STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I OWN NONE OF THIS EXCEPT MY OWN IDEA OF HOW TO PLACE RANMA AND HARRY TOGETHER.
Don't mind me, just addressing a few ideas or questions that came up with reviews I didn't have time to address with earlier sections. If you don't want to read, skip ahead by searching for 'left off' in the search feature of edit or view in your browser.
C.Rose asked :What in the world possessed Akane to just walk over to Hermione and start talking to her? oo it's like a moth to the flame or something.
Answer: Auras. She scanned the crowd for an aura that indicated curiousity and also indicated someone of strong character. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were all sitting together, and you can bet their auras would attract the attention of people with Ranma and Akane's skills.
nuclear death frog : I appreciate that you took the time to read my story and write a review, but I find that you were unduly harsh. I can accept that there are errors in my story and that I have made mistakes, but the manner in which you chose to air your concerns was inappropriate. If you wished to trully advise me of the problems you had, you could have emailed me instead of posting the review. I am more than eager to accept help from anyone who trully wishes to help me improve my story, but you seemed to simply post in order to be negative. Now, I'll address a few points you made:
2:) Fred and George- This is AU and I can have them where I want! I never said they were only a year older, just one grade higher. Consider that they failed one year because of their pranks.
3:) FOWL- What similarities? Unless you are talking about OWL being the Pre-SAT's and the NEWT being the SAT's? Which are American tests and not British, which is what she's basing the school system on seeing as she is British. I added the FOWL test for 7th year as the final school exams. It is the final test that you take to see if you are to be allowed to continue your education or enter the work force.
4:) Sirius- It is stated in the books that Dumbledore has a great deal of influence outside the school in the wizarding community. He seems to be the head of several international organizations. He was even asked to take the job as Minister of Magic. Which is in the British ministry. He refused and Fudge was named in his place, with his backing. Since then, Fudge has been working behind Dumbledore to try and prove himself better. If something serious happened at the school that had people start questioning his position, he would try and cover himself, which he did by sending Umbridge to the school. I did stretch his power over the hiring policies, but is Sirius any more unusual than his getting a famous celebrity like Lockhart, a werewolf in Remus, or a retired Auror like Moody? Then there's Snape, who was a death eater! I think that's a little more unlikely than Sirius.
5:)Malfoy using the Cruciatus- You really think he hasn't been getting lessons from his parents and their DEATH EATER friends? He's likely spending his summers learning all kinds of tricks that aren't taught because of their . . .evil nature.
In your second review you mentioned spelling mistakes. I'm sure there are some, as much as I tried not to leave any in. But to single me out? I've read literally hundreds of fics in dozens of series, and I've seen spellings that would leave you crying like a little girl (no offense to any little girls out there, but you understand what I mean? Right?). As for the exploit's, you must not read/watch much of Ranma. How many times have they had to deal with a variety of magical objects, ghouls, ghosts, and oni? You really think that a wizarding community would be ignorant of such powerful effects due to beings like Saffron or the Musk? They might not be common knowledge in that part of the world, but you can bet that some members in authority would be aware of anything that could affect or expose the wizarding world.
Crimson Shadow: What can I say? That was one of the most informative reviews I've seen and I want to thank you. I am sorry that I couldn't have Kiima as the second Sensei, but I do plan for her to appear somewhere in here. And Konatsu and Ukyo are off on their own little journey.
TheOtherGuyNamedJoe: Have you ever trained in the Saotome/Tendo school for a solid year? People tend to overlook how good Akane is since so many of the characters in Ranma are so far beyond her. But there are glimpses of her talent/potential littered throughout the manga and anime. At the start of this, she is at Ranma's level aournd the time just before he encounters Haabu for the first time. I've taken it that it takes a certain level of skill to control the curses, but that the level isn't as high as Ranma's. His control came as a result fo the stress due to his becoming a dragon. But it doesn't have anything to do with being a dragon. Otherwise, anyone who gained control of the curse, would be a dragon. I see it more as now that people know it's possible to control the curse, more people are gaining that ability. I would say that he could have controlled the curse earlier, but they did not know that it was possible! Now that they know, more people are trying to control it instead of simply avoiding it or trying to cure it.
The story will take a slightly more adult tone for both adult situations and violence, but I will not be writting anything too explicit. More Lime than lemon. So this chapter would be R rated.
This one takes up only a few minutes after the other previous left off.
Ranma dipped low over the treetops. He rarely got the chance to let loose and travel in this form. He usually had to fly above the cloud cover, but below the flight paths of the high volume of air traffic around Japan's seaside. It was much more enjoyable to fly a couple dozen meters above ground, especially when carrying a passenger. Akane loved flying though she often wished that they could do so without fear of being attacked by some over zealous bureaucrats paranoia. A missile strike likely wouldn't harm Ranma, but it would force Ranma to retaliate, and that was something no one wished to see.
A feint breeze came to his sensitive nostrils at the same time as his enhanced hearing picked up the familiar sounds of hoofs clomping around in a large herd. Turning his head to the sound, he zoomed in with his vision, immediately recognizing the building Hagrid had described to them. He turned slightly to put them on a direct path to the farmhouse and hunting resort. The scents coming to him were mainly cattle, though he did pick out a few exotic animal scents that caused his draconian mouth to water.
He landed carefully, gliding down easily, as opposed to the hard rush of an attack run or speed landing. He lowered his neck and purred deep in his throat as Akane slid down his scales. He watched as she slowly approached the armed and frightened owners, who had seen them coming and armed themselves as best they could with curious mix of magical and muggle weapons. He heard clearly as Akane introduced them, and could see the hairs on their host's hands as he accepted the watch Hagrid had provided as proof of their intentions. The owner studied the watch before a smile broke out on his face, and he embraced Akane. Ranma could clearly hear him exclaim that any friend of Hagrid's was a friend of theirs and grinned. He tuned out of the conversation as Akane and the owner talked about payment for the amount Ranma would require.
Ranma flashed a grin, as he yawned, the heat of the sun on his back warming him, even as the cool air of winter swirled around his large body. He caught a faint surge of fear run through the auras of the owners, but he turned his head away and covered the mouth with one his forehands. His hands were disproportionately small to the rest of his body while his back feet were much larger in comparison.
He turned back as he sensed Akane returning to him. Again using his female voice so as not to further frighten their hosts, he asked "So, everything set?"
Akane flashed him the smile that always warmed his heart. "There's a field two miles to the east. It has cows in it. It's a working farm that he owns. If you don't mind waiting, he'll head over in a truck and bring back a pair of his older cattle for you. If you want a quick bite while he's gone, there's a field we flew over that has several various animals in it. It's got a magical enchantement that keeps all the animals from escaping, but you should be able to get a good workout hunting something down. If you'd prefer fish, there's a large lake in the field with all kinds of different fish."
Ranma mulled it over. He'd like a chance to test his hunting skills, but he was really hungry. "Tell him to hurry on the cattle, and I'll try and hunt something up before taking a stab at fishing." he told her. She again flashed her smile at him and went back to the man, who was holding back a curious child. The man looked at him and nodded, then started to back away slowly. He went to the left, where Ranma could smell the odorous fumes of gasoline and engine grease. A moment later, the low rumbling of a high powered diesel engine roared into life from the interior of the garage. He watched as the powerful cattle-hauler pulled away and onto the dirt road, heading towards the nearby farm to fetch the main course of his supper.
A scratching on his scales attracted to his attention and he turned his massive head slowly, pivoting it on his long neck to bring one eye to bear on the source of the sensations. He was not surprised to see the child rubbing his hard scales and tryin to press them inward. His other eye noticed Akane talking to the child's mother. The woman was wearing the robes of typical member of the wizarding community, and was holding a wand in one hand, and a powerful looking shotgun in the other. He withheld his chuckle at the odd sight, not wishing to raise her anxiety levels any more than they already were.
The child looked up at his face calmly. "Yer a dragon'! And yer real! Me friends say they seen dragons at the school, but I's not belivin' 'em 'til now." There was a mixture of awe and wonder in the voice.
"Dragons are real enough, child." Ranma stated, allowing his voice to take on the masculine tones of his male form. "Though there is only one other like me. Most be dangerous beasts, and only a handful be capable of speech." He kept watch on the child as he noted Akane and the child's mother approaching with the other. The woman had put away the wand and left the shotgun on a rack built on the side of the porch. "Greetings, ma'am. I am Saotome Ranma. You've met my mate, Akane. I would like to express my thanks for this opportunity. I am only recently become dragon, and have not often had the opportunity to use my form's natural instincts."
The woman blushed and waved his thanks away. " 'Twer nothing, really, Sir Dragon. 'Tis a huntin' preserve, and ye be a hunter is all."
"Still, it was kind of you not to panic when seeing me. Though dragons are real, they are not a common sight for populated lands such as these. You showed great courage by withholding your spells and gun fire."
The woman snorted. " 'Twas hardly courage, Sir Dragon. We be petrified by fear. Even when yer lady came to us, we not able to do nothin' 'til she spoke and showed us 'agrid's watch."
They spoke for a while, just passing the time until her husband returned. She explained that she was a witch, and her husband a muggle. They'd met when he'd noticed odd happenings in his woods and gone to investigate. Her name was Holly Johnson, and her husband was Charles. They had three children, the elder two away at school, while the youngest was still here. The child's name was Harold, and she explained that he'd always been fascinated with dragons. His elder brother, Michael, was currently finishing his animal husbandry degree and was studying dragon breeding in Romania with his friend Charlie Weasley. This brought a chuckle out of Ranma and Akane, who explained that they were friends with Charlie's younger siblings.
They were all having a good time comparing the current Weasley generation's antics with those of the previous one, with whom Holly had attended Hogwarts. The truck pulled up ten minutes after it left, and Charles stepped out as the engine sputtered out. There were various cattle sounds coming from the back.
"So, 'as it all been settled, then? 'de dragon's gonna go get a bit of 'xercise in then stop by to get me cows?" he asked, his accent straining the bounds of the spell allowing Akane and Ranma to understand the language.
Akane grinned gave a quick nod. "Yes, sir. Ranma's going to head over to the preserve for his excercise and snack. Holly offered to show me some of the special animals you have here while he's doing that and Harold's going to show me his dragon collection."
Her smile worked as well on the British as it did on the Japanese, Ranma thought to himself as he noticed the faintly hostile aura of Charles Johnson fade to a more subdued contentment. "I suggest you all get on the porch. I'm going to take off faster than I landed." he warned, then waited until they took cover in the small structure.
He stretched his wings and leapt, flapping as soon as his feet left the ground. His wings scrapped the ground as they pushed him higher into the air. He drew them up quickly along the sides of his body, then swung them down again before he had time to fall more than a foot towards the ground. Within seconds, he was several hungdred feet above ground and starting to move forward in the direction he'd been pointed.
Harry hurriedly removed his Quidditch robes and equipment, dropping them messily on the bench before his locker. The Quidditch locker rooms were coed, and the female members of the team had a privacy curtain near their row of lockers that afforded them a small measure of privacy. The showers, however, were open styled and everyone piled in together usually, ignoring such trivial matters as gender. This time, Harry stripped his robes off and hurried through his cleaning, wanting to talk to Ron and Hermione as soon as possible about what he'd seen with the omnicculars.
Before handing them to Hermione, he'd asked her to save the current images and not record any of the game. He'd also requested that she not view the images until he had a chance to speak to her, and judging from the fact that she wasn't here waiting for him, badgering while he treid to shower and dress, he guessed that she had listened to him.
He dried off quickly, and pulled on his troussers and a thin undershirt while waiting impatiently for Ron to finish his shower and join him.
"Harry, what was the hurry with borrowing the omnicculars and not letting me use them to see the game. I missed catching your spectacular approach on the Snitch. That was the best catch I've ever seen!" Harry grinned as he heard the rush of words from behind him. He closed his locker door and turned to face his friend.
"Hello, Hermione. I see you managed to get in. I thought the team locker rooms were guarded agaisnt people coming in." Harry stated drily.
Hermione opened her mouth to explain, but froze as she spied the twins and Ron coming out of the showers. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as the twins peeled off from their younger brother's side and went down another row, while Ron came over towards the one she and Harry were in. All three of the Weasley boys were as naked as the day they were born, and Hermione had a very good look at their assets. Blushing as red as their hair, she spun and turned her back on the boy. "RONALD! What are you doing? Do you always parade around naked in the locker room?"
It was Ron's turn to freeze as he caught sight of Hermione next to Harry. "Bloody Hell, Hermione! What by the dragon's first egg are you doing here?" He looked around frantically for something to cover himself until Harry took pity on him and threw him a towel. Ron flashed him a sickly grin of thanks and wrapped it around his waist.
"I came to talk to Harry, about something that happened. I wasn't expecting you to be . .. for everyone to be. . .. to... . I wasn't expecting to see you naked. Not that I think there's anything wrong with you naked, but . .. not that I wanted to see you naked or thought about how you looked naked .. . oh hell." Hermione paused to take a moment to calm her nerves. The sight of her friend and his brothers in the state nature intended them had shaken her deeply. She'd had a mild crush on both Ron and Harry for years, though lately she'd started to feel more towards Ron. Seeing him nude like this, all wet and freshly scrubbed was a shock to her system. Glancing over her shoulder, she felt a flare of disappointment that she squashed. She could think about Ron later, they had something else to discuss.
"During the match, Harry saw something and borrowed my omnicculars. He said he'd explain what he saw through them and show us the images he captured." A sound from behind them distracted her again, and she glanced over her shoulder in time to catch Angelina and Katie, the two females on the Gryffindor team, come striding out of the showers, also as naked as the day they'd been born. She whipped around to stare at them as they calmly walked around the short wall separating the showers from the locker room. "Katie! Angelina! What are you doing in here!" she demanded.
The pair looked up and smilled as they spotted their housemate. "Hermione! Glad to see you. How'd you get in past the wards?" Katie asked as she and Angelina came over and joined the trio.
"How'd I get in? Who cares! What are the two of you doing in here starkers?" Hermione demanded hearing snickers from behind, she turned to stare at her friends. "Will you two turn away?"
The girls looked at each other and sighed. They'd forgotten that most of the school wasn't aware of the fact that the houses had co-ed locker rooms. Angelina reached into a nearby locker and took out a pair of robes, which they wrapped around themselves.
"Sorry, Hermione, we forgot that most of the school doesn't know about the locker rooms." Katie stated as she took a seat on the bench across from Harry and the others. Angelina sat beside her. the action forced Hermione to sit and Ron hurriedly drew on a pair of trousers while Harry cleaned his glasses, watching them all amusedly.
"See, Hermione, while Hogwarts is massive, they only had limited space in which to add all the modern conveniences like showers and plumbing. So, they could only 4 rooms for use by the Quidditch teams. That means that they had to be co-ed. The teams kept quiet, since they knew that the rest of the school wouldn't understand. Since the teams are mixed, so are the lockers. Nobody really cares, since we're all mature enough to not bothered by it. Sure, we all walk around naked, but only to and from the showers. It isn't like we're all shagging in here like packs of bunnies."
Hermione threw another glare at the snickering Harry. "How long has this been going on? I mean, how can you be so comfortable being naked around . .. well around all the boys."
Katie shrugged. "Practice. You do it the first time as a dare, and then you have the advantage, since boys aren't able to hide their reactions as well as girls. We don't have as much of a problem as some of the boys do. Some have had to quit since they weren't able to handle being in a room naked, with girls in the room also naked."
"After all, girls bodies are beautiful, Hermione. A naked guy is pretty funny to look at, if you're not too busy shagging with him to pay attention." Angelina explained. "That's why the guys have so many problems. They're jealous that we're not as obvious as them."
Katie noticed the glazed look come over Hermione's eyes and nudged her friend. "Look, we can talk about this later. You came in for a reason, Hermione, and we have to get dressed." she and Angelina stood and made their way back down the row, throwing the robes back into the locker they'd taken them from. As they rounded the corner to the next row, Katie looked back at the trio. "Oh, Hermione. Thanks for the plays. They worked brilliantly." Smilling, she and Angelina made their way to their lockers, which were next to the twins.
Hermione snapped out of her stupor and turned to face her friends. "You could have told me you know?" she accused them.
Harry and Ron glanced at each other and shrugged. "Sorry, Hermione, but we were told to never mention anything about it. What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room."
Sighing at the stupidity of the male mind that must have come up with that rule, she turned her attention back to the reason she'd been here in the first place. "Enough of that now. I want to talk about what Harry saw. Tell us, Harry. What did you see?"
Harry replaced his glasses and took the omnicular's from Hermione's hands. He reround it to the spot, and showed it to Ron and Hermione. "Notice anything mising?"
Ron and Hermione watched the scene Harry had been witness to. "What's Hagrid and Akane doing on the roof of the school with a dragon?" Ron asked.
Before Harry could give a reply, Hermoine added a question of her own. "Never mind that, why does it seem like the dragon is TALKING to them and why aren't they scared of it? It must be huge! It makes Hagrid seem tiny."
Harry flashed a grin. "I think that dragon is RANMA." he stated excitedly. "I believe he's somehow found a way to transform himself into a dragon."
Ron looked at him disbelievingly. "So you think he's an Animagus?"
Hermione replied for Harry. "Can't be. He doesn't know enough magic. Animagi are all very powerful wizards, Ron. Ranma isn't very good at magic. It's something else."
Harry nodded at Hermione's reply. " 'mione's right, Ron. Ranma's no good at magic. No, I think this is what he keeps hinting at. Remember how he's always going on about how powerful a martial artist can become? That someone can become so powerful, they outgrow their bodies. I think that's what he's done. He's become so good and so powerful a martial artist, that he was forced to grow into a body strong enough to hold his energy."
"So . . .you're saying that Ranma become so strong as a martial artist that he turned into a dragon?" Ron asked. Seeing the excited nod from Harry, and the smaller nod from Hermione, he sighed. "Do you think Akane's one too?"
Hermione again answered the question before Harry. "No. She can't be. At least, not yet. Otherwise, why is she ridding Ranma?"
Ron grinned at the word choice. "Well, Hermione, they are married. Maybe she likes riding Ranma?"
Realizing the double entendre of her own words and seeing a flash in her mind of a naked Ron asking her if she wanted a ride, she flushed even deeper than the red of Ron's hair. "Ronald Weasley! What has gotten into you?"
"Sorry, 'mione. I couldn't resist teasing you. You must be right though. Akane can't become a dragon yet, but she must be close. Maybe they're gone to find someplace for her to try?"
Harry frowned. "Actually, from what I read for the Triwizard cup, dragon's require a lot of energy. Maybe transforming like that takes a lot out of Ranma. They might have gone to find him something to eat."
A thought occured to Hermione. "But where would they go to find something for a dragon as large as Ranma looks to eat?"