Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Harry blinked.

Then he blinked again.

Xavier coughed.

Wednesday creased her eyebrows together.

“I’m sorry, what?” Harry finally said. He was sure the blood had drained clear down to his toes, leaving his face pale and numb.

Two souls? How could someone have two souls?

The man laughed again, sounding quite mad. He held his hands about a foot apart in front of himself and began shooting little bolts of crackling lightning between his hands.

“Oh yeah,” the man said. He closed one eye, peering at Harry then closed the other. “Oh clear as day, there’s two souls inside of you, nephew.”

“Harry, this is our Uncle Fester, my father’s brother,” Wednesday said, finally giving a name to the unsettling man. “Uncle Fester, this is Harry and Xavier.”

“You didn’t have to tell me,” Fester said brightly, his smile looking more like Wednesday’s dad, Gomez, now that Harry knew their connection. The main difference was that Gomez Addams’ smile didn’t make Harry feel like he was being x-rayed… clear to his souls, apparently.

“Harry’s clearly an Addams through and through!” Fester declared with a nod. “Yep, two souls and an Addams heart.”

“Hey,” Xavier nodded at Fester, his hand still on Harry’s back, a steadying support that kept Harry grounded. “What’s up with Harry’s soul?”

Wednesday turned to her uncle with an expectant look on her face. “Yes, Uncle Fester, why do you believe Harry has two souls?”

“And why can’t we see it?” Enid asked. She circled Harry and Xavier slowly, squinting at Harry and making him feel incredibly self-conscious.

“Well it’s clear as day!” Fester cried. He bounced closer to Harry and raised his hand. “May I?”

Harry jerked his chin, not really a concession but not really a disagreement either. Fester still reached up, sweeping Harry’s hair to the side, and tracing the lightning bolt on his forehead with a gleeful look in his eyes.

“I don’t know whose soul this is, but it’s definitely a nasty little parasite,” Fester said. “Aah, it brings back good memories of me and Herpo… breeding basilisks and splitting souls.”

Harry sent a bewildered look toward Wednesday over Fester’s shoulder. Wednesday didn’t look confused, necessarily, but there was a twist of her lips that made Harry feel better that he wasn’t the only one completely lost by every word that came from her… their…? uncle’s mouth.

“Why would someone split their soul? It sounds disgusting,” Enid shuddered.

“To live forever, of course, it’s rather ingenious really,” Wednesday said thoughtfully. “If they left their soul inside of Harry here, then reasonably Harry and whoever it was could both live forever.”

“I don’t want someone’s- someone’s BLOODY SOUL INSIDE OF ME!” Harry shrieked, rather alarmed and all the more so by the lack of alarm on everyone else’s faces. “That’s not normal! I don’t want to be some- some soul guard for some random bloke!”

Why was nobody else freaking out?

“It wouldn’t be from some random Joe Shmoe,” Fester mused. His finger was still tracing Harry’s forehead and he was squinting at it with his creepy eyes. “I’d say it was a sorcerer of some sort, definitely powerful, undoubtedly completely crazy.”

The only powerful sorcerer Harry knew of was Lord Voldemort and Sirius. And Harry kind of doubted, hoped, that Sirius hadn’t been following Harry around just because he stuck a piece of his soul inside him.

“I’m going to be sick,” Harry muttered. He stumbled backward from Fester and wrapped his arms around his stomach. Xavier slid a stool behind Harry and he sat on it gratefully.

Harry ducked his head between his knees and someone rubbed his back while he sucked in air slowly, willing away the panic-induced black spots in his vision.

“Breathe,” a calming voice murmured, definitely not Wednesday. “This doesn’t change anything, man, you’re still you.”

“And I can get that out, easyyyy peasyyyy.”

It wasn’t the soothing voice that convinced Harry to lift his head, it was the completely mad one.

Harry looked past Xavier, who was crouched on the floor beside Harry, to Fester.

Fester who was smiling the creepiest smile Harry had ever seen while he shot bolts of lightning between his fingertips.

“What d’you say, nephew of mine? Want me to take that sticky little soul right out of your forehead?”

Harry looked over slightly, to Wednesday, and saw her nod just a little. Wednesday didn’t look concerned, she looked calm and collected. She clearly trusted her uncle.

“How?” Harry croaked out, his throat feeling as dry and scratchy as sandpaper.

“We fight lightning scars with lightning bolts!” Fester laughed. He shot electricity in the air and Harry groaned and dropped his head back down when his light show caused the actual lights to short circuit and fail.

Wednesday paced her room irritably early the next morning.

There was a Hyde, someone controlling a Hyde, a prophecy, and now Harry had some soul shard inside of his head that he refused to allow to be removed!

“Uncle Fester wouldn’t hurt him,” Wednesday muttered. Thing tapped out a quick agreement, also frustrated with Harry’s lack of seeing the obvious solution to his problem.

Remove the soul piece, kill the Hyde, turn in the master, then discover what witch or wizard stored their soul inside of Harry.

It was simple.

“You can’t honestly expect Harry to want to let your uncle electrify him,” Enid said airily. She sat at her vanity, brushing her hair, and rolled her eyes at Wednesday in her oversized mirror. “Harry isn’t the one being irrational, for once.”

“Harry is never irrational, he’s too rational,” Wednesday countered immediately. “He’s being a coward.”

“I don’t think it’s cowardly, I think it’s smart,” Enid argued. She sat her hairbrush down and traded it for a makeup brush. “The soul thing isn’t really hurting him any, is it?”

“How can we know that?” Wednesday demanded. “We can’t possibly know what its effects are on him! It could be making him insane as we speak!”

“Or it’ll make him insane if we electrocute him and zap out a magical little soul,” Enid said, completely ignoring Wednesday’s dangerously heated tone. “And you storming out last night isn’t helping anything. I think you hurt his feelings.”

Wednesday stopped pacing to give Enid her deepest look of loathing.

“I cannot worry about Harry’s fragile feelings when his body is tainted with someone else’s soul!” Wednesday snapped. “We have no idea what the dangers of it are!”

Enid spun around at her vanity and sighed heavily. “Then explain that to him, nicely,” she stressed. “Harry’s not all emotionless and cold like you, Wednesday, he’s like… like…”

“Like a caged puppy,” Wednesday said, remembering the apt similarity she drew once before. She gnashed her teeth together in annoyance. “You… are…”

Wednesday had to breathe very deeply. “Right,” she added in a rush. “You are right, Enid. I need to approach this differently.”

“Oh, it’s cute when you say that,” Enid giggled. She spun back around, foolishly leaving her back to Wednesday. “I need to be right more often, I kind of like hearing it.” She peeked at Wednesday’s furious face over her shoulder with a smirk. “Will you say it again?”

“No. Walk yourself to breakfast,” Wednesday said curtly. She wouldn’t kill Enid, but she’d hardly stand there and be mocked either.

“And you can shut your fingers before I snap them,” she warned Thing when he was tapping out sarcastic laughter. Wednesday gave a harsh look to her roommate and her underling before turning on her heel and storming away.

Apparently, she needed to go convince Harry the benefits of not carrying around someone else’s soul in his forehead like a dark suitcase.

And she had to ‘consider his feelings’ during it.

If anyone had a more difficult life than Wednesday did, she didn’t know them.

Harry was seating with his newest best friend Xavier when Wednesday arrived at the cafeteria for breakfast.

It was galling to see Xavier sitting beside Harry, talking about an English textbook between them, sharing a tray of breakfast. As much as Wednesday continued to warn Harry away from Xavier, it was as if it only drove Harry closer to Xavier.

Xavier was involved in four murders, Harry should be distancing himself, not bonding over pancakes and homework.

“Morning,” Harry said to Wednesday when she walked up to the table and he looked up. Harry looked much healthier that morning, he had a little sparkle in his eyes and a pink flush to his cheeks. “How’d you sleep?”

“Poorly for nearly three hours,” Wednesday said. She sat down across from Harry and tried to wrack her immense amount of knowledge for how to approach Harry while considering his ‘feelings’.

“How did you sleep?” Wednesday asked Harry, pointedly ignoring Xavier’s presence.

“Er… fine,” Harry said slowly. He blinked owlishly behind his glasses. “Thanks for asking.”

“And your emotions?” Wednesday leaned across the table and got in Harry’s face, scrutinizing his eyes closely. “How are those?”

Xavier let out a short laugh and Harry slowly grinned.

“Are you asking about my feelings?” Harry asked. “They’re… fine.”

“Fine enough that we can continue last nights discussion?” Wednesday asked, wiping the smile off both boys’ faces.

“No thanks,” Harry mumbled, immediately dropping his face and hiding the windows to his souls from Wednesday’s view.

Wednesday grabbed Harry’s wrist, carefully not squeezing too tightly, and lowered her voice for just him to hear.

“Harry, you have no idea how this could be impacting you,” she warned him. “Souls are a messy business, our ancestor, great-grandmother, Nonna Mistica, worked with soul-bonds and the results are often disastrous, even by my standards.”

“Yeah? Well maybe Harry thinks being electrocuted by your crazy uncle has the potential to be disastrous,” Xavier scoffed, eavesdropping on an incredibly private conversation.

Wednesday turned a glower so full of anger on him that it was a true surprise he didn’t burst into flames on the spot.

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion,” she said icily. “Don’t you have some townsfolk to eat or a monster to order around?”

“Xavier isn’t the monster and he isn’t killing anyone!” Harry shrieked rather shrilly. He jumped to his feet and snatched the textbook from the table without looking toward Wednesday even once.

“Good going, Wednesday,” Xavier said drily while they watched Harry stalk quickly from the cafeteria. “Really, bravo, you’re such a good friend.”

“Harry and I are more than ‘friends’,” Wednesday sneered at the insipid teenager. “We have a connection and I will not let him die from a soul infection.”

Xavier suddenly blanched without clear indication as to why. His fingers, which had been tapping out a nonsensical pattern on the table, stilled and his eyes went wide.

“Harry could die if he doesn’t get it out?” he whispered. “Are you sure?”

“Do you care?” Wednesday asked. As far as she knew, Harry could be the next target on Xavier or the Hyde’s hit list.

It wasn’t quite likely that Xavier himself was the monster, but Wednesday was beginning to believe that Laurel (aka Dr. Kinbott) was the Hyde and Xavier had somehow managed to unlock her ability.

How? Wednesday wasn’t sure. But Xavier came from a long line of psychics and could have more abilities than he displayed.

“Yeah, Wednesday, I do care, okay?” Xavier scowled. He ran his fingers through his hair, knocking his neat bun loose and leaving the strands to fall about his shoulders. “I’ll talk to him, see if I can’t convince him to give your uncle a chance.”

“Why would you do that?” Wednesday asked, genuinely curious about Xavier’s unexplainable attachment to her cousin. Harry was an Addams, and aside from a misguided attempt to attend a dance together, Xavier hadn’t seemed very fond of Wednesday Addams.

“Because unlike you, I actually care about Harry’s feelings. I’m not just faking it to trick him,” Xavier said waspishly. He grabbed his bag off the floor and his tray off the table. “Later, Wednesday.”

Enid was smiling brightly when she joined Wednesday only a few minutes later.

“How’d it go?” she asked, sliding much too closely to Wednesday on the bench.

“As it turns out, feelings are not my forte,” Wednesday admitted.

Enid laughed and wrapped a too familiar arm around Wednesday’s shoulders.

“We love you anyway,” she said brightly.

Wednesday hardly needed ‘love’, but it wasn’t a sentiment that passed without silent appreciation.

“You should have talked with Harry,” Wednesday said. She attempted to snap at Enid, push her away, but the girl refused to be driven off. Enid merely laughed and her arm tightened for a moment in what seemed to nearly a hug.

“Mm… I actually don’t like Harry much,” Enid said airily. She reached over and plucked a few grapes from the bundle that Wednesday got for breakfast. “He’s kind of weird, isn’t he?”

He was, but that was simply the Addams in him. The Frump’s held much more composure and control over their emotions.

Harry sat on the piano bench, his fingers flying across the keys while he tried to lose himself in the music.

Just like Sirius taught him.

Harry sat in his cell in lockup during his first week there, straining his neck to see out the thick, bulletproof window to the lawns. It was cloudy out, the sky was grey, and Harry felt more hopeless than he ever had.

Everything in lockup was made to break people down- from the bland jumpsuits they wore to the sounds of each other screaming and sobbing at night. And it was effective, Harry felt broken.

He swore then that if he got a chance for freedom when he turned eighteen, if he was granted parole and a new chance at life, everything would be different.

Harry would make friends, he’d learn new things, he would travel new places. Harry would laugh and he’d fall in love and he’d look people in the eyes and everything would be brilliant.

And Harry had done it all.

He had friends in Xavier and Enid and Dr. Kinbott, he had family in Sirius and Wednesday. Harry traveled clear to the States to go to an elite boarding school for students with special abilities. Harry had a job, he had a savings account. He’d laughed, and he liked to think he might even be capable of falling in love.

But there was also someone’s soul inside of him and if Harry wanted it out- he would risk dying for it. If Harry didn’t have it removed- he risked dying anyway.

It was easy to ignore his problem while he played, Harry could close his eyes and let the music wash over him and nothing else mattered. Sirius was a genius and Harry would tell him that as soon as he was up for visitors.

Principal Weems said that Sirius was awake, but he still had the vent in place and couldn’t talk yet. She told Harry that he could have his curfew extended by an hour the next day so he could go sit with Sirius after his appointment with Dr. Kinbott if he found an escort that wasn’t ‘under extreme lockdown’.

Which meant not Wednesday, Harry figured. Xavier would probably go with him, maybe they’d find Tyler afterward and everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine if Harry got the soul out of his forehead. Everything would be fine if Harry left it there.

Decisions were the worst part of freedom.

Harry didn’t even realize when the song shifted beneath his fingers, he just played what he felt and let it carry him away. He did notice when someone started clapping and ripped him from the temporary peace he felt dropped him right back to earth.

“Don’t stop, it’s beautiful,” Xavier said. He leaned in the doorway of the music room, a soft smile on his face.

Harry slid his fingers from the keys to his lap and looked down at them while he twisted his fingers around in his shirt hem.

“I don’t really play in front of people,” Harry said, his voice echoing in the empty room. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Xavier came further in the room and sat on the bench beside Harry. He tapped out a simple and painfully slow tune on the piano, Harry’s lips twitched at the rendition of ‘Hot Cross Buns’.

“It’s all I know,” Xavier laughed. He tapped it out again, a little faster that time. “My mom put me in lessons, but I couldn’t focus and she eventually dropped them.”

“Yeah?” Harry hummed. He put his fingers back on the keys and played Twinkle Twinkle very slowly, letting Xavier watch him.

Xavier put his fingers on the keys and began mimicking Harry, rather poorly. Harry laughed and grabbed his wrists to tilt them downward a bit, give his fingers more room to stretch out.

“Like this,” Harry said. He put his fingers on top of Xavier’s and tried to guide him, just like Sirius had once done for Harry. It was different being the one to guide someone, instead of being guided, but a nice difference.

Xavier tried a few more times and Harry patiently replayed it as many times as he needed until Xavier was able to play Twinkle Twinkle with minimal mistakes.

“Will you play again?” Xavier turned to face Harry and Harry realized their faces were rather close together. “Please?”

Harry nodded, a bit inappropriately captivated by the warmth in Xavier’s light brown eyes. Harry’s fingers began to play on their own accord, a song unconsciously flowing from his heart to his keys.

It was short, but Harry felt the wistful longing for all the things he once wished for becoming audible for his audience of one.

“‘I fear that I am writing a requiem for myself’,” Xavier quoted when Harry trailed off on the bridge. Xavier swallowed loudly when Harry turned to face him on the bench again and Harry could see his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “You’re talented.”

“Sir- Ares is better,” Harry said wryly. Sirius made every touch on the piano look as easy as breathing. Sirius knew how it felt to want to escape the world and disappear in the music - Harry wondered what he’d been running from.

“When he’s up to play, he’ll have to work hard to prove it,” Xavier said teasingly. “Maybe you guys can play together.”

“Maybe, yeah,” Harry said skeptically. He nudged Xavier’s hands off the keys and lowered the cover. “He’s a genius though. I’ll look like an idiot.”

“I doubt that,” Xavier disagreed. He waited for Harry to close the cover and spun around on the bench, staring sightlessly at the far wall.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Xavier asked him.

Harry shrugged. “My soul, I guess.”

“About that…” Xavier reached over and tilted Harry’s chin up, forcing him to look in his eyes. “What are you going to do?”

Harry didn’t blink, he just stared hard in Xavier’s eyes and tried to figure out what was happening in his own mind.

“I don’t know,” Harry said softly. His shoulders curled inward, stifling a sob that wanted to shake them. “What should I do?”

Harry didn’t want to decide. He’d made so many decisions; big things, like with Tyler. This was one he couldn’t do.

“What do I do?” Harry asked again, desperately looking for someone else to decide. If Xavier wanted to take the weight from Harry, Harry would hand it over happily.

Xavier’s hand twitched, like he was going to move it against Harry’s skin, but then he dropped it and Harry guiltily felt the lack of it prickling his face.

“I trust you.”

“Have them remove it,” Xavier said. He scooted backward on the bench, adding more space between them, and smiled without any of the prior warmth filling his eyes. “If Tyler got a vote, I’m sure that’s what he’d vote for too.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. He cleared the clog in his throat away and dropped his gaze down to his lap once more.

“I’m sure that’s what he’d vote for too.”

Xavier stood stiff as a board in his art shed that had been cleared away. He hated having everyone inside of it, it was like they were trampling all over his very soul.

And he especially hated having Tyler Galpin standing off to the side, staring at the painting of Harry and Wednesday playing music with a pensive look on his face.

Xavier wasn’t going to apologize for it, but he’d rather not have a fight about it either.

“Are you ready?” Wednesday asked Harry. Harry was sitting on a table in the center of the room. He looked terrified, pale and wide-eyed. But determined too, and there was something admirable about his determination despite his fear.

Once Harry agreed to it, Wednesday didn’t waste any time. By the time they’d finished dinner and Harry got off work in the greenhouses, Wednesday drug them all to the art shed for the ‘procedure’.

Xavier had to tell Tyler to get his ass to Nevermore; even if nothing went wrong, Xavier knew Harry would feel calmer with Tyler there. Hell, Xavier felt a little calmer with him there.

At least if anything went wrong, Xavier would have backup to beat the shit out of Harry’s weird Uncle for screwing with his soul.

Harry twisted his head around, looking at the weird Uncle Fester in question for a long moment before turning back to Wednesday and nodding.

“Don’t let me die,” he whispered, just loud enough for the two guys watching to overhear.

Wednesday, in the shock of the century, reached over and grabbed Harry’s hands, squeezing them tightly.

“If you die then I will master the art of necromancy, bring you back, and we will kill Uncle Fester together, do you understand me, Harry?”

Harry smiled, a faint little turn at the corner of his lips, and nodded. His gaze roamed behind Wednesday to Tyler and like their connection was as deep as it always seemed, Tyler immediately turned around quickly moved to kneel in front of him.

“This is really freaking weird, but what isn’t?” Tyler said reassuringly to Harry. “It’s fine. Just- uh… get the soul out and we can go back to a normal level of weird, okay?”

“Okay,” Harry said plaintively. “Then… then I’ll see you in a bit?”

“Count on it,” Tyler said. Xavier looked away when Tyler leaned forward and kissed Harry, it was more than he could handle with the thick tension in the shed.

Xavier looked back at Harry when he heard Tyler hop up on his feet and back away and stand beside Xavier.

“You worried?” Xavier muttered from the corner of his mouth. Harry leaned back flat on the table and was clutching Wednesday’s hand tight enough that her pale hands were somehow even more pale.

Tyler shook his head, but then whispered, “Yeah.”

“Me too,” Xavier said.

“Lady and gentlemen, boy toys and human tornadoes, I must ask you not to scream!” Fester cried. He stepped up to stand at the head of the table and held his hands up, shooting lightning between them and casting lights and shadows through the shed. “This is about to be shocking!”

“Enough with the dramatics, remove the extra soul,” Wednesday snapped. She pried her hand loose from Harry’s and took a single step backward, her eyes never leaving Harry’s face.

“Buzz kill,” Fester said. He blew a raspberry at Wednesday, causing Xavier to silently groan. This was the guy they were trusting Harry’s life to?

“Alright, nephew, time to see you with a single soul,” Fester told Harry. He held his hands over Harry’s face and there was a blue light building in his fingers.

“Wait!” Xavier darted forward and carefully removed Harry’s glasses. He held them up with a frown. “These are metal, man, you’d burn his face.”

“Thanks,” Harry said. Xavier nodded and brushed his fingers on his arm just once before returning to Tyler’s side, silently handing over Harry’s glasses.

“Good call,” Tyler said. He slid Harry’s glasses in the pocket of his denim jacket and gave Xavier a strained smile. “I didn’t even think of it.”

“No worries,” Xavier mumbled. He feel as taut as Harry’s piano wires when Fester put one hand on Harry’s chest, directly above his heart, and one hand on his forehead.

“Three, two, one… showtime!”

The fluorescent lights in the shed flickered and Harry’s body convulsed right off the table when electricity was shot in his heart and his forehead at the same exact time.

Xavier gasped and stuck his hand out, grasping on to the hand beside him. Tyler squeezed his hand tightly and they watched when Fester shot Harry with electricity again, ripping a scream from Harry’s throat before it cut off and Harry’s body fell limply on the table.

“Once more!” Fester yelled. He pressed his index finger hard on Harry’s forehead, grunting with exertion when he pushed another bout of his power directly in Harry’s scar.

Tyler made a sound of pain so sharp that Xavier could feel it in his chest. They drifted together until they were hip to hip, and Xavier didn’t know who was squeezing whose hand the most.

Another shriek- this one coming from a cloud of thick black smoke that began pouring from Harry’s forehead to float in the air above him. The smoke swirled and Xavier felt his hair being whipped around by it until it formed into a skull.

The skull screamed and Xavier looked over just quickly enough to see a look of morbid interest lighting up Wednesday’s face.

Just as quickly as it formed, the smoke disappeared and the papers that had been flying around in the wind settled down in the absolute silence.

Too much silence.

“Time to come back now, nephew,” Fester said with a victorious smile spread across his face.

“Did he say ‘come back’?” Tyler asked sharply. “Come back from where?!”

“The Valley of Death, of course,” Wednesday said flatly. “Now, Uncle Fester.”

Fester slapped his hand flat on Harry’s heart and Harry’s back arched on the table when he jumped his heart with electricity.

“Come on, kid, wakey wakey,” Fester sang under his breath. Xavier and Tyler shuffled forward together as one, both of them watching and waiting for Harry to wake up.

Another jolt- Harry’s back arched and fell limply back on the table.

“Don’t play hard to get,” Fester said. “Wake up!”

Tyler’s body began to shake when it happened again; Fester shocked Harry’s heart and Harry’s chest didn’t begin rising or falling at all.

“Harry, Harry, wake up,” Wednesday tripped forward and knelt by the table, staring hard at Harry’s face. “Harry, please, wake up.”

“Shock him again!” Xavier yelled at Fester whose lips were quivering. It wasn’t time to quiver, it was time to wake Harry up. “AGAIN!”

The air flew out of Xavier’s lungs in the same way they refused to flow into Harry’s after another jolt with no results. Harry just laid there limply, his eyes closed, looking more frail than he ever had before.

“You killed him,” Tyler whispered, and oh the pain in those words would haunt Xavier’s nightmares. “YOU KILLED HIM!” he shouted. He lunged forward with his arms outstretched, aiming for Fester.

“GET HIM OUT!” Wednesday screamed.

If Xavier thought that Wednesday holding Harry’s hands was the shock of the century, it was only because he didn’t think the Ice Queen herself was capable of crying, but she was then. Tears spilled down Wednesday’s cheeks, dripping on Harry’s arm, while she stared at Harry’s face for the same signs of life Xavier was desperate to see.

“AGAIN, UNCLE FESTER!” Wednesday demanded.

“Come on, let’s go,” Xavier locked his arm around Tyler’s neck, dragging him backward toward the door so Fester could focus on Harry.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Tyler screamed wildly, thrashing in Xavier’s grip. “I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

Xavier spun their bodies around and pushed Tyler away the instant they were outside the shed - he could hear another jolt of electricity, “Again!”, a heart wrenching sob from Wednesday - and Tyler fell to the ground, all his limbs twitching.

“They killed him,” Tyler sobbed. He thumped his fist on the ground. “THEY KILLED HIM, XAVIER!”

“I know,” Xavier fell to the ground beside Tyler and wondered if he’d ever breathe again - would Harry?

“He’s gone,” Xavier’s voice broke and he shook nearly as hard as Tyler did. “God DAMN IT!” he screamed, his heart tearing in half in his chest.

He did this.

Harry asked Xavier what he should do and Xavier led him straight to death.

Xavier killed one of the most genuine people he’d ever know. He might as well have drove a knife through Harry’s chest himself.

Tyler was shaking so hard beside him that Xavier snaked an arm out and wrapped it around his torso, trying to offer anything to him.

“I’m going to kill them,” Tyler muttered. “I’m going to rip their hearts out, I swear to God.”

Xavier clenched his eyes shut, hot tears falling as shamelessly as the ones on Tyler’s face were.

“I’m going to—” Tyler’s body suddenly convulsed hard enough that Xavier was knocked to the side. Xavier wiped his eyes on his sleeve, unable to properly see through the fog misting his vision toward Tyler.

Every muscle in Tyler’s taut body was twitching hard and fast and his skin began blurring, stretching and changing.

Xavier couldn’t even scoot backward before the monster from his all his dreams and visions was directly in front of him, snarling out a shout of pain so loud it shook the shed.

The monster - the Hyde, Tyler - sent a horrifying look at where Xavier was frozen on the ground before it turned and ran away on all four limbs, only leaving behind a pair of wire frame glasses where Tyler’s body had just been.

Xavier’s hands shook as he reached over and grabbed Harry’s glasses, clutching them tight.

When they buried Harry, it wouldn’t be right to do it without his glasses.