I'm gratified at the enthusiastic reception to this story, but as always, keep in mind, there's no guarantee of it becoming a full story. I've only reached close to the end of the fifth chapter, and I try to do more than that before I write a full story.

DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITILLANDUS

CHAPTER 2:

HISTORY LESSON

Having retrieved Harry Potter and having brought him back to Grigori HQ, Raynare was excited to be debriefed by no less august a personage than Azazel himself. True, he seemed more interested in Potter, who had fallen unconscious soon after being brought here, and he was currently helping him, but he still listened as Raynare relayed what she had heard, as did Mittelt. Dohnaseek and Kalawarner had already been dismissed.

In the healing tank, Harry's body convulsed as he drowned in the breathable liquid, mixed with a healing potion that would help bring him to optimal health. It was no Twilight Healing, but it was the best thing they could do for serious conditions. Still, Raynare couldn't help but stare. Even though he was pretty lanky and scrawny, he had some defined muscle. God, you could grind meat on those abs…

Azazel cleared his throat, and Raynare started, looking over to the amused leader of the Grigori. Mittelt snickered. "Raynare, I think you had a very lucky escape. What's more, I think you've inadvertently brought us a potential asset to the Grigori. I say potential, because I don't know whether Harry here will join us, and I don't want to force him. The Biblical Factions agreed not to interfere in the Wizarding World's business, lest it degenerate into another Great War, even by proxy. Still, to think he was the Dragon causing so much trouble in the Badlands."

"Better that we got to him first than the Devils, Lord Azazel," Raynare said.

"Better you found him now," Azazel said. "His body was in a metastable state, and has been teetering on the edge of collapse for some time, probably since the Battle of Hogwarts. In a way, you did both the wrong thing and the right thing in using that spell, Mittelt. While it's forced his body to the brink of collapse, it was already pretty much there. And I don't even know how long he would have had left. He could drop dead any moment, or live longer than any of us."

Raynare peered at the floating body. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, Lord Azazel, but I thought human wizards could not transform into magical creatures in their Animagus forms, not normally. Or is this not an Animagus transformation?"

"Nope. It's something very different. Anyway, what do you know about Harry's life, Raynare?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Not that much. Mittelt was the one following events in the Wizarding World, and at the time the Battle of Hogwarts happened, we were on assignment to retrieve that rogue Sacred Gear wielder in the United States, the one you tested the Sacred Gear Extractor on."

Mittelt snickered. "Oh, he screamed pretty loudly. Good thing he was a nasty piece of work. But yeah, Raynare doesn't really like the wizards."

Azazel sighed quietly. "Just because Slytherin seduced you didn't mean they're all like that. He was a nasty piece of work for a wizard. Anyway, what do you know?"

Raynare scowled at the reminder of the man who made her Fall, but continued. "Back when Voldemort was at war against Magical Britain, he attacked two of his most notorious opponents, James and Lily Potter. However, their son, Harry, survived when Voldemort tried to kill him. Thinking he was something special, when it was probably some obscure ritual his parents used, the mouthbreathers of Magical Britain started calling him the Boy Who Lived. Until he went to Hogwarts, though, he was raised in seclusion. I'm guessing mundane human relatives. His years at Hogwarts have been eventful, to say the least. Like when he got entered into that gauche Tri-Wizard Tournament. The Ministry attacked him soon afterwards in that godawful rag, but Voldemort revealed himself. About two years ago, Voldemort was killed, but from what little I know, they accused Potter of becoming a dark lord. They didn't send him to Azkaban, oddly enough. I don't know how he got to the Underworld, though."

Mittelt rolled her eyes. "Okay, so, allow me to fill in the gaps of your knowledge. During the Battle of Hogwarts, a dragon went on the rampage, attacked the Death Eater forces. Most of them got annihilated. Voldemort went out like a bitch, down the dragon's gullet. Now, the problem was, too many Death Eaters survived, long enough to stab Harry in the back. You see, the dragon changed back into Harry, who fell into a coma, and that's when some berk called Snape goes on about something called a Horcrux in Harry's scar, basically transforming him into Voldemort, and having delved into the Dark Arts to become a dragon. Total bollocks to anyone with half a brain, but most humans don't even have that, never mind the wizards. So, to make sure Voldemort was gone for good, they executed him. Not by the Dementors' Kiss, but details were pretty sparse. His friends fucked off from Britain afterwards."

Azazel nodded. "Good summary, Mittelt, but you missed a few points. Firstly, it wasn't just the surviving Death Eaters who put pressure on the Ministry of Magic to execute Harry. It was Gringotts as well. Harry and his friends, from a source of mine who left Britain with his wife and family, were forced to break in to retrieve a Horcrux."

Raynare groaned. "And those greedy little fuckbags were butthurt about the break-in? Even though Voldemort would have slaughtered them? They should be on their hands and knees thanking him for saving their miserly arses."

"My source told me that Harry was thrown through the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries in London," Azazel said. "I had my own suspicions about where he ended up, and now that I've got him being analysed, I've confirmed it. The Veil basically ends up spitting out whatever's thrown into it into the Dimensional Gap. Harry's cells still bear some damage that is distinctive from being exposed to the Dimensional Gap. As to how he got out, well, for all I know, the Ouroborous Dragon probably kicked him out. However it happened, he ended up here. As for what he is…well, did you know about how Hogwarts came to be?"

"I was seduced by Slytherin, remember?" Raynare muttered sullenly. "So I know what it says in the history books. Though honestly, I'm surprised there was such a confluence of leylines in that arse-end of Scotland."

"That's because there isn't. That's just the official story. Hell, I don't think even the Founders knew what was really there," Azazel said. "In truth, Hogwarts was built on the tomb, so to speak, of the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion."

Raynare and Mittelt both had their eyes all but bug out of their sockets. "What the actual fuck?!" Mittelt yelped. "How did that happen? Why haven't we heard about it?"

"Because those in the know intended to keep it secret. As you know, the Biblical Factions called a truce to bring Ddraig and Albion down when their rampage made the Great War worse. But what you aren't meant to know is that they were slain and their souls sealed away into Sacred Gears at that area in Scotland, a scant few decades before Hogwarts was founded. A treaty was signed then and there not to uncover the corpses, which were still filled with a potent magical energy…and really, when the Founders built Hogwarts over the tomb, that was a good thing, or so we thought. The decaying bodies of Ddraig and Albion fuelled the wards of Hogwarts for centuries, and will probably do so for centuries to come."

Raynare nodded. "Okay, I'm getting the picture. Basically, somehow, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Potter fell into this tomb. And somehow, he became a hybrid of Ddraig and Albion. Which should be completely and utterly fucking impossible. I don't know much about the biology of the Heavenly Dragons, but ingesting their flesh, deliberately or inadvertently, should have killed Potter, from little I understand."

"And you would be right, Raynare, under most circumstances. Leaving aside the fact that Ddraig and Albion have been putrefying for over a millennium, and ingesting putrefying flesh is rarely healthy, that concentration of magical energy would kill most humans," Azazel said. "And yet, somehow, Harry survived, and became a hybrid of human wizard and the two Heavenly Dragons. But even now, that survival is tentative at best. In fact, it's like he entered Juggernaut Drive at Hogwarts, which would explain a lot. I'm treating him to ensure his condition is truly stable rather than metastable, otherwise, he's in danger of dying. Or worse."

Raynare grimaced as she realised. "Let me guess…a being with the powers of the Heavenly Dragons goes on the rampage, or an explosion of magical energy that makes Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like farts."

"Yep. So, no pressure whatsoever."

"…Fuck," Raynare and Mittelt chorused together.

"Oh, don't worry, girls," Azazel said cheerfully as he glanced at a control panel next to the tank. "The treatment is going better than I expected. Give it a few hours, and he should be stabilised, physically at least. Well, enough so we can downgrade his condition from 'Oh Shit' to 'Concerning'. Of course, mentally is another matter entirely. Keep in mind, the poor sod has dealt with so many betrayals from Magical Britain, despite supposedly being its champion. But conscripting him into the Grigori is a Bad Idea."

"Because we don't want him going nuclear, right?" Mittelt asked.

"We're talking stuff that would make Serafall Leviathan's temper tantrums look tame by comparison, so we'd be lucky if it was nuclear," Azazel said. "Of course, unleashing that much power would kill him, but we wouldn't live to regret it…at least, not for long."

"That's hardly reassuring, Lord Azazel," Raynare said quietly. "So, what do we do? We can't let someone as powerful as him go free. If the Church and Heaven get their hands on him, never mind the damned Devils, we're fucked."

"Which is why we will be going for the soft sell, Raynare. Once he's awake and receptive, then at the very least, we can sell him on the idea of seeking sanctuary with the Grigori. Given what you said, you actually said the right words to get him sold on that initially. In any case, feel free to go and have lunch. I'll keep an eye on things here…"

He floated in insensate warm darkness for what felt like an eternity. No nightmares, thankfully. But no dreams either. At worst, there were aches and pains everywhere, but he was all too familiar with pain.

But soon, too soon, he was hacking up the warmth and back in the cold, and he opened his eyes blearily, only to shut them tight from the too-bright lights. "Easy there, Harry," he heard an unfamiliar but friendly-sounding voice say gently. "You're safe, for now. Well, for a given value of 'safe'."

Harry felt something being draped around his body. Hoarsely, he rasped, "Who…who are…?" That was all he could manage before he began coughing again.

"Hey, it's okay," the voice said. "Well, before I answer your question, I have to ask you…do you believe in God?"

Harry couldn't help but scoff, even if that set off a fresh round of coughing. "…Haven't believed for a few years," he rasped. "Why? Are you Him?"

"Nah, but that's fine, I haven't been on speaking terms with Him for a few millennia," the voice said. "Irreconcilable differences, you understand?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh, once more making him cough. "Oh, joy. Lemme guess…you're those two's boss? Raynare and…Mittelt, was it? Oh, wait, there were two others, that Dohnaseek guy and that Kalawarner woman. They said they were Fallen Angels."

"Yeah, that's kind of it. You can probably open your eyes by now."

Harry did open them, to see someone seated next to him, looking at him in concern. The man's lean, sardonic features reminded him painfully of Sirius. But he was not. He didn't think Sirius would be caught dead dyeing the fringe of otherwise black hair blonde. The scruffy beard on his chin was like Sirius, but the violet eyes were not. The face was all wrong too.

"Hey," the man said. "So…how's the eyes? I know you used to wear glasses, but now, your vision's gotta be better than 20/20."

"Never mind my eyes. Who are you? And more importantly, my friends…what happened to them?"

The man held up his hands. "Okay, okay…firstly, most of your friends survived the Battle of Hogwarts, and fucked off from Magical Britain after your little kangaroo court went through. You do know that, right?"

Harry nodded, grimacing at the recollection. "I wasn't at the trial. I was just in some room at the Department of Mysteries, being kept under with Dreamless Sleep. I was woken up just before being thrown through the Veil by that bastard Snape. He gloated, told me about the Horcrux in my scar, and how he was sending me to join Sirius. He…" His voice caught in his throat from despair and fury. "…He told me how they turned on me, again."

"Well, if it's any consolation, the Horcrux is no longer in your scar. It probably was destroyed when you went through the Veil, or perhaps when you underwent your metamorphosis. I'll tell you about that in a moment, but…well, you'll be pleased to know that the surviving Weasleys have taken refuge in either France or Romania, well, save for Percy, who's still a Ministry brown-noser. Hermione Granger is working as a schoolteacher in Japan, while Luna Lovegood has taken up residence in Kyoto, as an emissary to the magical beings there, the youkai. Remus Lupin and his wife and family are in Australia, and in fact, he and I have been in contact before. I helped him get a decent supply of Wolfsbane in exchange for helping me out."

"And how did Remus help you out?" Harry asked.

"By telling me what he knew about what happened at the Battle of Hogwarts. We stay in touch. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you, along with 'Don't Call Me Nymphadora'." Harry shared his chuckle, even as he wondered why this guy would talk to Remus. "But enough beating around the bush. You wanted to know who I am? I'm the Governor-General of the Grigori, and, for my many, many sins, that makes me the leader of the Fallen Angels. The name's Azazel."

"Azazel? Not Lucifer?"

"Wrong being. Besides, the current Lucifer's a pretty chill guy, believe it or not, and you wouldn't pick him as being one of the rulers of the Devils. One thing you'll have to learn, Harry, is that Fallen Angels and Devils are people just as much as humans are, especially these days. Some good, some bad, and some pretty damn ugly. The Strays you've been attacking are pretty nasty, true, but, well, the supernatural world is far wider than what you've thought. Anyway, before I give you a crash course on the very deep end you've been dropped into, let's get you some proper clothes…"

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, some exposition and backstory. Now for some character development.

Because Harry transformed before a certain point in the Battle of Hogwarts, Lupin and Tonks survived. Unfortunately, so too did Snape, and as a final spiteful gesture towards Dumbledore, James and Lily, decided to have Harry killed. He's going to regret that…

No numbered annotations this time.