Disclaimer: I don't own this.
Chapter 5 Haircuts and a bit more
The Prince spent the next two days sorting through every file the Company had on Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, and current events in the wizarding world. It was disturbing how little solid information there was on his charge considering the frequency he appeared in the press. It was even more shocking how often the Wizarding World brushed off traumatizing and life threatening events when it came to his wizardling. The kid never seemed to get a break.
Even more disturbing was the lack of government research into the Dark lord. No one seemed to care where he came from or what resources he could have. Fools, until last month they hadn't even considered his return. A full year they gave the upstart because they couldn't bother to investigate a claim. It bothered him the 'facts' that the MOM took seriously without any consideration to fact or research. It's insulting to intelligence agents everywhere. I forgot why I hated the wizarding world so much. They're idiots.
He shut down his system again after reviewing the Hogwarts medical file on Harry for the fifth time. He stood and stretched. Time to check on my wizardling. He walked down the short hall and knocked softly once.
"Come in." came through softly followed by a raspy cough.
"Morning wizardling. How do you feel today?" He crossed the room swiftly and settled on the side of the bed, lifting a hand to feel Harry's temperature.
"Fine-erm, I mean, my throat is scratchy and I can't stop coughing." he amended quickly at Prince's glare. "It hurts when I cough." He added in a quieter tone as he tucked away a book.
"Can you take a breath for me?" The Prince forced himself to ignore the odd impulse to hug the shy teen. I don't cuddle. Instead, he allowed his magic to flow from his hands and explore the damage and the healing.
Closing his eyes he dropped into a healing trance following his magic as it felt out each of the body systems. A familiar feeling of the wizardling's magic touching his sent a warm tingle through him and he allowed himself to give the magical presence a reassuring pat before sending it away. He remained in the body for a short while lingering over the lung function before drifting back out.
"Congratulations. You can get out of bed today if you'd like. I'll give you your potions after you eat breakfast. You still have that cold. Unfortunately at this point you will just have to wait it out. My magic can only do so much and the pepper up can't be taken with your other potions. I did what I could for your throat, how does it feel?"
"Better I think, less sore. Thank you."
"Yes, yes." He waved the boy off. "If you do get up you need to rest frequently. Don't over exert yourself, and let me or one of the others know if you start to feel bad. Try and stay off your left leg. I would like to cut your hair if you're up to it, and you need to shower."
"Cut my hair?" Harry blinked at him and touched the black locks.
"Correct. I won't take it all off like I did for Dudley, but I can give it a better style. Your hair is too curly for that cut, it's likely always that messy."
"It is. My hair isn't curly though."
"Trust me little bit. It'll look fine."
"If you say so."
The Prince looked at him sternly and opened his mouth to talk when there was a loud knocking at the door.
"Come in!"
"Breakfast, Ree." Benny called cheerfully as he brought in a lap desk topped with food. "The Prince went shopping and got us stuff but D-man broke the pancakes. So you got fruit, cereal, toast, jelly, more fruit, vitamins, some kinda yogurt thing, a banana-"
"His eyes still work, just give him the tray." Prince snapped turning from the loud boy. "Eat what you can and then take your medicine. Call me if you need me, I will be just down the hall."
"I'll be fine."
"I'm sure you will be, all the same, call if you need me."
XXXxxx
Harry lingered in the shower for a full hour. He felt half guilty for it but couldn't bring himself to leave the hot spray when they insisted he take his time. If I take too long they will bang on the door. This is nice. The steam from the shower felt great for his stuffiness. It was heaven.
He stumbled out when the water started to cool and wrapped himself in a towel. Avoiding the mirror he found the flannel pajama set he laid out and tugged them on. Finally ready and half nervous he stepped out of the foggy bathroom.
Malfoy-The Prince- was just leaving his own room, and they nearly ran into each other. The older boy looked him up and down before nodding and gesturing towards the living room. Harry blinked and reluctantly followed.
Dudley cooed over him and hustled him into a chair as soon as he entered. I guess that means they're not mad. This is so confusing. I suppose they did say they wanted me to relax. Showering is relaxing. Satisfied that he now understood the odd behavior, Harry allowed himself to snuggle into the chair.
"So kid," The Prince drawled lazily "Ready for your make over, part one?"
"Now? I mean, sure. What do I do?" Harry fought back his alarm and chewed on his bottom lip.
"Not a thing. Your cousin will set up a chair for you in the kitchen; you just sit and let me do the work."
Harry sighed but got up from the comfortable chair and limped to the kitchen after his cousin. He obediently sat in the padded chair and even managed to not flinch as Dudley slipped a trash bag over his head, tugging at the hole in the bottom to avoid rubbing at his throat.
"Are you going to be okay?" a low voice asked from behind him. "We can do this without the bag, but it will be messier. Can you handle it?"
"I'm-m fine." Harry breathed out, making himself un-tense. "This is okay."
"Are you sure?" grey eyes pierced green.
"Yes," Harry nodded, and a moment later the Prince nodded back.
"Now as I said before, your hair is naturally curly so the trick is to cut it so the waves fall right, instead of sticking up all over. Your hair will have a spiky, uneven layered style instead of being perpetually messy." He kept up a low, soothing chatter as he snipped at the raven hair.
XXXxxx
The prince brushed the plastic bag with a hand broom, and then swept around the chair. Harry fidgeted while waiting. Finally satisfied, he took a pair of scissors and cut the wizardling out of the plastic.
"We'll dye it later, but it looks much better. When was the last time you updated your prescription?"
"Huh?"
"Your glasses, when's the last time you checked your eyes?"
"Mmm…Late primary school. I think I was eight?" Harry tipped his head sideways in thought.
"Eight?" he questioned in a low growl.
Harry's head shot up and he nodded hesitantly, his eyes wide and innocent.
"I shouldn't be surprised." Harry flinched at his soft tone. "Not your fault wizardling. It should have been more recent is all. I will make an appointment."
"For my eyes? Why? My glasses still work. I haven't broken them."
"Yes but we can probably find a pair that work better for your eyes, and stand out less. Plus, I'd like you to try contacts." He explained calmly.
"Contacts? Aunt Petunia said those are expensive. I don't need-"
"I'm not spending my own money; remember Benny's father is footing the bill. Besides that, contacts cost about the same as glasses."
"Well my glasses still work just fine-"
"I doubt it. I think you'll be surprised at the difference."
"I hardly need…"
"Hush wizardling. Are you upset because you don't want to wear contacts or because you don't need them?"
"…What? Isn't it the same?" he frowned.
"There is a big difference between want and need. You want to play dice, you need to eat. Your glasses are distinctive; I need to get you a new pair anyways if you are planning to ever leave this place. It would be no trouble to get you contacts at that time. It is a matter of preference. If you don't like the idea of poking at your eyes, or have any other reason, we can simply get you different frames. It is my job to protect and hide you; this is part of the job." The Prince spoke in a serious tone, and looked over the younger boy carefully.
"Oh." Harry looked baffled and uneasy.
"Think about it. Let me know if you want to stick with glasses or try contacts. There's no rush right now." He looked over the teen again. "Why don't you check out your new style, and enjoy your freedom a bit?"
XXXxxx
Harry stared at his reflection for several minutes, running his fingers through raven locks. His hair was… neat. It was spiky and layered like he was promised, but it wasn't out of control. It lay almost flat, and where it didn't it looked more styled than uncombed. His bangs were his favorite though. They had a funny angle cut, so one side of his face was uncovered and the other side was fringed and covered his scar. I wonder how Prince plans to dye it. I hope he doesn't make me a blond! Harry shuddered at the thought. I look so different already.
He let his gaze drop for a moment to the purple green bruises at his throat before looking away and leaving the bathroom. He hovered in the doorway for a moment contemplating his choices. He felt stuffy again, and didn't really want to have a coughing fit in front of the others. He could go back to his own room or try the living room with the other three guys. He chewed on his lip as he walked around the corner towards the living room.
"Hey kiddo!" Benny greeted loudly, grinning.
"Harry! Come sit." Dudley was significantly quieter as he greeted his cousin. "Love the look. I can't believe he got your hair to work."
"He is still in the room, thank you." The Prince watched him for a minute. "You should sit; I don't want you to stress your knee."
Harry nodded and moved closer to sit in the soft chair he'd tried earlier. The guys settled to watch the football game again, and Dudley made a noise of distress as he realized he missed someone score. Harry looked over his cousin. He didn't look that much different. Two days before he'd been shocked when the older boy came in to show off his buzz cut. The loss of dirty blond curls somehow made him look older, or tougher. Even so, Harry didn't think the change was very drastic. Anyone who knew him could easily pick him out. Hm...But Prince did mention something about tattoos. I wonder what else is going to change.
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A/N: Sorry about the shortness. I got stuck here and kept trying to write more before I posted. I decided to just give this to you. As a bonus I will give you reviewers some options. Next chapter I can…
I can skip to their first outing. This would be after Harry gets his new eyewear. A bit of cloths shopping, some anxiety, sunshine etc.
I can do a bit of back story with Scorpius and the Malfoys.
I can do more stuck-in-the-apartment/healing harry character interactions between our four boys.
Let me know in a review soon, so I can get the next chapter out!