Archive of Our Own

It was a cold early morning in late December, the skies an ephemeral blanket of white that promised snow for the day, carried by an icy wind. Around the apartment building, people were busy setting up decorations and preparing for the upcoming holidays in their toasty concrete cocoons, but one apartment, up on the fourth floor, was preoccupied with another celebration.

“Happy birthday toooo youuuu!”

Nine candles were blown out on the homemade apple crumble pie as three voices chorused, red eyes glinting with joy as they took in the sight.

“Look at you,” one Harry Potter cooed fondly, splitting from the two Midoriya’s to ruffle Eri’s silvery hair. “If you looked any more adorable, I’d combust like a phoenix.”

In the six years since he’d woken up in a wholly quirked, magicless world, the past three were without a doubt some of the best in his life, never mind some of the situations he’d been put in during those years.

And that was saying something, because he’d been alive for two-hundred and sixty-nine years. Well, only a hundred and fifty-seven if you skipped the hundred-and-twelve years he’d put himself in a potion-induced coma after the last of his crowd had passed on. He…had a big problem when it came to dying, or aging in general, ever since the Battle of Hogwarts, even if that hadn’t become clear until nearly two decades after the fact, when the arrival of quirks, or ‘squib magic’ as it’d been called back then in his world, was a much bigger deal to the world as a whole.

Of course, the fact that the potion had stopped working by then had been even bigger case for concern, especially when it became clear magical people as a subspecies had died out in that time, out bred by quirked people sometime in the past century, with several unexpected consequences as a result.

“Dad,” Izuku whined behind him. “You can’t keep treating her like she’s six forever.”

Harry sighed, but kept his hand loosely on Eri’s head as he turned to glance at his son’s playful grin.

Inko was smiling too, though she looked like she was about to cry. She truly was a saint, for dealing with the odd family he’d accidentally brought together with no complaint or even a hint of unease. After all, having a son who considered a man she thought of as an extremely old pseudo-teenager as his father had to be an awkward situation that didn’t show up anywhere else.

But it was one of the main reasons his life had been so great recently, despite everything. At first he’d thought he was the only wizard left, but after coincidentally traveling to Japan, he’d found out that wasn’t exactly the case. No, not at all.

Well, not that you could call the kind of magic Izuku possessed the same as his own. Magicals of his time had always channeled it into a magical focus, while Izuku’s body was itself the focus, a magical core of its own, imparted from vestigial mutations of his quirked ancestors, which had led to so many interesting things. But the most important part of it all was the closeness that training and helping him had brought them both, a bond he cherished dearly, even when things had become so busy for the two of them, far more so than they’d expected. It was honestly a miracle they had the entire week free of obligations.

“But I have to savor the cuteness before she reaches the age where I have to start scaring off devious boys,” he pouted playfully, resuming with an extra messy head ruffle that left her giggling.

And that was the other big part. When Izuku had gotten into the hero course, principal Nezu, an experimentally sapient jarvey posing as quirked, had hoodwinked him into becoming a teaching assistant for first year heroics to continue mentoring Izuku, which coincidentally had him adopt the underground pro hero persona Shinigami, after the Deathly Hallows that stubbornly stuck with him.

Eri had been the first person he’d saved as a pro, and from an awful situation too.

He finally removed his hand, uncovering the joyful eyes and slightly embarrassed smile below. Though she gently grabbed his hand before he could fully retract it.

She was a far cry from how he’d first met her, Calling a strange, reappearing soul from Beyond with the Resurrection Stone in the repurposed warehouse he called home. Back then she’d been the physically manifested shade of a malnourished, frail, gaunt little girl wearing a dirty dress and bandages, sporting dim eyes and a complete lack of her living memory. Not even her name, hence why he’d called her Little Silver at the time, after the silvery hair and singular horn reminding him of unicorn fillies.

Since finding her living body and location and single-handedly defeating the Shie Hassaikai over two years ago and taking her away, she’d shot up by several inches, and baby fat filled her previously gaunt cheeks. But most importantly, her eyes always shone and her smile was readily given to all those she loved.

“Okay,” Harry slipped out and clapped his hands together. “Enough messing around, you’ve got a lot of gifts to unpack today, you lovable young lady,” he chided as he waved his hand, the Elder Wand attached at the wrist. He happily ignored Izuku mumbling ‘you’re the one messing around’ under his breath.

“Yeah!” Izuku lit up right after as the pile came floating in. “A lot are from my classmates. Here.” He grabbed one of the presents and vanished the wrapping. “Pony-chan gave you a book that’s all about recipes with apples.”

Eri greedily beckoned for the book, a bit of drool forming in the corner of her lips.

She already had apple crumble pie right in front of her! And they’d even used Sunny Crisps for it; her favorite!

Izuku laughed as he handed it over. “I couldn’t actually find anything like this one online, so I think she compiled it herself and bound it. Apparently her father’s experienced with that.”

“Oh, and this one…” Izuku summoned a small slip of paper. “Jirō is more than happy to teach you whatever instrument you want in the new year.”

Bit of a simple gift, but it was more than enough for Eri.

“And let me guess,” Harry deadpanned as he pointed at the very much buster sword-shaped gift wrapping. “Tokoyami?”

Izuku sent a bashful shrug, under scrutiny of an unamused Inko as he summoned it and the small card attached to it.

“‘May this accursed blade slay all those unfortunate enough to cross your path in the night, young one.’ You tell me.”

Cheeky little bugger. At least Inko looked ready to reprimand him for the sass. And if heroing and magicking didn’t work out, he could get a great job in the voice acting industry.

Well, he kept using little, but Izuku was eighteen now.

“Oh, and there’s also…” Izuku cleared his throat as he read the small extra bit he’d unfolded. “‘Yass queen! Hugs and kisses, world’s most quirky hero:✰Dark Shadow✰!’”

Harry startled into a laugh. The all-in impression on that one and the vocal glitter plus peace sign that’d no doubt been drawn out was too much.

“That’s something people in my youth used to say,” Inko commented, frowning but with upturned lips.

“That’s something the youth used to say when quirks first manifested,” Harry added, still chuckling.

He shook his head, watching Izuku give a giggling Eri an adoring look.

“Hey,” Harry spoke up. “How about we leave the rest for later and get back to our regular schedule.”

Izuku nodded, before turning. “Mom?” he prompted, and Inko pulled a packet of brown paper from under the couch.

“I picked up knitting again this year,” she said, opening the packet with a soft smile. “And I think this came out pretty well.”

She pulled out a thick jumper that looked like the quintessential Christmas jumper. Patterned in red and green bands with white snowflakes, along with two brown bands near the top and bottom that were populated by side profiles of several white animals. Namely a hare, a bunny, a ram, a winged horse, and a small unicorn, one for each band, where they faced in opposite directions.

Any worries she may have had quickly evaporated from her face as Eri gasped in delight, hastily slipping the perfectly snug jumper over the oversized long-sleeved T-shirt that functioned as her nightgown this cozy morning.

Said shirt was a simple one of black cloth, with a print at the front. The print depicted a large full moon filling most of the chest area, with the pale white contrasting starkly against the black silhouette framed within, suspended in the air by large bat-like wings, and sporting two horns, white dots for eyes, and a spine-like tail dangling below. The bottom contour of the moon was broken up by the silhouettes of several arms and claws reaching upwards, giving the illusion that there was something ominous hidden in the blackness of the shirt below the chest.

Yes, it was a DIY merch shirt Tokoyami and Kuroiro had custom printed from a piece of fan-art someone had posted online, for their UA Shinigami fanclub, and Izuku had then bought it from them, mainly to tease him with it at dinner.

Harry still didn’t like the fact he had a fanclub, one with a sizable online presence by now, even if he should’ve expected it, based on what he’d done as a hero so far. Just his performance against All Might in Izuku’s first year Sports Festival had been enough to kickstart that all on its own.

Of course, this sort of backfired on Izuku, because the moment Eri saw it she all but demanded she have it, and since it was many sizes too large for her, it became her nightwear.

“How about a finishing touch?” Harry winked as Eri happily posed with her new jumper, and waved his Wand.

The knitted animals shuddered, and then began moving, traversing their bands.

Eri squealed and snuggled herself.

“Izuku, how about you next?” Harry prompted, still smiling hard.

He nodded and pulled out another brown packet. Harry didn’t actually know what he’d been working on.

“I got a lot of help for this from mom, and from Susuke,” Izuku explained as he gave it to Eri, who managed to restrain herself as she opened it up. “And the demiguises of Sanctuary donated all their shedding.”

And it immediately became clear to both Harry and Eri as she pulled out a roughly weaved, silvery cloak.

“It’s nowhere near as good as dad’s,” Izuku continued, sounding a little worried as she silently took in the hooded cloak. “It can get damaged and it’ll fade in a few years anyway, but-” He paused. “Actually, maybe Rewind can refresh the hairs?” He shook his head. “But in a few years I think you’ll need a larger one anyway, so-”

“I love it!”

Harry kept in the chuckle as Izuku was nearly tackled to the ground.

“Guess that leaves me for last, huh?” he joked, feeling a little nervous as Eri unhooked herself from Izuku, grinning at nothing as she put on the regular invisibility cloak, clasping it together at the front and experimentally pulling the hood up and then down again, fading and reappearing in quick succession with glimpses of a continually growing giddiness.

Well… “As long as you don’t use that against me and don’t put yourself or others in danger with it, you can use it however you want,” he told her.

She pulled it down again, and sent him an imploring stare as the others picked some slices of pie.

He grinned and gestured. “Go ahead.”

It had quickly become a ritual for her to ask for permission first very early on.

“Hell yeah!”

Izuku and Inko choked on apple crumble as Eri jumped in the air with raised arms.

“Hey, we warn you beforehand.” Harry pouted. Yet even after two years, others were still always surprised Eri knew almost every swear in the dictionary, thanks to her…unique childhood. Even if she didn’t understand what most of them meant, thankfully, and anyone who tried to explain would face an arse-whooping. It was sort of adorable and innocent in its own weird way.

He simply got unamused glares and chuckled it away, deciding to get back on schedule. “Anyway, I kind of switched up what I was going to give very recently, but I’m giving my original gift anyway.” He pulsed some phoenix flames and pulled out the wooden instrument. “Someone who cared about me a whole lot carved this flute for me for Christmas, back when I was eleven, and since it’s nearly that time…” he said, fiddling with it and pretending he didn’t see the significant looks from Izuku and Inko. “I know it’s not as complex as other musical instruments, and it’s not as grand or cool as the other stuff you’re getting, but it’s not like I’ve been using it, and…”

He trailed off, finally noticing the slow grabbing motion Eri was making.

A soft smile broke out as he handed her the roughly carved flute, and she put it up to her lips.

Almost predictably, not much of a sound came out at first, which almost ruined the tender mood, but then notes started coming out.

It was a pretty simple tune, not that a flute could make anything much more complicated, but it was soothing to the ear.

“I didn’t know you could play the flute,” Inko said, smiling as the last note rung out.

“Someone at UA’s music club showed me,” Eri admitted meekly, lowering the flute as she glanced at Harry.

The display was enough to ease his anxiety at what was still coming up.

“Well, I guess I need to explain some stuff before I tell you about my actual gift first, and…it’ll probably be a bit of a downer at first,” he warned.

When he got no objections, he continued.

“So, I know we’ve never addressed it much, but our current arrangement is not very robust…or all that legal,” he began awkwardly, gesturing around them. For the past two years, Eri’s life had mainly been living with him in the studio warehouse or the Midoriya apartment when they were over, or he was too busy and nobody else could watch over her, or she was with him at UA, staying in the teacher’s lounge when he was teaching, and after she’d gotten comfortable she started going to some of the club rooms to spend time there as well.

He grimaced as the mood instantly lowered. “This has worked out so far because- well, you’re a ghost in the bureaucratic system, and I’ve sort of been exercising my right as a pro to keep custody of you during exceptional situations, even if the bits where we inform the authorities have sorta been bypassed by Nezu, but we’ve kinda been stretching that beyond the boundaries of legality through procrastination.”

He shook his head. “Of course, there aren’t many satisfying solutions. Going into the system is very risky and undesirable, and having you as a ward of UA won’t give you much of a chance to have a normal life, and you don’t have any relatives available either.” Not after he discovered sufficient evidence to consider that Overhaul had sent henchmen after Eri’s mother to prevent her from ever changing her mind after originally giving her up. Just another notch in the absolute hypocrisy scale, ordering the killing of the only daughter of the man he considered a father, ‘for his own good’. What a disgusting set of words.

Overhaul had deserved the extra night of Shinigami’s ‘reaping’ in his cell.

“Well, that’s not fully true, actually… Your grandfather woke up last week.”

Eri’s head shot up, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah, I was very surprised when I got a ping for that.” He shook his head. “I hurried over and got to inform him of everything before someone could question him. He’s an honorable man, at least. And he told me he wouldn’t be able to care for you, not with his age and remaining damage to his body, or his crimes. And I think he feels like he dishonored you for what happened under his purview as well.”

And it was that talk that had made him reconsider what he’d be gifting her this year, even if the thought was making him nervous even now.

“So, we had a nice chat, and this stuff came up, and…” Harry gulped. “If you’ll let me, for your birthday I’d love to gift you with…my surname.”

Eri had stilled, wide eyes staring up at him, unblinkingly.

“Y-You mean…” she said, her quiet voice a throwback to the early days.

“Adoption?” he completed with a shaky smile. “Yeah. Roundabout way of saying it, I know, but-”

And then he was subject to the near-tackle as well.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the enthusiasm.

“S-So that- that means I’d be…”

Harry smiled, anxiety fading as he hugged her. “Eri Potter, yeah.” And he could tell Izuku almost got startled into a mood-breaking snort, because yeah, that did sound almost exactly like his own name.

“Does this even change much?” Izuku pointed out with a smile once recovered.

“She could enroll in an elementary school then, make friends her age, all the benefits of being a person in the eye of the law,” Harry pointed out, a bit miffed that, yeah, it didn’t change all too much besides the legal stuff, and it’s why, after the old man had brought it up after hearing him talk about Eri’s circumstances, he’d felt confident in giving this to her.

But as he enjoyed the squeeze-hug, anxiety slowly bubbled up again as he considered what he’d been thinking of next.

“And…there’s also another thing I was thinking about,” he offered hesitantly, Eri pulling herself out of the hug with a confused look.

“I mean- uh, this is a bit different from a regular gift too, because- well, I consider me offering the opportunity to you as the gift, and not what I’m offering you. Which means it doesn’t matter if you decide to take me up on it or not, and I’m not even sure if I can make it happen and-”

“Harry,” Inko interrupted, giving him a fond look. “You’re starting to confuse her.”

He looked back down and felt his cheeks flush.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said hastily. “What I mean is. You remember Mineta’s father, Mamoru?”

“The tiny man,” Eri answered happily, which Izuku hastily supplied with, “Because he’s a goblin.” To who he was supplying that, Harry wasn’t sure.

“So, he told me about an interesting aspect of goblin society,” he began to explain, sitting back down in his chair. “In goblin society, it’s not unexpected for a goblin child to become…an orphan.” He winced at the mood drop, but continued. “And because goblins cherish family- well, clan ties so much, they apparently developed a magical process, where an orphaned child can forge a bond of blood with an unrelated third adult, giving them what amounts to a third birth parent.” It was apparently also what they did for part-goblin descendants that wanted to be incorporated into a goblin horde, strengthening their goblin ties. “And even if the goblins kept this within their own society back in the day, it should work between humans too.”

“An adoption of blood?” Izuku questioned, sounding intrigued. “What would that…”

“It’d mean if anyone did blood tests or used a related quirk, I would show up as Eri’s father,” Harry answered, before fidgeting as he glanced back at her. “And it’d shift her appearance to a degree, making it as if I’d been one of her parents from birth.”

As nobody said anything further, Harry spoke up again, feeling the sting of anxiety. “I mean, obviously that’s a really big and invasive thing that can’t just be taken back, and I only heard of it very recently from him, and I don’t even know what the actual process entails or if it actually works for humans so I don’t want to do anything except offer to check it out if- if she- if you…y’know- and of course it doesn’t have to- I just got very curious when I heard and with the adoption stuff it was on my mind so I figured I’d put it out there and-”

“Heri?”

He stopped his nervous ramble. Only one person used that.

“Yes?” he asked warily.

“Can…Can we…” Eri fidgeted with the hem of her new jumper. “‘Check it out’?”

Harry sighed in relief mentally and smiled. “Yeah, just that, right? We can go visit Mamoru and ask him about it later today.” He glanced at the remaining pile he’d deposited in the corner and pushed his other thoughts aside. “But there’s still a bunch of other gifts here, and we have a bunch of barely touched apple crumble to gobble up.”

Izuku and Inko gave the duo a shared amused glance as he leaned in and slung an arm over her shoulder. “But after that, Heri ‘n Eri are on the case.”

This time, Izuku did startle into a snort.

“Whaddaya want?”

“Nice to see you today as well, Mamoru,” Harry deadpanned, keeping a hand on Eri’s shoulder.

It was clear when he spotted her, his eyes widening before his grimace smoothed out.

He glanced up at the freshly falling snow and scoffed.

“Get in then. I don’t need to guess what you’re here for after last time.”

Well that’d make things easier.

“So you wanna know more huh?”

Harry frowned as Mamoru flashed a classic goblin grin. Eri shied away and gripped his hand.

The inside of the shed slash forge was much warmer than outside, a nice reprieve from the icy wind.

“Yes, we do,” he answered, before adding, “But just to be informed. We don’t actually know…”

Eri gave him an odd glance as Mamoru sent him a cryptically knowing look.

“Well then,” he said, grinning again. “What you gotta keep in mind is that goblin magic ain’t like your typical wizarding stuff. You don’t prance around in a circle, recite lines about whatever you worship or think sounds poetic while you put magical substances you bought off the market in neat little boxes and let everything do the rest in fancy flashes and rushes of magic.”

He held up a crooked finger. “It’s hard, intensive, dirty, bloody work. You wanna know why this was kept beneath ground? Because above grounders would never want to put in the effort. Too lazy, too sensitive, too close-minded. It’d be decried as ‘dark magic’ by those old ministries, unnatural, and the goblins of the day woulda paid the prize.”

He huffed. “Nothing unnatural about it.”

“I see you have a strong opinion on this,” Harry said carefully, and saw the corners of Eri’s mouth twitch.

“Well, if ya bother to go through with it, maybe you’ll have one too,” Mamoru rebutted, grinning again.

With how much he was doing it, Eri was already starting to understand baring the teeth didn’t equate to aggression. It helped untense her at least.

“Since it sounds like you aren’t going to sharpen your ax at us learning of it, what would it entail?” he inquired, glancing at Eri.

Mamoru’s grin grew. “First, the parent-to-be would have to provide sufficient ancestral bones.”

Harry paled.

“Ah…I see.” Yeah, he could see most witches and wizards getting scared off and decrying it as foul from that alone.

“Scared off yet?” Mamoru taunted, flashing a far less amicable grin at them.

Eri’s grip on his arm tightened again from the seat next to him as she sent him an imploring look.

He cocked his brows and gestured.

“Fuck no!”

Yes, it was very pleasing to see Mamoru eat his own grin instantly.

“I take it you’re not saying anything else about the process unless we start?” he asked innocently as Mamoru continued to choke on spit.

He sent a mostly harmless stink eye at them, confirming his suspicion.

Harry sighed, slumping back in the somewhat uncomfortable seat. Well, he couldn’t just-

“Heri?” He got a tug on his sleeve.

He questioningly met Eri’s eyes.

“I’ve never been to Britain before.”

Harry took in her meek expression, glancing down at her lap instead of meeting his eyes.

“Well, I haven’t been there in a while myself,” he began, watching her light up. “And Izuku hasn’t seen Hogwarts in the winter yet either. And we both have this week off.”

A giddy Eri pulled him up from his chair by the hand, and they moved for the door to depart.

“Wait,” Mamoru choked out, giving them pause. “If you return with those bones, better do it right before sunset, and just the two of you.”

Harry took in the crooked finger pointing at them and sent him a polite nod, before departing for the Midoriya apartment.

Hopefully Inko wouldn’t mind her son taking a brief trip to Britain for the day. Regardless of everything else, it’d be another nice birthday present for Eri at least.

“I can’t believe Elizabeth’s still a popular name here,” Harry grumbled as the trio walked away from the helpful teenage girl. “That was common in my youth. Seriously, did everything just freeze when quirks popped up?”

After portkeying to Hogwarts in the evening- and yes, quirked people like Eri could hold on to a portkey just fine- and giving a quick tour of the castle to a wide-eyed Eri, they’d holed up in the refurbished Gryffindor common room to sleep for the night- well, morning, because time zones, but because they wouldn’t stick around for much longer than a day or so, and because Eri having a quirk interfered with direct spells or potions that could induce sleep, they didn’t feel like adjusting on the way there and then back again.

So they all woke up in the afternoon, which they spent flying to London thanks to Harry’s thestral speed. It’d be pretty awkward with only a half-shift, but he’d gotten the full shift down, albeit on accident, a long time ago, during what he considered one of his proudest moments so far in this age, when he made Eri laugh for the first time, and a full-on thestral could easily carry two people.

As the sun fell they had some classic English dinner and flew out to West Country, where the remnants of Godric’s Hollow awaited them, bathed in snow and darkness.

“Actually, yeah,” Izuku answered, holding Eri’s hand while her other was held by Harry- Well, her holding their hands was more accurate. His original prediction of her becoming very touchy-feely had proven to be very correct. “We would’ve had interstellar travel by now if tech and science hadn’t suffered from the Dawn of Quirks collapse. And now those have been mostly focused on quirk-related fields.”

Harry frowned. While he’d been alive and awake for the entirety of the Dawn of Quirks, his mostly isolated nature after discovering his immortality, plus the natural separation of the wizarding world, had left him somewhat unaware of the Dawn.

If only the wizarding world had put any focus on non-magical sciences. Then they’d have been able to make up for all the muggle stuff that’d been lost.

“And the current reigning queen here is Elizabeth the Sixth, so that might be it too,” Izuku added with a shrug as he pocketed his phone before too much snow could fall on the screen.

“I’m just surprised Godric’s Hollow still looks so similar to what I remember.” It had been a surprise after arriving, another wave of snow beginning to fall from the sky. What used to be the non-magical part of town had expanded, merging with a new city that’d popped up nearby, but the mostly magical side had shown little modernization or rebuilding, even looking ruined and abandoned.

“Apparently there was a- uh, villain attack here about a century ago,” Izuku answered, patting his pocketed phone with his free hand. “Residents just gave up and moved to the nearby city, and nobody bothered with rebuilding, so it’s left like this.”

Wouldn’t be a surprise if that villain attack was one of the last magicals doing something stupid, or some wannabe final dark lord, especially with that timing.

They entered another street, and Harry came to a standstill.

This was the one. He could still see the pedestal where the old war monument slash Potter family memorial statue had stood, even if what had happened here had destroyed it completely.

And bordering that street was…

“You don’t have to follow after me,” he said as he slipped his hand from Eri’s, moving towards the cemetery. “Just walk around for a bit.”

He almost felt…morosely entranced as he trudged through the cemetery gate, eyes roaming the sea of gravestones, the ruins of St. Jerome’s church overlooking it all nearby.

With the time of year, and night having fallen, and the snowfall, if you discarded the ruins in the background…it was like he was right back there, two-hundred and fifty-two years ago, like a moment that’d been frozen in time ever since. He even-

He swished his Wand, his forty-year-old self shimmering away. He even looked mostly the same, just without Hermione there next to him.

He glanced backwards, spotting Izuku and Eri standing near the cemetery entrance. With a shake of his head he moved on, his feet still remembering where to lead him.

And so here he stood now.

“Hi mum, dad,” he croaked out, staring at the weathered gravestone, still holding the same inscription, albeit faded.

He waved his Wand, refreshing the stone, and stared down at the dirt before it.

“I’m sorry I haven’t visited…in a long time. I know I could just- But I’ve always been reluctant to use it, I guess. Especially with…” he began, feeling the Stone press against his chest under his coat. “And somehow, standing here just feels different.”

He breathed in, cool air mixed with the scent of moss and dirt.

“A lot has happened since I last came here. So much has happened. Izuku and Eri would probably turn into snowmen if I tried to tell you all of it.” He chuckled weakly, rubbing his arm.

“And I guess that’s- that’s really the only thing worth talking about,” he concluded. “They’re the best things that have happened to me, ever since Luna, and at a time where I honestly thought I’d never be that lucky again. Izuku’s like the son I’ve always wanted, and he cares about me so much, and Eri sees me as her personal hero. Having them both in my life, I actually feel like I can breathe and just…live in the now, no matter what else has been thrown at me.”

He let in a shaky breath. “But I still can’t help but feel worried for the future, for when I inevitably have to say goodbye again. I know that’s a long while away, and right now it feels like I have all the time in the world…but I made that mistake once before already.”

“The reason I finally got off my arse and came here though is…I was told of what amounts to an adoption by blood; not something witches and wizards had access to, I don’t think. And I’d need something from here,” he explained quietly. “But I’m not even sure if I should- if I can…”

He let himself trail off, shakily blowing out a puff of vapor. “I feel so selfish. Here’s this little girl who adores me and thinks the world of me, who’s ready to call me dad and take on my name in a heartbeat, and a part of me just- It just really wants-”

Harry averted his stinging eyes, staring at a patch of ground near his shoes.

“I guess, ever since I found out I couldn’t with- with Ginny, I’ve always wanted to have a child of my own, a real child, where I can look down at them and think ‘yes, that’s my kid’. And- And I hate how that makes me sound right now. So ungrateful and selfish when I should just- when I-”

“Heri?”

He jolted, turning to find Eri standing a few feet away from him, Izuku keeping a hand on her shoulder from behind as they both stared at him.

“I thought a lone man standing before a gravestone meant private time?” he quipped weakly, lacking the energy to make it work.

“Do you think I’m selfish?” she asked suddenly.

“Eri…?” he trailed off.

She sniffed. “I really want you as my dad, a-and as my birth dad too. But can I, if I’m the reason my original dad is gone?”

Harry’s heart sank. “No, no! Not at all!” He moved to her, away from the gravestone. “That was something you had no control over. You- You shouldn’t ever have to feel ashamed for wanting…”

He trailed off at his own words, and Izuku sent him a knowing look from behind.

“That’s how you sound right now, dad,” he said with a satisfied expression. Eri was smiling too, but it was dimmed by something else, betraying the truth behind her words.

Harry’s face sagged. “I guess my attitude towards this whole thing isn’t helping anyone, is it?”

Eri sniffled, and so he crouched down, opening his arms.

There was no hesitation between then and Eri entering his embrace.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like this is something to feel apprehensive or ashamed over.”

Her head shifted in his hold as she nodded.

“I think it’s best I stop pussyfooting around then,” Harry concluded with a self-deprecating smile.

He shifted his arms until Eri leaned back, staring up at him.

“Do you want this?” he asked her. “Because either way, once those papers are signed and filed, you’ll be my kid, by name and by law. No matter what.”

She sent a fragile smile back. “I want this, dad.”

He choked up. That was the first time she’d ever-

She hugged him more tightly, face pressing into his chest again, and he returned it, shielding her from the cold wind.

He was just glad those two were around to smack him in the head when he started thinking too much by himself.

And between the sound of the wind and the short breaths of the trio, a soft rustling sound could be heard nearby.

Harry pulled back, turning his head to the side.

There, on the patch of dirt before the gravestone, dirt shifted gently, two bits of white slowly revealing themselves from underneath as they were pushed up, coming to rest on top.

There’d been no ripples to indicate himself or Izuku having used magic for anything…

“Ah…” he said, not having words for what he was seeing beyond a surprisingly warm pulse from the typically cold Stone on his chest.

And then, more rustling could be heard from other directions.

As he stood up, he could see bits of bone gently rising up from the dirt across the graveyard. The only Potters here were his parents, but that didn’t mean the ancestors whose lines married into the Potter line weren’t buried here as well.

And near the back of the cemetery, bordering a crypt, the grave of Ignotus Peverell presented one as well.

Harry let out a shaky breath, feeling the Stone pulse warmly again as he took in the cemetery.

“I…I think that’ll be plenty, you lot.”

“Back just in time, then?” Mamoru observed from the door of the stone shed, lips pulled back in the goblin version of a smug grin. “Got everything in place just now.”

After the graveyard, the trio had flown back to Hogwarts via Thestral Airlines, spending the rest of Britain’s night at Hogwarts, having fun, before portkeying back to Japan, dropping Izuku off at the Midoriya apartment before heading straight here, the sun setting behind them.

Harry- pardon the pun- felt bone-tired after today, and Eri did too, based on how she swayed after landing. He just hoped they wouldn’t be asked to do too much before getting the chance to sleep back at home.

The duo followed Mamoru into the stone shed, where the sleepiness was chased off by the sight that awaited within.

The small forge that had occupied the back corner of the was significantly bigger. Harry hadn’t actually paid much attention to it before, but had all those small pipes and widgets been there already?

“The bones.” Mamoru gestured at him, his voice leaving no room for anything else.

With slight trepidation, Harry eyed Eri before pulsing phoenix flames as he swept his Wand, the bones he’d been offered falling through and levitating above the ground.

Harry was a little satisfied to see Mamoru’s eyebrows rise at the sight of the varying bones.

To be fair, quite a few of these bones would normally have completely dissolved centuries ago, but since general wards only faded less than a century ago, these were mostly well-preserved.

After inspecting one of them, running his finger over the floating bone with a contemplative look, the shark-like grin returned as he turned to the forge and opened up a deep tray compartment on the side, one that looked like a miniature excavator bucket.

“Put them in here, manually.”

Feeling a little bothered, Harry gently deposited the dozen or so pieces inside the compartment, unable to see the inside of the forge through it.

Staring at the pile of…he couldn’t call it desecrated, not with how he’d gotten them- he startled when Mamoru shut the compartment with a loud clang.

He turned to see Mamoru dust off his hands. “And now…”

“Now ya go home,” he grinned. “The two of you better get back here just before sunrise, and only the two of you.”

That was a pleasant surprise. And also the whole ‘only you two’ stuff again.

“Now scram!” Mamoru barked, putting on what looked like protective goggles. “I’m in for a busy night.”

The whole night?

Not wanting to upset or distract a goblin, Harry gestured at Eri, and together they headed out, both left with lingering confusion at what was going on.

A part of Harry wanted to call all this bogus, but the moment at the cemetery…

Wings sprouted from Harry as he let Eri climb onto his back, and the two took off, disappearing in a flurry of falling snow.

It was a bright morning with clear skies, the eastern night sky slowly turning light blue as the duo once more returned to the lawn behind the Mineta household.

For some reason, Harry had a feeling today wouldn’t be like yesterday.

Surprisingly, despite the thick heavy stone making up the walls of the large shed, it was easy to see the forge had been running for a whole night, and at worryingly high temperatures too. The blanket of snow had a large circular patch missing around one corner of the shed, exposing the grass below.

“You ready?”

He looked down, and Eri answered with hugging his arm, a smile on her lips.

At the door, Harry hesitated. Had they been told to enter or to just arrive at the right-

The dilemma was cut short when the door shot open before him, right as the golden rays of the sun crept past the horizon.

“Good,” Mamoru said, inspecting the two. “Woulda ruined a whole night if you’d been slow,” he grumbled as he headed back in, leaving the door open.

Inside, the previously inert forge was active, to an intense degree. Some pipes running into the floor rattled, and even from here Harry could feel heat radiating outward from the large black stone construct.

“Don’t trip,” Mamoru said idly as he walked to the forge.

The both of them looked down on instinct, and just on time too, as Harry’s foot had nearly caught on the lip of a small rectangular basin carved into the stone floor, its walls extending up enough to be a tripping hazard.

“Since you asked us to be here, what do you need us to do?” he asked, taking an inquisitive peek at the steaming forge.

“A whole lot,” Mamoru said as he came to a stop at a metallic, circular hatch at the front that looked as heavy as he was. He grinned. “I warned ya, didn’t I? But not yet.”

His eyes shifted from him to Eri, and lost some heat. “Come over here, little one.” He beckoned, the typical snappy undercurrent missing.

She slipped away from Harry, her shoulders slightly tensed as she stopped a foot away from the diminutive figure.

Mamoru grinned at her as he grabbed the hatch’s handlebar at the bottom and heaved it open, pulling it up.

Immediately a wave of heat escaped and blasted into the room, making Harry’s eyes water behind his glasses.

Despite the suddenly blurry sight, he wouldn’t have been able to spot anything beyond the now opened hatch anyway. The space inside was filled with a blinding light, and the air shimmered noticeably.

As Eri peered in herself, eyes affixed to the inside, Mamoru spoke up again.

“What you need to do is take out that hunk of mineral inside, barehanded.”

Startled out of his own daze, Harry took an alarmed step forwards, flexing his wrist to call his Wand.

“Excuse me?” Even with her quirk capable of possibly healing that kind of damage, the heat in there had to be to such a degree her hands would melt around whatever she’d be holding!

Mamoru barely reacted to the near-shouted demand, simply turning to him with a scowl.

“You heard me,” he growled. “If you don’t want to ruin my night of work, you’ll have to trust the process…” His hand moved to point at Eri. “And you gotta trust her to do the same and stay unhurt. If ya do, no harm will come to anyone. That’s a promise.”

Harry’s feet didn’t take another step, and he sent a worried look at Eri.

She sent one back, but then she glanced at Mamoru, and it faded into a determined frown, the closest she usually got to a scowl.

She nodded and stepped before the opening, her hair blowing back from the scorching heat still pouring out. Harry held himself back from stepping forward or grabbing his Wand, and clenched his hands until his knuckles went white as she plunged her arms in the infernal interior, undaunted.

Harry almost took the Wand then, feet feeling stuck to the ground, and could do nothing but watch from the sidelines as she leaned in further, to the point her head went past the circular frame, her hair billowing as it was blown back even more.

And then, a heart-stopping few moments later, she pulled back out, her arms trembling as she pulled out a white-hot chunk of something.

But his focus was on her arms and hands instead, and he couldn’t help but exhale audibly when they were completely fine, beyond the old, thin surgical scars.

Only then did his eyes move to what she was holding. It was a miracle he could’ve focused on anything else, based on the blinding light it was emanating from the sheer heat alone. Just by itself, its presence heated up the shed by several degrees.

Its shape was near impossible to make out as well, beyond the fact it was big enough for Eri to have to hold it with both hands, nearly as wide as her chest.

Basked in the light, Mamoru grinned wildly as he shut the hatch with a clang, the interior of the forge being cut off not diminishing the heat in the shed whatsoever.

“Now you walk over there,” he told her, pointing at the basin Harry had nearly tripped on.

She did, the tremble in her arms and legs fading as she came to a stop and stared up at Harry.

“Hold it out like this.” Mamoru’s hand came in to guide her hands, extending them as much as possible until it was held out right above the basin.

He turned to Harry. “As for you…”

Harry’s eyes followed Mamoru as he moved to his workbench, where a large stone hammer he hadn’t seen before lay, and heaved it off, before unexpectedly throwing it at him.

His age-old seeker reflexes refused to fail him even now, just barely allowing him to catch the thing in his arms, nearly making him topple over from the unexpected weight.

Nearby, Eri giggled, and Harry sent her a pout as he steadied himself, sending a questioning glance at Mamoru.

If this was like smithing…

“Now you stand like this,” Mamoru said, already having reached him and guiding him by his feet until he stood facing Eri across the basin. “And ya strike that chunk of mineral with as much strength as you got.”

“With her holding it?” Harry asked him incredulously, inspecting the white-hot amorphous chunk being presented to him by her.

“Unless your aim is so terrible that songs will be sung about it under Kyoto, she’ll be fine,” Mamoru grumbled, not pleased with the constant questions whatsoever. “And every ounce of strength you throw at it will get absorbed.” His face went back to the usual grin. “So you better make every strike count, until I say you’re done.”

Like some kind of shock absorption? Harry felt a melancholic smile pull on his lips. That reminded him of the Sword of Gryffindor.

Well, that was goblin-made silver, and wouldn’t this be goblin-forged…something too?

Though it did make him question how this related to their original goal for coming here.

Experimentally shifting the large yet simple hammer in his two-handed grip, Harry steadied his hands and raised it above his head, meeting Eri’s eyes.

Her crimson eyes showed nothing but a firm determination. Maybe it was time he began to follow her lead.

The hammer swung down with as much strength as he could muster, an audible swooping sound coming from the displaced air before a deafening CLANG overshadowed it, a spark crackling between the hammer and the glowing glob.

He lifted the hammer, and was relieved to see Eri standing there with awe seeping into her resolute eyes, not even a hint of having been affected.

Feeling the last dredge of hesitation leave, he heaved the hammer up again. With the challenging look on Mamoru’s eyes from the side, he wasn’t going to let that little bugger come out of this with any satisfaction at having bested him.

CLANG

CLANG

Harry had stopped counting at some point, his mind more occupied with the aches in his muscles.

CLANG

It had become a strange sort of ritual by now.

CLANG

Heave the hammer up, steadying his arms to avoid getting his head conked in, and slamming the hammer down with all the force he could muster.

CLANG

Somehow, his strikes hadn’t diminished in ferocity since he began.

CLANG

A small part of him was even sure they’d managed to get more intense.

CLANG

The sheer monotony of it had left him in a strangely serendipitous state of mind, the only thing available to his senses the reliable motion of his arms with the shifting weight of the hammer, the determination he felt to make every hit count, the constant loud clang, and the spark that pulsed the brightness of whatever it was he was hammering.

CLANG

He didn’t actually think straight-up hammering something was how you typically forged or shaped something, but…

CLANG

He wasn’t going to question-

“You’re done.”

Harry paused, the hammer still hovering over the glowing object. Somehow, he’d already stopped before he’d been told. Otherwise the hammer would already be lifted above his head.

“And you, lower it into the basin,” Mamoru continued, now addressing Eri.

The hammer dropped to the ground as Harry stepped back, his arms finally giving out.

Almost every muscle in his body felt sore, and he could tell he’d feel it come tomorrow.

Harry took it in as Eri lowered the still white-hot object, her arms trembling strongly.

Despite only having hammered at it with little direction, the previously amorphous blob had taken on a very particular, pointed polyhedral shape, one that niggled at his mind as it disappeared below the lips of the basin.

The moment Eri let go and pulled her arms up again, she fell on her butt, arms limp and trembling.

Harry was by her side immediately, on his knees and running his hand over her arm.

“You said she wouldn’t feel anything,” he accused, glaring in Mamoru’s direction.

He simply shrugged.

“I said she wouldn’t feel your strikes. But holding up a heavy thing like that for almost ten hours ain’t exactly a cakewalk.”

Harry let go of her arm as he did a double-take. Ten hours?!

He rolled up his sleeve, paling as he looked at the time. Just over half past four in the afternoon, nearly sunset today.

“Good thing she doesn’t have anything else to do except watch,” Mamoru continued. “One more thing left. Just enough time left before sunset.”

…had the amount of strikes even mattered, or had it been about the length of time?

“What is it I need to do?” he asked suspiciously, his hands moving to massage Eri’s shoulders.

Mamoru stared at the both of them, his expression somewhat reluctant. “Something that ain’t all too pretty to watch, but she ain’t leaving yet.”

“What is it?” Harry repeated with narrowed eyes.

“You-” a gnarled finger jabbed in his direction. “Are going to hold your arm over that basin, and you will quench what you’ve forged today…” His lips twisted into a grin. “In your blood.”

Harry blinked, the words heard but not fully registering. He glanced into the basin, where the shaped workpiece remained too bright to make up any details.

“How much blood do you goblins expect others can lose?” he asked faintly. That was quite a volume to fill to submerge it.

The grin widened further. “Just about enough to survive, if ya don’t spill any.”

Rather than the basin, Harry’s eyes fell to Eri, who was sending him a frightened look.

She’d never fully gotten over her fear of bloodshed.

But after everything she had already done, the shaking, limp, unbearably hot to the touch arms enough proof of that, stopping here would be doing her a disservice.

“Hey,” he said quietly as he cupped her cheek. “You know this can’t do me in, right? After all, no matter what happens to me-”

“You’ll always be seventeen,” she finished, leaning into him. If her arms could move, she’d be hugging him. So instead he hugged her for her, squeezing her before leaning back and standing up with a soft grin.

He held out a hand to Mamoru, who offered him an incredibly sharp dagger, and moved to the other side of the basin again, his wrist in view of the others as he held it over the object.

Even after nearly ten hours, and from this distance, he could still feel the heat dancing up past his skin.

Mamoru was grinning at him, and he gave Eri one more glance.

She sent him a shaky smile, not averting her eyes, and he figured that would have to do.

His eyes unwavering, he pulled the blade back, and as if it had been waiting for this very moment, red eagerly came gushing out his wrist, like a waterfall.

It was morbidly mesmerizing to watch. The lifeblood spilling out and over the white-hot mineral below, sizzling and spitting as it made contact, blocked his view of her.

The sight gave his mind finally time to think back on it all.

Even if he hadn’t gotten over his prejudice and hadn’t trusted Mamoru at his word, the past twenty-four hours would’ve had him convinced either way by this point.

Despite being completely different from the very few rituals he’d witnessed witches and wizards carry out, every part of this screamed ritual at him, and an old one at that.

The Parent obtaining their ancestors’ bones, the closest you could come to asking for permission to add someone not of their blood to their line. And maybe his own unique state had made that just the slightest bit more magical than normal.

The Forger spending an entire night, from sunset to sunrise, cremating the bones into a mixture of carbon ash and minerals and whatever else he’d added and done, something that no doubt would remain completely secret to non-goblins, even if the rest of this was being shared with them.

The Child plunging their hands into something that could easily maim or kill them otherwise, if not for their trust in what was happening, and for the Parent to stand witness and trust the Child to accomplish it unharmed and on their own.

The Child holding out the compressed mineral and carbon…a diamond? And the Parent putting in all the strength they could muster, unyielding from sunrise to near sunset, while the Child held it steady, witnessing but never feeling the force being put into it.

And now the Child watching the Parent willing to risk their life to finish what they’d started together, right as sunset arrived, selflessly pouring their lifeblood for their sake, and their sake alone, risking near-death by exsanguination for them.

Knowing what they were doing this for, it all felt incredibly meaningful.

As his thoughts petered out, Harry thought he could almost hear a warm warbling and a stone-cold hissing coming from the basin, slowly becoming more audible from under the sizzling and spitting of the blood splashing against white-hot mineral. Though it could easily be confused as an auditory hallucination from a quickening lack of blood.

Huh, he wondered if his…unique blood would have any influence on the process.

Harry swayed on his feet, the extreme dizziness finally becoming noticeable. The Wand trembled against his wrist, eager and almost demanding to fix him up, even if it was fully capable of fixing him up if he left his not-so-mortal coil.

“Done.”

At the grumbled word, Harry let the Wand do what it wanted to do, the waterfall abruptly cutting off as his wrist knitted together.

Down below, the basin was filled to the brim, the shaped mineral now silent under the blood.

He swayed and finally mimicked Eri, falling flat on his arse. He probably should’ve blacked out much earlier than this, but determination had kept him conscious. And thankfully he could almost feel more blood spilling into his veins, courtesy of the Wand.

Sometimes it was infuriating, knowing the Wand knew and could perform every possible act of magic, but only did it when nothing less than that would suffice for its Master. And even then it obviously couldn’t stop and instruct its Master on how to do it himself.

Replenishing blood internally could only be accomplished with a potion, like many other things. And even though it’d been a widely believed hypothesis back in the day that any potion effect had a spell equivalent, spell-crafting was esoteric and mysterious enough that nobody had ever figured out the majority of them. And of course here was the Elder Wand effortlessly pulling it off.

This time it was Eri who came over, embracing him with still hot arms.

Harry feebly raised a hand, unable to resist the urge to pet her hair as she squeezed him.

He selfishly hoped she wouldn’t ever become embarrassed about being so openly affectionate once she hit puberty.

“How do you expect anyone to finish this up afterwards?” he choked out at Mamoru, who’d been staring at the basin the whole time.

He snapped out of it, grinning at them.

“This needs twenty-four hours to bathe and cool down for use, so that’s how.” His grin shifted into the closest a goblin’s face could become to a human smile. “Go home, recuperate. You’re done here. The rest is practically a formality.”

Harry nodded, standing back up with a stumble, one that got him the hasty support of Eri, and with a soft smile sent down at her he let her grab his hand.

As they walked out, Mamoru spoke up one more time.

“Oh, and by the way.” He sent them a strange look. “With all the magic and exertion you went through today, don’t be surprised if something happens before you come back at sunset tomorrow.”

The duo sent him a questioning glance, but he was already back to fussing around his forge, and so they left, returning straight to home.

It hadn’t been a surprise when, after entering the warehouse, the both of them succumbed to sleep the moment they touched the couch after he’d transfigured it, not bothering to head for their beds. The warehouse had two neighboring bedrooms nowadays, where before it’d just been the living area and the training area in the back, with him turning the couch into a bed-hybrid to sleep on for the night. After Eri had joined him he’d decided to shrink the training area further, putting up the two additional rooms.

He knew very well there was a perfectly fine room available to him, including an adjacent one over in the teacher’s dormitory at UA, but the two of them were strongly attached to the warehouse.

…and they both just really enjoyed the extra excuse to fly around, him by his wings and her on his back.

But after this whole day, it’d probably be the deepest sleep Harry would ever experience.

If not for the sudden Call jolting him awake in the middle of the night.

He sat up, fuzzy thoughts honing in on the odd feeling, when-

When he recognized the familiarity he shot up, eyes darting to Eri’s sleeping form next to him on the widened couch-bed hybrid.

He gently checked her wrist, and breathed out at the feeling of a soft pulse. Well, the soft breathing could’ve clued him in too.

But then how…

Understanding flashed through him as he recalled Mamoru’s cryptic words.

Slowly getting off the bed-couch, making sure not to disturb Eri, he moved away from the couch and sat down on his knees before the old scrying mirror, the Stone still pulsing expectantly.

Harry fished out the Resurrection Stone, palming it, and finally Called.

And then, as impossible as it should’ve been, before him, Little Silver appeared, exactly where she’d last stood well over two years ago.

Despite the passage of time, she still looked six, wearing the old jumper depicting unicorns in space and the pink fluffy tights, and she was still smiling softly.

“Hi,” she greeted quietly.

“Hey,” he croaked back. “It’s been…quite a while.”

She looked at him, confused, no doubt because he never bothered to age up his adult appearance much. He wondered if she even had a sense of time when she didn’t exist, just being Eri and alive.

“I missed you a lot,” he admitted. It was only with her standing before him again that the grief he’d felt at the realization that rescuing Eri meant he’d never see Little Silver again returned, with their sets of memories separated as they were. “But after last time, there was never really a chance to see you again.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, cocking her head.

Harry smiled, and stood up, holding out his hand.

“I think it’s best I show you,” he said warmly.

Taking his hand, Little Silver was led to the couch, and Harry watched her eyes widen in a subdued kind of double-take as she came around and saw her older counterpart sleeping there.

“Pretty weird, isn’t it?” he half-joked, half-observed, glancing between the two silver-haired girls.

“That’s…me?” Little Silver asked, hand subconsciously reaching out. “I…look older.”

“Well, that’s what two-and-a-half years will do to a growing girl,” Harry answered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around, staring at him with still wide eyes.

“Yeah, it’s been quite a while,” he repeated. “After our last time, I did what I said I’d do. I found where you went to, and got you out. You’ve been living with me ever since.”

She stared back at her counterpart. “You- You really did…”

“You know, I kind of lied to you- her,” Harry admitted quietly. “I knew exactly what was making these meetings happen.”

He watched her stare questioningly at him, and pulled the Stone out from under his jumper.

“With this, I can summon the souls of- of dead people, back to the world of the living,” he explained, seeing her eyes flash in realization. “I knew immediately something was wrong with where you were. Every time I could bring you here, you’d died moments earlier. But somehow your body was alive again shortly after, and eventually you were pulled back into it.”

He shook his head, staring at the sleeping Eri. “I told her- and you, that this was like dreaming, that it happened while you slept, simply because I eventually saw that you returned to your living body while you were sleeping. I didn’t want you, either of you, to know that the reason you came here was because every single time-”

“I died,” she finished solemnly.

Harry gave her a sad look. “I guess it’s kinda ironic. This time it really is just you dreaming, it seems. But I’m still sorry for doing it.” Along with a heaping of whatever ancient magic they’d been using all of today…yesterday? It was the witching hour right now. Appropriate.

“This better not be a prelude to you developing astral projection, young lady,” he chided, wagging his finger at Little Silver.

She looked down, but was unable to hide the quiet giggles he’d caused.

Huh…Little Silver had never giggled before.

It was weirdly enlightening, seeing the two in the same reference frame now. Back then, the last time he’d Called her, Little Silver had been so much more uplifting to see, more filled with joy and hope and with a more open heart, all without the burden of her past and present, compared to seeing Eri through the mirror and then in his care for those first few days.

Yet now, with the higher baseline, it was the exact opposite situation. It was an amazing feeling, seeing how much further Eri had been able to grow and open up in those two-and-a-half years.

“So…you really did it,” Little Silver said meekly. “The apples, and sweets, and stories…”

“And so much more,” Harry affirmed, smiling back. “I can tell you all about it, if you want.” Because he doubted she’d ever return after this, and she didn’t have Eri’s memories.

He glanced at Eri, still sleeping soundly. “I think we have a lot more time tonight than we used to.”

And that’s how the rest of the night was spent regaling the past two-and-a-half years to her, leaving out some of the tenser bits. And yes, that included what he and Eri were doing right before this.

But of course, eventually, time was up, and the both of them were taken out of storytelling time when Eri roused in her sleep.

“I still almost can’t believe that’s me,” Little Silver whispered, standing up and staring down at herself.

“I can.” Harry stared back at her. “And you know what’s the most amazing? Without you, Little Silver, I’d never have known about this. Without your cooperation, I’d never have been able to get her- you out.” He smiled warmly. “Without you this never would’ve happened. I may have helped save you, but really, you saved yourself.”

She smiled back at him, her eyes turning wet, and she reached out with her hand again, ghosting over her sleeping self’s rising and falling chest.

Her form flickered, and Harry closed his eyes.

“Goodbye, Little Silver,” he squeezed out.

This night had been both a blessing and real cruelty, making him go through this moment again.

“Heri…?”

His eyes shot open again. He’d never told her-

Before him, Little Silver’s form stopped flickering, and this time he really was seeing double.

Still touching her sleeping body, Little Silver now looked exactly like her counterpart, wearing Inko’s animated Christmas jumper, and was beaming back at him, tears in her eyes.

“See you soon, Heri,” she said warmly, fading away with a teary smile.

On the bed-couch, Eri roused in her sleep again, rolling over and snuggling her pillow with a smile.

Harry watched for a few more seconds, before dazedly sitting down on the unoccupied part of the couch. What had just…

And that’s how he remained, before eventually the sky began to lighten through the windows, the sun readying itself to rise, and Harry was jolted awake when he heard Eri wake up next to him.

Had he fallen asleep? Or had he dreamt the whole thing? He was still sitting up in the same position as before, but…

On the other end, Eri sat up, rubbing sleep out of her eyes, before noticing Harry sitting near her feet.

“Heri?”

“Good morning, Eri.”

She smiled, before it faded again.

“…I remember.”

He jolted at the whisper. “Remember what?”

“Between- Between the Chair and waking up.” She brought her knees up, staring at him. “I remember Overhaul- and after he took me apart…I came here, every time.”

Harry had the breath taken from him. He almost didn’t want to believe-

“You called me Little Silver,” she admitted, though her questioning tone made it sound like she was hesitant to believe it too, beyond it being a strange dream.

And yet he’d never called her by that name, ever. It’d been one reserved for someone he thought would forever remain separate, and wouldn’t return while Eri was alive.

“Yeah, it’s true,” Harry confirmed, a smile pulling on his cheeks. “I did.”

She lowered her knees, staring at him with an odd, teary look.

“I really did help save myself.”

And as tears welled up, she pulled him into a hug, before he could even try to apologize for his white lie.

Although he already had, hadn’t he? Just a few hours ago.

He’d never even asked for it. He’d come to terms with it being impossible. And yet, Little Silver really wasn’t going to disappear anymore. Just as much a part of Eri.

“Hey,” he said eventually, voice croaky. “We have a lot of daylight to spend today before we need to go back, and 3-A and B are organizing Christmas parties at the dorms. Want to join?”

She pulled back at the suggestion and beamed at him.

“How’d you like my gift?”

Eri beamed back at Tsunotori.

“I love it! But…” She looked down with a bashful expression. “I’ve been very busy, and I don’t know what to pick. They all sound so tasty!”

The class laughed at her enthusiastic despair while Harry watched in amusement, happy to be a fly on the wall for this.

“And the sword is great too!” she turned to Tokoyami. “I’ll be just like Shinigami.”

Harry felt his cheeks heat. While it’d never been a surprise, him being her favorite still warmed his heart.

Of course, at the mention, a certain sapient shadow bird came popping out, and Eri grinned.

“Oh, and Izu can do an amazing im-”

“Let’s not talk about that, Eri-chan,” Izuku rushed out, his neck flushing, and Eri giggled as Ashido and Hagakure sent him intrigued glances.

Too late, Izuku; just delayed.

“And…what’d you think of mine?” Jirō asked, sitting a couch away.

Of course, Eri took in the hesitant tone and beamed at her. “It’s great! I even have an instrument I like to play, and-”

She reached under her jumper, where she’d been keeping the flute Hagrid had carved for him, except she’d attached a string at one end to hang it around her neck with. But in that moment the television in the corner switched channels, the fireplace video and Christmas music changing to a video feed.

“Hello, 3-A!” Nezu greeted. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Principal, isn’t this a serious breach of privacy?” Iida demanded to know immediately.

A furry paw waved the concern away. “Oh, the feed can’t be blackened when the channel’s open.” His beady eyes moved to Harry. “Potter-kun, I have everything present and ready here. You can come up to my office whenever you want and finalize things. I’ll be here or at the teacher’s dorms later on for the rest of the night. Merry Christmas!”

The screen switched back to the fireplace, and despite the confusion among 3-A, three people were smiling widely.

“You coming?” Harry asked, and Eri came running to him.

Now the class’s confusion, sans Izuku, was aimed at them, and he smiled.

“No worries. We’ll be back before the night’s over,” he said cryptically. “We have a quick errand or two to run.”

They shared a look, and turned around.

“Sensei!” someone called, and Harry turned around.

“Yes?”

“Tell dad I said hi,” Mineta called.

Well, if he’d been home or talked to Mamoru, he’d have heard or seen at least something.

Harry flashed a thumbs up and headed for the main doors again.

Of course, for some reason the world wanted to delay them more, as at that moment Monoma came in through said doors, carrying boxes of food with Shōji, whose quirk was especially useful.

“Oh? Leaving so soon, teach?” he asked. “Perhaps you’re going to grace our unfortunate sister class with your presence?”

While he was never too bothered, now really wasn’t the time to entertain him.

He and Eri shared a look as they sidled past them, though Monoma was already in the swing of things, his copy of Shōji’s quirk setting down the many boxes, each with their own theatrical flair.

“Oh, how cruel, to remind them of how our amazing teacher and adorable class mascot will forever be out of their grasp, left to lead their sad, lonely little lives upon graduation!”

Sounded a bit like self-projection there, kiddo.

Eri looked up at him, pleading, and he gestured with his head.

And so, sporting eyes brimming with innocence and an angelic smile, Eri looked over her shoulder and cheerfully shouted, “Shut the fuck up, asshole!”

Yes, it was hilarious to see Monoma somehow conk himself out, as if chopped in the neck by Hagakure, accompanied by a symphony of chokes and spit takes coming from the living area.

Sharing mischievous grins, Eri climbed onto Harry’s back as he sprouted his wings, taking off to the Mineta household one final time to see what fruit their labor had brought.

“At least you’ve taken this all seriously,” Mamoru grumbled as he opened the shed for them, the sun in the process of setting.

“Y’know, I never asked before, but how exactly does this result in the…blood adoption?” Harry asked as they walked in, eyes already moving to the basin.

To his disappointment, a lid had been put on.

Mamoru did not look impressed. “Don’t you get it yet? Unlike your fancy wand waving, goblin magic is all about working the products of the earth, smithing and forging magic from where it wasn’t before, until you create…”

He got on his knees and undid the lid.

To Harry’s surprise, he couldn’t spot any of the blood pool that’d been there yesterday. And then Mamoru lifted the basin’s contents out.

And suddenly, so many questions he’d had and dismissed as unimportant in the past were answered, and things just clicked. Something similar happened with Eri, because having gained- or regained in a sense, her memories as Little Silver meant she recognized this too.

“That’s…”

“A Bloodstone,” Harry breathed out, finishing her thought.

In Mamoru’s hand lay a blood red, translucent, ruby-like gem, cut into the shape of a bi-pyramid with triangular base, stretched out to where its sharp tips spanned from his wrist to the end of his middle finger.

“It sure is,” he grinned wildly, moving over to let them get a closer look.

It looked a bit different than the one he’d borrowed to discover Eri’s name. Unlike that one, this one had no cloudiness whatsoever. Inside, it actually looked vaguely kaleidoscopic in nature, as if the gem’s facets extended to its interior as well in a far more complex manner. The light that scattered throughout it lit up the shed in inexplicable patterns.

“And what a beaut,” he continued, grin threatening to split off his jaw. “If all of its significant uses weren’t locked to just the two of you, other goblins would’ve started a rebellion over this.” He cackled. “And I’m the one who helped make it!”

Ah, so there had been something for him in this. Well, not that it mattered to Harry. He could have the achievement and importance amongst his kind. He needed it.

His last experience with a Bloodstone had left him with many questions that hadn’t sounded important at the time. Like why Mamoru had been so apprehensive at the thought of stealing one, if only to lend it out for a day or two to someone else. Or why Bloodstones in general had been kept from the wizarding world as a whole, beyond the fact that its magic-given name divined from blood property was one of the reasons goblin-run banks had a leg up on wizard-run ones in legitimacy and security.

But now it all made sense. He’d thought Bloodstones were simply minerals or gems that goblins mined underground and liked to hoard, but now…

If they were all made like this, then…each and every single one was the physical representation, the crystallized manifestation of a bond that’d been forged by two people from nothing, into something as strong, if not stronger than one born from blood could be.

How willing would you be to give up the representation of a bond between two people made manifest?

And how many variants of a Bloodstone existed? The process that created this one had needed far more involvement and physical contribution from the Parent, even if the Child’s involvement was equally important. But could Bloodstones exist between siblings? Warriors in the same squad? Best friends? Apprentice and master? Married couples?

In hindsight, maybe even his superficial comparison to the Philosopher’s Stone could’ve been more accurate than he’d meant it to be…

“The blood adoption really is just a formality, isn’t it?” Harry stated quietly, staring at the gem.

Just standing near it and basking in its refracted light, the duo could feel the pure acceptance, trust, strength, belonging, affection, and love that’d been meticulously forged into it from their bond over the past forty-eight hours.

He remembered how ashamed he’d felt at feeling the desire to make the blood adoption happen, at how a part of him so dearly wished for it despite everything. As if it’d validate their connection more. Which was ridiculous, because Izuku wasn’t related to him either, even if he coincidentally looked similar enough to him, and he’d never felt any urge like it there.

But seeing this now, or possibly at some point in the past forty-eight hours, that small part that had niggled at him had disappeared completely.

It really was just stupid, because how could that bond be denied by him or anyone else when he was seeing a representation of it here before his very eyes? Why would goblins require anything beyond seeing this and testing who it belongs to?

A quiet sniffle next to him brought him out of his wonder.

“Eri?”

“I’m sorry.”

He turned and knelt. “What’re you sorry for?” he asked worriedly, meeting her eyes.

She looked down, a hand wiping away tears.

“When you first said we could do this, I wanted it so badly, because- because-”

Harry leaned forward and put his hands on her shoulders as she shook.

She sniffed again. “Because I thought, if you became my birth dad, then it couldn’t just go away again. Never disappear. That it- That it wasn’t as good if it wasn’t-”

His face fell, and he leaned forward, pulling her in.

“And me thinking something similar didn’t help, did it?” he asked, his voice breaking. Was this why she’d basically never called him…

“But it’s fine now, dad,” she continued, his breath hitching at the word.

She pulled back, and at some point her tears had turned to ones of joy. “It’s so clear to me now. It’s never going to just go away, no matter what, is it?”

Harry’s expression lightened as he smiled back. “Never.” He glanced at the Bloodstone, and the surprisingly patient Mamoru holding it. “You know, we don’t have to do it if neither of us want to anymore.”

It was obvious now that the forging of the Bloodstone itself was what held all of the value in the process. The blood adoption was just some neat feature they could use now that it was available, more as an afterthought, or a reward. A very different impression from when they’d started on this.

Eri wiped away her joyful tears again, even though more were already welling up. “I’m so happy, dad, and proud, and-” Her eyes sparkled as they met his. “If I can, I want everyone else to see it too.”

He blinked, and then he chuckled. That was a reason neither could ever feel bad for.

In sync, the duo turned their heads to Mamoru.

“We’re doing it,” Harry told him, Eri nodding adorably in determination next to him.

“Alright then,” Mamoru grumbled, and it really looked like their answer didn’t matter to him much. Yet since they’d come here this morning, the goblin had been unusually soft and generally unlike his typical behavior, albeit still cranky.

Well, he had stayed up an entire night for this, and who knew what he might’ve had to do with the Bloodstone this night as well.

“The two of you, sit on your knees over here,” he instructed, pointing at either side of the basin, where they’d stood most of yesterday.

“And you-” he pointed a gnarled finger at Harry as he came over and got down on his knees. “Take off that sweater. I need your bare chest for this.”

Sending him an amused look, Harry complied, watching Mamoru put the Bloodstone down and sweep his fingers over the bottom of the basin, which was covered in some strange blackish red resin.

“What’s that?” he asked as he placed his jumper and undershirt down.

“A salve, mixed from the residual ash and blood,” Mamoru answered, rubbing his fingers before giving a fidgety Eri a pointed look.

“Little one, sit still,” he chided, before using his coated fingers to apply the strange salve to her forehead.

“This makes the change a whole lot less troublesome,” he continued to explain, completely unprompted and very much unlike his usual self.

Harry frowned, trying to deduce the importance of the shapes Mamoru was drawing on Eri’s forehead, leaving an empty space in the middle. “It hurts otherwise?”

Mamoru scoffed lightly, moving on to her cheeks. “Oh, it’s just optional here, maybe a few pangs and screams without it, but it’s a lot less optional when, say, a centaur’s doing this with a mermaid.”

It worked between species?!

No, actually, why shouldn’t it? Was this how some of the human half breeds had come to be? He was sure that wouldn’t be the case every time, but it was strange that humans were compatible with so many sapient magical species. Maybe Hagrid’s father had been a bit less of a mad lad than he’d thought. Mamoru had said goblins had kept this from witches and wizards in general, but perhaps plenty of situations like theirs had played out in the past.

“There we go,” Mamoru grumbled as he stepped back, picking up the Bloodstone again.

“Straighten your backs.” They did as he instructed, and he held the Bloodstone up between them, oriented in such a way the sharp tips were an inch or so away from their skin.

With the height difference, the tip on Eri’s side hovered right before her forehead, right between her eyebrows, and on his side it pointed at the middle of his chest, at the same height as his heart.

“The only thing you have to do is make contact with it, and don’t move away until it’s done.”

Sensing there was nothing else left to do after this, Harry and Eri shared a look, smiled, albeit a little nervous, and leaned forward.

Mamoru removed his hand, and despite the tips barely touching their skin, the Bloodstone stayed up in the air, as if wedged solid between them.

A sharp pinch came from his chest, but Harry was more preoccupied with the other end.

Just like how it happened when he’d used the borrowed Bloodstone to discover Eri’s name, three small droplets came from between her eyebrows in the form of a tiny red glow, one after the other, and began spiraling outwards, slowly heading for the center of the Bloodstone.

On his end, a much larger drop that shone at the same low luminosity made its way to the center as well, moving in a straight line.

The three droplets slowly brightened in luminosity, and just like last time slowly caught up to one another, finally leveling out as they reached the center to form an equilateral triangle, meeting up with his drop at its center.

As if the bigger drop had a stronger pull, the three droplets continued to spin, heading back in Eri’s direction as the triangle spun around it, getting smaller and smaller as the four lights became brighter and brighter.

Harry had to squint, yet somehow Eri remained wide-eyed, slowly turning adorably cross-eyed as the display inched closer to her forehead.

Finally, right at the tip, the three droplets, impossible to see through the kaleidoscopically projected ruby light, converged and merged with his drop as they made contact with her skin, and Harry shut his eyes at the bright light engulfing the room.

When the light dimmed behind his eyelids, he opened them again.

The first thing he saw was Mamoru reaching in to remove the Bloodstone from between them. As if it’d been glued to them until now, Eri slumped back upon its removal, eyes half-lidded and the paste completely absent, evaporated through the intensity of the flash alone.

“What’s happening now?” Harry asked, worry creeping in as he shuffled up next to her to support her limp form.

“Patience,” Mamoru chided. “It needs time. The only thing that’s affected instantly is the eyes.”

He opened the door, cold air rushing in.

“Anyway, I have dinner with my wife. Stay here until you’re done and lock the door behind you on your way out.”

He stepped out, but sent one last glance back. “And keep the Bloodstone. It’s yours.”

And with that, the door was shut again, leaving father and daughter alone.

In his arms, Eri groaned and unslackened, and his full attention was back on her as her eyes fluttered open.

“Hey, did your vision go blurry?” he asked softly, taking in her seemingly unchanged eyes, though they almost seemed more intense in their usual color.

Taken out of her daze, Eri frowned. “No?”

He collapsed with a sigh. “Oh, good. Woulda felt pretty shite if you only inherited my eyesight after all that,” he half-joked, adjusting his glasses.

She giggled, no doubt finding the idea of wearing glasses very funny, even if old age might make her do so anyway.

Harry took her in, not needing the Bloodstone to feel the affection he held for her, and finally noticed something.

Eri was unable to keep her face at rest, her lips and eyelids twitching, and her nose wriggling.

“You feeling anything?” he asked somewhat worriedly.

“A little weird?” she replied, scrunching and unscrunching her face. “Itchy and pully?”

Harry looked closer, and then he noticed.

Her baby fat was masking most of it, but the structure of her face was shifting slightly, imperceptibly. The shape of her jaw, her cheekbones, her nose. You’d never notice afterwards, beyond the subconscious observation that they looked just a little more similar than before.

And while he’d been so focused on her eyes and face, had she grown a few inches?

Right as he wondered if it’d stay at mostly imperceptible changes, he finally noticed something far more noticeable changing.

“Whoa…that’s not something I expected.”

Eri sent him a questioning look, hand automatically rising up, and he conjured up a mirror to let her see. And when she did, she gasped.

Her horn, the physical manifestation of her quirk, was slowly morphing.

Like an invisible, magical hand was lightly but steadily tugging at its tip, the horn was slowly migrating, its base seamlessly moving up her forehead. The tip of her horn, which always pointed up at an angle, slowly curved backwards as the horn traveled up and came to a stop right behind her hairline, angling until most of the horn behind the base loosely hugged the top of her head. And as it extended backwards and stretched thinner, the tip nearing the back of her head, the ridges of the horn smoothed out.

Throughout it all, the skin-like tone of the horn darkened, until it was left a dark gray that bordered on black.

Seeing the quiet marvel in Eri’s eyes, Harry let his horns sprout atop his head, and watched glee flood in as she realized the similarities, despite hers being thicker.

Right then, she shuddered and shook her head, and from under her hair, a second thestral-like horn rose up to match the first.

“I don’t think this’ll affect your quirk,” he assured her as soon as he guessed her thoughts, but his eyes were still stuck on her new horns. “But it is pretty wicked.”

And he was right to keep watching, because once the shift was finished, the dark color of the horns almost seemed to bleed into its surroundings at the base, a jet black staining her roots.

“Ah…”

Harry actually felt a little somber as he watched the color that’d partly inspired the nickname he’d given her on their first meeting slowly being blotted out by his own black.

Thankfully, Eri felt none of that, simply watching with unspoken awe as she held a strand in her hand and followed the blackness as it trailed down, eventually engulfing the silvery tips.

When it was done, they shared a look. Was it finished?

Right then, as if it had needed several seconds to register, Eri’s waist-length hair abruptly jumped up many inches, rapidly coiling and curling up into a chaotic mess, with enough force that the previously straight strand in her hands was practically yanked out of her hold.

Their shared look turned into one of sheer surprise, and as the shock faded, Harry could barely stop himself from laughing.

“Oh dear, oh dear,” he managed to get out before erupting in a laughing fit. “You got a bad case of the Potter hair,” he wheezed out.

And the small amount of melancholy of seeing her silver disappear evaporated at the sheer joy reflected in her eyes as she fell into a giggling fit.

For a good moment, that was the only sound that filled the forge.

And as the laughter died down again, Harry’s thoughts already flitting through ways to help her with hair-care, another funny thought hit him.

Along with a niggling suspicion, because it would be a surprise if the Potter Luck hadn’t found a way to be involved in this.

“You know, I didn’t intend for this to be timed so well,” he said, smiling at her. “But merry Chrisstmass, Eri.”

“Merry Chrisstmass, dad,” she hissed back, oblivious to the change in language and confirming his intuition.

…had he ever told anyone he could speak to snakes? It’d never really come up before…

He’d never even thought to ask Mamoru if her quirk would’ve interfered with the process, so caught up had he been in the process. But with how she’d clearly inherited a magical trait- well, it came either from the traces of basilisk venom or from inheriting his ability, it was obvious it hadn’t. And why should it have? The type of magic involved here, which had to be the deepest of blood magics around, at the level of his mother’s blood protection, clearly went deeper than skin or bone, unlike, in Mamoru’s words, ‘dinky wand magic.’

Though that also made him wonder about the traces of phoenix tears…

“You ready to finish this up?” he asked her, resolving to himself to explain the parseltongue surprise later. But hey, secret language! …unless Koda was around.

With an excited nod they headed back out, locking the shed behind them and flying for UA one more time, the Bloodstone kept securely against his chest with a hastily made necklace with a triangle frame that wrapped around its base. The Resurrection Stone was relegated back to being embedded in a simple ring on his offhand for the first time in centuries.

“Ah, now that’s a surprise,” Nezu commented, not sounding surprised by the sight at all. “I believe some additional parts will need to be…fabricated to accommodate for this?”

Harry shrugged unapologetically, and with a chuckle Nezu slid forward a sheet of paper. “Either way, just sign this and I’ll get the rest done for you.”

It was a relatively simple document, compared to all the stuff attached to it that Nezu had to arrange prior to this, in that beautifully legal but kinda illegal way. Hopefully no more questionably legal stuff after this was done.

There was some legalese, and then two empty parts. One for Harry’s signature, next to Nezu’s and someone else’s he didn’t recognize or care for, and the line where he’d fill in Eri’s name.

Rather than pick up the pen, however, he turned to Eri.

“You know, there’s actually one last thing I’ve been thinking about.” He moved up his hand to scratch his cheek. “I realized it while in Britain, and Izuku pointed out something too. But- uh…every Potter tends to have a very traditionally English name, or a variant of one.” He paused, grimacing. “But, y’know, I know that’s also a pretty big change, and it’d be a shame to change your name because it’s a great one, and-”

“Dad?”

He paused, staring down at her. Nezu was happily ignoring them, sipping his chamomile tea in the background.

“Yes?”

“You need to stop pulling that shit.”

A fine mist of tea hit the both of them as Harry and Nezu choked.

Yes, not even he, Harry Potter, was immune to this.

How did you think the whole ‘ask for silent permission beforehand’ came about in the first place?

The choking quickly devolved into warm laughter.

“Right, right, sorry ‘bout that.” He smiled. “So, if you’ll hear me out, it’d be a crime if I had you change your name, because it’s lovely as is, but Izuku pointed this out to me after we returned to Hogwarts. See, to my surprise, there’s a girl’s name that was very traditional in my time, and still is now. Elizabeth,” he said in English. “Which in Japanese is…”

“Erizabesu,” Eri filled in, before gasping when she realized.

“Where it matters, you’d still be Eri everywhere but the official papers, and as a shorthand on those too if we use kanji right,” he said warmly, before nerves began to catch up with him. “But, y’know, that’s entirely up to you.”

He kept his mouth shut before he caused another surprise curse in response, and Eri looked pensive.

“Dad?” she finally asked. “Can I make a suggestion too?”

Harry arched his brows. “Well, it’s your name. Go ahead.”

She looked at the yet to be filled in and signed sheet of paper. “If I get a sorta English name, that means I can have a middle name too, right?”

“What were you thinking of?” he asked, brows furrowing.

“Hey, Izu-kun, are you alright?”

Izuku snapped out of his daze, watching his class feast and laugh at the tables. “I don’t know, Pony-chan,” he said, wiping at his prickly eyes. “For some reason, it feels like someone is crying Midoriya tears somewhere.”

Pony-chan giggled, well aware of his occasional powerful outbursts. “Is that your secret sixth sense?”

He chuckled, shaking his head and dismissing it. He didn’t actually think-

“Hey, kids, guess who’s back from running errands?” a voice called.

“Potter-sensei!” the entire class chorused excitedly as dad walked up to them.

He grinned at the warm welcome. “Oh, don’t stop your banquet on my account,” he said, ignoring the mumbled _{“Of darkness.”}

“Actually, hold that.” He made a feigned pensive face, one that promised a surprise. “There’s someone who wants to introduce herself to you.”

And there, right in front of him, a small figure shimmered into vision as she pulled back a hood.

Despite having known about it beforehand, Izuku was taken as much aback as the rest of class.

There, wearing the Demiguise-sourced invisibility cloak and mom’s Christmas sweater, stood Eri, except not quite.

“What infernal forces are at play here?” Fumi-kun exclaimed, more inquisitive than shocked at the symmetric black horns and the messy hair, which managed to look somewhat styled and tamed, but with a few stray stubborn strands sticking out to betray its concealed wild nature.

“Hi,” Eri greeted brightly, albeit a little bashful. “My name’s Elizabeth Luna Potter, but please call me Eri.” She bowed. “I’ll be in your care!”

Ah. Izuku looked behind her, seeing the redness hidden in dad’s eyes. That’s where.

Everyone shouted an encouraging, “Hi Eri-chan!”

Eri beamed at them, looking the happiest she’d ever been.

“Hey, Eri,” dad said as he came up next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Last time you got interrupted, remember? No Christmas dinner is complete without some music.”

She gave him a confused look, before brightening and excitedly fishing something out from under her sweater.

Immediately Izuku could see Jirō brighten as Eri pulled up the flute dad had gifted her on her birthday.

She brought the flute up to her lips, but briefly left them clear.

“Love you, dad,” she said, a wave of coos passing through the table.

“Love you too, kid,” dad returned, and with eyes that beamed as much as a smile could, she began to play.

It was a surprise. Compared to the last time she’d played the flute, three days ago, it had been a simple but lovely tune.

And that hadn’t changed at all between then and now, except somehow…

A sense of affection, joy, trust, acceptance, belonging, and pure unadulterated love washed over him, filling him with a warmth that settled deep in his bones.

Izuku wiped away a small tear. It was kind of like…

It was like hearing Fawkes sing.

And beyond a quick glance at dad, seeing the glint of vindication his eyes always held whenever some intuition of his proved to be correct, Izuku did nothing beyond listen to the short, simple tune, carried away in the emotions that flowed out and filled the space.

Eventually, the tune would finish, and the Christmas feast would continue with two extra guests at the table.

But for the rest of the night and several days afterwards, the pure emotions shared between a loving father and daughter would continue to linger down in the 3-A dormitories, enriching the Christmas cheer for days to come.

Fin