Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Ranma ½. I do, however, own the
characters Kim and Reesa.
Author's Notes: I know it's taking me a while to get everything updated. I hope you understand my position in college and as a hostess at work though. (That and I've got what, six stories? Not to mention I'm working on other ideas on paper.)
So anyways, it's a little early to be pairing Harry up with anything and I'm trying to decide between Hermione and Ginny. The votes are nearly tied, (Hermione's winning by one) and I'm weighing the pros and cons of each since my decision is final, (I will probably be applying that to my other fics as well.)
I hopefully will be getting a website up soon and am trying to decide if I should pair Nabiki up with Bill. (I know Fleur is supposed to be interested in him, but I think Nabiki would be a better match.)
On with the story!
Posted: 9/28/03
Magical Destiny Chapter 5
Harry awoke to Ranma pulling the sheets off of him and flipping him out of bed. Harry scowled at him from the floor and yawned, while Ranma chuckled. "Poor sleepy birthday boy," he said, "You've got stuff downstairs waiting for you. It's a gorgeous day too. We should do something fun."
"Like hurling punches at each other mixed with a bit of magic?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"We'd have to do that where they can't sense us. I was thinking more along the lines of a picnic after a bit of light sparring," Ranma answered, amusement in his voice.
Harry threw his pillow at Ranma, missing as Ranma ducked out the door laughing. Grumbling about annoying older brothers, Harry got into a clean gi and jumped out the window to meet Ranma. The faced off and bowed to one another, then sliding into a ready stance.
Harry waited for Ranma to make the first move, tense. Ranma noticed that Harry's nerves were on end, and complied with a forward punch. Harry leaped over it and realized that he had made a mistake when Ranma smirked, and leaped into the air with him. Harry tried to avoid the blows and ended up getting grounded quickly. He recovered, getting to his feet only to meet Ranma's swift kicks and strong punches. Harry started looking for a flaw in the pattern and soon found an opening. Using it to its fullest Harry turned the tide a bit, putting Ranma on the defensive for a while. Ranma, however, turned the tide once again.
To the casual observer, it looked like the two were trying to pound each other senseless. To Nabiki and Kasumi, it was just another morning with the two going at it. Nabiki eyed Harry critically, and wondered briefly if he would start getting more muscle any time soon. Kasumi just watched in a fascination that had never ended.
Kim stared, still in awe at the skill being displayed and still in disbelief, though she had lived with them for over a year now. Kasumi sighed, "It's just like a brutal ballet."
Reesa snorted, "I agree with the brutal part."
Nabiki and Kim laughed. "It is quite fascinating, but Kasumi is right," Kim said, "There is a kind of grace to it like a dance."
"A very brutal, deadly dance," Reesa reiterated, making the girls laugh again, "It's a good thing that they have very good control otherwise they may end up killing each other."
Kim smiled and returned to watching them as Reesa finished putting out the breakfast. "Time for breakfast you two! You had better hurry, if you want to get baths before we leave!" Reesa called.
In a flash, both had stopped sparring, landed on the ground, and bowed to each other. Then they dashed to the table, nearly breaking the sound barrier as they picked up their knives and forks. Kim giggled, "Hungry you two? I never would have guessed."
Ranma gave her a grin, waiting as the rest got their food before helping himself. Harry watched, amazed as Ranma piled piece after piece of French toast on his plate. Kim thought it was amazing Harry didn't eat that much but didn't press her luck with the food bills.
As they ate, all except Ranma discussed what to do with the day and wished Harry a happy birthday. Harry blushed and put in his two cents. He wanted to go back to Diagon Alley for the day and take a look at a few of the stores he had missed while there. "Then we can go around the shopping district in London if you want," Harry said.
"Sounds like a plan," Nabiki said, "I'll come."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to stay here," Kasumi said, "I have quite a few things to do and I'll be leaving next week for Hogwarts for training."
Harry just nodded while Nabiki patted Kasumi's shoulder. Ranma gulped, signaling the last of his French toast was gone. "I'm game," he said, winking at Kim.
Kim gave him a look, and then turned to the rest of the group. "Well, since everyone is done, do you want to leave now?"
Harry nodded, and then paused, "What about the dishes?"
Kasumi laughed, "It's alright Harry-kun, I'll be fine doing them."
Harry nodded, dubious, and finished off the last piece of bacon. "We'll open presents and have cake when we all are together."
The rest nodded, and got up, Ranma and Harry heading towards the showers, and the girls to get ready.
After about fifteen minutes, having beat Ranma to the shower, Harry hopped down the stairs with a big grin on his face. "I think we should leave him here," he said, fingering an already fading bruise.
Kim giggled, "For that beating this morning?"
Harry nodded, and the three women chuckled. Kasumi then walked in the living room with her nose in one of her magical malady books. Harry looked at the title. "Advanced Healing Techniques by Ono Tofu. Hey wait a minute!!!!"
Kasumi looked up and giggled. "Yes he was a wizard too. That's why I was constantly going over to borrow books, well, that and because he always acted so silly."
Harry wrinkled his nose. "That's cause he never knew how to act around you. I think he really liked you."
Kasumi blushed, and buried her nose back into the book. Nabiki studied her sister and sighed, "I think I can look up where he is if you want me too. Then you can tell him how you feel about him."
Kasumi looked up, interested, "One of your predictions?"
Nabiki nodded, "Of course! All I need is that pendant you got me and a globe and I can find him."
Kasumi looked thoughtful, "I might take you up on that. I really wish he hadn't left before I could tell him what I always wanted too."
Nabiki nodded, coming out of her thoughts only when Ranma bounded down the stairs and landed in the middle of the living room. "Ready to go?" he asked.
Nabiki, Kim and Reesa nodded, as Harry grabbed the Floo Powder. "Let's go!" Harry said, more than a little excited.
Ranma nodded, and went first, waving goodbye to Kasumi. Harry was next, and joined Ranma on the other side. Reesa, Kim and Nabiki followed, smiles on their faces, catching on to Harry's excitement. "So where do you want to go birthday boy?"
Harry looked around, and didn't answer for a while, and Ranma realized he was looking for someone. "Who's joining us Harry?"
"I asked Hermione to come. She said she'd try. Remember she sent me an owl a few weeks ago and then I replied with Lynard."
"Harry!"
Harry turned and found Hermione holding something large. "I hope you don't mind Harry but I got you a birthday gift!"
Harry looked at the birdcage shaped gift and grinned, "You really shouldn't have Hermione."
Hermione blushed, "Well you only turn eleven once. I got you something special."
Harry accepted the gift and looked inside to find a snowy white owl sitting inside. Pulling off the rest of the covering, Harry gaped at the beautiful animal, and turned to Hermione, grinning. "Wow! She's great! Thank you!"
Hermione blushed slightly from the praise and smiled. Kim picked up the cage, "Why don't I put her in your room at home and you all get some ice cream while you wait for me?"
Harry grinned his thanks and nodded. Kim then turned to Ranma, giving him her order and saying she would be back in five. Ranma turned and then got everyone else's orders. As Kim went through the public fire place, Ranma and the rest headed over to FF's ice cream place to wait.
Ranma brought the orders over to where Harry, Hermione, Nabiki, and Reesa had gotten a seat. Hermione watched in awe as Ranma balanced everything neatly and placed things down without spilling. Harry just dug into his ice cream while Reesa and Nabiki thanked Ranma for his trouble. Hermione clapped when he set hers down. "That's amazing how you can carry all of that without spilling it!"
Ranma just grinned, sitting next to Harry and placing Kim's sundae next to him. Winking, he then dug into his own as Hermione blushed.
After about two minutes, Kim returned to eat her own melting ice cream. Soon everyone finished, and looked ready to go, so Harry looked around to see what stores he would like. "Let's go into Quality Quidditch Supplies. I want to see what that's about."
"I told you about the game, Harry," Reesa said, "Do you want to practice it or something?"
Harry grinned as Nabiki chuckled. "Who knows?" she said, "Maybe he'll become a famous Quidditch player."
"Maybe I will," Harry responded, "Just to prove that I can."
Ranma gulped, "Maybe you should prove to the masses that you're really human first. Who knows? With how famous you are they may try throwing spells at you just to see how impervious to them you are."
Reesa and Kim burst out laughing while Nabiki smirked. Harry stuck his tongue out at Ranma while Hermione looked affronted. "That's no way to talk to the boy who lived, especially since he's your brother!"
Harry, startled, looked over at Hermione. "I am human though. My mother saved my life. When I was learning meditation and different ways to detect different kinds of magic, I found that she left a certain protection in my veins after refining the technique. I'm exactly like everyone else and shouldn't be treated differently just because of that."
Hermione looked slightly startled at that. Nabiki nodded, "No one knows better than I do how human these two are. They make mistakes, break promises if they have to and try their hardest. They have feelings, even if people like me choose to ignore them. They're just much stronger now because of that."
Hermione looked down, "I'm sorry Harry. I really didn't think of it that way."
Harry shrugged, "No harm done. But like Nabiki said, I make mistakes too. I wonder if people will look down on me if they realize how un-god-like I am."
Ranma studied his brother as the rest laughed. 'He doesn't remember what happened in that spring. I don't think he really believed me when I told him either. All he knows is that I taught him more control over it. I hope that it doesn't surface too soon, or he'll realize just how wrong that statement was. He doesn't need to be a god now. He just needs to be a kid.'
Harry looked up at Ranma's thoughtful expression and smirked, "Now there's something you don't see every day, Ranma thinking!"
Everyone around burst out laughing as Ranma gave Harry a reproachful look and then grinned. "I guess this means I get to keep the present I got you."
Harry's eyes widened. Despite Ranma's lack of money and poor craftsmanship skills, he had always gotten Harry something great. Harry had kept the carvings Ranma had given him and the small wooden cabinet with the trick drawer. Ranma was used to picking up all the destroyed wooden property and keeping the wood to carve on. He had gotten quite good, and Harry loved the little gifts.
Shaking his head quickly, Harry gave Ranma a puppy dog look, trying to get him to give him the gift. Ranma sighed, and tried to harden himself to the look, but failed. "You're going to have to figure out a new way to do that soon cause it's not going to work for long with that ugly mug."
Harry tried tackling Ranma and punched right when Ranma dodged that way, effectively catching him on the side. Everyone started laughing again and soon they were on their way to Harry's chosen store to see what they could find in it.
They split up, each browsing the small store. Soon, Nabiki noticed that she had picked up a blond eleven year old boy on her tail, and sighed. 'Great, just what I need. An amorous admirer that's eleven years old,' she thought in disgust.
She stopped when something caught her eye. It was a book on the greatest quidditch games of the past century. 'Harry would like that. Good thing I waited to get him a gift,' she thought, picking up the book. She looked around for Harry and went over to the cashier to make her purchase. Soon it was wrapped and hidden as Nabiki put it in the folds of her robe.
As she walked away to find Ranma or Kim, she got cornered by the kid that was following her.
"I couldn't help but notice that you looked a little lost, miss," he said trying to be suave, "Why don't I show you around?"
Nabiki sighed, "Thank you for the offer, however, I'm with some friends of mine and they're in the store. I just need to find them. Sorry for your trouble...."
"Draco," the kid answered, "Draco Malfoy."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow and suddenly snickering was heard from her left. Both looked over to see Harry and Hermione standing there. "/Hi Nabiki,/" Harry said between gasps for breath, "/Problems?/"
Nabiki looked over to Draco who looked somewhere between pissed and confused, and nodded her head, "/Thanks for the save godling./"
Harry stuck his tongue out at Nabiki and grinned at her. Draco raised an eyebrow and then noticed Harry's scar. "Well, well, Harry Potter. Are you the real one or is that scar a fake?"
Harry rolled his eyes, "Its real enough, D-R-A-C-O."
Draco sneered, "We'll see about that. Truth revelum."
Harry felt a sudden surge of power as Draco pulled his wand out and threw a spell at him. When the spell hit, Harry could feel the power flowing within him, waiting for him to take it. Harry looked down at himself, and suddenly he realized he wasn't in Quality Quidditch Supplies but floating over the earth. There he saw a Great Dragon and a Monster doing battle.
Soon the monster split into seven pieces and the dragon fell into the earth. There was a strange rumble, and it was covered and pools formed over where the body lay. 'Jusenkyo,' Harry thought, and then his scar exploded in pain as he was thrust back into the store.
Hermione grabbed Harry's arm as his hand went up to his scar. Nabiki rushed over to where Harry was and forced his hand away looking at his scar. "The scar's glowing," she said softly, then turning around in anger. "What did you do to him?" she hissed.
Draco looked stunned, "It was just supposed to reveal who he really was. That spell isn't supposed to do that."
Harry's eyes soon focused, and Draco realized the scar was still there. 'Uh oh,' he thought, 'I nearly killed Harry Potter. Wait a minute... I would get praised by my father. Maybe I should do that again.'
Nabiki stood in Draco's way in case he tried another spell again as Harry smiled at Hermione and glared at Draco. "Was that really necessary?"
Draco gulped at the obvious threat in Harry's voice and shook his head. Then he thought maybe he could get the guy on his side if he played his cards right talking to him. "I'm really sorry. You must understand that there are a lot of fakes going around and that is one of the only ways to show who's a fake. I'm sorry I did the spell wrong. How about I make up for it by showing you who has the best connections in the wizarding world."
Harry raised an eyebrow and Draco found his answer coming from behind him. "Oh I do believe Nabiki will have those down in a few more days. Or do you have them already?"
Nabiki grinned and stood up straight. "Gee Ranma, you know me so well. I have them already. All connections are courtesy of the Japanese Ministry of Magic, which I hope to get a job as an ambassador at. This is perfect practice."
Ranma wordlessly went over to Harry and looked into his face. Harry stared back, trying to let Ranma know that he had seen something important and needed to talk to him about it. Ranma's lip twitched, and he nodded. Then he turned back to Draco. "I'm not sure what you were trying to do kid, but be grateful it didn't work."
"What gives you the right to threaten my son?" said the voice of Mr. Malfoy.
Ranma looked the older man straight in the face and showed that he was not afraid of him. "Your son just threw a spell, with no warning, at my brother. The spell was apparently... not pleasant. If he attacks Harry again, I'm afraid I'm going to have to alert the authorities."
Mr. Malfoy sneered, and looked at Harry, noticing the scar and his eyes widened, "I'm sorry Mr. Inverse. Word has indeed gotten around about you being Harry's guardian. I'm sorry my son did not get that news. I'll be sure to discipline him accordingly. I hope you accept my apologies."
Ranma eyed the man and then nodded, letting the matter drop. When Mr. Malfoy and Draco left, Nabiki and Harry turned to Ranma, impressed. "I didn't know you had it in you Inverse. Nice show of delegating skill."
Ranma just grinned sheepishly, "Kim's been working on that with me."
Harry laughed, "Nice to know that she's getting through your thick head."
Hermione looked at Harry concernedly, "Are you sure you're alright Harry?"
Harry turned and nodded. "I'll be fine. Nothing keeps Ranma or me down for long. Especially spells."
Hermione nodded and turned back to the thing she purchased. "Where do you want to go next?"
Harry looked thoughtful and then decided on the nearby bookstore. "I think there was something Kasumi wanted from there. It would be a nice surprise for her when we get back."
Ranma nodded, "Let me find Kim and Reesa real quick and then we'll go over and find the book. Then we'll stop and get something for lunch."
Harry nodded, and turned to head out the door. Ranma disappeared within the store and reappeared a few moments later with Kim and Reesa in tow.
"Let's go then!" Kim said brightly.
Harry nodded, and they all headed over to the book store, quickly finding what they were looking for and looking at other interesting books. Soon, however, Harry's stomach growled, long and loud. Reesa giggled, and turned to signal the others. "We had better get moving if Harry's not going to starve."
Ranma quickly herded the group out and waved goodbye to the shopkeeper.
"Let's go see what's outside of Diagon Alley to eat," Harry said. "We never did see much of London."
Ranma nodded, and they made their way out to the muggle world. Harry looked around as they walked along the streets, and spotted a decent looking café. "Let's eat in there."
Hermione grinned, "Oh that's a wonderful Café! I love eating there when my parents bring me here."
Harry grinned, "Well then, let's go!"
They all went in to eat and had just gotten their food when screams were heard with the shouts of 'PERVERT!' intermixed.
Ranma cringed, "Sounds like Happosai."
The said withered old man then hopped into the restaurant flipping the skirts of the waitresses and customers alike. "Scratch that it is him," Ranma growled, feeling his fury shoot through the roof.
Happosai turned as he felt Ranma's aura, "/Why Ranma my boy, it's so good to see you again./"
Ranma growled a bit and then got control of his anger, smirking. "/Why yes Happosai, it is rather nice to see you./"
Happosai either didn't notice or chose to ignore the threat in Ranma's voice. He just turned as another lovely lady distracted him. Ranma's smirk grew and he attacked Happosai, kicking him out of the restaurant. Happosai slowly got up from the middle of the street and gave Ranma a look of disdain. "/Now don't you know that it's dishonorable to attack a man behind his back?/"
Ranma hesitated a second and then smirked, "/Honor no longer holds me back old man./"
Happosai's eyes widened as Ranma ran forward with a yell and all the women he affronted gathered around to watch his beating. Happosai tried using bombs and all manner of tricks, while Ranma stuck to basic martial arts. Happosai got thrashed. The women cheered, and Ranma went back to eating his lunch.
Hermione stared at Ranma, "Don't you think that was rather brutal?"
Kim shook her head as Ranma continued to eat. Nabiki snorted, "You should be happy that the old pervert got what he deserved. Death would be too good for him."
Reesa looked affronted at that, "He's just an old man!"
"Any man that's lived as long as he has needs to get it over with. No one should live forever."
Kim wisely stayed silent through the exchange. As everyone finished, Harry looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "What time were you supposed to meet your parents Hermione?"
Hermione looked at her own watch and her eyes widened. "Ten minutes ago. I had better get back."
"Hold on a second. We should go with you," Ranma said, friendlier now that he had worked off some anger.
Hermione smiled and nodded, waiting while Ranma paid their bill. "Let's go," he said.
The group quickly made their way back to Diagon Alley, passing a still down Happosai and many impressed women.
Hermione soon found her parents inside the Leaky Cauldron and waved goodbye to Harry. "See you at school!" Hermione said. Harry nodded, seeing her off.
Ranma looked down at Harry and smiled, "Well, we've still got about three hours before Kasumi expects us back. What do you want to do?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment then looked at Nabiki. "Let's check out the shops in London. I saw a sports shop that might have some weights for us to use when training. If the girls don't want to go into that then there were some clothing stores nearby."
Nabiki, Reesa and Kim gave each other high fives as they heard Harry wouldn't mind if they clothes shopped instead of staying with him. "Let's go!" Nabiki said, "I need some new clothing to go under the robes anyway."
As they went their separate ways, Harry and Ranma looked in the sports store and couldn't find exactly what they were looking for. They did, however, find some interesting weapons at an antique weapon seller nearby. All in all, they were done in about an hour and a half.
The girls took a bit longer. When Harry and Ranma found them, they were overloaded with bags, most of which were Nabiki's.
When they got back, Kasumi gasped at the amount of merchandise she saw. Ranma just rolled his eyes and deposited them in the appropriate rooms. Harry dropped the bags he was carrying in the living room and flopped on the couch. The girls giggled, picked up their bags, and put them in their own rooms. Kasumi just shook her head. "Dinner's ready when everyone is ready for it. Then we'll have cake."
Harry's eyes lit up at that and he dashed to the dinner table, waiting for Kasumi to serve it. Ranma and the girls soon came down and joined them, Ranma wearing an expression akin to Harry's.
As they ate, Harry told Kasumi about the day and the episode with Draco Malfoy. Kasumi gasped and when Harry finished dinner, she gave him a good check over to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong. She didn't find anything and the rest of the table got a good laugh.
Harry gave Kasumi a reproachful look and then gave her a pointed one. Kasumi sighed, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I'll bring the cake out now."
Harry grinned and soon everyone was eating cake. Harry opened his gifts and was grateful to Nabiki for hers, as he wanted to learn more about Quidditch. Harry grinned at Ranma's predictable carving, which was of a Pegasus this time. The gift from Kim and Reesa was a wizard chess game with unbreakable pieces and Kasumi got him a book on powerful curses, countercurses and charms.
Harry thanked everyone and took his gifts upstairs. Entering his room, he saw Hermione's gift near his dresser. He put the carving on the dresser with the others and the rest on his bed. Then he went over to the owl. It hooted softly as Harry went over and opened its cage.
"You're a fabulous birthday present, you know that? I'll have to think up a pretty name for you," Harry said, racking his brains. Then Harry thought of a name from one of his books, "How about Hedwig? That sounds good."
Hedwig hooted happily and then looked towards the window. Harry went over and opened it. "Don't get lost. I'd hate to have to explain that to Hermione."
Hedwig hooted in amusement and Harry went down to see what he could find for a water dish. Kasumi had something ready, "Need this?"
Harry grinned, thanking Kasumi and heading back up the stairs. He put the dish in Hedwig's cage and pulled out one of his new books to read for a while. Ranma came in to find Harry asleep with one of his books on his chest. Putting a book mark in the book to mark Harry's place, Ranma placed the books on the shelf and the game on the desk. Then he took off Harry's shoes and put him under the covers. "Goodnight little brother."
Harry smiled and turned over in his sleep.
*September 1st*
Harry woke Ranma up with a bucket of cold water and a yell. Ranma glared at his younger brother as he sat there smirking. "C'mon Ranma, we're going to be late."
Ranma stared at Harry and then looked at the clock, raising an eyebrow. "You've been up all night haven't you?"
Harry just nodded and bounded down the stairs, going to check to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Ranma shook his head and got up, getting dressed. He then grabbed his trunk, while grumbling about over excited younger brothers and headed down the stairs.
Kim was up and double checking everything while Nabiki sat at the table nursing some coffee. Reesa just hummed along and finished stitching what Ranma assumed to be a cape made of material she had salvaged. When Reesa held it up, Ranma almost didn't recognize the old material.
"That's really great Reesa," Ranma said. Reesa beamed, "Do you think Kasumi's boyfriend will like it?"
Ranma grinned and nodded, "Have you found him?"
Reesa sighed, "When Kasumi asked me to finish this she said Dr. Tofu would be near there at the start of the term. She thinks he's going to start working at St. Mungo's hospital."
Ranma nodded and looked over to where Nabiki was still looking around blankly. "You'd better do something about her hair, or she'll never get on the train. They'll all be screaming and running from her."
Nabiki's eyes narrowed and she threw her coffee cup at him. Ranma caught the cup and prevented anything from spilling, handing it back to her. Nabiki just mumbled her thanks as Reesa came up to her with a brush.
Harry just grinned, running around like mad. He only stopped to look at the clock disappointedly when it didn't go fast enough.
Soon Kim said it was time to go and they all got into Reesa's car. Ranma winked at Harry when Harry commented on the room inside the car. Reesa laughed, "Ranma and I found a spell so that more things would fit inside of it. We had to be careful though because we're not supposed to magic things like this. Harry nodded and made a motion like that of a zipper across his lips.
Kim giggled as she led Nabiki and her coffee cup to the car. "Let's head out."
They made it to the train station with plenty of time to spare, Reesa making comments about the many memories she had of getting on and off the train during her years at Hogwarts.
Ranma looked at the space between platforms nine and ten and shrugged, turning to Reesa to ask. Reesa just told him to shush and pointed to where the Weasley family had just come up and were going through. Harry watched carefully and grinned as he suddenly saw a barrier that kept muggles from noticing anything. Harry walked up to where Ron was. "Want to go through together?"
Ron looked startled and then nodded, "Mum says it's better to do it at a run if you're nervous."
Harry nodded, and at an unknown signal, the two boys started running towards the barrier. They rushed through and were soon looking at long, red train. "Awesome," Harry said.
Ron just shrugged and headed up to the train. Harry turned to where Ranma, Kim, Nabiki and Reesa were coming through one by one. Ranma winked at Harry and picked both Kim's and his own trunk up while Kim carried her owl and cat.
Many of the girls noticed this and gossip started about him, as many had never seen him before. When he got on the train, many wondered if he was a new teacher, because everyone at Hogwarts started in their first year. There were never any transfer students.
Kim rolled her eyes, though her cheeks were blushing as she got up into the train. Ranma came back for Nabiki's things and she thanked him as she got onto the train. Harry picked up his own luggage and got onto the train, having Reesa hand him Hedwig. "Alright showoff," Reesa said, "Don't get into trouble."
Harry grinned, "Now where would the fun in that be?"
Two peals of laughter were heard behind him and Harry turned to see the Weasley twins. "That is so true," they said in unison, still laughing as they got off the train to say goodbye to their mother. Reesa shook her head and waved Harry off to go find an apartment as she went to the next door where Nabiki, Ranma, and Kim were waiting.
When she told them the same thing, Kim and Nabiki nodded while Ranma scowled, "I don't make trouble. I just get blamed for it 'cause it happens around me."
Kim and Nabiki laughed and left for their compartment and Ranma shrugged, waving goodbye to the older woman as he followed. Reesa shook her head once more and stood back as many of the doors started closing so that they could get on their way.
Harry found an empty compartment and pulled his curses, countercurses and charms book, wanting to get some of the reading done. Harry was reading up on the Patronus charm and what it was supposed to do when the door opened and Ron looked, "Mind if I join you?"
Harry grinned and nodded, "It was getting rather lonely in here."
Ron smiled and put his trunk up top and sat down, studying Harry as he put his book away. The two started conversing while Harry wondered where Hermione was.
Hermione could be found exasperated helping a boy search for his toad at the front of the train.
Ranma yawned in their compartment and laid back. "Wonder how Harry's doing?"
Kim lay back on top of him and his arms automatically went around her. "I'm sure he's fine Ranma. He is eleven. He doesn't need us to baby him."
Nabiki looked around the compartment and got up. "I think I'm going to go look around the train for a bit."
Ranma opened an eye and nodded. Kim just snuggled in to where she was comfortable and waved goodbye.
Ranma nuzzled her hair and sighed. "So what happens now?"
Kim giggled, "We get to school, Nabiki and I study for a year and graduate while you study for a few more."
Ranma gave her a look she couldn't see. "You gonna wait for me?"
Kim twisted so she could look at him and gave him a confused look. Ranma sighed, "Are you gonna forget me if I'm gone most of the year?"
Kim's gaze softened, "You know the answer to that. I'll wait forever."
"Just like your aunt?"
Kim gave him a surprised look and Ranma sighed, "It's not hard to see. I asked her about it once and she told me about Sirius Black, James Potter and the other two. After hearing of their exploits, I have a hard time believing that Black would do something like that. That Pettigrew fellow that everyone considers some kind of hero would better fit the description of a betrayer."
Kim stared ahead, thoughtful. "You have to understand that Black's family was a family of death eaters. Everyone was more ready to believe that he was a betrayer and not Pettigrew."
"We'd have to find Pettigrew to prove anything and he could be anywhere."
Ranma nodded, "Think we can get Nabiki to help? We'd probably need some sort of proof though."
Kim just nodded and the two changed the subject as a cart filled with snacks passed by.
Hermione sighed as she headed towards the back of the train. Through one of the compartment doors she heard Harry talking to someone, and recognized the back of Draco's head. She listened in to catch the second part of the conversation. "I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself Malfoy."
Hermione started to smirk and stopped when she heard the threat in Malfoy's voice. "You'll regret that Potter, and here I was trying to apologize."
"It's not Potter anymore. As much as I'm sure I would love them if they were alive, I respect my brother. The name is Inverse, and we don't take well to threats."
Draco just turned and stormed past Hermione, his two stupid friends trailing behind them. Hermione turned and caught a glimpse of Harry's face, his green eyes cold and stony as he stared after them.
"Are you alright Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry turned and his face warmed up as he smiled and nodded.
"He was insulting Ron and me and then went and offered a dead friendship."
Hermione sighed and shook her head and then looked in at Ron, giggling a bit as she realized he was there when Harry got his wand. "Hi!" she said brightly, and then she noticed the smudge on his nose. Pulling out a handkerchief, she poured a bit of water from a nearby gourd on it and handed it to him. "You've got a bit of dirt on your nose. You may want to get it off before we get there."
Ron just scowled as he accepted the kerchief and wiped his nose off, then Hermione remembered her promise to help Neville. "Have either of you two seen a frog? A boy in the compartment up front lost on."
Harry and Ron shook their heads as the said boy poked his head in. "Have you found him Hermione?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry Neville. I'll help you keep looking though."
The boys face brightened and Hermione turned back to Ron and Harry. "You might want to get your robes on. We should be arriving soon."
Harry nodded and Ron handed back the kerchief. "Thanks," he said gruffly, and Hermione blushed a bit, then turning to help Neville search for his toad again."
Soon the train stopped and everyone got ready for their year at school.
Author's Notes: I know it's taking me a while to get everything updated. I hope you understand my position in college and as a hostess at work though. (That and I've got what, six stories? Not to mention I'm working on other ideas on paper.)
So anyways, it's a little early to be pairing Harry up with anything and I'm trying to decide between Hermione and Ginny. The votes are nearly tied, (Hermione's winning by one) and I'm weighing the pros and cons of each since my decision is final, (I will probably be applying that to my other fics as well.)
I hopefully will be getting a website up soon and am trying to decide if I should pair Nabiki up with Bill. (I know Fleur is supposed to be interested in him, but I think Nabiki would be a better match.)
On with the story!
Posted: 9/28/03
Magical Destiny Chapter 5
Harry awoke to Ranma pulling the sheets off of him and flipping him out of bed. Harry scowled at him from the floor and yawned, while Ranma chuckled. "Poor sleepy birthday boy," he said, "You've got stuff downstairs waiting for you. It's a gorgeous day too. We should do something fun."
"Like hurling punches at each other mixed with a bit of magic?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"We'd have to do that where they can't sense us. I was thinking more along the lines of a picnic after a bit of light sparring," Ranma answered, amusement in his voice.
Harry threw his pillow at Ranma, missing as Ranma ducked out the door laughing. Grumbling about annoying older brothers, Harry got into a clean gi and jumped out the window to meet Ranma. The faced off and bowed to one another, then sliding into a ready stance.
Harry waited for Ranma to make the first move, tense. Ranma noticed that Harry's nerves were on end, and complied with a forward punch. Harry leaped over it and realized that he had made a mistake when Ranma smirked, and leaped into the air with him. Harry tried to avoid the blows and ended up getting grounded quickly. He recovered, getting to his feet only to meet Ranma's swift kicks and strong punches. Harry started looking for a flaw in the pattern and soon found an opening. Using it to its fullest Harry turned the tide a bit, putting Ranma on the defensive for a while. Ranma, however, turned the tide once again.
To the casual observer, it looked like the two were trying to pound each other senseless. To Nabiki and Kasumi, it was just another morning with the two going at it. Nabiki eyed Harry critically, and wondered briefly if he would start getting more muscle any time soon. Kasumi just watched in a fascination that had never ended.
Kim stared, still in awe at the skill being displayed and still in disbelief, though she had lived with them for over a year now. Kasumi sighed, "It's just like a brutal ballet."
Reesa snorted, "I agree with the brutal part."
Nabiki and Kim laughed. "It is quite fascinating, but Kasumi is right," Kim said, "There is a kind of grace to it like a dance."
"A very brutal, deadly dance," Reesa reiterated, making the girls laugh again, "It's a good thing that they have very good control otherwise they may end up killing each other."
Kim smiled and returned to watching them as Reesa finished putting out the breakfast. "Time for breakfast you two! You had better hurry, if you want to get baths before we leave!" Reesa called.
In a flash, both had stopped sparring, landed on the ground, and bowed to each other. Then they dashed to the table, nearly breaking the sound barrier as they picked up their knives and forks. Kim giggled, "Hungry you two? I never would have guessed."
Ranma gave her a grin, waiting as the rest got their food before helping himself. Harry watched, amazed as Ranma piled piece after piece of French toast on his plate. Kim thought it was amazing Harry didn't eat that much but didn't press her luck with the food bills.
As they ate, all except Ranma discussed what to do with the day and wished Harry a happy birthday. Harry blushed and put in his two cents. He wanted to go back to Diagon Alley for the day and take a look at a few of the stores he had missed while there. "Then we can go around the shopping district in London if you want," Harry said.
"Sounds like a plan," Nabiki said, "I'll come."
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to stay here," Kasumi said, "I have quite a few things to do and I'll be leaving next week for Hogwarts for training."
Harry just nodded while Nabiki patted Kasumi's shoulder. Ranma gulped, signaling the last of his French toast was gone. "I'm game," he said, winking at Kim.
Kim gave him a look, and then turned to the rest of the group. "Well, since everyone is done, do you want to leave now?"
Harry nodded, and then paused, "What about the dishes?"
Kasumi laughed, "It's alright Harry-kun, I'll be fine doing them."
Harry nodded, dubious, and finished off the last piece of bacon. "We'll open presents and have cake when we all are together."
The rest nodded, and got up, Ranma and Harry heading towards the showers, and the girls to get ready.
After about fifteen minutes, having beat Ranma to the shower, Harry hopped down the stairs with a big grin on his face. "I think we should leave him here," he said, fingering an already fading bruise.
Kim giggled, "For that beating this morning?"
Harry nodded, and the three women chuckled. Kasumi then walked in the living room with her nose in one of her magical malady books. Harry looked at the title. "Advanced Healing Techniques by Ono Tofu. Hey wait a minute!!!!"
Kasumi looked up and giggled. "Yes he was a wizard too. That's why I was constantly going over to borrow books, well, that and because he always acted so silly."
Harry wrinkled his nose. "That's cause he never knew how to act around you. I think he really liked you."
Kasumi blushed, and buried her nose back into the book. Nabiki studied her sister and sighed, "I think I can look up where he is if you want me too. Then you can tell him how you feel about him."
Kasumi looked up, interested, "One of your predictions?"
Nabiki nodded, "Of course! All I need is that pendant you got me and a globe and I can find him."
Kasumi looked thoughtful, "I might take you up on that. I really wish he hadn't left before I could tell him what I always wanted too."
Nabiki nodded, coming out of her thoughts only when Ranma bounded down the stairs and landed in the middle of the living room. "Ready to go?" he asked.
Nabiki, Kim and Reesa nodded, as Harry grabbed the Floo Powder. "Let's go!" Harry said, more than a little excited.
Ranma nodded, and went first, waving goodbye to Kasumi. Harry was next, and joined Ranma on the other side. Reesa, Kim and Nabiki followed, smiles on their faces, catching on to Harry's excitement. "So where do you want to go birthday boy?"
Harry looked around, and didn't answer for a while, and Ranma realized he was looking for someone. "Who's joining us Harry?"
"I asked Hermione to come. She said she'd try. Remember she sent me an owl a few weeks ago and then I replied with Lynard."
"Harry!"
Harry turned and found Hermione holding something large. "I hope you don't mind Harry but I got you a birthday gift!"
Harry looked at the birdcage shaped gift and grinned, "You really shouldn't have Hermione."
Hermione blushed, "Well you only turn eleven once. I got you something special."
Harry accepted the gift and looked inside to find a snowy white owl sitting inside. Pulling off the rest of the covering, Harry gaped at the beautiful animal, and turned to Hermione, grinning. "Wow! She's great! Thank you!"
Hermione blushed slightly from the praise and smiled. Kim picked up the cage, "Why don't I put her in your room at home and you all get some ice cream while you wait for me?"
Harry grinned his thanks and nodded. Kim then turned to Ranma, giving him her order and saying she would be back in five. Ranma turned and then got everyone else's orders. As Kim went through the public fire place, Ranma and the rest headed over to FF's ice cream place to wait.
Ranma brought the orders over to where Harry, Hermione, Nabiki, and Reesa had gotten a seat. Hermione watched in awe as Ranma balanced everything neatly and placed things down without spilling. Harry just dug into his ice cream while Reesa and Nabiki thanked Ranma for his trouble. Hermione clapped when he set hers down. "That's amazing how you can carry all of that without spilling it!"
Ranma just grinned, sitting next to Harry and placing Kim's sundae next to him. Winking, he then dug into his own as Hermione blushed.
After about two minutes, Kim returned to eat her own melting ice cream. Soon everyone finished, and looked ready to go, so Harry looked around to see what stores he would like. "Let's go into Quality Quidditch Supplies. I want to see what that's about."
"I told you about the game, Harry," Reesa said, "Do you want to practice it or something?"
Harry grinned as Nabiki chuckled. "Who knows?" she said, "Maybe he'll become a famous Quidditch player."
"Maybe I will," Harry responded, "Just to prove that I can."
Ranma gulped, "Maybe you should prove to the masses that you're really human first. Who knows? With how famous you are they may try throwing spells at you just to see how impervious to them you are."
Reesa and Kim burst out laughing while Nabiki smirked. Harry stuck his tongue out at Ranma while Hermione looked affronted. "That's no way to talk to the boy who lived, especially since he's your brother!"
Harry, startled, looked over at Hermione. "I am human though. My mother saved my life. When I was learning meditation and different ways to detect different kinds of magic, I found that she left a certain protection in my veins after refining the technique. I'm exactly like everyone else and shouldn't be treated differently just because of that."
Hermione looked slightly startled at that. Nabiki nodded, "No one knows better than I do how human these two are. They make mistakes, break promises if they have to and try their hardest. They have feelings, even if people like me choose to ignore them. They're just much stronger now because of that."
Hermione looked down, "I'm sorry Harry. I really didn't think of it that way."
Harry shrugged, "No harm done. But like Nabiki said, I make mistakes too. I wonder if people will look down on me if they realize how un-god-like I am."
Ranma studied his brother as the rest laughed. 'He doesn't remember what happened in that spring. I don't think he really believed me when I told him either. All he knows is that I taught him more control over it. I hope that it doesn't surface too soon, or he'll realize just how wrong that statement was. He doesn't need to be a god now. He just needs to be a kid.'
Harry looked up at Ranma's thoughtful expression and smirked, "Now there's something you don't see every day, Ranma thinking!"
Everyone around burst out laughing as Ranma gave Harry a reproachful look and then grinned. "I guess this means I get to keep the present I got you."
Harry's eyes widened. Despite Ranma's lack of money and poor craftsmanship skills, he had always gotten Harry something great. Harry had kept the carvings Ranma had given him and the small wooden cabinet with the trick drawer. Ranma was used to picking up all the destroyed wooden property and keeping the wood to carve on. He had gotten quite good, and Harry loved the little gifts.
Shaking his head quickly, Harry gave Ranma a puppy dog look, trying to get him to give him the gift. Ranma sighed, and tried to harden himself to the look, but failed. "You're going to have to figure out a new way to do that soon cause it's not going to work for long with that ugly mug."
Harry tried tackling Ranma and punched right when Ranma dodged that way, effectively catching him on the side. Everyone started laughing again and soon they were on their way to Harry's chosen store to see what they could find in it.
They split up, each browsing the small store. Soon, Nabiki noticed that she had picked up a blond eleven year old boy on her tail, and sighed. 'Great, just what I need. An amorous admirer that's eleven years old,' she thought in disgust.
She stopped when something caught her eye. It was a book on the greatest quidditch games of the past century. 'Harry would like that. Good thing I waited to get him a gift,' she thought, picking up the book. She looked around for Harry and went over to the cashier to make her purchase. Soon it was wrapped and hidden as Nabiki put it in the folds of her robe.
As she walked away to find Ranma or Kim, she got cornered by the kid that was following her.
"I couldn't help but notice that you looked a little lost, miss," he said trying to be suave, "Why don't I show you around?"
Nabiki sighed, "Thank you for the offer, however, I'm with some friends of mine and they're in the store. I just need to find them. Sorry for your trouble...."
"Draco," the kid answered, "Draco Malfoy."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow and suddenly snickering was heard from her left. Both looked over to see Harry and Hermione standing there. "/Hi Nabiki,/" Harry said between gasps for breath, "/Problems?/"
Nabiki looked over to Draco who looked somewhere between pissed and confused, and nodded her head, "/Thanks for the save godling./"
Harry stuck his tongue out at Nabiki and grinned at her. Draco raised an eyebrow and then noticed Harry's scar. "Well, well, Harry Potter. Are you the real one or is that scar a fake?"
Harry rolled his eyes, "Its real enough, D-R-A-C-O."
Draco sneered, "We'll see about that. Truth revelum."
Harry felt a sudden surge of power as Draco pulled his wand out and threw a spell at him. When the spell hit, Harry could feel the power flowing within him, waiting for him to take it. Harry looked down at himself, and suddenly he realized he wasn't in Quality Quidditch Supplies but floating over the earth. There he saw a Great Dragon and a Monster doing battle.
Soon the monster split into seven pieces and the dragon fell into the earth. There was a strange rumble, and it was covered and pools formed over where the body lay. 'Jusenkyo,' Harry thought, and then his scar exploded in pain as he was thrust back into the store.
Hermione grabbed Harry's arm as his hand went up to his scar. Nabiki rushed over to where Harry was and forced his hand away looking at his scar. "The scar's glowing," she said softly, then turning around in anger. "What did you do to him?" she hissed.
Draco looked stunned, "It was just supposed to reveal who he really was. That spell isn't supposed to do that."
Harry's eyes soon focused, and Draco realized the scar was still there. 'Uh oh,' he thought, 'I nearly killed Harry Potter. Wait a minute... I would get praised by my father. Maybe I should do that again.'
Nabiki stood in Draco's way in case he tried another spell again as Harry smiled at Hermione and glared at Draco. "Was that really necessary?"
Draco gulped at the obvious threat in Harry's voice and shook his head. Then he thought maybe he could get the guy on his side if he played his cards right talking to him. "I'm really sorry. You must understand that there are a lot of fakes going around and that is one of the only ways to show who's a fake. I'm sorry I did the spell wrong. How about I make up for it by showing you who has the best connections in the wizarding world."
Harry raised an eyebrow and Draco found his answer coming from behind him. "Oh I do believe Nabiki will have those down in a few more days. Or do you have them already?"
Nabiki grinned and stood up straight. "Gee Ranma, you know me so well. I have them already. All connections are courtesy of the Japanese Ministry of Magic, which I hope to get a job as an ambassador at. This is perfect practice."
Ranma wordlessly went over to Harry and looked into his face. Harry stared back, trying to let Ranma know that he had seen something important and needed to talk to him about it. Ranma's lip twitched, and he nodded. Then he turned back to Draco. "I'm not sure what you were trying to do kid, but be grateful it didn't work."
"What gives you the right to threaten my son?" said the voice of Mr. Malfoy.
Ranma looked the older man straight in the face and showed that he was not afraid of him. "Your son just threw a spell, with no warning, at my brother. The spell was apparently... not pleasant. If he attacks Harry again, I'm afraid I'm going to have to alert the authorities."
Mr. Malfoy sneered, and looked at Harry, noticing the scar and his eyes widened, "I'm sorry Mr. Inverse. Word has indeed gotten around about you being Harry's guardian. I'm sorry my son did not get that news. I'll be sure to discipline him accordingly. I hope you accept my apologies."
Ranma eyed the man and then nodded, letting the matter drop. When Mr. Malfoy and Draco left, Nabiki and Harry turned to Ranma, impressed. "I didn't know you had it in you Inverse. Nice show of delegating skill."
Ranma just grinned sheepishly, "Kim's been working on that with me."
Harry laughed, "Nice to know that she's getting through your thick head."
Hermione looked at Harry concernedly, "Are you sure you're alright Harry?"
Harry turned and nodded. "I'll be fine. Nothing keeps Ranma or me down for long. Especially spells."
Hermione nodded and turned back to the thing she purchased. "Where do you want to go next?"
Harry looked thoughtful and then decided on the nearby bookstore. "I think there was something Kasumi wanted from there. It would be a nice surprise for her when we get back."
Ranma nodded, "Let me find Kim and Reesa real quick and then we'll go over and find the book. Then we'll stop and get something for lunch."
Harry nodded, and turned to head out the door. Ranma disappeared within the store and reappeared a few moments later with Kim and Reesa in tow.
"Let's go then!" Kim said brightly.
Harry nodded, and they all headed over to the book store, quickly finding what they were looking for and looking at other interesting books. Soon, however, Harry's stomach growled, long and loud. Reesa giggled, and turned to signal the others. "We had better get moving if Harry's not going to starve."
Ranma quickly herded the group out and waved goodbye to the shopkeeper.
"Let's go see what's outside of Diagon Alley to eat," Harry said. "We never did see much of London."
Ranma nodded, and they made their way out to the muggle world. Harry looked around as they walked along the streets, and spotted a decent looking café. "Let's eat in there."
Hermione grinned, "Oh that's a wonderful Café! I love eating there when my parents bring me here."
Harry grinned, "Well then, let's go!"
They all went in to eat and had just gotten their food when screams were heard with the shouts of 'PERVERT!' intermixed.
Ranma cringed, "Sounds like Happosai."
The said withered old man then hopped into the restaurant flipping the skirts of the waitresses and customers alike. "Scratch that it is him," Ranma growled, feeling his fury shoot through the roof.
Happosai turned as he felt Ranma's aura, "/Why Ranma my boy, it's so good to see you again./"
Ranma growled a bit and then got control of his anger, smirking. "/Why yes Happosai, it is rather nice to see you./"
Happosai either didn't notice or chose to ignore the threat in Ranma's voice. He just turned as another lovely lady distracted him. Ranma's smirk grew and he attacked Happosai, kicking him out of the restaurant. Happosai slowly got up from the middle of the street and gave Ranma a look of disdain. "/Now don't you know that it's dishonorable to attack a man behind his back?/"
Ranma hesitated a second and then smirked, "/Honor no longer holds me back old man./"
Happosai's eyes widened as Ranma ran forward with a yell and all the women he affronted gathered around to watch his beating. Happosai tried using bombs and all manner of tricks, while Ranma stuck to basic martial arts. Happosai got thrashed. The women cheered, and Ranma went back to eating his lunch.
Hermione stared at Ranma, "Don't you think that was rather brutal?"
Kim shook her head as Ranma continued to eat. Nabiki snorted, "You should be happy that the old pervert got what he deserved. Death would be too good for him."
Reesa looked affronted at that, "He's just an old man!"
"Any man that's lived as long as he has needs to get it over with. No one should live forever."
Kim wisely stayed silent through the exchange. As everyone finished, Harry looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "What time were you supposed to meet your parents Hermione?"
Hermione looked at her own watch and her eyes widened. "Ten minutes ago. I had better get back."
"Hold on a second. We should go with you," Ranma said, friendlier now that he had worked off some anger.
Hermione smiled and nodded, waiting while Ranma paid their bill. "Let's go," he said.
The group quickly made their way back to Diagon Alley, passing a still down Happosai and many impressed women.
Hermione soon found her parents inside the Leaky Cauldron and waved goodbye to Harry. "See you at school!" Hermione said. Harry nodded, seeing her off.
Ranma looked down at Harry and smiled, "Well, we've still got about three hours before Kasumi expects us back. What do you want to do?"
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment then looked at Nabiki. "Let's check out the shops in London. I saw a sports shop that might have some weights for us to use when training. If the girls don't want to go into that then there were some clothing stores nearby."
Nabiki, Reesa and Kim gave each other high fives as they heard Harry wouldn't mind if they clothes shopped instead of staying with him. "Let's go!" Nabiki said, "I need some new clothing to go under the robes anyway."
As they went their separate ways, Harry and Ranma looked in the sports store and couldn't find exactly what they were looking for. They did, however, find some interesting weapons at an antique weapon seller nearby. All in all, they were done in about an hour and a half.
The girls took a bit longer. When Harry and Ranma found them, they were overloaded with bags, most of which were Nabiki's.
When they got back, Kasumi gasped at the amount of merchandise she saw. Ranma just rolled his eyes and deposited them in the appropriate rooms. Harry dropped the bags he was carrying in the living room and flopped on the couch. The girls giggled, picked up their bags, and put them in their own rooms. Kasumi just shook her head. "Dinner's ready when everyone is ready for it. Then we'll have cake."
Harry's eyes lit up at that and he dashed to the dinner table, waiting for Kasumi to serve it. Ranma and the girls soon came down and joined them, Ranma wearing an expression akin to Harry's.
As they ate, Harry told Kasumi about the day and the episode with Draco Malfoy. Kasumi gasped and when Harry finished dinner, she gave him a good check over to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong. She didn't find anything and the rest of the table got a good laugh.
Harry gave Kasumi a reproachful look and then gave her a pointed one. Kasumi sighed, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I'll bring the cake out now."
Harry grinned and soon everyone was eating cake. Harry opened his gifts and was grateful to Nabiki for hers, as he wanted to learn more about Quidditch. Harry grinned at Ranma's predictable carving, which was of a Pegasus this time. The gift from Kim and Reesa was a wizard chess game with unbreakable pieces and Kasumi got him a book on powerful curses, countercurses and charms.
Harry thanked everyone and took his gifts upstairs. Entering his room, he saw Hermione's gift near his dresser. He put the carving on the dresser with the others and the rest on his bed. Then he went over to the owl. It hooted softly as Harry went over and opened its cage.
"You're a fabulous birthday present, you know that? I'll have to think up a pretty name for you," Harry said, racking his brains. Then Harry thought of a name from one of his books, "How about Hedwig? That sounds good."
Hedwig hooted happily and then looked towards the window. Harry went over and opened it. "Don't get lost. I'd hate to have to explain that to Hermione."
Hedwig hooted in amusement and Harry went down to see what he could find for a water dish. Kasumi had something ready, "Need this?"
Harry grinned, thanking Kasumi and heading back up the stairs. He put the dish in Hedwig's cage and pulled out one of his new books to read for a while. Ranma came in to find Harry asleep with one of his books on his chest. Putting a book mark in the book to mark Harry's place, Ranma placed the books on the shelf and the game on the desk. Then he took off Harry's shoes and put him under the covers. "Goodnight little brother."
Harry smiled and turned over in his sleep.
*September 1st*
Harry woke Ranma up with a bucket of cold water and a yell. Ranma glared at his younger brother as he sat there smirking. "C'mon Ranma, we're going to be late."
Ranma stared at Harry and then looked at the clock, raising an eyebrow. "You've been up all night haven't you?"
Harry just nodded and bounded down the stairs, going to check to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Ranma shook his head and got up, getting dressed. He then grabbed his trunk, while grumbling about over excited younger brothers and headed down the stairs.
Kim was up and double checking everything while Nabiki sat at the table nursing some coffee. Reesa just hummed along and finished stitching what Ranma assumed to be a cape made of material she had salvaged. When Reesa held it up, Ranma almost didn't recognize the old material.
"That's really great Reesa," Ranma said. Reesa beamed, "Do you think Kasumi's boyfriend will like it?"
Ranma grinned and nodded, "Have you found him?"
Reesa sighed, "When Kasumi asked me to finish this she said Dr. Tofu would be near there at the start of the term. She thinks he's going to start working at St. Mungo's hospital."
Ranma nodded and looked over to where Nabiki was still looking around blankly. "You'd better do something about her hair, or she'll never get on the train. They'll all be screaming and running from her."
Nabiki's eyes narrowed and she threw her coffee cup at him. Ranma caught the cup and prevented anything from spilling, handing it back to her. Nabiki just mumbled her thanks as Reesa came up to her with a brush.
Harry just grinned, running around like mad. He only stopped to look at the clock disappointedly when it didn't go fast enough.
Soon Kim said it was time to go and they all got into Reesa's car. Ranma winked at Harry when Harry commented on the room inside the car. Reesa laughed, "Ranma and I found a spell so that more things would fit inside of it. We had to be careful though because we're not supposed to magic things like this. Harry nodded and made a motion like that of a zipper across his lips.
Kim giggled as she led Nabiki and her coffee cup to the car. "Let's head out."
They made it to the train station with plenty of time to spare, Reesa making comments about the many memories she had of getting on and off the train during her years at Hogwarts.
Ranma looked at the space between platforms nine and ten and shrugged, turning to Reesa to ask. Reesa just told him to shush and pointed to where the Weasley family had just come up and were going through. Harry watched carefully and grinned as he suddenly saw a barrier that kept muggles from noticing anything. Harry walked up to where Ron was. "Want to go through together?"
Ron looked startled and then nodded, "Mum says it's better to do it at a run if you're nervous."
Harry nodded, and at an unknown signal, the two boys started running towards the barrier. They rushed through and were soon looking at long, red train. "Awesome," Harry said.
Ron just shrugged and headed up to the train. Harry turned to where Ranma, Kim, Nabiki and Reesa were coming through one by one. Ranma winked at Harry and picked both Kim's and his own trunk up while Kim carried her owl and cat.
Many of the girls noticed this and gossip started about him, as many had never seen him before. When he got on the train, many wondered if he was a new teacher, because everyone at Hogwarts started in their first year. There were never any transfer students.
Kim rolled her eyes, though her cheeks were blushing as she got up into the train. Ranma came back for Nabiki's things and she thanked him as she got onto the train. Harry picked up his own luggage and got onto the train, having Reesa hand him Hedwig. "Alright showoff," Reesa said, "Don't get into trouble."
Harry grinned, "Now where would the fun in that be?"
Two peals of laughter were heard behind him and Harry turned to see the Weasley twins. "That is so true," they said in unison, still laughing as they got off the train to say goodbye to their mother. Reesa shook her head and waved Harry off to go find an apartment as she went to the next door where Nabiki, Ranma, and Kim were waiting.
When she told them the same thing, Kim and Nabiki nodded while Ranma scowled, "I don't make trouble. I just get blamed for it 'cause it happens around me."
Kim and Nabiki laughed and left for their compartment and Ranma shrugged, waving goodbye to the older woman as he followed. Reesa shook her head once more and stood back as many of the doors started closing so that they could get on their way.
Harry found an empty compartment and pulled his curses, countercurses and charms book, wanting to get some of the reading done. Harry was reading up on the Patronus charm and what it was supposed to do when the door opened and Ron looked, "Mind if I join you?"
Harry grinned and nodded, "It was getting rather lonely in here."
Ron smiled and put his trunk up top and sat down, studying Harry as he put his book away. The two started conversing while Harry wondered where Hermione was.
Hermione could be found exasperated helping a boy search for his toad at the front of the train.
Ranma yawned in their compartment and laid back. "Wonder how Harry's doing?"
Kim lay back on top of him and his arms automatically went around her. "I'm sure he's fine Ranma. He is eleven. He doesn't need us to baby him."
Nabiki looked around the compartment and got up. "I think I'm going to go look around the train for a bit."
Ranma opened an eye and nodded. Kim just snuggled in to where she was comfortable and waved goodbye.
Ranma nuzzled her hair and sighed. "So what happens now?"
Kim giggled, "We get to school, Nabiki and I study for a year and graduate while you study for a few more."
Ranma gave her a look she couldn't see. "You gonna wait for me?"
Kim twisted so she could look at him and gave him a confused look. Ranma sighed, "Are you gonna forget me if I'm gone most of the year?"
Kim's gaze softened, "You know the answer to that. I'll wait forever."
"Just like your aunt?"
Kim gave him a surprised look and Ranma sighed, "It's not hard to see. I asked her about it once and she told me about Sirius Black, James Potter and the other two. After hearing of their exploits, I have a hard time believing that Black would do something like that. That Pettigrew fellow that everyone considers some kind of hero would better fit the description of a betrayer."
Kim stared ahead, thoughtful. "You have to understand that Black's family was a family of death eaters. Everyone was more ready to believe that he was a betrayer and not Pettigrew."
"We'd have to find Pettigrew to prove anything and he could be anywhere."
Ranma nodded, "Think we can get Nabiki to help? We'd probably need some sort of proof though."
Kim just nodded and the two changed the subject as a cart filled with snacks passed by.
Hermione sighed as she headed towards the back of the train. Through one of the compartment doors she heard Harry talking to someone, and recognized the back of Draco's head. She listened in to catch the second part of the conversation. "I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself Malfoy."
Hermione started to smirk and stopped when she heard the threat in Malfoy's voice. "You'll regret that Potter, and here I was trying to apologize."
"It's not Potter anymore. As much as I'm sure I would love them if they were alive, I respect my brother. The name is Inverse, and we don't take well to threats."
Draco just turned and stormed past Hermione, his two stupid friends trailing behind them. Hermione turned and caught a glimpse of Harry's face, his green eyes cold and stony as he stared after them.
"Are you alright Harry?" Hermione asked.
Harry turned and his face warmed up as he smiled and nodded.
"He was insulting Ron and me and then went and offered a dead friendship."
Hermione sighed and shook her head and then looked in at Ron, giggling a bit as she realized he was there when Harry got his wand. "Hi!" she said brightly, and then she noticed the smudge on his nose. Pulling out a handkerchief, she poured a bit of water from a nearby gourd on it and handed it to him. "You've got a bit of dirt on your nose. You may want to get it off before we get there."
Ron just scowled as he accepted the kerchief and wiped his nose off, then Hermione remembered her promise to help Neville. "Have either of you two seen a frog? A boy in the compartment up front lost on."
Harry and Ron shook their heads as the said boy poked his head in. "Have you found him Hermione?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry Neville. I'll help you keep looking though."
The boys face brightened and Hermione turned back to Ron and Harry. "You might want to get your robes on. We should be arriving soon."
Harry nodded and Ron handed back the kerchief. "Thanks," he said gruffly, and Hermione blushed a bit, then turning to help Neville search for his toad again."
Soon the train stopped and everyone got ready for their year at school.