Don't Beat Him

The woman boarded the train with the other women, and Harry watched with a look of slight awe on his face as the train slowly hovered off from the tracks before jetting off into the distance!

Phwoom!

It had to have gone from zero to two hundred miles per hour in less than three seconds, and Harry could only try his best not to look too surprised.

Harry and Jenny continued their trek, and they finally got to a large gate that led into an estate. The gate had a lot of green vines and bushes growing on and around it, but that only served to give it an even more beautiful appearance.

The estate that they entered was the sort of place you would expect only the upper class to live in. There were duplexes lined up on either side of the street, and each one of them had a classic, vintage appearance. Most of the duplexes had leaves and moss growing from their walls, with some of them being broken down and uninhabitable, but there were others that had people standing in front of them, sitting on the stairs, or just moving around and going about their day.

This was where Harry lived. From the look of it, Harry figured that it was once an estate for the rich and powerful but was eventually abandoned and repopulated by the humans who were left back on Earth. Even though some of the houses were run down, the houses that were being lived in looked like they were well taken care of.

"Hey, Harry! You fall in the river again!?"

Someone shouted out a joke from the side, and Harry turned to see a man sitting on the stairs to his house and smoking a cigarette. Beside the man, a woman was hanging up some clothes on a line with a small smile on her face. Harry remembered them because the man and his wife would sometimes babysit him when he was younger, so he gave a greeting to them before he continued on his way.

The man and his wife were surprised by the lack of embarrassment from Harry. Normally, teasing Harry would bring up a blush from him at least, but this time his reaction was very calm. 

They decided not to pay too much mind since they knew that Harry was at the age when children changed a lot.

Harry finally got to his house, a rundown duplex with brown walls that had mold growing out of them. The stairs were dirty since no one had cleaned them in more than a month, and as Harry stood there, he heard the sound of the door opening.

"That boy keeps getting lost in the town. I can't send him to get anything without worrying my ass off about where he went—"

The person who came out from the house was an old woman with a hunched back and long white hair that she tied into a bun over her head. She had greying black eyes that seemed to be narrowed into a permanent glare, and once the woman turned around, she stopped in her tracks as her eyes widened in shock.

This woman was Victoria Black. Harry's grandmother.

"Harold Black! What do you have to say for yourself!? Where have you been!? And what happened to your clothes!? I thought I told you not to go near the river anymore! I sent you to get some medicine for your father, and this is how you come back!? Did you even get the medicine I asked you to find!?"

The woman suddenly shouted in annoyance once she saw Harry standing there with wet, dripping clothes! She came over and got very close to Harry, and Harry felt like taking a step back as he saw the anger on her face.

Harry suddenly remembered that he had been out earlier to get something for his grandmother, and that was when he saw the boys bullying Jenny. He had been so absorbed by everything that happened that he had completely forgotten about that memory.

From the look of things, Victoria had been getting ready to go out and look for Harry. She might be an old woman, but the way she moved around easily and her loud, piercing voice showed that she was still very energetic.

Harry scratched the back of his head while apologizing. He really didn't know how to deal with old people. He wasn't about to tell his grandmother that he got lost and fell in a river or something. He didn't want to make her even more worried by telling her about the bullies and what happened, but Jenny immediately moved to stand in front of Harry like she was trying to protect him from Victoria!

Victoria blinked in surprise and turned to look up at Jenny before she gesticulated at Jenny while talking.

"What is it? Do you have something to say?"

Jenny nodded and then brought her hands together to start explaining.

[Kevin and his friends were bullying me again. Harry saw them, and he helped me. Don't be angry at Harry!]

Victoria looked more surprised by the fact that Harry helped Jenny. She turned her head towards him again, and this time, she took in his appearance properly. There was dirt and mud on his face and clothes, and under all the water, she could also make out some injuries that he must've gotten from whatever fight happened.

Victoria wanted to be angry, but at that moment, she only felt pride at the fact that her grandson didn't let a girl be eaten up while he just stood there and watched. Victoria didn't even want to know if Harry won or lost; she just decided that she would let it go.

Victoria put her hand out.

"Where is the money for the medicine? I'll go buy it myself."

Harry searched in his pockets while trying to remember where he put the money, and after a few seconds, Victoria sighed as she realized that Harry didn't have the money anymore. Those bullies must've taken it from him after beating him up.

Victoria raised her hand to stop Harry from searching anymore since she knew that he wouldn't have the money, and she turned to speak to Jenny while gesticulating.

"Go to the orphanage now. It's time for dinner, and you wouldn't want to miss it."

Jenny turned to look at Harry with worry, and Victoria gestured again.

"I won't beat him. He did a good job. Go on now."

Jenny smiled happily before she turned around and hugged Harry happily. Harry just patted Jenny on the back a little, and he nodded when Jenny separated from him with a blush and started to run out of the estate.

Once she was gone, Victoria turned to enter the house while speaking to him.

"Come on now, Harry. That injury won't clean itself up. Go have a bath and come out to the living room to have dinner. I'll prepare some bandages and salve."

Harry watched Victoria as she entered the house and left the door open for him. He turned to look down the street at the foreign world that he had found himself in, and Harry sighed calmly as he turned and began to follow after Victoria.

Harry didn't know what had brought him here, or why, but he was going to find answers, and when he did, he would find a way to get back to his son.

...

A/N: Please leave a comment to tell me what you think.