Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and can't get money for this, but I can make him into a Mafia Prince.
Warning: Some chapters (the ones including pranks) might not be appropriate to read at work. Laughter may ensue leading your co-workers to see you as even more insane than they previously thought.
Chapter 5: Dealing with Fear and Pranks
Not but two minutes later Manuel happened upon the sight of a few of his men standing near the prone body of his son while another tried to revive the freezing boy, Azrael lying protectively at the boys side as if knowing Harry needed all the warmth he could get. Manuel fell to his knees at Harry's side as the stallion rose and moved slightly away. A slight knot was beginning to show on the forehead of his sons' pale face and he was shivering wildly. Quickly Manuel shrugged out of his jacket and pushed aside the now cold-jackets the men had piled upon Harry to cradled his son in its warmth. An obscured branch overhead attested that Harry had been knocked unconscious and had fallen off his horse, in the dark it would have been impossible for a person riding at a gallop to see. Manuel moved to Azrael, Harry securely held in his arms, his horse was too exhausted to make the wild ride home as fast as Manuel wanted to.
"Radio Trevor," he barked, "tell him the situation and to be ready for when I arrive. We must warm Harry up and quickly, there's no telling how long he's been lying unconscious in the cold."
Manuel rode Azrael hard, but the stallion didn't seem to mind the frenzied pace that took them through the bitter English night and didn't try to slow. In fact the horse seemed to force itself to go faster as if he realized the gravity of the situation. Azrael took his riders right up to the back door where he plowed to a halt. Manuel was met by Trevor and a worried Blaise who was carrying fire-warmed blankets. Trevor tried to relieve an exhausted Manuel of his burden, but the Mafia King was having none of it as he practically flew through the house to his son's room, Trevor and Blaise following, leaving a heavily breathing Azrael to make his own way back to the warmth of the stables.
Manuel moved through Harry's bedroom and to the adjoining bath where warm water already filled the tub. Quickly stripping Harry of his chilled and mud-caked clothes Manuel placed Harry in the tub, cradling his injured head above the water. They washed Harry down quickly, allowing the water to warm his cold and stiff limbs before pulling him out of the tub to quickly dry him with heated towels. Leaving the wet towels on the floor Manuel and Trevor guided the unconscious boy's limbs into black silk pajamas and wrapped him snugly in the blankets before tucking him quickly into his large four poster bed, Blaise hovering worriedly in the background when it became apparent she was only getting in the way. Throughout all the minstrations and jostling Harry remained still, his thready pulse and shallow breathing the only indication he was still alive.
Finally Manuel allowed his exhaustion to claim him.
"I'm staying here," Manuel informed Trevor wearily as he lay down next to his son and pulled the boy close.
Manuel barely took the time to kick his riding boots off to the floor and pull a blanket up around himself as he settled in to watch Harry sleep, he hadn't realized how chilled he himself had become on the ride back so great had his worry for Harry been.
Trevor nodded and pulled Blaise out of the room behind him, they would also be staying the night in the rooms Manuel kept available for them, not that they went to their home that often anymore as it was. Trevor took his daughter to her room down the hall and tucked her into her bed before seeing that the rest of the men had come back safely and that none had suffered too badly while out. Finally it seemed as if everything was alright and Trevor collapsed onto the bed in his room next to his daughters.
… … … … …
It was dark when Harry began to stir and he surprisingly felt no cold. In fact he felt warm and the ground no longer felt so hard. His aching eyes cracked open and he found himself staring at the dim outline of his room, a tiny crack of light peeking through the heavy drapes pulled across the windows. How had he gotten home? The last thing he remembered was a sharp lancing pain to his head and then the bitter cold of the hard ground piercing through him. Azrael had lain down next to him then and he had struggled to talk to the horse but every word was sluggish and impossibly slow and not even Azrael could keep him warm any longer. There was a heavy weight across his body as well, had something fallen on him? It was then that Harry realized that the weight on his chest was a pair of arms encircling him protectively. His head turned and he came face to face with his father's rugged countenance, relaxed in sleep though a worried frown was present. Harry sighed and snuggled deeper into the comforting warmth of his father's arms, if this was a dream he didn't want to wake up.
Unfortunately reality has a way of making its presence known and Harry woke up a few hours later to the feeling of his father's hand gently brushing a strand of hair off his forehead and against the familiar lightening bolt scar usually kept concealed by makeup when they were around anyone. Harry sighed and briefly closed his bright green eyes before gazing again at his father; he wasn't used to such a tender acting Manuel.
"You scared the shit out of me last night," Manuel whispered softly, emotion choking his voice as he pulled his son close, "don't ever do that to me again. I don't think I could stand it. When we finally found you, you were lying so still, so cold…"
Manuel trailed off as the fear of the night before gripped him again.
Shame filled Harry, he hadn't been thinking when he took off, hadn't realized how much it would hurt people.
"I'm sorry," his voice was soft and guilt laden.
Manuel moved back slightly to gaze upon Harry's face. The boy had his eyes closed tightly as if he were trying to ward off tears and his face was set into lines of sadness.
Slowly Manuel lifted Harry's face up towards his and wiped at his son's eyes with a gentle thumb, seeing the shine of tears beneath Harry's closed eyes almost broke him, "don't be sorry. I was the one who wasn't listening. I'm used to hard facts and authority; things were so much easier when you were the little angel in my arms. I'll try harder to understand, but you'll have to work with me too, you're way too mature for your age sometimes and I find it hard to remember you are only a kid."
Harry was pulled into the safe haven of his father's arms with his head buried against the strong chest. That was how Trevor and Blaise found them when they came to check up on the pair and see if Manuel or Harry wanted breakfast.
Harry was forced to stay in bed for the rest of the day to make sure there were no ill side effects from the night's escapades though he did manage to escape a trip to the doctors by acting exhausted. The inactivity grated on the restless Harry but he was content enough to stay there if it meant his father spent time with him. Some of their time was spent reading in companionable silence or engaged in heated discussions of weapons and defense techniques. The rest of the time Harry and Manuel spent playing board games and card games with Blaise and even Trevor who joined them to lounge on Harry's insanely huge bed.
Sunday Harry was finally let out of bed to his relief and he spent the day making up for a Saturday spent doing almost nothing. He spent the morning training with Sensei even though he was forced to go easy. The biggest surprise was when his father joined him, but he hid his reaction except for a happy smile that wouldn't be suppressed. After lunch Harry dragged his father out to the stables to check on Azrael and beg to be allowed out for a ride. Manuel finally gave in but restricted the ride to the field; he was not ready to let Harry go out into the woods again just yet. It wasn't till after dinner that they sat down with Blaise and Trevor to discuss how to deal with the Headmistress the next day, you did not mess with a Darkov or their protected and expect to get away unscathed.
… … … … …
Headmistress Chauvez was not prepared to enter her office Monday morning to find Harry Darkov and a dangerous looking man lounging comfortably in her office. Smoothly Harry and the man the Headmistress supposed to be his father rose to their feet, muscles taunt and ready. Their standing as she entered was not out of respect as many might think, but in veiled threat, part of a power play.
"You requested a conference," Manuel purred softly, stressing the word requested in a taunt letting the Headmistress Chauvez know that he had picked up on her own threat during their phone conversation.
The Headmistress took her place behind her desk and turned to business, oblivious to the danger she was getting herself into, "Yes. Your son was disrespectful upon our last meeting and we still have to deal with the infraction that occurred last Thursday."
Manuel nodded as if agreeing to what had been said and Harry was forced to hide a smirk.
"Yes, it was disrespectful of my son to not invite the injured party to the meeting you had and the infraction must be dealt with."
Manuel turned to the door and opened it, "Blaise, Trevor, I believe you have a formal complaint to make against Chris Chauvez for harassment in the form of sexual innuendos."
Fifteen minutes and with a few careful mentions of members of the school board later the paperwork concerning the brief suspension of Chris Chauvez was filled out.
The four turned to take their leave of the Headmistress when she foolishly spoke up, "but what about your son's infraction?"
Manuel turned swiftly back, eyes blazing, "Harry did nothing that you can fault him for; he was not on school grounds at the time and therefore it is a family matter, not something the school should handle. Do not think to drag my son down to avenge your nephew's injured pride."
Before the Headmistress could react the door to her office was closing with soft finality leaving her blinking around at her empty office.
… … … … …
The next couple of months before the winter holidays found Harry and Blaise fitting in with their classmates and making friends easily, the age difference no longer seemed to matter as it had in the beginning. The prestigious school was also being swept by a prank wave that the teachers could not solve, no clues were ever left behind that could be linked to a student, and though Headmistress Chauvez had her suspects she was unable to do anything for fear of meeting those deadly blazing eyes again. She shuddered as she remembered the meeting with Manuel Darkov when she tried to pin the first prank on his son and son's friend, never again did she want to look into those cold pits of fury. Blaise and Harry would only grin and look innocent when they heard the professors or students discussing the pranks. Some of their better pranks involved sneaking into the school in the early morning, with some aide from their guards, before the doors were unlocked to wreak havoc.
One time they removed the seats from all the toilets and piled them in the Headmistress' office, slipping out the window right before she came in. Another time they rigged all the chairs of the most hated teachers so that the seats fell off when sat on and sprayed a slippery wax substance at certain spots in the hallway. It was interesting to see the students slide through the corridors, shrieking happily before going back to do it again while the teachers fell, sending stacks of books and papers flying everywhere.
They also did the usual pranks of stink bombs; snitching the lesson plans; letting loose the classroom pets and those kept in the science rooms as well as leaving reptiles in various desks in random classrooms, one girl screamed so loud it echoed through the whole school. The fifth years also had fun with substitute professors when Harry and Blaise organized a random seat switching routine. They gave fake names and even convinced one girl to fake having some sort of attack or fit and mumble portents of death before sitting back up and acting as if nothing had happened. A few of the female substitutes left nearly in tears from the many pranks and never came back. Only a few teachers were safe from the ingenious pranks concocted in the minds of Harry and Blaise, such as Miss Walker, and only because they were liked by them and many of the students and it didn't seem right to cause them any trouble.
The day before the holidays Harry and Blaise pulled a huge prank with the help of a handful of the bodyguards Manuel employed, not that Manuel knew about the prank, to run ropes from the ceiling pipes in every classroom and string the chairs from them while leaving the desks overturned, some with the legs unscrewed. Needless to say classes could not be held until the janitors fixed and righted the desks and found a safe way to get the chairs down without springing some of the minor booby traps the guards had set up to keep them from simply cutting the chairs down. Harry and Blaise didn't envy whoever had to get the chairs down, just cutting the string would work but then the chairs would crash everywhere, it had to be done just right for anyone to avoid injury. The students spent the day being shuttled between the library, gym, meeting hall, playground, and cafeteria as the teachers tried to find someway to keep the mingled classes busy and not all trapped in one place until the end of the day. It was pure havoc. Harry and Blaise waited until they were in the car at the end of the day before high-fiving each other and sharing a conspiratorial grin with their guards, Manuel would never find out about this one.