And now!
It's time for the moment you've been waiting for:
Duh!
Dididuh duh duh duh duuuh!
Dididuh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duuuh!
Dididuh duh duh duh duuuh!
Duh didiluh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duuuh!
Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duuuuh!
Tsch!
Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duuuuh diduuuh diduuuh!
Diduh di di!
Duh di di!
Didili duh duh duh duh!
Didili duh duh duh duuuuh!
Diduh didili duh didili duuuuuh!
Diduh didili-!
*panting*!
Diduh didili duh didili duh didili duh didili!
Duh didi duh di di duh di di!
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!
Preparing the Krabby Patty! Er-
Presenting the Hogwarts Arc!
An owl flew through the night, silent as its wings glided through the air. It had taken hours to finally reach its destination, but it made it, none-the-less. It was tired, hungry, and admittedly cranky, but the pull of the letter it held was too strong.
It flew across huge cities and small towns as the letter compelled it further and further into the wooded countryside.
It felt a sudden sense of dread as it neared the denser parts of the forest, but it couldn't shake the compulsion of the letter and its necessity to make it to the student. It continued to fly onward in the darkness of early morning when-
It panicked!
It couldn't tell which way was updownleftright every instinct told it to get away. As far away as it could. To turn back, the only direction it seemed to know, the exact opposite direction of the letter's recipient.
It had to keep going, following a thin thread from the letter, an instinctive push in one singular direction. It felt a brush of powerful wards being separated like a parted waterfall only by the letter's magic. Otherwise, it would certainly have been a roasted bird on the ground.
The confusion stopped.
If owls could sigh or laugh it would have done either in relief.
A mansion (that was definitely not visible from the sky earlier) was below in a clearing in the woods.
The recipient was there.
All it had to do wa-
*woosh*
An almost silent wing beat was heard above it, only perceived by heightened magical senses and years of evading predators.
It looked up-
"Hoot!"
A large black shape in the sky descended upon it.
Officer Dan O' Riley sat in the police cruiser with his partner, Mack. Yes, they were stereotyped names for police officers. Yes, admittedly they were enjoying a box of donuts with extra-strength coffee. Yes, it was cliché to the point of redundancy, but at 3 AM, they really didn't care.
The officers were stuck in the unfortunate job of watching a particularly annoying stretch of road along the famous route 66.
Most officers were reluctant to take this shift not just because it was a crappy time of night and was really awful to sleep off the week after, but because everyone in the precinct was superstitious of this one stupid stretch of road. It was a small portion of route 66 that rarely saw any action. Cars usually pulled off to the pit stops nearby or to the city and any continuing traffic came in from the off-ramp from the pit stops a few miles out. Really, only a few cars were ever seen on this road at this time of night. And it wasn't like any sane person would be awake and driving at 3 AM on a really poorly lit section of highway.
The main reason it was so superstitious was because almost a decade or two ago, some vandals painted another 6 on the highway sign. Ever since, the county or government haven't funded the section of road's repair. They claim the machines "stop working" and so the entire highway was riddled with cracks along the side, making it even less enjoyable for drivers.
So, he was honestly surprised as he noticed two headlights coming up in the distance. "Hey, Mack," He flapped his hand at the guy's shoulder and brought him out of the game he was playing on his phone. "Someone's coming."
He actually stopped his game to watch the rare car that made it this way.
Rather quickly.
Dan quickly pulled out a radar gun from the slot next to him and put it against the dash, preparing for the car's readout.
*Zooom!*
*beep beep* 95 mph.
He looked at his partner in surprise before pulling the car into drive and flashing the lights and siren, "Finally some action."
They roared out of the hiding spot behind a billboard and started gunning it towards the car. Mack pulled out the radio and called in. "Hey Darlene, you'll never guess."
"*crrtch What? *beep*"
"We've actually got someone. They're doing 95 on Route 66. We are in pursuit."
"*crrtch Roger that. Can you describe the vehicle? *beep*"
He peered through the dark, "Not really, it's pretty dark. Hang on, we're pulling up to them now."
They leveled with the speeding car-
-And felt a chill to their soul.
The car was a classic 1958 cherry red Plymouth Fury. The convertible hood was down, showing all three occupants inside, but it took a while to notice that. The entirety of the car's hood and underside was on fire and it streamed behind it as it rocketed along the road. Music blared through speakers in the car above the roar of the wind.
The three figures inside didn't help any.
The tallest was in the driver's wheel. It looked like a guy, but it kept its hood up. The arms were wrapped in coils of barbed wire snaking across the hands and binding it to the wheel. The wires themselves were glowing red with heat, but the figure didn't mind. In fact, it was smiling.
No, wait.
The figure's face had a dark "fade" around its mouth forming a large, twisted smile and its eyes were sunken in and glowing, red coals in the far back grinned laughingly back at him and his horror.
The middle figure was sprawled in the back seat. It was a kid maybe in his teens, his arms gripping the leather cushions for dear life as he wailed in terror, unheard through the sheering wind and music. His face was partially decomposed with small bits of exposed muscle from torn skin.
The smallest figure was in the passenger's seat. It was relatively small, but wore a dark hoodie with a black, breathing mask covering its entire face, save for two green, glass eyes literally glowing in the darkness despite the glow of the fire. It was jamming on an old guitar in time with something blaring on the radio over the din.
"I'm on the High-Way to Hell!
High-Way to Hell!
On the High-Way to Hell!"
Behind them, a large cloud of locusts followed behind at an almost impossible speed.
Dan didn't know when he'd let go of the gas pedal, but the Car from Hell kept going and going as the cruiser slowed to a stop.
They sat there in the middle of the highway, neither moving nor speaking, staring as the car vanished in the distance. A small pinprick of light in the distance.
Two demons, one evil car, one poor damned soul in the back seat, and a plague of locusts. All jamming to AC/DC.
"*crrtch* Hey, guys, you okay? Report in. I repeat, report in, now *beep*."
Mack reached for the radio with shaky hands. He lifted it to his mouth and licked his lips before answering, "Dar-Darlene?"
"*crrtch* Christ, where were you guys. You've got people out here thinking you crashed or something. What's going on with the speeder, are you still in pursuit? *beep*"
"Negative."
"*crrtch* Why? *beep*"
"… I… ah… I… I'm gunna have to call you back… okay?"
"*crrtch* Call me back? Jeez, Mack, this isn't your first speeder. What the Hell's going on. *beep*"
"Hehe. Darlene, you have no idea how appropriate that was." Mack joked quietly, "Just… report it as… I dunno… a hallucination from sleep deprivation and too much coffee."
"*crrtch* What do you mean? What did you see? *beep*"
Mack shook his head and tried finding his voice a few times before answering. "I- I… I think I just need some time off, okay?"
"*crrtch* Roger. We'll send someone over to take your shift. *beep*"
Mack set the radio back on the slot, not caring that it missed completely and fell to the floor on its little curly wire. The two sat back in silence as the car continued idling.
Mack turned to Dan, "I think I'll take the Day Shift from now on, yeah?"
"Or office work at the department," Dan offered, "I hear great things about just doing paperwork all day; not good for your health, but I'll jog in the mornings. I'm also thinking about going back to church on Sundays with Marcy and the kids. You?"
"Oh, yeah." Mack agreed quietly.
The conversation died. They were found an hour later by their replacements and went home for a long vacation.
In a small clearing in the woods, a large Operator Symbol embedded in a cement driveway flared and three figures and a flaming Fury appeared. The driver unwound its barbed wires from the wheel and turned off the car before snuffing the flames with a flick of the wrist. The passenger hopped out the open top guitar slung over his shoulder.
"Woo! What a rush!" The smaller figure shouted in the night.
The third figure, slowly sat up in the back seat, his hands unfurling from the extra-strength leather seats threatening to tear at a moment's notice. He shakily opened the door and stood up before rounding on the taller figure.
"What. The Hell. Was. That. Ay?!" He all but shouted. Adrian's face shifted to normal and he just grinned and raised an eyebrow. "We agree no fire. I provide the locusts, you keep fire to a minimum. You know how I am about that!"
"Well, sorry, but I figured it would do some good to have more fire for a Hell-Themed Prank, right? The whole "Hell's actually really cold" thing wouldn't work and even then nobody here has ice powers. Plus, I think it was worth it. Did you see those cops' faces?"
"I was too busy staring at the flames licking the sides of a steel deathtrap to be honest." Nick shot back angrily. He whistled at the small swarm of locusts who flew into the garage in a uniform fashion before shooting into a small terrarium in the back.
Harry pulled off his mask, revealing his face was red and slightly sweaty, "It was a bit hot, Ay."
Adrian rolled his eyes, "Well it's fire. It would be an oxymoron to have cold fire."
"Still, excellent control." Harry offered before turning to Nick, "And your control of the swarm is impressive, too."
"it's easier with hive minds," He mumbled, standing in front of a mirror and fixing the patches of skin he'd torn off for the Hell theme. He looked back at the unmasked boy, "You on the other hand, need to worry about getting Jeff's guitar back before he notices it."
Harry shrugged, "I've got video recordings of the prank. Even if he noticed it's gone (which he probably won't), I'll show him these and it's forgiven."
He pulled a hidden camera from the side of the car (heat proof for the flames) and pulled the recording out of it. He suddenly looked up in thought, "Hey, don't forget the 'incentive' in case we need it."
Nick nodded and pulled out a paper bag from the back seat. Adrian parked the car in the garage among several others and they began their trek along the path back to the main mansion. They joked about the cop's reactions and how awesome the prank went down until they reached the porch.
They quietly opened the door as silently as they could. The foyer was dark and so were the other rooms. Nothing could-
*flip!*
They froze as light shone in from a lamp in the living room. Sitting in the chair, facing them wearing the full mask, was Tim. His arms crossed as he glared through the black eyeholes.
"Hello, boys." He said casually. Adrian maintained composure. Nick fidgeted and shifted his weight from foot to foot. Harry slapped on a wide grin.
"Heeey, Tim, you'll never guess it. We were out and we were a bit late on curfew, but while we were out, we found this amazing bakery and they had a huge special on some really tasty stuff. So, we found a really secret recipe for a certain confection and we thought, 'Wow, Tim's such a great guy. We should buy some for him.' And so we did." He grabbed the bag from Nick's hands and lifted it towards the Proxy, showing a small business logo on the paper and a creamy aroma wafting from it already permeating the room.
Tim got up from the seat and accepted the bag suspiciously. He peeked inside. On the top of the bag was a clear, plastic container with a decently-sized, golden slice of cheesecake with what looked like a strawberry sauce drizzled over a caramelized glaze. He pulled his face away from the opening of the bag and looked at the trio. They could see he was clearly torn between desire and authority.
Desire or authority.
Desire or authority.
Desire won out.
"Okay, this never happened, understand? Just get to bed."
"Yes, sir." Harry said with a mock salute before heading up the stairs.
"And I'm not covering for you if you're falling over tired tomorrow morning." Masky called up after them.
He headed to the kitchen and flipped on the light switch where he was met with his boss waiting arms crossed. If the entity could, the Proxy bet he'd be getting a disapproving eyebrow raise.
"You cannot seriously be bribed that easily." Slender deadpanned.
Masky shrunk a bit in shame before looking inside the bag again, "Oh, hey look." He pulled out a small, mini-bag inside the bag with 'Slender' written on the side in marker. "They got something for you, too."
Slendy accepted the bag cautiously and opened it up to pull out a still-warm apricot scone wrapped in some paper.
Slender quietly "looked" between his Proxy and the offering. "… This never happened, understood?"
"Yes, sir." Masky was relieved they'd thought up of something in advance and vowed to be a little more lenient next time they stay out after curfew on his watch (just a little bit). His boss leaned against the counter, enjoying his scone as he found a fork in the cutlery drawer.
An entire night that never happened…
Understood?
The next morning, the tenants of the mansion were sitting around breakfast. Nick and Harry were noticeably tired and their heads bobbed every now and then. They had some coffee in front of them with a small plate of breakfast. Adrian looked fine, but he blinked a bit slower than normal and also had a strong cup of black tea steaming in front of him.
Sally noted Harry's plate and pouted, hands on her hips. "Harry, just what is that?" She pointed to his meager plate.
Harry's tired eyes blinked confusedly, "Uh… breakfast?"
"That's not breakfast, that's a snack. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." She declared. EJ snickered.
"It's true, you know." He agreed. Sally brightened and nodded vigorously as her point was proven by a semi-licensed doctor/scientist.
Harry rolled his bloodshot eyes, "Fine, fine." He pulled an orange from the bowl in the center. "There, happy? I'm too tired for this. I'm British. I need my caffeine. Even if it's not tea, it's caffeine." He raised his cup and took a sip to emphasize the point.
Sally huffed, "You should still eat more. You're as thin as a Rake."
"I resent that saying, you know!" Said skeletal dog-man called out from the open fridge. The group chuckled quietly at the joke as they continued through with their breakfast.
Slender pulled out some manila folders and began reviewing the day's assignments. Before he was able to begin, the back door to the kitchen opened and a familiar figure shuffled in, wings trailing behind him.
"Hey, Mothman!" Jeff called out, for once in the rare state of being awake before 10. The dark figure nodded in acknowledgement and shuffled along the floor until it stopped at the side of the table, drawing itself up to gather attention.
"I bring grave news of the future." It intoned dramatically.
Several tenants sighed quietly. Mothman came around every so often saying something like that about the stupidest things. Jeff interrupted the creature, "What, will the milk spoil again tomorrow morning? Or will the power cut out and BEN's game will lose his high score again."
"That was important information!" BEN argued tearfully, "I lost all of my PacMan data and the program I was writing up because no one told me the power would cut out!"
"I apologize, Benjamin, I neglected to include yourself in my prediction," Mothman replied. "But this is, indeed, urgent. It alters the very course of history. The very Balance itself hangs in the precipice of this moment."
Jeff's eyes widened in mock seriousness, "Ah, right, one of us is gunna swat the spider that mutates to the super species in the next 500 years. Call it!" Nick, Harry, BEN, and Laughing Jack all cursed quietly as he called dibs milliseconds before themselves.
"No. Slender, you must listen. I bring urgent news." He implored the entity, now ignoring the others.
Slender sighed and set down his tea and the folders, "Very well, Mothman, what is it?"
The creature wordlessly held up an unconscious owl by its feet from behind his wing. He depressed a pressure point by its beak and caused it to release the letter which it deftly caught mid-float.
Slender's aura became ominous as it took the letter in hand. "Everyone, meeting in the parlor room in 15 minutes."
He got up and walked away with the letter, leaving his tea to get cold and the folders untouched. The tenants were in stunned silence as the mood suddenly shifted. Mothman nodded in appreciation at the more appropriate response and stalked to the parlor room with the bird still in its claws.
Harry and the others were now fully awake, but downed the coffee quickly as the others finished up and moved to the parlor room.
They sat in the multitude of chairs and sofas as Slenderman sat in his armchair in a corner by the fireplace, fingers steeped in thought. Laughing Jack was solemn for once as he squatted on top of a chair instead of sitting in it. Sally was swinging her legs under the couch, looking at Slendy with large, concerned eyes. Several others were leaning against walls or supports, waiting impatiently.
Toby was leaned against the fireplace, arms crossed and a small frown on his face. Jeff was mirroring his position on the wall a little ways away. BEN took position next to Sally, but preferred to cross his legs on the couch instead. Mothman and Rake were standing and squatting, respectively, on the floor just next to Slenderman. Eyeless Jack took a seat next to Masky and Hoodie.
"Harry, Adrian, Nikolaus, would you please sit closer? This pertains to you three most of all." The three wards were surprised at being singled out and moved to closer seats to the entity.
"This letter was addressed to Harry. I think it's time I be honest and tell you all what is going on." Slender held the letter and placed it on the coffee Table. Everyone crowded around as they looked at the address.
"Mr. H. Potter
Third Seat on the Right Side of the Dining Table.
The Mansion.
The Forests, New York
The United States of America"
Those crowded around were in an uncomfortable silence as they leaned back, letting others get a better look.
"That… is… creepily specific," Jeff commented.
"H-how do these people know that?" Harry asked nervously.
"I am not sure. Though I also find it entirely uncanny." Slenderman admitted.
"Who are these weirdos anyway?" Laughing Jack asked still precariously balanced on a chair back.
Slenderman looked to be debating something before deciding, "Harry. I believe this letter explains it all." He handed the letter to the stunned 10 year old (almost 11). Harry opened it and his eyes widened in disbelief before Slender motioned him to read it aloud.
The boy licked his lips before reading, "'Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Wait, what?"
"Please keep reading," Slender motioned through the others obviously bursting to ask questions.
"'Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall'. Owl? Acceptance? Slender, I-I don't understand. I'm confused." Harry stammered.
Slender gave a breathless sigh, "Centuries ago, I discovered a society, an entire race of people living right under the noses human civilization. They call themselves 'wizards' and 'witches'."
"Wait," Jeff interrupted, "You mean like… real witches and wizards. Like, flying-on-a-broomstick, bubbling cauldrons witches?" He asked incredulously. Toby nodded starry-eyed.
Sally gasped excitedly, "Does that mean there are real fairies? Or unicorns? Or wands and flying deer?"
Slendy chuckled, "I can't vouch for all of that, but yes, essentially the stories are true. Though, I'm willing to bet our understanding has changed from how they actually are.
"Now, they appeared to have separated from the main society of humanity centuries ago and developed in isolation. They rely on memory modification and attention redirection to keep out anyone they deem 'lower than themselves', which from the texts a few hundred years ago, essentially encompassed everyone non-magical. They appear to have taken strides to divide their own 'world' into superiority tiers as well. Though, they appear largely as unaware of our world as the average human.
"Now, these texts I referenced are well over 300 years old, so they may have changed since then… though…" He trailed off, uncertain. "It appears magic has been around since man's beginning. The only reason we haven't dealt with them in the past is because they're so adept at hiding themselves and prior to the split between the magical world and the human world, magic was less common, less advanced, and usually self-destructive. We would leave the Lonely Witch to her cabin and, in time, she'd either blow herself up from a spell or potion or be burnt at the stake by irate villagers." Slender shrugged. "We didn't concern ourselves much with those things.
"Now, they have a custom in the UK region where magical children at 11 are accepted into a prestigious, magical academy called Hogwarts. Harry has received the letter today and they want our response soon as he is a British national by birth. The reason I called Nikolaus and Adrian is because I have reason to believe that they may have this 'magic' as well."
Nick was flabbergasted while Adrian's eyes darted around unfocused, trying to logically consider this. "We are aware of these people primarily by their previous attempts to locate Harry." Harry sat straighter in shock. "Over a few months after we initially brought you here, we received multiple owls, ferrets, eagles, and etcetera frying against the mansion's wards. I had them updated to prevent the creatures from finding us in the first place, but it seems they have a way none-the-less. The headmaster listed in the letter, this 'Headmaster Dumbledore' was apparently behind a large search group in the UK after your disappearance."
"But why?!" Harry cried out suddenly. "Why go after me?! What have I done?!"
"Hey," Jeff called out, "what if we just ignore the letter?" Harry calmed slightly until Mothman shook his head.
"I foresee… letters in a lot of unusual places and a flood of parchment… they will not leave us alone and they are persistent."
Jeff tilted his head in thought, "By 'unusual places', what exactly do you-"
Mothman held up a hand to cut him off while smirking, "I foresee instances of discovering letters in Sally's teapot, in Eyeless Jack's cadavers, the cereal boxes, and in particular one instance involving yourself where all of a certain paper has vanished and been replaced with crinkly, scratchy, painful parchment."
Jeff's white face turned slightly red as he shifted uncomfortably. Mothman turned back to Slender in complete seriousness. "However, I foresee that the massive influx of such powerful letters will eventually overwhelm the protections entirely…" The ominous implication hung over the room like a stormcloud.
The tall entity nodded grimly, "I see."
"Why would they do this?" Harry muttered angrily. "Why would they go through so much trouble?! Can't they just leave me alone!" His voice gained volume.
"Now, Harry, calm dow-"
"I will not be calm!" Harry retorted. The lights started flickering around him, "These people are after me and I don't even know why or what they want when they get me! Why didn't you tell me about them, Slender? I trusted you!"
The fireplace flared to life, "Why are these people stalking me! I'm just Harry! I'm nobody special!"
BEN was shivering uncontrollably as Smile whined, pawing at his ears. "Why did the world make me such a… a… freak!"
The glass bulbs burst and the windows spiderwebbed as Harry shouted the last word and ran out the foyer door. BEN recovered slowly and the fire faded to a dim glow as everyone sat stunned from the information and the display.
Slenderman sighed and set the remains of the letter on the table. Harry's outburst caused the edges of the paper to smolder just a bit, but both papers were still safe as were the contents. He skimmed both sheets, contemplating everything that had happened and set them on the table.
He left the Proxies sitting and digesting this information and walked out to the porch. Harry was long gone, but Slender could see a few scorch mark footprints trailing into the forest. He sighed.
Lightning exploded from the forest.
Harry stood huffing in the center of a black circle in a familiar clearing. The trees still had scorch scars from almost 2 years earlier, but the vegetation had recovered… well, the vegetation recovered except for the unfortunate plants smoking and sizzling in the meter-wide radius around himself.
He took a spot angrily on the large stone in the middle of the clearing, burning a few patches of grass along the way.
It wasn't fair!
Who were these people? Why were they trying so hard to get to him? What did they want? Why was Slenderman of all people being so cautious about them?
He felt his hair rise again from the anger producing static discharges around him. It all made no sense! It was all so frustrating and confusing and frightening!
All of this; magic, wizards, witches, Hog-pimples or whatever. It was all just so out of the blue. And Nick and Adrian may have it too, that was just mind boggling as well!
Since he was seven, he had a family. He belonged. He'd been through stressful situations and frightening events. He'd bonded with those around him and found comfort in his life here at the mansion. He knew where his life was going, too. Helping the Balance, helping Slendy, helping his family.
Now, these people, these unbalanced, unrelenting wizards were trying to take him away into a society rife with chaos and secrecy. He didn't know what would happen.
What if they took him back to the Dursleys?
What if they kept Slender and the others away?
What if they made him forget?
He almost vomited his small amount of coffee and breakfast at the thought. All of this, his entire life for the last 4 years, gone in a flash of light from a wand. Replaced with something false that those wizards might try to shove in his head to keep him away from where he belonged.
Here.
"Harry?"
Once again, like a couple years ago, Harry turned and found Slenderman standing at the edge of the clearing. The entity walked over and sat down on the rock, awkwardly shifting his limbs to sit comfortably.
"How did you know I was here?" Harry mumbled angrily, still not meeting his guardian's… 'eyes'?
"You usually come here when you're upset… additionally, a bolt of bright, blue lightning on a normal, overcast morning is rather hard to miss."
Harry could help but chuckle, dissipating the anger. He firmed his resolve and stubbornly fought back the small smile that formed, preferring to keep angry, but still battling the small humor provided.
"Harry, I want to apologize," The humor evaporated fast and Harry turned to his guardian. "I should not have kept you in the dark about this for so long. I should have told you when I found out…"
"But why didn't you?" Harry asked quietly.
"… In all honesty, I was hopeful we could completely ignore or avoid these people entirely. They are an unstable, unsustainable society. Their 'breeding program' causes more harm than their perceived 'good'. Their ideas are completely polarized into either good or bad, black or white-"
"Two wolves," Harry murmured, remembering a similar talk long ago.
"Yes. They are tearing themselves apart, slowly. Century by century until I predict they will cause their own self-destruction. I'd have preferred to keep as far away from that as possible. It seemed unsafe to become involved." Slender sighed, "I have read books on their world from almost 300 years ago and it seemed… unnerving."
He interrupted Harry's questioning glance, "And I know 300 years is a lot of time to change, but… I feared they were slow to accept or enact change. I allowed that to blind me and keep you in the dark as well. For that I am sorry."
Harry sat on the rock, staring at the space in front of him. He watched a small blade of grass bend and curl as the heat got to it. "I'm not angry at you... I'm scared," He admitted softly, "I'm scared that they'll take me away. I'm scared what they'll do. I'm scared what will happen." He looked at his guardian, "I'm scared they'll make me forget everything here and keep everyone away from me."
"Harry," Slender replied, "No one can predict the future. All we can do is prepare for it as best we can. And if those foolish wizards dare take you away, then you know that come Hell or high water, we will scour the earth until we find you again."
Harry nodded, a faint smile forming. He could definitely see Slender walking the world to search for any of them regardless of the distance or obstacles. Everyone at the mansion was loyal and devoted to each other.
And he was devoted to them, too.
"Back on that birthday," he began slowly, "I made a promise that I would help everyone here… my family with anything they had. I saw the Balance as the best way to do it."
He looked up at Slenderman, determined, "If this society needs help finding Balance, then I want to help. I want us to work together to help maintain the Balance of the Universe. Even if it's dangerous, I want to be there with everyone every step of the way."
Slenderman felt a small bit of pride at the young ward's speech. Then Harry grinned, "Plus, I'll learn magic! How cool is that!?"
Slender couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's sudden enthusiasm and nodded, "So, Harry, do you want to write a reply?" Harry nodded and they left the smoldering clearing to put itself out from the permanent, heavy fog.
The house soon came into view as the wizard suddenly had a thought, "Slendy, will the owl be ready to go anytime soon? It looked rather… incapacitated don't you think?"
They walked through the door, "I'm sure the owl will be just fi- Rake, no! Put down that bird! Smile! That doesn't mean you can eat it! Argh!"
AN:
I don't own anything, least of all Spongebob and Harry Potter.
Hello everyone,
I received a review earlier saying this was pretty M-themed and I wanted to address it.
I realize this story is precariously on the M side of things. Really, I do. I'm always paranoid that I overstep it and so I actively try to tone it down as far as I can without losing fundamental qualities of the chapter or story.
I found creepypastas when I was around 17 to 18. Since then, I've loved the stories and characters. I've listened to audio recordings in my free time, while driving alone, and even while doing simple homework.
However, I can still understand how someone about 13 may be uncomfortable with things like drugs, alcohol, murder, etc. That's why I suggested "older Teen" in the first chapter, implying15 or 16 and older where it seems like they're more familiar with this material and at least somewhat more responsible. Plus, around 15 to 16 seems the general target range for creepypastas, themselves.
I try to keep it cleaner than it could be, but in my defense a large majority of creepypasta stories are extremely gory, filled with swearing, and coated in violence. It's just in the nature of creepypastas. So people clicking on this fic when the summary states "Creepypasta" should expect some level of uncomfortable topics.
All I want to do is pursue a fun hobby and provide people entertainment with my stories.
Sincerely,
-Crow
-Mothman: local legend at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Said to give ominous prophetic appearances just before disasters strike around the area he was seen.