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Lycanthrope Factory	By : StarLightMassacre Category: Anita Blake > Crossovers > AB/Harry Potter Views: 23091 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter; all rights go to J. K. Rowling. I do not own anything from Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter; all rights belong to Laurel K. Hamilton. I make no money for this piece of fictional writing and never will.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Last Time

“Call Bradford, Edward. See where he is.”

“It’s only been half an hour, Anita.” Edward told her.

“I know, but I can’t shift the feeling that those people are going to escape and get away with this.”

“They won’t. I’ll see their faces in the reports and then if they do escape, I’ll hunt them down as Death.”

“I’ll come with you, as the Executioner.” Anita promised, looking at poor Harry sleeping in the backseat. “One way or another, we’ll get them. I swear it.”

Chapter Seventeen – Reunion

Harry was so happy when Anita carried him into the Circus. His home. He was wriggling and he just wanted to run off and find his favourites, but he couldn’t. His legs didn’t work very well and he had his water bag back, attached to his hand.

“Neeta, faster.” He urged her, swinging his legs.

Edward chuckled and Harry grinned at him. He liked Edward, even if he was scary, he wasn’t scary to him. He was always nice to him and he smiled and laughed and Edward had told him in the car that he had two children himself; Becca and Peter. Harry liked Edward.

They got down the horrible steps and Anita carried him through the floaty, soft stuff and Harry managed to see the room filled with people and then someone rushed at him and took him from Anita. He smelled Richard and he flung his arms out to hug him tightly, locking his legs around him.

“Watch his IV, Richard.” Anita said before going to kiss Jean-Claude with a tired sigh.

“I’ve got it.” Richard said as he hugged Harry tightly, watching the IV bag and the needle attached to a shunt in the back of his hand.

“Set him down, Richard. Let me see what they’ve done.” Lillian instructed.

Richard chose to sit down and keep Harry in his lap, still hugging him around his tiny waist and readjusting the blanket that was now tangled around him.

“I see they ruined all of our hard work with your hair.” Micah said as he run a hand over the completely shaved head.

“It all went when they gave me a bath with nasty stuff that smelt like the floors.” Harry nodded as he moved himself to the perfect positions for Lillian to check on him. He liked Lillian too.

“This IV bag has double the amount of vitamins and minerals as it did when he last came from them.” Lillian said with a frown as she read the label on the front of it.

“Maybe it’s because he was on the outside?” Micah asked.

“It’s for the baby.” Harry said easily.

“What?!” Several people cried.

“They seminated me with a baby.”

“Insemination. Oh god.” Richard moaned as if he were in pain, his arms holding Harry closer.

“They said I was unruly and naughty, so they seminated me and if the baby was better than me, they were going to kill me and keep the baby instead.”

Harry lay back against Richard and pulled away the blanket that Anita had given him from her car and he patted the lump in his belly.
Lillian touched it and felt around. She did several more things as Harry looked up at Richard and petted him. He’d missed Richard a lot.

“He is pregnant. There is a baby growing in here.” Lillian said breathlessly, almost in shock

“A baby girl.” Harry said with a nod. “The doctors said girls had better survival rates and they’d be more docile and less ‘gressive after she’s born.”

“Right, we’ll help you through this, Harry. I promise.” Lillian told him. “For now, you’re okay to go and sleep for a bit, if you still want to.”

Harry nodded and turned expectantly to Richard, who stood up with him and let everyone say goodnight and welcome back to him before carrying him to his big bedroom with his big bed. Asher was following behind them.

“I’ve missed my bed and my room.” Harry said as he crawled naked over his covers, taking his water bag with him, but leaving the blanket behind.

“Come here, I’ve got your pyjamas all ready.” Richard told him and Harry giggled as Richard dressed him in his soft, warm pyjamas that he loved. He’d hated being naked in his cage.

“Will you stay with me so no one can take me while I’m sleeping?”

“Of course. I need some sleep too.”

“Asher too?” Harry asked, looking at the blond vampire.

“Oui, mon ange.”

Asher climbed into the bed and Harry cuddled against him as Richard climbed in next to him. Asher held the IV bag for Harry as he and Richard slipped off to sleep. He would not die until dawn, he was alright for another sixteen or so hours. It had been a twelve hour drive from the factory back to the Circus. A very long, very fraught twelve hours for them at the Circus, just waiting for Anita to come back with their Harry.
Asher brushed the shaved, stubbly head and he smiled to himself as Harry smiled in his sleep at the touch. It felt surreal to have him back, but it was such a relief too. Asher had never loved anyone as much as he did Harry. The little boy was right up at the top of his list along with Jean-Claude, but he had never experienced this innocent, nonsexual, love before. The unconditional love of a child with absolutely no strings attached, and he’d become addicted to it without realising it. It had only been when Harry was taken that he’d realised exactly how much Harry had come to mean to him, how much he loved him and now that he was back, he was going to spend his time showing Harry exactly how much he loved and cared for him.
Asher sighed and smoothed his hand over the bristly head. Harry was pregnant. Messed around with so much that he had the womb of a female that was able to carry a baby. It seemed cruel to give such a traumatised, hurt little boy his own child. It was going to mess more with Harry’s emotions and thoughts, not to mention what it was going to do to his already messed up hormones. He just wasn’t ready to be a Father…Mother…whatever he’d be. He might never be ready for such responsibilities, but they had been thrust onto him regardless, uncaring of him or his mental wellbeing.
Harry wasn’t able to look after himself, he didn’t understand or comprehend certain things and there was no way that he could possibly look after his own child. Asher looked to the peacefully sleeping face and the fear and the torment that Harry had suffered through during his recapture leapt out at him like glowing signs that highlighted the terror and the pain that he had suffered through. The purple-black bags that circled his sunken eyes, the worried frowns creasing his forehead, the curled up, tight posture even when asleep and the pained lines that marred the face of one so very young. He hoped that the doctors who had done this so clinically, so emotionlessly, all got the death penalty for this.
How many innocent lives had they ruined over the course of their ‘careers’? How many people had they tormented in their selfish desire for forbidden knowledge? How much blood was dripping from their hands? How many dead were they responsible for? Those people deserved death and a more painful one than a mere injection.
Asher tried to rid himself of those thoughts, he could not go after those people, as much as he’d dearly love to hurt and torment them as they’d done to Harry, he couldn’t. He needed to be here for Harry, who was assuredly going to suffer with nightmares again, as he did before. Perhaps they’d be worse now that his deep rooted belief that he was safe here at the Circus and that nothing could touch him here had been shaken. He needed to be ready at a moment’s notice to help sooth Harry when he inevitably woke up screaming, thinking that he was strapped down and being experimented on once more.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Anita could have killed those doctors then and there if they were in front of her when the petrified screaming started from deeper underground. No one moved, knowing that rushing to Harry would frighten him more. They let Richard and Asher, who were sleeping with Harry, deal with his nightmares.

“It begins again.” Jean-Claude said sombrely.

“We’ve done this before.” Micah said calmly as he held Nathaniel’s hand comfortingly. “We can do it again, for Harry.”

“I still can’t believe that they inseminated that poor boy.” Lillian all but growled. Anita had never seen her quite so angry. “He carries three strains of lycanthropy and vampirism on his own, without adding in whatever the other donor carries, what were they even thinking?!”

“That Harry was a mere plaything. They didn’t care if the baby lived or not, they wanted to see the results of it and then they’d just try again, probably with a different donor egg to see if that gave them different results.” Edward put in mildly.

“Harry has a womb.”

Edward shook his head. “Harry said that they wanted the baby to be his, even if they have put a womb in him, that doesn’t mean that he has the ovaries to go with it. They wouldn’t be his eggs either, even if they did give him the full female reproductive system, they’d be the eggs of the woman who’s womb they put inside him. I’d bet that it was just a womb, though. That means a donor egg, fertilised with Harry’s sperm and then implanted back into him.”

“There’s no end to their depravity.” Lillian scowled. “That boy is in no condition to sustain a pregnancy and that’s without thinking of the mental and emotional ramifications. He’s going to be very ill from this and I’d be surprised if that baby wasn’t ill too with all the different strains muddling up its…her, DNA.”

Anita closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Harry had said that he was having a daughter, because females were more likely to survive and were more docile. She tried not to think of how many babies those doctors had gone through to find out that information and she pushed away the memory of all the baby skeletons that they’d unearthed at the Saint Louis factory. It was just too gruesome, too barbaric, to think about.

“Is it even likely that the baby will survive?” Claudia asked, her massive arms folded over her stomach, as they were too big to go over her breasts.

Lillian thought hard for a moment before shaking her head. “There’s no telling how this is going to play out. Those people, and I use the term lightly, have obviously done this before and as much as I hate the thought, they knew what they were doing, as wicked as what they were doing was. I myself would say that Harry is not healthy enough to carry a baby and with all the different strains, it’s likely that the baby will be either lost, stillborn or will be too ill after birth to live for very long. Which makes what they did all the more cruel as they’ve added the unnecessary trauma onto Harry of a possible stillborn baby or miscarriage or the pressure of dealing with a very sick newborn. He’s in no emotional state to be dealing with any of it. I’m not even sure he fully understands what having a newborn is going to be like.”

“We could give him a doll.” Nathaniel suggested. “To see what he does with it.”

Lillian looked thoughtful. “That might not be a bad idea. It would be purely for reaction purposes. If he doesn’t like it, then it is highly possible that even if he does have the baby that he won’t be the slightest bit interested in her. If he reacts positively, well, then we can take it from there, but Harry isn’t the most gentle when it comes to delicate things.”

“What do you mean?” Anita asked.

“Richard and I tested his level of grip and his understanding of his own strength and grip a few weeks ago by giving him raw eggs and telling him to pet them without breaking them. He squeezed most of them until they did crack and he threw the rest at the wall. He thought it was funny.”

Anita had an image of Harry doing that to a newborn baby and she shivered. He had the strength of a wereanimal and a vampire as he was both. He could do untold damage to a newborn in a split second and there’d be nothing that they could do to prevent it. All it took was one wrong move or a grip that was fractionally too tight and they’d have a dead newborn on their hands.

“He needs to be taught how to properly touch delicate things.” Micah said. “We start with the doll and perhaps something that he doesn’t find quite as amusing as breaking eggs. Richard said he responded well to flowers because they were pretty.”

“If he has the gestation of one of his wereanimals, we might not have enough time to encourage him to be gentle enough.” Lillian worried. “I don’t want to take the baby from him either.”

“You might have to.” Edward said firmly. “Let him touch and see her under supervision, but the mental and emotional trauma of having her partially taken from him will be nothing compared to what it’ll be if he hurts or kills her. That memory will stay with him forever and when he learns and grows as he gets older, that memory will always be with him. He’ll know what he’s done and as he recovers and becomes more normal, he’s going to come to truly understand what he’s done too.”

“Edward’s right.” Anita sighed. “We have to take control and take the baby from him for both of their sakes, but right now, I really wouldn’t trust Harry with a baby if we can’t trust him with eggs.”

“We’ll try again. Perhaps if we try and get him to pretend that the eggs are babies he’ll respond more gently.” Lillian sighed. “I’ll see about getting him that doll.”

Lillian left and Anita turned to Edward to thank him again for his help. They might not have gotten into the caging room quick enough to have saved Harry if he hadn’t been there with his explosives. They said their goodbyes and Anita told him to wish Becca luck on her ballet performance and with Peter’s hunting, even if she didn’t agree with Edward raising him to be an assassin like he was.
She went to Micah and Nathaniel and took both of their hands. She needed some sleep if they were going to start teaching Harry about caring for a doll in the morning and she wanted to be wrapped around her sweeties to chase away the horrors that she’d seen in the Nebraska factory. Harry was having nightmares and she had a feeling that she was going to have them too.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Harry had barely slept and he lay awake, cuddled up tightly to Richard, who was still asleep. He didn’t want to leave the bed, even though he was bored. He felt safe here, in his bed with Asher on one side and Richard on the other. He wouldn’t feel quite as safe if he went wandering around on his own. For once he didn’t want to go wandering around on his own, he wanted to stay here. He was scared to go around on his own. Instead he lay quiet and still, waiting for one of his favourites to wake up.

“Harry, are you okay?” Richard’s sleepy voice cut through his silent musing and he looked up, a smile already on his face.

“Richard, you’re up!”

“Are you okay?” Richard asked again more pointedly.

“Yes. I didn’t want to get up, it’s safe here with you and Asher.”

“No one, no one, can get into the Circus, Harry.” Richard told him firmly.

“What if they do and they come for me again?” Harry asked.

“All the doctors were captured, Harry. They can’t hurt you, or anyone else, ever again.”

“Promise?” Harry asked in a small, fragile voice and Richard pulled him immediately into a tight, comforting hug with his massive arms.

“I promise, Harry. No one will ever hurt you again. No one can get into the Circus and no one in the Circus would dare hurt you, okay?”

Harry nodded. “‘Kay. Is Lilan here?”

“Lillian? Yes, she’ll still be here. Are you feeling unwell?”

“My water bag is empty.” Harry said simply, poking the flat, bone dry, plastic bag.

“Okay, let’s go and get you sorted out.” Richard said, getting up and stretching before he bent down and plucked up Harry, carrying him through the underground to the living room.

“Did you sleep well, Harry?” Jason asked him, looking like he hadn’t slept at all himself.

Harry nodded, his eyes staring at every face so that he knew who was around him and who was where. He was a lot more cautious than he had been before. He was back to acting how he had when he’d first come to the Circus, wary and distrustful of everyone around him.
Jamil came over and touched his shoulder, which got him a grin.

“Jamil, you’re okay?” Harry asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, I’m alright.”

Harry smiled widely and reached out to tug at one of the waist length cornrows that Jamil had in with a giggle.

“What have I told you about pulling hair?” Jamil said sternly.

“It’s mean.” Harry said, petting the cornrow in his hand gently before dropping it. “I don’t want to be mean.”

“We got you a present, Harry.” Micah said gently as he held out a female doll.

Harry looked at it and cocked his head onto his shoulder. “What is it?” He asked.

“You hold it like this.” Micah said, cradling the doll in his arms.

Harry took it and did the same. “It’s not doing anything.” He said.

Harry frowned at the doll, rocking it slightly, before he lifted a finger and prodded one of its unmoving eyes.

“No. No, Harry. We don’t do that to baby.” Micah chastised him gently.

“Do you think you could keep a hold of baby today?” Richard asked him.

If it had been anyone other than Richard, Harry would have refused, but as it had been Richard, he frowned, but he kept hold of the doll.
He cradled and rocked it when someone looked at him, otherwise he dangled it by a leg from his hand and poked at its unblinking eyes. He didn’t like those wide, staring eyes.
He wasn’t allowed to move much and it was very frustrating when all he wanted to do was to drop the doll and crawl around the floor.

“I’ve got to go for a few hours, okay?” Richard came to tell him, putting both hands on Harry’s shoulders and looking at him seriously. “I will be back soon and I’m leaving Jamil with you, is that okay?”

Harry bit his lip and nodded. “Will Asher be awake soon?”

“Asher and Jean-Claude.” Richard nodded.

Harry grinned and nodded. “Okay. Come back soon.”

“I will.” Richard said, bending forward further to kiss Harry’s forehead.

Harry watched Richard go and he sighed unhappily. He didn’t want Richard to go, he felt safer with Richard here with him, but at least he still had Jamil.
Lillian came down the steps and she had a new water bag for him. Harry threw the doll to the side and thrust out his shunted hand for her to deal with.

“Harry, we don’t do that to baby.” Micah told him and Harry frowned as he detected a new tone, a sterner tone and he turned to the doll and rolled it over so its unblinking eyes were facing upwards and then he held out his hand again, wondering worriedly if he wasn’t going to get a new water bag until the doll was positioned correctly.

“Let me sort this out for you.” Lillian smiled at him and Harry felt much more secure as he watched her take away his empty water bag and give him a new one. He held the bag as the doctors had taught him to do when he’d first been locked in his cage and he watched as the water went down the tube and into his body slowly.

“Do you want to pick baby back up?” Nathaniel asked him softly.

Harry looked at the doll and he scowled at it. “No. Baby is sleeping now.”

“How about some colouring?” Jamil asked him, holding out a brand new book and his pencils.

Harry’s eyes went wide and he screeched, jumping up and loping over to Jamil, reaching up for the book and colours.

“Jamil, he’s supposed to be…”

“You’re pushing him for too much too soon, Micah. If you force that doll on him every minute of every day then he’ll come to resent it. That won’t be good for the actual baby when it arrives. I understand that we don’t have the luxury of time, but at least give him a bit of time to adjust before you force him to carry a doll around with him everywhere.”

Micah thought about that seriously, before he nodded. “You’re right. I’m just scared that this baby will come a lot sooner than we’re imagining. He’s not healthy, he’s not in the right position for a baby. He’s skeletal and as this baby gets bigger it’s only going to put more stress on Harry and it’ll come much sooner. I don’t want him to have had no experience looking after something that requires a delicate hand.”

“Let him adjust to it first, let him have a bit of time away from the doll to do what he wants to do and then give it back to him.”

Micah nodded as he watched Harry become absorbed with his colouring. This was going to be a very long and difficult process. He already knew that when the actual baby arrived, they would not be prepared enough for it, especially not Harry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Harry hurried back into the living room after feeding himself his very soft, almost pureed dinner in the kitchen. Nathaniel was just behind him, smiling as he watched Harry lope down the corridor that led to the living room. Harry dangled the doll that he had to take everywhere with him from his hand and he giggled as he swung it into the doorframe with a rather excessive force.

“Harry, mon petit pétale, please don’t do that.” Jean-Claude told him. “Come here, I shall do your hair.”

Harry grinned and he hurried over, the doll still dangling from his hand, and he climbed up onto Jean-Claude’s lap, holding the arm that curled around his waist, the arm that was making sure he was settled and comfortable before lifting to his hair and playing with it.
There was not much that could be done with it, it was still shorn short, but he was growing out tiny little tufts that he still liked people playing with and no one played with his hair better than Jean-Claude.
Harry dropped the doll to the floor and he purred gently, his tiger rearing his head as he tipped his head back and nosed up under Jean-Claude’s chin.

“You shouldn’t drop the baby, Harry.” Richard told him.

Harry scowled heavily. This had been going on for the last week and he hated it as he was handed the doll once again. He’d had enough and after staring at it for a long moment, he flung the doll at the wall with such a force that its ugly head broke.

“I don’t want it anymore!” He said firmly. “I don’t like it! I don’t like its staring eyes, don’t give it to me again.”

Everyone around him shared a look and Harry didn’t like that either. It seemed like a doctor look to him.

“No more.” He said as firmly as he could. “I don’t want it anymore.”

“Okay, Harry. Okay.” Richard said easily as he picked up the broken doll and hid it from Harry’s sight.

Harry settled back against Jean-Claude’s chest and went back to enjoying having his hair played with.

“Is it big enough for a clip?” He asked excitedly.

“No, mon petit pétale, it is not yet long enough for a clip.” Jean-Claude told him. “But it will be soon and I have bought you some new ones too.”

“For me?” Harry asked excitedly, turning to get eye contact so he could see if it was true or not.

“Just for you, mon petit pétale.”

Harry laughed happily and he turned to hug Jean-Claude and gave him a kiss.

“Thank you. I like my hair clips.” He grinned.

“Very soon you’ll be back to wearing them. You look very pretty wearing them.”

Harry grinned and he settled back down. He’d been getting better at staying awake for longer and he was getting used to sleeping in his bed and not drifting off randomly due to stress or fear. He no longer needed to take several naps on people’s laps during the day. Though that was not to say that he didn’t like to sit on their laps or cuddle in, because he did, and sometimes he did even drift off, but he no longer did so purely to sleep in a safe place. He’d come to learn that his bed was a very safe place and as long as he had Asher and Richard with him, he was fine and no one had ever come to wake him up or drag him away for experiments.
He was very happy here and he had people that he liked and people who liked him too. He was once again being weaned from his water bags, he was being taught and he got given things that he liked, such as his new colouring books, his pencils, his hair clips, sweet stuff and his clothes. He didn’t like the doll though, with its unblinking eyes, nor did he like socks, which trapped in his toes.
He had finished having his hair played with and he was sat on Jean-Claude, enjoying himself, when Anita came down the stairs from the above Circus.

“Neeta!” He called out happily, slipping from Jean-Claude’s lap and loping over to her, almost barrelling her over in his enthusiasm. “Welcome home.” He said as he nuzzled into her neck, nibbling on her skin a bit.

“No biting, Harry.” She reminded him as she patted his bristly head.

“No biting.” He repeated as he rubbed his nose on her shirt, smelling her and all the places that she’d been that day. He remembered not to bite, it wasn’t a nice thing to do, like pulling hair.

“Have you had dinner?” She asked him.

He nodded his head. “Neil fed me.”

Anita looked up at Nathaniel and nodded. “You’re not in your pyjamas, so you haven’t had your bath yet, why don’t you go and do that, then you can have a story before you go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Harry agreed.

“Come on, Harry.” Nathaniel held out his hand and Harry loped over to grab it, letting himself be led back underground for his bath.

“How has he been? He wasn’t holding the doll.” Anita observed as she greeted her sweeties.

“He’s broken it.” Richard sighed as he showed her the broken doll, its plastic head split. “He finally got fed up of having it pushed onto him and he threw it at the wall.”

Anita sighed heavily. “He was only getting more and more frustrated with it, it was bound to happen eventually. Perhaps this time get him a doll with eyes that close when it’s tipped backwards and not eyes painted open. That seemed to be his biggest problem with it. How did the egg test go?”

“As well as we expected it to go.” Richard told her. “We painted them to look like baby animals and he started out really well, then when it didn’t move or do anything after a while, he gently put it on the floor and stomped on it as hard as he could. After that it went downhill rapidly.”

“What of the doctors, ma petite?” Jean-Claude asked after a silent pause.

“Because of the nature of the factory and the inhumane testing carried out upon preternaturals by trusted, licenced medical practitioners, the courts have decided that they fall under the misuse of magical malfeasance act of the law.”

“That means death within forty-eight hours.” Richard said.

“They’ve all been transferred to secure holding cells and have been processed as death row inmates. As they are human, it might take a little longer than the usual forty-eight hours, but they have no chance of appeal. They will be executed before the week is over for their crimes. Soon Harry will be able to rest easy, knowing that those who harmed him will legally be executed and they can no longer come back for him.”

“What about the underlings?”

“All of them were caught and arrested. Some are also on death row, others will be facing a lengthy imprisonment and all of them have been blacklisted from ever practising medicine in any capacity ever again. The two women who injected the vaccines into their victims are both on death row, it is an offence punishable by death to purposefully infect humans against their will and as they acted within full knowledge of what they were doing, it was easy to bump them onto death row too.”

“Now we just have to deal with Harry’s baby.”

Anita touched the broken head of the doll. “Maybe we should just take the baby from him when she is born and have someone else raise her. Harry is never going to understand and he doesn’t want her. If he could make a conscious choice and Lillian was able to perform a less risk filled abortion, I’m sure he would have chosen to do it.”

“You can’t say that! You can’t put words in his mouth, Anita!”

Anita glared down Richard and prodded the doll again.

“Do you want to see this…” She squeezed the doll’s already broken head causing it to split further. “Happen to a real baby?” She demanded. “This is the reality of what we are facing, he is going to kill that baby in one way or another if he is left near her for any length of time. He is going to throw her into a wall, or stomp her to death, or crush her, if we let him have any contact with her. He can’t be trusted.”

“I’d have hoped he’d have made some progress by now.” Richard sighed, thrusting a hand through his brown, copper tinted hair.

“We all did.” Anita agreed. “But that baby is not getting any smaller and Lillian has estimated that it could be here in a mere month. We are running out of time and Harry is proving more uncooperative than we first thought. It isn’t his fault, but Edward was right, we can’t leave him to do something so devastating as to kill his own child and then let him carry that guilt around when he learns the full extent of what he’s done. We would be to blame as much as him if we did. We, who had known the danger but still allowed a newborn baby to be given to Harry, regardless that she would be his own daughter, for him to injure or kill. He won’t forget that it was us who pushed this on him either and he could blame us as much as he would blame himself. We can’t do that to him, Richard.”

“Ma petite is right, mon ami. Harry would never forgive us and he would be right to. I fear that he will not be ready for such delicate interactions with such fragile things for years to come. We cannot stop him from breaking eggs or dolls, how can we stop him from breaking a baby when all it would take is for one moment of pressure or one tantrum? There will be no second chances and those memories would stay with him for as long as he lived.”

Richard nodded in understanding. “I just…I suppose I had hoped that he would be able to look after his own daughter. I knew that it would never have happened overnight, but somewhere deep down it breaks my heart that he isn’t going to love his own daughter, and that she is not even going to be allowed to see him for years and even then all visitation would have to be supervised. What sort of life is that?”

“At least it will be that, life.” Anita told him. “The other option will only lead to her death by her Father’s unwitting hands.”

The arrival of Nathaniel, sans Harry, stalled their conversation.

“Harry’s in his bedroom.” Nathaniel said as several people opened their mouths to ask just that. “He wants you with him.” He directed to Richard before he went to greet Anita with a kiss.

“How was he today?” Richard asked, holding back his beast by a thread as he watched Nathaniel kiss Anita.

“How do you mean?” The leopard asked calmly.

Richard almost snarled, but held himself in check. He was not the Ulfric of the Thronnos Rokke clan for nothing. He was very able to control himself, especially when he was up against submissive leopards. “Did he make any progress today?”

“He recognised an apricot from a peach today. He likes them both, even though the apricots were out of season and a little sour, he still liked it.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really. He coloured in several more pictures, ate his breakfast, lunch and his dinner with no fuss and he had his bath with no fuss. He still refuses to go outside, or even up into the Circus and he hasn’t asked about the doctors.”

“Did he eat the actual fruit or were they pureed?” Anita asked.

“I pureed them down for him, I did refuse to feed him though and, after a short battle, he fed himself. He’s still messy, but not as much as he was when he first arrived. He’s getting to be much more coordinated too.”

Richard sighed and he left for the bedroom, and to Harry, preparing himself to spend the evening at least with Harry, maybe even the night. Harry still wouldn’t sleep on his own and really, Richard couldn’t blame him, and whenever he felt the stirrings of annoyance, all he had to do to dispel it was remember when Harry had been taken from him, the panic he’d felt, the pain and the loneliness. It never failed to make him want to clutch Harry in his arms and never let him go and despite the frustration he felt over Harry’s lack of progress, particularly concerning the doll that he’d hoped would one day be replaced by a real baby, he could never hold it against Harry himself.
It wasn’t Harry’s fault that he’d been sold and experimented on, it wasn’t Harry’s fault that any of this had happened to him or that he didn’t understand what they were trying to do. It wasn’t Harry’s fault and Richard knew it.
Harry was already in the bed when he opened the door, snuggling under the duvet, waiting for him with a book resting beside him and Richard had to smile.
He’d been teaching Harry to read and that was actually coming on much easier than he had initially expected, as Harry had been able to read before he was sold and caged up and he’d just buried the unneeded skill over the years. It only needed a bit of coaxing to get Harry to read and understand words again and reading bedtime stories with him was an excellent way to get him back into reading. Richard got him to follow the words that he was saying and it also allowed Harry to hear how words were pronounced, which improved Harry’s vocabulary and his speech too. Plus it was very enjoyable and the both of them liked this small period of calm, quiet time just before Harry would go to sleep.

“Are you comfortable?” He asked Harry as he settled on the bed, letting Harry snuggle into him and shift until he could see the words on the page.

“Yeah.” He declared, already looking at the pictures of the first page.

Richard pulled the pillow higher up to support his neck before he launched into the story, going slowly, letting Harry follow the words and have time to look at the pictures too. It was relaxing and comforting and quiet. Richard relished this time and he allowed himself to relax. They couldn’t control what would happen next, but hopefully, they could prepare heavily for it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

Another week after Harry’s rescue and it was almost as if Harry had never had the little hiccup and been recaptured by the doctors.
He was back to wanting to explore the Circus above and he never got tired of the acts, even if he’d seen them before, and he happily ate cotton candy and got it stuck all over his face and fingers, though he didn’t want to go outside of the Circus, not yet, and he had a fit if it was even suggested.
Anita had gone to watch the doctors being executed personally, with Edward, just to ensure that none of them escaped or got away. So that they knew that no one would ever come after Harry again.
She looked at him now, kneeling on the settee and giggling at Wicked as the ancient vampire pulled faces at Harry from across the room.
He was coming on much better and now that Richard was teaching him the basics of English, Mathematics and the sciences, Harry was getting a sort of formal education, even if it was just the basics from Richard, who was a secondary school teacher.
Micah coming into the living room with a bag distracted her, and she knew it contained a brand new doll for Harry. It had taken him just two days to break the new one that he’d been given last week. He’d tried to flush it down the toilet before ripping off a plastic arm.

“Keep it hidden for now.” She suggested.

“I got him something else too.” Micah smiled.

Before he could pull out what was undoubtable yet another colouring book, they heard a thump, a curse from Wicked and a cry.
Anita looked over and she couldn’t see Harry, but she could see the top of Wicked’s head behind the settee and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Harry had fallen over the back of it.
Anita was moving before she consciously thought of it as Harry started crying in earnest, he was holding a hand to his head, but Wicked was being very careful of his neck and back, keeping Harry laying still.

“What did he land on?” Micah asked.

“Flat on his front.” Wicked said worriedly. “I tried to get to him, but I was just slightly too far away. I got to him just as he hit the floor.”

“We need Lillian. The baby.” Micah gave her a worried look.

“I can’t hear anything.” Wicked told them. “There’s usually a whooshing sound to indicate the baby, it’s gone.”

“He’s lost it.” Anita said matter-of-factly. “Let me call Lillian.”

She went to Jean-Claude’s desk and picked up the landline phone and dialled for Lillian.

“What’s happened?” Lillian asked in answer to the phone.

“We think that Harry’s lost the baby. We’re in the living room.”

Lillian sighed. “I was expecting this. I’ll be there momentarily.”

Micah was cradling Harry when she turned around, the boy was locked around him tightly, still crying, but calming down as he had the downy tufts of his hair stroked. There was a bump to his head and his face was etched with pain, but his time with those doctors had given him a much higher pain tolerance and he was already stopping his tears and his noises.
Micah sat down on the settee that Harry had fallen over and cradled him, comforting him and then Lillian came bustling in, two wererat guards with her, for her own protection.

“Oh, what have you done, Harry?” She asked in a higher pitch.

“I…I fell over the back…back of the chair!” Harry huffed.

“Oh, let me see you.” Lillian said gently as she checked Harry over carefully. “Where do you hurt the most?”

Harry’s hand went to the bump on his head and then hovered over the baby bump he had. That wasn’t a good sign.
It was a tense wait for Lillian to do the necessary checks and tests. She sat back and shook her head and Anita sighed heavily. Harry had lost the baby.

“Keep him sat down and quiet for today. This bump is bad and he needs to rest, but he’s not concussed. Make sure the others know to keep him sat down and quiet too.”

Anita followed Lillian out of Harry’s earshot as Micah distracted him with his present, a brand new colouring book. At least that would keep Harry sat down and quiet for several hours.

“He’s lost the baby.” Lillian said with no preamble. “There’s no heartbeat and I can no longer detect any signs of life.”

“I guessed as much as soon as he fell. Wicked was looking right at him and still couldn’t reach him in time. We should have been more careful with him.”

“Perhaps this is the best case scenario. We knew he wouldn’t react well to a baby, we knew he was not healthy enough to carry a baby, but it would have been too risky to give him an abortion. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.”

Anita nodded curtly and turned to look at Harry cuddled up with Micah, his colouring book in hand and Micah holding a fistful of coloured pencils for Harry to choose from.
He was calming down and he seemed happy and peaceful enough. This was undoubtedly a tragedy, not least for the baby who had been lost, but on the other hand, maybe Lillian was right, in a clinically detached way, perhaps this was for the best after all.

“What has happened?” Asher asked immediately as he came into the living room with Jean-Claude to see Harry all but cradled in Micah’s arms, the bump on his head had risen up to resemble an egg. A bright red, almost purple egg.

“Asher!” Harry called out, holding out his arms.

Asher was beside him in a moment, pulling him from Micah and cradling him himself.

“What has happened, mon ange?” He asked, as delicate fingers traced around the forming egg.

“He fell over the back of the settee.” Anita told him. “Lillian has already seen to him. He’s going to be fine with some rest. There isn’t a concussion.”

“The baby?” Jean-Claude asked her as he and Asher looked at her. She shook her head sadly.

“Does he know?” Asher asked.

“I don’t think he’ll understand.” Anita told him. “Lillian said he needs to avoid stress for the next few days.”

Asher nodded and he sat down and cradled Harry, who was still jabbering into his ear.

“Is there anything else that we can do for him?”

Anita shook her head. “No. His healing abilities will deal with everything, but just in case, he needs to rest. He probably won’t like that, as he has been getting more active lately, but if we can distract him for most of the time with colouring and reading, we should manage it until he’s assuredly better.”

“He is getting much better with his numbers too.” Jean-Claude said proudly.

Anita looked at Harry and she smiled. He really was coming on in leaps and bounds. It was almost as if he could feel that those who had harmed him were now dead and gone. Even his blood family…those who had sold him to those doctors in the first place, were gone in a sense. The Dursley family had been imprisoned in an American prison for neglect and human trafficking, their son had gone to live with his own aunt back in Britain.
There was no one left to hurt him and it was almost as if Harry could sense that in his own way. He was happier, less anxious and more adventurous. He wanted to go outside now, he showed no fear of being out in the open and he even enjoyed his trips to the park with Richard or his walks with Nathaniel and Jason. He was becoming more confident, he was learning and progressing and Lillian had started to straighten Harry’s spine with a brace that he wore overnight to correct his posture.
They had done all they could to protect him now, but they would never stop teaching him. He had so much to catch up on and so much more to learn, but she was so proud of how far he’d come. She was so proud of him for never giving up.
The hours passed slowly and they kept Harry calm and quiet, distracting him always with his colouring, which he loved. The news got around quickly and Richard came hurrying in, his face pale.

“What happened?” He whispered under his breath.

“He fell over the back of the chair.” Anita told him. “He didn’t even try to catch himself so he fell flat on his front. He’s lost the baby and he bumped his head.”

Richard’s face crumpled and he turned to Harry. “Will he be okay?”

“We don’t know yet, he needs to be kept calm and quiet though. A tough thing to do when he wants to go bouncing around.”

“I’ll keep him down and quiet.” Richard said, before turning around. “Hey, Harry. I heard you had an accident today.”

“Richard. Richard. Richard!” Harry chanted, trying to get up, but Asher refused to let him go. “Asher, Richard’s here!” Harry tried to get him to see.

Richard quickly sat beside Asher and carefully took Harry onto his own lap.

“Look at my colouring, Richard!”

Richard sat and he looked at all of the pictures and colourings that Harry had done. He really was getting better at them and he’d done at least half a book. That alone said how long they’d been using it to keep Harry sat down and calm.
Richard kissed the bump on Harry’s head and he cradled the boy gently, keeping his hand and arm away from his stomach, which was likely to be very sore. Harry giggled at his actions before going back to more colouring. Richard noticed that all over the edges of the pictures were numbers or the letters of the alphabet. Harry was practising and he was so proud to see that Harry hadn’t made a single mistake. Harry did remember what the numbers and the letters were from before he’d been caged up, but his hands and muscles no longer remembered how to write them down. It was why Harry was better at talking than he was at writing, but that wouldn’t last for much longer. He was teaching Harry himself and the bright boy was an avid learner.
Harry wanted to be normal, it was evident in his face as he strived to learn everything that he could, as he absorbed what was being taught to him. He was such a quick learner because he wanted it so much. He was very much like the little boy who had been first caged up. It was almost like he had never developed past that point, which, seeing as he was in inhumane conditions, kept by vile, evil people, Richard could very well understand. Harry had not learnt anything useful in those years with those people and what he had already learnt had been lost in the fight for survival. Instead of mathematics he had learnt how to position himself perfectly for medical examinations, instead of history he’d learnt to be silent and still, instead of science he’d learnt pain and endurance. He’d been treated worse than an animal and now they had the job of undoing all of that teaching and replacing it with what Harry needed to know to improve and grow.
He might never be truly independent, Richard thought as he smiled down at the boy sat in his lap. He was almost eighteen years old and he was snuggled up on his lap, colouring and practising numbers and letters. He was always going to need them to some extent and Richard would be damned if he let the boy go too far away from him.
Harry shifted uncomfortably on his lap and Richard immediately gave his full attention to the boy.

“Are you okay? Do you need the bathroom?” He asked.

Harry shook his head and he laid a tiny hand over his belly. “Hurts.” He said softly.

Richard swallowed and he kissed the bump to Harry’s head again, trying to sooth him.

“How about some honey?” He asked.

Harry’s entire face lit up and his already large eyes widened in pleasure. “Yes! Yes, Richard!” He said happily, excitedly.

“I’ve got it.” Jason said, smiling sadly. He left the room to get the jar of honey that they kept in the breakroom for Harry.

It was a struggle to keep Harry from following after Jason, especially when Harry put his preternatural strength to good use, but Richard was fitter, healthier, bigger and he weight lifted too. He could easily keep Harry on his lap, but he couldn’t keep Harry still as the boy wriggled and fought him, trying to get up to follow Jason for more honey.

“Richard, Jacey has sweet stuff!” Harry implored him, trying to get him to understand what he wanted and to let him go.

“Jason’s coming back with your honey, Harry.” Richard assured him.

When Jason took that moment to jog back into the room with the jar of honey and one of Harry’s weaning spoons, Harry shrieked happily, reaching out for him.

“Jacey, sweet stuff!” Harry insisted.

Jason couldn’t get the lid of the jar off fast enough as Harry hurried him on and begged him in equal measure. Jason was laughing when he finally dipped the spoon and offered it out to Harry, who bent forward and all but sucked the spoon to get off every last trace of honey.
Jason gave him just two more spoonfuls, aware of the damage it could do to Harry’s health and to his teeth, but, used to this limitation by now, Harry just sat back and licked his lips happily. He was now very content and he’d stopped thinking of his pain too.

“Here you go.” Richard offered out the fistful of coloured pencils to Harry, easily distracting him again with the colouring book as Harry selected a green pencil and started a new picture.

It was going to be hell keeping him calm and quiet for the next few weeks at least, they’d likely have to use copious amounts of honey, which was going to be a double edged blade, as Harry hated having his teeth cleaned. It stemmed back to him hating having anything in his mouth and the toothbrush was a bit too much in Harry’s opinion, especially as they tried to get his back teeth, as that usually made Harry gag and he did not like that at all. They’d just have to try their best and as Harry snuggled up on his lap and went back to his pictures, Richard knew that he’d do absolutely anything for this little boy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

It was amazing how much things could change. How much one thing, or rather one person, could irrevocably change your life forever.
Anita sat and she watched as Harry, straight backed and grinning happily, went up on the stage to accept his diploma.
It had been a little over four years since he’d come to them as an abused, terrified, messed up seventeen year old. He was twenty-two now and he’d come on so well that Anita was almost overwhelmed by her emotions. Something that had never really happened to her before as Harry finally got proof of his completion of a formal education.
They had helped him with every single step that he’d taken and they’d built him up to this amazing young man. Harry looked for them and his grin widened when he caught sight of them. He could hardy miss them, they were taking up an entire section of the audience.
Harry was the oldest person in the ceremony by far, but you’d never know it to look at him as he was one of the smallest there and he was so young in his ways still as he waved enthusiastically at them, garnering a few titters and laughs from others in the audience, but Harry didn’t care, especially not as Nathaniel leapt to his feet and waved back. Harry was still very quirky in his ways and he hadn’t yet been touched, or tainted, by thoughts of how he came across to other people. He just didn’t care and Anita hoped that, out of everything, he kept that trait the most.
Harry giggled and walked off the stage and he went to sit back down. Anita didn’t care about anyone else, only Harry. The rest of the ceremony was long and boring now that Harry was done and it was a struggle to keep her attention from wandering to other things. Such as when the next disaster would appear and how she could keep Harry, and all of the others, safe from the disaster when it inevitably struck.
She was roused from her thoughts by movement and when she caught up, Harry had leapt into their midst and he was so excited that Anita had to smile as she was caught up in Harry’s race for hugs from everyone who’d come to see him at his ceremony, even the guards who’d had to come with them.

“Can we have ice cream now? I was promised ice cream!” He reminded them.

“You can have your ice cream.” Richard assured him gently.

Harry grinned, uninhibited, and he hugged Richard around the waist. “I want chocolate…no! I want walnut and honey!” He said happily. “And I want a flake and sprinkles too.”

Anita smiled. She had mentioned that he was very quirky and young in his ways, but he had come on so well that she hardly cared. She loved that little boy so much. In a way, he was as close to a son as she was ever going to get. She never wanted a child, she never had done, so she was never going to have one, but she’d helped to teach and raise Harry after his liberation, he was as much her son as he was Richard’s and Asher’s.
She would never forget the look on Richard’s face when Harry had slipped and called him ‘Dad’ for the first time. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Richard had broken down into tears, but he’d held his composure really well. Since that first time slip a few years ago, when no one had reacted badly, Harry had truly opened up and now he called Richard ‘Dad’ more often than not. In fact she hadn’t heard him call Richard anything other than Dad in at least three months or so now.

“Neeta, stop daydreaming!” Harry demanded of her. “We’re going for ice cream now.”

Anita smiled at him and broke off her thoughts. Harry knew her name, he’d known as soon as he’d arrived to them, but he still preferred to use the nickname that he’d given to her. He was getting very bossy however, the others teased her that she’d taught him that. She didn’t know whether to chastise him or be proud of him.

“Come on, Mum!” Harry called out and for a moment she wondered if he was actually talking to her, but he was looking at Nathaniel.

Nathaniel who had nurtured and raised him, had cooked and fed him almost every meal and was always on hand if Harry had needed anything, even help with bathing or going to the bathroom, as with a normal diet of solid food, his normal digestive system had started and during those first months, Harry had often been badly constipated as he wasn’t used to pushing anything out of his body. Those muscles had been disused for nine or so years and they’d had a hell of a time re-teaching Harry those basic of human functions.
But that was all behind them and she looked to Harry now, stood completely upright, walking normally and talking normally. He was perfectly normal, he was just quirky, as she was fond of saying.
They walked to the nearest ice cream shop and got Harry his walnut and honey cone and he had the biggest grin on his face as he savoured it.

“Let’s get you back home.” Richard said, not taking Harry’s hand, but placing his hand on Harry’s shoulder instead and steering him as Harry focused entirely on his ice cream, moving him out of the way of different obstacles.

It was a rather long walk to the Circus of the Damned, and Anita was alert and aware at all times. They had a couple of guards with them, but as it was early evening, they had no vampires with them.
When they finally arrived Harry went tearing off with his diploma to show Asher and Jean-Claude and as soon as the steel door closed, Anita relaxed. They’d made it back safe and nothing had happened to Harry.
The rest of them made it to the living room in the middle of Harry’s retelling. He was sat on Asher’s lap, Jean-Claude next to them, playing with Harry’s hair.
Harry was showing them his diploma and chattering at a mile a minute. He was so happy and Anita just sat down and relaxed for a moment. Then her phone rang and she closed her eyes. It was too much to hope for that work would give her the entire night off.
She said goodbye to everyone and went off to the crime scene, leaving Harry, happy and safe at the Circus as she dealt with the next emergency that needed her attention. Her boy was growing fast and strong and he was always learning. Given another few years, he was going to be near perfect and he was just as happy as he always had been.
He understood a lot more now and he knew that the doctors who had once hurt him, who had damn near tortured him daily, were dead. That all of them had been given the death penalty and they had been killed and that she herself had watched to make absolutely sure of it. He’d been happy about that, or rather he was happy with the fact that the doctors could never come back to hurt him ever again.
Harry also knew that he’d been inseminated with a daughter and that he’d once been pregnant. He remembered the fall over the back of the settee and he remembered miscarrying. He had mixed feelings about this, but he was happy to not have a baby or a child with him at the moment, recognising that he was not in the right place or position for a baby even now, and that he definitely hadn’t been ready for a baby a few years ago.
They were all proud of how mature he was, how rational and how much he’d grown and improved in the last few years. She loved him, she realised. She truly loved him as if he were her own child, despite their rather tumultuous and rocky start.
She couldn’t wait to teach him more, to watch him grow into a real adult, all of his own. His budding personality, his odd quirks, his own person. Given a few more years to come into himself, he would be a different person to the small, huddled boy who had first been brought to the Circus, and she couldn’t wait to see him when he grew into that person. But for now, work called her away and she would have to fight again to make the city safe, to keep Harry safe. She would do her all, always, to protect those who she loved and that now included Harry, the boy who had wormed his way right into her heart and had planted himself there. She would never do any less and she would give her very life if it was needed, as long as those that she loved were kept safe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ X

A/N: So, this is the end of this fic. The very last chapter, but we have a small epilogue to come, that jumps again, as the last scene of this chapter did, to when Harry is 27. To show exactly how well he’s come on under the care of the Saint Louis preternatural community. But after that, this fic can be laid to rest and I can pick up The Pride of the Lions again, which will be lovely after so long away from it.

Alois_Zirconia: In the factory Harry was given the honey with a medicine syringe. It wasn’t placed into his mouth, but was pressed against his lips and slowly dispersed so that he could catch it with his tongue and didn’t make a mess with it.

Just one more chapter to go, lovelies, and then I can pick up more Anita Blake crossovers, starting with The Pride of the Lions. I have about 40+ more that I’m actually seriously considering being posted up, but there are at least 100+ more that I have that I don’t consider good enough to post. So we’ll see more about those too.
But until the last chapter, lovelies, I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves and will stay to the very end of this fic now that it’s upon us.

StarLight Massacre. X
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Lycanthrope Factory