The Palmtop Tiger and the Green-eyed Dragon
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the world of Harry Potter, or any and all official characters from the Harry Potter series itself. J.K. Rowling has ownership of the series as its creator and writer, as well as the other companies that have published her books around the world and adapted the seven books as movies. I also do not own ANY other characters from whatever manga, anime, video game, TV series, or movies that emerge in these various two-sided coin chapters. All I own is any of my usual Original Characters that may popup, and whatever else I create out of the figment of my imagination.
Author's Note: With Toradora! on my mind, I've decided to do something that sounds quite insane. If you don't like tsundere-like loli witches and mistaken-as-a-delinquent wizards, you may not like this. If you don't like Harry/Hermione shipping, you may not like this. If you don't like any of the stories I'm writing, why are you here? This features a totally different Hermione and Harry, so if you do not like that, then please hit the back button. For those sticking around regardless, enjoy this random idea...
"I still wonder just how or why we got selected to go to this magic school in Europe in the first place..."
"Now, Hermione, they chose us to represent unity and such, and to also represent the pride of Sunnyvale Magical Academy."
A sigh escapes into the air.
"This seems like such a pain in the ass. I'm going to be mistaken as a child because of my stupid height."
"Well... at least you're with me, Hermione."
A snort escapes her lips. "Sure, Harry. That's one thing good. Better you than any of the other idiots."
Then the boy named Harry gets a soft elbow to the gut.
"You better not say anything stupid, you dumb mutt."
A sigh is heard.
"I know, Hermione, I know," he replies.
She lies against him sitting in his lap, grabbing his hands and pulling his arms around her. Harry in turn takes a more possessive hold as her hands cling to his hands.
The two were only the age of fifteen. The girl has brown eyes, and long dark honey blonde hair in soft curls that looked very natural. Despite being the age of fifteen, she was a bit... short. She was four feet eight inches in height. Also, she has a bit of an under-developed body. Because she was often reminded of her short stature by most of her peers growing up, she had developed a bit of a complex that served to give her a negative attitude and facial expression. Didn't help she also snaps at most kids with brutal vocalization. She's been christen the name Palmtop Tiger due to it. While she was short for her age and looked doll-like in appearance, she was like a fierce tiger when angered.
The boy traveling with her was taller than her at five feet five and a half inches in height. They met when they were in Jr. High School. He has the greenest of emerald green eyes, and unruly black hair that made him look intimidating. His eyes also were a bit sharp, and most believed him to be a delinquent or a trouble-maker. Surprisingly, despite the fact that he looked like a tough guy with his facial expressions, he was a nice guy. But because many believe him a trouble-maker, or a guy who'd beat you up if you look at him wrongly, he was given the name the Green-Eyed Dragon. His eyes did make you quiver if he ever did get legitimately angry, revealing the crux of his nickname in full force.
They had their own reputations in Sunnyvale Magical Academy when amongst their peers on their own. Together, on the other hand, they were the unofficial king and queen of the academy. The two of them lived next door to one another. Harry lived with a relative who was a cousin to his deceased mother after his other relatives did not want to take care of him (later revealed his aunt in the U.K. despised his mother for being magical). Hermione on the other hand lived on her own ever since her parents got a divorce when she was a little girl. Hermione's mother only cared about her own social status and lived frivolous as a bachelor-type, hardly seeing her, and her neglectful but very rich father only wires her money, but never sees her at all.
They had friends who knew them well. For Harry, it was a guy named Zero. Yes, Zero. For Hermione, it was a girl named Melina. Despite their complex relationship, at first they weren't in love with one another. But over the course of the previous year, when helping each other pursue relationships with their crushes, their feelings had changed, and the couple eventually discovered that their hearts were yearning for the other. Their crushes were just that: crushes. And their crushes (aka the best friends of the other) were happy Harry and Hermione finally found the emotions between them were genuine.
This year they were chosen, one boy and one girl, to participate in a student exchange program with other magical schools in the world. England and America won when all headmasters and headmistresses of various magical schools in a vocational retreat/meeting held a random lottery draw. Little did they know that for half the academy there were mixed reactions since the Green-Eyed Dragon and the Palmtop Tiger were now gone for a whole year. Of course they went the rest of August when school began on the second week of that month just attending their classes, until three days before September 1st they took a flight to London, traveling the non-magical way.
All of their supplies and things for their one year trip to Hogwarts had been taken care of by their Headmistress, Lana Morningstar. All they got was two plane tickets to London and two magical train tickets for Hogwarts with instructions on how to get to the train. Now, we get back to the present, as Harry glances to his watch. It was a magic-proof watch. And it had been set for Greenwich Mean Time. They were on the Hogwarts Express, currently, the train chugging along the tracks to Scotland. They had used a bit of disguise to hide themselves from the rest of the students that went to the school they were going to be a part of for the year, for the cultural and educational experience.
They (or rather Hermione) virtually had taken control of the very last train car connected to the shiny red train, that previous was parked in the magically hidden section of the train station in downtown London's train station, and made it their own safe haven upon climbing aboard, keeping the doors locked so no student could get inside their compartment, and magically tinting the windows so you couldn't peer inside from the outside. Personal privacy...
"It's three more hours until we arrive to Hogwarts, Hermione. Want to get some sleep in?"
"Nah. Let's just play some video games," said Hermione, ransacking her suitcase to find her Gameboy device.
Harry smirked. "Let's hope the magic-proofing runes on our handhelds hold out for the year."
Harry Evans was his name. Hermione Granger was her name. He was known as the Green-Eyed Dragon. She was known as the Palmtop Tiger of Sunnyvale Magical Academy. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. They were the dragon and the tiger. And Hogwarts doesn't know what is going to hit them when they were inviting these two into their home...
"Since ancient times, the dragon has been the only beast to equal the tiger."
"Huh?" Hermione looks up, slotting in a game cartridge into her handheld device.
"Remember that?"
She smiles after a few moments. "I remember that."
"And I will always be by your side. These feelings will never change."
She playfully pushes him. "So cheesy, Harry... but so true..." The smile on her face never faded. Neither did Harry's. She re-takes her spot in his lap and as she starts playing Tetris, Harry once again slips his arms around her.
To further understand what is going on regarding this magical Student Exchange Program, let us look back in time. It is the summer break of 1995 for most magical schools. Of course, different countries have different terms and rules regarding education, magical or muggle. Many would make it; others would have representatives sent in their place. This conference was a popular vacation for headmasters and headmistresses of their respective magical schools across the globe; to inspire cooperation and share ideas regarding teaching future children of magical and muggle education. The location was a tropical resort in the Hawaiian Islands this year.
There was an old man who had arrived three days ago before the start of the vacation/convention, and today was mingling with various other men and women who hold years of experience teaching the future generations of magical education. He certainly fits the profile of being the grandfatherly figure in the eyes of wizarding children. He was the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore.
And as he bids adieu to his previous conversationalists, he bumps into a woman who wore a pinned button of the U.S. Flag on her business dress suit's top.
"Oh, hello Albus. It's been awhile," said the woman once she realized who had bumped into her.
And the joyful old man would smile warmly in reply. "Hello Sherry. Yes, it's been three years since the last convention I attended."
"I heard a lot of problems inflicted your school, Albus. I hope everything is okay."
He waves off her concerns. "Everything is fine, Sherry. The problem that forced me to shut my school down had been taken care of. And Slytherin's pet monster no longer haunts the castle's walls."
It was in the school year of 1992-1993 when Hogwarts was closed when a pureblood witch was "taken" by Slytherin's pet monster into the hidden Chamber of Secrets. It wasn't until early 1995, the month of April, when the Chamber of Secrets was finally discovered, and a highly trained team of wizards and witches versed with either capturing or eliminating highly dangerous magical creatures was sent in.
There were only four casualties in the assault, but the Basilisk was slain. The half-eaten corpse of Ginerva Weasley was recovered. Of course, one of the wizards who went with the hit team, Alastor Moody, killed a bound shade of a teenage boy bound by the stolen life force of the Weasley girl, and destroying the diary the shade was forever bound to when "returning to life" in '93.
"I still couldn't believe one of your school's founders would leave behind such a dangerous magical creature within the underground caves of the castle..."
"Alas, the castle is very old, and holds a lot more secrets than even I do not know of." He smiles at this. "It makes me feel young when I discover a new secret."
"I bet. And I'm sure you enjoy the lemon candies just as much as the last time I met you."
"Guilty," he says with a chuckle.
Sherry Morningstar was the current principal of Sunnyvale Magical Academy, one of the more public wizarding schools in North America, but classified as a private school in the eyes of the muggle world (with "magical" annexed, of course). Described as a woman with a light tan, and is a long brunette with dark eyes.
Sherry dug into her pocket, and pulls out a medium silk bag tied shut by small golden rope, and hands the gift to Dumbledore.
"I got these for you Albus. Hope you enjoy the lemon drops."
Dumbledore smiles. "Thank you, Sherry."
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the school lottery to begin," announced a man standing on the main stage of the rented building for the conference.
"A school lottery?" questions Dumbledore aloud.
"If you didn't get the memo, Albus, this year there's been talks about picking two different schools, and then each school that is drawn from the lucky lotto will trade two students, one boy and one girl. It's basically a Cultural Student Exchange Program, so that two students from one school can learn knowledge about the non-magical and the magical worlds of one country, and vise-versa."
"Ah. That actually sounds delightful." He smiles. "It would be very interesting."
"I hope I get chosen, Albus. Because I have two students in mind that will be perfect if I win one half of the lotto draw." When Albus looks to Sherry, he sees a widening smile across the young woman's face. "Yes... the Palmtop Tiger and the Green-eyed Dragon..."
Palmtop Tiger...? Green-eyed Dragon...?
In the end of a short conversation by the head of the committee who organized this conference of wizarding teachers around the globe, language translation charms used for the foreign speakers, the magic lotto wheel started up. The first school that won was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and then the second school that won the final slot was Sunnyvale Magical Academy.
We now fast-forward to the month of August, and the location is in the Principal's Office of Sunnyvale Magical Academy.
"WHAT!?" is the scream heard by the faculty in the main offices of the academy, on the first new day of school.
"Yes, Miss Granger, Mr. Evans. The two of you have been chosen to take part of a wonderful cultural exchange program. Two students from England will be traded to us, and we'll trade you two to them. You'll be gone for a year, and don't worry; we've taken care of everything including flight details."
Harry was confused. "Wait... where exactly are we going, Principal Morningstar?"
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she answers, smiling all the while.
They stare. They're going to Europe for a year?
"Don't worry, you two! I know the Headmaster who runs Hogwarts. He'll be very accommodating and accepting of you two into his school, and will make your experience very enjoyable."
"But didn't the school get closed down because of some monster attack?" Hermione asks the woman, recalling of an article in the international section of America's USA Wizarding News (the Daily Prophet of England minus the slander, lies, and government propaganda).
"It had been taken care of, and the school re-opened again. Don't worry! You two will do fine. And you both will fully represent the glory of our school to our magical British cousins."
"Yes, ma'am," they reply.
Sherry smiles to her two students. "Wonderful! Now, in the last week of this month, you'll be given a large send-off from the school and fly to London via non-magical travel, where you'll on September 1st take their train to the school."
The two nod. They wonder just how interesting this experience would be. And question how their close friends would take to them being gone for the year...?
=0=0=0=0=
Back to the present, the Hogwarts Express has finally pulled to a stop at the station near the wizarding village known as Hogsmeade. Many of the students get off the train, the first years being gathered by a large man with a shaggy beard and carrying an old-fashioned lantern, calling for the eleven year olds. All the other students twelve and above were going to horseless carriages that moved on their own. For two foreigners, on the other hand, they stayed behind, not wanting to mingle with the English students yet.
"We got plenty of time to get to the castle, Harry. I've read about this village in World History last year. I'm interested in exploring the main streets, at least," Hermione said, pulling her taller boyfriend alongside.
Harry just sighs. "Let's not get distracted, honey."
"Don't worry, Harry! We'll get there in time! Now, time to find this rumored sweets shop they got here... and you better help me!"
Harry sighs, again.
Close to an hour later, the first years of the new school year were all sorted to their individual houses of the school, and a woman with salt/pepper hair takes away a ratted old talking hat and the stool. At his chair, Albus Dumbledore finally stands up and glances to the new and old faces, smiling happily.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years, and welcome back to all our other students," Dumbledore greets every student. "I must say, it is finally wonderful to re-open the school after the incident from 1993 was solved."
There was some applause from the Hogwarts students.
"Yes, yes, even though I wish to open this on a positive note, I know that for some of you, you have missed a full year of magical education. This year, we will be working hard to get you all caught up, especially those who have missed your OWLs and NEWTs."
Dumbledore looks around, as the door in the side opened and Argus Filch emerged, and walks up to him. He leans towards the squib caretaker of the castle corridors as the man whispered something the students didn't hear. He silently dismisses the old man.
"Well... before we begin the Opening Feast, I would like to inform all of you of a development that happened over the summer. Two of our students during the shopping season in preparation for the starting of the next school year, Roger Malone and Sally-Anne Perks of Hufflepuff House, were selected as part of a Cultural Student Exchange Program when I attended an educational conference over the summer in Hawaii."
Cue the whispers from the students.
"And I did enjoy the warm tropical weather, the spiced piña colada, and lazing on the beaches smiling to the beautiful ladies that walked by-"
Here, Professor Minerva McGonagall loudly clears her throat whilst casting Albus a stern look.
Dumbledore appears to look sheepish as he smiles and chuckles. "Ah, perhaps another time," he says, eliciting some light-hearted laughter from the students except the older ones in Slytherin House. "Anyway, students, this year, while Mister Malone and Miss Perks are in America, we are proud to host two students from the school our own two Hogwarts students are attending. They are from the prestigious Sunnyvale Magical Academy-"
"I said I was sorry, Hermione," a male voice is heard from behind the closed doors of the Great Hall.
"Stupid dog. We are late because you wanted to check out that candy shop in the wizarding town we stopped in via the train," shouts a girl's voice.
The voices were faint, but growing closer towards the sealed doors.
"If my memory serves correct, you were very interested in the two pound chocolate bunny they had on the front window display after I helped YOU locate the sweets shop in the first place, as it was YOUR idea. Not to mention hazelnut chocolate is a weakness of yours."
The sound of something wooden echoes with a loud crack...
"Would you cut that out, Hermione? Jesus! How you snuck a bokken past airport security without using magic, I will never know!"
"I'm just talented. Besides, I always carry it on my person back in school in the U.S." A sigh is heard from the male voice. The female's voice continues, "Okay, so you explain to the Headmaster just why we're late, got it?"
The girl's voice sounded bossy and demanding.
"Alright, Mione, alright. Just put away the bokken."
The creaking of the doors is heard in the silent Great Hall as the doors swing open and two figures stand there in what appears to be muggle clothes. Seeing the two foreign exchange students, the students of Hogwarts could see how different they were in the height department.
The taller boy wore a black blazer that was unbuttoned with white accents over a white long-sleeved blouse with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, matching black pants, and crew-length grey socks with brown dress shoes. The shorter girl on the other hand wore a white short-sleeved shirt with vertical linings, a red ribbon on the collar, black shoulder cape with matching buttoned corset, magenta skirt with white accents, thigh-high black socks and brown dress shoes. The girl carried in her hand what looked like a curved sword made of wood, with a portion of the handle wrapped in a white tape of some sort.
The negative expression and light scowling appearance on the smaller girl made some a bit fearful of her eyes as she scans her surroundings. It was the taller boy by her side whose shocking emerald-tint eyes held a sharp look, a petulant glare that would belong perfectly upon a delinquent if his lips matched the emotion the eyes shared publically. For the adults on the other hand, it was a huge shock as those who looked upon the young man's green eyes when his eyes looked towards their table, some of them would ponder if they were staring at the face of a ghost who had come back to life...
With a slight frown, Harry looked to Hermione briefly, then back at the old man, Albus Dumbledore, who was the Headmaster of this school.
"I'm sorry Headmaster Dumbledore for being late. We got lost on the road to life."
And Hermione would elbow him in the side.
"Harry, why would you use that poor-ass excuse?"
"What? I'm trying to lighten the obvious tension here, Hermione," he answers nonchalant. "Besides, we ARE technically late. I'm just glad the castle gates weren't locked yet."
"That excuse you said earlier, Harry, sounds like something a one-eyed ninja for a Japanese manga would say in a lazy manner," she snaps.
Somewhere in Japan, a future manga artist sneezed.
He shrugs, earning him an annoyed glare that matched the scowl on her lips. She moved the bokken with a flair and did as he asked earlier, which was putting it away. How it disappeared down the back of her shirt no one will never know of. Likely magic, but...
Albus coughed a bit, gathering attention onto him once more. Looks like his two special guests finally arrived, albeit late. No need to see if they didn't really make the train back in London...
"Yes, well... students, I would like to introduce to you our special guests for the year," he says politely.
Taking the cue, Harry and Hermione march across the Great Hall, ignoring all the eyes focused upon them from all the wizards and witches, before reaching the teacher's table and turning around to face their audience.
"Yo. My name's Harry Evans, age fifteen. I'm from Topeka, Kansas, in the United States. I have two relatives who live here in the United Kingdom but they are magic haters and have distanced themselves from the Evans Clan because of my British aunt despising her dead sister who was a muggleborn witch that attended Hogwarts as a child. I live with another relative who took me in as a kid and raised me as her son, although I'm convinced she's borderline mental. I'm from Sunnyvale Magical Academy, ranking in the Top Fifty of productive students. I hope to enjoy the wonderful experience of this school's history first-hand."
Hermione blushed a bit when he nudges her gently.
"Yeah, hi. I'm Hermione Granger, also age fifteen. And yes I am a teenager and not some underage child," she snaps rudely to those (namely everyone) that were already judging her based on height. "I'm from Topeka, Kansas, USA. I don't have any family to relate to, since my mother and father got divorced when I was little, my bastard of a father having abandoned me and mother at a young age, and my mother currently gallivanting about somewhere in god knows where with whatever man she meets."
Harry gently nudges her again, this time giving her a look. She scowls a bit. "I'm from Sunnyvale Magical Academy, in the Top Fifty of high-ranked students, and I look forward to the experience learning from this school," Hermione finishes her introduction.
"Hermione, you promised our Homeroom Teacher we'd be nice in public while in the United Kingdom attending Hogwarts for one year. And to tone down on the swearing..."
With a twitch of the eye, Hermione kicks him in the shin making Harry yelp out in pain.
"Shut up! I can already tell this is going to be a pain in my ass, Harry! You know how the British magicals view us Americans!"
He collapses onto his rear as Hermione stares down at him, before looking up and casting her dark glare upon the students of Hogwarts, making those up-close scoot away fast.
"Yeah, I know," Harry says, as Hermione focuses back upon her boyfriend, "But still, we're to set an example of how prestigious Sunnyvale Magical Academy is. No need for the Palmtop Tiger to bare her fangs."
For some reason, every student and professor in the Great Hall pictured in their mind a hand in which holds a tiger the size of a newborn kitten, giving off an angry but very cute roar. Fierce as a tiger, but small and very adorable... ("RAWR!")
"Just as you don't need everyone to learn why our peers refer to you as the Green-Eyed Dragon?" she questions her boyfriend.
Now a new mental projection emerges in the minds of every Hogwarts student and teacher; the image of a slender dragon as green as jade with a mane of black, glowing emerald eyes and golden claws and horns, showing off a fierce temper spewing forth golden red flames. Majestic and elegant, but with righteous anger when insulted... ("RRRAAH!")
Standing up and dusting himself off, he replies, "Just because I have these eyes and facial expressions doesn't mean I'm a delinquent, Mione. And I'd give anything to dissolve some of the nastier rumors I hear about me in the city..."
She sighs in the end, face palming. Their antics likely caused questions to be raised.
"I'm sure we just ruined our one chance to make a first good impression," she mutters.
As if on cue, Harry hears a loud groan coming from her stomach. Her face lit up with a blush.
"And my cute little tiger is starving," he says with a grin.
Blushing, but with a twitch in her eye, Hermione looked like she wanted to deck her boyfriend for saying such cute things in public; it embarrasses her still from time to time even though they're lovers. Harry embraces her before looking to the Headmaster. Up-close, his shocking emerald eyes bore into their very souls unknowingly to the fifteen year old. Under the table, Severus Snape's hands clenched tightly into fists, seeing the eyes of a certain woman on the teenager's face. Two other men whom were teachers of Hogwarts, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, were staring at Harry with looks of disbelief, in which aforementioned teenager offers a sheepish grin to Dumbledore not noticing how his very looks was scaring the professors of old memories of a certain man before the tyranny of Lord Voldemort's rise and eventual fall in power.
"Sorry if our usual antics interrupted you, sir."
"Stupid dog, saying cute things in public," Hermione is heard whispering softly. She did not object to Harry's loving embrace, just hiding her red face from many eyes. Harry gently pats her head, smiling softly down to the blushing girl.
"It is quiet alright," said Dumbledore, although now he understood the whole Green-eyed Dragon and Palmtop Tiger bit Sherry mentioned at the end of the conference/vacation back in Hawaii during the month of July.
In the back of Dumbledore's mind, however, he wondered if this really was James and Lily's son who disappeared a long time ago. If he really was, the young man certainly grew up in a loving home, albeit in the United States. And it would be interesting to know if Lily did indeed have other family other than Petunia.
This was certainly going to be one interesting year.
"I welcome you two to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mister Evans and Miss Granger," Dumbledore welcomes their year-long guests from America.
There was a polite applause from the students. A warm welcome despite the antics they had witnessed earlier. And Harry and Hermione share a smile with one another, as the applause dies down, the two teens facing the students. Hermione's hand slips into Harry's hand, and gave a gentle squeeze. The taller teen squeezes back, giving her comfort.
"I believe everyone is hungry, therefore for now, you two may sit over at Gryffindor Table and join us in our Opening Feast," said Dumbledore.
The two teens take a seat at the table under the gold/maroon banner with the image of a lion on it, sitting closest to the Head Staff table. With a final four words that sounded completely random, tons of food and drink magically appeared on the five tables, and the students all dug in, as the ambient noise rose to normal levels. Kids left and right talking to friends of their fellow house mates, discussions from summer vacation to random topics, everything.
And Harry and Hermione sit together under the Gryffindor banner.
"So... let's try and keep damage to a minimal, Mione," Harry whispers to his girlfriend.
She smiles sweetly to him. "Don't worry... unless any idiot pisses me off, I won't do anything too harmful."
They share a quick kiss, before they dig into their dinner provided by the school.
Throughout the rest of the feast, lingering eyes would always be on them, mainly from the students talking about the two foreign students from America attending their school for a year.
From the Staff Table, Dumbledore would look at Harry, his weary eyes always glimpsing upon the familiar green eyes that reminded him of Lily. Severus too would be haunted of old memories he buried down years ago, reminded of a woman he had fallen in love with, who was killed by the Dark Lord...
Sirius and Remus would remember old memories of the time they played with their infant godson before the day James and Lily went into hiding when the Dark Lord started hunting down families. And Minerva would be reminded of a former student she cherished years ago, reminded of the very same green eyes on the face of a young man who looks to be a near carbon copy of the deceased Lord Potter...
And Harry never knew how his looks was drawing unwanted attention for looking like his deceased father he has little memory of. All on his mind was being with Hermione, learning the differences of magical education from America and Europe, and representing the honor of the academy they attended.
That, and try not to leave behind rumors he doesn't want to leave a lasting impression of. But Hogwarts will over the year start learning of the legends of the Palmtop Tiger and the Green-eyed Dragon.
And that is all I got. Yeah. I know... weird and short. It features Harry growing up in a different environment, and Hermione being vastly different than canon. When you watch too much anime, the weird ideas start to spawn. In this case, it was Toradora! that made me write something where Hermione has a loli figure and Harry was the taller person in the love relationship.