Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING.
A/N: WOW. Sorry guys. My computer crashed and I hadbeen way too busy over the last month to go get it fixed. Luckily the bugger fixed itself in time for me not to lose motivation for writting this fanfiction. Who am I kidding. This is my baby. I'll see it through to the end. I am REALLY happy that this kept getting views and I'm sorry for those I kept waiting. I know it's a bit short but I wanted to get this to you guys as soon as possible. I promise you wont have to wait more than a month for the next update though! Unless it dies again. But we will deal with that then. On with the show!
Harry was currently sitting on the sofa Carlisle had in his room, sulking. He was a little angry at himself about what happened earlier that day but he had some what gotten over it by now. He looked down at his toes which he curled and uncurled periodically. He had taken to meticulously braiding his hair as he thought about what was going on, Carlisle being downstairs doing the same thing with his family.
Harry sighed. He knew that this was a soul bond but what he couldn't figure out was why it was making him hurt. He could feel the pain of the stretching bond in his head and his chest right now as he did in Bella's cabin before his emotions when haywire and everything revolved around getting back to his mate. Usually bonds were supposed to give comfort, not unease. That was the exact opposite of what the bond was trying to accomplish so why? Bonds also were supposed to give the two in contract time to adjust.
From what Harry had read in The Book of Contracts, soul bonds, or soul mates were rare in magical creatures because they meant so much more than happiness as it did to humans. They were rare because the fates designed them. Two people didn't enter this contract willingly. That's why, when these contracts were formed, they are weak at first, creating a spark between the two. After that spark there tends to be urges to go certain places, some which the people had never been to before. That is the bond pulling them to meet again. The need is weak at first but it builds with every meeting until the bond is finally consummated which unleashes the 'floodgates' if you will and makes them fall into the most deep and intoxicating love.
Harry was beginning to doubt that this was the bond that he had originally thought it to be. He was interrupted in his thoughts by a knock on the door. Harry stepped cautiously to the door, knowing it wasn't Carlisle because of the bond. He opened the door and relaxed when he saw it was the one named Alice.
"Hello, Harry. May I speak to you for a moment?" Harry nodded and stepped aside to let Alice in.
Alice smiled politely and shook her head. "I'm sorry but I can't go in there. That's Carlisle's private rooms so we are prohibited to go in there, plus. I want to see something and it can't be in this room."
Harry stepped from the room, his face a mix of perplex and curiousness. Harry was used to special treatment like getting singled out or being the sole target for danger or mischief but he wasn't used to others treating him differently by giving him special privileges. He followed Alice and was a little curious when he stepped into a room with a chair, a desk and a window. The walls were a monochrome of grey and he didn't see anything special about it until Alice stepped over to a wall. She pulled the curtain down and Harry's eyes widened at what he saw. He stepped forward cautiously and touched his fingers to the painting. A shock of magic was forced through his fingertips and the picture suddenly started to move.
"Ah. And you are?" The picture moved and spoke. "H…Harry Potter…" He stuttered out, not used to pictures coming alive like that and speaking when it wasn't magically developed. It shouldn't be able to move like this so long after it was painted as a still frame.
Harry watched its mouth open as it spoke. "Hello, child." Harry had grown up around magic and creatures that had been built to seduce and entrap their prey but this voice made him want to throw his life away to hear just another word.
"I do not know what year it is, nor can I stay long but the reason why this portrait has awakened is because you are my soul." Harry tensed and looked to Alice who's eyes widened even more than they had when the picture suddenly started moving and he groaned inwardly. There was no way this portrait could have known she didn't know but he had wished to keep it a secret for more than a day at least.
Harry looked into this woman's eyes that had a striking similarity to his own vibrant orbs that he hadn't even seen in his mother and nodded.
"Of course, my lady. But… May I ask who you are?" He inquired.
She smiled kindly. "In life, I was known as Victoria Potter," Harry's eyes widened and suddenly he was very much more interested in this woman and what she had to say, "Born of Kail and Thalia Potter and future wife to one Carlisle Cullen." Harry's heart panged with jealousy but mostly sadness. If this woman was the one destined for Carlisle, he could only be sad that she had missed out on such a man. Harry felt something drip on his neck and touched his face before angrily wiping the tears that had formed without his consent away.
Victoria spoke quickly but not rushed. "I don't have much time. I charmed this so that I would have enough time to talk to you. I knew the bond had not been solidified because I was stubborn but I want you to know that you cannot fight this. With this bond, your future has been set for you by something beyond your control. This man will be your everything. Do not worry, your love for him will be true and all your own, the fates would not have picked two unsuited for each other."
Harry listened to his ancestor and was quickly becoming panicked. He couldn't do this again. He couldn't be a part of someone else's grander scheme again. The last time that happened, he almost died. Well it was more like suicide since he was made to believe that he was doing the right thing and that he was never coming back and still went willingly. What the hell had he even been thinking anyway?
Back to the matter at hand brought anyone who was looking on to an upset Harry. He was no longer a rash child and he would not blame Carlisle for the fact that he was once again a tool and this time, he didn't even know what they looked like.
Victoria continued. "Please. You are just like me so I will tell you this once, remember it. Though your future is set and certain events will be inevitable, you have the power to shape the outcome. You could even change the order if you wanted to. Be safe child." After this, the painting once again went back to being still with only the barest remnants of magic remaining, making it seem like it moved ever so slightly or that her eyes might actually glow or shine with joy or tears if you looked close enough.
Harry was shaken. He slowly stepped back from the painting and, forgetting that there was another person in the room, bolted. He ran and ran and ran until he came into a clearing in the woods. He stopped and looked around. His thoughts were going a mile a minute and he needed to spend some time with his thoughts. He paced for about an hour and a half before sitting and picking at the grass around him as if he were a child as he thought over what the painting had said. She might not have said much but it was impactful and thought provoking along with the fact that he didn't even know that there was such thing as delay magic!
He sighed and groaned, flopping onto his back just to come face to face with a very worried face. Harry yelped and jumped up, his head colliding with the others on the way up. He quickly turned around, holding his forehead and getting in a semi defensive stance when he suddenly burst out laughing. "Carlisle! What a lovely way to greet someone! Usually you start with hello and then you begin the awkward staring but then again 'hello' has been skipped often enough on plenty less appropriate occasions."
Carlisle laughed at his witty response. "Well, in that case, I will apologize for the pain I caused you."
Harry rubbed his forehead and huffed indignantly. "I do believe this is well deserving of a kiss on the boo boo, not just an apology." He said, arms crossed and nose up in a very petulant posture. Carlisle blinked incredulous at the young man. He then broke out into tinkling laugher and Harry just gawked at him indignantly. "Are you laughing at me?" Carlisle just started laughing harder. He couldn't remember the last time he let himself go and really laughed. It made him feel almost human. He could tell why Emmitt liked it so much.
Harry tried to tackle the other before rethinking his decision not too keen on wrestling with a brick wall. He instead ended up playfully slapping the others shoulder, admittedly hurting himself more than he had thought he would. He sighed and calmed down, letting the other regain his composure.
He looked at the other man and thought about what the painting had said. He wanted to believe that he was meant for this man. That it was just a coincidence that the man Carlisle was destined to be with had already been severely traumatized by similar events in his past. Harry could feel the bond humming in happiness in the back of his head at the others proximity and couldn't fathom it not being part of who he was. This bond was as much a part of him as was his green eyes. He couldn't deny that accepting the fact that he was bonded and had a path to follow would make things a whole lot easier but Harry was scared. What if this was just another mistake. He had trusted his friends with his life and when he needed them most, they turned their backs on him, leaving him alone with his deteriorating sanity due to all the loss and actually dying.
He hadn't realized it but, so lost in thought, his face had taken on a very sad and longing expression that was starting to worry Carlisle. The blond man gently squeezed the others shoulder, pulling him slowly from his mind and back to reality. "Are you alright there Harry? I seem to have lost you there for a moment. Is there anything you have on your mind that you would like to talk with me about?" The other offered quite innocently.
Harry angled his eyebrows down slightly in thought and pondered. Should he tell him? Should he tell him the whole story about Victoria and the moving picture as well as the warning she gave him? Should he just tell the other that he wanted to hold off on the bond until further notice? Could he really do either to a man who has waited almost five hundred years? Harry sighed and rubbed his face with one hand.
He could prolong this but he knew he couldn't wait much longer. He wanted the man in front of him and it was becoming unhealthy. His body wasn't going to let him deny it any longer and he knew that the time their bodies had given them to adjust to being so suddenly forced together was down to the last days or maybe hours. It most certainly felt like the bond could give way and force them together at any moment.
"Carlisle… What do you think of the bond?" Harry asked, quite out of the blue.
Carlisle blinked but recovered quickly. Harry could see the ponderous look on his face and relaxed a little bit knowing that he wasn't the only one having confusions and conflicted thoughts about this bond.
Carlisle spoke and when he did it was slow and measured, not like he was talking to a child but more as if he were telling an important story.
"Harry. I need you to understand that I have suffered the fate of an incomplete bond for hundreds of years and I never thought in a million of them, I would have been able to complete it someday. All of this meaning I may be a little bias but… this bond that we have, not the tangible one but the one illustrated by our relation to each other. It's not something I would ever throw away. Just as I fell in love with my dear sweet Victoria, I am slowly falling in love with you. Outside the bond and outside what we are 'supposed' to feel for each other."
Harry looked at the other, his attention pinned on every word that came from his mouth and by the end his eyes were closed and he was serene. He could feel a watery smile spread on his face. He didn't know if it was because the other was much older that he was so good with his words and organized with his thoughts or that he was just that easy to read but he had said exactly what he needed to hear.
It was a little hard to swallow that all of these events happened in just one day but that's Harry for you. Maximum trouble magnet. Put him in the middle of the USA and the UK and he would start a war. But… don't…. don't actually do that. That would be bad.
Harry looked outside and saw that the sun was beginning to set and thought that this crazy day was finally coming to a close. He stood up and Carlisle stood up alongside him. "Was there something else you wanted to ask?" The blond looked sidelong at the other and Harry laughed. "No. everything is fine. I just… I wish I had more choice. I've had it up to here of people using me for their own personal gain." Harry said, his shoulders slumping as it did when he was in school and he had felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Carlisle frowned and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, noticing the slight flinch at the action. He let go when the other looked up at him with a weary expression. "Harry. I have waited for this long. Now that I know I have another chance, I will give you as long as the bond allows to adjust but I must ask of you something you may not want to hear at present time. Please don't leave me. Whatever you do, don't leave me to live the rest of my existence knowing that I had another chance and I let it go." Carlisle looked at Harry with a determined expression.
Harry felt as if the other placed another burden on him with those words. If he didn't know that they had no access to knowledge of the wizarding world he would say that the other would have been playing on his hero complex. It was well known that in times of need, Harry's bleeding heart could not refuse anyone. He sighed and forced a polite smile that he was so very used to wearing. "I understand. I must be going now. I have to be up tomorrow to help Charlie at the station."
Harry walked and didn't look at Carlisle. He didn't like the fact that he was falling back into being the same Harry Potter that had charged into war because some old guy was butthurt. He ran a hand through his long hair, keeping his pace to his car, not seeing Carlisle's expression as he left.
He thought about the last thing Carlisle said and took a deep breath. He needed to try and understand. He had been getting good at thinking about and for himself these days but now was one of those times where he could not just think about himself. He looked through the lens of Carlisle's situation. He was scared as well. He lost a part of himself and now the only threat to take the part of Carlisle he had waited so long to have is the actual part itself.
He knew that the other wouldn't intentionally harm him or burden him if he didn't have to. He was just giving Harry the facts and he much appreciated that he were honest with him. As long as he knew up front what he was dealing with, he would think seriously on it. He knew that he was starting to over think things and too many paths were crossing but when he cleared it all away and looked at the situation as if it weren't Harry Potter, he knew the answer was clear. Knowing only part of the future could cause so many more problems than what was originally meant to be. He had been told too many times that the bond was not something he could fight… so he decided that he wouldn't. He had made up his mind. It wasn't like it was any hardship on him to be bonded with a kind, funny, understanding, honest, and VERY much attractive man. But there was one person he was going to need to tell.
Harry went to his desk and pulled out a piece of parchment, writing all about his move and the crazy day. He told them about the one he was going to be bonded to and about the picture with hints that he wanted them to research it or ask around about delayed reaction magic. He had set down his pen and shook out his hand, his hair falling from his pony tail a bit. He picked up and put the finishing touch on the letter before setting it in the nifty little box he had made for his new owl, Zeus, to get his mail from whenever he comes home from his trysts. True to his name, he was very popular with the ladies. He shower, changed, got in bed and braided his hair so it wouldn't snarl in his sleep before drifting into a dream of blurred colors and shapes which he had no idea what they meant until he heard the screams. This was going to be a long night.
NEXT TIME: How will the Cullen's react to magic? Will Harry be able to delay that little feild trip? And who exactly is this mystery (wo)man?
Challenge!: Anyone who can guess who the mystery person is can get 20 points for their house. Just type the name of the house you belong to and your guess. I will be keeping track!
Ta-Ta!