See chapter one for warnings/disclaimers/summaries, etc.
RECAP: Harry has just publicly announced at the victory dinner that he will be leaving. While he hasn't said why or where he will go, it is the only farewell he will leave. It's time for a new page in his book of life after Voldemort.
Harry swirled to a stop outside of Hogwarts and slipped through the gates the moment the castle recognized him. It transported him from outside to the upper corridors and to where the mirror of Eirsed had once been—after Dumbledore had moved it, Harry had simply gone looking for it again.
Once he'd reconciled his mind to the fact that he couldn't get his parents back, it was a nice meditation tool for helping him figure out his current mental and emotional state of mind. He could see what he wanted and how it would look around him, without having to blunder through any mistakes.
He'd learned, after discovering it a second time, that it had a personality and that if he talked to it, for a mirror that showed the heart's desires, it could be incredibly pessimistic. After something of a spat—and really, that had been awkward, because it was a mirror and he was a wizard, thank you very much—it began to consistently show him what was the worst that could happen. That little change had altered his perspective on life rather significantly.
It was also why he was back at Hogwarts and traipsing around—instead of leaving right away.
Because he would most certainly not be staying.
Not this time.
Perhaps in another life, in some alternate universe in a parallel realm or something—maybe—but not this one.
Harry walked up to the mirror and let his fingers skim across the surface. He'd wanted to do this so many times, but yet, something had always held him back. It had seemed so irresponsible and selfish to bring this single wish to life when everything else in the world was crumbling around him.
He'd had no delusions as to how far Voldemort would go—he knew that such a warped, twisted mind would never stop at conquering the magical world. So he'd given up all the little bits and bobs of happiness that he'd gathered, stashed them away as carefully as he could and risen up to do his best and let Voldemort do his worst.
He'd won.
"Are you going to stare at me all day?" The mirror hummed. "or will you set me free as you promised? You wizards always promise, but you're no less fickle than the witches."
"I promised," Harry said, steadily. "And I always keep my word." He drew out the Elder Wand with a flourish and pointed it at the mirror. "You remember our pact?"
There was silence from the mirror for a good long minute.
Harry didn't waver.
It sighed and slowly, the silver, reflective substance rippled and formed, an image of a petite waif of a boy with armfuls of pale blond hair swimming around his feet and dwarfing his body. "I remember," he said, sullenly.
Harry smirked. "Good, because I've waited just as long as you have." He tapped the mirror and whispered the spell that would reverse the mirror's transformation.
At first new magic strained against ancient magic and it wrestled valiantly, straining, twisting and pushing against each other, until Harry's true wish won out.
Harry could've sworn he heard Hogwarts chuckle as the mirror shattered and then dissolved, leaving a beautiful young man, awkwardly sprawled in puddle of very long, very blond hair, in a long white shirt and no trousers. For a moment, they stared at each other, Harry in disbelief melting away to fondness, the young man in shock, turning to desperation.
"Harry!" he cried, throwing himself forward.
A soft oomph left Harry as he caught him with an arm around the waist and another around his shoulders, pressing his head into the crook of his neck. "Eris," he whispered, stroking a hand down the magnificent, silken length of hair. "Oh Eris."
"I-I hoped and I—I hoped." Eris blubbered, full-out bawling as he clung to Harry like a leech with absolutely no chance of letting go any time soon.
A soft smile teased around Harry's lips and he kissed Eris' cheek and carefully eased them down to the ground. He knew it would take some time. He'd always done his best to come and visit whenever it could, but for Eris—at first, Harry had just been one in another long line of fleeting friendships, before time ran its course. He'd been cursed into the mirror centuries ago, because of his unique divination gifts.
"It's you, isn't it, Harry?" Eris pulled back, swiping at his face with the thin sleeves of his worn button down. "Prove it—please—just, I need to-" he tried to say.
Harry sighed. He placed on hand on each of Eris' shoulders and stared straight into the teary grey eyes, taking note of the tiny scars along his left cheek and the tiny clover-shaped birthmark on his right collarbone. Harry smiled and shook his head, slowly.
Eris froze in his lap, his gaze fixed on Harry's head as messy black hair shuddered, twitched and then produced two thick, fluffy—tufted—ears. They twitched and swiveled, instantly cataloguing and reacting to Harry's surroundings and perking up as they mirrored his current emotional state.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the furred ruff around Harry's neck began to appear, swelling up and out from beneath his wizarding robes and splitting the collar of his jumper. His hands remained the same, though a slight bulge in the back of his pants turned out to be a long, black tail—scaled and whippy, with a heart-shaped tip. It lashed lazily behind him, before curving around to tease at Eris' side.
Eris squeaked and flinched away from it, only for Harry to laugh and chuck him gently under the chin. When he looked up at Harry, innocent, hopeful and half-pleading, his dominant took pity and stretched down to close the gap between them.
A soft, sweet kiss of claim.
Eris sighed, happily, looping his arms around Harry's neck. He sniffled and held on, enjoying the moment for what it was.
By the time Eris had calmed down, Harry had spelled his hair into a very long, single plait and looped it over his arm a half-dozen times. "Do you want to keep it?" he asked.
Wrinkling his nose, Eris made a face. "No. It'll only weigh us down," he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Cut it off."
Harry's eyebrows arched up to his hairline. "You're sure?" he cautioned. "It won't grow back overnight, unless you use a charm and charmed hair isn't the-"
"Just do it," Eris said, fisting his hands in Harry's robes.
There was a quiet huff and then Harry shifted, making a slashing motion with the wand. The lovely long length of pretty blond hair was severed, leaving a small stub of a ponytail for Eris. A flicker of magic converted the blond locks from hair into a thin, gold chain that shrunk until it had become an acceptable looking necklace.
Harry suspended it from his fingers in front of Eris' closed eyes. "How about this?"
One grey eye peeked open. Eris' jaw dropped. He wriggled in happiness when Harry clasped it around his neck, before dropping a kiss on Harry's cheek. "Thank you," he breathed. "Thank you—for everything."
Harry smiled. "I promised," he said, simply. "Come on now, up." They rose to their feet, dusting off their clothes. Harry frowned at Eris' half-clothed state. He produced spool of black thread from one trouser pocket and wove it quickly between his fingers.
A muttered incantation produced a nice pair of fitted black trousers, perfectly sized to Eris' slim figure. He shimmied into them with a wild grin of delight, his centuries reflected only in the depth of his grey eyes.
"Time to go," Harry coaxed, when Eris continued to fuss over the black shirt that had been produced as well. A shirt that fit him properly without falling past his hands and swallowing him up inside.
"Already?" there was a slight whine to Eris' voice as he placed his hands on his hips, craning his neck to see over one shoulder.
"Eris," Harry said, firmly. "You aren't the only one I've got to get tonight. We're leaving—all of us."
Eris chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "Everyone?" he asked, his voice small once more.
Harry turned back from the door, where he waited. He held out a hand. "You will all be special to me in your own ways," he said, knowingly. "I don't pick favorites."
Eris made a sound in his throat, but shuffled forward. He squeaked when shoes were spelled onto his bare feet and shot an accusing look at Harry. "I like being barefoot."
"You won't like it when we're in the Forbidden Forest," Harry said, calmly. "Anything else you need from here?"
Eris ducked under Harry's arm, stepping out into the halls of Hogwarts for the first time on his own two feet. "No," he said, softly. "I have everything I need."
Harry's ears perked up and he chuckled, draping an arm over Eris' shoulders, he started forward, ignoring Eris' start when his tail curled around the blond's waist. "I'm glad to hear it," he murmured.
A/N: No, I am not telling you what Harry is as yet. But you're welcome to take a guess. I also have an explanation for how he got that way. LOL. How do you like Eris? Guess who is next? It's going to be a fun, fluffy ride. Enjoy the madness and thanks for reading!~Scion