Harry nodded with a grim expression that turned into a frown. "If he was functionally immortal, why would he need to create a Horcrux?"
Nicholas nodded slightly at the question, though the scowl remained on his face. "Herpo was truly a foul evil bastard. He was also terrified of death. He hated the idea of dying. And like I said, you may be immune to age and disease. But other things can kill you. A sword through the heart kills someone pretty much without exception, so does getting hit with the killing curse. He was terrified that he could be killed that simply. And I will agree that his concern has merit. We remain reclusive and hidden for precisely that reason. He was determined to conquer death... but to go to such lengths to cheat death… is horrific. And in the end it was his undoing."
Harry nodded slowly, he was familiar with someone fearing death enough to go to such lengths, and he began turning that over in his mind.
Nicholas and Perenelle exchanged another glance, before Nicholas spoke up. "Now we've been completely upfront with you. And shared a great deal of our story, I think it's only fair that you do the same."
Harry hesitated a moment and looked thoughtful as he turned that over. It had been awhile since he talked with anyone for this length of time. Harry hesitated for a moment before slowly taking out his wand, which caused both of the Flamel's to stiffen, but relax when he pointed it upwards. "I swear on my magic that what I am about to say is true to the best of my knowledge."
Nicholas and Perenelle both frowned. "There was no need for that, though we appreciate the gesture."
Harry shook his head "I'll share my story with you, at least some of it. But I figured I'd get that out of the way now because it's going to be hard to believe."
Nicholas started to laugh softly, "I bet it's not harder to believe than the fact that we're over four thousand years old, that we knew Merlin as a boy, or that you are like us."
Harry met his eyes evenly, "My name is Harry, and I am from the future of a different world."
There was dead silence as the two processed his statement, before Perenelle reached over from her seat and smacked her husband on the arm. "I should have taken you up on that bet."
Harry couldn't help it, he let out a little laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation facing him. However the laughter once again reminded him of the pain in his shoulder; a pain that now seemed to be getting worse.
Nicholas stared at him, clearly wondering if the boy was just crazy. After all an oath of truth didn't necessarily mean what was said was the truth, just what Harry's perception of the truth was.
However Harry was ignoring Nicholas' disbelief as he turned his attention to his shoulder. Almost as if giving it attention had provoked a response, the pain in his left shoulder and arm seemed to be flaring. He wondered if he had cast a numbing charm on it at some point and it was now beginning to wear off.. Harry gently applied pressure with two fingers to the area, and bit back a groan of pain, all thoughts of the bone being merely broken out of his mind. "Yeah… direct hit with a bone shattering hex. Definitely." He muttered, remembering his earlier evaluation of what happened, disgust with himself in his voice. Unfortunately his statement wasn't quite quiet enough to escape the ears of the Flamels.
After a second of disbelief Perenelle stood up and made to move toward the bed, and she already had her wand in her hand before she realized that the sudden movement had caught Harry's eyes and once more Harry had his wand in his hand, though both Perenelle and Nicholas were relieved to note it wasn't pointed at either of them yet. Harry's narrow-eyed glare however was.
Perenelle held up her wand carefully. "It's okay, I'm a fair hand at healing, I just want to run a diagnostic spell. Boneshattering hexes are really nasty."
Harry was about to retort that he didn't need someone looking at it, he already could feel what had once been his shoulder bone, now in splinters. Splinters which were digging into the muscle of his shoulder. However, in that moment the expression and concern on Perenelle's face made him extend a little bit of trust, and he found himself just nodding in assent.
Perenelle approached carefully, she could feel the boy's cautious eyes on her as she raised her wand, but she did as promised, as much from curiosity as anything else. She cast the spell on Harry's shoulder and then blinked when she saw the results. "My god, the bones in your upper arm are practically mush. What the hell happened to you? Nicholas, I need some pain relieving potion and skelegro."
For just a moment Harry found a small smile on his face, unbidden before he managed to control it and shook his head. "No, it's okay. It's no big deal. I can handle it." It had been a long time since someone had been worried about him.
Perenelle turned doubtful eyes to him and frowned, but it was Nicholas that spoke up "That is no big deal? You need a trained professional healer to handle injuries of that severity. You look like you're a little young for that." Nicholas tried to inject humor into his tone in his last statement, to keep it from being patronizing. The surprise and worry on his wife's face had him concerned as well.
Harry shook his head, "No really. I can handle it." He was already using his good hand to reach up to his neck and pull the necklace with the trunk on it over his head.
"You're a professional healer?" Nicholas said, the humor in his voice replaced by doubt.