Harry Potter the Visored

Chapter 12

Well, since so many people like this story, here's chapter 12. A count of over 900 Favorites and over 1k followers, has motivated me to start writing again. I hope I don't disappoint all of you.

Also, the poll on my profile is still going. So far there is an overwhelming support for one of the choices, but the poll will be up until the end of sorcerer's stone to give all readers a fair chance to vote.

Additionally, any thoughts on a pairing? I know I wanted to do GinnyXHarry, but I'm beginning to have doubts due to not wanting to be to cliché. I plan to bash Ron a bit because, to be honest, he was an ass in canon too. I have plans for the twins, as you've seen, but as for a love interest, I'm open to ideas. It doesn't have to be a Potterverse girl either. I'm open to Harry ending up with a girl from bleach too. Please tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

In the Hufflepuff common room, the students were celebrating their first victory of the year and their new star Chaser. Some students had even gone to the kitchens and grabbed some refreshments.

"Here's to a start of a great year," said Cedric as he raised a bottle of butterbeer, "all thanks to Harry Potter!"

"Hear hear," said the rest of the room.

"It wasn't that much," said Harry.

"Wasn't that much?" echoed one of the other students, "You were amazing! I've never seen moves like that even at the World Cup."

"With moves like that," said the captain as he raised his drink in salute, "we'll win the House Cup for sure this year! And once we can get you a proper broom, you'll be unstoppable!"

"So Harry," said Neville, "what happened to you out there? It looked like you lost control of your broom for a second."

"Yeah," said Hannah Abbot, "you were bucking around like crazy up there."

"I don't know," said Harry, "it felt like some outside force was trying to mess with my broom."

"You mean like a spell?" asked Neville.

"Probably," said Harry.

"Hold up," said Cedric, "you mean you could actually feel someone using magic on you? How does that work?"

"I don't know," said Harry, "I just can feel the energy as its being used. Is that not normal?"

"Not really," said Cedric, "unless it's a spell like Stupefy that actually affects the target physically, the magic can't be felt. And if your broom was what was being affected, you shouldn't have been able to feel anything aside from the broom going out of control."

"Oh," was all Harry could say. He had a theory why he could feel the magic, and it tied into his first transfiguration class. Due to his ability to sense Reiatsu, he had the ability to sense spells in the same way.

"So are you sure you're alright?" asked Hannah, "That was a long fall from your broom."

"Don't worry," said Harry, "I was able to catch myself, so I'm fine now."

Wanting to move away from grim thoughts, the house began to celebrate their win one more, but Harry couldn't help but wonder who had tried to kill him.

xXsceneXx

A few days later, Harry was walking through the halls, being as quiet and stealthy as possible. He was currently using a Kidō spell to conceal the Weasley Twins as they crept through the corridors in order to sneak stink pellets into the office of the school's grouchy caretaker, Argus Filch. Normally, Harry wouldn't want to torment one of the staff, but Filch was disliked by the entire student body for a reason, he was rather cruel and hated all the students. It was because of this that Harry felt no guilt in helping like this.

Soon the twin redheads ran up and the three of them made their escape to await Filch's reaction when he goes into his office. As they walked, Harry decided to ask the twins something he'd been wondering about.

"Why don't you two try harder in class?" he asked them.

"That's an interesting question," said Fred.

"That it is, dear brother," said George.

"It's not that we don't try," said Fred.

"We just don't see the use,"

"In learning things,"

"That won't really affect our future plans."

"Why is that?" inquired Harry, "What are your future plans?"

"Well young Harry," said Fred, "it's simple."

"We intend to open a Joke Shop!" said the twins together.

"We'll sell ways to make people laugh through pranks and novelties," said George.

"It's a dream come true," said Fred, "making money from pranks."

"I still don't understand," said Harry.

"What's not to understand?" asked George.

"Well," said Harry as he put his hand on his chin in thought, "if you studied harder in classes like potions, charms, and transfiguration, you could gain knowledge that you could use to make more elaborate pranks, like potions that are mostly undetectable and charmed items that transform the user into something funny. All that could be created with the right knowledge."

The Weasley twins stopped short as they thought about what Harry had told them.

"You know," mused Fred, "I never thought of it like that."

"It would help to know how to make specialty potions," added Fred.

"And mastering human transfiguration could bring a laugh if we could get it to work right," said George.

"Not to mention if we could create those cups that are charmed vanish the drinks inside,"

"Don't forget it would get mum off our backs for not studying,"

"Maybe we should consider,"

"trying a little harder."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at that. He couldn't believe that the school's resident crown princes in comedy hadn't thought that studying hard could actually help their plans in so many ways.

"Well, young Harry," said George, "do you have any more genius ideas in your brain?"

Harry just smiled, "Let me see…"

xXsceneXx

Soon, winter came and a coat of white snow blanketed the castle grounds. Harry enjoyed himself as he had a few snowball fights in on the grounds with his friends. He even earned a few house points for Hufflepuff when he correctly brewed the Wiggenweld Potion in class, something that caused much surprise considering that Snape rarely gave out points to those who weren't in his house. Soon though, the time came for him to leave the school for the holidays, as he had turned in his permissions to his head of house to allow him to go home for the holidays. The night before the train would take them back to Platform 9¾, Harry decided to head to the third floor corridors to see just what Dumbledore was hiding up there.

Using Bakudō #26: Kyokkō, he cloaked himself in invisibility and crept through the corridors until he reached a door behind which he felt a strange Reiatsu pulsing. Using the alohomora charm on the door, he unlocked it and crept inside…only to come face to face with a gigantic Cerberus.

The beast sniffed the air with its three noses before leaning toward Harry and snarling. Apparently the thing could smell him even with the Kidō hiding his presence. As the dog reared back and tried to bite a chunk out of his body, Harry used Shunpo to get the hell away from there. As he was about to initiate the technique, he caught a glimpse of a trapdoor under the beast's feet, but paid it no mind as he bolted out of there.

After fleeing for a bit, Harry ended up a bit lost due to the castle's moving staircases and ended up in an old classroom on the fourth floor. Catching his breath from the constant high-speed running and dropping the Kidō to conserve energy, he looked around. The only thing that really stood out in the room was a large mirror the stood in the center. Walking up to it, Harry was shocked when he saw, not just his own reflection, but the rest of the Visored smiling back at him. Looking around and probing with his senses, he didn't detect the gang anywhere nearby, but looking back into the mirror, he saw them still standing there smiling with their arms around the shoulders of his reflection.

"It's quite the artifact," said a familiar voice.

Turning around, Harry saw Dumbledore standing in the doorway with a kind smile and a twinkle in his eye.

"This is the Mirror of Erised," said Dumbledore, "through it, we see our heart's deepest desires. Things we wish we had and dream of."

"But I already have what I see in the mirror," said Harry in confusion, "all I see is me and my family."

This caught Dumbledore's attention. He had expected Harry to see his parents in the mirror, giving him something to talk to him about, leading to some sage advice that would make the child trust him so he could further his plans. That he saw the Japanese folk in his reflection was surprising indeed.

"Professor," said Harry, jolting the headmaster out of his thoughts, "why are you here?"

"Oh," said Dumbledore as he crafted a story. It wouldn't do to have Harry know that he used the portraits and the castle ghosts to track his movements in the castle, "I come here often to gaze upon my deepest wish. Alas, this mirror must be moved later this week, so returning to see it would be impossible."

"That is understandable," Harry said with a nod, "this could drive people mad with a desire to make that which they see a reality. I should be going sir. I got a bit lost thanks to the staircases, but I think I can get back now."

"Have a safe holiday, my boy," said Dumbledore as he watched Harry leave. Maybe his plans weren't for naught after all. With a chuckle, he glanced at the mirror, seeing a young girl smiling back at him, and left the room as a small tear fell from his eye.

xXsceneXx

The next day, Harry packed his things and headed to the Hogsmeade train station to catch the Hogwarts Express back to King's Cross Station where he would meet up with the Visored. As he rode the train, he thought about the friends he made at school and the things that had been going on. As he watched the snowy land fly by, his thoughts drifted to the Cerberus that he had found guarding…something on the third floor. Harry wondered what could be so important that it would allow such a dangerous beast into a school for children to guard it, though considering the security was lax enough that a troll got into the castle on Halloween, that didn't say much. Closing his eyes, Harry decided to speak with Ryuge while he waited for the train to arrive.

xXsceneXx

"Hello again, young one," was Ryuge's response when Harry opened his eyes in his inner world, "you have been having quite the adventure."

"That's putting it lightly," said Harry as he sat on the ground of the crystal forest, "who would have thought that school would be so eventful."

"It was unexpected," acknowledged the dragon with a nod, "but this isn't a normal school."

"I doubt things like a troll attack or a giant Cerberus guarding something are things that are common in any kind of school," deadpanned Harry as he fixed his Zanpakuto spirit with a flat look.

"That is true," chuckled the spirit, a strange sound coming from a dragon, "I doubt that even the Shinigami academy would have to deal with such incidents."

"So what do you think the dog was guarding?" asked Harry.

"I do not know," the dragon replied, "as I am a part of your soul, there aren't many options I can give that you yourself haven't already come up with."

"I see your point," sighed Harry as he laid down on the ground, "I still wonder just what is going on at Hogwarts."

"As do I, young one," nodded Ryuge, "you might want to return to the real world now. Your friend from Ravenclaw is here."

Harry nodded and left his inner world. Once he was gone, Ryuge glanced toward a shadowy part of the crystal forest that was Harry's inner world. A spot where a bestial form was prowling.

"He will have to face it soon," sighed Ryuge, "it is growing in strength and soon I will not be able to repress its power."

xXsceneXx

Harry opened his eyes and saw that Hermione was sitting across from him in the compartment.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she apologized upon seeing Harry up and about.

"You didn't wake me," Harry said as he stretched a bit, "I was just meditating and sensed you enter the room."

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione, "You seemed pretty into it."

"I just needed to think," replied Harry, "anyway, what are your plans for the winter?"

"Well," smiled Hermione, "my family was going to get together to celebrate the holidays. We'll probably have a small party and such. What about you, Harry?"

"I'll be heading back to Japan for the holidays," answered Harry, "I'm looking to spending some time with my family."

"What is your family like, Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Well," thought Harry, "they're…different. They all have their quirks and eccentricities, but they really care and are a lot of fun to be around."

"Do you think I could meet them one day?" asked Hermione, "They sound like a lot of fun."

"I'm meeting some of them at the train station," said Harry, "I could introduce you before we head out."

xXsceneXx

When the train pulled into the station, Harry disembarked with Hermione and looked around for the Visored. He wondered who would have come to get him. Considering their personalities, Hiyori and Mashiro were out, and Kensei would need to keep an eye on Mashiro, so that left, Lisa, Love, Rose, Shinji and Hachi. His wonderings were answered when he saw two familiar figures waving at him.

"Rose! Shinji!" exclaimed Harry as he ran up and embraced the Visored.

"Hey kid," said Shinji, "How've ya been?"

"Things have been hectic, but I'm managing," laughed Harry, "I've made some friends too. In fact, this is one of them. Hermione Granger, meet Shinji Hirako and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi, or Rose as we call him."

"Pleased to meet you," said Hermione.

"Likewise," said Rose, "I must thank you for being Harry's friend. Perhaps you could visit us if you have time this summer. I'm sure Harry would like that."

"I'd have to speak to my parents," said Hermione, "but I'd love to. I've never been to Japan."

"Well," said Shinji, "we need to be on our way to catch our ride."

"I'll see you later, Hermione," said Harry.

With that the friends parted ways, not knowing that soon, events would come about that would cause much unrest among them.