Idiosyncrasy |Harry Potter

Chapter Twenty Two

Zakari couldn't bring himself to move as he looked at the man standing across from him. The man was tall, his skin darker in comparison to his mother's fair skin. He had dark hair that curled slightly at the ends. His eyes were wide as he looked at Zakari and the boy was certain, he was looking at the man with the same expression. The resemblance between the two was undeniable, Zakari looked very much like him except for the fact that he was younger, shorter and his curls were grown out in comparison.

Duncan waddled over to the man and sniffed at Roderick's leg, as if trying to figure out if the man met his standards. However, Zakari watched as his mother moved Duncan aside and kept a hold on the small dog, in order for Zakari and Roderick to focus on each other. He was a little surprise when his father raised his hand and waved at him. He could see the nerves in his father's mannerisms, his hands shook even when they weren't waving and he was shifting back and forth on his face.

Suddenly, Zakari lifted up his own hand and waved back at him. He wasn't sure what to do after that as they continued to stand there. The child was already feeling awkward enough, with the man staring at him, it was only making it worse. He looked to his mother for guidance.

She offered a kind smile, an encouraging nod and wink before nodding her head in the direction of the man. Franklin was right, if his mother trusted the man into the house and trusted him enough for Zakari to meet him, then the man was going to be okay. He trusted his mother's word above everything.

A smile drew across his own face before he took a deep breath of bravery and walked over to Roderick, wrapping his arms around his father's waist.

To hug the man that was his father sent a surge of emotions through Zakari that were indescribable.  He no longer had to question where the man was or why he was gone.  He also didn't have to worry about him leaving again either. At least, he hoped he didn't.

Eventually, Roderick got lower to the ground to match Zakari's height and pulled the boy into a much tighter hug. He could feel his father's chest heave against his body as the man cried. But it wasn't due to sadness, he seemed happy. 

As he pulled away, Zakari found his father's hands touching the sides of his face with a bright smile on his face. He moved the boy's cheeks around making Zakari giggle internally, until he signed to his dad.

"Nice to meet you, Dad.'

Confusion swept across his father's face and Zakari quickly realized that his father probably didn't understand sign language. They both looked to his mother for assistance in translation. He could see his mother wiping away tears from her eyes before she said something to Roderick.

Once she finished, Zakari found himself in another hug that felt like he was going to have his life squeezed out of him.

When Garrick and Franklin came up after giving the three a few minutes alone, the true struggle began as Zakari wanted to speak one on one with his father in his comfort zone, but he couldn't. Everyone had to continue translating for him and he just wanted to ask his father a million questions and it seemed his father wanted to do the same without needing everyone around.

His father seemed to want to apologize to him profusely, but Zakari didn't want him to apologize anymore. When his mother brought it up again that his father apologized for not being there for him for all those years, Zakari couldn't understand why he continued to apologize. The man was home and that's all he wanted, as long as he promised to stay, he had already been long forgiven.

He just wanted his dad to be okay so that the family could move past all the hardships and drama in the past and focus on the present and future.

Liz gestured everyone into the living room to sit down and relax. Roderick attempted to sign with Zakari, however, he got plenty of them wrong, making it difficult for Zakari to piece together what he was trying to say.

The frustration was clear on Roderick's face, but it wasn't with Zakari but himself. He turned to Liz for assistance while Zakari watched them.

Over the years, Zakari learned that he was happy being deaf. He didn't see anything being wrong with him, he just thought he was different and that was okay. The only time he was reminded of the issues that came with the limitations of his hearing was when he struggled to communicate with someone. He didn't mind so much that he wasn't able to communicate with every person he came across, it frustrated him that he couldn't communicate with those he cared about and wanted to speak with.

Even then he tried to gain his parents' attention but without their eyes on him, it was useless to wave his arms about. They weren't going to notice him as they spoke.

He pressed his lips together as he thought for a moment. He thought about clapping his hands or snapping his fingers at them, but it seemed rather disrespectful. Franklin and Garrick were distracted as well with their dinner plates and conversation that no one seemed to notice that he was trying to get someone's attention.

"Dad." he said finally forcing himself to use his vocals.

The room grew still and finally his parents looked at him, he made eye contact with his dad once more and smiled.

"D-Dad." 

The look on everyone's face spoke volumes as they were all wide eyed, causing Zakari to become hot in the face. He immediately regretted saying anything, wondering how bad it sounded to everyone in the room.

He looked to the floor to hide his embarrassment only to find him in another hug, seconds later.

Relaxing in his father's hold, Zakari held onto the man as he looked past Roderick's shoulder to the window as it began to snow lightly outside.

Later on that evening, long after his grandfather and Franklin had left for the evening. Zakari sat on the sofa in between his parents. He leaned against his mother's arm as his eyes grew heavy. Sleep was coming to him all too soon. He wanted to stay awake for as long as possible, but he knew tomorrow was going to be another day.