Disclaimer: I know the thing with Fon's family is a bit too much of a coincidence, but I just couldn't resist.
Fon smiled indulgently at the sight of Skull laughing himself to tears over his family's frankly ridiculous history. Outwardly, at least.
Inwardly, he was trying not to hyperventilate.
Spells. Curses. Magic in all its mystical, actually-not-fantastical glory.
It wouldn't have affected him as much -because, really, Flames weren't that different- if it wasn't for the stories passed down on his Clan about powerful sorcerers from their line. Sorcerers that called curses upon people who wronged -or simply displeased in some way- their Head.
Curses like the ever-famous "May you Live in Interesting Times".
Skull seemed to be under the impression that their initial incredulous reactions towards his attitude stemmed from suspicion when they were trying to ascertain who was Checkerface's agent. That was not entirely false, but the main reason they had reacted poorly to him was simply disbelieving shock.
At first sight, Skull was the most laid-back Cloud in the Mafia. Someone who would never get angry -he might be miffed or mildly irritated, but those moods passed quickly.
And each and every one of the Arcobaleno knew that that was simply not possible.
Flames were the manifestation of a person's very soul. Each type was associated with certain personality traits that, while not absolute, would certainly influence a person's behavior.
Stereotyping based on a person's Flame was stupid, of course, and all of the Arcobaleno used those kind of preconceptions to their advantage. It was part of the reason all of them worked hard not to exhibit the classic traits most people of their Flame type did.
But that involved redirecting those impulses, working around them in some way or another. Just like Fon contained his reactions at minor annoyances and dealt physically with major ones instead of exploding verbally like most Storms, each of them had their own coping mechanisms.
Reborn wasn't loud and overbearing like most Suns, but he still was the center of attention more often than not.
Lal and Colonello were military through and through, where a calm disposition was the last thing any commanding officer wanted -and thus would have trained out of them-, but Fon would bet his next mission's pay that both of them remained clear-headed in any kind of conflict.
Viper was an extremely blunt person, but she still had the incredible imagination and cunning most Mists favored.
Verde was as far from simple as the Sun was from the Moon, but he could be incredibly single-minded and focused when on a project.
And yet Skull never displayed any kind of "Cloudy" behavior. No patrolling, no flying into rages, no claiming of territory, not even drifting.
And while they could have reasoned that away, none of them were blind. Skull always looked unconcerned and resigned on their missions, no matter how south they went.
That, coupled with the ridiculous amount of Flame he possessed, told them a rather disturbuing story.
Skull was used to things going wrong. He had seen enough that their frankly ridiculous missions were barely a blip on his radar and not worth raging over.
None of them had voiced it, but Fon was certain that all of them had been kind of terrified at the prospect of something eventually provoking Skull into a proper Rage.
Not just because of the sheer scale such an event would have to be on, but because the World's Strongest Cloud in a Rage was an image that rightly belonged on their nightmares.
They had just gotten a taste of it -and yes, it certainly was as terrifying as they had feared- and soon they would see him properly unleash his rather horrifying full force.
(Which included Magic -rather powerful Magic at that, if he read Jean's implications about a war and Skull's part on it correctly- as well as the most powerful Cloud Flames on Earth, because the world did love its overkill, apparentely)
Fon would normally jump at the chance to see Skull Rage safely, that is, at his back making sure nobody took advantage of the berserker-like single-mindedness most Clouds in a Rage exhibited if his friend hadn't found a way to work around it yet. Not only to catalogue his fighting style so he could dive out of the way if he ever found himself between Skull and his target in any eventual future Rage, but also to analyze his buttons and make sure they never got pressed again.
Unfortunately, that may no longer be a possibility.
Viper had informed them about her cousin's legendary luck. Even admitted to suspecting a Curse as the cause.
Fon would have believed the tales of his ancestors' exploits as one of the few powerful enough to curse entire familiy lines "May you Live in Interesting Times" a coincidence were it not for the one last detail that rounded up that particular story. The cursed family were apparentely makers of pots. From the far West.
Fon kind of wanted to whimper. Did Viper truly have to tell them that Skull was the last Potter? He would have been far happier not knowing.
He would like to tell himself that Skull would not be unreasonable about it, but...
Fon tried to imagine what living under that Curse would have been like and what kind of things Skull had done and suffered through in order to survive it that left him with such a daunting amount of tells and conditioned reactions. Tells and reactions that Reborn and Colonello's combined efforts -on and off for fourteen years- hadn't managed to fix.
He was a dead man.
Maybe at least he could try to die protecting Skull's family? He'd be dead either way, but he'd be preventing the world from being destroyed by the World's Strongest Magical Cloud's grief-fuelled Rage.
"Stop laughing already, Skull! We need more information if we are going to help you take out those idiots, kora"
Colonello tried not to let his irritation show at Skull's flabbergasted expression. He knew the Cloud didn't mean it personally, no matter how outraging it was to see him doubt that they would help him.
"What? You can't! You've never seen Magic in action, you guys don't know how to counter it..."
At least their combined deadpan stares were making him rightfully trail off. That was progress, no matter how small. Now that the lesson that they didn't abandon their own seemed to have more-or-less sunk in, they could obtain more information.
Not that the people who attacked them seemed any kind of challenge -they had been literally standing still as they attacked, for Christ's sake- but it was the principle of the thing.
Skull's family -his godson- had been attacked, so they would deal out brutal retribution. If Skull left them something to teach a lesson to. Which, considering his friends' reaction of paving the way politically so he could unleash carnage undisturbed, didn't seem all that likely.
But they had a great opportunity to see how a completely new society operated and to pit their fighting style against their own, which would be a criminal waste to let go of, so they'd at least tag along.
If only because Skull had been clearly trying to show them how magicals fought -and probably showing off as well- and it'd be rude to ignore the effort.
The basics seemed to be wands and teleportation -Portkey, they had called it, if he was not mistaken-, but there would obviously be other surprises out there. Like whatever a "metamorphmagus" was and what kind of abilities it granted to Skull's godson.
They were going to take care of their friends' family properly, and that meant being able to navigate and fight on that world.
No matter how gross their practices seemed or how difficult it would be not to comment on the rampant inbreeding problem.
Colonello's words seemed to prompt Viper to say something too low for Aria to hear from where she was standing slightly apart from the group. Whatever it was she had said, Skull seemed conflicted about it, though the rest of the Arcobaleno seemed to have gotten more subtext from their facial expressions.
(Even having Reborn as a tutor could only go so far when analyzing the facial expressions of people that were so used to hiding their feelings)
Aria was feeling somewhat out of sorts with the whole situation, in all actuality. She was ecstatic at the Curse being removed, of course. But everything else that had happened was very obviously part of Skull and Viper's personal life.
The existance of Magic was a discovery she would have normally been incredibly excited to explore, but she was very much aware that she had obtained the information on the context of Skull's old enemies attacking his family, and that made her feel like an intruder.
The others were obviously connecting dots and getting references that previously didn't make sense -or they thought had meant something else. But to Aria, it was all news. And she was very sharply aware of the fact that that was because she didn't belong.
She wasn't even sure if her mother being on her place would have made matters better or worse. She had known them better, but they also felt that they had been betrayed by her.
(When she was a child, Aria had wanted to reunite those people who made mama sad and make them understand how inescapable their visions truly were. The sheer weight of having the fate of the world resting literally on their shoulders and knowing exactly what that meant. She hadn't, because her mother had asked her not to. Had wanted to spare them the knowledge. Wanted to respect their desire not to know)
As things stood, though, Aria was the one who was there, feeling awkward and intruding. Intruding on the privacy of a Cloud was generally a pretty terrible idea, and while part of her wanted to know what was going on and help them deal with those people that threatened Skull's godson, she understood that she should probably arrange transportation and leave them to their plotting.
"You coming, Aria?"
Skull's voice broke through her thoughts, and the young Sky couldn't help gaping slightly.
"You want me to go with you?"
"Well... Only if you want to. If you have other things to do..."
"Yes! Please. I'd appreciate it. Thank you" Not her most stellar example of the 'cool, collected and diplomatic' Donna attitude they had worked so hard to teach her, but she had been startled.
Clouds didn't appreciate nosy people, as a general rule. That Skull -and Viper, who could give any Cloud a run for their money on caginess- was allowing her on his secrets was truly humbling. She knew all the Arcobaleno were fond of her to a certain extent, since they had been there for her after her mother's death. But being offered the same consideration as the rest of the group -when they had known and trusted each other for so much longer- was incredibly humbling.
Aria let out a carefully controlled breath -probably pointless, since they all would be able to see how much the show of trust had shaken her anyway- and recomposed herself. They still needed to go to the old cottage on the hill so Skull could use whatever a Pensieve was and explain things to them properly.
Skull looked at the Pensieve with a conflicted expression. It was somehow much more intimidating now than the first time he had seen one on Dumbledore's office, with the knowledge that he would be witnessing part of Voldemort's life when he was still Tom Riddle in it.
He knew, intelectually, that he was being ridiculous. Nothing they were about to see in there would surprise him, those were his memories in the first place.
A small part him still wanted to hide under the table, though.
It wasn't fear at their reactions to Magic, or even at discovering how messed up Wizarding society was. He had already seen their reactions to both of those things, after all.
But he was still nervous. Not even Viper knew exactly what he had gone through. She had seen the Prophet, of course, but she had believed maybe one word out of seven, like any sane woman would.
His friends and family were incredibly protective of his privacy, even more than Skull himself, which was really saying something. Of course, where Viper was concerned that only meant that she connected the dots on her own and became Concerned.
And a Concerned Viper could be terrifyingly subtle and efficient at making him confront his problems.
Which was why he appreciated the blunt manner with which she had asked him to use the Pensieve. Granted, she had said to do it 'so they could see the Wizarding World as it's explained to muggleborns and then how most people discover the way it actually works'. But they both knew that that was a load of dragon dung. He'd eat his helmet if Viper hadn't already worked out that he had been explained precisely spit.
Her real reason was, therefore, obviously to make him confront his issues with them as moral support. Which was thoughtful and kind of endearingly efficient of her, since they would still get a pretty comprehensive understanding of the British Wizarding World that way.
His problem was that he could imagine their reactions pretty well. He had eventually wised up to what Reborn and Colonello were doing, even if it had taken him more time than he would be comfortable with admitting. And while some part of himself accepted that he probably needed to hear them reaffirm the idea that what was done to him was wrong, another part of him also dreaded the inevitable explosions.
He was a Gryffindor for a reason, though. So he put his wand to his temple -enjoying their startled faces maybe a little too much, as they had only seen wands used as weapons and were pretty clearly about two seconds from slapping his hand away- and took out a silvery string of memories. Then another. He paused for a moment, sighed -because they wouldn't be satisfied until they knew everything once they even suspected what had happened and this way was just faster- and started dumping more and more memories until all of his Hogwarts years were covered.
He studiously ignored Viper's smug and somewhat proud grin.
When he saw Aria's expression, though, he didn't bother containing his reaction and rolled his eyes. A pointed look and she was reaching for the Pensieve with unsure hands and a somewhat nervous smile.
Once they were all inside, the memories started playing. Of course, none of them reacted outwardly, and only Aria let her slightly overwhelmed expression show.
He didn't have any illusions that they were not cataloguing and analyzing every last detail, though. At least they didn't make a fuss about the way his relatives treated him on the morning of his eleventh birthday. He preferred to forget the Dursleys' very existence, in all honesty.
And then they saw the cupboard under the stairs.
Reborn ignored the explosion of noise that the cupboard had warranted and instead swept the place for clues. He had an awful suspicion brewing on his gut.
(That suspicion was horrible and he prayed he was wrong, but at least it distracted him from memorizing those pigs' identity and address. Unauthorized hits on civilians were frowned upon, and he needed to respect Skull's -Harry's- right to deal with them as he saw fit, even if he had a nasty suspicion that those vermin would escape their dues)
After the tub of lard that called himself Vernon fled the house with all its ocupants in order to escape from the letters -which ended up being useless, as anyone with half a braincell could have told him-, a giant named Hagrid came to explain the Wizarding World to their baby Cloud.
And Reborn's suspicions were confirmed.
Reborn tilted his fedora to hide his closed eyes as he fought the bile rising on his throat. Throwing up here would be rude, and Skull would probably take it the wrong way.
(No wonder he had such a low self-esteem. Damn. Number four Private Drive, Little Whining, Surrey. That information was carved on his brain now. He'd need every last shred of his self-control not to kill those wastes of flesh)
A rogue wizard had tried to kill Skull -Harry- when he was a baby and he had 'miraculously' survived. That was what Activated his Flames, or Reborn would eat his fedora.
Reborn played with the cuffs of his shirt to hide the trembling of his hands.
Flames were a manifestation of the soul. They were influenced by the personality, and the Flames in turn influenced the personality through certain instincts and impulses.
A baby would not have a completely formed personality, so the Flame that happened to be Primary at that point in time would be the one that Activated.
Clouds were rare even on the Mafia because the personality traits that were associated with them were discouraged in most cultures. Even the Cloudiest child in the world would try to change if he loved his parents and trusted their judgement. And that would in turn change his Flames, to the point his Primary could end up changing.
Even when the Mafia people wised up to this and tried to prevent it it was difficult, because overly willful children tended to be a nightmare and needed to be corrected.
Well, apparentely they had found the solution.
They just had to Activate their Flames when they were goddamned babies and the Primary Flame would still be Cloud even as they were socialized with the complete opposite to their instinctive behaviour. An Active Flame couldn't change, after all.
Of course, this run the risk of the child self-destructing, but who cared, right?
Reborn let out a deep breath and spied Skull out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't really interested in Gringotts, even if the way those people managed their finances was probably important information. Viper probably had that covered already. In fact, her money was probably there, now that he thought about it.
He just couldn't wrench his thoughts away of the idea that Skull had survived by the skin of his teeth.
Reborn knew Clouds. He had worked with lots of them, because they were generally considered the strongest Elements, and when one reached a certain level of jobs those were the kind of people that were sent as 'companions'. Little Harry's first instinct when he started to be aware of the way he was treated in comparison with other kids would have been physical retaliation.
Considering the environment he was in, that would have ended very badly. The fact that he had apparentely managed to redirect instincts he didn't know he had so he became snarky instead was nothing short of a miracle.
(Well, no. No, it wasn't. It was actually most probably a product of being way too exahusted from the malnourishment and the never-ending "chores" to be able to raise his hand against them in protest. But Reborn was trying to refrain from making the world a favour and eliminating those parasites, so he would do his best not to think too much about that)
Skull... Skull was probably unaware of it, Reborn realized with a sinking feeling of dread. He didn't know just how close he had been to self-destructing in that environment.
(Or, most probably, he suspected and was doing his damn best not to connect the dots)
Skull hadn't been raised on the lore and facts about Flames that Mafia brats like him had known all their lives. He probably couldn't appreciate the sheer magnitude of the harm the Dursleys (almost) did to him.
At least it seemed that Magic had provided an outlet for his pent-up Flames, if he was reading Hagrid and Harry's conversation about Accidental Magic correctly.
In an environment in which anything 'strange' was severely discouraged, of course he never discovered his Flames. That added to instincts that just had to be going rabid would have become a grenade about to go off if the Flames hadn't been able to Multiply his Accidental Magic.
Reborn did not have enough information to know for sure if that was what had happened, but it made sense. Mantaining his body functional despite the abuse those mars on the human species dished out had probably given his Flames something to do -but it was still not enough to explain the sheer amount of Flame Skull possessed, and judging by his expression when he put more and more memories on the bowl, Reborn was regretting having Leon so close at hand for the first time in his life.
Whenever his instincts rebelled, Harry's internal Flames probably Multiplied his Magic. At least, that was what Reborn was going to assume, because from the way they were talking, Accidental Magic was a natural experience and Reborn didn't want to imagine what would have happened if Harry had tried to contain it as his 'guardians' would have undoubtedly encouraged him to do.
AN: Lots and lots of headcanons about how Magic and Flames would interact this time around. I have been waiting almost the whole fic to put my headcanon about the reason Clouds are the second rarest Flame type.