Turning Tides

Chapter Four: The Isles

By: Saadie

Summary: And really, Harry has Voldemort to thank for this one. Being the first and probably only person to be a living Horcrux and survive its removal turns out to have more cons than pros. Now if only Harry can survive it and the new world he must adapt to in order to survive, he might just actually end up thanking Voldemort for helping him find a place to belong to.

Disclaimer: I don't feel very rich right now so I must not own Harry Potter or One Piece. Alas, that is the lot life has given me. I shall content myself with fanfiction.

"Mama! Mama! Is he going to be okay?"

Charith laughed lightly and gently tugged her sleeve out of her five year-old's grasping hands. Carefully balancing a jug on her head, she braced the basket against her left hip and reach out her free hand to Dani. Her son took it with little prompting, following along obediently. Charith smiled – as excitable as her Dani was, he always listened to his Ma and was delightful to raise. "Yes, I'm sure he'll be just fine. He's just dehydrated and a little banged up. Don't worry! Mama and Aunt Malli will fix him right up!"

Dani frowned, lips pouting and face screwed together in intense concentration, "Wassa-a-a de-dehided mean?"

Charith gave a low laugh, "Dehydrated, darling, it means he hasn't had enough water."

"But Mama, he was in the sea! He was soaked in water!"

"Not that kind of water, darling, you can't drink sea water, can you?"

Dani scrunched his face up in disgust, "Ewww! No Mama, it's all salty and icky!"

"Exactly," she laughed, "so our mystery guest couldn't drink any of the sea water and he's very, very thirsty. Now come and give us a hand, would you open the door for me darling?"

Dani darted forward to pull the door open, "Auntie Malli! Auntie Malli!"

"We're in the Resting Room Dani! Do try to keep your voice down, would you dear? This young man needs his rest."

Mother and son toed off their shoes carefully and Dani took the basket from him mother, determined to help her carry it. They made their way down the corridor and pushed the second door open.

It was a cheerful room, painted calming blues and greens with two vases of bright flowers set on the table and the dresser and lovingly varnished wood furniture. The curtains, pale yellow ones embroidered with lavender thread, were pulled back to let sunlight stream into the room. There was a paper screen decorated with pressed flowers beside the bed, filtering the bright sunlight into a soft, warm glow. The bed was a gorgeous work of art, hand carved out the truck of a fallen heather tree with a delicate canopy woven out of the tender branches of willow trees. Upon soft white sheets and beneath a fluffy comforter laid their mysterious guest.

Already he was looking better than he had before; someone had washed the sand and grime and sea water out from his hair and rubbed soft lotions into his skin. He was a little on the thin side, not unhealthy, but still thinner than a young man his age ought to be. There were wiry muscles underneath his tanned skin and the scars under his neck and on his limbs were still the pink of newly healed cuts.

"Mama, look! His hair is all funny, mama!" came a cry accompanied by the insistent tugging on her skirt.

Charith shushed him quickly, "Dani, it's not polite to point and he's sleeping. We need to be quiet so he can rest."

Dani pouted but kept quiet, creeping around his Auntie Malli carefully to tug lightly at the sleeping man's hair. It was long, not girly long like Mama's, but a little past the shoulders. Most of his hair was black but there were these odd strands that were silvery most of the time but changed colours when he looked at it from different angles. There were strings of pearls and seashells like he'd seen Dia-nee* and the other priestess's wear in his hair which was a little odd for boys but not weird; Dani had seen some other boys wear it before. Besides, they were pretty so it was okay, even if mostly girls wore them.

Charith gently nudged Dani from his spot beside their patient, gesturing for him to move out of the way and he did so silently. He sat himself down on a cushion in the corner and watched as his ma and Auntie Malli propped the stranger up and fed him herbal concoctions. He watched as they massaged his throat so it would all go down and rubbed healing oils over the healing cuts on his body. Then they went about lighting incense at his bedside, the pale green one that Dani knew smelled wonderful and left whomever smelt it feeling energized and awake. Then they moved him back to lying down again and Charith came to take Dani's hand and led him out the door. He glanced back to see Auntie Malli smiling at him and he waved back, turning his attention back to his mama and wondering when that stranger would wake up. They had visitors all the time but never special ones like this.

There was a soft light beyond his eyelids, not the piercing sunlight that streamed through the Hospital Wing windows on mornings but something he could sleep through if he wanted to. Nonetheless, there was something deep inside him urging him to wake up, to get up this instant Harry James Potter, what on earth are you doing sleeping at a time like this, in a place you don't know? Ah, there it was, that voice in his head that scolded him and sounded identical to Hermione giving one of her righteous tongue lashings when Ron or himself (usually Ron) did something that irritated her beyond belief. So Harry opened his eyes slowly and reached for his glasses automatically. Except he couldn't find his glasses, his hands were wrapped with bandages, and he could see clearly within glasses at all. Merlin's balls, what on earth was going on here?

A woman moved into view, she was wearing a white dress that reminded Harry of fancy dress robes and blonde hair pale enough to give Lucius Malfoy a run for his money. She looked to be in her forties, a kind, motherly looking woman who reminded him of Molly Weasley only thinner and seemed less likely to smother him in her bosom every time she hugged him. The woman smiled at him and opened her mouth to ask him something.

The problem was that Harry didn't understand a word that she was speaking.

Awkwardly, he sat up and rubbed at his hair with a bandaged hand out of nervous habit, "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying."

His hand collided with hard objects in his hair and Harry trailed off, momentarily forgetting anything else he was going to say in favour of examining the things tied into his hair. Where those seashells? And wait, pearls? He was going to kill Luna – butterbeer cap necklaces were one thing, pearls and seashells tied into his hair were another. He tried to yanked a strand of the shells loose only to yelp in pain. Merlin, they'd fused the strands to his scalp. He was going to have to walk around with these permenantly? Could he cut them off?

While Harry was busy freaking out about his hair, Malli had tried several times to talk to him again, unsuccessfully. She recognized the language he had spoken; it was the tongue that their own Dia spoke when she had first arrived at the Isles. She closed her eyes and drifted deeper into her own consciousness, seeking out her connection with her pupil. Gently, she tugged on the silver and purple strand to get her attention before whispering to her, "Dia, Dia, I need you in the Resting Room. Come quickly Dia."

"Yes High Priestess Rhian-nu**, may I ask if it is an emergency?" came Dia's sweet bell-like voice.

Malli smiled, "No dear, I just need your assistance with our guest."

"Of course High Priestess, I will be there as soon as I can."

Malli was ended the connection in time to watch their guest yelp as he tried to pull out the ornaments in his hair. Really, did no one explain to him that those were permanent? He could cut them off but then they'd just grow back like hair, more painfully than hair too. But then again he wasn't composed at all, and he seemed to have no idea where he was or what to expect. So unlike their little Dia when she had arrived, all skin and bones and solemn eyes, offering her that letter explaining to them why she had been sent to the Lunar Isles that cold autumn night. But no matter, Dia was a child of their Goddess and by all appearances, so was the young man in that bed.

The Goddess always provided and took care of her own and so the Isles will, in turn, provide for and welcome all of their Mother's children. Be they willing children, errant sons and daughters, or prodigal children, Mother embraced each and every one of them and Malli would never be one to turn away a brother or a sister. The young man had been sent here for some reason, and though it was unknown to them he would be welcomed here regardless.

By the Goddess, so she swore it.

*I will be occasionally bringing Japanese suffixes into this, I apologize in advance to those who get annoyed but these. If I misuse them, please tell me. In fact, see any error, PLEASE, tell me so I can fix it!

**Okay, that's me trying to get creative with the name "Rhiannon". And before anyone asks, Malli is her private name while Rhian-nu is part of her title as the High Priestess. Hope that nips some confusion in the bud.

AN: It seems that I will be forever apologizing for late updates or long waits and the length (or lack thereof). I beg you all, be patient with me. Exams are cropping up in two weeks and that usually works one of two ways. A) I study like mad and go missing for two weeks. B) I procrastinate like mad and you all get updates. Either way, someone wins. I'm considering forcing myself to follow a schedule with this story (for those interested, there's a poll regarding this on my profile which should be up….). Hopefully this wasn't too disappointing for those who were hoping him to drop smack dab in the middle of the Sunny. Sorry folks, I like taking the long scenic route. Please don't shoot me. I just find it ridiculous when character A just happens to fall right into character B's path, just too much of a coincidence for me. Either way, I want Harry to be up on his own two feet and acquainted with his new changes before he starts sailing around the Grand Line with the rest of them.

Still shamelessly begging for reviews. I also ate an entire pack of Butter Cookie Rolls while writing this. They were soooo good. I'll share with reviewers? :3

Saadie