I don't know how well I got my vision down, I'm hoping that you'll at least get some sort of visual from reading this chapter. It kind of flings from happy to kinda depressing, but I really think it works well as a chapter. If you have any questions, or are confused about the breaks then put it in a review and i'll get back to you. I like expanding on ideas, so I don't mind replying. I just don't think that authors notes are the right place to explain, because someone might get what others don't and if I try to explain here i'll just piss some people off while confusing others. anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I do not own Harry Potter or Lara Croft.


Harry loved Parkour. The physical act of running, leaping, twisting, twirling his body in never ending combinations, was like flying. Harry loved flying. He remembered watching Lara train in her backyard, watching Remus fly around on his broomstick when he thought no one else was around.

They would just loose themselves in the act, and it was like there was no one else in the world. As he grew he began to imitate them, going so far as to "borrow" Remus's broom, flipping and twirling around the backyard obstacles as lithe as a monkey.

Standing, now, at the top of the concrete jungle, Harry took a deep breath and let it out in pure satisfaction. A new playground, a new challenge, waited.

He looked up as Lara joined him, her shadow temporarily covering his smaller body.

"How do you want to do this?" she asked, her hand now scuffling his unruly mop of hair.

"We could just fly through it," He referred to her ability to launch him over taller obstacles, and then having him haul her up with him. When Harry was in the air, he felt weightless, and he was positive his magic helped him to hover, just a bit. Remus was a little more skeptical at that, but did allow that his father had always had an uncanny ability to stay atop his broom even when it looked like he'd fall to a nasty end.

"We could," she agreed, then pointed down at a rope course. "Those look like marine training grounds." Harry agreed, having met some of her marine friends. They were tough guys, and their obstacle course had looked tough. They wouldn't let him use it, he was only seven when he met them, and considerably smaller than they were. Seeing the rope course now he was filled with an immediate need to try it out.

"I think we should just take each part as it comes. No preconceived plans. We can throw ourselves around and help each other only when we need it. Sounds good?" Harry could already see some blocks he'd need help over, and he knew Lara did too. But some of the smaller spaces looked to have easier access to points that he knew Lara might have a hard time squeezing through. If he could get ahead and climb up the narrower areas, and then grab her hand as she jumped, they'd have enough leverage to get around.

"You two ready?" A tall and extrememly lanky young man, who had introduced himself as Gorilla earlier, jogged to the top of the hill they were on and looked down at his stop watch. "The last team got through in twenty seven minutes. Did some pretty sweet kong vaults. But I gotta say, I can't wait to watch you two." His crew cut was so blond it almost looked like he was bald under the strong sun, his smile was crooked, but his bright blue eyes shone with good cheer. "I mean, we set up the course cause local people were getting on our case about jumping around the neighborhoods and stuff, so all the publicity we're getting on this is good. And having you guys shows that this isn't just a sport for twenty-something year old guys." He shrugged as Lara just quirked an eyebrow.

"I can't wait," Harry jumped a bit, antsy and ready to go with the flow. He grinned when the cell phone on the guys belt rang.

"No need to bro, go ahead," he waved them off, and whistled as they skid down the hill and muscled up the first wall, going into handstands and then vaulting down the other side in a perfectly synchronized movement. He grinned as Harry ran to the opposite wall, kicked off and then landed in Lara's cupped hands. He flew over the next wall as she launched him high, then he reached down as she ran up the wall and he grabbed her hand to pull her over. They decimated the course, flipping, vaulting, rolling, swinging…

Gorilla watched as they started the rope course, and laughed out loud in glee as Lara grabbed her nephews hand in one of her own and just swung him up to the next net. Harry landed in the net with enough momentum to simply bounce to the wall. His hands grabbed the edge and he executed a perfect 360 rotation, sitting down on the thin ledge as he watched his aunt flip herself up to the net and bounce much as he did, though she landed on the ledge with a cat-like grace that had most of the watchers glowing green in envy. Harry got to his feet on the narrow ledge and followed Lara, smirking as she turned around and walked backwards, watching him, and stayed completely on balance. At the end she flipped off, down into a flat ditch, and waited again for his foot in her hands. She launched him back up so that he could go from the first ledge to the wall opposite, then she jumped up and pulled herself on top the same wall. This time with Harry in the lead, they ran across the wall and were grinning fiercely at the next dip.

Gorilla didn't realize he was holding his breath until they landed safety. They'd just run off the second story ledge, launching themselves like Olympic divers and then somehow twisted their bodies into a forward roll that he would have sworn would leave anybody else with a severe case of road rash.

Harry just picked himself up with his usual aplomb and laughed as Lara messed up his hair, still running the course with a wicked glee.


They watched the scenes with heavy weights at the bottoms of their stomachs. The empty apartment, the hollow gut of the man who flew through the air, refusing the panic that clawed inside. They felt the horror, the absolute death of hope as the man landed in the midst of rubble, then the tiny sliver of shock as he heard the wailing. The shadow that enveloped the tiny baby refused to give the prize to the man, told him that he had his orders, to protect the child, and as the man gave up the only thing that was keeping the insanity at bay, he turned to ice inside. The baby was now flying away with the shadow, and the rat had to pay.


Gorilla was right, watching those two had been a treat, and the laughter in the kids eyes had been a tickle in the gut to those who truly loved free running, parkour, and any other permutation of the sport. They kicked off the grand opening of their obstacle course with a true bang, and all those who ran through were invited to the barbeque later that night. There was a group around the kid, wanting mostly to bask in his true enjoyment, reminding themselves how much they loved what it was they did. And of course, there was a group around his aunt. Damn but she was fine, and she knew it, flirting gently, teasing so that no one felt left out. And that guy that they brought with them, Gorilla laughed, was showing everybody replays of their best moments. Somehow the guy had gotten camera's set up all over the damn place.

As the night wore down and people started shipping out, Gorilla smirked as he found Harry dead asleep, nested on one of the guys sweatshirts, his tennis shoes untied and almost hanging off his feet. He settled down, sitting near Harry's head, his own hands clasped loosely around bent legs, his cheek settled on his knee, just watching the little guy with the bonfire's light flickering on his face.

"Tired himself out huh?" Lara chuckled as she sat on the other side of her nephew.

"Looks like." Gorilla nodded, "the guys really liked him."

"Well he really like them," Bryce clicked close his recorder and settled the bag of reclaimed cameras next to his foot. "Hope you don't mind, but I can clean up these images, send you something to post on your website?"

"That would be more than welcome, you caught some gnarly angles."

"Thanks, just keeping myself entertained, but wow did you get some great players here."

"That was the point; show everyone what can be done here, how the same obstacles could be passed in different ways. Now hopefully we'll get more interest and people can start building parks like this. Keep a safe place for future runners to practice besides the streets. It's harder to get hit by cars when you don't have a freeway running through your park. You know?"

"Yeah," Lara ruffled Harry's hair as the boy turned over and yawned.

"We gon home?" Harry asked with a wide open mouth.

"Soon," Lara promised.

"Moony's mad a me," Harry said, still half asleep.

"Why's that?" Lara asked, well aware that Harry really wasn't thinking about what was coming out of his mouth.

"don know, bu his wolf was aw growly before we lef," he slurred.

"Wolf?" Gorilla asked as Lara chuckled.

"That's what we call his uncles bad mood," she groaned as she got to her feet and then leaned down to scoop Harry into her arms. "You're getting too big for this kiddo," then chuckled when one of his tennis shoes plopped to the ground.

"Here, let me," Gorilla scooted over and tied the shoe still on Harry's foot, then slipped the fallen one on and tied it securely in place.

"Thank you."

"No problem, thank you both for coming," he turned to Bryce. "All of you, and here," he pulled a card from his pocket and scribbled his e-mail on the back, handing it to Bryce. "Just send me that video when you're done, we'll load it up." The front of the card had a stylized man vaulting over a car the long way and the words "Parkour du Combattant".

"We enjoyed ourselves greatly, thank you for the wonderful day," Lara held out a hand, balancing Harry carefully, and was amused when Gorilla bent to kiss the back of it.

"Hopefully we'll see you around." He smiled, and waved as they walked away.


There were no screams at first. It wasn't an attack at first, but a desperate plea for an explanation. The hissed anger and hatred that erupted from the rat's thin lips froze him in space, just time enough for the louder accusation, then the quick draw of a wand. The one and only time the fat little traitor had bested him was the one time when it actually mattered. He couldn't help himself as he spied the bloody stump of a finger, he couldn't stop the laughter.

Even when they came and screamed at him, the hatred of people who had no clue what he'd just lost. They had no clue just what his own cleverness had done to him, had done to the only people he'd ever loved.

It was his fault.

But he just could stop laughing.

If he stopped laughing, he'd just die.


Remus was sitting in the library, the window open, a fire crackling lightly in the fireplace. If anyone wanted to contact him, they had open access to do so. He wasn't even pretending to read the heavy book that lay open on his knee. He didn't even turn his head when the telephone rang and Hilary answered it with a quiet murmur.

"The plane just landed, Lara and the boys will be back soon," his voice was even as always, but Remus just wasn't listening. Normally he'd be jumping at the chance to meet them at the airport, but he couldn't leave. What if he tried to contact him and he wasn't there?

"Remus," Hilary laid his hand on the younger mans shoulder. He waited for those amber eyes to look up. "I'm going to make some tea, and I'll bring some in for you. And you will drink it."

Remus blinked, then let out a deep breath, "Yes, thank you Hilary."

The butler allowed a fleeting smile, and left the room quietly, leaving the door open just in case.

"Ahem," the voice was not the one Remus was expecting, he jumped in his armchair, startled. Then he composed himself and knelt at the fireplace, recognizing the face in the flames as Stephanie Blackwell, the lawyers secretary. "Sorry Mr. Lupin, I didn't mean to frighten you." The chagrined twist of her lips was cute, but Remus really wasn't paying attention.

"That's quite all right Miss. Blackwell, you have news?" He tried to act as if he hadn't been going quietly insane for the past week.

"The court just released session," she nodded. "He's been absolved of all charges."

"All…" Remus bit his lip as every mixed up emotion he'd been pushing back threatened to break through the wall. "All charges?"

"Yes, there's some paperwork and much debate about reparations that still have to be discussed, there is his inheritance that's been left in limbo and needs to be resolved…" she trailed off as she noticed that he hadn't been listening to her at all. Then she laughed out loud as Remus was forcefully pulled from the fireplace and she heard the frightened screaming of the muggle on the other end…

Apparently Remus had forgotten to tell Hilary about the Floo connection.