Omake 3: Childhood memories part 2

Harry could swear over his life, he had only taken his eyes from them for a minute.

A minute. 60 seconds. No more.

So, how exactly had this happened?

One moment they were playing "Freeze" amiably, laughing when Harry caught them and teasing when he didn't. Harry even made sure all of them "won" the same number of times, so they wouldn't feel sad or tease the "losers" overly much.

Then, why in the seven layers of hell were they fighting?

It wasn't even a fair battle, but more of an "Everyone against Cocytus" thing. The kids surrounding the trembling insectoid menacingly as they spoke indiscernible things, the sounds overlapping in such a way Harry couldn't really get a whole phrase. Not only were they speaking at the same time, but some words were mispronounced, so he only got "How could you" and "Idiot!" among other things.

"[Malice Dispersion]" he said pointing at Cocytus, a strong shielding magic that protected the target from creatures that had negative karma appearing around him. Cocytus, Sebas and Victim were the only guardians with positive karma points, so this should suffice for the time being.

"What the heck is going on here?" he looked disapprovingly at the bunch of kids, which were torn between looking regretfully at the floor and exchanging looks between them. No one answered though, so he sighed and walked closer to the still trembling Cocytus, picking him up. The cold insectoid just trembled with more intensity in his arms, imitating a Chihuahua quite well.

"Hey kiddo, look at me" Harry waited until he raised his head before continuing "Can you tell me what happened?"

Silence greeted his question, Cocytus' jaws opening and closing without really saying anything. Harry got the impression that if the insectoid could cry, it would.

"I'm not mad, I just want to know what happened" he said softly, trying to comfort the distressed kid as he softened his expression. Under his gentle breath, the small guardian in his arms finally answered with a whisper of "I'm sorry."

"…It's ok kid. What happened little one?" Harry started to move unconsciously, swaying slightly from side to side as if he were lulling a baby.

"I b-broke Hadrian-sama's box. I'm really sorry! Really sorry!" Cocytus finally answered, hiding his face in Harry's chest.

Looking more attentively at the floor, he could see some shards of black porcelain dispersed near his nightstand, some sharp, irregular pieces way too close from where the twins were standing. Shit, he hadn't noticed since the floor was dark as well!

He used [Mass fly] on the bunch of kids that were looking at Cocytus with a mix of envy and confusion, probably thinking the guardian was being rewarded instead of punished for his misdeed. The spell only worked on living beings, so he was sure they wouldn't get cut by the remains of the jewelry chest Harry used to keep small, invisible-for-all-but-him items.

A simple reparo fixed the chest, before he levitated the items only he could see from the floor and towards the container. Once he was done he gently lowered the other guardians, and knelt to let Cocytus on the floor too.

"It was an accident, there's no need to worry. I already fixed it, see?" he said pointing at the chest that looked good as new "I want you to be more careful though, that could have hurt someone" he reprimanded slightly before addressing the rest of the guardians.

"And you, if something happens I want you to tell me, don't try to deal with it on your own. I'll handle the situation, yes?" the others nodded slightly, looking unsatisfied at the whole affair.

"…Cocytus, as punishment for breaking my box, you won't be able to choose a game for the next round" He said with mock severity "Maybe then you'll be more careful"

The small insectoid nodded with acceptance, much calmer now that he had received a penalty. The others looked better too, quickly forgetting the whole ordeal as Aura's turn for choosing arrived.

She choose Hide and Seek, and the random role-defining sticks designed Harry as the seeker (pun intended) so he went towards the nearest wall and covered his eyes, counting slowly and loudly for half a minute. It was only when he turned that he realized his mistake.

He hadn't told them they couldn't leave the room.

Shit.

So much for keeping it a secret. Maybe if he cheated, he would be able to find them before others noticed? With this in mind, he took from his bag an enchanted compass, which was practically a point-me spell but with a larger area of effect for locating something.

Thinking who would be the most troublesome if left alone, he said "Shalltear" out loud; intent on running the instant the little arrow stopped its spinning. The little vampire had been having difficulties controlling her strength, and only Harry's watchful eyes had been keeping at bay the potential accidents among the group of children.

Before the arrow stopped completely he heard a soft, surprised "He's cheating!" come from the closet. Halting mid-step, he quickly turned around an opened it, Albedo staring up at him with big doe-like eyes, her little hands covering her mouth as she realized her mistake.

Well, Harry admitted it had been a good idea. With the whole Nazarik as a hiding base, he hadn't even considered the possibility of them actually staying in the room. Catching Albedo, he carried her to his king-size bed, telling her to wait there until he brought the others.

Albedo didn't seem to pay much attention to his words though, too busy rolling around delightfully as she giggled in his bed, until she was trapped in the covers like some sort of small burrito. Harry really wanted to take a picture, but didn't have the time for that right now… the memory would have to suffice.

"[Heaven's eye]" he said as he turned around, watching the room carefully. This magic allowed the user to see over long distances, giving them the ability to see through solid objects, thereby allowing one to track enemies with relative ease.

He didn't seem to have such luck however; his presidential room appeared to be empty. Sighing, he used [Thought Projection], a type of Magic which allows its user to create a psychic copy of his body. This Magic can work even over great distances, allowing the user to essentially be in two places at once, but the copy was intangible like a hologram, used merely for communication and observation.

The projection would watch over Albedo, so even if it couldn't physically interact with her at least Harry would know if she started to make trouble. Getting out of the room, he closed it and placed locking and silencing charms on it, before resuming his search for Shalltear.

He caught her on the 6th floor, hiding among the forest. Her little legs were as fast as ever so he had used magic to catch up with her, which got him a small cry of "Not fair! That's cheating!" before he picked her up, which caused a delighted cry as red eyes looked happily up at him. After that she seemed to grow shy and hid her face in the crook of his neck, giggling softly.

Using the ring to go back to his room, he left her in the bedroom, told her to behave, and promptly left as he searched for Mare. He had an inkling of were the little boy may be, so he teleported directly to the library.

The boy was sleeping under a table. How could he fall asleep so fast? it had been hardly five minutes since the game began. Smiling softly at the little guy Harry crouched to pick him up, carrying him slowly and carefully as he tried not to wake him. Once he was standing he nodded in greeting at Titus Annaeus Secundus, the librarian that was watching the whole ordeal silently but with interest, before making a shushing gesture at him. The librarian answered with a nod, mouthing "I won't tell" without actually saying the words.

Harry was glad only the librarian had seen him, the magic caster's personality and thinking were quite aligned to his very own, since it was the only NPC Harry had meddled with in such matters. Going back to his room, Albedo had fallen sleep, still trapped in the cocoon of covers, while Shalltear talked animatedly with the Projection-Harry. Placing Mare on the other side of the king size bed, he covered the boy before leaving once again, this time searching for Demiurge.

He had to blink a couple of times when he found the small demon demanding answers from his subordinates in the 7th floor, questioning the security measures that had been installed in Nazarik since the first week in this world. Demiurge hadn't noticed his presence quite yet; focused as he was on the information they were giving him, and only turned around once the others halted in their explanation.

The expression was very much like a deer caught in the headlights; diamond-like eyes opened so wide even the servants exchanged surprised looks, which was understandable really, considering Demiurge almost never opened them. After that the demon predictably tried to run away, so Harry apparated in front of him, saying "caught" as he picked up the child.

"Why were you asking about the security system?" Harry asked curiously at the kid that seemed to be silently sulking, an adorable pout on his face that was immediately erased at the "aww" whisper Envy let out.

"Hadrian-sama asked me to do it, and I don't remember if I did. I wanted to be sure!" the child said with determination, looking up at him with a little frown as if daring Harry to reprimand him. Harry just sighed and patted his head, chuckling at the way the metal-like tail straightened up like a startled cat's would, before it began to sway lightly.

Turning to look at the fidgeting servants he asked them how many people had seen the small (I'm not small!) demon, closing his eyes in resignation when they answered with a short "The whole floor, most likely. He said it was a spell?"

"…I'll explain later. As for now, please act accordingly in his absence (Why? I'm here) and don't mention it to anyone outside the floor" receiving nods from the kneeling area-guardians, Harry finally apparated to his room, placed Demiurge on the floor with an instruction to "stay here" and left to catch Aura.

Aura was a ranger and it was noticeable, Harry wouldn't have seen her if not for the compass he was using to track her. Jumping out of her hiding place in the upper corner of the Spa resort in the 9th floor, she already had put some distance between them; so much in fact that Harry wouldn't have caught her if not for the very obvious destination she was running towards. The exit.

"Awww~ Hadrian-sama got me!" she said with mock sadness before giggling, kicking her legs in the air as he caught her with an arm around her waist. Harry couldn't really answer though, since a problem was developing from bad to worse in his bedroom.

Quickly apparating inside the room, he used his unoccupied arm to levitate apart the girls that were fighting over his bed, his Projection's memories telling him it started because they both wanted to sleep over his heart in the "sleepover" he had promised. The Projection had been unable to calm them down with just words.

Sighing tiredly, he bent down to leave Aura on the floor, her worried face directed to the two now crying girls suspended on thin air. He placed Albedo and Shalltear gently on the floor and checked for any injures (they didn't have any) before giving a speech of "Fighting is bad" and "I'm so disappointed".

As punishment he made them stand together, placing a circle of [Non aggression area] around them. Any battles developing in said area would be useless, since all damage would be automatically changed to zero. It was Ritual magic, and Harry's own version of a "get-along" shirt, since only two adults (or three children) fitted in the small area of effect.

"Stay there and think about what you have done" he said to the loudly sniffing girls before straightening, his lower back popping unexpectedly. Harry sighed, feeling very old and tired all of the sudden. He couldn't sleep quite yet tough, Cocytus was still missing.

Walking around the floor following the compass, he lets out a relieved sigh when he sees the long tail of the insectoid peeking from under a set of curtains in one of the guest rooms, probably thinking the logic "If I can't see you then you can't see me" was absolutely flawless. Cocytus let out an unmanly yelp when Harry caught him but didn't put much of a fight other than struggling weakly in his arms for a short moment before accepting defeat.

Harry walked slowly towards his room, yawning once they finally arrived he left the last guardian gently on the floor and deem it was about time they got to bed. To avoid fights he determined the order in which they would sleep, placing Albedo and Shalltear on both ends of the bed to reinforce their punishment. He ignored the sad puppy looks and positioned the rest at random, using the sticks that had designated him as seeker in the last game.

In the end, the sleeping order from left to right was Albedo, Cocytus, Aura, Harry, Demiurge, Mare, Shalltear. He hoped they didn't move much in the night, because the space in the bed was just enough for all of them. Just for precaution, he placed cushioning charms on the floor before closing his eyes, Morfeo claiming him almost immediately.

The first day had finally ended.

AUTHOR NOTE:

Children drain all the energy you have! They're quite dementor-like if you think about it… if they drained energy instead of happiness and souls, obviously.

Anyways, all I could think about was a burrito Albedo, and them running all around Nazarik with a distressed Harry behind them, so this was the result haha. I don't have children, but some cousins are small and God, they somehow manage to be cute and infuriating at the same time.

Would you like to see a situation reflected in Children-guardians? Don't hesitate to tell me on the reviews! I may add it to the Omake's continuation if I like it and fits with the idea I have for them.

As always, thanks for reading & hope you liked it. Updates are going to be more scarce sadly, since both school and work consume most of my days.

See ya!