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Chapter Seven
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The Event arena was actually a series of training rooms on three lowest levels of the underground training sector that had been retrofitted to look like towns or cities from various parts of the world and populated with illusions that Mammon and his minions provided. To be eligible to join the Varia you had to be fluent in at least seven languages, and these rooms were normally used by operatives to immerse themselves into the cultures of a country they would be infiltrating.
Each team had their own starting point as there were sixteen separate 'towns' to start from.
Blaise and Harry stood in front of a quaint little English town and waited at the designated point for the Event to begin, the emblems on the Mammon-made chains around their necks.
"Ready?" Blaise murmured to Harry as the Italian born teen readjusted the knife holster on one arm- briefly checking the wand holster that held his wand on the other arm- before fiddling with the strap that held the generic but serviceable short sword on his back. Blaise was wearing sturdy but elegant looking black pants with a white button up shirt with a Varia jacket thrown over it; this ensemble was paired with durable boots and their Event-provided black bag of standard-issue equipment thrown carelessly over a shoulder.
"Yeah." Harry tried to grin confidently at his friend, nerves and dread pooling in his gut as his intuition coiled through his chest like a caged lion. Harry was dressed in dark brown cargo pants, a sleeveless black zip-up hooded sweatshirt over a long sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His Cloak was wrapped around his torso, the bulge hidden by his own Varia jacket. His sturdy boots hid a few more emergency weapons while his dagger and several smaller blades were slipped into cleverly hidden holsters at various other points; his wand was slipped into a wand holster on his left arm.
They were able to use their wands since Sirius- having a wand that responded much better than the rat's had- had managed to break the Trace after some trial and error.
To be fair, not only had he been raised a Black he had also been an Auror during the Blood War, so it wasn't much of a stretch for his abilities.
Xanxus had warned the teens to be cautious in revealing their magic as Italy had their own Traces, even though WEATHER Squad had wards up and Mammon and his minions had reinforced those with Mist wards. However he also wanted them to be prepared and able if they needed to resort to using their magic because their targets were seasoned assassins.
"We've got this." Blaise said to his extra pale looking friend with a confident grin before it turned cheeky and he tacked on. "Artemis."
Harry huffed in exasperation even as he marveled at his Cloud Guardian's resilience. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Janus. Just wait, I'll make my girly weapon idea so fucking awesome-" He was cut off by the signal blaring.
The Ranking Event had begun.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
Harry cursed as he circled around the building, trying to make his way back to Blaise as he hastily attempted to patch the rather deep slash that he had taken from Morette's bowie knife.
At only three hours into the Event he and Blaise had managed to locate their first two targets fairly quickly.
Morette, a known conspirator of the former Varia Cloud, and his partner, Fercelli.
With some careful planning they had managed to take out Fercelli- who had apparently been the lookout- but Morette was proving to be a slippery bastard. They had managed to destroy the phone he had been using, so at least whoever had been on the other end did not know who, exactly, had targeted him.
"Artemis!" Harry heard Blaise call out nervously, and Harry ran as fast as the Cloak would let him, having slipped it on and silenced his shoes once he'd vanished the blood that had hit the ground.
Harry careened into the room- they were in a rather generic American city at the moment- just in time to witness Morette back the wounded Blaise- he was bleeding pretty badly from his left arm- into an awkward corner and raise his gun.
"Punk." Morette sneered at the downed Cloud as he pulled the trigger.
Only, the gun never fired because Harry hastily raised his wand and cast the Diffindo Charm at the base of the man's neck at point blank range.
"Ad-rtemis." Blaise breathed in relief as Harry hurried over to do what he could to patch his friend up.
"Those were the two that Xanxus was most worried about." Harry murmured, ever mindful of the surveillance equipment that he knew Xanxus had in place.
No use in leaving any overt evidence of Xanxus' involvement in the two's demise; just in case shit went sideways and the tapes ended up in the wrong hands.
"Hmmm." Blaise replied just as lowly as he rotated his arm a bit and nodded at Harry. The young Potter then took to wrapping bandages around the remaining injury as he cut off the steady supply of Sun Flames he had been feeding into the wound. "Four more, two more teams. Are you ok?"
Harry's grin was weak but his eyes were resolved. "I really don't enjoy ending lives, but I'm also not going to back out and fail. These people are endangering my Family. I cannot and will not let that happen, even if it means killing." Harry sighed softly. "I'm going to have nightmares, though, I can just feel them."
Blaise put a hand on his Sky's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'll be there, Artemis, last time, this time, and next time. Always."
Harry's smile was wobbly and his eyes were wet, but his voice was steady when he replied. "Same here."
"Oh! Their emblems!" Harry remembered as they went to secure the corpses.
"I almost forgot, too!" Blaise grunted as they set down the body and stripped off the emblem. "What do you think? Behind the dumpster? Put goon number one's prints on the walls and leave a blood trail to him?"
"Good plan, I like it." Harry replied as he checked for any 'civilian witnesses'. "This way."
―――ᴖᴗ―――
The teens kept moving for the next few hours, traveling through three 'zones' and encountering one other team. That team wasn't one of their targets, so Blaise and Harry chose incapacitate them and move on without taking their emblems.
After that they took great pains to not be spotted by the other teams, though they came across a couple of bodies.
It was about eighteen hours since the start of the Event when they caught sight of their other targets, which was the good news.
The bad news was that all four targets were clearly working together and battling against another team.
The zone was of a quaint little Belgian town, which provided lots of cover, but the four targets- Ricco, Aldo, Paulo, and Amo- were all gun users and had been partners for years. The team that they were fighting against consisted of a Sun who preferred hand-to-hand and a rather unhinged Storm that used a wickedly curved short sword.
The four gunmen were rather securely position inside a building and the other team was huddled behind the remains of an awning from a nearby building on the sidewalk.
Clearly these guys did not give a damn about property damage, but apparently the Mist had set up an aversion zone.
Harry and Blaise huddled together in the shadows of a building and plotted their next move.
"Paulo and Aldo are the most volatile and the leaders of their teams, we need to target them first." Harry deliberated quietly. He cursed softly. "I wish I could use some Mist Flames or Rain Flames, it would make things easier. This aversion zone is barely holding together as is, I use too much Sun or Storm and it'll fall and we'll be in a whole 'nother spot of bother."
"Agreed. I hope I'll eventually be able to pull up a secondary. Can we set a trap?" Blaise queried, cocking an eyebrow at his Sky.
Harry pondered it for a moment before shaking his head. "No, too much of a chance of collateral damage from our non-target teams. If only we could switch-"
Harry looked at Blaise; Blaise looked at Harry.
"Switching Spells." They said in unison.
"The Disillusionment Charm doesn't work well on Flame users- only for a few seconds really- but we just need a moment of surprise on our side." Blaise plotted out loud as he cautiously took another peek at the warring squads. "Switching spells aren't usually used on people because the magic they require is proportional to the mass of the objects, but I think that we could make it work. We both have a fair bit of magical power and we won't be solely relying on it to fight with."
Harry rewrapped his Cloak around his torso and they carefully inched forward to better assess the targets. "We should hit the area with a Lumos Maxima to make them shield their eyes and then hit the two non-targets with a Confundus just before we switch. Activation to knock out the non-targets?"
Blaise glanced around and then nodded in agreement. "I agree, the awning we're under will protect us, but we'll still have line of sight." He glanced at Harry curiously. "You can use Activation to knock people out?"
"Sure." Harry chirped back cheerfully. "There's several ways to do it, but sorella taught me how to just use a touch at the temple."
"Handy." Blaise muttered rather sulkily. "I want to play with other Flame Aspects."
"Someday." Harry informed his friend with a bright grin before he once again turned serious. "Great, fifteen seconds from mark and I'll fire the Maxima at the mission targets. Once it leaves my wand, you hit the switching targets with the Confundus, and switch them with debris. I knock them out and you hit us with the Disillusionment Charms. Fifteen seconds later we switch with the debris and move in- agreed?"
"Agreed." Blaise confirmed and they steadied their wands.
Thankfully they had spent a few days with WEATHER Squad and they were fairly confident in their aim. 'Threading the Needle' with Yakov had been quite challenging but rewarding.
"Alright, 3….2…..1. Mark." Harry called out firmly, immediately taking aim and counting down the first fifteen seconds in his head.
Fifteen seconds later a ball of brilliant blue hued light hurled itself towards the men still holed up inside the shop. Beside Harry Blaise quickly cast the Confundus spells on the other team.
"Now." Harry whispered, Sun Flames prepped and ready.
Blaise switched the two non-targets with some handy nearby debris and Harry quickly knocked them out properly. While Harry knocked them out Blaise cast the Disillusionment Charms and then they switched with the debris.
Harry and Blaise were across the town and into the building before their opponents had truly blinked the spots from their eyes. Blaise managed to slash through Paulo's throat before the Charm broke- Flames tended to eat away at it as the Charm merely bent the light around a person instead of actually removing them from reality- but Aldo managed to dodge Harry's killing blow.
While it still resulted in serious injury the man wasn't dead yet.
Unfortunately, Ricco and Amo had recovered and were taking aim, meaning that Harry and Blaise were having to dodge bullets at close range.
Not exactly an optimal situation, but not nearly as lethal as it would have been for a non-Flame user. There was damn good reason why Settimo had developed his X-Guns, aside from his rather weak Sky Flames. Flames users who were smart could nullify a bullet- or ten- meaning it took more than one or two shots to take down a Flame user, unlike a normal human.
Well, unless the gun user was also smart and figured out how to upgrade their ammunition.
'I owe Levi a Christmas present. Freaking improvising weirdo.' Harry thought as he dodged another spray of bullets and blocked the back exit. Aldo was bleeding out fairly quickly but he was still able to shoot, which was causing an issue. 'Blaise and I are dead at this rate and at this range, but we can't afford to let them leave and go to ground or use the terrain to their advantage or we'll really be screwed. I really hope that Xanxus isn't watching this or he'll kill me.'
With that cheerful thought Harry ran towards Ricco, who had the best aim. The lapse of concentration cost him, though, and he tried to ignore the agony that blossomed in his leg as he was a little too slow to dodge and-or nullify a few bullets.
Reaching his target Harry gracefully slid inside the man's guard and swiftly plunged his dagger through the bottom of the man's jaw and up into his brain. It took a few moments and Ricco's hands came up to wrap around Harry's throat in his death throes, but Harry wrenched his dagger free and managed to stagger backwards before the man could take him down with him.
Harry's intuition suddenly wailed, which had him dropping and rolling before he truly realized what was happening.
Harry realized what was going on when bullets tore through the air where he had been only a heartbeat before, and he rolled behind the cooling corpse of Ricco before his mind fully processed what was happening. Feeling more than a little disgusted about using a human body as a shield- but lacking the time to truly ponder the action at the moment- Harry peeked over his temporary shelter just in time to witness Blaise plunge his short sword into Amo's armpit. Blaise quickly removed the weapon and dodged Amo's suddenly lifeless arm as he went to follow up with a killing blow to the back of the neck, unaware of the oncoming spray of bullets from Aldo.
Harry was up and plunging his dagger into the base of Almo's skull in an instant, managing to redirect most of the volley away from his Guardian, but a couple of bullets grazed Blaise's left side and thigh, causing the other to release a short bark of pain as Amo's body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
It was at that moment that Harry's own injuries reasserted themselves.
"Aghn!" Harry cried out, trying to swallow the screams that wanted to burst forth, "Ja—aanus. Can you get their e-mblems?" He managed to ask shakily.
Blaise grimaced, but nodded, trying to stem the blood flow of his own wounds. "Got them." He reported after a moment, voice level but Harry could hear the pain that the other's tone.
"Alright, the exaction point isn't that fa-ah-r." Harry gritted out through the pain. "Do you have enough magic to Disillusion us again? I can set fire to the place with some Disintegration and we can be-e-" Harry let out a gasp of pain and quickly tried to level out his voice once more. "-out of here before the Mist fully clears. The other two are fairly concealed, but really I just want this to be over."
Blaise nodded in reply, reaching down to help Harry stand.
Well, they leaned against each other and hobbled towards the exit.
"Brilliant." Harry muttered as they made it to the back door and Harry unwrapped his Cloak and looked for something to use to start a fire. "Actually, let's just leave this and we'll put on my Cloak. Fuck this noise."
"Ditto." Blaise gritted out as they tossed the Cloak over themselves and made for the nearest Extraction Point.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
Harry was only peripherally aware of the hands that held his hair out of his face as he vomited into the toilet.
"Adi, breathe Adi-it's alright sweetling, I'm right here. It's okay." Lussuria's voice finally managed to penetrate the fog left by the horrific nightmare.
"Luss?" Harry croaked out, reaching blindly for the Varia Sun.
Arms wrapped around him, tugging him to sit against the bathroom wall. Somewhere in the background the toilet's flush could be heard, and then there was a glass of water pressed against his lips.
"Drink, kitty." Squalo's voice ordered.
Harry obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the liquid, coughing a bit when the glass slipped and let a little too much water flow into his mouth.
As his heart rate returned to normal Harry cautiously cracked his eyes open and was pleased to note that the lighting in the bathroom was low enough to not irritate his headache.
Then he took stock of his rather unexpected company. Aside from Blaise in the doorway.
"Squalo? Luss? Mammon? What are you guys doing here?" Harry croaked out miserably. "How did I get back to my room? This is my bathroom right?"
"If you recall-" Blaise drawled from the bathroom doorway. "- we crashed in your room after we were released from the Infirmary."
Lussuria sat down beside Harry and fussed over the young teen. "Mammon could sense the disturbance in your sleep and alerted me, and since I was with Squalo at the time, he came too." Lussuria's hands alternated between running soothing circles on Harry's back and carding fingers gently through his hair. "You need to tell us about it, hon."
"I don't want-" Harry protested even as he leaned into Lussuria's reassuring touch. 'To be weak. To be unworthy. To be sent away. To be ripped from this place and these people and shoved back into being the boy who would do anything for a scrap of affection just because I can't handle doing what is required of me. I can't-'
"Child." Mammon floated over to be eye level with Harry. Though the hood covered the tiny Arcobaleno's eyes, Harry felt the heavy gaze settle over him; the penetrating stare piercing through Harry's inner turmoil, seeming to see through all the way to the teen's soul. "You are a Sky, which means that your main attribute is Harmony. Harmony is balance and give and take; always growing, always learning; forever seeking a way to see things from both sides of an issue or argument. That is the true nature of a Sky. You, child, have the potential to be a damn good Sky. However you need to let us in so that we can help you heal. Otherwise the actions that you have had the heart to undertake on behalf of the Famiglia will fester and corrupt all that is good within your heart. You must make peace- find balance- in your actions or you, yourself, will fall into Disharmony."
Harry's eyes watered a little, but he didn't look away from Mammon. "What do you mean?" He asked helplessly.
"A Sky, kitty-" Squalo spoke up from where he was leaning against the sink, his arms crossed across his chest with his hair in its nighttime braid. "-has the potential to be a remarkable leader or a manipulative dictator. Elements are so happy to find their Sky- their home- that they will do whatever they can to protect them. Sky Charisma can be wielded almost like that mind control curse that the magical trashes use. Skies are rare, good Skies are even rarer, kitty. To be a good Sky you need to understand that no man is an island. Keeping everything inside your mind without speaking to your closest confidants is how gross overconfidence and a mindset of 'my way of thinking is superior' or 'only I can make the correct decisions' starts."
"Like Nono or the Headmaster." Harry mumbled quietly as he tore his gaze away from Squalo's and leaned further into Lussuria's gentle hold.
"Harmony as your aspect means that you are incredibly empathetic towards others. At least in the sense of always wanting to learn of others and their ways." Lussuria continued from beside Harry, absently fussing with the teen's shaggy hair. "Skies that 'go bad' tend to use this ability for their own gain and twist the people around them to their whims before discarding them. Or, even worse, turning into men like Timoteo. Men with all the noble intentions, virtuous ideas, and the raw power to make things happen but none of the follow through to make those intentions reality; a crusader who believes the end justifies the means. The terrible potential of a Sky's natural talents are very nearly a curse to those few good Skies who truly want to be the best Boss that they can."
Blaise padded over nearly noiselessly and knelt so that he was eye level with Harry. "You, Adi, are a blessing and I am fiercely proud to call you my friend and my Sky. But I think that you look at how everyone around you deals with death and you set the standard of 'normal' there; meaning that you judge your own reactions by that standard and you feel like reacting otherwise is 'abnormal' and therefore wrong or weak. Because you don't want to be the freak again, right?"
Harry flinched at the blunt assessment but was honest enough to bob his head in agreement.
"VOI! I'm gonna kill those Dursley fuckers." Squalo burst out suddenly, shattering the tension and drawing light chuckles from the other occupants of the room.
"They will be in debt to me until their great-grandchildren die." Mammon echoed darkly.
Harry threw his head back and laughed. It was tinged with a bit of hysteria and tapered off into relived hiccups as he snuggled further into Lussuria and tugged Blaise down on his free side. "You guys are fucking awesome."
"Naturally." Lussuria chirped brightly as Squalo grinned and plopped down on the floor. Surprisingly Mammon deigned to settle himself down onto the floor as well.
"As I was saying, child, the Harmony factor means that you react to things differently." Mammon counseled matter-of-factly. Somehow the nearly business-like tone was far more comforting than it had any right to be. "Xanxus is a Sky as well, but he also possesses Wrath Flames which were last seen in the Second Boss of the Vongola, not to mention that you both are very different individuals. Knowing this it would make sense that those of us who follow him are also different so you should not base your reactions to taking a life on our own. You are your own person."
"Right on, miser midget! Look kitty, if you are going to react like this to taking lives that is fine, we're not going to judge you." Squalo tossed his braid over his shoulder and waved his arm around negligently. "Puke, cry- do whatever, just don't hold it all in when you're back home and safe. You've done an excellent job of keeping yourself together in the field and that's all that matters. What you do when you're at home is our business as a Family. We- even Xanxus, the lazy damn bastard- don't think that you're weak. Just human."
Harry's eyes were dripping but he refused to look away from his friends- his Family- and suddenly something inside him finally slotted into place. "I'm allowed to show weakness here because this is home and you guys are my Family."
"Finally, he gets it!" Squalo exclaimed in fond exasperation. "Now, talk kitty. Some of us have to wake up the shitty Boss in the morning."
"Later this morning." Lussuria corrected with far too much cheer. "For a meeting with Nono."
―――ᴖᴗ―――
A few hours later the two teens- both feeling significantly lighter- tumbled back into bed.
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Harry and Blaise were roused by Sirius roughly shaking them awake. "Get up! You need to get up now!" The man said as he urged them awake.
"Siri?" Harry mumbled sleepily as he tried to disentangle himself from his blankets and Blaise. "Wha?"
"Erg." Blaise mumbled also struggling to bring himself back to full consciousness.
When Harry could finally focus on the world around him he saw that Sirius was frantically packing everything in sight. "What's going on?"
"We have to get you back to the trash, shitty brat." Xanxus' voice came from the door, taut with tension. "CEDEF is coming to 'inspect' us and those shitty Wards aren't as charged as they should be, according to the dog trash and Mammon. We're going to have the Cloud brat stay with the dog trash, his trash brother, and Mammon at that shitty house in England. Once the Wards are charged you're going to stay with them."
Harry's heart sank and it must have showed on his face because Xanxus crossed the room in a few quick strides and thumped the boy solidly on the head. "Shitty brat, I have about a thousand things that I have to put on hold in regards to you and the Cloud brat's training because those CEDEF fuckers are grasping at straws. Stop being a needy little bitch. Mammon will be with you, so you'll still be getting trained. By next summer Varia will be back to business as usual and we'll be able to think long term, but for now we can't afford to tip our hand."
Harry smiled sheepishly at his mentor, feeling a little ashamed of his neediness. He noted that Xanxus' ire didn't actually seem to be aimed at him and the revelation from the night before was still sending tendrils of warmth spiraling through him, so he gave his mentor a firm nod and got up.
It didn't take them long to gather up everything, though they had needed to separate out a few things that Sirius had packed as Harry's by mistake.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
"Blaise, are you sure you don't want to go to your uncle's or anything?" Harry asked concernedly as they loitered in the front hall of Varia HQ, waiting on the car that would take them to the airport.
Blaise snorted rather derisively. "I adore Zio Tito, but he's Nono's Guardian and I don't want to end up in the middle of something that would cause him to choose between us."
"Blaise, I-" Harry began to say, a pained look crossing his features, only for the Cloud to kindly, but firmly interrupt him.
"Shut up, Adi. Things will be fine." Blaise said firmly, grasping one of Harry's shoulders and forcing him to meet Blaise's gaze, "You need to stop blaming yourself for everything bad that happens. Shit happens, Adi. It's just the way life is."
"Listen to your Cloudy Guard, sweetling!" Lussuria popped up behind Harry and swept him into one of those ridiculous dance-hug-things that the man was so fond of springing on him. "I know it's rough right now, but it'll get better and we're all in this together. Stop being a moody teenager and making everything about you, lovely. It'll give you wrinkles."
―――ᴖᴗ―――
Hedwig- who had stayed in England to help with the charade of Harry still being at Number Four- was overjoyed to see her master.
Which was to say that Harry spent the better part of a day spoiling her. Again.
Harry really fucking loved that owl. She was so smart and brave and lovely and wonderful…..
Dobby had been happily assisting in the cleanup of Number Twelve with Kreacher and had brought Harry a mirror that allowed him to say Sirius' name and talk to whoever was holding it. So it was that he discovered that on top of physical training, assisting Mammon in various tasks including tending to Regulus Black, he and Blaise would be cramming languages during the remainder of the summer.
Except when Mammon said 'languages' it was more like 'entire cultures' that were going to be crammed into their brains, because Mammon was a perfectionist like that.
Harry puttered around for about a week. He whiled away his time chatting about his homework with Blaise over the mirror, tossing weapons ideas back and forth with everybody- including Regulus a few times- and generally coming to terms with himself about a lot of things.
It was the second Sunday of July- and had Hogwarts only been over for a month?- that he received an unexpected letter.
Harry had been happily chatting with Blaise on the mirror when a column of fire coalesced into being not three feet in front of him. Harry laid the mirror down and leapt back calling his Flames forth, only to extinguish them when he realized that the fire column was actually Fawkes, who had a parchment in his beak. "Hey, buddy, is that for me?"
Fawkes trilled cheerily, hopping over to drop the missive on Harry's lap and then swooping over to Hedwig's perch.
Harry got the vague impression that his lovely owl was blushing. 'Weird.'
Harry unrolled the letter, which was written in elegant, loopy script.
"My dear boy,
I hope that your summer is going quite well! Mine is rather spectacular, if I do say so myself, as I found these most wonderful candies called 'WarHeads' that are delectably tart.
I shall have to bribe the House Elves to put some on the student's pillows this year.
Alas, I digress; the Weasley family has extended an invitation to you to attend the Quidditch World Cup with them.
This event, as I am sure you are aware, is held every four years and rotates through the countries which support Quidditch teams each year. It is fortunate that this year the event is to be held here in England, and the event kicks off the twenty-second, which is the second Monday before Hogwarts is set to begin.
I understand that you and young Ronald have had your issues, but I noticed that you seemed to be quite attached to the rather mischievous twins for the latter part of last school year.
While I would not presume to make this decision for you, I would offer a bit of advice: Do not let the past rule you, Harry. You may learn from it and grow from your experiences, but it does no one any favors to dwell there.
Fawkes will wait for your reply, as the Weasley family has had no luck in contacting you directly, and I believe that my companion would not mind a bit of a delay should you wish to take some time to reflect on your decision. Personally, I believe that he is quite taken with your stunning Hedwig, but then what do I know, hm?
Best Regards,
Albus Dumbledore"
Blaise's deadpan stare was striking, even through the distortion of the mirror. "I want to be that level of manipulative awesome someday." He said dryly after Harry read the letter out loud for the occupants of Number Twelve.
Hedwig and Fawkes had gone off on a flight, so Harry had felt safe in digging up the mirror.
"Right?" Harry responded cheerfully as he read through the letter again, absolutely entranced by the Headmaster's effortless handling of the situation. "He's good, Blaise. I'm so glad that Xanxus is a paranoid bastard or I would have been caught ages ago."
"The World Cup, though, that's a big deal." Blaise commented rather cagily.
Harry gave his friend a rather pointed look. "To be honest I'm not that thrilled about it. Quidditch has always been more about the flying part for me. I wasn't going to play this year anyways because we are going to have to study our asses off to pass our OWLs in June so we can get the hell out of Hogwarts."
"Yeah, but the twins are your future Guardians- don't give me that look Adi, you know I'm right- so it would do you some good to spend some time with them in their natural habitat."
"You make them sound like zoo animals, Blaise." Harry retorted exasperatedly.
"If the shoe fits….." Blaise allowed his statement to trail off meaningfully.
Both boys snickered for a while after that comment.
"I really don't want to be away from you, though. Shut up, prat. I mean, we're already in separate houses at school, and I've gotten a wrong feeling from my intuition every time I think about the upcoming school year-"
"Fuck." Blaise hissed tensely, cutting Harry off abruptly as he descended into multi-lingual swearing. "Merde. Podqvolite. Do řiti. Scheisse. Merda."
"Huh?" Harry asked amusedly as he adjust the mirror to try to see whatever Blaise was seeing- and apparently cursing at. "I only caught a couple of those."
"The child basically said shit- or a variant thereof- in five different languages. Someone has been taking notes from Squalo, I see." Mammon's amused voice floated from the mirror and Blaise actually blushed. "Perhaps I should institute a swear jar as a way to earn money."
"Shite." Blaise promptly cursed.
Mammon gleefully demanded seven Knuts immediately afterward and Blaise grudgingly paid up.
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"Ah, crap!" Skull cursed as he sped down the narrow streets of the small German town on his motorcycle. He fumbled for his phone, nearly dropping it several times before managing to hit the speed dial. He managed to stuff the thing back into his pocket while simultaneously jamming the ear piece into his ear. "C'mon, Viper." He muttered lowly as the line continued to ring and he made another sharp turn in an attempt to throw off his pursuers.
"Time is money, Skull." Viper's voice floated into his ear.
"Viper! Oh thank Death! I need you to pull me to you!" Skull rambled out quickly.
"It will cost you and you will need to be stopped." There was the sound papers rustling and then a sneeze.
"Have I ever stiffed you, Viper? I know it's going to cost, but I really pissed these guys off." Skull grimaced as he flipped around and opened the throttle a bit more.
"No you haven't and what did you do?" Viper asked, mildly curious.
Skull snarled as he made a tricky jump across a narrow inlet and sped further away from the sounds of his pursuers. "They didn't read my contract and when I found my target it was a kid. A mafia kid, but you know I don't take hits on anyone less than eighteen."
"…do not panic when you arrive, there are things that will need to be explained to you." Viper cautioned the other with an intriguing note of warning lacing the tone.
Skull let a small smile creep onto his face underneath his helmet. "I trust you, Viper. Always."
"Very well, be prepared to be intercepted in ninety seconds." Viper announced, once again all business.
"Thank you, Viper." Skull sighed gratefully as he began to deaccelerate.
"Thank me after you have paid me, Skull." Viper's phrase was comforting in its familiarity.
Skull carefully counted down and just before the deadline came to an abrupt stop. Not even a second later Viper's Flames descended onto him, wrapping him tightly and heaving. Viper charged through the nose for this service because it was very taxing for him to perform and Skull wouldn't have called if he wasn't desperate to escape the pissed off people who had hired him to off that kid whose hair reminded him of Oodako.
Mist users were often undervalued, but Viper had honed his capacity with his Flame to an art form. 'Esper' wasn't just a title he had chosen on a whim, Viper had been special long before he had awakened his Flames and the man had simply applied his beliefs to the new, unexpected power.
Once Viper had joined the mafia underground and read about Vindice's ability to tear a hole in time and space to almost instantly teleport, he had worked for years to create his own version of the ability.
There were limits, however.
While Viper could travel almost instantly, he couldn't take people with him. When he pulled someone to him- like he was doing to Skull- Viper had to first construct a shell of Mist Flames around the person and then pull them through the tear in space and time.
Skull hadn't died when he had been helping Viper test the ability, but any normal person would have and Skull had been in a great deal of pain for weeks before Viper had perfected the skill.
'Even still', Skull thought grimly as he felt the crush of darkness that came with Viper's ability. 'I've never liked this mode of transportation.'
―――ᴖᴗ―――
Harry and Blaise listened as Sirius and Skull debated the merits of a flying motorcycle versus one that could ride on water with more than a little amusement.
Skull had shown up nearly three weeks ago and both boys were fond of him, but the tiny man with purple hair got along like a house on fire with Sirius.
Sirius' brother, Regulus, had finally been let out of the healing stasis that they had had him when Sirius, Mammon and Blaise had returned to Grimmauld Place.
Up until that point the WEATHER Squad's resident Sun had been tasked with monitoring Regulus with his partner, Niebla, one of Mammon's Mists. Regulus had needed to be moved from the Varia back when the 'inquiry' had first begun. Lussuria had originally been on a 'long term mission' to cover up the fact that he was watching over the younger Black brother, but eventually Sirius had needed to key in Vivi and Niebla into the wards of Number Twelve because Lussuria had been needed back at HQ.
Sirius had been pleasantly surprised at Niebla's talent for Cursebreaking and both WEATHER Squad members had been quite gleeful in availing their permission to pillage the Black Library.
The elder Black brother had been further surprised to discover that Vivi was a Beauxbatons graduate who had hit Flame Activation just after graduation-literally, the same day when some idiots had cornered him- all Varia operatives were referred to as 'him' until they requested a different designation- and had chosen to disappear into the Mafia.
Niebla was actually a Hogwarts alum. A Hufflepuff who had sat their OWLs in eighty-five. Niebla had hit Flame Activation the summer after he had sat his OWLs when his witch mother had passed away unexpectedly and his muggle father had attacked him in a grief-induced rage. Despite the death being ruled as an 'unfortunate accident' by the muggle authorities- no magic had been used so the DMLE had not gotten involved in the investigation; the DMLE had only gotten wind of the incident due to the treaty-bound notice from Her Majesty's liaisons on the nonmagical side of things- Niebla had been treated like a pariah at Hogwarts, from students and staff alike. There had even been rumors of charges being brought against him in the magical courts. So, Niebla had gone to Hogsmeade during the Hogsmeade weekend just before Halloween, snapped his wand and left the broken pieces in one of the booths at the Three Broomsticks, and had never again returned to Hogwarts.
At any rate, Regulus was now waking up for a few hours at a time and most of that time was spent with Sirius. Mammon had been dream-walking with Regulus at night to help the young man piece his mind back together and catch up on everything a bit more efficiently. Regulus had even participated in a few spell discussions over the mirrors as the younger Black was quite knowledgeable in magic.
Still, the younger Black was trying to reconcile the fact that he had basically been frozen in time for almost fifteen years. Even small crowds tended to overwhelm Regulus, so he mostly kept to himself or only had a single visitor- mostly Sirius- at a time. Mirror conversations were alright, though, so they tried to have at least one discussion with the younger Black and everyone at least once a day, usually just before or during dinner.
After particularly difficult face-to-face sessions with Regulus, Sirius tended to regress a little in his own recovery; retreating into himself and sinking into melancholy.
Skull had been an absolute blessing in helping pull Sirius out of his gloom and setting his mind back on track.
The two were like peas in a pod and kept each other entertained. Especially once Harry arrived and Mammon was hammering Japanese, German, and Spanish into the two teen's brains- along with the customs and lifestyles that went with the languages. Oh, and Mammon wasn't letting their Italian or French get rusty either.
The teens had barely spoken English in a month.
Those were only the lessons before Mammon allowed Skull to beat the crap out of them from lunch until dinner. For a man who had been a civilian before becoming the Cloud Arcobaleno the purple-haired baby was incredibly creative and could certainly bruise the teen's pride.
It was a challenging, chaotic, and expensive time, but an incredibly rewarding one.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
The evening before Harry was to leave for the Weasley's house saw him spending the evening on the couch with Blaise. Harry was trying to sound his way through a Japanese children's book while Blaise was plodding through a rather thick book in German.
"Ugh." Harry groaned as he snapped the book shut, leaned back and closed his eyes. "I think my brain is going to start leaking out of my ears."
Blaise echoed his groan and shut his own book. "I know. Mammon's an excellent teacher, but I really think that I can't learn anymore for a while."
"Talking about me, children?" Mammon popped up out of nowhere, prompting both boys to fall into ready positions before they realized who it was and slumped back onto the couch.
"Oh great and terrible educator, mercy!" Harry wailed dramatically, bowing forward and almost face planting on the floor as a result.
Mammon sniffed in offense, but there was humor in his voice when he answered. "I suppose that if you pay me I shall allow you a short break." The tiny miser floated closer to the two as he spoke.
"We're paying you to teach us as it is!" Harry goggled at the tiny Mist.
"Exactly. So for me to stop teaching you would need to pay me more." Mammon agreed reasonably.
"That is like, extortion or something." Harry complained with a grin as he dug a Galleon out of his pocket and tossed at the tiny Varia operative whose animal partner, Fantasma, caught the coin lazily.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Mammon replied sweetly, looking in Blaise's direction expectantly and receiving another Galleon for his efforts.
"Any news from HQ?" Harry asked after a few moments of companionable silence.
Mammon shook his head and scowled. "No. CEDEF is still trying to cover their asses but after the Boss stormed into Vongola HQ last week and laid all of our evidence on the table it's pretty obvious to everyone that CEDEF dropped the ball on this. We figure that we will have them entirely out of HQ in another week or so and then you'll be able to use your phone again."
"I just wish that they wouldn't assume that Xanxus is responsible for everything." Harry grumble uncharitably. "Xanxus is so devoted to the Vongola it's terrifying to think about sometimes."
"Hmmm." Mammon hummed noncommittally. "People, even trained investigators, can only see things objectively if they choose to and Sawada and Xanxus have never gotten along. The whole world runs on money anyways."
"No arguments here, oh great and terrible collector of all things shiny." Blaise retorted lazily.
Just then Sirius came careening down the stairs, laughing like a maniac as Skull chased after him. The Cloud's normally purple hair was a rather fetching shade of green.
Well, if one enjoyed bright, eye-searing colors.
"Do we want to know?" Harry mused aloud as his Godfather leapt over the couch-"Save me!" Sirius yelped as he tumbled over the back and took shelter- as Skull landed lightly on top of Harry's shoulder before jumping down to kick Sirius in the head.
"Change me back!" Skull laughed as Sirius grappled with the tiny Cloud Arcobaleno. "Green is a terrible color for the great Skull-sama!"
"I think it suits you just fine, midget!" Sirius cackled as he managed to wrestle free and gleefully grabbed his laughing Godson to use as a shield. "It brings out the colors around your eyes." Sirius batted his eyes obnoxiously at Skull as he maneuvered the laughing, squirming Harry around as a human barrier.
"Lies!" Skull retorted cheerfully. "Purple is the only color that defines the greatness of the mighty Skull-sama!"
"Oi! Lemme go, you maniac!" Harry yelled as tried to twist away from another one of Skull's playful jabs. "Fight your own battles!"
"Sacrifice is good for the soul!" Sirius parried jauntily as he continued to wield his unwilling Godson like a professional. "It'll help put hair on your chest!"
"Aa, but I like him hairless." Blaise leered outrageously from the couch, snickering as Sirius yelped in surprise, tripped, and lost his grip on Harry.
"Blaise, save me!" Harry laughed as he dove into Blaise's lap. "He's trying to masculinize me! Soon I'll have a Merlin beard!"
Skull took the opportunity that Harry had provided him to pounce on Sirius and demand that the man change his hair color back.
"Alright, fine, I can see where my expertise is not wanted." Sirius grumbled good-naturedly as he changed all but the very back of Skull's hair to the proper color.
The others tried to keep a straight face, but Skull had gotten to know the man far too well to accept anything he did at face value, so the tiny Cloud Arcobaleno promptly kicked Sirius in the shin and demanded the man fix "-the glorious Skull-sama's hair properly!".
Once everyone was the proper color and calmed down Sirius quirked an eyebrow at his Godson who was still sprawled in Blaise's lap. "Something about you two boys that I should know?" He drawled expectantly.
Harry stiffened slightly and Blaise's glare sharpened.
"Is there a problem if there is?" Blaise asked fiercely as he automatically adjusted his body to shield his Sky in case of an attack- unaware of the two approving nods he received from the Mist and Cloud Arcobaleno- as he stared down Harry's Godfather.
Sirius looked startled for a moment before he threw his head back and let out a sharp bark of laughter. "I just wanted to know because I care for the pup. I know that growing up with that hag Harry wouldn't really be prepared for discovering his sexuality, let alone questioning it. I just don't want him to get hurt." He explained, entirely unoffended by the teen's posturing.
Harry peered around Blaise curiously. "You mean wouldn't be mad if there was something going on with Blaise and I?"
Sirius shook his head and smiled warmly as he bounced closer and ruffled his Godson's hair. "No. I think that you're too young for a sexual relationship, but I wouldn't be mad or disappointed as long as you were both consenting." Sirius flopped down on the couch and pulled Harry's legs across his lap so they could all fit. "Just be careful, pup, there are people in this world who would love to use you and intimate relationships are used to accomplish that goal a lot. I've learned a lot about Guardians though, and Blaise is a good kid, but I already messed up big time and got you stuck in Durs-kaban for a decade, I've got a lot of years to make up for."
Harry beamed at his Godfather through the impressive blush that was taking over his face even as he casually threaded his fingers through Blaise's own and stretched languidly. "Nah, Blaise and I are pretty tactile, but we're not lovers at this point." Harry's smile turned into something softer, warmer. "I've been around the Varia too long to put myself in an intimate situation with someone I don't trust entirely, and the people on that list that would also qualify as a romantic interest are pitifully low, but I wouldn't change this- any of it- for the world."
Blaise's laugh rumbled through Harry as the older teen rested his head on Harry's hair. "I instinctively understand as Harry's Guardian that touch is important to him. It's hard to explain…..but even though I know that most of what we do should be sexually charged at our age, it just doesn't feel that way. I'm not saying that it never will, but I just know as his Guardian that my Sky needs the constant reminder that I am here with him. It's…..frustrating to try to explain." Blaise trailed off sourly, annoyed at his lack of eloquence.
Mammon and Skull were nodding, though.
"You and Harry have an incredibly deep bond." Skull explained, smiling a bit wistfully. "And as his only Guardian right now you are solely responsible for your Sky's wellbeing. So, you are not only his best friend and Guardian, you are also attempting to fill the void that the absence of the other five Elements causes. I imagine that Harry will find at least two more Guardians this year. It's sort of a natural progression after achieving actual Harmony- Harmonization, whatever- balance makes the Sky seek out their other Elements. They feel lopsided without them, even if they don't understand why, exactly."
"We're pretty sure that Fred and George are my Storm and Lightning." Harry admitted to the occupants of the living room. Skull claimed the loveseat across from their couch and Mammon had floated down onto an overstuffed chair. "They achieved Activation at the tail end of last school year. Blaise and I hammered the need for secrecy into their heads. I was very careful to not touch them, skin to skin, after they became Flame Active. Why didn't the Vindice show up, though? Don't they usually visit magicals who go Active?"
"The Vindice would not have revealed themselves if the Actives were in the presence of a noted Flame User." Mammon supplied quickly. "They would have seen you and observed, but they would have only come out of the shadows had you not explained the rules of Flame usage properly."
"That was excellent planning. On not touching them skin to skin, that is. Flames tend to linger just underneath the skin and that is why skin contact can trigger Harmonization." Skull chirped cheerily on the heels of Mammon's statements. "Storms and Lightnings are two of the most volatile Flame types. They tend to require a lot of close contact after they Harmonize."
"Reassurance." Mammon provided serenely. "No matter how strongly their Flame Traits are, Storms and Lightnings tend to require a lot of reassurance. In regards to the Varia- Bel needs to know that Xanxus can make him stop, that Boss won't let him burn himself up. Levi needs to know he's important, that he is useful to Boss. Granted, neither of them would make good Elements for you, child, but that is why each Sky is different. Harmonization does not occur unless there is a certain amount of personal compatibility between the Flame Users. Flames are an expression of the soul, so they tend to be brutally honest in a way that words and even actions never achieve."
"Blaise is a Cloud." Skull said breezily. "He leans more towards a Classic Cloud in terms of fighting ability, but I almost wonder if he could have been a Rain with his temperament. Harmonized Storms tend to need to feel wanted; they are usually inclined to be problem solvers and innovators. Harmonized Lightnings tend to need feel like you approve of their accomplishments; they have a habit of thinking flexibly while also being a bit more intuitive than their Storm counterparts. Both types are especially fragile in the early stages of the Guardianhood."
"You're actually fairly fortunate-" Mammon continued straightforwardly. "-with those two being twins you likely won't have the usual Storm/Lightning rivalry that usually occurs. You're still going to need to tread carefully and pay attention to your intuition, however. The two types tend to butt heads because of their similar yet different talents. Once they get along, however, nearly nothing can stop them. Unfortunately most Skies- and Famiglia- tend to try to stereotype and so the Elements are….taken advantage of. The Varia, of course, does not prescribe to the traditional norms and that is why we are so successful compared to most others, despite our small size."
Harry groaned as he began to think of all the things that could possibly go wrong in the near future. "Sometimes, I really wish I could have just been a Storm." He whined.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
Harry had told the Headmaster when he had accepted the invitation that the Dursleys were planning an outing to London and that Harry would just Floo to the Weasley's home from the Leaky Cauldron.
Granted, Harry had to arrange for the Dursleys to be gone from Number Four that day to keep up appearances.
With Mammon's assistance- as well as it being a Sunday- Mrs. Dursley had been more than happy to arrange a family outing. Due to the short amount of time that Harry had spent at Number Four that summer, he really hadn't interacted with the occupants much. Mrs. Dursley seemed to almost want to speak to him sometimes, but Harry had made his peace with the entire situation and had no desire to drag up ancient history.
Harry was entirely excited that Blaise was going to the Cup as well.
Originally the Italian had planned to stay at Number Twelve until Hogwarts reconvened, but his housemate Theo Nott had sent him an invitation. Since Theo was one of the Slytherins that made House life bearable, Blaise had decided to attend even though he had no truly strong feelings about attending the Cup itself.
It was with the happy thought that he wouldn't be separated from his Guardian until school started that Harry threw the Floo Powder into the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and called out his destination. "The Burrow!" He said firmly and his world turned green.
―――ᴖᴗ―□―∞―◊―●―○―ᴖᴗ―□―∞◊―●―○ᴖᴗ―□―∞◊―●―○ᴖᴗ―□―∞―≡―◊―●―○―ᴖᴗ―◊―――
Harry managed to emerge from the fireplace with his dignity intact.
Number Twelve had two fireplaces and since they weren't connected to the main network the Ministry could not regulate them. Harry had spent three days' worth of evenings learning how to use the Floo without being spat out like a projectile. Blaise, Sirius, and Skull had sat on the couch in the living room and laughed at him while munching on popcorn. Mammon had been with Regulus those evenings and thus missed the show.
Harry dusted himself off and held his shrunken trunk to his chest. "Hello?" He called out somewhat hesitantly.
There were the sounds of footsteps and then a burly red-head with shiny scars, laugh lines, and a rather fetching tan entered the room. "Ah! You must be Harry! C'mon in, mate! MUM! Company's here!" He bellowed as he beckoned Harry deeper inside the house.
"Ah! Welcome! Show him where he can put his things, dear!" Mrs. Weasley answered from the back of the house, presumably from the kitchen.
The house hadn't changed much, Harry mused as he followed the red-head- he suspected that this was Charlie, the Dragon Keeper- up the stairs. The place was still a patchwork mess of warmth and home, but Harry didn't feel the ache in his chest or the deep thrum of longing in his veins like he had the last time he had been here. He still admired it and thought it was brilliant but he no longer felt the bone-deep ache to belong.
'I suppose it's because now when I think of home it's Lussuria's fussing over my training injuries, or Squalo correcting my form while he beats the crap out of me while shouting VOI!, or Xanxus giving me one of his 'what are you a fucking idiot' looks when I start being stupid.' Harry's internal ponderings were interrupted by the arrival of Fred and George.
"Harry!" Fred exclaimed cheerfully as he popped into view at the second floor landing, dancing around Charlie's attempt at grabbing him and sweeping an arm over Harry shoulder while George slipped passed Charlie's other side and repeated the motion at Harry's opposite flank.
"-dearest Hadrian-"
"-light of our life-"
"-our hearts, really-"
"-it's wonderful to see you!" They finished in unison.
Harry gave them an exasperated grin. He had missed the red-headed menaces more than he thought he had. "Fred. George. How's your summer been?"
The twins' grins widened, sharpening into something lethal for a moment, before settling back down and Harry half-wondered if he'd been imagining things. "Oh, you know-"
"-planning pranks-"
"-playing pranks-"
"-and generally causing mayhem."
"I see." Harry replied archly as he gave them his best deadpan expression. "I see that Fred's eyebrows have not come out of aforementioned mayhem unscathed."
"You can actually, honest-to-Merlin tell them apart, can't you?" A new voice asked curiously.
Harry looked up to see a tall man with hair that was a much brighter red than his original escort's tied in a low tail. He also sported a tooth earring, leather-like pants, and boots that reminded Harry that there was a Basilisk he was going to skin for Xanxus back at Hogwarts.
"You must be William, the eldest. I'm pretty sure my original guide is Charlie." Harry replied wryly.
"Ah, sorry! Yeah, I'm Charlie." The burly man said sheepishly, rubbing at one of the shiny scars on his face as he began to flush in embarrassment.
Harry grinned and opened his mouth to reply, but Bill cut him off. "Bill, if you would. My full first name brings back memories of Professor McGonagall." All the red-heads shuddered lightly.
"Yeah, I completely understand, mate. Bill it is, then." Harry replied with a laugh. "Professor McGonagall is quite the scary lady when she's in a snit."
"Anyways, as I was saying, you can actually tell these rascals apart, can't you? It's a secretive talent that few have mastered. I remember this one time, with Aunt Muriel…." Bill rambled genially as they all began ascending the stairs again.
Albeit rather slowly as the stairs were rather narrow. Eventually they reached Ron's room and Harry slowed without really thinking about it, since this was the room he had stayed in last time.
"Hey now, let's get this party in a room!" George cut in brightly, gently maneuvering Harry further up the stairs and past Ron's room.
"I thought he was staying with Ron?"
Harry was grateful Charlie had asked so he didn't have to.
Fred shook his head, his red hair fanning out around his face as he and George urged the party forward. "Nope! Harrykins and Ronniekins haven't really gotten along since the start of Second Year. They're not enemies, but they're not really friends either, so Harrykins is with us."
"Are you sure that's safe?" Bill mumbled dryly from his new spot at the rear of the procession as they made it to the twins' room and arranged themselves on the beds and chairs.
Harry stashed his trunk and grinned at the eldest Weasley, pleased that the twins' room seemed to be organized chaos instead of sloppy chaos. After stowing his things he flopped himself down on the bed that was pushed up against the wall, kicking off his shoes as he went, and settling against the wall itself with a stolen pillow as a backrest. "I've lived in the same House as them for three school years, I'll survive."
"Bah!" Fred began plopping himself on Harry's right side, while George made himself comfortable on Harry's left. "He thinks so little of us!"
"Indeed! We must try harder, brother!" George sniffed in offended outrage.
"Methinks-"
"-that you both need to stop that irritating twin speak shite before I hit you idiots." Harry cut in dryly, giving each twin their very own 'you're giving me a bloody headache' glare.
Fred and George shared some sort of secret grin, but complied.
"If we must, dear one."
"Thank you." Harry said gratefully, fighting the urge to rub his forehead to ease his budding headache. "It's funny watching you to talk other people in circles, but it gives me a bloody headache when you switch off constantly."
"We'll try to remember that, mustn't upset the great and powerful pyromaniac." George returned brightly, but it seemed as if both twins had settled from the somewhat agitated state that they had been in when they'd first met up with him.
"So, someone want to explain?" Bill asked from his position on the bean bags in front of the bed beside Charlie. "Or should we guess that you've got some sort of love triangle going on? I'd be happy to inform Mum of the impending love-ritual grandbabies."
Harry's offended squawk was music to his ears.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
The young men hung out in Fred and George's room until they were called down for dinner. Most of the conversation had been about Harry's trip to the Chamber of Secrets- as both of the elder boys had been keenly interested, albeit for different reasons- but Harry had also gotten to hear some fantastic stories about the older brother's chosen professions.
Dinner that evening could have been awkward with Ron's complaints and sulky comments once the twins had informed him of Harry's sleeping arrangements. Fortunately Harry got on well enough with the two eldest Weasley boys and the twins were enough of a buffer that he really had not noticed. Mrs. Weasley seemed to want to pry, but the elder Weasley sons were quick to distract her. Ginny was quiet enough to be a nonentity, though Harry did smile reassuringly at her when she caught his gaze on accident. Mr. Weasley spent whatever time he could get a word in edgewise quizzing Harry on various mundane artifacts and their uses, much like he had during Harry's previous visit.
Since all of the underage magicals had to be up nearly ludicrously early for the Portkey, Harry slipped back upstairs to grab the gifts that he had put together for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley once dinner was over. One of Xanxus' etiquette lessons was that you always brought gifts for your hosts, and Harry had forgotten that last time so he wanted to make up for it this time.
Thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were still in the kitchen though the other members had migrated to the living room; save for the twins, who had caught up to him on his way back downstairs but were content to follow him to see what was happening for the moment.
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley?" Harry called politely from the doorway to the kitchen, trying to break into their conversation courteously.
"Ah, Harry dear! Can I get you something?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a bright smile, Mr. Weasley just looked curious.
Harry grinned at the matronly woman. Oh, he hadn't forgotten her faults, but it was difficult to hold a grudge when she seemed so sincere. "No, my Aunt threw an etiquette book at me last summer and I realized that I had been an ungrateful guest last time I was here." Harry gently steamrolled over the immediate protests and set the simple, but elegant baskets down on the table. "It's not really much, but I wanted to give you something as a thank you for having me. Thanks!" Harry smiled brightly at them and watched attentively as they went to open the neatly wrapped baskets.
Skull, believe it or not, had helped him wrap them in the cheerful material. Harry had figured that material would be more practical than paper as Mrs. Weasley liked to make things.
"Ah! Muggle pens!" Mr. Weasley cried enthusiastically as he set aside the material. "And the bounded kind of Muggle paper! You even got some Muggle paperyclippers! Thank you, Harry!"
"You didn't have to get us anything, dear, but these soaps seem positively lovely." Mrs. Weasley said with a smile, but her eyes were bright and Harry allowed her to sweep him into a bone-crushing hug before thanking the couple once again for their hospitality and retreating upstairs with the twins.
The twins teased Harry a little, but he could tell that they were pleased that he had thought of their parents. Though they hadn't been in the room Harry had noted the speculative glances that Charlie and Bill had thrown at them on their way up the stairs.
Harry stilled suddenly as he brushed his teeth during his turn in the bathroom as he realized that 'being able to tell' that the twins were pleased with his gifts to his hosts was more like being able to sense it- as in the being able to sense Blaise type of sense.
Warmth blossomed inside his chest, nearly knocking him off his feet. The small presence that he associated with Blaise seemed to suddenly grow amused.
'The twins' bare arms were against my neck for almost ten minutes when I got here, even though I was careful to not make skin contact while we were sitting together and at dinner.' Harry realized with no small amount of trepidation. 'We Harmonized. Shit. We're going to be in huge crowds for potentially the next week and my Storm and Lightning Guardians are freshly Harmonized and Blaise can't be around us the whole time to help ground them. Merde.'
Harry stumbled back into the room that he was sharing with the twins in a bit of a daze, and once they were all ready to turn in for the night Harry spoke up. "Guys, we need to talk….."
―――ᴖᴗ―――
The talk with the twins went late into the night, but they took the news of them being Harmonized with Harry quite well.
Harry had offered- in a moment of infinite stupidity, brought on by guilt- to break the Harmonization. The guilt came from not having told them about the mafia part- he couldn't, not without permission from Xanxus- and not wanting to drag them into the lifestyle he had chosen for himself. Blaise had already had a toe in the Mafia waters, but twins had no ties to the dark underworld and Harry did not want to make a decision like that for them.
The twins had nearly gone into hysterics- which had been terrifying- and once he had gotten them calmed down Harry had been forced to swear to never even consider such a thing again by his two distraught newly-minted Guardians.
The morning came early though, and it was well before sunrise when they were out the door and hiking through the woods. Harry was tired, but after a summer of training with Skull and Mammon- not to mention Levi and Squalo back at Varia HQ- it was not too intolerable.
They met up with Amos Diggory and his son, Cedric, about halfway to their destination. Harry and Cedric chatted amiably throughout the hike, but the twins were being particularly territorial and snippy and Amos Diggory seemed to think that Harry's very existence was an affront to his son.
It made things rather awkward for Harry at some points, but Cedric just seemed to smooth out any issues with an easy grin or funny remark.
When they made it to the Portkey, everyone put a finger onto the old, muddy boot and then they were off to the Cup.
―――ᴖᴗ―□―∞―◊―●―○―ᴖᴗ―□―∞◊―●―○ᴖᴗ―□―∞◊―●―○ᴖᴗ―□―∞―≡―◊―●―○―ᴖᴗ―◊―――
Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric seemed to be the only ones who escaped the ungainly pile of limbs that appeared in the field where the Cup was being held. Harry groaned as he felt whoever had landed on top of him put their foot on his kidney and when a hand appeared in his line of sight he gratefully took a hold of it and allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet.
It was only after he looked into startled storm-grey eyes that he realized what had happened.
'Well, that makes four Guardians.' Harry thought wryly as he gave Cedric his best smile and tried to think of a way to tell the other teen that he'd explain this life-altering event later. The full effect of Harmonization was not present, but there was a definitive sense of attachment that was only a few shades shy of the warmth that pulsed in time with his heartbeat that signified Blaise, Fred, and George. Harry could feel the fledgling Bond tentatively stretch along the metaphoric ties; the new connection cool and smooth like the gentle rhythm of a summer's playful shower.
"Next Portkey is due in five minutes, get a move on!" The Ministry official that had been talking to Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory barked loudly, breaking the moment as Cedric dropped Harry's hand.
Cedric proved to be intuitive and didn't make a scene, but the twins must have seen something on Harry's face or felt their own connections snap into place as fellow Guardians because the unnatural hostility that they had been displaying all morning finally dissipated.
They found their campsites and Harry was highly entertained by watching Mr. Weasley- who insisted on putting up the tent the 'Muggle way' since they were in a Muggle area; even though it was basically a magical fairground, with some of the tents being mini-castles complete with turrets and then there was that one that had the smoking chimneys- struggle with the tent stakes. Harry firmly pushed back the irritation that he felt whenever the well-meaning man unintentionally put nonmagicals in the same class that the Dursleys used to put freaks.
The young Potter was grateful, nonetheless, when everything was set up and Mr. Weasley was sufficiently distracted by visiting passerbys that the twins were attuned enough to follow his lead when he melted into the crowd.
They didn't get far before Cedric caught up to them.
"Hey guys!" The outgoing Hufflepuff greeted cheerfully.
"Hey Cedric." Harry replied from between the twins- as they each had claimed one of his shoulders as an armrest. Harry studiously ignored the fact that they were acting like territorial guard hounds to just about everyone else around them.
Harry was actually quite anxious in crowds. The nearly crippling anxiety when faced with large mobs was part of the reason why he had been so damn proud of himself for sneaking around nonmagical London after Second Year and then with the debacle with the Barrier that September, when he had had to use the Tube. Having had firm goals in mind had certainly helped back then, but the stress of being in such a large crowd when there was no objective and he had no safe place to hide away was rather overwhelming.
Hence the twins playing bodyguard.
"So-" Cedric said casually as they meandered through the stalls. "-what was that earlier?"
"It's complicated." Harry replied with a light laugh. Apparently his newest Element possessed some pretty sharp instincts. "Can we wait until the Express? Not really the time or place, ya know?"
"No problem." Cedric agreed easily, but his eyes were sharp and his smile was keen. "I'll hold you to that though."
"I swear I'll explain everything that I am allowed to then." The young Sky swore seriously; catching and holding the storm-grey gaze of his newest Element until Cedric's hackles smoothed and his posture relaxed.
"Alrighty then, mate. The Express it is." Cedric agreed cheerfully as he moved a bit further away from the group.
The older teen stayed near the trio, but wasn't really part of the group for the next few hours as they shopped. Harry ended up buying a few things here and there, mostly for the Varia members he knew as most things for sale were souvenir-type trinkets. The twins and Harry didn't want to head back towards the campsite for lunch, they- Cedric included as the older teen had wandered back into their group by that point- picked up some food and began a tour of the more eccentric tents that were dotting the campground.
It was during their 'Tour de Tent' that they met up with Blaise and Nott.
"Blaise!" Harry shouted over the din of people. "Over here!"
Blaise looked up as soon as he heard Harry's voice, and he dragged Nott with him over to the foursome. "Adi! Diabolic Duo! Oh, hey Diggory."
Harry knew it had only been about a day since he had last seen his Cloud Guardian, but damn did it felt like an age had passed. It wasn't all that difficult to pretend as if he had genuinely not seen Blaise all summer. "How are you? Hey, Nott!"
Theodore Nott was a quiet Slytherin. Nott's skin that was more reminiscent of a good summer's tan as opposed to Blaise's light mocha-toned hue. Nott had the kind of dark eyes that were difficult to determine the color of, and was lanky in the manner that all young men who end up being tall are during puberty. Nott was the dangerous kind of Slytherin, according to Blaise, cunning and ambitious but patient and cautious as well.
So, really, Harry didn't have it in him to be surprised when he shook Nott's hand and felt the newest fledgling Element bond snap into place.
Blaise must have felt it too because his whole face lit up in a smile. "Well, now, that's fo-ah, nope, five."
"Things have escalated quickly." Harry quipped with a wry grin as he felt the airy touch of Nott's presence slither into that space behind his diaphragm and cautiously fan out to follow along the connecting bonds.
"Around you, Adi, they always do!" Blaise replied with an extra bright grin.
"What just happened?" Nott's soft tenor brought the other two back to reality. The teen's eyes were intent and he seemed to be a bizarre mix of half-elated and half-terrified.
"It has to do with my Zio Tito, Theo." Blaise informed his Housemate with a meaningful look. "I imagine the best time to explain everything would be on the Express?" Blaise directed the last part towards Harry.
"I know it's a little over a week away, but I'll explain everything that I'm allowed to then." Harry said agreeably; deeply pleased that Nott seemed to relax at Blaise's statement.
The very last thing Harry wanted to do was force someone into Harmonization against their will!
Nott gave Harry a searching stare and Harry met it steadily. Apparently he passed some sort of test because Nott eventually nodded in agreement and Cedric stepped in to enthusiastically invite the two Slytherins on the 'Tour de Tent'.
Blaise met Harry's eyes from across the group and Harry saw the same excitement in them that must have been in his own.
'Only one more Element left and we'll be complete.'
―――ᴖᴗ―――
They eventually headed back to the Weasley campsite in the mid-afternoon. Nott- "call me Theo"- had actually come with some distant relatives who weren't particularly concerned about his whereabouts. Theo had stopped in to tell them that he was with Blaise and he'd probably attend the game separately from them and they had barely noticed; something that had bothered Harry greatly.
Once they reached the Weasley campsite there was a tense moment or two with Ron, but then Hermione showed up with Bill and Charlie- who were of age and could therefore Apparate; lucky bastards- and everyone was distracted. Hermione was apparently Ginny's guest, and she quite clearly wanted to talk to Harry but Harry's Elements were surprisingly good at working together to keep everyone distracted.
After nearly a full day of being in a large, pushy crowd and gaining four new bonds, Harry's nerves were already frayed. So, he was incredibly grateful for the assistance in keeping things peaceful and non-confrontational.
Sunset finally came and everyone trudged towards the stadium for the game.
―――ᴖᴗ―――
The Cup game had been brilliant; though lasting a full night, all of the next day, and into the next night was a little long for a Quidditch game, in Harry's humble opinion. The after parties were certainly spectacular, though.
The parties eventually wound down and everyone crashed inside their respective tents. Or, at least, all of those with a modicum of sense crashed.
Cedric, Harry, Fred, George, Blaise, and Theo all ended up crashing in Cedric's tent. They would have gone back to the Nott one but Mr. Weasley- who had been remarkably open minded about the Slytherins in Harry's party- had been far more comfortable with allowing them to crash in the Diggory tent as it was next door to the Weasley one.
The newly Bonded Elements were far too tired to even consider demanding explanations and everyone fell asleep in a pile of limbs and party favors.
It could not have been more than an hour or two later that Harry jerked awake.
'Something's wrong.' He thought fuzzily as he tried to rouse himself to full consciousness. Harry reached out a hand and started shaking the nearest person. "W'ke 'p." He slurred, his tongue feeling like he had guzzled a bottle of molasses recently. "S'mth'ns wr'ng."
Blaise jerked awake on the other side of the pile. "Adi?" He managed thickly.
Harry swallowed a few times and tried to get his tongue to cooperate. "My intuition woke me up. Something's wrong."
Apparently the others could feel Harry's distress despite most of the other Bonds not being fully realized just yet because it wasn't much longer before they were all blinking the sleep out of their eyes.
"Was' happen'?" Someone asked blearily.
"You'll learn-" Blaise told them seriously as he rummaged around and found some non-sweetened liquid for them to drink. "- that if Harry's weird intuition says that something is wrong, something is definitely wrong."
It was just a few minutes later, when they all had managed to get to their feet and get something to drink that a frantic Bill came bursting into the tent. "Good, you're all awake. There are Death Eaters attacking the campground. You lot need to get out of here."
The teens all shared loaded looks. "What's the plan?" Cedric asked as they followed Bill out of the tent.
"Take Ginny and Hermione and head towards the trees." Mr. Weasley ordered them briskly as the group congregated in front of the Weasley tent. "Fred, George, Ginny is your responsibility!"
Then he and the two eldest Weasley sons headed towards the panicked screaming nearer to the Stadium. Once past the entrance to the Diggory tent the teens had been able to hear the sounds of pandemonium while the abruptly cloying scents of fire, smoke, and fear had made it difficult to breathe.
Hermione and Ginny were huddled together, both still half asleep and scared, while Ron was making whining noises about wanting to fight, but all the Guardians looked to Harry by instinct.
Harry took a few moments to take the situation in, momentarily shoving the screams of panic and suffocating scents away as he tried to put everything that he had been taught to use.
The campground was bordered by a forest which would provide cover, but it would also be ridiculously easy to get lost if they were separated. The Stadium's hulking mass stood to their right and the tent population grew thicker the closer to the stadium you went. The attack seemed to be originating from their left and there was a rather ghastly moor where the forested area tapered off, which ruled out three of the directions on principle.
The forest it was, then.
Harry internal observations had taken less than a minute.
"Alright, we'll make our way towards the forest." He decided briskly. "Put the girls in the middle of the group. Cedric, Fred, and George will cover our backs, Theo and Blaise will be with me in front. Ron, you keep an eye on our left side, that's where the attacks originate from. Everyone keep your eyes peeled for children who have been separated from their parents or anything like that. Let's move."
The Guardians fell into position rather naturally and the group started moving despite a few- mostly token- protests from the other three.
Blaise had an excellent set of eyes and they managed to pick their way through the chaos quite efficiently, adding more than a few lost children, teens, adults, and elderly to the organized looking party. After the party had snagged a few wizards who were of age Harry put them at their backs, constantly shifting the group around as they added members and no one seemed to mind that Harry was giving orders. When they finally made it to the forested area Blaise's sharp eyes quickly found a clearing they could use.
Harry was giving orders and making all the important decisions without being fully cognizant of the amount of responsibility that he was shouldering; his Guardians smoothly assisting and advising him as if they had all been together for years as opposed to hours.
Other people noticed, however. They observed and respected Harry's initiative. His calm manner and adaptability as well as his ability to make excellent snap decisions under pressure.
Harry arranged a watch, and requested that the of-age wizards set up a few defensive enchantments, thanking Merlin that it was bright enough with the moon to not need an alternate source of light. Harry then asked some of the calmer matronly ladies in the group to entertain the children; meanwhile Harry set Cedric and Blaise to organizing those who knew magical first aid in establishing a makeshift field infirmary. Fred, George, and Theo were kept busy keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings and organizing new arrivals as a few of the of-age magicals had gone back out into the chaos to bring more people to the safe haven that had been created.
For almost an hour it was almost peaceful.
Then came Draco Malfoy who picked a fight with Ron and before Harry realized what was happening Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had all chased after the prat.
Outside the boundaries of the protective enchantments and into the uncertain darkness of the forest.
"Dammit!" Harry cursed as he made to follow them, his Elements immediately moving to follow.
"Lad." One of the older wizards called softly as Harry passed and Harry paused to listen to him. "You can't leave us."
"Look I'll be-" Harry placated, only to be cut off kindly, but determinedly.
"He's right, dearie." One of the elderly ladies that they had stopped to help out of her burning tent agreed with the man. The woman's cornflower blue eyes were gentle but her tone was firm. "You've led us here and secured the area, you're our leader. Look around dearie, if you walk out on us now things will descend into panic."
Harry wanted to open his mouth and argue that he was fourteen years old and couldn't even use his wand, but yet another one of Xanxus' lessons stopped him.
[Look, shitty brat, as the Boss you have to make the tough fucking decisions. If you give orders and some trash decides to go off on his own, it doesn't matter who the fuck it is, you let them go. Your first fucking priority is always your people. Don't punish the ones who followed your orders to go chase after the idiots who couldn't be bothered to fucking listen. Delegate if they're that fucking important to you, but the people depend on the Boss, so don't be a fucking idiot.]
'Not exactly the same.' Harry thought resignedly as he observed the panic in the twins' eyes and felt his chest twinge uncomfortably. 'But the principle is sound.'
Harry grit his teeth and made his decision.
He walked over to a group of magicals who had helped set up the defensive enchantments. "We're missing three Hogwarts students. Ron and Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ron and Ginny are siblings of the twins-" Harry gestured at his red-haired Elements. "-and Hermione is of average height with curly brown hair. They disappeared within the last ten minutes and were last seen at the western edge of the camp. Would you be willing to go look for them?"
Two men- they seemed to be brothers somewhere around the age of thirty, nodded almost immediately- and a middle-aged looking but sharp eyed witch close enough to hear rose to join them.
"Thank you." Harry told them sincerely.
The witch gave him a small smile that reminded Harry of the ones that Mammon gave on special occasions. "Of course, Mr. Potter. Your maturity in such an hour is a credit to your character."
The trio quickly headed towards the trees in the direction Harry had gestured towards.
Harry turned back to look at the twins. "I'm so sorry guys, but I couldn't-"
Fred reached out and squeezed Harry shoulder and George mirrored him. "You made the right choice, they shouldn't have left." Fred reassured his friend.
Harry nodded wearily, grateful for the twins' understanding but more than a little angry at how helpless he felt. The reassuring warmth behind his diaphragm helped him keep his cool, though, something which he was incredibly grateful for.
Then someone hollered for him and yet another group arrived and he was back to seeing to the people's needs with his Elements.
It was almost two and a half hours after camp had been established that the Ministry arrived on the scene.
A woman in bright red robes, with close cropped grey hair and a monocle strode forward. "Who is in charge here?" She demanded to know.
Harry was perfectly happy with one of the others taking charge, but everyone turned to look at him. 'Traitors.' "That's me, I guess. Who are you and how can I help you?"
The woman- and the other people in crimson robes behind her- looked rather dumbfounded for a moment before the woman regained her wits. "I am Amelia Bones, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; behind me are some of my Aurors. You organized all this?" She interrogated suspiciously.
Harry nodded, exhausted and so far beyond the need for niceties that it was no longer amusing. "Yes, with assistance from everyone here. If you have some actual Healers somewhere we have several people who could use them; most pressingly some small children who need to be looked at as soon as possible. Two wizards and a witch left about an hour ago at my request to retrieve Ron and Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger who left the camp to chase after Draco Malfoy."
Amelia nodded sharply at Harry and started barking orders, causing the crimson-robed Aurors to burst into action.
Not ten minutes later Arthur Weasley, the missing students, the people Harry had sent, Mr. Diggory and several others came stumbling into the camp.
The witch from earlier walked up to Harry. "When we caught up to them they were lost and they refused to come with us. Shortly after that the Dark Mark was cast, and then the cavalry arrived." The woman's lips thinned in irritation. "Director Crouch, the balding little man with the bright red face, dismissed his House Elf who had young Mr. Weasley's wand. The wand tested positive for casting the Dark Mark, but as we were all there as witnesses the esteemed Director couldn't have the young man arrested."
Harry really wanted to sleep for about a year. "Thank you- all three of you- for going after them. I'm sorry that they didn't cooperate. I really appreciate it."
"Think nothing of it, Mr. Potter." The woman assured him with that strange smile playing about her lips. "Although if you truly wished to thank me perhaps you could lend some of that maturity to my nephew, Adrian."
Harry's brows furrowed in thought. "Adrian….Pucey?"
"Yes, that's my nephew." She replied, a delighted grin spreading over her face at the neutral tone.
"And our nieces, if you're in this maturity encouragement business." One of the men said with a wry grin. "Daphne is mature but she's far too serious. Astoria on the other hand, well, that one's a handful."
They were interrupted by Mr. Weasley at that point, but Harry swore to remember those names.
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