The day Viper met Hadrian, the Mist had absolutely no idea of the curveball life was about to throw them.
The man before him was odorous, fat as hell and had a massive temper. But more importantly he owed Viper enough money that the Mist was fully prepared to make an example of the bastard to warn others not to try and screw them over.
After the fat pig tried to negotiate a payment plan, Viper lost patience and simply killed him. It was abundantly clear the fool had no intention of honoring the loan Viper had 'generously' given him, never mind the interest rates. And with the ironclad contract Viper had made the pig sign, the Vindice wouldn't interfere.
Viper was about to leave the area when he heard it. The last thin they needed was a witness giving his description to the cops. What the Mist expected and what they found would change their lives forever.
It was a child, an orphan by the looks of it. He had messy black hair, had bruises on top of bruises, wore what could only be conisdered rags that were far too big for his tiny malnourished frame and had a pair of beautiful green eyes behind broken frames.
But it was the Flames that caught and held Viper's attention.
He hid himself and observed the child. It was hard to tell age with him, but he couldn't be younger than five at the most.
"Uncle Vernon?" he asked tentatively, poking at the cooling corpse.
This brat with ridiculously pure Sky flames was that pig's nephew?
Viper couldn't help but feel incredulous as the mere possibility. They knew for a fact the pig was completely flameless. He lived in Surrey, for money's sake!
The child observed the body, before his attention suddenly focused on something deeper in the alley. To Viper's shock, the child looked right at him.
"Your uncle is dead. The fool tried to cheat me out of the money he owed me, and I was more than generous when it came to waiting," said Viper bluntly. He didn't like children.
"Uncle Vernon is dead?" said the boy.
There were no tears, which didn't surprise Viper in the least. Vernon wasn't exactly likeable to begin with, hence why he failed to get a loan with the more...friendly...options and had to resort to someone like them.
"What's your name?" asked Viper. He needed information, especially with a child with such pure flames.
"Freak, but I'm supposed to go by Harry at school," said the boy tonelessly. "Uncle Vernon wanted me to buy something from the scary people for him, since there are too many police nearby."
Any remorse at killing the pig...not that Viper had any, but still... died at hearing that. The fool was sitting on a literal goldmine for the underworld and he was stupid enough to treat the child as an errand boy for illegal goods? He could have almost named his price if the child meant that little to him, especially once his flame was known.
Well, Vernon's loss was going to be Viper's gain. It wasn't like the kid would be able to harmonize with them after all, and it was hardly human trafficking considering the child's condition. Odds are the more established famiglias would praise Viper for saving such a young, moldable Sky for them to use.
Viper was not expecting to harmonize with the kid shortly after removing from the area to a safe house he had nearby a week later. The boy was skittish as hell, was meek and subservient, and fully expected Viper to deprive him of food and treat him as little more than a barely tolerated servant.
If Vernon hadn't pissed him off by borrowing money and then trying to weasel out of repayment, Viper would have killed him for the treatment of the little Sky. And no, it wasn't because his instincts demanded he protect the Sky and everything to do with the fact Viper despised child abusers. It was right up there with why he tended to murder any pedophile stupid enough to try and use his services, no matter how much they would be willing to pay.
Viper felt like someone had hit him with a brick. If this was what Harmony was like, then no wonder any number of Flame users would happily murder it. That being said, his instincts were going haywire because the little Sky was still terrified and he was the only Guardian the boy had.
Harry POV...
Living with Viper was vastly different from living with his aunt and uncle. For one thing, Viper gave him an actual bed with a real window.
He also gave Harry meals every day, even if he didn't do the chores. It was the best thing he had ever eaten in his short life, and the clothes actually fit him for once! He didn't have to wear Dudley's cast offs anymore.
Life had definitely taken a turn for the better for him.
Which was why Harry was greatly surprised when, one night when he was having a nightmare of the green light again, he found himself bundled up. He was only half awake, but he definitely remembered someone wrapping their arms around him and rubbing his back while speaking soothing words in a language he didn't know yet.
Waking up curled against Viper, arms wrapped so tightly around the older man's waist that it would take a crowbar to remove them, Harry had no idea how to react to the situation.
Vernon and Petunia were always so angry if he woke them up with his nightmares. They told him that a freak like him didn't deserve to wake "good honest folk" with his problems. His aunt had kept him from breakfast more than once because of it.
So the fact Viper was holding him close and letting him curl against him, despite being a very closed off person was enough to make Harry freeze up in shock.
"Go back to sleep brat. It's too early to be up," grumbled Viper, who detested mornings. He wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling him closer.
"You... You're not mad?"
"Everyone gets nightmares. It's not something you need to be punished for," said Viper. "Besides, I brought you in here, so it's not like you had any say in the matter."
Harry could feel the tears welling in his eyes as he silently cried. No one had cared before, not like this. And if they did, then they had a tendency to disappear within short order. It hadn't taken long for the people of Surrey to learn how to turn a blind eye to the obvious abuse and neglect of one Harry James Potter.
Which only made things worse because his 'aunt' had even less reason to hold back on his 'punishment' for ever percieved slight. Or for Dudley to decide it was all the excuse he needed to beat the ever living shit out of his smaller cousin.
He eagerly cuddled into Viper's side, basking in the strange protective warmth he provided. That warmth always told Harry he was safe and protected. There wasn't love...yet...but maybe someday.
Then it almost came crashing down. Strange people in robes that Harry knew all too well found them, and he knew they were planning to take him back. They were the reason people disappeared or 'moved' with regularity if they got too close to him and he hated it.
It wasn't fair! He was finally safe from that horrible place and treated like other kids! Why did they insist on taking him back?
Harry wanted to cry, but he clung to Viper's odd outfit instead. The man shielded him as best he could, but someone managed to get the drop on them both.
Neither had seen the greasy haired man coming, but Harry knew one thing for certain. He would not go back. He refused to go back to that place he knew he wasn't wanted.
Viper wasn't the most open of people, but he wasn't deliberately cruel like his 'family'.
Something in him lashed out at the thought of returning to that house. Something violent and almost uncontrolled.
Without understanding how or why, Harry found himself becoming a cloud of smoke black as night and as quiet as death itself.
Shouts of great alarm and fear came from the adults with the funny sticks, and Harry lashed out at anyone who came too close to Viper. Especially greasy, for trying to take him away.
"The kid's a fucking obscurial! No one said anything about dealing with one of them!" shouted one man.
Viper, rather than run away in fear and alarm, calmly walked up to the mass of smoke that was Harry.
"Bambino, it's alright. I'm here," he said soothingly.
He reached upwards, but didn't touch the smoke, not just yet.
The mass hovered near the hand, but did not connect. The strange warmth he felt around Viper seemed to radiate from the man's hand as a calm smile was on his face.
"I know you're afraid. It's a natural reaction to something like this happening," said Viper.
The Mist was putting every ounce of faith he had in the whole "Guardian" bond. That Harry would instinctively avoid hurting his only bonded Element, even if it was only out of survival.
"Count with me, bambino. Can you do that? It doesn't have to be out loud, but I want you to count with me."
Harry knew Viper liked money a lot, so much so he was pleased Harry was so good with numbers and calculations. He always gave Harry extra treats for getting it right, or at least close.
"1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. Can you repeat that for me, even if it's in your head, bambino?" asked Viper gently.
The mass hovered quietly, but Viper noted that it was shrinking slightly.
"Good boy. Keep repeating those numbers for me, bambino," said Viper soothingly.
He doubted Harry would know or understand what the Fibonacci series was just yet. The boy was still learning math after all.
Viper could tell Harry was repeating the numbers in his head, because it didn't take much for the mass to return into the form of a shivering little boy who was absolutely terrified of being separated from the only one to have consistently shown any kindness to him.
Harry cuddled into Viper's side as they disappeared, several minutes before more showed up. Viper was not impressed with the response time at all.
"You're... You're not made at me are you? For being a freak?" whispered Harry.
"The only freaks are people who would treat you like a monster when anyone with eyes can see you're still a child. Besides, if you're a freak then so am I," said Viper, creating a teddy bear for Harry to hug.
Harry had yet to see Viper use his Flames before now, so it was only natural he'd be shocked by it.
"I'm a Mist. It means I can create things out of nothing and use illusions. You're not the only one with unique abilities and I'll happily strangle anyone who makes you think having powers is something to be ashamed of," said Viper viciously.
He wasn't entirely sure if it was his Guardian instincts or just the natural inclination of those raising children. He wasn't very good at comforting others... the Mist was too jaded to connect with them normally.
"Can... can you teach me?" asked Harry in a small voice.
Viper gently ruffled the boy's head...Harry had quickly learned to get used to kind touches, as opposed to the beatings he received before. He rather liked the difference, even if Viper was horribly awkward at it.
"We can start later. I'm sure you're starving since those idiots interrupted us getting dinner," said Viper.
Harry blushed as his stomach grumbled, but happily curled into Viper's side when he picked him up. The boy was still far too skinny for Viper's liking and he refused to be considered a bad Guardian for not taking care of his Sky's basic needs.
After that day something changed between the two of them. Viper slowly began to act less like a 'reluctant Guardian' and started acting more like a parent. And the results were stunning... Harry practically blossomed under his teaching and soaked everything up like a sponge.
(Though some would say Harry learned a bit too well from Viper after his reaction to learning he had several vaults worth of actual gold and silver, or the outdated banking system that the wizards employed that was just begging to be exploited by someone who was raised to take advantage of every loophole ruthlessly when it came to making money in large amounts.)
Of course not everything was sunshine and roses. After Harry spontaneously turned into a strange form of mist, Viper found his hands full trying to help the boy learn how to control and contain it.
The black mass was a whirlwind of pure death made intangible. Whatever it touched would end up shredded beyond belief, with very little to stop it. Viper was only partially protected because of the bond with his son (and it had taken a while for that title to firmly root in his mind) and because Harry was highly in tune with his natural instincts, but he quickly made a note to never get on the wrong side of the mass when it was really pissed off.
It took him far too long to get any information on what it was exactly, and that only because of a comment made by the very men who set off the black mass the first time.
What he found had him furious.
Obscurials were 'creatures' created when a magical child became so terrified of their own powers that their magic began to turn in on itself, resulting in a black mass that would rip and shred anything it came into contact with. According to the books, Obscurials did retain some sense of awareness but for the most part they were classed as the highest level of dangerous beasts and were to be killed on sight.
This was because there had yet to be a single instance of an obscurial being rehabilitated to the point their magic stabilized.
Viper could only feel disgust at the sheer level of idiocy the magicals were displaying. It was a miracle that the last KNOWN obscurial was a Credence Barebone, who later turned out to be the bastard son of a pureblood who abandoned his muggle lover when she got pregnant.
These fools knew nothing about Dying Will Flames (which they called Aspects for some ridiculous reason) much less the effect Harmony had on others.
Viper had the suspicion that once Harry had more Guardians, his powers would correct themselves for the most part.
He was not pleased when some random Mist appeared before him and offered him a place among the Strongest Seven. He put those protections around him and Harry for a reason.
The fidelius was such a useful charm and made it much harder to track his little Sky down...even if he had to get Harry to cast it, which took a while because his magic wasn't quite up to that level of use.