Hey, this is Harry Dresden. If you need me and I'm not answering the phone, one of three things has happened. One, the phone has blown up--in which case I won't get your message. Two, the answering machine has blown up--in which case I won't get your message. Three, both machines are functioning, but I'm busy, out of my apartment or both.

If you want to leave me a message, please leave one after the beep. Or, you know, just slip a note under my door. I'd be more likely to get the note. Really.

BEEP!

It was over. He'd spoken to Murphy, who had promised to talk to Riddick. He hoped that the two of them would return to Chicago together after he and the ghosts left, thanks to the amulet Bob had crafted which allowed for easy passage through the Nevernever. He'd made arrangements with Ron Weasley for someone new to take his classes at the Haurvatat Magic School. He'd packed--as much as he could pack into a normal-sized backpack, anyway.

And he'd said farewell to everyone he loved, which had been painful. Saying goodbye to Thomas and John had been especially hard. Thomas had gone through so much hell back home and was so different that saying goodbye to his younger self was almost like losing his brother all over again. Harry had very nearly broken down at a couple of points.

And John. He was going right back to John; from his perspective, there wouldn't be any time apart. But from John's point of view, Harry was leaving forever...and he didn't know if Harry would come back to him in Chicago.

John took it calmly, exercising that iron control that Harry had often envied. But Harry knew that his departure was a blow John hadn't expected. The man was hurting...and it was his fault.

He'd taken the time to design a special letter for John--one that would allow the two of them to write back and forth across the dimensions. It demanded a lot of him, for it required several kinds of intricate magic to be cast simultaneously. And he knew he would have to be very careful when using it not to break the Sixth Law. But he couldn't leave John without a word to let him know that he was still thought of and loved. He simply couldn't.

About a week after the farewells--and, had he known it, just before everyone started getting stuck on their respective floors in the hotel--he woke and knew it was time.

Dressing quickly and donning his backpack (which had little in it save clothes--including both his duster and a certain black and red tux--a few books, a notebook or two filled with scribblings on spells, potions and magical weapons he was trying to invent, and the odd potion), he made his way into the living room. Bob and Winifred were there already, waiting silently.

"I guess this is it," he said softly. "Winifred, I hope you'll like Chicago. Bob...Dad. If my past self is a jerk, try to forgive him, okay?"

Then, after studying their faces for a moment, he squared his shoulders and strode through the door of his apartment...

...and right back into the kitchen of Will and Georgia Borden.

"Harry?" The voice was Georgia's, and she looked and sounded confused. "You weren't wearing that backpack when you walked into the kitchen, and that was just a minute ago."

Harry gave her a hug. "Later. I'll tell you and Will about it later." An edited version, for their safety and John's. But a true one. "But right now, I think we have a campaign to finish, don't we?"

"Yeah. And we just ran into a ton of golems that are immune to practically every kind of magic--that's what the rule book says, Harry--and Will says we really need a frenzied barbarian, so if you're through stocking up on Mountain Dew and chips..."

"Time to save the world. Again." Harry gave Georgia a crooked smile and gestured toward the door to the living room. "Lead the way, milady Druidess. Lead the way."

Harry had just gotten back from slipping a note under John's door, and was contemplating packing. Packing. That really brought it home. No surprises this time. No just going back without warning. He got to say goodbye. But he also had to prepare to leave. And that was proving harder than he thought.

Not to mention that he'd received a lot of gifts over the years--some from people very special to him--and there was simply no way to pack them all into a backpack.

So at the moment, he was standing in his living room, staring helplessly at everything.

Unfortunately, my favorite sport--hockey--was not an option.

Your Soul Is Connected to the Summer

You are the type of person who isn't content to let life pass by. You truly believe that life is for the living. You are outgoing and friendly. You enjoy being around other people, and you're the first one to say "yes" to a social event. You don't take anything too seriously, and you're known as a bit of a flirt. You feel best when you make other people feel good. You are happy with the life you are given, even if it isn't much. You are content to bask in the sunlight.

It had been about a week since Harry had returned, and while he wasn't entirely settled--he hadn't seen most of the people from his universe yet, and wasn't sure if any of them except for Bob, Winifred and John were here any longer--he was getting back into the usual routine.

Hopefully, after a week, John was back in the swing of things as well. Because Harry couldn't wait one more minute to see him.

Scribbling a note to Bob that he was going out for a few hours and that if he was going to be late, he'd call, Harry grabbed his staff, walked out of his apartment, locked the door and veiled. Then he carefully made his way down to Room 130--shunning the elevator, for he was so excited about seeing John that he was practically throwing off magical sparks--and knocked on the door.

Harry was waiting in the kitchen for Jerry. Of course, he tended to wait till the kids were safely home on Demonreach Island anyway, but today--thanks to a memory potion Harry called "Haurvatat wine" which had been labeled with today's date--he now remembered Jerry's arrival and departure from the village as if they had just occurred.

He'd asked John to come to the kitchen as soon as possible; a second bottle of Haurvatat wine was waiting for John there.

Harry wasn't sure what to say to Jerry--or to John, for that matter. He knew that Jerry's appearance in the village had been hard for John to accept, however, and that it had been even harder for John when Jerry left. As for himself...his heart had very nearly broken when Jerry had left.

And so he sat at the kitchen table, his hands cupped around a mug of coffee that was so filled with sugar that it was sweet black syrup, waiting for Jerry and John.

Gacked from haughty_alpha and gentleman_tiger:

( OOC Meme )

Harry slipped away from his room that evening. He still had one present to give--and he needed to give it before Valentine's was over.

Using a veil was second nature by now. In only a few minutes, he was outside of John's door, rapping on it with his elbow.

Gacked from jl_diana:


Find out Which Marvel Superhero Are You at LiquidGeneration.com!

[OOC: Continues from Part 1, here. Warning: male/male relationship up to an R rating.]

Harry kept his eyes firmly closed as John cut through whatever was binding him. "John," he said in a voice that was probably more wobbly than he intended, "what happened? The last thing I remember, I was jogging."

The first six are tied for first place. You need to understand that.

Ten things I didn't do but wanted to:

( Harry's list )


Harry Dresden
The Dresden Files
717 words

(Note: just_muse_me's Harry doesn't know from the village, so he doesn't refer to any events that have taken place there.

You know, the term is "fire mage," not "demon"...

Which creature of the night are you? Your Result: Demon   Your raging id needs no chemical incentive to break out into a fiery orgy of destruction. When you're not burning, you're brooding. All you need is someone to point the way out for you.
Werewolf
Cthulu Spawn
Sorceror
Vampire
Incubus/Succubus
Ghost
Which creature of the night are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." - Sir Winston Churchill

( If Heaven and Hell are my only choices, I guess I'll take Heaven. I'm just not enthusiastic about it. )


-- Harry Dresden
The Dresden Files
Word Count: 648

Gacked from practically everybody...

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! Last month I put money in faramir_hurin's expired parking meter (14 points). In January I pushed applesfalling in the mud (-17 points). In August I donated bone marrow to blackasthesun in a life-saving procedure (300 points). Last Monday nota_monster and I robbed a bank (-50 points). Last Wednesday I had a shoot-out with rival gang lords on the 5 near LA (-76 points). Overall, I've been nice (171 points). For Christmas I deserve an Easy-Bake Oven! Sincerely, wizard_p_i

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

Harry hadn't seen or heard from John for several days--since Lara had returned to the village, in fact. Feeling more than a little worried, he veiled himself and slipped down to the first floor to see if John was all right.

A few minutes later, he was knocking at John's door.

This is drawn on aliengeekgirl's post here.

I love RP, and I love plots. Seriously, anyone wants to RP, you know where I am.

However, I have a request. If you want any of my pups--Harry Dresden, Connie Murphy, Charity Carpenter, Regulus Black or Reinette Poisson--to be involved with something you are planning, please can you warn me OOC before anything happens in character? The reason for this is twofold.

Firstly, I've got a lot of character development plots going on, and several more scheduled that haven't appeared yet in game. These can take up a fair amount of my time, and if I get hit with a plot when I'm not expecting it, I flap. Especially since I have do-gooder pups who can yank half of their universe into the plot, willingly or unwillingly, just by being themselves (yes, I am looking at you, Harry). I really need to know what is going to happen in the plot; I've had friendship-breaking experiences thanks to seat-of-the-pants RP with complex plots and their consequences. I don't want to go through that again.

Secondly, I have lymphedema tarda. This means that lymphatic fluid builds up in my legs, causing them to swell and putting painful pressure on the nerves. Muscle tissue turns to fiber. This is permanent, the result of a flawed chromosome.

One of the side effects of lymphedema is a lack of stamina. Plots take a lot of time and a lot of energy, and they can be stressful as well. I am not strong or energetic at the best of times, and I do more poorly when it's extremely hot or extremely cold.

I really need to know what is going to happen in a plot and when, and what my characters are expected to do, so that I can plan, budgeting the time and energy that I'm going to require. I have to know this. I can't act spontaneously, because I can't count on the strength and stamina being there the next day. So, I need to plan very, very carefully, planning meals and sleep and errands so that I'll be available and have the energy when I need it.

So, please. Plot it out, tell me what--roughly--is going to happen, and ask me OOC if I want to take part. If you want smaller character stuff, I'm happy to talk stuff over. I love taking part in plots. I really do. Just...please. Talk to me before you talk to the character.

Thanks for understanding.

Given the results of Harry's test, I had to call this post that. Seriously.

( Tarzan )


***

Charity got this:

( Mr. Hyde )

***

Murphy got this:

( Prospero )

***

For Regulus:

( Sherlock Holmes )

***

Reinette got this:

( Tom Sawyer )

***

I don't know that I agree, but I think this is seriously cool.

( That Reincarnation Meme )