Ohayo, Minna-san! Sorry this took so long!
Here are some answers to questions that were asked of me:
What I meant by 'beaten' was defeated, beaten in a contest, etc. I use a lot of words that have double meanings, so if you re-read that chapter with that in mind, it should make more sense.
Also, I will only be doing gen pairings with a Fran/Harry friendship. I have no romantic experience, so any romance would most likely be really, really, really bad fluff. It will be Canon for HP with Ron/Hermione, James/Lily. For KHR, I might put hints of a Tsuna pairing, maybe not. Who knows, ne?
Also, James got worked up because 1) he's been under a great deal of stress, what with Voldy back and having to work with the order and so on and he also got a garbled version of what happened, and 2) I just wanted it that way. *smiles smugly*
It's pretty much the same for Dumbledore, and I think you'll like what this chapter has in store. Ooh! That rhymed! *giggles*
Gomen, I'm kinda hyper and insane. (When I'm hyper I'm like a Mexican jumping bean!)
Also, all of my stories are self-beta'd. So, I apologize for any mistakes.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, just the plot!
Final Word Count: 2,593
Chapter 5—Scrying
Harry was enjoying a (non)typical Vongola morning at the main Vongola mansion. Mostly due to the fact that the Varia and the Decimo generation were in the same house as one another, causing a higher caliber of destruction than was normally seen in either the Vongola mansion or the Varia HQ…
Anyway, being the late riser he was, he simply lazed in his bed, enjoying the warmth, shouts of violence, and explosions' signaling that fighting was underway on the floors below him. When he finally did get up in time for breakfast (it was a miracle no one had had to come up and get him and Mammon—they were notorious for being late risers) it was to the sight of the Varia and the Decimo generation all looking a bit…singed, to say the least. Mammon was not included in this for the simple fact that he had been asleep and had just risen, along with Harry.
Harry grinned a s**t-eating grin and spoke lightly. "Shishi~ looks like the Puppy lost control of himself," the named 'Puppy', also known as Hayato Gokudera, glared poison at the fifteen year old. But Harry merely turned around, ignoring him and heading to breakfast with Mammon on his shoulder. Pausing, he turned back to the group of singed individuals. "Shishi~ have the peasants even eaten yet?" they all twitched, reminded of their growling stomachs. "Shishi~ better get to it~"
Of course, as they tried to make their way up to breakfast/lunch, it didn't quite work that way.
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Ten minutes later a group of heavily singed, beaten up, tired, scratched, traumatized, and hungry Mafioso made their way to the dining room. They entered to see Harry and Mammon enjoying a hearty breakfast, causing their stomachs to complain even more loudly.
Irritably the Varia and Decimo generation settled down, with Tsuna and Xanxus (thankfully) sitting apart with Gokudera and Squalo sitting on their right sides. It was quickly degenerating into the customary food fight (everyone was a very fast eater aside from Xanxus—he enjoyed eating slowly, just to piss people off.) when a loud crack sounded through the room.
A group of people appeared with no warning, and in an instant, they were pinned with weapons pointing to vital areas. Harry had pinned a man with messy black hair, much like his own he noted absently, and hazel eyes with one of his knives to the man's throat. A flash of recognition flickered through his mind as he saw the man. The man was James Potter.
Harry's biological father.
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"Are you sure this will work, Albus?" Minerva McGonagall asked the aged Headmaster of Hogwarts, her lips tight with worry and doubt. "Of course he is, Minnie!" James Potter said, before flinching away from the icy glare directed his way from Minerva. It was well known she hated being called that.
"Yes, Minerva. I am sure this will lead us to the person we are looking for." Albus Dumbledore replied, blue eyes twinkling behind half-moon glasses. "But what happens then?" Lily Potter spoke up, worry coloring her tone. "We stun him and take him back to headquarters, Lily," Albus said, peering over his glasses at her with the air of a kindly grandfather.
Lily nodded absently, looking around at the people Albus had gathered for this. Sirius Black, Mad-Eye Moody, her, James, Minerva, Severus Snape, Nymphadora Tonks, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, and Hestia Jones were all present, and Lily shivered. Why did Albus think they would need all of these people for? It scared her to think of it.
"Now, I will activate the spell that will allow us to apparate to the person's location," Albus announced, waving his wand. Lily suddenly felt like she was being pulled through a plastic tube about six times too small, and with a pop and a wave of nausea, they appeared in what appeared to be a dining room. They only got a glance around them before they were pinned to the ground, walls and other things by weapons. Lily herself was being held by a man with black hair and hard, hazel eyes, who was holding a very real sword to her throat—the edge lying lightly on the thin membrane of her throat, ready to slit her throat if necessary.
"Who are you?" the demand came from a tall, handsome-looking young man with spiky brown hair and brown eyes. The man beside him growled, his red eyes burning with rage and something else Lily couldn't quite place. "Che, you should let us kill 'em, trash," he snapped at the brown-haired man, glaring at them all while fingering a pistol he carried in clear view. Lily gulped as Albus spoke up. "We are here for someone, and we can explain, if you'll release us for the moment,"
The man's brown eyes narrowed. "That is not what I asked," it wasn't a question, it was a statement of hard, iron-clad fact, and the tone in which he spoke it chilled Lily to the bone. (She didn't know it, but he was speaking in the 'boss voice' that all Vongola Bosses had—perfect for keeping violent Guardians in line and quiet too!)
"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School in Scotland. If you'd let us up, I'd tell you more," Albus replied, obviously trying maneuver his way out of their sticky situation. "Let them up, but disarm them," the man said coolly, eyeing them carefully. The man holding her down loosened his grip on her, and his eyes sent a clear message. Hand over any weapons. (un)Luckily, her wand had been thrown out of her grip when she had been flung against the wall, and she held her hands up to show that she had no weapons. She held stock still as he patted her down lightly, being rather decent about it and not as…disrespectful and perverted…as he could have been.
He nodded to the brown-haired man when he was done, and she was released. She stood shakily, the adrenaline and fear turning her legs to jelly. She noticed that another had stayed by the brown-haired man, a young woman with purple hair that looked like a…pineapple…and carrying a trident. Once they were all searched and released, they were seated on one side of the table that was in the room while the brown-haired man and the others with him sat opposite—or stood with the red-eyed man who looked incredibly annoyed with them, the brown-haired man, or just the world in general.
The brown-haired man sat directly across from Albus, with a silverette on his right and the man who had pinned her on his left. "Now, explain." It wasn't a request, Lily noted, it was a command. "I am Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Albus began. "And yes, magic does exist. If I had my wand I could show you," he said, sending a look at the brown-haired man. "No,"
Albus sent a look at the man that said he was very disappointed in him. The man's brown eyes narrowed coldly as the red-eyed man snorted. "Che, like we would give you a weapon, scum,"
Minerva flared. "Show him some respect! He is the most powerful wizard in the world!" a man with purple hair in the same style as the girl Lily had seen earlier spoke up, a taunting smirk on his face. "Kufufu, he isn't very powerful without his stick, now is he? He's just an old man," the brown-haired man raised his hand, and spoke quietly. "Continue your explanation,"
"Many years ago, a Dark wizard by the name of Voldemort"—here, he ignored several flinches from the witches and wizards around him—"and as he rose to power, he killed mercilessly those who got in his way of killing all non-magical people in the world. Until, that is, he tried to kill the Potters. The Killing Curse rebounded upon him that night, marking the Potters' son, Charlus, as the one that killed him, Charlus becoming known as the Boy-Who-Lived."
One of the people standing behind the red-eyed man laughed coldly, their messy blond hair concealing their eyes. "Ushishishi~ what a stupid name for a stupid peasant," Lily twitched and glared at the man. "Urusai, fake-prince!" surprisingly, it was the silverette who retorted. A knife flew past, embedding into the table. "Ushishishi~ I am a real Prince, Puppy-peasant," the brown-haired man once again raised his hand and both men stopped. The brunette then gestured to Albus to continue.
"While in Italy on summer vacation, young Charlus and his two friends were attacked by someone in this room. We wish to discuss this with the offender." The brunette remained impassive. "And you want me to do what, exactly?"
"Call them forward, let us talk to them. In fact, we have a description," Albus said, blue eyes twinkling. "The person in question has black hair that covers his eyes and green eyes," the man twitched. "Maa, looks like Harry-sempai is in trouble," a mint-haired boy/man with a frog hat on his head said apathetically.
"Harry?" Albus said, leaning forward. "Shishi~ none of your business, old-peasant," said a boy/man with messy black hair that covered his eyes, showing a knife in his hand. "And what do you expect us to do about it?" asked the brunette, effectively drawing their attention back to him. "Excuse me, Mr…?" Nymphadora Tonks spoke up, shifting uncomfortably with her violet hair standing out brightly. The brunette blinked at her as realization seemed to pass over his face. "Ah, yes, I am Tsunayoshi Sawada, and this," he gestured to the silverette, "is Hayato Gokudera, and this," he gestured to the man who had pinned Lily down, "is Takeshi Yamamoto."
"Mr. Sawada then. Anyway, it's as the professor said. We just want to talk to him about it," Sawada narrowed his eyes, and very nearly glowered at them. "So, you just want to talk to someone in this room about something they may or may not have done, simply because it happened to someone you're counting on to try and save your skins? And, if I'm guessing right, the person you're counting on to save you is a kid! So, why should we talk to people who decide to count on a child to save their skins from a so-called Dark Wizard when they should do it themselves and keep a child from little war?"
This time, it was Molly who flared. "Don't call our war little! You don't know the half of what we've been through! The people we've lost!" the red-eyed man snorted with contempt. "People who could have been saved if you got off your lazy asses and fought fire with fire, trash," Lily turned her smoldering emerald gaze on him, glaring at him venomously. Albus narrowed his eyes calculatingly. "Very well then, how about a compromise. You send a delegation to Hogwarts for this coming year, and we'll forget about the entire incident," Sawada seemed very near the breaking point as he glared coldly at Albus.
"There is nothing to forget. You come in here and accuse one of us of attacking a child, and then imply that you are the ones that should be forgiving us!" Albus shifted, as Sawada continued. "However, I will be sending a contingent to this 'school'. If only to keep you and this so-called Dark Wizard away from Italy and the Vongola,"
Albus looked uncomfortable. "Ah, yes. We'll be back to arrange this?" Sawada snorted coldly. "We'll meet in neutral ground of my choice," he said coldly. They were given back their wands before they, as a group, apparated out of the room with a very loud crack.
Glaring, Tsuna turned on Harry. "Harry-kun…!" despite his ever present grin, Harry seemed rather afraid of Tsuna as he did so.
That time of that particular day—12:40—2:30 PM, to be exact—was never mentioned again, not unless you wanted both Harry and Tsuna to be after your hide. (Squalo learned this the hard way when he brought it up Harry decided it would be fun to play Pin the Tail on the Shark—with knives instead of darts.)
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Charlus stared incredulously at the man in front of him. "I'm Skull de Mort!" he said, striking a pose while wearing a helmet. "But you're a kid!" Skull glared at him. "So are you!" 'Reborn and Colonello would beat the crap out of me if I said that to them!' Skull thought nervously while facing off to the boy. "I'm your trainer for the rest of the summer!" he said, and pulled out a staff. "First off, physical training!"
Charlus restrained himself from whimpering. This would be hell.
(It was. As it turned out, Reborn's sadism had rubbed off on Skull—causing Charlus' training to be hell)
/End.\
Well, that's the end of that chapter! Also, were you surprised by my choice of Jamesie-boy's friend?
Also, in answer to the riddle, IAmTheTaintedAngel got it right! It was an unfinished puzzle! The others were also incredible answers, but this was the one, specific answer I was looking for!
On another note, the poll I currently have up on my profile (Who do you think should go to Hogwarts with Harry?) will be closed on Saturday, and the one with the most votes will win.
Also, I have another fic posted on my profile called A Journey of Turbulent Times. It's a Pokémon fic, and the idea behind it is "What if instead of being chosen when they faced off against Reshiram/Zekrom, Touko and N had been chosen from their birth as the Destined Hero(ine)s?" I thought it would be a rather new idea, because from what I've seen, no Pokémon fics (again, that I've seen, I have no idea if there actually is in the ones I haven't seen) have it where Touko and N have a special connection with Reshiram/Zekrom. They mention the bond, but they never really do anything with it. The story starts when Touko and N are eight, and I plan for it to be a long fic (hopefully). So, please read it!
Ja ne, Minna-san!
~Happy Camper27