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Balance Factor Chapter 42
Year Seven
Plans
A/N: Thanks for the reviews!
As a guest mentioned, yes, Homurabi finds it strange. Nanaya told him of Kazuki, yes. But Nanaya doesn't understand himself what happened. Homurabi has plans of his own, as Shirogane refuses to tell him anything about Kazuki. Homurabi only knows what he found out from Sirius Black (Which wasn't much because he ran away soon after to ponder what he's learned).
"Why are they so intent on finding me?" Harry asked Lupin while Ryuuko prepared tea for them. Lupin took out a newspaper and smoothed the front page. Harry leaned over and took one look before snorting with laughter, ignoring the cries of outrage that came from Ron and Hermione.
WANTED FOR QUESTIONING ABOUT THE DEATH OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
"Trying to discredit me and capture me at the same time. Clever, but not clever enough," Harry said. "The Dark Lord seems to have forgotten that I have Ryuuko with me. As long as he's here… He's my one person army. He could easily pick off Death Eaters like flies."
"What do you mean, Harry?" Lupin asked. Harry paused before watching Ryuuko come in with tea, pouring it out for them.
"Ryuuko is very powerful," Harry said. "But we have agreed to conceal this power a little longer. I wish to conserve it for the final battle. As of now, it's too early." He thought of the Horcrux and the many things he had to do. "Plus, it would be good to call for reinforcements. Ryuuko may be powerful, but he is not the only one out there who is powerful. Calling Shirogane to battle will give us a definite upper hand. Akira is a very powerful ally as well."
Hermione flipped to the next page and gasped. "Muggle-Born Register?!" She read the article out loud and Harry gave a snort. Ryuuko sighed as he reappeared with a tray of tea.
"It goes to show how much wizards actually know about the origin of magic," he said, sitting down and pouring tea for himself.
"Hogwarts is now mandatory. It's a way of-" Lupin started, but Harry finished for him.
"Keeping track of the number of wizards and witches in the country and weeding out the muggle-borns," Harry said calmly, looking at Ryuuko. "Also a place to teach Dark Arts and look for child recruits among the student population. And kill any potential threats or at least torture them into insanity."
There was a long silence that followed that. Harry gave a bitter laugh.
"What did you expect?" Harry asked, looking at Lupin. "I wouldn't have been surprised if they taught students the Unforgivables just to see who had the guts to perform them and perform them well."
"Say… You're on a journey for Dumbledore, aren't you?" Lupin asked, changing the grim subject.
Harry paused, but it was Ron to responded.
"That's right," he said.
"No, Ron," Ryuuko said gently. "It is not for Dumbledore that we go on this journey. It is for the defeat of the Dark Lord. Dumbledore was a great man, but it is not in his memory we move on this journey. Dumbledore and we… share the same goals, but we have different ways in accomplishing them." He paused. "We are not defeating the Dark Lord because he's the bad guy and we the good… But because he is upsetting the balance that we have forged. The world is not all Light or Dark, though it might seem that way. There is a balance."
"Then… may I join you?" Lupin asked. Ryuuko looked at him.
"Don't you have a wife?" Hermione asked quietly. Harry's eyes bore into Lupin's face, a frown on his face.
"Yes… But Tonks is at her parents," Lupin said. "She will be perfectly safe." There was another pause as Harry waited for him to go on and Lupin added, "She's pregnant."
"How wonderful!" Hermione squealed.
"Congratulations!" Ron said enthusiastically.
Harry and Ryuuko were both staring at Lupin though. "You wish to abandon your own child and come on our journey?" Harry asked finally, looking at Lupin like he had lost his mind.
Lupin swallowed. "It's… not like that."
Ryuuko held a hand up, silencing Harry's next words. Hermione and Ron looked from Ryuuko to Lupin and then at Harry, unsure. Harry remained silent, watching Ryuuko talk.
"Do you regret marrying Tonks, Lupin?" Ryuuko said quietly. Lupin's head snapped up and he looked at Ryuuko in the face.
"Of course not! I just…" He flattered. "I… Yes… I do… You don't know how the rest of the world sees creatures like me! You don't! Her own family is disgusted by the marriage. And the child… Oh, Merlin… The child…" He bit his lip, looking guilty.
"Do you love her, Remus Lupin?" Ryuuko asked. Lupin's eyes shined with tears.
"…Yes… Even now… I do…" Lupin whispered.
"And does she love you?"
"I… believe so…"
"Then burn what the world thinks," Ryuuko said finally. "Why should the opinions of hundreds of others matter so much to your love? She loves you and you love her. She is willing to give birth to your child. So why do you feel like you should run away from that?"
Lupin gripped Ryuuko's arms, the white sleeves crumpled in his fists. "What if I passed the condition I have to the child?! What if the child turns out like me because of me?!"
"It won't."
Harry spoke this time, looking at Lupin.
"How… How can you be so sure?!" Lupin demanded, pointing a finger at Harry. Harry sighed deeply.
"It won't because I have seen such a coupling before," Ryuuko said. "The only exception would be if you coupled with her during the full moon in your wolf form. As long as you were human when you coupled with her, the child will be fully human."
Lupin froze, looking at Ryuuko with some sense of wonder. Ryuuko smiled warmly.
"Go back to them, Remus Lupin. Go back to your family. Treasure them while you still have them," Ryuuko said, reaching up and placing his hand on Lupin's, removing them from his arms. "Do not abandon them for a dangerous quest like ours. Do not risk your life if you do not have to; if the reason you're fighting is because you're scared to find out the truth." He smiled and raised his hand, putting it on Lupin's cheek. Lupin was almost swaying now, entranced by Ryuuko's calm nature. "You may stay for tonight to collect your thoughts. But go home tomorrow, alright?"
Ryuuko let Lupin go. Lupin snapped back, his eyes wide.
"What… in the world was…" Lupin started, but Harry cut through him.
"Ryuuko can seduce the wolf inside you, Lupin," Harry said, sipping his tea. "He can calm it. And tame it. And control it. Animals have a natural attraction to Ryuuko and myself. We provide light. A path for them to take. House elves feel it as well, which is why they all crowded around me in Hogwarts. I believe other magical beings can feel it."
"For you, Lupin, you are not close to your wolf. So it takes a little push," Ryuuko said, sitting down and sipping his tea. "But you were in such hysterics for nothing that I decided to push."
Lupin collapsed in a seat. Harry smiled.
"For now, join us for dinner. You can, as Ryuuko said, go back tomorrow. I'll have Kreacher prepare a room for you," Harry said.
-0-
Sawaki was sitting at Shirogane's desk, doing paperwork. He looked slightly gloomy, but happier since Sirius Black had been taken off his hands by Lulu.
It was instant affection. The moment she saw him in his animagus form it was "It's WOW-WOW!"
Sirius loved to play with the girl. More than Kou anyway. He, however, insisted Lulu call him 'Padfoot'. Lulu, ecstatic, agreed.
So Padfoot and Lulu were chasing kokuchi around, terrorizing the insect like creatures.
It was good for Sawaki though. Sawaki had Lulu out of his hair and Lulu was entertained for the good portion of the day. The only problem was, sometimes, they would set up pranks for the kokuchi that they couldn't reverse. Nanaya had laughed hysterically at the last one, but Akira had been less than pleased.
Because kokuchi were black and hakua were white, but otherwise identical, they had decided to capture a couple kokuchi, paint them white, and set them off in the human world in Akira's house. Akira had left them alone, thinking they were hakua, only to be attacked. Shirogane killed them and was now attending to Akira's wounds in the Light Palace. And maybe more than that.
Sawaki rubbed his temples. He was half glad that Shirogane was gone. He wasn't sure how much he would appreciate finding out that Sirius and Nanaya had tried to paint some hakua black. Fortunately, they didn't survive the painting process, as none of them could hold a proper form in the Shadow World.
"Sawaki!"
Homurabi slammed his hand down on the table. Sawaki gave a small noise of protest as some papers fluttered down on the floor, but looked up to his King.
"Yes, Homurabi-sama?" He asked, speaking tiredly.
"Is there any record… any at all, about someone named Kazuki?!" Homurabi asked. Sawaki blinked, not understanding. Homurabi continued. "Was he a rei child that disappeared when Ryuuko was killed? No, that wouldn't make sense, would it. Why would Shirogane care or take in his Child…? Is he another rei King or something? Wait… if he were a rei, he wouldn't be able to make a shin Child… Or a shin king or something? Do we have any record of him?!"
"I… do not believe so," Sawaki said. "As far as I know, you were Shirogane's secondary King and Shisui was Ryuuko's secondary King. There are no other Kings recorded. Nothing in the records."
"Argh!" Homurabi swept out of the room. Sawaki looked after him.
"I wonder what got him so agitated?"
Homurabi hated not knowing. He hated being left out of the loop. The fact that there was someone in his brother's life that he didn't know bothered him greatly. Especially if this person was a shin. He had thought he knew Shirogane's life, inside and out, but now…
There was a whole new side to Shirogane he never knew. A side that Shirogane had hidden from him. That frustrated Homurabi greatly. Homurabi had always been the closest Child to Shirogane.
Until you murdered Ryuuko. Maybe Shirogane met Kazuki then and turned him into his secondary King then…
Homurabi shoved the annoying voice in his head away, but he had frozen in place. If… that were true… then to get to Shirogane's good graces again, he couldn't afford to be jealous and kill Kazuki. Shirogane would no doubt hate him even more and might even kill him for attempting it.
He leaned against the wall. All Homurabi had to do… was show that he was better than Kazuki in every way. A better King, therefore worthy of his position. Battle wouldn't do in this case.
Homurabi walked out to the moon-lit gardens, watching Lulu and Sirius play in the flowers. Perhaps, Sirius could tell him more about his godson, Kazuki. Who, for some reason, had taken on the name of Harry.
-0-
Two weeks passed. Harry watched Hermione read the book she had inherited from Dumbledore. He looked at Ryuuko and then leaned against his chest, closing his eyes, the warm heat of the fire in the fireplace on his face. The flames crackled and popped. Ryuuko brought his arm around his son, looking at him warmly.
"Tired, Harry?" Ryuuko murmured.
"The balance is stable," Harry said calmly. Ryuuko nodded slowly.
The Locket had been transferred to Ryuuko's possession. He didn't wear it around his neck, but he did keep it in his pocket. It remained innocently still, no sign that it was a Horcrux except for the fact that it would not open like the fake. Harry had insisted, as it had possessed him when he wasn't in his body during his fifth year. Twice.
"Harry?" Ron asked, looking at him.
Harry opened his eyes, looking at Ron. Ron was looking slightly uncomfortable.
"How… Are you planning on destroying the Horcrux?" Ron asked. Harry looked up a Ryuuko.
"Ryuuko's scythe," he said softly. "It is a pure object, much like Shirogane's katana. I destroyed the diary with Shirogane's katana, if you recall. So Ryuuko should be able to do the same with the locket."
"We're just waiting for the room to be warded and prepared. We should be cautious in destroying this locket. If it turns out that we were paranoid for nothing, that would be ideal, but just in case," Ryuuko said. "Especially since Death Eaters are wandering outside."
Harry glanced out the window. There were Death Eaters outside, but no sign of them attempting to enter. Harry wasn't sure if they were waiting for them to come out or if they were just stalking the place. Either way, it was putting him on edge.
He slipped his hand into his extendable sack, pulling out the mirror that connected with Shirogane. Or, the one he thought connected with Shirogane.
Pausing, Harry took a deep breath. "Shirogane? Father?"
There was a ruffle and Shirogane's face was suddenly reflected in the mirror. He seemed vibrant, powerful, just as Kazuki remembered him being all those years ago. His pale skin and icy blue eyes, silver hair like a waterfall around him. Ryuuko leaned over Harry and looked at Shirogane, leaning his head on Harry's shoulder.
"What is it?" Shirogane asked shortly. Harry glanced at Ryuuko when Ryuuko moved, but didn't protest. He looked back at the mirror.
"How is… Sirius doing?" Harry asked quietly.
"Black isn't bad. He's really annoying though," Shirogane said, scowling. Harry's lip quirked and then he looked serious again.
"Shirogane…? Did Sirius tell you… what is going on with the wizards?" Harry asked. Shirogane's facial expression didn't change, so Harry assumed he had. He continued. "About Ryuuko…?"
"…Considering it is you who is in danger, Kazuki, and Ryuuko is currently drawing power from you, it does not surprise me that Ryuuko is fighting for you," Shirogane said levelly. "And even if he wasn't drawing power from you, Ryuuko has always had a soft spot for you. He would fight in your name."
Harry paused and looked at Ryuuko briefly, who had moved away when Harry asked about Sirius. Then he looked back at the mirror and spoke.
"Where do you stand, Father?"
Shirogane did not respond. Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep sigh.
"The wizards came to me, you know," Shirogane revealed. Harry gave a small start, surprised. "Voldemort and his followers. They attacked Nanaya's hideout, though most of them couldn't see Nanaya or Homurabi. The man called Voldemort wanted to recruit me to his stupid little army to fight Ryuuko."
There was a silence. Ryuuko had frozen in shock. Hermione's eyes were very wide and Ron's mouth was open. Harry almost dropped the mirror in surprise.
"…So? What did you do?" Harry asked finally, when he found his voice again. Shirogane smirked.
"I killed a good deal of his followers, but he escaped. I didn't appreciate being bothered," Shirogane said lightly. Harry smirked, pride filling him up.
"I'm sure he didn't appreciate the reply," Harry said mildly. Shirogane smirked, looking quite evil.
"Who cares? He's the one who wants to kill you, isn't he?" Shirogane asked, his voice calm. Harry nodded slowly and Shirogane gave another smirk. "I'll make sure to hit him next time."
Harry laughed. "Are you serious, Father?"
"No, I'm Sirius," Sirius said from behind Shirogane's shoulder. Shirogane lashed out and hit Sirius in the face, knocking him out. Harry gave a snort of laughter and watched as Shirogane righted himself and sat back down in his seat, looking into the mirror.
Hermione giggled and Ron laughed out loud. Harry smiled.
"Please don't hurt Sirius too much. I'm sure he's worried about Harry," Ryuuko called, having heard the commotion and guessed what was going on. Shirogane snorted.
"See… Annoying. He's been going to the human world often too to get papers called the Daily Prophet, and reading it in Nanaya's hideout in the human world," Shirogane said. "He says it's all rubbish though. I don't know why he bothers reading it if it's rubbish. He said that the only truthful magazine is the Quibber. I read one of those and it looked like someone was high when they wrote the articles. Complete and utter nonsense."
Harry smiled a little. "Who knows, Father. Perhaps these things do exist. I may not have seen any of the things they mention, but I will not discourage someone from looking for them."
Shirogane sniffed a little. "Black also told me about this new program that only wizards can access. Something about keeping track of the war as much as he could. It's called Potterwatch."
"Oh, really?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"Apparently, Death Eaters are not very clever," Shirogane said calmly. There was a pause and then the door slammed open somewhere nearby.
"Hold up your hands! We've got you surrounded and we don't care who we curse!"
Shirogane disappeared from the mirror. There was a loud scream and a "WHAT IN BLAZES?!" followed by the very real sound of something slicing through flesh and then a soft shluck. Then there was silence. About a minute passed and then Shirogane appeared back in the mirror.
"That's been happening quite often now," Shirogane said. "When I'm in the human world, anyway. These people just show up and demand things."
Harry had to fight very hard to stifle his laughter. "Maybe if we wait long enough, you'll wind up killing them all." Shirogane rolled his eyes.
"This is a pointless war. You better finish this quickly, Kazuki. And what kind of name is 'Harry' anyway?" Shirogane asked, his icy blue eyes bored. "It sounds like you've grown excessive body hair."
"Thanks, Father," Harry said, smiling a little. "I'm glad you appreciate my vessel's name. I didn't name him though."
Shirogane gave a "humph" and then cut off the connection. Harry lowered the mirror, looking at the occupants in the room.
"He's changed," Harry said softly, looking at Ryuuko. Ryuuko laughed a little.
"Akira-kun, it must be," Ryuuko said calmly. Hermione and Ron looked like they were fighting down laughs and giggles, though they were both failing.
"If your Father's that good that he's killing off Death Eaters without batting a lash, how about you ask him to join us?" Ron asked when he had regained the use of his mouth. Harry shook his head.
"Because the likely response would be: You got yourself into it, now get yourself out. Out of all the vessels you choose, you HAD to pick the one with the madman after them," Harry said, a smile on his lips. "No… He will not fight my battle for me. Though if I ask him for the final battle, he'd probably do that." He glanced at Ryuuko and added. "But only if the one asking was Ryuuko."
"I'm sure Akira could convince him," Ryuuko said mildly. Harry snorted.
"I don't have a safe way to contact Akira," Harry sighed. "Akira-nii must be in the Light Palace."
There was a pause and then Harry stood up.
"I want to visit my vessel's parent's graves," Harry said. Hermione opened her mouth to protest but Harry shook his head. "Not a casual visit, no. But to see if there are any clues there that Dumbledore left me. Perhaps there is an important bit there. James and Lily Potter were in the Order the first time around, weren't they?"
Hermione nodded slowly. She stood up.
"Ron, since you're supposed to be at home sick, I want you to-" Hermione started, but Ron stood up.
"I promised I'd come and I will," Ron said firmly, his face determined. Harry blinked.
"Take my Invisibility Cloak then," Harry said, withdrawing it from his sack and offering it. Ron blinked and nodded slowly, tucking it under his arm. "I will not stop you from going, but will request that you stay hidden, as you're supposed to be at home sick."
Ron seemed satisfied with this. Harry turned to Ryuuko.
"Ryuuko. Will you hide again?" Harry seemed concerned, but Ryuuko didn't seem to be worried.
"Yes. I will be hiding again," Ryuuko said calmly. He paused and added, "Though, I think this should be done after we destroy the locket. One thing at a time." He smiled lightly and looked around the living room. "We don't want to bite off more than we can chew, especially if we still have time."
They sat down again. Harry gave an apologetic smile to Ryuuko.
"I'm sorry… I guess I'm eager to get back. I want to go back to the Light Palace and meet everyone again," Harry said, sighing deeply. Ryuuko gave him a kind, understanding smile that only served to make Harry feel guiltier.
"To pass the time, why don't I tell you about the time when you got sick after a fusion and Shirogane did nothing but fret over your health? He erased your memories of it because he thought it would be too painful for you to remember. Did you know that he spent three months following you after each fusion after that to make sure you didn't fall ill again?" Ryuuko asked. Harry paused before leaning forward, looking interested.