Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Anita Blake I am not making any money off this series, please don’t sue me.
Warning’s: implied Slash, child abandonment, not beta’d
Author:Sio
A/N: Just a plot bunny that wouldn’t go away.
Source of quotes: http://www.quotegarden.com/family.html
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The Gift of Family
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You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu
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In the quite of the night a small life hung in the balance, wrapped in soft wool a baby struggled to free his arms and reached for the being holding him. The goal was achieved triumphantly as little hands snaked up and clasped grey whiskers in a strong grasp and gave a sharp tug. Baby features twisted into happiness as the old man winced making a slight squawking sound. Once the old man extracted his badge of age from the young grip he gently places the child on the cold doorstep of an average house on an average street. The old man rang the doorbell and fled the scene without looking back, which meant of course that he was unaware of his grave mistake, as the owners of the house were not at home but out shopping.
As the cold finally began to sink through the wool to touch the tender skin of the babe, he began to cry, his distressed wails split through the still darkness of the night. His cries did not fall on to deaf ears but onto those of a passing wanderer. The stranger drew near the house as if he was part shadow or absence of light. Haunted blue eyes stared into emerald green, pale slim hands reached down to the child. Once the child was firmly in the arms of the stranger his cries lessened until they were only small whimpering baby hiccups.
To say the stranger was in a predicament was an understatement, as soon as he picked up the little bundle of abandoned joy he could not in all good conscious put the child back on the cold door step. Could he? No of course not. Unfortunately that left the question of what exactly to say to his sire if he brought a baby home. The stranger was quit obviously a vampire in a bit of a dilemma. The baby gave one last hiccup followed by a sigh and drifted of to the land of dreams and happy memories. The vampire spied a letter lying on the step were the baby had been left. He adjusted the sleeping baby so that he could retrieve the letter. He quickly scanned the flowing script of the baby’s parents as the letter explained the circumstances that had left the baby out in the cold. The letter decided it, he would take this baby with him and raise it, for a while at least. A gentle hand traced over the painful looking lightening bolt scar.
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Bright green eye’s looked out from behind the thin wire frame of glasses, as he sat at the foot of a throne looking up from the book he had been quietly reading to peer at the person that had just been dragged in. Small but deathly strong hands lifted the little boy from the foot of the throne into the lap of the woman who was sitting there. Feminine arms wrapped around the little boy pulling him tighter into a motherly embrace. The female vampire who’s name was Bella Morte addressed the small boy “Is this the homme that tried to kidnap and hurt you petite magicien?” Her voice was like a thousand pleasant things all rolled up onto one.
“Oui grand-mere” the boy answered the being he thought to be his grandmother. The vampress had a reputation for being less, much less than kind, but little Harry had captured her undead heart the first time his green eye’s had met her’s. The man being forcibly held down whimpered and begged for forgiveness, Bella was disinclined to acquiesce his request.
“You homme have nothing to look forward to but a slow death, comprendre?” Bella informed the useless lump of human flesh that was currently soiling her floor with urine. “Take him away, and slowly piece by piece feed him to the wolves”. Vampress began to rock the boy back and forth gently as the screaming man was dragged from the room. “I think mon magicien it is time for you to go to bed, oui?”
“non, I’m-” a large yawn betrayed the boy to the rest of his statement “not tired.” His eye’s were heavy and he laid his head on Bella’s pale shoulder.
“I see” replied Bella greatly amused by her charge
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The family is a haven in a heartless world. ~Attributed to Christopher Lasch
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“I really must insist that you allow young Harry to be enrolled at Hogwarts” commanded the old wizard, perhaps he did not quite realize with whom he was dealing.
“Non, Harry stays here with moi, I already have several people to teach the boy what he needs to know” was the reply from the relaxed figure on the throne.
“Harry is the only hope of the wizardry world! Without him all is lost” cried Professor McGonagall as she wrung her hands together in frustrated desperation.
“This is easily solved, let us ask Harry if he wishes to come to Hogwarts or stay here?” ask the headmaster reasonably knowing no little boy would say no to learning magic.
“Oui, we will ask. Henry!” Bella called her one of her cats to her “I require Harry, go get him” she ordered. A few slow moments passed before a well dressed eleven year old approached the throne. A smile lit Harry’s face as soon as he saw Bella.
“Grand-mere you called for me?” asked Harry observing the two visitors.
“Oui, these people want you to go to their school” replied Bella as she motioned for Harry to join her on the dais. Harry sat his back leaning against the throne.
“Harry you must come to Hogwarts, it is what your parents would have wanted” stated the old headmaster. Harry looked up to Bella.
“His not telling the whole truth is he?” Harry asked.
“non he is not” replied Bella her eye’s growing cold as the adopted child of her childe was being lied to by the people who wanted to take him away.
“Harry the fact remains that you must go to wizardry school or your magic will get out of control and hurt those closest to you.” Dumbledore warned in a grandfatherly tone.
“Then I truly must go to wizardry school” replied Harry causing Dumbledore to smile his blue eye’s twinkling.
“I’ll make the arrangements-” The headmaster was cut off.
“Pappa’s letter said there was a school for people like me, where he lives, I could go to school there and visit him! Can I Grand-mere?” Asked Harry completely ignoring the now red faced Wizards in their midst. Bella’s laughter sounded like tiny perfectly pitched bells
“But of course petite magicien”
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It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons. ~Johann Schiller <~*~>
When Harry exited the arrivals Gate at the airport the first thing he spotted was a fairly handsome looking man that felt like a wolf, holding a sign with his name on it. “Bonjour” Harry greeted “you are Jason?” The wolf nodded with a quick smile and sassy comment that Harry ignored.
The drive to the circus was relatively short compared to the long flight but Harry thought it had lasted an eternity. The sun had just finished it’s journey into the embrace of the night as Harry and Jason pulled up outside the large building that was the circus. A large crowd milled around already waiting for the nights festivities to begin. Harry took it all in with a predators eye. Harry was obviously a case of Nature versus nurture, nurture having won out. Harry could barely contain his excitement at seeing Asher again. The scared vampire had been like a father to Harry all through his younger years until his Pappa and Grand-mere had, had that horrible argument, of which he knew little.
Jason lead his charge down into the depths of the circus. Finally he and the unnerving boy made it to Jean-Claude’s office. Jason knocked the door and received what would have been a muffled “enter” to human ears. Harry was quickly ushered into the room and the door closed behind him. Harry found himself alone in a room with Jean-Claude the vampire that had taken his pappa away from him.
“Why is it that Bella would send her favored charge into my city?” asked the Vampire going straight in for the figurative kill. Harry study the vampire and the room around him ignoring the question for the moment. Jean-Claude cleared his throat and emerald eye’s snapped to him.
“Perhaps” Harry’s quiet and some what haunting voice hung in the air “I am a spy? Or maybe I am here to go to school? Or just maybe I am here to see ma Pappa.” Harry left he belief that the vampire had stolen his father from him unsaid but it could be heard in the tone of his voice.
“And Perhaps it is not wise for little boys to speak to a master vampire in that tone of voice” Anger made Jean-Claude’s accent more prominent. Harry smiled clearly amused which only furthered the vampired anger.
“You are nothing like the way Pappa described you in his stories.” Harry’s comment hung in the air between them. “Why does he stay with you?” The vulnerable little boy finally showed through “Why am I not enough to make him stay?” Tears gathered in Harry’s eye’s but he valiantly willed them away while the vampire watched. Jean-Claude could not help but fell he had misjudged the situation.
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An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship. ~Spanish Proverb<~*~>
Jean-Claude and Harry had gotten off to a rocky start but they seemed to have found common ground in their love for Asher, though both loved him in a different ways. Was it possible that Jean-Claude came to see harry as the son that Asher and he could never have. Possible but unlikely for various reasons. Asher's entire demeanor changed around Harry and several people were insanely jealous, one of them being Anita Blake the tough as nails Vampire Executioner. For reasons of his own Harry couldn’t stand to be around Anita because her magic, if you could call it that, felt cold and unnatural.
With a month left to go before Harry’s school started, Jean-Claude had hired harry several tutors. Of course not all Harry’s time was spent learning, he spent many hours wondering around the Circus and spending time with various people. One of Harry’s favourite people at the Circus was Zane, which was probably because the man spent so much time in his leopard form. Harry quickly grew to love his knew surroundings, it became as such that he couldn’t wait for each new night to start.
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Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt<~*~>
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A/N: I don't know if this will be continued, or if it will even get a good response, but I like it so I decided to post it and see if they was any call to continue it.
Point out any glaring mistakes, thanks.
