Walking through the busy bus station towards the parking lot, green eyes scanned the cars here, until they found their target. With a grin, their owner made his way towards a jeep, next to which stood a teen, identical to the one whose photography he memorized before his arrival.
"Stiles? Stiles Stilinski?!" called the green-eyed male once they were within earshot.
"The one and only. You are Harry Potter?" asked the other.
"That´s me."
"Finally! I thought I might have to wait until midnight before you show up!" laughed ´Stiles´ as he moved from his car to greet the other. He was a lean young man with an average height, pale complexion and messy brow hair. His honey-brown eyes, which carried a mischievous spark, warmed up as he hugged his long-awaited cousin.
"Please. As if it was my fault the bus was late," Harry rolled his eyes, before he smiled and returned the hug. "I´m glad I can finally meet you in person."
"Me too. And I must say, the picture you send me didn´t do you justice!" grinned the brunette as they separated and took a proper look at his relative. Really, the picture showed a short, skinny teen with bird-nest-like hair. But the young man was anything but that – he was a few inches taller than Stiles, with a lean build and a slight tan. His black hair was also longer, currently tied in a ponytail, and about the only thing that remained the same was his emerald-green eyes, which shone from behind a pair of frameless glasses.
"What can I say? I hit a long-overdue grow spurt and let my hair grow out," replied Harry with a soft laugh. "Although, the growing pains were not something I would like to experience again any time soon."
"Yeah, they are shitty, but they certainly did you good. Oh, and welcome to Beacon Hills," said Stiles as he helped Harry put his luggage into the back of his car, before getting into the driver´s seat.
"Thanks. And sorry for such short notice about me coming," the raven apologized as he took the seat next to him.
Stiles waved off his apology. "No worries. If anything, it was a welcomes distraction, with how crazy the things are now."
"The murders?"
"Yeah."
"Any new development?"
"Turns out I was right about the culprit, though nobody believed me until yesterday."
Harry frowned. "What happened?"
"Matt Daehler broke into the station and destroyed the evidence regarding the chase. He also nearly killed my dad and Scott while at it," Stiles grimaced at the memory of what happened.
"Damn, are they alright?"
"Yeah, thankfully they weren´t hurt. Dad got back his job and apparently, karma got back on Matt. Today they discovered his drowned body in the river."
"Good riddance. It served him right, for all the trouble he caused," said Harry with a nod. They said nothing more as Stiles pulled from the parking lot and got on the road, then the raven couldn´t help but ask: "Are you sure your father will be alright with me appearing out of nowhere?"
"Positive. I talked about you coming to the states since the New Year. When I told him that you will come a few months earlier, he just sighed and shook his head. He probably hopes that you might have some positive influence on me," said the brunet with a grimace.
"Hardly. We both have a penchant for trouble," the raven snorted.
"Too true, cousin, too true…"
"By the way, what did he think about a distant cousin suddenly initiating contact?" asked the raven.
"He remembered your mom sometimes writing mine before she died. According to him, they were on good terms, albeit not that close. So he believed it when I explained that you are the son of mom´s distant cousin. And before you ask, he was very understanding about you wanting to leave Britain and coming here. When I mentioned you survived several of those terroristic attacks, he agreed for you to come over and stay with us for a while. Can´t fault you for wanting to leave those bad memories behind, as he put it," explained Stiles with a shrug.
His companion grimaced at this. "Yeah, though I can imagine having a relatively unknown person, the same age as his son, living with them until the unforeseeable future, is not exactly something he would be thrilled about…"
"Considering you have a clean register and came to pursue a better education, I think he will be fine," Stiles drawled out before he glanced at his cousin. "And stop worrying. I already told you it is alright and that you´re not a burden."
"Sorry, nerves," Harry rubbed his hair and gave his relative a sheepish smile. "You know that I and the relatives I grew up with didn´t exactly get along. I don´t want to make an impression that would start another relationship like that."
"Chill, it will be alright. I liked you from our letters alone and I know my dad will like you too."
"I hope so. When will I meet him? I need to mentally prepare myself, after all."
"At dinner. Until which we have enough time to set you up in the guest bedroom and make you feel at home."
"Make me feel at home? Does this mean you will allow me to switch your coffee for my beloved brand of decaf?" Harry asked innocently, but one could hear the teasing tone in his voice.
"Like hell! Dad might agree with you, but there is no way I will allow you to throw away my beloved coffee beans for those a bunch of dried leaves," bit back Stiles, but there was an amused gleam in his eyes, as they returned to their usual argument on the topic.
"Is that a challenge? Should I remind you, I come from a legacy of pranksters and I´m perfectly capable of pulling that off?"
"Only over my dead body! You will not convince me that coffee is inferior to tea! If anything, it is the other way around."
"Take that back!"
"No way!"
"Heathen!"
"Leaf eater!"
The argument continued for the rest of the ride. As they exchanged childish arguments over their favourite warm drinks, the tension and nervousness slowly left Harry. It was interesting how all worries seemed to leave the young wizard when he was finally talking with his American cousin. Until today, their only communication was through letters, jet now they were talking and arguing as if they did it before.
Such an interesting development.
The dinner was… honestly less tense than Harry expected. While at some point he felt as if the sheriff was interrogating him, it was somehow expected since the man worked in the police force. Besides, the teen knew it could have been far worse. Noah was a strict man, one that reminded him of some of the more serious aurors, the ones that stayed honest and impossible to bribe. It only served to endear the man to the raven, which in turn made talking much easier in the long turn.
"Wait, so your godson and his grandmother came abroad too?" questioned Noah, once they finished eating, both still sitting at the dinner table.
"Yes, sir. When I mentioned my intent to leave, Andromeda decided to follow my example. After the loss of her husband, daughter and son-in-law, she had nothing to keep her in Britain. Above everything, she wants to give Teddy a nicer home, one that doesn´t tie to bad memories, so they moved to Fresno," Harry replied easily. "Here Andy plans to continue her praxis in law."
The sheriff frowned at this. "Law? Didn´t you say she is a barista? What does that have with the law?"
"British English, dad," Stiles chided, from where he was doing the dishes. "While barista is our name for someone who makes coffee and such, a barrister is their word for a higher-rank lawyer."
"Ah, I see."
"Sorry, if I confused you, Mr Stilinski. Even though Stiles made a point to send me a British-American dictionary, habits are hard to break," the raven apologized.
"Oi! I only wanted to give you an advantage in acclimating," protested Stiles.
The older teen chuckled at the brunet´s reaction. "I know and am thankful, cousin. I just say that it will take a while until I get used to American English."
"Speaking of getting used to America, what are your plans regarding your stay in the states?" inquired Noah. "And please, call me Noah. Mr Stilinski makes me feel older than I am."
"Alright, Noah. To answer your question, above everything, I plan to catch up in my studies and possibly join Stiles at Beacon Hills High to earn a proper high school degree." Seeing the looks the other two shot him, he shrugged. "I believe I mentioned that my old school was an outdated one. To give a clear picture, that school was in a remote location, with no computers, no phone signal, outdated curriculum and outside of letters, we had no other way of communicating with the outside world. In other words, I don´t exactly have a proper degree to get a respectable job or even try to go for a college."
"And you didn´t go to another school, why?"
"Because a good chunk of my inheritance was tied to me graduating from that school. You see, my father came from old money and most of my ancestors went to that school. And after becoming the last living member of his family, I had to graduate from that school to get to claim my birth-right," Harry explained patiently. "Thankfully, testing out earlier was an option, so I have time to catch up."
"Don't worry, buddy. I will help you where I can," offered Stiles as he finished the dishes and joined them at the table.
"Thanks, but I fear there is going to be more than you would expect," warned him the black-haired teen. "Don´t get me wrong. I already did some self-studying before I came here, but there is still a lot for me to catch up with."
"Dude, even if you have the bare base, with the right method you could build on it fast enough to graduate with good marks," Stiles reassured him.
"He is right, kid. And if anybody can help you catch up and fast, it is my son," said Noah in agreement.
"Thank you," the older teen smiled at them. Then he remembered something and an unsure look crossed his face.
"Something´s wrong?" asked Noah seeing his expression.
"Um, not exactly. There is something I would like to tell you, but… I don´t know how to phrase it so you won´t freak out," answered Harry honestly, before quickly adding: "It is nothing illegal or dangerous! Just something, that you might find really hard to believe and is a bit overwhelming at first."
Seeing two pairs of eyes looking at him with varying degrees of curiosity and worry, the raven contemplated the best course of action. Then he decided not to beat around the bush. He concentrated a bit and with a wave of his hand and a muttered incarnation, his Patronus appeared behind him.
The reaction was mostly what the wizard expected. With a cry of "What the hell?!" both Stilinski men were on their legs, shock and disbelief clear on their faces as they stared at the silverish translucent stag that appeared out of nowhere.
"Surprise?" Harry said with a nervous laugh, wincing slightly as he saw Noah´s hand move to his gun belt. At least his cousin´s expression turned into a fascinated one, once he overcame the shock.
"What´s the meaning of this? Is this some form of trick?" demanded the sheriff, eyes darting between the animal and the raven with suspicion clearly visible in them.
Said raven sighed. "It is not a trick. Prongs is a solid construct, fuelled through my will and magic."
"But-but magic isn´t real," said Noah with a frown.
"It is," insisted Harry, before making Prongs walk over to his companions.
Noah tensed at this, while Stiles eagerly moved forward and touched the silverish animal. A wide grin appeared on the brunet´s face when he felt how solid the being was under his hand.
"How are you doing that?" asked Stiles, exanimating the magical construct.
"Magic, combined with a lot of practice," answered the wizard. He then cancelled the spell and motioned for their now-vacant seats. "I will explain and answer all your questions as much as I can if you are willing to hear me out."
His cousin obeyed, eager to know more, while his cousin´s father hesitantly followed suit. And so Harry spent the next hours talking and demonstrating magic, anything that he thought was important. He told them about how there existed a subculture of people with abilities exceeding what science could hope to explain and about the different creatures that existed. He told them about the reason why wizards and witches went into hiding, about how in most countries there was a ministry making sure things in the magical world worked. Harry also didn´t forget to tell them about Hogwarts being one of the schools created for children to learn how to use their magic. He also truthfully answered their questions and even promised to lend Stiles some of his books about magic to read. Finally, he told them the truth about the terroristic attacks in Britain. That was the hardest part about the whole thing, explaining how in reality there was a war happening on the supernatural side, one where children were forced to act up to put a stop to it.
There was a heavy silence, once he was done speaking, nobody of the trio saying anything for a while. Then, after what felt like hours, Noah asked: "Why are you telling us these things? I mean, we only properly met today and this feels like something you wouldn´t say to a relative stranger."
Harry looked at him, before looking down at his hands resting on the table. "To be completely honest, it is mostly because of two reasons. First, since I will be living with you for a while, I decided not to prolong the inevitable and be honest with you from the beginning. You would have probably found it out sooner, than later, especially with Stiles tendency to act like a detective," he said with a small chuckle, looking at said cousin, then back down. "And second, I… I kind of hoped that when I tell you, you will take it better than my aunt and her family did," he finished with a bitter smile as he remembered his childhood.
"Harry?" At Stiles´ worried tone, he gave the brunet a weak smile.
"Let´s just say she and my mother didn´t get along and leave it at that."
"For now," decided Noah, tone making it clear that the law-enforcer in him would demand a full story later on. Getting a hesitant nod from the raven teen, the sheriff sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes and then neck. "Alright, I can´t say, I expected anything you told us about when Stiles told me about you coming here to live with us. Hell, even with the proof you gave us, it is still hard to believe. We, or at least I, might need some time to digest this whole thing. It is something new after all."
"I understand," Harry whispers, looking down again.
"But," continued Noah, making the wizard look back at him, "you were honest with us and I appreciate that. Which is why I´m willing to give this magic-thing a chance, so long as you don´t plan on doing something that could get us all in trouble… and as long as you give us a warning about things regarding magic."
The raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Fair enough."
"Good. Now, are there other things we should know about, or shall we call it a night?"
"Andy and Teddy are both magicals like me. Other than that, there are a few things, but none of them is life-threatening or dangerous, so they can wait a bit, before explaining. I don´t want to overwhelm you," said Harry honestly.
"Alright. Since I have the morning shift, I wish you a good night," said the sheriff and left.
"Give it a few days," started Stiles, once he was sure his father couldn´t hear them, "He is a very logical person, so wrapping his mind over something illogical like magic might take a while. But he will come around."
"Yeah, sorry about causing you such a shock," apologized Harry, only to blink when he felt a hand ruffle his hair.
"None of that, dude. No need for apology," said Stiles firmly. "You might have surprised him, but you were honest, which put you on his good side already. As I said, give it time and he will get used to the idea of having a wizard in the family. So don´t worry."
"You are taking this surprisingly well," commented the wizard.
"Well, had it been a year ago, I would have had a hard time believing you. But with all the crazy things happening in Beason Hills in the past year, THIS," the brunet gestured at his cousin, "is not even close to the top five of the weirdest situations of my life."
"Do I want to know?" asked Harry in a weary tone.
"Let´s just say, between a werewolf pack, hunters, a banshee and a killing lizard man, you are relatively normal," said Stiles.
"…I knew you were a trouble magnet like me," stated Harry flatly. "And we might need to have a serious talk because I think I underestimated you because you are a muggle."