(Untitled)

[seek_to_end]

After two days, Hermione finally removed the metaphorical leash. It couldn't have happened a minute sooner. Harry appreciated the concern and liked having Hermione around, but at a certain point her worrying grated on his nerves and if she hadn't let him out of her sight, he would have snapped. He didn't want to, and had already said a few

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[little_moons]

I recognize him immediately. From the bits of that movie I saw, once. From the vague descriptions Sirius has given me over the years, the memory of it fresh in my mind since Sirius told me he was here, a few days ago while we were stuck under the mistletoe. More than that, he looks so much like his dad, a man that I met only a handful of times, but has managed to have a lingering presence in my life, regardless.

"Need some help?" I ask with a playful twitch of a smirk, pushing away from the door frame and crossing the room toward him.

[seek_to_end]

"Yes, actually," Harry admitted, glancing at the man with the barest attempt at a grin. He didn't like asking for help, unless it was of Hermione on a difficult assignment. But he didn't think working an old projector was something everyone knew how to do.

"I've never even seen one of these up close," he said with a helpless shrug.

[little_moons]

"I've been here a while. I'm kinda used to it," I say with a shrug, taking the reel from him so I can show him how to load it onto the spools.

"You're Harry, right?" I figure the chance that this is just some clone is pretty fuckin' slim.

[seek_to_end]

He let go of the reel without hesitation. It wasn't like Harry was going to do anything with it. But at the mention of his name, he froze. How could he have known Harry's name? Had he been wrong in thinking that they were safe here? He didn't think the other man was a Death Eater or anything like that, but how could he have guessed that he was Harry, Undesirable Number One?

"I am, yeah," he said, forcing his voice to stay even. "What of it?"

[fatalpride]

Annabeth was in the corner, as usual, deciding on which books to take back to her now magically winter-proofed hut. Now that the weather was colder it was probably better to grab a lot in one go and return them at less-frequent intervals. After all, she never knew when she'd be able to find the time to get back here. All of her books were heavy and esoteric, dusty and thick and written in Greek (to her relief).

The rec room was hardly ever closed, and Annabeth was good at tuning the noises of people playing games or movies out - but this time she turned around to see a teenaged boy staring at the projector like he'd never seen one in his life. She moved forward, setting the books down on a side table.

"...Do you know how to use one?"

[seek_to_end]

Harry hesitated to answer, looking at the girl and her stack of books. She reminded him a lot of Hermione in a flash, physical differences aside. It seemed like a very, very long time ago that Hermione had sat in a corner, picking which books to take with them on their journey.

The memory made him smile slightly and made admitting he was completely lost a little easier. "No," he said. "I've never even seen one before today."

[backward]

One logical consequence of not having spoken for so long is that Effy never had many friends growing up, and as such, she spent a lot of time alone, with only books for company. It's difficult to believe, even now, that there are worlds in which fictional people exist beyond the pages in a book or images on film, but no more surreal than the island itself, at the end of the day. She has to wonder if she herself isn't fictional in some universes, although she can't imagine anyone wanting to read about her life. Maybe someday she'll search the film reels for suspicious titles.

"You have to click it on first," she calls from behind, leaning over to check whether he's plugged it in yet, though she suspects he might know something or two about outlets. Reaching closer, Effy flicks the appropriate switch and waits for the familiar hum of the machine coming to life.

[seek_to_end]

"..Oh," Harry said, feeling like even more of an idiot than he had two minutes ago. Looking up to see that he was being helped by a very pretty girl didn't help matters, though he managed not to drop the reel or anything else foolish like that.

"Right. I should have guessed that part," he said, trying to carry on like he had a clue what he was doing. "Now it's just getting the reel on the.. thing."

[backward]

"Here," Effy volunteers, extending an arm toward the reel. She flips it around in her hands, taking a look at the title, and she can't help but grin at the idea that Harry Potter might enjoy the very same classics as his millions of fans were raised on. It's what makes this place so ridiculous, and at the same time, so interesting.

Her eyes dart back to the projector and after a few ill-fated attempts - she isn't an expert when it comes to this, either - she finally mounts the reel.

[seek_to_end]

Seeing her fumble made him feel better. He didn't laugh or look anything other than attentive, but it did make him feel less like everyone else had this down pat and he was the odd man out.

"Thanks," he said, flashing her a brief, slight smile. "I've never actually seen one of these things before. I didn't think they'd be so hard."

[curiously_cora]

"What are you doing?" Coraline asked curiously, tilting her head before sighing. Getting up from her seat, Coraline squeaked over in her yellow and red wellies before coming to an abrupt stop in front of the boy who was poking bits of the projector. "It's not magic you know and if you keep poking it then you'll probably lose a finger."

Coraline held out her hand for the reel as she looked at it and not him.

"Hand it over then," Coraline said turning to look at the boy. Oh, oh. It was... oh. "I haven't got all day there are places to explore, grown ups to avoid, Bill's to pester. Well, one Bill. Singular Bill but it still stands the-" Coraline realised she was babbling so blurted out a question before she could stop herself. "What are you watching anyway?"

[seek_to_end]

"Er-" She talked so quickly that she didn't give Harry a chance to respond, let alone process what she was saying completely. And he had the funny feeling that he was being talked down to by - what? A third year? It wasn't pleasant.

"Something about a grinch," he said slowly, handing over the reel. "And thanks?" He thought she was offering to help him, at any rate.

[curiously_cora]

"You're welcome," Coraline said taking the reel from him and placing it on with practised ease. She'd watched lots of films on this thing now but never one about a Grinch, one about a girl named Coraline but not that. "Um, sorry for being- I'm not being very nice. I keep taking it out on everyone, I don't mean to but then I just blurt it out. So, sorry."

Coraline almost sounded like she meant it but she also looked terrible. "Look, it's easy-ish. You just put this on here, then this through here and lots more stuff and then it'll work. For next time if you want to watch movies or something."

[seek_to_end]

He tried to follow along with her instructions and watched enough that he thought he might be able to manage on his own. It wasn't something he wanted to be dumb about here, without magic to help him along.

"It's alright," Harry assured her, but he sounded a little uncertain. He wasn't sure what had upset the girl and he wasn't sure he wanted to, as long as it hadn't been him. "Maybe you should just try talking a little slower next time? Give yourself time to think before you speak. Not that you were really that bad."

[c_thomas_flood]

Tommy stood, just out of the doorway in case of a mistletoe attack, and watched Harry struggling for a moment. Just watching, because it was fascinating.

As a writer himself, Tommy found the aspect of the island which meant fictitious characters lived and breathed amongst them to be incredibly interesting. This was the first time he had come in contact with one and, truth be told, he wasn't sure how to act. Of course they weren't the classics, but they where cult classics, so Tommy had read the Harry Potter books. Just the once, but that was all it took, wasn't it? Suddenly he knew everything about this guy, and now here he was, having to be helped with a projector. "Have you put the reel on it yet?"

[seek_to_end]

Harry snapped his head around at the sound of the voice, too preoccupied with figuring out the machine to notice anyone outside the doorway. He glanced back at the machine before answering, just to check that he hadn't missed something extremely obvious.

"I can't figure out what's the right way to do that," he explained, feeling helplessly stupid. "What's the right way to feed it in."

[c_thomas_flood]

"You can watch me do it, if you want?" Tommy offered, and approached the projector from the opposite side, so it stood between them. "They're a bit complicated to get going, but once you know how, you know for good."

He peered across the top of the projector at Harry in awe, trying to analyze his face without staring. "I'm Tommy," he introduced himself, wanting to hear Harry do the same.

[seek_to_end]

Tommy wasn't staring exactly, but Harry could feel him looking. After years of people staring at him, he knew what it felt like and he knew what it felt like when people were trying not to. Harry reached up to comb his hair down with his fingers, even if he knew the scar wasn't visible. It was just a nervous habit.

"Harry," he said in return. "Nice to meet you. And thanks. I'd appreciate the help. Oh, here." Harry handed over the reel.