Little Lion Man - Eric

[Sean Leviner]

Sean stood on his parents' porch, just staring at the doorbell for a minute. He wasn't sure he was ready to do this. Actually, he knew he wasn't, but he had no one else to go.

Sure, he had options. Lydia had been at the top of the list but her eyes were heartbreaking, and he didn't want to burden her. Angelique had been next... the Aurora should know... but he didn't want to be pressured. This was the same reason he didn't go to his own boss. And Dan was still recovering, and Sean didn't want him to worry.

Leaving his brother to rest, using the excuse of the Krizova kidnapping, Sean went.... home. To the very last person on his list, but on the list nonetheless.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked.

[Eric Leviner]

It was Saturday, so Eric wasn't working, just doing some odd jobs around the house while Ellen was out shopping. He had just finished fixing the drip in the kitchen sink and was about to go outside to start on the leaky gutter when he heard the knock on the door.

"Be right there," he called, pausing to wipe his hands and clean up just a little bit. He hoped it wasn't a salesman or something.

But when he opened the door, he broke into a smile--at first. He was always happy to see his boys... only Sean was alone. And he looked dead on his feet.

"Sean," he said, studying his son worriedly. "Come in and sit down."

[Sean Leviner]

Sean shoved his hands deep in his pockets after he knocked, his head turning to the side as he looked towards the house to the left. It was such an unassuming, muggle neighborhood. He wished his parents were safe here, but he knew better. Merlin, this war was coming hard and faster.... more than anyone expected it to.

He turned to see his father, and he gave him a smile smile- acknowledgment at best- back as he stepped inside, pulling his hands from his coat (a gift from his mother). "Hey, Dad. Is Mum around?"

Normally, a question like this posed to Eric meant that Sean was looking to speak with Ellen, since he'd always gotten on so much better with her. But today was different. He wanted her as out of the loop as possible, so he kind of hoped she wasn't here. "And before you ask, Dan's fine." It was better not to mention the vampire attack. "We concluded a case and he's sleeping in."

[Eric Leviner]

Eric shook his head as he closed the door and followed Sean into the house. He knew that question well, actually, and he knew what it usually meant. He tried not to let it frustrate him.

"She's out shopping," he replied, sitting down on the sofa. "I'm not sure when she'll be back, but it shouldn't be too long... You're welcome to wait here for her, if you want. I could probably make you a cup of tea without burning the house down..."

[Sean Leviner]

For a moment, Sean considered letting this all go, and pretending he was really here for his mother. Biding time to contemplate this, he murmured, "No, thank you. I don't need any tea." No... something much stronger would have been preferred for the conversation he saw about to take place. He scratched the back of his neck.

"Actually, I was looking for you." He let the silence after this sentence imply that he was glad Ellen was out right then. It was a sign, he told himself. Had Ellen been here, he would have never said anything. But the universe was trying to tell him that this was okay. Everything... everything was okay.

"I need help, Dad." His eyes were on his knees as he sat at the opposite end of the couch. Those words were the hardest he'd ever spoken, and he didn't mean them in the way a kid would ask his dad for Charms homework help. It was an honest, broken plea for help. Sean couldn't do this anymore.

[Eric Leviner]

Eric was surprised by the statement, and he wished he felt happier about it. But the look on Sean's face, the tone of his voice, the uncertain way he scratched the back of his neck... just the very fact that he was here, asking him for help at all, indicated to him that this was serious. Sean was desperate, and he somehow doubted that he was his first choice to go to for help. But he was here.

He nodded slowly and turned in his seat to face Sean a little better. "I'll help you," he said. "Just tell me what you need."

[Sean Leviner]

Sean sighed, now taking to looking around the room, rather than at his father. "I don't know what I need," he replied, honestly. He couldn't do this alone anymore, so he knew he needed help. And Daniel didn't know what to do. 10 years of this and he didn't know what to do. And the only other people that knew were Rutger, who Sean was NOT going to talk to about this, a death eater, and his father.

"The thing is, it's gotta just be between us. You really can't tell anyone. Too many people already know." Godric, he wished it was his mother instead. She would get it better. She would probably already be coming up with a game plan, and promising him it would be okay. "I'm just... really sorry to dump this in your lap, but I'm running out of ideas. And now..."

He trailed off, taking a breath, his eyes still to his left, his hands fisted together. "It didn't use to be this bad, Dad. And now someone knows about it who really shouldn't, and I don't know what to do." This may have been the most he ever said to his father in one sitting, and it was extremely difficult for him. But it felt right. Eric would help him.

[Eric Leviner]

Eric felt a knot in his stomach as Sean began to talk. This was his son, his youngest.... and he really didn't know him at all. It startled Eric to realize just how distant he felt from his youngest son. He knew Daniel so well, he understood Daniel, but Sean... he was a mystery. Here he was, asking him for help, reaching out to him... and looking like he'd rather be just about anywhere else. He'd failed Sean most of his life.. But he was not going to fail him this time.

"I'll help you," he said. "I... I'll admit I don't know much about visions... But I'll research it, and I'll help you figure out how to control them. I can see what it's doing to you...." He sighed. "We'll figure this out."

[Sean Leviner]

"No, it's not doing-" Sean cut himself off. He asked his dad to help, he was trying to help. Sean tried to tell himself not to get so defensive right out of the gate, and he ran his hand through his hair, mumbling an apology.

"Usually, they knock me out. I'm mean, I'm awake through them, but I don't have any sense of what's happening around me... and given my job, it's starting to get dangerous. A couple days ago was the first time I ever fought one. Dan and I have done so much research, Dad. It just seems like every seer is different, and there are common side effects, but varying degrees of them and I just... we don't know where to loo anymore. Oh... and Dan doesn't know I'm here. If we could keep it that way...." The last thing he needed was them talking about him.

[Eric Leviner]

In some ways, it was unfair of Sean to ask this of him. He wasn't an expert in this by any stretch of the imagination, and it was clear to Eric that he was Sean's last choice for help. But Eric wasn't sorry that Sean had come to him, and he couldn't think about the burden being laid at his feet. When your child asks you for help, you do whatever it takes. That was how Eric saw it.

"Do you want to fight the visions?" he asked. "Or just control them so that you only have them when you want to, and not when you don't?"

[Sean Leviner]

Well, that was an interesting question that Sean hadn't actually considered. Merlin... being able to have a vision at will.... and stop them when they chose the worst times... he could do so much good with that.

He nodded slowly. "It would start with fighting them." He leaned forward- opening up a little more. "Okay... in an ideal world, here's what I would want. I'd want to be fully aware of everything going on around me while I have a vision. I'd want to be able to control them... not just when they happen, but what I see, too. And I'd want them not to hurt so much."

[Eric Leviner]

Eric wasn't even sure all of that would be possible, but maybe if they started small and worked their way up, it would be possible. There had to be a way, didn't there? Otherwise Seers would probably all die young from the effects of the visions.

He was going to have to consult a couple of people... keep it anonymous, of course, and maybe not tell Sean about it... But there were a few people who knew more about this than he did. He might also have to consult a few books.... books that were only available in Knockturn Alley. It was a dangerous place for someone like Eric to go... but there was nothing he wouldn't do for his son.

"OK," he said. "We'll work on fighting them first. There has to be a way. Let me do a little reasearch and we'll work on it in a couple of nights, OK? We can work on it in the garage, so we don't disturb your mother."

[Sean Leviner]

Sean sighed softly. "Dad... be careful with the research. A Death Eater knows I can do this, and I Don'r want them linking you to me. If you... I mean, it's my burden and I don't want anyone else to have to pay for it. I'll do all the legwork. I Just need to know what direction to go."

He wasn't stupid, nor was he entirely selfish. He just needed help. "And... thank you."

[Eric Leviner]

Eric frowned. It would have been better if this secret had been kept among the family, or maybe just one or two trustworthy co-workers. He didn't have to tell Sean that a Death Eater knowing his secret was very, very bad.

He hesitated for a moment, trying to decide whether he should tell Sean something. It would be just as dangerous if Sean were caught researching this sort of thing... the Death Eaters might even be expecting it and looking for him.

"There's a book store..." he began slowly. "It's in Knockturn Alley... but the owner's actually not a bad guy. He has no love for the Ministry... He's a werewolf, and the werewolf registration act keeps him from owning a business anywhere but in Knockturn Alley. I go in there sometimes to look in some symbology and curse books for my job. He's got the most extensive section on Prophesies and Seers anywhere. He might be able to help. But he knows me... I should go."

[Sean Leviner]

Sean listened with keen interest. He'd find the bookstore easily enough. And being an MLE officer, he could explain away his presence in Knockturn Alley easily enough.

So when Eric announced that he should go, Sean sat up a little straighter and shook his head. "No. I'll go. I'll mention your name, then, if you think he'd be more open to helping. I don't want you in any danger. Mum would kill me," he said with a small smile- maybe the first joke he'd shared with his father in years. "Thank you for telling me about it."

[Eric Leviner]

Eric hesitated, reluctant to let Sean go into Knockturn Alley. But he wasn't naive enough to believe that he'd never gone there before... with his job, it was pretty much expected. Still, he was more familiar with the place... and Ellen would be equally furious with him if anything happened to Sean while he was acting on a tip from him.

But he also knew Sean, and there wasn't going to be any arguing with him on this. So he sighed and nodded. "OK. But don't mention my name... just tell him Lou sent you. That's the code... that's how he knows he can trust you and you're not there to raid the place."

[Sean Leviner]

Sean nodded, quietly repeating the catch phrase to himself. He wasn't sure any of those books would help, to be honest. In everything he and Dan read, he found nothing about other seers like him. The books made it sound like everyone else Just automatically got it.

"Thanks," he said, his head lowering as he rubbed the back of his neck. He wished his mom were here. He wouldn't tell her about the visions, but there was a lot more going on that he could have talked to her about. Like the fact Dan seemed to have a new partner.

He took a deep breath and looked towards Eric again. "Do you think we can change the future?" Ha asked, somewhat out of the blue. "I mean, what's the point of seeing it if there's nothing we can do about it? Some of the things I've been seeing lately.... I don't know, Dad."

[Eric Leviner]

Eric was quiet for a moment, assessing his son's expression and weighing his thoughts as he tried to determine how best to answer this question. His first impulse, actually, was to press Sean for details of some of these visions he'd had recently. He couldn't say something like that and not expect questions. And yet, Eric knew that Sean would be, at best, resistant to the idea of telling him about the visions. But if he was going to help, shouldn't he know what he was dealing with?

It took a great effort to refrain from asking him about the visions. For now, anyway. Instead, he focused on answering the question. "I think it's possible to change the future," he said carefully. "I don't believe the future is a predestined thing, and that we have no choice... no part in the plan. The human element is always variable. That friend of mine I told you about... the one whose daughter is an empath? Most of the time, her visions weren't able to be avoided... but some of them were. The way he explained it, each person is on an individual emotional path that leads them to their fate. You can try to warn a person about their future, but only they can actually change it. They need to make the decision to change their path, and no one else can do it for them."

He hesitated a moment, allowing this to sink in, before he looked at Sean again. "These visions.... is there anything I should know about?"

[Sean Leviner]

Sean thought about this, wondering if a person's path could really change their future.... or, actually, he believed That it could, but more specifically if it could change the future he saw. On the flip side of this "path" coin, certain events were just meant to take place. The attack on Hogsmeade, and that girl he had rescued.... she could have done nothing to stop that. Natural disasters. Destiny, if he dared go so far to say he believed in it.

But he had to believe, on its most basic level, that he was given this ability for a reason.

At Eric's question, Sean rubbed the back of his neck again. "Probably," he answered vaguely, meeting his father's eyes squarely. Thirty seconds ago, he had no intention of sharing any of his visions with his father. But now, he wondered if there was harm in it. He took a deep breath, breaking the eye contact he had established. "I mean.... there's a reason I came to you, right?" He was overwhelmed, exhausted, stressed, and if he could admit it, part of him was just a scared kid. He knew in the silence that followed That Eric would want to press him for more, but it was hard to admit something like this to a man he still didn't even know how to talk to.

"When I figured out that my first vision was Dan's death, I wasn't even worried about it because I knew I'd be there and I could stop it. It hasn't happened yet, but I still don't even think about it. But I don't know how to fight the things I'm coming up against now."

[Eric Leviner]

Eric didn't have the answers Sean needed. He didn't have visions, so he didn't really know what Sean was going through. All he could do was relate the little bit he knew from Wesley, most of which was only theoretical, anyway. He also suspected that it was different for different people, which was why it was so hard to research... there were no real consistencies. Each person had to learn to manage it on their own, and Sean needed to figure out how to do that. And Eric would do whatever he could, but ultimately, Sean had to figure it out for himself.

"I believe there has to be a reason you have it, too," Eric replied carefully. "You're meant to use it somehow. I'll help you any way I can, but I think mostly... you'll have to figure it out. And it might just come to you, just like one of your visions."