Two Scarred Souls Heal Each Other
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto. They belong to their respective authors and publishing/media companies.
Warning: Yaoi/Slash. Eventually Harry/Ibiki. Please don't read if its not your cup of tea.
A round of applause to all my readers. I love you guys!
Author's notes: The end is in sight. If this fanfiction goes over 20 chapters, I would be completely shocked. And horrified!
This chapter is currently not beta. All mistakes and errors are mine.
A sincere shout out to all you wonderful readers who have reviewed or PM'ed me about all my typos. Thank you for keeping me on point! I try to correct all the mistakes but I honestly think as the writer, I read what I meant to write rather than what is on the screen. Hence, the reason why so many typos run free and escape my scrutiny. So by all means, keep the comments coming. I sincerely appreciate every last one of them!
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Chapter 12: Secrets Revealed, Part 1
Ibiki managed to shunshin the couple to the front of the impressive gleaming iron gates of the Potter-Black Manor. Harry freed himself to walk over to the gates to adjust the wards to locking down the compound for the night.
"Do you still have a lot of private requests for your herbal remedies?" questioned Ibiki as they walked hand in hand to the manor's door.
"Dozens. Its not exactly a quiet secret that we supply certain products to Konoha's hospital and shinobi corps. We get requests from a variety of people, from villagers to nobles in the capital. The most surprising are the order requests from other hidden villages." Harry replied with a shrug. They may have to hire a few workers if they decide to expand their production beyond what they manage.
"Other villages?" Ibiki decided to ask Tsunade about the possibility of officially sanctioning the Apothecary Cafe to trade with other hidden villages. If Konoha was able to wrangle out some concessions from their rival villages, it would be another reason why the Civilian Council couldn't risk going against the Potter-Blacks. Not that they were in a position to do so at this time. Currently, the Civilian Council was locked in a political battle as each member jocked for a position to allow a female relative to marry the last Uchiha. That petty civil war was the most entertainment the shinobi clan leaders have seen for years. Watching Councilwoman Meibuki Haruno's fall from power was particularly satisfying for Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame whose blood limits made them overly sensitive to Haruno's legendary ear piercing screeches.
"Yes. Suna and Kumo have sent the most requests. Currently, Hermione and I have declined all outer village orders due to not having proper permission to conduct trade outside of Konoha. We are not even sure if we even want to. Mostly because we lack the manpower to complete the extra orders along with running the Cafe. Honestly, the over all success of the Cafe is still a daily surprise." laughed Harry.
Even if the siblings decided to expand the business, they would only buy another building to make their poultices and balms in. Harry had no intentions of leaving his quaint cafe for years to some.
Pausing underneath the portico, Ibiki watched as Harry unlocked the mahogany front door. While he couldn't see the seals, the quick hum of energy he felt clearly illustrated that they were there and were sufficiently powerful too.
Harry grabbed Ibiki's hand and led him through the thrumming doorway. Within moments, they were quickly ascending up the luxuriously, carpeted stairways and entering Harry's master bedroom.
The room was quite large and decorated in a calm and cool design. The walls were a pale silvery blue and light gray painted in a horizontal pinstriped pattern with rich black furniture dotted throughout the room. The largest window had a wide bench in front of it, allowing its resident to enjoy the scenic view of the gardens. A king size bed reclined along one wall and was furnished in white and gray striped sheets while a dark gray comforter on top. Alternating white and a plethora of gray colored fluffy pillows completed the ensemble and created a picturesque image that promised a good night's sleep.
Harry's love of mythological animals extended to his personal decorations, as the walls featured black and white drawings of a unicorn, phoenix, dragon, and griffin. It added a flair of whimsy to the bedroom's ambiance.
Ibiki wasted no time in removing his coat, throwing it upon the reading chair that was set up in one corner of the room. He deftly un-tucked his shirt and reached for his lover who had shed his shirt and belt in a hasty manner. The wizard had finally decided to wear shirts and trousers to work and restricted his kimonos to free time and special occasions. While the jounin missed the alluring kimonos clad on his koibito's lithe frame, he equally appreciated the simplicity of trousers. Especially as they prominently displayed Harry's arousal so blatantly.
Pulling the wizard into a fiery embrace, Ibiki carefully eased Harry into lying down underneath him on the bed. He used his forearms to balance his weight while he ravaged Harry in a tidal of passionate kisses.
Just as he was about to move a hand to explore Harry's body, a bright flare burst into the bedroom.
Quickly kneeling on the bed and ensuring Harry was safely behind him, the armed and ready jounin watched in amazement as the bright flame condensed into a legendary creature that Ibiki had just admired on Harry's wall.
A phoenix. A phoenix was suddenly in the bedroom where he was about to make love to his Emerald.
A cheerful musical melody sounded from the fire bird as it circled around the room and landed elegantly on top of what was obviously one of Hedwig's perches.
Trilling in joy, the phoenix curiously peered back at Ibiki and tilted his head in an inquisitive manner.
"There's a phoenix in your bedroom." deadpanned Ibiki, who was torn between shock and awe over this situation.
"Yes." cautiously replied Harry, who had moved into a kneeling position on the bed. His green eyes going back and forth between his shell shocked lover and the preening phoenix.
"A phoenix."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Ummm, we need to… talk? There are some things I need to explain to you." sheepishly confessed Harry, as he ran a hand against the back of his head shyly.
"Yes. An explanation would be nice." agreed Ibiki, quickly coming out of the shock of seeing a legendary animal appear in front of him
An indignant trill interrupted the solemn atmosphere.
"Hello Fawkes. I didn't mean to ignore you. But as you can see, you did come at a very awkward time."
Fawkes's reply was a quick melody that had an apparent sound of laughter in it.
Ibiki sat in a leather wingback chair, staring sight unseen at the cup of tea held in his hand. For the past twenty minutes, he had been thrown into a dizzying explanation of a world he could scarcely believe was true, if it wasn't for three irrefutable proofs: a phoenix, a magical wand that Harry used to perform magic, and a hyperactive creature named Dobby who was apparently some type of magically servant.
Dobby wiggled his ears nervously as he casted cautious looks between his master and his master's Ibiki - which sounded almost like an elf's name so he resolved to call him Morino Sir from now on. With one last drawn out look, he popped out the room to give his master and master's mate have some privacy.
Ibiki glanced at the plate of finger sandwiches that the elf had delivered. Signing deeply, he turned to look at Harry who sat as still as a statue perched at the edge of the bed, feet flat on the floor. The wizard's arms were wrapped around his torso and he stared resolutely at the ground, with his un-conquerable hair covering his eyes. All in all, he looked very dejected. Ibiki severely disliked seeing his lover like that and wanted it changed immediately.
"So magic?" the jounin said softly, one hand reaching for the sandwiches that smelled absolutely delicious. He took a bite and was surprised to discover it was a succulent roast beef sandwich dressed with a magnificent creamy spread. He unashamedly grabbed another one.
Harry quietly nodded his head, still not looking at the ninja. Although, just the fact that he was even partaking of the food was raising a bit of cautious hope in his heart. 'Maybe we can still be friends?' he wondered morosely.
"Is that how you make all your teas and poultices?" asked Ibiki, honestly curious about how the siblings made their effective and often astounding products.
"Some ingredients are purely magically and are only available in the wizarding world. The vast majority of what we make and sell are common or easily learned from books in my family's library. A large percent of the plants and herbs can be found in the elemental countries though. The rest were brought with us when we left the wizarding world. We couldn't and didn't sell more products as it was too impossible to figure out the logistics and the results would have raised to many questions about miracle cures." Harry explained in a low tone.
"Miracle cures?"
"The wizarding world uses a lot of potions to aid healing magic. There is one called skele-gro. It does exactly like the name implies: heals or regrows bones in a matter of hours instead of weeks and months."
"Regrows bones? How can you regrow bones."
Harry looked guardedly at Ibiki. The jounin's interested expression, rather than a fearful or disgusted one, helped loosen the wizard's tension.
"When I was 12 years old, an incompetent teacher magically banished all the bones from my broken arm. I spent the entire night in the hospital infirmary regrowing all the vanished bones through several doses of skele-gro. It was painful and uncomfortable but it really works. One of my dorm mates swore it can be used to regrow or heal teeth too, but I never tested out that theory."
Ibiki was blown away by the implication of that one single potion. Imagine the healing rate of injured ninjas if such a potion was available.
"There is also the blood replenishing potion, a potion to help internal bleeding, a strong muscle relaxer, a nerve smoother and re-generator, and alot more."
The jounin was amazed by a blood replenishing potion. Medic nins and doctors have been researching for years for the illusive lifesaving medicine that Harry just rattled off without a care.
"Why don't you sell those potions?" asked an mystified Ibiki. The about of lives that could be saved or improved was staggering.
"Because neither Hermione or myself wanted to kidnapped, tortured, or killed over some potions. It was too much of a risk to come to a new country and proceed to see remedies that have never been seen or heard of before. If we would have done it, we probably would have disappeared within days of our first sell."
Ibiki paused and had to mentally concede that point to Harry. There most definitely would have been a rush to see who could kidnap the siblings first. Hell, Anko would have rushed over to kidnap them if it meant knowing how to make and create the blood replenishing potion. Her favorite complaint was she couldn't 'play' as much as she wanted to because her 'toys' would be bled out and die on her.
"What did you mean by impossible logistics."
"The art of potion brewing is not something that everybody is capable of doing. I am mediocre at best, and Hermione, while talented, would quickly despise brewing potions day in and day out. Then there is the time involved in it. Some potions can be brewed in a hour while others take a month or even longer. The supplies necessary for brewing high level potions are immense - cauldrons, knives, vials, proper tables, and etc. Not to mention some of the ingredients are only found in the wizarding world. It would be easier to buy and sell the potions rather than make them ourselves."
"And you can't sell them without the threat of kidnapping, torture, or death."
"Exactly!"
'What a tangled and complicated mess this is!' thought Ibiki. Opening up a trade route would throw Harry and Hermione right back into the middle of danger. Trying to focus on something more positive, the jounin decided to change the conversation.
"Does your magic allow you to do other things besides make potions?" Ibiki almost wished he had a notebook at this moment as he knew Tsunade and Shikaku would be inhumanely interested in this information. What an unpredictable discovery.
"It is a very diverse bloodline. Chakra can effect people's physical bodies, senses, and manipulate the five elements. Magic is capable of bending the rules of reality to suit its user's whims. There is transfiguration, the art of changing something to something else. Charms is the ability to manipulate yourself, others, and the environment in a multitude of ways. Defensive and offensive magic which is self explanatory. Runes are the magical equivalent of seals but they are more widely used than seals are here." detailed Harry, trying to think of an easy summary for the different applications of magic.
"Is it an actual blood limit trait? Can it be passed down to yours or Hermione's children?" Ibiki realized that Harry and Hermione had the opportunity to receive a boost in political power in Konoha and in Fire Country as well. The council would bend over backwards to ensure the talented and wealthy siblings would stay in Konoha and continue their clan. The end goal would be to have shinobi with their blood limit traits one day.
"In regards to Hermione and myself, the odds are very high in our favor. Magic is an unpredictable ability. Families that had magic for generations, who call themselves purebloods, can have children born without the gift. Children born without magic in magical families are called squibs. Likewise, a mundane family could discover that a baby with magic, a muggleborn, has been born into their family for the first time. At least to their knowledge, that is."
"They don't know their child could have magic? How could they not know?"
"Traditionally speaking, purebloods would disown and abandon their nonmagical children into the mundane world. As the child grows up, he or she is not aware that they carry the genes for magic. Hermione and I believe all muggleborn children are the descendants of those nonmagical pureblood children whose magical genes suddenly became dominant. An extremely unpopular theory suggests that more squib children are being born in Britain due to the pureblood pattern of inbreeding with close relatives in the efforts of keeping their bloodlines pure. Theoretically, Hermione and I have higher probabilities of having magical children because our blood is relatively new and not inbred for generations."
Ibiki hummed thoughtfully as he considered the political quagmire that he just landed in. On the plus side, Konoha could benefit from the medical potions. On the negative side, there is no doubt that the Civilian Council will try to pressure Harry into siring more children. The fact that he was in a relationship with Ibiki will only deter them so long.
"Not to be rude, but do you realize you could be thrown into clan status in light of the recent information. The Council cannot order you to do much due to your relationship with the Daimyo and your significant wealth. But they can pressure you to accept clan status. As a clan head, you are required to have heirs eventually." Ibiki stated cautiously.
"Oh,okay. So maybe we can blood adopt some orphans one day?" Harry posed his question tentatively. He seriously hoped that Ibiki haven't changed his mind to bond with him.
"Blood adopt?" questioned the stunned jounin. 'Harry still wants to be with me? Even though he must know how much more he could gain if he broke up with me?' wondered Ibiki.
"Yes. Blood adoptions are an old rituals used in many ancient and noble houses to magically adopt a child into their family. The adopted child will gain the appearance of its parents and a portion of their family's magical gifts like my parseltongue ability. It needs to be done while the child is still young due to the fact the ritual can be painful since it is essentially replacing the genetics of the child with that of the adopted parents."
Ibiki was officially astonished. "You can do that? Even if the child isn't magical?" Ibiki had given up all chances of having a family unless he wanted to go through the services of a surrogate. The opportunity to have a family with Harry, complete with children that shared their lineage, was mind-boggling.
"I can since I am magically powerful enough. However, I won't be able to conduct the ritual for anybody else. I could never be able to offer somebody like Sasuke Uchiha the chance to grow his clan through blood adoptions. The ritual is magic based and will depend on my bond with my partner to complete the blood exchange successfully." The fact that Ibiki wanted to have children with him made Harry more and more happy.
"Hmmm." agreed Ibiki, mentally gloating over imagining the civilians' ploy to get Harry to marry their female spawns going up in flame. Sucks to be them, but Ibiki was not going to share his love with anybody else. Much less a harem of shallow civilians!
Looking over at the phoenix who was now asleep with its head tucked under one wing, he decided that tonight already had enough excitement and sleep was best option for the time being. Ibiki knew tomorrow was going to be hellishly busy as he had to report this new information to Tsunade. While he loved his koibito, he was honor bound as a loyal ninja to present the information of Harry's and Hermione's gift to the Hokage, due to the worse case scenario of them proving to be formidable enemies to the village. The true extent of their gifts….well, he'll keep it as vague as possible since he didn't want them to be targeted by every clan, any civilian with aspirations for power, or Danzo. Kami forbid Orochimaru becomes interested in them too!
Getting out of his chair, he slowly padded over to the bed in his bare feet. Standing in front of Harry, he leaned in and gently stroked his love's cheek while laying a gentle kiss on the brunette's faintly trembling lips. He continued to stoke Harry's cheek and pet his hair as he waited for his love to calm down enough to clearly listen to him.
"Okay. I can understand the reason why you kept this a secret. I am a ninja. I can damn well guarantee that there are hundreds of things that I will never be able to tell you nor would I, if I had the opportunity to do so. Given people's natural suspicion of blood limits, you and your sister luckily picked the best village to live in. Kami forbid if you had moved to the Bloody Mist or Kumo's bloodline obsessed village. But," he stressed firmly, "we will have to let the Hokage know."
He resolutely continued his explanation even as Harry's face contorted in a betrayed expression. "I cannot keep this from Tsunade, Harry, I just can't. Especially when it is this significant or has the potential to blow up in our faces like it currently does. Luckily tomorrow is your day off as the Cafe is closed, so we'll have a meeting with Tsunade bright and early before she has a chance to get irritated by her endless paperwork. If we play our cards right, Potter-Black can be recognized as a rising clan of Konoha . This will give your sister and you some protection from the manipulations and demands of the Council, particularly the civilian part of it. If we can work out a way to get just a few of those healing potions into Konoha, you will easily gain the cooperation and alliances of most of the shinobi clan heads. Because you can blood adopt orphans too, you won't be legally forced to marry and sire children with a harem of wives either."
"But, I don't want to marry anybody else. I just want you!" protested Harry. The wizard couldn't stand to be pushed into actions that he didn't want. By Merlin's damned staff, that was one of the key reasons why he left the wizarding world!
"Good, I don't want you to marry anybody else either! Which is why we have to see Tsunade and secure some mutually beneficial concessions and agreements. That way when the Council finds out, and they will find out Harry, they won't be able to demand or pressure unreasonable requests from you. Your approval as a blood limit clan will invoke the old laws that have been in place since Konoha's founding. The shinobi clans will never agree to have your clan's rights revoked or dismissed because it puts their own clans into jeopardy too." Ibiki could practically see the wheels turning in Harry's mind now that he wasn't panicking anymore.
"If a legitimate potion trade could be arranged, would that help sway the shinobi heads to be our allies." Harry mused softly, biting his lips, as he thought of how to get potions into Konoha without putting his family in danger.
"They would offer their own children to you if it means getting their hands on blood replenishing potions or that skeleton grow potion you mentioned." Ibiki replied wryly.
Harry huffed in amusement. "Its skele-gro. I honestly think it was shorten so it was easier to write on a vial." He eagerly pressed his head against Ibiki's hand, silently demanding more petting.
"One last question though." Ibiki said as he caved to his love's adorable demands for affection.
"Hmmm" was Harry's purred response. Honestly he was soooo tired. This conversation can continue in the morning.
"Why is there a phoenix in your bedroom?"
"Ehh, I dunno know. Think about it again tomorrow." Harry slurred as his eyes started to drift shut. The wizard leaned forward into Ibiki's legs. The stress of the day had crept up on the wizard and Ibiki's gentle caresses were lulling him to sleep.
Ibiki glazed down at Harry, who was literally sleeping while sitting on the bed. Snorting in amusement, he carefully lowered Harry to lay on the bed. Ibiki silently lifted up on edge of the comforter so he could finagle the sleeping wizard to rest comfortably on a pillow and underneath the blanket. He hesitated for a moment, but quickly decided Harry would sleep more comfortably without his pants on. In a few minutes, the jounin had swiftly undressed the brunette, slipped off his own trousers, and slid into the bed next to Harry. He maneuvered until he was cradling Harry against his chest, pressed a final kiss goodnight to the wizard's temple, and allowed sleep to finally claim him.
Tomorrow was going to be a very, very long day.
Date posted: 11/16/13 Word Count: Over 4,500 words
Author's notes on details about the story: please read if interested!
Permission to trade outside the village: As a ninja village, Konoha is very selective about what is allowed to enter and exit its villages. Trading is one of those closely monitored aspects. If you wish to conduct trade outside or inside the village, you have to gain official permission from the Hokage or the Council, most of the time the Civilian Council unless the person is or was a ninja. Its to prevent spying or smugging of contraband or illegal products.,
List of potions: I am sure there are dozens of potions to add the use of healing spells. I don't know the name of the exact potions so I just ad-libbed.
Ibiki pushing for the healing potions - I think that as a ninja who watched so many friends and love ones fall in battle, that he would try to do all he could to ensure their chances of survival increased significantly. He's not trying to use Harry, he just wants to help save his friends. Its just human nature. Even though he loves Harry, he has been a part of Konoha all his life and has sworn loyalty as a ninja. Ibiki has too much honor to let love blind him in such a way.
Potions being effective in the Elemental Countries: I read once that everybody in the Elemental Countries had chakra but only ninjas learn how to use and harness that ability. Therefore in my mind, everybody would be able to use use magical potions as a cure due to having chakra. However, most of the potions will be given in emergency situations only. It is to prevent a ninja from being injured in over zealous training and then expecting a skele-gro to heal them right up. Its too much of a waste in valuable resources.