24. Broken Promises – Harry/Erik Lehnsherr
There was a teenager, Erik remembered, at the Camp where his life as a soldier – a killer – started. He was trapped in the same place as Erik was, and he had always assumed that they both had powers that Herr Doctor (Klaus Schmidt.. Erik would forever remember that name) wanted.
But the boy never revealed anything, and they would barely ever talk when they were in each other's company. It was always just a small, almost unnoticeable nod of acknowledgement and then they were done. But one day, for Erik, that wasn't enough and he scooted closer to the cell bars connecting their places.
"Hello." He murmured quietly, looking warily at the guard that was supposed to be watching them but was asleep, hand dangling at his side with the keys tauntingly handing just off of his belt. If only he could use his powers properly, then maybe he could-
"Hi," The green-eyed boy said quietly, a small smile twitching on his lips. It was the first Erik had seen coming from him and he couldn't help but smile back, even if he tried to block away every emotion he could from showing on his face.
"I'm Erik. Erik Lensherr—" It still hurt to use his fathers' name, his mothers', especially since it was just a reminder that he would never see them again. "—what's your name?"
The green-eyed boy looked like he was thinking about it for a moment, before he nodded to himself once, as though he had decided Erik could be trusted in some way.
"Harry Potter," He said, and the finally-dubbed Harry gave a small grin, the smile extending and lighting up his face. The green of his eyes seemed to sparkle, and Erik admired them for a moment. He had never seen anything like them.
"What are you.." He stopped for a moment, scrunching up his nose. "Why does Herr Doktor have you in here?" Harry froze up for a moment, looking at Erik with slightly widened eyes. Apparently he hadn't been expecting to be asked that.
(And Harry was worrying over the Statute, but he figured it was possible he would die here—what harm would there be in telling Erik of what he was?)
"I'm a wizard," He said, looking at the guard sharply to see if he was awake. When seeing he wasn't, he carried on with, "I have magic, and my Aunt and Uncle hated me for it. They sold me off to Schmidt despite the fact that he's a Nazi."
There was barely hidden rage in forest green pools, and Erik nodded in understanding although he didn't get it at all. How could family sell one of their own off? It was unbelievable to someone who had always had a loving mother; someone that had been is rock in her life and the only person he knew for certain that he could rely on. To know that Harry didn't have someone like that made him feel sorry, almost pity him. But he didn't let it get that far as he knew that, since he didn't like people pitying him, there was a chance his new friend didn't either.
"I'm sorry," He said quietly, sincerely. Harry just shrugged.
There was a clang, and Schmidt walked in, a cruel gleam in his eye as he looked between the two boys.
-
Erik was so sick of this. He couldn't take it anymore. The torture; the pain; the constant memories of his mother, it was all too much. ("You can do it, everything is alright," except he couldn't, it wasn't and it was painful to think that his mother died just for him to be a failure.)
He sat stewing in his own cell for a moment, hands clenching and unclenching wildly as he thought about all the things he would do to the Doctor as soon as he got out of there. Because he would. Death wasn't an option anymore.
"Erik?" He heard someone mutter, and the familiarity of the voice made his heart flutter slightly. Turning around, he moved towards the other cell, hand reaching out. Fingers connected with his own and they intertwined together, holding on as though it was the last time they would.
(For all they knew, it could be.)
"Harry, we're going to escape," He whispered, leaning in and quiet enough to microphones wouldn't pick it up. "We're going to escape and get out of here, alive and we'll go live together somewhere. Maybe we'll travel, go see the world.. You've always wanted to do that."
Harry's smile was warm, and it looked as though he was happy to go along with Erik. It would be nice, he thought, to be able to leave this place with his only friend. To be able to travel with him.
(Not that he believed it would happen.)
"I know we will," Harry said quietly. "One day."
"I promise we will." Erik replied, and his voice was filled with conviction, with the promise he had just made. Nothing would stop him from having his future with his Harry. Everything would be perfect for him, no matter what he had to do to get there.
And the next day, there was liberation. The Allies stormed in, bashing the place to pieces and taking down the guards, freeing all the Jews, old, disabled, homosexuals.. Anyone they could free was out of there as soon as they could be.
But through all the confusion, Erik couldn't find him. He couldn't find his green-eyed saviour, but he just figured they would find each other later. It couldn't be that hard, could it? They knew each other too well to not know where they would go, for the signs that they had been there..
.. Right?
(Later Erik would find out that Harry had died in the crossfire, unable to protect himself from the Allies and Axis shooting at each other. His heart broke, and he vowed to never love another. He promised himself that Harry would forever be his one and only; there would never be another person that could replace him.
(But he couldn't keep that promise years later, curled up with the blue-eyed telepath, thinking about the green-eyed boy and the promise he broke to both him and himself.)
Erik just hoped Harry could forgive him.)
-
a/n: In this, Harry is about 15-16. Sold before he could defeat Voldemort by his relatives.
I took some liberties with Erik's past and changed it up a bit, I believe. A lot, actually. It's very different. Hehe..?