Shattered Childhood
Chapter 2; Memories
New York City – 2002
Harry found himself thanking whatever deity was out there that he rarely needed to use normal forms of transportation. A seven hour flight from Scotland to the United States was simply too long for him and he'd been fidgeting the whole way. He was a Jumper, a free spirit, not a normal human who had to walk everywhere. Even watching the latest films in the headrest in front of him hadn't taken off his anxious need to get off of the plane through any means necessary and unfortunately any attempt to enjoy himself on the plane had been thrown out of the pressurised window because Roland Cox was sitting right next to him the entire time going between reprimanding Harry for his latest failure and snapping at him for fidgeting. The man could go screw himself for all Harry cared.
When they finally got out of customs Harry obligingly did a small hop to a storage centre and liberated one of the small silver briefcases put there for Paladins. He had a thing against arming Roland but he didn't have much of a choice. Roland hailed a cab as they left the building and Harry groaned as he was made to sit in the back for yet another boring, and slow, ride across the city to their destination.
They pulled up in front of an expensive looking apartment block and the two got out of the car and looked around. "Is he here?" Roland asked him.
"Does it look like I have x-ray specks on?" Harry asked snappishly.
"Can you sense a rift or not?" Roland asked.
"Of course I can." Harry snorted.
"Where?"
"There." Harry pointed along the street carelessly in one direction before spinning and pointing in the other direction before going around in a circle. "And that way, and that way though that one's a little further away. There's a few over towards the Empire State Building too and a whole bunch out by the docks."
"Alright, shut up already." Roland glared at him. "Is there one in the building?"
"A few." Harry shrugged.
"Any active?" Roland pressed and Harry sighed and shut his eyes to concentrate, this took a little more work and really he'd only been vague about the others. He opened his eyes again and shook his head simply. "Let's go then."
They went into the elevator without pausing at the desk into the building and Harry turned to him. "Are you going to give me one of those knives in that case or am I supposed to just arm wrestle him?"
"You're just here to track him if he gets away." Roland told him bluntly and Harry sighed and pulled out a knife from his own pocket, one he'd taken from the case before bringing it back to Roland. He flipped it over in his hand a couple of times and ignored the irritation from Roland. Harry didn't much care, if they found what was for all intents and purposes his brother up there he wasn't going to help Roland kill him. He would go renegade in a second and then it really didn't matter if he pissed Roland off first.
Roland did some quick work on the door lock of the apartment and let himself in with a little force on the door since it seemed to stick. Clearly it wasn't used very often. The apartment inside wasn't a cheap looking one, the main sitting room had an upper level running around two of the sides and leading through a door above the kitchen area on this floor, presumably a bedroom. Harry rather carelessly walked in and slouched down onto the sofa and let Roland sweep the entire apartment but as soon as Roland disappeared into the bedroom he Jumped himself up to the upper level and looked along one of the walls. It was covered by at least five hundred little photos showing some of the major sights of the world that Harry could recognise from his own experience and others that he didn't know.
It was a wall of Jump sites, most Jumpers relied on these pictures of places they'd been in order to Jump to them but they were only to jog their memory. Harry had never used them purely because he didn't want to leave those sites lying around for any Paladin to find. He studied the wall even after Roland came back out and looked over the wall himself disgustedly. Harry was merely memorising all of the prominent ones that he had been to as well so that if David managed to give him the slip he had a few locations he could quickly search for him though if the kid had any sense at all he'd forget about all of these places as soon as he realised that Roland had seen them.
A dull thud echoed through the room and Harry turned around and looked down towards the door where David was pulling off his jacket but then paused as if sensing that he wasn't alone. Harry leaned back on a support to the side of the photo wall as Roland smirked over at him and turned to look down. "Don't run." Roland told David as if he was giving fatherly advice but Harry just scowled. Partly at Roland for being who he was but also at David which was rather unjust of Harry but he simply wished the kid hadn't come home today.
The twenty-one year old turned sharply and looked up at Roland, his eyes flickered to Harry briefly but seemed to settle back to Roland who actually looked more threatening than Harry. "Jump, just Jump." Harry chanted in his head. "For fucks sake kid, just Jump. Fuck letting people find out and just sodding Jump."
"Seven years we've been looking for you." Roland sighed as he began walking towards the steps leading down to the bottom. David just watched him as he jogged down the spiral steps. He clearly wasn't going to use his common sense and Jump to safety.
"And who are you?" David asked in the exact tone that somebody would use when talking to an intruder.
"God's sake kid! Jump!" Harry thought angrily but stayed where he was leaning. He'd Jump in if he had to.
"My name's Roland." Roland told him, pretending to be amused, as if talking to a drinking buddy.
"What are you doing in my apartment?" David asked, lifting his hand to show his irritation as the two came to a standoff in the middle of the chairs down in the lounge.
"We'll get to that." Roland told him carelessly before heading across the room and pulling out a wad of small papers from his pocket. He held them up to David. "What kind of crook leaves notes?"
David was silent for a moment before eyeing the door quickly. "Uh... I think I need to talk to my lawyers." He tried to sound casual.
"Why?" Roland asked. "You're not under arrest."
"You're not the..."
"Police?" Roland finished for him and shook his head. "Anybody can rob a bank. What I'd like to know if how you robbed a bank without opening any doors."
'Way to go, make him think you're a crime lord looking to hire.' Harry thought to himself as he slowly moved across the walkway and leaned on the railing. 'He's not going to fall for that one, you moron.'
"Come on, I think you can think of something." Roland teased when David looked away, trying to pretend this was all a joke but Harry could see that he was beginning to really panic.
"Look." David shrugged him off. "If you're not the police, and I'm not under arrest. I think I'd like you to leave."
David walked past Roland towards the door and tried to open it only to find it jammed, just like Roland and Harry had discovered earlier. Roland sighed and reached into his jacket which he'd dropped on the back of a table earlier. Harry knew what he was going for. "You need any help with that?" He asked. "Been a while since you used a door, huh?"
Harry winced as he pulled out his shock stick. It was a weapon the Paladins had designed that could be shot at a target, embedded in the ground or used to tangle somebody in wires which incidentally delivered a rather powerful current of electricity into the captive. Stopping them from being able to fully concentrate on Jumping.
David stilled and turned slowly to face Roland, taking in the stick in his hand. "Oh, I know who you are." Roland's tone had become darker, more like a predator stalking its prey and that was exactly what it was even if David was the more powerful one. Roland began to stalk towards David as he spoke. "I know what you are."
"This conversation's over." David stepped forwards as if to brush past him and Jumped but not before Roland stabbed the end of the stick into his side. David Jumped a few metres into the apartment but the sound of the electricity snapped across the room and David fell rather limply to the floor.
"This conversation's not over until you answer my questions." Roland growled out as he closed the gap again and rather heavily kicked David in the stomach. Harry bit his lip to stop himself from Jumping down there right now and Jumping David out who was trying to get away from Roland long enough to concentrate and Jump.
Harry could only watch as Roland used the stick to jolt David every time he tried to Jump which sent him crashing to the ground with cries of pain. Harry didn't know how long he could take this, just standing here watching but he really didn't want to tip his hand until he had to. Roland delivered a rather long bolt of electricity into David before crouching at his side. "Tell me. How did you last this long? Who's helping you?"
Harry saw David crane his neck to look up at his picture wall and with a double thud he Jumped from the ground at Roland's feet to the walkway only a few feet from Harry who stepped out of the way. "Jumpers!" Roland cursed and looked at Harry expectantly who decided to simply ignore him and look back at David as he struggled to reach for a photo. He caught one of a seaside pier and tried to Jump but a long distance Jump by memory was a lot harder than just Jumping across the room. There was a long drawn out rumble but he didn't go anywhere.
Roland used a rolling ladder to quickly scale up to the railing and shoved Harry out of the way. "Kind of hard to Jump with a thousand volts of electricity surging through your brain isn't it?" Roland stabbed him again before lifting him up and pinning him to the photo wall. "Who's protecting you? Give me an answer so I can go home."
David tried to suck in his breath but he was beginning to go rather limp and his eyes were having trouble staying open against the electricity flooding his body. "I hate Jumpers." Roland growled and with a heave he threw David straight of the edge of the railing and down onto his coffee table with a rather unpleasant crashing sound. Roland leapt after him, bringing his stick down in front and Harry was about to Jump to Roland and then away when David got control of himself and Jumped across the apartment. Roland turned and fired the stick. Wire shot out and dug into David's leg, pulling him back onto the floor as more electricity flooded him.
"You thought you could go on like this without consequences?" Roland accused as he planted an Earth into the ground. "There's always consequences!"
David screamed in pain and Harry decided he'd had enough. He Jumped right next to Roland with a loud thud and when Roland turned to see what he was doing David Jumped. Roland glared at Harry who Jumped away to the apartment's windows before Roland could try to hit him with something. David's own Jump had run short when the wire went taught and he crashed to the ground.
"You stay out of this!" Roland hissed at Harry. "I knew you shouldn't have been brought along."
Harry glared back at him. "You find it fun to torment at twenty-one year old kid?"
Roland turned back to David and the kid used that single moment's lack of focus to Jump further across the apartment and through a wall. Roland walked towards the wall. "You think you can hide behind a wall?" He turned to Harry. "You! Get him!"
Harry didn't need telling twice and Jumped through David's own Jump scar appearing a split second later in a small room filled with fluttering paper. Money. David was scrambling around the floor trying to get to a pair of wire cutters and Harry grabbed them. David rolled away but Harry just used them to cut the wire, relieving the kid from the electricity. David scrambled up against a set of shelves, almost sending them flying as he looked at Harry. "Get out of here, David!" Harry hissed.
David turned and grabbed a black bag from the ground and Jumped. 'Wonderful, now he decides to listen to me. All of this would have been so much easier if he'd done that when I was thinking it earlier.'
Harry followed him through his Jump scar again and found David leaning on a wall in a small dusty bedroom. Footsteps pounded up the staircase and Harry looked at the door just before it snapped open and was caught on chains from the other side. "David, David!" A man shouted. Harry moved to the other corner of the room as David drew in steady breaths. "Just hear me out." The man continued. "I don't know if I'm going crazy here or not. I don't know a lot of things these days but if you can hear me... Just wait!" The door slammed shut and the sound of running feet told them he was running down the hallway.
David looked at Harry suspiciously but it wasn't long before the door burst open again onto the chain. "David! If you can hear me son. It's okay. You can come home anytime you want."
David seemed to lose some of the tension at the words and he sighed and moved closer to the door. "You're not crazy." David told him sharply before with a thud he Jumped. Harry Jumped after him just as the door burst open.
Harry found himself standing by the edge of a small lake and he was looking directly at a panicking David. "Who are you!?" David stepped away from him.
"Just shut up kid." Harry told him. "They know your Jump sites now and they can track you."
"Who are they?" David hissed.
"It doesn't matter right now. Just get your head down somewhere and stay there." Harry told him. "That guy is going to track you to the ends of the Earth and you can't get caught by him. He'll kill you without a second thought and I'm supposed to help them."
"Then why are you helping me?"
"Because I'm a Jumper too. They think they have me on a tight lease but they don't." Harry told him, stepping closer to David. "They don't care if you're good or bad. They kill Jumpers but I'm a weapon for them so they don't kill me."
"Then why is it different for you now?" David accused, looking like he was going to Jump again but only not doing it because Harry could follow him.
"Because you're my brother." Harry told him and stepped closer. David froze and that gave Harry the opportunity to slip a small piece of paper into his pocket before he Jumped away. He Jumped four more times before blowing apart his last rift before he finally Jumped back to his home. Hopefully David would do as he suggested and find somewhere to hide out for a while but if he got into any more trouble then he had the number for Harry's cell phone even if it would always be monitored. If David had to call him then Harry didn't care if the Paladins found out he was helping him.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Harry Jumped into the middle of his bedroom and sat down on his bed and cradled his head as he thought about everything. He wasn't sure where all of this was going. David was a good Jumper but he was relatively naive to the life style and he was making the mistakes that would lead the Paladins right to him and Harry had no delusions that he could remain secret if he kept helping him. Eventually he'd have to put his lot in with David if he was going to keep him safe. He didn't have any other options and he didn't know any other Jumpers to ask for help.
Even as Harry thought it a spike of pain shot through his head ending up just behind his eyes. He winced and rubbed at his head before feeling a trickle at his nose. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand automatically and frowned when it came away bloody. He stood up just as his door opened and frowned at his sister, Sophie. "I heard you come..." She trailed off seeing his bleeding nose. "What happened to you? Did someone hit you?"
Harry shook his head and moved into his bathroom and turned on the taps over the sink and cupped his hands before cleaning off his face. He dried off before finally turned back to Sophie. "I wasn't punched. It was a headache."
"I think you should go to the medics." Sophie told him. "You said you'd think about it but this is getting worse."
Harry closed the gap and grabbed her arm though he made sure to be gentle about it. "I can't go to the meds about it."
"Why not?" She asked.
"Because I think that it's to do with them." Harry hissed. "I think the Paladins did something to me and I'm starting to remember it."
"Remember what?" Sophie looked shocked.
"I don't know but if I go to them about my headaches they might do something to me." Harry told her.
"Do you think Mum and Dad know?" Sophie asked.
Harry shut his eyes but nodded. "I see it in Mum's eyes when I have them."
"What are you going to do?" Sophie asked.
"I have a lead." Harry shrugged. "But I'm a little busy to follow it up right now."
"We're talking the truth here right?" Sophie asked. "About what exactly?"
"I think it's about before the Paladin's took me in." Harry frowned. "I don't really remember anything from before they took me away from my rela...." Harry gasped as another stab of pain split his head in two and he rubbed at his head. Luckily it didn't start another nosebleed but he felt Sophie touch his arms gently and let her pull them down. She leaned up and kissed him on the forehead.
"You should know that Roland Cox reported that you chased after the Jumper." Sophie told him. "We're to report in when you get home."
"He got away." Harry shrugged.
"What happened?" Sophie frowned.
Harry just shrugged, unwilling to lie to his little sister who didn't even know that she had a full blood related older brother and it was him that they were hunting. He walked Sophie back to her room before heading down towards the living room to try to find his mother. She was reading a book by the window as she watched snow falling in the garden. "He's safe." Harry spoke quietly as he crossed the room to stand next to the window. "For the time being."
"Do you have an excuse for losing him?" She asked.
"I'll claim that he doesn't leave a trail that I can follow." Harry shrugged. "We all have our unique abilities."
"What about just following him through the rifts?" She pressed.
"He gave me the slip using normal methods." Harry shrugged easily. Any Jumper could follow another one by reopening the same rifts as they used and Harry could detect the rifts and through them to other rifts but none of their abilities gave them an advantage in following somebody on foot. Harry of course could sense them opening a rift once they'd given him the slip however and create his own to the same destination.
"Thank you, Harry." She sighed. "I know what sort of risk this is for you."
"Yes." Harry nodded. "I could be caught, tortured and killed."
She flinched violently. "Harry, I..."
"I get it." Harry said coldly. "He's your actual son. I was just foisted off onto you after the Paladins took me from my abusive family."
"Harry. I don't see you as just that. You are my son." She raised up out of the chair but Harry closed the gap and put a hand under her chin.
"Then stop lying to me." Harry hissed. "I know you hide something from me about how I came to be here."
"It's nothing, Harry." She pressed. "Please don't go digging into it."
"My headaches. You know what they are and so do I." Harry pointed out. "Every time I try to remember I get them and whenever I get them you get worried about it. I'm going to remember eventually."
"Why does it matter?" She asked.
"Because it's part of who I am!" Harry snapped. "You're past life, before you left David, is a part of your life and you make decisions now based on that. You are willing to risk my safety to protect David based on a past life. I want the right to make decisions based on mine."
"There's nothing hidden there that you'll like, Harry." She pleaded with him. "And if you try to dig it up you'll only get the attention of the other Paladins."
"Then maybe I should leave?" Harry snapped. "Maybe I should go track down David and teach him what he needs to know to survive against you lot."
"Us lot?" She asked.
"How can you be a Paladin!?" Harry gasped out. "You are supposed to believe that Jumpers are evil. That we shouldn't exist but you worry about me and you sent me to protect your own son. Do you really think we're evil? David and I?"
She backed away from him and Harry deflated and sat down in the chair she'd abandoned. He cradled his head and jerked when he felt her sit on the arm of the chair and put her arm around him. She whispered senseless things in his ear and he relaxed slightly. "I don't belong with the Paladins, mum." Harry told her. "I should be out with David."
"Maybe you should and I wish you were but I also don't want to lose you, Harry." She sighed.
"If I'm supposed to make a decision I need to know everything." Harry pulled away from her. "Everything."
"You won't like everything, Harry." She told him.
"And what if I find out the truth in the middle of a dangerous situation. What if David dies because I uncover the truth and can't think straight?" Harry asked.
She sighed and stood up but pressed him back into the chair when he tried to rise. She looked out of the window for almost five minutes while Harry just sat behind her in silence. When she started talking she didn't turn to look at him. "The Wizards placed you with your mother's sister when you were fifteen months old. They neglected you just like you were told and your Uncle beat you a few times between when you were given to them and when you were five. You were friends with the boy from next door and you got along well enough that his mother filed many reports to the police about the way you were treated by your relatives. We only found out afterwards that his mother had contacted social services and finally gotten them to come and see you but that was too late."
Harry waited as she fell silent again. He knew not to interrupt or even remind her that he was there in case she changed her mind about telling him the truth. He didn't even remember having a friend in his early life. All he could remember was waking up in recovery with the Paladins.
"The boy you were friends with was a Jumper." She finally said and Harry flinched. "We'd been watching him for about two months and seen him Jump twice. Roland Cox was sent to kill him but when he arrived you were there. You'd slept over at your friend's house so that his mother could introduce you to social services. As Roland tells it he was about to kill your friend but you launched yourself at Roland and knocked him over. By the time Roland knocked you out your friend had Jumped away and you saw him do it. Roland realised that you didn't know he was a Jumper and decided to bring you into the group."
"Then why don't I remember any of that?" Harry asked. "I was told that you picked me up when my relatives almost beat me to death. Why don't I remember my friend or any of this?"
"Because Roland sent you straight to reindoctrination." She whispered and turned to look at him, tears streaming down her face. Harry flinched and Jumped, leaving the chair in favour of standing behind it.
"You tortured me?" He croaked out. "The injuries, all of the pain that you told me my relatives had caused? That was you?"
"Not me." She urged. "Roland and the Paladins were the ones to do it. I didn't know you existed until they'd finished with you and you were sent to me to look after."
"You're a Paladin!" Harry yelled though he was in shock. "You're one of them and they tortured me. They killed my friend's family and..."
He Jumped across the room, more out of habit than anything else, knowing that if he moved he couldn't be hurt. It was defensive more than anything else. He turned to her as he clenched his fists. "You... They... They forced me to be on their side by beating me. To knock out any knowledge of my friend." Harry turned and Jumped again until he was right behind her. "You didn't tell me. You've lied to me. You made it seem like you rescued me when you were the ones that caused me all that pain. You mislead me into fighting for you!"
"Harry...." She tried to reach for him but he Jumped back a metre to avoid her.
"You didn't let me have a choice!" Harry yelled. "You didn't like who I was so you beat it out of me to make me into a useful soldier. Jumpers aren't the monsters! It's you that are the monsters!"
Harry didn't know what to do but all he knew is that he had to be alone and he didn't care that his mother was deadly pale, crying and shaking as he Jumped from the room with a barely controlled rift that tore up the floor around him and sent a shockwave through the house. A second explosion had him in his own room and he Jumped to the door and locked it before falling down the inside of the door to sit on the floor. He cradled his knees and buried his head into them. "I'm a monster. They made me into a monster." He muttered to himself.
A knock on the door made him tense up and he glanced at his watch to note that he'd been sitting on the floor in his room for almost an hour. He ignored the knock at the door for a moment and it came again.
"Harry, it's Sophie." His little sister hissed through the door. "Open this door or I'll knock it down."
It was so absurd that he almost laughed but instead he stood up and unlocked the door and Jumped away from it even as the latch moved and it swung open. He Jumped again as soon as Sophie saw him and knew he was acting nervous. "What do you want?"
"What were you and mum fighting about?" Sophie asked.
"Some people don't think I should know the truth." Harry hissed and Jumped again making her spin around to see him again.
"Stop doing that." Sophie hissed.
"Are you going to beat it out of me too?" Harry asked and before he could think he'd Jumped right in front of her. Sophie wasn't to blame for any of this but Harry wasn't thinking straight.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't pretend you didn't know!" Harry snapped. "They beat me!"
"I know about your relatives, Harry." Sophie sighed. "What does that have to do about anything?"
"They didn't beat me!" Harry yelled and grabbed her arm when she made to back away from him. "It's the Paladins that tortured me. Forced me to forget who I was so they could have a little soldier to train and turn into a monster."
Sophie gasped in shock and struggled to remove Harry's hand but failed. "Harry. You're hurting me."
Harry wasn't listening though. "You knew didn't you? You're a Paladin too. You must have known what they did to me. They came into my friend's house and killed all of his family and then Roland Cox just had to have a five year old boy to torture and reindoctrinate to be his little soldier!"
"Oh god Harry. That can't be true." Sophie was shaking now.
"And now everyone I know has been lying to me my whole life!" Harry gasped and sagged to his knees, releasing Sophie's arm. "My whole life's just a lie. They pretended to be my rescuers and they made me fight for them. I'm nothing but a monster that they put a leash on."
Sophie knelt in front of him and hugged him letting Harry bury his face into her shoulder. "It's not all a lie." Sophie assured him. "Mum and I both love you."
"Mum knew." Harry sobbed unable to control his emotions. Sophie tensed up but forced herself to relax.
"That doesn't mean she didn't love you. She protected you from the truth." Sophie promised him.
Harry pulled away and grabbed her arms tightly again. "Did you know?"
"Harry, of course I didn't." Sophie frowned. "I'd never have lied to you like that."
"I've got nothing left." Harry sighed and sagged his head. She stroked his hair for a moment and Harry just let himself be comforted before something occurred to him and his head snapped up. "Griffin!"
"What about him, Harry?" Sophie frowned unsure why he'd suddenly changed subjects.
"I knew him before the Paladin's took me." Harry gasped. "I can't remember but he was so familiar and I got a headache when I learnt his name."
"What are you talking about?" Sophie frowned.
"Mum said I used to know a boy my age who was a Jumper. Cox came for him and killed his parents and took me." Harry gasped out, squeezing her arms again desperately. "It was Griffin. I know it."
"How can you be sure?" Sophie asked. Harry sagged again and shook his head. The only way to know for sure was to talk to his mother and he couldn't handle that right now. "Look, Harry. Just try to get some sleep."
Harry didn't argue and let his little sister help him into his bed and let her tuck him in before he rolled up on his side and buried his head in his pillow. That night he'd dream of screams and Roland murdering people and when he woke up the next morning he had a little of his life back.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
The next day
Harry Jumped straight from his bedroom into the kitchen making Sophie jump and drop her juice. Harry's reflexes made him Jump across the gap and catch the glass making Sophie laugh and accept the glass back. "Are you alright?" She asked before returning to her food.
Harry sat down opposite her and poured himself a bowl of cereal. He took a spoonful and ate it before looking back up at her. "I'll survive." Harry shrugged. "You're right though, mum might have kept it from me but if she'd told me when I was younger I would have gone off the plot and the Paladins would have had me killed."
"She's been out of her mind this morning." Sophie told him. "She's just got a call from the office." Harry hummed to show he was listening but continued eating his food and let them fall into silence. It was about another half an hour when their mother walked in and blinked at the sight of Harry at the table. Harry glanced at her before going back to his cereal.
"Harry? I need to talk to you in my office." She kept looking at them and Harry looked up to meet her eyes and knew instantly that this wasn't to do with the night before. Harry stood up and his mother disappeared back out of the kitchen.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Sophie asked. Harry reached over and squeezed her hand and nodded before following his mother out into her study.
She was leaning against her desk rubbing at the bridge of her nose when Harry arrived. "What's the matter?"
"This isn't to do with last night." She told him.
"I know." Harry nodded. "But about last night. I can live with the fact you kept it from me but I can't live with what they did to me."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't be a part of this anymore." Harry told her and shook his head.
"I know you can't." She sighed. "And that leads us to the call I just got. Roland Cox tracked David to Rome, he's ordered all units to capture or kill him. I've managed to change the order so only two Paladin's are sent but..."
"If I go I'm going all the way." Harry warned her. "I won't come back to the Paladins. They'll hunt me."
"I'll do everything I can to keep them from getting to you." She promised.
"No you won't." Harry frowned at her. "You've already done enough. Roland Cox will already suspect you for cutting down the numbers going for David and when I disappear he'll distrust you even more. You can't do anything that will put you or Sophie in any danger."
"I don't like it but you're right." She sighed and moved forwards to hug him. Harry embraced her back.
"Where do I need to go?" Harry asked.
"Rome." She told him. "He's flying in."
"Flying in?" Harry raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"He's taken a girl with him. An old school friend he left when he was fourteen." She told him. "I remember the name, she used to live around the block from us."
"How am I supposed to find him?" Harry asked. "If he's taken a plane then he hasn't told her what he is so he won't Jump. And Rome isn't exactly anti Jumper. The last time I was there I sensed two different Jump rifts."
"Meet up with the two men." She told him. "I ordered them to meet you at the designated point."
Harry nodded. "I need to ask you something before I leave." Harry told her. "The guy I was sent to catch in Africa? Griffin? Was he the boy I used to be friends with?"
She nodded. "I thought you might have remembered something when Roland shouted out his name."
"I got a headache." Harry frowned. "Do you think he'll..."
"Remember you?" She asked. "I don't know, Harry. You were both five but Griffin has been heard to suggest that he remembers that day vividly. You were there and if he's telling the truth I don't think he would have forgotten you."
"Do you think I'll get my memories back?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, Harry." She sighed and shook her head.
"I'll be seeing you then." Harry whispered and Jumped from the room, back into the kitchen making Sophie jump again and growl at Harry. Harry leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going away for a while and I might not be able to ever come back but you'll see me again, I promise."
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"I'm not a Paladin, Sophie. I can't fight for them anymore. I should be with my kind." Harry hugged her before Jumping up to his room to change and grab a few things before Jumping out of the house and out of the country.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Rome
Harry appeared out of his rift with a rending boom that shook the walls. He wasn't much for caring about being subtle right then and he wanted to put the two men meeting him off guard. It worked and he almost Jumped again just in case they decided to fire the pistols being pointed at his head. "Try to restrain yourselves." Harry drawled lazily.
They lowered their guns and turned their backs on Harry, not even saying a word to him. Harry followed them out of the small garage and got into the back of a Sedan, resigning himself to being carted around like a dog in a cage ready to be unleashed by its masters. He was used to it though and he didn't really want to talk to them anyway. They drove to a rundown hotel and got out of the car and Harry followed, taking his bag with him. "Listen up, Jumper." One of the men addressed him as he held up a key for one of the rooms. "Stay in your room while we find him. We'll call you when we need you." Harry took the key and turned his back on the Paladins but he kept an ear out for the telltale signs of betrayal like he always did but the doors of the hotel quickly swallowed him and he set about finding his room.
He spent the night in a fitful sleep and was up and showered early the next day and watched Rome from his window with his eyes and with his extraordinary sense. There was definitely a Jumper in the city but they Jumped around so randomly that he couldn't have guided the Paladins to him even if he wanted to. He was so tempted to just Jump to one of the rifts but he kept reminding himself that David was with a girl and he'd come here on a plane. He wouldn't be Jumping around the city if she didn't know about him.
Finally at about midday he sensed two Jumps at the same time and close together. There were definitely two Jumpers in the city now and his eyes searched the horizon trying to find out where they were and his eyes fell on the ruins of the great Coliseum about three miles away. He was trying to decide whether to risk it being David when his mobile rang and he answered it almost automatically. "What?" He asked knowing that it had to be the Paladins.
"We've tracked the Jumper to the Coliseum. We're about to engage. You're ordered to assist." The Paladin told him rather rudely.
"You want me there then?" Harry asked just to piss them off and got an angry growl in return before the line went dead. Harry grabbed his bag from the bed and Jumped from the room, leaving the keys to fall to the floor. He appeared on the top of the north wall in a section of the Coliseum that he'd been able to see from his hotel room since he'd never been there before and couldn't use a blind Jump. He dropped his bag onto the worn stone precipice and crouched down to get a view of the arena basement below. He could see the situation with one gaze and he didn't know what to think. He could see David standing rather nervously on the far side looking at the slowly approaching Paladins as they closed in on him with shock sticks in their hands but what really drew his attention was the second guy down there with his back to David. It was Griffin, facing off with the Paladins. Harry couldn't hear what was being said but whatever Griffin was saying wasn't going over well with the Paladins because they attacked.
They fired their shock sticks and electrified wires shot out at Griffin and David. Griffin Jumped a metre to the side and the shot went clear but David was too slow to realise the danger and he went flying back in the air as the wire pinned him to the wall. Harry stood up and Jumped down into the battle appearing behind the Paladin that had David pinned. He tapped him on the shoulder to make him turn even though it was pointless because of the boom from his arrival. As the man tried to turn Harry jabbed his fingers into the side of his ribs making him release the shock stick. The man looked at Harry in shock before Harry Jumped himself and the man out of the Coliseum and across the world in an instant, leaving the man in the middle of the Sahara desert to cope with the last week of his life alone.
He arrived back to see that Griffin had been just as busy and the other Paladin was on the floor having obviously fallen from the top of the Coliseum. Harry turned around as a rift dumped somebody behind him and he saw himself looking at Griffin. "You again?" Griffin sighed. "Didn't I kick your arse enough last time?"
Harry ignored him for the moment in favour of Jumping across to where David was struggling to rid himself of the wires. He received a few shocks as he dislodged the device but David was free in a few seconds. "You alright newbie?" Harry asked in amusement.
"How'd you find me?" David asked.
"How could anyone not?" Griffin scoffed, getting over his previous irritation at Harry to make fun of the younger of them.
"Unfortunately since you haven't been Jumping all day I wasn't able to track you." Harry told David before looking at Griffin who was now holding the baseball bat he'd had early for a while. "You on the other hand I've been tracing all day."
"No way you've been following me." Griffin argued.
"You forget what happened the last time we met." Harry pointed out.
"Yeah, you lost." Griffin pointed out.
"I made a mistake." Harry shrugged. "One that seems to have benefited us all."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Griffin frowned. Harry didn't say anything at first but merely looked at Griffin trying as hard as he could to remember anything about him. To try to find something familiar about him but he came up empty and it annoyed him.
"What's your interest in David?" Harry asked instead.
"What's yours?" Griffin countered.
"He's my brother." Harry shrugged.
"Fuck I am!" David shouted obviously having had enough of their conversation. "Who the hell are you guys?"
"He seems to disagree with you." Griffin pointed out. "And I'd be surprised if this newbie had anything to do with a Jumper who works with the Paladins."
"Who are the Paladins?" David asked.
"The enemy of the Jumpers." Griffin snapped before looking at Harry. "So what does that make you?"
"I was never a Paladin." Harry told him in a low hiss just before a scream was heard and they looked up to see a woman higher up in the ruins before she ran out of view. Harry continued regardless. "They forced me to help them by taking everything else I had away."
"Like what?" Griffin challenged.
"I don't remember. That's the point." Harry shook his head. "All I know now is that I have nothing more to do with them."
"That's rich." Griffin scoffed.
"You don't have to believe me Griffin." Harry shrugged. "But you knew me once. Before Roland Cox killed your parents. I might not remember it but maybe you do."
"Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Harry shut his eyes with a sigh before reminding himself that this wasn't the best place for the conversation. "Harry!" David yelled at him before he could say anything more.
"Just get the hell out of here David. Find your girl and get as far away as possible." Harry told him. "I'll find you later."
Harry watched as David Jumped away and his senses told him that he'd reappeared inside the ruins. He turned back to Griffin to find the other Jumper looking at him in confusion. "He called you Harry."
Harry sighed explosively. "It's not like it matters. I don't remember anything from before I was five."
"You can't be him." Griffin frowned, starting to look panicked. "Impossible."
"I can't prove anything to you, Griffin." Harry shrugged. "I don't have anything to offer but my identity as Harry Potter."
"You fucking liar." Griffin hissed before the air rocked as he Jumped out from the coliseum. Harry sighed and bowed his head in defeat and followed suit, leaving the coliseum behind him as he went in search of David to make sure he as okay. He should have known better than to think that he and Griffin could just be friends when Harry didn't even remember him.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Harry could only watch as David was arrested at the gate and knew he'd need a little help out of trouble. Any other Jumper would simply Jump out of the cell but David seemed to want to deny his abilities whenever the girl was about. He Jumped clear out of Italy and headed for home appearing in the upstairs hallway just in case there were any Paladins about. He doubted that word of his betrayal had leaked but he had to be safe. He snuck downstairs and only when he'd determined that the only person at home was his mother he Jumped into the kitchen.
She flinched and almost dropped her mug of coffee onto the table top. "Harry?" She asked.
"They found David but two of them didn't have a chance against Griffin and I." He started.
"Griffin?"
"He was tailing David." Harry told her and refused to say any more. The Paladins had already shouldered their way into his private life and he wanted to cling to any secrets he managed to create. "David left with the girl but they were arrested outside the Coliseum. Someone saw the body after the fight."
"So David is in police custody?" She confirmed. Harry nodded. "It won't be long before Roland picks up that fact."
"What do you want me to do?" Harry asked.
"Take me there." She stood up. "I'll get him out."
Harry blinked in surprise but then sighed in defeat knowing that he'd failed to protect David and she clearly didn't think he could do it alone. "Harry, this has nothing to do with your ability to save him yourself." She grabbed his attention, clearly knowing what he was thinking. "It's about time I show myself to him. It might open his eyes to the more sinister threat out there."
"Like mothers that are working for the side that want to kill him?" Harry asked.
"Harry...." She warned, clearly not in the mood for Harry's dark brand of humour. Harry shrugged and held out his hand. She moved to the wall in the hallway and put on her suit jacket and grabbed her briefcase before returning and taking his hand and nodded and braced herself.
Harry tried to be gentle but taking someone else through a rift who wasn't designed for it wasn't a pleasant experience for them. It was like being squeezed into a small ball. To Harry it was actually a nice sensation but he was built for it. They appeared with a thud in an alleyway off to the side of the police station that Harry had seen when following the policemen who had arrested David earlier.
She sucked in a huge gasp of air and bent almost double trying to stop herself from being sick and Harry steadied her. "Are you alright?" Harry asked.
She nodded after a moment. "Wait here and I'll be right out." She told him. Harry nodded and watched her straighten up, pull herself together and walk out of the alleyway as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do. She turned out of sight and Harry relaxed against one of the walls and let his senses tell him if anyone Jumped in the city but it was calm which disappointed him. He liked being able to sense other Jump rifts, it soothed him to know he wasn't alone. The fact that he couldn't sense any old rifts from within the police station told him that David hadn't escaped on his own.
He waited patiently for almost ten minutes before starting to pace anxiously for another five minutes and then finally he turned at the sound of footsteps and saw his mother walking towards him glancing over her shoulder. Harry waited patiently until she turned to look at him and nodded. "Get me home and then..."
"And then I'll deal with it." Harry told her. "I'll protect him and you don't worry about it."
She nodded crisply. "It might not be safe for you there but if you ever need anything then come find me." She told him before reaching out her hand. Harry took it, hugged her and then Jumped, cracking the alleyway concrete as he departed.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
He returned to the exact spot in Rome almost a minute later with his favourite bag over his head and down at his side. A side satchel that Sophie had brought him for his sixteenth that he'd barely used before but that he didn't want to leave behind. It was the first thing that she'd gone out to get him for his birthday and she'd been proud of it especially when Harry had told his fourteen year old sister that it was the coolest thing he'd ever seen. It was actually just a plain brown soft cloth bag but it was one of the few things that Harry cared about enough not to leave behind.
He walked around the front of the building, looking very much the local rather than the tourist and he walked up into the police station to find out if David had gotten himself out yet and was half proud when he spotted David tumbling down the staircase not looking at all comfortable with this which Harry wasn't really surprised at. His mother had just made a rather flyby visit since she'd left him as a three year old. Harry ducked back out of the building before David or the girl he'd seen inside spotted him and ducked back into the alleyway in time for David to come outside and hail a taxi, half pulling the girl along behind him.
Harry heard David tell the driver to take them to a hotel about two miles away, one of the nicer ones so didn't bother to follow him in his own taxi, especially since he didn't have any Euros handy. Instead he jumped back to the roof of the coliseum, ignoring the police looking at the body down in the middle while he looked for the hotel which he knew the general location of and then Jumped to the small park outside it and merely blended into the crowd. People trusted logic far too much to really take in a Jumper appearing in their midst, they just brushed it off as their own eyes missing something when somebody suddenly appears in their way and nine times out of ten a mere apology makes them forget all about the Jump if they hadn't already apologised for not looking where they were going and gone about their business.
Harry was there in time to find himself a seat against a tree with a good view of the doors and watched as the taxi arrived only four minutes after it had left the police station and David and the girl got out and disappeared into the building. Harry watched with his senses in case David Jumped out of the building but true to newbie form he reappeared with the girl and hailed another taxi and quickly put her luggage in the back. Harry Jumped across the road into the revolving doors of the hotel and walked outside with quick steps in time to hear David tell the driver to take them to the airport and sighed before he turned the corner and Jumped to his own destination outside that very airport. Somewhere he'd been before a number of times.
As he reappeared and slipped inside to wait he decided that there was no way he was confining himself to an airplane if David decided to continue being lame and choosing to take the slow way everywhere. He didn't have to wait long in the end and was sitting on one of the seats eating a McDonald's burger when David and the girl joined the queue to get their tickets. Harry studied David and saw how anxious he was getting by his nervous glances in all directions but even though Harry didn't try to hide, David didn't seem to spot him.
The two were talking to each other and then David showed her what was in the bag he always carried about but Harry didn't see for himself though by the warring emotions on her face it wasn't brilliant. They parted soon after as David let her walk up to the check-in desk and he backed away. David turned straight towards Harry who didn't show any surprise that David had in fact spotted him and David walked straight towards him, glared and walked straight past him. Harry sighed and stood up, following him in time to see the restroom door swing shut and feel the presence of a rift. Harry turned on the spot and walked between two plant pots and Jumped, forming his own rift to David's destination and finding himself halfway up the side of the coliseum, blocked from view in all directions but into the centre.
Harry ignored David who was pacing as he looked over the inside wall and down at where the police had finally left the murder scene. Harry finally turned around to find David walking away from him. "Hey! Would you stop walking away from me?" Harry tried acting rather immature as he followed it. "It makes my life more difficult."
"Would you rather I Jumped?" David asked as he spun to face Harry making Harry backpedal so as not to walk into him.
"Actually yes." Harry grinned. "I can track the rifts. I could follow you easier that way."
"Nice incentive there." David grumbled.
"Chill, mate." Harry told him.
"Fuck off." David grouched. "Stop playing games. What do you want?"
"I told you that already, David." Harry sighed. "I'm trying to protect you."
"Why?" David pressed.
"For the love of..." Harry rolled his eyes. "I've told you that too."
"You told me you were my brother. That's bull." David glared at him.
"Why's that?" Harry asked. "You're mother left you when you were three and was given me to raise two years later. So technically I'm your adopted very slightly older brother. Got a problem with that?"
"Many problems." David narrowed his eyes at him. "Where's my mother?"
"I think you should stay away from her for the time being." Harry told him. "She'll be being watched by the Paladins in case I show up."
"What the hell are Paladins?" David demanded.
"The two guys in the coliseum ring a bell?" Harry asked in amusement. "They hunt Jumpers."
"Why did that guy say you were helping them then?" David pressed.
"Weren't you listening?" Harry sighed. "Your mother adopted me and raised me for the last fifteen years."
"So?" David raised his eyebrow.
Harry shook his head in defeat. "She's a Paladin. Jeeze, you can be slow at times. Why do you think she left you in the first place? She found out you were a Jumper and knew that to stay with you would only lead the Paladins to you so she severed all ties, left your father and you to have a life and started a new life of her own."
"Why were you helping the Paladins then?" David asked.
"Because I thought I was doing the right thing." Harry told him with a sigh. "Turns out I was wrong."
"Killing Jumpers didn't make you figure that out sooner?" David asked.
"Hey! I knew Jumpers weren't all bad but they only sent me after the bad ones and I hunted them." Harry pointed out.
"What about that other guy?"
"Griffin?" Harry clarified and got a nod in return. "Supposedly I used to know him but, well, let's not go into that. Basically I don't remember him anymore and he doesn't believe me because the last time we met I was chasing him."
"How do I know you're not still working for these Paladins?" David asked.
Harry rubbed at his head in irritation. "Look little bro, you can think what you want but I told mum I'd watch out for you and I'm going to do just that. You can make it easier on me by not trying to give me the slip or I'll just follow you anyway. It doesn't matter how many Jumps you make, I can follow you regardless. Remember, you're the newbie here."
"Okay, let's say you're telling the truth. Why do you care what happens to me?" David asked. "I get it that my mum sent you but why do you care?"
Harry frowned at him. "Two days ago I would say it was because I didn't want your family to go through the pain of losing you." Harry admitted. "But now I'd have to say because I've got nothing left in my life that meant anything to me before. I took the history I was handed by the Paladins for granted and now I've discovered that I've spent the last fifteen years of my life basing my decisions off of a huge lie. Now I know the truth it casts all of that into dark shadow and I want to cling to the parts of my life that don't depend on that lie. Namely you and Griffin."
"Well unless you happen to have his number I don't see how we're going to find him." David pointed out.
"Why do you want to find him?" Harry asked.
"Because I didn't know anything about these Paladins until you showed up and I've got Roland Cox chasing me and I don't think I can get on with my life until this is dealt with." David told him.
"You really want to do that?" Harry asked. "I mean right now we're not involved in the war. I was on the wrong side before through some twisted sense of loyalty but right now we're clear. You and I can worry about ourselves and leave them to have their war."
"We're Jumpers, we should be helping the Jumpers." David told him.
"Alrighty then." Harry sent him a rather amused grin. "Just as long as you're sure."
"That still doesn't solve the problem of finding Griffin." David told him.
"He Jumped from down there." Harry told him.
"And you think we can use his Jump scar?" David asked.
"Wait, you've never...?" Harry raised his eyebrows up but he supposed that was highly likely. David never had met another Jumper before Harry and Griffin and he'd been the one being followed and not chasing. "Follow me." Harry told him abruptly before Jumping, only a short Jump down to the middle of the arena. Near to where Griffin had last been.
It wasn't long before David tumbled out of his Jump scar which while perfect for Harry was slightly out for David and it took getting used to. "I just..." David turned to look at where the Jump scar was although it was invisible but these things sung to Jumpers and they both knew where it was.
"We create the scars but they close on their own, newbie." Harry told him.
"Stop calling me that." David glared at him.
"Okay, Davey." Harry grinned. "The scars take on average about ten minutes to close up and anyone can follow you through them but it gets rather uncomfortable for them if they let them close up too long but you reshape the scar as you go through, forming it to yourself and opening it back up.
"How does this solve our problem?" David asked. "Griffin's scar is closed."
"I was just giving you a little Q and A session." Harry sighed. "Jeeze, you're no fun."
"Whatever, Harry." David rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to be the older brother so why don't you just get on with it?"
"Now, that's harsh." Harry said even though he grinned. David was clearly starting to loosen up to the idea of Harry actually telling the truth. "Most, but not all, Jumpers have an additional part to their ability to Jump. It's almost ninety-five percent of them but I think the last five percent just don't advertise the ability. Mine is being able to sense the old rifts that Jumpers leave behind. Right now there are about a dozen in this place, yours, mine and Griffin's from earlier."
"So you can sense the old ones...?"
"Stop being impatient." Harry told him. "Mine I can ignore and yours I can put aside. And there's one here that Griffin used to leave the last time. I can reopen it if I want to or merely concentrate on it and find out where it leads and open my own one."
"Then reopen it then." David suggested.
"I'd rather not, it's fully closed and like I said it's rather uncomfortable if you do that too long after it was first created." Harry told him before Jumping to the destination of Griffin's last portal, letting David work out that he'd have to follow.
A small thud of air was the only thing that announced that he'd arrived in a dimly lit space with a fine dusting of sand on the ground and completely filled with bits and pieces. He turned a full circle and moved to the side as David stumbled through the rift. "Hey, the newbie's got it." Harry grinned and turned to look at Griffin who was sitting in an armchair.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Griffin groaned and threw down the controller for a game he'd been playing. "How... actually I don't care, just get out."
"That's not nice." Harry told him.
"I don't have to be nice." Griffin glared at him.
"Would you just hear me out?" Harry asked moving slightly closer. "I'm not going to try to convince you of anything because I don't have proof and even beyond that I don't have the memories to back up the story so I'm not going to even try."
"Then what do you want?" Griffin asked.
Harry raised his hands in surrender. "Why can't anyone just be nice?"
"You tried to blow me up!" Griffin almost shouted.
"You threw a bus at me for heaven's sake!" Harry argued right back.
"You wouldn't leave me alone!" Griffin hissed.
"He has that problem." David joined in making Harry and Griffin stop to look at him. "Don't let me intrude but I don't see what the problem is. If Harry was still working for the Paladins wouldn't he had just brought a dozen of them here with him?"
"See the newbie makes a good point." Harry shrugged.
Griffin Jumped suddenly, too fast for Harry to do anything about it and he found himself encompassed in a rift that he couldn't prevent himself from being forced through and he reappeared with a loud thud against the wall of the lair with Griffin holding him with an arm across the top of his chest, one small move away from his neck. Griffin was about his own height and his eyes stared into Harry's before they began moving across his features, taking in his hair, the pale scar hidden under his hairline, his eye colour, his nose, his lips, his chin. Harry didn't struggle and Griffin shook his head and in a move had Jumped away from the wall letting Harry sag back onto his own feet.
"You could be him. Prove it." Griffin announced.
"I can't." Harry told him. "I don't remember anything before I was five."
"Why not?" Griffin demanded.
"The Paladins claimed that my relatives beat me so badly that I lost my memory. They said they took me in and helped me to recover." Harry sighed.
"You're family did hit you." Griffin flinched finally admitting that Harry might really be who he claimed to be.
"Yeah but I found out the other day that it was Roland Cox and his guys that beat me bad enough to do this to me. They called it reindoctrination." Harry turned away from Griffin's face which had quickly moved to a desperately wounded expression as Harry spoke. David was listening carefully but staying out of it. "The woman that raised me told me that they'd come for you, killed your mum and dad while I was staying with you and then you Jumped out to safety and Roland decided to make me a Paladin by forcing me to forget everything about you. Is that true?"
Griffin just stared at him. "Damn it, Griffin, is that true!?" Harry yelled making Griffin Jump back across the room in surprise.
Griffin pulled himself together and his concerned expression vanished. "It doesn't matter now. We all sacrifice stuff for this war. My family's dead, your memory's gone. That's what the Paladins do alright, they go after the things you love."
Harry heard a thud from just behind him and he turned quickly to see that David had vanished and he frowned and looked back at Griffin who shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll go after him in a minute." Harry sighed.
"That kid's going to get himself hurt." Griffin told him.
"Like you just said what does it matter if we lose people." Harry told him with a little disdain. "You clearly don't care who I am. If you're so willing to forget about me now then I don't suppose it really matters that I have."
"How's that?" Griffin asked.
"Well clearly my relatives beat me for no reason. I've been abused and then beaten to a pulp to turn into a weapon and a discardable one at that and now you clearly don't give a shit about if we were friends or not." Harry sighed. "Maybe I was just that pointless in the world."
As soon as Harry spoke he saw the deep rooted shock go through Griffin's expression and had about half a second to think about that before his mind almost split in two and with a cry of pain he was on his knees. Pain lanced through his head and he barely registered the thump of a rift before arms cradled him and held him up.
"Harry?" Griffin asked.
"What?" Harry gasped out and pressed his hand into his head. "What did I say?"
"What?" Griffin frowned.
"What did I say that has something to do with the memories I've lost." Harry pleaded looking up at Griffin with watery eyes from the pain. He found himself mere inches away from Griffin's face and Griffin obviously saw something there.
"You are the friend I used to have." Griffin told him. "I've never heard anyone else speak like that. You used to always beat yourself down like that. Thinking you were less than everyone else. Whenever I didn't agree with you or you asked something you realised you shouldn't have you'd hide away thinking you were nothing."
Harry's mind echoed with voices and Harry could picture himself in a dark room with two beds made up on the floor and Harry sitting opposite a five year old boy with scruffy hair that could have been Griffin. Harry hissed in pain as the image faded and he looked up at Griffin. "Was your bedroom a dark red?" Griffin tensed up and frowned but then nodded. "Did I used to sleep there sometimes?"
Griffin fell backwards and sat on the floor and shook his head trying to clear it and Harry slowly stood up and Jumped. He went outside, not far but just outside of the tomb where Griffin had set up his lair. Griffin didn't follow him and Harry merely sat down on the sand in the shade of a tarpaulin.
Griffin appeared almost ten minutes later and sat beside him and handed him something. It was a photo and Harry studied it for a while. It was of two boys standing side by side. One was himself and the other was the boy in the flash he'd gotten. It was him and Griffin as small boys. Griffin had his arm over Harry's shoulder and they both looked like they'd just been running around.
"When was this?" Harry asked.
"It was taken a few days before..." Griffin paused. "Before it happened. I went back to the house a few days afterwards and picked up what I could including the camera.
"Was I happy?" Harry turned to Griffin who winced and Harry sighed.
"You were happy when we were together." Griffin told him and pointed to the picture. "You can see it there."
"But what about all the rest of the time?" Harry pressed.
"I used to try to keep you out of your house because every time you came out you looked a little sadder." Griffin told him. "And whenever the time came that you were going to go home you'd go quiet. When I told you that my mum had called social services to meet you, you hid against the wall in my room and told me that they'd kill you if they found out."
"You remember all of that?" Harry asked.
"Those few days are like movies in my head." Griffin told him. "It's all I see sometimes."
"But you were five, how could you deal with that? Why didn't you just run away from me?" Harry asked.
"I dealt with it the way I knew you wanted me to." Griffin told him with a small smile. "I hugged you."
"You hugged me?" Harry asked bewildered.
"You barely even let my mum or dad touch you and you never asked to hug me but I knew that you wanted it so I always kept hugging you." Griffin chuckled at the memory and Harry almost felt as if he could remember it himself. He sighed and dropped his head to look at his feet wishing that things hadn't changed between them and wishing that it was possible to have the same things now that he'd had then.
Griffin put an arm around his shoulders and hugged him to his side with a small laugh. "You haven't really changed, you know?" Griffin told him. "I can still tell when you want a hug but can't ask for one."
Harry didn't say anything and Griffin merely kept an arm around his shoulder for a few minutes before speaking up again. "I'll do what I can to help you remember." Griffin told him. "Even if we have to go back there."
Harry looked at him before sighing and standing up. He'd have to go find David soon in case he got himself into trouble. "Thank you, Griffin. I know you must have thought I was dead and it can't have been easy for some guy to suddenly claim to be..." He didn't really know how to finish that but Griffin offered him a small smile to show he understood.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter