Ner words in this chapter: 2,445

"Talking"

'Thinking'

{Talking on the phone/over the fireplace}

{Text message}

–Parseltongue–

Thinking in 3rd person POV/Dream/Memory/Flashback/Others

Letter/Journal/Book/Newspaper

Time change/Date of time

Change of POV

Chapter X

–Waking Up–

Thursday, 26 September 2013

HJP-L's POV

Harry sat up, looking around to realize he was in the King's Cross station. He stood and looked at the bench, where he'd been sitting on, to see a baby under it. He kneeled and looked at it to find what he believed to be a baby-version of how Voldemort looked nowadays.

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you."

Harry looked back to find a young girl. He stood and approached her confused. He didn't know her, did he?

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mischa." She offered. "What about you?"

"I'm Harry."

The girl smiled back.

"Are you waiting for someone as well?"

"I don't know. Are you waiting for someone?"

"My big brother." She agreed with a massive smile. "He blames himself for my death and until he meets me he won't rest or let me rest."

Harry hummed and looked ahead, the girl walking beside him and away from the Horcrux.

"My legal Guardian must be blaming himself as well." He offered.

"How did you die?" She asked with a child-like wonder.

"I stepped between the killing shot and him." He explained.

Mischa hummed.

"I was sick. It was winter. There was snow. We were stuck with this group of men… I wouldn't survive the week and they had nothing more to eat." If several months ago someone else had told him about Cannibalism like this he would have freaked out. Now, though, Harry had just accepted it. Made sense why he would see Mischa when he himself had eaten body parts cooked by Doctor Lecter for him. "Brother never forgave the men. I saw each of them die. That's why I had to wait for him."

Harry looked down at her and then ahead.

"I'll wait with you." He offered.

"You should move ahead." She argued.

"True, but I want to wait for Father. I want to see him, really see him for the first time. Even if I can just do it in my death."

"You are blind?" Mischa asked and Harry nodded. "It's strange, isn't it? When we're dead all the problems we had – either it be a loss of a limb or sight – disappears. We get to move forward and be reborn as new without any issues from our past lives."

Harry hummed, looking ahead into the incognito by the end of the road. Both by the edge, none giving another step.

"Do you think they know?" He wondered.

"That the birthmarks in our bodies are from what killed us in the past life?" Mischa asked back and Harry nodded. "People prefer to believe in all powerful entity than to believe in magic." She argued, before she looked back at a shriek of pain. "Your killer is dead."

Harry nodded, only for a soul to pass through him and barely transparent adult Tom Riddle passed into the unknown while an image of a heavy pregnant teenager hit Harry's mind for some reason.

"How do you know for certain they are reborn?"

"Because each time a soul passes through a foetus wins a soul." She offered. "In a couple of months he'll be born."

Harry closed his eyes and then heard Doctor Lecter.

«No. I'm not going to lose you too. I already lost Mischa. I refuse to lose you as well.»

Harry and Mischa shared looks.

"Hannibal Lecter?" She asked him and he nodded. Mischa smiled and her body started going translucent. "It was nice to meet you, Nephew. I think it's finally time for me."

Harry made a move to stop her, but his hand passed right through her and an image of a pregnant brunette woman struck his mind. Mischa smiled back and fell into the veil, before Harry was pulled back into the opposite direction.

–BT–

Friday, 27 September 2013

Harry woke up with a gasp. A voice told him to calm down as hands took a tube from his mouth.

"Pro…" Harry coughed. "Professor Snape?" He gasped out.

"Yes, Potter." The man agreed, before a flask was set on his lips. "Drink."

Harry opened his mouth and obediently drank the potion.

"F…"

A hand held Harry from the opposite side of Professor Snape.

"I'm here, Harry." Doctor Lecter's voice promptly offered. "Just calm down and breath."

Harry nodded and felt it as Professor Snape obviously checked him.

"Why…?" Harry started to ask the British man, but Doctor Lecter soothed him down.

"It's all right. He came after hearing about your coma." His legal Guardian explained. "And you can calm down: your Dark Lord is…"

"Dead." Harry interrupted. "I saw him in the after-life." He agreed.

The Lithuanian held his hands a little tighter. Harry smiled as he waited for Professor Snape to finish whatever he was doing.

"It's all healed, some physiotherapy and he'll be back to normal." The Wizard told the Muggle, who hummed affirmatively. "Potter, whatever it was you seen it was all in your head."

"Lecter." Harry argued and Professor Snape hummed questioningly. "My name is Harry Lecter. Future adopted son of Hannibal Lecter and nephew of Mischa Lecter."

Father's massive hold of breath was obvious. Even to Professor Snape.

"Where did you hear that name?" Father asked.

"As Professor Snape said, it was all in my head, right? A young girl I never met or heard of, and yet I met my aunt in the after-life."

"That's not po…" Professor Snape started to argue.

"Everyone is reborn when they die unless someone in the living world is holding their souls in the in-between. Aunt Mischa has been waiting for the ability to talk to her big brother again. My parents didn't wait. They moved on to their next life. They're probably two years younger than I am now."

There's a dead silence and then Professor Snape left.

"Want me to try to locate their lookalikes?" Father asked. "Their reborn form?" Harry shook his head. "Why not?"

"It wasn't James or Lily that were waiting for me. They did not hold back. Not even for their son." Harry argued. "How do we finish taking care of my paperwork to take the Potter from my name? To officially become your son instead of a Ward?"

He didn't need to see to know that Hannibal smiled.

"I'll have it done by the end of the month." He agreed. "Mischa is waiting then?"

"She was." Harry agreed. "She doesn't blame you. She knew she would die by the end of the week and that it was either you eat her or you both die."

Hannibal immediately sat on the hospital bed and pulled Harry into a semi-sitting position, holding him against his chest as he hugged him.

–BT–

WG's POV

Will woke up on the hospital room's couch besides Abigail, to see Hannibal holding Harry in his arms as he hiccupped into the boy's shoulder. Harry's eyes opened unseeingly as he stared into the ceiling. Will pretended to still be asleep and, when Abigail woke up, signalled at her to be quiet. She looked at the bed and understood why. Eventually the Doctor controlled himself and Will finally pretended to awake, which was immediately followed by Hannibal to control himself and clean his obvious tears. Will pretended not to see them.

"I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep while you took your shower." Will apologised.

Hannibal shook his head.

"It's all right. You two obviously needed it." The Doctor argued. "Harry has woken up." He added.

Will and Abigail stood and approached the teenager as if they hadn't already noticed it and the boy smiled in their general direction.

"Please tell me you read to me while I was asleep?" He asked and Abigail scoffed.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot all about it." She argued.

"That's not fair." He pouted as she sat down next to him and the two started talking.

Will looked at Hannibal who looked like an heavy weight had left his body that he had been carrying for decades.

"Will you be alright?" Will asked him quietly as the nurses and doctors entered, pulling them away from the teen.

Hannibal looked back and then at Harry being checked-up. When Will's hand was held, he didn't argue and held it back, only for Hannibal to hold it hard going against what his calm expressions showed.

"I've never been better."

–BT–

Will walked outside the hospital and picked his cellphone to notice the massive amount of missed calls. He called Jack back.

{It's about time, where are you?}

{At the hospital. Harry woke up.} Will snapped back and the other held back his reply until finally Will heard him sigh.

{How bad is he?}

It was a reasonable question, all things considered.

{Fully awake. Even the doctors are surprised at this small miracle.} Will offered. {Was there a case?}

{Doctor Bloom had been all over my neck for you missing classes all day.} Jack argued, obviously uncomfortable now. {How's Doctor Lecter reacting?}

{Like a worried father who just got a second chance.} Will replied and Jack snorted on the other side. {He'd appreciate your visit.}

{I'll pass over as soon as I can.} Jack agreed. {Katz wants you to pass her get better wishes unto Young Lecter.}

Will looked back at Abigail also coming for a breath, Harry doing tests after tests to be sure that his brain was all right.

{I'll do that.} "Want to go eat something while we wait for Harry to finish all his tests?" He asked her and she nodded shyly. {Have to go, Jack. Abigail needs to eat something.}

Jack didn't argue and hung-up. The two walked side-by-side to the diner by the end of the street of the hospital.

"What are the odds of this happening?" Abigail asked once they sat down.

"Very slim." Will offered truthfully. "There's a reason why after a certain amount of time the doctors stop trying to bring the person back."

Abigail nodded and the waitress approached them with a kind smile.

"Family in the hospital?" She asked them.

"My brother." Abigail agreed, not even thinking twice over the matter.

The waitress nodded back.

"He'll get better in no time, don't worry." She offered kindly. "Today's soup is carrot soup if you think you can't stomach something heavy."

Abigail nodded.

"Two soups and one to go if you don't mind."

The Waitress nodded with a smile and walked away. Eventually, they returned back and Will gave Hannibal the soup tupperware, who looked at it and then at the spoon being offered.

"Thank you."

Will nodded and looked at Harry who was happily talking with Abigail.

"He looks like a weight left his shoulders."

"Riddle is dead after decades of torment." Hannibal agreed as he ate his soup.

Will didn't argue.

"Abigail called Harry her brother." He offered and the Doctor looked back. "She didn't even ponder over it."

Hannibal smiled.

"We may be a group of misfits, but we found each other." He agreed and Will scoffed at it.

Harry suddenly shut up and his head turned towards the hospital's room doorway. Will looked to see a teenager passing through in tears.

"Father?" Harry called and Hannibal set the soup down, stood and went to help the boy up and walk until where the crying teenager was. "Miss?"

Will stayed by the doorway as the future new mother stopped and looked back, only to realize that the boy was blind.

"I'm sorry for being too loud. I…"

"Why are you crying? Do you don't want the child?" Harry asked, as always without any filter between his brain and mouth.

"My… my parents cut me out of their insurance and I can't afford to be followed any longer, even though I left school to work I still don't make enough."

Will noticed the amount of bills she had in her hand that she probably had wanted to use to afford the check-up. Hannibal looked down at his son and then up at the poor female.

"Will, can you help Harry?" Will approached and let Harry hold onto him instead. Then Hannibal pulled an arm around the crying girl's shoulders and walked down the corridor. When they returned a Doctor was following them. They all entered Harry's hospital room and Will helped Harry to the couch as a nurse wheeled the ultrasound machine inside. "And I want to know who was the receptionists that refused to help this obvious heavy pregnant young lady. There's funds for cases like this one. I know because I was a surgeon before I become a psychiatrists." Hannibal kept ordering as the girl was laid on the second bed of the hospital room and a curtain was pulled for privacy.

"You could feel it, couldn't you? That they were refusing it because she is an underage Mom." Will whispered towards Harry, who nodded back.

Abigail looked at Harry and then at the curtain where the poor teenager was finally having her check-up done.

"If she doesn't report the receptionist, I certainly hope Doctor Lecter will." She argued back.

Will didn't reply, eventually Hannibal approached them.

"Good call, Harry. The foetus is the wrong way up. The head is up and the feet are down, which makes it a risk pregnancy. Even more because it's a teen pregnancy."

The young teenage boy nodded. Will left them speak and he stood as the shy girl thanked them and started to leave the hospital room.

"What is it you work at?" He asked her.

"A pub." She replied shyly.

"In no time you won't manage to keep going with that belly." Will explained and she looked down at her belly, then up at him. "Can you handle dogs?"

"Yes…?"

"I work in Baltimore and sometimes I can't come in time to walk and feed them. They don't need you to hold their leashes, they know not to leave the perimeter and all you need to do is make sure they have food on their bowls once a day." Will explained. "You do that and I'll include you in my own insurance."

The young woman's eyes watered and she nodded at once.

(TBC)