Molly arrived while they were examining the kid, cleaning and bandaging the cuts and scrapes that looked like they needed it.
She'd brought her mother, Charity. Or, probably, Murphy thought, Charity had brought herself. She was not a woman who went anywhere she didn't want to go, and she wouldn't be kept out if she wanted in, either. Mrs. Carpenter was the next best thing to a force of nature.
"Where is he?" Molly knelt down to hug Mouse, her eyes following the same path Butters' had. Floor then couch. The usual places for a wounded Harry to by lying.
"The kid is in Harry's bedroom. Butters is just finishing checking him out. If he says it's okay, we'll move him out here where the lights better and there's more room. I don't know where Harry is, Molly." A soft snort came from Charity, who was carrying a small cardboard box.
"You know better than that, Ms. Murphy. You found the child in Harry's bed, wearing his amulet? There's no sign of a struggle, nothing to indicate that Harry was taken anywhere. That atrocity he calls a car is in the lot. However it may have happened, that boy is Harry."
"Maybe. Maybe not. We can't know until he wakes up, and I'm not going to start working from a false assumption. I can't see any signs of a physical struggle, which is why I called for Molly." Murphy turned to face the young woman. "I need you to look around, wizard style. See if you see anything weird or out of place. Harry wouldn't go down without a fight, so if something happened there has to be evidence. I need you to find it."
"I'm not- I'm not sure I can. I'm still learning, ma'am. If something happened and Harry fought back, you know we'd see physical evidence. He's not exactly subtle most of the time. Any more delicate magics...if they were good enough to do something to Harry without him noticing in time to fight back, they could probably hide their traces. Or I could just overlook them entirely."
"You can't think like that. I need you to do your best here. Don't think about how much or how little you know. Just look for things that don't seem right." Molly nodded, her long blond hair bobbing around her shoulders.
She folded to the floor, resting her hands on the backs of her legs, eyes closed, breathing slow and even. Murphy beckoned to Charity, who stepped quietly around her daughter and deeper into the room.
"I brought some of the boys' old things. You said he's about 12?" Murphy nodded. "There should be enough in here that will fit."
"Thanks. I didn't even think about clothes. Come on, leave that here and we'll go check on Butters."
The little ME was packing his tools away when the crowded into the tiny bedroom.
"So?"
"He's not bad." Murphy could feel the disbelief write itself across her features. Butters held up a hand, surrendering. "I didn't say he was healthy, or *good*, but he's not *bad*. I've seen a lot worse. So have you. It's mostly bruises. Some cuts, but they're shallow and...I don't know. They weren't deliberate, or made by knives. More like the skin just split from something with a dull edge striking him. The worst are the burns on his back, and even those are a week or so old and healing cleanly. He's been hurt, but someone took the time afterward to take care of the injuries."
"Burns?" Charity's voice was sharp, angry. Butters' eyes went up to hers and he fiddled with his glasses.
"Burns. Little ones. If I had to guess, I'd say cigarettes for most of them on his back. There are a few on his arms, but they look like splashes. Hot oil, maybe, like you get from cooking. But healing." Charity's lips curled back. If you didn't look at her eyes, you might have mistaken it for a smile.
"He can't be Harry, then." Charity and Butters both turned to look at her. "If the burns are that old, and the bruises are a mix, some old, some fresh?" Butters nodded. "Then he can't be Harry. I saw Harry yesterday down at the station, and he wasn't hurt at all. I think he would have mentioned it if someone beat the crap out of him, held him down and burned him."
"Maybe. I mean, sure. But if it's magic? Harry's said sometimes time can get a little funny when there's heavy stuff going down. I just don't know. None of us does."
"Right." Murphy sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "And any magic strong enough to mess with time would leave marks that could be seen by a wizard. Only we are fresh out of full-fledged wizards." She looked at the boy on the bed, then glanced back out into the main room. Molly was up and moving, her eyes only half open, looking at things with an intensity, a pressure that told Murphy she was doing something with magic.
"Hello there." Charity's voice had shifted down to soft, something that just said 'mother'. When Murphy turned back into the bedroom, she saw that the tall woman was kneeling beside the bed, hands resting on the edge, unmoving. The boy was sitting up, blinking slowly, dark eyes watching the three of them, moving back and forth, confused.
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Fill: 3/? scrappy!Harry prompt
(Anonymous) 2011-02-18 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)She'd brought her mother, Charity. Or, probably, Murphy thought, Charity had brought herself. She was not a woman who went anywhere she didn't want to go, and she wouldn't be kept out if she wanted in, either. Mrs. Carpenter was the next best thing to a force of nature.
"Where is he?" Molly knelt down to hug Mouse, her eyes following the same path Butters' had. Floor then couch. The usual places for a wounded Harry to by lying.
"The kid is in Harry's bedroom. Butters is just finishing checking him out. If he says it's okay, we'll move him out here where the lights better and there's more room. I don't know where Harry is, Molly." A soft snort came from Charity, who was carrying a small cardboard box.
"You know better than that, Ms. Murphy. You found the child in Harry's bed, wearing his amulet? There's no sign of a struggle, nothing to indicate that Harry was taken anywhere. That atrocity he calls a car is in the lot. However it may have happened, that boy is Harry."
"Maybe. Maybe not. We can't know until he wakes up, and I'm not going to start working from a false assumption. I can't see any signs of a physical struggle, which is why I called for Molly." Murphy turned to face the young woman. "I need you to look around, wizard style. See if you see anything weird or out of place. Harry wouldn't go down without a fight, so if something happened there has to be evidence. I need you to find it."
"I'm not- I'm not sure I can. I'm still learning, ma'am. If something happened and Harry fought back, you know we'd see physical evidence. He's not exactly subtle most of the time. Any more delicate magics...if they were good enough to do something to Harry without him noticing in time to fight back, they could probably hide their traces. Or I could just overlook them entirely."
"You can't think like that. I need you to do your best here. Don't think about how much or how little you know. Just look for things that don't seem right." Molly nodded, her long blond hair bobbing around her shoulders.
She folded to the floor, resting her hands on the backs of her legs, eyes closed, breathing slow and even. Murphy beckoned to Charity, who stepped quietly around her daughter and deeper into the room.
"I brought some of the boys' old things. You said he's about 12?" Murphy nodded. "There should be enough in here that will fit."
"Thanks. I didn't even think about clothes. Come on, leave that here and we'll go check on Butters."
The little ME was packing his tools away when the crowded into the tiny bedroom.
"So?"
"He's not bad." Murphy could feel the disbelief write itself across her features. Butters held up a hand, surrendering. "I didn't say he was healthy, or *good*, but he's not *bad*. I've seen a lot worse. So have you. It's mostly bruises. Some cuts, but they're shallow and...I don't know. They weren't deliberate, or made by knives. More like the skin just split from something with a dull edge striking him. The worst are the burns on his back, and even those are a week or so old and healing cleanly. He's been hurt, but someone took the time afterward to take care of the injuries."
"Burns?" Charity's voice was sharp, angry. Butters' eyes went up to hers and he fiddled with his glasses.
"Burns. Little ones. If I had to guess, I'd say cigarettes for most of them on his back. There are a few on his arms, but they look like splashes. Hot oil, maybe, like you get from cooking. But healing." Charity's lips curled back. If you didn't look at her eyes, you might have mistaken it for a smile.
"He can't be Harry, then." Charity and Butters both turned to look at her. "If the burns are that old, and the bruises are a mix, some old, some fresh?" Butters nodded. "Then he can't be Harry. I saw Harry yesterday down at the station, and he wasn't hurt at all. I think he would have mentioned it if someone beat the crap out of him, held him down and burned him."
"Maybe. I mean, sure. But if it's magic? Harry's said sometimes time can get a little funny when there's heavy stuff going down. I just don't know. None of us does."
"Right." Murphy sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "And any magic strong enough to mess with time would leave marks that could be seen by a wizard. Only we are fresh out of full-fledged wizards." She looked at the boy on the bed, then glanced back out into the main room. Molly was up and moving, her eyes only half open, looking at things with an intensity, a pressure that told Murphy she was doing something with magic.
"Hello there." Charity's voice had shifted down to soft, something that just said 'mother'. When Murphy turned back into the bedroom, she saw that the tall woman was kneeling beside the bed, hands resting on the edge, unmoving. The boy was sitting up, blinking slowly, dark eyes watching the three of them, moving back and forth, confused.
"Who are you people?"
Re: Fill: 3/? scrappy!Harry prompt
(Anonymous) 2011-02-18 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Fill: 3/? scrappy!Harry prompt
(Anonymous) 2011-02-21 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Fill: 3/? scrappy!Harry prompt
Re: Fill: 3/? scrappy!Harry prompt
(Anonymous) 2011-02-21 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)So very much.