Around Lunchtime, Harry awoke from his slumber. He had, at first, been terrified of his surroundings but a quick hug from Tharja and Big Sister Noire had silenced him rather quickly. The days happenings returned to him and he began to feel at ease, snuggled up to Tharja's chest as she carried him around. She was currently informing him of all the things that were dangerous in her tent, things that shouldn't be touched. He listened to her words with rapt attention, wanting to make sure he knew what was bad, so his new mama never got angry with him. He didn't like it when people were angry with him...It was scary. So, he waited for her to complete her long speech, pointing at several potions and books. Then she pointed at the rabbit, that was once Vernon Dursley. Harry wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the rabbit that was once his uncle being used for experiments...But he didn't want to argue. "And Harry, I'm going to be experimenting on this one, but that doesn't mean YOU should hurt animals." she explained to him, shooting fire at the rabbit. The rabbit squeaked in fright and hopped back, attempting to avoid the flames. Tharja giggled darkly and took Harry away from the cage, setting him down near the tent entrance. "Do you understand?" Harry nodded rapidly, showing that he understood perfectly. He was not to touch the things in Miss Tharja's tent. If he did, she would be mad at him, and he certainly didn't want that. So he decided to simply snuggled into her chest and wait for Big Sister Noire to come back with lunch... The young woman smirked down at her new charge and tightened her hold on him, rocking him back and forth gently. The tent unzipped, and in stepped Noire, holding another set of trays, arms shaking from the weight of all the food she grabbed. Tharja's eyes widened as she stepped forward to help her daughter. "Goodness, Noire, I didn't ask you to bring THAT much food!"
"I-I wanted to make sure you had a good fill..." she admitted, setting them all down.
Tharja laughed. "Oh boy..." She muttered. "Well, we have more food than we know what to do with now, so...join us, and we'll eat lunch as a family." Noire grinned and stepped forward to sit down on a stool, but Tharja had already placed Harry there, forcing her to sit away from the family in another chair. The girl looked at her mother with a frown. She was taking to Harry surprisingly quickly... Noire ate her food politely, looking up at her mother and brother to see Tharja spoon feeding him... Noire started feeling an Ugly feeling in her stomach... She didn't blame Harry in the slightest. He had suffered, and needed affection...But then again...So did she! Her mother was treating this child she had just barely met better than her birth daughter! She gave a distasteful glare to her mother, who was finishing up with Harry's food. Tharja smiled at Harry warmly and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "There. Did you enjoy your lunch?"
"I-I liked it Miss Tharja..." He told her, allowing her to lift him up and grab some books off of a shelf.
"Now Harry...how about we practice magic?"
Noire scowled at Tharja. She wouldn't teach her magic... Harry grew silent, more than usual, and shrunk away. "I..I dunno..."
Tharja frowned at his hesitation. "Why? What's wrong with learning magic?" She asked.
"I...I always got hurted when I did it..." He admitted, terrified. Tharja grew sympathetic.
"Aww...Well, I use it all the time, so you have nothing to be afraid of." She cooed, putting a hand on his cheek.
Noire's face began to swell in rage, growing angrier and angrier with her mother. She just...GRRR! "...I'm going to go..." She said softly, rising to her feet and leaving the tent.
Tharja tilted her head at her behaviour. She always waited for dismissal...she patted Harry's head and told him to wait there, then went to follow her. After all, she WAS going to actually be a mother to her daughter now... She found her sitting near her tent, throwing her hands in the air, her hands clenched in what looked to be fury. The dark mage grimaced. Something had clearly upset her...This just wasn't Noire. She stepped forwards in practiced silence, having learned from watching her beloved Robin. She placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to freeze. Noire turned to see Tharja frowning at her. "M-Mother! H-Hello, I...I was just..."
Tharja knelt in front of her daughter, pushing her white hair out of her face. "Noire...child what's wrong?" She asked, sympathetic.
Noire bit her lip and looked away from her mother. "...I...I...I'm jealous of Harry, mother..." She admitted, feeling horrible for saying so.
Tharja began to understand why she was jealous. She'd taken so quickly to the child...and ignored Noire! Wordlessly, she threw her arms around her daughter and gave her a tight hug. "Oh, Noire...I'm so sorry..."
Noire flinched and felt warm inside at the attention. She was apologizing...she DID care about her! Crying, Noire hugged her mother back. "I'm sorry..." Noire whispered. "I...I shouldn't be jealous of Harry..."
"No...darling I should be sorry! I was so...SO evil to you...If I hadn't been, you wouldn't be feeling this way now." Tharja told her daughter. Tharja held Noire close. "But that will NEVER happen again...I will actually be a parent to you...I promise."
Noire let out her pent up emotions, crying into her mother's partially exposed chest in complete sadness and joy. Tharja smiled, ignoring the fact that the tears were staining her clothes, and held her daughter close, stroking her hair. The camp's members were so bewildered by her actions... It was so strange! But they...they looked so happy! Finally, Noire managed to collect herself. "Do you feel better now daughter?" she asked with a small smile and a tilt of her head. Noire nodded once more, giving her mother one last hug.
"I feel...MUCH better, mother..." Indeed, Noire felt as though ten pounds had been lifted from her chest. Tharja smiled and kisses her head again, leading her back to the tent where Harry was...sitting completely still, most likely in the same position as when she left.
Tharja frowned. "Well...You're certainly diligent about following instructions."
Tharja and Noire cringed. It was apparent why he didn't move from that spot, as the orders to follow instructions was probably beaten into him... Harry looked at Tharja apologetically. "I...I moved to scratch my nose...I'm sorry..."
Tharja blinked rapidly. "...Please don't apologize for scratching your nose. There's no reason to apologize for scratching your nose."
Harry shook his head, "N-No Miss Tharja! I moved...and you said to stay there..." he told her, scared.
Tharja bent down and hugged him. "I only meant stay in the tent, dear." She said gently. Tharja realized she really had her work cut out for her...TWO emotionally damaged children to care for...
"Oh...I-I'm sorry Miss Tharja..." he apologized once again. Tharja sighed.
"Harry...you don't have to apologize for every little thing." She chuckled softly. "You know, you're a lot like your big sister..." Noire giggled, remembering how she would've acted in this scenario. Now that she knew her mother would never hex her again...she felt so Free! She, still feeling bad for being jealous of Harry, gave him a hug as well. The little boy looked back and forth between his mother and his big sister, tearing up slightly. So he was free...He had family now... He cuddled into his adoptive family and enjoyed the attention for a while, before Tharja lifted him up. "Ready for Magic Practice?"
Harry instinctively stiffened at the word magic. "Is...Is it REALLY okay for me to do magic...?" He asked softly.
"Absolutely, Completely and Positively!" Tharja told him, grabbing the basic magic and going outside, next to the tent.
Harry smiled. Maybe learning magic with his mama would be fun... They were standing next to the tent a few moments later, Tharja pointing out the Tomes to Harry, when Lissa, Maribelle and Cherche came over. "Hello Tharja!"
Tharja flinched and groaned softly. "PLEASE don't tell me you're here to smother my child in your hugs..."
They all whistled and looked to the side whistling. "Noooo..." they said, quite obviously lying. Tharja shot them a glare. Lissa became the elephant in the room... "We just wanna meet him!"
Tharja sighed. "Well, I'm busy right now teaching him magic, so you'll have to wait." She said sternly. The other girls grumbled as they left.
Truth be told Tharja really wasn't sure if Harry could take meeting so many strangers at once... He needed to be eased into it slowly. "M-Miss Tharja...?" Harry asked.
"Yes child?" She asked, turning back to him.
"Um...why are we camping?"
Tharja grimaced. Oh boy, how did she explain this...? "Well...we're in a camp full of...heroes? And we're, t-trying to kill an evil man called The Conqueror..?"
Harry's eyes widened in horror. "K-Kill...?" He said softly. "Why do you wanna kill someone...?"
Tharja mentally face palmed but marvelled at Harry's understanding that killing was wrong. "Uh...well you see...it's..."
Noire stepped in, much to her thankfulness. "Sweetie, The Conqueror hurts a LOT of people every day."
Harry looked at his big sister. "He does? But...How...How badly?" He asked timidly.
"Hon...it's best I don't go into detail, but he steals and has bad men do things to good families." She explained.
Harry nodded, deciding it wasn't any of his business. So, Tharja returned to his tutoring session. He hadn't made much progress, managing a small spark at best, and this made him feel worthless and stupid. "I-I'm no good at this Miss Tharja..." He said, deflated in his joy.
"Aww Harry, don't insult yourself! Magic has always been difficult." She chided. She chuckled. "When I was learning magic for the first time, I couldn't even make a spark. You're already doing better than I am!"
That boosted his confidence immensely, and he hugged Miss Tharja's abdomen area in happiness. She responded by chuckling and holding him, rubbing his bony little back. Noire giggled at the sight of her mother and baby brother. She came to a realisation. "Hey...you two look kind of similar!" Harry and Tharja looked at Noire with tilted heads and compared their appearances. Noire pointed them all out to the pair. "You're both Pale, and your messy hair is identical in color, and your faces are both super angular!"
Tharja frowned. "Angular?" She looked at Harry. "Dear, are we looking at the same Harry?" She cupped his chin. "See how round and symmetrical his head is?"
"Not his head Mother! His chin! Look, it's like it comes to a point, like yours." Noire said tracing them both with her finger.
Tharja frowned and looked at Harry's chin. "...I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about. Our chins aren't pointy. Harry, tell your big sister she's seeing things." Noire blinked. She didn't know her mother was self-conscious.
Noire gave her mother a hug, "Aww Mother! You don't need to worry about your appearance! You're easily one of the most attractive women here,"
Tharja smiled. "You honestly think I don't know that, dear?" She replied, hugging back.
Noire giggled and layed her head on her mothers shoulder. Tharja was also hugged by Harry, who mumbled, "Miss Tharja I-is pretty..."
Tharja laughed. "Why thank you very much, my dear." She replied, patting her son's head.
Harry blushed and covered his face, feeling sheepish. He always felt so weird when he was complimented. Tharja giggled and decided to tease him a bit. "You're a very handsome little boy yourself."
"Eep!" Harry blushed even harder, responding with, "mm not h-handsome Mo-Miss Tharja..."
Tharja shushed him. "Now, now, of course you are." She cooed. Harry nodded and let Tharja coddle him to death. Noire continued giggling. Harry was so cute... Harry was surprised, along with his family, when his joy at the attention activated a fire tome... It was only for a second...But it activated! Tharja and Noire clapped, making him blush red...He smiled softly. If his family wanted to call him cute, he would be cute...just for them! He loved them already...and they liked him! He wanted to do everything he could to make them happy! So he would always be good, do what he was told, and he would be as cute as he could possibly be! He felt joy consume him, and he dove into Miss Tharja again, hugging her. Tharja giggled. "Well, well, aren't we affectionate today?"
"I love you M-Miss Tharja..." He told her, his voice muffled. Tharja gasped, a grin poking into her face.
Delighted, she tightened her hold on the little boy. "I love you too Harry..." She said, kissing his head in joy. Slowly, she began to rock him back and forth, deciding he needed a nap. He felt his consciousness waning, and his eyes closed, eventually falling asleep against her chest. Tharja smiled and looked at Noire, feeling happier than she ever had in her young life. She loved this SOOO much! She was going to enjoy this as much as possible! Wordlessly, she wrapped an arm around Noire. Her future self didn't know what she was missing out on... The family stayed like that for a LONG time... Before finally, there was a dinner call. Tharja carried Harry's still sleeping form towards the fire, the sun having set moments ago. Noire followed close behind, looking adoringly at her mother and baby brother. Her life...it was REALLY starting to look up...all because Tharja had messed up ONE spell!