Hogwarts Castle, 2:41pm

Alone in the gryffindor common room sat one Mr. Harry Potter. Why was he alone you ask? The answer is simple, he didn't get his permission slip signed at the beginning of the year so he didn't get to go to Hogsmeade. No, the less obvious mystery was why this didn't bother him as much as it should've. That was because he found something to distract him. That being figuring out the enigma that was his DADA professor.

His research hadn't turned up much. To be honest, he didn't expect it to. He was just looking for something to keep his mind off the lack of permission. This, however, was getting boring already (it had been exactly 4 hours). 'I guess I'm not much of a book-learner,' his thoughts reminded him. Sighing, he stood up and headed for the library.

He briefly considered finding out where the Professor was staying and going to talk with him, but that idea was shot down rather quickly. He had no idea who to ask. Surely a man who shoots down a passenger jet and doesn't get caught knows how to keep a secret. Harry just sighed in defeat as he entered the library to return the book.

"If you want information, the simplest way to get it is to just ask."

Que the mini-heart attack. Harry spun around so fast he almost lost his glasses. "P-Professor, I didn't see you there!"

"Hm, come with me. We have certain things to discuss." With that, Professor Emiya turned around and started walking.

Harry stood frozen for a second before hastily putting the book back and running to catch up.

After a bit of walking, they reached the Professor's two story abode. A little distance away Emiya stopped them and turned to Harry, "Give me your hand."

Hesitantly, Harry complied. Emiya took his hand and drew a small amount of blood. He let his hand go and put the blood on a nearby tree. Harry was a little surprised when a small transparent-red ripple went through the air.

"There, now you should be allowed in anytime you want. Barring those time when your intentions are hostile."

"What was that?"

"A security perimeter bounded field. Gives me notice when an unauthorized signature enters the area. There's more but it's not what were here to talk about."

With that they the house. First thing Harry noticed was a set of runes carved into the doorframe. Looking around he also noticed it was scarcely decorated. Nothing more than the essentials. The not-quite tour ended when they went to the basement, which had a 6 inch thick steel door.

When they entered the workshop, he saw a security monitor setup in the corner. 'Weird, how did he get those to work?' Emiya immediately set to work on whatever he was doing before. Harry would've thought he'd been forgotten if the Professor hadn't spoken up.

"It has come to my attention that you have been targeted by a dangerous criminal. Have you been informed of this?"

"Yes sir." 'Of course, that's what everyone wants to talk about.'

"That's good, makes this next part easier. I will be giving you extra lessons outside of class, seeing as you're likely to need them. I've been told that anything lethal is off limits. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." 'This is turning out better than I thought.'

"Good, we'll start with physical training. From there it'll be a battery of tests to gauge your current skill level. I warn you, this officially marks you as my personal student. I will not be easy on you. Exhaustion will become your best friend. Knowing that, do you accept?"

Before any deliberation could be done, he was enthusiastically nodding his head and blurting out, "Yes Sir!" Then his mind decided to yell at him, 'Idiot! You need to think about it first!' Harry was half tempted to mentally yell back, but he wasn't too keen on talking to himself like a crazy person. In the end he just ignored the thought.

"Good."

What happened after that was probably the most exercise Harry had ever been through in his life. Water had never tasted batter than it did that day. 'Told you thinking before accepting was a good idea.' He just brushed the thought off. He would not allow himself to go crazy this early in life. Maybe later, but not now.

And that's how it went from then on. In his free days, Harry would receive extra homework to complete. Most of it on situational awareness, economy of motion, and other such concepts ("check your corners" would haunt him for decades...). When he had time to spare during the school week, he had an exercise routine to complete. He'd keep asking about the man's trade tools but the Professor refused every time. Most of his tools were, in fact, lethal ("That is something I've been strictly prohibited from instructing you on" was the popular phrase...in some variation). He couldn't help it! Most of the stuff looked so cool, he just wanted to know what they did.

He asked for like a week or two to recover before quidditch matches. After a bit of negotiating (cough*undignified-begging*cough) he got his wish.

Things had been going relatively well, then the incident happened. Break had just ended and Harry found the gryffindor portrait had become the center of the universe. It was easy to see why, the thing was slashed and the lady was missing. When they found her she was screaming about it being Sirius Black. This, of course, sent the staff in to a frenzy.

That night they had the students sleep in the great Hall. Professor Emiya had taken to adding routine patrols and having Maiya stand guard with the students (learned the scary woman from the train was Emiya's assistant and kinda student). It had been a little jarring to see the change from educational to militant. Sometimes some of the older students would join either Emiya or Maiya. Harry was still under the impression that she was scariest woman in the world, or at the very least in the top five.

Kiritsugu stood in front of the vandalized painting, looking for any clues he could get on his current target. The man had managed to slip in and out unnoticed which wasn't an easy feat with as many there are in the castle at any given time. He likely knew his way around which was a little more telling than most people thought. He couldn't force entry into the commons. From what Kiritsugu had seen, Wizards had many spells capable of the task. This meant black was probably operating without a wand, just a knife based on the slashes in the portrait. Tracking his escape route was out based on how often the school grounds shifted around. The immediate area was the only place to find any useful information.

With that decided, he pulled out his special eye drops and put them in. After closing them for a few seconds and letting the drops and focused mana to set, he opened his eyes and looked around. Seeing a faint energy trail that went up a non-existant path of stairs and into a wall, he confirmed that tracking wouldn't work. Refocusing on the area around the portrait, in a small blind spot, he saw a small glow of mana. It had the same signature as the escape trail, just burned a little more brightly. He got a closer look and found it was a small clump of hair. It didn't look or feel human. This was something he could use.

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AN: Well, this took a little longer to write than I anticipated because I had rewrite the last part a few times. Still think it could be better but I'm pooped on this chapter so... Yeah, here it is. Just thought I'd put a little Kerry in action at the end.

-Any more opinions on the whole Harry x Iri? Feel like should ask for a few more chapters before taking it around back and putting it down.