Magi Ranger

By: Tenstar12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Power Rangers.

Chapter 24, A Fantastic Chapter with Some Lovely Writing in Which There aren't Any Swallows but There is an Owl and References to Giant Floating Heads That Aren't Zordon…

Things were coming to a head.

It had started the day after the Spider monster attacked. Because it had been so late and so many of the Rangers had non-Ranger things to do, Zordon hadn't called them to the Command Center for their debriefing until the next day after school let out. It was there that Jason started in on Harry about his attempt to regain the Elder Wand during the battle.

It really made no sense in the grand scheme of things, but the Red Ranger was angry that Harry had moved to try and regain his stolen property when the opportunity presented itself. Apparently he wasn't supposed to break ranks like he had, and destroying the monster solo had somehow irked Jason even further.

Although Zordon had largely defused Jason's minor tantrum, the attitude persisted for the next few weeks. Rita was still not attacking with her former frequency so Harry's schedule was largely filled with training Karate, studying Grid magic, working at the Youth Center, and occasionally being pushed into hanging out with his friends by Ernie. In his Karate class, Jason continued to call Harry out on seemingly minor things, sometimes when there were other students who were having more trouble than Harry himself.

When Rita next attacked, it was a rather personal assault on Kimberly. Kimberly had won some kind of contest at Angel Grove High School and was selected to design her own float for the "Flower Power Peace Parade." She and Tommy were preparing a model float that was to be submitted to a design team to be recreated at full size when a group of Putties attacked them and destroyed the model. Kimberly had been rather upset as she explained that there wouldn't be any way to fix it before the deadline that evening.

Billy had even asked Harry if he could just fix it with magic, but while the foam pieces of the model could be repaired, the real flowers that she had used on the model and that the Putties had shredded were organic and so couldn't simply be made whole again with magic.

When Rita had later sent down a monster called the Spit Flower that devoured flowers of all kinds and turned them into a bizarre kind of biting blossom that drained the vitality and energy from whatever they latched onto, Kimberly only became more affronted. With all the flowers in Angel Grove for the parade there was plenty around for the monster to snack on and so the core Rangers charged forth, only to almost immediately fall prey to the energy draining flowers the monster sent at them.

Meanwhile, Tommy and Harry had taken the remains of Kimberly's float back to Tommy's garage. The Green Ranger had a notion that if Harry could use his magic to transfigure replicas of the flowers that it would work just as well as real ones for the purposes of the model float. So it was that with a few flicks of his golden wand, Harry fixed the foam body of the model and started creating the flowers that Tommy needed based on the pictures and plans Kimberly had assembled in the days prior.

When they had gotten an urgent call from Zordon a mere thirty minutes into their work, the two had morphed and rushed to aid the other Rangers with the now giant Spit Flower monster. The battle was a bit tense, but with the help of the Dragonzord and Hedwig, the Rangers were able to defeat the monster before it could spread its leeching blossoms all over Angel Grove.

And the look of shock and happiness on Kimberly's face the following Saturday when her float was featured on the live news coverage of the Flower Power Peace Parade was quite the sight to see.

Another two weeks without an attack from Rita found Harry and the Rangers preparing for a Halloween Party at the Youth Center. By this time, Harry was starting to get fed up with the general attitude displayed by Jason pretty much any time they weren't morphed and in battle. If he wasn't all but picking on Harry in Karate class, Jason was making vaguely rude comments during general conversation, which only made the other Rangers feel awkward and uneasy when he did so. When you added that to his general unease on October 31st, you had a rather disgruntled Magi Ranger.

Even so, Harry did his best to shake off his disquiet and even planned to join the others at Ernie's Halloween Party that evening. He showed up in a set of conjured purple robes covered in bright silver stars with a matching pointed wizard's hat. He transfigured himself a long grey beard and wig and a pair of half-moon spectacles. Everyone was rather impressed with his costume, though the Rangers were a bit skeptical when he told them he was dressed as a tribute to his old Headmaster. He may have had some issues with how Dumbledore handled things during the war against Voldemort, but he still held a great deal of respect for him.

The Rangers, particularly Kimberly, just couldn't wrap their heads around the old wizard's fashion sense.

Despite their lack of enthusiasm for his costume, or at least the reasons behind his choosing of it, Harry had a rather good time even though he spent most of the night serving drinks from the Juice Bar. He was able to watch as Zack, dressed up as King Tutt, was shut down yet again by Angela when he asked her to dance. He watched Jason and Billy, dressed as Robin Hood and Sherlock Holmes respectively, laugh at the Black Ranger while Kimberly the princess and Trini/Pocahontas were pulled out to dance by a few of their classmates from school. He saw Tommy come in at first, but he had vanished rather quickly. Apparently his costume wasn't quite ready yet, despite the fact that the party was already going.

During the party, a person in a Frankenstein costume had arrived and started causing some trouble. Though minor at first and easily mistaken for the person acting out the part of their character, things eventually got bad when they all out assaulted and chased Bulk and Skull out of the Youth Center. Things quieted down after a bit until Billy returned, apparently having snuck out after the Frankenstein, and reported that it was one of Rita's monsters.

Following a call from Zordon, they learned that Rita was collecting some "super putty" which would apparently allow her to create stronger Putty Patrollers and that the monster was a distraction. It was apparently a distraction that they couldn't ignore because the next thing Harry knew, they were morphed and facing off against the monster.

The Frankenstein was a surprisingly effective fighter, all considered. Even though Harry and the core Rangers charged it again and again, it continued to knock them all back with apparent ease. The biggest change came when an earthquake split one of the street in Angel Grove proper down the middle, wide enough to allow Rita to come floating out atop a giant ball of red clay, mocking and taunting all she saw as she went. When the sorceress got high enough, she threw down her staff to grow the Frankenstein, idly countering Harry's attempt to Forcewave her staff aside while laughing mockingly, before floating off once more and returning to her Palace on the Moon.

With the Frankenstein now giant, the Zords were called and the monster was eventually defeated after Tommy finally arrived. Apparently he had been ambushed outside the Youth Center by a bunch of Putties, which prevented his speedy arrival.

Though Harry found it hard to believe, the Halloween Party and costume contest continued on after the battle like nothing had happened. Apparently, things like that had been happening so often that the citizens of Angel Grove were able to brush it off like nothing.

Harry just figured that it came from living there for so long, but he wasn't entirely sure.

A mere three days later, Tommy nearly stuck his foot in things.

He and Jason were at the Youth Center practicing for a "Team Ninja Competition," a martial arts competition where two fighters fought in a series of rounds with another team of two. Their opponents were to be a pair of "professional" ninjas apparently managed/hired by Bulk and Skull, though how that came to be nobody could really explain. The only problem was that the two Rangers were having a very hard time coordinating with each other. They were both trying to take the lead on things and show off at the same time and were throwing the other off when they did.

Things didn't get much better when Tommy practically called Jason out on how he had been treating Harry during a verbal bout of disagreement and accusation. Harry himself only caught the tail end of the conversation as he was working at the time, but it was the first time he had gotten any kind of solid confirmation that there was something off with Jason's actions during the Karate classes beyond his own instincts. The confrontation had caused Jason to storm out of the Youth Center, ending their practice session early, and brought Tommy over to the Juice Bar to chat with Harry and explain what had happened.

It really all came down to a similar issue to Harry's own with Jason. Both Jason and Tommy were leader type personalities and they were clashing because of it. The only difference was that Tommy was a bit more of a subdued individual, much like Harry had been before his ordeal during the war, and so would be more likely to back down or compromise in the long run. Jason had been the leader of his group for so long, even before they became the Power Rangers, that he tended to react poorly to any perceived threat to his position. Tommy's laid back attitude would allow him to settle into a more non-threatening role if he let it, and it was this knowledge that led Harry to encourage Tommy to try and go a bit easier on the Red Ranger, though he did thank him for the support.

Later that same day, Rita sent down her new "Super Putties," a much more durable and dangerous version of the shock troopers she had been using so far. The biggest difference in these Putties was that, other than being tougher, they could shape shift their hands into either a large round weight or a blade like form at will. This additional versatility, along with the ability to reform any time they were destroyed by the Rangers' conventional tactics, made the battle long and daunting.

Finally, after Harry, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Kimberly fought for nearly an hour to try and keep the Super Putties from destroying parts of the city, largely only by getting their own butts kicked, Jason and Tommy returned from a special mission from Zordon. They brought with them new weapons for the core Rangers in the form of a type of blaster that could destroy the super putties, a new Zord ally in the form of a robotic brontosaurus named Titanus, and a new camaraderie between the two as they had mended their differences through their trials and learned to work together.

They went on to win the Team Ninja Competition, which, ironically enough, had been delayed by Rita's attack just long enough for the two to arrive and compete. The day ended with Jason pointedly ignoring Harry, apparently having taken the stance of saying nothing if he couldn't say anything good. Harry had a feeling that Tommy had gotten the Red Ranger to lay off him a bit, and it was confirmed the next day as Jason barely acknowledged him during his next Karate Class.

Harry thanked Tommy in private to which the Green Ranger had explained that what Jason was doing wasn't right, or even professional as Jason was supposed to be an instructor, and Tommy had pointed that out to him.

Harry just hoped that it would last.

The following Saturday, Kimberly received another low blow from Rita as the witch stole and enchanted Kimberly's grandmother's spinning wheel that the teen had borrowed for use in her school's production of Rumplestiltsken. The spinning wheel, now the Wheel of Destruction, was an apparently sentient, flying spiked wheel that could destroy nearly anything it touched.

The wheel itself wasn't too difficult to deal with all said and done, as Harry was able to magically freeze it in place long enough for Hedwig to rip into it in her giant Zord form. The biggest problem came in the form of Goldar and Scorpina who were grown and causing a great deal of difficulty for the Megazord with their double team tactics until Hedwig destroyed the Wheel and helped to drive them off once Tommy and the Dragonzord arrived as well.

Luckily enough, when the Wheel of Destruction was destroyed, the spinning wheel magically reappeared back in the school where Rita had stolen it from so the others were able to continue with their production of the play the next night. Harry was invited to attend and did so, though he was one of the only ones who didn't laugh when Bulk's portrayal of the titular character somehow left him with his pants ripped wide open, causing the entire play to descend into farce.

Harry was honestly starting to feel bad for the bully with all of the random unfortunate accidents that happened to him all the time.

Still, not everything had been bad/weird in the last month or so. Zack had stepped up his friendliness since the day of his Hip Hop Kido demo and had actually invited Harry over to hang out a few times. Though their first time involved Zack playing a Monty Python movie and spending the rest of the day quoting it to Harry in a very bad British Accent. Harry appreciated the good old British humor. Zack's interpretation of it, not so much.

Tommy was also spending a bit more time talking to Harry while he was working. This picked up a bit more after the Green Ranger told off Jason during the whole Super Putty fiasco, but his presence and helpful advice while Harry was practicing his Karate was still noted fairly regularly.

But more than either of those two, Trini had been hanging around more often than before. In fact, Harry had noticed that she was coming by to see him for a little while at least once a day during his shift and tended to stand nearby him as often as she could when the Rangers were all hanging out together. He wasn't complaining in the least, though he was more than a bit confused by the secretive smiles Zack and Kimberly were giving him when they thought he wasn't looking.

And that brought him to today. Saturday, November 13th. Harry was sitting at his desk in his room in the Command Center, poking and prodding at a gold Galleon in front of him with his wand while mumbling to himself. "Just a tiny pulse of magic to destabilize this rune… now direct the overload like so… and syphon off the excess and move it over here to shut down this bit…"

What he was doing was the result of several hours of experimentation over the last few weeks. He had come to the conclusion that while working for Ernie wasn't a bad gig, he still needed to think about his future. He couldn't exactly be a Power Ranger forever, right? And even if he could, he would still need a way to pay the bills and the meager wages Ernie paid him wouldn't be able to do that, so his best current resort was his stash of Galleons.

It took him many hours, many headaches, and more than a few melted or otherwise ruined bits of gold before he hit upon a process to successfully remove the goblin enchantments forged into the coins. Even then, it was only possible because of the different type of Power he could wield thanks to the Grid and Zordon's teaching. As it turned out, Grid Power was rather good at overloading and destabilizing Goblin runes and protections, though figuring out the proper way to do so without completely destroying the coin in the process had still taken time to figure out.

He had lost a few dozen Galleons that way, though considering he had many thousands stashed away in his mokeskin bag that had come with him through the Veil, he felt it was an acceptable sacrifice.

"Alright… now I just do this… and then like so… and silencing charm and…" Harry closed his eyes tightly before bringing his left forearm up to block the direct line of sight between his eyes and the coin just before it let out a blindingly bright flash of light. The first time he had successfully disenchanted a Galleon he had been blinded by the flash as well as deafened by an ear piercing shriek that the enchantments caused just before breaking, most likely a last ditch defense by the goblins to potentially alert them of someone tampering with their coins.

Or maybe they were just vindictive. Either explanation worked for Harry at this point.

The flash of light was bright enough to give him spots in his vision even through his closed eyes, and if he only brought up his arm, he got spots in his peripherals for hours as well. The silencing charm was something he figured out after the first coin, especially after Alpha came rushing into his room wielding what looked like a futuristic egg beater and waving it around while demanding to know what was wrong, not that Harry could hear him through the ringing in his ears.

With a sigh and a slight smile of accomplishment, Harry scooped up what was now nothing more than a strange looking solid gold coin and placed it onto a stack of two others to the side. Those three coins were the result of nearly four hours of work and, according to Alpha, were worth a bit over $1000.00. The process of disenchanting them worked very well, but it wasn't really a fast one, though it only took him a bit over an hour now compared to nearly three for his first few. His Occlumency allowed him to recall all the necessary steps perfectly, but it was still up to him to actually perform them with any kind of speed or efficiency.

Grunting slightly as he stretched, Harry idly reached into the mokeskin bag on the desk before him and pulled out another coin. Shaking his arms a bit to try and loosen them up, Harry hunched over the coin on the desk before stopping and shooting a glance at his communicator watch. The morning Karate class should be over by now.

Harry let his thoughts drift slightly. It hadn't even been a week after Tommy confronted Jason before the Red Ranger started in on him again. By this point, Harry had only just started to relax again, so even the slightest hint of Jason's former antagonistic treatment meant Harry needed a break. So after Jason called Harry up for pointless repetitions of the basic Kata that Harry could probably do in his sleep by now followed by Jason nitpicking over some detail or another that irritated Harry and confused the other students who by now were starting to become concerned as well, Harry made the decision to give his Saturday class a miss.

This was how he found himself spending his morning in the Command Center disenchanting Galleons instead of at the Youth Center already. But the Karate Class was over now, and that meant it was almost time for his shift at the Juice Bar.

With another sigh, Harry rose from his chair, idly returning his wand to coin form and slipping it into his pocket, and stretched once more as he made his way out into the Command Center proper.

"Harry," Zordon commented almost immediately. "How did your work on the galleons go this morning?"

"Pretty good, Zordon." Harry responded. "I managed to get another three done."

"That brings your total up to sixteen coins now, correct?" Alpha queried. "That means the total monetary value of the gold is… over five thousand dollars!"

"Yes it does," Harry smiled, nodding to the excitable robot. "Not bad for a few weeks work, eh?"

Zordon chuckled slightly. "Indeed, Harry. You have done well to get so much done in so little time and against almost entirely unfamiliar magics too."

Harry blushed slightly before nodding again. "Yeah, well…" He trailed off, unable to find any further words while Zordon continued chuckling good-naturedly.

He was broken out of his slightly uncomfortable silence when Hedwig landed on his shoulder and butted her head against his own. –Harry/Wizard, you are leaving again?-

Harry quickly shook himself out of his mental freeze before responding. "Yes, Hedwig. I was planning on heading back into Angel Grove. I need a break from the Galleons for a bit and it's almost time for my shift at the Youth Center anyway."

Hedwig bobbed her head once before turning and preening at his hair for a moment while she thought. Finally, she spoke again. –Then you will take me with you. I will not be left behind in this sky-wall room again.-

Harry flinched slightly. He knew that tone. Hedwig had gotten it from listening to Hermione so much and only used it when she was dead set in getting what she wanted. "Hedwig…" He started slowly. "I can't just-"

Hedwig's fierce yellow eyes pierced into his own sharply as she leaned down to allow the eye contact. Even the slightly glossed one seemed to cut straight into his mind. –Harry/Wizard, I came here to protect you. To protect my human. I cannot do that if you leave me in the sky-wall room all the time. You get into so much trouble that I need to be around all the time.-

"Hedwig, I-" This time Hedwig just clacked her beak sharply, cutting him off mid-sentence. When he opened his mouth again to speak, she let out a sharp screech until he closed his mouth again.

Finally, Zordon started laughing once more. "I suppose Alpha and I shall have to arrange for you to have the proper papers and licenses to own and train a bird of prey then Harry?"

Knowing when to admit defeat, Harry sighed. "Yes, Zordon, that would be very helpful. Thank you."

Giving out a soft hurr of contentment, Hedwig went back to preening his hair. Once Zordon assured Harry that the proper documentation would be acquired, read forged and backed up with a hacked paper trail, and gotten to him as soon as possible, Harry teleported away from the Command Center in a pillar of purple light. Hedwig wasn't too fond of apparating and Harry didn't want to risk setting her off just now.

-MR-

It was a rather interesting experience traveling to the Youth Center with a snowy owl on your shoulder. Harry had teleported to a secluded alleyway nearby, one that he had previously charmed with a runically powered notice-me-not ward that would give him and the other Rangers a place to teleport to and from to avoid detection so long as the runes were recharged once a week or so. Upon leaving the alley with Hedwig riding his shoulder and preening his hair, Harry found himself the immediate center of attention.

It shouldn't have been entirely unexpected, but Harry was still caught off guard since the only real time he had spent with Hedwig in the open in the past had been in the Wizarding world, wherein such things were rather commonplace.

For her part, Hedwig was happy as could be. She just sat there pleasantly, running her beak through his hair and occasionally turning to watch some of the pedestrians passing them on the sidewalk.

"You know, Hedwig," Harry mumbled as he watched yet another person stop walking and follow him with their eyes as he and Hedwig traveled toward the Youth Center. He was starting to regret not picking an alleyway closer to the place for his teleportation point. "Perhaps you should have taken off and flown yourself to the Youth Center instead of riding my shoulder."

Hedwig gave a mental scoff. –Nonsense, Harry/Wizard. I already told you that I cannot protect you if I do not stay with you, and there is no reason for me to fly overhead if I can just ride your shoulder.-

"Why do I get the feeling that you're punishing me for leaving you in the Command Center so much…"

Hedwig leaned down to meet his eyes again, drawing a gasp from a nearby watcher who no doubt assumed the owl was going to savage his face. –Why Harry/Wizard, why would I do a thing like that? After all we have been through together, both in this world and in our last, why would I do something to punish you for leaving me behind? For leaving me in the sky-wall room with the Big Head and the Metal Man that I cannot communicate with?-

Harry winced. "Alright, point taken. Sorry, Hedwig."

Hedwig snuffled softly before going back to his hair just as Harry turned onto the block where the Youth Center was located.

When Harry finally got inside the building and away from the confused and watching eyes of the street walking pedestrians, it took him several moments to realize that he was now in an enclosed area with several people who could stare at him for longer as they weren't trying to go anywhere. Of course this didn't occur to him until he walked up to Ernie to check in for his shift with Hedwig still perched on his shoulder.

"Uh… Harry…?" Ernie stammered, wide eyed and staring at Harry's Familiar. "Why… why is there an owl on your shoulder?"

"Oh…" Harry froze for a moment. He couldn't exactly tell Ernie that the owl told him that she was going with him and cut off any protest he could make.

Luckily enough, Ernie spoke again. "No, better question. Why do you even have an owl?"

This, Harry felt he could answer with a partial truth. "Well, I've had Hedwig here ever since my eleventh birthday, a present from an old friend of my parents actually. She's very well behaved for any kind of a pet and seemed bound and determined to come with me today. I think she's been feeling a bit neglected with my recent schedule…"

Ernie shifted his gaze to stare into Harry's eyes, as if weighing his truthfulness before nodding cautiously. "Alright… I suppose she can stay then… But any messes she makes or trouble she causes is on your head, got it?"

Nodding, Harry responded immediately. "Yes, sir. Thanks, Ernie." He felt it might be a bit odd for the owner of the Youth Center to have no large concerns about a potentially dangerous predatory bird hanging around the place, but he had long since learned not to think too hard on Ernie's eccentricities.

Waving him off, Ernie turned back to the grill behind the counter. Harry lifted an arm and let Hedwig step onto it before giving her a slight boost into the air. Hedwig pumped her wings a few times for extra altitude then landed on a rafter overhead and settled down to watch over Harry while he started his shift.

With Hedwig out of most people's immediate line of sight, though a few who had seen Harry come in with her still came up and asked about her from time to time, the first hour of his shift passed by rather quickly. Shortly into the second hour, Harry noticed the other six Rangers making their way into the Youth Center, Zack with an unusual slump to his shoulders. They cut through the mostly empty gym floor and up the few steps to the cafeteria type area around the juice bar, waving to Harry as they passed him.

After a few minutes, Ernie sent Harry on break, so he decided to check in with them. Barely noticing Hedwig gliding to his shoulder again, Harry made his way over to the table the Rangers had claimed and took the only remaining seat between Trini and Zack. "So, how're things going?"

Zack just groaned and everyone shot him a sympathetic look. At Harry's questioning expression, Billy spoke up from Zack's other side. "Zack is experiencing a transient deficiency in self-esteem in regard to the dancing contest tomorrow."

A few moments later, Trini leaned toward him and whispered her Billy-ese translation. "Zack is having self-confidence issues."

"What?" Harry asked incredulously, even Hedwig appeared to be surprised. "Why? You're an awesome dancer, Zack."

"It's just, I don't know man." Zack mumbled, frowning. "I don't know if I can cut it…"

Hedwig shuffled slightly before hopping the short distance between Harry and Zack's shoulders and butted her head up against Zack's. The Black Ranger jumped at first before relaxing when he realized who and what it was and giving the owl a scratch in thanks.

"Uh, Harry…" Kimberly said quietly, seated on Trini's other side between her and Tommy. "Why exactly is Hedwig here? I thought she was staying in the Command Center…"

Harry rolled his eyes, careful to keep them facing away from Hedwig so she wouldn't see. "Hedwig decided that she didn't want to stay in the Command Center any longer. She's getting bored there and Zordon and Alpha can't really communicate with her well. Plus she feels like she has to always protect me and she can't do that from the Command Center unless I morph."

Hedwig spun her head around to face Harry. –It is not just a feeling, Harry/Wizard, it is a fact! You ALWAYS get into trouble when I am not around to save you. You even get into trouble when I am around to help you. You are entirely too prone to troubles for my liking!-

Luckily, Harry didn't have to comment on Hedwig's statement as Jason spoke up next. "Isn't this kinda dangerous though?" he asked, a skeptical look on his face. "I mean, as far as anyone knows, she's a regular owl, and those aren't exactly normal pets that would be welcomed by everyone. What if someone calls the police or something?"

Harry just shrugged. "It's not like she really is a regular owl. She won't cause anyone undue harm and will most likely stay up in the rafters most of the time. She just wants to be nearby just in case. Overprotective and all that. And if someone with authority comes by, Zordon is working on getting me the proper paperwork to own and train an owl like Hedwig and Ernie is alright with her being here as long as she doesn't cause trouble. If worst comes to worst, I can always magic my way through things to keep people from getting too suspicious."

A frown immediately fell across Jason's face. "We don't use our powers against innocents."

Harry sighed slightly. "And my magic has been with me long before I gained access to the Power, so any rules that apply to the Power don't necessarily apply to my magic. I won't do anything excessive, just a Confundus charm to make them think I already showed them the proper licenses or something. But knowing Zordon and Alpha, that won't even be an issue since I'll probably have the proper paperwork long before they become necessary. There shouldn't be any trouble."

Almost as if summoned by his words, trouble appeared in the form of Bulk and Skull. "Hey, nerds!"

"Yeah, nerds!"

Skull's high pitched laughter grated on Harry's nerves as the two bullies approached the Rangers' table. "So… Zack!" Bulk said with a sneer. "Are you ready for the dance competition tomorrow? Cuz it doesn't matter how good you think you are, I'm gonna be blowing everyone else out of the water."

"I doubt there's going to be a biggest splash off a high-dive portion of a dancing contest, Bulk, but good positive thinking." Harry drawled, bringing Bulk's angry glare off of Zack and toward him, only to pause partway when he caught sight of Hedwig still perched on Zack's shoulder.

"What's this? Some kind of stupid fake bird?" Bulk demanded as he moved around the table to stand behind Zack who was forced to turn to face him. Hedwig's head turned as Zack moved, keeping her steely yellow gaze on Bulk. "Do you think this thing is going to bring you some kind of good luck? Or is it your dance partner?"

As Skull once more started laughing at Bulk's questionable wit, the larger bully started reaching forward to grab Hedwig. Seeing him move, Harry decided to intervene. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Bulk."

Bulk froze with his hands a mere foot from Hedwig while the owl just stared at him. "Oh yeah," he demanded. "And why's that?"

In response, Harry just whistled and held up his left arm near Zack's shoulder. Hedwig hopped forward onto Harry's proffered arm as he brought it back to his chest. She leaned into him and let out noises of contentment, her eyes closing slowly even as she spun her head around nearly 180 degrees to still face the two teens.

Bulk jerked himself back. "That thing is alive!" He near shouted, bringing the attention of everyone else in the Youth Center to them with the few who had seen the entire exchange quickly explaining it to others in hissing whispers.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, Bulk. She is both alive and a real Snowy Owl. Her name is Hedwig and I've had her since I was eleven. She didn't seem to want to stay home today, so I brought her along."

Bulk shook the fear off his face and sneered at Harry. "I wonder what Ernie will have to say about your little pet chicken."

Harry scoffed even as Hedwig stiffened at Bulk's insult. He had to mentally remind her that she wasn't supposed to be anything more than a regular animal who wouldn't understand the idiot's taunt and so she couldn't respond as she wanted to. "Why don't you go ask him yourself? I already cleared it with him. Do you think I'd be that stupid, Bulk? Really?"

"Why don't you just leave us alone, Bulk? Maybe before you embarrass yourself more than you already have." Tommy said, standing from his seat slowly, a move Jason copied somewhat hesitantly.

Seeing a situation he was more familiar with, that of apparently physical opposition as opposed to anything involving a bird of prey, Bulk straightened up and once more fixed his sights on Zack. "No, I don't think I will. Before the stupid bird distracted me, I was coming over here to give little Zacky a taste of what he's in for tomorrow night! How about it, loser. Let's have a little dance off right now!"

Zack faltered slightly until Jason smiled and chuckled a bit. "Go ahead man, maybe whooping Bulk at his own challenge will be just what you need to get your confidence back."

Seeing the other Rangers all smiling and nodding at him, Zack finally agreed and the team was treated with an exposition of skill on Zack's part while Bulk merely attempted to copy what he had done. Very, very poorly.

When Zack started off with a few quick steps and a spinning high kick from his Hip Hop Kido style, Bulk copied by jiggling himself around and barely getting his toes above waist level. When Zack did a few more dance moves followed by a five foot vertical jump and midair split, Bulk spun his arms a bit and hopped maybe six inches up and turned his toes outward. Finally, Zack started dancing once more, working his way back until he had enough room around him and jumping into the air with his arms out straight, completing two full spins before landing in a fighting crouch. This time, Bulk just backed up too far and when he jumped ended up knocking down Skull along with a bunch of foam columns that Ernie had planned to use for part of the decorations for the contest the next day.

The Rangers all laughed and congratulated Zack on his win, but Zack just waved them off. "No guys, he just tripped himself up… just like I'm gonna do at the contest…"

With that, Zack walked off without another word, leaving the rest of the Rangers speechless in his wake. Finally, Harry spoke up again. "Man… he really is having self-esteem problems. If I had half the moves he does I wouldn't have any worries at all!"

Jason seemed to catch onto Harry's words as he spoke up next. "Speaking of your moves, Harry, I didn't see you in Karate Class this morning."

Harry stiffened slightly before turning to face the Red Ranger across the table. Jason had a stern look on his face, almost as if he thought he could intimidate Harry with his look alone. Harry easily brushed it off before responding. "Something else came up that I wanted to get taken care of. I needed a bit of a break anyway, Jason. Don't worry about it."

Jason face started turning as red as his suit. "What do you mean you need a break? Is the whole thing some kind of game to you? This is serious business here, Harry. You have to learn to defend yourself properly."

Closing his eyes briefly and counting from ten in his mind, helped by a few soothing words from Hedwig, Harry restrained his anger before meeting Jason's gaze. "I agree completely, Jason. It is serious business. And I also don't think this is a conversation that you would want to have in the middle of the Youth Center."

The other Rangers were beginning to clue in on what was happening at their table right in front of them and were looking uneasy, but Jason thundered on with a scowl. "I think this is as good of a place as any. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind, Harry." Though his words were at least passably pleasant, Jason's tone of voice showed that the Red Ranger's own temper was building.

"Alright then," Harry mused before shifting Hedwig back to his shoulder. "Why have you been holding me back and calling me out over nothing in class?"

Jason's scowl deepened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Even Harry could tell that his response had been a little too quick. Fearing where this conversation would go now, Harry cast a wandless notice-me-not charm and silencing charm around their table, just in case. "Come on Jason, don't play the fool here. Even I know that I'm performing the katas as well as or in some cases even better than some students who have been at this for months longer than I have. I know for a fact that several of the other students are wondering why you're treating me the way you are. You're constantly calling me up to the front of the class and nitpicking on the smallest of issues. And when I spend the time between classes fixing the issues with help from the others, you find something else to pick on. And as soon as there's nothing else you can think of to pick on, you go back to the first thing."

"I most certainly do not!" Jason near shouted, half rising from his seat before Tommy placed a hand on his forearm to calm him down. The Green Ranger wore a serious expression on his face, but didn't look like he was going to step in and stop this argument in the making. He and the other Rangers knew that this was a long time in coming.

Harry just sighed. "Jason, in one of my first classes you hit on my poor footwork in the first Kata you taught me. I fixed that within the next week and you moved on to my blocks and ready stance. Then, two weeks after that, you hit on my footwork again, though nobody could really identify what I had done wrong no matter who I asked for help, and that includes those sitting at this table. So if you aren't singling me out, why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Jason opened and closed his mouth a few times and glanced at the others at the table before finally finding his voice. He spoke in a slightly quieter tone now, though his eyes still held the same firmness. "Alright, I'll admit that I'm holding you to a bit of a higher standard because you're a Ranger too, but I'm not picking on you. Everything I've pointed out has been a valid issue that you needed to fix."

Harry nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Fair enough, but that really doesn't explain why I'm still being instructed to focus on the first Kata instead of moving on to the more advanced ones? Why am I still a white belt when others who have admitted that they know they aren't doing as well as I am have been promoted? Why are you trying so hard to keep me down if you're only trying to help me better myself and my fighting skills while in uniform?"

When Jason didn't respond, Harry soldiered on. "Look Jason, you and I both know that you've had a problem with me almost from the beginning. I'm pretty sure I know what your issue is, but it doesn't matter much at this point. Fact is, you're conduct is bordering on unprofessional. I've even overheard a few students who are thinking of dropping out of your class if it doesn't stop. If enough people leave, it could result in you getting investigated and losing your certifications as a Karate Instructor."

When Harry paused, Jason just grit his teeth and said nothing. Sighing, Harry continued. "Look, I don't want that to happen to you, but you have to realize what's going on. You're letting your personal feelings interfere with your teaching, and that's not good. I just decided I would remove myself from the equation and see how things went."

Jason finally spoke again, though he met the eyes of everyone at the table but Harry as he did so. "And you all agree with this? With what he's saying? That I'm going too far?"

The other Rangers looked very uncomfortable with the situation, but Tommy eventually spoke. "It's true, man. You aren't the only one here qualified to teach Karate, and I've seen a few of your classes and talked to some of your students. You're a great teacher, but your professionalism when Harry is involved leaves something to be desired."

Jason's face started going red again. "So he's turned you all against me then…"

Harry growled lightly under his breath. "This isn't a case of you against me, Jason. The only teams here are the Power Rangers and Earth against Rita and her forces. We. Are. On. The. Same. Side. I know you don't like me personally, but when I agreed to join your class it was in the interest of learning to better help our side against Rita."

"And I told you I wouldn't give you any special treatment!"

"But you have been, Jason!" Harry interrupted the Red Ranger's tirade, his green eyes blazing with his internal Power as his temper rose nearer and nearer the surface. "The only difference is that you haven't been doing it in a positive fashion. You've been passive aggressively putting me down and singling me out since almost the first class I was in! Your determination to establish your dominance over me in the class since you don't feel you can on the Ranger team took you outside the realm of what is acceptable in terms of how you treat your students. And it's starting to have an effect on others as they take notice of what's going on too."

Kimberly sighed as she looked between the two arguing teens before placing a calming hand on Jason's arm. The Red Ranger turned his head sharply to face her only to calm slightly at the sympathetic look on her face. "Jason… I've heard the rumors Harry is talking about too. A few kids were mentioning how some of your students are getting a little uncomfortable with the way you've been calling Harry out. With the way you haven't given him proper acknowledgement for his successes and the like."

With his anger fading fast, Jason looked around at the rest of his friends, Kimberly and Tommy had already expressed their opinions, but when he saw the matching sad, sympathetic looks on Billy and Trini's faces, he just collapsed into himself as the reality of his situation and what he could lose finally sunk in. "So what do you guys think we should do…?"

Harry sighed, letting his own temper die down before speaking. "I think I'm going to drop out of your classes, Jason. I don't want to cause any more trouble than I already have and the easiest way to avoid that is to remove myself from that equation."

Jason's head snapped back up. "But how will you learn to defend yourself?"

Harry shook his head slowly, mindful of the owl still on his shoulder. "I'll figure something out, but for now I think this is the best option."

The two held each other's gaze for several seconds before Jason finally nodded, letting out a sigh of his own. "You're right… I'm just sorry it got this far… I'll… I'll work on it…"

Harry smiled easily before glancing at the clock and seeing his break was a bit past over. Standing from the table and taking Hedwig back onto his arm he nodded at each of the Rangers. "No worries, Jason. We're teenagers after all, angst and emotional outbursts are what we do."

With a small, rather forced sounding chuckle, Jason nodded back to Harry as he sent Hedwig back into the rafters, cancelled his spells, and went back to work.

-MR-

The next hour passed fairly quickly for Harry. He was feeling a bit lighter about himself after clearing the air with Jason about the Karate Classes and let himself revel in his newfound freedom. He made a concerted effort to not let himself worry about how he was going to continue learning without Jason as a teacher, deciding such things could be researched later. He would just have to make do with what he already knew and his magic for now.

Further musings on the subject were cut off when the very earth began to shake violently. It started with a tremendous crack of thunder that partially deafened him. Hedwig let out a screech as the noise disoriented her, nearly causing her to fall from her perch in the process. When the ground started shaking, most of the people in the Youth Center started panicking and running for the exits.

While most people would seek out doorways and the like in an earthquake, in Angel Grove things were different. It hadn't taken the citizens long to recognize that what felt like an earthquake was much more likely to be the footsteps of a giant monster and being indoors when the building could be collapsed on top of you by a giant hand or foot wasn't the best idea.

As Ernie ran out from behind the counter with a shout of "I hate it when this happens," Harry stumbled across the unstable ground to the cluster of other Rangers, sans Zack who was still off on his own.

"Harry," Trini near shouted, gripping onto his right arm with both of hers in an attempt to stabilize herself. "Do you know what's going on? Can you sense anything?"

Harry shook his head briefly before realizing that as much as everything else was shaking, it was probably difficult to recognize his gesture. "No, we can assume that Rita is causing it because of the thunder clap before the shaking if nothing else, but I can't sense anything specific."

"Zordon!" Jason called into his communicator, prompting Harry to glance around briefly and see that they were there was nobody else near enough to hear them as most everyone had already left. "Something is going on in Angel Grove!"

"Yes, Jason, I know." Zordon's voice echoed back. "I am detecting unusual power surges from Rita's moon base. The energy is more massive than I have sensed in a long time. If she is doing what I fear, then the entire earth is in grave danger."

"Alright, Zordon." Jason said quickly. "We have to find Zack, but as soon as we do, we'll come to the Command Center."

"Hurry, Jason. We may not have much time. I shall attempt to locate Zackary myself and I will contact you if I am successful." With that, Zordon closed the communication link and Jason looked back up at the others.

"Come on guys," he said firmly. "Let's go find Zack."

Nodding, Harry and the other Rangers followed Jason toward the exit of the Youth Center, only to be stalled by a cry for help from a pair of children wearing Karate Gi and hiding under a table.

"Tommy!" one of them shouted upon catching sight of the Rangers, particularly the Green. "Tommy, what's going on?"

Tommy cursed lightly under his breath before turning to the others. "I can't leave my students here, guys. You go on ahead, I'll catch up later."

Jason nodded. "Alright, Tommy. We'll see you later then."

As Tommy ran back across the room to the two boys and the other Rangers started on their way out of the building to try and locate Zack, Harry was struck with the thought that he hadn't known Tommy even had any students…

-MR-

It only took a few minutes to find a location private enough for Harry to cast a tracking charm to locate Zack. When they found him on the outskirts of the park around ten minutes later, the shaking in the ground had either stopped or they had traveled far enough from the epicenter that they couldn't feel it anymore. Zack's lack of concern when they came upon him suggested the latter.

"Zack!" Kimberly shouted, having taken the lead and spotted him first. "There you are! We've been looking for you."

Zack still looked rather upset, but Jason picked up the thread of conversation. "Bad news bud, Rita is up to something."

"Zordon said she's gathering Power for something big!" Trini continued.

Nodding, Zack stood from the bench he had been sitting on. "So we're going to the Command Center?"

With a nod of his own, Jason brought his communicator up. "Right. Let's go guys.

Now that they were outside, Harry could more easily feel the massive Power buildup that Zordon had mentioned. Just before they vanished in their uniquely colored columns of light, Harry couldn't help but feel a hint of dread. Just what was Rita planning now?

-MR-

Zordon wasted no time in speaking once they arrived. "Welcome, Rangers. It is as I feared. Rita has finished gathering her Power and cast a summoning spell to call forth one of her most deadly servants. Behold the Viewing Globe."

As one, the six Rangers turned to the Globe as it lit up from within to show a zombie like monster with bone-colored plates on its torso and arms as a sort of armor. The monster was a red, fleshy color and had two large bolts coming out from the sides of its head. "This is the monster known as Mutitus. It is an undead warrior of great strength that has served Rita in many battles in the past and always brought her victory. If she is calling this monster forward now, it is because she is running out of options, but the worst is yet to come."

Kimberly groaned. "I really don't want to know how something can be worse than that thing. Ugh… Gross me out…"

Harry stifled a chuckle at Kimberly's comment, though not enough to keep Hedwig from hearing him from her perch on his shoulder and cuffing him lightly with her wing. –Be serious Harry/Wizard.-

Harry gave Hedwig a quick scratch in apology as the image in the globe changed again, this time to show what was essentially a large, blue head with insanely spiky hair. Zack snorted briefly. "Friend of yours, Zordon?"

Not wanting to raise Hedwig's ire again, Harry more successfully hid his amusement as Zordon responded. "Unfortunately not, Zackary. This is the spirit warrior Lokar. He is a former wielder of the Power like Harry and myself who fell afoul of his own dark magics. As a result, he is trapped in a limbo dimension and only allowed escape when summoned by another. In this case, Rita called him forth to fight alongside Mutitus to destroy the Earth."

"So we've got a zombie and a super-wizard. Sounds like another day in the life of the Power Rangers." Zack quipped, his good humor seemingly restored, though it also felt a bit forced, as if he was pushing his own problems and concerns aside for the sake of the mission.

"This will be your most difficult battle yet, Rangers. Fight hard, work together, and may the Power protect you."

"We will, Zordon," Jason nodded, prompting the others to do so as well before everyone pulled out their morphers and Harry drew his wand. "Alright guys, Its Morphin' Time!"

-MR-

AN: Looked up the price of Gold on November 13th, 1993. I Got $376.75 for the 12th, the 13th wasn't shown as it was a Saturday. Thus my calculations earlier in the chapter.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review,

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