Stories
Harry relaxed on the lounge chair in the Ulyian's sitting room. The chair was made of some sort of living sponge and was more comfortable than anything Harry had sat on before, even the good armchairs in Gryffindor tower by the fireplace.
Caspian had seemed amused when Harry commented on it and Harry had only grumbled good-naturedly back at him.
Caspian was the one bright spot in this new hellish adventure of Harry's. The older boy had listened to Harry's version of events and had taken his side after a few requests for clarification. It meant a lot to Harry, as it meant the other boy wasn't just taking his side arbitrarily but was instead actually considering the situation and was agreeing with Harry's point of view.
Harry's point of view being that, of course, he had been kidnapped by a mass murderer after being thrown illegally into a death tournament and watching a classmate be killed in front of him. Everything to do with dragels or-- or heritage had nothing to do with those facts.
And Caspian completely understood his reluctance to admit to Voldemort being his father, mystical merrow magic paternity test or not. The man murdered his parents and tried to kill him. Harry was allowed to deny the man's supposed relation all he wanted.
Not that Caspian's grandfather agreed. He was all for his student's comfort and what seemed to comfort Voldemort's instincts the best was Harry himself.
But Caspian had been okay with running interference between his grandfather and Harry and always gave a heads up when he sensed the man coming.
Harry didn't know how he would've stayed sane without the other teen.
Caspian, from what Harry had gathered over the past three days he had been stuck in the Ulyian manor, was quick witted and cunning, but with an overwhelmingly calm demeanor that left Harry feeling at ease around him.
Like now, for example, when Caspian's calm bright blue eyes managed to pull from Harry a tale that he had never actually told anyone before, too scared and ashamed to even face it himself.
“And Tom was there as a spirit?” the older teen asked.
“Not just a spirit. He was a grotesque parasite attached to Quirrel's head,” Harry spat, anger burning in his very soul at the reminder.
“And this is the teacher that had all year been masquerading as a stuttering fool,” Caspian said idly, just to be sure.
“Yes. He dropped the stutter as soon as he saw me in the chamber. Demanding I give him the stone for his master.”
“Tom,” Caspian nodded.
“Him,” Harry agreed, “It got… well it got dangerous pretty quick. Voldemort demanded Quirrel let him talk to me and then he tried to convince me to join his side. And when I refused, he told lies about my parents!”
Caspian hummed reassuringly that he was listening and it settled something in Harry that he hadn't noticed was unsettled to begin with.
“Then Quirrel tried to kill me. It… I honestly don't remember much of that part of the night. Everything was instinct and half thoughts,” Harry said, green eyes looking down at his tightly clasped hands.
“All I really remember is that he reached out-- to strangle me, I think, but when his hands touched me, they-” he took in a shuddering breath.
Caspian gave a low trilling coo and moved to sit on the large lounge chair at his side so they were touching instead of facing each other.
Harry took a deep breath and continued.
“His hands, they burned where they touched me,” came the ragged whisper.
Caspian gave another reassuring hum and Harry felt himself relax against the boy's side. Harry had never been one for human contact, not because he hated it but because the only touch he was used to was negative. This unconditional casual kind touch he had gotten from Caspian since they met was new and amazing to the teen.
“And so I grabbed him. His face. It-- It burned in my hands. I could feel the sizzle and pop of blistering skin and instead of letting go I just held on tighter. I knew if I let go he would get me and I couldn't let him. I refused. So I clung to him and I-” Harry rushed out, eventually stopping with a harsh intake of breath as he closed his eyes tight in the remembrance.
“You killed him.”
There was no judgment in Caspian's voice. Just calm acceptance. Harry's eyes opened and stared into the calm blues of Caspian. There was no hint of any negative emotion to be found in his face or eyes just like in his voice. It seemed Caspian really didn't judge him.
Harry gave a shaky nod.
Caspian let out a longer, lower croon as he pressed his body more firmly beside Harry's.
“I've killed before.”
The words were startling to Harry. Caspian? Calm, reserved, with a wicked sense of humor Caspian had killed someone before?
“More than once, in fact,” Caspian admitted, and though he didn't seem broken up over his actions, he didn't seem proud of them either.
“Do you know what a hunt is? Probably not,” he answered himself before looking to Harry for confirmation. Harry shook his head in the negative to agree with Caspian's assessment.
Raising a hand to his so light blue its a shade of white hair, Caspian dug his fingers in the locks as he stared off into the middle distance.
“Hunts are ordered by various people who then give their orders to a military circle to finish. My family circle, the Emery's, are a member of the unofficial storm courts, and are given hunts mainly by them and the air courts, who we are technically officially under. So they get a lot of hunts forwarded to them to complete.”
“But what are they?” Harry asked curious.
Blue, blue eyes darted towards Harry's green as they looked for something in them. Whatever they were looking for was apparently found as Caspian continued, “Hunts can be sometimes as simple as investigations to full on bounty hunts. They're dangerous and why only military circles complete them.”
Harry nodded and Caspian continued his tale.
“Anyways, I've mentioned before how hands on my family is with teaching us youngling, correct?” Caspian asked needlessly, as he had already impounded that fact into Harry when he casually admitted to his underwater breathing training in which Caspian had literally been drowned repeatedly to activate his merrow heritage's natural talent when Harry complained about the spells Levi has to continuously reapply to the only air breathing guest to the Ulyian estate.
“A few years ago, my parent's got this request from Queen Arista of the air courts. There were illegal shipments going on between realms, a sort of black market, and the Queen wanted information on the entire operation before shutting it down. My parent's let me help on the preparations for the hunt but when it came time to leave, they said I would be a liability because I wasn't inherited yet.”
Caspian quieted, obviously lost in memories.
“I was so angry. They had been teaching me my whole life how to do these kinds of things. My older brother who is only older by a year had inherited early in a training bout that got a little too serious. He was only thirteen, and he got to go on the hunt. It seemed unfair,” Caspian said, running another harsh hand through his white-blue hair.
“And the worst part was their destination. They had to first investigate underwater where a group of merfolk were supposedly a part of the operation. Other than my sire, I am the only one in my family fully capable of dealing with underwater missions. And yet they were leaving me out, when I could be of use to them,” Caspian said, having the words seemingly dragged out of him.
He honestly sounded anguished and it discomforted the younger boy to see the other so upset. The way he mentioned being of use felt like an issue much deeper and one Harry could kind of relate to, having been told his whole life he had to earn his keep.
“I sneaked in to their portal and was whisked off with them to their first destination, the sands beside the merfolk's waters in another realm entirely. My parents noticed me immediately of course and were furious I had ignored their orders, but since I was there anyways, they figured I may get as much learning in as possible and help out.”
“But it wasn't that easy,” Harry said knowingly.
“No,” Caspian agreed, “I made a big mistake that day. Somehow the merfolk were tipped off and eventually I was underwater with only my sire as backup with over a dozen angry criminal merfolk who didn't want to be taken in for their actions.”
Harry's eyes widened. He remembered the viciousness of the merfolk of the black lake from the second task and having over a dozen of them attacking you sounded horrible.
“I don't really want to get into what happened blow by blow. I've been trained my whole life so even at twelve I was pretty strong and my father is an ACE. He could've handled all of those merfolk himself no problem. If it wasn't for me.”
The last words were said self-deprecatingly and Harry tried to give what comfort he could by copying Caspian and leaning hard against his side.
“I made a mistake and suddenly one of them got the drop on me and I was held hostage. My father was so angry, at me or the merfolk I couldn't tell. All I knew was that one second I was caught and the next, all of the combatants still alive, weren't.”
Harry's eyes widened as he tried to imagine that.
“Needless to say, I messed up the reconnaissance hunt and my family was unbearably angry with me. My brother Terrence, he was especially angry with me for ruining his first hunt. And I had killed four merfolk before I got caught and had to deal with it mentally on my own, as no one in my family was willing to talk to me after my big mess up.”
“Is that the only time you killed?”
Caspian nodded. “That was the only hunt I've ever been on. Any chance of going on one before I inherited fully was wiped with that transgression, and after I inherited well...”
Caspian sighed and turned blue eyes searching into green.
“Being a beta wasn't what my family wanted for me. Even those of my siblings who were alpha or submissive are still gheyo. I'm the outlier. There's still my little sister but with how vicious she is there's no doubt she's going to end up gheyo.”
“I'm sorry,” Harry said helplessly, placing a comforting hand on Caspian's arm.
Caspian gave a small smile to Harry and reached up to place his own hand over Harry's.
“Not your fault. It's just my nature to be a disappointment to my family, apparently,” Caspian said lightly.
Harry frowned. That was one thing he had noticed about his new friend that he hated. He was so quick to put himself down so casually. As if he wasn't the single greatest thing to happen to Harry since the portkey to the graveyard.
“I don't think you're a disappointment,” he said resolutely.
“Thank you, Harry,” Caspian said softly, placing his forehead against Harry's shoulder as he breathed out in relief.
The two sat in companionable silence long afterward.