Harry was not pleased to discover that Miss Nekonome had made him Club President. She had just grinned and said 'Tough!'.
It took a few days for Harry to warm back up to Moka. She refused to leave his side and was often attached to his arm.
Harry was tempted to ask about the length of her skirt as it hadn't changed… but he couldn't be bothered.
Harry was stumped when he had to deal with 'mid-term exams'. He'd never heard of them before.
He also discovered something horrible. Out of the 256 students in his year, he ranked 250th. He was horrified.
"Oh Harry-kun… what happened?" Came the consoling voice of Moka over his shoulder.
"I- I don't know. I always got good marks on English, History, Geography and most other stuff." Harry was lost.
"We should ask Miss Nekonome." Moka suggested.
Harry nodded absently as he turned. Except Moka wasn't there.
He looked around and saw her several metres away standing between some large boys and a small girl in a witch's hat and cape.
"It's going to be one of those weeks." He grumbled as he shuffled over.
By the time he reached them the boys had moved off and Moka was leading the girl into the building. It was breakfast time so he followed.
"Thank you sooo much for saving me!" The girl gushed. "I'm Sendo Yukari."
"Hello Yukari, I'm-"
"Akashiya Moka and Potter Harry. Everyone knows who you are." Yukari grinned.
Harry sighed defeatedly as he slumped onto the bench.
"I heard that you're really smart." Moka smiled. "You're only eleven but in our grade? And I love you outfit… it's so cool."
Yukari blushed. "Cool? No, no, no! You're the cool one! So sweet and pretty. I- I- I LOVE YOU MOKA-SAN!"
Harry winced as the girl leapt across the table with a scream of joy and pounced on Moka. He absently noticed Hedwig do quick mid-air turn out of the cafeteria instead of joining him for breakfast as usual.
He felt jealous and abandoned. But he couldn't blame her.
Harry frowned as his attention was drawn back to Yukari's gushing. She wanted to date Moka? Harry tried not to laugh at Moka's look of mortification.
"As a friend?" She asked the little girl.
Despite the joyful cry, Harry had a feeling that the girl had no intention of trying to stay 'friends'.
Harry tuned out the girl's continuous gratuitous babbling as he ate his breakfast. He knew he had to face his teacher soon and explain why he failed so badly on the mid-terms.
"Everyone in the wizarding world knows who Harry Potter is."
And now said Potter's attention was back on the girl.
"Monster identities are secret. It is a school rule. I don't care if you want to announce what you are, kindly keep my identity to yourself." Harry said harshly. The girl was not quiet and half the students at breakfast could hear her.
Yukari was not impressed. "You're not the boss of me. You're just some spoilt brat who can't even add simple numbers! Stay away from my Moka!"
"Yukari!"
"Moka, I'm going to go and see Nekonome-sensei about my exams. I'll see you in class." Harry said stiffly as he stood.
"I'll come with you." Moka had learnt her lesson with Gin and wasn't going to turn her back on her breakfa- friend.
Unfortunately for Harry and Moka, leaving wasn't so easy. Not without Moka's new accessory.
Yukari had latched onto Moka and wasn't letting go.
Of the older girl's breasts.
"Mmmm! So soft."
Moka was, again, mortified. She was blushing so bright that Harry had to wonder if any of the blood in her cheeks was his.
"Sendo, you are being rude and offending Akashiya-san." Harry said sternly.
Yukari stilled and turned a dark look to Harry. "You should leave, Potter. If you don't, I'll tell the whole school who and what you are."
"Yukari!" Moka pried the girl's hands off her bosom. "Harry is my friend! My best friend! If you can't be friends with him then you can't be friends with me!"
She took Harry by the hand and led him off to class leaving a very upset Yukari standing there as much of the school watched the excitement.
"You are terrible at Maths, Harry-kun." Miss Nekonome said apologetically. "You got nearly every question wrong."
Harry looked utterly defeated. "I just don't understand any of it. Quadratic equations, Pythagoras Theorem… it's all gibberish."
"I can try and help you, Harry." Moka offered.
"That would be wonderful, Moka. Harry is going to need to start at the very beginning though. He failed even simple multiplication and division."
"Stupid secret code. Couldn't make it easy, could they?" Harry muttered to himself.
Harry spent most of the day in a funk. He couldn't focus on his lessons and just stared at the empty pages of his notebook.
He walked out of the school building during lunch, food didn't interest him. He simply wandered into the woods.
"It's about time we had a little… discussion."
Harry stopped and sighed at the insinuating male voice that sounded behind him. He made a mental note to find out how many students there were in the school so he knew how many potential fights he had coming up. He had already started reading books on monsters that he bought with Hedwig's help.
He turned around and saw three large male students. The ones that Moka had saved Yukari from. "What do you want?"
He was confused as he saw their eyes focus on him.
"From you? Nothing. We are talking to Sendo." The lead male jerked his chin to Harry's right. Harry turned and saw the girl poke her head from around a tree trunk. Apparently she had been following him and the boys were following her. "The bitch is a disgrace. A half-breed that doesn't deserve to live and has no place in our world."
Harry mentally cursed his chivalrous nature. "She's a formally accepted student of the school. Assigned classes, boarding and food. All complaints should be presented to the school board."
"I'm the class representative. I have the right to discipline her as I see fit." The male snarled.
"And what did she do that needs punishing?" Harry asked. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of white and knew help would soon be on the way… provided Moka didn't come instead of Kurumu.
"Look at her! She flaunts the school rules. She doesn't just abandon the school uniform rules, she runs about in the disgusting rags of witches, waving her magic stick around.
"She casts spells at people and probably uses her magic to get her grades."
"Oh, I agree." Harry nodded. "She's been threatening me and molesting Akashiya Moka. So, what? Detention for a week?"
Harry knew it was a long shot, but he still winced when the boys burst out laughing.
"We've seen your work, Potter. You know how things are handled in this school." The Class Representative chuckled darkly. "Sendo is ours to deal with,"
"Let's eat her!" One of the others suggested. A long snake like tongue slipped across his lips. "No one needs to know. If Potter doesn't like it… we can eat him too."
Their leader turned to Harry. "Well? What's it going to be?"
Harry just sighed and moved between the boys and the cowering Yukari. "Do you know why I had to fight all those people? They were trying to hurt me or my friends.
"I didn't challenge them. But I won't let you hurt others. You are supposed to be learning how to live in the human world. This is not how they do things."
"Like we actually care about that." The leader scoffed. "Humans are just food for us. One day we will stop hiding and we will take back the world."
"Yeah, but you like other things about humans. Take the girls. You think the girls are cute, right? Like Moka and Kurumu? There are millions of girls just as beautiful.
"Yukari there, she's a bit young, but she will grow up to be very beautiful. It seems a bit of a waste to eat her and spoil that potential when the food the humans make is much better."
The leader chuckled. "You've been facing the intellectual dregs of the school, Potter. Word games and desperate reasoning mean nothing to my kind."
Harry tensed as the boys began to morph and become scaly… reptilian. In the seconds it took, they looked like humanoid dinosaurs.
"Lizard men." Harry muttered. He knew they were tough, but they weren't on par with Moka or Gin. They could still wipe the floor with him if he didn't use magic.
"It's been too long since we've eaten a human. I guess the witch will have to do. You should make a decent first course, whatever you are."
"HARRY!"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Moka burst through the trees with Kurumu flying above her. Unfortunately for Harry his guard was down and he was picked up and tossed through the air by the Class Rep. He hit Moka like a bowling ball and the pair went tumbling, leaving Harry extremely dazed and disorientated.
It took Harry far too long to stand up again. His vision was useless as his glasses were gone and what he could see was swimming in front of him. He felt incredibly nauseous.
He could hear fighting and made his way drunkenly towards it.
"EEEK!"
"Yukari?"
"You scared me, Potter."
"Where are Moka and Kurumu? I can't see them." He said as he peered towards the sound of fighting.
"They are nearly finished. Moka is so beautiful." Came the wistful declaration.
Harry left the swooning girl and stumbled forwards.
He made it two steps before he heard a hissing voice. "I am going to kill that little witch even if it is the last thing I do."
"Leave the girl alone." Harry responded harshly at the large blur.
"Huh? How can you speak my people's language? Are you also a lizard man? Or are you a naga or something else?"
Harry now realised he had been speaking Parseltongue. He shook his head and focused on Japanese. "I'm warning you, stay away from Yukari and my friends. You saw what happened to the others."
"You are clearly no lizard man." The voice scoffed.
Harry went flying once again.
Harry groggily opened his eyes. He found himself looking into a scowling face from his position lying down. "Bloody hell." He groaned. "What fool let you out?" He asked as he barely made out Moka's alternate self.
"You did, fool." She sneered.
"I did not!" Harry suddenly realised he had his head in her lap. He tried to sit up but his head was swirling.
"You pulled it off when the oaf threw you at Outer Moka. This is the second time I have had to save your worthless hide."
"Am I going to have to break out the water again?"
Moka growled but didn't move or respond.
"How're Kurumu and Yukari?" He asked.
"They are fine. They are taking the lizard men and punishing them." Her face twisted into an expression of disgust. "They wouldn't let me kill them. They kept saying 'Harry wouldn't approve'." She said in a mockingly high voice.
Harry rolled over so that he was off Moka's lap and on all fours on the ground. Then he noticed he was actually holding Moka's rosary.
"Huh… I wonder why this thing keeps coming off so easily?" He muttered. "Have you seen my glasses?"
"No." Moka said curtly as she stood and brushed the leaves and dirt from her legs and skirt. "Surely a great wizard can simply call and they will come." She taunted.
"I have a massive concussion." Harry glared at her now blurry form. "I'm surprised I haven't thrown up or collapsed."
"You did collapse." Moka said dryly.
"Here." Harry held out the rosary from his position, still on all fours.
"I am not some toy for you to put away when you are finished with me." She sneered, refusing the rosary.
"Yeah, but the other Moka is more useful. She'd have me half-way to the nurse's office by now."
Harry squawked as Moka grabbed him by the back of his blazer and hefted him to his feet.
And he threw up.
He groaned weakly. "See?"
Moka manhandled Harry, not to the school and the nurse's office, but to his dorm room where she knew he kept potions, just as he had told outer Moka. He was soon back up to ninety percent, a good night's sleep would have him set.
His headache remained as Moka was in his room.
In the boy's dorm.
In her monster form.
Doors slammed shut at the sight of the sexy, white haired student striding through the hallways like she owned the place.
He quickly got her back to the school before he managed to convince her to put on the rosary. Outer Moka would have been mortified to find herself in the boy's dorm.
They met up with Kurumu and Yukari in the classroom having seen the lizard men strung up in front of the school.
Harry was shocked when Yukari leapt at him, arms around his neck, legs locked around his waist and face buried in his neck.
"You saved me!" Came the muffled declaration.
Harry awkwardly patted the dark-haired girl on the back as he tried to avoid the tip of her hat going up his nose.
"I wuv you, Harry!"
Harry froze… a look of absolute terror on his face. He noticed the wincing grimace on Kurumu's face and wondered if Moka had the same.
He was suddenly released as Yukari pounced on Moka.
"And I wuv you, Moka!"
Harry could see that Moka's look matched his, now with confusion thrown into the mix.
"We'll be together forever!"
Harry turned back to Kurumu.
She just scoffed. "Don't look at me. She's been like this since we started dragging those jerks back to the school."
Harry knew it was going to get worse… he just wasn't that lucky.
Routine returned. Classes were attended, Newspaper club meetings were held, Harry was sucked nearly dry by a vampire, suffocated in the breasts of a succubus or driven insane by the avid magical admirer.
It was the club meetings and vampire issues that brought his next adventure.
"Gin brought this issue to my attention." Harry said as he chaired the meeting as president. Gin still did most of the work, he just answered to Harry. Really that just meant Harry forbid him from peeping on the girls of the school.
Harry pinned seven pictures of seven girls to a corkboard behind him. "These seven girls have gone missing in the past month. Moka, Kurumu and Yukari, I want you to talk to their friends and find out if they had anything in common.
"The staff don't seem to be willing to do anything so it looks like we will have to. Story of my bloody life." He added with a grumble.
"What will you and Senpai be doing?" Kurumu asked.
"Gin will be coming with me to where they were last each seen. We will try and track them as far as we can using his nose."
Gin just looked torn between grumpy and eager.
Harry and Gin managed to find the last known locations of five of the seven girls. For Gin it was simply that their scent had dissipated after nearly a month.
"We can pick it up tomorrow." Harry decided. "I'll send Hedwig to see if I can't get some books on magical tracking."
"Scrying and divination." Gin sighed. "You are absolutely pathetic for a wizard."
There was no real animosity between the two boys. Sure, Gin was sore at being bested by his junior and ousted from the club presidency, but Harry didn't lord it over him. He didn't stop Gin from ogling the girls as long as he didn't creep them out and respected the fact they wore clothes for a reason. So he shouldn't be trying to get under them.
"I'll see you after classes, Gin." Harry said waving uncaringly.
He made it a few metres when he saw Moka waiting nervously outside the school building.
"Moka, everything ok?"
"Harry!" She jumped. "I didn't think I'd see you here." She clutched a large A3 drawing pad to her chest.
"I usually walk back to the dorms with you." He pointed out.
"Oh… of course." She blushed. "But… you see… I won't be able to walk with you. Only for a week!" She added hastily. "You see… I've- I've been asked to be a model."
Harry's whole body tensed and his face went dark. "Have the Photography Club been hounding you again?" He demanded. "You don't have-"
"No! Harry, it's ok." She said as she grabbed his wrists. "It's the art teacher. She asked me to model."
Harry relaxed slightly, rolling his neck and shoulders to try and ease his tense muscles. "Ok. I can still walk you to the sessions if you want. I can do my homework whilst I wait."
"No!"
Harry was getting concerned. Moka was being very jumpy.
"Sorry, it's just... private." She blushed.
"Alright." Harry said slowly. "Just be careful. I'll see you for classes tomorrow, ok?"
She nodded hesitantly and nearly ran off towards the art building.
"Now there's a girl with secrets."
Harry grumbled quietly to himself. He thought Gin had gone. "Do you even know the definition of privacy?"
"I'm just saying!" Gin held up his hands defensively.
"Just one question; did she smell scared to you?" Harry asked seriously.
Gin scratched his nose thoughtfully. He then glanced around, seeing no one was there he morphed to his canine form and sniffed the area where Moka had stood.
He soon turned back. "Nervous, but not scared." He shrugged. "If she's modelling for the first time then it makes sense. Most of the girls who model for me are nerv- hey- wait! They agree! They agree!" Gin squealed and backed up as Harry turned to him with a face as black as thunder.
Harry paused. "I will be speaking with some people about this. Considering your history and reputation, I'm going to ask Nekonome-sensei or someone to supervise these 'modelling sessions' of yours."
The following evening, after class, the gang was all gathered. Yukari had put together a list of everything the missing girls had in common. It came down to just three things:
They were all in the same year.
They were all very beautiful.
They all modelled after school for the art teacher.
"Oh god!" Moka sat there, paler than normal, covering her mouth in shock.
"You should probably cancel your session tonight." Harry smirked at her.
"What? What's going on?" Kurumu asked.
"The art teacher is probably responsible and Moka was going to be her next victim." Harry explained.
"NOOOOOO!"
The dramatic cry was punctuated by the source pouncing on Moka. She went tumbling over backwards in her chair as Yukari landed on her.
The other three spared the duo a glance and turned back to each other.
"Should we tell a teacher?" Kurumu asked.
"They won't do anything. Not without being caught red-handed." Gin said dismissively.
"We can tell Nekonome-sensei." Harry said firmly. "If she or the staff refuse to act… we'll deal with the art teacher like every other monster that's attacked us."
Kurumu nodded resolutely. They both ignored the pair on the floor and the pitiful whine from the werewolf.
Harry was relieved when Miss Nekonome agreed to accompany them to confront the art teacher, Ishigami Hitomi. He was a bit concerned that she seemed reluctant.
Art classes were held in a small house about half a mile away from the main school building. It was also the place used for 'Independent Study'. Gin explained it was a euphemism for 'detention building'.
They were greeted by the art teacher, dressed in trousers, a blouse, a painter's coat and a head band that kept her braided hair out of her face. "Akashiya-san, I thought we agreed that these sessions were private?"
Moka squeaked as she clutched at the back of Harry's blazer.
"We're investigating the disappearance of several girls." Harry spoke up. "We believe they were all last seen here. Do you know anything about that?"
Ishigami scoffed. "Many young girls come here. This is a classroom."
"We'll just have a look around then." Harry tried for nonchalance. "Maybe we can find more clues as to where they went."
"I think not!" She said indignantly. "You will not go stomping around my classroom and throwing wild accusations!"
"Harry."
The wizard-in-hiding looked up at the taller Gin.
The werewolf nodded to the lockers.
"Stay away from there." Ishigami snarled.
Harry shot her a glare and marched over. He could hear sobbing as he approached. His hand reached out but a snake appeared from nowhere and bit his hand. He drew it back and cradled it protectively.
"You should have left when you had the chance."
Harry looked at Ishigami and took an involuntary step back. The many braids on the teacher's head were now snakes, hissing and snarling.
"Medusa… the Gorgon." Harry growled. He looked down at his hand. As he feared, his hand was turning to stone. "Everyone back up and don't let her snakes touch you."
His friends and teacher immediately complied.
So did Gin.
Hedwig had been very busy travelling to the Japanese Magical World to purchase books on monsters and yōkai. Harry wanted to know what he could be facing.
"Such a pitiful creature." Ishigami said mockingly. "Normally it takes several bites and a few minutes for my victims to turn to stone. Judging by your hand, you will be complete in a minute."
Harry looked back at his hand. She was right. His entire hand was stone. He tried flexing it.
A horrible sound of grinding stone came from his hand as he fingers moved. They moved far too fluidly for stone.
"Impossible!" Ishigami exclaimed.
"Harry?" Kurumu asked worriedly.
"Go through the lockers. See if the girls are in there and get them out. I'll hold off Ishigami-sensei."
Harry was terrified, but trying to hide it. He was certain that he could feel his entire torso had turned to stone. What was even more terrifying was that he could still move just as easily.
"Stay away! Those are mine!"
Harry's stone hands shot out and grabbed the striking snakes. "Stay still or you'll be hung in front of the school like the others."
The snakes froze, then, the ones he wasn't holding started edging towards him slowly, cautiously… curiously.
"What are you? You can speak to us?" One of the snakes asked curiously.
Harry realised he was speaking Parseltongue. "Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting these girls?"
"It's what she wants. We do what she wants." The snake hissed.
"She is going to get you all killed."
"What are you doing?! Get off me!" Ishigami was beginning to panic. Her snake hair wasn't listening to her.
"I defeated a one thousand year old basilisk. I shoved a sharp sword through its mouth and killed it. Don't make me kill you as well."
Harry heard a muffled noise coming from the snake he was grasping in his stone hand. He released it and Ishigami reeled backwards in fear.
"He speaks the truth sisters!" The newly released snake said excitedly. "I tasted the milk of an ancient king in his blood!"
"This, and he speaks our language?"
The snakes devolved into a heated discussion.
Harry stood there staring down the art teacher whilst the others attempted to escape with the stone girls they had found in the lockers.
Harry could feel the transformation had completed.
He was fully stone.
Hitomi Ishigami smirked. "My poison has finally defeated you." She stepped forward, her snakes' attention brought back to the boy of stone. "Now you are trapped for eternity. All I have to do is silence your little friends."
She made to move past the statue and was shocked when its hand shot out and slammed into her chest, throwing her back into the wall.
"HOW!?" She screamed in pain and rage. She picked up a nearby hammer, used for chiselling and sculpting and ran at Harry, screaming.
She made it two feet before she fell to the floor beneath the onslaught of bites from her hair.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" She wailed in pain as she felt herself turning to stone.
"You will not harm the blessed child!" The snakes declared between bites.
Harry could only watch in horror as the snakes bit and bit and Hitomi Ishigami turned into a stone woman in the foetal position.
Eventually only the snakes were moving, but Harry could see they were becoming stone too. "Why? You didn't have to do this." He said sadly, kneeling next the statue.
"No one will harm the Blessed Child." One of the snakes said proudly.
"Remember us? Please?" Another asked, clearly scared.
Harry reached out and gently stroked its head. He flinched at his stone hand but recovered. "How could I ever forget you? You saved my life and the life of my friends."
Harry wanted to cry as the snakes succumbed to their own venom and became stone. He stayed there, kneeling for a few seconds before he noticed his hand was flaking. Fresh skin revealed beneath as the stone fell away. In seconds he was once again flesh.
He stood and headed outside to check on the others.
He made it six steps out the front door before he grabbed Gin by the collar and dragged him into the house. Apparently the kidnapped girls had been naked when they were turned to stone.
Harry quickly found some painting smocks used in the art class and tossed them out the door.
Miss Nekonome soon called them out. Yukari had transfigured the smocks into something more… conservative.
Which wasn't saying much at a school where the average skirt length was about five millimetres below the crotch.
"What happened to Ishigami-sensei?" Kurumu asked.
"Her snakes turned on her and bit her. She's a statue." Harry said solemnly.
"Can we break her into little pieces?" One of the rescued girls snarled angrily.
"No." Harry said simply. "I'm going to keep her until I can reverse the effect. I owe the snakes that much."
"But-"
"If those snakes didn't turn on her we would all be stone statues hidden in her lockers." Harry said heatedly. He was very upset about the snakes.
It brought back bad memories of the graveyard last year and the dementor induced memories of his mother.
"Go back to your dorms and clean up. Just try to remember that everyone around you is a monster, but not all of them are evil."
Harry slumped off into the night, leaving the others to clean up the mess.
Harry had a new bedroom decoration. A statue of modern day Medusa, curled in pain and agony.
It was lying in the corner and facing away from the room. He had already sent Hedwig off to try and get some mandrake potion.
He spent the better part of his free time the next day repeatedly telling his friends that he didn't know why he could move as a statue.
Quite frankly… he didn't really want to think about it.
The day after that Hedwig returned with the potion and a book on Gorgons and counter curses.
He didn't get a chance to try anything as he had a Newspaper Club meeting right after class.
"SURPRISE!"
Harry jumped back through the doorway he had just entered, his hands up and spells ready to flow.
Then he realised that his friends were there with Gin and Miss Nekonome. The classroom was decorated with banners and balloons.
"Happy Birthday Harry-chan!" Moka beamed as she bounced up and grabbed his right arm. His left was soon occupied by Kurumu. Yukari, not wanting to be left out, simply hugged him.
"My birthday is in July." Harry chuckled.
"Right. Today is July 31st." Moka nodded.
Harry's smile vanished. "What?"
"It's your birthday silly." Yukari laughed as she danced away.
"But… isn't it October?" He then shuddered. "October 31st?"
"Harry-kun, Japanese schools run on a different calendar to English schools." Miss Nekonome explained kindly. "Didn't anyone explain to you that you had to travel time slightly in order to begin your classes with everyone else?"
"No! I've only ever travelled a few hours in time! Are you telling me I've been back in time for over…for months? I- I could have saved Cedric!"
"Harry-kun, breathe." She stepped up quickly. "I think I now see why you weren't told. You could not have changed the past. It is impossible and would only result in death and disaster." She gently caressed the back of his neck. It worked on her after all.
"Who is Cedric?" Kurumu asked Moka quietly.
Yukari, who was between the pair answered in kind. "There was a huge Tournament in Europe between three magical schools. Harry-kun was part of it. At the end he won, but he was holding the dead body of another contestant. Cedric Diggory."
She pulled a magical newspaper out of her cloak. It was dated early July. On the front was a dirty and clearly injured Harry Potter, crying over a body.
The photos moved like a movie.
"This was a few months ago! Harry was with us!" Kurumu argued.
"Harry travelled through time, remember?" Moka was looking between the photo and her friend with sadness.
Harry was standing there, his hands kneading his temples as Miss Nekonome continued to rub his neck.
"Why didn't he tell us about this?" Kurumu looked hurt.
"Tell us what?" Yukari asked sarcastically. "That he witnessed the murder of a friend? That he was accused of the murder? That he was thrown out of the Wizarding World in Europe?"
"Thrown out?!" Moka was outraged.
Gin, meanwhile, had gotten fed up with the pity-party. He grabbed Harry by the collar and gently (for him) tossed him into a chair. "It happened. Deal with it." He said somewhat harshly. "You've had, what? Three life or death encounters since you started here?
"If the other students saw you reacting like this they would laugh in your face. You defeated a werewolf, gorgon and monstrel. A pitiful little wizard that couldn't kill you, a kid, would be eaten for breakfast here.
"Every student in this academy is capable of being as bloodthirsty as humans think they are. But most of them are now looking at you as the biggest, baddest bastard of them all."
Gin slumped into the chair at the teacher's desk, winded from his rant.
"What about when they find out the truth? That Voldemort is more powerful and actually evil." Harry challenged.
Gin looked at the younger student with disgust. "I can't believe you actually managed to beat me."
Eventually Kurumu and Miss Nekonome managed to get the party going. They had music, dancing and party food. Most of it provided by their teacher.
Gin spent a fair amount of time nursing his bruised head. He just couldn't help but try to sneak illicit peaks.
Harry also discovered that Miss Nekonome hadn't sent his letters off yet. Which explained why he hadn't had any responses.
She promised that she would send them the day after he travelled back in time.
As things stood, their immediate concern was the new edition of the newspaper. The headline story was the 'firing' of Miss Hitomi Ishigami. At least, that was how Miss Nekonome suggested they phrase it.
Moka and Yukari were fairly upset with Kurumu as she had bailed on helping out without explanation. They weren't too happy with Harry who refused to be upset with the girl.
"She didn't give a reason, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have one." He explained calmly. He was actually worried about Kurumu as she had seemed upset when she rushed out.
"She's only here because she wants to spend time with you." The vampire said sullenly.
"And the only reason I am here is to spend time with you!" Harry argued. "You do remember that you rejected nearly every club we looked at?"
Moka had thought for a second that Harry was saying he wanted to date her. She was thrilled. The rest of his statement left her pouting for the rest of the club meeting.
"This is ridiculous." Harry grumbled the following evening. "We've had to deal with rapists, murders and kidnappers and now we have to deal with thieves."
The group had returned to finally print the newspaper only to find that all the files and layouts had been stolen.
"I- I have to go guys. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Everyone turned incredulously to the succubus edging towards the door. She was pale and sweaty.
"What?! You're bailing on us now?" Moka demanded angrily.
"I- I have to." She said before bolting.
There was a few second's silence in Kurumu's absence before Harry turned to follow her.
"Harry?" Moka was wide-eyed in surprise.
"Kurumu is upset. I'm going to check on her." He said simply.
"But the newspaper!"
"Will have an additional story of theft. I'll be back as soon as I am sure Kurumu is ok."
"She's just a flake!" Moka argued angrily. "She doesn't care about the Newspaper Club. She's lazy and just wants to goof off."
"Moka, I didn't join the Newspaper Club because I wanted to write stories and have them printed. I joined because it was the only club you felt safe in.
"So why shouldn't Kurumu be allowed to be in the club just to be with her friends? Like Yukari?"
The little girl remained silent, she didn't want her two loves to fight. She certainly didn't want to fight them.
Harry didn't wait for a response, he turned and left.
"Did you even read any of the articles about Potter?" Gin asked condescendingly. "His whole life he's had people assuming things about him. They assume he killed that dark wizard. They assume he lived like a prince. They assume his godfather tried to kill him. They assume he cheated his way into that tournament.
"But even after all the assumptions are disproven… they don't say sorry, they just pretend they never said anything."
"What is your point, Senpai?" Moka asked respectfully.
"Potter is never going to let himself assume anything about anyone. Not you, me, his friends back in England… or even his enemies.
"He'll always look for the facts. Do you think that is a good thing or a bad thing?"
"A good thing of-"
"THEN GET OUT THERE AND HELP HIM!" Gin roared making the two girls jump.
They both sprinted for the door.
Gin sat back in his chair. "At last." He muttered as he pulled out a very risqué magazine.
Harry made it outside but saw no sign of his friend. He did see Hedwig sitting in a tree she had claimed, waiting for him.
Well, him or Moka, whoever gave her more attention.
Harry headed around the back of the school to a large tree that was known by the students as the 'Monster Tree'. Hedwig hovered high in the air above him.
A clearly upset Kurumu was standing in front of the tree whilst a blonde haired boy sat on one of the lower branches. He had a camera around his neck.
Harry's blood was beginning to boil. "Kurumu." He said quietly.
"Harry! No! Why are you here?" She said as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Harry stepped forward and took her hand, he placed the envelope he had found on her desk in her hand. "We can burn those later if you want." He said soothingly.
The envelope had contained photos of Kurumu in compromising positions. There was also a note that threatened to release them if Kurumu didn't come to the Monster Tree.
Kurumu clutched the envelope to her chest and bowed her head in utter shame and desolation. She barely flinched when Hedwig landed on her shoulder to comfort her.
Harry turned his attention to the boy in the tree. "I want every copy you ever made of those photos and the negatives.
"If you don't get them to me by the end of tomorrow… not only will I make you suffer, I also know a witch. I'm sure she knows the spell to wipe your memory."
"You don't scare me Potter." The boy sneered. "I'm not like all those other monsters you've faced." The boy slid down from the tree, he was extremely slimy and getting more so by the minute.
His eyes started to extend out of his face on two fleshy stalks. Another two stalks started growing from his neck, pumping out a noxious odour that caused Harry's eyes to burn.
Kurumu was on her knees and gasping for air, Hedwig had taken off and vanished.
"Harry- can't breathe!" Kurumu wheezed.
Harry quickly grabbed the succubus and hauled her to her feet and dragged her away.
"Hey! Kurumu stays here! She owes me!" The boy, who now resembled a giant slug, yelled angrily.
He was ignored.
"Kurumu, go find Moka and the others. I need salt. Lots of it." Harry ordered.
Kurumu was reluctant to leave Harry, but the wizard had already turned back to Slug-Boy.
"I'm going to post those pictures all over the school!" The monster snarled. "I'll print life-sized copies!"
"By the time we're finished here, you'll be lucky if you remember how to breathe." Harry growled.
Harry was an expert gardener. It wasn't something he aspired to. It was a survival trait that he acquired under the harsh thumb of his relatives.
He knew exactly how to handle various garden pests. He knew salt would kill slugs. It dried them up.
Unfortunately, he could still hear Kurumu on the ground behind him. This meant salt was not going to be delivered any time soon. He had to reveal his abilities.
"Incendio!" A gout of flame as thick as his body flew from Harry's hand. The size and ferocity of the flame shocked Harry momentarily. He almost killed the slug monster but managed to redirect it so he drew a circle around the monster, trapping him.
"Oh my god! You're a phoenix!" The monster screamed in pain and horror as the heat rose around it. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! Make it stop!"
In an instant the flame was gone and the monster was replaced by the greasy boy, lying in the middle of a charred circle.
Harry marched forward. "You are going to give me everything now. Then I am going to have all the images of Kurumu removed from your mind.
"If you ever threaten someone again… I won't stop the fire."
It was a bluff. Harry didn't think he had it in him to kill. At worst he would wipe the boy's memory.
"I will! I promise!" The boy cried in fear.
"Are you going to be ok, Harry-kun?"
Harry tensed slightly at his teacher's hand on the back of his neck. He understood this was her way of comforting, like Mrs Figg and her cats.
"Yes Nekonome-sensei." Harry said solemnly. "I was just hoping this school would be more peaceful than my last one. Back there, everybody ganged up on me for the same reason. Here, they all have separate… agendas."
Everyone had met back at the classroom. Harry had wiped the boy's memory himself. Everyone else was busy working on the paper. Harry found it mildly amusing and heartening to see Moka doing her best to subtly support and help Kurumu.
"I do not know how human or wizard schools work." Nekonome admitted. "But here, weaknesses are exploited as soon as they are spotted. Everyone is trying to rise to the top and prove themselves as the best, the strongest.
"That is part of the reason they attack you."
"Actually, I think the Swimming Club are the only ones to attack me directly. Everyone else has been after the others and I just got caught up in it."
Nekonome frowned. "You're right."
"It doesn't matter." Harry eventually said. "If there has been one thing the past few weeks has taught me, it's that magical humans are far more versatile than so-called 'monsters'."
"But not as strong and powerful." She warned.
"None of that matters if you know someone's weakness. I beat both Moka and Gin with a single spell… and that slug monster."
"But that would mean revealing your true form."
"Yukari is doing alright. Besides, better exposed than dead."