Beta's by Ie-maru. Thank you:) She is amazing!

And also thank you so much. Your reviews really made my day. Yeah, naughty Orange got grounded. Now Harry finally have a peace or not.

Chapter 23

"Skull-sama will protect you, ha-ha!" Skull laughed loudly. He was confident, so confident, so - he was so scared. Skull was fucking scared of these people, especially the fedora guy lurking in the background.

He had woken up on a lovely island, inside the large tent that would be their center of operations until they finished the construction on the house, according to the much nicer Fon. After he had woken up – and promptly panicked – the fedora guy immediately launched into a surreal explanation about the mafia and "flames". Skull, apparently, was a "cloud" and his trait was "propagation". Also, he was in the mafia now. All flame users were.

Skull was scared out of his mind and refused to believe him. Mr. Fedora brought out a gun in response, put it to his head, and said he'd better believe it because his patience was running thin! Skull was half-convinced the man was going to pull the trigger, but then his savior came. The green-eyed angel had shooed the scary guy away and helped Skull into one of many chairs.

The angel had smiled softly at him and gently checked him over for injuries. The angel introduced himself as Harry Potter and said he was bonded to Skull as his sky. Harry then apologized over and over for the accidental bonding and promised a quick return for Skull to wherever he needed if he didn't want to stay.

"Because it's your choice," Harry had stressed. "Don't let the others tell you otherwise. If you want to go, you can go. You don't need to be involved in this. The mafia is very dangerous, so you need to be absolutely sure if you decide to stay."

The fear was retreating to the back of his mind, replaced by a great amount of confusion. Skull was a simple guy – a great, non-violent guy! While he was a thrill seeker and enjoyed the fame from his shows, he'd never touched a weapon, except that one steel bar, and never got into fight outside a few brawls...okay, many brawls, but what do you expect when your life rolls with that kind of crowd? Point was, he was nothing like the other "flame users" and he felt painfully out of place. He wanted to go home.

If Skull thought this through seriously, he should have taken that offer and jumped on the first ship to the mainland; however, for some reason, those kind eyes stopped him. Those green eyes begged for his protection, for Skull to stay, even though Harry himself was offering him a safe way to leave. In that moment, that crucial fork of destiny, Skull felt a strong urge to stay and do anything for Harry. For while Skull could leave, it was very obvious that Harry either wouldn't, or couldn't. He would be leaving Harry behind to this cruel world, surrounded by these dangerous people.

Just the thought of something happening to Harry woke something dark inside of Skull. He thought about all the possibilities, all the scary things that could happen to Harry if Skull wasn't there to help keep his sky safe. Skull was afraid of this mafia world, but he was more afraid for Harry. His very being sung for his sky.

Skull decided right there, he would go with his gut. It had never led him wrong before!

And that was what had led him to this point.

"Skull-sama will protect you, ha-ha!"

He was immediately rewarded with a hard smack on the back of his head from the ever-scary Mr. Fedora, but it was okay since his angel scolded the guy right after. The guy was named Ren, according to his sky. Ren glared at Skull, right over said tiny angel, promising retribution if Skull ever called him that.

The rest of his new "partners", his fellow "guardians", entered the tent after Mr. Fedora's introduction. Verde was a bored looking, green haired man; Fon was the nice Chinese man with long dark hair; Colonello was an easy-going blond; Viper was the mysterious robed figure with upside down triangle tattoos on his cheeks; and Lal, the only woman here, was the blue haired, no-nonsense type. Skull wasn't as interested in them as he was in his one true love – Harry – but they couldn't be ignored. They were all very dangerous people who he'd be working with.

"But Skull, it's too dangerous. I think it would be better if you took the ship," Harry said, worry clear on his face. That was so adorable!

"Don't worry, Harry–sama. I, the Great Skull-sama, will protect you from all danger!" Skull laughed loudly.

He was afraid that if he didn't laugh, Harry would see right through his act. His legs started to shake. He was afraid, but Harry-sama needed him. Bravery wasn't a lack of fear, he remembered, but action in spite of it. He was afraid, but he would stay. He forced his legs to stop shaking and struck a pose, hoping he looked confident and cool.

"Leave that idiot alone," the scary guy –Ren (I only uttered your name in my mind, eek please don't look this way) said, irritation clear on his face. Ren adjusted his fedora so he could glare at him! Could he read minds?!

'Harry-sama, please help me' Skull prayed.

"What do you mean when you say Harry-sama?" Harry asked him, head tilted adorably. Skull wanted so badly to hug him.

Well, Skull wasn't one to deny himself, so he latched onto his angel and hugged him for all he was worth. And if he maneuvered his body slightly so said angel was between him and Ren, well, that was just him being smart.

"Ah, it's a Japanese idiom for respect," Verde explained.

"Interesting, kora!" Colonello claimed.

"You know Japanese?" Lal asked. While she sounded casual, her eyes were sharply focused on where Skull had latched onto Harry. For some reason, Skull wanted to take his hands away and back up a few meters.

"Then call me senpai from now on. After all, you're the lackey here," Ren said with a growing smirk. That urge to back up was quickly turning into an urge to leave the tent and get far, far away from Ren's smug face. Skull hadn't forgotten the gun incident.

"Hey, don't call him a lackey!" his angel protested.

"It's a fitting expression, I think. "Senpai" is another Japanese idiom, which a student uses to speak of a mentor or senior. He will be our…student, so it fits," Fon explained with a slight smile. For some reason, Skull thought he saw an edge to that smile. So much for being the nice one!

"Right! He's going to be our student," Ren agreed and smiled at Fon. Fon nodded back.

"In the mafia world, all unexperienced members start as lackeys to their seniors," Verde explained to Harry. His eyes then examined Skull, as if weighing his worth. For some reason, Skull felt like a lab rat.

"Then I'm a lackey too, right?" Harry asked with confusion.

"No. You're our sky, so it's different with you," Viper said, resigned. For some reason, Skull felt that Viper was glaring at him. It was a strange thought, since he couldn't see their face.

"True that! Skull will be our lackey, kora!" Colonello laughed. Skull shivered at the glint in his eyes.

His fellow guardians then pointedly looked at Skull's hands where Skull was touching Harry. Skull's heart skipped a beat out of terror and he slowly untangled himself from the hug.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry, as an experienced auror, knew that when a newbie joined, the others started to test the new guy; usually this was done by giving menial tasks, making them carry out either tiring or embarrassing assignments, or just sticking them with duties they didn't want to do themselves. It was all part of the ritual of breaking in someone new. That was fine, Harry could accept that, but…Harry felt that Ren and the others were a lot more bloodthirsty regarding Skull.

Harry swore to himself that he would intervene if they went too far. He was pretty sure Skull would be fine, though. The cloud was made of sterner stuff than most. Harry saw his Will when he was in that inner room of his mind-scape. Skull 's bright purple flames showed him how strong the prideful man was at heart.

That reminded him of what else happened while he was down there. Harry had certainly not been happy when he got a look at what had happened while he was locked out.

Flashback

Harry looked around his mind-scape's inner room incredulously. Everywhere he looked was mess. Scorch marks littered the walls and memory marks were jumbled. He suspected he knew the cause.

"Orange! What did you do?" Harry glared at Orange, who made a guilty croon and curled into itself.

"Did you have some sort of flame party in here? It'll take weeks to organize all these memories again!" Harry cut himself off from saying more and took a deep breath.

Considering the damage…were the other flames hurt? The thought had him hurrying to where they circled and looking over them very carefully. They all looked the same as last time, thank Merlin. Well, except for the purple one, now that he looked closer. Where before there had been a defiant specter of flames, there was now a cheerful bonfire of cloud flames. It must be the new addition to the group. It felt nothing like the other one had.

"So you went and bonded with Skull." Harry sighed and gave the shifting sky flame a very disappointed look. "You couldn't just leave him alone. I told you no more, and you did anyway."

Orange made a sad croon before giving off a feeling of determination. It jumped around each of the other flames, leaving the cloud for last. It stopped beside the new purple flame and made resounding croon, which the cloud flame returned. Orange then circled around all of them once more before stopping in front of Harry.

"So, you wanted a full collection?" Harry asked as understanding came to him.

"Then the last few days…did you just throw temper tantrum!?"Harry choked, feeling incredulous.

Orange bobbed, somewhat guilty. Said guilt didn't last long until it was bounding about happily.

"I was worried, you brat! I thought something was really wrong!" Harry said, anger burning in his gut.

Orange made the croon equivalent of 'uh-oh'.

"That's right. You are so grounded!" Harry glared at Orange. "You'll be in another room, and no playing outside."

End Flashback

He grounded Orange in one of the castle rooms and spelled the room to lock it in with all the security spells he could think of. Harry didn't believe it would hold Orange for too long, but this wasn't a forever thing. This was to show that he was serious. If Harry said no, he meant it. Orange was a child in a way, and needed to know the boundaries it was allowed.

Now Orange was sulking and ignoring him. Harry was fine with that. He would have to fix all that mess tonight anyway and Orange would probably distract him. It would be a slow process as it was.

"Now that we've all been introduced, let's plan out our base. I brought blueprints for us all to look over." Verde rolled them out on the large table so everyone could see.

Harry walked to the table with Skull, who was hovering near him and throwing the others cautious looks. He ignored it and instead inspected the plans for the house. It looked more like a mansion, actually. How were they going to afford this?!

"Hm, not bad. I want a wing for myself, though. The Sun Wing, doesn't it sound nice?" Ren touched part of the plan and added a whole wing with a pencil he pulled out of nowhere.

Really? A whole passage for Ren? Harry looked at the others for signs of protest, but they were all frowning thoughtfully instead.

"It would be nice if there was a Storm Wing to match it, if we're going that route." Fon smiled and grabbed the pencil from Ren to add another passage for himself.

"Me too, kora!" Colonello added another one.

"For privacy," Viper stated as he drew.

"I won't stay with Colonello." Lal drew another.

"Skull-sama needs space too!" Skull left Harry's side to draw. Harry thought they would refuse, but Skull successfully drew a whole passage without complaint. Maybe it was so the others wouldn't have to share rooms with him.

"Hmm, I need one as well." Verde started to draw, but was interrupted by Colonello.

"What! You have a lab kora!" Colonello shouted.

"I wouldn't be sleeping in it," Verde stated as he continued his drawing.

"Then I want a survival course, kora!" Colonello stole Verde's pencil to draw an exercise field beside mansion. "We're going to need it to teach the lackey anyway!"

"A library," Viper proposed.

"A tea garden would be nice," Fon said.

"A shooting range is essential," Lal added.

"A pool is really good for exercising multiple muscles at once," Ren pointed out. "Also, relaxation."

"We're living on an island," Harry replied, exasperated.

"Well, yes, but an indoor pool makes swimming at different times much safer," Ren said as he cheerfully drew it out. It was, in Harry's unbiased opinion, much too large.

"A biking course is good for exercise too!" Skull said enthusiastically.

Then they started to argue about what really necessary or not. They crowded around the table and pencils began to fly. It was like a mini tornado was occurring and Harry was honestly surprised the paper hadn't torn yet. A moment passed before Harry realized they finally finished. Harry looked at new plan, hoping they'd at least censored each other and kept it from getting too ridiculous.

But when did things ever go as he hoped? It was enormous. They colored each wing with their respective color. Sun, storm, lighting, mist, rain, cloud…it was too much.

Well, except for one thing that actually seemed to be missing.

"Where is my room?" Harry asked.

The others went still for a moment, but just a moment.

"You live with me in the Sun Wing," Ren said as he hugged Harry to his side.

"No way, kora! He'll room with me!" Colonello protested.

"He'd enjoy the garden in the Storm Wing," Fon claimed as he stole Harry from Ren.

"I need to run some tests on him," Verde tugged Harry away from Fon. "We need to know if he's fully recovered, don't we?"

"As a sun-flame user, I can monitor him better than you can." Ren glared at Verde. "The machinery for it isn't even put together yet."

"I will be happy to host Harry-sama!" Skull said cheerfully.

What followed was yet another argument that he really wished he could tune out. Harry looked at the plan with a sigh. He took the pencil laying nearby and drew a single room in the middle, where each wing met. It would be just off of the common room.

"I'm not rooming with anyone. I will take this room and that's final." Harry titled his chin stubbornly. That stopped the argument temporarily.

"No, that won't do. It's too small! Here, at least make it a little bigger and put it closer to my rooms," Ren said. "That way, you can get me if you don't feel well or need some company."

"You just want to keep him to yourself, kora!" Colonello seethed.

Another argument began as they shifted Harry's room from wing to wing, making up reasons why being closer to their rooms in specific would be best. After nearly half an hour of this, Harry finally lost his patience and put his foot down. He would be in the center so he could be close to everyone's wings and if they wanted to be closer, they would just have to adjust where in the wing they would be putting their bedrooms. After a bit of grumbling, the plan was finally finished.

Harry's original room, which he had been more than happy with, was now a wing in and of itself, but circular in shape. It was back to its place where each wing met, which made it look like a big orange sun with different colored rays shooting off of it. Each guardian's bedroom was as close to his circular wing as possible, to settled their ruffled feathers.

"Yes, this is the best plan," Verde agreed. "Now only we need to name our castle."

"Castle?' Harry repeated with dread.

"With all the additions and defenses, it's more like a castle than a mansion." Ren smiled.

Harry looked at others. They looked bashful, but also very satisfied.

"Let's name it the Stronghold, kora!" Colonello said.

"It's really a castle..." Harry touched the plan and felt a little light-headed.

"Yes. With how things have been, a castle will be safer than a mansion." Verde fixed his glasses.

"Protection, huh?" Harry thought about another castle and smiled. His only true home… "Let's name it Hogwarts," Harry suggested wistfully.

"Hog warts? Why would we name it that?" Skull laughed. Ren and others just looked at him, confused.

"It might be a silly name, but Hogwarts was a special place to me when I was younger. It was my only true home. It gave me protection and warmth, even when the people in it brought me many troubles. I want this castle to be more than a base; I want it to be our home too. I want this to be a place we can relax and have warmth in our lives. There will be troubles in our future, that's inevitable, and so I want this place to give us the protection and feeling of home that the other Hogwarts did for me." Harry traced the plan with a finger and smiled wider.

"Hogwarts, it's then," Ren stated. He tilted his fedora to hide his expression, but Harry had seen the touched look on his face before it was shadowed by the hat.

"Harry-sama…" Skull started to tear up and hugged Harry's arm.

"That sounds agreeable," Viper said with a small smile.

Lal, Verde and Fon smiled at Harry and nodded.

"I'm still thinking about pig warts. Am I only one?" Colonello said aloud. Lal slapped him over the head, but the man laughed it off and then agreed to the name.

Hogwarts it was, and the construction began.