Title: The Thief and the Wizard
AU X-men/Harry Potter crossover
Summary: After Gambit is left to die in Antarctica help comes in an unexpected way. Harry Potter was on a job to retrieve an artifact from an old wizard stronghold when he ends up saving a strange man from the ice and snow. What does the future hold for these two men?
Warnings: Possible slash as well as hetero interaction, Violence, Blood, Gore. Does not follow cannon for HP or X-men.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or X-men they belong to their respective creators
Author's Note: This chapter didn't take me as long as the last one did and hopefully the next one will be just as quick. This chapter had some difficult moments for me and I hope the chapter flows smoothly enough even though I think it could be better. My thanks to all the people that reviewed I appreciate the attention the story is getting and I hope you all continue to like it as we go further along. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Five
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As Harry raised his hand Gambit tensed up getting ready to get out of the way quickly. Seeing this Harry paused momentarily and lifted an eyebrow.
"Don't worry I'm not casting anything at you I am using the table next to you."
Gambit looked to his side sure enough there was a small table between the two chairs. Harry waved his hand briefly and in a split second the table turned into a pig. Gambit just sat there staring until the pig let out a very loud "OINK!" That snapped him out of his shock enough to jump out of his chair putting it between himself and the pig with a loud,
"Merde! Is that thing real?"
Harry just chuckled and walked from behind his desk over to the pig that was snuffling around the other chair. Putting a hand on the pigs back he absently patted it as he replied.
"He is a real as I can make him. That is to say he has all the parts except an independent brain. This sort of transformation can last anywhere from twenty minutes to several day depending on how much magic you put into it."
Seeing Gambit still eyeing the pig warily Harry motioned for him to come over closer. Reluctantly Gambit made his way to Harry's side and Harry grabbed his hand running it along the pigs back so he could feel it was real. After a few times of this Gambit backed away from the pig still not quite comfortable with it. Harry waved his hand once more and the pig turned back into a table. Gambit just lowered himself back into the chair he had been sitting in grateful for something solid underneath him. Instead of going behind his desk once more Harry chose to lean back against the front edge in the middle. After a moment Gambit asked a question that was really bugging him.
"Of all da' things you could have done why on earth did ya' do that?!"
Apparently Gambit had been more than disturbed by the pig than Harry thought. Shaking his head he tried to explain his reasoning to the upset Cajun.
"Well to be honest a lot of the things wizards can do, there is a mutant out there who can do something similar. Transfiguration is one of the only branches of magic that can't be imitated by a mutant power so far. The thing that sets witches and wizards apart from mutants is the versatility we have. Mutants only develop a couple powers at the most. Witches and wizards have a spell for almost anything the only thing that limits us is how powerful we are and that varies by each individual."
That last sentenced caused Gambit to look at Harry calculatingly before saying, "So how powerful are you Cher?"
That particular question caused Harry to grimace before reluctantly answering.
"I am the most powerful wizard to come out of the U.K. since Merlin. As for where I stand in world rankings I am in the top three and no I will not say which of the three."
Awed by the fact Harry was supposedly that powerful but sensing it was a sensitive subject Gambit moved on to the questions he really wanted answers to.
"So you think your ready to tell Gambit how you managed to rescue him and what you were doing there in the first place?"
Relieved at the change of subject Harry made his way over to one of the bookcases on the wall and pulled open a drawer to reveal a mini bar pouring himself a drink and offered Gambit one as well. Once that was done he settled back into his chair behind the desk and started the story.
"To start with in the wizarding world I am an artifact hunter/retriever. I go after stuff that's been deemed lost or if a client has had something stolen from them. In the regular world I am an information retrieval expert so instead of artifacts I am after information. I have my own rules in regards to what jobs I take and if clients don't like that they can go somewhere else. Using less fancy terms I am a high end thief."
Gambit just nodded, it seemed Harry had a strict personal code kind of like Wolverine and himself.
"I ended up in Antarctica because the citadel you guys were in is an old wizard stronghold and there was an artifact in there someone paid me to get. Let me tell you after you guys collapsed the damn thing it was a whole lot harder to get than it should have been."
Gambit had the good grace to look a little sheepish as Harry gave him the evil eye before continuing.
"I took a port key which is a form of teleportation to the coordinates I was given which was a couple miles from the citadel and once I got close enough I realized other people were there and took precautions to hide myself. Not a few minutes later I saw the citadel come crumbling down and you all taking off. I had noticed that the girl that flew you out came back alone and once everyone had left I set out to find you. It took me a little bit but I was able to find you before you succumbed to hypothermia. I placed you in a bubble of heated air dried out your clothes and put a slight sleep spell so you didn't wake up and panic on me. Then went back and shifted through the rubble to retrieve the artifact after I had put the bubble in a makeshift tent. Once I got my artifact I erased all traces of my presence and magic and apparated the both of us here. You with me so far?"
Gambit just nodded slowly everything Harry was saying was quite possible. After all he knew he had passed out trying to find his way back in the snow having been drained significantly of his power by Rouge in the citadel and he hadn't had the strength to withstand the cold and wind. Seeing Gambit acknowledge he was still paying attention Harry went back to talking.
"When we got back here I called my personal healer who also happens to be an old school friend to come take a look at you and make sure you didn't have any serious injuries. Wizarding healers use their wands and magic to see your body so there is no reason to remove clothing that's why you woke up fully dressed."
Well that was certainly one of the questions Gambit had wanted an answer too. Waking up fully clothed but being told a doctor had examined you made for a confusing story. The questions he had gathered in his head were slowly being answered as Harry told him more about what had happened.
"By the way at some point my healer would like to come back and talk to you about some things related to his scan nothing serious just some stuff he came across he felt you should know about. Anyway after that I brought you up to the guest room and woke you up and from that point on you know how everything went. Now what I really want to know is your side of things. How you all ended up in the citadel and why? Also what happened with the X-men for them to leave you there? What justification could they possibly give for something like that?"
Gambit knew this would decide Harry's opinion of him once and for all. He truly didn't know how the other would react to his part in the Morlock Massacre and it made him nervous. Even though they had only been around one another for a short time there was something about Harry that made Gambit want to be around the other man. From what he could tell Harry was the type of person Gambit wanted to get to know and be friends with. So with trepidation Gambit told Harry everything; his troubles with the X-men, how he met Storm, and finally the trial and what happened between him and Sinister that led to the Morlock Massacre. After Gambit finished speaking the room was filled with silence and Gambit was already mentally preparing to leave right away if Harry reacted negatively. As the silence grew he became more and more nervous his muscles becoming tense in preparation to leave.
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Harry was deep in thought over what Gambit said and he knew the other man was telling the truth. Throughout the whole conversation he had a discreet little charm activated that let him know if the person he was talking to was lying. As he sat there and tried to absorb all Gambit had told him, he found himself thinking of his own life and the parallels he found between his past and Gambit's story. The X-men could pass as the Order of the Phoenix and Sinister could be considered another version of Voldemort although that was stretching it a bit. Ultimately it came down to the fact that Gambit hadn't known of Sinister's real intentions towards the Morlock's and once he did know he had done all he could to fix it. He wasn't a bad person at heart he had just made the bad decision to trust Sinister. Seeing Gambit was getting fidgety and looked ready to bolt out the door Harry decided to speak some of his thoughts out loud.
"As far as I am concerned you're not a bad person Remy. You were deceived and once you realized that you tried your best to correct your mistake and almost got killed. You were not at fault and the X-men had no right to judge you on that considering most of them have done worse of their own volition at one point or another." Harry shook his head in disgust. "You didn't betray them by not telling them all of your past they betrayed you especially the woman who supposedly loved you."
As Harry spoke Gambit's tense muscles relaxed and he could feel a bit of moisture gather in the corners of his eyes. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had been a long time since someone was willing to think the best of him. After so long of living with the X-men and just hearing the negative things it was nice to hear something else. All that Harry was saying had already been in the back of his mind just buried under him trying to fit in somewhere he knew he didn't belong. Sure he still had a lot of guilt over various events in his life but he had spent enough time and effort trying to atone and fit in with the rest of the X-men. It was time that he stopped trying to be something he wasn't and pay his penance his own way. Also hearing Harry use his real name instead of his code name sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine but he quickly pushed that thought away, he didn't need that sort of complication at the moment. It was enough to possibly find a friend with a like-minded mentality Gambit didn't need to push his luck.
Silence once again descended upon the room although this time it was a comfortable silence instead of a tense one as each man collected their thoughts and absorbed the information the other had revealed. Finally Harry pushed away from the edge of the desk and breaking the silence.
"From your comment earlier I'm guessing you're a smoker and I'm willing to bet your beginning to go a little nuts not having one."
Gambit just snorted, going nuts was a little understated the past few hours had not been kind to his nerves and he desperately needed a nicotine fix for the sense of calm it would bring him. Choosing to ignore Gambit's reply to him trying to lighten the mood Harry continued speaking as he walked across the room and paused at the doorway clearly waiting for Gambit to join him.
"If you follow me there is a balcony off the entertainment room so you can smoke there."
Gambit got up out of the chair and followed Harry as they once more ventured into the other parts of the apartment. As they walked he patted himself down until he realized he didn't even have his trench coat on and even if he did the cigarettes would be worthless anyway after all he had been through. So it was with a little bit of embarrassment that he interrupted Harry who had been pointing out various things and rooms as they walked passed them.
"Gambit just realized he don't have any cigarettes on him and da' ones in my coat would be trashed. Do you happen to have any around Cher? This poor Cajun would be eternally grateful if you do."
Harry just laughed as they moved past the kitchen into what Harry seemed to call the entertainment room which consisted of a massive TV, DVD, game, and stereo system and two huge comfortable looking couches with an armchair off to the side. Going over to the side of one of the couches where a side table sat he opened one of the drawers and fished out something before tossing it over to Gambit with a smile that reached his green eyes.
"You know you don't really need to charm me. You can have those a friend of mine left them last time he was here."
Gambit looked down at what Harry had tossed him; it was a pack of clove cigarettes. He just shrugged it was better than nothing and followed Harry who had already opened the glass sliding door and was ensconced on one of a couple chairs scattered around the balcony. As he stepped out into the night air he realized how late it was. They had spent several hours talking already, plus everything else that had happened earlier in the day. He also noticed they were in New York City in one of the richer districts. Harry's balcony was furnished with a small table and several chairs along with various potted plants scattered about. Lighting the clove he turned away from the lights of the city and took the seat across from Harry at the table, who wordlessly pushed an ashtray in his direction.
"Do you mind if I turn on some music? I usually have some on most the time when I'm home."
"Non, Gambit don't mind music Cher."
He just flicked the ash off the end of the clove as Harry reached out to a hidden panel in the wall next to them and fiddled with a few things before the opening notes of John Mayer's 'Gravity' flowed out of hidden speakers loud enough to be heard but low enough conversation wouldn't be lost. The two men sat there as the music played "Gravity" winding down and Lucinda William's 'Are you all right?' replacing it. After a few more songs with the same mellowness played and Gambit smoked another two cigarettes he put the third one out and turned to address the other man across the table.
"So where do we go from here mon ami? Gambit don't want to make a nuisance of himself after' you take such good care of him."
Harry just shrugged.
"Your welcome to stay here for as long as you want. The X-men undoubtedly think your dead and that might be for the best. I'm sure you have stash hidden away like any good thief would though it might take a couple days to get if you do want to stay under the radar. I won't mind the company if you want to take a little time to decide what you want to do maybe in the mean time you can come along with me if I go on a job to see what I do."
Gambit's head cocked to the side as he thought about that for a moment. In all honesty he didn't know what he wanted right now everything was still a little mixed up in his head. So much had happened already today. His mind just couldn't process anything more and making any major decisions about his life just wasn't going to happen tonight. Harry must have sensed his inner turmoil because when Gambit came back to himself he found the other man standing in front of him hands in pockets and an understanding look on his face.
"I think enough has happened today already don't you? Sleep on it tonight or a couple nights, take your time, you have that luxury now. Do you remember the way to the room you were in?" Gambit nodded his head yes. "Then I'm going to head for bed it's been a long day. Your welcome to stay up if you want and go anywhere that is unlocked. I will explain what the locked rooms are for tomorrow it's to late tonight."
With that statement Harry turned and started walking back inside the apartment only to pause when he heard Gambit call out quietly.
"Merci beaucoup mon ami. Gambit can't thank you enough for what you done."
Harry looked back over his shoulder at the somber Cajun and gave him a gentle smile.
"Your welcome I hope you sleep well tonight I will see you in the morning."
With that Harry disappeared inside leaving Gambit alone out on the balcony to think and listen to the mellow music filtering out of the speakers as he smoked and thought. Flicking the ash off the end of the cigarette absentmindedly he lost himself in the thoughts swirling around in his head and wondering what tomorrow would hold as he sat on an almost complete strangers balcony in the warm night air.
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