Chapter Eight
Two weeks, that was how long Jinx lay unconscious in the infirmary; it was also how long Harry went without speaking to Raven. The boy hardly left his room, much to the dismay of the Titans, especially Raven, who took her brother's self-imposed grounding especially hard.
Raven seemed to copy her little brother as she had locked herself in her room, only coming out to retrieve meals before returning to her room to meditate in self-imposed solitude. After almost three weeks of this, Robin finally had enough and banged on Raven's door for nearly ten minutes until she finally opened the door.
"What?!" Raven cried in agitation,
"We need to talk. Now." Robin said simply, crossing his arms over his chest to show he was not leaving until the two spoke; for a moment, the two simply glared at one another in a fight of wills before Raven sighed in exasperation and stood aside, allowing Robin entry.
Once the door had shut, Raven leaned against it and crossed her arms, leveling a stern gaze on Robin as he turned and stared at her with the same look.
"Well?" Raven asked, "What do you want?"
"It's been almost three weeks…." Robin said softly, "Don't you think you've ignored Harry long enough?"
"I'm not ignoring Harry!" Raven nearly shouted angrily, "He doesn't want to see me! He hates me! He's afraid of me! And he's right too! I lost myself to my anger, to my father's blood!"
"Yes, you became a monster," Robin said simply, making Raven look at him in shock, "And you nearly killed the members of HIVE. Get over it."
Raven's mouth dropped comically at the words, and Robin had to fight hard not to smile at the sight of his friend's expression; now was not the time to smile, Raven was at a crossroads, and if things didn't change soon, Harry would be lost to her forever.
"You bastard…." Raven hissed, uncrossing her arms and taking a step forward, and yet Robin didn't move, only narrowed his eyes at his teammate,
"Harry has spent his whole life being used and abused at the whim of those who should have protected," Robin said softly. Yet, every word seemed to echo as if he shouted, "He has spent his entire life afraid, and then he learns that his sister is alive and takes him away from his abusers, only to abandon him again. So tell me, Raven, how do you think he feels right now?"
"I DIDN'T ABANDON HIM!" Raven snarled, her red demon eyes flashing for a moment before she breathed and calmed herself, "I would NEVER abandon him! I love him!"
"Then prove it!" Robin replied, "He's afraid of you because he saw something he doesn't understand. Show him that you're still his big sister, the same person who rescued and loves him. If you do not, I promise you will lose him."
Raven stared at Robin for a moment, her thoughts racing as she realized the truth in Robin's words. Raven may have frightened Harry initially, but by keeping her distance from him, she was making it worse, and if it went on like this much longer, she really would lose her brother; she couldn't bear to lose him again; it would surely kill her.
"Go and talk with him. Now." Robin growled in a manner that would have made Batman proud, "Or leave and don't come back. Harry is a broken kid and doesn't need someone who won't be there for him."
Raven paled at the words and flinched as Robin took a step forward; as he passed her, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder,
"Harry needs you, Raven, now more than ever. He needs his big sister to tell him everything will be okay; I believe you can be that person, but you also need to."
Robin exited Raven's room without another word, leaving her alone to silently think over what her friend had said.
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Harry sat on his bed, staring silently at the far wall across from him; for weeks, he had been staying in his room, only leaving to get food. More than anything, Harry wanted to see his sister; he knew she hadn't meant to scare him, but no matter how much he tried, Harry couldn't shake the terror he felt whenever he remembered how Raven had looked the day she had rescued him. He missed the safety he felt when Raven would wrap her arms around him and chase away his nightmares. Still, at the same time, Harry knew he had hurt her by telling her to leave him alone. The look she had on her face when he said it had broken Harry's heart, and he didn't know how to apologize for that, so he instead locked himself away in the hopes that he wouldn't hurt her more; he was, after all, just a good-for-nothing freak.
As Harry continued his self-deprecating spiral, a sudden knock brought his attention back to the present, and he stared at the door silently for a moment before a second knock sounded against the door.
"Harry?" A voice said on the other side of the door, "Can I come in? I want to speak with you."
Harry sniffled sadly as he recognized his sister's voice and was on the verge of telling her to go away when he steeled his nerve and replied in a soft voice,
"You can come in if you want to."
The door slid open a moment later, and Raven slowly glided in, stopping a few feet from Harry's bed; Harry drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as Raven watched him with a sad expression on her face that made Harry feel even worse.
"Harry, I wanted to apologize to you," Raven said in a broken voice that made Harry start with surprise, "I never meant to scare you. I am so sorry. I would never hurt you! You are one of the most important things in my life, and I would rather face all the pain that this world has to offer than see you harmed."
Tears began streaming down Raven's face as she finished her tirade, and Harry was speechless for a moment before he leaped off the bed and wrapped his tiny arms around her waist, much to Raven's surprise.
Raven's surprise lasted only a moment before she was hugging him back and quietly sobbing as she gently stroked his hair,
"I thought that you would hate me!" Harry cried into Raven's stomach,
"How could you ever think that, Harry?" Raven asked as she pushed him away, kneeled down to his level so that they were facing one another, and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I could never hate you!"
"I told you to keep away from me," Harry said piteously as tears ran down his cheeks.
"And I understand why you did," Raven replied gently as she wiped away his tears, "You saw a side of me that I wish you had not. A side that very few have seen and those that have rarely forgotten."
What…what was that?" Harry asked softly, turning his gaze to his feet as though he was afraid of asking.
For a moment, Raven said nothing, and Harry thought she would not answer, but then she began to speak in a scared voice that Harry had never heard before,
"My father….my birth father is an evil man, Harry. He has done some truly horrible things that would give even the bravest person a lifetime of nightmares. But, unfortunately, I share his blood, and some of his less desirable qualities passed to me; what you saw was his blood taking over, and it's something that I never wanted you to see."
Harry looked up at Raven in surprise and saw to his shock that she looked like she was about to start crying, as though she thought he would reject her for what she had told him; instead, Harry hugged her again as tight as he could and Raven froze for a moment before she gently wrapped her hands around her little brother.
"I don't care who your real dad is," Harry said softly, his words seeming to break Raven's heart, "You're my sister, and you always will be,
"Harry….thank you," Raven replied as teardrops fell gently onto Harry's hair, "I promise I will never hurt you again. I love you, little brother.
Harry started as the words hit him; no one had ever said those words to him before, and to finally hear them and to know that they were true was something that he had never thought would actually occur.
"I love you too, Raven," Harry said, so quiet that the words were almost missed, but Raven heard them, and she smiled happily as she hugged her little brother tighter.
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When Jinx opened her eyes, she first noticed the pain; her whole body felt as though she had been run over by a truck. The second thing she noticed was that her right hand was handcuffed to her bed; the final thing she noticed was Raven sitting in a chair beside her bed, reading a rather large book.
"Where am I?" Jinx asked in a dry voice; her throat felt like it was filled with sand, and every word took effort,
"You're at Titans tower," Raven replied, putting her book away, "You have Harry to thank for that; he saved your life."
Jinx simply stared at Raven petulantly for a moment before turning her head and staring at the ceiling silently for a moment,
"He's a good kid," Jinx said simply.
"He is," Raven replied, "Far better than one would expect after being raised as he was."
Jinx nodded in agreement; more than anything, she wanted to ask for water, but she would rather die of thirst than ask her enemy for such a boon. To her surprise, however, Raven suddenly handed a glass of water to Jinx, who eyed it with suspicion,
"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking," Raven said with a wry smile,
"You really think I'd believe that after what you did to my team?" Jinx asked, making Raven raise an eyebrow at her,
"You want the water or not?"
Jinx eyed the glass for a moment in indecision; finally, her thirst won out, and she grabbed it from Raven's hand and began to quickly guzzle it while Raven watched with a slight smile on her face.
"Look at that; you're still alive. I guess that means it wasn't poisoned after all," Raven said sarcastically as she sat back down; once Jinx had drained the glass, she placed it on the table next to her and turned back to Raven,
"What am I doing here?"
"Harry insisted we bring you here for medical attention. You were very badly injured," Raven said coolly,
"Because of you!" Jinx spat angrily and making Raven laugh softly,
"I'm sorry, am I the one who told you to kidnap my little brother? Am I the one who told you to keep him in a dirty room like some animal?"
Jinx paled slightly at the words and found that she had no response to Raven's accusations, so instead, she just glared impudently as Raven rose from her chair and approached. As Raven leaned in close, Jinx suddenly remembered what Raven had done to her teammates and felt a cold chill run through her.
"There is a piece of me that wants nothing more than to kill you for what you and your team did to my little brother," Raven said as she leaned in close to Jinx, "But Harry told me how you protected him from the rest of HIVE. That and that alone is what has granted you a reprieve from my wrath."
Raven leaned back as she finished and crossed her arms as she gazed down at Jinx, who licked her lips for a moment before asking,
"How long have I been here?"
"Four weeks."
"F-four weeks!?" Jinx asked in astonishment, "I've been unconscious for four weeks?!"
Raven nodded quickly, "Harry was beginning to worry that you'd never wake up. He's been to see you almost every day."
Jinx's eyes softened at that, and a warm smile crossed her face,
"He's a good kid; he's lucky to have you look out for him."
Raven looked at Jinx in surprise at the compliment as the villain's voice took on a sad tone,
"Perhaps if I had had someone who cared about me the way you care about Harry, I might have become more than what I am."
In all the years that she and Jinx had fought one another, Raven had never seen the HIVE member so broken; the poor girl looked nothing like she usually did. Rather than the confident and assertive girl that Raven was so used to seeing, Raven instead saw a sad, lonely girl who desperately wanted someone, anyone, to tell her just once that they cared.
"The Titans have been talking, and we have come to a decision regarding you," Raven said after a moment of tense silence,
"Let me guess," Jinx said mockingly, "You're going to lock me in a cage and throw away the key."
Raven grinned wryly for a moment before answering,
"Robin wanted to, but Harry vouched for you. He said that given the opportunity, you could be a great hero, someone worthy of respect rather than fear. So, here's the deal, and it's the only one you're going to get, so listen well."
Jinx tilted her head slightly as she listened; despite her best efforts, Jinx was intrigued by Raven's words and quickly nodded her head for Raven to continue.
"Robin talked to the District Attorney; she's willing to forgo jail time in return for community service, as long as you agree to aid the Titans in protecting Jump City for the next three years."
Jinx's mouth dropped open in astonishment, and Raven had to fight not to laugh at the expression on the girl's face,
"You cannot be serious!" Jinx exclaimed, "Me?! A hero?! Is this a joke?!"
"Believe me, I wish it were, but it's genuine, I can assure you," Raven said with a small smile.
"And you actually think I'll take this deal?" Jinx demanded, "Have you forgotten who I am?! I am Jinx! The queen of misfortune! I am a liar, a thief, and a cold-blooded villain! But the one damn thing I am not is a hero!"
Raven chuckled at Jinx's histrionic tirade, which only seemed to anger the HIVE member further.
"I will die in a grave before becoming a hero!" Jinx raged, and Raven finally lost control and began laughing; Jinx had never heard Raven laugh before and stared at the Titan in surprise for a moment before regaining control of herself.
Before Jinx could begin another rant, the door burst open, and Harry charged in and lunged at Jinx, who could only stare in shock as the boy wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug.
"I was coming to check on you and heard you and Raven talking! I'm so glad you're awake!"
Jinx froze for a moment, unaccustomed to such familiarity, before gently wrapping her uncuffed arm around Harry while Raven watched tensely.
"I'm glad you're alright, kid," Jinx said softly as Harry pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed next to her.
"Cyborg told me that you're not going to have to go to jail!" Harry said excitedly, "You're going to work with the Titans! You get to be a hero!"
"Harry…. I…." Jinx said, trying to think of a way to tell the boy that there was no way she would be accepting the deal that Raven had given her, but as she looked at the boy's smiling face, she couldn't think of what to say.
"Jinx needs her rest," Raven said softly after a moment of silence, "And you start school in the morning, so I want you to go and make sure that you have everything packed."
"Aww, can't I stay a little longer?" Harry asked, "I want to spend time with Jinx,"
"I'll still be here tomorrow, Harry," Jinx said softly, "You need to get ready for school. Go on, now."
"Okay," Harry said with a huff, giving Jinx one final hug before jumping off the bed and making his way out the door, shutting it gently behind him.
Once Raven and Jinx were alone, Jinx stared at the end of the bed silently for a moment before turning to Raven; to her annoyance, Jinx saw that Raven had one eyebrow raised and was sporting a small smile as though she already knew what Jinx was going to say.
"I really hate you, you know that?" Jinx said simply, making Raven's smile grow a little bit,
"Feeling's mutual," Raven retorted, albeit with a grin,
"So, how do you know I'll keep my end of the bargain?" Jinx asked, "How do you know I won't just disappear the first time you let me out of this bed?"
"Because you know what that would do to Harry, and I think his opinion of you means more than you're willing to admit."
Jinx said nothing for a moment, simply stared at Raven before issuing a hiss of annoyance and lowering her head back onto the pillow,
"Tell the dork wonder that I'll take his damn deal; just don't expect me to like it."
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Harry shifted nervously as he stood in front of Jinx and Raven; both were looking at him with disapproval, and Harry hated seeing that in their eyes. It had been two months since Jinx had accepted the deal and joined the Titans; at first, she was watched like a hawk while the team was out on patrol, but gradually the suspicion had lessened, especially since she had saved Beastboy from being crushed by Cinderblock. It had also been two months since Harry was enrolled in the local Elementary school. To his surprise, Harry had actually managed to make a few friends; he had never had friends before, and no one ever wanted to associate with him for fear of angering Dudley and his gang.
But it wasn't his friends that had made Jinx and Raven disappointed in him; it was his grades.
"Care to explain this?" Raven asked as she held out the yellow paper for Harry to see; Harry said nothing, simply staring at his feet as Raven read out what was on the form in her hand.
"You're barely passing in almost every class! We know you're smarter than this, Harry, so what's going on?"
Harry said nothing; after all, what could he say? That he'd been told from an early age to never show how smart he was? That he was beaten every time, he did better than his cousin? So instead, Harry just stared silently at the floor and tried desperately not to cry in front of Raven and Jinx.
"Harry, if something's happening at school, you know you can tell us, right?" Jinx said softly as she kneeled in front of the boy and gently put her hands on his shoulders,
"She's right, Harry," Raven said as she kneeled next to Jinx, "We can only help you if you tell us what's wrong."
Harry mumbled something so soft that neither of the two women could hear him, and Raven gently put her hand under the boy's chin and raised his head until he was facing them.
"Now, what is going on? Why are you having such a hard time in class?" Raven asked softly,
"I'm not supposed to get good grades…." Harry replied as he stared into Raven's eyes, the truth seemingly pulled from him against his will.
"What do you mean you're not supposed to get good grades?" Jinx asked,
"Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't like it when I got better marks than Dudley," Harry replied tearfully, "They used to hurt me when I did, so I learned not to."
The girls shared a dark look as though they would have liked nothing better than to hunt down Harry's relatives and teach them a lesson of their own for daring to hurt Harry like that before turning back to Harry, who looked like he was desperately trying not to cry in front of them.
"Harry, I thought I told you to forget everything those vile people told you," Raven said gently, "You will never see them again, and you don't need to be afraid of them anymore."
"I….I know…" Harry replied,
"I know you're brilliant, Harry," Raven said warmly, "And you don't need to hide it anymore, okay?"
Harry nodded slowly,
"I won't punish you this time because I now know the reason why you are doing so poorly in school. But if you don't get your grades up, I'll have no choice but to ground you until you do. That means no videogames with Beastboy, no stargazing with Starfire, no nothing, understand?"
Harry looked horrified and quickly nodded his head that he understood while the two women smiled at him.
"Now, why don't you go finish your math homework," Raven said with a smile, "And no more pretending you don't understand how to do it, okay?"
"Okay, Raven," Harry replied, giving both Raven and Jinx a quick hug before turning and running to his room as the girls watched happily. Once he was gone, Jinx rose to her feet and turned to Raven, who was doing the same,
"How's his training coming along? Is he still having trouble controlling his abilities?"
Raven frowned slightly; she had been teaching Harry how to meditate and control his powers for over a month now, and yet Harry still seemed to be unable to completely control his 'protectors' who would violently lash out at anything that they deemed a threat to the boy when Harry would summon them.
"He still has trouble controlling them completely, but I have faith that will come in time," Raven replied,
"Have you thought about what will happen when he turns eleven?" Jinx asked, "You know Dumbledore will never let Harry go without a fight. He's the Boy-Who-Lived, after all. So Dumbledore will probably come here himself to make sure Harry attends Hogwarts."
"I won't let that old bastard use my little brother like one of his chess pieces," Raven growled angrily, "Harry has been through enough because of that mad bastard's manipulations. I shall be damned if I let him suffer more for Dumbledore's 'greater good.'"
Jinx's expression turned sad as she remembered how much she had loved Hogwarts before she had been expelled. While she would not want to deny Harry an opportunity to study there, she had to admit that Raven had a point about Dumbledore. The old man was far too fond of moving people about as though they were pieces on a chessboard, easily discarded when they were of no further use. But, of course, he would always deny such claims.
"Well, thankfully, that's still three years away, so we shouldn't have to worry about the old buzzard for a while yet," Jinx said with a grin that Raven returned,
"You still want to teach Harry magic? He's a bit young, isn't he?"
"Better he learns now than be clueless when he finally does go to school," Jinx replied, "Besides, I'm not going to teach him anything dangerous, just some simple stuff, is all."
Raven nodded thoughtfully for a moment and was about to reply when the alarm went off, and she sighed in frustration,
"Never a moment of peace…." Raven said simply as the two girls rushed out of the room to find out what new threat had appeared.
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"Have you found them?!" Dumbledore asked Alastor Moody when the old Auror walked out of the fireplace and into Dumbledore's office,
"Yeah, we found them alright," Moody growled, "The girl took Potter to America. They're living in Jump City in a giant T-shaped building, ugliest thing I've ever seen. And that's not all!"
"What else have you discovered?" Dumbledore asked quickly as he made a mental note to visit this 'Jump City' as soon as he could,
"It would seem that Raven Potter has some interesting friends," Moody replied, "A green shapeshifter, a man who looked like he was made of metal, an orange girl who can fly without a broomstick, and a kid who looks like he could give old Severus Snape fashion advice."
Dumbledore chuckled at that, even as he stored the information away for later examination,
"And I saw one more hanging around Potter, someone I haven't seen in almost five years."
"Who?" Dumbledore pressed, suddenly nervous,
"Natalie Jordan," Moody growled softly; instantly, Dumbledore's eyebrows shot to his hairline, and he felt his pulse quicken as Moody continued speaking,
"Goes by the name Jinx, now. And it looks like she and Potter are quite close."
"That is disturbing news," Dumbledore said simply, "We must ensure that Harry is watched; we cannot allow the boy to fall into the hands of those who practice the Dark Arts, after all. He's too important to our world."
"Why not just go and grab the kid? Shouldn't be that hard if you call out the whole of the order."
"No, that will not do," Dumbledore said as he laced his fingers together, "Raven is Harry's older sister and legally has the right to raise him in place of his maternal aunt. Better that he remains where he is, albeit under watch to ensure his protection."
"Very well, then," Moody growled, "But I don't trust that Jinx girl. The last time someone pissed her off, she took away their ability to walk."
Dumbledore nodded in agreement, "Then we shall have to ensure that Harry is under constant observation, for his own protection, of course."
"Of course," Moody sneered before turning and vanishing back into the fireplace and leaving Dumbledore alone; as the old man rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, his mind raced.
Harry Potter was the chosen one; the prophecy assured that one day Voldemort would return and only Harry would be able to stop him; but if Harry was being raised by a former student who had been expelled for Dark Magic, then the future looked bleak, indeed, and Dumbledore would need to keep a very close eye on Harry, for the Greater Good, of course.
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