Harry woke feeling reasonably rested. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon and the world was cast in a gentle glow. To his surprise, he spotted Wendy nestled against the tree opposite of his. Someone had draped a blanket over the small girl, which was a good call. She likely would have caught a cold without it. The weather was just starting to veer towards autumn and there was a nip to the air that there hadn't been a few weeks ago.
He watched her deep breaths for a few minutes as the last of his drowsiness slid away to wakefulness. He was honestly surprised he'd been spared from nightmares last night. After the events of the day before he'd figured they'd be back with a vengeance. Maybe talking with Lucy really had helped.
He pushed himself up quietly and stretched. He hadn't dozed off far from the campfires last night. Some of the giants were still drifting about near them. Harry watched them for long moments, mind drifting back to when he'd met Hagrid as a child. Even as a half giant Hagrid had seemed impossibly large to malnourished eleven year old. He was nowhere near as large as these people. They reminded him more of Hagrid's brother.
"Good morning."
Harry jolted just the slightest bit at the unfamiliar voice. It was the red head who'd been hanging around Kosmos yesterday. If he'd caught the gist of her situation correctly she used to live in this village and had run off and joined some guild that hadn't been on very friendly terms with Fairy Tail. She seemed perfectly comfortable around them now though. "Good morning." He shot back, offering her a quick smile. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Harry."
He held out a hand. She hesitated just a moment before offering him a quirk of her head. "Flare." She didn't take his hand. He lowered it and gave her a questioning look. "You're with Fairy Tail? I don't recognize you."
"Ah," He moved forward to take one of the seats he'd watched Erza set up for their guild members last night. It was little more than an upturned log, but it wasn't too uncomfortable so he didn't mind it. "I joined after the Grand Magic Games if that's what you're referring to." Most of Fiore would know Fairy Tail's main line up from their participation in the games.
She hummed in thought before joining him. They sat in silence for a while and Harry tried not to let his mind drift off into thoughts of the past again. Instead, he vaguely wondered if they'd be able to ride another tree back to Warrod's house to let him know they'd completed his request. It would be ideal. He really wanted to feel the wind rushing past him again. It had been yesterday's redeeming moment in his mind.
"They seem fond of you."
Harry snapped out of daydreams about sailing through the air on a giant tree limb. Flare had taken one of the seats nearest to him and pulled her legs up to cradle them. She'd leaned over her limbs in a way that seemed wholly uncomfortable to Harry and was giving him an evaluating look.
"What?" he asked, blinking. He wasn't sure what the girl meant.
"Blondie and Pinkie." The girl clarified and Harry could only assume Flare meant Kosmos when she said 'pinkie'. He had no reason why she'd be interested in Natsu's opinion of him, but he'd noticed her gravitation toward the plant mage. "They seem to really like you."
"Oh…" he gave her a confused look. "I guess."
His lack of response seemed to almost frustrate her if the little flicker of emotion in her eyes was anything to go by. Harry wasn't great at figuring out what people wanted when they didn't just say it though. He was absolute shite at picking up on social cues. Always had been.
"We're just friends." He said levelly, searching her face with confusion. There had to be a point to her bringing this up, right? There was another small flicker of emotion on the girl's face, hidden again before he could really discern what it was.
"We talked last night." Flare said and her eyes turned away from Harry to stare at her hands. "Pinkie and me."
"Kosmos." He corrected and she looked back at him, startled. "Her name is Kosmos, or at least I assume that's who you're referring to. Something tells me she wouldn't enjoy the nickname." He offered an amused smile. Kosmos was likely to mutter about how unbeautiful the name was if given the chance.
"Kosmos." Flare whispered the name and Harry was bewildered at the tone she used. It was gentle, almost adoring in nature. More surprising was the rapidly spreading blush on the girl's face. Flare glanced up at him again and he quickly schooled his features. "She's nice."
Harry nodded, mutely. Most people wouldn't describe Kosmos as 'nice', especially when they'd just met her. Most would go with aloof, or possibly abrasive if they'd given her a reason not to like them right off the bat. Kosmos was unflinching in her evaluations of the world. It rubbed most people the wrong way. Apparently not Flare though. No, Kosmos seemed to have gained an admirer in Flare.
"She talked about you." Flare continued. "I think she likes you."
Harry nodded absently, frown tugging at his lips. He wasn't blind, much as he pretended sometimes that he was. He didn't pick up on social cues well, but Kosmos also hadn't been subtle either. He knew Kosmos had followed him out of Crocus as much because of a misplaced crush as it was because she wanted to see the world. He'd hoped that his feigned ignorance and avoiding the awkward subject would erode the feelings over time.
"You don't like her back?" Flare's voice sounded caught between sadness and… was that hope?
Harry huffed a laugh and gave the girl a sidelong glance. "You clearly do." He deflected.
He didn't know the girl. He half expected spluttered denial, or a swift rejection of the idea despite the obvious truth. Instead, he had to glance over at the non-reaction. She was staring at her hands. Though the blush had deepened a shade or two, that seemed to be the only outward sign that she'd heard him. When she caught him staring she gave him a measuring look. "It's that obvious?"
He blinked. His expression softened. "A bit, but that's not a bad thing."
She scoffed.
"No, really." He said brushing aside the reaction with a laugh. "Being able to be honest with your feelings, that must be nice."
Harry felt like his were constantly hidden behind a thin veneer of polite jokes and empty gestures. He was opening up more as Fairy Tail got under his skin, but sometimes it seemed a pointless task. Every time the walls came down they stacked back up ten times thicker because he found another reason to regret having lowered them in the first place. Vulnerability wasn't something he was good at.
Harry spotted Erza up and dragging Natsu and Gray from wherever they'd been sleeping. It seemed they'd be departing soon. He knew Erza's determined marches now. Maybe he should go and wake Wendy.
"I can see why they like you."
Harry hesitated, halfway up into his standing position. He gave the girl a curious glance, but she was already moving away from him in the direction of a copse of trees. He gave a short laugh to himself. Apparently, they'd stumbled across another weird person. Fairy Tail certainly attracted its fair share of them.
Harry made the short walk back to where he'd woken and knelt beside a gently snoring Wendy. Carla was tucked up against her side. The cat was cuter when she wasn't barking orders or snide remarks. The picture of the two together like this was adorable. Harry knelt and gently shook Wendy's shoulder and then gave Carla a nudge when Wendy started to stir.
"Good morning." He greeted gently.
"Good… good morning." Wendy's statement was interrupted with a yawn. Carla just pushed herself up primly beside the girl.
"I believe we'll be leaving soon." Harry said standing back up and offering a hand to Wendy. "I figured you'd appreciate a wake-up call from me instead of Erza."
Wendy winced slightly as she took Harry's hand and pulled herself up. Erza could be a bit overzealous when waking people. Natsu and Gray had likely bickered at the early wake up call, hence their current unenviable position of being dragged through town by the girl. As much as the two pretended to despise each other they had shockingly similar temperaments. Though, perhaps with people as hot headed as they were that was half the problem.
"Oh good." Sure enough, Erza had just stumbled across them and was giving them an approving look. "I was just getting everyone ready to go. We'll be leaving in a moment. It's a long trek back to Warrod's."
"Actually…" Harry opened his mouth to offer to teleport them there if they had no other travel options but Erza was already hustling off. She left Natsu and Gray in her wake, both grumbling about the rough treatment. Happy clung to Natsu's shoulder looking scandalized, but less shaken than the other two.
Wendy yawned long and wide and gave Harry a tired look. "How long do you think it'll take to walk to Warrod's?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "The tree ride took a little while and that's way faster than we can walk."
"I can take the group there if everyone's willing." Harry offered with a shrug. "Otherwise… a day or so maybe? Maybe longer… I wasn't actually paying much attention to where we went."
Wendy nodded along looking a bit excited at the prospect of not having to hike the whole way back.
"What do you mean you can take us there?" Carla asked, eying him skeptically.
Harry belatedly realized that the cat was the only one here who hadn't been present during the trials. She hadn't been hanging around Wendy the week he'd spent training with the girl either. It was weird to see the two apart for any length of time, but Wendy had insisted on doing the training alone with Harry.
"Alright, that's everyone." Erza came back to their spot, pulling along a madly blushing Kosmos and interrupting Harry as he'd opened his mouth to explain.
"We should get moving now." Erza pointed them in the right direction.
"I could take everyone to Warrod's if you'd like." Harry offered before she could give the command to start their hike. Erza faltered for a second and seemed to consider Harry with a small frown. After a moment she gave him a resolute nod.
"If you're certain you can handle transporting all of us then I will leave it in your capable hands." She relented, looking more than a little curious.
Harry quickly divided them into two groups. Side along apparation was safest with no more than two passengers along for the ride, but the cats were barely larger than a watermelon and a third person was unlikely to overwhelm him when his magic was as strong as it was now.
"Alright, everyone follow Wendy's lead." Harry said pointing out the small dragon slayer who looped an arm through Harry's. Kosmos quickly took his other arm. Carla floated up to latch onto his shoulder. Gray stared at him. Harry sighed and gave Gray an unimpressed look. "The sooner you hang on the sooner it's over. It takes like two seconds." He assured the ice wizard who looked uncomfortable.
Kosmos sighed and took Gray's hand bringing him in close. She intertwined Gray's fingers and Harry's with a very obvious look of irritation. She gestured in a 'problem solved' manner and raised a brow at Harry.
He snickered. "Hold on tight." He warned and then he twisted in place and with a pop their little group disappeared from the forest and landed on a mostly empty hill top beside Warrod's home.
As soon as they landed arms disengaged from around him and both Gray and Kosmos were heaving to the side. Kosmos lost the fight to hold down whatever food had been in her stomach after a valiant fight and the action seemed to set off Gray next to her.
Wendy looked a little dizzy, but after having practiced the spell with him so many times the effects were slowly starting to settle for her. Carla's paws released his shirt and he barely had the chance to whirl around and catch the cat before she face planted into the dirt.
"That…" Carla had her eyes clenched tight like the world was spinning around her. "That was horrible."
"Seconded." Kosmos said weakly from off to the side.
Harry handed the cat off to Wendy who just seemed amused by everyone's reactions.
"Hold down the fort for a second?" he asked with a smile he felt more deeply than he had yesterday evening. Wendy nodded easily and Harry twisted again to land back in the forest clearing he'd departed less than two minutes ago.
"Everyone ready?" he asked the last four and they stepped forward almost eagerly. He didn't have the heart to tell them it was unlikely to be a pleasant trip.
His second apparation to the field outside Warrod's ended very similar to the first. Lucy and Natsu were fighting not to vomit. Happy joined them off to the side. Erza looked like she'd eaten something that didn't agree with her stomach, but other than going a bit pale and queasy looking she was fine. She stood tall and watched their guildmates fighting to control their stomachs.
Kosmos and Gray were finally starting to settle from their trip. Both were seated on the grass a fair distance from their lost meals.
"That is so much worse than I thought it would be." Lucy whined.
"How did you find something worse than a train?" Natsu looked barely conscious where he'd landed on the grass.
"It was faster than a train though." Wendy countered and if Natsu were more conscious the joke might've landed. Harry gave her an amused smile to let her know the quip hadn't been entirely lost.
"We are NOT travelling back to Magnolia like that." Kosmos said with a glare that wavered weakly.
Harry shrugged unoffended. "Suit yourself."
"Back already?" The plant mage must have heard the commotion come from his lawn and wandered out to see what was happening. He seemed more than a little surprised to find the group in varying states of distress outside his house just over a day after he'd sent them on their way. "The village?"
"Unfrozen." Harry supplied for his still recovering guildmates.
"Fascinating." The old man's eye twinkled and Harry was distinctly reminded of Dumbledore for a moment. "Do come inside if you're all done… vomiting on my lawn."
The ones who'd been sick looked mildly guilty. Harry, the cause of the vomiting spree, stared at the tree-man completely unabashed and followed him into his home. Wendy was right at his side carrying Carla.
"Your group did a marvelous job." The man was saying as they entered. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I sensed the bond of Fairy Tail strong within all of you. It's wonderful to see such strong new recruits to the guild."
Harry blinked as the rest of the group shifted in behind them.
"What do you mean?" Erza asked.
"Ah, I suppose Makarov didn't tell you then." The odd man shifted his forearm out from behind the cloth hiding it to reveal a Fairy Tail guild mark. "I'm one of the founding members of Fairy Tail."
There were surprised noises from Harry's guild mates. Harry was just curious why the old man had met his eye and was now holding his gaze. There wasn't necessarily a challenge there, but the look was more than just mild curiosity.
"That means he's even older than gramps!" Natsu pointed out quite literally. His finger jabbed in Warrod's direction. Erza immediately swatted down his pointing finger.
"Be polite Natsu!" she barked in response.
"There's a hot spring nearby I thought the lot of you could use now that the job is complete." Warrod broke eye contact to glance around his friends. "If you follow the path out behind the house it'll lead you straight there. I'll prepare the reward money."
His guild mates talked excitedly about the prospect of taking a dip in the hot spring, but Harry assumed that meant bathing and he didn't much want a repeat of his ordeal at Blue Pegasus so he was already mentally opting out of that experience. The girls were shuffling outside talking about setting up camp for the day so they could spend a whole day relaxing after the job, but to Harry's surprise Natsu and Gray hung behind.
"Hey old man, if you're part of Fairy Tail do you know anything about END?" Natsu asked without preamble.
"END?" Warrod repeated, clearly confused.
"Yeah, it's some demon of Zeref's. Apparently, my old man Igneel tried to destroy it, but he couldn't."
Warrod hummed thoughtfully.
"I just thought if I could figure out what that thing was maybe I could get a hint on how to find Igneel."
Natsu's statement trailed off sounding just a bit downtrodden.
"I can't say that I know anything about a specific demon." Warrod shook his head, Natsu deflated further. "But if it involves a demon Tartaros will probably have something to do with it."
"Tartaros?" Natsu repeated, bouncing back immediately to looking pepped up.
"The head guild of the Balam alliance of dark guilds." Warrod nodded, uncharacteristically serious sounding. "They're quite the nasty bunch and if rumors are to be believed they're headed by a demon themselves."
"A demon?!" Natsu looked almost enthusiastic about the idea, but Harry could just read the hard edge in the expression as well.
"It's possible they might be the group you're looking for if it's Zeref's demons you're trying to locate."
Natsu nodded enthusiastically. Warrod set a bag of money down in front of the overenthusiastic dragon slayer.
"Now, why don't you go join your friends down at the hot spring?" Warrod smiled.
Natsu cheered and was out the door before Warrod had even finished the sentence fully. Gray moved to follow, but hesitated when Harry didn't. Gray raised an eyebrow curiously. "You coming?"
"Ah… um, no. I'm fine. Thanks." Harry waved off the question with a smile. "You guys enjoy. Not really my thing."
That earned him a dubious look, but Gray shrugged and moved on his way without any more input. Harry was certain most of his guildmates would have pushed for a more thorough explanation. He was happy it was Gray that had lingered.
"You don't enjoy hot springs?" Warrod asked, sounding amused. Harry sincerely hoped he wasn't about to start breaking out his terrible attempts at jokes again.
"I don't… really enjoy bathing with other people." He admitted, not meeting the tree-man's eyes. This elicited a breathy laugh anyway and Warrod motioned for him to join him at the small table tucked off into a nook of the room.
"You don't have an aversion to tea too I assume." Warrod said, fetching a kettle.
"Not particularly." Harry admitted, watching as Warrod set up two cups and fetched whatever blend he'd deigned appropriate. "I was curious about your reaction when we were talking the other day."
"Hmm?"
"You looked like you'd seen a ghost when you spotted me."
"Ah…" Warrod's tone was almost apologetic in nature. "My magic has brought me closer to the natural flow of the world, and it makes it more obvious when something is outside of the normal rhythm."
Harry accepted a cup of tea and Warrod joined him at the table.
"For a moment the feel around you paired with your appearance had me seeing a face from the past."
"Hmm…" Harry hummed and took a sip absentmindedly from his cup. He tried not to recoil visibly as the taste of green tea flood his senses. He swallowed thickly and tried not to let his distaste show. "You said you were one of the founding members of Fairy Tail. You know Mavis then?"
Warrod looked temporarily surprised, but he offered up a smile after a moment. "I know her well."
Harry nodded along, setting his tea in front of him and trying to decide if he should finish it to be polite. He'd rather not, but he didn't want to appear rude.
"I assume she might have had a similar reaction if she did not know Zeref much better than I ever did."
Harry gave the man a considering look. "Zeref?" Harry assumed that was the person Warrod had mistaken him for momentarily. "Like the one Natsu was talking about with the demons?"
"Unfortunately so." Warrod nodded. "He and Mavis shared a bond for a time, but he has long since proven that her faith was misplaced."
Harry hummed and took another drink of the tea. He decided it was rude to leave it. Warrod had made it for him after all. Kosmos would tell him green tea was good for him anyway. That had been her usual argument when he'd been unwilling to drink her brews. "I would say it's surprising that Fairy Tail was that closely acquainted with someone so dangerous, but… well I've met them." He sighed. "And anyone who thinks danger is something they're capable of keeping at arm's length hasn't been paying much attention."
Warrod burst into laughter and offered Harry a genuine smile once he was done. "I take it you're speaking from experience?"
"More than I wish I was." Harry nodded, downing the last of the tea and resting the cup on the table.
Warrod hummed, amused and thoughtful. "Makarov had sent me notice of a new member they'd taken under their wing."
Harry glanced up, curious.
"He said they would either be a strong ally or a terrifying adversary." Warrod looked seriously at Harry and Harry felt his back tense minutely. "It's nice to see my old guild gain another competent member."
The tension leaked from Harry's frame. The comments by Hibiki at Blue Pegasus still rankled under his skin.
"You just made S class, yes?"
"I did." He affirmed.
"Good." The humor had gone from Warrod's voice, replaced with a dead serious tone that Harry hadn't thought the man even possible of. "If Tartaros comes into play Fairy Tail will need all the help they can get."
"Is it that powerful?" he asked, a little surprised. "I haven't heard anything about it before now. I would think that a guild that powerful would have more of a presence."
Warrod nodded. "Their sister guilds in the alliance had a more active presence in the world, but make no mistake, they are far more powerful. They're said to be led by a demon, but there are also reports that the entirety of the guild is demons."
Harry gave him a bewildered look.
"Or are they?" Warrod burst into laughter.
Harry's face fell into irritation. He wanted to ask what the man meant by 'demon'. Did they mean they were dark magic users? Were they monsters of some sort? They had to at least have sapience to form a guild. Were they human or something else entirely?
"I think I'll join the rest of the guild in the baths. Are you sure you wouldn't rather join?"
"Positive." He replied a bit more curtly than he'd intended. The man didn't seem to mind though. He just pushed his way through the front door and left Harry sitting at the small table.
Waiting turned out to be a fairly short ordeal for Harry. Before long Wendy showed up explaining that they had assumed that the baths were separate for the genders and instead found out that they were mixed. She seemed as uncomfortable with that idea as Harry was with the idea of bathing with other people at all.
She'd barely kept herself in when they noticed Gray and Natsu join them, but once Warrod showed up she'd beat a hasty retreat. So, they sat around and joked about banal topics. He was thankful that she didn't push about his caginess with the hot spring situation. She seemed like she wanted to talk to him about some topic or another, but she didn't openly say whatever was on her mind and Harry just assumed that was because whatever idea she had wasn't fully formed yet. He was sure she'd ask whatever it was she wanted to ask once she'd figured out how to say it.
Before too terribly long the others started to drift back to the small house looking varying degrees of relaxed. Natsu was sporting a few new bruises which was a curious outcome of bathing, but all in all everyone looked ready to hit the road.
Erza had joked about making camp for the night, but apparently with their beds just a train ride away they all agreed it would be preferable to sleep at home that night. So, they booked it over to the train station and headed back to Magnolia.
Harry made his way into the guild at a sedate pace, face buried in a book. It was still early and the streets of Magnolia were usually fairly empty at this hour. He'd had a fitful night of sleep, but he found the nightmares ebbing slowly back to their pre-kidnap intensity now that he was talking things out instead of bottling it up. Luna had always told him he tried to carry too much on his own shoulders. He supposed that he had a strange knack of continuing to prove her right even in the afterlife.
"Good morning."
Harry barely startled at the sudden voice and gave himself a mental pat on the back for the restraint. Mavis stood near his side. She'd made no sound to arrive there, but Harry supposed that did make sense. Makarov had explained that this wasn't Mavis' actual body but rather something he'd called a thought projection. Basically, it boiled down to Mavis having incorporeal form. She was capable of traveling where she wanted to, but apparently only visible to those who bore the Fairy Tail mark.
"Good morning." He returned the greeting and shuffled the book he'd borrowed under one arm after marking his place.
Mavis gave him a friendly smile. "You're going to wander into a canal and ruin Lucy's book. She won't be happy with you."
Harry glanced down. He was startlingly close to the edge of the canal. That was a point for Mavis, he supposed. "Did you just come to warn me?" he asked, amused. He was reasonably certain he'd be able to dry the book out if that ever happened, but maybe he shouldn't test the theory with Lucy's property.
"No, actually." The tiniest of frowns tugged at Mavis' lips. "I was hoping we could talk."
"Sure, shoot."
Mavis looked amused. "Maybe somewhere that the townspeople won't think you've started talking to the air." She suggested and Harry blinked at the oversight. The streets were mostly empty, but there was still the occasional passerby and Harry didn't particularly want to garner a reputation as someone who walked around talking to no one.
"Fair." He nodded, following as she guided him away from the guild. "I'm pretty sure if word got back to Natsu and Happy they'd assume I was talking to ghosts. They seem to think I see them everywhere." Of course, after a while he'd stopped correcting them. It was more amusing than harmful that the blue cat seemed terrified of him because of it. He'd even pointed out that Wendy was more of a spirit medium than he was but Happy had been insistent that Harry was the one with frightening spirit powers. Harry assumed it had more to do with his eyes and general 'otherness', but the fact that Wendy was a chipper young girl probably dispelled any sort of mysterious threatening aura for the cat too. Wendy was a lot of things, but intimidating certainly wasn't one of them.
"This will do."
Mavis had led him to a more secluded field on the outskirts of Magnolia. She plopped onto the ground like walking had been exhausting. He wondered if it was. He had no experience with thought projection. Maybe moving the astral form took massive amounts of energy. He'd have to ask her about it someday. Right now she seemed like she had a purpose for seeking him out. He'd let the conversation be steered however it was she needed it to go.
"So, what can I do for you today, Mavis?" He asked with a smile.
"Nothing particularly." She pushed herself back up into a sitting position and eyed him speculatively. "I just wanted to talk."
"Okay." Harry had never seen Mavis single out anyone in the guild except perhaps Makarov. She wasn't always around. Apparently sometimes she just decided to stop projecting herself. Other times she said she was just off exploring, whatever that meant. Today, for the first time, she seemed a little uncertain.
"You were wandering for a while before you joined Fairy Tail." Mavis started and Harry offered a nod even though it felt more like a statement than a question. "Did you ever hear of something called the 'One Magic'?"
"The One Magic?" he repeated the phrase with a frown. "Can't say I did. I didn't get the chance to visit many places that could be considered 'scholarly' though."
He summoned a chair and plopped into it. If it was going to be a drawn out conversation he'd rather have it sitting, and somehow the vague start didn't scream 'short' to him.
"It's known by several names: the Magic of One, Primordial Magic, and the essence of magic." She continued, giving him a meaningful look that was lost on him. It was almost like she expected him to have heard of it somehow. "When I was younger, I searched for its meaning and the source of it."
He gave her a confused nod, not following.
"It was said to be the original source of magic in our world from which all others stemmed."
"Oh…" that sentence made it click in his brain. He'd often wondered about how restrictive the magic of the world felt now. He'd made comments to himself and others about how before his time in the clock magic had been versatile and multifaceted. People often commented on how different his magic was to theirs as well these days, but Harry's magic wasn't too different from what wizards had been capable of in the past. It was stronger, certainly, but at its basic level it was the same. The magic used back in his youth was sort of all encompassing. Anyone could learn anything with enough effort and talent. Now people seemed limited to an element or specialty.
She smiled as she realized he'd caught on to her implied meaning. "I searched for a long time to understand the One Magic with… someone else." She paused, eyes shifting to the side almost sadly. "His name is Zeref."
"Ah." Harry couldn't help the little noise of surprise that slipped out. When she glanced up he offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, the name keeps coming up lately."
She nodded. "We were ultimately unsuccessful in finding solid answers." She paused for a heartbeat, look up. Harry traced her line of sight to one of the auroras that laced the sky now. "But I know that the One Magic is something that those who seek power in this world will never truly stop desiring. I fear that Zeref will covet it once more when he learns there are new answers to be had."
Harry felt his eyebrows pinch slightly. "I see…" Harry didn't know what answers he'd be able to give. He might have come from a time when magic was more complex, but he certainly hadn't written its rules.
"Your magic is fascinating." She said, eyes alight.
Harry was thrown for a second at the abrupt tone change while he'd been thinking. He blinked rapidly. "Umm… thank you?"
She smiled, warm and gentle. "I had my suspicions about the One Magic." She said, eyes meeting his and he was surprised to see so much fondness there. She looked like she was staring at someone she knew intimately. Harry shifted uncertainly. "Makarov thought that the One Magic split to form the many different branches of magic we have now. Zeref… Zeref believes that at its source the One Magic was fueled by the hate, fear, and greed of humanity."
Harry felt his nose wrinkle in distaste. Every time he learned something new about this Zeref guy the less he liked him. Thinking magic was fueled by hate and fear was something it felt like Voldemort would have espoused back in his day. So, needless to say, it was complete bullshit.
"I always believed that in its purest form the One Magic was love." She was beaming at him and Harry felt his face heat a bit in embarrassment at the look. "And now that I've met you, I know I was right."
It took him a moment to realize what she was implying and then he sort of stared, befuddled. Harry wasn't sure he was what she claimed he was, but it didn't feel necessarily wrong. He'd been at the heart of the device that had fueled the reintroduction of magic in this world. On some level he was the progenitor of magic in this world now, as strange as the concept felt to acknowledge in his own mind. He wasn't just Harry now. He wasn't even sure he could claim to be human at all after initiating the protocol that stopped his heart and fused him with the ether. He sort of was magic.
"Your love for this world created the magic we use." She said, succinct and simple.
Harry was certain his face was one fire. If it wasn't then it certainly would be any second. It was too hot not to combust. How did someone say such embarrassing things with so much sincerity?
"There's something I think you should know about."
Harry was finally able to focus on her instead of his feet when she shifted the conversation to a less personal note. She pulled him out of his seat, much to his confusion. How had she touched him… and how had she known with such certainty it would work? She hadn't hesitated a single moment. Before he could ask any of his very reasonable questions she hustled him down the streets until they were at the guild. Makarov was sitting on the bar having a conversation with Mira, but he cut off as the barmaid greeted them.
The guild master heaved a sigh and waved for them to follow him to his office when they approached. Mira gave Harry a curious look, but he just offered a noncommittal shrug. He wasn't sure what this was about either. It didn't feel bad though, just odd.
He followed the pair into Makarov's office and Makarov shut the door with an immense sigh.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Makarov started immediately to Harry's confusion. Well, if the old man assumed something had gone wrong that certainly explained the put-upon expression and reluctant slinking to his office.
"Ummm… nothing?" Harry replied when Mavis didn't immediately offer up an answer. She seemed to be sizing Makarov up.
"He needs to see Fairy Heart." She said a long moment after Harry's non-explanation.
That seemed to be about the last thing Makarov had expected to hear. He balked. The old man very visibly recoiled from the mere thought and Harry was unsure why or what that meant. After a second Makarov seemed to bring himself back under control and he gave Mavis a long-suffering look.
"Typically, we'd only show someone who was intended to be the next guild master." Makarov said and the reaction made at least a bit more sense. He met Harry's eyes, serious but not accusing. "Why do you want to see it?"
"I…" Harry's eyes went wide and he waved in a dismissing way.
"I want him to see it." Mavis corrected.
Makarov turned his stare on her instead, but his expression relaxed a hair. "I can't really say no if you insist, can I? But why?"
She smiled. "It'll be easier to explain down there." She said gesturing.
Harry met Makarov's eyes and the old man gave him an evaluating look before nodding. They slipped out of the office, but instead of heading back toward the main area they drifted to another staircase hidden from plain sight. They descended a spiral, stone staircase into a basement of sorts. A soft glow lit the room even from around the corner, and when Harry entered the room proper he saw what provided the light.
Encased in a lacrima roughly twice as tall as Harry was Mavis' body. The light emanated from the stone surrounding her body in soft pulses.
"This is Lumen Histoire, otherwise known as Fairy Heart." Mavis traipsed forward and stopped just shy of the lacrima.
Harry blinked slowly. After a beat he turned disbelieving eyes on Makarov. "And you had issues with me being part of the clock?" he asked, only half joking. "Why…?"
Mavis seemed to sense he was directing the last question her way. "I was given a curse of immortality." She explained. "Zeref's own curse cancelled it out, but it never fully killed me. He encased me in lacrima and brought me to the guild hoping they would have an answer to bring me back."
"Zeref? Demon creator, thinks magic is fueled by hate Zeref?" Harry asked confused.
Mavis nodded solemnly. "We shared the same curse. We came to love one another."
"Precht, the second guild master tried for years to find a way to bring Mavis back, but he was ultimately unsuccessful." Makarov offered. "But Fairy Heart continued to gain magical power. It is Fairy Tail's greatest secret and ultimate weapon."
"It's Fairy Tail's light." Mavis amended. "Our truest symbol of hope and love."
Harry took a deep breath, and reached out to touch the stone gently. It felt alive beneath his fingers. "People shouldn't be seen as weapons." Harry disagreed with Makarov, but his voice was quiet. "Love, hmm…"
He couldn't disagree with the assessment from Mavis. The power trapped in the lacrima was kind and gentle, like a sun shower. There was an immense amount of magic trapped in there. Even if it paled in comparison to the sea of magic flowing through his own core it had the potential to cause great destruction, or save hundreds of lives.
"When I was a baby my mother sacrificed herself to save my life from an assassination attempt." He said, and he could tell he took the two off guard with the words when he flicked his eyes their way. "Her murderer attempted to kill me once she was dead, but his spell backfired. My mentor told me when I was older that her love was what kept me safe. Love is an ancient magic, older than even my people were capable of explaining." He met Mavis' eyes and gave her a gentle, slightly sad smile. "I believe love has always been the source of magic."
I feel like I've gone incredibly sappy in this story. It's weird.
Well, last safe haven until chapter 56. Enjoy the angst and constant tension. lol
~Kanathia