Chapter 2 – Into the Unknown
-:-:-
They wanted him to get rid of his tattoo.
His Wharf Rats tattoo, the one he had on the side of his neck – same as Gil – where anyone could see it, the one he'd gotten when they'd first started the crew, him being the first to fall under the artist's needle – they wanted him to get rid of that.
"Tattoos are a bit of a taboo thing in Auradon," Evie regretfully informed him as she got to work rubbing a sort of purple gel against his neck. "It's considered a gateway to unsavory things, rather than an artistic expression, so for now, we'll need to get rid of this." She paused when he got too tense, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before she moved on with her work. "I'm sorry. Uma said she'd redo it herself when you finally came back, maybe do it in red now, since we have a choice."
"I'd want teal," Harry said, feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment when she paused. "And purple."
If he had to get rid of this, he wanted to wear Uma's colors, damnit, not his father's.
A smile tugged at Evie's lips. "I think we can make that happen."
Another enchantment, and the gel lit up in the reflection of the mirror before it vanished into nothingness, and with it went his tattoo.
Harry hadn't realized how much he cared about it until it was gone, and now he just felt empty.
He needed to get over himself. This was bigger than him, bigger than his feelings. This was for all the people of the Isle – they were counting on him. Uma and Mal were counting on him, and he couldn't waste his time moping. He needed to get into the mindset of Harrison the tailor, figure out who the fuck that guy was. Evie said he should be shy and sweet, but Harry didn't really know that many shy people. They didn't survive long on the Isle, but he knew Gil and Dizzy, who were pretty much sweetness incarnate. He thought about the younger orphans meeting their adoptive families for the first time, wondered if that was shyness, and felt entirely stupid all over again at the prospect of being that weak.
Then again, having the entirety of Auradon underestimate him would provide nothing but benefits. If they didn't expect much from him, maybe they wouldn't attack him. Better to be dismissed than considered an actual threat.
"I feel like you're overthinking this," Jay informed him when they got to their assigned cuddle time, the two of them patiently working through the flashcards Evie had made to cover basic Auradon behavior and social structure. She'd collected the information from the most recent citizens that had been sent over to the Isle, so hopefully it was accurate.
"There is no overthinking this," Harry muttered, blowing a stray strand of his newly-shortened hair out of his face. "This mission's important."
"Right," Jay let out a hum that indicated he didn't entirely agree with Harry's statement. "But I also think you're forgetting that this is Auradon, the land of opportunity, and maybe you should – I don't know – take advantage of that? If not for yourself, then for all the people who can't. Just- let yourself have nice things instead of working yourself into an early grave."
"I'm not going to do that," Harry huffed. He'd gotten a lot better about that once they had started their group relationship, when Harry realized he had people who actually gave a shit about his wellbeing and free time.
"Good," Jay replied lightly. "Because you're not going to have us around to remind you to. You're going to be alone, Harry."
Harry didn't like his tone. "I fucking know that."
His boyfriend sighed. "Sorry, I'm not explaining this well. We- well, Evie and I are worried about you reverting to old habits. The ones where you'll do whatever's necessary for the sake of your mission. To the point of detriment."
"I'm not going to do anything detrimental," Harry muttered, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "But I think we can all agree that this mission is important enough to demand more from me than usual, and that I should be okay giving that."
"Just don't hurt yourself," Jay sighed, like that was a thing Harry did on the regular. "I mean it. Uma and Mal have been so dazzled by your recovery that they haven't realized that half the reason you're doing well – that any of us are doing well – is because we have a solid support system. You're going to be without that in Auradon, and I need you to promise that you won't sacrifice too much of yourself for the betterment of the Isle."
For a moment, Harry wanted to snarl, bare his teeth at Jay because he felt like he was being called out, chastised, and then felt even more embarrassed when he realized it wasn't unwarranted.
"Asshole," Jay huffed, dragging Harry close and nuzzling his forehead against the pirate's. "I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying it because I love you, and it kills me that I can't go with you but Mal thinks all he skeevy shit my dad did-"
"Fuck your dad," Harry hissed, wrapping his arms around Jay's solid form.
"Yeah," Jay laughed into Harry's shoulder. "It sucks that even dead, he's still causing me problems, but fuck it – it's done. Just be careful, please, that's all I'm asking. When you get to a situation where you think too much is being asked of you, think 'what would Uma say if she was standing next to me?' and if the answer is a string of expletives, maybe don't do it."
It wasn't that simple, Jay had to know that. Harry was flattered by his concern, grateful for it, but ultimately things weren't that easy. Harry's feelings were nothing in the grand scheme of things, but he felt warm that Jay would take the time to have this conversation with him, and Harry knew that would carry him further than most cuddles would any day.
"I love ye," Harry said instead of making that promise, melting against Jay's chest.
"I love you too," Jay repeated, seeming to understand that was as far as they'd get for the day. "Now, I've heard something about you becoming more sensitive?"
"Ye can't ruin my clothes," Harry murmured, his cheeks heating in a furious blush when Jay cupped reverently between his legs.
"I guess we'll just need to take them off, then," Jay hummed, proving his priorities with his magic studies by magically whisking the garments off of Harry's frame into a neat pile on the nightstand, leaving Harry naked and instantly hard in his lap.
"Oooh, looks like I got here at just the right time," Mal chirped as she strolled into the room, moving in tandem with Jay to box Harry against the bed.
It seemed he had a few more rounds in him after all.
-:-:-
The next day seemed to pass in a blur of Harry collecting information and ironing out his backstory with Evie – creating new anecdotes he could share that wouldn't horribly offend Auradon sensibilities. All free moments were spent cuddling his partners, most of them testing out the new responsiveness of his body (which didn't seem to fade, and Harry would despair for that if he didn't know how very useless it was).
There was a notable afternoon where Uma tugged him into the private cove behind Bargain Castle – the waters clear and entirely shark free. There was a smirk on her lips as she changed into her squidmaid form, the tentacles deftly relieving him of his shorts before they worked together to drive him absolutely mad.
"Uma," Harry moaned, arching with each deliberate shift of suckers against his body, the texture soft but firm and ribbed and making him pulse something fierce. "Uma, please-"
"I need to give you a sendoff you'll remember," Uma murmured against his lips, swallowing his gasps while one of her smaller tentacles wrapped around his length, jerking him off until he felt apart with a croon.
The afternoon ended with him lying on the wet sand, knees pushed up against his chest while a different tentacle fucked him open, textured suckers rubbing relentlessly across his pectorals until he thought he was going to fall apart.
"Oh, wow, Harry," Gil murmured when he trotted up halfway through this ravishment. "You look super pretty."
"Want to join us, sweetheart?" Uma asked, which was how both of them ended up wrapped in her tentacles, maneuvered together under Uma's control, but Harry didn't once feel trapped. He felt good being taken care of by Uma, warm being rutted together with Gil who kept babbling about how much he'd miss Harry and how much he loved him and how good they felt until all of them shattered entirely.
"Damn," Mal said later, when the others came to pick up the pieces of their beachside sex fest.
Normally Harry was averse to the ocean, as for sixteen years nothing good had come from it, but with Uma things seemed more manageable, the fear easier to keep at bay.
"Damn indeed," Jay agreed as he dragged Gil to his feet, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Thanks for the show, guys."
"You're fucking welcome," Uma gasped, thrusting a triumphant fist into the air.
Time seemed to simultaneously pass too fast and drag horrifically, until at last it was the day of Harry's departure – his bags packed and triple checked, his notes reviewed, his meager breakfast forced down as he tried not to let his anxiety get to him.
He needed to be strong and independent and charming. They were counting on him.
"Hey," Uma said halfway through his pacing, snagging his wrist to keep him from working up a fine sweat. "You're going to do great, Harry. Just be yourself. Your actual self."
They all kept saying that, but Harry didn't know what they meant. Evie wanted him to change – well, differently present – so much of himself that it didn't even feel close to who he actually was, and yet each and every one of them seemed so sure that if he went with his true instincts, he would be fine. At heart, Harry knew he wasn't a monster, not anymore, but he wasn't sure how much of a step up he was from that. He supposed that was something he would figure out in time.
Only he didn't have much of that left before that limo showed up, before he was in Auradon, before he was in a land of potential enemies.
"Captain," Harry spoke up suddenly, a new concern building in his gut. "What… what if I need to push myself a bit past my comfort zone to get by? What if I need to offer more than I'm comfortable with? Would… would that be okay?"
He knew Uma and Mal didn't share Jay's concerns, but there was one topic they hadn't covered. Sex was, as Harry had seen, a weapon that could be devastating in its effectiveness. In all the sessions they had to cover Harrison Hook's backstory, they never once covered if he was dating anyone or not, and Harry had been too worried to ask, afraid of what the answer might be.
They'd all emphasized an avoidance for flirtation, but what if they flirted with him? Should he act on that? If it ultimately aided their cause, should he use that?
That was what he was asking Uma now, and he hoped she was able to read between the lines, because he didn't know how else to present the question.
For whatever reason, Uma's gaze seemed to soften into something fond, like she was reminded of Harry's unwavering loyalty. "That's okay, Harry," she assured him, soothing away his troubles with a simple grin. "It's okay to step out of the box. I trust you to use your best judgement – we all do, so try not to worry about it."
"Got it." Harry nodded, feeling slightly better. He'd been given permission, more or less, and she'd reiterated her trust in him. "Thanks, Captain."
"That's Uma, to you," she muttered, cupping his face between her hands and pulling him into a kiss. "I love you, Harry."
"I love ye too," he murmured against her lips, savoring the feel of her for one last time.
She distracted him like that, careful to keep things chaste and easy and grounding, offering Harry one last taste of this before he was gone for who knew how long.
By the time Harry had to go to the limo, he was still scared, but at least he knew that he was loved, and it was a love that could hold him all the way to Auradon.
-:-:-
"Fuck, fuck, hell," Harry murmured under his breath as the car rumbled to life, drawing him towards the shimmering barrier he had been trapped within all his life.
He was trying to get all the cursing out of his system before he forced to be nice and shy, but it was difficult to manage when he felt so uneasy. It wasn't until the door shut behind him that he wished one of the others could be there – even Harriet would have worked – but Mal and Uma didn't want to risk more than one person and Harry was strong and adaptable and needed to remember that.
His heart seemed to be pounding in his throat when they started out from behind the barrier, driving onto a golden bridge as he looked out onto blue skies for the very first time-
"Fuck." Harry flinched against the seat, attacked by a sudden onslaught of something – that same magic from before but stronger for whatever reason. He felt it radiating in his core, seeming to buzz under his skin, and with it he felt more connected – though to what, he didn't know.
He tried not to focus on it. Kept his eyes on the streets of Auradon like Evie told him to, because there was no such thing as having too much information in a foreign land. He wrung his hands together to keep from pulling at his clothes, and by the time they were pulling up to a building that seemed even fancier than Bargain Castle or Castle Across the Way, Harry had only avoided becoming a mess through sheer force of will.
There was a welcoming party and everything, people holding signs, a band, though fortunately the limo pulled up in front of a small group of people – two teens and the familiar visage of Fairy Godmother.
Harry had never met Fairy Godmother in person – that was an Uma thing. It was one of the reasons he'd been selected for this task, because she couldn't verify that Harry wasn't who he said he was. That didn't make it less intimidating when Harry waited for the chauffeur to open the door like Evie told him to, but he did successfully manage to get out without tripping over himself, so that was a win.
He winced against the harshness of the sun, seeming so much brighter than it had through the tinted windows of the car, then flushed at his reaction. Even with their magic, they couldn't affect the permanent clouds that seemed to hover over the barrier, so Harry was used to gloom more often than not. They all were.
"Hi," the male teen greeted, looking perfectly comfortable in his dumb blazer and slacks. "I'm Ben, and this is Audrey."
"Princess, Audrey," the girl corrected with a sniff. "And this is Prince Ben."
Yes, Harry could put two and two together, thanks. He could also see which way the wind blew, and it ultimately ended with this princess seeming to detest his very presence.
Lovely.
"Harrison," Harry greeted, returning Ben's handshake tentatively. "Harrison Hook."
"They sent Captain Hook's son?" Audrey asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"What Audrey means is that we're very happy to have you here at Auradon Prep," Ben urged, even though Harry was pretty sure Audrey meant exactly what she'd said.
The prince was doing his damnedest to make up for that, though, and seemed to be staring at Harry with a meaningful smile, offering an abundance of attention that Harry naturally felt uneasy under.
Was he staring? Stupid, who the fuck else would he be looking at, Harry was the barbarian from the Isle.
"We all are!" Fairy Godmother chirped, shooting Audrey an unhappy look before turning her warm smile onto Harry. "I've heard nothing but good things about you from Captain Uma. And she did say you were quite a snappy dresser."
At that, Harry flushed, because that meant Uma had been planting the seeds for this for a long time and hadn't told him. "Thank you," he murmured, ducking his head. "I sew. Not well, of course-"
"That's amazing," Ben said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. "Maybe you can join one of our sewing classes."
Harry's flush darkened. Of course Auradon had fucking sewing classes. "That would be nice, your highness."
"It's just Ben please, Harrison," Ben said, detaching himself from Audrey's side to motion Harry on with a tilt of his head. "Could I call you Sonny?"
If that wasn't the stupidest, most harmless fucking name Harry had ever heard, he didn't know what was.
"Um- yeah," Harry said, feeling his blush darken. "That's- Sonny's good."
"Sweet," the prince said with a complete lack of irony. "Well, Sonny – the three of us will be giving you a tour of the school, along with a breakdown of what will be expected of you."
"You know, like manners," Audrey muttered, folding her arms across her chest with a huff.
"Actually," Fairy Godmother cut in. "I think Princess Audrey has some business to attend to elsewhere. Just Ben and I will be giving you the tour."
That obviously hadn't been the plan, Audrey's eyes going wide at the dismissal, but she took it with a sniff, not wanting Harry to realize what had happened, as though he were blind. She left with a toss of her hair, not so much as offering a goodbye.
"Sorry about that," Ben murmured, his gaze still locked to Harry's face. "I promise, not everyone will be like that, but there's still some…"
"Prejudice?" Harry offered. "Yeah, I was warned that might be a problem. It's fine."
"It's not," Ben said, and to his credit, he seemed to mean that. "And we're going to work to fix that, I just wanted you to know that we're on your side."
Ben didn't know what he was offering, and in truth, Harry didn't feel like explaining it to him, so he just nodded, and off they went.
The school was huge. Even with their transfiguration magic, nothing on the Isle really compared to its grandeur, though that was likely because none of the magic users had such fancy points of reference to draw inspiration from. There were gardens and a library, an auditorium and a stadium for sports. There were buildings rife with classrooms and art rooms and almost every activity you could imagine and then some. It was enough to leave Harry worried, because as much as he'd studied, he wasn't truly prepared for the school aspect of things.
"We'll have you tested tomorrow morning," Fairy Godmother explained. "It will give us a good idea of what classes you should be placed in."
"What's school like back on the Isle?" Ben asked, seeming genuinely curious.
"It's better, now," Harry replied. "Though I don't honestly know, I've never been."
The other two stopped walking, prompting Harry to do the same.
Ben shot him a confused look. "You've never been to school?"
"Had more important things to do," Harry replied with a shrug. "And when we established the new order, I was more use sewing than doing anything else."
For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Ben cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry, Sonny," he offered. "You should have always had a chance to receive an education."
"You're not the one that set up the Isle, your highness," Harry replied. "But I appreciate the sentiment just the same."
There, that was a dignified response.
Ben didn't seem entirely pleased with his reply, but he let the matter drop, guiding Harry towards the dormitory, where he'd be staying. Fairy Godmother parted ways with them there, offering Harry another soft smile before she fluttered away.
"Students usually room in pairs," Ben explained. "But since you came alone, we don't really have anyone to pair you with."
"That's fine," Harry replied. "I'm used to being alone."
That got him another worried look. "Right, um- well, as the heir to Auradon, I have a suite by myself, so in the instance that the representative that was sent over turned out to be a guy, I was… well, long story short, you're rooming with me."
Throughout the course of the conversation, he led Harry up a staircase, and then another staircase, until Harry realized they were going to the top of the building.
"What?" Harry asked, coming to an abrupt halt. "Are ye-" Fucking out of your mind. "-nuts? I could be a crazy person. Ye didn't even do a security check, and ye want me to room with ye? Ye, one of the most important people in all of Auradon?"
Belatedly, Harry realized he shouldn't be having his conversation, but the security guard within him was absolutely baffled by this turn of events.
"Just put me in a closet or something," Harry said, running a distracted hand through his hair. He was sure the closets they had here would be even nicer than the ones they had back home. "Or an attic. Do ye have an attic? I spent most of my life livin' on a boat-"
"You are not rooming in a closet," Ben said, appalled by this possibility. "You don't get trust without giving it-"
"Do ye at least have a security system?" Harry asked. "Or guards?" He shook his head. "Ye have a lock on your door, right? Ye at least have that? Ye shouldn't give anyone free access to ye when you're asleep and vulnerable."
"I didn't think this would freak you out," Ben replied honestly.
"You're a prince," Harry hissed. "If anything happens to ye while we're rooming together, it's my head on the chopping block."
At that, Ben's gaze seemed to get all determined, not far from Mal's own usual look of stubbornness, which was a connection Harry didn't need to draw. "That's not going to happen," he declared, reaching forward to snag Harry's wrist. "We're going to room together and we're going to be fine and you're not going to attack me because you're not your dad."
"Ye literally just met me a few hours ago," Harry muttered. "Ye don't know sh- anything."
"I know you're embarrassed by all the attention you're receiving," Ben countered easily. "I know you're afraid to touch anything, like you're scared you'll break it or something. I know you don't like it when people look at you because you're shy, and I know you like our library because you spent like, ten minutes staring at all the books."
"It was a lot of books," Harry muttered, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. He'd been wondering which of them they didn't have and gotten distracted by how whole and pretty and colorful they were and the wide-open windows letting in fresh sunlight and the working computers and all the kids seemingly dressed like him.
"Yep," Ben chirped, giving him a bright grin. "And you can read as many of them as you like. We'll get your library card made tomorrow."
Harry flushed, but realized this was another opportunity to collect information. He wouldn't get distracted by indulgent fiction. He'd work.
"Here it is," Ben declared when they got to the end of a hall that seemed to have no other rooms aside from the one hidden behind a large pair of double doors. "This is my suite," he explained, pressing a golden key into Harry's hand. "Our suite, I mean. I took us the long way today, but there's also a secret elevator that will lead directly into this hallway – I'll show you that tomorrow."
Before Harry could protest again, Ben tugged him into the suite, locking the door behind them in a manner Harry would be preoccupied with were it not for his distraction with the stupidly ornate room they'd been let into.
"This is the sitting room," Ben said, motioning to the fireplace and couches and fancy paintings. "There's also a private dining room, an office, a guest powder room, and two bedrooms." He tugged Harry past each of these until they eventually ended up in what Harry guessed was Ben's bedroom. He assumed this much because it was huge. "Each bedroom has its own bathroom and walk-in closet, as well as an assortment of bookcases for all your bookworm needs." He tugged Harry into another room, this one slightly smaller, but still just as fancy. "We'll get your sewing station set up tomorrow too. I'll have a selection of fabric brought in so you can sew to your heart's content. What colors do you prefer? Light Blue?"
It was a lot of information to take in, leaving Harry to just blink sort of dumbly. "Um… yeah. And- purple and…" he cut off when he realized he probably shouldn't be working exclusively in Uma's colors, thereby causing him to panic, making him struggle to think of the least-Uma color he could imagine. "Um- pink?"
When he realized what he said, he immediately scrubbed a hand across his face, embarrassed by his own improvisation. They should have made Evie do this. Evie would have charmed everyone in a ten-mile radius by this point. They should have just trained Harry to be a judge in her place so she could go, but no, they had to go and think Harry was competent. The assholes.
"Hey," Ben said, his voice stupidly gentle. "I think pink's a great color. It'd look really nice on you."
"I meant green," Harry muttered, keeping his head ducked. "Light green. Purple and light green."
"Okay," Ben said, didn't argue with him. "But we can throw in some pink, just in case."
Curse Harry's life.
"So uh… I'll just leave you to unpack," Ben chirped. "I'll be in my office if you need anything, and we'll go down to the dining hall for dinner around six?"
"That would- yes, thank you," Harry said, trying to give up on this day. "Lock your door."
"I'm not doing that," Ben chirped, giving Harry's shoulder one last squeeze before he left him.
Harry supposed that having no sense of self-preservation was a natural conclusion for the prince crazy enough to give them access to magic. With a sigh, he turned to the bags that had been delivered while they were touring and got to work unpacking, trying to get familiar with his new base of operations.
What a damn life.
-:-:-
Endnotes:
Everyone: Just be your usual sweet self, Harry.
Harry: I'm not sweet, what are you talking about?
Also Harry – Let me ask Uma if it's okay for me to sex other people up in the vaguest way possible, obviously she can read between the lines, she's CAPTAIN.
This dumb human, I swear.
Thanks to the feedback, everyone! The collective anticipation for the trainwreck to come is truly delightful. I know a lot of you were excited for Audrey, and while she does get more depth, I'm sad to say she isn't as heavily featured in this one. She still gets good things though, if that's a comfort :)
Story notes:
Harry, forever and always: I am FINE. Look at me being so FINE and everything is FINE and there are NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER.
The team not covering if Harry's dating someone because obviously he's dating very many people and surely he would never hold that kind of information back or anything. Nope. Not at all.
Realistically speaking, the logical choice would be to send two people, if only to ensure that they had backup and didn't feel alone/isolated/had some kind of support system. For the purposes of this story we are chucking that logic hardcore into the wind, because otherwise Harry can't make his bounty of terrible decisions ;)
Until next time :)
