Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Katekyo Hitman Reborn and I don't earn any money with this story.

Author's note: RL is kicking my butt atm, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer ;) Especially because I love to torture you all with cliffhangers. *insert evil cackling*

Rating: M

Warning: Short mention of attempted child kidnapping in the first two paragraphs of this chapter.

Beta'd by the lovely NonchalantxFish, thank you very much as always :)

Basil's six years old when he gets dragged into a dark alley during his orphanage's trip to who knows where. A big hand on his mouth prevents him from screaming, a tight grip around his arm makes sure he doesn't run away. Panic's coursing through his body, and with every passing second a tranquilfierceflowing feeling lurking just beneath his skin gets stronger and is steadily bubbling to the surface.

Before it can break out though, another man, a blond, steps into the alley and knocks the kidnapper out with one well-aimed punch. Basil scrambles back from both of them as soon as he's free and runs to the other side of the alley. He ignores the calls from the blond man and tries to find a police officer, like they've been taught by the orphanage, in case they were ever separated from the group. He's in luck.

Basil's seven years old when he's suddenly told that someone adopted him. Even though he's young, Basil knows that this is all wrong. There should've been all kinds of meetings between the potential parents and the adoptee, for starters, and he's never met anyone.

He's even more shocked when it turns out to be the man from the alley - the one who rescued him, not the one who dragged him there in the first place. This man's name is Iemitsu Sawada.

In the end he goes with Signore Sawada and gradually starts to like his new place in life, even though his schedule is suddenly full of all kinds of things he's supposed to learn, like martial arts and several languages. A lot of it is taught to Basil by Signore Sawada himself, so he starts calling him Master, like he's seen protagonists in several movies do. The man doesn't contradict him.

Basil is eight years old when he meets Harry for the very first time and decides, not even half an hour later, that he's going to be friends with him forever. It starts when Basil accompanies one of Master's employees, Rosemary, on an errand. They drive two towns over to meet an inventor CEDEF sometimes commissions for various gadgets. While Rosemary discusses the newest project with Signore Williams, the inventor, Basil gets sent out to the garden to play with the man's grandson.

He finds the boy sitting next to some shrubbery and hissing softly. Upon inquiring hesitantly what he's doing, the brunet, Harry, reveals that he can talk to snakes and is currently conversing with one. It's an odd talent, but Basil's seen so much weird stuff since leaving the orphanage (like the time it had literally rained cats and dogs indoors) that he decides to believe Harry and asks what they're talking about. Harry not only shares some very fascinating stories with him (Basil catches himself hanging on his every word), but also his sweets. From that day on he tries to accompany Rosemary as often as possible.

Basil's eleven years old when his best friend tells him he's a wizard. He promptly gapes at the brunet in awe. It's one thing to watch Harry making orbs out of light (Sage can do it, too after all), it's a completely different one to know actual wizards and witches exist! The excitement subsides the minute Basil realises that Harry will go to a boarding school, though. He's happy for the other boy and looking forward to hearing what Harry will learn and experience at Hogwarts, but he's still sad that he won't be seeing his friend for quite a while.

Basil is twelve years old when Harry comes home with recently awakened Sky Flames. Needless to say, he's in awe yet again. A few years ago Master'd told him all about Flames and that Basil's an Inactive Rain. Master has means to activate them, but also said it's better if he can do it on his own. So far Basil hasn't been able to, but he thinks now he might, and he knows exactly who he'd like to Harmonize with.

Basil's thirteen when his life takes a nose-dive. He's finally gone Active on one of the missions Master sent him to. Afterwards he visits Harry as soon as possible to tell him the good news. He can't possibly be any more happy when he Harmonizes with Harry as soon as they're in the same room. The same evening he tells Master the good news, but contrary to what he hoped, the man doesn't react very well. Basil can't understand why, since he's heard countless times that true Harmony is something to be cherished.

A few days later Master forbids him from seeing Harry ever again. Basil insists and pleads and even cries until Master finally paints a gruesome picture. Harry's a civilian and even though CEDEF's kind of independent from the Vongola, they're still Mafia. Does he want to draw the attention of all their enemies to Harry, who would be associated with the Vongola but not have its protections?

Basil acquiesces, even though it feels like a part of him is dying, but more than having Harry as his Sky, he wants him safe.

Basil's fifteen when he comes back from yet another long mission and hears about the attack on the Williams family by the remaining members of the Estraneo Famiglia. His heart seems to stop until he finds out that Harry survived, though now he's disappeared from the hospital after another attack by unknowns. He wants to set out to find him, but doesn't even know where to start. He tries to use CEDEF resources on the down low, but after months he still doesn't have a clue. It's like Harry's dropped off the face of the earth.

Basil's sixteen years old when the second son of Vongola Nono gets killed, and he wonders what would happen if Federico was also out of the picture. He researches who'd be the next in line and is shocked by the possible candidates. There's three of them. The first is his Harry, the second one Harry's cousin and the last one Master's son. With a heavy heart he wonders if Master knows until wondering isn't enough for him anymore. He finally confronts the man. Apparently Iemitsu Sawada has known about Harry's Vongola blood, but still sticks to the civilian reasoning for his decision. He's got a point, Basil has to admit. Though when the teen inquires about what would happen if Harry became Decimo and Master only replies that Nono's third son is well-protected before refusing any further discussion about the topic, it leaves a bad taste in Basil's mouth. Along with slowly crumbling trust between them.

Basil's seventeen years old when all that's found of Federico Vongola are his bones. Nono has hired the Arcobaleno Reborn to check out the three remaining Decimo candidates and Basil hopes the hitman has better luck in finding Harry than he's had. Reborn declares Master's son as a lost cause and Harry's cousin is even worse, according to the Arcobaleno. Then the miracle happens. Reborn actually manages to find Harry and Nono declares him the future Vongola Decimo (on probation). By then Basil's been long since sent on another mission - A mission that finally makes him understand why Master's been against Harry and Basil's connection to him all along.

Harry held his breath as the door to the room was opened yet again. Hope was blossoming inside him, but also shock and the fear that this was all a joke in (very) bad taste.

The doubts fell away as a hesitant figure came into view, one that Harry'd always recognise, even after all these years. Basil had grown taller, of course, but otherwise he mostly looked the same as the last time he'd seen the other teen. Even the shy smile had stayed the same.

Harry was out of his chair in the blink of an eye and didn't pay attention when it toppled over. Instead he passed the table, ignored the pain in his hip courtesy of a table corner he bumped into in his haste and dragged Basil into his arms. At once he felt himself melt into the embrace, as the blond returned his hug just as desperately.

For just that moment, it didn't matter why or how Basil was here, it just mattered that he was.

At least a minute passed before they reluctantly separated, and the brunet idly noticed that most of Dino's men and the Meet-up employees had disappeared, presumably to give them more privacy.

"What… what are you doing here?" Harry finally asked softly. The lump in his throat made it impossible to speak louder anyway. Did Sawada know that his apprentice was here? He couldn't imagine the man being okay with it. Would Basil disappear after their reunion and act like they'd never met again when he stood at Sawada's side at an official meeting?

Basil. too, was misty-eyed, but he straightened his back determinedly.

"I'm here to be your Rain Guardian! If…" Some of the displayed confidence left the blond's body again, though his gaze was still focussed on Harry's. "If you'll still have me? Mas- Signore Sawada convinced me, in the beginning, that it would be safer for you if we didn't associate anymore. I didn't want you to get hurt because of my or Vongola's enemies, so I agreed. Then you got involved anyway…, but by then I couldn't find you anywhere, otherwise I'd have come to you long before now. I promise!"

Some of the tears clouding Harry's view spilled over. He'd always wondered why Basil had never tried to contact him before he went into hiding

"And Sawada? What about him?"

"Whether you become Vongola Decimo or not, I want to be by your side! He doesn't know I'm here, but only because I wanted to talk to you first. He won't like it…I… I think he wanted me to Harmonize with his son."

"What?" The brunet pressed out between his teeth, in equal measures shocked, jealous and angry. He knew, of course, that Sawada had a son who was a Sky and another potential candidate for the position as Decimo, but hadn't he been ruled out? That's why Reborn had come to him, wasn't it? Also, imagining Basil as another's Rain just turned his stomach.

Harry turned around, his gaze zeroing in on the Arcobaleno, who was sitting on Dino's shoulder, not even pretending to give them privacy like the others had the courtesy to do. Now that the Sky's attention was targeted in their direction, however, all pretence was out of the window for them, too.

"Nono came to me not only for the job as a teacher for his successor, but for my assessment of the candidates, too. My choice fell on you and he agreed. Iemitsu Sawada didn't. After I left the Sawada household, he sent Lal Mirch, a CEDEF member and a fellow Arcobaleno, to his son so she could train him. If the current head of the Vongola and the head of CEDEF don't agree on a successor, both candidates will battle it out to decide who will be the next Vongola Don," Reborn revealed, not looking or sounding sorry at all, even when Harry grinded his teeth.

"And when had you planned on telling me this?"

The hitman shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe tomorrow on the train or at breakfast."

That stopped the wizard short and left him a bit mollified. "Train…?" Harry barely dared asking, already knowing that he wouldn't be happy about the answer.

„To the back of the island, where you'll meet Tsunayoshi Sawada, of course."

Harry groaned and face-palmed.

"Of course," the brunet muttered. Why had he thought anything in his life could be ever easy? Now he had to fight for a job he wasn't even passionate about. But for now he'd ignore that can of worms and focus on the here and now. He took a deep breath and turned back to Basil, whose question he hadn't replied to, yet.

"I'd love to have you as my Rain Guardian. Officially. You never really truly stopped being it," Harry revealed with a smile as he laid a hand on Basil's shoulder.

They hadn't just decided to be Sky and Guardian, they'd Harmonized, and even when they'd been separated, the bond between them had always been a steady if faint presence in the back of his mind. Now, though, it shone like a beacon again, like it had done in the beginning.

Basil beamed and threw his arms around him again, apparently trying to squeeze the stuffing out of Harry. He didn't mind at all.

Harry stared absentmindedly out of the window of the train, not even seeing the passing scenery. The previous day's happenings were still on his mind, along with the consequences of the new information he'd got. He'd barely slept that night, though admittedly, he'd gone to bed pretty late anyway. He'd spent the entire evening introducing Basil to everyone and catching up with the blond.

Now they were on their way to the backside of Mafia Island to meet the second candidate for Vongola Decimo. Harry wondered what Tsunayoshi was like, and if he'd become a better fit for the position as Don under Lal Mirch's tutelage. According to Reborn the boy had been a disaster on two legs when he'd vetted him.

The train came to a jerky stop some time later. The contrast to the front side of Mafia Island was startling. Instead of beaches, theme park attractions and a bustling, touristy town, they stood in the middle of a wasteland-esque plain. A group of people, most of them teenagers, were already waiting for them, staring at them in confusion. From Basil's descriptions he recognised Tsunayoshi at the back of the group - a small-ish, skittish-looking teen with untamed hair even worse than Harry's.

A silver-haired boy stomped forward, his glare directed at Harry's Mist Guardian and his hands clenched into beringed fists.

"Shamal, what're you doing here?"

"Yo, Hayato." Shamal waved lazily at the teen. "Accompanying my Sky, of course." He nodded to Harry, who watched the interaction with raised eyebrows. Shamal had told him a bit about his former protégé, but it was a surprise to see him here, probably as a Guardian of Tsunayoshi Sawada.

Said teen's gaze flickered mostly between Reborn and Basil, accompanied by wild flailing and indefinable screeching. And then the real chaos set in. A small boy of maybe five, wearing a onesie with cow print on it, pulled grenades out of his afro and threw them in Reborn's direction, while shouting that he'd kill the murderer of his father. Tsunayoshi's people tried to stop him from attacking further, stumbling all over each other, while the Arcobaleno redirected the projectiles without batting an eyelash, but then engaged in a fight with a blond Arcobaleno, who must've been Colonello.

Harry shared a bemused look with Blaise and saw Basil's long-suffering one from the corner of his eye. Without checking, he knew that Severus was regretting having to come to Mafia Island even more, while Shamal and Spanner were most likely amused by the situation.

Suddenly, there was a large explosion of pink smoke, and all movements ceased.