Chapter Twelve - Xanxus

"Voi!" Squalo yelled as he burst into the salon. Alberto and Daniela immediately put the Varia Action Plan into action, getting the customers out the door as soon as Squalo was in the centre of the room. They had learned quickly that when the weapons came out it was time to leave, and Squalo was waving his sword around like a madman.

After the salon was clear of everyone but the two of them, Squalo put his sword away and sank down onto the sofa in the corner. He let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes and tipping his head back. Harry fetched him a glass of water, which he accepted wordlessly and drank down in one long gulp. Harry sat next to him and waited for him to speak. After it became clear that Squalo wasn't going to start the conversation, Harry decided to get the ball rolling.

"I suppose your Boss has been keeping you busy?" In the month since Bel had rushed out of his house, none of them had visited, and Bel and Lussuria had only called once each, as opposed to their standard weekly chats.

"You can say that again. I'd forgotten what a demanding bastard he is." Despite his complaints, Squalo sounded like a man completely happy with his place in the world. It was like a burden he had been carrying for as long as Harry had known him had finally been put down.

"He wants to meet you," Squalo said after another moment of silence.

"Me?" Harry supposed it made sense that Xanxus would want to meet him, but for some reason it just hadn't occurred to him.

"Are you free now?" Squalo asked, setting his glass down on the small table and pushing himself to his feet.

"Sure. Let me text Alberto and I'll come with." His co-workers saw Harry disappearing occasionally to deal with the Varia as a small price to pay for their patronage. And their protection – none but the most suicidal of Mafioso were going to mess with the Varia's salon.

Once Harry had let Alberto know that he was leaving, he locked the salon up and slid into the front seat of Squalo's obscenely expensive car. Despite himself, he was nervous about this.

In no time at all, they pulled up in front of the mansion. Squalo led him down one the 'off-limits' corridors, stopping in front of a nondescript wooden door. He knocked loudly.

"Voi, Boss! I've brought the hairdresser!"

Harry heard a grunt from inside the room. That was apparently enough for Squalo to open the door, shove him through and abandon him to the mercy of his Boss.

Xanxus was slouched in a throne-like chair with his eyes closed and his jacket draped across his shoulders like a cape. Harry knew he wasn't asleep – his presence was practically a physical thing, a burning aura that made his breath catch in his lungs. This was the man who could corral the world's greatest swordsman and the expert in Muay Thai. This was the man that even Bel, arrogant Bel, as independent as a cat, would follow without question. He was overwhelming, and terrifying.

"Trash." He didn't even bother opening his eyes. Harry would have been offended if he hadn't spent the last four years hearing stories about the man.

"Xanxus."

"The trash have told me a lot about you. You'll fight for me." Harry got the feeling that for this man, that was polite.

"Excuse me?"

"I need a Cloud. You're it, trash," Xanxus growled.

"No can do, I'm afraid." He knew as soon as it was out of his mouth that the flippant tone was a mistake.

"I wasn't asking, trash. You're allied with the Varia, which makes you my bitch, you'll do as you're fucking told, or I'll burn you death right here!"

"I told you, I can't!"

Harry yelped and dived out of the way of the burst of fire that came the gun suddenly present in Xanxus' hand. When had he drawn them? How fast was this guy? He seemed to find making Harry dive cover amusing enough that he slowed down his shots, still not moving from his slouch in the chair. Soon everything that might pass for cover in the room had been burned to powder, and Harry had nothing left to hide behind.

Xanxus grinned and fired, the burst brighter and more concentrated than before. He had playing like a cat with a mouse, and now he was going in for the kill. In desperation, Harry cast the strongest shield charm he knew, fighting to keep it in place as the fire pushed, searching out cracks and weaknesses. Spells splashed against shields and were gone in an instant, but this was like a tsunami, a never ending wave, and he couldn't go on the offensive. The second he dropped the shield he was dead, and he would tire far before Xanxus. The whole world narrowed down to his wand, and the fire, and Xanxus' mad cackling in the background. What did he know, what could he do?

The fire wasn't magic. It was some kind of soul-based power, fuelled by resolve. And anger, Squalo had said that Xanxus had 'Flames of Wrath'. Could he use that? Emotion based magic was some of the most powerful, so maybe? He would only have one shot at this.

He twisted his wand to the side and shouted another spell. A new shield took the place of the old one, a shield that didn't need constant maintenance. The flame was gaining ground, he had maybe half a minute before the shield fell and he would be too tired to cast again. Shields were the most exhausting of all magic, and the spell he needed would take every drop he had left.

Closing his eyes, he conjured up his memory. The most precious one he had, baby Teddy toddling towards him on unsteady legs, arm reaching out to 'Unka Hawee'. Andromeda taking pictures as Teddy collapsed in his lap, giggling. All that love and joy and hope, every drop of laughter and innocence, he gathered it all up and let it wash through him as he shouted "Expecto Patronum!"

Prongs burst out, galloping towards Xanxus as the shield started to shimmer and fade. The fire pushed forward, and Harry dived to the right. The burst of flame shifted left as Xanxus fired at the stag, shouting more and more desperately as his guns did nothing. As he swung the guns back to an exhausted Harry, Prongs rushed through him, bathing Xanxus in silvery light.

The guns wouldn't fire. Harry's gamble had worked. Flames powered by rage couldn't work when there was no rage to fuel them. Harry met Xanxus' eyes and saw the man fighting against the peace Prongs offered, refusing to accept the solace. Harry's heart broke a little as he stumbled out the door.

Squalo had one of the minions drive him home. Harry fell into an exhausted sleep halfway there.

Harry was playing cat's cradle with Bel a couple of days later when I occurred to him to ask a question that had been bothering him on and off since Bel had dashed off to see his newly awakened Boss. "Why do you follow him?"

"What?" It was amazing how expressive Bel could be without his eyes to show emotion.

"Why are you so loyal to Xanxus? I don't think that I've ever actually asked that before. You were eight when you joined the Varia, and eight when the coup happened and Xanxus was frozen. What happened in less than a year to make you stay loyal to him for eight? You've spent half your life waiting for him to be free."

For once Bel spoke seriously, with no giggling. "You've met him, Harry. You felt what he was like. How could I not be loyal to someone like that? Boss is fire and anger and passion. It's like a promise; no one gets to hurt you but me. He makes us all stronger than we could be without him. If you don't understand it, then you won't."

"No, I think I understand. There really aren't words, are there? His presence, it's a threat and dare. Get close and I'll burn you alive. And he makes you want to burn." Harry struggled to put the overwhelming presence of the man into words, and failed miserably. Bel tilted his head thoughtfully, so he must have managed to communicate at least a fraction of what he meant.

"He's the only person in the world who could lead us. The Ninth crippled himself when he froze Boss. He has no idea how much we've done to keep the Vongola safe. If we didn't care about Boss having a Family to take over, Vongola would be dust now." By the end of his little rant, Bel was spitting. He flung a handful of knives into the wall and stormed into the garden. Teddy knew to stay out of Bel's way when he needed to vent, so Harry left him alone and busied himself removing the knives and repairing the wall. Again.

After Bel left, Harry said goodbye to Teddy and Andromeda and apparated back to his apartment in Italy. He needed to think. Why had Xanxus reacted so viciously to him? The answer came to him as soon as he thought the question, and he felt like smacking his head against a wall. The man was possessive, arrogant and used to being in control. He had lost eight years and returned to find his people gushing over some civilian he had never met. Xanxus had felt out of control, out of step with this new world. Harry was a symbol of the time that had been stolen from him.

With his newfound understanding and a bottle of alcohol, Harry dared to return to the Varia Headquarters the next day. He called ahead to check that he would be welcome, and the minion he spoke to sounded almost desperate for him to come. Squalo met him at the door and explained why.

"Voi! Boss has been like a rabid bear since you visited. I don't know what you did to him, but fix this!"

Squalo all but shoved him through the door to Xanxus' office. Harry heard his footsteps stomp away down the corridor as he looked around the room. The carpet had been replaced, but the walls and ceiling still bore scorch marks. The sofa and desk had been replaced. The only original piece of furniture in the room was the chair Xanxus was slouched on. He glared at Harry as he sat awkwardly on the sofa. After a moment, Xanxus gestured to the bottle Harry held with his gun.

"The hell is that, trash?"

"It's firewhisky. It's got a bit more of a kick to it than anything else I've found. Technically, it's illegal to supply it to Muggles, but I figure you can probably handle it."

Harry accepted the glass thrown at his head with a laugh, and filled it with alcohol. He didn't mention that this was one of his most expensive bottles. Rather than levitating it back, after a moment of deliberation, he carefully pulled himself to his feet and handed the glass to Xanxus, who accepted it with a raised eyebrow, tossing it down in one shot and closing his eyes as he felt it burn its way down. After a moment, he opened his eyes and smiled slightly, holding the glass out to Harry. With a grin of his own, Harry poured another glass for him, and one for himself before sitting back down on the couch. They drank together in silence for a moment, and it was surprisingly companionable.

"I didn't mean that I wasn't willing to stand with you, you know," Harry dared to break the silence. Xanxus' red glare slashed through him.

"Showing magic to Muggles, which your opponents count as, is against the Statute of Secrecy. I'd be arrested, and you would probably have your minds wiped before anyone realised you were allowed to know about Magic. That kind of thing could start a war."

Xanxus huffed, taking another sip of firewhisky. Harry figured it was as close to acceptance as he was going to get.

"Doesn't mean I'm not willing to support you. I haven't upgraded anyone's weapons or anything, because it's not part of the contract and I really want everything to be legal and above board. As much as it can be when I'm making deals with the Mafia. But if you want to add to the contract, I can make it so that Bel's wire can't break, and his knives don't run out. I know that Squalo would sooner cut my throat than let me touch his sword, but Lussuria would let me charm that knee of his to be unbreakable. There are potions as well, for healing and strength and focus, and resistance against poisons." Harry figured it was probably the alcohol making him talk so much. Normally he would fight the effects, but he knew that Xanxus needed to see him vulnerable. The man needed to reassert his authority over Harry, the wildcard who had suborned his people while he had been locked away.

"Sort the paperwork out with Mammon and I'll sign whatever, trash. Potions. Talk."

"They can heal just about any physical problem under the sun. Mental ones are trickier. Re-growing bones, healing burns or bruises, curing headaches, you name it. We can deal with pretty much any disease as well."

"Sort it out with the baby, trash. She'll know what we need."

"I'll do that. In the meantime, I have another gift."

Xanxus' gaze sharpened as Harry reached into an inside pocket. The gun had materialised in his hand didn't disappear as Harry drew out a thick envelope. Harry grinned at the suspicious look on Xanxus' face.

"Did Squalo tell you about the time his hair got dyed pink?"

Two minutes later, everyone in the mansion froze at the sound of their Boss's laughter filling headquarters for the first time in eight years.

Do you want this to stay gen, or do you want a Harry/Xanxus pairing? Either way, it won't have be graphic and it won't have much of an impact on what passes for a plot here. Let me know if you care either way, or even if you don't.