Below is my final chapter for this version of the story. I have been working on a rewrite for some time, and have already posted the first chapter. It should be available on my profile. I will hopefully be caught up with where we are in a week or two. The early chapters needed the most work, so I don't expect the recent chapters to take me long to work through.

I'll be leaving this version of the story available. I have no plans of deleting it.

The below chapter is only partially done and closer to my current writing style than previous chapters, but I wanted to share it anyway. I hope to see you all in the rewrite, and I'll eagerly await your reviews!

Pride of a Pirate

A blast of frigid air hit Harry as he stepped out of the hospital room. He reached for his bag to grab a coat but found it missing.

"It's probably on ship," he grumbled as he flicked his wand out. He hit himself with a few charms to resist the cold and began to make his way through the castle. While the stonework was impressive, there was an obvious lack of decorations. No one seemed to be keeping up with cleaning the place either. The carpets were covered in dirt, and the rare furnishings were caked in dust. Crates and barrels filled some of the rooms, but most were barren. Even Hogwarts seemed pristine in comparison.

The ground floor was different. It nearly made up for the otherwise drab interior. Harry marveled at the grand entryway. Two large doors stood wide open, allowing the icy winds of the mountain to fill the castle. The intricate stonework was covered in frost, and snow littered the floors. Icicles burst from both the ceiling and floors like icy stalagmites and stalactites. Everything was covered in pure white, with a hint of nearly luminescent blue. Scenes like this always conflicted with his inner restorer. It was his job to reverse the fusion of the natural and artificial. Yet, he couldn't imagine tearing the ice away to restore the dull stonework underneath. He often wondered if it was wrong to bring these structures back to their former glory. Did the revived constructions and their history outweigh the inherent beauty of nature reclaiming the land?

Shouts from outside interrupted his musings. He looked between the stonework and doorway and sighed before jogging outside. Kureha, Chopper, Sanji, and Luffy stood in front of the castle, facing a strange sight. A house stood six meters tall, a house with human legs. It was covered in metal plating and sported two arm-like cannons. Under the tip of its roof was a large human head with a metal jaw. Its limbs were oddly short for its huge body, akin to a turtle. Two men stood in front of the houseman, one strapped to the back of the other. The man on the back wore boxing gloves that resembled afros, and the other was tall, unusually round, and sported large wavy lips.

The houseman pointed one of his cannons towards the top of the castle and proclaimed, "That quack doctor's flag must come down!"

With a boom, a cannon ball blasted upwards and crashed into the castle. Harry couldn't see the top of the castle from his position, so he stepped closer to the others while peering up. As he neared them, Luffy said, "The pirate flag… Hey reindeer, that flag…"

Harry looked over when Luffy trailed off. Chopper stared at the top of the castle with wide eyes. His nostrils flared as he turned to the houseman and yelled out, "What have you done to the doctor's pirate flag!?"

Chopper sprinted forward and slid under the legs of the round man. He leapt onto the houseman and transformed into his gorilla-sized form. He gripped the house tightly and screamed, "The Doctor even tried to save you!"

Chopper's fist cocked back, only to freeze in place. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth as his muscles pulsed with tension. He forced out a breath and his posture relaxed, "I won't hurt you… But leave this country forever!"

"What are you saying!?" Kureha called out. "You can't reason with him!"

Chopper turned away from the houseman, "But the Doctor wanted to save him…"

When the houseman noticed Chopper's distraction, he began to move one of his arm-like cannons to take aim at Chopper.

"Watch out!" Harry called out while flicking his wand into hand.

Chopper whipped around just as the cannon went off. The iron ball blasted out and a hastily erected shield popped into existence in front of the reindeer. The ball exploded on contact, shattering the shield, and blasting Chopper and the houseman apart. As Chopper slammed into the ground, the houseman stumbled away while tipping backwards. He spun his cannons in circles, trying to catch his balance. His feet failed to get purchase on the slick snow, and he tipped over with a soft thud. Snow burst up around him, obscuring him from sight.

"Help! I'm stuck!" The houseman's muffled voice called out from behind the veil of white. As the snow settled, the man was revealed to lying belly up as his arms and legs waved uselessly. Like a turtle on its back, he was stuck, "I can't get up!"

"King Wapol!" the two bound men yelled in unison. They sprinted past a rising Chopper and tried to heft the king from the ground.

Harry jogged to Chopper and helped him stand. His fur was slightly singed, but he was otherwise uninjured. Harry shot him a smile, "You're really tough, glad to see you're alright."

Chopper jumped back and began twisting his body in an exaggerated bashful pose, "S-Shut up! You won't make me happy with compliments."

Harry's chuckle was drowned out by Luffy yelling, "Hey! Big mouth!"

Luffy stood atop the castle and gripped a broken flagpole. It held a black flag with a jolly roger surrounded by Sakura petals. The broken pole was tied to its base with one of the sleeves from Luffy's coat.

"You're a bunch of frauds! You pretended to be pirates but weren't willing to risk your lives! You don't know the meaning of this flag!"

"Straw hat…" Chopper muttered as he stared up with wide eyes. Harry looked between them with furrowed brows.

"There's no meaning to a stupid pirate flag!" Wapol yelled out.

"You know nothing!" Luffy yelled down. "This flag isn't something you fly on a whim!"

"Fool! I'm a king! I'd never fly a pirate flag expect as a joke," Wapol spat. "When I get up, I'll blow that damn eyesore down!"

"You can't break it!" Luffy proclaimed. "The skull and cross bones are a symbol of conviction! I don't know who it belonged to, but this is a flag that you pledge your life to! You don't fly it lightly!" Luffy took a deep breath and his voice boomed out, "It's not something to be laughed at or shot at!"

Harry stared up with wide eyes. He had never given pirate flags much thought. Part of him wanted to scoff at trying to find any grand meaning in a jolly roger. It was a symbol that struck fear and hatred in the common people. It was absurd to treat it with reverence. And yet, Luffy's passion was infectious. It was not as though Harry had not seen such fear in his own life. Parseltongue was feared in the west but treasured in the east. While the comparison was thin, it would be short sighted of him to paint pirates with as broad a stroke as the west does to parselmouths. Yet, despite having come to enjoy the straw hat crew, he had conveniently ignored that they were pirates. In fact, he had no idea what being a pirate meant to Luffy. It was obvious that he had been taking it too lightly.

"Hey reindeer!" Luffy called down. "I'm gonna kick their ass now! What're you gonna do?"

"Me…?" Chopper muttered.

"Finally," Sanji grinned, "I was sick of listening to that guy run his mouth." He stepped towards the fallen king, only to crash into the ground as Kureha slammed her foot into his spine, "Argh! What the hell!?"

"There will be no fighting until I deem you fit," she shot Harry a piercing stare. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Harry gulped.

"Almost there, King Wapol!" The bound men had torn down a tree and were using it to leverage Wapol upward.

Chopper growled and sprinted towards them. He leapt into the air, transforming into his gorilla size, "I won't let you!"

The bound men abandoned their efforts and intercepted Chopper just in time. They used their four hands to block the huge fist headed straight for Wapol, "You'll have to get past us if you want to touch the king!"

"Heeheehee," Kureha grinned. "That snot-nose brat is finally showing some spirit." She looked between Harry and Sanji, "You two just watch, my reindeer can handle himself."

The bound men stood a few meters away from Chopper, who had returned to his small form. They spoke in unison, "You're a strange creature. You must be the abominable snowman that the people used to fear." They grinned, "You poor thing. I bet you've lived a lonely life, despised by everyone. So why risk your life for them!? What a laugh! Hahahaha!"

"Shut up!" Chopper yelled. "I may not have any friends, but I can fight! As long as the Doctor's flag is up, I–"

"You have a friend right here!" Luffy's voice boomed from atop the castle. He launched himself towards Wapol, "I'm your friend!" He crashed into the snow, launching a plume of white into the air and blasting the Wapol and the bound men apart. His laugh cut through the cloud of snow, "Shishishi!"

"Straw hat!" Chopper exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm made of rubber."

"Rubber!?" Chopper gaped.

"See, Chopper," Harry called out. "You're not the only abnormal person around." He grinned, "And you can count me as one of your friends too!"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Chopper yelled while wiping tears from his eyes

"Shishishishi," Luffy smiled and pointed towards the bound men, "Hey reindeer, can you finish him off?"

"That guy? Easy!"

"Good. I'll deal with big mouth."

Luffy sprinted towards the still stuck Wapol while his arms stretched far behind him. He stomped into the ground next to the fallen king and whipped his arms forward. "Gum-Gum Bazooka!"

When his arms slammed into the side of the houseman, the medal plating dented inward and blood burst from the king's mouth. Wapol's transformation failed as Luffy's arms continued forward, blasting the now human king off the mountain. His screams filled the air as he disappeared into the horizon. Luffy stood silently with his arms crossed and back to the crowd. Slowly, he turned around, face set in a deep frown, "That was boring guys. I should have punched him a few more times."

"Bastard!" The bound men roared as they ran towards Luffy, "We'll kill you!"

They skidded to a stop as Chopper appeared in front of them. "Your opponent is me! My name is Tony Tony Chopper. That name was given to me by the world's greatest doctor! He might have forgiven you for mocking him, but I won't!" He held out a small yellow sphere in his hoof, "Rumble ball."

Chopper tossed the ball into his mouth and crushed it with his teeth.

"Step aside, you beast," the bound men sneered, "We have already seen your three forms. You're no match for us."

"What did he just eat," Harry asked Kureha.

"He calls them 'Rumble Balls.'" Kureha grinned. "They modify the transformation power of his devil fruit. He created them himself. For three minutes, they allow him to take on four additional forms to the usual three that Zoan types have."

"Wow, seven forms…" Harry murmured. "What are they?"

"Brain point, his hybrid form and when he's the most intellectual. Walk point, his reindeer form, and when he's the fastest. Heavy point, his human form, and when he's the overall the strongest. Jump point, a form optimized for jumping."

"Jumping!? That's more like flying!"

Chopper was a speck in the sky, having just launched himself upward using his jump form.

"Guard point," Kureha continued, "It resembles a huge furry ball and is optimized for defense."

Chopper was smashed into the ground by a hammer but bounced away completely unharmed.

"Arm point, a form where he puts all of his strength into his arms, allowing him to deliver devastating blows."

"Cloven," Chopper called out from below the bound men. They flinched backwards but were too slow. Chopper leapt upwards with his bulging arm cocked back, "Rose!" His hoof slammed into both of their chins, throwing the men backwards. They slammed into the ground and twitched before falling still. Chopper landed on the ground, back in his hybrid form, and adjusted his hat, "Three minutes."

"He did it! The reindeer did it!" Luffy screamed out. "Seven forms! You're so cool, reindeer!"

"Shut up! You jerk!"

"HeeHeeHeeHee," Kureha stepped off of Sanji's back and made her way to Chopper, "You did well, brat."

"Crazy hag," Sanji grumbled as he picked himself off the ground. "Hey, she only told us five f—mmph."

Harry covered Sanji's mouth and dragged him to the side of the castle. As they turned the corner, Sanji wrenched away from Harry, "What the hell is your problem?"

"Quiet!" Harry whispered harshly. "We gotta get out of here before that crazy woman gets her hands on us again. She trained Chopper herself, as long as he comes with us, we can head straight for Arabasta."

Sanji nodded aggressively, "I never should have doubted you, let's get out of here!"

"Monster!" "You idiot, that's my new mate!"

"Was that Usopp?" Sanji peaked around the corner. He stiffened before waving with his whole arm, "I'm right here, Princess Vivi, Nami!"

Harry yanked him back and yelled, "What part of quiet did you not understand!?"

"Get off of me, you crap-wizard!" Sanji's foot pushed into Harry's face as Harry gripped his coat.

"HeeHeeHeeHee. So, this is where you ran off too."

They both froze in place, "Crap."

"Get back to the infirmary!"

"Run for it!"

"Ow!" "Oof!" "Ugh!" "Agh!"

—

"This is your fault," Harry grumbled from the bed next to Sanji.

"Bastard," Sanji spat. He was restrained in the bed and gritting his teeth in pain.

"HeeHeeHeeHee, you made your wounds worse," Kureha walked into the room and drank directly from a bottle of liquor.

Sanji glared at the woman, but she ignored him and turned to a man lying in the third bed in the room, "Dalton, do you know where the key to Castle's weapons storeroom is?"

"The storeroom?" Dalton frowned, "Why do you want in there?"

"That's my business."

Dalton sat up and furrowed his brow, "Well, Wapol always kept it on his person, so it probably went flying with him."

"Really?" Kureha frowned, "That's a problem."

"Hey," Harry grinned, "I'll unlock the door for you if you let Chopper travel with us, so we can leave early."