Chapter Text
Harry woke up abruptly to the shock of white hot pain shooting through his left leg sending jolts throughout his entire body. He swore under his breath in parseltongue, blinking his eyes open to darkness. Sweat dripped down his forehead and back, making his shirt stick to his skin. He glanced around at his surroundings, blinking in confusion for a few seconds before remembering.
The last thing he remembered was the walls shaking around him, the floor quivering beneath him.
“Bloody hell.”
His left leg was stretched out at an awkward angle and he could feel dust in his hair, in his mouth. There was a column of cement right over his legs, having been shaken loose during the earthquake. Harry flinched at the sight and sat up, brushing off dirt and reaching down into his pocket for his holly wand.
He could hear shouts and the stomping of boots further down the hallway behind him. Smoke filtered into his nose and he sneezed, once, twice, shaking his head at the memory of cursed fire. This didn’t smell exactly like that, just smelled like regular fire, and he was grateful for that.
“LAFD, call out!”
He closed his eyes and took a breath, the unnatural heat in his left leg flaring up, sending jolts of pain as if to wake him up. It wasn’t the worst pain he’d ever felt but it was making him lightheaded, his vision blurring just a little bit. Harry sighed and swore again, something that Charlie had said in his presence once or twice, and opened his mouth more than a little reluctantly.
“Here! I’m here!”
The shouts stopped momentarily and then Harry heard maybe one, definitely two firefighters run in his direction. He stared at the column that lay precariously over his legs, felt the blocks of cement beneath him that could fall apart at any moment and goosebumps rolled up his arms.
He took a breath and waited, unable to look behind him, to where the firefighters were coming from. Harry sighed and looked around in front of him, wincing at the sight of a body in the corner. The older man had gotten crushed by falling debris, big cement blocks falling onto his chest and crushing his ribcage.
“Buck! Over here!”
Harry jolted at the voice that echoed just a few feet behind him, hearing the very slight accent in it. The reaper that had appeared to carry away the older man’s soul nodded at him and then vanished.
The sound of heavy boots sounded in the big room, someone swerving around to get in front of him. The man who appeared in front of him was about Harry’s height, with browner skin and dark eyes, covered head to toe in firefighting gear. The guy’s turnout gear was covered in soot and ash, making Harry think he himself had been out of it for whatever fire had happened in the main part of this building.
Another man appeared in front of him, taller and lean, with pale skin, and bright blue eyes. Also covered head to toe in firefighting gear, from the turnout coat to the boots. He immediately walked over to the cement debris over Harry’s leg and began to look it over.
“Hey, I’m Eddie. That’s Buck. We’ll get you out of here shortly.”
“Harry. Nice to meet you guys,” Harry started, breaking out into a cough as he inhaled some dust.
Eddie blinked at him curiously, his eyes catching on the scar on Harry’s forehead. There was not even a hint of recognition in his eyes, which made something in Harry’s stomach ease.
Eddie knelt down at Harry’s side and looked him over, meeting his eyes for a brief moment before looking down at his left leg. “Yeah, that’s broken. Let me splint that up. Buck, how’s that look?”
Eddie reached out to curl his fingers around Harry’s left wrist, clearly checking his pulse. Harry’s long-sleeve shirt was covered in ash and soot, with maybe a few specks of blood. Harry swallowed at the touch, warmth blooming in the pit of his gut. It was warmth instead of upset this time, something about Eddie’s non-recognition of his scar or his bedside manner. He’d known the pair would have to touch him to get him to safety but he was more out of it than he would have liked. He at least was grateful that it was winter: less people would be suspicious about him wearing pants and long sleeve shirts.
“It should move easily,” Buck answered, turning to look down at Harry and Eddie. “You’re British?”
“I am?” Harry said, his rough voice making the words sound more like a question than a solid statement. Eddie withdrew his fingers from his wrist and moved down to tend to Harry’s leg. Eddie hadn’t made a noise or spoken when he’d checked Harry’s pulse so he figured there was nothing to worry about.
His magic would have taken care of that already, mostly. And he would be healing his leg as soon as he was alone and out of here. Had just been too out of it, felt too off kilter to do this on his own.
“So…you ever met the queen?” Buck asked, hefting the column of cement off and away from the three of them.
“Buck.”
Harry flinched as Eddie worked, not moving his leg but wrapping it up in tight bandages. He saw a glimpse of white, of bone, and grimaced, his heart thudding against his ribcage. It wasn’t the worst thing he had ever seen but he had walked into this building this morning expecting anything but this.
Buck cleared his throat, drawing Harry’s attention back to him, and walked over to kneel on Harry’s other side. He curled his fingers around Harry’s other wrist, his right one, and squeezed. Sweat dripped down his back, his forehead, and Harry shivered, his blood thundering in his ears. Heat radiated from his leg, shooting the wrong kind of electricity up into the rest of his body. For a minute, it was centered around his wrist, where Buck was holding him and then it was gone.
“I…actually have met the queen,” Harry muttered, sighing at the thought, hearing material ripping, Eddie using scissors to cut through the remains.
Buck blinked down at him, intent on him for a while. It let Harry see the birthmark over Buck’s left eye, a spot of red, and part of him wanted to reach out and smooth his thumb over it. “You have? I didn’t expect that answer.”
Eddie’s lips twitched up into a small grin as he worked, his eyes still on Harry’s leg. Still working away intently and well, if Harry’s eyes were working. Muggle emergency medicine was pretty much like magical emergency medicine but slower. But Eddie appeared to be pretty good under pressure, his hands calm and still as he worked. Quite the opposite of Buck, who hadn’t really stopped moving since they’d come to his aid.
Buck turned to look at Harry’s leg, at where Eddie was splinting it up, and then beyond. To the body of the older man in the corner. “Hey! There’s--”
“Too late,” Harry said, roughly, shaking his head. “The man was dead well before you two came along.”
Buck’s eyes seemed to widen and his shoulders tightened.
Harry arched an eyebrow, meeting Buck’s eyes for a minute. “You can’t save everyone.”
Buck nodded distantly. “I know.”
Eddie’s eyes briefly met his, flicking to Buck a second later. Harry could swear there was worry in those eyes but it was there and gone quickly.
“Sorry, do you want something for the pain?” Eddie asked, turning to look at him.
Harry peered down at him, shrugged. Muggle medicine wouldn’t work on him or it would work for a few minutes, tops, before it got flushed out. “No, thanks.”
Eddie frowned, his eyes narrowing in concern. “I have drugs with me.”
“I have a high pain tolerance,” Harry admitted quietly. “Go ahead and do whatever you have to.”
Eddie stared down at him for a minute before getting to work again. “I can give you something, even if you have a high pain tolerance.”
“It’s fine,” Harry said, taking a breath as Eddie pulled back, finishing up.
His leg was now tightly bandaged, the bandages going around the piece of bone sticking out. It was tight and efficient work, reminding Harry of… “Were you in the military before working as a firefighter?”
Eddie blinked, meeting his eyes and nodding. “I was. How’d you know?”
“I’ve worked alongside medics in the military,” Harry answered, gesturing to his wrapped up leg. “It’s good work.”
Eddie’s eyes widened at his words before he shook his head, as if to get back to business. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Buck nodded and reached out to grasp Harry’s right elbow, hefting him up at the same time that Eddie took his other side. Harry flinched as his leg seemed to be one whole hot throb, his stomach heaving like he might sick up. His arms ended up thrown around both Eddie and Buck’s shoulders, curling around their turnout coats.
“Alright there?” Buck asked, turning his head to meet his eyes.
Harry opened his mouth and then closed it, swearing under his breath in what might have been parseltongue. “I might need some of those drugs now.”
Eddie immediately pulled back, reached into his kit, and drew out a syringe. “This’ll sting a bit.”
Harry nodded and watched out of the corner of his eyes as Eddie slid the needle into his thigh, reaching down a little. He didn’t even flinch at the pinch of the needle, the little sting of it not even really registering. His nerves were alight with the throbbing of his leg, the sharp heat of it and the hint of bone sticking out.
As soon as Eddie was done, he could practically feel the effects of the drug, easing the sharpness of the pain. Smoothing the edges of it over. It wouldn’t last for long but it would be enough to tide him over until he could get to the magical hospital in the area.
“Alright, I’m…” Harry paused and gestured with his hand. “I’m good to go.”
“You sure you don’t want a stretcher?” Buck questioned, exchanging glances with Eddie.
“Nah. It’s only what…one set of stairs down? I can make it,” Harry answered, shaking his head lightly, feeling the fuzziness of the pain dissipate a little. His shoulders loosened even as the two men on either side of him held him up. “You two can go search for other survivors now.”
“It’s just you,” Eddie said, his eyes darkening before he gestured to Buck. “We’ll get you out of here and then it’s phase two.”
“Ah. Phase two,” Harry’s voice lowered and then he sighed again. “Bodies.”
“Cap,” Buck started, speaking into his radio as they started off down the hallway. The radio crackled to life as they walked. Buck glanced out through the windows of the office building they had been called to, seeing the sun shine through the glass.
“Buckley? Diaz? You alright?”
“We’ve got a survivor incoming,” Buck responded, turning to meet Eddie’s eyes, keeping an eye on the man between them. “Both of us are fine.”
“Good. Fire’s about done. Should be easy enough to get them out,” Bobby said through the radio. “Hen and Chim are at the front entrance of the building.”
“On it,” Buck replied.
Bobby hadn’t even questioned if Eddie was with him and Buck grinned at that, seeing the corner of Eddie’s mouth curl up in a matching grin. They looked at the man between them, Buck taking in the dark messy hair that had a sheen of sweat to it and the vivid green eyes.
He’d seen the scar on the man’s forehead, his gaze zeroing in on it a minute after seeing him on the floor of the abandoned warehouse. The look in the guy’s eyes as Buck had stared at him had been apprehensive enough that he’d moved on, watching Eddie work.
They reached the set of stairs and Eddie went first, taking the step and then reaching back to catch Harry if he needed the help. For his part, Harry was steadier than anyone they’d seen with a broken leg. And it wasn’t the drugs.
The moment they stepped outside, Harry took one look at the ambulance that was lined up and balked. He slowed to a stop, hearing Buck almost run into him, swerving around him at the last moment. Crews of firefighters were gathered around their trucks along the street, going back and forth into the building.
The whole street was blocked off by police and there was an officer talking with what looked like a fire squad captain. Harry tilted his head in thought and glanced at the two men who had helped him out, seeing them gesture to a pair of paramedics.
Harry sighed and waited as the paramedics ran over with an unoccupied stretcher.
“You’ll be just fine,” Eddie reassured, as he and Buck moved out of the paramedics' way.
Harry grinned faintly, searching the street for the guy he was supposed to meet. There was no sign of him and he narrowed his eyes, feeling the elder wand hum in his pocket. “Thanks.”
“No thanks needed,” Buck said, smiling brightly, already backing off to return to his truck and crew.
Harry nodded, watching as the two men walked away, and glanced at the two paramedics. He scowled in thought, glancing at every single firefighter around them, every single emergency responder, and sighed. “I’m sure you’re both very good at your jobs but… I’m sorry about this in advance.”
The two women blinked and stared at him in confusion. Harry reached out with a little strand of magic and turned them around, wiping the last few seconds of memory.
Their eyes glazed over and they swiveled on their feet, taking the stretcher back with them. Harry then cast a notice me not on himself, making him all but invisible to everyone else.
Harry nodded in satisfaction, knowing that the paramedics wouldn’t even notice the wipe and glanced down at his leg. He was in no condition to apparate but… The local wizarding bus was just like the Knight Bus but a lot less chaotic.
Eddie took a deep breath and let it out as he slipped his turnout coat off, hanging it up in his locker. His heart was still hammering, his blood thundering in his ears from the shift they’d all had. He was exhausted and he suspected Buck was just as worn out, judging by the way Buck sat down on the bench like his strings had just gotten cut. His legs giving out from under him. By the little pained twitch to Buck’s mouth, his left leg was bothering him again.
Eddie sat down too with a loud sigh, right next to Buck, and leaned against him, feeling Buck shiver a little. The mark on his chest, right where Buck had first touched him, warmed, as his heart skipped a beat. The handprint was the exact color of Buck’s eyes, bright blue, and Eddie’s eyes automatically went to the nape of Buck’s neck.
His hand reached up almost of its own accord to curl his fingers over Buck’s warm skin, feeling and hearing Buck’s breath hitch. Right where his mark was on Buck’s skin, a dark brown handprint. “You alright?”
“Yeah, I am. You?” Buck asked, his voice rough, shaky.
Eddie hummed and nodded, yawning and pulling his shirt off. “Come on. Let’s go shower.”
“Right behind you,” Buck said, taking a minute to lean his head against Eddie’s shoulder before getting up.
Harry closed the door behind him and glanced around at his home, seeing the various things that Teddy was into spread out on the table. He’d gotten his son his very first potions kit a few days ago, a very basic thing with a miniature cauldron that was rather cute.
The corresponding book was also on the table, the mess forgotten in the haste to get Teddy to the school he went to.
He’d moved them to Los Angeles a month ago, wanting to get away from Britain and its memories. Wanting somewhere sunny and calm, quiet. The school that he had found for Teddy was new for him though, a mix between magical and muggle.
The magical half of it was hidden but it still shared the same campus. The kids mixed together for recess and for lunch and the kids that were magical knew to keep their world a secret. They weren’t allowed wands but they were learning about the magical world, learning earlier than the kids in Britain. Learning about culture and the beginnings of their combined history.
Something that Harry would have appreciated when he was younger.
He sighed and glanced down at his newly healed leg, courtesy of a few quick spells at the local hospital. It was entirely magical, unlike Teddy’s school, and small as well. Everyone knew each other and given its location, there was a mix of patients. From Mexican wizards and witches to Americans.
It had made him want to learn Spanish, adding to his two languages. Harry yawned a little before shucking off his shirt, stepping a little gingerly on his feet.
Buck leaned against the cold stall, letting the hot spray of water hit his back. It made him shiver, goosebumps rolling up his back and arms as the water dribbled down his skin.
He heard Eddie move around behind him, gathering his supplies, shucking off the rest of his clothes, before joining him. The warm press of lips to his shoulder blades made Buck almost purr before Eddie leaned his forehead against his shoulder.
“Hey, Eddie.”
“Hmm.”
“Eddie.”
“What--”
The sharp intake of breath from behind him made him pause. Eddie’s fingers curled around his shoulder, around his right shoulder, more than a little tightly. It made Buck freeze, his heart skipping a beat or two.
“Eddie?”
“I…”
Eddie’s fingers went to the nape of his neck again and Buck squirmed a little, his eyes fluttering shut. Eddie’s next words made him jolt, electricity shooting through him.
“You have a new mark,” Eddie whispered, confusion lining his low voice.
Buck blinked, opened his mouth and then closed it. Opened it again. Glanced down to his right shoulder, right where Eddie’s fingers were. He swallowed as he saw the vivid green handprint, his heart thudding against his ribcage, his blood thundering in his ears.
He started to speak and turned around, to more fully look at Eddie, and found the same vivid green handprint on Eddie’s left shoulder. He reached out and touched it, seeing Eddie’s gaze lower to it. “So do you.”
Eddie gasped, his eyes widening, his fingers slightly shaky on Buck’s skin. His fingers flexed and curled over his skin, making Buck shiver a little. He willed his mind to not drop down into the gutter now.
“Who… I didn’t…” Eddie trailed off, meeting Buck’s eyes wonderingly.
“Who’d we rescue today that touched…” Buck gestured to their shoulders, to the new marks on their skin. If he tilted his body a little, tilted his shoulder to the light, the mark shimmered. “The British guy… We carried him downstairs between us.”
“What was his name? Henry…Harley…no. Harry!”
Harry stepped out of the shower and reached out for the towel that was floating in the air in front of him. He wrapped it around himself and glanced into the mirror in his bathroom, his gaze drawn to the elder wand on the counter. He narrowed his eyes at the wand, looking down at the top of his left hand, to the scar from the blood quill.
And then to the… marks on his wrists. He blinked once, twice, his mouth opening and closing. There were marks on his wrists. Handprints. One bright blue and the other vivid brown.
Harry swallowed and ran his thumb over the brown handprint, following the mark from the bottom of the hand to the tip of a finger. Did the same to the blue one on his other wrist.
It had to be the firefighters from the truck crew earlier this morning.