Harry had been banished from the deck of the ship while Sirius and Skull were doing- whatever it was they were doing.

It had been about a week since they had stopped in Reykjavík, Iceland, and picked up their new passengers.

Harry had had a lot of fun with Viper, and he'd been sad to see her leave to go back to the Varia, but he was also enjoying the new crewmembers.

Skull was one, and Sirius Black- his Godfather- was another. Marius Black was the Captain, and of all people, Reborn had been there as well.

Harry knocked on the door to Reborn's suite and was bade to enter. "Hey Reborn, are you busy?"

"No, what is it you need?" The Sun Arcobaleno asked as he gestured for Harry to take a seat in one of the leather chairs that the toddler-sized man had placed in the living room portion of the room.

The Sky Arcobaleno shut the door quietly behind him and took the offered seat. "Nothing, really." Harry said sheepishly. "I just don't feel like studying and Sirius and Skull are up to something topside and told me to make myself scarce."

Reborn smirked at Harry and took a sip of his ever-present espresso. "Slacking, Harry?"

"Why I would never." Harry said in faux-indignation, receiving an amused chuckle from his companion.

"Sure." Reborn didn't sound convinced. "So you're just here because you're bored?"

"Well." Harry hesitated.

"Well, what?" Reborn prompted.

"I was kind of wondering if you'd help me with a project I wanted done." Harry said somewhat shyly, ducking his head and scuffing at the plush carpet with his shoes.

"Oh?"

Harry mentally kicked himself. Reborn was already taking time off from his duties to be here for Harry and here he was requesting more. "I-um. It's nothing." He said quickly flicking an uncertain glance at Reborn and blushing darkly.

"It doesn't sound like nothing." Reborn said mildly. "So, out with it."

"It's not really-"

A bullet whizzed past his cheek and Harry yelped in surprise, snapping his head up to stare wide-eyed at Reborn's smirking face. "Don't lie Harry. You're terrible at it."

Harry laughed nervously and took a deep breath. "W-well, I wanted to make a habitat for Hedwig to fly in, but I'd need your help because-"

"-I'm a Sun." Reborn finished for him

"Uh, yeah." Harry shuffled nervously.

"Ok."

"I mean-what?" Harry said confusedly.

Reborn rolled his eyes and sent Harry a small grin. "I said ok. Let's go build your partner a habitat." The Sun Arcobaleno said easily, hopping up from his recliner and heading for the door.

It took a few moments for it to sink in, but when it did Harry grinned happily and bounced after Reborn. "Thanks Reborn!"

"Hm, you're welcome." The Sun Arcobaleno said.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Making Hedwig's habitat had been fun.

Reborn is truly a master of his Activation Aspect. Harry thought in awe as he looked at the trees and flowers that were now decorating the magically-expanded room.

Since they were going to be spending so much time in colder areas and on the sea, Harry had wanted to give his Partner a warm, safe place to stretch her wings.

Verde had designed the hardware for the room so it could hold Sun Flames and mimic the Sun's light so the plants could flourish, and the dirt needed to make the habitat had been installed during the overhaul of the ship. The room was designed to mimic a day/night cycle, and was charmed to always be between 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so that the plants and trees could grow without freezing or scorching. The sky of the room was fairly tall, and Verde had installed a wind generator that would mimic actual wind patterns so it would feel more realistic for Hedwig.

Now the habitat was bursting with lush grass and wildflowers, a small pond, and trees.

"This is amazing, Reborn!" Harry breathed out excitedly as Hedwig flew around her new habitat happily.

Reborn smiled gently at the young Sky, infinitely pleased to have been able to put such a smile on the teen's face. He stamped down on the reoccurring guilt that he felt for not being able to see the teen over the summer, but things at the Vongola had been far too tense and uncertain for him to get away.

Nevertheless, Reborn was quite satisfied to be here now.

"Come along, Harry." Reborn told the teen, "It's time for you to lay down and take your medicine."

Harry made a disgusted face but obeyed, absently putting his arm down for Reborn to hop on, which the Sun Arcobaleno did without fuss.

Harry started for a moment as it had been a habit that he usually had for Skull, and he felt a little surprised that Reborn hadn't been offended, but once he came to grips with it he turned and gave Reborn a radiant, heartfelt smile.

Reborn was slightly taken aback by how happy Harry seemed be for something so trivial as Reborn hopping onto his shoulder, and he quietly revolved to do so more often if he reward was such a breathtaking smile.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry lay on one of the couches on the deck and cuddled with Skull and absently running his finger through Skull's purple hair, while Sirius laid on the couch across from him as they talked about the stars and everything else that was on their minds.

Sirius and Skull had combined their talents and used the stage Verde had installed to act of part of 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' for Harry, Marius, and Reborn and Harry was still too excited to sleep.

Marius had gone off to do Captain-y things, and Reborn had needed to check in with his employers, so it was just the three of them.

Harry glanced over at his Godfather, who was currently talking about the North Celestial Pole and how Polaris, more commonly known as the North Star, had been important to many cultures, with Skull interjecting with tidbits of his own information here and there.

Sirius was still healing from Azkaban and occasionally forgot where he was or what time period it was, but he was getting better. What was a bit strange for Harry was how Sirius, a man he had never met before in his memory, was almost as fussy over him as his Arcobaleno were.

It was a bit strange for Harry, who had people who cared for him for about three years, to have another person who loved him so fiercely.

It almost made him a bit sad to leave them all behind.

Harry smiled a bit bitterly and slipped off to sleep, his hands slowly stilling in Skull's hair as his body gave into its need for rest.

Figures that my time would grow short just as I started enjoying life.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

The next few months passed quickly, though they didn't get to explore the islands of the Artic as much as Harry wanted because his sickness kept getting worse.

Instead Harry spent a lot of time taking pictures from the ship or the inflatable dingy that had been retrofitted with every advancement and magical enhancement they could fit onto it.

Still, Harry had a lot of fun getting to know Sirius and Marius and spending time with Skull and Reborn.

Marius was like a grandfather who loved to teach lessons by telling, 'back in my day' stories, but Harry loved hearing them. Actually, he enjoyed them so much he used Verde's FlameTech to record most of them so that he could re-watch them at a later time. Harry wasn't the only one who enjoyed Marius' stories, though, because Skull and Sirius were just as enthralled by the tales of the man's exploits as he was.

Reborn spent time with Harry and helped pull Harry's math grades up. Harry would probably never be a mathematician, but with Reborn's help he should be able to pass his A-Level math requirements in a few years. Reborn had also taken to Arithmancy with an almost disturbing ease, so Harry might be able to pass his Arithmancy IOWC next time, as he'd fallen a little short of the proficiency that a IOWC required.

(He'd finished his GCSE testing in Iceland, and he'd passed them. He also had gotten his IOWC in Potions, Medieval Magical History, Practical Spellcasting, and Ancient Runes- subjects that Verde had taken over teaching him during the voyage across the Pacific.

So, now he had all of his GCSE requirements filled- though technically he didn't have to have them to take his A-Levels- but they were a good measure of where his education was as opposed to the others in his age group.

He now had IOWCs in Ancient Magical History, Modern Magical History, Medieval Magical History, Runic History, Astronomy, Charms, Inanimate Transfiguration, Potions, Spell Theory, and Practical Spellcasting.

Hogwarts offered OWLs and NEWTs for Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, History, ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination .

Since he now held IOWCs for History, Astronomy, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, and the equivalent of DADA, he was actually the equivalent of a Sixth Year at Hogwarts in Transfiguration and a NEWT Graduate in the rest.)

Skull, as always, was a little ball of chaos. Harry had found a new appreciation for Skull's intuition and empathy as the cloud Arcobaleno was able to coax Sirius back from his memories better than the rest of them- Harry included.

It had been gratifying to watch a new respect for Skull begin to blossom in Reborn, as well.

Sirius had been delighted to achieve Flame Activation, though. He was a moderately powerful Mist with a hint of Storm, which he was having a great deal of fun experimenting with, especially with Viper's pointers, (she was charging him a small fortune and taking it from his Gringotts account).

All in all, they'd had a great deal of fun together.

However, those peaceful months had very much been the calm before the storm.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

"I need to head back to Italy." Reborn informed them grimly.

Harry's eyebrows rose in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"For now." Reborn replied, "But I need to head back before something major happens." Reborn glanced at the young Sky, "I'm sorry, Harry."

"It's alright." Harry was quick to assure him, "I'm glad we got to spend time together."

It went unsaid that the ship would have to return to Italy as well, since Harry's condition was rapidly deteriorating. He now had incidents nearly every other hour and was losing weight.

Skull and Reborn were both quietly terrified by Harry's progression of illness and had had several fights when Harry was sleeping or otherwise occupied about everything from Skull keeping Harry a secret for so long to putting him in the Mafia Hospital in an effort to prolong his life.

Both Arcobaleno were absolutely certain to keep their disagreements away from Harry, though. Even if his Sky intuition was a real pain some days.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

They made good time back to Italy, and anchored the ship off of the coast of Italy in the Bay of Naples.

Reborn quickly left them to go deal with Vongola business.

Marius and Skull took Sirius to off to Marius' place, so they could relax for a while and let Sirius heal without constantly leaning on Harry as a support.

Skull only went with Marius and Sirius because Harry was with Colonnello, as Mafia Island was currently serving Spain and Portugal.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry himself was having a blast with Colonnello. They both had feathery Animal Partners, so they bonded over the respective Partners' quirks and habit of pecking them when they were annoyed.

Colonnello also began to teach Harry about traps and other tidbits of useful information about using the terrain to one's advantage. "Nothing about an environment is entirely benign, kora!" Colonnello told the teen as they made the rounds around Mafia Land. "You can use just about any quirk in an environment to your advantage if you stay calm and think."

"So, you can use small imperfections against your opponent?" Harry inquired curiously.

Colonnello nodded sharply. "Exactly. There's no such thing as an impenetrable or imperturbable fortress, kora! There are always design flaws! Smart people, like Verde, know this and purposely try to keep their captives off balance and panicking so they can't think about things rationally, kora!"

"Wow."

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Bermuda was pleased.

Construction of both snowflakes had been completed, and he had just finished charging the grounding snowflake with his Night Flames.

It looked rather beautiful, carved into the heart of the mountain, the silver metal of the frame wreathed in the dark Flame.

The grounding snowflake was inlaid into a flat plane of rock that had been carved beneath the lowest level of the Vindicare. The area around it had been shored up by the Goblins and the Dwarves, to divert or prevent a natural disaster from obliterating the prison and the new site of the Arcobaleno Pacifiers. It was 7 to the 3rd power from end to end and side to side. Measured in meters, as the basis of the metric system was 10. The second snowflake was exactly as large, but tailored as per the design.

The walls of the cavern had been lined with runes and characters, and all in all it looked rather majestic.

The second snowflake was about a quarter of a mile above it, suspended on thick pillars of stone with all manner of runes carved into them. The center of the pillars held metalwork that connected the two snowflakes so the Night Flame could ground and sustain the second.

Bermuda was still wearing his Pacifier, and he would until the other Pacifiers had been added to the second snowflake.

Bermuda ran one more critical glance over the room and nodded decisively.

Time to let Harry know.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry ran the silky cloth of the Invisibility Cloak through his hands.

He'd found it in his bag about a month ago, and Sirius had greatly enjoyed relating tales of mischief and hijinks that were possible due to the Cloak to the young Potter.

The young Sky Arcobaleno sighed softly and tried to push back the tears as he considered what was about to happen.

I love you guys. He thought miserably as he thought about the people who were family to him. I love you so much.

He gripped the Sky Pacifier. "Uncle Kawahira, I need to talk to you." He said through the thick emotion that tried to clog his throat.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Kawahira wondered at the strength of young Harry's soul.

Even sick and clearly dying the boy was determined to end the Curse.

The last True Earthborn shook his head as he prepared for one last performance as Checker Face or The Man in The Iron Hat.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

All six of the Arcobaleno were laid out on their corresponding parts of the snowflake, deeply asleep, their Animal Partners beside them, also asleep.

(The trickiest part of the entire plan was how to keep the Vindice from starting a war with Kawahira in his 'Man In The Iron Hat' guise, but fortunately Harry was able to convince them to stay their hand.)

Their Pacifiers were slotted into the holders that had been crafted for them, but were still connected to the individual Arcobaleno.

Bermuda and Harry were also in place with Hedwig sitting proudly on her Partner's shoulder, their Pacifiers inside the receptacle made for them, but they were bowed over the Pacifiers, preparing to push all the Flame they could manage into the snowflakes.

"Alright." The Man In The Iron Hat said. "It's time, Bermuda, Harry."

Both Arcobaleno nodded and began to pour Flame into their Pacifiers.

Harry panted as he pulled up all his desperation to save his Arcobaleno- all of his willpower to see them free- and used it to pour every bit of himself into the new design.

Please let this work. He mentally begged, eyes screwed shut as he focused entirely on his task.

"It's starting." The Man In The Iron Hat intoned, just as the Arcobaleno Elements' Pacifiers lit up and the began to emit an overwhelming amount of bright, pure Flames.

For a few moments there was so much Flame in the air, Harry was entirely disoriented.

Then, like an orchestra's crescendo, the Flames surged together and the world went white as the connections between the Arcobaleno and their Pacifiers snapped as the snowflakes took their places.

"It's working." Harry breathed in wonder as he opened his eyes and tipped his head back so he could witness the results of his plan with his own eyes. "It's working!" He said again, louder, as pure euphoria erupted in his veins and he laughed- wild and free and delighted- as the snowflakes stopped sucking their Flames and began to sustain themselves.

Behind his mask, Kawahira was also astounded and below them Berumda laughed in exultant triumph.

"Lord Bermuda!" One of the Vindice called urgently. "Lord Bermuda!"

Bermuda's head snapped up to his subordinate, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, Lord Bermuda." Jager replied shakily. "But we've- our bodies-" Jager pulled down the bandages that covered his hand and held it out towards the Vindice Boss.

Bermuda gasped as he took in the state of Jager's hand. Where there had once been mangled flesh and bone there was now a smooth, pale hand with jagged silver scars.

"We're whole again. Not exactly alive, but we're no longer mangled." Jager explained.

Kawahira smiled behind his mask and left before the Vindice remembered he was there- and responsible for their previous condition.

Before they could celebrate any more, Harry broke into an unforgiving coughing fit.

"Harry!" Bermuda yelled.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Reborn returned to consciousness slowly, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out what was missing.

He cast his senses around the room and found himself to be in the bedroom he used in the Arcobaleno Mansion, which was odd because the last things he remembered was falling asleep in his room at the Vongola Mansion.

Reborn opened his eyes and went to grab at his Pacifier.

It was missing.

Reborn was blasted into full awareness as he sat bolt upright and tried to locate his missing Pacifier, comforted to note Leon's presence on the bed beside him. He cast his eyes around the room, Flaring his Flames- and nearly blinding himself in the process as he used too much of them- to check for any tell-tell signs of an illusion.

Suddenly, a wounded wail of, "Harry!" Resounded through the Mansion.

That was Viper. Viper did not scream.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Skull burst the room, tears already wetting his face, as he took in Viper's distraught expression and teary, fury-filled countenance. It wasn't a moment later that Lal and Colonnello arrived, and on their heels was Verde, followed closely by Fon and Reborn.

"Viper!" Was the general greeting that was exchanged, along with some variation of 'what's wrong' or 'what's going on'.

"It's Harry!" Viper cried in distress. "He found a way to break the Curse even though he didn't think he'd survive it!"

The room fell deathly silent. "What?" Lal whispered.

Viper waved the paper around and faced them fully. "That stupid, selfless boy broke the Curse and then went off to Britain to die so we wouldn't be in danger while we recovered!"

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry felt bad for what he was doing.

Hiding under his Invisibility Cloak and sneaking aboard a flight to England wasn't a good way to repay Bermuda for his kindness.

But Harry had to go. Because he was already dying and there was someone in Britain who sought after him seriously enough that they'd used Dark Magic to sap his magic.

Harry sniffled angrily and tried to convince himself that the aching, bleeding hole in his chest would feel better soon. He'd be with his parents, and he'd sent Hedwig off with a letter to Sirius, explaining everything and he'd left letters for his Arcobaleno and Bermuda and the Vindice and-

The sobs broke through and Harry retched.

I'm not strong. He thought miserably. I miss Skull and Verde and Viper and Lal and Colonnello and Fon and Reborn and Sirius and Marius already. I wish they were here and I didn't have to do this. I wish I'd never left. I wish that we were a real family and not just together because we'd had to be. I wish-

The plane finally landed and Harry was the first one off of it, trying to keep himself busy.

It's almost over. My-The Arcobaleno- former Arcobaleno- will be fine. Better even. He told himself as he made his way towards the airport exit.

It's almost over.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

It took a few moments for all the Arcobaleno to realize what was so different.

Their Curse was gone.

"That boy." Lal growled wetly.

"He probably thinks that since we're not Arcobaleno any longer we wouldn't want anything to do with him." Skull said in slowly growing horror. "He has nothing to live for, in that case."

The others looked at Skull, whose head was bowed as his shoulder shook with silent sobs and mulled over that observation.

"I am going to strap him to a chair and inject him with self-worth when we get him back." Verde growled.

"I will assist you." Fon said woodenly as he flexed his fingers.

"Count me in, kora!"

Viper sneezed and cursed. "Something is disrupting my technique." She informed them crisply.

"He has an Invisibility Cloak." Skull informed them dully. "It's really powerful."

"Well," Lal said dangerously, "What are we doing standing around like idiots. Gear up."

"Agreed." Reborn echoed. "We're going to take back our Sky."

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry shrugged off his Cloak and put it in his backpack, but was entirely unprepared for the lurching sensation he felt immediately afterwards.

This is a Portkey. He thought fuzzily, as he landed in a heap and crawled up onto his knees and vomited violently.

He heard footsteps behind him and words being spoken, but he couldn't make out any of it as he continued to be sick.

He blacked out shortly thereafter.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Bermuda was exceedingly vexed.

The recovering Arcobaleno had lost Harry. This was unacceptable.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Sirius Black made a call.

"We will pick you up in an hour. Be ready."

The line went dead, but Sirius was already packing.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Albus Dumbledore was so focused on the unresponsive teen in his arms, he didn't see the student who saw Harry and recognized him as the old man passed them by.

Ten minutes later, an owl left the Owlrey bearing an urgent message.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Poppy Pomfrey had been treating children for a long time, most of her life actually, and she was one of the foremost magical Pediatric Healers in the world.

However, she had no idea what was wrong with Harry Potter.

The boy had been in her care for nearly thirteen days and hadn't awoken; he just broke out into violent fits of coughs ever so often and acted as if he had a nasty cold.

Normally she'd call for one of her colleagues at St. Mungos to help her, but twelve days ago Lord Voldemort had reappeared and St. Mungos and the Ministry had both fallen within hours of his appearance in the middle of Diagon Alley.

Less than five hours after his first appearance the Dementors rebelled and Lord Voldemort's most faithful were freed from Azkaban. The prisoners were reportedly given the option to join the Death Eaters or be Kissed.

The majority of them joined.

The Wizarding World was in as nearly as much chaos as it had been on Halloween 1981.

The Headmaster came by from time to time to ask her about the boy's condition and seemed to be becoming increasingly fixated upon it as Lord Voldemort's reign of terror continued to expand.

Poppy continued to tell him that the boy was all but nonresponsive, but the Headmaster insisted that Harry would recover.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry slowly came back into awareness.

It felt as if there was a continent attached to him and trying to drag him down.

Everything ached and not just in a physical sense.

Since he'd awoken from breaking the Arcobaleno Curse, he'd felt an unusual heaviness dragging him down.

Harry carefully tested his limbs and was pleased to note that he still had his wand strapped to his arm. Viper is truly an amazing illusionist. He thought fondly before the fact that Viper was now free of the Curse- of him- rammed into his like a blunt, jagged knife and he tried to hunch in on himself.

"Welcome, Mr. Potter." A firm, no nonsense voice said from somewhere above him, startling Harry out of his maudlin thoughts and into full awareness.

Harry blinked a few times and glanced around warily. He was in what seemed to be an old-fashioned hospital and the woman who had spoken was wearing a nurse's uniform that reminded him of the stories of the legendary Florence Nightingale.

"You're in the Infirmary of Hogwarts School, Mr. Potter." The woman informed him briskly. "I am Master Healer Pomfrey, you may refer to me as Madam Pomfrey. You've been under my care for almost two weeks."

A glass was pressed to his lips. "Drink." She ordered.

Harry obediently drank most of the water before withdrawing. "Thank you." He said quietly. "Why am I here?"

"That would be my fault, my dear boy."

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry was absolutely numb.

Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. He'd never been this angry before and he was rather terrified of what would happen should he fully acknowledge it.

The man, Headmaster Dumbledore- the same man who had left him with the Dursleys- had been the one who cast the tether that had made him sicker.

Oh, he hadn't come out and said, 'I cast a piece of forbidden Dark Magic that nearly killed you.' But since Harry already knew that it wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

The Headmaster had given him a spiel about how his mother's love had saved him that Halloween night and how there were special Wards around his Aunt's house that had protected him.

That was where he had been shuttled off to, as the Headmaster wanted to 'recharge' the Wards, since they hadn't fully fallen yet. Harry see signs of the people who were 'keeping an eye' on him- not that the man had told him about them- from his dismal window and he wondered at the cruel irony that his journey would end here of all places.

His relatives seemed to still be under the influence of whatever Uncle Kawahira had done to them, thankfully.

Supposedly once the Wards were 'recharged' and he was 'fully protected' he would be going back to Hogwarts to 'start' his magical education. Thankfully the Headmaster had been too busy to question where Harry had been too closely- he'd told the man that a strange man had taken him and then he'd thought he'd been expelled so he hadn't thought coming back was an option- to which the man had all but patted him on the head and scolded him.

He had been told about the resurgence of his parent's murderer and how the man was likely to come after him because Harry had bested him once before and Harry felt vaguely responsible to do what he could to help out- you know, before he died.

Harry rested his head against the glass as he went over his options and tried to not think about what hi- the ex-Arcobaleno were doing.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

The ex-Arcobaleno were finally ready to make their move.

They'd had to wait because they had discovered that they were experiencing random growth spurts shortly after they had discovered Harry's disappearance. It threw off their balance and abilities, so they'd been forced to wait it out.

Now they all appeared to be in their teens and hadn't experienced any random growth spurts in five days. Verde postulated that because the Curse affected the reproductive systems, (that is to say it essentially whitewashed it), since their bodies had now entered puberty it had leveled out.

Of course, none of them had been idle in that time and now they were extremely well-prepared.

Because Magical Britain was at war with itself, and the ex-Arcobaleno were grimly certain that their Sky would never know a moment's peace until it was ended decisively. They all suspected that 'Light Faction' had Harry, as if the 'dark' side had gotten a hold of him they would have been talking about it.

They had found Harry's backpack on a sidewalk outside of the airport in London, and had started backtracking everything from there.

They knew, because Sirius had been gathering Intel for them while they'd been biding their time, that Harry had been at Hogwarts School recently but he wasn't currently a student.

From there their clues had led them to the Dursley family, and three days ago the number of occupants of Number Four Privet Drive went from two to three. The son was still at his boarding school, which meant the other occupant was most likely their Sky.

"He's not going to like this." Skull noted absently as he checked his weapons.

"He's a Prisoner of War." Lal retorted firmly. "We're fully within our rights."

"Indeed." Their newest ally agreed.

Skull looked over at the former Vindice Arcobaleno. "You still scare me." He commented offhandedly.

Bermuda's smile was self-satisfied. "Good. No one is above the law."

"Let's move out, kora!"

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"These people are invisible not intangible, kora." Colonnello muttered as he looked through the scope of his sniper rifle.

Two shots later Viper confirmed that their opponents were down. "Go." Colonnello whispered into the mic.

Lal Mirch was slipping inside the backdoor of Number Four less than three minutes later.

Harry was in the kitchen, which was just off the backdoor. "You foolish boy." She hissed lowly.

Harry spun around and looked at her longingly. "Lal?" He whispered hoarsely. Then he scowled and shook his head sharply. "Don't be stupid, Harry. They're free of you, why would Lal be here."

Just as he finished his statement a stinging slap connected with the back of his head. Harry's rubbed at it and stared a Lal confusedly. "You foolish boy!" She ranted at him, tears stinging her eyes as her heart twisted at seeing her Sky so miserable. "You're our Sky. Why would we ever wish to be free of you?"

Green eyes filled with tears, "But-"

Lal wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her and Harry's head fell forward against the juncture of her neck easily. "That is the last time you will make such a stupid statement in my presence, do you understand me?"

"But-"

"Do you understand me?"

"I-I understand." Harry whispered meekly as his arms came around her and he squeezed her tightly. "I understand."

She refused to let Harry go, instead she shifted so he was beside her and began to guide him towards the backdoor. "Let's go home, Harry."

"But there's a war-," He mumbled tiredly into her neck. "I can't-I can't just-"

"You will do nothing, child." Viper's voice sounded from his other side, as the normally taciturn Mist user wound an arm around Harry's waist. "We will take care of it."

Harry blinked up at Viper, "But I can't-"

"You can and you will, kora!" Colonnello joined them as they reached the hedges. "And let me tell you, the little lady is going to peck you to death when we get home, kora!"

"You guys." Harry whispered weakly as he looked between the three of them. "All of you?"

Colonnello snorted and reached forward and ruffled Harry's hair. "All of us. I'm pretty sure you're going to be Skull's new teddy bear for the foreseeable future. Hope you enjoyed freedom while it lasted, kora!"

"But why?"

"What did I say about stupid statements." Lal snapped as they started moving again.

Harry cried. "I love you guys so much. I wanted to protect you, so I left but-"

"Everybody needs somebody sometimes, child." Viper soothed as she and Lal maneuvered Harry into the waiting car and Colonnello hopped into the driver's seat. "To borrow a phrase from Skull, 'we're your Elements, let us rage'"

Harry slumped against Lal and decided to trust in the people he loved.

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Lord Voldemort stood outside the Wards of Hogwarts and basked in his sense of imminent victory.

Hogwarts was the last stronghold against him in Britain.

He turned towards his followers and made his speech.

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Albus Dumbledore stood at the entryway to the castle and activated the defenses.

Hogwarts was soon to become a battlefield.

He turned towards his fellow fighters and made his speech.

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At a castle in Britain, in the twilight hour, two factions go to war.

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Albus stood across from Voldemort, they were both tired and wounded.

The battlefield was entirely silent save for the pained moans of the wounded. Waiting with bated breath to see which of the titans would fall.

A chill sweeps through the air and Lord Voldemort's lips twist into a savage grin as he feels the tide turn in his favor and the Dementors descend upon the battlefield.

The shadows on the ground churn violent and black portals rip open, admitting strange figures in tattered dark blue cloaks and top hats, with bandages around all their exposed skin.

Both factions have an instant fear of them.

Chains wreathed in dark Flames burst forth and subdue the Dementors with inhuman ease. No matter that there are nearly five hundred Dementors, and most of them are in the sky, the strange newcomers easily subdue them.

Then the Dementors catch fire.

The dark Flames that wreath the chains consume the dark creatures, who let out inhuman, agonized wails as they are burned alive, leaving nothing but ash in the wind.

While they are still stupefied in horror, the fighters become prisoners.

"No one is above the law." One of the bandaged newcomers says gravely. "Witness judgment."

Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort both are wreathed in Flames.

The titans fall.

"Any who choose to continue this fight will be judged." The bandaged newcomer says.

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As the battlefield shakes off the shock and the first few rise to challenge them, the ex-Arcobaleno who are pretending to be Vindice ready themselves.

Behind his bandages, Reborn whispers, "Chaos."

Fon's Storm is at a fever pitch just waiting to be unleashed.

Verde grins wickedly and taps his fingers against his newest creation.

Colonnello and Lal exchange anticipatory, expectant glances.

Viper readies her foulest illusions as she uses her Esper abilities to make sure they make an impact, while Skull quickly begins to calculate where to hit to do the most damage and provide Viper with the maximum amount of protection.

Tonight the Elements rage.

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Harry screamed in pain.

"Harry!" Sirius yelled as he came running into the room. "Harry-the fuck?"

Dark Flames have sprouted from the boy's forehead and Sirius rushes forward to hold Harry still so the teen will stop clawing at his face, babbling soothing nonsense to the teen all the while.

The Flames burn for nearly ten minutes and Harry's screams become hoarser before an unearthly scream emits from his scar and the boy falls limp.

"Harry!"

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Harry wakes up to a mouth full of purple hair and chuckles. "You know." He mumbles drowsily, "You were more fun to cuddle with when you were stuck as a cute toddler."

"Sh' up, 'Ry." Skull slurs sleepily.

"We're going to see your stupid penguins, now go back to sleep, brat." Lal says from the doorway.

"Lal." Harry says happily, squirming around so until he can see the former Rain Arcobaleno. "We there yet?"

Lal rolls her eyes and walks over the perch on the edge of the bed. "No." She says exasperatedly as she begins to card gentle fingers through his hair, "But I'm pretty sure that Colonnello is going to toss Verde overboard if he starts moaning about his newest experiments one more time. Viper is hiding with your Godfather. I think they're playing poker."

"Hmmm," Harry sighs sleepily. "Fon will-" he broke out into a wide yawn. "-stop him."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Reborn says from the doorway. "I think Fon is about at his science limit. Why aren't you sleeping brat?"

Harry blinked slowly and smiled warmly at them, "Cause I wanted to make sure you guys were still here."

Reborn rolls his eyes and chuckles. "We're not the ones who were dead for seven minutes, brat."

"Hmm." Harry murmurs as Lal's ministrations relax him further. Just before he falls asleep he tells them, "I love you guys. Don't let Siri cook."

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Please leave a review on your way out!

This is now complete! I might do some drabbles about moments that were glossed over, but feel free to leave prompts/suggestions about scenes you'd like to see!

There might be a sequel. I'm not sure yet. I have no self-control, so most likely.