Disclaimer: D. Gray-man and Harry Potter and their characters do not belong to myself or Azhwi. They are the property of Hoshino Katsura-san and J. K. Rowling, and all associated thus.
By the same token, this story does not belong to anyone else, and as such, any elements not associated with Harry Potter or D. Gray-man are by proxy mine and my co-writer's to do with as we please. Do not take and reuse, redistribute or warp in any manner. Thank you.
The Depths We Will Go To
Part 1: Harry Potter Had it Easy
Chapter 5: Stressing the Meter
Fandom: D. Gray-man x Harry Potter
Characters: Kanda, Allen, Albus, Scorpius, James, mentions of others
Summary: What's New Years without a little danger? Heaven forbid they play it safe…
Warning: Violence, language, shonen ai
Rating: T
Written by: Azhwi and Lost to the Hoping
This is a pretty awesome chapter. Violence. Stupid boys. Etc.
Special dedication goes to Mr. Reed, a RL friend of mine, whom I recently discovered reads this story. Thanks for the support, dear!
xXx
New Years came pretty quickly after that, and to the delight of everyone, the Headmistress announced that they'd be taking a special trip to Hogsmeade for the evening. They were to stay with a teacher, or in groups of at least three, she declared. Anyone caught breaking the rules - here she frowned at Albus and James - would be escorted back to the castle and watched over by teachers there.
They set off for the wizarding village a little after six in the evening, set to stay until the fireworks display at midnight. Of course, as soon as they got there, James, Albus and Rose split off, headed for Honeydukes. And when they came out, Rose was trying her hardest to keep Albus from eating so much sugar that he got cavities.
"Uhg! Alright, fine! Let's at least go sit down somewhere!" she said, giving up.
Albus nodded. "Good idea. James, any ideas where? I don't really feel like hanging around the teachers, though, so the Three Broomsticks is out."
"No one wants to hang around the teachers," James replied with a smile. "So, best place would be-" A bright flash of green lit up the street, followed by a loud crash. "What the heck?"
"Fucking hell, Moyashi! I'll get you for that!"
"Oh." James started to laugh.
There was another flash of green and this time the pressure in the air made their ears pop. A screech rent the air. "My Muffin!"
"BaKanda! How could you do that?"
"You ducked!"
The strange voice wailed, "Muffin! Oh, Muffin!"
"Oh, tha's not good... Not good at all... Erm, s'cuse me, miss... lemme see if I ken help ya out," a deep, rumbly voice murmured.
Albus grimaced. "Did that violent Japanese guy just hex a puppy?" he stage whispered to his companions. "See, James? What did I tell you?"
However, his brother was in no state to listen. The teenager was currently holding his sides and howling with laughter.
"You two are impossible," huffed Rose, frowning as Hagrid fussed over the apparently hexed animal. "Can we go? Before they decide to round us up and go home because of overly violent tendencies?"
Albus snickered and grabbed his brother. "Shrieking Shack," he decided. "Get ahold of yourself, man."
Gasping and grinning widely, James wrapped an arm around Rose's waist. "But they are so much fun!" he said gleefully. "I mean, from my point of view, if they draw all the attention, so much the better. Right Albus?"
There was no arguing with such excellent logic. "Right you are, James!" the younger Potter agreed. "Let's hurry!"
Rose rolled her eyes as the three of them quickly retreated from the commotion, heading out of town and down the long path toward the Shrieking Shack. Eventually, she pulled ahead of them and turned around to walk backwards. "Do you two plan on eating all that candy right now?" It was a valid question, since they were stuffing their faces even as they walked.
"Yes," James answered for both as, of the two, he was the only one without bulging cheeks. He quickly popped a handful of chocolate in to rectify that.
She wrinkled her nose as Albus chewed and swallowed just enough to talk. He opened his mouth, but she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No, please don't bother talking, that's so gross," she said, turning around again. "Huh? Who is that?"
Ahead of them was a girl that looked like one of the local villagers, standing on a hill facing the Shrieking Shack. Rose picked up her pace curiously. "Oh, that's... that's the daughter of Honeyduke's shopkeeper, isn't it?"
Albus blinked, brow furrowing faintly as he closed the bag.
Humming, James nodded and swallowed. "Beth's second." He winced. "Beth's mum passed away just last month. There was a flower arrangement near the kitchen and I saw the placard." Picking up his pace to match Rose, he said, "We should say hi. Maybe she'd welcome some company."
"Yes! Oh, maybe some sweets too," she agreed, beaming up at her older cousin. "Oh what was her name... oh right! Sarah! Saraaah!"
The girl on the hill turned to look at them, face expressionless. "Yes?" she asked blankly.
Rose hurried up, snatching the bag of sweets from Albus. "Want to share with us?" she asked cheerfully.
"Not hungry," Sarah said, turning away. "I only want... Never mind."
Taking a step forward, careful not to crowd her, James offered his arm. "Would you like some company then? There's fireworks later tonight."
After a hesitation, she looked up at him. "Company?" A faint smile flitted across her lips. "That would be nice," Sarah said, linking arms with the older Potter.
There was something... something wrong with her. It was the only thing that Albus could think. There was this twisted feeling in his stomach like dread. What was it...? No don't get near her... something's wrong... What was it?
Rose was oblivious, however, and beamed. "Wonderful! This'll be fun! Do you have any friends? Maybe we can have them join us too!" She turned her head to say something to Albus, but realized that he was standing almost ten feet behind. "Huh? Albus?"
James only saw it because he was watching Sarah. The girl on his arm had been looking at him, then shifted her gaze to Albus. Her smile widened and a sparkle lit her eyes. He blinked. Do they know each other? He was even further confused when she spoke.
"Albus is it?" Sarah cinched her arm tighter and James frowned. That wasn't a friendly tone. "I think I've been searching for you," she continued.
The dread solidified, and the hand that was already in his pocket tightened around the coin he always kept on him these days. His eyes were widening with panicked horror. James and Rose. "Have you?" he asked, voice barely even. "Then you should come get me. You know I have it. I know you want it."
Rose stared between them, eyes wide. Just what is going on?
On a normal day, in regular company, Albus did have a tendency to make raunchy jokes and blatant innuendos. James' frown deepened. But this didn't feel right. His brother wasn't smiling. In fact, Albus looked downright white as the snow around them.
"Albus? What's wrong?" The older Potter took a step forward, back to his sibling, but the girl hauled back on his arm. He nearly fell back against her. "Sarah?"
"What dad said, that one Summer," Albus said slowly, not looking away from the girl as he slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket. "What you should always do... But this is beyond Kanda."
Rose frowned. What was going on? Why did it feel like her cousins were suddenly so serious? And Sarah... she was... she didn't look sad anymore. She looked... hungry. Like one of the boys after a long Quidditch practice, only about ten times worse. She took an instinctive step away from them all, wondering just what she was missing. Why are they acting like this...?
"Rose," James spoke up, voice easy and cheerful, but she could tell he was forcing it... "I think I dropped my wallet." He grimaced and patted his back pocket. "I'll stay with Sarah. Could you and Albus go see if it's at Honey's?"
But James didn't keep his wallet in his pants. He kept it in his front breast pocket...
Rose nodded slowly, realizing something must be very wrong. "Oh, right!" she said quickly, a little relieved as she stepped out of reach of the others, closer to Albus.
Inside, James felt something inside loosen in relief. If Rose could get away, then perhaps this wouldn't be too bad, but then Sarah breathed in and the world around them seemed to still.
"No..." the girl half-sighed. "You should stay. I'd like that. He would like that." And then something shifted in her eyes. "Innocence..." she hissed. Albus' closed fist moved over the other and unfolded...
"By Merlin," James choked, wrenching himself away. "Run Rose!"
The redheaded girl stumbled past Albus as the boy dropped his now empty hand and flicked his thumb to send the coin flying. "Invoke!" he whispered, and it stopped mid-air, thunking to the ground right before him. The coin then seemed to... grow, from the second it touched the snow, leaping up into the form of a javelin, which Albus snatched at immediately.
By the time he'd finished, the akuma had shown its true form. Then the gently glowing javelin shot right through its face, cutting through to bury itself in the snow on the other side of the hill.
Staggering to the side, James had a fleeting image of light spreading like cracks over a howling face. Sarah... Sarah was a mechanical ball... and... With a shout, James flung himself across the few feet and crashed over both Albus and Rose as what he thought was Sarah exploded.
"What the fuck is going on?" James demanded, face inches from his brother's as ash and fire rained down.
"I'll explain later," Albus hissed, shoving his brother off him. He scrambled up and skidded out of sight down the hill, presumably after his odd glowing javelin thingy.
"J-James?" Rose said, voice high and fearful.
The scowl over the older brother's face dropped away and he sat up, brushing her hair back from her wide eyes. "It's okay. It's okay." Ignoring the snow, the ice, the destruction around them, James pulled the shaking girl into his lap and wrapped singed arms around her. "We're okay."
Moments later, Allen and Kanda sprinted into sight, a puffing Hagrid just behind them. "James!" Allen called. "Is anyone hurt?" Is anyone dead?
His partner skidded to kneel by the two wizards, eyes darting over faces and exposed skin. "Where is Albus?" There were no empty discarded clothes. So there was a chance...
For a moment, James blinked at the exorcist. "Fine. He's fine." He looked across the hill, following the fresh tracks in the snow. "He's fine." And then Potter went back to hugging Rose and refused to answer any more questions.
Which was just as well, since his brother chose that moment to burst into breathless laughter from down the hill. The younger Potter stumbled up the hill, giggling, and nearly tripped as he got to the top and found a root. "You're late for the party," he pointed out.
For a minute there was silence punctuated by Hagrid's heavy breathing as he jogged up to the group. Allen was frowning at Albus; Kanda's lips twisted into a sneer as he stood; Rose was shaking her head, face buried against James' chest; and James was scowling at his brother.
This explanation had better be damned good, James thought. And soon.
Albus' faint smile faded then, as he eyed them all. "Rosie? You okay?" His gaze darted over her and James, silently asking his brother the same thing with only a look.
She lifted her head and gave him a watery smile. "Yes... I'm okay... Are... are you? And Sarah..."
"I don't think that was Sarah," the boy muttered, not looking at the exorcists. "Didn't look like her. Didn't look human."
"No," James said slowly. "Definitely did not look human after that." He sighed and looked down. "Are you ready to stand, Rose?"
Standing over them, Kanda extended a hand as Allen scanned over the hill.
James blinked up at Allen, focusing on him for the first time. "Allen? What's that over your eye?" The white-haired boy suddenly had a tattoo over his left eye, and it glowed, but that was nothing compared to the strange gear-like thing that hovered before it. And it moved.
Albus looked up at the other boy, eyes widening. What the hell? He shifted closer to Rose and James, eying the boy warily.
"Wha's goin' on, then?" Hagrid asked, confused as he eyed the debris. "Wha's this?"
Cutting a glance at the Moyashi, Kanda let his hand drop and turned to the teacher. "An akuma-a demon-was destroyed," he said shortly, then turned to Albus. "What happened?"
The younger boy could feel his gaze, but he didn't meet Kanda's eyes as he murmured cryptically, "Magic."
Allen realized that James was still staring at him; he hadn't answered the question. Sheepishly, he shrugged. "Uh, well, it lets me see the souls chained to akuma," he explained. "Normally, an akuma could hide from pretty much anyone when they're in the human body, but... I can see them even then, with this." He let the curse relax, returning to its standby state. "More importantly, we should get you guys back to the village. It's freezing out here."
Akuma, strange curses, and my brother neck deep in it. Beautiful. James sighed. "Alright. Rose? Time we got up out of the snow."
She nodded and climbed to her feet, holding her hand out to Albus. "Al?"
He gave her a bright smile. "Right!" He grabbed her hand, starting forward and releasing the hand again after only a moment. However, then he slung his arm over her shoulders and dragged her along. "Whaddya think, Rosie? A song to brighten our day? Shouldn't let the other students know about this! Don't wanna let 'em know how much fun we had!"
Rose scowled immediately. "You! This is no time to be joking around, Albus Severus!" she protested, though she let him tug her away.
Still sitting in the snow, James sighed and crossed his arms over his upraised knees. He'd let his brother play distraction, he wasn't sure if he was up to it just yet. Or standing for that matter. Holding up one hand, he was a little surprised that it wasn't shaking. And then he blinked as a pale hand reached down, wrapped itself around his upraised one, and hauled him up. Guess standing is a must.
"On your feet, Potter," Kanda muttered, his other hand coming up to brace James' shoulder.
The taller male slanted a look at his support. "I'm expecting a better explanation for this," he warned, though left unsaid that he was expecting one from two people.
Kanda didn't say anything, but nodded.
Allen watched Hagrid hurry after Albus and Rose worriedly, then glanced at Kanda. "Mm... I think I'm going to do a sweep. You got this alright, Kanda?" he asked.
The other exorcist snorted. "We're fine. Don't get caught."
The younger boy waved him off. "Pfft. I'll be back in ten."
Both older teens watched as Allen wandered over the crest of the hill and out of sight. Which was when James realized he was still leaning on Kanda. Oops.
Straightening, he magicked off the melting snow, unobtrusively testing his legs and balance. Not any worse than falling off a broom, he decided. "Kanda," he said, waiting for the other man's eyes to swing back to him. "Does the word 'innocence' mean anything to you?"
xXx
Being a wizard had its benefits: wet clothes became dry in moments, dirty jackets were cleaned in an instant, torn robes were repaired in seconds. However, being a wizard did not save Albus from an interrogation as soon as James was dry and warm.
"Rose? Would you excuse us for a moment?" The smile on James' face wasn't exactly cheerful, and the question wasn't really a question.
She gave him a frown, but nodded and got up. "Goodnight," she murmured.
When their dear friend had evacuated the bedroom, the older Potter flicked his wand and soundproofed the room. Then blanked the windows just in case. Then added visual warnings on the door to be paranoid. Only then did he turn to Albus.
"Right. Talk."
Albus grimaced, and pulled a coin out of his pocket. "This is what it was looking for," he muttered, unable to meet his brother's gaze. "I found it at the beginning of fourth year, in the prefect's bathroom. Scorpius and I were sneaking a bath in there, 'cause you know how much better the bath is." He sighed, staring down at it. "I hung onto it for a while, started thinking of it as my lucky charm."
The coin was reverently set down on the covers of his bed. "Well, I didn't know it could be used for anything until Ameli was attacked."
"Ameli? Malfoy's sister?" James looked up from staring at the coin in startlement. "What happened?"
"Erm... It was a Hogsmeade trip, a bit like tonight. There was this kid in an alley... Well... eh..." Albus cleared his throat. "Scorpius ran with her while I used the javelin to distract it... and I killed it."
No sooner had the last words left his mouth, than James was wrapping his arms around him and hugging tight. "And of course, you didn't tell anyone," the older brother muttered into Albus' hair and then sighed. "You're okay then? No missing parts?"
Albus, for once, didn't tell his brother to stop it with the weird mushy shit. Instead, he sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Didn't touch me. I was just glad that Scorpius and Ameli got out alright. She fainted and refused to remember it for a month. Me... the worst I got was a couple pesky dreams. Really, I had it the easiest."
He finally pushed James away and his brother let go with a smile. "Anyway..." But he didn't seem sure what to say next, and so just shrugged.
Sitting down on the bed, the coin between them, James peered down at it. "So this is an innocence?" James murmured, then grimaced. "What a term to give it." He tilted his head. "Does it do anything else? Besides the glowing stick thing, I mean."
The question seemed to surprise Albus, who shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he said, but then thought about it. "Not that I'm really an expert. But it's never done anything else, so I doubt it."
"Can I look at it?" James asked hesitantly.
Albus nodded wordlessly and watched his brother pick the tarnished coin up.
"Huh. I wonder what currency it is," James mused, turning the coin over. A Roman helmed head on one side, soldiers on foot on the other. He hefted the brass disc once, then handed it back to Albus. "So, you toss it to get it to change?" He vaguely remembered something glinting in the air.
"I flick it off my thumb, like for the heads or tails game, yeah," Albus replied, fingers closing around it.
A faint smile flickered to life. "Have you ever dropped it?" he asked, brows raised.
Blink blink. "What? No... it's always in my pocket unless I'm using it," he said, surprised. In fact, he admitted privately, he'd been afraid to drop it. If he lost it, or it broke...
James chuckled. "Sorry. I just had an image of a shining spear of light coming down through the ceiling. Glad to hear you're careful with it."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, it wouldn't hurt anyone. It only hurts akuma," he reassured his brother. "Hell, it doesn't even work unless I say 'invoke'. I mean, it did the first time, but after that..." He shrugged.
"Hmm, any idea if spells work on them?" He hadn't even had a chance to snap off a spell today. Albus had reacted that quickly, which he was still rather proud of.
"I don't know," Albus replied. "At the time, I think Scorpius was too freaked out, and both last time and today... I just kind of reacted. It's kind of weird, now that I think of it..." His brow furrowed. "I've 'trained' longer with a wand, but with the innocence... it's like I just immediately defaulted to using that instead. At least where akuma are concerned."
An odd wistful expression flew across James' face. "Well, I guess that means I don't have one of my own," he said lightly. "I still reached for my wand."
"Not all of us are destined for greatness, Mr. Potter," Albus replied, straight-faced.
James blinked once, then burst into laughter. "Thank Merlin for that!" he finally said when he had calmed down. "But you know," he looked over, eyes serious, mouth quirking, "No, never mind. I assume that you are what Kanda and Allen are here for?" he asked instead.
Albus looked down, all mirth vanishing. "I guess so. Or at least, why they're still here."
Reaching over, James ruffled his brother's hair. "I won't say anything to them, but I won't stop you whatever you decide." Kanda had said they were here for the innocence and that they would leave once it was found... Meaning, the 'exorcists' would be taking his brother away if Albus was discovered. Talk about leaving the nest...
Albus' fists clenched in his lap. "I don't want to go," he muttered, voice tight. "I don't want to leave. My family, my friends... You and Rose... I don't want to lose you guys... I don't want to be part of a war!" He abruptly scooted to the edge of the bed and got to his feet before beginning to pace. "You saw it, you told me. When we were kids, remember? And sometimes we got woken up... middle of the night... Dad was..." He swallowed. "Merlin's sake, Dad was a lucky one, too!"
"Yes," James agreed, voice low. "Lucky." He was going to drop the topic, but if Albus wanted to talk... "How lucky will you be from now on? Hunted by akuma in human skins?" If you are with someone like Allen, you could be safer. Have warning.
"I can handle the occasional akuma," Albus said, stopping in place. But this time, his words were less certain. Couldn't I?
Wincing, the older brother gave Albus a pained look. "You throw your weapon. And then after, you have to run to grab it again. I saw how far up that thing floated. It didn't look like it was within stabbing reach. What happens if there are more than one? Someone out there is bound to notice that their demons are being killed off one by one." In fact, Kanda had confirmed that there was a leader.
"That Earl guy? I'll just hide from him like I've hidden from the exorcists," Albus snapped, then sighed and flopped down on the bed again. "I guess that wouldn't work forever, though. Nothing ever does..."
James rubbed a hand down his face and nodded. After all, the akuma had discovered Albus, not the exorcists. "If..." he started and his expression firmed. "If we can determine that spells work, then maybe you don't have to go. We can protect... We'll stand together," he amended. "We can learn the signs and act faster. If we tell the teachers, tell Dad, then everyone will be aware and safer." For that matter... "Why haven't they gone public... Oh right, mass panic." And magic affected everyone not like innocence.
"We can't anyway," Albus muttered. "I don't want Dad to have to go through that again. Him and Mum, and grandma Molly... They all spent so much time... akuma rarely pop up around wizard settlements." He sighed. "So... it'll be fine, if I just go..." He grimaced. "Maybe even better... Because Sc-" He stopped, grimaced again.
James was staring at the floor, mid nod-their parents were such heroes; they would involve themselves-when he froze. "Because...?"
Albus had the audacity to give his brother a bemused blink. "Hm? You say something?"
"No," James drawled, giving his brother a narrow-eyed look. "Actually, it's the other way around. You were about to say something."
"Nope, pretty sure I was done," the younger Potter said, the picture of wide-eyed innocence. However, when James' glare became more pronounced, he knew he'd lost. "Alright, alright. Uh... Scorpius-has-one-too," he said quickly.
Merlin... James dropped his face into his palms and groaned. "You two are... unbelievable." Draco was going to flip.
"Well..." Albus shrugged. There was just no arguing with that.
Scratch that. Mum was going to flip. Because there was a good chance both brothers were going to war. As if I'm letting my baby brother go with just Scorpius! James sighed. Guess it's a good thing I like Kanda.
James blinked. Wait. What?
Albus blinked as his older brother groaned and flopped face-first onto the bed. "Uh... You okay there?" The older boy mumbled something into the mattress.
"That's not a very intelligent answer, dear brother. Try again," the younger Potter advised.
There was a frustrated expletive told to the bedspread and then James lifted his head just enough to clear his mouth. "If, and that's a big 'if', I ever do go moony-eyed over Kanda... Hex me."
Albus got up. "Where'd I put my wand?"
Unluckily for his younger brother, James still had a wand within reach. Thankfully, the soundproofing stopped anyone from hearing, the windows were opaque, and the signs were blatant. The steady stream of pillows that pelted Albus' head did not stop for quite a while.
xXx
Albus… you're such a twit. In other news… Review?