InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Light in Dark Places ❯ Prologue II: Harry ( Chapter 1 )

Light in Dark Places

By: Eilan-san

 

ooo

 

Prologue II: Harry

 

Every beginning

is only a sequel, after all,

and the book of events

is always open halfway through.

 

--Wislawa Szymborksa

 

ooo

 

Harry hated using the underground.

 

He imagined Lord Voldemort laughing at him - if he hadn't died over ten years ago - the famous Harry Potter, standing around with a bunch of muggles in a dark, cold and dingy subway station at 9:00 in the morning.

 

He sighed and tapped his foot impatiently as he checked his watch. The train was due in ten minutes to bring him back to London and he thought it was in the general direction of the McDonald's, but he wasn't sure. His stomach growled loudly. He'd been conducting an investigation into a dark wizard in the next county and hadn't had time to eat yet and -

 

He never stood a chance.

 

It was like it was happening in slow motion. He saw the mass of wavy black hair flying towards him but he couldn't stop it before it careened clear into him.

 

A split second later, Harry found himself on the ground with the person lying on top of him and books scattered all around them. He groaned and rubbed his head as his assailant rolled off of him.

 

“Gomen nasai… I'm sorry! I'm lost and I didn't see you standing there!” a voice said in accented English.

 

Harry lifted his head and found himself looking into a pair of coffee brown eyes and a sheepish smile. His assailant was a pretty Asian woman around his own age. She offered him a hand up with a sheepish smile.

 

“Don't worry about it,” Harry replied as he took her hand and hoisted himself off of the ground. Her grin was contagious and Harry couldn't help but smile back at her. “I'm alright, only a couple of bruises.”

 

“I'm really sorry, sir,” she said, assessing him for grievous injuries. She seemed genuinely upset at the thought she might have hurt him.

 

He laughed lightly. “I'm only joking,” he said reassuringly. “I'll be fine.”

 

She sighed with relief. “Good. I'm already running late and I haven't the faintest idea of where I'm going.” She turned to him, eyes shining with hope. “I hate to bother you any more than I have already, but…” she scratched her head, looking around the train station, embarrassed. “I'm trying to get back to the University of London, do you know what train I should take?”

 

“Um…” he briefly consulted his train schedule. “Actually, it's the train I'm taking. Number 64 on platform 5.”

 

He looked back up at her and couldn't help but grin. She looked so pitiful with those big, brown eyes silently pleading with him. “Please?” she mouthed.

 

He sighed, feigning exasperation, “I suppose you want me to take you.”

 

“Oh, I thought you would never ask!” she exclaimed bending down to gather up her things.

 

Harry laughed and leaned over to help her pick up the books that had fallen out of her very worn out yellow backpack.

 

He read the title of the book he was holding, “Anthology of Japanese literature, from the earliest era to the mid-nineteenth century, by Donald Keene.” He looked at her quizzically and handed her the book. “Are you a student?”

 

She flushed. “No,” she said flatly. “I'm a professor in the World Literature department, actually”

 

“Oh… So you teach Japanese literature?” he asked.

 

She nodded. “I specialized in folklore though, ancient legends and such.” She quickly stuffed the rest of the books into her bag and hoisted it onto her back.

 

There was an awkward silence. Harry didn't know if he'd said something wrong or if he'd done something…

 

“Do I really look that young?” she asked.

 

Harry's surprised look turned into a laugh as he realized what she'd said.

 

She continued, flustered. “I mean, I know I'm only 27, but still… you thought I was an undergraduate?”

 

Harry shook his head. “No, you don't look that young. I thought maybe you were a graduate student or something.”

 

She sighed with relief. “Oh, good. For a second there I thought I was going to have to hit you.”

 

He laughed again and she laughed too. She had a nice lilting laugh, he noticed.

 

“So, what do you do?” she asked.

 

“I… uh…” Harry scratched his head. Since she was a muggle, he highly doubted she'd believe him even if he told her the truth. How do you tell a normal person that you raid the houses of dark wizards to keep them from rebelling and trying to take over the world? He settled for a half-truth, “I work for the Ministry.”

 

“Really?” she said, curious. “What do you do for the ministry?”

 

Flustered, Harry checked his watch. “Uh… we probably should head towards the train so we don't miss it.”

 

“Oh! Right. Let's get going then.” She gestured for him to lead the way.

 

The train was actually much closer than he thought, and it was right on time.

 

Good, I can get into the office with plenty of time to prepare my report, he thought.

 

The train was crowded with people trying to make their way downtown to shop or to see the museums and the sheer mass of people made him nervous. He felt a warm hand on his arm and his heart skipped a beat as he looked at her to see her smiling reassuringly at him.

 

Why am I so flustered all of a sudden? This really isn't like me.

 

Oh.

 

She was the first person to treat him like he was normal in a very long time. In fact, this was the first person that managed to hold a polite conversation with him for an extended period of time without noticing his scar or mentioning He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

 

Even after 10 years, he still couldn't escape the looks and the awe of his peers. He heard their whispers, “That's the boy who defeated the Dark Lord,” or “That's the famous Harry Potter, you know the one!” Or his personal favorite, “That's the boy who was fated to save us from You-Know-Who!” Harry frowned. It's not like he chose to be the one noted in the prophecy.

 

She was looking at him strangely again. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, he decided to concentrate on the woman sitting next to him. Even if it was only for a little while, it was nice to be treated normally again.

 

During the trip, he asked about her family and discovered that she was originally from Tokyo, and still had family there and that she'd only been in London for a month. He listened as she talked about how she taught at the University of London and was excited about being tenure-track, and that she missed her family terribly. Harry's heart flared with sympathy. She was a lonely soul like him, and he welcomed the connection, even if only for a little while; and when it was time for her to get off at her stop, he felt sad to see her go.

 

She hesitated at the door. Turning to him, suddenly shy and blushing slightly she said, “Maybe I'll see you around sometime.”

 

“That would be nice,” he replied quietly. She started out the door when he realized something.

 

“Hey!” he called. “I don't even know your name!”

 

She turned back and he struggled to hear her over the din of the other passengers.

 

“Kagome. Kagome Higurashi,” she replied.

 

Kagome, he thought. That's a nice name. He smiled to himself and when he looked back, she was gone.

 

It wasn't until he reached his own stop that he realized that he'd never told her his own name.