Fic: a Different Kind of Friendship (HP/CSI:NY, gen)
Title: A Different Kind of Friendship
Author: loonie_lupin (ff. net)/nilitara (livejournal)
Fandom: HP, CSI :NY
Characters/pairing : Harry Potter, Adam Ross (friendship only)
Rating: PG
Summary: Harry decides it’s time for Adam to know everything.
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 054. Air.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
Prompt table
A Different Kind of Friendship - main entry
054. Air.
Thankfully, Adam was not the kind of person to hold a grudge. He had been mad for all of a few hours after Harry told him that Mac and he had gone to arrest the killer with the rest of the Aurors. Adam had hated that Harry put himself in danger like this and the wizard could understand, especially when Adam had never been around him during the years where danger had been normal for him. Sure, Adam knew he had been through a lot but he didn’t know the specific and that meant he wasn’t aware of just what kind of situation Harry was used to.
Harry had been hesitating for a while now. He had opened up to Adam about a lot. He had told him a few things concerning the final battle, he had talked about all the people he had lost and had even admitted to the abuse he had had to put up with at the Dursley, something he had never done before, not even with Ron and Hermione. However, there was one thing he had never actually talked about and it was his role in all of the events that took place from the moment he came back to the wizarding world, until Voldemort’s ultimate demise.
However, with what had just happened with Mac, who was now aware of the existence of the magical world and would probably ask Harry to consult sometimes, just to see if one of their cases didn’t lead to something there, the young man felt it was time to really clear the air. It was time for him to tell Adam everything about who he was, who he had been, all of what he had done in the past. He just hoped it wouldn’t change Adam’s perception of him.
Adam had gone to work that day unaware of his friend’s musing and Harry had decided that, once he was back home, he would talk to him. Now, it was finally the time and he was nervous for the first time in a long while. He knew Adam already knew the basics of what he had to say, but he lacked the details and the details would change everything.
“Hey!” Adam said cheerfully as he came in; he didn’t seem all that tired and he was almost early, something akin to a miracle.
“Not a very long day at work?” Harry asked as he saw his friend practically bounce in the living room.
“Nope,” Adam answered. “Except for Mac, who had to fend off all the questions about the strange way our last case ended. I don’t envy him right now, Stella really didn’t look very happy to be kept out of the loop.”
Harry had to smile at that. Oh, yes, he didn’t envy Mac Taylor either right now. It was hard to keep such a secret, especially considering what the people he had to keep it from did for a living. However, such was the curse of knowing what amounted to classified information.
“I have to talk to you, Adam,” Harry said and, immediately, Adam seemed worried; Harry hated that his friend was still so insecure with him but he knew that you couldn’t change so many years of self-doubt in so little time. “Nothing bad. Just…. I think you should know about my past, everything about my past.”
Adam perked up at that. Finally, his curiosity would be entirely satisfied. He felt very happy knowing Harry trusted him enough for that and he immediately shut his mouth, giving Harry his complete attention.
“I never had to explain everything before, especially to someone who’s not part of the magical world, so if you have questions, don’t hesitate ok, sometimes I forget that something so evident for me wouldn’t be for you.”
Adam nodded. He knew himself enough to be certain he wouldn’t be able to help himself anyway, whether he had Harry’s permission or not. At least, this way, he didn’t have to feel guilty about interrupting.
It was a very long night for both of them, though Adam didn’t really see the time fly, not with such a riveting story to listen to. It was magical, both literally and figuratively. He had gazillions of questions running around his brain and he just didn’t know which one to ask first but he was aware that he had all the time in the world to ask them so, instead, he just listened, only interrupting when absolutely necessary to understand the tale.
Harry began with what had happened that famous Halloween night, the one who had been in the books Adam had read when he was a child. It was detailed, way too detailed for the memory of a one-year old boy and Harry told him he had seen everything through Voldemort’s eyes, one time their minds had connected.
He skipped the years spent at his relatives; he didn’t need to tell Adam since, after all, they had already talked about it. Instead, he directly continued with his Hogwarts years.
Adam didn’t remember his own school day being so full of adventures and dangers. The most he had been through had been the bullying from the bigger boys who liked to take him as a victim but, even that, had been more or less tame. He had had good teachers, who did their best to help the student, not try to kill them half the times, as Harry apparently had.
All these situations he had been in, Adam wasn’t even sure he would be able to handle them at his age, never mind as a child. However, Harry had handled them, had grown up and had ended up being the central figure of a brewing war the moment he had seen one of his friends being murdered right in front of him.
It became more difficult for Harry then, Adam could see it. The wizard was less comfortable, more hesitant, as he talked about the last three years of his living in the magical world. He could understand, though, with everything going on, with the war silently growing as the government did everything in their power to prevent the truth from being known, with the death eaters becoming more and more powerful until, finally, they attacked the school and Harry’s mentor died, leaving him the task of finishing Voldemort’s reign of terror with his friends’ help.
Harry talked about his year on the run, when he was considered Undesirable Number One, as he had to escape the Ministry, who at this time had been Voldemort’s, and all the death eaters running around, all the while trying to figure out how to kill the Dark Lord. Finally, he talked about Ron, Hermione and himself coming back to Hogwarts, where the last battle happened, the pain to see some of his loved one die so close to the end.
To Adam’s horror, Harry admitted having gone to Voldemort to let him deal the killing blow, as if was the only way to end the war and how could someone so young choose to make that kind of sacrifice to save the people around him?
Harry concluded his tale with the fight between himself and Voldemort and how it had left Harry a hero, with much more fame than he ever wanted to have. He told Adam how he had to leave England if he wanted to live and not just survive anymore.
Once Harry stopped talking, Adam felt emotionally exhausted but it was nothing compared to Harry. They both knew, though, that they would now be closed than ever before, no matter how many confidences had already been made in the past.