Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!

...

"Parseltongue!"

...

...

Hari was not sure if she was grateful or not for Rinko getting her family to leave the living room giving Hari time with her friends on her own. It was needed, but she couldn't help the nerves she felt under her skin and made her shift on her feet. But she felt hopeful and excited as well because it started to sink in, that her friends really were there. A look at Hermione and Ron made her believe that she wasn't the only one feeling it. The same hope, nervousness and trepidation were clear in their eyes as well.

"So, I guess we should talk," Hari said. "Why don't you sit?"

They all found a seat and Hari ended up between Ron and Hermione at the couch. She smiled slightly at them and received small smiles back. She really wasn't sure when it had become this awkward and tense between them.

"I don't even know where to start," Hari admitted.

"Me neither," Hermione nodded in agreement, "I've thought about finding you a lot but not really on what followed."

"Hermione lost for words," Ron said. "Who would have thought? Ouch!"

Hermione reached over and punched his arm.

"You should know better, Ron," Hari chuckled but her shoulders relaxed slightly.

Ron muttered something under his breath as he rubbed his arm. Hermione huffed and glared at him and the twins snickering was heard in the background.

"You looked like you had fun at your practice today," Hermione said.

Hari glanced at her and nodded, "yeah. It was fun. Though, Ryuzaki-sensei is trying to kill us. She pushes us really hard, but that's because we have a tournament coming up."

"What kind of tournament?" Charlie asked. "Is it like the Quidditch cup at Hogwarts?"

"Not really," Hari furrowed her brows a little. "The tournament is the Kanto Regional Tournament, it's the best teams from the Kanto Region that is competing against each other. So we play against other schools and try to reach the finals."

"So not just teams from your own school," Bill said.

"No," Hari said. "And if we make it to the Nationals later in the year we'll play teams from all over the country."

"When is it?" Charlie asked. "The Kanto Tournament, I mean."

"In two days," Hari said.

"Then we'll be here and can see you play," Fred said.

Hari smiled, "I'm not sure if I'll actually get to play, but it will be fun if you're there to watch."

She hadn't really thought about that before now, but they would be there to see her play (if Ryuzaki told her to play), and a thrill went through her.

"You look to be important to your team," Hermione said and pulled out something from her bag. "We saw this article and you were mentioned quite a bit."

Hari blinked. "You saw that?"

"That's how we knew you were at Seigaku," Ron said. "Found it yesterday, but it was too late to get to the school then so we had to wait until today."

Hari blinked. "Oh."

That magazine was proving to be a risk, but she really couldn't control what they wrote… Her brows furrowed.

"But how did you even know to look for me here in the first place?" Hari asked looking up at them.

Hermione smiled and started to explain how she had asked her father for help and Hari had to give it to her for thinking to do that. But then again, Hermione was raised in the muggle world and therefore would be more likely to think outside of magical means of finding someone.

"So, your parents know where I am?" Hari asked despite it being obvious when Hermione finished.

"Yeah, but they won't tell anyone," Hermione said looking at Hari. "Dad was…upset. He wouldn't tell me everything, just that you had left and that a Japanese couple had adopted you…"

Hari kept her face blank but she was sure she knew why Mr Granger had been upset. He must have talked to her aunt and uncle and, well, they weren't exactly afraid to let others know what they thought about her. Who knew what he had learned about her now… It worried her a little but it seemed like Mr Granger had at least kept it to himself.

Ron then went on to tell her about how they had managed to get Mr and Mrs Weasley to agree to allow them to leave and how they had decided to ask Bill and Charlie for help. Hari glanced at the older Weasley brothers as Ron talked (and Hermione adding somethings when Ron skipped a step) and wondered why they would agree to help when they hadn't even met her before. It didn't make sense to her.

"Wow," Hari said quietly when Ron finished. "I…um… Thank you."

"What about you, Hari?" Hermione asked. "Why did you decide to leave and resign from Hogwarts? And… you haven't talked about Echizen Ryoma before."

Hari sighed as she considered what to say. But thinking about what they had done to find her and knowing that they had tried to write to her was enough to convince her that they deserved answers, but it wasn't easy to talk about or know just how much to say.

"I didn't like talking about Ryo-chan because it hurt to think about him," Hari admitted after a pause.

"Why?" Ron frowned.

"He was my first friend," Hari said. "Dudley used to scare off everyone at my school back in Surrey. Everyone knew to keep away from me and that being my friend would mean getting on Dudley's bad side and no one wanted that. He…is a bully."

Hari fisted her hands.

"But Echizen didn't?" Hermione asked wondering if Hari actually would understand that part of her life as well. She had always been different at school and had never really had any friends until Hari and Ron after that Halloween.

"Ryo-chan didn't attend the same school as me," Hari said. "He is a year younger than me, and he was in England for a tennis thing. We met at a local tennis court that normally was abandoned. We talked and he became my friend, he taught me tennis and refused to let Dudley scare him away when Dudley found out about him. I would meet Ryo-chan after school and at the weekends when I managed to get away from the house."

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks while the others listened but didn't say anything. Hari smiled slightly as she remembered her first meeting with Ryoma.

"And when he left I was devastated," Hari continued. "He and his parents had offered me a place I felt safe and happy for the first time in my life. I never knew people could be like them, if not for them I think I might have lost hope in people around me. But he never wrote as he promised. Or, I never got his letters."

"You said something about Dumbledore keeping it from you?" Bill interrupted with a question.

Hari glanced at him before she nodded.

"Yes," Hari said. "And when I found a letter from Ryo-chan and found out what Dumbledore had done I knew I couldn't go back to Hogwarts. He kept my first friend from me, and I then I knew that he never cared about me. He just wanted to control the Girl-Who-Lived, but he never cared about Hari."

Ron felt something clench deep in his gut as he listened to her talk but he did his best to push it away, but the feeling of a loss hit him and he wasn't even sure why. Why should he feel a loss?

They stayed in the living room talking until Rinko popped her head into the room and asked if they were staying for dinner and that dinner was ready.

...

"Thank you for having us," Bill said politely to Rinko when they all were seated around the kitchen table. It was a tight fit with so many around the kitchen table, but no one complained. The Weasley's were used to being many around the table.

"No trouble," Rinko smiled. "Friends of Hari-chan are always welcome here."

Hari smiled slightly feeling warmed at the way Rinko said it like it was a simple and accepted fact.

"More boys," Nanjiro muttered as he eyed the extra boys around the table.

"Dear," Rinko said in a sweet voice that fooled no one and Nanjiro scowled but didn't say anything else.

Hari shook her head noticing the way the twins exchanged smirks as they eyed Nanjiro. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what they had planned; she just hoped that it wasn't anything that would rile her adoptive dad up too much.

"So, tell me more about Hari-chan at Hogwarts," Ryoga smirked and looked at Hari who frowned at him. "You must have some embarrassing stories…"

"Ryoga-nii," Hari scowled.

"Embarrassing stories, eh?" the twins grinned. "Of our little Harikins?"

"Fred, George," Hari glared.

"Well," George said.

"Well, well…" Fred said.

"We heard a little…"

"…tale about a certain ghost…"

"…that has a crush…"

"…on our little Harikins," they said while grinning like a canary.

Hari groaned and dropped her head wondering if it was too late to tell them to leave. She could practically hear Ryoga blink as he took in what he had been told before he laughed.

"A ghost has a crush on you, Hari-chan?" Ryoga laughed.

"No," Hari denied.

"Lies, lies," Fred said waving a finger at her. "Moaning Myrtle so does have a crush on you."

"Did she not say she was keeping the stall next to hers in the bathroom free for you if you were to die?" George asked.

"And she did follow you around when we used that bathroom our second year," Ron decided to add with a smirk. "Always lingering close to you and giving you the dreamy look."

"Shut up," Hari muttered.

Ryoma looked amused as well and she saw even Rinko smile though she tried to look sympathetic while Nanjiro looked a cross between amused and scowling.

"But, ghosts?" Ryoga asked. "They're real?"

"Yeah," Hari said after sending a last glare at the twins. "There were several ghosts around Hogwarts. They're not dangerous or really scary. We even had a ghost as a teacher."

"How does that work?" Rinko asked shocked.

"Poorly," Hari and Ron said together before exchanging smiles while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Professor Binns knows a lot about history," Hermione said. "It's interesting, really."

"You're the only one who can keep awake in his lessons, Hermione," Ron said.

"Yeah, it's the best sleeping medicine," Hari nodded. "All he talks about is Goblins wars and doesn't even know our names. Though, that could be a plus."

"He somehow manages to read our homework," Fred said with a sad sigh. "We tried to check but he noticed when we didn't hand in the correct work."

"Of course you tried," Bill sighed.

...

Hari was pleased that the dinner went as well as it did and the conversation flows easily and even Nanjiro was pulled out of his sulkiness and seemed to enjoy talking about the more trivial parts of magic. Hari wondered briefly if they had kept their questions back and if they had been curious about magic all along.

"Where are you staying?" Rinko asked when they were back in the living room. "I'm sorry we don't have the room for all of you here…"

"That's okay, ma'am," Charlie said.

"I have a friend from work who is from Tokyo," Bill explained. "He is in Egypt at the moment so his apartment here in Tokyo was free. He let us borrow it."

"I see," Nanjiro said. "So you're planning on staying for a while?"

Hari glanced at him before looking back at her friends. She wanted to know the answer to that as well.

"We probably will stay for most of the summer," Hermione said.

"Really?" Hari asked smiling.

"Yeah," Ron nodded and smiled a little.

Nanjiro sighed and leaned back with a pout. It didn't look like he was going to get rid of them so easily. But if Hari would be smiling like she was now as she laughed and talked with her friends then he guessed he couldn't complain too much.

...

Hari was finally alone in her room having gotten ready for the night. Not to get her wrong she had enjoyed spending the afternoon and much of the evening with her friends but it had been exhausting and emotional draining as well.

They had talked about a lot of things during the evening, but she knew that there was still much to talk about and to work out. She knew Ron was struggling with something. She had seen the way he had looked at her and frowned like he was thinking about something. She was a little worried about it but knew better than to push him. She would find out at some point, she just had to wait him out.

She sighed as she rubbed her eyes. They had really found her and she had lost count of the number of times she had thought that, but it was impossible for her not to return to that simple fact. They had found her.

The ringing tone from her phone startled her out of her musings and she jerked slightly before she shook her head at herself as she reached for the phone.

"Moshimoshi?"

"Hey, Hari-chan," Seiichi's voice greeted her and she smiled.

"Sei-chan," Hari was almost surprised with how she instantly relaxed hearing his voice.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Hai," Hari said. "I'm just tired."

"Though practice?" Seiichi asked.

"Yeah, but that's not why I'm exhausted," Hari said.

"Oh? Something happened?" Seiichi asked and Hari heard the concern in his voice.

"My friends from England came today," Hari said. "I had no idea they were coming…"

She continued to explain what had happened today and how her friends had shown up during their practice and while she couldn't tell him about magic and that side of the situation she still could tell him enough so he understood just what it meant for her that they had found her.

"Wow," he said. "That is amazing and tough at the same time. Are you okay?"

"I'm…okay, I think," Hari said honestly. "Just a lot to process."

"I can understand that," Seiichi said. "It's your best friends that you've told me about, right?"

"Yeah," Hari said pushing herself so she was seated a little more comfortable on the bed. "Ron and Hermione."

"You were worried about them, weren't you?" Seiichi asked. "About how they handled you leaving and if they were angry at you?"

Hari closed her eyes and nodded before she remembered that he couldn't see her.

"Yes, I did," Hari said. "I still think they are a little upset, but I think they understand a little at least."

"That's good," Seiichi said. "You just need to give them time and you'll work it out. They proved they are your friends by finding you, didn't they?"

"You're right," Hari said. "Thank you, you really helped calm me down."

"No problem," Seiichi said. "I look forward to meeting them."

"Yeah," Hari said. "Hopefully they will not act like overprotective idiots."

Seiichi laughed. "How did your dad take it seeing you with more boys?"

"Like an overprotective idiot," Hari deadpanned making Seiichi laugh again.

"Poor guy," Seiichi said.

"Sure," Hari snorted.

Hari relaxed even more as she continued to talk to Seiichi and she knew he made her talk about other things in order for her to do just that.

...

Hari was hurrying to get ready for school knowing it was another long day with classes before tennis practice. It was very close to the tournament now, just today and tomorrow again before it all started.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko stopped her as she was on her way out of the door.

"Hai?" Hari looked back at her.

"We need to talk, Hari-chan," Rinko said.

"But, school…" Hari frowned and glanced at the door where Ryoma was now waiting.

"It will only take a moment," Rinko said with a smile.

"Okay," Hari said. "I'll catch up, Ryo-chan. You and Momo-chan should get going."

She wasn't sure why Rinko had waited until now to talk to her but Hari followed the older woman into the living room.

"I think you need to contact the Japanese Ministry of Magic, Hari-chan," Rinko said bluntly.

"Eh?" Hari blinked that had not been what she had expected.

"I have been thinking about everything since last night," Rinko admitted. "And while I am pleased you have a chance to have your friends in your life again, I am a little worried about them finding you. Especially, if you wish to remain hidden as you've said before."

"I do," Hari frowned.

"Good," Rinko said and reached out and cupped her face with a gentle smile. "Because I don't like the sound of that school of yours and I know you haven't told me everything that has happened there. I think we need to talk to your caseworker at the Japanese Ministry of Magic and see what he thinks about this."

Hari frowned but she had to admit that it was probably a good idea, and she had briefly thought about it herself last night. If Rinko also thought it was best then she would do it.

"I'll send a letter with Hedwig asking him for a meeting," Hari said and glanced at the clock. "I'll do it now very quickly before I have to run."

Rinko nodded and patted Hari's shoulder before Hari ran up the stairs and into her room. Hedwig hooted at the abrupt entrance and shot Hari a look. Hari reached for a piece of paper and quickly scribbled down a letter.

...

Dear Hisakawa Takuya

I need to talk to you about something important. Do you have time to meet me soon?

Best wishes,

Echizen Hari.

...

Deciding that this would be good enough she put the small note in an envelope and wrote his name on the front before going over to Hedwig.

"I have a letter for you, Hedwig," Hari said. "Do you think you are up for delivering it now?"

Hedwig hooted and looked at Hari with a look that clearly said of course.

"Thank you, girl," Hari said stroking her feathers before fastening the letter and watched as Hedwig soared out of the opened window and away from the house.

Hari glanced at the clock and grimaced. She was going to be late if she didn't run right now. So without any more fuss, she raced out of the room and down the stairs called a quick goodbye before she was out the door and on her way to school not slowing down at all.

Hari ran and ran and when she finally reached the school she was breathing hard and she saw Ryoma and Momoshiro just in front of her having put Momoshiro's bike in place.

"Hari-chan," Momoshiro blinked surprised seeing her. "You made it."

Hari nodded but no words would come out because she had enough trying to catch her breath. Ryoma gave her a concerned look.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Hari gasped.

"You're hopeless, Hari," Ryoma said as he started to walk again.

"Eh? You're mean, Ryo-chan," Hari complained as she followed having caught her breath again. "It's not my fault that Okaa-chan wanted to talk to me before I left for school and had me send a letter…"

"You should have just had her drive you to school since she kept you back," Ryoma arched a brow at her. "I'm sure she would have done that."

Hari blinked. She hadn't thought about that.

"Ah."

Momoshiro laughed as he watched them. It was always amusing to listen to the two of them.

...

"Did the people looking for you find you yesterday?" Sora asked curiously as she leaned against the neighbouring desk and looked at Hari who was just finding her books and getting ready for the next lesson.

Hari blinked at her and then looked over at Hira who also looked curiously at her.

"You know?" Hari asked.

"They asked us if we knew where to find you," Hira shrugged. "We weren't sure we did the right thing in pointing them in the right direction."

"Ah," Hari said. "Well, they found me and it was fine. They are friends of mine from England and I haven't seen them in months, so it was a nice surprise."

"Naruhodo," Sora said. "One of them did say it was a surprise visit."

Hari smiled but didn't comment any more.

"So, are they still here?" Hira asked.

"Yeah, I'm meeting them after practice," Hari said.

"That' nice," Sora said.

"I hope you'll introduce us some time," Hira said.

"Sure," Hari agreed. "I will do that."

Just then the teacher entered the classroom and the twins walked back to their desks and sat down and Hari smile slightly as she turned her attention back to the front of the classroom.

The lesson went slowly and Hari's attention drifted off as she looked out of the window. Would Hisakawa contact her fast or would it go a couple of days before he would contact her? What would he say about her being found? Would he be able to help at all?

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the teacher ending the lesson until Kaido was tapping her shoulder startling her out of her thoughts.

"Ka-chan, you startled me," Hari said.

"The living prose charges the living," Kaido hissed.

"Yeah, yeah," Hari said rubbing her eyes. "Is it time for practice already?"

"Already?" Momoshiro asked from behind Kaido. "The lesson wasn't that fun to forget time altogether, Hari-chan."

"Um, no, I didn't really pay attention," Hari admitted with a blush. "I got lost in thought."

Kaido looked at her with a worried look in his dark eyes.

"Un. Are you okay, Hari-chan?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Hari smiled up at him and started to pack her things. "Just a lot on my mind."

"Hm," Kaido said unconvinced but he let it go.

They made their way to the tennis courts together and Hari was not surprised to see Ron and Hermione there already. But she was surprised that they were on their own. She looked around but she saw no trace of Fred or George or the two older Weasley's.

"Hari!" Hermione grinned and waved. "Hello!"

"Hey," Hari smiled back. "You're here on your own?"

"Bill and Charlie decided to see more of the city today and the twins decided to join them," Ron said pushing his hands into his pockets trying to look casual but his eyes drifted around curiously and a little warily.

"I see," Hari said. "You want to watch me practice again?"

"If you don't mind?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not," Hari said. "I just worry you will be bored."

"It's fascinating," Hermione said and Hari arched a brow. Hermione had never been one to enjoy sports, the only reason she bothered with Quidditch was because Hari had been on the team. "And we want to see you again, we'd rather wait for you here than to just be inside the apartment. Ron was driving me crazy."

Hari laughed while Ron scowled at Hermione. Oh, she could so easily imagine that.

"I was not," Ron denied.

"You interrupted her reading again, didn't you?" Hari asked amused.

"Well, I just asked a question," Ron said.

"Try maybe 20 questions none stop," Hermione interrupted.

Hari shook her head as they started to bicker and she felt like she was back at Hogwarts again. They always bickered and she realised that she had missed it more than she thought she had.

...

Hari finished practice and collapsed on the court breathing harder and felt like her arms were going to fall off. She heard Ryoma laugh close by and aimed a kick at his general direction but she only kicked the air.

"You missed," Ryoma said.

"I got that, Captain Obvious," Hari mumbled. "I'll just owe you one."

"Not nice, Hari," Ryoma said.

"Don't care at the moment," Hari shot back and smiled slightly.

"You two are hilarious," Fuji commented dryly as he stepped up to Hari and looked down at her with a smile on his face. He held out a hand and waited until she reached for it and helped to pull her back to her feet. "You okay?"

"Of course," Hari smiled. "How come you don't look affected at all by the practice?"

"Saa," Fuji smiled.

"Urusai," Hari scowled at him.

"That's not very nice, Hari-chan," Fuji's smile widened.

Hari sighed and turned her attention toward the fence and saw Ron and Hermione watching her and Fuji with a pensive look. She sighed again.

"Want to introduce your friends to me?" Fuji asked having followed her eyes easily. "Properly, I mean."

"Me too!" Kikumaru exclaimed and suddenly Hari had the excited boy attached around her neck (again). "I want to meet them properly too!"

"And me," Momoshiro said.

Hari sighed feeling tired but she also felt happy to be able to introduce her friends to…well, her friends. It made it all seem more real somehow. But she couldn't help the small nagging sensation in deep in her gut that said it was dangerous. Dangerous to mix her two worlds, her two lives. She had a feeling that she was about to take a step that she wouldn't be able to undo and it could destroy everything she had managed to build here away from that world.

She wasn't going to ruin everything by introducing them, was she?

No. She was being silly. There was no way that it would happen.

"Come on, then," she said forcing a smile and pushing back the uneasiness she felt.

Hari briefly wondered what Hermione and Ron were thinking about seeing Hari and the rest of the team coming toward them. She was a little worried that they didn't want to meet her friends from the team.

"Hello!" Kikumaru waved at them and beamed. "Hari-chan's friends!"

Ron arched a brow while Hermione smiled at him.

"Hello," Hermione said. "How are you?"

Hari snorted at the happy bounce Kikumaru did as he looked at them. He really looked like a kid on Christmas.

"Hermione, Ron this is Kikumaru Eiji," Hari said. "He's my sempai from the team and our acrobat tennis player."

"You're too kind, Hari-chan, nya!" Kikumaru beamed. "It's nice to meet Hari-chan's friends!"

Hari laughed a little as the stunned looks on Hermione and Ron's faces. She knew very well how they felt; she too had felt a little overwhelmed by the hyper boy that was Kikumaru Eiji. But she had gotten used to him and now she really couldn't imagine him any other way.

"And this is Fuji Shusuke," Hari continued as she motioned toward Fuji who gave his eye-closed smile as greeting. "Or as I call him, Shu-chan."

"Only you call me that, Hari-chan," Fuji said glancing at her and she grinned at him. "But, hello, nice to meet you."

"You too," Hermione said and Ron nodded looking between Hari and Fuji with a considering look.

Hari continued and introduced the rest of the team and adding a small fact about them as she did and she saw the curiosity on both sides as she did.

"And this is my friends from England, Weasley Ron and Granger Hermione," Hari finished the introductions.

"Where are the other four that was with you yesterday?" Kikumaru asked.

"They went to look around the city today," Hermione explained a little stilted in Japanese. "Ron and I went to meet Hari."

"Oh," Kikumaru said.

"You're not pretending to not understand Japanese at least," Fuji smiled.

"Eh?" Hermione blinked and Ron frowned.

"Why would we do that?" Ron asked. "We worked hard to learn…"

Hari almost laughed. Hard, well, in one sense of the word, yes, but they cheated and used a spell to make it easier. So, in her mind, it had been easy for them to learn it. Well, she was grateful that they did know it because it would be so much more trouble to translate and much easier for all her friends to communicate.

"Well," Fuji said and looked at Hari who blinked at him.

"What, Shu-chan?" she asked innocently. "Are you trying to say something?"

"Hari, what did you do?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Hari huffed.

"When she first arrived she pretended that she didn't understand anything we said if it wasn't English," Kikumaru said. "It was before she started school here, though."

Hari laughed and shrugged, "It was fun."

"Of course you would think so," Ron said but he looked amused. "How long did it last?"

"Not that long," Hari sighed and gave Fuji an annoyed look. "Shu-chan ruined it."

Ron and Hermione laughed at the pout on her face while Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"So they have experienced your pranking side," Ron said with a small smirk.

"Yeah, I would say we have," Kawamura smiled kindly and Hari rolled her eyes but smiled at him all the same. It was impossible to be annoyed at Kawamura.

"And it was the fact that the girls' locker room one day mysteriously was found with the furniture fastened at the roof," Momoshiro said glancing at Hari.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look before looking at Hari who looked the perfect image of innocence.

"Why are you looking at me?" Hari asked.

"Why do you think?" Fuji smiled. "You are the perfect suspect, Hari-chan."

"I really have no idea what you're trying to say, Shu-chan," Hari said. "How could I have done that, eh? I'm not strong enough to do it."

Fuji still looked at her but the others looked thoughtfully at each other and nodded slowly.

"I guess you do have a point," Inui said. "By my data, it is improbable that you have managed it on your own. But if you had help, you would be the best suspect…"

Hari noticed Ron and Hermione blink confused at the data analyse but Hari was used to it so she just huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"To accuse me," Hari shook her head. "Honestly. No trust at all."

But her lips twitched slightly as she watched them. Ron and Hermione gave her knowing looks but remained silent.

...

"So," Ron said when they finally were on their own again and on their way to her home. "You did do that, didn't you?"

Hari glanced at him and laughed as she nodded.

"I did," she admitted. "But I used magic so I can't admit that to the others."

"Hari," Hermione sounded shocked. "You shouldn't use magic at your muggle school like that!"

"I'm not," Hari protested. "Not really. Just that one time because they were being idiots and needed the lesson."

She still was annoyed at what they had done, but not so much because of what had been done to her but more because of the fallout had affected Yoshida and Hari had become friends with the older girl even if they didn't get the chance to talk much. Honestly, Hari was glad she no longer was on that team. She was much happier with the boys'.

"But still, the statue of secrecy," Hermione said. "And…"

"Hermione," Hari interrupted her. "I know, alright? Just leave it because I don't want to hear it."

Hari hurried her steps a little more and remembered how she always felt so small when Hermione scolded her for something. And right now she really didn't want to feel like that and she didn't feel like Hermione had the right to say anything. Not now.

Ron gave Hermione a look and the girl frowned as she looked at Hari's back. Both could see the tension in her shoulders and Hermione winced. She knew she shouldn't have gone off like that…

"Hari, I'm sorry," Hermione said and Hari paused slightly.

"Fine," Hari said. "Let's forget it."

They walked the rest of the way in silence and Hari wondered how things had turned so tense again so fast. It had been going so well and she thought that the meeting between Ron and Hermione and her team had gone well. Maybe she was right, that it wasn't a good idea to mix her worlds.

"Welcome back, Hari-chan," Rinko smiled at them. "Ah, Ron-kun, Hermione-chan, you're welcome as well."

"Thank you, Echizen-sama," Hermione said politely.

"Oh, none of that," Rinko smiled. "Call me Rinko, dear. It's so many Echizen's around her and we all will be confused. We're not very big on the proper name thing."

"Okay, Rinko-san," Hermione said.

Rinko smiled and looked at Hari.

"Nanjiro is at the temple, Hari-chan," Rinko said and smiled. "So, you should be safe for a little while yet."

"Thanks, Okaa-chan," Hari said. "We'll go to my room."

Rinko nodded and walked back to her office and Hari led the way up to her room and pushed the door open. She saw Hedwig on her resting place and smiled. She was back from delivering her letter. Hari walked over to her and stroked her feathers and Hedwig opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times as she hooted softly.

"Sorry, girl," Hari said. "Didn't mean to wake you. Did he give you a reply?"

Hedwig nodded (in a way only she could do and Hari still marvelled at it) toward the desk and she saw an envelope with her name on it.

"Thank you, Hedwig," Hari stroked her feathers one more time before she walked over to the desk and grabbed the letter. She glanced at the door and saw Ron and Hermione lingering in the doorway unsurely. "Come in. You don't need to stand there, you know."

They stepped into the room and Ron closed the door behind them. Hari eyed it for a moment before she shrugged and sat down at the bed and watched her two friends move around her room. She watched Hermione stopping in front of Hedwig and cooed at her. Hedwig puffed out her chest and looked important and took in the attention she got.

"Nice room," Ron said looking around.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "It is."

Hermione walked over to her desk and Hari saw her looking over her books lying on the desk and glance toward the bookshelf on the wall. A small frown on her face.

"Hari?"

"Yeah?"

"I… Can I ask you something?" Hermione asked.

Hari arched a brow. "Since when do you ask permission to ask a question?"

Hermione smiled slightly while Ron snorted as he sat down at the office chair by the desk.

"I was just wondering what you were doing about your magical education," Hermione asked looking at Hari. "I can't really see any of your books here. And you haven't talked about it at all, just your muggle school."

Hari just looked at her for a moment before she sighed. She knew the question would come eventually, but she had hoped that it wouldn't have been brought up already.

"I am focusing on my muggle education right now," Hari finally answered. "I am trying to do some magic in between but…." She shrugged.

"What?" Hermione asked. "Hari! You can't ignore your magical education like that! You have to learn to control your magic and continue with your education! What about your future? What about the OWLs? Your education is important and you really do need to finish it! You can't just ignore it, Hari!"

Hari sighed and pushed herself up from the bed and looked back at Hermione.

"I don't want to have anything to do with magic anymore," she said. "I really…don't."

Hermione gaped at her and Hari fisted her hands.

"Hari Potter! You need to think things through! You can't do this!" Hermione exclaimed. "Are you just giving up? Giving up on who you are?"

"I can't do what exactly?" Hari snapped back at her. "I can't have a normal life with friends and family? I can't be just a girl who enjoys playing tennis and being with her friends? I can't be just Hari?"

Hermione blinked looking a little stunned while Ron looked between the two of them but didn't say anything.

"That's not what I meant, Hari," Hermione said quietly. "You know that."

Hari breathed harder and looked away as she felt the anger build up inside of her and she knew that all the anger she felt wasn't really directed at Hermione and it would be unfair to take it out on her.

"I just meant that you can't run away for your magic," Hermione said as she moved closer to Hari and Hari didn't move away. "Your magic is still inside of you and it will create trouble if you don't get it trained properly."

"Hagrid stopped using magic when he was a second year," Hari pointed out. "And he was fine."

"Hagrid's case is different from yours, Hari," Hermione said. "You are magically stronger, and just last summer you had a burst of accidental magic. It proves that your core is stronger than most, and you need to get it trained. And even if it won't create trouble for you in that way, you will always be a witch, Hari."

Hari frowned and suddenly Hermione pulled her into a hug and Hari tensed for a moment before she leaned into the hug and hugged the other girl back. Tightly. She felt like her inside was in a war against itself as she was thinking about what Hermione was saying.

She didn't want to do magic. Every time she thought about it she got flashes to Hogwarts and everything she wanted to forget, that's why it was so much easier to just ignore it and focus on her new life. The life she was working so hard to build up.

"I don't know what to do, Hermione," Hari admitted softly. "I can't..."

Hermione looked over at Ron who was frowning and looked in deep thought but he was also looking worried and torn about something. She really had no idea what he was thinking about. She had hoped that he knew what to say to help Hari, but he seemed to be at a loss as well.

"We'll figure it out, Hari," Hermione said as she pulled back. "We'll help you."

Hari sighed but she nodded. She knew she needed it, but it didn't mean that she had to like it.

Suddenly the door was flung opened and a panting Nanjiro stood there looking at them with wide wild eyes as he looked around and his eyes soon zeroing in on Ron who blinked.

"Boy in the room!" Nanjiro exclaimed. "There's a boy in your room!"

Hari pulled away from Hermione who looked a little shocked while Hari sighed.

"Otou-chan," she said.

"Hari-chan, there' a boy in your room," he said.

"I know," Hari rolled her eyes. "There's a girl in my room too."

"That's…"

"And Ryo-chan and Ryoga-nii are in my room all the time as well," Hari continued.

"That's…"

"And so are you," Hari pressed on.

"That's…"

"That's what?" Hari asked. "You're being ridiculous, Otou-chan."

"That's different! They are your brothers!" Nanjiro whined. "That boy…that boy isn't! He's…the enemy!"

The last part was added in what could only be described as a pathetic whine. Hari glanced at Ron and Hermione and almost laughed because they looked a good mix of shocked and surprised and confused. It made an interesting mix and something inside of Hari just relaxed and she felt a laugh build up and threaten to escape.

...

...

AN: What do you think? XD

So sorry for the delayed wait! I had planned on having this out a short time after the last chapter because I knew what I wanted with this one. But, I kept getting pulled away by real life, work and other things that were unavoidable and I didn't get a chance to sit down and actually write for any period of time for days. Annoying. But, then I struggled a little with how I wanted the conversation between Hari and Ron and Hermione to go. I didn't want it to be just repeating what has happened in the story up until now, but at the same time, I wanted to show a few reactions to some of it. I hope I managed to get a good enough middle ground.

And as always; thank you so much for reading and supporting the story! XD Happy Easter if you celebrate the holiday! :)

Japanese words used:
Moshimoshi - Hello
Hai - Yes
Naruhodo - I see
Saa - Filler
Urusai - Annoying
Sempai - Upperclassman
Okaa-chan - Mum
Otou-chan - Dad