Chapter Text
“Because you’re family Stiles,” Harry told him softly and kindly, but it did nothing to prevent the others to hear his words.
Harry looked around at the shocked faces of his guest. Scott’s mouth was hanging open, he continued to look from Stiles to Harry and back with huge wide surprised eyes. Isaac was doing a good job imitating Scott with the addition that he was sniffing the air like he wanted to smell the familiar relationship, not knowing that Harry completely erased his smell.
Chris was looking horror-struck. He looked at Stiles, then at Noah, and finally, he set his eyes on Harry. Harry could see his mind racing, and the hunter went paler by the second. Harry wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he knew that whatever it was, it scared him to death.
Lydia was doing a good job trying to look like the news didn’t faze her, but she couldn’t fool Harry. Her eyes were narrowed, and she seemed to be in deep thought a calculating glim in her eyes, with the faintest of smiles on her pale face.
Noshiko was surprised for just a moment before her features smoothed into an expression of polite interest, but it was enough for Harry to see it. Her husband was frowning at Harry and Stiles not sure what the revelation implied. Kira's beautiful face was morphed into genuine surprise and, Harry dared thought, happiness.
Mrs. McCall was glaring at Noah with her hand covering her mouth. She then turned around to look at Harry. He could still see the glare that was directed at the sheriff before she started to look at his face with intense attention. She scanned his face and Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow in question, but he was ignored. She didn’t seem to stop her searching even after he pointedly cleared his throat, but it didn’t work. Then Harry decided he had enough of the woman looking at him like he was something to gawk at, so with practiced ease, he looked into her eyes and dived into her mind. It was extremely easy to find what he was looking for, and he couldn’t help but feel appalled at the woman’s assumption.
“It’s none of your business,” Harry started politely and in a second every eye in the room was on him, “but you will find, Mrs. McCall, that I’m not a child born out of wedlock. My parents are neither Noah Stilinski nor Claudia Gajos and my relationship with them is none of your business, but our own,” Harry said frostily and a shiver run down his guests’ back, they were sure if it was just pure fear or the drop in temperature that accompanied the wizard’s words.
In the silence that followed, Harry glared at the woman, who paled but still had the measure to look ashamed of her hastily made assumption.
“Tilly,” he called out with barely contained irritation.
“Yes, Master Potter sir,” the house elf appeared with a pop.
Harry looked at her before closing his eyes for a brief moment to gather himself.
“Please, escort our guests to their chambers. Make sure that Mr. Argent has the room closest to his daughter and that no one disturbs her resting,” Harry said kindly, there was no sign of his previous irritation in his voice.
“Yes, sir,” Tilly nodded her head.
“If I may Lord Potter,” the hunter interjected carefully.
“You may Mr. Argent,” Harry gestured with his hand for him to go on.
“I would like to spend the night in my daughter's room,” he requested and Harry didn’t find it in his heart to deny the man’s simple request.
“Reasonable,” Harry commented politely.
“Tilly, please place a bed in Mrs. Argent's bedroom and supply all of them with pajamas and clothes to wear in the morning,” Harry instructed once more.
“I will be doing now,” Tilly went to carry his master’s wishes.
Harry turned back to look at his guest, and he wasn’t really surprised to be met with Scott’s outraged gaze.
“Are you sending us to sleep?” Scott’s asked in an incredulous tone of voice.
“Very sharp of you to notice the obvious,” Harry replied dryly before dismissing him.
“Noah, Stiles, if you would stay behind, I believe we have a lot to discuss,” Harry focused his attention on his uncle who seemed a bit surprised to be addressed.
“Sure,” he nodded and Harry turned to Stiles.
“It’s not a problem for me,” he replied to Harry, his relative.
He didn’t know how they were related, but he was grateful that he came to help them. He still couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling that the knowledge of his almost death brought him. He couldn’t stop thinking about how his death would break his dad. He still remembered how he sought comfort in drinking when his mother passed away and wasn’t sure his dad would survive.
Harry smiled at him gently, and Stiles couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was and how his brilliant green eyes were filled with kindness. Now that he was thinking about it, he noticed that every time Harry looked at him, his eyes softened.
He couldn't stop himself from smiling back.
There was a burning curiosity in deep in his chest. He was normally a curious and inquisitive creature, and he wasn’t able to prevent himself from wondering and making theories on basically everything. Needless to say, he was dying to know how he was related to such a powerful being. Someone who could even defeat death.
Stiles noticed how Harry’s lips turned to form a mysterious smile, while his eyes lit up in amusement. Stiles didn’t know why and so he averted his eyes, and Scott felt that it was the perfect moment to insert himself in the silence.
“What? No!” Stiles could hear that his tone sounded even more outraged than just moments before, but there was a petulant undertone to it. Scott often got like that when he didn’t get his way, but usually, there was more whining.
“Excuse you?” Harry raised an eyebrow and there was a warning in his voice. Stiles could see clearly that the other teen was far from amused, and quite fed up with Scott's behavior.
Scott had the heart in the right place, but he lacked a bit of brain. Not to mention that he had the uncanny ability to put the foot in his mouth at the least appropriate times. Not that Stiles didn’t have a similar problem, his sarcasm landed him in lots of trouble, and despite that, he could stop himself from using it.
“We will stay, they need protection. We don’t know you, you may be up to something,” Scott said vehemently.
Stiles felt both touched by Scott’s caring and irritated that Scott felt like he and his dad could protect themself, but there was something else he felt, and he was surprised when he finally noticed.
Indignation.
He felt offended on Harry’s behalf. Not only the accusation was baseless, but if Harry wanted to harm them he knew he couldn’t easily do it. Not to mention that he opened his house for them to be safe and he couldn’t simply let the Nogitunes kill them all.
Stiles looked at Melissa, who was looking at her son while frowning. Then he chanced a glance at Harry. His features were completely blank, but his eyes were burning with fury.
Scott didn’t seem to notice and felt it was wise to stand up and flash his eyes red while bearing his teeth.
“You’re dangerous and you may hurt them, and I have to protect them!” Scott growled.
Stiles turned to look at Harry once more to see his reaction.
Harry stood up drawing himself to full height, his eyes turned purple with a vertical slit and shone brightly. The next thing he knew, Harry leaned forward and… roared
Several things happened at once.
He felt a strange, but familiar energy surging within himself, enveloping him in a golden hue.
His eyes were still on Harry who now grew fang, which looked sturdy and very sharp.
The roar reverberated throughout the whole property. It was so strong and loud that the windows shattered in a booming explosion. The expensive crystal chandeliers fell to the ground, the lights went out plunging the room into almost pitch darkness, safe from the column of fire coming from the fireplace.
Stiles had to look twice for his brain to register what he was seeing. From the fireplace, the fire seemed to follow the example of the owner of the house and his fiery temper. Stiles was surprised to notice that he could hear the cracking and swishing of the bright scarlet fire.
Stiles focused his attention on the occupants of the room, and a weaved of relief washed over himself as he notice that his father was protected from harm thanks to the same golden hue that enveloped him. The relief didn’t stop there as he saw the same protection was over Melissa, Chris, and Mr. Yukimura.
Unfortunately, the relief stopped there.
He looked at Lydia who was kneeling beside him with her head down. Mrs. Yukimura was in the same position, and both seemed relatively unharmed if one discarded the blood running down from their ears, but the same couldn't be told for the others.
Kira was curled up in a fetal position, her eyes tightly shut while her hands covered her ears trying to stop the noise, but who had it worst, in Harry’s opinion, were Isaac and Scott.
They were flatted to the ground, face on the floor and hand over their head. Blood was running out from their nose and ears. Their bodies were trembling, if it was in fear, Stiles couldn't tell, but their pale faces were a tell on their own.
As suddenly as it started, the roar stopped, leaving behind a resounded silence. The fire calm down and returned to what was before Harry’s roar, crackling gently. Stiles noticed how Chris’ hands were twitching like he was itching to get his guns out, but he seemed to have learned his lesson, but what got his attention was the whimpering sounds that Scott and Isaac were making.
Everyone was like rooted in their place.
Stiles was still looking at them, when out of nowhere Harry was there, behind the werewolves. He took Scott by the neck and flung him across the room. Scott traveled the whole length of the room in a direct line, before hitting the wall with a resounding thud and falling onto the floor.
“Kreacher,” Harry called out with fury laced voice.
“Lord Black, how can I be of service to the great Master,” Kreacher came with a popping sound and bow down to Harry.
“Take him to cell eleven,” Harry said cooly.
“Oh, the dungeon! Master dare I ask why?” Kreacher's eyes lit up in delight.
“He needs to learn some respect and not to speak when no one is seeking his opinion,” Harry drawled silkily.
“Kreacher lives to serve the great Lord Black, the greatest of us all,” Kreacher's eyes filled with glee, and bow very deeply before turning around.
Stiles got a glimpse as the house elf's face morphed into an expression of disdain and fury. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Isaac, Lydia, and Kira standing up, still looking a bit dazed.
“Disgusting mutt soling my Master property with his filthy self,” Kreacher muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Oh, what a great Master Kreacher serves. If only the Lord would allow poor, old Kreacher to use a bit of dark magic to teach the filthy beast a lesson,” Kreacher went on as he padded towards Scott’s unconscious form.
“Oh, how Kreacher craved vengeance for the House of Black Lord’s honor. Kreacher would gladly remove a limb or two from the stupid wolf who dared to defy Kreacher’s great Lord or maybe…” Kreacher’s voice faded away and Stiles got the feeling the house elf was still thinking about how he could best bring harm to his best friend.
Kreacher almost reached Scott when he let out a triumphant cry.
“Yes, yes, that could work,” Kreacher’s voice was filled with mad glee as he took more steps.
“After all the crazy elf almost kill crazy Bella with that, but Kreacher could do better. Kreacher will not fail and will kill his Lord’s enemies. Yes, yes,” Kreacher cackled madly as he shorted the final distance between him and Scott, but just as he approached him, the elf slipped and fell over Scott, headbutting him.
Scott groaned, but he didn’t wake up.
Kreacher quickly stood up and turned to face Harry.
“Oh, my Lord, please forgive Kreacher for his mistakes,” the house elf told him, but his tone was far from apologetic, while a sinister smile was etched into his face.
“There’s nothing to forgive Kreacher, just make sure to be more careful with his handling from now on,” Harry said with an equally wicked smile and for a moment Stiles felt fear for the wellbeing of his friend, but once again he reasons that Harry wouldn’t seriously harm them.
The glee in Kreacher's eyes intensified and from how his face lit up, one would believe that Christmas came early. He once again bow deeply, then he turned around, and with a snap of his long finger, Scott’s body floated above the ground. The house elf snapped his finger once more, and both were gone with a resounding pop, but not before Scott’s head hit the wall three times.
“Where did you send him?” Mellissa asked fearfully as Harry’s eyes turned around. His eyes were cold, and gone was the amusement that shone at the house elf antics.
“To the dungeon, where he will spend the night and where you will join him if you don’t behave. I’m here to help Stiles and Noah but beware, I do not owe them or you anything. You do not want to make an enemy out of me as they always turned out dead or in prison,” Harry warned them with finality in his voice and Stiles got a distinct feeling that he was done putting up with their crap.
“Listen here –“ Melissa started and Stiles recognized the tone, it was the same one she used when Stiles and Scott did something very wrong as she was about to scold and ground them. Her eyes showed determination, but she couldn't completely conceal her fear. Whatever she was about to say died down as Harry whipped out his wand and pointed at her.
She turned into a big bronze coin, which then floated toward Harry and into his outstretched hand.
“Kreacher, Tilly,” Harry called once again and the house elf popped into the room.
“Break the charm and put her in cell ten,” Harry instructed the old house elf who just bowed, perhaps sensing his master's bad mood.
Harry waved his wand and the dried blood on the other’s skin vanished, and Stiles got the feeling that he healed Lydia’s ears as well.
“Follow Tilly to your rooms, now. If you need her help you’re allowed to call her,” the dismissal was clear in her voice and Stiles was thankful to see that nobody protested further.
Everyone was already up and recovered from the roar, and as they move passed Harry, Stiles saw various degrees of fear, apprehension, and interest.
Noshiko bowed her head, likely in thanks for protecting her husband before she passed him.
Harry looked pensive, then he turned around and called her.
“Noshiko,” the fox stopped at the door, turning around to face Harry. The other did the same, simply too curious to keep moving.
“Yes?” she inquired and Stiles noted the weary tone in her voice.
“Is my understanding that the Onis came from the power of your tails, am I correct?” Harry told her with a small smile on his face.
“Indeed, you are,” she replied tersely like she expected to be suddenly attacked, nonetheless she was polite in her response.
The duo stared at each other intensely before Harry spoke once more.
“Catch,” Harry throw something that resembled a vial with a thick golden liquid swirling in it.
Noshiko didn’t have a problem catching the vial despiting being thrown with abnormal strength,
“What’s this?” she asked after briefly glancing at the vial, after which she return to look at Harry.
“It’s a potion that allows you to regain the full strength of your tail,” he said with a gentle smile.
Noshiko looked stunned for a moment before remembering her manner. She bowed deeply to Harry.
“Thank you,” she said with gratitude filling her voice.
Harry nodded.
“Just think carefully next time you feel the urge to unleash something like that on my ancestor's land. A final word of advice, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, contact the Lord of the Land,” the smile fell from Harry’s face and his face looked stern and reproaching.
“Who? The Hales?” Stiles blurted out unable to stop himself.
Immediately two sets of eyes, one green, and the other brown looked at him. Stiles was already regretting opening his mouth as their gaze felt like pressure on his body. it was like an invisible force was pushing down on him.
It immediately disappear the second their eyes left his body, and once again Harry and Noshiko locked their gaze.
Stiles let out a breath of relief.
“I will,” Noshiko bowed once again, but not as deeply, then turned around and left the room.
She was quickly followed by the others.
“Please take a seat,” Harry asked them and with a flick of his wrist the door closed, and with another something else happened, but Stiles couldn't tell what it was.
Noah and Stiles complied.
“Another drink?” Harry asked and Noah nodded his head.
Harry was about to sit down, but then frown and looked around the room. He sighed loudly and snapped his fingers two times.
With the first snap, three glassed appeared, while with the second the room started to put itself together. The broken glass floated and rearrange itself to form the unbroken windows. The chandeliers knitted themselves back together and floated back to their rightful place, and once more the room was well lit. the shattered china, the glasses, and the bottle of liquor repaired themselves and they were like new.
Stiles was amazed by the sight.
Harry filled three glasses with the amber liquid and passed it to the father and son duo who were seated at his right. He took his glass and gulped the Firewhisky in one breath. He refilled the glass, sat, and turned to face his relatives.
“Stiles is too young to drink,” Noah pointed out not unkindly.
“I believe that after the events of tonight he could use something stronger than coffee or tea. He just needs to be careful and sipped it, we don’t want a repeat of what happened before, do we?” Harry’s shone with amusement.
Noah sighed loudly.
“Fine, but not make a habit,” Noah warned him and Harry smiled, happy he got his way.
“Awesome!” Stiles seemed he was just waiting for his father’s approval and as soon as he got it, he snatched the glass so fast that even Harry seemed surprised.
Stiles took a small, tentative sip, and the first thing he notice was the burning sensation running down his throat. He couldn’t help it, and he started to cough.
“Here, here,” his father patted his back but Stiles noticed how amused he was.
“That’s not fair, you could have a whole glass without a problem,” Stiles pouted and Harry simply shrugged.
They fell silent and the atmosphere grew heavier with every second. They all knew what was going to happen, or at least they have a vague idea, but it seemed that no one was overly eager to approach the subject.
The silence stretched a bit further before Harry spoke.
“Should we begin?” he asked and his tone indicated that it wasn’t really a question.
The Stilinski men nodded.
Stiles watched in amazement as Harry opened his hand and a letter materialized on it.
“How do you do that?” Stiles couldn't restrain his curiosity any longer.
“I modified the summoning charm to better accommodate my needs, and it looks cooler,” Harry explained without problem, but it seemed he added the last part as an afterthought.
“Wow! Can anyone make changes to spells and charms?” Stiles pressed on, his mind racing a thousand miles per second.
Harry frown.
“Theoretically yes, but in reality, it takes a great deal of skill and knowledge. Not to mention that it’s quite dangerous,” Harry explained, but before he could ask more questions, Harry gave him the letter he summoned.
“I promise a will answer your question at a later time, but I believe we should first tackle a more serious matter and then get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day and we must be well rested,” Harry said calmly looking at him with green understanding eyes.
“Ah, right,” Stiles muttered.
Stiles read the letter and he couldn’t believe his eyes, he had to read it multiple times to just get over the shock. The man in front of him was his cousin and his mother had a sister he never knew about. Harry was a connection to his mother, and since he had very few left, it meant the world to him.
“Why did you never tell me?” Stiles turned to face his father with hard eyes, the accusation was evident in his voice.
“I –“ his father began but he was cut off by Harry.
“The truth,” he said in a calm voice.
“What?” Noah and Stiles asked at the same time.
“Let’s make a deal, to tell the truth, no matter how unpleasant it could be. I have enough of people lying to me, and it wouldn’t do well to…” Harry seemed to struggle for a moment to find the right words, but then he spoke with caution in his tone, “to start our relationship with lies,”.
Stiles wondered who lied to his cousin and how often for him to be fed up.
“Deal,” Stiles accepted immediately, after all, he wanted to know the truth and he didn’t have a problem sharing his experience. In addition, he knew that omitting something wasn’t lying and half-truths were lies either. Stiles felt confident that if necessary he could come out on top, that was until he notice Harry’s smile and his confidence faltered a bit.
Harry smiled at him as he knew perfectly well what he was thinking and honestly it was quite unnerving as it was his twinkling eyes. Stiles wondered if there was a spell to make them twinkle.
Noah hesitated a bit, but he ended up accepting the deal as well.
“I didn’t tell you because I believe that they cut all ties with us. Especially after your mother’s death, I resented them for denying Claudia her dying wish to see her sister again,” his father explained softly making an effort not to look at Harry.
Stiles didn’t have the same problem and as he turned around he managed to get a glimpse of Harry’s thunderous expression before he smoothed his facial features, a blank expression appeared on his handsome face.
“Understandable,” Harry let out flatly.
Noah looked up at him for a moment before looking away with a mild ashamed look marrying his face.
Stiles stood up and sat on the opposite side of his father to have a better view of the two men without the need to turn around.
“So, what happened in reality?” Stiles asked with a small voice.
Harry sighed and took a sip from his drink, before opening with mouth and speaking in a carefully neutral tone.
“As I said before they were murdered by a dark wizard. The Dark Lord Voldemort was after me because a prophecy was made that stated that I would be the one to vanquish him. My parents went into hiding but they were betrayed by one of their closest friends and my mother give up her life to save mine. And that’s the shortest most basic version of the events,” Harry said matter of factly.
Stiles didn’t like how Harry talked about his parent's death, it was cold and clinical just almost like he was just reciting well-known facts. He wasn’t able to speak about his mother’s death without at least getting his eyes wet or his voice breaking.
“The man who betrayed them?” Noah’s eyes were burning with so much fury that Stiles was taken aback. He never saw his father like that.
“What about him?” Harry raised an eyebrow.
“Who it was? Did they get him?” Noah asked in a hard voice but a moment later his eyes widen so much that Stiles feared that his father’s eyes would fall out of his eye sockets.
“Please, tell me it wasn’t Sirius,” Noah whispered, but there no denying the pleading inflection in his voice.
Stiles looked at Harry, and for the first time, he saw the shock on his cousin’s face. Surely, it didn’t last long, but it took him more time than normal to change his features.
“No,” Harry replied with a whisper as well, but it wasn’t pleading like Stiles’ father, but it sounded hunted, almost hollow.
Harry gulped down the rest of the whiskey before pouring himself another one.
“Then who? Remus?” Noah pressed on with determination and Stiles knew that he would stop at nothing to get the answer out of Harry, which once again emptied his glass, and not a moment later he refilled it.
Stiles and Noah looked at each other and they sported matching frowns. Stiles wondered if Harry had a problem with alcohol or if it was just the mention of his parents' death that made him drink so much. Regardless, Stiles noticed that he wasn’t minimally affected by its consumption and he guessed that whatever creature his cousin was, he was a healing factor that didn’t allow him to get drunk.
“Peter Pettigrew,” Harry uttered the name with so much contempt that it surprised Stiles.
“Peter?” Noah sounded genuinely taken aback, “Are you sure?” the disbelief was clearly heard by both Stiles and Harry.
“Am I sure?” Harry repeated slowly and Stiles knew immediately that his father said the wrong thing.
“Am I sure that the man who betrayed my parents is poor, little, defenseless Petter Pettigrew?” Harry drawled silkily in his best imitation of Snape.
“But h-he,” Noah stammered a moment before clearing his throat and trying again, “I don’t understand why. He was so…,” Noah didn’t feel it was appropriate to end the sentence but by Harry's looks, Stiles knew he understood what his father wanted to say.
“But he was so nice,” Harry said sarcastically in the same silkily tone.
“He was,” Noah said weakly.
“He was a coward! That’s why he did it. He was afraid of dying and bargain my parents' lives with his,” Harry said heatedly.
Stiles felt that there was a lot behind that story.
“Where is him now?” the fury in Noah’s eyes came back and he understood that Harry was a hundred percent sure that Pettegrew was the traitor.
Harry smiled sinisterly.
“Noah,” Harry began as he lean forward like he was sharing a secret with them. Stiles and Noah felt compelled to emulate the gesture.
“I wasn’t lying when I told you that my enemies, sooner or later, end up dead or in prison. In this case, I glad to inform you, that Peter died almost a year ago,” there was a satisfied glint in Harry’s eyes, and Stiles gulped down nervously and at that moment he vowed to never make an enemy out of his cousin.
Noah nodded, raised his glass, and downed the liquid. This time he barely coughed. As he put the glass down, it refilled itself.
“Good, good,” Noah murmured and Stiles was sure how much more his father could take before breaking down. Stiles wanted to stir the conversation into a lighter topic, but before he could, Harry spoke.
“That’s all good and well, but I must warn you,” Harry began and he immediately caught Noah’s attention, “I must warn you that not all my enemies are dealt with, and some are still at large and I’m sure, sooner or later, they will seek vengeance,” Harry paused for a moment to look at them before continuing.
“They will want to avenge their master and they are well aware that the best way to hurt me, is to hurt the people close to me. My family and friends. You must understand that the people whom I love have a target on their back, and by the simple fact that we share blood and a bond, they will come after you if they will ever be made aware of your existence,” Harry spoke gravely.
Stiles and Noah were too surprised to speak and Harry took their silence as a sign to go on with his speech.
“Of course, I’ll do my best to protect you and make sure that no harm befalls you, but there was no guarantee. There are other ways to deal with it, of course, but it’s your choice. I can make people forget about our connection, speaking of which, I should have blurted the information as I did. It was careless and stupid, a blunder,” Harry continued with a thoughtful frown.
Stiles couldn’t help but feel a bit offended both on Harry’s behalf and how he phrased his last sentence.
“A blunder?” Noah cried outrage.
Harry looked at him and his frown deepened.
“For god’s sake kid, we’re family! You shouldn’t feel like it’s dangerous to tell people that, it’s not fair. Not to mention, us Stiliski stick with family, no matter what,” Noah told him hotly with a stubborn glint in his eyes and Stiles couldn’t agree more.
“Exactly! Dad’s right, you’re stuck with us now. We look after each other and always have each other’s back. We are family,” Stiles shared his thoughts as well and as he caught his father’s eyes, he could see the pride in them, and Stiles couldn't help but feel pleased with himself.
Harry looked surprised but then regarded them carefully, considering their words, and after a long moment, he finally spoke.
“Very well, but better be careful. I don’t want anything bad happening to you,” Harry said kindly.
Noah nodded.
“Well, the worst thing that could happen is getting killed,” it was Stiles's turn to get his foot into his mouth and he regretted his words the second they left his mouth.
Harry looked at him and his gaze felt heavy on his body and he couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed.
“You will find, Mieczysław, that there are fates far worse than death,” Harry told him sharply, but not unkindly.
Stiles's already fair complexion paled further at hearing Harry’s words. Stiles gulped and he was impressed that his cousin could perfectly pronounce his name.
Silence followed Harry's statement and nobody spoke for a few minutes.
“So, how are Serius and Remus?” Noah tried to say lightly, but it didn’t come out right.
Stiles saw and was sure that his dad did as well, how Harry went rigid and pale a bit. Stiles didn’t get a good feeling.
“Sirius died on June 18th, 2009. Remus and his wife died on May 2nd, 2011,” Harry said bitterly and Stiles got a glimpse of anger and regret in his cousin's eyes before Harry could conceal it.
He once again drained his glass.
Noah was stunned into silence.
It was evident that he didn’t know what to say or do, and Stiles couldn’t really blame him. He just got the news that five people he knew, and was friends with, were dead, and he could understand that it was a hard blow.
“There are much more things we have to address, but I believe we should go to sleep now, as I said before, tomorrow will be a challenging day,” Harry spoke suddenly, but with care and gave them a small, but sincere smile.
Noah nodded and Stiles didn’t object as he did indeed feel tired.
They followed Harry to the same floor where Allison was staying, and Harry assigned them a room each.
“This is just temporary, but once everything is resolved, I hope you would choose a room on the family floor. I want you to treat this as your home, and you will always be welcome here,” Harry told them with so much sincerity and vulnerability that Stiles was surprised.
He couldn’t believe that someone who just met them, was opening the door of his mansion to them, giving them a permanent room.
Suddenly, and Stiles wasn’t minimally surprised, Noah walked to Harry and gave him one of his bear hug that Stiles still love to this day. It didn’t matter how old he got, his father’s hug made him always feel loved and protected.
Harry seemed quite uncomfortable but after a moment he wrapped his arms around Noah. Harry’s eyes watered a bit, but Stiles was a gracious person and decided to not mention it.
“Good night, I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow,” Harry said a bit awkwardly.
“Good night,” Noah and Stiles told them at the same time.
Harry smiled one last time before walking away.
Stiles got into his room, and he wasn’t surprised to see that it was so big, but he didn’t have the strength to explore it. He went directly to the bedroom and changed into comfortable pajamas that he found on the bed, probably left there by the house elf.
In no time he was under the sheets, head on the pillow, and ready to sleep.
Stiles caught a glimpse of red outside of his windows and before he got the time to get up and check what was the cause, he heard a song. It sounded peaceful and soothing, and Stiles knew that nothing would harm him in his cousin’s home, so he let the song lull him to sleep.