Hibari Ryuunousuke knew something terrible happened the minute he entered the kitchen and met the stilled form of his wife. The beautiful Hibari Azalea, known for her cutting words and stern demeanor, was seconds away from cracking. On one hand was a ceramic mug, bereft of design or color. Thin, spidery fingers were gripping its handle, shaking and trembling as the seconds ticked by. Soft wisps of black hair escaped from the loose ponytail, trying but failing to hide the multitude of emotions that passed through Azalea's bright green eyes.

"Lea?"

Said woman snapped out of her daze, turning away from the letter and now focusing fully on her husband. No words were spoken, none needed. It was all in one glance that Ryuu knew that she needed him.

He sat next to her on the kitchen island. "What's wrong?"

The question seemed to sap the energy from Azalea. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked back at the letter on the counter. "Lily's dead."

Azalea stated it with certainty. That it was a fact that Azalea will never see her darling little sister, with her penchant for rambling incessantly about magic with a sparkle in her eye, not unlike Azalea with stocks and money. Azalea can no longer tease her little Lily about her fiery red hair, can no longer challenge her about who of their children was the cutest, can no longer…

At last the pain was too much, and the impenetrable Azalea Hibari nee Evans wept. Wails and wet gasps came from the last living Evans as she reached for her husband for support. She did not hear her mug falling and cracking to pieces, nor saw the accursed letter fall gently beside the broken cup. What she needed was to let all the stress, worry, and despair out.

Azalea cried for fifteen minutes, clutching Ryuu's thin pajamas as tears flowed and fell on both their laps. With one last shaky breath she closed her eyes and leaned on her husband's shoulders.

"The Potters are coming over in three days."

"Ok."

"They're bringing Lily's ashes to set up a proper funeral."

"I'll prepare a room for the urn to be placed."

"James is also asking us to adopt one of his sons."

That last statement made Ryuu pause. With a slight frown, he asked. "…That is a big decision for James to make."

Azalea nodded. "He promised to explain when he comes. Supposedly it's more proper to talk about the… the incident face to face than through a letter."

Ryuu nodded in acquiescence. "His reason for asking us to adopt one of his sons will have to be a good one though."

The two separated and Azalea reached for the fallen letter. "He says in the letter that he won't abandon Harry." She handed the letter to him. "Just read it. I'll just wake up Kyo-chan; it's almost 7am." In seconds Ryuu watched his wife change from a broken doll to a competent woman. He couldn't help but smile seeing his wife jump right back up. It was one of the things that made Ryuu fall for her.

Dear Azalea,

I know this isn't a great way to tell this. But knowing you, you'd rather hear this as soon possible. Last night, on October 31, your sister Lily died. I did everything I could to protect her, and I'm sorry for failing to keep my promise. Lily was killed by Lord Voldemort, the same dark wizard we mentioned in our last letter that led to us hiding. It might help to know that Lily didn't die in vain. The last thing she did was protecting our children.

My family, along with Sirius and Remus, will be coming by three days from now to your house. There are more things that happened that night that I can't explain through a letter. It just makes it seem so clinical, so distant if I do. I will bring with me Lily's ashes, so we can also properly send her off.

One of the repercussions of the incident has forced me to ask you to take in my youngest twin, Harry. I am not abandoning my son. The basics that I could tell you are that because of Voldemort's defeat, death eaters and his supporters are hunting down for my family. While I would have kept on hiding my children, the death of Voldemort caused a black lash on Harry, causing me to be unable to expand my protection through normal means.

Again, I will explain everything to you once we meet. There are just some details that cannot be told through letter for safety reasons.

Sincerely,

James Potter

The last of the Potters and company arrived in their living room grasping a yellow duck. Ryuu would have grinned at the hilarious sight if it weren't for the grim faces on James, Sirius, and Remus. Each looked decades older from the last time he saw them, which was during Lily's baby shower less than two years ago.

Remus Lupin was the most together, showing up with a few more grey hairs. The claw mark on his left cheek stood out. He was still able to give the Hibari family a strained smile. Nestled in his arms was a sleeping child sporting vibrant red hair.

'He's starting to look more like Lily…' Ryuunousuke thought.

Left to Remus was Sirius Black, living up to his surname with the dark circles underneath his eyes. He clutched the black-haired babes in his arms tightly; afraid that he will never see his godson again.

'Considering that we might adopt him that could be a possibility.'

In between the two was his step-brother, James Potter. To be more precise, a shade of the once vibrant man was standing in front of the Hibari family. Gone was the mischievous hazel eyes and lazy grin. A bland dull look replaced it along with a permanent frown. Thin, skin-stretched hands gripped a wooden cane as he leaned to his right. The sight was enough for Ryuu to grab the hand of his wife as if to reassure to himself that she was still here, still alive.

The three wizards gave a short bow. "Thank you for letting us into your home Hibari-san, Azalea." Remus said.

Ryuu and Azalea bowed in turn. "It's not a problem, Remus-san. And please, call me Ryuu. You and Sirius-san are honorary brothers after all."

His youngest son, Kyoya, had no such compulsions of formalities. Instead the boy stood on his tip-toes, trying to get a glimpse of what Remus and Sirius were carrying. "What are you carrying?" The two smiled and leaned down.

"Wanna see your cousins, Kyoya?" Sirius asked. In a flash the four year old was in front of them, staring down at the two twins. Daniel kept on sleeping, pressing himself more into Remus' warm arms. Harry opened his bright emerald eyes and stared straight at the older boy.

"Wao"

Sirius chuckled. "Cowed down by his cuteness, Kiddo?" he teased. Sirius thought Kyoya to vehemently disagree. He didn't expect to see said nod solemnly in agreement.

"His eyes are deadly weapons."

Azalea couldn't wipe the smirk from her face. "Well you're going to have to fight against Harry's eyes, Kyoya. He's going to live with us." And that sucked all the happiness in the room.

Sirius' smile fell and he gripped Harry tighter in his arms. Azalea's pursed her lips, as if trying to swallow back her last sentence. Ryuu's face looked befitting for a noble emperor. Worst of all was James, who looked about ready to collapse. Tears started to form and the grip on his cane tightened.

Remus quickly changed subjects. "Well it looks like Daniel here's knocked out. It's an amazing feat for him to stay asleep even while we portkeyed here."

Azalea took the chance. "Kyoya, why don't you show Sirius and Remus to the guest bedrooms?" his son bobbed his head, and then glared at the two wizards.

"Hurry up uncles; the red baby must have a nap-time after all." Small hands wrapped around Ryuu's fingers and tugged him up the stairs. Remus was right behind them, with a befuddled Sirius following. Before they left the living room Ryuu caught one last glimpse of James and Azalea sitting opposite one another. The two didn't look each other in the eyes.

Looks like I'll have to stay upstairs longer than I thought.

"So nap-time, eh?"

Kyoya nodded. "Nap-time is an important part of growing, especially if you wish to become a dinosaur."

Remus blinked. "Wait, a dinosaur?"

"Remus, what's a dinosaur?"

Kyoya nodded again, his son's grey eyes glinting. "Okaa-san says that every time you take a nap, you'll get closer to becoming as strong as a dinosaur."

"So it's another muggle saying, strong as a dino- ow!"

Kyoya tugged on his father's fingers. "Otousan, why is Remus-san hurting Sirius-san?"

"Yeah Moony, how could you hurt me?"

"Sirius…"

"That's just how the two show their love, Kyoya."

"Ryuunousuke!" the elder Hibari let out a deep laugh, his body rumbling from the force that even Kyoya felt it where they held hands. He pretended to ignore Remus' whines ['I was not whining, I was just voicing my displeasure!'] and stopped in the middle of two plain wooden doors.

"There are only two guest bedrooms available. The right has two beds, the left one. James said that you'll be bringing two cribs…"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, have it in my pocket. Um, can you hold Harry for a second?" The wizard seemed to regret the request, but didn't try to take it back.

"With pleasure." The babe was exchanged, and Ryuunousuke moved nearer to the door to give Sirius some room.

With both hands freed, Sirius rummaged into his pockets and took out three toy-sized suitcases. He placed all three on the bed and pulled out his wand.

"Engorgio" Before his eyes all three expanded at a rapid pace. The bed groaned at the sudden weight, and almost seemed to bend in half as the suitcases grew to the same size as his son. Sirius flicked his wand again, and the leather suitcase on the right unlocked. Rolling up his sleeves, Sirius opened the case and stepped inside. Ryuu's eyes only popped slightly, but this was Kyoya's first experience with magic.

His son gasped and took a step forward. "Sirius-san!" Kyoya looked about ready to yank his uncle out of the walk-in suitcase, but Ryuu sharply called the boy to a stop.

"Sirius is fine," Remus reassured him. "The trunk is special; it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

Kyoya still looked wary. "Can he get lost?"

Remus shook his head. "He's the owner of that suitcase. If he does get 'lost' the enchantments on the trunk will immediately push its owner out." His explanation only made Kyoya more worried.

Sirius' face poked out of the trunk. "To translate Remus-speak, I'll never get lost!" Climbing out of the trunk, he turned back and pulled out two cribs. Both were made with varnished wood, the sheets vibrant red and emerald green for their respective crib.

"I would never expect you to have one crib Slytherin-themed," Ryuu teased.

Sirius barked a laugh, "Lily insisted. And since you know how Evans girls work, insisted means threatened. According to her, she wanted the green sheets to match Harry's eyes." It was obvious that Sirius was still feeling the after-effects of Lily's death, but his tone sounded more nostalgic than broken.

"I'll just put Daniel down," Remus said. "Kyoya, do you want to play with Harry?"

The frown forming on his son's face had Ryuu ruffle the child's hair. "Come on, it's you chance to get to know one of your cousins."

"Plus, Harry's awake. And when Harry's awake, he'll need to be occupied, or he'll get mischievous."

Remus nodded in agreement. "Why just yesterday, I looked away from the tiny terror for just one second and found him gnawing on my wand when I came back."

"A true Marauder in the making," Sirius announced.

The boy was thawing, so Ryuu gave one last push. "How about show some of the moves sensei has been teaching you. Maybe you could even teach harry how to do one of them." In minutes Kyoya had little Harry in his arms – after an impromptu lesson of taking care of babies - babbling about differences between 'a strong dinosaur' and 'a weak dinosaur'.

The adults moved to the second bedroom, Remus casting a silencing and locking charm to stop any nosy toddlers from listening in on their conversation. He soon joined the others, taking a seat next to Sirius while Ryuu sat opposite of them.

Sirius let out a sigh, leaning back on the bed. "James is telling Azalea what happened that night and everything after, but that's his side of the story." He ruffled his black hair. "I bet it already turned into a therapy session."

Ryuu agreed. James was ready to cry when he left the two, and Lea was perfect to 'slap' him back to reality.

"Did Azalea explain to you what was happening in England?" Remus asked.

"Yes. Voldemort was causing terror in the Wizarding world, and you guys were part of a group fighting against him. Her sister's family was in trouble because of a … prophecy that made the twins possible candidates of defeating this dark wizard." Ryuu couldn't help but sneer at any mention of divination. Everything else about magic he could take; each branch at least had rules that still managed to stop breaking every form of science. But Divination was the art of predicting possible futures. It was all just guesses and ultimately how someone interprets it. The fact that a prophecy, basically a possible path in the future, caused Voldemort to attack the Potters made Ryuu more certain that this dark wizard was insane.

"Considering the letter James wrote and that you're here, I'm guessing that Voldemort believed the prophecy pertained to one of the twins."

"Yes. After much deliberation, Daniel was proclaimed the 'Boy-Who-Lived'." Remus answered. "At least, that is according to the Ministry."

"What do you think?"

Amber eyes looked straight at Ryuu. "All of us, including Dumbledore, believed that Voldemort's demise was… was a joint effort. Lily did something; I'm not sure what, but she casted a charm she created that had her willingly sacrifice her life to save her sons." He bit his bottom lip, brows scrunched together as he continued. "Dumbledore's theory is that her spell could only work fully on one soul, not two. Voldemort casted a killing curse between Daniel and Harry. And as a result…" Remus took a deep breath. "As a result, Harry lost his magic."

By the end of it the two wizards were holding hands, helping one another from breaking apart. Ryuu could surmise that losing one's magic was tantamount to having one of your senses taken. Or is it similar to having a talent you once had – singing – forcibly taken away. But it was all guesses, and Ryuu would never understand how it is to have magic within him. All he could do was stay quiet and let them recuperate.

"Death eaters are still rampant," Sirius continued. "Between James, Remus, and I, we created a ward that could withstand any curse breakers except for the strongest wizards, like Dumbledore and Voldemort. What makes this ward so effective is because it doesn't envelop around a certain area; it specifically protects and guards each person tied to the ward by recognizing each person's magical core. However, because Harry no longer has a magical core, the wards can no longer tie and protect him as well."

Ah, it finally makes sense. "So you want us to take Harry in."

"This is the safest place Harry can be," Remus argued. "We're also not staying in place; we'll be jumping around to different hide-outs. Leaving Harry will not only protect him from our pursuers, but also allow him to learn how to live in the muggle world. The Wizarding World can be quite… racist. It will be hard for Harry to earn a living when he gets older."

"I have no problem taking Harry in. He is family, and that's all that matter to me." Ryuu then straightened his back, folding his hands together and glaring at the two men in front of him with cold grey eyes. "What my problem is if you know the repercussions of leaving him here."

Sirius bristled at the threat, baring his teeth. "Are you implying that you will hurt Harry-"

"The fact that you think I would do such a thing is out-right insulting, Black-san." Ryuu took a quick breath, mentally chastising for reacting in such an unseemly way. "What I'm pointing at is what Harry will go through as he grows up. Just looking at him I can tell that he is quite intelligent. And with intelligence comes acute observations and questions. I won't be surprised if he'll start noticing how different he looks compared to his peers the minute he can form sentences."

Sirius opened his mouth, most likely to give a scathing remark, but Ryuu kept on going. "I'm not the type of person to give half-truths. If Harry asks, Azalea and I will be blunt and tell him about his real family, that he was left here while the rest of you go into hiding."

"We are not leaving him!" Sirius roared. He shook off Remus' attempts at calming him, and loomed at Ryuu. "What you said was down-right vile. You think we're the type to abandon a child I see as my son?! All of us will visit him, contact him, and have Harry know that we love him."

Not even the threat of Sirius clenching on his wand made Ryuu hesitate to continue his interrogation. "That is a nice speech, but how can I be sure that you'll be keeping your word?"

"I solemnly swear," Those three words broke the two warring men apart, and look at Remus in surprise. "I solemnly swear upon my magic that I will not abandon Harry James Potter. That I will stay in contact with Harry James Potter. That I will do my utmost best to visit and protect Harry James Potter. This again I swear upon my magic." A faint white glow started from the tip of Remus' wand that was pointed upward. It enveloped the wand, then hand, until the wizard was bathed in white. It flared for just a half a second, until it abruptly faded away.

When Remus opened his eyes, it was to see Sirius also raise his wand to point upward, and repeat the same phrase his counterpart said. A second later, and another flash of white light managed to be seen between the cracks of the doors, most likely coming from downstairs. As the flare of white light faded Ryuu couldn't help but grin. Looks like Azalea's plan worked wonderfully. On pain of losing their magic, all three must continuously visit their now squib son/god-son. It was a much needed promise to help mend the now fractured Potter family.

The only muggle in the room clasped his hands together, breaking the tense atmosphere in the room with one clap. "Well, we should go and check on the my son. Knowing him, Kyoya's already indoctrinating Harry-chan on the importance of becoming a 'strong dinosaur'." He moved forward to open the door, only to find locked magically.

"Remus-san, if you will?" said man broke the ward with a twitch of his wand, and Ryuunousuke left the two wizards to grasp what had just transpired seconds before.

AN: Thank you for the reviews! I appreciate any constructive criticism. As you can guess if you checked my profile, this is the first fanfiction I ever published. If you're confused I'll try and explain it in the next update unless it'll be a spoiler.