I really appreciate everyone who reads and reviews. As far as pairings go, I don't normally write about romance so I probably won't do much in that regard. The most you can expect is a passing mention about a couple. Also, because the there is a lot going on with Team E, I had to split it up into 2 chapters.

"English"

"Japanese"

"Parseltongue"

Chapter 10 - A Friend in Need or The Marauder's Map Part 1

Nagisa woke up in someone's arms, his head was throbbing. This person was wrapping something around his head. His body was cold but the side of his head felt like it was on fire. He couldn't quiet remember why he was here for a moment.

He slowly opened his eyes to see a face that he didn't recognize in front of him. He grabbed onto the first thing that he could get a hold of. Everything was still a bit fuzzy. "What's going on?" The man in front of him said, "It's OK, calm down for a second."

It took him a moment to realize what was said. He tried to focus on what was happening. It was then that he realized that the man before him was the same person that he had been searching for.

"You hit your head," he explained. "I going to wrap it up and send you on your way." His body moved before he had time to think about it. He stood and backed away quickly, settling in a lowered, almost crouching position, in case he needed to escape quickly. They lower position also helped him balance himself. He raised his arms in a position to block any blows directed at his vital organs. His head was still pounding, and if they got into a fight, Nagisa was sure that he would lose. He reached for his wand only to realize that it wasn't there.

"Hey," said Black, holding up his hands like he was trying to placate him. "You're still hurt, if you keep moving around like that your going to hurt yourself further."

Nagisa stopped and looked at him for a moment. It wasn't his words that stopped him but his face. He had been expecting a killer, someone who cared about nothing but power, but that wasn't what he saw. This man didn't have a dark aura around him. Black took this opportunity to step forward. Nagisa could help but remembered speaking to Shinigami and noticing nothing then either. But this was different, he was sure of it.

He had to think quickly. There were only two way of doing this as far as he could see. He could either try to reason with Black and hope that his team would find him while he distracted him. Or he could run away, hope that Black followed him, and get close enough to the Dementors so they could caught him. Going by everything that he had heard about Black so far he was afraid that he Black wouldn't listen to him. So the second option what was he was going to do; as long as he could avoid the tree this time, he would be fine.

He stood up a little straighter, bracing himself against the wall, and said, "Why did you help me? Doesn't it mean that you'll be in more danger now?" He was just waiting from his chance to push off the wall and run. Black's aura didn't change as he gave Nagisa a hollow, humorless smile. He looked down and retorted, "Why did you chase me, a big bad killer?" he emphasized the last word. He waited for Nagisa to say something but Nagisa stayed silent. "See," he said slyly, "we both are doing things that don't make any sense."

Nagisa bit his lip, this wasn't working at all. Black was staying calm, if he didn't move Nagisa wouldn't get a chance to leave. Black was blocking the entrance. If he died here, keeping his reason for being at this school would be pointless, besides he was already caught. As long as he didn't reveal the identities of the of Team E members, it might work out for him.

"I am an assassin and I've come here to kill you." Nagisa said in an emotionless tone. Black looked at him curiously for a moment before he started to laugh. Nagisa pushed off the wall and headed further into the building. He hoped that he could hide long enough to get the upper hand and lay a trap or escape.

There was a lot of broken and torn up furniture. The walls and the ceiling had a lot of cracks and crevices, some big enough to hide in. Climbing up, to the at high as he would go, he hid among the rafters. This gave him the opportunity to moving around the room without being seen. This would be perfect as long as he didn't fall. He waited for Black to enter the room.

Black came in and looked all around the room for any sign of him. When he didn't see any sign of Nagisa, he started to moved the furniture around to find him. "I don't know if you think you're being serious, but I don't think that you know what you signed yourself up for." As he said this he quickly moved a chair. Seeing that Nagisa wasn't under it, he started moving around the room a little more. "Do you know what it really means to kill someone?" Black asked.

Nagisa smiled at him from above. 'To kill' These were words that gave him strength. He carefully moved away and said, "That is what an assassin does," before moving quickly. Black looked at where he was as he continued. "I have taken a life before, you are not my first." He moved again. "However, if you find me before I can make my move I will not be yours either."

Black stopped and looked around the room sadly. Nagisa assumed his aura would change into something dangerous when he started looking for him but it didn't. He didn't look like a killer. This situation wasn't right. He thought about it for a moment, moving around so he wouldn't be found, and wondered if there was a reason he killed those people besides for fun or to gain power.

"Why did you kill those people?" Nagisa asked out right, moving again. Black sighed, he seem more tired than before. "You may not believe me, but I'll tell you the truth." This was a surprising turn of events. The rest of the evening Nagisa spent listening to Black's story while moving around. No matter how weird things seemed right now, he wasn't going to let himself be caught off guard. Nothing this evening went as planned.
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At the same time, the five Team E members reached the village, and they split up and searched, followed shortly by Chiba and Hayami. They searched the the empty buildings and any abandoned structures. It wasn't long before the rest of the team met up with them.

While looking for him, Karma couldn't help but remember what had happened when those high schoolers kidnapped two members of their groups. At the time he had been fully prepared to fight them but Koro Sensei got to them first. He knew that he was- no everyone was much stronger now, but so was their opponent. The thought that this man might have already killed Nagisa crossed his mind. He didn't realize until then that he was shaking. He grabbed his wrist to try to still himself.

Suddenly a hand appeared on his shoulder. He whipped around to find Chiba looking him in the eye. "We have to go back." Karma ground his teeth, getting ready to tell him exactly what he thought about that but was stopped with Nakamura said, "Listen Karma, the Dementors patrol the village at night."

Karma nearly growled at them and took off in the direction of the castle. The worst part was that they were right, they really were helpless in this situation. Maybe something from Koro Sensei's guide book might help him now. He wasn't the only one on the team who had no idea what they should do.
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Karmasuma was at his at his desk doing paperwork when an owl fly into his window. He let in land in front of him and took the letter off its leg. The envelope read, Tadaomi Karamsuma, 3rd floor, room 316, Ministry of Magic, Ikebukuro Japan. It contained two pieces of parchment. He reached into his desk and took out a treat for the owl. He had learned long ago to keep some in his desk for cases like this. Karmasuma opened the letter and scanned through it. This is what it said,

Mr. Karmasuma,

While doing some paperwork I came across something slightly disturbing. Many of the files pertaining to the students that transferred from your school are completely sealed. I am of course aware of the predicament of your previous Headmaster, however I have no way of contacting him. I have no intention of prying into the details, as most of them are still completely sealed because of the incident but I would appreciate anything you could tell me regarding the students, including their grades and any special skills that they have. Enclosed is a list of students that transferred, listed by year and last name.

I have very little context for what happened, I am only aware of fact that a teacher within the school was reveled to be a dark wizard. You truly have my condolences for the situation that was forced upon you. I sincerely hope that we can work something out for the information. I would hate to put you in an uncomfortable situation, please contact me at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, first class, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Karmasuma refolded the letter and set aside with the list of students. None of them had contacted him since the beginning of the school year. He assumed that it meant that they were doing well but that doesn't mean that he wasn't worried about them. He briefly wondered whether or not they would even come to him if they were in trouble.

He had rested his chin on his hands while thinking about this. He barely noticed when Irina bounced into the room. "What's the matter?" her pouting face appeared in front of his. He looked up at her calmly and replied, "The Headmaster of Hogwarts is trying to looking into the Class E's past. I fear that if I try and keep to much information from him, he will try to look into things on his own."

He didn't notice the concerned look on her face for a moment. "Have they been discovered? Do they need our help? We could smuggle somethings in there if they need it." she said quickly. As annoyed as he was that she was overacting, in was nice that they cared so much for them, even after they were no longer in her care. He sighed, "No, they don't need us now. They're fine on their own. It's just standard paperwork, nothing has gone wrong."

He picked up a piece of paper from his desk to send to his higher ups, requesting permission to talk to him. He suspected he would be given a script of what to say and forbidden to say anything else, as well as some forged documents.
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Lee Jordan had noticed something off about the Rio after what happened at the Quidditch match. She was gloomy and kept away from others since. He could understand being disappointed about losing the match but she never seemed to be that into Quidditch.

On the day after the match, he saw her talking in rapid Japanese with Karma, that guy from Slytherin. He looked very angry at something. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked. "Yeah, I'm OK." He said as he walked away, waving his hand in an uninterested way. She looked out the window, there was so much sadness is her eyes.

"Hey," he said, walking up to her, "what are you doing?" Rio looking at him. Her eyes were red like she had been crying. "Hey Lee," she said "What's going on?" It was obvious that she was trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Um, nothing. What does whatcha she wa die joe badasu mean?" (1) he said, trying to think of something to talk about. Rio smiled at him and replied, "He was upset so I asked if he was OK and he said he was."

Lee said, "Are you OK? You've been really upset for a while." She shook her head and continued to smile. "Of course I am. I was just mad that Gryffindor lost." She stuck her tongue out at him. He narrowed her eyes and gave her a serious look, "You can't fool me with that." Her smile faded a bit. "OK, something happened yesterday to someone close to us."

It was clear that it was personal and she didn't want to tell him exactly what it was. He was going to respect her. "Alright." A tense silence followed. He decided to break the silence, "Fred and George are visiting Harry right now, but after we are planning something really nasty for Snape. Want to join?" he smirked, hoping it would make her feel better. She shook her head and said, "No thanks, I don't really want to."

It was weird. Ever since they had met, she didn't once turn down a chance to pull a prank or cause trouble. Thinking about it now, she was a little bit off after Sirius Black attacked the Fat Lady but it wasn't like this. Whatever happened must be very serious.
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Sirius was looking for that kid. He saw him coming into the room and from time to time he could hear him moving around but could never pinpoint exactly where. This kid was odd, to say the least. He claimed that he was an assassin and normally he wouldn't believe that but this kid had a very dangerous look. He didn't look scared at all.

He couldn't believe how this kid was moving just after he was hurt. It was like being knocked out didn't even faze him. He panicked when he woke up and didn't realize where he was, but then he took control of the situation easily. He mentioned killing someone before and it was possible that he could.

The kid asked him why he killed. He thought about it for a minute before deciding that there was no point in not telling him. While he was talking he could hear the kid moving around the somewhere in the ceiling. After a while the noise from him stopped. He continued the story but while he did he wondered it the kid was still there. He didn't see him leave but he couldn't see or hear him at all.

About half way through he felt like he was just talking to himself. When he was finished, he sat down heavily in one of the chairs that he had closed his eyes. "Let's assume that we are both telling true," came a voice from the ceiling. He looked at the direction of the voice but creaking meant that he was moving around again. "I have an offer, if your willing to listen." the kid continued from somewhere else.

Sirius inclined his head to indicate he was listening. "What do you propose?" he asked. "If you stay here for a moment, I will go and contact people that I'm working with. I'd feel really bad about killing someone that doesn't deserve it." Sirius thought about it for a moment, "How do I know that you're not going to reveal my location?" This was followed by silence.

"OK," he said reluctantly, "would it satisfy you if I stay here and sent a message out." "How are you going to do that?" Sirius asked. There was a movement again, and the voice moved, "I have a plan for that." he said mysteriously. There was some rustling, like he was moving around some more. Sirius shrugged in the direction that he thought he was in and said, "Fine."

Before long he hear hissing. It wasn't surprising, there were snakes in this building.
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Karma was sitting in the common room, biting his thumb. Nakamura was just as upset as he was but she was still trying to cheer him up. He didn't need her sympathy right now, he needed to know that Nagisa was safe. The thought of Nagisa in trouble was bothering him more than anything. There seemed like there was nothing he could do.

A hissing broke him from his thoughts. He looked down to see a snake with a piece of paper wrapped around his middle with a bit of ripped cloth. The snake allowed himself to get close to Karma. Karma took the note, and opened it. It read,

'I found Black, he said that he is innocent. He claims that a man named Peter Pettigrew framed him. I don't know who that is. I am in a place called the Shrieking Shack with him right now. As long as I'm here, he claimed that he won't run away. I don't plan on just believing his words but if there is some truth to it, it is worth looking into.'

Karma sighed. Nagisa was acting recklessly alone again. "Oi, Mr. Snake," He addressed the creature before him. He wasn't sure that the snake could really understand him but Nagisa could talk to them so, even if didn't understand, it would tell him that he got the message. "Tell Nagisa we're coming for him."

Karma got up to find other to give the message to them. They would sneak out tonight and corner Black. The message mentioned 'Peter Pettigrew'. This was one of the people that Black had killed. Karma wondered if that was why he killed him.

The whole situation was weird. He trusted Nagisa's judgement; he may look innocent and naive but he was actually very sharp. He didn't really understand how but Nagisa was always able to understand people by looking at them.

Walking though the halls, Karma saw Chiba and Hayami walking together with a couple of other Hufflepuffs. He walked in front of them, "Nagisa contacted me." They looked at him in shock. "What's going on?" asked one of the people that they were walking with. Karma ignored him, "He is with the target now, but he wants us to do some investigation for him. Once everyone knows the situation-" "Hey!" said another of the other Hufflepuff, "Don't just ignore us."

Chiba turned to her and said, "Sorry, this is really important." "Alright," said the first Hufflepuff, "we'll see you guys later." The others waved goodbye and left. "When everyone knows the situation then a few of us will go the the Shrieking Shack and confront him." They nodded and took off in separate directions. When everyone know the situation they were going to meet in the Room of Requirement and come up with a plan.

He ran to the staircase and hopped on as it stared to move. He used his forward momentum to jump onto the next level, scaring a group of first years. He ignored them and continued up. On the staircase he found Okuda and Muramatsu talking.

That was something that he had forgotten about. For a while they had been talking, and he didn't know why. It wasn't like he didn't like this happening but it was strange. He had never seen them talking before. "Hey, Nagisa contacted me. Mauramatsu, tell Terasaka and Itona. Okuda, go to the room." He said as he passed them. He continued up the stairs too find everyone that he could.

Once everyone had been told, the meeting in the room began. There was an air of hope among them. It was obvious that some of them had been crying. Kaede sat alone in the corner. Her cheeks were still wet with tears.

"What's going on?" "Nagisa contacted you?" "Where is he?" "Is he OK?" Came a chorus of questions. Karma stood in front of everyone else. "Shut up." he said calmly. Everyone quieted down. "Nagisa tied a note to a snake. It said that he talked to Black and said that Black claims to have been framed. He also said that Black would stay where he was as long as Nagisa stays with him. They are in the Shrieking Shack."

"So Nagisa was tricked." accused Teresaka. Karma glared at him and retorted, "I trust in Nagisa's judgement. Maybe he's wrong but at least it's worth an investigation." "Yeah, I agree. Nagisa's usually right about people." Nakamura added. Karma nodded, "Peter Pettigrew is the person that Nagisa said was supposed to have framed Black. According to what I know, Black killed him years ago but the only thing that was found was a single finger."

"That name is familiar," said Nakamura thoughtfully. Everyone turned to her while she thought. "Did you hear about Black's past as well?" Okuda asked. Nakamura shook her head, "No I thought I saw it on the Marauder's Map. Fred and George were pointing out their brothers and sister to me one night and the name Peter Pettigrew was in the Gryffindor tower with them." "Could it be his son?" asked Kaede, wiping her eyes. "I guess that's were we should start." said Maehara.

"So here's what we're going to do," Karmasaid, crossing his arms. "Chiba, I want you outside the Shack; pick a spot where we have a good view of the main area, we'll lead him there. Kurahashi, Masayoshi, Okajima, and I will go through the tunnel that leads into the the shack. Hayami will walk behind us, keeping out of sight. Cover us with one of the guns. Everyone else, look for everything you can regarding Pettigrew. Right now, we don't know how much Black knows about us so it might be better it he doesn't see all of us at once."

He turned to Okuda and said, "Do you have a potion that will make him sleep or numb or something like that." She nodded. "Actually," Itona looked at the wall, "we thought it would be a good idea to make sleeping darts with a sleeping potion. So, as long as you hit him, he'll be out of it for a couple of hours." Okuda nodded again. "Perfect." Karma said quietly, "Let's get going then."

Remus was finally back, and it looked like Harry had recovered as well. The students had been complaining about Snape giving them homework about werewolves. He listened to all their complains and fixed the problem. He wasn't surprised that Snape would do that. After all, he still had a grudge against him, and why shouldn't he. It may have been a lot time ago but they really were cruel to him.

Looking around the class He noticed that Nagisa was not there. He wondered if he was sick.

After the bell rang, he called Harry back because he wanted to speak with him. "I heard about the match," he said as he started putting book back into his briefcase, "and I'm sorry about your broom stick. Is there any chance of fixing it?" "No," said Harry, "The tree smashed it to bits."

They spent the next few minutes talking about Dementors. Harry pleaded for him to teach him how to defend himself. He had never planned to teach Harry the Patronus Charm, thinking that he would learn it later through someone else, but he needed it now. "Well...all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill."

As he turned to leave, he thought of something else. "Before you leave, Harry, I wanted to ask." Harry turned back to him. "You and Nagisa are close, right?" Harry shook his head, "Not really. He eats lunch with me sometimes and we cross in the halls now and then but I don't really know him well. Why?" Remus shook his head. "Nothing, I was just wondering where he was. Never mind, I'm sure it's fine."

Harry looked like he was just noticing that Nagisa wasn't there. Nagisa was quiet enough that nobody ever seemed to notice him unless he wanted them to. He wondered why Akabane, a Slytherin two years ahead of him, was trying to protect him. What did he get out of it?
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(1) Karma used the phrase 'Yeah, I'm OK.' which is 'Un, watashi wa daijobudesu' in Japanese (according to Google translate).