Brother
The darkness was starting to fade. Harry could feel as it edged away, giving him mind enough room to think; but it was a slow going process, and Harry estimated he still had a lot more time in this state of forced sleep before he was finally awake. Till then, all Harry had to do was wait.
He waited, not feeling any time pass, and trying to push away the edges of darkness which still clung to the edges of his mind.
How did we get into this one? One of the voices of his mind piped up as Harry was starting to feel himself bored. Last I remember we were having tea, then this.
We were drugged, I reckon, Harry thought. He snorted. It was strange, but this is the first time anyone had ever thought to drug his drink, most people just couldn't resist taking him on in a show of brute strength, with the term being relative of course. Harry had to admit it was refreshing to be caught off guard.
How long do we have till we wake up?
Harry shrugged, at least he thought he did—which meant since it was his mind he had. Don't know, new experience and all that. But it shouldn't be too long, he thought, I can almost hear the outside. Harry occupied himself with trying to push back the darkness again, extending his mind; there was still too much of whatever drug was in his system for him to just start awake.
Who do you think did it? Drugged us, I mean.
You're my own mind, of course I know what you mean, Harry thought. He might have acted ignorant of his impending insanity, but he knew it was there. The voices helped him think, though, they helped him gain a new perspective on things he would have over looked were his thoughts solely his own.
Double-edged sword, that. I know your thoughts as well.
True, Harry thought, and left the thought at that—though in the recesses of his mind, were all his most cherished memories were locked away in a vault guarded by a dragon, a troll, and a giant; Harry thought, that's what you think isn't it?
Well, we were thinking about who did this to me weren't we? There was a nod, coming from somewhere. There vampires are rattled, they could be the cause of all this.
There was a snort. Bit of a stretch isn't it? The vampires decided to fight you with magic, they couldn't have been the cause of all this.
With their numbers they could have, Harry returned. It would be easy, especially if the sheriff told her daughter about me.
Or she could have just done the deed herself.
Why would she do that?
Your threat to curse her daughter, that you're apparently friends with the hunter who almost killed her to be son in law, twice, or because you're a witch—Merlin, now they've got me doing it. There a whole lot of reasons she should would have done it.
Okay, so she's a possibility, anyone else? Anyone we could be missing?
The mayor, his mind voice said. She's been suspiciously silent given it was her child that was almost killed.
Harry nodded. He knew mothers, the lengths they would go to protect their children, and for the mayor to be a non-player in a time like this seemed very unlikely. She could be up to this, and with her mayor status, it would be easy for her to get one of the police to slip something into his drink. But all this was just a theory until he woke up.
He pushed the edges of the darkness again, and felt them slip. Felt them move back until the darkness broke; his eyes flew open, his head snapped back, and he winced as his eyes were flooded by the light of the setting sun.
"Half the day," Harry muttered. "Well it isn't thirty years."
He looked around, he was in a room, boarded on all sides by aged art. It was beautiful sight when taken together, though most were either dark or empty, lonely Harry would term them. His eyes moved away from the room and to himself, he was sitting on a chair, his arms cuffed to the side.
Harry looked at the cuffs and let out a drawn out sigh, cuffed to a chair was something he didn't like. Well, being held in general was something he didn't like. Harry liked his freedom, and anyone who took it away from him was someone Harry already held ire towards.
Harry closed his eyes, calming the agitation he felt at the cuffs, which was very hard because it felt like they were poison ivy. He took a few breaths, easing his uneasiness, then stretched out his mind, trying to feel the call of the Elder Wand which was supposed to be in his pocket. He didn't feel anything, which downright made Harry worried; without his wand, he was useless. He couldn't do wandless magic, it was a sort of clause within Harry himself. When he had been young, he had been ruled by his emotions, which was the reason why he had found Occlumency hard to grasp. But with diligence, Harry had been able to put a stop to that. Occlumency had meant control over his emotions, but Harry, ever over-zealous, had taken it too far.
Wandless magic was sort of a form of controlled accidental magic, and accidental magic needed more emotion than Harry was willing to give without losing the grasp he had of his Occlumency barriers, and so his point of being useless without a wand was true.
Of course, Harry could still fight, and he could still Apparate.
But with him being cuffed, those two skills were moot. Now he had to depend on his wit.
How could he get out of here? The easy answer were the witches, Harry was sure they had some sort of magic which would liberate Harry from his cuffs. But he didn't want to be further indebted to the witches, who knew what they would get him to do this time. He had to figure out another way, but it wouldn't come easy, that much he knew.
Harry waited, watching the beauty of the sight of the setting sun, though with each passing second he could feel his irritation keep on building; his arms would gradually twitch, and the cuffs would dig into him every time. Harry had to grit his teeth in order to get his mind in order, to actually start thinking, but he couldn't do it. The cuffs filled the entirety of his mind, that they were keeping him from standing up, that they were keeping him from his freedom.
Harry hated it, and with every second that he couldn't stand, he was starting to get desperate. He started considering thoughts of calling the witches to get him out of this bind, but there was still his wand which was not with him. If he left now, then he wouldn't know who had his wand, and that would make it all that much harder to get it back.
There was a card he could play though, one which he hadn't had much chance to talk to but this seemed the perfect time.
"Alaric," Harry said, it hadn't worked before, but maybe now it could. "Alaric," he tried again. "Alaric. Alaric. Alaric."
The man appeared, and he looked haggard. He looked around, surprised, but his eyes finally got to Harry. "You called me here," the man said, he didn't sound excited. "How?"
"The question I should be asking, is how you resisted my call yesterday," Harry said. "But that isn't the point, I need your help, as you can see."
"I can," the man said looking around. He chuckled. "You're in trouble now."
"You know where I am?"
The man didn't answer, only smirking as he took in the room in further detail.
"As I said, I need your help," Harry said.
"Why should I help you?"
Harry's hand twitched, but he pushed down his irritation turned anxiety and tried to think straight. He needed to think, and these cuffs, he pulled against them and winced, weren't helping matters. Leverage, he thought, what did he have which might change this man's allegiance, at this point, nothing. But he could threaten.
"Because you get to speak with your friends," Harry said, that got the man's attention. "It is my ring which grants you the luxury, and it is I who can take it away from you."
"You can take it away?" the man asked, his voice was cool but his eyes held some trepidation. He snorted. "I know a bit about magic rings," said Alaric, "and I know that you can't do anything as long as Damon has that ring of yours."
Harry shook his head. "My magic doesn't work that way," Harry said. "I told Damon I could take back the ring at any time, for any reason. I know I can't physically take back the ring, but I can take back its power. The same power which makes sure you aren't fully back on the Other Side."
The man hesitated, but Harry could hear muffled footsteps coming their way. "Lexi told me she could see you, how many others can, besides ghosts?" The footsteps were coming closer, and the man was stalling Harry noticed. "Disappear, when I call, I expect you back here."
The man didn't hesitate in disappearing.
The door opened, and Harry waited for the appearance of his captor. He appeared, and Harry's heart almost stopped at the sight of him. He hadn't been expecting him of all people.
"Niklaus Mikaelson," Harry said. What a time to be caught cuffed and wandless.
"You know who I am?" the Original asked, it was as though Harry had stroked the man's ego. "Good, then this will make things simple. You will tell me what I want to know or I will kill you."
"Then what do you want to know?" Harry asked, "And can we please get these handcuffs off, you're a vampire, anything I try you'll catch and you'll have ample time to stop."
Niklaus shook his head. "I'm told you can teleport, though I haven't heard of a witch—"
"Wizard," Harry corrected.
"—that can teleport, I thought if you couldn't stand, turn on the spot, then you wouldn't be able to teleport."
"I'm guessing you lot noticed that then," Harry said, he had to work on that, but it was the fundamental basis of Apparition, he couldn't just break that, as pesky as it was.
"Kind of obvious, from what Caroline and Tyler say." The man smirked at Harry's forlorn expression.
"What do you want to know, Niklaus?"
"The pesky hunter who almost killed one of my hybrids, you know where he is, tell me."
"He is in my home," Harry said. "I've kept him prisoner for the time being, he suffers from lack of impulse control. Now will you let me go?"
"I'm not done," said Niklaus. "Far from it witch, I'll be getting the hunter," and Niklaus stalked off, Harry left to listen to his retreating footsteps. "Watch him, and don't go into the room," he heard the man say, "he's a witch, and they can be dangerous, even to us."
"Quite the bind," Harry muttered. He had a watch, that meant they would hear him if he called Alaric. But in this case they knew he was a wizard, and if Caroline had divulged that he could see dead people, then calling Alaric wouldn't surprise them.
"Alaric," the man appeared, he didn't look like he liked it. "I asked you before, who can see you. I expect the answer."
"Vampires, witches and hybrids," said Alaric.
Harry took a breath, "Then the hybrid outside this room can most likely hear you," Harry muttered. "But at this point I have nothing to lose in showing my cards. I need you to go to my house, Lexi," the woman appeared, she looked around, surprised. "I need you to show Alaric, here, where my house is. Alaric, I need you to tell the hunter to stay inside, at whatever cost. Keep him in if need be."
"Why?" it was Lexi who asked. "What the hell is going on?"
"I'm being held hostage, as you can notice, I'm trying to think this through as I go, could you please do this for me?"
She nodded. "Follow me," she said to Alaric, then both of them disappeared.
Now how to get out of all this. The hybrid would tell Niklaus of Harry's plans, and Niklaus would be pissed once he saw he couldn't make it into Harry's house. Harry expected pain at the very least, he wasn't looking forward to that.
Harry sat, watching as it gradually got darker and darker, and the stars came alight. He took a glance at his wrists, they were getting red and they would get darker if Harry wasn't released from his cuffs.
Lexi appeared. "It's done," she said. "The hunter agreed to stay inside." But there was something in her tone that Harry didn't quite get, not that he cared.
"What took so long?"
"When he saw Klaus and knew what he was, he flipped, in second he was carving stakes preparing for a fight. Stopping him was a chore, it's lucky Alaric can touch things in the real world."
"He can?" Harry asked. "Interesting. But at this point I don't care about interesting, Niklaus will be here very soon, and knowing what I know about the man, I know he will torture me. I don't know if you've ever been torture, but it hurts terribly. Why is he here? Which one of you friends was stupid enough to call Niklaus, bloody, Mikaelson?"
"It's not like you've given them much of a choice, Harry," she said. "Think about it from their perspective, with your help, a man who almost killed one of them escaped."
"A man they wouldn't have known where to find without my help," Harry responded, there was heat in his voice. "Lexi, have you ever known me to just kill? Merlin, you're one of the few people who knows me well enough that I don't kill without a cause. Why would I be conspiring to kill your friends?"
That seemed to anger her. "How do you think I would know this?" she asked. "If you haven't noticed, Harry Potter, you haven't been talking to me lately! You've been hiding things from me! I came to you first when the hunter escaped, and what did you do? You banished me! Banished me, Harry! I could accept that with the witches, but not this."
Harry felt a moment of guilt, but he quickly pushed in down; this wasn't the time. He let out a sigh. "Can we talk about my trust issues later? Right now I have to figure a way to get out of here," Harry said.
"Use your wand."
"I can't, it was taken. I need you to find out where it is." She nodded then disappeared. Harry waited, his heart beating fast at every second he felt that Niklaus would be coming here, obviously pissed off.
Harry heard footsteps, then prepared for the worst. "He keeps talking to himself, I heard someone in there talking him, a guy he called Alaric, but I thought it might be his magic or something."
There was sigh, an exasperated sigh, then the door was forcefully opened.
"You have protection around your house," the man stated, coming to a stop in front of Harry. He looked miffed, and in Harry's current position, he didn't want the Original Hybrid miffed.
Harry nodded. "I don't have a lot of friends," Harry said. "I have to make sure my house is my sanctuary, even if I've invited a few vampires in for a party."
Niklaus nodded, there was a calculating look to his eye, the same one Harry had seen many times in the eyes of Mikael; the man might have overly lamented that Niklaus was no son of his, but the two shared many similarities. One being both wanted Harry in their court, Harry could use that.
"How do I get in?" asked Niklaus.
"You can't go in without me," Harry said, "and some stuff of mine which you took."
His wand was gone, and from what he could feel, so were his gun and compass, the latter two he didn't care about, but his wand; it was most important. He hoped Niklaus didn't know about it, but there wasn't a chance that could have happened, the Ripper, the Gilbert girl, and Damon Salvatore, were the only vampires who knew that he worked with his wand, and none of them could talk.
"Sounds suspiciously like a trap," said Niklaus.
"It is, but you don't have much a choice in this matter," Harry returned. "If you want the hunter, then, you'll have to release me."
"Or I could kill you," said Niklaus. "Magic is pesky, but it has one, large flaw; the caster needs to be alive for a spell to keep working."
Harry chuckled, but it was clear to both Niklaus and Harry that the chuckle was fake. "You won't kill me, Niklaus. Because, though you may not think it, I know that look in your eyes well. You are interested in me, in the sort of power I have. You want to use me for some reason, and that would be impossible if I were dead."
"How exactly do you know me?"
"I know a few wolf clans, they fear you," Harry said, which was the truth, though it didn't answer Niklaus' question. Harry had first heard of the man from his father.
"My reputation precedes me," Niklaus said, and Harry couldn't help thinking the man had quite the ego.
"It does. Now, knowing what I know about you, could you let me out of these restraints?"
"Fine, but if you go against me, I will not hesitate to kill you."
"You've threatened to kill me three time. Numbers have their own sort of magic, so I consider myself forewarned."
Niklaus hummed, pulling out a silver key from his pocket and popping open the cuffs. Harry let out a breath of relief, feeling a weight lifting from his shoulder, and the world righting itself around him. He no longer felt as agitated as he had been a minute ago, and he felt a lot more tight-lipped.
"Why don't we have a little walk and talk?" Niklaus said, grabbing Harry by the scruff of his clothes and hauling him to his feet. He quickly changed positions and grabbed Harry by the collar bone, making sure his fingers dug in. Harry grit his teeth in, but didn't let the wince slip through.
"Sure," Harry said, not like he had much of a choice in the matter. "Why not?"
"Tell me a little about yourself, Harry Potter," the hybrid said, leading Harry from the room. They exited, and for the first time Harry saw his guard, it was a short man with dark hair and unassuming clothes. He shot at Harry a calculating look as he passed, but Harry couldn't help but note that the man looked at bit disappointed.
"What do you want to know?" Harry asked.
"I don't know, tell me about the trinkets I found on you. The gun, the compass, and the stick which looked exactly like a wand."
Harry didn't answer for a moment, thinking this through, weighing the options between a lie and the truth. He couldn't come out with a way out, there was absolutely nothing he could do short of calling the witches, and Harry really didn't want to do that.
"How about this," Harry started. "You ask, I answer, and vice versa."
"And what reason would I accept those terms?" Niklaus asked.
"Well, I think you want something from me," Harry said, remembering the same thing being said to him, and also remembering the results. "I think it may be power, a wizard on your side would be a powerful ally."
Niklaus chuckled. "If you haven't already notice, I have an army of hybrids, a witch is not something I really need."
"But you're interested nonetheless," Harry said, "and I believe it's why you would be open to answering some of my questions."
"Point," said Niklaus, the man smiled. "Call it a little bonding exercise."
"We can, a deal is made then?" Niklaus nodded. "You wanted to know about my trinkets; the stick, as you said, is my wand; the gun is obviously a gun; and the compass I use to look for things. How did you find out about the whole hybrid-hunter business?"
"Surprisingly, it was Mayor Lockwood who told me," said Niklaus. "But then again, the lengths any mother would go to protect her child can be very surprising."
"I know that full well," Harry muttered under his breath.
Niklaus looked to ignore the statement. They turned a corner, Harry taking in as much detail as possible in case he needed to manually search for his wand, because Lexi was taking too long.
"My turn," said Niklaus. "What are you doing in Mystic Falls?"
Skirt the truth, Harry thought. "Nostalgia's sake," Harry said.
"Specifics would be nice."
"I heard through hearsay, that this might be the place the Spell of Immortality was first casted, as a wizard I find aesthetics like that interesting."
"The spell created by my mother," Niklaus said with an amount of pride.
"Yes. Your mother. I hear she was a very extraordinary witch."
"That she was," Niklaus mused softly. He pushed open a door, leading Harry to dining room, and Harry couldn't help that his mind went blank as his sight fell on the amount of food on the table. "I thought you might be hungry."
"Famished," Harry said, for the first time moving forward of his own volition. Niklaus loosened his grip on Harry, though still leading the wizard to the table. He snapped his fingers when Harry sat, one of his hybrids, a dark-skinned woman with short hair, walked into the room.
"Take a hold of his shoulders," he told the hybrid. "He can move, but don't allow him to stand."
The hybrid nodded, then dutifully did as she was told. Niklaus moved to the other side of the table and took a seat, watching Harry with a look Harry knew too well. For all that Mikael had lamented that Niklaus was not his son, the two of them shared more similarities than they thought. The look Niklaus was shooting at Harry, was definitely the same one Mikael had shown the first time the Original had seen Harry fight a vampire.
"You know," Harry said, after swallowing; he had put politeness aside and started the meal, he was too hungry to give them too much thought. "I had thought you would be pissed I hadn't told you about my wards."
"Oh, I am," said Niklaus.
"Then I thought you would torture me, or something to that effect."
Niklaus shook his head, then poured himself a glass of a thick, velvet liquid which looked suspiciously like blood. He then took a gulp. Harry didn't pay it any mind, too focused on quelling the beast of his stomach which was demanded food.
"I thought about it on the way here," the Original said. "I thought about every way I could make you fear me to the point where you would just let those wards of yours fall. But then I thought, why don't I take the route less travelled? Why don't I just let bygones be bygones, and forgive you and that hunter of yours for almost killing Tyler, if you promise me your loyalty."
"My loyalty?" Harry asked. "You do know, loyalty is gained and not bargained, right?" Niklaus shrugged. "What would my loyalty entail?"
"Well, for one your little trinket," said Niklaus. He snapped a finger, another of his hybrids walked in, and in his arms were Harry's gun, his compass, and his wand. Harry perked, then fought himself to look blasé. It didn't work because Niklaus noticed his small motions. The hybrid laid the trinkets in front of Niklaus, then walked off.
"I'm curious," Harry said when the hybrid had left. "I hear your hybrids are sired to you. Can you relay orders telepathically, or was all this snap fingers thing rehearsed?"
Niklaus didn't answer. "This gun," he said instead. "I fired it, and imagine my surprise when it shot out a bullet made entirely out of fire. Do you have any other objects which are as curious as this gun?"
"I do," Harry answered.
"Care to show them to me?"
"Why?" Harry asked, pausing from his question as Lexi appeared in the room.
"I couldn't…" she stopped when she spotted Harry's wand on the table. "Sorry."
"Something the matter, Harry Potter?"
Harry shook his head. "No, just curious why you would care about my little inventions. They should mean nothing to you, you're one of the most powerful people alive."
Niklaus smirked again at that brush to his ego. "Call it fascination," said Niklaus.
Harry took a moment to eat, staying quiet and letting his mind work all on its own: He was in one of those tough situations which didn't look to have a way out right now. The vampire, and Harry used the term very loosely, was an Original. Far stronger than average vampires, far faster, far more agile, and far more experienced than even Harry. Whatever Harry thought of doing to escape, there was little chance it would work.
But Harry had to escape.
He still had only two options, the witches and Alaric, and as much as the man didn't trust Harry. Harry wouldn't be going to the witches for help. But how would Harry play it remained the problem.
Here's to faith, Harry thought.
He put down his eating implements and stared at Niklaus. They were miniscule movements, but Harry could see them; Niklaus' shoulders tensed and his eyes grew alert.
"You're planning on doing something," Niklaus stated.
Harry gave a nod. "I'm going to escape," he said and winced as fingers dug deep into his shoulders.
"Oh? And how will you do that?"
"Alaric's," the man appeared, "going to help me escape."
It took a millionth of a second for the man to take in Harry's plea, then he barrelled towards Harry and tackled the hybrid who had his hands on him. Harry was pulled back by their momentum, but he had enough presence of mind to open his hand. He hit the ground coming to a tumble then was quickly on his feet, his hand closed around the Elder Wand. He turned on the spot, but as he started feeling himself being pulled into the dark tube a hand closed around his throat, then a stronger force was pulling him back.
Pain flared as Harry hit the ground, his arms, his chest, and some parts of his legs. Harry could already feel the coppery smell of his blood flooding the air, and a scream with it, but it wasn't his own. Harry shook his head, clearing his mind of the singular thought that was the pain he was feeling and took stock of the room. He could make out the blurs that were Alaric fighting two hybrids, and on the floor, on his knees was Niklaus, clutching the stump which had been his right arm.
Harry smirked, wanting to chuckle, but his mind caught up. He was still in a house infested with hybrids, and he was bleeding. He tried getting to his feet, pushing his pain back, not that the mental exercise was too effective, but adrenaline helped, and it was flooding his system. He caught a blur at his right, his arm went up of its own volition, his wand moving with practised strokes: a stream of fire shot out and slammed into the hybrid who had been heading Harry's way. The hybrid was suddenly engulfed by fire, but unlike Harry expected, the hybrid did not flail around, he stopped, dropped, then rolled, all in superspeed, effectively quelling the flames before they could kill him.
Harry tried turning on the spot again, but a hit to the jaw sent him hurtling back and hitting the dining table hard. He had a moment to see the blur, Niklaus, and the man looked like he was on a mission to kill, and Harry was his target. Niklaus let out a feral roar, then charged; Harry quickly brought up his wand and a transparent shield materialised from thin air, forming a semi-dome shape around him. Niklaus punched. There was a fury of sparks as the man's left hand hit the shield, then in seconds the sparks disappeared as the shield shattered. Harry was grabbed at his chest, then thrown across the room, colliding shoulder first with the wall.
Pain became his entire existence. Harry was sure his shoulder had been shattered. He opened eyes he didn't even know he had closed; the room was in disarray, five hybrids on the ground, not moving, and Alaric grappling with the one armed Niklaus at equal odds. Harry moved his hand shakily and tapped his shoulder, all feeling disappeared. He awkwardly got to his feet, trying to manoeuvre his left arm to stop being a nuisance. He got to his feet in time to see Niklaus snap Alaric's neck, the man slumped to the ground.
"Can you take him," Harry said to Lexi who had been watching the scene with worry, at Harry's voice Niklaus whipped around to look at Harry. Harry was chilled by the golden-eyed fury looking at him.
He grit his teeth. He was in for the fight of his life.
Niklaus charged. Harry's arm came up and let out a stream of fire; impossible as it was with his momentum, Niklaus dodged. Harry quickly brought his wand up, waving it in a wide circle above his head. The fire didn't stop, it spun around him forming a bright ember barrier. He was about to take a breath when a form split through the fire, slamming into Harry's chest and hurling him back. Harry turned on the spot mid-air, and was relieved when he felt the tight squeeze of Apparition surround him, even with Niklaus in kind squeezing the life out of him.
The two were spat out on Harry's living room, the moment they hit, raw power filled the air, then Harry felt himself breathe again, Niklaus' person having disappeared from his torso.
"Harry!" the voice was panicked, sounding so far from his audial perception that Harry didn't think it worth noticing. He could feel the edges of darkness come closer, and for the life of him he couldn't find any qualms with going to sleep, Merlin knew he fully deserved it. He had to escape his pain, and a few minutes' sleep would do just the thing. He let the darkness engulf him.
"His shoulder's shattered, his ribs and jaws are broken, and there are chunks of him missing," said a female voice Harry thought was vaguely familiar.
"Yeah, but will he be alright," said another, this one was surely Connor, and he had a bit of loathing in his voice.
There was silence, then. "But it will take a very long time," the familiar woman's voice said, "most of which will be spent in a coma. He shouldn't be alive," said the woman.
"I'm telling you again," said Connor, his voice fierce. "We're not using vampire blood."
"Lexi says he wouldn't mind," said another voice, one Harry had never heard before.
"No," said Connor.
The unfamiliar voice was hesitant when it said, "Lexi says you don't have much say in the matter, she's known him longer than you and she knows him better."
"I'll get the blood," the familiar voice said and Harry heard a series of footsteps, then the door slamming shut.
"He's pissed," said the unfamiliar voice.
"I don't care," said Lexi, and Harry could tell from her voice she had her arms crossed. "I don't even know why he's still here."
"Locked in," said the unfamiliar voice. "At least that's what he told me."
"Why would he tell you?"
There was a pause Harry thought might be a shrug. "He says he sees potential in me."
"Potential for what?"
"Don't know, and I don't care. I don't like the guy. He's too intense," said the unfamiliar voice. "Is Alaric awake yet?"
"Three hours," said Lexi. "I'm starting to get worried. I've never hear of ghosts sleeping before."
"I think he'll be alright," said the unfamiliar voice. "I mean he should be tired, the guy fought five hybrids and Klaus."
Lexi hummed, but Harry could tell from her tone that she was still worried. He didn't know though, if this worry was directed at him or the fallen Alaric.
"How do you know him?" asked the nameless voice.
There was a sigh. "He and I met almost seventy years ago," she started. "He was younger back then, a whole lot inexperienced, which is lucky since he was trying to kill Stephen."
"You stopped him?"
"I talked to him, bargained. If I got Stephen to stop being a Ripper, then Harry wouldn't kill him. If I failed," the sentence was left hanging.
"How did you become friend though?" asked the unfamiliar voice. "I can see that you care about him, so how did it get from trying to save Stephen to being his friend?"
"I can't say I know," said Lexi. "He sort of has this way about him, the longer time you spend with him, the more you find that you like him."
There was a twinge of pain; Harry could feel it every time he breathed. He was starting to feel pain, he noticed. Harry quickly pulled back, letting the full effect of the darkness engulf him again before the pain intensified.
Harry felt something nip at his arm. It was short and quick, almost like a bee-sting except it didn't have the throbbing after-effect.
Harry thought nothing of it for a while. He stayed within his safe cocoon of darkness. The same darkness which didn't let through any of the pain his body was feeling. He didn't want to feel the pain for a while. He was in his house. He would be safe until the aches and pain where done, or at least until he was fed the vampire blood—which he didn't mind at all.
Invigoration was the first feeling that filtered through his darkness.
Harry shoved through the darkness; he started awake, flying to his feet, and his wand pointing at the room at large. There was no-one but himself luckily. Harry took a breath, calming himself down. The last he truly remembered of the waking world was his fight with Niklaus Mikaelson, a fight he hadn't won but survived. Rightly so, he was feeling a little edgy. But now he was in his bedroom, and he was half-naked, and the scares he had acquired from his scuffle with the hybrid were gone.
Harry tried to recall the memories from his sleep, the conversation between four: Connor, Lexi, the woman with the familiar voice, and the other voice Harry hadn't recognised. He'd been healed by vampire blood; he looked at his left arm and could see a thin tube with a velvet liquid attached to his arm. He pulled it out, the pain miniscule but he didn't pay it attention. Harry jumped down from the bed and walked to his wardrobe, pulling out a shirt and some pants before pulling them on.
He open the door and immediately had his wand up and ready when Lexi materialised in front of him. "Sorry," Harry said sheepishly. He would be on edge for a while.
"It's fine. How are you?" she asked.
"Fine," Harry said, moving his arms and feeling relieved when there weren't any twinges of pain in his arms. "Good. The blood worked."
"Always does," said Lexi, though there was relief at his voice.
"Thanks," said Harry, walking past the ghost and heading towards the kitchen. He was feeling a little peckish, which Harry attributed to having his last meal under duress. "For the blood, I mean. Pain is not something I felt like going through for an extended period of time."
"You heard our conversation?"
"Parts of it," Harry said. "I can be somewhat of a light sleeper."
"I didn't know that."
"Yeah, it's not something that usual come up in conversation," said Harry. They descended the stairs and Harry could hear the pounding of footsteps against wood. "Where's the hunter?" Harry asked, the sound getting louder the closer the came downstairs.
"Pacing on in the living room," said Lexi. "I should warn you, most of your furniture's been carved into wooden stakes."
Harry paused mid-step, closing his eyes and trying to ward off his frustration. He sighed. "As long as he hasn't tried to kill anyone," Harry said, trying to make himself forget how expensive most of that furniture had been.
Harry changed path and walked into the living room. Connor, as Lexi had said, was pacing where Harry's table had been, in front of him where numerous stakes.
"Good," Harry glanced out the window, it looked to be afternoon, "day, Mr Jordan," he said; the hunter whipped around and hurled a stake Harry's way. The wizard jumped to the side, landed and quickly jumped to his feet. Harry tried to stop himself, but the curse was already in the air, luckily Connor jumped to the side. The curse crashed into a window, shattering it into pieces.
Harry calmed himself and on the other side of the room he could see Connor do the same. "I've been on edge," was Connor's only comment. Harry nodded.
"I know the feeling."
"You're alright," it was phrased as a comment. Harry again nodded.
"As well as can be expected," he returned.
"Good, because we have vampires outside," said the hunter, picking up a three stakes, two of which he jammed between his pants and belt, as he walked to the shattered window. Harry followed. Outside the property, at the edges of the wards Harry could make out three people looking back at them. "What are we going to do?" asked Connor.
"For now, nothing." The man grimaced in distaste. "I need to eat, and you need to start on Occlumency, I can't have you impaired," said Harry.
"You're going to fight, Klaus," said Lexi, drawing a conclusion for quicker than Harry expected, especially since the thought hadn't even finished forming yet.
"Yes," Harry answered. He had to. The man had threatened his life, he had taken from Harry, and worst of all, he had cuffed him to a chair for half a day. There were many factors Niklaus had against him in Harry's imaginary list, and with the addition of those which had happened the night prior, Harry was intent on killing the man.
"Yes what?" said the hunter just as Lexi said, "You can't do that."
Harry disregarded Connor. "Why wouldn't I?" Harry asked.
Connor was about to speak, but Harry held out a hand. Lexi spoke, "If you kill him, then you're killing his entire bloodline. It's the same with all Originals."
"I did not know that," said Harry. "It proves to be problematic."
"Who are you talking to?" asked Connor.
"Lexi," Harry answered absently, frowning in thought. "Why didn't I know about this?" Harry asked. "How do you know about this?"
"I heard it happened when the Original Finn was killed," she answered.
Harry sighed. "Just my luck," he muttered. Harry felt a shiver in his spine, he looked out the window again and could see one of the hybrids, a new one, was wincing from having touched his wards. "My unplanned plans will have to change accordingly," said Harry.
"Lexi, you were talking to someone, do you mind telling me who it was?" Harry asked. He turned when there was no answer. "Okay, you telling me who he is not important. I assume he's a medium, and a friend to the other vampires of this town. I need you to send him a message for me, to Damon Salvatore. I need the ring back." Then Harry remembered about the sleeping ghost. "Before you go, is Alaric awake yet?"
Lexi shook his head. "I put him in your lab," said Lexi. "Harry, I hope I get an explanation when this is all done."
Harry nodded. "We'll be upstairs," said Harry looking at the annoyed hunter.
"You going to tell me what that was about?" asked Connor.
"I just found out I can't kill someone," said Harry. "Not the best news considering he'll be trying to kill me. Follow me," said Harry starting for the stairs, and waving his wand towards the kitchen as he passed. There was a clatter of plates which Harry ignored for much more important thoughts.
They scaled the stairs and walked into Harry's lab, Alaric was on the floor, completely still. Dead, for all intent and purposes.
"Accio Occlumency copy," said Harry waving his wand. One of the drawers to his desk popped open, and out flew a small tome. Harry caught it then quickly threw it at the hunter, who caught it without any trouble. "Start reading," Harry said, turning to face Alaric.
He knelt on the ground, looking over the man. This wasn't sleep. It was more like another death than anything, but he was a ghost, and ghost couldn't die twice, at least those were the usual rules. Alaric was something different entirely, a mixture between two different types of magic, there was no telling what he could and couldn't do. So maybe this wasn't death, maybe the man was really asleep, and Harry knew exactly the spell to wake a sleeping person.
The wizard pointed his wand at the sleeping ghost. "Innervate," Harry said and the ghost started awake. He briefly looked around, then he groaned running a hand at his neck.
"Welcome to the land of the…Living, I guess," said Harry with a smile, the wizard having now stood. He extended a hand.
"Thanks," said Alaric. The ghost took Harry's hand and the wizard pulled him to his feet. "Where am I?"
"My lab," Harry said. "Lexi put you here after Niklaus broke your neck."
Alaric frowned, rubbing his neck as if trying to ward off phantom pains. He stopped when his eyes fell on Connor, the hunter was looking at the ghost in kind, the two having a stare off. Harry noticed but didn't comment, whatever the staring was about, it did not concern him. The wizard instead found interest in the door which flew open, the sandwich floating towards him.
He took a seat on his desk, Connor was in his chair having returned to the book on Occlumency and Alaric looking with intrigue at the floating snack. "So," Harry said after he had taken a bite, chewed, and swallowed, "we've never really spoken have we?"
"Except when you're threatening me or ordering me around? No."
"Sorry about that," said Harry. "Desperate measure for desperate situations and all that. Harry Potter."
"I know," said Alaric.
"This was more for friendly introductions," said Harry. "I have no idea who you are except that your name is Alaric."
"Why would you know who I am?" asked Alaric.
"You saved my life," said Harry. "I owe you one."
"You do," said Alaric, "and I'll remember that." The man disappeared.
"Well that was stupid," Connor commented from behind his book.
"What was?" Harry asked taking the last bites of his sandwich.
"You telling him that you owed him," said Connor.
Harry shook his head. "I had no reason why I would have told him," said Harry. "This will mean he will be a lot more trusting of me in the future, at least that's my guess."
"I didn't think of it like that," the Connor said.
Harry shrugged. "It's a fifty-fifty chance it will work though, which is why we need Lexi to vouch for us." Connor looked up from the book, his expression questioning. "There were five hybrids who fought Alaric, there are four outside I do not remember seeing, and there's also the possibility that there are more out there guarding the hybrid you tried to kill. The both of us can't hope to tackle those numbers alone, so we need allies."
"You're thinking those vampires?" asked Connor with a tone of contempt.
Harry nodded. "One of them may have a reason to hate Niklaus; Merlin knows the man had lived long enough to make a lot of enemies. If that's the case, then we may have someone else on our side."
"I don't like the idea of working with vampires," said Connor.
"No, your compulsion doesn't like the idea of working with vampire," said Harry. "Once you have a basic grasp of Occlumency, we will be able to see whether or not you still feel like that way."
"And if I do?"
"I'll have to make other plans. It's not the easiest thing to do, but it's not impossible," said the wizard.
They stayed silent, Connor reading and Harry lost in his thoughts. He couldn't kill Niklaus without killing a multitude of innocent vampires. Harry weighed the two options, his life and the lives of countless others, and found he couldn't even think about killing the man anymore. He had to find another way. Maybe bind him. But binding was easier thought than applied, Harry's magic didn't deal to well with binding, especially in the long term; Full-Body Binds didn't last too long on vampires, Conjured ropes would disappear the moment he went through magical exhaustion, Entrapment Charms could work, but alone they were too weak to stop an onslaught of supernatural. But it was the best option, Harry would have to think on it further, maybe lock the man away in a specially adapted prison whose wards would hold until eternity, or a powerful coven of witches came and broke them.
Harry nodded to himself, this was the safest option, but he would still need to capture the man and to do that, he would need to go through the many hybrids who would give their lives in an effort to protect their sire. Harry internally sighed, if there was only a way to break the sire bond, then he wouldn't have to kill the hybrids, but this was just wishful thinking. Harry knew nothing about sire bonds or even if they could be broken, he wouldn't waste resources looking into it when he knew Niklaus would be looking to killing him.
Lexi appeared. "I sent the message, I'll check back in a few hours to get Damon's reply," she said, then she shot a pointed look at Harry.
"Explanation?"
Lexi nodded. Harry stood from his seat and started moving his wand in complicated motions, the feel of power in the room intensified to the point that both Lexi and Connor could feel it almost itching against their skins, both stayed quiet though as they looked at the focused Harry who continued oblivious of them both. The entire process took fifteen minutes, and when it was done, there was a low buzz vibrating from the wards.
"What was that?" Lexi and Connor asked at the same time, give or take a millisecond.
"The most powerful wards I can manage," said Harry. "I doubt even Merlin himself could hear us if he stood outside this room."
"Merlin?" said Connor.
"Not the point, Mr Jordan." Harry conjured a chair and sat, making sure that both Lexi and Connor were in front of him. "Can I have your word that what I tell you now will not be told to anyone else even in the event, unlikely though it is, that I betray you?"
Lexi answered with a serious yes, while Connor just nodded, putting the black book down.
"Oaths have power, Mr Jordan, I hope you understand that. I'm not going to be the one to enforce it, but you will find that the universe tends to give you misfortune if you break the oath of a witch or wizard."
"Yes," said Connor after a moment's deliberation, he sounded serious this time. "I give you my word."
"Good," said Harry, and then started telling them about the witches of Mystic Falls, their request, Expression, and Harry's own plans to break the veil.
"Let me get this straight, you're going to destroy something that's keep every vampire, werewolf, and witch dead?" Connor asked when the entire tail was over.
Harry nodded though his eyes were on Lexi who just looked shocked; she stood stock-still, just staring through Harry.
"Have you thought this through?" asked Connor, not noticing that Harry wasn't exactly paying attention to him. Harry nodded absently. "And here I thought you were smart," the hunter said taking to his feet and pacing. Connor shook his head. "Harry, if you do this, then you'll be putting everyone in danger. Imagine the many vampires I have killed, imagine the many vampires who've been killed through history, and now imagine all of them back in the land of the living. It would be chaos."
"Is something wrong Lexi?" Harry asked. All what Connor had said wasn't important, it wasn't as though Harry hadn't thought about it. There was no way he could let many of the evil beings roaming the other side come back here, he would need a very focused point where the veil was broken; a door, so to speak, or something akin to an arch with an ever fluttering curtain. But Harry's thoughts on building the Death Veil were put aside for something he felt was more important: his friend was in turmoil.
"I thought this was punishment," said Lexi with a tone Harry couldn't quite tell. "I thought that when I had stayed here for a time worth of all the evil I had done, I would move on. But now you tell me this is the work of some witch?" the last was said with so much loathing that Harry was surprised. Lexi shook her head. "I don't think I've ever hated anyone more than the witch would built this place," she said. "I don't think I have ever hated this much, even when Damon killed me," and it hit Harry like a train. This was why he knew the name Damon Salvatore, Harry had spent some time hating the man for killing both Lexi and a witch named Bree, Harry had once had a fling with.
Harry remembered with powerful intensity that he didn't like Damon Salvatore. But for now he would let his dislike go, he didn't need his mind clouded by emotions that were of no consequence.
"She's probably stuck on the Other Side with you," said Harry. "If it's any consolation."
"It isn't," she said with an angry tone Harry didn't blame at all. "I need some time to deal," she said before trying and failing to disappear.
"The wards will keep you in until I end them," said Harry, "and since they take a lot out of me I can't let them down yet." Lexi walked into one of the corners behind Harry. Harry didn't turn, intent to give the woman her privacy. "You were worried about the countless vampires," said Harry returning to Connor, the man looked annoyed.
"I hate it when you do that," said Connor.
Harry ignored the comment. "I have something planned for that," said Harry.
"Okay. But where does killing the guy who nearly ended you factor in with all the things you have to do?" asked Conner.
"It's why I need as many heads as possible," said Harry. "If you can grasp Occlumency, then we'll go around searching for more of your kind and maybe train them as well. Maybe we could have an army of hunters within a month or so," and I'll tell you that we can't actually kill Niklaus when you're no longer under some supernatural compulsion, thought Harry.
The hunter snorted. "I really want to see how this all pans out," he said before returning to his book.
AN: I believe at this point I should make things interesting. I imagine a war, but all things could end in a truce, I'm not sure which I prefer to write at the moment.