Magi Ranger

By: Tenstar12

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

Chapter 27, or, Harry and his Saving People Thing…

"Aiya! Si-Aiya!"

Tommy jumped into the air, spinning as he did so and launching a tornado kick at Harry, which the wizard swiftly ducked under. Before Harry was able to return upright, Tommy had landed and recovered his stance, forcing Harry to deflect and dodge a few rapid fire punches.

In an attempt to shift the momentum, Harry deflected Tommy's next punch to the side with his left hand, spinning to the right as he did so and launching an elbow strike toward Tommy's side. The experienced fighter predicted the move, however, and was able to shift his arm down to block most of the blow before shifting his body weight and shoving Harry off balance. Taking advantage of this, Tommy went low, sweeping Harry's legs out from under him with one of his own, sending the Magi Ranger to the grass with a grunt and leaving him staring up at the sun shining in the clear sky over Angel Grove Park.

"Alright, alright," Harry panted, laying spread eagle on the ground where he had fallen. "I give."

Tommy chuckled as he relaxed from his fighting stance. "Hey, you're doing a whole lot better now, Harry. And there's no shame in tapping out when you're trying your best." The Green Ranger stepped closer, offering a hand to help Harry up, which was accepted after a moment to catch his breath.

Once he had regained his feet, Harry brushed himself off before responding. "Yeah, but I still don't come anywhere close to matching up to your skills. You are seriously good at this, Tommy."

Tommy chuckled while awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Well, that's what happens when you've been practicing martial arts your whole life, I guess…"

Sensing Tommy's unease, Harry just nodded before gesturing toward their bags where they sat under a tree to one side. "I'm going to take a breather for a bit. You want me to grab your water for you?"

Tommy shook his head. "No, I'm still good to go for a bit longer. I'll join you in a minute though."

Nodding once again, Harry turned and walked the short distance to their bags. Reaching into his purple gym bag, Harry pulled out an equally purple water bottle and took a drink before sitting down on the grass. The bag and water bottle had been gifts from Tommy when the two had met for their first training session together, and while Harry may have cringed at the color (and especially at Tommy's knowing and rather teasing smirk when Harry first saw them), Harry accepted them in the spirit with which they were given.

It was the day after the battle with Mutitus that Tommy approached Harry about taking over his martial arts education. The Ranger had been teaching a few students on the side, mostly younger kids who weren't able to get into Jason's classes for one reason or another, but he was more than happy to offer to help his fellow Ranger out when he left Jason's class.

For his part, Harry had had no idea what he was going to do about learning Karate and so eagerly accepted Tommy's offer. Though there were some rough spots at first, Harry's begrudging acceptance of the purple colored gag gifts one of them, they had found they worked quite well together. Once Tommy was able to accurately judge where Harry was in his martial arts ability and how quickly he was able to pick things up with the Grid's help, the experienced martial artist was able to create an accelerated program for Harry that made his martial arts abilities increase noticeably almost immediately. While he wouldn't be able to earn any Karate belts with Tommy as his teacher and their accelerated "class", Harry wasn't really worried about that aspect of it and so the arrangement was as near perfect as could be for him.

Not having spent much one on one time with the Green Ranger since he had joined the team, Harry was quite happy to learn that Tommy was very easy to get along with. Having a rather laid back and friendly attitude made Tommy a very likable guy, though all that got put on the back burner when he got into a fight, be it a spar or a battle against evil.

Tommy took his Karate very seriously.

Even now, while Harry sat reminiscing in the shade, Tommy was going through a series of high speed katas that made it look like he was fighting a group of invisible enemies… And probably kicking their collective ass… The dedication of the Green Ranger to his art form really showed why he made such a powerful opponent while he was under Rita's control, and an equally powerful ally now.

Harry groaned as he replaced his water bottle into his bag and shifted to lie on his back. He hadn't been sleeping too well lately. That added onto the intense training session he had gone through had managed to make him more than a bit sore. Though the now daily exercise was far from the only contributing factor to his sleeping problems.

First off, it seemed that his body was finally starting to protest his months of sleeping on nothing but a cot in his room in the Command Center and cushioning charms could only go so far to help the situation. He knew that an ideal solution would be to actually find a more permanent place to live, preferably one with a real bed, or at least room for one. The room in the Command Center, while quite enough for him initially, really wasn't suitable as a long term living area. Not to mention that Harry couldn't actually remember the last time he had taken a shower somewhere other than the locker rooms at the Youth Center.

All this extra training with Tommy in the last week, while incredibly helpful and definitely essential, brought on an additional level of exhaustion that made his current sleeping arrangements much less acceptable. He would go to bed exhausted from his now daily training with Tommy, only to toss and turn throughout the night, unable to fully relax on the cot, and wake in the morning not feeling much more rested than he had been before sleeping.

This all brought him back to his need for his own place to stay, which then brought up the biggest obstacle to that goal: his lack of funds. While working at the Youth Center certainly made him enough to keep him fed with a bit left over, he wasn't making anywhere near enough money to be able to afford his own place to live while that was his only source of income. While he had disenchanted several of the Galleons by this point, he still had no clue as to how he could go about selling them. All he knew was that he had to be careful not to sell them all at once, as too much "new" gold hitting the market at the same time, and especially from the same place or seller, would raise far too many questions.

And Ernie, as awesome as the man was, was beginning to ask a few rather pointed questions as well. When he had gotten the job at the Youth Center, Harry had neglected to give Ernie a home address. Zordon and Alpha had helped him arrange a P.O. Box for any necessary mail, but Ernie was now getting suspicious about Harry's lack of a clear answer on the subject of where he was living. Ernie certainly meant well, Harry seriously doubted there was an unkind bone in the man's body, but it was getting to the point where Harry was running out of ways to deflect Ernie's questions. He really didn't want to have to memory charm the man as he had been so kind to him thus far, but it was starting to look like that was the only way Harry would be able to get him to ease off with his well-intended interrogations.

On top of this added stress and his new training with Tommy, Zordon had started Harry on yet another new topic in his training with the Power. Harry was now learning how to draw in and hold on to Power throughout the day. As opposed to when he collected Power and used it immediately, this technique called for Harry to store the Power in a sort of internal pocket, or at least that's how Zordon described it, Harry just likened it to his own Magical Core. The purpose of this exercise was to enable Harry to cast Grid-powered spells without always having to draw the Power up first. By keeping a charge available at all times, he could react faster, which was quite the necessary skill when one was fighting against the likes of Rita's monsters.

For now though, Harry couldn't really keep too much Power with him, barely enough for a weak forcewave. The feeling was similar to having eaten too much, a kind of internal pressure that he had to adapt to before he could increase the levels again, but Zordon had assured him that those who practiced this particular aspect of using the Power diligently were known to be able to fight for hours at a time without having to draw on more Power in the heat of battle.

And anything that meant Harry didn't have to do as much showboating as the Grid demanded for the use of its Power was good in his book.

But this new topic did add yet another level of mental stress and strain onto Harry's already full load, which certainly didn't help with his sleeping situation.

He really needed to get his own place… like REALLY needed to…

But he didn't have enough money to afford one just yet…

Harry was snapped out of his circuitous thinking when Tommy flopped down next to him with a sigh of satisfaction. Taking a drink from his own (green) water bottle, Tommy shot him a smile. "I meant what I said before, Harry. You really are doing very well."

Harry raised an eyebrow before speaking with humor in his voice. "Tommy, you know that I'm not one of the kids you've been teaching lately that needs constant reassurance, right? While I appreciate the thought, I'm not going to quit on you if I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere." Harry chuckled slightly when Tommy blushed in embarrassment before he continued. "Besides, I know I'm doing better than before. The faster pace we have going here works better for me since I not only want to learn this, but I kind of have to learn it as fast as I can. The speed the Grid lets me pick things up at isn't something Jason could take advantage of without leaving the rest of the class behind. I really appreciate your helping me with this."

Tommy waved a hand airily. "It's not a problem, Harry. I'm just happy to help out. It's the least I can do, really…" Tommy trailed off before taking another drink of water. The Green Ranger still had a rather large issue with what he had done while under Rita's control, but by now Harry knew better than to argue about it with him. So Harry just nodded and did his best to relax, focusing enough to circulate his magic and the Power through his body to help aid his control and slightly alleviate physical exhaustion, another exercise recommended by Zordon for his down time, but otherwise letting his mind drift again…

Only for the familiar six tone chime of their communicators to snap him out of it all at once.

Exchanging a brief glance with Tommy, Harry lifted his communicator and activated it. "Go ahead, Zordon."

"Harry," Zordon's said, his tone grave. "The other Rangers need the help of Tommy and yourself. They are in downtown Angel Grove battling a monster known as the Peckster. It is an avian monster similar to a woodpecker that has been using its powerful beak to deal a great amount of damage to the surrounding buildings. Despite their best efforts, the monster is too strong for the Rangers to handle themselves."

Harry and Tommy exchanged another quick glance before both nodded firmly. "Got it Zordon, we're on our way."

"Good luck, and may the Power protect you both."

Harry pulled his coin from his pocket and shifted it once more to wand form while Tommy fished his own morpher out of the depths of his green gym bag. Once he had retrieved it, Harry waved his wand, closing up both bags and hiding them under a temporary illusion before once more meeting Tommy's eyes.

"It's Morphin' Time." Tommy said with a firm nod before looking up and squaring his stance, staring firmly into the distance. Harry just shook his head slightly, chuckling a bit at the dramatics before whipping his wand through the air, drawing the symbol of the Deathly Hallows in a trail of fire.

"DRAGONZORD!" "MAGI RANGER, POWER UP!"

-MR-

Harry and Tommy appeared in twin beams of light in their signature colors atop one of the taller buildings in Angel Grove. When they materialized fully, both began looking around for a giant monster that was destroying buildings. What they got was a few random columns of smoke in the area, the distant noise of sirens, and a much closer explosion. It was the explosion that really caught their attention as it was accompanied by a shuddering in the building they were standing on.

Rushing to the edge and glancing over, Harry and Tommy could barely make out the tiny, multicolored dots of their allies accompanied by the various flashes of light that accompanied their battle with a sixth, fully unidentifiable dot that they assumed to be the Peckster. The dots were moving around in a kind of courtyard in front of the building they were standing on. "You know," Harry mused aloud. "When Zordon said the monster was destroying buildings, I kind of expected it to be giant already…"

Tommy nodded as they watched the battle far below. "I know what you mean, but it doesn't matter in the end. That thing is a threat to Angel Grove and we need to get down there and help out no matter what size it is."

Harry nodded slightly but before he could say anything else, Tommy leapt off the building with a fierce "Si-Aiya!"

Harry just sighed. "Yeah, I'm not doing that." Twisting in place and flexing his magic, Harry apparated to the bottom of the building, on the far side of the courtyard from where the battle was happening. The loud crack of his arrival echoed across the area and caught the attention of the Rangers and the misshapen bird monster they were fighting.

"Ah!" The creature shouted, its voice coming through surprisingly clear despite the fact that it was speaking with a jagged looking beak that extended more than a foot from its face. "You must be the Magi Ranger that Empress Rita told me about. I was wondering when you'd be showing up!"

The Peckster was indeed an avian monster as Zordon has said. Its body and arms were mostly yellow with a few blue portions here and there and its fingers were tipped in inch long, curved talons. Aside from the overly large beak, there were several ragged blue feathers coming from atop his head and around two large yellow circles on either side of its head that may have been eyes. Coming from behind its shoulders were two tattered looking, dark blue wings that didn't seem as if they had enough feathers to enable flight, though that didn't mean much with Rita's magic in play.

The monster was so focused on Harry that it completely missed the falling form of Tommy until he let out another loud "Aiya!" as he dropped onto the monster's head, the Dragon Dagger lashing out as he went and knocking the monster to the ground in a heap below him.

"Hey there, Bird Brain." Tommy said as he leapt off the downed monster and regrouped with the five core Rangers. "Thanks for breaking my fall."

Harry just shook his head as he jogged over to the group, keeping a wary eye on the shifting heap of monster before them.

"You little pest!" the Peckster near screeched as it climbed back to its feet. Other than a tiny scorch mark on the top of its beak where Tommy's Dragon Dagger had hit it, the monster seemed undamaged from Tommy's attack. "That hurt a little bit! I'm gonna make you pay for that!"

"Dammit!" Jason growled, clenching his fist as he moved up a half step. "What is it gonna take to take this guy down! Nothing we try works!"

"Keep your eye on the birdie!" the monster shouted, cackling as it charged toward the seven Rangers, flapping its arms like a pair of wings, which Harry found odd since the creature actually did have wings.

Before any of the Rangers could react, the monster was among them and lashing out with its clawed hands and beak in turn. While the claws knocked the Rangers aside as if they weren't there, it was the beak that Harry quickly learned was the more dangerous weapon. Tommy found it out first hand as the sharp tip of the monster's beak impacted squarely with the center of his golden shield and sent him flying backwards to crash into a building across the street.

"Aww…" The monster crooned while the Rangers regrouped nearby, save Tommy who was still struggling to his feet from where he had been knocked back. "Where did you go, Green Ranger? I wasn't done with you yet!"

The Peckster leapt into the air, its ragged wings unfolding and beating hard, changing its jump into flight and sending it hurtling through the air toward Tommy.

"Tommy!" Kimberly shouted, running toward him. "Heads up!"

"Huh?" Tommy glanced up from his crouched position, one hand clutching at the scorched center of his chest shield only to catch sight of the Peckster swooping toward him, beak first. "Woah!" At the last moment, Tommy dodged to the side, rolling away before springing unsteadily to his feet just as the monster's beak struck the side of the building.

The point of impact exploded.

Harry and the other Rangers found themselves knocked off their feet as the shockwave from the Peckster's attack washed over them. "Merlin's Balls!" Harry groaned as he clambered back to his feet. "What the heck was that?!"

"It happens every time the Peckster hits a building with its beak." Zack answered. "We have no idea why, but it's definitely not something we want to mess with."

"Yeah, I can imagine…" Harry mumbled as he and the others ran to Tommy's new position. The Green Ranger had been caught in the back by the shockwave and, as he was much closer, was once more sent flying. He had hit the ground hard and went rolling for several more yards before coming to a stop in the middle of the street.

"Oh man…" Tommy groaned as Kimberly and Jason helped him to his feet. "This really isn't my day, guys…"

"Aw, you moved!" Peckster taunted as it stepped out of the dust cloud caused by the explosion. "No matter, that just means I can have some more fun with you before I finish you off!" Leaping into the air once more, the monster's wings spread out and began beating, turning it into an organic missile once more.

"Alright," Harry said, his face set in a scowl under his helmet as he summoned the Magi Staff and stepped forward. "Let's so how you handle this. Impedimenta!"

He expended his pool of Grid Power to cast the spell, giving it more force than normal, and it was probably good he had because of the speed the Peckster was traveling at. As it was, the monster slowed to a stop a mere five feet from where Harry stood at the front of the group of Rangers.

"What?!" the monster began screaming, flailing its arms and legs as it was held in the spell's grasp. "What's going on? What did you do to me?"

Nodding to himself, Harry spun his staff once before slashing it downward sharply. "And now let's clip those wings of yours. Diffindo!"

The severing charm lashed out, impacting the monster and slicing off the top half of its right wing just before the Impediment Jinx faded, dropping the Peckster to the pavement on its face.

Amusingly enough, the monster's beak split the ground when it hit, driving it into the paved surface and leaving a hole behind when the bird monster pushed itself up as the Rangers backed away to get a bit of distance. "No! You puny human! I'll destroy you for that!"

"Nice job, Harry." Jason half-shouted. "Now let's see how this guy fights on our terms!"

"Right!" the other four core Rangers chanted as they all drew their blade blasters and charged the land-bound monster. Harry stood back with the still recovering Tommy and watched the ensuing melee. He knew that even with his recent improvement, he would still be more of a handicap in the battle. Even still, he began spinning his staff, storing what Power he could and channeling the rest into his weapon, waiting for the right moment to give the other Rangers the advantage.

The opportunity came when the Peckster, still dominating the close range battles despite its injury, knocked Jason away once again, making it the only participant in that battle that was still standing. Feeling a bit of Grid influenced levity come over him, Harry thrust his staff forward with a grunt, releasing the energy within in the form of a Levin Bolt. "Don't forget about me, Seed Breath!"

As the Grid Powered lightning bolt raked across the bird monster and knocked it to the ground even as it continued to deal damage, Harry couldn't help but muse. Seed Breath? Seriously? The Grid takes over for an instant to make him taunt the monster for its own satisfaction and the best it can come up with is Seed Breath? Harry rolled his eyes and gave an internal sigh of exasperation as he felt his collected Power drain away, freeing the monster from his attack.

As the other Rangers formed up around Harry, the Peckster climbed to its feet again. The monster was now looking rather worse for wear. While it continued to laugh as if everything it saw was incredibly hilarious, its entire body was crisscrossed with scorch mark trails from Harry's attack. Add that in with the severed wing and things were certainly looking up for the Rangers in this battle.

"Don't you think I'm done just yet, Rangers!" the Peckster taunted, shaking a single finger at them on one of its hands. "This battle is far from over!" The Peckster flung its arms out to the sides, both of its wings stretching out again as it did so. Including its formerly severed right wing.

"What the…" Zack gasped while the other Rangers made similar noises of disbelief.

"The monster must have an advanced form of regeneration!" Billy deduced mere moments later.

"Now, how about a taste of my toxic tornado!" the Peckster squawked before it began flapping its wings fiercely, kicking up a strong wind that soon had all seven Rangers leaning forward and straining to avoid losing ground.

Harry himself had planted the butt of his staff into the pavement with a burst of Grid enhanced strength and was clinging to it with his left hand while his right kept a firm grip on the still winded Tommy's. The two Rangers weathered the windstorm only slightly better than the others who were all pushed back several feet. But that only meant that they were the first to get hit when the Peckster opened its beak wide, revealing multiple spines nestled in the back of its throat that then shot forward like rockets.

Harry felt the first spine hit him in his left shoulder, the sudden shock of the impact and bright flash of sparks making him instinctively release his grip on the Magi Staff and sending both he and Tommy flipping end over end while the spines continued peppering them. The other Rangers went through similar reactions, all of them losing their footing when the spines hit them and getting caught up in the wind as the attacks continued. The Rangers' flights were short, however, as they all slammed into an office building behind them, cracking the ground floor windows when they hit, and fell to the sidewalk when the wind died down soon after.

Rising slowly, Harry wearily summoned the Magi Staff to his hand wandlessly before helping Tommy up as best he could. The other Rangers all copied his motions, standing with halting motions as various parts of their bodies complained at their movement. None of them really felt much pain from the attacks as the suits absorbed nearly all of the real damage, but the impacts still left them feeling a bit tender, even if it was only psychological as if they felt they should be hurt even if they really weren't.

"Uhhh…" Kimberly moaned as she stood, holding onto her head as she did. "Did anybody get the number of that bus…?"

"No bus, just the Peckster!" The monster laughed, nearly skipping as it moved closer to them. "Here, you all seemed to enjoy the last one so much, why don't you have another?"

As the monster opened its beak wide again, Jason was the first to react. "Look out!" he shouted, grabbing ahold of a still dazed Kimberly and Billy and diving to the side with them. "It's firing again!"

Harry managed to dive the other way himself, wandlessly summoning Tommy, Zack, and Trini as he went and leaving the four in a massive heap as the Peckster's spines impacted and exploded with the side of the building accompanied by the sound of breaking glass as the window's finally shattered.

As the dust around them settled slightly, Harry found himself on his back with a weight on his chest. Blinking beneath his helmet, Harry found himself staring into Trini's visor. "Well," Harry quipped, smirking slightly despite the tense situation. "Fancy meeting you here."

Once again, Harry imagined he could almost feel Trini's blush through her helmet as she scrambled off of him, pausing only to help Zack and Tommy up while Harry climbed to his feet once more with the support of the Magi Staff. "You know," he mused, looking to the other three Rangers to see they were climbing to their feet as well. "I'm starting to get sick of using this thing as a crutch more than a weapon lately…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" Zack said as he clutched at a scorch mark low on his chest with his left hand. "But at least we know why nothing we did earlier seemed to damage this thing. It's healing faster than we can hurt it."

"And that beak it has packs a punch too," Tommy groaned, finally standing straight again. "I can almost still feel it, and it hit directly on my shield."

Giving off a brief sigh, Harry turned back to where the Peckster was still standing, looking like it was dancing in place as it taunted them. "My guess is we'll have to hit it with everything we have all at once. Deal enough damage all at one time to destroy it as opposed to wearing it down over time."

"Right!" the three Rangers chanted as one, making Harry roll his eyes internally.

"Hey, I have a new idea!" the monster shouted out once more as it stopped dancing and looked back and forth between the two groups of Rangers. "Let's try a new game!" With that said, the monster opened its beak once again and fired yet another volley of spines, but these weren't aimed at the Rangers. These spines impacted the ground in front of them and the building behind them, throwing up a cloud of dust and breaking yet more glass all up the side of the building as they exploded, once more blocking their view of the monster.

The bird's laughter echoed around them even as Harry summoned a burst of wind to help clear the air. "Catch me if you can, Rangers!"

"Over there!" Kimberly's shouted, a quick glance showed her pointing up into the air and, following her gesture, Harry spotted the monster flying away from them.

"Come on, guys!" Jason commanded, already running after the Peckster. "We can't let him get away!"

Harry watched as the six Rangers took off on foot and was about to apparate to a rooftop to help direct them when he heard a scream from above. "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! HELP ME!"

Looking up, Harry saw a sight that made his eyes widen. Almost directly above him was a figure, a woman based on the voice, hanging outside a window on the fourth floor. She was desperately clinging to a ledge outside the broken window, begging and screaming for help. Harry took one last quick glance toward the other Rangers who were now disappearing around the side of another building in the pursuit of the monster.

For Harry, there wasn't even a choice to be made.

Putting his faith in the Grid to help guide him and letting the Power flow through him, Harry leapt straight up. In mere moments, he was even with the woman and landed lightly on the ledge she was clinging to, now with wide eyes at his stunt. Acting quickly, Harry dismissed his staff and cast a sticking charm on his own boots to provide leverage before kneeling down and grabbing onto the woman's forearms. With a simple heave, he pulled her up onto the ledge with him as if she weighed nothing.

The woman almost immediately wrapped her arms around him, clinging with a desperate strength and constantly crying out her thanks and praises. For his part, Harry stayed focused as best he could. A quick glance through the broken window showed a fire burning fiercely, meaning he'd have to take her back down with him.

Nodding to himself, Harry shifted his grip on the woman, scooping her up into a bridal carry before he hopped off the ledge. The woman only had a moment to scream during their freefall before they hit the ground, Harry's light crouch and a short jolt the only real sign that they'd landed.

Sometimes he really liked having the Grid Power on his side.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you…" the woman was mumbling even as Harry set her feet on the sidewalk, her face still buried in his vest/cloak as she cried what he could only assume were tears of relief. Suddenly, she stiffened before looking up at his visor. "But wait! Dianna is still in there!"

Harry gave a short start. "Dianna? You mean someone is still in the building?"

The woman nodded frantically. "Yes, Dianna, she's one of my coworkers. We were putting in some extra hours when the battle started. The first time the building was hit the floor below her collapsed and she fell. I went to the window to try and see what was going on when the next blast broke the glass and I fell out! Please, you have to save her!"

Harry cursed internally even as he extricated himself from the woman's grip. "Get some distance just in case. We don't want you getting hurt any more, yeah?"

After the woman nodded, tears still streaking down her face, Harry once more leapt into the air, coming to a rest on the ledge outside the broken window and climbing through it into the still burning building. Thinking fast, Harry cast a detection charm. Luckily enough, the spell told him that there was only one other person in the building. "Well," he mumbled, squinting to try and see through the somewhat smoky air. "That makes my job a bit easier at least.

From what he could tell, it was an office building, or at least he assumed this floor was allocated for such a purpose as he made out what looked like several cubicles all across the large room he was in. It didn't take Harry much longer to find the collapsed floor either. Around twenty feet away from the broken window, the floor simply disappeared. From the edge of the hole to the far wall of the room where a small ridge stayed attached, most likely due to its proximity to the far wall. Moving to the edge of the hole, Harry cast the detection charm once again, the results telling him that the woman was somewhere below him, rather far down based on the readings and seeing as how the collapse appeared to have gone all the way down to the ground floor, but was still alive.

With a nod to himself, Harry turned back to the window and took off at a run. Leaping out the window, Harry flipped once in midair before landing in a crouch and turning to face the building again, intending to head back in through the broken first floor windows to try and get to the trapped worker. The only problem was that there was now a fire truck parked between him and the building. He was quite taken aback by this since he hadn't even heard a siren or anything while he was searching the building.

"Woah there, buddy!" one fireman said as Harry landed near him. "What's the hurry?"

Harry stared blankly at the man, almost wishing he could see the look of disbelief on his face through his helmet. Finally, Harry found the words to speak. "There's still someone trapped inside, the building is burning, and you're asking me what my hurry is? What the hell is your problem?"

The man looked dumbfounded for a moment before responding. "So you guys really don't do it on purpose? You really don't know about it at all?"

Harry nearly snapped at the man, but managed to calm himself at the last second. "What are you talking about?"

The man seemed to shift uneasily for a second before looking firmly into Harry's visor. "Nobody ever gets hurt during one of you Power Rangers' battles with Rita's monsters. It's strange really. We've found people trapped in cars, surrounded by a perfect circle of fire, or in a pocket underneath a pile of rubble like I bet we'll find the person trapped in here, but nobody ever even has so much as a scratch on them when we get to them."

Harry paused. That… that didn't make any sense at all. Shaking himself, Harry stepped around the man and made to move around the fire truck to continue on his self-given mission. "You'll have to excuse me if I don't take your word for it."

Harry cleared the truck and was about to jump through the broken window when the same fireman grabbed his forearm. "I can't let you go in there, pal. Power Ranger or no, the building isn't safe just yet. And especially not while the fire is still burning."

Harry looked around and saw that there was only the one fire truck on the scene and none of the four firefighters he could see seemed to be rushing to get any hoses hooked up. In fact, two of them seemed to be chatting with the woman he had saved from the ledge earlier. Rounding on the man who still held his arm, Harry glared. "My suit will protect me from anything the fire may be able to do, and besides, none of you seem like you can be bothered to take care of the fire just now."

The man shrugged, shifting uneasily. "They've always burned out themselves before we really got set up in the past, and like I said, nobody ever got hurt, even when everything we know says they should have, so it's just easier to wait them out and then move in."

Harry just stared at him for a moment. "And the fact that you feel like that is acceptable disgusts me. If there's someone trapped in there then it's your duty to do whatever is within your power to save them, even if you don't think they'll be hurt in the end." With a jerk of his arm, Harry freed himself from the fireman's slackened grip and jumped through the broken first floor windows.

Almost immediately, Harry caught sight of the results of the collapse in the form of a pile of debris that stretched up higher than the broken ceiling. He spotted several desks, cubicle walls, and an untold amount of concrete, metal, and other materials from the floors/ceilings that had fallen when that section gave way, and all that was flammable was merrily burning away.

"Alright," Harry mumbled. His first thought was to start vanishing whatever was burning to clear the area, but on a second glance he decided that he couldn't risk that without knowing how rest of the building would react if he vanished the wrong thing. He definitely wouldn't want to vanish something important and bring the whole building down on himself. With a sigh he began drawing up the Power from within him. "We'll do it the long way then…" Pooling magic and Power in his hands, Harry thrust his arms forward. "Aguamenti!" a stream of water shot forth from each of his gloved palms and he aimed each one toward the fires closest to him, intending to clear a path to the debris pile. Even if his suit would protect him from the fire, that didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt the trapped woman on their way out.

After a few minutes of dousing the flames with little result, Harry heard a scuffle behind him just before a voice sounded out. "Well, that's handy…" Harry glanced back over his shoulder to see the fireman climbing through the broken window and hauling a fire hose with him. Almost immediately, the man surveyed the damage before stepping up next to Harry. "No, no, you have to aim lower. Hit what the fire is burning with the water or else you'll never put it out. You have to soak down the fuel, you see…"

Taking the advice as it was intended, Harry lowered his arms slightly and watched as the fire guttered and spat almost immediately, fighting a losing battle against its elemental opposite before finally going out and letting Harry move on to the next spot. The two figures continued like that for several minutes, Harry spraying down various 'hot spots' as directed by the professional while the other three fireman worked with the hose behind them to touch things up. Finally, they reached the pile of rubble and Harry let his water conjuring spell stop before casting the detection charm again.

"Alright, my spell tells me that there is one person buried about ten feet in front of us. She's still alive, but I don't have the slightest idea as to how we can get her out of there."

The man paused in thought for a moment, eyeing the smoking material in front of them critically. Finally, he sighed. "Chances are that if we dig in too quickly the rest of the pile will just shift and fill back in whatever progress we make. Our only real option is to move this stuff as safely as we can and hope to get to her before things get worse…"

Just then the ground below them shook violently. Harry glanced around quickly before realizing that the shaking wasn't just their building, it was everything. "Somehow I think things just got worse. Feels like Rita grew her monster…"

The fireman cursed before stepping forward immediately and starting to throw debris away in an attempt to get to the trapped person beneath. Sighing to himself at the desperation the man was showing, Harry summoned his staff and charged it with Power. "It might be easier if I do this…"

When the fireman glanced back to see the Ranger with his glowing staff, he stepped to one side, wide eyed as Harry swished his staff and then flicked it. "Wingardium Leviosa…" Harry felt his magic flow out of the Magi Staff, penetrating through the pile of debris and finding the trapped woman. He was more than a little confused to find that she was indeed in a small, almost perfectly circular pocket in the midst of the collapse, but pushed that aside to let his magic flow around the perimeter of the area and sink several feet beyond it on all sides.

"Alright," Harry said, concentrating on his magic as best he could. "In a moment, I'm going to lift this stuff up magically. I'm gonna need you to grab the woman as soon as you feel you can fit through, alright? I don't know how long I'll be able to hold up this much stuff."

Harry watched as the man's wide eyes narrowed with steely resolve before he nodded firmly. Nodding back, Harry let the spell take effect and raised the end of his staff, massive amounts of debris rising with it. The pile shifted with each inch that the portion affected by Harry's magic rose and the wizard knew that it probably wasn't the most stable or safest idea he had ever had. That opinion only grew when the earth shook again below them, probably from a giant footstep from the ongoing battle, and as his own footing shifted, the floating debris shifted as well, sending more of the excess sliding to the floor.

Almost as soon as the pile was around two feet off the ground, the fireman dove for the opening, crawling on his belly until there was enough room for him to rise to his knees, and then to a crouch. Harry was feeling the strain. He had never really tried to lift up so much at once before, but his determination held strong. His "Saving People Thing" demanded no less.

Finally, after a minute or so that seemed to last much longer, Harry heard a shocked gasp and some muffled words coming from the hole. Not long after, a head of dirty, blonde hair came crawling out of the passage quickly followed by the rest of the woman in a desperate scramble to freedom. Right on her heels came the fireman and as soon as he was clear, Harry let the spell end, causing the debris to drop and kick up a pile of dust accompanied by a few sparks and embers.

"Alright, Magi Ranger," the fireman said. "If there's nobody else in here, we should pull back. The fire is dying off on its own already, like I mentioned earlier, but it's never good to be in a building that may be structurally unsound while the whole city is shaking this much."

Nodding even as his own footing shifted as a result of the aforementioned shaking, Harry turned and followed the fireman back to the broken window. The other members of his crew had already pulled back, presumably with the woman they had rescued, and so Harry himself was the last one to hop out of the broken window and into pandemonium.

Where before there had been only one fire truck, there were now four, the associated firefighters spraying into the upper windows of the building he had just left in an attempt to help finish off the fire, and accompanying them were a pair of ambulances and a news van from one of Angel Grove's local news stations.

As soon as they came out of the window, a cheer went up from a crowd of civilians who were standing across the street. There looked to be several dozen of them just standing there watching and waiting for the rescue in progress to finish up, apparently unconcerned with the giant monster battle happening nearby.

Before he could do anything else, Harry heard his communicator go off. "Magi Ranger," Zordon's voice called out. "The other Rangers need help. I know you are occupied at the moment and are unable to assist directly, but if you call your Zord it should help turn the tides of battle."

Nodding to himself, Harry brought his communicator up. "Roger that, Zordon." Lowering his arm, and more than a little aware of the watching crowd, Harry swapped his staff into his left hand and threw his right arm up into the air, letting out a pulse of magic. "I call upon the Silver Owl Zord!"

With a familiar screech, accompanied this time by the enthusiastic cheering from the watching crowd, Hedwig appeared in the sky in her giant Zord form. –Harry/Wizard?- the bird queried, her confusion coming across clear through their mental connection since he didn't call her by name.

-You go ahead and help the others, Hedwig.- Harry sent her mentally as he began walking toward the crowd. –I have to stay and deal with these people for a moment. I have no clue why they think it's a good idea to stick around like this, but you can bet I'm going to find out. Now go and show that walking feather duster what a real bird can do.-

Harry could almost feel Hedwig's smirk. –Very well Harry/Wizard. Be careful with the sheep-people.-

Harry rolled his eyes as Hedwig flapped her wings a few times before firing up her rockets with a screech and shooting off toward the battle to the accompaniment of even more cheers. In his mind's eye Harry could almost see the moment she made her first impact with the Peckster, mostly helped by the fact that the ground shook rather badly when it happened.

As Harry shifted as best he could to remain upright, someone else wasn't as capable and crashed into him, knocking them both to the ground. Harry glanced down toward his chest to see the same reporter who had interviewed Marie after the Mutitus battle lying on him with a dazed look on her face.

"Er…" Harry found himself unable to speak, but luckily enough he didn't have to. The simple noise was enough for the reporter to snap out of her daze and realize where she was and what had happened. With a bright blush, the woman climbed off of him almost before Harry even realized it and began dusting herself off. As Harry too regained his feet, he saw her glance to the side before looking back at him. Harry followed her look to see a camera man standing nearby, the device pointing toward them. Further musing was cut off as the woman shoved a microphone in front of his helmet.

"Lauren McAlistor, Channel 3 News. Magi Ranger, can you tell me what happened here today?"

Harry just blinked. Finally, as the ground shook again, he snapped out of his stupor enough to give a response. "Really?" He said, incredulously. "You really think that this is the best time for this to happen? Right now? When the other Power Rangers are fighting against the monster that caused this damage and made the rescue necessary? You think now is the right time to try and get an interview from me?"

The woman blushed again, but kept the microphone held out. Harry just sighed. "Ma'am, I apologize if I offend you, but are you completely mental?"

The reporter recoiled slightly, drawing the microphone back to herself before speaking. "Well… it's just that you Power Rangers always disappear after each battle before anyone can get to you, so I thought…"

"You thought that you'd interrupt me before I could go join my teammates in the fight to defend the city? You thought you'd keep me from the fight so you could ask a few questions?" Harry shook his head. "Ma'am, I appreciate your dedication to your work, but I really think that you should-"

Harry's words were cut off by the sound of an explosion happening overhead. He whipped his head up in time to see several blurred objects strike the top of the building that had already suffered so much damage in the battle today and explode violently enough to dislodge a large section of the wall. In the back of his mind, Harry noted that the flying objects had most likely been some of the Peckster's exploding spines, but that thought was set aside by firm resolve as he whipped his staff around and snagged the falling chunk of building in a levitation charm, bringing it to a stop mere feet before it would have crushed himself, the reporter and her cameraman, the firemen, and several of the nearby pedestrians.

Panting slightly as he floated the chunk of brick and metal a bit higher, Harry turned his attention back to the now very pale reporter. "I think that you, and all the civilians over there, need to clear off. Seek shelter until the battle ends."

The woman could only nod shakily before turning and near-sprinting back to her news van with the cameraman right on her heels. It only took a glance to the side to see the people who had heard his comment spreading the word frantically as the crowd broke up.

"Wow…" Harry turned the other way to see the same fireman from before walking up next to him, looking up at the chunk of building still floating overhead. "It's a really good thing you were here today…"

Harry merely grunted in acknowledgement before an idea struck him. "Tell me, is this piece of building important for anything? I mean is it needed to help put the building back together or anything? I'm afraid I don't know much about construction, so…"

The fireman looked at him confused for a moment before responding. "Ah… no, not really. Normally a chunk that size would have broken apart when it hit the ground. Even now, they'll probably just end up shipping that chunk out and using all new materials to repair the building. It really can't be put back in place or anything. Probably wouldn't be very structurally sound even if we could get it back up there."

Harry shrugged. "Well, technically I could float it back up there and then repair it good as new with magic, but I had a thought that maybe we should give this chunk of stone back to the monster who tried to give it to us. It's only fair, right?"

The man's confused look persisted for a few seconds until understanding dawned and the look was replaced by a smirk. Nodding, the fireman glanced up at the large chunk of stone. "Yes, I do believe that that would be quite thoughtful…"

Harry smirked under his helmet before levitating the floating stone higher and higher until it passed beyond the tops of the nearby buildings. –Hedwig,- he sent. –I have something that I would like you to return to the Peckster for me. Do you think you're up for a delivery?-

He could feel Hedwig's amusement when she realized his plan. –Of course, Harry/Wizard. I shall deliver this package as quickly as possible.-

Hedwig made a wide turn around the area before snatching the chunk of stone out of the air. The section of building was almost a quarter her size, but she managed to carry it all the same with the help of her rocket boosters.

Before Harry could do anything else, the fireman cleared his throat, drawing Harry's attention once more. "Look, Magi Ranger… I just wanted to apologize." The man looked rather uncomfortable with his apology, but kept going nonetheless. "You were right. We've been taking this strange protection for granted, but no more. It's our job to save the people in this city when things go wrong. Now we know we can't do much against all those monsters, that's your guys' job, but we can do what we need to to clean up afterwards. I just wanted to apologize to you for what I said and did, or rather what I wasn't doing. It won't happen again."

Nodding once more to the fireman, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I know you didn't mean any harm by it, but whatever it is that's protecting people, you can't lean on it if you don't understand it. And even if you did understand it, it's no excuse to let people suffer while trapped like what happened today. I know you won't let it happen again though, and I'm counting on you to spread the word. We'll handle Rita, but the emergency service workers of Angel Grove still need to step up your own games as best you can."

Seeing the man taking his message to heart, Harry twisted in place, apparating to the top of another building so that he could see the ongoing battle.

As it turned out, the fight was only a few blocks away, which explained the frequency and intensity of the shaking. Harry immediately recognized the Dragonzord in Battle Mode fighting alongside the Tyrannosaurus Rex Dinozord against the Peckster. The monster was still covered in the scorch trails from Harry's earlier Levin Bolt, but had very few damage marks otherwise. In the meantime, the two Zords were covered in scorch marks and the Rex seemed to be having trouble moving very well, resulting in it staying out of the battle as best it could.

And then in swooped Hedwig, smashing the chunk of building over the back of the Peckster's head and knocking it to the ground, driving its beak into the earth once again.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT?!" The monster screeched after freeing itself from the ground and clambering back to its feet. Any further squawking was cut off as the monster found the Dragonzord's spear waiting for it and drilling a large hole through its chest.

"… Oh…" the monster mumbled before falling back to the ground once more and exploding while the Dragonzord posed dramatically nearby.

Harry just chuckled before teleporting back to the Command Center. Satisfied in a job well done.

-MR-

Harry's satisfaction lasted for all of three minutes. That was about how long it took for the other Rangers to teleport in and for Harry to see their grim and somewhat irritated looking faces.

"Alright," Harry sighed. "What's going on?"

Predictably, it was Jason who stepped up to speak for the other five. "Where did you go, Harry?"

Harry was confused and voiced such. "What do you mean?"

Jason growled. "I mean where were you during the battle? You vanished just before the monster grew and didn't show up again until the very end. We nearly got creamed out there and could have really used your help! If you hadn't vanished, we might have been able to beat that thing before Rita grew it!"

Harry narrowed his eyes at the Red Ranger. "Well, you know, I would have been there right next to you guys if I hadn't been forced to save a couple of civilians from a burning office building that was damaged during the battle. I would have been right behind you, except one of them nearly fell from a fourth story window just as the monster flew away after it grew back its wing!"

All of the Rangers but Jason recoiled slightly, understanding now dawning in their eyes at Harry's explanation. Jason's eyes narrowed a bit, but his aggressive stance remained unchanged. Harry soldiered on. "And did you guys know that, according to the fireman I spoke with, none of the rescue teams in the city have been actually putting forward any effort in trying to save people who are caught in the aftermath of our battles lately? Yeah, apparently they're convinced that nobody ever gets hurt so they can take it easy until they feel like going in after them. The fireman I talked to said that they were going to wait until the fire burned itself out before trying to go in and save a person that had been trapped in a building collapse!"

Zordon cut across Harry's rant even as the Ranger's faces all took on looks of shock and disbelief. "In point of fact, Harry, those people were never in any true danger."

Harry rounded on the elder wizard in a heartbeat, his face showing his outrage. "You'll have to forgive me for disagreeing, Zordon, but I certainly consider being trapped in a potentially unstable, partially collapsed, burning building to be quite dangerous."

Zordon merely sighed before firming up his face. "It appears I have some explaining to do, Rangers. But first, let me ask you all a question. Have you ever wondered why it is that Rita only attacks here, in Angel Grove?"

The Rangers were taken aback by this seemingly random tangent, but exchanged looks for several moments until Trini finally spoke up. "I… I have wondered about that a few times, but never really said anything."

"Yeah," Zack said, scuffing one shoe on the floor awkwardly. "I mean, if Rita is trying to take over the world, why would she attack here all the time? Wouldn't she be better off going after the capital or something? Bigger targets and all that…"

Harry saw the point Zack was trying to make and realized it did make sense. Why was Rita only attacking Angel Grove?

Zordon was quick to provide the answer. "The reason behind her targeting only this city is also the reason why those people were never in any danger, Harry. Every twenty thousand years, the Morphing Grid shifts its focal points. These focal points are locations where the Grid's Power can most easily be accessed and are always the locations of fierce battles between good and evil as they try to claim or protect them."

"And let me guess," Harry drawled, sighing heavily. "Angel Grove is one of these Focal Points?"

Zordon bobbed his head in a nod. "Indeed it is so, Harry. This is why Rita attacks here constantly. She is attempting to establish her own control over the area, mostly by driving my own presence out, so that she may tap directly into the Grid's Power, greatly increasing her own strength and all but ensuring her takeover of the Earth."

"So how long exactly has this focal point been here?" Kimberly asked.

"It sometimes takes thousands of years for a focal point to be discovered once they have moved. It is believed that the one under angel grove was here for nearly five thousand years before it was discovered. It was only shortly after Rita and I arrived here to begin our battle that we were each trapped by the other, myself in the time warp and Rita in the space dumpster. For the ten thousand years I have been trapped, Alpha 5 has helped me set up this Command Center and cement the hold I have over this focal point to protect it from the forces of evil."

Zordon turned his attention to Harry. "The fireman you spoke with referred to no one ever being injured in the aftermath of the battles with Rita. This is because the Grid actively protects all those in and around its focal points that are not directly involved in the battles for control over it. In addition, since this area falls under the banner of the forces of good, an attitude of kindness and helpfulness pervades all those within Angel Grove as well. This is also why there is so little actual crime in this city. Most people who live here cannot even think such negative thoughts that would lead to criminal behavior, and those who do are really quite dark in their core."

Zack snorted suddenly, choking back laughter. Upon seeing everyone's eyes on him, he offered an explanation. "I'm just picturing Bulk and Skull as being bad guys. Those two and their little gang are really the only ones who can even come close to that description that I know of."

Zordon nodded once again. "Indeed, Zack. In truth, Bulk, Skull, and their group of friends and associates would have been quite the threat to anyone and everyone around them were it not for the positive influence of the Grid over them. It is slowly changing their nature, which is why they seem as inept and bumbling as they are, but were it not for that, there is no telling how they would have turned out."

Harry let his mind wander to the thought of a truly bad Bulk and Skull, but had a great deal of difficulty imagining it. He had seen some of how bad a bully could be through his childhood with the Dursleys, particularly Dudley, but he still had problems picturing Bulk as cruel and vindictive.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Harry returned his attention to Zordon. "But in the end, Zordon, no matter what protections there are for these people, it only stops them from being injured or killed. Those firemen were willing to wait for who knows how long before even getting started on trying to get that woman out of the building. I just couldn't leave her there once I was told."

He turned back toward the still grumpy Jason. "I will admit that I should have told you all where I was and what I was doing. It was wrong of me to just vanish in the middle of a battle like that and I will promise to do my best to avoid that in the future, but I won't stand by and let anyone suffer if there is something I can do about it. It's just not in my nature."

Jason glanced around at the other Rangers, looking for the support he had once had that now seemed to be wavering. In a last attempt to make his point, he turned back to Harry again. "Look, Zordon just told us that those people were in no danger, Harry. You didn't need to go after them today and you won't need to in the future. They're safe until the rescue workers can reach them."

Harry scowled. "And I am going to do whatever I can to get them out quicker if I can. That woman today was in an area she couldn't even sit up straight in. Trapped under who knows how much debris and unable to escape on her own. That kind of thing gets to a person. I will not let anyone suffer if I can help it. And if you think you can tell me not to, well, you're going to be very disappointed."

Billy stepped up and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "If nothing else, Jason, Harry's actions would prevent a great deal of psychological stress and potential damage to those he rescues."

"Yeah man," Zack followed up. "And he did promise not to run off on us again like he did today."

"And I trust him to not run off in the middle of a battle if we really need his help." Tommy said, smiling at Harry from behind the Red Ranger. "If we really need him, he will be there for us. Just like he came through with Hedwig and that distraction today that let us finish off that bird brain for good."

Jason said nothing for a bit. His thoughts clearly racing as he stood with his eyes closed. Finally, he sighed and opened them again. "You're right. You're all right. I'm sorry for flying off the handle like that, Harry. We… I thought you had just run off on us but you had a very good reason for doing it." Jason offered a hand to Harry which the wizard took, giving it a firm shake before releasing it again.

"No worries, Jason." Harry gave a slightly tense smile. "Just keep in mind that I am known for being rather impulsive in my old world. Hermione once told me that I have a 'Saving People Thing,' and this is just one example of it. But I will promise that I'll let you all know if I feel the need to run off again. And, as Tommy said, I won't do it if I'm really needed in battle."

Jason nodded. "That'll be good enough for me."

-MR-

It was a few hours later that Harry and the Rangers were all at the Youth Center. Harry had just finished up a short shift behind the snack bar and was now sitting at a table, petting Hedwig and watching Jason, Tommy, Billy, and Zack take turns sparring on one of the mats while Kimberly and Trini did some gymnastics work on another.

Hedwig had her eyes mostly closed in contentment from Harry's ministrations while the Magi Ranger let his thoughts once more wander over his problems. On top of his housing situation, his money situation, his every growing physical exhaustion, and the apparently not-quite-all-gone-but-much-reduced animosity Jason felt for him, he now had the thought of keeping everyone else in the city safe during Ranger battles. And unlike in his last world where he really couldn't be held responsible for the safety of everyone fighting against Voldemort, here in this dimension as a Power Ranger he really was responsible in a roundabout way…

It was really becoming too much to handle if he was honest.

Suddenly, Hedwig's eyes opened fully and she turned her head to look over his shoulder. –Harry/Wizard, Big Not-Cousin is approaching from behind… with a net. Skinny Not-Cousin is behind him with another one.-

Harry sighed internally. "Bulk, Skull, what exactly are you guys trying to do?"

He heard a scuffle behind him and turned to see what was going on as people around him started laughing. It seemed as though Bulk and Skull had been startled by Harry's sudden question and had somehow managed to trip each other up in such a way that they ended up sitting on the ground with the pair of nets they each held ending up around the other's head.

"How did you know we were here?" Bulk demanded as he struggled up off the ground, nearly ripping the net off of his head.

Harry shrugged. "Hedwig reacted and I took a shot in the dark."

Bulk seemed to think about it for a second before his eyes widened. "You can talk to your owl?!"

Harry, internally panicking, rolled his eyes. "No, Bulk, but anyone who is used to an animal can read certain cues about them. And as I know you two are the only ones who might try and sneak up behind me like that…" He shrugged again. "Anyway, what exactly did you think you were going to do with those butterfly nets?"

Bulk suddenly seemed to realize he still had his net in hand and quickly tried to hide it behind his back. The problem was that it was too long and the net portion of it still flopped over onto the top of his head. "Nothing, nothing at all."

Skull looked confused. "But, Bulk, I thought you said we were gonna catch his owl and turn him in for having an illegal animal to get him into trouble."

Bulk's face went red as he slowly turned to face skull. "I might have said that, dimwit, but that doesn't mean you were supposed to tell him!" Bulk jabbed a finger in Harry's direction prompting skull to look toward him and then back at Bulk.

"Oh…" the skinny teen said, then his eyes widened. "OH!" he seemed to then realize that he had already ruined their plot. "Oh…" Skull slumped slightly before smiling brightly loudly chewing on his gum. "Sorry Bulk. I forgot about that part."

Harry just rolled his eyes before fishing a card out of his pocket and holding it out to Bulk. "Besides, Bulk, this card is my license to own Hedwig here, and as long as Ernie has no problem with her hanging around the Youth Center with me, there's nothing wrong with her being here."

Bulk snatched the card before squinting at it for a minute, turning it this way and that as he tried to decipher it. Finally, Bulk grunted and all but threw the card back to Harry who casually snatched it out of the air like it was a Snitch. "Why do you have that owl, anyway?"

The wizard shrugged as he put his license away. "I've had her since I was eleven, Bulk, as I believe I've already told you. She's my pet and friend. I don't see how I need a reason beyond that."

Bulk seemed to study him for a moment before looking intently at Hedwig and then back at Harry. Finally his eyes widened dramatically. "I know what it is! You're trying to imitate that new Magi Ranger guy, aren't you?!"

Bulk started laughing hysterically, a laugh that Skull quickly joined with even though he still looked confused. For his part, Harry was sweating a bit but did his best to remain outwardly calm. "I can assure you, Bulk, that that is the furthest thing from the truth." He had no reason to imitate the Magi Ranger since he was the Magi Ranger after all.

The overweight teen just snorted as his laughter died down. "Yeah right, nerd."

Skull immediately parroted him. "Yeah, nerd!"

Bulk continued on, ignoring his friend. "Look, I'm close friends with the Magi Ranger. You may have heard that Skull and I helped him chase off the giant gold guy a while ago. But the point is that there is no way acting like him could help someone as geeky as you to fit in." Bulk snorted again. "The next thing you know you'll be dressing up as a magician and trying to do magic like the Magi Ranger does too."

Bulk and Skull turned and stomped off, still laughing, but Harry wasn't paying them any more attention. For some reason, part of what Bulk had said stuck with him. He had a lot of problems right now, but easily half of them revolved around his lack of funds. He needed another job of some kind, and what better way for a wizard on his own to make some money in the non-magical world than as a performing magician?

-MR-

AN: Caution: The following section contains spoilers for the Power Rangers Movie, 2017. If you have not yet seen the movie and intend to, you may want to skip this. If you do decide to skip it, all that's left is my typical sign off at the end of a post, so you won't be missing anything. It is also a bit ranty, so be warned.

So as I sit here before posting this chapter, having finished with my last minute editing, I feel like I should write my take on the new movie. All in all, I had a crazy time since last chapter. Originally, I had planned on seeing the new movie with a friend the Tuesday after it came out. Then her son had a really bad asthma attack and had to go to the hospital the night before. He's doing fine now, though he is on a few new medications. We rescheduled for the following Saturday, only for her mother to come into town so she had to cancel again. I asked her to let me know when she was free and we'd make it happen, but never heard back on that subject. So yesterday (Saturday, April 9th) my plans for starting up a new DnD campaign (again with this friend involved *sigh*) fell through and I realized, "Hey, I'm posting Chapter 27 tomorrow and I haven't seen the new movie yet. So Imma make this happen." And so I went.

The theater I went to is actually one I worked at for 7 years, but that isn't important until the end of the rant. I saw the movie. Yeah. That's about it. I have to say I wasn't terribly impressed. Even doing my best to suppress my inner purist and nostalgic side I was completely underwhelmed by the special effects and parts of the plot made me facepalm. One of the first things I noticed (other than how odd it sounded for Zordon to use Rita's name amongst the alien language) was how similar the whole Zeo crystal being in Angel Grove and that's why the attacks happen there is to my own theory that was introduced in this chapter. Eerie… *Ahem* Moving on.

I like the way they brought the team together, even if it was a huge coincidence (and yes I understand it is supposed to be that way since they were "destined" to be the Rangers), and while I was originally skeptical of them having meta-powers outside morph I have to admit that they way they presented it was somewhat amusing, particularly Billy. I really, really liked Billy in the movie. He was funny, which is a lot more than I can say for most of the rest of the cast. Anyway, Zordon trying to use them to come back to life kinda threw me off, though I liked how he made the 'sacrifice' to bring Billy back instead. That whole chain of events was a tearjerker for me I'll admit.

And then we get to the final sequence that should have been epic, but totally wasn't in my eyes. First we have Jason's token "Its Morphin' Time" followed by their little gasping while clenching their fists and staring wide eyed at nothing while special effects swirl around and their armor grows or whatever scene. And then Rita making Goldar, which was rather cool looking I'll admit with all the molten gold coming out of the ground, but was almost ruined by Rita's token "Make my monster grow!" And I'm just gonna leave the whole Goldar being a giant golem of molten metal alone, otherwise I doubt I'll ever be able to accept it. Freaking stupid idea…

Then comes the slow-mo walk up the ramp scene that made me roll my eyes followed by a rather underwhelming underwater "putty" fight scene for some reason, followed immediately by an equally underwhelming fight scene on land against more "putties." This is where the special effects fell flat for me. They weren't even moving like they weren't on wires. And I was also seriously disappointed by the lack of actual martial arts moves in the movie, other than what Alpha taught them (FREAKING ALPHA! GRR… I'll get to that later…)

Anyway, after a few quips from the Rangers they go get in their Zords and Alpha gives the token "Go Go Power Rangers!" I facepalmed again. I kinda liked the looks of the Zords, and I kinda didn't. Meh. Then the fighting in the city. Basically, the Zords are a match for putties, and that's about it. Admittedly, there were a lot of putties, like almost too many putties for it to really be a thing, but it was still a letdown for me.

Then there was the whole Krispy Kreme scene (and you know that was a HUGE endorsement deal for them to put in the scene with Rita eating a doughnut on top of the whole "It must be a very important place, the source of all life is buried there" which you know is on a banner in a Krispy Kreme somewhere now. Oh, I almost forgot my favorite line. "Oh, so they found their costumes and their dino cars." This was really the only part of the final battle I truly enjoyed.

Then stupid, overly dramatic "Hold the line!" teamwork scene and they get pushed into the hole. Now, my first though here was that the creators of the movie totally cheated. They didn't want to have to design the Zords so that they could transform visibly to form the Megazord, so they hid it all with fireballs and a big hole. And don't think I didn't notice how similar the stupid thing looked to Optimus Prime with freaking wings. Basically they just took Optimus, smoothed out his squared edges and gave him a pair of pink wings. Voila! We have a stupid Megazord sorta-thing! *sigh*

Anyway, humorous with them having to work together to control each body part, which they instantly pick up after falling only once of course. So then we get to some rock-em-sock-em type action until Goldar makes a sword and the Rangers counter it with a belly to back suplex that ALPHA TAUGHT THEM! WTF! WHY IS ALPHA TEACHING THEM HOW TO FREAKING FIGHT! This right here almost ruined the movie for me entirely. I know it isn't the same bumbling Alpha 5 from the TV continuity, but the fact that these kids have no fighting ability at all and yet are chosen to become the Power Rangers, a group that popular culture today fully associates with martial arts and such just… GAH! I know I'm probably just nitpicking at this point, but by the time I realized what they were doing against Goldar and where they had learned it I was about ready to walk out.

Do then we have the twin wing-swords and Goldar gets melted… or something, then Rita gets the backhand from hell and flies into orbit, with her staff mysteriously absent. Looks like she could be headed for the moon, but it also doesn't. Meh. Bunch of short scenes to (sorta) tie up the end of the movie and a passing reference to the existence of Tommy in the sequel. I have to say, I'm really not sure if that little teaser scene wasn't more of a, "Oh, how cute. They actually think there's gonna be a sequel…" *sigh again*

Overall the movie was… tolerable I guess. I really would have liked it to stay a bit more true to the original, but I guess that's Hollywood, they have to glam up everything they can in whatever way they see fit. That's why the first movie in 2000 was almost a completely different continuity than the series it was supposed to represent, despite the fact that they had the same actors and such. I might just buy it to have it when it comes out, but unless my point of view drastically changes I doubt I'll watch it too much. Definitely not in theaters again…

So back to why it was important that I once worked at the theater that I saw the movie at. I talked to the manager (who is the same manager from when I worked there) after the movie was over and asked if they were still giving out the extra movie posters to patrons like they did when I worked there. Long story short, the manager gave me a complete set of five 2-sided Power Rangers teaser posters, one for each Ranger. I may not have liked the movie as much as I had hoped, but I totally have some new stuff for my future nerd cave now. : )

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review,

Tenstar12