STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I OWN NONE OF THIS EXCEPT MY OWN IDEA OF HOW TO PLACE RANMA AND HARRY TOGETHER.

I had people asking for confrontations. So I'm starting to work on some things with this chapter.

Oh, before I forget. Anyone who likes Shampoo, you will probably not like what's about to happen.

Someone mentioned that they didn't like that Ranma's dragon form had wings. Especially since I was basing my story on 'Comes the Cold Dragon'. Well, this is why I stated that my story was not a direct continuation of CtCD, especially since CtCD is not finished yet. CtCD is far from the only fic I've read where Ranma was a dragon, and since I am more familiar with the western style dragon that even while I read CtCD, I had a western dragon image in my mind, that is what I am writting Ranma as.

I'll give you a sneak peek at something I have planned. I mentioned earlier that Harry wasn't going to be taking part in the tournament for the martial arts classes at the end of the school year because I had other plans for him. I will say that his familliarity with dragons will be called on, and getting over his fear of them by having him spend time with Ranma's dragon form is needed in order for him to survive.

Shampoo snarled to herself as she had to duck to avoid being spotted. She hated this place. She hated the people and how they treated her. She hated how they thought themselves so superior because of a few tricks they were able to do. She was an Amazon warrior, trained since she took her first steps in skills and magic that few if any of the idiotic students at this damn school could even imagine.

She had been embarrassed when her GreatGrandmother told her that she had to do what the teachers here told her. She knew more about most of the subjects then these fools would learn in a decade. Potions, Herbology, Healing. She'd learned techniques and methods that would cause the teachers here to drool in envy the way the boys drooled over her form.

She peeked around the corner, and grinned nastily to herself. Ranma's friends were talking about that idiotic game that had been played the day before. She snorted as she recalled the games they had played in the village. If these fools wanted true athletic contest, they should try the games they had taught in the village. But even that wasn't the same, now. Now, they had abandoned their rightful homes and moved to some damned rock Ranma and Haabu had raised from the ocean floor. She hated that they had left their homes without a fight. They should have never abandoned the ancestral homeland because of those fools in the PRA.

With Ranma and Haabu on their side, and Saffron obeying their orders, they could have destroyed those fools in Beijing and liberated the women of China. During her chase of Ranma, she'd noted the plight of the Chinese women and how they were treated as second class citizens or slaves by the males. She had made a promise to herself that once she found and killed the outsider female, she would go back to the village and lead her fellow warriors against the evil patriarchal society that ruled China. She would return the Amazons to their proper place as leaders in the world, and eventually spread Amazon rule to emcompass the world.

That dream had changed when she'd learned that the girl she had been chasing was really a mere boy. A handsome, powerful boy, true, but nothing more than another idiotic male, not different really than Mu Tsu or the other boys in the village. So she pretended to chase the boy for different reasons, knowing that she could use his strength and skill in her plans. Then that fool Saffron had to take his woman and treat her with such disrespect, causing Ranma to access a deeper power that was hidden within them all but that so few would ever access. Ranma had grown into the Cold Dragon, an ancient tale she had never believed until she witnessed Ranma's transformation herself.

How she hated Ranma. True, she had made the decision to act like a gaijin bimbo herself, but it was Ranma who had forced her hand in doing so. If he and his useless father had never gone to the village, she would never have had to leave to follow them. She would have been able to finally deal with Mu Tsu and his ennoying habits. She would not have been forced to allow filthy Japanese men to grope her as she waited on them in that tiny restaurant. She could have remained in her home and lived the life she deserved as a true Amazon, instead of the filthy perversion she'd been forced to become.

Now, she bided her time. Secretly following Ranma's friends and listening to their discussions. She needed an ally. Someone powerful in these parts of the world. Someone who wouldn't let something silly like morality and laws get in the way of doing what needed to be done. And from what she had learned, this man these foolish people refused to name, this Voldemort, was the person she was looking for. But, from what she'd overheard from the people in her 'house', Voldemort wanted this boy, this Harry. If she could bring the boy to Harry, Voldemort would do anything to repay her.

So now, she followed the boy and his friends. Learning their habits and ways in which she could manipulate them the way she had her GreatGrandmother and the fools during her time in Nerima. She'd already learned some interesting things about some of the fools. Now, she needed some more information about Harry and those closest to him. And she had to gather this knowledge while avoiding Mu Tsu, her grandmother, and the hated Ranma.

Harry frowned, looking around. He had had the oddest feeling lately. Like he was being watched. But he could never spot the watcher, no matter what. He'd even used mirrors and other reflective surfaces, but all he ever saw was an odd looking bird. He thought it was a duck. He ignored the bird. Most of the students used owls, but he'd seen a few who had hawks, ravens, and even one or two who had magical creatures like flying monkeys or winged cats. Compared to those, a duck was rather ordinary.

Shrugging, he made his way through the crowd of first and second year students, ignoring the whispers in his wake as they recognized him. The only good thing about being recognized now was that people knew who he was for more than the scar on his forehead. Being the youngest to compete in the TriWizard Tournament and winning it and the noterity of the events of the last few years, he was famous for more than simply being the 'boy-who-lived'.

People came to him now to ask how he had won the Tournament, or to ask about a play he'd made during a Quidditch game. Some even came for advice about courses and dealing with some of the daily problems that occured at a school of this type. He'd become something of a tutor, despite not getting the highest marks in all courses. Hermione was far beyond him, but she'd shown little ability to transmit her knowledge to the younger students. She didn't have the patience for teaching, while Harry was beginning to find that he had a knack for it. Already he'd helped some 2nd and 3rd year students up their marks in some courses a half grade or more.

He was on his way to a session with the Creevy brother's and some of their friends from Hufflepuff. While not technically part of the HarHarTu training, he would be helping them work on a few simple disarming and binding charms. He was trying to avoid Slytherins, since they'd taken great delight in blocking his way. Since the rules strictly forbid fights or use of magic in the halls, the Slytherins had started to gather in groups and subtly block the path of anyone who got in their way. He sighed at the immaturity of Slytherins as he paused to allow a pair of 1st years to scamper across the hall while he waited for the stairs to turn up to his level.

He winced as one of the boys accidently elbowed him on the way past, scoring on one of the many reminders of the training sessions under Akane's tutelage. He sometimes wondered what the benefit of daily beatings and working to exhaustion were, but even he had noticed that he was having an even easier time during the Quidditch practices and games. His balance on the broom had improved and so had his ability to direct the flight. He didn't have to strain as hard to pull the broom around during a match and he'd found himself having an easier time while reaching for the snitch as well.

In previous years, he'd had to carefully balance and hold on at the same time while reaching out tentatively for the small golden streak. Now though, he could shift himself on the broom with more ease and more aggressively. Privately, he had started comparing himself to some of the Seeker's he'd seen at the Quidditch World Cup, including Krum and Lynch. He thought that he was now able to match up on an almost even level with Lynch, and by the end of the year, he might be equal to Krum.

The stairs finally swung into place and he quickly made his way down to the first level and the waiting Creevy's. He nodded at the pair and gave their companions a grin, only mildly surprised to note that the girls were older than he had thought. "Hi Dennis, Colin. Who are these two?"

Colin grinned wildly, eagerly starting up his now trademark running speech. "Hiya Harry. This is my cousin Luna Lovegood and her roomate Jessica Fletcher. Luna and Jessica are having some problems with Professor Umbridge and how she's restricing the courses and keep getting detentions and whatnot. So I mentioned that you were teaching some of us a few tricks, and they asked to join in. Luna's father, my uncle Luke, well, he owns and runs an independant paper and he's seen things that disagree with what the Ministry is releasing to the public and asked Luna to try and see if you would be willing to answer a few questions he has. Nothing for print, yet anyway, but he want's to know if he's on the right track with some of his suspicions about some people. People with a lot of influence and power in the ranks of the Ministry and other agencies that have authority over the wizarding community."

Harry blinked, trying to muddle his way to understanding the string of words Colin had just blurted out. The meanings of the statement got to him and he had to exert some control to keep his face from settling into a frown. "We'll, I'm not sure I really want to say anything to a reporter after what the Prophet has been saying about me, but it might be worth it. As for Umbridge, all I can say is just go along with her while in class, and do your own thing when the slug isn't around. That's what we Gryffindor's are doing. Though she hasn't really come down on our course loads as much as she has Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. So, if you really do want to learn a bit about how to better defend yourself, you're welcome to join us." Harry was getting a weird vibe from the girl Colin had named as Luna.

Something about her was different, almost like she wasn't as young or as inexperienced as she seemed. He shrugged the feeling off, not too concerned. "I'll have Hermione add you to the roll and get you the passwords for our meeting rooms. She'll also get you a schedule." He looked around, the feeling of being watched growing and he glanced around slowly, again noting only the duck quacking after a dark haired Slytherin girl and not noticing the white and purple furred cat that was hidding behind a potted palm.

The quintet made it's way out of the hall towards the library, where Harry would give the pair some quick pointers on the right books to study and which ones to avoid. Harry never even noticed that Luna had noted his search and looked around with him, a serious and guarded look on her face.

Luna Lovegood was, much as Harry's subconcious had pointed out, not as inexperienced as she seemed. In fact, she was not Luna Lovegood. Her name was really Nymphadora Tonks and she was an Auror. She was a metamorphmagi, one of a rather rare breed of magicial being who had the inherited ability to transform her shape at will. She had the ability to become any one. To transform any part of herself in both size, color, and shape. One minute she could be a 15 year old blond, with an almost dreamy air about her and the next, she could be a 7foot tall black man with muscles the size of her current waist. Few where the people who had known her true self, for she'd been altering her appearance for so long it was second nature to her now.

From a very young age, even before coming to Hogwarts for her true schooling, she had tweaked her appearance, usually with wild hair colors or overblown proportions. It had started as a game really, a way to fight back against the embarrassing normality of her family. Sure, one side of her family would gladly kill and torture the other side while that side didn't even know the other existened, but that was hardly unusual. She was far from the first person to be born from a muggle father and wizarding mother or viceversa.

Her mother, born Andromeda Black, was a member of a very old and well connected PureBlood family. Her father, Ted Tonks, was as muggle born as anyone. They had met one summer, while Andromeda and her sisters were 'mudding it', as some wizarding families called it whenever they had to interact with muggles. Andromeda was something of an odd duck in her family, not sharing in their disgust for the magically inept. They had felt a connection immediately, and had spent most of the summer sneaking around. By the end of the year, Andromeda had made her choice. She had visited Gringotts, transfered her personal accounts, and she and Ted had ran off and gotten married. She had never again contacted any in the family save Sirius, another white sheep on the Black family tree.

As these things usually went, she had been born not long after. She was raised in a mostly muggle home, and had attended muggle schools, even after clearly demonstrating her magical gifts. In time, she received her Hogwart's letter and eagerly looked forward to meeting other like herself. Only, she learned that no one else had her skill at metamorphmagi. Except for that trait, she had been a rather average student, though she has skilled enough to meet all the requirements for her chosen profession. After completing her final year, she had been hired immediately by the ministry as an Auror, putting her natural talent for disguise to good use in tracking down criminals. She'd even been sent after the occassional muggle criminal.

She had spent a rushed year in training, while most others struggled through the 3 year training course for Aurors. After which she had been sent on several solo missions in order to perfect her skills. Over time, she had turned a tendancy towards clumsiness into a rather effective guise. Who would think that the pink haired teen tripping over her own feet would be the same person who had been following them for days? Or that the blind beggar sitting pityingly in ragged bundles had tracked you down and was preparing to take you into custody?

She had been trained by the best of the best, Mad-Eye Moody and his two most trusted students: Kingsley Shacklebot and Emaline Vance. She hadn't known at the time, but she had been rushed through training for a very specific reason. A reason that was now to come to fruition. Her entire education and training had been geared to make her the perfect person to guide and protect the boy-who-lived, Harry Potter. She had heard the stories about Harry while she was in school, but like many, didn't know what to believe. Until one day, while sitting at the house table listening to the seemingly endless line of students being sorted, she and everyone else had heard a name that sent odd shivers down her spine: Harry Potter.

She had watched as the young boy made his way from among the throng of 1st years to the sorting hat and clapped politely when it sorted him into Gryffindor. She had felt a vague disappointment though. She had felt a kinship with the boy, having heard that he had been raised by muggle relatives who were not fond of him. Though she had rarely met her relatives, she had always felt awkward in their presence. There were a number of them here, as a matter of fact, and they ignored her except when they were teasing her about her muggle born father.

Over the next two years, she had watched the events surrounding Harry as best she could with her tight schedule. Something had prodded her to try and meet him, to get to know him and offer her friendship, but the opportunity had never arrison. So she had graduated three years before without even speaking to him, though she had spent a great deal of what little free time she had keeping up with the gossip about his adventures.

After her last harrowing training assignment under the direct supervision of Kingsley, she had been called to Auror headquarters for reassignment. She had been surprised to see the ancient wizard in the office. She had greeted her former Headmaster politely, all the while wondering what was going on. She gave a silent chuckle as she recalled the conversation that had taken place.

FLASHBACK

"Excuse me, sir, Professor, but what exactly am I doing here? I mean, I graduated two years ago. I'm pretty sure I didn't have any outstanding homework or detentions, did I?" she had asked.

Both Mad-Eye and Dumbledore had chuckled at her questions. "No, Ms. Tonks, that is not why I requested this meeting. Certain recent events have forced me to reassess the safety of the students in my care. I have come to Moody here and asked him for advice on what I can do to insure that Hogwarts remains the safe haven it has been for the children of our community. And he had a rather interesting idea."

She had looked at the battle scarred Auror, taking little notice of the magically replaced eye or the wooden leg. She knew how powerful and skilled Moody was, and how intelligent and cunning he could be. She could only guess that whatever he had in mind would have to have something to do with her metamorph talents, as she was an otherwise only slightly above average witch. "So what's the assignment, sir?" she asked, deciding to get straight to the point. She also shifted her form to something more appropriate, becoming a little older than her true age and transfiguring her casual clothing to dress robes.

Mad-Eye shared a look with Dumbledore, who tilted his head in acknowledgement. "How do you feel about going back to school?"

END FLASHBACK

She shook her head and took a moment to once again put on the mental guise of Luna. Luna was an actual person who had tragically died the year before during a trip with her father to Canada to search for the elusive Bigfoot that was said to roam the NorthAmerican westcoast. Luna and her father had been her neighbours for years. She had been close to the younger girl, and had occassionaly taken her form to tease other friends and Luna's cousins. So she was familiar with her mannerisms and personality. Before taking her form for the year, she had spoken to Luke Lovegood. Even through his grief, he had understood immediately what was going on and had approved her use of his beloved daughter's form. He agreed to vouch for her, put only providing she could help him prove that Harry Potter was right and that Voldemort was back.

She had promised to find away to stick to Harry and gain his confidence to help get proof about the return of the evil wizard. Now, thanks to Luna's cousins the Creevy brothers, she had finally met Harry. And, taking a discrete look of his form, she was more impressed than she would have thought. She was really looking forward to getting to know him.