Life at the Burrow

Lupin stared warily at the table. "What is it?"

Hermione and Bulma smiled proudly at the shimmery gold unitard. "These suits repel Blutz waves," Hermione explained. "I discovered that the virus you contracted when you were bitten activates a severe temporal mutation whenever exposed to Blutz and another wave I'm calling Lycantz, causing you to transform into the werewolf. I've discovered that although you can absorb the waves into your eyes like Gohan, that the majority is absorbed by the mutant lycanthropic skin cells. You seem to have the receptors throughout your entire body.

"Gohan's receptors are through nerve endings in his eyes, sending the signal to activation cells in his tail. That's why Gohan loses his ability to transform when his tail is gone. Your receptors are more widespread, and therefore, less concentrated. If we can block eighty percent of Blutz reception, we can reduce the severity of the transformation."

Lupin picked up the top suit. "Hermione…this is…I mean…I—"

Hermione smiled. "Well, don't celebrate just yet. You have to test it first. I was hoping you'd volunteer."

"Of course I will!"

"Good! Now my theory is that the design shields you from the Blutz, but not the Lycantz. The Lycantz will penetrate the suit, but I believe you'll be pleased with the results nevertheless."

"The next full moon is in two days," he said anxiously. "Are we going to test it then?"

Hermione smiled knowingly. "Yes. But I believe you're forgetting someone, Remus. I wasn't the only one who worked on this…"

"Of course. I'll be indebted to you and Mrs. Briefs for the rest of my life!" Lupin said, his whole face lit up in excitement.

The Grangers stood and watched their adopted daughter from a distance. Hermione had developed into a thoughtful, compassionate, hard-working young woman that any sane parent would be proud of. The Grangers certainly were.

Hermione, Gohan, and Videl had all of their things packed, ready to teleport to the Weasleys. Hermione stood, silently musing about the results of her research. The experiment had been a success…and a failure…all at the same time…

Remus stood outside in the light of the full moon with the suit on. The light bathed his face and neck, the only exposed parts of his body. He frowned and leaned forward, grunting in pain…his body became covered by short fur, and his normally smooth hair became wild and bristled. Hermione looked on with concern as the transformation stopped.

Lupin raised his face, panting. His face was covered in short, silky fuzz. His eyes had stopped somewhere between the man and the wolf: blue and round, but slitted. His face had elongated slightly, having tried to form the snout, but abandoned the effort shortly after it had begun. His sharp fingernails had ripped through the tips of his gloves.

"How do I look?" he said in a deeper, growling voice.

"You…look…er, wild," Hermione said in a higher pitched voice.

The wolf-man grinned, revealing some sharp canines. "I can even talk! This…is crazy!" He whirled around to look at himself from behind. Hermione had smiled as she saw the back of him. It's a good thing I thought to make a hole for a tail, she thought as a long bushy appendage came into view. Lupin's booming, growling voice cackled happily. His voice raised several octaves as he howled his happiness.

"So, Remus, let's test your abilities now," Hermione said. He grinned wolfishly. The partial transformation had somewhat altered his personality. "Let's see you sprint from here to the tree."

"The hundred yard test? I see." He said as he crouched.

Hermione appeared by the tree and took out her stop watch. "Go!"

The man-wolf took off. Hermione gasped as she looked at her stop watch. Amazing! He was this fast when he completely transformed.

"So, what was the time?" Lupin said.

"Three seconds flat. I guess I was right about the Lycantz waves. Lycantz increases your speed and strength."

Hermione smiled sadly as she thought about it. She expected more from it, but Lupin was beside himself with happiness. He was already human again, still in the same gold suit, in a very chipper mood despite the exhaustion etched on his face.

Gohan touched her shoulder. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. Seconds later, the three were within eyeshot of a strangely twisted…they had to guess it was a house. Gohan pointed and laughed happily.

"That's weird! But it's neat-looking!"

Ron burst from the front door, knocking the door from its hinges.

Wow, Hermione thought. Ron's almost stronger than Harry was at the beginning of last year. He must have worked really hard with Piccolo.

"Hey guys, whassgoingon?"

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY! IF YOU BREAK THAT DOOR ONE MORE TIME—" Mrs. Weasley came from the house brandishing a frying pan. She huffed in exasperation. "I don't know what to do with you! Between you and Ginny, I doubt we'll have much of a house left if you two keep breaking stuff!"

Hermione gasped. She could sense Ginny's stronger ki. She and Gohan exchanged glances. Fred and George seemed stronger, too.

"Piccolo, what have you been doing to everyone?" Hermione said, looking over her head.

"Don't exaggerate. I trained Ron and Ginny. The twins invited themselves. Well, Ginny invited herself as well, come to think of it."

Videl suddenly shrieked as she was lifted from the ground by a green-faced red-haired male. "Yes! Cell's got you now, my sweet!"

Piccolo raised a brow.

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "Put her down at once! And get that awful stuff off your face!"

"Bwahahahahahahahahaha!" Fred cackled maniacally.

Videl tugged Fred's arms from her waist, flipped behind him, and kneed him in the back. Fred hit the ground with a thud and a grunt, skidding several yards.

Mrs. Weasley gasped, but Fred got to his feet, grinning widely. "Ah, so Miss Satan wants to take on the all-powerful, incredibly handsome Cell. That's interesting." He chose a fighting posture.

Everyone became shocked by the thunderous laughter from above. Piccolo clutched his sides, tears streaming. "You two are completely nuts!"

"Ah, see? Even the great Piccolo cannot resist the devious charms of the awesome Freddy-Cell—"

"—wait until I introduce you to Georgie-Cell…Bwahahahahahahahahhahahaha!" A voice said, emerging from some nearby bushes.

"Prepare for trouble!" Fred said dramatically, striking a pose.

"I'll make it double!" George added, choosing a pose of his own.

"Oh, brother," Ron mumbled, "Here they go…"

"To cause and create mayhem, hysteria, and devastation—"

"To create new gags and tricks, and innovation!"

"To denounce the evils of boredom and Malfoys—"

"Through trickery, through slandering, and using our toys!"

"Fred—"

"George—"

"Twin Weasleys blast off at the speed of light—"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight-" (Special thanks to Pokémon and Team Rocket for this idea.)

"You guys need to stop hanging around that Muggle girl's house and watching the television," Ginny said with a laugh.

"Aww, Ginny! You ruined the moment!" Fred slumped, feigning disappointment.

Hermione was blinking stupidly, her mouth slightly open. Videl was shaking her head, smiling. Gohan was laughing hysterically, tears pouring from his eyes. Piccolo's facial muscles were working as he hitched on a scowl that convinced no one.

"So, when's Harry getting here?" Hermione said.

"Tomorrow," Ron said. "We're going to floo over there tomorrow."

Fred grinned suddenly. Hermione leveled her eyes at him. "Just what are you planning?"

"Heh."

Videl's eyes brightened suddenly. "Can I come?"

Ron choked. "Uh, that's not such a good idea…the Dursleys hate magic."

Videl smiled. "Oh, come on. I want to see where Harry lives."

Hermione and Gohan watched as Mr. Weasley, Ron, Fred, George, and Videl stepped into the floo one by one. Hermione nudged Gohan. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Why is that?" a voice said, as two red-haired males turned the corner.

"You must be Bill and Charlie. I'm Hermione Granger. This is Gohan Son. Well, I think Fred is planning something…I don't like it."

The brothers exchanged glances. Shortly after, Ron reappeared in the flames. A minute later Fred and George emerged from the emerald flames, laughing hysterically.

"What did you do, Fred?" Hermione said with a scowl.

"What gives you the impression we did anything?"

Harry came out of the fireplace, shaking his head.

"Did he eat it?" Fred said expectantly.

Harry smiled. "What was it?"

"Ton-tongue Toffee." The room exploded with laughter. Gohan looked confusedly at them all. Hermione scowled.

"Hey, Harry, How's it going?" Charlie said, extending a hand.

"You're Charlie," Harry said.

Charlie laughed.

"And I'm Bill," the taller form said as he stood.

Two more forms came from the fire. Arthur Weasley came out followed by an ashen Videl. "That wasn't funny, Fred! What did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything…I dropped it…it's not my fault he went and ate it."

"You dropped it on purpose! You knew he'd eat it…that he was on a diet—"

"How long did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly.

"It got four feet long before his parents would let us shrink it—"

Ron, Harry, Fred, and George howled in laughter.

"It isn't funny! If Miss Satan hadn't decided to come along, he'd have strangled! The Dursleys wouldn't allow me anywhere near the boy. Videl persuaded them to let her do it…I don't believe it! That sort of behavior seriously undermines Wizard-Muggle relations. I've spent half my life campaigning for Muggles, and my own sons—!"

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle! We gave it to him because he's a great, bullying git! Isn't he, Harry?"

"Yes, he is," Harry said eagerly, but winced suddenly. Lately, Dudley hadn't been that bad.

"Wait until I tell your mother—"

"Tell me what?" A dangerous voice said as Mrs. Weasley entered the room. "Hello, Harry dear. Tell me what, Arthur?"

"Er, well, see, I've handled it…"

"This better not have anything to do with Weasley Wizard Wheezes!"

"Ron, why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping?" Hermione said suddenly.

"Harry already knows—"

"We can all go," Hermione said, cutting him off.

"Oh," Ron said, cottoning on. "Let's go then."

"Yeah, we'll come, too," Fred said.

"You stay where you are!" Mrs. Weasley barked.

"So, what is Weasley Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs. Ron and Ginny laughed, Hermione frowned, and Gohan and Videl blinked stupidly.

"Mom found this stack of order forms in their room. Stuff they had invented and planned on selling at school. Joke stuff. Fake wands and trick sweets. Brilliant, I never knew they had invented all that—"

Ginny continued. "Yeah. We've heard explosions inside their room for ages. I just figured they liked to blow up stuff."

"See, most of it's a bit dangerous," Ron said. "Well, all of it, actually. Fred and George were planning to sell it at Hogwarts…make some money. Mum burned all of it and forbid them to sell any. I reckon she's mad that they didn't get as many OWLs as she expected."

"Yeah, they had this big fight, because Mum wants them to work at the Ministry like Dad, but they want to open a joke shop."

Just then, a door crashed open, and Percy's face scowled at them. "Do you mind keeping it down? I'm trying to work!"

Ron rolled his eyes.

"What are you working on?" Harry asked. Ron and Ginny shot him an annoyed glance.

Percy puffed out his chest. "A report for the International Magical Cooperation Department. The Ministry's aiming to standardize cauldron thickness. Some imports have bottoms that are so incredibly thin they pose a risk to anyone who uses them."

Ron gasped mockingly. "Wow! That will change the world…cauldron bottoms!" Ginny covered her mouth to keep from giggling. Percy slammed his door shut, and the six entered Ron's room.

"Shut up, Pig!" Ron said at a small, furry tennis ball with wings with a sigh as he closed the door. "Stupid owl. He's so annoying!"

Harry stared at the excitedly hooting owl in its cage. "Pig?"

Ginny sighed. "Ron's being stupid. His proper name is Pigwidgeon."

Ron rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Yeah, because that name is completely unstupid! I was going to name him something, but Ginny said that in front of him…now he won't answer to anything else. I have to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. And me!" He added, glaring at the palm-sized ball of fluff.

"Where's Crookshanks?" Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged. "In the gardens, I expect. Chasing gnomes. I don't think he's ever seen any."

"Percy seems happy with his job," Harry said absently.

Ron snorted. "Happy? He'd probably live at the Ministry if Dad didn't drag him home. And he's obsessed with Barty Crouch. Always, "Mister Crouch this...' and 'Mister Crouch that…' I reckon they'll be getting married soon…"

"Did you have a good summer, Harry? Did you get our food parcels?"

"Yeah, thanks for those. If it weren't for you guys and Vegeta, I reckon I would have starved." Harry told them about Dudley's sudden interest in Vegeta and fighting.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Videl asked. "That will help him lose weight and keep him out of trouble."

Harry sighed. "For now it will. I'm just not so sure it's a good thing to make Dudley stronger. He's been known to bully in the past."

Gohan frowned. "Hey, Vegeta won't be watching your house anymore, so Dudley won't be able to train. Why don't I write Krillin? From what Krillin's told me about his childhood, I'm sure he'll be able to relate to Dudley, and help him train. He might even help him with his behavior."

"Yeah. We shouldn't leave Dudley hanging like this. I didn't think Fred was going to do something. I guess I ought to write and apologize," Harry shook his head disgustedly at the thought. Then, his eyes popped with an idea. "Hey, Videl. Would you do me a favor?"

Videl frowned hesitantly. "Let me hear what it is before I agree to it."

"Well, Dudley loves Hercule. He's got posters all over his bedroom. Could you see if you could arrange—"

"—my dad to meet him?" Videl sighed. "Harry, you know that he didn't defeat Cell."

Harry shrugged. "He's still pretty strong for a Muggle…and a human. Besides, Gohan reckons he doesn't mind the Muggles not knowing he defeated Cell right now."

Gohan nodded. "You know what the media is like. Besides, the world isn't ready to know that aliens are living on the planet, either."

Videl sighed. "I guess it has been awhile since I've written. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks. Make sure Hercule mentions me to the Dursleys, okay? They need to know that I wasn't in on that toffee thing."

"Alright. But you owe me, Potter!"

Harry grinned.

"Oh!" Ron said suddenly. "Have you heard from—" but Ron stopped, Hermione giving him a look. Harry and Gohan exchanged glances. They knew he almost asked about Sirius in front of Ginny.

"I think they've stopped arguing," Hermione said quickly. "Maybe we should go help your Mum with dinner."

The dinner was held outside. Gohan and Harry ate happily as the others spoke, Mrs. Weasley occasionally replicating the food to last the Saiyan's and starved human's appetites.

"That was great, Missus Weasley!" Gohan said. "You and my mother should swap recipes."

"That's so sweet, dear," Mrs. Weasley said fondly. "Now, what should we do for entertainment?"

"We could spar," Gohan suggested, looking at Hermione hopefully.

Hermione shook her head, smiling. "I think the Weasleys will want to keep their house and property tidy, Gohan. We'd probably level the place."

Harry stared. Was Hermione actually that strong? How much was she suppressing?

Gohan grinned suddenly. "I know! There's a game I used to play with the Namek kids. It's called Assimilation tag! One of us will be IT. IT will count to a hundred, while everyone else hides. IT will then go find and tag the others, forcing them to become another IT. The game lasts until the last person remains untagged. That person becomes the new IT. Want to play?"

Hermione smiled. "That will be easy, as some of us cannot suppress our ki." She glanced over at the older Weasleys.

Gohan grinned mischievously. "Maybe for them, but it will still be fun…seeing as some of us can."

...

After a couple of hours, the family and friends sat, wearily but happily. Arthur Weasley smiled at Gohan. "I don't know how you children kept finding us. I know some of the best hiding places!"

Gohan shrugged. "I sensed your ki. It's small, but distinguishable, especially with some of the other players masking theirs."

Mr. Weasley frowned. "Ki…what do you mean?"

Gohan smiled. "Well, every living creature has a life force that binds their spirit to their body. It is a form of energy that is everywhere. Even rocks have it, due to the fact that their surfaces have tiny organisms teeming on the surface. The air, the water, the trees…all living things have this energy we call ki. And like magic, if one learns how to move and shape their ki, they can control it…and use it."

"Really? So…Muggles can do this?" Mr. Weasley asked interestedly.

"Yes. Krillin can, and he is a Muggle. Master Roshi can, and I've been told that he is a squib. Anyone who devotes themselves to the training can master their ki."

"I see. That's interesting. So the truth is, that even Muggles have a sort of magic within them."

Gohan smiled. "You could look at it that way."

The talk spun away from ki and into the Quidditch World Cup.

"It's going to be Ireland," Charlie said. "They flattened Peru during the semi-finals."

"Yeah, but Bulgaria's got Viktor Krum," Fred suggested.

"And? Bulgaria's got one decent player. Ireland has seven. No brainer, that. I wish England had got through. How humiliating!"

"What happened?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Transylvania flattened them. Three hundred ninety to ten," Charlie said shamefacedly. "Horrid performance! Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland to Luxembourg."

Gohan fazed out. He liked to watch Quidditch, but it wasn't too interesting to him to discuss. He left the table and sat beneath a tree near Hermione and Videl, watching as Crookshanks pounced a tin can and began pawing inside, the tin can giggling madly.

Hermione and Videl told him about their dreams. Gohan stared. "That's weird."

"What, Gohan?" Hermione said.

"Well, right before Assimilation Tag, Harry and Ron were talking about some nightmares they had. As it turns out, we all had nightmares on the same night. Since Harry and Ron live on this side of the world, their nightmares happened about eight hours after ours did."

"That is certainly interesting," a voice said suddenly. They turned to see a frowning Piccolo standing next to an ashen Ginny. "Ginny was just telling me of a nightmare she had that night." They all stared. Ginny, too?

"What do you think?" Gohan asked.

Piccolo hesitated. "It…could be just a coincidence."

"I thought you didn't believe in coincidences, Piccolo."

"I don't. The other option is that you were subconsciously responding to the negative energy that has been in the atmosphere lately."

Gohan frowned. "You feel it, too?"

Piccolo considered him. "I've been feeling disturbances for a couple of months now. I'm having difficulties meditating. It kind of reminds me of when Garlic Junior invaded—"

Gohan's eyes widened fearfully. "Hey, you don't think—"

"No, Gohan. But something's definitely happening. From what I gather from Kami, I'd keep a close eye on Harry this year."

"You…think he's in danger?" Videl asked tentatively.

Piccolo's eyes shifted to her. She blushed. "It's likely, Videl. The boy does have enemies. Which reminds me. Hermione shouldn't be wandering out alone too much, either."

Hermione frowned. "Why, Piccolo?"

"Can you not think of an enemy that the both of you have in common?"

Hermione stared in horror. "No…not…not him. Surely," she muttered quietly to herself.

Ginny blinked ignorantly at him. "I wouldn't think Malfoy would be such a big problem, Piccolo."

Piccolo returned her gaze. "This isn't some childish malevolence, Ginny. If you want to understand the gravity of the situation, I suggest you remember your nightmare."

Ginny gasped but said nothing. Gohan, Hermione, and Videl looked at her quizzically.

"All right, children!" Mrs. Weasley approached. "There's a big day ahead of you, so it's time for bed. Off you go!"

As the teens wended their way up to their respective sleeping quarters, Ginny stared at Hermione's back. It's funny. I imagine You-Know-Who is everyone's enemy, but somehow I get the feeling that wasn't what Piccolo meant when he said Hermione and Harry share him in common. So…why would You-Know-Who be as dangerous to Hermione as he is to Harry?

Author's note:

Okay. I've noticed a bit of confusion when it comes to my fics, especially regarding the strengths of my characters, so here's what I'm going to do. Every four or five chapters, I'm going to post the respective power levels of significant characters at the end of the chapter. This way, it becomes more understandable that while some characters can handle certain fighters, others will be completely inept at the task. Please note that due to inadequate references I am using…and in some cases, lowering or raising power levels to provide a more believable story. I merely use the DBZ fighter numbers as a reference to scope the other characters.

Significant Characters (does not reflect ki suppression):

Gohan Son: 1,750,000; SSJ: 5,000,000; SSJ2: 15,000,000(complete); oozaru: 17,500,000-50,000,000

Hermione Granger: 250,000; Transformed State: currently unknown

Harry Potter: 1,900

Ron Weasley: 1,200

Ginny Weasley: 1,300

Videl Satan: 1,250

Dudley Dursley: 50

Supporting Characters:

Piccolo: 4,000,000 rest; SuperNamek: 9,000,000-11,000,000

Vegeta: 1,000,000; SSJ: 4,250,000; SSJ2: 12,700,000(incomplete): oozaru: incapacitated.

Fred Weasley: 600

George Weasley: 620