Chapter 7: Gryffindor Red

In his life Harry had only ever been to three schools; St. Grogory's Primary School, a place he perhaps hated even more than 4 Privet Drive, Mahoutokoro which he had visited when they had hosted a tournament for aspiring duellists and of course, Hogwarts, beloved Hogwarts, the school with so, so many faults, but still his home, the place he had so many fond memories of and now he had a fourth school he could add to the short list.

Signal Academy was interesting place. It was obvious not magical, but at the same time it was not Muggle in the same way his primary school had been. St. Grogory had never been home to explosions, gunfire or students fighting each others with deadly weapons. In that aspect it was more like Hogwarts, a place where explosions were far more common than the teachers were probably comfortable with and while very few witches or wizards would ever touch a gun that did not mean they couldn't seriously harm each others. It was actually ridiculously easy to do so. To easy some may even argue.

To his relief Signal had been located only a short distance away from port with a clear path towards it, saving him from having to navigating another forest. The place was pretty big, nowhere near the size of Hogwarts, but considering Hogwarts was a castle that was only partially occupied that was not really a fair comparison.

The school had a solid looking stone wall surrounding it. A large portion of the enclosed space was a courtyard that also doubled a outdoor training/sparring areas, but there was also some room dedicated to what looked like a football field with a place to run laps around it. The rest was occupied by a three stories tall building that housed the actual school.

For a school that trained warriors training to fight Demons it looked rather normal on the inside … for the most part at least; classrooms filled with bored looking students, a library with a librarian that had an uncanny resemblance to madam Prince and a cafeteria that served some pretty decent food were some of the things that he had come across.

Of course for every normal room there were others you wouldn't find in any school back home, neither magical nor Muggle ones … well any was probably a bit to much, but at the very least you wouldn't find those things in almost any school. Like a forge to craft and maintain the student's weapons, or the shooting range? He was pretty sure most schools frowned at their students having firearms instead of allowing them to hone their skill in it. Or the large storerooms filled with Dust and ammunition? Not exactly normal either (especially the former)of course he had also given those rooms a wide berth; bullets did not interest them and while Dust most definitely did the fact he knew the substance was rather volatile made him rather weary to be even remotely close to large quantities of it.

There was also a room which was a a very sturdy looking room; a cell, a panic room or vault or something, more training rooms, an infirmary (a place he stayed away from on sheer principle), dressing rooms with some rather luxurious bathrooms (another place he avoided after he came across it; there were simply some thing you did not do while hidden by magic after all) and even a large fighting area with large spectator stands surrounding it.

All in all Signal Academy was a rather impressive school.

Of course he wasn't there for the sights. He was there to learn after all. Sadly he had miscalculated a bit. From what he had been able to gather the school year had been going on for some time and so the most basic of basic stuff was no longer being covered. Not only that, but most of the teachers (and even some of the older students) seem to be aware of his presence. No not aware … that would imply they actually knew he was there and he was pretty sure none of them had been able to pierce through the magic shrouding his presence, but rather some part of their mind must be aware that there was something out there that their five senses weren't able to detect. A pretty damn impressive feat; while most of his charms were far from perfect the notice-me-not charm should have made sure that people did not pay any attention to something that was already barely visible in the first place. The fact they could was damn impressive.

He had heard of witches and wizard being able to do this, but in their case it was a conflict in the mind. Their mind told them there was nothing to pay attention to, but at the same time it also told them there was magic being used closed by. Most of the time the power of a notice-me-not was enough that even if a person was magically attuned enough to sense magic that they would still dismiss the sensation because there was nothing there after all, but some with a powerful enough connection could sense that there was something was wrong, but the people here had no magic, yet they still were aware there was something wrong with their senses. Pure instinct perhaps? Was that even possible? To see through a notice-me-not charm by simple instinct? Well … they were monsters after all.

Well … fortunately not all of them.

Since coming here Harry had the opportunity to witness several dozen spars between students from different age groups and was relieved that while all the students were at a level were they could have trounced most Hogwarts students he liked to believe that a good majority were not above his abilities and that he should be able to take them on in one on one fights.

Truth be told a good portion of the students he had seen spar weren't very good fighters. They were strong for sure most of them wielding weapons that could have killed him in a single blow if they were able to connect, but the keyword there was 'connect' none of the students bare one had shown the ability to move at speeds Nicolas and Lucilla Arc had displayed yet they still charged at their opponent leaving themselves wide open to be blasted away and those that remained at distance usually used guns which were even more easy to counter. Again they were not weak, none of them were, their strategies were just a bit … lacking.

That being said just like the student body of Hogwarts there were definitely a couple of hidden gems among them. While a good portion was only stronger than average at best there were a number of students that had most definitely caught his attention and he was not going to lie; he would have loved to have faced those students in the ring … well except one of them. That person had most definitely caught his attention, but for all the wrong reasons. He did not want to fight her. NOT. At. All.

The blonde bombshell was a hand to hand fighter … well she punched things. Was that considered hand to hand? It was not her fighting style that made him not wanting to face here. He could deal with that just as easily as any other melee fighting style. Nor was it her appearance. While she was definitely and 9,5 out of 10 and he probably would be tongue-tied if he he ever had to talk to her in a normal situation in the ring he never had that problem … in a fight everything was always a lot simpler.

No the problem he had with her was the fact that she had one hell of a temper and more importantly had no problem hitting where no men should ever be hit. Harry felt himself shudder at the memory of 'that fight'. It might not have been him in that ring, but that not mean he (and probably every other male in attendance) felt the phantom pain of the poor fool that had managed to incur the wrath of the blonde fighter. Now normally he was not one to feel such sympathy for a complete stranger, but the young man definitely deserve that … even if he cut some of her hair. Which was also a big no-no while fighting. Not as big of an offence as hitting a guy in the junk, but some witches (and more than a few wizards) could a bit a 'tad' overprotective over their hair so it was kind of an unspoke rule to try and avoid inflicting any damage to it.

Another major problem was her unique ability, her so called semblance. From what he was able to observe she got exponentially stronger the angrier she got. Either that or she got stronger with every hit she took. Both of those were double edged swords to say the least. Getting angry in a fight was rarely a good idea and if the later was the case then that was even worse. Seriously what kind of ability was getting stronger the more hurt you get? That being said from what he had seen she could take one hell of a beating which meant that stopping her from charging him would probably be far harder than normal Close quarters fighters.

There were several others that had caught his attention. Most of them were older students who had showed far more variety in their fighting style than the aforementioned 'above average' students. Those students really showed just how effective those weird transforming weapons could be. It had been shocking the first time when he had seen a normal looking sword transform into a gun of some kind, but he he had soon learnt that those transforming weapons were pretty much considered normal (this revelation at least answered why he had been questioned whether his staff could turn into a gun by the youngest Arc.)Most of the time these transforming weapons were not all that impressive because of the limited fighting style of the students, but those exceptions to the rule really showed just how effective those weapons could be; easily switching between one weapon form to the next as the situation called for it. Now those were people he would have loved to have faced of against.

The last person who had really caught his attention was someone who actually looked younger than him. She had first drawn his attention due to the weapon she wielded. While most wielded weapons that were somewhat normal (albeit looking like they were compensating for something in some cases)the girl wielded a scythe. On one hand an item that was an agricultural tool that had been obsolete for centuries, but perhaps even more well know for it's associated with the personification of Death itself, but to the best of his knowledge never used as a weapon. Maybe they should have because the girl managed to make it looked bloody threatening! To be fair he was pretty sure a normally scythe did not look like that. Nor could it turn in a gun and the Muggles back home probably also didn't have the skill and power necessary to utilise the weapon like she did.

While it was her weapon that caught his attention (and maybe her appearance; she was rather cute) it was her fighting style that really made him pay attention. She was fast; far faster than her peers. He was pretty sure that was her semblance and not just Aura enhanced speed. Regardless of what made her so fast it made her bloody nightmare to face.

While the blonde would have been a nightmare to face because she could probably take whatever he could trow at her and just shrug it off the brunette could probably just dodge whatever he could trow at her and get way and way to close what that scythe of hers. His only saving grace if he was to face her was the fact that she only seems capable of moving in a single straight line while moving at super speed. Which should be able to be exploited.

Thinking of how he could beat her and several others students were actually something that had occupied his thoughts for some time. Those imaginary fights had been pretty fun, but sadly no substitute for the real thing.

It was after several days that he decided it was time to move on again. There was still plenty he wanted to learn, more fights he wanted to observe and more lessons he wanted to attend, but he was running out of time.

All the spells he had been using to hide himself were rather low-tier, but even low-tier magic could drain you when you used them day and night and after several days of doing just that Harry really started to feel the strain on his magic.

That was not even taking in account the mental strain. He had to be on his guard constantly because anything that drew to much attention to him might cause his spells to fail. So he couldn't allow anyone to bump into him, make any sudden noises or do anything that would draw attention.

It was on his way out while wondering on where he should go next that he came upon an unusual sight. On one of the outdoor sparring grounds two people were engaged in combat. Which was normally not weird, but the fact that it was a teacher and a single student in the ring was odd.

So far he had only seen students being trained in groups, with students fighting each others and the teachers occasionally stopping the match to correct the combatants. This was the first time he had seen a teacher actually in action and that had been more than enough to make him pause to observe.

It took little effort to identify the two fighters; one was the scythe wielding brunette with the distinct cape and the other was Professor Branwen. A man Harry suspected probably would get along well with Professor Trelawney … they shared one pastime at least.

Harry had had observed several of the man's classes, but every time he did he had felt uneasy. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the fact that the man had red eyes? The colour was generally associated with the less than pleasant aspects of the super natural world so it wouldn't be surprising if that was the case. Or maybe it was something else? Who knew, but whatever apprehension he might felt toward the man was not nearly enough to avoid this spar.

It was a beautiful thing.

A deadly dance of steel.

It was also completely one-sided.

The girl was skilled there was no denying that, but before the teacher she was like a child wildly swinging around a gardening tool. She was faster, or at least she moved faster than the older male, but the man effortlessly held his ground.

As far as Harry was able to see it wasn't anything physical that allowed him this, he was obviously not moving faster and from the looks of it he also wasn't overpowering her with brute strength. He was simply able to best her with skill and most likely experience. Most impressive especially considering the fact that Harry strongly suspected the man was holding back … a lot.

Harry had little doubt that just like Nicolas Arc this man was an genuine monster in terms of strength.

As the fight dragged on it became rather clear that while his earlier assessment of the girl's fighting ability still held true he also noticed flaws, highly exploitable flaws. She fought like a bloody Gryf. Attack! Attack! Attack!

While she was graceful while swinging her over-sized weapon around that did not mean her attack pattern was a bit 'simple'. It simply wasn't versatile enough for anyone who could overcome her raw speed and having witnessed her fight for some time against an opponent she was outclassed against Harry already had several strategies thought up he was sure that would work.

The professor's abilities on the other hand proved to be more true to his initial assessment. As the relentless assault of his student continued the man showed no sign of struggle, no sign of tiring; simply parrying and occasionally counterattacking with that large sword of his while occasionally trowing words of advice at his student.

It was at that time that the younger of the two was starting showing signs of growing tired and Harry knew the spar would be over soon. Sure enough only moments later the teacher called an end to it and Harry sighed in disappointment, having thoroughly enjoyed the show of skill and strength.

Still it was a good show while it lasted and he was glad to have seen it before he left Signal behind.

A sudden shout of warning from behind him made him turn around on instinct only to regret it moments later. Getting hit by a football to the back of his head would have hurt like hell, taking the hit straight in his face? Well his only solace was that it wasn't a bludger even if it felt like one. Harry groaned in pain as his tore his glasses of his face. The impact having slammed his glasses against his nose and leaving it feeling more than a little tender.

After several seconds of fighting down the sudden pain he noticed a vaguely human looking shape in front of him. Feeling no slight amount of trepidation Harry raised his glasses in front of his eyes and winced when he noticed that yes standing before him and looking right at him was a student. Several things then clicked into place in his mind.

He was hit by something; drawing attention towards him which broke most of the spells hiding him.

He was hit by a football while no one should be able to see him. So either they saw through his magic or more likely it was nothing more than bad lack. The later seems to be more likely since someone had shouted a warning which had most likely been aimed at the two sparring behind him. Not to mention no one had been able to see through them so far so it was unlike someone suddenly could.

The shot had also probably been unintentional because really interrupting two people fighting like that with one of them being a teacher was so unlikely that it couldn't be anything but impossible.

So in summarisation he was hit by a stray shot in the freaking face while no could see him while surrounded by a lot of open space. What where the chances of that happening? Astronomically low? A statistically improbability of the highest degree? Of course it could be simply plain bad luck … very, very bad luck. Maybe it was his fault for taunting Fate before?

It was then that he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Slowly turning his head and spotted the source of the sound. Standing there staring directly at him with his over-sized sword casually resting on his shoulders was professor Branwen.

Right, they could all see him now … he had almost forgotten about that.

''Uh … hi?''

XxX

It was a nice looking office Harry decided. He had been escorted here by professor Branwen after the man who had clearly not been impressed by his sudden appearance, but had fortunately not interrogated him and instead merely told him that the Headmaster of the school would want to see him.

Briefly Harry had entertained the thought of trying to get away, but thought better of it. Running away from them … or at least attempt to do so would probably look much worse than merely trespassing.

So here he was visiting yet another teacher's office. He hadn't visited any of them while scouring the school while hidden. Mostly because the adults had shown the ability to detect him to some degree and to lesser degree because why would he? It was a teacher's office. What was he going to do? Steal homework?

It was a pretty nice place; nowhere near as much professor Dumbledore's office, but definitely better looking than most of the offices of the other Hogwarts professor. The only thing he really did not like about the place was that he was 'asked' to take a seat that not only left him with his back to the door, but even worse was that it was one of the most uncomfortable chairs he had ever had the displeasure of sitting on, the only worse was the one in Snape's office and according to the rumour mill that one had been cursed to be as uncomfortable as possible.

The sudden sounds of footsteps made him tense slightly, but the feeling of his staff still clutched tightly in his hand kept him calm. It was another reason why he hadn't tried getting away. If someone had tried to take away his staff then he probably would be in a completely different situation than where he was now.

''Mister Black?''

''Yes.'' Harry affirmed as he stood up and faced the source of the voice. It is was an older male, his hair grey and his stance slightly slouched. Despite that the man still looked rather intimidating; while not as physically impressive as some people Harry had encountered since coming here there was still something that commanded respect.

''Professor Albert Green, headmaster of this fine establishment.'' The man, professor Green said as he extended his hand which Harry took for a brief shake. The man did not crush his hand, but it was still a strong handshake, clearly the man was not weak. The elder man than gestured for him to retake his seat. Harry did this somewhat reluctantly as he looked with no small amount of envy as the professor took his seat opposite of him on a considerably more comfortable looking seat.

For a moment there was an awkward silence that made Harry want to open his mouth multiple times, but every time he stopped as he had no idea what to say exactly. Eventually the Headmaster was the first to speak. ''Now I have been informed by one of my colleagues that they found you on our grounds and while this is not exactly private property. We normally don't have any unexpected visitors showing up like you did. May I enquire why you were here?''

Harry blinked in confusion. Right reason … was this a bad moment to realise that in hindsight he probably should have come up with a cover story beforehand just in case he was caught? Or even in the time he had been waiting for the professor to arrive?

Unfortunately making lies up on the spot was never his strong suit so he guessed it was time for the truth … well half-truths.

''Well it is a long story.''

Professor Green apparently found his reply amusing as he chuckled. ''Well I always do enjoy a good story and fortunately I happened to have some free time so please do tell.''

Well crap. Weren't things like it is a long story or it's complicated valid ways to show you don't want to talk about something? Well maybe those social norms didn't exist here. Of course it could also be the fact that this was not exactly a casual conversation?

''I am not exactly from here … ''

''Oh? A visitor from another kingdom?''

Yes. Yes he was, but not from one of the kingdoms the man was no doubt referring to.

''That is where the complicated parts come in.'' Harry began. ''I am from somewhere rather isolated.'' Which was true, no one could called magical Britain well integrated or any of the magical societies for that matter. ''There I was trained how to use my power.'' Also true. ''Several weeks ago I found myself waking up in an unfamiliar place, not knowing how I got there ever since there I have been looking for answers.'' Harry finished realising this whole half-truth thing was surprisingly easy, now he could hope the older man wouldn't ask any difficult question.

Professor Green hummed for a moment. ''That is indeed quite a tale.'' He said. ''There are a number of issues I feel need to be addressed; most importantly; you say you woke up in an unfamiliar place with no idea how you got there. Could you clarify that? Did you go to sleep and woke someplace else?''

Harry winced. That was a difficult question. ''Not asleep. I was attacked and must have blacked out.''

''That's rather disturbing to hear. As much as I would to ask if it were Grimm that attacked I doubt you would be sitting before me if that was the case. So instead I can only ask; were they Huntsman?''

Yes would have been the easiest answers, but that would have been such a blatant lie that it probably would backfire on him. ''The term Huntsman is not something I have heard in the context you are using until a few weeks ago; my teacher referred to me and those like me as Mahōtsukai, people who could use and manipulate mahou. I know for a fact those that attecked me were Mahōtsukai, but I do not know if that is the same Huntsman.''

There for better of for worse he said it; he admitted he might be something else than an Aura user. He was not ready to flat out say that he had magic and instead he probably butchered the Japanese language and used the words he had from Master Li … or at least something resembling it. Now he could only hope that their ability to speak foreign language really only extend to the whole naming your kids part.

''I cannot say I have ever heard anyone refer to Aura or Huntsman with such words, but much of our history has been lost and if you are indeed from a very isolated settlement as you indicated than then it might be that your people use words that felt out of use centuries ago everywhere else. I would have to do some research maybe I can find something, but I guess that is not important now. You were attacked by a group of people. Do you know why?''

Ah, that one was much easier to answer. ''They call themselves Death Eaters, their group have rather narrow views on what kind of people should be allowed to use mahou. In their opinion I among other people did not deserve that honour.'' It was the truth for the most part even without the whole boy-who-lived thing he was still a filthy half-blood, the son of a Mudblood who had the audacity to dilute a pure-blood line. Sooner or later the Death Eaters would have wanted him dead. The best part was his explanation should be plausible to the man. Harry may not have been here for long, but he had seen that racism and discrimination were far from uncommon here.

The professor shook his head clearly not pleased with the answer. ''I see.'' He said in a clipped tone. ''I take it you have no way of returning home?''

Harry shrugged. ''I don't even know where home is exactly. My teachers were always more interested in teaching me on how to utilise mahou rather than the more mundane subjects.''

''I see … do you think those … Death Eaters, you called them? Exiled you? If their goal is to get rid of certain people perhaps some or maybe even all of those in that group merely want those people out of their sights. If this group consists of locals then they must know you wouldn't be able to make you way back home if you are left somewhere far enough. It is possible they might have subdued you and moved you while you are unconscious.''

Death Eaters keeping him alive on purpose? Harry inwardly snorted. The only chance of that happening was if Voldemort had specifically told them to keep him alive so no exiled was not what he had been, but still he guessed he could see how the professor had reached that conclusion with the information given to him.

''I guess you could be right.'' Harry agreed. ''I honestly don't know.''

''Well whatever their reason might be you are here now at my school. As both a teacher and a Huntsman I will do whatever I can to do help you, but I am afraid that unless you have more concrete information on your settlement getting you home will be difficult if not outright impossible. I will admit this is not something I deal with daily so I am afraid I can't give you a perfect solution right this instant, but I can assure there are option for you.''

''Like what?'' Harry enquired, honestly curious what information the professor could give him.

''How old are you James?''

Blinking in surprise at the sudden question and the sudden use of his 'first name' Harry quickly recovered. ''A couple weeks away from my sixteenth birthday, sir.''

''Then a possible option for you is to apply to became a ward to the Kingdom of Vale.'' The professor said before elaborating. '' The kingdom sadly has many orphans, but fortunately they are looked after … that is if the government is aware of them. In your case since you were part of a isolated settlement are most likely not a registered citizen so you are going to need to apply directly, but I can take care of take if this is your desire.''

''And what would that mean for me? Becoming a ward of the Kingdom I mean?''

''Well I am sure someone can explain this better than me, but basically a ward of Kingdom is someone below the age majority who has no one who can take care of him or her who is above the age of majority. The government then takes responsibility for that person until he or she reaches the age of majority. They will provide you with your basic needs; food, shelter, health-care, education, I believe wards are even given a small allowance. Don't ask me how much as I have no idea, but don't expect much as they are already taking care of most of your needs. In cases such you when a non-registered citizen applies then if you are accepted you will also automatically become a citizen of Vale.''

''And that would mean for me … ?''

''A good question, but one I can't answer without talking for several hour, but to summarise Vale had many laws and regulations for it's citizens. Laws and regulation which which would then also apply to you. Don't worry about learning about all of them. Huntsman and police officers are expected to know a fair bit about it as do the rest of the people working in the justice system, but most regular citizens only know the bare minimum. The one thing that I guess you should be aware of is the fact the fact that all citizens of Vales below the age of seventeen are mandatory to attend schooling and I mean no offence, but if what you told me is true the this might be a problem for you. Attending classes at a civilian school with people your own age should be near impossible for you and even attending an Huntsman academy might be challenging for you. While we don't focus as much on the more mundane subjects as our civilian counterparts we also don't want to produce dumb grunts. Which mean you would most likely have to start in a lower grade. The only possible exception I can think of would be if you combat abilities are so advanced that it would compensate for you lack of theoretical knowledge and even then you would be expected to study extensively.''

Well that was certainly blunt.

As much as it galled it him to basically be called dumb harry managed to remain calm as he processed this new information for a moment. The offer certainly did sound enticing. The man did sound honest in his desire to help him and while this would mean he would be registered by the local government Harry had little doubt he could always disappear if he wanted. Besides the whole school thing did not sound all that bad … actually learning things by people instead having trying to recover information on his own would be great and he would not lie and say it wouldn't be nice to interact with people his age again. Even if sooner or later he would have to leave them behind again.

''If I were to accept how would be my combat abilities be assessed?''

The professor gave him a grin that made him look several years younger and Harry was not going to lie; the sight of it filled him with a bit of apprehension. ''Just how confident are you in your abilities?''

''A lot?''

The professor's grin grew just a little wider and Harry realised he might have made a mistake.

XxX

A spar? That was it? That was exactly what he had been wanting to do these last couple of days. Had he been overly paranoid because how his life had been going so far? It was certainly possible, but that was not important right now. Now it was time for a fight. He was already standing in the middle of the ring left there by Professor Green after said man had informed him he was going to look for a 'volunteer'.

Harry wondered who it was he was going to face. Perhaps it was someone he had already observed (which he would admit was a bit unfair, but no one ever said life was fair). Still he was pretty sure he was going to be fine as long as it wasn't one of the teachers or …

''Hiya!''

… her.

Striding up toward him while looking far to happy was none other than the blonde she-devil herself.

''Fuck you fate.''


Author Notes:

Another chapter finished and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Last chapter was better received than I expected so that was great to see. I do have a question for you guys; so far I have been writing this story in Third-Person Limited style (except last chapter) which basically mean that while the story is written in third person you only get to see Harry's thoughts. Do you guys think I should continue this or would it be better if I wrote the thoughts of other people during conversations (Third-Person Omniscient)? I used the later style in some of my other work, but I am really enjoying the limited style so far.

I would appreciate you guys thoughts on this.

Next chapter: Hufflepuff Yellow