Chapter 18
Gohan made it to the Great Hall in record time. The only thought racing through his mind was to get to the Lookout and fast. Everything that had happened to his Professor that day including the rambling speech which had included his father's name had set him on edge and he couldn't help but think that what had happened to his professor had something to do with him. Exiting through the front doors he had not long ago carried his unconscious and bleeding professor through, Gohan made a quick trek to the forest before immediately lifting into the air and powering up in a fast flight to the Lookout.
Gohan quickly set down on the floor of Korin's Tower to the immediate surprise of a lounging Yajirobe.
"What the hell brings you here in a huge whirl of energy kid!" Yajirobe exclaimed standing up from the toppled position he found himself blown into at Gohan's swift arrival.
"Oh quiet, welcome Gohan, always nice to see you." Korin interrupted offering Gohan his usual calm smile.
"Hello Master Korin, sorry about my sudden arrival but I need help and fast." Gohan replied with a bow towards the immortal cat and a wave at a still fuming Yajirobe.
"You're just like your father kid, always rushing about and asking for things." Yajirobe muttered to himself before joining them.
"You may always come here to ask for help Gohan, we owe both you and your father our lives afterall." Korin replied, giving Yajirobe a sidelong glance while tapping his staff on the stones.
"Thanks Korin. I just wanted to see if maybe a Senzu Bean could help heal my professor at school." Gohan asked, eyes shining with hope.
"Sure young man. Although from my knowledge of the magical world, there are plenty of potions and spells that work almost as well as a Senzu Bean, are you sure that he needs one?" Korin asked.
"Yes the healer at school already fixed all of his physical wounds but he still is unconscious and they don't know what's wrong with him. I found him today surrounded by dark sickly magical energy that I've never felt before. He also muttered strange things about orders and orbs and something about my dad before he passed out. I just thought maybe a Senzu Bean would finish the healing, after all they've brought me back from almost certain death plenty of times. And I just wanted to help because I think Professor Longbottom got hurt because of something to do with me, or this world." Gohan finished his rambling, all of the emotions from the day started to surface with the tremble of his voice. A long silence filled the air between the motley group. Korin nodded to himself in thought gazing out into the blue sky before replying.
"Gohan, I'm afraid I don't believe a Senzu Bean can help your Professor from what you have just told me. After all they only heal physical wounds, not terminal or mental illness. I'm sorry son." Korin placed a paw on Gohan's forearm. Gohan turned his face down in dismay, his excitement about the possibility of the Senzu Bean healing Professor Longbottom wiped away.
His thoughts began racing again about possible solutions other than the Senzu Beans. His first thoughts turned towards the Dragon Balls, but they were still dormant so that wasn't a possibility. Gohan's thoughts then shifted away from the magical solutions, maybe Bulma would have an idea? After all she was pretty much the smartest person in the world and Gohan was pretty sure that counted the wizard world as well. Realizing that was probably his next best course of action, Gohan had made up his mind to travel to Capsule Corp., however the presence of two more individuals in the tower halted his departure.
"Gohan, I would like to try and help Professor Longbottom if I may." A soft spoken voice cut through Gohan's inner turmoil. Gohan looked up from his shoes into the young guardian's hopeful eyes.
"But don't you just heal physical injuries as well Dende?" Gohan asked.
"Do not compare Dende's abilities to a Senzu Bean Gohan." The reprimanding voice of Gohan's old master joined the conversation, causing the boy to straighten out of habit.
"I'm sorry Dende, I didn't mean it like that." Gohan apologized to his friend not meaning to have offended his abilities.
"It's okay Gohan, I've never really had to use my healing abilities beyond physical maladies around you before. However the Dragon Clan's magic extends further beyond that. I can't promise that I will be able to succeed but I wish to try. I'm afraid your Professor has stumbled into problems far beyond what he was meant to. I feel at fault as to what happened because I didn't immediately put his inquisition into Doctor Gero's involvement in the magic world to a stop." Dende looked as troubled as Gohan felt at that moment, the young Guardian clearly had the same reservations about the cause of the wizard's current injured state.
"That's great Dende, I'm sure you can help!" Gohan said, once again feeling as hopeful as he had been a few minutes ago when he had arrived at the tower.
"I will accompany you as well, Dende. The knowledge I have from Kami of the magical world may be useful." Piccolo glanced down at both his young students. "I too am wary about what has happened to this Professor who started meddling in the affairs between the wizard Grindelwald and Doctor Gero. The circumstances don't seem to be coincidental."
"Right, well we should hurry back." Gohan exclaimed, glad he would not only have Dende to help but Piccolo as well. "Thanks Korin!" Gohan waved before jumping off the platform back into the air surrounding the tower followed by Dende and Piccolo.
"Didn't do anything kid, but good luck, I hope Dende can heal your friend." Korin waved back with a laugh as he watched the young boy fly away flanked by the two Namekians. "Like father, like son."
Gohan led the way back to Hogwarts at a pace he knew Dende wouldn't have trouble keeping up with. When the trio neared the edge of the forest Gohan lowered in altitude landing on the brown grass near the edge of the forest. A sudden fear of bringing not only one green alien into the castle but two flashed through Gohan's mind but he quickly cleared his head of this thought. He knew that what was most important right now was helping Professor Longbottom, and Dende was the only one who might be able to help. If either of the other two held any similar reservations neither mentioned it as they followed Gohan towards the entrance of the castle.
Gohan habitually checked his watch just before they reached the large doors. Gohan winced, normally at this time he would be sitting in Transfiguration class, Professor Mutatío was probably the last teacher he would want to skip classes for but there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides it was a good thing classes were still in session. It would be much easier to traverse the castle with his Namekian friends without causing too much of a commotion.
Gohan didn't know if he was just lucky or perhaps it was due to traveling with Earth's Guardian, but the small group didn't encounter one soul on their way to the Hospital Wing. Gohan opened the same door he had left less than an hour ago with Albus into the waiting room of the ward. All three newcomers were quickly greeted by a commotion of voices echoing from within the ward's wide open doorway.
Gohan was surprised by the open door, but his attention was soon drawn to the source of the noise. The conversation was coming from a group of five adults conversing around an open bed opposite his professor who was still lying in the same bed Gohan had deposited him on earlier. Gohan recognized Headmistress McGonagall as well as Madame Pomfrey who were standing at the foot of the bed, backs facing the door. They were joined by a gray haired man whose attention was divided between the women talking and looking at Professor Longbottom's bed. On the bed a blonde woman sat facing Gohan but her head was down in conversation with a black haired man whose head was turned towards the woman in what sounded like a quieter conversation.
Gohan saw the woman nod a few times and the man pat her on the shoulder, before the woman looked up and immediately locked eyes with Gohan. Gohan noticed the woman's tear stained and splotchy cheeks and lowered his eye contact, suddenly feeling awkward and intrusive. Gohan noticed the room quickly quieted and looked back up, his shy gaze now met with confused expressions from the rest of the room's occupants.
There was a long pause as the groups assessed one another, and Gohan quickly realized the man on the bed was Mr. Potter, his messy black hair should have tipped him off sooner due to its resemblance to his son. The adults all wore identical wide eyed expressions, except for McGonagall whose usual stoic expression hadn't changed. Gohan soon noticed their gazes were not focused on him, rather his two guests. As if his realization broke the tension the gray haired man pushed toward the doorway where the newcomers had stopped with almost a skip in his step.
"Oh my, what happened here?" The unfamiliar man asked, Gohan saw his eyes trailing up the figures of both Dende and Piccolo in excited shock. Gohan turned to look at his two friends, Piccolo looked annoyed while Dende looked amusedly perplexed.
"I know this is your ward Poppy, but I have never seen such a creature transfiguration in all my years at St. Mungo's. May I perform the examination?" The man continued, now starting to circle around Gohan and his friends. "
"Quiet wizard, this is how we always look." Piccolo scoffed, baring his fangs slightly to shut the man up. Said man stopped his circling stumbling backwards in surprise.
"Mr. Son, what are you doing back here, and who are these?" McGonagall now rounded on the newcomers pushing past the retreating baffled man. The Headmistress fixed a serious gaze upon her first year student.
"Professor, these are my friends Piccolo and Dende. Dende believes he may be able to heal the rest of Professor Longbottom's injuries." Gohan replied, anxiety creeping into his chest as he focused on the Headmistress' pursed lips which he knew spelled trouble.
"That is kind, but...people...who are not students at Hogwarts cannot just burst into the Hospital Wing. This is highly against the rules Mr. Son, and I need not remind you, you are also out of class." McGonagall chastised but Gohan wouldn't be put down that easily when he wanted to help.
"But Professor, I heard earlier that you don't know what's wrong with him," Gohan stubbornly started to explain but was cut off by McGonagall.
"I know Professor Longbottom has allowed you certain liberties around the castle and grounds but this is quite unacceptable Mr. Son."
"QUIET!" Piccolo interrupted with an air of authority rivaling the Headmistress. "The Guardian of Earth has not volunteered to help heal your Professor just to stand around while you argue about the trivialities of your school rules."
Once again all the adults' eyes widened in shocked silence, this time including McGonagall's. Gohan cringed while looking between the Headmistress and Piccolo thinking about all the trouble he was going to be in at the conclusion of this saga.
"Dende see what you can do for the wizard." Piccolo commanded, which earned a bashful look of thanks from Dende. The young guardian started to make his way towards the prone figure on the bed. This brought Madame Pomfrey out of her own surprised stupor and she rushed towards the hospital bed, sliding in front of the small Namekian.
"This is my patient, and he is in a delicate condition. I will not allow anyone to poke around causing him further harm, even an assistant to the Guardian of Earth." Pomfrey adjusted her gaze to glare at Piccolo with that last statement. Dende stumbled backwards in surprise, unused to his help not being welcomed.
"I will not cause any further damage to him, I promise. My magic is incapable of causing harm, only healing, please allow me to help this man, he has contributed to our shared knowledge more than you know." Dende spoke, surprising the room with his gentle yet assertive voice. It was a stark contrast to the gruff demanding tone of Piccolo and it seemed to lower the increasing tension of the room. Gohan noticed Mr. Potter swivel his head between Dende and Piccolo, his look of confusion turning to comprehension.
"You're the one Neville has been corresponding with from the East District!" Mr. Potter loudly announced to the room, with a nod. "He was over the moon to actually receive correspondence back from the Guardian, he wouldn't stop gushing about it at our holiday party."
"YOU! You're the Piccolo my husband met!" The blonde woman shot up from her seat on the bed finally connecting the dots as well. "He left out...a lot of details..." She shook her head and rolled her eyes with a smile looking the tall Namekian up and down before turning to look back at her husband's bed. "...foolish bloke."
Gohan felt his heart sink with the sudden realization that the woman was Professor Longbottom's wife, he knew she had to be the most worried out of everyone in the room. Mrs. Longbottom started to approach the front of the ward where he was still standing with Piccolo. As she got closer Gohan felt his chest tighten, the guilt over the whole situation swirling anxiously in his chest.
"If one of you can help Neville, please do." She said, turning between Dende and Piccolo with a pleading look. Her announcement however received harsh looks from the other adults in the room besides Mr. Potter who had nodded along with the woman's request. Mrs. Longbottom seemed to notice as well and turned and walked back to the Headmistress looking her in the eye despite the older woman's height advantage.
"Neville has always had a kind heart but he is also a good judge of character. He trusts and respects these beings from the East District more than I have seen him trust anyone since the war. I believe they are here to help." She firmly spoke, still staring McGonagall in the eye before turning towards Madame Pomfrey with the same firm expression.
"I agree with Hannah." Mr. Potter added in before turning his gaze from the witches to look at Gohan who had been largely ignored by the group since being scolded by McGonagall. Gohan gulped feeling the tension in his chest return being stared down by his friend's father. Despite how seemingly normal the man had been upon their first meeting those many months ago, Gohan now knew that Harry Potter was a force to be reckoned with in the wizarding world. Everything about this situation was much worse than Gohan had been expecting. He realized he had been naive to expect that the wizards and witches would accept the Guardian's help without question. Gohan was therefore surprised to see the man's green eyes lighten and a smile form.
"Besides, Gohan is Albus' best friend and I trust my son's judgment. Any friend of his is a friend of ours." Mr. Potter nodded towards Gohan who blushed at the praise. He shifted his gaze to Piccolo whose serious expression lightened for a moment looking at his young student.
"That's the wisest thing I've heard here yet." Piccolo smirked. The group turned their attention back to the Matron and Dende, who was still standing back out of respect for the healer.
"Since Mrs. Longbottom has expressed her desire for alternate treatment, I will not stand in your way." Madam Pomfrey conceded, moving out of Dende's way towards the bed. Dende nodded, pleased with the resolution and glanced back at Piccolo who returned a nod as well. The guardian approached the side of the bed, the height of the bed perfect for his short stature. Dende hovered his hands, one covering Neville's head while the other hovered over his heart.
Dende closed his eyes in concentration while the rest of the room's occupants besides Piccolo who remained near the door slowly crept closer to observe what was happening. Gohan had seen Dende heal his friends many times, but the energy surrounding his friend was unlike anything he had felt before. Gohan noticed a spark form between Dende's antennae while the strange magical energy grew around both him and the professor. It didn't feel quite the same as the sickly energy that emanated from the professor that afternoon, but it was close enough that Gohan was startled by its presence. Gohan looked back towards Piccolo who nodded sensing Gohan's question assuring him that what was happening was okay.
The unease that Gohan felt at the back of his mind lingered but he turned his attention back to Dende whose energy was now glowing around the unconscious man. It was very quiet but Gohan could hear Dende mumble some words which sounded similar to the Namekian language he had heard his friend speak when summoning Porunga those many years ago. The sparking that had originated at Dende's antennae started to spread down the guardian's left arm towards the hand hovering above Neville's head until it crossed the small chasm joining up with the glowing aura of energy around the man's face.
All of a sudden a gray cloud of energy spit out from the point between Dende's hand and Neville's forehead and pushed Dende to the floor. Gohan instinctually rushed forward to his friend, his senses howling at the presence of the familiar sickly magical energy from earlier that afternoon. Taking a defensive stance in front of Dende he looked at the glowing gray mist which now ominously hovered above Neville. As if reacting to Gohan's own defense, the cloud seemed to crackle and turn towards the young warrior, sparking tendrils forming armlike appendages. Gohan raised his own energy in response, focusing on the growing mass moving towards him from the bed.
As fast as lightning one of the black arms shot forward at Gohan who quickly dodged before the second fist flew at him from the other side. Gohan raised his forearms to block the oncoming fist but just as the first was nearing contact, it burst into mist as it came into contact with Gohan's energy. Gohan could swear he heard the cloud growl as it swirled back towards the bed regrouping.
Before Gohan could think of his next move a bright red flame of magical energy flew past him and hit the swirling tempest before wrapping its own glowing tendrils around the cloud. As suddenly as the cloud had appeared it was gone, Gohan's senses were still pounding in search of the sickly feeling energy, but it was now completely absent from the room. Staying in a defensive position, Gohan glanced behind him to see that Dende was sitting up, wide eyed but unhurt. Then looking directly to his left, he was met with the wand arm of Harry Potter pointing towards where the energy had just been. Mr. Potter's face was furled in a frown and the man was clearly assessing the situation as well. As if sensing the boy's eyes on him Mr. Potter looked down at Gohan, a mixture of relief and apprehension quickly crossing his eyes before he gave the boy a nod and pocketed his wand back into his robes.
"You alright there Gohan." Mr. Potter said more as a statement than a question.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Gohan replied after a pause.
"What were you thinking there young man, jumping in front of dark magic in a room full of capable adult wizards!" Madame Pomfrey said, quickly depositing herself between Gohan and Mr. Potter, running her wand over the boy checking for injuries.
"I didn't think…I just reacted when I saw Dende fall ma'am. I'm really fine, is Professor Longbottom okay?" Gohan replied not used to being chastised for trying to help and remembering the real reason why that had just happened. Dende had gotten back up to his feet and had already made his way back to Nevill's bed. The atmosphere in the room quickly changed back to concern for the professor despite lingering apprehensive glances directed towards the youngest wizard.
Dende once again placed his hands in the same spots they were occupying moments ago, a familiar small glow emitting from the guardian. The energy soon receded from around the man and Dende opened his eyes, obvious concern amidst the dark pupils. Dende removed his hands from Neville and turned around to look at the rest of the silent group. Gohan noticed Dende's eyes glance around before focusing on the figure of Piccolo at the back of the room before turning his eyes back down in thought.
"Well, did it work?" Mrs. Longbottom quietly asked, breaking the silence of the room. Her bottom lip beginning to tremble at the lack of movement from her husband's bed. Dende looked up at the woman, and offered her a small nod.
"I think so. I was able to finish healing the trauma that was caused. But…" Dende trailed off before again looking toward the back of the room where Piccolo was standing addressing the older Namekian directly. "I have never felt such horrible magic residue inside of a human. What you saw try to attack Gohan and I was that magic." This admission shocked the entire room who watched the exchange. Mrs. Longbottom was about to jump up in her husband's defense, but was stopped by Mr. Potter's arm indicating for Dende to finish talking.
"Thankfully Mr. Potter managed to finish banishing the energy I found which had physically manifested after I had sequestered it for removal. I cannot even conceive how such otherworldly energy could possibly reside inside a mere human." Dende shook his head in thought.
"Will he...will he be okay?" Mrs. Longbottom choked out, obviously worried for her husband.
"He will be." A weak voice joined the conversation. The occupants again turned their attention towards the bed where Professor Longbottom was slowly trying to prop himself into a sitting position. At his movement Madame Pomfrey glided towards his side quickly followed by a sobbing Mrs. Longbottom.
"Easy there Mr. Longbottom." Pomfrey helped plump a pillow and placed it behind the man's head who was then promptly pulled into a fierce but gentle hug from his sobbing wife.
"I thought I had lost you, the way they were talking before they showed up, oh it was horrible!" Hannah cried into her husband's chest, Neville in turn looked around the room in confusion at the odd assortment of individuals. Gohan had crept towards the back of the room near Piccolo feeling out of place amongst the adults in the room. He of course was thrilled that Dende's healing and Mr. Potter's magic had worked but what he had said about what he found lingering within the wizard was disturbing. Dende soon joined Gohan and Piccolo as well, looking pleased that he was able to help.
"What happened? I feel like I was run over by the Hogwarts Express." Neville asked with a chuckle, quickly grasping his hand around his midsection at this movement. Professor McGonagall who had been unnaturally quiet during the whole ordeal after trying and failing to scold Gohan spoke up.
"You were found convulsing out on the lawn this afternoon and were brought here with severe misapparation injuries. You were placed into a magical coma when you were unresponsive without a clear diagnosis. Until a few moments ago, we had no answers or treatment ideas." McGonagall clearly explained before turning her stern face towards the back corner of the room. Gohan shrunk in on himself, sure that now that Professor Longbottom was healed the Headmistress would see it fit to punish him for disobeying the rules. Perhaps he would be heading back home with Piccolo and Dende because he was going to be expelled for directly disobeying the Headmistress.
"We had no hope for your recovery until Mr. Son, who was also the one to find you this afternoon, returned with the Guardian of Earth." McGonagall paused, watching as Neville's mouth fell open and his eyes widened looking to the corner where his student was flanked by two green figures, the tall intimidating one familiar but the small one new.
"You were healed by the Guardian's unique magic once we allowed him to use it." McGonagall uncharacteristically chuckled to herself before turning her gaze towards Gohan. "I apologize for my earlier outburst Mr. Son, sometimes special circumstances must be evaluated separately, and for that I must thank you again for your quick thinking towards your unique background." Gohan's jaw dropped a little at being apologized to by the Headmistress. "But I am concerned about your complete disregard for your own safety. We will be having a longer chat about that soon Mr. Son." Gohan nodded, still confounded.
"Thank you Guardian, I am humbled you came here to heal me." Neville attempted a small bow from his sitting position, his recently healed midsection however was having none of this bending and twisting.
"Oh, I didn't even think, I can speed the healing of your injuries as well." Dende shuffled toward the bed again before being stopped by Neville.
"I'm quite alright, you've already done far more than I deserve, and I appreciate it." Dende stepped back, respecting the wizard's wishes. The young guardian was still relatively new to interacting with the regular human population and didn't wish to make the wizard uncomfortable.
"I must ask, do you remember anything about your arrival on the grounds this afternoon?" McGonagall asked, curious now that the main victim of the mystery was healed. Neville frowned in thought, the room remained silent.
"The last thing I actually remember was being in the waiting room for my meeting at Nurmengard. What day is it?" Neville squinted back up at his audience.
"It's the 7th, the new term started yesterday, when you were a no-show McGonagall contacted me to begin an investigation. Hannah had already contacted the office when you didn't return on your international portkey on the 4th." Mr. Potter explained, and Gohan now realized why he was there. Mr. Potter was Head of the Auror department which Albus had explained was the wizard police force. Hearing the inside scoop Gohan was glad that he wasn't the only one concerned about his professor's absence after all.
"From our initial investigation, you were seen leaving Nurmengard the afternoon of the 2nd by the staff we interviewed but according to them you did not return to your room at the Inn that evening. Obviously there is a lot of missing information, I'm just glad you're here, and now relatively unharmed." Mr. Potter chuckled, giving his friend a smile. "I'll let you get some rest before I come back for your statement, how does tomorrow for tea sound?"
"That works for me Harry, thanks." Neville returned his friends' smile.
"Well, now that Mr. Longbottom seems to be adequately healed, I should be heading out and back to work. Until next time Poppy." The gray haired man Gohan now assumed was also some sort of healer, interrupted with a wave and a tip of his hat. Having already collected his cloak, the man passed close by Gohan's group near the ward's entrance.
"Interesting work you did there. I do hope we can expect a thorough writeup of your technique soon." The man nodded at Dende with a quizzical look, before quickly turning to look at Piccolo as well. "Are you certain there is no treatment I can help you both with, I specialize in untreatable maladies?" The man dared to ask, receiving a growl from Piccolo which quickly spurred him out the door saving a baffled Dende from having to respond.
Gohan fidgeted with his sleeve in the corner near Piccolo and Dende as he watched the rest of the adults still in the room. Professor Longbottom was being attended to by his now smiling wife while Mr. Potter gathered his cloak from the empty hospital bed next to the patient while nodding along and laughing at a joke shared between the three adults. Gohan noticed Professor McGonagall speaking quietly to Madame Pomfrey before the Headmistress turned her gaze to Gohan who averted his glance before looking back up to see McGonagall swiftly crossing the room before stopping in front of her young student and his friends.
"We are very indebted to your help today." McGonagall addressed the two Namekians, a small upturn of her lips the only crack in her serious demeanor. "I know Professor Longbottom has been in correspondence with you, Guardian, and I believe unfortunately we will have much more investigating to do to figure out what kind of magic we witnessed here today. If we can possibly continue to impose upon your help as we try and discover what happened to him, we would be immensely grateful."
"We would be glad to be of any assistance. I don't know how much Professor Longbottom has shared of his and our correspondence, but what we have discovered so far is troubling. We will let you know if we discover anything on our end as well." Dende nodded at the Headmistress and Piccolo offered a grunt in affirmation as well.
"Thank you." McGonagall nodded back, before turning her attention to Gohan. "Mr. Son, I trust that you understand that since this investigation with Professor Longbottom is ongoing, it is important that this remains quiet around the school. Until we know more about what happened, it would be best that rumors and gossip don't make our task any harder than it already is. That being said, thank you again for your quick thinking today. I must say I am proud you are a part of my old house." McGonagall said with an upturn of her lips and a small wink. Gohan blushed at the praise. "However, don't forget, we will be having a private discussion about certain actions later."
"Yes Professor." Gohan nodded.
"Good, now Mr. Son, please kindly show our guests out to give Professor Longbottom some well deserved rest." McGonagall gave the odd group a nod before turning back around to resume her conversation with Madame Pomfrey. Gohan, now really feeling awkward knowing they needed to leave, gave a small wave at the group of adults which Dende mimicked before retreating from the room with Piccolo and Dende in tow closing the door to the ward behind them as they left.
Opening the Great Hall door, Gohan let out a deep breath of tension he had been carrying around since he had first found Professor Longbottom that afternoon. He was beyond glad that Dende had been able to help him but there was still so much wrong with what happened that afternoon that Gohan couldn't feel entirely relieved.
"Thanks for coming guys." Gohan turned to Piccolo and Dende with a lighter smile.
"I don't like what I saw in there kid. I don't know what you've got yourself into, but watch your back alright." Piccolo said grimly.
"Piccolo's right. I know you're strong but please be careful Gohan, we don't know what we're dealing with here yet." Dende added, grabbing Gohan's right hand in a tight squeeze.
"I'll come by on Saturday like usual, okay?" Gohan asked, not liking the serious tone from his friends. Piccolo nodded before swiftly turning towards the forest and lifting into the air. Dende offered Gohan a goodbye and a smile, before quickly following the billowing form of Piccolo's cape.
Gohan watched his friends until he could no longer see their diminishing forms in the rapidly darkening sky. He stayed outside for a few more minutes thinking about the day and what both Piccolo and Dende said before leaving. He knew they knew he was the strongest person on the planet so whatever that dark magical cloud was must have disturbed them just as much as it did him. Gohan knew he wouldn't soon forget the feeling of fighting that sickly magical energy either.
With another deep breath Gohan turned back inside the Great Hall and looked at his watch. The last classes of the day would be letting out soon and Gohan realized with a groan he would have to figure out what to do about the classes he missed today. His mind preoccupied with thoughts of Mutatío's punishment for missing class, Gohan didn't notice another figure in the empty hall slide into the shadows of a suit of armor as he walked past back towards the staircase and the Gryffindor common room.
Believe it or not, here's a new chapter! Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think! :)