Might and Magic:Tales of Ranma Saotome, Boy Wizard
A Ranma ½ and Harry Potter Crossover
Book 1: The Map, The Stone, and The Boy Who Lived
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (see J.K. Rowling and Rumiko Takahashi), I'm just making up a new story with them. Please don't sue me (especially for any OOC).
Author's Notes: Please note that this chapter contains excerpts from and is inspired by Chapter 11 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Philosopher's Stone for you Brits).
Chapter 9: Quidditch and the Forbidden Forest
Hogwarts was abuzz with rumors the next day, amazingly accurate ones at that. Well, accurate to a point, as most people were saying that Harry had been the one to defeat the troll. After hearing this all morning, Ranma was more than ready to set the record straight, feeling that credit should have been given where it was due. Privately, he thought that Harry had been only slightly more helpful than Hermione during the fight, so how he had somehow been named as the troll's slayer was a mystery. As it turned out, he was beaten to it by Ron, who finally broke under Fred and George's pressure and told the whole story. This changed the focus of attention from Harry to Ron and, even more so, Ranma. Harry, surprisingly, seemed rather glad of it, explaining that it was quite enough being famous for one thing already.
With all the excitement of the previous evening and the attention he received (thanks to Ron), it very nearly slipped Ranma's mind that he had promised Dumbledore to report any developments regarding his magical energy. After hearing Ron recount the end of the fight for the tenth time (this time with Ron dazzling the troll with exotic hexes while everyone else gibbered incoherently), he remembered that something very strange had happened just before the troll had been killed. For maybe half a minute, his ki seemed to grow beyond anything he had ever experienced. Now that he had time to actually think about it, though, he realized that he had been mistaken. Ki and magical energy had been coursing through his body, somehow feeding off each other. Though he could not yet explain it, Ranma felt certain that Dumbledore would want to hear about it.
Since it was Friday and he had the afternoon off, Ranma headed for Professor McGonagall's office. He knocked several times but, when she did not answer, he realized that she must have been in class at that moment. Since the period was almost over, he decided to wait for her at the Transfiguration classroom and hope that she had a moment to spare. When the bell rang to signal the end of class, he waited next to the door while the class filed out. Some of the class, whom he recognized as sixth year Gryffindors, said "All right, Saotome?" and nodded at him as he stood awkwardly by. The whole business of being recognized and acknowledged by upperclassmen was going to take some getting used to.
Finally, Professor McGonagall herself emerged from the classroom, a stack of books floating along behind her. She saw Ranma standing next to the door and raised her eyebrow at him. "May I help you with something, Mr. Saotome?"
"Yes, Professor." Ranma replied. "Could I have a word?"
"Certainly, and it happens that I would also like a word. But we'll have to talk on the way to the faculty lounge." she said as she started down the corridor.
"Okay." Ranma said as he followed, wondering what she wanted to talk about. "See, Professor Dumbledore asked me to talk to you if I had any news about my magic sensing."
"I am aware of it." she replied. "I assume you have some progress to report?"
"Not exactly, no. It's about what happened last night. Something happened when we were fighting that troll, but I can't really explain what it was. Right before we killed it, I had a sudden surge of ki that I used to attack the troll."
"I see." she said. "This is not surprising, considering your ability to use ki."
Ranma shook his head. "No, Professor, it is surprising, to me at least. I was tired and hurt. My ki was very low and I was close to passing out. But when I needed to do something, my ki was suddenly stronger than it's ever been." he said, hoping she understood his emphasis. "I didn't really think about it at the time, obviously, and I only just realized that it wasn't just my ki but also my magical energy."
Professor McGonagall stopped short and gave him a penetrating look. "You were manipulating them simultaneously?" she asked.
"Yeah, but...I can't remember doing it on purpose. It just happened." he responded. "It was like the two were feeding off each other, making each other bigger."
She looked distant and thoughtful for a moment before looking at him again. "I can't begin to imagine what this means, but I will inform the headmaster of what you've told me."
"Thanks, Professor." Ranma said, feeling oddly relieved to have this concern off his chest.
"Now then, speaking of the troll, I have heard rumors going around about it, the details of which Mrs. Granger apparently glossed over. Is it true that you fought it with your bare hands?"
"Well, yes. I couldn't very well have a go at it with my wand." said Ranma, trying not to notice that students in the hall were walking rather slowly to listen in.
"No, I suppose not. I must tell you, Mr. Saotome, that you continue to surprise me. A grown man would have been foolish to attempt what you did. If you had told me two days ago that you had attacked a troll with your fists, I'd have called you a dangerous fool. However," she stopped to look at him again, this time with a barely disguised mix of pride and approval, "it seems you were not outmatched."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that Mr. Weasley's levitation of that club simply put the troll out of its misery. We examined the creature and found that it had major damage to its internal organs; it would have died eventually from internal bleeding. Additionally, there was some damage to its face and deep bruising elsewhere on its body."
Ranma was dumbfounded. This did not match up with the way he remembered the fight. "But Professor, that's not possible. That thing was the hardest thing I've ever hit. I broke bones every time I hit it and it didn't look like it took any damage."
"Well of course you broke bones. Haven't you read anything about trolls?" She looked sternly at him when he shook his head. "I suggest you take more time in your study of magical creatures. Trolls, like dragons, are renowned for being incredibly tough. They're highly magical creatures; most of the magic is in their skin, bones, and muscles, which makes them resistant to both physical and magical attack."
"I see..." Ranma said thoughtfully. This explained why hitting the troll had felt like striking a moving car head on. "Then, Professor, how was I able to hurt it?"
"That, unfortunately, I do not know. Perhaps you are stronger than you realize." she replied. Ranma was not sure he believed this. He had never broken bones so badly before, even when striking rock or metal. There was surely a detail about the fight he had overlooked that would help him understand. "Which brings me to the reason I mentioned the troll. Unlike your curse, we were not made aware of your strength or fighting ability prior to your arrival."
"Well my mum talked to me about not getting into fights before I came here. But I've never been in a fight at school, Professor." This was perfectly true; off school property, though, was a completely different story.
"Be that as it may, Mr. Saotome, I must warn you against fighting here at Hogwarts and impress upon you the severity of the consequences if you were to engage in such activity. Considering the incidence with the troll, you are probably the strongest person at this school, next to Hagrid, and you could cause serious harm to another student. We have a strict policy for fighting but, in your case, I'm afraid you would face expulsion if you were to fight with another student."
"But Professor, what if I'm attacked? I can't defend myself?"
"I don't think you will face anyone foolish enough to attack you but, if they do, you must not retaliate."
Ranma thought she was being very unfair, even if she did have a point. "Professor, what if I subdue them? I know a few styles that specialize in stopping an attacker without actually hurting them." he said hopefully.
She raised her eyebrow at him. "I think that could be a mitigating factor, but I would prefer if you avoided fighting altogether." she said pointedly as she continued down the corridor. "Good day to you, Mr. Saotome."
"Good afternoon, Professor." said Ranma. She had not mentioned it specifically, but he was pretty sure the faculty would not look kindly on him retaliating physically against magical attacks either. Not that Ranma was planning to; at the rate things were going, he'd be able to perform magic properly before anyone was near fast enough to actually hit him with a spell.
Ranma told Harry, Ron, and Hermione about it over dinner but, as almost everyone around him had listened in the moment he had said the word "troll", Ranma knew the story would be around the castle the next day. Harry and Ron, like him, had been stunned with disbelief at the news, but Hermione was not totally surprised.
"Well, I don't know why you're surprised. Whatever you did to it made it vomit blood. That pool of blood it was lying in wasn't just from its head." she said knowingly, but she still shot an impressed look sideways at him . "But still, it's really hard to kill a troll, and with your bare hands it should be impossible."
"Blimey, mate, we knew you were strong, but not that strong." Ron said with something akin to awe in his voice.
"Yeah, that is pretty amazing. I know who to go to for heavy lifting now." said Harry with a grin. "I suppose it'll keep the Slytherins in line, so Fred and George don't have anything to worry about."
"Yeah, they'd have to be pretty thick to start trouble with a troll slayer." chuckled Ron.
"Ron, of course they'll start trouble, especially since Ranma can't actually do any-" Hermione stopped abruptly and covered her mouth, looking embarrassed. "I mean-"
Ranma felt heat rising to his cheeks; for some reason, it was even more embarrassing to have Hermione acknowledge his poor spellcasting. He took a calming breath, looked to his right at her, and grinned. "It's okay, Hermione. It's not exactly a secret that I'm no good with a wand." he said.
"I'm sorry, Ranma, that was really tactless of me-"
"Yeah, it was." he deadpanned before giving a reassuring grin. "Really, it's okay. I'm not exactly defenseless, am I? Ron's right though, they're not stupid enough to try anything. They were scared enough of me before last night."
After dinner, as he made his way up to the dueling room, Ranma was still thinking over what Professor McGonagall had told him. He still had the feeling that he was overlooking something important about the fight with the troll but, whatever it was, it was just out of his reach.
"I wondered when you'd be along." Freya said as he walked into the dueling room and shut the door. She was looking at him with poorly disguised interest.
"Have you been waiting for me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. While she would sometimes hang around during his practice sessions and make conversation, she went out of her way to let him know that she was gracing him with her presence. He was pretty certain that she was actually happy for the company. The couple of months he had known her had shown Ranma that she was a loner with a strong and sometimes abrasive personality, who wanted friendship but also wanted to appear strong enough not to need it. He had met many people just like her among the elite martial artists of the world and, to some degree, knew that he was also like that.
"Of course I wasn't waiting for you. I just happened to be around and thought you might have been in here." she said curtly, though she sounded slightly embarrassed.
"Right. Well, I'm going to train, if you don't mind." Ranma said, though he could see that she wanted to talk more. He had a good idea what it was she wanted to talk about but figured she would eventually get around to what she wanted to say. He was just starting his warm up, some advanced tai chi forms, when he heard her clear her throat to get his attention.
"Yeah?" he said as he moved slowly through the first few movements.
"I've been hearing rather strange rumors floating about the castle." she said casually.
"Oh really?" he replied, nonchalantly. "What did you hear?"
"I heard that several first years almost got themselves killed by a mountain troll last night." she said, sounding rather eager.
"Really? I heard something like that too." Ranma said innocently, trying to keep a straight face. "Did you find out who it was?"
"Oh, come off it! You know very well who I'm talking about!" Freya said, firing a spell at him. He dodged the red bolt of magic without breaking his form or even seeming to move any faster. She growled with exasperation and fired off a dozen more spells at him and he had to scramble to dodge them.
"Okay, okay! You win!" he said, laughing. Freya looked flushed and very put out as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. He sat down on the dais and looked up at her portrait. "I suppose you heard I was in that bathroom, eh?"
"Yes, and I heard the most ridiculous thing. They say you killed it." she said. "Imagine, a first year killing a troll."
"Well, I didn't kill it." said Ranma. Freya smirked knowingly from her frame. "I helped kill it. Ron Weasley levitated it's club and it smashed the troll's skull in. If you ask me, though, that wasn't intentional. I think he was more surprised that the spell worked than that he'd killed the thing. If I hadn't made it double over-"
"So...so it's true then?" Freya looked incredulous. "You actually killed a troll? I've never heard of anyone your age foolish enough to take one on."
Ranma shrugged. "Hermione was in trouble. It was the right thing to do, you know? We couldn't very well let her get killed."
Freya looked at him with the same expression she'd had after their first "duel", a look of approval and respect. "I heard something else, but it's too preposterous..." she said slightly hesitantly. "You didn't – I heard you didn't use your wand – that you fought it with your bare hands."
"You heard right." Ranma responded with a complete lack of modesty.
"I wouldn't be so proud of that. You call yourself a wizard, why didn't you use your wand?" she asked disapprovingly.
"Well obviously because I don't know how to defend myself with this thing." he said, whipping out his wand. "I might as well've had a chopstick for all the good it would've done me."
"Well, we'll have to fix that." she said. "Really, punching a troll. That was very stupid of you, you know. They're powerfully-"
"Magical, yeah, I know." he said ruefully. "But I did hurt it, so it wasn't all that stupid."
"And broke half the bones in your body in the process."
"Yeah." Ranma said thoughtfully. "You know, now you mention it, that's weird."
She barked a laugh. "Weird? What's weird is that you, an eleven year old, didn't get killed. Trying to beat up a troll, honestly..."
"No, what I mean is it's weird I got hurt like that. My dad's much tougher and stronger than that thing was and it's been years since I've broken a bone hitting him." he said.
"Isn't your dad a Muggle?" asked Freya, and Ranma nodded. "Well, he doesn't very well have magical toughness, does he? He couldn't've trained you to deal with that."
"Yeah, but toughness is toughness." Ranma said stubbornly. "I don't see how there's any difference."
Freya shook her head gently, as if trying to explain something very, very basic. "But it's not the same. I could cast a spell on a piece of parchment to make it impossible for you to break it. The skin of trolls, giants, and dragons work similarly. The magic might blunt or break weapons attempting to cause the creature harm, or it might deflect hexes, or protect the creature from extreme cold." she said.
"Yeah, McGonagall said something like that." he said, more to himself than to Freya. "But Freya, if that's right, how did I manage to hurt it so badly? I mean, the magic was working and I was being hurt, but so was the troll."
She shrugged. "I have no clue, as I wasn't there, but you were obviously doing more than just hitting it. Whatever it was, it was interfering with the troll's magic."
At her words, something clicked in his mind and he stood up quickly as if a fire was lit beneath him. Ranma saw, with sudden clarity, what he had overlooked during the fight. "Of course...why didn't I see it before..." he muttered. It was only a guess but, if true, it would explain quite a bit, and Dumbledore would be very interested indeed. He would need to test his idea.
"Freya, I think I know what happened, and I could use your help proving it. First, though, I'll need some dragonhide..." he said with a focused look on his face, and she listened with increasing interest as he explained his plan.
As the weekend passed and classes resumed on Monday, Ranma was forced to push his plan to the back of his mind. November had brought with it icy cold weather and, to everyone's great excitement, the start of Quidditch season. Saturday was the first and, apparently, most anticipated match of the season: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Besides being the continuation of a heated rivalry stretching back centuries, the match also had implications for the house cup race, where Gryffindor would move into second place with a win.
Even if he had received the dragonhide he had asked his mother for, Ranma would still have been too busy to do anything with them. Oliver Wood was taking the match very seriously and scheduled practices at practically every free moment possible. Even though they wouldn't be playing, Wood required that the reserve players be at all practices as "practice dummies", and he worked them as hard as the regular players.
With all the Quidditch practice, both Ranma found it extremely fortunate that he and Hermione were back on good terms, as she helped him (and Ron and Harry, for that matter) out quite a bit with his homework. She had even checked out a book from the library called Quidditch Through The Ages and lent it to Harry so he could learn as much about the game as possible before his first match. In return, it seemed that their influence had relaxed her attitude about rule breaking quite a bit. Ron thought this was a marked improvement, saying that he could finally stop calling her "mini-McGonagall" in his head.
The day before the match, the four of them were out in the courtyard during break. Despite the freezing temperatures, they were fairly comfortable thanks to a bright blue fire Hermione had conjured in a jam jar. Conjuring small, controlled fires had become something of a specialty of hers and she was particularly proud of this one because blue fires was more advanced magic. They were standing with their backs to the fire when Snape crossed the courtyard, his gate uneven because he was limping.
The four of them instinctively moved to hide the fire; whether or not it was allowed, Ranma was sure that Snape would come up with some reason to take points away. They must have looked guilty because Snape altered his path to come to a stop in front of them. The way he stood, Ranma could see that his right leg was injured. Looking up at the teacher's face, he could tell that Snape was searching for a reason to tell them off, and Ranma couldn't help flashing a sardonic grin at the man. Snape's eyes widened and a small smile formed on his lips.
"What's that you've got there, Potter?" he asked coldly, pointing at the book in Harry's hands. "Library books are not to be taken outside the school. Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."
They were stunned with anger. "I've never heard of that rule." Ranma said challengingly as Harry shoved the book into Snape's outstretched hand.
"With all of the rules you've broken, Saotome, I should think you'd know the entire code of conduct by heart." Snape shot back with a sneer. "But I suggest you ask Madame Pince about the rules for library books before you scurry off to Professor McGonagall, moaning about how unfair I am."
Ranma felt his face flush, forcing himself not to respond. He did not relish the thought of two detentions that weekend. When no reply came, Snape limped off with an infuriating smirk on his face.
"I bet he made that rule up." Harry muttered angrily as the man limped off "Wonder what's wrong with his leg."
"Dunno, but I hope it hurts." said Ron bitterly. The other three grunted their wholehearted agreement with his sentiment.
The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Everyone was excitedly anticipating the next day's match and they milled about, clapping the members of the team on their backs and giving them encouraging words. This constant interruption rather annoyed Hermione, who was sitting with Ranma, Harry, and Ron, looking over their Charms homework. She huffed impatiently and muttered to herself as she tried to concentrate.
"Calm down, Hermione. You don't hear Ranma complaining." said Ron.
"I should be, as bad as these essays are." Ranma joked, looking up from Harry and Ron's Potions homework. "What's the matter, Harry?"
Harry was tapping his foot restlessly and looking around the common room with an increasingly dark look on his face. "Nothing. I just wish I had that book back. Snape had no right to take it from me." he said. He stood suddenly. "I'm going to go get it from him."
Ranma nodded encouragingly. He had been wondering when or if Harry was going to stand up to Snape again. Hermione and Ron, though, looked at Harry as if he were mad. "Better you than me." they said simultaneously.
Ranma chuckled at their reactions. "Don't listen to them," he said to Harry. "He'll have give it back if there are other teachers around."
When Harry had left, Hermione kicked Ranma in the shin. "Don't go getting Harry in trouble like you." she said sternly.
"Hey, he's not going to get in trouble just because he's trying to get a book back." Ranma said defensively, rubbing his leg.
"I dunno, mate, knowing Snape, he'll be looking for an excuse to keep Harry from playing. He's head of Slytherin after all." said Ron.
Ranma had not thought of this, but surely the other teachers would not let such unfairness stand. The way things went at Hogwarts, however, Ranma could not be so sure. All the same, he breathed a bit easier when Harry came back to the common room five minutes later. "How'd it go?" he asked as Harry sat down, looking oddly satisfied and, conversely, slightly worried. "What's wrong?"
He leaned in, and spoke quietly. "I found out why Snape's been limping. I went into the staffroom to get the book and he was standing there with his robes pulled up to his knees. One of his legs looked chewed up and bloody, and Filch was giving him bandages for it."
"Good for him." said Ranma sourly.
"No, it isn't good. You should've heard what he said. 'How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once.'"
The other three looked at him for a moment before comprehension spread among them. "You don't think...that dog?" said Ron.
"Yeah, I do. Remember, we saw him rushing towards the third floor on Halloween. He tried to get past that dog that night! He's after whatever it's guarding, and I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"
Ranma sat up a little straighter. This did seem very suspicious, and Snape could not have been talking about anything but the three headed dog.
"No – he wouldn't". said Hermione, her eyes wide. "He's not very nice, but he's a teacher. He wouldn't try to steal something Dumbledore was trying to keep safe."
"I dunno, Hermione, it's really suspicious." Ranma said, rubbing his chin. "It can't be just Snape, though, because Filch was in there when Snape mentioned the dog."
"I don't believe it." Hermione stated firmly. "You're seriously saying that the caretaker and a teacher are trying to steal whatever Dumbledore's guarding? You're both just suspicious because you don't like Snape and Filch."
"Just because we don't like Snape doesn't mean he's not up to something, Hermione." snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry and Ranma. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"
Saturday dawned, pushing speculation of Snape and the three-headed dog to the back of their minds. Ahead was a brisk morning and the highly anticipated first Quidditch match of the season. The Great Hall was, unlike most Saturdays, filled with excited chatter. Harry, however, did not look anywhere near as cheerful as everyone around him. In fact, he looked like he might be sick. His plate was filled with food and completely untouched.
"You've got to eat something, mate." Ron said, sounding slightly worried.
"I'm not hungry."
"Just a bit of toast." Hermione insisted, nudging a piece at him.
"No, I don't want anything."
"C'mon, Harry, you need your strength." said Seamus. "Seekers always get clobbered by the other team."
"Thank you, Seamus." Ranma shot the boy an annoyed look. "Don't listen to him, you'll be brilliant. But you should eat something. All your skill won't help you if you've got no energy to stay on the broom."
Harry shrugged, looking slightly green. "I'll be okay." he said quietly.
It seemed that the entire school had turned out for the match. Ranma joined Hermione, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean in the top row of the Gryffindor section. Together, they unfurled a large banner, made from a bedsheet, on which Dean had painted a large Gryffindor lion beneath the heading "Potter for President". Hermione added her own touch by casting a charm on it to make the paint change colors.
Finally, the players entered the pitch to wild cheers. Madame Hooch, the referee for the game, followed close behind. As the stands were very high, the players looked rather small, but Harry looked even smaller. Ranma thought he could see nervousness in the way Harry walked. All the practicing was over and Ranma knew that it was time for Harry to either sink or swim.
The players and Madame Hooch mounted their brooms and lifted into the air and a short blast of Madame Hooch's whistle started the match. Everything became something of a blur, but Ranma had trained his eyes for the speedy game and, despite not having binoculars, was following the game closely. He could hear Lee Jordan doing the commentary but found it distracting and tuned it out. Instead, he focused on Fred, George, and the two opposing Beaters. This was the first time he would get to see Beaters in real competition and he wanted to learn as much as possible (especially on the off chance that the Weasley twins really were sabotaging his training).
It was amazing to see the skill with which the four Beaters swatted the two bludgers around the pitch. They did not simply hit the bludgers at Chasers, they seemed to want to unseat the opposing players from their brooms. More interestingly, they passed the bludgers between themselves to increase the momentum of their strikes and trick their targets. Ranma was so caught up in watching the bludgers fly that he did not see the first goal.
"GRYFFINDORS SCORE!" Lee's voice reverberated around the stadium. The Gryffindor side exploded with cheer. "Way to fake out the Keeper, Johnson continues to impress."
"Budge up there, move along." Ranma heard a gruff voice say as play resumed.
"Hagrid!" Ranma, Hermione, and Ron said simultaneously. The large man was shuffling his way down the row and it was a very tight fit. They squeezed together to give him a place to sit.
"Bin watchin' from me hut." he said, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck. "No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"
"Nope, Harry hasn't had much to do yet." replied Ron.
"Kept outta trouble though, that's something." grunted Hagrid.
Play continued. There was exciting moment where Harry and the Slytherin Seeker chased after the snitch, but Harry's catch was broken up by a foul from Marcus Flint. But it was after Marcus Flint scored a goal for Slytherin that Hagrid noticed something was wrong with Harry.
"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing." Hagrid mumbled as he stared upwards through his binoculars. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom...but he can't have..."
Ranma's eyes followed the direction that Hagrid's binoculars were facing. Others in the crowd had also noticed. Harry's broom was spinning around and, with a sudden jerk, tossed him off. The whole crowd gasped as he hung on by the fingertips of his right hand. Ranma instinctively jumped to his feet, feeling a knot tighten in his stomach.
"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.
"Can't have." said Hagrid, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful dark magic – no kid could do that to a Nimbus 2000."
Hermione grabbed Hagrid's binoculars and frantically searched the crowd. Ranma wondered what she was looking for. "I knew it!" she gasped. "Snape – look."
Ranma seized the binoculars and looked in the direction she pointed. Snape was on his feet, eyes fixed on Harry and muttering under his breath. "He's jinxing the broom!" Ranma said furiously, thrusting the binoculars into Ron's hands.
"Exactly." Hermione agreed, looking outraged.
"What should we do?" asked Ron after he, too, had confirmed what they had seen.
"Leave it to me." Ranma and Hermione said at the same time. They looked at each other and nodded, their eyes blazing. Ranma grabbed her about the waist.
"Hold on, we're going down." he said. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. With a short but powerful hop, he sent them over the railing. He swung on a support beam with his free hand, and hopped down on the girders beneath the stands. They hit the ground lightly and he realized why Hermione had been quiet during the descent; she had been holding on tightly with her eyes closed. "You can let go, Hermione." he said, feeling a bit warm in the cheeks.
She let go of him, looking embarrassed. "Sorry."
They rushed over to the Slytherin side and shoved their way up the stands towards Snape. Ranma was surprised that no one accosted him, but everyone was too focused on the activity in the air to notice them. "There he is." Ranma said angrily, cracking his knuckles. "I'll get him."
"No! Ranma, no, you'll get expelled!" Hermione exclaimed. "Let me, I won't be seen."
She rushed off up to the next row. Ranma could feel the magical energy pouring from Snape, and he was so focused on the Potions Master that he almost did not notice another, stronger magical aura almost right next to Snape. Before he could find the source, though, the energy disappeared. He saw Hermione stop behind Snape and shoot bright blue flames at his robes.
Snape yelped when he felt the heat, as if shocked out of a trance by a hard punch in the face. It's job done, Hermione scooped the fire into a small jar and stuffed it into her pocket, then scrambled back down the row before anyone could spot her. "Quick, over the side before someone notices us." she said almost breathlessly. Ranma nearly did a double take at her as she pulled him up to the top row. Hermione held on tightly as they went over the top rail again and descended to the ground. They ran back up to the top row of the Gryffindor side as quickly as they could.
"It worked!" Ron exclaimed. "Harry's back on his broom, look!"
He was indeed, and was rocketing towards the ground, the Slytherin Seeker trying but failing to keep on his tail. Twenty feet from the ground he suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth, as if he were going to be sick. Harry hit the field on all fours and shook slightly, then waved his hand in the air. Ranma could see a glint of gold in his hand.
"Potter's got the Snitch!" shouted Lee gleefully. "Gryffindor wins, one hundred and seventy to sixty!"
Amid all the confusion of the match's end, Harry was ushered away from the stadium by Ron, Hermione, Ranma, and Hagrid. They went to Hagrid's hut, a small, one room wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. Hagrid set down a mug of strong tea in front of Harry, who was only just recovering from the match.
"It was Snape." explained Ron. "We saw him cursing your broomstick-"
"I don't think it was just Snape." Ranma interjected, remembering what had happened on the Slytherin side. "There was someone else doing magic up there.
Hermione looked astonished. "There was? Another student?"
"It might've been Filch." volunteered Ron.
Ranma shook his head. "No way, this person was too powerful. But I didn't get a look at whoever it was."
"But how do you know, Ranma?" asked Hermione. "I didn't see anyone else up there doing magic."
"I don't know how, but I felt it." he lied.
"If what you say is true, this means Snape has a partner." Harry concluded.
"Rubbish." said Hagrid, shaking his shaggy head. His eyes had grown wide as he listened to their conversation. "Why would Snape do something like that?"
Harry looked at Ranma, Hermione, and Ron, and they nodded at him. "I found out something about him." he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he's trying to steal whatever its guarding."
Hagrid dropped his teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.
"Fluffy?" the four of them asked incredulously. Ranma could not think of a less appropriate name for that dog.
"Yeah – he's mine – bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year – I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the -"
"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.
"Now don't ask me anymore." said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."
"But Snape's trying to steal it" Harry protested.
"Rubbish." Hagrid said stubbornly. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."
"So why'd he just try to kill Harry?" cried Hermione fiercely. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all!"
Ranma nodded in agreement, remembering the section in their Charms book about jinxes and...counter-jinxes. Before he could finish the thought, Hagrid rising voice jarred him back to the conversation at hand.
"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now listen, you four, you're meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget Fluffy, an' you forget what he's guardin, that's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel -"
"Ah!" exclaimed Harry triumphantly. "So there's someone named Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"
The common room was alive with celebration that evening. Ranma, Harry, Hermione, and Ron had sequestered themselves in a corner, where the was enough privacy for them to have a conversation without from prying ears listening in. "I still can't believe Snape tried to kill you." said Hermione.
"Yeah, he would've if it wasn't for you and Ranma." said Harry. "I owe you guys."
"It was nothing." Ranma said. "But that is strange, him trying to kill you out in the open like that."
"He probably thought no one would see him in the crowd." said Ron. "Good thing Hermione's got sharp eyes."
"And what about the other person?" said Harry. "Who else is Snape working with?"
"Well, that person might've been helping you, Harry." Hermione said. "They could have been saying a counter-jinx."
"Yeah, but who? If it wasn't a student, it had to have been a teacher." said Ranma
Ron nodded. "And the only other teacher over there was..?"
Ranma remembered watching Hermione pushing along the row above Snape and knocking someone over. Someone wearing a large, almost comical turban. "Professor Quirrell!" he and Hermione said simultaneously.
"Yeah, that makes sense, he is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Harry said. "He would know how to counter a jinx, wouldn't he?"
"He might've been helping Snape too." Ranma added skeptically. "We can't be sure of that."
"Come on, Ranma, this is Quirrell we're talking about." Ron said dismissively. "I'm surprised the bloke had the courage to take on Snape. Probably didn't realize it was him."
Ranma thought keeping an open mind about Quirrell was a good idea but, in all honesty, he doubted the man had it in him to try and kill Harry. "Okay, so what do we do about Snape?" he asked.
They were silent for a moment. "I don't think we can do anything." Hermione admitted. "If Hagrid won't believe us, what's the chance another teacher will?"
"And most people were looking at Harry almost get chucked off his broom. I think we're the only ones who caught Snape in the act." Ron added sullenly.
"So we just let him get away with it then?" Ranma said disbelievingly.
"We'll keep an eye on him." Harry replied, sounding unusually restrained, considering what the man had done. "I don't think Snape'll try anything else out in the open. I just have to avoid being alone with him."
There was an uncomfortable silence between them that seemed all the more awkward with the noise of the common room.
"So..." Ron began, trying to start a less uncomfortable thread of conversation, "what about this Nicolas Flamel?"
Hermione seized on this; she had clearly been thinking about it quite a bit since they had left Hagrid's. "Right, I thought about that, and I seem to remember his name from somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Whoever he is, he's got to be someone important."
"How do you figure that?" asked Harry.
"He's associated with Dumbledore, for one, and he's got something to do with whatever Fluffy's guarding. It must be something really valuable or important to be under guard here at Hogwarts." she replied. "If we find out who he is, we might find out what's being kept in the third floor corridor."
"Makes sense." Ranma said. "So where do we find Flamel?"
"Simple." Hermione responded, her face alight with the excitement only a bookworm could know. "We'll look in the library."
From that day forward, the four of them could be found with their noses in their books at any free moment, and their group was a regular fixture in the library. Hermione and Ron did the bulk of the research, as Harry and Ranma had other requirements on their time. This was even more true for Ranma, who had received a large package from Nodoka the day after the Quidditch match. Besides the dragonhide he had asked for, there was also a long letter in which his mother had both chastised him and expressed her pride over what happened at Halloween. Remembering how frightening the woman could be when she was angry, Ranma breathed a bit easier knowing she was not upset at him over that incident.
The package was bigger than the usual packages sent by owl post and, being delivered by six burly barn owls, it caused quite a stir in the Great Hall. Despite the endless questions about it, Ranma remained secretive about the package's contents, though he did eventually reveal to Ron, Harry, and Hermione that it was a long roll of high quality dragonhide. Somehow, the Weasley twins also discovered this fact and pressed him continuously about what he needed the expensive material for, to which he would only say that he was "trying an experiment."
The idea for the experiment in question had come to him suddenly, a week earlier, when Freya had suggested that he had, somehow, interfered with the troll's magic during the fight in the bathroom. When he really thought back on the fight, he realized that the serious injuries the troll had suffered all happened when he had focused his ki into his strikes. The most devastating of these blows, the elbow which damaged its internal organs, was strongly charged with ki. It seemed logical to assume that the ki had somehow disrupted the troll's magic, but Ranma needed another magically resilient creature to test the theory. Or, more conveniently, he needed the skin of such a creature.
Ranma had guessed correctly that Freya would be most helpful in his experiment. Besides her extensive magical skills, particularly Charms and Transfiguration, she was uncannily knowledgeable about magical hides. "Body armor. It pays to know the best material for that job." she explained. "Now dragonhide is nice and tough, not the strongest available, but it's right for the price. It reflects all but the strongest spells and is almost impossible to pierce, rip, or tear."
"Yeah, but if you wrap something, say a glass bottle, in it, will it protect the bottle?"
"It should, depending on the age of the dragonhide. Newer is always better, as the magic is stronger the closer you are to the dragon's death." Freya responded.
With this in mind, Ranma set up his experiment. Using the magical shears, needle, and dragon sinew thread included in the package, he managed to sew a large punching bag, inside of which he placed concrete cinder blocks that Freya had transfigured for him. "I can break those blocks pretty easily normally." he explained to her. "So, if the dragonhide works correctly, and I don't use my ki, hitting the bag won't damage the blocks no matter how hard I hit it."
Freya nodded. "And if this 'ki' of yours works against the dragonhide's magic, you can break the blocks inside?"
"Exactly." Ranma replied confidently.
Proving his idea turned out to be much easier said than done. The dragonhide worked as expected against his non-ki assisted punches, meaning he had to pull his punches to avoid breaking every bone below his elbow. Using ki against the bag, on the other hand, was almost counter-intuitive. The bag's magic aura was so strong and specific that it was very much like trying to pick a ten-pin lock in a split-second. Rather than becoming frustrated by this, however, Ranma thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
Finally, after two weeks of training, Ranma had a breakthrough, specifically through the punching bag. He disrupted the dragonhide's magic in spectacular fashion, reducing the cinder blocks inside to dust and opening a rip the size of his fist in the bag. "Yatta!" Ranma exclaimed, doing a backflip in his excitement. It had worked; he had proved that ki could disrupt magic. But his elation was short lived, as he sank to the ground, feeling suddenly drained. As handy as the skill was, it was also very costly.
"I-I've never seen someone pierce dragonhide without magic." Freya uttered disbelievingly, staring at the mound of dust slowly building beneath the bag. "This 'ki' you use is powerful magic."
"Dumbledore did say it was Muggle magic." Ranma replied slowly, feeling very tired. "Now to do that without collapsing..."
As November drew to a close, Ranma began to slowly see improvement. Using more of the dragonhide, he made a thick sleeve for a multi-armed practice dummy, which he had fashioned out of a dozen of the unused chairs in September. By not using ki, the dummy allowed him to toughen his other striking limbs and, alternately, he could practice focusing ki to the same limbs. He still could not strike the dummy at full power, but he could reliably disrupt it's magic aura more than half of the time. Ranma's confidence was so high that he jokingly bragged that his next training dummy would be a real dragon. Freya, who had been very impressed at his progress, laughed, but she tried to keep his expectations realistic. "Not to rain on your parade, but a live dragon's skin is at least three times more magical than the hide you've had to practice on. And I doubt one will sit still long enough to wait for you to get it right!"
Ranma arrived in the common room earlier than usual on the last Friday in November, feeling pleasantly tired after a productive training session. Spotting Hermione, Ron, and Harry (or rather, the mountain of books surrounding them) at their usual table, he walked over and fell into a seat beside Hermione. "Any luck?" he asked, perhaps a bit too cheerfully. The other three shot annoyed looks at him. "What?"
"Well, it would be nice if we had another set of eyes looking over these books." Hermione replied, sounding slightly put out.
"Hey, I'm helping..." Ranma said without much conviction. "...well, when I can."
"Your training, right?" Harry said, returning to the moldy book he was perusing. "What are you doing that for, anyway?
"I hadn't told you all about that? Blimey, I've been so busy that I forgot about that." Ranma said with a start. "Sorry 'bout that."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other, then smiled reassuringly at Ranma. "It's quite all right." Hermione said. "So what is this training of yours for anyway?"
"Right, well remember how badly I was hurt by the troll?" They nodded. "Well, I've been trying to toughen myself up, so that won't happen again."
They looked confused a moment. "But why bother?" asked Ron, looking at him as if he were mad. "I mean, you don't expect to fight trolls often, do you?"
"God, I hope not, it'd be really boring." Ranma said with a laugh. The other three were still grinning uncertainly at him. "Look, I might never fight another troll, but it won't hurt to be ready if I have to, right?"
"I suppose. But I don't think we're in danger of a troll attack any time soon, so you can take a break some time, yeah?" said Harry with a grin as he tossed a dusty old book at Ranma.
They were still at it long after the last person had gone to bed, but all that time seemed to make hardly any difference in their pile of books. "You guys go on to bed, I'm going to keep looking." Ranma told Harry, Ron, and Hermione after catching them nodding off for the tenth time. They mumbled their good-nights and shuffled off to the dormitories, leaving him to pore over the books.
A noise startled Ranma awake. He wiped his mouth and blinked his eyes, but saw only shadows from the dim light of the dying fire. His nascent magic sense, however, told him that he was not alone in the common room. Two people were creeping along the edge of the wall towards the portrait hole. They were so quiet that, without the magic sense, Ranma would have had to strain his ears to hear them at all.
Dim, flickering light illuminated the hole for a moment as the two people silently climbed out into the corridor. As the portrait swung closed, Ranma was seized by curiosity, wondering who was out of bed so let and what they were up to. He was determined to find out. In a flash, he had retrieved his winter robes, gloves, and a hat and scurried out of the portrait after them. The pair remained silent as they crept down the corridors like ghosts. Ranma followed them down the marble staircase, across the entrance hall, and out the front door.
The grounds were swathed in murky darkness. It was as cold as frozen steel outside but, thankfully, there was no wind, and the only sounds Ranma could hear were of the pair's footsteps on the frost-covered grass. The two seemed to know their way because, despite the oppressive darkness, they did not produce a light to guide them. They led the way towards Hagrid's hut but made a point to give it a wide berth. Finally, they turned and, without hesitation, entered the forbidden forest.
Ranma hesitated a moment at the edge of the forest, a feeling of foreboding creeping upon him. He followed along silently, keeping the pair within range of his magic sense because he could not see them in the pitch blackness. Finally, one of them broke the silence with a barely audible whisper. "Hold on, are we going the right way? Check the map."
"Lumos." the other person said quietly, and their wand washed the pair in soft, white light. Ranma was hardly surprised to see Fred and George Weasley. "I think we've gone astray. We should be going northeast."
"We've got to get a proper map." replied Fred, turning to orient himself with the correct direction. "Alright, let's go."
"Nox." whispered George, and they started forward again in darkness.
Ranma followed at a distance, wondering what on earth the twins were doing sneaking out into the forest in the dead of night. This was no minor mischief making; it was really dangerous, but he imagined that the journey must have been very important for them to risk the dangers of the forest. They continued on, making as little noise as possible. Finally, after several more stops to check directions, they stopped at the edge of a small clearing.
"Alright, let's get them." Ranma heard Fred whisper. The twins inched forward slowly, making barely a sound. They were just nearing the center of the clearing when Ranma heard a faint rustle, like the wind through the trees, except there was no wind. Suddenly, as if appearing from thin air, Ranma could sense ten, twenty, a hundred magical auras closing in on the clearing from all sides and even from the treetops. The twins seemed to sense their presence as well.
"Fred, we've got company." George said, sounding worried. Feeling vulnerable on the ground, Ranma scrambled up into a tree and noticed that stringy white ropes crossed the branches. Below, George and Fred lit their wands and cast them about, throwing light onto a terrible sight.
They were surrounded by spiders, giant, hairy spiders, a few as big as small cars, and each with an aura that spoke of magical resiliency. Their mouths clicked furiously and they crept along the edge of the clearing, sizing up the twins. One of them stepped forward into the clearing and, amazingly, began to speak. "Foolish humans, you dare come to pilfer our lair again!" it said angrily. "Our brood shall feast on your miserable bodies tonight!"
"Not bloody likely!" Fred shouted brazenly. "Come any closer and we'll set fire to your precious eggs!"
The spiders almost went into a frenzy as George pointed his wand at a large clump of webbing Ranma had mistaken for a shrub. "We're warning you, back up!" George said angrily, jabbing his wand at the eggs. The spiders got the point and backed out of the clearing. "All right Fred, gather some up."
The twins thought they had won, but Ranma knew better. He could hear noises overhead and, looking up, saw spiders descending from the trees above, to which Fred and George were completely oblivious. Before the thought was fully formed in his mind, he swung to the top of the tree and threw himself at the nearest spider.
"Over here, ugly!" he yelled, gathering ki into his leg and aiming a kick at the spider. Ranma felt the spider's aura fizzle as his ki slammed into it. Kicking off its carcass, he jumped to the next spider and repeated the ki filled kick. With each hop, Ranma left a dead spider swinging and, within fifteen seconds, they were all dead.
"Ranma!" The twins cried when he landed next to them. They looked both astonished and relieved to see him."What're you-"
"Never mind that." Ranma said, wincing slightly. His foot hurt badly, but he did not think it was broken. "I killed the ones trying to ambush you up there, but we've got to get out of here."
Outside the clearing, the spiders were reacting to the deaths of their brethren, clicking their mouths more angrily than before. "Ranma's right, they're about to go berserk." said George.
"Yeah, but how do we get away?" Fred asked, sounding frantic.
Ranma looked around for a way out, but they were completely surrounded and the only way he could see was through the treetops themselves. Even if Fred and George could follow him through the trees, he had a lurking suspicion that the spiders left that opening on purpose. No, they would have to smash their way out. "I'll clear a path, just follow me." he replied loudly over the angry clicking. "I hope you two know some good spells!"
Ranma rushed into the spiders headlong, trying his hardest to focus on their movements, the twins behind him, and penetrating the spiders' magical auras. One of the larger spiders reared up, swiping at him with its great, hairy legs. Ranma stepped inside its range and caught one of its legs, then turned on his right foot and shot a quick, ki infused kick into its body. The blow was devastating, sending it flying like a deflating balloon and ripping the leg Ranma still held clean off. He brandished it like a long staff, batting the smaller, dog-sized spiders away into the trees. Ranma's weapon did not last long, however, and as the magic dissipated it snapped. It had done it's job, though, and there were only a few spiders in their way.
"Hurry!" he shouted, sensing that the spiders were regrouping. Fred and George sprinted like mad past him, shooting spells that blew the spiders off their feet. Ranma could feel the spiders moving to surround them again, their eight legs giving them an advantage in speed. The trap was closing again and he knew that the twins simply could not run fast enough to escape. He only hoped that his throbbing feet could stand the stress he was about to put on them.
Ranma put on a burst of speed, pouring ki into his legs. He took a great leap, twisting in mid-air, and landed facing Fred and George. Not pausing for their startled reactions, he crouched, wrapped his arms around their waists, his shoulders in their stomachs, and picked them up. "Hold on, and keep your wands lit!" he yelled before turning around and running for his life.
The spiders were already ahead of them, waiting with open mouths, some spinning webs as quickly as they could. The circle around them was closing rapidly, and Ranma could see their chance for escape disappearing. His legs screamed in agony as he pushed them still harder, leaping over the spiders and hopping across their mass of bodies. Another strong surge from Ranma's legs shot them high in the air, through the center of an unfinished web, and out of the spiders' trap. He descended to the ground by rapidly slowing his fall on tree branches. He hit the ground and ran like he had never run before. Soon, the clicking and skittering of the spiders began to fade away until, eventually, the only sounds he heard were Fred and George's breathing and his own footfalls.
They were out of the forest and on the Hogwarts grounds before Ranma had realized it. He skidded to a halt near the Quidditch pitch, dropped Fred and George unceremoniously, and fell to the ground, gasping for breath. He vaguely realized that the light from the twins' wands had gone out.
"Blimey." he heard Fred say shakily. "That was – that was close..."
"Too close." George agreed. They were both breathing very heavily.
"Lumos." said George after a few minutes. He shined a light on Ranma, who looked unconscious. "Ranma, you all right?"
"Of course I'm not all right!" Ranma nearly shouted, his eyes flying open. He tried sitting up but his head swam, so he remained laying down. "What the bloody hell were you two thinking, going into an acromatula lair?"
"Keep it down, keep it down!" George hissed. "You shouldn't've followed us."
"You're lucky I did or you'd both be spider food." Ranma retorted. "What's so important that you risked getting killed?"
"It wasn't so supposed to be dangerous." Fred replied. "It was dead easy last time -"
"Last time? Last time!" Ranma exclaimed, his temper rising. "You're telling me you nutters have gone there before?"
"Well, maybe once -" said George.
"- or twice..." added Fred. They both steadfastly avoided his eyes
"I don't believe you two." Ranma said, shaking his head. "You're both mad!"
"Hold on now, that's a bit harsh. We perfectly sane, thank you." Fred replied with mock indignation.
"Besides, who's madder, the nutter or the nutter who follows him?" joked George. Ranma, who was in no mood to laugh, glared witheringly at them. "Oh, come on, Ranma, look on the bright side. We're alive, aren't we?"
"And all thanks to you, mate." Fred added flatteringly. "That was bloody brilliant, what you did back there. I wouldn't've believed it if I hadn't been there."
"Too right." George chimed in. "Now we know that the story about the troll really is true."
"Wait a minute. You didn't believe that until just now?" Ranma looked confused. "But your own brother told you -"
"Well, it's Ron, isn't it? He has this annoying habit of exaggerating." said George, rolling his eyes.
"So why bother spreading the story if you don't believe it?"
"It wasn't us that spread that story around the castle, mate. One thing you've got to learn about Hogwarts, it's got a million ears and twice as many mouths." Fred assured him. "Honestly, the story was so far-fetched, no one really believed it. I mean, an eleven year old fist-fighting with a troll-"
This revelation made Ranma's insides writhe with embarrassment. He had been under the delusion that others in the school were impressed by him. "But, if no one believes it, why do people keep going on about it?" he said, trying not to sound too concerned.
"Well, no one wants to let a good rumor die." George said with a shrug. "And anyway, people are still arguing over whether it's true. Apparently some people (nobody we know) overheard McGonagall saying that it was true."
"Well it is." Ranma said.
"Yeah, we know that now." Fred said. He was giving Ranma a strange, almost calculating look.
"I think we'd better head back to the castle. Filch's gets insomnia sometimes and it'd be very annoying to get caught after all that." said George, standing and offering Ranma a hand, which he took gladly.
The trek back was somewhat slower than the walk out, since Ranma was limping after the night's exertions. He forced himself to ignore the shooting pains in his thighs and feet, hoping that he would not need another trip to the hospital wing. The trio was silent as they entered the school and crept back up to the tower.
The common room was dark and cold. Fred and George sat down on a couple of the armchairs while Ranma headed towards the spiral staircase. "Aren't you two going to bed?" he asked with a yawn.
"Not yet, but don't let us keep you." responded George, opening a bag he had been holding.
Ranma shrugged and began limping up the stairs to his dormitory. Though he was curious what the twins were up to, he too felt battered and exhausted to bring himself to care at that moment.
"Hey, Ranma." Fred called. "Thanks. We won't forget this."
"Yeah, we owe you one, mate." added George.
To Be Continued...in Chapter 10: A Nice, Quiet Christmas
There are only 6 chapters remaining in Book 1...
Author's Notes:
Writer's block really sucks. Being very busy at work really sucks. Combining the two, at least in my case, adds up to a late chapter. I write at work during my downtime, but I haven't had much time there the last two weeks. At any rate, it's here, you've read it, hopefully it's to your satisfaction. I promised some new material and I more or less delivered, but maybe it wasn't quite enough for your tastes. Therefore, in chapter 10, we'll take a respite from life at Hogwarts and get a look at a magical Saotome Christmas. And hopefully it gets delivered somewhere near on time...
As always, thanks to Kim and Ed; you know why. Big thanks to people leaving comments, some of you are making good guesses on the direction this story is going. I look forward to seeing more of your insights. Finally, thanks to the readers (30,000+ hits!). If you like what you're reading, don't hesitate to hit that comment link :)
Sorry for making you read this long A.N. section...
