Prologue
"The parts you struggle with
Are the parts of you
That need the most love
The parts that feel so lost
Are the parts of you
That need the most kindness
The parts that trouble you
Are the parts of you
That make you the most brave"
"Pillow Thoughts IV – Stiching the Soul", Courtney Peppernell
Harry stumbled, as his foot caught on an especially big piece of rubble.
Cursing viciously through clenched teeth the young man paused. Breathing heavily, Harry tried to calm his racing heart and troubled mind.
He had been running through an ocean of destruction, forced to abandon his car about 30 minutes ago, because the streets were either blocked or destroyed or fucking jammed.
The city was a freaking wasteland. And it was about to get worse.
The faint smell of destruction and mayhem lay in the air, making breathing harder and harder, as it mingled with the sour scents of distressed civilians.
Fear. Anxiety. Panic.
Blood and death.
Loss.
Grief.
Harry's nostrils flared when the stench of battle burned in his nose.
And instead of doing what every other citizen was doing and every hero in the vicinity was telling them to do, Harry wasn't trying to get out of the city.
He wasn't trying to get away from the danger.
No.
Harry took another calming breath, before continuing his challenging path. There was no time to hesitate now.
No.
Harry's way was leading him deeper into the city. Towards the danger.
Forward. Keep moving, Potter!
He wasn't even sure what he was going to do when he'd reached his destination. What could he do when all those heroes hadn't been able to stop it?
No, this was a stupid thought. Harry thought, an old bitterness creeping up in him. This wasn't a matter of what he could do – he knew exactly what he could do.
The real question was, how far was Harry prepared to go?
Was he ready to go against the very conviction that had dictated his life until now? To betray the highest principle, the one he had dictated his existence to?
To unveil what had been hidden under lock and key – what he had sworn to renounce and deny until he died?!
Screaming and crying people were crossing his way. A child lost its footing. With quick hands, Harry pulled it back onto its feet, shoving them at their parents, without a word, without a second glance.
Harry wasn't a hero.
He had no desire to be one.
It was a troublesome occupation. A dangerous one. And while it meant safety and protection to some, it inevitable meant sleepless nights and loss to others.
T was an occupation that demanded to focus on a higher and greater good.
To put the needs of the many over the plight of the one…
Harry gritted his teeth.
Fuck no!
He had already lost too much, he was sick of being left behind under the pretence of a greater good. The greater good could go fuck itself for all that Harry cared, as he made his way through ruins and smoke.
Harry had tried to harden his heart since that fateful night when he was 16, isolating himself, keeping himself away from people and protecting that little that had been left of himself.
But things had changed in the last year…
He had finally allowed himself to…
And he would be damned if he allowed some villain to fuck that up.
Picking up speed, he sprinted through decayed buildings and streets. He must be close. Not that the swath of destruction that this raging giant had carved into the landscape had been hard to miss.
Coming to a sudden halt, Harry laid eyes on the cause for all this.
Rubble, ashes and blood.
A dance of desperation and pain.
Heroes were human. They could fail. Harry knew that just all too well.
Harry was no hero. He gave up on that delusion a long time ago.
But he would protect the people he cared for.
Fuck the greater good!
Closing his eyes, Harry reached deep into the essence of his being, to a part of himself that had lain dormant for over a decade. Something he had locked away and refused to acknowledge for most of his life.