*This is a larry re write of the amazing fanfic 'half bad' by the incredible juliaxwrites (we got permission) all rights reserved to her and all credits *
chapter 2 - Harry
"Jesus, do you ever stop talking?" I huffed as we maneuvered through the trees, Louis rambling about God knows what. It started with my snarky attitude, and somehow he managed to get on the topic of his fear of the dark. I didn't care about any of the shit he was telling me, but I did find out one useful fact from him.
Looks can be deceiving.
Of course I've heard the phrase multiple times, but Louis was just the perfect example. He was beautiful without a doubt, but those lips just keep moving and moving, and noise just keeps spilling out of him. If I had pens, I'd rather jam them in my earholes than continue listening to his ranting. I'm not a patient person to begin with, and now I've grown beyond the point of irritated.
"You know," he started, "You are just so rude, Harry. I'm talking about serious subjects and you're being a jerk.'
I rolled my eyes, stepping over a fallen branch on the ground. "Your phobias are not in my category of serious, Louis. I honestly don't give a shit what you're afraid of, because that's your own problem."
"Well what are you going to do tonight and I can't sleep?"
"Maybe I'll push you into a river to drown your wailing," I told him with a shrug, although I was mainly joking. Sure, I'll kill anyone who gets in my way, but this boy's only downfall is his excessive speaking.
"I'm being serious, Harry. The dark really freaks me out," Louis said, but the fear behind his voice was firmer, more evident than before.
I glance over my shoulder at him, watching as his skin paled but I act as if it didn't bother me, "When you close your eyes, you see darkness, right? So what's the big deal about being outside?"
Louis sighed, and I knew I'm getting on his nerves. "Whatever," he grumbled. "Just forget I ever even said anything."
Puffing out air from my cheeks, I did feel a little empathy towards the boy. His abuse isn't any of my business, but it had to be bad from what his eyes had shown me. Nothing but terror etched across his face when I brought it up, giving away the fact that it was a sore subject to him. I've been repeatedly, incessantly, and gruesomely tortured for two years straight, so I could understand a little of what he had been put through. But I can bet all the money he didn't suffer as bad as me.
I had the map memorized in my mind of where I was going, but I was pondering up what to with Louis when we got there. He didn't need to be involved with this.
Besides, the last thing I need is my mates drooling over him while we're trying to conjure up a plan. I don't need them getting distracted or off task while we converse about what to do, but--
"H-Harry..." Louis' soft voice stammered out from behind me.
Groaning, I kept walking. "What is it now?" I asked, beyond exasperated with his repeated questions and phobias.
"Help," he whispered, his voice hardly audible.
Furrowing my eyebrows, I turned around to see that he had stepped on a trap the Council must've set up. My eyes widened slightly, the mouth looking as if it would snap around his ankle any given moment. He could seriously lose his foot if this trap were to go off on him, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with blood and try to stitch his foot back on, Not only was it disgusting, but it was time consuming. We were running out of time as it was.
"J-Just hold still," I told him, a little frantic as to what I should do. I've never stepped on one before, but I've also never came across one. I didn't even know that the White Witches of the Council were this serious about capturing Black Witches. Didn't they know they could harm their own kind?
"I'm scared," he whispered, his voice even softer than before as he chewed on his bottom lip.
I swallowed. "I know, just...Stay still, all right? If you make even the littlest move, Louis, it could snap your foot off."
Louis sucked in a sharp breath and I know I only scared him more, but he needed to understand how serious it was for him to be still. So while he was fighting against tears, I racked my brain on how to get him out of the trap unharmed. As said before, I'm not in the mood to be reattaching someone's foot, and taking him to a hospital would be too risky for me. But something else dawned on me while I thought about solutions to get him out.
Why the fuck do I care?
I could leave him right now and finally travel in silence again. I could turn around and walk over, letting him either stand there or suck it up and get his foot detached from his leg. I could be a total dick and just sit here watching him, waiting for him to break. But for some damn reason, I didn't do any of those.
Something wouldn't let me.
"Please hurry," Louis chocked out as he stared at me with pleading, watery eyes. A lone tear rolled out of his blue eyes and down his flushed cheek as I stood there, still dumbfounded.
But then it came to me.
"I got it. Louis, keep...just stay still."
"No, I was thinking about just running off with my ankle half detached," he snapped sarcastically.
Instead of rolling my eyes like I've been doing all afternoon, I just ignored him as I knelt down by the trap, brushing the leaves out the way. Louis was confused, I could tell by the way he watched me, but things that have to be put together always have one thing; instructions. And to make a trap, you have to know how to break it as well.
Grabbing him would be too risky because as soon as his toes leave that metal surface, the mouth is going to snap shut. His foot might not come fully clear of it if I just yank him out of it, so these jumbled instruction were the best route for this situation.
"Ready." I asked. looking up at him as I caught sight of the knob twist, the knob that will blow the closing duration.
Louis squeezed his eyes close, barely nodding as he chewed his bottom lip. So I didn't wait any longer as I spun the daily to the left and jumped up, gripping his waist and pulling him out of the trap. But as soon as my hands made contact with his hips, a burning sensation feeling like fresh fire shot up through my arms, my teeth clenching from the unbearable pain. Louis held onto me as I pulled him out, but as soon as he was clear of the trap, I pushed him gently away from me, looking down at my rapidly burning hands.
They were red, blisters looking as if they were already trying to form as I scanned them over and over again. Louis was staring at me, utterly confused just as I was while I studied my nearly fried hands.
But then Louis' bracelet caught my eye.
"It's your bracelet," I told him as I sucked in a sharp breath through my gritted teeth, shaking my hands to rid the pain. "It won't let me touch you."
"W-why? I don't understand." Louis shook his head, distraught. "Fuck." I groaned as the burning continued, gradually dying down. "A White Witch must've given it to you or some shit," I told him. "It's got a spell casted on it to keep black magic from harming you."
"You're a Black Witch?"
I gave him a look as if saying 'seriously?' But then I looked back down to my hands. "No shit, Sherlock," I snapped sarcastically. "I thought you caught that information when I nearly choked you back there."
"I've never learned about witches," he told me. "Sorry for not comprehending what's going on here."
"Louis , are any of your relative White Witches?"
Louis shrugged. "Not that I know of... I don't know many except for my father and my mother—" "Ran off when you were four," I finished for him, nodding. "Stop doing that," he muttered, looking embarrassed.
"Don't be embarrassed, Tomlinson . My mum died when I turned six, so I guess we're even with the shitty parenting. But someone had to of put that bracelet on you to keep you away from people like me."
"Then how come you can nearly choke me, but you can't touch me?"
"Because no one else has this ability but me," I explained. "It's rare for any kind of witch to have powers with the mind, and I guess I was one of the lucky ones who got one. But most witches hurt with touch, by burning you, freezing you, or just snapping your arm with their hands. But with that bracelet, no one destined evil can touch you. Make sense now?"
Louis pursed his lips. "A little."
"Good, because I'm not explaining it again. Fuck that hurt." I groaned again, shaking my head. "Let's just keep going so we can get out of these damn woods. And watch your foot placement this time."
"It's not my fault I don't watch the ground when I walk," he muttered.
"You should be more observant," I retorted.
"And I'm supposed to know there's traps set in various spots in the woods?"
"For God's sake, Louis , please stop talking. Jesus, I'm getting a headache all over again," I mumbled, rubbing my temples with my slowly healing hands.
"It's not like walking with you doesn't give me a headache," he snapped back, clearly determined to piss me off.
It was working.
"I'm not talking to you anymore. I just saved your life, so there's my good deed of the day. From now on until eternity, you've earned the silent treatment from me," I said as I kept walking, glancing over at him every so often to make sure he wouldn't step in another trap. That was also my mini heart attack for the day, so I'd rather not get scared shitless twice in twenty four hours.
"Fine." Louis shrugged, then folded his arms across his chest. "I guess I'll just keep talking until you reply."
"Louis, that's highly unnecessary. I may just have to kill you then."
"Ha! You talked." Louis smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Rolling my eyes, I actually found myself fighting back a smile. He was kind of adorable, but I'd never admit that out loud. He pissed me off too much for me to admit any cheesy shit like that, so I kept my lips pressed together as we walked through the woods. Not really as a silent treatment, but to keep from saying anything I might regret. Getting along with him might be one of those things.
I wasn't running away from the Council to make friends; I was running away to fight back. I would get prepared, and they'd be weak and powerless against me. My father's blood is tied with mine, meaning we both share the same destiny of unstoppable, untamable. He's the biggest, strongest Black Witch in the world. He's killed, captured, and conquered. I've vowed to follow in his footsteps.
That's the thing with this conspicuous society we live in; it's all a lie. There is no good, no purity, and there's not saviors. The little White Witches that declare themselves unadulterated are nothing but sinners just like you and me. Sinning is in our blood, destined good or bad. You can't help but to commit a little crime here or there, whether it's lying to your parents or shoplifting a piece of shit pair of sunglasses. We all commit crimes, some of ours are just greater than others.
But there are no heroes in a world full of sinners.
"Since you won't say anything, can you at least tell me where we're going?" Louis asked after about fifteen minutes of walking.
Licking my lips, I then pressed them into a thin line as I peeked over at him . "To a friend of mine. Or... friends, if you will. They're going to help me."
"Help you with what?"
A sinister smirk managed to dance its way onto my lips, a little chuckle of victory threatening to come out. "That's for me to know and you to find out with the rest of this sorry ass world we live in."
Louis didn't say another word as we continued walking.