A/N: Don't own.

Chapter 12

Reborn let his fingers draw lazy patterns on Harry's back. After having slept restlessly due to the memories brought up by their conversation yesterday they had both woken early, but instead of getting up they had remained in bed, watching in easy silence as the room steadily brightened with the sunrise.

For his part, Harry was basking in the warmth radiating from his Sun - he was so used to waking up curled up mostly on top of Reborn that he didn't even blush anymore, even though he was actively ignoring the fact that Reborn was still shirtless - feeling no urgency whatsoever to start the day. Harry was surprised by how very comfortable he felt right now despite having revealed so much of himself to Reborn - most of which he had never talked about or even mentioned to anyone else.

When they were finally driven from the bed by Harry's complaining stomach and Reborn's need for coffee, they decided to go to a café down the street for breakfast. As it was a rare sunny morning, they took the long route, lazily making their way to the café while Harry talked enthusiastically about flying in comparison to driving - they had been passed by a Porsche on their way and Reborn had mentioned loving the thrill of high speed cars.

Though as Harry talked animatedly, laughing at Reborn's responses to his claims, he gathered more than a few appreciative glances from other people in the street. Irritated - and completely disregarding the admiring looks sent in his own direction - Reborn smoothly stepped in close and wrapped an arm around his Sky's waist - making more than a few people twitch when he turned his glare on them. When he focused on Harry again, he was met with huge green eyes blinking up at him questioningly, clearly not aware what had motivated Reborn's public show of affection.

Hm, his Sky certainly was oblivious to his effect on his surroundings. That could potentially be making Reborn's life infinitely more stressful in the future.

Though after a few moments Harry continued talking, easily leaning into Reborn's side despite the slight blush on his cheeks.

When they finally settled at a table for breakfast at the café, they discussed how to best proceed with the Wizarding World from here - while Harry had a far better idea of what would be the best way to go about re-entering the Wizarding World, he had no intention of making any decisions without Reborn's input - and agreed that it would be best if Harry informed Kingsley of his return right away in order to avoid the hassle of overzealous Aurors.

Harry decided to ask Fawkes to deliver a message to Kingsley when they returned to the flat. He refused to just walk into the Ministry of Magic. He'd either be mobbed by the masses or arrested for pretending to be the Savior, either of which had a high likelihood of Reborn going on a rampage. Harry couldn't help but smirk to himself, remembering his thoughts a few days ago of how the Wizarding World was so not prepared to handle someone like Reborn.

Watching his Sky grin slyly to himself - looking adorable curled up in his chair as he was, almost wrapped around his cup of tea - Reborn decided he liked this café and that they would be returning here - also, the coffee was really good, of course not quite up to his standard, but definitely better than he had expected outside of Italy.

Soon after leaving the café, to his complete irritation Reborn felt someone watching them - someone with Flames, though well masked. Still, he could not entirely make out the position of the watcher - meaning that the watcher was really good, possibly even someone who had worked with Reborn before to know how to best evade his senses. Despite this, his instincts were also telling him that there was no immediate threat from this person, even further annoying Reborn.

No one had any reason to look for Reborn in London, so it was either coincidence - he had never believed in coincidence - or someone was looking for him. Someone who knew him. Even worse, whoever it was had seen him with Harry. Reborn was really irritated and Harry had clearly noticed that Reborn was disturbed by something as he was watching his Sun closely without being obvious about it.

The feeling of being watched dissipated just as suddenly as it had appeared, meaning the person had retreated from their immediate surroundings entirely - otherwise his Flames would have kept track of the presence once they honed in on someone. Still, instead of going to their apartment directly they kept walking for a while as Reborn made sure that they weren't being followed.

When they finally returned to the flat, he explained what had happened to Harry who turned thoughtful but assured Reborn, that the apartment could not be found by anyone due to the wards. It was at least slightly reassuring that as long as they remained in the apartment no one would be able to track them down. Reborn trusted in Harry's assertion of the flat being safe though he really wasn't happy about the situation. He would need to go check some of his contacts soon to figure out whether there was anything going on in the Mafia World that he should know about.

Though Reborn couldn't really do anything about it right now, so Harry sent a missive to Kingsley. Which reminded Harry that he would have to contact his lawyers as well. He had told Motley and Clarke that he would be at St. Mungo's for a while and that he would get in contact with them as soon as he recovered. Biran had informed his lawyers that Harry had been removed from the hospital, so he would have to let them know that he was back in London now. Harry could already picture Clarke salivating at the thought of suing everyone who had been even remotely involved in screwing up his recovery.

While waiting for the Minister's reply they settled at the dinner table and Harry started to look through the newspapers. He was quickly joined by his Guardian.

Even just the pictures were fascinating for Reborn. Not the fact that they were moving pictures - that didn't even get close to the strangest thing Reborn had seen before - but the details he was learning about the Wizarding World. Like the apparent fashion. Robes, pointy hats and hairstyles from a few centuries back? Harry had mentioned some of this before, but this was far more extreme than Reborn had imagined. Another article described warding services offered by Gringotts and Reborn had to force himself not to do a double-take at the picture of a group of what he assumed were goblins. They sure didn't look anything like the polite and amicable personnel you would generally expect at a bank.

The articles themselves covered a wide range of topics and Reborn realized quickly how much information he was missing on the day-to-day life in the Magical World.

It took a while for Harry to explain house-elves to Reborn after a mention of house-elf rights in one article. Reborn didn't quite know what to make of house-elves to be honest. On the one hand it sure sounded convenient, but on the other hand it seemed to be an incredible security risk as there were few wards against house-elves and none that allowed access to only a specific house-elf. Harry assured him that his flat was warded against house-elves altogether, which was a relief.

After some consideration they mostly skipped the international news, just briefly skimming them, as Harry wanted to get up to speed with happenings in the British Wizarding World first. There was only one article on the Indian and the Japanese Minister for Magic visiting Britain that Harry briefly stopped at.

Just looking through the first two newspaper issues already produced five page-long articles about Harry Potter. Reborn was not amused. The articles speculated about Harry's health, his whereabouts, his plans to become an Auror and keep the Wizarding World safe, his current love affairs. Reborn really didn't like it.

There were also quite a few mentions of the 'dark forces' being beaten down, either in the connection with politics, a list of ongoing trials or newly implemented laws. This was also the section where Harry stopped. Reborn remembered the healers mentioning trials being put on hold due to Harry's absence.

Harry was brought out of his focus by Reborn leaning back in his seat. So far, Reborn had patiently waited until Harry had skimmed an article to get an idea what it was about before he explained the background to Reborn and answered whatever questions Reborn would come up with. Having his Guardian lean back was a clear signal that Reborn was preparing for a longer explanation and Harry remembered yesterday's discussion with the healers regarding the trials.

It took Harry a moment to formulate the best way to explain the post-war trials and why Harry had felt the need to be so very closely involved in them. "The British Wizarding justice system, if you can even call it that, is a joke." That was really the only way to describe it. "It is mostly subjective and not at all dependent on supported evidence."

Having already talked about Sirius - his decade-long imprisonment without trial, simply because everyone knew he was guilty - and about Death Eaters simply buying their freedom, it was unnecessary to explain why Harry felt it necessary to do all he could to make sure justice was served. Justice in either direction. He wanted to make sure that no one simply walked free because of connections or deep pockets, and even more so that no one innocent or even mostly innocent was thrown into Azkaban.

In the trials he had attended people were already actively putting the fact that there had been a war out of their minds - in his darker moods Harry thought disparagingly how the ones now passing judgment were the same people who had hidden themselves away during the war, so it would be easy for them to forget there ever having been a war - but actions during wartimes could not be sorted quite as neatly into boxes as these people liked to pretend.

Everyone had felt the terror especially in that last year of the war, so of course people had gotten injured or even killed in the crossfire, sometimes killed by neighbors and friends, simply because they forgot to identify themselves immediately when visiting.

There were horrific stories like a family sending their children to a friend by portkey when attacked who had almost killed two of the children before realizing who had stepped on his property unannounced. During the trial a business adversary of the accused had then thought it a wonderful opportunity to make his own life easier. Thankfully the accused had had his own allies to get out of it but the fact remained that he might have ended up in Azkaban or even Kissed if he hadn't.

Harry absolutely abhorred dementors and he had been one of the main instigators of having Aurors replace the dementors at Azkaban. He had been unsuccessful in also having the Dementor's Kiss banned and he had been appalled to realize that the Kiss had still been passed several times after the war. So, he had started attending any trials he could directly contribute to and any additional trials whenever he could possibly find the time. Even more so after finding out about his seats in the Wizengamot and thus his power to actually influence any rulings simply by voting.

Though he was still glad that the Wizengamot voting was actually anonymous, he had already been feeling uncomfortable with the amount of sway he had had over people's opinion simply by speaking up about presented evidence or even contributing his own statements.

Harry explained to Reborn that he had left written statements regarding a lot of the trials and thus his bafflement at the trials still being put on hold, though at least that way no one else had been Kissed.

Reborn obviously read the resentment on his face at the mention and asked apprehensively, "What exactly is a dementor?"

Before Harry could start on the explanation, Fawkes reappeared hovering over the dining table in front of him with a letter in his beak. The missive was just a hastily scrawled sentence on very official looking stationery letting him know that Kingsley would have time for Harry later in the afternoon. He looked up at Reborn who had meandered into the kitchen for some more coffee.

"Kingsley is fine with Fawkes just taking us to his office, no additional procedures required." Harry stated. He loved having Fawkes back in his life and he was so grateful for the phoenix making his life so much easier, even if only because the phoenix served as an identifier to anyone who had worked with Dumbledore.

Harry was also well aware of how easily wizards fell back on their various stereotypes. He knew that a phoenix would be seen as confirmation that Harry was a light wizard - light meaning good in the eyes of the sheeple. It was a strange notion to Harry as Dumbledore had been many things, but the embodiment of all that is good and pure had not been one of them.

Unlike unicorns - as being of light magic - phoenixes were simply beings of magic. Phoenixes didn't care about magical orientation and were just as prone to diverging perceptions as people. Most importantly, neither unicorns nor phoenixes - or any creature really - adhered to any human idea of morality or ethics. Well, Harry was also very aware that this would be working in his favor, as the general wizarding population would take one look at the phoenix on his shoulder and assume they could unquestionably trust in him, just as they had done with Dumbledore.

They still had a few hours before their meeting with the Minister, so Reborn settled back into the chair next to his Sky with a fresh cup of coffee. After going back to the topic of dementors - and really the only appropriate response to that particular revelation was… actually there wasn't one, though Reborn would really like to test his Flames on some of the dementors for causing so much pain to Harry over the years - they spent the remaining time before the meeting looking through more of the newspapers.

This time Reborn had just grabbed one of the issues and read through articles that seemed interesting. Reborn figured it would be the easiest way to not only learn about wizarding culture but also about wizarding mentality. A newspaper was the most comprehensive summary of any society's state of mind.

There was an article in the 'Resourceful Muggle' section, describing the incredible new invention of refrigerators as an equivalent of cold-charm cabinets. Harry hadn't been exaggerating how backwards wizards thought non-magicals to be whilst it actually appeared to be the other way around. The weather section not only predicted the weather for the next eleven months - automatically updating every seven minutes - but also warned residents of northern Scotland that Aurors were still looking for whoever was messing with the weather there.

From time to time Reborn would ask his Sky a specific question when an article made no sense whatsoever without at least confirming the validity of the claims therein. But they only drifted into longer discussions about the background of something once or twice. Like an article on a poltergeist finally moving on after having terrorized a castle in Wales for going on 900 years. Ghosts.

Magic was going to give him a headache, Reborn just knew it, simply by unpredictably alternating between being either immensely fascinating or completely ludicrous.

When the time for the meeting with the Minister came around and they prepared to leave, Reborn didn't wrap himself around Harry the way he usually did when Fawkes transported them somewhere. This time they could not be entirely certain what would be waiting for them, even though Fawkes would be able to get them out of anything within an instant.

Still, Reborn - with Leon settled on his shoulder in easy reach - stepped in next to his Sky, wrapping one arm around his waist, to make sure he stayed close and it would be easy to immediately move him behind Reborn for protection. Going by his slightly exasperated but fond expression, Harry clearly knew what Reborn was doing.

Harry truly adored his Sun's protectiveness, even though he knew that he would get annoyed fast if Reborn had been overbearing. So far, his Guardian had let Harry take the lead in the presence of other people - seemed to prefer it actually, as he faded into the background - and he only stepped in front of Harry when he suspected a possible physical or magical threat. Harry was fine with that.

Additionally, Harry had no doubt, that Reborn would be able to take apart anyone who dared to try attacking them, with or without his Flames. It was in the way Reborn moved, the absolute self-assuredness in his movements, the near constant scanning of their surroundings that had obviously become second nature to his Guardian at some point in his life.

And right now Harry was very aware that he was mostly defenseless. Not being able to use his magic and not having even tried using his Flames, made him an easy target. He loved knowing that there was someone who had his back no matter what, who would immediately step up to his side to protect him. Not in a way that made him feel incompetent or smothered, but rather by filling in when Harry himself was not able to protect himself.

He would just have to wait and see how this developed when he got his magic back, whether Reborn would accept that he was capable of defending himself as well. However, Harry felt strangely assured in that regard as Reborn so far had seemed very much able to see beyond Harry's stories, see what it meant to have fought in a magical conflict, to have been entirely on his own, to have lived through a war.

And to be honest, Harry was just as obsessed with his Sun's safety as Reborn was with his. So, they would have to find a compromise to keep both of them safe. Harry would make sure of it. The world would burn before he let anyone or anything take Reborn from him.

Reborn watched interestedly as a dangerous glint appeared in his Sky's eyes, all the while Harry easily leaned into his side. Reborn adored how his little Sky fit perfectly into the contours of Reborn's body. His lithe form was easy to entirely wrap around even with just one arm, to envelope him entirely in Reborn's presence. It satisfied some primal urge in Reborn to have Harry so very pliantly fitted into his embrace.

After they had settled, Reborn forced himself to refocus on his surroundings as Fawkes flew over without having to be asked and easily took them to instantly re-appear in Kingsley's office.

With their appearance in the office, Harry immediately registered the presence of several Aurors, who froze at their arrival before trying to go for their wands. Reborn was already moving. Harry found himself behind his Sun and before anyone could react, the two closest Aurors were on the ground disarmed and unconscious. All the while Reborn remained mostly in front of Harry, blocking Harry from the other people in the room.

When another Auror went for his wand, he joined his two comrades on the ground before he even finished drawing. Even Harry had barely been able to see Reborn move.

Stunned silence filled the room.

Harry remained where he was though with his wand drawn - there was no way he was leaving Reborn on his own in case he needed support, his magic would recover again if he was forced to use it here - watching calmly as Reborn settled in a seemingly relaxed slouch mostly in front of Harry.

Kingsley should have known better. Even if it had only been Harry, he would not have reacted well to having unknown people in the room after having been assured of a private meeting. Harry had specifically asked for a meeting with only Kingsley present and the Minister hadn't indicated otherwise in his missive. Harry had told Kingsley that he would be coming with a companion so a single additional presence might have been justified but there were six Aurors as far as Harry could see. So, as far as Harry was concerned this outcome should have been expected.

Harry watched with smug satisfaction as the remaining three Aurors stared uncomprehendingly at their downed comrades. Two of them had their wands out though seemed experienced enough to know not to aim them in Harry and Reborn's direction. Harry would have liked to simply see how this situation worked out, but he felt the need to step in when he saw the tell-tale wrist movement of Kingsley going for his wand.

Harry was irritated by what felt like an ambush, but it would be far too much hassle if Reborn were to kill the acting Minister of Magic. Harry had no doubt who would come out the winner in the current scenario. The wizards wouldn't even register Reborn as a threat due to the lack of a wand and they would end up with a bullet between their eyes before they even realized where the actual threat was.

Still, it would not be worth the hassle, so Harry stepped slightly forward, though in easy reach for Reborn. "Hello, Kingsley. This is certainly an unexpected greeting."

At Harry's greeting the people in the office faltered and Reborn felt delighted at their hesitation when seeing his Sky with his wand drawn. There was apprehension reflected in their eyes as they clearly didn't know how to handle their Savior when angered.

The tall black man behind the desk answered carefully. "Harry. Good to see you."

Harry actually snorted at that. He deliberately looked around the room though remaining relaxed as though feeling completely unthreatened. "Well, based on this situation, I'm really not that sure I can say the same."

Reborn had to force himself to ignore his reaction at the hard glint in his Sky's eyes and his easy confidence, as well as the obvious intimidation of everyone else in the room. He felt a rush of possessiveness and arousal at seeing Harry command the entire room with just a single glance around, to the point that no one present seemed to be even willing to challenge his authority.

There was a brief silence and a suspicious look in Reborn's direction before the apparent Minister gave a sign for the Aurors to leave the room. After some hesitation, it took only a few moments for them to clear out, taking their felled compatriots with them, except for one woman who remained standing at Kingsley's side.

When everyone had left - and Reborn made sure of it, scanning the room with his Flames - Harry tucked away his wand. At that the Minister seemed to mostly relax again, though he did not let Reborn out of his sight. So, not stupid this one.

Kingsley offered, "I apologize, one of my meetings ran late. This is Head Auror Savage who took over as Head of the DMLE from me. There have been a series of attacks on various ministry personnel and thus the more important members of the Ministry have been assigned a constant Auror guard since two weeks ago."

Harry briefly considered the current Minister of Magic. Though they had only little contact during the war, they had always gotten along well. He had always liked Kingsley and his calming presence. Harry could also understand that Kingsley would have a guard during these times, so he could easily forgive the oversight.

Harry finally reached out his hand to greet one of the few remaining Order members properly and Kingsley immediately reached for it.

"It's good to see you again." Harry paused briefly before introducing his Guardian. "This is Reborn. He has been helping me while I was incapacitated. Reborn this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic and a comrade during the war."

Everyone shook hands before all of them settled down in the various chairs in the office, though still eyeing each other suspiciously. Harry did his best to ignore the reverent stare of the woman which was only interrupted from time to time by brief mistrustful glances in Reborn's direction.

In the following silence Kingsley seemed to be arguing with himself whether to ask questions about Reborn's presence, so Harry decided to quickly start on a different topic.

"I heard my healers visited you during my absence." He stated.

Kingsley immediately focused on Harry. "Yes, they came to me right after it became common knowledge that you had been moved from the hospital with the help of Aurors on Doge's insistence. Let's just say that the information I was provided with by Doge was not as complete as I had assumed. Though it is regrettably far more convoluted than even that. I was given the impression that your move was healer sanctioned and thus I saw no problem with agreeing."

Harry nodded to Kingsley's answer. Even though he did not blame Kingsley for the situation it had also shown him clearly that Kingsley mostly saw him as Harry Potter, the Savior. Just the idea that the Order had thought it entirely justified to make decisions on his behalf without taking Harry's own opinion into account at all was too reminiscent of the war for Harry to just look past it. Though if anyone could claim that they just had too much stuff on their mind to consider Harry's personal sensibilities it would be the post-war Minister.

He did not mention any of this out loud, though going by Reborn's focus on him, his Sun was well aware of it.

In order to avoid getting stuck on one of the more volatile topics, Harry inquired about the halted trials instead. Kingsley explained that during one of the trials after Harry's disappearance when it looked like the defendant would walk free, one of the main accusers claimed that Harry had to be at the trial because he would have more incriminating evidence. It had quickly become a standard claim for whichever side was losing during a trial that Harry would have more information and thus had to be there. They had just halted the trials at some point.

Kingsley himself seemed rather glad about the respite of having one less thing on his plate to take care of simultaneously with everything else. Harry just felt annoyed. Apparently the Wizarding World couldn't even get the simplest things done without him there. While he was happy that they had been trying to get the full story before passing judgment on anyone, it was also exasperating that it was just assumed that Harry would have some sort of information no one else had.

He had been on the run for most of the war and not directly involved in the Wizarding World at all. He doubted he would have anything to say for most of the trials but he also knew he would not risk letting an innocent person going to jail or a guilty person walk free if he could do anything about it.

Kingsley and Savage had kept Reborn in view the entire time during their talk, even though they were mostly focused on Harry, with Reborn mostly vanishing into the background by not contributing to the conversation directly at all. Well, after having made his presence so very clear within a few seconds of appearing in Kingsley's office it was no wonder that the other two were not quite able to forget about him. They even tried to nudge the conversation in the direction of Reborn's presence a few times - clearly trying to gain more information on Reborn's identity - but there were more than enough topics for Harry to distract them with.

Despite the rocky start of their conversation after their initial confrontation, they quickly drifted into numerous topics ranging from the safety in Diagon Alley to the rebuilding of Hogwarts. At the mention of Hogwarts, Savage very zealously emphasized that she would be very willing to instate Harry as an Auror even without him finishing school.

"The Auror Department would welcome you right away. It would be very reassuring for the people as well to see the Man-Who-Conquered still protecting them in this time." Savage pointed out.

Harry paused. This was not a good topic. He had no intention whatsoever to become an Auror at any point of his life, finished education or no. Harry wanted the chance to live his life and he would not have that taken from him. Also, his bonded was involved in organized crime, it so wasn't worth the hassle to join the crime fighting side of society. No way.

At his side, Reborn clearly wasn't thrilled by the offer either, probably due to the mention of Harry's status in the Wizarding World and what people expected of him.

When the silence in the office stretched too long, Harry refocused on the Head Auror who was still staring at him. "Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline."

Kingsley who been watching him closely had clearly picked up on there being more to that statement than Harry had actually said. He stated carefully. "While it would certainly make my life easier, I can understand if you would want to finish Hogwarts first before joining the Aurors."

Well, nothing for it then. "I don't intend to join the Aurors at all. It is not the job for me." At this Savage was already opening his mouth to respond, so Harry quickly added, "I will not be returning to Hogwarts either."

That stopped them short, but Kingsley responded with admirable calm clearly trying to get the whole picture first. "Which job are you aiming for then?"

Kingsley and Savage were now giving Reborn some truly suspicious looks, obviously blaming him for Harry's opinions. Before his treatment at St. Mungo's, Harry had done everything he could to avoid this very discussion, even though he had been just as certain about most of it, so it was understandable that Kingsley might blame the one person in the room he didn't know for Harry's apparent change of heart.

The Minister was clearly hoping that Harry would not make his life any harder than necessary and Harry actually felt a slight twinge at having to disappoint him. "I am not aiming for a specific job right now. I intend to finish my magical and muggle education and I am not certain what job I will be aiming for afterwards."

This seemed to even stump the Minister. But it was the Head Auror who responded far more pressing than before. "I don't even… You are not joining the Aurors? It is expected for the Savior to join the Ministry in establishing law and order in Magical Britain. If you intend to finish your education first you have to attend Hogwarts, so you remain in the public eye and so people feel assured that it is safe to send their children to school."

Well now, that certainly wasn't what Harry had been wanting to hear and going by the sudden pressure in the room, his Sun felt the same. Reborn shifted slightly, so their arms were slightly pressed together while Harry tried to think of a response that might be acceptable to the two opposite them. Harry forced himself to remain calm despite this being a perfect example of why Harry despised the Wizarding World at times.

"The Auror corps is not something that I see in my future." Harry responded to the main issue in the woman's statement instead of addressing her other claims.

Though this seemed to further irritate Savage. "That is unacceptable." - and here Harry felt his patience simply vanish into thin air - "The Man-Who-Conquered has to be visible to the populous in order to reassure them. The Savior needs to be seen supporting the Ministry."

Huh, she sounded just like Fudge and Scrimgeour. Harry did not like her and he felt his anger being stoked with every statement she made. He hated being referred to in the third person and by his titles only.

Kingsley had remained silent for the last few statements and he was watching Harry intently, but he was also not refuting what the woman was saying. So, this was another instance of Harry being Harry Potter only.

In the end it was Reborn who responded instead, instantly reorienting everyone's entire focus onto himself.

"Excuse me for interjecting on The Savior's behalf. Despite the ever so nicely stated requests from who I assume is a truly essential part of this government, that will not be possible. Regrettably, due to the intervention during The Savior's treatment against his healer's orders, The Savior is to avoid extended stays in any environment with high magical saturation for the time being. I assume it was under your leadership that your department allowed the move of The Savior from St. Mungo's? Unfortunately, due to this decision it will not be possible for The Savior to work or live in the Wizarding World at this point in time. Should his condition change you would of course be the very first person to be informed of The Savior's recovery."

Harry had to restrain himself from laughing out loud at the incredibly heavy sarcasm in the brief statement. He especially enjoyed Reborn's pointed use of his titles, each repetition further deepening the flush on Savage's face.

Though at Reborn's explanation Kingsley turned to Harry. "Your health has been compromised?"

Harry briefly considered Kingsley, entirely ignoring the woman whose embarrassment seemed to be turning into anger now. "The move from the hospital was pretty much the worst that could have been done in my condition and delayed my recovery significantly. Initially, I should have stayed in the Wizarding World for my entire recovery and at this point I should actually already have entirely recovered. Now though, I have to slowly acclimatize to magical surroundings again before staying for an extended period of time even becomes an option again. And even this is still on a trial basis and the healers will decide within the next few days whether I will be able to return to the Wizarding World for regular short visits at all before I have entirely recovered."

Kingsley briefly closed his eyes. "Do the healers have an estimated time for your recovery?"

"So far nothing is really certain, as we are just now trying to get me acclimatized to magical surroundings again." Harry responded carefully, not giving any indication that the healers had estimated only a few weeks until his full recovery. No matter how much he liked Kingsley, he had no interest in having the Ministry knocking on his door every few days to inquire whether he was recovered enough to start helping out yet.

Though Kingsley seemed to have understood that Harry's decision to avoid the Aurors and Hogwarts was absolute. He also knew Harry well enough to realize that once he had made a decision it would not be easily overturned. On the other hand, Harry knew how much of a difference it would make for the Ministry to be seen to be supported by the Savior, so he had no doubt that even Kingsley would be asking for favors and being a war comrade, Harry would be likely to grant them as well.

"Can we expect your attendance at the trials and the Wizengamot sessions then?" Kingsley finally asked.

"I will have to await the healers' verdict on whether I will be able to come to the Wizarding World regularly at all. I will let you know as soon as I know whether this is an option." Harry responded easily, as he definitely intended to attend the trials if at all possible.

At this point Savage suddenly spoke up again. "There will be an Auror guard assigned to you for protection. You have to be kept safe."

Harry couldn't help but snort - though he tried to quickly turn it into a cough - and he felt mixture of intense scorn and amusement coming from Reborn at the statement. Even Kingsley seemed amused.

Harry still forced himself to respond civilly. "No thank you. I think we got it covered."

The woman responded scandalized. "But the Savior has to be protected from the dark forces!"

Oh wow, Harry really didn't like her.

It was Reborn who responded this time, calmly leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankles. "You are welcome to provide any number of Aurors to try out for the position." - the woman's eyes lit up with satisfaction at that - "Though as the protectors should be stronger than the guarded, only those who are able to get past the both of us will be allowed to remain."

Savage had already opened her mouth - probably to list some names of suitable Auror candidates - but at the second part of Reborn's statement no actual sound came out. She seemed to be remembering their entrance a few hours earlier, Reborn taking out several of her Aurors - her personal guard included - before anyone had time to react. Add in The-Man-Who-Conquered as a hurdle… She was clearly at a loss of what to say.

Meanwhile, Harry was doing his best to suppress his shiver at seeing Reborn so self-assuredly smack down the suggestion. At the same time there was clear anticipation in Reborn's eyes at the thought of a fight, of obliterating a large number of opponents. The feeling of Reborn's Flames - lazily twisting on their search for an opponent, all the while coiling around their bond - was breathtaking. Harry pushed away the reproachful thought that he could not possibly be turned on by his Guardian's apparent bloodlust.

The stand-still was ended by Kingsley who concluded. "I think it might be better for the Aurors to continue keeping the Wizarding World safe instead."

Harry couldn't help grinning at the Minister's response. They quickly concluded the meeting with the woman still fuming in her seat. Harry just knew she was going to be a problem in the future.

Finally, Kingsley stood up holding out his hand which Harry took immediately. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry for what happened with your recovery. You are the last person who deserved having even more complications heaped on you. If there is anything I can do to help, just please let me know."

Kingsley even shook hands with Reborn and Harry agreed to let the Minister know about the healers' verdict on whether he would be able to visit the Wizarding World regularly.

The meeting at the Ministry had taken far longer than they had expected and the healers had recommended brief stays in the Magical World in the beginning in order to confirm that Harry's core would be able to adjust. So, instead of visiting Gringotts as they had originally intended, Fawkes took them back to the apartment.

As Reborn was still irritated by the watcher earlier, they spend the rest of the day in the apartment reading newspapers and searching through some literature for a magical explanation of Flames. Reborn had easily manipulated them into the same position as before, resting his head in Harry's lap and enjoyed Harry playing with his hair as they relaxed.

The next day continued in the same vein until the appointment at St. Mungo's. Harry had been considering trying out his Flames but in the end they agreed that it might be best to first hear the healers' opinion on how their excursion yesterday had affected his recovery.

The testing at St. Mungo's commenced pretty much the same as it had the last time - though the Potions Master was not present this time as he was apparently visiting a conference in Paris - and the healers agreed that their visit to the Ministry yesterday had not had any negative effects on his core. They were quite satisfied with the progress of his recovery and recommended he continue to visit the Magical World daily.

After the testing was done Madam Pomfrey unexpectedly pulled Harry aside to inquire after his wellbeing in her usual stern way. She had clearly reconsidered Reborn's presence in Harry's life since their last appointment as she had been trying to keep an eye on Reborn during this meeting. She did not directly say so but Harry just felt his respect for her increase further and assured her that Reborn was beyond any doubt on Harry's side.

After getting her reassurance there was a brief pause before Madam Pomfrey offered. "They are delaying the start of the new term for another two weeks due to the rebuilding of Hogwarts. You should be recovered by the time the new term starts. I would recommend you make preparations though in case your magic cannot immediately handle a permanent stay at Hogwarts."

Harry considered the nurse closely, before stating, "Madam Pomfrey, I will not be returning for the final year at Hogwarts. Even though I would love living another year at Hogwarts, going by my experiences with the press and the general public I probably wouldn't be able to really enjoy it."

There was no surprise in her expression at his statement. She had clearly picked up on his hesitation in their previous meetings and she seemed to have expected something along these lines. Still, there was also disapproval clearly visible as she responded. "Might I suggest you take some time off then instead of immediately joining the Ministry in its efforts of rebuilding the Wizarding World."

And this was why Harry had always liked Madam Pomfrey so much. She accepted his decisions - well, unless they were about his health. Even though she was clearly assuming that he would be joining the Aurors - being well aware that Harry did not enjoy his fame or the hunting of criminals - and quite clearly disapproved of him not finishing school, she did not even attempt to impress her own opinions on him or change his mind.

Harry answered easily. "I will not be joining the Ministry any time soon either. I think it might be best to get everyone used to the idea that I might not be fitting into their mold of me quite as perfectly as everyone has envisioned. I intend to finish my schooling by self-study, see a bit of the world and choose my profession when I have had time to consider alternatives. Though I don't see law enforcement as a viable option in my future at all."

During Harry's brief monologue Madam Pomfrey had started to look more and more satisfied. She had clearly been worried about either of the most likely scenarios, Harry joining Hogwarts and being hunted by his peers or Harry joining the Aurors and hunting criminals. The press didn't really factor into the equation as they would be a pain no matter what.

"Well then, no matter what you decide, I expect you to stay in contact, Mr. Potter. And to arrange regular check-ups for your health." Then a vindictively satisfied expression briefly flitted across her face. "In any case, after your tumultuous recovery who knows whether you would even be able to permanently join your peers at Hogwarts at all or what kind of late-onset side effects there might be yet to appear."

A pause. Then Harry grinned at her. With her brief statement Madam Pomfrey had just made clear that should his staying away from Hogwarts become an issue, the blame would easily be pointed at the Order and whoever else had been involved in his removal from her care. Madam Pomfrey was vicious in her revenge.

Reborn had been keeping an eye on his Sky a few steps off to the side but as Harry had not seemed upset in the least at any point during his talk with the school nurse, he had kept his distance. When they moved back towards them Reborn clearly noted the sudden approval directed at him from the woman.

Strange, but hats off to her for finally taking note of Reborn and his presence in Harry's life. Reborn was getting the feeling that Madam Pomfrey would turn out to be a wonderful ally in making sure that everyone who had somehow screwed his Sky over got what they deserved.

When everyone finally started to disperse after they had agreed on another appointment at St. Mungo's in three days, they were stopped by Travers who had been watching Harry very closely during the testing and had even brought some additional rune arrays this time. It made Reborn suspicious - though he could sense no ill intent - especially when the Rune Master asked if they would briefly join him in his office, clearly wanting to have a discussion separate from the other healers. Definitely suspicious.

After a quick glance between them, Harry and Reborn agreed and let Travers go ahead via the Floo before following with Fawkes.

A/N: Huh, so this chapter kind of ran away with me, but once it was finished I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. So, this is kind of about half of what I had originally planned for this chapter. Hopefully, I'll get the rest of it written soon…

I'm eager to see whether anyone can guess the identity of their watcher (though keep in mind that I have been messing with the KHR 'verse a lot), it might just be Harry's next guardian… :)

Chapter 11 reviews:

Thanks so much for all your reviews! I adore you guys for all the feedback :)

To writer2000z: Thanks for reviewing again! Harry will not have a secondary Flame in this story but thanks for all the suggestions how to go about it :)

To Four-eyes-girl & iBeta: Thanks for reviewing again! The romance is one of the things in this story that I don't have a clear timeline for so I can only say that they will get there but I don't know how soon, sorry :) I don't want to give too much away about the Guardians but it's going to be a mix of Harry bonding some pretty soon and some will have to wait for quite a while.

To guest dragon: Thanks for reviewing again! Well, Travers definitely saw something during the test… :) Will definitely be in the next chapter.

To DocAJ: Thanks for reviewing again! You are right that there has been contact between mafia and magic before, though the existence of either is not common knowledge and not everyone involved necessarily knew what exactly they were looking at and thus came up with various explanations. It will become clearer in the next chapters :)