ONE SHOT – After the Foyet issue, Atlas consults Death to ask for advice on sharing his magical news and he must decide if he wants to risk it all.
Atlas quickly decided that recovering from gunshot wounds sucked. He was obviously thankful that neither bullet damaged anything important and above all, didn't worsen his hip situation any further. He was kept in the hospital for what he thought was an unreasonable amount of time (a week). Haley and Jack stayed with him as much as they could, but Aaron had returned to work after a couple of days so that he could get through all the paperwork from the Foyet issue before asking Strauss for a week's leave to spend time with his family now that the threat was gone.
The child in question was nervously waiting for a chance to call for Death. He needed two things from the being. Help with the Foyet issue and the fact that both parents knew that Atlas had done SOMETHING but were confused as to what that exactly was. As far as anyone was concerned, Foyet just dropped dead with no evidence whatsoever as to how. The last thing he needed from Death was advice. It was clear that it was time that Atlas came clean about his abilities. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about his past life, but magic was something he would have to talk about sooner or later. He didn't want to lie to the couple, but he also didn't want to hide who he was.
During one of his self-study sessions at Grimmauld, he had read that it wasn't a good idea to suppress his magic; that magic needed an outlet. He would need to use his magic, even if it was sparingly and he wouldn't be able to hide it for long.
One evening, Haley and Aaron had left for the night after checking that Atlas was ok for them to do so. Once he was sure visiting hours was well and truly over, Atlas slid out of bed and carefully made his way to the bathroom.
"Death?" Atlas asked.
"Yes, little Master?" Replied Death as he appeared with his usual flourish.
"What do I do about Foyet?"
"Worry not, little one. I have already manipulated the body to make it look like he was shot. Some memories were changed to reflect this, but they all know you were defending your mother."
"You didn't mess with mom and dad's memories though?" The child asked worriedly. He didn't want anything messing with their heads.
"No, I figured you want to tell them the truth?"
"Yes, but. What if they don't want me after I tell them?" Atlas asked the deity, fear showing in his eyes.
"Obviously I can't give you 100% assurance that everything would be fine," Death started, "But when I chose the Hotchner's for you, nothing suggested that they would be the type to run away from the unknown."
"But what if…?"
"Atlas, you know I can wipe their memories if they react badly. Make it so that they don't remember what you told them."
"I don't want you to mess with their heads; it wouldn't feel right."
"Just remember that there are no other magical beings in this universe. There are no rules, no limitations. You still have your powers and magical knowledge as Harry. As you get older, you'll start taking on some of my own."
"You'll still want to be careful of who you let in on your secret. Humans are humans. They fear the unknown and will no doubt try to experiment on you if they find out. I can and will interfere if it ever gets to that point. But I'm sure you'd rather avoid all that."
"You have no obligations in this universe. No predetermined destiny or bullshit prophecies. Live your life as you want to."
"What about the fact that I can't move on to the afterlife?" asked Atlas.
"That's up to you, little one. Might I suggest you take this one step at a time and see how they react to magic first. If they accept it, then maybe think about telling them about your past life."
When Aaron and Haley took him home once the doctors were happy enough with his healing, Atlas retreated to his room, shutting his door before his brother could follow him in.
Aaron shared a look with his wife, unsure what to do now that they were all together again.
"He was like that most of the time we were away too." Haley sighed.
It wasn't like Atlas was ever that outgoing or outspoken, but he had been at least a bit more sociable.
"We should probably get both boys into therapy." Suggested Aaron.
"How come Atlas won't let me in?" whined Jack sadly as the little boy returned to his parents.
"C'mon Jack, let's go grocery shopping. Atlas is just tired; you know how he gets after a hospital stay." Haley soothed her youngest.
"Okaaaay." Jack agreed despondently. The little boy just wanted to see more magic!
Aaron decided to stay back to see if he could talk to his oldest. He kissed his wife and youngest on the cheek, letting them head out to get some food before he slowly made his way up to Atlas' room.
"Atlas? Little one, can I come in?" he knocked on the bedroom door, waiting until he heard his son agree before entering. The boy was lying on his bed, his head resting on his arms, facing away from the door.
"You okay buddy?" Aaron asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.
Atlas turned to his side so that he could face the man. "Yeah papá, I'm fine." He gave a small smile to the man. He really was fine. He was just trying to decide if he wanted to risk all of this by telling his parents about his magic.
"Something's bothering you."
"How do you know that?" Atlas frowned.
Aaron snorted. "I'm a father, I know when my sons aren't telling me something."
"I just-" Atlas cut himself off. "I missed you. I thought you had died." He looked at his father sadly. Nothing he said was untrue. He loves Haley and Jack and if anything happened to them, he would be absolutely broken. But his papá was everything to him. He wouldn't know what to do if he had been killed. His papá made him feel safe. He made Atlas feel comfortable enough to act like the child he was and not the adult he used to be. He felt a tear roll down his cheek, followed by a stream of them. Before he could stop himself, he started to sob uncontrollably, letting out all the emotions from the last few months.
"Oh, little one. I'm here." Aaron laid down next to his son before pulling the boy into his chest as he used to do when he was younger. "Sshh, I'm here, Atlas. It's ok, let it out." He cooed, rubbing his hand carefully up and down his child's back.
"I missed you too, little one. I thought of all of you every single day, and it just made me that more determined to catch Foyet." Aaron said. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there, but you did so well without me. You saved your mom and your brother, and we will never forget that."
Atlas continued to shake with sobs into his father's neck. Aaron continued to comfort his boy until he heard his breathing even out. Once he was sure the boy was asleep, Aaron carefully laid him on his back before leaving the room.
"Atlas? Mom said it's time for dinner." Haley had sent Jack up to get his brother. He wandered over to Atlas and nudged him on the shoulder. Atlas looked up and nodded.
"Atlas? Can you show me more magic?"
The boy in question just looked at his little brother and grunted. "No. Maybe later." He got up and grabbed his cane before heading out, Jack trailing behind him.
"Pleeeease? Just something small?"
"Jack! I already said no!"
"But-"
"Boys, what are you arguing about?" Their mother asked.
Both children looked up. "Nothing." They said in unison. The parents just narrowed their eyes at the boys before letting it go. For now.
As soon as the adults turned away, Atlas threw his brother a look whilst Jack looked apologetic. "Sorry, Atlas." He whispered.
Atlas' eyes softened, remembering how excited he was when he discovered magic for the first time.
"It's okay, Jack, but just be careful next time?"
Jack nodded before they sat at the dining table, avoiding Aaron's narrowed eyes after noticing the whispering.
After dinner, the boys retreated to Atlas' room; the parents were left to spend time together.
"What do you think that was about?" Haley asked.
"I don't know," Aaron shrugged. "I spoke to Atlas earlier, and there's something he's not telling me."
"Should we ask him again?"
"I think we should wait to see if he comes to us first."
"You mentioned therapy for the boys. I think we should all go. This whole situation wasn't easy for any of us."
Aaron scoffed. "I don't need it."
"I wasn't asking. We are all going. I need you to set an example for the kids, and I know Atlas will probably dig his feet in the sand too."
He was going to keep arguing, but his wife was a powerhouse when she wanted to be. He gave in quickly.
Back in Atlas' room, Jack was positively bouncing off the walls in excitement.
"Jack, calm down. Now, you must not freak out, okay? I'm going to show you something that might scare you, but it's still me, okay?"
The little boy nodded quickly, excited to see more magic. Atlas searched his face, making sure the other boy was calm. He let his magic take over, feeling his body change. In no time, a little black panther cub was sitting in Atlas' place. He looked at his brother to check that the younger was still calm.
Jack stared at the spot his brother was sitting in. Now there was a cute panther in his place. He stared and stared before the first thing came tumbling out of his mouth. "KITTY!" he yelled.
Suddenly they heard thumping from the stairs, and Atlas quickly reverted back to human form just as their dad came bursting into the room.
"What was that?" he huffed out.
"What was what?" Atlas asked, shooting a glare at Jack.
"Do you have a cat in here somehow?" Aaron asked.
"Uh no? Why do you think that?"
"I just heard Jack yell 'kitty'."
"Oh, we were just playing a game."
Again, Aaron narrowed his eyes at them, clearly not believing Atlas. But he allowed them this and left the room again.
"Jack!"
"Sorry!...can you show me again?"
Atlas huffed before complying. The shift was quick, and he stretched out his body, realising that the chronic dull pain he has was gone. Not really sure why that would be, but it just meant he would try to spend as much time as he can in one of his forms.
"Can I pick you up, Atlas?" Atlas huffed before he nodded. Jack carefully picked his brother up and climbed up onto the bed with him. Atlas settled easily on the little boy's lap while Jack carefully scratched his head. "This is so cool, Las!" Atlas just purred before he got back up and reverted back to his human form.
Over the next few weeks, Atlas would show Jack small bits of magic, including his other two animagus forms. He had finally decided to just tell his parents everything and hoped for the best. It was hard to keep secrets from an FBI profiler!
