Disclaimer: I do not own either the Harry Potter series or Fairy Tail series.
AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. I will preface this chapter by saying that what the magic council was thinking is addressed a little in the chapter. More answers will be revealed as the story progresses. I hope that you enjoy chapter 2. ;)
Chapter 2: The Fairy's Den
With every step Harry was feeling better. It seemed getting up and walking around was the fastest way to regain his equilibrium. He was immensely relieved when he felt the hands on his arms slacken.
The three turned when an indignant hoot floated through the air.
"Ah! Hedwig!" cried Harry as he made to dash back to his owl. Hedwig's cage lay on its side holding a very annoyed snowy owl.
Harry's retreat was halted by the hands on his arms. He stared a moment at the hands that prevented him from getting to Hedwig with apprehension. He looked up into the stern face of the red-head. He blinked at the intensity of her fierceness as her grip tightened on his arm.
"We can worry about the animal later. First, we take you to master." The woman's tone communicated that she was not someone to disobey, but he couldn't just leave Hedwig like that.
He tried to wrench his arm from their hands, but both women were remarkably strong. Their reluctance to let him go was confusing. He was sure that they weren't worried about him falling over anymore, meaning they weren't letting him go for some other reason. "Look, I just want to go let her out. She hates being in her cage." Harry pleaded.
The red-head's eyes softened at his words and nodded slightly to the other woman. Harry turned when he felt one hand leave his arm. The white-haired woman sprinted agilely to the cage and opened it. Hedwig hopped out and flapped her wings a few times in appreciation of the ample space. Harry's eyes met with his loyal owl. Hedwig tilted her head at him before flying off into the sky.
"Thank you," Harry breathed, a small smile on his lips.
"Come on Mr. Harry!" chimed the white-haired woman as she looped her arm through his again. He realized that his jaw had dropped as she approached and promptly snapped it shut.
The red head sighed in mild exasperation, "Let's go." Harry turned to the armor-clad woman to see her flick her head to the side. The action swished her bangs back, revealing her other eye.
"By the way Mr. Harry, I'm Mirajane." The white-haired woman ducked her head forward so that she could look up at Harry's face.
Harry couldn't help but notice how open and friendly this woman was. He smiled back at Mirajane. "It's nice to meet you." The recent awkward moment now forgotten. Maybe they didn't keep animals here. Or maybe they were still worried about him. Whatever it was, he couldn't imagine this woman having a single sinister bone in her body. There was no way he was in any danger from her.
Mirajane continued to beam at Harry as they approached the door. "We are so glad that you finally got here."
"Mirajane." warned the red-head.
Mirajane just blinked at the other woman leaving Harry lost. It was an odd sort of welcoming party. He had expected to arrive to officials and maybe even be searched. He did not think that he would be caught between two women like this moments after his arrival. He didn't know what the issue was, but he wanted to relieve the sudden tension. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Harry addressed the stern woman with a small smile.
She blinked her big brown eyes at him as if his statement surprised her. He continued to smile feeling more awkward the longer the woman remained silent. Finally, she broke eye contact and answered. "I'm Erza."
The three made it to the door and Harry felt all the excitement and jitters return. This was it! He was going to meet the members of Fairy Tail! Mirajane pushed the door open to reveal his hosts for the next few weeks.
"Welcome to Fiore!" chorused the room.
Harry was stunned. His face lit up at the balloons and streamers decorating the large room. He could tell immediately that the characters inside the building were just as odd as the two women he had met, if not more so.
"Welcome Mr. Harry!"
"Glad you made it!"
"Come on in Mr. Harry!"
Voices called out to him in friendly greetings. It wasn't like back home where they were all star-struck. Here it was just an over the top greeting. No one reached out to shake his hand or lunch themselves at him for his attention. They just shouted their happy hellos as he walked through the room.
The women seemed to be leading him to one end of the room characterized namely by the bar that ran along the wall. Harry's mind fumbled over the presence of a bar. Wasn't this supposed to be a wizards' guild, not a tavern? However, even as he thought this he saw the large kegs and steins. Both seemed to indicate the latter.
Harry maintained his smile through his confusion. Something about the place that sent his instincts into overdrive. A tingling crawled at the back of his head, igniting his senses. There was something beyond the fact that he was apparently going to be living in a bar for the next month the he was missing.
His eyes alighted to a small elderly man who jumped up on top of the bar. He wore a white robe lined in fur. He was so tiny Harry wondered if he was part elf, goblin, or some other magical creature that Harry was not yet familiar with. The man stood next to a large crystal ball and Harry's stomach dropped. He really never wanted to see another crystal ball – EVER! The man, however, seemed to be talking to the crystal ball which Harry found odd. People might talk about crystal balls, but not to them. Well not unless they were crazy, and this had Harry wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into this time.
"Ah thank you girls." grinned the little man from his place on top of the bar. Immediately the two women left him standing in the middle of the room alone. All eyes were on him and he fidgeted uncomfortably.
He tried to ignore his back that burned from the cumulative gazes. Choosing instead to focus on the little man by the crystal ball. Now that he was closer, Harry could see that there was a face in the crystal ball. He had to shake himself because the man in the ball looked so much like Dumbledore that Harry had almost said hello without thinking. Luckily, he caught himself before making such a blunder. Although the man in the crystal ball had a long beard similar to Dumbledore's, Harry was fairly certain that even his eccentric headmaster wouldn't wear an American cowboy hat and he certainly wouldn't hold a staff with an ornamental snake.
"Welcome Harry boy!" grinned the small man with open arms. "Come, come!" the man beckoned with his tiny arms.
Harry was hesitant to get closer. His instincts were yelling at him that something was wrong, and the man with the snake staff put off a serious Slytherin vibe that didn't help matters. But, really, there wasn't anything wrong. Harry sighed internally. The last few years may have made him a little paranoid. In his defense, an alarming number of people he met did try to kill him. Thinking of Dobby, he amended they tried to kill and/or maim him.
He forced his feet to move from the magnetic wood. The smiling faces of everyone pressed in on him. He apparently wasn't moving fast enough for the elderly man, because the tiny arm suddenly grew giant wrapping massive fingers around his back. Harry found himself wide-eyed and frightened as this large arm pulled him in so that he stood directly next to the once again small man. What kind of magic was that!? Harry's mind jolted, he had never seen anything like it. Even more impressive was that the man had done this without a wand or a word. Maybe he was some sort of mutant animagus?
"See Gran Doma, Harry boy is here safe and sound." the small man leaned into Harry's shoulder as if they were good friends. This behavior was something Harry was more familiar with. The man wanted to befriend Harry for his own selfish reasons. His hope that the boy-who-lived title wouldn't follow him here, died right there on the bar's counter.
Harry wilted slightly but maintained his fake smile for the room. He looked to the Slytherin in the crystal ball who did not seem amused by the tiny man's show of friendship.
"Don't screw this up or I will bury you under so much paperwork that it will take the rest of your miserable life for anyone to dig you out." threatened the man in the crystal ball.
Harry raised an eyebrow. There was no doubt about it, even if he never sat under the sorting hat, this man was a Slytherin through and through. The short man continued to grin under the stern glare coming from the crystal ball until it was painful for even Harry to watch. Finally, the ball emptied, leaving nothing but the warped room visible in its depths.
The instant the Slytherin disappeared, the room seemed to let go of the collective breath they had been holding. Harry turned to the room at large to see they were all moving about taking down the decorations and complaining loudly.
"This was a total waste of a good morning." grumbled a man with a pipe in his mouth.
"I am so far behind on my drinking." moaned a woman with long brown hair.
"Gyaa! I don't see why I had to even be here!" screeched a boy with a scarf and pink hair.
"Why you little brat!" roared a voice behind him.
Harry turned to find that the small mad was gone and in his place, was a pair of massive legs. His green eyes followed the man's hulking form up and up and up. The tiny man had grown instantly into a giant whose head scraped the high ceiling. Harry gulped at the ominously glowing eyes that shined down at the pink-haired boy.
"And just whose fault do you think it is that we have to babysit a know nothing wizard from the outside world!" bellowed the giant.
"Pshh." scoffed the boy, "Those council idiots don't…"
Whatever it was, the council idiots weren't, Harry never knew because the giant's foot slammed down, crushing the poor boy. Harry's heart rocketed off into space. Murderers! He had been sent into a den of murders! Sweat sprang up on the back of his neck as he tried to remain calm. Did he know any spells that could save him in this instance? His brain frantically searched its files coming up helplessly empty. Harry's hand wavered toward his back pocket and his wand. Even though he couldn't think of anything, the feel of the familiar wood gave him some measure of comfort.
The giant lifted his foot revealing the twitching boy who sprang up a second later breathing fire. Harry backed up until he was pressed fully against the wall. That boy was literally breathing fire! For real flames, like some sort of human dragon! Harry's breaths came in short useless pants. His head hurt from the nonsense and lack of air. Despite the violence, the room laughed as the boy waved his arms frantically at the once again tiny man.
He made himself take slower breaths. If he learned nothing else at Hogwarts, it was how to deal with life threatening situations. Thinking a little clearer, he looked over his shoulder. He had made it to the wall, maybe if he moved very slowly he could inch to the door unnoticed. Yes, then he would grab Hedwig and his trunk and hightail it out of here. He could find some way to survive for a month on his own. Right, this could work! He swallowed nervously as he slid inch by inch toward the door. The guild was still amok with chaos. The red-head from earlier, Ursula or something, had gotten involved. She emitted a venomous aura that immediately quieted the fire breather.
He was getting closer to freedom. His eyes continued to dart around the room making sure that his presence was still being ignored. Looking left, back to the door, he froze. Standing just beyond the door was another boy with messy dark hair, standing with his arms crossed over his bare chest. However, it was the boy's droopy eyes that locked onto Harry's green eyes that made the younger boy freeze.
The shirtless youth looked away as if Harry wasn't anything to be concerned over. Relief let his heart start beating again. Until-
"Oi Master, the kid's making a run for it." The half-naked boy casually jabbed a thumb at Harry.
He'd been caught! Somehow, this wasn't how he had envisioned his death. It had always been a toss-up between growing old or dying at the hands of Voldemort. However, staring up at the giant growing before him, he saw how wrong he had been to only ever consider those two.
Harry clenched his jaw, as his brain switched from flight to fight. He gripped his wand letting the magic tingled up his arm. Brandishing it through the air, he cried, "Rictusempra!"
The bolt of red shot toward the giant, and Harry dashed for the door again. He didn't hold any illusions about being able to fight his way out. The best he could do was stall long enough to escape.
"Ice Make!"
Harry's feet suddenly couldn't find purchase on the floor and just slipped uselessly out from under him. His rear-end and hands banged into the cold hard floor. The biting cold that nipped his fingers surprised him, making the boy look to the floor. His brain might short circuit soon if he didn't stop being stunned at every show of magic. Below him was a sheet of ice. Harry's eyes followed the ice's path to the topless boy whose arms were misting slightly with cold fog. He looked wildly for his wand only to lose all hope when he spotted it on the far side of the door frame.
A long shadow draped over Harry's fallen form. With terrified eyes, Harry looked up to his doom shining from the giant's eyes. The giant fell forward and the Boy-Who-Lived closed his eyes waiting for the blow. Instead of pain, he felt a weight land on his knees. Harry creaked open one eye to peek at his knees. His head jerked back from the angry little man that glared at him from his legs. He knew the old man could feel the trembling in his body, but he didn't have the strength left to put up a front. With no wand and no back-up, he was more defenseless now than ever before.
The tiny man sighed and rapt Harry sharply on the forehead.
"Ow," His hand flew to his scar, for once not because of magic.
"If you understand, then don't do it again." The little man grumped and hopped down.
"Natsu! Gray! You two make sure Harry boy gets settled into the dorms."
Harry remained in his spot on the icy floor. He looked around the room as everyone went back to their business, his eyes fleeting back to his wand every other second. No one even looked his way except for the fire breather and ice maker. Both were approaching him with open annoyance. He was still on the floor, too overwhelmed to do anything more than gape up at the older boys.
"Aren't you going to get up?" Grumped the pink-haired boy.
As if his words jolted him back into a living person, Harry scrambled to stand. Unfortunately, his motions were too quick and he felt himself crash back into the ice. Pain exploded through his chin from the impact. A hand dropped down in front of him. Harry looked up into the serious face of the ice wizard. What else was he to do. He couldn't escape, but he couldn't just ignore the casual acceptance of violence he had witnessed either.
The boy sighed, "I'm not going to hurt you." he shook his hand in front of Harry. "Come on."
Harry's eyes darted between the hand and his distant wand. There had to be a way to get it back.
"Why do you keep looking at that stick?" asked the boy wearing the scarf. Harry's mouth went dry as the destructive wizard loped over to his wand to pick it up without a care. "I mean it's a nice stick for a little piece of wood, but…" He dangled the wand from the tips of his fingers, "It's just a stick."
Anger simmered in Harry's chest as he watched the carless way the boy was handling his wand. When the boy put the stick between his extra sharp teeth, Harry lost all sense of composure. "It's a wand not a stick you prat!" Harry's eyes became two perfect spheres of green and he snapped his mouth shut. The sick feeling, he had experienced from the port key returned in full force. He hadn't meant to lose his temper, but it was too late to take it back now. At least not without a time turner. Harry looked around the room almost wistfully for another Harry, but it was no good. He didn't have a time turner and he was on his own.
"A wand?" asked the shirtless boy straightening and looking at his friend. "That's a wand?"
Harry turned his lead a little, looking up at the dark-haired boy. He sounded almost surprised that what the other boy held was a wand. Taking advantage of their distraction, Harry carefully stood on the ice. His feet slipped a little as he awkwardly made it to the ice-free floor.
"Yes, that's my wand." Harry replied a little petulantly. He had already yelled, what was a little attitude at this point. He stalked up to the holder of his wand who was looking at it like the wand held the world's mysteries. "I'd like my wand back now please." He kept his voice level even though his insides were jumping.
"Yeah, sorry," The pink-haired boy did sound sorry. He grinned, a little abashed at having held the wand for so long.
Harry felt a little of the tension in his shoulders subside as the wand was returned to him. At least he wasn't defenseless now.
"Alright, where's your stuff?" sighed the ice maker. "Let's get this over with already."
"It's out in the courtyard." Harry offered confused. He moved to follow the pink-haired boy, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Harry turned to the dark-haired boy who had stopped him.
"I'm Gray by the way." The boy introduced as he kept a hand on Harry's shoulder and lead him outside.
Harry's brain struggled to make any kind of sense out of his current situation. And when in doubt you tend to fall on familiar habits. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Harry, Harry Potter."
As they walked Harry's mind mulled over Gray's words. 'Get this over with,' he had said and before the giant/tiny man had said something about 'having to babysit.' Harry hadn't thought much about it then, being entirely too scared to do anything else, but it seemed to imply that he was a bother. Was it possible that they didn't want him here? Harry's stomach churned with acid at the thought.
The scarf-clad boy reached his trunk and bent over to pick it up.
"Ah! Wait! I'll magic it so that…" Harry stopped midsentence as the boy easily picked up the massive trunk and rest it to his shoulder.
The older boy looked at him like what he had been saying was odd. Harry closed his mouth that hung open after cutting his sentence short. The only one he knew who might be able to carry a Hogwarts trunk as easily as the fire breather did was Hagrid.
"What's with the cage?" Gray asked pointing to Hedwig's now empty cage from where it hung next to the trunk.
The two boys looked to Harry for his answer as the three started to walk back to the building.
"Do you think he has something against talking?" Whispered the pink-haired boy loud enough for Harry to hear.
"If he did, you could take a lesson from him." sighed the other with a shrug and shake of his head.
"What's that!" yelled the fire breather.
The ice wizard smirked back, "You talk too much nonsense. I think all that fire has killed your brain cells!"
"Aaarg!" screamed the boy in the scarf as he dropped Harry's trunk. "That's it you pervert!"
Harry might have been more worried for his belongings if he hadn't been captivated by the incredible display of magic before him.
"Bring it on fire gut!" called the dark-haired boy as a crystal blue magic circle floated in the air in front of his fists.
"I'm going to burn -who is the best- into that thick head of yours!" The pink-haired boy had a red-orange magic circle floating in front of him.
"Ice make!" The yelled together. "Fire Dragon!"
"Geyser!" "Roar!"
Harry watched transfixed as large crystals of ice sprouted out of the ground and raced toward the giant fireball. The two magic spells collided leaving Harry in a humid fog. He couldn't see what was happening, which he desperately wanted. A slight blue glow illuminated the fog before him. This was quickly followed by an orange fiery glow. These wizards were incredible! If anything, they felt a little more like super heroes than any of the witches and wizards he had met before. The humid fog continued to obscure his vision, but he could feel the magic alive in the air. His soul sang in response. He wanted to learn magic like this! He wanted to be able to perform even a fraction of the incredible feats before him.
Harry tried to catch what he could of the fight. It seemed to him that the two wizards were pretty evenly matched. Even as they threw insults at one another, there was no maliciousness to their taunts. He got the impression that the two were good friends.
"Give up Popsicle Princess!"
"You first Flame Brain!"
"You two aren't fighting again are you?" shouted a voice from the guild.
All sound of a scuffle halted in that second allowing the fog to lift. Harry stood on his tiptoes as if that would allow him to see better. The clearing air revealed the two boys with his trunk on an icy sled and the boys working together to pull it. Harry turned back to the guild.
Erma stood at the back door nodding with a small smile on her lips and her arms crossed in front of her armor. "Good. It is always nice when you work together." With a quick turn, the woman's scarlet hair whirled around behind her as she reentered the hall.
"Phewww!" came the relieved sigh. "That was a close one."
Just as Harry started to turn back around, the two boys passed him carrying his trunk.
"Hurry up kid. You don't want Master to get upset." Gray commented casually.
Thinking of the deceptively tiny old man Harry jogged a little to keep up with the older boys. At least no one was taking him by the arm this time. Maybe they trusted him a little, or maybe they were just that confident in their ability to stop him if he tried to run.
They lead him back into the guild and up a set of stairs nestled in the corner. The wall was lined with static pictures and not the moving portraits he had grown accustomed to in wizarding homes. It was just another oddity to this place filled with strangeness. It had been quite a while ago now, but Harry clearly remembered how incredible everything seemed the first time he visited the wizarding world with Hagrid. How he felt now, was similar. Each simple bobble and action raised a million questions in his over active brain. He had observed their destructive and violent habits, and yet, they didn't seem dangerous. Honestly, he couldn't rationalize why he felt this way, but he did. Maybe it was this skewed sense of danger that lead him into all the crazy situations he'd been in the last three years. Sighing, he sincerely hoped that he could make it through one more.
AN: Thanks for stopping by. I would greatly appreciate you taking a minute to share your thoughts either in a PM or a review. Have a great day!
