Chapter Five

The first thing Harry noticed upon waking was the warmth. Compared to the utter nothingness he had experienced while being exposed to THEM it was rather noticeable after all. It wasn't unpleasant though. A pleased shudder rocked his frame and a happy sigh escaped his mouth. Next he felt the softness around him. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life so far and he idly wondered if this was how clouds felt like. He laughed quietly and with a happy yawn opened his eyes. The area he found himself in was white. White tiles on a pristine white ceiling and wall surrounded him. He sat up and saw that he was lying in a, also white, bed.

That's the first time I'm waking up on a bed like Dudleys, he realised and he giggled softly. Though Dudleys bed would probably never ever be this clean. That realization immediately caused another set of giggling from him.

A mechanical sound to his right got his attention and upon sitting up in his bed revealed a sliding door that he had not noticed until now. A woman and two men entered and Harry couldn't help but stare at their weird choice of clothing.

The woman dressed normally enough; A bright blouse and dark pants beneath a white Lab coat weren't that outlandish after all. A bit strange, since he only ever saw that style of clothing in the rare moments he managed to spy on Dudley when he watched that cartoon shows he seemed to adore so, but quite normal nonetheless.

It were the two men who caught his attention. The one on the right wore a billowing set of brightly colored robes as well as a large pointy hat.

Wizard, was the first thought that sprung in Harry's mind upon seeing him and he couldn't help but feel that he had seen this gentleman somewhere before already. The long beard and the silvery hair as well as the twinkling blue eyes seemed oddly familiar to him but for the love of God he just couldn't place them.

And the other one wore wallowing black robes as well as parts of golden armor. Oh, and the glowing red eyes and large, pointed ears also were a dead giveaway that this person was not normal at all.

'Freaks', that's how his aunt would have described them and Harry winced slightly upon remembering her ungodly loud screeching in perfect clarity.

"Good to see you in such a good mood, my boy", the old man kindly said upon arriving near his bedside. "We were quite worried for you after all"

"That's quite the understatement", the woman next to him snorted amusedly.

"Though it's not wrong", the man countered, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

Before the woman could formulate a response however, the other man answered. His voice was soft and gentle and reminded Harry of a warm midsummer night's breeze. "Please, Albus, Maria. Shouldn't we first focus on our guest, instead of technicalities?"

"Right", the woman said and quickly cleared her throat. "Now", she said and turned to Harry again, "I would like you to confirm some questions for us. Can you do that?"

Harry nodded mutely, not sure what to think of the arrivals.

"Splendid. So, your name is Harry James Potter, correct?

He nodded again.

"And you currently are 10 years old?"

A third nod. He was ten and more than a half to be precise, but he didn't think that those people would particularly care about that tidbit of information. It's not like anyone else had ever done so before after all.

"And you're living at number 4 Privet Drive, in Britain, right?"

"Yes", he murmured quietly. He had learned long ago that short and precise answers were the least likely ones to provoke any kind of punishment. The less spoken, the better, he remembered.

"Perfect. Now, that the formalities are done for, I am sure that you have a lot of questions to ask" She smiled kindly at him, obviously expecting some kind of reaction, and thus, Harry nodded his head again.

"Now, my name is Maria. And those two fellows are called Albus and Kokabiel" She said while gesturing at the respective men.

"That's a weird name" Harry thought, eliciting a set of guffaws from Albus and an

amused sigh from Kokabiel.

Oh shit! He hadn't meant to say that out loud! Harry shrunk back deeper into his blankets, fearing some kind of reprimand for his rude comment, but the expected punishment never came.

"That's one way of describing it", Kokabiel sighed and shook his head.

"Anyways", Maria said after her own set of giggling had susided. "why don't you just ask all that's on your mind? I bet you could use someone explaining what in Gods name is going on, don't you?"

Harry nodded timidly again, but nonetheless steeled his nerves for the upcoming conversation. A certain apprehension filled him at the thought of just speaking freely. After all the Dursleys drilled it into his head that speaking out of turn was a rather severe offense to them. Especially if those of his status did more than they deserved, as Uncle Vernon often liked to say.

They aren't the Dursleys. Like a lance that thought speared through his thoughts and while certainly not reassuring him completely pushed away enough of his apprehension to finally open his mouth.

"I-I'd like to know where I am please" His voice was soft and quiet and wavered but still he had asked them! A warm feeling wormed its way into his gut and it took a second for him to recognize it; pride. He felt proud! Proud that he overcame his apprehension, proud that he jumped over his shadow, proud that he did something that the Dursleys had forbidden him for as long as he could remember. The woman's, Maria. Her name is Maria, he reprimanded himself, answer called him back into the here and now though.

"First of all, don't worry, we're still in Great Britain. And right now you are in a facility that we call Lab 7"

"Lab 7?", Harry asked.

"One of several government facilities that are tasked with studying and understanding the supernatural world and its inhabitants", Maria provided.

"Uhm... What's a supernatural world?"

Que Kokabiel stepping forward and spreading his arms in a (in Harry's opinion) quite intimidating gesture.

"The supernatural world", he began "is the world that lies beyond that what we call the mortal world. I suppose you are familiar with the term of mythology?"

Harry nodded. "You, you mean the stories about the greek gods and heroes?"

"Yes. I do. Though not only the greek ones. There are a multiude of gods and beings who belong to different groups. Those groups are called a "Pantheon". You see, every religion is its own pantheon. The most well known ones are the christian, norse and greek pantheons of course. But there are countless others. Some are more or less powerful, regarded and worshipped. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded again.

"Good. Now, you have to know; all those pantheons, those religions and deities and stories, all those myths and legends… are real"

"W-what? What do you mean real? I-I thought…"

"Yes?"

"I thought, I, I was told… magic isn't real. I mean… how? How can something like that even exist?!?"

Kokabiel chuckled softly "Well, no one knows for sure. It just… was there. If one trusts the numerous prophecies then Magic was there before the beginning, and will still be there after the end"

"The end?", Harry asked.

"Who knows? Magic is equally scientific as it is mysterious"

Maria scoffed. "Magic and scientific, sure", she murmured but went largely ignored by the other 3 occupants of the room.

"Anyways", Kokabiel continued. "The different pantheons and subsequently the deities governing them are real and exist to this very day. And all the other beings, call them monsters and whatnot, exist as well. Be it yokai, devils, satyrs or wizards, they all are very much real. And you, child are one of them as well"

"I… I am?", Harry inquired.

"Why yes", Dumbledore said. "You are a wizard, Harry. As were your parents for that matter"

"They were? But I thought they were good for nothing drunkards…"

A scowl shot over Albus' face but was quickly replaced by something else. Sadness maybe? Or wistfulness? Harry wasn't quite sure.

"My, my, Lily and James, your parents were some of the most promising wizards I've ever met"

"Oh yes, that they were", Kokabiel sighed.

"Then… can, can you tell me about them? Please? I mean… if it doesn't trouble you to do so…" harry cast his eyes down. Surely they would reject him. If the look on Albus face was really sorrow then why would he talk about things that made him sad? But on the other hand, Harry wanted, no, yearned to hear of his parents. His relative never told him anything about them and even threatened him with chores and other punishments for even mentioning them.

"Why, it would be a pleasure Harry", Albus said and smiled fondly.

Harry's head shot up, suprise and joy clearly evident on his face. "You would?"

"Of course" Again Albus smiled sorrowfully but now something else was in there. A joy, bittersweet but oh so delightful. "You must know", the old wizard began "It all started quite some time ago but I remember the day as clear as yesterday. I was sitting in the great hall of Hogwarts, the school of magic that I teach at, and we just started the sorting ceremony. The sorting ceremony you see is…"

ItV

Several hours later...

Harry lay in his bed in Lab 7 and tried to sleep. Emphasis on tried, for there were way too many thoughts cruising around his head. He had listened quite some time to Albus talking about his parents. Not just his parents, mind you, he told Harry quite a bit about this Hogwards place and something called a Diagon Alley as well. Oh and Gringotts. And wizards and magic and spells and many other things. But what stuck most with him were nonetheless his parents.

Apparently they had loved him! Him! So much that they even fought for him! And now we was apparently famous! Now, that was a weird thing. Oh gosh, he hoped that he wouldn't have to sign autographs! His handwriting was terrible! Hopefully the wizards wouldn't hate him if his autographs were ugly. They wouldn't, would they? Harry dearly hoped that would not be the case.

There was just, just, so much to be taken in! In just a few hours time his entire world had been placed upside down! And now he even had a chance of escaping his relatives! He had a future now! A future that wouldn't involve begging or becoming a drunkard like his parents as his relatives had told him numerous times! He could be a wizard like his parents! Or maybe a scientist or scolar like Kokabiel. He didn't know why, but he kind of liked the tall man with the weird name. He had this calming presence and an aura of knowledge that just seemed to hold the answer to all end every of Harry's questions.

Well, there would hopefully be more time to think of all that tomorrow. For now he was tired. Well, not tired per se, but he just wanted to sleep. But he also was so excited about all this new information. Hopefully he wouldn't forget all of that. He wanted to continue to think about it but before he knew his eyes became heavier and heavier and soon he was far gone into the realm of dreams. Dreams filled with wizards and magic, adventures and parents that told him time and time again that they loved him and that everything would be alright.

Little did he know that at the very same time the people he just thought of were conversing about him. And this conversation sadly had little to do with love and safety….

ItV

"So there is truly no way of Harry moving back home in the near future?", Albus asked and tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Oh dear, he could already feel the next headache coming in.

"I'm afraid not", Dr Hill answered somberly. "He is an unknown variable, you see. There is no way of knowing what he will or even could do due to his new status. Whatever his intentions may be, he remains an unknown threat to society and I cannot let him leave in good conscience without having undergone a thorough examination first. Also, should word spread, there is no way to know what certain people might do to get a hold of him"

That this would impede on her studies of Harry was left unsaid, but still clear for all.

"She is right, Albus" Kokabiel interjected. "You know as well as I do that he is currently without an affiliation whatsoever"

"He is a wizard" Albus countered. "So he is one of our society"

"Yes, and what pantheon do most wizards belong to?"

Albus didn't answer right away.

"I know, old friend, I know" Kokabiel placed a hand sympathetically on Albus' shoulder. "If word were to spread of his condition there is no way to say for sure who would try to get hands of him. You might not like him, but your pantheon's leader is still Oberon. And you know what would happen were the fairy king to get wind of Harry"

"I do", Albus answered. While not being a god in his own right, the fairy king Oberon was still technically the leader of what was commonly referred to as the "Merlinese" or "fairy pantheon". A pantheon that was a sub-pantheon to the celtic pantheon who in return had an alliance with the graeco-roman double-pantheon. And they both knew that Oberon had tried time and time again to, albeit very subtly, distance himself and his faction from the aforementioned celtic deities. Someone like Harry, who was both deprived of affection and easily impressionable, would be quite easy to turn into the human weapon he'd need to gain enough power and influence to escabe the celt's grasp.

"Also…", Kokabiel muttered, "You felt it as well, didn't you old friend?"

"I did, yes"

"What? What did you feel?", Maria asked, feeling quite out of her depth here.

"Within Harry rests something else. An artifact commonly referred to as a sacred gear", Albus said.

"What does that have to with…" Maria started but Kokabiel interrupted her.

"Sacred gears are a blessing from the Lord. In other word, the leader of the christian pantheon"

Marias eyes grew wide.

"Yes", Kokabiel sighed. "If Oberon could know of Harry's existence then so could numerous other pantheons as well. And due to Harry possessing an, albeit dormant, sacred gear, Heaven would have a valid reason to lay claim to him. Though due to Harry also being born a wizard, the fairies, and subsequently the celts, would surely reject. Should Heaven try to get him through violence (which they will), then this would mean war. On one side the celts, and their allies, the greek and roman double-pantheon, on the other Heaven and their allies. And trust me, should heaven decide to get involved in this mess, then the devils of Hell, as well as my own leader Azazel wouldn't sit quietly by the side. They'd see their chance to damage their mortal enemies as well. And then you'd also have all the pantheons who still hold a grdge against the christians for having become the worlds most prominent religion on the cost of their own worshippers. The spanish conquerors of south america and consequently the near anihilation of the Mictlanese, also known as the south american pantheon among numerous others. This war would be the chance to take revenge that they've been waiting for centuries for. You see, the chance of this becoming an all-out war would be enormous. And then you'd have all the other pantheons as well, who'd just wait for that mess to end and then taking out the survivors for claiming the spoils for themselves."

"But… all that, for one child?" Maria couldn't believe it.

"Oh no, not at all. Harry would just be the spark to ignite the powder keg, so to speak", Albus answered.

"So Harry will remain here", Maria said.

"Until his powers can be sealed, removed or cured, yes", Kokabiel said.

"It is imperative that knowledge of Harry never leaves this facility. The results would be more than disastrous", Albus concluded.

Kokabiel and Maria nodded gravely.

"Well, I will see what I can do", Albus said. "Perhaps I'll make it public that Harry has been moved somewhere else to be trained for his future education. America, perhaps?"

"Heh, right into the greek influence area? Why not put him directly into Manhattan when we're at it? Right under the olympian's nose?", Kokabiel mocked.

"Well, hiding in plain sight and all that. Also, do you have a better idea?", Albus countered.

The fallen deflated shook his head. "I don't. As long as I can come over to study him once in a while, I won't interfere at all with whatever your plans are, old friend. And, the more I am allowed to research, the less likely is the chance of me letting the existence of accidently Harry slip in front of Azazel"

"No need for threats, old friend", Albus sighed but ultimately had no other choice but to agree to Kokabiels terms.

"So it's settled then", Maria said and clapped in her hands. "Harry will remain here. Under guard and closely watched, until we find a solution. Any objections?"

Both Kokabiel and Albus shook their heads.

What other choice did they have after all? Either that or risking a massive war with indiscernible outcome, save for the death of millions, if not more.

Poor Harry, Albus thought. I can't help but wonder if it would've all been easier had Voldemort and the prophecy been you only problems...

YOOOO, guess who's alive bitchesss! No, jk, I'm sorry for the long, long pause. This chapter was a pain in the ass to write and I simply had no frickin idea how to go on from here! *sigh* Anyways, I'm over it, it's finished, and dare I say, Im quite proud! Also, seems I got my first flame hahaha. Man, what a retard, prolly hasn't even read past chap one and still decides to bitch about things that make no fckn sense.

Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy the chapter and lets hope the next one wont take ahlf a year to write xD

Also, rewievs do a wonder for motivating for writing faster lol.

See ya next time!