Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Company We Keep
DISCLAIMER: See the Prologue.
NOTE: Kurt ("Nightcrawler") makes an entrance here. Just so you all know now, I stink at doing accents, so I'm going to have to leave that to your imaginations. (For those of you who don't know, Kurt has a German accent, and Rogue has a southern drawl.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Classic Cowboy gave me permission to use the codename for Harry which he came up with in his HP/X-Men crossover series, because I couldn't think of anything good. If anyone would like to see his email confirming this, I'll gladly forward it to them.
Oh, and by the way, I'm glad everyone likes Damian's codename! Unanimous popularity, wow, who would have thought?
Chapter 6: Go with the Flow
As the training rooms and its components were being updated and upgraded, Damian showed Harry the articles from the Daily Prophet and /The Quibbler/, mailed to him by a pen pal he had back in England. They were all from when Harry was unconscious for a month.
Predictably, the Daily Prophet had turned into Fudge's garbage machine, praising Fudge and vilifying Harry. It also seemed that Umbridge had just returned back to her position as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, and Percy Weasley as his assistant.
'Have they truly learned nothing?' Harry thought angrily. Scanning the articles more, he didn't see any mention of anyone speaking out in support of him; then again, of course the Minister would have censored anything showing Harry in a positive light.
/The Quibbler/, just as predictably, showed Harry in a positive light, and even made up a list of all the Ministry's failings, just to cause more trouble for the corrupt government. While it did favor Harry, it made no mention of the Weasleys or any of his other friends either. After contemplating this, Harry could only conclude they stayed silent for the sake of their own safety.
From what Harry could see, the country was divided over who to believe and who not to believe.
But what really riled him was how Fudge, Umbridge and Percy were slowly gaining support again. They also claimed "evidence" against Harry, which he knew were blatant and utter lies. They must have really been getting desperate if they wanted to simply fabricate "evidence" like that.
'Desperate people will do desperate things,' he reminded himself.
At least, Harry thought to himself, that if this last gamble failed (and it undoubtedly would, given their abysmal track records), he could just sit back and enjoy the show.
Another small consolation to Harry was how the dementor attack over on this side of the pond wasn't even mentioned at all. The distance and magic were two strengths which Harry planned to fully take advantage of.
"Not the best reading material ever, huh?"
Damian was behind him, sounding concerned.
"Never was, and probably never will be," Harry said almost emotionlessly, trying to keep his anger in check.
"Well, when you're done with it, just toss it in a bathroom - you know, just in case."
Harry snorted. Damian was good with his wit.
"Anyway, while they're not done 'renovating' the training rooms yet, they did manage to get you something."
He held out a box, which Harry accepted. Opening it, he saw it was a jumpsuit like the kind which the others had. It was mainly black, but had a green area on the chest which formed a "V," running from the next down to the waist. There was also a belt, with small compartments for things on it, and a black "X" on a red disk.
"Nice," Harry commented.
"Proof against a lot of things," Damian commented. "Trust me, you'll like it."
"Oh, I think I will," Harry said, a small smile forming on his face.
While the training room was being set up, Logan got Harry started on fighting techniques which he would need to know. As with the training with Damian, Harry immediately got back in the game after being knocked back down.
Logan actually looked a little impressed by Harry's display and ability to catch on quickly, although he didn't show it. He told Harry to keep practicing those moves, and Harry knew better than to disobey Logan (some of the other mutants had already told him horror stories about intense extra training as punishment). However, if it meant making himself more powerful so he could finally kill Voldemort, Harry would happily accept it.
Damian helped him get caught up on Potions (Harry found it was much easier for him to do so without Snape giving him trouble). Once Harry felt that he had gotten up to an acceptable pace in Potions, he and Harry moved on to teaching themselves the sort of magic which sixth and seventh year students would be learning.
Eventually, a codename was needed for Harry. This in itself was something of a tough task, since Harry's powers covered magic itself and were relatively broad. Eventually, they found one which seemed to suit him: "Mage."
While Harry was extremely grateful to Xavier and his associates for all this hospitality, he still missed his home at Hogwarts. He missed his friends, his professors (minus Snape and Trelawny, of course), the classes, Quidditch...
Damian was one of the best friends Harry had ever made. Both of them had shared the same experiences, and both of them just worked so well together. If one of them had problems, the other would be there to help him.
Harry also made friends with some of the other mutants at the institute. Among them was Kurt ("Nightcrawler"), who nearly scared Harry senseless one day after he suddenly appeared in front of Harry in his natural form (blue fur, pointed ears, and a devil-like tail). Once Harry recovered from the shock, he greeted the mutant, who was surprised that Harry didn't mind his unusual appearance.
"Yeah, I saw the magic you and Damian were using in that duel of yours," Kurt said, awe in his voice. "Damian has been here with us for several months now, so we know some things about magic."
"Hm," Harry commented. "I'm just glad there's someone I can relate to... magic-wise, that is."
"How do you feel about being a mutant?" Kurt asked.
Harry sighed. "I really don't know. The powers are one thing... it's everyone else's opinion that sort of bugs me."
Kurt responded, "I know what you mean. On the other hand, if it's any consolation, there's something the Professor told us once."
"What's that?"
"'There's always going to be someone in the world who will judge you and dislike you for things you can't control.'"
Harry took a deep breath. "I know the feeling."
Not long after Harry's conversation with Kurt, Damian came up to Harry in private and said, "You said the right things to Kurt. He's kinda sensitive about his appearance. People being scared of him and all that. He practically lives in fear of his holographic image projector failing while in public."
Harry responded, "On some levels, I can sympathize with all of you one way or another."
Damian grimaced a little. "You know, I have a confession to make. I kind of envisioned you differently... you know, because of the whole Boy Who Lived thing."
Harry also grimaced. "That's okay, Damian. It's not your fault. That was just a label they slapped onto me because I was a lucky survivor. For all the praise, I always seem to be their favorite scapegoat whenever something goes wrong."
"So I found out, after the Professor and I saw your memories."
"Why did you work with him?"
"Being the only wizarding student in his institute, I sort of provided a commentary on things he didn't understand."
"Professor Xavier told me he wouldn't tell anyone."
"And I can assure you the same thing," Damian said seriously, not breaking eye contact with Harry, which showed all his honesty.
After I moment's hesitation, Harry finally said, "I can trust you."
They shook on that.
TBC...
A/N: I also kinda stink at characterization and people getting along, so I hope this isn't terrible or wince-worthy or anything...
Next chapter is where Harry meets the Brotherhood... -Quillian
NOTE: Kurt ("Nightcrawler") makes an entrance here. Just so you all know now, I stink at doing accents, so I'm going to have to leave that to your imaginations. (For those of you who don't know, Kurt has a German accent, and Rogue has a southern drawl.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Classic Cowboy gave me permission to use the codename for Harry which he came up with in his HP/X-Men crossover series, because I couldn't think of anything good. If anyone would like to see his email confirming this, I'll gladly forward it to them.
Oh, and by the way, I'm glad everyone likes Damian's codename! Unanimous popularity, wow, who would have thought?
Chapter 6: Go with the Flow
As the training rooms and its components were being updated and upgraded, Damian showed Harry the articles from the Daily Prophet and /The Quibbler/, mailed to him by a pen pal he had back in England. They were all from when Harry was unconscious for a month.
Predictably, the Daily Prophet had turned into Fudge's garbage machine, praising Fudge and vilifying Harry. It also seemed that Umbridge had just returned back to her position as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, and Percy Weasley as his assistant.
'Have they truly learned nothing?' Harry thought angrily. Scanning the articles more, he didn't see any mention of anyone speaking out in support of him; then again, of course the Minister would have censored anything showing Harry in a positive light.
/The Quibbler/, just as predictably, showed Harry in a positive light, and even made up a list of all the Ministry's failings, just to cause more trouble for the corrupt government. While it did favor Harry, it made no mention of the Weasleys or any of his other friends either. After contemplating this, Harry could only conclude they stayed silent for the sake of their own safety.
From what Harry could see, the country was divided over who to believe and who not to believe.
But what really riled him was how Fudge, Umbridge and Percy were slowly gaining support again. They also claimed "evidence" against Harry, which he knew were blatant and utter lies. They must have really been getting desperate if they wanted to simply fabricate "evidence" like that.
'Desperate people will do desperate things,' he reminded himself.
At least, Harry thought to himself, that if this last gamble failed (and it undoubtedly would, given their abysmal track records), he could just sit back and enjoy the show.
Another small consolation to Harry was how the dementor attack over on this side of the pond wasn't even mentioned at all. The distance and magic were two strengths which Harry planned to fully take advantage of.
"Not the best reading material ever, huh?"
Damian was behind him, sounding concerned.
"Never was, and probably never will be," Harry said almost emotionlessly, trying to keep his anger in check.
"Well, when you're done with it, just toss it in a bathroom - you know, just in case."
Harry snorted. Damian was good with his wit.
"Anyway, while they're not done 'renovating' the training rooms yet, they did manage to get you something."
He held out a box, which Harry accepted. Opening it, he saw it was a jumpsuit like the kind which the others had. It was mainly black, but had a green area on the chest which formed a "V," running from the next down to the waist. There was also a belt, with small compartments for things on it, and a black "X" on a red disk.
"Nice," Harry commented.
"Proof against a lot of things," Damian commented. "Trust me, you'll like it."
"Oh, I think I will," Harry said, a small smile forming on his face.
While the training room was being set up, Logan got Harry started on fighting techniques which he would need to know. As with the training with Damian, Harry immediately got back in the game after being knocked back down.
Logan actually looked a little impressed by Harry's display and ability to catch on quickly, although he didn't show it. He told Harry to keep practicing those moves, and Harry knew better than to disobey Logan (some of the other mutants had already told him horror stories about intense extra training as punishment). However, if it meant making himself more powerful so he could finally kill Voldemort, Harry would happily accept it.
Damian helped him get caught up on Potions (Harry found it was much easier for him to do so without Snape giving him trouble). Once Harry felt that he had gotten up to an acceptable pace in Potions, he and Harry moved on to teaching themselves the sort of magic which sixth and seventh year students would be learning.
Eventually, a codename was needed for Harry. This in itself was something of a tough task, since Harry's powers covered magic itself and were relatively broad. Eventually, they found one which seemed to suit him: "Mage."
While Harry was extremely grateful to Xavier and his associates for all this hospitality, he still missed his home at Hogwarts. He missed his friends, his professors (minus Snape and Trelawny, of course), the classes, Quidditch...
Damian was one of the best friends Harry had ever made. Both of them had shared the same experiences, and both of them just worked so well together. If one of them had problems, the other would be there to help him.
Harry also made friends with some of the other mutants at the institute. Among them was Kurt ("Nightcrawler"), who nearly scared Harry senseless one day after he suddenly appeared in front of Harry in his natural form (blue fur, pointed ears, and a devil-like tail). Once Harry recovered from the shock, he greeted the mutant, who was surprised that Harry didn't mind his unusual appearance.
"Yeah, I saw the magic you and Damian were using in that duel of yours," Kurt said, awe in his voice. "Damian has been here with us for several months now, so we know some things about magic."
"Hm," Harry commented. "I'm just glad there's someone I can relate to... magic-wise, that is."
"How do you feel about being a mutant?" Kurt asked.
Harry sighed. "I really don't know. The powers are one thing... it's everyone else's opinion that sort of bugs me."
Kurt responded, "I know what you mean. On the other hand, if it's any consolation, there's something the Professor told us once."
"What's that?"
"'There's always going to be someone in the world who will judge you and dislike you for things you can't control.'"
Harry took a deep breath. "I know the feeling."
Not long after Harry's conversation with Kurt, Damian came up to Harry in private and said, "You said the right things to Kurt. He's kinda sensitive about his appearance. People being scared of him and all that. He practically lives in fear of his holographic image projector failing while in public."
Harry responded, "On some levels, I can sympathize with all of you one way or another."
Damian grimaced a little. "You know, I have a confession to make. I kind of envisioned you differently... you know, because of the whole Boy Who Lived thing."
Harry also grimaced. "That's okay, Damian. It's not your fault. That was just a label they slapped onto me because I was a lucky survivor. For all the praise, I always seem to be their favorite scapegoat whenever something goes wrong."
"So I found out, after the Professor and I saw your memories."
"Why did you work with him?"
"Being the only wizarding student in his institute, I sort of provided a commentary on things he didn't understand."
"Professor Xavier told me he wouldn't tell anyone."
"And I can assure you the same thing," Damian said seriously, not breaking eye contact with Harry, which showed all his honesty.
After I moment's hesitation, Harry finally said, "I can trust you."
They shook on that.
TBC...
A/N: I also kinda stink at characterization and people getting along, so I hope this isn't terrible or wince-worthy or anything...
Next chapter is where Harry meets the Brotherhood... -Quillian
Sign up to rate and review this story