Hero ((Rex))

[Harmony Chan H6]

((Set before the winter holidays.))

Harmony sighed. An utterly dreadful week, to say the least. Aside from the Winter Ball a few days ago, Harmony had been feeling utterly deflated and defeated. The previous confrontation she had had with Ari almost two weeks ago still haunted Harmony’s memories, caused her unrest at night, made her tired during the day. Harmony just didn’t feel right. That, coupled with the fact she was more than aware of the fact Rex Carter was continuously trying to corner her alone again. Harmony didn’t know what to do about him; he was relentless in his pursuit, yet stealthy so no one but herself noticed it. If Ari was keeping an eye on her, maybe she would’ve detected the change in Harmony’s tense behaviour. However, Ari was partly to blame for it, and right now she hadn’t spoken to Harmony since the Ball. According to Aurora, something had happened to her older sister during the event as well, leaving Ari in such a foul mood even Aurora had been on edge around her. Harmony guessed it was a big incident, since Aurora did little to annoy Ari that much. Thinking back to Rex, Harmony sighed sadly again. She did harbour a small wish to speak to the Gryffindor, but at the same time she was wary of his ways, and since the confrontation with Ari, Harmony was rather striving to make things right. However, it seemed nothing wanted to go her way. Rex was always there, Ari was never there, and Aurora was the most subdued Harmony had ever seen her. Things weren’t going right at all.

Still, Harmony was trying to hold her head up high and keep going. Her ‘fight’ with Ari had admittedly taken its toll on her; Harmony was still afraid of her sister, what her own actions would provoke within Ari. At the same time, Harmony felt stronger and more independent. She knew she didn’t necessarily need Ari for everything. She could survive without her. Harmony had spent the last few days alone, and it hadn’t been too bad… It had been lonely; Harmony wasn’t a socialite, but she needed human company, and since Rin’s departure from school, she had found no one really fitted in with her quite as well. Harmony had friends, but none too close, or as close as Rin had been to her. She wished the ex-Slytherin all the best, but missed her stable presence. What would Rin say about all this, Harmony thought? What would her thoughts be on Rex Carter? Harmony supposed she was currently most confused about him. He was such a strange, and undeniably dangerous boy, but Harmony felt there was something about him she could ultimately trust. However, her instincts had never been as accurate as Ari’s… Harmony didn’t even know if she could trust herself. Her confidence wasn’t quite that high. Ari always thought she was right; Aurora always thought she was wrong. Harmony wasn’t sure anymore about the differences between right and wrong. Surely, Rex had to have an ulterior motive for speaking to her? But, at the same time, what could he possibly want with her? Harmony wanted to know. Harmony had always been quite curious; she wanted to find out more about Rex Carter.

There. Harmony had admitted the truth to herself. Yes, she wanted to let Rex approach her, she wanted to speak to him and find out more about him. No one like him had ever shown such interest in her, and it was more thrilling than scary. But Harmony couldn’t admit this aloud. Frustrated, she sped up her pace as she walked along the corridors, having just left her Charms lesson. Her concentration had been wavering during the activities they had been doing, which Professor Flitwick immediately noticed. Harmony’s skills were usually excellent in this class, but today they had been nothing short of dismal. This had also upset Harmony. She simply wasn’t herself, and the lack of support around her was beginning to take its toll. Bowing her head in thought, Harmony rushed towards the Hufflepuff Common Room to change books for her next lesson, Herbology, when she bumped into someone. Propelled back from the hard impact, as Harmony had been walking quite quickly, she managed to steady herself, but dropped her bag on the floor with a resonating thud. “Ah! Oh, sorry, sorry.” Harmony immediately began to apologise once standing straight again, her eyes downcast as she reached forward to grab her bag. “Excuse me.” Harmony uttered quickly and started forward again, only for the same body to block her way. She looked up in surprise to see the familiar daunting face of a Slytherin boy in her year, JJ Weiss.

JJ Weiss was a tall, lanky, but strong fellow, with slicked back pale brown hair and watery green eyes that seemed to stare right through you. He had a sickly complexion, but he was surprisingly tough for his build, and his height gave him the advantage most times. He was of German descent, but spoke both his mother tongue and English fluently, and he liked to flaunt this often. He had never liked Harmony – she was quiet, placid and weak looking, and she had found out his view of her in first year when he had tried to empty her bag in front of other students in the corridors. As usual though, Ari came storming along, as though psychic to her sister’s needs, and scared the arrogant JJ off to the extent he didn’t bother her for a long, long time. Still, JJ always made sure that when Ari wasn’t around to disturb them he would try to pick on Harmony. He always said she was too weak to stand on her own feet, that one day he’d pick Harmony apart. Harmony disliked JJ a lot, and she was terrified of him too. He was a horrible and noisy student in lessons, rude to teachers, and rich enough to abuse the fact his parents had some power over the school and its rules. Now, staring up at JJ, Harmony felt sick. She knew she would not get out of this unscathed now, for there was no one else in the corridors save for herself and JJ, and JJ’s two burly looking minions; Slytherin boys with nothing better to do.

“Harmony.” A cruel smirk curled around JJ’s thin, pursed lips. “Why are you in such a hurry? Stay. We should have a talk.” He stepped closer to Harmony, closing the already short distance between them.
“H-Herbology.” Harmony managed to finally stutter timidly, her eyes looking anywhere but up at JJ’s menacing face. “I’m going to be late.”
“Sprout can wait. Herbology can wait.” JJ drawled in a whispering hiss, bending his face to stare straight into Harmony’s face. She was a good deal shorter than him – she was one of the smallest in her year at 5’2”, and he was at least 5’7”, and still growing. JJ had started his growth spurt the beginning of this year, and revelling in his newfound advantage. “Harmony, you and I haven’t spoken for ages. But now that sister of yours isn’t around to cause a scene, I think it’s a golden opportunity to talk… don’t you think?”
His slimy, manipulative tone of voice made Harmony shiver inwardly. But she had to stand up this guy… or try to anyway. Harmony hated being called weak all the time; hated being walked all over and having to use others like Ari to save her. “I need to go.” She spoke firmly, though her voice was still quiet. “Let me go.”
JJ stared at Harmony for a few seconds, before chuckling softly to himself, looking over Harmony’s rigid posture in thought. His ominous laughter eventually faded away to silence, echoing around the corridor, until he suddenly struck, reaching a strong hand forward and grasping Harmony’s arm, forcing her to cry out in alarm and pain and drop her bag again. “You’re coming with me.” He spoke fiercely, beginning to drag Harmony away, his two minions following suit.
Harmony started to struggle helplessly, thrashing against his tight hold. “Let go of me, I said let go! Where are you taking me! Someone--! Help! Let go! Let go!”
“Shut up, Harmony. No one’s going to hear you, stop wasting your breath.” JJ reprimanded uncaringly, pulling Harmony’s wrist after him. “I will have my way with you.”

[rex]

Rex was bored. Although technically he shouldn't have been. He was on his way to Herbology. The Gryffindors took that class with the Hufflepuffs so he would be able to see Billy. Rex and Billy always had a good time together. Usually. No, Always. Billy was his best friend besides Stace but she was a girl and that didn't count. You couldn't be best friends with a girl. But then what did that make Stace? If she was not his best friend or close to it, did that mean she was his girlfriend? Nah. That was ridiculous. Stace and Rex had known each other forever. She was like the little annoying sister who Rex never wanted. Who happened to be the same age as he. That didn't make any sense. Rex shook his head to rid himself of the thought as he walked the corridors. Another thing about having Herbology with the Hufflepuffs was that Rex would be able to see her again. Harmony Chan. She had been avoiding him like he was a walking talking plague. He had been trying really hard to corner her and talk with her. It was hard though because he had to be inconspicuous about it. Who knew when and where Harmony's annoying sister could be. Rex had known the name Ariane ever since he had been sorted into Gryffindor almost three and half years ago. Her anti-social behavior proceeded her in the common room. Most people avoided her if they had any sense to them. Rex was doing a fine job of staying out of her line of fire. That was until he had found out that she had a little sister. Was it his fault that her little sister was Harmony and Harmony had entrapped him with her feminine wiles? Psh. As if.

Girls were easily manipulated. All you had to do was flex a bicep or two and they would fall under your charm. Except for Harmony. Something about that girl had interested Rex and Rex couldn't put his finger on it. Sure they had known of each other because they were in the same year and went to the same school. But it wasn't until Rex had danced with Harmony that one day that he realised how special she was. How delicate. Something inside Rex wanted desperately to protect that girl. Maybe she reminded him some of Raph. I miss you bro. It was still hard to think of Raph. Some days were better than others. Some days the loss of his brother was a little wave that would come every once and a while but Rex could push the thought aside. Other days, the memory of Raph was like a black hole threatening to consume him whole. Those were usually days were he had a nightmare about the fateful day the night before. The nightmares were less frequent but they were just as powerful. Every now and again Rex wished that he could tell Billy about his feelings. But how could you tell another guy about your feelings? That was girly stuff. Girls went to the toilets together so that they could talk about their feelings. Or at least that is what Rex firmly believed. Guys didn't go to the toilet together. They did they business and were done with it. That was the only explanation of why girls wanted to go together. If he really wanted to, he could go talk to Stace about Raph. She would probably jump on the chance to get to know the "inner Rex." But there was no way he was going to talk to her.

Walking down the corridors (some days they seemed endless) Rex heard a shriek near him. This was not a shriek of joy either. It was one of terror. Rex quickly rounded the corner trying to find who it was that let out the cry and why they had done it. He saw that his rival JJ Weis was hovering over another person. He had grabbed onto the other person forcefully and Rex concluded that the other person had been the one to cry out. Rex saw JJ say something to the other person who looked awfully familiar. Unfortunately, Rex was too far to hear what he was saying. "Hey!" Rex cried out and started running toward JJ. JJ was already dragging the other person the other direction but he stopped when he heard Rex's voice. The two of them had hated each other ever since they had met. Rex was not fond of Slytherins anyway but JJ had taken the cake. Something about him just rubbed Rex the wrong way and brought out a fury in him that was unknown. "Let them go!" Rex shouted at JJ as he caught up to them. JJ turned and seeing who it was gave a sickening smile.

"Why here comes the little Gryffindor. Trying to be a good hero as always." He flung the other person aside as if she was a piece of trash and Rex recoginsed her as Harmony. "What are you going to do about it?" JJ took out his wand and pointed it at Rex.

"This," he said to JJ. He rushed straight up to JJ who seemed to be taken off guard. He obviously had expected Rex to pull out his own wand. Rex grabbed JJ's wand and threw it behind him and with his other hand formed a first and landed it square in JJ's face. JJ fell over backwards grabbing his nose. This should make this day more interesting.

[Harmony Chan H6]

((*laughs* There are times I think Harmony has died in me, but then she comes out with such long posts. Sorry.))

Harmony was terrified. Blood coursed through her veins like wild fire, rising to her cheeks to leave bright red patches; her mind rushed with a thousand possibilities as fear clenched her in its vice-like grip; her eyes dilated wide in terror, her small mouth set in an ‘o’ shape, whimpers of fright escaping beyond her control. Harmony felt so small and vulnerable against the world; against JJ. He was too big, too strong, too powerful. He was everything Harmony was not, and she was so scared of what this boy was capable of. JJ was renowned for his cruelty and his sneaky tactics. He was one of those Slytherins that didn’t use brawn, and actually had a brain to execute his plans. Those were the worst bullies, really; those who could and would seek to exploit your every weakness. Harmony knew JJ knew that Ariane was her protector, and without her, Harmony was defenceless; just a target waiting to be picked off.

Harmony stopped struggling after she had been dragged halfway down the empty corridor. Where was everyone? Where were the teachers, where were the students? Not a soul could be seen in sight. Harmony knew JJ had picked the perfect moment to ambush her; she should have seen it coming. She would not escape this easily, and she knew it too well from the look on JJ’s face as he continued to force her to follow him, his two minions not far behind. Still, Harmony refused to go down without a fight, and was about to wait for the opportune moment to give JJ a good hard kick, when a familiar voice rung echoed around the corridor, and rapid footsteps gained from behind. Harmony’s blood ran even colder than before; Rex. It had to be him, that had to be his voice. And he sounded angry. JJ turned around and sneered at the sight of the Gryffindor. Harmony didn’t know the relationship JJ had with Rex, and vice versa, but immediately she could tell it was not a placid one. The expression of hatred on JJ’s face was enough to tell Harmony that much.

Harmony didn’t know whether or not to feel relieved as she was flung aside, forgotten by JJ as the Slytherin drew his wand out. She was glad he had finally released her; her wrist was red from being so roughly pulled along by violent boy. However, her heart’s beating did not stem; on the contrary, it quickened as she watched Rex and JJ face off against one another. A tiny, minute part of Harmony was so glad to see Rex for once, but she also knew this put him in a dangerous position. JJ was a good spell caster and dueller; she had witnessed his skills for herself. Rex on the other hand never concentrated in lessons, and simply wasn’t an expert when it came to magic. Harmony noticed he always preferred to use his physical attributes rather than his mental ones, and this wasn’t the way to go when JJ Weiss had his wand pointed right at you. Plus, Harmony knew this would only result in trouble – for all of them. What if a teacher found them now? They were breaking so many rules, and Harmony didn’t want Rex to get into trouble; after her, he had just saved and defended her.

JJ was taunting Rex as Harmony staggered to one side and upright herself again, her bag sliding across the floor surface and resting against the wall. It lay forgotten as Harmony’s back pressed against stone, her face watching in dread and fear with wide eyes. Meanwhile, the minions of JJ’s had scattered – goodness knows where they were, but the minute Rex had arrived on the scene, they seemed to have realised they didn’t want to be here. Harmony’s eyes scoured Rex’s face hurriedly, noting the anger furrowed into his forehead. What would he do? Suddenly, he surged forward and was in front of JJ before you could blink, causing Harmony to gasp aloud in shock as in a swift, almost trained movement, Rex yanked JJ’s wand out of his hand, flung it behind him, and landed a sickening blow to the boy’s face. JJ fell back, clutching his nose in pain as the wand rolled across the floor.

JJ down, Rex was standing over him triumphantly and breathing hard – though probably from anger rather than exertion. Harmony was momentarily paralysed from shock at the sudden burst of violence, but quickly came to her senses. She began to move hastily and nervously, knowing from the sound of that punch JJ would not be getting up anytime soon. He was currently rolling on the floor in pain, and Harmony felt a little sympathy for him – however, that wasn’t what she was concerned about right now. This was not the time to feel empathy for your enemy; this was the time to run! Harmony bent down, flung her bag over her shoulder and ran over to Rex. Their gazes locked for a moment and she faltered, if only for a second, before she had grabbed his hand in hers and was pulling him after her. “Come on!” She urged in panic, her gaze falling on JJ’s cursing, thrashing form. He didn’t seem to be aware of Rex and Harmony at all, too preoccupied with the small amount of blood spurting from his nose. “Come on!” Harmony repeatedly more urgently this time, and with a hefty tug, she dragged Rex after her and began to run.

Harmony led Rex as quickly as possible from the scene towards the Courtyard, where she knew at this time little people would be around; most of the students should be in lessons. At this very moment, Harmony and Rex should have been in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout for Herbology. The thought was paid little heed as Harmony dunked her heavy bag on one of the benches and proceeded to sit down on it, breathing heavily. The blood was starting to subside in her veins as she brushed away strands of wild black bangs, messy from their short but fast run through the school. Finally, Harmony’s breathing returned mostly to normal, and she dared herself to glance up at Rex standing before her. She squinted a little in the bright light, but a small smile lined her lips. “Thanks.” She whispered.

[rex]

Rex stood over the bleeding JJ and breathed hard. There was so much pent up anger in Rex with JJ. It felt good to finally have an excuse to punch him in the face. In spite of himself, Rex broke a small smile. He hated when ever someone actually got hurt. He and Billy loved to play practical jokes on other students but he never wanted to hurt them. But sometimes, violence was unavoidable. Like this time for example. Rex had been searching for Harmony all day and was glad that he was going to be able to see her in Herbology. Apparently, JJ had found her first and he was also looking forward to seeing her. But for all the wrong reasons. Rex had no idea what JJ had planned for Harmony but it could not have been anything good. He was dragging her down the corridor by her wrist! Nothing good could have come of that. Rex was a little surprised that he had hit JJ actually. True, he hated JJ with a passion and then to top it off JJ was a Slytherin. However, his own response surprised him. There was no way that he would have won a wizard's duel. JJ was the better wizard no matter how much Rex hated to admit it. Rex could do better in his classes if he wanted to, but he didn't. There was no reason to excel in something you don't care about. And Rex did not care about classes. He wanted to have fun and classes were anything but. So he knew that there was no way that JJ would lose to Rex in a duel. But somehow he seemed to figure that JJ would not expect a physical duel. That was funny about the wizarding world. Back in the muggle world, all school fights usually ended with fists. But here at Hogwarts, it was almost taboo to use your hands in a duel.

There was also the look on Harmony's face. The look of absolute terror as she was tossed across the corridor made Rex furious. He hated bullies and JJ was being one of the biggest bullies that he had ever encountered. So that is why a small smile found itself on Rex's face. He had just stopped a potential bully while getting the upper hand and letting out aggression that had built up over the years. He had completely forgotten why he came down this corridor or where he was going. The only thought running through his head was, Take that, JJ. He stood over this bully with a guilty pleasure running through his head. Guilty because he had been rather rash to hurt another student (and pretty badly from the blood) but pleasure because he had won the battle. Maybe not the war but definitely the battle. It was not until Harmony caught his eye that he remembered that she was still there. She had a look of anxiousness on her face and Rex senses suddenly caught up to him. They were in the middle of the corridors and he had just punched another student. This would be bad if Professor McGonagall caught him here. She was already mad at him. Last week, Billy and he had convinced Peeves to flood Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. She had been so upset that she flooded every other bathroom in the castle including the professors’. The corridors had become like a swamp in no time. The professors easily cleaned up the mess but Rex had been serving detention with her ever since. Plus, she wasn’t in the greatest mood since they were losing the House Race to Ravenclaw for the second year in a row.

He let her grab his hand and lead him to another part of the castle. At first he had no idea where she was leading him but soon in became apparent that they were headed toward the Courtyard. Rex wanted to say something but all he could think about was her hand on his hand. The touch was nice. Stacey always was trying to make physical contact with him somehow or another. Whether that be sitting very close to him during lunch or hugging him every time they see each other. But Stace was like his little sister that he never wanted. Then there was Billy. They didn’t make physical contact. They were both guys after all. If anything they clapped their hands together or patted each on the back but nothing big. Nothing like this. And it wasn’t even a big gesture either. Harmony’s hand was on his hand but somehow it felt... right. He let her lead him into the Courtyard and watched as she sat down and collected herself. When she looked up at him and spoke, a smirk came to his face. He didn’t exactly know what to say, so he just said, “Sure.” He un-slung his bag from his shoulders and sat down on the bench next to her. He gazed into her eyes for a second wondering if he was making her uncomfortable before stating lightly, “Anytime.”

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony tried not to blush at how intently Rex was staring at her, and diverted her gaze to her feet. She felt embarrassed, as well as truly cornered by the boy. Finally he had her in his grasp. She supposed she should be grateful though, which she was. Anything, even Rex, was better than JJ. The thought of the Slytherin caused her blood to run cold; he truly terrified her. In comparison to JJ, Rex could be considered docile. Harmony smiled inwardly at the thought, before looking up at Rex beside her in the silence. She had never enjoyed silence like her sister; maybe because everything Ariane liked Harmony found it natural to dislike, and vice versa. She decided she had to break the noiselessness, and nervously stated, “We’re missing Herbology.” It was a simple statement, though weary and defeated. Harmony had never missed a lesson in a life before. Never. For almost four years, she had not even been late once! And now this. She sighed a little and looked away from Rex. “I assume we’re not going back, are we?” Harmony tried to say lightly, keeping the conversation’s mood jovial; the last thing she wanted was for Rex to exact the real reason to why he was always stalking her. She was scared of him, but after the incident with JJ, her fear had diminished somewhat. Rex had protected her, and he was much, much gentler than JJ could ever be. That Harmony was grateful for.

“I’m going to need to get notes of someone.” Harmony stated forlornly, fidgeting with her fingers. “You’re not bothered, are you?” She turned to Rex and smiled wryly; it wasn’t meant to be said offensively, but it had come out anyway. Something about the incident that had just happened made Harmony feel bold around Rex, and she suddenly felt like speaking her mind. “I wish I could be as carefree as you sometimes.” Harmony admitted softly, standing up with her back to Rex, before turning around again and smiling brightly. “We can’t sit around here all day, but we can’t wander around either because someone might find us. I haven’t ever had a detention, Rex, and I don’t want one, especially not with Professor Snape. I’m sure you’re sick of them too, right?” She joked, relaxing in his presence. Right now he seemed harmless, and he was so quiet, she was filling up his silence for him. “Detentions can’t possibly be fun… Um, well, what do you want to do?” Harmony looked up at the sky and smiled again, glad it was a fair day with the morning sun shining down, unabashed. “It’s a beautiful day.” She added finally, shielding her eyes with a hand and squinting at the azure blue and clouds of white. Her heart felt at peace, whereas before it had been hammering against her chest wildly.

Harmony looked back at Rex and thoughts ran through her mind. Ari. Aurora. Billy. The incident the other day and the look on his face. She felt guilty for several things all of a sudden – for Ari’s behaviour towards Rex, for her ignoring him. And especially for always thinking ill of him. Harmony wasn’t judgemental, but she had always been scared of Rex, and somehow she felt she shouldn’t have. Ari also discriminated against Rex, and Harmony felt the huge urge and need to shield him from it, to protest. Even though she felt Ari would snuff her out like a candle, she wanted to persist. “I’m sorry about the other day.” Harmony finally spoke up quietly. “My sister… what she did and said, that was wrong of her. I’m sorry. I can’t apologise for her though. That’s the way she is, and I love her for it. Please don’t hold it against her, she only wants the best for me.” Harmony gave a small, fond smile. “She’s the only person I have left in my life.” She added almost inaudibly, her gaze turning to the flowers behind Rex. They were crocuses, in purple, yellow and white, blooming a little in the bud. “I didn’t mean to always avoid you, Rex, I… just knew Ari wouldn’t approve. She’s not speaking to me right now…” She trailed off, upset, her throat closing up. She hated this. She hated her sister being so distant from her. It was like she was further away than ever.

[rex]

Rex noticed that Harmony seemed to be nervous about something. Maybe he was making her uncomfortable. That was a silly thought though. Why would he make anyone nervous? Especially a girl? Stace never seemed to be bothered by him. She was anything but nervous around him. In fact she often seemed rejuvenated by his presence. Rex could never figure her out. She was just plain weird. Why did girls have to be so confusing? Why couldn't they be straight forward like guys were? If Rex something that bothered Billy, he would tell Rex. Wouldn't he? Of course he would. There was no reason to be secretive around each other. Unlike girls, who seemed to thrive on and throw themselves into mystery. No wonder they were always made at boys. The boys could never figure out what they were doing! Take Harmony for example, Rex had just saved her from JJ and here she was being uncomfortable. What did she have to be uncomfortable about?

Rex let out an audible sigh when she broke the silence by mentioning Herbology. He felt his eyes roll in his head when she asked him whether they were going back or not. "We could go if you wanted to go. Of course we would be late and then we could try to sneak into class without being noticed by Professor Sprout." His mind quickly went into motion of how they could possibly do that without being seen. He often was late for class, usually with Billy and they had become pros at sneaking into class late. But Rex and Billy had lots of practice. Harmony was a novice. How could he get her in without the experience that he and Billy had? His mind was working out scheme after scheme throwing out the bad plans and building on the good ones. The problem was that the greenhouses were isolated so that you could only approach them in so many ways. Rex barely heard Harmony's words as she spoke.

His attention was brought back to Harmony when she quietly apologised about her sister. She didn't seem interested in class anymore and she wanted to talk about the past. He listened to her speak and didn't how to respond. This was the trouble with girls! What did they expect. Rex tried his best not to think about things that already happened. There was no way to change the past. No matter how much you wanted to change it.... He waited until she trailed off until speaking up. It was obvious that she was hurt that her sister had stopped to her. "Nor should you have to apologise for someone else's actions. If she's too pig headed to realise that she has hurt her sister than especially you should not have to apologise for her. I know how much a sibling can mean to you." He swallowed. "Even when they are completely different from you. But that doesn't excuse her actions. You say she wants what is the best for you. But what is the best for you? Only you can decide. Not her."

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony looked at Rex when he said they could sneak back. “No. I’d rather not.” She replied boldly, shrugging her shoulders with a wry smile. “I wasn’t made for sneaking in like you… I’ve never had any practice. Anyway, we’ve missed over half the lesson already. There isn’t any point. I’ll just tell her an excuse the next time I see her… She won’t believe we’re together anyway, so I could say anything…” She wondered how Rex would get out of detention from Sprout – most of the professors didn’t like him for reasons Harmony could understand. He was too much of a troublemaker, always disrupting lessons, turning up late, and never handing in homework. He wasn’t unintelligent though; Harmony had noticed a long time ago that Rex just didn’t fulfil his true potential. She still felt guilty about pulling Rex into this situation though; this meant Sprout would likely give him an undeserved detention. “I’ll make an excuse up for you too. You didn’t miss the lesson on purpose.” Harmony said, looking away from Rex’s gaze. “I don’t want you getting into trouble because of me.” She mumbled under her breath, pacing the Courtyard floor.

Harmony felt her a strange protectiveness over her sister when Rex called her ‘pigheaded’, and immediately turned to send him an angry look. “You don’t know her like I do!” Harmony said strongly, slight tears in her eyes. “You just… wouldn’t understand. She’s not pigheaded, she’s her own person. You can’t just… talk about someone like you know her when you’ve never gotten to know them, when you’ve never seen the world through her eyes.” Harmony kept her tears at bay and shoved them back, still angry with Rex, and unsure at why and how she had just yelled at him. Harmony never lost her temper. There was no temper to lose. “I’m sorry. I don’t get angry, I’m sorry I just lost my cool…” Harmony shook her head in disbelief. “But, Ari has never hurt me. Not purposefully. She would never, ever do that.” She stared Rex in the eye. “She’s everything I have. And… we’re humans. We’re bound to hurt one another unintentionally.” Harmony shrugged. “We’re all criminals in that way, Rex. No one is perfect. When you love someone, you’re bound to hurt them too.” Harmony sat down again, a little worn out from the shouting and emotional ride. “Have you ever loved someone before? So much you don’t want to ever hurt them? But you know you do and that just kills you inside?” She asked quietly, not caring she was asking Rex Carter of all people such a personal question.

“But you’re right.” Harmony finally sighed. “I should stop apologising for everything she does. I’m not her mother.” She frowned at the implications of that statement. She barely even noticed Rex saying he understood the sibling bond. “Yeah.” She looked to Rex again, confusion and turmoil in her eyes. “It is my life now. I can do what I want, when I want. Can you do that, Rex? Do you live like that? I want to ask, because I want to know if that is a happy life.” Harmony asked quietly, looking up at the sky. “Are you happy? Content? Is life ever even satisfactory? I’ve always viewed it positively, but sometimes…” Her mind drifted to her mother, “I lose hope.” She admitted. “Sometimes it’s really hard to find it again. That’s why I’m grateful to my sister. She is my hope most of the time. I don’t think there are any more such sources for me anymore…” Harmony looked at Rex again and suddenly realised something. “You’re thinking that all girls do is talk about their feelings, right?” She piped up again with a wry smile. “I’m sorry, I’m probably boring you half to death. The last thing you’d be interested in talking about with me is this stuff. Forget it, I’m sorry. But I am a girl, so…” Harmony laughed teasingly. “You should be used to it. You have Anastasia as your good friend after all.”

[rex]

Rex was surprised by Harmony's burst of anger. His eyes went wide and he had to hold back his laughter. It wasn't not funny that she had just exploded at him. No, what was funny was this petite little form in front of him had just shown her anger. Harmony had noticed Harmony either to be happy or sad. But not angry. In spite of himself, he smiled. It wasn't the right time to smile, but Rex couldn't help it. Little Harmony Chan angry was a sight to see. Plus, it was nice to know that she felt as protective of her sister as her sister seemed to be of her. Still Rex thought Ariane was being stubborn to automatically dismiss Rex as a threat without getting to know his true intentions. Rex didn't even know his true intentions as this point. He just wanted to get to know Harmony a little better. But how was he supposed to do that when her sister was biting off his head at every turn? "I'm sorry Harmony, I don't mean to smile and demean your anger, it's just that... I never thought I would see you angry. It's nice to see that you're human after all. That occasionally, even you get frustrated. But I will not take back what I said about your sister. She is pigheaded. There are people that we always want to protect. And some we can't." He paused and look down at his shoe. He had never really told anyone about his twin brother not even Billy. It was a part of his life that was safe guarded in his heart. It wasn't exactly a secret. But it wasn't exactly something he shared either.

When Harmony asked if he had ever loved someone so deeply that it sometimes hurt, all he could was nod his head. He knew or at least hoped that she would be interested to know more but that was all she was going to get. If he had not even told Billy about Raph, there was no way that he was going to tell Harmony. Although, he felt like eventually he could. He might have hinted about Raph with Billy, but Rex knew that he could never tell Billy the whole truth. Somehow, Rex knew that if he ever was going to talk about Raph, it would be with Harmony. Something about her made him trust her. That is if he could ever get close enough to her to trust her. With her sister that would make things almost impossible. He looked up from his shoe and found her dark brown eyes. He wondered what she was thinking behind those brown eyes. Was she scared? Interested? Interested in what? His thought made him wonder. There was nothing to be interested in. Maybe interested in a friendship. Interested to get to know him and his past.

Rex rolled his eyes as the mention of Stace. "Stace isn't a girl. She's... she's Stace. There's nothing more to it. Sometimes she does want to talk an awful lot about her feelings and such, but those are the times that I don't want to hang out with her. She's like the little sister I never wanted. You'll like her. That is, if you're allowed to hang out with me again," he added with a smirk. Just then the bell signaling the end of class tolled. Rex couldn't believe that the time had gone by so quickly but it had. Rex knew that soon the Courtyard would be full of students and Harmony most likely would not want to be seen with Rex. Who knew when and where Ariane's spies were. Rex didn't care what Harmony said about Ariane, there was no need to be quite so rude the other day. "I want to meet you again. This time we won't miss class." He smiled at her. "Really."

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony stared a little indignantly as Rex laughed. Evidently he found her anger amusing, but how could you find it funny that someone was angry? Harmony’s cheeks flared red in increasing embarrassment and annoyance, about to ask Rex just what his problem was, when he apologised and explained. Harmony blinked and felt her emotions slow a little. Her lips twitched a little, she couldn’t help it. “Of course I’m human.” She tried to say without her smile growing. “I get angry too. I get annoyed too. People just think they can just… walk all over me. But… I am human too.” She gave Rex a pointed look, as though to challenge him to contradict her otherwise, then sighed. “She can be pigheaded. But that doesn’t mean she is all the time. There are different sides to people you need to discover before you can judge them like black and white.” Harmony said stubbornly, not backing down from staring up at Rex in defiance. She didn’t know why, but around Rex she felt bolder, more determined to let this side of her surface. She felt an immense urge to speak for herself, rather than someone else. Maybe it was because she felt that Rex would accept this Harmony, whereas other people couldn’t. Other people wanted to see the ‘normal’ Harmony – quiet, sweet and kind. People forgot – or just did not realise – that she was human too. “Ari can’t protect me forever, but I know she’ll always try because she loves me.” Harmony concluded firmly, her belief in her sister strong. “I didn’t ask her to, you know.” She added, a little more doubtfully. “It’s… just the way things are. I didn’t ask for her to be overprotective, but she is, and I have to be grateful rather than complain about it.”

Harmony gave a quiet chuckle when Rex described Anastasia. “Are you saying she’s a boy?” She joked lightly, raising an eyebrow. “She’s definitely a girl.” She continued to tease with a grin, “That’s why she wants to talk about her feelings. Most girls do. If you can’t accept that, you’ll never find any girl you honestly like.” Harmony said honestly, wondering whether Rex would protest to this. “I will?” Harmony asked in surprise when he said she would like Anastasia. “I… just get the feeling we wouldn’t get on very well. She strikes me as a very different person. That’s probably why she gets on with you – I’m very different to you, aren’t I? We’re from different worlds.” As soon as she had said it, Harmony shut her mouth. Had she said too much? That had sounded awful. Her eyes flitted a little fearfully towards Rex’s reaction, but diverted again when they swivelled to her. “Um… why wouldn’t I be allowed to hang out with you?” She asked in confusion, before realisation dawned on her face. “Ari, you mean? Or Anastasia?” Worry flickered across her face. “I’m sure you don’t really want to hang out with me anyway, Rex,” Harmony began, shuffling her feet in nervousness, “I’m too… normal. Plain.” She cracked a lopsided smile, but that was when the bell rang, and Harmony glanced back at the castle. She was about to say something – probably that they should head to their next lesson – when Rex spoke again, and she turned around. “Oh.” A small smile began to form on Harmony’s face. “Um… yeah. Sure. I’d like that too.” She cocked her head to one side, black hair floating across her cheek from the light breeze; the sun dazzled her dark eyes as she stared up at Rex, “You’re different than I expected you to be. It doesn’t matter what other people think, right?” She asked softly, wanting reassurance from Rex. “Sometimes we just have to make our decisions. Especially when your gut says it’s the right thing to do.” Harmony’s hand subconsciously went to her stomach, smiling tenderly.

Noise began to echo from the corridors of the castle – students heading their way. Harmony could make out buzzing voices and a stampede of footsteps. Alarmed, she grabbed her bag from the floor without waiting for a reply from Rex; her next class was Transfiguration, and she certainly did not want to miss that, or be late for it, because the professor wouldn’t go easy on even her. “I’ve really got to go. Don’t want to miss another lesson, do I?” Harmony smiled brightly as she glanced back at Rex over her shoulder. “I’ll see you round, Rex. It was nice talking to you.” Harmony took a couple of steps, before she remembered something, and turned around again. “Oh, and thanks. You know, for saving me and everything. Thanks for being my hero.” Harmony joked, before shouldering her bag further up her back and running into the castle with a smile on her face.