Game Start

It was about an hour later that there came a light knock on his door. Harry looked up from his recipe book, halting his search for a healthy dinner that he was in the mood to eat with the ingredients he now had stocked.

He blinked and wondered who would be over right now. Actually, why was that a question? It was probably An Di. And, surprise surprise -not-, there stood the slight nurse with worry lines carved into her forehead. They were light, as were the crinkles of her eyes, but to Harry it was a glaring sign that something was wrong. Her hands were also behind her back, hiding something. He swallowed, his shoulders hunching defensively almost automatically. He used the door as a sort of shield as his body tensed getting ready for anything.

"Oh, Wang Fei. Sorry about disturbing you."

He snorted, a slightly bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Sure you are. Can I help you with something?"

"I just-I hope you thought about work or school. Bao told me you had groceries earlier-"

"I hope you went easy him."

Her face twitched as if startled before the lines melted away a bit and humor sparked in her eyes. Her lips tugged upwards and Harry wanted so badly to relax but her hands… He was being stupidly paranoid. He'd already checked her out! She was safe!

"Well, he might be grounded tonight for not listening," she chuckled lightly. "But that's not why I'm here. I just thought… well, I hope you don't take this the wrong way but I know how hard doing things can be sometimes so I thought I might help you. I put together a list of schools and a few jobs hiring around the area," she said, clearing her throat a few times.

Then slowly, as a light flush built on her face, she brought out a manilla folder at least 2 inches thick with multiple colored tabs.

Harry could not be blamed for his jaw dropping right then.

Who in their right mind would go out of their way to do something like this for a neighbor they barely knew? Nobody. That's who. An Di had to be a supernatural creature of some form. Maybe an alien because he couldn't sense any magic from her or her son.

"You are one crazy woman. You know that?"

Her entire face flushed a deep red.

"I know that this is forward but I swore I was going to help. But b-but I don't want to cross any lines that we can't recover from so… I mean I just. I thought you might want some help with this because you don't have a laptop and I mean- Here!"

She bowed low and shoved the folder forward into his stomach. He stared down at the pages in bewilderment. How was he supposed to be offended with that whole spiel?

And the way she was bowing, was she trying to prostrate herself? Holy Magic woman…

"Um. You need to stop bowing like that. Uh, please. Like now."

He grasped the folder in one hand and her upper arm with the other so he could pull her upright, abandoning the door in the process. She didn't go easily, at first trying to stay in her position which could not be comfortable.

"Come on, up."

And, oh, were those tears in her eyes? Okay, now he was beyond uncomfortable. Standing fully upright again, Harry held back a wince at the look on her face. There was something almost desperate in the way she was staring at him with watery eyes. Her entire body was leaning forward, ready to drop into another bow.

Harry huffed, "Will you stop that. I'm not offended. I was going to ask for your help anyway."

Whenever he had the time to, of course. Definitely.

"Oh," she breathed, a firmer more confident smile forming on her features. "Well, in that case-"

"No no no no no. Don't even go there. I appreciate the help now. You're obviously more knowledgeable than I am in this case but that doesn't mean I want you barging in on my life, got it? Keep your nose to your own household, okay?"

She sniffed in fake offense but the smile never dimmed and her eyes only glowed with more determination. The wizard internally groaned, knowing that he should have just rejected her help. But he sort of needed it. And the way she had looked… And there was no telling what kind of 'advice' his parents would offer. Nice as they were, they did still rule a country and indulge in ridiculous opulence.

"Whatever you say, Wang Fei," is what she replied in that very obnoxiously fake sing song voice.

His eye twitched as he slammed the door shut, folder in hand. Screw rudeness.

Well, there were several options according to his neighbor. The jobs he'd barely glanced through, having no interest, but the schools he'd carefully spread on the living room floor. With a tired huff, he leaned back into the couch propping his head back on the cushions.

There were a few really good schools but all of them were pretty far. The only one that was even remotely close, which would still require him to use the train, was a good 40 miles away. The ones that were close were alright, more like community colleges than actual Universities. They did have their good points, like not costing as much, but they also didn't focus too much on any one subject. Speaking of, what did he even want to study? He did enough of that in Hogwarts!

Harry highly doubted that college was as practical as magical school. He didn't exactly want to sit and read and write notes again. That was for teenagers, dammit. Maybe there was a half magical school? There were a few of those that he'd come across in America and he'd heard vague mentions of them in Japan. That kind of school would actually be ideal. He could focus more on subjects pertinent to him and throw in some muggle subjects on the side. Yea….

Unfortunately, any schools that An Di gave him would be moot because he wouldn't be able to tell if they had magic subjects. Bloody hell, was he going to have to write another note to his parents to include magic/muggle schools?

He groaned, angrily lifting his head back up with some effort. Green eyes glared down at the practically useless paperwork before him. Why didn't he think about this before looking through all of this and basically melting his brain? He could almost feel it flowing out of his ears!

Right, because forethought was more Hermione's forte and he hadn't even had a full day to focus and think on the subject. That's what he got for jumping into things headfirst with no information again.

Sluggishly, he organized the papers again, stuffing them back in the folder before tossing it onto the couch. Dinner and then seeing Caelus sounded absolutely lovely right now. He may have only been up for a few hours but this day had been unexpectedly exhausting.

Savior woke in the same bed with the same ridiculously warm covers wrapped around him like a burrito. He took a moment to bask in the pleasure before slowly unraveling himself and slipping out onto the cold stone floor. It still sent the same shock of cold up his legs but he was expecting it now so it wasn't nearly as bad.

He was still dressed in the green kimono like bathrobe and his hair was in a long ropey braid. First things first, getting ready. If everything had been left where it was before, his armor should still be in the ridiculously large bathroom.

With a slight shiver, he marched over to the door and shoved it open. The armor was hanging on the hooks where it'd been left right by the mirror. On his way over, his own reflection caught his attention and he couldn't help but stare.

Looking at himself was so very strange when it wasn't his own body staring back. He wasn't vain, never had been. Not like Seamus or even Ron who would primp and prep sometimes to impress girls. With Harry you either had to take him or leave him(okay, that was a slight lie but any vanity he might have cultivated was beaten out of him by either the Dursleys or the war).

It was… nice to be able to stop and look. To wish and hope that maybe one day he might actually look anything close to this. Maybe not as hairless or even pale or otherworldly... But healthy and happy. The wizard could never remember seeing himself even slightly happy. His reflection was only ever around when he was angry or miserable.

His fingers traced the contours of his face gently, swiping along the high cheekbones and narrow nose before following the tattoo straight up from his smooth jaw. His eyebrows were straighter and neater in the game but not at all thin like ladies seemed to prefer. His brow was smooth, no worry lines or wrinkles, and arched into his hairline gracefully.

And his hair… Wow. Whatever Caelus had done had pulled it entirely away from his face. Starting at the crown of his head it twisted, pulling in every piece of hair, including his bangs, as it continued in an intricate weave down his nape and back. He pulled it over his shoulder admiring the twist of the braids -was that five different strands?- until he noticed the small decoration at the bottom. Instead of the plain leather strap he'd used before there was a thin shimmery purple band. On one side there was a large bead that looked like an iridescent pearl bound to the tie with gossamer thin strand of gold that wrapped around it like an X.

"What in the world," Harry muttered as he stared at the new trinket in his hair.

More than likely it was one of Caelus' belongings. It certainly seemed fancy enough.

A warmth built in his chest and the elf didn't even realize he was smiling until he glanced at the mirror again. He was so startled by it, in fact, that he froze. Was that him? Was that truly his own face staring at back at him? It was so different and yet not. It all looked familiar except for the smile -and the eyes but what in the world was that smile!?-. It was so foreign, so strange that he couldn't help but try to catch the stranger in its act. But, no. When Harry moved so too did the stranger.

The elf dropped his braid to bring up a finger to poke at his lips. Soft and unchapped, but still tilted up even if not quite as high as before. His glitched eyes blinked and the spell was broken.

Harry jerked back from the mirror with a frown.

What was he doing staring at himself like a bloody numpty? It wasn't even his actual body so what was the point in being envious about it.

Completely unbidden, a small traitorous thought slipped through his guard and squeezed around his mind and heart like a viper.

Caelus only liked him for his looks. He would never like him in real life. He was pathetic, weak, useless, muder-

"Savior~!"

Harry sucked in a startled breath, his lungs inflating painfully as he jerked his hands away from his chest.

"Where are you my darling~?"

He swallowed dryly, coughing to clear his throat. Merlin, he'd almost had another panic attack. He wasn't even doing anything! How depressing was that?

He took a few stilted steps to the side towards his armor before Caelus' voice became clearer as he appeared in the bathroom doorway.

"There you are," he exclaimed happily.

Harry bit his lip, keeping his back to the other. He'd been so excited to see him and now… now it felt like too much. The boss' presence weighed heavily on his back even though the man wasn't actually doing anything. It was so mortifying how weak he still was.

"There's a lot of training to do today! You missed yesterday's so we need to make up for it!"

"Are we in a rush," he croaked in response.

"Well, I suppose not," the whitette's voice was a little more subdued as Harry reached up to pull his armor down. "You're right! No rush, darling. It just means spending more time together. But… are you okay?"

The elf snorted in response before he could stop himself. He tried to cover it with a cough but that failed miserably as Caelus only came closer with hurried steps.

"Savior, is there anything I can do?"

"No," he grunted. "No. Just… thank you but give me time to change… please," he tacked on trying not to let his soured mood affect the only light he had in life currently. At least until he could find his sister. Like he came here to do in the first place.

"Of course." And Merlin, if the kicked puppy voice didn't strum his heartstrings discordantly…

Ugh.

He chanted under his breath hoping for his day (night technically?) to go much better.

"Are you sure I can't do anything?"

"Caelus, if you ask one more time I will shove my sword in your gut."

The nymph boss bit his lip at the, admittedly, scary glare his darling was giving him. It wasn't his fault he was so worried! Yesterday Savior had been so relaxed and content and he'd been absolutely ecstatic at being the cause of it. He'd expected some grouch, that just seemed to be a part of his lovely's wonderful countenance, but the absolutely growly acidic attitude was a slight shock. Had something happened? Had he done something wrong?

Or wait! What if he was embarrassed about yesterday night? That was okay! No need to be shy!

"My love," he cooed dancing around the man as he sat and took panting breaths after leveling up again. It still took so very long for him to defeat one of his beauties but he was already getting better. Maybe in the next few days or so the nymphs could start fighting back with basic maneuvers. "No need to be bashful! You were so adorable last night and I'd never tease you with it! Well, okay maybe only a little," he chuckled.

Savior's entire face flushed. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Waaa~ You're so cute!" He bent over and leaned in really close to the elf's face, so close their noses were almost touching. But he was careful not to touch. He'd learned after the scare in the bathroom. There was something about his demeanor, the hunched shoulders and pursed lips and glowing eyes, that gave away when he wasn't ready. He'd seen it then too but hadn't really understood. But now he did. Whatever had triggered his beautiful elf this morning had him in a terrible, no touching, mood all day.

"Your ears and your eyes and your hair and your body. Your everything. It's all beautiful," he said in a dead serious tone. He needed Savior to understand that.

Except… it had the opposite effect of what he was trying to achieve. The warrior drew further into himself, eyes dimming and head drooping. That… wasn't supposed to happen. What had he said that was wrong? He adored the man in front of him! He just wanted him to know that!

Mentally panicking and flailing, he continued, "You are amazing! Even with your grouch!"

"Stop talking."

Caelus' heart plummeted. "You make me smile and I know it's not been very long but I know with all my heart we're meant to be!"

"Shut up. You know nothing about me," he growled. Savior's head raised again and there was that deadly glower multiplied by a thousand. "You haven't even known me more than a few days and you think you love me? You're so shallow!"

Suddenly, he was shouting and hopping up, chest heaving and teeth bared. Caelus squeaked and backpedaled a few feet. He wasn't scared, not truly. Savior was still too weak to cause any serious physical damage… but you only needed words to tear apart someone's heart.

"Savior, I-"

"Shut up," he roared. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! How can you just waltz into my life and think everything is fine and perfect rainbows and-"

The elf gasped, cutting himself off, shuddering as he hunched over in obvious pain. Then he collapsed onto his knees with a groan as his forehead clonked onto the floor.

"Savior," he gasped, startled. He jumped forward, hands fluttering in his uncertainty. He kneeled, worry restricting his lungs and pounding in his head. What was he supposed to do? His darling was in pain and, ohnonononono please don't be another attack!

But it seemed nothing like last time. There were no panicked stuttering breaths, no hands trying to claw himself to pieces. It was more like…

The nymphs nostrils flared at the coppery pungent scent of blood drifted by.

Savior shifted back, struggling to pull himself upright and Caelus didn't hesitate to help him. Hands resting on those firm shoulders, he pushed the warrior up gently, running a probing eye over his physical state.

"Wha- What happened," he practically squeaked as he saw the gushing blood from a deep stab wound in his lovely's side. The strangest thing was that his health was still at full points. "D-darling!"

Another wound appeared, close to the original and Green and black eyes stared at him in a pained haze before his entire existence just…

Disappeared.

He was gone. And Caelus was left staring at nothing, the image of Savior bleeding out burned into his mind.

No one could blame him for the hysterical screaming fit that followed.

Harry woke just in time to see a large serrated knife coming back down. He rolled into the body as hard as he could, knocking the attacker and him to the floor. Quick as a snake, he struck out with his palm delivering a nasty blow to the man's (a firm body, large and muscled, 85% chance of being male) nose. It crumpled with a sickening crunch and the attacker yelped, scrabbling backwards.

Harry had enough time to yank off the headset, uncaring of where it landed (easily replaceable) as he lunged for the wand he kept under his pillow.

"I don' tink so, Po'er," a nasally voice growled, obviously through a hand clutching his bloody nose.

A hand clutched at his ankle and amidst the throbbing in his side and the blank panic muddling his mind, a calm blanket fell over him.

He turned, grabbing the hand around his ankle and twisted, forcefully breaking the grip and twisting the thumb so the whole arm followed. Mercilessly, he lashed out with a donkey kick finding purchase on a ribcage. There was an audible crack. Good. Made the attacker less efficient. He grabbed the mattress and hauled himself up, one hand smoothly pulling out his wand while the other supported his weight. He was losing blood at an alarming rate and he needed to destroy his opponent before he passed out.

"Grah!" The man retreated through the door and he followed.

The man swerved as he ran to the front door. Too injured or an aversion tactic? Could be a magical if he was zigzagging for avoidance purposes.

Why not use magic then? The wards. Anyone could get in the muggle way, that needed to be fixed. It should have been done beforehand.

The man slammed into the open door, throwing it open as he tossed himself over the railing and dispersed into black smoke that took off into the sky.

Death Eater.

He launched himself from his current residence in hot pursuit. His magic swirled hot under his skin and, as soon as he passed the ward line by hopping over the railing, he blurred into grey smoke. He was faster in the air, catching up extremely quickly and overtaking the enemy above an apartment building. They crashed two streets over into a dark alley. The rough concrete dug into his skin, shaving away a few layers but he ignored it. It didn't impede him at all.

He stared at the Death Eater standing defensively less than a yard away running his features through his mind. There was a match.

"Rookwood."

"Bloody 'ell! And I thou' ya were stubid fer usin' tha' anti-magic ward!"

He dodged back barely missing a punch to the face. His wand was up in a flash of red light throwing the enemy down the alley.

"Two ta tango Potter!"

He dodged to the left, brushing the bricked wall, to avoid the maliciously purple spell. He'd been slow. Allowed his enemy to use magic. It should have been ended earlier. He risked a glance down at his shirt. It was stuck to his side, stained a dark black in the early morning lighting, and tugging painfully. Already there were black spots in his vision.

"Why didn't you kill me while I slept?"

He needed to know. Information was key to survival. There had to be a reason. They couldn't know, could they? His plans would need major adjustments in that case.

Rookwood smiled grimly blood still dripping from his crooked nose and staining his teeth. "Ya impordant, Potter. A key to 'is rise!"

"Delusional fool."

"Jus' fall fer me, yea?"

Even with his vision fading, his hearing was not yet drowned in incessant ringing. He heard the barest scrape of the sole of a shoe on the cement behind him. It was just enough time to throw himself down to avoid another purple light.

He rolled to the side, his wand waving in front of him to weave a stronger version of Protega Maxima. Two more spells splashed harmlessly off of it.

Two men, one an Unspeakable with years of experience but suffering two slightly debilitating injuries. The other, unknown, was in perfect health. Both were only a few yards away and he was starting to get dizzy, even the adrenaline doing nothing. No time for even a quick magical fix.

He could not let them see.

With a growl he summoned his will, stoking the magic until it was an inferno. Quick and simple. It burst from his skin quicker than an explosion but silently roaring his anger and desperation. There were two short screams that cut off after a second and then a ringing silence.

He staggered up, dragging his shield with him and checked both spots. Covered in ash with a lingering magical residue.

Death Eaters terminated.

The shield dropped at the same time as his knees hit the floor. His fingers clawed at the ground dragging him forward. He just needed to get back. He just needed…

AN: Phew! A relapse and an attack all in one chapter! Yikes!

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