Disclaimer: This is not mine, though I'd love to claim it if I could.

Warning: Just so everyone knows, this is pretty much a pure explanation chapter. Ranma's coming clean.

Chapter 12

Sometime after she fainted, Ranma woke up. Looking around, she realized that she was in the Hospital Wing. Shaking her head, Ranma thought back to what had happened. Lets see, panda spotting, fight, talk, more fighting, kicking panda ass, healing, acknowledgement, and fainting. Speaking of healing, where was her aunt?

Ranma sat up and looked around to figure out who else was in the Hospital Wing. Genma was some ways away from her, but Auntie Min was in the next bed over from her.

McGonagall smiled as she saw Ranma noticing her. "Hello, Ranma. Did you have a good nap?"

Ranma smiled. "Yes, did Osprey heal you the rest of the way?"

McGonagall smiled slightly. "Yes, Madame Pomfrey did. She wants to talk to you before you leave here."

Just then, a door opened and Madame Pomfrey came in. She noticed that her feline patient was awake and came bustling over. "Ranma! Good, you're awake. According to my spells, you were not injured in any way, but you drained yourself severely."

Ranma smiled slightly. "Yes, Osprey, I had to heal Auntie Min." She sent a contemptuous look down the room to where Genma lay. "Genma hit her too hard. He didn't hold back like he should have."

Madame Pomfrey raised an eyebrow in amusement. She didn't mind her nickname like some did. Then she went back to business. "It's probably a good thing that you did." She calmly turned toward McGonagall now. "I didn't tell you this yet, Minerva, but according to my diagnostic spells, she may have saved your life."

Ranma ducked her head shyly as both women turned to stare at her. "It wasn't too hard, I just had to realize what it was supposed to look like and make it go back to being that way."

Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "Ranma, have you had any teaching about anatomy?"

Ranma shook her head. "No, but I read a lot. In one town I went through, there was a few medical books in the library. I studied them while I was there."

Just then, the door leading into the hall opened, and two figures stepped through. Ranma grinned happily. "Bumblebee-san! Raven!" Her ears were perked forward happily, and Snape had to resist the urge to smile at the cute sight.

Dumbledore had no such compunctions. "Hello, Ranma. Good to see you awake again. You gave some of us quite the scare."

Shampoo and Cologne walked in behind them, and Cologne snorted in amusement as she pogo-ed over. "What he means is that most of the students here that you have impressed or made friends with were worried, as well as the majority of the teachers. Pomfrey there was among those with some common sense."

Ranma grinned. "I'm hard to hurt, but I was tired. 'Sides, Osprey has good spells and training on her side."

Dumbledore shook his head in amusement. "Yes, well, we wanted to talk to you about the fight. There are a few things that need clarification." Only those who were extremely good at reading body language or knew Ranma very well could see the way she tensed at that. Perhaps unfortunately for her, this included everyone in the group.

Ranma regarded Dumbledore warily. "What did you want me to clarify, Bumblebee-san?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly. "It's nothing to be worried about, Ranma." Ranma didn't relax, so Dumbledore decided to ask his questions somewhat indirectly. "Well, you did seem somewhat tense all day. Would you mind telling us why?"

Ranma didn't let herself relax, but she decided to answer truthfully. "When something big is about to happen in my life, I start to hear something that sounds like a wind picking up." She grinned ruefully. "I heard the phrase 'Winds of Change' somewhere, and it seemed to fit."

Dumbledore nodded and continued. "Why did the sight of a panda set you off so badly?"

Ranma studied him for a moment and sighed. "You are very good, Albus, but I can tell when I am being questioned about something."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. Ranma didn't usually use his name, but he had heard her use those of some students before when she was being extremely serious. It would be useless to try to bluff her. "All right then. Will you still answer our questions?"

Ranma tilted her head and looked him in the eye. "I have little choice and much inclination. Perhaps the information will be important at some date, but it does not matter. You will not react as many of the others have." Her voice was dreamy and soft as she spoke, but everyone heard it.

Dumbledore considered the answer, and decided to go for the biggest question. "Several times, the man in that bed over there called you 'son' and 'boy'. Will you tell us why?"

Ranma smiled ever so slightly. "Alright. That man over there is named Genma Saotome. He is married to a woman named Nodoka Saotome. About seventeen years ago, Nodoka Saotome gave birth to a boy with black hair and blue eyes. Genma and Nodoka decided to name him Ranma."

Before four pairs of stunned eyes and two knowing pairs, Ranma shifted and grew somewhat into a seventeen year old male with blue eyes. The cat-like features that had grown so familiar on the female Ranma were still there, simply black instead of red.

Calmly standing before anyone could say anything, Ranma walked gracefully over to the bed a petrified Genma lay on. Smiling viciously, Ranma leaned to look him in the eye. "You know, Genma, I don't know whether I should hate you for all the things you've done to me, or thank you for finally pushing me that extra bit too far."

Unsheathing his claws, Ranma held his hand so that Genma could see them. "This is part of when you went too far, Genma, as well as all of the rest of it. But there was a less obvious consequence as well." Ranma re-sheathed his claws and let loose the ki claws that he had before only been able to use while submerged in the Neko-ken. He smiled cruelly as he saw the recognition in Genma's eyes.

"Yes, Genma, that is part of my problem. Should I hate you for causing me to go insane in the presence of cats, or should I thank you for the fact that another of your examples of idiocy was the reason I once more have total control and no fear?" His voice was musing and cold, showing that he didn't really care.

Then his tone changed, and even Snape winced at the vicious, cutting tone. "Or I suppose I could do both. I could shred you using only the abilities I received from the Neko-ken." Ranma put his hand on Genma's chest, with his claws still extended, and he dragged his hand down, shredding Genma's shirt but leaving no mark on his skin.

Ranma snorted as he pulled away from the once-more unconscious Genma. Turning back to those watching, he smirked softly. "That's better. I didn't feel like letting him listen to all we had to say." He grinned, this time much more warmly, and returned to his place on the hospital bed they were all gathered around.

McGonagall shook her head and smiled slightly. Though her form hadn't been completely true, McGonagall had gotten to know her adoptive niece quite well. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that this was still Ranma. She glanced over at the lump on a bed farther down and her smile disappeared as her expression grew cold. That idiot deserved whatever Ranma dished out.

Ranma smirked slightly as he glanced over at his aunt. He recognized that emotion quite well. "Don't worry, Auntie Min, he'll get what's coming to him." McGonagall smiled, but did not answer. After a moment, Ranma turned back to the gathered adults. "Anyway, now that the bastard is out, I'll continue."

He took a deep breath and let it out. This part would be hard. Shampoo seemed to understand and sat down next to him, lending support. Ranma smiled at her and began to speak. "First of all, I never had an easy life. When I was only about five or six, Genma took me out on the beginning of a long training trip that lasted roughly ten years.

"We made good time, and Genma took me across Asia and much of Europe on foot. He trained me the whole way in different things, and in England, we found an obscure training manual. Or rather, Genma was stealing from people and found something he thought was interesting enough to keep instead of selling it."

Ranma smiled bitterly as he paused, watching the teachers decide to settle on different beds around him. "The manual was for something called the Neko-ken. A technique that was banned due to the fact that too many of the trainees and trainers died, and those that survived were usually driven insane." He shook his head in bitter amusement. "The idiot didn't even bother reading the whole thing, and he evidently missed that part."

McGonagall shook her head. Ranma had gone into some of the reasons she, er he, hated his father, but she had never told her this part. "I don't understand, Ranma. How can a training exercise drive a person insane?"

Ranma snorted. "Easy, all you need is a pit, a lot of cats, fish sausage, and an idiot dumb enough to try it." He grimaced. "Throw the cats in the pit, starve them for several days, wrap student in fish sausage, and throw him or her in the pit. Evidently it only worked on children under ten, so Genma had a ready-made excuse for not doing it himself."

Those around him who had not known of the Neko-ken before, namely everyone but Shampoo and Cologne, were staring at him in horror and he turned away slightly to snarl in the general direction of Genma's bed.

Then Ranma sighed and decided to continue his story. "Most of the rest of our trip doesn't really matter at the moment, just more training. What happened at the end is much of the reason I am here." Pausing, he smirked. "Grandma, would you mind explaining the springs?" He gave her an innocent look that she saw right through.

Cologne snorted fondly. "Lazy, I suppose. Very well, I will tell those here about the springs." Turning back to the four Hogwarts adults still listening avidly, she calmly settled down on Ranma's bed.

"My adopted grandchild has mentioned the springs before, but knew it was not the right time to explain them. Now, he decided to foist it off on me, instead." She glanced over her shoulder at the smug Ranma.

"In China, there is a valley of springs called Jusenkyou. In each of them, something once drowned, usually long ago. Among them are the Spring of Drowned Cat and Spring of Drowned Girl, as well as Spring of Drowned Panda." She cast a contemptuous look towards a certain bed.

"What is significant about the springs is that anyone who gets wet from the water in them will turn into whatever drowned there last. They can be changed back to their birth form with warm water, but cold water will turn them back into their cursed form."

Dumbledore frowned slightly in concentration. "I have heard of something like that, some time ago, but it was thought to be a myth."

Ranma smirked and took over the story once more. "Oh, it's real. Just the fact that I'm sitting here today says a lot for that. If I hadn't gotten my specific curse, my life would have been extremely different, and I never would have known that Hogwarts existed."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "You seem very sure of that."

Ranma smirked softly, but didn't answer right away. "When we went to Jusenkyou, I got dipped first in the Drowned Girl spring and then in the Drowned Cat spring. Evidently if you are dipped in a second spring while you are still wet from the first, the new curse mixes in some way with the first one.

"Soon after that, I ditched Genma completely and set off on my own. At one point, I sat down and meditated. What I saw was the female body I had gained at Jusenkyou, only she was completely human. There was also a large black panther."

Ranma concentrated for a moment, and as they watched Ranma shrank down into his female form, then changed more until she was human-looking. Looking up, she smirked softly. "The girl was the spirit who had been in the spring ever since she drowned, and the panther represented the spirit of the Cat spring merged with my own cat nature that I had gained when I learned the Neko-ken."

Cologne blinked at that. Ranma had never mentioned that. Ranma simply snickered, letting her know that he had noticed her surprise.

Smiling softly, Ranma continued. "The girl made a deal with me, which I'll explain in a moment. The girl had some prophetic abilities, and cats also have a kind of sensitivity of their own. Combined, they both showed me what would have happened if I had not ditched Genma." She made a face.

"In the one I saw, I was fully human, but my life was hell. I was engaged to about three different girls, had to deal with three or four males that hated me because I was engaged to the girls they liked, one of my fiancé's sisters was a manipulative bitch who exploited me and my curse in any way she could manage, and that particular fiancé hated me. Not to mention I managed to run afoul of the Amazonian marriage laws and was technically married to Shampoo."

Shampoo jerked, and in her surprise spoke in Chinese. "Me, married to you? No offence Ranma, but hell no! You're too much of a brother-sister!"

Ranma smirked and replied in English. "I know, Shampoo, but in that one my father was an idiot who ate the prize for the competition, and I ended up fighting you and beating you."

Shampoo blinked and considered that. "Oh. I no know you in other reality?"

Ranma shook her head. "No, you saw me the same as any other male, only I was stronger than you and by your laws, married to you." She made a face. "Worst part was that I defeated you as a female, then later you found out I was male when I defeated you as a male. You ended up going back to get Grandma to try and figure it out."

Cologne noticed the confusion of those around them and decided to explain. "In our village, there are several different laws about outsiders. If an outsider female fights and defeats an Amazon warrior, then they must be hunted down and killed. If it is an outsider male, they are considered married to the warrior they defeated."

Shampoo smiled as she saw them try to wrap their brains around that and decided to help a bit. "All Amazon warriors female. Is our way."

Dumbledore shook his head as he processed this information. Then he decided to move onto something else so that everyone would have time to absorb what they had just been told. "You mentioned a 'deal' these spirits made with you. What was it?"

Ranma smiled slightly at that. "For a year after I was cursed, I was forced to spend most of my time in my female form. I could only spend a couple hours a day in my male form, and if I left it for too long I would be splashed with cold water and changed back to female." She smiled slightly.

"After that was over, I gained complete and total control over my curse. If I want to be male, I can be." She changed to her male form to prove her point, his cat parts returning at the same time. "If I want to be human, that takes more effort, but Auntie Min has been teaching me the basics of animagus transformation, and it seems to be similar."

McGonagall shook her head slightly. "I can see what you got from this, Ranma, but what did these 'spirits' get?"

Ranma sighed. "Freedom." Seeing that they didn't understand, he settled in to explain. "When something drowns in the springs, their spirits are trapped in the spring. When someone falls in and is cursed, sometimes after they die their memories are returned to the spirit of the spring they fell into. This way, the spirits have some idea of what is going on in the world, but they can have absolutely no affect on it."

Ranma got up and walked over to look out a window. "There was something about me that let the spirits do more than they ever could before. Instead of simply getting my memories once I died, they managed to kind of 'piggyback' with me.

"When I sat down to meditate, they both came forward to see if they could have more, or if they would simply watch my life through my eyes, unable to affect anything, and finally be carried into the afterlife when I died." He smiled bitterly.

"Kyoko, the spirit of the Spring of Drowned Girl, told me that it was still an infinitely better life than being stuck in a spring for eternity, maybe hoping that someday something else would drown there and free them somewhat that way." Shaking his head slightly, Ranma turned back to look at them all as they stared at him. Most of this was stuff that he had never told either Cologne or Shampoo.

Ranma sighed deeply. "My code wouldn't have let me just leave them to fade into obscurity in the back of my mind, just waiting until I died so they could move on. I accepted them and merged with them.

"While I didn't really get any of their memories, some of their behaviors and tendencies did stay with me. Another thing that I got was some of the muscle memories from the people who drowned in their springs. I can now use just about any weapon they could, and I can recognize and, in some cases, speak the same languages they could."

Ranma grinned as he saw the looks on their faces. "And no, this does not mean that I was all of a sudden all-powerful. It just meant that I had the knowledge of how to do some moves and how to recognize when I did something wrong and how to fix it. It was a bit like stuffing the training manuals for a bunch of different weapons and moves into my head. I still had to learn how and when to use them."

He shook his head slightly. "I think a lot of it forced me to mature, too." He grinned over at Cologne and Shampoo. "While Genma's teachings weren't as deeply engrained as they could have been, much of it was too much a part of my learning for me to recognize and change.

"Getting about a ton of new information over the month or so before I came across your village helped a lot." He winked. "Especially since a lot of the ones who fell in those springs were Amazons."

Ranma stretched in a way that made those without extensive training in the martial arts wince. "And that's all your going to learn until you come out of hiding and ask questions face to face."

Everyone except Cologne, Pomfrey, and Dumbledore were a little confused at what he meant, but it became obvious a moment later. At the other end of the room, there was a slight rustling sound as three students became visible. They were immediately recognizable as the Gryffindor trio.

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AN: Sorry I took so long in getting this one out. I've had it written for a while now, but I keep forgetting to upload it. Hopefully the next won't take nearly so long, since I already have it written. I even have some idea what's happening in the one after that! I love this story, it's fun. Hope you all enjoy, and I always welcome reviews. Hint, hint.