210Hello all!
I blame this fic on Tsume Yuki, who is responsible for my addiction to Fem!Harry crossovers. I hope you're happy, Tsume. (In all seriousness, she has some amazing ideas and I highly recommend checking out her work.)
Tsume was kind enough to let me use the name "Hariel" for fem!Harry. Thank you, dear!
Anywho, this fic is probably gonna be a bunch of connected, non-chronological one-shots featuring Fem!MoD!Harry mingling with Bleach characters.
Hope you enjoy!
The first time Ichigo met her, he was three years old.
He found her sitting on the porch overlooking their small backyard, her expression distant and wistful. Her wild black curls spilled over her shoulders and she had the greenest eyes he had ever seen. She was wrapped up in a silver cloak that seemed more like water than fabric the way it pooled around her.
What Ichigo remembered the most was how lonely she looked.
And he, all of three years old and already the protector his mother named him to be, had toddled over and plopped down next to her without a word.
The woman startled, bright eyes turning to him as a bemused expression crossed her face. They stared at each other for a long moment before she asked, very softly:
"Can you see me?"
Ichigo nodded because of course he could. What kind of question was that? She was obviously sitting right here. But then he remembered the weird people with chains on their chests and how most people didn't notice them. Frowning, he leaned over and with a forwardness that most young children possess, pulled her cloak aside to look for the funny chain.
There wasn't one, just a plain red shirt. He poked her chest a few times, just to be sure.
The woman chuckled. "No, no," she said, smiling at him fondly, "I don't have a chain, I'm afraid. I'm a bit different."
Ichigo blinked. "You see them too?" he asked.
The woman hummed. "I see a lot of things that most people miss," she said, "Most people miss me too."
He frowned as the distant look entered her eyes again. "I didn't," he said boldly.
The woman blinked at him, taken aback, before the smile returned to her face. "No, I suppose you didn't," she agreed.
"I'm Ichigo," he said, because his mother taught him manners and said that it was always polite to introduce yourself, holding out his hand the way he'd seen people in movies do when meeting someone new.
"It's very nice to meet you, Ichigo," she said, taking his hand in a gentle, but firm, grip, "My name is Hariel."
"So watcha doin?" Ichigo asked as she let go.
"Watching the sky," she replied airily, "The clouds in the day and the stars at night. They stay the same you know, or at least they change so slowly that no one really notices."
"But why here?" Ichigo asked, "Sky's everywhere."
"Hmm, indeed. But this is my family's house," she said.
Ichigo's brow furrowed. "But this is my house."
Hariel's eyes sparkled with laughter though she only smiled at him. "So it is."
She hummed, pausing for a moment as her gaze slid past him to look back up at the sky. "Not many people can see me," she admitted, something sad sliding across her face that Ichigo didn't like, "My family always can though. Some sooner than others."
Ichigo blinked as Hariel smiled fondly at him. "Me?" he asked, "We're family?"
She nodded. "On your mother's side. I believe I am your many times over great grandmother, though I admit that I stopped keeping track after a while." She looked at him, hand reaching out to hover by his cheek, not quite touching but close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating off her skin. "You look very much like your mother. You have her eyes."
Her lips quirked a bit, bright green eyes distant as though remembering something.
Ichigo thought about that. "Grandma," he asked after a moment, wondering at the surprised look on her face at the title - she'd just said she was his grandma, "Can Mama see you?"
"Yes," she said, "Though it took her a lot longer than you did to see me. She was eleven, I believe, when she saw me for the first time." She smiled at him again and the affection in her expression made Ichigo feel something warm curl in his chest. "You're very special, Ichigo."
"That's what Mama says," he agreed with a nod, making the woman laugh lightly.
They sat in silence for a moment and Ichigo took it as a chance to scoot closer to his new grandma. His family was small - just him and his mama and his daddy and his new baby brother or sister inside Mama's tummy and he was fine with that because he loved them even if his daddy was a little funny sometimes. He'd never had grandparents before, but he knew they were family and Mama said that family loved each other no matter what, so he loved his new grandma.
"Would you like to hear a story?" Grandma asked softly.
Ichigo smiled and nodded. "Yes please."
Grandma smiled back.
"Once upon a time, there were three brothers who were traveling down a long and lonely, winding road at twilight..."
Let me know what you think!
Until next time,
~Elri