Tintinnabulation
Authors Note: This story has a couple like it, that start the same, it's a problem of mine. I really like the whole Veil thing so new crossover ideas keep popping up. There will be more that start just about the same way, fair warning. Also, I have no idea where this is going, and I abhor posting things that aren't finished but I decided to try the whole "chapters" thing and was too excited to wait and finish before posting. This means that if anyone reading has ideas, they might find there way into the story so go ahead and let me know.
P.S. If you find any mistakes please point them out so I can fix, for I have no beta.
Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the worlds.
Arthur was scouting out the newest warehouse. It was a part of his job to find and set up the location of their base. He expected that this abandoned warehouse in the heart of London would serve them well. What he had not expected was to find a bloody body in the basement.
The boy was most likely a teenager. He had haunting features, with dark black hair, high cheekbones, pale pink lips and a gorgeous slim figure.
The blood that was splattered over him and the pool of it he was laying naked on is what was so upsetting. At first Arthur assumed the boy was dead and he had happened across the scene of the crime, but he could see the boy's chest rising with his breathing. Next he thought that the boy must be injured and ran to his side, ignoring the way the blood got onto his shoes and knees as he lent over the body, but the boy appeared to be uninjured. Arthur rested a gently hand on the shoulder of the mysterious boy and shook it gently to wake the sleeping figure.
Harry had been so sure that the Veil would mean his end. He thought that he might finally get to meet his parents, he would be with Sirius and Remus again and they would all have fun playing pranks in the afterlife.
Instead he found himself waking up in the basement of an abandoned building. There was a man shaking him, he woke slowly and blearily looked around ignoring the man for now.
He found himself shivering as he observed that he was lying on dirty concrete surrounded by what appeared to be blood. He looked down and found that his clothes had vanished and he too was covered in blood, although he couldn't feel any injuries. He did what any normal person would do in that situation and freaked out.
When the boy sat upright and began to shiver Arthur found him worried but when the boy began hyperventilating Arthur found himself panicking. He quickly removed his expensive black coat and draped it over the figure who was lost in his own world eyes unfocused.
When he felt the coat fell over he was jerked beck into reality. His head snapped up to look at the figure, taking notice of the man for the first time. The guy was dressed in a three piece black suit. His eyes were focused and he had a worried expression on his face as he stared back at Harry.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Harry was still shaking and his words came out in a mere whisper, breath visible in the cold of the empty crypt-like warehouse.
"My name is Arthur. We are in London right now. Can you tell me your name, what happened here? Are you injured?" Harry noticed the man's American accent.
"I…" Harry couldn't tell this guy the truth, hell he wasn't even sure that it all wasn't just a dream.
They had all been recovering in the infirmary and had initially been angry at being disturbed but the Aurors presented a mandate on parchment from the minister himself and they had fallen in line like the sheep that all wizards and witches were trained to be. Ron even had the gull to wave goodbye to him as he was hulled away in the flimsy hospital pajamas. They forced him through the Veil without so much as a trial, getting rid of the perceived threat before it could become a threat.
But Harry couldn't tell this man, Arthur, anything. He would never believe Harry and if he did than he would most likely turn on him too.
He decided it would be best to pretend not to know anything.
"I have no idea. I don't know, why can't I remember?" He forced his breathing to speed up again, as if he were panicking and let the terror he was feeling at being in an unknown place with a strange man to overwhelm him, turning his acting into real fear.
Arthur was expecting this. The boy had blood all over him and was lying in blood in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of November in London.
It was very likely that the teen had experienced something horrific and his mind blocked it out for him. It was common for people, especially young people like the boy, to experience amnesia like this. Arthur knew that sometimes people never got their memories back.
He rested his hand on the boys shoulder to try and ground him back in reality. The boy jumped and pulled away from him violently but seemed to be able to focus once more.
"Can you stand up?" Arthur kept his voice soft and calm.
In response the boy slipped his arms into the sleeves of Arthur's coat and wrapped it tightly around himself before standing on wobbly legs, accepting the arm that Arthur held out to steady himself.
When he got his feet to hold his weight Harry let go of Arthur's arm and tried to take a step towards the stairs against the far wall. He quickly found that this was a mistake, as his legs were no better than gelatin and he was falling face first back towards the ground. Before he could hit Arthur was in front of him, catching his falling body and sweeping him up so he was being held bridal style. Harry flushed but moved his arms to wrap around Arthur's neck.
"Look, you are in no shape to be walking anywhere, how about I get you to the hospital, hum?" Arthur was surprised at how little the boy weighed, he was certainly underweight for his height, and dangerously so.
"No! No hospitals!" Harry's breathing began to pick up again, remembering being dragged out of the last hospital he was in to be thrown into the Veil.
"Ok, calm down. That's right deep breaths. We won't go to the hospital, I can't see any injuries on you so you'll probably be alright. How about I take you back to my hotel instead and you can rest. We can figure out a plan from there."
Harry nodded at this suggestion so Arthur carried him up the metal stairs and out the building to his black rental car which he had parked right outside. After strapping Harry into the passenger's side, noting that he would have to clean the blood off the seats later, he drove 20 minutes to the crappy motel that he was staying in at the moment. He was staying there because of its notoriety for ignoring any illegal activities that its patrons might be involved in.