A.N. I had a mind blown moment when reading the previous chapter. I had Snape give Harry an 'acceptable' when it was as good as Hermione's who got top marks. What if Snape expected Harry to be that good, thus he could only 'exceed expectations' by being best hands down? It wasn't the case in this story though, Snape's just a dick.
A few people disliked Keitaro mistaking Harry as a girl. True, I agree it's generally unlikely. However, Harry was introduced as a resident of a girl's dorm. Second, since it was so 'obvious' no one mentioned Harry was a girl. Keitaro just assumed he was a girl. (The 'cute' remarks were not about appearance, Keitaro remarks (in the manga) that Naru was cute outside not inside (exact phrasing eludes me) so he was commenting that even though Harry was a manly girl, he has a cute spirit. Or something like that.) If it's still unbelievable, sorry. I did it mostly because I thought it would be funny, and Keitaro is someone I feel would make that assumption.
To the reviewer who liked that it was 'not too heavy on the drama' *nervous laughing* as another reviewer said, Love Hina is a romance/comedy and Harry Potter… is not. Keeping everything light hearted just detracts from the Harry Potter aspect, I think. That said, I'm going to have a lot of haters, methinks.
On that note, the first fight scene I've ever written. I understand that it's probably not that good, so if anyone wants to comment on it, can you give me a little more than that?
So, let us sum up the current situation. Urashima had (somehow) mistaken him for a girl, he'd been pushed into the room where the girls were changing, catching sight of the girls naked. (Shinobu aside, the sight had been glorious.) He had attempted to flee, but had been hit by one of Aoyama's special attacks. If his memories were right, it was 'rock smashing strike', or some such. His clothes (charmed, of course) had stopped the damage from reaching his person, but he had been sent skyward and he was now in freefall towards a rapidly approaching earth. All the charms in the world wouldn't mean jack if he hit his head, since he was not wearing a hat. Maybe that was why wizards wore them?
Focus! He snarled in his mind, it's not like he were in a dangerous situation here. He twisted, it wasn't strictly necessary but being able to see what he was doing was incredibly helpful. With a flick of his wrist his wand appeared in his hand. "Arresto momentum" casting a spell on himself that should at least slow down his descent, he focused on the ground. Waving his wand in an intricate method (not as easy as it sounds when falling) and muttering a few incantations, he readied for impact.
As he struck the ground (feet first) the ground seemed to, for lack of a better word, wobble, with all the force of his impact being safely transmitted through the ground. That's right, screw physics! He thought triumphantly.
Thrusting out his hands to either side, having landed in a crouch, he did the only thing he could think of. "Safe!" he shouted.
"Harry? What are you doing?" came the voice of Haruka, who had appeared at his sudden shout. She was leaning against the wall of her tea house, smoking as per usual.
Harry laughed. "Your nephew thought I was a girl, and pushed me into the changing rooms while Aoyama was in there."
Even though she had let out a chuckle upon hearing what her nephew had done, the last part caused her to wince, "That can't have ended well."
"Nope," Harry said, still laughing. "I got sent sailing through the air. On that note, God I've missed flying." He'd have to see if his books had notes on charming an area for him to be able to fly without attracting undue notice.
"I'll go have a word with them." Haruka said with a sigh.
"No thanks" Harry immediately shot her down.
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
"Code of the Gryffindor. We deal with our own shit, whoever goes to the teacher gets snubbed." Harry said brightly. There were exceptions of course. Sic'ing McGonagall on Snape had earned a celebratory party well into the early hours.
He felt oddly cheerful. Ah yes, he always felt ecstatic after feeling the wind through his hair. He doubted he could get rid of this smile if he tried. None the less, grinning like a loon was not conducive to a serious discussion, so he tried to get it under control. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Haruka.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to go have a word with a few people."
Turning back towards the dorm building he made his way inside. The euphoria of the flying was fading away, as was his desire to burst in through the front doors like a conquering hero. As such he made his way in through the door in a gentlemanly fashion… only to dive out the way as Urashima went flying through the space he was previously occupying, Aoyama standing at the edge of the hall, somehow managing to have gotten dressed (unfortunately he thought to himself) in the time he had been gone, breathing heavily with her sword in her hands.
He turned, looking at Urashima who was getting to his feet in the courtyard. Maybe he'd let him off the arse kicking he had promised?
Everyone was gathered around the table, sitting on the sofas, though Harry could tell that Aoyama wanted nothing more than to continue her assault on him. Thankfully Kitsune and Narusegawa had managed to get her to stop.
"Now that we've calmed down, let me apologise. It totally wasn't my fault, it was his" Harry pointed at Urashima "something you should have heard, but, sorry, regardless."
"Hey" Urashima complained "No one told me you were a guy, and they all heavily stressed that it was an all-girls dorm. Why would I think a resident was male?"
"That isn't good enough!" Aoyama snarled, gripping her sword tightly.
Narusegawa held her arm gently "Motoko, it was an accident. Keitaro shouldn't have pushed him in, but none of us thought it necessary to point out that Harry was a boy. I mean, just because none of us would have made such a mistake, doesn't mean no one would do so. You can't really blame them. Let it go." Harry blinked. It was the first time Narusegawa had referred to him by his first name. Maybe he'd try using hers? He'd heard it was a big deal to the Japanese.
She wrenched her arm free, shooting to her feet "You don't understand! He defiled me with his tainted eyes! I can't forgive him!"
Everyone stared at her in shock. Shinobu had lurched away, clearly shocked by the outburst. Harry summed it up best when he responded "Eh?"
"Motoko, what do you mean?" Narusegawa asked.
She took a deep breath. "Nothing, don't concern yourselves. I'll accede to your request and let this go. If that is all, I shall retire to my room." She bowed stiffly before walking off.
Moments after she left, everyone looked to Harry.
"Any idea what she meant by that Harry?" Kitsune asked.
Harry considered the question carefully. "Not a damn clue." He said truthfully.
They sat in silence for several moments until Kitsune spoke again.
"So Harry, I have this fabulous dress you'll just love." She practically purred.
Moments later a cushion hit her in the face.
After a fun little round of 'mock Harry', Harry and Keitaro were left alone in the lobby.
"I can't believe you thought I was a girl."
"In my defence, I'd probably have guessed you were a guy had you not been introduced as the resident of a girls dorm."
"Touché. I suppose we should get this out of the way with. I'm Harry Potter. An ordinary guy. Nice to meet you."
"Urashima Keitaro. Likewise." He said.
"But man, to think Aoyama would actually attack us with her sword."
Keitaro laughed it off. "Well, we saw her naked, so it can't be helped."
Harry tilted his head as he looked at the man. He wondered if all Japanese were so blasé about violence, or if he was just special. Well, Harry was used to people solving their own 'issues' with jinxes and hexes, so it wasn't that big a leap.
"Fancy some tea Keitaro?" Harry asked. Both having been targets of Aoyama's wrath, Harry felt at ease enough to use the guy's first name, and Keitaro seemed fine with it.
"Sure." Keitaro said, the two of them returning to the kitchen.
While he was concerned about the fact that Aoyama had a serious grievance against him (whatever the hell 'tainted eyes' meant, it couldn't be magic. Probably.) He would have been inclined to put it behind them had she apologised for going samurai on him. Unfortunately, she had not apologised, just said she'd 'let it go' and run off. He couldn't let that stand. Four years of Draco Malfoy had taught him if he left it at that she'd never get over whatever her imaginary grudge was. (Left un-thought was that Malfoy hadn't learned from his subsequent retaliations.)
That led to Harry, the next morning, digging around in his trunk. This scheme was right out of his anti-Malfoy playbook. Finally finding a small plastic bag containing a fine powder, he grinned to himself. It was magically enhanced chilli powder that Hagrid had grown, then turned into a powder for him. Given Malfoy generally disliked spicy food, asking Dobby to slip some on his food after a particularly harsh taunting session (with Snape lurking around the corner for when Harry had had enough to start trading insults) had produced hilarious results. A tiny sprinkling of this powder on the fish that Aoyama always ate first, and he'd feel satisfied about the previous evening. An added bonus, the rest of the meal would be untouched, so if anyone else tried the food, they'd notice nothing different from their own meals. No one would be able to blame him for it either.
That said, he felt a small twinge of regret when she then ran out the room, red faced and clutching her mouth with both hands.
Halloween had never been a pleasant day for Harry. It began before he even set foot in Hogwarts. Well, to be honest it started before he could consciously remember, what with his parents' murder and all, but for as long as he could remember, Halloween had sucked. Spending a night in a tree, afraid to come down because of Aunt Marge's dog, the time he had been given some chocolate for his 'good costume' (Dudley's cast offs) after being locked out the house, which Dudley had simply decided to take, before pushing him when he tried to get it back, stumbling into the road where he had miraculously (read; accidental magicked himself) come out unscathed after being hit by a car. Then a few other incidents he didn't care to remember.
So yes, his mood was generally morose at this time of year. He'd tried reading tea leaves for himself. It was generally better to do it for others, but he had managed to predict that he would bring misfortune to people around him.
End result, Keitaro had wound up with a few bruises by the time breakfast was ready (he was really clumsy, almost comically so). He had spent the rest of the day after breakfast in the annex, coming out only for dinner. Not feeling like trying to do any more studying, he had gone out for a walk. He didn't know when he'd return to the dorms, maybe in the morning when the misfortune should be gone.
He felt a shiver down his spine. It was the only warning he got, but he threw himself backwards in time to avoid an armoured figure from skewering him. Harry shivered. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that there was no person in that suit of armour.
"You did pretty well to dodge that, Wizard!" the last word dripping with scorn, the voice came surprisingly not from the armour.
Harry looked around. The street was completely deserted, save for a young man walking towards him, wearing an odd robe. The man pulled out a paper charm. It glowed, causing Harry to feel something seeming to pass over him.
"I'm pretty sure we've never met." Harry said idly, masking the apprehension he felt, "attempted murder seems a bit sudden."
"I heard that an English wizard was in Japan. I couldn't believe it, but I just had to find out. But, you're here, so I'll have you die now."
"I'm not in the mood for this. Come back tomorrow." Harry said coolly. He discreetly attempted to apparate. Something got in the way. The paper charm from earlier?
The young man snarled "No, We're doing this now, bastard."
The suit of armour lunged at him again with what appeared to be a spear of some kind.
Harry jumped back, flicking the wand that appeared in his hand at the figure with a muttered 'incarcerous'. Ropes leapt from the end of his wand, wrapping around the figure.
"Look, I have no idea what your problem is, but can't we just leave it at that?"
"Shut up! My Grandfather was murdered by Albus Dumbledore! As his student, you have no choice but to die!"
The man brandished a paper charm. Harry couldn't hear what he said, but wind blasted towards him, slicing the ropes binding the figure. Harry threw up a shield charm, dissipating the attack. A follow up blasting curse interrupted the figures lunge, sending it stumbling back without damage.
Harry frowned. That should have done some damage. Did it have some kind of magic resistance, or was it just incredibly durable? From what he recalled, the quickest way to end this was to attack the caster. He ran to the side. The figure ran after him, keeping itself between him and the caster. Harry threw a tripping jinx, jumping back at the same time. The figure tried to do the same, but ended up falling to the ground in a heap. Immediately taking advantage of the opening, Harry threw a stunning spell at his opponent. About a foot from reaching him a second suit of armour materialised, knocking the spell away with a sword.
"Fool. You think I had just one familiar?"
Harry grimaced. This just got a bit harder. He couldn't risk running around blindly, hoping for a lucky shot. He needed to come up with a strategy. For that, he needed time. And time, that he could obtain for himself. He immediately tapped his wand on his head. A sensation like an egg being split over his head ran down his body (how he wished he didn't know how to make that comparison) as he seemed to vanish from sight.
"You think you can escape? I've put up a barrier. I won't let you get away!"
The figure Harry had been fighting lunged at the position Harry was in. He jumped back. The moment his feet touched the ground, the figure lunged again. Harry jumped to the side. He was forced to dodge a couple more times. He noticed that it only made a second lunge after he landed.
This time as he dodged, he flicked his wand "Silencio." Lunging at his voice, Harry brandished his wand, a banisher sending it a few feet back. Harry took the opportunity to move a few steps away.
"Come out you bastard!"
Harry took several more steps back cautiously. The figure stood unmoving. He bumped into something, a blue glow appearing in the air around him. The figure lunged at him again, Unable to go back, Harry jumped to the side, but the figure's spear grazed his arm, causing him to hiss at the pain.
Another banisher put some distance between them and Harry stepped away, making sure the figure lost track of him. He slowly (since the disillusionment charm was not true invisibility, strong movement could render one's outline visible enough to locate) angled around to put the caster between him and the attacking figure, paying careful attention to avoid stepping on any twigs or such.
A few feet behind the caster, Harry tried his stunning spell again. However the moment his wand was aimed at the caster, the second figure on standby near the caster turned, a step bringing it in range enough to swing its sword at his chest. Quick reflexes meant Harry only got a light scratch across his torso rather than being bisected.
After taking several steps back, he placed his wand to his throat. "Now that's just not fair." He complained, his voice seeming to come from the other side of the street. The first figure leapt towards it, swinging its spear.
"Fair? When you're the one skulking around trying sneak attacks?" the caster said with scorn.
Harry didn't reply. He went over what he knew. These figures couldn't detect magic, or they'd have attacked him rather than his voice. They had sharp eyes and ears (or did they? They 'saw' and 'heard' but he had no idea how they did so) they were resistant to magic, or were at least resilient enough to shrug off his blasting curse, his strongest offensive spell. For a moment he lamented that Hogwarts was not a combat school, before returning his attention to the matter at hand. He could bind them with ropes, but he didn't think he could get both of them before the caster attacked, freeing them. But then, he didn't need to, did he?
Pressing his wand to his throat again, he spoke. "Look, I get that you have some sort of grudge against Dumbledore, what does that have to do with me?"
The first figure leapt away, chasing his voice.
"You're his student, his crimes are yours!"
While he was answering, Harry started his next plan. Ropes sprang from his wand, arcing towards the second (and only nearby) figure. He immediately moved his wand, sending a stunner at the caster.
The figure responded instantly. Swinging it's sword it slashed through the ropes before the stunner even left his wand. Then leaping, it deflected the stunner, before swinging its sword at Harry.
Harry, of course, had already removed himself from the area where he was in danger of decapitation. He frowned. He had no idea how it had sensed his attack, nor how it had performed a seemingly impossible feat of swordsmanship. The ropes should have been tough enough that they got knocked away rather than sliced clean through.
He focused. He had to know some spell that could help him. He recalled one of his charms classes. He'd try that. "Carpe Retractum." Twin beams of orange energy burst from his wand, arcing them around a nearby telephone pole, one of them latching around the figures sword arm the other around its midsection. He heaved, trying to pull it to the side. Not the purpose of the spell, (meant to pull things to him, or him to them) but it worked enough. His follow up stunning spell raced towards the caster. He nonchalantly pulled out a slip of paper, a shield jumping into existence, blocking his spell.
The caster proceeded to mock him, but Harry didn't pay attention. He leapt back again, avoiding the spear that smashed into the ground where he had been standing, cracking the paving. Harry eyed it wearily. He really had to avoid that. Time for a new plan.
"Colloshoo." He said, waving his wand at the figure. He leapt to the side, just in case, but the figure failed to attack him, due to the adhesive substance sticking its feet to the ground.
Repeating the spell on the second figure, Harry began sending spells at the caster. Blasting curses, cutting curses, stunning spells. A few other more obscure hexes that Flitwick got so excited about them in class. He wasn't sure how that shield worked, so he'd just try and overwhelm it with an unrelenting barrage of strong attacks.
There was a crashing sound over to the side. A quick glance revealed the first figure had smashed its spear into the ground, and was now speeding towards him with bits of paving stone stuck to its feet. A quick upwards flick of his wand "Alarte Ascendare" and it went flying upwards. Lockhart had a few good spells it seemed. A quick glance revealed the caster was sweating from the strain of keeping up the shield.
Looking back at the figure, it somehow gained control of its flight, and was plummeting back towards him spear first. Harry leaped out the way, taking a few more steps for good measure. It then crashed into the ground, Harry stumbling from the impact. A quick glance told him the second figure had already freed itself. He doubted that method would hold them for as long again.
Harry bit his lip. He wanted to avoid some of the really flashy stuff. If he transfigured small dragons from the debris, (the draconifors spell) it would be pushing himself a bit, but he was pretty sure he would win. It would likely set many of the buildings on fire, but he would win. He needed to avoid that level of fight. There was a limit to what he knew how to repair, and he really wanted to avoid attracting too much attention. Feeling the wounds he had acquired start to burn, he pulled out some healing cream from his pocket, spreading it over his injuries. Supressing the hiss he wanted to let out at the sharp pain, the irritation seemed to ease. He was rapidly running out of his stock of healing supplies. Cleaning out the annex, he had still received some injuries, since his clothes didn't cover his whole body. It was a shame the books he had with him had very little in the way of healing spells.
He turned back to his opponent. Now that Harry had stopped his unrelenting barrage, the guy seemed much more at ease. He looked towards the two familiars, the suits of armour. No doubt Voldemort or Dumbledore could deal with them with little trouble. Unfortunately, Harry was running out of ideas. He didn't think waiting for the guy to get bored and leave was going to work. He needed to finish this himself. There had to be some spell he knew that could turn this thing around. He wouldn't let himself die like this.
Harry stood cautiously, ready to jump at the slightest indication that they knew where he was. He carefully considered his options for attacking.
The first figure, the one armed with the spear suddenly leapt away from Harry's location. Harry frowned, looking towards where it was leaping. His eyes widened, and he raised his wand, desperate to do anything, as its spear pierced the body of the young girl walking down the road.
"What! No one unaffiliated with you should have been able to enter the barrier!" his opponent shouted.
Time seemed to slow down for Harry. A whispering voice exploded in his mind 'kill the spare'. No, he couldn't allow that to happen. He changed the target of his wand. "Confringo" the incantation for the blasting curse left his lips coldly. The second figure, armed with a sword, leapt between the caster and Harry. Harry's other hand reached into his pocket. The first figure pulled its spear out of the girl's body. Harry tapped his wand to the glass vial he withdrew from his pocket, removing all the safety charms he'd placed on it. The blasting curse hit the ground in front of the caster, between the legs of the armoured figure, sending debris into the air. Harry tossed the vial towards them, aiming his wand at the vial tumbling through the air. Swishing his wand he cast a switching spell, the vial being replaced with a piece of rubble. The spear armed figure began to leap back towards the caster, who began pulling something out of his robe.
There was an explosion. Harry paid it no mind, having already began to run towards the body of the young girl. He paid no mind as the armoured figures faded away, as he felt the barrier that had stopped him leaving disappear, as the heavily burned body of the man who attacked him slammed into a wall.
He dropped to his knees as he reached the figure, lifting her head as he called out her name.
"Shinobu!"
Blood was seeping out of the large wound through her abdomen. Harry somehow knew she would die in minutes.
She tried to say something, possibly his name, but all that came out was a racking cough, her blood hitting him in the face.
He felt cold. She was going to die because someone had a grudge against him, because she had the misfortune to come across them? He couldn't allow it. A handsome man's face flicked through his mind, eternally locked in an expression of surprise as a jet of green struck him. No. He wouldn't allow it. He couldn't! There had to be some way to save her. He pulled out the last of his healing cream. No, it wouldn't work. The injury was too major. The cream couldn't effect internal organs and there was too little of it left regardless.
He didn't have any potions that could help this level of injury. Even if he did, apparating back to the dorms when he was this stressed was almost certainly going to fail. He couldn't reverse splinching, and rendering himself possibly useless wouldn't save anyone.
He racked his brain for healing spells. He came up with a few, but the most they could do was fix bruises, possibly something on the level of a broken nose.
She was sobbing, coughing, trying to say something. Tears were leaking from her eyes. Think! If he couldn't save even one girl, what was the point!
A single passage of a book flashed in his mind. 'They can use their master's magical power to heal themselves.'
He focused. He'd read about how to create familiars, but he was unable to comprehend it. He needed that understanding now. He felt pressure building in his mind, a headache that would normally cause him to stop. He ignored it. Forced himself to understand. He felt something seem to crack in his mind. He felt something begin to drip from his nose, his ears, his eyes. Ignore it. He had almost reached it. It felt like his mind was on fire.
Pain assaulted his senses. It was comparable to the cruciatus, though Voldemort's torture curse was still worse, but then, he didn't think anything would match that agony. It felt like every inch of his body was on fire. He almost passed out, but he somehow managed to keep his mind conscious. He felt like he had an epiphany. He had the feeling that he could do it. It wasn't perfect, but he could use western methods to shore up the insufficiencies.
He looked at the girl. He probably looked a sight, blood streaming down his face. "Shinobu, I can save you." He said. He needed her permission for this. "I don't know what the side effects will be, but you will be saved. Do you want to try?"
"I don't want to die." He barely heard her, but it was enough. He slipped his wand down her shirt, slicing it apart, revealing her chest, ignoring her response to it. He prodded his finger with his wand, causing blood to leak out. He began writing symbols on her chest, eventually reaching down to the point where she was injured. He wrote furiously, as fast as he could without making mistakes. Many of them were Japanese symbols, but there were several runes he had learnt at Hogwarts there too.
He was being truthful when he spoke to her. Technically what he was doing was a hybrid version of eastern and western styles. So far as he knew, something like this had never been done before. He wasn't sure it would work, he was winging it, so to speak.
He sat back, wiping his hands at his face, actually smearing his blood over it, rather than wiping it away. He had done everything he could. Shinobu was out cold, her wound seemed to be knitting itself back together. She had already lasted longer than he had originally guessed she would.
What looked like a tattoo had appeared on her chest. It was just a cluster of symbols, drawn in on themselves until they were illegible. He'd do something about that later, make it look like some mark that wouldn't be out of place on a girl's body. A concern for later.
He flicked his wand at her, a quick 'reparo' knitting her clothes together as he felt his magical energy doing to her flesh. She was pulling magic out of him, centring it to her wound. It was a strange feeling. Her breathing appeared to be easing. He had a feeling that she would pull through. He had no idea what this would mean for them, the effects of her being his familiar would entail. It was a completely original situation, so far as he knew. He hoped it wouldn't interfere with her life too much.
He forced himself to his feet. Now that he had done what he could for her, he had to do what he could for the town. It was a stroke of luck that muggles hadn't come over here. He guessed that the wizard (if that's what they called themselves) who tried to kill him had used a muggle repelling charm of some kind, though it should have faded with the rest of the magic he had used.
First, he had to check on his enemy. He felt a little nauseous as he looked down at the body, yeah, he was almost certainly dead. It bothered Harry that he never knew the guys name. It was the first person he had killed (that he recalled, Quirrel was a blur and Tom didn't count).
He should've been more bothered that he had taken a life, but mostly he just felt numb. He couldn't leave a body lying around. Fortunately, his teacher had taught him how to deal with this, he transfigured the corpse into a bone. Placing it within one of the craters their fight had made, he abused the 'reparo' spell to put the street back together, vanishing the leftover debris.
Seeing he had done all he could for the fight scene, he lifted Shinobu in his arms. Maybe he could've used magic to do so, but he didn't feel up to trying to cover it up should someone see it. Though without the levitation, it was just their bloodstained clothes they would ask about, he thought bitterly. Anyway, he should take her back to the Hinata dorms.
When he got back, Haruka was just closing up the tea house. The moment she caught sight of him, she stopped to greet him. Her words caught in her throat the moment she got a good look at him, or rather the blood covering his face and clothes, and the unconscious girl in his arms.
"Harry, what the fuck happened?!"
Accepting her help in dropping Shinobu onto a table in the tea house, he answered. "Some Japanese wizard had a grudge against my headmaster, figured he's take it out on me. I was trying to figure out how to deal with it when Shinobu happened upon us. The other guy almost killed her. I had to do something… unpleasant, to deal with it. Honestly, I have no idea what the effects on her will be."
"What about the other guy?" she sked, looking around.
"… I dealt with it." Harry responded stonily, not wanting to think about it too much.
She hesitated. "Alright, I won't ask about that. What happened with Shinobu?"
"…I don't know any useful healing magic. The potions and creams I have only amount to being able to deal with light injuries, basic illnesses. Easily fixed screw ups I might make. That sort of injury… there was nothing I could do, she was going to die, right in front of me! Just like that time! I had to do something. I remembered something in the Japanese tradition I'm looking at for your grandmother that would heal her. I didn't understand how to do it." He gestured at his face, the blood smeared over it. "I didn't let that stop me."
He collapsed in a chair, suddenly incredibly tired. "I didn't quite reach it, just enough that I could bastardise the method with the western techniques I use. It is not an exaggeration to say something like this has never been done before. She may show traits of a western or eastern familiar, maybe neither, maybe both. I… just don't know. I just had to do something."
"And you? Are you alright?" she asked.
"… I don't know. Maybe I'm fine. Maybe I'm in shock, I don't know, I just feel… numb."
"Okay, wait here. I'm going to get a wet towel or something." She said, standing up and making her way into the back rooms. Harry let out a sigh. His entire body was aching. His mind still hurt, he honestly wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and spend a week sleeping. He forced himself to stay awake. He didn't know when Shinobu would awaken, and he felt he owed it to her to be there when she woke up, so he could explain things to her.
Moments after she disappeared another voice intruded on his brooding.
"Potter, I could feel what you've done to Shinobu from the moment you arrived at the foot of the stairs." Came the cold voice of Aoyama.
Harry sighed. It seemed he had no luck at all. He really hated Halloween. He just knew that this was going to end with trouble.
"At the behest of Granny Hina, who allowed me residence here, I resolved myself to tolerate your foul presence. Even as I came to suspect you were magically inclined, I held my tongue. No matter how depraved you are, it would be discourteous of me to attack another of Granny Hina's guests, but now you have sunk your foul sorcerous claws into Shinobu, I can no longer let you do as you please, I will expel you from this property!" She snarled, drawing her sword.
Anger surged in him. Forcing himself to his feet, he drew his wand. "I've had a really bad day, if it's a fight you want, then fine. Let's go somewhere a little more appropriate, and maybe I'll figure out what the hell you've been babbling about."
They were stood in the woods behind the dorm. Harry had put up a charm that should stop the other residents from noticing what was going on. He had been forced to explain this to the outraged swordswoman, who had accused him of using dark magic on the other residents. Honestly, she was really starting to piss him off with this nonsense.
The two stood facing each other, several feet apart. Aoyama had her sword drawn, holding it in both hands. Harry had his wand out, holding it casually at his side. He had seen what she was capable of, some of it at least. Then, taking into account how tired he was, (physically and mentally) he probably was at a severe disadvantage in this fight. None the less, he had no intention of backing down.
They stood in silence, staring at one another, as well as they could in the relative darkness of the area.
Aoyama shot forward. Harry's eyes widened, she was fast. He'd seen her move this fast before, in the hot springs. No doubt an ordinary human would be caught off guard. But Harry was a quidditch player, used to evading sudden attacks by what was often likened to a cannonball. Like all players, he had developed what seemed like 'a sixth sense' for danger. Combined with his impressive reflexes, he swished his wand, a quick 'protego' snapping into place, deflecting her attack to the side.
Her second spell was similarly blocked, before he managed a 'flipendo' to throw her back. Her tumbling flight was halted when she used an arm to flip herself using the ground, landing on her feet. Harry began the wand movements for a blasting curse.
"Shinmei-ryu hiken; Zankūsen!"
His eyes widened as a crescent of… something came flying at him. Turning an attack spell into a shield was too tricky, "Oh fu- Expelliarmus!" he rapidly changed the spell he was casting. The jet of light from his wand impacted the wave of energy, and with an explosion both were sent back at their originators. Harry immediately jumped to the side, dodging the spell, while Aoyama swung her sword, causing an identical attack to collide with it in mid-air, the explosion concealing them form each other. Guessing her next move, he thrust out his wand, "Confr-"
She appeared right where he was pointing, sword in front of her, just beginning to press against his chest.
"STOP FIGHTING" screamed the voice of a young girl.
They both stopped dead. Her sword pressed against his chest, just hard enough to be irritating. His wand, several inches from her forehead, the tip lit up with a threatening orange glow.
There was a tense moment of silence while they both glared into each other's eyes. As one, their eyes moved to look at the source of the voice. Shinobu was stood there, leaning heavily against Haruka. She was breathing heavily, and he could tell that she was bleeding lightly, her wound apparently not yet being fully healed.
"Shinobu." Came the cold voice of Aoyama, "This magic user used his magic to force you into being his servant. Unless he is dealt with, you will never be free of him."
"I don't know about any of that!" came her teary voice "Something stabbed me with a spear. Even though I could tell it hurt, that it looked like it might kill him, he tried desperately to save me! You've always looked out for me since I arrived here, so please, stop fighting!"
There was another moment of silence, broken only by Shinobu's sniffling. After a moment, Aoyama lowered her sword, returning it to its sheath. Similarly Harry's wand lost the orange glow, and he returned it to the bracer he wore.
Aoyama sighed. "When you say that with such a face, how can I continue?"
As Aoyama turned to leave, she was stopped by Haruka, who moved away from Shinobu, he started leaning against a tree, who called out her name. As the girl turned to face her she was struck by a powerful slap. Before Harry could respond he too was staggered by the force of the woman's slap.
"I don't know what sort of grudge you two have against one another, and I don't much care. What I do know is that you were both trying to kill each other. I don't expect you to get along, but this will not be repeated, am I clear?"
"Crystal." Harry muttered, not hearing whatever Aoyama responded with.
After a moment, Aoyama turned to him. "Potter. I jumped to conclusions, and acted rashly. I apologise." She got out. To Harry, it sounded like she was pulling teeth.
Nonetheless, "I apologise too. I could have tried to explain the situation. I let my temper get the better of me."
Haruka nodded. "Good. Now, both of you to bed. I'll watch over Shinobu for now. We can deal with this in the morning, if you wish."
As Harry walked towards the dorm, a few minutes after Aoyama departed, he pondered her words. To be honest, he was somewhat concerned. He had no idea what she was talking about. So far as he knew, he'd never done anything depraved. While there were striking similarities between him and the dark lord, Harry knew he was not evil, and he'd never used a dark art so far as he was aware. Deciding not to bother with a bath, he went straight to his room. He had a lot to think about, but he'd leave it until tomorrow.
A.N. I wanted to throw in some heavy drama. I wanted to show that not everything is fine and dandy because Harry is out of Britain. I tried to leave some hints. Well, I didn't connect them I guess. Finally, I wanted to show that there was a deeper effect on Harry with Cedric's death than a few nightmares.
I made mention of 'incompatibility' between east and west magic, hinted at differences. What did people think of it?
I wonder what people think about the thing with Shinobu? About Motoko's intense dislike of Harry? About Shinobu becoming a familiar… if the idea isn't hated enough that I feel I should remove it, what should the consequences be? I have a few ideas, but I'd like to hear other people's thoughts.
Anyone have complaints about how any characters are acting? I think I'm doing pretty well with it.
I wanted to keep with existing spells, that Harry might be expected to know pre fifth year. That said, I didn't want to have him be a one trick pony, so to speak. In case any one wonders why he didn't pull out expelliarmus earlier, he knows the spell pretty well, thus he knows better than to try and send a spear or sword flying at himself as a result of his own spell.