AN: I apologize for taking so long! I was having some serious computer issues this weekend and it didn't get fixed until just before I left for work this morning.

This will not be slash OR a het pairing. The only pair in this is the brief mention of Gambit/Rogue in the first and this chapter. I hope that you like this chapter as much as the first.

Part 2

An hour later, Remy felt much better. It was amazing just how good a shower and shave could feel - especially after one has taken Wolverine's hangover cure. That stuff was noxious enough to kill an elephant, let alone a hangover.

As he made his way down the stairs, he found Rogue glaring up at him from the bottom. In spite of everything else that may have happened between them, she was still beautiful. At that moment, though, he knew that they weren't going to be able to go back to where they once were. Too much - or too little - had gone on lately, their 'date' from Saturday night notwithstanding.

"He could be dangerous," she hissed at him, stopping Remy on the last stair.

He stared at Rogue. "How could he be? First, he's not American, so it's not likely that he knows anyone out to 'get the mutants.' Second, I think he is a mutant, because he has power. And before you say anything, me petite, I don't think he is dark enough to be one of Magneto's Brotherhood."

She impatiently swept the white stripe of her hair behind her ear before pointing down the long corridor. There, at the very end, Remy could make out the figures of the professor and their guest. "He's been with Xavier all of the time since you came in. He never left the office, but he looks like he just stepped out of the shower. I've been watching - "

" - Because it's my fault he's here?" Remy sarcastically asked.

" - Because I don't trust him." She glared at him even harder. "This isn't the first time that someone has brought somebody back here who looks nice, but all of them wanted us to either die or disappear."

"What if I'm the one who wanted to disappear?" Harry's voice called to them not that far away.

Remy turned to find the two men less than ten feet away. For once, the disappointed look on the professor's face wasn't directed at him and was at one of the favored X-Men. Then he looked at Harry and was startled to see just how young the man was.

At the bar, the light had obscured most of his facial features. Only his eyes had stood out. Of course, green eyes like those were rare, but the look in them was even more so. The look was what made Remy supposed that Harry was around his own age.

Those green eyes, once again catching his curiosity, were set in a pale, drawn face. It was as if he hadn't slept in a month, not just a couple of days, without the aide of alcohol. He had the smooth cheeks of one who doesn't have to shave very often, despite his dark hair. Even if Rogue was correct about him having cleaned up, his hair was a considerable mess. Thick chunks of black hair stuck out in various directions, and there were quite a few strands that glinted of silver in the midday sun streaming through the windows.

He was fairly short for a man, and one of the skinniest people Remy had seen outside of those with eating disorders. Though he didn't think that Harry suffered from one of them, considering just how many wings the two men had ordered at the bar, and there was a faint memory of hitting up the local taco restaurant yesterday afternoon before they had gone back to Harry's hotel room to sample his whiskey.

However, it was Harry's stance that said something about his maturity rather than his age. The green eyed man reminded Remy of a soldier coming home from a long war - exhausted and elated all at once.

"Mr. Potter will be staying here for the next month helping some of our younger students who can transmute objects."

Remy blinked at that, since Harry hadn't ever said his last name. With that little bit of information, though, he knew that his new friend had to be a mutant. There was no way he could be a 'normal' human with the amount of power that flowed across his skin. Besides, he had been wondering about his new friend's motorcycle, trying to figure out just how dangerous it was. If Harry was able to transmute things, then it was possible that his weapons had been molded to fit into the actual shape of the bike.

"Professor?"

The four of them looked down the hallway, where Storm was heading for them. Remy noticed that she had cut her hair short again, which seemed to emphasize the elegant cheekbones and made her brown eyes seem even bigger than they really were. With her was one of the youngest students, a boy he remembered seeing having one-on-one sessions with the professor.

The boy stopped about fifteen feet from them and stared at Harry. It wasn't only that which caught Remy's attention, but the expression on the boy's face - adoration. That was rather strange in a man that the boy had never seen before.

"He - hello, Mr. Potter," the boy said hesitantly as Storm talked quietly to the professor. "I read about what you did in the Gazette this summer. My mom's family came over from England after the last war, an' she was cryin' when she heard about it."

Harry crouched down to look in the boy's eyes. "What's your name?"

"Colin Smith. My mom was a Bones before she married my dad. My grandfather was Edgar Bones."

Harry nodded at this, although he looked both curious and weary about the entire conversation. "I was told that the only Bones to survive both wars was Susan."

Colin shrugged. "My mom was a squib, and she was sent away right away."

A look of understanding crossed Harry's face, even though Remy was terribly confused at the strange word. The last he knew, a squib was a bird. Or maybe that was a squab. As long as it was braised in a lovely sauce, he didn't care what kind of bird he was eating.

"Why didn't you go to school in Salem, then?"

Colin's face drooped. "Because I don't... you know. But I can do this!" He held up his hand, which suddenly burst into flames. Then his hair turned pink and the boy blushed, his hand going back to normal skin. "I don't know why it does that, though."

Harry chuckled. "I might have an idea, but I'll need to talk to a couple of my friends - one of which includes Susan, who would be your first cousin once removed, I believe."

Remy had almost forgotten that Rogue had been standing there as well - considering they'd been sleeping together two weeks ago, well, sharing a bed - when she interrupted. "Excuse me, but you come over here sounding so posh and talking about all of these people. How do we know that you're not just another spy for the government?"

"Because he is not," the professor answered.

"He's a mutant," Remy said.

Harry shook his head. "I'm not."

"But, you have power," Remy stated.

The green-eyed man gave a derisive laugh. "I have power, but I'm not mutant."

"What can you do?" Rogue demanded to know.

Harry's eyes locked onto Remy's for a brief moment before he vanished and reappeared behind Colin. Then he turned into a beautiful cat, although it was too quick for even Remy's eyes to catch what kind. Harry then took out a stick with a glossy coat of varnish on it and pointed it at Colin, who suddenly began laughing.

"Tickling Hex," Harry commented.

"What are you?" Storm asked at the display.

"He's a wizard," Colin breathlessly between his laughter. "He's only the greatest wizard 'cause he just beat the worst Dark Lord that ever was."

Harry pat his hand on the boy's shoulder, and he suddenly stopped shaking with laughter. There was such a sad look on the green-eyed man's face that Remy felt his heart clench a little at it when Harry looked him straight in the eyes.

"I don't think he was the worst ever, but I did defeat him."