Avatar of the Occuria

Disclaimer; I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy. I take no claim for either of these Universes.

Warning; This will be Slash. Harry/Vaan most probably. It will involve scenes of that nature though only up to and including an M-rating. It will also contain scenes of a Violent and Bloody nature and this chapter involves mentions of Abuse and Neglect. Please do not read if this offends or upsets you. I will not accept reviews whining about these points.

Chapter 1; A Brother in all but blood.

Harry didn't know how to feel. He knew no different but the pain in his body was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He'd seen something that he didn't think he's Uncle ever wanted him to have seen and it had happened on his first day at school. He'd spent the whole day confused, being picked on and with practiced ease hid his bruises and limp just like he thought everybody else was doing. He wasn't like Dudley, nobody was as perfect as Dudley and he had known that. Everybody else hid the same secrets as Harry, it was the way his Uncle had brought him up. Raised him with the knowledge that he had to play the game that every other child would. Hide the wounds and never speak of his home life.

But he wasn't supposed to have seen the love on the faces of the parents as they collected their children at the end of the day. He wasn't supposed to see the hugs and the kisses as they fawned over them just like his Aunt did to Dudley. He'd stared at them all in shock, the only one there who didn't have a mother fawning over him, asking him about his day and it had hurt.

But the last straw for his poor heart was when his Uncle had grabbed his arm and thrown him into the back of the car. He'd seen the faces of the parents then, staring in horror at his Uncle as if he was the bad person and not Harry. They'd leaned in to whisper to each other while they watched his Uncle get in the car. They'd pointed with sad looks on their faces and he'd watched them all through his window as the car drove off.

He lay now in his cupboard just as he always did though he was in a different kind of pain then ever before. He was used to broken bones and bruised limbs but the pain in his heart hurt like no other. He felt betrayed, lonely and scared and he couldn't see any end to it.

The poor seven year old rolled onto his side as he cried silently and stared at his bloodied arm where his Uncle's tight grip had torn apart the skin on his wrist. He liked the smell of his blood on his skin, it was alive, it was his and it was a continuous part of his life more than anything else.

As he concentrated on the skin of his wrist it did what he knew he only had to wait for it to do. The skin turned red as blood rushed up under his skin and a bruise formed before the skin slowly closed over. It worked just like it did to shrink his ears when they tried to grow or to heal broken bones or bruises. Finally the bruise faded until it was just a yellow tinge to his pale skin. It had taken an hour but his undivided attention had drawn him away from his inner pain and heartbreak.

He let himself fall to sleep a few hours later as a soft song filled his mind as it always did when he was in pain. It was a song he had never been able to sing himself. It almost sounded like several people were singing but he could only ever make out one voice. A soft voice that didn't seem to be either male or female. No words echoed in the melody but it always soothed him and helped with his pain. Tonight though, it was louder and continued on into his dream like cradling arms.

Harry dreamed of huge waterfalls, endless oceans and gaping valleys. Sky reaching buildings, glittering cities and hordes of people. Floating airships, powerful magic and brutal wars and he dreamt of blurred faces and calming words.

"Be our Avatar, Harry."

"Find your Soulmate, young elf. Be happy."

"Live until we need you. Protect yourself and learn. Be what you want to be."

The voices reverberated in his head throughout his dreams, whispering words of advice to him even though he couldn't ever make out their faces. He started catching glimpses of a white ceiling and white walls within his dream and knew he was starting to wake up though he wasn't sure how he knew the difference between the real world and the fantasy images in his dreams.

The dreams and the voices faded completely from his mind for the last time as he woke fully and panicked as he realised he was no longer in his cupboard under the stairs. A steadying hand came down on his chest and pushed him back down and he turned to look at the man in a white coat. "Who are you?" Harry asked and shrinked away from him. His body didn't protest the movement like he expected it to and he took stock of the fact he was fully healed. The common feeling of torn muscle and bruises was completely gone from his body so he'd obviously slept longer than just the one night.

"Please, you've healed faster than we expected but you shouldn't strain yourself." The man told him though he seemed distant. Harry watched the man as his hand was taken back. "I have a few questions I need you to answer. What race are you?"

Harry frowned but the motion twitched his ears and he realised he must have been out for far longer then he'd guessed. For as long as he could remember his ears had been pointed and though his Aunt and Uncle had never discovered this it had always confused him. He'd been able to concentrate on his ears and get rid of the points but they grew back over time. His hand came up to his left ear and he felt the tip. He'd always known that according to fairy tales he was an Elf and those voices in his dreams had called him an Elf.

"I think I'm an Elf." Harry's breath hitched as he heard his voice this time. It was lighter than he remembered it. Gentle and musical. Like the voices that had spoken to him in his dreams. "Please, where am I?"

"You're in Archades." The man told him.

"I'm sorry, where?" Harry was beginning to worry but before he could panic he heard that music in his ears. Like the air itself was soothing him.

"You are in Archadia." The man told him.

"I don't know where that is." Harry told him. "How did I get here?"

"You were found on the Tchita Uplands by Imperial Soldiers. You were brought here three weeks ago." The man told him before seeming to continue on a list. "What is you name?"

"Harry." He told him.

"Where does that originate from? I don't recognise it." The man told him.

"I was in England." Harry told the man. "Where's the Tchita Uplands?"

"There is no place in Ivalice called England." The man told Harry warningly. "Are you from the Rozarrian Empire?"

"The what?" Harry felt himself getting upset and tried to force down the tears of confusion. The song picked up again but it didn't help as much with his scared confusion. "Please, just tell me where I am. I don't understand." Harry couldn't face the man and his words anymore. He rolled over onto his side, turning his back on the man. He sensed more than saw the man reach to pull him back to face him.

"That's enough for now. Leave him to rest." The voice sounded through speakers somewhere in the room and Harry heard the man mutter under his breath before walking out. The door closed firmly and clicked to show it was locked. Harry curled up into a ball and cried ignoring everything but the sight of the cotton sheets that he pulled over his head.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Seven years later

"Harry!" Ffamran yelled as he burst into Harry's bedroom on the top floor or the Draklor Laboratory in the private area that his family lived in. Harry turned away from the window to look at his older brother.

Ffamran, or Balthier as he preferred, was older than him by two years at sixteen and towered over him since Harry was rather short for his age. According to their 'father' Cid it was because of his Elven status. Their father had run tests on him when he'd first arrived and discovered he was similar in make up to a race called the Verra who originated from the south. By Imperial order Cid had taken in the boy and since Cid had very little time for his own biological son that meant that Harry had been raised by Balthier ever since he was eight and 'Theo' was ten.

"Theo?" Harry asked with a small smile. Balthier both loved and hated that name in equal amounts. He let Harry use it because Harry loved using it but woe be it for Harry if he ever muttered it in public.

"I want to go into the city!" Balthier announced while hopping up and down on the spot. "Father promised he'd fund your next Katana."

"Just like he funded the rest." Harry told him. "You know it's not him paying for them. It's the Emperor."

"I know, I know!" Balthier laughed. "What was it they say on your old world? Never kick a gift horse in the mouth?"

"Something like that I think." Harry rolled his eyes. "You're the one that always taught me not to trust them all."

"Hey, if they want to train you and make you more dangerous I say you let them." Balthier laughed. "Then us two can split and…"

Harry took three steps across the room in an instant and covered his brother's mouth with his hand silencing him. Harry could hear footsteps pass his door even if Balthier couldn't. The footsteps faded and Harry glared up at Balthier. "I worry about you, you know. Father doesn't care about you enough to save you if somebody hears all this."

Balthier sagged reminded of the last time he'd run his mouth off. Harry had stepped in to take the blame for Balthier's insult against the Emperor and gotten off far lighter than Balthier would have. He had the scars on his back for it but it was better than the capital punishment Balthier would have gotten. "I'm not ready to leave here yet, Theo."

"Is this that 'Put here for a purpose' crap?" Balthier asked as Harry let him go and stepped back.

"Yes." Harry nodded. "Every time you talk about slipping away I hear them singing in my head, reminding me that they're there even though I don't know who they are."

"But why here?" Balthier sat on Harry's green covered bed with a sigh and stretched backwards. He had a trim, well toned figure. He ran his hands through his short, light brown hair highlighted with blond streaks which was normally spiked up with gel. Harry's own pitch black hair hung around his cheeks like curtains hiding his ears and shading his face deadening the glittering emerald eyes and cat like iris when he was using magic.

"The Archadian Empire is powerful. It has unfettered access to most of Ivalice. When I finally find out what I have to do here it'll be easier if I have access to that freedom." Harry told him for the thousandth time. Balthier looked torn for a moment as he always did when this topic came up though this time it seemed even greater than normal and Harry knew in his heart that Balthier was planning something more dangerous than normal. Harry said the scripted words nevertheless. "Be sure to think of me once you're gone though."

Balthier looked up in surprise even though Harry always said it and that proved Harry's feelings all the more. "Let's go shopping." Balthier announced as he jumped up seeing the suspicious light in Harry's eyes. Harry's ability to make people spill their secrets hadn't been perfected yet but it was strong enough to maybe get something from him if he asked.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

That night

Balthier sat at the controls of the newly christened Strahl. He and Harry had picked the name years ago when they were nine and eleven and Balthier used to tell Harry bed time stories; stories of Ivalice so that Harry didn't feel so out of place. Balthier felt that it was the perfect name for this brand new ship that he was about to steal right out of Draklor Laboratory with his father's security clearance.

He cried as the ship took to a hover and couldn't help but feel like he was abandoning Harry. He knew he'd never be able to talk Harry into deserting the Empire…yet…but it still hurt to leave when he could stay with Harry. But he didn't know how long he could play his part in the Empire without slipping up and that had already cost Harry so much the last time and he didn't want to risk it again. Harry was the most important person in the world to him since his mother had passed away and Balthier would do anything to protect him, even if that meant leaving.

Harry would climb through the ranks of the Empire like none before him and soon be in a position to do what he was dropped on this planet to do. When that time came, Balthier wouldn't let being a Pirate stand in the way of helping his little brother out. All the same though he wished he was more certain that Harry would forgive him for this.

The Strahl shot up into the clouds in the middle of the night, vanishing from Archades forever, leaving Harry behind him. Balthier leaned back and heard something that startled him. He had a piece of paper in his trouser pocket that rumpled as he moved his leg. He pulled it out and opened it even as he remembered when Harry had hugged him just before going to bed for the night. The little devil had slipped it in his pocket!

'With all my heart I believe, just as you do, that Love of Life is more important than Duty to the Empire. With you goes my heart, my love and all my confidence. Be safe and know that you'll always be Theo, my brother in all but blood.'

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter

A/N; Just a teaser, I'll update a few other stories before I post the next chapter which will be at the start of the film. Think of this as a trailer. Oh and if I read one review moaning about starting another story I will explode! I'm writing what I want so deal with it!