Disclaimer:

I don't own anything concerning the rights to anything you might recognize.

Author's note:

Chapter three of my take on Blood Brandy's Vegas Vacation Challenge.

Just saying it again, I am NOT abandoning The Next Great Adventure. My muse simply decided that she needed a break from work and left her sister to beat me over the head with this story, along with a few of her friends to beat me over the head with a few others. Check them out of you like!

Publish Date: Feb. 14th, 2014

Update Date: N/A

Chapter Three

Pasts and Futures

Harry stared at Rachel for a long, tense moment before saying, "I think it's about time for you and I to sit down and really talk." He shook his head and continued, "No more secrets," he paused a second before adding, "Not major ones at least, from either of us."

"Go ahead and speak with your husband friend Raven," Starfire said gently. "Robin and I can continue the search for Donna Troy."

Robin nodded and added, "She's got a point Raven. We can take care of things here."

There was a long pause before Rachel replied flatly, "I suppose." With that, she grabbed Harry's arm and led him through the shadows and straight into their suite.

Harry blinked in surprise at the new method of travel he had just experienced. He grinned widely and snorted, muttering, "Finally, a magical way of traveling that doesn't leave me landing on my arse or sick."

Raven looked at him oddly for a moment before saying, "I guess I'll start by asking what you know about supers."

Harry shook his head and replied, "I've never even heard the term until today."

Rachel blinked in shock before asking, "Superman? Wonder Woman? The Justice League?" At the mention of each name, Harry shook his head, and finally Rachel asked, "What kind of vacuum did you live in before you got here?"

Harry shrugged and replied, "The magical world is almost completely insular. With the exception of first-gen witches and wizards, they tend to ignore the non-magical world completely, and my life until I joined that world was... Unpleasant, to say the least."

With a strong sense of foreboding, Rachel asked, "Unpleasant?" She had the sense that she really didn't want to know, but she felt she needed to in order to understand.

Harry hesitated for a moment before replying flatly, "My relatives were of the belief that they could, to use their own words, 'stamp the freakishness out of me'."

All of the windows in the room violently blowing out was the only outward indication of Rachel's emotions. Internally she seethed and raged for a second before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, muttering her mantra repeatedly in an effort to calm down. Finally, after several long moments, she said, "Alright, I think you should start so I know what I'll need to explain in greater detail rather than just a basic overview."

Harry nodded and sighed before beginning to speak. "When I was fifteen months old, an evil wizard came to my parent's home. He killed them before attempting to kill me. No one really knows what actually happened next, because he and I were the only ones alive in the room and I was too young to really remember it and he isn't talking about it, but somehow, when he cast the killing curse, it rebounded, or reflected, or something." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, continuing, "Anyway, it hit him and he was reduced to a spirit, a wraith. Less than a ghost, really. He ran like a coward, and my parents were now dead, so I was taken to live with my relatives."

And so Harry continued his story. Growing up at the Dursley's and his cupboard, his introduction to Hagrid and magic in the hut on the sea and his first visit to Diagon Alley and Gringotts.

Rachel snorted in laughter. "I'm sorry, but 'Hogwarts'? 'Quidditch'? Diagon and Knockturn Alley'? You people really seem to suck at naming things." Harry opened his mouth to try and refute her point, but she shut him up with, "Just continue your story, Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry stuck out his tongue childishly and then continued.

He spoke fondly of his owl, Hedwig, the scarlet steam engine called the Hogwarts Express, meeting his very first friend and best mate Ron and his best friend Hermione. His first year at Hogwarts and his first classes, making the Gryffindor quidditch team and his very first broom, his first real adventure and the troll in the girl's bathroom.

"We could have been killed, or worse, Expelled!"

Rachel couldn't help it, she laughed at that. "Have her priorities gotten in order since then?"

Harry nodded, still smiling, and continued his story.

Staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays and his first real presents, the invisibility cloak and the Mirror of Erised, which he glossed over heavily. Dealing with Norbert the dragon and the results of losing so many house points. Fluffy and the rest of the protections, and finally the Philosopher's Stone.

"There's no wood!"

Rachel's laughter made Harry think everything was going to be okay. Yeah, they had a lot to work though and to figure out, but he was really starting to believe that they would get there eventually.

His second year and the first time he met Dobby, the floating pudding and the jail cell his new room had been turned in to. Being rescued by the Weasley's in their flying car, his time at The Burrow and his first time meeting Ron's little sister, Ginny.

"An elbow in the butter dish?" Raven smirked before shrugging and adding, "I suppose that's one way to get your attention."

The flight over the countryside and crashing into the Whomping Willow, his first experience with a Howler and the failure that was Lockhart. Hearing the voice in the walls of the castle, Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party, the first attack and the Polyjuice Plot. The second attack and the worsening rumors, the dueling club fiasco and learning he was a Parselmouth, as well as the complete fallout from that event.

Raven snorted in derision. "That's exactly why I don't like dealing with people. They're all sheep that follow the one with the loudest bleat."

Harry couldn't really deny the validity of her statement, so he opted to continue his tale.

The diary, the fourth attack and Hermione being petrified, meeting Aragog the acromantula, and Ginny being taken into the chamber. Going with Ron to save her, meeting Tom Riddle, fighting the basilisk and actually winning.

Raven shuddered. "A snake that big?" She huffed before saying, "More than I'd want to deal with."

His third year, blowing up his aunt Marge like a balloon, running away and staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the summer, meeting his friends in the Alley, and the first appearance of Crookshanks.

"Nearly scalped him?! Poor cat!" Raven exclaimed. Harry just rolled his eyes the very Hermione reaction.

The dementors on the train and what they forced him to relive, Hagrid's hippogryphs and Buckbeak in particular, the story of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and the dementors at the quidditch game and the destruction of his Nimbus two-thousand. The Marauder's Map and his Firebolt, divination classes and coming up with new and inventive ways he was going to die.

"Really? You actually said that?" Rachel asked disbelievingly. "With a straight face?"

The Patronus charm, the effects of the Dementor's Kiss and Buckbeak's trial. Exposing the rat and his subsequent escape, the time-turner and the effects of his first real corporeal patronus, and Sirius' escape.

Fourth year and the Quidditch world cup, the riot afterwards, and the rest of his time at The Burrow. Malfoy the Amazing Bouncing Ferret, his first DADA class and the Unforgivable Curses, his letters with Sirius and the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, his name coming out of the Goblet of Fire, the school turning on him again and Ron being a prick yet again.

Rachel arched an eyebrow and shook her head with a sigh. "Why do you stay there if they constantly treat you like that?"

Harry was quiet for a long time, and Rachel let him think, and he finally said, "I just can't bring myself to believe that they're all irredeemable." He sighed and continued, "But I may not be staying there for much longer anyway."

Rachel tried not to show it, but if this was how they treated him in just his first four years, she didn't want him to go back at all.

Rita Skeeter and her venomous Quik-Quotes Quill, the effects of her first article about him when it shouldn't have been, learning about the dragons and actually out-flying one and how much fun that actually was after the fact.

"Fun?" Rachel asked flatly. At Harry's nod, Rachel said, "Fun for me is reading a good book or something, not trying to out-fly something that spends almost half its life in the air and can eat me whole." She shook her head at Harry, asking playfully, "What is wrong with you?"

The egg and the Yule Ball, Skeeter's article about Hagrid, and figuring out the clue. The second task and his anger at them taking hostages for it, saving Ron and Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle, the hate mail to Hermione and the explanation the the third task.

"A maze? That seems rather anti-climactic," Rachel frowned. "Then again, the second task wasn't really a spectator event either, from what you've told me."

The maze and taking the cup with Cedric and how he died, the terror of the graveyard and seeing Voldemort regain physical form, dueling him and seeing the shades of his parents, escaping and telling the world that he was back.

"It wasn't your fault you know," Rachel said in the brief silence following his telling of the graveyard. Seeing Harry's quizzical look, she elaborated, "Cedric. It wasn't your fault."

Harry looked down, still feeling guilt a year after the event. He opened his mouth to speak when Rachel cut him off with, "No!" Harry's eyes snapped up to face her stormy indigo ones as she continued, "You played no part in Cedric's murder. Yes, it was a tragedy and he should be mourned, but that guilt you're carrying doesn't belong to you." Rachel sighed and said, "Just think about it," before Harry could say anything at all.

His fifth year and having his name turned into shit, being attacked by dementors in an alley with his cousin, nearly being expelled and the close call that was the sham of a trial. The train ride and the new DADA professor Umbitch. The educational decrees and his detentions with the pink toad that left a scar on the back of his hand, and the plans to form the DA.

Rachel smirked and asked, "Please tell me she got what she deserved!"

Harry just grinned and continued his story.

His lifetime quidditch ban and the dream of attacking Arthur Weasley, his Christmas break and returning to Hogwarts. His occlumency lessons and the tightening noose of educational decrees, his disaster of a date with Cho and the interview in the Quibbler. Dumbledore being fired and Umbitch taking over as Headmistress, the Inquisitorial Squad and Fred and George's spectacular exit from the school.

Rachel looked flabbergasted. "A portable swamp?" she finally asked. "That's..." She finally seemed to settle her mind on something to say, and simply asked, "Why?"

Umbitch sacking Hagrid and attacking McGonagall, his O.W.L.'s and the scramble to 'rescue' Sirius. The Battle of the Department of Mysteries and Sirius dying, only to find out that Sirius faked his death and finally his arrival in Las Vegas with Remus.

Rachel was silent for a long moment after Harry finished his story. Finally she sighed heavily and said, "Well it seems I have a lot to cover with you, then. Let me know if you recognize anything." She looked at him and continued, "There's a lot about the wider world that you need to know, especially since we're married."

Harry nodded and replied, "I figured as much."

Rachel took a deep breath and began hesitantly. "I was born in a place called Azarath, an interdimensional realm that lies in between the planes of known reality. The people there are... Overly pacifist, and refuse to become involved in any sort of conflict. My mother was brought there shortly after I was conceived, and the moment I was born, it changed the entire reality of Azarath." She paused for a long moment before continuing slowly, "Azar, the spiritual leader of Azarath, decided that she would raise me herself, and so I was taught from a very early age to control and suppress any and all emotion. This continued for the next ten years until old age finally caught up to her and she passed on. My birth mother was given the duty of continuing my education, and over the next few years, it became more and more difficult to suppress my emotions. Not too long ago, I encountered my father for the first time. That caused me to leave Azarath and come here to Earth. Shortly after that, I became a member of the newly reformed Titans, one of Earth's superhero groups."

"We can cover the superheroes and such in a bit, but for now..." Rachel took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking away and saying, "What I'm about to tell you is known only to certain people, and none of them are on Earth. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone." At Harry's agreement she continued, speaking in a soft, quiet voice, "My mother might have been human, but my father is decidedly not." At Harry's confused look, Rachel elaborated, "My father is Trigon, a higher demon." Rachel looked down at her hands fidgeting in her lap and muttered, "I'll understand if you don't want to be around me now, you know."

Harry tensed, and Rachel thought for a brief moment that he would either run or attack, and began to prepare herself for both. She was thoroughly surprised when he snorted, then chuckled, then outright laughed. After a short moment, Harry said, "And I thought having Bella and Tommy-Boy as parents would be bad." He snorted again and shrugged, continuing, "We'll deal with that when the time comes. Nothing to do about it immediately."

"You aren't running away," Rachel muttered numbly, still in a state of shock. She had completely expected him to leave and never come back, and that was the best-case scenario she could think of. The fact that he'd stick around hadn't even entered her mind.

Harry sighed and pointed to the table where their marriage certificate was, replying, "That piece of parchment that we signed and put blood on? The one that ties us together for the rest of our lives? On that piece of parchment is a section, in my own handwriting no less, that makes it clear that we stick by each other, no matter what." He shrugged and continued, "I don't know about you, but people like me can't break an oath, which is what that is. Our own magic won't allow it. If we try, we lose whatever we swore upon, usually our magic, which has a rather high chance of killing us, or our lives." He shrugged again and added, "Besides, you are not your father. I'm not going to pull a Snape and blame you for something you had absolutely no control over, not to mention the fact that it would make me a bad husband."

"You didn't leave," Rachel muttered again. She really didn't know how to handle this. Mistrust, fear, anger, hatred, those reactions she knew how to deal with, she had many times before. It was easy now. Just brush it off and don't think about it. But acceptance? How was she supposed to handle that? What was she supposed to do? It was a completely foreign reaction to her.

Harry smirked and said, "Need a minute to process this?" At her nod, Harry replied, "Take all the time you need. I'll be here when you're ready to continue. For the moment though, I need to call and check in with everyone back home."

He stood and walked over to the other side of the room, pulling out his mirror along the way. He took a deep breath and called Sirius. The moment he picked up, Harry said, "I need to speak with Hermione." It took a few moments but when his best friend's face appeared, he asked, "Are you alone? No chance of eavesdroppers?"

"No chance, I'm sure. What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked curiously. "You're stressed about something."

Harry sighed and hesitated a moment before replying softly, "You once told me that you would do anything for me, no questions asked."

Hermione's eyes widened and she replied slowly, "And you know I will, Harry. You're my brother." She looked at him intensely for a long moment before adding, "What do you need?"

Harry sighed and said, "Sometime in the near future, I'm going to ask you to help me research something. I can't tell you specifically what right now, and I'll likely not be able to ever tell you why I need this information, but for now I need you to know that I'm going to be calling on you to help me with something huge, and you'll likely never be able to talk about it to anyone."

Hermione's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. Finally, after a moment, her jaw snapped shut with a click and she took a deep breath, muttering quietly to herself before nodding swiftly and replying, "Done." She sighed and added, "Harry, please be careful. Whatever mess you've found yourself in, it can't be good, especially if your calling me out on that particular promise." She shook her head and sighed, saying sadly, "Whatever it is, you know I'll stand by you, and your wife by extension, no matter what, right?"

Harry frowned and replied, "I never said this involved Rachel."

Hermione smiled sadly in reply and said, "Harry, I know you far, far better than you think I do. You might not have said it, but I know that's who it's for." Harry opened his mouth to reply, only to be stopped by Hermione shaking her head and continuing, "I won't ask, you don't want me to. But I will say this. No matter what, I'll back the both of you." She grinned brightly and asked, "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Harry grinned widely in reply and said in a high-pitched voice, "We could have been killed! Or worse, expelled!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, still smiling and asked rhetorically, "I'm never going to live that one down, am I?"

Harry shook his head and replied, "Sorry 'Mione, but it's not likely."

Hermione shook her head and said, "Go back to your wife and get in touch if you need anything. I'll see about coming by for a visit sometime soon."

After saying their goodbyes, Harry walked back over to Rachel and sat down. "Are you alright?"

She gave him a small smile before saying, "Yes." She shook her head and continued, "We still have a lot to go over, especially since you don't know anything about this world's superheroes."

The conversation the followed was rather surprising for Harry, learning about the various superheroes, their organizations and such, exploits and enemies and all of the stuff in between. By the end of it he was stunned that he hadn't really noticed any of these things, but then again, being in a cupboard and then at Hogwarts wasn't exactly good for getting information from the wider world.

All in all, however, it was a very illuminating discussion, and more and more Harry was wishing he didn't have to go back to England.

Harry sighed heavily, obviously thinking hard about something. Finally he looked at Rachel and said, "I need to ask you to do something for me, and it's pretty big."

Rachel arched an eyebrow at him and gestured minutely for him to continue, which he did, saying, "I need you to make sure no Superheroes go to England to try and help with this. It'll likely be reported as terrorist attacks, and it will be, just not in the way it's reported." Harry sighed and ran one hand through his hair. "If any superheroes come to investigate and notice the holes, they might dig deeper, and that could cause an entire mess of problems between the wizarding world and the superheroes, a mess that neither side needs." Harry shook his head and continued, "So to that end,will you please, please, do whatever you can to keep people from investigating?"

After a long moment, Rachel nodded. "I'll do what I can, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't hold much weight with the rest of the superhero groups." At Harry's curious expression, she sighed heavily and explained, "When I first arrived here from Azarath, I encountered the Justice League. Unfortunately, one of their members can only sense my demonic side and quickly assumed I simply must be up to no good."

Harry snorted to try and contain his laughter at her wording, which made her look at him oddly, which in turn made him smile wider and shake his head, dispelling the memories that phrase brought up. Finally he sighed and said, "So we both have out respective responsibilities. But what are we going to do now?"

Rachel froze at this. She honestly didn't know what to do, it wasn't something that got a lot of thought with the events that occurred that day, but it did need to be addressed. What were they going to do about them?

"When do you have to go back?" Rachel asked, suddenly nervous. She wasn't sure why though, she had no reason to be.

Harry sighed and replied, "I have to be on the train at King's Cross by ten in the morning on the First of September to make it to school, but I should probably head back a few days early to pick up anything I might need in the Alley." He turned to her and asked curiously, "Why?"

Rachel shrugged nonchalantly and responded faux easily, "I was curious as to if you wanted to come back to Jump City with me? Maybe meet the rest of the team?"

"Sure," Harry smiled. "Sounds like fun." He tilted his head to the side and asked curiously, "When do you need to be back in Jump City?"

Rachel sighed and thought about it for a moment before saying, "Likely sooner rather than later. I should probably get there a day or two before you anyway to let everyone know about you and make sure they know not to make fools of themselves, but having you just show up with me might be more amusing," she smirked. Shrugging and continuing, "How long would it take you to get ready to leave?"

Harry thought about it for a second, muttering quietly, "Well, I can actually use magic in the States, and I did pester her to teach me that spell, so..." He trailed off and stood suddenly, walking into the bedroom, opening his trunk and snapping his wand into his hand. He had done this once or twice mostly successfully, but it still took focus because you had to imagine all of your stuff going into your trunk. How well it packs is also directly related to how focused you are on it.

Rachel watched Harry curiously, wondering what he was muttering about, when he suddenly stood and walked into the bedroom and opened his trunk. She followed him silently, standing in the doorway, tilting her head in confusion. He seemed to be focusing intently on something, but before she could figure out what, Harry waved his wand in a wide arc and exclaimed, "Pack!"

Everything that Harry owned rushed into his trunk, all packed and folded neatly. Rachel's eyes widened before she smirked deviously. This had possibilities...

A/N – Here's a short preview of the next chapter!

Harry grinned widely and asked, "So this is the big brother speech?"

Cyborg, who seemed rather disappointed that their intimidation wasn't working, replied, "Umm, yeah." He turned to Robin and asked, "Wasn't he supposed to be more scared about this?"

Robin was looking at Harry intensely and replied, "Yeah. Which makes me think he knows something we don't."

Harry nodded and asked, "Hypothetically speaking, what would Rachel do to the lot of you if she knew you were interfering in her personal life like this?"

The color drained from the faces of all three male Titans and Beast Boy said, "Dude. You wouldn't."

Harry's answering grin widened to the point that it threatened to split his face in half as he said, "Oh, I don't have to."

Harry's gaze went to a point just over Robin's shoulder. The moment it all clicked for the boy wonder, Robin's head dropped as his shoulders slumped in defeat. The boy wonder sighed heavily and asked, "She's right behind us, isn't she?"

Harry just nodded vigorously in reply, his grin not leaving his face.

The three make Titans turned around slowly, only to see a very irate Rachel, who delivered an emphatic ultimatum. "Run."

So they ran, and Rachel chased them down and taught them the errors of their ways, all to the accompanying cackling issuing from Harry.