Chapter 05
• Icaria •
"Dolt," Tonks laughed merrily at Harry as he tumbled down the grassy hill. She strolled along at a leisurely pace, not in any big rush at all. That's what this island, Icaria, was for her, a place to get away from the rest of the world. After everything that had happened she didn't mind sharing it with him.
Tonks smiled at seeing Harry so light-hearted and childlike for once. He seemed to be enjoying the island far more than anywhere else he had ever been. Not that he'd actually ever been anywhere outside of Hogwarts or Privet Drive. Tonks had heard enough about his life to be disgusted with the muggles he had for relatives.
Harry finally came to a dizzying stop near the bottom of the hill, he just laid there unmoving but laughing happily. His hair was even more a mess than usual with bits of grass and leaves added to the look.
A brief glimpse at the nape of his neck caused Tonks to stiffen for a moment. Just two days prior, Harry had suffered through what she expected was the worst pain imaginable. Just by looking at the scar it was obvious that it had caused him a great deal of pain; she couldn't begin to comprehend it. From a central point, hundreds of tiny lines snaked outwards, covering nearly the whole back of his neck.
The most inconceivable thing was that he'd done it for her by putting himself between her and instant death. As she thought about it for the hundredth time, the idea of it made Tonks feel warm inside. He had survived, yes, and even though she wasn't sure if he'd known he would survive, it didn't matter. He had taken that step and in her mind it was that deed that set him apart from everyone else she knew. It was what made Harry so special, his willingness to sacrifice anything to protect his friends.
Tonks caught up to him and then passed by, walking to the cliff that dropped into the ocean. The rock face was a sheer drop nearly five hundred feet straight down into the foamy surf. Of course the height didn't bother someone who'd spent most of her life with a broom between her legs. She sat down, legs over the side and looked out towards the horizon. "Watch," she said quietly as Harry joined her, and pointed out towards the reef which extended right up to the cliff they were sitting on.
"Sometimes, when the sun's going down, the mermaids come out and sing."
Sitting next to Tonks, cheeks a rosy red from running around, Harry pulled on his glasses and stared out at the water. He hadn't seen Icaria's mermaids yet, and he was interested to see what they looked like. According to Tonks, they were nothing like the merfolk who inhabited the murky lake below Hogwarts.
Under the glimmer of the sun's last rays Harry could see several lithe shapes gliding along the crystal-clear ocean bottom, moving almost effortlessly. A head popped out of the water and turned towards the sun, then it was gone again. Soon after it reemerged, this time near one of the stones that littered the reef. She pulled herself onto the rock, basking in the dying glow of the sun.
A sweet melody rose from the water, slow, yet stirring. Harry could not ever remember hearing something that made him feel so at peace. Another voice joined in the chorus and Harry noticed that while he was lost in the melody two more mermaids had pulled themselves onto the rocks.
The sound was unforgettable and Harry could barely keep his eyes on the golden sun, as it set beyond them. Before the sun had fully set several more mermaids joined the assembly, at least a dozen more by his nearest count. Harry felt saddened when the sun had fully set and their voices slowly faded away into the twilight.
He couldn't see them too well in the dark, the half-moon was hiding behind the clouds. What he could hear was the water stirring as, one by one, they slipped back down below the surface.
"I think I want to stay here." Harry told Tonks, laying on his back and watching the brightly lit stars. "It's peaceful. No one knows me; there aren't any Death Eaters to hurt me," he said, quietly. "Or you," he added sounding innocently enough.
Harry recalled briefly seeing a glimpse of the broom racing the day before. It wasn't Quidditch, but bloody hell if it didn't look at least as exciting. "It's fun here." He smiled wistfully thinking about how much he wanted to get into one of the races. "They do things I've never seen or heard of."
Tonks, who'd lain on her back next to Harry, sighed quietly. She hated to ruin it for Harry, but she knew he couldn't stay. His disguise, a quick change of hair color and some makeup to cover his scar, wouldn't be enough when the world found out that he was missing. She wasn't going to break it to him yet, he was having too much fun.
It was odd, after what had happened she couldn't understand how he could be so relaxed.. It was almost as if the events of the past few days never happened at all. Since the moment he'd been out of the hospital it was almost as if he'd forgotten everything that had gone bad and had just let go of the stress.
The medi-wizard she'd taken him to had asked her about the scar and spoke with her about the effects. He'd dropped the inquiry when she'd presented her Auror insignia, they didn't have any true law on the island, but they didn't ignore other law enforcement groups. All Tonks was able to get from him was that he couldn't quite figure out what it was.
It was definitely permanent; there was no way he knew of to get rid of it. Whatever it was that had done it, he believed it was a powerful spell. It also had a lasting effect on his whole body, in fact the effects were more than just physical. He was quite surprised when Harry had woken after sleeping only a couple of hours. He'd told Tonks that Harry should rest for several weeks, not do anything at all stressful to his body or mind. Assuming that was the only information she would get from him Tonks had obliviated him and taken Harry.
"Tonks?" Harry asked quietly.
Not having the resolve to ignore him, Tonks rolled her head to find herself looking right into his jade colored eyes. She felt emotion rise, looking into his eyes, but wasn't sure what to make of it. "Yes?" she half-croaked.
"Why wasn't Ron or his family at the Headquarters? Last year Mrs. Weasley had practically made it her own home."
Somewhat relieved at the question and still unsure of what she'd been feeling, she smiled. "It's safer for her to be at home right now. You-Know-Who knows that Mr. Weasley is a part of the order, but as for everyone else. well they're not targets yet as far as we know so we're trying to keep everything as normal as possible. Of course they've got guards on their house 24/7 but there's something else. Molly has got other things that need to be taken care of, she's expecting."
Harry blinked several times in the moonlight. Then, when the news fully struck him, his eyes opened wide. "She's what?" he asked, utterly surprised.
"Expecting," she said calmly. "She's not due for another five months, but it's best if she's at home, away from the action of headquarters." Tonks said, looking back up to the sky. The moon shone brilliantly here when the clouds didn't hide it, and she'd always enjoyed it even as a child. It's a good thing too, with what happened at the headquarters... she thought to herself, but didn't say it aloud. She didn't want to have to bother Harry right now, she hated to make him sad at all.
Meanwhile, the prospect of Mrs. Weasley having another child struck Harry temporarily dumb. He counted her seven children off in his head. This would be her eighth. Confused at why she was having one now, after waiting so long Harry tried to form words to ask Tonks about it. The wizarding world was different, he knew that, it always seemed to have a surprise or two waiting for him. It occurred to him that the muggle age for having children might not be the same as the wizarding age, after all Dumbledore had once mentioned that Wizards often lived much longer lives than muggles.
Still searching for the right words, another thought came to him. She'd been pregnant long before school ended if she was due in five months. That meant that Ron, Ginny and the twins had been keeping it from him. The wonderings of the unique ways of the wizarding ways was quailed by the feeling Harry had of being put-out. He was slightly angry too, they could trust him, he wasn't about to tell anyone if they didn't want him to.
"Ron didn't tell me," he muttered.
"Relax Harry. He couldn't tell you, he didn't even know himself until he got home. Mrs. Weasley kept it from everyone even the order for a while. Dumbledore of course found out and made some changes. Not even the whole order knows, just a few people. I only happened to hear it."
From her look Harry got the distinct impression she was probably somewhere she shouldn't have been. "I probably shouldn't've told you. It'll get me into trouble if Dumbledore finds out I snitched," Tonks smiled, turning towards the sky and smiling. ".but I think he expects it in some way. That's why I got assigned to you once I was out of Saint Mungo's."
"Assigned to me?" Harry questioned, he didn't like feeling as if he'd been forced on her.
"Well. sort of. After Arabella was discovered we had to hide her, and someone had to replace her as a permanent watch for the time being. Dumbledore volunteered me right away. Not that I minded, I thought maybe we could get to know each other, maybe even be mates."
Truthfully, she'd wanted to do it before Dumbledore had volunteered her. When it was mentioned she'd almost jumped out of her seat to do it. However, she had restrained herself, knowing that seemed odd to offer. She was close enough in age that some people thought they might become too close and she'd tell him things she wasn't suppose to. It wasn't as if she cared. Harry was someone she really respected. She'd been watching him for over a year now, even keeping tabs occasionally at school. It was her job.
There was the problem of her clumsiness, but there had only been one incident that had almost given her away. When she was climbing through the opening into the Gryffindor common room, just a moment after Harry and Hermione had entered, she'd tripped and fallen through. Luckily one of the twins had come to her rescue. They immediately knew she was not the person she pretended to be, but other than watching her carefully, they said nothing.
•
Two days passed and Harry couldn't get enough of the island or his training. He was aptly paying attention to everything that Tonks taught him and though he didn't get it right away, he was trying hard. Tonks had started just as she'd been taught, an overview of everything, but then she'd changed her method.
On several of the many tasks she'd been assigned Lupin as her partner. She didn't mind him, she actually enjoyed his company because she had known him for longer than most of the other people in the order. He did, however, tend to tell stories and Harry was his favorite subject. He'd told her about teaching him and how he learned so Tonks tried just that, focusing on one particular thing.
At the moment, she was trying to teach him the art of disguise and blending with one's environment.
Harry wasn't doing too well though, and she could see his eyes drooping.
Climbing on top of the chair, Tonks grinned brightly and made a waving motion at Harry with her wand. "You're dead Potter," she tried to mutter as heinously as possible. It made Harry laugh, as she was nothing like the Death Eaters who'd tried to kill him, and she'd never be able to be like them. It was still funny though, seeing her trying to cheer him up like that.
"Alright. I died. Tell me again how to do it so I can keep trying, it can't be all that hard."
Tonks started to step down from the chair but her foot caught on the edge of the chair and she started to fall forward, arms flailing. Harry dropped his wand and moved as quickly as possible to catch her. Almost immediately, he found that he was far too small to stop her fall and she ended up on top of him, squirming to get back up.
It only took a moment for her to get back on her feet but Harry took longer. Tonks repeatedly apologized as she helped him stand but Harry just shook it off. "Let's just get back to doing what we were doing," he told her, not at all surprised she'd fallen and more embarrassed that he hadn't been able to stop her.
"Listen to me say it. I want you to listen very carefully. When I'm done, replicate it exactly, accent and all. I'm going to do something new too, you're getting too used to hearing the same old thing., you've got to pick it up the first time." She paused, closed her eyes for a second and looked up at Harry. She changed the appearance of her whole face through a combination of many subtle changes. It was amazing to Harry that she could do it.
"No worries mate," she started, in a brilliant Australian accent. Then, winking at Harry she took a step down, and stared right into his eyes. ".you're just being a bit friendly. Ease up. We've got all night."
Harry replayed it over and over in his mind, trying to recall every minute thing she'd done, not just the things she said. "No worries mate," he started to repeat, in a broken Australian accent.
Tonks cut him off again, this time with a wand in his side. "Bam. You're dead again."
Hesitantly she continued, sounding as if she didn't want to push to hard or say to much. "Come on Harry, this is just the simple stuff, imitating voices. You're doing the gestures alright, but you need to be able to reproduce a likeness exactly, tiny flaws give it character, but they have to be regional flaws, things that differ from people in the region."
Dropping her wand from his side, she sighed. "That's enough for today, lets go out and do something fun tonight."
Though the Auror training was exciting to him, the city was even more exciting. "The beach!" he exclaimed.
Since the first day he'd been able to walk around that was where he'd wanted to go. Tonks was reluctant, and she wasn't sure why. The beach was fun, she remembered it from her youth. She also remembered a lot of other things that happened there, other than swimming.
Not even waiting for a yes or no Harry charged into the second room, where he was staying. Tonks raised an eyebrow when, seconds later, he came back out, towel over on arm and already in swimming trunks.
"Harry?" she asked, a little curious. "You do know that was a bit fast to change your clothing."
"erm." Harry stumbled, not sure what to say.
Harry tried to think of something, running his hands through his hair. It looked odd, his hair refused to stay blonde. It was quickly changing to black again almost a third black since they'd performed the color spell yesterday, it wasn't solid either, just rather dispersed through his whole head of hair.
"You said it was alright to do magic here, so long as it wasn't with my wand. So, the transfiguration charm you taught me, I've been working on it. I pretty much have it down now," he finished quietly. He wasn't about to tell her he'd been working on it solidly for the past week, he wanted her to feel good about teaching him.
Curious as to why Harry had been hiding his ability Tonks started to ask something, but stopped. She was surprised that he could do it already, and so well. She had been teaching several things to him since they'd come to the island. Part of the reason that they she'd brought him here was very reason. So much magic was used on the island that there was no way to monitor who was using magic unless it was targeted to a specific wand, and they had spare wands.
Of the dozens of spells she'd gone over with him already, she could only think of a handful that she expected him to remember right away. Most of the stuff she'd only overviewed once to a very attentive Harry. It was more of a review, to get his mind open to them when she taught him later. "How many other things do you know?" She asked, wondering if he was working on other things.
"Nothing really. I was trying to focus on one thing at a time. I don't have all that much time to work on them between working with you and going out and doing things." He said, not really wanting to tell her he'd put off sleep to learn to do it.
Tonks shook off her amazement and went to get dressed, returning in a long shirt that covered her swimsuit completely, she didn't seem to want Harry to see it.
The trip to the beach didn't take long. Just outside their hotel (because it was a Merlin-level hotel) there was a set of booths which could transport you most places on the island. They simply walked into it and walked back out onto the beach.
Stepping out of the cell all Harry could do was gawk. The beach went for what seemed like forever both ways and was filled with people. As Tonks appeared behind him a group of girls walked by and Harry's jaw dropped. His eyes followed them as they passed, and continued to follow them until Tonks whacked him in the back of the head. "They're not your type," she said nonchalantly, then continued to walk past him. Harry continued to gawk at several of the females walking around, they were wearing swimsuits that were so small there was little left to imagine.
Tonks slowly disappeared in the mob of people, still wearing the long shirt she'd put on before leaving the rooms. Loosing sight of her, Harry hurried to catch up, not wanting to loose his guide.
They found an empty spot after a very long trek down the beach and Tonks set up an umbrella while Harry put his towel down just ahead of her and then immediately headed for the water. He'd never been in the ocean before.
Before entering he turned back to Tonks, who'd followed him down and he choked.
"Er...Tonks," Harry asked. "Where did you get that bathing suit?" Harry stared as she passed, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the semi-modest one piece Tonks had on.
She turned around with a quizzical look on her face. "What's wrong with it? Its not that skimpy, and I don't exactly have anything to be ashamed of you know." Harry nodded quickly. "Oh I know that I know. But... erm. have you ever worn it before?"
Again Tonks looked slightly puzzled. "No, its brand new. Why?"
"Well," Harry stammered, not knowing exactly how to put this. It wasn't a subject that was easy to approach delicate like. "Erm...do you know what happens to a white bathing suit when it gets wet?"
Tonks stood a moment before she burst out laughing. "Harry, don't be silly. Why on earth would they make a bathing suit that goes transparent when you go swimming?" She laughed some more as his ears turned red, making him feel slightly foolish for ever bringing it up. "You're so funny. Don't worry."
Harry didn't really. They played around for a long time, splashing and running through the waves. He didn't even pay attention to the other people and what they were doing and neither did Tonks. She was having fun, and was with Harry.
When they'd worn themselves out Harry returned to his towel, Tonks close behind. They both laid down to dry off, but Harry ended up staring at a pair of girls who'd ended up sitting nearby. They were near his age, and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off them.
Of course, Tonks was not oblivious to this fact, but she ignored it and laid back, watching them from the corner of her eye as she bathed in the heat of the sun.
The two girls who were sitting nearby stopped laughing between themselves when one caught sight of Harry's obtrusive staring. One of them whispered into the others ear and they both laughed again. Finally the smaller brunette one nodded and they both stood. Tonks caught her breath when they headed for Harry.
When Harry saw them, he looked to Tonks expectantly. He didn't know what to say and she wanted to help him, but felt torn for some unknown reason. All she could do was smile and nod towards the girls.
At a loss as to what he was going to do, Harry took a deep breath. He tried to remember what Tonks had said about making friends in one of her 'lessons' and he tried to remember to keep calm as they towered over him.
"Hey," the taller, blonde girl said, smiling. "I'm Riana and this is Korina," she continued, pointing to her equally beautiful brunette companion.
Tonks looked them over from behind the umbrella that was shading her. The blonde one, Riana, had to be about eighteen. She was very attractive and she knew it; she flaunted it. Her swimsuit was small and tight, the way she swung her body was extremely provocative. Korina, the one who seemed to be her silent companion, looked far more natural. She carried herself well, and though her face didn't look quite so old she was just as curved as Riana. She wasn't wearing a string bikini like Riana, rather a much less revealing two piece suit. Tonks even made some notes in her mind, the girl seemed to have the personality that Tonks could assume effortlessly if she needed a new identity. Calming herself Tonks picked up her wand and waived it discretely, whispering a spell. Harry stared at the two girls as the flirting feeling in his stomach faded away. He felt a strange sense of comfort fill him and he smiled finally, finding words. "Harry, my name is Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled again, offering them a seat with a sweep of his hand. He was extremely surprised at his own confidence, he wasn't quite himself. "So what are you doing here, and alone?"
"Oh, well. Korina and I are visiting for the summer. My aunt lives here and I had a friend to visit. Korina had never been here so I brought her along. She seems to like it here." Riana said and Korina just smiled.
The girls finally felt comfortable enough to sit after a few seconds, Korina sat a little further from Harry, but Riana sat uncomfortably close. "Where is it that you're from?" Harry asked, looking into Riana's eyes, there wasn't much way to not look at them without obviously avoiding them.
"NorCal," Riana smiled as she said it.
Having never heard of such a place Harry shook his head, but didn't ask where it was because he didn't want to seem foolish. He'd have to ask Tonks later, she'd know.
After almost an hour of talking Tonks started to get up and Harry's attention turned towards her. She was not wearing her over-shirt anymore. "I'm headed back Harry. We'll see you when you get in, alright?"
With a wink, Tonks turned and headed away. Korina's eyes followed Tonks carefully, but Riana barely even glanced up until Tonks had passed. Harry spent a minute lost as his eyes followed Tonks. Her swimsuit hadn't turned transparent as he'd thought, but it looked as if it'd shrunk slightly tightening against her well formed body. As Harry's head turned Riana's attention turned to the new threat. She looked up, following Tonks' path again.
The person who was most confused, Tonks, clenched her fist together as she walked away. She didn't know why she was leaving, but something didn't feel right inside. It was likely the interaction that seemed to happen so easily between Harry and the girls. Whatever it was Tonks was not feeling happy about it. She felt impulsive and turned to see if Harry was watching her leave. He was and feeling even more spontaneous, Tonks waved and blew Harry a kiss.
On the other end of the kiss Harry blushed brightly, extremely confused at her behavior. "Who is she?" Korina asked softly.
Harry suddenly recalled that he had never introduced them to her and felt bad about it. She wasn't sitting right next to him, but she had been close enough that she'd probably hear them talking the entire time and he'd ignored her almost completely.
"Yeah, she seems to know you pretty well." Riana said, looking extremely annoyed.
"My mate," Harry said, trying to make himself feel better. She was quickly becoming one of them as it was anyway, and that's what she wanted to be, she'd even said it. "She brought me here for a few weeks to get away from everything." Which was of course the truth. He still remembered why it was they were here. Tonks wasn't about to trust anyone after what had happened at the headquarters. Someone had given away their location and Tonks wanted to keep Harry safe. At least that's what she had said.
"She's a bit old for you, isn't she?" Korina asked again just curious. She didn't seem to demand the information and it didn't seem all that extreme for her, it was just a question.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. We've been friends for over a year now and she's not all that much older than me. She's only twenty eight or so. Besides, she understands me better than most people do," he recalled seeing her scar and that she'd been the one that really did seem to understand him. "She's teaching me too," he added, grinning.
Korina just nodded quietly, but Riana looked interested. "So now that you've lost the leash, let's say we have some fun."
Not quite sure what she meant by a 'leash' Harry just nodded. He didn't want to seem too much like an outsider, and Tonks had told him to try and go with the flow without standing out too much. He was trying to do that as best as possible. He really wanted to be an Auror. "Alright, where are we going then?"
Riana grinned. "Our place first. But after that it's a surprise. You'll just have to tag along and find out."
Harry just shrugged. If that was what she wanted, it was all right with him. He was having fun, and thought he was disappointed that Tonks had decided to leave and felt even odder about the manner she'd done it, he was feeling alright.
The trip to their place didn't take long. Riana was the one that was silent this time, while Korina asked questions.
"So you're from England then?" Korina asked not long after they'd wrapped up their stuff and gotten off the beach.
Harry nodded.
"Which school do you go to?" she asked, looking more like Hermione and trying to figure it out. Harry suspected she already had guessed which one he was going to.
The question did catch Harry's attention though. Tonks had warned him about getting caught in a lie, and told him that the best thing was to do was to do was to use as much truth as possible. She told him not to reveal his true identity, but it was obvious enough where he came from. He wasn't so sure he should tell her where he went to school, but he was afraid that she already knew so he chanced it.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Really?" she acted surprised. "You don't happen to know Harry Potter? I hear he goes there."
"Yeah," Harry said. "I know him," he said, recalling that his name was popular throughout the whole wizarding world, and not just the school. He didn't enjoy it at all, he wanted to just disappear and be normal. "Who doesn't?" He added morosely.
Korina looked at him, and grabbed his hand as it swung. "You sound jealous." she said, staring right in his eyes. She seemed startled, but covered it up quickly. "Don't be you're a good guy too. Besides, most of the stuff he did as a kid, who else gets famous doing stuff like that? I even hear he's pretty conceded about it."
"He's not," Harry jumped in, defending himself weakly. "Sometimes I think he wishes he wasn't Harry Potter at all, that he could just be like everyone else."
"And now you're sorry for him. At least you don't have him for it."
"Let's talk about something else." Harry paused briefly, searching for another topic. "What about you," he finally said," what school do you go to?"
"NCMI" It's in the hills of NorCal, and isn't all that big. We've only got under 2000 people."
"NorCal?" Harry asked stupidly, he thought they were from the states and didn't remember ever hearing a state called NorCal.
"Oh sorry. Northern California, most people that live in California break it into north and south, it's such a big state. NCMI is Northern California Magical Institute. I'm training to be a muggle relations specialist. Riana hasn't made a choice about what she wants to do though."
Nodding his head with understanding, Harry thought about it. "So you're going to a college then?" he asked, he'd heard of muggle colleges of course, but he didn't know that they had magical colleges. He'd never heard about anything after Hogwarts. Besides, Korina had just turned 17, so it didn't seem like she'd be going to college, she should still be in her seventh year of schooling.
"Well yeah," she explained. "Once we're legal we can do anything. But most people tend to go to an institute for the first two years until they're eighteen. Some training there takes a lot longer though. Especially if you're trying for the medical field. It always brings in good money though I was never really worried about that. I just want to have fun in my job.
Harry nodded with interest. Things were very different there, especially if they became legal at 16. He sort of wished he lived in the states so that he could be legal, it'd make things so much easier for him. "Do they have Aurors there?" he asked, curious to know if it was really all that much different.
Korina looked confused, but Riana leaned over and whispered something in her ear. That sounded like Poe Poe.
"Oh," Korina's eyes lit up with understanding. "Foxx's. You call them something else. But where would you go that didn't have some sort of magical law enforcement?"
"Turned out just fine here." Riana muttered.
Korina laughed and poked Harry, squeezing his hand.
"Don't worry about her, she's doesn't like Foxx's much," she whispered in his ear. "Her father was not the smartest wizard and got into some trouble a while back. He's still imprisoned because of it," she added. Harry wasn't listening however. When Korina had gotten close to him and whispered in his ear he'd felt a shock run down his spine and now his whole body was tingling.
"Here we are," Riana announced.
Surprised that they had gotten to the house so quickly Harry looked up to find they'd entered a quiet neighborhood and he hadn't noticed at all. "Come on Korina, time to change," Riana said, dragging Korina away from Harry as soon as they'd entered the house.
"Harry. Wait in the living room."
Riana paused for a second and then walked down the hallway. "Darrian! Would you keep an eye on our new friend?"
Harry heard a muffled response and the girls disappeared into a back room. Where Riana had stood a few seconds before, a head dropped out of the ceiling. Harry jumped back, startled. A hand followed and gripped one of the bars that surrounded the opening it was coming out of. Then a whole body followed, it swung down from the ceiling like a monkey, making an extremely graceful landing.
"Names Darrian," he said, offering his hand for Harry to shake.
Still surprised at his entrance shook it wide-eyed. "Harry," he responded.
Darrian nodded and trotted off into another room. "What's your fancy?" he asked. "We've got just about every sort of juice and milk or water, got some dragon's fury too. It's mixed a little strong too, I don't recommend it unless you're used to it."
"Water's fine," Harry said, not really wanting to try anything else.
Darrian appeared around the corner again, glasses in hand and a bright smile on his face. "You know Harry, you can take a seat if you'd like. You're gonna be here for a bit, so don't fret about things.
Taking his advice Harry dropped into one of the fluffy seats sipping at his water. "So you're from the island?" he stammered, the confidence he'd had earlier seemed to be completely lost.
"Nah, but I've lived here for about half my life."
Harry smiled finally, Darrian seemed completely at ease around him and there wasn't anything that was going to bother him about just being friends. "You watch the broom races then?" he asked, slightly more at ease.
"Yeah. Always watched them. Simmons is supposed to win tomorrow at the finals, even though he was bottom rank at the start of the year. I just wish he could afford a Firebolt. All he's got is a lousy Nimbus 2004. They don't have near the acceleration in mid flight or top speed. He should have been saving all his winnings and he could have afforded one so he'd win without a problem at all."
"Are Firebolts expensive?" Harry asked stupidly, Sirius had bought his.
Darrian cocked his eyebrow. "Yeah, since the upgrade kit came out you can't even find an original at all. They're charging triple the price, and that's if you're lucky. It's too bad they just don't sell them with the kit preinstalled."
"Upgrade kit?" Harry's eyes grew wide. He had never heard of any such thing, nor of the possibility of it.
"Yeah. They made the first Firebolts upgradeable so that it wouldn't be obsolete within a year. They wanted to be the top seller on the market, and they are, it's just too bad that they temporarily stopped making them because of the ash shortage in the Mediterranean, I think it's just a cover story. There's a lot of aftermarket stuff for them too. You can get custom handles, speed enhancing spells, custom replacement twigs, and that's not even everything."
"Wow," Harry muttered as he wondered how much it'd cost him to get some of the stuff.
"You're from England then? Sure sounded like it." Harry nodded. Darrian flashed another glimpse at his bright white teeth. "Don't see many from there. They don't seem to like change too much. I've been to a Quidditch game over there though, and if there's one thing that's really good about that place, it'd have to be that. They have a following like no other place in the world. Quidditch is the only real sport they play there."
"I play Quidditch," Harry volunteered. "Not much in the past two years, but that wasn't by choice."
"You any good?"
Harry nodded.
"What position you play?"
"Seeker." Harry recalled the thrill of chasing after the snitch and suddenly started feeling homesick again. He'd felt it before, but every time he'd felt it and told Tonks it had disappeared almost instantly.
Without another word Darrian jumped up, a smug smile on his face. "Wait a sec," he said as he ran down the hall. He jumped, catching one of the bars and tucking his legs into his stomach, using the momentum to swing himself through the hole in the ceiling.
Harry stared, unsure what to say. He'd never seen any body do things like that except on the telly. Above him, Harry could hear Darrian moving around.
Then he appeared again, coming through the hole feet first. He landed hard, but his knee's bent forward, taking most of the weight and his arms shot backward to hold his balance. Harry laughed at him as he looked up beaming.
"Before I found out I was a wizard I was a gymnast, can you tell?" he asked rhetorically. "Another year or two and I might've even made it as far as the Olympics." He said, still grinning.
The revelation was a surprise to Harry, but it seemed to make things all the more realistic. It still was odd that he was able to do stuff like that so easily. "How'd you end up here?" he asked. His parents were obviously muggles if he hadn't known he was a wizard.
"Foster parents disowned me. They thought magic was evil or something. So, when the first year of school ended no one came to pick me up. They didn't even bother to tell me, they just disappeared. I ended up in a foster home for the summer. With the help of some friends that I made at school, I was able to escape. I caught a ride and ended up here, been here ever since. I rent the place upstairs from Riana's mom, I don't even know if she considers it rent anymore, I'm pretty much part of the family."
Grinning he waved his hand with some sort of odd magical gesture and opened his hand to reveal a snitch. "It's from the Hanover game of '82, the one that happened on Halloween, it was dedicated to the Potters. Klavosky caught the snitch by falling from his broom so Schneider didn't know what he was doing. It's one of the sweetest moves ever."
Harry knew the match well, it was in every recent Quidditch book, including the one he owned. He couldn't believe that this boy had such an item, especially after he'd complained about the price of a Firebolt. This had to be much more expensive if it was real.
"How'd you get it?" He asked inquisitively.
"Won it off some poor slob. He wasn't the best gambler in the world, thought he could beat me on a broom. I'm not bad at all."
A queasy feeling entered Harry, he wondered who the man was and why he'd gone and done something like that. "Wow," he managed to choke out.
Darrian tossed the snitch to Harry. "Go ahead. Not many around here appreciate it; it's nice to have someone around who does."
Reflexes kicked in and Harry snagged the snitch out of mid-air, long before its wings were fully extended. "It's even signed!" he exclaimed as he examined it closer. Darrian nodded eagerly in the background.
From the back room Harry could hear giggling and he tossed the snitch back to Darrian. Darrian's hands darted out and caught the snitch quicker than Harry expected.
"You're pretty good at catching that," Harry commented.
Smiling, Darrian opened his hand again. The snitch feeling freedom opened its wings and started to move away. Darrian didn't even move until the last moment, waiting until the snitch was barely within reach to snag it out of mid air. Harry recalled seeing an almost identical scene he'd seen the previous year in Snape's memories.
"My dad used to do that." he said, remembering what else his father had done. Thinking of his father made him think about Sirius, which made him sad.
"Usually do it with a normal snitch, but I don't have it right now. Deacon won it off me in a bet yesterday so I have to go buy another one tomorrow."
"You have a Quidditch store here?" Harry asked surprised. Tonks hadn't known of one that was still running, they'd tried to go to one, but were unsuccessful in finding one. That was when he found out that Quidditch was not anywhere near as popular here as it was in other places. They had other sports.
"Down Madigs Lane, behind Penkey's Broom Supply. I could take you there tomorrow seeing as I'm already headed there."
"Sure!" Harry said excitedly. He was happy again, and wanted to check out the so called upgrade options for his Firebolt. He wasn't sure why Tonks had been constantly hounding him to be careful, he hadn't met anyone that wasn't nice to him yet.
They continued talking, about everything from Quidditch to the island. Harry found out a lot about the island. Most of the money came from tourism and trade, both of which the island was well suited for. The populating was a mingling of over a dozen different major cultures from around the world, and completely magical. Muggles only came on occasion, and only with someone magical, the only way to get to the island was through magic.
He also pointed out some of the major tourists traps, and some of the better places to visit. Tonks had known about nearly all of that stuff. She had failed to mention some places, specifically the clubs. Darrian talked about them a lot, and Harry suspected that Riana and Korina were going to be going to them with him.
The girls left the confines of their room soon afterwards.
"Gorgeous!" Darrian said when he saw them exit. "You're a real lucky guy Harry, getting to take both of these woman out."
Harry just nodded his head, dumbfounded. Then he remembered that he was wearing his swimming trunks still. "Do you have some place I could change?" Harry asked. He and Tonks had spent enough time shopping that he knew exactly what he wanted to wear, and he had enough to just transfigure the clothing.
Darrian nodded and pointed, "first door on the right."
"Harry, you know, Darrian's got some stuff I'm sure would fit you." Riana said before Harry closed the door. The three looked at the door Harry had walked into confused, he'd hadn't taken any clothing in there, why would he be changing.
Meanwhile Harry cleaned himself up as best as possible, then transfigured everything he had into a much nicer outfit. It took him a little time to get it to the point that he was satisfied with the state of his robes.
The two girls seemed surprised when Harry exited, but they didn't say anything. "Ready?" Harry asked, as confidently as possible. His mind was drifting with thoughts of the past and he was having a hard time ignoring them. Darrian had given him some tips about dancing, but it was hard enough to concentrate on the moment instead of what was going to happen.
"Not yet," Riana said. "Darrian's coming too. He seems to like you."
Darrian only took a few minutes to drop from his room in the ceiling. He did do it gently though. Harry didn't blame him, the clothing he was wearing now was much more restricting to extravagant moves like he'd been doing earlier.
"Here," Darrian slipped him a small object. "Eat it, it'll keep you good for the rest of the night." Harry took it and put the object into his mouth, unsure. It dissolved almost instantly and made him cough because of its strength, it seemed like some sort of potion in dry form.
The trip to the club they were going to was made on a trolley like vehicle that ran through the every fourth street in town. No one operated it, it simply rambled down the street slowly. It stopped when someone was near a pickup point, but it went slowly enough that you could catch it if you missed it, or grab it as it rolled by.
Club Craft was no more than a small doorway between Mindy's Market and The Gems Gallery. The only reason Harry had noticed it at all was because someone sporting short crimson hair entered it before Riana pointed it out.
Just inside a stoutly wizard with a grimacing look held a glass orb out for them to touch. Darrian didn't even bother, he just passed by the large man with a hand gesture and a smile.
Harry however was not so fortunate. He reached out and touched the orb with his hands and the orb glowed purple. The large man looked down at Harry and then glanced over to Darrian who made another gesture. For a second the two communicated with their eyes and then Harry was motioned to continue past.
"You're not sixteen?" Darrian asked as they waited for Korina and Riana.
"Not for another couple of weeks, at the end of July," Harry said quietly.
"He wasn't going to let you in, since you're not legal yet. Sorry about that, I'd have never thought you were fifteen. You don't look it, seventeen maybe, but not fifteen." Darrian studied Harry for a moment. "It's your eyes, they just. I don't know. They look like they've seen a lot of shit, you know? I don't know anyone that has eyes like that, not even adults."
Harry just nodded. No one had ever told him anything like that before and he wondered if it was because of the spell that changed his eyes color, maybe it changed them more than he'd thought. Even though Darrian had been right, Harry couldn't see how his eyes could be different because he had dealt with a 'lot of shit' as Darrian has so aptly put it.
Korina put her arm around Harry waste, which startled him more than a little. "What wrong Harry?" she asked sweetly, putting her head on his shoulder and making Harry shiver again.
"Nothing Kor, we were just talking about his eyes," Darrian said. He was smiling at Harry's reaction and trying to hold himself from laughing. ". and how unreserved girls from California are," He added.
Harry blushed, but Korina ignored the comment. "He does have pretty eyes doesn't he? They change too, don't they Harry?"
Not sure what she meant, Harry shrugged. He hoped that it didn't mean his eyes were already green, he'd performed the spell on them in the morning, it shouldn't have worn off already.
"Yeah?" Darrian asked.
Riana showed up and together they started walking down the hallway. "Yeah," Korina said, "they were brown this morning at the beach."
Flinching, Harry reached into his pocket and gripped his wand. "They're still brown."
Turning, Korina looked into his eyes. "They're. brown? I swear they were. oh, never mind."
Harry sighed, relieved they were still brown, but he wondered why she'd thought they had changed. He'd have to make sure to renew the spell daily. His mind numbed slightly as they walked out of the hall and into the room, the roar of the music causing it. His current problems seemed to drift to the back of his mind.
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