Chapter 3: Beaumonde

Serenity was descending through the atmosphere of Beaumonde and inside the ship, in one of the cabins, Harry sat crossed-legged on the floor. He had an important decision to make and that decision was clouding his mind with doubt and worry.

He had to choose between leaving Serenity and starting a new life or joining Mal's crew and wandering through the darkness looking for work to survive. Part of him wanted to stay onboard and be with the new friends he had made and another part craved and feared the chance to start a new life on a new planet without a knut to his name. He feared failure in the face of the unknown without his wand, without knowledge about the new planet, without money to buy his bread. He, however, also craved the idea of a new beginning, a new life, a life without the heavy weight of a prophecy bearing down on him.

He took comfort in his ability to use mind magic but he wondered if it would be enough. His presence on the ship would benefit Mal when it came to shady dealings since River couldn't be relied upon as yet. But they didn't know about that side of Harry since he wasn't ready to reveal his supernatural status to them.

The ship trembled, straining against the pull of gravity, as her speed was drastically reduced and moments later she thumped against solid ground breaking the spell of indecision surrounding Harry.

"Potter."

Harry looked up and saw the captain standing outside his door, armed and ready.

Mal could see the dilemma Harry was facing and he offered a sympathetic smile. "We're going to deliver the goods and I hope you make up your mind by the time we get back. If you chose to stay then you're going to have to pay me for living on my boat or you're going to prove yourself useful enough for me to want to keep you around for a while."

Harry nodded and Mal left Harry to it. During his short time on the ship, Harry had come to realize that the goods they transported were usually not legal and in simpler terms, it meant Mal and his crew were smugglers. He didn't know what to make of that but he did know they were good people.

He took a deep breath and jumped to his feet. A tour of the city might help him make a decision. On his way down to the cargo bay, he ran into River, who was walking with the air of a person balancing on a tightrope. Both teenagers stopped and Harry thought he ought to say something but nothing came to mind.

River took the initiative. "A human body decomposes four times faster in water than on land."

"Err... Okay?" Harry replied cautiously. His mental scale of River's craziness had just shot up by a couple of notches and he had a suspicion that she was imagining his body decomposing.

River stared at him, unblinking, not revealing even the slightest clue as to what she was thinking or feeling and a few seconds after her proclamation, she stepped around him and sauntered away.

Harry let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and suddenly leaving the ship was sounding more attractive than living on the ship. He was glad River hadn't launched that weird mental attack of hers.

The sky was black with an orange hue when Harry stepped out of the ship. He was taken aback by the number of objects around him. He was in some sort of port with machines towering all around him, transporting massive crates from one place to another. He took a few steps away from Serenity and gasped as other ships docked in the port came into his line of sight. He had thought Serenity was a big ship but now he realized how limited his view of this new universe was.

With every step that he took away from Mal's ship, the idea of leaving the ship became stronger and stronger in his mind.

Before he realized where his feet, guided unconsciously by his eyes, were taking him, he had left the port and entered the city.

"So this is what the city of the future looks like," he marvelled. The streets in Greenhorn were hard-packed dirt. But on this planet, the streets were wide and made out of a material that made the road reflect the light of the numerous lamps which hung from steel poles that were lined up on both sides of the road as far as he could see.

He walked on the footpath taking care not to bump into the mass of people that milled around him, all wrapped up in their own little worlds. He saw children pulling their parents towards little stalls selling toys and ice planets, he saw groups of men, standing outside bars, roaring and laughing without a care in the world, he saw women giggling as they examined the expensive clothes which were on display inside a garment shop. His eyes kept drinking in the vast and diverse activities occurring all around him.

The most fascinating part of this part of the city, he felt, was the floating ad boards and mismatched buildings lined up beside each other. They all had the same coat of brown paint but their sizes varied greatly as he kept moving towards no known destination.

"Watch it," a tall, scruffy man snapped at him when Harry ran into him and almost toppled over him. His eyes had been glued to a signboard advertising a Chinese woman with a broad smile and thick makeup holding an energy drink in her hand.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled and grimaced as the stench of dirt and alcohol filled his senses. He quickly hurried away from the curses of the man and entered an area of the city which widened into a large crossroad and taller buildings could be seen in the distance. There were a lot more vehicles travelling on these roads and across the road, Harry spotted numerous electronic stores which excited him. He had been fascinated by the encyclopaedia the doctor had lent him, along with the equipment on Serenity and he wanted to know what else had been invented during his long siesta.

His eagerness to explore and desire to visit the numerous stores was curbed when he remembered that he had no money at all. Sighing in disappointment, he turned around and headed back to the port before he wandered off too far and lost his bearings.

On the way back he thought about what the city had to offer and what being a part of the crew of Serenity had to offer. The city was noisy, it was dirty and most importantly it was free.

Harry loved it. His decision was made.

He met Shepherd Book outside, sitting in a foldable chair, keeping an eye on the fuel gauge as the ship was refuelled.

"Had a nice walk?" Book asked knowingly.

"Oh yeah," Harry said grinning.

"This planet is great," Book said wistfully. "There's opportunity, crime, money, entertainment, gambling..." he broke off as memories of the past resurfaced in his mind along with the emotions he connected with them.

"Sounds like you've been here before," Harry said.

"A long time ago, perhaps even before I got my first grey hair," he said humorously.

"I'm going to stay," Harry said suddenly.

"Pardon?"

"I've decided to stay here, in Beaumonde. I'm not coming back on the ship."

Book took a second to process that and then he nodded slowly. "If I remember correctly you had said that you wished to be dropped off at Beaumonde. Do you have family here?"

"No," Harry said truthfully. "I just feel like this is a good place to start a new life."

"It's your decision but just remember this; this place holds both prosperity and poverty. If you register yourself with the Alliance then you might find life a bit easier but it will also be restrained. If you choose not to then your fortunes could go either way."

"I'll remember that," Harry said accepting the advice gratefully.

"And one more thing," Book said. He dug his hands into his pockets and removed a small pouch which jingled merrily when he handed it to Harry. "There are about 50 credits in there and they should be enough for you to sustain yourself for a week or two."

"Shepherd," Harry protested but Book just raised his hands stopping Harry.

"You need a place to stay and find yourself a job. You can pay me back some other time."

"I'll be sure to do that," Harry said gratefully. He helped Book turn off the pump and disconnect the giant pipe once the ship had been fully refuelled. Harry waited beside the ship and watched the old preacher walk into the port office to make the payment for the fuel.

Just then, Simon poked his head out of the cargo bay and looked around to see if anyone was watching before coming down and stopping next to Harry. River dutifully trailed a few paces behind him. The doctor looked around, frowning before turning to Harry and asked, "Captain's not back yet?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "The ship's been refuelled though."

"Oh," Simon said nodding absently, "That's good."

"Is something wrong doc?"

"No, nothing. It's nothing." His worried glance towards River spoke otherwise.
Fifteen minutes later Mal and the rest of the crew returned with broad smiles on their faces.

"I take it you got paid?" Book asked mildly.

"You bet your holy book we did," Mal said cheerfully. "Start her up Wash and set course for Persephone. We have to pick up Inara and Badger's got a job waiting for us."

Wash mock saluted Mal and hurried up to the bridge. Zoe and Jayne followed him while Kaylee made her way to the engine room to ensure that they didn't crash back into the ground.

Mal waited for his crew to leave and then he looked at Harry with a deep, penetrating stare. "Have you decided?"

"I'm leaving," Harry said.

Mal nodded. "Good."

"Thank you for everything captain and if we ever met again I'll be sure to repay you."

"Make sure you do," Mal joked. "Do you want to say goodbye to the others or...?"

"No, it's alright. You can tell them for me," he said and let his eyes travel over the length of the firefly class ship one last time. He looked at River, who could be seen leaning over the railing, a level above the cargo bay, and saw that she had a small smile on her face. It wasn't a malicious one or one indicating that she was glad he was leaving; it was just a friendly smile.

One day, he thought, he would definitely try and understand the workings of her mind but not now or anytime soon.

"Well goodbye then," Harry said without any fanfare and walked away from the ship and into his new life.

"Look for a motel called 'The Sun'," Mal shouted as the ship began to lift off. "They won't rip you off!"

Harry gestured his thanks and backed away quickly as dust and heat swirled around the ship as its engines gained power, and as soon as it gained enough altitude, it zoomed away leaving a trail of yellow dust which disappeared just as soon as it appeared.

He had nothing on him except for the credits the shepherd had given him. In the past, he had fantasized so many times about just giving everything up and starting over and now he had gotten his chance.

It took him a while, but after asking for directions from a dozen people and after getting lost in a number of narrow alleys, he found himself in a decrepit part of the city. Memories of his first accidental venture in Knockturn Alley surfaced in his mind.

The Sun was a five-storey sturdy building and it seemed to be the only building with most of its lights turned on. It was late and most of the shops nearby, already had their shutters down.

He entered the building and made his way to the reception. "Excuse me, I'd like to rent a room please," he said politely.

A short, thin woman with as many wrinkles as hair on her head turned around and faced him. Her grey hair was tied into a tight bun and there were five gold chains around her neck. She was wearing a nightgown with its top buttons open and Harry couldn't help but stare at her very visible sagging breasts.

She appraised him before barking out, "How long you wancha stay?"

"A couple of weeks?"

"You be wanting any geisha at night?"

"Geisha?"

"Whore fool!"

Harry gasped and blushed. "N-no!" he stammered. "No. Just a room will do."

"Hmm... too bad," said the woman with a smirk. "I give good rates."

Suddenly Harry wondered what kind of an establishment this was and whether he should have really listened to Mal. He had learnt that the captain had a sadistic side to him too.

The woman turned around and bent down and began to rummage through a box full of keys. Harry grimaced at the sight of her behind.

Finally, she straightened out and threw a key at him which Harry caught easily.

"5 credits for a day and 10 if you feel like working your cock." Her beady eyes travelled the length of his body and she didn't look impressed. In fact, she looked like she pitied him.

Harry blushed and nodded quickly. He didn't want to stay in the presence of this crazy woman any longer and checked the number on his key.

"Room 33," he murmured and walked up the stairs to the third floor. Inside, there was a decent-sized bed, a bedside table and lamp, a bathroom adjacent to the bed with a tub and a large table opposite the bed with drawers for his clothes. There was a large mirror on the bathroom door and a communicator near the entrance. A quick glance through the window revealed it was a street-facing room which Harry was glad for.

It seemed like a nice place regardless of where it was located and he made a mental note to thank Mal if he met him again. But then he heard faint thumping noises coming through the wall and it kept getting louder. Frowning, he went closer and pressed his ear against the wall. At first, it sounded like someone jumping on a bed and then he heard the sound of a woman and she was moaning. Her moans were then drowned by the shouts of the man and Harry quickly backed away from the wall – embarrassed and aroused by the sounds.

"How am I supposed to sleep?!" he whispered, his heart beating faster than usual when he realized that he could hear similar noises coming from other rooms too. "You knew this was going to happen didn't you Mal!"

He was sure Mal and the rest of the crew were having a laugh imagining his current situation.

Bastards, he cursed without any real anger but just resignation. Sighing, he flopped on the bed and buried his face in the pillow hoping to drown the passionate screams but it was useless.

Filling his mind with images of him getting back at Mal, he slowly drifted and finally fell asleep.

That night his dreams were vivid and graphic in ways he would have never thought possible. But they were all pleasant and filled with hopes and visions of what his new life was going to be like.

The next morning was a new beginning and Harry intended to make the most of it.

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