Timeline Info: Chapter 3 starts the night of 9/28 and continues into the next day
Chapter 3: Gaining Ohana
McGarrett House, Hawaii
By the time they arrived at Steve's house Harry was fast asleep, his head resting against the window, breath coming out in little snores. Steve was loathed to wake him. Flying from Europe to Hawaii was always killer and Steve could only imagine how uncomfortable it was squeezed in coach class seating. Looking over at Danno the two silently agreed to just try and carry Harry into the house and put him to bed. It was a tricky thing getting a sleeping child out of a car without waking them and Harry being larger than Grace would only make it harder. Danny argued with Steve for a couple minutes on who should carry him. Danny had pointed out his previous experience doing the same thing with Grace and Steve had countered by pointing out that Harry wasn't all that much shorter than Danny. When Danny started to argue that again, Steve pointed out that Danny's knee still gave him a bit of trouble and that this might only make it worse. In the end Danny had thrown his hands up in the air and complained to the sky while Steve carefully picked up Harry and carried him inside like a pro.
Not to be outdone, Danny had picked up Harry's trunk to carry it into the Steve's old childhood bedroom, which the team had been trying to update for Harry since they learned about his pending arrival. Carrying Harry's trunk was easier than it should have been given the size and that it supposedly had all of his possessions in it. Not a good sign, Danny thought realizing Harry probably weighed more than the trunk when it should have been the other way around.
By the time Danny brought the trunk in and set it at the foot of the bed, Steve had already stripped Harry down to his underwear and tucked him under the covers. Harry smacked his lips and rolled onto his side, tugging the blankets with him. It was rather adorable to watch and Danny hoped that Steve got to have more moments like this, where something so simple could remind Steve just why they did what they did. If there was anything worth protecting, worth the gunshot wounds, the explosions and the unexpected overtime, this was it.
"Come on, Steve," Danny waved Steve out of the room. "We should let him sleep."
"Yeah," Steve looked back in the room again at his cousins small form cuddled into the blankets.
- - - HP - - - H50 - - - HP - - -
The next morning arrived sooner than Steve thought possible. He and Danny had stayed up for hours after Harry had fallen asleep. Steve couldn't help but be grateful for having Danny as a partner and friend. The blond seemed to know just what to say to convince Steve that he could in fact raise Harry and not have the kid turn out as some kind of weirdo. Steve had had several near meltdowns prior to Harry's arrival and Danny, Chin and Kono had all been pretty helpful. After all what did he know about raising a kid? His life was full of violence and danger, what if one of his enemies tried to use Harry as a hostage? What if he did in the line of duty? Who was going to take care of Harry then? They were valid concerns, Steve knew that but he was also aware (thanks to a smack to the back of the head from Kono) that all of Five-O had his and Harry's backs. They would protect him; risk their lives for him just as they would for Grace, because Harry was part of Steve's family. And if something happened to Steve they would take Harry in.
Later today he would have to put in the paperwork to insure that if he died Danny or Chin would become Harry's new guardians. He didn't want to pile on the extra cost of another child on Danny, but he figured he could set up a trust fund for Harry that could be used for schooling and other necessities so that Danny wouldn't have to use too much of his own to cover for Harry. Danny would be pissed and probably take it as a slight against his ability to give Harry (and Grace) suitable living conditions, but really the island was expensive to live on and even the money from being in Five-O wasn't enough to put two children through school without greater sacrifice. Chin he knew would be just as good at raising Harry as Danny. The older man was one of the most honorable men Steve had ever met. Plus Chin would be able to teach Harry all about Hawaii and how to do things like spearfish.
Steve chuckled as he tried to imagine Danny teaching Harry to spearfish. That just didn't seem like it would end well. Shaking his head Steve shook his wet hair out of his eyes and walk out of the surf over to where he had set his towel. He should still have time to take a shower and make breakfast before Harry woke up. After getting some food in him, and boy did Harry look like he needed the food, they could talk a bit. Maybe use the time to get to know a little more about each other and then set some ground rules and decide what they'd like to do for the rest of the day. Steve was kind of hoping to do a BBQ with the team tonight so that Harry could meet everyone. It would be nice for Harry to meet Steve's Ohana. Hopefully Harry would get to know and like them all enough to consider them his Ohana as well.
Steve finished drying himself off enough not to leave puddles all over the wood floor and head back to the lanai. The sunrise was especially nice today so after dropping the wet towel across the railing of the lanai, Steve took a moment for himself to watch it. Stretching his arms above his head Steve worked out the last of the kinks from the last several days worth of stress and turned back to the house, stepping inside.
It didn't take long for him to realize something was off. All his senses had gone on alert the moment he stepped inside. Someone was in the house. For a moment his body frozen, heart thundering in his chest thinking that someone had broken in like before, but the feeling was different. Whoever was in the house didn't feel like a threat. Still it was better to be safe, especially with Harry fast asleep upstairs. Danny wouldn't be here until the evening, so it couldn't be him. Besides, Danny would have gone out to the lanai knowing Steve would have been out for his morning swim. Chin and Kono would never come over without calling first so that left the most likely option being an unknown enemy.
Moving closer to the wall, Steve inched along until he reached his desk. Trying to be as silent as possible he opened the drawer and pulled out his knife, cursing himself for leaving his gun locked upstairs. Water from his still damp hair slid down the back of his neck as he made his way towards the kitchen. He paused by the doorway, trying to locate the person in the room based on the sounds they were making only to freeze as the smell of bacon reached him.
What kind of burglar made you bacon?
Lowering the hand with the knife to his side, Steve peeked around the doorframe. Sure enough there was his little cousin, dressed in worn out, oversized cloths, hovering over the stove. Quietly Steve went back to the other room and replaced the knife in its spot in the desk drawer. He didn't want to freak Harry out on his first real day in Hawaii.
"You're up early," he commented fondly as he walked into the kitchen. "I figured you'd still be sleeping."
Harry blushed and quickly looked back at the pan of bacon. "I'm used to getting up early and I wasn't tired anymore."
Harry cooked the bacon like an expert and as Steve looked everything over again he noticed that there was a plate filled with scrambled eggs on the counter, steam still rising from it, and another plate with several slices of warm toast as well. "I would have made more but I wasn't sure what you'd want. I can make something different tomorrow if you'd like?"
"Harry," Steve moved forward and carefully took the spatula from Harry, lightly pushing him away from the pan of bacon. "You don't have to worry about cooking. I can make breakfast and dinner just fine."
Harry looked down at his feet, face going a little pale. "Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about. I just don't want you to get hurt. Besides you just got here. You should be relaxing and playing out in the sand and sea." Steve tossed Harry a warm grin over his shoulder as he finished the bacon and scooped them out onto the small plate Harry already had waiting. "Now, why don't we eat this fine breakfast you made and then we can spend some time getting things set up for you?"
"Sure." Harry blinked again, watching him with a slightly confused but amused expression. Steve couldn't help the wide grin that took over his face at the expression. It was one Danny had worn a lot during their first week as partners. Like he wasn't quite sure Steve was sane but still found him adorable in a fluffy animal kind of way.
"Was your room okay? I wasn't sure how you'd want it to look, but I figured that a bit of a repaint and clean sheets couldn't hurt." Steve shook his head and went about dishing himself up a plate of food, which he quickly set down in front of Harry. "I don't think the room had been updated since I was a teen."
"It was fine, really." Harry was blushing again and Steve had to suppress the impulse to ruffle his cousin's already messy hair.
"Well if you want to make any changes let me know." Steve sighed around the bite of eggs he had taken. "This is really good, Harry."
"Thanks." Harry smiled. "And…uh, thanks for taking me in."
"Harry," Steve set his fork down. "It's no problem. You're family and family means no one gets left behind. I'm sorry that Petunia didn't understand that, but you don't have to worry about that here. I want you here and I hope that you'll like being here."
Harry glanced down at his plat but not before Steve caught the sight of tears in Harry's eyes. "Thank you."
"Now, why don't we eat the rest of this great breakfast you made and then we can talk. We still need to get you settled in and figure out what to do about school."
"School?"
"Well, I don't have time to home school you but there are some good schools here. There's a private school that is really good. Danny's daughter, Grace goes there. Or there are some good public schools near by. You might have to do a placement test though since I wasn't able to get a hold of your school records from this year and the year before." Steve scratched at the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. "Did you go to the school that your Dad and Mom attended? Hogvets … Hogteant … Hogmeads?"
"Hogwarts." Harry nodded. "Yeah I started there when I was eleven. Will I get to go back?"
"I would love to let you go back but I don't really have the money to fly you back and forth that often. I'm sure we can find you a good school here and if you'd like I can help you set up an email account to talk with your friends at school?"
Harry chewed worriedly at his lower lip. He wasn't sure if there was a magical school on the island or if Steve even knew what Hogwarts really taught. If he told Steve and Steve didn't know would the American magical government send Aurors to arrest them? It was a risk but if Harry was going to stay with Steve he should tell him. But maybe he could wait a day or two until he was sure Steve really wanted him here. "Can I decide about school later?"
"Sure. But we won't want to wait too long."
The rest of breakfast went pretty smoothly. Steve told Harry more about his Mom and Dad and even promised to find the box with the old photos of Lily from when she was little. Harry was excited about that. Until meeting Steve all he knew about his Mom was that he had her eyes. He wanted to know more about his parents and here was his cousin, who had known his Mom since they were kids. For once it looked like things in his life might turn out okay. It would be sad not going back to Hogwarts, the first place he had ever lived where he didn't feel unwanted or like something to be ashamed of. But he wouldn't miss all the dangers. It just seemed odd to him how the adults there wouldn't listen to him when he tried to get their help, how some of them actively tried to hurt or kill him and how there could be monsters like Trolls and Basilisks in the castle without the wards preventing it. Although he supposed since the basilisk had been living in the castle for a thousand years, it was likely there before the wards were and as such was free to come and go without the wards stopping it. And that was a scary thought. He loved Hogwarts. He loved the friends he was making there but he wouldn't miss the whispered comments and the fan girls that seemed to have popped up those last few days after Ginny spread the tale of how Harry had fought off Slytherin's basilisk to save her.
Still could he really give that up and stay here? He would have to think about it seriously because if the answer was no it was going to hurt Steve and maybe Harry would lose this chance at having a family that actually loved him.
- - - HP - - - H50 - - - HP - - -
By the late afternoon all Harry wanted to do was crawl in bed. Steve had convinced him to go into town so they could get him a new wardrobe, since all of his cloths were deemed unfit for a hobo. Harry had known it would be hot compared to Surrey, but he hadn't realized quite how much hotter it actually was. Even in one of Dudley old oversized t-shirts and a pair his most worn jeans, Harry had felt as if he had sweat off half his body weight before they had obtained enough cloths to satisfy Steve. And even after that he had told Harry that Kono would likely look through them to see if they should get him anything else to wear. That had Harry worried. He liked that he had new cloths, cloths that actually fit him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to spend another four to five hours shopping for cloths.
Steve seemed to realize that Harry was tiring out but instead of mentioning it he calming asks Harry if he would mind them stopping at the grocer before heading back to the house. Apparently a BBQ was planed for tonight to introduce Harry to Steve's friends. Harry can't help but wonder if Danno will be there. He hasn't seen the other man since they left the airport but he simply figured that Danno must be working. They were police officers after all and Harry doubted that the criminals on the island took weekends off. Still he had kind of hoped to see the other man during breakfast, but he wasn't there at the house. Maybe they weren't living together yet? Harry wondered how long Steve and Danno had been dating and if they were going to get married. Was that even legal? He had so many questions. He wished he could talk to Hermione, she usually had an answer for everything.
"Hey Steve? What exactly is a BBQ?"
Steve turned to look at Harry. His cousin had such an honest face and God, Steve couldn't believe that Harry didn't even know what a BBQ was. That was just not right on so many levels. "A BBQ is slang for a Barbeque. It's an American tradition. Basically you grill food outside and if the weather is good you eat it outside as well. Usually it'll be either hamburgers, hot dogs or steaks that get grilled, but other areas of the country do different meats or vegetables as well."
"Oh. What do you barbeque here?"
"Well, I'll make some steaks but if you'd rather I can make some hamburgers or hotdogs? We could do fish or pork as well, but I think the first three will work better for your first BBQ. Chin, Kono and Danny will likely bring some side dishes with them when they come over. Chin will likely bring either a macaroni salad or kim chee. That's what he brought last couple times. Not sure about what Kono or Danno will bring."
"Can I make something?"
Steve smiled and led Harry through the market, looking over the produce brought in from the local farmers. "Sure. Nothing involving fire though. And if you need a sharp knife I should be there to watch. To make sure you don't cut off a finger."
Harry snorted and shook his head. "I won't cut off a finger. I've been cooking since I was eight."
Harry wondered from the vegetables over to the shelves showing off the fresh fruit, never noticing the sharp look in Steve's eyes. Steve was glad Harry was comfortable talking to him, but every now and then he would let something slip that made the hair on the back of Steve's neck stand on end. No eight year old should be cooking, too many things could go wrong. Then there was the cloths. Even after letting Harry buy new cloths he seemed to pick only shirts that were a bit big on him and more like something Danny would pick out. That had made Steve smile a bit but he wished Harry was able to relax enough to pick out short sleeved shirts that fit or shirts that didn't have a collar. And the sweater. Where did Harry find a sweater in a store on Oahu? Steve had bought the sweater anyway, because Harry had seemed to like it, but he didn't think Harry realized he wasn't likely to need it.
"I could make deviled eggs? Or maybe some fruit slices then?"
"You can make deviled eggs," asked Steve, surprised.
"Yeah. Uncle Vernon liked them a lot if he had business people over but Aunt Petunia couldn't make them. I tried doing it once after she gave up and went to the store to get some pre-made finger foods to serve." The muscle by Harry's left eye twitched and Steve moved closer to Harry's side not liking the look on his cousins face. "When she came back Uncle Vernon had already eaten like ten of them. Aunt Petunia was really mad but she used them anyway and from then on I had to make them every time there were guests eating over." Harry made an inarticulate angry noise at the back of his throat and picked up a kiwi, rolling the fuzzy little fruit around his palm. "She always said she made them. Never even said 'Thank you, Harry.' Not once."
"I'm sorry about that, Harry. Your Mother would be so ashamed of the way her sister treated you." Steve pulled Harry into his side for a quick manly hug. He didn't want to let go, but Harry didn't know him well and it seemed like he didn't have a very good relationship with the adults who were supposed to be caring for him. "You can make them if you'd like and I'm sure we'll all enjoy them. But if you don't want to that is perfectly fine as well. This BBQ is for you. So you don't have to do anything but eat and be happy."
There was that blush again. Steve didn't think he could get tired of seeing a happy, embarrassed blush flushing Harry's face. It made him look so much more like Lily. Made Steve think of happier times and wonder why he hadn't sought Lily and her precious son out earlier. He could only use his time in the Navy as an excuse for so long before it just sounded hollow, even if it was true.
Together they gathered up some groceries, even a whole pineapple to mess with Danny. It didn't take them long but Steve was sure that by the time they got back to the house Danny, Chin and Kono would already be there. They'd probably be on the lanai drinking some longboards and talking about Harry. It seemed the whole team had been overly excited since hearing about Harry almost two months ago. Then having to wait for everything in England to be resolved and for Harry to be granted duel citizenship so that he could stay in Hawaii with Steve without any future issues arriving had only made the wait worse. Steve had gotten to speak with Harry over the phone for a half an hour almost a month before Harry left England, but it wasn't a lot of time. Steve wished it hadn't taken so long to get everything sorted out but he supposed it worked alright. It meant Harry spent most of his summer in foster care until Steve could get him cleared to enter the US, but it also meant Harry would be able to have almost a full year of school in Hawaii. Now the trick was getting him in school.
James and Lily were pretty well off, and had set aside a trust fund specifically for Harry's pre-college schooling. So Steve only had to get in contact with Gringotts and show them the proper legal documents and then he could have the funds to Hogwarts for future schooling canceled and transfer the trust to the US branch so that he could get Harry set. He thought at first maybe public school would be good for him and he still planed to have Harry attend KuKui High when the time came, but for middle school maybe sending him to that posh school Grace attended would be good. Then Danno would know that there was someone trustworthy there at the school to watch Grace and if something came up the two could go home together if Five-O got a case that went late. He would just have to make sure that Harry and Grace got to know each other before Harry was signed up for school. It would be good for the two to get to be friends even though they weren't the same age.
"-ven. Earth to Steven!"
Steve started and turned to look out his side mirror, surprised to realize he was stopped in front of his house already. On the other side of the window Danny was watching him with the You-Are-One-Crazy-Mother-Fucker-So-Why-Do-I-Talk-To-You face # 2.
"Hey, Danno."
"Don't you 'Hey, Danno' me, Steven. What are you doing driving around like your brain is on autopilot? You better not have been speeding around like you normally do or so help me, I will—"
"Hey, brah," called Chin. "You going to hide your little kaukini in the car all night?"
Steve laughed and looked over at Harry who was watching the three of them with curiosity. "Harry this is Chin Ho Kelly, he works with Danno and me."
"Hello, Mr. Ho Ke…uh Mr. Kelly?"
Chin laughed and waved at Harry through the window. "Aloha. Just call me Chin, Harry." Chin looked at Steve and raised an eyebrow. "Well, brah, you going to stay in the car all night? Some of us are getting hungry."
"All right, all right." Steve shot a mock glare at Danny and Chin who both laughed at him before wandering back around the side of the house to the lanai. "We better bring the food in before they mutiny on us."
Harry smiled at Steve and got out of the car. Steve popped the trunk of the car and Harry and he quickly grabbed the few bags and headed inside. He could already hear his friends laughing and talking outside. "Why don't you head outside, Harry. Danno can introduce you to Kono and then you'll know everyone."
"Okay." Harry set his bag down on the counter and headed out of the kitchen to the sliding door leading to the lanai.
Outside Danno was leaning against the railing holding onto a bottle of beer chatting to a skinny young woman with long dark hair. Chin was standing near by shaking his head and smiling at both of them. Danno glanced away from the woman, Kono most likely, and saw Harry. Smiling Danno waved Harry over, drawing him into a brief hug.
"Harry, this is Kono. Kono this is Steve's cousin Harry. Try not to break him."
"Aw brah, don't you trust me," she asked laughingly.
"With beating up perps, certainly. Handling the hearts of fragile young men…No."
"Come on," Kono pulled Harry to her and ruffled his hair. "I'm not going to hurt the keiki. I think you'll have more trouble keeping our nohea Harry here from breaking hearts."
Harry blushed bright red and glanced away, catching Chin's amused gaze and blushing even deeper. If possible he was certain he face was going to catch fire. The only woman who'd ever held him so close was Mrs. Weasley and somehow he just couldn't put Mrs. Weasley and Kono in the same file in his mind.
"So Harry," started Chin, taking pity on the poor embarrassed keiki. "How did you like your first day in Hawaii?"
"It was hot." Harry let out a gusty sigh. "I didn't think it could get this hot anywhere. I should probably have taken a shower before coming out here." Harry blushed again, he was doing that far too often here.
"You got that right," Danno shared an I-Agree-With-You smile with Harry. "It is far too warm here. Other than the heat did you have a good time today?"
"Yeah, I guess. Steve took me to get some new cloths but I didn't think anyone but girls could spend that much time shopping."
The other three burst out laughing, Danny nearly pouring his beer down his shirt. Harry felt something tight in his chest loosen as he watched them gripping each others arms to keep from falling over as they laughed. Danny whipped at his eyes and tried to calm his breathing back down.
"Okay, we're definitely keeping him."
AN: For the case of this story the school Grace goes to cover Elementary and Middle Schooling. Also if you have suggestions you can always leave a comment. I cannot promise I will do anything with the suggestion, but if I don't it might inspire someone else to write their own fic. As for the Ministry of Magic in Hawaii it will be addressed at least in part in the next chapter. And again I would like to thank everyone who is reviewing this story.
All the Hawaiian words used I got from an online translator at: http:/ hawaiiandictionary. hisurf. com/
