Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 6
Gilgamesh watched over Harry as the boy slept restlessly, the camp lit by the low light of the fire. He didn't usually bother with such mortal comforts but Harry needed to stay warm. He wished he could leave with him, help him learn about the changed world, but it was impossible, he was bound to the Tempering Grounds until the True King's Shield came to face him.
He did not like the idea of sending him off alone but there was no other choice, hopefully the current monarch was one of the good ones. He was not naïve, he knew any family, especially over such a long time period, would have its good members and bad. He had no doubt Harry was powerful enough to stand up to a bad ruler, so long as the Crystal and Ring were not involved. Could Harry utilise them, could he be accepted by the Lucii? Revealing himself to the family could put him in danger or give him the support he needed.
When he sensed the morning approaching above, he put together some of the food, glad he still had some skill with cooking. The smell caused Harry to stir, the boy sitting up and running a hand through messy, tangled hair. He sighed and untied it, summoning a comb to attack the mess while also eating.
"Let us see what you have forgotten," he stood and Harry grimaced but followed him.
"Please remember I haven't really had anyone to spar with for six years," Harry pointed out as he took a stance opposite Gilgamesh. "Weapons, magic, anything goes?"
"Sword work first," he answered, watching him easily summon the sword Gil had given him so long ago.
Two hours later he took mercy on his old student as the much younger male collapsed on the rocks, panting for air, hair soaked with sweat. "I know…I'm out of practice," he groaned.
"Perhaps you should remain here for a time to regain your old skills. The last challenge spoke of a war, it would not be good for you to find yourself in battle unprepared."
Harry nodded and then went back to the river to clean up.
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Three months later, Gil was content with his abilities and Harry was packing up slowly. He knew it wasn't healthy for him to stay but Gilgamesh and the sword now bonded to him were the only links he had to his family. He'd been confused when using his Uncles blade seemed to affect his heath and energy levels and Gilgamesh had explained what little he knew of the 'Royal Arms'. Out of curiosity he was considering hunting them down to see what his…descendants?...had left for those who followed. There'd been quite a few generations between him and his Dad, how many were there now between him and the current King or Queen? Would a DNA test even be able to find it? If they even had those.
"I'll visit," Harry promised and Gil nodded. "I'll bring you history books and fun reading too."
"I have been here for centuries Harry, do not worry about me. Be careful about approaching the Lucis Caelum," he warned and Harry nodded.
"Would I even be in any history books?" he asked and Gilgamesh hesitated.
"Maybe, though it would only be your adopted name."
Harry nodded in understanding; he could be Harry Potter again to make things simpler. He just didn't want to; he'd refused to answer to the name back on Earth. He moved in to hug Gilgamesh, feeling an arm wrap around him in return, Gil's hugs had always made him feel so safe, they still did even with an arm missing.
"Stay safe, Little Healer," his old title was offered teasingly and Harry laughed before stepping back.
"I'll be back to visit," he promised before with a barely audible pop he vanished, grinning at his last sight of Gil, red eyes wide.
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He stared at where Harry had been a second before, that had not been warping! The small, cheeky, smile before he vanished was a relief though. Obviously he had learnt much in his time back with his birth people, even if his weapons skills had been left to fade some. Harry had not told him much of what had happened but he could read the signs well enough, he had been through a war. what kind of war did not use weapons though? Did his people really rely so much on their magic. He shook his head, that made no sense to him at all.
To know Ardyn had not harmed his son was a relief. Looking back on that day…even as the Scourge made its appearance within him…he'd been trying to protect Aera despite the fact she had already passed. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall. Could they have helped him? He hadn't been able to bring himself to tell Harry the truth and what did it matter? Ardyn was locked away on Angelgard, wasn't he?
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Harry appeared near the Haven he had stayed at during his first night back. The first step was finding some sort of settlement and then learning everything he could. He didn't like Legilimency, it was a massive breach of privacy, especially when used on non-magicals who had no hope of shielding their minds. Under the circumstances, it would be the best way for him to learn something of how Eos had changed in his absence, he knew it could be dangerous to be a stranger who seemed to lack basic knowledge, it would make him stand out too much.
In the full light of day he spotted a path and set out to follow it, sword a strange weight on his hip but only the Lucis Caelum could access the Armiger and for now he was just a simple traveller which meant he had to carry a weapon for protection. He was surprised when the path lead him to a road, a paved road with metal railings….like something from Earth. It had been a long time so it made sense that the people had advanced. He saw a car approaching and hesitated but then waved at them, relieved when the car slowed and the driver got out, eyeing him with only slight wariness.
"Hello?"
"Hi," Harry smiled tiredly, knowing he looked a bit road worn but that had been the idea. "I'm very lost, can you tell me where the nearest town or anything is?"
The other man looked him over, seeing the sword, battered pack and dusty clothing. He was wearing some of his modern clothing due to the way Gil had described the dress of his last challenger several years before and what had sounded like a military uniform…that had zippers!
"There's Lestallum, if that's where you're headed, but there's some outposts closer." He shrugged and then nodded. "I'm heading for Lestallum if you're going there?" he offered and Harry smiled.
"Thank you," he approached slowly and got in the car, placing his pack and sword in the back seat, seeing his driver relax at that. "I'm Harry," he offered.
"Neal."
"Thanks again for the help."
"This isn't Insomnia, out here everyone helps each other," he shrugged as he pulled back onto the road properly. "We'll need to stop overnight but should be there around lunchtime tomorrow."
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Harry leant forward as they came out of the tunnel to see the town of Lestallum, taking in the mass of buildings built up into the side of a hill or cliff, the cars and people. Neal pulled off to the left, going down a ramp into a parking lot. He parked and they got out, the heat hitting instantly and Harry was very glad for cooling charms. He grabbed his things and dug into his pack, pulling out a few galleons, not exactly local currency but gold was gold. "Here," he handed it over. "Thank you for the help." He slipped away into the crowd before the other could say anything.
A little magic ensured people didn't pay him any attention as he walked around, learning the lay of the land. He found the large open market and browsed, watching how people paid, Gil was still the currency then. He had a little but hopefully he'd be able to exchange gold for Gil. It was far more relaxed than London and there was a definite difference in size and population. The women were…not what he was expecting, dressed in what had to be a uniform, well-built and loud. A while of listening revealed they worked in the power plant and that men couldn't. They were harnessing meteor shards for power? That was unexpected.
He watched as people approached the owner of a café, showing him animal parts in exchange for funds. The people tended to be dressed in rugged clothing and were armed, he then saw one remove some kind of dog tags and hand them over to have something marked on them. When that man walked away Harry followed, managing to corner him in an Alley where he slipped into his mind. He was a Hunter; someone whose job was to deal with animals and daemons that threatened people. They were organised almost like an army, though less structured. He got everything he could and then Obliviated him before going to pick another target.
Three hours later he checked into the Leville and collapsed on the bed, nursing a headache and in shock. Two thousand years! It felt impossible and yet he knew it was possible, Leonis had come to Eos over a thousand years before he had, and yet by the timeline of Eos, they had only arrived two centuries before him. The anomaly Hogwarts had been built over obviously fluctuated a lot.
The Lucis Caelum ruled the Kingdom of Lucis from their capitol, Insomnia. The current king was Regis, the hundred and thirteenth since the Founder King, the Mystic. And that title kind of made him want to laugh, he really hoped his Uncle hadn't chosen that title himself. Though it really raised a lot of questions, most had assumed Dad would be king. Maybe he had ruled briefly or hadn't unified everything into Lucis, so he was left off the list? Gil had said Aera died and with Harry vanished, he could have died without his own heir, leaving Somnus to inherit.
They were at war and had been for a long time with the Empire of Niflheim, based on the western continent, a war it seemed the people thought they were losing. Attitudes towards the capital and the Royal family were mixed but…a lot of them saw them as useless. The empire occupied almost all of Lucis, only Insomnia protected by a magical wall that used to cover a lot more of the continent.
Magitek….they couldn't mean the old Solheim technology, could they? The thought that it had been revived…where would they have found information enough to remake such things? Even in his time, little was known, even with Dad and Aera's fascination with the ruins. Who could be insane enough to try to imitate the kingdom that had brought about so much ruin in their arrogance?
He knew he was still missing a lot; no civilians were going to know everything. He needed access to records and that meant Insomnia. For that, he'd need some form of identification to get through. Going in as a refugee would severely limit his options from the rumours he'd hears. It seemed the city liked being cut off from the rest of the Kingdom and looked down on them. Unless he joined the Kingsglaive?
Passing himself off as a native of the city would be impossible, not with the glimpses he'd gotten of their technology level from the minds of some tourists. It was interesting that such a high tech city still had an army that relied on bladed weapons rather than firearms. Because of magic? But that didn't make sense, unless the magical bloodlines had spread out enough over the centuries that an army could be gathered from them? It didn't really matter, he only knew the bare basics of Earth computers, he didn't have the skill necessary to create an identity and slip it into a foreign system.
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Harry was in Galdin three weeks later when he heard the rumours of a new batch of refugees coming in from Galahd and heading for Insomnia with the King's welcome. Perfect. When the group reached the road leading to Hammerhead, Harry slipped in, using magic to copy and alter id documents as well as plant memories of himself, letting their own imaginations fill in the blanks. He looked young enough still to pass as early twenties, maybe late teens so it was okay that he lacked the braids of an adult. He made himself eighteen for some leeway. He was just glad he couldn't pass as sixteen anymore. A little bit of transfiguration had his clothing fitting in, and Harry Peverell was just one more Galahdan refugee.
The Peverell line, like the Gryffindor, had died out in the male line, a daughter marrying into the Potter's centuries ago, so he could use the name. Not like anyone on Eos could check if he had a right to use the name. They were put into a camp near Hammerhead to be processed into the city and Harry moved about the group, helping to treat injuries using herbal remedies rather than magic since he didn't want to get too much attention.
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Cor watched the refugees as they began processing them. They were all skinny, many of them still injured. He knew there could be Imperial sympathisers or plants within the group, they had remained in Galahd after the last attack that had given them so many of their current Glaives. Though with the ages of many, they would have been children back then, left behind or with parents who refused to evacuate?
He joined some of his people, giving out food and blankets, tending to injuries and that was when he spotted one of the refugees doing the same. When the boy…young man turned it was all Cor could do not to start. Black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, green eyes serious as he checked on a younger child's broken limb…it wasn't possible, was it? He was young enough by the look of him, too old for the only other possible parentage…though maybe a few generations? But he looked too much like…like Regis. He looked around the same age as Noctis, maybe a little older, too young to be a bastard of Mors.
He steadied himself and then approached, squatting down to give the child a chocolate bar, getting a wary look in return but the older boy smiled and ruffled dark hair, opening it for the child. "Papers?" he asked and the older boy nodded, making sure the kid was munching away happily, arm re-wrapped firmly before he dug out his paperwork, handing it over.
Cor studied it, taking in the name - Harry Peverell, age was eighteen so one year older than Noctis. Father – unlisted, that was interesting. "Your family with you?"
"No sir," he answered softly. "I never knew my Father and…she…she didn't make it," he forced out and Cor mentally winced.
"You're old enough that no one will force a foster family on you. There's a whole sector with refugees from Galahd, maybe you'll find some extended family. Seems you know something about healing."
"I'm okay," he shrugged slightly.
"The King will be opening recruitment for the Glaive; they could always use more healers."
"I'll think about it, thank you."
Cor nodded and followed the kid with the broken arm back to his family to check on them. He'd wait and see before mentioning anything to anyone, his appearance could be a coincidence, he wouldn't be the only child from Galahd who somewhat resembled the Royal Family. Some people whispered about Ulric due to how easily he had taken to the magic after all.
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Harry bit his lip as they passed through the Wall, feeling the sheer magic in it and lowering his head, knowing his eyes were likely glowing in reaction. He knew that magic…the Crystal and Lucis Caelum magic. He'd known the Crystal was around even if he had half hoped the thing had been blown up or lost over the last two thousand years. There was still something about it that just felt wrong to him, the idea his family had been linked to it so long did not sit well at all.
He slammed up every shield he had, not wanting King Regis or anyone else to sense him, or if they did sense something, to track it to him. he'd already decided to volunteer for the Glaive, he'd just have to fake not having his own magic and hope no one realised.
He stared at the city, feeling a small hand squeeze his nervously so he picked little Adrian up, settling the boy on his hip as they walked across the bridge to enter Insomnia. With three younger sisters his mother was rather overloaded so Harry had been helping her with the children. The city reminded him of Earth, somewhere like New York or Tokyo or something. And even from where they were, he could see part of the Citadel, the pillar of energy that powered the Wall rising from it.
Once inside they were met with people dressed like them, some in heavy black uniforms as well but wearing braids. Cheers went up at seeing some of their own people, the groups merging into one, people hugging strangers in their relief.
"You're okay now kid, you're safe," a man offered, resting a hand on his shoulder and Harry looked up at him, finding kind blue eyes and the subtle tattoos of a Galahdan hunter though he wore the heavy black uniform, Glaive maybe?
Harry gave him a tired smile and then handed Adrian off to his mother when she appeared. "Thanks."
"Nyx Ulric," the man introduced himself.
"Harry Peverell. Are you one of the Glaive we were told about in camp?"
"Sure am, thinking of trying out? You old enough?" He asked, getting Harry moving with the rest, he was actually tired and not faking it, getting hit by the Wall and having to shield had been draining.
"I'm eighteen," he answered.
"Well, all you have to do is find one of us to talk about it with. I know a new round of recruitment is opening in the next week or two. Gives you time to settle and think about it. It's not an easy life but the pay's okay and the work is always interesting."
Harry nodded as they moved further into the city and then down off the main streets into a lower level of the city, hiding a grimace but he'd expected it. every city had a lower class area and refugees usually ended up in them.
"Welcome to Little Galahd."
TBC…
