(Author's Note): Quick note on time and chronology, as due to the nature of comic books and writing with material drawn from several of them I have to do some clarifying. The story is currently set around the start of the Summer right after the "Riot at Xavier's" arc from Grant Morrison's New X-Men run and before "Murder at The Mansion", which quickly leads into the remaining arcs before Morrison's run ends and Emma and Scott take over as heads of the school. I'm greatly expanding the gap between these two arcs to make everything flow well as it lets me cover all of New Mutants Volume 2 and not have to avoid Harry interacting with the major X-Men characters from the time. After Noriko is reintroduced though things will quickly move into the final arcs of Morrison's run then we get into Academy-X material, which is what this fic is going to be following before I obliterate canon rather quickly. Before you comment about how this conflicts with the timeline of Harry's fourth year as Harry was living on the streets of New York for three months, meaning he would have left Hogwarts in March, I know. This is intentional. Harry did not have a good time at all his fourth year and it dramatically changed what happened. Also, thanks for all the follows and the favorites. I appreciate it, really. If you like what I'm doing leave a review if you have the time. Feedback helps me figure out what works and what doesn't.
Harry woke breathing heavily, covered in sweat and on the verge of a heart attack. He quickly tore himself from the bed, scooping up the clothes Kevin had given him the night before. He rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him, panic overriding any of the concern he would have had for waking up David, who did just that. The older teen got up from bed, rubbing his face to work off the drowsiness still clouding his senses.
A moment later David felt awake enough to check in with his new roommate, "Harry? You okay?"
In the bathroom Harry was currently staring in the mirror, trying to assure himself that he was still himself. His eyes were still green, his hair was still the wild black curtain over his face it'd grown into as of late, and his veins weren't black and visible. There was only Harry here.
David was growing a little worried now, "Harry?"
Harry snapped out of the daze he'd been in while trying to figure out if he was still him and responded in as a convincing manner as he could muster, "Oh, I'm just fine David! My stomach was a tad upset! I'm so sorry for waking you up!"
David wasn't convinced he was being honest but chose not to press him, "Okay Harry. We're up a bit early but the others shouldn't be asleep much longer. We can both get ready for the day then we'll see about giving you a tour."
Harry let out a sigh as he tried and failed to stop a small smile from growing on his face. "Thank you, David. I'm really sorry for waking you up like I did… and sorry for lying to you like that right after. I'm not used to people caring very much. I had a bad dream."
David frowned, none of what Harry said was particularly positive but it was nice he was already willing to open up a bit. "It's really fine Harry, it's seven thirty, I usually get up at eight. Thirty minutes of sleep isn't worth getting even annoyed about. I'll let you take a shower or whatever."
Harry's reply was muted, as though he was trying to swallow the urge to apologize again, "…Thank you." Harry did just that, still feeling like a bit of dirt and grime was still on him, the sweat he was covered in from his dream didn't help either.
David got dressed before sitting down on his bed, quickly slipping in to some deep thinking. He'd only known Harry for a day but already there was something concerning him. He was so quick to apologize for something and seemed to want someone to chastise him, like there was no way for him to be in the right. Then were the things that he knew how to do when he was around Harry thanks to his powers. They were muddled and unclear, like he was trying to read something reflected in a dirty mirror, but what he could make out was strange. It seemed like some form of occult knowledge, but he wasn't sure, things like strange medicinal recipes and names and images of strange creatures he was sure only existed in myth and folklore. Harry just seemed to have more and more mystery surrounding him. If he didn't seem so… like himself then David would probably be suspicious of the younger boy. As he was he couldn't see Harry as threatening in the slightest. He just saw someone who needed help and support even though they felt like they didn't deserve it, someone he was glad to do that for.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Harry exiting the bathroom, dressed in the pair of black jeans and the black long-sleeve shirt Kevin had given him. Harry was thankful for clothes, especially long sleeves as they did a better job of hiding the angry red scar running down his right arm than the rags his previous clothes had become, though he wasn't sure about the color. It also didn't help just how big the shirt was and if he hadn't been given a belt the pants would surely be falling off him.
Harry chuckled as gestured at himself, "I'm not sure black is exactly my color."
David cracked a smile as he stood, "Yeah, I think something like red or green would suit you better. We'll talk to Dani about getting you some actual clothes later."
Harry went wide eyed at the mention of red and green, immediately thinking back to Hogwarts and the school colors he was surrounded by, but quickly put himself back together, though not quickly enough for David to notice his strange reaction.
"Uh, I know you said it's early but I'm really quite hungry right now. I think after having something substantial after so long last night my body realized just how little I was running on. Is there any chance of breakfast soon?" Harry was wearing an apologetic face David felt like he was going to be very familiar with.
David smirked and walked towards the door, "Yeah, let's go get Kevin then we'll head down. Breakfast starts at eight thirty, so you won't have to wait long."
The two of them walked the short distance down the hall to Kevin's room, David knocking on the door. "Hey Kevin, Harry's starving and I could use a bite myself. Wanna come down to breakfast with us?"
Kevin opened the door dressed and ready to go, "Of course." The three of them started walking towards the stairs of the dorm and Harry quickly noticed that there were no other students present.
Harry turned to David as they walked, "This school has a lot less people than I expected to be honest. It's the only school for mutants, right?"
"It's Summer Harry, plus most of the people on campus are teenagers. They like to sleep. Speaking of teenagers though, how old are you Harry?" David had just realized he had no real idea about what his roommates age could be, he was younger than him and probably Kevin, but he wasn't the much younger right?
"It's just now July, right? So, that means I'm almost fifteen. My birthday is July thirty-first." Harry was fairly certain he was right, though he could be wrong. His newspaper bed was old when he'd first started using them months ago and he hadn't been too concerned with the date.
"So, you're about a year and half younger than me and Sofia, two years and a bit younger than David, and like eight months younger Than Laurie." Kevin was surprised, he'd though Harry was a good bit younger than almost fifteen.
Harry saw the look on Kevin's face and knew what he was thinking, "I know. I look younger."
"Oh no, I mean, I didn't!" Kevin really hoped he hadn't just insulted him inadvertently.
"It's fine Kevin. Really. I know I'm pretty small and I know that I look rather young in the face. Don't feel bad. You weren't mocking me, right?"
"No, not at all. I was just a little surprised." Kevin still felt a little mad at himself.
"Well maybe getting Harry something to eat will help with. I imagine having a decent diet again will probably help at least a bit." David had to stop himself from adding the fact Harry was scary thin, he didn't want risk to insult him like Kevin almost had.
Harry grimaced and sighed, "Honestly, anything is better than over-ripe fruit and mostly rotten veg. I never thought I would miss some of the food they insist on serving in England but at this point I'm fairly certain I'd be pretty happy with British comfort food for the rest of my life."
Kevin smirked, "So the stereotype about British food being awful is true?"
Harry shook his head, his hair winding up even messier somehow, "Not really, it's more that there are certain things I've had so much or have never been particularly fond of that I actually wouldn't mind now. Having a hamburger last night reminded me that food could be exciting, not just… something you need to live." Harry started to frown, suddenly even more conscious of just how miserable he'd been living less than twenty-four hours ago.
David smirked before responding, "Well whatever you wind up getting, try not to swallow it whole this time okay? Don't need you dying from something innocuous and pointless like that."
David and Kevin laughed at Harry's indignant response, "Hey! I was hungry! And I'd never had a hamburger before!"
Kevin's eyes went wide, "What? You'd never had a hamburger before? How is that even possible Harry?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair and mumbled his response, bad memories threatening to surface, "I just hadn't. Aren't many burger places where I grew up and my school was the last place you'd find one. They had some rather old conventions for food. I didn't even really realize it was my first time having one until now if I'm honest."
At this point the three of them were outside of the entrance to the boy's dorm when they saw two familiar faces headed towards them from the girl's dorm, waving all the way.
Sofia and Laurie ran up to them, the former smiling widely, "This is a great coincidence! We were just coming to get you all."
David responded, "Harry and I woke up early, so we got a head start. We should get moving though, Harry's starving."
"I imagine so. Laurie mentioned how hungry you were at the diner yesterday Harry."
Harry sighed, though he had a small smile on his face, "Oh, dear lord, I've only known you all for less than a day and I already have something I'm not living down."
Kevin cracked a joke in response, "Relax Harry. I'm sure you'll embarrass yourself some other way and we'll pick on you for that instead."
Laurie interjected next, "Oh, lay off him all of you. Let's get to breakfast already."
The five of them walked quickly pointing out a few other buildings in the school and what they were, Harry trying and failing to compare it all to Hogwarts. He wasn't sure it was a fair comparison, Hogwarts was over a thousand-year-old castle in the Scottish Highlands. This was a rather nice estate turned private school in upstate New York. Though Harry wouldn't go back to Hogwarts even on threat of death he couldn't deny the majesty the school possessed. Though Xavier's was a definite change of pace, the smaller size making things feel homier. He imagined it was quite nice going here even when there are actual students everywhere.
They all arrived in the cafeteria moments later to see that a good number of students and faculty were already present and eating. Harry was surprised he wasn't surprised at all the different shapes and sizes of people he saw, not even flinching at some of the people who looked just barely human. Though the little girl with wrinkles and grey hair holding on to a chain connected to a floating brain in some container was a tad odd even by his standards. He also took note that some people were dressed in rather striking costumes, assuming that they were actual X-Men like the ones he'd seen in the papers.
Harry met the woman in charge of much of the food prep, a rather nice middle-aged woman named Marilyn with an extra set of arms named for the actress, who was all too happy to provide him with a borderline mountain of food on a tray, ranging from fruit to a mess of bacon. Harry quickly then made his way over to where his friends were sitting and talking, quickly digging in to the pile of food. Normally he'd be much more considerate and have taken way less to eat, he had a few hang-ups about table manners stemming from his childhood.
After swallowing a bunch of bacon, he muttered an apology. "Sorry, I just. I'm really hungry. I didn't even realize how hungry till now. I think I haven't been eating enough, well I know I haven't, but I mean that I haven't… sorry I'm rambling,"
Sofia leaned over the table and put a hand on his shoulder, a warm comforting smile on her face, "Harry, you did not do anything wrong. You do not have to apologize for being hungry."
"You're fine. Keep eating. We can talk after your done okay?" Laurie found it funny how she was counseling someone in a social situation when days before Sofia had to drag her into having lunch with David and Kevin.
Harry went back to his food and the four of them decided to talk as they ate themselves. Sofia decided to break the ice, "So, there is self defense class today again. Are there any other classes that are being offered? Or should we find something else to do?"
Kevin was spreading jam on a piece of toast as he spoke, "I was going to check out the garage. Dani told me there was equipment there I could use for my art work, want to make sure."
"I'm going to hang out in the library for a bit. Want to see if they have some books I've wanted to read for a while." David was picking at the bowl of cereal he had, not particularly hungry. Something from this morning had started bothering him.
Harry paused and swallowed, he'd already made his way through a considerable amount of the food he had sat down with, "Do you mind if I come with David?"
Before the older boy could respond a familiar voice spoke from behind Harry, "Actually Harry, once you finish up I need you to come with me. Hank wants to give you a check-up and make sure you're okay health wise. Then you and I are going shopping with a few other students."
Harry was confused. "Shopping? What for?"
Laurie answered, "You don't have any clothes or anything Harry, right? And no offense but I'm not sure you can make do with a borrowed outfit from Kevin and David's hoodie." She turned to Dani and found herself making a request easily, "Do you mind if I come along? I haven't had a chance to go shopping for a while." She was a bit surprised, normally she'd be rather shy about asking someone something like that.
Sofia chimed in with her usual energy, "I would like to come as well. I have not had the chance to see what any of the shops are like here."
Dani smiled, "You two are more than welcome. Two other students and another teacher are coming with as well, so we'll have a bit of a crowd though."
"…I don't think I should go Dani." Harry's hands were under the table in his lap, his eyes looking down at his tray.
Dani frowned, "Why not? You really that desperate to spend time in a library that will be here tomorrow?"
Harry squirmed a little and responded in a barely audible voice, "Well I don't have any money and I'm still not used to being around people again if I'm honest. I just… I just don't know if it's a good idea."
Dani pulled out one of the empty chairs at the table and sat, "First off, don't worry about money. The professor is footing the bill and he has more money than I think is possible to spend."
"He was able to get really nice all metal furniture for my dorm really quick and have you seen what the X-Men drive around in Harry? The guy is loaded." Kevin was leaning into his hand propped up by his elbow, the other holding half eaten toast.
Dani nodded in thanks for Kevin helping to assuage Harry's fears. "Second, you'll be fine. You've been fine around us, right? I know it's a lot of change really quick for you, but nobody here is going to hurt you or get mad at you if you seem a little odd." She leaned towards him with a smirk on her face. "Besides, have you seen some of the people here, me included? We're all pretty weird."
Sofia joined in with supportive words as well, "You do not need to worry Harry. Laurie and I will be there to and I am sure that everyone else will like just as much we do. You are quite charming after all." Sofia's smile was too infectious for Harry to keep a small upwards curve forming on his lips, his cheeks a bit red form her praise.
Harry let out a bit of an exaggerated sigh before turning to Dani, upwards curve now a full smile, "Okay. Okay. I'll go."
Dani pat his shoulder before leaning back a bit in her chair, "Atta boy! Now finish up that mountain of food and we'll go see Hank. I can give you a bit of a tour of the main school building on the way to since his lab is in the basement there."
Harry nodded and went back to his food, though a bit of anxiety was still eating at the back of his mind. The million things that could go wrong. The whispers saying that he didn't deserve to be happy. Not anymore.
XXXXXX
After Harry had finished eating he and Dani said their goodbyes to the other four students and made their way to the lab of Hank McCoy, better known as the X-Man Beast, according to what Dani told Harry. She pointed at the different rooms they walked by and told him what classes were taught where, surprising Harry with the fact that there just as many if not more classes for normal educations as there were for helping students control their powers. That fact caused yet another set of worries in his mind. He hadn't had a maths or English class in over four years. That would be a problem.
As they approached a staircase Harry couldn't keep that fact to himself, "Dani, I just realized something."
"What is it Harry?"
"…I haven't had the kind of schooling they offer here in years. The school I went to had… really specific ideas about what was worth teaching and wasn't. I haven't had a maths class in years and I don't think any of the history I learned will be of much use here." Harry realized he was getting dangerously close to being forced to elaborating on his history, but he figured the sooner he dealt with this the better.
Dani quirked an eye-brow at his comment, her expression not clear in meaning to him before she smirked, "Well good for you most of the teachers are here during the Summer and you have a couple months till school starts up proper again. I'm sure we can figure something out." Harry nodded in response and gave a quiet thank you before she turned and started moving towards Hank's lab again. Inwardly Dani was conflicted, her curiosity as to where exactly Harry came from was mounting higher and higher with each scrap of information he divulged, but she knew if she pressed too hard too quick he would clam up. She needed to be patient, for now at least.
The two continued on their way before coming to a stop in front of a large metal door. At least Harry thought it was a door, the lack of handles, knobs, or any other door opening devices made it a tad confusing for him. Some of the doors at Hogwarts may have opened on their own or been hidden behind sentient paintings, but they at least all had door opening apparatus tacked on somewhere.
Dani knocked on the maybe-door and called out, "Hey Hank? I'm here with Harry. You said you wanted to give him a once over right?"
A rumbling but rather cultured voiced responded from the other side, "Of course Dani, the door should open for you. Assuming the blasted thing isn't sticking again."
Dani pressed her hand against a pad of some kind he hadn't noticed on the door frame and caused the slab of metal to slide up into the ceiling, reminding Harry of something from muggle, no, just science fiction. He didn't want to be using terms that would remind him of Hogwarts like that. It was a dumb word anyway. Though once he followed Dani through the doorway he realized the room in it's entirety was straight out of science fiction. Various machines and apparatus he didn't have the slightest idea as to what they could be littered the room, many of them partially assembled and lining a large workbench accompanied by tools he was just as confused about.
To top it off, there was a giant blue cat man humming along to a tune only he could hear as he clacked away at a computer hooked up to a strange machine filled with a glowing green liquid. Harry wasn't all that taken aback, he was actual rather charming looking as opposed to absolutely horrifying like some of the creatures he'd encountered. His face looked a good bit like a lion and he was wearing glasses not unlike his own.
"Hello Dani, Hello Harry. I'm Doctor Henry McCoy, though many people call me Beast. It's nice to meet you. Just a moment and I'll be right with you two, Quentin's containment pod was showing some odd activity last night and I just wanted to go over the data." He clacked away at the keyboard for a few more moments, continuing to hum, Harry turning to Dani with a bemused expression mouthing the word containment pod, the woman smirking in response.
"Don't worry Harry. Quentin had some strange secondary mutation that caused his consciousness to elevate to higher plane of existence and his body to turn essentially liquefy."
Harry wasn't particularly happy with that response. "Is that a common thing to happen to mutant kids?"
Hank replied as he pressed a few final keys with the tips of his claws and turned to face the two of them, "Fortunately no. Quentin was an exceptionally powerful telepath and was abusing a drug called kick that damaged his X-gene. His secondary mutation occurred as a result, though only after he lost a psychic duel with some other students. He started a riot here and some students took it upon themselves to help fight back. We lost a particularly bright girl named Sophie."
Dani sighed and shook her head, "Jeez Hank, way to help convince the new student he made the right choice coming here."
Harry smiled and shook his head, "No Dani, I want to know about things like this. Professor Xavier told me that life here was dangerous, but life out on the streets would be so much worse if people ever found out I was a mutant. I'm inclined to believe him based on what I've read. Plus, hearing things like this gives me an idea of what to expect, though I imagine student lead riots aren't common right?" Honestly a riot sounded much more manageable to him than another one of his misadventures from Hogwarts.
Hank smiled widely and spoke in a cheery tone, "Only sometimes. Now come over here so I can make sure you're put together."
Harry sat on the table as Hank instructed, the furry man checking his reflexes and blood pressure before grabbing a stethoscope from a nearby tray of medical implements.
"Okay Harry, just take your shirt off for me for a second."
Harry froze, eyes shooting wide. He was really regretting this already. There was no way he was getting out of this either. Luckily, Hank noticed the panic and turned to Dani, giving her a look she quickly read as her being kicked out.
Dani frowned a bit but relented, "I'll be right outside Harry." She quickly turned and headed towards the door which opened automatically for her.
Hank turned to Harry, trying his best to give him a supportive expression. "Doctor-patient confidentiality is something I take quite seriously. Assuming you're not hiding some awful biological weapon inside you then I promise not to divulge what you've got under your shirt so to speak."
Harry chuckled a bit before nodding, pulling the oversized black shirt he was wearing off and setting it in his lap, averting eye contact with the large feline man.
Hank couldn't stop a look of extreme sadness and sympathy from showing on his face once he saw Harry's naked torso and arms. He was even thinner, bordering on emaciated, than Hank had thought based on his first look at him. A large angry red scar ran down his right arm, from his mid forearm to the meeting of his bicep and shoulder, obviously rather new. A large circular mark was on his left arm, one that was on opposite sides of his arm, meaning something must have gone all the way through, a large something at that. The scar looked old though, and the wound seemed like it had healed well. He checked Harry's heart beat with his stethoscope, the boy wearing a grim expression and trying not to cry.
When he asked Harry to turn around, the boy sat still for a moment before nodding quickly and doing as he was asked. Hank's heart sank at the sight of Harry's back. There was a litany of scars and marks, some stretching across his back from his waist to the opposite shoulder. He took his stethoscope off and sighed. Before pulling a chair so he could sit in front of Harry.
"You can put your shirt on and turn around Harry." Harry did just that, though he refused to make eye contact with Hank.
"I'm not going to make you answer any questions or demand you tell me your life story, but I do want you to know I'm here to help. I've unfortunately known far too many people who probably have stories like yours. There's so much pain that most people go through as a mutant. I'm no stranger to it myself."
Harry sat in silence for a moment before swallowing, then speaking. "I didn't know my name till I was three years old. I was called "boy" or "you" or "he". When I was older I was "freak" just as often as all those combined. Outside of a few people, no one called me "Harry" outside of school."
Hank took his glasses from his face, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the tears on them away.
Harry had started and he wasn't going to stop, "I didn't know why they treated me the way they did. I still don't. I don't understand how someone could a hurt a child for just being a little different." Tears were running from his eyes and sobs began to wrack his body. "When I went away to the school I was at, I thought that I could belong there. That I wouldn't have to be scared. Then when that all fell apart I didn't know what to do. I thought living by myself, just not being involved, would work." Hank had pulled Harry into a hug now, the boy quickly giving in and burying his head into the chest of the man. "I couldn't do it. I saw Laurie about to be hurt and I couldn't stand by. I'm so scared though. I don't want to try again." He was breathing heavily now instead of hysterical with tears, but he still didn't let go of Hank. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just couldn't"
Hank quickly cut him off, "Please don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. You don't deserve any of what you described. I know there's more to this, but I'm not concerned with that now. You're safe here. You can get help here."
Harry let go of the man in looked up into his cat-like eyes that were red with tears. "Okay." He rubbed his eyes and sniffled a few times before Hank offered him a handkerchief which he gladly accepted.
The blue furred mutant walked over to the tray of medical implements before picking up a vial and syringe then a few other things. "Harry, if you don't mind I'd like to take a blood sample before you go. Just want to make sure you're all fine." Harry nodded and rolled up his sleeves before Hank came over and made the necessary preparations. The doctor made note of how Harry wasn't phased in the slightest at the needle entering his vein, like it wasn't even noticeable to him.
After Hank bandaged his he put his large paw clawed hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "I know you're scared. I know that you must be so hurt you don't know what to do. If you want, we can find some time where you and I can talk, help you make sense if things. I'm often busy with the X-Men and my research, but this is something I'm more than willing to do."
Harry shook his head, "No Mr. McCoy, that's fine. I can-"
"Harry. I can give you an hour or so of my time every few days at the very LEAST. I want to help, if you will let me." Harry simply stared at his hands, Hank realizing he might be trying too hard. The time comment probably didn't help. "This will stay between us, at least until you're willing to tell someone else. What matters is making sure you get through this."
Harry bit his lip before giving a slow nod and responding in a low whisper, "Okay. I think… I think I'd like that."
Hank smiled, his sharp canines glinting in the overhead fluorescent lights, "Excellent. I'll figure out the time I have available and talk to you later." He then moved to return the chair he'd taken back to its original location. "You better get going. Dani mentioned a shopping trip last night with other students. You wouldn't want to keep them waiting long I imagine."
Harry nodded as he stood, before moving towards the door, stopping and turning around halfway. "Mr. McCoy?"
Hank turned from where he was beginning work at another computer terminal, an eyebrow raised in question.
"Thank you."
Hank smiled widely, "It's my pleasure Harry."
Harry turned and exited the room, finding Dani leaning against the wall opposite the door, a look of mild concern on her face. "Everything okay? Took a while longer than I expected."
Harry nodded motioned for her to start moving with him, "I'm fine. Mr. McCoy was just being thorough and wanted to take some blood. We should get moving though right?"
Dani frowned slightly before taking the lead, keeping her questions to herself. "Yeah, let's get moving. Hope was super excited about this the other day and Megan is looking forward to meeting you."
Harry turned his head without breaking stride, "Are these other students?"
"Yep. You should get along great with them. Megan is an absolute sweet heart and Hope is wonderful too. They can't go home for the break, so they're stuck on campus. Both need new clothes like you do and I promised them and one of the teachers we would make some time today to go shopping. I'm sure they won't mind you and the other girls tagging along."
"Which teacher?"
"Jean-Paul Beaubier. Northstar. He can be rather intense and off putting when you first meet him, but he's a good man and rather funny." Dani smiled at the thought of how Jean-Paul had handled his flight class as of late. The man was going to get an ulcer.
"Okay. I should probably tell you that I know next to nothing about the X-Men, other than you all being super heroes of a sort. My school was rather isolated so I'm fairly out of the loop when it comes to these things."
"You'll learn as you go then." The two of them had reached the front entrance of the main building, seeing that the rest of their shopping companions were waiting at the front gate.
Harry saw Laurie and Sofia talking to two other girls, though Sofia was doing most of the talking on their end and Laurie was only occasionally speaking from what he could see. The two other girls he assumed were Hope and Megan, though he wasn't sure which was which. One was a fairly tall girl, though most people were tall compared to him and his measly hundred and fifty-eight centimeters, with chin length brown hair haled out of her face with two hair clips on either side of her face. She was dressed quite nicely in a knee length pleated skirt and green sweater. The other girl was a little less normal, she had mid-length bright pink hair tucked behind her ears, which were elf-like in nature, and sticking out from behind her polka-dot print blouse were large rainbow-colored butterfly wings. The man had pointed ears as well, though not as much as the winged girl, and wavy black hair that framed his rather intense expression. Harry could tell this was Northstar as Dani had said.
Dani waved at them as she approached and called out, "Hey, sorry for the wait. Hank ran more than his usual gauntlet of medical tests on Harry here."
The man crossed his arms and squinted, "So this is Harry. Hm. He's rather small, isn't he?" His voice had an accent Harry recognized as French, but it was different from the students from Beauxbatons.
Harry frowned, he normally didn't have too many problems with remarks on his height and overall size, but he usually didn't get them twice a day. "Well sir, try living off scavenged food from supermarket dumpsters and tell see what it does for your bulk."
Northstar frowned but kept himself from responding when he saw the mild scowl Dani was giving him.
Sofia ran forward, the arms of the two girls he knew were Megan and Hope, just not which was which, in her arms. "Harry, I want you to meet Megan and Hope!" Harry couldn't help but smile wide at the girl's energy and intensity.
Harry gave a small wave and introduced himself, "Hi. I'm Harry, as everyone seems to have pointed out."
The girl with pink hair and wings responded first, "I'm Megan. It's nice to meet you." She smiled as shook his hand. Harry instantly noticed she had a rather thick Welsh accent, deciding to make comment on it later.
The tall brown-haired girl then introduced herself, "Hope Abbot. Sofia was telling us how you swooped in and rescued everyone yesterday." She spoke with what he believed was called a "posh" accent, but her relaxed posture and wry smile stood a bit at odds with how refined she sounded.
Harry blushed and gave an exasperated look at Sofia, who only smiled wider. Laurie gave a sympathetic shrug. "Oh, well. Just did what any other guy with super powers would do."
Northstar interjected before anyone could say anything else, "Okay, okay. We can save pleasantries and senseless teenage flirting for when we're on the road. There's a sale at the department store and I want to be there before all the house wives pick it clean." Harry wasn't sure how to feel about the man yet, though he cracked a smile at his last comment.
"Coarse vaguely sexist comments aside, Jean-Paul has a point. Let's go commandeer one of the school vans." Dani motioned for the group to follow her.
Moments late Harry found himself sitting between Hope and Megan in the backseat of a moving van, finding it hard to not blush for some reason. Sofia and Laurie were in the seats in front of them chatting away, while Dani was in the driver seat laughing at a comment from Jean-Paul who was sat in the passenger seat. He still found it hard to believe that he'd been a homeless dirt covered mess only yesterday and he was now where he was. Maybe things were actually going to get better?
(Author's Note): Next chapter will have the first real action scene, some real interaction between Harry, Hope, and Megan, and more Northstar sass. We'll also see mom mode Dani, David being a nerd, and Hank losing his shit. It also won't be a total emotional rollercoaster and we'll get to see something from Harry other than emotional turmoil and insecurity. Which won't be the norm for too long I promise. He'll get better.
Though the wait might be a bit longer for the next chapter. I start college again soon and have to focus more on writing code than on writing this. Shouldn't be too long though. Hopefully you all look forward to it.
