Harry Potter and the Flip of a Niccal

By: KKM

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or any associated characters. Harry Potter is © J. K. Rowling. I also do not own the Gorillaz or any associated characters/songs. Gorillaz are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Last Time:

"B-band, sir?" Harry asked bewildered at the sudden change.

"That's righ' kid," Murdoc said arrogantly as he stood a little straighter. "You're talkin' to the leader of the world famous Gorillaz. Now, now let's be on our way an' while we're at it you can tell me why yeh ran away from these relative o' yers."

"But where are we going?" Harry asked.

"Why to Kong of course," Murdoc said knowingly, pausing only to pluck something from the nearly forgotten crumpled body next to the rusty slide before turning and striding away with a skip in his step. Harry waited only a moment before hurrying to catch up with his new friend and silently marveling about how this was his most interesting birthday yet.

Chapter 2: Meet the Gorillaz

The ride from Spinner's End was a lot quieter than Murdoc had initially expected when he'd hailed a taxi to take him and the small boy home. He'd expected for the young boy to ramble or ask a thousand questions like most children tended to do, but instead as they sat in the back seat together he was met with silence. He frowned as he watched young Harry simply look out of the foggy window and watch the neighborhoods whir by until there was nothing but trees as they made their way to the solitude that was Kong Studios.

It wasn't long before the singular structure finally came into view surrounded on one side by a giant landfill and the other by an old creepy looking cemetery. He watched the boy's emerald eyes widen in wonder and slight nervousness and yet still he did not speak. He couldn't help but wonder what was going through his young mind as they passed the rickety gate and drove up to a building only a horror-enthusiast could love.

"This is Kong?" Harry asked, finally breaking the silence as his eyes darted back to Murdoc. Murdoc smirked back at him in response and nodded.

"This is us, kid," he chuckled as the taxi came to a stop. He quickly paid the cab driver and then led Harry through the entrance of the carpark. "Watch yeh step an' mind tha' zombies!"

"Z-zombies!?" Harry paled, wondering just what he'd gotten himself into. Normally he would've snickered at such a crazy thing to say, but considering this building looked to be the definition of haunted, his overactive imagination was getting to him and he immediately moved closer to the green man. For a second, he even thought he saw the luminescent glow of eyes twinkling at him from somewhere deep in the shadows.

"No worries, you're too much of a toothpick for 'em ter bother much wit ya," he promised, not at all helping ease the child's nerves as they continued on. "In yeh go," he nudged Harry forward as they approached the lift. "S'not gonna' bite ya, you know…" Murdoc tried to assure him as Harry cautiously entered the small space closely followed by the older man. Once they were situated, the rusty door squeaked shut and the lift gave a groan before shuddering upwards.

"Are you entirely sure this thing is safe?" Harry muttered, widening his gait a little in an attempt to keep his balance.

"Honestly? No." the bassist laughed as a bell dinged somewhere above them and the monstrosity came to a sudden stop. When the door didn't open right away, he gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "This 'appens sometimes," he said before aiming a heavy kick with his worn Italian leather boots at the door causing Harry to jump with a start. But it seemed to do the trick as the rusty door slid open. He turned to Harry with another pointy toothed smirk as they exited the lift. "See? Tha' wasn't so-"

"MUDS! YOU'RE HOME!" A gleeful shout interrupted him as a tall skinny form with a shock of blue hair and no eyes came running at them with a giant toothless grin.

"AHHHHHHHH, ZOMBIE!" Harry screamed, Murdoc's words from earlier echoing in his ears as he grabbed the closest thing to him (which happened to be a bent golf club that had been leaning against the wall) and swung it as hard as he could at the clueless threat before anyone could do anything to stop him.

CRACK!

"Tha' fuck!?"The tall man fell heavily to the floor with a whimpered squeak and covered his head with his lanky arms as the little boy went for another terrified swing only to have another figure run up from out of nowhere and roundhouse kick the golf club from his grasp causing him to fall back with a thump of his own as he stared up in surprise at a strange looking kid who was standing protectively over the zombie-man with a pose he only recognized from ninja movies on the telly.

"What the hell is going on in here?" a rich voice boomed as the biggest man Harry had ever seen suddenly burst into the room and that was saying something considering he'd lived with his Uncle Vernon and Dudley his whole life. When the large man's white, pupiless eyes seemed to fix angrily on his little figure he felt himself scoot back as far as he could until his back collided with Murdoc's legs. When he felt the other man shaking slightly behind him he looked up to see if the other man was planning on saving him or not.

Murdoc for the most part felt that he had done very well for himself in keeping his composure, but as he looked down from Harry's bewildered expression to his fallen friend who was now peeking over the little Ninja's shoulder in pained exasperation and then finally to the large man in the doorway who looked about ten seconds from charging, he found he could no longer contain his mirth as a choked laugh escaped his shaking shoulders and he smacked his knee. "Ah, s-shit. The looks on yer faces!" he chortled and then mused Harry's hair almost affectionately. "Even I couldn't 'ave planned it betta, kid."

Harry blinked up at him in confusion before looking back at the blue haired man who was now sporting a giant bruise on his cheek as he continued to hide behind the ninja who Harry now realized was a mere girl somewhere around his age. "Soooo… he wasn't a zombie then…" he trailed off, turning red in embarrassment.

"Satan, no!" Murdoc laughed, helping the boy back to his feet before gesturing a clawed hand at the ragtag group in front of him. "These are the Gorillaz; my band," he explained, his mismatched eyes shining.

"Murdoc, what the hell are you up to now?" the big man grumbled as he entered the room further and peered at them with suspicion.

"Now, now Russ. Is 'at any way teh treat a guest?" Murdoc chided slyly as he pushed a reluctant Harry forward. "This is 'Arry. Found the little bugga' lost in Spinner's End of all places." As he spoke, Harry couldn't help but feel that Murdoc wasn't very good at reassuring people because if anything, the large man looked even more on edge at this information.

"That doesn't really explain why he's here." Russel pointed out with narrowed eyes, but when he looked back down at the obviously very uncomfortable child, his gaze softened. "Hi Harry, I'm Russel. I'm in charge of the beats," he said, finally giving in and smiling as pretended to play an invisible drum.

"N-nice to meet you," Harry said nervously, gulping a little before turning his attention back to the tall skinny man who by now was standing and rubbing his cheek as the little girl stood defensively in front of him eyeing Harry with distrust. "Um… Sorry about that. I didn't expect anyone to come running at us looking like… well…" he wasn't sure how to finish that sentence without being rude. He took a shy step forward only to be blocked again by the small ninja.

"Kare kara hanarete taizai shimasu!" the other child huffed protectively, spreading her arms as if to say that the frail looking man was off limits. Harry wasn't really sure what to say in response to that. He'd never heard Japanese before so it just sounded like gibberish to him, but he understood the threat all the same and looked down at the floor in shame.

"Noodle," Russel warned, giving her a look as if to say behave. The girl known as Noodle pouted up at him for a moment before sighing and dropping her stance. "This is Noodle. She's our lead guitarist and does backups sometimes. We think she can understand most English, but she doesn't really speak it much," he shrugged apologetically.

"Hajimemashite," she bowed, keeping eye contact with Harry as she did so. "Watashi wa Noodle desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu."

"Uh, you too?" Harry said, hoping he was doing the right thing as he quickly bowed to her. She giggled at him and offered him a small smile.

"Kare ni i koto. Kare wa shinsetsu ni ataishimasu," she said to Harry solemnly before moving to allow him to talk to the last band member who was now staring off blankly at a wall. Harry fidgeted a bit waiting, but the man continued on as if the peeled paint was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Oi, Faceache!" Murdoc shouted impatiently as he stepped around Harry and smacked 2D upside the head to snap him out of it. Harry looked slightly aghast by the display until the taller man suddenly jumped and became reanimated as he blinked at his leader a few times and grinned stupidly at him.

"Oh, hiya Muds!" he greeted cheerfully causing Murdoc to groan and rub his forehead in exasperation.

"Jus' introduce yerself already!" he demanded, crossing his arms and nodding towards Harry who was watching them owlishly through his round glasses. 2D's head moved in Harry's direction giving the boy the assumption that he was being stared at, though it was hard to tell with a man whose eyes seemed to be missing.

"Hi, I'm Stu, but they call me 2D cuz I gots these dents you see," 2D explained, leaning down so that either Harry could get a better look or so that he could see Harry better – the boy wasn't terribly sure to be honest. But because of this, he did find that 2D really did have eyes they were just really dark and sunk in apparently.

"I'm sorry about hitting you," Harry blushed again as he resisted backing away from the close proximity. "Murdoc had just joked about zombies in the carpark before we came up and this place is kind of spooky looking so you startled me."

"S'not a joke," 2D corrected him, finally standing up straight again. "There are zombies. I'm jus' not one of 'em," he said simply. When Harry stayed silent at the strange omission, he bit his lip nervously and tried again. "I'm the band's singa' and I do teh keyboard," he said wiggling his fingers a bit. "Don' be too hard on yo'self 'bout clubbin' me an' all. I get tha' reaction a lo' at first when I meet new people fo' some reason," he admitted, scratching his head awkwardly.

Harry frowned at this statement and gave the man a knowing look. "I get that sometimes too, though not really with a club," he admitted, carefully stepping closer and patting 2D on the arm. "My relatives didn't exactly treat me like I was normal, so I understand." For such a young face, Harry's expression had gone rather serious just then as he seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a moment. What the others didn't know was that he was thinking about how often the Dursleys had called him a freak over the years and treated him poorly just for being himself. The man in front of him probably dealt with a lot worse ridicule every day from people who didn't even know him. Harry didn't want to add that pain if he could avoid it so instead he made a silent vow to befriend him.

"Noodle, 2D… maybe you guys can go pick out a room for Harry," Russel suggested, glancing at Murdoc.

"Hn, yes. While you lot are gone we'll sort Harry out," Murdoc agreed, narrowing his eyes and giving the two a pointed look that meant he expected them to stay gone while they talked to Harry. 2D yelped in response and tittered nervously. But before he was able to say something to piss the bassist off he was being dragged away by the young guitarist and they disappeared down the hall. "Tha's betta," Murdoc muttered before turning back to Harry and Russel. "Right! So let's continue this discussion in tha' kitchen, shall we?"

"We know you're probably tired, Harry, but we really should talk about some things if you're going to stay here," Russel said gently as they followed Murdoc to a rather spacious looking kitchen.

Murdoc immediately plopped down at the round table in the center and began to light a cigarette as he kicked his feet up without a care in the world. Harry slid into the seat next to him and watched as Russel shook his head before grabbing a plate of cookies and setting it in the center of the table and plopped down into a chair of his own. If the table shook a bit, Harry didn't notice as he was eyed the cookies at the table longingly wondering how delicious they must taste. "Well, take one," Murdoc ordered in a rough voice as he exhaled and moved to sit up straight so that he could watch the boy better.

Harry didn't need to be told twice as he immediately took one and nibbled on it with a pleased sigh. He closed his eyes as savored the taste with a near silent moan. It was better than he imagined. Yes, it was slightly more crunchy than he'd expected but the chocolate was sweet and seemed to melt into his taste buds. As he did this, he had no idea that the two adults at the table were watching him with concern. The Gorillaz were never good at keeping up with dates or grocery shopping – always waiting until the pantries were practically empty before making the pillage for more. Those cookies had to be at least a month old and yet this kid was acting like he was munching on something made of gold. If that wasn't a red bell, they didn't know what was.

"Harrrrry," Murdoc spoke his name in a low drawl waiting until he had the kid's full attention. Then he passed Harry another cookie as if to give him positive reinforcement before speaking again. "Tell us why you ran away."

Harry knew that this conversation was coming, but that didn't make this conversation any easier. "Well, I guess I ran away because I knew they wouldn't care. I doubt they've even told anyone yet. I know it's early, but Aunt Petunia's usually up by now. She'd have noticed my cu-" he cut himself off and cleared his throat, "my room was unlocked."

Murdoc and Russel shared a look at the child's blatant lie. There was something more to that statement. Murdoc shifted forward leaning on his elbows with a serious look on his face as he quickly stubbed his cigarette out and gave Harry his full undivided attention. "You can't stay 'ere if you lie 'bout it," he said in a slow deliberate voice causing Harry's mouth to drop open and Russel to make a sharp sound of protest. "I mean it," he growled, cutting off Russel's complaints. "If ya' want our help, you gotta' be straight or we'll make yeh go back."

Harry looked positively devastated as he dropped the cookie and gave Murdoc a pained look. "Please don't send me back," he begged in the most desperate voice either man had ever heard. "I'll do anything, just please don't send me there."

"Then let's try this again," Murdoc suggested calmly. "Where did your aunt expect you to be?" Harry stayed silent a moment, his shoulders hunched forward in defeat. His small shoulders began to tremble as he mumbled something under his breath. "Sorry, Din' quite catch tha'." Murdoc encouraged as both he and Russel leaned closer trying to hear the distraught child.

"My cupboard," Harry whispered, ignoring their gasps. "I live in a bloody cupboard under the stairs like a rat. Is that what you wanted to hear?" he bit out, looking up at them with angry tears and pink cheeks. "Did you also want to hear about how they treat me like a slave and if I don't act accordingly they starve me? Or how about how the beat me for being a little freak like my parents and then lock me up until they can stomach looking at me? Not to mention what they do when crazy things happen. But crazy things always happen around me and I get punished dearly for it," he shuddered.

By the time he finished, a strange aura seemed to pulse around him causing the room to tremble a bit from the pressure. As it did so, his hair fluttered a bit making his scar visible for the first time to Russel and his milky gaze widened a fraction. This would have surprised Murdoc if he'd been paying attention, but instead his own eyes were fixed on the angry boy and the raw power he was exuding from his emotional outburst. He'd never seen such a powerful display of accidental magic before and he was worried that if they continued, the boy might be pushed over the edge. Harry didn't even seem to notice he was doing it because he was too focused on his pain and anger to fully grasp what was going on around him.

"Tha's enough," Murdoc said finally, keeping eye contact. "You'll stay an' you'll never go back," he promised, finding that he felt surprisingly protective of this kid. His own upbringing flashed in his mind and how often he wished someone would have saved him from his father and brother. He might not have had a chance, but Harry did. Plus, it really was just too good of an opportunity to waste.

"Do you mean it?" Harry asked, the whirlwind subsiding as he looked up at the rough man with hopeful slightly teary eyes.

"Oh, Harry," Russel sighed sadly, "Of course we won't send you back."

Harry glanced at Murdoc again for confirmation and when the older man nodded he sagged bonelessly into his chair. He was suddenly very tired. It had been a long night after all and now even though it was still morning, he wished he could just sleep.

"Maybe you should get some rest for a while," Russel suggested, watching the young boy as his eyes began to droop. Harry nodded in agreement and together they all stood. "Noodle and 2D should be done with your room by now. Let's go take a look."

The trip through the halls of Kong was somber as they made their way to Harry's new room with Russel in the lead and Murdoc at the rear as if he was guarding their flank. Eventually Russel stopped in front of an open door that still had the light on. "The room beside this one is Noodle's and mine is across from you. 2D has a room down in the carpark and Murdoc has his Winnebago down there too if you ever need to find any of us," he explained as he stepped out of the way so that Harry could enter.

"Wow," Harry gasped to himself breathlessly as he looked around the room in childlike wonder. "This is all mine?" he asked, turning back to them as if this was too good to be true.

"S'all yers, kid," Murdoc assured him with a frown, knowing good and well that no kid should be happy about such a shitty living space. This room was a mess with paint peeled walls and holes in the plaster. There was a shoddy looking mattress next to the far wall with some sheets that Noodle and 2D must have found somewhere. He also saw that they'd given him an old beanbag chair with some duck-tape where there'd been some holes before and a tiny tub tv. There was an old game system that looked like one of 2D's old ones he never played anymore since buying his latest conquest and a deck of worn cards that he'd probably stolen from a bar at one time or another. He also noticed a small bamboo plant and a couple of toys in the corner that most likely came from Noodle. To him, this room was junky and unkempt. But it was easy to see that to Harry, this small sanctuary meant the world in his eyes.

The Satanist's eyes widened as he was suddenly gripped in a fierce hug by the child who muttered his thanks before doing the same to Russel. He was barely aware as both men echoed their goodnights and exited closing the door behind them. Murdoc let out a stressed sigh as they paused in the hallway, slightly put off by this turn of events. His night didn't get much better as Russel didn't seem quite done with him yet.

"What the fuck is Harry Potter doing here, man?" he asked, effectively regaining the older man's attention as his head snapped to Russel in surprise.

"You knew?" he asked in confusion.

"I know a lot of things," Russel grunted as he opened his door across the hall before turning back to the bassist and tapping his head. "When you're as closely involved with the spirit world as I am, you hear things. Even in America, they know the story of The-Boy-Who-Lived. Plus, by now I know you. If he'd been anyone else you'd have said tough luck long ago." He watched as Murdoc's jaw tensed, but the other man didn't deny it. "Look, I don't know how you ran into him like you did but it's obvious it was for the best. It sounds like his relatives were slowly killing him. But you gotta' know you can't keep him, right?" he asked cautiously.

"An' why not?" Murdoc retorted sharply. "I captured tha' rest of yeh by less than savory means, why should this be any different?"

"For fuck's sake, use your head Murdoc. He's Harry Potter," he said as if that fact alone should have answered the question. "They aren't going to let a Satanist and his band of misfits raise their savior. You know that as well as I do," he said bluntly.

"If they find him…" he trailed off as Russel arched his brow at him and then sneered as he corrected himself sourly. "Fuckin' fine! When they find 'im, I'll be prepared."

Russel knew a lost cause when he saw one and rolled his eyes, not caring if Murdoc could tell or not. "Whatever man, just don't get too attached."

Murdoc gave him an offended snort and flipped him off before stomping down the dark hall sulkily and leaving the drummer to his troubled thoughts.

A/N: Wow, twice in a week. That's got to be a record for me, lol. Next chapter Murdoc will explain to Harry about Magic and tell him about how his parents really died. So now we know that Russel is at least aware of wizards due to his connection to the spirit realm, but we won't find out how Murdoc knows for a few chapters yet. Hope you like it so far!

Extra: What's Noodle saying!?

"Kare kara hanarete taizai shimasu." – "Stay away from him."

"Hajimemashite." – "Nice to meet you."

"Watashi wa Noodle desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu." – "My Name is Noodle. (The last part is another form of greeting in Japanese that you'd say after meeting someone for the first time. The exact wording is not very translatable because it can be used in various other situations too like beginning a meeting as a way of stating you're eager to work together or at the lend of a letter/email to let the other person know you are looking forward to correspondence with them.)"

"Kare ni i koto. Kare wa shinsetsu ni ataishimasu" – "Be nice to him. He deserves kindness."