Author's Notes –
This is an AU fic for both Ranma and Harry Potter. Hell, it's a cross over, expect lots of surprises. No, I do not own either series.
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Ranma hated keeping secrets. It was hard for the young martial artist to accept the fact that he had knowledge that adults or other kids wouldn't like or might try to use against him. If not for the fact that Happosai and his father had force both he and Neville to never tell anyone about who Neville really was the two boys would probably have let it slip that Neville was the descendant of a wizard that much of the western world reviled. Though they didn't understand why, they knew that they needed to keep that secret.
Then there was their other secret – that one neither boy wanted to have to explain.
Finally there was the secret about Neville's father and mother. Though Neville had been raised by his great-grand father on his mother's side he had always been told that that was because his father couldn't take care of himself or of Neville. The sudden realization that the man was still alive but thought that his son was dead though changed things.
Having accepted all that Genma, Nodoka, and Happosai had told them as the truth, Ranma and Neville were both shaken by the revelation that Neville's father was still alive. If that was a lie, than what else had they lied to them about?
"Is something wrong dear?" Nodoka asked as the kind woman set down a pitcher of orange juice for the boys. With the boys to spend the majority of the next seven years in England the Saotome Matron had decided that they should all get used to enjoying the local fare. An expert in the kitchen, Nodoka quickly caught on to the lessons that Lily had provided her over the past few days.
The sullen boys simply shook their heads as none of the three dared to bring up what they'd heard the previous night.
"Why don't we get some practice in before breakfast," Genma suggested rather than asked as he put his hands on Neville and Ranma's shoulder, leading them out to the tiny courtyard. Despite its rather humble appearance the courtyard was much larger than it appeared as it had been enchanted to provide more space for the users.
The quick morning spar pitted the two boys against the Master of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. After the first five minutes it was clear that their lack of experience and bulk was more than enough to compensate for their slightly greater numbers as Genma expertly dodged and weaved between their combined attacks. Using his size to his advantage Genma waited for Ranma to telegraph a kick before countering with his own, sending the smaller of the two boys sprawling through the air before finally twisting in midair so that he managed to spring off of the wall.
Not bothering to watch Ranma soar through the air Genma connected with a swift snap kick to the back of Neville's leg, throwing the growing boy off balance and then into the ground.
"Not bad Neville," he complemented with a laugh as he offered a hand to the taller of the two boys.
Rather than accepting his master's offered hand the sandy haired boy pushed off the ground. Springing to his feet he expertly swept Genma's feet out from underneath the rotund man. Startled, Genma barely managed to twist so as not to injure himself as he hit the ground. Rolling to reduce the impact he felt Neville's kick connect with his ribs.
Skillfully catching the boy's leg as he recoiled the limb and prepared for another attack, the large man pulled the tall boy down to the ground. Using his greater bulk Genma pinned the young sandy haired boy down even as Ranma rushed to join the fray.
A deceptively powerful spinning jump kick from the raven haired boy caught Genma in the side of the head, dazing him even as it forced him off of Neville. Instinctively the large man back handed his son, sending the boy rolling away and buying himself some time to recover as he got to his feet.
Neville sprang to his feet, rushing in with a right cross that few wide that turned into a spinning axe kick that forced Genma to block. Using the force of the kick Neville flipped into the air before trying to kick off of Genma's forearm. Feeling the powerful grip preventing him from springing away Neville smiled Ranma rushed underneath him. Having played the decoy/diversion for the attack the sandy haired boy accepted that he couldn't spring away as Ranma dashed past Genma's guard and delivered a cork-screwing thrusting punch to the stomach of the master martial artist.
Unfortunately the boys lacked Genma's power and durability as the fully grown man shrugged off the hit before slamming Neville onto Ranma. Dazed, the boys simply lay there as Genma sat down on them, pinning them to the ground.
"That," the rotund man sighed, "was a good work out. Once you two finish growing and adapting to your new bodies you'll both be forces to be reckoned with. You'll be men amongst men."
Standing up Genma disregarded the rueful looks that the Potters, Sirius and Lupin threw him as he stood over the boys. Offering hi hands to the boys he smiled as they took the offered limbs.
Neville and Ranma shared a knowing look as they brushed off the dirt and grime from their morning ritual. Regardless of what the adults told them they knew that they would always be there for each other and together they would overcome any obstacles that they faced. Well, they would once they grew up a bit. One day they'd be able to take down the master, and perhaps even the Grandmaster.
* * * * *
The cool gray cement and mellow orange-red bricks of London gave way to the crisp gray cut stones and deep brown boards of Diagon Alley as the foursome entered magical London. Though their hosts had taken them to the Leaky Cauldron, the western magi had wanted the eastern travelers to see and experience the location without any bias, allowing the Saotome family and Neville to enter magical London alone for their first visit.
Neville had to admit, he was a bit underwhelmed. Perhaps it was because western magi tended to segregate themselves from the non-magic using populace, but regardless of the reason for their separation the sandy haired boy couldn't help but notice the extreme differences in the two cultures and societies. Unlike eastern magi who lived with the general populace and who had adapted to technology, the western magi appeared to be stuck in the middle ages when compared to their non-magical counterparts. Having not mastered how to control electricity like eastern magi had, the western or European magi had adapted their magic to perform similar functions. And they still used candles.
And there were the robes. Who wore robes still? Sure, the priestesses or priests often wore them for ceremonies, but outside of that they wore fairly modern clothes. Seeing a street full of people decked out in robes (though there were a few who wore regular, modern attire) the pair of youngsters simply shrugged.
Wandering through Diagon Alley the foursome attracted little attention as they approached the white marble building that was Gringotts, the wizard world's primary bank. Having dealt with the goblins in Japan's branch of the bank the foursome merely withdrew from Happosai's considerable account rather than having to exchange yen for golden galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts.
Purchasing their school books and supplies (cauldrons, various ingredients for potions, dragon hide gloves, fitted school robes, and a small starter kit for home growing their own common ingredients like wolf's bane, garlic, and several minor magical plants) the foursome quickly made their way down the alley before finally meeting up with the three Potters in front of Ollivander's Wand shop.
Entering the dark, dusty shop the three youngsters eyed the shelves stocked with mysterious boxes.
"Ah," a wise old man said as he emerged from behind the countertop, "the Potters, I was wondering when I'd see you again. Here to get your son his first wand I take it?"
The man with messy brown hair nodded, "These are the Saotomes and their ward, Neville. They're also here to get wands for the boys."
"Actually," Neville spoke up, "Ranma and I have wands already."
The assembled adults looked down at the two boys. "Grandpa made them for us before we came to England," the sandy haired boy stated. Reaching into his left sleeve he pulled out his wand even as Ranma did the same.
"Blimy," Harry exclaimed as he eyed the other boys, "you didn't tell me you already had wands."
Ranma shrugged, "We were told not to use them until we get on the train to school."
"Interesting," the white haired man stated as he stepped out from behind the counter. "May I?" he asked, reaching out to inspect the taller boy's wand.
The sandy haired boy shrugged even as he handed the man his still unused wand.
A shiver ran through the man as he held Neville's wand. Staring at the light wood he eyed Neville, "Nine and a half inches of Yew"
Lily and James glanced at each other then at the old wand maker before shifting their gaze at Neville.
"and the core is from the tail feather of a very powerful phoenix," Ollivander stated.
"Extraordinary," the ancient shopkeeper stated as he waved the wand, sending a shower of flaming sparks through the air. Shaking his head he handed the wand back to Neville.
Neville shrugged as he accepted his wand back.
The raven haired boy offered his wand to the old man.
"Eight and three-quarters inches of ebony," he stated, "and the core… hair of a totetsu?" Ranma nodded. "Interesting… I have only heard that they exist." Handing the wand back to Ranma he shook his head. "I should warn you, in the west the Wands choose their wizards. Yours clearly chose you as well, but you should be careful and not tell anyone about your wands as they may seek to take them from you."
Ranma and Neville both nodded.
"Now then, young mister Potter," he said as he turned to face the third boy, "let us take your measurements."
"Dear," Lily said as she smiled at her husband, "why don't you wait here with Harry while he gets his wand? I'll take the Saotomes and Neville to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and you can meet us there."
James nodded. "We can all go to check out the brooms after lunch," he added, eliciting a grin of approval from Harry.
* * * * *
The cold moonlight shone through the frosted glass, lighting the room in a pale white light. Though he was now fully adjusted to the time differential Neville couldn't sleep. The week spent at the Black's ancestral home had been long and tiring, but tomorrow, well, that would be another thing as he and Ranma would join hundreds of other students at Hogwarts.
"Neville," a soft voice called out from the shadows.
"Hi Happy," the young boy replied.
"How ya doing my boy?" the energetic grandmaster asked as he stepped out of the shadows.
The sandy haired boy smiled meekly.
"So, you found out," the ancient grandmaster stated. "I… I'm sorry, I should have been the one who told you."
Despite his best efforts Neville couldn't help but tearing up.
"I never knew your father, or your mother," the tiny fighter stated, "but I've been told that they were courageous people."
A heartfelt sigh escaped the old man as he crawled into the couch beside his great-grandson. "Despite my great age there are many things even I don't know. This magical world is full of many great dangers, and I'm afraid that you and Ranma are going to be exposed to it soon. But like any student of mine I expect you to persevere and ultimately win. No lesson is insignificant as every day is a test."
Neville nodded.
"Get some sleep my boy," Happosai advised as he patted Neville's sandy haired head. Planting a sleeping charm he smiled at the boy, "You're going to have a long day tomorrow and you're going to need your strength."
* * * * *
The faint afternoon light barely pierced the thick clouds overhead, leaving only a light glow at the end of the station where the trains emerged from the building.
"Why did we leave so late?" Ranma asked as he lifted his trunk over his shoulder effortlessly.
Neville shrugged as he did the same. Having endured his grandfather's rigorous training ever since he was able to walk the sandy haired boy was more than capable of holding his meager collection of clothes over his shoulder. Unfortunately the same could not be said of his collection of books and other school supplies, or the elusive toad Trevor.
"You sure you don't need a hand with that?" a ginger haired boy asked.
Though Neville was tall for his age, he had nothing on the pair of redheaded boys that stood at the end of the train.
Nodding, Neville watched as the two identical boys helped him, Ranma, and Harry carry their things onto the train.
"Weasley," the first boy said, "Fred Weasley, and this is my twin brother George Weasley."
"He's kidding," the other stated, "I'm Fred and he's George."
The three boys looked at the two.
"Neville Longbottom," the sandy haired boys stated, "and my cousin Ranma Saotome."
Ranma accepted Fred's (or was it George?) extended hand even as Neville took the other twin's hand.
"Harry," the brown haired boy stated, "Harry Potter."
The twins glanced at him even as they shook the other boys' hands before shaking Harry's hand.
"Wicked," one of the twins stated as he smirked at the other twin.
"Have fun mates," the other said with a smile. "We're gonna go find our friends."
"Yeah, they should have already picked out a compartment already," the first twin stated.
Waving at the twins the trio looked around.
"Here," Ranma said as he pointed to the last compartment, "this one's empty."
Shrugging his shoulders Neville followed Ranma inside with Harry quickly following suit.
"So you got an owl," Ranma stated as he looked at the pristine white feathers of the nocturnal predator.
Harry nodded. "One of dad's friends bought it for me when we were in Diagon Alley," the exuberant boy stated. "This way I can keep in touch with my parents."
The other boys stared at him.
"Owl post," Harry stated, "that's how wizards send their mail to each other."
Neville and Ranma exchanged a look.
"Like when those birds came with our letters," Neville mumbled.
The raven haired boy nodded. "He won't eat Akira, will he?"
"She," the brown haired boy replied, "and her name's Hedwig. She eats mice and owl treats, maybe some toast or sausage."
"No toads then," Neville confirmed as he kept Trevor from jumping away.
"No toads or bugs," Harry stated.
A gentle rapping at the door announced the presence of another redheaded and freckled boy, "Do you mind if I join you? All the others are full."
Ranma and Neville shrugged, indifferent to the presence of another boy, leaving Harry to nod, "Sure."
With the two cousins sitting on one bench the new boy sat beside Harry.
"You're not related to Fred and George-"
"They're my brothers," the tall redhead stated, cutting off Neville. "I'm Ron Weasley."
"Neville Longbottom," the sandy haired boy replied as he offered his hand.
Reaching over Ron shook his hand, wincing as he shook the sandy haired boy's hand.
"Ranma Saotome," the raven haired boy added as he offered his hand.
Ron reached over and shook Ranma's hand.
"Harry," the brown haired boy said, "Harry Potter."
The redhead blinked. "Blimy – it's true…" reaching out he quickly took Harry's hand.
Ranma and Neville glanced from Ronald to Harry, taking in the redhead's awed face and the brown haired boy's confident smile.
"What's true?" Ranma ventured to ask.
"It's Harry Potter – the Boy Who Lived!" Ron exclaimed.
"'The Boy Who Lived'?" the smaller boy repeated.
"The only wizard to survive being attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you know…"
Neville and Ranma shook their heads.
"They're not from England, they don't know," Harry stated.
The young Weasley simply nodded, "I thought you blokes had a weird accent. It sounds kind of like…"
"American English," Harry finished.
"We learned English from American soldiers deployed to Nerima," Neville explained.
"Nerima?" the redhead asked.
"We're from Japan," Ranma stated.
Again Ron nodded. "I did think it was weird," he mumbled. "I mean, the last person that You-Know-Who killed, well, he was named Neville Longbottom. He was just a baby like Harry was, but somehow Harry survived."
Neville blinked.
"That's why he's called 'The Boy Who Lived'," Ranma said quickly.
Harry averted his eyes. Maybe he wasn't the only one who had survived. But why would everyone think that Neville had died if he was, well, here?
"Yeah," the scarred boy stated as he shrugged.
Before anyone could say anything the boys were interrupted again as the door to their compartment was opened once again, this time by a middle aged witch. "Anything off the trolley dears?"
Ronald seemed to shrink in on himself as he extracted something from his pocket. "No thanks…"
"We'll take the lot," Harry quickly said, seeing a chance to change the conversation. "Two of everything for each of us."
Pulling out a pocket full of galleons he gave the witch more than enough gold to cover their purchases.
"Ranma, Neville," a new voice exclaimed as the witch unloaded the recently purchased treats into the compartment.
"Li!" Ranma smirked. "I thought you were going back to Hong Kong!"
"Syaoran!" Neville added. Though he was closer to the door the sandy haired boy sat with his back to the door and the outer hall, but hearing his friend's name Neville turned around to face his friend. "Harry, Ron, this is Li Syaoran."
Offering a polite bow to both indicated boys, Li turned to Ranma. "I did, but since Hong Kong is still a colony of the British Empire I'm going to attend Hogwarts. I thought I'd see you two when I went back to visit Japan but I only saw the Master there."
"We've been in England for the past two weeks," Neville explained. "Li's was a transfer student with us last year."
"I heard about your trip to China," Li said in clear Cantonese as he turned to face Ranma and Neville.
"A tale for another time," Neville replied in fluid Cantonese.
"Wicked," Ron exclaimed. "You speak another language?"
"Cantonese," Li stated. "While Hong Kong is a colony we still retain much of our own culture and traditions from the Chinese."
Both English boys nodded.
"We picked up some Cantonese from Li and even did some traveling in China recently," Ranma stated as he glanced at his friendly rival.
"Would you like any more?" the witch asked as she finished unloading the candy that Harry had paid for.
Li glanced at the box of mixed candy and shook his head. "That'll be more than enough," he replied as he took a seat between Ranma and Neville.
"So, how's Sa-ku-ra?" the raven haired boy teased.
"Better than your fiancée," Li replied. "She didn't even know that you were leaving."
Ron and Harry blinked.
"Fiancée?"
"Ranma's old man agreed to have him marry one of his friend's three daughters," Neville explained. "One of them is just as old as we are; the others are just a bit older."
"She's not my fiancée," the raven haired boy grumbled.
"I wasn't talking about her," Li stated. "I was talking about the girl in China."
Ranma and Neville froze. Clearly their friend knew more about their travels then he should have.
"She kissed you, didn't she?" Li asked as he threw a pack of any flavor jelly beans to Neville.
"Ew!" Harry exclaimed.
"Gross!" Ron seconded.
"That's the kiss of marriage," Li explained. "She's picked you as her future husband – once she'd old enough she's going to come after you. She won't be accepted back into her village until she brings you back as her husband or kills you."
Harry and Ron blinked.
"What the bloody hell were you two up to over the summer?" Harry asked.
Neville scratched his head. "Well, right after we received our letters to Hogwarts the masters took us on a training trip, you know, to make up for the training we wouldn't get while we were in school."
Harry and Ron leaned forward, listening intently to Neville and Ranma's abridged tale of their adventures over the summer holidays.
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A/N
Yes, Ranma and Neville have a cursed form, but they're not what you think they are.
Please Read and Review.
Dreamingfox