22 - Desperation
"What do you know about obsession?"
Harry blinked and turned around, finding the tall, tense form of the police captain.
Something was wrong with the man, this much the wizard could tell straight away. He carried around him a cloak of barely restrained power. And underneath the surface there lay a strong emotion - hate, love, rage, fear, desperation, there was no way of telling - only just held in check.
He carefully set the garbage bag down on the pavement and gestured to the door of his bakery, wordlessly inviting the authoritative man in.
Uncharacteristically, the Prince seemed to hesitate for a moment before visibly steeling himself and opening the door with a harsh tug.
Harry wisely didn't comment. Instead he followed and closed the door behind them, turning the lock to ensure their privacy.
He had only met this man twice, but he knew enough to recognize that this was a person accustomed to being in control of, if not his circumstances, than at least himself.
That was definitely not the case right now.
"Obsession?" Harry queried, forgoing the offer of a drink this time. "Is it natural or of a more… induced nature?"
The word 'magic' remained unspoken.
"It may not be… entirely natural," the words were said with reluctance, as if it costs the man to even admit to this much.
And Harry couldn't help but ask, "Why come to me?"
"You know who I am."
Did he?
He knew the police captain's name, Sean Renard, but not because the bloke had actually introduced himself.
He knew that the man was the supposed ruler of Portland, in Wesen terms, and that Nick had no idea that his captain was in any way involved with the 'Grimm' side of things. But what any of that meant..?
This time Harry hadn't looked for all the answers, hadn't tracked down the mystery and tried to solve it. This time he was as much in the dark as anyone.
And this man was still as much a mystery as he was a complete stranger. "I hardly know anything at all."
"Then tell me," came the forceful answer, "do you know how to stop this… affliction?"
Harry frowned and mentally rifled through his knowledge of potions and spells. He had been hiding his magic from Nick, from Rosalee and Monroe and everyone else he had met in this world. But… could he? If he used his magic, could he cure this man?
Silently observing the police captain, with his usually calm face now tight with frown lines and with his teeth clenched, that powerfully built body brimming with an energy born of the need to act… the wizard wanted to.
But this was not his world. And this was not a spell he was familiar with. Even if the effects were somewhat similar to spells and potions he had heard of, the magic here was vastly different. And Harry could quite probably do more harm than good.
"I don't know," he finally settled on, the only real answer he had to give and it was entirely unhelpful. "Without knowing the particulars of the spell or potion that caused this, there's little I can do."
The Prince surged forward, invading his personal space. "Try."
It was not so much a threat as it was desperation, and Harry couldn't help but wonder what had caused this. Who had pushed this powerful creature so close to his edge?
And what would happen if Sean Renard toppled off and lost the control he was so forcibly trying to hold on to?
"Alright," he answered quietly, "there is something I can try. I don't know if it will have any effect, but it can't do any harm. It's a way to remove spells, but it won't work on everything…"
"Yes. Do it."
"Right. Well, I… err… need you to sit down. Not here, though." Harry said, glancing at the windows and wondering what in the blazes he was doing, "Follow me."
He pretty much regretted ever opening his mouth when the Prince did so.
But it was too late to take it back.
Silently, the looming presence at his back followed him up to his rooms.
Word Count: 700
A.N. Soo… touching on actual episodes for a change! Mostly because I'm re-watching Grimm right now and season two is pretty awesome, with everything coming to a head. There's really no way to not mention it at all.
Also, I've been leaning towards Monroe so much with these snapshots (because he's great to write), that I felt it was about time to bring in Renard again. Because he's a great character as well, just a bit more difficult to grasp.
