She woke up in a glass box, one that was big enough to hold a very soft bed and pillows. She could recognize mundane medical equipment, including a heart monitor. There were people outside, but the room was too dark to see properly, especially without her glasses.
Suddenly the room flooded with a clean light, and there was a cool green color like leaves as opposed to a hospital white.
"She's awake," came the muffled voice.
She slowly tried to sit up, but there was just enough room for her to move around. She hit the ceiling of the box.
It took her a few seconds to register someone had changed her clothes. Her general sense of apathy turned to concern.
What the hell was going on?!
The lid above her opened, allowing her to try and look around. Everything was a total blur.
Warm arms gently lifted her out of the bed, and she instinctively curled into it. She almost thought it was Bill for a moment, because it had that same gentle warmth like sunlight.
But it definitely wasn't Bill Weasley... his warmth was heavily tinged with the feeling of a wild storm and the feel of his magic. This was pure sunshine with the hint of gunpowder and reptile scales. Besides, all of Bill's clothes were well worn and not this soft. This cloth was too well made and of the wrong sort of feel to be from his closet.
The hug was really nice though.
"Easy, tesoro."
She recognized that voice anywhere. It was that annoying idiot with the smug expression. But it felt too nice to really fight out of his arms.
Besides, this guy's grip on her was like steel bands.
She was still groggy, almost like she was drugged with something.
A voice asked something in Italian. The guy responded and she almost wanted to burrow herself into the hug.
Then she felt the warmth and nearly jerked out of his grip.
"Shh... easy tesoro. I'm just seeing if the patch job is holding up."
She was practically shivering. Every time she felt that warmth, bad things always happened to her. Especially around Dumbledore. It always felt like someone was ripping her soul out of her body and shredding it, before setting it on fire.
Soothing rain quickly filled her senses. It was almost like an overpowered calming charm. She blearily looked around to find a kind face with blond hair and blue eyes like the sea.
She was drowsy, and almost about ready to fall asleep. Normally she would fight the impulse around strangers...yet she felt entirely safe around these people. And frankly the pain of losing Sirius was being dulled by the warm sunshine and the cool rains. It still hurt like a bitch, but it was bearable.
There were more voices, but her perception was dulled. Very soon she found herself drifting back off to sleep.
The older Flame users watched as the girl tried briefly to fight her obvious exhaustion before succumbing to the combined Flames of Reborn and Colonello.
She had definitely been attacked by Flame bursts before if her knee jerk reaction to Reborn lightly touching her own caused her to flinch openly. But there was some hope... she definitely recognized the feel of Sun Flames.
Once she was awake long enough to be able to talk, Verde planned to have her use one of his unfinished devices. He created it out of boredom to determine Flame Bonds but had never really gotten anywhere with it.
Mostly because Skies were generally snapped up very quickly and no one trusted him enough to let him experiment with their Guardian Bonds.
Reborn did what he could to heal the damage caused by the recently lost Guardian Bond. However the Flame damage would take some time to heal up.
For now it was best to keep her sedated until they were relatively certain it was safe to let her stay awake. Besides, it was pretty clear she hadn't been getting enough sleep or eating correctly in some time. And the less said about the anger they all felt when he found the scarring on her right hand that literally spelled out the sentence "I must not tell lies", which Viper identified as damage done by a very restricted and almost illegal magical artifact called a blood quill, the better.
On the plus side, Reborn did have a general idea of who bonded with the almost sixteen year old girl once he felt their Flames flare after she had been secured in the box. Verde had managed to get a general guess of how old she actually was considering the malnutrition and other damage, and most of them were stunned.
The girl had a rougher life than most street kids in the worst cities. About the only damage that hadn't been done to her was of the more intimate nature. Not only was she obviously abused from an early age, but there was extensive damage to her Flames, her magic, and obviously her mind.
Viper had briefly tested the girl's mental shields and was positively livid when they discovered any shields the girl had were so brutally ripped apart it was weaker than wet tissue paper. Someone had deliberately gone in and destroyed any protection she had against mental assault.
Even if it meant they had a clearer image of what happened, the fact was that this was someone who by all rights should have died very early. That she had lasted this long before she snapped and tried to end it was a miracle and a testament to what a survivor she was.
And it only made all of them that much more protective of her as a result.
"What are you doing?" asked Reborn, noticing Verde getting some equipment.
"You didn't even notice it, did you? Her eyes were trying to focus the entire time she was aware, and there are open signs she wore glasses for an extended period. Considering her condition I wouldn't be surprised if they were the wrong prescription."
Reborn watched as Verde got some things to test how well their Sky could see. And she was their Sky. In the process of putting her in the containment box, she had accidentally harmonized with Verde.
He didn't seem to mind, since it meant easier access to the girl in question.
"Did you at least get a name when you scanned her mind?" asked Reborn, trying to ease the tension he felt. His Sky was in so much pain and they had to slowly rebuild the fractures left behind from some unknown fool.
Oh how he hoped whoever did the vast majority of the Flame damage was alive. He wanted to introduce them to his most unpleasant bag of tricks as a hit man, along with the others.
"All I got was a nickname or code name. One that she came up with herself after some sort of prank while with a so-called mass murderer in England by the name of Sirius Black. Persephone," said Viper.
Reborn blinked. How fitting.
Persephone was the Greek goddess who was forced to marry her own uncle after being tricked into eating pomegranates in the underworld. Someone who was only given brief moments of happiness before being stuck in a gilded cage with someone she couldn't really stand.
For the next week, Reborn continued his repeated sessions of healing as much damage as he could. By the time nine days had passed since they brought her to Verde's smaller lab, Persephone was slowly edging towards being awake long enough to ask important questions.
Like who did this to her, and if they were still alive enough for them to express their open displeasure.
By day ten, she was awake and able to resist the calming influence of the Rain flames long enough for them to determine if she was still suicidal.
Thankfully, she was more confused and somewhat irritated than anything. And she wasn't immediately demanding alcohol, which was a very good sign considering the bender she had gone on.
"Who are you people?"
Reborn smirked, and she gave him a rather impressive Look that said volumes of the fact she wasn't impressed with him despite the fact he was holding her tightly.
"What do you know about Flames and soul bonds?" asked Verde.
She blinked, her eyes having trouble focusing.
"Only what little Bill could tell me after the World Cup. People are all born with a little amount of soul fire, and if certain conditions are meet can manifest them to the point they can cause different effects based on color. Soul bonds are often formed to those who have manifested flames, though the rarest type is sort of a glue to the others and has the highest rate of bonding with the others."
Reborn wasn't the only one who blinked. That was a surprisingly accurate explanation without actually breaking Omerta.
It wasn't that much of a stretch to suspect this "Bill" had active Flames and knew perfectly well what a Dying Will Flame was.
He was also highly likely to be one of Persephone's Guardians.
"To be perfectly blunt, you have the 'rare' soul fire that acts like glue to the others," said Reborn.
They could go in depth later.
"You also have extensive damage to your 'soul fire' that shouldn't be there, hence why we've been keeping you in that glass box to keep external influences limited," said Reborn.
He was very pleased when he saw the epiphany in her eyes as she drew the obvious conclusion.
Persephone groaned into her hand.
"I bonded with you, didn't I?" she said exasperated. Why did this always happen to her?
"Me and everyone in this room," confirmed Reborn. At least the girl wasn't totally dense.
"You're surprisingly calm about this," noted Fon.
"On a list of the things I've had to deal with since I was eleven, accidentally bonding to foreigners with soul fire doesn't even rate in my top ten," she replied flippantly.
Bill had been very specific on how to tell if a Soul Bond was present. Among the list of things to watch out for was that the more recent the bonding, the more ridiculously overprotective the other half was going to be. Especially if it was the 'rare fire' that acted like glue. The others would go into a total mother hen mode to rival Molly Weasley at her worst.
"How long do I have to stay in that glass box? I swear I keep having a total 'Snow White' moment every time I wake up in there," she asked.
Reborn hummed. The blond...Colonello...snickered.
"I'd give it anywhere from a week to two at a minimum. But as long as you aren't behaving erratically you can stay out of it for a few hours in between sleeping. There was a lot of damage and you were terrifyingly close to going into Discord."
Persephone blinked. She hadn't realized that her mental state had been that close to falling into the same range as Bellatrix.
Bill had explained that sometimes there was a major imbalance in the soul fire that sent those with 'active' fire into a sort of downward spiral where there was very limited success of snapping them out of it. The condition was called "Discord", and nine times out of ten the victim of it would do everything in their power to take a large number of people down with them.
Generally the first and only way to deal with someone suffering from the condition was to put them down quickly before they caused too much damage.
Reborn made a mental note to speak to this "Bill" to see what exactly he knew about Dying Will Flames and if he really was her Guardian ask why she had been left to her own devices. Depending on the answer he might very well shoot the man.
"On that cheerful note, do you have any idea what your prescription is?" asked Verde, skillfully changing the subject.
"No idea. I was only taken to the eye doctor once when the teacher complained I needed glasses and I've been stuck with the same pair ever since," she replied.
Everyone looked appalled, particularly the green haired man.
Within an hour she was made to sit and endure odd tests to see how bad her vision actually was, and it was clear "Verde" was less than pleased she had been stuck with an outdated prescription. Her new pair (she was allowed to pick the frames, which was a novelty to her) would be ready within two days, if not sooner.
The Order was in an uproar. Aster Potter had managed to slip the 'leash' so to speak before the train fully emptied, and slipped out into London before she could be safely returned to her relatives home. Considering how close she had been to Sirius, certain members of Order wanted to keep an especially close eye on her.
Leading that particular faction was Bill Weasley. He was particularly concerned because he knew damn well Sirius had bonded to his goddaughter as a Guardian, and the loss of one could have tipped her over the edge.
And as her Sun, her health immediately became his priority above any loyalty he might have had to Dumbledore. Bill had known the second he had bonded to her at the World Cup that Aster Potter was a baby Sky Flame that needed protecting. He had felt the damage done by the killing curse and knew she could easily go into Discord if any more was inflicted.
Losing Sirius, who was her Cloud, would have been devastating. More than enough to tip her precarious Flames into Discord with the right outside influence.
If not for the fact he would have blown the fact his loyalties was to a girl not that much older than his only sister to the old Sky, he would have taken her in the day after they bonded.
The sheer number of hoops he would have had to jump through to do his job as Guardian would have drawn far too many targets on both their backs, never mind what sort of rumors it would spread about her.
For her own safety, Bill was forced to leave her where she was. But he spent as much time as he could and kept an eye on the other Guardians she dragged into her circle.
Which included a very large chunk of his siblings. Percy was a bit of a toss up, but Ron was definitely a loss after fourth year. If he had any bond with Aster, it would have kept him from being a jealous idiot when she was forced into the tournament.
Bill had automatically slated his youngest brother as a firm member of Dumbledore's faction. One that unfortunately included his parents.
At least Charlie, who was her Rain, had bonded with Aster just as quickly as Bill had.
He still found it amusing that every Weasley, barring a few glaring exceptions, was automatically born with Storm Flames.
It had been nearly a month since Sirius died, and Bill had more or less built a map of who had bonded to his Sky and who didn't. The little club she had formed to deal with Umbridge had made it much easier to track down who would be loyal and who to avoid.
He would have some hard work if he was going to find and secure all those bonded to his Sky if the worst happened.
This wasn't some war between light and dark factions...this was a territorial dispute between two Skies, both with different agendas and possibly about to fall into Discord.
His Sky was unlucky enough to be stuck in the middle and both of them were determined to kill her in the slowest, most painful manner possible. Even if the older Sky wouldn't phrase it as such.
Finally, after six weeks they manage to get a bead on her location. Someone had spotted her in a muggle circus where a wizard with unusually potent soul fire had been performing. The man barely ranked above a squib, but his soul fire was strong enough that Voldemort wanted him and had been sending out feelers for weeks.
She had been in the presence of a known neutral who went by the name of Viper. One of the Order members who had been there to enjoy the show and spy on the Death Eaters had placed a tracking spell on the informant, but it had been discovered and removed before a solid location could be discovered.
The area, however, was remote enough that tracking down Potter would be relatively simple.
Bill made sure to clear his schedule so he could be on the team to recover her. Obviously Viper was using Aster for something, at least in the minds of the more...devoted...members like his mother.
Besides, they were named after a snake. Clearly they couldn't be trusted.
It started with a loud series of pops, followed by Verde's sentries picking up intruders on the perimeter.
Persephone only had to take a brief look before she cringed so violently that Reborn had her inside the isolation box within minutes.
Considering some of those idiots outside were flaring their Flames without a regard for common sense, it was better to be safe than sorry. He only just got the bare surface of the scarring healed. The bigger gashes were going to take forever to clear up.
Whoever was trying to intrude on the base, they weren't very skilled or intelligent. They also didn't catch nearly as many of the cameras as they should have, which was just another big indicator that they were dealing with wizards.
More importantly they were being attacked by English wizards. People notorious for believing magic was the ultimate solution and who allowed their prejudice to cloud their common sense.
The issue was, which faction was intruding on them?
One of the intruders broke off. He seemed to be a bit more intelligent than the others, and was openly looking for an opening in obscure places. It took him very little time to find one of the entrances.
What Reborn was most interested in was the red fire he deployed to destroy the locks. And that he held it steady as he walked down the corridors, like someone well trained in it's use.
He held a tablet out for Persephone to see the intruder, who hadn't alerted the others to his discovery. Her eyes blinked, before her face brightened.
"It's Bill!"
Armed with this new knowledge, Reborn immediately went to intercept the man. Fon was quick to join him, though he stayed out of sight.
"Bill" narrowed his eyes but didn't try to attack with his wand on sight. It was a very good sign for him being somewhat smarter than his companions. Reborn flicked the light switch, and the man doused his Storm Flames.
He eyed Reborn warily.
"Mind explaining what a bunch of English fools are doing here?" he asked evenly.
"We're looking for Aster, not that I think the old Sky has anything good in mind when we find her."
Reborn blinked.
"Aster?"
What Bill said next cemented who they were looking for.
"Persephone? Black hair, green eyes, Sky Flames with severe damage?" he inquired.
"What makes you think I'll tell you anything?" asked Reborn. "Storms are notorious for being hot heads."
Bill had a cold smirk on his face. He briefly flared his Flames at Reborn, revealing something very interesting indeed.
How the hell did someone end up with a combination like a Sunny Storm?
"I'm just looking to confirm that my Sky is safe. Considering I have dubious belief that losing her Cloud would have been good for her, I really want to make sure she's not falling into Discord."
"And what makes you think I would know what you're talking about?" asked Reborn evenly. Mostly to confirm this Bill knew what Dying Will Flames were.
Bill leveled a flat look at him.
"You're Reborn, the strongest Sun Flame currently alive and unaffiliated with any known Familigia. You really think someone with trained Dying Will Flames from a purely magical environment wouldn't also be warned about the movers and players in the underworld in case we ran into them?" deadpanned Bill.
"Omerta?"
"Vindice," said Bill without hesitation.
"I'll take you to where she is, but once false move and I'll end you without hesitation."
"Fair enough."