Sawada Tsunami knew how to hide. It was a necessity, something learned via harsh lessons with painful consequences if she failed. It didn't matter to anyone, it seemed, that she was just a six year old girl－her bullies left bruises and cuts and scrapes all the same. It didn't seem to matter that her only 'crimes' were having a harder time in class, and being oddly clumsy. No, there was no mercy in Namimori for somebody like her.

Ever since the old man had taken away her fire, made her cold like the worst winter day with sharp winds all trapped inside her body, making her numb and tired, it was as if every single person in town had suddenly decided that she deserved to be punished.

So she learned to hide.

To look for small nooks and crannies that the others overlooked, only able to be used because of her small size compared to even her classmates. To duck out of sight and move quietly, even though she was clumsy. To map out places that she could lose those who hunted her, those who stared or sneered and made not-so-quiet comments.

And it was the long-practiced art of hiding that led her to the place beyond the shrine, the place that would change everything. You see, the shrine was sort of a safe zone. If she could get up there, passed all the stairs, nobody ever bothered to follow her.

The problem lay in getting that far in the first place, but if there was one semi-positive thing that had come from all the frantic running away, it was her stamina. Usually she could make it up the stairs after only a single round of after school bruising.

This time, though, it was much worse than the usual shoves against the wall that left her back aching, more than grabbing her arms to leave dark fingerprints after they'd shoved her around. No, this time one of the upperclassmen－an eight year old, all of them so young and yet so violent－had cracked her head so hard against the wall that she'd been seeing double and occasionally triple ever since. She couldn't think clearly, ears ringing, and she was pretty sure that warm red stuff was blood, tacky on her face and hands.

Somehow she made it to the shrine without passing out, feet remembering the way even when she stumbled and fell much more than usual. But then something odd happened, something that she wouldn't understand for a very long time.

She stumbled, and she caught herself by supporting her arm on a nearby large rock－it was an odd thing she'd noticed before but had shrugged off, smooth where the rest were more angled and rough. Something happened when she touched it, a… a ripple, like a pebble thrown in a pond. And then she stumbled through it.

It was probably the confusion on top of everything else that made her faint immediately after. She wouldn't wake up for several weeks.

XxXxX

When the blood of the young mistress came into contact with one of the disguised boundary stones of the Peverell's Japanese vacation property, it caused a surge of magic, one that woke up the slumbering house elves. On instinct, the head elf popped over to the source, blinking rapidly in the sunlight after so many centuries of hibernation.

To her horror, Akko found the young mistress unconscious and bleeding, bruises both new and old discoloring her skin. With the frantic efficiency of a house elf long used to impromptu duels sending her masters to the infirmary, she hastily popped them both back into the mansion, calling for her fellow elves.

"Aoi must bes bringing healer to help young mistress!" Akko squeaked to a nearby elf, wringing her hands and looking on with wide, worried, gold-flecked coral irises even as her mate Midori hurriedly began cleaning away the blood and torn clothes, checking to make sure there were no other injuries. "Take late master's pouch for payment, late master Giotto bes saying we take care of his family!"

It had been far too long since a magical child had been born into the main branch of the family－Akko swiftly reached out with her magic, confirming that while there was another in the extended family that she was bound to, only this young mistress was her true mistress－and there was much to be done.

The head house elf left Midori to tend to the young mistress, as he was trained to help with injured younglings, and instead turned to organizing the rest of her fellows. The house had to be cleaned, the grounds checked over, fresh food bought so they could provide for the young mistress once she'd awoken. Like a female possessed, Akko divided her 'troops' and set to restoring the glory of Blackfeather Castle.

The back of her mind was constantly on edge, as the time slipped away, and by the early hours of the evening the most important rooms were spotless thanks to anxiety-driven house elves.

Aoi returned with a very confused but determined-looking witch who had agreed to swear a vow of secrecy－Akko didn't know exactly how much time had passed since dear late master Giotto had died, but she figured things couldn't have changed too much, and that it was better to be safe about revealing the existence of the young mistress－at nightfall, who was ushered to the infirmary the second the vows had taken. The witch had immediately set to casting, working herself into a right state over the injuries their poor young mistress had suffered.

"Young mistress bes getting better?" Aoi asked hopefully after the witch, who had introduced herself as Haruno Inori, had spelled half a dozen potions from her bag into the young girl's stomach and smoothed salves over the bruises, a thick stack of parchment sitting on the bedside table.

"She will," Inori sighed, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. "The little lady will require more help than I can give at the moment, however. Her physical injuries will be taken care of by morning, but there is a vile seal on both her soul and magic."

Akko growled furiously. "We bes finding nasty wizard or witch who bes putting bad seals on the young mistress, and we bes teaching them otherwise."

Inori's lips quirked into a rather savage grin, dark eyes shimmering with violet light. "Would I that I could join you, little elf. As it is, the little lady needs a full cleansing as soon as can possibly be arranged. Are there any members of her family that could do so? If not, I think the goblins could be convinced, but it might take more time than would be advisable."

Tapping her bare foot thoughtfully, Akko snapped her fingers. The lesser family link would guide her to the right magical relative, or at least would give her somewhere to start.

"Akko bes knowing of one," she nodded enthusiastically. "Akko bes going to get them, Midori bes looking after the young mistress and Aoi bes looking after lady healer." With a small pop of displaced air, the house elf was gone.

Inori blinked, then sighed, shaking her head with a smile. Her family did not have any house elves, and she couldn't help but regret that－if she'd had even half as dedicated little elves there for her as a child, things would have gone much smoother. Leaning over to inspect her newest patient, she found herself grateful that she'd agreed to the odd elf's cryptic request. Just seeing the long list of injuries her scan had picked up was enough to make the healer fly into a rage, but on a child? One who probably weighed less than thirty pounds soaking wet? Her vows had her plotting already, on how to find out who was responsible and make them pay for it.

At least, despite the seal, the girl's magical core was developing well enough. The seal prevented accidental magic but it also applied far too much pressure on her core, risking a disastrous fracture or even worse, total rupturing, and getting it off as soon as possible was the priority.

XxXxX

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, the other arm busy with holding his exhuasted godson. He was currently going over the books for his vaults, having finally gotten around to sorting through all the bloody paperwork involved for having inherited the Lordship for the Blacks as well as the Potters. Even months after the end of the war things were crazy hectic as the wizarding world began to rebuild, almost in a frenzy as it sunk in that they were free of Voldemort once and for all.

As for himself, he'd declined to return to Hogwarts, as well as decided against becoming an Auror. There were simply too many things he needed to do. Taking care of Teddy, for one, as Andromeda's health had taken a sudden turn for the worst just months after her daughter passed away, and she had followed just two weeks ago.

Harry had been forced to secretly open up one of the older Potter properties that had been abandoned generations ago just to escape the chaos. Everybody was demanding to know when he would be joining the Ministry, when he would propose to Ginny, when he would drop everything yet again for their whims. It had gotten to the point where all he'd left were quick letters saying that he needed some time to adjust and that he'd contact his friends once he felt ready.

As for Ginny… he sighed, rubbing Teddy's back when the toddler fussed. The war had changed him. He was no longer the boy who had been Ginny's knight in shining armor, now a tired, grieving man who would do anything to stay out of the spotlight forever despite the redhead's insistence that he embrace it.

Shaking his head, he went to return to going over more paperwork when a soft pop alerted him to the arrival of a house elf. Hand instinctively going for his wand, he froze when he saw the familiar symbol stitched onto the breast of the elf's faded uniform, mind flashing back to the cloak, stone, and wand he had hidden away deep in his most secure trunk.

"Akko bes apologizing for the suddenness," the little house elf blurted, voice signifying her gender, "but this bes a matter of utmost importance! The young mistress bes needing treatment that we elves can't give her, we bes finding next closest family member with magic to help."

Harry took a moment to absorb that, shifting to give the elf his full attention. "No need to apologize for that－Akko, was it? Your mistress, is she sick?"

And who was she, because he'd been certain he had no one left, save for Teddy. The thought of another possible family member was enough to rouse him from his exhuastion.

"Young mistress bes having a nasty seal put on her magic," Akko scowled fiercely. "Her head bes bleeding when Akko found her, and her poor little arms bes all bruised up. We house elves bes finding a healer for her head and arms, but lady healer says a full cleansing needs bes arranged. We house elves can't bes doing that, but family can."

Anger bubbled up in his chest at the thought of another child suffering physical abuse like he had, and while nothing of the sort had been said his instincts and magic twisted in a way that told him it was much more likely than anything else. Curling his arm protectively around Teddy, Harry glanced around. At the moment everything important was still packed in his trunk, as he'd been practically living out of it while in the little cottage. A few flicks of his wand sent his paperwork and the books flying neatly into his backpack, and he turned back to Akko.

"Do you know how I'm related to your mistress? What is her name? And where is she right now?"

"Akko not bes sure, but Akko can feel you in the bonds of the family. Young mistress comes first, but we bes answering your call too. Young mistress has not yet awoken, we not bes knowing her name, and Blackfeather Castle is in Japan."

So it was probably a more distant relation, but still strong enough that the house elves considered him family. He'd just have to do an inheritance test with the girl at Gringotts once whatever seal (the thought of binding someone's magic made him feel ill) had been removed. Summoning his trunk, he shrunk it and put it in his bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

A break from England would probably do him good, anyways, and the thought of a child in need of help was something he would have gone along with anyways even without his magic urging him to do so.

"Take me to her, I'll do my best to help."

"Thank you, young master," Akko said with a sigh of relief, already holding out her hand.

"It's Harry," he corrected gently. "Just Harry."

Akko smiled at him, her metallic orange-pink eyes flecked with gold soft in gratitude as she popped them back to this Blackfeather Castle. Elf travel was unique, in that it wasn't painful or nauseating like apparation or port keys They arrived in what was clearly an infirmary, if one far cozier than any Harry himself had been in. The woman by the bed, who he assumed was the healer, turned to inspect him carefully, eyebrows rising when she caught sight of the fading scar on his forehead.

"Kitai shite inakatta… Hari Potta, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Inori Haruno. You are the little lady's relative?" The woman spoke in slightly accented English after her brief murmur in what Harry belatedly realized must be Japanese.

"We'll have to do some sort of test to see exactly how," he said by way of reply, carefully adjusting Teddy into a more comfortable position. "Akko told me she'd been hurt, do you know what happened?"

The healer's face twisted in displeasure at the reminder of her patient's situation. "Rampant, violent bullying at minimum, blatant assault and battery at worst. Now that you're here, we'll need to go to the closest magical district. The Gringotts branch there will have the proper ritual rooms to both get rid of that seal and be able to create a family tapestry."

Harry sighed, nodding as he came over to get a better look at the little girl, eyeing the gravity defying bangs of a honeyed-caramel color. She was tiny, no more than three or four years older then Teddy, and the remnants of the bruising could be seen beneath a thin sheen of some sort of salve or ointment. There was dried blood in her hair that he gently removed with a bit of wandless magic as he brushed them out of her face.

"Akko, would you be able to take us to the local Gringotts? Excellent. And Miss Haruno, would you mind carrying her? I would, but…" He trailed off sheepishly, indicating his dozing godson.

The woman's face softened, and she tucked her long black locks into the collar of her robes before carefully picking up the young girl.

"I don't mind, though I'm sure one day you'll be experienced enough to carry both." She held her free hand out to the house elf, and Harry followed suit.

Akko took them directly to the bottom step of a marble building only vaguely similar to the one in Diagon Alley. With a stern set of instructions to call for her or Midori if they needed anything at all, she popped away again, leaving the humans to head up the steps. Harry had a hard time not staring as even more mythical creatures he'd never encountered went about business as usual, foxes with many tails walking on their hind legs with strings of bells wound through their fur, what looked like vividly colored ogres, and small balls of cold blue fire that squeaked and trilled as they darted through the air.

Inori led them into the building and to the first open counter. She spoke in hushed, hurried Japanese to the goblin teller, motioning to the girl and then to Harry. He was uneasy with not being able to understand the language, kicking himself for not even thinking about it, but soon enough they were being guided through a series of long hallways and into a large room with a circular platform inscribed with a dizzying number of runes.

At least he'd managed reparations for breaking into the London branch of Gringotts, namely returning the sword of Gryffindor as well as any other goblin-made items from all his vaults.

A goblin in a silver hooded robe entered shortly after they were left there.

"Explain the issue," the goblin barked in English, getting straight to business.

"The little lady has a seal on her soul and magic," Inori said quickly, following the goblin when it sharply motioned for her to bring the girl over to the center of the ritual circle. "We humbly request a full cleansing for the child."

"And after that we request a family tapestry for her. You can charge it to the Potter vaults," Harry added. "I won't stand by and let her suffer a second longer than she has to."

"A seal? In this day in age? On a child, no less…" The goblin grumbled, hands waving as the low guttural sounds of insults in their own language switched over to a low chant as they waved the humans away from the ritual circle.

Harry had never seen a ritual of this sort before, watching in fascination as the runes lit up with orange light, flickering like fire as they sparked, a low hum reverberating through the chamber. The runes pulled at the light, creating a small dome of thin energy around the girl, and a dark umber fire rippling with black smoke began to be pulled up from beneath her skin, centered over her forehead. Narrowing his eyes at the parallels between this little girl and himself, he watched carefully.

The ritual was fairly short, and apparently painless, for thirty minutes later the runes sputtered and deactivated, the orange light fading. The goblin stepped away from the array.

"It is done. It wasn't a very powerful seal, just a tricky one. Now, bring her along, payment and the tapestry shall be taken care of in Brokefang's office."

Harry didn't bother getting annoyed with the rough attitude they were receiving, knowing it was likely because of his little excursion and theft. As long as the goblins didn't direct that treatment towards the kids, it wasn't a battle he'd bother fighting.

Brokefang was a goblin of even less words than the one that had never given their name. Paying for the ritual, potion, and fabric for the tapestry barely took a minute, and he didn't wince at the high price, then Harry allowed Inori to carefully use the silver knife to draw seven drops of blood from the still-unconscious girl to let fall into the potion. All three adults watched curiously as the potion was absorbed by the fabric, the color shifting from plain off-white to a warm cream edged in black, names spiraling into existence in all colors of the rainbow, starting with first the girl's, then her parents…

Sawada Tsunami was her name, child of Sawada Iemitsu and Sawada (nee Amamiya) Nana. Nana's line traced backwards all the way to to Antioch Peverell. Iemitsu's line, however, rapidly traced back all the way to one Giotto Potter-Vongola/Sawada Ieyasu, and went back two more generations.

Harry could now see where he was connected to little Tsunami, via Giotto's father. Giotto had likely been a spare heir that struck out on his own, while the older son was Harry's ancestor. And Harry had long since learned that the Potters were descended from Ignotus Peverell.

The relation between him and Tsunami was distant, but still magically strong enough that the house elves could find him, considering they were pretty much all that was left on the magical side. Not only that, but while Tsunami was apparently the Peverell Heiress (and he would have to make sure that stayed hidden for as long as possible) thanks to her mother (who was likely completely non-magical if the elves couldn't feel a connection), through her father she was part of a branch family of the Potters (which was, amusingly enough, a branch family of the Peverells).

She was family twice over.

"I'll need to take up magical guardianship of her too," he murmured. "And figure out what's going on with her home situation."

After that it didn't take long for him to drop by the Japanese Ministry to fill out the paperwork, his fame reaching even here though not nearly as bad as in Europe. Thanks to the Gringotts-certified tapestry it didn't take much to confirm that Tsunami's parents were entirely non-magical, his position as Lord Potter automatically granting him magical guardianship that just needed to be recorded. Thankfully Inori had been willing to translate until he could find a spell or something to help him learn Japanese.

By the time they called for Akko to take them back to Blackfeather Castle both adults were exhuasted.

"Thank you, for everything," he said to Inori once Tsunami was back in bed and Teddy settled in the one next to it. "Were the elves able to pay you? I can－"

Her soft chuckle interrupted him. "It is no problem. I would, however, like to request that you consider me as Tsunami's personal healer. I have already sworn secrecy vows, thanks to her elves quick thinking, and she has yet to receive any magical vaccines. I'd like to keep an eye on her recovery, if you don't mind."

Studying the woman carefully, Harry couldn't see any hint of a lie, but he did ask her to swear another vow of secrecy that included him and Teddy as well as Tsunami, just to keep his bases covered. After exchanging information, he agreed to keep her posted, as well as asked Akko to answer the healer's call so she could make all necessary trips to get supplies for Tsunami's treatment.

According to the goblins, the cleansing had also caused a hard reset of sorts to the girl's magical core, and she'd be out of it for a couple of weeks. That gave Harry time to get settled, contact Nana and Iemitsu, and figure out what to do from here.

XxXxX

Contacting Nana wasn't hard. What was hard was seeing how terribly mentally ill the woman was. Because it had been a full week since he'd arrived in Japan (with a freshly applied translation charm), a full seven days since the woman had seen her daughter, and Nana hadn't even known she was missing.

He watched in silence, struggling not to explode with anger, as the woman prattled on about her wonderful husband who worked in construction in Antarctica and her 'clumsy, no-good' daughter. In all honesty it didn't take any convincing from Inori that it would be safer in the long term to just get full legal custody of Tsunami if her mother was that unnaturally oblivious. According to Akko, who he'd asked to do some spying, Iemitsu hadn't been home since he and his boss had come to visit over a year ago, without so much as a phone call or letter.

Seeing as farther investigation showed that Tsunami's clumsiness and troubles in school had only started after that visit, it was safe to assume that he was the one who placed the seal in the first place, therefore invalidating his claim as a parent. Reporting it to the local Aurors resulted in a brief, efficient investigation that confirmed that the one who placed the seal did it at Iemitsu's request (just what sort of work involved unlawful use of Soul Fire? It sounded shady, and was simply more reason to suspect Iemitsu of worse).

The Japanese Ministry of Magic had been able to get their Italian counterpart to reveal that they had an entire hidden society of Soul Fire users (who called the magical talent 'Dying Will Flames', and contacting the mafia's own law enforcement (draugr, who the fuck thought that was a good idea?!) provided evidence that one Don Vongola had sealed little Tsunami's magic and Flames, at Iemitsu's own request. And the imbecile hadn't even stayed to check to see if there were side effects!

It caused Harry no small amount of vindictive pleasure to cast Iemitsu out of the family for the offense. Nobody hurt his family, especially not other members of the family.

Regardless, it only took two meetings with Nana to prove that she was not equipped to handle a child. The very first time they met－without Tsunami there, as she was still in Blackfeather Castle's infirmary－Nana took his words at face value. With a sinking feeling, Harry realized that he could have been literally anyone, and Nana would have waved off any talk about her daughter without ever realizing what could have happened to her.

Even Teddy, who was barely two, was more concerned about her than Nana was.

Despite hating using magic in such a way, Harry hadn't come through the war with all his morals intact. It didn't take much more than the weakest of compulsions to get Nana to sign over custody. Tsunami was part of his family, and like Teddy he had a duty to take care of her. That included protecting her from her own parents if necessary. He'd wait until Tsunami woke up so he could talk to her about it, of course, but it just wasn't safe for her to live with Nana.

Not after learning of the multiple concussions that should have resulted in hospital trips being chalked up to 'clumsiness'. As for Nana herself, with the help of a single Auror it only took two days to get the woman declared mentally unfit, and sent to a specialized hospital that could hopefully sort her out. For all that she hadn't been capable of being a competent mother, she was family too, and hadn't done it on purpose. It was barely anything from his vaults to ensure she was getting the highest quality care, both mundane and magical thanks to the facility being owned by Squibs who had decided to advance magical medicine using mundane techniques and treatments.

XxXxX

When Tsunami woke up, she had no idea where she was. What was more attention-worthy was that she wasn't cold, and that there was a thing by the bed, watching her with tears in its large blue eyes. It had huge ears, like the pictures of bats she'd seen, and she knew that it would never hurt her.

"The young mistress bes awake!" The thing burst into tears, clinging to her hand.

Stunned, Tsunami just sort of sat there and let it until she felt like she could talk.

"What's going on?" That summed her feelings up nicely.

"You bes waking us house elves from a very long sleep, young mistress," another thing said, this one with eyes the color of a sunset, and sounding just as emotional as the first. "When your blood spilled on your family lands. We bes taking care of you while you healed, and finding your cousin to bes helping you."

"... I have a cousin?" She couldn't help but ask about that first. With no siblings, her mother always acting the way she did, and the man who had stolen the warmth someone she wanted to avoid forever, Tsunami had always wanted more family. Other kids at school had had older siblings come pick them up after, or had lots of fun stories that she'd overheard.

"That would be me, Tsunami-chan." The voice－a little odd in how he spoke, but she wasn't quite sure how－drew her attention to the other side of the bed, where a man with shaggy black hair and bright, bright green eyes was sitting in a chair that was facing her. He looked tired, and a toddler was sitting on his lap, matching green eyes staring at her from beneath spiky brown locks. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions, but let me explain what I can first, okay?"

To her surprise, he waited until she nodded to continue.

"First thing's first, my name is Potter Harry, and I'm related to you because I share ancestors with both of your parents. We're distant relatives by blood, but very close because－well, we both have very strong magic. That means that, because I'm older, it's my responsibility to make sure you're taken care of. The reason Akko, here, was able to find you when you entered the property is because you have magic in your blood, and your blood touched the ground. Does that make sense so far? Good…

"So, you've been here for a while as you healed. I've… spoken with your mother." Harry sighed, then, and Tsuna knew that she wasn't going to like what came next. "Nana-san is very sick, Tsunami-chan. That's why she wasn't helping you the way you needed, she couldn't. I took her to a doctor that will be helping her get better, but that might take a long time, so until she's allowed to have visitors you'll be staying with me and Teddy here, okay?"

Nodding slowly, Tsuna swallowed, blinking against the tears. That was… that was okay, if it meant her mother would have the doctor helping her. The warmth surged, soothing, knowing that this was a good thing, that Harry would take care of her.

"I know it must be hard, and I just want to say thank you for being so brave, Tsunami-chan. I'm going to do my best to make sure you're safe and happy, okay? And to do that, I have a couple things I want to ask you about. Ready? Okay, first thing, do you want to stay at the school you go to now? Or do you want to start learning here at home? I can have people come here to teach you, and I can sit with you if you want."

Tsuna took a minute to think about that. School had been so hard, and the bullies made it even worse…

"Here, please," she decided, wringing her hands together. "But can you… can you make sure the people are nice?"

Harry's eyes widened, then he gave her a kind smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. But before we take care of that, let me finish explaining."

Her cousin spent the next couple hours telling Tsuna about magic, about their magical Family. How the big castle they were in was hidden from everybody not inside, and that it belonged to her. And that when he got her new school set up she would start learning about magic, too, and there would be field trips to go see all sorts of places, because magic made going far away really easy.

The next few days went by so quickly they made her dizzy. She got to talk with Haruno-sensei, the nice doctor who was in charge of keeping her healthy, and meet all the other Peverell House Elves (they were funny creatures, and very sweet, and they always got so excited when Tsuna asked them to help her that she couldn't help but smile). Harry took her back into Namimori so he could withdraw her from the elementary school.

That had led to Hibari-senpai trying to attack him, but something her Oji-san said or did had made the violent boy stop short, scowl, and dip in a very slight bow. Tsuna had squeaked when Hibari-senpai stalked over to her and patted her head.

"I will join you for magic lessons, small animal," he said, leveling Harry with a glare that just dared him to protest.

Harry just shrugged after giving the boy a long stare. "It would be good for you to have a couple friends to take lessons with, Tsunami-chan."

And that was that. Later that day they got a visit from Hibari-senpai and his mother－the fireplace in the big living room exploded in green fire and they stepped out of it－who both became very upset when Harry eventually told them that she had been Sealed (that was what it was called, taking away the warmth), and Hibari-sama had promised Tsuna that the old man would never be allowed in Namimori ever again.

Then the beautiful woman had given Harry a long list of tutors that her own clan used, several of which were still working with Hibari-senpai. It was around that point that she had offered the older boy a tour of the castle, led by Akko, which ended with them bundled up in what the House Elf called an astronomy tower. The walls and ceiling were made of glass panels so clear it was like they weren't there at all, jointed together with gleaming silver. The tower was so tall they could practically see all of Namimori from it, something Hibari-senpai was very happy with.

Of course, over the next couple of weeks in which Hibari-senpai came by to visit using the Floo (the green fire was so cool, it made her spin really fast whenever she used it) they discovered the Blackfeather Owlery, after which Hibari-senpai had challenged Harry for the ability to come and go whenever he pleased in order to visit the vicious Peverell Owls at any time. Harry, after a brief Floo call to Hibari-sama, and an impromptu duel during which her self-proclaimed uncle (easier than calling him cousin, since he was so much older) used his wand and Hibari-senpai used his wooden tonfa.

"If only we'd had you at our side to train with during the war," Harry had said softly after he'd finally managed to stun the boy long enough to finish the fight.

Hibari-senpai came back often after that, even without lessons. It had the side effect of allowing Tsuna to become more comfortable with the vicious older boy, being able to see sides of him that few ever did. Particularly his love of birds. And the sharp-taloned Peverell Owls ("Bred for the Family," Akko told her) were definitely Hibari Kyouya's kind of bird.

Lessons had begun taking up more of Tsuna's time, split between magical and mundane. The tutors Harry hired were kind, gentle without coddling, and with their attentions Tsuna's grades soared. For the first time she could remember, learning was easy, and she wasn't forgetting what she learned. What had once been subjects to dread were now become fascinating, especially when combined with their magical counterparts.

Harry had her being tutored in maths, sciences, language (as well as learning English), history, magical history, basic potions, and dancing. She didn't have each class every day, but each session was at least two hours, not including the breaks. Kyouya joined her for magical history, language, and dancing, the latter subject something Hibari-sama had insisted all proper young Heirs needed to learn. She was slowly learning about what it meant to be Heiress Peverell, too.

But what she loved most of all was the times she got to spend with Harry and little Teddy, the toddler's unique gift of being able to change his features endlessly fascinating to Tsuna. And Teddy was so sweet, the little brother she had never known she wanted, but now that she had him she knew she was never letting go. She loved his cheerful babble too much, loved how he would reach for her whenever she got close enough, loved the way he would copy her eyes or her hair until they looked like they were blood siblings.

And Harry, kind, quiet, sometimes far too sad Harry, who read books to her, taught her how to cook and bake, was always patient and loving. Who understood what it meant to be hated for no apparent reason, to be hurt by others just because they felt like it. Who was so gently when he brushed her hair in the evenings, and when he held her hand. Who didn't hide things from her, even the messages from the healers about how her mother was doing (better, only a tiny bit, but better).

No, Tsuna was alright with rarely leaving the castle. It was plenty big enough for space, and it was where her family was. Besides, that made it all the more special when they went on family outings to town.

XxXxX

Harry rifled though the parchments on his desk, having slipped up a tad in keeping on top of all the many correspondences he had going on as both Lord Potter and Lord Black. Official business was still being taken care of, though he had spared several brief letters to his friends back in England to let them know he'd found a distant family member that fell under his guardianship and thus would not be going back until he'd at least gotten everything secured and stable on that front.

After accepting a tentative alliance with the Most Ancient and Noble Clan of Hibari, the matriarch had taken him under her wing, effortlessly guiding him through the political minefield he'd been facing in Europe. His instincts and magic had urged him to trust the powerful woman, and it was paying off in spades. Not to mention that her son was his little cousin's best friend, the boy violent (a creature inheritance, perhaps?) but highly protective of both Tsunami and Teddy.

Eyes skimming over the most recent letters from Ron and Hermione, Harry sighed. He had thought that with enough time and distance everybody would have the chance to cool down a bit, but really… all it seemed to be doing was proving that he had never really known the people he called his best friends. The fact they they were practically demanding he just leave Tsunami and come back to 'do his duty to the magical world' just reinforced that he made the right decision, coming to Japan.

He'd already gotten a howler from Ginny, which he had managed to respond to with a simple letter stating that given their vastly differing values it was for the best they part ways for good. He had children who depended on him to care for them, he refused to put them in harm's way by bringing them back to Britain.

The rest of the paperwork was swiftly sorted, and he only picked up the stack that needed immediate action to take with to the room that the children were having their history lesson in. Quietly opening the door, he slipped inside, the tutor－a highly regarded magical historian－ignoring his presence as he continued his lecture, teacher and both students bent over the maps on the large desk as the man pointed out the different locations he spoke of.

Teddy clearly did not understand a word, but the maps were beautifully drawn with various colors and moving, intricate detailing that had captured the little Metamorphmagus' attention anyways.

Smiling to himself, Harry took a seat at a desk near the door and set to finishing his paperwork, wrapping up just as the day's history lesson did. Thanking the tutor for his time, as he always did, Harry waved him out through the floo and then turned to the children.

"How were your lessons?" He asked, catching Teddy as the boy rand for him, and shifting him to one arm so he could stroke Tsunami's hair gently.

"Very good, Yamada-sensei always tells us about interesting things," Tsunami chirped, her language having adopted a distinctly formal tone from all the etiquette lessons. "And Hachiro-sensei brought out his replicas so we could see how the old battles of magical Japan were fought."

The small wooden figurines were charmed to re-enact various scenes depending on how they were arranged, and the kids loved them, which had led to a certain level of fondness for wizarding chess, for Kyouya in particular. Smiling at that, he followed Tsunami and Kyouya out into the hallway. The two immediately headed for the astronomy tower, which had become their favored spot over the past year. Akko had wound up pulling a number of futons and cushions out of storage to be arranges up there for them.

"Were there any new battles he showed you today?"

"War mages at the Hida Mountains," Kyouya replied shortly, silver eyes gleaming.

Harry was certain the boy was born into the wrong century, with his obsession with combat. It was frankly terrifying the sheer strength Kyouya had, not to mention the near-animal like instincts, and the－well, it could only be described as bloodlust. Some of that might have been enhanced by his Soul Fire aspect, but Harry took comfort in the fact that Kyouya regarded the two younger children as his to protect. Not much would get past that boy once he'd grown into his own.

Tsunami chattered as they made their way up the steps, having grown from the anxious, shy child into a wonderfully bright and happy little girl who would no doubt be formidable one day, with the Hibari matriarch as her main female role model. Watched her go from shy squeaks to eagerly and actively seeking out attention and affection he was more than happy to give.

Although… Hm. Maybe I should let Luna and Neville come over to visit, the kids need more exposure to different kinds of people. And Luna was different indeed, while Neville would be able to keep things from getting too crazy. Plus… while he very much adored the kids, and respected Hibari-san and Inori something fierce, he missed his friends. Even if right now he didn't want to interact with Hermione or the Weasleys, he wished for familiar faces.

But at the moment he had three little faces staring up at him, waiting for a reply to a question asked while he was lost in thought. Apologizing for the slip, and refocused. He'd send off a letter later. Right now, his family－even Kyouya, the little menace－was worth more than wistful thinking.

XxXxX

Tsuna frowned at her textbook. Yes, reading the introduction into potions was interesting, and she was excited for next Tuesday when Inori-sensei would be arriving to test her on her readiness to begin the subject, but… something was wrong. Her Soul Fire surged irritably at something she couldn't see or hear, something far away. They had learned about the 'Vongola Hyper Intuition' (it was really just that they had some seer blood in Giotto's line from his mother's side) last year, but never before had it been so insistent.

Setting down her book, she marched off towards Harry's office. Knocking briefly, she entered as soon as she heard his voice, and let her Fire sing. Her uncle may not have Active Soul Fire, but he was sensitive enough to it.

"Something is wrong."

Harry's head jerked up, emerald eyes sharp, and he dropped everything in his hands in favor of pulling out a map. "Tell me where, Tsunami-chan."

Her hand sought out Italy with absolutely zero input from her brain, and when Harry wandlessly accio'd another map, her fingers danced across the parchment to land on the south side of a city she couldn't read, much less pronounce. Even just having that information seemed to kick her intuition into overdrive, the words welling up from her Fire to spill from her lips.

"My Storm is there and he needs help."

She blinked, then the statement sank in and her Fire roared. The following three days was an absolute mess as her uncle wrangled with both the Japanese and Italian magical ministries about international portkeys, something about a valid exception for the Statute of Secrecy, and preparations for what would likely be a squib with Soul Fire to be taken back to Japan if Tsuna was able to find and convince her Storm, whoever they were. There was also the arguing with Kyouya about going, but in the end she flat out told him that the Storm was hers in the way she was his, and her friend could respect that.

It did have the side effect of him allowing their Fires to bond properly, if only to solidify his claim and ensure the Storm didn't 'get any ideas'. It made Kyouya extra growl-y about her leaving, but at least he wouldn't keep fighting her on the trip, which was enough.

As for Teddy, he had been introduced to Hibari-sama's younger brother, Namimori's police commissioner, and would hopefully be distracted by the many shiny magical toys he's brought that he wouldn't fuss for the next three days they'd managed to schedule the trip for.

Before Tsuna knew it, they were in Italy, a freshly applied tracking charm on her person courtesy of Harry, and her intuition guided them in a near sprint. She bolted down side roads and alley ways, even jumping clear over a small canal at one point, her Fire urging her onwards, racing out ahead of her in search of the Storm her intuition had claimed as hers.

In the distance, a spark of red tangled with a thread of her Sky, and she honed in on it like a diving eagle.

Looking back, it hadn't been her greatest idea to fly into the middle of the fight and tackle a grown man off the back of a boy her age with silver hair, but it did work, and the entire fight stalled long enough for Harry to arrive and start shooting off stunners.

XxXxX

Hayato stared at the slip of a girl who had saved his life, the man who accompanied her doing something with that odd stick of his that shot out light even as the girl helped him up and brushed the dirt of his clothes. Her outfit wasn't upper class the way he was used to－instead of perfectly tailored dresses and skirts, she wore high quality leggings under a burnt umber sweater dress, fit for the cold weather, and leather boots of the working kind.

Her eyes were blazing orange in a blatant show of Sky Flames.

He'd… he'd heard about Skies coming to the rescue of potential Guardians that resonated with them, but－she looked like she'd been running for miles! She still hadn't caught her breath! And… Hayato blinked, rather stupidly. She was very pretty. And she was still holding his hands.

"That should do it," the man declared. "They won't remember us or even why they were chasing you to begin with."

"Why?" Hayato demanded, the words sudden and urgent. He'd only barely left the mansion a few months ago, barely discovered that everything he thought he knew had been a lie, decided to run because he didn't belong, so why were these strangers helping him? What did they want?

"Because my darling niece burst into my office in Japan and said her Storm was in trouble," the man said dryly.

Rocking back on his heels, Hayato jerked his head back to stare as the petite Sky－his Sky? Please?－who smiled shyly at him, and said something in Japanese (Lavina－his mother's language, he still didn't know it, and that burned) that something in him crackled to accept.

"She said that she would like it very much if you came back to Japan with us," her uncle translated. "And that she loves your Flames, they match with her Cloud."

She had a Cloud already? At her age? But Clouds were the most difficult Flame to attract aside from Mist, she must be powerful… And she was still holding his hands.

Mind racing, Hayato mulled over the offer. He didn't know anything about this Sky, or her Famiglia－or was she Yakuza, since they came from Japan?－only that apparently she had sensed him from halfway across the planet, which… yeah, that was pretty incredible. She hadn't even seen him before, and she came all this way to help?

No one had… no one had ever gone to such lengths for him. His own father had allowed Bianchi to poison him for years, and yet this girl came running from another country for him? And it was the birthplace of his mother to boot.

It didn't take his genius intellect to weigh up those facts and find Italy lacking, with how many times he'd been rejected by the many Famiglia, none of whom wanted to deal with a bastard. Those Sky-orange eyes looked at him and brightened, and it practically enchanted Hayato. He didn't know what would happen to him if he accepted, but he knew that it would be far better than what he had here.

Nodding resolutely, Hayato wasn't prepared for the wave of Sky Flame to rise up and through him, joyfully tangling into his Storm. It was everything he'd heard about and more, all-consuming and gentle and warm and kind and Home. It left him unsteady enough that when his new Sky jumped at him to hug him he fell over, and the children toppled to the ground.

His Sky's uncle caught them, amusement obvious in the curl of his lips, before easily scooping up the both of them, one supported in the crook of each arm.

"We'd best get a move on, then, lots to do if we're to get you back to Japan quickly. You're going to have to promise to keep some secrets, but I'm sure that won't be an issue. What's your name, kid?"

"... Hayato," he said. "Hayato, Gokudera."

His Sky giggled, slowly releasing her tight grip on his neck and going back to holding his hands, the Sky-orange of her irises fading to a very warm amber. She motioned to herself.

"Tsuna."

Hayato rolled her name around in his head, cheeks pinking lightly, and could only find himself eager to learn more.

XxXxX

Harry forced down a laugh as the little silver haired boy his niece had claimed as her Storm Guardian (who was a wealth of knowledge on the widely used aspects of Soul Fire/Dying Will Flames, raised in the mafia as he was) bravely met Kyouya's icy, dangerous gaze. Of course, Hayato looked away first, but he'd held on long enough for Kyouya to let out a 'Hn' and gently bonk him with a wooden tonfa, holding it on the younger boy's forehead for a moment before wandering off.

Utterly bewildered, Hayato shot him a demanding glance, and Harry just shrugged.

"He's just like that."

The boy was still somewhat overwhelmed by the existence of magic, but beneath that was a terrifyingly brilliant mind, to the point where Harry was having flashbacks of Hermione in revision mode. He devoured every single book he was capable of reading with a single-minded fervour, the need to know his driving force. And Tsuna was more than happy to indulge him in showing off what little she was allowed to do, at her age.

Which wasn't much more than stuff like Lumos or Wingardium Leviosa with a practice wand (which he only recently learned existed), but Hayato was fascinated. It didn't take much for Inori to run some tests and find that the boy was a squib, and give him a huge stack of introductory books on the subjects squibs could learn like any other magical－runes, potions, arithmancy, rituals, and a few other obscure arts he hadn't known about.

The boy had dove into them and only resurfaced to spend time with his Sky, and when Harry put his foot down and required him to come to meals. This was actually his first proper meeting with Kyouya, and it was hilarious.

If you had told Harry, at any point during or directly after his time at Hogwarts, that he would wind up being the guardian of three children, he would have probably gone mute from the shock. Him? In charge of children? Permanently?

But that's what he was. It hadn't taken much to adopt Hayato into the house of Black (he imagined the deceased pure bloods rolling in their graves with a wide smile), and the boy just fit in with them. Teddy loved his hair, often shifting his own to match but keeping the spiky fluffiness of Tsuna's, and Hayato's green eyes were almost a perfect match with his own. It was hard not to grow ridiculously fond of the boy whenever he blushed as he realized Teddy had made them look like family.

And now, later that evening, watching the kids play fight (AKA, run like hell from Kyouya and either learn how to dodge or get whacked by a tonfa) Harry was struck by the realization that he loved this. Loved hearing the happy shouts and running feet over the carpeted floors, loved helping research and teach and lavish the little ones with attention and encouragement, living in Blackfeather Castle with them and slowly but surely exploring Namimori with the kids on their 'days off'.

"Bugger," he muttered to himself, amused. "I'm never going back to England at all, am I?"

Akko popped next to him, a grin full of fond mischief on her face. "Perhaps for vacation, Master Harry. We bes liking all the little mistress and masters to care for too much to let you go forever."

Grinning at that, Harry just shook his head and kept watching over the little ones. Maybe it was time to settle things in England, then, for good. He'd talk it over with Luna and Neville first, though. They were coming over in the morning, as he'd finally gotten around to inviting them over; they were the only two of his friends he felt safe enough to trust with the details.

He loved Ron and Hermione, but they were often overbearing, and could do quite a bit of damage without realizing it until much later. No, he wasn't willing to risk Tsuna's happiness, Teddy's happiness, Kyouya and Hayato's happiness.

Or his.