Disclaimer: I own nothing recognised as belonging to someone else.
I decided to redeem Gary in this chapter. It just meshed with the sharp pointy story I;m running with (hope I don't slipand fall on it.
The reason I haven't updated lately is because I've had really bad depression that has me on medication and counselling. It_is_not_funny. Or fun. I've recently gotten a new job after being fired from my old one (did NOT help my depression) and, when I was finally up to writing again, Word stopped working.
Hopefully I'm back for good and I strongly suggest Pet Shop of Horrors for manga readers. It isn't really funny, more horror, tragedy and a little romance.
The exams had gone well, Crane supposed. Once he had read the material and cast the spells, he was reasonably sure he would pass his tests. He'd had a little difficulty with the classes he had missed.
His return 'home', however, had not been so great. Aside from his father having not noticed him gone for a week, the weasel and the beaver had gotten up in his face as soon as he was forcibly ejected from the Floo.
He could still hear Ronald's snide comments about not caring about Gary and being selfish while Hermione double-teamed with demands to know where he'd been, what he'd done, who he'd spoken too and how dare he abandon Gary in his hour of need; never mind that the two of them had commandeered his twin's time and campaigned all through Diagon Alley that 'Harry' was going dark.
Throughout the verbal lashing, he hadn't done anything but fall into his 'girly' hand-on-hip stance and stare blankly at the stylized leaf-patterned wallpaper whilst surreptitiously watching Gary's reactions to how his friends were treating his brother. His Twin.
Seeing the emotions flash over his brother's face, Crane couldn't help but feel that he was beginning to realise what had friends were really like. If the uneasiness and surprise were any indicator, they mightn't be such close friends for much longer.
Crane supposed that he really shouldn't have been surprised when Gary entered his room late that night.
*****
He'd been reading a muggle forensics/mystery novel in bed, the grandfather clock in the hall having just finished toning two o'clock in the morning, when a knock had sounded on the now seldom-used door connecting his room to Gary's.
Surprised, Crane had blinked at the door across the room for a moment before climbing out of bed and putting his novel on the bedside table.
Padding across the carpet, he opened the door.
Standing in the darkness, Gary fidgeted.
Sighing, Crane stepped back and let his brother in before closing and locking the door.
As the twins had done when they were little, they both climbed into the king-sized bed to avoid the chilly night air before they began their conversation.
The silence was awkward for a few minutes before Gary spoke softly.
"Sorry how Ron and 'Mione spoke to you earlier. I-"
"Stop." Gary stopped. "You shouldn't have to apologize for their behaviour. Besides, they weren't acting any different than they always have."
Gary took in a sharp breath at Crane's mild tone, not sure if the disappointment was really there or not.
Despite what people thought, when it really came down to it, Harry's opinion of him carried even more weight than anyone else's, even Dumbledore's. They were twins, after all; two parts of the same whole and, despite the way Gary acted, he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Harry was the only one who had never and would never use him for personal gain or actively hurt him.
"The only time they don't act like that is when you're actually close enough to hear what they're saying." Crane continued, pretending not to notice how Gary curled up into himself against his side.
Gary's bright green eyes, a few shades darker than his twin's, peered at his brother sadly as the infinitesimally older boy reached over to turn off the bedside lamp.
"...Do they really?"
Crane wouldn't look at his brother. "Yes."
Gary cringed. Many people would have called Harry a liar for refusing to look at him when the older twin answered, citing guilt for lying. Those people did not know Harry. Harry's refusal to look at his brother when answering was because he was aware of just how painful it was for Gary to hear, and he felt regret for the pain he was causing by telling the truth.
The two boys lay quietly in the dark for a while before Crane spoke.
"I won't be returning to Hogwarts this year. I've been accepted into another school out of the country and out of the way."
Gary started. "Wha...? But..."
Crane sighed and grabbed Gary's hand under the blankets to give comfort.
"If you don't have anything pressing tomorrow, I'll take you to a pet shop I've heard about that sells exotic and dangerous pets. And so long as you follow the exact wording of the contracts, you should have a loyal companion for life."
*****
Crane led his brother confidently through China Town in some American city Gary hadn't bothered to remember, a carry-box full of baked goods in the elder twin's left hand and the odd purple cat wrapped around his shoulders.
Even Gary had to admit that his brother made a sophisticated and exotic sight as he walked past the red and black architecture of Chinatown, looking for all the world like he belonged there. Leather pants, a tight black tank top, leather boots and leather arm cuffs, his hair apparently loose but actually tied off at the bottom so his cat could hide in it.
Gary suddenly felt like the ugly, unwanted twin he'd tried very hard as a child for Harry not to feel like.
The now not-so-identical twins stopped in front of a building with a sign saying 'Count D's Pet Shop' above it.
Suddenly feeling unsure, Gary followed Harry down the stairs.
*****
Crane was a little hesitant about bringing his brother to this place, but he knew that Gary was well-versed in contracts and would honour any contract he willingly signed.
'You should've just gotten the brat a pet snake.' Kuronue grumbled.
Crane rolled his eyes as he turned the doorhandle and entered the shop. 'But would he become as devoted and dependant on it if he couldn't identify it with a person rather than just an animal?'
Kuronue sighed and settled back. He couldn't say he liked his host's brother but he supposed it was similar to the relationship Kurai had with her son, Kunai.
He still didn't like it.
Crane quite liked the room, and the incense was quite pleasant.
"Welcome. How may I be of service today? Our store offers a wide range of animals from small cats and dogs to birds, insects and even amphibians."
Crane could practically feel Gary hide behind him as the androgynous male in a red and gold cheongsam detached himself from the shadows.
Crane peered at the male for a moment, almost certain that the male was completely nonhuman, but he couldn't tell the species. He shrugged and held out the carry-box.
"I come bearing baked treats."
The box was gone from his hands before he could blink and the male was cooing over the open box at the small coffee table.
"You are so kind!" The male Crane assumed to be Count D swooned. "They smell delicious!"
"Thank you." Crane smiled and moved closer, taking special note of the tanuki, tenko and totetsu watching warily from the shadows. "It's good to hear when one's efforts are appreciated."
D gave the young customer a startled glance. "You made these, young sir?"
Crane nodded. "Baking is both a hobby of mine and a means of releasing stress. But more along to the reason my brother and I are here, is because my brother needs a pet who can be both confidant and protector to him."
There was a sudden cold, calculating light in the male's mismatch gold and violet eyes by the time Crane finished his sentence.
Gary appeared to be trying to shrink into his shadow.
"Oh?" D murmured. "And here I had the perfect pet in mind for you. Are you sure...?"
Crane shook his head with a rueful smile. "I thank you. But no. I do not believe Neko-Chan would tolerate another pet having claim on me. He barely tolerates Hedwig as it is." He turned his head slightly and raised his right hand to pet the small feline head that popped out of its hiding place in his hair at its name. "Would you, love?"
At the same time as the small purple cat let out a whistling trill, the tanuki, tenko and totesu suddenly scrambled to their feet and bolted into a back room, causing a momentary pile-up in the doorway as they fled in terror from the alpha bull behemoth.
The Chinese male stared, open-mouthed, at what appeared to the rest of the world as a small purple cat with big black eyes rubbing itself affectionately against the attractive, black-haired youth's cheek and hand, but appeared to him as a lithe boy-child with long slinky purple hair, darkly-tanned skin, huge black tilted eyes and three horns (two large and shaped like a bulls and a small stubby horn on the forehead), hanging around the youth's shoulders and nuzzling smugly and possessively against the youth's cheek.
Whilst staring at D with a threat in his void-like black gaze.
D composed himself quickly. "I suppose not." He agreed shakily, still watching the demonic beast warily. T-Chan was one thing, but having an alpha behemoth, especially one so obviously enamoured by a human, in his shop for any period of time, obviously, as Detective Orcot would say, scared him shitless.
Desperate to get as far from the overly-possessive behemoth as possible and keep it that way, he turned a professional smile to the boy who, now that he was paying attention, was probably the other boy's twin.
"Is there anything in particular you were looking for?"
"Ahh..." The boy glanced at his brother helplessly.
Crane rolled his eyes at his brother's uncertainty. "What have you in the way of reptiles? Both my brother and I are Parselmouths, which means we can speak the snake language. I've actually spoken to some of the older lizards and a dragon with Parseltongue before so I would assume most reptiles would be able to understand us when we speak thus."
D didn't even think about it. "I have just the thing. She has been looking for a companion for some time now. This way please."
D led the two through a door covered by a curtain and down a corridor with many doors until they reached one with black roses embossed on it.
The room was dark and warm with Romanic furniture, small water fountains and several large potted plants. In one of the chairs sat a beautiful, pale woman with literally wine-red/violet hair bound into an elaborate pig-tail hairstyle with strings of pearls to hang down to where her knees would be. She wore an expensive, heavy dark purple gown in the Erte style, studded and lined in patterns of precious gems, delicate, tasteful jewellery and a simple eye mask the same shade as her gown. For all her jewels, the woman was somehow still elegant and tastefully dressed.
Jewels. Reptile. Eye mask. Roman features. It clicked in Crane's head without Kuronue's assistance.
Crane glanced at Gary, who appeared totally enamoured by the woman to the exclusion of all else, to D who was watching the pair of them for approval.
"A Gorgon?" Crane asked the Count quietly.
D smiled, nodding assent.
-Ssshe'sss beautiful...- Gary spoke, seemingly unaware he'd spoken out loud in the snake tongue.
The Gorgon jerked up sharply from her reclining position, frantically swaying her head back and forth as if looking for something, but really scenting the air.
-Massster? Are you here, Massster? Have you come for me at lassst?-
Over the sibilant hissing came a frantic, hopeful woman's voice. Crane put his hand against Gary's back, pushing him towards the hopeful Gorgon.
Hearing Gary's footsteps getting closer, the Gorgon reached out her arms towards him.
The young wizard caught one of her fluttering, pale hands in both of his own, knelt down before the chair and pressed it to his face and lips, unmindful of the long shape nails varnished plum against his skin. Her other hand came down to touch, to card through his hair.
Gary pulled his face back just enough to look up at her. –Will you come with me? Be my companion? My confidant? My friend?-
The look on the Gorgon's face was beautiful, ready to cry for happiness. –Yesss. Yesss. That isss what I wissshhh. Anything you want, Massster. Only yoursss. Only you.-
She threw herself out of the chair into Gary's arms, revealing her long white-scaled tail and her own arms thrown around his neck, hiss-sobbing in happiness.
Crane, strongly touched by the beginnings of true love between his twin and his new Gorgon love, turned to the Count, who looked surprised and pleased at the matched pair, whilst trying to squash down his longing for a certain silver fox.
"I believe now would be a good time to get the contract."
Count D nodded silently and quietly slipped out retrieve the requested document.
Yes, I am aware that Medusa was called a Basilisk in the manga (and anime) of Pet Shop of Horrors, she was sold to Robin Hendrix in the second chapter and so-on so-forth. I liked her and I actually cried that chapter so I gave her a second chance with Gary.
Feel free to review me and thank you for holding on patiently for the next update.
...or impatiently. Whichever works for you, I guess.