Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Slayers, or Harry Potter. If I did I
wouldn't be near this poor for a college student.
Author's Notes: Well this is the next chapter. I am grateful for the many nice reviews. I'll fix SD soon. I just need to collect my ideas again. Well, it seems I have a bit of time to develop the characters a bit more. No, this is not going to be a win all the time with fancy magic kind of thing. Especially since neither Harry nor Ranma can officially use the stuff right now. Sure Ranma can use his white, black, and shamanist magic, but he needs to adapt to their rules now, as this magic will attract attention he doesn't want. He still hasn't learned to tap into his power as a dragon god, and Harry is still learning the basic principles. Neither can officially use it, as they are still babies in dragon terms.
'Thought' "/Japanese/"
Magical Destiny Chapter 2
Kim awoke to the sound of something scratching at her window, and turned over wondering what had happened. Then shooting straight up, she remembered and looked to her alarm clock. It was 1 am. Getting up, she let in her cat Duran, and her owl, Lynyrd. Calling to Lynyrd, she gave him food and water and left the room. Sneaking into Harry's room, she was careful not to wake him as she moved his bangs to find the unique scar that was famed to be left on the boy. Slowly reaching for her own unique power, Kim allowed herself to 'see' what the boy had been through, reading his blood. What she saw, startled her, but she kept going, reading through to his great grandparents.
Ranma awoke to a strange feeling of magic being used. Wide awake, Ranma realized that it was coming from Harry's room, but it was not Harry using it. Leaping from the bed, Ranma ran to his brother's room to see Kim pulling her hand away from his head, tears running down her face. "What are you doing?!" Ranma hissed, walking in and grabbing her arm. Her frightened look seemed to accent the tears running down her face, and she put a finger to her lips and then pointed to the door. Ranma quickly looked over to Harry and finding nothing wrong with his brother dragged Kim bodily from the room.
Kim winced in pain and found herself dragged to down the stairs and thrown onto the couch. Sitting upright, she faced the enraged Ranma, and gave him a reproachful look. "Harry Potter is a famous name in the wizarding world. I had to make sure it was really him, and not some hoax."
"Why the heck would I lie to you!?!" Ranma all but yelled, trying not to wake Harry.
"We've had too many people try to dress their sons up as Harry Potter for the reward. Now calm down and I'll tell you why the name's so famous, and what I was doing."
Ranma nodded and sat down, glowering at the girl. She sighed and began the tale of Voldemort and his defeat at the hands of a small boy. She ended the tale with what had been going on for the past nine years and the strange power she had been born with, the power to read people's pasts and predict their future through reading of their blood's history.
Ranma looked at her suspiciously, it sounded too strange, but he had heard stranger. "Prove it," Ranma challenged.
She sighed, and then got up and walked up to him to his surprise, and laid a hand on him. Suddenly he was with her on her ride through the blood stream, and seeing his past. Both of them saw all that happened in a matter of seconds, and then they moved to his father and mother, and their the paths split to look as if they were watching both their parents' parents, when the path split once again, so that it was if they were watching four televisions at once. Suddenly once again, they were back at the apartment, Kim looking a little pale. She sat back on the couch and watched Ranma, her gaze showing nothing of her emotions. Ranma himself felt strangely exposed, and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry for doubting you, it's just."
Kim smiled, "After all you've been through, I'm surprised you chose to trust me first off. I saw what you went through first hand. You both are truly amazing individuals. I look forward to getting to know you both better."
Ranma looked up and smiled, nodding.
"The thing that amazes me the most is that you both share the same blood. Your great grandmother's through your mother's side."
Ranma's jaw dropped, "You mean we're actually related by blood?!"
Kim nodded, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. Duran jumped onto her lap and she stroked him absentmindedly when she noticed that Ranma had frozen. Swearing slightly, she shooed Duran from the room, and studied Ranma a bit, waiting till he calmed down. "You're gonna have to get over your fear of cats, or at least make it so you can stand them long enough not to scream if you're going to live in our world like you should have in the first place. We'll work on that over the year."
Ranma gave her a look, and then said, "I have a feeling I'm not going to like this."
Kim grinned, "It would be worth it not to go 'cat' again wouldn't it? Now if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to write. People need to know that the boy who survived has been found, and in the care of an unknown family member. I'll also be writing to the school Harry would be enrolled in for magic."
Kim started to leave the room then turned around. "For what it's worth, you are extremely brave, but true bravery is admitting and facing your fears. That is the easiest way to conquer them."
She then turned, called her cat to her and headed up the stairs. Duran gave Ranma a reproachful look, and followed her up. After the cat passed, Ranma relaxed enough to think about what she had said, and found that her words held far too much truth to be denied. The only problem was, it went against what he was taught, and it was hard to change that.
'Ok. First step is admitting it to me. I'm af. afraid of. c-c-cats,' Ranma sighed, 'This is going to be harder than I thought. I was taught never to show fear, pain, sadness, or affection. That was my biggest problem in that whole fiasco.'
Getting up and walking back up the stairs, Ranma stopped and studied Harry's door a bit before going to bed, wondering if he should tell Harry what he learned.
Kim finished up her letter to Professor Dumbledore writing about everything she had learned in the past evening. Motioning for Lynyrd to come to her, she sealed the letter, and got string with which to tie the letter. After she finished tying on the letter, she opened her window once more and got in the bed. Duran climbed up on the bed with her and curled into a ball. "I hope we can get him over his ailurophobia enough so that he doesn't go cat on the students," she whispered softly. Duran just purred in agreement. Soon the household was asleep again, with one in ignorant bliss, and two with many things to think about.
Ranma awoke the next morning with the smell of something delicious emanating from the kitchen. Getting up, Ranma took a look at the clock and was surprised to see he had slept in so late. Grabbing his bathing supplies, he quickly headed to the shower, and turned on the water. The cold water shocked him awake, and he looked down, smiling as he didn't transform into a female. 'I'm gonna miss Lina talking to me, but this is fantastic.'
Finishing his shower, Ranma pulled his boxers and pants on and made his way downstairs. He found Harry sitting at a set table examining the silver ware, while Kim was in the kitchen flipping something that looked to be okinomiyaki with out sauce or any toppings. 'Pancakes,' Ranma thought, 'I didn't know people used them outside of camp.'
"Morning," Ranma said. Kim turned and threw a good morning over her shoulder, and then turned around quickly, her face slightly red.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked, curious.
"." was the reply he got as Kim flipped the pancakes and Harry started to laugh.
"Maybe you should have put a shirt on before coming downstairs," Harry said snickering.
"No I just think he should take off. never mind," said Kim from the stove, becoming redder.
Harry started to guffaw as Ranma adopted his confused expression and then shook his head. Harry followed Ranma up the stairs so as not to embarrass their housemate further. "She's really attracted to you," Harry said.
Ranma rolled his eyes, "Just what I need, more girls chasing me."
Harry shook his head, still laughing, "I think she's great. She's not a martial artist, but she looks rather strong in heart and will. She won't try to hurt you if she could help it I bet."
Ranma looked at his little brother after pulling a shirt over his head. "She's a witch Harry. Not a bad one, but I'm still a little edgy. Besides," Ranma said, then continuing in a pained voice, "Last year's fiasco is still too fresh in my mind. It still hurts to know what they thought of me."
Harry fell silent at that, and then the two heard Kim call up that breakfast was ready. Heading down the stairs, Harry looked up at Ranma and asked a question they hadn't thought about for the two months that they were on their own. "What last name are we going to use?"
Ranma thought a bit, and then said, "How about Inverse? Heaven knows we've had too many things in our lives inverted to fit the universe's cosmic need."
Harry grinned, "Then it's settled, I like it."
Ranma had been using Inverse for all his job applications and things, but he didn't tell Harry that. Saotome was a name of the past, and he was not going to use a name that had lost all honor.
Sitting down at the table, Ranma and Harry watched as Kim dished them out pancakes, and put blueberries and syrup on the table. "I wasn't sure what you would want with your pancakes so I pulled out both. I prefer blueberries on mine," she said.
Ranma thought a minute and decided to try the blueberries and slathered them on. He had just started on his pancakes when an own came in the open window accompanied by a cool fall breeze. The owl stopped right at Kim and held out its leg. "Good job Lynyrd," Kim said, "Now you go on upstairs, you've got a treat waiting for you."
Ranma watched curiously as the owl hooted softly and flew up the stairs as Kim opened the letter.
Kim smiled as she read it, and winked at Ranma. "Well it looks like the school I mentioned, Hogwarts, will accept all three of us. Harry will go in with people his age and graduate. Ranma, you and I can go in under an independent study for a while. It would be really beneficial for both of you."
Ranma nodded and Harry grinned, "When can I start?"
"We'll all start next year. The train to school will leave on September 1st at King's Cross station. We'll get our books and things next August."
Harry looked slightly disappointed, but cheered up as he ate breakfast. Pancakes never tasted so good!
Time passed, and Kim, Harry and Ranma all worked on Ranma's fear of cats. Ranma went 'cat' many times, but those were becoming less and less frequent as time went on. Christmas passed, and Ranma found that he could actually stay in the same room as Duram without feeling afraid, it was just when the cat got too close and touched him that he started to freak, but it wasn't going bad at all. The therapy was working.
The first problem came Christmas Eve, just as Ranma had finally gotten to sleep. Ranma awoke to the sound of his window opening and closing. 'I'm gonna have to get that oiled in a bit,' Ranma thought.
Ranma extended his senses and fear gripped him as, what he knew as Kodachi's energy signature crept closer to him. Ranma tensed slightly so as not to bring to her attention that he was awake. Kodachi leaned over to make sure it was really Ranma and grinned evilly. She lifted the covers to climb in when suddenly Ranma was not there anymore. Turning around, she saw Ranma looking at her, an angry expression on his handsome face. "/Now Ranma-sama, whatever is the matter? I thought I would allow you a joyous surprise come Christmas morning. Unless you're so eager now./"
Ranma turned green as Kodachi took off her cloak. Wearing nothing but a set of tiny lace undergarments, Kodachi started to approach Ranma, expecting to be able to seduce him now since the other girls were still in Japan, or in Shampoo's case, China.
Ranma, slightly stunned that Kodachi was here and had found him, allowed her to get a little to close, and as her hand reached for his groin, he came to his senses and dashed around her again. Suddenly he was glad that he had not been lax in his training in this new land, despite the weather, his job, and other activities.
"/Now Ranma-sama, why are you avoiding me? I will remind you of our many encounters since you have obviously forgotten about me, your true love. Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!/"
Ranma smacked his forehead in exasperation, 'Great, now she's woken everyone up.'
"/How did you find me Kodachi?/" Ranma growled.
"/Why Ranma-sama, I hired a detective. Don't worry about my brother though, he's still chasing that little tart Tendo Akane./" Kodachi was about to continue when Ranma's door, slammed open and both Harry and Kim looked on in morbid amazement. Kodachi saw Kim, however, and attacked her, trying to eliminate all competition.
Kim saw a ribbon fly her way, and idly wondered where the ribbon had come from while trying to dodge. Harry, seeing that Kim would not be able to dodge in time, threw Kim out into the hall, avoiding the ribbon himself.
Ranma knew Harry would protect Kim, but that did not banish the anger he felt at that. Duram, who had just slunk in, was also angry at the attack, and hissed before charging Kodachi. While Duram distracted Kodachi, Ranma grabbed her cape, and came up behind her. Tying her with it, Ranma quickly threw her out into the snow, shutting and locking his window.
Rushing out into the hall, he found both Harry and Kim nursing slight bumps on the head where they had hit the wall. "Are you two alright?" Ranma asked.
Kim smiled and nodded, not bothering to ask what that was about. Harry just gave him a goofy grin and yawned, heading back to his room. Helping Kim to her feet, Ranma inspected her head where it hit the wall, and finding nothing that wouldn't heal with a bit of rest, let her go. Kim found herself heading back to her own room with her head down to hide her heavy blush. 'I know I shouldn't ask him for a date or anything with all he's been through, but I can't help being attracted to him, especially when he goes and gets all tender about something. This is more than just physical attraction now.' Kim went to sleep with dreams full of Ranma.
Ranma for his part was trying to figure out why he had acted like that towards Kim. 'I know she's pretty, but I'm still healing. She knows that also, and has been nothing but supportive of me. I should stop thinking about this. Now, if Kodachi found me, then the rest will soon follow.' Ranma looked out his window again to find Kodachi finally untangling herself and leaping out into the night. Ranma sighed, 'It figures that life would get more complicated now that I've settled into a more stable routine. I just hope that they don't interfere with my work or my learning to much. I can't get fired now that I have a good amount of money for myself and Harry now.'
Ranma went back to sleep, and awoke to Harry's yelling the next day. "Come on Ranma! We've all got presents!! Come on! Let's open them!"
Ranma awoke and went bleary eyed down the stairs. He saw Kim yawning and said a quiet good morning to her. She smiled sleepily and turned her head to Harry, who was actively sorting the gifts. To his surprise, Ranma found that he had a good number himself, despite that he had few other friends that he knew about. Kim grinned and started to open her own, and then Ranma followed her lead, finding that many were from coworkers. "They give these to you without my knowing?" Ranma asked remembering that her coworkers had given him her presents a few days ago. Kim grinned and nodded watching as Harry opened presents from his schoolmates at his temporary school. Harry had more than either of them.
"I'm going to fix us some breakfast. Then I'm gonna start on Christmas Dinner for our party tonight," Kim said getting up.
Ranma nodded and sat back and watched Harry a bit then looked to the gift Kim had given him. It was a Chinese outfit not unlike his others except that it was very fancy. The pants were different also, hanging loose instead of tying at the bottom. Both shirt and pants were black, yet the shirt looked like it would fit snugly, and had a golden dragon glittering on the front. Looking closer at the different colors on the dragon, Ranma found that the gem stones looked almost real, instead of the dull shine of man made studs. Ranma grinned at the irony, yet resolved to where it at the party.
A scream was issued from the kitchen. Getting up and racing to it, Ranma saw Ukyo and Shampoo standing over Kim, who looked to have just been thrown to the floor. It was also quite clear that Kim was confused as to what she was hearing, since she spoke very little Japanese herself. Ranma quickly jumped between Kim and the other two girls while Harry stationed himself at the door to see what was going on.
"/Why airen protect gaijin girl?/" Shampoo asked, her gaze furious.
"/Yeah Ran-chan. You're MY fiancée, not this little slut's," Ukyo said.
Ranma's anger grew and he started to yell at the two, "/Shampoo! Ukyo! I don't belong to either of you now. Cologne killed the kisses of marriage and death and I am no longer a Saotome. Neither of you have any claim to me. I don't have to worry about either of your honor anymore. I don't want to see either of you anymore either./"
Both looked rather taken aback, but then Ukyo spoke again, "/But Ran-chan, I love you no matter what. If we get married you don't have to worry about it. We'll go searching for the cure to your curse also. I've heard a legend about a spring that would cure it./"
"/No Ranma, you marry Shampoo and Shampoo honor restored. You be very happy in village. Besides, Shampoo have real cure for curse if marry Shampoo./"
Ranma smirked a bit, sending chills down the backs of the two other girls. "/You can't hold the curse over me anymore./"
Both girls looked surprised, and looked at each other. Then Ranma continued, "/Ukyo, I'm ashamed of you. You ruined a wedding that I was sure that I wanted. If I hadn't, I would have stopped it myself. I was very surprised and hurt to find you, of all people, attacking Akane and I. Shampoo I expected, but not you. I refuse to even call you my friend anymore. I never loved you the way you wanted me too. I will not marry you, now or ever. Go to Mr. Saotome if you want to redeem your honor. Shampoo, you have no claim over me. You lost all honor and I can not restore it by marrying you. You know this. I never loved you, and never will. I will not marry you. Find a new way to redeem it. Now both of you leave me alone!! I'll no longer fight about this. I have made my decision and refuse all those engagements."
Ukyo looked about to make one more objection when Ranma snarled and attacked. It was obvious to the two that he had no such compunctions about hitting, fighting, or even killing girls, like he had before. They didn't know this knew Ranma, but then, they never knew him in the first place. Both fled under Ranma's fury, and Ranma looked around to find very little out of place, despite the naturally destructive nature of the two.
"I shouldn't have expected my past to just leave me alone," Ranma muttered.
"Well, there should be fewer and fewer attacks though," Harry said, "You handled that rather well. I think attacking them with the intent to kill made a nice touch in convincing them."
Kim sighed, "I can't say I really understood that but do you think they'll be back?"
Ranma thought a bit, and nodded, "Oh definitely. They'll try at least one more time, and if they attack you again, I'm gonna have to hurt them."
Kim shook her head and got on with breakfast. "Well, I'm gonna finish breakfast, you two go get dressed. As long as they don't try again today, we're fine. Breakfast will be ready when you come back down."
Both ran upstairs and ran down again to find Kim was as good as her word and had a fairly decent breakfast on the table. They all started to eat and before long, Kim was finished, up and fixing the dinner. "My Aunt is going to be coming today around noon. She's going to stay with us until we go to school and then she's going to take care of the house for us. She went to Hogwarts."
"Did she know my parents?!" Harry asked excitedly.
Kim looked over at him. "I think so. They were all in the same house, so more than likely." Harry grinned, hoping that the lady would get there soon. Harry now knew about Voldemort and a little about his scar, and was looking forward to hearing about his parents.
Ranma smiled at his brother still amazed that they were actually related by blood. Extremely distant cousins, but that didn't stop them from being extremely close.
At about ten to noon, the doorbell rang, and Ranma answered it. On the other side of the door, was a woman of around thirty with strawberry blond hair and sea green eyes. "You must be Ranma," she said, stepping inside the house with her luggage.
Ranma nodded and smiled. "You must be Kim's aunt. It's nice to meet you."
"Yes, a pleasure. You can call me Reesa."
Ranma grabbed some of the heavier luggage, and escorted her up the stairs so she could unpack and rest a bit. Harry was in his room with the door closed, possibly sorting through all his presents again, putting them away.
Heading back down the stairs, Ranma went into the kitchen to find Kim finishing one of many desserts and covering it so it would be ready to put into the oven later.
"Need help?"
Kim looked up startled a bit, and then saw what he was wearing, and flushed with pride. "Glad it fits, but you're not going to help me while you have that on."
Ranma grinned, and went upstairs to change. He came back down in a pair of worn jeans and a black sweatshirt. The two started to finish the dinner, and soon it evolved into a small food war, with Ranma chasing Kim around the kitchen with a few cherries that he had scraped from his own head. Both Harry and Reesa looked on in amusement from the doorway.
"Now she brings out the best in Ranma. She's who Ranma should get together with," Harry said.
Reesa chuckled, "So glad you approve of my niece. I agree, they make a cute couple."
Harry looked up at the older woman, "I'm Harry. I was told you went to Hogwarts with my parents. Would. would you tell me a bit about them?"
Reesa looked down into Harry's hopeful face and nodded. "Afterwards though, I think we ought to finish the dinner so they can shower and change."
Harry grinned and nodded, and the two retired to the living room, where Reesa told him what she knew, how arrogant James had been, and how Lily was constantly getting him for it until their seventh year, where James deflated a bit.
After about an hour, Reesa and Harry peeked into the kitchen to see that Ranma had cornered Kim, but the two were just staring at each other, as if lost in a moment.
"How long are you two going to stare at each other like that?" Harry asked.
Ranma jumped back and looked a bit sheepish while blushing, while Kim just looked down, blushing.
"I'm going to go get a shower now. Aunt Reesa? Would you finish up for me?" asked Kim, hurrying from the kitchen.
Ranma watched her leave with a bewildered look on his face. "She's afraid of you," Reesa started.
"Huh?"
"I think she's a bit afraid of getting hurt, and you two are getting extremely close. I don't know when she fell in love with you, but she's trying hard to hide it, either not to get hurt or not to hurt you," put in Harry.
"You better decide how you feel about her now and talk it over with her. Otherwise you both are going to regret it. In any case, you better hit the shower after Kim, and get the cherry slop out of your hair," Reesa said.
Ranma grinned a bit sheepishly at the last part, and headed upstairs, thinking about what the two had said. 'Harry likes her, so I know he approves. She's been a fantastic friend, and sometimes, more of a friend than she needed to be. Is she really attracted to me? She knows more about me than anyone else.'
Ranma reached his room, and pulled out his clothes for the night. Grabbing his bath supplies, Ranma waited outside the bathroom, still thinking about how he felt.
When he got out of the shower, Ranma found that a few guests had arrived already, mostly coworkers, and a few neighbors. He then saw Duram slinking around the Christmas tree, and decided to test his luck, and courage real quick. Standing next to the tree, Ranma got down on his knees and held his hand out to Duram, who sniffed his fingers warily. When Ranma didn't freak, Duram slowly pressed his head into Ranma's palm and started to purr. Ranma, for his part was concentrating hard on holding his fear in check, and was startled when Duram started to purr.
The purring was, relaxing, and was doing much to hold Ranma's fear in check. Ranma started to pet the cat, and then picked it up, finally overcoming his fear with months of hard work and perseverance. Grinning, he walked over to Harry, who was talking animatedly with one of his schoolmates. Harry's eyes widened when he saw Ranma holding the cat, and then grinned, giving Ranma two thumbs up.
Ranma put Duram down as the doorbell rang again and he opened it to find the Dursleys standing there. Welcoming them in, Ranma saw Harry pale slightly at the sight of them, and made a mental note to find out what that was about. Ushering them into the living room, the Dursleys started to mingle with the rest of the crowd. 'Dudley,' Ranma thought, 'looks like an overly large pig.'
Harry pulled on Ranma's sleeve. "That's Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and my cousin," Harry whispered.
Looking slightly surprised, Ranma felt a new surge of hate rise up from his stomach, and quickly smothered it. "At least they don't recognize you. You're my family now. They can't hurt you."
Harry smiled in relief and went back to talking with his friends. "What was that about?" asked Kim, who just walked up.
"The Dursleys are apparently the family that beat and abandoned Harry three years ago."
"I know," Kim said softly, "I didn't really invite them, so I don't know why they're here, but its best he faces this."
Ranma sighed and nodded, and then grinned. "I picked up Duram today."
Ranma heard her gasp, "Really?"
Ranma turned to look at her, and nearly forgot what they were talking about, entranced by her. The dress she wore was a backless, deep red, knee length dress with a green leaf design near the bottom. The front showed a small amount of cleavage while the straps came up around her neck, and it was backless. The knee length skirt had two slits in the side, showing off her toned legs. Her hair was pulled back and she had little make up on, accenting the features on her hopeful face.
All Ranma could do was nod. Kim grinned and hugged him, then releasing him to go mingle with the crowd, and tell them that the food was ready when they were. Ranma just stared, unmoving; at the place she had occupied and then turned to watch her mingle with the crowd. 'This is more than just friendship now,' he thought, 'She is what I need, despite everything. I'm actually grateful for it.'
Ranma felt relief for the first time since he was a child. He no longer had to hold anything in, because he had found exactly what he needed.
A few hours later, the party came to a close, and Ranma helped Kim clean up the kitchen and dining room. Harry and Reesa were busy in the living room, and just a few hours after midnight, they finished and went to bed.
Author's Notes: Well this is the next chapter. I am grateful for the many nice reviews. I'll fix SD soon. I just need to collect my ideas again. Well, it seems I have a bit of time to develop the characters a bit more. No, this is not going to be a win all the time with fancy magic kind of thing. Especially since neither Harry nor Ranma can officially use the stuff right now. Sure Ranma can use his white, black, and shamanist magic, but he needs to adapt to their rules now, as this magic will attract attention he doesn't want. He still hasn't learned to tap into his power as a dragon god, and Harry is still learning the basic principles. Neither can officially use it, as they are still babies in dragon terms.
'Thought' "/Japanese/"
Magical Destiny Chapter 2
Kim awoke to the sound of something scratching at her window, and turned over wondering what had happened. Then shooting straight up, she remembered and looked to her alarm clock. It was 1 am. Getting up, she let in her cat Duran, and her owl, Lynyrd. Calling to Lynyrd, she gave him food and water and left the room. Sneaking into Harry's room, she was careful not to wake him as she moved his bangs to find the unique scar that was famed to be left on the boy. Slowly reaching for her own unique power, Kim allowed herself to 'see' what the boy had been through, reading his blood. What she saw, startled her, but she kept going, reading through to his great grandparents.
Ranma awoke to a strange feeling of magic being used. Wide awake, Ranma realized that it was coming from Harry's room, but it was not Harry using it. Leaping from the bed, Ranma ran to his brother's room to see Kim pulling her hand away from his head, tears running down her face. "What are you doing?!" Ranma hissed, walking in and grabbing her arm. Her frightened look seemed to accent the tears running down her face, and she put a finger to her lips and then pointed to the door. Ranma quickly looked over to Harry and finding nothing wrong with his brother dragged Kim bodily from the room.
Kim winced in pain and found herself dragged to down the stairs and thrown onto the couch. Sitting upright, she faced the enraged Ranma, and gave him a reproachful look. "Harry Potter is a famous name in the wizarding world. I had to make sure it was really him, and not some hoax."
"Why the heck would I lie to you!?!" Ranma all but yelled, trying not to wake Harry.
"We've had too many people try to dress their sons up as Harry Potter for the reward. Now calm down and I'll tell you why the name's so famous, and what I was doing."
Ranma nodded and sat down, glowering at the girl. She sighed and began the tale of Voldemort and his defeat at the hands of a small boy. She ended the tale with what had been going on for the past nine years and the strange power she had been born with, the power to read people's pasts and predict their future through reading of their blood's history.
Ranma looked at her suspiciously, it sounded too strange, but he had heard stranger. "Prove it," Ranma challenged.
She sighed, and then got up and walked up to him to his surprise, and laid a hand on him. Suddenly he was with her on her ride through the blood stream, and seeing his past. Both of them saw all that happened in a matter of seconds, and then they moved to his father and mother, and their the paths split to look as if they were watching both their parents' parents, when the path split once again, so that it was if they were watching four televisions at once. Suddenly once again, they were back at the apartment, Kim looking a little pale. She sat back on the couch and watched Ranma, her gaze showing nothing of her emotions. Ranma himself felt strangely exposed, and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry for doubting you, it's just."
Kim smiled, "After all you've been through, I'm surprised you chose to trust me first off. I saw what you went through first hand. You both are truly amazing individuals. I look forward to getting to know you both better."
Ranma looked up and smiled, nodding.
"The thing that amazes me the most is that you both share the same blood. Your great grandmother's through your mother's side."
Ranma's jaw dropped, "You mean we're actually related by blood?!"
Kim nodded, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. Duran jumped onto her lap and she stroked him absentmindedly when she noticed that Ranma had frozen. Swearing slightly, she shooed Duran from the room, and studied Ranma a bit, waiting till he calmed down. "You're gonna have to get over your fear of cats, or at least make it so you can stand them long enough not to scream if you're going to live in our world like you should have in the first place. We'll work on that over the year."
Ranma gave her a look, and then said, "I have a feeling I'm not going to like this."
Kim grinned, "It would be worth it not to go 'cat' again wouldn't it? Now if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to write. People need to know that the boy who survived has been found, and in the care of an unknown family member. I'll also be writing to the school Harry would be enrolled in for magic."
Kim started to leave the room then turned around. "For what it's worth, you are extremely brave, but true bravery is admitting and facing your fears. That is the easiest way to conquer them."
She then turned, called her cat to her and headed up the stairs. Duran gave Ranma a reproachful look, and followed her up. After the cat passed, Ranma relaxed enough to think about what she had said, and found that her words held far too much truth to be denied. The only problem was, it went against what he was taught, and it was hard to change that.
'Ok. First step is admitting it to me. I'm af. afraid of. c-c-cats,' Ranma sighed, 'This is going to be harder than I thought. I was taught never to show fear, pain, sadness, or affection. That was my biggest problem in that whole fiasco.'
Getting up and walking back up the stairs, Ranma stopped and studied Harry's door a bit before going to bed, wondering if he should tell Harry what he learned.
Kim finished up her letter to Professor Dumbledore writing about everything she had learned in the past evening. Motioning for Lynyrd to come to her, she sealed the letter, and got string with which to tie the letter. After she finished tying on the letter, she opened her window once more and got in the bed. Duran climbed up on the bed with her and curled into a ball. "I hope we can get him over his ailurophobia enough so that he doesn't go cat on the students," she whispered softly. Duran just purred in agreement. Soon the household was asleep again, with one in ignorant bliss, and two with many things to think about.
Ranma awoke the next morning with the smell of something delicious emanating from the kitchen. Getting up, Ranma took a look at the clock and was surprised to see he had slept in so late. Grabbing his bathing supplies, he quickly headed to the shower, and turned on the water. The cold water shocked him awake, and he looked down, smiling as he didn't transform into a female. 'I'm gonna miss Lina talking to me, but this is fantastic.'
Finishing his shower, Ranma pulled his boxers and pants on and made his way downstairs. He found Harry sitting at a set table examining the silver ware, while Kim was in the kitchen flipping something that looked to be okinomiyaki with out sauce or any toppings. 'Pancakes,' Ranma thought, 'I didn't know people used them outside of camp.'
"Morning," Ranma said. Kim turned and threw a good morning over her shoulder, and then turned around quickly, her face slightly red.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked, curious.
"." was the reply he got as Kim flipped the pancakes and Harry started to laugh.
"Maybe you should have put a shirt on before coming downstairs," Harry said snickering.
"No I just think he should take off. never mind," said Kim from the stove, becoming redder.
Harry started to guffaw as Ranma adopted his confused expression and then shook his head. Harry followed Ranma up the stairs so as not to embarrass their housemate further. "She's really attracted to you," Harry said.
Ranma rolled his eyes, "Just what I need, more girls chasing me."
Harry shook his head, still laughing, "I think she's great. She's not a martial artist, but she looks rather strong in heart and will. She won't try to hurt you if she could help it I bet."
Ranma looked at his little brother after pulling a shirt over his head. "She's a witch Harry. Not a bad one, but I'm still a little edgy. Besides," Ranma said, then continuing in a pained voice, "Last year's fiasco is still too fresh in my mind. It still hurts to know what they thought of me."
Harry fell silent at that, and then the two heard Kim call up that breakfast was ready. Heading down the stairs, Harry looked up at Ranma and asked a question they hadn't thought about for the two months that they were on their own. "What last name are we going to use?"
Ranma thought a bit, and then said, "How about Inverse? Heaven knows we've had too many things in our lives inverted to fit the universe's cosmic need."
Harry grinned, "Then it's settled, I like it."
Ranma had been using Inverse for all his job applications and things, but he didn't tell Harry that. Saotome was a name of the past, and he was not going to use a name that had lost all honor.
Sitting down at the table, Ranma and Harry watched as Kim dished them out pancakes, and put blueberries and syrup on the table. "I wasn't sure what you would want with your pancakes so I pulled out both. I prefer blueberries on mine," she said.
Ranma thought a minute and decided to try the blueberries and slathered them on. He had just started on his pancakes when an own came in the open window accompanied by a cool fall breeze. The owl stopped right at Kim and held out its leg. "Good job Lynyrd," Kim said, "Now you go on upstairs, you've got a treat waiting for you."
Ranma watched curiously as the owl hooted softly and flew up the stairs as Kim opened the letter.
Kim smiled as she read it, and winked at Ranma. "Well it looks like the school I mentioned, Hogwarts, will accept all three of us. Harry will go in with people his age and graduate. Ranma, you and I can go in under an independent study for a while. It would be really beneficial for both of you."
Ranma nodded and Harry grinned, "When can I start?"
"We'll all start next year. The train to school will leave on September 1st at King's Cross station. We'll get our books and things next August."
Harry looked slightly disappointed, but cheered up as he ate breakfast. Pancakes never tasted so good!
Time passed, and Kim, Harry and Ranma all worked on Ranma's fear of cats. Ranma went 'cat' many times, but those were becoming less and less frequent as time went on. Christmas passed, and Ranma found that he could actually stay in the same room as Duram without feeling afraid, it was just when the cat got too close and touched him that he started to freak, but it wasn't going bad at all. The therapy was working.
The first problem came Christmas Eve, just as Ranma had finally gotten to sleep. Ranma awoke to the sound of his window opening and closing. 'I'm gonna have to get that oiled in a bit,' Ranma thought.
Ranma extended his senses and fear gripped him as, what he knew as Kodachi's energy signature crept closer to him. Ranma tensed slightly so as not to bring to her attention that he was awake. Kodachi leaned over to make sure it was really Ranma and grinned evilly. She lifted the covers to climb in when suddenly Ranma was not there anymore. Turning around, she saw Ranma looking at her, an angry expression on his handsome face. "/Now Ranma-sama, whatever is the matter? I thought I would allow you a joyous surprise come Christmas morning. Unless you're so eager now./"
Ranma turned green as Kodachi took off her cloak. Wearing nothing but a set of tiny lace undergarments, Kodachi started to approach Ranma, expecting to be able to seduce him now since the other girls were still in Japan, or in Shampoo's case, China.
Ranma, slightly stunned that Kodachi was here and had found him, allowed her to get a little to close, and as her hand reached for his groin, he came to his senses and dashed around her again. Suddenly he was glad that he had not been lax in his training in this new land, despite the weather, his job, and other activities.
"/Now Ranma-sama, why are you avoiding me? I will remind you of our many encounters since you have obviously forgotten about me, your true love. Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!/"
Ranma smacked his forehead in exasperation, 'Great, now she's woken everyone up.'
"/How did you find me Kodachi?/" Ranma growled.
"/Why Ranma-sama, I hired a detective. Don't worry about my brother though, he's still chasing that little tart Tendo Akane./" Kodachi was about to continue when Ranma's door, slammed open and both Harry and Kim looked on in morbid amazement. Kodachi saw Kim, however, and attacked her, trying to eliminate all competition.
Kim saw a ribbon fly her way, and idly wondered where the ribbon had come from while trying to dodge. Harry, seeing that Kim would not be able to dodge in time, threw Kim out into the hall, avoiding the ribbon himself.
Ranma knew Harry would protect Kim, but that did not banish the anger he felt at that. Duram, who had just slunk in, was also angry at the attack, and hissed before charging Kodachi. While Duram distracted Kodachi, Ranma grabbed her cape, and came up behind her. Tying her with it, Ranma quickly threw her out into the snow, shutting and locking his window.
Rushing out into the hall, he found both Harry and Kim nursing slight bumps on the head where they had hit the wall. "Are you two alright?" Ranma asked.
Kim smiled and nodded, not bothering to ask what that was about. Harry just gave him a goofy grin and yawned, heading back to his room. Helping Kim to her feet, Ranma inspected her head where it hit the wall, and finding nothing that wouldn't heal with a bit of rest, let her go. Kim found herself heading back to her own room with her head down to hide her heavy blush. 'I know I shouldn't ask him for a date or anything with all he's been through, but I can't help being attracted to him, especially when he goes and gets all tender about something. This is more than just physical attraction now.' Kim went to sleep with dreams full of Ranma.
Ranma for his part was trying to figure out why he had acted like that towards Kim. 'I know she's pretty, but I'm still healing. She knows that also, and has been nothing but supportive of me. I should stop thinking about this. Now, if Kodachi found me, then the rest will soon follow.' Ranma looked out his window again to find Kodachi finally untangling herself and leaping out into the night. Ranma sighed, 'It figures that life would get more complicated now that I've settled into a more stable routine. I just hope that they don't interfere with my work or my learning to much. I can't get fired now that I have a good amount of money for myself and Harry now.'
Ranma went back to sleep, and awoke to Harry's yelling the next day. "Come on Ranma! We've all got presents!! Come on! Let's open them!"
Ranma awoke and went bleary eyed down the stairs. He saw Kim yawning and said a quiet good morning to her. She smiled sleepily and turned her head to Harry, who was actively sorting the gifts. To his surprise, Ranma found that he had a good number himself, despite that he had few other friends that he knew about. Kim grinned and started to open her own, and then Ranma followed her lead, finding that many were from coworkers. "They give these to you without my knowing?" Ranma asked remembering that her coworkers had given him her presents a few days ago. Kim grinned and nodded watching as Harry opened presents from his schoolmates at his temporary school. Harry had more than either of them.
"I'm going to fix us some breakfast. Then I'm gonna start on Christmas Dinner for our party tonight," Kim said getting up.
Ranma nodded and sat back and watched Harry a bit then looked to the gift Kim had given him. It was a Chinese outfit not unlike his others except that it was very fancy. The pants were different also, hanging loose instead of tying at the bottom. Both shirt and pants were black, yet the shirt looked like it would fit snugly, and had a golden dragon glittering on the front. Looking closer at the different colors on the dragon, Ranma found that the gem stones looked almost real, instead of the dull shine of man made studs. Ranma grinned at the irony, yet resolved to where it at the party.
A scream was issued from the kitchen. Getting up and racing to it, Ranma saw Ukyo and Shampoo standing over Kim, who looked to have just been thrown to the floor. It was also quite clear that Kim was confused as to what she was hearing, since she spoke very little Japanese herself. Ranma quickly jumped between Kim and the other two girls while Harry stationed himself at the door to see what was going on.
"/Why airen protect gaijin girl?/" Shampoo asked, her gaze furious.
"/Yeah Ran-chan. You're MY fiancée, not this little slut's," Ukyo said.
Ranma's anger grew and he started to yell at the two, "/Shampoo! Ukyo! I don't belong to either of you now. Cologne killed the kisses of marriage and death and I am no longer a Saotome. Neither of you have any claim to me. I don't have to worry about either of your honor anymore. I don't want to see either of you anymore either./"
Both looked rather taken aback, but then Ukyo spoke again, "/But Ran-chan, I love you no matter what. If we get married you don't have to worry about it. We'll go searching for the cure to your curse also. I've heard a legend about a spring that would cure it./"
"/No Ranma, you marry Shampoo and Shampoo honor restored. You be very happy in village. Besides, Shampoo have real cure for curse if marry Shampoo./"
Ranma smirked a bit, sending chills down the backs of the two other girls. "/You can't hold the curse over me anymore./"
Both girls looked surprised, and looked at each other. Then Ranma continued, "/Ukyo, I'm ashamed of you. You ruined a wedding that I was sure that I wanted. If I hadn't, I would have stopped it myself. I was very surprised and hurt to find you, of all people, attacking Akane and I. Shampoo I expected, but not you. I refuse to even call you my friend anymore. I never loved you the way you wanted me too. I will not marry you, now or ever. Go to Mr. Saotome if you want to redeem your honor. Shampoo, you have no claim over me. You lost all honor and I can not restore it by marrying you. You know this. I never loved you, and never will. I will not marry you. Find a new way to redeem it. Now both of you leave me alone!! I'll no longer fight about this. I have made my decision and refuse all those engagements."
Ukyo looked about to make one more objection when Ranma snarled and attacked. It was obvious to the two that he had no such compunctions about hitting, fighting, or even killing girls, like he had before. They didn't know this knew Ranma, but then, they never knew him in the first place. Both fled under Ranma's fury, and Ranma looked around to find very little out of place, despite the naturally destructive nature of the two.
"I shouldn't have expected my past to just leave me alone," Ranma muttered.
"Well, there should be fewer and fewer attacks though," Harry said, "You handled that rather well. I think attacking them with the intent to kill made a nice touch in convincing them."
Kim sighed, "I can't say I really understood that but do you think they'll be back?"
Ranma thought a bit, and nodded, "Oh definitely. They'll try at least one more time, and if they attack you again, I'm gonna have to hurt them."
Kim shook her head and got on with breakfast. "Well, I'm gonna finish breakfast, you two go get dressed. As long as they don't try again today, we're fine. Breakfast will be ready when you come back down."
Both ran upstairs and ran down again to find Kim was as good as her word and had a fairly decent breakfast on the table. They all started to eat and before long, Kim was finished, up and fixing the dinner. "My Aunt is going to be coming today around noon. She's going to stay with us until we go to school and then she's going to take care of the house for us. She went to Hogwarts."
"Did she know my parents?!" Harry asked excitedly.
Kim looked over at him. "I think so. They were all in the same house, so more than likely." Harry grinned, hoping that the lady would get there soon. Harry now knew about Voldemort and a little about his scar, and was looking forward to hearing about his parents.
Ranma smiled at his brother still amazed that they were actually related by blood. Extremely distant cousins, but that didn't stop them from being extremely close.
At about ten to noon, the doorbell rang, and Ranma answered it. On the other side of the door, was a woman of around thirty with strawberry blond hair and sea green eyes. "You must be Ranma," she said, stepping inside the house with her luggage.
Ranma nodded and smiled. "You must be Kim's aunt. It's nice to meet you."
"Yes, a pleasure. You can call me Reesa."
Ranma grabbed some of the heavier luggage, and escorted her up the stairs so she could unpack and rest a bit. Harry was in his room with the door closed, possibly sorting through all his presents again, putting them away.
Heading back down the stairs, Ranma went into the kitchen to find Kim finishing one of many desserts and covering it so it would be ready to put into the oven later.
"Need help?"
Kim looked up startled a bit, and then saw what he was wearing, and flushed with pride. "Glad it fits, but you're not going to help me while you have that on."
Ranma grinned, and went upstairs to change. He came back down in a pair of worn jeans and a black sweatshirt. The two started to finish the dinner, and soon it evolved into a small food war, with Ranma chasing Kim around the kitchen with a few cherries that he had scraped from his own head. Both Harry and Reesa looked on in amusement from the doorway.
"Now she brings out the best in Ranma. She's who Ranma should get together with," Harry said.
Reesa chuckled, "So glad you approve of my niece. I agree, they make a cute couple."
Harry looked up at the older woman, "I'm Harry. I was told you went to Hogwarts with my parents. Would. would you tell me a bit about them?"
Reesa looked down into Harry's hopeful face and nodded. "Afterwards though, I think we ought to finish the dinner so they can shower and change."
Harry grinned and nodded, and the two retired to the living room, where Reesa told him what she knew, how arrogant James had been, and how Lily was constantly getting him for it until their seventh year, where James deflated a bit.
After about an hour, Reesa and Harry peeked into the kitchen to see that Ranma had cornered Kim, but the two were just staring at each other, as if lost in a moment.
"How long are you two going to stare at each other like that?" Harry asked.
Ranma jumped back and looked a bit sheepish while blushing, while Kim just looked down, blushing.
"I'm going to go get a shower now. Aunt Reesa? Would you finish up for me?" asked Kim, hurrying from the kitchen.
Ranma watched her leave with a bewildered look on his face. "She's afraid of you," Reesa started.
"Huh?"
"I think she's a bit afraid of getting hurt, and you two are getting extremely close. I don't know when she fell in love with you, but she's trying hard to hide it, either not to get hurt or not to hurt you," put in Harry.
"You better decide how you feel about her now and talk it over with her. Otherwise you both are going to regret it. In any case, you better hit the shower after Kim, and get the cherry slop out of your hair," Reesa said.
Ranma grinned a bit sheepishly at the last part, and headed upstairs, thinking about what the two had said. 'Harry likes her, so I know he approves. She's been a fantastic friend, and sometimes, more of a friend than she needed to be. Is she really attracted to me? She knows more about me than anyone else.'
Ranma reached his room, and pulled out his clothes for the night. Grabbing his bath supplies, Ranma waited outside the bathroom, still thinking about how he felt.
When he got out of the shower, Ranma found that a few guests had arrived already, mostly coworkers, and a few neighbors. He then saw Duram slinking around the Christmas tree, and decided to test his luck, and courage real quick. Standing next to the tree, Ranma got down on his knees and held his hand out to Duram, who sniffed his fingers warily. When Ranma didn't freak, Duram slowly pressed his head into Ranma's palm and started to purr. Ranma, for his part was concentrating hard on holding his fear in check, and was startled when Duram started to purr.
The purring was, relaxing, and was doing much to hold Ranma's fear in check. Ranma started to pet the cat, and then picked it up, finally overcoming his fear with months of hard work and perseverance. Grinning, he walked over to Harry, who was talking animatedly with one of his schoolmates. Harry's eyes widened when he saw Ranma holding the cat, and then grinned, giving Ranma two thumbs up.
Ranma put Duram down as the doorbell rang again and he opened it to find the Dursleys standing there. Welcoming them in, Ranma saw Harry pale slightly at the sight of them, and made a mental note to find out what that was about. Ushering them into the living room, the Dursleys started to mingle with the rest of the crowd. 'Dudley,' Ranma thought, 'looks like an overly large pig.'
Harry pulled on Ranma's sleeve. "That's Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and my cousin," Harry whispered.
Looking slightly surprised, Ranma felt a new surge of hate rise up from his stomach, and quickly smothered it. "At least they don't recognize you. You're my family now. They can't hurt you."
Harry smiled in relief and went back to talking with his friends. "What was that about?" asked Kim, who just walked up.
"The Dursleys are apparently the family that beat and abandoned Harry three years ago."
"I know," Kim said softly, "I didn't really invite them, so I don't know why they're here, but its best he faces this."
Ranma sighed and nodded, and then grinned. "I picked up Duram today."
Ranma heard her gasp, "Really?"
Ranma turned to look at her, and nearly forgot what they were talking about, entranced by her. The dress she wore was a backless, deep red, knee length dress with a green leaf design near the bottom. The front showed a small amount of cleavage while the straps came up around her neck, and it was backless. The knee length skirt had two slits in the side, showing off her toned legs. Her hair was pulled back and she had little make up on, accenting the features on her hopeful face.
All Ranma could do was nod. Kim grinned and hugged him, then releasing him to go mingle with the crowd, and tell them that the food was ready when they were. Ranma just stared, unmoving; at the place she had occupied and then turned to watch her mingle with the crowd. 'This is more than just friendship now,' he thought, 'She is what I need, despite everything. I'm actually grateful for it.'
Ranma felt relief for the first time since he was a child. He no longer had to hold anything in, because he had found exactly what he needed.
A few hours later, the party came to a close, and Ranma helped Kim clean up the kitchen and dining room. Harry and Reesa were busy in the living room, and just a few hours after midnight, they finished and went to bed.