Three months later…
"Now THAT'S what I call a grand opening!" yelled out Reiki.
"I think you mean after-party…" mumbled Harry.
They were walking a scenic route back to their flat on the outskirts of London, coming back from the grand opening of Harry's weapon shop, conveniently called The Sharp Edge.
"Harry, I'm sorry to say this, but I think you should change the catch phrase of your shop," said Stacy as the flat was now in site.
"Hey! I happen to LIKE my catch phrase thank you very much."
"I agree with her Harry, 'If it has an edge, we sell it' sounds a bit too corny for my taste," stated Reiki.
"You just say that because she gave you he-"
"I WAS DRUNK! DON'T BLAME ME FOR HIS MENTALITY!" yelled Stacy, shuddering at the fragments of the memories that she retained from that little episode.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, at least now you know that you're good at it…"
"…"
"…"
*WHAM!*
*WHAM!*
"Ouch…"
"SERVES YOU RIGHT!" yelled Stacy.
"Enforcer indeed…" mumbled Reiki, a slight blush present on his cheeks.
"Sorry, but you didn't have to hit me that bloody hard," complained Harry. "It was only a joke."
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
"You should be," he said as they finally made it to their unplotable home.
As they entered the living room of the hut, which resembled the Gryffindor common room in emerald green and night black colors, complete with matching furniture (2 big couches and 4 love seats), Reiki brought up the news.
"So are you going to show us?" he asked Harry.
"Show what?" he asked back.
"The new tattoo of yours," replied Reiki.
"You got a new tattoo?" asked Stacy in surprise.
Harry looked at them for a moment, considering whether to show them or not, then took of his trench coat and shirt.
On his left arm was the tattoo that they all had, an upside down pentagram in blood red ink, the symbol of the Fallen. However, they found not just one, but two new tattoos on his body. The first on pretty much covered the center of his back: a cross with runes all around the edge of it, the name 'POTTER' running across the center of it, the two t's in the name looking like upside down crosses themselves. On his right arm, almost on the shoulder, was a large paw-print.
"Wow…" mumbled Stacy, looking at them in aw.
"Why the paw-print though?" asked Reiki. "I see nothing cool in that."
Harry's eye twitched and he resisted the sudden urge to riddle him full of holes with his Enforcers, which he kept upstairs. "Personal reasons… VERY personal reasons…"
He put on his shirt and trench coat again. "I need some time on my own. I think I'll take a walk," he said, and left before they had the chance to complain. he said, and left before they had the chance to complain.
As the months passed by, Chikujin and Bombshell started to notice that Enforcer tended to go out almost every night. Every time he gave the same answer: "Meeting some old contacts of mine."
They didn't know what he meant by that, but by the way he said it, it didn't sound good. Either he didn't like them, or he was putting up some kind of show to throw them off. So six months passed and before they knew it, is was the end of July.
It was 1 in the morning, and for some reason, Stacy couldn't go to sleep. She tossed and turned in her king size water bed and finally gave up, opting instead to have a drink.
She got up and put on a night gown, tied her hair back in a loose ponytail` and made her way down to their indoor mini-bar. When she was nearing it, however, she started to hear something. As she got closer, she recognized it as soft rock music playing on low volume.
'That's strange…' she thought. 'Which of the idiots is up at this late… probably Enforcer again…'
She turned out to be right. There was Harry, taking shots of… some sort of whiskey. It was smoking and by the looks of it, she took a wild guess.
"I thought 'no magical items' also meant fire whiskey," she said, sitting down.
"Yeah, well, I need this… now more than ever…"
She took a good look at him, and saw that something was troubling him. Something important by the look on his face.
"Hey," she said, reaching out and giving him a comfortable squeeze on his shoulder. "What's up with you? You're never like this."
Harry sighed, as if he had a flesh wound somewhere sensitive that wasn't healing right. "My birthday's tomorrow."
"Ah," she said, understanding his problem. "I see where this is going. It'll be your first birthday on the outside."
"Yeah." He gulped down another shot of the fire whiskey and refilled his shot glass. "I can still remember getting not even a birthday card from my… my 'family' those first few years of my life… then I had to relive it in Alkatraz, not getting so much as a clothes hanger from my so called 'friends'… I guess… I guess I'm worried."
"Worried about what?" Stacy asked in a quiet voice.
"I guess… I guess I'm worried about what will happen…"
Stacy smile at him. She understood where he was coming from, what with her past and everything (See the info corner…).
"Harry, whatever happens tomorrow, or I should say, today, well, just remember that Chikujin and I are here for you. You don't have to spend your birthday alone you know."
Harry grinned in appreciation. "Thanks Bombshell. That's good to hear. At least it reminds me that there are still some people in this world that care enough to remind me of that."
They sat there in a comfortable silence, drinking Odgens Best and keeping each other company.
The morning light hit him through the window and he instantly regretted drinking so much. He got off the counter to pick up his pants… wait…
'Hold it… my pants are on the pool table… my shirt is on the counter… Bombshell's wearing my coat… my shoes – BOMBSHELL!?'
He panicked as he saw that Stacy was asleep on the floor, also missing several articles of clothing.
'What the hell…' Then it hit him. The drinking game that they had that night, the dares, the… the naughtiness…
'Oh shit,' thought Harry. 'Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.'
"… I need a drink… owww…" for it was then that the pain of the hangover started to kick in. He quickly and quietly made his way to the medicine cabinet over at the back of the room just as Stacy started to stir.
"…Owww… damn headache…" she mumbled, sitting up and looking around, taking in the scene and letting the events from the prior night sink in.
She started to dress and took a glance to the back of the room where Harry was swallowing three Advil's. He glanced in her direction, noticed that she looked like hell, and tossed her the bottle.
"Thanks…" she mumbled, taking and swallowing two of them herself before sealing the bottle and tossing it back to be put away.
When they were fully clothed, they made their way to the dining hall, where Reiki was drinking coffee while reading the Daily Prophet.
"No new news on old Voldie," he said as he looked up. "Damn, you two look like shit. Rough night?"
"Yeah," said Stacy.
"You could say that," finished Harry.
Reiki cocked an eyebrow at them and grinned. "So does this mean you two are an item again, or are you just friends with benefits?"
The pair looked at each other for a moment, before jumping the dining table and beat the hell out of him and poured his coffee down his pants.
By the end of the day, Harry had decided that never in all his years has he ever had a better birthday than today. Stacy had been right, and he had not received a single owl from those of his past. He spent some time at the Sharp Edge, organizing the newly purchased weapons, polishing them, and putting them up, then he and the team went on a night on the town. They went to a newly opened club, called the Silver Coin, which was surprisingly enough only a block away from the Leaky Cauldron, and clubbed until nearly three in the morning. What he didn't know, was that there was a certain person looking at him the whole night. Someone with a wooden leg, and a bowler hat covering a magical eye…
To Be Continued…
Authors Notes: From now on, all end of chapter authors notes will be posted in the info corner. Make sure to check them, as they might (and probably will…) hold some important information and/or announcements. I will also begin, starting either on chapter 5 or 6, start adding more characters to the OC list, so look for those in case you get confused on who is who and who does what. Well, that's that for now. Review, check the info corner for more notes, and until next time, I'll be watching you...