July, 1988

Less than thirty days until his, their, birthday, and for the first time in years Harry was genuinely excited at the thought.

"Flying is easy," Sirius was explaining, holding a broomstick in hand as he stood in front of the two boys.

From his perch in the tree Phoenix, one of the many, many Nephalim on site, snorted, causing Jake to turn and scowl.

"I'm not that bad."

Sirius ducked his head as Jake turned back to face him, but the action did little to hide the ear-to-ear grin he wore.

"Is it really that hard?" Harry asked, twisting his head from the tree to his cousin, and then following the path back to his godfather.

"No," Phoenix spoke again, peering down at them from the branches. "Jake's just special."

Jake shot him a rather rude hand gesture that had Sirius whooping and Lix scowling.

"Jake," she warned, her tone oddly mothering.

The Nephalim surprised Harry the most, but their presence had been duly explained as necessary.

"You're the Boy-Who-Lived," Sirius had started the explanation, as if that was answer enough.

"The what?" Harry's blank-faced stare had prompted a shared look of what looked like pained despair and pure rage.

He was still struggling to decide which emotion it was, and what it was for, when Daniel had spoken.

"Harry," his voice had been oddly gentle, immediately alerting Harry to something being wrong.

He remembered that voice; it was the voice the school nurse used to get when he'd show up in her office with a bleeding nose or a black eye. It was the tone the guidance counselor used when he was trying to get Harry to say it was his Uncle who caused the bruises. It was the tone every adult in his life, outside of his Aunt and Uncle, had used when they were about to screw him over.

He'd shrunk back, as if distance could soften the blow he felt was coming.

And a blow it was, just not the kind he'd been expecting.

"How much do you know about your parents deaths?"

"They died in a car accident," Harry reported, with large amount of confidence til he saw the pure rage flash across Sirius's face and the anger in his uncle's eyes.

"Didn't they?" He finished, voice uncertain as he glanced over at his cousin.

Jake…

Words couldn't describe how much Jake meant to him, how important his cousin was. He was his first true friend, the first person he happily claimed as family. He was the first person Harry could ever remember giving a shit about him.

He didn't treat Harry like he was stupid when he asked a question about something magical he didn't understand. He didn't bully or beat him and the teasing was always friendly, coaxing.

Jake, for his part, looked solemn, but grimly interested. A simple exchanging of looks and gestures assured Harry that Jake, while obviously aware they were dead, had about as much of an idea of how as Harry did.

"You were a year old," Daniel started. Sirius maintained his silence; as much as he was a part of this, Daniel was an even bigger piece. This was his story, more than anybody's, and thought Sirius desperately wanted to protect Harry, it was important that Daniel be the one to tell him.

"The war had been going on for almost eleven years. Everyone was scared, but your parents…" Daniel trailed off as he tried to figure out the best way to explain things to Harry.

"Do you know what a prophecy is?"

"Like Nostradamus?" It was the only point of reference Harry had to go on. Sirius bit his tongue to keep from snorting; Nostradamus was an idiot, a squib with delusions of grandeur. What few predictions of his that had come true were partially blind luck, and partially his cousin, Faustus, who had a minor seer gift and a penchant for practical jokes.

"Yeah, like Nostradamus," Daniel's lips twitched in a ghost of a smile as he caught Sirius's gaze and they shared a moment of understanding.

"The thing is, Harry, you have to understand, out there, with the Muggles, someone can make a prophecy and nobody would believe them. It's different in the wizarding world. Prophecies have power, Harry. They set things in motion. Your destiny was on the books, so to speak, since before you were born."

"Nobody except Dumbledore and your parents know the full prophecy," Daniel continued, catching and keeping his nephew's eyes, gazes mutually intense. "But everybody knows its outcome."

"If the prophecy was, is, was," Harry corrected himself with obvious frustration, "then why are my parents dead? Is it my fault?"

"No!" Sirius burst out, unable to keep his silence, unwilling to let his godson, his best friend's, his Frater Sanguis, son, believe that his birth had in any way shape or form caused James and Lily's deaths.

"Listen to me Harry," Sirius's fervent gaze drew Harry in, scaring him with its intensity because, though he'd experience his fair share of the darker side of humanity in his brief ten year existence, he had no conscious memory of the true evils of this world, memories that Sirius bore with a heavy heart and soul. It was the fuel to his fire, the passion that blazed deep from within and spilled out through his eyes, catching Harry and holding him, waiting with his heartbeat echoing in his ears for Sirius to finish speaking and release his hold on him.

"It was a war, Harry," Sirius stated. "Understand this: prophecy or no prophecy, your parents would have ended up dead either way. All of us would have ended up dead. Your parents did something very few witches and wizards did: they openly defied the Dark Lord and, in doing so, brought his personal attention down on them. Harry," Sirius shook his head, eyes shiny with unshed tears. "Harry, greater witches and wizards than your parents fell before the Dark Lord. James…he fought with his last breath, but no one stood a chance against Him, not on their own."

"He found the house where your parents were," Daniel continued as Sirius ducked his head away, his gaze fixed on the wall.

"This house," Daniel raised a hand and waved it around, expression softened in grief. "Your father…James, he tried to buy your mother some time, but the Dark Lord had put up some kind of ward. He cornered your mother and you in the nursery," the only unoccupied room in the house, "and murdered Lily, but when he cast the killing curse on you…it bounced back. You killed him, Harry. You. You were only a year old and yet you managed what seasoned Aurors and war mages couldn't manage. And nobody knows how."

"That's where you got the scar from," Sirius stated, his voice quiet.

Harry's hand automatically flew up to his forehead, his hand resting warm against the now throbbing scar, or maybe that was just his pulse. All the blood in his body was rushing, rushing, and he couldn't breath…he couldn't….he….

Everything went dark, quick enough to catch him by surprise, but not quick enough for him to have the one thought every ten year old boy would be having at the thought of swooning like a girl.

Bugger!

That'd been in early June, almost three weeks after he'd arrived here. He'd had time to…not to grow used to the fact, but to become accustomed with the knowledge that he was living in the house his parents had died in.

"It's fitting," Sirius had told him a few days after they'd related the story to them. Harry hadn't been speaking and even Jake had been unusually silent.

Sirius had placed a hand on the wall with a fond smile and glanced over at him.

"The Potters own a lot of holdings, James, and now you, were the last of the line, but this house…James loved it here. He always told me that this was where he wanted his family to live."

Hunkering down til he was face to face with his godson, Sirius once more established eye contact as he spoke.

"The way I see it Harry, you can do one of two things: you can give in to that fear, that disgust, and let the memories and knowledge chase you from here like they would have wanted, or you can stay and fight to live the life your parents would have wanted for you."

It had been said with such quiet conviction and profoundness and Harry had stared up at Sirius, his eyes, a dull, sick shade of green the last few days, taking on a new shine as he slowly nodded.

He'd fight, just like Sirius wanted, like his parents would have wanted. He'd fight and he'd make new memories, better memories, great memories of this place and make it a home worthy of the name.

Which was why he was standing in the backyard, under the warm sun, with a bevy of Nephalim body guards, a snarky Godfather, and a pouting cousin, holding a broom and staring wistfully up at the blue skies.

Harry had always wondered what it would feel like to fly.

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July, 1989

"Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?"

Harry sniggered into his fist while Daniel grinned and Jake made no effort to hide his laughter as a disguised Sirius Black hit on yet another witch, his third for the day which, considering they'd only been there for about a half an hour, was pretty impressive.

This one, unfortunately for Sirius and much to the amusement of onlookers, hit back. Literally.

"I think I'm in love," Gadreel drawled softly from his lounging sprawl against the nearest brick wall where he absently fingered the strings of herbs drying out from a nearby sellers stall.

Daniel snorted at that before quickly ushering the boys away while Sirius made a second attempt with the heavy hitter.

"Are we gonna get our wands today?" Jake practically hopped in place, excited at the possibility.

He'd been practicing the spells he'd been taught by the Anunnaki guarding them and he'd gotten pretty good, but Sirius had told him a wizard works best with their own wand. Jake was more than eager to test that theory out.

"Not until you get your Hogwarts letter," Daniel informed him somewhat absentmindedly as he shifted through potions ingredients. Ameros had given him a list of supplies and Daniel had his own stores to stock up on.

Granted, potions definitely hadn't been Daniel's best subject. He'd been much better at History of Magic and Ancient Runes, but he had enough skill in him to perform the basics.

Jake, on the other hand, was showing quite a talent for the art. He'd been helping Ameros whip up his magical brews since he was old enough to see over the rim of the cauldron and he'd gotten pretty damn good over the years.

Harry had more of a liking for Defense, and trained daily with Sirius and Semyaza, who had developed a liking for the young Alal.

Eligor still wouldn't go near the boy, which suited Sirius just fine. He liked having his godson to himself.

The others were varied in their reactions. Lix had accepted him with the calm patience of one who was used to children and enjoyed their company, regardless of their innate abilities. Phoenix didn't seem to give a rats ass one way or another, and Dantanian was impossible to read.

Ornias had been banned from his presence after what Lerajie had termed a 'hazing incident', which had consisted mostly of taunting and crass insults to Harry's parentage.

Harry had taken it about as well as expecting, showing himself to be the true son of James Potter and godson of Sirius Black by kicking the Nephalim in the shin.

Hard.

The cursing Malaakiyn had been hustled from the room by a grinning Lerajie and Flauros, the latter of whom had congratulated Harry on his aim and fixed the boy an ice cream.

Caim was about as warm and open with him as he was with Daniel and Jake, which meant that he cooked them breakfast most mornings and that was that.

The Nephalim made the best damn pancakes any of them had ever tasted. He'd had millennia to perfect the art, after all.

Ameros was as oblivious as ever, and Vapula didn't really seem to care about much other than Ameros. Shax changed his mind every day, and Azza didn't like any of them.

Bathin fed them noon and evening meals, but Daniel had yet to hear him speak a word outside of the kitchen.

Vassago tensed up when Harry entered the room, which amused Belphegor to no end, but that was about it. He didn't make snide comments or leave the room.

Tamiel went where Daniel went, trailing along behind them in a sleeveless cloak with the hood pulled up, her face adopting an expression of vague interest in her surroundings, years of practice enabling her to pull of the look without being obvious.

And Gad seemed to find the whole thing completely pointless.

"He's not going to kill us," he'd pointed out drying during one of their Midnight Meetings after the boys had gone to bed.

"You can't say that for sure," Caim had pointed out calmly.

"You can't say anything for sure," Gad had shot back, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the nearest vertical surface, as was his habit.

"Surety aside, we err on the side of caution," Eligor's verdict had been final. Harry would live with them, but they weren't to trust him.

Harry hadn't understood the house dynamics, and Jake hadn't really either. Neither one of them was completely clued in on the why of the Anunnaki presence.

And Daniel planned to keep it that way.

Being a kid was hard enough. Being a kid with a big dark destiny was even harder.

They'd have to learn about it eventually, but Daniel was going to wait until that last possible second.

"Bloody witches," Sirius muttered, sliding in next to him and rubbing his rapidly swelling jaw. "Can't take a fucking joke."

"Someday, my friend," Daniel smiled smugly at Sirius, "you're going to a meet a woman who finally knocks the meaning of the word 'No' into your thick skull."

"I think I already have." Sirius gave his best hang-dog expression and Daniel barely held in his laughter, settling for an indelicate snort of amusement as he finished with his perusal and headed to the counter to pay.

The plan was to do a quick tour of the wizarding shopping agora, restock some of their supplies, and maybe stop by {Ice Cream Place} before they headed back home.

From outside the shop, Gad went from lounging to alert. Daniel's head jerked around so fast he almost had whiplash.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, playful pup gone as he, too, noticed Gad's unusually alert posture.

"Trouble," Daniel stated, grabbing his recently purchased merchandise and motioning for Sirius to grab the boys.

Tamiel met him at the door, placing herself boldly in his path and pressing him against the wall of the shop, making it look like they were a happy couple pausing for some public displays of affection.

"Can't they sense you?" Daniel murmured into her hair.

"No," Tamiel pulled her top down a little bit, giving him a glimpse of enticing cleavage and a shiny glint of metal.

"What is that?" He murmured, ducking his head and nuzzling her ear.

"A medallion," Tamiel stated, voice solid, not the least bit affected by his half-assed ministrations. "We all have them."

"Why don't Jake and I?" Daniel asked, voice and body tense. If there was a way to help protect them from this mess and the Anunnaki hadn't shared it with them…

"It doesn't work for you, only Nephalim," Tamiel replied, somewhat distracted as she caught Caim's eye.

Across the street, Caim motioned for them to start walking.

Tamiel tugged him into motion, looping her arm with his and pasting a smile on her face that could pass as real as long as you didn't look too closely.

"What is it?" Sirius asked, one hand on each boys shoulders as they paced quickly away from the stores.

"Grigori," Tamiel replied quickly as Gad scouted in front of them.

"Here?" Daniel's jaw tightened, his gaze instinctively turning towards his son and nephew who looked confused and frightened by this sudden turn of events.

"They're as capable as we are of entering into this world," Tamiel's tone held a note of censure that sent a spurt of irritation and rage through his blood but he kept it in check as they rounded a corner into an empty alley.

"So? What do we do?" Daniel asked as they came to a stop, Tamiel in front, Gad bringing up the rear.

"Apparate," Tamiel replied. "Sirius with Gadreel and Harry, me with you and Jake. Quickly."

Sirius and Daniel gave each other a quick look before reaching out to place their hands on their respective targets before disappearing with a loud crack.

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Azazel enjoyed his forays into the sea of humanity, counting them among the few pleasures he had these days. His fingers lingered over a particularly ripe strand of herbs, a faint smile tickling at his lips as they withered under his touch.

He waited patiently, eyes enraptured by the frantic curls of the plant under his touch, for his companion to arrive.

"You're early," Penemuel stated, tucking a quill inside his robes as he approached.

"Five minutes early is ten minutes late," Azazel replied glibly enough, turning his attention from the strand to his companion. "And how was your day?"

"Busy," Penemuel replied, walking as Azazel easily fell in step beside him. "I almost can't write fast enough to keep up with demand."

"Humans," Azazel agreed, eyes dancing with wicked glee as he surveyed the masses swarming around them.

"Worthless," Penemuel agreed blithely enough. "But oh what fun is to be had at their expense."

The two shared a grin as they arrived at their destination.

"Do you know why Mesphistopheles called this meeting after all these years?" Penemuel asked as the doorway back into the ordinary world opened in front of them.

"Does it matter?" Azazel asked, stretching his back as he smiled once more.

Every meeting they'd had since their banishment to this wretched place had been a delightful mess of violence and hate – an emotional orgy that Azazel had waited far too long to indulge in.

"No," Penemuel murmured after a moment as they glided through the bar and out the front door back onto the streets filled with the stench of cars and humanity. "It doesn't."

A/N: I had a clear vision of where this would go once upon a time and I'm pretty sure I still have the notes...it just might take a while to find them and I have a limited amount of patience. I'm hoping and I can swing back into this story without turning it to complete and utter shit, but who knows?

To everyone who's reviewed so far asking for more, this is for you. Enjoy!