All Along the Watchtower
Chapter 14- Someone to Watch Over Me
Harry Potter didn't know what heaven looked like; he'd never been there, but hell? Hell was as clichéd as it got. Fire, brimstone, the sulphur rich; almost smog like air, the wet flapping of flayed flesh, the stench and stain of blood and lava flows as far as the eye could see. All of which paled in comparison with the fairy-tale inspired, obsidian wrought fortress in the distance.
Harry was slowly making his way from the stench filled pits of Nathaniel's domain to the Lord's Enclave. He was glad of the reprieve. Since he had turned a little over eight years had passed, eight years of serving Nathaniel as one of his underlings, albeit one of the more privileged underlings. Harry knew what he was doing was wrong, taking up the razor, knife or whatever he could get his hands on was wrong. Slicing and craving people on the rack and turning them was wrong, if he was any stronger he would still be on the rack, spitting in Nathaniel's face once a week and pissing on Bob daily.
When he first turned Harry thought it would be easy. That as if by magic an Angel would pluck him from the pit and drop him back on Earth. Maybe he should've asked Allie the details and then he would've understood just what it took to get him out. That was a full scale, no holds barred; siege of Hell's Kingdoms by the Angelic Host. Unfortunately for Harry, Nathaniel wasn't stupid and every day of the siege Harry had been cutting upon the destitute souls thrown onto his rack. If he'd let Harry go to the front he could be free, not tearing up people's afterlives and eviscerating whatever innocence he still had left.
The only part of his deal with Nathaniel that hadn't gone through was he still hadn't seen her. Nathaniel persisted in the excuse that the other side could use any bridge he created across the realms to Earth and access his inner sanctum. It grated on his nerves every hour that he had to suffer and he still couldn't see her, Harry wasn't even sure he remembered what she looked like. Kaden was easy; he saw that face all too often, but Cho? When he thought of her a barrier was formed in his mind and she was just a darkened face in the crowd of memories. Worst of all he didn't even know if she was still alive.
Harry stopped short as he felt something.
And then a blinding light of pure, raw ethereal energy burned into whatever passed for retinas in hell. Harry fell to his knees screaming in agony as the light burned his impure skin, blistering and reddening his already marred flesh until it burned down to his soul. The pain was all consuming but he heard a beautiful whisper, a lull in the storm and a song to his long deprived ears.
"I'm sorry it's taken so long, it's time to go home."
Harry writhed in pain as a hand burned into his shoulder and he felt it.
Magic.
xxxxx
Harry woke suddenly, his eyes snapped open and his head shot up, only for his forehead to bounce off brick hard mahogany and back into a soft feather pillow. On instinct he took his first breath and coughed as the dust around him filled his lungs, he wheezed for half a minute or so before relaxing his breathing and calming as best he could. Harry looked around, he couldn't see a thing. His hands, almost of their own accord, pushed upward at the roof of his prison but the lid held fast.
He hit the hardwood in frustration but quickly realised he needed was his wand. He could feel the cool warmth of his magic, all he needed was his wand to harness it efficiently. His hands searched the intricate robes he was buried in. Every wizard was buried with his wand or staff, depending on how far one went back in history. Harry found it and grasped the Holly and Phoenix feather wand tightly. It felt lighter in his hand. "Lumos."
Nothing; not the slightest spark of energy, "Great!" Harry shouted; "Now how the fuck do I get out of here!" Harry threw the imitation away in frustration. His wand must have been destroyed when the mansion fell. Harry took a deep breath. He needed to think, if he guessed right the coffin was about an inch thick and he was probably six feet under, maybe more. He needed to weaken the coffin with fire and blow it skyward.
Harry leaned back and cleared his mind. He could feel his magic. It was there, beneath an ocean of thought and feeling but he needed it on the surface. The easiest way to do that was anger; he needed to be very angry. Harry cast his mind back, recalling all the anguish and anger he had buried for ten years. It flooded painfully, flashes of fire, brimstone and blackened skies rolled through his mind and before Harry knew it, he was warm. Harry opened his eyes, scratch that.
He was on fire.
A shiver of pleasure lanced down his spine and Harry held his breath as the fire burned through whatever oxygen was left in the casket. His fire incinerated the cotton portion of the coffin and was eating away at the wooden prison. The fire burned a bright emerald but his hands glowed pure white and threw up his hands upward. The coffin lid exploded from its hinges, through tons of earth before breaking ground and spiralling out of sight. Harry stood quickly, testing each limb for functionality. For being dead less than ten minutes before Harry felt pretty good but he was sure his hands where burned badly from his bout of wandless magic. He wrapped them in a couple of pieces of ripped robe.
It took him a few minutes but Harry gripped the edge of the crater and hoisted himself up and took a few steps back, to the edge of the crater. He shrugged off the heavy, sodden robes and looked over the assembled crowd. By his guess there were fifteen black robed individuals and a further five who stood away from the crowd, they floated a few inches above the ground and left a trail of frost on the ground below them. One stepped outward from the crowd but stopped short.
"Mr Potter I presume, we have been expecting you for some time, you're entrance injured a few of my men." He said in perfect English which did nothing to detract his obvious French accent.
"I wish I could say I'm sorry but I'm not." Harry sniped, using his hand to sweep the wet fringe from his eyes.
"The Dark Lord demands your presence before the Circle of Immortals, now come with us and you won't be hurt." He said as he motioned to his men.
Harry had a maddening look in his eyes. "I survived the pits of hell, years of torture before turning and you think I'll bow before him!" Harry's tone was as sharp as a huge sword shimmered into existence in his flame wreathed hand.
"Mr Potter, the Dark Lord wishes to welcome you into the-"
A look silenced him and Harry unbuttoned his suit jacket and pulled his tie loose. "If you think I came back for him, you're wrong." Harry was a blur to the Death Eater's eyes, before he could blink Harry's sword slashed across his abdomen, spilling his intestines in a sickening spray of blood which widened his eyes and he fell to the ground, lifeless and dead to the world.
Harry was unfazed and brought it all to the surface again, ten years of pain and anger saturated his thoughts. The screams of the Dark Wizards he cut through and wailing of the Dementors had no effect on him. He had no happy thoughts for the Dementors to feed on; they were buried too deeply in his subconscious. He didn't have his wand but the flame wreathed blade slid through their pseudo ghostly forms spilling blackened ooze. Less than ten minutes later Harry stood on the grassy knoll surrounded by bodies and the stench of death.
Harry was in a good state considering, a few cuts, bruises and he was sure a rapidly swelling black eye where a fragment of gravestone caught him. The flames receded by his call and the sword in his hand shimmered away. Harry came to an unsurprising conclusion. "I need a drink."
xxxxx
Harry had been sitting in the bright hotel bar for what felt like hours, a soothing song nurtured his ears from the grand piano in the corner. He had chosen his venue carefully as he knew no one would suspect to find him there, Paris was a touch out of the way. Harry needed a few hundred miles of space but he would go home eventually.
When eventually would come? That was still a mystery. He was alive again and was wondering what to do next. That was the thing, he didn't know. He had all the Intel he could ever dream of about the Dark Lord's plans, but didn't know what to do with it. How he could counter and enact a plan against him. He needed some type of-
"I'm glad I found you first."
There it was; the divine intervention he almost called to heaven for. Harry turned to see the pretty brunette girl who pulled him from the pits settle on the barstool to his right.
"I need some alone time Allison, I'm sure they can understand." Harry said bitterly. He was glad that Kaden was a good best friend and made sure he was buried with his wallet and a wad of cash. It was useful for drowning one's self in alcohol. "Cheers for the new tattoos by the away and for the scars."
"I know you hated the scars and would want a fresh start so I healed them all but I had to burn the Enochian into your body; it was the only way. Most of them will fade with time, some won't. They will hurt when you do bad-"
Harry's glass hammered down on the bar. "Allie shut up! Nothing I do up here, could fucking compare to what I did down there. Leave it out or just go."
Allie watched him as he waved over the barmen. Harry placed another order and stared off into space. He was lost, Allie could see that. In hell he had to survive, be one his toes for days on end. Harry may not have noticed but he lost Aral only days after he turned, his guardian died in the first assault on the Kingdom. Allie knew that deep down Harry would've felt that loss and his moral compass would've been skewed beyond measure without Aral's unspoken guidance. People like Harry had their own guardian for a reason, they needed to be kept on the path even if they did stray a touch. Harry fell and Allie knew he hated himself for it, for not being stronger, for not being the better man everyone told him he was.
"Harry I know, it's okay, you only did what you had to…"
Harry's hand shook as lifted his fresh glass. "You don't know-" Harry took a deep, slow breath. "You don't know how easily I gave in, how easily I took up the razor. When I said yes, I learned about others, about guy's who'd been on the rack for going on fifty years, some for hundreds. I gave in; I gave in after two years, two fucking years!" Harry ground out painfully as he wiped away the stray wetness in his eyes. He remembered it all, every last second in painstaking detail.
"You need to go home; you can't deal with this on your own." Allie said but Harry barely noticed.
"The worst thing was I was good at it…it was the way I could burn it all, I could take out as much as I wanted on them. Turning them wasn't even the point for me; it was hurting them, hurting them as much as I could...it got to the stage that Nathaniel was proud of me, that I could be so inventive." Harry sighed, defeated. "I don't deserve to go back Allison; I don't deserve to go back to her. Not after what I've done, I don't even know if they're still alive."
Allie reached over and took his shaking, burned hand into her own. It slowly healed from her heavenly touch. "They love you Harry, you could do anything and they would still want you back. It's not been ten years up here, it's only been two."
Harry looked up suddenly. "Then they're still-"
"Yes; both of them."
Harry looked almost hopeful. "What're they-"
"I'm not telling you. You need to go and find out on your own."
"Do you still see him?" Harry asked curiously, a smile lightening his features.
Allie was taken aback, her hand snapping from his in an instant.
"Like you said, Angel's aren't all seeing Allie." Harry finished his drink and got up. "Thanks for this." He said raising his healed hand, with the other carefully tucked in his jacket. "I'll see you around Allie. I guess it's time to go home."
xxxxx
Kaden placed the dirty cup in the kitchen sink next to the rest. He'd just finished putting Zach down for the third time that night. He wished Danielle was there. She was much better the kids than him but Kaden had to admit, there was a strange feeling of fulfilment in coaxing him down to sleep. Kaden loved the little emerald eyed boy; he and his sister Isabelle were the light in the darkest days of his family. The little boy was a Thunderkid just like his uncle, but his sister was a little firecracker. Kaden was still getting used to being an Uncle, let alone that Karen trusted him enough to let Zach stay overnight. But he supposed Karen and John needed the break, having one kid was bad enough for most, but two magical twins were a nightmare.
Kaden was about to call Pepsi, his favourite house elf to clean up but stopped. "You know, I was expecting this sooner."
It was Ryan, little Ryan Stevens. The baby brother of the girl who had changed his life; with an old and battered Colt M1911 pointed at his forehead. Kaden looked at the boy; bright blonde hair, hard jade eyes and shaking like a leaf.
"Come on kid, you going' to use that thing or not?" It was time to settle, once and for all.
Ryan took a deep breath. "It's your fault; it's your fault she died! It's your fault mum started drinking and dad stopped coming home every night and that I had to join the Academy. I had to get away, it started with you and it will end with you!"
Kaden sighed. He knew there was a M9 in the drawer behind him if needed. "You're right Ryan, you're right. If it makes you feel better, you're right." Kaden admitted as he walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer.
Kaden took a long drink. "It was my fault and I never even told my best friend what happened that night. I'm that ashamed of it I couldn't tell him, but I'll tell you, then you can decide if you want to put one between my eyes, 'cause I wouldn't blame you. I think about it every day Ryan, maybe if I was stronger, maybe if I was faster, maybe I could've gotten to her before they did." Kaden let out a bitter laugh. "But no…I was high as a fucking kite. After Allie and the guys brought me back, the Doc had me on some potion which dulled my Lycan side enough so that they could neutralize the vampire venom without killing me. See Vampire's like Elemental blood that much they took turns, a few turns each and there was about twenty of them. Even with my abilities I was slowly turning and would've died. The potion had something in it; I can't remember what it was called other than it was addictive as fuck. When I was on it, it was like being high, kinda like smoking' dope if I'm honest but when it passed." Kaden smiled despite himself. "My senses where dulled, for the first time in my life I was normal. You don't know what it's like Ryan, I'm faster than you could fucking believe; things go in slow motion for me if I concentrate hard enough. Chances are I could dodge that bullet, snap the barrel and break your neck before you thought of pulling the trigger a second time. Ryan, for the first time I could touch her without worrying about hurting her, back then I didn't have half the control I have now. I could go and see her without smelling every guy she went near on her, without thinking maybe she found someone better than me, someone normal. For two months Ryan, I was a disgusting drug addict. Karen was the only one who knew, who knows. She told me to stop before I made a mistake and I didn't, Allie never had a chance kid. They knew exactly what they were doing and I paid for my stupidity; I'm still paying for it! So if you want to do this, then do it. The only reason I haven't is 'cause she wouldn't want me to-"
"-SHUT UP! You don't know what Allie would want so don't try to justify it! You weren't there you selfish bastard, you where to wrapped up in you…how YOU lost her!" Ryan shouted as grip tightened around the Colt.
Kaden heard a faint cry in the other room. "You weren't there kid; you didn't see her, you didn't see the look in her eyes when she died. I DID! They enjoyed it when I barely fought back, that I couldn't because I was normal. They made sure I'd remember that moment forever." Kaden stepped forward, until the barrel of the Colt touched his forehead. "If you're goin' to do it kid, then do it."
Ryan steadied himself again, trying to stop the shaking. But the dam broke and tears leaked from his eyes. "You weren't there; it was like…it was like…you didn't-"
Kaden's hand pushed the Colt away and rested on the boy's shoulder. "Of course I cared Ryan but I wasn't in the right place to help a. Hell, I was still a kid myself, I-" Kaden' senses entered overdrive; there was a foul smell on the air, the stench of death, Dementors. Kaden pushed Ryan back and looked him in the eye. "Ryan, get into the other room grab Zach and take him to the Academy, straight to my dad!" Ryan looked confused as Kaden grabbed his gun. "NOW!" Kaden shouted.
Kaden moved quickly, stowing Ryan's Colt on his belt and grabbing the M9 from the kitchen drawer. Checking it he turned as he heard the slightest of clicks and the patio door across the living room swayed open. It was no Dementor, if it was Kaden would be falling prey to its powers. Kaden's eyes scanned the room, following his other senses as they tracked the invisible intruder. Kaden's eyes caught a slight shimmer and his gun trained on it. "Stop or I'm riddling you full of holes; you broke into the wrong house." Kaden was confused, how the fuck had it got into his flat twenty-five stories up and warded to the hilt. Kaden flew forward unexpectedly and hit the marble flooring of the kitchen and fell into the living room. He rolled and was up in an instant, only to find Ryan's Colt aiming at him again, in mid-air. Whoever the bastard was, he was good. Kaden raised his M9 carefully, aiming behind the Colt.
A voice broke the silence. "In five seconds I will place this gun on the counter, place yours on the ground and we can talk."
"Deal," Kaden said and he lowered his M9 and set it on the ground. He was positive he could get to it before the other could, "Now take off the fucking charm and show me who you are."
The invisible stranger complied and the charm faded to reveal the battered form of Harry Sirius Potter.
Kaden's eyes went wide and in less than half a second the M9 was in his hand and pointed at the stranger. Kaden seethed; how dare one of those bastards try and imitate his best friend. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you."
"It's me Kaden; believe it, why do you think I look like I just crawled out a grave? Put it down and listen to me-"
"-you think you're the first to try this? Thinking you'll catch me off guard?" Kaden accused; he would find out who sent this bastard, kill him and then kill his boss. He was in that kind of mood.
The imposter looked down on Kaden incredulously. "It's me Kaden. I went out with your sister in Fourth Year, you where fucking Amanda Murray at the time until she found out you were also fucking Karen's mate 'Lana. Is that good enough for you or do you want more-"
"-SHUT UP!" Kaden shouted. "I've got a nice idea. Why don't I put one in your back and make sure you can't walk again, send you back as a message. I mean come on, Harry Potter without the scar?"
"No scar?" The imposter muttered, rubbing his forehead repeatedly. The imposter looked on as Kaden cocked the M9 and panicked. "I can explain, I was in hell for ten…two…I don't know…a long time. Call Allie, she'll tell you, she brought me back-"
Kaden paled; what the fuck is going on? "Harry?" He said tentatively and the other boy nodded.
"The one and only," Harry said with a grin. "Now put the gun down and get me a drink. Ogden's will do fine or if you don't have it some Vodka."
Kaden lowered the gun but kept it in his hand as he moved towards the fridge and pulled out a bottle of clear liquid. God knows I need it. Kaden thought and he didn't bother with a glass and cracked open the bottle with one hand before almost necking the bottle and offering it to Harry. "Dead?" He stated simply.
Harry nodded after taking a long drink from the bottle said. "Dead, stone cold, six feet under."
"Then how?" Kaden asked, gesturing with his gun hand.
"Allie raised me; she gave me a second chance to make things right-"
"-is she-"
"-she's fine Kaden, she only did what they asked her to do." Harry assured.
"Good." Kaden said as he put the M9 down on the breakfast bar and sat on one of the barstools. "So that's it, you're back?"
"Pretty much," Harry said. He didn't see a point in burdening Kaden with anything too soon. They had time. "How you been?"
"Harry it's been two, going on three years. Things are different."
Harry swallowed, hard. "I know."
Kaden shifted slightly. "I'm good, I guess. A lot has happened."
Harry laughed, taking the seat opposite his best friend and grabbing a glass. "I guessed that, what's with the kid in the other room?"
Kaden shook his head and played with his glass, a smile playing at his lips. "That's little Zach, he's Karen's. He just turned two last month, him and Izzy."
"Izzy?"
Kaden smiled again at Harry's bemused face. "Karen's daughter, she's a little firecracker."
"Karen has kids?" Harry asked disbelievingly, taking a drink.
"Yeah, she's actually really good at it." Kaden said a little surprised; he for one never thought his sister would have kids. She had never expressed any desire or will when they were younger. "She quit and is studying to become a Healer under the Doc, it'll take a while now she has the kids but she's happy."
"What about the guys?" Harry asked; he couldn't wait to re-join the Reapers.
Kaden's face fell and he took a stiff drink. "Rossi's one of my Lieutenants now. Jack's been seeing Penny on and off. Richie's better than ever, he's even got a girl that he talks to. Fuck knows that's a miracle. He got a chance to take command of the Griffins after Winters was put out of action but turned it down. You don't know Luca and Malfoy's the same stuck up bastard he's always been but useful, he's a pretty good enchanter and warder, he joined the Reapers when we lost Ollie."
Harry swallowed hard. "Ollie's dead?"
Kaden fidgeted with his glass. "No, he lost an arm about a year ago and we couldn't scrape together enough Mythril for an enchanted replacement in time. It would've screwed up his powers but we tried. He's heading up the analysts in CIC now."
"What about AJ and Boomer?" Harry asked, though he was more confused about Malfoy, why was he a Reaper?
Kaden forced down another glass and refilled it. "AJ's dead." He said quickly. "Boomer's on the same boat, it's just a matter of time. Him and AJ, well I never knew AJ was like that, much less Boomer. AJ, Luca and Boomer where going after one of the Circle but Bella Black ambushed them and killed AJ before they could get away. Boomer didn't take it well, at all. It tore him apart. He became erratic, uncertain and eventually paid for it. He's been laid up for going on five months; Doc says he probably won't make it much longer unless he wakes up."
Harry looked at Kaden, he was different. He looked more weighted and without the usual cynical optimism. "What did you do?"
Kaden sighed, "Things are different; I can't do things like that anymore, even if I want to!"
Harry was disgusted; this was not the Kaden he once knew. "You let her get away with killing your cousin, what the fuck has happened to you?"
Kaden almost snapped at him but stopped. "I'm Commander now Harry, I can't do things like that. It was hard enough for my dad and the Master's at the Academy to pin me the job without the Yanks and Chinese revolting. I can't do anything that will jeopardize the trust my Dad, Master Dumbledore and Master Aubrey put in me. Going rogue and after Bellatrix Black would just confirm what Sheppard and his supporters say about me and it is bad enough half it's true."
Harry's face twisted in confusion. "What happened to Connor, is he dead?"
Kaden turned away. He didn't know how to say it. That his own brother had almost killed him; that his own brother had so easily defeated him and joined the Dark Lord's Legion. "No, he's not dead." Kaden looked directly at Harry. "I couldn't kill him mate, God as my witness I tried, I tried as hard as I could but I couldn't me but he blew through me like I wasn't even there." Kaden grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled it down, revealing the horrible, blood red scar where his own blade impaled him twenty feet up a concrete wall.
Before his time in hell Harry would've recoiled in disgust at the sight of the scar, but he could only stare at it curiously. "Why?"
Kaden let go of his collar and tried to cover up the scar, he understood why Harry hated his scars so much. The reminder of his failure was almost unbearable. "We tried to stop him from taking her, but it took my Dad to stop him. He's still got a few tricks up his sleeve even I don't know about."
"I guess you're talking about Fleur? Why would he try to take her, I thought she was getting married? She was even pregnant, what the fuck?" Harry exclaimed.
Kaden took a deep breath. "It started before the wedding; you were still alive. I guess deep down I knew; I knew Connor stopped taking his serum and was hunting Death Eaters, he was drinking blood. I don't think he got rid of the taste after his time with Count Kruhl and Erebus. How was I supposed to report him? He's my brother and it's not as if he was doing anything I disapproved of, a few less Death Eaters in the world? Who cares? He lost it at the wedding. We were plainclothes security for the Matriarch and the Aurors where security for the event. At least fifty Dark Wizards, four of the Circle, twenty or so Dementors and giants turned up, the Dark Lord wanted a massacre." Kaden's head hung low in remembrance. "It was a pitched battle, nothing like we're used to. Of the hundred and twenty guests; maybe half got out, the Dementors killed most of them. The Harps took a beating, Danielle's bodyguards and Abbey Wray bit the bullet. We weren't at ground zero when the attack hit so we got lucky. AJ, Boomer and Luca where in a sniping station and the rest of us were on the perimeter. God knows how but they crashed the wards and slipped right by us, by the time I got there, the Harps where down to two fully able. AJ was doing fair damage with his Barrett but only Connor and a few of the Aurors held the line against Stryfe and his Army. Even with us reinforcing them, we couldn't stop them completely. We were going down until Dumbledore and his Phoenix mob turned up. God the Old Man can use a wand." Kaden smirked. "Chang sent Stryfe running while the Old Man took the strain off the rest of us. Fleur tried to help us but in her condition she couldn't do much and only got in Connor's way when she tried. I don't know who hit her, him or the Death Eater but she died. Someone managed to resuscitate her but she fell into a coma hasn't woken up since, she had her kid when we got her back to the Academy and she's been a permanent fixture since. Little Gabrielle called the baby Victoire and she lives with the Weasleys, they're good people and lost too many that day. Despite it all they even offered to take Gabrielle in after what happened to her parents and Fleur, but she's staying with Danielle for now."
Harry looked confused. "But why did he try to take her, they couldn't do anything, magic can't bring people back from the dead!"
"Really?" Kaden picked up his M9. "Do you want to start that argument when you almost convinced me?"
"You know what I mean, not our kind of magic!" Harry said warily, watching pointedly as Kaden lowered the half-heartedly raised gun.
"Whatever," Kaden muttered darkly. "Someone in the Circle convinced him they could and they must've done a pretty good job!" Kaden snapped. "She's the only fucking reason he'd do this to me!"
Harry could tell Connor's betrayal ran deep for Kaden. Harry knew he would nurse that wound as he did every other and bury it. Harry grabbed the bottle from across the table. "What about Danielle, can't imagine she's still hanging around waiting on you to finally make her an honest women?"
Kaden grabbed the bottle back from him. "We're not married."
"That does not surprise me in the least." Harry quipped.
"Fuck off," Kaden snapped jokingly. "She's good. She went through a hard time after her Gran was killed at the wedding and her Mum's the new Matriarch. Announced Danielle as the Heir to the Throne and she's been gone a lot, supposedly her Mum did it to strengthen ties with the Elemental people."
"So Danielle's not around?" Harry asked.
"Why don't you just ask about her? Your Mum is fine, she's holed up in Hogwarts under the Old Man's protection and James is on the same boat. Sirius and your Dad are doing what they can for the Order of the Phoenix, they don't know much about us but suspect a lot." Kaden paused. "I saw your look in your eyes when I mentioned her name. Why are you dancing around the question?"
Harry knew he looked lost, he didn't know if he wanted to know about her or what he wanted to do when he found out about her. He didn't even feel a twinge of jealousy when he heard of John and his fledging family with Karen and Harry was a jealous person. "I can barely remember her Kaden, I don't know why but I can't. I know what we did, what happened to us, how I felt. I just can't picture her anymore and I can't imagine how much she's changed. I can barely fathom how I've changed, never mind how I feel."
Kaden nodded in understanding. "For what it's worth she's doing amazing, a lot better than I thought she would've after you kicked it-"
"-subtle…" Harry said with a raised brow.
"I try." Kaden muttered. "She used what happened to you, she sharpened herself and became a razor, her and that sword can almost keep up with me and Light on a good day. She was our own little Ice queen for a bit but she warmed up eventually."
"What do you mean?"
"Well she got 'round a bit…" Kaden said awkwardly, he didn't know how else to put it. Chang used guys, abused them and chucked them. Kaden knew why she did it; he did the same, trying to fill that hole, the hole Harry left in her when he died. She was trying to feel something, anything except the longing of her heart. If Kaden was honest he was jealous, her pain would go away soon and he knew he'd live with his until the day he died.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked sharply.
"Well, she and Richie had a thing then Jaden, Jack, Winters and then she settled on Luca and I guess there still seeing each other." Kaden said; he figured Harry deserved the truth.
"She's seeing this Luca guy?" Harry asked.
"Gianluca Auditore, he's a good guy and comes from a good family. You okay with that?" Kaden asked, knowing Harry would lie.
Harry shrugged as best he could, "Happens," He muttered. "I can't do anything about it now; I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Kaden took sip of vodka. "We're losing."
Harry chuckled, downing his glass. "Why do you think I'm back?"
Kaden picked up his M9 again and levelled it again as he heard a steam of sharp cracks. "I don't know, but you can tell them as well."
Harry gave Kaden a strange look and turned to the living room where eight combat ready individual stood. Each armed to the teeth with weapons or wands pointed towards him. "You know I hate you sometimes." Harry snapped as his eyes reached the only female of the group and the gleaming blade in her hand.
"You did say something about a bridge."