Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. We're now at the Library Island Arc. While there's not any drastic diversions from the original plotline, there are significant enough changes that you'll be able to notice. Hopefully, those changes will make for a more engaging arc.
On another topic, for those who are unaware, I've created a p.a.t.r.e.o.n account and ko-fi account. Both will mainly serve as a donation box, with no withholding of any chapters or any early access stuff. However, with p.a.t.r.e.o.n at least, I'll be posting original content; something for you guys to enjoy if you decide to become a patron and are interested in reading og stuff.
If you're interested in donating, as thanks/support for the content I'm posting, you can visit either of those sites. My name will be Spirit Soldier on both sites, and links will be on my profile, as well as the bottom of each chapter. Just wanted to let you guys know, in case you were interested. Now, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Negima.
Chapter 6: Exam Week Part 1 | The Challenge
"I see… so you and Negi-kun are doing quite well then, are you?" Headmaster Konoe asked in musing.
"Yes, headmaster." Harry replied in response. Both he and Shizuna-sensei were in front of the desk of the principal, giving their report on his and Negi's progress as teachers. "Not only does Negi get along with many in the class, he's also making significant progress in teaching. There's a few trouble-makers within the class, but I'm able to help handle them. With time and guidance, he can become an excellent instructor."
"I agree with Harry-kun." Shizuna spoke up, smiling. "For someone his age, Negi-kun's doing a remarkable job with the lessons; and Harry-kun here is a good assistant for Negi-kun, acting as both a mediator for the students and a mentor for his fellow teacher. As the guidance counselor, I'd have to give them both passes."
"Hoho… that's good, that's good." Konoe nodded, getting up from his seat. "Well then, Harry-kun, I think both you and Negi-kun should become official teachers from April onwards."
The principal then went over to shake the hands of both teachers. "Good work, both of y- oh! Where did you go, Shizuna-kun?"
Harry sweatdropped as he watched Headmaster Konoe plant his head into Shizuna's chest. 'Can the principal of an all-girls school really act like this?' The teenager wondered to himself.
Once Konoe was off the older teacher's chest (After a knock to the head), a serious look entered the elderly face. "However, there's one condition for this." He stated, facing Harry. "The two of you will have one task to clear. One fitting for two child prodigies…"
Harry rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't call myself a prodigy, sir. Negi certainly, but not me."
"Hoho, don't underestimate yourself Harry-kun." Konoe chuckled. "There are not many teenagers that could do what you have. Now, for your task…"
(Hallway)
After the little meeting, the teenage mage went out of the office and made his way to his class, where he can hopefully find Negi. 'Bring Class 2-A out of last place.' Harry mused to himself, a letter held in one hand and a progress record in another. 'It sounds simple enough, to raise a class' grade if only a little; we even have the top two students in the whole grade. However…'
His thoughts went to the after-class lesson from days ago, which held the self-proclaimed "Baka Rangers". '...We also have the worst students in the whole grade.'
And it would have to be done within such a short amount of time. Anyone else would likely balk at the challenge, considering it impossible to do; especially when dealing with teenagers that don't care much about their grades.
For Harry, however, impossible wasn't in his vocabulary. So he merely saw this task as annoying.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he caught Negi standing several feet away. Harry noticed that the young redhead seemed to be staring at the trophy made for the winning class. 'Is he already aiming for first place for the class?'
As he got closer to the boy, he started hearing his muttering. "...isn't there some kind of magic for these types of things…"
"What was that about using magic, Negi?" Harry spoke up, drawing a startled yelp from the boy.
"H-Harry-san!" Negi stuttered, turning around to face his fellow co-teacher. "Have you already finished your meeting with the principal?"
"I have." The Boy-Who-Lived nodded. "Got here just in time to hear you thinking about using magic to cheat."
The boy winced at that. "Y-You're right." He replied shamefully, rubbing the back of his head. "I shouldn't try to rely on magic for these things…"
"Just as long as you understand that…" Harry sighed. He then handed the letter to Negi. "The principal wanted me to give you this."
"Eh? What is it?" Curious, the red-head took the letter and looked over the front side. His eyes popped open at the title. "My final task?!"
"That's right." Harry nodded in confirmation. "This is what is required to continue working here."
"Awawawa! I didn't hear anything about any final task!" Negi exclaimed in panic, swirls clear in his eyes. 'Do we have to fight an evil dragon?! Block 200 hundred-spells?!'
With trepidation, the boy unfolded the letter. But as he read the contents inside, the trepidation quickly turned to surprise and bemusement. "...This is it?"
The Boy-Who-Lived gave him a weird look in response. "What did you expect we would do? Fight a dragon?"
"N-No! Not really, no." Negi quickly denied, a blush clear on his face. Quickly changing the subject, he went back to the task given to them. "Anyways, this'll be pretty easy! Once we raise their scores, we'll become official teachers and can continue our training!"
"You think so, huh?" With that rhetorical question, Harry handed over the records from his other hand. "Take a look at this, Negi."
Curious, Negi opened the file and scanned through it. As he read the progress of his students, a worried look grew across the boy's face. "A good handful of our students are doing well… but most everyone else is pretty low…" He said nervously. "The five at the very bottom are especially bad!"
"Still think it's gonna be easy?"
Shaking off the feeling of dread, Negi responded nervously, "I-I'm sure getting their grades up won't be that difficult; a few cram sessions should help!"
'Uh-huh. Sure.' Harry thought with no confidence. 'I get the feeling fighting a dragon is gonna be easier than this…'
(Later)
He was right.
Not only was it difficult to get the girls to take the lessons and soak them up, a game of strip poker with English lessons nearly happened. It's amazing how carefree a group of girls can be, even with an escalator school. The other classes at least cared enough to study!
Unfortunately, that period was enough to lower Negi's morale significantly. "At this rate, we'll be forced to leave Japan as failures…!" He moaned, slumped over his desk. "I'll be a failure as a Magister Magi…!"
"Don't lose hope yet, Negi." Harry told the kid, sitting across from him. "We both know now that it won't be easy to get the girls' grades up; the next thing to do is figure out exactly how to get them studying in the next few days."
"How can we do that if they're so lax about having such low scores?" Negi cried out, covering his head with his hands. "The Baka Rangers are especially bad! The only one who's currently capable of making good scores is Ayase Yue, and she hates studying! How can we get them too…?"
Suddenly, Negi shot his head back up, an idea flashing through his head. "I just remembered, there's a forbidden spell that makes a person smarter for a short amount of time!" He stated, almost to himself. "The side effect is that they will go boom in a month, but if we do that…"
"Negi!" The young boy suddenly felt his head being chopped, causing him to yelp and hold it in pain. He opened his eyes to see Harry giving him a look of reproach and disbelief. "What kind of bloody spell were you thinking of using on them? Are you really willing to cheat and risk breaking their minds?! Didn't we talk about this hours ago?!"
"I- well…" Negi looked away, twiddling his thumbs. "If we remain the worst class, we won't be able to stay teachers, and we won't be magister magis… doesn't that concern you Harry-san?"
Harry sighed, leaning back into the chair. "I understand your concern, Negi; and believe me, I don't want you to fail." He told him softly. "But cheating our way out of this isn't the way, nor is hurting our students like that. We have to use our abilities as teachers to help them pass, and trust that they will take the lessons to heart. That's all we can do."
Negi still looked worried and uncertain. While he understood what Harry is saying, the task given to them seems near impossible for the ten year old. How can anyone help a class raise their score when they have no interest in doing so?
"Or would you rather cheat your way into becoming a Magister Magi?" Seeing the uncertainty in the boy, Harry decided to give him some blunt questions. "Show the class that it's okay to take the easy way out? Is that what you really want for our students?"
And THAT seemed to strike Negi hard. The young boy eyes' widen at this as he sat straight up in his seat. "You're right, Harry-san." He admitted, a look of realization and shame taking over him. "This is the second time I've thought of using magic to solve this problem. I've been relying on it for so long, that I…"
The redhead suddenly felt a hand placed on his head, causing him to look up and see Harry smiling comfortingly at him. "Don't worry, Negi. Like I said before, you're still just a kid; still learning how to use your power responsibly. It's why you're here, and why I'm watching over you. So you can learn how to become a great Magister Magi."
At that, Negi couldn't help but form a grateful smile. "Thank you, Harry-san." He said, gratitude clear in his voice. "I'm grateful that you came here to assist me…"
"Think nothing of it, Negi." Harry waved off. "I'm more than happy to help you on your journey as a mage. And on that note…" The teen then pulled out a stack of papers. "Let's figure out ways to help our students pass the exams."
Eventually, the two called it quits for today and headed out the school building. As they walked down the stairs, Harry was speaking with Negi. "Do you mind walking to the dorms by yourself?" He inquired. "There's something I need to do with Takamachi."
"Really?" Negi looked up at his idol curiously. "What are the two of you doing?"
"Nothing you'll need to know at the moment." Harry replied back. "You'll find out soon, don't worry."
The boy nodded in understanding. "Okay, then. I'll see you later, Harry-san."
The two then waved goodbye to one another, the younger mage walking back to the dorms as the older mage stood and watched him go. 'Hope you won't mind the little surprise for you and the Baka Rangers, Negi.' Harry thought to himself, an apologetic smile entering his lips. 'I'll apologize to you later during the exams.'
Once Negi was out of sight, the Boy-Who-Lived started walking in the direction of the famous Library Island. It's time to make preparations for Negi's test.
(Library Island)
"So this is Library Island…"
"This here is the secret back entrance only the library expedition class knows about…"
"Is it really okay to be here? The lower section is off limits to middle schoolers…"
"I heard there are all sorts of traps and stuff down here…"
"Isn't that much for a library?!"
The commentary came from none other than the Baka Rangers, along with Konoka, Haruna, and Nodoka. Also with them was Negi, who looked to still be half-asleep and in his pajamas.
Why are the eight girls, plus their child teacher, here at one of the entrances to Library Island? Simple. To find a legendary magic book that would make them smarter.
Earlier today, the girls heard rumors that the class who ended up in last place would be forced to split up; even worse, all those that grade the lowest would have to start preschool. Of course, that had them all in a panic, none of them thinking that they would be able to improve by the time exams came.
So, in their desperation, Asuna decided that they would go to Library Island, to find the rumored legendary book that Yue spoke about in the bathhouse. If they could find it, and read it, they would be golden! Their class won't be splitted up!
And why Negi was here? So he could protect them with his magic! Asuna would've also brought Harry along with them, but he was nowhere to be found and she couldn't waste time trying to find him. Besides, the orangette had the strong feeling that the teen mage wouldn't approve of what they were doing…
So she'll have to rely on Negi to protect her and the other Baka Rangers from any traps. However…
"Oh? My magic?" Blinking, Negi slowly lifted up his wrist to show three black seals around it. "Uh, I've kinda… sealed it…"
Now it was Asuna's turn to blink. "Eh?" Was all she could say. "Eehh?!"
Unfortunately, it was too late to go back now. So, the Baka Rangers and Negi headed to the lower levels of Library Island. Meanwhile, Nodoka, Haruna, and Konoka stayed up top to act as the communication team for the rangers.
"This is Yue. We've reached the basement level 3."
"Rogers! Give it your best!" Haruna spoke back.
"I-Is it really okay to be doing this?" Nodoka inquired hesitantly. "What if Harry-sensei, or one of our other teachers finds out? We could get in big trouble."
"You're worrying too much, Nodoka." Haruna waved off her worries. "Very few know about this entrance, including teachers and professors. There's no way Harry-sensei would find it."
"Plus, Makie said that he wasn't in the dorm." Konoka added. "So there's not any chance that he would find out about our plans."
"True enough. Unfortunately for you three, he was leaving Library Island when he spotted you girls."
The communication team found chills go straight through their spine at the familiar, British accented voice behind them. Slowly, they turned around to see Harry-sensei right behind them, a chilling smile across his face. "Hello girls." The teen teacher greeted them. "So, who would like to explain why you all are out here so late in the evening?"
(Basement Level 3, Library Island)
"Wow! There are so many books here!" Negi gasped in awe, as he looked around the level 3 basement. Asuna and Makie were also looking around in amazement at the shelves of books around them. "This is amazing!"
"This is basement level 3 of Library Island." Yue presented to the group. "It's said that us middle-schoolers are forbidden to go any further than here."
"Asuna-san! Please come here!" The redheaded teacher was at one of the shelves, attempting to reach one of the books. "This book here is extremely rare!"
"Ah, careful. In order to stop thieves from stealing here, there's…"
WOOSH!
Suddenly, an arrow was shot right from a book shelf. Negi cried in shock as Kaede caught it in midair, just as it was about to hit the teacher. "...A lot of traps. So please be careful." Yue finished.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"That's something you could die from!"
Negi, feeling a tad light-headed from that brush with death, couldn't help but ask, "Um, by the way… just why are we coming down here?"
"Allow me to answer that Negi."
"!"
The Baka Rangers stiffened up in alarm at the very familiar male voice, while Negi merely had his eyes widened. "Harry-san?" The pajama-clad boy gasped.
"Hello Negi." Harry greeted through the girls' radios. "I was just leaving Library Island when I spotted you and the girls going to this secret entrance. Had a nice chat with Konoka, Haruna, and Nodoka too, before I decided to talk with you all."
The Baka Rangers gulped at this. "W-We were just trying to find some good books for us, Harry-sensei." Makie attempted to lie. "For the e-exams, that's all."
"Uh-huh." The tone in his voice made it clear that he ain't buying it. "And I'm sure the magical book that can make you smarter is really helpful in that regard."
Negi swiveled his head towards each girl in shock and confusion. "Eh? What? Magical book?"
"...So you know, huh?" Yue sighed in resignation.
"Yep." Harry confirmed. "It's why they're here, Negi. The girls heard rumors that the lowest class would have to be held back, and in their panic, came here to track a book that supposedly makes others smarter."
Now the red-headed boy looked at the girls in shock. "Girls…!"
The Baka Rangers couldn't help but look embarrassed. "Just… can't you two let us off the hook for this?" Asuna pleaded. "This is an emergency, so we need to do this!"
"Just because getting lower grades would result in consequences for once, does not excuse cheating." Harry remarked dryly.
"Well, you can't stop us now!" Asuna argued, glaring up at the door they went through. "We're too deep in the lower level for you to catch us!"
"Who said anything about me stopping you?" Was Harry's response.
The five girls blinked in confusion at this, along with Negi. But before they could process what he said, a loud hoot was heard. All heads were turned to exit, to see a snowy white owl, with a mirror wrapped around the body, flying from said exit. The bird then landed on the rails above them.
"Hedwig?!" Makie gasped.
"Hedwig?" The others turned towards the pinkette, with Asuna speaking up. "You know this owl?"
"I do!" Makie nodded her head repeatedly in confirmation. "She's Harry's owl!"
"What/Aru?!" Asuna, Negi, and Fei Ku exclaimed surprisingly.
"Harry-sensei has a pet owl?" Kaede tilted her head curiously at that.
"What's it doing down here?" Yue asked the important question. "And why is a mirror attached to her?"
"For this." To their shock, the mirror suddenly started warping, to form an image of an amused Harry Potter. "This should make communication easier."
"HARRY-SENSEI/SAN?!" The Baka Rangers and Negi exclaimed.
"This here is called a two way mirror." Harry explained to them. "A pair of monitors cleverly disguised as mirrors. A gift from my godfather and uncle a few years back."
"It's like something from a fantasy game- aru!" Fei Ku noted with some amazement.
Recognizing the deception, Asuna and Negi kept quiet on what the teenage mage was doing. Instead, the orangette went back to their original topic. "Are you saying that you're not going to stop us?"
"Nope, I will not." Harry replied nonchalantly. "After all, I've prepared several traps for you girls already, so they should be enough."
"...TRAPS?!" Most of the girls exclaimed in shock.
Kaede merely narrowed her eyes. "That means you knew from the start that we would do this." She stated. "You knew about our plan to go to Library Island for this book."
"I prepared for the event that you girls would come down here." Harry replied with a shrug. "I knew about the rumor floating around, and prepared accordingly. Baka Black…"
Yue stared at him stoically.
"Baka Blue…"
Kaede merely smiled up at him.
"Baka Yellow…"
Fei Ku gave a nervous, yet excited smile.
"Baka Pink…"
Makie looked the most panicked out of them all.
"And their leader, Baka Red."
Asuna held an irritated look across her face.
"Aside from the usual traps of this island, I've set several obstacles to keep you from your destination. I issue you all with this challenge." Harry then gave a mischievous grin. "Go and try to take the book. I'll be waiting for you all outside."
And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, along with the slight changes that came with it. Though I got a question for you all. Should the traps be physical, something for them to fight off? Should it be mental, something to test their mind? Or a mix of both? Let me know in the reviews, along with any suggestions for said traps. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.
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