When the war ended, and Voldemort was defeated, most of Magical Britain had certain expectations regarding Harry Potter. It was ridiculous since most of them had no idea who their saviour was really as a person, but most of them fooled themselves into thinking they knew him. Either way, the expectations varied, based on who they were: First, the adult population expected him to go straight into auror training. They were the first ones to be surprised when Potter decided to go back to Hogwarts to finish his education. But they accepted it simply because they thought that he was just learning as much as he could before he became a full-time protector of the magical world. Second, some of his schoolmates thought that he might decide to become a teacher at Hogwarts. They remembered that he was the one who taught them in his fifth year, as the best defence instructor they ever had. They couldn´t wait to learn more from him, or even send their children to Hogwarts to learn under him. Third, there were some members of the Order of the Phenix, including certain members of the Weasley family like the matriarch, who expected him to marry Ginny Weasley, his school sweetheart. That could wait after they both finished school. They could already see it – it would be the wedding of the century! The girl in question was already making plans for what was she going to do as the next Lady Potter.
But only a selected few truly knew what the teen was planning. Those were the ones who stood by his side during the worst, who saw his grief, his pain, and all the heartbreak his home country gave him. Because of that, they were the only ones not shocked, when Harry Potter vanished right after the graduation ceremony, without a trace. And they decided to use this opportunity to quietly disappear and focus on the same thing he decided to do.
Move on.
For Hermione Granger, it meant: finding her parents, restoring their memories, and then going to a college, where she would be able to continue both her magical and muggle education. She even had a school acceptance letter already. It was from a school in France, which allowed her to both better her spell-crafting abilities, as well as earn a law degree, much to her parents´ pride and joy.
For Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, it meant travelling to Japan for Neville to study to become a green mage, under a proper mentor of a youkai race that was rumoured to be deeply connected with nature. While her boyfriend studies, Luna would use the time to explore the country and look for more of her creatures.
For Fred and George Weasley, it meant focusing on their shop, while discreetly looking for opportunities to either move their business or expand it abroad. That decision depended on where exactly their surrogate little brother would settle down.
And finally, for Bill Weasley and Remus Lupin, it meant leaving for Egypt. The pair wanted to enjoy their relationship without the judgement of Bill´s mother. Bill returned to work at Gringotts and Remus found himself a job as a school teacher at the Egyptian school of magic, where they didn´t care about the fact that he was a werewolf.
As for Harry Potter? He was going in a different direction. And unknown to him and his friends, it will have far-reaching consequences…
The grey-haired male felt his eyebrow twitching as he felt the hand landing on his butt. He brushed off the man with an "I´m a man and not interested," before he moved away. That was the tenth just today and he was already starting to feel irritated. So, as a way to get some peace, he let his glasses split down slightly and over their rim, he looked around the street. Without the dampening effect of the glasses, his vision was filled with colours that had nothing to do with what the people around him were wearing.
He scanned the palette of colours until he found the right person, a man with sideburns and slightly below average in height, getting out of a truck. He quickly followed the man as he entered a roadside dinner.
Meh, he was getting hungry anyway.
The scent of freshly fallen snow mixed with the misty one of a wild cat was the first thing Logan noticed, but he didn´t react to it. The mutant only looked up when the owner of the scent sat down at the booth in which he was sitting. He raised an eyebrow at the appearance of the scent´s owner but didn´t comment.
They sat in relative silence until the waitress arrived to take their orders. After she left, Logan spoke up: "You´re pretty brave for approaching me."
The teen shrugged. "You might look scary, but I can tell you´re not a jerk or a pervert."
"And how would a kitten-looking kid like you know?"
The teen gave him a smile full of mischief. "I have my ways, grumpy old bear."
Logan snorted despite himself. Though, the way the kid in front of him said ways, made him privately wonder if the other was a mutant like him. One way to find out.
"The name´s Logan, but others call me Wolverine."
"I can tell why," the teen mused, clearly not recognizing the nickname and what it meant in the mutant community. "You can call me Harlan."
"Now, what was this comment about a pervert?"
"I had ten guys trying to talk their way into my pants. Just today. Some even tried to get a feel beforehand," Harlan grimaced at the memory. "I don´t want to be bothered during lunch, and you seemed like the best bet. And if it helps, I´ll pay for your meal and buy you any amount of beer you want, provided you can scare away any idiot brave enough to approach."
Logan considered the tempting offer before he gave his companion a once-over look. "Are you even old enough to buy that stuff?"
"I´ll turn nineteen in a month, so probably not by the law of this country. But I can give you the cash for the beer, so who cares?"
Practical. He was starting to like the kid. "Aren´t teenagers supposed to be broken when it comes to money?"
"I doubt a bottle or two could ruin me," challenged the teen with a smirk.
"With your pretty trap ass, you might actually earn me more than that," commented the mutant.
Okay, the trap comment might take things a bit far, but he meant it when he said that Harlan was pretty. Those big green eyes, peeking out from behind a pair of fashionable glasses, combined with the light make-up made a cat comparison more pronounced. His hair was stylishly messed up, the colour a silverish-grey one, and reached his shoulders. He was wearing clothes that clearly looked feminine/gender-neutral, but he could pull it off with his slim, and shorter build, without looking like a transvestite. There was also the mature way the teen held himself, combined with the confidence that only someone fully comfortable in their skin could possess, which made the teen appear older and much more desirable. The mutant could see where the other males came from with their interest. If the kid was a half-decade older, maybe he would have tried his luck. But the kid was way too young for his tastes, so…
Thankfully, Harlan seemed to take his words in a good spirit, because he laughed and said "We shall see, big guy."
After the food arrived, Logan ended up scaring away at least four other guys who turned up and tried to convince Harlan to come and change his company. During that time, the silver-haired teen would score the mutant´s performance with some teasing, which prompted the older male to tease him back.
They hit it off really well, and by the time their lunch ended, Logan offered the teen a ride to the next town, after Harlan let it slip that he was heading to New York City.
The teen accepted.
As they rode in the car in comfortable silence, Harlan´s green eyes caught his reflection in the glass window. Such small changes, but they had the effect of him no longer looking like his father. Instead, the resemblance between him and his mother was more visible. He privately wondered what would have been Snape´s reaction to this new look on him. Probably choking on air and then muttering about Potters and disrespectful brats.
With a soft sigh, he shook the nostalgic feelings off and instead thought about his decision to leave. There were many reasons for that. First, was the fact that he was tired of the way the wizarding world had treated him up until now. Like he was their scapegoat in one moment, and their golden boy in the next, with the cycle repeating like some broken record. The fickle nature of the public was just too much and it made him sick. Second, there was the fact that he wanted nothing with the idea of being an auror. He had already lived and seen through more than his fair share of gore, deaths and bloodshed before and during the war. Because of that, he wanted a career and a life far away from memories and reminders of that. Third, there was his unexpected creature inheritance, which had the side effect of changing his hair, and other things he didn´t want to think about just yet. Considering the country´s attitude towards those who are not fully human…it was better to jump ships. And finally, he wanted some anonymity. While he would not deny his past, he wanted a chance to step out of the heavy shadow of his fame and make a name for himself on his own.
Thankfully, his true friends and family understood his decision and supported him. Even when he changed his name from Harry Potter to Harlan Peverell, to get a fresh start.
"What made you come to the States?" asked Logan, pulling him from his thoughts.
Harlan looked at him. "The accent gave me away?"
The mutant grunted in reply.
"Fair enough. I have a cousin here. I had no idea about his existence, until recently," the wizard admitted. "I want to meet him, but I don´t feel ready for it, yet."
"Why not?"
"…bad previous family experiences."
Logan nodded, mentally making another check about the kid being a mutant too.
"Besides I want to get more acclimated to America before I think about approaching him."
This was more or less the truth, with a few details left out: During his third year, while he was enjoying his relative freedom, he became curious if his mother had other relatives alive, than his horrible aunt and cousin. Because of that, he paid the goblins to do some investigation, which resulted in an interesting finding – his mother and Aunt Petunia were half-sisters! And, when he searched for the other half of his mother´s family, most of it turned futile. That´s until he discovered that he had a living cousin, ten years older than he was, in America.
At first, he didn´t know what to do or how to act on the information. Then came the third year and the mess that was the following years. He honestly forgot about his cousin, until he decided to leave and was trying to think about where to go. Then, the decision became obvious.
And here he was.
So far, his plan, for now, was:
Become acclimated to America, maybe spend some time sightseeing, etc.
Finish the non-magical schooling, enough to earn a diploma and maybe go to college.
Find out the best way to approach his estranged family without it blowing up to his face.
Thankfully, he already had a school in mind to catch up on his missed education. The Goblins, once he returned the Sword of Gryffindor to them and enlightened them about why he broke into the bank (and allowed them to seize and keep the Lestrange vaults, for Bellatrix´s grave insult to the nation), were very helpful. As they told him, there was a school in the US that doubled as a legitimate place to get both magical and nonmagical schooling.
Xavier´s School for the Gifted.
A school meant for mutants.
Hopefully, the headmaster there would accept his application. Mutants were, after all, considered a sub-branch of Magic users, so there should be no problem. Besides, if he let his natural features out, then he could easily pass for a mutant.
As NYC came into view, he prayed that things would, for once in his life, work out for him.
Charles Xavier was a telepath and a mutant. He was also the one responsible for finding mutant children in the world and bringing them to his school for protection and proper training. Sure, there were times when he wasn´t able to help, or when the child in question hated humans too much for them to overcome it. Cases like that were few and far between, but it still pained his heart when. So, Charles used that pain as a motivation to work harder and help others as much as he could.
Today, he was supposed to meet a hopeful student, but not that of the mutant kind. This student was supposed to be a magic user. Not something unusual for his school, since they occasionally did get magic users for students, if they wanted to focus on earning a high school diploma and continue their mundane education. And because the Magic users considered mutants their equals, it was not a problem. Especially, if there came a mutant who was also in possession of magical abilities, and they had teachers contracted to cover that part of their learning.
However, this student was special, because he came from a country that recently had to deal with a magical civil war. Not exactly something comforting and it made Charles worried about them and their mental well-being. So, in hopes of looking out for this new student, he decided that it would be best to use Cerebro to gain a better insight into them. The results were…rather interesting.
He managed to find the mind that fit what he knew about his incoming student. And his mind was quite odd. Of course, he immediately noticed the trace of violent mental intrusion, which damaged a lot of the teen´s natural mental defences. He vowed to help them repair the damage. Outside of that, the telepath noticed the mind was rather unique. It was highly intelligent, but at the same time, it held a simplicity and clarity that was rarely seen in humans. If he didn´t know better, he would swear that the mind was almost animalistic in nature, but his telepathy wouldn´t pick on animals, so there was no way.
Because he was familiar with the teen´s mind, he was able to tell the exact time he arrived at the mansion, without outside help. He sent Jean to get the teen, partly because he was curious about her reaction. The man was not disappointed when he sensed the surprise and curiosity from one of his best former students. Clearly, the other telepath noticed the same thing about the teen as he did.
"Enter," the bald man called out, once they knocked on his door.
Jean came in, followed by their new student. But before the introductions could happen, the young wizard paused. He slid his glasses lower on his nose, before he stared at the professor, head tilted to the side, in a cat-like gesture. A brief glance into his mind revealed an interesting sight of Charles covered in a mixture of some strange, moving colours.
"Ah, so it was you who I kept sensing since came to the States. I was getting curious about that."
That earned him a curious look from the professor and a confused one from Jean.
"If you don´t mind, could you elaborate on that, young man?" inquired Charles, the sight of himself in colours spurring his interest.
The student looked amused. "I can see auras. Yours kept occasionally popping up, covering all over the continent in uneven intervals. I could see it even with the damping effect of these," he said, tapping his fingers against his glasses. "But where are my manners. I´m Harlan Peverell, nice to meet you, headmaster."
"You too, Mr Peverell. I´m Professor Charles Xavier, but feel free to call me Professor X," the telepath introduced himself, gesturing to the armchairs close to his desk. "Feel free to sit down, we have a lot to discuss." Mentally, he sent a message down to the medical lab for Hank to come up to his study.
"Please, call me Harlan. Mr Peverell makes me feel like a misbehaving student in class," requested the silver-haired teen, obediently sitting down.
"Very well, Harlan," the professor nodded before he turned to leave "You can return to work, Jean. I can handle it from there."
"Very well, Professor. See you later, Harlan," the woman nodded to each man before she left the study.
"Now, Harlan, I take it you have a lot of questions about the institute. I´ll do my best to answer all of them, provided you agree to answer some of mine," proposed Charles, once they were alone.
"You want to make sure I´m not like those bigots from my home country, don´t you?" the wizard half-guessed. "In that case, I have nothing against it. A question for a question sounds fair to me."
The bald man saw no problem with this. "Agreed. Now, since you brought it up first, I would like to hear what you know about mutants and your stance on us."
"I know that mutant is a term that can be applied to a variety of beings that are supposedly falling outside the norm due to a unique biology. Since last century, it has been used to indicate several people who have a mutation, on one of their chromosomes, that gives them special powers. The type of power is dependent on the family, or the personality of the mutant. Possible mutations are telepathy, elemental manipulation, and energy manipulation, and there are also cases where the mutation causes physical alterations to the person´s appearance. Such changes can be extra appendages, such as wings, or it can be the unusual colouration of the skin," said Harlan, without hesitation, before he grimaced. "I also know that just like any other minority group, you guys face discrimination from the majority of the society. Because of that, most mutants have to hide to be able to graduate, get a job or just lead a semi-normal life. And that´s provided they don´t get caught and persecuted by fanatics. Especially people who if they lived about fifty or sixty years ago, would happily state that black people are less than human, using the degrading n-slang along the way."
"Most people wouldn´t look at mutants and immediately think about minority groups," commented Xavier. He was also pleased that this short speech confirmed his guess that Harlan would get along well with his other students.
The teen just shrugged. "Most people tend to forget that human rights make no exceptions based on factors outside the other´s control. That and the fact that some mutants already ARE part of pre-existing minority groups."
"Too true."
"Now my questions…Are there any taboo topics that I should avoid when talking to the other students? I don´t want to offend anybody or remind them of something painful, so…" Harlan questioned, surprising the telepath.
He didn´t expect the teen to pay much attention to the feelings of others, but then again, the teen had already admitted that he could see auras. Maybe that included him being more perspective of the emotions?
The professor took his time considering his answer. "So long as you don´t hold any prejudice against mutants, that can be avoided easily. As for taboos…there are none that I can think about at the moment. Some students might be a bit sensitive about their home life, but it is not something that can be considered a forbidden subject in the institute. And if they don´t like talking about something, they would probably just tell you outright."
"Dully noted, professor."
"Now, on the subject of education. Considering this institute is primarily a mundane school, I would like to hear what are your plans for your stay."
"I plan to graduate high school and then go to a college. I don´t know what subject I want to study there though. I have an inheritance that is tied to a percentage in several businesses, so maybe something to do with it and the economy. But I have an interest in languages, architecture and history. So, who knows where I will land," the teen admitted with a shrug.
"That is still more than some of my students. Some colleges can combine subjects and additional courses you can take if something catches your attention. I´m sure you will find something that catches your interest, while you´re here. And if you need some help, you can come to me or some of the other teachers any time. We take good care of our students," Charles said with a small smile.
"Understood," Harlan said with a smile. "My turn. What is your mutation? I know it must have a large range, for your aura to project over the continent, but I´m drawing short…unless you´re a telepath with an abnormally large range."
"You´re both right and wrong in your guess," chuckled the professor, pretty impressed by his new student. He decided to continue using his ability. "I´m a telepath, but I don´t have an ´abnormally large range´, as you put it. There is a machine that allows me to scan the human population around the world and keep tabs on prospective mutants. Particularly children. If the parents are agreeable, then we make arrangements with them for their children to attend this institute. If they´re not and we suspect the child is abused and in danger, then we remove said kid and they become wards of the school."
There was a trace of fear in the teen´s mind, clearly a reaction created from the previous negative experience with mental attacks. But just as Charles was getting worried that he might have overstepped, surprise and curiosity overtook the fear. Clearly, the teen was comparing this experience with the old ones and found himself pleasantly surprised.
"Impressive," the teen said, meaning it.
"Thank you," the wheelchaired man inclined his head, and then he decided to continue with their talk as if nothing happened. "Now, what about your magical education? Have you finished it?"
"I had to, otherwise I wouldn´t be able to leave without those fools back in England complaining and trying to roadblock me at my every step," the silver-haired male sighed.
"Something that causes your concerns?" inquired the professor, frowning slightly at some of the images that he could see flickering through the teen´s head.
"It´s…hard to explain in words," the wizard paused, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. "I think it would be better if you take a look at my memories."
"Are you sure, Harlan? I know that you have been…subjected to mental attacks before…"
The teen gave him a wry smile. "Is it that obvious?"
"From a telepath´s side, it left your mind rather open," the professor answered honestly before he offered "I can help you rebuild and strengthen your defences later if you wish."
"I might take you up on that offer. Now go ahead, please. I can tell that you´re nothing like the man who made those attacks."
Charles waited for a moment, to make sure the teen meant it, before he raised his hand, fingers touching his forehead. He entered the unique mind, making sure he was extra gentle as he did it. And what he saw there, made him impressed by the strength of the teen´s resolve, as well as saddened and horrified that the young man, sitting in front of him, had to go to such lengths to get away from it. It certainly explained why he was so compassionate to the mutants, though. After all, he came from a place where people held similar prejudice towards those, who were first-generation magic users. But the horrors that the teen had to go through in that country…and the fact that most adults around him seemed to have the tendency to systematically fail him.
It was a wonder Harlan trusted him, a virtual stranger, enough to let him inside his mind. As he left the mind, Charles realized that he had been offered a proverbial olive branch by the young wizard in front of him. And he vowed to do his best to not let the teen down.
"I promise that you´re safe at this institute, Harlan. Should the people from your birth country try to raise problems, they would have to get through me and the other teachers," the professor reassured him softly. "And I´ll keep your birth name a secret."
"Thank you, sir," the wizard said with a small smile. Then he remembered something. "Um, are there any students or staff that are allergic to animal fur?"
"Not that I´m aware of," replied Charles, wondering if Harlan was planning on purchasing an animal companion for himself. It wasn´t a bad idea, since a pet could act as an emotional support animal too.
"Oh, good. I wouldn´t want anybody to get an allergic reaction because of me," Harlan let out a relieved sigh.
Before Charles could ask what did he meant, there was a knock on the door. A quick check revealed it to be Hank. "Enter!"
The doctor walked in, and the telepath caught a brief surprise and interest when he noticed Harlan´s presence.
"Ah, Hank. Thank you for coming at such short notice," the professor nodded at his friend and former student before he turned back to the wizard. "Harlan, this is Doctor Hank McCoy, one of the professors here at the Institute and the head of the medical bey at the school. Hank, this is Harlan Peverell, our new student from the magical side of the world."
"I see," the teen got up from his seat. Since his glasses were still off, he managed to get a good read on the man in front of him and was pleased by what he saw. He grinned and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Dr. McCoy."
"You too, Mr Peverell," the blue-skinned and furred mutant said, pleased as the wizard shook his hand without any thought or expression of disgust. Then he turned to Charles. "I take it you called me in for the physical examination, didn´t you?"
The professor nodded, while the student looked confused, so explained "It is a mandatory exam for all of our students to document their health and to make sure we have all the necessary information needed, in case they need medical attention."
The wizard made a little "ah!" sound in understanding before he seemed to decide on something. "In that case, it is probably better to do it while I´m in my creature form, isn´t it?" he mused out loud.
"That would be wise," nodded the professor, sharing his friend´s curiosity. After all, it was not every day they gained a student who wasn´t human. He caught the name of Harlan´s species in his mind, but he was still curious.
"What creature are you?" inquired Hank.
The silver-haired teen smiled at the two of them before his appearance changed. A pair of round ears appeared on his head, claws grew on his fingers and finally, a long, fluffy tail followed, swaying behind the teen. The irises became diamond-shaped and the green of the eyes overtook the sclera, the various shades shifting and moving around on their own. The final change was only visible because one of his shoulders was left exposed because of the shirt, showing off the twisted lines of the tribal marking and the leopard spots that now littered the teen´s body in a green and silver mosaic.
"I´m a Sitha-gat."
Life in the institute turned interesting, to say at least.
Once the other occupants got over their curiosity and awe, when they found out that he was magical and not completely human, they started treating Harlan like one of them. It was a novelty for the wizard to be just another student in the crowd. No unwanted fame following him around. No whispers, stares or mean gossip, outside of what one would expect from a typical high school. He could be himself, do and wear anything he wanted, and nobody batted an eye over it. His quirks, like liking to nap on the rooftop, being up irregularly through the night, or pranking nature, were warped up as him acting up on his natural instincts. To them, he was acting like a mischievous, but curious cat, and that was that. And the surprise birthday party for him, at the end of June was sweet, especially considering he was not used to celebrating it (that was something the others seemed determined to remedy).
The classes were both challenging and enjoyable in their own way. He had a lot of catching up to do, but he was managing, since no death threats were hanging over his head now, or a lazy best friend, distracting his attention with chess. He could, finally, study in peace and start figuring out what he truly wanted to do in his life. The wizard especially liked Dr. McCoy´s literary class, and even outside of it, the two of them could get into in-depth discussions about their favourite works. Turns out they shared a love for a lot of classic authors. Since he was a hands-on learner, he loved the training sessions in the danger room. They helped him to figure out and train the natural abilities he possessed through his creature inheritance: super strength, advanced senses, energy manipulation (that was not exactly tied to his magic, but made wandless magic much easier for him all the same), and flight. In his books, nothing could beat the day he discovered the ability to hover and fly on his own. That time he gave several people near heart attacks with all the stunts he pulled in the air and they collectively agreed that he was born for the sky.
They also made sure to catalogue anything they found out about Harlan´s race since there were next to no mentions of Sitha-gats anywhere. Even the Goblins, after being paid to research it, found no more than a few papyruses and vague descriptions, but nothing else. By all means, Harlan was the last of his race, so, they documented everything and hoped that one day another creature like him might pop out of the woods.
The professor already promised to look out for others like Harlan, after they tuned the Cerebro based on the genetic code they isolated from the silver-haired teen.
Speaking of Professor X, the sessions with him were very helpful in rebuilding his mental defences. They started with healing the old damage and then they slowly created layers that would keep Harlan´s thoughts safe. The key was in finding the right form and medium to channel, and since the wizard´s mind was not meant for rigid walls, it had to be flexible. And there was a promising possibility of using mental barriers to help him deal with his aura sight. As useful as that ability was in learning who was trustworthy and who wasn´t, the assault of colours, whenever he took off his glasses, gave him headaches around large crowds. So, learning how to process it better was a big bonus.
His friends and family, at least the people he still considered to be close to him and thus kept in touch, were happy for him. And in turn, Harlan was happy as he heard that they were all enjoying their time in their respective countries. Especially Hermione, who managed to track down her parents, return their memories and then move with them to France, where she was enjoying her college life. They all agreed to meet during Christmas to reminisce on a later date.
Not everything was sunshine and roses at the institute. There was tension between the "normal folk" and the mutants, which grew more and more, thanks to no small amount of help from the politicians. The wizard was honestly disgusted, by how easily people could turn against a minority group, but it was to be expected. After all, he remembered the prejudice Remus faced back in Britain. Because of that, Harlan naturally took offence when he learned about the Mutant Registration Act. Since then, he has radiated so much cold fury that it scared both the teachers and the students. Gone was the mischievous cat and in its place was something that could only be described as a pissed-off predator. They were justly worried by his reaction, but his actions confused them. Instead of doing something stupid, as many teenagers would, he spent the time he had until the hearing torn between researching in the library, immersed in law, history and ethics books, and communicating with Hermione over the matter. As a law student, she was able to help him find what he needed and plan the attack for the maximum impact.
Then he went to Professor Xavier and inquired if he could come with him and Jean to the hearing. The wheelchaired man warily agreed, provided that Harlan would not leave his side. The Sitha-gat didn´t have problems with that. He was just prepared in case of trouble.
So, when the prejudicious senator Kelly tried to destroy Jean´s effort to convince the politicians that mutants were people like anybody else, the silver-haired teen was quick to act. With a small use of Legilimency, he nudged the redhead´s mind and requested to take it from there.
The desperate woman quickly opened a link between their minds.
"Tell me, Senator Kelly, are you a fan of history by any chance?" asked Jean, a calm confidence entering her voice.
Kelly gave her a sneer. "Pray to tell me, what it has with your report, Doctor Gray."
"You see, sir, there are several instances in history, where the law was biased against people based on factors outside of their control. Over a hundred years ago, women weren´t even allowed to vote, despite having jobs and paying their taxes, like their male counterparts," Jean said, not letting the man´s hostility distract her. "Then, it is a known fact that Hitler and the Nazy party let their extreme bias against anybody who didn´t fit the idea of a perfect German or the ideal of the pure Aryan race. This made most of their targets Gypsies, people of colour, people of other nationalities living on their territories and, as is well known, the Jews. This was pronounced by the fact that, for example, the Jews were forced to wear a Star of David on their clothing to identify their faith and single them out from the others, before they were deported to Holocausts."
The senator kept sneering, but several people there sat up to pay close attention. Most of them quickly noticed what Kelly seemed to be either ignoring or missing, and some were starting to realize where this was going.
One person in particular was more than certain in his suspicion, though the arguments were bringing forward memories that were less than pleasant. Something the Sitha-gat quickly picked up and filtered for later.
"Another known fact is that before the Civil Rights Act came to be, people like African Americans faced strict segregation and discrimination because of their skin colour. They were not allowed to enter the same shops and they were even refused jobs," the redhead went on, but the senator interrupted her.
"Get to your point, Dr. Gray. The good people here didn´t come to get an impromptu history lesson. They have better use for their precious time."
So be it, thought Harlan. Time to kill number one.
"Based on historical evidence, it is clear that the Mutant Registration Act that you´re proposing is an almost identical replica to what the Jews were put through. In their case, it was their faith, but in the case of Mutants, it is their unique genetic makeup. Something that they have no more power over, than I have over the fact that I was born a woman. According to recent statistics, there are more Native Americans than there are known mutants, which makes them qualified to be considered a minority group. And because of the hard work of people like Martin Luther King Jr., discrimination against people based on race, religion or genetic disposition is considered illegal in every state." Jean then turned to Kelly. "So, tell me, Senator Kelly – are you truly prepared to push for a law in favour of the persecution of a minority group, because of their unique genetic makeup that they have no control over?"
Shock appeared on Senator Kelly´s face at her accusation, before it was replaced by anger.
"Doctor Gray, are you accusing me of being a racist?" he hisses.
"Dictionary defines ´racist´ as someone who is prejudiced against or antagonistic towards other people, based on the circumstances of someone´s birth. You voiced your belief that mutants are inferior, because of their genetic make-up. So, please explain to me, Senator Kelly, how does that not make you a racist?"
Dead silence.
Several people in the audience slumped back in shock as realization hit them, hard. She had them by the balls there. There was just no way they could now ignore the blaring oblivious and they also knew that the Act was dead now. The Constitution alone would protect the Mutants from such things and several Senators found themselves agreeing with some of the points made concerning mutants. Those of them, who never liked Senator Kelly, were already making plans to use this as an opportunity to kick the old bastard out of his position. And if they got bonus points from voters, for protecting the rights of a new minority group? Well, that was just a bonus.
After it became clear that the Mutant Registration Act would never be passed, and after leaving the professor with Jean, Harlan discreetly disappeared into the crowd. As a side effect of him learning to process his aura sight better, he became more attuned to the emotions of those around him. Specifically, he could pick up the negative emotions and pinpoint the source with precision. And right now, he was looking for someone who felt great emotional pain in the crowd. The wizard moved through until he spotted the source of the pain.
It turned out to be someone he had only heard of second hand, and the glimpse of whom he had caught by accident, from Professor X´s mind – Magneto.
The old mutant didn´t seem to notice that somebody was following him until he left for some relatively private place to deal with his emotions and old memories. Only then was he clued about his shadow, when a hand entered his periphery, holding a cup of what he identified as coffee to him.
He looked at the person offering him the cup, a grey eyebrow raised, when he identified the same teen, he saw pushing around Charles´ chair.
"You looked like you needed it," said the silver-haired male simply, drinking from his own cup of hot chocolate.
"What I would need is a glass of whiskey," countered Magneto mildly, but still took the cup from him.
Harlan wordlessly produced a hip flask from his hidden pocket, uncapped. Seeing that, the mutant held out his cup and the wizard poured a generous amount of whiskey into his coffee. Then he poured some into his hot chocolate, capped the flask and hid it away again.
Both took a generous gulp from their respective spiked drinks before the younger male spoke up "I´m sorry that I dragged up so many bad memories. The only thing I can say in my defence is that I hadn´t expected a Holocaust survivor to be in the audience today."
"Apology accepted," replied Erik, privately wondering how the other knew. But since the apology was sincere, he decided to let it go, for now. Besides, the youth had a good taste in alcohol. "So, you were the one who came up with the arguments that finally shut up the fool and his cronies. Impressive work, by the way."
"Me and a friend who studies law. She might be in France now, but once I explained the situation, she was all in to get one over the idiot. Besides, the senator reminded me too much of this Toad of a teacher I had back in Britain, which made taking down this law more of a priority. God, I loathed that woman. May she pay for her crimes in hell," the last part was muttered before Harlan drank some more.
At the mention of Britain, the mutant gave him a look, before he carefully asked "How long are you in the US?"
"Since the end of June, so about four months now," replied the teen.
Magneto got a feeling but decided to confirm his suspicion. "You wouldn´t have happened to be there when those…terrorist…attacks were happening, were you?"
"Was a member of the task force that finally took out the maniac and his followers."
This meant that the teen was magical, likely a first-gen, and had more than enough reason to despise people who targeted minorities. If Magneto knew right, then the first gens were also persecuted by the maniac, so the teen must know what it was like.
"My name is Eric Lencher."
The silver-haired teen nodded his head. "I´m Harlan Peverell."
"You don´t seem surprised about who I am," commented Magneto.
"I heard about you and caught a glimpse of you from my teacher´s mind. So, yeah, I knew who you were from the moment I saw you," Harlan admitted.
"And yet, you approached me," mussed the mutant as he took another drink. "I´m honestly impressed. Usually, telepaths tend to stay clear of me, unless they´re Charles."
He didn´t expect the other to laugh at his words, but the wizard quickly composed himself. "Sorry, sorry. It´s just that I never expected somebody to call me a telepath. I´m not that."
"You admitted to looking into Charles´ mind," Magneto pointed out.
"I admitted to catching a glimpse from his mind," the teen corrected him "And that happened while he was helping me in rebuilding my mental shields. I had a lot of unpleasant experiences with mind attacks, which left my mind vulnerable. Professor volunteered to help me and I accepted."
"Then how…"
"My skills are aura sight and as I work with it, I started developing a bit of empathy," admitted Harlan, before he added "That´s how I noticed you in the crowd. Your reaction was the strongest."
"I see…"
They stayed silent until Harlan spoke up. "I must admit I didn´t expect them to give up after I brought up racism. With how bull-headed was the Senator, I thought I might go for kill number two."
"And what, pray to tell me, was kill number two?" inquired Magneto, with some morbid curiosity.
"Pointing out that the regarded ´Captain America´ was an enhanced too, and question if they are hypocritic enough to judge people like him without even knowing them."
"…what?" the mutant blurred out, caught off guard by the argument. Did he mishear his companion?
"It´s something I found interesting since I came to America. The people here are so ready to judge mutants, yet they hail a superhuman icon from World War II as a hero. After all, Steven Rogers, alias Captain America, was known for having advanced healing factor and super strength. There are mutants confirmed to have at least one of those as a mutation, or they have a variation of them."
It took a moment for him to process what the teen said before he countered "Some would point out that Rogers was not born with those abilities."
"Exactly. He had a choice whether or not to accept his new powers. Mutants don´t have that choice given to them. Nor do they have the ability to choose what powers will they get, once they awaken," explained the teen, finishing his hot chocolate.
"You have a point here," the mutant admitted. And if the previous argument didn´t win, then this one would either save them or blow up in their faces. Magneto wasn´t sure what would be the worst or the best alternative now. He drowned his drink and more or less muttered for himself "I´m almost afraid to ask if you´ve got a third argument."
"Not an argument. A personal opinion that I would love to say in front of the good Senator if only to see him get a cardiac arrest from the outrage and anger," the silver-haired teen told him.
Interest piqued, Magneto probed "And that is?"
"I want to tell him, that he clearly suffers from a bad case of penis envy just because he suffers from a strange case of penis envy towards mutants. Because between us, he clearly sees the mutations as something he desperately lacks," Harlan said with a perfectly straight face, gesturing to his crotch.
The leader of the Brotherhood stared at him for a second, before he couldn´t take it anymore. He started laughing. Gut-wrenching, unchecked laughter that he hadn´t enjoyed in literal years. Just imagining the look on the stupid Senator´s face upon hearing that, would have been so priceless. Hell, he almost wanted to create an opportunity for that, just to have a chance to see it!
"I think I like you. You´re a vindictive bastard!" declared Magneto, once he got his laughter under control. Which took him about ten minutes. During this, he vowed to mention this to Mystique and Sabretooth. They would get a kick out of it.
"I´m a cat. Being an asshole to those we don´t like is a given," said Harlan with a grin. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go. The professor and Jean must be looking for me. So, unless I want to get yelled at instead of reprimanded, I better get going go."
"You´re excused. Though I hope we meet again at a later date. You´re an interesting person to talk to," said the older male, meaning every word.
"In that case, I hope we will meet under better circumstances," wished Harlan and they parted ways.
The Sitha-gat quickly went and found his two companions, while Magneto shook his head and left the building. He made a note to keep an eye out for the kid, as well as have Mystique find out more about him. The teen was definitely worth paying attention to, even if he wasn´t a mutant like him.