IMPORTANT AN at the bottom! Don't skip it!
I do not own Harry Potter or Type-Moon.
Hello Darkness, my old friend...
The Throne of Heroes, and by extension, Chaldea, is home to a wide variety of Heroes of different faiths, origins, nationalities, and ideologies. What connects all these individuals is that each and every one of them has left their mark, for better or worse, in the annals of myth, legend and history. Most of these individuals are true 'heroes'; those who fought for something bigger than themselves, protecting the innocent and other actions that are applied to the definition of the word 'hero'. However, there are those that…did not fit the mold of the classic 'hero'. Whether it be by their personality or the deeds they have done in life, they are more akin to 'anti-heroes' or close to outright villains. Nevertheless, Chaldea welcomed all who would support the quest for restoring Proper Human History, regardless of who they are and what they did.
Such is the case of the female walking aimlessly down one of Chaldea's many hallways. She wore a black gothic skirt, embroidered with silver patterns that hung from a silk choker around her neck and fell down to the ground, ending at the height of her heel. The dress sharply contrasted with her pale skin, white hair, and golden eyes. Despite her doll-like appearance, her posture exuded a commanding and fearful presence.
'I wonder what Mordred is doing right now' thought Artoria Alter. 'Probably sparring with one of the knights. Maybe I should go; it would certainly help alleviate my boredom, and that child's face after being beaten is so satisfying to watch…'
It was a rather strange thing for her, the whole Chaldea business. She agreed to help save humanity when she was summoned, sure, but she wasn't a normal Servant; rather, a 'what-if' possibility of the original King (or rather, Queen) Artoria, given life by a tainted Holy Grail. Even if she was a real figure in myth or history, her ideals and methods would certainly be far from any 'hero'. Yet here she was…
Her thoughts trailed off as she passed by an intersecting hallway and the sound of small footsteps reached her ears. She turned her head slightly to the direction of the sound, and raised an eyebrow at the sight of her child of a Master walking down the hall, hands in his pockets and looking at the walls. His raven-haired head turned a bit and met her gaze before a smile broke out on his little face as he ran towards her.
"Hi, Miss Altoria!" The Dark King of Knights nodded silently in response and looked down at where he stood. With the top of his messy hair barely reaching her waist, it would be surprising to anyone who knew her that such a child was her Master.
"How are you, Master? What are you doing here all alone?"
"Um, Mommy is spending time with Miss Tamamo and Miss Jeanne, Big Sis Mordred is fighting with someone, and I can't find Jack anywhere. I think she's playing with Alice." Harry looked down for a moment before perking back up, the smile still on his face. "So, I'm looking for Daddy! Did you see him anywhere?"
The Alter Saber shook her head. His little shoulders slumped dejectedly before he scratched his little nose. He seemed to want to keep walking, but instead, he looked at his Servant's eye with a tinge of nervousness. "Um…can you help me find him, please?"
Altoria tilted her head at the request. She didn't really have an issue with it, and she did say she was feeling bored…
"Very well," she said, the corners of her lips twitching upwards slightly. "Come, let us start looking. Maybe he is in one of the lounges." Harry's smile grew larger and grabbed her pale hand as they started walking.
This was another odd thing in Chaldea, perhaps the oddest one. Not only was she surprised by the fact that her Master was a child when she was summoned (although she never showed it), but the fact that he was so quick to accept her was…unusual, especially since her 'other' tried to kill him in Fuyuki. True, he did look nervous at first, but a day later Harry was following her like a lost puppy. When she sent a questioning glance at his adoptive mother, the former spy just gave her a smile and gestured to go along with it.
Not that she complained at all. Her Master was rather…nice to have around.
"How have you been doing as of late?" she asked.
"Oh…Miss Da Vinci and Dr. Roman are still trying to find the next Singularity, so I've been taking more lessons. Jackie started teaching me how to hide, and Big Sis Mordred's asking to fight me more."
The pale-skinned Saber nodded. "That is good. It is important to keep up one's training, especially in our situation. We may be your Servants and we will protect you, but you should always have something to help you in case we are not there."
Harry smiled at her praise and edged a little closer to her as they walked. He looked at her for a second before speaking again. "Miss Altoria? Could you…help me train?"
She looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean? Did you not just say that Mordred was helping you?"
"Umm…yes, but…" he looked back down from her stare, a small blush forming on his cheeks.
'He still has insecurities? Well, since I am Mordred's sire, I suppose it would be natural for him to seek me out for advice' she thought. "While I am flattered by your request Master, there is very little I can teach you that Mordred doesn't know, at least in terms of what you can currently do. You do not wish to use a sword, correct?"
Harry shook his head. "No, Mordred let me try, but she said it doesn't suit me. I like using knives like Jackie."
"Then I will repeat what I have said; there is little to nothing I can teach you."
The young Master looked down dejectedly. Altoria frowned briefly at the sight; while she disregarded honor and chivalry, it would be a blemish on her if she left her young Master in such a state.
"…I suppose I can come and watch you, maybe offer some advice."
Harry perked back up, his eyes widening. "Really?"
Altoria nodded and paused when the child hugged her waist, uttering a muffled 'thank you' into her dress. Ah, what did the dancer do…?
She raised her hand and ruffled his hair, making him slightly coo in joy. She felt some blood rush to her cheeks, but it went down as quickly as it came. A few seconds later, he detached from her and pulled her arm forward, to which she obliged.
The pair kept walking and passing by doors and corridors, but the elusive Avenger was nowhere to be seen. They nevertheless kept going, eventually reaching the cafeteria. It wasn't lunchtime yet, so nobody was there…except for one person, with short hair and wore a blue kimono underneath a red jacket. She was sitting next to one of the tables, and a small cup of strawberry ice-cream was in front of her. She was currently locked in a staring contest with a white, furry dog-like creature wearing a ribbon around its neck.
"Hi there Shiki! Hi Fou!" called out Harry. The creature's pointy ears shot up and turned to Harry, before hopping off the table and jumping right into the child's outstretched arms.
"Fou!" it cried out, rubbing its little head on Harry's neck, to which he gladly responded by rubbing it behind the ears. The woman – Shiki Ryougi – calmly took a bite out of the ice-cream and turned to Harry.
"Hello Harry" she met Altoria's stare with her own. "Altoria." The pale-skinned woman twitched a finger; a child using that nickname was one thing, but from someone like her…no, Harry likes her. He wouldn't want a fight now. Maybe later.
"So, what is my little Master doing here? It isn't dinnertime yet."
"I'm looking for Daddy. Did you see him?" Harry asked as he stopped rubbing Fou, who jumped from his arms. Shiki shook her head in response and the raven-haired child's shoulders slumped again. Shiki stared at him for a moment before looking at her ice-cream and shrugging.
"Ehh, I'm not hungry anyway. How about I help you look for your dad?" Harry smiled again and nodded. The teenaged Assassin got up from the table and walked to them, throwing out her dessert on the way. As she passed him by, Harry grabbed her right hand so that he held both her and Altoria's hand. Shiki paused for a moment, but just shrugged again, so the duo-turned-trio sallied forth into the halls of Chaldea once more, with the furry little creature following them in silence.
The three walked for some time, checking the halls for any potential hiding spots or the like. Harry hummed a little tune he heard from Mozart as he walked hand-in-hand with two women.
"So, how are your studies going?" asked Shiki.
"I'm doing really good. All the teachers say I'm really smart, and Mommy sits with me if I need help."
"That's good; rushing into things like an idiot won't help you at all. I'm glad that I took a look at the lessons and asked Da Vinci to change some things." Altoria raised an eyebrow at her.
"You helped make Harry's schedule?"
"I just adjusted a few things. I went to a school like he did, so I took out some unnecessary things. Honestly, who is the idiot that thought quantum physics is a good subject for an eight-year-old?" she grumbled.
"What's that?"
"It's boring and unnecessarily complicated. You can read about it when you're older."
"Oh" remarked the young Master. "But Big Bro Cu is gonna teach me more runes soon, and Mr. Paracelsus said he wants to teach me some alchemy."
"Hoh? A budding young mage, are we?" asked the Dark King in a teasing tone. Harry ducked his head and blushed a little., to which Altoria chuckled. "Maybe when you're good enough, I'll let you be my court wizard."
"C-court wizard? Like that Merlin person Mordred told me about? She said he was a 'degenerate'. What does that mean?"
"…someone very annoying and shameful. If I ever meet him again, I will be having words with him" a low growl emanated from her lips. She turned to the child with a stern gaze. "I hope you will not have any such thoughts when you are in my court, my Master." Harry shrunk a little from her gaze, but he then pouted when he saw the smirk on the Saber's face.
Shiki just listened to their chat in silence, but her eyes narrowed when something moved near the corner of her eye, making her and the other two stop in their tracks. Her eyes flashed an eerie violet for a second and she stared at a point on the hall before closing her eyes and sighing.
"It was fine the first few minutes, but could you please come out now?"
Silence answered her, Harry and Altoria looking at Shiki in confusion. A few seconds later, another female appeared out of nowhere in front of the three. She wore a black, form-fitting suit that hung from her neck and stretched down her front, covering her breasts and ended above her knees. She had dark skin and short purple hair, along with a white skull mask that covered her face.
"Serenity!" Harry cried out, dashing over to the female and latching on to her. Hassan of the Serenity hesitated for a second before returning the hug and placing her head on his.
"Hello, Master" she greeted; her gentle voice laced with happiness.
"Oi, why didn't you show yourself earlier?" asked Shiki as she crossed her arms. "You were following him the whole time, weren't you?"
Serenity raised her head while still hugging Harry. "I apologize, but you are mistaken; I had left him for a moment and only joined you three a few minutes ago. I didn't wish to disturb you while you were talking, so I waited."
"Why did you leave him, or better yet why didn't you talk to him before?" asked Altoria.
The Hassan bowed her head. "I am truly sorry but…" she trailed off. Shiki just sighed in response, but didn't really blame her. Serenity was a little shy, even more so around Harry.
"Umm…Serenity?" asked Harry, prompting her to look down and meet his green eyes. "Can you…?" he gestured to her mask.
"…" the dark-skinned Assassin raised her hand and took off her mask, revealing a delicate face with dark-violet eyes. The young Master of Chaldea's smile grew as he tightened the hug, to which Serenity responded with a joyful smile. A small blush blossomed on her cheeks as she leaned down and rubbed her nose on Harry's hair.
"I am sorry I did not talk to you before Master but…I discovered where your father is."
Harry's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yes, do you want me to take you to him?" The child fiercely nodded and Serenity let out a giggle, soft as wind-chimes. She turned, took him by the hand and walked down the hall. Behind them, Altoria and Shiki looked at each other for a moment and shrugged, before following the two.
The group soon reached the door of one of the spare bedrooms, probably unused since the Grand Order began thanks to the lack of staff. Serenity pressed a button next to the door and it opened, revealing the Count of Monte Cristo, dressed in his suit and cloak, sitting on the bed, and reading a book.
"Daddy!" Harry ran and leapt on the bed, fiercely hugging the white-haired man's side. Dantès however, barely flinched and calmly looked at his adoptive son.
"…Hello, Harry." He turned his gaze to the three women who accompanied him, more specifically, to Serenity. "I presume it was you who found me?"
"With all due respect to your skills Count Dantès, you weren't trying very hard to hide." He shrugged in a mix of nonchalance and resignation. 'I suppose she is not one of the Hassans for nothing.'
He turned to Harry again, who kept hugging him. Knowing that his son wouldn't let go anytime soon, he just sighed and positioned himself on the bed so that both he and Harry were comfortable, with him leaning on the bedside wall and Harry leaning on his chest. The three female Servants just leaned on the walls in silence, while Fou stood outside the door like a loyal dog.
"What are you reading Daddy?"
"…'The Three Musketeers'. Andersen was pestering me to read it, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look."
"…'The Three Musketeers'?" asked Altoria, a dark smirk forming on her face. "Isn't that written by–"
"Be silent, woman" shot Dantès with a scathing glare. "It was bad enough hearing it from that insufferable misanthrope."
"…is it good? What's it about?" asked Harry softly. The French Avenger's yellow eye twitched and he sighed.
"Yes, it is…decent. It's about a young man named D'Artagnan who joins the Royal Guard and meets three renowned Musketeers, who help him and guide him on his new life."
"Oh…" he said. "…were the three Musketeers heroes?"
"I suppose you could call them that."
"…so, he's like me?"
Dantès quirked an eyebrow at the comparison and it…made sense, in a weird way. D'Artagnan came from (relatively) humble beginnings and joined an organization tasked with protecting the king and his country, while meeting powerful allies on the way. If you changed a few background details then…the similarities were rather glaring.
Wait, if Harry was D'Artagnan…did that mean he was Athos?
He quickly shook the thought from his head. No, it was weird enough thinking about it.
The group lapsed in a comfortable silence, with only the occasional turning of the page disturbing it. The three women just watched from their positions on the wall, occasionally closing their eyes in unknown thoughts. Sometime later, Dantès stopped his reading and saw that Harry fell asleep, his face pressed against his chest.
Dantès closed the book and picked his Master/son up, alerting the women as he did so. Just as he was about to leave, he paused and looked at all three of them, before looking down at the child sleeping in his arms.
"Heh. How strange." Shiki tilted her head in curiosity.
"Hoh? What do you mean?" Dantès gestured to the three.
"Well, we are all not exactly what most people would call 'heroes', are we not? Two assassins, a corrupted version of a king and a vengeance-driven Count are not the pinnacle example of chivalry. A serial killer – perhaps the most infamous one in history – is an even bigger example. Hell, even the dancer was a spy in her time alive.
And yet, out of all of Chaldea's Servants, Harry put his trust in us the most, no?"
A pregnant pause filled the room as the three women considered the Avenger's words. Harry did seem to confide the most in the more un-heroic of the Servants. Apart from his obvious attachment to Jackie and Mordred, Altoria was a frequent bodyguard and guest whenever Harry went Material Farming, Shiki often helped out with Harry's homework, and he constantly hugged Serenity whenever he saw her. Why was that?
"…he's broken. Slightly warped, even."
The group was at first surprised by Shiki's words but realized that she did have a point. Harry's origins were known to all of his Servants, and combined with the…experiences…in the various Singularities, it would undoubtedly leave some mental scarring.
"Hmph, …empathetic attraction. He sees some of him in us, so he feels like he can trust us more." Remarked Altoria with a morbid smile. Dantès looked back at his son and adjusted him in his grip.
"Well, as his Servants and his family, we will have to make sure we don't betray his trust." All of the women nodded resolutely; if their mini-Master trusted them, then they were going to return the favor tenfold.
"Well, if you all don't mind, I will be returning him to his mother. God knows how she will coerce me to spend more time with him…" Dantès said with a roll of his eyes as he left the room, with Harry in his arms and leaning his raven head on his shoulder, Fou trailing behind them.
Altoria looked at the two as a ghost of a warm smile flickered on her face. They may not be 'heroes'…
…but to Harry, they were certainly more than that.
Hi guys! Here we are with a brand new chapter! As always, feel free to comment on this chapter (I really would like your thoughts on it) and leave ideas for future ones! Related to that:
1) I have crossposted this fic on Spacebattles and AO3, so if you want to give further reviews, suggestions...or even chapters of your own, go there (specifically Spacebattles).
2) I am in DIRE need of someone who can help me with my work, and not just this one. As a fanfic writer, it is my joy and honor to give you, my readers, the best quality chapters I can. The problem is, I have trouble filling up the chapter with words or sometimes coming up with good dialogue, so I am basically looking for a consultant not just for this fic, but for my Assassin Among Heroes fic as well. If you feel up to the task or just have the time, PM me. (This does not mean I'll stop! I won't let that be an impassable wall for me!)
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