Chapter Text
Logan blinked at the sight that awaited him on his doorstep. Scruffy hair and green eyes blinked back up at him sleepily. A ragged blanket was draped over his shoulders and he was leaning against a large, wooden trunk. In his hands was a diary and a manila folder stuffed with official looking documents. A snowy owl perched on the child’s shoulder.
“Oi, kid. What are you doing here?”
“Um… my aunt dropped me off here. She told me to give this to a James Logan Howlett. Are you James Logan Howlett?” Logan froze. He was moving before his mind really had time to register anything. His hands gripped the child by the neck and he shoved the boy up against the wall.
“Where did you hear that name?” He growled as he pushed the child against the wall.
“I-I-”
“Where?” He roared, lifting the kid up and shoving him against the wall again.
“Wolverine!” Someone shouted, and hands gripped his arms. Insistently, they tugged him away. He struggled, but a moment later he felt a foreign presence in his mind. It pulled him into submission as it searched through his memories. Slowly, Logan felt himself calm. He looked through clear eyes at the kid he had just assaulted because of a name. A name that no kid should know, certainly. But still just a name. Currently, the kid was still up against the wall, though he had slid down to his rear. His snowy owl screeched as it flew above his head. The boy gasped for breath as he gazed at Logan with something akin to terror. Kitty and Bobby were both by his side and Logan could still feel Frost’s presence in his mind.
“Umm…” Logan’s eyes flew to the kid as the child tried to stutter out something.
“My aunt t-told me to give this to James Logan Howlett. I g-guess from that reaction you do know of him at least. Could you t-take me to him? My aunt’s already left.” Logan reached forward and snagged the documents and diary from the kid’s hands. Shuffling through them, Logan could feel his sort-of calm dissipating like the morning mists. He carded through the pages faster and faster, before freezing suddenly.
“Oh, Hell.” He murmured as he leaned against the opposite wall.
“Logan?” Emma asked from the open doorway. The frosty woman stepped forward briskly and snatched the papers from his hands. Logan was so lost he didn’t even mind or put up a fuss when she took the papers. Instead, he was too busy staring at the kid in front of him. His kid, he realized belatedly. His son. This time, Logan looked at the kid and saw the dark circles under his eyes. He saw the way the boy’s hair was wild and crazy but it was also greasy and poorly cared for. Thin, bony hands pet the owl; an owl that looked better cared for than the boy. The clothes the kid wore were several sizes too big and stained beyond help. The one thing that wasn’t torn beyond repair was a blue ski hat that was big enough to cover down to the nape of his neck. Logan had seen these signs before and he really didn’t like the story they hinted at.
“Um… are you sure you should be reading that? I mean, I don’t know this Mr. Howlett or whoever, but I don’t think he’d be happy if you read his stuff.” The kid said. Logan blinked before reaching around and taking the documents back from Bobby who had gone catatonic when he got to the interesting bits.
“I am Logan Howlett.” He said as he reached down to grip the kid’s hand. He pulled up and wasn’t surprised at how light the kid was, though he wished he was.
“O-oh.” The Kid whispered as he blinked up at Logan.
“Did you read what was in here?” Logan asked bluntly. The kid ducked his head in embarrassment before nodding.
“Good, that means I don’t have to tell you. Come inside and sit down. I’ll get Child Services on the phone. You’ll be out of here within the hour.” It would be better this way. If the kid wasn’t with him there wasn’t as much of a chance of anyone connecting The Wolverine to the kid. The name on the birth certificate would have to change though. That was far too blatant. They would also have to get a DNA sample off him while he was here in order to make sure he didn’t have the X-gene. Hank could do that. For now though, he needed to get the kid away from the institute. The farther away the kid was from him, the smaller the chance was for getting dangerously involved. Or to get discovered.
“Child Services?” The kid asked. He had paused just outside the door of the institute, owl firmly in his arms.
“Yeah, sorry kid but you ain’t stayin’ with me.” Logan said as he walked into the sitting room.
“I’m not? Then can I at least stay a few days? I can get into contact with my godfather.” The kid said as he reluctantly stepped into the institute with Kitty and Bobby following behind. Emma pulled in the trunk the boy had with him.
“Your godfather’s a wanted criminal.” Logan retorted. He could recall the name on the birth certificate and remembered the man from the news channel. How did the kid even get in touch with Black anyway? Wasn’t the kid staying with his aunt?
“He was framed.” The kid defended.
“Look, kid. I don’t care if he was framed or not. Right now, he’s a wanted criminal. You aren’t staying with someone like that. He may not shoot ya but the police might by accident if they think they’re aiming for Black.” Logan growled as he stomped into the kitchen. He sent a glare at Bobby and Kitty as he caught them staring between him and the kid again. They jumped and looked away. Kitty started asking the kid questions.
“Oi kids, hush it. I’m calling them.” Logan said as he grabbed the kitchen phone. He opened the phone book beside it and went straight to the ‘C’s. A moment later he dialed the phone.
“Hello, Child Services. What can we help you with?” A lady answered the phone.
“Some Kid got dropped off at my door. He’s got a bunch of legal papers with him and his aunt just left him here.”
“Oh my, now that’s a problem. I’m afraid we don’t have anyone free right now to deal with it however. Can you keep the child for a few days? We are currently a bit short staffed what with the fire at the Downtown orphanage.” The lady said cheerily.
“You can’t send anyone down to get him?”
“No, I’m sorry. We’ll be able to send someone down on Tuesday at the earliest. There have been a lot of kids misplaced and we don’t have the manpower to add to that list. I’m sorry but you are just going to have to take care of the boy for a bit. We don’t have anyone to send.” The ladies voice kept that merry tone of before but somehow it still sent shivers down Wolverine’s spine. Child Services were there for everything and while most of them were a happy bunch dedicated to helping people, they had all seen some of the most depraved acts of humankind. Abuse and neglect of your own children for instance. No, Child Services were no pushover. When it came to their kids, they had wills of raw diamond and the power to go through fire and ice.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll take care of him till one of you can get here.” And with that he, the great Wolverine, subsided to her will, the will of a Child Services Agent. He agreed to take the kid until they had finished cleaning up the ashes and getting their paperwork in order. He told them where to come after they were finished with cleaning up, and even what time would be best. Finally, he hung up and sagged against the wall; a defeated man coming home from a foreign land.
Logan wondered when the headache would go away.
Harry was nervous. No, he was beyond nervous. He was terrified. The first thing that had seemed strange was how the Dursleys had been happy when they had picked him up, joyful even. Harry had never seen the Dursley’s happy, or at least not around him. They were never happy when he was around. Another strange thing was that all of them had come to pick him up. Normally it was only Vernon.
Harry didn’t really notice though. He was a tad bit busy making sure his hat didn’t fall off and that he kept his gloves on. He really didn’t want to see their reaction if they saw.
Thus, he was too busy to notice their destination until they had arrived at the airport.
“Uncle Vernon, why are we at the airport? Aren’t we going back to the house?” Harry asked timidly.
“Nope! We’re going to America. That’s where we’ll be dropping you off before we go on an all-expenses paid trip to Orlando, Florida!” Vernon hummed happily as he parked the car and removed his considerable bulk from it.
“America…” Harry mumbled as he furrowed his brow in concentration. So, they were going to drop him off somewhere before going on a vacation? Briefly he wondered who he would be dropped off with. One of their business partners? Mrs. Figg?
“Move it freak! We’ve got a flight to catch!” Aunt Petunia snarled as she started grabbing bags. Harry jumped out of the car and darted to the trunk where he released Hedwig. He doubted the Dursleys would have made preparations for an animal crossing national borders into foreign nationalities. Plus, that meant he wouldn’t have to take her cage and could instead take only the perch and food stored in his trunk. Then Harry grabbed his trunk and hurried after the Dursleys. He didn’t want to lose them in the crowded airport.
Harry followed the Dursleys through customs and all the other airport things that Harry had never been through before. It was an interesting experience for Harry and he enjoyed learning the new things that came with flying on a plane. As he took his seat however he found himself nervous. Harry had never been on a plane before, and while he knew that they flew he had no experience with them. The closest thing he had was his broom and that was a thing of magic. How could this bulky, metal, tin can fly? Harry followed all the before flight procedures meticulously and gripped the armrests of his seat as the plane took off. Briefly, he wondered how Sirius was faring and if Buckbeak was getting enough to eat before they were suddenly in the air. And like that his worries disappeared. The sky was the sky and it didn’t matter how he was in it; he was in it and it wouldn’t drop him. Harry looked out of his window and sighed at the peaceful sky. It would probably be a long flight, but he didn’t mind. He was in the air.
ZzzzZzzz...
ZzzzZzzz…
ZzzzZzzzZzzzZzzz…
Zzzz- “Attention all passengers, we are nearing our destination and will soon begin descending. Please buckle your seat belts and gather your personal belongings. Thank you for riding Blitza airlines. Please enjoy the remainder of your flight.”
The old man shuddered before opening his eyes. Blinking he seemed to realize his surrounding and quickly got his belongings in order before buckling his seat belt. Next to him a certain black-haired child was doing the same, though he was much less well rested. Harry fought the urge to sigh in relief as that horrible noise finally ended. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and he blinked dazedly as the wheels touch the ground. If he had been more awake he would have mourned his descent from the sky, but now he was just aware enough to make sure his gloves and ski cap were still covering his hands and head. He had tried to sleep through the eight-hour flight over to New York but the snoring man to his side was nearly impossible to ignore.
As a result, there was one exhausted Harry Potter who was then forced to carry all of his relatives’ bags to the taxi. Harry had never known just why most people liked to travel light but now he knew. Those people who didn’t quickly discovered they had early back trouble. That or they hired someone else to carry their bags for them. Harry climbed into the back of the taxi with Dudley and leaned his head against the window; noticing that the sun had already set and that the sky was just beginning to lose its light. Within eight minutes it would be dark out. Harry blinked sleepily and the next moment he was being shook awake.
“Boy, wake up! This is your stop!” Harry looked up to the scowling face of his aunt. She tugged him out of the cab and forced some papers and a journal into his hands. “Hold these, don’t let them go. Give them to James Logan Howlett, you hear? James Logan Howlett and no one else. You’ll be staying with him from now on.” She said as she shoved him towards a brick wall with a large gate. Harry blinked and looked around as he started to wake.
“Wait Aunt Petunia! You can’t just leave me here!” Harry said as he spun around to see uncle Vernon pulling Harry’s trunk out. Dudley was still asleep in the car and Petunia was climbing back in.
“Sorry boy, but you don’t have a place with us anymore. We took care of you all these years and it turns out we never had to! Your father is still alive, and I refuse to have you in my home any longer. Your freakishness was bad enough before you went to your freak school and now its unbearable and a horrible influence on my Duddlydums. Good riddance.” Aunt Petunia said as she slammed the door and Vernon got into the car. A moment later and they were gone.
Harry blinked. He had always known they didn’t like him, but he had never thought that they would actually abandon him. He had thought… he had thought wrong. A sprinkling of tears wet his eyes and he rubbed at them, shocked he was even crying. Why was he crying over this? The Dursleys had hated him from the moment he had arrived on their doorstep. They had punished him and blamed him for every little thing; the scars on his back showed the pathway of his life with them. It was one of hate and jealousy. Yet he was still crying. Why? He wondered. Why am I crying? They hurt me but I’m still crying. Why? Harry moved over to his trunk and sat on it numbly. For a moment he sat there silently, deep in thought. Harry supposed he really did know why he was crying. For while they had hurt him and scarred him, he didn’t think they would abandon him. Harry wondered who they had tried to drop him off with. Did they really think this guy was his dad, or were the Dursleys just trying to drop him off somewhere? Probably the latter.
Harry looked down at the papers in his hands and frowned. What were these? Shifting through them Harry felt shock as he found himself looking at his birth certificate. For a moment his mind went blank at the sight that awaited him. No… this couldn’t be… his vision blurred, and Harry hunched over himself as he took in deep even breaths. Or tried to anyway. Harry didn’t know if it was helping but he eventually got his breathing under control enough to sit up straighter. Harry rubbed his fingers over the certificate, paying special attention to the seal from the hospital. Either this was a really good fake… or it was real. Hope blossomed in his chest for a moment before he squashed it ruthlessly. His father was James Potter, not James Howlett. This was just some stupid bid to get rid of him. That was it. Now he just had to find out where he was and get in contact with someone he could trust, like Sirius.
Harry glanced around. Before him was obviously a fancy mansion of some sort. It was a tall three-story building with a high wall surrounding the entire thing and its grounds. Harry blinked as he felt a droplet of water on his nose. Thunder rumbled ominously, and Harry looked up startled as the sky began to let loose. Harry cursed loudly before grabbing the trunk with both hands. He may not want to, but for now he would need to head to the mansion and take shelter there. Unfortunately places like this normally came with a very expensive security system. Harry wouldn’t be able to get to the door without setting it off and he didn’t feel like waking the occupants up. They were probably worse than the Dursleys.
So instead he focused on himself. Delving in and finding that piece of himself that just felt right. Shadows became realized and when he opened his eyes the world was nothing but black and white. The rain seemed to slow, and Harry could suddenly pick out every tiny aspect of the world around him. He jerked the trunk with him and leaned against the shadow of the wall. Moments later he felt the world slide around him as he suddenly slipped through the wall’s shadow to that of the porch. The trunk clattered after him and Harry winced as it landed on his toe. Harry shuffled the trunk off his toe and limped over to the wall. He slid down it and came to rest on the ground with his legs splayed out. He blinked tiredly as the rain continued to drum out a lullaby on the roof. He would just stay here for a little while…
This is already posted on several of my other accounts on other sites. Due to this site's growing popularity, I've decided to post it here as well. However, due to my general dislike of this site I'm going to continue posting this site's chapters last. So, you want to read more? Go to one of my other accounts on another site. Its all under the same pen name.