A/N: Don't own.

Continues the next day.

Chapter 16

Harry's good mood was starting to border on the ridiculous - and no, he was not nearly skipping at Reborn's side as they made their way to meet Fon - but he simply did not care right now.

George had finally replied to his letter this morning and it had clearly been an excellent idea for the redhead to get out of Britain for a while.

George sounded so cheerful! Harry thought happily.

The other wizard was currently staying at a hostel in Seville - enjoying the 'Muggle Experience' as he called it - and appeared to be endlessly entertained by the muggles around him.

Although the redhead's accommodations also made it quite difficult for them to meet right now, Harry had refused to let George interrupt his trip, even if only to visit their apartment in London. But George had promised to get himself an actual hotel room for his next stop. And then Fawkes could take Harry and Reborn to visit George there. Finally.

So, they were going to visit George within the next days and Harry was going to see a foreign country for the first time - his last stay in Italy obviously didn't count because between being held prisoner by the Corocos and recuperating in Reborn's apartment he had never actually stepped foot outside – and he was so excited! A new country to see, with Reborn at his side. Going exploring with Ren was bound to be exciting.

Harry felt his grin widen even further at that thought and he simply ignored Reborn smirking down at him. Harry certainly wasn't complaining about the arm sneaking around his waist and tugging him into his Sun's side.

During their discussion yesterday, Reborn had told him that whatever was currently happening in the Mafia was most likely entirely unrelated to their bond. Because Fon had not known about Harry at all. Reborn was convinced that if anyone had found out about Reborn harmonizing, Fon would have heard about it.

When it had become apparent that they would not be able to meet George as planned, Harry had instead decided to get a little more familiar with his Flames. His Sun had been happy to give Harry pointers on how to direct his Flames to either manifest – curling around Harry's arms as fiery snakes - or to remain invisible - spreading throughout his surroundings, increasing his awareness of everything around him. Or how to let his Flames entwine with Reborn's own Flames– and Merlin, the feeling had literally taken Harry's breath away.

And no, just because by the end of it Harry had been more or less curled up in Reborn's lap as their Flames twined around them, they had not been cuddling. They hadn't.

Harry suppressed the blush that threatened to spread over his cheeks at the memory.

Reborn grinned down at his Sky. Harry was being impossibly adorable right now - almost bouncing at Reborn's side, keeping up a constant stream of chatter, near beaming with happiness. Though Reborn would really like to know what had brought about the blush that was currently gracing his Sky's cheeks.

Harry had been in a constantly good mood ever since receiving George's letter this morning. His little Sky had even stated that he would be holding on to his good mood for as long as he possibly could, damn whatever the Mafia and especially the bloody Order are up to. His Sky had been puffed up in his indignation and if it weren't so very undignified, Reborn might have cooed at the picture he made.

Reborn himself was actually feeling pretty good himself. Everything seemed to be going in his favor recently. He had his adorable little Sky at his side – their bond pulsing with Harry's good mood – and the situations apparently brewing in the Mafia as well as in the Wizarding World virtually guaranteed that Reborn wouldn't have to worry about anything even resembling boredom any time soon.

Additionally, Fon – one of the only people Reborn would willingly trust to watch his back – had shown up and Reborn's instincts – which had been insistently clamoring at him that he needed more protection for his Sky – had calmed slightly ever since they had decided to accept Fon's offer of support.

And while his instincts' insistence regarding the necessity of additional support already confirmed that whatever was happening in the Mafia was just as fishy as it appeared, having to accept anyone's help at all still rankled Reborn. Not to even mention his irritation at letting someone else – comrade or not - close to Harry.

Not like Reborn was going make it easy for Fon. He smirked cheerfully to himself.

Turning another corner, they spotted Fon sitting at a table outside at the café Harry had suggested for their meeting. Harry had remembered passing the cozy-looking café a few times on his way between the Leaky Cauldron and his apartment before his stint to Italy and had always wanted to check it out.

As they reached the table, Fon stood to bow politely in greeting, smiling serenely.

"Good morning." Harry greeted cheerfully, while Reborn just nodded in return.

As they settled at the table, his Sun immediately restarted yesterday's conversation as though the two men had never interrupted their discussion in the first place, quickly turning to the details of Fon's report to the Triads, all the while appearing like a discussion on the inner workings of hospital administration.

Well, Harry knew that the more boring a conversation appeared, the less likely anyone was to try and listen in. Nothing made people as curious as a whispered conversation. He could attest to that.

He was entirely content to observe them as they conversed, just as fascinated by their dynamic as he had been yesterday. And even just sitting there, the two Flame users still made for two impressive figures, practically oozing capability and self-assuredness.

Curiously, even though the aura around them was quite intimidating, to Harry it felt almost soothing. He definitely did not know what to make of that, though he was certainly not going to complain about feeling entirely safe while in public for once in his life. His magic and Flames were quite content in their presence, reinforced by the calm he could feel on Reborn's side of the bond.

Harry had to remind himself again, not to get lost in the feeling of the bond – its humming seemed to only have increased with Harry's use of his Flames - and tried to focus on the discussion going on in front of him.

When the waitress finally approached their table for their order, Reborn did not even bother to pause in his discussion with Fon about the Triads' not-so-enthusiastic reaction to finding out about Reborn being the one to have 'relieved' the Corocos of the Flame activation technology.

Though seeing the blushing waitress' eyes fixed unwaveringly on Fon, Reborn gleefully threw in a jab about Fon's apparent admirer. To his Sky's obvious amusement. The Storm did not actually deign to respond and turned to the waitress with a serene smile to order his usual swill – read: tea.

Tea like Harry. To his Sky's apparent delight, who decided to entirely ignore the gravity of their current discussion and instead threw a smug look in Reborn's direction. Reborn could almost hear the unvoiced, triumphant Hah! that went with it.

Reborn couldn't help but respond cheerfully, "Priorities lovely. Priorities." He watched delightedly as a slight blush made its way across his Sky's cheeks in response.

Harry decidedly ignored Reborn's comment and the utter fondness he could feel along their bond from his Sun. Still, that is two out of three for tea, Harry thought petulantly. Take that, heathen!

Fon let his serene smile actually widen slightly. Their dynamic is certainly amusing, he observed silently.

And so very entertaining. Fon had certainly never expected to witness the World's Greatest Hitman seriously debating the merits of coffee versus tea. And despite the ridiculousness of their argument, Reborn appeared to be reacting with nothing but utter fondness to the young Sky. That was definitely something Fon had never thought to see in his life.

Fon could only congratulate this young Sky on seemingly mastering arguing with the World's Greatest Hitman. Usually, any discussion with Reborn was an exercise in patience and over the years the Sun had managed to exasperate Fon nearly to the point of murder several times before. Though Fon had learnt to cover his reaction, just as Reborn had learnt to ignore any attempts from Fon to make him loose control.

It is certainly nice to catch up with old acquaintances, Fon thought serenely. Especially, if they came with such interesting company.

Interesting, indeed. A Sky, strong enough to pull in the strongest Sun, a Sky with magic and who looked so endearingly harmless - a sharp contrast to Reborn's menacing presence - that Fon already felt an urge to protect him. Even without a bond helping him along.

And if Fon felt like this without Harmonization, what must this feel like to Reborn... Wǒ de tiān a, the Mafia had barely been able to handle Reborn on his good days. Fon did not even want to imagine the chaos that would come with Reborn in full protective mode.

Especially when considering the effect just the Sky's existence was going to have on the Mafia.

It was an unspoken but universally accepted fact, that there could never be a Sky strong enough to pull in an element of Reborn's strength. A 'fact' that the Mafia had even taken some comfort in until now. Because if there ever were a Sky strong enough for Reborn and thereby also strong enough to pull in any other high-rank Element of their world - and Fon actively did not think about what this might mean for himself, for his own chances of finally finding a Sky, finding Harmony, finding a home.

A group formed around a Sky like that would instantly render the existing power structure utterly obsolete.

So, just the news of Reborn harmonizing would throw the entire world of organized crime into chaos. And that was without taking into consideration what sort of mayhem Reborn would be causing purposefully. Add in the young Sky that seemed to be entirely willing and capable to keep up with the Sun...

Fon personally was just looking forward to the entertainment. He almost wanted to let his serene smile tilt into the anticipatory grin that he could feel tugging at the corners of his mouth. Offering his support to Reborn - and thereby staying close to the Sun and his Sky - had definitely been one of Fon's better ideas.

He refocused on Reborn when the Sun turned back to Fon with a last mirthful grin in his Sky's direction, effectively ending their coffee versus tea debate. Harry looked to be somewhere between blushing in mortification or huffing in exasperation at the Sun.

Fon could relate.

Harry knew that Fon was assessing him even while they talked. It made Harry at least slightly nervous.

He was well aware that he generally did not paint a very impressive picture, that he tended to be dismissed, overlooked. Harry had learned early in life to appear as nonthreatening, unobtrusive, invisible as possible, if only to avoid Vernon's anger or Dudley's little gang of bullies. Harry had certainly gotten good at appearing like the least interesting thing in a room, possibly even too good, as people rarely ever thought him to be worth their notice.

Well, unless he got angry. Then he had been told he was utterly terrifying, with his magic coiling at his back, pressing down on everyone around him. Leaving no illusions as to who was actually to be considered in charge. It was his version of the vanishing trick he had seen Reborn and Fon pull. While Harry never actually disappeared from anyone's radar, people tended to entirely dismiss him right from the get go. They only ever realized their mistake if Harry chose to 'point it out' to them.

But Harry would very much like to make an at least generally good impression on the Storm - and Harry ignored all the possible reasons for this. Still, despite their lengthy discussion yesterday evening about the Storm and his offer of support, Harry still wasn't entirely certain what to make of Fon.

Based on Reborn's stories, Fon was one of the most powerful players in the world of organized crime. But while the Storm seemed to exude self-assuredness and uncompromising capability - just like Ren - he also appeared to be surprisingly amicable, polite, friendly, peaceful even.

Well, peaceful might not be the best word, considering that at this point their conversation had devolved into a near humorous verbal war. The two Flame users nudging at each other's patience with hints, half-truths, condescending almost-questions and placating non-answers.

Harry was certainly amused.

Then. A sudden ripple in his magic – a nudge, a warning - abruptly caught Harry's attention.

From one moment to the next, Reborn felt Harry's attention suddenly focus elsewhere, somewhere beyond their table. Immediately he let his Flames curl in the air around them in response to Harry's alert. And Fon obviously caught on right away, letting his own Flames join Reborn's, spreading through the wider area around them, giving Reborn the peace of mind that someone was watching their back.

Not that anyone would have been able to tell that his or Fon's attention had in any way wavered from their now entirely meaningless conversation.

His Sky had obviously sensed something, long before Reborn or even Fon. Which could really only mean one thing.

Magic. Or more specifically, wizards.

Just then three people wandered out of an alley on the other side of the street. Two men and a woman, Reborn noted from where he appeared to be lazily sprawled in his chair.

The wizards were scanning the street with their eyes, obviously looking for something or someone, suspiciously quickly fixing on Harry. Spotting him almost at the same time, they promptly made their way towards their table, not even considering the mayhem they were causing by blindly walking out into the traffic.

Imbeciles. Harry certainly hadn't been exaggerating about the idiocy of wizards.

Well, this should at the very least be interesting, Reborn thought. Especially, with Fon here as well. They certainly hadn't been planning to confront the Storm with the Magical World right away, much less without ever getting the chance to explain the situation to him. Well, nothing for it now.

Harry was not amused. And he had been in such a good mood, too! But well, it had been several weeks since life threw a wrench into his plans. About time the Potter Luck acted up again, Harry thought testily.

The three wizards approaching their table were easily identifiable as such, seeing as they had only slightly transfigured their clothes to look a bit like really old-fashioned floor-length coats instead of actual robes. They had not even bothered to change the colors, two men in Auror-red and a woman in dark brown.

The latter, Harry immediately recognized. Hestia Jones. A member of the Order. Who according to Madam Pomfrey had been directly involved in getting him removed from St. Mungo's and pretty vocal in her defense of the Order's actions afterwards. Any positive feelings Harry might have had for Jones had instantly evaporated with that information.

And wasn't this situation just wonderfully fishy, an Order member in the company of two Aurors, searching for Harry. Their obvious non-surprise at seeing him sitting at a random café somewhere in Muggle London certainly answered the any questions of whether this might be a coincidence, Harry thought disparagingly.

Fon calmly observed the situation, letting his Flames spread through the wider area, leaving Reborn free to focus most of his attention on their immediate surroundings and the people approaching their table. Even though Fon had no way to really interpret what was happening, it was all too clear that neither Reborn nor his Sky seemed to be pleased in the least.

Watching the three wizards approach Reborn noted that there was barely any power to speak of between them. Nothing like his Sky's magic. And even though, there was very little in the world that registered as an actual threat to his instincts anymore, these three certainly didn't, Reborn thought derisively.

Although that really wasn't the main concern here. These wizards had clearly known exactly where to look for Harry. A clear example of foul play, and Reborn was really looking forward to confronting whoever had decided to screw his Sky over in this instance. Looking forward to it indeed, Reborn thought menacingly.

His Sky was radiating irritation as he watched them approach. Which went entirely ignored as the younger of the two wizards - wide eyes near obsessively fixed on Harry ever since spotting him – burst out as soon as they reached their table "Harry Potter! It is so wonderful to finally meet you!"

Irritation flickered through Harry at the Auror's words, even as he calmly kept his focus on the woman of the group.

Fon observed that there was a strange familiarity in the way the man spoke to Reborn's Sky despite his own assertion of never having met Harry before. The Sky certainly didn't seem to share in the familiarity. And going by his expression, Reborn appreciated it even less.

Though the newcomer remained oblivious, earnestly trying to get Harry's attention with some sort of magazine, nearly falling over his own feet trying to get closer to Harry. By getting past Reborn. Good luck with that, Fon thought amused.

Still, the man babbled on, "Harry Potter, would you sign a copy of Teen Witch Weekly for my niece? She is a big fan and I promised her I would ask you when we found you."

Fon could feel Reborn's focus shift slightly to himself. And with good reason. Fon had guessed that this situation would have something to do with magic, as these people had magic as well, though at a ridiculously lower level than Reborn's Sky. But, Teen Witch Weekly? Fon had no words.

He actually had to take a moment to assimilate this.

While he had been aware of magic itself existing, this hinted something much more far-reaching than he had expected. Fon definitely had questions. But they could wait and until then, he would lend the support he had promised. There would be time for questions afterwards.

Fon briefly moved his eyes from scanning their surroundings to steadily and calmly meet Reborn's. The Sun tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement before returning his complete attention to the conversation taking place in front of them.

Harry wasn't even going to consider the fact that these people had just revealed the Wizarding World to Fon. Even though as a Flame user he couldn't really be called a Muggle, it should still count. Well, not Harry's fault, not his problem and he would really love to see some Ministry official trying to get past Harry, Reborn and Fon himself in order to wipe the Storm's memory. Oh, yes. That should be quite the sight indeed, Harry thought vindictively even as his focus never wavered from Jones, entirely ignoring the presence of the other two wizards.

There was a slightly awkward silence before the woman attempted something of a smile. "Hello, Harry."

"Jones." Harry returned calmly.

So, his Sky knew the woman at least somewhat, but going by his demeanor it also wasn't a positive acquaintance. Possibly one of the numerous people in Harry's life that failed him, purposefully or not. Another name for The List.

There was a brief pause, before the woman apparently decided to switch gears and continued in an almost reproachful manner. "It is very good to see that you are well. We were very worried about you when you disappeared from your relatives'."

Just going by the menacing edge of Reborn's lazily curling Flames, there was clearly more to that statement than the obvious, Fon observed. He was certainly getting the impression that the woman was obliviously digging herself a nice, deep grave.

Fon had to admit he was slightly surprised at the Sky being the one to handle this situation, as he had expected Reborn to do everything he could to keep his Sky out of any given conflict. It spoke of a reassuringly balanced bond between the two Flame users if Reborn let the rather young Sky handle his own conflicts.

The Sky himself showed no outward reaction at all, sitting primly and inquiring calmly, "Disappeared?"

Jones was clearly registering some of the underlying aggression in his response, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "Yes, it was very unwise to leave your relatives' without informing anyone of your whereabouts."

"Leave?" Here, Harry mockingly raised his eyebrows - sadly he had never mastered raising just one, and he had tried, oh had he tried.

Fon could not help but enjoy watching the drama currently unfolding in front of him. It was clear that the woman had been anticipating a different sort of reaction from the young Sky and was growing increasingly flustered with Harry's one-worded responses. Who suddenly didn't appear all that endearingly harmless anymore. Instead his Qi, his presence was taking on a looming edge, pressing down on the people across from them.

Reborn looked somewhere between turned on and wishing for a bowl of popcorn to enjoy with the show. Fon felt his impression confirmed that this Sky would be more than interesting to be around. Honestly, idleness was never a problem in Reborn's presence but apparently even less so if Harry was thrown into the mix.

The woman continued with forced obliviousness. "Yes, anything could have happened to you outside of the Order's protection."

Harry calmly took a sip of his tea, leaving an awkward pause before stating more forcefully. "Protection."

The Sky was certainly succeeding in flustering the woman, who continued. "And to find out that you were staying here in Muggle London, not letting anyone know even though there are a lot of people worrying about you right now! It was very irresponsible of you, Harry."

… Muggle. That was certainly a word Fon had never heard before. At this point, Fon had resolved to keep a list of all the words, that he had never heard before. He would have time to ask his questions later. He would indeed.

Though the last statement finally brought more of a reaction from the young Sky, as he put down his teacup and leaned forward slightly.

"Find out?" And despite the young Sky not really changing anything about just repeating a part of the woman's previous statement, instead of the slight sarcastic mockery of his previous questions, there was suddenly a lot of weight behind his tone.

The woman immediately came to a screeching halt, clearly at a loss what to say.

In the subsequent silence no one moved, waiting for a reaction, any reaction at this point. The atmosphere was growing increasingly oppressive the longer the silence continued.

Still, Harry had heard enough and had no interest in listening to another rambling statement designed to anger him into losing control. He let his eyes visibly narrow and his magic snap in the air, making the three wizards flinch. Reborn's lazy smirk just widened. Fon took another sip of his tea.

Harry let them stew for a few moments before calmly asking as though he was not letting his magic communicate just how very not pleased he was right now. "And how exactly did you find out about me staying in Muggle London at the moment." Harry was very aware that there was no question mark at the end of that sentence. He had not intended there to be one.

There were very few people who even knew that he had even returned to Britain at this point, most of whom he trusted to keep his secrets, either due to loyalty or due to self-interest.

And Harry did not actually have to ask where the information leak had been. He knew the older Auror standing next to Jones. Auror Proudfoot.

Harry remembered Proudfoot to have been Savage's partner during Scrimgeour's time and certainly remembered him from Neville's stories of Hogwarts during the war. At least his loyalties were pretty predictable going by the fact that his old partner was Head Auror and by his general puffed up appearance.

Harry was sure he would be getting along with Proudfoot just as well as he had with Savage.

And as expected, it was indeed Proudfoot who responded self-importantly – confirming every thought that Harry had just had about him. "Head Auror Savage informed her most trusted officers of your return and the importance of keeping you safe from any Dark Wizards."

Harry had expected something like that, but it was still incredibly irritating. He ignored the second part of the Auror's statement. It was just the same drivel he had been forced to listen to before.

So, Savage had apparently taken the information she had gained during their confidential meeting with Kingsley and spread it around as she pleased to Ministry personnel who then apparently felt no compunctions revealing this information to their extended relatives going by the younger Auror's exclamation about his niece.

Wizards. It was probably only magic itself that let wizards survive this long at all. Otherwise they would definitely have misjudged themselves out of existence by now.

Still, the question remained, just how had they known exactly where to look for him? He raised his eyebrows at the rather obvious gap in the information.

Fon was impressed at the way the young Sky was handling the situation. And at the continued silence, the younger Auror apparently saw his chance to get Harry's attention back onto himself, completely oblivious to the anger roiling in the young Sky's looming presence.

"Right after we received the Head Auror's orders, Senior Auror Proudfoot contacted the Department of Mysteries who provided us with a tracking spell to hone in on your magical signature as soon as we were close enough." The idiot explained happily.

Proudfoot clearly hadn't planned on Harry finding out this particular detail of how they had been able to pin point his location, looking uncomfortable though trying to cover his reaction. The younger Auror continued to be entirely unaware. He was near glowing at having Harry's attention and happily rambled on.

"And then thankfully, the Order of the Phoenix pointed us to this part of Muggle London, giving us a starting point. Combined with the tracking spell it proofed to be just perfect."

There was a pause.

Fon calmly expanded his list of vocabulary questions.

Harry felt calm settle over him.

So, that was how they had found him. They had used his magical signature. Which he had entirely forgotten to mask in his joy at using his magic again after such a long time.

During the war, everyone had had their magic masked. No one, be they Death Eater, Auror, Order member or civilian was stupid enough to leave their magic unmasked. And Harry had had more interest than most in keeping his magical signature hidden. But the reset of his magical core would have removed those protective spells and then Harry had used his magic for the first time in months and he had entirely forgotten to reapply them.

And somehow these people had known about it, had known it was something they could exploit. How bloody convenient.

As for the Order supplying information of his potential whereabouts to the Ministry… They had definitely done worse to him before. Still, the war was over now, damnit all to hell. The Order had no business using and much less providing information like that to third parties.

Reborn remained focused on the three wizards even as he let his Flames curl along their bond to soothe his little Sky. He knew how hurtful it must be for Harry to hear that the Order was working with the Ministry to get their will.

Harry managed to suppress his reaction and turned back to the woman of the group, "And just how is it that the Order was aware of my general whereabouts?"

The woman had apparently also realized that this situation was not going to resolve quite the way she had envisioned. She had clearly been aiming from the start to make Harry loose control, probably with the goal to have the Aurors bring him to the Ministry for revealing magic to Muggles, or for his protection, or for endangering Ministry personnel, or whatever other ridiculous reasoning they could come up with in order to justify it.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

Hestia finally answered, trying to hide her defensiveness, "Well, a while ago Diggle saw you at St. Mungo's after the Final Battle and he followed you, to... to make sure you were doing alright. You were spotted a few times by Order members in this area afterwards. It was easy to conclude that you had a place to stay somewhere close." The smugness in her voice at her own perceived cleverness made Harry want to grind his teeth.

So, that was how they had found him.

'Having been spotted' probably meant that the Order had actively taken up their perceived duty of Harry watching again when he did not keep them up to date with his plans and actions. They had probably followed him from St. Mungo's regularly.

During the time of his frequent checkups at the hospital before the actual treatment, he had had to struggle increasingly just to make his way home at all, what with his waning attention due to his retreating magic. During that time he had been forced to Floo between St. Mungos and the Leaky cauldron. His magic had retreated to the point that he hadn't felt comfortable apparating any longer and he had refused to have a Floo connection installed at his apartment as that would have decreased the security of his place significantly and also required registration with the ministry if done legally. And he absolutely abhorred portkeys and would avoid using them if at all possible. So, Floo travel from the Leaky had been pretty much his only option.

At least this was also an explanation just how the Order had known that he had been at the hospital at all before they made the decision to 'get involved' with his recovery. Though, just when had they found out about this? Had they known he was visiting St. Mungo's regularly, known there was probably something wrong with him and no one had thought to actually approach him prior to him being incoherent in bed after the treatment? Had no one thought to ask him if everything was alright with him? If there was something they could help him with for once?

Harry forced his thoughts away from this revelation. This was the information Harry had been looking for. Just how he had been found, how they had known to look in Muggle London and to look in this area. Harry hated that it was his own fault, that he had apparently not been careful enough, by not covering his magical signature and during the time before his treatment. It was also rather embarrassing when considering that he was sharing a table with two people who had made subterfuge their profession.

Nothing to be done about it now though. He would learn from this mistake though, that much was for sure.

At this point he did not have an ounce of patience left in him for the Order or the Ministry and definitely not for the Head Auror who had not only proven herself to be the type of person Harry disliked intensely, but who had authorized his removal from the hospital without taking his health into account, moved him to the Muggle world while obviously incapacitated but then not providing him with any sort of effective protection – the Corocos had simply taken Harry and walked out the front door with him for Merlin's sake – and finally right after he had been removed from her Aurors' protection Savage had tried several times to gain access to his Gringott's vaults while supposedly trying to find Harry.

Harry was doing his best to keep his anger contained and trying to gather his composure Harry focused on his Guardian. Reborn was lazily sprawled in his chair - appearing utterly relaxed even as his Flames snapped in the air around them - and Fon seemed to be taking his cues from Reborn, calmly sipping his tea, completely impassive. If this situation was anything to go by, Harry was definitely getting a taste of why the Sun and the Storm got along so unusually well. Fon sure seemed to share Ren's love for drama and appeared to hold the rest of humanity in about the same amount of contempt, Harry thought amusedly.

It was more than a little reassuring to have the two Flame users with him, watching his back. As ridiculous as the thought was considering his current situation, Harry had never felt so absolutely assured that there was nothing and no one in this world that could actually touch him right now. The thought was more than calmling to his frayed temper.

The silence around their table stretched, but having regained his equilibrium, Harry had no interest in making any of this easier on the wizards. He was quite content to let them stew.

Finally, it was Proudfoot who couldn't hold out any longer and made another pompous attempt to get a reaction out of Harry. And a reaction he got.

Proudfoot stated pompously. "Now, we have orders to escort you to safety immediately. On the Head Auror's order you are to be escorted to your place of residence or to the Ministry in order to ensure your safety. A safety detail is to be assigned for your protection."

Harry almost wanted to laugh derisively. Ensuring his safety, were they? Oh, they clearly though themselves quite clever, setting this up in a way that Harry's only two choices would be to either reveal his current address to the Ministry – thereby becoming accessible to them at all times – or to immediately go to the Minsitry for another meeting with Savage – who probably had concocted yet another genius scheme on how to force Harry into her mold of the Savior.

In this wonderful two-option-scenario of theirs, they apparently entirely forgot to factor in that Harry had no obligation at all to comply with either of the presented choices. But wasn't this just another wonderful example of the Ministry considering Harry to be some sort of public property to be ordered about.

Harry had half a mind to immediately sort out this misconception that he was to be considered public property. Instead he let his magic snap in the air around them making the wizards flinch. He knew that at this point his anger was becoming tangible in his magic which was only enhanced by Reborn's Flames coiling around them twining with his magic.

Harry loved that Reborn had let him handle the entire situation by himself so far but immediately threw himself at threatening these morons who thought Harry public property. Seeing the wizards shrinking into themselves more and more with each second of continued silence Harry felt no need to actually respond to their statement.

At this point even the non-magicals around than seemed to be starting to feel something going on around them, all of them avoiding to even look in the direction of their table at this point. The waitress was making no attempts to approach their table to ask for newcomers' orders

Though with his patience as strained as it was Harry couldn't help but comment mockingly, "How strange that the Minister did not inform me of this, considering that we had agreed on something entirely different in our last meeting." Seeing Proudfoot open his mouth, Harry stated preemptively, "A meeting which included the Head Auror."

The Aurors' sudden squirming made it clear that Kingsley had not in fact been involved when this particularscheme was cooked up. Harry was relieved.

Savage had probably told her Aurors to keep this on the down low and Proudfoot at least was probably well aware that this was not Minister-sanctioned at all. So just another attempt to browbeat him into submission, make decisions for him under the guise of trying to do 'what was best' for the bloody Chosen one.

But in contrast to the last time they had tried, this time Harry was very much coherent and able to make his opinions known.

Also, for the first time in his life he had someone sitting right next to him, who was unquestionably and uncompromisingly on his side. Reborn wouldn't give a damn if the safety of the entire British Empire depended on Harry's cooperation. Actually, if Harry decided to burn down the entirety of Britain himself, Ren would be bringing the marshmallows to properly enjoy the bonfire.

The ensuing silence grew increasingly oppressive, the wizards across from them tensing further with every passing second, waiting for Harry's reaction.

Again it was Proudfoot who decided to break the silence and forge on, entirely ignoring Harry's previous statement. "We have already called reinforcements. They will provide sufficient protection on our way to the Ministry."

Hm. This was apparently the point where Reborn decided that he had enough, reminding the wizards of his presence by simply leaning forward to reach for his coffee on the table, letting his Flames join Harry's magic in pressing down on the wizards across from them.

As the Aurors flinched hilariously at Reborn's movement, almost reaching their wands in reaction, Harry reaffirmed to himself that he really needed to learn this trick of vanishing into the background at will that both Reborn and Fon seemed to have mastered to an absurd degree.

His Sun didn't deign to react to the wizards almost drawing their wands beyond raising one of his eyebrows slightly in utter condescension. And while there was no visible reaction from Fon, Harry could almost feel the disdain oozing from the man's every pore.

What impressive upholders of law and order these two Aurors were turning out to be.

Though Proudfoot immediately tried to cover his reaction by sneering in Fon's direction. Proudfoot apparently had enough survival instinct to not turn the sneer on Reborn, who - after intentionally having called the wizards' attention to his presence - was now very much projecting his killer intent onto the group. So, the Auror had apparently decided that the serenely smiling Asian would make a much easier target.

Hah. Harry almost wanted to snort in amusement.

At this point Jones decided to reinsert herself into the conversation, condescendingly stating, "You can send your friends away now, Harry. You wouldn't want to endanger anyone untrained and unable to defend themselves in case of an attack, would you?"

Wow. Harry almost felt pity for her – at being so phenomenally, catastrophically unaware - though Proudfoot's next comment put a quick stop to that particular feeling. "Yes, send them away, Potter. They will only interfere with Ministry business."

Ministry business, was it? So, Harry's own status had been demoted from public property to just plain business, had it?

And Harry just had enough. Simply enough. Enough of the Wizarding World's incompetence, their arrogance, their utter disregard for Harry's own notions of what his life should look like. Enough of hearing the phrase 'for your own good, Harry' - not that anyone ever took responsibility when those actions turned out to be anything but - and definitely enough of anyone claiming to be trying to do what was best for him.

He was done being treated as though he were incapable of making his own decisions, of being ordered around, pushed to the front whenever it suited those in power and being put back on a shelf whenever they had no need for him. Enough of being treated like a bloody commodity - Harry Potter, the Chosen One, always and unquestionably at your service.

And now they obviously had something else they wanted from him. And Harry simply did not care anymore whether they wanted political support, his money, his fame, his status, his votes or even just his bloody opinion. Harry was done.

Reborn had obviously noticed the very moment Harry had decided that enough was enough as his Flames turned from aggressive to foreboding. And Fon easily adjusted his Flames accordingly.

Slowly, he turned his entire focus on Hestia Jones. Who suddenly looked as though she might want to be anywhere but here at this moment. She had clearly seen enough of Harry's reactions during the war to know that silence, stillness was the worst reaction you could possibly get from Harry Potter. She was right. His magic was only ever still when it was at the verge of exploding.

And Harry very much felt like that might happen. Soon.

But as annoying as these people were, they were not actually the ones he wanted to explode on. He had no interest in these imbeciles. Oh no, he had bigger fish to fry. He knew exactly where he had to go to express his utter discontent with the situation.

He knew very well.

Harry calmly got up from his chair. Reborn and Fon followed unhurriedly.

Fon could come. If only to enjoy the show that would follow.

Harry did not care that he had met Fon just yesterday. Ren trusted this man, so Harry would as well. The Storm had already agreed to support them and it was only fair to let the Storm know what sort of situation would be getting himself into regarding the magical world – which the three morons had so easily revealed to the Chinese. Harry had not been able to tell whether Fon had actually been surprised by the revelations as his face hadn't given anything away, but at least Harry wouldn't have to worry about that part.

Harry simply walked past the three wizards, flanked by the other two Flame users.

He certainly did not need any help in getting to the Ministry just to have a word with a certain Head Auror regarding any future plans made with him in mind.

And he would be having words with Savage indeed. Harry felt a decidedly unpleasant smile settle on his lips. After their talk, he doubted Savage would be willing to make any plans regarding the Chosen One again anytime soon. Or ever really.

The threat curling menacingly at the edges of Reborn's barely there smirk as well as the calm condescension oozing from Fon's placid smile, Harry could see from the corner of his eyes, promised as much.

The wizards reacted with affront to their leaving without comment.

Harry just walked passed them, straight into a small alley while thinking of Fawkes. The phoenix appeared as soon as they left the view of any watching muggles entirely. Harry calmly reached for the phoenix, followed by Reborn. Fon copied them.

Just before they disappeared Harry saw the group of wizards burst around the corner into the alley.

With their wands drawn.

Maybe he should have waited a bit to leave after all, Harry thought mournfully. It would definitely have been satisfying to see the wizards trying to go up against Reborn and Fon, or at the very least amusing. For all of three seconds before either Reborn or Fon finished it, Harry thought with disdain as he felt the phoenix fire envelop him.

A/N: I adore you guys! Thanks so much for the many awesome reviews! They just keep pulling me back :)

This chapter didn't turn out the way I had it planned (the original version of this chapter was even more angsty... still no idea why though). It also took me a lot longer than I had hoped despite it being an improvement compared to the last update... Real life doesn't seem to be letting up at all though and at this point I have kind of resigned myself to not returning to weekly updates anytime soon :( I'm still hoping for an improvement, though!

At least there is some plot development, the confrontations are starting, Fon is joining them and George is about to be introduced. So, progress *hooray* and I promise I will get to the actual plot soon :)

Also, thanks to anyone who commented on my English, pointed out typos or corrected me on any other languages I tried to incorporate. Comments are always welcome :)

Wǒ de tiān a - heavens above!

As always no comments on future Guardians or how the Arcobaleno will be tied into this story :)