Henri Samedi
A/N:
Starting with this chapter until he is headed to Hogwarts, each chapter will represent at least a year, if not two in Henri's pre-Hogwarts life. The chapters will be considerably longer than the ones before it. Also be aware that these chapters will have micro and mini cameos and/or cross-overs, they are too small to be considered true cross-overs though. Some will be obvious and other subtle.
This chapter begins roughly the same time as the previous chapter ended.
He will be meeting and getting something from several gods/goddesses in this chapter. Some of the things will be take time to manifest, others will be nearly immediate. Henri is a godling and will have to grow into his own power and his place not only at Hogwarts but the world and universe. In this story Henri is going to be looked at as an extremely gifted person, with the benefit of an extra nine years of learning and memories, who would not be. Unlike in other stories, my own included, he is going to develop into Super!Henri and godling!Henri over time and yes he is going to have some issues and limitations. I just might make Brussel sprouts his version of Kryptonite.
Chapter Three – Henri Age: 2-3
Little Henri's sleep that first night in his new home was both restful and exciting. Restful in that his body was able to get the much needed rest that it needed, exciting in that moments after he began to dream, his mind was drawn elsewhere. The elsewhere that He traveled to, was the spiritual plane home of the Ghede, a mausoleum style mansion. Henri arrived in what he later found out was the front hallway. When he arrived he was met by group of people, most of which were unexpected.
Henri noted a woman standing beside the Baron, her appearance was a more feminine version of his, so Henri suspected she was his wife. Across the room from them were four people. Two of the people stood near each other, while the other two stood a noticeable distance from them and a respectful distance from each other. To say there was an obvious difference between the four unknown people was an understatement.
The first individual Henri noticed was a robed covered being, whose face and overall form was cloaked by the robe itself. Almost the first thing he noticed about them was that they were hovering a few inches from the floor. He could not tell if they were male or female.
The second individual was a black hair and eyed woman, who appeared to be wrapped in living, moving shadows. Henri noted that her face held both a softness and a hardness in equal measure. She also was floating above the floor.
The third person was another woman who also had dark hair and eyes but hers were brown not black. This woman was dressed in what Henri thought was a classical Greek toga made of white and gold. Strapped on her back was quiver of arrows and a bow, both gleaming gold. She was standing firmly on the floor, her feet an obviously calculated distance apart, She was wearing sandals that laced up almost to her knees.
The fourth person was a man and the first that Henri recognized. He wore a winged hat on his head, a white toga and had winged sandals on his feet. If Henri had not notice the tense feeling in the room, he would have laughed as the man kept bobbing up and down. His winged sandals would touch down on the floor and then almost immediately take off again. Of the group he looked the most uncomfortable with the situation.
The woman dressed nearly identical to the Baron was the first to notice that Henri had appeared. She smiled at the boy and said in stilted English, "Well damn it is nice to finally meet you mon enfant special (my special child)" finally slipping into a lyrical French. "Je suis maman Brigitte, pense à moi comme votre troisième mère.(I am mama Brigitte, think of me as your third mother.)"
The shadow wrapped woman then spoke, "So this is the boy then?" Her voice a neutral sounding alto, without any emotion in her voice.
"Oh yes, he is the boy." Responded the robed individual, who Henri realized was a male, due to the rich bass voice that emanated from the robes. "I have met him before, though the child does not remember the meetings."
Henri now looked terrified and in truth he was beyond that and his magic began to react. A green and purple energy flared out of his skin and swirled around him, attempting to protect him from harm. Meanwhile his physical body responded exactly the same, the energy lifting him several inches off of his crib mattress.
"Oh he is strong" The woman wrapped in shadows gushed, of course she would never admit to that emotion. She then smiled, a smile that was both soft and predatory. "Calm child, none here wish you harm." She then said, her words laced with a godly command.
Harry's magic obeyed to a point and diminished but did not completely fade. The fact that his magic did not fully dissipate shocked those present. They would never learn that it was due to a visitor who had snuck into Henri's new room and was visiting his physical body at that exact moment.
Without missing a beat the woman continued to speak. "I am Nyx." The meaning of Her revelation was mostly missed by Henri, who barely had a 5th grade understanding of Greek gods and goddess, let alone those called primordial or the pre-primordials such as Nyx. "I am shadow, I am night, I am darkness incarnate." She explained, not completely able to remove the annoyance from her voice. "We are here to see the child that has caused not only the Moirai but the all-creative such concern and worry." She then bent down slightly and looked deeply into Henri's eyes.
After a few moments she straightened her posture and said, "Henri Rene Samedi, formally Harry James Potter, I Nyx find you worthy of the life you have been returned to and the new path you are to walk." She then shocked the other gods in the room as she kissed his forehead, beside his scar. "I bless you with a taste of my power over shadows and darkness. May it cloak you and keep you secure, may it help you in that which you must do in the future, both known and unknown." Then without a word she disappeared in a vortex of darkness.
The robed man then spoke, "I am Thanatos, known to many as the Grim Reaper. My mother has found you worthy and I doubly so." The now named Thanatos spoke. He then touched Henri shoulder. A chill went through the young boy but nothing happened. "While you may be the adopted child of Baron Samedi, the Loa of Death, Crossroads, Healing and Sex. I claim you as a nephew." He then paused.
"I grant you two gifts and the knowledge that one day I will ask a favor of you." Thanatos continued. "The first gift is one you will not understand for many years to come and the second may seem to be equal curse as it is a blessing." He then stopped and said, "I wish to show you my face."
Henri walked closer to the man and peered up into the cowl of the robe. Another cold chill went through his body as he looked on the face of death. Henri would remember that the face was both cold and kind, forgiving and cruel but when asked years later, he would not be able to describe the face. It would not be for several years until Henri learned the full meaning of the gift.
"The second gift I give to you, is the ability to see the time of death for all creatures, great and small." Thanatos explained. He then touched each of Henri's eyes with a bony finger. For the third time a cold chill went through that small body. Thanatos then also disappeared without a further word.
Henri was quickly wrapped in a warm embrace from Maman Brigitte. She gently led the confused Henri toward the other visitors. "Henri, c'est Artémis et Hermès (Henri, this is Artemis and Hermes)" She introduced.
Henri did not know how to properly behave in front of true gods, so he tried to bow, only to be stopped by Maman Brigitte. She shook her head and said softly "Vous êtes un enfant de la mort, neveu récemment revendiqué la mort, vous devez être respectueux, mais vous vous inclinez à personne, (You are a child of death, newly claimed nephew of death, you must be respectful, but you bow to no one,)"
Both Artemis and Hermes nodded in agreement, though Artemis looked pained to do so. It was that moment that Henri began to even slightly grasp at what his new life would be like. It was the last time that Henri bowed for any reason. He may lower his head, but never bow.
Artemis did not care for men in general but this child was not yet a man, even though his mind was nearly a decade older than the body. She stifled a sneer as she spoke. Her voice emotionless and nearly cold, "Henri, child of the Voodoo's Ghede, I Artemis grant you three boons and require a favor to be asked in the future."
The Baron for the first time attempted to interrupt, but was quickly silenced as the goddess continued. "It shall not be a godly quest or anything of that nature, but it will be required of you." The Baron nodded his acceptance.
"Do you agree, child of death?" She asked.
"I do" Henri answered, his small voice trembled. His body's limitations not affecting him in this place.
"So be it" She responded. "I grant you the undeveloped skills of a true huntsman, a connection with the tree of willow and the ability of animal communion. Train them hard and use them well."
Henri's body glowed as his mind accepted the information given by the new skills, he would have to work his body to master the strength, dexterity and speed of a huntsman and greater understanding of all animals. It would be years before he understood what the connection to a willow tree meant.
Artemis took two measured steps backward and Hermes came forward. He had a large smile on his face and then winked at Henri. "I will grant you a total of five gifts and make only one request of you." He said, the smile never leaving his face.
"The gifts I give you are speed of foot, a desire to perfect your body for the fight, both in tumbling and fisticuffs. I bless your soul with languages and your mind with understanding of commerce." Hermes explained softly. His face then softened to a slight frown. "My request is simple, if you should ever cross paths with any of my mortal children, tell them this," He then whispered something in Henri's ear. The message sealed in his soul until it could be delivered. There was no compulsion to deliver it, but if and when he met a child of Hermes, the message would be released.
The moment he was done, an old man appeared in the center of the hall. His face was ancient and ageless, his white hair unbound and wild in appearance. Henri noticed that each one of the gods and loa bowed their heads in respect to the man, so he imitated them as well.
The old man walked up to Henri as if he were a man many years younger. He touched Henri's chin and gently raised his head, so they were able to see eye to eye. "I am Time and I have already blessed you once allowing you to come back to this point in time." He paused and then said. "I shall bless you twice more this night. Your maturity was snatched from you and rightly so, but I shall give it back to you a ¼ year for each year you live, until such time as your physical age aligns with your true age."
Time placed a hand on Henri's shoulder and continued speaking. "I further bless you with three hours and four minutes to stop, slow, reverse or forward time as you choose. Two minutes maximum at a time is your limit, use it well." He then simply disappeared. It would be another three years before Henri would fully understand the gift he had been given and the level of annoyance the limit would bring.
~~o0o~~
In the physical world, a darkly robed woman rushed into the yard of Renee's house. Her silent footsteps only slowed as she reached the front door of the house. With just the barest of thoughts, the front door unlocked and opened as she approached. She slipped silently into the house. Not even stopping to look around, the woman continued on her trek. She quickly arrived at the room little Henri was sleeping in, this door like the other opened at her approach.
As she entered the room, the woman lowered the hood of her cloak and walked sedately toward the sleeping child. Her aristocratic face framed by her dark flowing hair. Her form showed eternal youth and an equal amount of age as she passed through room, arriving at his bedside.
"Sleep well little one, allow yourself to rest, your shoulders are not ready for the new life that will be open to you soon enough." She whispered, gently moving a wisp of his hair from his eyes. "You should have been better protected as one of mine." Her eyes sparkling with momentary sadness.
She scrawled at the lightning shaped scar that marred his forehead. She raise her other hand, extending her index and middle fingers. She then stopped herself. "No, it is the duty of another to deal with that," She whispered to herself.
"Henri Samedi, formerly Harry Potter, I Hecate, mother of all magic, grant you three blessings and a gift." She said, her voice taking on a feeling of power. Her body and face then began to grow younger, she shrank to the form of a young girl.
"I grant you instinctual understanding of magic, light and dark, good and evil, natural, devotional and wizard." The young girl intoned as she touched his stomach, chest and forehead. He form then slowly began to return to adult version she had held before.
"I grant you an equally instinctual understanding of herbs, fungus and plants, both good and bad." She said touching his hands and closed eyes. It was at this moment, Henri began to lose control of his magic in the realm of dreams and his physical body responded in kind. If anyone had been awake, they would have seen an eerie light coming from Henri's room, but it was missed instead. After his magic returned to a more normal level, Hecate again changed. Her form becoming old, stooped and slightly shorter.
In a slightly raspy voice, she continued, "I grant you the feel of magic, with training you shall learn the different magics by their feel, heft and flow." She then stooped down and reached under Henri's bed.
After a few moments and more than one time reaching even further under the bed, Hecate pulled her hand and arm back. In her claw-like hand was a rapidly pulsing, moving and changing ball of blackness. She stood up, still holding the ball and spoke again. "I gift you with this familiar, may you be protected and protect each other."
In that moment, the blackness was no longer in her hand, but the small form a black kitten was there instead. Its eyes were as black as its fur. Its body was emaciated to the point of looking sickly or near death, but a sense of power surrounded it.
Hecate placed the kitten on the bed near Henri's shoulder. The cat sniffed Henri gently and then laid down beside his head. "Watch over him until his is ready." Hecate admonished. The cat's only response was a flick of its ear.
Hecate left the house the way she arrived, once out of the yard, she simply faded into the mist of the night.
That next morning kitten would be found sleeping, still in same place it had laid the night before. Much to the annoyance of Renee, both the cat and Henri got along fine. Later that day the cat was named 'Fourbi' by Henri. It would not be for another year, she would learn how appropriate the name was for the animal.
~~o0o~~
Henri was frustrated, no he was beyond that, but did not have the words for the feeling. It was now three days after he had arrived in Louisiana. His frustration, going to the loo. No he did not need help going, he was mentally eleven years old after all. The issue was every time he attempted to go by himself, his two year old hands would struggle to undo the diaper or in his mind, the nappy, before going. Unfortunately his equally two year old bladder could not always hold it and he made a few messes. What made it even worse was the reaction his new mother and her women friends had each time, it was utterly embarrassing to an eleven year old ego. Finally Henri had enough.
Renee was sitting in the kitchen talking with two of her assistants when little Henri marched into the room with scrawl on his face. It would have been cute, since he was only wearing a diaper, but the three women noticed the light of magical energy glowing in the boy's eyes. They realized he was upset.
Henri struggled with the nappy for a moment until it unceremoniously dropped to ground, leaving the two year old without clothes. Henri glared at the snickering women until they stopped. He then announced in a voice filled with power, "No more Nappy, PANTS!"
The women were shocked, but realized he was very unhappy with the diaper situation. It took them a few minutes for them to understand that the boy did not mean, long legged pants, jean or slacks, but he meant underwear. From that moment on, all diapers in the house disappeared and were replaced with proper underwear. Well proper for adults, among others, they did give him a pair that had a purple thing on them, which was supposed to be a dinosaur of some sort. Henri emphatically refused to even consider wearing them.
It was not until an hour after the incident that Henri realized how embarrassing the situation really had been.
~~o0o~~
The day before his welcome to his new home by the whole Community, Henri had another issue that he needed to deal with or it would led to embarrassment. This time he waited until Renee was along and tried the subtle approach. She was doing what appeared to be needle point when he crawled into her lap and started humming.
His being in her lap was comforting to Renee, she had been concerned that Henri was unhappy and was not responding like a regular boy. She moved herself and what she was doing to accommodate the boy on her lap. She completed the final stitch on a new Gris-Gris when she noticed the boy humming, she would have sworn she could hear ghostly drum following along with his humming. Instead of showing her concern, she asked, "Yes Henri, do you need something?"
Henri quit humming and the ghostly drum beats lingered just enough that Renee recognized them and finally realized what he had been humming, the Bardo of the Baron. He smiled up at her, kissed her cheek and then waved his hand over his small body.
"Two" He simply said.
Renee nodded, realizing he was not just listing his age. She smile when he pointed to his head and the smile dropped as he said, "Eleven."
Over the next hour they clarified and discussed that while Henri was physically two and had most of the weaknesses to go with that age, he was mentally an eleven year old and two year olds' toys were not right for him. It was then Renee realized that she would have to contact the members of the Hounfour and most if not all of them would have to scramble to not only return the gifts they had purchased for the boy, but replace them with more engaging selections.
That was the moment that Henri began developing his desire to learn, everything. Renee used that desire as a way for them to bond. Henri would be allowed to read any book that was available, he would have French and Latin lessons with her. It shocked her how quickly he picked up the languages. They also would begin the path of rootworking together, going on from there to conjure and beyond.
~~o0o~~
The ritual in the Hounfour confused Henri, but he enjoyed the drumming and the interaction with the various Loa. This stopped when he saw the spiritual energy of a giant snake enter the room and take over a man named Jean-Paul. The body's head turned slowly to Henri and then smiled. The smile was cold and very reptile-like.
"$$$You can understand me?$$$" The loa asked him in a hissing voice.
"$$$Yes$$$" Henri responded.
"$$$But you should not$$$" The loa continued. "$$$I am Damballa, little one, you have nothing to fear from me, little Baron$$$ He then bowed to Henri. An action that surprised everyone in attendance.
"$$$The mark has magic most foul, and through it you understand me.$$$" Damballa explained. "$$$I cannot allow it to continue,$$$" He then reached out and touched Henri scar.
The touch both burned with the hottest fire and coldest ice, but was over before Henri could even scream. The index finger of Damballa left hand was covered in a green inky black tar-like substance. Henri's scar was bleeding slightly. Henri's hand immediately went to the scar.
The Loa looked around and grasped a baby rattle with his other hand. The rattle was a blue thing that someone mistakenly had brought for Henri. Damballa touched the substance to the rattle and everyone watched as the rattle morphed and twisted into a hideous version of itself. He then violently shook the rattle and said in English "I will return this to you in the future."
"I freely give you the gift of speaking to snakes to you." Damballa said caressing Henri's face, small traces of energy flowing between them. "I so enjoy $$$talking with someone who can understand the true me$$$" He explained, starting in English and finishing in parcel.
Henri would never feel the pain of his mind being touched by the evil that was Voldemort.
The party that went on that night was talked about for years to come. Talk about the food, the dancing and of course little Henri. That was the night Henri danced his first Banda and ate his newest and longest lasting favorite desert, Beignets. A fried dough with powdered sugar.
Agent Kent had been invited and the l'agent magique, found he enjoyed himself. He was free to take pictures, videos and talk with whomever he wanted and most were very willing to talk to the man. The American Department of Magic had identified several different types of magic, above and beyond that of wand waving wizards, since the 1970's and Agent Kent was very interested in learning more about the different types. Eventually he even gained a small affinity for voodoo magic, though nothing compared to actual followers.
He asked for and received a small amount of time to talk with Renee about Henri's future. Agent Kent, Renee with Henri in her lap and two of Renee's assistants, later identified as Karen and Shevfa all sat at picnic table.
"Madame LaDoux, the government wishes to give Henri this medical card and with its use, pay for all of his medical expenses now and far into the future." Agent Kent said as he handed her a green medical card.
"Do you think that I do not have the money to take care of little Henri's needs?" Renee gruffly responded. "I have no need of charity, food or financial aid."
"Far from it, Madame LaDoux, the government knows that you are well off and easily able to deal with his financial needs without a handout." The agent said as he tried to calm the older lady. "It is just that Henri Samedi, the child formally known as Harry Potter is a person of international interest, especially in the United Kingdom."
Renee stared at the man intently for a brief moment. She then reached into a pocket and withdrew a cigarillo, lit it, hugged Henri to her and only then began to laugh. "So this is at least for the government, is a way from them to prove they can take care of little Henri, like the Brits could not for little Harry?" The agent simply nodded, which caused Renee and the others to laugh even more. They realized that Henri was the recipient of the benefit of the USA giving the UK a political black eye.
Over the next twenty minutes Agent Kent explained about Henri's magic. The secret was maintained by the use of a magically enforced binding and a silence ward around those in the discussion. Kent explained the difference between "Wandie magic" and the "devotional magic" that was done in Voodoo. Wandie magic was even displayed, he took a leaf and transfigured it into a robin and back again.
The only individual that took notice of anything they were doing was "Fourbi", who for the briefest of moments considered making the robin into a meal. The moment the bird returned to a leaf, Fourbi slinked into a nearby shadow and disappeared. She knew her new master was very well protected.
Henri received several gifts from the people who would become his extended family. He received the expected clothing, several books, both school based and fiction, a laptop computer loaded with Edu-tainment and strictly educational software intended to advance as he did. From Agent Kent he received a remote controlled car, a small sampler of magical candies and Renee received a list of New Orleans and surrounding area, hospitals, nursery schools, daycare and private baby sitters who knew and specialize in magical children.
~~o0o~~
Henri would remember the date of August 26th, 1992 as both a terrifying and infuriating day for the rest of his life and beyond. It was the date he was forcefully introduced to the uniqueness of the weather for those living in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States. It would not be for several days that he would learn that the massive amounts of wind and rain was named a hurricane and the people that watched the weather had a really bad habit of naming the things. The one that created his hatred of hurricanes was named Andrew.
He had been unexpectedly and rather roughly roused from his sleep. He and Mama Renee were taken away from the house and crammed into a small shelter with what felt like dozens of other people. Henri's heart was racing and an unknown energy was thrumming underneath his skin.
The duality of the boy's mind were both terrified by the glimpse of the storms magnitude he had, even though his head was covered most of the time. His eleven year old mind was only slightly better off than his two year old mind, but both sides ended up being inconsolable during the storm.
That night Henri claimed Hurricanes, with a CAPITAL 'H' as his enemy. This declaration was after news had reached the shelter that people had died. The declaration was met with Henri's eyes glowing with power and signified what would become his first magical oath.
~~o0o~~
The first Halloween Henri spent in Louisiana was a sad time for Henri. It was the first time that he was aware that it was the anniversary of his parents death. He morosely walked from his room to the living room that morning to see the smiling face of Mama Renee.
"Good Morning Henri" she said with a smile, as she set a bowl of grits on the table. Her smile faded as she noticed the small boys face. "What is wrong, mon petit?"
"l' aniversaire de la mort de ma mère (the anniversary of my parent's death)." He responded, not realizing he had slipped into French.
"Je suis désolé ma douce, voulez-vous me dire à ce sujet? (I am sorry my sweet, do you want to tell me about it?)" She asked as she pulled out the chair that had his booster seat in it and helped him into it.
Henri nodded and began to tell her what he knew about Voldemort, his followers and his parent's death.
Renee took the opportunity to lift his spirits by cutting the evil wizards name into pieces and revealing, 'Vol' could represent either flight or theft depending on how it was used, 'de' was of, from, to, by or with. 'Mort' of course was death, dying, dead but also meant dummy. The explanation caused both of them to start laughing. It was not till much later that she explained that, the version of dummy that was meant was that of a mannequin, which caused Henri to laugh again. Years later he would laugh again remembering this conversation.
They spent the next hour taking the various possible meanings and making up variations while they ate. Henri's melancholy forgotten for a short time. It would be years later that Henri would realize how true many of those names actually were for the man, 'flight from death' (run from death), 'theft from death' (stealing from death) and the most ironic 'flying dummy'.
That evening was the first time Renee heard music coming from Henri. At first it was him simply humming bouncing and rocking as he studied. Then as time went by the humming took on an unworldly, out of tuned radio musical quality. She grew concerned as the music continued even after the boy was asleep for the night. Her fear ended at midnight, which was the moment the music also ended, at least for a year.
~~o0o~~
The first time Henri danced in the yard, it was the saddest, most terrifying, most uplifting, most fearful and surprising thing Mama Renee had ever seen. It was October 31st, the afternoon before the Voodoo Rite for All Hallows Eve. It was the 3rd anniversary of his birth parents death and like the year before, Henri started the day rocking, bouncing and humming to his self.
The morning lessons had just finished and she had released Henri to the backyard to do whatever a three year old would typically do, well whatever Henri would do. He went outside humming and rocking as he walked. Mama Renee grew slightly concerned when she did not hear him after a short while. Henri was the most mature child she had ever seen, even among teenagers. Her concern grew to worry for some reason when she began to hear the haunting sounds of a violin, in her mind a fiddle. The music spoke of a deep, heart grabbing sadness.
Mama Renee stepped onto the back porch to call Henri inside when she first saw it. Henri's little body was dancing in the center of the yard. She became terrified as she watched with both of her eyes the scene that was unfolding before her. In the yard was little Henri dancing with a precision that was years beyond his body's ability, what terrified and surprised her in the same moment was that the music was not coming from a radio, instrument or other natural means, it was coming from Henri himself. What increased her terror and fear was that the back yard was filled with the whole Ghede, The Clan of Death, and they were watching Henri dance.
Her voice was silenced from calling Henri, by the very actions of Henri and the various members of the Ghede. The dance was not a banda, but a dance from Henri's heart and spoke of his pain and loss. He would sway and stomp, then kick his leg above his head, then drop to the ground, roll a quarter turn and then hop back up facing a different direction. Henri's eyes were wide open, glazed but yet did not hold the look of being taken over by a Loa. He would move toward each of the members of the Ghede all the while dancing stop for the briefest moment and bow, it was almost as if he never stopping dancing. His movements would slow and the dance would change to swaying and circling, for a short time and then he would begin the movements again, the Ghede across from the last would be the next greeted, moving to the right and repeating, until all the Ghede had been likewise greeted. The haunting violin following his progression.
Henri's dance then changed again. His movements became jerky and stiff. At first Mama Renee was concerned he had tired himself out, until she realized he was imitating a cartoon of dancing skeletons he had seen the day before. She was momentarily afraid that the boy would offend the Loa, which was quickly erased when she heard them as one began to laugh and imitate the boy's dance themselves.
What no one realized was that the music had increase in volume to the point it could be heard at a great distance and took on the quality of n disembodied choral. Like the pied piper the music drew the nearby faithful to the dance, each coming with a small smile on their face and without a concern for what they had previously been doing. The back yard became filled with over a dozen people as well as the differing Loa. The other Loa also soon joined the Ghede in watching the boy dance. Some even joining the dance itself.
The people watched little Henri dance and one by one as the Ghede touched them, began to dance themselves. Henri's eyes closed by themselves as a new dance took over the old. The dance would become known as "Henri's banda" to everyone but Henri. To him it was the "Danse de la mort" or dance of the dead. It was that dance that prompted the Ghede to start giving Henri gifts, one a year for several years.
As the dance slowed and began to end the people slowly returned to their regular lives, comforted, happier and each humming a different portion of the 'Danse de la mort'.
The Ghede each touched the now panting boy as they too began leaving. Unlike with the other people that they touched. Each member of the Ghede left Henri a tiny bit of their own power, which would combine and manifest as he grew older. Finally the only ones remaining were Maman Brigitte and Baron Samedi himself.
The couple walked up to Henri and each gave him the traditional French kiss on each of his cheeks. Maman Brigitte then kissed his right check and forehead, right where his scar had been the year before. "You shall learn many things in the next year; just remember to take time to enjoy life."
The Baron smiled mischievously at the boy he had come to care about so much. He grasped him by the shoulders and looked directly into Henri's eyes. "You have please the whole Ghede this day Henri and for that I am very happy with you. If you were a bit older, I would give you your first cigar to celebrate, but we both know all three of your mama's would not be happy with me." He laughed and looked at Brigitte and Rose.
Henri did not need to look at either of them, nor was he confused who the third mama was. He knew it was his birth mother, Lily Potter nee Evans. He had been promised that when he was older, the Baron would show him how to call spirits back for a short time.
The Baron thumped Henri lightly on the forehead. The tap normally would have just been enough to startle the boy but there were other reasons for the thump.
Henri blinked repeatedly and it was only when he heard Mama Renee gasp that he realized something had happened. Maman Brigitte pulled a small mirror from somewhere and handed it to the boy with a smile. He looked in the mirror and was immediately shocked, to the point he could not speak.
The right side of Henri's face had been changed. He now had half a skull showing on that side while the rest of his face looked normal and unharmed. His right eye was gone and replaced with the blackness, like he remembered seeing in the Baron's eyes once before. His left eye was mostly the same, but small amounts of black flecks swirled in the eye, hinting at things to come.
Finally he said a soft, "Wow"
It would not be till the next day that he figured out how to return his face to normal. That night at the rite, the fact that Henri was truly blessed and claimed by the Baron was firmly in the minds and hearts of the others. He gained the name Bébé (baby) Baron Samedi or just Bébé Baron. Harry would not live down being called a baby for another three years.
From that time on each year would see Henri dancing that day, rain, shine and even once in a light snow. Each year, the whole of the Ghede visited to watch his dance and bless him with small amounts of their power.
Henri spent the next year, reviewing school books and other books appropriate for someone his true age of twelve or thirteen. He may not have had the physical body, motor control or dexterity of a thirteen year old, but he had the non-hormonally fettered mind of one.
Just before his fourth birthday, Henri began classes away from the Hounfour and Renee. He began a toddler's version of dance lessons, gymnastics and a Tai Chi class. The adult version of the Tai Chi class gained several new adult students including Mama Renee as well, just so they could physically keep up with the boy.
~~o0o~~
A/N: The dance scene was inspired by an old black and white cartoon of a dancing skeleton and a music video by Lindsey Stirling "Moon Trance" on Youtube, check it out.