Chapter Two
Ranma
Mrs. Saotome Nodoka sat on a park bench, alone with her thoughts and her sorrow. Just two days ago her beautiful two years old baby boy had died. It was so sudden, so unexpected that she simply could not believe it at all. She had left him on his crib all fine and healthy and when she returned in the morning he simply was not there anymore. And Nodoka cried, and cried some more until the tears would not come anymore. And then she'd left her home and traveled to this park, in Tokyo, just to put some distance between herself and her memories. And as though it wasn't enough, he husband would come back from his week-long visit to his old friend Tendo in just one more day, and she'd have to tell him what happened and relive it all and then he'd probably blame her and say she was unfit to be a mother and hate her and…But then something cut off Mrs. Saotome's grim and desperate thoughts. A cry. A baby's cry.
Perhaps it was her motherly instincts, or the memory of her son, or perhaps it was just common sense, but she decided to go investigate it. She quickly abandoned her lonely bench and left to follow the sound. Going through some paths and bushes she soon found herself in front of some trash cans. Strange, she could've swore she heard a baby cry…but then, maybe it was her imagination and desperate wish to see her son again. Then she heard some rustling of clothes and looked down. There, next to the trash cans, on the floor was a bundled up baby. Emerald green eyes looked into her own, and it was almost like they were looking into her soul and judging her. Then the green eyes blinked and the connection was lost, and the baby gave a soft whimper, almost as if afraid to make noise when she was there, but wanting to cry some more. She looked around, but there was no one. Just her, her and the emerald-eyed baby.
"What are you doing here, little one? Where's your Mother, your Father?" She asked softly, before bending down and picking the child up. The young one suddenly flinched and closed his beautiful green eyes and Nodoka felt something inside of her snap. Someone had obviously hit this child, more than once for sure, if one so young reacted like that to human contact. She made soft cooing noises and rubbed the boy's back, trying to calm him down a bit. He relaxed some, but it was obvious that he was not ready to trust her, as he remained alert and just a little tense, not to mention still whimpering lightly. "What have they done to you, green eyes?" She asked in soft, sad tones. A tear leaked down her cheek and she didn't even bother to wipe it away. She was sure she could cry no more after her son's death. Here she was, grieving for her son and some people (if one could indeed call them that) were heartless enough to abuse and abandon their own so callously. Well, she would not stand for it!
"It must be a sign, a sign for sure" She looked determined and sure of her words. It was just too much of a coincidence that she was wishing and asking the gods to give her back her son and then suddenly find herself with a child who obviously needed a good mother. The fact that the child's black hair and some of his facial features looked similar enough to those of her son certainly helped. Genma would most likely not notice. Nodoka snorted lightly at the thought. The boy could have wings growing on his back and the man would still not notice. At least not so as long as he could be his heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. And he would. She was sure, sure that this little boy was a survivor and a fighter and he would make a great (and manly) martial artist someday. But above all, she was sure that he would be her son, her baby boy.
"You're mine now, little one. My Ranma"
And so it was that a new life began for Harry Potter, one completely different from the what he would've had at Privet Drive. Easier in some ways and harder in others, especially as he trained to become the world's greatest martial artist. But one thing was for sure, he would have traded it for nothing.
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Author's Notes: And here's the second chapter! The plot begins to thicken and the story takes shape, lol.
Thanks a lot to Rune The Secret Child and Krynny for their reviews, that's the sort of stuff that keeps me writing ^-^
