Hey everyone sorry for the long delay, I feel ashamed. So very, very ashamed of myself. I made this next chapter especially for you guys. Thank you for your cooperation and saintly patience.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor do I own Akagami no Shirayukihime. If I did then the series/movies would have probably tanked.
Chapter 4:
Palaces and knowledge
Its been a few months since they have moved from Tanbuarun and into Clarines and that span of time the two siblings have been busy. Shirayuki having signed up to take the test for the Palace Pharmacist position is already packing to head to the palace. Hari, for the moment, was silent as he observed his sister. Unlike others, who would only notice her smile and overall cheerful disposition, he saw everything. The slight tightness around her lips to show that the smile is somewhat forced, the barely noticeable uncertainty in her eyes, and the almost invisble tremors that show her overal anxiety. Slowly getting up from his butterfly position on their shared bed, he quietly walks up to his sister before wrapping his arms around her waist in a hug. Freezing in position for a moment Shirayuki blinks and for all a second was confused before her face lights up in understanding and hugs him back, both taking in the warmth and comfort of the other. After a few seconds they finally release each other before continuing with the packing, Hari helping to pack this time and Shirayuki with a sunny smile on her face.
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"Are we there yet?" was a question Shirayuki really wished her little brother would stop asking. It has only been a few minutes since he last asked "No Hari we are not there yet"irritation coloring her voice. They were only halfway to the palace and already she was getting tired, mostly because of all the many stalls they passed and she had to drag her brother away from many of them. She loved her brother to pieces, even if he was adopted, but sometimes it was almost impossible to control him when he gets in a mood. Sadly enough, this is one of those time.
The Mood is reference to his mischievous acts. Back in Tanbarun it was generally known as the "Hour of Terror". It has come more times then people like to admit. When Hari was younger and before he found his hobbies, he was know as the villages one child terror for his ability to cause untold amounts of chaos and not be caught, even if everyone knew it was him. Its why, when it was found he had a love for animals and inventing, everyone in the village pitched in to help him learn and even gather some of the supplies he needed. Don't get her wrong, Hari is by nature good hearted and undeniably cute, but it was sometimes hard to decide weather he was an angel or the devils incarnate. Now he only really went back to those ways unless he was bored. "Are we there yet" and evidently he was bored. Giving a tired sigh Shirayuki looks at her brother. His face was set in a blank look he only gets when he was either bored or trying to hide something. "Are we there yet" twitching slightly she looks forward missing Hari glancing at her from the corner of his eye. Said eyes twinkling with amusement at the disgruntled look his sister was now sporting.
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Finally reaching the palace gates the siblings were met with two guards. Both guards turn to the sibling duo before smiling and bowing. The blond guard steps forward enthusiastically "Shirayuki and little Hari great to see you on this fine morning!" He shouts Smile so blinding it looked as if the sun was reflecting off them, and Hari stepping forward replies just as enthusiastically " Today was great, we saw so many street carts on the way here and-" "Kai, we are supposed to be guarding the gates not gossiping" the dark haired guard said before grabbing the back of Kai's uniform and drag him back to his place. Shirayuki seeing this reaches into her bag
to get Hari and her's identity cards, as Kai starts whining " Your no fun Shiira" before settling back into position. Handing her brother his card she goes to show Shirra hers and Hari running to show Kai his.
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Today Hari was going on an adventure with his sister. They had to travel with other passengers on a ship to a remote island to gather herbs. "Yukiiii, we're going to ride a boat, a boat Yuki." Hari states, both in excitement and with a bit of trepidation. Shirayuki understood. Zen, Mitsuhide and Kiki seemed to have caught on too and were confused about it so she had to explain "Hari and I are not actually blood related" to the surprise of the three "when I was young, I think around 9 years old, our village found a wrecked ship on the beach. We had all went to investigate to see if we could find some clues but what we found is not something we expected..." Shirayuki paused for a second to look at Hari who was already occupying himself with one of the books on Zens office shelf, but still she could tell he was listening by the fact that his eyes kept flickering to her. Sighing, she continued " There had looked to be scorch marks on the wood and holes, lots of them. It was all over the ship. But that wasn't what made the scene so horrible. We-" she paused again eyes flickering to Hari who had stopped pretending to read. Zen and the others looked at him too before looking back at herthe beginnings of understanding loghting in their eyes, and just before Zen could signal Mitsuhide to send Hari out room, Shirayuki shook her head "He's going to find out eventually" she said before jesturing for Hari to come closer and when he did, she dragged him into her arms. Taking a deap breath she conitnued again "We found bodies"she said Hari Jerked to face her quickly 'I guess he must of thought that he was just abandoned or something' Shirayki thought. " From what was determined, it looked like they were defending rather than being the attackers. We found two men who looked like Hari but who we later assumed were his uncles." Feeling the tenseness in Hari's shoulders really broke her heart, but she soldiers on " We found out their names to be Sirius Black and Remus Lupin" the sudden twitch from the three before the siblings sparked a suspision in Shirayuki. "There was a man we found later who Hari looks exactly like and who could only be his father, laying in front of an open door" by this point Hari was practically buried in his sisters arms " I remember being the first to run into the room even as others called for me to stop and get off the ship. I heard a noise in that room, but I wasn't ready for what I found." Arms squeezing Hari as if letting go would make him dissapear "I found a woman with long red hair laying on the ground and seemed to be holding the source of the noise. The people that followed me in hurried to move her and what we found was a miracle in the making" looking up now Hari's eyes meets Shirayuki's and seemed to get bigger.Mitsuhide seems to be stuggling not to cry and Kiki's face seemed to carved out of stone, but Zen. Zen was looking both upset and intreigued which again caught her attention." We found Hari crying in his mothers arms, He was dirty and obviously hungry, but was so very much alive" she started to pet Hari's hair " the doctors said he was sick, having been stuck at at on a ship and without food while being crushed under his mothers dead weight should have killed him, but it seemed that just like the rest of his family he was a fighter." finally done she relaxed, still not letting her brother go. Looking at her again Hari asks" You never said my parents names" surprise flickered on her face for a second 'He's right. I didn't' but before she could answer someone else did for her "James and Lily Potter". Both siblings heads snapped so fast to Zen it made him wonder how they didn't break them. "How did you know?" Shirayuki asked. Zen looks at them for a second before focusing on Hari, who started to shift uncomfortably. "I know because they are known as the Missing Lords and Lady". Silence, complete silence penetrated the room before being broken by Mitsuhide. "Mind filling in the clueless please". Zen sighs before sitting back " Exacly 7 years ago Lord Sirius Black,Lord Remus Lupin, Lord James and Lady Lily Potter along with their heir and only child Heir Hadrian Potter had gone sailing and never came back. They were only to be gone for a week as it was as the Lords said their idea of family bonding time without the work load getting in the way. All three Lords were actually brother, triplets but looked different from each other which is what determined which family name they were to take. What's more their family was our royal mages-" "Woah mages, as in magic" Mitsuhide interrupts even as Kiki glares at him for interrupting. Shirayuki looked in awe of the idea while Hari was looking at his hands like he had just seen them for the first time. "I thought magic died out after the Religious war two centuries back" Mitsuhide shouted. Zen took it with stride though and continued "Most Mages died out yes but there where a few that survived. During the Religious war the three Families Lupin, Black, and Potter families were gathering all the known and unknown magics and creatures to hide them. They made sure to spread the news of magics demise so as not to prolong the war. As for why the war began I shall explain in one word Greed.During that time magic was every where and people without magic started expecting those who had it to either do as they say or hand it over. It got so bad people just started fighting over nothing. Mages were already a small population, so you can see how they were able to be overcome." taking a breath Zen continued " The Potter, Black, and Lupin Families are still the last strongholds of magic, that all three adults are dead means that little Hari here has a lot to catch up on before he can inherit his families titles."
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Both siblings were walking down the docks in complete silence. Neither not knowing what to say to the other. Having left the palace to get to their boat on time, the once cheerful boy now as silent as a mouse. Peeking at her brother she turned quickly to him to embrace after noticing his quietly shaking shoulders and very soft crying. "Hari its going to be ok, everything will be ok-""but its not fair though" Hari interrupted "why did they have to go" by now he's clinging to Shirayuki, so will practiced ease she lifts him up and carries him to continue on their way to their boat "not everything's fair in life Hari, i can't tell you the amount of times how much i wished it would be, but think of this, they obviously loved you enough to protect you from whatever it was that done them in.So can they imagine how much more love they have for you now and even though we may not see it they are still watching and protecting you." His crying had stopped a bit ago, his head leaning on her shoulder as he listened to her before nodding in acceptance to her statement. Still though he didn't want to let go of his sister and she had no problem carrying him onto the ship letting the waves slowly rock him to sleep.