Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Kuroko no Basket!
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2nd year - Teiko - continuing from last time...
Silence filled the room and Mac stared blankly at Suzuki who was still looking at Mac, her eyes filled with something…something Mac had trouble reading, it was almost expectant. Like Mac was meant to know what she meant. Or something.
"The Girl Who Lived?" Mac finally asked hiding her confusion the best she could, "who's that?"
The upset and torn glances Sasaki and Suzuki exchanged confused Mac more than she wanted to admit, why would they look upset that she didn't know the name? Her grass green eyes looked at the two sharply waiting impatiently for their answer.
"The Girl Who Lived is a girl who lost her parents at the hand of an evil wizard, a Dark Lord, who sought to take over the magical world, starting with Britain," Sasaki said grimly and Mac felt a lurch in her gut as he spoke. "He came to the girl's house one Halloween Eve and killed the girl's father, who tried to stop him from entering the house and give his wife and baby girl time to run, first. He then moved to further into the house and found the mother in the nursery. The brave mother stood in front of her baby when he killed her. The Girl Who Lived is called that because when he directed his wand at her and muttered those faithful words he failed and the girl lived when everyone who met that curse before died. She survived and brought the most fearsome Dark Lord in centuries to an end."
Mac couldn't explain it, but as he talked it was as if she could see it happening in her mind. She saw a woman with brilliant red hair and a blurry face she couldn't make out, it was as if she was hidden by a fog, drop a toddler into the crib. The green eyes of the woman were the clearest feature Mac could make out and they looked wide and scared as she stared at the toddler.
"Mackenzie, momma loves you…daddy loves you…you are so loved… Mackenzie be safe…be strong…"
Her voice echoed in her mind like a distant call and filled Mac with an unexplainable sorrow and empty hole in the middle of her chest as she gripped her chest right above her heart. The images continued as a cloaked and dark figure entered the room.
"Please not Mackenzie, please not Mackenzie… have mercy…"
"Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside," a cold voice answered.
"Not Mackenzie…I'll do anything…have mercy…"
"Avada Kedavra."
The woman dropped to the ground like her strings had been clipped and Mac just knew she wouldn't get up. The cloaked figure turned to her and…a scream filled her mind before she gasped for breath and her hand fisted around the fabric of her shirt above her chest as she tried to breathe. Tears leaked down her cheeks but she wasn't aware of them.
"It's my fault…she's dead because of me…" Mac whispered pained. "She could have lived. He would have let her live…"
She knew now that the girl they talked about was her and it was her mother she had seen in her mind. She was the Girl Who Lived, she was the reason her parents were dead. She was a monster. She was barely aware of the movement around her but suddenly she was drawn into a warm embrace and Ayano's voice filled her ear.
"It's not your fault, Mac," Ayano sounded choked but firm, "you listen to me, Mac, your mum loved you and she protected you. A mother will stand between her child and anyone who wants to hurt her child, just like your mum did. She loved you, Mac. It's not your fault."
Mac cried into Ayano's shoulder and let the woman hold her and comfort her, she felt her stroke her hair and found it very comforting. No one had ever done that before.
...
Mac wasn't sure how long before she calmed down enough and pulled back from Ayano's comforting arms, she didn't look at anyone as embarrassment filled her a blush burning her cheeks. It wasn't like her to show anyone her weakness and she had shown way too much lately. With great effort, she managed to grab control over her emotions again and forced her face to blank out and stop the tears that still wanted to spill over.
She was grateful that no one spoke about her loss of control and they allowed her time to gather herself again. She looked up when she heard the thoughtful sound Sasaki made and found him looking at her with a pensive look on his face.
"What's strange is why you don't attend a magic school," he said when he saw he had her attention. "You're clearly magical, so you should have been picked up by a school. I would have imagined you having a spot at Hogwarts."
Mac heard Daiki snort at the name and felt her lips twitch slightly herself. She glanced over at him and saw the amusement in his eyes and she felt herself relax slightly.
"Hog-what?" Takehiro asked confused after a brief fond glance at the two teenagers.
"Hogwarts," Sasaki repeated with a smile. "IT's a magic school located somewhere in Britain. It's a good school and the headmaster of the school is Albus Dumbledore, a wizard who is by many regarded as the strongest wizard alive and a great leader against their fight against their Dark Lord."
Mac fisted her hands to force the reaction to hear about the Dark Lord again away, she felt something very similar to hate build in her chest, but she pushed it away for now. She focused on Sasaki again.
"It's also the school your parents went to, Potter-san," Suzuki said softly.
Mac looked down hiding her clouding eyes. Her mind was spinning and suddenly she thought back to when they first moved to Japan. It had been a long time since she had thought about the reason for their move and then her mind went to the conversation she had overheard not that long ago. Her head snapped up and she found Daiki who was staring at her with wide eyes.
"You think…?" he started and she nodded.
"Yeah," Mac said making him scowl.
"What is it?" Ayano asked curiously.
Mac looked at her before looking down at her lap again, brows furrowing as she tried to gather her thoughts again and explain.
"My uncle claimed that we moved to Japan when I was 8 years old because he got a promotion at work," Mac started, "but I heard them talking the night he came home and he talked about someone wouldn't be able to find us, find me, in Japan. They wouldn't think to look there."
Mac glanced up and saw the arched brows but she continued.
"A few weeks ago I overheard my aunt and uncle talking and aunt Petunia was complaining about being here, and that she missed England," Mac said hiding her wince at the mention of her aunt and uncle, their abandonment still fresh even with the new information. "Uncle Vernon feared someone finding me if we went back, but aunt Petunia seemed to think it would be alright because I was 13 now. My uncle asked for time to think and that he had to figure something out first."
Mac knew that they had likely started to think about how to leave her behind at that point, but the tipping point had been her loss of control and accidental magic in the convenience store with Dudley. That had sealed their mind, Mac knew it.
"So, you think they moved to keep you away from the magic world?" Takehiro asked looking at his son's best friend.
"Yeah," Mac nodded.
"But that doesn't explain why we didn't pick up on your magical signature," Suzuki said with a frown. "We should have been able to pick up on your accidental magic quicker and…"
She trailed off.
"I could have gone to your school?" Mac asked.
"It's not very common that foreigners attend our magic school," Sasaki said after a brief pause, "but it has happened before. Mahoutokoro is a good school, and it starts at the age of 7, but isn't a boarding school until the age of 11."
Mac felt a little curious but at the same time she didn't think a boarding school was for her, she wouldn't be with Daiki if she was at a boarding school.
...
Mac fell down on the bed in the room she had been given, she knew that normally it was the guest room or the room where Daiki's grandparents stayed when they came to visit. She turned on the bed as she tried to calm down and get some rest, but her mind refused to turn off and shut out the thoughts that were spinning around.
Sasaki and Suzuki had just left, saying it was getting late and they would come back in a couple of days to talk more about what to do next. She knew there was still much to figure out and get settled, like where she was going to live. She knew that this was temporary and that Sasaki would be looking for other options. Also, Sasaki had mentioned that she needed to get her magic trained and that it was dangerous to let it be untrained like it was now. She had told them that she didn't want to quit Teiko, and Sasaki had said they could see if they found other solutions. Like private tutoring, or something. Mac figured it would be ok, but she was unsure about what it meant.
This wasn't what her mind was really focused on, though, her thought kept returning to her parents. She couldn't stop thinking about them, she finally knew something about them. Lily and James, that was their names. She smiled slightly even as her throat felt thick with emotions. Lily and James Potter, parents of Mackenzie Lillian Potter. Would they be proud of her? Would they like her? Love her? Were they mad at her for dying for her? Frustrated she turned in the bed before wincing at her wounded leg was knocked against the bed frame.
"Ouch," she muttered sitting up and gingerly touched her right foot. It was bleeding again. She quickly pushed her foot over the edge of the bed to avoid getting blood on the bed.
Pulling herself up and somehow managing to avoid resting her weight on the injured foot she paused wondering what to do. Should she go and find Ayano? Would she get annoyed if she did? She had already done so much for her, Mac frowned, she couldn't expect her to give even more of her time as well. She did have her own kids who needed her.
Mac somehow managed to get to the bathroom before she was spotted by Shiro who came out of the bathroom at the same time. His face lit up with a wide smile making her smile a little back despite the pain she felt in her foot.
"Mac-nee-chan!" Shiro said, "mum said you had gone to bed."
"I had, but I just need to use the bathroom," Mac said and Shiro nodded before he frowned.
"You're bleeding!" He exclaimed, "you're hurt!"
"It's fine, Shiro-chan," Mac tried to reassure the young boy but he was already running and yelling for his mum. Mac winced and sighed as she heard footsteps coming closer and soon Ayano and Daiki were there.
"Mac?" Ayano asked before gasping slightly seeing the new blood on the sock. "Oh no… come here, sweetie."
Mac accepted the help from Ayano and Daiki to the bathroom and sat down on the stool Shiro came with. Mac gave the little boy a smile and ruffled his hair before he was sent out of the room by his mother.
"You should have called me, Mac," Ayano scolded gently.
"I could handle it," Mac shrugged not looking at her.
Daiki was scowling where he was standing by the door, arms crossed over his chest as he was staring at the wound at her feet. She glanced at him before looking away and focused on her feet and watched as Ayano removed the bandage she had put on earlier and clean away the blood before putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Mac bit down on her lip to stop the pained groan from escaping.
She blinked when she suddenly found her hand snatched from her lap and squeezed in a slightly larger hand and rougher. She looked up to see Daiki next to her and him giving her a reassuring smile, one of those smiles only Daiki could give. She squeezed back and tried to focus on him and not the pain from her wound.
Soon the wound was bandaged again and Ayano got up and washed her hands clean from blood. She smiled at Mac and Daiki who was now supporting Mac's head as she rested on his shoulder. Mac blinked tiredly as she registered Ayano smiling at them and pulled away from Daiki with more reluctance than she wanted to admit to.
"Thanks," Mac whispered.
"Anytime, Mac," Ayano smiled, "come to me if there's anything you need help with, ok?"
Mac nodded, knowing she would try not to bother Ayano more than she already had.
...
Daiki scowled as he made his way to basketball practice. It was the end of the day and the day had been long, much too long. His mum had told Mac to stay home today and rest, her foot was hurting her and she was still overwhelmed by all the information she had received the day before. Not that he wasn't still reeling from all that information. He still had trouble believing magic was real and that Mac was a witch, like a magic witch. It did explain a lot about his best friend though, he thought.
So, yeah, he was scowling because he hated school without Mac. She was always there and helped him stay awake during classes and talk to about basketball or whatever during breaks. The school seemed empty without her and now he had to go to practice without her. He scowled harder. He just wanted to go home and see her, make sure she was alright. That she wasn't blaming herself too much. He knew her; he knew she still blamed herself for what happened to her parents.
He pushes the doors to the gym open and ignores the others inside as he picks up a ball and starts shooting at a nearby hoop. He tries to forget everything and just let the feel of the basketball reassure him, but it isn't working.
"Aomine."
Daiki looks up to find Seijuro, Shintaro, Atsushi, Ryota and Tetsuya standing right there and he notices the gym also had filled up as he had been shooting.
"Guys," Daiki nodded shortly turning to go back to what he was doing, he didn't feel like being polite or social today.
"Why didn't Mac tell us she quit." Seijuro's words made him freeze in shooting position for a moment before he slowly lowered the ball and turned to find five pairs of eyes staring at him with accusation and hurt. He tried to make sense of what Seijuro said, but it was like the words wouldn't translate in his mind.
"What?" he asked when he found his voice.
"Why didn't Mac tell us she quit school?" Seijuro repeated and his eyes narrowed as he looked at Daiki. "You didn't know either?"
"What are you talking about?!" Daiki growled stepping forward. "Kenzie quit school?!"
That didn't make sense…she was…his eyes widened and he paled. They wouldn't…would they?
Seijuro was looking at him now with a pensive look in his red eyes, he seemed to be looking for something.
"Kise heard the coaches talk," Seijuro said. "They said that Mac had quit school on Friday and her relatives said she would be moving away. We wondered why she didn't tell us on Friday when we saw her."
"Mac-chin didn't say goodbye," Atsushi pouted making Daiki glance at him before looking back at Seijuro.
"So she didn't tell you either, that is…strange," Seijuro said.
"Wait!" Daiki yelled angrily and brought the attention from the rest of the team and the coaches who had just entered the gym at him. He didn't care. "Wait! Kenzie didn't quit!"
Startled gasps and whispers broke out in the gym when they heard him, but he just glared at Seijuro who narrowed his eyes at him.
"Attention!" Shirogane called over the whispering and Daiki turned away from Seijuro and the others and looked at the coach who was looking at them. The whispering died down as they all looked at the coach waiting for answers.
"Is it true, coach?" Nijimura asked with a frown.
"Unfortunately it is true that Potter-san's guardians have pulled her out of school and said they would be moving away," Shirogane said and Daiki had gone still as the coach talked. They really did it. Those bastards…
"Why?" Ryota wailed, "she never said anything!"
"I'm not sure why she never said anything, but the fact is that she and her family has moved away from Tokyo," Shirogane said evenly not showing the sadness he himself felt.
"Bullshit," Daiki muttered and ignored the alarmed glance from a sad looking Tetsuya. "Kenzie's not gone."
"Aomine," Shirogane warned. "I understand it's hard to accept, especially for you, but…"
"She's not gone!" Daiki interrupted him, "she's at home with my mum! She's not gone! I saw her this morning!"
The coach blinked and Daiki was aware that the others stared at him. He scowled and walked or more like stalked over to his bag and pulled out the mobile he rarely used, his parents had given it to him to have a way to get him home for dinner when he was out playing basketball.
The gym was silent as he pressed the right buttons and waited for someone to answer.
"Hello?" A questioning voice answered and Daiki recognised his best friends voice immediately. She must have been told to answer the phone, she sounded almost hesitant.
"Kenzie," he said and saw the blank look on Seijuro's face from the corner of his eyes.
"Daiki, why are you calling? Shouldn't you be at practice?" Mac asked.
"I am," Daiki said defensively, "but, Kenzie…they pulled you out of school. They said you quit and was moving away."
Mac went quiet and Daiki wished he could see her face, to know how she reacted. He waited for her to say something. The seconds ticked away and he swallowed.
"I didn't think about that," Mac finally said, "are the others mad?"
"They're upset," Daiki grimaced. "They thought you left without saying goodbye."
"I see," Mac said and Daiki heard his mother in the background. "Your mum said we'll be there soon and figure something out."
"Kenzie…you…they'll know…" Daiki was unsure what to say, he knew that this meant that everyone would know she had been abandoned.
"It'll be alright," Mac said knowing what he meant. "See you soon, Daiki."
She hung up and Daiki put the phone away again and turned to the watching team. He scowled again, knowing they would drag up everything for Mac again. He knew it wasn't their fault, but he still didn't want them to make Mac sad because they were curious or worried.
"She'll be here soon," Daiki said and walked to the bench and sat down making it clear he wasn't going to say anything else.
...
Twenty minutes later the door to the too quiet gym opened and Daiki got up and was already moving toward the door when Mac and his mother entered the gym. He paused a second when he realised she was on crutches.
"Kenzie, are you alright?" He asked worried and she smiled weakly at him, she was pale and he saw the fear in her eyes she was trying to hide. He knew she must worry about how this would go.
"Mac-chhi!" Ryota wailed and Daiki managed to grab him before he threw himself at Mac who blinked at him. "You're hurt!"
Mac shrugged, "I'm fine."
"Potter-san;" Shirogane called and Mac looked over at the coach who was watching her with a concerned look on his face.
"Coach," Mac said, "um…I take it my uncle pulled me out of school?"
Shirogane nodded and was looking at her with a sharp look that Mac rarely had seen on his face before.
"Why don't we go and talk in my office?" he asked and Mac nodded. She glanced at Daiki and her other friends, she tried to give them a small smile before following Ayano and the coach into his office.
...
Mac was silent as Ayano explained the situation for Shirogane and the headmaster of the school who had been summoned. She didn't look at anyone as Ayano explained how she had arrived home Friday night to an empty house and that her aunt and uncle had abandoned her in Japan on her own.
"…so for now, Mac is living with us." Ayano finished her explanation.
"I see," the headmaster, Hashimoto Arata, said looking at Mac with a thoughtful look while Shirogane looked more concerned.
"You don't want to quit Teiko, do you Potter-san?" Hashimoto asked making Mac glance up at the older man.
"No," Mac said, "I like Teiko."
The man nodded, "with that being the circumstances I am sure we can cancel the withdrawal and have her re-admitted to the school."
"That would be great," Ayano smiled and Mac nodded but her face was blank.
Hashimoto got up from the chair he had borrowed from Shirogane and said he would be in touch later and left the office without a look back.
Mac waited for Shirogane to say something, but he was quiet and she glanced up at him to see him still watching her but now he looked older than normal and tired. She glanced at Ayano who shrugged at her.
"Could I talk to Potter-san alone for a moment?" Shirogane asked and Ayano looked at Mac who nodded quietly before she got up and left the office as well.
...
Mac fiddled with her hands waiting for Shirogane to say something, was he mad at her? Did he want her to quit the team? Maybe he didn't want someone like her to be the manager for his team…
"I'm sorry, Potter-san," the older man stunned her by saying and her head snapped up and she stared at him.
"What?" she asked shocked. She had not expected an apology, she had no idea why he was apologizing at all.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that and that I didn't see that you needed help," Shirogane said making Mac blink and look down not sure how to respond.
"It's alright," she whispers.
"No, it's not," Shirogane said heavily. "I'm glad you have the Aomine's now, though. If you need anything I want you to feel free to ask and I'll do what I can to help you, Potter-san."
Mac glanced up and smiled a little at the older coach.
...
Daiki didn't really focus on the training Sanada had set them to do, he was too occupied with the conversation going on in the office. He had seen the headmaster entering the gym before going to the office and being there for a while before leaving again. Soon after his mother had left the office and waved at Daiki before leaving as well, but Mac wasn't coming out. Why wasn't she coming out?
Daiki noticed that he wasn't the only one not focusing properly, the other first years also kept glancing at the office and Daiki caught Sanada sighing a few times. Finally, he gave up and ended the practice, telling them to make it up tomorrow's morning practice.
"Aomine," Daiki looks up and sees Nijimura standing in front of him with a worried expression on his face. He also notices the other third years standing slightly behind the former Captain.
"What?" Daiki asked gruffly.
"Is she alright?" Nijimura asked concerned.
"She will be," Daiki said after a momentary pause.
"I know she's a private person and won't appreciate everyone being her to crowd her when she gets out," Nijimura said. "So we will leave, but please tell her that we're concerned for her and wishes her the best and that we'll see her when she's able to come back to practice."
Daiki arched a brow surprised that the third year was that attuned to Mac and knew how she must be dreading everyone's attention and questions. Daiki allowed a small smile to form on his lips as he nodded.
...
Mac walked out of the office feeling tired, her crutches echoed as she moved into the gym and she winced slightly. She didn't want to bring attention to herself, knowing it was a useless wish. She blinked when she saw that the gym was almost empty, only Daiki, Seijuro, Shintaro, Atsushi, Ryota and Tetsuya were waiting for her.
"Kenzie," Daiki hurried over to her and looked at her concerned. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Daiki," Mac smiled slightly, "just…tired."
"Did they work it out?" Daiki asked worriedly. "You won't have to quit Teiko, do you?"
Mac looked at him and glanced over at the others who were watching her with concerned looks.
"Everything is worked out and I'm not quitting," Mac said with a small smile.
"Good," Daiki said relieved.
"Mac-chin didn't say goodbye," Atsushi pouted and Mac looked over at the tall centre.
"I'm sorry, Murasakibara-san," Mac said, "I didn't know my uncle had pulled me out of school when they…" She trailed off and a pained expression crossed her face.
"Mac," Seijuro looked at her concerned and Mac looked at him, "what happened? Did they hurt you?"
His eyes flashed and Mac was sure that for a moment his eyes changed colour and was yellow/orange for a second before turning back to red. She blinked, sure she imagined it.
"No, they didn't hurt me," Mac denied and saw the narrowing eyes from her friends, "Really, they didn't. I stepped on a piece of glass and it cut my leg. I only have to use the crutches for a few days to give the wound time to heal. I'll be good as new soon."
"But…" Ryota started to wail again and Mac shot him a look and he stopped. She inhaled and was sure they could see the hesitance and wariness in her as she looked at them, all looking concerned (even Shintaro who tried to hid it) and she made her decision.
"When I came home from our outing on Friday I found…that my relatives had left," Mac said and looked away so she didn't have to see their reactions.
"What do you mean?" Ryota asked. "Left? Left where?"
"I don't know, but I would imagine back to England or something;" Mac said, "they never did like Japan."
The silence stretches and Mac brave a glance at them to see the different variations of shock and anger and she is warmed that they react like that for her, it really hits her then that they really are her friends. Atsushi and Ryota are the most volatile in their reactions, both moving around waving arms and glaring at the air like it had offended them personally. Atsushi was muttering about wanting to crush something and Ryota was wailing and trying to hug her, but she pulled back and Daiki roughly showed him away making him sit down on the floor crying large overdramatic tears.
Shintaro was still, his glasses flashing, but he didn't move or say anything as he remained at the same spot, but Mac could see the way his jaw tightened and shoulders tensed. Tetsuya looked upset and angry, but he was much calmer than the first two but the anger lurked in his eyes beside the worry he clearly felt.
Last was Seijuro who didn't say anything or didn't look away from Mac, his muscles seemed so tense and he looked ready to spring into action at any time, but it was the look in his eyes that had Mac's attention the most. They looked darker and deadlier than she had ever seen them before, and she felt a small chill go down her back just looking at them, yet she wasn't really scared. She knew he was not going to hurt her, and that he was more likely to hurt someone because of her.
"What happens now?" Shintaro finally broke the silence pushing his glasses up as he looked at Mac.
"I don't know," Mac shrugged, "they are looking for other relatives though, but I don't think they will find some. So, for now, I'm living with Daiki and his family."
"Eh?" Ryota exclaimed. "You live with Aomine-chhi?"
Mac saw that the others also were surprised, but they didn't yell like Ryota did.
"Yes," Mac nodded, "until they can find someone else or a better solution, they said. I don't know."
"So…you might move away from Tokyo?" Tetsuya asked quietly making the others frown and look at Mac who swallowed and glanced at Daiki who was silently watching them, he looked pained as he met Mac's eyes.
"I…don't know," Mac admitted. "I said I didn't want to move away from here, but…"
The statement fell into the heavy air and they all realised that she had very little control over what happened next.
...
AN: Thank you all for reading and supporting the story :)