Wizard and Shadow

            A cloaked figure made their way across the barren landscape, the sun seemingly not bothering them as the hot breeze caused their cloak to flutter. The hilt of a sword peaked out from within the cloak and when the breeze picked up, almost taking the hood off the person, an arm with a metal gauntlet reached up and caught the hood.

            The metal was dull and scarred but well-kept, like the cloak. Glowing green eyes peaked out at the endless desert and a masculine sigh escaped the confines of the hood, “Apparating would have been faster, but I need to conserve my power for the Gate,” pulling his phone out he glanced at it and frowned, “Where is the group? They should already be there. Damnit, this fucking desert is playing havoc on the trackers.”

            Smacking the phone, he glanced at it again only to sigh as the dots that showed where the party was were all over the area, which he knew was false. Since they should all be out in the nearby forest. Well, nearby relatively.

            The dungeon gate had opened up in the Sahara and the higher-ups were worried about another Jeju island, or Moscow. A small village was at the site and they were called to help since they didn’t have hunters of their own.

            He was called in because he had been close by, hunting through tombs in Egypt for artifacts to see if this world had hints of his people, seeing as how he wasn’t native to this one.

            His own world had destroyed itself with the discovery of a hidden society of magic users. He had been fighting an army of mundanes when one of his own men had struck him with a curse that teleported him to the feet of the person who helped him get on his feet on this world.

            The only thing he regretted was leaving his one friend behind. He hoped the princess was able to curb her father’s crueler tendencies. He didn’t want her race to go extinct, even if they were shown in a poor light in some histories.

            Harry James Potter, the Man-Who-Won, had landed at the feet of Go Gun-hee, the Chairman of the Korean Hunter’s Association. The nineteen-year-old had been barely conscious and severely injured. Gunhee had quickly rushed him to the hospital where a healer had looked at him and immediately quarantined him since he was radioactive and carrying several pathogens they had eradicated in the last decade.

            It took him three weeks to wake up.

            When he did, he told Woo Jin-Chul and Go Gun-Hee his story. They had trouble believing him at first, until he turned a table into a wolf. They believed him after that.

            Go Gun-hee took him under his wing and taught him everything about the world he found himself in while training him in close combat, which Harry found he was a natural at.

            The combination of his abilities, his lack of need of a wand, and his sheer power already put him at S-rank, but when Go was done training him, well.

            He turned into a monster.

            Harry was knocked out of his thoughts as he heard several explosions and screams nearby. Activating his flight enchantment on his armor, he flew over the closest dune to see that he had been too late. The Gate had begun spilling monsters out.

            Drawing his sword, he growled as his green eyes glowed under his hood. The monsters would make it no farther.

Xxx

            The small pop of teleportation woke Go Gun-hee from his rest. He was up and out of his room in moments to see a bloody and sad-looking young man. His long messy dark hair had come out of its ponytail and was full of sand, blood, and other things Go did not want to think about.

            A cut on the young man’s face was slowly healing, as shown by the small embers at the edges of the wound and he could see the small winces as the young man’s blood worked to repair the damage.

            “Are you injured?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

            “No, sir,” Harry sighed, “The Gate broke early. I couldn’t save the party I was supposed to meet up with,” he looked down at his bloody glove, “If they hadn’t been there early though, it would have been a lot worse.”

            Go felt for the young man, he really did. He felt like he failed his world and couldn’t save anyone, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Things like that just happened in this world.

            But he didn’t need to hear that right now. Right now, he needed to be looked over, changed, and debriefed so he could be told he did everything he could. Go Gun-hee already received the report from the surviving hunters and government officials. It was sitting on the table Harry stood by in fact.

            “Come on son, let’s get you changed and cleaned up. Then you can tell me about what happened, and I can tell you that you performed perfectly and did all you could,” he began guiding him to the bathroom, grabbing his already prepped changed of clothes for the boy, “That young hunter is going to be able to go home to his newborn child because of you, the healer will recover, given time, the tank will…” he continued speaking of the ten hunters he saved, telling him bits and pieces about them, and that they were all grateful.

            Of course, he would hand him the emails from the hunters, thanking him, later, after he was feeling better.

            Go waited until Harry began to undress before shutting the door and going to make some tea. He grabbed a chai for him and an Earl Grey for Harry.

            While the kettle was heating up, he glanced at the kitchen table to see dozens of folders. All of which were reports on Harry’s, or his monicker, Reaper, exploits.

            Harry had been with him two years, he was turning twenty-one in a few weeks in fact, and he had no one his own age that he could speak to. He had tried to get him to interact with other powerful hunters, but most were arrogant and self-entitled, so Harry left after he was able to.

            He sighed, he didn’t know how to find Harry friends without being pushy. Harry had constantly told him he was enough, he didn’t need more friends, but Go wasn’t a young man any longer.

            Thinking back on Harry’s life, he could only wonder how to get him to interact with people. His few friends were usually the first to interact with him, or he was in a teachi- Go sat up quickly as an idea began to take root.

            Harry needed a break from taking on strong dungeons. Maybe he could have him teach a few new hunters with some of the other guilds? Frame it as a way to recruit promising talent and help mold them into strong hunters to build up their country?

            He had Harry registered as a B-rank in case he ever decided to integrate into society, plus it allowed them to keep his identity secret. Go was sure that if Harry unleashed his full abilities, along with his trump cards, he would be considered a National-level hunter.

            The door to the bathroom opened, cutting off his thought process. He turned to see a more human-looking Harry Potter. The kettle went off and he stood to get tea but Harry waved him off.

            The young man then waved his hand and their tea made itself before floating over to the table where Harry sat across from Go in the other couch.

            “So, tell me what happened?” Go began. He would begin making plans with Jin-Chul to get Harry to teach new hunters with other guilds. Maybe he would find some friends?

Xxx

            Harry flipped through articles on his phone as he sat at an outdoor café, a half-eaten sandwich in front of him. It seemed there weren’t any articles worth reading so he set his phone down and looked up to see the bright blue sky.

            It was his third day of his forced time off. Go Gun-Hee had told him he needed a break, so had told him he had a week’s vacation and to go explore, maybe make some friends. He knew his heart was in the right place, but he didn’t know how to tell him that he was just going through the motions, waiting until he got in over his head and died in a dungeon.

            Suicide wasn’t something he had thought much about in his twenty years of life, but he had been close many times. There was only so much abuse someone could take before they couldn’t.

            Oh, he would never take the knife himself so to speak, but he wouldn’t stop it if it came to him. He knew his family and friends would be disappointed.

            His chest, right next to his heart, felt cold and he flinched at the feeling. As soon as it started, it disappeared though, and he relaxed.

            Rubbing at the spot, he began people watching. He saw a young family walking their dog towards the nearby park. He smiled as the dog hopped around the young girl.

            A couple was arguing nearby, hissing at each other and he began ignoring them after a moment when it seemed it wouldn’t turn violent.

            Two girls in school uniforms, probably seniors, sat at a table near him, talking about their classes and which universities they were going to be applying for. He sighed softly to himself, a small smile making its way onto his face.

            He saw an elderly couple walking near him and he smiled at them and said ‘hello’, receiving one in return. He chuckled when they received an enthusiastic hello from the girls next to him. He was getting ready to leave when he heard something from the two school girls next to him.

            “..are you feeling after that Red Gate?” one of the girls asked and Harry tensed. He glanced over to see the two pretty girls looking morose.

            The one who hadn’t asked the question had her brown hair in a bob and was twirling her straw in her drink. He saw her shoulders tighten from where he was behind her, “I’m okay, I guess,” she sighed, “That was probably the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life.”

            “I can’t even imagine,” the other girl, a pretty girl with long dark hair, reached across the table and grabbed her friend’s hand. “From the little you and Jinwoo have told me…it sounded scary.”

            “If it wasn’t for your brother, I wouldn’t have made it out of there alive,” Harry pretended to go back on his phone, acting like he wasn’t listening. He had heard about the gate and how most of a raid party of White Tigers was killed while only five made it out alive. They were tight lipped about how they survived, only that a young man named Sung Jinwoo was the reason they made it through.

            He glanced at the pretty girl, so that must make her Sung Jinah.

            “I don’t understand it,” Jinah stated with a sigh, “Song-Yi, he used to come home so hurt or I would have to go to the hospital to pick him up. Now, now he comes home with a ton of money and he’s acting strange. I don’t understand it! It’s like I don’t even know my bro-“

            “Hey there beautiful, come here often?”

            The three of them turned to see a trio of hunters standing on the other side of the small fence that encircled the outdoor part of the café. They all looked like they were up to no good and Harry tensed, readying a spell to scare them off.

            “Buzz off, can’t you see we are still in school?” Song-Yi growled. Harry saw patrons beginning to leave the area. He hated it, but all of them were civilians. Civilians had no chance against a hunter.

            “So?” the creep smirked at them and he watched both of them flinch away from him and his two goons, “You both look like seniors.”

            “And we aren’t interested. Leave us alone,” Jinah glared at him.

            “Oh, feisty,” Goon A stated, “You’ll be fun.”

            “Are you seriously going to assault us in broad daylight?”

            They shrugged, “We are B-rank hunters, who’s going to stop us?” He reached across faster than a normal human towards Song-Yi and Harry moved.

Xxx

            Jinah didn’t know how she ended up in this situation. She and Song-Yi wanted privacy to talk about the Red Gate, so they went to a café further out from their normal haunts to avoid classmates. She liked the atmosphere, and there was a cute guy at the table next to them, maybe a few years older than her eighteen years.

            He had long dark hair that looked slightly windswept with several scars on his face that made him have a dangerous attractive aura and clothes that hugged his muscular frame. He was built like her brother, lithe muscle built for speed.

            When he opened his eyes, she sucked in a breath. Those eyes were like twin emeralds, greener than her friend sitting across from her, and when he said a cheerful hello to the elderly couple she couldn’t help herself repeating his action a little bit enthusiastically.

            Then, just when she was about to spill her worries about her brother, these jackass hunters began hitting on them. Her heartrate spiked when they weren’t taking no for an answer and everyone began leaving. That was when she realized that they had ended up in a poorly patrolled area.

            Just as the creep was about to reach for her friend, the young man next to them was there and snapped the arm.

            “I believe the ladies said ‘no’,” he glared and all of them shivered as his green eyes glowed, “Now, leave.”

            “Who the fuck do you think you-,” the rest of his words choked off as the man’s glare intensified. Song-Yi stiffened in fear as well.

            Jinha wasn’t able to sense mana as she wasn’t a hunter, but she could tell that this man protecting them had a lot, which meant he was strong.

            “I am the man who was enjoying a day off,” he growled and Jinah stared at him, why was her heart racing? “These two lovely ladies were having a good time having lunch when you rudely intruded where you were not wanted,” Jinah spotted movement out of the corner of her eye and saw her brother racing towards them, “Now, you will apologize to them and leave, or I will break the rest of your bones.”

            “Th-there’s no need,” one of them stuttered as he picked up the one with the broken arm. Song-Yi began to relax, “We- we are sorry, ladies,” her brother slowed down before pausing as soon as he got close enough to hear them, “We are leaving now.”

            They picked up the injured one between them before rushing off. She saw her brother and the stranger glare after them before turning towards each other.

            “Jinwoo!” Song-Yi greeted him shakily, “Perfect timing.”

            “Are the two of you alright?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the stranger who was staring right back at him.

            “We are,” Jinah stepped between the two of them, “Thanks to this stranger.”

            “Harry Potter,” he introduced himself and they all stiffened.

            “Chariman Go’s ward?” Jinwoo asked and the man sighed.

            “Yes, but please keep it to yourselves,” he asked them, “I would rather not be swarmed with questions.”

            Jinah stared at the handsome man, stunned. Two years ago, Chairman Go had come out stating that he had adopted a young man who had asked to be kept away from the spotlight. All that was given was his name: Harry Potter.

            “I think we can keep your secret,” Song-Yi smiled at him, “If you give us your number.”

            Jinwoo, Jinah, and Harry all began choking on air, “What? Why?” he asked, confused while Jinwoo just sighed.

            “Song-Yi!” Jinah blushed as her best friend smirked at her. She had noticed Jinah’s appreciative gazes, “He doesn’t need to gi-,” she was cut off when Harry pulled his phone out.

            “Fine,” he grumbled, “Chairman Go has told me I need more friends my age.”

            “How old are you?” Jinah asked before blushing.

            “I’ll be twenty-one in a few weeks,” he told them.

            “You’re also English,” her brother commented and she blinked in surprise. Now that he pointed it out, she noticed the accent.

            “What gave it away,” he asked dryly and her brother smirked.

            “Nothing, Mr. Bond,” he commented and she stared at her brother in surprise. He was normally so anti-social lately. Just Yoo Jin-Ho and a few other hunters he knew in passing would speak with him.

            Harry just sighed, “You want to give me your numbers or not?” he asked. Song-Yi immediately grabbed his phone and put in all their numbers, “Well, I have to get home. I’m sure the Chairman is wondering where I am.”

            “Are you a hunter, Mr. Potter?” her brother asked.

            “B-rank,” Harry stated as he turned to look at her brother, giving him a knowing look. “You?”

            Her brother stared him down for a moment, “I’m an E-rank.”

            “Get re-evaluated,” Harry told him firmly.

            “I was planning on it,” her brother said, “I have a job coming up to support the Hunter’s guild. I will be getting re-evaluated afterwards.”

            “Hmm,” Harry hummed, “Well, see ya.”

            “Harry!” her friend called, “How about we meet up for dinner in a few days?” she asked as he turned back to them, “My treat for saving us.”

            “There’s no need,” Harry shook his head but Jinah really wanted to see him again.

            “No, please,” she looked at him and he stared at her for a moment, with slightly wide eyes before shaking his head as if to clear it. She caught her brother frowning at him for a moment before he nodded.

            “Fine, I suppose I should be more social,” he mumbled to himself but Jinah felt her heart soar. She wanted to get to know him. “When and where?”

Xxx

            Jinwoo watched the other man walk away, wondering where the hell he had been hiding. His aura was on par with the Chairman’s, but he was suppressing it, so he must have been even stronger. “Are the two of you okay?’

            “Yes, Jinwoo, we are fine,” his sister sighed and he narrowed his eyes at her. He may be as dense as a brick wall, but he could tell his sister was attracted to the other hunter. He watched Song-Yi typing into her phone with a smirk before Jinah’s phone dinged with a message.

            Looking over her shoulder, he noticed a text thread with the two of them and Harry, “Why am I not included in this?”

            “Because you are her brother,” Song-Yi replied, smirking, “Just be yourself Jinah, if he doesn’t like that he isn’t worth it.”

            “So-Song-Yi!” she yelped and Jinwoo narrowed his eyes, “Why would I go after a man like him? I’m still in high school! Someone as handsome as him would prob- I mean, he has to have dozens of other, prettier women pursuing him. Plus, they are adults.”

            “We are graduating in, like, two months and eighteen. Hell, you’ll be nineteen in five months anyway,” Song-Yi waved her off, “And he kept checking you out too Jinah.”

            He glanced at his blushing sister and felt his protective instincts stir, “Was he now?” he glanced at where Harry disappeared. He did seem to have a bit of a weak spot for his sister. He folded like a house of cards when she asked him to join them for a meal.

            Maybe if he jus-

            “Nope!” his sister grabbed his arm and began dragging him down the street. “We are having a nice meal with Harry in a few days and you are going to be perfectly polite!” she told him firmly.

            And Sung Jinwoo, probably one of the most powerful hunters in Korea, folded just like Harry did in front of his sister.

            He really did love his family.

Xxx

            “Sung Jinwoo you say?” Gun-Hee rubbed his scarred chin in thought as he watched Harry tying his shoes, “He’s a hunter we have our eye on currently.”

            “I know,” Harry told him, “I read the file. I may stay near the Hunter’s guild raid tomorrow. Today was his first day working for them and I heard they are going to look for the boss room tomorrow.”

            “You think he may do something to get himself in trouble?” Gun-Hee asked, frowning at that.

            “Maybe,” Harry frowned as he threw his leather jacket on and grabbed his motorcycle helmet, “I don’t think he will go looking for trouble, but there is something off about that gate.”

            Gun-Hee looked at him sharply. Harry was more sensitive to Mana than anyone else he had ever met. It probably had to do with his heritage and the artifacts that fused themselves to his soul, but either way, he tended to have good instincts when it came to Gates, “Do you think the gate is hiding something powerful?”

            “Definitely,” he nodded, “I’ll stick close, invisible,” he made his way to the door, “But I will try and discern what is going on with Sung Jinwoo.”

            “Please,” Gun-Hee nodded at him, “And try to have a good night and make some friends,” he chuckled, “I see from Jinwoo’s file his sister is quite a looker. She’s looking to get some scholarships to medical school.”

            Harry ducked out of the door to his guardian’s laughter.

Xxx

            “Harry is here,” Jinwoo said suddenly from the kitchen where he was cooking.

            Sung-Yi smirked at her as she began trying to fix her hair. She glared at her best friend who just chuckled. Jinah continued to glare after there was a knock at the door and she got up to grab it.

            Opening it, she froze with wide eyes though as it was not what she expected.

            The last time she saw him, he had been wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. Now, he was still wearing jeans, but his shoulders were encased in a leather jacket and he was holding his motorcycle helmet.

            His dark hair was just as messy as it had been the other day but his green eyes held a light to them that hadn’t been there when they met. He also had a pie and a case of beer.

            “Go-Good evening, Mr. Potter,” Jinah greeted him nervously and held out her hand. She was so not prepared for him to kiss the back of it.

            “Good evening, Miss Sung,” he smiled at her and, oh dear. Where did this charming man come from? “Smells good,” he smiled at Song-Yi.

            “Heya Harry!” she greeted him and he chuckled.

            “Calling me by my first name? How bold.”

            She just shrugged, “Your English. You probably prefer it.”

            “Oh, most definitely,” he nodded as Jinah moved to the side so he could enter. She shut the door behind him and took a breath. She needed to play it cool. She didn’t want to seem like an air-headed idiot.

            She made her way into the living room to see Harry speaking to her brother and shaking his hand after putting the beer in the fridge and the pie on the counter.

            “-like to talk to you later this evening, if you don’t mind,” Hary finished saying to her brother.

            “Sure,” her brother said, narrowing his eyes at Harry, but the Brit had already turned around.

            “I like the jacket,” Song-Yi giggled, “makes you look very ‘bad-boy’.”

            He sighed, “You’re a flirt, aren’t you?”

            “Yes,” Jinah and Jinwoo echoed.

            “Oh well,” he turned to Jinwoo, “Do you need any help?”

            Jinah blinked in surprise, “You can cook?”

            Something dark flew through his eyes, “My relatives taught me how from a very young age, but I grew to love the craft.”

            “I have it,” Jinwoo said after a moment. He shared a glance with Jinah, it seemed like Harry didn’t have a good childhood, “Take a seat. Dinner will be ready soon.”

            “If you need any help, let me know,” Harry offered before sitting in the chair near Song-Yi’s couch. Jinah sat next to her friend, “So, how is school?” he asked.

            “Good,” Jinah answered before her friend, “We are graduating soon, then off to university.”

            “What are you looking to do?” he asked her and Song-Yi.

            “I’m looking to get into reporting,” Song-Yi said, smiling. “I couldn’t cut it as a hunter, but maybe I could help keep the public on their side and expose jerks like the ones who accosted us.

            “Oh, no need to worry about them,” Harry smirked, “I told my guardian about them. They were arrested yesterday. It was their final offense.”

            “I thought hunters could get away with anything,” Jinwoo commented, “especially the stronger ones.”

            “Not anymore,” Harry told him, “That’s usually what I do. I hunt down and investigate the truly depraved.”

            “That has to be dangerous,” Jinah commented worriedly.

            “It is,” harry nodded, “but I usually have backup. Plus,” he disappeared with a crack to the other side of the room, “I can escape easily.”

            The three of them looked stunned, but her brother quickly hid his right hand. She could have sworn he held a strange-looking knife, but he distracted her with a question, “Was that teleportation?”

            Harry nodded, “Yep. It’s one of my skills.

            “What’s the range?” Jinah asked.

            He thought it over for a moment, “You know, I haven’t tried it here, so I have no idea. I could probably make it to Jeju from here.”

            “That’s pretty remarkable,” her brother commented.

            “Yeah, it gets me by,” he turned to Jinah and smiled, “So, what is it you want to do?”

            “I want to be a doctor,” she said happily, “I want to be able to help people. I didn’t awaken as a hunter like my brother, but I can still do my part to help out.”

            “That’s admirable,” Harry commented, “One of the best people I knew was intelligent and a healer,” he said wistfully. “She would have liked you.”

            “I’m sorry,” Jinah said contritely, “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

            Harry just waved her off, “It’s fine,” he chuckled, “She would have berated me if she found out I moped.”

            Jinah felt sorry for him. Now his comment about making friends seemed like everyone he had been friends with had died. Luckily, Song-Yi changed the topic and they spent some time discussing mundane things with her brother chiming in from the kitchen.

            They all discovered Harry enjoyed reading and could do a one-handed hand stand, but only when he was drunk. He went to a boarding school in the Scottish highlands, and he was an orphan.

            Then, dinner was served and the group enjoyed the delicious meal her brother made. Harry had even made the comment he wouldn’t be able to make steak stir-fry that good if his life depended on it.

Xxx

            Harry found himself washing dishes with Jinah drying next to him. Song-Yi had Jinwoo sitting on the couch and talking about the Red Gate they were in. It seemed the young man was helping her through some trauma.

            He had also felt better than he had in years. He had smiled more during the evening than he had since before he arrived in this place and a lot of that could be laid at the feet of the girl next to him.

            Whenever he would seem to get lost in depressing memories, she was there with a conversation starter or a joke or just a story about Jinwoo when they were younger. Her brother seemed to pick up on it and told entertaining stories about his baby sister.

            “So, how have you been liking Korea?” Jinah asked. She had been keeping up a stream of small talk and he found he enjoyed speaking with her. It reminded him a bit of Hermione, but more down to Earth.

            “I like it,” he smiled at her and she turned to the dish she was in the process of drying, “The people here are kind and the hunters are a lot more polite here than in most other countries.”

            “Really?” Jinah questioned, “I thought most hunters were jerks.”

            “Hey,” he chuckled, “I resemble that remark.”

            She giggled at him and he had to turn back to the pot he was scrubbing. The way her grey eyes lit up made her absolutely breathtaking. He tamped down on the self-hatred as soon as it reared its ugly head. His friend wouldn’t mind him moving on, even if he never confirmed the two of them felt the same about each other.

            He turned to the young woman next to him and took in her profile. Her long dark hair was up in a ponytail that he would love to run his hands through. Her small smile drew him in and made him wonder what it would be like to kiss her.

            Shaking off his inappropriate thoughts, he tried not to look to see how the blouse she wore was tight and low enough to reveal her nice curves while the pencil skirt really made her- he shook himself physically this time. He needed to get his head out of his ass.

            “You look lovely tonight, by the way,” he said bluntly and then cursed himself for his sudden lack of filter. He saw Jinwoo glance at them and narrow his eyes but turned his complete attention onto the young lady he had complimented.

            Jinah blinked and stared at him. Then, she blushed, “Wh-what?”

            “I said, you look lovely tonight,” he smiled at her and continued to wash dishes.

            “You!” she pouted as she tried to control her blush. He saw her take a deep breath, “So, I only look good today?” she asked sassily and he chuckled.

            “That’s a trap I refuse to fall into,” he smirked at her. “You know you look good. Trying to impress Song-Yi?” he asked.

            She glanced to her friend and smirked right back, “I admit, she is beautiful, but she’s just a friend.”

            Harry laughed at that, before he saw the semi-serious look on her face, “Oh, so that’s how it is huh?” he asked.

            She shrugged, “Not that you don’t look very handsome, in a bad-boy sort of way,” she smiled at him, “but I can appreciate both sexes.”

            Interesting, he thought to himself, “Well, you will find no issue from me if you appreciate both sexes.”

            “You’re pretty open minded, aren’t you?” Jinah said after a moment.

            He just shrugged, thinking of his friends of all walks of life, “I judge people by the person, not what they identify as or who they are attracted, or not, to.”

            She smiled at him and he wondered if that was the right answer.

            “Do you want to get coffee sometime?” he asked her.

            That adorable blush was back, “Li-like a date?” she asked.

            “If you want it to be,” he told her, “I wouldn’t mind having more friends,” and he was surprised to find he wasn’t lying. Song-Yi was like the little sister he never had and Jinwoo was just as snarky as he was.

            In a single night, the trio had broken his barriers down, but he honestly hadn’t tried to keep them up.

            “I’d like that,” she smiled at him, “The date part too. I suppose I can have a ‘bad-boy phase’.”

            “How magnanimous of you,” he chuckled and soon the two began laughing.

            Then Jinah reached her hands into the sink and threw soap suds at him.

Xxx

            “You and my sister seem to get along pretty well,” Jinwoo said to Harry as the two sat on the ledge of the roof.

            Harry nodded and accepted a beer from the older hunter, “She’s a wonderful young woman and shows me that everything I have been through has been worth it,” at Jinwoo’s confused look he elaborated, “All the near-death experiences, the battles, the raids, all of them are worth it if people like your sister are kept safe.”

            Jinwoo looked at him for a moment before looking towards the darkening city, “You’ve lost a lot of people, haven’t you?”

            Harry nodded and took a swig, “Everyone I have ever cared about,” he looked down towards the street to see the stragglers getting home from their jobs, “I am a broken man, Jinwoo,” he told him, “I have demons inside me that would scare any sane individual, but I have to hope that I can be better, do better.”

            “You aren’t really B-rank, are you?” Jinwoo asked him and Harry could only chuckle.

            “You’re also stronger than you were when we met,” Harry smirked at him as Jinwoo tensed, “Don’t worry. My Guardian won’t hear it from me. Your secrets are your own.”

            “What will you be telling your guardian?” Jinwoo asked him.

            “That you are a good man, trying to do right by your mother and sister,” Harry told him softly, “I will not be party to anyone trying to control you.”

            “Well, if anyone was to control me, I know Go Gun-hee would do right by Korea.”

            “He is a good man,” Harry replied and finished his beer. He could sense that Jinah and her friend were asleep so decided to head out, he would plan his date with Jinah after Jeju. Go had told him he was planning on asking China and Japan for help dealing with that island, “Well, I should probably get some sleep,” he turned to his- friend?- “Be careful in that dungeon with the Hunter’s Guild. Something about it isn’t right.”

            “I know,” he nodded, “It feels like the dungeon is possibly more powerful than it seems.”

            Harry nodded and stepped off the roof, using a spell to cushion his landing. He had work to do.

Xxx

            Harry felt it the moment the boss revealed its true power. He had watched Hunter Cha enter not too long before and wondered if she made it to the party in time.

            He revealed himself to Inspector Woo in his Reaper garb before he nodded at his friend and dashed into the dungeon. He was worried for Jinwoo, not for himself, even though he was his friend, but for his sister.

            Jinah and he had been texting throughout the day, it being a Saturday, and had been enjoying speaking with the beautiful young woman.

            She was a bright light in an otherwise dark life, just like his last friend. Their date was scheduled for the next day, so he needed to get to her brother to make sure that he was alright.

            When he made it to the boss room, he paused as he noticed the shadowy soldiers and high orcs. He spotted the group of hunters nearby with hunter Cha with her pickaxe nearby.

            Spotting Jinwoo, he made to move forward before pausing. His friend seemed to be holding his own so he decided to wait and intervene only when needed.

            When the boss began blasting everything around them, he had to intervene.

            Apparating in front of the party, he conjured a massive, powerful, shield, “Reaper?” Hunter Cha exclaimed.

            “Stay behind my shield!” he shouted as it tanked two hits back-to-back.

            “How?!” one of the mages questioned, “my shield would only take a single hit before disintegrating!”

            Hunter Cha was staring between him and Jinwoo with a confused frown on her face while he held the shield. When the attack stopped and Jinwoo used a massive chain to take down the boss he dropped it, killing the last few high orcs with thrown knives.

            “How did you do that?” someone asked.

            Harry smirked under his hood, “Push-ups, sit-ups, and lots of juice.”

            Someone snorted in the back, probably the guy in the bronze-colored armor, while a mage with dark hair pouted at him. Hunter Cha was still staring at him.

            “Why don’t you have a smell?” she asked and he flinched back in surprise. The poor young woman blushed crimson.

            “I’m sorry?” he asked, but was prevented from responding when he noticed three men in suits, “Inspector Woo?”

            “Reaper,” he greeted Harry warmly, “I see you helped keep the party alive.”

            He shrugged, “I just shielded them from a chaotic attack. Hunter Sung was the one to save them it seems.”

            “Do you know hunter Sung?” Cha asked them.

            Harry ignored them as he watched Jinwoo pull the shadows out of the remaining orcs and the boss. So, he’s some kind of necromancer, but only uses their shadows.

            The shadows disappeared and Jinwoo became nervous when he realized Inspector Woo was there, but the trio of Association members were quick to protect him from the questions of the party. Harry walked forward and stood next to Jinwoo, who stared at him with a contemplative expression.

            As they were leaving, he saw Hunter Cha look at Jinwoo in interest and smirked to himself. Seemed someone had a secret admirer. One look at his friend and he knew he was as dense as a brick wall.

            He would help him figure it out though.

            When they were safely behind the glass of a tinted limo and on their way to the Association headquarters, Jinwoo finally spoke, “Harry.”

            Removing his hood and chuckling at him, “I figured you would know.”

            “Harry?” Woo questioned.

            “I had dinner with him and his sister last night,” Harry informed one of his few friends. Glancing at Jinwoo, he figured he and his sister and Song-Yi were among that small number.

            “And he is going on a date with my sister in the near future,” he glared at Harry who chuckled sheepishly.

            “I get along with her, she’s easy on the eyes, and she is intelligent,” Harry told him seriously, “It was hard not to try and take a chance.”

            He also didn’t feel the need to throw himself into life-or-death battles. Harry frowned in thought, was making friends all he needed to do to not be suicidal? He shook it off. He would think on it later since the lack of ‘I need to die in battle’ was disconcerting and would require his full attention.

            “You hurt her, there won’t be enough left of you for a funeral,” Jinwoo told him and Harry chuckled.

            “Noted,” he grinned, “So, what was that amazing power?” Jinwoo grew nervous and began stuttering through his explanation. Harry, after a few minutes of the explanation, got Jinwoo to relax and he then began explaining his powers to him and Woo.

            Jinwoo was asked to come get re-evaluated the next day and Harry told him he would speak to him later, after his date with Jinah.

            Although, that was if Harry didn’t die from anxiety first.

Xxx

            Harry took a deep breath as he approached the café he was supposed to meet Jinah at. She had gotten out of a group project two hours before and had decided to change their plans, since it was around dinner time.

            So, they decided to meet for a meal instead of coffee/tea. Harry picked a place close to their home so Jinah could get back in time to finish her homework and get ready for the next day.

            Merlin, he had never had a ‘normal’ school day. Living in a boarding school prevented the teachers from needing to schedule around a home life. He had classes up until dinner most days, even after it with astronomy which was a nightmare. They were usually up until one or two in the morning.

            When he arrived at the nice little café, he gave his name to the hostess for their reservations and he was led to a table in the back but with a view of everything. He noticed Jinah wasn’t there, so he settled in to wait.

            He wasn’t waiting long when he spotted her coming in and felt his breath catch.

            It was a warm day, so Jinah had opted for a nice summer dress that showed off her figure and she had kept her signature ponytail.

            He stood as she approached and her face lit right up, even as she checked him out. Harry had worn a dress shirt and a pair of slacks that were tailored to him.

            “Hey,” she greeted him and he kissed the back of her hand, enjoying the beautiful blush, “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”

            “Not at all,” he smiled, “I just got here,” he looked her over blatantly before smiling at her nervousness, “You look absolutely stunning, my dear,” he emphasized his accent and was rewarded with her giggle.

            “You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied back with a smile, and a bit of sass. He helped her into her chair just like his friends taught him before sitting himself, “You’re really pulling out all the cliches, aren’t you?”

            “My friends would find a way to murder me from beyond the grave if they knew I didn’t treat my date with the utmost respect,” he told her before wincing at the dark humor. Although, Jinah laughed lightly at it, so he would count it as a win for not bringing down the mood.

            “They sound like they cared a great deal about you,” she said softly.

            “They did,” he replied. Clearing his throat, he decided to change the subject, “So, what’s good here?”

Xxx

            Jinah was a complete bundle of nerves. She had never been on a date before, had never wanted to until Harry. Something about him had drawn her in after she met him and hadn’t stopped pulling her towards him since.

            She laughed lightly at a story Harry told her of a pair of twins who would always be up to mischief, “They used resources in that way?” she giggled.

            He nodded, “We had an abundance of them at the time and they did a lot of odd jobs to earn money, but yeah. I found it a bit of a waste, even if it brightened everyone’s lives.”

            “You miss them, don’t you?” and she wasn’t just talking about the twins.

            He looked at her for a moment, before his face turned slightly vulnerable, “Every day.”

            She bravely reached across the table, past their half-eaten lunches, to grip his hand gently, “Well, you aren’t alone anymore. I can tell my brother likes you,” she chuckled and it earned her a smile.

            It was true, too. Jinwoo told her to be nice to Harry. It seemed over the past few days, he had decided he liked the young man. She found she did too.

            He was a perfect gentleman throughout their date and he could hold an intelligent conversation. Be it in person or over text.

            She was also attracted to his scars, something she didn’t realize she found attractive. It proved he had survived things that would have killed others. He was also a born hero. Her brother may think she was a bit of an airhead, but she was observant.

            Harry picked the table with the best view of the venue and he was constantly scanning the area for threats. He had been mid-sentence at one point before darting out of his seat to prevent an elderly woman from falling into a table.

            He had been just a surprised as everyone else at the move. It hadn’t been a conscious move on his part, but he handled it well and pretended like he meant to do that. Jinah noticed though.

            “So, what’s it like working for the Association?” she asked during a lull in the conversation.

            He just shrugged, “It’s pretty easy. I get sent in with other guilds to deal with dungeons and I’m usually the first one on call to deal with any breaks.”

            “Really?” she asked, “That’s a lot to put on a B-rank.”

            Harry smiled and she felt like she was missing something, “I’m a pretty strong B-rank.”

            “Do you think you could beat my brother?” she asked, suddenly having a though.

            “It would be up in the air who would win between us, I think,” Harry replied and she stared at him.

            “Even though he re-awakened as an S-rank?” she asked and Harry winced.

            “So, he got re-evaluated today?” Harry sighed, “Damnit, I owe Gun-Hee dinner.”

            “What?” she asked, confused.

            “He bet me dinner that I would out myself as an S-rank on the first date,” he chuckled. He waved his hand and a shimmering barrier appeared around them, “Privacy barrier,” he told her, “It is going to come out soon, considering Chairman Go is going to announce the Jeju raid in a few days, but I am an S-rank.”

            Jinah was stunned. Why did he keep it secret?

            “Because I don’t want to get swarmed every time I go out,” he told her when she asked, “Look at any of the other S-ranks. I made a deal with the Association. I work for them when needed and they allow me to have a dual identity.”

            “That was nice of them,” she commented as her mind whirled. All of the S-ranks had shown up on television, but the only one who kept their identity hidden was- “Reaper?”

            He nodded at her, smiling, “Smart, beautiful, and with a good heart. I think I may decide I want to keep you.”

            She felt herself blush as she glared at him without heat, “I’ll have you know, I can also juggle.”

            He burst into laughter and she soon joined him. She gripped his hand tighter as they came down from their humor, “So, you want to see where this goes?” she asked.

            “Yes,” he said without a thought, “I haven’t had much good in my life the last few years, but meeting you, Jinwoo, and even Song-Yi has been a bright spot.”

            She smiled at that, glad he was finding her company a bright spot in his life. Jinah vowed to herself he would have many more things to be happy about so long as they stayed together, “I think I would like that, boyfriend,” she smirked as he choked on the sip of tea he took. Looked like she won that round.

            The kiss on her cheek he gave her after they bid each other goodbye may have caused the second round to go to him though.

Xxx

            Jinwoo looked at the demon princess in front of him with a frown as he looked around at the destroyed cityscape around him. Apparently, this used to be London, and it was on a completely separate earth.

            There had been a magic community that Esil was a part of that stayed hidden from the mundane world until they were discovered by a legitimate dark wizard causing havoc in both worlds. The war after he was killed destroyed everything.

            Glancing at Esil with her red tattoos around her eyes and pointed ears, he could believe her. She was staring at him with pleading red eyes, and the reason for it was perched on a collapsed wall next to her.

            The red, orange, and gold bird with flames licking around his body was probably the strangest thing he had seen in his life. Fawkes, for that was his name, had flown down after he had spared Esil due to her begging and him having a soft spot for women thanks to his sister.

            She had somehow communicated with the bird, becoming more and more surprised as the ‘conversation’ went on, before asking if he knew a Harry Potter.

            How could he not? He was now Jinah’s boyfriend and all his sister could talk about. He complained to Yoo Jinho about it the entire ride to his ‘training’.

            When he confirmed it, she begged him to take her with him when he went back. Learning his friend was from a different world, had fought and killed the dark lord who caused the apocalypse, and was a powerful wizard was surprising.

            He would have words with his friend when he got back, because apparently he and Esil were just about in a relationship, but it fell through when he disappeared.

            “You can come with me,” he sighed and she cheered, “Although, Harry is apparently dating my sister, so take that as you will.”

            Esil tilted her head, “Is she beautiful?”

            Jinwoo was uncomfortable with the question but shrugged, “I guess?” he remembered seeing his sister turn heads when she was dressed up, so it was possible.

            Esil shrugged, “Then that’s fine. Demon culture doesn’t practice monogamy,” he began choking, “Now, forward! We have to kill my father so we can leave this wretched place! Bastard has done enough damage to this world, turning it into a literal Hell.”

            Jinwoo might just decide to leave her behind.

Xxx

            Jinah and Song-Yi laughed at a joke Harry heard from the Chairman earlier that day. The trio were heading to dinner after seeing a new movie. It was coming up on the fifth day Jinah’s brother was absent, training he had told her.

            They had had another date the day before where they took a walk through an aquarium. It was such a normal date and the cute shark stuffed animal he got her seemed to have brightened her day.

            He still hadn’t seen her brother since he had started dating his sister and was a bit worried that his new friend would be upset with him.

            “So, Harry,” Song-Yi began as they made their way towards a small takeout joint on the way to his home, “Any past girlfriends?”

            “Song-Yi!” Jinah exclaimed, “That is none of our business! He will share that with me when he feels comfortable.”

            Harry just chuckled and squeezed Jinah’s hand to let her know it was fine, “Well, lets see. There was Cho Chang, a Chinese immigrant. That lasted for maybe a month or two before I realized she was with me because of my name, not because of me.”

            The girls frowned, “Were you famous in England?” Song-Yi asked.

            “Kinda,” he replied, wincing at how he kept slipping up. It was easier in his Reaper persona. He could just ignore questions, but maybe not interacting with people who didn’t know his secret made him lax, “A crime boss murdered my parents and I survived while he went underground for fifteen years. People thought I awakened that early, at a year old, and started calling me The-Boy-Who-Lived,” he grimaced.

            “Why didn’t they think your parents wounded him badly enough he had to find someone to fix him?” Jinah asked with a frown and wrapped her remaining arm around his and held him close, “People really are stupid in large crowds, aren’t they?”

            The other two chuckled, “You’re not wrong,” he smiled down at her, “Anyway, back to the plethora of ex-girlfriends, of which were is one more: My best friend’s sister. She was with me for only a year before I caught her in bed with someone else,” he frowned, “I didn’t handle that well.”

            “What a bitch.”

            “Song-Yi!” Jinah yelped but gripped Harry tighter, “Her loss though,” Jinah smiled at him and he returned it.

            “So, now you know my dating experience,” he chuckled, “or lack thereof.”

            “Oh come on!” Song-Yi groaned, “That’s it? Two relationships?”

            “It’s two more than I have ever had,” Jinah sighed.

            “There wasn’t any unrequited love?” Song-Yi asked and Harry winced, “Oh! So there was?”

            Jinah pulled back and looked at him in question. He just sighed, “There was a really good friend who was in the guild I was in before they disappeared beyond a gate,” that was how he was explaining the fact none of his friends existed here, “They decided to do an A-rank gate while I was laid up in the hospital after I had my ribs broken and lost a couple fingers.”

            “Oh, Harry,” Jinah grabbed his hand in both of hers like she could will the pain away.

            “I’m okay now, that was two years ago,” he told them. Well, just under anyway. He had arrived on this world on his birthday which was on the day the raid was taking place. It was no fault of Go Gung-Hee, the other nations wanted to do it on that day.

            “So, what was her name?” Song-Yi asked and Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat.

            “Esil Radiru,” he told them, “and she was my best friend.”

            He told them stories of his friends, mostly Esil, the twins, and Lee Jordan who were the ones left at the end. Although, Esil was the only one that wasn’t with him when they were ambushed by their own people.

            He kept watching Jinah, expecting her to feel jealous of him speaking of another girl, but she just held his hand and supported him through the stories. He really did miss Esil, the demon princess was full of snark and sass and one hell of a battle commander.

            The Demoness was also incredibly shy towards new people, but, surprisingly, that just made her adorable.

            He was sure Jinah and Esil would’ve gotten along like a house fire. Song-Yi would have terrified her.

            Right up until she pissed the demoness off.

            Esil did have a bit of a temper when roused. It made her dangerous when she decided to let her anger control her. He, Fred, and Hermione had been the only ones able to calm her when she was angry.

            He hoped she was doing okay. Demons were hardy folk, but they could still be killed, especially if her father was still in control. Harry was talking to her about overthrowing him at some point since he was becoming too savage.

            Harry was knocked out of his thoughts by a buzzing noise and looked up, only for his eyes to widen as he spotted an ant with wings, “Shit!” he exclaimed and charged himself with magic before leaping straight up.

            Jinah and Song-Yi stared after him, but the huntress was the one to spot the monster flying above the city. A shadow stirred in Jinah’s but stayed put until the monster decided to become a threat to his charge.

            Harry got close enough for the monster to sense him and it screeched as it turned towards him. Gathering magic in his hand, he quickly threw a bolt of lightning at the beast, frying it into an explosion of gore.

            Shooting his senses out, he didn’t feel anymore so he allowed gravity to take hold of him as he landed in an empty street as many civilians and other hunters stared at him, “We need to get you two to my place,” he told them seriously. He felt a pulse from Jinah’s shadow and stared into it to see glowing red eyes.

            So, that’s one of Jinwoo’s shadows, he thought to himself, it makes me glad to know he is protecting his sister, even though he’s training.

            “What was that?” Jinah asked.

            “Flying ant,” he said quietly and she stared at him with wide eyes while allowing him to drag them towards his home with their food, “My apartment is probably one of the safest places in the city,” he told them as they continued making their way towards the Association headquarters. His wards would keep Jinah and Song-Yi safe.

Xxx

            “So,” Go Gun-Hee began as he stared at Jinah and Song-Yi,” which of you is the one to capture Harry’s heart?”

            “Jinah, sir,” Song-Yi chirped and pointed to her friend who sent her a betrayed look.

            “Old man,” Harry sighed, “Please don’t scare her off.”

            He ignored his ward, “What are your plans after you graduate next month?”

            “I want to get into medical school, sir,” she told him, “I plan to work for a year or two to save up enough money to afford university then take out loans.”

            “Hmmm,” Go hummed to himself as he looked her over and she felt intimidated that such a powerful figure was assessing her. One look at Harry next to him and her worries were somewhat quelled. She wanted to make a good impression.

            The Chairman smiled at her, “I like you, young miss,” he chuckled and Jinah sighed in relief, “Harry needs good people around him,” he glanced to Song-Yi before turning to Harry, “You aren’t planning on starting a harem, are you boy?”

            All three of them began choking while Jinah blushed. She glanced to her friend and thought to herself she wouldn’t mind if Song-Yi joined them, but she knew her friend wasn’t attracted to women.

            “No!” Harry told him, “One woman is enough for me. I’m not like those other idiots,’ he shook his head and wrapped an arm around Jinah. She felt her stomach flutter at the action.

            That would be a conversation for later in their relationship, much later.

            The Chairman just chuckled and winked at her. She blushed, realizing he caught her thoughtful gaze, “Well, let’s leave the ladies here. I’m sure they are well protected,” he glanced at her feet and she frowned for a second, “We need to discuss what you saw and possibly move the time-table up.

            Harry kissed her cheek and ruffled Song-Yi’s hair before making his way after his…old man? Friend? Mentor? She didn’t know.

            Glancing around the nice apartment she saw several snacks set out for them with water and soda. Looking at their takeout containers she grabbed Harry’s to put it in the fridge with her own and decided to have some snacks to tide herself over.

            Song-Yi just grabbed hers and began eating.

Xxx

            Jinwoo exited the dungeon and back onto the rooftop where he had started. He glanced at the potion in his hand before putting it back into his inventory, nervousness overtaking him. His first stop would be the hospital.

            “Man, the human world here smells so much nicer,” he glanced to the side to see Esil, a bag over her shoulder, and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a band called Disturbed on it. He wondered if they were any good.

            Shaking that thought off, “Do you know where to go?” he asked. He found the demoness had grown on him, especially after she had distracted her father long enough for him to recover and kill him. She also spent the entire trip giving him information on both Harry, how the world used to be, how her father had built the ‘dungeon’, and helping him enhance his own tactics.

            “I don’t,” she shrugged and he tensed. He really wanted to see if this elixir would work on his mother, but he would bring her to Harry if needed, “But he does,” she pointed to the phoenix sitting on her shoulder.

            The bird cried out a song of pure jubilation that lifted his spirits and caused Esil to smile. He had to admit, she was beautiful, but she belonged to Harry. He just hoped his sister wouldn’t be heartbroken that one of Harry’s old friends, who was in love with him, was going to be in his life.

            Taking a deep breath, he sighed, “Just, don’t hurt my sister, please.”

            Esil smirked at him and he glared, though he knew it wouldn’t do anything, “Oh, I will take good care of her,” she purred. Before he could comment, she turned to the bird, “Fawkes.”

            A flash of fire and she was gone. Turning towards the hospital he took a deep breath. Leaping off the roof to the next one, he began to pray.

            “Please let this work.”

Xxx

            A flash of fire and Esil was in a nice apartment. The stove light was on, but she didn’t need the light to see.

            Glancing around, she took in the spartan space. She could smell the lingering scent of food but didn’t see any besides some snacks that had been picked over. Taking a deep breath, the exhale shuddered out. She could smell him along with five other scents. Two female, three male. One of them was sick as she could smell the soft hint of blood in the air.

            Four of those scents were faded, but one was still present, and close.

            She glanced to the side to see a dark-haired young woman with a blanket over her shoulders. She looked similar to Jinwoo, so that meant she was his sister.

            She smiled softly at her, she truly was beautiful. Esil figured she would be since Jinwoo was, but to have it confirmed was wonderful. She wondered if Sung Jinah was interested in women as well? If not that was fine too, she was fine with sharing.

            Harry had just been her contact with the wizards when the Mundane War started. He had been one of the few wizards to not be prejudiced against demons, considering them just another race. She began falling for him during the fighting, seeing him give everything to bring all his troops home, no matter their ideals, race, color, sexuality, or what they identified as.

            She truly began to love him just from speaking with him. He was such a wonderful man and held a truly kind heart. He saw her as her, not as the Demon Princess, just Esil. The young woman who loved anime and archery and trying different foods.

            Just as she was about to go searching for Harry, the girl on the couch began to stir. Esil could have hidden, but Jinah needed to get to know her. Even if Harry didn’t want to be with her too, she would still be his friend.

            When Jinah spotted her, Fawkes began to sing a soft song of warmth and she relaxed while Esil smiled at her, “Hello,” she said softly as she stayed behind the couch with her hands open, “I mean you no harm.”

            Jinah stared at her, then became confused, “Why am I not panicking?”

            “Fawkes,” she pointed to the phoenix on her shoulder. She could feel his own want to find Harry and brushed his chest to make him relax. Harry would be back soon, especially if Jinah was here, “His song harms the wicked and boosts the righteous. He is merely keeping you calm so that you don’t scream.”

            Jinah stared at her, “And why shouldn’t I?”

            “Your brother did say you’re smart,” she glanced at her shadow and smirked, “He also left one of his shadow soldiers in your own shadow to protect you.”

            Said shadow exited Jinah’s shadow, causing her to yelp as a massive red high orc stood in the small apartment, “What the hell?!”

            “Ah,” Esil smiled, “Your master should be at the hospital, seeing his mother,” she wasn’t going to ruin his surprise. The elixir should work to revive their mother. She had full confidence in Flamel’s work that her father stole.

            “Jinwoo is back?” she asked, getting a bit more comfortable as the shadow moved back into hers, “Is he okay?”

            “He didn’t get too banged up killing my father,” Esil shrugged, “So, I believe so.”

            “What?!” Jinah yelped, confused, “Why are you okay with that?”

            “Because he was an ass hole,” she chuckled. Waving her hand, she flicked a light switch on with her magic and Jinah’s eyes widened as she took her in. She also noticed a blush on the younger girl’s face and felt herself smirk, “Well, that’s interesting.”

            “What is?” Jinah asked as she checked herself over.

            “That you are way more beautiful than your brother described,” she moved around the couch slowly and sat down, “I’m Radiru Esil,” she held her hand out, but Jinah just stared at her with her mouth open.

            “Harry’s friend,” she whispered and Esil heard a bit of sadness in her tone.

            “If you’re thinking I’m going to steal your man, you have the wrong idea,” Esil told her and Jinah’s eyes widened. She had better be careful, she may give poor Jinah a heart attack if she kept surprising her.

            Before Jinah could respond, the door opened behind Esil and a smile lit up her face at the same time Jinah relaxed after looking past her. Esil stood up and spun around to see Harry, with a few new scars, staring at her and Fawkes with an open mouth.

            “Esil?” he turned to Fawkes as the phoenix flew over to him and his arm came up automatically to catch the bird, “Fawkes, what?”

            “Hello, Harry,” she smiled at him, feeling a bit hurt he looked past her to Jinah.

            “Are you okay?” he asked his girlfriend.

            “Yes,” Jinah replied as she made her way over to him slowly, walking right by Esil, “I guess your friend made it out of the dungeon?”

            “Tha- that’s not possible,” Harry said softly.

            “Her brother ended up on our Earth,” Esil smiled at him, “I helped him kill my father and he agreed to bring me to your new world. I have to say, these gates sound like dimensional portals.”

            “Esil, I,” Jinah was staring between them, confused.

            “Your Earth?” Jinah questioned and Esil lost her smile.

            “You didn’t tell her?” Esil asked, worried.

            “We’ve only been together a week,” Harry sighed, “I was planning on telling her after we had been together a while,” he turned to her, “I wasn’t going to keep things from you. That’s why I told you about my Reaper persona.”

            Jinah just stared, mouth agape, “The Gates all go to actual worlds?!”

Xxx

            Harry took a deep pull from his whiskey, sighing. It seemed like he was doing that quite a bit. He glanced at Jinah who sat across from him and Esil, rubbing her temples with Fawkes on her lap.

            “So, let me get this straight,” she took a breath, “You are from a world where there were no gates, just normal besides the supernatural community being hidden.”

            “Correct,” Esil smiled as she sipped a bottle of water, “And I am part of the demon race, which were really just another subrace of human that were partially immortal.”

            “Long lived,” Harry grumbled, “Your people could live for several centuries, but age would catch up to you.”

            “Yeah, well, considering written history was only a few thousand years, I guess we are very long lived,” she waved him off.”

            Fawkes sat on Jinah’s lap while she pet him, “You were betrayed and sent here, waking up three weeks later and you were adopted by the Chairman,” she waved her hand at Esil, “The pretty demoness,” said demoness smirked but Jinah ignored her, “searched for you and in that time her father was able to conquer the planet and turn a small portion of it into a literal tower with different zones,” she continued.

            “He was a real bastard,” she sighed, “I’m glad Jinwoo punched his head off.”

            “What even is my life,” Jinah sighed and hugged her feathery lap pillow to her face, “My brother is keeping secrets and my boyfriend’s unofficial girlfriend has appeared from a completely different Earth.”

            “Well, we aren’t together,” Esil told her and stood up. She moved to Jinah’s couch and sat next to her, “I won’t get in between the two of you if that isn’t what you want,” Esil smiled at her, “Harry deserves happiness, and I am perfectly happy being just his friend.”

            “What about more?” Jinah frowned, “You’ve loved him for a long time.”

            Esil nodded, “I have,” she said honestly, “And I could find myself falling in love with you from what I’ve heard and seen,” Jinah stared at the older woman with wide eyes, “You can take time to think that over. Demons don’t practice monogamy,” she smirked at her before standing up. She walked over to Harry and pulled him into a tight hug.

            “I’m happy I found you again,” Esil said as she buried her nose in his shoulder. He just stared at Jinah who was looking conflicted. Esil released him, “I will head to the spare room and sleep. Tomorrow, we can plan out how to get me an identity.”

            “Okay,” he replied as he continued to watch Jinah. Before Esil made it part way across the room, “Esil?” she turned, “I’m happy you found me again, too.”

            The beautiful smile she sent him drew feelings that he wasn’t entirely sure were helpful, but he found he didn’t care all that much.

            As soon as Esil shut the door, he turned back to Jinah and sat next to her on the couch, “Jinah?”

            “I don’t know how to feel right now,” she giggled. It sounded strained.

            “That’s fine,” he told her softly and gently took her hand. She turned her hand over and slotted their fingers together, making him breathe a sigh in relief.

            “What even is my life,” she giggled again, “I just got propositioned for a three-way relationship by a genuine demon. What even is my life?” she asked again.

            “Esil has always been outspoken about what she wanted,” he said. Then, he thought about it, “Unless it came to me before, apparently.”

            “So, what do you think?” Jinah asked him seriously.

            He pulled her in and held her close. She wrapped her arms around him and held tight, “I think that emotions have run high tonight, and we all need to take time to process this.”

            Jinah leaned back and looked at him, “No matter what, I don’t want you cutting her out of your life,” she told him firmly. Before he could protest she bulled on, “We haven’t been together that long, but I could see a life with you. And Esil is a part of that life, no matter the capacity.”

            “And her suggestion?” he asked, wondering if he would hate asking that.

            Jinah shrugged, “She is gorgeous. If I let myself believe it was possible, I think it would work, but I need to get to know her first.”

            “And that is fine,” he replied, “Take all the time you need, but remember. I am with you, you don’t need to worry about Esil if you say no. She will back off.”

            Jinah sighed, “I should probably get home. I have school tomorrow. How about you bring Esil by the café after I’m out of school if you guys aren’t busy? We can all talk and hang out.”

            “I think she will like that,” Harry smiled at his girlfriend, “Even back on our Earth, she didn’t have many friends besides a handful of us. Her position and race prevented a lot of people from connecting with her.”

            Jinah smiled at him, “If anything, I’m sure that she would make a good friend,” she stood up and stretched, Harry was unable to tear his eyes away from his girlfriend’s body before she glanced at him, “by the way, you do know harems are a thing here too, right?”

            “What?” he asked, confused.

            She smiled, “Strong hunters are actually encouraged to get a harem to produce more powerful hunters to help us defend the world against the monsters.”

            Harry just shook his head, “I’m too tired for this. Let’s revisit this tomorrow. I have a meeting in the morning with the Chairman and several guild masters to discuss the Jeju raid, but we should be able to meet up for an early dinner.”

            “That sounds good,” Jinah seemed to think something over, but steeled herself before walking up to him, “Can you teleport me home? It would be quicker.”

            “Sure thing darling,” she smiled at him and held him close. He twisted on the spot and they found themselves on the stoop of her apartment, “here you are.”

            “Thank you,” she said softly and looked up at him. Her eyes showed the depth of her feelings and it took his breath away, “Come here,” she whispered and pulled his mouth down to hers.

            The kiss was chaste, but wonderful and everything he expected from her. It was so much better than Cho or Ginny, and he found himself falling a little further. He pulled her closer. Esil, the raid, her brother, everything else could wait. For now…

            It was only Jinah.

Xxx

            “How did Hunter Sung make it to your Earth?” Jin-Chul asked incredulously as he, Go Gun-Hee, Harry, and Esil sat around the breakfast table.

            “I have no idea,” Harry said. He hadn’t gotten much sleep after he brought Jinah home. He was too busy thinking on all the surprises from the day. “It is something I will be asking about when I visit him later tonight,” he turned to Esil who was sitting next to him and couldn’t stop his smile, “Although, I think I may thank him for giving me back my best friend.”

            The two older men smiled at him and Esil grinned a fanged grin, “And I’m grateful he got me out of that hellhole.”

            “I thought you wanted to take over?”

            She shrugged, “That was before I lost you,” she replied sadly, “The only reason I wanted to take over was so that we could have stability and safety. I knew as long as he lived I wouldn’t have any peace.”

            “You are here now,” Chairman Go smiled at her, “And I know Harry is happy you are here, and so am I.”

            “Thank you sir,” she smiled at him, “I’m also looking forward to getting to know Harry’s friends.”

            “How strong are you?” Inspector Woo asked.

            “She feels like a low S-rank, honestly,” Harry told them, frowning, “How are you so much stronger now?”

            “Lots of training,” she sighed, “There wasn’t much for me to do in between searching for a way to find you. Seamus had no idea where he sent you,” she growled, “He took a long time to die.”

            “Good,” Harry was pissed that his former friend betrayed him. It was apparently because Ginny dumped him to try and get back with Harry.

            “Well,” Go said after a moment, “Maybe we should get you evaluated and then start on planning how to handle having so many S-ranks from other countries here.”

            “Japan will probably try and make sure all of our S-ranks get killed while America won’t even bother showing,” Harry said, “China might send a token two or three, but they will be amenable to at least working with us.”

            “Well, let’s prepare,” Go nodded, “Miss Radiru, if you would follow Inspector Woo?”

            “Lead the way, sir,” she smiled at him and the Inspector nodded his head and led her out.

Xxx

            Cha Hae-In made her way down the street, hat settled low over her face to prevent anyone from recognizing her. The hunter had needed to get away for a bit while. Hunter Choi was grumbling about being unable to recruit Hunter Sung.

            Hunter Sung. Cha couldn’t get him out of her head. He smelled wonderful when everyone else around her smelled horrible. He was also handsome and powerful too.

            Finding out that Hunter Sung was an S-rank like her, that had come as a surprise. His re-awakening had really boosted his power.

            Then, there was the other S-rank that had shielded them from that Orc Shamen’s attack: Reaper. He had absolutely no scent. It was completely strange since he obviously used magic so he had mana, but it seemed his was different.

            She came up to a crosswalk and had to wait for it to change. There were two other people there, both looked like hunters. The young man had long dark hair in a low ponytail while the woman had long purple hair in a braid going all the way down her back.

            She had been about to bring her handkerchief up to her noise when she noticed a slightly spicy smell being overshadowed by nothing.

            Glancing at the young man she saw a small scar on his chin that she remembered seeing on Reaper, “Reaper?” she wondered out loud, then she noticed the woman had pointed ears and tattoos around her eyes.

            Her ears twitched and she smirked at the young man, “You are really bad at keeping your secret identity.”

            The young man sighed and turned to Cha and her eyes widened. She knew this man, the one time she met him she thought she was going to puke his smell was so overwhelming, “Hunter Potter?”

            “Hunter Cha,” he smiled at her, “What a surprise! I haven’t seen you since that last Association meeting after that B-rank gate break.”

            “Why do you not smell anymore?” she asked, confused.

            “Oh!” he smiled at her, “That was because I noticed you looked a little green after we met. The Chairman told me about your sense of smell, so I worked my magic around me to mask my scent and those around me if they smell bad to you.”

            “What?” she blushed and the woman next to him began to cackle, “Why?”

            “Because you shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable being around other people,” he told her seriously and she looked at him in surprise, “That’s no way to live.”

            “Can-,” she gulped, “Can you teach me?” if she could get rid of her sense of smell she could possibly make friends!

            He thought it over, “Not right now. I’m about to be really busy with the upcoming raid,” she nodded. Being Vice Guild master allowed her to be in the know with the Jeju Island raid, “but afterwards I will figure something out,” he then grew thoughtful for a second before snapping his fingers, “I may have something!” he pulled his back off his shoulder and rummaged through it, “Aha!”

            He pulled out a small chain that looked like a necklace with a small coin on it that glowed to her senses, “This won’t get rid of the smell, but it will dampen it enough so you don’t feel like you want to throw up.”

            “Where did you get this?” she asked and noticed the other woman looking at him in exasperation. This was a gift that was priceless to her.

            “A raid,” he smiled at her mysteriously, “Anyway, it was good to see you Hunter Cha. We have to head over to a friend’s place. She said she had something to show us, so we don’t want to keep her waiting.”

            They were moving off before she could respond. Cha Hae-In stared at the necklace and unhooked the clasp and put it on. The moment she clasped it, the smells around her dampened to where she didn’t feel like she was about to throw up.

            She stared after the duo to see the purple-haired woman berating Hunter Potter about something while he just laughed at her.

            Glancing at the necklace she vowed she would repay him some way. Even if he couldn’t teach her to remove the horrible scents, this was still a gift greater than anything she had ever received.

Xxx

            Harry knocked on Jinah and Jinwoo’s door with Esil shifting nervously next to him. Jinah had texted him to come to her apartment as soon as he and Esil were able to. He wondered what had happened that she was skipping school.

            They had finished Esil’s evaluation to see she was on par with some of the stronger S-rankers. It had surprised them both, although she frowned since Jinwoo had defeated her easily with the help of his shadows. She wanted to get stronger and they had a week to do it.

            The raid had been moved up to the day before his birthday so they had work to do until then.

            Jinah opened the door and they both frowned at the tear tracks on her face, “Is everything okay?” he asked and moved forward to pull her into a hug. Esil snuck around and hugged her from the back.

            “Who do we need to kill for hurting you?” she asked and Jinah was quick to shake her head.

            “No one,” she laughed wetly, “I only have the best news to give you.

            “Jinah? Who was at the door?’ an unfamiliar female voice said.

            Harry looked over Jinah and Esil’s shoulder to see an older woman with long dark hair similar to Jinah and Jinwoo’s. She had a kind face and was dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee with gloves on her hands.

            Harry thought she looked similar to Jinah and- he saw her picture before!

            The file for Jinwoo that the Chairman had him look at. It had a picture of their mother.

            “Mrs. Park?” Harry questioned.

            “Ah, you must be Jinah’s boyfriend,” she glanced at Esil who quickly moved away from them and blushed, “And you must be Esil, the woman trying to get my daughter into a threesome.”

            “What?!” Jinah and Esil yelped, “What lies has Jinwoo told you?” Jinah growled, “I’ll kill him, S-rank or not!”

            Harry saw said little shit standing behind his mother’s shoulder with a smirk on his face. Well, Harry hadn’t pranked anyone recently. Maybe it was time Jinwoo felt the heat of the last living Marauder.

            He saw the new S-rank shiver, but their mother merely smiled, “Come in, please. Excuse the mess,” she glared at Jinah who shrunk in on herself, “My daughter apparently doesn’t remember how to clean.”

            “Sorry, mom,” she mumbled.

            “Oh, that’s easily handled,” Harry spoke up, “Esil and I can take care of the cleaning,” and before anyone could respond, he and Esil waved their hands in tandem and vanished the trash, the floors became spotless, the dishes were done, and the laundry flew into the bins.

            The Sungs stared at the duo in surprise, Jinwoo in less surprise than his mother and sister. Esil had told him that she explained everything to Jinwoo and he decided to come clean to Jinah, and now their mother apparently.

            “Well, I suppose Esil and I need to explain some things,” he said. Jinah just stared at him and sighed. She grabbed the two of them and tossed them on the small couch before plopping herself in his lap with her legs draped across Esil.

            Both of them stiffened in surprise. They had a very beautiful young woman in their laps. Harry controlled his reaction manfully while Esil placed her hands on Jinah’s shins.

            Jinah leaned in to Harry and sent a smile at Esil who hesitantly returned it.

            “Jinah,” her mother sighed in exasperation.

            “I’d rather be closer to them if this story is about to be as unhappy as I think it is,” she replied softly, “Plus, that leaves the other two chairs for you two. I’m also eighteen and graduating in a few weeks.”

            “Well,” Harry said after a moment and after Jinwoo and Kyung-Hye sat in the afformented chairs, “I guess I should explain that Esil and I come from a different Earth…”

            He spent the next two hours explaining their Earth and his life, skimming over his childhood and most of his adventures. Unfortunately, the Sungs were very intelligent and figured out what he wasn’t saying.

            Jinah snuggled closer to him and grabbed one of Esil’s hands.

            “…and Seamus, someone I once considered a friend, even after he slept with my girlfriend, decided to use a spell to get rid of me,” he sighed, “I ended up unconscious at the feet of Go Hun-Hee in a nearby park. The rest is history.”

            “You poor dears,” Kyung-Hye stated as she held on to her teacup like a lifeline, “That sounds horrible.”

            “It was,” Esil said softly, “Not knowing where Harry went, it felt like a part of me was torn out. My best friend disappeared without a trace and we couldn’t find him,” she turned to Jinwoo, “Not until your son found me and Fawkes told me he had traces of Harry’s magic on him.”

            “Well, I for one am glad you guys are here,” Jinah stated and smiled at Esil who gained a look of hope on her face, “it gives me a chance to get to know two wonderful people.”

            Harry noticed Jinwoo getting uncomfortable while Kyung-Hye smirked at her daughter. The matriarch stood up then, “Well, how would you like to help me make dinner, Harry?”

            “Sure,” he replied and picked Jinah up before plopping her down on the couch. She glared at him until he gave her forehead a kiss.

            He made it to the kitchen to see Kyung-Hye pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator and cabinets and he grabbed a cutting board and knife, using magic to sharpen the dull blade. Kyung-Hye noticed but didn’t comment, “What are your intentions with my daughter and your friend?”

            He looked at the matriarch in surprise but turned back to cutting the vegetables for the stir-fry they were going to be making, “I intend to be with her as long as she’ll have me and, as far as Esil goes, she’s the only link to my past life I have left besides the Stone,” he touched his chest where he felt the Resurrection Stone, “so I will keep her as a friend if Jinah decides she doesn’t want to pursue a relationship with her.”

            “Oh, my daughter will,” Kyung-Hye stated with a chuckle, “From what Jinwoo has told me, she isn’t really close to many people. The fact that, after barely a day, she is comfortable with Esil is proof enough.”

            “I don’t want her to force herself,” he told her, “if she doesn’t want Esil to be a part of our relationship I will respect that. I am with her, and I care deeply about her.”

            Kyung-Hye smiled at him and turned back to preparing the meal, “I approve of you,” she said simply and before he could respond, she changed the subject, “So, you are joining the Jeju Island raid?”

            “I am,” he turned to Esil, “It will be announced tomorrow, but Esil is Korea’s twelfth S-rank. She could probably fight Hunter Cha to a standstill.”

            “I have to catch up on the news,” she chuckled, “I have no idea who that is.”

            “She is probably the strongest hunter in the country,” he told her, “behind me and your son. The Chairman is too old to really fight anymore and none of the other hunters can handle her speed.”

            “Well,” she smiled at him, “don’t you break my daughter’s heart by dying then,” she turned towards Esil, “neither of you.”

            “We won’t,” he told her as he looked to Jinah, “We will be preparing right up until the raid, so we may not be around much.”

            “Nonsense,” she waved him off, “You two will be coming here for dinner every day after training. I’m sure you’ll be too tired to feed yourselves so you will come and spend as much time with us as possible before the raid.”

            “As long as I can buy groceries,” he told her. He would not allow their kindness to go unpaid.

            “I think I can convince my son to handle that.”

Xxx

            In his full Reaper garb and Esil in a set of full black armor, the two cut an intimidating image as they walked with the other Korean S-ranks into the mountain where the Ant Queen was said to be. He glanced to the side to see the cameraman with his magically enhanced helmet camera videoing the whole event. It made him nervous, he hated being on camera.

            “You’ll be fine,” Esil told him in her Demoness persona, a wicked-looking spear strapped to her back and a pair of short swords on her hips, “Just pretend he isn’t there.

            Hunter Cha, who was looking around to make sure they weren’t about to be ambushed, spoke up, “Is something wrong?” she asked.

            She had been talkative with the two of them, having already recognized him from his lack of smell and Esil from hers. She was still near her guildmaster, but he was content to let her converse with them while they made their way towards the mountain.

            “Reaper here hates being in the spotlight,” Esil chuckled, “Hence the monicker.”

            “But you have a monicker too, Demoness,” Min Byung-Gyu stated, smiling a bit.

            “Because Reaper here would be found out easily if my name were known,” Esil replied.

            “Oh, are you in a relationship with him?” Ma Dongwook chuckled.

            Esil wrapped her armored arms around his, “Yep, with another lovely lady as well!”

            “Demoness,” Harry sighed out as they all paused and he could hear the gasps from the other side of the stream in his head.

            He and Esil had spent every evening at the Sungs’ home, eating a wonderful home-cooked meal. It also worked to get Esil and Jinah to know each other better and Jinah had finally decided to let Esil into their relationship two days before the raid.

            “Can I talk to you two, please?” Jinah said.

            The duo had nodded, confused and a bit worried. They made their way to the roof and sat down in the chairs that were up there while Jinah gathered her thoughts.

            “I want to give it a try,” she said and Esil looked at her in hope, “I have come to know you, Esil, and I think a relationship will work between us,” she smiled at them softly, “All three of us, if you’re willing.”

            “Are you sure?” Esil asked, “I am willing to give you more time.”

            “I’m sure,” she replied softly, “With my brother deciding not to join the raid, you guys are at more of a risk. I don’t want to regret not giving it a try. Not when the two of you could die over there.”

            “We are a hardy bunch,” Harry told her and took her hand, “It will take more than some overgrown ants to kill us.”

            “I know, but I am still worried,” she told them, “and I care too much about the two of you to see you die, I,” she hesitated before steeling herself and staring at Esil, “Fuck it.”

            The duo were so surprised by the profanity that neither could react to stop Jinah rushing forward and kissing Esil full on the mouth.

            They had spent the remaining two days hanging out together and forsaking their training. He and Esil trained on their own to preserve their identities, so it wasn’t too big of a deal, but they wanted to spend as much time with Jinah before the raid.

            “Damn Reaper, go you!” Dongwook cheered.

            “Hey now,” Esil pouted, “Why do you think it wasn’t me to start this relationship?”

            “I don’t think it was either of you,” Baek smirked at them.

            “Can we focus on the raid please?” Choi asked them, embarrassed himself.

            “Contact,” Cha called out as she drew her blade. During their conversation they had made it to a cave that was guarded by dozens of ants.

Xxx

            Jinah’s mother was cackling while she covered her face in embarrassment. She could just tell her brother was plotting ways to kill her girlfriend and boyfriend.

            She couldn’t believe they would out themselves like that on live television!

            “Esil has no shame,” her mother crowed, enjoying her daughter’s embarrassment.

            “What’s so funny?” Song-Yi asked, confused.

            The Sungs immediately stiffened as they forgot Song-Yi wasn’t in the know about Harry and Esil’s S-rank status.

            “Wait,” she narrowed her eyes at them, “You’re dating Reaper and Demoness?! They are Harry and Esil!?” she had met Esil only a few days before when she had brought Jinah her homework.

            “They’ve encountered ants,” Jinwoo stated and all humor left them as they watched the Korean S-ranks tear through them.

Xxx

            Go Gun-Hee and Woo Jin-Chul watched as their hunters made it to a large room with many caves branching off. They were worried it was going to take too long to find the correct one when Choi Jong-In launched dozens of fireballs and they located what seemed to be the correct one.

            “Let’s hope they can finish this raid with no casualties,” Woo commented. He was worried about their military power if they failed. Korea would be at the mercy of the other countries.

            They could only watch as their people moved forward.

Xxx

            Goto Ryuji put a hand to his ear, “The Korean Hunters have made it to an egg chamber, it seems like they are close.”

            Affirmative,” he replied and cut down another ant. “Delta, come in, meet up at the rendezvous,” static,” Delta, come in, do you copy?”

            “Where are they?” Akari Shimizu asked, confused.

            “They may be in an area with a poor signal,” Goto replied, frowning as his gut was telling him something was wrong, “Let’s make our way closer to their position, see if we can’t get them on comms.”

Xxx

            Harry blasted an ant with his magic before cutting down another with his blade. They were trying to fight their way to the massive queen they saw at the other end of the cave, but there were hundreds of ants between them and her.

            Esil dashed by him, skewering two ants on her spear, before lashing out with a kick that launched a third into a large group where Hunter Choi blasted them with his fire.

            Hunter Cha proved why she was called ‘The Dancer’ as she literally danced around the monsters, cutting them apart.

            “Come on!” Baek challenged a group of ants before tearing them to pieces.

            “I can buy us some room, but we need to kill the Queen after!” Harry called out. He had a spell that was very difficult, very draining, and very dangerous.

            “Reaper!” Esil called out as she killed another four ants in a spin, “Don’t you dare use that!”

            “Sorry Demoness,” he said, “Everyone behind me!”

            The other S-ranks didn’t hesitate and moved behind him. He gathered his power as the ants rushed him and he cast the most dangerous spell in his arsenal.

            “Fiendfyre!” he vocalized and a massive basilisk of living black flame blasted out of his left hand, devouring the ants.

            It curled around them protectively for a moment, even as it fought his control, before flying forward to kill the remaining ants. He heard someone throw up behind him and knew he would have to apologize to Hunter Cha after this. The spell was one of the darkest of magics, and he knew it probably smelled horrible to the sensitive hunter.

            “You’ll be okay,” he heard Esil comforting Cha. The two had been talking throughout the raid and he knew his second girlfriend had a new friend. Maybe a sister-in-law if she ended up with Jinwoo and they married Jinah.

            Cutting the spell off before it could break his control, he collapsed to his knees. Min Byung-Gyu was quick to catch him, “Nothing to heal,” Harry panted, “That spell just takes a lot of power, and is very hard to control.”

            “What was that spell,” Hunter Choi asked, fear in his voice, “That magic felt dark and hungry.”

            “It’s a unique spell to me,” he said, not wanting Hunter Choi to copy it, “It wants to devour everything in sight so you need to control it with an iron will. And it takes a lot of magic, so I’m spent.”

            “We will handle the Queen then, you rest,” Hunter Cha said, wiping her mouth as Esil helped her up.

            “I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you Hunter Cha,” he told her apologetically, “But we need to end this raid before the Queen can call the swarm back.”

            He glanced at the cameraman to see him shaking in fear while he stared at them as Hunters Cha, Baek, Ma, Esil, and Lim dashed forward while Min helped him move closer and kept an eye on the others.

            Surprisingly, after the horde, the Queen wasn’t very strong. Esil and Hae-In took her down as they dashed around the Queen before the two of them cut her head off.

            All in all, it was anti-climactic. “That was easy,” Min commented.

            Esil was laughing with Hunter Cha as they walked back when Harry felt a dangerous aura enter the area. He saw Cha stiffen when a new ant, standing on two legs, swatted her hard enough for an explosion of gore to splash out of her side, and into Esil.

            He saw Esil wrap her body around Cha’s and hoped they would be okay. Her armor was as enchanted as he could make it, so he could only hope they survived, even as his heart broke.

            Ma Dongwook rushed the ant, but ended up losing both his arms while Lim was punched in the face.

            He drew in as much ambient magic as he could, but it wasn’t fast enough. Min set him down and rushed forward, turning invisible with a spell, to begin healing Ma. Choi began casting a spell but the ant was in front of him so fast that he had no chance when it opened up his chest.

            “So…weak,” the ant commented, “I thought the King was outside, but that wasn’t the King,” it turned to Harry who was continuing to draw in magic, “Are you the King?” it asked and Harry felt a shiver go down his spine.

            The ant suddenly gazed towards his left before dashing forward. Harry could only stare in horror as Min suddenly had a hand through his chest. “No!” he shouted with Baek, and didn’t care about hiding his more powerful abilities.

            He apparated in front of the ant as it went to bite Min’s head, swinging his sword at the ant to get it away. He quickly grabbed Min and made to apparate back when he felt a pain in his left arm.

            When he made it back to Baek, he glanced to the left to see his arm completely gone. Conjuring fire in his hand he quickly cauterized the wound, “Get them out of here,” he panted to Baek.

            “No!” a female shout echoed out and the ant had a spear blocked with its arm, “You hurt my Harry! Release Restraints!” she shouted and her aura exploded out of her.

            They had had to suppress her demonic aura as the machines at the Association picked up on it. So, they used runes to suppress it. It weakened her, but not so much that she wasn’t still S-rank. She still had a hundred years of experience.

            The other hunters still conscious all stiffened as they all sensed her as a monster, “She’s on our side,” he said in a strained voice. His missing arm was greatly paining him, but he knew what came next was going to hurt even worse.

            Concentrating on the phoenix tears in his blood, he forced his magic into his arm as it caught fire. He heard Baek and Choi curse as Ma just stared with a severely injured Cha in his arms as Harry’s arm began to regenerate through the flames. When it was complete, he turned to look at his girlfriend as she was punched by the bug, shattering her helmet.

            “Shit,” he twisted on the spot and caught his girlfriend in the air before teleporting back down, “Are you okay, Esil?”

            “yes,” she winced in pain through her broken cheek bone and nose, “We need to buy time for reinforcments to get here.”    

            “I will,” he glared at the ant as he helped Esil stand up. The ant was just standing there, watching, before it screeched loudly and they all heard the horde of ants coming for them.

            “You’re going to have to,” Esil groaned, “use your transformation.”

            “I’ll be too big a target for that Ant,” he growled.

            Before he could continue, all of their shadows grew and the soldiers of their friend appeared and held back the horde.

Xxx

            Jinwoo stood up after he saw Esil getting knocked back, “I’ll be going now.”

            “Please,” Jinah had tears in her eyes as their mother held her close, “Save them. All of you have to come home.”

            “I will make sure they come home,” he told her as they watched his soldiers appear out of the shadows of the other hunters, “Exchange.”

            He cursed himself when he arrived and saw how hurt the other hunters were. He had wanted to leave the fight to his friends and the other S-ranks. He had too much to lose now that his mother was awake.

            Seeing Harry about to charge into the fray, he walked up next to him as he summoned the rest of his army, “Sorry I’m late,” he said, guilt in his tone. He saw Min dead, Hunter Cha in critical condition. He could only imagine what the condition of the hunters outside was.

            “Are you, King?” the ant asked and he got angry. This thing had hurt his friends.

            “Rest,” he told Harry, “I will handle the rest.”

            “All do respect, my friend,” Harry told him as his eyes turned slitted and his voice fell into a growl, “these bugs have been a problem, it is about time we exterminated them,” then he grew.

            In seconds, his friend turned into a massive black dragon. He roared a challenge that the ants answered and Jinwoo gave the order to charge.

Xxx

            “What the hell?!” a news anchor cursed on live television. Thomas Andre sat up in his chair from where he was watching the live video of the Jeju raid.

            He had chuckled to himself as he saw the Korean hunters being beaten so easily. He would have been pleased if those upstarts had been weakened, but they had apparently hidden some strong hunters.

            The new S-rank, Demoness, had gone toe-to-toe with that strange ant for a time while Reaper had been able to heal his arm with those strange flames before turning into a dragon.

            Sung Jinwoo on the other hand, he seemed to be able to teleport and summon a massive army of soldiers. He was also beating the hell out of that strange ant.

            He grinned. He wondered if the boy was up to fighting him? He hadn’t had a challenge in a long time.

Xxx

            Go Gun-Hee released his grip on the cracked table as he saw Harry and Jinwoo destroying the ants. His charge swatted the ant that had been beating them into a wall with his tail and Hunter Sung was quick to attack it.

            “Woo,” he said, “get a medical team ready off the coast. As soon as the fights over, we have to get there and save those who are injured.

            The Inspector pulled out his phone and called one of their medical teams to get them ready to rush to the aid of their people. He looked at an image of Hunter Cha and sighed sadly.

            They wouldn’t make it to her in time, but maybe someone else could. “Fawkes, help her,” he said softly.

Xxx

            Jinwoo finally took care of the Ant King while Harry finished the horde that came through. He sighed in relief, but knew his work wasn’t done yet. He turned towards Hunter Cha and saw the body of Hunter Min.

            “Ar-,” he was going to resurrect the healer to save her when Fawkes flashed in above Hunter Cha, “Fawkes?” he asked, confused.

            The phoenix sung an uplifting song, even as the hunters tensed, ready to attack him, “Wait!” Esil called, “That’s Harry’s phoenix.”

            “A phoenix?” Choi questioned, incredulous.

            “Fawkes,” Esil pleaded, “Help Hae-In, please.”

            “Why should we listen to a mon-,” Baek started but was quick to bite his tongue when Jinwoo flashed in front of him.

            “it will be explained later,” his eyes flicked over to the camera, “The Phoenix can help Hunter Cha, let him.”

            The bird landed on the wounded hunter and tilted his head down. The others looked on in confusion as he began to cry. Those looks turned into gasps of astonishment as the wounds on the hunter’s side began to knit themselves back together and she began to regain color.

            “Oh my god,” someone said, but he could only sigh in relief. He knew Hunter Cha was a good person and was happy she would survive. He glanced over at Hunter Min and frowned sadly. Healers, especially powerful ones, were hard to come by.

            Harry walked over to them before shrinking back down to his human form, “The ants are taken care of,” he said tiredly, “hey Fawkes,” he greeted the phoenix. He sat heavily next to Esil, “I can get us to the shore line if you give me a minute to regenerate my mana.”

            “How?” the cameraman asked.

            “That’s classified, so if you could turn the feed off, that would be great,” Harry said with a tired glare. Esil pulled him to her shoulder and he closed his eyes.

            “What the fuck is going on!” Baek snarled out.

            “Chairman Go will explain it,” Esil replied, “My man and I have to get back to our girlfriend.”

            “She’s worried sick, by the way,” Jinwoo told them, “I thought she was going to break my hand when you lost your arm, Harry.”

            “Well, she should have seen we lived, right?’ Harry asked nervously. Even Esil looked nervous and he smirked at them.

            “Doesn’t mean she’s not going to tear you a new one when you all get home,” they both shivered.

            “Who the hell are you talking about?’ Baek snarled. The beastman was starting to annoy him.

            “No one you need concern yourself with. You good Harry?”

            “Yeah, you want to grab Hunter Cha?”

            Jinwoo looked at him, confused, but shrugged and grabbed the beautiful huntress. She was surprisingly light for how strong she was. She seemed to blink her eyes open and stare at him in confusion, “You’re safe now, Miss Cha,” he told her softly and she closed her eyes while snuggling closer to him.

            He manfully ignored how nice she felt in his arms.

Xxx

            Hunter Min was given a proper burial in the days that followed the raid. Harry’s and Esil’s identities being out for the masses, and her status as an actual demon, caused an uproar. Although, the fact she protected Hunter Cha, Korea’s Idol and the strongest female hunter in the world, put many points in her favor.

            She had to explain that away as a side-effect of her awakening. They described it as similar to Baek’s beast transformation, except it was always active.

            Go Gun-Hee backed her statement, which shut a lot of people up, but there were still her detractors. They just ignored them.

            Harry’s powers caused a lot of issues, but he told them all to fuck off. His abilities were his own and couldn’t be learned. The Chairman made sure to get everyone to back off as Harry was employed by the Association.

            They couldn’t mention her and Harry were from a different world completely, that would cause an uproar. Either way though, Jinah and her mother would be getting protective talismans. They couldn’t trust some idiot wouldn’t try to use them to get to the three S-ranks.

            The three days after the conclusion of the raid, before Min’s funeral, were spent clearing the rest of the island. Jinwoo sent his summons out, backed with other hunters, to finish off the ants. Harry, Esil, and Jinwoo kept in touch with the Sungs and Song-Yi.

            Jinah hadn’t been happy the two of them got hurt, but she understood that they were against something so much stronger than them. Harry had apparated them back to her home every night with Jinwoo so he could save his Exchange ability.

            The group had spent a lot of time together and Harry and Esil found a family that accepted them for who they were. Although, Kyung-Hye had commented on Harry’s dragon form and his power. He and Jinwoo had been clocked as National-Rank hunters pending a test.

            Today would be the day that they would declare the island safe for reconstruction. Harry, Esil, Jinwoo, and Hunter Baek made their way back to the mainland in a helicopter. The atmosphere was a bit tense since Baek was still in mourning over his friend’s death.

            The man didn’t blame them, they couldn’t have known the ant was there. They had defeated the Queen, that all went to plan, but the Ant King was a surprise.

            “What will you do when we arrive?” Harry asked the Guild Master.

            The large man sighed, “I will visit Min’s family,” they all looked sad at that, “Then, I guess I will work on training my guildmates and recruiting.”

            “If Hunter Min’s family needs help,” Harry told him seriously, “Let me know. I have a lot of funds and nothing to do with them.”

            Baek shook his head, “Thank you, but I will take care of them.”

            “Still.”

            Baek just nodded. A grin grew on his face as he turned to Jinwoo who looked at the older man warily, “So, what is going on with you and Hunter Cha?”

            “Nothing,” he was quick to reply and Harry stared at him.

            “That was a quick denial,” Esil smirked at him, “Has Hae-In broken the stoic exterior of Hunter Sung?”

            He glared at her, but the small blush on his cheeks was telling, “Nothing is going on between us.”

            Esil’s smirk widened, “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

            “Just the fact she had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with you when she wasn’t with her guild master,” Baek ratted him out, “And it looked like she was enjoying his company. She even laughed at something he said.”

            Harry’s grin grew, “Oh? Did the Shadow King melt the Dancer’s heart?”

            Jinwoo huffed and crossed his arms, “She found me after she was given the okay to move and decided to get to know me,” he glared at them, “She does not like me. She’s just happy I don’t stink to her.”        

            “Really?” Baek asked, eyebrow raised, “Most of us hunters smell horrible to her.”

            “I can teach people how to use their magic to dampen that,” Harry told him. “It’s what I do so she can tolerate my presence,” he glanced at Jinwoo with a sly smile, “Must be fate that Jinwoo here doesn’t smell bad to her at all then.”

            Jinwoo blushed deeper and Esil stared at him with her mouth open before she began cackling, “Oh my gods! That’s just too amazing.”

            ‘What?” Baek asked, smirking at the Shadow King. It was obvious he was trying to distract himself from his grief, but that was why Harry and Esil were being so over the top.

            “He smells good to her!”

            “Exchange,” Jinwoo growled out and was gone. Where he once sat was a High Orc that was in Jinah’s shadow.

            The trio only stared at the confused orc for a moment before bursting into laughter. The two pilots turned around to stare at them from the cockpit of the chinook before turning forward and shrugging in tandem.

            Hunters were crazy.

Xxx

            Cha Hae-In sneezed into her handkerchief and wondered if someone was talking about her. Maybe it was Jinwoo?

            She smiled softly as she thought about her new friend. She hoped he was flying home safe. She ignored her Guild Master speaking to the news crews, he was enjoying the attention and playing up the danger of the mission and his injury.

            Her phone went off, distracting her.

Xxx

            Harry and Esil were glomped the moment they walked through the door of the Sungs’ apartment. They both hugged Jinah back just as tightly, even if they had been seeing her every day since the end of the raid.

            But now they were officially back. All the hunters involved in the raid were told to take two weeks off before reporting for a reward ceremony. So, with Jinah graduating in a week, they decided to go camping in the nearby mountains, just the three of them.

            “Are you going to let them in, dear?” her mother teased and her daughter quickly released them with a blush, “Welcome home,” the older woman pulled the duo into a tight hug, “Thank you, for coming back.”

            “Always,” Harry told her, smiling.

            They all sat at the table, Jinwoo was there and he smiled at the other two S-ranks and said hello. When they were all seated, Harry noticed the empty spot with a plate next to Jinwoo and frowned, “Is Song-Yi running late?”

            Kyung-Hye just smiled, “No, we have another guest coming,” a knock punctuated the silence and Jinwoo stiffened and stared at his mother. She just smiled at him and got up to get the door.

            Harry had to hold in his amusement as a blushing Cha Hae-In stood on the other side of the door with two bottles of wine while she wore a lovely red and black dress, “Uh, am I late?” she asked and tried to look at a clock on the wall nearby.

            “No,” Kyung-Hye told her, smiled mischievously, “You are ten minutes early.”

            “Oh, that’s good,” she smiled at her. Kyung-Hye took the bottles from her and led her into the apartment where she paused as she saw Harry, Esil, and Jinwoo. Then her gaze turned to Jinah and saw the younger woman had practical stars in her eyes.

            “Miss Cha!” she smiled brightly, “I’m so glad you could make it. I didn’t know if my mother’s message would have made it through.”

            “I had just landed when Miss Park’s message came through,” she smiled, “You must be Jinah. Your brother speaks about you a lot.”

            “Good evening Hae-In,” Esil smiled at her and it was returned.

            Cha greeted Harry as well before he gaze fell on Jinwoo and her blush returned as she smiled shyly at him, “Hello, Jinwoo.”

            “Good evening, Miss Cha,” he said nervously.

            She sighed, “Can’t you just call me Hae-In?” she asked and then stiffened when she realized they had an audience.

            “You know son,” his mother looked at him, “It is rude for you to keep calling her by her surname after she gave you permission to use her first name.”

            “Ye-yes, mother,” he nodded. He then stood and helped Cha into her chair while the rest of the table stared at the two in amusement.

            The two blushing young adults were pure entertainment for the rest of the group. Jinwoo tried to steer conversation to Harry and Esil, but his mother was relentless in getting information out of the most famous woman in Korea.

            Harry would give it to Cha, she was handling it expertly. She was perfectly polite and answered the questions as best she could.

            He and Esil shared a look, they both had to go through a similar interrogation after they began dating Jinah. They felt a bit of pity for their fellow S-rank and decided to intervene.

            “So, Jinwoo,” Harry spoke into a lull in the interr- ahem, questioning, “What are your plans now?”

            He glanced around the table before he breathed in, “I am going to begin forming my own guild,” they all looked at him in question, “Right now, it’s just Yoo and I,” he glanced at the two of them and opened his mouth but Esil interrupted him.

            “Of course we will join you,” she smiled, “We have to make sure you don’t do anything reckless.”

            “She’s right,” Harry chuckled, “Until I met you and your sister, I was just fighting,” he looked down and took a breath. He needed to be honest with them, “I was hoping the next dungeon or rogue hunter would kill me,” they all gasped. He looked up and smiled sadly, “But you and your sister didn’t allow me to wallow. That dinner, it showed me I could still care, could still want things,” he looked to Jinah.

            “Harry…” Jinah whispered out and gripped his hand.

            He chuckled, “Then, you somehow brought Esil back to me, and my life has completely turned around. Now I have people I care about again,” he looked at all of them, including a surprised Cha Hae-In, “now I have a lot of reasons to live.”

            They all stared at him, not knowing what to say. Esil and Jinah were holding his hands tightly. Kyung-Hye wiped a tear out of her eye and smiled, grabbing her wine glass.

            “Then let’s toast,” she raised her glass and the rest of them followed, “To new family and friends.”

            “To new family and friends!” they toasted and the night moved on to lighter topics.

            When Hae-In left later that evening, Harry found himself sitting on the ledge of the roof with Jinwoo, drinking a beer in a mirror of their night several weeks ago. It felt like a lifetime ago.

            “How was Hae-In?” Harry asked, smirking a bit. The older hunter had told them to call her by her name and they had all obliged. Jinwoo had escorted her out to her car.

            “She’s good,” Jinwoo sighed, “Yes, I do like her,” he took a sip, “She’s a wonderful woman and we get along well.”

            “How’s your new shadow?” Harry asked. In response, Jinwoo’s shadow expanded and out stepped the new shadowy ant.

            “His name is Beru.”

            The ant bowed to Harry and Harry returned it. “I guess they are completely loyal to you once you revive them?”

            “They are,” he sighed, “Hunter Baek was not pleased with me reviving Beru.”

            “I can understand why,” Harry looked at the summon, “He took his friend from him. Hunter Min was retired and came out of retirement to help us beat Jeju. He was planning on teaching,” they both went quiet at that, lost in their thoughts.

            “I think you should start teaching, Harry,” Jinwoo told him. At his look he explained, “You light up whenever you talk about the D.A. It seems like something you enjoy and I know you’ve been teaching Jinah self-defense.”

            Harry thought it over and slowly nodded, “But won’t that interfere with my guild duties if we join your guild?”

            Jinwoo shook his head as the two of them looked out towards the horizon, “No. One day a week should help and we can use that as a day off for the rest of us. I want to build a guild that helps the weak get training and hopefully help them get stronger. I don’t want to discriminate.”

            “That’s good,” Harry smiled at him, “I wouldn’t mind teaching some green hunters some things. I think my past has proven it doesn’t matter how strong you are if you are smart about it.”

            Jinwoo chuckled and nodded, “True.”

            Harry’s phone went off with its text tone. Looking at it he stood quickly, “Now, if you excuse me, I have two lovely ladies waiting on me to come to bed and,” he pointed a finger at Jinwoo before he could protest, “There will be no funny business. Jinah and Esil aren’t ready. To be honest,” he shook his head, “I don’t think I am either.”

            “Good,” Jinwoo glared at him, “There will be no funny business until you are all in your fifties.”

            Harry just smirked at him, “Tell Hae-In that when it comes to you and her.”

            He apparated out before his friend could stop him.

Xxx

            Nine Years Later

            “Come on you three,” Harry Potter said to a trio of children as he led them towards a skyscraper with the logo for the guild Ahjin, “Aunt Cha is teaching the beginner’s class today so you don’t want to be late.”

            A young boy of five with violet hair and bright green eyes stared up at him. His slightly pointed ears twitching while he gave a fanged grin, “But, daddy! She doesn’t yell at us if we are late.”

            The father just sighed, “Yes, but your mama was tired. She just gave birth to your sister.”

            “Mommy told you to go though,” a young girl of six with messy dark hair and grey eyes told him with all the authority of a girl her age, “She said she had mama handled, whatever that means.”

            Harry just groaned and looked over at a young boy the same age as the girl with similar hair and eyes, “Anything to say Kazuto?”

            The boy just bounced up and down, “I want to beat cousin Suho! He always beats me in our spars.”

            Harry just chuckled, “Well, you just need to practice more,” Harry told him, chuckling.

            Conversations like that would always happen when he took his three children to the dojo in their guild building.

            The three of them with the management expertise of Jinho and their fourth member, Yoo Soohyun who was Jinho’s cousin, had gotten their guild recognized as the strongest guild in the world within two years when an S-rank gate broke in Japan.

            The trio, with the help of Hae-In, were able to defeat the giants and enter the gate to defeat the boss as well, causing them to become celebrated as the strongest hunters in the world.

            After that, Cha Hae-In left her guild and joined theirs, after she had found out she was pregnant.

            Jinah told them similar news when they arrived back home, much to Jinwoo’s annoyance and their mother’s excitement.

            The group had a double wedding the following month where they just had a mostly private affair. Go walked Esil down the aisle while Jinwoo and Harry did the same for Jinah and Hae-In.

            Six months later, Sung Suho was born with his twin cousins, Kazuto and Suguha born only a few days later with Esil announcing her own pregnancy only a scant few days after they were all allowed to leave the hospital.

            He smiled softly to himself as he waved to Soohyun as she made her way out with her team to go raid a gate. Esil had just had her second child, a baby girl who was the spitting image of her mother. They named her Lily, after his mother, just like their son was named Sirius after the only father figure he really knew.

            Seeing Hae-In waving to him and his children he chuckled. He loved his family and had more friends than he could keep track of. Go Gun-Hee was healthier than he had been in years thanks to the grandkids he now had to spoil.

            Although, he wasn’t the only grandfather the kids had.

            Sung Il-Hwan escaped the dungeon he got stuck in five years ago, when a dungeon that opened in America in his dimension. He luckily knew enough English to explain who he was and, because his son was a National rank hunter, he was rushed out of the dungeon and back to his home country after they ran enough tests to make a college class groan.

            The man had reconnected with his family and wife and became the doting grandfather the retired Chairman was. He may have not have liked his daughter being in a relationship with two people, but after learning everything the two had done for his family and how Esil had helped Jinwoo find the elixir that healed his wife, well. He couldn’t complain too much.

            All in all, Harry’s life had turned around. He was no longer the depressed young man and was now a loving husband, father, brother, and son.

            He loved his life.