A Chance to be Happy

Hey! Two exams down one to go! I hope everyone else’s exam season is going well! Please enjoy this chapter!

Warning: Will contain slash! Possibly a threesome! If you don’t like that sort of thing then don’t read it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Harry Potter, I am making no money from this.

-xXxXxXx-

It was cold. He tried to make his body as small and unobtrusive as possible. But, no matter how inconspicuous he tried to be, their eyes found him. Cold, hard eyes that spoke only of hatred. Then the whispers started.

“That him?”

“Yes. That’s the monster.”

“Evil little murderer.”

“Should have been drowned.”

“Don’t want him near our kids.”

“Needs teaching a lesson – show it we’re not afraid.”

“It might attack.”

“Look at it weak and shivering, it’s not going to fight when it’s out numbered.”

“Yeah. More likely to kill us when we’re all sleeping.”

“Monster.”

“Evil.”

He huddled further into the corner, whimpering slightly, he didn’t want to be here. The people no longer looked like people, but like dark looming figures, with cold black holes for eyes, no trace of humanity left.

Then the Pain came, sharp thumps where the rocks hit, then hard more jarring pains when some of them got up the courage to kick him. More and more pain, spiralling upwards and out of control. He wished it would stop. Wished he could die so it would stop. Heart beating faster and faster, no end in sight. He opened his mouth to scream.

Harry woke up, heart pounding, drenched in cold sweat. He jack-knifed upright, looking wildly around him for his attackers. His chest heaving as it drew in cold air. A nightmare. A horrific nightmare, he realised heart calming slightly. He was safe in his cottage, not being attacked by strange hateful people.

As he calmed down and began to think rationally, he realised that his empathic magic wasn’t contained. If fact for the first time in months he had lost control of it, it had latched onto someone’s mind. Someone, he realised with a fresh wave of horror, who was still stuck in that nightmare. He could still feel the echoes of their terror as it reverberated down the mental link.

Gathering control of his ability he gave them the mental equivalent of a shake, waiting only long enough to feel them come awake, before severing the connection. He bound all of his abilities firmly to his core. He couldn’t risk another empathic attack.

Feeling nausea well up inside he ran outside just in time to collapse to his knees and bring up the meagre contents of his stomach. He staggered away from where he had been sick, in the direction of the stream, managing only a few steps before his eyes rolled upwards and he pitched forwards – unconscious.

Five miles away, in a run down little apartment, Naruto woke up abruptly half way through one of his regular nightmares. Instead of the sickness and dread he normally felt after a nightmare, he felt warm. As if someone had wrapped him in an embrace to keep him safe. His chest felt suddenly tight at the thought that someone was looking out for him.

Letting the feeling of being cared for engulf him for a moment Naruto wondered what it would be like to have someone hold him through the night to keep his memories at bay. He quickly pushed the feeling down, dousing it with ice water. He had no one, and there was no point in wishing for someone to take him away and tell him he was loved. It wouldn’t happen.

-xXxXxXx-

Itachi was on his way to see his mate.

This morning his mother had annoyed him with all sorts or inane questions. Were there any girls in the village he thought were pretty? What did he think of blonde vs brunette? Had he noticed how well that girl from Team 2 had grown up? The questions he had actually deigned to answer; were answered in monosyllables.

What notice did he pay of girls? Most of them were silly, only caring about hair and how they looked. A lot of then also seemed to have eye problems, eyelashes twitching and jerking. The one time he had asked a girl what was wrong with her eyes, at the tender age of eleven; she had gone red and refused to answer. He figured it was one of those things he didn’t want to understand and had been ignoring the greater part of the female population ever since. In his opinion the only girls worth paying any attention to were the ninja, and only a few of them were any good. Well, them and his mother. Though, as she had displayed this morning, even she had her annoying moments.

He sped through the forest, heart pounding in anticipation. The petite black-haired boy, his Harii, didn’t seem at all like the silly village girls. He seemed down to earth, smart and wary. All good traits for a ninja. He wondered vaguely why Harii hadn’t trained his chakra. It was very strong, almost as strong as Itachi’s own, though not as refined. If he didn’t learn soon his chakra system would close up permanently. The strange energy source that the boy seemed to use, the one that allowed him to change forms, obviously exhausted him. It didn’t make any sense; any child in Konoha with that amount of power would have been trained from an early age even if their parents hadn’t wanted them to be.

Itachi arrived in the clearing, looking around he blanched in horror as he saw his mate’s torso slumped on the ground nearby. Not even taking a second to check for traps, Itachi ran as fast as his legs would carry him to his mate. Reaching him, Itachi threw himself down and pressed a shaky had to Harii’s neck. A pulse. A strong steady pulse throbbed under his fingertip. How was that possible? His mate’s entire lower half was missing. He took a second glance down at the boy’s body, no blood, his clothing wasn’t torn. Nothing, as if the legs had never been there.

Itachi grabbed his mate by the back of his shirt and pulled. As he pulled Harii’s legs began to reappear never extending below the space in the air where they had first been cut off. He kept on dragging Harii until the entirety of his body had reappeared. Scooping Harii up in his arms, face pressed into his chest, he quickly lent forward and waved his hand about where Harii’s lower half had been. There was nothing but air.

Staring in shock he didn’t register the body in his arms shifting.

“Excuse me. What are you doing?”

The voice was muffled, on account of its owner being pressed face first against Itachi’s shirt, but it was enough to snap Itachi out of shock. He looked down into the bemused, slightly accusing, green eyes of his dark haired soulmate, and felt inexplicable need to explain himself.

“Your legs were . . . er . . . well . . . missing. And I moved you and they . . . came back.”

Itachi realised with some desperation how silly he must have sounded trying to explain something, that even a genjustu expert, like him, couldn’t have produced. Half a body would have been easy enough, but a genjustu wouldn’t break just by moving something. Not only that but he had stumbled and hesitated his way through the explanation in a way that no ninja trained to give concise reports should, never mind an Uchiha.

Harii’s expression however cleared in understanding.

“Ahhh, I must have fallen through the wards when I fainted.” He stated in a tone that suggested everything was now explained.

Itachi however was still having problems taking everything in. Something about this boy made all of his coolheaded reasoning and logic, both natural and trained, fly out of the window. So in true Uchiha fashion, when unable to cope with the entire situation and range of emotions that he was unused to feeling, he focused on one detail.

“You fainted? Are you hurt?”

Harii, who had been rambling on to himself about wards and how to stop this happening again, froze. Then his face paled as he remembered why he had fainted.

“No, I’m not injured. There is someone nearby who is in great pain. I need to find them.”

Harii proceeded to struggle to get up, ready to go and find the person right that second. Itachi however held him tight not quite ready to relinquish his hold on his mate just yet. After all just a minute ago he had thought Harii was dead.

“Hush, don’t struggle.” Itachi soothed “Why do you think someone it in pain?”

“I felt them. I saw their dreams. So much hurt.” Harii’s voice cracked.

Itachi surmised that his mate had some sort of psychic skill. Harii was once again struggling to get free.

“I have to go. I have to find them.”

“Wait. If they are nearby, they are most likely in the village, I can help.” Itachi’s mind was racing. It wasn’t safe for Harii to go into Konoha alone. If he went as a cat he could run into those boys again and if he went as a human he would be topped at the gate.

Harii looked up at him, calculating, after a moment he gave a terse nod.

“How are we going to do this?”

Regaining his equilibrium in the situation, now he had a clear objective Itachi focused.

“Can you turn into a cat again?” Itachi queried.

Harii paused for a second, eyes drifting. Then he seemed to snap back to clarity. He gave Itachi a triumphant smile that took Itachi’s breath away.

“Yes, my energy levels are still high enough.”

Itachi wondered how he could tell when Itachi himself couldn’t sense anything but the dormant Chakra in his mate’s boy.

“Then I’ll carry you.” Itachi decided, “Once we’re in the village will you be able to find the person?”

“I will.” Harry stated decisively, “Is there anything I need?”

Itachi looked down at his mate, running his eye over him critically.

“Do you have different clothes?” He asked. His mate was still clad in the outlandish garb he had seen him in last time.

Harii paused for a moment looking slightly insulted and gave Itachi a glare.

“No. These are normal where I come from.”

Itachi stored that gem of information away to enquire about at a later date.

“Hn. I will have to get you some so you don’t stand out.”

Itachi took the opportunity to smooth his hands down his mate’s body, on the pretence of working out his size. Secretly he delighted at the shiver and slight blush he received in response.

Eventually he stepped back and gestured for Harii to transform. He did so and Itachi watched in wonder as his mate flowed between forms. He bent down to pick the young cat up, but instead it used his arm as a spring board and settled itself, purring, round his shoulders. Rolling his eyes Itachi set off, well at least his life wasn’t boring anymore.

Stopping just out of sight of the main gate he firmly tucked a protesting Harii into his over shirt, wincing slightly as sharp little claws dung into his skin. He carefully adjusted his plain black cloak and donned his ANBU mask before striding through the gate briefly acknowledging the slight bows that the Chunin guard gave him he quickly took to the roof tops towards the Uchiha compound.

He would find some of his old civilian clothes for Harii then help him locate this mysterious person.

-xXxXxXx-

I had intended to make this longer, but it seemed to come to a natural break here. So I’ll split this chapter into two and get the next part up by Wednesday hopefully.

Please review, don’t just alert! Reviews feed my muse, and my willingness to update quickly.

Hope your all have a great week!

Lintila. X.