Holiday Blahs

"So, you believe that Sirius Black is innocent. Is there any possible way he could be fooling you?"

The Namek smirked. "Maybe you should ask the Weasley boy's rat that question. His ki is suspicious enough. He also happens to be missing a toe."

Dumbledore's cape swished as the old man whirled in an impressive speed, his eyes narrowed. "What? Am I to believe that Ronald Weasley's rat is none other than-"

"Believe what you want. I am only telling you what I know."

"Hi, Harry. What happened to you? You look dreadful!" Videl said as Harry staggered disheveled down the tower steps.

"Where-where is everyone?" Harry muttered.

Ron answered, "Gone, mate. It's the first day of holidays, remember? I was coming to wake you…it's nearly lunchtime."

Harry looked over at Videl. "What are you doing here, then?"

Videl shrugged. "Now that people are leaving me alone, I'd rather be here for the holiday. Dad's probably entertaining some airhead bimbo at his house. I hate the company he's been keeping lately. If he'd stop having such a big head-" She sighed.

Hermione approached cautiously. "You look ill."

"I'm fine," Harry said tersely, rolling his eyes.

"Harry, what we were saying last night," Hermione began. "I don't think you should go after Black.

Harry sighed loudly.

She spoke quicker. "You won't, will you? That would be incredibly stupid.-"

"Do you know what I hear every time I come near a dementor? I can hear my mother screaming…pleading with Voldemort! How can I forget something like that! And Black…he betrayed them…to Voldemort! How the hell am I supposed to feel about that?"

Gohan opened his mouth, but Hermione touched his arm. She knew Harry wouldn't listen to reason at the moment. "They'll catch Black, though," she said frantically, trying to appease Harry. "He'll get sent back to Azkaban-"

"Fudge said that Black isn't affected by dementors as much as the others, remember?"

Ron looked at Harry in shock. "You're saying…you want to kill Black?"

"No!" Hermione said quickly. "Harry wouldn't kill anyone…would you?"

Harry was silent. After a few moments, he said, "Malfoy knew. Remember what he said in potions? 'If it were me, I'd hunt him down…revenge.'"

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "Malfoy probably wants you to go…so you would get hurt."

Gohan shrugged, finally annoyed. "Let him go, Hermione. Let him go after Black."

They all stared at him.

Gohan glared back. "Maybe then he'll listen." Gohan stalked away angrily.

...

Gohan sat in the courtyard, squeezing his tail huffily as he watched Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Hagrid's. Why won't Harry just listen? Resolutely, he walked in the same direction, turning toward the section of Forbidden Forest where he knew Piccolo was. Nothing like a good spar to take his mind off his troubles.

...

Sirius Black was having difficulty keeping his eyes on the young boy who had appeared suddenly to challenge Piccolo. Both boy and Namek, as Piccolo had referred to himself, were so incredibly fast that he could hardly keep his eyes on the blurry forms, even with his keen doggy eyes. Every now and then, the boy would stop fighting, casting a glance at Sirius's bushy hiding place. Sirius had the feeling the boy suspected he was there. What was more, he sensed worry forming on the boy's face as he frowned thoughtfully toward the bush.

Caught off guard, Piccolo landed a powerful kick to the boy's upper torso, sending the boy spinning away ten meters. Completely unfazed, the boy Piccolo had called Gohan shot his body toward Piccolo and began throwing punches and kicks in earnest. Piccolo caught him in the face with an uppercut as Gohan glanced at the bush once more. Piccolo growled in frustration.

"What's in your head, boy? You're being incredibly sloppy."

Gohan told him what happened at the pub.

Piccolo frowned. "You believe it?"

"I can't somehow. It doesn't feel right. Especially the part about Peter Pettigrew. Something's missing, but I can't seem to place it."

"You're a smart boy, Gohan. You'll figure it out soon enough. Now let's go. Maybe you can focus better with that off your chest." Piccolo launched himself at Gohan, who chuckled at his mentor. Besides the boy himself, there was nothing Piccolo loved more than fighting.

Sirius stared in awe. He couldn't believe it. The boy had believed him without question. It had been a long time since anyone had trusted him so readily. Not even the green man went lightly on him, considering that it was him that suggested Sirius's innocence to begin with. The dog looked up into the sky, his eyes watering. After twelve long years, it felt good to be believed. Now if only Harry-

Christmas Eve had arrived, and although Harry and Gohan were still short with each other, they still hurried to the Floo to head to Capsule Corp. Bulma had installed a chimney at her house when Gohan had told her about the Floo Network. Dumbledore had obtained a one-day visa from the Network to link her Muggle house to the network. All the Z-Fighters had shown up, including Piccolo, who had been given the day off watching the school.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Bulma said cheerfully. She walked over to Gohan, Hermione, Ron, and Harry, handing each of them packages.

Hermione held the small box with a smile. "This is a dino capsule?" She surmised.

Bulma blinked. "Yeah, how did you guess? But it isn't just any capsule, kid. It's a replica of Gohan's gravity room. Since you clearly like training as much as my Saiyan boys." Harry shot Hermione a shocked look. She didn't notice.

"Wow, thanks, Bulma! I-I don't know what to say!" Hermione stammered.

"No sweat, kid. Just promise not to flatten yourself on the first go. This baby goes up to eight hundred times Earth's normal gravity."

Ron spluttered as he opened his envelope. It was stuffed with Muggle money. "I can't-" he stammered.

Bulma laughed. "Don't be silly, Ron. That stuff is as common as toilet paper around here."

For some reason Vegeta blushed, glaring angrily at Bulma. Gohan giggled.

"Shut up, boy!" Hermione and Gohan exchanged knowing grins. They both knew about Vegeta's secret playing room. For some reason, the Saiyan prince had filled an entire room with rolls of toilet paper, and would disappear for hours at a time inside.

Hermione had found it. She got lost the first week she had been there. She opened the lower door handle and was pummeled with thousands of toilet paper rolls. She looked up in shock, facing an equally shocked Vegeta. He had frozen in mid air with a roll of toilet paper, as if he was going to throw it at someone. The frozen smile on his face also betrayed evidence of immense child-like amusement. It quickly melted away.

"What are you doing in here? Can't you read? Get out!" He had spluttered, as if he had been a teen who had just had his privacy violated. A week later, a mortified Vegeta had found both Hermione and Gohan in the room, throwing rolls at each other, laughing happily. It took a minute to register the Prince's presence before-

Thud. A roll of toilet paper slammed into Vegeta's face and landed amidst its hygienic brethren. Shockingly, Hermione had been the culprit. After recovering from shock at her audacity, Gohan had giggled.

"Oh, yeah?" Vegeta had exclaimed. He pummeled Hermione with countless rolls, not even giving her one chance to retaliate. Covering her head, Hermione didn't notice when the assault stopped. Grasping her by the collar, he unceremoniously tossed her out the door. She landed on top of Gohan.

"And stay out!" the Prince cried before slamming the door, causing it to crack.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry made a mental note to ask Gohan or Hermione about the toilet paper comment.

Bulma shot her husband a warning look before saying to them, "Don't worry, kids. If Vegeta here gives you any trouble, I'll just bite him again."

Turning purple, Vegeta spluttered. "Damn you, woman! Why did you have to go and tell them that?"

Gohan giggled and nudged Harry. "Vegeta's still sore from the fact that Bulma bit him first."

Harry gave Gohan a confused look, and Hermione blinked. "Huh?"

"Oh, I guess you don't know. Biting is part of the Saiyan courtship ritual. It equates with engagement and sometimes even marriage on Planet Vegeta."

Harry and Ron exchanged grins, while Hermione blushed.

Ron cleared his throat. "So, Gohan," he began innocently. "Ever bitten anyone?" Harry covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

Hermione gasped reproachfully. "Ron!"

Gohan frowned thoughtfully, not recognizing the question as jest. "When I was little, but parents don't count. Before Hogwarts I hadn't been around a lot of girls."

Harry smirked. "Anyone in mind?"

Gohan's eyes became glazed over, suddenly. "Maybe."

All three looked shocked. "Really? Who's the lucky girl?"

Gohan smiled. "Nope. Not telling."

Harry sighed. "What? Is this supposed to be a riddle, Gohan?"

Gohan's eyes sparkled. "You could say that. A Riddle," he said, blushing, somewhat surprised by his own boldness. Piccolo choked on his water. Harry and Ron turned their heads toward the spluttering Namek, who was staring at Gohan as if he'd never seen him before.

After a few moments of silence, Hermione gasped, turning away quickly. She didn't want the others seeing her blush. Gohan smiled, but he didn't follow her with his eyes. He knew the pun hadn't been lost on her.

...

Hermione accepted the fruit punch from Chi-Chi. Shakily, she took a gulp. I can't believe it. Gohan just flirted with me…

...

Harry shook his head at the weird, confusing events as he opened the present Bulma had given him. Harry laughed. They were capsules identical to the ones that Gohan had given him last Christmas. He pocketed them without a word. He turned to see Piccolo staring at Ron. Harry started, not expecting the unusual look the Namek was giving him. But Piccolo wasn't looking exactly at Ron, he was frowning at a small, trembling bulge in Ron's pocket. Harry stared. What was with everyone?

Gohan roused as Ron shouted excitedly. They had arrived back at the castle at midnight the night before. Gohan yawned loudly. Ron threw his pillow at a sleeping Harry.

"Oy! Presents!"

Gohan stretched as the others sat at the foot of their beds, unwrapping gifts.

Ron moaned. "Maroon again! See if you got one."

Gohan pulled Mrs. Weasley's package out first. He always enjoyed her packages because they always included food. The gift contained a golden yellow sweater. Apparently she had heard of his fight with Cell last year. It also had a canister of delicious-looking fudge and a bag of meat pies. Gohan would be writing her another letter.

Chi-Chi had sent Gohan a book on electron shell configurations, and Snape had sent him a book on potions. But the book was funny. It was brand new, but had writing all over the pages. Gohan would check it out, later. Gohan lifted a thin, unlabeled envelope with a small smile. He opened it carefully. It was a framed drawing of himself, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The figures in the drawing were moving about. The Hermione in the picture was currently looking shyly at the Harry, and the Harry was frowning back thoughtfully. The Ron's mouth was moving excitedly, and the Gohan was laughing. Gohan looked into the right hand corner. The tiny, lowercase-scripted letters 'a.f.' confirmed his suspicions.

Ron looked over his shoulder. "Wow, Gohan. Looks like you're a favorite around here. All those presents…hey, who drew that? That's good!" Harry came over and looked.

Gohan chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He picked up a square box. No name…instead there was one word written in a familiar childish scrawl:

gOhAn

Gohan gasped loudly, tearfully ripping the box open. "It's from Daddy!"

Ron and Harry both rushed over to Gohan's bed as the boy fumbled with a blue metallic donut.

"What the bloody hell is it?" Ron asked as he stared.

"Gohan, look," Harry said as he pulled two envelopes from the bottom of the box. The first had nothing written on the outside, but the second had the same childish, untidy letters:

pLAy mE fIRsT

Gohan opened the envelope. A tiny fat card fell into his hand. Searching the contraption, Gohan found a small slot. He inserted the card. The thing whined.

Suddenly, a palm-sized man with unruly spiky hair, wearing an orange gi appeared a foot above the donut. Demi-Goku waved at the shocked youths enthusiastically.

"Hi, son! If you are seeing this, it's probably because I'm dead," He said cheerfully. Gohan bit his lip. Only his father could talk about dying like that. Harry and Ron gaped stupidly at the 3D projection. "And that's too bad, because there were so many things I wanted to teach you yet. Oh well, I guess it's a good thing Dumbledore suggested getting Bulma to help me out with this…just in case."

"Daddy knew Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore knows Bulma?"

"This is how it works. Every Christmas and birthday, you get a chip, and on every chip, you get to learn something different. This is the intro chip. Your lesson for this Christmas is in the white envelope. It will begin our first lesson. The chips are password encrypted, so you'll need to know the password to enter each chip. The password for your next chip is the same password that opened the door on the ship that took you to the planet Namek. Until then, chin up and keep training! And I love you, Gohan."

With tears streaming from his eyes, Gohan removed the chip from the kiosk. Knowing Gohan wouldn't want to play the next chip just yet, Harry returned to his presents.

It was Harry's turn to gasp. "I…don't…believe it!" Harry lifted a broomstick into the air.

Ron paled. "That's a Firebolt, Harry!" Then he whispered. "Who sent it?"

"I donno-" Harry continued talking as Gohan lifted the handle and sniffed. Several scents came to him, including a faint, familiar scent of a certain big dog.

Ron snorted as he saw Gohan's behavior. "Don't tell us you've got bloodhound genes, too!"

Hermione entered with Crookshanks.

"Don't set that beast in here!" Ron shouted.

She dropped Crookshanks on the bed and picked up the frame on Gohan's bed with a smirk. "You were right, Gohan. Filch really can draw."

Harry choked, and Ron started in horror. Filch? Filch?

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Where did that come from?" She asked, pointing at the broom.

Harry and Ron shrugged. Hermione looked back at Gohan, who nodded knowingly. Sirius Black. She jumped as she heard Gohan's voice, but his mouth hadn't moved.

Recovering quickly, she bit her lip. "Don't you think this is a bit odd? That is an especially expensive broom."

Ron rolled his eyes. "What's your point?"

Hermione scoffed. "Did it ever occur to you that-"

"ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Suddenly, Crookshanks jumped at Ron's chest. "GET-HIM-OUT-OF-HERE!" Ron bellowed as he shoved the snarling cat from him, clasped the fleeing rat, and aimed a kick that missed. Ron hopped, angrily howling.

A shrill sound filled the room as Harry's Sneakoscope shook loose from the socks and whistled loudly. Hermione and Gohan shot knowing looks at each other and Ron's rat. Harry regarded them suspiciously, frowning.

Harry shouted over the sound, clasping the object while Ron yelled at everyone and the cat. Gohan picked up the kiosk and envelopes and followed Hermione from the dorm. She was pretty upset. Gohan decided to try to play the chip again, not only hoping to see his father again but also hoping it would cheer Hermione up a little.

She smiled as the tiny, enthusiastic Saiyan vanished. "So, when do you plan on playing the second one?"

"Now, if you want."

"It's your contraption father. If you don't want me-"

But Gohan was already pulling the second chip from the envelope and replacing the previous chip with it. Nothing happened.

"Gohan, didn't your father say something about a password? Something about a door on a ship."

Gohan's face lit up. "Oh yeah! Piccolo!"

The machine whined, and once again, the palm-sized projection of Goku Son appeared.

"Hi, Son! Merry Christmas! Today's lesson is going to be Instant-"

"NO WAY!" Gohan shouted in excitement.

"-Transmission. I thought I'd start out our lessons with a little bang," Goku continued with a satisfied smirk. Over the next hour, the palm-sized Goku explained and demonstrated, taking Gohan and Hermione through the entire technique. "Well, that pretty much covers it, son. That's all there is to it. Feel free to watch this again if you need to go over anything. Just repeat the password from earlier. That's it for today, son. Merry Christmas, and tell Chi-Chi I said hi. I love you!"

Hermione blinked stupidly. "I just learned one of the rarest techniques in the universe. D-Do you think it will work within Hogwarts?"

Gohan grinned. "Why don't we test it and see?"

It took Gohan three attempts to get it right, but Hermione had only performed it correctly at the end of two long hours. Gohan handed her a sensu bean. The effort had exhausted her.

She sat back as she munched, waiting for the effects to take over. She jumped up. "This is insane, Gohan! Once we perfect the technique, we can practically go anywhere…even within the grounds at Hogwarts! It's a good thing the bad guys don't know this technique. Imagine the havoc if they could appear in here, just like that!"

Gohan looked at the chip in his hand, frowning thoughtfully. He smashed it.

Hermione spluttered. "Gohan! Why did you do that?"

Gohan looked up at her. "We can't take the risk of that falling into the wrong hands. We need to be more careful, Hermione. Especially with your background."

Hermione stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Him. We can't let him discover the secrets of ki because we became too careless. Voldemort could become a formidable opponent if we aren't too careful. At least I can keep the introduction."

"Why would you keep-" But she stopped as she watched Gohan insert the intro chip once more, gazing longingly at the palm-sized effigy of his once living father.

...

Gohan stood from the table in the Grand Hall, stretching and yawning loudly. Professor Trelawney gasped, pointing.

"Oh, dear boy! You rose from the table first! Don't you realize-"

"For heaven's sake, Sybill," Professor McGonagall said in exasperation. "Leave the boy alone!" as Gohan lazily left the hall and made his way toward the tower. He sat in the armchair, his eyelids drooping heavily.

…

"WHAT DID YOU GO RUNNING TO MCGONAGALL FOR?" Ron roared. Gohan's eyes shot open.

"Because I think, and Professor McGonagall agrees with me, that the broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!"

Gohan frowned. He thought Hermione believed Sirius was innocent, like he did. He stood and walked over to her.

"((Hermione, why? Harry's in no real danger from Sirius-))"

Ron and Harry shot them both confused looks, because Gohan had spoken in Namekian. Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"((We don't know that, Gohan! Even if Sirius is innocent, he sounds rather reckless to me.))"

"((But what would be the harm in Harry receiving a broomstick-))"

Hermione scoffed impatiently. "((Think about it, Gohan! If I hadn't told, someone else would have surely noticed that Harry had gotten one. Then, they would be asking where he got one. Then, they'd be asking why we, Harry's friends, hadn't been curious as to where it came from! It stands to reason that they may think it was because we already knew where it came from! Then they would suspect us! And although we've done nothing wrong, who knows what they would dig up in the attempt to incriminate us! Do you think they'd understand about me? Especially if they believe that Black is in with Voldemort.))"

"((I still think you should tell Harry about you. He deserves to know.))"

"((I know he does. I...just…I'm waiting for the right moment.))"

"((Don't wait until it's too late. What if it comes from the wrong person-))"

"((Stop badgering me about it, Gohan! This is going to be difficult, no matter who it comes from!))"

"((Yes, but it's best coming from you.))"

Hermione scoffed and raced up the stairs. Gohan watched her go with a sad expression.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Ron blurted.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Would you mind repeating that in English for us, Gohan?"

Gohan shrugged. "It means that Hermione's upset at me," he said flatly.

Harry snorted. "We should be the ones angry at her."

Gohan raised his eyebrows in innocent bewilderment. "How come?"

Harry snorted. Then, he grinned. "Like I said before, completely clueless. Let's go, Monkey Boy. Bedtime."