Chapter 6

Disclaimer ~ I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or Harry Potter

In a way, the boggart turned out to be a good thing for Colonello. Ever since waking up in the past he had been debating if he should tell his friends about himself. It was obvious that he wasn't the same person any more, despite how much Colonello tried to act as Harry used to. But therein lies the problem. Colonello wasn't Harry anymore. He hadn't been Harry in a long time and barely remembered what it was like to be Harry.

One thing Colonello did know is that he was fraying. Trying to be Harry was stressing him out. At this point in time, Harry was an innocent civilian who hadn't experienced the horrors of war. Colonello had been in several wars. He's lived through more battles and horrors than most people. Hell he's died more than once!

Luna was probably the only thing keeping him sane right now. She grounded him when he started to drift, and soothed him when things started to become overwhelming. Luna was his little sister in all but blood. Which made Colonello feel like an utter dick every time he had to lie to the rest of his family.

After leaving the DADA class, Colonello hid himself away in the Room of Requirement for some good old fashion punch therapy. Hours passed as Colonello beat the stuffing out of an innocent punching bag. By the end of it, his untrained muscles were screaming at him. But he wasn't ready to return yet. So he switched to another activity that calmed him down. Target practice.

Colonello may not have had his rifle anymore but he had something better. Magic. After over sixty years without even the slightest hint of his magic, it was taking him some adjusting to having it back. But he still felt warm every time he used it. Which is why Colonello couldn't resist using his magic to conjure a gun. Or more accurately, to conjure the parts for his rifle. Something he knew by heart down to the scratches on the screws.

When he trained under Lal, she used to make him dismantle and reassemble all types of guns. Reborn took that knowledge and upgraded it to his standards, which were basically god-like. Thanks to him, Colonello could take every single piece of a gun and assemble it while blindfolded and under heavy fire. Lal and Reborn had a lot of fun with that, though Colonello got to join in when they did the same thing to Skull and Verde. Fon was a little cheat and disintegrated the bullets before they could hit him.

Colonello wasn't sure how long he spent destroying various targets the Room provided him, but it was late when he decided to quit. He couldn't hide forever after all. Upon exiting the room, he began the journey back to Gryffindor Tower. It was late enough that not even the teachers were patrolling the halls anymore. So Colonello took the long way back.

The castle was beautiful at night. Walking through her halls always relaxed Colonello. He tended to wander around most nights, when he found himself unable to sleep. It helped him to clear his head and think.

Tonight he thought about what he should say. There was no possible way he could lie about his boggart and Colonello wasn't sure he wanted to. He was tired of pretending to be Harry. He was tired of the lying too. Of the stress and uncertainty he feels. Before the arcobaleno, he had Ron and Hermione. Neville, Luna, Fred, and George too. They stayed with him through everything. Gave him a home and a family. Many of the things that bonded them together may not have happened for them, but it did for Colonello. And that was enough for him.

He may have been a soothing rain, but Colonello was also a Gryffindor. He tended to charge headfirst into things and figure it out as he went. So Colonello decided that was exactly what he would do. He would tell his friends the entire truth, then deal with whatever happened afterwards.

Colonello wasn't quite sure what he was execting upon his common room, but what he saw warmed his heart more than he thought possible. His friends had fallen asleep waiting for him. Fred and George wrapped around each other like two cats, Neville curled into a ball on his chair, and Hermione slumped over using Ron as a pillow. Ron, the only one still awake, simply said that he didn't have to explain anything. That they were waiting on Colonello because they were worried about him. Colonello didn't deserve friends like them, and it only served to make him think that telling them was the right decision. But not right now. Right now Ron was demanding he join their friends in the land of sleep.

Four hours later, Colonello woke up surprised he had fallen asleep at all. He stayed still, feigning sleep as his mind began rebooting. It took him a moment to register the sound that woke him. Dean and Seamus were up, and getting ready for the day. They were also talking about him. Gossiping about the boggart and where he hid yesterday.

"Shut up about it! It's none of our business!" Ron yelled from his bed. Sounds like the gossip woke him up as well. Not surprising, since they weren't exactly being quiet. Although it was a little surprising because it was usually a chore to wake Ron up.

"Easy for you to say! You probably already know everything," Seamus retorted.

"I don't know any more than you do and I won't pry. How would you like it if that was someone close to you and their death was your fear? Only for everyone to act like they have a right to know every detail about it?" Ron asked angrily. There was silence from Seamus. "Exactly. So do us all a favor and just drop it," Ron said. A few seconds later the door to their dorm slammed shut. Colonello waited a few seconds to be sure they were truly gone before opening his eyes. Ron was glaring at the door.

"Thanks Ron," Colonello said. He saw Ron jump and whirl around to look at Colonello with wide eyes.

"Bloody hell mate! I thought you were still asleep," he exclaimed. Colonello sat up and shrugged.

"They woke me up. Decided to fake it until they left," he said. "Seriously though. Thanks for that," Colonello told him. Ron blushed, a light pink dusting his cheeks.

"You'd have done the same for me," he said, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. Colonello chuckled before dragging himself out of his bed. Before they could say anything else, the door opened revealing Neville. You could see the exact moment he realized Harry was in the room because a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Harry! You're okay!" he yelled, running forward to give Colonello a tight hug. Luckily Colonello was used to having the air forced out of him with hugs from Skull so he recovered quickly. He patted Neville's back calmly.

"Yeah Nev. I'm okay now," Colonello said, shooting Ron a glare over Neville's redhead was barely holding back his laughter.

It was about this point that Neville realized what he was doing. He let go of Colonello with a squeak, face matching Ron's hair. Colonello was quick to cover Neville's mouth and stop the slew of apologies from forming. Another habit he had thanks to Skull.

"It's alright Neville. You don't have to apologize for that. I'm the one who should be saying sorry for making you worry," Colonello said calmly. He removed his hand cautiously, ready to replace it in case Neville was still going to apologize. Thankfully he didn't.

"You don't have to apologize either," Neville told him. Colonello smiled.

"Maybe not, kora. But I will anyway. At the very least, I owe you an explaination," he said. Both Neville and Ron shook their heads.

"You don't owe us anything mate," Ron said. Neville nodded his agreement from beside him. Colonello chuckled. He had amazing friends.

"I want to explain though. I've been thinking about it for a long time now. The boggart just gave me the opportunity to do it without sounding like a lunatic, kora," Colonello said. Neville and Ron exchanged a look, then Ron sighed deeply.

"He's not gonna change his mind no matter what we say. He's too stubborn for that," Ron said sounding amused.

"Damn straight Kora," Colonello agreed immediately. It was decided (more by Ron and Neville than Colonello) that Colonello would remain in their dorm while Ron and Neville went to find Hermione and the twins. Then they'd go from there.

Unfortunately for Colonello, their reaction was much the same as Neville's once they saw him. Meaning Colonello had another three bone crushing hugs from them. He was beginning to be more grateful to Ron. Ron didn't try to break his ribs via a hug.

The following conversation went much the same as it did with Ron and Neville. Asking if he was okay and then telling him that he didn't need to tell them anything. Then protesting when Colonello said he wanted to tell them anyway. It took a few minutes, but they finally relented. Ron was right. Colonello was stubborn and wouldn't change his mind.

"I know a place where we can talk without being overheard or interrupted. Only problem is that it's a bit of a long story and we have classes kora," Colonello said.

"We can skip them," Hermione said without hesitation, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"Mione? You feeling alright?" Ron asked, placing a hand on her forehead. She swatted it away with a huff.

"Of course I am. This is more important than any class," she said. Fred and George smirked as one.

"We completely agree," they said.

"So where is this place you found?" Ron asked curiously. Colonello smirked, matching the expression of the twins perfectly.

"The same place I was hiding yesterday."

Done! Victory! This chapter was a pain. But at least I know what I'm going to do with the next one now.

None of my fics have been abandoned or anything. I just got distracted and haven't worked on some of them for awhile or have been busy working on other fics. I'm trying to go through and update a lot of my fics right now, so I'm giving you a fair warning that I don't know when this will be updated again. But it is not abandoned and never will be. Same with all my other fics.

Thank you to everyone that has Reviewed, Followed, and Favorited this story! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and continue to support this fic! I'll see you all the next update!