Gaia's Firstborn Children
Harry wasn't wrong when he thought that Viper was going to have an aneurysm and charge him. Although having them try to reign themselves from strangling him was a bonus.
'Why do I get a feeling that one of these days they're not going to even try and just jump on me, mist flames and illusions forgotten', Harry shuttered at the image forming on his head of the mist rolling their sleeves and just jumping at him to try to choke the life out of the green-eyed wizard.
Viper didn't even wait for him to pay and just grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and stomped away with it. Harry was just too speechless by the audacity that he didn't react for at least a minute before running after Viper who misted away. He never did get his wallet back, thank Merlin it only contained two cards.
He was here today to bring Skull over to have Viper explain the mafia and flame user common sense. Viper didn't plan on including Harry because according to them, this lesson was useless for a sky.
He protested and even more so when he was told that he was to leave Skull alone with them for three days. Why would it even take that long?
Harry was not going to let his civilian cloud alone with a possible danger. He didn't completely trust Viper. The wizard was not going to put his cloud in danger.
But Skull disagreed with him and stated that he wanted to learn. They had a brief fight in which Skull bristled and said that he wasn't Harry's child and he had been doing fine for 18 years now.
He was an adult and needed to be treated like one, not coddled. Despite being inverse, Skull was still a cloud who hates being crowded and loves his freedom.
But that brought in the fact that no one knew yet, that Harry was a Cloudy sky. And like Skull, he picked people and objects instead of locations.
That was why he was distraught when he left his world, his people—his territory.
But Harry's friends were no pushovers and didn't indulge his cloudy habits. Especially Hermione, who cast a sticking charm to seal him in a chair and bluntly laid out his overprotective and possessive habits that were becoming a real pain in the ass according to her. It was like having Mrs. Weasley on mothering mode sticking by her side, said the bushy-haired witch.
So Harry eventually gave in but with the assurance that Skull would contact him through their bond whether he was in danger. He also gave the teen a portkey in the form of a galleon that also functions as something that will alert Harry and teleport him immediately to Skull's side.
His cloud happily accepted the modified portkey and gave Harry a peck on the cheek before running off in a boisterous fashion Skull de Mort is known for. Towards Viper who watched them with an annoyed expression that the visible lower side of their face showed.
When the door closed behind him, Harry felt something that must be akin to the empty nest syndrome that Hermione told him about.
Now that Harry was used to Skull's presence in his home, the silence was deafening since the loud cloud wasn't there.
He needed to get out. So he packed up his basic necessities like his wallet with yen, ID, and phone before apparating to Japan which was becoming one of his favorite places ever since Skull toured him previously.
He arrived somewhere in the rural corners of Okinawa near the shore.
The first thing that hit him was the taste of salt in the air and the sound of the waves hitting the shore. White glistening sand that sparkled under the harsh sun crunched under his shoe as he walked on the secluded shores.
The sky was lacking in clouds so the sun shone harshly over the beach. Harry was tempted to conjure an umbrella but decided against it. Carrying an umbrella around would be an annoyance and Harry had magic. He just cast a cooling charm on him as well as some spell to block out the rays.
He walked on the shore, enjoying the soothing music of the ocean. From the crashing of the waves to the sway of the tropical trees as they were hit by the salty air.
A loud squawk of a seagull pulled him out of his reverie. He yawned and pulled out his phone to see if he received any text from Skull. So far the stuntman hadn't texted him or used the portkey, their bond was also steady so Harry knew he didn't have to worry much. But he was paranoid that something bad might happen to his cloud.
He shook his head and continued his stroll. It was a surprise when he saw a figure of a man sitting on a large rock near the shores. He had almost missed the man's presence, which was unusual for him
Harry knew that this was not a private beach. Only a beautiful beach visited by the locals with how hidden and secluded it was. So it wasn't that odd for it to be empty on some days.
The man did notice him at some point and raised a curious eyebrow at him. He had white hair, pale skin, and a pair of round glasses. He was also clothed in a plain green kimono. Dark eyes watching with interest.
"You're not from here, are you?", he tilted their head while wearing a pondering expression, a finger tapping on his cheek.
"Um, yes?", it came out more like a question. "I mean—yes. I just passed by here for the view. Heard from a family friend about this place"
They hummed loudly while looking at him like a particularly odd puzzle before looking up at the sky as if asking a question to the heavens.
"Oh, how odd then. I don't sense any flames on you but my mist flames right now shouldn't allow any non-flame active humans to see me", he mentioned before flashing him a serene smile.
That was all the warning that Harry got before the sea around him melted and turned into a hellish inferno as mist flames surged out of the white-haired man.
His surroundings of a clear blue sky, crystal sand, and cerulean sea melted like sickly black tar.
A painting whose colors dripped from decay, reveals a scene straight from Tartarus.
All blood red and dead earth, scorched from hell fire. Lava pools filled the plain as they bubble and boil. The smell of sulfur made him twist his face and cover his nose from the sickening smell.
The sky was nothing but eternal darkness as humongous pillars and jagged cliffs filled his sight. Crumbling iron chains draped the place, large enough to have contained a titan rather than a human.
Harry had learned from Viper that when a mist flames user is powerful and skilled enough then they would be able to turn their illusions real in some sense. The informant had proudly proclaimed to be able to do the same and showed Harry an illusion of being placed in an ice cave. Harry shivered from the cold and they seem real to the touch. But it was only when Viper recalled the illusion that they all disappeared, proving them to the illusions they were.
They also instructed Harry that if managed to face a mist that would try to place them in an illusion, then his best bet was to flood the place with his own flames. The wizard had heard them mutter about 'impossibly overpowered flames' and 'drop dead flame drunk' before he decided against asking why that was the only way that they told him.
The mist flames allowing for this very real illusion to take place were stronger than Viper's. But they weren't stronger than his own sky flames.
So instead of showing his cards and using his magic like he instinctively wanted. He instead adjusted his necklace and let his flames roar in response.
The effect was immediate when the whole illusion broke like shattered glass and began to fall like shards to reveal the beach again.
All this occurred within a span of 30 seconds.
If Harry wasn't a curse breaker who had plenty of experience with magic then he would have been shocked and drenched in cold sweat from that encounter. But he was Harry Sodding Potter with the infamous Potter luck. This kind of shit happens at least once a week to him, especially when he was doing his work as a curse breaker.
The mysterious mist then collapses on the sand heavily breathing. He stared at him with eyes glinting with shock, fear, and intrigue in one cocktail mix.
And as a usual mist shenanigan, he misted away the moment he was capable of controlling their flames away. Just in time not to see and avoid the Stupefy that Harry sent their way.
Harry slapped a hand over his eyes and groaned loudly. There goes his chance to obliviate their memories of Harry and his sky flames.
Why did Harry have a feeling that this was going to bite him in the ass later?
'Ah, I was right', is what came through his mind when he saw the familiar white hair on the dingy ramen shop that he stopped by the day after.
He stared blankly at the scene before turning his heel to make his exit. But he paused when he remembered that he had to obliviate the man.
So he turned back and sat on the stool beside the mist on the counter table.
The chef was busy adding the toppings to the group of customers about 3 seats away from them so he wouldn't be receiving any attention for now.
When he turned to the perpetrator of his current dilemma, he saw them politely smiling with those black eyes bent in glee, like a cat that got the cream.
Harry scowled, green eyes flashing orange. He wanted to wipe that look off his face.
"Spill it, how did you find me?", he accused the mist as he cast a muffliato around them to avoid any unsavory listeners. The mist seemed to have noticed his usage of magic despite not knowing what exactly it was and looked at it with intrigue.
"Hmm, how about an exchange? I tell you something and you tell in another in return"
They grinned at him while fixing their round glasses in a manner that Harry once did before he had his eyes fixed. Having a shitty vision was a one-way trip to the grave for curse breakers.
"I don't even know who you are"
Harry crossed his arms and sneered in a way that would have made Snape proud. He had no patience for cryptic stalkers who poke their nose where it's unwanted. The only reason why he hadn't cast an Incarcerous to tie the bloke up and use legilimency to see just what he wanted was because his instincts told him that the man before him didn't mean him harm.
He would have been nicer and maybe jokingly tried to entertain the guy but he missed his cloud. So he was in a bad mood.
"Oh how rude of me", they blinked innocently but Harry could see that he didn't mean it at all. "Kawahira. It's nice to meet you"
Kawahira held out his hand for a handshake. Harry skeptically looked at it for a minute before deciding to shake it, but with the added precaution of magic.
Harry might be in a bad mood but he wasn't a rude bastard to deny basic etiquette. He had etiquette hammered into his head by Narcissa Malfoy and her beloved son, Draco, into learning wizarding etiquette. Because even if he had run off with the curse breakers, he still had the responsibility of being the lord of two ancient and most Noble houses along with the Potter's status of only being a noble house. He had picked a proxy so that he could get as much freedom as possible but unfortunately, he still needed to make an appearance once a year for the Wizengamot.
Harry pondered on what fake name to use when the smug mist beat him to it.
"Harry Potter right? You caused quite a stir in the mafia world you know"
Quick as a bullet he summoned his wand and pushed it through his throat.
A notice-me-not buzzing in the air like a dome around them.
Harry heard a click but wasn't that surprised when he found a gun being pointed at his head in response. This man had the eyes of someone experienced with danger. Harry would actually be more cautious if the mist didn't get an even with him.
The guy stared at the elder wand in confusion but when sparks of his magic appeared, his face paled but his expression remained neutral.
The surrounding around them continued on as normal, unseeing of the two men with their weapons pointed at each other.
"Cut the crap, What. Do. You. Want."
Harry snarled as his flames flickered in annoyance and magic responded in a much more brutal fashion. He reigned his agitated magic because they were in a public area with civilians. A bad combination for either flames or magic.
Kawahira kept a calm expression but he could see the tinge of fear of the unknown that was his magic on the mist flame user.
But they were overwhelmed by curiosity and a spark of well-hidden desperation. They looked familiar for some reason. Something he had seen in his own eyes once when he looked at a mirror in his youth.
A person who is yearning for escape, a way out. And he is looking at Harry the way that Harry had looked at Sirius. A way out— of the Dursleys and the madness of the wizarding world.
A weird feeling settled in the wizard's stomach. He has felt a wave of pity and his saving a people thing clunked into gear. But this was unknown. Kawahira was a dangerous unknown.
Harry is a stubborn prat with self-sacrificing tendencies to help others as Hermione would put it. But he was far from an idiot, especially now that his life wasn't his own.
His actions affect his cloud now too. If he does something stupid then Skull will have to pay as well. That was something he was not going to allow.
"Just a little chat. From one firstborn descendant of Gaia to another"
Gaia is the mother of life. She was the one to give life to the earth and its inhabitants.
Hecate was the one who guided and spread magic, but Gaia was the creator.
She was the one to create the first humans. She created the wixens and the muggles.
She first created the earth and its plants and animals. Flora and Fauna.
She then created wixens and magical creatures. It was then that she created the muggles after. A less powerful and magical creature than wixens. Muggles might not be as close to magic as wixen but Gaia gifted them with fertility and luck.
This was a history long-buried that was discovered by Harry and the other curse breakers after an expedition to a temple at the ruins of ancient Greece.
Wixens can be considered human. A variety of it, older and more magical kin. The favored by the mother and Hecate.
They were human, no doubt. But at the same time not exactly the same. For once, wixens live longer. Back in the past, during the peak of magic where they still roam unhidden from the world and free to use all magic. Wixens lived about twice or thrice longer than humans. With an average lifespan of 250 years for normal wixens. A magical's lifespan is directly linked to how powerful they are.
Despite Dumbledore's old appearance, he was capable of living up to 350 years old based on his magic. Tom Riddle could live just as long. It was ironic that in the feat of trying to obtain immortality, he cut off his life shorter than an average muggle.
But because of the civil wars that kept on coming from Grindelwald to Voldemort, wixens died before even their time. With the ban on more than half of magic in Britain, their lifespan got even shorter than it was now almost to the point of only a few centuries older than muggle lifespan. Only letting wixen have a life expectancy of 137 years old.
Merlin himself lived up to more than five hundred years old. The oldest known wixen listed was Barry Wee Willie Winkle, who lived up to 755 years old. And that was because he was a half creature, and a master of soul magic. Along with his aversion to danger by living a life of peace in a hidden secluded valley somewhere that the wizarding world didn't know.
Harry had estimated that he would be able to live up to 500 or 600 years old if his Potter luck doesn't get him killed sooner. To compare to the average human lifespan now in the modern age of 76, wixens certainly differed not only in terms of magical abilities.
They were the children of Gaia, made first and favored more. That was why Harry was so sure at first that magic existed somewhere when he landed here. Gaia would not forget to create her first children.
But now Harry understood why he didn't find a trace of Gaia's blessing. They were all extinct. All except for the man in front of him. The last 'True Earthling'.
A human but not. The firstborn children of Gaia as well but not without magic like them, they had another type of magic that differed them from muggles. Long life and dying will flames that muggles could never reach.
They were both firstborn children of Gaia, but of different branches and worlds. Human but not human.
And the two of them were the last first descendants of Gaia in this world.
The wizard, brought by magic to find his path. The True Earthling, chained by the Tri-ni-sette to continue the existence of the earth.
Looking at the man before him in a new light, Harry could only utter these words.
"You're Atlas, reborn again. Aren't you?"
Kawahira smiled bitterly and answered with self-deprecation in his voice.
"It seems that I am"