Leaves feathered the lawn outside Newbury; red oak and yellow maple fluttering and chasing the breeze. The students were dressed against the chill, in hats, scarves, and muffs- Jemma even had legwarmers with pictures of plant cells ("the mitochondria on that one is a little off," she'd confessed, "-But it's lovely, isn't it?"), Leo had his pilly knit winter hat, and Remus had taken to sending Harry with thermoses of soup and hot chocolate that stayed perfectly just-below-burning levels of hot.
He shared his out at lunch in the lab, pouring it into coffee cups they'd purloined from the cafeteria while Jemma distributed sections of egg and cress sandwiches, and Leo added his canned peas and ramen. Leo hadn't actually come without lunch since the first day, but they'd decided that sharing was better anyways- Jemma claimed she preferred Remus's soups to her boring old watercress, and Harry had said he was in the mood for a change.
"Perfectly warm! Where did you get that thermos again?" Jemma asked, taking another happy sip.
"Not sure," Harry lied.
"Unnatural," Jemma said.
"Supernatural," Leo suggested.
"Well, tell your dad he's the soup wizard," Jemma said, setting her cup down. "It reminds me-"
She frowned, narrowing her eyes for a moment. Harry winced.
"Well, I've lost it," she said after a moment.
"We've all lost it," Leo said, bumping his fist against hers. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Of course," Jemma said. "I've had my Peggy outfit hanging for months. What are you dressing as?"
"Bacon," Leo said sagely.
The two of them looked at Harry, faces grim.
"I'm figuring it out!" he said, holding his hands up.
"Are you sure?"
"Because last year-"
"I know-" Harry said.
"You didn't even try-"
Harry shook his head. The class halloween party was coming up, a few days before halloween due to the fall break, and apparently muggles didn't like it if you came without a costume. Harry couldn't remember if he'd dressed up before; it wasn't as much of a thing in the wizarding world. He did have something planned though; he'd been working it out with Loki all week. But it wouldn't be a party without a bit of surprise, right?
Jemma checked her watch.
"Plants!"
The three of them quickly cleaned up all their lunch things and went over to the plant side of the room, where their vines were growing patiently on some trellises they'd rigged up from measuring rods and dowels. Leo checked his hose- it was letting out little droplets of water.
"Good, good," he crooned. "Wouldn't want you losing water over the holidays."
Harry pruned off some sickly leaves- he'd gardened quite a bit with Remus so he was on steady footing here, while Jemma repositioned some of the vines.
"Just on track!" she said. "I don't know what we'll do when they start getting bigger-"
"Get a lot more rulers, I'll reckon."
"Ooh don't say that, we're going to be in so much trouble…"
"Yeah, my Da will kill me. Maybe we can get some trellises?"
"Sneak some, you mean?"
"Nah, I mean ask."
They turned to Harry.
"Me?" he said dubiously. "How come?"
"Oh, you know," Jemma said.
"She'll be so pleased you're asking, she'll have to lend them to you," Leo said, with an apologetic grin.
"And you're good in a pinch- I hate improvisation-"
"I always freeze up-"
"Fine, alright," Harry said, snorting. He thought they were laying it on a bit thick, but they weren't wrong about the dour biology teacher; she was happy enough to hand them over to Harry, and even hinted at giving bonus marks if he pulled off something impressive, which, he thought, the pair might've intended all along. They were a good sort, he thought, shaking his head. If intimidatingly academic.
The next day Harry got up early, brimming with excitement. He put up some eggs and toast, packed his bag, and got on his costume.
"My, someone looks ready," Remus said, wandering into the kitchen. "Did Loki make that with you?"
"Yep!" Harry said.
He snorted.
"Very good."
Harry grinned, sporting his werewolf costume. Loki had indeed been convinced to make it and it was nice and furry, like an actual wolf.
"Well, that's one bet off," Remus said ruefully, pouring his coffee. "I thought for sure you'd go as a wizard."
"I'm always a wizard," Harry said with a grin. "But today, I'm a werewolf like you."
Remus shook his head, smiling.
The Newbury schoolyard was a crowd of costumes, from the weak (Harry's yearmate Mike had come dressed as himself) to the intimidatingly elaborate. Dr. Marvis was wearing an outfit that slowly changed colors as she moved, and Harry wasn't sure which teacher was under all those layers of prosthetic and paint.
He spotted Jemma over by the doors, wearing an old-fashioned looking wig in imitation of the apparently famous agent.
"Oh, good job!" she said, clapping when he came over. "I didn't recognize you at a distance!"
"Yours too!" he said and she flashed a bright smile.
He scanned the crowd for bacon costumes, but came up empty.
"No sign of Leo yet," Jemma said. "I guess he's running late."
"Or stuck in the pan," Harry suggested, and Jemma laughed, but kept her eyes trained on the crowd. It was unusual for Leo to be late, especially on a day he'd been looking forward to so much. Harry was a bit worried too, especially when he wasn't in by roll call. The day stretched on, normal classes before lunch, albeit more festive than usual, with Dr. Marvis showing off elephant toothpaste and multicolored flames and Professor Renaula giving them spooky stories to read in class.
Harry and Jemma took lunch in the lab, Jemma getting up to fuss over the vines a few times.
"He's probably come down sick," Jemma said. "He's been looking peaky."
"Right," Harry said.
Jemma fiddled with the knobs on the hose and then petted his costume a few times.
The Halloween party was after lunch, complete with sweets from everyone in the class (Harry had brought in a careful selection of muggle candy Remus had gotten at an Aldis), and awards for creative costuming. He won "best fantasy costume" and Jemma got one for "best historical figure." Mike won the award for goofiest costume, which was, as Jemma said, a travesty. And that was the Halloween party.
Loki came to pick Harry up after school, dressed as some Norse god.
"Good day?" he asked, and Harry just shrugged.
"I won best fantasy costume," he said, and Loki's lips quirked.
He paused.
"No one teased you or-"
"No!" Harry said. "Of course not. They're very nice."
The most drama they got at Newbury was competition for grades, which meant less in his class than most, where Jemma and Leo consistently took the top spots.
He waved back to Jemma and turned back towards the hill.
"Let's go home."
Harry didn't get much of a chance to relax over Fall break. The professors had made up for Friday's fun with a generous supply of homework that kept him and Remus busy over the weekend. Monday, Harry went into the ministry with Loki who was still bringing the wizengamot around over his rule of law thing. Dumbledore wasn't at this meeting, but Draco was, seated on the bench next to Harry and Loki while Lucius spoke down below. He looked tired today; his face seemed paler than usual and there were bags under his eyes.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked.
Draco's eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Harry shrugged.
Draco sniffed, and then returned to writing in his journal.
The proceedings dragged on. Harry kicked his feet against the bench, bored.
Eventually the ministry did get out and it was time for proper Halloween. Harry went with Ron and Ginny around the houses at Ottery St. Catchpole collecting sweets from the Weasleys' neighbors, who ranged from mostly older muggles who exclaimed on their wizard "costumes" and handed out mars bars and sherbet lemons, to the older wizarding man who said "Harry Potter! Have you met my son, Cedric? Top student in his year, you know. Some things can't be put down to fame, you know, just hard work and natural talent…"
Eventually they came away with the generous but poor remuneration of chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts. The next house was a little castle on a hill, and a small girl with neat wavy blond hair down to her waist gave each of them a dirigible plum in a little nest.
"You must give them a nice place to sleep so they don't fly away," she explained, tucking one into each of their hands.
"Do you want to come with us, Luna?" Ginny asked.
The girl quirked her head.
"Thank you, but we're looking for glowtruckles tonight. All Hallow's Eve is one of their favorite nights, on account of all the tricks."
"Er, okay," Ginny said.
"Bye, Luna," Ron added, waving cheerily as he steered Harry away.
"Glow-what?" Harry asked, and Ginny shook her head. "Don't ask."
None of the other houses were as exciting as Luna's, but by the end of the night they were happy and spirited as they traded candy and chocolate frog cards, singing and shouting in the crisp night air.
By the time Harry returned to school Wednesday after the too-short break, tired but flushed and happy, he'd almost completely forgotten about the class Halloween party and Leo's absence. He walked over to Jemma, who was pacing under the overhang, paging through news articles.
Harry peered over- Thatcher Out, Keylove In: what changes can we expect to see? with a smiling, unmoving picture and a sprawling wall of text. She folded it up when she noticed him, brightening momentarily, then frowning.
"Have you seen Leo?" Harry asked, and she shook her head.
"Not a trace over the holidays."
"Did you try calling him?"
Jemma nodded.
"A few times. No answer."
"Maybe his family decided to do something for Halloween?" Harry asked, and she shook her head.
"It's not like him," she said.
But Leo wasn't back the following day either. Teachers commented on it but only Jemma and Harry seemed really worried.
"You don't think this is something to do with our world?" he said to Loki one afternoon, when his godfather had come to pick him up.
"Hardly," Loki said. "There's nothing to gain in targeting him specifically."
"Would you check into it anyways?" Harry asked, and Loki quirked his head and then nodded.
"If it makes you happy, I will look into it."
In the end he didn't need to though, because the next day, Leo turned up.
It was Friday morning and Harry was early for once, walking across the mostly empty school lot in the crisp, cold air. Leo was standing in their usual corner.
He waved.
Harry ran over and stopped short. Leo looked wan and pale, eyes rimmed with pink.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"Just got sick," Leo mumbled. "Did I miss much?"
"Nothing really," Harry said. He recounted the past few days quickly, glossing over how worried he and Jemma had been. "The party wasn't anything, really. It was stupid."
"Did you dress up?" Leo asked, with a quick smile.
"Yeah, I was a werewolf."
"Ah, and I missed it!" Leo said, shaking his fist. "I want to see the pictures then."
Jemma showed up a few moments later, tackling Leo into a hug.
"You had me worried sick! Why didn't you answer your phone?" she demanded.
Leo brushed his face.
"Sorry," he said, and Jemma gave him another hug.
And that was that.
Except it wasn't, really.
"Don't touch that you'll break it," Leo said the next day, pushing ahead of Jemma and Harry when he came to inspect the plants.
"Four liters of water; were you trying to drown the things!"
"Don't be an idiot, Harry, put that down."
"Touchy, touchy," Jemma muttered, as Harry dropped the pruning shears back onto the table.
He went back to the vines, examining them from all angles, and began to prune away the dead leaves himself, examining each one critically.
"Well now who's been an idiot; you're pruning too much away!" Jemma exclaimed, grabbing his wrist.
He whirled around with a furious scowl and dumped the shears back on the table.
"Lunch break's over, anyways."
"So you see…" Dr. Jinkins droned, "When the piston rod... is closer to the crankshaft…. the compression ratio…. changes rapidly."
Class was even stranger. Harry had gotten used to the pair's rapidfire whispering dialogue, just below what the professors could hear, or at least, ignore. But Leo was staring out the window, while Jemma frowned and took notes, turning every few moments to stare back at him.
"And what is this force?" Dr. Jinkins asked. "Leo?"
"I don't know, sir," Leo said, without looking away.
"Right, velo- you don't- I mean-" the professor coughed. "Does anyone else know?"
"It's velocity," Jemma muttered and Leo shrugged, and Harry thought with some depression that he'd known that one, even.
"Come on; the exams are just around the corner," Jemma said, but he just stared back blankly.
In the middle of English class Leo walked out.
"So we see, the Just-So, or the Taffy stories, as they were sometimes referred to, were notable in several ways…"
Dr. Hadley, their English teacher, was still lecturing about Kipling. Jemma's hand was still taking rapid notes despite her looking like she wanted to bound out of her seat.
Harry shook his head and walked out too.
He looked down the hallway, trying to figure out where the other boy had gone. Leo knew the school like the back of his hand, and Harry didn't think he could match him for hiding spots. He walked down the tile hallway, glancing past classrooms, listening for footsteps. He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly, but as it turned out he needn't go far.
Someone was crying in the bathroom.
Harry paused, then gently closed the door behind him.
The sniffling stopped.
"Leo?"
No one answered.
"Are you okay?" Harry called out. He looked around; metal sinks and stalls, but he didn't see anyone else around.
He took a few steps forward.
"I'm fine," Leo said, voice muffled.
Harry walked over to the back edge of the bathroom. Leo was huddled up against the last stall. His face was red and chalky, and there were tears streaming from his eyes.
"Sorry," he said, brushing his face. He turned away.
"You…" Harry stopped, at a loss. "You don't look fine."
Leo gave a gurgling laugh.
"Yeah," he said. "It's just, my Da left. And I don't think he's coming back. So."
He laughed again, then let out a little sob.
It was raining, fat wet droplets, when Harry's godfather came to pick him up from school, a lone black-suited figure in a sea of bright parents. Loki came with umbrellas, and Harry huddled close to him as they apparated back to the cottage.
"Nasty weather out," Remus muttered as Harry and Loki walked in. The door banged and stuck against the wind til Loki shut it with an impatient wave of his hand. The cottage was warm; Remus checked the oven and floated Harry's bag over to its hook as he took off his coat.
"It's a leftover night," he said, taking the chicken and carrots out of the magical warming cupboards and quickly dressing the table. "I'm sure you're busy-"
"Paperwork waits for no one," Loki said, turning back. He was utterly dry and tall and wizardly. His suit shifted into robes as he turned to go.
"Wait," Harry croaked.
Remus and Loki both turned towards him and he shifted, self-conscious.
"Stay, please."
So Loki stayed for dinner, and Remus brewed up mugs of hot cocoa and Harry sat with them on the couch, holding a mug that never cooled and wouldn't spill, no matter what way he tipped it.
"I don't understand how he could just… leave like that," he said, after a long while. Remus and Loki had gotten the whole story out of him, piece by piece, over the evening. After he had sat with Leo in the bathroom, they'd found Jemma and Dr. Marvis had excused them the rest of the day to sit with the counselor and wait and kick their legs and talk in hushed voices while he sat and spoke to Leo. It seemed very far away, like a day out of someone else's life.
Remus rubbed circles into his back, shaking his head.
"Some parenting situations are… complicated," he said.
Loki shifted; he'd been jumpy and watchful since Harry had spoken, like an angry cat.
"He'll be better off in the long run," he said, after a moment. "To not be saddled to a useless father."
Harry shrugged, curling his arms up around his legs.
"He's pretty upset now," he said.
Remus nodded.
"He will be, for a good while, I think," he said. "But eventually he will heal. And he has good friends by his side."
Loki stood up, pacing, and muttered something about getting some air and Harry curled against Remus's side.
He started up again a few moments later, trying to blink his eyes back open; they were sticky and crusted with dried up tears. Remus was snoring gently next to him. He rubbed his forehead.
"Shhhh," Loki said, pressing a finger to his lips. He brushed past the armchair and sat back down next to Harry, murmuring something that his sleep-addled brain belatedly translated as "did not mean to wake you…"
"Do you think he'll ever come back?" he asked. His heart hurt.
"No," Loki said. He smoothed down Harry's hair calmingly, and he saw clouds, and stars, and a horizon that went on without end. "I don't think he will."