First meeting
With a tired sigh, Jack entered his house and immediately headed to the living room, where he plopped down on the couch. Not caring about the aches all over his body, he curled up on his side and decided to wait, while one of his Jack bots fetched the first aid kit from the bathroom. He could use a few minutes of peace before he had to put himself back together from the beating.
“I swear those monks get meaner, each time,” muttered the red-eyed teen, closing his eyes.
The sound of wings flapping caught his attention, and he quickly re-opened his eyes to see a familiar snow owl land on the coffee table, right in front of his head.
“Oh, hi girl,” Jack let a soft smile appear on his lips. He reached up and gently stroked her feathers, as he kept talking to her “How have you and Ry been? Probably a bit better than me, since you coming means that Ry survived the tournament, huh?” With his other hand, he snapped his fingers to summon one of his robots, ordering them to bring her some treats.
The owl hooted in thanks, nipping at his fingers before she held out her leg with the letter.
“Thanks for the delivery,” muttered the teen, as he carefully extracted the letter from her. Slowly, he flipped on his back, then opened the envelope and took out the letter. Red eyes roamed through each line, only to go wide as they reached certain sentences. Jack quickly sat up, hands clutching the letter, and re-read several times what was written in there, before he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before he firmly nodded for himself.
“Jack bots!” he called out, making all the robots stop what they were doing and pay attention, including the ones carrying the first aid kit. “Run a security check around the property! If you find any fault, fix it! Clean up the guest suite, in the west wing, and prepare the S-Jet-2 for a long trip! Asap! We´re taking a trip to Britain!”
Many people laugh and don´t take the butterfly effect seriously. After all, how can a small, maybe even seemingly insignificant thing have a large impact on someone´s life? But for a certain evil genius and a Light´s poster “boy”, the butterfly effect was the best way to summarize their friendship and deep bond.
The thing that started it all?
There was a silly class project called the pen pal program. In this program, students of one elementary school wrote to students from another one, in a different country. That year it was between the US and England, in hopes of preventing any language barrier. Most children participating in it would write just enough letters to get a passing grade and then forget about the whole experience.
However, one pair of students took a liking to each other, to the point they kept writing to each other, even after one year passed. The name of the duo was Harry Potter and Jack Spicer. The first was a lonely child living with relatives who didn´t want him and made no effort to hide it. The second was a little genius whose parents never had time for him, bullied often because of his albino appearance. Both didn´t have any friends in their home countries, so they latched onto each other and tried to make things work for them, even after the pen pal project ended. It was easy since they had a lot in common – both liked reading scary gothic stories, were interested in nature, and had an almost identical list of places they wanted to visit, once they grew up. They were even the same age and shared the same birthday, which they never failed to celebrate or send some, small gifts to each other.
Honestly, if people around them knew how clever the pair of eight-year-olds were, to stay in touch, they would be very surprised. Jack always made sure to send extra stamps for his buddy in his letter, so they could keep in touch since he knew that the other kid´s family would never pay for them. Harry managed to convince one of his teachers to act as a go-between for their correspondence, in exchange for doing some extra chores in class, so that neither the Dursley or Dudley could get their hands on the mail and destroy it. They even worked out a system, where one of them would wait for the other´s letter, before they wrote a reply, and agreed to call the police if they didn´t receive a letter within a one-month time frame.
However, the time frame was mostly for Jack, since the genius was worried that his friend´s relatives would hurt the British boy. To be fair, while Harry was very tight-lipped about them, Jack was not a genius for nothing and could piece together the small fragments that slipped through their letters. He knew Harry´s family was a real piece of work, and he already worked through several plans that would make their lives hell, once the other was legally able to fight back. The albino even outlined several of them to his friend, along with the best way to book a ticket and get on the plane to America without any idiot trying to interfere, in case Harry needed to make an escape. Jack also offered to send him money for the ticket himself, but as the other kid pointed out, that could be discovered and confiscated by the vile relatives. But the genius wouldn´t be deterred and wrote Harry that if push comes to shove, all Jack would need will be one letter and he would build his own plane to go get him.
Harry thought Jack was sweet in the way he was caring, for all the talk about how the other was an evil genius. Harry was betting it was less about Jack being evil and more about him lashingout against the idiots, who bullied him for being an albino and WAY smarter than them. Some teenagers in his neighbourhood took on an edgy look, when they wanted to protect themself from the world – to get people back off and leave them alone. The raven was betting his pen pal´s situation was the same. Even if Harry had to admit that Jack´s ambition for world domination was understandable and even admirable: he didn´t want to rule the world for power, he wanted to do it to help heal the planet from the damage done by humanity´s greed. That was something Harry could get behind, so the kid studied in secret to learn everything that could help Jack´s goal. From history to biology and even advanced chemistry books, Harry could get hands-on. Just because the ravens had to hide their intelligence to let their cousin shine, it didn´t mean that they didn´t know how to use it, after all.
The real test of their friendship though, came when Harry got the Hogwarts letter and discovered that magic was not only real, but also that Harry could easily use it. And that it was the main reason why the raven´s family hated them. It also made the raven-haired kid worried about how the albino would react to the information…until Harry got Jack´s next letter and realized that the worries were for nothing. In that letter, Jack called the Dursley family´s reasoning for hating Harry a big bullshit and said the family was a bunch of “jealous retarded losers”.
Afterwards, neither of the duo mentioned it, but the albino knew that his words must have reassured the raven about their friendship. He understood the sentiment since he felt the same way when Harry continued to write to him regularly, even after he gained new friends at the magical school.
Despite never meeting in person, they were still loyal to each other.
Hedwig, the beautiful snow owl Harry got for school, seemed to be fine with the long-distance flights. A contribution to that was probably the fact that Jack made a nice owlery for her to rest in, and Harry always gave her the best owl treats, whenever she came back to him with a letter. Or the fact she saw them both as her chicks to check on and help out.
The few years, following their eleventh birthdays, seemed like things were looking up for both of them… only for things to crash a few months after their fourteenth birthday.
Harry was entered into the Triwizard Tournament and Jack met Wuya and found out about the Shen Gong Wu. During that time, there were very few, if any highlights that made all the hell worth it:
For Harry, the biggest one was that he found a way to be legally emancipated and declared adult, which meant that he never had to return to his relatives ever again. That was the main reason he was able to last so long in the hellish experience and the two-faced nature of Hogwarts. Well, that and the fact that the sooner the school year ended, the sooner he would be able to high-tail out of England and find Jack.
And for Jack… he quickly realized that the Wus were a useful way to protect his friend from harm and help him through the tournament. He kept a few around to fool Wuya, but he always sent the most useful ones to Harry. The fact that he was actively helping his only friend to survive, was the only thing that kept him going, despite all the insults, beatings and defeats that he had to suffer, to stay in on the Xiaolin/Heilin showdowns.
And, just like how their friendship started with a single letter, all that was needed for Jack to abandon the showdowns was a single sentence in the letter from his best friend:
Jack, can you, please, come to pick me up at night, on June 30th?
Harry sprinted away from the castle as fast as his legs could carry him. During that time, he held his invisible tightly around himself, to prevent it from falling. He had it out because he didn´t want to be noticed by anybody after barely managing to escape from the castle when everyone went to sleep. Tonight was too important to leave everything up to a chance.
He ran for what seemed like an eternity until he was sure he was past the wards around the school. Once there, he paused, because he was greeted by an odd sight of the limited clear space in the forest being littered with oddly shaped machines and a plane that matched the shape of the robots. And standing by the plane, wearing a tattered black leather coat and an odd backpack, was a boy around his age, with pale skin, red eyes and matching red hair.
Harry didn´t need an introduction to know who he was. He pulled back the hood of his cloak and all but sprinted towards the other boy.
“Jack!”
The red-haired albino´s head snapped towards him.
“Ry!”
The black-haired teen threw himself at his friend, who, without a moment of hesitation, caught him in a bone-crushing hug. Harry hugged him back just as tightly.
“You came,” whispered the black-haired magic user, voice muffled by the other´s trench coat.
“Of course I came,” chuckled Jack, but his voice was heavy with emotions. “I told you, all you had to do is write me a letter.”
“Yeah, you did. I´m glad you did,” muttered the raven-haired wizard, before he buried his face deeper in the other´s coat.
They stayed locked in the embrace, neither of them speaking, as they absorbed the fact that they were finally meeting face-to-face. They didn´t feel any awkwardness, they knew each other for literal years and shared secrets they never could with anybody else. No words were needed, for they exchanged more than enough of them to last a lifetime.
“Did you take everything? You cloak and the things you cherish?” inquired the redhead, once they pulled apart, but his hands firmly rested on his best friend´s bony shoulders.
“Yes. I´m not returning, until September, so there is no way I´d forget anything. How is Hedwig?”
“Good. Hedwig is well and still in my manor in Asia. Do you want to head there, or…?”
“I need to head to the bank in Diagon Alley. They offer all kinds of services, for a fee, and the sooner I become legally emancipated the better.”
“Will they be offered even at this hour?”
“Some of their clients are vampires, so I bet they will.”
“Got it. Let´s go.”
They boarded the odd plane, likely Jack´s own creation if Harry had to guess, and soon they were flying far away from the dark forest. As the magical castle grew smaller and smaller, the magic-user gradually relaxed, until all tension left his slim frame.
“Do the goblins offer medical services or curse removals?” inquired Jack after a while.
“Yes. They have a curse-breaker branch that deals with old tombs and such. Why?”
“The sensations and visions you described in your letters… I don’t like the sound of them and if your scar is the main source of them, then there must be more to it, than what that old geezer told you. I want those goblins to look at your scar. Maybe they can find and deal with whatever is connecting you and the Old Coward with Daddy Issues,” the redhead explained, for once using his whole nickname for Voldemort, instead of the acronym for said nickname. “And, if possible, to see if they can do something about the supposed resurrection of that bastard. Bet they might find a way to undo the ritual that brought him back.”
“You might be onto something… I just hope we can get this over as fast as possible. I don´t want to be in the country longer than I have to,” the raven sighed, looking at the night sky around them. Left unsaid that the longer they stay in England, the bigger the chances that others might find him and drag him back to his relatives, regardless of what he had to say about it.
Red eyes briefly glanced at his friend. “Think that tomorrow, your friends will notice you´re gone and alert the old bastard?”
“Maybe. I left them both a short note saying that I´m going somewhere truly safe for the summer and to keep quiet about it from anybody.”
“Think they´ll listen to you?”
“…I hope so, otherwise our friendship is well and truly over,” the wizard muttered, green eyes closing at the unpleasant thought. He would hate to do that, but this school year made him realize some hard truths about his friends. Truths he ignored, because he was too busy with the new and “wonderful” world of magic. Ron´s betrayal and Hermione´s condescending attitude were just the tilting points, and even though they apologized, the wizard knew things wouldn´t be the same. He wouldn´t be able to trust his friends again unless they proved to him that he could count on them. This was their only chance and if they failed…
There wouldn’t be a second time.
The rest of the journey went in relative silence until the silhouette of London came into view. Once they were above the city, Harry did his best to navigate them towards where the Leaky Cauldron was located. They found it relatively quickly, and much to the two friends´ mutual surprise since Jack did not expect to be able to see a magical place. They quickly parked the jet at a nearby building and Jack then flew them straight into the valley, using his helibot.
“So, this is Diagon Valley… I imagined it to be more impressive,” Jack commented, once he landed on the deserted street, setting Harry on foot beside him.
The other boy looked around, trying to look at things from his friend´s perspective. “I suppose you´re right unless you´re an eleven-year-old kid that just walked into the ´magical world´.”
“Yeah, children´s perspective tends to pain things differently. Now, where is that magical bank?”
“That tall white building right there.”
“Huh. That one actually looks like it has some class.”
Chuckle. “Shall we?”
“Lead the way, Ry.”
At night, the Gringotts Wizarding Bank was a lot less busy and looking around, Harry found himself preferring it, compared to the overcrowded space during the day. There were only two or three customers and none of them batted an eye at two best friends when they entered the building. The two of them quickly went to the first free teller and Harry immediately requested the Potter account manager. As they waited, Jack looked around the spacious halls, nodding to himself here and there. This building was certainly more impressive than the rest in the Alley, reminding Jack of the main banks used by his parents, or the Swiss one he used for his investment account. A truly good bank, he thought. And thrust worthy, if Harry´s opinion was anything to go by. Soon, another goblin arrived and they were led to a room where they were greeted by an elder-looking goblin, with golden-rimmed half-moon glasses.
“Ah, Heir Potter. May your gold flow forever,” the goblin greeted.
“May your gold flow forever, Master Razorclaw,” Harry greeted him back before he introduced Jack. “Master Razorclaw, this is my close friend and ally, Jack Spicer. Jack, this is Master Razorclaw, he is in charge of all Potter family accounts.”
“Master Razorclaw, may your gold flow forever,” Jack greeted the goblin, following his friend´s example.
“May your gold flow forever, Mr Spicer,” the goblin greeted back, his sharp eyes examining the red-haired boy. Then he looked at the raven-haired teen: “I take it you came in regard of the claim of lordship and early emancipation, as you wrote in your letter.”
“Yes, sir. But I also will need your help with arranging a meeting with a curse-breaker… and possibly a healer. As soon as possible, please,” the young wizard requested politely, as he and Jack took their seats in the free chairs in front of the desk.
The account manager nodded his head before the last part made him pause. He used his clawed hand to adjust his glasses and examine Harry. “That can easily be arranged, even if your request for them is a bit sudden. May I ask, what prompted it?”
“Jack expressed concerns about the sensations I occasionally get from my scar… as well as the vision I had,” Harry confessed before he shortly described both the sensations and vision he got, as well as WHO caused those visions. This also led to the wizard describing the events which had had happened over a week ago, from the ritual to the resurrection of the Dark Lord Voldemort. During the whole talk, Razorclaw was frowning, eyes narrowed and lips pulled together into a thin line.
“Heir Potter, your words are very concerning. Before we proceed, I need to verify these things, which can be done in two ways,” the account manager started, while he scribbled down a short note and with a flick of his finger, he sent it flying up and out of the office. “First, we need to proceed with the advanced inheritance test. I planned to do this from the start, since it is a necessary part in claiming your Lordship and emancipation, but in this case, it can serve as a way of discovering if you´re under the influence of any curse… or have something malicious attached to you. Second, we´ll need a pensieve, in which I´ll view your memories of the incident from June 23rd. I just sent for someone to bring it to us, and once I verify them, I´ll forward this information to the branch manager and we shall plan from there.”
The raven-haired teen gave a slightly tense nod and Jack put his hand on the other´s shoulder while giving the goblin a look. “You look like you don´t like the possibility of the OCDI being back. Why is that?”
“OCDI?” the goblin repeated with a raised eyebrow.
“Old Coward with Daddy Issues,” Harry clarified.
Razorclaw´s mouth twitched at this before he decided to answer the redhead´s question: “There are several things that can cause goblins to lose respect and even grow to hate someone. Voldemort was mainly notorious for two of them: dishonour and wasting money. Because of that, his potential return is regarded as bad news for us, and no one of the Clan wants to risk that.”
“Hm. The dishonour I get, but why the wasting money bit?” Jack inquired, but then he paused. “Unless you´re talking about the fact that he was killing off entire families, making their vaults unusable and a lot of gold just lying around unclaimed. Instead of being used for transactions, investments and such. Or it is claimed by the good old Ministry and collects dust in some lazy idiot´s vault, who might not know how to spend it. Yeah, that can be seen as a waste,” he grimaced, the thought of something like that happening with the money he was earning on the side was making him disgusted. He also mentally added the goblins as potential, and actually useful, allies, when getting rid of the OCDI.
Razorclaw looked at the pale genius with a hint of respect, before he pulled out a scroll and an ornated box from the drawer of his desk. “Now, the potion for the inheritance test has already been prepared, so the only thing Heir Potter needs to do is place a few drops of blood into this potion,” the goblin opened the box and pulled out one of the vials inside, “Then we´ll wait until the potion turns crimson and I´ll pour it on the scroll. The potion will then proceed to write down all the information available from your blood.”
Harry nodded and cut his finger with the knife offered by his account manager and followed the instructions, cutting his finger and letting a few drops fall into the vial. The three of them waited a few minutes before the potion did as Razorclaw described and the goblin then poured it onto the scroll. The scroll then unfolded itself and red letters started to appear on them in crimson ink, words written in neat handwriting. Jack hummed as he watched the process, marvelling how magic has way better grammar and spelling than the sad excuse of a gossip rag called the Daily Prophet. Red eyes scanned the text, before freezing at a certain line. Green eyes did the same, before the two friends looked at each other, exchanging looks that were asking “Are you seeing this too?” After a silent talk through their eyes, Jack decided to be the one to voice the question:
“Master Razorclaw? Why does this say that Ry´s biological gender is female and magically changed gender is male?”