Surprise Visit

"Gohan, wake up, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, shaking him gently.

"Mmm, no, leave my father alone. S-stop hurting him…" Gohan murmured.

Harry grabbed her shoulder. "You might not want to stand too close when he's like that. Gohan could unknowingly take a swing at you."

"You sound like you talk from experience," Mrs. Weasley said with a nervous chuckle.

Harry smirked. "You have no idea. Oi, Gohan! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Gohan said as his eyes slid open. He stretched and yawned broadly. "Hi!" he waved at them.

"What were you dreaming?" Harry asked.

Gohan's smile slid from his face.

"There's no time, dear," Mrs. Weasley said quickly, "Everyone's slept over a bit. You have to dress quickly and get downstairs for breakfast.

Gohan, Harry, Ron, Fred and George scrambled downstairs. Mr. Weasley was checking a sheaf of tickets, looking up as they entered the dining room.

"Morning you lot," he said with a smile.

They all chorused at once, his children using variations of dad, Harry and Gohan saying Mr. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley brought a pot over to the table with a tsk. "Oh, where are those girls? She bustled upstairs.

Moments later, a trio of females shot downstairs and sat, doling out some porridge and treacle. Mrs. Weasley refilled the pot with a flick of a wand.

"Thank you," Gohan said eagerly.

"You're welcome, dear."

Mr. Weasley stood and waved down his front. "We're…supposed to go incognito. Do I look like a Muggle?"

Harry nodded, smiling. "Very good."

George yawned loudly. "Where's Charlie and Percy…and Bill?"

"Having a lie in. They're planning to Apparate there sometime around noon."

"They're still in bed? Why can't we apparate?" Fred said moodily.

Mrs. Weasley snorted. "Because…you're underage and you haven't passed your apparation tests!" She turned to the sink.

"You have to pass a test?" Harry said.

"What's Apparation?" Gohan asked.

"It's a means of transportation: disappearing somewhere and reappearing in another place," Mr. Weasley explained.

"Oh, you mean like Instant Trans—ow!" Gohan said, because Hermione had stood on his foot.

Mr. Weasley blinked stupidly before continuing. "And yes, you have to have a license to pass the test. Apparation is very serious. We just fined a couple for Apparating without a license. They went and splinched themselves."

Everyone except Gohan, Harry, and Videl winced. "What's that mean?"

"It means, Gohan, that they left pieces of themselves behind."

Gohan slid back from the table. "AAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "Exactly. Apparation is so serious, that some wizards won't even bother with it."

"Of course, they were stuck. Had to get the Magic Reversal Squad to track down and return the body parts. It was a mess…the paperwork…the Muggles who had seen the missing appendages…"

Hermione and Gohan smiled at each other. At least they wouldn't have to worry about that for a while, knowing Instant Transmission. They had decided it was best to avoid using Instant Transmission in front of people if they could. To date, the only non Z-fighters and Company who knew included: Harry, Ron, Videl, Dumbledore, Snape, and Remus. It wasn't that they didn't trust the Weasleys…they just didn't want the wrong people to discover the technique.

The talk about Apparation was suddenly interrupted. "George! What's that in your pocket?" Mrs. Weasley eyed him suspiciously.

"Nothing," George said in an innocent voice that fooled no one.

"Accio!" She cried. More Ton-Tongue Toffee. She pointed her wand and summoned more toffees from the twins.

Mr. Weasley reached the top of Stoatshead hill, panting heavily. He looked at his group in exasperation. "I don't know what you lot have been doing over the past few weeks, but you act as if that little stroll didn't even faze you."

The kids all grinned at each other.

"Okay lot, spread out and look for the portkey."

Gohan pointed. "Why don't we just ask if they've seen the port-thingy."

Two figures approached, an older, dapper gentleman, and a youth that Gohan was sure was the captain of the Hufflepuffs Quidditch team.

"We've got it, Arthur, chap!" The older man said excitedly.

"Amos! And Cedric?" Mr. Weasley said, motioning at the teen. Fred and George glared at him.

"Yes, sir," Cedric said, extending a hand, which Mr. Weasley shook.

Gohan frowned. There was going to be a lot of people there.

"Merlin's beard! Harry Potter?" Amos said, grabbing Harry's arm and shaking.

"Yes, sir," Harry said uncomfortably as the man's eyes shot up to his scar.

"That'll be a story to tell your grandkids, eh, Ced? You beat Harry Potter."

Cedric Diggory flinched. "Father, I've told you. It was an accident. Harry fell off his broom—"

"Well, you didn't fall off yours, did you? I'm sure Harry here would agree who's the better—"

"Well, I think it's about time to be off," Mr. Weasley said, clearing his throat.

Cedric Diggory walked over to Gohan and extended his hand. "I've never had the chance to thank you, Son."

Gohan blinked confusedly. "What for?"

Diggory smiled but didn't elaborate, casting an embarrassed, knowing look toward his father.

Gohan was in the air spinning rapidly. He was laughing as his shoulders collided with Hermione and Cedric. Gohan and Hermione landed on their feet, as the others, excepting Cedric and the two adults, stumbled to the ground. Gohan laughed. "That was fun! Let's do it again!"

Hermione punched his shoulder. Everyone else was staring.

"What?"

A voice called. "Seven past five from Stoatshead!"

"Wow! Look at all the people!" Gohan exclaimed. He absently followed his group as he took in everything with his senses. They stopped at a small sign that said:

Weezly

"Couldn't have a better spot!" Mr. Weasley said happily. "Now, would any of you happen to know how to erect a tent?"

"I do!" Gohan said. "Me, Dad, and Krillin used to go camping a lot."

"Good! You'll be a great asset to the team. Let's get started."

With Gohan's help, Hermione, Harry, and Mr. Weasley had the two tents erected in ten minutes. "Now we need to scrounge up some food."

"Piccolo!" Gohan said happily as a tall, green 'man' with pointed ears and a turban dropped from the sky. "What are you doing here?"

Piccolo smirked. "Vegeta and I were 'invited' to assist for security purposes. We'll be moving about pretty often, making sure there isn't any trouble. See ya, kids." He flew up into the sky.

"That was a short visit," Hermione commented. "I wonder why he's so preoccupied."

"Beats me," Gohan said as he watched the dot suddenly vanish from view.

A tall man wearing an orange gi and having long, unruly, spiky hair quietly observed a collection of red-heads and others standing nearby. He peered around a tent from a distance, musing quietly over the unique characteristics that made up the group.

Gohan sure has some interesting new friends. The one with the glasses is kind of bizarre. It feels like his energy has been spliced onto a piece from another life form. The ki version of Frankenstein. That piece has a darkness to it. Hmm. And that girl Gohan is standing next to, she has a lot of power, but it seems hidden behind a barrier. It's almost Saiyan-like. Perhaps she requires a transformation to bring it out like Saiyans do.

Gohan's energy is different. He's been training his magical energies to sync with his ki. The girl is the same. It's got me curious to see what techniques they have developed. Over half of the entire group has been training in some sort of fashion. Their ki makes the rest of the people in this field seem like poorly lit candles—

A calm, stoic yet sarcastic voice interrupted his thoughts. "I might be wrong, but one doesn't generally come across dead people in this dimension, even with this group of weirdos."

The man's face lit up with recognition. "Hey, Piccolo! How'd you know I was here? I was suppressing my energy."

Piccolo smirked. "There's only one man I know of that still wears that shade of orange. Besides, you've always had a talent for thinking way too loud."

The man scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. "I guess I have to work on that, huh? So, how is everyone?"

"Why don't you go ask them yourself, Goku? Gohan would especially love to see you."

"About that. I need to ask you some things—"

Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "All right, Goku. What's going on?"

Goku gasped loudly. "Gah! Oh, nothing, I was just a little curious, heh heh heh."

"You've always been a terrible liar, Goku. Out with it!"

"Come on…Piccolo. Gimme a break!"

"All right. Where do you want it?"

"Argh! Not that kind of break—"

"Then tell me what this is about!"

Goku sighed. "Okay, but you're probably not going to like it…and you can't tell the others!" He added, suddenly serious.

Piccolo smirked. Goku was always way too trusting. "Fine, whatever. Now spill it!"

"Okay, it's like this…"

Gohan, Harry, Hermione, and Ron set off toward the water source with their pans and jugs. They were constantly being stopped by friends or strangers who wanted to gawk at Harry. Gohan was relieved that less people seemed to recognize him.

"So the girl with the big hair, she's Riddle's kid?"

"Keep your voice down," Piccolo said sternly. He smirked. "I don't know where you get off talking about someone else's hair problems with that spiky mop of yours."

"Heh. So what do you know about her?"

"I know you may lose a few choice appendages if you ask or talk about him in front of her. She's really sensitive about the topic."

"I see. I take it she doesn't like her father."

"That's putting it mildly. If Potter doesn't wind up destroying him, the girl might apply for the job."

Gohan, Harry, Hermione, and Ron finally returned with the water. Mr. Weasley was still fumbling with the matches. Hermione walked over. "Here, Mr. Weasley, let me have those."

Ron could hardly keep still. "I can't believe it! In less than two hours, we'll be seeing the Quidditch World Cup! I can't wait!"

"Really? Sounds like fun. I've always wondered what a Quidditch game was like," a voice said from behind.

Gohan's eyes widened, and he began to tremble. Hermione turned in the direction and immediately gasped with recognition. Harry and Ron backed away with large eyes. Gohan's plate of food hit the ground, his eyes filling as he shook. He slowly turned, completely speechless.

A sudden blue streak landed next to Mr. Weasley, who flinched at the sudden arrival. Vegeta sputtered. "Kakarot? No! I…refuse to believe it!"

"DADDY!" Gohan tackled the man in the orange gi, sobbing tearfully. Goku chuckled, ruffling his son's hair with his fingers.

"Hey, Gohan. Look how big you've grown. I bet Chi-Chi's spending a small fortune trying to keep you in clothes."

"Actually, Gohan wears mostly Namekian gi, easily conjured," Piccolo said with a small, proud smirk.

Goku laughed. "I see. So, you've been Gohan's father in my absence, Piccolo?"

Piccolo spluttered, blushing. "I…didn't say that, Goku."

Goku laughed. "Aww, it's alright. Gohan couldn't have a better male influence in his life than you."

Vegeta scoffed.

"Hey, Vegeta. I hear you've been pretty busy yourself." Goku said with a knowing smirk.

Vegeta growled. "Mind your own business, clown."

"Heh. Oh, and what's this I hear about Gohan having a girlfriend?" Hermione blushed as Goku shifted his mischievous gaze at her.

Gohan reddened. "DAD!"

"What? I was just wondering when I get grandkids. Hmm?"

Gohan scowled, his eyebrows flat over his eyes in annoyance. "Did you come all the way from the other world only to humiliate me?"

Goku laughed. "I'm sorry, son. So, have you kissed yet?" Harry grinned at Ron, who surprisingly didn't return the gesture.

Gohan growled.

"Okay, okay. So, when do we eat? I'm famished!"

Everyone except Piccolo fell over.

Hmph. Same old Goku, Piccolo smirked.

...

"So, you're only here for today?" Gohan asked, clearly disappointed.

Goku swallowed his eggs in one gulp. "Yeah. I've come to tell you that I'm going to be competing in the World Martial Arts Tournament next year. They've set the date for sometime in July."

"You mean, they've set the year back to every fifth year again?"

"No. It's taken them this long to reorganize…and to get enough participants. I think people are beginning to see the dangers of holding such an event in the open. Events like these attract ambitious people, and not always the good sort."

Gohan frowned thoughtfully. "If you are entering, then so am I!"

"That's my boy," Goku said with a smile, before suddenly growing serious. "You should train really hard. You and your friends…even if they don't compete."

Gohan blinked stupidly. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just want you to get stronger is all." Goku chucked nervously.

Hermione frowned. If Goku was anything like Gohan, then she had just witnessed a big-time question avoidance. Gohan didn't seem to notice. Hermione looked up at Piccolo, who was scowling at Goku. He returned her gaze quickly before looking away. So whatever it is, Piccolo knows.

"Excuse me, Goku?" Hermione said timidly. "How do you know Dumbledore?"

"Oh, wow. I guess it started shortly after the World Martial Arts tournament. I was looking for my Grandpa's four-starred ball and fighting the Red Ribbon Army. I was flying over this castle with the Flying Nimbus when Bulma's radar quit working. I approached the castle, because I hoped someone inside would be able to fix the radar.

"The castle was filled with children all wearing similar gi. I thought it was some sort of Martial Arts School. This boy wearing glasses, like him, came up to me and made fun of my clothes and hair. I laughed with them, there were four of them, and I turned to walk away. This girl with red hair, I think she was a girl, and a boy with long greasy hair….I checked, so he definitely was a boy…he was really mad at me later for some reason…approached and told the four to leave me alone.

"The one with glasses drew out a stick and pointed it at the black-haired boy, and it banged. The black-haired boy skid several feet. I got angry. I punched him on the nose, breaking his glasses, and he was knocked out. The others approached me angrily, so I Kamehameha-ed them, gently you know, I didn't want to hurt them too bad."

Harry stared, beginning to understand who Goku was talking about. Goku continued. "The red-head, Lily, I think, was all excited at me for blowing them up without a wand. She wanted me to teach her. The long-haired boy approached me more cautiously…I think he was afraid. I wasn't sure whether he was a boy or girl, so I checked. He got really mad at me then, and Lily's face went all red."

"Checked?" Hermione said uncertainly.

Gohan shook his head, blushing. "Don't ask." Harry and Ron burst out laughing suddenly.

"I explained that I wanted to be sure that he was a boy. Then I walked over to the girl. She said, "Imma girl, I promise" really fast. So I didn't need to check her."

Hermione blushed. Harry and Ron were still laughing.

Piccolo shook his head. How did Goku ever survive me, being so stupid?

Goku continued. "They asked me how I got onto the grounds. I guess I kind of stuck out a little, because I wore different training clothes. They asked me if I was a new student…how old I was."

"I told them I thought I was around twelve or thirteen, and I saw the place when my radar broke. The girl gasped and asked me how I saw the place, that it was impossible for me to see it. The boy said I was a squid or something. I guess he was still angry at me."

"Squib?" Hermione offered.

"Yeah, that's it! Gosh, how'd you know?"

"Well, squib is what wizards call magically handicapped children that are born to wizards. It made sense to me. And History of the World Martial Arts Tournament said that your magic handicap status had been confirmed. It explains why you can see magic, but not use it."

"I see. Well, Lily and Sev took me to see this really tall, old guy with a crooked nose and glasses. He had a really weird name: Albus Dumbledore. No odder than Bulma, though. Boy, was he ever surprised to see me! He looked at me real funny as Lily explained where and how she found me. His eyes sort of bore into mine…I felt like he could read my mind. After a few minutes he smiled and told me several things that I had done in my life. He also admonished me not to look at the full moon ever again. I guess he knew I accidently trampled my Grandpa Gohan to death when I became an oozaru, even though I didn't know I had at the time—"

Hermione shook her head. Goku spoke simply and fluidly like a child. Arthur Weasley stared interestedly at the Saiyan. Ron and Harry were still grinning stupidly, and Videl stared at him as though she were seeing things that didn't exist. Gohan was looking at his father as though expecting him to disappear at any moment, and Vegeta was smirking at him like a boss indulging an inferior coworker.

"Albus told me my radar would begin working again as soon as I left the protective barriers surrounding the school. I couldn't sense energy back then, so I couldn't tell I had slipped past the shields. He said Bulma's radar was a Muggle device, and Muggle devices didn't work around places like Hogwarts, unless enchanted with the same magical energy. Anyways, he gave me a dragon ball and asked me to return once I had made my wish. That was before I even planned on making a wish that year, before Upa's father was killed by Mercenary Tao." Goku's eyes grew very serious as he remembered.

"How many times have you come in contact with Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"Quite a few. I returned like he asked. He wanted me to help him in some sort of organization called the Order. He explained that he was fighting this evil enemy who was hurting people and trying to gain power. Albus is actually the man who taught me about mind shields. He said it would be very important for me to learn, because it would be bad if Riddle found out that the dragonballs were real."

Hermione'e eyes widened. "You know…Tom Riddle?" She whispered. The others stared.

Goku's eyes met hers. "Yeah. Fought it a couple of times even…when it was terrorizing a village with giants. I got rid of them, and it challenged me. It shot this evil green light from his stick. I knew I should avoid it. I shot ki blasts at it…it made a magic shield that blocked them. In a way I guess I should thank it…it's where I got the idea of developing a ki shield from. But we were evenly matched. It couldn't hit me with that green light, and I couldn't get anywhere near it to land an attack...or even hit it with a blast. That happened after I beat King Piccolo, during my training with Kami.

"Kami would often have me go up to the school to challenge this girl named Selina Subaru. Man, could she ever fight! I think she was even stronger than Kami at the time! While I was there, Albus would have me go and stop Riddle's people from hurting the Muggles. By that time, they were all using green lights at me. Albus said to never let those lights hit, because they would kill me. I guess they figured the only way they could stop me was to kill me. I kept getting the odd impression that they hated me. They kept calling me 'filthy Mudblood' and such. I guess they didn't know I was a squid."

"Squib," Hermione corrected.

"Yeah, that. Anyways, the war continued for several years. I continued to train with Selena Subaru and go after Riddle and its people. Lily and Sev left school. You know, she actually married that mean boy with the glasses? I fought at the tournament and beat Junior. I won. Chi-Chi and I got married, and Gohan was born. Chi-Chi wanted him to become a scholar. I took care of my family and returned to the castle to train with Selena and fight the bad guys. That was when Piccolo ran with that group. Garlic Junior and Riddle had teamed up, merging interests. Piccolo's group joined with Garlic Junior. That's when Piccolo left them."

Piccolo smirked. He spoke in a bitterly ironic voice. "Yeah. I had wanted to rule the world. I considered the alliance pointless, because Riddle wanted more than ninety percent of the population dead. Not many people left to lord over. Couple things I'm glad about…Garlic Junior never told Riddle about the dragon balls. I'm guessing he didn't want to share his immortality with anyone else, especially a worthless human. In a way I guess I'm glad they joined forces, because I would have never met and trained Gohan. It's funny how things work out, isn't it?" He finished, smiling sardonically at the half Saiyan.

Goku nodded. "But Riddle had been defeated before Garlic Junior recovered enough to regroup. Gohan was four when it happened, right before Raditz had arrived. Garlic Junior got his wish, but I'm betting he now wished he hadn't."

Don't bet on it, Piccolo thought dryly. Garlic Junior wouldn't know regret if it bit him on the—

"The last time I had seen Albus was over a year after Gohan was born. He told me that Riddle had been defeated by a baby, Harry Potter. He asked me to help round up the rest of his followers. He also asked if I would be willing to help again, if Riddle ever returned. I guess I can't now…seeing that I am dead." Goku laughed, carelessly flicking a large golden ring above his head. Everyone stared at it.

Suddenly, men Percy identified as Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman appeared. Gohan ignored them and sat with his father. He only had one day to be with him.