A/N: I don't own anything.
Chapter 7
Harry was mesmerized.
He was watching Reborn prepare their dinner from the kitchen island after he had been banned from helping. Harry had to concede that his limbs still felt rather sluggish and he would prefer not losing a finger due to falling asleep while cutting vegetables.
After their discussion and the confirmation that their very much permanent bond was welcomed by both of them, they had just relaxed on the couch for a while. Harry had been comfortably dozing against Reborn's shoulder while they basked in the humming of their bond. Reborn had only moved them to the kitchen when Harry's stomach started complaining.
While Harry enjoyed cooking and actually prided himself in his own kitchen skills, the only times he had been allowed to cook had been at Privet Drive. He had always wanted to try experimenting with different styles of cooking, but at the Dursleys that handn't been an option as only British food was acceptable to them. And in the Wizarding World Molly Weasley had been very clear on who reigned in the kitchen. She had been truly miffed the few times Harry had tried to get involved in the kitchen without following her clear and very strict instructions.
Also, the Weasley matron certainly didn't have hands like that.
Harry felt almost hypnotized by the sinuous movements of Reborn's - large warm - hands dexterously handling the kitchen knives. And something in him was definitely intrigued by the thought that as a hitman Reborn could easily turn the kitchen utensil into a weapon at a moment's notice.
Harry was mesmerized.
Reborn was keeping his Sky constantly in view while preparing a light Italian dish. Harry was watching him intently, seemingly filing away every single movement. His Sky was just utterly adorable with his attentively widened eyes, tracking his every movement. Reborn certainly liked having the entirety of his Sky's attention focused exclusively on him.
Reborn commented, "Is there a specific kind of pesto you prefer with your pasta?"
"Never had it." Harry replied absently.
"You never had pesto?" Reborn asked.
"Well, no. I have only ever tried a few French dishes, other than that I've only ever had English food." Harry admitted.
Reborn paused. "That we will definitely have to correct. Italian food is divine." Again, something to add to the ever growing list about his Sky's previous life.
Reborn was loathe to interrupt Harry's complete focus on him, but Harry seemed to come out of it as soon as Reborn put down the utensils and lifted the two prepared plates. His Sky immediately looked up with his slightly flushed cheeks - and dios mio Reborn was going to have to lock him away, lest someone else witness his delectable responses - getting up to move with Reborn to the dining area.
They settled at the table and Harry watched Reborn curl his pasta onto his fork before imitating the movements. Reborn was just going to have to give up on commenting every time his Sky did something enticing that made Reborn want to hide him away from the world.
Reborn watched possessively as his Sky took the first bite and then hummed luxuriously with half lidded eyes at the flavors. Trying to distract himself from the odd mixture of adorable and almost sinful expression on Harry's face, he restarted their earlier conversation. Though, a lighter topic might be preferable.
"So, you mentioned a magical education." Reborn commented.
"Yes, Hogwarts." His Sky practically lit up at the question.
Reborn incredulously raised an eyebrow at the name, but was entirely ignored by his Sky.
Harry continued enthusiastically. "Hogwarts is a boarding school in the Scottish Highlands. It is a huge castle that has been a school for several hundred years now and the castle itself has gained a certain level of sentience due to the constantly high magical saturation. There are moving stair cases and talking portraits and moving sets of armor in the halls."
Harry knew his enthusiasm was showing. He flushed - yet again! - when he caught the softened look in Reborn's eyes.
Thinking of Hogwarts always brought back a little of the initial marvel Harry at an entire new world, a world with magic and wonder and most importantly without the Dursleys. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that the oh so very shiny new world had some very dark spots on its flip side. But some of his initial wonder had always remained at the mention of his first ever home.
Harry tried to continue in a slightly calmer manner. "Magical education for wizards and witches starts at eleven years old and Hogwarts has a seven year curriculum."
Reborn considered several questions this brought up and just went with the most obvious. "What about magical education before Hogwarts, before turning eleven?"
"Well, there are no real primary schools in the Wizarding World. Parents either tutor their children themselves or get a tutor to teach a group of kids. Children in the Muggle World just go to primary school until they get the Hogwarts letter." Harry stated easily.
Reborn just had more and more questions. "Muggle?"
"Ah. Non-magical people. The same way you seem to refer to civilians." Harry explained.
"So the Wizarding World isn't clearly separated from the non-magical world with wizards living in the Muggle World." Reborn commented.
"Hm, well the worlds are separated, but the Magical and the Muggle World were actually intertwined well into the dark ages. While the separation process started long before that, they only ultimately separated a few hundred years ago. Because the two worlds used to live right alongside each other a lot of magical sites are embedded into the non-magical world, though generally only accessible through certain magical gateways."
"Doesn't that make keeping magic a secret quite difficult?" Reborn inquired dubiously.
"Well yes, but we have entire government branches assigned to taking care of exactly that. They can detect if magic is revealed to muggles, mostly by detecting magic in any unregistered non-magical areas. They show up and erase or change memories of any witnesses."
Reborn remembered Harry's comment before his initial explanation about magic that someone might show up at the apartment if he told Reborn about his world. It hadn't made much sense then, but it certainly did now. And Reborn really didn't like the idea of someone screwing around in his head.
He would leave this topic for now as it was already late and this would probably turn into a longer conversation. His Sky was still recovering and he would be maneuvering Harry to bed soon as his rest was far more important. Still, they would definitely be returning to this topic.
There was a short silence as they finished their dinner and Reborn considered the conversation.
"So, a boarding school. Sounds incredibly boring. Or incredibly fun, of the not so innocent sort."
Harry paused, confused, before he flushed. "We start at eleven years old!"
"Hm, right before puberty hits then." Reborn agreed lazily.
Harry spluttered. And Reborn smirked while watching his adorably flustered Sky trying to regain his composure.
The next morning Reborn went out for groceries as well as to check on the current state of affairs regarding the Corocos Famiglia. He knew that his Sky would soon start asking the harder questions soon, about the mafia, about his role in the mafia, and Reborn wanted to have as many clear answers as possible.
For now he would ignore the blind fury that was still burning through his veins whenever he thought of where he had found his Sky and who all might have been involved in that. Reborn really didn't like leaving his Sky alone in the apartment, though he knew it was safe, but he had to keep on top of things and make sure that there wouldn't be any surprises.
It also gave him a moment to think about the various revelations of the past few days.
Reborn had a Sky. The strongest Sun in the Mafia World had finally found a Sky strong enough to pull him in. Reborn had finally harmonized, was finally experiencing the sheer warmth of Harmony, the feeling of having a home, of unconditional acceptance, of genuine welcome. For the first time in his life Reborn had somewhere - someone - to return to.
And what a someone that was. He had not only found himself a Sky strong enough to bond with him, a Sky with ridiculously pure Flames, but he had found Harry. Harry who was kind and shy and strong and innocent and wholeheartedly accepting of Reborn. Who no matter how young seemed to understand the harsh loneliness of being on your own even while surrounded by people. Who knew the crushing disappointment of having people want you but not for the reasons you would like. Who understood loyalty just as he knew the paralyzing disillusionment of betrayal. Who had returned Reborn's shift of focus onto his Sky by ignoring the outside world entirely and making Reborn his focal point instead.
This didn't even factor in yet that his Sky was free. No ties to the mafia, to any Famiglia and, based on his vehement denial of accepting any new obligations, also free from obligations in the magical world.
Reborn was a lucky bastard, knew how very damn lucky he was for having found Harry. But there had been so much crap in his life, he had been looking, desperately longing for so long. He damn well deserved this.
And as a final glorious bonus, the bond was permanent, apparently went even beyond Harmony and had been turned into a magical soul bond. Though if there had been an additional power pushing for a bond, that might actually explain how very instant the bond had been upon their meeting. The fact that there was actual magic out there... well, it had certainly been a surprise but it wasn't something that was going to really throw him for a loop. Flames were already well into the realm of the supernatural and magic just added another layer to that.
Reborn had no problem with shifting his entire focus, the center of his world onto Harry. His Sky had not even yet deemed it necessary to inquire about his job as a hitman. Harry didn't really seem to care, seemed to simply accept Reborn in whatever way he could get him. And Reborn would gladly rearrange his life based on that.
Reborn's own life in the mafia was easily put on hold as he did not have any obligations to anyone. So Reborn could go with his Sky to the Magical World, sort out whatever or whoever needed any form of 'clarification' in Harry's life. And then they could decide what to do, whether to stay in the Magical World or to move to Italy to try out the mafia. To be honest, Reborn didn't even really care as he would bend the world to his and Harry's will anyways no matter who they had to bring over to their way of thinking.
He almost felt like cackling gleefully as he made his way through the city.
It didn't take him long to get the information he was looking for and he was reassured that the destruction of the Corocos base was not being linked to him at all. Mostly because starting almost right after his own wave of destruction other parts of the Corocos Famiglia had been taken apart. By now there really wasn't much of Corocos left, just as Reborn had predicted. Reborn had been tempted to leak some information on the Corocos to the rest of the mafia in order to facilitate their destruction but he had decided against it, lest someone linked it back to him and started wondering why he would be interested in such a minor player of the Mafia World. Though apparently others had heard rumors of the technology that Reborn had 'liberated' from the Corocos and were now looking for it in a desperate race to get there first.
Reborn snorted internally. Obviously he had gotten there first. Not only first but also before anyone else had even really known about it.
With his information confirmed he made his way back to the apartment and to his adorable Sky.
Harry was curled up on the couch while Reborn had gone out 'for groceries'. Though Harry was grateful as this gave him some time to consider his current situation and the revelations of the past days.
He now had another form of energy that tied into his very soul in addition to the one he had been born with that was part of his very being. Harry was getting the feeling that neither Flames nor magic was actually preclusive of the other. Though he would definitely need to research this topic and see whether there was anything on Flames in the Magical World. His magic and his Flames appeared to get along just fine and seemed to agree on every level with his instincts.
On that note, his instincts were adamant regarding the safetyprotectionsanctuarypriorityhome of his new bond, a bond by magic and Flames. A soul bond to a hitman - and hadn't there been enough crazy in Harry's life already between magic and Dark Lords and now mafia? Not to give the wrong impression, he adored the idea of this bond. Of a permanent anchor in his life, someone he could turn to, who wanted Harry - just Harry - and who truly seemed to enjoy Harry's presence.
And even though mention of the mafia made him slightly nervous, Harry was well aware that one of his main problems was his endless and uncompromising curiosity. He was actually kind of looking forward to finding out what Reborn meant with 'mafia' exactly. So far he had avoided this topic as it seemed to be too personal, too much conflict potential while they did not know much about each other. They would get there at some point.
Harry had decided early on to treat the hitman topic the same way he wanted the savior topic to be treated. As long as he did not feel anywhere near comfortable to discuss the war, he would not force any answers on Reborn's previous life either. It seemed only fair and to be honest Harry adored the time they spent just talking without any contention.
There were still enough topics available that would already be hard to discuss, such as Harry's capture or his home life. Harry could see that Reborn was starting to put together the various clues and though he would really like to avoid that particular epiphany there were far worse topics yet to come. His Sun would find out about the Dursleys eventually and if Harry was honest it had never been all that well hidden by him or anyone else. It was just that no one ever seemed to want to notice or care enough to take a second look. Until now that is. And Harry adored his Sun for that alone.
Harry had also noticed that he had started to refer to Reborn as his Sun sometimes in his mind. It wasn't only the fact that he referred to him as a Sun - the warmthlightlifeheat pulsing along their bond made it easy to identify Reborn with that word - but more that he referred to Reborn as his, as Harry's.
Harry had learned early in his life that he was not to own anything. That he was only ever given things because no one else wanted them. That anything he did receive actually belonged to someone else while Harry was just generously allowed to use it. That it could be taken away at a moment's notice because it wasn't really Harry's in the first place. It was the first lesson from the Dursleys that Harry had identified as something that only ever applied to him. Everyone else had things, belongings, favorite toys, friends. Harry didn't.
It was a lesson that left its mark.
It had taken him years to actually refer to Ron and Hermione as his friends. They had been Ron and Hermione in his mind for a long time and there had only been a short time where he had truly thought of them as his, before the first conflicts between them had started to drive that thought out of his head again. Now he rarely referred to them as his friends in his mind unless he was being a sarcastic shit.
It was one of the reasons why Harry treasured some of his possessions so much. His cloak was the only thing he truly had left from his family, something that had been intended for him by his parents, but even that had been passed on by Dumbledore and not by his parents directly which somehow changed its meaning in Harry's mind. He loved his photo album for the thought that had been put into it and for the memories, it was something that had been made for him and he definitely loved that thought. Still, the one thing of value that had only ever and truly been his was his wand. No one had owned it before him. No one had any proprietary rights regarding the wand or any history to tell about it that Harry did not know about.
But now, suddenly, he had Reborn - and Harry would raze to the ground whoever thought to try and change that - Reborn was Harry's. Harry's Sun, his Guardian, his bonded. Simply his.
At that thought there was a pulse of utter and comforting warmth from the bond.
Harry would trust Reborn, he would do his best to make their bond into the best it could possibly be, because it was invaluable to him. Harry knew that he had always given his trust easily, maybe simply because in his childhood he didn't have anyone to trust. Though on the flipside his trust was just as easily and uncompromisingly broken.
Even though Ron and Hermione had always had a kind of special standing and more leeway than anyone else, this had still always applied to them. No matter what happened and how much Harry treasured their friendship he had never truly forgotten or forgiven the various breaks of trust. He was devoted to their friendship first and everything else second, but Harry was well aware that this was not entirely reciprocated.
Ron's friendship had always had conditions attached. His initial interest in Harry and his friendship had been due to him being the Boy-Who-Lived. Which was fine as Ron didn't know Harry himself at that point. However, Harry knew that even at this point Ron was a bigot and would despise anything he considered dark, pureblood or Slytherin, even if that would include Harry himself. Not to even mention his jealousy. Ron had entirely broken their friendship twice, once during the tournament and once during the horcrux hunt. Both situations where Harry had truly needed him and depended on him. That was something that Harry could not forgive. He still considered Ron a friend, Harry just knew better than to trust him.
Similarly, Harry had realized quickly that, though Hermione was a great friend who stuck with him through most of everything, her first loyalty was not to him but to her own beliefs. This sounded far worse than it actually was, but Hermione had always been uncompromisingly insistent on her own interpretation of things. If Harry truly decided to go against her, she went over his head. It had started with simple things such as the Firebolt in third year, followed by her easy acceptance during the TriWiz Tournament of Ron's jealousy as enough of a reason to shun Harry with the rest of the school and finally her willingness to listen to Dumbledore and ignore Harry during the summer of fifth year. She was still a great friend and had seen the entire war through at his side, but again, Harry could not and would not trust her with himself the way he would have liked to.
Ron and Hermione's friendship was based on conditions and Harry knew that if he wanted to keep their friendship he could never stray from those. Harry was for example convinced that if he were to ever voice interest in what the other side was going for politically Ron and Hermione would never be able to accept that. Even though they knew him best, they still had problems separating Harry from Harry Potter and tended to treat him and his so called responsibilities based on his status as a symbol rather than as their friend. And Ron and Hermione's decision to leave him at the Dursleys was yet another instance - one too many - where Harry himself and his opinion didn't really factor in for them. It was yet another break of trust and though he would do his best to wait to pass judgement until he could talk to them and listen to their reasoning, he didn't think he was going to be able to get over this.
It had pained him when he had allowed himself to consider this during the time after the Battle of Hogwarts but he had come to the conclusion that they were not entirely loyal to Harry himself. Not like he was loyal to them, unquestionably and immovably loyal - loyal like Neville or Luna.
Which reminded him, he needed to contact someone in the Wizarding World as some people were probably going out of their mind trying to find him. With his Guardian present he had been able to mostly avoid thinking about the situation with his magic and various friends and the Dursleys and, dear Merlin, Madam Pomfrey was going to kill him. Or tie him to his bed. Not that Reborn would be complaining in that case.
Harry blushed. He really needed to get a grip on his thoughts. And his priorities.
Back to the topic at hand, how to contact anyone in the Wizarding World. He knew that the Wizarding World wouldn't be able to reach him easily either, as owl post worked based on a wizard's magical signature. Harry's core had been reset and not yet entirely been re-shaped, so owls would not be able to find him.
Additionally, even though the healers had been certain that his magic would settle on its own and wouldn't need any further outside assistance after the treatment, that had been based on the assumption that someone would be there to monitor his recovery. Though based on Harry's instincts, his magic seemed to be fine and settling, getting smoother every day and continuously coiling with his Flames along the edges of his core. It was incredibly reassuring feeling, the smooth humming of both these... hm, energies, entities, powers?
He had not yet had any chance to actually use his Flames but they seemed to reassuringly pulse with his magic. Though he was looking forward to try using them as even just pulsing around his core he felt the utter warmth they radiated. It would probably be best to wait to try out his Flames until his magic had settled down into his core again and he had been given the all clear by a healer.
Still, how to contact the healers all the while being unable to enter the Wizarding World due to his magic having adjusted to his non-magical surroundings. If Hedwig were still alive this wouldn't even be a problem. She would probably still have been able to find him based on their bond and would have shown up by now, pissed as all hell that he had left her behind. He would have spent a few hours groveling and offering her food before she would graciously give in and start pecking at his hair trying to put it into some kind of order.
Merlin how he missed her. Harry felt the pain of the grief and the guilt swell and he forced his mind away from these thoughts. He would have time to grief later. Much later.
So, he couldn't enter the Wizarding World - he didn't even know where the next Magical District might be located around here, or even where exactly here was - and he couldn't travel to England because that would also strain his magic. He knew that there was some way for normal post to reach the Wizarding World as that system allowed muggleborns to keep in contact with their parents, who obviously wouldn't have an owl. But he was pretty certain that system would have collapsed during the war.
Well damn. He couldn't think of a single way to reach anyone in the Wizarding World.
His best bet seemed to be to wait until his core calmed entirely, travel to Britain and try to contact someone from there. If everything else failed, Reborn could just enter the Leaky Cauldron and have someone there contact a healer.
Harry grinned viciously. The Wizarding World so wasn't ready for someone like Reborn, muggle or not.
Reborn returned to the apartment to find his Sky settled on the couch smirking wickedly at his own thoughts. Reborn felt something in his chest purr at the sight.
He set down the groceries and pulled out the tea he had brought for Harry.
"Thinking good thoughts?" Reborn asked as he walked over.
"Definitely." Harry's eyes lit up as he saw the tea. "Thinking about you."
Reborn actually felt his eyebrows raise at that response. That certainly was unexpectedly assertive of his Sky.
There was a pause. Then Harry's face practically exploded in red as he started stammering. "No... not like... I was just... not like that... and just... you're... and the Wizarding World..."
The blush was starting to look painful. Reborn just couldn't help himself, he leaned down and pressed an affectionate kiss to one of his Sky's glowing cheeks.
"You are exquisitely adorable." Reborn said aloud.
It certainly didn't make the blush any better but at least it stopped his Sky from starting to hyperventilate.
Reborn moved towards the kitchen to give Harry some time to gather himself, while smirking wickedly. Oh yes, his Sky would be his entirely. There was no way he was going to let anyone else have his endearingly delicious, innocent little Sky. No way at all.
He prepared some tea for his Sky and an espresso for himself before moving back to the couch where Harry was still looking flushed. Reborn settled on the couch, handed him the tea and wrapped an arm around his Sky.
It took a moment before Harry tried to elaborate on his last statement.
"I was just thinking about how to reach anyone in the Wizarding World. I can't travel right now and the usual channels of communication aren't available to me here. Even if I could get to England, I can't enter the Wizarding World, as I am not supposed to switch to a magically saturated area right now. So I was just thinking that if you were to go in my stead and give someone a message that they really wouldn't know how to handle a muggle like you."
His Sky still had a slight blush on his cheeks - so damn adorable - and was speaking quietly, not directly looking at Reborn.
"Muggle like me?" Reborn asked gleefully.
"Well, when the Wizarding World separated from the Muggle World muggles were still mostly uneducated and not so big on hygiene. Wizards born and raised in the Magical World tend to still think of muggles as they were at that time, pitchforks and all, even though they regularly see parts of the Muggle World and should be able to see beyond their ignorance. And just imagining some of those bigots meeting you... it's quite amusing."
"Huh. That we will definitely have to try." Reborn smirked. Cutting some bigoted idiots down to size... yeah, he could definitely have fun with that. "Why do wizards regularly enter the Muggle World at all?"
"Oh, I forgot. The lines between Wizarding and Muggle World are not quite as clearly defined as you might think." Harry took a moment to consider how to best explain the intricacies of the Magical World. "Ok, first, the main difference between wizards and muggles is the magical core. However, while a child from a magical household will always have a magical core, it will not necessarily be able to access the magic. These children are called squibs. Similarly, muggles sometimes have children with a magical core and the potential to use magic. These children are called muggleborns. With their eleventh birthday when the Hogwarts attendance letters are sent out, most squibs are tossed into the Muggle World as they can't weave traditional wizarding magic while muggleborns are brought into the Wizarding World to attend Hogwarts for seven years."
"Hm, with the muggleborns joining them at school shouldn't wizards have realized that they are very much literate these days?" Reborn asked dubiously.
"They should, but wizards aren't big on common sense. Maybe they use muggleborns having magic, no matter how tainted in their eyes, as an excuse." Harry commented disdainfully.
Reborn raised an eyebrow and asked pointedly, "Tainted?"
"Well, no not really tainted." Harry hesitated trying to think of a way to explain the Wizarding World's rampant bigotry and racism without also mentioning the war. He wasn't ready for that conversation yet. "The Wizarding World is incredibly racist though not on the same topics as the non-magical world. Wizards don't care about skin color or sexuality even though that is a far wider topic for us than for muggles. Instead racism in our world is based around blood purity and magical orientation."
Reborn would definitely be getting back to the topic of sexuality being a wider topic for wizards. That sure sounded... interesting.
"Blood purity refers to a wizard's ancestry and exactly 'how' magical they are." Harry's tone was clearly disparaging. "Depending on their ancestry wizards are referred to as pureblood with a long ancestry of only wizards, muggleborn with no wizarding heritage, and halfblood which describes pretty much any possible variation in between those first terms."
"What are you then?" Reborn asked his Sky interestedly.
"Well, I'm a bit complicated. My parents were both magical but I grew up muggle. My father was a pureblood from the Ancient and Noble House of Potter but my mother was muggleborn. So I'm halfblood." Harry answered carefully, while hiding his brief anxiety at revealing his last name. He relaxed when Reborn didn't show any sort of reaction to him being Harry bloody Potter. Another hurdle out of the way.
So much information in that brief statement. Potter, his Sky's last name. Ancient and Noble House, as in aristocratic? Definitely noting that down. And grew up muggle? So not with his parents then. Harry's mother was muggleborn, so it had to be her family that Harry grew up with. This would definitely make Reborn's revenge easier. Also, Reborn had noticed his Sky strangely tensing up during his answer. Reborn hated not being able to ask and satisfy his curiosity, but he would not press for information yet. Reborn liked getting to know his Sky during their talk about their respective worlds without tainting the talk with difficult topics. Also, his Sky was clearly willing to start giving out more personal information. Reborn would wait.
Reborn had noted the disdainful way Harry talked about this matter, but he aimed to get the full picture first and asked. "What did you mean with magical orientation?"
Another brief pause, before Harry answered. "As I mentioned before, magic weaved by wizards and witches is classified into several categories. Right now it is quite common to categorize all magic into either light or dark, even including creatures for some reason. Sadly, these definitions have become more and more political rather than factual. Over the last decades the terms light and dark have become pretty much synonymous with good and evil and have very little to do with the nature of the underlying magic."
Harry continued his explanation, while trying to figure out how to describe one of the biggest conflicts in the Wizarding World as factually as possible. "The branches of light and dark magic originally describe the nature of the weaved magic and have nothing to do with the intent or moral disposition of the wielder. Any wizard has a natural inclination towards light, dark or grey magic, which is mostly shaped based on genetics and magic use while young. For any given application, there are dark as well as light spells because it is easier to use spells corresponding to the tint of one's magic. For example, it is quite arduous for someone with a dark core to use light spells and the other way around."
"Bigotry in the Wizarding World is rampant, though kind of mirrored on either side of the argument. I'm just speaking in general now, of course there are numerous exceptions." Harry paused for a moment as Reborn left him to gather his thoughts. "Purebloods mostly come from old noble houses with ancient history and thus they still pass on old family Magicks to their children. Muggleborns in general cannot access old Magicks as it is anchored in bloodlines. The Ministry however has been making old Magicks illegal by claiming them to be dark magic which of course is unacceptable to the purebloods. Additionally, in their craze to ban all old Magicks the Ministry also banned most of the just naturally dark magic, which is thus never practiced by muggleborns. This manipulates their cores towards light no matter their natural inclination simply because they have never practiced any other kind of magic."
Harry figured this was the best way to describe wizarding bigotry for now. "In summary, purebloods already detest anything muggle and thus also muggleborns. They see muggleborns as inferior due to their inability to manipulate old Magicks which are essential in wizarding history and culture. Additionally, purebloods hold muggleborns responsible for the banning of large parts of their culture. In turn, muggleborns revile anything dark as it is now used synonymous with evil and thus they not only reject anything traditionally pureblood such as old Magicks but also the entire dark magic branch, further tipping the already fragile balance."
Ok, there was a lot that was still missing in that explanation and Reborn knew that this kind of societal discord had to erupt into a conflict - his Sky had said Savior of the Wizarding World - at some point. Still, Reborn easily decided to remain on topic. They had time.
Reborn summarized. "So in general, purebloods are racist based on blood purity and muggleborns are racist based on magical orientation."
Harry nodded after a careful pause. "There are of course exceptions as some pureblood families have traditionally light magical cores, just as there are wizards coming in from the Muggle World who have dark magical cores."
Reborn could sense that his Sky was quite afraid of the obvious follow-up questions and switched to a different topic. "You mentioned quite a few more magic branches during your initial explanation."
There was clear relief in his Sky's eyes at this topic. "Well, there is grey magic which is kind of neutral, as grey spells can easily be performed by light and dark wizards and grey wizards can use light and dark spells. There is elemental magic which is directly connected to natural elements, though far more complex than just fire, water, wind and earth. There is also black magic, which is actually more along the lines of what people mean when talking about dark magic, though they have nothing to do with each other. Black magic is a completely different branch of magic and includes practices that are considered unnatural even by magic itself, such as necromancy."
"Raising the dead? Really?" Reborn asked kind of irritated at the thought.
"Well no, not really. There are ways to call back souls from the beyond or re-animate a dead body, just as there are ways to keep someone indefinitely alive no matter how close they are to death. But bringing a person back to life after they died is still very much impossible."
Reborn couldn't help himself. He asked amused. "Re-animated corpses. You actually have zombies?"
Harry looked slightly amused as he clearly got the reference, though a shudder worked itself down his spine, as he unconsciously tucked himself closer into the warmth of Reborn's side. Surprised by the reaction - and there was definitely a story there - Reborn tightened his arm around his Sky's shoulders, letting his Sun Flames warm the room around them even further.
His Sky still answered easily. "Something like zombies, eerily like it to be honest. We call them Inferi and they are re-animated corpses, puppets to their creator's will though they can exist well beyond the master's death."
Reborn actually had to digest that. Real zombies. He certainly hadn't counted on ever confirming that part of entertainment media to be true. The Magical World sure had its unpleasant sides. Harry was watching him intently, obviously still fearing a negative reaction to magic. But he relaxed when Reborn just reassuringly pulled him in closer into his side.
They sat in comfortable silence while Reborn felt his Flames pretty much purr in contentment.
After a while Harry asked, "What about Flames? What are they used for?"
That was an easy enough question for Reborn to answer.
"Flames themselves are quite complex and their use largely depends on the user. However, in the mafia they are mainly valued for Harmonization, for imparting additional abilities and for enhancement during fights. The Harmonization is mainly valued for its role in strengthening a Famiglia due to Guardian bonds with the Famiglia's Sky. The Flame abilities depend on the Flame type with Activation for Sun, Harmony for Sky, Disintegration for Storm, Tranquility for Rain, Hardening for Lightning, Construction for Mist and Propagation for Cloud. These abilities do pretty much exactly what their names imply, as for example Activation is generally used defensively to activate healing properties and Disintegration is used offensively for destruction. How far these abilities are developed entirely depends on the strength and the discipline of the user. All Flame types can additionally be used in battle to augment weapons or reflexes, however, it again depends on the skill of the individual."
His Sky had set down his empty tea cup and was now again leaning his head against Reborn's shoulder. Reborn noted to himself that he would gladly spend days just sitting in his apartment, with his Sky tucked into his side and their bond humming between them, while being certain that the threat level was at a minimum simply because no one even knew about his Sky yet.
Reborn continued, "Additionally, Flame types have certain personality traits attributed to them. It is of course a general description and doesn't always apply entirely or it can even be inverted, but the stronger the Flame the stronger certain character traits will be emphasized. There are also several other Flame types that are either part of an entirely different set, such as the Flames of the Earth which is equivalent to the Flames of the Sky, or can mix in with existing Flame types. There are also some special Flames that have only ever been wielded by a single individual but those are rare."
Harry considered this. "How do you learn how to use your Flames? Is it passed on in the family or the Famiglia?"
"We actually have a mafia academy, though its main purpose is to educate mafia children on the politics involved in the mafia. A tutor actually handles most of the training of newly activated strong Flame users. Also, while the predisposition for Flames is certainly genetic, the Flame type isn't, with Sky Flames being the only exception as they are actually mostly hereditary."
Harry was silent for a moment. He loved Reborn's voice and could spend the entire day listening to him talk. He was also a really good teacher and Harry adored how Reborn would answer all his questions even though he seemed to be leaving out some information, just as Harry had done during his explanation. For now he would assume anything that Reborn didn't explain to be complicated and should be discussed later on. There still were enough questions to ask without badgering his Sun for details.
"The other Flame types, how are they relevant to the mafia? And the personality as well as the polarization, how do they affect the Flames?"
Ok, this was going to take awhile. Reborn got comfortable, leaning back against the couch and pulling his Sky in further. In the end he had Harry curled into his side with his head resting against Reborn's chest and his curled up legs partially resting on Reborn's lap. His Sky certainly didn't seem to have any complaints about this arrangement, though there was a slight blush on his cheeks.
Reborn got started on explaining the different variations of Flames, the rarer ones and how personality also played a role for Flame users, how it could affect Guardian bonds. His Sky was attentively listening throughout the entire explanation, while distractedly playing with the buttons on Reborn's shirt. It was driving him insane, especially since he was certain that Harry was entirely unconscious of his actions. From time to time Harry would ask questions for clarification but otherwise he was just listening.
When he finished with his explanation and his Sky didn't ask any further questions, they remained sitting on the couch for a while. With his Sky curled against his chest as he was, Reborn thought that he truly could spend his entire day just like this.
After a while Reborn asked a question that had been on his mind pretty much since the beginning. "By the way, was there a particular reason you refused normal doctors so adamantly when I found you?"
Harry paused, not expecting this particular question right now. "Well, for one, they could never have diagnosed me correctly, as the problem was my magic, so who knows what they might have come up with."
"Hmm." Though plausible, his Sky was definitely leaving something out.
"Erm, well. For me there is also something else. I have something in my blood that makes non-magical drugs completely useless, burns it out of my system pretty much immediately. Even some magical drugs are useless for me. The muggle doctors would have noticed something strange if any medication they gave me would have just pretty much vanished without any effect." Harry tried to put it diplomatically.
"Something in your blood? Genetic?" Reborn didn't like where this was going.
"Well, no." Harry considered his answer and decided to just be honest, though not without warning his obviously protective Guardian. "Ok. So you are not going to like this."
"Ominous." Reborn really didn't like where this was going.
Well, nothing for it then. Harry responded. "It's a very potent poison, basilisk venom. Actually one of the most potent poisons in the Magical World."
"And how exactly did you get that into your blood?" Reborn tried to remain calm.
"I was bitten?" Harry answered hesitantly.
"By a basilisk? As in the reptile that kills with one look? And apparently has an very potent poison?" Reborn was infuriated. And fucking terrified by what that could have meant - he could have lost his Sky before he ever even met him - even though Harry was sitting right next to him.
Harry tried to calm his Sun by changing the topic. "Then a phoenix cried into my wound. Phoenix tears are one of the most potent healing agents in the Magical World."
An incredulous silence. Reborn for once didn't know what to say. First the most potent poison and then the most potent healing agent?
Harry had to admit it sounded ludicrous. "I call it the Potter luck." Harry stated humorously.
"...dios mio, my heart might just give out before we ever make it out of this apartment. Actually, I don't think you will ever be stepping a foot outside that door. That should keep you at least decently safe." Reborn commented. He grumbled internally. Why were the truly adorable ones - the most important thing in his life - always so much damn trouble?
Harry was actually amused. "Heh, believe me, there is no such thing when I'm concerned. Trouble finds me anywhere."
Reborn took a moment to digest the new information and to calm himself down. He was almost tempted to ask for the details of that particular story, but he decided he might just have had enough of a shock for one day. He considered their conversation and finally commented, "I have to say, you are being surprisingly candid with your answers. I had expected some reticence to be honest. Just as I had expected a lot more questions."
Harry responded comfortably. "Hm. I really really hate being lied to, but I find the notion that we should expect to know everything about the other, or have the right to demand such, ridiculous. I would just prefer that if you don't want to tell me something you simply say so."
Ok. So there was definitely a story behind that. But it was also a mindset that Reborn could easily live with. His Sky was ridiculously perfect. If Harry's main condition was not being lied to, Reborn's life just got a whole lot easier than he had ever dared to hope.
A/N: So, the story is moving towards actual plot development now. Next chapter is probably going to include mentions of the war and Reborn being a hitman. So, I'm getting there.
Chapter 6 review responses:
I adore you guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews!
To LadyKarma18: Thanks for reviewing! Harry and Xanxus are definitely going to meet but I'm not telling what's going to happen with that :)
To gojyo-lover20 & AngeLinks: Thanks for your reviews! Regarding the chapter length and how often I will update I don't actually set a goal for a single chapter or anything of the sort. I am aiming to at least update once a week, more often if I can. Sometimes though I already have a short section done that I feel could be posted as a single chapter even if there might not be that much progress and I wanted everyone's thoughts on that.
To Aiko Namikara & xxXYourBestFriendXxx: Thank you for your review! I definitely won't forget about Teddy :) Just give me some time to get them to the WW first.
To Lex: Thanks for your extensive review! I'm glad you like the story :) Harry is definitely going to be powerful but not godlike or anything like that. He also got... Wait, I'm giving too much away :)
To Alween & Keelan1210 & Glorilian & of Serendip: Thank you for the reviews! Regarding the H&R situation, there is definitely going to be a clash (Reborn will make sure of that) but it will not be as extreme as in other stories and there won't be any nefarious intent behind their screw up. There also won't be many OCs in this story. About the Dursleys, Vernon is as usual the main perpetrator (I tried to indicate this during that segment in chapter 2 but it will become clearer in later chapters)
To L's Cappuccino: Thank you for your review! That's pretty much exactly my thoughts on the matter of organized crime in the WW. I also figure that any Dark Lord would go recruiting amongst the less reputable wizards first and the MoM would also crack down on them first since they are a known entity. There will still be some crime going on in the underground because I find it more realistic. Oh, yes I love pretty much all of esama's stories and especially that one as well. Thanks for the suggestion!
To Arleria & Andy & fai. pailin: Thanks for your reviews! I'm aiming for a story where Reborn and Harry actually integrate at least partially into both worlds as I find that far more realistic with this setup than them simply ignoring one or the other. So, Harry learning to use guns and making magic available to Reborn... :)
To OvO: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you like the story :) I am not commenting on the KHR timeline or Harry's future Guardians yet as I don't want to give too much away for later chapters. Though I can definitely say, that neither will all the arcobaleno bond with Harry nor will all his Guardians be from the WW.