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

Author's note: See? It's only been a month this time *ducks from rotten tomatoes* And this chapter doesn't even end on a cliffy... I think? You tell me ;)

Rating: M

Warning: Nothing I think

Beta'd by the lovely NonchalantxFish, as usual! :)

There it was again, the eerie feeling of being stared at, while the other person's eyes were covered. This Vindice member was even better at it than the one who had freed him from the tank.

"You only seem to be surprised about seeing one. You are aware of previous generations of Arcobaleno?" The Vindice asked with a hint of intrigue in his voice.

Harry had so many questions about his own situation, least of all how he'd ended up in Vindice Prison. He couldn't deny that frustration and anger were bubbling just beneath the surface of his thoughts, either. This, though, was a big chance to learn more about the Arcobaleno. A chance that may never come up again. The information may help them with breaking the curse. So Harry decided to shove his own questions and feelings to the back of his mind for now.

"I do. We found the notebook of a former Arcobaleno's brother and it describes how they were trying to detach the pacifier," Harry explained, which the Vindice answers with a snort.

"It must have ended in his death, then," the Arcobaleno grounded out bitterly. "There is no way to flee from this curse, except for the Selection. Though even the few who survive the Selection are just saddled with misery that is not much better than death."

"The Selection? For a new generation of Arcobaleno?" Harry asked, trying not to think about the expectedly high mortality rate for now.

It sounded like even those who survived weren't able to just go back to a normal life. Did they stay small like the one in front of him? Did it mess with their bodies? Was that the reason for the bandages? But, then again, the other Vindice had them, too. What if they also-

A cold shiver ran down his spine as the thought crossed his mind that the rest of the Vindice might also be connected to the Arcobaleno Curse. No. He was probably looking for connections where there weren't any.

"Of course for the new generation. It happens almost like clockwork. The next time should be sometime within the year, actually. But enough of that. I actually came here to explain your presence in Vindicare Prison. We have no quarrel with you, Vongola Decimo, or the Vongola in general. Imprisoning you was an unfortunate necessity, because of the possession you were subjected to. Now that we have made sure that Mukuro Rokudo has returned to his own body, you are free to go. Vongola Nono already gave us his acquiescence and we hope you won't hold it against us, either."

Did he? Hold it against them? Harry honestly wasn't sure. He was glad that Mukuro wouldn't have been able to run around with his body if he'd gained control of it, but to end up in prison when he hadn't done anything was aggravating. What annoyed him the most was Nono's agreement to the whole thing. Harry wondered if it had been a political move, disinterest, or if he'd really thought this was a great idea. And what of his Guardians? Harry honestly doubted that any of them had just sat back and watched as their Sky was shipped off to the Vindice.

"Your… colleague said my Guardians are here? All of them?" Harry finally asked instead of denying or affirming the former Arcobaleno's indirect question. He was more concerned about his Guardians. He hoped none of them had been hurt during his... well, incarceration.

"There are four of them and the current Sun Arcobaleno. I meant to lead you to them, but it looks like the sedative is still having an effect on you. I will issue the order to fetch one of your Guardians instead. Your belongings are already with them. If you'll excuse me then, Vongola Decimo. Hopefully we won't ever have a reason to meet again."

"Wait!" Harry shouted, before his brain had caught up with his mouth. "What's your name?"

The Vindice turned slowly back around. An awkward silence filled the room, until-

"Bermuda von Veckenstein." And with those words, he disappeared out of the door.

For a long moment Harry stared after him, his mind filled with confusing, even contradicting thoughts, featuring mainly the new intel about the Arcobaleno Curse and what had happened since the night on the rooftop garden on Mafia Island. His feelings weren't much better, but this probably wasn't the best place to figure them out. He also had a lot of questions he wanted to ask his Guardians to get a better picture of what had happened.

And speaking of, a short while later, footsteps echoed through the hall, closing in on the room he was in. Severus and Shamal rounded the corner, both with grim expressions that softened upon seeing him, before they turned concerned. Never had he been happier to see them.

"Harry, are you hurt?" Was Severus' first question, when he stopped in front of Harry and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. The older man looked like he was itching to pull out his wand to use a diagnostic charm on him.

"No, just feel sluggish," Harry answered, while Shamal crouched down next to him, turning Harry's head this way and that, before checking his pulse and eyes. "One of them said I was sedated and it's not completely out of my body, yet."

"Your pupils are a bit dilated and your pulse a little off, but overall you seem to be alright. Let's get you out of here. When we're home we can do a more thorough check-up."

To be honest, Harry wouldn't have complained about being carried, but he was still glad, when both men sidled up to either side of him and laid one of Harry's arms around their shoulders. Maneuvering out of the door was tricky, but the hall behind it was wide enough to comfortably walk side-by-side. It was also creepy. It reminded him of the dungeons in Hogwarts, where he had ended up once and never again. Only behind these doors were actual prisoners, probably in water tanks similar to the one he'd been in. Even more fodder his nightmares, great.

One of the Vindice was waiting for them at the end of the hall, next to an elevator. It wasn't put into operation by a button or lever, but by the Vindice laying a hand on a screen and pushing Flames into it that didn't feel like any he was used to. The trip to the top took longer than expected and Harry idly wondered how far beneath ground level they'd been. By the time they reached a heavily fortified, big metal door and the rest of his Guardians, Harry was ready to pass out.

Spanner and Basil were crowding in on him, their words an indiscernible mashup of sounds. There was no doubt both of them would've tackled him into a hug if Harry had had the energy to walk or even stand on his own. It was something he was aching for, as well. The image of their mutilated bodies were still fresh in his mind and Harry just knew he'd be more clingy for a few days. He figured the feeling was mutual.

"Come on, let's get you home," Severus said and directed his gaze, which was bordering on a glare, at the Vidice standing next to the still closed door.

The moving mummy didn't say anything, but as the one from the elevator, he pushed some of that mysterious Flame into a screen and locks started to click open and bolts slid to the side. The door finally opened to the outside world.

Harry had no idea where the Vindice prison was located, but he assumed they were currently in Italy, perhaps somewhere in the alps, considering the prison was apparently in and beneath a ridge.

As soon as they were out of sight, Severus cast a Notice-Me-Not spell, before taking out a piece of rope that turned out to be a (no doubt unsanctioned) portkey.

He should have stayed with Tsunayoshi Sawada. The brat was a whiny weakling, but Reborn doubted that fluffball was half as nerve-wracking as Harry Potter. How did one go from accidental Harmony, to a broken Guardian bond, then possession, and finally getting thrown into Vindice prison? And all of that had happened in just a few days!

Reborn reveled in chaos, but this was a bit too much.

At least now, after a whole month of everyone being on edge, Harry was released. The Vindice had contacted them half an hour ago that the Sky was no longer under the influence of Mukuro. It was an objectively short amount of time considering they hadn't even known if Harry would ever be in control of his body again. According to Shamal, it was a completely different situation than the one with the Estraneo drugs. There was nothing to flush out of Harry's body and once again Severus had been unable to get into the teen's head with Legilimency to lend help. It had all hinged on Harry's ability to beat the rogue Mist and whatever else was happening in his mind. That he had managed at all was proof of his worthiness.

He was definitely the best Vongola Decimo candidate, but couldn't he be a little less prone to running into trouble? Just a little bit?

Reborn watched as Shamal and Severus returned from fetching the Sky. Seeing Harry being heavily supported by both men explained why Harry had not come to them on his own. He looked like death warmed over, with his skin wax-pale, except for the big, dark bruises beneath his eyes. The Arcobaleno couldn't say for sure if the shivering came from the lack of strength or being wet in this cold building - probably a bit of both.

He had the weirdest urge to both whack Harry in the head for being an idiot and hugging him in relief.

The trip back to Rose Cottage was quick and fortunately went smoothly. As soon as they'd entered the house, Severus and Shamal dropped Harry onto the couch, before the former disappeared from the room, probably to fetch some sort of potion for his Sky. Everyone else was crowding the teen, either trying to tell him what had happened, asking questions, or just fussing.

It was such a cacophony of voices that Reborn would've long since shot everyone to get some peace and quiet if he were in Harry's place. The teen smiled at them instead, even if it was a bit crooked. Good for him. It annoyed Reborn, though, so he fired off a warning shot. They barely flinched (rude!), but quieted down a bit.

"I'm sure it doesn't come as a surprise to you that it's been decided unanimously that you'll never go anywhere alone ever again. You can't be trusted with your own well-being if left unsupervised," Reborn announced. It hadn't been decided by anyone, but nobody objected except for Harry. And even if someone had, Reborn would stick to this new rule anyway. "Not only did you get possessed and arrested, half of your Guardians almost got put away for a long time, too. When the Vindice showed up, nobody was happy about their plan to take you away for obvious reasons and started to fight them."

Reborn eyed both Basil and Spanner, who didn't look at all guilty. Their loyalty was applaudable, but it had been hell to de-escalate the situation.

"I'm sorry… Just wanted to walk for a bit, because I couldn't sleep, and then everything went downhill…" Harry really did look appropriately contrite.

Enough that Reborn uttered a long-suffering sigh and hopped onto the arm of the couch to pat his head. If anyone saw him put some Sun Flames to work, they didn't say a word. Harry, on the other hand, noticeably melted into the couch cushions as his muscles lost some tension.

The next hour was spent recounting what had happened on both sides in more detail, after Severus had administered a few potions to improve Harry's condition some more. Nobody was happy about any of it.

"There's one more thing," Harry announced. It was the most important one in his opinion, but he'd left it for last, because he knew it would have the most need for discussion. "There was an Arcobaleno in Vindice prison. Well, one of the Vindice was a former Arcobaleno."

That made everyone pause, Reborn most of all.

Harry turned towards the hitman, his eyebrows drawn together.

"He said the next Selection will probably happen sometime within a year and that the… that the chance of survival for the current Arcobaleno is pretty bad. When I meet Hermione, I'll ask her about the ritual again. We should push it to the top of our priorities."

"He just told you that?" Shamal dubiously squinted his eyes at Harry. "I have, admittedly, never talked with any of the Vindice, but they seem like a group that hold cards close to their chest. And by cards I mean information about curses that basically nobody knows."

Harry shrugged and voiced some possible reasons. Reborn heard something about an olive branch or compassion for the current Arcobaleno. He was barely listening anymore to be honest. His thoughts were swirling just as much as the time he'd learnt about the notebook and the ritual therein. Not much time had passed since then, but so many things had happened that it felt like years. Reborn had understood that breaking his curse during war time wasn't a priority and he had been (relatively for him) patient, but now he was suddenly living on borrowed time?

They didn't even know why Iron Hat needed the Arcobaleno — if it was a bout of sadism or if he had a valid reason. They only knew that, apparently, every twenty years or so the generation was replaced by a new one and that the current Arcobaleno were bound to die. The notebook had been centuries old, so it couldn't have been the same person the whole time, right?

"Do we issue a warning to the rest of the Arcobaleno? We can be reasonably sure that Reborn will survive one way or another, but we have no idea what'll happen to everyone else," Shamal wondered, his fingers twitching for another cigarette. During the last week he had smoked like a damn chimney. Basil looked contemplative, too, maybe thinking about Lal. "It could also be false information."

"I don't think it is. From what little we know, it would fit," Reborn mused, staring into his third cup of espresso for the day. "Either way, Iron Hat will come for us."

"When he does, we should confront him about his agenda," Harry interjected. Reborn noticed the shared look between Shamal, Severus and Spanner, but couldn't pin down what it was about. "Maybe we can stop him from creating future generations of Arcobaleno. So far we don't know much about the curse or the reason behind it. I could try to contact the Vindice Arcobaleno again, but I don't know if he'll tell me more. As for telling everyone else, let's first take another look at the ritual, maybe even perform it to Reborn. Telling them they're probably going to die within the year without a ray of hope is just cruel."

Harry was staring at his ceiling. His bedroom had become one of the few places his Guardians didn't follow him to, so he'd taken the chance to take a breather from the smothering. Even his short trip into the garden to clear his head had been accompanied by Spanner and his surprisingly effective puppy eyes. He still felt bad for making them worry, something he'd done a lot more than usual in the last few weeks and even months. He couldn't help it, though, half the time he stumbled into those situations!

He turned to his side and eyed the letter lying next to him. Shamal had given it to him, before Harry had retired for the night. It was a letter from Remus Lupin. Harry had no idea how Shamal had managed to find the werewolf and to get him to write a letter, all while being worried sick about his Sky no less. Sometimes the older man really amazed him with his resourcefulness and efficiency. He tried to think about these moments, when Shamal turned into a skirt chaser with a dubious opinion on boundaries.

The letter was filled with all kinds of excuses why Remus, who'd apparently been best friends with his father, had never contacted Harry since his parent's death and why he'd just disappeared after their confrontation in Harry's third year in Hogwarts. Running away seemed to be Lupin's favourite way of (not) coping with everything and using his lycanthropy as an excuse a close second. Harry knew people in the Wizarding world weren't too keen on werewolves, so taking Harry in as a baby probably wouldn't have worked, but not even visiting? Writing a letter? Talking to him, when they'd met in Hogwarts? Harry wasn't a big fan of the man and would probably never be. He wasn't even sure if he was going to reply to the letter, except for a quick thank you.

The thank-you note was necessary, because Lupin had explained what had happened to him after Harry had used Sky Flames to fend the werewolf off. According to the older man, it had had a similar effect to the Wolfsbane Potion. After his disappearing act, Lupin didn't have a supply of the potion, so had to resort to his tried and true method of locking himself in during the full moon and hoping for the best. In the first few months he'd retained his mind during the transformation, but slowly the effect had lessened, leaving him a raging beast during the full moons once more.

Sky Flames had eradicated the Horcrux in his scar, but only after it had been weakened by the basilisk venom. They had also gotten rid of Severus' Dark Mark. His ongoing theory was that the multiplying effect of Severus' Cloud Flames had helped to get rid of it completely after Harry's Sky Flames had weakened the dark magic.

Maybe he was capable of weakening the dark magic in Hermione's leg enough for magic to regrow it. The same for Fred's missing eye. During his time in prison, George had to suffer through his first transformation, proving that he'd been infected after all. Harry was going to offer his help. Sky Flames weren't a cure all, but at least seemed to be some kind of medication and maybe, with enough exposure to them, Geoge would be healed with time.