Chapter 3

Two weeks later…

Harry opened the shop door to find Rosalee arguing with someone and he was immediately on his guard, but seeing the young woman he'd come to see as a future sister or close friend scolding a man taller than her while said man looked like a kicked puppy, wasn't something he expected as he rushed into the backroom…neither was the wolf-like visage that took over the man's face as he turned and crouched before Rosalee in a clearly protective way once Harry barged into the backroom.

The man looked exactly how Rosalee had described her boyfriend to look (before he changed at least), and Harry stopped in his tracks.

They all froze as the situation set in and a few minutes went by before Harry slowly ran a hand through his hair before awkwardly scratching his cheek, "Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in, I thought one of the creeps had cornered Rosalee…so…I'll just go."

A growl had him stopping in his tracks and he turned once more before noticing that Rosalee's face had also fully changed into the vague image he'd often caught glimpse of and that she was looking quite worried as she lightly held her boyfriend back. Harry's eyes widened as he realized what was going through their minds and he fully turned towards them, "I'm not going to run away or tell anyone if that's what you're worried about, I was just going to mind the front part of the store…you're Wesen, right?"

Rosalee nodded slightly and her boyfriend, Monroe if he recalled correctly, allowed the wolf-like visage to fade. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments before Harry motioned to the front of the shop, "Should I make us some tea and put the 'Closed' sign up? I doubt either of you would be ok until we sorted this out."

The duo nodded and he did just that, almost jumping when he found the man directly behind him as he locked the door. The man looked at him closely while focusing on his eyes for some reason before shaking his head and seeming slightly calmer, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

Harry laughed at that but forced himself under control as he noticed the irritation in the man's expression, "I wasn't laughing at you, I just…well, I've seen things a lot scarier, and from what Rosalee has told me of you, well, I doubt you'd do anything to me unless I'm a threat, which I can assure you I'm not."

The man stepped back and allowed him to put the kettle on and to take out three cups while keeping a watchful eye on him and Harry rolled his eyes, "You know, if I wanted to do something to either you or Rosalee I would have done it already, but you can make the tea if it makes you feel better."

The man shook his head and took a step back, "Why did you start working here if Rosalee isn't paying you?"

Harry blinked at the question before returning his attention to the tea, "The day Rosalee noticed me outside and pulled me into the shop to sit down, I noticed a shady-looking guy come in then quickly go out when he saw me. I've always had a people-saving thing so I made sure that none of those creeps would hurt her, though now I'm wondering if maybe they were just different types of Wesen and if I had unknowingly scared them off."

"I am not that helpless you know!" Harry turned to find a glaring Rosalee watching him from the door of the backroom.

He held his hands up in surrender, "I know you're not but you immediately asked me, a stranger, to come and work for you so I was worried, besides," he glanced down as he thought of Luna before looking up once more, "you remind me of a friend that had been practically a sister to me, so how could I not stick around and help?"

Rosalee's smile softened at that and she nodded before gratefully accepting her tea, which prompted Monroe to do the same. Harry tried not to squirm as the duo watched him. They were probably waiting for him to reveal how he knew about Wesen when he wasn't one himself, but he wasn't ready to go into all of that yet so he excused himself to measure off some of the ingredients, completely missing the look that the duo gave each other.

He was surprised when neither of them asked further questions, but as the month came to an end he realized that it was just the type of people they were. Once Monroe was certain that he wasn't a threat to Rosalee, the man actually started inviting him over for dinner, which he later did in return after finally getting his own place.

A few days later…

Rosalee had called in and stated that she would be late for work so Harry moved about the shop to get the orders ready.

Rosalee had been quite strict when she explained how different herbs and spices would affect different Wesen and thankfully the other Wesen didn't seem to mind him helping in the shop anymore, although he'd soon realized that shady characters could still appear once Rosalee explained what happened to her brother.

The door to the shop opened and he looked up in greeting, only to freeze in place as he recognized the Captain, or Sean Renard, as he'd introduced himself. The man seemed to be there with a purpose, which clearly involved him and Harry tried his best to silently glare the man out of the shop since verbally chasing the man out was against the shop's policy. Not that Rosalee would fire him for it…but still.

He turned around and busied himself with separating some of the new stock that had arrived the previous day, it gave him the excuse to go into the back room of the shop, but the other man didn't seem to get the hint that he wasn't welcome because he came to stand in the doorway.

Honestly, Harry didn't even know why he was so irritated with the guy, except for the ever-annoying pull, because asking questions and interrogating people was basically a part of the man's job description and the other guy named Nick didn't seem like such a bad guy either. Maybe he was overthinking it after being asleep for so long? Or maybe he'd just been conditioned to think bad of people after everything that had happened in the Wizarding World.

He closed his eyes and sighed before abruptly turning around, only to swear as he found the man standing directly behind him once he opened his eyes. A jinx hovered on his lips but he swallowed it down in favor of stepping back, "Ever heard of personal space?"

The Captain lifted a brow in response, "Ever heard of customer service?"

Harry shrugged, "Sure, if you were actually here as a customer and not a stalker."

Harry expected to get a glare or at least a frown, but the man merely shook his head and held out his hand, "Let's start over? Sean Renard, captain at Portland P.D."

Harry wanted to roll his eyes, but instead, he nodded and shook the man's hand. He needed to figure out the reason for the pull anyway, "Harry Potter, Herbalist. So may I ask what brings you here? How did you find me?"

The other man pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons before turning it to Harry to show Rosalee's number on the screen, "It seems we have a few friends in common. Well, it is more accurate to say that you and Nick have a few friends in common. As for why I am here…well…I find myself intrigued that you know what the key is, and where to find it, and yet you haven't made any move to try and steal it."

Harry tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion, before simply shrugging and moving past the man to where he and Rosalee usually made tea for themselves and/or guests. "Why is the origin of the key so important?"

The Captain gave him a look and Harry shrugged, "I said that the key looked familiar, I never said that I knew what it opened. You two assumed that all on your own. So tell me, Captain, what does it open?" He quietly made their tea as he waited for the other man to answer. He gave the man his cup before taking his own but he refused to say anything else until he had answers.

The other man seemed torn between keeping quiet and revealing whatever story that had been made up about the keys, but finally, he seemed to realize that Harry wouldn't give him information until he did so first, "Please call me Sean and no one knows what it unlocks. Only that it holds something of immense power…something that would allow the seven families to rule the world. Some think it's the prophet Muhammad's sword, a secret of alchemy, a secret of immortality, or the nails or pieces of the Cross."

Harry froze and stared at the man with his cup halfway to his lips.

No, seriously just no. Sure he might have Gryffindor's sword in his possession, as well as the Philosopher's Stone and the Deathly Hallows, but no one knew about it and the Goblins wouldn't have revealed his secrets so it should only be a coincidence that the legend a few key items that he had in his possession.

Unfortunately, that still left the answer to the most important question: Why did they carry the keys to his vault and why did they believe that the keys unlocked certain objects with descriptions that were eerily similar to what had been left with him in the vault?

Harry was startled from his thoughts when he heard Sean call his name. The man had a strange expression on his face and Harry realized that he'd been so busy with his thoughts that his silence would probably reveal that he knew or at least suspected something.

Luckily the bell to the front door rang and Rosalee stepped in, giving Harry the time he needed to school his features before he faced the other man once more, but the man didn't seem fooled, so he chose his words carefully, "I may have an idea on the location, but keep in mind that I could be wrong. My people were spread out all over the world so the location you are looking for could be anywhere…"

Harry paused as he noticed Rosalee watching them with her hands on her hips, and at first, he thought he was in trouble for standing around and chatting, but then he noticed that her ire was directed toward the Captain.