Favors & Friends
“Tyler, Tyler!” Harry struggled to twist his hand around until he could place it directly on Tyler’s - the Hyde’s - neck.
“Ty, I’m sorry, imperio!”
Harry pushed all his magic through his palm, grinding his back teeth to dust, and tried fruitlessly to imperio Hyde.
The muscles carrying Harry while they sprinted through the forest tensed, but Harry didn’t feel any connection through his mind like he had before. The spell worked, Harry knew it did, but they’d never tried it when Hyde had been under a direct command from his master.
Which, considering Hyde just snatched Harry off his balcony and carried him through the woods while his claws dug in Harry’s shoulder and drew blood, Harry sort of assumed he was.
“Imperio!” Harry cried again, pushing his palm as hard against Hyde’s neck as he could. It wasn’t working and Harry’s blood was cold the further from Nevermore they got and the less Hyde seemed to be responding to anything Harry said or did.
“Tyler, please,” Harry said. He was thrown over Hyde’s shoulder, his face right next to the knobby and scaled spine. Harry tried to lift his head, to turn and look at Hyde’s eyes for any hint of the stormy blue shade that was Tyler, but he couldn’t.
Harry clenched his eyes shut and swore that the first chance he’d get- he’d buy a bloody cell phone. All Harry could do was wait until Hyde got him wherever Tyler’s master wanted him to go and then hope Tyler reappeared quickly so Harry could redo the imperio on him.
“I made a mistake earlier,” Harry said quietly, spilling his soul to Hyde as a practice before he did Tyler. “I kissed Xavier. And… and I liked it. I liked it like I like kissing you,” he admitted. “You trusted me and I kissed someone else, no…”
Harry thought it over carefully. It wasn’t the kiss that caused him to feel so overwhelmingly guilty, it was what he saw when he looked Xavier in the eyes just beforehand.
“You trusted me and I- I pictured being with Xavier,” Harry said, knowing that was the bigger betrayal. “But I can’t lose you, Ty, I can’t.” Harry’s voice broke, “When- when we figure out what’s going on, I don’t want you to leave me. Please, please.”
Harry couldn’t risk losing Tyler. Even while part of Tyler, the monster part of him, carried Harry through the forest, Harry knew he loved him.
“Imperio,” Harry breathed, pressing his hand to Hyde’s neck and trying one last time. When that didn’t work, Harry dropped his head in frustrated disappointment. He’d just have to wait; wait and hope that Hyde’s master didn’t order him to kill Harry.
Because then Harry would be faced with a decision he knew he couldn’t make - kill Tyler or die.
“I love you, Ty.”
A snarl from Hyde’s mouth tore through the night, sounding so pained that Harry had to hope Tyler was in there somewhere, fighting to gain control and shift back. When they slowed down, Harry maybe thought he had.
But then Harry lifted his head and turned - they weren’t stopping because Tyler was beating down Hyde, they were stopping because Hyde reached its master’s destination, Crackstone’s Crypt.
Harry was abruptly flipped around, his head and legs cradled in Hyde’s arms, and they burst through the door just like that.
And that’s when Harry immediately saw his cousin sitting in a chair, her arms behind her back, and the barrel of a gun against the side of her head.
Hyde dropped Harry to the ground and blocked his exit and Harry was so shocked seeing Miss Thornhill (he was going to kill her) with her arm wrapped around Wednesday’s neck and a gun to her head that he didn’t even try standing up.
Wednesday didn’t look bothered, but Harry could see the fury in her dark eyes. She twitched her left eye and Harry somehow got the impression that she was ordering him to kill Miss Thornhill.
Which Harry absolutely was going to do… as soon as she got away from Wednesday and let go of her. He had no idea if his green death spell would kill Wednesday as well in the position they were in.
“Harry, you made it!” Miss Thornhill smiled at Harry as if he had been a guest of honor at some party. “As you can see, it’s quite an eventful evening.”
Harry pushed himself up from the floor, standing on shaky legs, and flicked his eyes quickly around the inside of the crypt.
All around the tomb that Harry once sat on and used as a table, there were candles and jars of…
Oh. That was gross.
…jars of human organs. And - Harry’s stomach twisted uncomfortably - Lucas Walker, Tyler’s old friend whose dad recently died, was tied to the wall just across the archway from Wednesday.
Shift back now, Tyler, please shift back… Harry silently begged.
“Er… hi,” Harry said awkwardly. He saw Wednesday’s eyes roll up to the ceiling, but considering she was the one with an arm around her neck and a gun to her head, he didn’t think it was very fair of her to judge him.
It wasn’t like Dr. Kinbott ever told Harry ‘here’s what you say to a teacher who kidnapped you and your friend’.
Miss Thornhill laughed, her blue glasses slipping a little down her nose while she shook her head at Harry.
“Oh, Harry, you’re such a delight,” she said warmly. “I’m so glad you’re here, dear, you see… I have a favor I need and you’re the perfect person for it.”
Harry tipped his head to the side a little bit, confused by that. He didn’t dare look over his shoulder toward Hyde, he knew it was still Hyde by the heavy breathing.
“L-let Wednesday go and I’ll do you a favor,” Harry said, stuttering slightly. It was the first time that Harry couldn’t just… kill. He couldn’t attack Miss Thornhill without risking Wednesday and he didn’t want to hurt his cousin.
Miss Thornhill clicked her tongue. “That’s not how this is going to go. Now, either you’ll do me this favor or I’m going to shoot your little friend here.”
“Don’t do it,” Wednesday told Harry, sounding calm and collected. Her eyes were hooded and she seemed entirely indifferent to the gun to her head. “Harry, do not do it. She won’t kill me, she’ll just order her little leashed monster over there to do it.”
Harry bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and his hands trembled at his sides.
“What’s- what’s the—”
“Harry, do not!” Wednesday snapped, her tone firm. “She won’t kill me, she doesn’t have the guts.”
Miss Thornhill no longer resembled the kind teacher who trusted Harry with her plants and helped him open a bank account and fill it with money. When Wednesday said she didn’t have the guts to kill her, something dark passed over her face and Harry thought that even with the Hyde standing behind him - Thornhill looked the most terrifying.
“Oh, I won’t?” Miss Thornhill took the gun off Wednesday’s head just long enough to aim it at Lucas and take a shot. Harry screamed and jumped when the bullet tore through Lucas’ cast, causing Lucas to open his mouth in a scream nearly as piercing as the ringing in Harry’s ears.
Thankfully, whatever Miss Thornhill had done to knock him out kept him unconscious, but Harry’s eyes were stinging when he looked at the bleeding hole in the blue cast.
“Her head is next, unless you help me,” Miss Thornhill said, returning the smoking gun to Wednesday’s head. “What do you say, Harry?”
Harry was breathing heavily and he gave Wednesday a wide eyed look. Wednesday didn’t look so calm and collected anymore, she looked nearly as scared as Harry was.
“What favor?” Harry asked Miss Thornhill.
*****
Enid sat on her bed, humming along to Katy Perry cheerfully while she worked on her project for Social Studies.
It was so interesting seeing examples of how outcasts have been able to not ‘integrate’ but enhance the normie world.
Sirens who used their powers to peacefully end hostile environments?
Werewolves who had their enhanced senses to make advancements in the medical world?
Vamps who use their centuries of knowledge to educate others?
So cool.
Enid’s studies were interrupted momentarily by Thing opening the door and swinging inside before dropping to the floor with a plop.
“Hello, Thing,” Enid sang brightly. She grabbed her nail file that she had been using as a bookmark and wiggled it in the air. “Interested in a manicure? I’ve got a new silver shimmer that would really make your stitches stand out.”
Thing flailed from side to side and began tapping out a message so quickly that Enid couldn’t keep up.
“Slow down, slow down!” Enid closed her textbook and slid to the floor with a pen in her hand, preparing to write as Thing signed. “Okay, a little slower.
“Mhmm… Miss Thornhill… took Wednesday to see Weems, that’s not surprising… oh, she hit her with a pipe?! Oh, God. I’m still listening, go on… Harry? Why was Harry crying? You’re right, so not important. WHAT?! Oh, God. Oh, God. Hold on, slow down… How could you lose sight of them?! The monster is humongous! No, of course I’m not blaming you, I’m sorry.”
Enid looked at the shaky purple words she’d managed to write -
Thornhill hit Wednesday- took her.
Monster snatched Harry.
Lost in the woods.
- and then looked at Thing with a stricken expression.
“What do we do?” Enid whispered to him. “Get Weems?”
Thing flapped side to side quickly, a very loud no.
“What then?” Enid cried. She wrong her hands together and tried to think. “We can’t just go rescue them alone! You don’t even know where they are!”
Thing spread his fingers wide slowly before wiggling them and tapping out another message.
“Absolutely not,” Enid said firmly. “Wednesday doesn’t trust them.”
Thing tapped again and Enid sighed in defeat, he had a good point.
“Fine, let’s go see if we can find Xavier and Sirius. If Xavier isn’t the one who took Harry to start with.”
*****
Xavier sat in his shed just staring a blank canvas that was taunting him. He knew what he wanted to paint, he could see it so clearly it made his fingers itch, but he couldn’t do it.
He’d wasted time cleaning his shed, not that the blood was ever going to come out of the wooden floor, but he couldn’t sleep until he painted. And he couldn’t paint or else he wouldn’t sleep.
As clichéd as it was, Xavier truly felt like his power was a gift and a curse. And right then, it felt a lot more like a curse than a gift.
In his head, in his heart, Xavier wanted to paint green eyes and dimpled smiles until his fingers bled and all his canvases were as ruined as he was.
They chose each other. They loved each other.
There was no room for Xavier and he’d been a moron for thinking there was.
Like a man in a trance though, Xavier grabbed his brush and began painting.
There were shadows around all the edges, dark shadows that threatened to overtake the center. No, not shadows… it was a tunnel. It was pitch black around the edges and lightened toward the center. At one end of the tunnel was a bright light, warm and sunny, beautiful to see and feel.
And in the light, there stood two guys in each others arms. The taller one had honey colored curls that waved with the warm breeze and the shorter one had messy dark hair that was messed up enough to make you wonder what he’d been doing.
Their faces were indistinguishable from the distant end of the tunnel that Xavier sat before, but Xavier knew exactly what they looked like.
He wondered if he could bring his paintings to life if he could one day fall through and travel that dark tunnel to get to where Harry and Tyler stood waiting for him on the other side.
Before Xavier could even finish the painting, there was a knock on the door of his shed.
Probably not Wednesday then.
Xavier tossed a sheet over the canvas and got up, suddenly feeling as if he had aged a decade in the last couple of hours.
“Coming,” he called to whoever was knocking. He hoped it was Harry, maybe Tyler, but he also hoped it wasn’t them.
Two rejections in a night were enough, thanks.
Xavier opened the shed door and stared in surprise at Enid. She was wrapped up for the cold, but her face was pale beneath the pink of her scarf-hat thing.
“It’s Harry,” she said, causing Xavier’s stomach to drop. “He’s in trouble.”
*****
Sirius laid just outside the gates of Nevermore, curled up as a dog, smiling to himself about the current turn of events.
Harry was alive and fine, Sirius had a fake name that seemed to have worked fine in the hospital, Harry was a horcrux, but he wasn’t anymore, and Sirius had a place to spend the summer with him thanks for Fester.
In his optimistic opinion, alls well that ends well.
All that was left then was for Harry to eventually head to town and now Sirius could join him as himself - well, as Ares - for a cup of the coffee he liked so much.
Sirius’ tail twitched and he let out a happy whine when he thought about it. Harry could ask him all the questions he undoubtedly had and Sirius could tell him all about his parents, all about magic, and they’d become so close.
Just like they were always meant to be.
As consumed by his thoughts of a warm summer spent with his godson - and James bloody odd relatives - it took Sirius entirely too long to pick up the crunch of footsteps on dry leaves. Once he did though, Sirius jumped up and woofed softly.
Harry and Wednesday were the two that snuck around the most in that place, other than the odd pairs of lovers going to find a quiet place to snag or shag in the woods. With any luck, maybe Sirius could chat with Harry for a few. He’d been upset earlier, his feelings hurt by his boyfriend.
… not that Sirius was entirely sure which of those two boys Harry was seeing.
Oh, probably not the dark haired one, because he was sneaking out with an overly pink-clad blonde girl.
Sirius growled; at least he better not be the one dating Harry if he was sneaking around with the blonde.
“Do we really have to go creeping around in the woods looking for him?” the blonde whined through chattering teeth. “He could be anywhere!”
“There’s no way he doesn’t stay somewhere close,” Xavier whispered to her. They were walking down the pathway with a flashlight lit, neither really mastering the art of subtly.
“I’m telling you, Enid, that man cares about Harry, he’s somewhere close,” Xavier went on.
Sirius cocked his head to the side and waited for them to step through the gates before he let out a bark and let them see him standing off to the side with his tail wagging.
“That’s him,” Enid, apparently, said confidently. “Wednesday said he could turn into a dog.”
Xavier took a few steps toward Sirius, Enid following behind him a little more hesitantly.
“Look, man, I don’t know if your name is Sirius or Ares or what, but we need your help,” Xavier said quickly. “It’s Harry, he’s in trouble.”
It only took a moment for Sirius to shift to himself, standing up on long legs with his wand already at the ready.
“It’s Sirius,” he told the kids. “Where the hell is my godson at now?”