Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.
Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. Timeline is mostly set during Summer Knight. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.
Awaken Sleeper.
Chapter Fourteen: Baby, It's Cold Outside
by: Water Mage
Harry stumbled into his hotel room in the dead of night. He kicked the long boots off with a sigh of relief as his feet tasted cool air. Who knew faeries were so long winded. Harry spent hours being shown around Lux Sanctum, seeing the full-scale might of the Summer stronghold, and meeting the fae within. He had seen through the grand tour and knew Aurora was purposefully showing him off, as to erase any lingering doubt of his status as rogue. He asked her what exactly a rogue was, and her reply was a cryptic comment of "a death sentence" was enough to make him know that it was a very bad thing to be.
He poured a tumbler full of whiskey from the mini bar and downed it in one gulp. The liquid burned going all the way down. He smacked his lips with a sigh. Harry closed his eyes, rolling his neck and stretching with an accompanied satisfied pop. He hadn't had a day this long in a long time. Yawning he climbed into bed, and glared at the clock. It was a little passed three thirty in the morning.
"Tomorrow's going to suck," he mumbled, sleepily.
He closed his eyes and fell into sleep.
A persistent banging interrupted the deep sleep of slumber seconds later. Drifting in that halfway state between sleeping and waking Harry groaned as the banging continued, louder this time. Finally he snapped open his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was fifteen minutes after nine. Six hours of sleep. Could be worse. Morning sunshine filtered determinedly through the thin white curtains covering the floor to ceiling windows.
"Alright, I'm coming," he muttered sourly, padding across the space separating him from the front door.
He caught a pair of gray eyes and wheat brown hair. He rolled his eyes and opened the door. Elaine stepped into the room, then stopped and stared. Her eyes racked over his bare chest and lower half covered only by a thin pair of cotton boxers.
"See something you like?" asked Harry coyly, or tried to, since he yawned loudly right after the come on.
Elaine cocked her head. "You have Burberry underwear?"
"Yeah, so?" Harry asked, locking the door behind her. "You want to borrow a pair or something?"
"Your boxers cost more than my whole outfit," said Elaine slowly.
Harry yawned again scratching at his stomach. "If you woke me up just to talk about how thrifty you are then I'm going back to sleep."
Elaine narrowed her eyes at his comment and took a seat on the couch. Harry walked back to the bedroom and slipped on a pair of khaki pants and a dark blue t-shirt. He started the coffee maker and joined Elaine on the sofa as the drifting aroma of brewing coffee filled the air.
"So I heard you had an eventful time at Lux Sanctum yesterday," said Elaine.
Harry sighed. "Let's just say I've married into quite the family. Did you find that friend of Ronald's with the tracking spell?"
"Her names Meryl," replied Elaine. "She and her Changeling buddies were under Ronald's protection since Winter has rule over them until they Choose. It's the court of their faerie parent so they have no say until they make a choice."
He scratched his chin, thoughtful. "Changeling is a half mortal and half fae. They have the choice to remain a mortal or become completely fae."
Elaine looked at him slyly. "Like you and Aurora's future children."
"Don't even joke about that," said Harry through gritted teeth.
She patted his knee and looked at him with exaggerated sympathy. "Too soon?"
He shoved her hand off his knee and groaned, "Can we please get back on subject. So what did this Changeling Meryl know?"
"Nothing. She was kind of standoffish. A friend of hers, another Changeling, Lily, is missing. Then, with Ronald's death… They're all hurting."
At the sound of that name a fleeting image of his mother flashed behind his eyelids. He banished the thought and then frowned. "What if this Lily girl knows something? Kind of suspicious that she goes missing right as Ronald dies wouldn't you say?"
"It's a possibility," said Elaine hesitantly.
A beep came from the kitchen as the coffee maker finished. She stood up and crossed the room to go fetch a cup. Handing him a mug, Elaine sat down on the couch with her own mug of steaming coffee. She took a sip and leaned back into the cushions.
"Word is that Aurora had a couple dead vampires thrown to the wyldfae to bribe them into heeding Summer's Call instead of Winter's for the war."
The wyldfae were like the free agents of the faeries. They were decidedly neutral until a Call went out, and they could choose to either work for Summer or Winter. Some enjoyed flesh like humans dug chicken. He was sure they enjoyed that little tasty offering.
"You know anything about that little contribution? Vampires usually don't mess with the faeries. Not after the Trinity stopped them the one time they tried to take the fae down."
"The Trinity?" asked Harry. "As in holy, comma, the?"
She snorted. "As in the G-men: Gutenberg and the Grimms. Back in the day they spread the folklore and fairy tales everyone knows now. They're responsible for increasing faerie influence in the human world."
Harry shrugged. "I might've had something to do with the vampires. They tried to jump me and I killed two and Aurora helped, making dust of the last two."
Elaine raised her eyebrow. "You needed help? What, you have an off day or something?"
He scowled at her mocking tone, and tried to ignore the flush of his cheeks. "Shut up. We all can't be kickass everyday. I should've fought smarter. It won't happen again."
Her eyebrows rose at his dark tone and she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So we only have two days till Midsummer now." She looked increasingly uncomfortable as she said the next bit, "The Winter Queens are to be questioned today."
Harry leaned forward, frowning. "That shouldn't be a big deal right? We're going with Summer's protection."
Elaine shook her head. "Mab doesn't have the title Queen of Air and Darkness for no reason, Harry. The protection won't buy us much if we overstep our bounds. A war is coming anyway. She's not a power to be crossed. Don't go in there thinking we're safe.
He nodded, showing his understanding. Elaine was the one who had spent over a decade chumming with the fae. Harry was the one who had spent three years running from anything faerie related. He did know that lying was easier in the Summer Court, since they were into illusion. It was why he had been able to successfully flatter Titania so much without being slapped yesterday. She was used to it. The Winter Court was more direct. Mab would see right through his smile and sweet words, and probably freeze his fingers off.
Harry nodded. "Trust me. I know. I barely think I'm safe in Aurora's own court, and I'm supposed to be the Summer Lord."
Elaine smirked. "So, do you have any heavy coats?"
The geography of the Nevernever is not the same as the regular land of the mortal world. Spots where the two worlds touched had a sort of kinship of sympathetic energy. You could be at a hospital and the portion of the Nevernever that touched would lead to an entirely different portion of the spirit world if you would enter at let's say, a zoo not even a block away. And because the mortal world changed over time that meant so did the Nevernever.
So this was why Elaine dragged him across town to an empty ice rink. They stood before a vertical slit in the air that shimmered at its edges. Wind blew from the gap, cold ice stabbing into them like knives. Harry and Elaine had managed to buy a pair hooded peacoats off a couple in the hotel's lobby, whom just come from a skiing trip. Harry laid some heating charms over the coats, layering them on with a sharp eye. It wouldn't do to freeze to death trekking across the heart of Winter.
They stepped through the portal and he sighed as the heating charms held, blocking the frigid wind that howled through ice capped slopes around them. Elaine stuck close so they could hear each other over the wind, as they began their journey through the snow and ice ridden valley. Harry held out his hand to help Elaine as the terrain steadily worsened.
"I'm not a dainty, little damsel," she said, refusing the hand and shouldering on.
That woman and her pride, Harry thought as he dropped his hand. He eventually noticed that slowly but surely he began to get colder. Cold seeped into his veins as the heating charm failed against the power of Winter ice. Elaine shot him a panicked look as she too began to rub at her arms, her skin turning a dangerous shade of blue.
Confused, Harry shook his head and pulled out his wand. "I don't know what's going on."
"We're in the heart of Winter," said Elaine. "I can't even light a flame against the sea of cold power in the air. No surprise your charm can't hold."
"Calor!" Harry snapped, with a sharp wand flick.
Warmth jumped across his skin for a moment till it was chased away by numbing cold. He cursed under his breath and repeated the spell. Again with the same results, but the warmth lasted a shorter amount of time. Elaine placed her hand across his wrist.
"Harry, stop," she said, her breath coming out in a gust of air. "It's no use."
He frowned harder, gripping his wand tighter. "One more time, then we go on and hope we don't get hypothermia."
Harry didn't know why he thought he could do it. Determination burned in his chest, keeping his sights on the prize. He embraced it and with a start realized that it wasn't just an emotion he was feeling. It was power. Summer power. It ran through his nerves like a warm spring day, filling him up with warmth, and chasing away any doubt. The hand holding his wand became alight with scarlet and golden fire of Summer. Elaine gasped as his wand flicked with renewed vigor.
"Calor!"
They both jumped as the heating charm encased them more amplified than its first casting. It didn't just block the elements. It filled them up with warmth of the rising sun. Elaine groaned at the renewed and unexpected heat, her cheeks flushing as her skin immediately warmed. Harry stared at his hand as the Summer fire withdrew, and without a word he stalked onward.
"Harry," said Elaine as she caught up to him, matching his long stride. "You're using Summer fire now?"
He licked his lips, unsure of how to respond. "I—I didn't mean to. It's this place. It was like the power of Summer sensed Winter countering my magic, and it roared to life in defiance. Once I realized what was happening, I couldn't not use it. It felt… good."
And it did. The golden Summer flame supercharged his heating charm, somehow turning it into a more advanced form of the common spell. He could still feel the fire buried inside ready to be used, spurned to life by the cold, cold power that permeated the air and ground. After that brief usage he wondered if he could resist using the power again. And for the life of him he was undecided. Harry had no doubt the light of Summer would keep him strong in the land of its counterpart.
She opened her mouth to question him some more when the hill crested and presented an open view of the landscape. The last little bit of land was flat and Arctis Tor rose up like every evil castle in all the cartoons, except very real and very evil. The capitol of Winter and stronghold of Mab was a gigantic fortress made of black ice. It was shaped like a cube of dark shadows, and rising above it was a single tower, twisting and elegant. Icicles clung to the shimmery walls that shined with blue and green energy. Trolls patrolled the battlements, and at the gaping jaw that was fortress' open gate. From here they could see a garrison of goblins marching across the open icy plains.
"Arctis Tor," murmured Elaine.
All they needed was a streak of lightning and the clap of thunder and it would be perfect. As it was the light of the silver moon illuminated the land as they trudged through the snow toward the fortress. The goblins smelled them before they were even in visual range. The gray skinned creatures with their hunched backs and grotesque faces screamed a battle cry.
Crimson light swelled at his wand tip, and Harry planted his feet. "So much for that Summer protection!"
Elaine opened her mouth to unleash the electricity stored in her earrings and rings through her hands. At the same time there was a boom of sound, like the collision of two icebergs. A Sidhe appeared in the space between the two forces. The garrison halted at the sight of the woman.
A thin, sheer green dress hugged her curves like a second skin. It was split at the sides revealing long legs and skin like cream. Hair the color of the setting sun fell down past her hips in loose curls and ringlets. She radiated the supernatural beauty the Sidhe possessed. Gold eyes, slitted like a feline, watched them calmly as if they weren't glowing with power to demolish the horde at her back.
"Welcome to Arctis Tor, Emissary of Summer," she greeted in a smooth voice. "And to you as well, Summer Lord."
He didn't like the way she watched him. It was a little beyond the assessing looks most fae aimed at him. Her expression was a knowing mirth, as if she knew an answer that he didn't. He didn't like it at all. Elaine frowned at the Sidhe noble.
"I know you," said Elaine slowly. "You're the Sidhe who told me to seek protection in Faerie when I was on the run!"
The Sidhe's mouth quirked at the corner. "Guilty. I see you didn't heed my advice and ask Winter for protection."
"I was a teenager but not stupid," replied Elaine. "Even then I wasn't dumb enough to ask for Winter's hospitality, Leanansidhe." She smirked at the surprise that flickered through those gold cat-slittled eyes. "Yeah, I know who you are. They talk about you at court. The Winter fae with her fingers in everything."
Leanansidhe's smile faded. "You would be wise if you don't advertise the inner dynamics of the Summer Court here in the heart of Winter."
Not that Harry was in a hurry, but he really didn't trust the glaring goblins. "So are you here to take us to Mab?"
"It's her wish that I see you to her, so here I am," responded Lea. "Come. She's waiting."
The goblins moved aside and they walked through the gap with Lea leading the way. The goblins glared at them with narrowed eyes, hissing and cursing under their breath in a deep, rolling guttural language that made his skin crawl. It was eerily quiet as they entered through the gate of Arctis Tor. Where there was sound and brightness in Lux Sanctum it was the complete opposite in Winter's stronghold.
Fae moved about the ice covered courtyard in silence. It was as if they were above polite conversation or making merriment here. Sidhe and lesser fae paused in whatever they were doing and stared as they crossed the courtyard. Harry refused to shudder as dozens of appraising gazes swept over him, measuring his worth silently behind inhuman eyes. Lea led them through an archway lined with frost and into a gray corridor.
Light came from some sourceless location, coming nowhere and yet everywhere, like the under levels of the Ministry of Magic where the Unspeakables experimented. The walls were the same black as the outside walls and seethed the same energy. It was unnerving. It was like the ice was organic or alive. Elaine caught his curious expression and jerked her head, falling in line behind the Leanansidhe.
They came upon a pair of double doors that opened at their presence. The stone in the throne room was different. Actually it could have been the same impenetrable blackness, but thick layers of ice coated the walls and ceiling like an Antarctic cave. Nobles clustered around the room dressed for a party. There wore dark colors, contrasting the bright colors of the Summer Court, with purples, blacks, and grays. There was a lot diamonds, silver, and jewelry.
Lea led them through the room and before the throne. "I bring you your guests, my queen. The Emissary of Summer and the Summer Lord."
Queen Mab's throne sat on a raised dais that was cut from a block of ice. Her throne resembled an ice sculpture and she looked every bit the queen she was, as she elegantly sat upon her seat. Her low cut gown was white and glittered as if snowflakes were netted through the cloth. Sapphires and diamonds glittered at her wrists, fingers, neck and ears, constantly shifting colors. A tiara carved of ice sat upon her silken white hair, glittering with each move of her head.
She was feminine loveliness personified. Beautiful and sensual, and the muse artists dreamed of when painting masterpieces. Light green eyes, cat-slitted, watched them with apathy. She licked her full lips and if she were a normal woman Harry would have been turned on. But he wasn't. Far from it. He knew what he was dealing with. All the stories of wicked witches, vengeful women, and evil queens all got their start somewhere. And that somewhere was right here in this room under the tutelage of the woman before him.
"It seems rumors of your rogue status have been greatly exaggerated, Summer Lord," she said, silkily.
He'll be dammed if her voice didn't touch him like a stroke of a caress. "I would be dead if that were the case."
She smiled. "Indeed."
"You know why we're here?" asked Elaine.
Harry gave her props for keeping her voice from shaking.
Mab nodded her head, her stare cool. "Of course, wizard. Ask your questions."
"Do you know who killed the Summer Knight?"
There was a hush of silence in the room that was unnatural. The nobles in the room stilled, and there was a thick tension in the air. Harry could cast a spell on it and it would bounce harmlessly away.
Mab answered with that same smile, "If I did then we wouldn't be in this predicament. No, emissary, I don't know the Knight's murderer."
"Did you arrange it?" asked Harry, boldly. "You might not know who did it, but did you put the plan in motion?"
If it were even possible the silence in the room thickened, as if they all had been transported to the cold vacuum of deep space. Mirth danced across her face as she studied Harry. He made sure to keep his face the polite blank expression he used for court. There was no doubt that she could read body language, and could pick his thoughts just by an expression, sigh, or an uneven breath alone.
"So Aurora went and got herself a brave one," she murmured. "Not many would be as bold as you, especially not so in my own place of power."
Harry wondered if she was amused at his boldness, or at the prospect of power smacking him down. "I meant no disrespect, your highness."
Mab looked at him to one side the way a lion circles its prey before they jump. "If you weren't aligned with Summer I would make a place for you in my own court."
"I'm sure my wife would miss my company," said Harry, hoping she didn't freeze the water in his eyes for turning her down.
"Naturally," replied the Winter Queen. She licked her lips, and Harry followed that tongue against his own volition. "Tell me, Lord Consort, why does the air of the Nevernever hum around you so? I've only known one other to have such an effect, and you are not the Gatekeeper."
Harry blinked. "You're sidestepping the question. Did you arrange the Summer Knight's murder?"
"And you're evading my question," she countered.
Elaine looked like she was going to die on the spot, and she wasn't the one being questioned like a prime homicide suspect. Mab looked at him, and that look was enough for him to collect his breath.
"I don't know," he said. He really didn't. "I don't even know what that means."
She nodded, as if she wasn't surprised. "Of course you don't. You can't see what I see with your human eyes."
Was that an insult? "Now you will answer my question, your highness."
"An order?" asked Mab. "I take orders from no one."
The temperature in the room lowered so much that Harry could almost feel it through the supercharged heating charm surrounding him. Elaine sent him an alarmed look as the nobles shifted anxiously. Snowflakes lightly began to fall from the frozen ceiling.
Elaine shook her head. "He didn't mean it as an order, your highness."
Mab looked at him, really looked at him. He was struck suddenly by everything about her. Suddenly he couldn't tear his eyes away from the goddess before him. Her scent, her lips, everything about her was supremely perfect. He wanted to throw her down right her and now, worship that heavenly body and make her scream his name. His sight zeroed in and she became his whole world.
Elaine grabbed his hand. Not for comfort or affection. She was letting him know where he was, grounding him back to reality. Harry took what little bit of him that escaped Mab's power, and fought against the glamour she was throwing at him. The same will that allowed him to resist the Imperious Curse fought against the glamour of the faerie queen.
"If you would be so kind as to stop with the glamour that would be swell," Harry said through clenched teeth.
Mab broke her gaze, and he fell to all fours as if thrown. "Hmmm… Strong willed. Even though that was only a sample I can tell you're a fighter. Aurora has taste."
Without her using glamour Mab had returned to her usual scary beautiful self. It was sad he liked the glamoured version better. Then, he only thought she would be a creative lover. Now, he only thought she was an inventive torturer. It made him a bit sad to lose the feeling.
"She's a good wife," he said. Compared to you. "I appreciate you seeing us and answering our questions."
He tried to sound polite, but his voice betrayed him. Elaine heard the undertone of his voice and hurriedly cut in. "We'll just be on our way now. Thank you for your time."
A boom of sound disrupted Mab's reply and all eyes snapped to the entrance doors that banged open. A troll stomped into the room clothed in leather armor and strapped for battle. In his right hand swung a bulging bag that was dripping something. Blood, Harry realized, staring at the blood drop trail in the creature's wake.
The troll folded its hulking mass into a bow, and keeping its head down it presented the sack to Queen Mab. "This was left at the gates. It just appeared. No one saw who left it."
For some reason Harry's gut was telling him to run. Elaine caught his desperate glance and she gave him a minute nod. They slowly inched backward as Queen Mab took the dripping, bleeding sack.
Please don't look into that bag, please don't look. He prayed to whoever would hear his plea to answer. All the nobles watched their queen with open curiosity upon their perfect faces. Harry cast a notice-me-not charm around him and Elaine. It was weak as the cold power in the air sucked at it, siphoning away the energy, but it held till they got to the doors.
Mab reached into the bag and withdrew the severed head of Yahkphrust. Gasps jumped from mouth to mouth as the nobles watched the morbid sight. A fragile second of time hung in the air as the shock on Mab's face faded as she dropped the head of what had once been her Final Frost. Anger bled through that shock. Her green eyes glowed with power that filled the room like a tempest. They snapped to Elaine and Harry and he froze under those power mad eyes. There was nothing resembling compassion, pity, sanity within them.
Mab's hair began to move in a breeze that started small but rushed through the room in a swirling gale of Winter power. The pressure in the room grew till the air became a thing of the past. It turned against them growing heavy, pushing at their bodies like a solid wall. It hurt to breath as their lungs strained to function in their chests. This was the calm before the storm and if this was her just getting worked up, they were dead.
"You…Did you do this?"
Her voice was a quiet rage that lashed against their skin and he winced, bucking back as something wet filled his ears. He wiped away at the blood dripping down his earlobes. Horrified, he stared at the Winter Queen as a twisting cyclone of freezing wind exploded to life around her.
Elaine shook her head wildly. "No—"
"You arrogant…"
Harry knew then and there she would not listen to reason. No one would but time or another faerie queen could fix this. Mab didn't raise her hands or gesture. Her lips twisted into a snarl and the nobles fell to the floor as azure light jetted from her body. If that light touched them there wouldn't be anything left of them but handfuls of ice cubes. And that was being optimistic. He grabbed Elaine, whipping his wand in the air, at the same time falling back. They skidded away on their back, watching as the doors slammed closed.
The doors creaked as ice raced over their surface, freezing them instantly. The wood shook and groaned as something beat against it. Icy wind whooshed under the door. It touched their legs and they screamed in agony as ice grew along their pants, freezing their skin beneath the cloth. They jumped up as the doors shook more violently as whatever force beat against them grew stronger, closer.
Fear shined in Elaine's eyes as she grabbed at Harry. "There's no way we're making it out. This is Mab's playground. Can you teleport or whatever us out of here?"
Apparation usually didn't work for him in the Nevernever. He wasn't sure why not, but he speculated it had something to do with the world having its own set of constantly changing laws of space and time. Laws that while set in the mortal world could be changed on a whim here by a person with enough power and command of the land. Someone with Winter or Summer power, like the Queens. Harry paused, and himself. He grabbed Elaine as the door blew outward in a shower of ice crystals and frozen wood.
"Please, please, please…" he murmured against her hair.
Wind roared out of the throne room and slammed against the wall, coating stone in thick layers upon layers of crystal like ice. He caught a flash of Mab within the windstorm, snow white hair dancing upon her rage filled face. Summer flame didn't need coaxing. It leaped to his wordless cry and with the flame of Summer filling his veins, he turned on the spot and apparated in a burst of scarlet and gold fire.
.
"You're shaking," Harry pointed out.
Elaine dropped the spoon on the table and pushed aside her coffee. She leaned in close so the other diners of the little restaurant within the Rothchild Hotel couldn't hear.
"Forgive me if I'm still a little pumped," she hissed. "We almost were icicles less than three hours ago!"
Harry sighed. "I was there, Elaine. I didn't mean it like that. I was just pointing it out. Hell, I keep looking over my shoulder half expecting to see a pissed off faerie queen."
"Why didn't you mention the fact that Aurora managed to get the drop on the Final Frost?" she asked, picking up her spoon again. This time she managed to stir in her sugar without shaking. "That would've been useful."
"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," he said with a shrug. "I didn't know Aurora or Titania was going to pull a stunt like that."
Elaine groaned. "And I still haven't talked to Maeve yet. How am I going to question the Winter Lady if her mother wants to kill me?"
"You know she's not going to do anything," said Harry. He didn't know if he really believed it. "Mab doesn't honestly believe we killed her Final Frost. We were just convenient outlets. If anything she's going to have a little talk with Titania, and their going to really have it out Midsummer. Aurora was well in her right to kill him for spying on her."
The female wizard's shoulders relaxed marginally. "You're right."
They fell into silence as they both slipped into their thoughts. After that apparation backed by Summer power he was finding it harder to resist the temptation of not using the foreign power. There were cons, oh stars were there cons, but the pros were starting to pile up. And that pile was starting to have lots of potential.
"Listen, I think I'm going to head out," said Elaine. She threw some money on the table. "I'll meet you later on the roof. Aurora's going to need an update."
Harry nodded. "Sounds good. Hey, don't go see Maeve alone. I want to be there."
"I won't." She rolled her eyes and made a cross over her chest. "Cross my heart."
He gave her a smart salute and she crossed the room to the exit. Harry sipped at his coffee getting swept back up into his thoughts. The waiter stopped by the table a few times and Harry barely noticed till he was startled by a very familiar laugh. He looked up as two men entered the restaurant. The man in view was blocking the other's face.
He recognized the man. It was the same older fellow that thought he knew Harry when he checked in yesterday morning. The man stopped to pick up something from the ground, and Harry's breath caught. The face of his companion came into view. Harry realized why the man thought he was someone he recognized. The face staring back at him with identical shock was non-other than James Potter.
James excused himself and stalked over to Harry, shock giving way to chilly anger. He stood before Harry and slammed his hands on the tabletop. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Harry's heart skipped and hope died, and he shrugged. "I'm sitting here drinking coffee."
"Who do you think you are?" he demanded. "Sitting here, wearing my son's face… I should kill you right now."
"Dad—"
James slapped his hands against the table and spat, "Don't call me that. My son's dead. You're just the bastard who hijacked his body." He leaned in close so his whisper sounded just as powerful as a scream. "I'm going to ask one more time. What are you doing here?"
"I'm helping a friend not that its any of your business," Harry replied, fighting against the sinking sadness.
He refused to let his father realize that his words actually hurt. Harry didn't want to be the bad guy. It wasn't his fault he was in this situation. It's not like he asked to be here. There was no one else who wanted out of this bizzaro universe more than him.
James lips twisted into a grim frown. "You're wearing my son's body like a suit, so whatever you do is my business. I'll see to your end if you do something evil using Harrison's face. The full might of the Venatori will come down on you, and you'll wish that you stayed in that backwater world you escaped from."
"Dad, come on!" said Harry, getting fed up. "It's me! Like it or not, I'm your son."
James glared and refrained from snapping out a reply when his colleague appeared. The man touched James shoulder, not taking his eyes off Harry.
"Potter what's going on?" he asked.
James shook his head and growled out. "Nothing." He reined in his anger, fixing his expression into one of detached coolness. "Let's go, Jackson."
Jackson nodded slowly looking from Harry to James quickly. Harry could see he was piecing together their similar facial features and probably already was adding up how they were related. Harry watched as James marched from the room and Jackson left too, but only after giving Harry one more considering stare.
Harry dropped his head on the table. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."
"Uh, sir?"
He dragged his head up and tried to smile at the nervous looking waiter, but he was sure it came off as more of a scowl or grimace.
The waiter sat Harry's bill on the table. "Here's your check, sir."
He managed to say this without looking awkward and then dashed away back to the kitchen. No doubt to tell the staff about the insane customer taking up his table. Harry dropped cash, plus a ten for a tip, to compensate for his scaring the poor guy. He took a deep breath getting himself together. He knew this day was going to suck but it was going down the drain faster than usual. As composed as he was going to be, Harry stood and left the dining room and for good measure left the hotel too. He needed some time and a peaceful place to think.
Harry found himself in a park when he consciously realized that he hadn't stopped walking. He plopped himself on an empty bench, and dropped his face into his hands. His father still hated his guts. That was not so surprising. The man absolutely refused to see Harry's side of the story. If only he could make the man see reason…Harry shook his head. His mother understood the situation, so why couldn't his father see too.
A part of him hated himself for wishing his dad could give him a chance. He didn't like he was so needy for the affection of his parents, but it's what he had always craved. Going without them for so long had engraved the feeling into his very bones. And it sucked.
Feeling eyes on him, Harry realized that he was drawing the stares of parents in the park. He rolled his eyes. Single man sitting alone in the park for almost an hour, of course he must have a nefarious purpose. He glanced at his watch and found that it had been almost four hours since Elaine split. She was probably waiting on him at Aurora's court.
He jogged back to the hotel. The pounding of his feet hitting concrete chased away the nagging thoughts that lingered. He was almost sorry once he entered into the secret elevator that took him up to the Summer Lady's court. At once he noticed that there was difference within the idyllic court. A somberness hung in the air where there was once tranquility.
Harry spotted Aurora first as she lay over a body by the pool. Dresden stood over her and his expression was one of open worry. Talos stood a little bit away watching over them protectively. His steps quickened and he noticed that the person Aurora was leaning over was Elaine. His legs broke into a run as his heart surged in his chest, panic sending it into overdrive. He slid to his knees beside Aurora. Elaine's shirt was covered in blood and it had dried into thick clumps around her abdomen and arms.
Aurora opened her eyes and after sending another pulse of quiet, warm energy into Elaine, she lowered her arms. She looked into Harry's eyes, not surprised at his presence, and gave him a quiet smile. "She'll be alright. She just needs sleep."
"What happened to her?" he demanded.
Dresden scowled at the air, remembering. "She went off to see Maeve and she was attacked. She didn't say by what before she passed out."
"Damn it!" Harry cursed, clenching his fists. "I told her not to go alone. I told her!"
Aurora placed her hand over his. "She made her choice. Don't begrudge her of that."
He shook his head, suddenly feeling very tired. "Elaine's down till sometime tomorrow for sure, and we're still no closer to finding the missing mantle."
"Two days," said Aurora quietly. "That's all the time we have left before Summer and Winter go to war. Our power balance without a Knight makes us weaker as time passes. If we don't win the war Midsummer, at the peak of our strength, then Mab will come for us Midwinter and she'll surely destroy us."
Harry nodded, determined. "I won't let it come to that."
Aurora looked at Dresden and then Harry. "There's not much time left. I ask of you to join forces to prevent our destruction. The war's outcome will leave this world unrecognizable."
Both Harry's looked at each other aghast. Harry had to admit the idea was logical. With their combined information they might be able to piece together something that he and Elaine had missed or overlooked. He swallowed and he could see Dresden had come to a similar conclusion.
"Fine," Harry sighed, standing up. He then helped Aurora to her feet as well. "I'll do it. We're going to find that mantle Aurora."
Aurora traced his face with her green eyes and took his hands in hers. "Thank you, husband."
Dresden went into a sudden coughing fit that made both of them look at him. The taller man couldn't have looked more surprised if someone had told him that he won the lottery.
"You two are married?" he asked incredulous.
Aurora nodded slowly. "Yes."
"Hell's bells," he muttered, dragging his hand down his face. "Didn't see that one coming."
Harry rolled his eyes and after giving Elaine one more look to check her health, he headed off to the elevator. Guilt gnawed at his stomach something awful. He barely noticed Dresden at his side as they stepped into the elevator.
Dresden waited until the doors slid shut. "Elaine and Aurora. You do get around, don't you?"
Harry flashed a lopsided smile. "Don't tell my mom."
"And so witty. No wonder everyone loves you." There was a sigh from beside him, and something must have shown on his face because Dresden said, "It wasn't your fault."
Harry turned around slowly. "Why, thank you, Dresden. I do believe I'll sleep better tonight." His voice dripped sarcasm. "No offence but I need to focus, and I can't do that if we get all chick flick."
"This is going to be fun."
The sarcasm was thick. And for the first time Harry couldn't agree more with Dresden.
I figured an update was due to make up for the lack thereof recently. The next chapter is titled Harry vs. Harry. That should be interesting.