Disclaimer: Nothing but the story is mine, and most people seem to like the story.

Chapter 11

Several days after Ranma was able to change at will, she frowned as she sensed something strange. It felt almost like the times in her life when something truly drastic had happened. The major ones were when he was taught the Neko-ken and Jusenkyo. Both times, she had heard a strange rushing sound, as if a fierce wind had picked up. She was hearing that same strange sound now.

Before she could focus on the feeling and try to figure it out, she saw something that set her off like literally nothing else could have. There was a large panda in the doorway.

Genma looked around curiously. He didn't think he had ever seen so many children in one place before. Then he shrugged as well as a panda can shrug and came farther into the room. Strange that so many were pointing sticks at him, though.

At the teacher's table, McGonagall was distracted from the strange sight by a loud growling noise. Looking to her right at Ranma, her eyes widened in pure surprise. Ranma's eyes had narrowed down to slits, her lips were peeled back in a fierce snarl, her ears had flattened completely, and her tail was lashing wildly. Both the physical signs and the growling indicated that Ranma was extremely pissed off.

In a distant corner of her mind, Ranma realized that she had miscalculated the sheer amount of hatred she felt when she saw Genma's cursed form. The only thing holding her back from jumping out to shred him was that she really didn't want her new friends and her family to see that part of her. But she may have no choice but to unleash it…

McGonagall started to reach out to touch Ranma's shoulder, hoping to calm her somewhat, but felt a hand reach out and grab her wrist before she could. She frowned and looked at the owner of said hand. Evidently Xian Pu had moved out of her seat.

Xian Pu shook her head in warning at the woman. "Bad idea. Ranma no know you if you touch her now. She shred your hand right now. Best warriors in my village find it bad idea to bother her when she like this." Before she could explain further, Ranma launched herself over the table, somersaulting in mid-air and landing on all fours.

Genma saw the redhead that he now recognized as his son's cursed form stalk toward him and waved a sign angrily.

Ranma smirked slightly as she diverted her attention long enough to read the sign. Son! Why did you abandon me? We were just going to return to Japan so you could marry a Tendo!>

Ranma laughed harshly, a sound that held no humor and sent chills down the spines of everyone who heard it. Even Dumbledore was not immune, and though he was not frozen in shock at the sight of the normally calm girl snarling at the panda, something told him that it would be a bad idea to interfere. He hadn't lived this long without listening to his instincts, and this was no exception.

Ranma abruptly stopped laughing and stared scornfully at the panda. "You call me 'Son'? How typical. Most of the time you don't bother acknowledging it, but now that you think you have leverage, you call me your son. What. A. Joke." As Genma began to swell angrily, Ranma smirked. "Might as well let you talk, huh Genma?" She threw near-boiling hot water she had gotten from her storage space.

Genma yelled. "IT NEEDN'T BE THAT HOT, BOY!" Without thinking, he had used English, just like his currently female son.

Ranma smirked. "Well, well. Congratulations, Genma. You're screwed." With those words, Ranma let out an angry feline yowl and literally pounced on Genma. Her claws were fully extended, and she dug them in as she landed. Genma yelled loudly in pain and punched Ranma in the face. Ranma simply stepped back, grinning slightly despite the bruise already rising. "That's more like it."

Genma growled angrily as he stood, touching the scratches on his chest and coming away with blood. "What's wrong, boy, can't take it like a man?"

Ranma simply grinned and swiped out lightning fast with his claws. There was a kind of madness in his eyes as he was pushed beyond simple anger and hatred into a kind of calm. "Ah ah ah, Genma. No insults needed here. No reason to call me boy, either, now is there?" Unfortunately it was the kind of calm at the eye of a storm.

Genma jumped back in surprise and raised a hand to his cheek. He hadn't even seen the boy move, he was so fast. "So, you decided to throw away the Art and fight like a weak, sissy girl, scratching with your nails, huh? And here I thought the Hibiki boy was telling the truth when he said you were stronger."

Ranma smirked. "Oh, don't worry Genma, Ryouga was telling the truth. I was wondering if that was why you were here. Took you long enough to find the place." She calmly dodged a punch and punted Genma into a wall.

From that point, there was very little conversation as Ranma felt no need to talk, her human nature sublimating more and more beneath her rage and feline nature. When she threw Genma across the room and over the Slytherin table low enough that many had to duck, she laughed. It was a laugh filled with very little humor but plenty of malice.

"Sssilly Sssslytherrrrinsss. Guess we'll have to worrrk on yourrr dodging. Especially you, Malfoy." The blond Slytherin had barely ducked in time to keep from being knocked out of his chair.

Genma growled angrily around his breathlessness at being thrown into several walls. "Son, what is the meaning of this!" he demanded angrily.

Ranma paused and almost seemed surprised. Genma felt a tiny flicker of hope before it was wiped out. "You still call me son?" Ranma asked in a musing voice. "Amazing. Last time I checked, you lost that right years ago."

Genma stared, caught by surprise as he circled Ranma warily, trying to find her weak points. "What do you mean by that, boy?"

Ranma simply watched him in some dark amusement, head tilted to one side. "You mean you don't remember? Amazing, I thought it was too memorable to forget." Quite suddenly, Ranma practically disappeared and reappeared perched on Genma's back with her claws digging into his shoulders. "Shall I give you a hint, Genma?" She hit several spots on the fat man's back and flipped around to stand in front of him.

Ranma looked up at the man he had once called father. "Just so you know, the spots I hit should keep you paralyzed for some time. Long enough for me to tell you what you need to hear, anyway." She smirked at the fury she saw on his face. "Don't worry, I'll release you soon enough."

Turning, Ranma searched for one face in particular. "Hey, Snaketongue! Care to answer a question?"

Harry squirmed slightly at having the attention of most of the Great Hall. "Ah, sure, I suppose. What is it?"

Ranma turned and looked Genma in the eye as she spoke. "What family name have I used while I was here?"

Harry shook his head in confusion. "You didn't. Whenever someone asked what your last name was, you'd bite their head off." He added the last bit as he remembered Hermione asking that question. It hadn't been pretty.

Genma's eyes widened in pure surprise as he realized the point that Ranma was making. Ranma smirked when she saw his realization. "Thank you, Harry." She turned back to Genma, missing the surprised expression on Harry's face. "Do you see my point, old man? I renounced all claim to your name before I ever got here."

Genma did his best to convey his confusion, and Ranma's smirk simply widened. "Wondering why, Genma? It's because of two specific events in my life. I'll give you a hint. The first involved cats, fish, and a pit dug outside of Harrogate, England when I was six years old. The second involved springs, transformations, a curse, and stupidity that I haven't seen matched since and happened a little over a year ago."

Genma's eyes widened once more. Neko-ken and Jusenkyo?

Ranma smirked and spoke once more as she walked behind Genma. "I'll give you a moment to work out the kinks. Tell me when you are ready to continue."

Genma was about to speak, but then he looked into his female son's eyes and his mouth snapped shut. There was a madness there that he hadn't seen in a long time. The last time had been when Ranma had last gone into the Neko-ken. Then he realized that that wasn't quite what he was seeing here. This was a thinking madness that was infinitely more dangerous. He didn't break Ranma's gaze as he worked out the kinks he had gotten from being frozen in one position for some time.

Ranma watched as Genma realized just how far she had been pushed, and smirked. It took several minutes before Genma finally stood straight and dropped into a fighting stance. The tension in the Great Hall only continued to build as the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws slowly retreated from their tables, showing a self-preservation instinct that made Ranma proud. After all, those houses sat the closest to where this confrontation was taking place.

Finally, Genma spoke. "When did you crack, boy?"

Ranma smirked widely. "Years and years ago when I realized just how badly off I really was. I just usually hid it. I'm not bothering now."

Without another word, Ranma and Genma launched into the fight, trading blows at speeds that few could even see, let alone match. After a long moment of this, Genma skidded backwards from a blow not fully blocked, and Ranma leapt after him, her whiskers fully spread and fur standing on end.

Genma grabbed Ranma's arm and managed to roll backwards and threw her into a wall. Ranma simply bounced off the wall, and returned for more. Genma wasn't quick enough to get out of her way in time, and she kicked him in the belly, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could recover, Ranma used a one-two combination and a punt to put Genma in the air.

Leaping high, she used an axe kick to drive him down. Unfortunately for her, Genma managed to grab hold of her leg and dragged her down with him. In the seconds it took for them to fall, Ranma and Genma grappled in mid-air, both trying to make the other take the force of impact. Ranma managed to force Genma below her, and braced herself against his stomach just before he hit.

She used a backwards somersault to gain some room, and watched as Genma stood, once more winded and unsteady. He seemed a little too unsteady, so Ranma danced backwards, trying to draw him in. It didn't work until she was momentarily distracted by one student who was just barely out of the way.

As soon as he saw Ranma looking away for a moment, Genma stopped faking and attempted to tackle Ranma. Key word being attempted. Ranma turned at a shout from the students watching and grabbed Genma's outstretched arms and rolled onto her back with her foot buried in his belly.

Genma had only a moment to realize what she was about to do before he was thrown over the teacher's table, forcing several of them to duck. Ranma got to her feet almost immediately and saw something that made her blood boil as she saw red. Genma was hitting a woman in the stomach as she didn't get out of his way in time and said woman dropping to the ground in pain.

Unfortunately for Genma, that woman was a certain Head of Gryffindor who Ranma had already claimed as family. Genma looked up in fear as he heard a roar of rage and saw Ranma standing in the middle of a crimson aura. For the first time since this round of their fight had begun, Ranma spoke.

"You should not have done that, Genma. You should not have struck the one person I consider family. Genma, you will not like what I will do to you." She lunged across the table, barely noting as the teacher's scattered and Snape dragged McGonagall out of the way. In less time than it took to say it, Genma was unconscious in a large crater the same shape and size as him imbedded in the wall.

Turning on her heel, Ranma dashed over to where her Auntie was being supported by Snape, gasping in pain. Ranma frowned and gently began probing around the area of the blow. "Damned idiot, he hit too hard. You're no martial artist, Auntie Min, not even with some of the training you've had. Damn."

She glanced up at Snape. "Hold her still for a minute, Raven." Ranma crouched in front of her Aunt and spread both hands across her stomach closing her eyes in concentration. After a moment, two bruised ribs and at least three broken ones began to heal, and McGonagall was slowly able to breath easier. After a long moment, Ranma straightened up from her crouch and watched as McGonagall was also able to stand on her own.

Ranma turned and bowed deeply to Snape, who stood there wondering what was going on. "Thank you for saving my Aunt, Severus Snape. You have won more than my mere respect for a master." She straightened and watched Snape, whose eyes were widened in surprise at having her call him by name for the first time since they were introduced.

Turning, Ranma saw Shampoo nearby and slipped into Japanese as she spoke. "Hey, sis. I'm gonna need some help, that was a bad one." Without another word, Ranma's eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted. Shampoo was just barely able to catch her before she hit the floor.

Xian sighed as she looked down at the girl she considered her sibling. "Silly, you shouldn't have done that. You were already near the bottom of even your reserves."

Turning back to Snape, Shampoo smiled slightly and spoke once more in English. "Is good you help Cat-Lady-Teacher. You become important in Ranma eyes, and she remember your name." She also turned a bright smile on McGonagall and motioned with her head. "You come with to see Nurse-lady, yes? Ranma not able to heal completely when tired."

McGonagall swayed slightly in place and nodded agreement. "Alright. Let's go."

Shampoo smiled slightly and stood with Ranma in her arms. " Potion-teacher bring old panda, yes? No good to let him loose."

Snape rolled his eyes slightly but nodded. "Yes, yes. I'll bring him along and make sure he can't cause trouble." Using a quick Petrificus Totalus and a levitating spell, Snape calmly followed the three females in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

> > > > > > >

AN: I know I took a while to do this one, and there is a good reason for it. I couldn't seem to get a damn thing done for this story, and it was really frustrating. It wasn't like the last one, where I had something but it didn't feel complete. For this chapter, I literally had nothing. Then last night, I was reading some Ranma fanfics, and when I went to bed, I was hit with a good way to do this one. If you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out.

This chapter is literally 'hot off the presses'. I haven't even checked it like I usually do. I'm sure some of you have been stuck at a specific point before, and know how frustrating it tends to be. Well, something finally gave in my mind and this story was practically flooding out my fingertips when I started typing. Tell me what you think of it and if there are thing I need to change.