Dont Fear the Reaper
Zack fucking hated owls. They were loud, annoying, and would never stop bothering him
It started sometime after he took out the old man and his wife. He was lurking in an alleyway, waiting for some poor bastard to come by when a letter was dropped on his head. The bird never made it out of the alley, but he swore it put some kind of curse on him. After that, no matter if he skipped town or was hiding out in the middle of the woods, they came and left hundreds of letters in front of him over the course of a few years. He doesn’t know what asshole decided to make owls deliver mail, but they were doing a shit job at it.
They finally stopped when that bastard priest took him in. Of course, he probably shouldn’t be calling him a bastard after what he did for him and Ray, but goddamnit he’s also the reason they had to go through all that shit anyway. Either way, it seemed like going into a building that almost no one made it out of made mail delivery pretty much impossible. He was free to chase after people and not see a single one of those creepy little shits.
Apparently, they couldn't reach him once he got out either. Not that many things can reach a maximum security prison, but he’s not complaining. He’d like to think that they’d finally given up now that the assholes outside decided to kill him. They seemed pretty shocked when he told them about everything, but it wasn’t like he was about to start lying now, not after going so long hating liars. He may be a murderer, but he wasn’t a fucking hypocrite. Then again, maybe they were just sitting outside the barbed wire fences, waiting for him to escape so that they could bother him again. Maybe they even decided to bother the guards with their envelopes and maybe that's the reason they were leading him out of his cell and into some kind of interrogation room. Who knows, they could be right about all that birds working for the government crap.
The door to the room closed behind him and he threw an annoyed glare at themirror on the wall. He didn’t get why people still had those. Even he knew that there was probably a whole room of people watching him through the glass. Still, he figured he might as well cooperate and made his way over to one of the chairs, kicking his feet up on the table while he waited.
And damn was he not disappointed. The guy that walked in a few minutes later could give the scarecrow a run for his money with that getup. He looked at least double Grey’s age, with a bright purple suit and blue starry tie that he could almost swear was moving. Even his socks were weird, with red and gold stripes leading into brown loafers.
“What do you want?” He asks as the man sits, raising a bandaged-over brow at him.
“Well Mr.” He pauses for a moment “Foster, I suppose. I came because I do believe that you are someone that I’ve been searching for for a very long time.”
“Oh yeah?’ Kicking his feet off the table, he allows the momentum to bring him into a lean on the table “What did I do to you, or someone else I guess?”
“Actually, it’s neither young man.” He says. “Tell me, do you remember much about your birth parents? I’ve heard you were raised in an orphanage.”
“Not really. Hopped around some, got adopted, and got sent somewhere worse. Usual shit for the system.” Zack says, not bothering to go further. If the old man cared about the details he’s sure the feds could feed him some fucked up version of it.
“As I thought.” The man says under his breath. Taking something out of his pocket, he pushes it across the table. “Does this happen to ring any bells for you?”
Picking it up, Zack doesn't have to read to be able to recognize what he was looking at. Flinging it back on the table, he narrows his eyes at the man. “This was you the whole fucking time? What are you a goddamn owl trainer or something?”
The old man has the nerve to smile at him, like it was some sort of inside joke. “Not particularly. Though, it does sound like quite a fun hobby. That being said, I do think that was the final bit piece of evidence I needed.”
“Needed for what old man” He asks, ready to find out the point of this meeting.
“You, young man, were not born Isaac Foster, as I’m sure you are aware.” He says, continuing after seeing a nod. “When you were born, you were given the name Harry Potter. After your parents were murdered, we couldn’t locate you. All your aunt and uncle told us was that you were ‘sent very far away.’ Now, after all this time, we’ve found you in the oddest of places.”
A moment passes in silence before laughter bellows out from the other side of the table “You’re kidding me right? After all this damn time thinking I was left on the street for shits and giggles, it turns out that someone killed them? Even better, looks like I turned out just like the bastard; didn’t I old man?”
“Actually,” The man's eyes go glassy for a moment before refocusing. “I don’t believe you’re like him at all. In fact, my boy, I believe you may be exactly what I’m looking for.”
Zack allows a mirthful grin to pull in disbelief, “Well I hate to disappoint you, but you’re a little late. The big guys in charge already decided I should be zapped, so whatever you’ve been looking for isn’t gonna be around for much longer.”
“And what if I can change that?”
“What?” Now that makes him pause.
Pushing up his glasses, the man straightens in his seat. “If you are willing to come to my school to assist in an ongoing and refrain from your rather atypical habits, I could relieve you of your charges.”
“Well, well, well, old man. “ Zach's grin widened. “I think you and I might have a deal here. One condition though.”
“And that would be?” He asks.
“There’s only one person that can keep me from chopping people’s heads off, so we need to grab her on the way.”
“I do believe we have ourselves an agreement, Mr. Foster.” Standing up, the old man takes out a black stick and waves it around. Almost immediately, his handcuffs clang to the ground,leaving him to stare up in shock. “ We best get on our way then. Oh and Mr. Foster? Please refrain from calling me old man. My name is Albus Dumbledore, but you may now call me Professor now.”
Letting out a loud laugh, Zack stands up and follows the man out the door. Seems like breaking out of prison would be easier than he thought.