XXI
The people are surprisingly understanding afterward. They stop attacking the man, seemingly forgetting about whatever trouble he caused. Instead, focusing on him with an intensity that almost makes him falter as they treat him a bit too reverently for his liking. Which is so weird considering he's still nude.
Well, at least they're not fighting anymore.
The man he saved is understandably wary of the others, but he's also the first person that helps him stand up and walk on his own. So that's a plus to him, unlike the others who seem afraid to touch him. Even more so when he grabs a rock and, with a wandless spell, transforms it into a robe he quickly puts on. A bit stiff but considering the rush work, not surprising.
He's not sure if introducing Dimtr is the best way to go but when it's obvious they're leaving to someplace and taking him away with them, he has to. After all, he can't leave him in a place he doesn't know when he's not sure he even knows the language.
Besides, it's not like he can't stupify them if he wants to. His magic is at his beck and call, probably an aftereffect of having a magical creature as his animagus form as, instead of having a core like he used to, magic floods his veins.
Or it can be the hallows merged inside him.
So, he motions Dimtr to come forward with a hand gesture. The others stop to stare at him before glancing at the direction he's pointing at, where Dimtr is now appearing warily.
"Do you know Chinese?" he asks as soon as he's at arms length.
After a long moment of staring at him, with those intense eyes of his, he nods, "Enough." Then he proceeds to introduce himself to the others, who all look appraisingly at him in a way one does a possible threat.
Do they sense his power, too?
Dimtr then turns to him. "They want to know your name."
"Harry," he answers back without thinking. Dimtr arches an eyebrow at him as if to say 'really?'
Harry flushes, something he doesn't miss to be able to do again but nods with a pout.
Oh, expressions, he thinks as he subtly touches his face, taking a moment to marvel at the smoothness and flexibility of his skin. That, that he has missed.
They again exchange words without him understanding a word, so he turns to the man he's saved who is still near him. The man looks at him immediately, his black eyes almost as intent as Dimtr's.
Harry points at himself. "Harry," he says before pointing at the man with a tilt of his head.
"I understand English," the man answers in a slow way that shows how not used to it he is.
Oh, well. What a way to make him feel dumb. He flushes even brighter.
"My name's Harry, then, smart guy. What's yours?"
"Fon." He then bows his head in apology. "I understand English, but I don't speak it well."
"Oh. The others understand English, too, then?"
Fon nods. And damn, but he wanted to ask him about his situation.
"Where are we going?" he asks after a while when the people stop talking with Dimtr.
A weight seems to have settled on Fon's shoulders as he says, "The temple."
"Not a happy place, um?"
Fon snorts before smiling bitterly, but he doesn't answer.
Leaning towards him, he whispered, "That why you tried to escape?"
Fon's eyes snap at him.
"At least she's safe, right?" he continues, brushing his arm against Fon's.
Fon smiles a real smile, one that meets his eyes and makes him look younger.
"Yes," he says, as if everything is okay.
Then the indigo portal appears and the people start going inside as if a portal appearing from thin air is normal.
Well, let's be honest here, he's seen weirder.
XXII
"It's quite amazing what these people can do with Flames," Dimtr says, not quite gushing, but something really close to it. It seems he's forgotten he's supposed to be in another country at this time. Or that the phoenix he met is now a human. It's strange how none have inquired as of yet about that.
"You have them, too, you know?"
Sharp eyes focus on him. "I do?"
"Yeah, that's why I went to search for you, actually. You never went out, so I thought they were experimenting on you."
"Oh." He gives him another glance. "What type do I have?"
"I don't actually know a lot about this," he starts. "I only know that everyone has it and that yours is green, with an electric flavor to it."
"Lightning," Fon explains. "Their property is hardening."
Dimtr hums as he thinks and Harry takes the time to look at his surroundings. He is inside an old Chinese temple, waiting for he doesn't know what. The floor is made of softwood and they're sitting on it, only a cushion to soften their seat.
They have got a great view outside thanks to the open doors, but Harry knows it's mostly to keep a better eye on them as he can see a couple of people walking outside. He ignores it in order to watch Fon, who is sitting the closest to the door. They tried to separate them but Harry didn't let them. When one tried to protest, Harry pointed at him, sending a wandless stupefy that knocked him unconscious.
Now, Fon's with his eyes closed, meditating. Harry already healed him as much as he can with the limited knowledge he has on healing magic but…
With a sigh, he takes out the small pouch he has around his neck in a necklace and shoves his entire arm inside it. Dimtr makes a surprised sound, which alerts Fon, as he opens his eyes.
Harry takes out his shrunk trunk before tapping at it, making it go at its correct size. He opens it and starts searching for the right compartment where the magical first aid is. It takes him a few tries as it's been a while since he's opened it.
"Aha!" he says when he finds it. There are a great number of options in stasis but the one he wants is the one with the transparent liquid—his animagus form's tears. He also makes sure to take out the candy that will help him learn the language. Not that he has the time for that, but he will be using an earbud that immediately translates everything. It will make his head hurt and it will only last five hours, but something tells him this conversation is going to be important enough to use one of the four he has brought with him.
He turns to Fon, who's is watching him with a curious expression in his face. "What is that?"
"My other form's tears. They can heal every type of wound."
Dimtr looks at him. "Every type? How?"
"Magic."
"Magic doesn't exist," he says but there's a tone of uncertainty in it.
Harry grins. "Of course it does. I'm magical myself."
"That's why you can transform into a fenghuang?"
"A phoenix, you mean? Yeah, that's why."
Dimtr hums. "By the way, with how you speak and the things you carry, I can speculate that you're not the only one. Unless you're older than you look, of course."
"I'm twenty-four."
Another hum, this time is from Fon though. "Are there...um, more like you?"
It takes a moment for him to understand his English, but when he does all his nervous cheer vanishes. "I don't know. I'm probably the only wizard of this world."
"Then that means you're not from this world, aren't you?"
Harry nods mutely at Dimtr and it feels that a weight has been dropped off him. He doesn't know why but his phoenix form's instincts trusted these men and he does too. After all, his phoenix instincts are more accurate than his normal ones.
"All magical people can turn into a phoenix?"
"No, they don't. It's unheard of to have a magical being as a second form."
"You're special, then."
Harry grimaces at the word special but nods nonetheless. Fortunately for him, Dimtr doesn't pry.
"I'm sorry, you know. This was only supposed to be a short trip, but it turned into something longer and dangerous. Your colleagues are probably wondering where are you and that will only set back your plans and—"
Dimtr stops him by holding up a hand. "It's alright. This is the most interesting situation I've found myself in. Flame-like powers and magic being real? I want to know more."
Fon says something in Chinese he doesn't understand but soon Dimtr is humming as he scratches his chin.
"Here or Italy you say? What would you recommend me the less dangerous?" he says in English, probably not wanting to leave him off the conversation.
Probably realizing this, Fon answers in the same language. "Italy. Triads do not accept outsiders."
Verde seems keen to ask more but before he can, Harry interrupts. "Knowing more is always great, but I want to know more about the situation we find ourselves in," he says, placing the earbud in place. "And you can talk in Chinese. This will help me understand you."
XXIII
Fon is someone who comes from a long line of strong martial artists, hailed as one of the best families in the Triads. Though it is not until he's seven that people start to realize he's more than a simply powerful budding martial artist (if there's anything simple about that), as he takes to learn new forms and techniques like a duck in the water.
Soon, he's being hailed as a prodigy. And in a couple of years, he's considered the best in China, which starts to worry the Triads.
It's not until he's turned twenty-six and is in the road of being known as the best of Asia, that the Triads use whatever leverage they can find to secure him in their group: his half-sister, Mai.
And while Mai is also an incredible fighter specialized in stealth and very sought for, she's still expendable enough to retain her in the hidden village where they keep the liabilities of their strongest members. Usually, one volunteers their most precious person to said village with the condition they can visit them. It's actually where Fon grew up with his sister as they were the liability of their mother.
However, they knew Fon wouldn't accept that kind of life for his sister; she is a reversed Cloud, after all. Without her freedom, she'll slowly become a shell of herself. And while she'll be safe… her happiness is another matter altogether.
So they escaped.
"Did you even have a place where you could hide?" Harry asks after Fon has given them the basic rundown of Flames. Dimtr is silent beside him, though only thanks to the promise of a lengthy explanation of Flames, later.
Fon glances at the door, before looking at him with a determined expression. Apparently, the fact that they're communicating via thought is enough to relax the man. He's a decent legimens thanks to his animagus form and now he only needs to touch a person to hear their thoughts. So, before the serious talk started, Harry asked Fon and Dimtr to hold hands with him as to connect their thoughts in a better way and it has worked really well so far. It seems to be in his human body has made it work better as he can now communicate with Fon and Dimtr at the same time.
It still gives him a small headache, though.
With a small exhale of breath, Fon lifts his head higher. "My father is a powerful man in Japan. I made a deal to him for the protection of my sister."
Harry blinks. "Huh. So your father's not part of the Triads, then?"
"No. The family I come from is known to produce genius children because they select the donators of the sperm very carefully. Though I say donators when it's mostly a seduction mission they give some of the women in our family when they're ready to carry a baby." He grimaces as he says the next words, "It's seen as an honor to carry the next generation."
Without thinking much, Harry gives his hand reassuring squeeze. He then lets out a tired sigh.
"You said before that you made a deal with your father to protect your sister, right?" Receiving a nod, he continues, "You never planned to go with her. You knew from the start you would return to face the punishment… Right?"
The silence he receives is answer enough.
"I'll help you," he says aloud, mostly without thinking. Not that he needs to. He feels a connection with this man, similar to the one he feels with Dimtr, and he wants to discover what it is. "You will be able to enjoy your life however you want. I will make sure of it."
Before he can hear an answer to his promise, the doors that lead to the inside the house open.
XXIV
Harry threw the earbud with the lingua-ere that was in his hand with all the force he could muster against the green flames he had just come out of.
"Those bloody pricks, the whole lot of them!" he took a deep breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "What am I? A stupid circus animal?!"
"Please, do continue with your whining. It's oh so entertaining."
Turning around, Harry found Malfoy sitting on his couch, a glass of fire whiskey between his fingers. The sight of his raised eyebrow calmed him somewhat, as it was Malfoy who asked him (asked!) if he could remain in his house so they could gossip about the diplomats Harry was going to meet with when he returned.
"Malfoy," he nodded.
Malfoy rolled his eyes but greeted him with a 'Potter'. "So what did happen? I take they were worse than we thought?"
And just like that, his rage ignited. "Bloody idiots all of them. I think they just invited me to be their party's mascot. They wanted me to show them all my Phoenix form; the only thing they asked me about the whole time."
"They're politicians, what did you think was going to happen? You're probably the most interesting thing that happened in their boring lives."
"Yeah, well, I'm not a bloody attraction." He huffed. "I gave them everything and still they won't treat me like a person."
"That's the problem, Potter. You gave them everything. Don't come whining now that they ask for more."
I shook his head. "I—I didn't want it to be like this. I just wanted to help."
"Didn't work well for you, did it?"
Harry huffed, and his voice was somber when he said, "Yeah."
He thought in all he did these last years and how they were weighing him down. What did he gain from giving his all to the public? He didn't have a significant other to share his pain, his friends were all busy rebuilding their lives and some couldn't even look at him for all the memories he brought. He was getting cozy with Malfoy of all people. And while it was true he was no longer a dick, they still were frenemies or, at least, that was the word Hermione gave the two of them.
He just wished to… start anew or something. To go somewhere where no one knew him, where he could fly and let himself be, find people who loved him unconditionally and that he loved back with the same fervor. He wanted more.
"Do you want more?" a voice said from behind him. He turned around, startled, wand already between his fingers.
There was a chair covered by shadows in the far corner of his study. It was impossible to see the figure hidden in it, but he could feel how cold the air around it was, how it turned his fingers blue.
"Who are you," he demanded even as he noted the statue-like figure of Malfoy, sitting in the same spot he was, immobile.
"Do you ask for my name when it already sings to you?"
"What?"
"Hear, little wizard. What do your instincts tell you?"
Harry inhaled slowly, his hand never wavering, ready to at least a patronus in case it was needed, but he didn't. Not when the wand in his hand was vibrating so hard and the mark tattooed in the nape of his neck hurt so much.
It wasn't hard to conclude with all the clues shouting at him.
"Death?"