Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fate Stay Night or anything else.

Fate: Emiya Night

Chapter37: Black

April 1994
Scotland: Hogwarts
Hospital Wing

Emiya Hari awoke to more pain than he had ever felt, his body feeling as if it was ablaze and his lungs gasping at vacuum. Despite the overwhelming torture he was feeling, his mind was clearer now than it had ever been. It took a moment for the pain to fade and his eyes flickered open. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to realise that he was in the Hospital Wing again, and currently occupying the bed he had used previously.

Hari's mind was clear…

The monster within him, the soul fragment that was Voldemort had been destroyed, and his Reality Marble had fully manifested. A Reality Marble, he'd had his suspicions for a while now but he hadn't realised that he had been in the process of creating one within him until just now. To perceive the world in a way that wasn't human, to look at it and see it differently than others could, that was what it meant to have one. He'd always felt a connection with the ice element and the coldness of a winter's day but he hadn't realised just why that was.

His Reality Marble was the Endless Winter…

He'd known from an early age that he was different, that his need to save Illya from the Einzberns and protect those closest to him was much more driven than others. However unlike Shirou's ideal of 'Salvation,' Hari's was based around the ideal of 'Protection' no matter the cost to himself or the world. He just wanted to protect them all no matter how much pained it caused him or how far he would need to go in order to safeguard them from the dangers in the world.

The nature of Emiya Hari was to protect everyone he cared about…

Even if they ended up hating him for it…

"H-Hari?" Astoria stammered out from the side. He looked over at her in surprise and saw her standing there at his bedside as pale as a vampire. "Hari!" she shouted upon realising that he was indeed awake and threw her arms around his neck. "You're alive!"

"Yeah," Hari nodded as he patted her back. "I'm still here."

"Hari Emiya!" Daphne's voice was uncharacteristically loud coming from her as she approached and pulled her sister to the side so she could glare down at him. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking, jumping in front of a killing curse like that?! If you were anyone else then you would be dead right now, permanently dead I mean!"

"…I'm sorry that worried you," Hari smiled back sadly. "My body just moved on its own," the two Greengrass sisters shared a look at that and then turned their gaze back on the bedridden young man before them.

"…You have to stop," Daphne finally said as she sat down on the bed and looked right at him. "If you continue like this then you'll definitely be killed."

"What are you talking about?" Hari blinked in confusion.

"You don't even see it…" Astoria trailed off as she pulled away and shifted her gaze down at her hands that now rested on her knees.

"You try to protect us and everyone else without caring what will happen to you at all. It's like your own life means nothing to you," Daphne continued. "You fight monsters like it's an everyday thing too."

"I don't understand," Hari responded now completely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"How about the Chamber of Secrets?" Astoria questioned as her gaze came back up and she glared right at him. "You were kidnapped and taken down into the chamber. However instead of running for your life when Headmaster Dumbledore showed up, you instead got me to safety. Some people would call that bravery, others would call it stupidity, I call it suicidal."

"I was just trying to protect you," Hari told her surprised by her outburst. "I couldn't deal with the Basilisk if it could still attack you."

"And there it is again," Daphne reiterated. "You dealt with the Basilisk because it was threatening Astoria."

"You could have simply taken me and ran while the Headmaster held off both Riddle and the Basilisk. That's what anyone would do," Astoria explained. "But you didn't, you put me down on the floor and then killed the Basilisk in order to protect me."

"She's right you know," Daphne added as she shook her head. "To you, it was just another creature trying to kill Astoria and so you killed it."

"I-" Hari paused unsure of what to say to that. Finally he sighed and smiled sadly. "I guess that I really am distorted huh?" he chuckled slightly recalling the couple times he had heard Rin refer to Shirou as such. "But I don't think wanting to protect those closest to me is a bad thing."

"Hari…" Daphne trailed off before looking away.

"Well if that's the case," Astoria nodded as she stood up and smiled down at him. "I guess we'll just have to protect you too."

"What?" Hari asked confused again by their words.

"Danger seems to follow you around," Daphne spoke up catching onto her sister's meaning. "If you're going to be protecting us even now then it's only fitting that we protect you too, especially from yourself."

"But…but…" Hari started trying to think of a response. "I don't need protecting."

"Yes you do," Daphne countered.

The three of them simply sat there in silence for a while unsure of what else to say, and really what more needed to be said? Hari's way of thinking was wrong and yet he couldn't bring himself to believe that wanting to protect those he cared about was a bad thing. On the other hand Daphne and Astoria both cared about him enough to protect him from himself. He was broken…distorted…and they didn't care. They would stand by him and stop him from losing himself.

He'd already done the same for them after all…

"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything," a new voice spoke up from the doorway. Daphne and Astoria immediately bolted to their feet and turned swiftly before letting out sighs of relief when they realised that the one who spoke was just Dumbledore.

"Its fine," Hari smiled slightly and waved him over. "Hello Professor."

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered as he approached the bed.

"No thank you," Hari declined and say back in the hospital bed.

"I see," Dumbledore nodded and then looked over at the Greengrass sisters. "I need to speak with you concerning the incident yesterday, and the consequences of it."

"Sir?" Hari asked curious about what the old man was talking about.

"A great many things happened yesterday," Dumbledore sighed as he sat down on the bed opposite Hari. "Sirius Black was captured, Professor Lupin was killed, and Peter Pettigrew—someone even I thought was dead—has turned up alive and has been consumed by another fragment of Voldemort's soul like the one you destroyed last year in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Another one?" Hari questioned in disbelief. "How many did he make exactly?"

"I had assumed he had at least created three Horcruxes," Dumbledore replied honestly. "I investigated and discovered that this particular soul fragment was hidden within Hogwarts itself. Pettigrew found it and his soul was consumed."

"I thought Pettigrew was supposed to be dead," Astoria spoke up confused. "Didn't Sirius Black kill him years ago?"

"There has been a great injustice done to Sirius," Dumbledore answered now with his eyes looking the coldest they had ever seen him. "Peter framed him for the crimes that he committed and Sirius was thrown in Azkaban without a trial. When Madam Bones discovered this, she immediately ordered that Sirius be brought it for questioning and is set to stand trial next week."

"He was framed?" Daphne questioned. "Why was he not given a trial?"

"Former Minister Bagnold and the former head of the DMLE Barty Crouch Senior threw quite a few people into Azkaban without trials after the war ended. You have to understand, back then our government was in shambles, there were still Death Eaters at large and though everyone was celebrating Voldemort's defeat, a lot of his supporters managed to slip through the cracks. Though I imagine that it has now come back to haunt us," Dumbledore explained. "Amelia has already given the order to search through the records in order to determine who else was thrown in Azkaban without a trial."

"I imagine that the public will be calling for someone's blood over this mess," Daphne said knowingly. "Even the Purebloods considering that Sirius Black himself is a Pureblood, and if he can be thrown in prison without a trial then it could happen to them as well."

"Indeed," Dumbledore nodded with a small smile.

"So Sirius is innocent and Pettigrew was the one who betrayed my birthparents. I see," Hari mused before meeting the Headmaster's gaze. "Do you know where Pettigrew—I mean Riddle—disappeared to?"

"No," Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "He vanished after the leaving the castle grounds and I haven't been able to track him since."

"Damn it," Hari cursed as he clenched his fists.

"The funeral for Professor Lupin will be held after Sirius' trial," Dumbledore finished as he stood up and turned to leave. "Rest now Harry and I will see you later on. I will need to announce what has happened to the rest of the school before the rumour mill goes too far again so if you'll excuse me."

He left without another word…

April 1994
Scotland: Hogsmeade
Hog's Head

Sirius Black sat at a table near the back of the pub with a young Asian couple sitting across from him, one male with white hair and the other female with black. It had been three days since his trial at the Ministry down in London and he had been proven innocent of all charges. Of course now good old Amelia Bones had to sort out that mess that was Britain's magical government and organize trials for the other sixty or so people in Azkaban who didn't receive trials either.

He didn't envy her…

He had immediately wanted to see his godson again having been told that the boy was thankfully still alive even after taking a direct hit from a killing curse. Were it anyone else they would certainly be dead, but considering it was Harry, Sirius was thanking any god that would listen for this miracle. He hadn't been more relieved in his life then when he had heard that his godson had survived and was attending Hogwarts like nothing had happened.

After being cleared of all charges and released back into the world, he had immediately been confronted by the couple currently sitting opposite him. The young man had introduced himself as Shirou Emiya, the older brother of Hari Emiya more commonly known as Harry Potter, Sirius' godson. The young man had went onto tell him about how Harry had ended up being adopted alongside Shirou by a man named Kiritsugu Emiya, a retired freelance mercenary that passed away roughly eight years ago now. They'd apparently been living in Japan ever since and Harry had only returned to Britain to attend Hogwarts.

Harry was also a Slytherin…

Sirius turned his attention to the lone female of their little group sitting at the table and couldn't help but let his eyes drift a bit. Her name was Rin Tohsaka and she seemed to be Shirou's business partner/lover or something. She was stunning and classy, capable of tearing down even the best of men. Combine that with what little he had seen of her, and he would bet the biggest trunk of fire-whisky in his family's ancestral home that she could make any man obey her. If he were a decade younger he might have tried asking her out on a date and probably would have been shot down instantly.

Oh well…

After three days cleaning himself up so that he didn't look like a deranged escaped convict, Sirius had travelled to Hogsmeade where Harry was going to meet him. It was the weekend and trips to Hogsmeade village were organized for third years and up so they figured they could meet each other then. Shirou and Rin had come with him and here they were, waiting for Harry to arrive. The Hog's Head wasn't exactly the greatest place but it was a quiet one, and right he preferred the quiet.

Finally Harry entered the pub with a couple of girls beside him, one with blond hair and the other with black hair. Sweet Merlin, it was like looking at a male version of Lily with his red hair and green eyes. He vaguely recalled that he had black hair like James when he was a baby but dismissed it as unimportant. Harry was here! It was really him! He was alive! It took every bit of self-control that Sirius had left not to burst into tears at the mere sight of his godson alive and well.

"Over here, Hari, Daphne, Astoria," Rin waved them over.

"Hey Shirou-nii, hey Rin," Hari smiled as they approached.

"Sirius Black," Daphne nodded in acknowledgement of the former criminal as they sat down. "You are certainly looking better than when we last saw you."

"I freshened up a bit," Sirius smiled back with a nod. "Twelve years in Azkaban and nearly a year on the run aren't good for a person's hygiene."

"Thank you for the other day," Astoria told him.

"I was too late to do anything," Sirius responded sadly recalling the events of their previous meeting. He was too late to stop Pettigrew—Riddle he corrected—from casting the killing curse on Harry and hadn't even been able to stop the bastard from escaping or stop him from killing Remus.

"If you hadn't showed up when you did then all three of us would be dead," Astoria continued. "So thank you for that at least."

"I'm sure that Remus would have arrived before things went any further," Sirius countered despite the dull ache he felt as he recalled his old friend.

Remus Lupin—Moony—had been killed by Riddle and his funeral was tomorrow. The man's Will had been enacted and everything he'd owned had been transferred to Harry's account. As per his wishes, the man's body was to be transferred to the Department of Mysteries so that they might be able to discover a cure for lycanthropy. Sirius could understand his old friend's wish to find a cure for the curse that had plagued him his entire life and regretted not having the chance to reconcile with the man before his death. With James, Peter and now Remus gone, Sirius was the last remaining Marauder still alive. Sweet Merlin, he never thought that it would be him that would outlive the rest of them.

"…I heard that you were my godfather," Hari finally spoke up.

"Yes I am," Sirius nodded in confirmation. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to raise you and look after you."

"Don't be," Hari shook his head and smiled slightly. "It all worked out in the end, and you're here now, that's all that matters."

"I…Harry…" Sirius trailed off not sure what to say.

"Let's start from beginning," Hari said as his smile widened a bit. "I'm Hari Emiya, and you are?"

"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius replied with a grin of his own. "And for the record, yes my initials are SOB."

Suddenly he felt a decade younger…

Though no one knew it at the time, a lone figure stood gazing them through the window, watching the six of them talk amongst themselves and get to know each other better. The figure was alone, cloaked in black and resting with her side against the wall as she peered inside. No one paid her any attention as they walked by, not even noticing her as she sighed and turned so that her back was pressed the wall. She looked up at the darkened sky and allowed a small smile to grace her lips.

Hari Emiya…

Altrouge Brunestud's smile widened as she pushed herself off of the wall and walked away. She'd been watching him as he struggled to overcome the challenges that were thrown at him and she was pleased that he had survived them all so far. A killing curse…the Fifth Holy Grail War…the dangers lurking about Hogwarts…he had survived them all and he was still standing. He had even survived having his blood drained from him by her and had changed into some kind of human-snake-phoenix hybrid.

He was very interesting for her to watch…

Now he had survived a second killing curse and Tom Riddle had managed to escape. A part of her was amused that the little hypocrite had fled but in the end he didn't matter, the only thing she cared about was how far Hari would go. He was marked by fate and destined for greatness but it was his chosen path that mattered to her. Will he bring salvation to this cursed world they were in? Or would he be the one who brings about its end?

She wanted to see just which path he will choose when the time comes…

Author's Notes:

Happy New Year everyone.

Please Read and Review.

See Ya Later…