A/N: I lost my flash drive of most up-to-date writing. I will do my best to keep updating this and Pirate Potter, but Third Time's the Charm will be on hold until I either find it, or stop sulking about losing it.

Chapter 14

Joining Marines

"I'm pretty sure this island has a rather large port town," Harry cheerfully explained to Ace, who was glancing around in shock at his new surroundings of trees to the sides and solid earth below. The wizard had apparated them to the very same Grand Line island the Red-Haired Pirates had explored in pursuit of the Rubber Fruit as it was the only island they had landed on during said adventure where people lived.

Leaving the boat and water barrels in favor of stuffing uneaten food into his hidden pockets, Harry was quickly finished with his preparations and hoisted Ace to his feet. "Let's go, Jack. We'll have to find an actual ship willing to take us on if we want to actually explore the Grand Line."

Scowling at his new alias, Ace nevertheless followed along. "Do you have any idea where we're going?" the boy asked skeptically.

"Somewhat," Harry replied with a shrug. "Does it matter? We're on an island. Sooner or later we'll hit the ocean, and then we just have to follow the shoreline until we see docks and ships."

"That's your plan?" Ace exclaimed incredulously. "You have no idea where we are, do you?"

"Oh I know where we are," Harry countered, "since I can't pop to places I don't know, but its true that I've never been to the town this island is supposed to have, so knowing where I am isn't very helpful."

"Well then, how do you know this place if you've never been to the port and you can't – pop places you don't know?"

"I came here with pirates, of course," Harry chirped cheerily, going so far as to jump over a fallen tree in demonstration of his high spirits. He had a pretty good time with Shanks and his crew, the memory of their adventure almost as fond as those of his Hogwarts times, though with a very different sense of camaraderie.

All the pirates were independently strong, likely gathered together by their captain, Shanks, who followed rumors of strong outlaws to recruit them all. At Hogwarts, students depended on each other to be strong and make a difference. It was a bit of a disadvantage when they were forced to separate, but because they gained their strengths and weaknesses together, they knew how to maximize the former and cover the latter. Harry would always hold a special fondness for first year, where Ron, Hermione, and he overcame the protections of the Philosopher's Stone with such perfect synchronicity despite the fact they'd each had less than a year's worth of training in magic. Perhaps it was lucky the pirates weren't like that as otherwise he wouldn't have been able to join in so easily, but he wondered if the pirates would ever achieve that same 'tight-knit' feel. Well, perhaps they wouldn't ever need it, as strong as they already are as individuals.

"Pirates can't dock at the port," Harry continued, shaking his head from his sidetracked thoughts, "so I never saw it, but we came ashore at an abandoned beach for almost a full day, so I'm familiar with the jungle area at least."

"If you know where the beach is, why couldn't you have popped us there so we wouldn't have to blindly search for the shoreline from here?" Ace pointed out, climbing over obstacles more sedately, lacking Harry's willingness to be enthusiastic over their current situation.

"I was kind of hoping that if I popped as far inland as I know and then walk in the opposite direction of the beach the pirates landed at, we'd arrive at the port town sooner. No guarantees though - we might end up walking until tomorrow. Have an apple?"

Ace accepted the fruit sullenly. Biting into the food, he chewed thoughtfully while eyeing his... guide? Whatever. Putting aside the issue of what kind of relationship they were sharing, Ace was fascinated by the older boy. He was, quite frankly, an impossibility. However, being the son of Gol. D. Roger, Ace was well aware of the possibility - and even high probability - of impossible people. So no matter how fascinating Harry was, it wouldn't save him in the end. Ace tagged along on this crazy trip for a reason after all.

Harry was going down.

"We're in luck!" Harry exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Ace's waist and swinging him up to his shoulder. "Would you look at that? A ship that big has gotta be a Grand Line adventurer!"

Ace teetered a bit from the sudden movement, but eventually steadied himself to sit on the taller boy's shoulder. If it were anyone else, he'd punch the person out of spite for treating him like a child this way, but after half a dozen failed ambushes followed by half a dozen actions to calmly neutralize the attacks usually involving swinging Ace air-born, he was rather resigned to the idea of being manhandled until he was strong enough to successful beat Harry up. Not to mention, he was feeling a bit tired of walking. So instead of responding violently, he looked up ahead where Harry was gesturing before giving the wizard's hair a sharp tug.

"That's a marine ship."

"Neat, huh? If we can find a way for them to let us on board, it'll probably be more comfortable than hitching a ride with a merchant or pirate."

"Aren't you a pirate?" Ace asked with confusion. "I don't think pirates are supposed to ask for rides from marines. I know Gramps would kill you."

"Your gramps would kill me for kidnapping you," Harry pointed out wryly, as he started to walk into the town. "But as far as I know, I don't have a wanted poster yet. The stint with the pirates was a temporary thing, and while a few marines saw my face, no one took pictures. Worst comes to worst, we pop out of there and try again later with some other ship."

It was midday and people were milling in the streets for lunch. Here and there one could see a splash of blue-outlining white where the marines mingled with the civilians. Scanning the ones whose faces he could see, Harry careful picked and chose his way through the selection before finally finding one who's perfect posture looked natural and gaze was held with self-assurance. Chances were, this man held a higher ranking than the others, despite the fact that his clothing bore no additional insignia. It helped, of course, that he exuded a very light aura of haki. The man was skilled enough to consistently use the Color of Observation with a much wider range than Shanks.

"Excuse me," Harry greeted, approaching the taller man as he left a food stand with a skewer of, well, he wasn't sure what. They were whitish balls that looked lightly fried before rolled in a sauce slightly more orange and glossy than steak sauce, dotted with flakes of… something.

"Yes?" the marine answered, before using his teeth to fluidly slide one of the balls off the skewer and neatly into his mouth. For a moment, Harry was impressed he could eat such a large food item in one bite, but quickly abandoned that train of thought before it could slide off the tracks and into a gutter.

"Is that your ship at the docks?" he asked, going straight for the point. Harry didn't want to give the impression that he was a bush beater. Outlaws like pirates and underground mercenaries could appreciate a good game of 'hear what I mean, not what I say," but both aurors and muggle policemen like people who are straightforward and were naturally suspicious of those who used too much small talk or teasing when it was clear they already had other intentions in mind. The wizard was currently betting on the idea that marines fell under that same category.

"Well, it's not mine, per say," the marine chuckled, chewing thoughtfully, "though yes, I am part of that ship's crew. Have you interest in the going-abouts of marines?"

"The going-abouts of ships," Harry corrected. "Jack and I," he gestured towards the boy on his shoulder, "don't wish to stick around this island and were hoping a passing ship might be willing to take us on for a fee. Do you know if the captain of that ship might be willing to discuss the matter with me?"

The marine took a moment to weigh their story carefully. It was scarce with details, but the simple fact that they had approached a marine with it made it rather more likely that the unspoken issues – such as how they 'arrived' here in the first place and why a man who looked no older than twenty-five was traveling with a boy of at least eight years – would be interpreted as of an uncomfortably sad background instead of a dodgy one.

In the end, the marine simply swallowed his bite of food and replied, "Probably. As far as I can tell, we were gathered together to be a temporary investigative team, with little risk of too much battling. The captain might be willing to take on a civilian if you can prove you can take of yourself."

"Wonderful!" Harry grinned, then reach out a hand. "I'm Harry, by the way."

"Petty Officer Logan, at your service," the marine replied, shaking the offered hand.

Harry raised his eyebrows slightly in skepticism of the given low rank, but quickly slid his gaze to the skewer of food. "What is that?" he asked.

Ace bopped him over the head. "It's takoyaki, idiot."

Harry rolled the term a few times in his head before it translated properly into 'fried octopus,' triggering a few memories from his wanderlust days. "Oh, huh, the only times I've seen it before they put it on a plate with toothpicks. Is it any good?"

The marine nodded with his brown hair bobbing up and down at the motion, his mouth full, so Harry went up to the street vendor, patting his pockets for his wallet. "Two sticks, please," Harry ordered, paying the happy cook before passing up a stick to Ace and taking one for himself.

"So where can I find that captain of yours?" Harry asked when he walked back to Logan.

"He's still at the docks," Logan informed. "I can introduce you guys if you'd like," he offered, polishing off the last octopus ball before tossing the stick into a trash bin across the street.

"That would be helpful, thanks," Harry accepted, before finally starting on his food. He too slipped an entire ball into his mouth before biting down. "Hmm, not bad," he muttered around his full cheeks. "So anyway, where are you guys heading to?"

Logan shrugged. "We haven't been told yet. This was our first stop, but so far there haven't been any rumors of interest, so who knows where we'll be heading off to next? You'll have to ask him when we get there."

"Rumors?" Harry queried. "What kind of rumors?"

"Pirate activity? Supernatural events? Strange strangers? The usual stuff, I guess," the marine listed, "though apparently we're to keep an especially keen ear open for talk of a Devil Fruit user who can teleport."

"Devil fruit?" Harry questioned, somewhat amused by this turn of events. To think he'd bumped into a team thrown together for the purpose of finding him. He supposed it was only logical that they'd label his magic a Devil Fruit ability, but Harry felt a bit sorry for them. Devil fruits had limitations his magic does not, and the darling little marines had no clue what they were really dealing with. It has been awhile since he was so clearly underestimated. Back home, any one of his titles gave his opponents a clear understanding of his power.

"Have you not heard of them yet? I guess this early in the Grand Line, there are still some who haven't seen one in action."

"Oh I know what Devil Fruit are," Harry reassured. "I was just surprised the marines did this sort of thing. Are you trying to recruit him, or perhaps he's a criminal?"

"Criminal," Logan confirmed. "Apparently he fought alongside the Red-Haired Pirates not too long ago and killed several marines while at it. He doesn't seem to be part of the crew, and as of yet, we haven't labeled him a pirate, but he's definitely a murderer with a very dangerous ability. It's only fair to warn you now; while I highly doubt it'll come to it, there is the possibility that the man we're looking for will catch wind of us and attack. He might not differentiate between us marines and you who just happen to be hitching a ride. Are you sure you still want to come?"

"Definitely," Harry said, trying to make his amusement look like carefree naivety or something equally as innocent, rather than the glee he was actually feeling at the irony of being warned about the possibility of him attacking himself.

The marine gave a concerned look towards Ace, but chose not to say anything about the risks to the child as they were quickly approaching the docks.

"Ah, Commander!" he called out to a tall and muscular man who was sitting stiffly on a bench with a map spread out over his lap. Stopping a few feet away, Logan snapped into a salute.

"At ease," the man quickly said in a gruff voice, sounding somewhat uncomfortable.

That's interesting, Harry thought to himself, but didn't get the chance to start any wild theorizing as Logan pulled him and Ace forward.

"This is Harry and Jack, sir. They wanted to talk to you about the possibility of boarding our ship, sir."

The Commander looked at the introduced duo with a raised eyebrow while Harry tried not to twitch at the sight.

"We're an investigative team," the marine finally said, "with no final destination and a risk of attack from both our target and chanced upon pirates. We're a marine ship with a tightly run routine of early mornings, simplistic rations for meals, and chores for everyone. With these issues in mind, I must ask you to explain why you wish to board this ship?"

Harry's mind spun around a few circles before finally settling on taking advantage of Ace's presence to allude to vague reasons which cannot be spoken aloud. He couldn't very well say that they were simply hoping for some fun – it was highly doubtful the marines would be indulgent of such flippant behavior, but there were plenty of other reasons out there for a man to not care about a destination other than 'not here,' many of them very capable of evoking a sense of sympathy.

"It has been awhile since the last time I set foot on this island, but I never really intended on returning." Here, Harry reached a hand up to grasp Ace's leg while flicking his eyes up towards the child followed by a pleading expression towards the marine. "I wish to leave as soon as possible and, well," Harry quickly lit up his face as if he is forcing a happy smile through painful emotions, "I've been promising Jack an adventure for awhile now!" He grinned up at Ace and allowed the expression to falter as Ace scowled down at him. "Er, yes, well, so having no destination in mind is fine," he assured, adding with a soft whisper, "as long as it's not here.

"And," he continued with his louder, brighter tone of voice, "I can hold my own in troublesome situations, and I don't mind chores or early mornings or simple meals, as long as you don't mind if I allow Jack to run around a bit. He's a very active child. I'll pay for room and board, of course, and, er, yes, well…" He trailed off awkwardly and tried to decide if pretending to fidget would be overdoing it or not.

"Well, how about you take a look at what you're signing yourself up for before we make any final decisions, hmm?" the Commander replied gruffly, but not dismissively, so Harry grinned and replied with an enthusiastic agreement to that idea.

The pair of marines led the way to a far extended dock, at the end of which floated the large marine ship. It was smaller than Shanks', likely because it wasn't a battleship, but it was definitely large enough to handle the Grand Line's temperamental weather. The wizard was feeling a little giddy at the sight of his next home.

A/N: We are moving along, I hope...

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