So here's the real start of our fic. I hope you enjoy. :)

September 1989

It had started as just another day for Saguru James Hakuba. He'd woken up, showered, dressed for work, ate breakfast with his wife, and headed to his office. Said office space was a unit above a bistro that he and Akako liked frequenting. His mother had bought the space for him as a sort of present when he'd graduated from Cambridge and Akako often met him at the bistro for lunch if he wasn't in the middle of any serious cases for the Yard.

After he walked in, his secretary, Moira Thatch, handed him a cup of tea and reminded him that he had an appointment at 9 with a Miss Thornton. Saguru thanked her and settled in his office to finish up some paperwork for the Yard on a case in Whitechapel they'd wrapped up the night before.

At 9 o'clock on the dot, a young woman in her mid twenties walked into his office. Saguru could tell at a glance that she was a school teacher. Her clothes were plain and simple, show casing no graphics or loud colors. Her handbag was worn, but well cared for, though she'd either missed or couldn't remove a few small lines of marker. Her face was lined in the way that he'd learned only young parents or minders of small children were, but said lines also indicated that she smiled a lot, so Saguru figured she was a primary school teacher.

"Miss Thornton, I presume," Saguru said, shaking her hand before gesturing for her to take a seat in one of the chairs across from his desk.

"Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Detective Hakuba," she said. "Though I have to say, I thought you'd be… a bit older."

"Most do," Saguru said, smiling wryly. He may not have been a teenager any more, but being 22 wasn't much better. He still looked like he was fresh out of Uni instead of the experienced and seasoned private investigator he knew he was reputed for being.

Saguru looked at the paperwork in front of him on the details of the case Miss Thornton had given his secretary over the phone.

"You're from Little Whinging, is that right?" Saguru said.

"I am."

"This trip is a bit out of your way, then, isn't it?" Saguru mused.

"My cousin said that you're really good," Miss Thornton said. "He said that you helped him figure out who was embezzling small funds from his store's accounts. That you see seemingly small and insignificant details that result in some fantastic insights. He called you a modern day Sherlock."

"I take it your cousin is Byron Smyth?" Saguru said, smiling in amusement as he thought of the young shopkeeper who owned the convenience store down the street.

"Yessir," Miss Thornton said.

"Very well, Miss. What can I do for you?" Saguru asked.

"Well… it's about this boy… a student of mine, you see," the school teacher began. "He's… a bit strange, but not a bad boy. I… I think he's being abused."

"That's a serious claim, Miss Thornton," Saguru said, expression grim. "Did you notify your school's headmaster and the proper authorities?"

"Of course!" the woman cried. "But it resulted in nothing. The boy's family is well off and relatively well liked by the community so the matter was dropped rather quickly. They just said that the boy's a troublemaker and left it at that."

"What do you know about his home life, Miss Thornton?"

"I know that he's an orphan. He's living with his aunt and uncle and cousin," she said, reaching into her purse and pulled out a photo that was clearly from the school's yearbook. "His name is Harry Potter, Detective. He's such a sweet and kind boy that I can't imagine him making any sort of trouble. But he's clearly under fed and he always comes in wearing clothes that I know were once his cousin's."

Saguru took the photo and examined the young boy. He was small and scrawny that was for sure, and looked even smaller swimming in the large clothes that practically hung off his frame. He was pale and had a mop of black hair that stuck up everywhere that nearly hid a small scar on his forehead that was shaped like a lightning bolt. He also had the most striking and vivid pair of green eyes that he'd ever seen behind a pair of glasses that looked to be a bit too big for him.

"Here's a picture of his cousin, Dudley Dursley," Miss Thornton added, handing him a second photo.

The second photo showed a rather large and overweight blond boy. Saguru agreed that the clothes Harry was wearing were likely hand-me-downs. It was worrying that these two children were raised under the same roof and looked so completely different.

"I'll take the case," he said after a moment of deliberation. "May I keep these photos? I'll also need the addresses of your school and the boy's home if you have it."

"Of course!" Miss Thornton said, looking relieved. "Whatever helps."

A week later, Saguru was in Little Whinging, observing Harry Potter as the boy worked in the garden in front of the Dursley home under the kitchen windows. It had been apparent from day one that the boy was indeed being abused by his aunt and uncle and it made him angry that Miss Thornton's concern had been blatantly ignored in the face of all the obvious signs. He'd been gathering evidence all week to present to the local authorities. He was lucky that he knew the local police chief, Henry Montrose, and had gotten him on board with getting a warrant to search the house after presenting his findings from the first three days alone. The house was the only place Saguru hadn't been able to observe the family while they were inside. With any luck Montrose would have that warrant within a few hours and they could serve it that evening.

The Dursleys acted like a nice family for their neighbors and friends, but it was clear that they all despised Harry for some reason. Saguru had heard and recorded many instances where the child had been called a "freak" by the uncle on outings that the family allowed Harry to join them on. He hadn't witnessed the boy get hit or physically harmed, but he felt it was only a matter of time. The signs of abuse were clear. Harry was eight years old, and yet he could easily be mistaken for a 5-6 year old child.

"Hey handsome."

Saguru looked away from the kid slaving away in the heat of the afternoon sun to look up at his lovely wife, who was lounging against the side of his car.

"Hello gorgeous," he answered back, smiling as she slipped into the passenger seat beside him.

"How's your stakeout going?" she asked.

"Good. Chief Montrose is getting a warrant for us to enter the house and arrest the aunt and uncle on grounds of suspected abuse," he informed her.

"Is that the boy you've been investigating?" she asked, watching young Harry as he got up from where he was kneeling beside the garden.

"Yes," Saguru sighed, frowning when he saw the aunt come out of the house and start yelling at him, pointing at things in the flowerbed. The boy had missed some weeds it seemed.

Akako was glaring at the woman as they watched Mrs. Dursley chew the boy out.

That was when there was a loud popping sound and suddenly the garden Harry had been working on was nothing but weeds. Mrs. Dursley shrieked in outrage and began to drag the boy back inside the house by his hair. Saguru was quick to whip out his camera and record the whole thing. Her yelling could still be heard in muted spurts from within the house, joined by indecipherable bellows from the uncle.

Akako was sitting still as a statue beside him, her expression shuttered and icy cold.

"Was that…?" Saguru attempted to ask, trailing off as he eyed the garden that had been full of flowers just moments ago, but was now a bush of weeds.

"Accidental magic," Akako finished for him, her voice soft. "That boy is a wizard."

"In a muggle family," Saguru muttered. "One of his parents must have been muggle born or something. Poor Harry Potter. That warrant can't be served fast enough."

Akako's eyes widened and she turned to face him so fast, he thought she might have given herself some whiplash.

"Did you say Harry Potter?" she demanded.

"Yes. Why? Do you know him?" Saguru asked, stunned by her reaction.

"There isn't a wizard or witch in the whole world that doesn't know his name," she said softly. "Do you remember what I told you about how my family was killed?"

Saguru only nodded. He knew what a touchy subject that was for her and that it was better that she direct the conversation.

"The Dark Wizard that killed them was stopped by a baby. Voldemort's killing curse rebounded and killed its caster instead, but not before he'd murdered the child's family like he killed mine. That baby, the one credited with defeating Voldemort is Harry Potter. No one knows where he is…until now. Tell me, does he have the scar? A lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead?"

"Yes," Saguru said, feeling overwhelmed upon learning who he had been watching this week. "How… do you want to proceed?" he asked her.

Akako was quiet for a while as she watched the house.

"I need to speak with Amelia," she said at last. "If this situation is as severe as it appears and that boy is indeed Harry Potter, I need to get her input and see how much the Ministry needs to get involved."

"If everything goes right, the Dursley's will be charged with child abuse and Harry will be removed from their custody. Then he'll end up in the system and hopefully with a good foster family."

"He'll end up in foster care?" Akako asked.

"He has no other known relatives," Saguru sighed. "But now I'm not so sure how well that'll go now that I know he's a wizard."

"...We could take him in," Akako said after a long minute of silence.

Saguru stared at her. Sure, they'd talked about having kids someday, but hadn't talked about having one so soon.

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "You haven't even met him yet."

"Have you?" she asked.

"...Once," he admitted. "I met him in the park a couple days ago when he was on his way home from school. He was being bullied by his cousin Dudley and his friends."

"And what did you want to do after you met him?" she asked.

"I wanted to take him away from the Dursleys that second," Saguru sighed.

"And bring him home?" Akako prodded.

"...Do you really think we're ready to be parents?" Saguru asked her.

"I don't think anyone is completely ready to become a parent," she said, shrugging. "You said you wanted kids. Why not now? We're more than financially stable between your livelihood and my own, not to mention what we both have with our family fortunes combined. You know neither of us have to work, but we do so anyway. If it comes down to it, I'll quit my job at the Ministry and stay home full time for a few years to raise him until he's old enough to go to Hogwarts. Besides, we're perfect to raise him. If he were to go into a muggle foster family, what happens when he gets his letter from Hogwarts? What happens when he interacts with the magical world for the first time? How will he handle having everyone knowing who he is while he has little to no idea why? We can give him the perfect balance of a muggle and magical life. We could ease him into the magical community gradually. Prepare him in ways no other family would be able to."

"That's pretty thought out for a spur of the moment decision to become a foster parent," Saguru said, feeling amused, but knowing that she was right. "Fine. Go see Amelia and I'll handle things on this end."

"Good. See you soon, Anata," she said as she slipped out of the car and disappeared with a small pop.

Akako apparated into the main lobby for the Ministry of Magic and headed straight for the lifts that would take her to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Amelia Bones's office.

"Akako?" the older witch said, staring as Akako stalked right into the office, closing the door and casting silencing wards over the office before taking a seat before the department head's desk.

"Sorry for the abrupt arrival, Amelia, but I really could use your help with a serious matter that my husband's uncovered," Akako informed her, getting straight to the point. "He's been working on a child abuse case, gathering evidence to get the child removed from his aunt and uncle's custody. I learned today that this child is none other than Harry Potter."

Amelia dropped her quill and sat ramrod straight in her seat. "What?"

"The boy's relatives are the worst muggles I've seen in some time," Akako fumed. "With any luck, Saguru will get the boy removed from that house in a few hours. ...We're hoping to adopt him. I wanted to consult you on how to go about doing that. Who is in charge of Harry's case and how much of a problem are they going to be during the adoption process?"

"No one is in charge of his case. It was Dumbledore who placed Harry with his relatives," Amelia said, removing her glasses and fiddled with the frames. "The Minister was most upset that Dumbledore didn't consult the Ministry or allow us to place him with a magical foster family. Until now we had no idea where the boy was staying, only that he was safe and with family."

"So legally Potter's case should be handled by muggle authorities," Akako mused. "He's not in a family registered by the Ministry."

"Correct," Amelia said, "We have no real jurisdiction in a muggle case, but if Dumbledore chooses to get involved it could mean trouble."

"You think he'll interfere?" Akako asked, frowning.

"This is Harry Potter we're talking about," Amelia sighed. "No one really kicked up a fuss when Dumbledore spirited the boy away from the ruins of his family home and placed him in what we were assured was a safe home for the savior of the Wizarding world. I can arrange it so that the Ministry interferes as little as possible with the muggle case since you and your husband plan on adopting the boy, and I could see about getting the Minister involved, but that's about all I can do."

"That's all I ask," Akako said, raising from her chair. "Do what you can to prevent Dumbledore from getting involved, but if he decides to get interfere, he'll find that I can be quite formidable."

"Good luck," Amelia said. "I'll give you the next few weeks off. Hopefully I'll see you soon to officialize the adoption and get it registered in our books."

Akako flashed the woman a grateful smile before leaving.

Saguru was more than ready to do enter the house by the time Chief Montrose and four of his men arrived in two patrol cars, parking on either side of house Number 4 on Privet Drive. A nondescript car from child services was there as well, waiting on standby. Saguru got out of his own car that had remained parked on the corner across the street and joined them, an envelope full of photographic, audio and video evidence for the chief. Montrose took the envelope and put it in his squad car before heading to the door with the warrant in hand.

"Sir," Saguru said before the man could knock. "I want you to be aware of the fact that my wife and I are looking to adopt Potter, should he be removed from the Dursley's care."

This earned him looks from the five policemen.

"And when did you decide this?" Montrose asked.

"A few hours ago," Saguru admitted. "She hasn't even met him in person yet, but from what little I've told her, my wife has become rather attached to this boy. We realized this afternoon that she knows who he is and about what happened to his birth parents."

"Are you sure you two are ready to take responsibility for a child?" Montrose asked.

"We've discussed having children before," Saguru informed him. "And we're sure that we want Harry."

"I'll bring it up with the judge and put in a good word for you," Montrose said. "But for now, let's just get this kid out of here."

With a nod, they finally knocked on the door and confronted the Dursleys who'd just finished eating dinner. They did not take things quietly as the officers began to search the house. Saguru was very concerned that Harry wasn't anywhere in sight and the two officers that were investigating the upstairs reported that there was only one child's bedroom. That was when Saguru noticed the cupboard door under the stairs. With a sinking heart, he strode past Chief Montrose who in the middle of a yelling match with Vernon Dursley about what his officers were allowed to investigate, and headed right to the cupboard.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Petunia Dursley shrieked at him when he unlocked the cupboard.

"The better question," Saguru growled, opening the door and revealing eight year old Harry Potter blinking up at him from where he was curled up on a cot in what was clearly his bedroom- a closet under the stairs, "is why your nephew is living under the stairs when there is clearly a bedroom for him upstairs."

"He can't have that room," Dudley Dursley said, "because that's my room for my toys."

"I think it's time to serve those warrants, Chief," Saguru said, before crouching in front of the scared boy. "Hello, Harry. Remember me?"

"You're the man that helped me after… I got beaten up," Harry said, editing himself.

"After your cousin and his friends beat you, you mean," Saguru said gently. "It's alright now. You don't have to be afraid to tell the truth. My police friends and I are here to help you."

The poor boy looked up at him with so much wary hope and guarded relief it was as if he were afraid to believe what Saguru was saying was true.

An hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were arrested and Dudley Dursley was picked up by Vernon Dursley's sister, Marge Dursley. The woman clearly hated Harry as much as the rest of them and had been too happy to hear that she wouldn't have to look after him as well. Child Services came in and - much to Saguru's relief - granted him temporary custody over Harry after he was checked over for injuries and it was revealed that he had several hand shaped bruises on his person. It quickly became apparent that the poor boy was rather untrusting of most adults. Harry had refused to move far from Saguru's side since he'd been coaxed out of the cupboard. In his eyes, Saguru was the one who saved him and was the most familiar and friendly face among the older officers that were rescued him from the Dursleys.

Saguru was happy to lead Harry to his car and call Akako to let her know that he'd be coming home with the boy. Harry was clearly nervous, especially when they pulled up to his house in Soho. The house was clearly high end and upper class compared to the little cookie cutter neighborhood they'd left in Little Whinging. The boy clutched at Saguru's hand as they exited the car and walked up the steps to the house.

The moment the door opened, Saguru could smell Akako's cooking coming from the kitchen.

"Tadaima!" he called out automatically as he pulled off his shoes.

"Okaeri!" she called back.

"What did you say?" Harry asked softly.

"Apologies," Saguru said, smiling sheepishly. "My wife grew up in Japan and I met her when I went to high school there. I said Tadaima, which Japanese for "I'm home," and she answered, Okaeri, which means "Welcome home." It's just something we say to each other."

"You lived in Japan?" Harry asked, finally coming out of his shell as his natural childish curiosity was peaked.

"I'm half Japanese on my father's side," Saguru explained. "My mother is British."

"Cool," boy said, looking around the house and more than likely picking out all the asian items that decorated the Hakuba home.

"You must be Harry," Akako said as she came out of the kitchen and into the front entry. "Welcome to our home."

"Harry, this is my wife, Akako," he said, resting a comforting hand on the boy's skinny shoulder. "Akako, this is Harry Potter."

Akako smiled warmly and welcomingly as she crouched down to Harry's level.

"It is very nice to meet you. I hope you'll be happy here in our home. If you want anything, feel free to ask us, alright?" she told him.

"It's nice to meet you too," Harry said, smiling tentatively.

"Now, I hope you boys are hungry, because I just finished whipping up my best beef stew," Akako announced, getting up and leading the way into the kitchen.

The next few days were very busy in the Hakuba house as Akako and Saguru got used to having a child in their home. Saguru was gone during a majority of the day while the Dursley's court case moved forward and he requested permanent guardianship over Harry while waiting for his application to go through so that he and Akako could become registered foster parents. His name, reputation, and connections within the system was clearly helping the process along, but it was still going to take some time for all the paperwork to go through. Akako, meanwhile, spent a majority of her days getting to know Harry Potter better, taking him out shopping and getting him clothes and things that fit him. The boy was clearly overwhelmed with all of the attention, but he was gradually opening up to her and enjoyed all of her stories about her childhood in Japan.

Amelia Bones was doing a fantastic job in keeping the magical community out of the entire situation, though there had been quite a few stories leaked and released in the papers about Harry's removal from his aunt and uncle's home. There had only been speculations about the reason for it, however, instead of details about the abuse. The Auror department was working overtime in making sure that the case remained in the muggle courts. Amelia came to visit Akako while Harry was out with Saguru to speak with the police and child services about his treatment in the Dursley's house.

"The minister wasn't very pleased," the head of the Magical Law Department reported as Akako served her tea. "He found out after the story was released in the Daily Prophet. He had calmed somewhat after he found out that Dumbledore hadn't been informed either. After your visit, I reviewed the laws concerning the custody of children in non-magical families and it is quite clear that any problem involving a magical child in the care of muggles should be solved by muggles unless it would result in harm to that child. Also, in your favor, according to adoption laws, unless we want to cause a muggle-wizard incident, any magical families applying for adoption and custody over a magical child from a muggle family must do so through the muggle courts. Harry is most fortunate that between you and Saguru, you are familiar with both the muggle and magical laws. Dumbledore doesn't have much of a leg to stand on if he wants to move him to a different magical family."

Akako was quite please by that development, glad that the law was on her side. She had no doubt that Saguru would be able to appease the muggle courts and that he had the connections needed to gain legal custody of Harry. With Amelia Bones on her side, Akako had all the reassurances she needed to know that she'd have support from the magical side of the law in this addoption as well. All she needed to know now was whether Harry really wanted to be a part of their family. She hoped so. She and Saguru had quickly grown fond of the boy and thought that he was coming to like them as well.

That night, a week after Harry had come to stay with them, Saguru and Akako sat together with Harry in their living room. The case against the Dursley's had been going well in regards to removing Harry from their custody, but the Dursley's had a really good lawyer provided by the company Vernon Dursley worked for. They weren't going to have to serve much jail time and would eventually get their son Dudley back, but it was quite clear that the courts didn't want Harry returning to their home. The support Saguru had at the Little Winging police department and community was outstanding and he and Akako were at the top of the list for potential foster parents. When they asked the boy if he'd like it if they adopted him and became his new parents, the boy practically screamed yes and hugged them as tightly as he could.

A few weeks later Harry Potter was officially theirs according to the muggle court of law, and the new family of three went out to dinner to celebrate with Saguru's mother, who fell in love with her new Grandson instantly.

Harry's introduction to the magical aspect of their lives was a little more complicated. Harry had taken the news about the truth behind his parents deaths hard, but it helped that Akako had gone through what he had too. Both of them had lost their birth families to the same Dark Wizard and so when Akako brought up the idea of a Blood Adoption, Saguru and Harry were both apprehensive, but on board with the idea that it'd cement Harry's place in their family. Akako reasoned that by making Harry theirs by blood, she'd be able to pass down the same blood magic protection that she'd benefited from her ancestors while growing up.

On October 31st, 1989, Amelia Bones was very happy to put through the official adoption papers that made Harry James Potter legally Saguru and Akako Hakuba-Koizumi's son in the Ministry's records and passed their case off to the department that performed blood adoptions. After the blood binding spell was performed, there were no real immediate physical changes in Harry that sometimes occurred when a child was adopted by a new pair of parents, but his eyes appeared to become an even more vibrant green than they had before and his hair became a little more manageable. At home, Akako and Iwao performed the ritual that would awaken in Harry the Koizumi legacy protection magic that was now in his blood.

Harry was tired the next day, but they were happy to have him as part of their family and spent the next few days getting him settled permanently into their home and lives. They got him enrolled in a private school in Soho (that Saguru went to as a child actually) and for the next few years, life in the Hakuba-Koizumi house was wonderful.

Yeah, we still have a lot of background and exposition given in this chapter, but we'll get to a lot more fun stuff now that our little family is together now! I haven't yet decided how AU this fic is going to be in regards to Harry's schooling. I'm debating whether I want Harry to go into Slytherin or stay a Gryffindor. There's a lot I have in mind for this fic for all three of these characters, so if there is anything you guys want to see, please feel free to let me know. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!