Harry leaned back. Daphne was using her stone ropes to convert her mental world into a cave system, with carvings etched all over the walls containing her memories. It was soothing watching her move the runes like they were rubber ducks floating in a tub, dragging them across solid stone.
He had stayed near the door, of course. Until Daphne finished organizing and protecting her thoughts, he wouldn't dare move around. Privacy... privacy was important. Everyone had secrets.
Tracey on the other hand was following her around and trying to get her to blush. Thankfully the easiest topic to do that was also one that Tracey had a hard time talking about without turning into a tomato as well.
Daphne was REALLY glad Harry had stayed at the door. She had a feeling that somewhere in this cave was her memory of... well, a few minutes ago. Hours ago? Yeah.
She was going to keep that memory safe.
Tracey grinned as she poked Daphne and whispered. "Looking for a... recent memory?"
Wow. Red face indeed. Tracey leaned closer. "You know, we could both... watch each others memory of it."
Never mind, apparently the previous blush was just a test of the Emergency Blushing System. "TR.. Tracey, SHH!"
Tracey draped an arm around her friend and continued to whisper. "Didn't sound like a no to me, Daph."
Turns out that in your own mind, you can create pillows pretty easily.
Daphne stopped throwing them when all she could see of her friend was a hand from the massive, laughing pile.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Harry was startled as he realized Daphne was throwing something... oh. "Hi Tracey."
She was wrapped up in a pillow case, tied up with rope and a gag over her mouth. "Harry, would you be so kind as to help Tracey find her way to her own mind? She seems a bit lost."
He grinned. "Of Course, M'Lady." With a wave of his hand, Tracey floated behind him, still squirming in her case. "Onward!"
Daphne gave a sigh of relief as she watched the two of them exit. As the door closed she began searching in earnest. Now where was that memory? When she found it... well, she would have to watch it to make sure it was the right one, of course. Just a few times. Her face had a bit of a naughty grin as she began searching the cave system.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Harry grinned as he pulled Tracey's mouth gag off. "So what did you do to push Daph that far?"
She grinned. "Told her what she wanted to do but didn't want to ask."
He blinked confused. Her smile had a bit of a... something in it. It made him feel... something.
She shrugged. "So here I am, tied up by ropes in a bag. I STILL say I was right from the beginning."
Harry tried to say SEVERAL things. Words were failing him... "You know, you seem to have a bit of a bondage thing going on."
She winked at him. "Not yet."
Harry's face went smooth, with slight blush. "Well, congratulations, you broke me. Now if you excuse me, I will drop you off at your door and go to sleep in an bathtub full of ice."
Tracey giggled as Harry gently opened her door and began moving through it. He grinned at her. "Joking aside, do you need any help or ideas? Or just company? I know I get pretty lonely in my head if I stay there too long."
He waved her bag open as she stretched. "Nah, I got a plan. Make it look like a mall near my house." She saw his expression and grinned. "Mom is a muggle, so my family knows about their world better than most wizards and witches."
Harry absently corrected. "Non-magical, please. Muggle seems... really, kind of offensive. Imagine if they called us hocus-ers or something."
She tilted her head before shrugging. "Sure, why not." She grinned. "I honestly got my idea from when you helped my core." With a focused expression... the pink fog moved away. The ground under them was sand... as far as he could see. Waves of clear blue water seeped up through the grains.
He looked around, the blue water had... a gem like sparkle to it. The sand was so warm, it was almost uncomfortable. He grinned. "Know what would make this better?"
Tracey smirked. "Topless sunbathing?"
Harry coughed, blushing. "Uh... well, yeah, probably. No, I meant this..."
Tracey smiled larger as four towering palm trees erupted from the sand, two giant hammocks hanging between them so anyone resting could watch the sea. "HARRY, this is BRILLIANT! I was going to do beach furniture, this is..." She wrapped him up in a hug. "Thanks, Harry."
He gave an embarrassed grin as he half hugged her back. "Anytime, Trace. I am just glad you two didn't punch me when everything got... uh."
She smirked. "Interesting?"
He gave a guilty grin. "Yeah. Anyway, I will just wait in the hammock, if you need any help or just want to take a break, let me know. I have Jim checking on Daphne, so if she should have any issues, he will let me know.
Her smile turned into confusion. "Jim?"
Harry blinked. "Oh, right, you two only met Wisdom." He went over to a hammock and began trying to get comfy. "Well, Jim is a great guy. Wrath has edges, but he is a part of me."
Tracey gave a look at the desert behind her. Harry's mental friends later, for now... She grinned. Sand Castle. Oh yeah.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Harry awoke with a jerk. Something... Daphne. Jim was giving a silent alert.
He got out of the hammock. "Tracey, I will be back in a moment, alright?"
A tiny voice from the top of a... VERY tall sand castle. More complicated than Hogwarts, it twisted and... oh his head. Sand was shaped in a way that was... just NOT possible. "...y, no problem"
Well... good.
Moving quickly, Harry retreated to his own mind directly before moving to Daphne's...
Her cave was full of dark eyed monsters.
Teeth were everywhere, many rotting or blood covered. Deeper inside the mine, he could FEEL someone... crying.
Harry's eyes darkened, leaving only an ember of green... but that ember was AFLAME. His body rippled, and he flexed each hand as the fingers sharpened. No big techniques, he was inside a mind after all.
Reaching the first creature, he waved a hand and created a reinforced glass bottle with a huge funnel on top. His other hand ripped into the darkness, pulled it snarling over the bottle... and SQUEEZED.
All the creatures paused as the thing... SCREAMED. Black ooze began flowing into the bottle, leaving a gray and weak corpse in his hand. Harry wasn't even looking at it, his eyes already looking at the next creature... and they were looking afraid.
They should be.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Daphne was curled in a ball, feeling those teeth, those claws... they kept cutting into her, kept hurting. Over and over...
Suddenly there was screaming. The cutting paused, the creatures froze... and several began running toward the entrance of her mind. Daphne could barely pay attention, as she wrapped her arms around her torn body.
As the screaming got louder, somehow she felt... lighter. Less hurt. Less sad. As she was about to try and sit up, she stiffened as two arms reached around her... a hug. Warm. She leaned back into it, gripping those arms that wrapped her in warmth, crying.
She had uncovered the memory of her mother's death.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Harry didn't know what to do. He had extracted the emotion from the memories, dozens of them, and secured it pretty easily since it wasn't his own fear, sadness, hate, and loneliness... but here was Daphne, wrapped in a ball on the ground. Having handled so many of the memories, he didn't need to ask why.
Thinking of the years alone, he gave in and wrapped her in his arms. As he gripped her tightly, he could feel her tears soaking into his shirt, her sobs wracking her body, even as he used his threads to heal her wounds.
As he worked, he tried pushing out his emotions... his concern for her, his respect for having survived such an experience, his secret desire to have had a mother long enough to grieve for her death. He hugged her as she shook until she began falling asleep.
Lifting her gently, he used cords of power to gently float toward her door. Moving through his mind, Harry reentered Tracey's mind carrying the sleeping girl.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Tracey shook some sweat from her forehead. Somehow this sand castle had gotten... complicated. But what castle was complete without a moat? And archery range? And bowling alley? And taco bar? She frowned.
There were not enough taco bars.
Still, she could come back later. She had found some memories in the sand, sea shells. The nicest ones went in the treasure room, the sharp and bloody ones she put in the dungeon. The random pretty ones were decorations on the inside and outside of her Sandcropolis.
Maybe a break. She felt like she had been doing this... well, forever really. Or an hour. Long time, regardless.
As she slid down one of the south tower slides, she only screamed a LITTLE. Sand roller coasters, those had to be possible, right?
Most of her thoughts came to a stop when she reached the trees. Daphne was in a hammock, Harry was standing over her looking worried... and she had tear marks.
Before she could say anything, Harry noticed her and waved her over to the side. "Got a silent alarm from Jim that she needed help. Apparently while sorting her memories, she found some she had been repressing."
He unconsciously began wiping his hands as if it would help somehow. "They were literally hurting her, tearing her apart. I squeezed the emotion out of each memory and stored it separately, which should help a lot... but she was hurt. I brought her over as soon as she fell asleep."
Tracey gave a short nod. She felt like she could guess exactly what memory the poor girl was repressing. It had been a sad time for her family as well, since the Greengrass and Davis families were so close. It was back when she first started acting like the "Ice Queen".
Carefully moving toward Daphne, she looked at Harry and made some hand gestures. Getting the idea, the boy gently lifted Tracey into the hammock with the girl... who wrapped around Tracey like she was the last teddy bear on earth.
Harry stood a distance away, watching the waves. Behind him, he could hear two friends having a quiet but tearful conversation. He gave a sad smile... she was a lucky girl. If only there had been someone for Harry back then, before he had learned to do it all himself, before he had to fight darkness.
Still, it felt good to be someone else's support. Harry leaned against one of the other trees and relaxed.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Daphne woke again, feeling the same terror for a moment... no. She was with Tracey, and Tracey was making it all right. Her eyes fluttered open, seeing the normally hyperactive girl snoring slightly, a little drool coming out of her mouth.
Oh. It had been a while since she had been in a hammock. It was strange that Tracey had found one, since her home was pretty far... uh. Ocean?
"Where the bloody hell ARE we!?"
Tracey squeaked and flailed, nearly flipping the hammock. Daphne frantically tried to balance herself, somehow getting caught in the strings and half pulling Tracey to her side, while she had one leg over here and an arm over THERE and...
Oh. "Good... Good morning Mr. Potter."
His upside-down, smiling face was trying REALLY hard to not laugh. "Pleasant day, Lady Greengrass. You may be pleased to know that you and I are currently guests of the great Queen Davis, ruler of Sandcropolis."
Dignity was shot anyway. She sighed. "Well, as long as you're here, could you please help me not be so... upside-down, or whatever we are right now?"
Harry waved a hand, lifting both Daphne and a LOUDLY grumbling queen. "Daph, next time I want to snuggle in a bed. Hammock's are just too dangerous."
Daphne's head jerked. "Snuggle?"
Harry rested a hand on her shoulder. "You bumped into some... harsh emotions while building. I thought you would rather recover here, even if the issue itself has been dealt with."
She leaned slightly into his hand, memories returning. In a small voice he could barely hear, she whispered. "Thank you for coming, Harry. I felt... so alone."
He wrapped her in another hug from behind, giving a soft whisper. "Whenever you need to, you can call me and I will help."
She squeezed his hand as she stood, watching Tracey try to straiten some sort of sand crown around her sand robes. "So... she's a sand queen?"
Harry grinned. "Nope."
Tracey looked up sharply. "I am too! Got a castle!"
Harry's grin expanded. "You are a sand witch."
Daphne groaned while Tracey got a huge smile. "Oh not you too, Harry. Please no puns."
Tracey waved a hand. "Ignore the commoner, Sir. Harry. She can't handle the pun-ishment."
Daphne followed a sand-armored Harry who was yelling something about the glory of small rocks, a small smile on her face. She recognized who's arms had helped her, when she was trapped in her own darkness... and she felt so safe knowing he would do it again for her.
Tracey leaned toward her Sand Knight. "Is it working?"
Harry leaned back. "Easily 12 percent smile, my queen."
Her regal nod had them back to bantering as they led the bemused girl through confusing sand streets and buildings.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Harry was relaxing in a sand lounge chair when Daphne and Tracey came up and stood in his sun. Lazily looking up he raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
Tracey leaned in. "Harry, how long have been here?" She looked concerned. "We can't be late for dinner, it could... there could be rumors and such."
Harry stretched and yawned. "Wrath, how long have we been in each others minds so far?"
Both girls gave a tiny scream seeing the tall skeletal man step out from behind Harry's chair. "Sir, it has been 12 minutes and 48 seconds since the three of you began your journey." He reached forward, handing Harry a hot cup of tea. Turning to the other two stunned children, he gave a smile. "Would Master's guests enjoy some tea as well? It is quite a fine blend, if I do say so."
Daphne, raised for society, gave a small nod. "If it would not be a bother, Mr. Wrath."
A dark chuckle made the two girls squirm a little. "Please Miss, just Wrath." Two fine crystal tea cups on golden saucers were placed on a sand table... where did the table come from?
Daphne took a cautious sip, not letting her hand shake... it soothed her, flowing through her like a breeze. "That was... this is amazing Wrath, thank you."
The man bowed and vanished. Tracey hesitantly took a sip... oh that was calming.
Harry chuckled. "He has known me longest, and has always supported me... but my favorite ability of his is the tea. I have actually been tasting raw tea leaves and different ingredients so he can make new blends in here."
Tracey seemed to have mentally recovered from seeing a skeletal man just... exist like that. "Did he say... 12 minutes?"
He shrugged. "Longer than that, almost 13 minutes. Time passes faster in here. Not as fast as in my world, thankfully... that place can get old."
He stood, gently moving his tired muscles. "Well, I have a project to complete. I have found a strong need to keep watch over all my friends now, so I need a new Aspect." He grinned at the girls. "Care to watch? It should be interesting. Not sure how advisable it is to do, really, but without Jim, Wisdom, and Wrath... well, life would be a little boring."
He walked towards his door as two interested girls followed. Tracey was thinking that having an actual army would make her sand castle awesome, while Daphne was imagining bats to keep her mind well documented and watched. She never wanted to be surprised like that again.
When they caught up, they saw Harry standing in a pit, one with a pile of orbs in the middle. Tracey poked Daphne, "Hey, are those ducks?"
Surrounding the pit filled with sand were a LOT of ducks. Some dressed like ninjas, some like burglars, and one with... a snail helmet? "Harry, one of your ducks has a snail on its head."
He nodded. "Hey Jim!"
"Quack."
Harry shrugged. "They are nice, you should give them a chance."
"Quack?"
Tracey and Daphne watched the boy turn red. "Look, for now we are just friends, Ok? Sheesh Jim, I am busy now."
Tracey grinned and nudged Daphne who rolled her eyes... with a small smile. Her friend waved at Jim, who gave a one winged salute.
Harry focused on the pile, but spoke over his shoulder. "So for this, I am creating an aspect to watch my networks, my friends, and my surroundings. Nothing else. It will be aware at all times, even when I am asleep or unconscious." He grimaced. "I may have to have Wrath take over if I am hurt or unconscious... that could cause issues."
He pointed at the pile. "These are copies of many of my memories and emotions. The fear of those I treasure being hurt, my determination to protect them from all harm, the times I used to watch families and wish I had one..." His voice faded slightly. "I find that including my painful and dear memories helps. I can cope better with the... the past." He gave a slightly sad smile at the two wide eyed girls.
Turning back to the pile, he raised both hands. "Now that we have the heart, we need the body. With Jim I got lucky, he evolved really to become what he is. This one though..."
From Harry's arms, his chest, his whole BODY came a BEAM of green light, SMASHING into the pile. Inside the glowing Tracey could hear... screams. Crying. Even some laughter, although not much.
Daphne didn't even realize she was crying until Tracey wiped away one of the tears. She could... just FEEL the emotions boiling in that light. It was horrifying.
Harry felt his body giving. He had decided to put almost everything in this one, since it would have the most important task... telling Harry who needed to be protected. Watching over his friends. Helping him protect. As he felt limbs cracking and his legs giving out, he desperately pushed in his desires, his inner NEED to hold his loved ones close and keep darkness away.
He felt the power stop as he collapsed forward into soft darkness.
~~~Core Threads~~~
Daphne was not sure if she screamed, but she KNEW she was running toward Harry. He had fallen... collapsed, right as the light vanished. Tracey was just behind her as she scooped the boy into her arms, trying to not hurt him, trying to feel for his heartbeat...
"Harry will be fine. He has used a large amount of power to create me."
She paused.
Unlike Wisdom and Wrath, this man wore white. Pure white. He was Harry's height, but his skin was black. His head was bare, smooth, not a strand of hair... and his eyes were closed.
He smiled, his black teeth seeming odd to her. "Good afternoon, Lady Greengrass. My name is Watcher." His black hand reached down, offering assistance.
She hesitated before gripping it, him lifting Daphne to her feet with ease. He waved a hand, lifting Harry and moving him to a chair. Turning to a bemused Wisdom, he gave a short bow. "Wonderful to meet you, Wisdom. You have done wonderful things with Harry."
She grinned back at him. "Not to cause a bother, but I think Harry may have made a bit of a mistake."
He tilted his head... "Oh, the eye thing. No worries. I don't have eyes because they would blind me." He smiled at her expression. Watcher leaned in. "Tell me, what do we use the most to sense our surroundings? I mean Harry in particular, not just people."
Seeing that Harry was just resting, Tracey cautiously raised a hand. Watcher turned to her with a smile. "Yes, Ms. Davis?"
She shrugged. "I assume it is magic, right? Since Harry did all this to track us better?"
He nodded. "I don't have eyes, because I am directly connected to Harry's magic. I am currently watching the red network, Hogwarts net, and his friend connections." He gave a grin to Daphne. "I will be able to let Harry know instantly if something starts to happen, or pass information to Wisdom to track and make conclusions from." He gave her a small nod. "So like he told you, he will always be there if you need him now."
Watcher headed for the base. "If anyone needs me, just say so and I will know it. In the mean time I will relax in the library. Always liked a good book." Reaching out, he patted Wrath's shoulder, enjoying everyone jumping who didn't notice the being appear. "Of course, I will keep you in the loop as well Wrath."
Wrath bowed to Watcher. "It would be appreciated, Watcher. My Master was quite fearful of missing such warnings before. I am looking forward to working with you."
Wisdom moved behind Harry, stroking his hair. "He works so hard... This will help him relax more. I'm glad he has someone else watching his back now."
Tracey looked at where Watcher had gone... "If it is that hard to make an assistant, I am not sure I can go through with it."
Daphne gave a small nod, as she checked on Harry. Yes, he felt fine, no fever, smooth breathing. The idea of anything happening to him had caused her heart to skip a beat.
Tracey looked around. "So... what should we do while waiting for him to wake up?"
Feeling a tug, she looked down... "Quack."
Tracey desperately looked up at Wisdom, who grinned. "He suggested you two also check out the library. I know Harry wouldn't mind, and there are lots of fun books he read for no real reason... in fact, I may have a few you may enjoy."
Giving a thankful sigh, Tracey knelt. "Thank you for the suggestion Jim. Could you lead the way?"
"Quack."
The girls followed the tiny duckling. Hesitant, Daphne leaned in. "Did... Does Jim have vampire teeth?"
Tracey patted her shoulder. "Just go with it, this is Harry's mind after all."