Chapter Nine

Several weeks had passed since Harry's life had completely changed. No longer did he had to take the nutrient potions, his body having filled out. Unfortunately for him though, he would never grow up to be very tall. Magic couldn't fix everything after all.

Sighing morosely as recalled the healer's words, Harry stretched out on his bed, taking pleasure in the rare day which he got to sleep in. A small smile adorned his lips as he sat up, taking his own sweet time to walk to his wardrobe and get changed. Looking at his wardrobe, Harry selected the long sleeved emerald green silk shirt, pairing it with black pants as he did so. Then, walking out of his room he went to the dining room to have breakfast.

Sitting down at the table, Harry greeted Blaise as he walked in. He couldn't wait for breakfast to be over. Blaise had promised to bring him to see the Colosseum. After being cooped up in the mansion, Harry was utterly sick and tired of being confined in one place. In fact, he had been caught several times by Blaise when he attempted to climb over the walls of the mansion. Sure it was tiring and his training practically doubled the next day, but all he wanted was to freely roam the streets of Italy!

Managing to scarf down his food-a plate of freshly scrambled eggs lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and a cup of steaming hot english breakfast tea, while looking graceful, Harry waited for Blaise to finish his meal. Casting impatient glances at Blaise, Harry eyed Blaise's food. Maybe if he were to just discreetly sneak all of Blaise's food away…

"Don't." Blaise looked at Harry almost as though he was aware of what Harry was thinking before continuing to eat. His pace had noticeably picked up. Harry counted that as a victory.

Finally, Blaise was finished eating. Just as they were about to leave the table, an owl swooped in front of Harry, a letter tied to its leg. Waving his wand, Harry casted detecting charms before taking up the letter. The letter was from Fred and George.


Hey Harry!

Time is tight so we won't be able to write much. We hope you're well and not dying. Glad to see that you chose to finally leave the Dursleys. We'll be sure to make them suffer in your absence. Dumbles has noticed your disappearance by the way. And he'll be sending you an owl to track your location. Whatever you do, do not touch any letter sent by him! We'll be with you soon.

What my less smarter twin has neglected to mention is that we have no idea where you are. Same goes with the Order. So when he says we'll be with you soon, he means that we'll be leaving the Burrow.

I was going to say that but you snatched the paper before I could! Anyway, as the more awesome half of my twin, I must say that if possible we'll like to meet you at Gringotts anytime you want.

Harry… we… we hope that wherever you are, you are safe .

Yours only,

Gred and Forge


Harry looked at the letter before gently folding it and placing it into his pocket. "Blaise, can we go to Gringotts?"

"Is it the twins?"

Harry looked in surprise at Blaise before nodding. Blaise shrugged before continuing to talk. "I guessed." Heading to the floo, Harry threw in a handful of floo powder before calling out for Gringotts.

Upon arriving, Harry, for once did not fall flat on his face. With constant tortu-sorry, lessons, he had finally managed to learn to stand upright when he arrived. The day he finally succeeded was beautiful. Jin's expression had turned crestfallen when he realised that he couldn't teach Harry. Smirking slightly, Harry stepped out of the fireplace with Blaise behind him.

Walking to the counter, Harry stood before the goblin on duty before beginning to speak. "I would like to set a meeting here in Gringotts with Fred and George Weasley."

"That will be 20 galleons for a private room for an hour." stated the goblin without looking up from the book he was staring at. "If you would like us to arrange transport for the other party, it will be an additional 8 galleons. Without thinking much about it, Harry immediately agreed.

"Is tomorrow the 30th of July fine? Huh. It'll be my birthday in two days." Harry gave a wry smile as told the goblin the date. He had lost track of time while he was in the Zabini mansion.

"Very well. The other party will be informed." The goblin intoned flatly before taking a pen and scrawling a few words down on a piece of paper. "30th of July, 8.00a.m"

Just as Harry was about to leave, a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Is it possible to track down my Uncle?"

The goblin nodded before responding. "Yes. It will cost 10 galleons and we will not be able to tell you how long it will take for us to track him down. What's his name?"

"Cerin Ombra. He's my uncle on my mother's side."

"Very well." A surge of relief ran through Harry as the goblin agreed to track down his Uncle. He didn't care how long it would take as long as he could one day meet his Uncle.

Harry nodded and thanked the goblin before leaving Gringotts with Blaise. It was finally time for him to relax and see the sights of Italy! At the thought of being able to wander around to his heart's content, Harry felt as though he could fly a thousand miles. A blissed out smile adorned his face, causing all who saw Harry to blush.

Blaise coughed loudly as he ushered Harry to the fireplace. "We'll take the floo directly to the colosseum. Is that fine with you?" Harry nodded as he dragged Blaise to the fireplace before grabbing a handful of floo powder from the vase besides that fireplace, throwing in two sickles as he did so. Stepping into the fireplace with Blaise, Blaise called out for the colosseum.

Upon arriving, Harry stepped out of the fireplace, eyes wide with awe. It was like scene from the past. Wizards and witches crowded the stands cheering loudly as others dueled in the middle of colosseum. "Why is it like this?" Upon hearing Harry's question, Blaise laughed gently.

Ruffling Harry's hair, Blaise replied. "Magic. Magic separates the mundane colosseum from the wizarding one. The two exist at the same time but on a different plane." Harry could only watch his surroundings, enraptured by the duels going on. Then, suddenly frowning, Harry scrutinised one of the 'duels' going on.

A baby with spiky green hair and purple eyes sat on top of a gigantic robot, lightning crackling off him. His opponent, a middle aged man was fleeing from him much to the annoyance of the crowd. Looking closer at the baby, Harry noticed the man was scribbling something down a notepad.

"That's Verde. He is the lightning arcobaleno." Blaise informed Harry as he noticed Harry looking at Verde. "He has many titles, the Lightning Arcobaleno, the Smartest Arcobaleno, and finally, Da Vinci's Reincarnation."

As though he could sense Harry's stare, Verde suddenly turned in their direction before controlling the robot to shoot his opponent down. His opponent automatically fell to the ground, twitching pathetically. Then Verde began making his way to Harry and Blaise.

Blaise scowled as he noticed Verde coming closer before turning around and trying to lead Harry away. However, Harry dug his feet into the ground, refusing to move. "He won't hurt us."

Blaise sighed in exasperation. "How would you know?" Unfortunately, by then it was too late as Verde had already reached the two of them. A small crocodile stood beside Verde looking uninterestedly at Harry and Blaise.

"Sky Flames purity is one of the highest. Hmmm… and you're a wizard as well… I see. Would you like to join me in my labs? I will feed you regularly, three times a day and make sure you get enough water. I will even give you medical attention after I experiment on you which is more than I can say for my other experiments."

Harry stared blankly at Verde as Blaise quickly pushed Harry behind him. "You can't have him." Blaise's voice was firm, belaying no trace of the fear he held inside. Silvery needles were held in his hands as Blaise prepared to defend Harry.

"I will only experiment on you five times a week." Verde looked at Harry as he continued to speak, completely ignoring Blaise. Blaise scowled as Verde spoke, tensing up as he prepared to fight.

"Blaise, stand down." Harry's voice, though soft was unyielding.

"But Harry!" Blaise protested as he kept his needles.

Harry frowned as he continued staring at Verde. "I'm grateful for your offer," Harry's voice was anything but grateful as he continued to speak. "But unfortunately, I must decline. However if you would like to perform some tests, I would not be adverse to that as long as they do not cause me or mine any permanent harm." Harry had never so thankful for the lessons he had on diplomacy and negotiation before. Holding his breath, he waited for Verde's response.

"Very well then." In silent acquiescence, Verde bowed his head slightly. "I will meet you at Tranquillo Rifugio Cafe on the 7th of August to discuss the terms in greater detail."

Harry smiled in relief, thanking Verde before he turned to leave. He had survived an encounter with one of the famed arcobaleno! Nearly collapsing on the ground, Harry relaxed onto Blaise, feeling completely and utterly boneless. Blaise too was sighing in relief.

"That was a huge risk you took. Madre will definitely hear of this."

Harry immediately froze, whatever joy and relief he felt draining away at the thought of being confronted by Mrs Zabini and Jin for his reckless actions. He would definitely end up dead, his cooling corpse thrown into the woods for animals to ravage. Cringing, he turned to Blaise before utilising his most powerful move. Sky Puppy Dog Eyes. The technique was the classic puppy dog eyes, just that the cuteness factor was ramped up several notches by the Sky harmony effect. It was a killer move for sure.

Upon noticing Harry's face, Blaise groaned slightly as he felt his willpower weaken. Gritting his teeth, Blaise tried not to succumb to the godly effects of Harry's puppy dog eyes. Eventually, Blaise steeled his heart before stating, "Fine! You win! I won't tell okay? Just stop with those eyes." He had fallen. Sighing, Blaise gave up trying to fight against the effects. When had Harry learnt that technique?

The puppy dog eyes immediately disappeared, being replaced by Harry's beaming smile. Looking down, Blaise wondered why he even tried. "Shall we continue exploring the Colosseum?"

Harry nodded gleefully as he began dragging Blaise all over the Colosseum to see the sights. Blaise really regretted that he went out with Harry.

Finally, as the sun began to set, Harry had finished seeing all there was to offer in the magical colosseum. Leaning against the wall, Harry admired the canvas which was the sky. The colours swirled together, complementing and highlighting each other. Up in the sky, a few birds flew freely through the sky.

"I wish I could be a bird, swiftly soaring through the heavens, unrestrained and free…" Harry watched the birds longingly, dreaming of the day when he could ride the winds.

"Harry, whatever you want to do, whatever you want to be… I will always be beside you. If you want to become a bird, I will become the winds, accompanying you forever." Blaise swore to Harry as he too stared at the endless skies above them.

And they remained in the same position until the sun set. Both lost in their own thoughts.


Paperwork filling

"Ah, you're finally here!" Jin dumped an armful of papers on the desk, his smile a blinding as ever. "Come, take a seat."

Harry looked at the huge stack of papers that loomed ominously over his head before backing away. Screw the consequences, he was not going to risk get buried by papers! Unfortunately for him, he didn't have a choice. Ropes immediately appeared around him with one more rope connected to Jin's hand. Looking apprehensively at Jin, he was greeted with a malicious smile as Jin began to pull the rope.

Struggling furiously, Harry found that all his efforts were in vain as he found himself on the chair, a pen forced into his hand. Trying to stand up, he realised that while he was distracted, chains had been attached to desk and chair. There was absolutely no escape for him.

Scowling, Harry looked warily at the mountain of papers before him before taking one sheet. Needless to say, the whole mountain collapsed onto him.

"Oh, did I mention that if you don't complete this on time, the papers will double and you'll have to do them in your own free time."

At those words, an agonized scream could be heard from underneath the pile of papers.


Questions

Will Harry ever go into a Cloudy Rage?

Yes. However, as of now there isn't anything much for him to well, rage over.

When will Sirius escape Azkaban?

As you can tell from this chapter, people have just realised that Harry is missing. Eventually, if they continue to be unable to find where Harry is, the whole issue will be blown up and... newspaper article of Harry being missing will be released! Sirius will then escape earlier than cannon from Azkaban. So instead of the ending of the holidays, it'll be much earlier.


I hope I didn't make any mistakes in this chapter, but I might be wrong... I'm really sorry that this chapter came out later than usual.


Thank you in particular to:

Amethyst-Pheonix2003, CircusPsycho, shadewatcher, BunnyBear27, buterflypuss, bcatty, MonochromeTiger, magicanimegurl, WhiteDogwood, Gime'SS, HermioneX, Outofthisworldgal, jedielfsorcerer, SakuraKoi, Kraken-Of The Deep, CloudOfNothingness, Lovable Riolu, slashharry, Shadow Wolf 15846, dragonloverpower, marsolino, Sakihinata, rozielrie, IgnisFelicis, Fanficaddict78, Elfin69 and all the Guests that reviewed as well

for reviewing!

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