at a base in a cramped, single apartment because no one in authority wanted to give them family quarters. They were not sure why.
Then they took in a boy. He is broken, a shell of a child, with no more spirit than the blonde woman, Fate, possessed once upon a time. She sees herself in that boy, and so she cannot let him go.
She carried him away from his family, back to her own.
Knight Shamal tended to him when Fate broke down the door of Graham Manor, the frail child in her arms and cold fury in her eyes. Severe malnutrition, minor dehydration, a mild concussion, three bruised ribs, a sprained wrist, and a greenstick fracture in his right leg. "Children are durable," she says. "If he were older," Knight Shamal tells Fate and Nanoha, "it would be worse, but because he is young and his body is more pliable, he was saved from the worst of it."
Fate does not think his youth has saved him from anything. She sees too much of herself in the boy. Far too much.
She worked through that first terrible night to build a Device for him. Lacking any creativity in the grave situation, she modeled it after Bardiche, a small triangle plate with a gem. It is very simple, and the only thing it can really do is monitor the boy—she does not know his name, he will not speak. The Device will alert Bardiche if something is wrong. It is all she can do for now with her limited knowledge of Device construction and limited supplies. Her own mentor Linith was a Device Meister, but the woman Fate is not.
She can sense a modicum of power in him, not a lot but it is noticeable. He panics when she mentions magic, so she no longer speaks of the subject and has asked her longtime friend, Nanoha, and their adopted daughter not to mention it to him. She will have to wait until he is ready to tell him he has the ability to become a mage, if he so chooses. She may even have the little Device she crafted improved and imbued with artificial intelligence. That too will wait until he is ready.
For now she sits on his bed, holding a bowl of soup. She made it herself, and Nanoha assures her it is good, and Knight Shamal confirms that it is just what he needs nutritionally. She offers him a bite. He stares at her for a moment, not sure if it is a trick, but slowly, slowly, leans forward and takes the spoon in his mouth, and slowly, slowly pulls away, slurping a little.
"What is your name?" Fate asks in English (she is fluent, but her words are accented), offering him another spoonful. He does not answer, but allows her to continue feeding him. Fate is glad. She thinks that, perhaps, she needs this as much as he does. This is something she always wished her mother would do for her in the Garden of Time, but that was an impossible dream. She enjoys giving this boy something she could not have, something she suspects he has always wanted himself.
When the bowl is empty, she brushes his messy hair out of his eyes (he flinches; she pretends not to notice) and tucks him in. He watches her move across the room and sit in a hard wooden chair that faces away from him. It is the post she has taken up since she carried him to this place.
"Harry," he whispers.
Fate looks over her shoulder and smiles at him. "Goodnight Harry. I will be here if you need me."
-chapter end-
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha/Mahou Shojou Lyrical Nanoha.
A/N: Okay, so, this has been rattling around in my head for some time. Normally I would never dream of posting anything until it was completely finished, but this was begging to be posted sooner. I thought I might let some of the readers have some input. I am looking for thoughts/opinions on the PHOTO ALBUM. Please see my profile for more information on this.
I hope all of the alterations I make to the characters are believable. If they are not, I ask that you call me on it. I will either find a way to further explain the alterations in the story itself or change what I have written. It is very important to me that this story is plausible and believable.
Please review!
Au revoir,
Hatter
