Coming Home

Prompt: "Serendipity"; Harry Potter + Death Note mash-up; drabble/vignette style

Premise: ...And so, Harry met L.

Warning: Altered Time-Line (adult!L and child!Harry)

These Vignette-style stories are a means to work through a severe case of Fandom Burn-out. I am not abandoning my fics, thus far, but need a break from Sherlock and The Avengers cross-overs, which is where the idea for these shorts was born. Death Note + Harry Potter do not belong to me.

. . . . .

As the snow fell, the world fell silent.

He watched, eyes fixed on blinding white, as the sky seemingly collapsed on the world below, large flakes of white indescribable from the sky above. A shiver wracked his body, and he tugged the coat closer, burying his frozen nose in the thin, ratty scarf wound loosely around his neck.

Tiny, gloved hands brushed at his mop of dark hair, brushing away the white clinging to the tips, trailing frozen trails down his neck as it melted. He huffed, his breath blooming in front of his face in curling cloud. Bright eyes blinked, wincing as melting snow dripped into his eyes, winding down his pale cheeks like tears.

The child crouched, huddled against the cold, his back resting against aging brick. For an endless stretch, he sat there, staring out into the frozen world, listening to the slosh of tires carefully making their way through snow clogged streets.

He was too cold. He didn't think he could move.

Slowly, a car pulled to a stop in front of his stretch of sidewalk. It was one of those sleek, fancy cars his aunt and uncle had so admired. He watched as the rear door near him swung open, and a head peered around the frame to peer out at him. A mop of hair, just as dark and messy as his, sat atop a pale face, with dark, heavy-set eyes.

"Hello, there."

His voice caught, nothing more than a whisper as he answered the vague greeting. "Hi."

"Aren't you cold?"

If the strange man, crouching on his seat, staring at him, could see his expression, he was sure he'd see the drab expression plain as day on his face. Of course he was cold. It was snowing, and he was stuck outside. Him being cold wasn't in question. The question was, who was this strange man, and what did he want from him?

The strange man stared toward the front of the car, murmuring too low for him to hear. After a moment, he reluctantly turned back, almost...pouting...as he lifted what looked like a plate of cake, feebly holding it out in his direction. "Would you like something to eat?"

He shook his head, his hair flying about his face. His nose felt funny, numb, as he wrinkled it in distaste. He had never had cake...his aunt and uncle wouldn't have let him...so he couldn't say if he'd like it. The man frowned, clutching his plate to his chest, and started picking at the cake, looking almost offended at his distaste.

"More for me, then."

A sigh built up in his chest, and dull eyes, old for his age, peered out from his dark fringe. "What do you want?"

"Well, mostly to get you out of the cold."

"...and what else?"

The man hummed, distracted by his cake. "No plans after that. Why?"

He shrugged tightly, fighting a losing battle against the cold seeping into his bones. With a heave of frozen limbs, he stumbled towards the car. Lingering just outside the car, wary eyes took in the man in front of him, from his messy hair, to his bare feet, toes absently curling against the fancy leather.

For a long moment, endlessly dark eyes met clear, brilliant green. He watched as a thumb slowly migrated to the man's pale lips, bright teeth digging into it as he stared, seeming to read a million and one things in his face.

Harry sighed a very adult, put upon sigh and climbed into the backseat, slowly shutting the door behind him. The man, with his wide, dark eyes, grinned at him.

...and so, Harry met L.

{end}

This was written in under 5 minutes, under the influence of wine, so is unedited/unbeta'd. So, massive errors or blatantly OOC moments are totally my fault.

Also, anyone who wants to see more Death Note + Harry Potter centric vignettes can PM me. I will accept Prompts, within reason: NO rape-centric OR sexualized underage prompts, please. I'd HOPE this goes without saying, but one never knows.