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Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a beautiful little girl. This girl, with emerald eyes and fiery red hair, was despised by her sister, who hunted her away from their home.
This little girl had grown into a fierce and protective woman, a powerful warrior.
This woman had fallen in love with her best friend and had given birth to a beautiful child, the result of their love.
A child with hair as black as the night sky and eyes like two precious stones set in a porcelain face.
But, on the day of his birth, a terrible storm hit the castle.
The sister had plotted against the good queen's reign, and she had had to make a terrible choice.
Spending her last moments with her son, or the salvation of her greater good?
***
Harry smiled at his appointment. "I'm not usually like that, I'm so sorry."
The man smiled. “Hey, it's your birthday, you can be emotional.”
“Maybe while I recover, you can tell me how you stole those necklaces?” Harry offered with a smile, causing the man to pale and start running away, towards the exit.
Sighing, Harry slowly stood up and walked in the opposite direction, where he took the fire escape and appeared in the venue's underground car park.
There, finally, after checking for any messages he could’ve received, the blond man appeared, looking over his shoulder in terror.
Harry leaned against the windshield of the man’s car, smiling and saying. “You didn't pay the bill, man! Not exactly a gentleman, huh?”
***
Harry locked himself in his apartment, a two-room apartment in midtown Manhattan, sighing wearily.
You spent your birthday looking for criminals because you have no one.
“Go to hell, you idiot.” Harry murmured. He didn't have anyone, no.
He had been found on the side of a road, in a wooden box, without any note or name. A nun had taken him to church, where he remained until he moved from one foster home to another, another face in the System. Nothing special. Nothing useful. Nobody important.
That creep had no right to judge Harry's habits. If on his birthday he decided that earning three hundred dollars was a good thing, he would do it. And no one had the right to judge him for that. Especially not a thief.
A knock on his front door distracted him. He had already thought about how he had no plans for the day, and obviously he didn't have many friends either. Children without families did not tend to stay in touch once they escaped the System.
Cautiously, taking the gun he had placed on the furniture, he approached the door and asked. "Who is?"
“Harry!”
Harry frowned, and, holding his gun at the ready, opened the door, blinking when he registered the person in front of him. He had a rounded face, freckles on his otherwise pale skin, flaming red hair and brown eyes. His face broke into a relieved smile as he recognized Harry, a sparkle in his eyes, making them almost green.
“Harry! At last…” the red hair man took a step ahead, but Harry raised his hand to stop him. “Do I know you?”
“Something happened, something terrible.” The other said, his brown eyes still focused on Harry’s face, making him uneasy. “Your family is in trouble.”
“I have no family.” Harry replied, his voice cold as ice. “Who are you?”
“An old friend.” The man replied. “Maybe this will refresh your memory.”
The other bent down to kiss Harry, who, after widening his eyes, kicked him and pushed him against the wall opposite his door.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“A long shot.” The other replied, with a strained voice. “I had to try.”
“Do it again, and I’ll arrest you for harassment.” Harry said. “Go away.”
***
Harry usually believed everything he said, never talking without a purpose.
Of course, he thought, glancing at the pirate he was able to recognise once again thanks to a potion (because potions were a thing, apparently), he couldn't really make decisions without having his real memories.
"I can't believe Hermione wiped my memory like that." Harry murmured, deciding not to mention their first kiss, their half-hearted relationship, or the fact that Fred had tried to break Hermione's spell with true love's kiss.
"It was necessary," Fred told him, looking worriedly at the steering wheel of Harry's car. "None of us were happy about it, especially your parents and godparents, but... it was necessary."
"I know." Harry sighed. "Tell me more about this curse."
"I wasn't with them." Fred murmured. “I just know that things went wrong and I came looking for you.”
"Break one curse and they'll come asking you to break them all." Harry murmured. "Do you know who is responsible?"
"Many always blame your mother's sister. But as far as I know, she has no magic left. That's all I know."
Harry frowned. "Why weren't you with them? Where did you go?"
"I looked for my crew. I returned to the life of a pirate."
"Really?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
Fred, looking intently at the boy, replied. “I had nothing holding me back.”
Harry blushed, grateful for having arrived at his destination to avoid having to answer Fred-
He wasn't ready for that discussion yet.
Perhaps he never would have been.
****
“Would you really have married that guy?” Fred screamed at him, a hurt, strangled voice full of unexpressed emotion, his eyes smoldering and burning with those same emotions. "A relationship based on a spell!"
"My memory was gone! Not everything that happened to me was because of the spell!"
“It was a flying monkey!” Fred retorted.
"And I didn't know it!" Harry screamed back, then lifting a finger and slamming it into Fred's chest. "I had no idea what it was! All I knew was that a sweet, smart, funny, selfless boy wanted me and I wanted him back!"
“Would you have married him?” Fred whispered.
"Without knowing anything else?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Yes, I would have."
***
The curse broken once again, Harry sat with his head resting in his mother's lap, smiling as the Queen ran her hands through his messy hair.
"You have a choice, Harry." Lily spoke to him, her eyes emerald green, the same shade as Harry's eyes, falling momentarily on her husband. "You can stay here. Live a life without worrying about magic and curses. Hermione can put the spell on you again. No one would bother you again."
"Or?" Harry asked, glancing at the stony faces of his father James and his godparents, Sirius and Remus.
"Or you can return to our kingdom, and rule as the prince you are." Lily continued with a smile. "The choice is yours."
Harry smiled. He finally had a choice.
***
Fred was leaning against the wall. "I hear you won't be returning to the Enchanted Forest with your parents."
"Who told you? Hermione again?" Harry asked, raising an amused eyebrow at Fred's grimace.
"There are rumors. The prince chose this life over the one that is rightfully his own."
"This is my life, Fred. I'm not a prince." Harry snorted, shaking his head. "I stole, I lied, I betrayed. What prince would do these things?"
"All of them." Fred replied, shrugging. “It's just that not everyone even has the courage to admit it afterwards. Or to brag about it.”
Harry snorted in amusement. "And I wonder why."
Fred grimaced. "So it's goodbye? We'll never see each other again, you know. And you don't even have a boyfriend here anymore."
"Wow, how tactful Fred." Harry shook his head. "I was thinking that instead of going to be a prince, I could... you know, look for another path for myself." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bright green bean.
"A magic bean." Fred murmured, looking at him in fascination, "How did you get that?"
"I stole it from Wormtail, just before I broke the curse. I didn't tell anyone I found it because... we could have used it ourselves."
“To meet at least once in the future?” Fred asked.
"No, to get your ship back and, you know, live the pirate's life."
Fred blushed, looking at Harry. "You're a prince and would abandon all that to be a pirate?"
"I'm a boy who hasn't had anyone his whole life and who, for a living, has stolen, lied, threatened and found people for rewards. I think I'm more cut out for the pirate than the prince."
Fred moved closer, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist and humming against his lips. "Will you be my captain, Harry?"
"Only if you'll be mine, Fred." Harry whispered back, standing on tiptoe and kissing the pirate's lips.
And this is the tale of the pirate and his prince.