Capítulo 411: 7
Chapter Seven: A Tiring Week
The school bells had rung, and people where running to wherever it was they needed to be, except for one young man who didn't have anywhere to be yet. Actually Harry Potter probably did have somewhere to be, or rather the teachers had likely arranged something for him. Thankfully he didn't know it yet so he could happily feign ignorance and do what he liked. He'd said goodbye to his friends as they hurried to their own classes and had since been considering a bit of grand theft auto. (And while some students may have assumed Harry meant a vicarious video game— well, Harry had never played a video game.)
Harry ducked behind a chair as he spotted the white hair of a certain teacher as she roamed down the halls, her eyes seemed to be searching for something, or rather someone. Harry sat on the floor as people passed him. Some teenagers paused to glance his way curiously but most were too busy with their own issues to worry about the kid who was hiding behind a chair. Teenagers, so self-absorbed.
Harry peeked from behind his chair. Storm was gone.
He leaned back, stretching his legs into the now rather empty hall. He laughed at himself lowly; it wasn't quite the game of hide-and-seek he had always dreamed about, but it was close. As a boy he had always had a sick sort of fascination for the game, largely due to the twisted version he and his cousin played. Hide-and-seek in the Dursley home was a rather bloody game indeed. The end usually involved Harry cringing while Dudley's friends held his arms and his cousin got in a few punches to Harry's face or stomach.
But Harry wasn't that boy anymore.
The halls were quiet now, there was a low mummer coming from a classroom not far away and it sounded almost soothing. But Harry didn't have any desire to be there. Rather, this quiet would give him a good opportunity to put things in perspective. Not his favorite pastime, but recent revelations required him to consider some things. Or at least that was what his inner Hermione was telling him.
He hadn't had a moment to think things through since he had gotten back from Britain. Bobby and Pyro, while amusing guys and quite good room mates, had been pretty excited by their trip to London. It seemed every moment was now filled with either plans for future trips or conversations reliving the previous. Harry did his best to not dull the mood. But he was facing an unavoidable fact. While he had returned to the UK, it hadn't been home. And that was something he had to face.
Face yes, but it didn't mean that he had rethink everything. After all, he had ventured into the veil for two reasons.
Primarily he had wanted to escape his own world. After defeating Voldemort he had no interest in staying there; it had been bad enough being the boy-who-lived and the Chosen One, he could only imagine what he'd be called now that he'd been victorious. Would they make him into some sort of Dumbledore figure, a national monument? And would he really want to spend the rest of his life as that? That was supposing that the Ministry hadn't found a reason to lock him in Azkaban for the rest of his days.
But the secondary reason had been more complicated, he'd hoped to come here and find a place among his family, friends and Sirius— even more stupidly, maybe it had been an attempt to chase after his Sirius. He said it was stupid right? But it was the sort of thing that little orphan boys dream about. And, foolish as it was, it had been Harry's dream once. And on that terrible day, when he saw the chance to make it come true, he'd reflexively taken the jump.
It came down to questioning which of his reasons for leaving mattered more? If it was just about getting away from his own world, well this one wasn't so bad. True, they had their own wars and issues bubbling dangerously, but who didn't eh? Harry wasn't looking for Utopia. And it also had people that Harry was starting to like, people that had willingly taken him in. And he wasn't foolish enough to dismiss that. He might not be the same boy he'd been once upon a time, but he hadn't given up the old idea that people matter. He'd cast it aside in leaving his own world, but was he willing to do it again in a steadier frame of mind?
And he couldn't forget that he was a nobody here, and that was something precious. He also might have a bit of an advantage with his special 'mutation'. His magic would give him more than enough power to set himself up in whatever incarnation he liked. If he were the ambitious sort, he might think now was a good time to take over England. The English mutants were just waiting for a force to come and lead them, a powerful figure that could take the reigns and fight back against the persecution they suffered.
But he was a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin. World domination wasn't quite his area of expertise. Still, it did make a nice daydream. But his life goals were a little more moderate and someone with his skills in this sort of world could make things happen.
All and all, it had been years since things had looked as fortuitous for Harry Potter.
But if what he really wanted lay more in his second reason, reclaiming lost family and friends, well then . . .
To settle here, or to try again? He knew he couldn't go back, he wasn't stupid. That door was shut, and he didn't mind if it stayed locked. But another jump, another world, he could still find what he was looking for. It might be only one jump away. That was a tantalizing thought.
"Harry?" Professor Xavier's voice seemed rather loud amongst the thoughts in his head.
"Lo' Professor," Harry greeted, rubbing his forehead and looking up.
"This is a curious place to sit," the man commented.
Harry looked about, he was alone in a hallway opposite a painting of empty cliffs. There was nothing symbolic in that. But then he supposed the professor had a point, siting on the floor behind a chair was hardly customary.
"We were hoping to discuss your test scores with you today." Xavier tilted his head as he watched Harry with those same warm eyes.
Harry got to his feet rubbing his back as he did so, "Alright, you caught me professor," he fell into step while the principal of Mutant High rolled on ahead.
The professor's office was empty when they entered, Xavier found a place behind his desk while Harry settled into one of the chairs that were before it. They waited in silence. Harry looked at the office and yawned. It was quite boring really. Dumbledore's office had always been full of interesting gadgets and magical oddities. Charles Xavier's office was simply too normal by Harry's standards to attract much attention.
"How are you adjusting here?" the Professor asked kindly.
"Fine, sir," Harry replied without thinking.
The mutant nodded his bald head, those same curious eyes watched Harry in a manner that was a little disconcerting.
"There you are," Storm entered. She was dressed in her teacher clothes, which weren't as much fun as the leather ensemble, although . . . they had potential. "I was looking for you, we need to arrange a schedule for you."
Harry's eyes widened, "I did well enough to go to class?"
Storm settled herself in a chair and crossed her legs, her lips flickered into a smile before her expression mellowed. "Well, your subject tests told us that you aren't ready to sit in with your grade level. You'll need some tutoring to get caught up."
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Caught up?" Was that even possible at this point?
Strom gave him a sharp glance. "You have every chance of catching up with your peers, while your test scores were low your IQ test tells us a different story. You're not nearly as stupid as you'd have us believe," she smiled to soften her words.
Harry grinned, "So I'm a genius, am I?" he asked cheekily.
Storm closed her eyes, "Hardly, but you are above average, given the proper tutoring you shouldn't have much trouble joining some classes with your peers."
Harry shrugged, "Okay."
"Aren't that eager to resume your education?" the professor asked.
"I guess I'm just not sure how much it will matter, given the circumstances." Harry said allowing a bit of honesty to rise to the surface.
Neither the Professor nor Storm seemed ready to tackle that question and so Harry turned to Storm, "What am I doing today?"
"Science with Jean," she said. "She'll meet you in the rec room after lunch."
Harry rose to his feet.
"And Harry, I've been meaning to speak with you . . . " Xavier paused for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. "About your mutation— "
That was a direction Harry had hoped the conversation wouldn't move to.
"I think perhaps your prudence was the wisest course. For the time being at least, we will try and keep some of your abilities quiet."
The Professor's tone left Harry little doubt that the man knew of the little trip he and his room mates had taken.
"Why sir," he asked, feigning innocense. Harry recalled that not too long the Principal of Mutant High had taken on a Dumbledore stance and encouraged him to share with his friends.
Xavier looked thoughtful once again, he seemed hesitant about meeting Harry's eyes. "I suppose it is just an old man's worry that someone with your . . . abilities may attract unwanted attention. The world— " the man paused again, "The world is changing, faster perhaps than I may have expected. The attack here at the school, the problems overseas, all these things are happening very quickly. I don't want to see you caught in the middle."
Caught in the middle, Harry wondered, or do you just not want anyone else using me. Harry felt the familiar strings fastening themselves around him. But he'd already played puppet for the greater good. He wouldn't say he'd regretted it. He wouldn't say that things hadn't gone well. He might even have done the same over again. He didn't hate Dumbledore, he wasn't going to piss and moan about being the man's weapon, about being the wizarding world's tool.
But Harry wasn't that boy anymore.
"Thanks professors," Harry allowed before leaving.
As Harry strode purposefully through the halls he was met with one definite thought in his mind. It wasn't a pleasing thought, but it was one that did free up some of his mental processing.
His answer had been staring him in the face.
As he moved toward his destination he tried to enjoy the decision he had reached and not feel despondent. He had a few hours before he would have to meet Jean and he wasn't about to waste them bumming about the rec room watching TV.
When he arrived at his destination, Harry was glad that the garage was empty, he passed the expensive cars and headed to the locked box that held the keys. It had been fixed, or more likely replaced since Wolverine's burglary. Someone had also attached a sign that read in large letters.
PROPERTY OF (REAL) TEACHERS
ALL OTHERS DO NOT TOUCH
Harry flicked his wrist, the unlocking charm allowed the door to swing open and his finger made a gesture that levitated the key off the hook. He caught it in his hand, "Didn't touch," he stated with a grin. He had a feeling that Wolverine would have gotten a kick out of that and was surprisingly disappointed that he hadn't been there to witness it. But the man was off doing some sort of mission for Xavier, he was probably the only one who could given it, the other X-men seemed preoccupied playing teacher. It was a strange way to run a resistance group Harry thought.
I wasn't long before Harry was speeding on a sleek black and silver bike, his tires cutting through the country roads, staying on the ground this time. He needed this, he knew he did. It was this sort of freedom that left him breathing faster, thinking clearer. The adrenaline rush that it provided was too much a part of whom he was to deny it. A part of him wondered if he dashed into dangerous situations for the same sort of high. Because so much else left him feeling a little numb.
He liked this world, but the answer was obvious. He might never get what he wanted here, and why stay when infinite possibilities beckoned? Why risk becoming another player in this world's war? As he turned his bike around, he saw bits of the school's brickwork peeking through the trees. Harry sensed a bit of sadness coming from his choice. And while it shouldn't, it surprised him.
Of course, jumping through the veil was proving more complicated than one might expect.
Harry stood with his tennis shoes over the yellow 'do not cross' line. A few of his fellow tube travelers rolled their eyes at him, muttering about teenagers. But as the train rolled into the London station Harry didn't board, rather he remained standing as he had been, ignoring the people that bustled past him as he continued to stare at the place where a mystical gateway to another world should be.
As a man that smelled faintly of piss and booze shuffled past muttering to himself, Harry realized just how ridiculous this sounded. He was heartily glad that he knew Occlumency because any mind reading headmaster would probably have him committed.
He yawned trying to forget that it was past two based on his internal clock. Once again he'd snuck away to London in the middle of the night, this time without his mates in tow. A gentle sleeping spell, one which he refused to feel guilty about (really), was ensuring that Pryo and Bobby would sleep soundly in their beds for the next few hours. His refusal to feel guilty was linked to his own tiredness, as he'd much rather be in their places at the moment. But he needed to come here and observe the situation, he'd been hoping that his previous brush with death in this very station had him not remembering correctly. But he was remembering rightly, the veil wasn't visible here and everything was seeming more pointless as he stood staring blankly ahead.
In his world the veil had been, well, a veil. Somewhat creepy looking perhaps but a lot of things buried in the department of Mysteries tended to look a tad creepy. In this world, however, the gateway was completely invisible and seeing as great big muggle trains weren't accidently being shunted into another dimension led Harry to believe that the veil wasn't working either. Harry had tried to get as many angles of the thing as he could, aside from stepping on the tracks (yet), but for all he could tell there was nothing there but air.
Still, he was having a hard time not being pleased with himself. At least he hadn't burned any bridges this time. He had slipped away in the night allowed him an easy way back in. Maybe Wolverine's little speech had impacted him more than he thought. True it had been a chore having to sit through Jean's science lecture but it was paying off now as he stared blankly at the nothing where something should be.
Not that he'd changed his mind, while fully intending to leave both Mutant High and the world that housed it, Harry had become accustomed to nice things like a bed and three square meals a day. He'd tried it the other way, and while starving on the streets might free up some of his time, he'd prefer the comfort that Mutant High had to offer. At least until he'd figured out this little snag in his plan. Of course, Harry knew that there were other options, someone with his skills wouldn't find burglary or pickpocketing particularly hard, but he was still part Gryffindor golden boy so stumbling into something so dishonest set his teeth on edge. He'd much rather endure his lessons during the day and sneak out at night than sink to thievery, unless he was forced to that point.
He really didn't want to be forced to that point.
And there was no reason he would have to be. The mutants were more than willing to give him a home, and while he'd initially been a little disinclined about taking their hospitality, well, he had come in handy when they were attacked. He wouldn't put it that they owed him . . . but he wasn't feeling guilty about letting them pay for some clothes anymore. (And did he mention the vast array of luxury automobiles parked in their garage, they weren't exactly hurting for cash.)
Harry was shoved as one rather round man in a tweed suit banged into him. It wasn't hard to see why, the man's face was hidden behind a newspaper, despite that he didn't bother apologizing for nearly knocking Harry over; instead, a gruff "Watch where you're standing," came from the newspaper.
Harry took a step away from the irritable commuter. Once again he'd arrived in the morning hours, he'd already had to deal with a few perturbed businessmen and women as they moved through London on the way to work.
"Ruddy kids, ought to be in school, I blame the parents," the newspaper continued to mutter. Not seeming to mind if it was overheard. "Hanging around, like it hasn't been hassle enough having the station closed for two days while they investigated."
Harry paused, "Sorry," he interrupted the man's muttered complaints. "Investigated for what?"
"Two freaks were carted out of this very platform," the faceless voice answered. "Just as well, don't want their kind mucking up the city, about time they started cleaning up the trash."
"Two— They found two mutants here."
"Do I look like a ruddy newspaper?" the man replied from behind his copy of the London Globe.
Harry was tempted to reply that, indeed, he did.
The man uttered a heavy sigh, as if Harry had asked that he move the rock of Gibralter, "All I know is that a couple of days ago they closed this terminal, had to walk all the way to South Kensington to hitch on. All because of two freaks." For once the man lowered his newspaper and used it to swipe at Harry, "Now move on you time waster, go and do something productive."
Harry swallowed, his eyes budging rather uncomfortably as he watched the man waddle away and finally board a train that had pulled into the station. While he was clean shaven, Vernon Dursley was very much the same here as he was back home. The man was just as hateful and ill-tempered about anything outside of what he considered normal.
Harry swallowed.
Vernon was here? That was hardly cheerful but did prompt some questions. Like how a sodding Dursley could be here when Hogwarts wasn't? How could the entire universe change and something like Vernon Dursley could still exist in practically the same manner as he always did.
This emotional backlash was all covering the really important thing of course, because while it was possible for one Dursley to be just as horrible as the next, it was slightly more impossible that another 'mutant' just happened to be captured in the same tube station that housed a dimensional gateway. He might be jumping to conclusions, but he didn't think so. Someone had followed him through the veil. Someone had come after him. But why? And who? Harry gazed at the still empty piece of air. If they had, perhaps they knew how to get back through a veil when it didn't technically exist.
Harry glanced back at his watch, it was getting late, or early depending on your frame of time. If he wanted to get a few hours sleep before classes tomorrow then he had to head back to the school now. He had English and History with Storm, which would be some interesting educating there. Why had Hogwarts never employed someone who—never mind Lockheart was supposed to be a sex symbol of some sort, wasn't he? And who could forget Umbridge's pink cardigans.
And while it made all the sense in the world to go, it was a hard sell. Harry repeated all the reasons he had for staying there, trying to calm his strong desire to discover who exactly had came after him. He'd have to rest for a bit before finding the answer to that riddle.
Yawn. Harry struggled to keep his eyes open as his vision blurred. Having only three hours of sleep made it rather hard to read the small print of the Evening Standard he had snagged from a rubbish bin before leaving the other night. He was currently flipping through the pages hoping to find a comment about the mysterious mutant that had been captured at the tube station. So far no luck, it had been difficult to discover much 'news' at all. Most of the paper seemed to be devoted to some female politician who had instigated the new Mutant Act that was crippling the city. She was followed around almost as if she was royalty. Madam Speaker Chand at the Races. Madam Chand Speaks to Workers Union. Chad Hosts Rally for Human Rights. Harry skipped past her, not really interested in what this world's queen bigot was doing.
It wasn't until he reached the last page of the news section that he found a small article.
Victoria Underground Reopened
Victoria Underground Station was reopened Thursday. While the London Underground (LU) and Network Rail announced that the station was merely down for some planned upgrades, sources close to the City of London Police s claim the closure was linked to the recent Mutant arrests in the station. Sources indicate that the two arrests may point to a possible pattern, and may provide a key location for the unauthorized Mutants still residing in Greater London.
Two mutant arrests occurred in the Victoria Station this month. Both individuals were found on the tracks and quickly attested and detained. A spokesman for the Mutant Task Force claim that no damage was done to the tracks and London commuters can ride securely.
Found on the tracks, which could only mean one thing in Harry's mind. He was right, and this wasn't a coincidence. Someone had come through the veil.
"Morning Harry," Rouge's voice also sounded a little sleepy as she settled her tray of food across from him.
"Morning," he greeted casually. "Tired?"
Rogue shrugged, "More like annoyed. Parent Daze is emerging."
"Pardon?" he asked.
Rogue had already taken a bite of food and she gestured with her hands as she chewed, finally she swallowed, "It's time for the Parent Days, and the general malaise will settle over the school til it's over."
"Wish they would just cancel it," Kitty said taking a seat next to Rogue. "Although it's nice to see my family."
Harry was still a little confused, he set his newspaper down and looked at the two girls across from him. "Mind explaining to the new guy?" he prodded.
"Sorry," Kitty answered sheepishly, she fiddled with one of her earrings. "Well, since we're a private boarding school, the professor arranged for a day when parents could come and see what their kids are learning, see their rooms, just catch up I suppose."
"Doesn't sound that bad," Harry said helping himself to more juice.
Rogue sighed, "Maybe it wouldn' usually be. But it's Parent Days, plural. The Professor has two of them. The first day is for the parents who know their kids are mutants and going to Mutant High, and the other is for those who haven't 'come out of the closet', so to speak." She looked a little dour at the last.
"And on the second day people have to be . . . normal" Kitty pronounced this somewhat compassionately. "And it also makes it a bit awkward for those who don't, well, for those who don't really have any parents or such to come." Kitty looked toward the food line where Pyro was filling his plate with eggs and rashers of bacon.
"So it makes a terrible week," Rogue stated. She bit into her toast and looked away.
"So, do you have parents coming?" Harry inquired.
"I do," Kitty answered. "Fist dayers. My Mom actually thinks its sort of cool."
Harry nodded, he noticed Rogue still looked a little grumpy.
"They're thinkin' about it," her southern accent became a little more distinctive when she was worried he noticed and she spent most of the time looking at her plate. "They're not certain how they feel about it, and I gave them a pretty bad shock when I first found out about it. And my mutation isn't exactly somethin' that can seem all warm and cuddly."
Pryo chose a seat next to Harry and the girls seemed eager to drop their previous conversation. Kitty started nattering on about some movie star and her drug problem while Rogue ignored her, she was a little preoccupied watching Iceman meander through the food line.
"Sleep well," Harry asked his room mate.
Pryo nodded, "Best night sleep I've had in awhile."
"Me too," Bobby added. He joined their table taking a seat across from Harry and next to Rogue.
However rather than the friendly conversation that usually emerged between the two teens, Bobby's words seemed to cause Pryo to recoil some. The fire mutant hunched his shoulders and took a bigger bite of his food, not seeming to want to look at Bobby. Harry wondered if he had missed something this morning, he'd spent most of his time in a cool shower trying to drown his tiredness away.
But, Bobby took the cold shoulder well, eating his own food in silence.
"Oh, you've got a paper, wonder if they'll mention how long she'll be in rehab for, there is no way that the charges will stick." Kitty reached across and snagged the paper before Harry could stop her.
Kitty rifled through the pages looking for the entertainment section. She examined the headlines with a slight frown on her face before putting her finger on what was bothering her. "Where did you come across a British newspaper?" she questioned, folding the pages until she could read periodical's title.
"Just some news from home," Harry dismissed causally.
Around the table Rogue, Bobby and Pyro sent him accusing looks.
"On the topic of sleep," Pyro mentioned darkly, "You don't look like you got much."
"I'm an insomniac," Harry said raising an eyebrow, daring the people gathered to challenge his assertion.
The three portkey travelers didn't seem particularly convinced. However there was little they could do about the matter and took to shooting him suspicious glances from time to time.
"What classes are you having today?" Kitty broached, trying to insert some conversation into the quiet.
Harry groaned, "Well—
Harry would come to appreciate the distraction that his private tutorials offered. Parent Daze, as Rogue had said, was a terminal condition that affected most of the students at Mutant High in one way or another. The normally friendly atmosphere seemed to fracture some as the impending Parent Days approached. Three quarters of the school seemed irritated with those who had yet to reveal their mutation to their parents. There were also a few who thought parents in general were a waste of time, which set them at odds with anyone who had family coming on either day. Many a happy dorm was disrupted with quarrels and arguments.
Harry's own dorm room was hardly an exception. Bobby and Pyro never argued about the coming visit, but they did argue about everything else. The fact that Pryo left his socks lying around, that Bobby listened to girl music, Pyro's stupid way of dressing, Bobby's stupid face . . . things sort of devolved even further after that. It seemed the two couldn't share the same room without breaking into arguments. A few nights Harry had once again cast a sleeping spell on them, not so much to go to London but rather to allow him a few hours without their bickering.
Of course he had gone to London a few more times, squeezing it in at night so that he could attend his lessons during the day. He ended up spending most of the time observing the veil. (Yep, still wasn't there.) But he had also been nicking thrown out newspapers and using other less reputable means to find mention of the mutant that had been captured in the Victoria Underground Station. The fact that the newspapers hadn't made another mention lead Harry to believe that whoever had followed him to this world may not be as handy at escapes as he. Harry dreaded to think that the new arrival had probably been shipped to the northern facility to fill the hole that his absence had caused.
The very secret nature of this facility made it difficult to get information on whomever it was, which lead to the less reputable means.
Harry had spent one evening this week tracking down a few of the Mutant Court employees he had met during his short trial, legilimency had been pointless as it seemed they didn't know where the mutants were sent, and didn't care. Indeed, whomever had followed him hadn't seemed important to the court employees at all. Harry's limited mental magics made it impossible for him to even get an image of who had followed him. He did however garner some rather hideous mental pictures of the overweight judge and a prostitute that couldn't be older than eighteen. (Yes, there was a very good reason not to poke inside people's heads willy nilly.)
It soon became clear how pointless it was questioning the people Harry had come in contact with. Even at his previous prison the only information about the other facility had been the description 'North'. Which, while cancelling out three other directions, was still rather vague. Scotland? Perhaps, but when everything was a possibility and that made narrowing down the list a little daunting.
"Are you paying attention?"
"Uh, of course," Harry agreed, trying to look closely at the open book. What had they been doing again?
Cyclops repeated the directions for foiling an equation and Harry did his best to try and pretend that this sort of thing was useful.
"Make sense?" Cyclops asked. "Why don't you try one?"
Harry nodded, trying to hide a yawn. "Okay." He'd been fiddling with his pencil for the last few moments and only now brought it out and began writing on the tablet of paper. Cyclops had been helping him to work through basic algebra. Something that Harry considered pointless, although not quite for the reasons that some teenagers might.
Still Maths with Cyclops was a rather easy way to spend an afternoon. The shaded mutant tended to involve himself less in Harry's personal life. When he was studying Science with Jean, the doctor kept questioning his obvious fatigue, trying to probe his lack of sleep, sending him caring glances when she asked if he had nightmares.
No, he didn't actually; something she still refused to believe. But he tried to leave the matter alone least she uncover his real reason for feeling sleepy during the day.
"Any word on Wolverine?" Harry asked aloud, finishing up the problem with a decisive stroke.
"Er, not yet," Scott answered not seeming too unhappy about that fact.
The healing mutant was someone else that Harry never minded being around. Storm had arranged for the man to include Harry in some physical education classes once he returned from his recon mission. Frankly, Harry would like a break from the mental exercise and one of a more physical nature sounded like a good escape. Also, Wolverine wouldn't bother him with questions and pity like Storm and Jean were prone to do. And Scott, for his many good qualities, was slightly boring. Too much like an adult, Wolverine was someone fun to get in trouble with. He actually reminded Harry of Sirius in a non-godfather sort of way.
Scott glanced at his watch, "That looks good," he said, looking over Harry's work. "Do problems one through 25 in the section here and we'll go over it tomorrow."
Harry nodded. Thankfully his tutoring sessions never ran long. His teachers were too busy to dedicate much time to his continuing education. Not that they didn't assign him enough homework to make up for the lapse of private attention. Scott hurried from the room, he was late for the AP calculus class he taught before lunch.
Still, Harry was amazed that the X-men made time for him at all. They must be busy: teaching classes, saving people, keeping order in a mansion of teenagers. Harry didn't envy them the task. Playing hero was all well and good, but being saints day in and day out had to be grueling.
Harry wouldn't be able to do it. He flicked lazily through his book, answering the questions and not focusing much attention on them. His classes sometimes took place in an empty classroom, or more often than not they took place in the rec room which was usually abandoned during the day. Being in the rec room did have its advantages, Harry flicked on a radio. The room had a televison too but having been raised with Dudley had given him more that a casual disliking of the dreaded box.
The radio was playing something upbeat and Harry listened to it vaguely wondering if he'd ever paid much attention to music while at Hogwarts. It wasn't long before he was asleep, stretched out in an overstuffed chair. He'd been in London only five hours ago, and man, jet lag was a killer.
An hour oh so later, a slightly-awake Harry yawned, trying to rub some life into his tired eyes. His nap in the rec room had been interrupted when the classes had broken for lunch. Jean hadn't given up on improving his weight so he sluggishly made his way to the cafeteria and joined his friends at the table that had quickly become his. As he ate, he tried to ignore the fact that Bobby and Pyro were ignoring each other.
Really it was better than the alternative. He didn't think he could take another inane fight. The others were less relaxed. Kitty had taken to chatting about anything to relieve the tension, which only made the two boys' silence more pronounced. It also seemed to irrate Kitty but she kept chattering on regardless and had been for the last few days. It was almost amazing how much she could talk, although the topics were rarely of interest. They'd already been treated to a lecture on the importance of moisturizing, proper nail painting procedure and a lesson on nuclear fission and its practical purposes. Yeah, the girl was mental. Harry was waiting for her cheerful veneer to crack, he'd personally estimated that would occur sometime tonight. It would have been something fun to bet on . . . but no one else seemed to find it amusing.
Syren, fully healed, even checked by real doctors to make sure, had rejoined their group and her and Colossus seemed to have sided with Harry in ignoring the issue. Of course their families had been mutants, which might have made it a little easier for them.
They still didn't have much of a sense of humor, and Harry's offer of some harmless betting had met no takers.
"Glad it's Friday tomorrow," Kitty added cheerfully.
Pyro turned an eye on her.
She paled when she realized what Friday was, the first of the dreaded Parent Days. "End of the week," she covered softly adding an awkward little laugh.
"Looking forward to Mommy and Daddy coming?" Pryo asked his voice sounding oddly sweet.
"Uh, yes, actually," she said woodenly.
Pyro didn't add to this, but his expression was one of slight contempt.
"You don't have to take on so," Kitty finally vented, her voice edging on hysterical. "You know there are other people without parents coming and you don't see them snarling at everyone."
Pryo remained moodily silent and Kitty rose to her feet, "I give up," she cried, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and storming out the room.
Harry sighed, it was better not to have gambled. He would have lost, he could have sworn she'd have been able to hold out for a few more hours. Still, as he watched her angry form march away, Harry could understand her frustration, he was growing tired of the uneasiness as well. Of course, he hadn't been trying to cheer everyone up as Kitty had. Which made him a little less annoyed with the continued gloom.
"Mr. And Mrs. Drake going to be seconders again?" Pryo asked stabbing his food as he did so. Harry noted this was the first time Pyro had raised the issue directly with his room mate. As of yet their arguments had never covered the issue at hand, maybe Kitty's snappy remark had finally pushed the issue into the open.
Harry remained quiet watching the discussion, Rogue followed him looking over at Bobby in a concerned manner as the ice mutant put down his fork and looked over at Pryo.
"Yeah," he said defensively.
Harry knew well enough now that 'seconders' were parents who came on the second Parents' Day. In other words, they were the ones that had yet to be informed about their child's mutation. It was also a term that denoted more than a bit of disrespect and animosity among some of the teens.
"If your parents are so great, why don't you tell them?" Pryo prodded, his tone oddly cool.
"I don't know. It's just easier," Bobby dismissed before heading back to his food.
Pyro looked disgusted, "You can't tell them can you?" He raised an eyebrow and his face was shifting into something that looked like a snarl. "You know why exactly. They'd kick you out! They'd say you aren't their son, they'd toss you on the streets and not even care what was going to happen to you." The fire was back in his voice as and a smoldering sort of chuckle was laced with anger.
Harry began to think it was getting a little warm in here. He tugged at his collar as he felt the sweat build on his neck.
"You don't even know them," Bobby answered back, his own expression growing hard.
"I know all I need about parents like that." The word 'parents' issued from his mouth as if it were something foul.
"You're just jealous because yours didn't want you," Bobby growled back, his words surprising even Rogue as she filched away from his side.
The first fireball was shot wide and glanced over Bobby's shoulder with only enough heat to make him draw back, he wasn't even singed. Pyro panted, his lighter in his hand and his eyes reflecting a flame that made him look almost demonic.
"If you think yours will still want you, why don't you tell them? At least be honest about it," he challenged. His voice echoed around the room, very loud since the cafeteria had grown silent after the fireball had seared over Bobby's shoulder and hit the floor.
Thankfully for Pyro's sake, it had been growing late in the lunch hour and there were no teachers present. It probably wouldn't have mattered if there were. Bobby responded fast, he shot a gust of blue that seemed to freeze Pyro's hand. Knowing the ice mutant Harry would hazard to guess that it was more an effort of containment than continued aggression.
It was still the wrong move.
Pyro leapt onto his seat and was looking down at his friend, the still frozen blue hand melting, it seemed that Bobby hadn't put enough force into his blast as Pyro's light hadn't gone out. The lighter still glowed and the flame was blooming in his hand, melting the chill and sending a rush of warm air around them. Pryo didn't take his eyes off Bobby as the flame continued to grow, his hand preparing another fireball. Bobby was bracing himself likewise, the two extreme temperatures of heat and cold were keeping people back.
"Bobby?" Rogue questioned, causing at least one young man's gaze to flicker. "What're you doing?" she questioned.
Bobby faltered some at her words but Pyro was showing no signs of backing down, his anger hadn't been as easy to cool and he let loose the fire that had been growing in his hand. It wasn't as blistering a heat as it could have been but some people in the crowd cried out in alarm as Bobby seemed unprepared for the blast.
It was stupid, but Harry reacted on instinct and caught the flame in his shoulder, hissing as the fire clung to his clothing and he slapped it out even while his skin shined red and raw looking beneath the charred fabric. Pyro's flame went out as he opened his mouth in shock.
"Had enough?" Harry questioned.
"Look what you did!" Bobby cried pointing an accusing finger at Pyro.
Once again their squabble was beginning. Pyro's need to defend his point of view and Bobby's protective streak were clashing as they had been threatening to do for a week.
"Enough!" Harry finally shouted. He was sick of all of this. "Quit being prats and look around. There are people out there who want to kill you for being mutants. You don't need to turn against each other and lend them a bloody hand!"
"He's the one who— "
Harry cut him off with a wave of his hand, he looked to the floor, "Just figure it out soon, there are more important things than this," Harry advised. He had no right to order them around, he just saw things falling apart and had stepped in like always. But he couldn't provide the answers they needed, they were going to have to figure that out on their own. He grabbed his school bag and left the room, hoping that renewed fighting wouldn't spring up in his wake.
Still a part of him was mad, he pressed his lips into a thin line and tried to conjure an image of Hermione to tell him to mind his own business. But it was hard because he wasn't mad at Bobby or Pyro, he just hated the split that had been threatening all week. He hated the tension, and maybe a part of him hated his dumb room mates for giving into it and ruining what a good thing they had going here.
Maybe he should cool down, he shook his head, that was taking it too far. A few bad days didn't change the fact that this was the warmest place he had in this strange new world.
"What's going on in here?" Storm entered, her teacher voice in high gear. Harry heard the other students quickly reclaim their seats and meals, along with a few others who, like him, seemed to decide that exiting would be the best strategy.
"Hey, what happened to you?" The weather mutant asked as Harry tried to move past her.
"Nothing," he dismissed. He healed his shirt as he passed her, leaving no mark of the incident.
He needed to get away. Away from the tedium and the restlessness. Once he was clear of his fellow mutants a loud pop resounded and Harry Potter disappeared.
It was odd that there had been something else here, right in the spot that Hogsmeade had been in. Harry passed the charred remains wondering who had lived here and what had happened to turn such a thriving community into a pile of ash. He was tempted to blame it on dragons, but that was a ridiculous notion. He'd been on the lookout and hadn't spotted any magical creatures in this world. Which seemed something of a shame. Not that he'd be missing dementors but hippogriffs and thestrals were alright, and phoenixes could lift the spirit in a way nothing else could. It seemed rather boring and muggle being in a place without them. It reminded him of his Dursley days when notions of such magical creatures had been drummed out of his head.
Harry bit his pizza, wondering why he'd chosen to come here. Of all places?
He dropped the pizza box next to a tree and settled down in the shade. At least this tree seemed to have survived the scorching. It was the afternoon, later than he'd ever stayed in England since his recent move to Mutant High. After having to endure the temper tantrums of his 'fellow mutants' the other day, he'd decided that it might be a good idea for him to clear out for a bit. Lessons had been cancelled anyway, if he was lucky no one would even notice he was gone. He'd arrived in London, just in time to see the dregs of the London night life heading to bed leaving the streets quiet, waiting for Friday to start and people to go to work. London was never empty Harry was learning, but this was about as close as it ever got.
He'd waited around until a very important store had opened and then decided to head to his current location.
Harry looked at the Pizza Express box feeling only slighted disappointed now. Perhaps a part of him has still expected there to be something interesting about the former entrance to Diagon Alley, but it had just been a normal pizza place. Although they could make one hell of a pie.
He took another bite of the gooey cheese as he stared out at the empty land that surrounded the charred remains of Hogsmeade. That probably hadn't been its name but there was no one here to correct him.
Seeing as he had all this free time, he wondered how he should use it. Eating pizza was all well and good but he should have a plan of some sort. He did have things to do after all. First and foremost, discover the witch or wizard that had followed him through the veil. He didn't like the idea of leaving whoever it was here. Not as if he could, he sort of needed them to help him determine how to activate the gateway again.
But as he leaned against the bark, watching the tall grass blow in the wind, Harry found himself at a loss for what else he could do about the matter. He'd tried tracking down his sources of information, he'd rifled through the tidbits of information he'd gotten during his own imprisonment. The answer simply wasn't there. If he were James Bond, maybe he'd know some curvy spy to seduce the information out of, that would be one wonderful way to get information. But this wasn't a movie and he wasn't a spy. Also the only people he knew that were tied to the Northen Facility were men, old nasty ones at that. Why couldn't life be more like the movies?
There was a chance that the information he needed was stored in a computer somewhere. Yeah, computers. That was another thing they didn't offer a course on at Hogwarts. He was better at pulling information out of people's heads than he was trying to figure out technology.
Harry rubbed his head. This was hardly his fault, if the Professor and his precious X-men were having trouble figuring out where this facility was then he really shouldn't be expected to be any better. He'd only been in this world for a few weeks and the Professor was telepathic— oh.
Harry smiled. It was simple wasn't it. He wasn't the only one looking for a way to track down this Northern prison. There was a team of highly skilled mutants who were also trying to find it. And they had a telepathic leader. Harry had heard some mention of a device that Xavier had that could find mutants anywhere in the world. Firstly he wasn't certain if he believed that, the information had come from Kitty and he had a difficult time separating the gossiping teenager from the serious genius. But if it was true, that was both really cool and really creepy. He hadn't decided which emotion was more presiding.
But if it helped the professor to locate the missing mutants, and possibly one missing wizard, then Harry would put it on the favorable side. He'd just have to make certain that he went along for whatever rescue mission was in the works. Not that he didn't trust the mutants, they'd more than proved their abilities, he simply didn't want some other wizard to muddy the waters bringing up talk of universal gateways.
They might not be inclined to have a teenager tagging along, but let them try to keep Harry Potter out of a dangerous adventure.
"Where have you been?" Rogue hissed in his ear not ten minutes after he returned to the mansion.
"You know, about," Harry said with a grin.
The girl ruffled a hand through the white stripe in her brown hair, apparently deciding to ignore his glib response. "It was just as well I suppose, Pyro refused to stay in the same room with Bobby, it was a real horrible night. I'm just glad that I'm a girl and my room is in a different hallway."
"I'm glad you're a girl too," Harry agreed suggestively, swinging an arm around her waist and nudging her as she fought a smile. She finally shoved him away but she seemed a little less upset after his teasing.
"So any word on the 'folks'?" he asked mimicking Rogue's southern twang.
The frown returned. "They called last night and said they were coming," she said dourly, "And then they called this morning to say they weren't. Something about the car breakin' down south of the Mason Dixie or something."
"At least they tried right," Harry offered.
"Yeah, suppose so." She admitted, but the disappointment was still there.
Harry found himself wondering if there really had been any car problems, but he didn't ask it aloud.
"Did Kitty's parents come?" he asked.
"Yes," Rogue said with a groan, "And they're as nice and supportive as she said. Almost annoyingly really. They're touring the dorms now."
Harry and Rogue continued passing through the halls, a scattering of parents would emerge from time to time. Everyone seemed very happy and excited. Harry couldn't detect a trace of the menace he'd encountered at home. The 'muggles', as it were, seemed more than eager to explore mutation. And it wasn't just parents, brothers and sisters tagged along looking wide-eyed at the people who passed. Harry even spotted one ancient old man who was encouraging a young boy. The boy was building a ball of electricity in his hand, then he hit the wall and the lights overhead flashed. The old man grinned rubbing the boy's head and both laughed when their hair stood on end.
The rec room was perhaps the most crowded Harry noticed but he and Rogue still found a way inside. The teachers had set up some refreshments and the students and their families chatted happily, the foosball table was in high demand as siblings waged war. He could see the basketball hoop from the window and noted that had also been snagged by some of the visiting families. The teacher milled around smiling as they chatted with parents, answering questions and in general making the students very nervous.
Most of these students were people Harry had only met casually, he didn't know them well. Still he felt a warm sort of glow at seeing how accepted they were. He'd come to think that all normal humans hated mutants. But now he realized that there was a wider culture of people who were more than willing to accept their children's new found abilities. There was a friendly curiosity that reminded Harry of the muggleborns' parents he'd seen in Diagon Alley.
He wondered if people were like this in the UK as well. Sure there were terrible politicians that passed these laws, but there must be good honest people like these parents as well.
Harry felt a tug on his hand and looked down.
A little girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes looked up at him. "What can you do?" she asked in a sweet little voice.
"I can heal," Harry said simply.
"Oh," the girl said with some disappointment. "My sissy is strong," she said proudly.
Harry kneeled down, "Yeah."
"Mmhm, she picked up my swing set," she explained. "And she can pick up our dog Rufus, and he's big!" she opened her arms wide to gesture.
Harry looked around hoping to find this strong sister of hers, he caught a glimpse of Rogue and noticed she was smiling in an adoring manner.
The little girl turned to her next, "What can you do?" she questioned.
"Uh . . . " Rogue paused, "I can—uh, heal too," she lied.
"A sure lot of people can do that," the little girl pondered.
"Momo," a soft voice broke through the crowd, "Stop asking people their mutations."
"Don't call me Momo!" the little girl squeaked.
The older blonde girl shook her head resolutely, ruffling the little girl's hair as she tried to run away. Harry recognized the girl named Sam who had come on his shopping trip.
"Sorry about her," Sam apologized. "She just thinks mutation is the coolest thing."
"I'm a mutant too!" Momo called. She climbed up on one of the couches. "I can fly!" she declared. She took a big leap and flapped her arms. But, despite her determination, she landed on the carpet and was forced to continue the charade on the ground.
"Momo," Sam called running after her little sister, "Quit jumping on things."
"Don't call me MOMO!" the little girl shrieked once again.
People around the room laughed and Sam's mother came to collect her daughter, who was still trying to prove that she could fly. Harry chuckled as he watched the family gather together, Sam and Momo quarreling while their parent's endured it with a calm that denoted much practice.
"You have any brothers or sisters?" Harry asked Rogue.
She was watching the little girl fondly, but with a note of sadness on her face and Harry wondered what she was thinking about.
"Nope, just my Mom, Dad and me," she answered.
"Does mutation run in families?" Harry wondered aloud.
Rogue gave him a funny look. "Not always. Bobby has a brother who . . . well I don't think he's a mutant. He's only sixteen, so maybe . . . " she rolled her shoulders. "But sometimes it is. I mean genetically siblings share a lot of the same genes. So, I guess you never know."
Harry grew thoughtful, maybe mutation was more like magic than he's thought. It seemed it could run in families, as it did with purebloods, but there were more occurrences of it popping up. Again Harry found himself wondering how long this evolving things had been going on. A few decades? Or more than that? Had they simply been hiding?
Rogue sighed as she looked around, finally snagging a cookie from the table at the center of the room. "Enjoy today," she advised morosely.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Because as nice as today is, Tomorrow is going to be that much worse."
"Ah," Harry said knowingly.
Seconders.
Indeed, the next day was all that had been predicated. Maybe it was what Rogue had said, or maybe it had been Pyro's smoldering silence all morning. But something put Harry on edge before he'd even left his dorm room. Without Bobby in their room (where he'd been staying Harry still didn't know) it seemed far more bitter. Harry couldn't quite figure this out, while the ice mutant was optimistic he was hardly the life of party. Maybe it had something to do with the way Pyro continued to glare at Bobby's empty bed, his jaw clenched tight. Harry thought that if Pyro didn't lite Bobby's bed on fire before breakfast it would be a good example of restraint.
"Sorry," Pyro suddenly said.
Harry turned to look over at him. "Huh?" he wondered aloud.
"About the other day . . . burning you." He didn't meet Harry's eyes and ran a hand through his brown hair.
It took Harry a moment to recall what he'd been referring to, he hadn't been alone much with Pyro since before the fight he'd broken up. "Oh, no problem," He waved the concern away, "I can heal just fine."
Pyro's expression looked a little less fierce as he nodded.
"So, what are you going to do today?" Harry asked, he'd been getting dressed but Pyro seemed to be showing no signs of preparing for the day.
The fire mutant leaned back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. "I think I'll just stay here and hide out like all the other strange-siders."
Harry nodded. He'd been introduced to the phrase strange-sider the night before, it was intended as an endearment of sorts. Harry wasn't aware of the story but apparently the term had emerged several years ago and stuck.
While many mutants that resided in mutant high appeared perfectly human on the outside, there were a few that 'walked on the strange side'. Mutants with odd colored skin, tails, Harry had even seen one mutant that had ears that stood out like a cat's. These mutants had a little harder time blending in, and while the professor had some holographic devices to help them in public no one bothered with it here at Mutant High. It was perhaps one of the few places in the world where a strange-sider could feel free and welcome.
Except on the second Parents' Day.
It was then that everyone was encouraged to 'blend' in and try their best to keep mutations out of sight. The professor sold it as 'good practice' for the real world. And while no mutant had ever purposefully broken this rule it still chaffed at the more militant among the young people.
As Pyro reached over to the side of his bed and switched on a CD player, Harry figured that Pyro would join the others who were boycotting this day. He didn't ask what the fire mutant planned to do if Bobby wanted to show his parents his room.
"Well good luck with it, Fight the power," Harry encouraged lamely.
Pyro seemed to like the comment however and raised his flaming fist in the air in a gesture of strength.
Harry wasn't sure if he was teasing or not.
"Want me to bring you some food?" he offered.
Pyro raised an eyebrow, "Sure," he quickly agreed. "Anything but oatmeal."
Harry nodded before closing the door.
The cafeteria was noticeably more empty today. Quite a few of their fellow students seemed to have joined in the silent protest, or maybe they simply didn't want to deal with those mutants who still hadn't told their parents the truth. Of those students who were present most seemed somewhat tense and the usual friendly banter and casual display of mutation had been quashed making the morning lackluster. The few parents Harry spotted seemed oblivious to the tumult that their arrival had wrought.
Even the teacher's table looked a little bland. Scott wasn't around, Harry wondered if he'd left in protest of if his sunglasses may raise a little too much speculation. Storm looked more than a little subdued, her white hair was tucked back and she seemed to be wearing the most dowdy outfit her closet contained. (It was becoming increasingly difficult to picture her as anything other than a teacher. Which was very depressing.)
"Harry," a voice intruded.
Looking up Harry spotted a nervous looking Bobby being shadowed by a somewhat chubby couple who were smiling at him in a warm way.
"Morning Bobby," Harry greeted, throwing in more enthusiasm than he felt, if only to help the ice mutant out.
Bobby seemed to relax some at Harry's welcoming manner, noticeably becoming less tense.
"Oh you must be one of our Bobby's friends," Mrs. Drake said. She was carrying her own tray of breakfast foods and set it down across from him. Mr. Drake followed his wife's lead and waved a small greeting before yawning.
"Little early for a Saturday," the man said by way of a cheerful explanation.
"We live a few hours away," Mrs. Drake explained, "Bob isn't used to getting up this early."
"Just not on a Saturday," the man corrected amicably.
"We could have stayed in a motel," Mrs. Drake pestered.
"It's only a few hours dive, And I had to help Terry with his driveway," Mr. Drake replied.
"You didn't have to," his wife argued, "You wanted to play with that cement mixer her rented." Mrs. Drake took a bite of her breakfast giving her husband a knowing glance.
"Harry's one of my room mates," Bobby explained for his parents while Harry continued to stare at them slightly amused. They weren't nearly the monsters that Bobby seemed to think they were.
"Is he now," Mrs. Drake said excitedly, "We didn't get to meet your room mate last year," she said. "They really should have more times for parents to visit," she claimed, patting Bobby's hand from across the table.
"If only," Harry said, trying to fill the phrase with agreement rather than sarcasm.
"Now that's an interesting accent, are you from England Harry," Mrs. Drake asked.
"Yes," Harry nodded, feeling a little like an animal in a zoo as Mrs. Drake continued to stare at him curiously.
"Must be a good school if kids cross an ocean to come here," Mr. Drake said, looking at his plate rather than Harry, taking a big bite of the sausage.
"Bob, your cholesterol," Mrs. Drake reminded her husband, shooting angry glances at his food choices.
"First rate breakfast, son," Mr. Drake said ignoring his wife. "So Harry do you play football with my son?" he asked, leaning in.
Harry blinked, when did Bobby play football? "Er, yes," he lied, "I'm a midfielder," he offered trying to remember a football position from back in his muggle days.
"Midfielder?" Mr. Drake puzzled.
"Uh, what Harry means is that he plays on the soccer team," Bobby inserted.
"Ah, American football," Harry realized. "Oh yes, sorry about that. Yes I play soccer." He scratched his head.
"It's a shame that there aren't many games. We missed them again this year, I feel like I'm spoiling Ronnie Didn't miss his, what do you call that dear? Oh yes, all that paint ball tomfoolery." He shook his head, ignoring the way his wife tutted, he looked at Bobby, "But then that's what you get for wanting to go away to school," Mr. Drake accused.
"And forgetting to send us the schedule," His mother offered with a slight frown.
"Parents don't usually go anyway," Bobby excused, "We play against other boarding schools, right Harry."
Harry wished Bobby would stop trying to get him involved in this, "Er, yeah. No parents to speak of really."
"Well that is too bad, you kids grow up so fast here, it's almost like you're at college." Mrs. Drake looked a bit emotional. "Bob don't eat that," she corrected, dropping some of the concern. "Honestly, you remember what Dr. Bradforse said," she pulled her husband's tray away and took it up to the buffet breakfast that was still being served.
"She wants me to survive on oatmeal," Mr. Drake complained, following his wife.
It seemed an argument that the two were used to having and Harry watched them squabble amicably. They had obviously been together for a very long time, and if Mrs. Drake's actions were any indication, the woman was hoping to keep Mr. Drake alive and well for years longer. It seemed such a normal relationship and Harry thought he could see why Bobby was so terrified of losing that.
"Bobby," Harry inquired quietly. "Do they know anything real about you?"
"Uh," Bobby looked uncomfortable. "Look Harry, I really do appreciate– "
"Do they know how you want to be an X-man, do they know about Rogue, I mean, if they don't know anything real about you, then you don't really have them now, do you? Maybe it would be better to give them the benefit of the doubt."
Bobby looked thoughtful, nodding his head a little weakly. "Sure," he allowed, although Harry wondered if he had heard him.
Harry shrugged, it wasn't his life. Maybe Bobby would figure it out, maybe he'd spend his whole life having a relationship of lies. Either way, Harry had no say in the matter.
"Now isn't this much better," Mrs. Drake encouraged, sitting back down with her husband who was grumpily eating some fruit salad.
"Well I told Pyro I'd take him some breakfast," Harry said rising to his feet.
"Pyro, what a funny name." Mrs. Drake looked thoughtful.
Bobby looked like he was walking to his death.
"Just a nickname, he wasn't careful with a burner in chemistry class once," Harry covered. "He's sick today though, something seems to be going around."
Mr. Drake nodded, "The school did look a little empty, must be some terrible bug."
"You can say that again," Harry agreed. "Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Drake." He nodded at the two parents and left, snagging some more breakfast food for his other dorm mate on the way out. He spotted Rogue descending on Bobby and his parents as he was leaving. That would be an interesting visit. He wasn't terribly disappointed to miss it.
The second Parents Day finally passed and the entire school seemed to release a sigh of relief. To celebrate the parents' exit, and to help nourish those few students who had been enduring a hunger strike for the day, the evening meal was extended quite late. The atmosphere seemed to have mysteriously lightened and even friends who had been in sour moods all week seemed more than content to let bygones be bygones. Bobby and Pyro were making an extra effort to be polite to each other and generally try and pretend that the last few days hadn't happened.
Kitty who had been annoyed at them seemed to want to let the matter drop as well, merely muttering something like "boys" under her breath before joining Rogue in demolishing a piece of devil's food chocolate cake.
The teachers also looked a little relieved. Harry thought it must be difficult, considering that some parents did pay tuition and it was up to the few X-men to insure that the teenagers were given a good education. Harry noticed that Wolverine was back as well, the truculent mutant seemed to be having some sort of argument with the headmaster and Jean was intervening much to Scott's obvious annoyance. Wolverine said something to the pretty redhead and Scott's frown became more defined.
"So Harry, when we going on another, uh, trip," Pyro asked.
Harry grew thoughtful, "Where did you have in mind," he asked, keeping his tone equally quiet. Although it might have been a little wasted considering that Professor Xavier was still in the room. And Harry's wasn't entirely certain he could portkey people to a place he had never been.
Pyro gave Kitty and Rogue a cautious glance, "Let's make this a guys night, you can teleport us to Tijuana, tequila, college girls out to make some bad decisions," he raised his eyebrows and smirked. "That my friend is every teenage mutant's dream."
Harry avoided a smile, "Maybe sometime, I need to figure out how to teleport to places I haven't been."
"Oh," Pyro said with some thought, "Well change of plans, how about London, bars or what do you call them, pubs? English girls out to make some bad decisions."
"Let me guess, every teenage mutant's dream?" Harry asked.
"In the flesh," Pyro agreed seriously.
"Just don't forget the police squad that is out in force trying to hunt us down," Harry mentioned.
Pyro waved the comment away, "Every dream has it's little issues."
Harry didn't need to remind his room mate that this dream's little issue could leave you imprisoned and doing a fair imitation of a science experiment. Such a thought, and knowing that some unsuspecting wizard was facing a similar experience left Harry in a sour mood and he fell into silence, not listening to what the others were talking about. Xavier was taking too long. As he bit into his dinner he tried to think of another way to find the Northern Facility short of being arrested again.
That was a thought, Harry supposed. He could get the government themselves to deliver him to the Northern facility. He'd have to look different and have a different 'mutation' but it wasn't entirely without merit. Suicidal of course, but plausible.
It was then that Harry noticed a subtle change occur at the teacher's table. Whatever petty argument Wolverine had been having with the Professor seemed to fade away. Scott took on a more controlling role and the man spoke to Storm seriously, both of them looking equally focused.
In only a moment the adults had risen to their feet, well except for the Professor who was rolling, and exited out a door that would lead to the elevators.
The young people erupted into much speculation and those who, for whatever reason, had some knowledge of what the X-men did quickly shared their thoughts with their classmates. Rogue seemed to be distinctly uncomfortable as her story was repeated with much interest. The Liberty Island Incident as it was called by the media was a well known story at Mutant High, likely exaggerated in some respects but very popular.
"Well, now what do you suppose that is about?" Kitty asked, watching the door.
"Maybe something about what is going on overseas?" Bobby offered. They all knew that the issues occurring in England were of great importance at the moment.
"Or something to do with the people that attacked," Pyro offered. "Sorry," he quickly offered noting that Syren's complexion seemed to pale at the idea.
"What do you think Harry?" Rogue asked, negligently. He'd been rather quiet she thought and he had some inside knowledge about the situation in England, even though they hadn't pried. Much.
"Harry?"
Pyro looked at the suddenly empty seat beside him."Where did he go?"
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