So. Chapter 7. Gasp. Never actually thought I'd get this far!

Oh and in a review, someone asked why Jack had to be saved? Well, he couldn't be killed, but he could still be injured enough to put him out of the fight, even with accelerated healing powers. And if he can't fight, the rest of the crew would eventually lose too.

(And then there's the minor fact that I'd written that before AWE and had forgotten that he couldn't die. Thanks HellsMaji!)

Sorry that this took so long to get up, guys! We've just got a (badly needed) new computer, but it took a while to get everything transferred over and the internet connected again. And then it wasn't the easiest chapter to write, either.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything from that world you recognise ain't mine. Same for POTC. Anything you don't know is either mine or an actually historical reference (But mostly mine). Are disclaimers REALLY necessary on what is clearly FANfiction?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Harry felt like he was floating on air for the rest of the week. Jack let him call him 'Dad'! Jack thought of him as a son! Harry placed the guilt he had felt for killing that soldier at the back of his mind, as Jack had advised, and he had never felt better. He had realised that killing him had been necessary, in the end

Jack announced on the Saturday that they were all going to go into Tortuga to celebrate Harry's birthday on the Tuesday, as they were going to leave on the Sunday for a good while. The crew were happy with this- they liked Harry, and any excuse for a drinking session was a good thing!

So, on Saturday afternoon, the ship made berth in a hidden cove not far from Tortuga, and rowed to the town. By the time Jack had found his favourite tavern, it was getting dark. "That would be when all the fun happens," quipped Jack.

The tavern was relatively quiet, but in Tortuga that still involved a considerable amount of noise. The crew knew many of the locals- which was understandable, as most of them were from Tortuga- but they introduced Harry, and Harry felt part of the gang.

Jack offered him some rum, and Harry had a sip of it. He wouldn't call it his favourite drink, but it wasn't bad. He refused any more and stuck with water, saying he didn't particularly want to get drunk (Jack raised his eyebrows and muttered "Ah well, more for me!"). Harry grinned at Jack's antics. Jack flirted with many a woman, and received too many slaps from them to count. He constantly had a bottle of rum in his hand, and with each rejection, his none-to-steady-to-start-with swagger got even more unsteady. However, Harry knew how Jack was, and Harry knew that Jack's brain was still working fine, planning ahead and wondering which girl would be his next target.

Loud music was blaring from people playing a guitar, an accordion and a fiddle in the corner. Harry tapped his foot in tune with the music. He'd been asked to dance a few times, and had for a few minutes, until his feet ached and the girl moved on to the next man.

Harry was sipping his water calmly, enjoying himself and wondering whether to go over to a rather pretty girl about his age on the other side of a tavern and chat her up. She had short brown hair and stunning blue eyes, and was apparently there with another crew that had stopped in Tortuga for the night too. Harry had seen her looking over at him every so often, and knew that she had seen her looking back. She looked over at him again and Harry winked at her.

Then, suddenly, Harry got a bad feeling, and it had nothing to do with the none-too-clean water he was drinking. It was intuition, and it was telling him that something was wrong. Goosebumps rose on his arms and he shivered. Harry looked up for Jack and saw him being slapped by (yet another) woman. Harry caught his eye and jerked his head, saying silently, 'Come here a minute'.

Jack meandered over and sat down next to Harry. "What's wrong?" he asked in a slightly slurred voice.

"I'm not sure," replied Harry. Jack raised an eyebrow. "I've just got a really bad feeling, and I don't know why. Something's going to happen, and it won't be good. I think we should head back to the ship soon."

Jack looked out the window. It was very dark, and must have been well after midnight. They needed to get back before sunrise anyway, to prepare for the journey, and a little sleep wouldn't go amiss either.

"Alright," said Jack, "it's about time to be going anyway, much as I want to stay." He winked at a girl at the bar, who glared back. "Let's go round up the crew."

Harry finished his water, got up and nodded to the girl on the other side of the room, who looked sorry to see him leave. He saw that the crew were mostly ready, and Jack nodded to him, so he headed out into the night.

The cool air was a refreshing change from the hot, rather smelly tavern, and Harry breathed deep as he walked back to the port, following Jack. However, it did nothing to quell the gut feeling he had, that something bad was going to happen.

It did. As the crew turned a corner, all hell broke loose. Out of the shadows, men in official-looking uniforms sprang, wielding swords. The crew were instantly defensive, but it was too late. Many had had too much to drink, and hadn't brought their swords. A few pulled out daggers and guns, but they were few and far between. The rest had to rely on themselves and the darkness.

Jack, of course, was the exception to the rule. He always carried around his sword and pistol. Any trace of drunkenness gone, he fought against their attackers.

Harry, of course, carried nothing. His sword was on the ship and he didn't own a dagger or a pistol. He ducked and weaved, throwing the odd punch when he could. It was chaos. He realised that the attackers had chosen their place carefully – there were few houses nearby to hear any noise, only closed businesses and the odd tavern, further away, covered any noise that may awaken anyone who happened to be in the nearby buildings.

The fight was quick, but brutal. The crew were outnumbered by well-trained men, none of whom were even slightly tipsy. Harry could see everyone, despite the darkness, fighting as hard as they could. He dodged a tall man and punched him in the ribs, hard. He was tiring. Then his head was in agony and everything went black.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Jack was rather surprised when suddenly the other side stopped fighting. They sheathed their swords and disappeared back into the night.

"That was… interesting," he said. He looked around. There was quite a lot of blood, but it was from mostly minor injuries, and no-one was dead, or even seriously injured.

It was at that moment that he noticed Harry was missing.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Harry woke up. His head hurt like hell and he kept his eyes closed. He was still tired, but whatever he was sleeping on wasn't particularly comfortable, and it only seemed to be making that worse. Still, he kept his eyes closed. He felt the familiar rocking of the boat and wondered why Jack hadn't woken him and moved him back to his bed.

Jack!

Suddenly the previous night's events came rushing back to him in a torrent of memories. The pub. The loud music. The pretty girl. The feeling that something bad was going to happen. Then they'd left. The soldiers or officers or whatever they were fighting. His headache.

Harry opened his eyes and sat up. His head protested vigorously. He raised a hand and felt the back of his head. It was matted with blood, but it had dried and the wound mustn't have been too bad, because it had stopped bleeding and he could still think clearly.

He quickly surveyed his surroundings. Wherever he was, it most certainly wasn't the Pearl. Harry got up and went to the only door. It was locked – big surprise there. Harry assumed that he'd been taken or arrested or whatnot by the people last night. He wandered over to the wall opposite the door and looked out through a small hole. There was no land in sight. Oh dear.

Harry spun round (his head gave another very painful throb) as he heard movement outside his door. It opened with a loud creak and several men came in. Now, in the light, Harry could make out the uniforms of the East India Trading Company.

One figure in particular stood out. He had an air of authority about him, and Harry knew that this was the captain. He had a cruel mouth, sharp eyes that saw more than they were meant to and long black hair that was tied back. Harry was briefly reminded of his old potions professor, who he hadn't thought about in over a year now. However, all thoughts of potions left his head after the captain started talking.

"And you would be Sparrow's son, I imagine? Yes, you have been seen with him and we have heard rumours. And then you were found with him last night. I sent my men to capture you, and alive." He paused. "I most likely ought to have told them to bring in Sparrow too, but I doubt they would have taken him as easily. Still," he surveyed Harry as though he was an annoying insect that needed squashing, "you are quite a catch…"

Harry said nothing, but he scowled viciously.

The captain then continued, "There is quite a large bounty out for your head, you know. Dead or alive. Impressive, really, considering know-one actually knows who you are or where you came from." He looked Harry up and down, taking in every aspect of his appearance. "But maybe that's why there is such a large reward. Mind you, it's not nearly as big as your father's, but then, why would it be? He's been around for years and has escaped out from under our noses many times. You, on the other hand, appeared out of nowhere a few months ago. All our information on you was based on unconfirmed sightings. Or, at least, it was until we picked up a rather dishevelled bunch of soldiers from an island several days ago. They gave us more information on you, enough to prove that not only do you exist, but are indeed a pirate, and a murderer."

Harry still made no reply, but he put his scowl up a notch.

"Oh, how rude of me. I haven't introduced myself – I am Captain Willis of the East India Trading Company." He paused, as if expecting Harry to have recognised the name. Harry didn't, so didn't move. "Well, I have introduced myself. It is only polite that you return the favour…" He looked at Harry. "I know you are a Sparrow, but it is more than that which concerns me. Your first name, the name of your mother, where she was from…"

Harry, understandably, did not want to reveal anything about himself to this person and his back-up who were still lurking by the door. He remained silent.

Willis didn't appear at all annoyed by his silence. In fact, he smiled. "I didn't think you'd talk. I knew you'd be smarter than that, what with Sparrow around you, and he's no idiot." His smile widened. "Unfortunately for you, however, you have been silent and not protested your innocence. Not that that would have been believed, of course, but by maintaining your silence you have ensured that any claims of innocence you may make in the future will most certainly not be believed by anyone with more than half a brain. Since you have been seen on a pirate ship, seen in the company of pirates and have been witnessed committing murder of a captain of the Royal Navy, you are, undoubtedly, a pirate yourself. Congratulations, Master Sparrow. You have just sentenced yourself to a hanging."

Harry still didn't move, didn't say anything, but his insides were churning. How was he going to get out of this one? His wand was in his boot, but what could he do? He was in the middle of the ocean, and had no idea where they were sailing. If he somehow managed to fight his way out, he would still be stranded in the middle of nowhere on a ship he couldn't crew by himself. Anyway, the ship was, most likely, crawling with guards. He only had his wand, they were all fully armed. Jack probably didn't know where he was at. He was so screwed. But there was a way out of this. He just had to find it.

Willis was smiling as though he had just crushed that annoying insect. It was a feral smile, and Harry tried his best to keep his face emotionless, as, if truth be told, it scared him. "We will proceed to the East India Trading company headquarters immediately. There, you will be questioned further on the whereabouts of your partners-in-crime. Then, you shall be handed over to the soldiers in Port Royal. Your fate will rest in the hands of Commodore Gillette. He has very little sympathy for pirates such as yourself, so a hanging for you is unavoidable. If all goes well, your last day will be Tuesday."

Dying on his thirteenth birthday. Great.

"Men, take him to the brig."

Harry was promptly bundled out of the room and down some stairs. The men were big, and held him tight. What was the point in that, Harry wondered. He was (nearly!) thirteen. There was at least five of them and only one of him. He wasn't going to be overpowering them anytime soon. And even if he did manage to get rid of them, what exactly would he do then? He'd be killed. He remembered the stock of Aqua De Vida that stayed in Jack's cabin. He hadn't had a drink for months now, and he was regretting that now. He doubted that his last drink would still be working right, and he didn't think it would be enough to save him from death now.

Harry was shaken out of his musings as they arrived at what was obviously the brig. They didn't seem to be that bad, but they were still not the nicest place. At least there wasn't water everywhere. The men shoved him into a cell and locked it with a big copper key, which they took back upstairs with them. There went any hope of trying to summon the key. Harry was pretty sure he wouldn't have gotten far anyway, but it would have given him something to do other than sit on the floor and dwell on his capture.

He sat down in the corner furthest from the cell door, and rested his head on folded arms. He reached down one boot and felt his wand. What could he do? Then he remembered something else in his boot, something long-forgotten, that he always kept on him, just in case. Harry smirked. These people were going to learn someday never to mess with a Sparrow.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Jack was frantic. He'd searched everywhere for any sign of Harry or those men – all of Tortuga and the surrounding area. He hadn't actually thought that he'd find him, though. They most likely had taken Harry onto a ship and set sail to God knows where.

So he was now back on his ship, sailing away as fast as he could from Tortuga, towards Port Royal. Jack knew he wouldn't be able to get particularly close, and he could hardly go there anyway, but he'd send some of the crew ashore – some that wouldn't necessarily be recognised as pirates.

It was now Sunday afternoon. They'd been at sea for several hours now. They should reach Port Royal late on Tuesday, maybe earlier if the wind was good. Hopefully, the men hadn't been from the Navy, otherwise they would get Harry to Port Royal early on Monday, and then he would be very well-guarded. No-one knew what he was capable of. Hell, Jack himself didn't know all that Harry was capable of.

Jack didn't know exactly how, or when, he'd started caring so much about the kid. But somehow, sometime during the past few months, he really had come to view Harry as the son he'd never had. Or, at least, the son he might've had but didn't know about.

Jack stalked around the ship, worried sick. If Harry was in Port Royal for long before he reached there, he'd be hanged. Jack knew that for certain. Harry hadn't had a drink of Aqua De Vida in a long time, and Jack honestly wasn't sure if it had been enough. They wouldn't take any pity on him simply because he was young. In their eyes, he was a pirate, and all pirates deserved to swing.

Closing his eyes, Jack forced himself to calm down. Harry was a smart kid. He was a good fighter. He had magic. Telling himself these things didn't help in the slightest. There was nothing he could do now other than head for Port Royal as fast as they could.

Jack could only hope that they wouldn't be too late.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

And here's another one done and dusted. This one was easy enough- mostly because it was already written and I just had to rewrite it slightly to fit in with AWE. And luckily, that wasn't too hard.

I'm afraid I have no idea when the next one will be up though, as I hadn't started it before I saw the film, and have to just straight write, not rewrite, it. But hopefully it'll be soon!

'Til next time!