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: Text between '§' characters indicate Japanese dialogue.
Chapter 10: A Nice, Quiet Christmas
December arrived at Hogwarts and brought with it a fresh, powdery white coat for the grounds. Bitter drafts swept through the halls and rattled windows. The Gryffindor common room was now more crowded than ever, as everyone took refuge from the winter weather. Everyone, that is, but Ranma, who still awakened every morning to train outside. And, while it was far warmer than the school grounds, the dueling room was still chilly enough for him to see his own breath.
Ranma had plenty to keep him busy during the last few weeks of term. He made good on his promise to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and joined them more often to search, unsuccessfully, for Nicolas Flamel. For all of the books they had yet to find Flamel in, Ranma thought the man must surely have been dead, but he wisely chose not to share this sentiment with Hermione. She was becoming more snappishly frustrated at their lack of progress and the failure of the library to provide answers. When he was not burying his nose in a dusty old tome, Ranma was training his magic disruption in earnest. The fight with the acromantula had proved the skill's usefulness in combat and had given him some new ideas to try on his second (and, eventually, third) dragonskin punch bag. As he made progress in the training, he gave regular reports to McGonagall. Despite this seemingly incredible information, Dumbledore had not arranged another meeting with him. Ranma wondered at this, but thought that the man must have been very busy (while trying to ignore the thought that his news was not as incredible as he had thought).
Then, of course, there was his newer and more challenging mission: discovering what the Weasley twins were up to that night in the forbidden forest. This turned out to be much easier said than done, as they were quite reticent when it came to that particular subject. It was proving surprisingly difficult to get a chance to talk to them, since their mastery of the school's hidden passages made it easy for them to give him the slip. Ranma, however, was relentless, and he made a point to accost them every time he saw them. On the last day of term, as he followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione down to the Great Hall for dinner, he spotted the twins ahead in close conference with Lee Jordan.
"Hah! They can't get away now." Ranma said, rubbing his hands together. He had the look of a cat preparing to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.
"Still haven't given up, eh?" Ron said with a wry grin.
"Of course not. I've got to find out-" Ranma caught himself quickly, much to the disappointment of his friends. For some reason he could not explain, even to himself, he had not yet told them about the twins and the acromatula. Considering they had been quite out of bounds, he did not doubt that the twins wanted that information kept quiet, especially from an avowed lover of rules like Hermione. While Ranma was not worried about the three of them telling a teacher, it seemed important to him to keep the twins' secret, even if they had not explicitly asked him to do so.
"Yes, go on. What've you got to find out from them?" Harry said with a voice that he had recently reserved for seeking clues from Hagrid. He, Ron, and Hermione had been trying to wheedle the secret from Ranma for two weeks, since Ranma had first started pursuing the twins.
"I, uh...I'll let you know when I find out." he replied lamely, trying to deflect their attention. "Be right back."
Ranma sprinted ahead before they could protest, dodging around a group of fifth-years. He slipped into the crowd surrounding the twins and edged in behind them without them noticing.
"Fred, George!" he boomed heartily, startling them with a claps on the back that turned into vice-like grips on their shoulders. "Just the people I wanted to see." he lowered his voice. "So, are you two gonna tell me?"
"Tell you what?" They replied innocently as they crossed the entrance hall, Ranma following close behind.
"Don't play dumb with me. You two still haven't told me why you went into the forbidden –"
The twins nearly choked and they rounded on him, looking alarmed. "All right, all right, keep it down, will you?" Fred hissed. "We'll tell you later."
"That's what you said yesterday." said Ranma with a scowl.
George looked at him thoughtfully. "Did we really?"
"Yeah, you did."
"That's odd. Oh, well, we meant the end of term." Fred said cheerfully.
"Today is the end of term." Ranma retorted impatiently.
"He has us there, brother." George said with a grin. "Tell you what, Ranma, we'll fill you in this evening, during the end of term party."
Lee, who had been listening uncharacteristically quietly the whole time, finally spoke up. "Err, what the hell are you three going on about?"
The twins looked at Lee, as if they were only just realizing something. "Blimey, we never told Lee, did we?" Fred remarked. "Well, we'll let you in on it too , Lee."
"Let me in on what?"
Ranma peeled off from them, satisfied for the moment, and slowed down until Harry, Ron, and Hermione had caught up, just as he entered the Great Hall. "Well?" Hermione asked
"Well, what?" Ranma asked innocently.
"Didn't get anything out of 'em, did you?" Ron said with a chuckle. "At this rate you'll be as old as Dumbledore before they tell you anything." Ranma gave him a withering glare, but he could not help feel that Ron was probably right.
That evening, the four of them were, again, poring over books. It had been far more productive when they were in the library, but Madame Pince had kicked everyone out early. Ron half-seriously suggested that she was throwing a Christmas party for her precious books. They were forced to return to the common room, where the end of term party was in full swing. It was very hard to concentrate with wizard crackers and various spells going off around them.
"C'mon, Hermione, it won't hurt to stop now." moaned Ron, looking longingly at the refreshment table. "We can't concentrate with all this noise going on."
"Oh, all right." she sighed, shutting a book. "But you and Harry'd better keep looking while we're gone, especially since Madame Pince wouldn't let me check out any more books."
"Yeah, all right." he said quickly, slamming his book closed and rushing off to get food. Hermione rolled her eyes as she began stuffing the books into her bag. She pushed some over to Ranma and Harry.
"That's okay, Hermione." Ranma said, pushing them to Harry. "My mum's got loads of books at home. I'll have a whole library to look through."
Hermione stopped suddenly, then smacked herself on the forehead. "I've been such an idiot!" she said. "Ranma – your mum – she's the ambassador from Japan."
Ranma raised an eyebrow at her. "Err, I know that."
"Yes, but don't you see, Flamel's some kind of important person if he's got something to do with Dumbledore. Well, wouldn't it make sense that she might know him? Hermione asked.
"I suppose..."
"So if she does, she'll be able to tell us who he is." Harry said, sounding excited. "It's too late to send an owl though."
Hermione waved at him dismissively. "That doesn't matter, we'll be back home tomorrow. Ranma, you've got to ask her, but you mustn't let on that anything is going on here. Just pretend you need to know for a school project."
"Alright. I'll ask her and if I find anything out, I'll send Ryouko around."
"Sounds like a plan." Harry said cheerfully just as Ron returned to the table.
"Whah planf?" Ron asked thickly. His mouth was stuffed with a doughnut.
"I'll tell you later." Harry replied, barely holding back laughter. Hermione looked slightly disgusted.
"I'm going to finish packing." she said, and she headed off to the girls' dormitories, the books and her stuffed bag floating along behind her. As he watched her leave, Ranma caught sight of the twins, who were sitting in a corner with Lee Jordan. The three were usually the center of attention but they were uncharacteristically quiet. Fred looked up and, seeing Ranma, waved him over.
"Thought you'd never get your nose out of those books." he said as Ranma sat down in a nearby armchair.
"And here we thought you really wanted to know about the acromantula..." George added nonchalantly.
"Acromantula?" Lee looked puzzled. "What acromantula?"
"The ones in the forbidden forest that I saved their arses from." Ranma replied with a smirk. Lee gaped at him as he related their escape from the horde of giant spiders.
"I can't believe you two." Lee said angrily, his voice rising. "You leave me out of something that brilliant, then you don't even tell me?"
"Oh, come on, Lee, calm down." said Fred. "We just forgot, honestly."
"You forgot? How do you forget something like that?" Lee asked incredulously. He had risen to his feet and looked ready to stalk off.
"Lee, seriously, sit down. You know about it now, right? Besides, don't you want to know why we were out there?" George added enticingly. Lee sat down reluctantly, looking very sour. "Good man. Go ahead, Fred."
The twins became unusually serious. "We're going to let you two in on a secret. We've been doing some top-secret research."
Ramna perked up. "What kind of research?"
"Joke products." George replied. "Zonko's got a stranglehold on the market, but we think there's room for another player in the market."
"We've had loads of ideas since we were young. Been working on some of them too, since we started Hogwarts." added Fred.
"Yeah, I know about that." Lee said impatiently. "So what's that got to do with acromantula?"
George grinned. "It's obvious, innit? They're really magical creatures, and their bits can be used for potions-"
"-so we thought we'd acquire a few eggs and see about growing them up." finished Fred. Lee and Ranma looked dumbfounded.
"No way." breathed Lee.
"That," said Ranma slowly, "is the maddest thing I've ever heard, even from you two."
The twins shrugged. "It might've worked, but we sort of ruined the first batch we nicked." said Fred.
"Which is why we were in the forest the night you saved us." said George to Ranma. "We needed more eggs."
"Too bad the ones we got that night were no good. But we did get the bits we were aiming for in the first place anyway, when we went back and scavenged the bodies of the spiders Ranma killed." Fred said.
Lee and Ranma looked even more astounded. "Okay, I take that back. That's the maddest thing I've ever heard." Ranma said, shaking his head. "You two are unbelievable."
"Thanks!" the twins chimed proudly in unison.
"That wasn't a compliment." Ranma said, but he laughed despite himself. "Seriously, how mad do you have to be to risk your necks for some potions ingredients?"
"We prefer to think of it as a business risk." George replied, sounding somewhat indignant. "And, anyway, we were looking for – ouch!"
Fred looked at him sternly; he had just kicked his brother in the shin. "Not yet, George, and not here anyway."
Lee and Ranma were now quite alert and interested. "You're holding out on us." Lee said suspiciously "What're you two trying to find?"
"Can't tell you that yet." Fred said. "Oh, all right, we'll give you a teaser, then."
George spoke, but this time he had lowered his voice substantially, so Lee and Ranma had to lean in to hear. "We've decided to let you two in on something big we're onto. It's top secret, but we reckon you two can be trusted to keep your mouths shut. But," he emphasized this point, "we can't tell you any details until next month, when we're back from holiday."
Lee and Ranma looked disappointed, especially after that build up. "Don't worry, the wait will be worth it, and you'd rather not be wound up about it during break, trust me." Fred assured them. They were not, however, very convinced, but the twins were adamant and would not say another word about the subject, no matter how much Lee and Ranma protested.
Early the next morning, Ranma and Hermione said good-bye to Harry and Ron. The whole school, it seemed, was leaving en masse, and Ranma imagined that it would be a very quiet holiday for Harry and Ron. They joined the throng of other students heading down to the underground harbor and, once there, boarded sleighs that each carried as many as ten people. The sleighs were, apparently, self-propelled, though Ranma thought he heard the faintest clop-clopping of hooves on the frozen surface of the lake. Once they reached the train station, there was a mad scramble to secure a compartment, much as there had been in September. Ranma, Hermione, and Neville settled on a compartment near the middle of the train and, after a few minutes, they were joined by some familiar faces: Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbot, and Ernie MacMillan. They brought with them another Hufflepuff named Susan Bones.
The train ride seemed to take much less time than the first one had, possibly because they were not walking the length of the train, searching for Neville's toad (which was securely in the boy's hands). Since their houses did not have common classes, their opportunities to socialize the previous four months had been few, so the group took the time to catch up on what they had been up to over the term. This roughly meant that they talked about the teachers, Quidditch, and, most of all, what had happened on Halloween. The Hufflepuffs were most keen to hear about it directly from two of the people involved. Ranma knew he should not feel so pleased with himself, but could not help it when four people seemed so thoroughly impressed by him. Hermione merely rolled her eyes but let him enjoy the attention.
After everyone had gotten something to eat off the trolley, things quieted down considerably. The four Hufflepuffs started a game of exploding snap, a loud and sometimes dangerous wizard card game, while Hermione leafed through a rather large volume on hexes. Neville and Ranma played a game of wizard chess which was constantly interrupted by Trevor, who hopped onto the board every other turn. Outside, they could see the countryside, draped in a blanket of white, flying past and becoming gradually less wild the closer they came to their destination. As they approached London, the sun's rays splashed over the land, dazzling the students and giving the illusion that the snow was aflame.
Dusk had fallen when the train came to a stop, but Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was brightly illuminated by large lamps. Decorated trees, wreaths, and green garland adorned the place, complete with fairy lights and non-melting icicles. The students, however, hardly payed attention as they pushed off the train and into the waiting arms of their parents. The three Gryffindors said good-bye to their Hufflepuff friends as they stepped onto the platform.
"There's my mum!" Ranma said, not bothering to disguise his delight. Nodoka was wearing a long overcoat over a rather smart pin-striped navy pant suit. This time, she did not look the least bit out of fashion.
"My parents are waiting on the other side for me." Hermione said. She looked slightly embarrassed for a moment before hugging Ranma quickly. "See you in a few weeks, and don't forget to ask your mum about Flamel!"
Ranma felt slightly stunned as he watched her hurry off, waving at Nodoka before queuing up to exit into King's Cross. Neville very tactfully pretended not to notice their exchange. "There's my Gran." he said brightly, pointing at an elderly woman wearing an atrocious hat with what looked like a vulture perched on top. She seemed to have spotted them and was making her way over to them.
Nodoka reached them first, followed closely by Genma. Ranma threw his arms around his mother, ignoring a disapproving grunt from Genma. "Hi, mum."
"Oh, it's good to have you back, Ranma-kun." she said fondly, hugging him tightly. Looking up, she saw that they were blocking Neville, who was waiting quietly to get around them. "Oh, and who is your friend?"
"Oh right, mum, this is Neville Longbottom. Neville, my mum." Ranma said.
"Longbottom?" Nodoka replied, looking surprised. "My word, are you-"
"Neville, what on earth are you doing?" Ranma heard Mrs. Longbottom's voice from behind Nodoka.
"Sorry, gran." Neville mumbled looking embarrassed.
Nodoka turned to face the lady. There was a momentary pause, as the two got a good look at one another, then looks of recognition settled on their faces. "My word, if it isn't Nodoka Saotome." said Mrs. Longbottom, sounding very pleased.
"Augusta! It's been too long. I suppose this young man is your grandson?"
"Oh yes. Frank and Alice's boy." she nodded, casting a strangely stern look at Neville. "He's got big shoes to fill, I hope he can measure up."
"Of course he will, look where he comes from." Nodoka smiled at Neville. "We really must get together some time, Augusta."
"Of course, just send me an owl, I'd be delighted." replied Mrs. Longbottom, looking very pleased. "Good day to you all. Come along, Neville."
As they walked off to the queue to King's Cross, Ranma gave his mother a questioning look. "You know Neville's grandmother?"
"I knew her through her son, Neville's father. We were at Hogwarts together." Nodoka responded, sounding somewhat distant. "She's a lovely lady, perhaps a bit too caught up in one's social status."
They left King's Cross and caught a taxi back to Brandywine Court. London was as bustling as ever, even with the chilly layer of ice and snow. When they arrived at the house, Ten-ten greeted Ranma as if he were a long lost child. She was so beside herself that she nearly toppled the dining room table, upon which she had laid a feast Ranma thought might have rivaled those at Hogwarts. Feeling like he had not eaten in ages, Ranma started in on it with gusto, eating more like a hoover than an eleven year-old boy. Ten-ten was delighted, giving a small, happy squeak every time she had to refill his plate.
It was only after he had his fill that he realized Genma had not tried to take anything off his plate. In fact, his father had made no attempt to even acknowledge him since he had returned, and he felt oddly disappointed. He remembered why they had rowed before he had left for Hogwarts, but the four months away from his father had cooled his anger. He realized that he was really only angry at being forced to reveal an embarrassing weakness to his mother. Though Ranma knew that his mother had long since lifted her punishment, Genma, apparently, still harbored resentment, and he had a good idea why. His father hated having to actually take responsibility for his actions instead of blaming others.
'I'm not wrong, though." Ranma told himself sternly. 'If he wants to keep blaming me, that's his problem.'
Nodoka's tolerance for their behavior lasted exactly ten minutes into the meal. "All right, that is quite enough, both of you." she said sharply, casting an imperious gaze on her husband and son. "You are both being ridiculous and I won't stand for it, especially during Christmas. Genma, you will apologize to your son and, Ranma, you will accept your father's apology." She did not say it, but the tone of her voice clearly said "or else".
Genma and Ranma looked at her, then each other. "Hmph!" they said indignantly, folding their arms over their chests and turning away from each other. Ranma felt a ripple of magical energy flow through the air, but it did not register in his mind until he heard the tell-tale ring of a sword being drawn from it's scabbard. He and Genma whipped their heads around to Nodoka, who looked furiously at them while pointing the Saotome clan katana dangerously at them. The color drained away from Ranma's face; he had never seen his mother look so frightening.
Genma, however, had, and wanted no part of the sword in her hand. He prostrated himself before Ranma, a flood of tears rolling down his face. "I'm sorry Ranma I shouldn't have taught you the Neko-ken I only wanted to make you a stronger fighter please forgive me!" he said very quickly. Ranma noticed he was eying Nodoka out of the corner of his eye.
"Err, okay..." Ranma said. He thought he might have found this funny if not for the sword pointing at him. Genma generally saved such theatrics for truly dire situations. "Yeah, I forgive you, Pops."
They were relieved to hear the katana slide back into it's scabbard. With a wave of her wand, Nodoka sent the sword flying back across the room to settle on the fireplace mantle. She replaced the wand in her robes and sat again, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Now then, that will be the end of that. We are going to have a nice, quiet Christmas, am I clear?" Ranma and Genma nodded their heads vigorously as they regained their seats at the table. She became immediately pleasant again and smiled at them, as if nothing had happened. "Excellent. Now then, why don't you tell us how the term was, Ranma?"
Being back on good terms with Genma had its benefits. Ranma had been worried that he would lost his edge despite all of his training during the term, but sparring with his father showed him that, at the very least, he had not gotten worse. Genma seemed happy to have a sparring partner again, and he was especially interested in the new technique Ranma had taught himself. Ranma found it a bit strange explaining to his father, the man who had taught him almost everything he knew, how to disrupt magical energy. Usually, when it came to special techniques, their positions were reversed. His father was a good student and, despite his inability to detect magic, Genma's skill with ki allowed him to imitate what Ranma was doing very effectively. Ranma tried to ignore the scheming look that occasionally crept into his father's eyes while they practiced the technique; he could only guess at what stupid scheme the old man was dreaming up, but it probably would not end well.
On Monday, two days before Christmas, Nodoka surprised them by announcing she was taking the day off and that they should head over to Diagon Alley to do a bit of shopping. The Saotomes took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, where Nodoka was promptly recognized and invited over to sit with a group of wizards and witches. "Sorry, Ranma-kun, it'd be rude to turn down the invitation. We must keep up appearances." she said apologetically, handing him a small money bag. "Just in case you're a bit light in the pocket. Take your father with you to shop and I'll join you as soon as I can get away."
"Thanks, mum." Ranma replied with a smile. He led Genma out into the dingy courtyard, tapped the correct brick with his wand, and stepped into Diagon Alley.
The street was as bustling as it had been months ago, only now it was decorated festively. Ice and snow was on nearly everything in what Ranma was sure was a display of magical decoration. Store advertisements danced and flashed, beckoning last minute shoppers inside. Ranma could faintly hear caroling which, upon further investigation, he found came from a choir of fairies in a large wreath. Instead of selling ice cream and cold drinks, the street vendors now offered hot spiced cider and hot butterbeer. Ranma could not help but enjoy the way wizards celebrated the season.
As they passed the Gringotts building, Ranma heard a loud but pleasant female voice coming from a large group of people exiting the bank. "...and that concludes our tour of historical Diagon Alley. Any questions?"
The group of people murmured amongst themselves, but they were not speaking English. Ranma and Genma turned to look at the group, recognizing the language of their homeland. A group of around twenty-five Japanese witches and wizards, most of whom looked to be students, stood on the steps of Gringotts. Together, they bowed respectfully to the tour guide and said "Sankyuu, madame!" in highly accented English. The tour guide blushed and smiled in response before bowing and leaving the group to its own devices.
"§Okay, everyone, listen closely.§" said an adult wizard with greying hair. "§We will be moving on in an hour and a half. You may shop and explore, but none of you are to enter Knockturn Alley. We will meet back in the Leaky Cauldron.§"
"Hai, sensei." the students responded less than enthusiastically before dispersing.
"I wonder what they're doing in Britain." Ranma said, more to himself than to anyone else, as he watched the students wander up the street. He was very curious about wizards from his home country, especially since the only wizards he knew very well were not Japanese. "I think I'll go have a word with them, Pops."
Genma grunted and shrugged as he followed his son. Cutting around a slow moving elderly couple, they passed under the awning of a bookstore. As they emerged from beneath the awning, Ranma felt the slight rush of magical energy dissipating over his head. Half a second later, he was very cold, very wet, and very female.
"Oh, dear me, I'd wondered if I'd charmed that one right." said a short old woman, the proprietor. Ranma-chan shivered, looking very annoyed. The woman handed Ranma-chan a towel. "Sorry dear, 'twas an ice sculpture sittin' in a bonfire up there. Should've put a stronger freezing charm on it."
"Y-yeah, y-y-you th-th-think s-s-so?" Ranma-chan replied as sarcastically as her chattering teeth would let her. Looking around, she did not see her father anywhere. She turned around to walk back into the street but ran headlong into someone, who fell over.
"Sorry 'bout that. Are you al-" Ranma began offering a hand, but realized that she had run into one of the Japanese students, a witch that looked around her age. "§Sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you all right?§"
The girl was around Ranma-chan's height, with brown eyes and brown, waist-length hair beneath her green wizard's hat. She wore robes of deep red that looked well kept but a bit worn. Ranma-chan sensed a strong magical aura in her. The girl looked at her with surprise, clearly not expecting to hear anyone speak to her in Japanese. "§Yes, I'm fine.§" she said a bit shakily, grabbing Ranma-chan's hand. "§You're not with our tour group, are you?§"
Ranma-chan shook her head. "§I'm here shopping with my parents.§" she said truthfully.
"§Ah. On holiday in England then?" the girl asked. "§But I don't recognize you from school...§"
"§School? You mean Mahou no Gakuen no Nippon?§" Ranma-chan guessed. The girl nodded. "§No, I live here in London. I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.§"
"§Oh. I've heard of that. Too bad we weren't allowed to tour it." she said. "What was wrong with our school?"
"§Nothing, it's just that my mother went to Hogwarts, and she works here, so...§" Ranma-chan responded. She fished around in her overcoat and found her trusty thermos of hot water. After unscrewing the cap, she turned it over above her head, just as the girl said:
"§Oh, I see. By the way, my name's Kuonji Ukyo.§"
Ranma-chan nearly choked, and she wondered for a split second if she had the speed to dodge the warm water that would change her back into a male. She cringed, waiting for the curse to bring her to her doom. "§Err...what are you doing?§" Ukyo asked, sounding perplexed.
Ranma-chan opened one eye and peered up at the thermos. Not one drop of water had spilled on her; the thermos was empty. She sighed with relief. "§Oh, nothing, just...checking this thermos.§" she said with a nervous laugh.
"§Ohhhhkay...§" Ukyo said, looking uncertain. "§Say, are you busy now? Do you mind, maybe, showing me around?§"
"§Um...sure, I guess.§" Ranma said, unable to say no to the hopeful look on the girl's face. She smiled weakly as Ukyo took her by the arm, her brain churning madly trying to reconcile with this new information. This was not the first time Ranma-chan had met someone named Ukyo Kuonji, but that Ukyo had been a boy...at least, that was what she had thought. Glancing sideways at the girl, she hoped she was mistaken, but there was no mistaking a person she had been good friends with several years prior. This was the same Ukyo from then, and she was a witch.
This revelation complicated the current situation quite a bit. The last time Ranma had seen Ukyo, he had been sitting on top of an okonomiyaki cart that had belonged to Ukyo's father, which Genma was pulling as quickly as he could. Ukyo had been running after them, waving and crying. Ranma later realized, after Genma had sold the cart, that his father had stolen the Kuonji's cart, and Ukyo probably thought that he was in on it.
"§So what's your name?§" Ukyo asked, snapping Ranma-chan out of her thoughts.
"§Oh, it's Ran-" Ranma-chan caught herself just in time. "§-ko. Kutaragi Ranko."
"§Nice to meet you, Ranko-san.§" Ukyo said cheerfully. "§Why don't we get something hot to drink?"
"§Okay.§" Ranma-chan allowed herself to be guided to a vendor, where they bought two cups of hot cider. As they sipped, she realized the cider must have had a few drops of some potion because she immediately felt warmer and drier.
The pair began browsing the shops along the street. "§So, um, are you all here in London for Christmas?§" asked Ranma-chan.
Ukyo shook her head. "§We're going back to Japan tomorrow morning.§" she said with a sigh. "§I'm glad, really. Only three students per year were chosen to come, and none are my friends. I don't know anyone in the years above me, and the two people in my year aren't that fun to hang out with.§"
"§Oh? What's wrong with them?§"
Ukyo giggled. "§Well, they're not bad, just...weird, I guess. There's Gosunkugi Hikaru," she pointed at a small, pale boy who was wandering alone up the street, "he's Muggle-born, like me, but he doesn't really hang out with anyone. I hear he was really into dark magic even before he found out he was a wizard."
She pointed a bit further down the street at a group of four girls and one boy, all of different ages. "Then there's Tendo Akane. She's the youngest of the Tendo sisters."
"§Did you say 'Tendo'?§" Ranma asked curiously. He knew of his father's friend, but surely the name similarity was only a coincidence.
"§You know them?§"
"§No, but my father has a friend named Tendo. It must be a coincidence though, that man's a Muggle." Ranma-chan said. "§So what's so strange about Akane Tendo?§"
"§Well, she's just hard to get along with.§" Ukyo said. "§She's really big on blood purity; like, she's always surprised Muggle-bornes can do anything. She tries not to show it too much, at least not around her sisters.§"
"§Her sisters?§" Ranma-chan asked.
"§Yeah. Kasumi's in fifth year, Nabiki's in third year.§" Ukyo replied, pointing them out. "I don't see how she's their sister, though. Those two are really smart and they're not prejudiced against Muggle-bornes."
"§Who are those two others?§"
Ukyo rolled her eyes. "§The Kunos. Tatewaki, third year, and Kodachi, second year. I can't stand either of them.§" She lowered her voice as they walked past the group. "§He's an idiot and she's a psycho, and they both have stupid pureblood mania. But they can get away with anything because their father's the headmaster.§"
"§Watch your mouth, mudblood.§" said a haughty voice. Ukyo's cheeks went red; she had not spoken lowly enough, apparently. Ranma-chan did not know what "mudblood" meant, but it must have been very offensive. She and Ukyo both spun around to retort, but someone beat them to it.
"§Kodachi! That was uncalled for!§" the oldest in the group, Kasumi Tendo, exclaimed reproachfully.
"§She called me a psycho.§" Kodachi said indignantly. §"Anyway, what's wrong with calling a mudblood what she is?§"
"§It's insulting and you know it and I think we'd all prefer you keep words like that to yourself.§" Kasumi said sternly and with what Ranma-chan thought was a slightly threatening tone. Ranma-chan noticed that, while Nabiki seemed to sincerely agree with her sister, Tatewaki and Akane were much less enthusiastic. They did not seem inclined to disagree with her, however.
"§Fine.§" Kodachi said flippantly, not bothering to hide her disgust. "§So who's this gaijin you've latched onto, Kuonji? She must like consorting with inferior witches, unless you're both mud-.§"
"§Shut up, Kodachi!§" Ukyo retorted hotly, her hand reaching inside her robes. Ranma-chan grabbed her hand and shook her head warningly.
Kodachi gave an eerie, maniacal laugh. "§I'm not surprised you fit in so well here, Kuonji, these gaijin wizards have no class and no proper wizard pride. I mean, look at this ugly street and the dingy little shops-§"
Ranma-chan could not let this insult go unanswered. "§Tell me, is everyone at your school as rude and annoying as you are? Makes me glad I'm at Hogwarts.§"
There was a momentary, stunned silence. Kodachi seemed most surprised of them all. "§Wha – you speak Japanese?§"
"§Of course I do; I'm Japanese. If you listened half as much as you insult my friend, you'd have heard Ukyo speaking to me in Japanese.§" said Ranma-chan disdainfully. "Now, I think you should apologize to her.§"
Kodachi snorted derisively. "§Do you? And who asked you anyway?§"
"§I dunno, probably the same person who told you it's okay to be an bitch to my friend.§" Ranma replied. Kasumi made a disapproving sound and Akane looked slightly miffed, but the others had to stifle their laughs.
"§What did you call me?§" Kodachi hissed dangerously, reaching into her robes.
"§Oh, you heard me.§" Ranma-chan smirked scornfully, feeling pleased she was getting under the girl's skin. She noted the girl's hand was hovering in her robes and her tone became serious. "And I'd keep my wand in my robes, if I were you."
"§Don't, Kodachi, we can't do magic outside of school.§" Akane warned.
"§Oh, don't worry about that, Akane, I wouldn't waste magic on trash like this. She only needs a good whipping.§"
Ukyo tugged Ranma-chan's robes. "§Don't, Ranko, she's dangerous, even without a wand.§"
"§I'm not worried about some loudmouth bully." Ranma-chan said arrogantly. "Go ahead and try something, unless you're just all talk.§"
The other four backed away from Kodachi while Ukyo stepped away from Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan vaguely noticed that other shoppers were giving them a wide berth. "§You should have listened to your friend, gaijin.§" Kodachi said, pulling out a wand-sized stick with an long ribbon attached to one end, and twirling it expertly. Ranma-chan could feel that this was no normal ribbon; it was imbued with powerful magical energy. She had no idea what the ribbon would do, but it was probably not good.
Kodachi lashed out, sending the ribbon flying at Ranma-chan's face frighteningly fast. She saw the move early, though, and dodged it easily, flashing a maddening smirk at her attacker. "§Is that all?§" Ranma-chan said. "§You should give up now, before I embarrass you.§"
"Embarrass me, the Black Rose of Mahou No Gakuen no Nippon? I'll make you eat those words." Kodachi said, flicking the ribbon furiously. Ranma-chan dodged so effortlessly that she almost seemed not to be trying. Kodachi was becoming very annoyed. "§You mock me, you red-haired harlot. Well, let's see if you can keep up with two then!§"
There were suddenly two ribbons snapping at Ranma-chan, but this was no more difficult for her than dodging only one had been. Throwing caution to the wind, she gathered ki in her right hand and grabbed a ribbon from the air. Whatever the magic was supposed to do, it failed, thanks to Ranma-chan's interrupting ki. She yanked on the ribbon hard, pulling Kodachi closer. The girl tried striking at her with the other ribbon but Ranma-chan expertly wrapped that hand up with the ribbon. In a few swift moves, she had tied the girl up neatly with her own ribbon.
There was a stunned silence, broken by Kodachi's angry cursing. "§That-that's not possible!§" she screamed. "§Those ribbons were-§"
"§Charmed. Yeah, I know.§" Ranma-chan said with an amused tone as she kneeled over the prone girl. "§I kinda stopped the magic temporarily.§"
"§That's impossible!§" the girl spluttered. "§You! Untie me right now!§"
"§Ask someone who cares. Whoever it is had better hurry before the charms reactivate on that ribbon.§"
Akane hurried to assist the fallen girl. The others were looking at Ranma-chan as if they had not properly seen her before. Kasumi seemed grudgingly impressed, while Nabiki seemed to be shrewdly considering her and Tatewaki looked almost ecstatic. Ranma-chan bowed slightly at them before turning back to her friend. She, surprisingly, looked slightly worried. "§I don't think you should've done that.§" she said quietly.
"§Why? She attacked me.§"
"§That's not what I meant. Kodachi won't forget this and she'll probably try to get her father to punish me for it.§"
Ranma-chan shook her head in disbelief. "§You didn't do anything.§"
"§Yeah, I know.§" Ukyo said resignedly. "§But they can get away with anything.§"
"Bloody hell," Ranma-chan said, shaking her head. "§Your school sounds mad, and considering what goes on at my school, that's saying something.§"
They had moved only a few steps when a hand turned Ranma-chan around. It was Tatewaki, and he had a strange look on his face. "§Fair maiden, please honor me with your name.§" he said in a comically formal tone.
"§It's Kutaragi Ranko,§" she replied, removing his hand from her shoulder. Perhaps it was because he was standing a bit too close, but something about the boy felt very creepy.
"§One who can stay the hand of my dear sister must surely be a rose of great sweetness.§" he said dramatically before grabbing Ranma-chan in a surprisingly strong embrace. "§I have decided that, despite your age, you may date with me.§"
Ranma-chan stood rigid for a few moments while what the boy had said and what he was doing registered completely in her brain. "Hands off, jerk!" she said angrily, elbowing him in the sternum. In the split-second that he staggered backwards, she pulled back her right foot and kicked him with all her might. The kick lifted Tatewaki Kuno straight up and over Gringotts. Ranma-chan looked slightly concerned as he disappeared. "Bollocks. §I didn't think I'd kicked him that hard.§"
"§You didn't.§" said Ukyo, who was sitting on the ground, massaging her foot. "§I've never kicked him before. I didn't realize he had a head like a brick.§"
"§Kuno-chan's thick-headed.§" said Nabiki amusedly. She was looking at them both appraisingly. "§You must have a really strong foot. Akane's the only other person who can kick him and not feel it.§"
Ranma-chan was now the astonished one. Everyone had been surprised when she spoke Japanese, but none of them had batted an eyelash at the fact that he and Ukyo had just kicked a boy over a building. This was not the first time Ranma-chan had shown such strength, but it was telling of the Japanese magic school that performing such a feat would not elicit at least some surprise.
"§Oh my, I think we had better go find your brother, Kodachi.§" Kasumi said to the still bound witch. For all the urgency in her voice, she may have been commenting on the weather. Akane apparently had not worked out Ranma-chan's knots. The elder Tendo turned to them and bowed, looking apologetic. "§Please forgive their rudeness; they're very young and a bit spoiled, I think, but I'm sure they'll grow out of it. Please don't judge us too harshly.§"
Ranma-chan was not certain she bought the explanation but, as it was so politely given, she did not feel it would be good form to be rude to the girl. "§I'm sorry if I was rude.§" she said, bowing in return. "§I shouldn't judge all of the school by them, I guess.§"
Kasumi smiled peacefully. "§Please excuse us. Akane, carry Kodachi, please.§" And, with strength Ranma-chan did not think was normal for an eleven year old girl, Akane easily lifted the girl with one hand and slung her on her shoulder before following her older sisters towards Gringotts.
Ranma-chan watched them go, shaking her head. "§I was right: mad. Witches who know martial arts and have the strength of small gorillas, you all barely noticing when a boy gets punted over a building, and a polite girl who excuses it all away as if those Kunos had only scuffed my shoe without apologizing. This is normal for you?§"
"§Well, yeah, I guess. Kasumi's like that with everyone, only thinking and seeing the best of people, I mean. As for that other stuff, you'd fit right in. I mean, most everyone can't do martial arts, but there's a few of us who can, and the rules are a bit lax. It does stay interesting, I guess.§" replied Ukyo.
"§Remind me never to complain about Hogwarts.§" Ranma-chan said with a chuckle. She did not share with Ukyo how interesting this school really did sound.
The rest of the time the two spent together was far less eventful, not counting the four or five times Ranma-chan was nearly doused with hot liquids. Ukyo did not hide that she was very impressed by her newfound friend's skills, especially since Kodachi was probably the best female fighter at their school. Ranma-chan made certain to keep this topic near the surface while she asked Ukyo about herself, just in case the girl tried steering the conversation into more dangerous waters. In short order, Ranma had learned the gist of what Ukyo had been up to in the five years since they had last seen each other.
The loss of the okonomiyaki cart had been tough on the Kuonjis, and it took several years before Ukyo's father had been able to get another. They were not exactly poor, but neither were they living comfortably. It seemed that Ukyo had also been training in her family's "Martial Arts Okonomiyaki Making" style since that time, with the intent of tracking someone down (Ranma-chan could guess who). This explained why she was strong enough to help punt Tatewaki. Her plans for revenge had been put on hold, however, when she discovered she was a witch and had begun attending magic school. Not that she had forgotten about it, but she wanted to learn magic to use in her quest to find the Saotomes. Ranma could only smile and nod mechanically as she said this, feeling simultaneously terrible about what his father had done and slightly frightened at his friend's dedication.
They finally strolled into the Leaky Cauldron more than an hour after having met one another. Ranma carried a few purchases while Ukyo carried none, as she had already finished her Christmas shopping before coming to England. Ranma-chan was relieved to see that her mother was no longer in the pub, since it would have been very awkward explaining why Nodoka called her "Ranma". The other Japanese students were milling about or sitting at the tables enjoying a last drink. Ranma saw the Tendo sisters sitting at a table opposite the Kunos, both of whom looked rather strange. Kodachi wore a dazed, almost drunken, expression, while Tatewaki's head was wrapped in a bandage and his left arm was in a cast and sling. Again, Ukyo seemed completely unsurprised by this.
"§I guess Akane didn't get those knots undone in time.§" she said, noticing where Ranma-chan was looking. "§And don't worry about him, he's like that all the time. I do wonder sometimes why he gets hurt so badly, considering he's a wizard...§"
Before Ranma-chan could respond, one of the Japanese teachers cleared his throat and spoke loudly to the students. "§All right, people, let's line up at the Floo. Remember, it's 'Hogsmeade Station', and say it clearly in English, as we practiced. I don't want to scour England again just because you didn't bother saying two words correctly.§" He cast a rather dark look at one of the girls, who looked embarrassed.
"§Well, I, uh, guess this is goodbye then.§" said Ukyo as she looked down at her feet.
"§Yeah, I guess so.§" Ranma-chan replied awkwardly. "§Thanks for helping me pick out those presents.§"
"§It was nothing.§" Ukyo replied, still looking at her feet. "§Thanks for walking around with me. And for what you said to Kodachi-§"
"§Yeah, about that, I hope I didn't get you into trouble there.§"
"§It'll be worth it just for the memory of seeing that brat outclassed. That's the best wrapped present I'll have this Christmas, I bet.§" Ukyo said with a grin. Ranma-chan could not help it; she grinned too.
After the last of the Japanese contingent had left the pub (and Ukyo had promised she would write), Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. He could not believe that only an hour and a half had passed. It had seemed like most of the day was gone. She walked up to the bar and asked Tom, the bar-keep, for a mug of hot water. Tom barely blinked as she poured it over her head and changed back into a boy. Considering the establishment he ran, Ranma imagined that he saw a great many strange things that would put his curse to shame.
"You can come out now, Pops, she's gone." he said loudly. Ranma could not feel his father's presence but had a feeling that the man was lurking nearby. Sure enough, the man appeared beside him out of thin air, a technique of his that Ranma had not yet worked out how to perform. Genma looked very relieved and he sat at a table, looking like a great weight had lifted from his shoulders.
"What were you playing at, hanging around that girl-"
"Her name's Ukyo, remember?" Ranma said.
"Of course I remember." Genma replied testily. "You should've left her alone. If it weren't for me, you'd have been splashed with hot water. Not to mention your mum. It was all I could do to keep her away from you."
"If you hadn't stolen the Kuonji's cart, we wouldn't've had to worry about that." Ranma retorted.
"I didn't steal their cart."
"It looked like stealing to me." said Ranma. "And you wouldn't have cared if she'd seen me unless that was true."
"Look, you don't understand." Genma replied, his face looking conflicted.
"I understand better than you think." Ranma said coolly. Genma looked at him warily.
"And I suppose you'll be going to your mum about this now, eh?"
Ranma shook his head. "I don't fancy her being angry at us both. But you'd better figure out some way to pay them back. Next time I see Ukyo, I'm going to let her know who I really am, and I don't want something stupid like money to get in the way."
At that moment, Nodoka strode into the pub, her cheeks slightly pink from the cold. "There you two are, I wondered where you'd gotten off to. Don't tell me you're both tired of shopping already?"
"Oh, uh, no dear. Just getting some hot water." Genma said with a forced laugh. "Had a little water mishap."
"Yeah," Ranma agreed, nodding as innocently as he could. "Just came in here to change back and warm up."
"Ah. Well, you both look warm enough, so let's get back to it. I don't fancy having to come back tomorrow. It'll be dreadfully crowded." she said.
The Saotomes returned to Brandywine court, the males laden with Nodoka's shopping. It had started to snow again while they shopped and the short trip through the Floo had warmed them considerably, but Ten-ten had hot tea ready for them anyway. They spent the rest of the evening after dinner in the sitting room, wrapping gifts. Nodoka was fastest, of course, having magic at her disposal, but Ranma and Genma's speed and dexterity came in useful as well. Ranma did think that his mother was showing off a bit with her unnecessarily complex wrappings, however. They placed the presents under the Christmas tree, which Ranma found rather odd, since almost all of the presents were for people outside of the family.
"Don't worry about that, they'll make their way to where they need to be." Nodoka said reassuringly. How that would happen she adamantly refused to explain, so Ranma assumed, against all reason, that they would magically transport themselves.
The next morning, Ranma found the area beneath the tree quite empty, but he pushed this to the back of his mind for later. First, he had presents to open. Harry had sent him a box of melon-flavored gummy earthworms from Japan that wriggled like real worms. Ron had sent him a well-used Beater's bat and a note explaining that the charms had mostly worn off and that he'd probably have to get it re-charmed before using it in a game. From Hermione he received a book on magical potions of Southeast Asia which, to his chagrin, he realized was the very same thing he had given her. Hagrid sent a small tin of treacle fudge and, surprisingly, Freya sent a small book on blocking spells.
Genma gave him a small scroll and a note promising to teach him more advanced techniques if he could master the scroll on his own. Reading over it, Ranma chuckled; he already knew the scroll, having stolen and copied it more than a year prior. Finally, Nodoka had given him two presents, both of which had excited her son. First was a new roll of dragonhide, the toughest and most magically imbued available. The second was a long package whose shape Ranma had no problem recognizing.
"Of course, you can't take it back with you to Hogwarts, but you can enjoy it over the summer and in your second year." she said with a smile as he held his brand new broomstick. The shiny black handle read "Comet 280". He thought it was the greatest broomstick ever, even after having seen Harry's Nimbus 2000. "It's not the fastest-"
"It's perfect!" Ranma said, grabbing his mother in a hug. "Thanks, mum."
"You're quite welcome. I expect you'll want to try it out, but not until after dinner. You can learn how to activate the invisibility charms reliably until then." she said before leaving him to his new possessions.
Ten-ten outdid herself on Christmas dinner. There were plenty of English dishes, but she also prepared Japanese fare, much to everyone's delight. It had been quite a while since Ranma had miso soup and rice balls. While they ate, Ranma remembered his question about the presents and posed it to his mother. She chuckled knowingly and gave him a mischievous smile.
"Santa Claus delivered them, of course." she said.
Ranma stared at his mother. "There's no such thing as Santa Claus."
"Of course there is. How else did the presents get delivered?" she said, clearly enjoying herself.
"Ryouko. Or you sent them by Floo, or magicked them away..."
"Oh no, Santa Clause is much more reliable. I'm surprised you don't believe straight off, after all the impossible things you've seen since last May." she said gently. "I assure you that Santa Claus does exist, and he is a wizard."
Nodoka did not seem to be joking. "A wizard...well, that'd explain a lot. Does he really live in the North Pole?"
"He does. Actually, most of the stories Muggles have about him are true, to a point. For instance, he has not driven the flying sleigh since nearly the beginning. Nor is he the same man as first started delivering presents. The current Santa Clause is actually the tenth in the family."
"Okay, wait, he doesn't fly the sleigh around? How does he deliver presents?"
"House elves. They're reliable, they're quiet, and they're quite magically powerful, enough to get into nearly all homes. He has one of the largest contingents of house elves, including some that he hires out from other wizards."
"So the house elves do all the work then?"
"Not at all. It's an enormous job, coordinating delivery for nearly everyone on the planet. I do not envy St. Nicolas, that's for sure." she said with a chuckle.
Ranma's eyes grew wide as he was reminded of something he had promised Hermione he would do over the break. "Mum, I've another question. Do you know a Nicolas Flamel?"
Nodoka raised an eyebrow at this sudden change in subject. "I know of him, but I've never had the honor of meeting him. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's just something for school." he replied innocently. "I haven't had much luck finding information about him in the Hogwarts library, though."
"No, I shouldn't think so, if Madame Pince is still the librarian. I swear that woman made it intentionally difficult to find anything to keep us from checking out books." Nodoka said.
"Yeah, but Hermione can find anything in the library and even she's been stuck." said Ranma. "We haven't found one thing about him in any books on recent magical history."
Nodoka laughed. "Well of course you haven't, dear, that old codger hasn't done anything historically significant in ages. He's more or less a teacher of alchemical processes and tradition than anything else, nowadays."
"So he's an alchemist?" asked Ranma, fighting to hold back the flood of questions in his mind.
"Oh yes, the only successful one in history, in fact." When Ranma looked confused by this statement, she elaborated. "Nicolas Flamel is the only person to have ever made the Philosopher's Stone."
"What's that?"
"Well, it's a compound used to change any metal into gold, or to make the Elixir of Life, a potion that can keep you alive indefinitely."
Ranma had trouble sitting still the remainder of the meal. It all made sense. The thing that Fluffy was guarding had to be the Philosopher's Stone. Considering all it could do, he could not blame Snape for wanting it. When dinner was over, he rushed to the library and dashed off a letter to Harry and Ron and another to Hermione, detailing what his mother had told him.
All the excitement of learning about Flamel nearly drove his new broomstick from his mind, but seeing it again when he returned to his room, he set to learning how to activate the invisibility charm on it. When he was satisfied that he could turn it on and off as easily as he could switch on a light, he put on a heavy cloak and headed outside with his broomstick.
It was a cold, clear day, the sun shining weakly across the London skyline, glittering on the fresh snow. The street was empty save for a few children, but they were too far away and too focused on their new toys to notice him. Ranma mounted his broom, activated the invisibility charm, and kicked off hard from the ground. Snow and ice sprayed underneath him as he took to the air. The cold air was bracing as it whipped across his face, making his eyes water. Ranma could tell the difference between this broom and the school brooms immediately, as the ride was much smoother. It did not make him fly too much better, but he figured that every little bit counted.
Enjoying the freedom of invisibility, Ranma streaked across London, trying to push his new broomstick to its limits. He rocketed up the Thames, looped around the Tower Bridge, and sat atop Big Ben, surveying the sprawling metropolis below. He descended to the ground, wanting to walk around a bit before heading back home, and deactivated the invisibility charms in a deserted alleyway. As he walked the crowded streets, Ranma heard a person speaking to himself in Japanese. The voice sounded strangely familiar. He followed the sound of the voice, thinking that he might be able to help the person, who did not seem to know much, if any, English.
It did not take Ranma long to locate the voice, which belonged to a boy of about his age who carried an enormous backpack on his back and a yellow umbrella in his right hand. He was wearing loose-fitting, black pants, a long-sleeved, yellow shirt, and black shoes similar to those that Ranma was wearing. "§Where the hell am I?§" the boy said with growing exasperation.
"§Hey, you need some help?§" Ranma asked in a friendly tone.
"§Yes!§" the boy exclaimed, sounding relieved. "§Finally, someone who can speak-§"
He stopped, mid-sentence, looking as surprised as Ranma felt. For the second time in as many days, he was face to face with someone from his past. The chances of it happening twice seemed near impossible, and yet there he stood, face to face with Ryoga Hibiki, whom he had not seen in two years. His face split into a grin. "§Ryoga! I can't believe it! What're you doing here?§"
His voice seemed to snap the boy out of his shock. "§Saotome Ranma...I can't believe that I found you in Osaka...§" he said, almost trembling with anticipation.
"§Osaka? You're kidding, right? We're in London.§"
"§We are? I thought we were in the gaijin section of Osaka.§" Ryoga said, looking around.
"§There isn't any 'gaijin section' of Osaka, stupid.§" Ranma said, rolling his eyes.
"§I knew that old lady's directions were funny.§" Ryoga said darkly.
Ranma laughed. "§The directions were probably fine. You're just the only person who can take directions to Osaka and end up in London.§"
"§Shut up, Ranma! It doesn't matter because I've found who I was looking for anyway.§" Ryoga said angrily, dropping his backpack to the ground. The pavement buckled and caved in slightly under the weight. "§Prepare to die, Ranma!§"
Ranma had already moved to dodge before Ryoga had even raised a fist. People screamed and scattered as Ryoga's fist collided with a lamp post and bent it over into the street. He jumped after Ranma, who flipped backwards effortlessly, narrowly avoiding a downward punch that cracked the sidewalk. He dodged a flurry of punches before seeing a tiny opening in Ryoga's assault and landing a kick on the boy's chin as he flipped backwards from his foe. The blow stunned the boy long enough for Ranma to assess the situation properly.
Several things were apparent. Ryoga was immensely strong, even stronger than himself. The boy also possessed a larger ki, and the fact that he could take that kick showed that he was fairly tough. He was not, however, anywhere near fast enough to actually hit Ranma, nor did he have more than rudimentary control over his ki. The fight had all the indications of a long and tiring stalemate, and Ranma still had no clue as to why they were fighting in the first place. "§What's your problem?§" he asked angrily.
"§You are!§" Ryoga said, rubbing his chin. "§Finally, I'll pay you back for the hell you've put me through.§"
"§What are you on about?§" Ranma retorted. In the distance, he could hear sirens approaching. "§You know what, I don't even care. I'm getting out of here before I get arrested.§"
"§Oh no you don't. You're not running away again, you coward!§"
Ranma bristled at this, but the urgency to get away overrode his indignation. "§Just follow me, stupid. We'll fight after we get away, if that's what you really want.§"
He dashed down an alley and fought the urge to jump on his broomstick. It was against wizard law to knowingly expose a Muggle to magic, and flying an enchanted broomstick would certainly count. He leaped over a wall at the end of the alley, hopping across rooftops for several blocks before returning to the ground and running into a public park. Here, at least, they could fight without causing major damage and attracting attention. Ryoga stayed on his heels every step of the way, further convincing Ranma that this would be a difficult fight.
They came to a halt in a secluded clearing, where Ranma set his broom aside in what he hoped would be a safe place. Ryoga looked ready to pounce on him. "§Hold on, before we fight, at least tell me what it is I was supposed to have done to you.§" Ranma said.
"§Hah! What haven't you done to me?§" Ryoga said contemptuously. "§It's all your fault! You stole my bread, ran out on a duel-§"
"§You're still angry about that? That was two years ago!§" Ranma said exasperatedly. "§And I was there for that duel, you were the one that didn't show up. And don't say that you got lost, I picked the lot next to your house just so you couldn't use that excuse.§"
Ryoga's face went red and he looked very embarrassed. "§You could've waited-§"
"§I did wait, for three days!§" Ranma threw back. He was becoming very angry.
"§You should've waited four days, when I got there! Because you ran away, I had to follow you.§" Ryoga said, sounding anguished. "§And now I'm half a man because you're an honorless-§"
There was a loud smack and the sound of something heavy slamming into a tree. Ranma had punched Ryoga in the jaw and sent him flying before he had even realized Ranma had moved. "§Don't you call me a coward just because you can't show up for a duel on time. You were the one without honor, not me!§"
Ryoga sat up and looked at Ranma, a satisfied smirk on his face. Blood trickled from his mouth, which he wiped away. "§That's more like it. Less talk, more fighting.§" he said, before flying at Ranma.
Ranma lost track of how long they had been fighting. He only knew that he had to avoid being hit. His own strikes were hitting and hurting Ryoga, but the boy was far tougher than Ranma had anticipated and could take the punishment. He even tried using his ki interruption technique but, while it shook Ryoga a bit, it did not work nearly as well as Ranma had hoped.
The way the fight was going, he would tire before Ryoga. Before that happened, though, Ryoga had backed him up to a fountain. He swung wildly and, again, Ranma dodged the blow narrowly. The fountain exploded from the impact, peppering Ranma with shards of concrete and sending jets of water spurting about the area. When Ranma-chan blinked, Ryoga was nowhere to be seen. She could hear the faint sound of sirens again and decided that getting away was far more important than continuing her fight with Ryoga. She quickly found her broom, mounted it, and lifted off, activating the invisibility charm as she rose over the park. As she flew home, Ranma-chan wondered at the coincidence of meeting Ryoga, at why the boy was so intent on killing her, and, more importantly, at what detail she had overlooked that would explain why his aura had seemed so different but so familiar.
To Be Continued...in Chapter 11: The Marauders' Map
There are only 5 chapters remaining in Book 1...
Author's Notes:
Another chapter down! I hope everyone enjoyed it or, at least, didn't hate it. If you enjoyed the quick glimpse of Ranma characters, I'll have to disappoint you now and say that we won't see any more in this book. This chapter's very late, I know, much later than the others have been. Sorry 'bout that, it could not be helped. I'm in the part of the book where a lot of the canon gets glossed over in favor of my new content. Plotting and brainstorming take a long time, especially since I've only really planned the general outline of what's happening. Most of the stuff you read is written off the cuff, pretty much whatever sounds good at the time. Anyway, excuses aside, I'm hoping to get back on track next chapter, at least by finishing within two weeks.
As you all know, we're rushing to the end of book 1, and a lot of things need to be revealed before we sneak past Fluffy and take the plunge down the trapdoor. To that end, you can expect more long chapters like this one, simply because there's canon material and (lots of) non-canon material that needs to be related.
Big thanks to Kim this time around, you know why. Thanks to everyone who commented last chapter, make sure to check the forum if you asked any questions. Thanks to the people who have me on their favorites or author alert or c2, glad you like the story. Everyone else, enjoy and, if you feel inclined, submit a comment. I am not averse to adulation or criticism ;-D
Sorry for making you read this long A.N. section...