I have a poll up on my profile in regards to that 1000 reviews special I need you all to vote in so go take a look~
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Harry lands with a thud, flat on his stomach, in the middle of a graveyard.
The Arcobaleno can't quite manage to stop the instinctive response as they drop into defensive positions and circle the boys, because every single one of their instincts scream that this situation is about to get dangerous.
It doesn't do any good as Harry and Cedric straighten up and the graveyard busts into movement.
They watch with horror as a voice snarls "Kill the Spare!" even as Harry rolls to his feet, his wand out and ready to attack. They see that bright, bright green spell fly forward and slam into Cedric.
They watch the boy drop like a puppet with his stings cut. No gasp, no voice, no warning. Just the sound of a body hitting the ground.
(And the Arcobaleno have heard about the Killing Curse all of Harry's school years, but it only truly hits them right here- watching Cedric fall- how instant the death is. That it truly is a Killing Curse.)
(That their Cloud had survived it.)
And then they hear Harry roar and suddenly spells are flying, and the black-robed men and women around them are dropping to Blasting curses and multiple Sectumsempra, as Harry rages a path across his enemies, headed straight for the man that used the Killing Curse. A man they recognize to be Peter Pettigrew.
If they could have, the Arcobaleno would have raged with their Cloud across the battlefield.
(And there is nothing, nothing, more terrifying then an entire Element Set in complete harmony on the battlefield.)
(It's actually where some of the 'Bringers of the Apocalypse' myths came from.)
The Arcobaleno are reduced to observers, however, and so they are forced to watch as their Cloud is eventually overwhelmed by numbers and a red spell- they recognize a stunner- hits him in the shoulder.
He doesn't collapse.
They are the only ones that know what the gleaming violet eyes staring at the Death Eaters mean, the only witness to a Cloud- their Cloud- raging, and it takes over ten stunners hitting him at the same time for Harry to go down.
The memory goes black, but only for an instant.
The next time the Arcobaleno can see their surroundings it is to see their Cloud limp and held against the statue of an angel. The scythe the angel holds is pinning their Cloud in such a way he won't be able to get out easily.
They tense sharply at the sight of it, and more than one set of hands reaches for a weapon they don't have.
It doesn't matter that they all know it's a memory, that they can't do anything to anyone inside of it. This is their Cloud.
Their family.
And family is everything.
So of course they move to help him.
Fon is the one to reach for the statue first, his eyes bright red, with every intent to snap it under his hands.
He fazes through it.
And the Arcobaleno stop, remembering they can't stop what has already come to pass.
Yuni makes a distressed noise. She had seen some of what was about to happen in visions. Now she will have to relive it knowing who the boy on the statue is, next to the Arcobaleno, and while Harry appears to be in arms reach. She kind of wants to cry.
(And there's a flashback in there to the Future that Never Was, about why Skull had been in that clearing mowing down enemies before the headshot took him down. He'd done it because they had gone after Yuni.)
Her hands clench hard for a moment before they rise up automatically to fold in front of her chest as if in prayer.
She watches with her heart in her throat as Harry is woke up.
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The Arcobaleno watch as Harry focuses on the large cauldron in front of him, watch his eyes narrow and widen in turn before he starts scanning the surroundings.
They watch in horror as the next few minutes pass with a ritual. They snarl in time with Harry when Peter comes closer to him and drags a knife down his arm.
(They remember the scar they had seen on Skull's arm just there, and then it hits them.
They will see where each of their Cloud's multiple scars came from.)
The Arcobaleno see the purple bleeding into green eyes as the ritual progresses. They watch with rage in their hearts as the so called 'Lord Voldemort' steps from the caldron and approaches Harry. They tune out most of the rant that follows, but they all flinch when Harry scream-snarls as Voldemort touches his scar.
It is nothing compared to the scream that escapes Harry's lips when he is hit with torture curse. He cuts the scream off seconds after it escaped, choking them back, but the tenseness of his muscles and the way Harry strains against the statue tells them it still hurts. And they all know that that few seconds Harry- their Skull- screamed will echo in their dreams from that moment forward.
Viper cries out with him, her hand flying out to murder Voldemort, her eyes shining indigo under her hood, and this time it is Reborn that pauses the memories when Viper rages.
She remembers that curse.
She knows, intimately, how much that hurts.
She never wanted to see anyone she shielded in her Mists subjected to that. Seeing Skull…one of hers tense and strain under that curse…Viper wants to kill Voldemort, wants to break him the way he is trying to break Harry. She couldn't stop her reaction- a reaction born from understanding exactly what Harry was going through- if she had tried.
When she calms she has to explain to the others. She has to explain that she knows that curse, that it had been used against her. She explains that it targets every single nerve in the body and makes it feel like white-hot knifes are stabbing and twisting into them.
They have to sit there with the memory paused for another few minutes when the other Arcobaleno need to calm themselves after they understand.
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When the memories start again, the Arcobaleno are tense.
Harry's eyes flash open and they see bright violet, watch as what looks like very light purple mist begins to rise off Harry's body, nearly unnoticeable even to them.
The next time Harry arches against the statue it shatters.
(The Arcobaleno realize suddenly that they are seeing the first time Harry used his Cloud Flames to increase his strength and shatter his binds.)
Harry drops and staggers only to stand straight, and lash out with his legs.
Bodies fly.
They watch as their Cloud realizes his wand is in his pocket, as he pulls it free and spells join the physical attacks.
He works his way through everyone in his way as he heads straight for Cedric's body and the Cup.
They are swept up alongside the two boys a second time when Harry gets ahold of the Cup and Cedric's body.
They arrive to cheers that quickly turn into screams.
Harry is up and crouching over Cedric's body as soon as he lands, his face twisted in a snarl and his eyes shining violet as he scans his surroundings with his wand up and ready. He makes for a shocking figure with the blood trailing down his face like war paint (from the statue shrapnel scoring a hit as he escaped) the dirt and dust coating his form, the blood trailing down his arm, and the blood trailing down his leg from one of the huge spiders in the maze. With the snarl pained across his face and his wand poised to attack he looks just as dangerous as he really is.
Children are still screaming while the teachers rush down towards Harry, whose eyes have started to regain hints of green now that he knows where he is.
"Harry!?"
"He's back." Harry warns them and he only moves from his defensive crouch over Cedric when Cedric's father rushes over. "I'm sorry Mr. Diggory." He tells the man and shakes his head "Voldemort killed him"
The Arcobaleno watch the following chaos as the Minister denies everything, as the adults are either horrified or in denial, as a father mourns his son, as Harry is rushed off the field in silence.
They watch the discovery of Moody being impersonated the entire year by a 'dead' man. They witness Barty tie their Cloud to a chair and crouch down in front of him to ask about the Third Task and 'his Master's return.' They watch Harry snarl and the lightning quick kick that sends Crouch sprawling even as the chair tumbles into the desk which stops it from falling over. They watch their Cloud use the few seconds it takes Crouch to get up to break the chair which causes the ropes to loosen and fall.
When Harry stands, he's holding the two back legs of the chair in either hand. The first slings through the air like an arrow and hits Crouch in the chest, knocking him back over, while the second is used like a bat and snaps over the man's head when Harry knocks him out.
The Arcobaleno are proud of their baby Cloud even as they are angry Harry hasn't been taken to the hospital wing and to Poppy.
They only get angrier when the teachers come to the 'rescue' too late and take Harry to the Headmaster's Office instead of to Poppy so they can ask questions.
It's a unanimous thought amongst the Arcobaleno that the teachers are being stupid.
O~O~O~
That summer things change.
Harry knows Voldemort is back, that the man will stop at nothing to kill him. So he moves to prepare. He signs up for and joins a summer camp that is basically Military Boot Camp. The man in charge turns out to be a squib and a war veteran which is a good thing for Harry who explains Voldemort's return and the Wizarding World's reactions.
The Vet- nicknamed Hound-takes Harry under his wing. He teaches Harry everything he can from firearms to fighting dirty. He teaches tactics and the art of patience. He works Harry into the ground over and over and over again only build him back up stronger and better.
The Arcobaleno learn that it is Hound who teaches Harry to reign in his Cloud Temper (though the man had no idea he'd managed it). It is Hound that puts up with and helps Skull through the nightmares that follow.
It is Hound that teaches Harry to survive in hostile conditions, who helps bulk their Cloud up with muscles.
It's survival now, and Harry is planning to win.
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Alright! Fifth year and more changes is next.
Also: I'm looking for a cover pic for this fic which means a CONTEST FOR MY ARTIST READERS if anyone is interested! I will leave this contest open until SEPTEMBER 10th!
The winner will get a one shot of their choice as a reward so please PM me if you're interested in participating!