CHAPTER SEVEN: Break Down the Walls, You've Got to Cut Your Ties, There's Pain, Pain Burning In Your Eyes
Disclaimer: No.
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First of all, I'm sorry that this took so long to get out.
Nextly, I've got a question. It might seem dumb, but bear with me. Do you think it would be better to put the review responses at the beginning, before the chapter, or stick them after. Personally, I prefer the way I do it now, but I'm just curious.
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OMG-just-read-harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince-squee-SQUEE!-OMG-SNAPE!
No, seriously. It was SO much better than Order of the Phoenix. OotP sucked llama balls.
Scary
Nightcrawlers
Advocating
Pessimistic
Entities
OMGSNAPESNAPESNAPE! (squee)
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REVIEWS:
MarshmellowDragon: Yep, I wanted a language that wasn't in Japanese and that I could vaguely understand. I'm good at Spanish and since Spanish is like Italian, Italian it is! And yes, yes it was. (grin) I'm glad you find my characterization accurate, I was rather worried about it.
New Dye: Yo! I know it was cold, but neither of them were really in the best of moods at the time, Gohan was being pissy, and so yeah. Yay, more questions! I love it!
1) It'll be a team effort, but Gohan will find out first. He is the one who's been caring for him, you know.
2) Of course! They're thirteen (Gohan's twelve), fights happen. That wasn't as bad as what Ron has done over the years, and what can we say, they're boys.
3) Eventually, I'm working on that. It'll be a while, though, because Siri-san isn't very trusting, and with good reason.
4) I'm really not sure. How long do you think would be good?
5) Not in this part, maybe in part four though.
6) Yes, actually, I am.
7) When he gets enough exercise to calm down. See, since he's a saiyan (a very easily wound up saiyan with way too much power on his hands) he has a lot of energy, and normally he'll fight at least once a day with Vegeta to burn it off. It's a saiyan thing. I'll get him someone to fight with on a regular basis, though. Since he hasn't told anyone about what he is, no one knows what's going on, so they think he's being bitchy on purpose.
I'm so glad that you liked the prank! I had fun writing it!
See, my original problem with this story was this. I already have the first twelve chapters (rough draft) typed out. But when I got ready to edit, I discovered one thing. I had originally sorted Gohan into Gryffindor with an entirely different story for our Drakey-boy, but then I decided that I didn't like it and sorted him into Slytherin. That put me into a situation in which I had to completely dismantle the story and change everything around.
Golden Warrior12: I'm so glad that you like it! (giggles at part 2 of story) That kind of makes me happy. You know, I'm kind of sad about something. When I wrote the original Partners and posted it, I had a whole bunch of people who reviewed every single chapter, then didn't follow into the other parts, I'm glad that I have people who do, though. (smile)
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"Are you okay?" Draco inquired the next morning as he sat up to see Gohan sitting on his bed, staring intently out the window, "You've been staring out that window for the last fifteen minutes. Go outside."
"I don't need to go outside. I need someone to fight with!" The hybrid growled, getting up and starting to pace. Draco quirked an eyebrow.
"It seems to me, sweetheart, that you do plenty of that already."
"Not arguing! Fighting! As in, punch punch, kick kick, that sort of thing. This is driving me crazy!" Gohan sighed and reluctantly pulled on a pair of jeans and a skintight sleeveless shirt. Pikachu leapt to his head while Kira and Aoi sat, worried at his sides.
"Well, why don't you go talk to Professor Snape?"
"Snape-sensei? Why?"
"He's our head of house, I'm sure he could arrange something." Draco commented, "It's his job."
"You sure?"
"Of course," his friend answered, "What sort of Malfoy would I be if I wasn't?"
Gohan shrugged.
"A bad one, I assume?"
"Duh! Slytherin Code!"
Laughing, Gohan turned around and embraced a very startled Draco.
"Thank you. I'll go and take your advice, and then I'll try to talk to Leon again." That said, he walked out of the room, and Draco sighed angstily as Hikaru crawled into his lap.
"Hey, what's up, little lizard?"
You should fight with Daddy. She told him indignantly, and he laughed. Draco had been starting to understand little Hikaru just a few weeks ago and had kept it to himself, asking Hikaru to do the same.
"No, I really don't think I should."
Why not?
"Are you kidding, little one? He'd kick my ass!"
Ass? Daddy told me that was a bad word, even though he says it all the time.
"Well then, don't tell him I said it."
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The halls were empty as Gohan trekked through them. The pictures watched him mildly and every so often one of them would wave at him, if they were familiar. Eventually, he came to the door he recognized as the entrance to Severus' office and knocked on it sharply, stepping back politely when it was opened.
"Son? What are you doing here?" Severus asked, and Gohan bowed deeply in respect, startling his teacher.
"Well, first of all, thank you for dealing with me last night. Secondly, I was wondering if you could arrange someone or something for me to fight with. You know what I am, I can't burn off all this energy without an outlet for it, and quite frankly, I'm getting to be rather unbearable." Gohan said matter-of-factly, and Severus blinked, before opening the door wider.
"Come on in."
The hybrid obliged him and entered. Whatever he had been expecting, this wasn't it. The room was large and comfortably furnished, all dark wood and two large, squishy looking leather chairs. Severus gestured for him to sit and he did, pleased to note that the chair was as soft as it looked. The teacher tool the chair behind the desk and leaned back, folding his hands.
"Before we start, would you like anything? Tea, coffee, maybe? I have a feeling that this will take a while."
"Hot chocolate, if I would be permitted, sir." Gohan said quietly and smiled when two cups suddenly materialized on the desk, soft tendrils of steam, billowing up from the tops. After taking a sip, he nodded. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome. Now, about your energy issues…"
"Right," the boy began, "It's hard for me to function the way I'm going now. If I can't fight, then I at least need several days of the week to keep moving nonstop. I personally think that a daily fight would be more effective."
Severus mused for a few minutes, absently sipping from his mug.
"I see your point, I do indeed."
"Is there anything at all that you can do?"
"I believe that there might be." the teacher said quietly, "I know of a spell that might be of assistance to you, it was actually developed several centuries ago in war times, when troops were being trained. It was near impossible to really tell what skill level someone was at back then, so they developed this. It's a simple spell that you cast on yourself once, just once, and then your power level will be registered with a potion. You then put one single drop of the potion on a dummy or something of that nature, and it will begin to attack according to your skill level or what you need or feel up to at the moment. The spell needs to be renewed though, at every usage, because you want a perfectly accurate reading. It's fairly simple, I can show you how to do both the spell and the potion right now, if you want to."
Throughout the entirety of the man's speech, Gohan had sat there, wide-eyed for a few seconds, before leaping to his feet.
"Really?" he exclaimed, "That would be awesome!" Severus snorted slightly, quite possibly in amusement, before getting to his feet.
"Then lets get started," he began, and started pulling out several things out of his cupboards, "First, you take four ounces of ground rattlesnake fang, make sure it's in a fine powder, nothing less. Then you add to it a total of five drops of poison from a komodo dragon…."
Training X
Ingredients:
4 ounces of ground rattlesnake fang
5 drops of poison from a komodo dragon (preferably seven to ten years old)
1 shredded magnolia petal (10 pieces)
3 ounces of sea anemone poison
6 ground spines of a naturally dead Venus fly trap
1 pint of water mixed with 2 salt content
Procedure:
1) Add the komodo dragon poison to the ground rattlesnake fang
2) mix thoroughly with a pestle, the add to the sea anemone poison while stirring clockwise three times
3) Let sit for five minutes exactly
4) Add the magnolia pieces one at a time every 2 seconds
5) Stir in the fly trap spines.
6) Transfer entire thing to a small cauldron and heat to boiling before adding the water.
7) Let sit for two minutes and ten seconds exactly before you can use it.
This was what Gohan had written down in a notebook ten minutes later, holding a vial of the potion.
Smiling, he stood and bowed low, showing as much respect as he knew how.
"Thank you so much." the hybrid said, "I owe you."
"Not at all," Severus responded mildly, "It's my duty and my job to watch out for my students."
"Thank you anyway, as it is." Gohan told him, "I'm about to lose it, this should really help."
He was about to leave, when a voice stopped him.
"Don't forget to fight first, so that you can go and straighten things out with Potter."
Gohan blinked in surprise, then grinned at his teacher's knowing stare, before bolting out the door, but not
without another bow.
"Thank you!"
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Several hours later, refreshed and feeling better than he had in quite possibly months, Gohan exited an empty room he had found and ki protected and had then proceeded to beat the living shit out of a dummy that he had poured a drop of potion over. Severus had been right, it was so simple, and the whole deal had successfully rid him of all the pent-up energy and stress.
Thank goodness, Kira mused, I was really getting worried.
"Really? Then why didn't you suggest it sooner?" Gohan inquired curiously, watching as the Delcatty shook her head.
Because it's something you had to do for yourself. She told him. The hybrid grinned.
"Well, thanks then, for the input," he told her, "But if you guys wouldn't mind, could the three of you do something else for a few hours, huh? I have a few issues to straighten out. With both of them." Gohan finished seriously, and understanding just what he was talking about, Aoi nodded for the group of the.
Of course, master.
"Thank you so much." Gohan murmured, bending down so he was on his knees, and embracing both Kira and Aoi, keeping Pikachu snuggled against his chest, "You're always so understanding with me, I want you to know that I appreciate it."
Duh, Kira scoffed, What sort of guardians would we be if we didn't? Besides, we, the pokemon, all of us, are the few that you can always depend on, no matter what. We love you. Not for being the Chosen Child, but for you. We loved you before we knew your powers, you know that.
Wow, who knew that you of all pokemon could make speeches? Pikachu inquired, breaking the accompanied silence, Shocking.
Oh, be quiet, mousey. Kira growled.
Oh yeah? Who's gonna stop me? You? Here, kitty, kitty, kitty… Pikachu teased her gently, and Aoi uncharacteristically began to giggle when the electric type was tackled by a pseudo-enraged Kira. Smirking at their play, Gohan got to his feet.
"Be good, you three." he told them mildly, and received three affirmative responses, before he turned and began to walk off in the opposite direction.
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"Look, I need to talk to you." Gohan muttered, supposedly to an empty bookshelf in a recess of the library. Suddenly, a book was shoved through the other side of the shelve and landed on Gohan's foot, revealing one Harry Potter, who was raising his eyebrow.
"Really? Maybe I'll stay over here. Are you going to yell at me again?" Harry inquired mildly, tone holding a sharp edge that Gohan knew he somewhat deserved.
"No, I'm not going to yell. I need to talk to you."
Silence answered him, before Harry walked around the shelve and sat down in a chair. Gohan sat down a few seconds later and sighed, rubbing his eyes with a hand.
"I'm sorry, okay? You didn't deserve the treatment I gave you, and you have every right to be angry with me. Can you please forgive me?" The saiyan bangs fell in front of his eyes, and Harry remained silent, before finally speaking up.
"You infuriate me sometimes. Sometimes I just want to, I don't know, hit you, or something. But I did walk into it, you know." Gohan looked up, "You've always had this affinity for communicating with creatures, even if you are socially inept, and I should have known that you would be sensitive when it came to Gazer. Besides, remember what you told me when we first met? Despite what people might tell you, I'm not all that brave. I don't like people, I'm paranoid, and I prefer reading than human company. Nothing personal. Remember that? I do, and I still wanted to be friends with you." Harry said quietly, serious, "If I hadn't met you, I would never have given Reptile a chance, and when Ron and Hermione got together I wouldn't have known what to do.
It was a given that we'd fight occasionally. And it's okay to do it. We're just different people." Harry's green eyes were piercing into Gohan's, demanding the truth, "Do you still want to be friends with me?" Gohan looked startled, as if that had been the last question he had ever been expected to answer.
"Of course." The hybrid kept his tone stubbornly low and controlled, somehow, and wasn't at all expecting the other boy to lean forward and hug him fiercely, a habit he must have picked up from Gohan himself, for Draco had told him promptly that Harry Potter had never been known to initiate any sort of physical contact, no matter who it was. Not even to Weasley or Granger, from what his connections said. And Draco had massive connections.
Despite, Gohan hugged him back, burying his face in the older boy's shoulder.
"Hey, Leon?"
"Yeah?"
"If I invite you into the Slytherin dorms, will you stay long enough for me to tell you and Rettile something?"
"Why?"
"I have a story to tell you both."
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"Are you shitting us?" Both boys inquired about a half hour later, both sitting on Draco's four poster, both looking completely gobsmacked. Gohan himself was standing off to the side, staring out the window as if he wanted to be anywhere else but there at the moment. Draco and Harry stared at each other, before the Gryffindor nodded a silent signal and Draco got to his feet.
"I believe you." the blonde said, voice low and tone unusually velvety soft, "We both do. It makes sense, you know."
"How can you possibly believe something so ridiculous!" Gohan burst out, whirling, and Draco blinked.
"Hello, wizard here." Draco deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. "None of us are in any position to doubt anything at this point."
"And it explains a lot." Harry cut in. "You aren't used to actions that even muggles find simple, daily actions, like sleeping indoors. You dislike being with people, and you get all edgy every time someone asks you about your home." Gohan cringed. "You have an uncanny bond with animals and you somehow can sneak out into the forest at night without anyone finding out, or, god forbid, with permission. Either one is equally improbable under normal circumstances."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Draco ordered, sounding a bit more like the haughty aristocrat that he was, "If it were me, I'm not sure that I would have been brave enough to trust me or Hero here." Quietly, a hand somehow made its way to the hybrid's shoulder, "But I, for one, am glad that you told me about you. I feel like I understand you better now, and that's good." he finished lamely, not quite knowing what else to say in this sort of situation.
"Alright, enough sap," Harry cut in, a slow grin creeping upon his features, "This could help, you know."
Gohan blinked.
"How so?" he inquired. Harry stared at Draco. Draco stared at Harry. They both smirked.
"Have you ever tried flying, before?"
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"I don't like this." Gohan muttered, glaring darkly at the broom he held in his hand. It was a school one; the handle was dented and twigs were falling out. From his side, Harry snickered, holding his Firebolt lovingly. "I don't like this at all." The saiyan repeated.
Playing in the grass of the quiddich pitch, Kira and Aoi lifted their heads and Kira chirped at him. Pikachu leapt to his head in a cute little jump and grabbed onto Gohan's hair as he set the broom on the ground.
Hey Gohan? Why are you doing this? You know how to fly! She questioned him, and Gohan shot her a small smile.
I would like to think so. Then he added vocally, "Why are you making me do this?" Harry smirked.
"Because."
"Because why?" Gohan stared skeptically at the ratty piece of wood in front of him. It didn't look like it would support Sasani, much less him. "I believe riding an angry Gyarados would be safer. And I know that from experience, I'll have you know. Besides, I know how to fly."
"Not on a broom, you don't." Draco inserted himself into the conversation, hovering easily on his Nimbus 2001. "Hold out your hand, and say 'up!'." Gohan rolled his eyes.
"Up." He muttered casting disgruntled glares at anyone he could. To his surprise, the broom shot up into his hand and the saiyan absently began twirling it like a glaive. Harry snickered.
"Now you get on and kick off."
"Do shut up." Gohan snapped and grudgingly got on before kicking off and hovering about six feet off the ground. Child's play. "This good enough for you, O' Great One?" He added sarcastically as Harry mounted his brand newly returned Firebolt and with little effort shot up into the air until he was a speck in the sky. Gohan shook his head. "Baka." Was all he said before going higher, and glaring in frustration at the piece of junk he was sitting on. "This is a piece of crap!" He snapped angrily, then whirled as he heard Harry's laughter from above him. "Shut up!"
His friend promptly blew a raspberry at him. A slight red flush spread across the saiyan's face and he muttered several nasty obscenities in saiyan that would make even the toughest sailor blush. That is, if they could figure out what they meant. However, let no one tell you that Son Gohan will let anyone laugh at him; good natured or not. Perhaps by force of sheer will, no one knows, but somehow he got that broom higher up, until he was only a few feet below the Gryffindor seeker.
Harry smirked. If one wanted a stubborn ass saiyan to do what one wants, tweak their pride. It works like a charm.
"Oh, come on Gohan! Lighten up a bit. Flying's fun, just give it a chance!"
A saiyan glare picked up from Vegeta.
"I know how to fly. I do not need a broken down bô to do that." The chibi bitched, raising an eyebrow in indignation. Harry shook his head as his friend swooped down and tossed his broom to the ground, snarling at it menacingly. Then, the older wizard tossed his hands in the air, rolling his eyes.
"FINE! I give up on you! Happy?" Gohan blinked at him blandly, then smirked.
"Very." Was his simple answer before stalking off, setting the broom back in the shed. Harry sighed as he did some loop-de-loops.
"Baka." He muttered at Gohan's retreating back, then stopped dead when he realized what exactly he had just said. Unknowingly, Harry Potter had called Son Gohan a baka from pure instinct and habit simply from hearing it so many times. Dear God. The world was officially doomed.
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"Yo!" Gohan called late one night in mid-February, stepping easily into the clearing that had become so familiar to him, watching with a smile as a gigantic black dog bounded up to him then stopped about six feet away. The boy set the plate of food down on the ground and backed away, sitting himself down on a stump, just watching. Ever since he had begun feeding the scraggly animal, it had become much more trusting with him, but still refused to come close. "How are you doing, boy?"
A low whine in response, a cautious glance, and a slight tail wag.
"Well, I'm glad you're taking care of yourself, then." he said mildly, smiling as he noted that he could just barely see the dog's ribs. Apparently, the animal somehow didn't grow a winter coat, and on more than one occasion Gohan found himself getting strange hunches before he went to feed him, ending with the saiyan asking Draco pleadingly to lend him a large, fluffy green comforter that had long since been dubbed the "Animal blanket." At least, ever since the second time, when Gohan had brought it back covered in long black fur. Draco had promptly declared that he never wanted to see it anywhere near his bed ever again, so therefore it was the dog's blanket.
The dog looked at him and whined. Gohan blinked, then inclined his head.
"You're welcome, Inu-san. I'd do it for anyone who needed my help."
Oh. So it would have been anyone?
"Of course, if they needed aid, I would have-waitaminute." Gohan cut himself off, "Did you just-?"
Did you just-?
"Talk to me/understand me?"
"Oh my god."
Oh my god.
"This is so cool!" Gohan suddenly exclaimed, breaking into a wide grin, "I didn't know if I would ever get the hang of this!"
Get the hang of what, exactly? the dog inquired, tilting his head, seeming to get over the fact that this strange human could actually speak to him. Gohan shook his head.
"Nothing. So," he spoke up suddenly, "Talk to me. What are your favorite foods? Have I been taking care of you properly? Do you have a name? Do you need one? Are you wounded anywhere? Where do you come from? Why did you attack me that one time? Why-"
Slow down. The dog ordered, One question at a time. To start, I rather like those scrambled eggs you're always bringing me. You've been taking care of me wonderfully, no complaints on this end. I'm not hurt anymore. I don't remember where I come from. And a name? Well, I guess you could call me Padfoot, I suppose.
"Why did you attack me?" the hybrid demanded, and Padfoot made a disgruntled expression, a very amusing look on a dog.
Ah. That.
"Yes, that."
That was an accident. Padfoot explained, looking sheepish, I honestly don't remember much about what happened, but the only thing I got was someone sticking his head in the bushes right in front of my face. I don't know how it happened, I'm normally not so bad-tempered, and I never meant to hurt you or your friend. At the moment, he looked quite contrite, I didn't mean to. Everything is so fuzzy, I think I was too sick to even function properly at the moment in time. I'm so sorry.
"Eh, it's okay." Gohan muttered, glancing away, "Gazer was really angry though, and I don't blame him. You should apologize to him as well." The he raised an eyebrow. "Did you just pout? I didn't know dogs could do that."
Are you stupid? I'm not a dog, I'm a Grim.
"A…what now?"
Padfoot sighed.
A Grim. Also known as a specter of death, doom, omens, etc. A lot of people get funny feelings when one's close by, that's how we got our reputation. No one has ever actually died from seeing one of us, though. It's all for drama, you see.
"I do see." Gohan responded in turn, tilting his head. "So, um, Padfoot, how long have you been living in this forest, and how did you get so hurt?"
I've been in the forest for years, Padfoot said, a tinge of….something, what, Gohan couldn't tell, slipping into his voice. And as to how I got so messed up, well, it's rather embarrassing. I tried to hunt, but I couldn't catch anything except for rats. Then, one of those dirty bastards gave me some disease and then I couldn't catch anything, not even those damn rats.
"Where on Earth did you learn such language?" Gohan scolded, completely disregarding the fact that his vocabulary was rather extensive in its own right and that he could curse anyone out quite fluently in over forty languages. "If I didn't know better, I would swear that you were human." Also, if he didn't know better, he could have sworn that the dog now looked very uncomfortable.
I used to spend a lot of time with humans, I just kinda… picked it up.
"Ah, sou ka." the boy murmured, then smiled, "By the way, I made up with Leon today." Padfoot gave a dog grin and an enthusiastic tail wag.
Really? That's good. Hey, got a request.
"Shoot."
Could you tell me more about Leon? He seems like a good person, interesting.
"He is, certainly, I'll give you that." Gohan conceded, then glanced at his watch, "But it's getting late. I don't need a whole lot of sleep, but I do need some. I'll tell you about him tomorrow, okay?" he suggested, getting to his feet. Padfoot stood as well.
Alright then. Take care not to get hurt on your way back.
"Don't worry about it, Inu-san. I know most of the creatures in here, and the Thestrals are everywhere. A herd of them practically accosted me last month to allow them to protect me so much that I got flustered and gave in." he sighed, shaking his head, "They're trustworthy."
Be careful anyway.
"Now, is this because you like me, or because I'm your meal ticket?" Gohan teased, and received an affronted look in return, "Okay, okay, sorry. I'll be careful, okay? I promise."
Good. Good night.
"Oyasumi."
-END CHAPTER-
Wow, that was still short. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! (bounce) Hope you guys liked it1 Also, since school is starting up again soon, and I'm taking AP classes, updates may come a bit slower, or I'll update in a slur of one-shots. But don't worry, I'll never give up on my baby, the Partners series!
(It was my first REAL fic, you guys know)
So, please read and review, and feel free to comment, criticize, question, or heaven forbid, compliment!