Disclaimer: Everything in here belongs to J.K. Rowling and Thomas Harris. Let them fight over what's what.

Chapter Four

The Vanishing Glass

Six years was a long time for a boy and Harry Potter was hardly aware of the changes that had happened in the street called Privet Drive.

After the tragic suicide of Vernon Dursley, things had changed for his small family and the wife had been left impoverished. Luckily for her, she had the loyal help of her neighbours; the Fells. The Doctor and his wife had generously agreed to help take care of the widow's orphaned nephew while she struggled to make ends meet for her and her son. Petunia had taken up her old work as a secretary at day and as a cleaning lady at night and it took up most of her time, leaving her son with much more responsibility than was healthy, but the boy had turned out to be much more capable than anyone would have guessed six years ago.

Dudley Dursley had grown into a healthy, young boy with the help of Doctor Fell's cooking and he'd thrown off the obesity that had been following him his entire life. Every day after school, he'd follow his cousin home and stay with the Fells till his mother came and picked him up. The boys, who used to be as night and day, had both grown into two very serious beings that both had trouble making friends in school, but when they were put together, they suddenly turned into the children they were supposed to be.

If anyone had once called him spoiled, they now ate their words.

But the Dursley's weren't the only ones who'd changed their lives after the tragedy. The Fells had never felt as lost as when they suddenly found themselves with a child in their house, but they'd soon adapted and their once pristine back garden now accommodated a swing and two goals could be seen, one in each end. The rooms had been filled up with furniture and pictures and it now felt like someone actually lived there. The Fells tried to avoid being caught in photos, but when a child figures out how a camera works; such a feat soon proves to be impossible.

The one though, who showed up in nearly every photo, was one Harry Potter. He was just as skinny as he had been at the age of five despite the Fells constant attention to his eating habits but he had still grown and it could be seen as one took a glance at the photos on the mantelpiece. In the oldest one, he was still five years old and was proudly showing off how he'd learned to ride a bike. The heels of Clarice Fell could be seen in the lower corner as she avoided being caught in the photo. Many pictures looked like that as in the one where Hannibal Fell was teaching him how to read and only his arm around Harry's shoulder could be seen. But eventually their shyness faded and by the time Harry was seven years old, the Fells took the small family to a photographer downtown who took several pictures of the small family together. It was the first picture of Hannibal and Clarice together.

At the moment though, Harry was asleep in his room, but not for long. Clarice was awake and it was her soft voice which made the first sound of the day.

"Harry, you need to get up now." Harry didn't wake right away and Clarice knocked on the door again. "Harry…"

She stayed outside the door as Harry slowly woke, trying to hold on to the dream he had just had. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorbike in it and he had a funny feeling that he'd had the same dream before. He could hear Clarice move outside his door.

"Are you up yet?"

"Nearly." He mumbled into his pillow.

"Well, get a move on. We have to be at Dudley's house at ten, we're taking him to the zoo. It's his birthday, remember?"

Harry's eyes flew open. It was Dudley's birthday. How could he forget that? He was out of the bed in a flash and ripped the door open and smiled at a startled Clarice.

"Morning Clarice."

She shook her head as she started straightening his hair with her hands. Harry never tried to do anything about it, but Clarice always had to make an attempt. "Get dressed. Hannibal has breakfast ready."

He went into his room again and found his clothes in his wardrobe. Harry had the second biggest bedroom in the house and it was just as spotless and well-kept as the rest of the house. There were books lining the walls and tailored clothes filled the wardrobe. He had long since understood that they were rich, but also that they didn't show it. Sometimes, he'd wonder why they lived on Privet Drive at all, when Hannibal could afford the nicest car on the market. But he kept quiet and remained grateful as he remembered that he wasn't really their child and had once lived with his cousin next door. It was now so long ago that he could hardly remember anything. Actually, he could hardly remember why he started living with the Fells in the first place but he'd been told that it was because his uncle died.

Harry didn't like to think about his uncle.

When Harry was dressed, he walked down the stairs and joined his stepparents in the kitchen. Hannibal was reading a newspaper and Harry sat down quietly beside him; a habit that had remained with him from his days at the Dursleys though he wasn't aware of that. It just seemed so rude to disturb someone when they were reading.

"Comb your hair, Harry." Hannibal's smooth voice sounded without having glanced up. Harry's surrogate father was always very neat and it bothered Haary that he couldn't have the same manageable hair as him. He had some very cool eyes too and a scar on his left hand and when Harry had asked him about it years ago, he had smiled and told him it was from an accident. Harry knew he was lying.

"His hair is lovely as it is Hannibal." Clarice said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"And still you always attempt to make it lay flat." Harry said and watched as Hannibal's lip curled into a smile, knowing it was something he would have said.

"You are like two peas in a pod, aren't cha?" Clarice shook her head and Harry observed her as she sipped from her cup. She spoke funny sometimes, especially when she was mad. Clarice got angry real easy. It was another thing he had observed about the Fells. They weren't from around here. Clarice sounded American sometimes and Hannibal was absolutely impossible to figure out. When he had asked them about it, they'd shared a look and silence had ensued. Harry was just about to decide that he'd never ask them another question like that when Clarice had kissed him on his cheek and told him that she was from West Virginia. Harry could see in her eyes that it was the truth. Hannibal had remained quiet.

"Fine…" Hannibal drawled and folded the newspaper together. "His hair is lovely, but please put some hair-wax in it. We can at least pretend that his weekly haircut makes a difference."

"It doesn't." Harry smirked. "Why should we pretend?"

"You will discover that people do nothing else but pretend, and since we are people, Harry, we have to pretend as well." Hannibal spoke despite Clarice's frown. Harry knew that they acted much more differently in public than at home and that they hated it. The Fells did a lot of things that they didn't like. Clarice stayed at home even though it was clear that she was bored out of her mind and Hannibal never visited the neighbours even though he lit up like a light whenever a social occasion presented itself.

It must be a grown-up thing, Harry thought, to do things you hate.

After breakfast, Clarice dragged Harry up the stairs and proceeded to fix his hair so it looked like it was sticking out in every direction on purpose. They gathered their things and moments later, they were on their way to the neighbours. Aunt Petunia smiled politely as they arrived. Clarice had once told him that such a smile was a person's way of keeping their distance and Harry had since then tried to observe his aunt when she spoke to him only to realize that she hardly looked in his direction. It didn't upset him as much as it probably should have.

Aunt Petunia had to work and wouldn't be able to stay for long. Harry felt bad for Dudley as he remembered how Hannibal had gone out of his way to get off work on his tenth birthday.

"Show your parents inside please." Her eyes went in the general direction of Harry and he did as he was bid. It was another weird thing about his aunt. She hardly acknowledged that they were related. He knew that he wasn't officially living with the Fells; he wasn't even adopted by them, and he came around her house nearly every day, having spent plenty of nights in Dudley's room when they had sleepovers. Still, it was as if she wanted him to be their kid, as if it made everything okay in her world. Eventually, as the years went on, Harry and even the Fells had stopped correcting her and the word felt comfortable. Parents…. It was nice.

Dudley beamed as he saw them.

"Harry!" The bigger boy sped forward and grabbed his cousin's hand. "You have to see what Aunt Marge got me! It's a water pistol that's even bigger than the one Piers had! We can take it to the park and get revenge for last time!"

Harry was dragged around the kitchen where all the gifts were, but he had a nagging feeling in the back of his head that there were very few compared to what Harry had got at his birthday and he felt his stomach clench in shame. As he made clever comments about the gifts, Harry finally remembered something.

"You have to see what we got you!"

His gift was much bigger than anything Aunt Petunia could have bought him and he saw the way her lips stretched into a thin line at the sight of the racing bike. Harry had one and when Hannibal had asked why he never used it, he'd said it was because he didn't have anyone to use it with. It then became much easier to figure out what to give to Dudley. His cousin's eyes went wide as he thanked Hannibal and Clarice, smiling from ear to ear.

Aunt Petunia quickly excused herself as she had to go to work. She gave Dudley a small hug and told him to behave. Her nod to the Fells was courteous but it couldn't hide the guilty resentment in her eyes. Clarice avoided looking at her but Hannibal just smiled in return and told her to be careful when driving. Hannibal always knew how to behave.

"Dudley my boy, do you have all your things?" Hannibal asked with his hands clasped on his back. "We're going out today."

"Cool, where are we going?"

"The zoo." Hannibal's accent shone through and Harry wasn't sure if he did it on purpose. It sounded almost German this time and when he was younger, he'd asked Hannibal if he'd ever been a spy. Hannibal had seemed amused at the notion and would have laughed if it wasn't for the sound of Clarice dropping something in the kitchen. Apparently she found the question even funnier than Hannibal had.

"Wow, I haven't been to the zoo in years…"

"I've never been to the zoo." Why the cousins always had to compete was still a mystery to them.

Whenever the small family went somewhere together, it wasn't Hannibal who drove but his wife. Clarice was a great driver… really… but still, Hannibal always sat stiffly in his seat as Clarice let off steam behind the wheel. She had a temper and this morning it was motorbikes.

"…you fucking idiot!" She snarled as she swerved the car to avoid one. Dudley stared at Harry with wide eyes. "What the fuck are you thinking! I could have hit you! If I had my bad…"

Hannibal sent her look that made her shut up and she gripped the steering wheel harder with a deep breath.

"Sorry kids…"

"I had a dream about a motorbike." Said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."

He hardly noticed the look that passed between his parents as Dudley spoke.

"Motorbikes don't fly."

"I know that stupid." Harry articulated and got a punch in return. Hannibal knew that the boys would either laugh it off or a fight would break out and was rather relieved when Harry halfheartedly tried to put Dudley in a headlock and failed with a smile.

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Fells passed the ice cream booth at the entrance without buying the boys anything. Dudley glanced after it but Harry started dragging him towards the gorillas. Looking at it felt slightly familiar and Harry was reminded of some of the old pictures of Uncle Vernon… it was eerie.

Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He and Dudley walked ahead of the grown-ups and whenever it seemed like they would lose them in the crowd, Hannibal and Clarice suddenly appeared behind them, making the boys jump in fright. Hannibal smirked.

They ate lunch at the zoo restaurant but Hannibal was frowning the entire time and Harry knew he was wishing for a nicer place. Clarice, on the other hand, couldn't help but tell the boys how she hadn't had a hot dog since she married Hannibal and he sent her a glare that would have made any other person run away screaming. Dudley nearly choked on his soda.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Hannibal wandered off on his own as if in a trance and Clarice just smiled as she followed the boys instead. Dudley wanted to see all the dangerous animals and Harry quickly pointed out the biggest snake of them all.

As they moved closer to the glass, Harry felt something tug at the bottom of his stomach. It was beautiful. It looked like it could crush any car into a small cube and then drop it in the waste bin- but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.

Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistering brown coils.

"Make it move." He glanced at Harry, urging him to do something.

Harry rapped his knuckles against the glass, saying: "Wakey wakey, hands off snakey!"

"Do it again!" Dudley laughed.

Harry noticed that the snake was starting to move and encouraged, he did it again, saying the same words.

"That sounds so cool…"

"What?" Harry looked away from the snake to his cousin.

"Huh?"

"What sounds cool?" Harry was slightly annoyed. Why did Dudley always have to act so stupid?

"Seriously Harry… you're scaring me…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Stop it!" Dudley pushed Harry so hard that he fell to the ground, as he got up to run after his cousin, none of them noticed the glass that had vanished behind them. Harry dodged after Dudley but stopped as his bigger cousin slammed into a stunned Hannibal. His eyes were wide and watching something behind them. Harry turned around.

The glass was gone.

People screamed and started running, but Clarice was standing completely still, her eyes trained on the huge snake as it slit out of its cage. Harry saw something glint in her hand. Was that a knife? The snake went up, leveling with her till they were eye to eye.

"Clarice…" Hannibal's voice was just a whisper behind Harry, but he saw him as he rushed forward soundlessly, but there was no need.

The snake lowered itself to the ground and started slithering away before Hannibal could do anything. Harry saw the knife disappear into Clarice's sleeve and how her arms went around Hannibal's neck as he caught her, pressing his lips to hers. Harry wanted to look away, but he was captivated by their display of affection. What he heard next would shape his entire life.

"Brave Clarice…"

Brave…

At the time of course, it seemed like any other thing that Hannibal would say to her, but the words stuck with him like chewing gum to a blonde's hair. Dudley was gaping as well, but Harry knew it was only because he fancied Clarice, not that he would reveal that to him in his hopeless obliviousness. When Hannibal finally let go of her, the keeper of the reptile house had arrived. He was in absolute shock.

Despite Hannibal's claims that they were fine, they were forced to have tea with the zoo director and both he and Clarice looked like they'd rather be anywhere else in the entire world. Of course, they played their part well, smiling politely and sounding upset when there was need of it, but Harry could read off them that they'd rather be at home. Dudley was very quiet the entire time and kept sending Harry strange looks, but Harry couldn't fathom for the life of him why it might be so. Finally, Hannibal put his arms around the two boys despite their protests and proclaimed that they had to be very tired from the day's ordeals.

When they were back in the car, Harry became absolutely stunned when Dudley decided to speak for the very first time since the event.

"You spoke to it, didn't you Harry?"

That night when Harry was trying to fall asleep, he heard Hannibal's footsteps outside his door. He knocked the door politely.

"Are you awake Harry?"

"Yeah…"

The door opened slowly and Hannibal poked his head in. Harry could hardly remember a time where Hannibal hadn't had grey hair, but somehow he knew that it used to be dark. It made him happy that they shared the same hair color as if it made up for all the other differences. Hannibal closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed, resting his hand on Harry's cheek.

"I know you're upset about something."

"I didn't talk to the snake."

"Of course you didn't." Hannibal said quietly.

"I didn't make the glass disappear."

"Harry, sometimes we do things that we aren't aware of. You're a remarkable boy and even though I know nothing in the world could make the glass disappear, I also know that if anyone should be able to do it, it should be you."

"But Clarice could have died…"

"Clarice is a grown woman." Harry saw Hannibal's smile through the darkness. "She can take care of herself."

"She had a knife…"

"Are you sure?" Hannibal wasn't smiling anymore. "It's illegal. You wouldn't want Clarice to get into trouble, do you Harry?"

"Of course not…"

"That's my boy…"

Hannibal leaned down and kissed Harry goodnight.

A/N:
Another chapter done!

I've wondered which house Harry should be in and since this is not a rewrite of the story, but more how different scenes in Harry Potter would turn out with Hannibal and Clarice in them, I felt that I should give Harry a reason to choose Gryffindor. Harry wants to win Hannibal's approval and please him even more, because he feels inadequate because he's not their real son. Thus he strives to become a person that Hannibal would admire. Seeing how Hannibal admires Clarice's bravery(I see her as a Gryffindor) makes him want to gain that quality.

Another house that Harry should be leaning towards with this upbringing is Ravenclaw because of the academic values Hannibal has, but it's probably so ingrained in the boy that it's a quality that he takes for granted. As in, of course he has to study and of course he has to be a good student. It's a quality that he would already possess, thus strive less for.

Slytherin will of course appeal to him in the sense that he has part of Voldemort's soul in him. Hannibal as a young boy would probably be in Slytherin, but I think as he is in this story, as an older, settled down man, he would choose Ravenclaw.

I, myself, am a Hufflepuff and proud of it. This family would do anything for each other just as any Hufflepuff would do and their loyalty is immense, but as with Ravenclaw… I think they take it for granted because that's just the way things are. Of course they're loyal and of course they love each other.

If you disagree, please let me know ;)

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