Chapter 1: Not a Normal Birthday
{9 Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London Jan 7, 1988}
Late Winter Sun peaks through the window of a room with a single bed of a two-story house. Peaking into the room one would see a desk tidy with several notebooks and writing tools and multiple bookshelves lined the wall, the walls colored in tones of silver. Here in this room is the start of a new journey and era for a world hidden away from the masses.
"Cyrus, Wake up! Grandma and Grandpa will be here soon!" A feminine voice speaks out rather loudly.
"5 more minutes Mum!" The boy shouted back barely lifting his head from the pillow only to readjust and cuddle back into it.
"Cyrus Payne If I have to go up there you are going to regret it young man. Heaven Forbid you can get up before your father is home with his parents." The woman yells back in a threatening tone of voice.
"Okay, Okay I am up I will be down soon!" Cyrus informed as he grudgingly got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to begin his morning rituals. Soon after his shower, he comes face to face with the mirror to peer into his own deep blue eyes, and if one would look closely they would see tones of gray nested into the blue. Sweeping his short brown hair to the side Cryus exited the bathroom wearing black sweats, a white t-shirt, and a black hoodie choosing comfort over anything else. Making his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen he spoke up again. "See down in one piece and Dad is not here yet," Cyrus said cheekily to his mum.
"True however if one were to peer in it almost looks like you are going to a funeral and it might be yours if you keep being cheeky." Cyrus' mother said, narrowing her eyes at the boy. Before any more words were exchanged the front door was opened.
"Rachelle, I am home! Brought Mum and Dad with me as promised." A deep male voice spoke out, stopping all conversations.
"We are in here Jason. Your son is being extra cheeky today, something he got from you no doubt," Rachelle called out in a dry tone. Soon shuffling was heard and three more people entered the Kitchen area.
"Oh leave him be Rache, you kinda did wake him up early on his birthday you know how he acts when he wakes up too early, Something he got from you love." Jason laughed as he ruffled Cyrus' hair.
"Jason does have a point dear however the boy gets it from the both of you." An elderly voice spoke out with a hearty chuckle.
"Gramps aren't you supposed to be on my side!" Cyrus exclaimed loudly. "Grandma please tell Grandfather something!" Instead of the support, he was looking for he was met with laughter from the elderly woman. The boy in response threw his hood over his face and drew back the strings to hide away in the comfort of his sweater.
"Oh come now little Cyrus you know Grandpa Tim and I did not mean anything about it. We only play child after all how could we be mean to the birthday boy," The grandmother said with a sweet tone and an equally sweet and caring smile on her wrinkled face.
"Now, Now Cellia, Do not give the boy false hopes. After all the day is still young so there is enough time for me to still tease the boy." Tim laughed with a large smile as he reached out to remove the hood from his grandson's face. "Now boy no need to hide away after all it is your birthday," Cyrus grunts in response as his hood is pulled away from his head.
"That is right you are 10 today! Just like Grandpa Tim did for me and his father did for him I took some time and got you your timepiece. Per family tradition, this one is now yours." Jason said, handing Cyrus a medium-sized velvet box. Cyrus perked up at the mention of the family tradition every male from the house was handed some form of timepiece while the females would receive either a bracelet or some other form of jewelry. Opening the box gently Cyrus gasped at the intricate pocket watch sitting inside. The watch's cover seemed to be gold plated with a snake eating its tail and within that circle seemed to be an etched series of circles, triangles, and other shapes, resting on the black chain was an innocent-looking sea-green gem that glowed in the sun.
"Wicked!" Cyrus whispered under his breath looking at the design that seemed lost in the artwork.
Without seeming to hear what his son said Jason spoke up again. "I know it does not look like much but you will love its simplicity as you get older." Cyrus looked at his father confused. "I thought you would like the wave-like designs since you like the water so much." This made Cyrus even more confused about what his father was talking about opening his mouth to question his father he was cut off by his mother.
"Wow, Jason you picked a beautiful one! Did you make sure to get a warranty and insurance on it just in case? You know sometimes things are too good to be true." Rachelle asked to which she received a nod in affirmance.
'What are they only seeing silver waves? Do they not see this thing for what it is!' He ran his finger over the face of the watch and cleaned the eye of the snake which made the watch shimmer. It was only seen by Cyrus and now it was just like his parents said, a fully silver watch with a black chain and in place of the sea-green gem a black polished stone. 'What is going on?! It makes no sense.' "Yeah thanks, Dad it is great! So what else do we have planned today?"
The adults exchanged brief looks and then nodded. "Well to be honest we need some time to prepare things for your celebration so Dan and Emma said you can hang out over there. While you are over there we will be getting some things ready." Rachelle revealed.
"Okay if you all need that extra time I understand but I do so under protest." Cyrus playfully said to his mom which resulted in a smile. Soon Cyrus made his way up to his room to get officially ready for what the day would bring him. Shedding his Hoodie and his sweats Cyrus replaced them with dark blue trousers, a white button-down long-sleeve shirt with its sleeves rolled up, and to top it all off he placed his new timepiece on the left-hand side of his belt loops. Trotting downstairs sliding down the hallway in his socks. "Okay, Mum! I just need to get my shoes on!"
"Ah look at my handsome son! He gets that from me!" Rachelle squealed happily. Jason walked in behind his wife and then cleared his throat.
"I do believe in the love that he gets from me. He is going to be a lady killer in a few years you are going to have to beat them back with a bat." Jason declared Tim laughed loudly while Celia just shook her head at the pair.
"Well dear, I remember Rachelle talking about those neighbors of yours having a daughter just a few years younger than Cyrus. From what I was told that young lady sure keeps him on his toes." Celia interjected with a smile at the group.
"No way! No, she is a friend, nothing more. If anything she will be nothing more than a sister figure!" Cyrus declared with his arms in an "X" shape rejecting all ideas. "Besides, she hugs way too hard. It hurts sometimes. I swear I can see the light when it happens."
Rachelle started to giggle about his complaints. "Oh come on Little Hermione is not that bad plus you are still young who knows maybe you will change your mind in a few years." Everyone in the room caught the mischievous glint in her eyes leaving some of them laughing while one in particular was filled with a sense of dread. With a cat-like grin, Rachelle spoke again, "We will table this for another time for now let's take you over to the Grangers so we can get things ready for this evening."
{8 Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, Afternoon}
Mother and son pair soon walked up to a house similar to theirs bar the color. Reaching the doorstep before either one of the two could knock the door was opened and a brown shapeless missile slammed into Cyrus. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The loud proclamation was shouted as Cyrus grunted from the impact and was now being squeezed.
"Can't Breathe Hermione!" Cyrus managed to get out in a harsh voice. The young girl in question however heard none of it and settled more into the hug.
"Hermione you need to let him go otherwise he won't make it to his 11th birthday." A sweet voice was heard in the doorway. Looking into the doorway the pair of mothers, Rachelle and Emma stood side by side. Emma sported a small smile on her face while Rachelle had an impish grin on her face at the situation that her son was in currently.
Hermione decided to finally let Cyrus go with a small pout. "Fine, I do not know why he complains so much it's just a hug." She humphed and crossed her arms. Rachelle and Emma chuckled at the girl.
"Thanks so much for allowing us to have him here while we all go get things to get things situated," Rachelle said genuinely with a smile. "We shouldn't take too long about 2 hours max."
"It is okay Rachelle we completely understand it is natural that you want to keep some secrets from the boy makes things more interesting for him. Also, Hermione loves to have him over." Emma responded in kind. "Okay Cyrus, Hermione, why don't you go out back and hang out there."
Hermione and Cryus nodded okay and with that, they left towards the back of the house after Cryus gave his mother a hug goodbye. Soon a variety of games ensured that they kept themselves occupied for the day. The two started to wind down for the day but soon they noticed the sun was starting to go down and they heard Dan speak out to the pair. "Hey, Cyrus Hermione come inside!"
"Okay, Dad! Tag you are it Cyrus race you inside!" Hermione said as she let out a giggle and ran away from the boy towards the house. Cyrus huffed and he raced after Hermione. Before he could tag her he slipped on a loose patch of dirt and fell down hitting his face against the ground which made his nose start to bleed. His eyes started to tear up at the sensation of falling he quickly pinched his nose like his mom always said to do. While doing this however he did not notice a few drops of blood land on the small polished black stone on his pocketwatch's chain and the stone shined once again the brilliant bright sea green color that it did in his house the moment he got it.
"Oh bugger," Dan muttered under his breath as he saw the blood run down Cyrus' nose and forearm. The older man jogged over to him assessing the damage. After a quick glance, he guided Cyrus inside to clean him up before his parents showed up at the house. Hermione on the back patio had some tears in her eyes because the boy got injured because of the game she wanted to play.
"I am so sorry Cyrus I did not mean for you to get hurt!" The young girl bawled out. To which her own father waved her off.
"It is okay Hermione he just tripped and feel we can get him all patched up and ready to go home. It seems that his family isn't here yet Rachelle and Jason are usually very punctual." Dan said thoughtfully.
The trio settled inside and explained the situation to Emma who was very understanding and helped Cyrus get cleaned up changing his shirt to a spare one that his mother gave to her just in case something occurred. The family clock dinged in the sitting room signifying that it was 5 o'clock. "Wow something must have really held them up Rachelle said they would only be gone for 2 hours max." Soon there was a firm knock on the door. "Ah, that must be them!" Emma said with a smile walking towards the door leaving Dan, Hermione, and Cyrus on the couch.
Once Emma opened the door she was startled to see it was two policemen at the door. "Ma'am sorry for disturbing you at this time. We are under the impression that a young Cyrus Payne is here." The first officer said with a calm and steady voice.
"Yes, he is here is there a problem officers?" Emma asked worryingly.
"Ma'am I'm afraid that there has been an accident we need to talk to him." The second officer offered up. Emma's eyes widened and started to water she nodded to them and motioned for them to follow her. Walking into the sitting room Dan stood up and turned to them with a confused questioning look on his face before settling on his wife's face who had tears in her eyes. The two police officers walked to Cyrus and sat down across from him. "Are you Cyrus Payne young man?"
Cyrus looked like a deer caught in headlights before nodding to the police officer who had just spoken to him. "Yes, sir is there an issue?"
Releasing a loud sigh the first officer ran his hand over his face and then looked at Cyrus' confused look. "Son, I am afraid there has been an accident and I need you to come with us. It is about your parents and grandparents."
Cyrus felt like his world came crashing down around him tears in his eyes and he assumed the worst. "Um yeah is the- there any- anything I need to bring?" He stuttered out.
"Let's go next door to your house and pack you an overnight bag maybe a few clothes and one or two personal items." The first officer said softly standing up with his partner. The occupants of the house all followed outside. Emma fished out the hidden spare key and cracked open the door. Cyrus hastily got a to-go bag he always had one packed at the insistence of his parents who liked spontaneous trips during the weekend when they were off of work and he was off of school. Trotting downstairs he took one last look at his childhood home for what would be one of the last times for the next few years.
___________________________
Enjoy this first chapter in this new book! It is rather short but I am just putting it out there to see how people react to it so far. Also, question do you like longer chapters that take a while to come out or do you want shorter chapters that come out faster?
If anyone has read The Broken Angel the one HPXNaruto Fanfiction I am using that idea where he has someone in his head guiding him, That person will probably be painfully obvious as the story goes on so hopefully that does not turn anyone away!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone