InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "We're the running free."

runaway_cub (runaway_cub) wrote in snark_n_bark,
@ 2009-03-10 21:28:00

Entry tags:

complete, faelan, harry

New Places
Characters: Harry, Faelan
Summary: The search goes on.

This place was more like it. Lots of rooms with doors and windows, a large, private yard in the back. Faelan still wasn't really sure exactly what Harry had in mind, but this had to be better for an animal refuge than the tiny storefront they'd looked at the day before. Of course, Harry hadn't really been serious about that place.

Now he saw the man checking out a cupboard, and he wondered for a flash whether Harry was imagining the dark deeds he could do in there with...

Faelan cleared his throat and his mind of that thought.

"Looks good, yeah?"

(Post a new comment)

mussed_hair
2009-03-11 02:16 am UTC (link)

The location was perfect, but Harry knew Sirius' memorial account couldn't fund the land purchase unless he could talk the owners down by several thousand galleons. They were far outside of Hogsmeade, clear of Hogwarts, but one part of the land still shared a short border with the vast Forbidden Forest.

It seemed logical to Harry that a magical creature refuge might benefit from having access to an area steeped in creatures of lore and animal enchantments. He was sure he could work out an arrangement with Hogwarts, and he doubted that they could keep Hagrid away, if only they could afford the place. They were in the middle of nowhere, the buildings and lands had been on the market for years, but the purchase price had never come down, as far as Harry could tell.

The old farmhouse was sturdy, and from a casual walk-through, it seemed as if Muggles had never taken ownership like they had at Haven's Loft. All the magical conveniences were still in place, as strong as could be. There was an outlying barn and an attached workspace of some sort, but they'd probably have to build at least one more structure as a large animal habitat.

Although they hadn't seen it yet, Harry thought he could expand the pond listed as part of the property into a small lake to tend water creatures. He hoped to have most of the technical magic consulting donated, and thought he had enough power to shift a pond into a minor lake, but there was no avoiding the costs of another building.

Harry had never haggled for anything important in his life, and he was tempted make up the price difference out of his own pocket. As he looked over at Faelan and smiled, Harry decided to rely on Faelan's opinion on the place before taking a significant dip into his savings. There'd be no point in worrying about it if the land wasn't worthwhile.

"It does. Do you think we should take a flight over the grounds? I want to see this pond listed here." Harry held up the sales parchment and pointed.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

runaway_cub
2009-03-11 09:19 am UTC (link)

"Sure, why not?" Faelan answered, but he was wary. He could smell the scent of far-off werewolf and other creatures that might make it unsafe for humans, and especially wounded animals, to be nearby. Of course, if anyone knew how to set up the right protections, it was Harry, and maybe Remus could help too. Otherwise, the place seemed okay.

As he followed Harry outside, he asked, "So what do you really plan to do with this place? Are you going to start working here? Are you going to..." Faelan trailed off for a second and then pushed on, trying to get at a nagging feeling he'd had ever since he'd found out about Harry and Oliver being together. "...live here?"

When people became a couple, they always moved somewhere else to be together. What if that happened with Harry and he decided to get rid of Haven's Loft? Then he and his brother would be together and he would be...nowhere.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mussed_hair
2009-03-11 06:00 pm UTC (link)

Harry stopped cold and only Faelan's reflexes kept them from colliding. It took him a few moments to understand what Faelan was really asking, the very idea being completely foreign to Harry.

"No," he said slowly, facing Faelan and watching him carefully. "I would never leave the Loft. It's our home. I might work here, yeah, but- no. No. Why would you think that?"

His heart started pounding erratically. If Faelan wanted Haven's Loft to himself, Harry knew he wouldn't deny his charge anything, even though it would set Harry completely adrift.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

runaway_cub
2009-03-11 07:38 pm UTC (link)

The utter perplexity in Harry's voice and face answered the question immediately and Faelan relaxed his shoulders, which he had not realized were tense. "No, no reason. I mean...I don't know." Glancing away from Harry's eyes, Faelan stuffed his hands in the pockets of the leather jacket that had been his first gift from Sirius. Well, besides refuge. And food.

"Just, you and...Oliver. Together now. I thought maybe..." He smiled sheepishly. "I don't know."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mussed_hair
2009-03-11 10:02 pm UTC (link)

"Together?" Harry's eyebrows were in his fringe and he had to look away to hide the flush he could feel creeping over his cheeks. If he hadn't thought Oliver was relentless before, Harry would now. "I don't know what your brother told you, but it sounds like he's a little ahead of himself. I said I'd agree to see him if you were all right with it."

He glanced at Faelan from under his lowered eyelashes, feeling unsure all over again. "What do you think? I- I'm not going to go any further with Oliver if it's going to make you upset or- or feel insecure. Like you won't have a place to live or something."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

runaway_cub
2009-03-11 10:13 pm UTC (link)

"Oh," Faelan answered bluntly. So they weren't together...yet. That was just like him, always jumping to conclusions. He felt stupid, and felt his face turning red. Why had he thought the relationship was further along than it was? Maybe because of how important it had seemed to Oliver. He may have been separated from his brother for a long, long time, but he still knew the look of longing in Oliver's face when he saw it. It was the same way he'd used to stare at the wireless during the Quidditch Cup when they were kids. Oliver wanted this.

"Well, I..." Faelan looked up at Harry's face. "You can't make that choice because of me. I'll be fine," he said, shaking his head, "no matter what."

I always am.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mussed_hair
2009-03-12 12:07 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, actually, I can," Harry said, folding his arms over his chest. He'd received the same advice from more than one person that he trusted, to not consider Faelan's feelings over his own, but Harry couldn't go against his fundamental nature. "If you're not sure, that's one thing, but I'm not about to go off with your brother if it will make you think you're not wanted. I couldn't be happy that way."

Harry chanced reaching out to grip Faelan's shoulder. "Sirius left us together. I like your brother-" Putting voice to it made Harry realise just how much he had been missing Oliver lately, but it didn't deter him from continuing. "Rather a lot, actually. But if you think I'm taking him from you, or that you won't be a part of my family anymore-"

He shook his head, not wanting to speak the words aloud. After all this time and struggle, Harry hoped that Faelan would know better.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

runaway_cub
2009-03-12 12:22 pm UTC (link)

Faelan couldn't answer. He hadn't felt like anybody's family for a long time, until Sirius and Harry and Gaius. They had become a family, until it had fallen apart. But something about the look in Harry's eyes made Faelan remember that it wasn't gone. Even if Sirius was beyond them, and Gaius had moved on, it didn't mean they weren't still a family. Harry was here, and he certainly acted toward him like a brother. Didn't Harry keep feeding him and saying that he wanted them to stay together at Haven's Loft? Didn't Harry take him every full moon to the island, risking himself, to protect him?

Hearing Harry call him his family out loud, thinking about the tiny shards of his remaining family coming together, but knowing that Harry and Oliver both would give up what they wanted if Faelan only said the word, for no other reason than they didn't want Faelan to be unhappy...

Faelan blinked, and reached up to press his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"No," he said hoarsely, "I'm good." With a silent but mortifying sniff, he lifted his chin high and gave Harry a firm nod. "I'm good."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mussed_hair
2009-03-13 04:11 am UTC (link)

Harry's first instinct was to look away and let Faelan be for a few minutes. But then he thought of Sirius, and the fact that Sirius had often ignored Harry's protests of being fine in favour of warm, leather-scented hugs. In hindsight, Harry wished he had opened himself up to more of them, but hindsight was a bastard and Faelan, at least, was still among the living.

Faelan was also taller, so the hug was awkward right from the start, but Harry didn't let go no matter how loud his mind screamed at him. He had a feeling that if he didn't do this, few others would, and the memory of the comfort Sirius always brought him made him want to give the same to Faelan. If the other man wanted it. A few seconds later, though, with Faelan still stiff as a board, Harry nervously thought that he should have worn his leathers instead of a jumper and warming charms.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

runaway_cub
2009-03-14 08:22 pm UTC (link)

The hug took Faelan by complete surprise. He wasn't a stranger to the gesture anymore, but it was never something he was entirely comfortable with...except with Padma. But since she'd been gone, it had been a while since anyone had embraced him, and for a brief moment, all of the loss caught up with him, washing over him in a wave of anguish.

At least he was feeling, but it hurt.

When he realized that Harry was serious, that it wasn't just a fleeting gesture, he relaxed slowly, lifted his arms around the other man's shoulders, and accepted the comfort that Harry was offering.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mussed_hair
2009-03-15 12:07 am UTC (link)

Harry held on tighter for a moment when Faelan shifted, feeling as if their relationship had shifted as well. When he finally pulled back, he smiled and bumped his shoulder into Faelan's as he passed the other man and headed for the brooms.

"C'mon. I want to know what you think of the rest of the property." If Harry was going to have to fight for the land, he wanted to be sure it was the perfect site. Moreover, if Faelan liked it, too, they'd have an excuse to spend more time together in the future.

And Harry found himself wanting that future more than anything.

(Reply to this) (Parent)