Their third encounter and first real meeting would not occur for nearly eight years when Harry is 20 and Lawliet is 22.
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Harry sighed as he put down yet another letter from Hermione. Another one! In the same week no less! He was really getting quite tired of it. Just because he hadn't answered the last one… Course, he hadn't answered any of the previous letters either.
Harry supposed he couldn't really blame Hermione for worrying, but he honestly wasn't sure what to say to her and just wished she'd give him some more time to think—not that he hadn't been thinking about everything. Really, all he did was think lately. It wasn't as though he had anything else to do, because Harry had quit his auror job at the Ministry only months after finishing the training program. He'd also broken up with Ginny. And now, everyone he knew was sending him concerned "What's up with you?" letters, and Hermione was right there at the forefront with the Weasleys close behind her.
Harry avoided their letters most of all and cringed with guilt every time a new one came. He wasn't sure what to say to Hermione and the Weasleys, mostly because he was sure it wouldn't do to tell them what he'd been thinking about himself.
Harry had been just fine after the Battle of Hogwarts. He knew he would be after he finally got some rest. After all, everything was over with wasn't it? There was nothing more to worry about, nothing more to run from, nothing more to plan. He could finally relax and get on with his life.
At first, Harry had thought it would be fine to just accept Kingsley's request to join the Auror Corps, but Hermione had put a stop to that. "We never finished school Harry! What about our N.E.W.T's?" The fact that she had made sure to convince Ron to return to Hogwarts first cemented the decision in Harry's mind. How could he not follow his two best friends back to school? For that matter, why wouldn't he go back for one last year at Hogwarts? It would probably be his least stressful year ever, even with the N.E.W.T's.
Besides, nearly everyone in their year was going back. Not many had gotten anything even resembling a real education with the Carrows in charge of the school. Not many had even been able to go… So, it wasn't as though he'd stand out.
Harry found during that extra year that being at Hogwarts was the best decision he could have made. For one thing, Headmistress McGonagall kept all the reporters, well-wishers, opportunists, stalkers and general fans off the grounds and away from Harry. Being surrounded by his friends and classmates also helped buffer the even greater celebrity status he had gained as the 'Vanquisher of Voldemort'. Well…at least no one was afraid to say the name anymore—some even said it with a malicious sort of glee.
Harry spent his last year studying like crazy, hanging out with his friends, and hiding from those few who managed to sneak onto the grounds to meet him. His classmates were more than willing to help in that endeavor. As was his now official girlfriend Ginny. It didn't occur to Harry until much later that this might not have been the best plan. He wondered if maybe he had spent more time hiding with Ginny instead of asking her to cover for him then he might not have wanted to break up. Or maybe he would have wanted to break up sooner…
Still, that last year had been a blessing. Safe at school with so many people he cared for, even with studying, was infinitely better than what awaited him when he went to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Harry enjoyed the training program with Ron, of course, but… He couldn't walk down a single hallway without a crowd forming and someone always started a line for handshakes. Two of his teachers in the program, the dueling specialist and the interrogation specialist, had rather obvious and embarrassing cases of hero-worship. His other teachers, however, seemed intent on proving that either Harry had limits or that they could beat him. The dark magic and curse specialist was almost constantly disappointed that Harry came out top of the class most sessions and never missed detecting a dark spell. The law specialist though was always very smug to be able to explain something Harry had forgotten on his tests. Harry wasn't sure how to feel about the combat specialist who always picked Harry for demonstrations, but who always made sure Harry got the lessons down right without being too unbearable about it.
Harry kept himself busy mostly, and he told himself that everything would be easier once he started working a regular job. Then everyone would see that he was just a normal wizard like everyone else and all the embarrassing stares and handshakes and congratulations and questions would fade away. He was quite sure.
It wasn't until the end of the training program when Harry and Ron went to the Burrow for a celebration dinner that Harry realized something might be wrong.
As always, Harry was happy to be visiting at the Burrow again. He really did love the Weasleys and being surrounded by them and eating a delicious dinner cooked by Molly (and Fluer, the two were really getting on much better now and had even come to an agreement on searing meat) was his idea of a splendid evening. However, as they were sitting down to eat, Harry realized that he was seated next to Ginny and she was squeezing his hand and smiling at him. He was still dating her! How on earth had he forgotten that, he wondered.
Well, he must have been too busy with the training program—he was worked much harder than the other students. But now that that was over, he could relax and he and Ginny could start having a real relationship like Ron and Hermione did.
Ginny leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek. "Congratulations Harry!" She smiled at him again. They could do all the things couples were supposed to do. George plopped down across from Harry and grinned at him. "So you an' Ron are aurors now huh? Gonna go catch some dark wizards now that you're all trained up then?" Harry laughed along with him and Ginny. Yes, Harry thought. He could definitely get used to more nights at the Weasley house, seeing even George being more cheerful. He and Ginny could visit every week and stay for dinner, tell Molly that of course he and Ron were being careful, joke with Arthur about seeing him on Monday…
But wait, he and Ginny were going to be dating seriously. She wouldn't want all their dates to be at her parents' house. Harry thought about that a minute. Why was it that thoughts of dating Ginny made him envision the whole Weasley clan? Harry thought about it until dinner started and he thought about it after. He even found himself thinking of seeing Molly, George, and even Percy next week when he kissed Ginny good night at her flat!
Something was wrong with him. He should be thinking of Ginny when he kissed her, not her family! Harry thought and worried about this the whole weekend and when Monday came around and it was time to meet up with Ron for their first official day as aurors, he was still trying to puzzle things out.
By the end of the day, Harry was a distracted mess leaning over paperwork all the new aurors got stuck with, misspelling "Ethelbart" on a complaint notice and writing the wrong date on a confiscation report.
"Are you all right there Harry?" Ron asked him as they went home for the day.
"What?" said Harry.
"Only you've seemed… a bit off. It's only the first day mate!" Ron thumped Harry on the back.
"Right! Right… well I suppose I'm just… excited… is all."
Ron grinned at him. "I know mate. We're finally here! We're real aurors now!"
Harry only smiled glumly. "Yah… Real aurors…" Harry had a lot to think about.
Harry did think about Ginny and the Weasleys and that led to thinking about himself and his life. The life he'd dreamed of having—being an auror, marrying Ginny, having kids and just… being normal. Aside from the Weasleys, he tried to remember why that life had been so appealing to him.
He wasn't really enjoying being an auror so far. Too many people idolized him and it was driving him to accept extra paperwork so he could have an excuse to escape to his desk. He hated paperwork. He didn't think fieldwork would be all that great either. He listened to the others tell stories about their finished cases and he thought that he, Ron and Hermione had done far more dangerous and exciting things at school and had spent most of that time confused, angry and scared.
He was also sure that having kids wasn't something he wanted right now either. He thought that Teddy, his godson, was quite likely the cutest little toddler in all of Britain, but he was grateful every day that Andromeda had custody of him. He didn't mind helping out now and then- babysitting and what not- but having to care for a child all the time along with work would really have been too much for Harry. He was just glad the nappie stage had passed with only minimal effort on his part. Dealing with his own children… well, he was sure somehow that Ginny would end up with most of the work and that struck him as somewhat unfair. He had always envisioned both father and mother taking care of him in his fantasies as a child, so the idea that his own children would make due with their mother caring for them while they saw their father only when he wasn't working… It bothered him. Though he still didn't think he'd be able to join in fully with child-rearing despite that.
As for marrying Ginny… He hated admitting it to himself, but he really couldn't help but see her as "Ron's sister." She had always been there on the outskirts of his life and then she had just stepped into it and somehow she had a different role than she used to. Harry himself wasn't sure how that had happened, but she had gone from 'little sister' to 'really pretty girl' and it had seemed perfectly natural to just go along with her at the time. Now that he looked back however, he felt as if he'd missed something but couldn't figure out what it was.
So he started thinking himself in circles, trying to reason out why he wanted to date Ginny and whether her family was really the main factor in that decision. The fact was that the past four years of their relationship had been full of distractions—because dark lords and N.E.W.T.s were definitely distracting—and had kept them from spending any significant amount of time together. Then when they did spend time together, they mostly hung out with Ron and Hermione. Surely that didn't count, did it?
Come to think of it, Harry realized, Ron and Hermione were much better at meeting up for snogging sessions—during school and during auror training. So why hadn't he done so with Ginny? Especially during auror training—Harry had had far more free time than he was used to. But somehow even then he ended up visiting with Ron and Hermione or Andromeda and Teddy or Neville and Luna. The only time he really went to see Ginny—and this was perhaps the most obvious clue in Harry's mind—was when he visited the Burrow. The only reason he even knew where Ginny lived was because he'd 'escorted' her there from a dinner at the Burrow.
Harry had been stunned when he reached a conclusion. He had only gone out with Ginny because of her family… Harry felt awful. Had he really been using her like that? Sure, he liked her okay, but he liked the Weasleys as a whole much better. That didn't seem like a good enough reason to date and maybe marry a girl who was in love with him. She deserved better than that…
As Harry slipped into a confused sort of depression over how he had treated Ginny and—oh no, what was he going to tell Ron and the rest of the Weasleys?—he found himself again looking at his decision to become an auror. He wondered if he'd really wanted to be one or if he'd just been following Ron. Was he really that dependent, he wondered. But no, he did enjoy the spellwork and the dueling. He liked the chase, but all the paperwork and how dull the everyday duties were… Harry had a hysterical thought that he had grown too used to dealing with dark lords and death eaters to be satisfied with muggle-baiters and dark item smugglers.
Then he had a thought—hadn't he wanted in forth year, before the auror thing came up, to have a quiet life with no danger. He knew he'd been looking forward to the Triwizard Tournament specifically because he would not be part of it. He would get to spend the year worrying about tests while three other unlucky students got to run for their lives for everyone's entertainment. Then somehow, after being forced into the competition anyway, Harry had become resigned to danger and he and Ron had decided that being aurors would be the best job ever. …How had he decided that?!
Harry had suddenly realized that he didn't want to be an auror. He blinked. He didn't want to be an auror and he didn't want to date Ginny.
Now what would he do?
Now here he was, hiding from his friends because he couldn't explain all of… what was going on. He had broken up with Ginny the same day he realized he wanted to—by letter. He had quit his job the very next day—by letter. Then it had occurred to him that everyone would come asking him what was going on and he couldn't deal with that so… He moved. Secretly.
Honestly, Harry wasn't sure what he was thinking when he did that. He just knew that he couldn't possibly explain to everyone that he didn't want to be what he'd always thought he'd wanted because he wasn't sure if he ever had wanted it…if that made any sense. But he rather thought that his snap decision to move out of number twelve Grimmuald Place was both cowardly and, well, confusing. He almost thought that maybe part of him wanted his friends to find him easily and force him to explain- after all, he'd only moved into number nine Grimmuald Place, or Argyle Square as the muggles called it.
But even so, Harry was finding his 'hiding place' to be much better than he initially gave it credit for. The first few days, he expected Ron and Hermione to join up with the Weasleys to ask if they knew why he quit the aurors. He figured then Ginny would probably bring up the break up- over a letter, honestly, what was wrong with him? After that they would all come see him for an explanation. He would probably see them through the windows of number nine, hiding under his cloak, and wait for them to find him. They did get together and they did come looking for him. Multiple times. But no one ever figured out where Harry had gone.
Harry was flummoxed. Didn't they have tracking spells? They were definitely sending him letters, so couldn't they just follow the owls? Was he seriously hiding from them less than twenty meters from his original home? Successfully? Harry wondered vaguely if they really wanted to find him at all. But no, their letters were quite worried. If they knew where he was they'd have come to yell at him already.
Harry put down Hermione's latest letter and wandered off to the kitchen to make a sandwich. Really, what was he doing? He was hiding from his friends and the people he considered family and worrying them all like mad. He wondered how much longer he was going to keep this up. He wondered what exactly he was going to do now that he didn't have a job.
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L scratched one foot with the other as he lay on his back looking at the ceiling. No interesting cases. Not that Wammy would let him take one right now. He was too worried about him. L wasn't sure why when the only problem he could see was his ever-growing boredom.
L stretched his neck up without moving the rest of his body and looked at his computer. He tapped his toe on the mouse to reload his mailbox. Still nothing. He let his head fall back. Maybe Wammy was screening his mail… Except he'd hacked the Watari mailbox too and there wasn't much of interest there either. L turned his head to the side and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It had been nearly five months since the LABB case was closed and it didn't bother him. At all. Wammy may think that L was growing "despondent" and "listless," but L himself was just bored. And he didn't care about BB. Really, the only reason he had bothered getting involved with the case after seeing the file was out of responsibility to Wammy (it was clear there would only ever be four victims, and three had already died so normally it wouldn't have even been worth the trouble). But if BB were interrogated he might mention Wammy's House and L couldn't allow that to happen. Now that it was over and BB had shown no inclination to bring the home into his problems, L was just… bored.
Normally at this time he'd have slipped into one of his hundreds of other aliases and started working on the 'lesser' crimes that weren't complex enough for 'L' or weren't high-profile enough for 'Deneuve' or 'Eraldo Coil'. But somehow he lacked interest in doing so and no, it wasn't because he was "despondent," of all things…. He was merely bored.
L rolled over and got up to fetch a cupcake from the table in the outer room Wammy had left for him. He grabbed a double chocolate cupcake with red icing and peeled a corner of the wrapper off before shoving half of it in his mouth. As crumbs rolled down his chin and bounced down his shirt to the floor he thought about why he hadn't taken on any small cases lately.
He had at first—during that first month after BB was taken care of, he worked on several dozen cases simultaneously. He finished them quickly and took on more until Wammy had admitted that he was getting exhausted flying all over the place with him so he could work on some more isolated cases in person. Then, after he lessened the workload to compensate for Wammy, he found himself lessening it more and more as he had more time to realize… he wasn't interested in any of the cases he was working. He solved the last case he had taken on and then just didn't accept any more after that.
Now it was four months since his last case, he was bored, Wammy thought he was—he wasn't going to use that stupid word again—thought there was something off with him, he had no desire to take on any case that wasn't mind-bogglingly difficult, and… he was bored. L shoved the rest of the cupcake into his mouth, hardly even tasting it, and grabbed another to take back to his room.
Maybe he should do as Wammy suggested and take a vacation (From what? He wasn't exactly working…) and relax a bit. Wammy meant for L to return to Wammy House for a short while, meet the new 'replacements', but L wasn't going to make that mistake again. He was sure it was his direct involvement that had unbalanced both A and B and… Not that he cared or anything. Not that what they did was in any way his fault either.
L stood in front of his favorite window and stared blindly as he shoved the cupcake in his mouth. He chewed a bit, thinking. No, it wasn't his fault—he hadn't made any mistakes… But he had to admit to himself that he felt like he had somehow…
He pulled the torn and mushy wrapper out of his mouth and dropped it on the floor as he turned to go to his computer. Wammy hated it when L left trash about, but this was more important- he had to do this before he changed his mind.
L started a connection from his computer with Wammy's personal cell phone.
"L?"
"Watari, schedule a flight for me to Heathrow. I'm going to take a vacation."
"…Of course. Will I be picking you up?"
L thought about this. He thought of how hesitant Wammy sounded and of all the subtle hints that had been dropped about L 'needing time off' and how the new 'candidates' were 'better cared for' and wondered which message was more important. Wammy meant for him to take care of both issues at once but… He always had been selfish.
"Yes, but book a hotel in London please. I'll…" L paused. "I'll speak to the house, but not in person."
"… Very well, that's more than enough I think. I will send you the ticket information soon."
L ended the connection there. He always had been bad at social graces. Besides, now that he'd decided to do this he found he was feeling more energetic. He wasn't sure exactly what he would do back in England, but Wammy would be there and would think of something. L licked his lips. It would likely involve cake.
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Harry glanced up from the letter in his hand and looked out the second story front window of number nine Argyle Square and tried to think of what he should be doing just now.
There had been a lot of changes for Harry in the past few months. He had finally gone to visit Hermione and Ron in November—he couldn't quite manage going to the Weasleys directly—and he had explained, as best he could, everything he'd been thinking about over the previous months.
Hermione had cried a bit and said that of course Harry could talk to them about what he was feeling. Harry rather thought Hermione wished that he and Ron had been 'sharing their feelings' far sooner. Ron was pissed at him. Well, Harry had expected that after how he'd treated Ginny. But he hadn't expected Ron to get over it so quickly. "You are my best mate and you're practically family anyway—Mum's been wanting to adopt you for ages y'know—so I can't blame you for thinking of Ginny as a sister 'n all." Harry winced a bit and agreed quickly, just glad that Ron didn't hate him. He hoped the other Weasleys were this understanding.
He'd gone to see other friends and dropped in on Andromeda and Teddy—who'd thrown a stuffed bear at him for not visiting—and then he'd eventually mustered the courage to meet up with the Weasleys. Harry had hoped to visit them individually, as then they wouldn't have the advantage of numbers against him, but they had already worked out that the first to see Harry would immediately summon the others. That meeting had been… interesting and Harry had been surprised yet again.
The Weasleys had been mad at him, not for dumping Ginny as he expected (though she was still mad about it, especially the letter, and hexed him for it), but for dropping all contact with them. They'd been worried and considered him enough a part of the family that not seeing him for so long was a family crisis. Apparently Weasleys he hadn't even met had been notified to keep an eye out for him—"Check if he's feeling peckish!" had been one of the orders to the clan. Molly had all but collapsed on Harry and broke down in tears when Harry had explained why he thought he'd been dating Ginny and why he broke up with her. George had whacked him on the back of the head and smirked at him and Arthur had gripped his shoulder and solemnly told Harry that he would always be family. Ginny had removed her hex and said Harry was enough of a prat to fit in with her brothers perfectly well. She even smiled at him, a bit sadly yes, but still a smile.
Harry had been relieved that explaining himself had gone so smoothly… at least, the bit about Ginny and the Weasleys had. Everyone he knew was still confused about why he quit the aurors and kept telling him that it didn't make sense—what else would Harry be but an auror?
Ron and Arthur told him they'd spoken to the auror head on his behalf and he could go back in at any time no matter how many times Harry said he wouldn't. Even Percy had pulled Harry aside and told him, in true pompous-Percy style, that the paperwork for Harry's resignation could be back-filed indefinitely and that Percy himself would see to it personally that Harry cleared all the reinstatement paperwork in record time. "Best to do these things properly!" was Percy's reply anytime Ron insisted that Harry didn't need to go through the bloody paperwork because he hadn't really left.
Harry made sure to avoid conversations like this and to dodge around anyone who looked determined to bring it up—primarily Hermione, who was certain that Harry had just been panicked about Ginny and had over-reacted. "But Harry, you have always wanted to be an auror! You worked hard to get the proper O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s for an auror position! What else are you going to do?"
That was a good question, Harry admitted. If he had any idea, any idea at all, what he would do, then no one would be bothering him about the auror job. But he really had no idea what he would do—being an auror was the only job he had ever thought about and that really seemed to fit him. He was, however, absolutely certain now that he didn't want to be an auror. The only problem was figuring out what he did want and making sure to convince everyone else that it was a good idea.
Harry blinked and looked back at the letter that he'd been holding for the past hour or so and realized that he'd been clutching it in a fist. He released the letter and put it on the desk in front of him. He really needed to find something soon, before these rumors spread beyond his circle of friends.
Apparently breaking up with Ginny, quitting his job and vanishing for several months were signs of depression and even though everyone accepted his reasoning for breaking up, he still hadn't returned to work and he still had a tendency to not be around much anymore. So the general conclusion seemed to be that Harry was still depressed. The fact that Harry hadn't known he ever was depressed and that he thought he was much happier out of the auror department, didn't seem to make a difference. He'd also taken to hiding in number nine Argyle Square (which he hadn't yet told anyone about—honestly, they could find it themselves if they tried) any time someone wanted to come over and "talk" (which Harry knew was code for "ask why Harry hasn't returned to the aurors") but he didn't think explaining that habit would help any.
Really. Depressed? Him? After squaring everything away with the Weasleys and Ginny, Harry had found that he was actually happy. He was rather bored with nothing to do, but generally happy. How on earth had they decided he was depressed?
Harry decided he really needed to get out for a bit and got up to head downstairs. Perhaps he would walk around, maybe take the tube over to Regent's Park. He could wander around and even go to the zoo if he felt like it. He had been planning to drop by Ron and Hermione's flat to join them for dinner since it was the holidays, but he didn't really feel like sitting there at the table while they thought he was depressed of all things. They'd probably ask him if was going to go back to the ministry next week and when he said no, they'd share a look about him. So…no. A walk it was.
By evening, Harry was starting to feel rather how his friends thought he did. He'd wandered up and down Regent's Park for an hour, then he'd decided he would like to see the zoo—he'd lived in London for nearly two years now and he hadn't been to the London Zoo. Harry was disappointed to find that lemon pops and other ice creams were out of season snacks (it was early January) and settled for some roasted nuts as he wandered past the gorilla exhibit and then meandered about the zoo looking at the giraffes and llamas and pygmy hippos, most in indoor habitats. He'd enjoyed himself for a while before he started thinking again and found himself wondering what he could do to fix everything.
He needed a job, he knew that, but what job could he do? He could probably get any job he wanted in the magical world without worrying about qualifications, but he balked terribly at the thought of using his fame for such a thing. He knew more about jobs in the muggle world, but he wasn't sure his Hogwarts education transferred at all.
Harry sighed. Yep, auror really was the only thing he could do it seemed. So now, Harry was wandering out of the zoo at closing time and taking the long way back to Regent's Park Underground station, feeling depressed. Bloody perfect.
Harry walked as slowly as he could to delay reaching the tube station and when Outer Circle met up with Baker Street and then went past, Harry turned on to Baker Street to make his walk even longer. He supposed he could take the Baker Street station… but he didn't feel like it. He'd just walk down Baker and turn onto Marylebone Road and take that to Regent's Park station… or maybe he'd go a ways further and then cut back. It wasn't that cold a night- he hadn't even bothered to bring a coat, feeling warm enough in his latest knit jumper from Molly.
When Harry got to Marylebone, he almost crossed to keep going, but something made him turn onto it anyway. He really should get home, he thought. It was rather late and wandering around London at night wasn't going to solve any of his problems. Harry only had to walk a few blocks before he found himself wishing that he had continued on Baker Street, or taken the Baker tube station, or never left the bloody house, because then what happened wouldn't have.
Harry had forgotten somehow that Madame Tussauds was on Marylebone and that he was going past one of the largest tourist traps in all London. So as Harry wandered past the leaving crowds of tourists (Tussauds and everywhere else was closing for the night), he of course had to run into one of the pickpockets that made their living off the distracted tourists. Not stealing from him though—Harry had spells on his wallet to prevent such a thing—but from an elderly gentleman ahead of Harry who looked well off enough that he surely presented an irresistible target.
Harry sighed and took off after the pickpocket calling "Thief!" just as the man and his companion realized what had happened. Harry, despite having been a little farther back than the two men, had quickly caught up to the pickpocket who had been walking only slightly faster than everyone else to avoid drawing attention. At Harry's quick approach, the man ran for it, dodging through the crowd and racing for York Bridge. Harry figured the man planned to make it to the park, hide amongst the trees for a bit, then pop out on a walk and act like just any man out for a stroll. He ran faster to catch up and almost grabbed the man's shirt as he was turning the corner onto York Gate.
Harry pelted after the man and watched, surprised as the thief cut across Outer Circle while cars honked and blared at him. Harry gritted his teeth and followed him into the park. The thief had just crossed the bridge when he did exactly as Harry had thought he would and turned off the road into the trees. Harry ran up to where the thief had vanished and clambered quickly over the wrought iron fence before dashing into the trees.
Harry was in luck—the thief hadn't expected anyone to follow him this far or this quickly and had slowed down before reaching the tree line to walk normally out onto the path ahead. Harry tackled him to the ground before he could look around.
"Ha!" shouted Harry. "Got you now- you really shouldn't have run so much. Just made more trouble for yourself!"
Harry grinned and started pulling the man to his feet, exhilarated after the chase. He just managed to dodge as the thief swung around aiming to punch Harry off him. Harry grinned wider. He might not be an auror anymore and he might not want to be one but he had been through the whole training program. The combat specialist may have only been picking on Harry at the time, but being forced to participate in every demonstration the man gave meant that Harry was prepared to fight in any circumstances. The pickpocket hardly knew what hit him.
Harry was yet again pulling the man to his feet (this time with both arms held behind his back) when someone coughed behind him. He turned and saw two men—the older gentleman who had been robbed and his younger companion—standing between two bushes watching him. Harry blushed and looked down at his feet. Here he was telling everyone that he didn't want to be an auror and now he gets caught acting like one.
"Er… Well, um…Could you check his pockets? I think he er… has your wallet."
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L stared at the boy. Everything he'd thought about the strange boy appeared to be wrong.
When the pickpocket had first bumped into Wammy, L had of course noticed the man's hand slip into Wammy's pocket.
We should have driven L thought. No one gets pickpocket in a car. But before L could tell Wammy what had happened and they could decide whether to retrieve Wammy's dummy wallet (which Wammy always carried when with L and held only the current false I.D. and cash) a loud cry of "Thief!" sounded from behind them. L and Wammy turned just in time to see a young man (only a teenager surely at that height) race past them.
"I wonder what happened?" Wammy murmured bemusedly.
"Your wallet," L said quietly. "It was stolen and the boy's going after it."
Wammy stared at L in shock. "Then we should hurry after them!"
"No."
"No? Why on earth not?" Wammy asked L incredulously.
"There is a high probability that the thief and the boy chasing him are partners."
"Partner thieves?"
L thought a moment. "Perhaps… It is also likely that they know who we are and are trying to draw us into a trap."
Wammy stared at L again. "My boy, you know I always have the utmost faith in your reasoning, but isn't that a tad paranoid?"
"No. Most pickpockets operate as unobtrusively as possible to avoid detection. But this draws too much attention and suggests another purpose."
"But then why must they be partners?"
"The likelihood of an uninvolved bystander intervening in a theft to assist the victim is rather low- look around the street. Everyone else ignored the chase and have already begun to forget it."
"Well," said Wammy. "Then I don't see how this is a good trap. We haven't fallen for it. But if someone did know who we were, wouldn't they come after us directly? I can't see this as being terribly effective."
"Yes…" L said. He stared after the thief and the boy. They had just reached the corner of Marylebone and York Gate. "Thomas, lets take a cab."
"A cab? But I've just lost my wallet!"
"We can pay at the hotel."
Wammy turned to the side of the road and commandeered one of the cabs lining up outside of Tussauds waiting for tired tourists. He had a feeling that they weren't actually going to the hotel but had learned to wait and see what L would do before arguing with him.
As Wammy thought, L directed the cab driver to turn left onto York Gate—towards Regent's Park and away from their hotel. Even vacations were far from boring with L.
L crouched on the cab seat and leaned forward to peer out the windshield. There—he could see the boy climbing awkwardly over the fence on the side of the road and disappearing into the trees of the park. "Pull over!"
L jumped out and leaped over the fence the moment the cab slowed down. He heard Wammy yelling for him and then the cab driver shouting something. He rushed through the trees quickly and slowed when he saw the blue sweater of the boy through the twigs. He was stepping quietly forward when Wammy grabbed his arm and startled him.
"Shouldn't you be with the cab?" L glared blankly back at Wammy.
"The cab can wait or drive off for all I care! I am not about to allow you to walk into something that might be a trap alone."
L sulked a bit and was just about to argue that he could get himself out of a trap far more easily than he could get two people out when he and Wammy heard a thud and turned to look. The boy in the sweater had tackled the thief to the ground and was wrestling with him.
"Ha!" the boy shouted. "Got you now- you really shouldn't have run so much. Just made more trouble for yourself!"
L and Wammy watched the boy yank the thief back onto his feet and grin. Yes, they must be partners- the boy didn't seem to feel threatened at all. L's eyes widened when the thief—who couldn't possibly be acting that look of loathing—swung his fist around to punch the boy. Wammy gasped in surprise and the boy… dodged.
L stared as the boy moved into a fighting stance he didn't recognize, grabbed the thief's arm, spun them both around and let the thief stumble forward from momentum. When the thief came at the boy again, the boy blocked the attack as if it were nothing, swept the thief's arm down and lunged forward to give his own punch at the man's face more power. The thief fell backwards an impressive distance and the boy went towards him to again bring him to his feet.
Wammy coughed delicately and attracted the boy's attention who then… blushed and looked at the ground. L was confused.
He had been certain that the boy and the pickpocket were in cahoots somehow but seeing the fight and the boy's reaction to being watched… made him think that was wrong. The odds of anyone chasing a pickpocket that had robbed a complete stranger were extremely low, but the boy obviously had done so. Why?
L bit his thumb and stared at the boy who still hadn't looked up from the ground as he mumbled that someone should check the thief's pockets. L felt Wammy glance at him before stepping forward to do so and finding his wallet along with many others in the man's inner coat pocket.
"That was quite a heroic deed young man," Wammy told the boy as he pocketed his own wallet and held onto the others.
"Um.. Yah… Er…" The boy murmured again as he glanced about nervously. The thief took the opportunity to jerk away from him and stumbled off towards the path before running as fast as he could. No one moved to follow him.
"Eh… Well… I should, um, I'll just go… home… now. Er… Glad you got your wallet back. Bye." The boy mumbled and 'er-ed' his speech and moved toward the park path in the direction of the street.
L tilted his head slightly and bit his thumb harder. This was too odd… The boy really seemed to have no connection with the pickpocket. His behavior was so open and suggested embarrassment rather than any guile and L didn't think that any of what he'd seen so far was an act. So, the boy actually had just jumped to the rescue as it were? L started chewing on his thumb, attracting Wammy's notice.
"Wait a moment lad!" Wammy called out. When the boy had stopped and turned to look at him he smiled. "You did a good deed and I would be remiss if I didn't repay you in some way."
"Oh, no! I don't need anything… Really, I should just get home, it's rather late anyway..."
"Nonsense! I really must do something," Quillish was watching L out of the corner of his eye. He was still chewing his thumb and staring at the boy with the most intense wide-eyed look Wammy had seen in a while. "Perhaps if I could offer you a ride home?"
"Ah! No, I don't want to be a bother- I was just going to ride the tube-" The boy seemed more flustered now and was gesturing wildly. L meanwhile had apparently stopped blinking. Quillish wondered if it was L or the offer of the ride that had gotten the boy so worked up. Probably the idea of a ride with L Quillish thought amusedly.
"I insist!" declared Quillish and felt a bit of triumph as the boy startled slightly at his strong words and stilled staring at him and L. Quillish wondered what the boy was thinking of two so mismatched characters standing in the woods offering him a ride.
"Ah… Alright… I guess. Um… if it's not too much trouble that is…"
"Of course not!" Quillish smiled, pleased that he'd gotten the boy to agree despite his obvious misgivings. "Now then, the cab should right back through here."
L crouched in his usual position on the cab seat, staring at the boy. They'd gotten back to the road to find the cab gone but had easily found another and were on their way to "Number nine Argyle Square." L hadn't taken his eyes off the boy the entire time.
He was still trying to figure out what the boy had done. Or rather why he had done it. L could accept that such Samaritan acts occurred frequently in movies and books, but in the real world they were so rare as to be practically non-existent. It bothered him that he had misread the entire situation so badly, but really! People just didn't behave the way this boy had. L wanted dearly to find some proof that he had been right all along, and the whole event had been some elaborate scheme, but the more he observed the boy (thank you Wammy for figuring out how to give him more time to do so) the more he thought the boy actually was what he appeared to be.
How annoying. L bit his thumb a little too hard and had to take it out of his mouth. He watched the boy a bit more before turning to look out the window. He heard the boy breath a sigh of relief and almost turned back around to stare some more, but that would be too childish. Besides, L was already upset from being wrong. If he turned to look at the boy and he didn't react (the boy hadn't mentioned the staring and had seemed to decide that the best course of action was to ignore L completely), then L would only become more upset for not getting a rise out of the boy.
When the cab finally pulled up to number nine Argyle Square, L had worked himself into a horrid sulk and was taping the glass of the window in an annoying manner. The boy had gotten out and thanked Wammy profusely who had gotten out with him to escort him to the door. On the curb Wammy turned from smiling at the boy and stooped over to look at L still crouched on the seat in the cab.
"Aren't you going to come say goodbye my boy?" Wammy asked.
Ha, L thought. Wammy was probably laughing inside at how paranoid L had turned out to be. Some vacation this was. He most certainly would not be extending this rather embarrassing encounter any further than he had to. "No."
Quillish sighed and turned back to the young boy who was standing on the step of number nine rather uncertainly. Quillish smiled at him. The lad had turned out to be a rather brave and kind sort of person and had put up with L's staring and darkening mood better than most would. The least Quillish felt he could do was make sure this chance encounter ended on a good note.
"Thank you again for your assistance young man. My companion may not say so, but he appreciates it as well."
"Ah, no. It really wasn't anything and I didn't mean to take you out of your way…"
"Of course, of course," Quillish smiled. "Now, you'd best get inside so your parents don't worry- it's become quite chilly."
That statement seemed to bring the boy up short and he jerked alarmingly. Wammy frowned and reached a hand out to steady him. "Is something wrong lad?"
"Oh… Er… actually, I live alone you see… So, no one's waiting for me…" The boy trailed off. Quillish paused and looked at the boy. That sounded true but off somehow, as if the boy was covering for something. Perhaps the boy was a runaway and had given a random address… Listen to him, he was becoming as paranoid as L.
"Well, you had still best get inside anyway as it is rather chilly," Quillish tried to smile as cheerfully as possible as he watched the boy. When the boy reached into a pocket, pulled out a key, inserted it into the blue door of number nine Argyle Square and unlocked it, Wammy felt vaguely foolish. Every suspicion he or L had about this young man had been proven false. Perhaps L wasn't the only one in need of a vacation.
"Thank you again for the ride," the boy said as he turned in the doorway to regard Quillish and behind him, still in the cab, L. "You didn't have to."
"It really was no problem lad, and I owed you something in any case." Quillish smiled one last time at the surprising boy and turned to rejoin L in the cab.
"Ah- Wait!" he heard behind him. "I never actually asked you your name…"
Quillish looked briefly at L who has turned to him was now watching the exchange he had previously ignored. He turned to the boy once more. "Thomas Reed my boy. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Quillish tipped his hat. "And your name…?"
"Ah, right! Harry Potter, pleased to meet you." The boy, Harry nodded happily at Quillish. "Thank you for the ride Mr. Reed"
"Thank you for rescuing my wallet Mr. Potter!" Quillish grinned as Potter blushed slightly and grinned back. "Have a good evening."
"Yah, you too. Goodbye." Harry waved them off before heading inside and closing the door.
Back in the cab, Quillish turned to L who was chewing on his much-abused thumb once more. "There now, that wasn't so bad was it my boy?" L ignored him and appeared to be thinking deeply about something.
"You're not still worried, are you?"
L turned to look at him. "No… No. It's just… I'm certain I've heard that name before."
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A/N: Wow! I am amazed at the response to the first chapter. People seem to like it more than I thought they would—I even got reviews from authors I read! Which, come to think of it, makes me feel guilty as I don't review very often and when I do, I hardly ever sign in. ^^;; Thank you all so much! Thank you Catzi and UchidaKarasu! I promise to review more often!
Couple things—first, this chapter is longer than the first because the first was more of a prologue, which I didn't expect to get much feedback on. I hope everyone enjoys the first real chapter! Second, I've started writing from the adult perspectives of L and Harry and… I gotta say- they are as different as day and night! If Harry were a book, he would be in large print. If L were a book, he would be written in one quarter Japanese, one quarter Russian, one quarter English, and one quarter codec!! Meaning that I think I can understand Harry's thought process fairly well, but L's I can only get one word in four and it doesn't make any sense! This is terribly frustrating and I have escaped into Wammy's head in the prose when L gets to be too much for me… Hope no one minds.
Oh, Also—this will be mentioned in the next chapter, but I wanted to tell everyone- L's staying at The Langham Hotel London. The place is perfect for L so I would have chosen it no matter what, but the webpage sorta sold me on the idea. The caption at the top says "Enchanting Encounters. Since 1865" I snicker… Clearly the hotel wants to be in my fic. ^^