Chapter 4
July 1998
We did it. We finally managed to talk Admiral Marcus into giving us a leave of absence before assigning us to the ship.
It seemed impossible.
That is, study.
I didn't have time to write anything here for the last two months, because Pavel and I were preparing for the exams. In two years, we completed the four-year Academy. And we passed it with flying colors in all subjects. We were the youngest students at the school, but we were also the fastest to graduate from the academy. It was actually surprisingly easy.
Not that anyone else would think so.
Together with Pavel, we learned everything we needed and much more, even though we never passed the exams of what we learned. We didn't care about being the captain of the ship, but we listened carefully to those who wanted the position, so we had a chance to learn something new. But it was more important for us to do the engineering and ship steering exams. These were our main goals and we achieved them. We no longer have to deal with compulsory learning.
Admittedly, it's something I enjoy, but the idea of being in space is much better than the idea of learning. I have accomplished a lot in my short life and whenever I want I can accomplish much more later, but for now I will rest.
But back to the holiday.
So we finally convinced Admiral Marcus that as graduates we deserved some time off before the mission.
We got three weeks.
And my aunt and uncle agreed that I could visit them together with Pavel, who was also looking forward to this visit. He saw how my relationship with my family had changed drastically and that they were no longer the same people I had told him about, and I was excited to see America. I'm really looking forward to going there tomorrow. We will be there for a fortnight.
Then we will spend a week in a hotel, where the other graduates of the year will also be, and together we will celebrate the successful passing of the exams. We will also pick up new recruits on the way back.
In those two months nothing really happened. In fact, we don't even know what ship they're going to put us on yet. They never told anyone. I just hope that Pavel and I will be in the same boat.
But we are sure that we belong to the commanding crew.
Huh, the yellow shirt was something that Pavel wanted more than me, and I honestly didn't expect it, I rather thought that I would be like a spare or be sent to the engine room, I wouldn't even mind if I was assigned to the medical section, although I received a blue shirt together with a doctor's badge. But I was a member of the command crew.
Yeah sure, I know. But I still have moments of underestimating myself or thinking about myself that I don't deserve certain things or I deserve in relation to the situation. And Pavel continues to stand by my side and continues to assure me that I deserve the yellow shirt as well as the blue and the red. I honestly don't understand who thought of giving me all three.
But for an eighteen, almost eighteen-year-old boy, it's quite an achievement. Great success. And I'm glad to have someone who reminds me of what I've accomplished and who is proud of me.
And no. I still haven't told Pavlov, even though I'm more than sure of my feelings for him. And in those two years, it's getting stronger and stronger. But I don't want to scare him. What if they don't feel the same way I do?
Or is he disgusted by the idea of having to love the same sex?
I don't want to lose a single person who has done so much for me. That alone makes me love him so much more just thinking about it.
And I wouldn't survive losing him because I doubt he'd like the idea of being friends with a boy who loves him. I'm not even sure you can get over it and move on. Falling in love with someone else.
At this moment, it is an absolutely unimaginable thought for me, because the curly boy creeps into my dreams. I'm not sure how long I can keep it a secret.
Risk is gain, right?
And who doesn't risk gets nothing?
But I have something to lose and I don't want to risk it.
And it doesn't matter that I know absolutely everything about him, just like he knows about me. He knows all my skeletons in the closet and I know his, which probably makes it worse.
It's terribly confusing.
Including me.
But I won't worry about it yet and I will enjoy the vacation together with Pavel, which we are both looking forward to. I'm just sad that his family wasn't interested in him showing up at home. They never wrote to him. It was the first time in two years that he had tried it, and even though he tried to hide his disappointment, you could see how much it hurt.
But I didn't know what was waiting for us all.
It was really beautiful in New York. It was definitely worth taking a vacation at the beginning of July.
A golden retriever puppy that Harry knew very well from his aunt's reports was running excitedly in the garden of the small family home. His cousin had definitely done something to his healthy one and Harry only saw it because he was playing with the dog in the garden.
Harry had long since forgotten what his relatives had done to him when he was younger. He wasn't bitter at all and was glad that their relationship had improved to the point that they themselves wanted to see him after so long. He learned to forgive those who truly deserved it and saw that his aunt and uncle were truly trying to repair their relationship and maintain the status of the family. They had to realize that Harry was the last connection to his aunt's sister and he would never have another.
"Mom? Harry's here?” he didn't even notice the moment his cousin saw him.
Paul put a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring gesture and Harry didn't even realize he was so tense as he relaxed under Paul's touch. He received a smile from his first Academy friend in return, and if Harry hadn't been nervous about the visit, the smile alone would have made his knees weak.
He should do something about this situation very quickly, or at least as soon as possible.
Moments later he was wrapped in a tight embrace by his aunt who was definitely looking good since he last saw her. New York definitely benefited her.
“Oh Harry. I'm so glad to see you. And you must be Pavel. Harry has told us a lot about you.” Harry tried to cover his blush before anyone noticed.
He was just glad that his aunt had decided to take them into the house and show them the room they would be sharing. It was a small family home after all. It wasn't a villa, and apparently that was enough for this family of three. Why have three guest rooms when one was enough. The only problem Harry saw was the double bed, something he would deal with later.
“Vernon isn't coming until the evening. He had to go to work today, but he's looking forward to seeing you.” this was exactly the kind of situation Harry had never experienced.
But that didn't mean he didn't like his aunt's sweet behavior. On the contrary. Any change for the better was a win for Harry. They definitely had a lot to talk about because there were a lot of topics that shouldn't be written in the report.
"So what's it like here? I mean New York?” that started the avalanche.
His aunt couldn't stop praising a big city like this, they seemed to have made a lot of friends in the neighborhood, and most of all, they also didn't seem to care how they looked to the neighbors.
"It was a new beginning for us. You were right then. We wanted to move out, but the fact that you were with us prevented us. I won't lie to you, I'll admit that I was a little sad to see you go, but it gave us a chance to live a new life where we wanted to. Dudley had changed as had Vernon and I.
I have to admit that there was something about that house in Zobí Street. Whenever you were at school it was different than when you were at home. I know there was some type of protection and I wondered for a long time whether it was that or not, but the longer we were away from Britain the clearer our minds became and the more horrified we were at what we were thinking of doing to you .
To this day, I don't know what stopped us from doing it and I'm glad it didn't happen. But now we are elsewhere. Different town, different neighbors, MACUSA even sought us out and offered us protection from British Wizards because they've been following us since you left. They registered us as people who are allowed to visit the wizarding world and know about magic precisely because we tried to take care of you.
We told them everything. About how we treated you and what we wanted to do to you, and they still haven't been able to tell us what happened. I don't think they even know.” Harry could only stare.
He would never have expected such a speech, well maybe he had since they started communicating with each other, but he hadn't expected something like an admission that they wanted to do much more to him than just hate his person.
It made him wonder what was actually wrong with the house on Zobí Street-
"Don't think. We're on vacation, remember?” and as always, Pavel was perfect at pinpointing the moment when Harry was thinking at a time when it wasn't needed.
"You're right. In any case, I will refrain from magic for this holiday. I'm not sure it's a good idea to use that magic.” and if Harry decided to do anything, it was to visit Gringott's Bank of America branch. “You said you were allowed to visit the wizarding world. You don't happen to know where Magic Alley is here in New York.'
"I know of one. We go there quite often. Brooklyn Street. Its entrance is hidden under the Brooklyn Bridge. It cannot be overlooked. So...can't be missed by a wizard and those who know about that entrance,” Harry gave her one behind his bright smiles.
He had a plan for the next day and he wanted to show Pavlov the magical world he had told him so many stories about. He just nodded at the unspoken question. Pavel himself was curious about what the magical community on Earth looked like.
The rest of the day and evening passed in a pleasant atmosphere. Uncle Vernon didn't really arrive until late in the evening, and he was really excited to see Harry and it seemed Paul too, who Harry had told them a lot about. He had no idea if his aunt knew anything, but he wasn't going to admit his feelings to anyone, at least not anytime soon. In the end, it wasn't that long before he admitted to himself that he didn't just fall in love with Pavel, but that he really loved him.
Uncle Vsak gave almost the same speech as his aunt, but on top of that he added an apology for the whole family for how they had treated him over the years. Dudley even bowed his head in a shy gesture, and for the second time that day Harry stared at how much his family had changed for the better.
But he rejected their apology. He forgave them a long time ago and told them so too. Although he didn't understand the reasons, he forgave them because as mentioned before, it didn't seem like they were doing these actions out of their own judgment, but they definitely had enough strength to stoop to nothing worse than hatred. And Harry admired them for that. Not that he said it out loud at the time, but that's how it was. He himself wasn't sure he could withstand such an onslaught, wasn't sure he wouldn't break.
Finally, there was the question of sleep. Something he definitely didn't want to discuss with his relatives and if Pavlov didn't like them sharing a bed, he would sacrifice himself for them and use magic to separate the beds.
"I do not mind it. Harry let out a subtle breath.
He kind of hoped that it would turn out like this, but he wouldn't want to force Pavel into something he wouldn't like.
Harry fell asleep that night feeling that he could definitely get used to this. To fall asleep next to Pavel. Not only in the same dormitory, because after a while he discovered that his breathing calmed him down during sleep and was able to drive away his nightmares, but he would be able to get used to falling asleep next to Pavel.
Just in a slightly different situation.
The next day Harry woke up with a heavy feeling on his chest, an arm wrapped around someone's shoulders, one leg out of bed and very disoriented.
If he remembered correctly, he definitely didn't drink any alcohol the day before and he didn't remember taking anyone to his room. He definitely wouldn't invite someone into his bed. And certainly not because of sex.
He was slowly coming out of his sleep haze and trying to figure out where he actually was and why he was hugging the one sleeping on him.
It was like a snap of his fingers when he realized where he was and who was sleeping next to him. Or actually on it. And he knew very well whom he was hugging.
He opened his eyes very quickly indeed and directed them to where Pavel lay wrapped in his arms. His curly blond hair was sticking out in all directions and tickling his neck, but it seemed that Pavel was still fast asleep and didn't want to wake him from his slumber. He was sure the time difference would throw off the Russian, but as far as he remembered, the Academy's time zone was the same as New York's. It was the first thing he found out. How many hours does their time go forward, only to find out that it's not even an hour. If Harry was awake, Pavel should wake up at any moment too, as that was pretty much their habit.
Harry was always the first to wake up and Pavel not long after him.
Not that Harry was uncomfortable with the position, he just thought that his friend wouldn't like it if he woke up with his head on Harry's chest and an arm wrapped around his shoulders, so he tried as carefully as possible to move Paul to his half of the bed so that he could to leave and vent the situation in which he found himself.
His little mission successfully accomplished, Harry headed to the bathroom to complete his morning rituals and show up for breakfast. He would let Pavel sleep as long as he needed, after all, traveling from one planet to another was not time-consuming. They had been sitting in their seats for almost eight hours and were not allowed to get up, so he wouldn't be surprised if the Russian slept a little longer.
"You still haven't told us how things are between you and the boy." and if Harry could, he'd probably drop to the ground just to avoid having to answer that question.
"We are friends. We're the only ones who haven't even turned twenty yet. We are the youngest graduates at the Academy and were the only ones around the same age. They put us in the same room on campus. Probably just because of the age.” it wasn't a lie, he just didn't say everything.
“But it doesn't seem like you just want friendship, Harry.” Harry had to admire how observant his aunt was, “You practically don't talk about anyone else in your messages. Don't get me wrong Harry, me and Vernon are happy that you found someone to love, I just don't think Pavel knows about it.'
"Does not know. I don't even know if they have any idea."
"And you want him to know?"
"You have no idea how much I wish he knew I loved him. I just don't know how he would react to that. I don't want to lose him just by telling him how much I care about him. What if he only sees me as his friend? I don't want to push him away by telling him.'
"Yet you suffer because of it."
"And how. I just...I don't know...he's great, he really is, but I'm afraid he won't talk to me again. That would hurt me even more than the thought of him only seeing me as his friend from school and maybe a colleague who operates with him on the ship.'
"Try talking to him about it. It might work out, it might not, and by telling him, you'll give him time to get used to the idea. If he's your true friend, he'll still see you like that, and if you love him like you say you do, you'll still see him and eventually you'll move on. If they feel the same way you do, you gain more than you lose.'
And Harry knew she was right.
He just needs to feel prepared for this type of conversation. Don't blurt it out on him all at once and intimidate him with it. He wouldn't care about that at all.
Moments later, before Harry could say anything, Pavel himself appeared in the dining hall, Harry hoped he hadn't heard any of it, and like every morning, Pavel managed the softest smile that definitely didn't leave Harry cold, it was the first time that because of he blushed at that.
"By the way, I almost forgot. I wrote to that friend of yours, Hermione. She wanted to know when you came back to Earth and that she would like to talk to you, but she has no way to contact you. And Hedvika stayed with us. Sometimes he delivers some mail to us from someone named Weasley, and from MACUS.'
Harry wasn't surprised in the least. Although he originally thought that Hedwig was still with Hagrid at Hogwarts, but if the nature of his relatives could change, then he would understand that she had traveled with them. She would never date someone who would hurt her.
A few hours later, however, they made their way to Brooklyn Street, where Harry wanted to go. He hadn't made it to Gringott's bank before he left, and he hadn't been given a thorough wizarding background check at the Academy, so he wanted to catch up while he was on Earth, as he had no idea when he would be back here again.
He had to admit that Brooklyn Street was definitely not what he expected. It was a modern street that offered just about anything anyone could think of, not to mention the amount of muggle shops that were there. It was definitely not something he expected.
But what cheered him up was the surprised look on Paul's face, which was the first time in the wizarding world, but not around wizards.
They slowly walked towards Gringott's bank which was nearby and easily recognizable and visible, it was an exact copy of the British branch, with exactly the same warning for thieves.
Goblins were not unusual, their applied engineering class was taught by a similar goblin, but this was a different kind of goblin and Harry could see that his friend was unable to keep his mouth shut from what he was seeing around him.
"Good morning. I would like to speak to someone who will give me a thorough medical and heritage test please.” the goblin manning the desk gave him a puzzled look before asking.
"And who's asking?"
“Harry James Potter, sir.” which really and truly shocked the goblin.
"Just a moment, please." he never once mentioned that Pavel had nothing to do there.
A moment later the original goblin came out with another one who was dressed much more lavishly, Harry could easily guess that this determined their position in the bank.
“Mr Potter, I'm glad you visited our branch instead of the British one. No less, I must ask that your escort leave the premises of the bank.” and honestly? This was exactly what Harry was expecting. And he had been properly prepared for it since the moment their vacation was approved and Pavel had agreed that Harry would show him something of the wizarding world.
“Okay, let me elaborate a bit. I am Lieutenant Harry J. Potter and this is Lieutenant Pavel A. Chekov. We are both members of Starfleet, and by agreement with the Federation and the United Wizarding Nations, Muggle members of Starfleet are the only exceptions who are allowed to know about magic, as many wizards and witches operate in space with the Federation. Lieutenant Pavel Chekov is also covered by this exception, therefore he will not and must not be prosecuted by clairvoyants, his memory of magic must not be erased, and he is allowed access to all parts of the wizarding world. This is how the exemption was signed even by Gringotts before the creation of the Federation itself and Starfleet.”
And even though the goblin himself didn't like it at all, he had to admit that Harry was right and there was nothing he could do about it. The goblin might have seen him as a threat, but Pavel was just fascinated by what he had seen during his time in the wizarding world.
“So you were talking about a thorough medical examination and a genetic test. Where shall we begin?'
"By the Inheritance Test."
So Harry was given some instructions on what to do and what to happen after he did it, Wizarding rituals didn't seem that unusual to him after seeing so many of them during his time at the Academy. There was never a distinction between dark and light magic because even dark magic could be used for good things and light magic could be used for bad things. It was the first thing he learned in his first year at Hogwarts and he occasionally used dark magic himself if it served a good purpose and he liked that the Federation didn't differentiate between magic. To them it was just magic and if you didn't do anything wrong with it, and no one else, you weren't prosecuted and judged for it.
As he expected, after the seven drops were dripped onto the parchment, his name began to appear along with other things such as lordship claims and inheritance claims, his parents' names, the vaults he claimed and how much money was in them, and his abilities.
There was something special about those.
The abilities didn't show up in the health test, after all the abilities were part of his heritage that he got from his ancestors and would pass on when he had children of his own, the strange thing was that almost all of his abilities were blocked and he didn't like that.
He was obviously able to break a few blocks, such as his snake tongue art, perfect photographic memory, his high IQ and focus, but his ability to shapeshift like Tonks could was blocked along with a lot of others.
He also couldn't understand why his mother's features were blocked and his father's features were encouraged. He didn't understand why the block was in his sight, and he didn't understand why this particular block appeared on the inheritance test until he reached the end of the test. As it turns out, he had the ability to see magic around him, including the color of spells and such, and this blocking damaged his eyesight enough that he was forced to wear glasses.
Oh how he hated them but he couldn't wear contact lenses because his eyes didn't like it and the magic was destroying the material in his eyes which was very painful and uncomfortable.
Without a word he gave his inheritance test to the goblin as it was classic procedure for the goblin to verify correctness in case Harry was not who he claimed to be.
He slowly watched his stony face turn angry and finally he was so angry that if Harry didn't know better he would have thought the anger was directed at him.
"That changes a lot, Lieutenant Potter." Harry didn't bat an eyebrow at being addressed like that.
He wouldn't expect any respect from those creatures, that didn't mean he wouldn't show any, but he certainly didn't expect something like this to happen practically any minute.
“I think it's best if you undergo a medical examination and then we can discuss the next course of action, because what I've read is very serious. Just one single block on an ability is a serious offense unless it was placed on health for a threat, but this was completely intentional.” without another word, the goblin led them out of the office, towards the medical room, Harry noticed Pavel look at him with a question in his eyes, but Harry just shook his head, silently not indicating that they would talk about it later.
In the time they had known each other, they could easily read each other's body language and understood what the other was saying to him, therefore he knew that Pavel completely understood what Harry was trying to tell him without uttering a single sound or word.
The medical room was exactly as he expected it to be. Full of medical supplies, with cupboards full of potions and he was quite surprised to find muggle technology as well. It was exactly as Harry thought. Magic could cure a lot of muggle ailments, and muggles could cure some of the magical ones. That's why he wasn't surprised that the goblins would have muggle devices, because the goblins were not only famous bankers, but also great healers who had much more experience in healing than wizards themselves and explored possibilities that no one else wanted.
Here was a clear demonstration that magical and muggle resources could be useful in both worlds.
However, another round of tests began for Harry. While a few drops of spilled blood wouldn't kill him, examining his body wasn't unusual, describing some of the symptoms was a little awkward because no one ever asked, and it turned out that Harry was suffering from some kind of pain in his body that he didn't even realize he had. feels
None of them liked what the goblin doctor found out. The extent of his past injuries were discovered, and while the Dursleys had never hit him, there were far too many on his body. He could explain some of the injuries. For example, basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his body, as well as a broken arm at the age of six, which was really the result of an accident and not because his relatives abused him, could also explain his unconscious state last year, which was the result of bad timing during sparring with his opponent and he took a blow to the head that was too hard that knocked him out for several days, his opponent who was also his friend never left his side of the bed the whole time and kept apologizing to Harry when he woke up.
One day they will laugh about it.
But there were a lot of injuries he couldn't explain. He had no idea what a vitaeal was and how it got into his body, he had no idea that he had ever suffered a dislocated shoulder but it could have been from playing Quidditch because he fell off the broom too often, he couldn't explain some of the scars on his body , he had no idea about the malfused shin he didn't even know he had ever broken, he couldn't explain the scar on his other shoulder that wasn't caused by the dragon during the first task, there were just too many things he couldn't explain but he had a feeling it could related to the amount of memory spells someone had cast on him, the test couldn't reveal who.
“Be that as it may, this is a huge problem. I would suggest starting the cleanse immediately, even on your abilities. Of course, extracting the vitel will be a painful process, but we can extract it from you and destroy it without killing you, which is one way to destroy the vitel.
You should report home, Lieutenant Potter, as you must remain here until at least the following morning, as the cleansing will be long, and the recovery from the vitreal will also be hard on your body and your soul.'
Harry therefore used his PADD to write to his aunt that he and Pavel would be staying at the bank due to the complications that had arisen. He would tell her everything when he arrived, but now was not the time for him to explain at length what had happened and why he really had to stay there.
Nevertheless, Paul did not leave his side. He was there for Harry as comfort and emotional support, which Harry was extremely grateful for as it gave him hope that everything would be okay and he would get over it quickly. He just wanted to know why someone had to cast memory spells on him and why he couldn't remember some of his injuries.
Thus began the lengthy, sometimes painful process of his purification. The most painful process so far was the purification of his magic core and his abilities, after his core was released he received a huge shock wave of magic from him that resulted in windows and display cases being glazed, knocking back some of the goblins who were tending to him and a shock in Pavlova face.
Healing his scars wasn't that painful, even fixing his badly fused shin bone, fixing his fingers, curing his underweight that he still suffered from despite eating right at the Academy, he just couldn't gain the weight he wanted.
But the vitel removal was by far the worst he had ever experienced.
The pain was excruciating, Harry couldn't force himself not to scream. The alien piece of soul didn't give up that easily, it clung to him with its teeth and nails, it didn't want to leave his body at any cost and it tried to get back to the safety of Harry's body, but in the end the goblins managed it, but Harry didn't feel it was over because almost at the end of the cleansing he passed out from the pain , which no one could blame him for.
It was dark when he woke up. He remembered that it was definitely light when he entered the treatment room. He knew where he was, this time he wasn't as disoriented as he had been that morning, and he was gradually beginning to notice changes that he could immediately recognize.
The difference in his vision was the first thing Harry noticed. Apparently the cleansing of his eyes was not the only cause of his poor vision and after the vitel was removed his vision was clear like never before. He could easily see the crack in the ceiling and wondered if the shock wave of his magic had caused it or if it had been there for a long time.
He also felt no pain. Nowhere. His head stopped throbbing without him ever realizing it was happening, but now that the sensation was gone it was much more noticeable and noticeable. He had never felt so good in his life.
However, he didn't have time to think more about what other changes happened to his body when a familiar and tired voice spoke up next to him.
"How are you feeling?" Harry looked in the direction of the voice.
He looked at the visibly tired Pavel Chekov and wondered how scared his friend was when he started screaming in pain, how he felt watching something he had never seen in his life, would never see again, and didn't understand what was actually happening.
Harry knew Paul too well to know that if the younger boy was scared, he would never listen to an explanation someone was telling him unless they knew how to get his attention to listen and take in what someone was saying. So he had no doubt that if the goblins explained to him what was happening to him, Pavel did not perceive or listen to a single word they said to him.
"Surprisingly well. What about you? You look like you're going to fall asleep at any moment.” he didn't need to state the obvious, but he noticed that some of his tension had slipped from Pavel and he relaxed noticeably as he listened to what Harry was saying.
The soft smile on the blue eyed boy's face was definitely proof that his mind was relieved as he thought about the worst that could happen.
“I think they told me to go and sleep for a while, but I couldn't. I didn't know what was going on with you.” which only confirmed Harry's words that Pavel was definitely not listening to anything anyone was telling him.
"Just go. I'm fine and I mean it this time. You need rest." and with those words, and another gentle smile, Pavel went to another ready bed that wasn't there before and went to get some energy.
The clock on the wall told Harry it was half past eleven at night. He had been out for nearly six hours, if he remembered correctly the time the clock showed when the goblins set about removing his vitel.
Harry almost didn't notice the goblin coming to check on him, but he heard him say, “We're taking you to the office, Lieutenant Potter. We will take care of Lieutenant Chekov, and when he wakes up we will bring him to you.'
And so Harry was taken to where it all began.
He had no doubt that it would be his turn to receive his lordship and heir rings now, he just wondered if he should even accept them since he wouldn't be staying on Earth as long as his lordly duties would require. He knew he had to accept Lord Potter's ring because it was his inheritance, just as he had to accept Lord Black's ring because he didn't want to disappoint his godfather but he didn't know about the others.
Where could anyone be wrong that for every Lordship Harry would need one descendant. That he could not marry a man and would have to marry a woman with whom he would have to produce several heirs. But the opposite was true. Fortunately, the wizarding world allowed adoptions, and especially blood adoptions, so officially any child they adopted would be biologically theirs, even if a male pregnancy was not possible.
"But I can't fulfill my other duties. My position in Starfleet does not allow me to be on Earth as often as my duties as a Lord require, and I have no one to represent me in my position. I really don't want to give up my dream just because I have to inherit five names, or add a sixth to my name.” he would really sacrifice his Lordships for his place in Starfleet.
Being cooped up in a house worrying about politics was not something he wanted.
“A lot has changed in the time you've been at the Academy, Lieutenant Potter. All Lords are no longer required to be in the Mayor's Chamber, it is not the duty of Lords to attend every event they are invited to, and since the Academy is essentially under America, and you have been taken into their care, you are officially an American citizen, and the American the laws allow you to accept Lordship and not fulfill your duties if you are a member of Starfleet. Except for the point about children, of course. You will have to fulfill that regardless of whether you accept all the rings or not.” Harry didn't have to ask what that meant.
He could accept all the rings and not have to worry about being dethroned because he's not even on a planet.
And so he did.
He accepted the rings of Potter, Black, Pendragon, Gryffindor, and accepted the Peverell heir ring because he was not yet twenty-one and therefore not entitled to a lord's ring.
The magic of each ring he put on surrounded him, the rings instantly fused into a single black and gold ring, and Harry felt even better than when he woke up.
He was finally able to leave the wizarding world for good, as he had already taken care of everything he needed. No one could harm him anymore, no one could put harmful potions into his body, no one could place compulsions on him, and no one could poison him with all known and unknown poisons. He was given a box with the rest of his rings. There are only Lady or Consort rings, heir rings, and heir sibling rings.
During that time, a visibly rested Pavel joined them, who for some reason looked at him and then frowned. "You have a golden color in your eyes." and he traced a circle around his eyes with his hand to show what he meant.
Harry didn't even try to say anything as the goblin quickly answered. “That's what accepting Lord Pendragon's ring does. You are literally a king, and the gold outline around your green proves your status as a member of the royal family. Upon mating with your future spouse or Lady, your husband or wife will appear with the same gold stripe, and all children will carry the silver. No matter what name they bear, they will still be members of the royal family. If you have grandchildren and still hold the title of Lord and King, they will have bronze eyes.” and Harry just widened his eyes at this information.
He should have realized that when he accepted the ring of Pendragon.
"But-"
"There's nothing to worry about. The same rules apply. Magical Britain saw changes in government the moment you accepted the ring. You don't have to be afraid to go out in public and prove your status because the ring has accepted you and thus claimed your claim to the throne. Orcs are your go-betweens. Starfleet gave us our own PADD after we signed the contract, so if your word is needed, we'll let you know and we won't do anything without your consent.''
There was too much information for one day.
Harry just needed to close his eyes and absorb all the things he had learned, discovered, and that had just affected his life.
It's going to be just a little harder than he originally thought.
He returned home with mixed feelings.
Pavel was suspiciously quiet next to him and didn't say a word even when Harry moved them from Gringott's bank to their aunt's room. Harry himself didn't know how to react to the whole situation, but he noticed Paul's silence.
"Is something wrong?" Harry would readily admit that the quiet Pavel was really unsettling him, so much so that he put his own problems aside to solve the plight of a loved one.
“You...you're not coming back with me, are you?” so this was it? Harry realized that Pavel wasn't in the same room when the goblin informed him of what he didn't have to do as a Lord. "I mean...you're king now, and this position probably won't allow you to return to the fleet."
"I won't stay here. I wouldn't accept the lord rings if it meant I couldn't go back to the fleet. My position as king can't prevent that either. I... all I have to do is... the part about the heirs... otherwise... I don't have to worry about anything else and you heard that the goblins have PADD too, so if there's a problem they can always write to me... and no matter what…I'll always come back for you.” wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but there was no turning back.
He should tell him.
"Paul, I-"
“Harry? Paul? Are you back yet? We have a visitor.'
And Harry had never cursed his luck like he did right now. He finally mustered up some courage to express his feelings.
He knew it wasn't his aunt's fault, she had no idea what she was getting into, but damn…this was exactly the moment Harry could never have prepared for.
And Harry's jaw dropped to the floor as they descended the stairs to look at the visitor that awaited them in the living room.
He definitely wouldn't be expecting a couple of people sitting on the couch drinking tea.
Sitting in his aunt's house was a smiling Hermione Granger and a scowling Ron Weasley.
Rival.
That was the first thing that came to Harry's mind.
Then it was the protection of Paul, who stood directly behind him, instinctively reaching for his wand should one or the other attempt a foundry.
The smile didn't leave Hermione's face even as she let out an excited "Harry!" and ran over to hug him in a bear hug.
Ron, on the other hand, was still sitting rigidly in his seat, looking at him with jealousy in his eyes.
“For Merlin, look at yourself. You look different. As good otherwise. You are taller. I see that the Academy definitely benefited you. And who is your boyfriend?” Harry didn't even try to correct her that his health was due more to the goblins than his studies at the Academy,
He wasn't even surprised to know about Starfleet Academy. It was Hermione. She knew everything there was to know. Harry was worried about Ron still sitting in his seat and not trying to make any contact with him.
"That's Pavel Chekov. My former classmate, probable colleague and best friend.” he didn't even bother to think about the consequences because it was the truth anyway. Or at least that's been true so far.
After all, no one could have expected him to consider these two his best friends, even though he still thought of Hermione as his sister rather than his friend. Ron on the other hand didn't try to make contact with him when they were about to enter sixth year and that's how his friendship with the boy turned out the way it did.
“Paul, this is Hermione Granger, my former classmate and sister in all but blood. This is Ron Weasley, my other former classmate and friend from school.” he didn't bother putting honey around the red haired boy's mouth, and besides, Pavel knew how he treated him, so he didn't really label him as one of his best friends.
"How can Pavel be your former classmate? Were you expelled from the Academy?” Hermione asked as Pavel shyly greeted them with a wave of his hand and a nervous smile on his face.
“Really Mia? I also said that he is my likely colleague. We finished our studies at the Academy two weeks ago. Now we're just waiting to see which ship they assign us to."
"But-"
"Yes, studies last four years. But nowhere is it written that they let their cadets get bored in classes if they are far ahead with the material. We finished our studies in two years. We were the youngest cadets at the Academy and are currently the youngest lieutenants in Starfleet. We're just here on a well-deserved vacation.” but he still suspected that they only got such a long vacation because Harry and Pavel asked for it.
"I always thought you were a genius."
"Yeah. I also have a Slytherin in me, a high IQ, a photographic memory and the ability to quickly learn manual labor. Pavel is the same genius as me, only a year younger."
"So Lt. Potter huh?" oh how he missed his sister's playful side.
Yet she still didn't have the strength to keep him in the wizarding world when he decided to join the fleet two years ago.
"At your service. Dr. Potter too, if you don't mind."
"And an engineer, a physicist, a chemist and a biochemist, a geek in the languages of the possible and the impossible with the ability to take the Enterprise apart and put it back together, a great opponent in hand-to-hand combat, and if he wanted to, he could easily pass the captain's exams tomorrow and get his own ship." and as always, Pavel brought out everything Harry could do.
"Thanks. That's what I needed." needless to say, it was definitely sarcasm, which Pavel immediately understood.
However, his sister's amused smile indicated that she saw more than either of them were letting on. He didn't have to ask, he could see it in her, he just didn't know what she saw.
Still, he was still bothered by his once best friend's silence. It didn't hurt him. Get over it a long time ago. Whatever Ron said to him now would have no effect on him, knowing Ronald Weasley's fiery nature. He still had no idea why Ron had come too, but he wasn't about to find out. But he had a bad feeling that this visit was going to be anything but good.
At least from Ron's side.
"Are they still looking for me?" Harry suddenly asked.
He had not been interested in the wizarding world for almost half a year. He didn't know if they were still looking for him or not, but he didn't want to be dragged into anything that was being prepared with his person. He didn't care anymore.
"They never stopped. Dumbledore still refuses to believe that you left on your own, even though he doesn't know where you are. He keeps telling everyone that you were forced to leave or that you were kidnapped. No one is fighting Voldemort because everyone is waiting for you to come back and kill him. It's bad Harry. Half the wizarding world doesn't care where you are, a quarter of the wizarding world says you finally got your wits about you and ran away from everything that was out to get you and still is out if they ever find you and the other quarter says you're a coward who was too scared to stand up to Voldemort and risk his own life to save the wizarding world. Surprisingly, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are the ones who say you got your wits about you. Ron is one of those who say you're a coward.'
"Then why did you come here?" Harry asked him.
For the first time since that moment, Ron gave him any kind of look at all, and for the first time he showed any emotion other than absolute indifference.
“To see how a coward like you turned out. I wanted to see what kind of comfortable life you live while the rest of us stick our necks out and fend off Death Eaters on a daily basis. You are to kill Voldemort and rid the world of that slimy snake. You have a duty to the wizarding world and instead you ran away like a dusty dog and buried yourself deep underground. Dumbledore commissioned me to bring you to Hogwarts so he could prepare you to kill Voldemort.'
If nothing else, Harry started to laugh, really loudly. Pavel next to him knew very well what that meant. Not only was Harry genuinely amused, but he made it clear what he thought of it all.
This house was going to need Fidelio's charm now as he had no doubt that the owl or patron had already left America and was heading to Britain to pinpoint Harry's exact location.
“I should have known I shouldn't have come back to Earth. You were right Pavel, we should have stayed at the Academy.
You're right, Ron, I do have a duty to the wizarding world, but not what you think, and I can handle that duty from another planet three galaxies away. You and your views that have been fed to you since you started to understand are the very reason I left. No one and nothing could keep me here, and there is no one on this planet who has such power. There is only one person in the world and in the entire universe that I would give up everything for and if he told me he wanted to live in the wizarding world and kill Voldemort for him, I would do it in the blink of an eye. There is only one person in the entire universe who has the power that if he told me to destroy a planet for him, I would do it and still dream of watching the planet burn.
But it's not you. I used to call you my friend but after you turned your back on me a few times you lost my trust a long time ago.
You are one of the reasons why I left without looking back.
Dumbledore can try harder to get me but he won't succeed.
My place is in Starfleet and only that one person has the power to tell me to come with him if he asks me to or even mentions it.” and he meant every word he said absolutely and deadly seriously.
Only Harry didn't really realize that Pavel had such an influence on him. He thought he was in love with him and loved him with all his heart, he just didn't realize that he had exactly that effect on him. But now that he said it out loud, he actually realized it was true.
The complete and utter truth.
"You-!"
“Don't even try. Don't go on with what you were going to say. If you are here to insult me and take me back to Britain, disappear immediately. I don't want you around me or around Pavel. If Hermione wants to stay, I'm not stopping her, but you get out before I curse you into the new century and the last one just in case.” and he could do it with his eyes closed.
Ron just stood up and walked away without another glance at any of them.
Fortunately, Hermione stayed and thanks to her he learned a lot of other things in one day that were definitely interesting. Eventually she had to leave too, but this time she was leaving with the PADD that Harry had prepared for her when he finally met her. That way she could stay in touch with him and not have to rely on him sending letters to that address for his aunt to pass on messages from his sister.
It was a long two days. Harry needed to recharge after casting the Fidelio Charm on the house, except that muggles who knew about the house could see it, they just couldn't talk to magical people about it.
That day, Harry fell asleep even before his head hit the pillow. That's why he never noticed the look that Pavel gave him. He never realized that he was thinking about the words he had said to Ron that day, he never could realize that it had all dawned on Paul and that he wanted to ask him if he meant it.
But just like the previous day, when Harry wanted to express his feelings, Pavel lost his courage.
For Harry's benefit and his own sleep.