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Finding Family
Very old idea
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-Started out as a FT x HP Crossover
-Takes place after Sirius Death and after FT was disbanded
-First meeting
-Good Dumbledore
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Chapter One – Disbanded
It was official. Fairy Tail was no more. Disbanded.
Gray Fullbuster was at a loss. The only thing certain about his future was that his rent was paid throughout the month, so he still had a few weeks before he had to decide what to do with himself. The problem was that he had absolutely no idea what to do. Joining another guild didn't feel right to him, and he most certainly wasn't moving in with Juvia, no matter how many times she suggested it. Most of his old guild-members had left town already, the girls had left rather quickly due to the high rent at Fairy Hills, which they could no longer pay easily. The only girl he knew was still around was Wendy.
His thoughts then turned to Natsu, and wondered how the pinkette would handle the disbandment. Natsu would probably be even more lost, if Gray was to be honest. He hadn't seen the boy for a few days either, in fact, the last time he had seen him; he appeared to be stocking up for something. Natsu hadn't looked that well actually, now that Gray was thinking about it. Natsu had looked… nervous?... scared? Gray wasn't sure; he rarely saw the Dragon Slayer being anything but confident. At the time, Gray had shrugged it off as stress due to the disbandment. Now Gray wasn't so sure, and he was feeling a bit worried. A visit wouldn't hurt.
Making up his mind, he made his way to Natsu's house, and got even more worried when he noticed how quiet it was. Natsu and 'quiet' just didn't seem to go together. When he knocked on the door he was surprised to see Wendy opening the door.
"Gray-san, good evening." She greeted him.
"Likewise." He said still surprised. "What are you doing here? Is Natsu sick?"
Wendy nodded. "Would you like to see him?" She asked.
Gray nodded and she let him in. He walked inside and found Natsu lying on a futon, half on his stomach, in front of a fireplace, with a pillow over his head and a thermometer in his mouth; he looked awful.
"Oi, you okay?" Gray asked and received an unintelligible mumble in return.
Wendy motioned for Natsu to hand her the thermometer, which he did, and took note of the temperature and wrote it down.
"Your temperature had dropped another two degrees." She told him and Natsu groaned and struggled to sit up, swaying a bit as he did. "I'll get you some water." Wendy offered and walked into the kitchen.
Gray had no idea what was going on with his friend, and sat down next to him, putting an arm over Natsu's shoulders to offer some comfort. The fact that Natsu leaned into him, told him that the pinkette was likely feeling worse than he looked. Wendy smiled at them as she returned with a glass of water which she handed to Natsu.
"What's wrong with him? How long has he been like this?" Gray asked her. Natsu was significantly colder than he should be.
"Two days." She answered. "It'll last a week, but he'll be gradually better over the next few days. And there's not really anything wrong with him, just… it's part of a Dragon Slayer's reproduction process."
Gray was even more confused than ever. "What?" He asked.
"He's going through his First Heat." Wendy explained.
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Later that night, while Natsu slept somewhat peacefully, Wendy and Gray were talking while sitting on the couch. Happy was with Carla in a small apartment Wendy was renting, and would be staying there until Natsu got better. Gray had asked why Natsu was so sick, and Wendy had explained that the 'First Heat' was said to be absolutely terrible, though the symptoms varied from species to species. Natsu as a Fire Dragon Slayer, would have his body-temperature plummet as a preparation to mate, making it more comfortable for their partner. His body was changing and a lot of different hormones were running wild at the same time, which is why he was sick. His body was not used to what was going on, and was overreacting to the changes. If not watched, his temperature could plummet too low, which could be dangerous.
"You think Natsu is dating anyone?" Gray asked, sounding a bit nervous; as if he didn't want to hear the answer.
"He's not." Wendy said. "If he was they would be here, as just being near them would help him. Unfortunately, Carriers have a really hard time finding Mates because their instincts are more complicated than normal Dragon Slayers."
"Carriers (AN)?" Gray asked confused.
Wendy looked a bit sad. "You've heard of the war between Dragons and Humans." She said. "The war started because humans were hunting dragons; they found their nest-sites and targeted females and hatchlings. To prevent extinction, dragons took in use a special type of magic that would hide the child-bearers. The spell would allow some males to become hermaphrodites during the First Heat, though they can be identified by other dragons long before that time. Carriers were indistinguishable from males, with the exception of their inner organs, so they were hidden from the humans; it's the reason dragons were able to survive for so long. We Dragon Slayers are also affected by this magic."
"It still doesn't explain why it harder for them than other dragons." Gray pointed out.
"A Carrier has both the male and female sets of instincts." Wendy explained. "This means they have a much longer list of needs that their Mate has to be able to handle. Most of the time, a Carrier chooses to have two mates, one of each gender, because it's easier than finding a single mate capable of handling everything. Carriers are also more prone to losing control over their instincts, because they're more aggressive, especially while Unmated, so having two mates is on some ways safer, and brings more comfort."
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Chapter ? – Natsu meets Harry
Harry was scared. Sirius' son would be here any minute, and Harry knew there was nothing he could say or do to make up for taking his father away from him. When the door opened, Harry instantly stood and swallowed when she saw the muscles on the boy's bare arms. The boy saw him and walked straight towards him. Nobody knew what to expect, and Harry lifted his arms defensively out of habit.
"I…" Harry stuttered out, fully expecting a punch to the face or something.
He was shocked when, instead of a punch, he was pulled into a hug.
"Don't apologize for something that's not your fault." Natsu said.
Harry couldn't help the sob that escaped him; he had expected yelling, not this. "How would you know?" He sobbed in disbelief.
Natsu pulled a way a bit, so he could see Harry's face. He cradled Harry's head in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears. Natsu then looked Harry right in the eyes. "Because I can't think of any better way to die than giving your life to protect someone you love." Natsu said seriously. "And if I could chose how I were to die; I would chose to go the exact same way my father did. Sure, I never got to know him, but knowing how he died tells me my father was a man I'd be proud of."
"It was still my fault." Harry cried. "If I hadn't run into that trap like an idiot… or if I'd just opened that stupid package…Sirius wouldn't be dead; and you'd still have your dad."
"Harry." Natsu said bending down to his level. "That doesn't matter. Not to me. Everyone makes mistakes; it's just that some people screw up worse than others. And focusing on 'Could've, Should've, Would've's will only drive you crazy, and I don't think you understand what you truly did that day."
Harry looked at him confused.
Natsu smiled at him. "The moment you thought my father was in danger; your first instinct was to get to him." He said. "You were willing to break God-knows how many rules, travel I-don't-know how many miles, break into a government-building, and face God-knows how many experienced murderers; just to save my father. I don't care that it was a trap; because those actions tell me that you loved my father. And I can't tell you how much it means to me, to know that despite being labeled a murderer and escaped convict, and despite all the people who wanted him dead; my father had someone who loved him just as much as he loved them."
Harry began to cry as Natsu continued.
"My father had a choice that day." He said. "He could've stayed were he was, not knowing if his loved one was going to come back alive, and not doing anything to protect that person whom he claimed to love like a son, but that's not the kind of person he was. My father made the choice to protect you; he chose to put himself at risk despite the warrant on his head, and despite the risk of getting killed. And, as far as I'm concerned; he did the right thing."
Natsu straightened and pulled Harry into another hug. Natsu also noticed that Harry wasn't the only one crying. Remus had tears running down his face, while Hermione and McGonagall were desperately trying to dry their eyes with handkerchiefs. Even Dumbledore had glistening tears in his eyes, and Hagrid blew his nose so loud he sounded like an elephant.
"Tha' was so beautiful!" The half-giant sobbed out and started wailing.
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This is a really old idea that never really went anywhere. I've been playing around with the whole 'Carrier'-thing for a while, but I've never been comfortable actually making a story around it because I found it too embarrassing.
That being said, I had nothing else to upload this month, so I was looking around and found this old thing, and figured I'd see how people reacted to it.