Wands and Claws
Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Apex, Damaged Raven, Widow's Vengeance, Bonded, Magical Spider, Silver King and Hydrus Black by JustBored21, Ruby Tinted Glasses by StormyFireDragon, Shattering the Mirror by arturus, Child of the Storm, Ghosts of the Past and The Phoenix and the Serpent by Nimbus Llewelyn, Lightning, Part 1 and Lightning, Part 2: An Eventful Fourth Year by The New York Bear, Harry Potter The Protector of Magic and The Protector and the Four Guardians by TigerSwarm9122, Harry Potts and the Infinity Stones by samhaine and Ascension, The Son of Storms and The War of Titans by PerseusPeverell092
Key Pairing: Eventual Harry/Jean/Emma; Eventual Laura/Wayne;
Other Pairings: Logan/Ororo; Erik/Raven; Others TBD
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Telepathy'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Alsdjhfgljkwebgh: Question: if you have such a lack of faith in this story, why did you bother reviewing it?
JustBored21: Thanks: I hope you continue to enjoy the story, including a few little titbits I'm already starting to add in, such as a side-pairing I hope you like the sound of;
"Their names are Laura Lily and Harry James Potter," Hank responded, offering a friendly, if not congratulatory – or possibly mocking, given Logan's earlier ribbing of him – smile as he looked up at a dumbfounded Logan.
"Congratulations Logan, you are now the proud family member to two grandchildren."
Chapter 2: Grandpa Logan
"What the fuck did you just say, Furball?!" Logan blurted out, ignoring the scolding look that Charles sent him for his cussing.
"Um, sorry, but last time I checked, you do have super hearing Logan," Hank reminded him, still showing how funny he found the whole situation as he reminded Logan of this fact. "Therefore, I know you heard me when I said it the first time."
"You…you said they…they're my...my grandkids?!" asked Logan incredulously, his heavily-scrunched-up look and the air of raw disbelief in his voice only fuelling his shock as he laughed weakly, "No, but...but that would mean…I mean, in order for them to…to be my…my blood, it'd mean that I…at some point…I have to have had…a child!"
"Well, I'm glad you're calm enough to remember how having grandchildren works," Professor Xavier replied, though the seriousness of the situation seemed to be the only thing that was stopping him from smiling in amusement at how the usually tough Wolverine now looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
Xavier didn't say it aloud, but he mused that for someone like him, that would be an achievement, and a sight to behold, seeing as how Wolverine's body recovered from pretty much anything that happened to it.
"But, perhaps, it would help everyone if you take a deep breath and allow yourself to become even more calm before we proceed," suggested Charles, earning a scowling glare from Logan before, rather-reluctantly, he did as Professor Xavier suggested.
After a few minutes, during which the only sounds that filled the room were Logan's deep, heavy breaths and the sounds coming from outside the Professor's office window, Logan ran a hand through his wild hair before Hank smirked as he asked, "Feeling better?"
"Yeah…a little bit," Logan nodded, taking a moment to compose himself before he laughed weakly, "But I…I just can't believe it, Hank: all this time, I thought I was alone and…and it turns out that I…I have…grandchildren!"
To Hank and Charles' amusement, Wolverine's amusement turned into cold-faced realisation, like when a young man hears they're going to be a father for the first time, as he added in a deadpan tone. "Oh my God, I have grandchildren…guess that means I am finally starting to get old, after all. Next thing you know, I'll be going bald!"
Unseen by Logan, his amusing choice of words earned an almost-reminiscent look from Charles before the aforementioned bald mutant closed his eyes in concentration as he remarked, "In any case, I sense that they are waking up. So, I believe you will have to get over it rather quickly, Logan."
"That's easy for you to say, Chuck," Logan said under his breath before the three adults began walking towards the hospital wing.
Logan's amused, but also dreading look never seemed to fade the entire way…
WsCs
In the medical room of the Xavier Institute, two of the beds usually reserved for patients were currently occupied by two small forms, one of which, a five-year-old boy, suddenly snapped his eyes open in an almost-instantaneous instinct of alertness.
He had a thin body with a head of raven-black messy hair, and, unlike when he'd bene brought into the school, now, he'd been dressed in a set of light blue-coloured pyjamas with white stirpes going up and down the strangely-comfortable fabric. As he snapped his eyes open, readying himself for anything that might come after him, his eyes opened to reveal a pair of bright, emerald coloured orbs.
For a brief moment, the boy stayed where he was, waiting for any chance to fight back against a potential threat, but, when he realised that no such threats were coming, he relaxed himself, if only enough to allow himself to raise a hand, partially to rub the sleep out of his eyes but also to shield them from a sudden burst of light from what he saw were windows visible on the other side of his bed, as well as closed curtains over his head.
Once he was sufficiently awake, and once he'd managed to blink his eyes into full wakefulness as they adjusted to the sudden light, the boy's face scowled when he felt himself get bombarded with several memories of what had happened to him before he found himself in bed.
The bad people.
Screaming.
Bloodshed.
A wild man.
A familiar protector and friend.
And…
"Laura!" Before he could say anything else, the boy rolled over, flipping himself off of the bed as he landed on his feet with almost cat-like agility.
Despite his shock and alarm, as well as a familiar feeling of protective – if not, almost, over-protective – instinct welling up inside him, the boy took a moment to look down at his body, whereupon he frowned at the unfamiliar clothes covering his body. However, seeing as how the alternative was him being naked to the elements and, likely, vulnerable to any other strange advances, he decided that it wasn't a big problem.
As he rose to his full height, the boy noticed a brown pair of fluffy slippers next to his feet and, given the clothes covering his body, he naturally assumed that they were meant for him. With quick steps and practiced movements, he went to put them on, before he took a moment to enjoy the feeling of warmth on his feet.
Once the warmth of his new footwear became a part of him, he looked around and saw he was in what looked like a hospital room where, to his immediate alarm, as well as very slight relief, he gasped when he saw his twin sister, currently lying unconscious – no, asleep, as he reminded himself – on a second, nearby bed.
Taking off at a leap, he quickly rushed over to her, his relief growing when he saw how she looked just like how he remembered her: a thin face and body along with shoulder length brown hair, which hadn't been tied back or shaved off like the bad people used to do. Now, instead, it flowed freely down to her shoulders, like a halo of chocolatey cuteness.
Just as he knew she was.
She was the cute one, he was the strong, protective one.
As he sighed in relief, the boy also saw that his twin was wearing pyjamas just like him but hers were pink-striped instead of blue, while a nearby machine beeped steadily with her heartbeat, making his relief skyrocket as he reached out and took her hand in his, holding onto it as though he'd never held onto her for more than time itself could have measured. "Laura…"
"H...Harry?" asked the girl, her voice weak and sleepy, though only momentarily as her eyelids opened, revealing a pair of bright-brown eyes that, had anyone looked closer, they would have seen were flecked with green, the same shade as her sibling's – indeed, his also had brown flecks that only usually appeared when his glare hardened, but, other than that, you would be forgiven for not knowing they were twins. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, sis, it's me," Harry smiled briefly before he pulled her to a sitting position, which seemed to be her cue to wrap her arms around her brother in a hug of relief and delight, earning a shushing gesture from Harry as he patted her on the back before, bending down, he grabbed a pair of slippers that were identical to his own, and placed them on her feet. "Come on; we've got to go."
"Where are we?" asked Laura as Harry helped her off the bed.
"I don't know, but I don't want to stay and find out, either." Said Harry, going into protective big-brother mode as he pulled her with him to the exit.
Just as they reached the exit, however, the two of them skidded to a surprisingly-agile stop when they saw Professor Xavier, Hank and Logan standing in the now-open doorway that marked the exit.
"Well, that's a shame." Professor Xavier said, as though he wasn't even surprised by their recovery, much less their attempts to flee. "However, I am glad you are both awake."
"What do you want?" Harry growled as he gently guided Laura so she was standing behind him, keeping her safe as his instincts demanded of him as her brother and the Alpha of their two-man pack. As he did so, his eyes narrowed before he sneered as he saw Hank's blue-furred form, as well as the definitely not-human features of the man-beast standing with these other two strangers.
"Are you going to try and eat us?" drawled Harry, earning a snort of amusement from Logan.
"Calm down young man," Hank said in a calm voice. "we are not hear to hurt you…or eat you."
He was tempted to be offended by the remark made by the boy, but was able to ignore it: after all, he was talking to a scared, but also protectively-driven kid and, quite frankly, Hank had heard worse from people much, much older – such as the man standing to his left.
"Okay: moving on to question two: where are we?!" Harry demanded, surprising Hank, as well as Logan, with how well-spoken the boy was, despite his young age, but, given where they'd found the kids, Logan guessed he'd done something to help convince them to mature faster, mentally, and be better prepared for the future.
"You are in my school," Professor Xavier answered, his tone as level-headed and neutral as Logan remembered when he himself had first met the wheelchair-bound mutant. "You may have heard of it: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters! I'm Professor Charles Xavier, the headmaster and owner of this school and the grounds upon which it stands. The blue-furred man next to me is Professor Hank McCoy: now, he teaches maths and science. And, finally, this gentleman over here is Logan."
"What do you teach, Mister Logan?" asked Laura.
"Art."
Logan's instantaneous response actually earned him a small, amused smile from Harry, who had a very strong feeling that wasn't the case.
In the meantime, Harry and Laura returned their attention to Xavier as he added, "Yes, well, as well as being an academic institution, this school serves another purpose, for, you see, this is a school for mutants."
"Mutants?" Laura asked in a confused voice.
"People born with special abilities." Explained Hank.
"Oh…he means freaks!" Harry muttered just low enough for Laura to hear, though the scathing hatred that laced the last word was all-too-clear.
"No! He doesn't!" argued Logan, having heard it as well thanks to his enhanced hearing, much to the shock of the two youths. "Look kids, all points aside, we just want to…"
Before he could move any closer to the two young kids, however, Logan stopped suddenly when Harry and Laura shifted into a defensive stance, looking like cornered, caged animals warning him to not get closer. At the same time, Logan cocked an eyebrow, while Charles and Hank both stared in amazement and curiosity when they saw two bone claws pop out of Laura's knuckles while three metal claws popped out of Harry's.
"I thought his claws weren't supposed to be metal." Xavier whispered to Hank, earning a dumbfounded look from Hank.
"You're right, Charles…they weren't supposed to be! Fascinating!" Hank nodded, still confused about why Harry had metal claws when Laura didn't.
"Stay back." Harry warned, holding his hands up in a way to show that he was ready to attack if Logan got closer.
The look in his eyes, as well as the battle-readiness and the air of danger presented by those claws: given who he was, especially to the kids, Logan would have been proud to call this kid his kin, if the situation weren't so tense.
Fortunately, he also had experiences in dealing with young mutants who were more like cornered animals.
Raising his hands, as if to show he was not a threat, Logan looked Harry in the eyes, never once blinking or looking away as he locked eyes with the little predator in front of him, while he explained, "Relax kid. We're not your enemies, we're like you."
"Prove it!" Laura hissed.
"What? The Big Blue Baboon over here doesn't do it for us?" asked Logan, earning a flicker of a smirk from the twins, before both of them returned to looking neutral and defensive, earning a sigh from Logan. "If I have to."
As Harry and Laura watched, Logan turned his hands so the backs were visible to the kids, while he also closed his fists and, not two seconds later, the familiar snikt-snikt sound filled the medical room as three metal claws popped out of each hand, causing Laura and Harry to step back in awe and amazement before they looked at Wolverine's claws with wide eyes.
"You…you really are like us?" Laura breathed out, her voice somewhere between disbelieving and hopeful.
"And the same power…hey: are you our dad?" Harry asked, his voice had a hint of hope to it as well but was more suspicious as he looked to Logan, who actually smiled before he shook his head, slowly retracting his claws as he did so..
"No, not really…what I mean is: we are related."
"Our uncle then?" Laura asked, earning a flinch from Harry, the sight of which made Xavier suspicious, while Logan answered the question.
"No, you see, kids, I'm…" Logan coughed as he tried to figure out how to put this.
In the end, blunt honesty won out as he cleared his throat, before he took a deep breath and slowly got down to his knees so he could talk to them eye to eye, once again ensuring he didn't blink, or look away, or even avert his gaze for a split-second, as he said what he had to say.
"I'm your grandfather."
For a moment, after saying it, Logan paused to look at their reactions.
As he'd expected, Harry's eyes narrowed while, to Logan's amusement, his metal claws actually flexed, like the hackles on a cat raising before it attacked in fear or aggression, but Harry held back, almost as though he was trying to work out if Logan was lying.
His sister, on the other hand, voiced her curiosities and disbelief, "But…you're not…you're not even old."
"Not yet anyway," Logan said with a small shake of his head, his amusement now directed at the young girl standing behind her brother, who still didn't look as though he was fully convinced of Logan's sincerity. "I have what you would call a very advanced healing factor, which means I can heal from pretty much anything: as a result, it stops me from ageing. Truth is, mostly thanks to a very bad man, I don't really know how old I am."
Laura looked in awe of his confession, while Harry's hands actually seemed to be trembling as he kept his claws in a ready-to-attack stance.
Seeing this, Logan gently raised his now clawless hands as he asked, "Hey, now we're all on familiar ground here, what do you say we…what I mean is: can we put the claws away, please, kids?" He asked as he gestured to their claws.
Laura looked hesitant and, to the curiosity of the three adults, she looked to Harry, as though she was waiting to see what he would do.
"Why should we trust you?" Harry asked, making sure to keep Laura standing behind him, even with her own claws on display.
"Well, first and foremost, little cub: seeing as how we're the reason you're here and not still in those cages, I think you can trust us when we tell you that we're not going to hurt you," Logan replied, earning a surprised look from Laura at the affectionate name that Logan used, seemingly without realising it, in the direction of the twins.
"That's funny, cause the last guy we met said the same thing…and look what happened?" Harry snarled, his claws twitching again while, to Logan's shock, Harry's brown flecks became more-pronounced in his eyes as he hissed. "What else do you have that says why we should trust you?"
"How about…they won't hurt you, and you can trust me when I say it to you, kid." A new voice said, earning a shocked look from Logan, while the other two, as well as the twins, looked towards the exit and saw Sabretooth enter the room, his own hands raised in abject surrender as he nodded to a confused-looking Wolverine. "He'd rather stab himself with his own claws before doing so much as even hitting you…or any kid, for that matter, isn't that right, Runt? Kind of boring, normally, but, in this case, we're in agreement with that idealism."
While Logan scoffed, wondering when his usually-savage enemy and rival had become so soft, Victor looked to Harry, doing like Logan as he locked eyes with the kid, before he spoke in a voice that was so soft that Logan almost couldn't believe it came from Sabretooth. "Come on; trust me. You can put the claws away now, kid. For all his faults, old Chrome Dome, Runt and the Fuzzy Furby here aren't going to harm so much as a nit egg on a single hair on your heads."
Unsurprisingly, Harry looked like he was going to protest for a second but, almost as though Victor's words were the reassurances he'd been waiting for, he eventually allowed his claws to go back into his hands, which was a sign that Laura took as her signal to do the same.
"Attaboy," said Victor, striding past the still-kneeling Logan before he tousled Harry's military-style haircut, before he patted Laura on her own head. "And attagirl too, I guess…so…what next?
"Would I be correct in assuming that you and the children have a history?" Professor Xavier asked in a calm voice, as if Sabretooth being here was a regular thing.
"You could say that, Chuckles," Victor said, while Logan stood up and looked at him, as though wondering whether or not to indulge in yet another of their deadlocked battles or take his favouritism with the kids as a sign that, this time, at least, he was here as a…friend.
Seeing the look, Victor gave him a blank look of his own before, like Logan, he kneeled down and placed a hand on both kids' shoulders as he said in a soft, but warm-toned voice. "Look kids, like I said, for all their boring opinions on the way the world's meant to be one day, I know for certain that the people in here will look after you. No matter how freaky and scary they look, they won't hurt you, I promise. And, besides, if they do then you feel free to cut them to pieces…you can blame me for it later if anyone asks why you did it."
Logan snorted in amusement at the last part while Hank and Charles frowned at that part as they had no desire to be cut into pieces.
As for the twins, they both shared a look, as though they were sharing a silent, telepathic conversation, before Laura looked to Wolverine in disbelief and cautious curiosity as she asked, "So, you…you're really our grandfather, Mister Logan?" Laura asked as she looked at Logan.
"Grandpa?" asked Victor incredulously, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Logan. "Grandpa Logan…ha! That's rich!"
"Apparently, it's true…or, at least, this is who I am according to the furball." Logan said as he gestured behind him to Hank who simply rolled his eyes at the nickname, while Victor actually started laughing at the truth of what it was.
"The tests do show they're your grandchildren," Hank said, ignoring Victor's apparently uncontrollable laughing fit while, to his slight delight, as well as Charles', something about Victor's amusement made the kids smile and, seemingly, relax into their environment as Hank went on. "We'll spend some time trying to locate their parents and then we'll go from there."
"Until then, both children are welcome to stay at the institute for as long as they need to," Professor Xavier said.
"Ha-ha-ha…Grandpa." Victor couldn't help but chuckle when he looked at Logan.
"Shut it." Logan said, though not harshly.
"So, what happens now?" Harry asked, looking between all of the adults.
"Sad to say it, but, for now, I'll be going." Victor announced.
"No! Don't leave us again, Vick!" Laura insisted, as she reached forward and grabbed his hand.
"Hey, it's okay, little tigress; I'm not leaving you or the Pack permanently," Victor reassured her, rubbing the knuckles where her claws had emerged moments earlier in a soft, almost-fatherly manner, while he looked between her and Harry as he added, "I give you my word, I'll be visiting you two every now and then…unless that's a problem?"
His voice grew into the harsh, wild warrior that the X-Men members knew he was as he directed his question to Logan and Professor Xavier.
"As long as you do not harm anyone while in this building, Mr Creed, then, for the sake of the children, you are welcome to come and go whenever you'd like." Professor Xavier said, albeit after a moment of thought.
On the one hand, Sabretooth could be as vicious as they came, even moreso than Logan sometimes, but, on the other hand, he appeared to have built a bond of some sort with the children, and that could, hopefully, be used to keep the man from lashing out at others.
"The kids like you," Logan sighed, looking briefly into Harry's eyes, which seemed to have reverted to their natural green – the colour of which then made Logan frown as, the more he looked into those eyes, the more he found them…so hauntingly familiar, but he couldn't remember where or why that was the case.
In the meantime, he looked back to his enemy as he added, "So, like Chuck said, if not for any other reason than to see them and help them be the kids they are, then…if you want to come here…that's fine by me."
Victor didn't say anything in response but did give Logan a short nod before he turned and looked back to the kids, "See you later, cubs."
Gently extracting his hands out of Laura's, he gave her a small pat on the shoulder and nodded to Harry, who seemed to be fighting the childish instinct to weep at losing a clearly-welcome member of their…their pack before turning and leaving.
He was never really the sort of person who liked to hug, though there was one exception and, at that moment, she was clasping her big brother's hand warmly, reassuring him that they'd see Sabretooth again.
"Now," Professor Xavier said to Harry and Laura once Victor was gone, causing the kids to look to him as he explained, "Someone is coming over to bring you some new clothes, so the two of you can get dressed and then, once you're ready, she will escort you down so you can have breakfast. Once you're both full, then we can figure out where we can go from there, is that acceptable to the both of you?"
Laura and Harry looked at each other, where, once again, the two shared a silent conversation, for a brief moment Professor Xavier wondered if the two were telepathic.
Eventually they turned to the Professor and nodded, earning a brief smile from the psychic. "Excellent, and…ah, right on cue: here are the clothes." He said just as a fourth adult arrived, holding some clothes in her arms.
She was a young, beautiful, dark-skinned woman whom was dressed in silvery-coloured high heels, as well as blue denim jeans and a light blue blouse, though the oddest thing about her was the fact that she had white hair that flowed down to under her shoulders. The hair did not make her look any less attractive, as it contrasted nicely against her black dark skin, but, it was just…strange – at least, the kids seemed to think so.
"Hello," She said to Harry and Laura with a friendly smile, which Laura returned, while Harry nodded once, noticing how her voice also had a slight accent to it.
"Harry, Laura, this is Ororo Munroe." Professor Xavier said as he gestured to the white-haired woman. "Ororo, this is Harry and Laura Potter."
"Twins?" Ororo asked.
"Yes."
"Hmm, interesting: this one looks like Logan…and not just when he's having a bad day either," She noted when she looked at Harry, who smirked when he saw Logan look confused by the remark.
"Huh?" Logan blinked.
"Well, it's only natural that he looks like his grandfather." Hank said with a small smirk.
"Grandfather?" She blinked as she looked at Logan who suddenly looked very tired.
"It's a long story." He said, his tone and face making it clear that he'd explain later.
Ororo looked like she wanted to ask more questions about this strange, if not funny development, but settled with nodding to him and giving him a look that said they would definitely be talking about it later.
"Alright, let's get you two changed, then I'll take you down to get some food." Said Ororo, right before she shooed the others out, so that she could help the two newest members of the school feel more comfortable with their new surroundings.
Though she did not promise she would forget the surprise of Logan, Mr Isolated Lone Wolf – or Wolverine – having grandkids that, apparently, even he didn't even know about.
Chapter 2 and it looks like the twins have found a safe haven…for now, at least, but with questions waiting in the wings, what will the future hold for the Pack?
Also, how might having not only family, but friends able to come and see them help the twins as they grow into their new lives and futures together as anything but the weapons of fools and madmen?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Ororo, aka Storm, helps the twins adapt to their new surroundings, but it looks like they've only just scratched the surface of what they're capable of, not to mention the X-Men have only just started scaling Everest of the twins' trust levels: it's going to take time to reach the summit…but will they manage it or plummet back to the earth with a sickening crunch?
Please Read and Review
AN: Portrayal
Ororo Munroe/Storm: Danai Gurira
(Weirdly, I don't think Berry or the other actress when I imagine Storm: I mean, I go with her Animated Series look and voice, including her accent and, well, weirdly, I found myself thinking of this brilliant Black Panther actress; plus, given she's going to be paired with Logan, I asked myself: who might look appropriate being imagined as a pairing with Hugh Jackman? I don't know…what do you think?)