MONSTERS, FRIEND OR FOE?
MAGICAL BEASTS ROAM FREE
PARENTS ARE CONCERNED, ARE MONSTERS A DANGER TO OUR CHILDREN?
MORE MAGICAL BEINGS OUT FOR OUR DESTRUCTION
Harry sighed and turned away from the shop window. There were so many newspapers with those kind of anti-monster messages on their front page. It had been like that for as long as they had come to the surface, which was already half a year ago.
"They're all so stupid and bigoted," Chara snorted bitterly.
He was going to pick up Frisk from school again along with Chara and Asriel. It wasn't unusual to be stared at and judged by the bypassers, nor was it strange for people to shout slurs at them or for newspapers to print negative stories about them, but it started becoming much worse ever since the Death Eaters had attacked.
Monsters had become more wary of humans, both of the magical and non-magical kinds, while the humans had become suspicious of them since the re-instatement of the Royal Guard. Fights often broke out between groups and humans were always quick to blame it on monsters. It was the same the other way around of course, but Asgore always did his best to pacify, while many influential and powerful human did no such thing and pointed their fingers at the monster community just as quickly as their subordinates. Harry was worried for the fragile peace.
"I can already see Frisk!" Asriel called out excitedly a few feet in front of them.
The young monster started running towards the school yard, but stopped when a group of high school kids blocked his way. A rather 'set' boy that reminded Harry a little too much of Dudley Dursley to be comfortable with and stepped forward.
"Where do you think you're going, goat boy?" the fat boy asked in a mean tone.
"You don't belong here at all! You and the other weirdos belong in cages."
"You got some guts you little-!" Chara growled out, stepping forward, only to be stopped by Harry.
"Listen, we're not looking for any trouble," Harry said calmly.
"Just let us pick up our friend and we're gone again, alright?"
The group of kids all glared at him and their leader laughed cruelly.
"How about you and the rest of you freaks crawl back into your cage where you belong!" he sneered.
That was probably the stupidest thing anyone could say to Harry. He took a very special offence to the word 'freak' and would often react he'd been told was extreme. His eye lights had gone out and the eternal grin on his skull had become very strained.
"Kindly get out of our way," he said in a frigid tone.
"I promise you that if you don't, you'll regret it."
One of the kids squeaked in fear and tugged on the leader's sleeve, who just pulled free and glared at the smaller boy before looking back at Harry. He opened his mouth to say something, but the dark look Harry was shooting him must have finally properly registered and whatever he wanted to say ended up just being a garbled whimper before he turned around and he ran, the rest of his little gang running after him. Harry nodded gravely and he started walking again.
"That was awesome!" Chara exclaimed, hurrying to Harry's side.
"Did you see how they ran scared? They almost pissed their pants!"
"Your creepy face is almost as scary as Chara's!" Asriel agreed.
They arrived at the school, where Frisk was waiting along with her three friends. Rose and Tyler both grinned and waved at the three approaching monsters while Jimmy scowled and turned towards Frisk.
"I'm going. Mom's waiting," he muttered.
Harry scowled as he watched the boy leave and looked at Frisk.
"The kid doesn't really like me, does he?" he asked.
"Jimmy doesn't like a lot of people," Frisk said with an apologetic smile.
"Don't feel bad, Harry! He didn't like us either at first," Tyler said comfortingly.
"He just needs some more time to warm up to people than most," Rose added.
Harry nodded in understanding and watched amused as Asriel tackled Frisk in a hug.
"You'll never believe what happened on our way here!" the young monster shouted excited.
"There were some bullies, but before they did anything, Harry scared them off with his creepy face!"
Harry chuckled and put a hand on Asriel's shoulder.
"That wasn't my 'creepy face'. I was just angry," he said.
"Remind me not to piss you off too much, then," Chara teased.
Harry rolled his eye lights and snorted amused before steering the group back towards the monster village. Frisk waved at their friends and called out a quick goodbye to the twins.
"Let's not mention my… creepy face to anyone at home, deal?" Harry muttered.
"Scared of how they'll react?" Frisk asked curiously.
"Hah! I'm not scared of anything," Harry scoffed blushing.
"Riiight…" Chara chuckled teasingly.
"I bet you're scared of Sans. I know Chara is," Asriel said cheerfully.
"And mom, because she's scary when she's angry. Scarier than you two even."
Harry and Chara looked at each other. They both knew Asriel was right, but they silently agreed to never let him know.
. . . . .
When the four teens arrived at the entrance to the monster village, they found their way blocked by a pretty large group of protestors. Many men and women stood before the gates separating them from the monsters, yelling out slurs and aggressive chants while holding up signs demanding monsters to be locked away again. To one side, there was a second, smaller group of protestors, protesting against the first group. They had signs of their own, demanding peace between races and saying monsters were humans too. They were separated by the police, who desperately tried to keep the peace with the help of Undyne and the Royal Guard.
The fish lady saw them and waved them over, yelling to the protestors quite rudely to step aside and let them pass through. Her fearsome roar of a voice had the masses split like the red sea to allow the four teens to walk over to their friend.
"Sup guys!" Undyne greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hey. What's going on here, Undyne?" Frisk asked.
"Some group calling themselves the "Anti-Monster Association" is here demanding some tighter laws about our freedom," Undyne replied.
"What? What did we do to them?" Chara asked incredulous.
"Apparently, they say we're a threat," the fish lady muttered.
"After that Death Eater attack, the people here want us to be relocated before that Voldemort guy brings his war over here. Or they should lock us all up before we can join him."
Harry's eye sockets widened in shock at that. Did these people really blame them for the attack…?
. . . . .
Asgore allowed a meeting with the leaders of AMA, along of course with Ebotton's mayor and Mr. Boot. Gaster, Sans, Alphys and Undyne would be present as well. Asgore had suggested Toriel to come too, but she refused, saying she didn't want anything to do with any kind of war. Frisk, on the other hand would be present, since they were the Ambassador.
Harry, Chara, Asriel and Flowey had to stay behind with Toriel, Papyrus and Mettaton, much to the teens' annoyance. Harry and Asriel had taken the opportunity to do some homework, while Chara went up to their bedroom to pout.
"HARRY. METTATON AND I WILL GO TO OUR HOUSE!" Papyrus called out shortly after everyone had left for the meeting.
"HE WANTS TO HELP US WITH THE INTERIOR DESIGN. COME OVER IF YOU WISH TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS!"
"I will!" Harry called back, waving as his brother left.
The house was still under renovation after the attack, but thanks to the help of their neighbors, it was at least back up. The house itself was almost finished being rebuild, but they still had to paint and get new furniture, so they still lived at the Dreemurr home for now.
Ten second after Papyrus' departure, Chara came stomping down the stairs with Flowey in their arms and looked around curiously.
"Is mom in the kitchen?" they asked in a whisper.
Asriel and Harry looked at each other with confused scowls before nodding. Chara's grin widened in excitement and they jumped down the last few stairs. Before either of the other two teens could question them, Chara grabbed Asriel's hand and rushed towards the front door. Harry jumped up immediately and ran after the duo, curious what Chara was up to.
"Where are you going, my children?" Toriel called out from the kitchen.
"We're going to Papyrus to help him with Harry's room!" Chara called back.
"Very well! Be back before dinner!"
"We will mom!" Asriel replied.
Harry closed the door behind him as he stepped out last and looked over to Chara with a knowing grin.
"We're not going to Pappy," he stated.
Chara chuckled and shook their head.
"Of course not. We're sneaking into the meeting."
. . . . .
Most days, Harry considered himself above sneaking and spying. He was nearly an adult for crying out loud and perhaps even the most responsible among him and his brothers. Then again, neither Sans not Papyrus could be called even remotely responsible even on their good days, so that really didn't mean a thing. Harry reasoned that his lack of proper parenting could be blamed if he was caught.
The three kids and demonic flower had hid in the corner of the conference room underneath an invisibility charm Harry had cast. He was overly pleased with himself for having had the foresight of reading up on – and practicing – human magic over the past few months. Since he was a Halfling, he was capable of both human and monster magic and didn't even need a wand to do so.
They had been able to sneak in before the group arrived themselves. Frisk and company had been having some hats with the media first to talk about their expectations about this meeting and there had been official introductions between the monsters and the AMA leaders. They had already known who they were of course. Clara and Brandon Jones appeared practically everywhere with their anti-monster and anti-magic propaganda. They might be hating in the Wizarding community, but they were very influential among the no-maj.
"We just want our families to be safe," Clara Jones told the group.
"With monsters around, we know that is impossible. What if they decide they want to grow powerful and steal our souls?"
"I assure you, we have no intention of taking souls from you," Asgore said calmly.
"Perhaps once, to be able to escape the Underground, but Frisk showed us a better way."
"Bullshit," Brandon Jones grunted bitterly.
"You're just waiting for the perfect moment to strike."
"There is no reason for this aggression," Mr. Boot spoke up frowning.
"These accusations are all pure slander and we all know it. The least the monsters deserve is a proper chance after being locked away for centuries."
"They were locked away for a reason!" Clara Jones exclaimed angrily.
"Because of fear," Frisk spoke up.
"Many people are afraid of things they don't know."
"We cannot judge without proof," the mayor said.
"The monsters will stay, that is a decision made by the Congress."
"I once lived on the Surface before the War, as did he King," Gaster told them.
"While many things have changed, we are still the same at heart. Humans and monsters once lived in peace. Yes, there had always been cultural differences, and the fact that compared to humans, us monsters are rather close to being immortal, our weakness balanced us out. We got along."
"Then do you know what the war was about?" Mr. Boot asked curiously.
Asgore sighed.
"A young monster decided to… kill his human love rival and took their soul," Asgore said regretfully.
"He… killed his lover after she denied him after and slaughtered a human village before several human warlocks were capable of stopping him."
"So what you're saying is that if one monster goes rogue, a hundred humans could be at risk?" Clara Jones asked darkly.
"Lady, you've got a serious case of selective hearing," Sans growled out.
"Listen, even back then, the Royal Guard was only a fraction of what it was now. We can keep our own under control," Undyne spoke up.
"If any monster decides to do any humans in, they'll have to get past me and my men… And if a human wants to do in monsters… then ditto."
"Still. The danger is far too great!" Brandon Jones pressed on stubbornly.
"We must keep our races separated. Build greater walls around the Monster village! Have the entrances and exits guarded and ask for identification to anyone going in and out."
"And most of all, relocated Frisk Dreemurr into a proper human family," Clara said.
"A monster home is no place for a young girl at all. She should be raised by her own-"
"NO!"
Asriel and Chara came running out of their hiding spot and threw themselves at Frisk protectively.
"You won't take away our sibling, you stuck up bitch!" Chara shouted.
"What the hell are these freakish kids doing here!" Brandon Jones exclaimed angrily.
There was a blast of power and bones shot out all around the two Jones'. The whole room fell silent as Harry dropped his disguise and stepped forward, his eye lights glowing bright green. Flowey's pot was clutched tightly between his boney hands. The soulless flower had an evil, demonic grin on his face, as if knowing the two humans had just signed their dead warranties.
"Don't ever use that word around me," Harry spoke darkly.
Everyone was staring at him in fear and shock, so Harry took a deep breath and made the bones disappear again.
"I'm sorry. I just don't like it when people use the word freak," he said softly.
"It reminds me too much of beatings and dark, small cupboards."
"See?! This is exactly what I meant!" Clara Jones cried out.
"The poor girl is not safe amongst these beings if such a little thing can trigger them already!"
"Hey! Harry went through a lot!" Chara shouted angrily.
"And it's them not she, you misgendering creep!" Flowey growled.
"If you really have Frisk's interests at heart, you would respect them!"
"Frisk is a child. She – or they, whatever they want to be called – needs proper, human parents to take care of them!" Brandon Jones said.
"I do not!" Frisk spoke up angrily.
"I love my family! I love mom and dad, and my siblings! And I love Ha- all the other monsters!"
The Jones couple stood up, both glaring at the monsters.
"We'll see. We're going to court with this matter," Clara Jones said haughtily.
With that, the duo left the room, leaving the monsters seething and Mr. Boot and the Mayor frowning.
"You know, next time I see them, I'll show them just how dangerous a monster can be," Chara hissed.