Chapter 5

They were soon on their way to Monroe's house and Harry asked Rosalee to stop by the shop for a few things. Even though Rosalee often refused, he still insisted as it was proper to bring something when having dinner at someone else's house, though this was hardly going to be a social visit.

It quite intrigued him that Rosalee and Monroe seemed close enough to Sean that the man didn't immediately order her execution the moment she'd gone against him, and even the interaction between Sean and Nick, the small amount that he'd seen at the station, was not the usual 'Royal' vs 'Grimm' behavior.

He had a feeling that something else was going on in Portland, and he was going to have to get to the bottom of it to be able to try and fit in instead of standing out like the strange anomaly he was. The thought made the mark of the Hallows warm briefly against his skin as if warning him not to talk down at himself, but he scoffed at it. It wasn't as if the Hallows were actually sentient enough to reprimand him for his thoughts, were they?

As they drove he saw a flickering movement to his right, but when he turned towards it, he saw nothing. For the rest of the journey he kept his eyes peeled, just in case it was something that tried to sneak up on them, but he saw nothing, so he chalked it down to the current situation making him overly cautious.

They finally arrived at the house at around 6:30, and Harry was happy to note that neither Sean nor Nick were there yet as it gave him some time to gather his thoughts. Both Monroe and Rosalee eagerly reassured him that he had nothing to worry about and that he should only reveal what he was comfortable with, but their words gave him an idea.

He didn't know whether some Wesen could determine whether someone is speaking the truth or not, so it would be better to keep the story as close to the truth as possible, without revealing anything extremely important. After all, he could only vaguely remember the location of the vault that he had woken up in and it would be impossible to dig down without causing a cave-in. The natural entrances to the chasm had all been buried beneath the ground, possibly done so purposefully by the last of the goblins.

But in such a case, he would have to reveal a so-called 'lost history' that this world seems to have forgotten. It would be safe to do so, as the only remaining magic source that he had been able to pin down was Peverell Castle. Even the Gillyweed that he'd found in Rosalee's shop only regained its magical properties after he came into contact with it and he'd had to replace it.

It sounded like a solid plan, but would they buy it? Maybe it would be better to not reveal it in such a way, but was there a different option?

His thoughts were cut short as the other two men arrived, but the tense atmosphere that he expected, never even entered the room. Nick immediately came over to greet him with a handshake and a smile and Sean did the same, though the man carried a rigid formality about him that reminded him eerily enough of the way Lucius Malfoy once carried himself, without the boastful arrogance though.

He still felt a pull to the man, but his brows furrowed as a strange needle/shock effect passed through their hands as they touched, causing Sean to grasp his hand tighter, "I thought you were human?"

Harry felt a moment of panic, but he forced it down. Sean shouldn't be able to sense what he was so what on earth was happening? And why now when nothing had happened during their earlier handshake? He caught a glimpse of a glove being held in the other man's left hand, the same gloves he'd worn throughout the day and at the police station, which answered his second question, but still not the first.

Harry frowned as he looked up at the man, "What do you mean? Of course, I am human."

Sean shook his head then voged and Harry immediately tried to let go of his hand and jump back at the sight that met him. At least Voldemort had been able to mutilate his body so that he didn't look like something Dr. Frankenstein patched together, but this? Something was very wrong with the man's voge.

Harry barely registered that Nick was chewing the Captain out for scaring someone that would have been able to help them, as his mind was too busy going over the mass amounts of books he had in his suitcase. The only thing he could think of was a purification ritual followed by an awakening ritual that should remove the blocks that caused the gruesome transformation, but did he really want to do that? He didn't know if the man was a friend or an enemy yet, but the pull he felt didn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

He would have to research it the moment he got home, but first, he needed to make up a plausible story for whatever the Captain seemed to sense in him.

Harry put his hand up as Rosalee tried to lead him away from Sean, "Sorry, I just really didn't expect that. I've only read about it in books before."

His words had Nick turn around to face him, "Your family…they were Grimms?"

Harry shook his head, "No, my family is quite a bit more ancient than that. Do you know anything about the Lost History?" Yep, it seemed like he was actually going for that.

Monroe and Sean both frowned, but it was Sean that spoke, "The Lost History refers to a period within the past that was completely wiped from all sources, even from the minds of the people who had been living at that time. It is believed that the objects and artifacts had all been destroyed because they discovered a power that could wipe out the entire humanity."

Harry nodded, "I am the last descendant of a family that had been chosen to carry the knowledge of that time. Though most of it has been lost through the ages. That is probably why I feel different to you. It is also why the key seemed familiar to me because I had seen one similar to it in the past, but I was too young to know the significance of it." This was technically true, seeing as the keys had unlocked Merlin's vault at the time instead of being tied to a legend as it was now.

He was mentally kicking himself over and over for his saving people thing as he revealed this information though. Originally he wouldn't have added a lot of information to his story as he wanted to keep it simple, but after seeing the Captain's cursed version of a transformation, he knew he couldn't just let it go and that required a bit more than just a simple background story. He still wasn't going to reveal all his cards though.

Everyone seemed to be intrigued at that, but none more so than the Captain. Rosalee was basically giving him a 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' look, which he tried very hard to avoid.

He glanced at Nick and Sean, "Look, I will tell you about the true origins of the keys, but then you need to keep your promise of leaving me out of it afterward. I know enough about the Royals to know that I don't want to run around all over with assassins breathing down my neck."

It was slightly funny to see the affronted looks on the two men's faces as if they never thought about dragging him in deeper than they already had. Neither of them probably realized that he could already sense two of Sean's brother's henchmen around the property. Luckily he'd placed down a few subtle spells during his visits and they would ensure that it would seem like the visit was merely to update the Captain on the new Herbalist in the Spice shop. Which was standard protocol, for anyone in the know, moving into an area protected by a Royal.

Sean stepped forward, "If you can give us this information then we will ensure that you are left alone."

Harry noted that the man said the words with some reluctance. Not that it was surprising, given that he just told them that he came from a family that held information about the Lost History, but his need for information about the keys seemed to outweigh the need for lost knowledge.

Rosalee stopped them before they could continue the conversation, however, as she pointed them towards the table where Monroe had already placed a variety of dishes, no one was about to argue with her though as they were all quite hungry.

The atmosphere around the table was slightly awkward, but they soon finished their dinner and moved to the living room, where they made themselves comfortable.

Harry found himself sitting in between Sean and Nick, though whether it was to keep him from escaping was something he could only silently debate about in his mind. Finally, he took a deep breath and decided to just give them the information they wanted so that he could excuse himself and go home. It had been a long day and he had a feeling that it would quickly become even longer if he didn't purposefully cut it short.

"You said that the keys would reveal the location to a vault, with contents that would give the Royals enough power to 'rule the world' right?" Sean and Nick both nodded at his question, though Nick seemed to be quite a bit newer to the concept of the keys.

Harry thought for a moment, "To be honest, although there was a legend passed down that seven keys are required to open a vault, our version of the story warned that the keeper of the contents of the vault would not take kindly to anyone trying to steal from him." He looked toward Sean, "That is why I didn't immediately connect your story with our legend."

They all seemed to frown at this, but it was Rosalee that spoke, "What do you mean? Surely there isn't something that can live for that long, right?"

Harry expected the rest of the group to shake their heads, but to his surprise, they didn't. Monroe must have seen his confusion because he elaborated with a pointed look at Rosalee, "You forget, ever since we met Nick, we've met some bizarre Wesen that were thought to be mere legends." He then looked at Harry, "From volcanic lava spirits to avenging old ladies with a thirst for blood, well, it's safe to say that there are quite a few immortal beings out there."

Harry couldn't keep the surprise from his face as he heard this, but whether it was due to the casual way that Monroe mentioned it, or that they seemed to accept the facts for what they were, all-in-all, it was quite unexpected. And it also gave him some hope that there might be a chance for them to fully accept him as well.

He noticed that they all seemed to expect him to react in some way, probably in denial, but he merely shrugged, "I've known some people to live for hundreds of years so it wouldn't surprise me, and Mother Nature has often found a way to protect herself once people start messing things up…" He cut himself off as he sensed someone poking around his apartment. It shouldn't surprise him that they found it so fast, but it was a little unsettling to feel his wards being poked at.

Sean and Nick seemed to sense the sudden change because they both fully turned toward him. Their years in the police must have attuned them enough to swiftly pick up on any changes in another person's demeanor. He gave them a quick smile, "Sorry, I just remembered something urgent that I need to do." With that, he stood up and he saw Rosalee stand up as well, but before she could offer to take him home, Sean spoke up, "I drive past that way anyway, I could drop you off? We can continue this some other night."

Harry mentally cursed the man even as he smiled and nodded his thanks. This was turning into an extremely complicated situation as he was sure that Sean's brother's cronies would report both Nick and Sean's presence once they dropped him off. He doubted that Sean was in a habit of offering rides to any Wesen that reported in, so this would make him even more of a target.

He felt a darker side of him, the part that had become addicted to the feeling of fighting for his life, rear its ugly head, and he quickly squashed it down. It wouldn't do to go looking for trouble, not in a world that he barely knew.

They bid their goodbyes and Harry felt slightly bad as he noticed the worried frown on Rosalee's face, but he couldn't do anything about it now, he had to defend his home first.