[Closed] Harry

[youngpadawan]

Another streak of light flashes outside and hells bells I am ducking and covering and heading for the nearest shelter. Big brave wizard scared of an itty bitty thunder, well yeah kinda. May have caused the thunder or you know it could just have been that the spell I was working just happened to time itself to a freaking thunderstorm and hey, it isn't my fault. Yeah, I don't believe me either. Harry's going to kill me.

Solo wizardry, this is where it gets me. Okay, so I should've known better. Me and magic? It's temptation and bad things and all kinds of dark side but the spell was just there and it was so easy. And yeah all I wanted was a little bit of magic, bit of age on Harry so he'd stop treating me like a kid and now, yeah storms and I'm hoping that's all that's gone awry. Road to Faerie is paved with good intentions right?

I duck, t-shirt plastering against my skin as the rain covers me and I run heading towards home. Harry's home. He better not be in, he's going to say I told you so and all kinds. And HELLS BELLS the wards. Apprenticing 101 Take Down the Jedi Master's wards before you fry yourself alive.

I mutter a word, slinking through before raising them up behind me. Storms behind me but Harry's home is ahead. And that's safe right? I couldn't have gotten the spell that wrong, could I?

Comments

[wizard4hire]

I had been playing around a bit with a new spell. I know, I know, that's not the safest thing in the world, playing around with magic. Not even for a fully certified wizard with the secret decoder ring and everything.

I was trying to work out a new locator spell, one that I could use with Molly that wouldn't require us to get a strand of hair or something every time I needed to find her or she needs to find me. Not that I anticipate needing to find her all that often, but you never know.

It shouldn't have been all that complicated, but something went wrong. I don't know what, but I felt the wards on the house drop and it felt like a lightning bolt hit the house.

That wouldn't have been so bad, but something knocked me on my ass and slammed my head against the solid block wall of the basement where my lab was.

I could feel my head spinning and I suddenly got dizzy, so dizzy I felt like I was going to throw up. I try to push myself up to my feet by the entire world is spinning.

Any icy fear grips me and I wonder if somehow, He Who Walks Behind has found me. It's been a few years since that night and everything went up in flames but sometimes I still worry and wonder. I had just left McCoy's place a few days ago to head to Chicago and I thought I had been on a Greyhound bus.

Things are still spinning but I'm pretty sure I can tell I'm not in a bus, which makes me feel like it would be pretty safe to throw up.

[youngpadawan]

"Harry!" Molly yelled, reinforcing the wards twice-three times as hard as she feel something slip past. He was going to yell, she was going to have to explain and then it was going to be worse than the sword of Damocles hanging over her head. It would be Harry Dresden's disappointed face, also the anger. Harry was pretty terrifying sometimes.

Taking the stairs down to the basement, I don't stop to change or anything. Kind of an emergency. Can blush about the shirt-water thing later. "Hey, I kind of did a- thing."

A Harry Thing. An oops thing. Oh.

A really big oops thing. "Harry?"

[wizard4hire]

"Ow."

Ladies and gentleman, Harry Dresden the eloquent, I'll be here all night. Not that I'm sure where here is yet, because my head is throbbing and now that my vision is clearing I can tell that I'm in some sort of basement. So we have a potential kidnapping situation on our hands.

Not only that, but kidnapped by a hot girl in a wet tshirt? Colorful hair, gorgeous, kidnapper? Check, check, and check she must be a Fae that can hide the fact really well.

"Look, Miss Faerie. Whoever you are, I have to warn you I'm a wizard. A very stupid wizard liable to do something crazy if you don't let me go. So... let me go?"

[youngpadawan]

"Hells bells Harry," Molly breathed out in a rush of words, staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. This was her fault, her fault and he was going to kill her when he got back to his older, gruffer, surlier self and not sexy model Harry. "You're kind of young and also kidding, right? Faerie? Please. Never going to happen."

Molly shivered, she'd blame the fact she was soaked and not the fact it felt like someone had walked all over her grave. "Uh, not holding you captive. You're Harry Dresden, you're my Obi-Wan? You're also kind of a lot younger than you should be and it may be my fault? Don't kill me?"

[wizard4hire]

"I have no idea who you are," I said. I wasn't sure what else to say though, because what she said made no sense to me. None at all, not even a tiny bit. Magic can do some weird stuff, my life has essentially been nothing but weird stuff, but this is weird for even me.

"And I'm not that young, I'm probably the same age you are."

[youngpadawan]

"If you say you don't know who Obi-Wan Kenobi is then something is seriously wrong with the force." Molly replied, looking at him intently. He really was her age, wasn't she? Which was different and maybe partially a success. She could count this as an almost victory. For her magic skills. "I'm Molly. I'm your apprentice and we kind of live together. Which is really weird now considering the whole age thing. You're so..." Hot. Don't say that. "...Hot. Young. I said young."

[wizard4hire]

She seemed pretty convinced of what she was saying, but that didn't mean I was convinced. Because I'm not. No way I have an apprentice, I have the Doom of Damocles hanging over me, they're never going to let me have an apprentice.

"Of course I know who Obi-Wan is. I have no idea who you are though and your story? Not even remotely believable. You need to pick better lies."

[youngpadawan]

"Good because I was kind of thinking you'd gotten replaced by an evil doppleganger there for a moment Boss," Molly said. Raising an eyebrow at his statement, she folded her arms across her wet t-shirt and made a face at him. The Charity Face, the one that always told her Dad he was in trouble. "Well, my stuff is upstairs and all of your stuff is too. So, I don't know what else I could do to persuade you that I'm not lying. I did a spell, kind of on my own which is technically against the rules, and it kind of went wrong. Clearly."

[wizard4hire]

"Look, seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not your Obi-Wan or your boss," I told her again. I felt like I was getting repetative but it's kind of an important point to get across.

"My stuff can't be here because I don't have stuff. I had a suitcase with me just a moment ago but now it's gone."

[youngpadawan]

"You're even more of a stubborn-" Ass. Ass. And she bet his was spectacular. And she was not doing this, stupid infantile crush on him. Really, you would've thought the crushing rejection would've gotten her over it by now. "I'm going to get changed. And get a beer. You're welcome to join me while we try and figure why you're here and why you're not him. Or are him and just young him. And what went wrong with the damn spell."

[wizard4hire]

Beer sounded good, I could definitely go for a beer. If she wasn't lying and there really was beer, then I figured the best thing would be was to take her up on it. Plus, she seemed to be sticking with the idea that she was telling the truth, which was convincing. Also, I've always had a soft spot for beautiful girls so... I nodded.

"Alright, a drink sounds good," I told her. I'd miss the wet tshirt she had on, it was hard to keep my eyes from going to that, but it was probably for the best. "And you really think you did this to me with a spell?"

[youngpadawan]

"I don't know, maybe? It was supposed to make me older, more mature so certain wizards stop treating me like a dumb kid. But I don't know, I don't know why it would hone in on you or act the opposite way it was supposed to." Molly replied, waving her hand up in the air in a fuck me kind of shrug. She really didn't know why it had gone for him not her. "It's not like you were doing some big working or anything."

Molly took the stairs up, moving two at a time as she rubbed her arms with her hands trying to insert a little warmer blood flow. If only they had electricity then she could have a hot shower, instead she'd have to settle for towels and dry clothes. And hope her piercings would finally stop trying to announce their presence everywhere.

[wizard4hire]

"I was riding on a bus," I informed her. I was pretty sure that absolved me of any blame, although if what she said was true I don't know what older me was doing so who knew. Maybe this was all my fault.

As we climbed the stairs I politely kept my eyes on the steps and not on the view in front of me, no matter how tempting it was to look. If this girl could pull me through time and space I really didn't want to piss her off.

"Is there a fireplace? I can start a fire. I mean, you're obviously cold. Or, uh, you look cold. Rubbing your arms."

[youngpadawan]

"That is why you get paid the big bucks," Molly replied, biting her bottom lip ring with her teeth and smiling as she thought about a nice, big roaring fire. And not thinking about the fantasies that usually went with that. That was what got her into trouble in the first place, being naked in front of Harry and him turning her away. "Yeah, there is and yeah, I am. Got caught in the freak thunderstorm we seem to also be having. Not the best when you're a wizard and can't have a good long, hot shower just pounding against you."

[wizard4hire]

"I really miss hot showers," I agreed. Being a wizard came with a lot of really, really cool perks but making hot showers difficult to take was something I really missed. And I was not going to think about this girl in the shower.

"I'll get a fire going and you shower, okay?"

[youngpadawan]

"Beer is there, also I kind of wouldn't mess with the wards because well if you break them you bought them. Yours-Harry's wards are intense," Molly replied, nodding as she showed him the fire and touched his arm to indicate where the beer was and then where she would be. She was not going to think about the line of muscle beneath her fingertips or how, young, Harry was. And hot. Definitely not thinking that one over.

Wandering over to the bathroom, Molly grabbed a towel on the way past and headed in kicking the door behind her. She was- Harry was going to kill her and she just needed to figure out how to get this Harry to trust her or at least not want to run and leave her stuck in this mess without the older Harry to help and guide.

Stepping into the shower Molly let out a yelp as she stepped under the spray. Worse than the rain.

[wizard4hire]

Starting the fire was something I could easily do that would take my mind off of my situation for a moment. The wood was all right there and it was pretty easy to get it starting, what with being a wizard and all. My biggest problem would be not making too much fire when I ignited it.

Once that was done I was left with my own thoughts and a beer I found in the icebox. The house was nice and I have to admit it was more modern seeming than what I was used to. Once I got out of here I could go and find out what year it is and that would pretty much confirm what the girl had been saying. If it was true I wasn't sure what I would do. Make her reverse it? That seemed pretty risky to me.

[youngpadawan]

She had no idea what she was going to do. This was all her fault and she did not know how to fix it so Harry, fuck the cold bitch with iron he was so young, and she did not know how she was going to sort that problem out. She wasn't even sure if he would know either.

"Ugh!" Molly groaned loudly in frustration as she leaned back against the shower tiles. Arching her back so the water ran down her body, she kept her head out of the spray as she tried to think. Maybe it would wear off. Or maybe they could figure it out. She had to hope.

Coming out the shower, Molly wrapped herself tightly in towels and rubbed warmth back into her arms. Leaving the pile of clothes on the floor, she unlocked the bathroom door and padded out like she always did. It wasn't like Harry ever noticed her. Even when she was completely naked.

"So, on a scale of beginner to experienced, how good are you?" Molly asked, looking at Harry sat with a beer. Young Harry. Hot Harry. Bad thoughts. "At magic."

[wizard4hire]

"Somewhere in the middle?" I said, looking up at her and then immediately looking back down. Realistically, she was more covered than if she wore a bathing suit or something, but I could still feel my face flush. Especially since with how tall she was, the towel threatened to be too short to properly cover everything.

"I'm not a beginner, but I know I'm a long, long way off from being experienced. The wards on this house are beyond me. They're similar to what I could do but a lot better."

[youngpadawan]

"Shit, I was kind of hoping you'd say somewhere around an eight." Molly said, leaning across to reach for a beer. Gripping the towel tightly at the top to avoid anything going awry, Molly straightened and looked at Harry flushing. Huh, that was new? Was he flushing because of her or the alcohol? "They're your wards, I might have bumped them up a little bit. I felt a disturbance in the force so I kind of whacked them up. So, what do you think happened? What do you think I did wrong?"

Molly opened the beer, taking a mouthful with a pleased little sigh.

[wizard4hire]

"I think you tried to do a really stupid spell," I told her, still not looking directly at her no matter how tempting that was. She may be comfortable with her current state of undress but I certainly wasn't.

"And if I am your mentor, it was really stupid of me to let you do something like that. Or I failed big time to convince you that's the sort of thing you shouldn't do. Also, you could... could you put some clothes on? That's really distracting."

[youngpadawan]

"Not my finest moment, no. Not technically my worst either," Molly said, relaxing a little as she stood. Okay, so there was no way they were figuring out this thing tonight not with middle-Harry and her skills. She might need to tap her magic sources and see if they had anything useful to share. "You kind of didn't know? And it was only supposed to affect me no one else. This wasn't supposed to happen."

Molly raised an eyebrow at him. "You're distracted by me? Are you sure? Because you once poured ice water over me when I was naked, in front of you, on my knees and hitting on you."

[wizard4hire]

I had to admit that maybe I wasn't the right person to be chastizing her, because it's not like I always played by the rules. Of course, with impending doom and death literally hanging over my head at the slightest screw up I tended to be really, really careful. Mostly.

"No, I didn't do that. I might do that in the future for some reason, but I didn't do that and just... I would really consider it a favor if you could get dressed? Please?"

[youngpadawan]

"Sure, if you're sure." Molly replied, as she let go of her towel for one almost perilous second to mock salute him. The towel didn't go anywhere but it was kind of neat to poke the not so grizzly geeky bear of a jedi master. "Just... how distracting?"

Molly grinned at him, flashing him a smile over her shoulder before she shut her bedroom door to get changed. She may have been teasing him a little. She wasn't even aware he blushed like that before.

[wizard4hire]

I sighed and leaned back on the couch in the living room near the fireplace. I pressed the cold beer to my forehead in an attempt to relieve the swelling and the pain there.

The girl, I realized I still didn't know her name, had to be a little crazy to do the stuff she was doing. Apparently older me could have stood to be a little more... something with her, I don't know what. Because I'm a terrible choice to mentor someone, which this situation clearly indicated.

As for her question? She was very distracting. That was going to be a problem.

[youngpadawan]

Harry thought she was distracting, this was definitely different. He'd never thought that before or if he did, he had far better control than younger, blushing Harry. It was kind of hot really, how distracted he was. Leaning against the door she glanced around her room before dropping her towel and going to find some clothes.

By the time she came out, she had finished the beer and wore her standard, Molly cybergoth fare. The only thing that was different was the lack of bra and the inclusion of a pair of evil looking bunny slippers. Thank Monty Python for those.

"So, I don't know where to start? Like what do you want to know?" Molly asked, bending down to take another beer.

[wizard4hire]

I wasn't sure what she had on was all that less distracting but I wasn't going to complain again. Really, she should feel comfortable dressing however she wanted. The slippers were pretty amusing though.

"Why don't you explain to me exactly what you did," I said, trying to sound disapproving but not harsh.

[youngpadawan]

"I lit my candles, set my wards, I cleared my mind and I directed my energy into a spell. I used 'mutare vetustioribus'." Molly said, simply with a shrug. The fact that Harry had cast his spell the other side of town had not helped, the fact she wasn't focused and thought of him, the fact the storm happened, the fact that she'd gotten her Latin mixed up had definitely not helped. Mutare vetustioribus, it meant change from the past and not what Molly thought at all. "That's it, it should have changed me not anyone else."

Molly nudged Harry with her knee, skirt drifting higher as she sat beside him and tucked her legs and slippers beneath her ass.

[wizard4hire]

I didn't know my Latin well enough, correspondence course and all that, to be sure if what she had said was correct. Besides, it was about the intent anyway and not the words. Whatever she did or said, it seemed like her intent was maybe to bring a younger version of me here, or make me younger. Or maybe something else interfered, I don't know.

The way she nudged my leg was pretty familiar and it made me wonder what sort of relationship my older self had with her.

"Wait, why were you casting the spell in the first place?"

[youngpadawan]

Molly's knee brushed along his thigh as she leaned back, relaxing into the couch. At his question, Molly looked at him with a guilty face.

"I- I was trying to make myself older? So, that someone would stop treating me like a kid and start seeing me as a woman," Molly said, giving him a look as she picked the edge of the beer label and slid her hand around the bottom of the bottle. "See, I was only trying to change me not anyone else."

[wizard4hire]

"You realize that casting a powerful spell like this and screwing up is probably not the best way to go about that?" I suggested. Insensitive, yes, but I'm the one that's displaced out of time here so I think I have a right to be grumpy.

Swallowing hard at the feel of her leg brushing against mine I shifted a bit on the couch to face her and put some distance between us.

"Do you have any idea what the White Council would do if they found out about this? I don't even know how we can hide it from them."

[youngpadawan]

Molly made a face at him, tucking a strand of pink hair around her finger absentmindedly. Looking up at him with a soft, apologetic look she played with one of her ear piercings to try and not feel the guilt.

"Well... then it is a good idea that there isn't a White Council here then isn't it? Or anywhere near here." Molly said, pressing her lips together as she crinkled her nose a little. That might have been why she hadn't felt so bad about casting it. And behind Harry's back too. This place didn't limit her and the dark side part of her really liked that. "We're sort of marooned here? No way home. Cut off from the outside."

[wizard4hire]

"What?!"

I admit, I lost my cool a little bit. This was a bit too much, because I had things I needed to do. Okay, not needed because the Souther Chicago Retirement Home could probably find someone else to help with dance classes. But there were things I wanted to do and those things were in Chicago.

"So not only am I in the wrong time, I'm in some kind of prison? What did you do to me? I don't even know your name and you've completely kidnapped me because you wanted to play grown up. AND YOU'RE ALREADY AN ADULT!"

[youngpadawan]

And Obi-Wan was pissed. She'd quote Yoda at him but she really did kind of feel guilty about the whole thing.

"It's Molly, my name is Molly. Molly Carpenter, you might have met my dad Michael?" Molly said, running a hand through her hair in frustration. Her shirt pulled taut around her breasts at the action, she looked at him guilty before sighing. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pull you into it. It was just supposed to be me. And the whole prison thing? Was not me. It's this place, me and Harry have been stuck here for a while now. That one is on the universe. And you... Harry doesn't look at me like I'm an adult. Trust me, I've tried."

[wizard4hire]

"Alright, Molly, I'm sorry for blaming you for the kidnapping. Or at least the greater kidnapping of being stuck here," I told her. I'm pretty sure she's still partially responsible for the other part but since she's apologized and there's nothing to do about it I won't get into that now.

"And don't do that, don't tell me about the future. Do you not watch or read any sci fi stuff? That is a recipe to cause huge problems."

[youngpadawan]

"It's not like I'm telling you the entire plot of Star Wars Episode I." Molly said flippantly before making a face as she realised she'd just told Harry there was an episode one. "Harry, for the love of everything. Don't watch it. Just... trust me. Don't do it."

She sighed, knowing she shouldn't have told him that or this or anything. Time travel, if that was what this was, was hard. "I- what can I say? I mean, what happens if you're stuck here for a while. Are you just going to shack up in here until we figure something out? Or- what can I tell you?"

[wizard4hire]

"Don't say anything," I told her. I was pretty sure that there wasn't anything she needed to say because it wasn't risking undoing the fabric of reality or anything like that. That might not happen but with my luck I didn't want to risk it.

"Look," I said, running my fingers through my hair. "You're going to have to treat me like a stranger, not like the Harry you knew."

[youngpadawan]

"Yeah, that's pretty easy for you to say. You don't know me but I sort of know you, or the you that you will become." Molly said, making a face. This was getting entirely confusing. Molly sighed, pushing her knee against his before stretching one of her long legs out. "So, okay let's start this again. Hi, I'm Molly."

Molly held out her hand, biting her pierced lip as she flashed Harry a wry grin.

[wizard4hire]

"Hi, I'm Harry," I said, turning to shake her hand. She clearly knew that but I wasn't going to press that point. I don't want to make her think she can treat me like 'her' Harry because that's just far, far too weird for me and could get into a lot of trouble with her assuming things that will cause problems.

"Nice to meet you, I guess."