Disclaimer: All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Hunter x Hunter universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yoshihiro Togashi and Shueisha Inc. (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter Ten: Passing x Time x Again
"Here we are, young man; you'll find the rest of your fellow applicants through these door," Beans announced as they stopped in front of a set of doors. "Chairman Netero will be arriving shortly to debrief all of the applicants."
"Thank you," Harry murmured as he shifted Flip into one arm so that he could open the right hand door to enter the room and immediately felt every eye in the room fall on him as the sound of the door drew the attention of the other applicants.
Long used to being stared at, Harry simply ignored the eyes on him as he strode confidently into the room; walking with the rolling gait of a sailor that made the bottom edges of his dueling cloak sway and flair dramatically with each step that he took. As he moved through the room, Harry let his eyes sweep across the faces of the other applicants until he found the individual that he was looking for. Letting a cocky grin form on his face, Harry altered his course to make his way over to where Kurapika was standing with the other two passengers from the Kaijinmaru and Killua.
"Oy, Kurapika, fancy a spar later if there's enough time before we face the next task? I'm bored as hell and feeling antsy after missing more than two weeks worth of proper training. Unless, of course, you're too tired?"
"Bored…?" Leorio spluttered in disbelief as he gaped at Harry.
"Well, yeah; all we've done so far is run and cook – two things I did more than enough when I was growing up. If I had wanted the reminder of my childhood, I would have visited the zoo and gone to see the poo flinging monkey exhibits."
"I am a bit tired but I wouldn't be opposed to having a light spar if there is enough time," Kurapika replied around a laugh in response to Harry's dry wit.
"You're Katzo's friend from the ship, aren't you?" Gon inquired on the heels of Kurapika's reply.
"Aye."
"What's your name?"
"You arrived on the same boat with Gon and never introduced yourself," Killua demanded incredulously. "After all the grief you gave me about being rude, it turns out your even ruder than me."
"I was a little preoccupied with helping the crew to keep the ship afloat after we'd been sucked up into a tropical storm that turned into a hurricane; manners were an afterthought at the time. And I would be nice to me, little stray; or I'll not feed you again the next time you come slinking up to my fire begging like a starved pup."
"You're still annoying and mean," Killua deadpanned with a look on his face that was a cross between petulant and pouting.
Harry just snorted before he returned his attention back to Gon as he offered, "My name is James, Gon; I would have introduced myself before we reached Dolle Harbor but as I said, I was a little preoccupied."
"It's nice to meet you, James; but how did you know my name? And are you the one who trained your eagles? Did you raise them from the egg?"
"The captain mentioned your name as I took my leave of the Kaijinmaru and I heard Killua address you by your name just before the Second Phase began. To answer your other questions; no, I didn't raise Flip and Flop – I purchased them from a large scale breeder in London back in June. They had already been trained when I bought them but I have since taught them a few new tricks."
"You mean you corrupted them and taught them how to prank people that annoy you," Kurapika corrected with a snort.
"You only say that because you're still sore about that live squid that Flop dropped onto your head after you insultingly called him a birdbrain," Harry fired back as the eagle in question let out a smug honk while the two twelve year olds burst out laughing.
Before Kurapika could respond, the man that had been questioning Harry entered the room alongside of Beans and everyone was asked to gather close. Harry frowned when the man introduced himself as the chairman for the current exam and he found himself worrying a bit as he wondered why the chairman had felt the need to personally question him the moment he boarded the airship when any old examiner could have done so; the wizard doubted that the man had interviewed all fifty-eight of the remaining applicants – otherwise it would have taken far longer for them to take off.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself to the remaining fifty-eight applicants. I am Isaac Netero; the Chairman for the two hundred eighty-seventh Hunter Exam Selection Committee. I had originally planned to make an appearance during the final Phase of the test but I find the rising tension in the air exhilarating and so I have decided to stick around a little longer in the hopes that all of you will entertain me."
"We are due to arrived at the site of the next phase tomorrow morning at eight o'clock in the morning," Beans stated while Chairman Netero laughed heartily over his declaration. "For those of you who are hungry, there is a buffet style supper set up in the Dining Hall. There are also a series of small dorms available if you wish to get some rest. In other words, all of you are free to do as you wish until we arrive at our destination."
Harry found himself grinning in response to that declaration as he turned back to meet Kurapika's gaze and the blond gave him an answering grin as he nodded. Gon and Killua broke away from the group as they headed for the door; the two twelve year olds eagerly discussing what part of the airship they should explore first. Harry shook his head as the two boys briefly reminded Harry of Fred and George plotting their next prank. He soon put both sets of troublemakers out of his mind as Kurapika spoke up just before they reached the doors leading out.
"There is one thing that bothers me," Kurapika muttered as a frown crossed his face.
"And what is that?" Leorio asked in return.
"Exactly how many more phases are there to this exam?"
"Oh. None of the examiners so far have mentioned an exact number, have they?"
"They probably base the total number of tasks upon how many people pass each phase," Harry suggested logically.
"The number of tasks varies from year to year but on average there are usually five or six phases," the fat bully Harry had followed a couple of days earlier answered as he walked up behind the trio.
"That would mean that we still have at least three more to go…" Leorio mused as the taller man stopped and turned around to face the fat man while Harry and Kurapika merely stopped and glanced back over their shoulders.
"I guess that means our spar will be both short and light; to leave us some time to rest afterwards," Kurapika stated as he turned to Harry.
"That's probably best anyway since it's been a couple of weeks since I last sparred with anyone," Harry agreed as the three of them turned away from the bully and began heading out the door once more.
"I wouldn't let my guard down if I were you," Tonpa quickly pointed out before they could leave the room. "There are still ten hours between now and when we arrive and…"
"And you should learn some proper manners," Harry huffed in annoyance as the man was seriously cutting into his sparring time. "Don't you know it's rude to try and shove unsolicited advice down a perfect stranger's throat? I swear; you're worse than the little stray that came to beg scraps from my fire last night." Kurapika and Leorio both snickered in response to Harry's cutting remarks while the bully's face had begun darkening in growing anger with each word Harry said. Harry smirked as he made shooing motions with his hands and added, "Go away little pest; I'm sure there's a rubbish bin around here somewhere that you can buzz about where you won't annoy us or pollute the air with your very presence."
"I'm going to make you pay for that," Tonpa growled as he clenched his fists and bared his teeth.
"I'm already paying for it since your presence is still fouling up the air I breathe."
"I'm going to kill you!"
Harry stared at the man for a heartbeat before he burst out laughing; Harry had long since grown numb to death threats due to how many people had threatened to kill him throughout his life (roughly half of them had been leveled at him over the past six months while he was aboard the Kaijinmaru). The teen didn't stop laughing as he turned away from the man and began to walk away as best as he could while laughing himself silly.
"I'm going to choke the life out of you with my bare hands and then I'm going to pluck and roast the two ugly chickens that you keep as pets!"
All amusement left Harry as he stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around as his anger and magic immediately reacted in response to the threats and insults directed at his feathered companions; the threat reminding him of Hedwig's loss. Harry's eyes glittered with magic and fury as he rolled forward onto the balls of his feet and hissed out, "While it was more than a little amusing that you tried to intimidate me with your rather pathetic death threats on my life, your spoken threat against my feathered companions just pissed me the hell off. Congratulations; you just earned the number four spot on my shit list."
Harry then took a single step towards the slightly taller man as a thread of magic swirled around him and shifted his cloak and hair before ruffling the feathers of both eagles as the birds silently glared at the fat man with glittering dark eyes that promised a world of pain. More than a few of he lights in the room began flickering in response to the magic that was now saturating the air around the teen. The furious wizard then leaned slightly forward to glare at the man over the top of his darkened glasses before he continued speaking.
"If you want to live to see another day, I suggest you stay as far away from me and mine as you can get because I guarantee that you will die a slow and painful death should you even think of attempting to carry out your threat to harm my eagles. If I see you within fifty feet of my companions and you so much as look at them wrong, then there won't be enough of you left to bury by the time I am finished with you."
Harry then deliberately turned his back on the other man and stalked out of the room without looking back. Kurapika and Leorio caught up to him a few minutes later and Harry nearly snapped at them to leave him alone only to recall at the last second that they were not the ones that had pissed him off. By the time they'd reached the end of the corridor, most of Harry's anger had been brought back under control along with his magic as the wizard turned introspective as he tried to figure out why he'd snapped like he had.
He soon came to the conclusion that it was result of a number of different factors; the fact that he missed Katzo, Jacob, and Gunter, the boredom he'd been feeling off and on since he'd arrived at the starting point of the First Phase, the complete disruption of his physical training schedule, the tension he could sense from the other applicants, and the wealth of negative memories that had been stirred by the Second Phase. Knowing that, it was fairly easy for Harry to let go of the last of his anger.
The wizard then sighed as the last of the tension fled from his body as he took note of his surroundings for the first time since he'd stormed away from the bully. The teen abruptly stopped and frowned as he glanced back the way they'd come before casting another look towards the direction they'd been moving in. Kurapika and Leorio slowed to a stop of a few steps later as they belatedly realized that Harry was no longer moving; both of them more than a little confused.
"Is there something wrong, James?" Kurapika asked after a few minutes had passed.
"Yeah, do either of you know where we're going?"
"No; I thought you were leading the way," Leorio replied as he swung his briefcase over his shoulder and slouched down further.
"Er… no, I was only trying to get away from the walking, talking jackass before I did something I would regret."
"Tonpa is rather annoying," Kurapika agreed succinctly. "As far as to where we're going, we can either find a member of the airship's crew to ask them if there is a room on board with enough room for us to have our spar or we can just start opening doors until we find a suitable room on our own. Unless, of course, you're no longer in the mood…?"
"Hmm… no, I need to burn off a bit of excess energy or I'm liable to start snapping at everyone over nothing."
After another couple minutes of debate, the three of them began searching the rooms that opened up off of the hallway they were in for a room that would be suitable for sparring while keeping an eye out for a member of the crew that they could approach. Kurapika found a large, empty room with padded walls and wooden floor thirty minutes later and Harry bounded inside and promptly declared it perfect before he shooed Flip and Flop from their perches and began warming up without bothering to take off his pack-trunk.
"Shouldn't you take your pack off before you start?" Leorio inquired as he made himself comfortable beside the door to watch.
"Nope; I need to learn how to fight with it on," Harry countered with a shake of his head. "Not only does it offer me extra protection from blows to the back, there won't always be time for me to remove it if I have to fight. Plus, taking it off during a real fight increases the chances that my pack and therefore all of my supplies could be lost or stolen. The only reason I never sparred with it on while aboard the ship was because of the chances that I would get it tangled in the rigging once Jacob and Gunter had me fighting on the ratlines and spars."
"Won't you run the risk of your pack getting damaged then? Or the straps cut?"
"No, the straps have stripes of reinforced steel inside of them to make the harder to cut and the frame is made from fire hardened walnut and is very difficult to scratch or cut," Harry explained less than truthfully; completely leaving out the fact that the pack was layered with protective spells that prevented it from being damaged by blades, weather, and spells.
"Rules?" Kurapika inquired as he pulled out his chained bokken and settled into his favorite offensive stance.
"The usual but with a one hour time limit," Harry responded after a moment; referring to the rules they'd established back when they first began sparring together (which basically meant it they could use anything bar lethal and crippling attacks).
"One hour or until one of us can't continue; which ever comes first," Kurapika agreed with a grin. "Will you start us and keep track of the time for us, Leorio?"
"Sure; on the count of three – one, two, go!"
Nothing else was said as Kurapika attacked Harry the moment Leorio gave the signal and Harry focused all of his attention on the blond in order to avoid getting hit by the other teen's swords; dodging, blocking, or counter attacking with each step he took. The padded walls were put to good use as Harry used them as spring boards to increase his speed and height when he started using the walls to his advantage.
Kurapika had picked up a lot of tricks from sparring with Harry over the last couple of months though and the blond easily kept up with the shorter teen; though his moves were slightly sluggish due to his exhaustion. Something that put the two teens on even footing since they were both struggling physically for different reasons; Harry compensating for the extra stone and a half of weight on his back in addition to the cloak and boots he was wearing.
Harry enjoyed every single minute of the fast paced fight despite the fact that he would end up losing the spar when Leorio called time sixty minutes later. His only regret was that it was such a short spar; the time limit only set out of difference for the exhaustion that Harry knew Kurapika was feeling from the first two phases of the Exam. He was actually more than a little surprised that the blond had consented to the spar due to that same exhaustion. Harry didn't really have time to analyze the blond's reasons though as he was unexpectedly caught off guard by the sound of clapping in the wake of Leorio ending the match at the one hour mark.
Turning towards the door, the wizard found Killua, Gon, and Chairman Netero standing beside Leorio; the three of them had entered at some point after the match had started without Harry's knowledge. Harry blinked at the still clapping Gon before he shook his head and bowed towards the twelve year old with a dramatic flourish. The moment was ruined when Kurapika shoved him over onto his face for being a complete ham; which set everyone else to laughing. Harry retaliated by sweeping Kurapika's feet out from under him as he walked passed Harry.
"I hope we aren't interrupting, gentlemen," Chairman Netero stated several minutes later when the laughter faded away.
"No; we're finished now, sir," Kurapika replied as he climbed back onto his feet and helped Harry up. "We were only having a short friendly spar to get in some training before we got some rest."
"Well you certainly looked like you enjoyed yourselves."
"The past hour has been the most fun I've had since I set foot in Dolle Harbor," Harry truthfully replied as he collected his sleeping companions. "Though, retrieving the eggs earlier might be a distant second."
"Oh? Perhaps I can interest you and your friends in joining the three of us in a friendly game," Chairman Netero offered as he gestured to Gon and Killua.
"Count me out; I'm dead on my feet," Leorio replied as he pushed himself off the ground. "It was exhausting enough just watching those two bounce about the room over the past hour."
"I could really use a nap myself," Kurapika stated next.
"As fun as that sounds, I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass as I need to attend to my feathered friends; they are utterly exhausted and they will sleep better if I set them up with a proper perch," Harry answered as he gestured to the two eagles that hadn't even twitched a feather when he'd picked them up and shifted them onto his shoulder and arm.
"I see; have a good evening then, gentlemen."
Harry followed the other two out of the room and waved a silent farewell over his shoulder as Kurapika led their small group back in the direction of the dorm rooms that they had spotted earlier. It only took them a few minutes to find an unoccupied room and Harry set the eagles and his pack aside before he set up his tent and shifted the birds inside to their perches. Harry then bid Kurapika and Leorio goodnight as he pulled his pack into the tent with him; the fifteen year old not wishing to disturb them with his reading since it was obvious that they were both exhausted.
Harry then ate a couple of the pork chops he'd made earlier, spent an hour browsing through the Dueler's Grimoire, and spent another two hours doing calisthenics (to make up for missing out on most of his morning training) before he set his alarm and dropped into bed. The buzzing and beeping of his alarm dragged Harry from bed at six the next morning and he was half tempted to reset it for seven thirty. Only the knowledge that doing so would potentially mean he'd mess up his training schedule even further pulled him from beneath his covers.
A quick cold shower and a chunk of Stone's Teeth had him wide awake five minutes later and he flew through his morning routine with practiced ease. The only thing he couldn't do was run his usual laps since there just wasn't room enough inside of his tent. After he finished exercising, Harry took another five minute shower to wash off the sweat before he got dressed for the day.
He then woke up the matching menaces, offered them a couple of Hawker's Treats each, and left the tent so that he could pack it up. Kurapika and Leorio were both already up and moving when Harry crawled out of his tent and he greeted them cheerfully as he dropped the tent, rolled it up, and strapped it to his pack. Kurapika tossed him a pair of oranges when he finished (the blond had gotten up early enough to seek out the dining hall for food) and Harry thanked him as he peeled and ate both pieces of fruit. By that time it was seven-forty-five; meaning that there was only fifteen minutes remaining until they reached the location of the Third Phase.
Just five minute later, an announcement sounded through the airship informing all of the applicants that they were approaching their destination and would be landing in ten minutes. Gathering up their things, the trio left the dorm and wandered in the direction of the exit so that they could be some of the first ones off the craft. They were joined half way there by Killua and Harry teasingly chided Kurapika for feeding the stray when the blond tossed the twelve year old an extra orange.
Killua scowled at Harry in response but then stuck his nose up in the air when Harry merely smirked back at him. Gon wouldn't rejoin their small group until after they disembarked; the twelve year old had woken up just minutes before they'd landed. The five of them gathered off to one side of the rest of the applicants and took a moment study the top of the pillar like plateau that they'd been brought to before they returned their attention to Beans as the little green man made his presence known.
"Welcome to the top of Trick Tower and the starting point for Phase Three," Beans stated once he had the attention of the fifty-six applicants that had left the aircraft (two of those to pass the Second Phase had apparently dropped out over the course of their flight). "In order to pass this part of the Exam, you must reach the base of the tower alive within the seventy-two hour time limit. If there are no questions, we will begin the Third Phase now." Several of the applicants began muttering under their breath but when no one actually spoke out with any questions, Beans smiled at them as he gave his parting words, "I wish you all luck and will pray for your health."
Harry frowned slightly as he watched Beans return to the airship; the latest task sounded far too simple. The huge blimp then lifted off the tower's top a minute later and Harry glanced around to find all of the other applicants glancing nervously at each other and the edges of the tower. Gon and Killua both hurried to the closest edge and peered over the side with Harry, Kurapika, and Leorio following after them after a brief hesitation.
Harry let out a whistle of appreciation the moment he got his first glimpse over the side and spent another minute trying to judge the distance from the top of the tower to the base. They were still staring over the side of the tower when the applicant wearing badge number eighty-six lowered himself down over the side and began climbing down using nothing but his hands. Two minutes later, four reddish pink beasts that had humanoid faces with huge mouths filled with sharp teeth appeared seemingly from no where.
The largest of the strange beasts plucked the man off the wall just five minutes later and carried him off. All five of them swallowed thickly as they followed the creatures' path off into the distance while the man's screams rapidly grew fainter.
"I guess that means we won't be climbing down the side of the tower," Kurapika murmured as he straightened up and studied the top of the tower.
Leorio, Gon, and Killua were quick to follow the blond's example while Harry continued to study the long drop. The other four eventually decided to split off into pairs to search the surface of the tower for hidden doors and Harry waved them on their way; letting them know that he had a few ideas of his own as he sent Flip and Flop to scan the side of the tower for other potential threats. After forty-five minutes, the two eagles returned and let Harry know that they found nothing by shaking their heads and ruffling their feathers.
Harry then turned back towards the plateau and made certain no one was looking in his direction before he pulled out his wand and cast the Notice-Me-Not Charm over himself before he pulled out his Firebolt and dove over the side. The wizard allowed gravity to take hold of him for several long minutes before he rolled onto his broom and accelerated to maximum speed as he shot straight for the ground; his two eagles racing along beside him before the broom pulled ahead of them.
He reveled in the rush of the wind screaming past his face as he laid low over the broom; a fierce grin painted across his face as he kept his eyes locked on the rapidly approaching ground. There was a rather close call once he reached the halfway point when the four flying beasts returned but they thankfully had been unable to see him through the charm and so Harry escaped getting eaten by the skin of his teeth. Just a few minutes after that, he pulled up at the very last second to skim along less than ten inches above the ground for several feet before he sat up and pulled to a stop.
Harry let out a happy sigh as he hopped off his broom and returned it to his mokeskin pouch before he began searching along the base of the tower for some sign of where he was supposed to go now that he was at the base with Flip and Flop following him from the sky. He soon found a tall bald man wearing a green uniform of some kind and Harry waited until the man turned away from where Harry was standing before he dropped the charm hiding him and addressed the man.
"Excuse me; do you know where we're supposed to go once we reach the bottom of the tower?"
Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud when the man jumped several feet into the air and let out an undignified yelp as Harry's rather abrupt arrival startled the man. It took the guy several minutes to regain his composure before he led Harry around to the west side of the tower where a partially hidden door was located. The man then stepped off to one side and made a call on his cell phone; his voice rising and falling as he spoke to someone on the other end of the line.
Five minutes later, the sound of stone grinding on stone was heard as the door to which he'd been led shifted upwards to reveal a darkened interior inside. Harry whistled to catch Flip and Flop's attention and quickly told them to spend the next three days resting and hunting before he stepped through the door; the wizard did not wish to keep the two birds cooped up the entire time.
The moment Harry stepped inside, the door slid shut behind him as an intercom crackled to life and a disembodied voice addressed him, "Congratulations number ninety-seven; you are the first applicant to pass the Third Phase. You have also set an all new record for the shortest time completing the Trick Tower Challenge at one hour, five minutes, and twelve seconds. Please make yourself comfortable as you will need to remain in the tower's base room until the remaining seventy hours and fifty-four minutes have run out."
"Joy, another boring task," Harry groused as he glanced around the stone walls and floor of the room he'd ended up in.
After inspecting the room, he claimed the spot right beside the door and set up his tent; if he was going to be stuck in one place for three days, he might as well make the most of it and get some studying done. He used an Engorgement Charm on some stone chips he found laying about the room (hiding his casting with his pack since it didn't take a genius to know that the room probably had hidden cameras all over the place) and used them to hold up the anchor ropes. Once the tent was up, he roped off a two foot section all the way around the tent using conjured rope and posts transfigured from the rest of the rock chips.
Harry then jokingly hung a 'no trespassing sign' from the rope and set out a 'beware of rabid butterflies' sign next to the tent opening. He'd later conjure a flock of acid green, neon yellow, fluorescent pink, and electric blue butterflies that he let lose to flutter about outside of the tent; a light corral ward placed on his rope fence preventing them from wandering off. The fifteen year old then retreated inside of the tent and spent his time exercising, running through his sword stances, working his way through his O.W.L. material, and practicing the various spells he'd memorized out of the Dueler's Grimoire.
Every three to four hours he'd poke his head out of the tent to see if any of the other applicants had made it down to the base of the tower before he'd withdraw inside. Five hours and twelve minutes after Harry's arrival, number forty-four arrived; the redheaded jester that had attacked Satotz and killed the impostor midway through the First Phase. Harry merely took note of the man's presence before he returned to his tent; Harry was not interested in getting to know the intimidating man.
Each time he stuck his head out after that, there would be another applicant in the room but to Harry's disappointment he did not see one of the four applicants he now knew by name. He was not disappointed that there was as of yet no sign of the bully who'd threatened his eagles; Harry would be far happier if the man failed the Third Phase as it would mean that there would be far less of a chance of him ever seeing the man again.
In that way, the fifteen year old wizard passed the three days of the Third Phase.
When there was less than a half an hour remaining, Harry collected his 'rabid' butterflies in a jar, packed up his camp, and put away his tent. He then kicked back with a five foot length of rope and practiced tying the various different knots that Gunter had taught him. By that time, twenty-five applicants had passed the task with one of them dying shortly after he had entered the room. Harry had attempted to save the man but he'd already been too far gone by the time the teen had reached his side. The man's death had bothered Harry as it had brought back memories of Cedric's murder.
Kurapika, Leorio, Gon, and Killua wouldn't show up until just seconds before the remaining time for the Third Phase ran out. Unfortunately, accompanying them was the same bully that had irritated Harry the other day. How the other four had ended up in the man's company was unknown but Harry was certain that they'd not been happy about it given the state of the man's face; someone had obviously punched him more than once. Leorio looked like he'd been on the receiving end of a couple of punches as well and Harry suspected that the two of them had been the ones fighting. The other three looked unharmed, if rather worn out and exhausted.
10-16-15: Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes.