A/N: Don't own.

Continues immediately after chapter 18.

End of Chapter 18:

Harry took a brief look around, entirely satisfied. It was certainly nice of Jones to give him a chance to rehash this particular part of today's confrontation in public. Making a joke out of the Order's fear mongering about supposed 'rising dark forces', indirect criticism for the DMLE – for not protecting their hero – as well as once and for all clarifying Reborn's and Fon's positions at his side.

And most importantly, his statement would ensure that no one would ever so much as consider that either Fon or Reborn could possibly be non-magical. It was unfathomable to any wizard that a Muggle could possibly defeat a magic user.

Job done, Harry turned on his heel, flanked by Reborn and Fon as they made the final few steps towards the very spot they had arrived in. Raising his hand as Fawkes appeared in front of them in a spectacular flash of phoenix fire, Harry took a last look around the hall, he felt immensely satisfied with the stupefied looks all around.

And as Fawkes' fire enveloped them, Harry couldn't help but gleefully think that his lawyers were going to have fun 'taking care' of anyone who had been even remotely involved in today's events.

Chapter 19

The foyer of Motley's firm was empty when they arrived in a flash of phoenix fire.

Well, empty except for Mrs. Lynton sitting primly behind her desk between the offices of Motley and Wellington, the other partner of the firm.

Harry gave Fon a moment to take in their surroundings, but smiled at her in greeting across the foyer. She cheerfully waved back at him.

Mrs. Adelaide 'Della' Lynton was the secretary of Motley & Wellington and she had been running her bosses' lives for decades now. But despite her age, she had definitely kept her spirit young, her grey hair always in a loose elegant bun, wearing dark traditional witches' clothing, but always in combination with numerous colorful accessories made by her many grandchildren. Her extended family was also her absolute favorite topic to talk about, usually over homemade cookies and a nice cup of tea while they waited for this or that document to come through or for one of his lawyers to arrive.

She also seemed to know just about every single person in a secretarial position throughout the Alleys, the Ministry and possibly the entirety of Wizarding Britain. Whenever Motley needed something, there always seemed to be 'that one nice lad, who was in charge of that and who coincidentally was also the grandson of that gentleman her cousin had gone to school with and that lad surely wouldn't mind giving Motley's request preference and she was just going to quickly step out and bring it over personally'.

She was truly invaluable for getting things done quickly. And Merlin help anyone, who tried to stand in her way. Her efficiency was not to be compromised by others' incompetence.

Harry had only had the pleasure of seeing her patience be tested once, when she had come with him to the Ministry to pick up some documents. She had apparently felt personally offended by the gall of the Ministry clerks trying to claim that Harry didn't actually have the authority to request those files. Her benevolent, grandmotherly smile had suddenly grown teeth and she had brought both clerks almost to tears while explaining ineptitude to them in very small words. Sure enough, they had left with those documents in hand and to the sound of the clerks being verbally ripped apart by their supervisor, an older woman who clearly knew Mrs. Lynton quite well.

Harry still thought fondly of that particular day. And had pledged to never get on her bad side. His self-preservation instincts were very much intact, thank you very much. Thankfully, Mrs. Lynton seemed to have decided early on to take Harry under her wing.

As he stepped up to her desk with Reborn and Fon at his side, she greeted them cheerfully. "Lord Potter, how nice to see you again. How have you been?"

Harry already felt his mood lifting at her cheer, "Mrs. Lynton, it is good to see you again. I'm doing quite well, thank you. How was your trip to Venice and your grandson's bonding ceremony?"

She beamed at him, "Oh, how nice of you to ask. It was magnificent. The ceremony was stunning and the festivities afterwards were so very marvelous."

And after exchanging a few more bits of small talk, she quickly got back to business, "Your timing is impeccable, Lord Potter. Barrister Motley just had another meeting with the Clarke siblings this morning and I was to contact you in order to set up another appointment, which we could take care of right now if you have the time. Barrister Motley is on his break currently but he should be back in a few minutes and I will contact Clarke Solicitors momentarily. Would you mind awfully waiting a moment for everyone to gather here?"

"That would be no problem at all. Thank you, Mrs. Lynton." Harry smiled at her, already considering whether he could make use of the time until the meeting.

He had been feeling incredibly uncomfortable ever since being made aware that his magical signature wasn't currently masked. It bothered him endlessly to be without that additional shield, that protection, even more so after the Ministry using it to track him down.

So, any chance of correcting that oversight was more than welcome and if they had to wait for his lawyers anyways...

Masking one's magic didn't actually require anything beyond focus, excellent magical control and the knowledge how to cast the required ward. All the more embarrassing to admit that he could have taken care of this at any point. If only he had remembered to do so.

Well, a lesson learned and all that.

Still, this would be the perfect chance before they had to step out into the Wizarding World again, to make sure that there would be no chance of anyone tracking him again and possibly even following them back to their apartment based on his magical signature. All the better, if he could do it now in one of Motley's heavily warded meeting rooms, so anyone who might still be tracking him would lose sight of him immediately.

A quick glance over at Reborn, before he turned back to Mrs. Lynton, "Would it be possible for me to make use of one of the meeting rooms until everyone gets here? It won't take long."

"Yes, of course. Just go on through to that room on the left. There is no one scheduled to use it until later today." She said, pointing at a door on the far side of the foyer.

Harry thanked her, which she waved him off with a smile, and by the time they reached the other side of the foyer she was already in the process of penning a note - presumably to inform Motley and the Clarkes of Harry's presence here.

Despite Harry actually having been half a step ahead of Reborn and Fon the entire way across the foyer, his Sun somehow still managed to step through the door ahead of him. At Harry's exasperated – not fond, no not fond at all – huff, he just threw a smug smirk over his shoulder.

"What's the hold up, beautiful?"

Harry's face immediately lit up with a blush. He could feel his cheeks glowing red at being called by one of Reborn's preferred names outside of their home.

The obvious amusement of the Storm - who was still holding the door open for him, clearly having no intention of entering before Harry – at their interaction didn't help his blush at all.

Insufferable, the both of them, he huffed internally but made his way into the room the small meeting room.

Refusing to meet his Sun's satisfied grin – much less acknowledge the affection he could feel along their bond - or remark on the amusement radiating from Fon, Harry picked one of the chairs further away from the door and settled at the oval meeting table without further comment.

At least there were no further teasing comments on the blush he was still sporting, as Fon leaned against the wall across from where Reborn was propped against the table. They had positioned themselves right between Harry and the door with an unimpeded view of both, while covering each other's blind spots perfectly.

Really, at some point that overprotectiveness was going to start annoying Harry something awful.

…

Although, probably not until he stopped feeling all warm and fuzzy inside whenever his Sun did something like this. Making Harry and his safety unapologetically, uncompromisingly his first priority. Being unquestionably put first was still an utterly new concept for Harry.

Well, he could accept his Sun's overgrown overprotectiveness, as long as he didn't complain when Harry started returning that favor at every opportunity. We'll be having words otherwise, Harry thought and relaxed back in his seat, closing his eyes, turning his focus inward, slowly letting his mind settle into his magic.

Usually when casting this ward, he struggled endlessly with trying to turn his entire focus inwards, having to entirely let go of his outside awareness, despite knowing of the threats that constantly, continuously, relentlessly loomed over his shoulder. But this time - with his Sun just a few feet away from him, quietly conversing with Fon - Harry simply had no doubts regarding his safety and it was so very easy to just, let go.

With a silent breath, Harry let his outside awareness fade away, focusing inwards, centering himself, gathering his magic - even the smallest amount from around himself - and drawing it into himself, into his core. All while wrapped in a warm cocoon of Flames, Sky and Sun Flames intertwining through the bond, reassuring, pulsing with the feeling of safetywarmthhomeprotection.

Focused inwards, Harry was entirely unaware of the serene smile on his face and of the peaceful sigh he let out.

But the two Flame users certainly noticed.

Fon could practically see Reborn's smugness reaching new heights.

And Fon refused to react to the Sky's absolute assuredness of his safety in his Sun's presence. He wouldn't. Not on pain of death.

He was quite disinterested in hearing Reborn actually verbalize his smugness. Ever since smugly introducing Harry as his Sky, the Sun had been doing enough bragging without words, thank you very much. This Sky hadn't just harmonized with one of the strongest Flame users in existence – pulled him in and happily kept him there – but apparently also measured up to Reborn's ridiculously high standards in everything else.

A part of his mind - the small, hidden part of him that for years had been yearning for that bond, surreptitiously searching for Harmony - vibrated with excitement, because Fon's presence clearly didn't interfere with the young Sky's feeling of safety at all. Despite only having met days ago. Fon couldn't remember the last time a Sky had actually relaxed in his presence.

And - silently - Fon could admit that this Sky was utterly fascinating, would have been even if Fon hadn't been able to literally breathe in the purity of his Qi and Flames and Magic.

It was the first time in years that Fon actually felt any sort of interest in a particular Sky.

The Triads kept their unbonded Skies close, protected, pampered, as everyone tried to curry their favor, minions falling over themselves, trying to impress. Just in case that Sky ever came into a position of real power. The powerful Branches encouraged this behavior, because it kept the Sky Flame users in the smaller Branches spoilt and soft, making any sort of effective rebellion on that front unlikely. And keeping the Skies tucked away also let the leaders unobtrusively handpick any Guardian potentials, who then always coincidentally turned out to be uncharacteristically loyal to existing power structures.

Admittedly, this system had granted a surprising amount of order and peace in the Triads - and Fon could generally care less about these sorts of power games – but it had also resulted in entire generations of utterly ruined Skies.

Fon wouldn't even so much as consider binding himself to a single one of them.

Well, the Mafia's route wasn't any better. In Italy it had become common to kill off any Sky your Famiglia failed to bind to itself - just to make sure that they didn't bolster any rival Famiglias - which had led to a dramatic drop off in the overall number of Skies in Italy.

Not an optimal approach either, that was for sure.

So, in Fon's experience, Skies were either spoilt – their self-importance laughably overinflated – or meek – kept small by whoever got their hands on them first – or fury personified – when their Guardians' loyalty turned out to be to someone else first and the pain of betrayal was unbearable and inescapable.

It was the same problem everywhere in the criminal underworld. Everyone wanted Harmony - for the bond, for the power, for the prestige - but anyone in power wanted to keep potential opposition down, which was most likely to come from strong Skies with a strong group of Guardians. So, across the world of organized crime Skies were either killed off, kept weak or kept loyal.

It was a cutthroat world. And unbonded, unprotected Skies tended to get the worst of it. The few Skies that were decently strong and actually managed to survive with their health and sanity intact were rarely able to keep more than even the smallest fraction of any positive personality aspects they might have originally carried with them.

All the more ludicrous for Reborn to actually have found a Sky like this.

A Sky without a Famiglia - without ties or obligations, without someone pulling his and his Guardians' strings - but with the strength to back it up. A Sky with power of his own and - going by what Fon had witnessed so far - with determination of steel. A Sky with true compassion - who did not wish for power, reputation, wealth or social standing – and with a kind heart, whose main interest was freedom.

Freedom for himself and for his Guardians, to spread as they pleased but with a center, a home to return to.

A true Sky.

The sort you read about and dreamt about but that wasn't actually supposed to exist in reality. A nice dream, nothing more.

And now, Reborn had actually found it.

Well, if there was anyone who would manage to find himself a young, pure, untainted, civilian Sky, it would be Reborn. If only so the Sun could claim to have the very best. Always.

One look over at the man – Reborn's face still radiating lazy satisfaction - and Fon was almost tempted to roll his eyes. Regrettably, he had a reputation to uphold.

The hitman really was insufferable sometimes.

Entirely focused on his magic - which was happily humming in his core, tendrils coiling through his body - Harry noticed nothing of the outside world.

Once his magic entirely settled within him, casting the ward came almost automatically.

As soon as he could feel the command of the ward spread through his core - his very self – he smoothly let go of his absolute restraint on his magic again. And it elatedly took back the freedom it always so enjoyed, immediately spreading outwards again, never straying far, just slightly tinting his world and increasing his awareness as it always did.

But even as Harry's awareness returned to the outside world, he could feel his magic spreading further. Spreading, expanding. Joyfully following his Flames' path along the bond to his Sun.

Until it covered Ren in its cloak as well, feeling like it belonged right there, winding around his Sun in joyful tendrils, as though it had been doing it all along.

Harry could practically see some of the tension that had gathered in Ren's frame leak out of his posture again, as his magic practically hummed in delight, nudging at Harry's awareness, See? See?

Which, what?

Before Harry could consider what in the Merlin's name his magic was doing, there was a knock on the door, Mrs. Lynton letting them know that everyone else had arrived and was waiting for them.

Well, this was definitely something to discuss later. Well, he doubted that Reborn would be averse to testing anything involving his magic, considering how utterly fascinated he seemed every time Harry let his magic out to intertwine with their Flames.

And, while they were at it, maybe Harry could also test his Flames some more. That at least, was something to look forward to for later.

His eagerness to use his Flames again had nothing to do with last time he had tried, how it had felt to have his Flames intertwine with Reborn's. Or how, Harry had pretty much been curled up in his Sun's lap by the end of it. Really, it didn't.

Keeping step with Harry across the foyer, Reborn did nothing to suppress his lecherous grin at the renewed blush on his Sky's cheeks. Even though he had no idea what exactly had brought it on this time, Harry doing his best not to actually look at him as he tried to suppress the blush, sure made it seem like he was somehow to blame.

And Reborn was gladly taking credit for that delectable look. He did so adore that blush.

Although, by the time they reached Motley's office the redness of his Sky's cheeks was barely noticeable, which was just fine with Reborn. No one else should be allowed to see his little Sky's adorable reactions.

Those were his and his alone.

Cue the maniacal, evil laughter.

While Reborn pondered his Sky's adorableness, Harry was introducing Fon to his lawyers, which included Motley, the female Clarke and her brother Anthony.

The latter was definitely the least likable of the three Clarkes, far too pompous for Reborn or Harry's taste. But he was also incredibly good at his job - weeding out even the slightest pitfalls in legal documents, going through every paragraph, sentence, turn of phrase with a fine-toothed comb and with a sixth sense for anything fishy even if not actually apparent in the phrasing itself - and he was also entirely focused on keeping Harry and his interests protected. Which was the only reason that Reborn hadn't shredded the man during their first meeting for daring to actually question him and his reasons for being there.

And also, the fact that the man had no sense of humor or sarcasm whatsoever, making it far too easy to have fun at his expense.

Reborn had driven his Sky almost to tears with silent laughter by purposely misunderstanding every single question the man had asked him. Anthony had given up in exasperation after trying to rephrase the third question for the seventh time.

Fon was currently getting the exact same treatment, being asked thinly veiled, suspicious questions about his intentions.

The Storm was clearly just as irked about being questioned by a stranger, but decided to go a different route. Namely, taking the man's questions absolutely literal and he was currently in the process of making up an absolutely bullshit story about his personal details with infinite diligence. He started by inventing a date of birth – exact, down to the second and for several calendars, including the Western, the Chinese and the Japanese calendars -, then expounded on the geographic importance of his fictional birth place, before explaining the historic value of the hospital he was supposedly born in and was now in the process of giving the family history of the midwife who had apparently been involved in his delivery.

Throughout, he was smiling serenely, practically oozing politeness and cordial amiability, daring anyone to call him on his bullshit.

At Fon's side, Harry was trying unsuccessfully trying to cover his wheezing laughter by faking a coughing fit.

And Anthony Clarke looked on in confusion, clearly no idea what to make of the Chinese man at all.

Motley put an end to the spectacle - sadly before Fon could finish his detailed story about how the midwife's childhood pet had been her inspiration to go into medicine - but made no efforts to hide the amusement in his eyes as he did so.

Then, they finally got down to business, which immediately went into an entirely different direction from what they had originally come here for, because the lawyers had finally completed the preparations for legalizing Harry's charity just this morning.

And Reborn knew how anxiously Harry had been looking forward to any progress on that front. The thought of the children orphaned by the war - who had lost not only their families but also their homes and any sort of legal protection – practically haunted his Sky.

While Reborn could more than get behind any effort to protect children - young children, true innocents, those who never had to fight for their own life, who hadn't yet learned that the world even had harsher sides, who had never so much as gone a day without a full meal in their stomachs, guileless, wide-eyed, innocent children - he also didn't struggle with the thought that these children might have a slightly harsher life than necessary for another week or so.

Because they would be saved - maybe a little more weary than before, a little wiser to the harshness of life - which was more than most children in their situation could say. But, soon they would be rescued, guarded, shielded, protected, sheltered again. His Sky would see to it. And that was all that Reborn thought should matter.

But as always Harry's kindness was truly a warmth all of its own.

And so, Reborn was entirely unsurprised when Harry promptly forgot about their original reason for coming here and instead happily focused on his lawyers' progress.

Anthony Clarke was currently explaining, "We now have most of the legalities in order for the charity itself. We were trying to find some sort of precedent in Wizarding Britain and we went back all the way to the founding of the Magick Council, but there simply is nothing of the sort."

Here, Laura Clarke continued, "Instead we are going to base the entire case on your intention to build orphanages and we will use Hogwarts itself as a precedent. The founders actually got a lot of private support, monetary and otherwise, that allowed them to finish Hogwarts at all in their own lifetime. Going this route will also make it almost impossible for anyone to go against your charity due to the similarities, a place to provide homes and schooling for children the same way Hogwarts was originally intended." She opened a heavy roll of parchment with teeny-tiny writing and pushed it towards them, as though that would illustrate her point.

Harry glanced at the scroll without attempting to read it, but was nodding enthusiastically, always happy to hear his only childhood home mentioned in a good light and not in reference to any occurrences of his own school drama or the Final Battle.

Anthony Clarke took over again. "Lewis has also arranged interviews with the two candidates that you picked for the running of the charity itself. Both of them will be available two days from now as you requested. At this point neither of them has any idea that you are involved, but they have been warned that Lewis will be joined by other parties during the interview."

During one of their previous meetings, Lewis Clarke had proposed that he take over the initial setup of the charity until Harry could appoint someone to do so full time once the charity was legally sound. There had been a pulse of amusement along their bond from his Sky, before Harry had proceeded to give his lawyers quite the fight on that front and he had only grudgingly given in.

Reborn had been endlessly entertained, because he knew that Harry was actually quite happy with the offer. They had even discussed this beforehand when his Sky had worriedly mentioned to him that he had no idea where to even start with setting up a charity. They had spent many a conversation discussing everything that would need to be organized even after the legalities were sorted, like getting facilities built, staffed and equipped. Not to even mention figuring out a way to get any orphans assigned to the charity's care in the first place.

Additionally, Harry had resignedly admitted that if he were to actually arrange these things himself, people would quickly get wind of the fact that Harry Potter, the Savior was holding job interviews and he would be buried in claims from people who just wanted a chance to talk to The-Man-Who-Conquered and who had no actual interest in or qualifications for the job. And the Ministry would certainly soon find a way to stick their noses into his business as well.

So, he had let himself be "convinced" into letting someone else take care of the initial setup and thereby gotten exactly what he wanted in the first place.

Harry - the troll - had only made his lawyers argue their case to make sure that they were truly behind the idea. And for the sake of it.

Reborn simply adored his Sky's propensity to stir things up.

Harry confirmed to himself that he would never ever so much as consider going into law.

His enthusiasm at his lawyers' offer of explaining the charity's legal setup had quickly dwindled once they had started explaining the finer details of the documents that were to be submitted to the Ministry. Listening to his lawyers monologuing about how this or that paragraph was supported by this or that regulation of this or that Ministry Department was mind-numbing.

But they were clearly doing their best to skip any not so essential sections of the documents, which was the only reason Harry was still even trying to listen to them. Although, he couldn't help letting his mind drift slightly from time to time. Fon hadn't moved so much as a millimeter for quite some time now and at this point Harry was getting suspicious that the Storm might actually be meditating to escape the pain of having to listen to Harry's lawyers drone on.

As usual, it was Reborn who was avidly listening to Harry's lawyers explaining the more intricate details of the documents.

Harry had realized during their first meeting at Motley's office after their bonding that Reborn could more than keep up with his lawyers. And whenever Harry needed clarification, his Sun easily filtered out the lawyer speak and translated everything they had said into plain English.

Reborn could actually get quite nitpicky about certain ways to phrase things that he thought might come back to bite them later on, even arguing for the lawyers to change, remove or add paragraphs. Well, his Sun tended to consider the more brutal eventualities that might come to pass in any given situation, possibly brought about by himself.

And so far, they haven't won a single argument against Ren either, Harry thought cheerfully.

They had been at it for quite some time now but they were finally drawing to a close. After a few more minutes, they finished with an air of accomplishment and there was a brief quiet in the office as Laura and Anthony Clarke gathered and neatly stacked the various papers scattered over the table.

Now, the documents could finally be submitted to the Ministry.

Which reminded Harry of his original reason for coming to see Motley. Well, no time like the present.

Quickly glancing between Reborn and Fon, he turned back to his lawyers. Despite having just spent a grueling three hours of legal discussion, all three of them immediately honed in on his serious expression, their eyes gaining a certain gleam, almost as though they could already smell the blood in the water.

Harry had learned early on that his lawyers could be quite bloodthirsty and found an absurd amount of satisfaction in tearing people apart in entirely legal but excruciatingly painful ways.

And Harry took no little amount of glee in quickly bringing them up to speed. They were immediately taking notes and asking questions about specifics. Especially Laura Clarke seemed to be chomping at the bit to bury all involved parties in law suits.

But before she could open her mouth, Motley claimed the Department of Mysteries as his. The barrister apparently had contacts among the Unspeakables and thus could easily follow the fallout. He calmly assured Harry that just because there seemed to be some sort of investigation on the side of the Unspeakables, there was no reason not to make sure that there would be actual, 'cautionary' consequences to deter anyone else from trying something similar. The threat was clear, but Motley's peaceful, grandfatherly smile never so much as wavered on his face.

Reborn wasn't even trying to hide his bloodthirsty appreciation and Fon was looking on in definite approval.

Satisfied, Harry gave his lawyers the absolute go-ahead to get compensation for his 'distress' at having been sought after like a common criminal.

And as Harry, Reborn and Fon left for the Alleys, the Clarke siblings were still locked in an intense staring match, silently fighting over who got to go after the Order and who got to go after the DMLE.

Harry really should send a thank you note to Luna at some point for originally pointing him in Motley's direction.

A/N: So... I don't know what happened! This was supposed to only be the beginning of the next chapter, a short scene about Harry updating his lawyers. And then it just kept growing and growing and growing! I almost just added this to the ever-growing deleted scenes, but I quite like how their dynamic develops in this. So, I decided to post it but cut it off here, because this would have turned into an absolute monster of a chapter otherwise and then you might not have gotten another update for months ('cause you never know with RL)... I hope the quick update makes up for the chapter size though :)

On a different note, it has been pointed out to me that I haven't actually mentioned Reborn wearing his fedora once in this story. I went back and realized that it's completely true. In the beginning I purposely didn't have him wear it yet because I had a scene in mind how he would get it. But then… I somehow entirely forgot to write that scene (^_^;)

So, I'll let you my lovely lovely readers decide: Should Reborn only get his trademark fedora now or has he been wearing it all along? I can also do a flashback how he got it, either during Igneous or before meeting Harry? Just let me know and I'll do my best :)

Chapter 18 review responses:

Thanks so much for all your reviews! You are just wonderful and your comments keep me motivated and hooked on writing! At this point it should be becoming pretty clear what is going to happen with Reborn, Harry and Fon but I won't keep you in suspense much longer :)

As always I won't comment on how the other Arcobaleno, the curse or Kawahira will play a role in this fic (though there will be a big KHR plot revelation soon) and Hermione and Ron should show up sometime within the next few chapters (maybe in the next 2 or 3 chapters?).

To gemava: Thanks for reviewing! Fon already has Lichi and he will appear soon (probably sometime in the next chapter) but so far he has been hiding on Fon's person.

To Seere Klein: Thanks for your review! I think their ages were mentioned once or twice in the story :) Harry is eighteen and Reborn twenty-seven.