I made it back to the castle just a bit after dawn and it was just as easy to get back into the castle as it was to leave it. Sure there were wards that would have kept me out for a while but they weren't active at the moment. I wasn't sure if this was because of the visiting schools or if it was because of something else but the wards were very basic at the moment and therefore easy to circumnavigate.

I made a clone then immediately popped it alerting my clone in the guest room that I was here and it was time to switch. From there it was only a matter of timing and as my clone walked towards the lake in workout clothes I switched with it. Then I took a lap or two around the lake which was painfully boring as it was limited to a fast civilian run.

Oh well, at least it gave me time to go over everything that I've learned so far. My studies had taken me up to a complete Hogwarts education, at least on the wand waving side, and I had to marvel on how utterly ridiculous that statement sounded to me. The power of absorbing skills through books is nothing to be scoffed at even if the skills are all at low levels for now. Honestly though most of the stuff was completely useless to me in combat. Almost all the spells, except the ones that were invisible, were obvious and I could literally run to a target faster than my spells. The memory of casting a tickling hex and then deflecting the same hex with a protego 10 meters away came to mind. The only really useful things were charms for day to day convenience and transfiguration as distractions during a fight.

Regardless there would probably be more useful things later like a book on apparition and mind magic. I had seen those books but held off on them for now just to have a solid foundation of what wizards and witches could do with no additional schooling. As I ran I saw someone watching me from the prow of the ship in the lake and I sent them a friendly wave causing them to hesitantly wave back.

Dismissing them as a concern my mind turned to the Unspeakables that I had encountered. Apparently the device that had shrieked at me was called a Divining Rod, no connection to water divining rods, which tracked trans-dimensional magic. They had been alerted to my presence when I first arrived but luckily enough Hogwarts, and the surrounding area, were rich enough in wild magic that it diffused the signal making it impossible to accurately track. All they knew was that the source of the disturbance had originated to the North.

Then I had gone and played with dimensions far to the South and they had sent out a team to investigate. Unfortunately they had found me and that was the end for them. I had even found out that they had found dimensional travelers before. The woman hadn't known exactly what happened to them after they were pumped full of drugs and truth serum but I had an idea. I couldn't blame them for doing it either. They had actually had a demon incursion back in the 1800s when one mad witch had been able to breach the barriers between realities into a hell dimension. Sounded like a bit of a mess but the department might draw some parallels after their team failed to report back. I finished my laps around the lake and started walking back to the castle.

Then there had been the things that the Unspeakables had studied like time, love, death and even prophecy. It certainly sounded like a place to visit before I left just to snag a few trinkets. I saw that a few of the early birds were up and about as I walked back to my room. Some of the older females even sent appraising glances my way. I wonder how they would react if I dropped my henge which was currently showing an older version of myself. Probably badly, but it would be funny when they realized they were checking out a 10 year old.

I allowed my thoughts to wander as I got back to my room and had a quick shower before I threw on a change of clothes. On my way back out I created a clone to keep on absorbing new material as I snagged a book on basic runes. Just like seals it would seem that runes were something that I couldn't just absorb which suited me just fine. After all, if everything is easy then life gets boring rather quickly.

I stepped outside into the corridor and pulled out a stick, transfigured to look like a wand, while giving it a little wave. A comfy armchair appeared and I plopped down as I opened my book. Now for a bit of light reading while I waited for Harry to get his lazy ass up. I found myself absorbed in my reading material and I read it slowly to make sure I was getting everything down to a tee. In the world of seals it's the little things that kill you and I'm sure runes were similar enough that the same rules applied.

A polite cough from my right brought me out of the fascinating world of runes and I acted startled as though I hadn't heard her coming closer. I looked up to see the teacher who had made to stand when Harry and I sat at the Ravenclaw table wearing an emerald green robe with a prim expression on her face. "Ah, pardon me, I didn't hear you coming. Allow me to introduce myself." I stood up and gave her a slight bow. "My name is Shiro. Might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"My, you are a proper young fellow aren't you?" I just gave her a small smile in the face of her scrutinizing gaze. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts." Mm, what a delightful accent. Scottish I think.

"A delight to meet you. I assume you had some purpose greeting me other than just getting to know each other or am I wrong?"

"No, no you are not. Before that though may I know why you were sitting in the corridor reading a book?"

"Of course. I had finished my morning run around the lake, which I must say that you have absolutely gorgeous views around here, and since my charge was still not up I was waiting for him." I gave a helpless shrug. "What can I say though? Teenagers will take any excuse to sleep in."

I saw her lips twitch as though she was refraining from smiling at the last part before they thinned into a line. "Quite. Well, I am here to deliver the message that the Headmaster would like to see you both in his office after breakfast." I tilted my head at that but nodded.

"Did he say what the subject will be about?"

"Something that I found in my search yesterday and other matters." Ah, I see. They still want to try to keep this on the down low even if that's no longer possible. I didn't know what it was about either as I had too much going on last night to keep a clone outside his window and it slipped my mind as I was going over everything I learned in the morning. Can't make that mistake again.

"We'll be there. Will you be attending this meeting as well?"

"Unfortunately not. I have classes directly after breakfast." Her eyes darted between me and Harry's doorway portrait before hardening. "Please take care of Harry. Everything that happened in the last two days was a horrible mistake yet he sought you out. Even if you're just the first person he ran into he still trusts you enough to teach him. Don't betray that or I'll break you." Definitely Scottish.

"I'm his mentor. Why would I ever betray him?" Her eyes narrowed at my non answer but she didn't say anything as she backed away.

"Have a good day Mr. Shiro."

"And you as well Professor McGonagall." She stately walked away and I plopped back down in my chair to get back to reading. About a half hour later the portrait to Harry's room swung open and he blinked rapidly at seeing me sitting in the corridor. I snapped my book shut as I stood up and dismissed the chair with a wave of my hand.

"Good morning Harry." He was still looking a little dazed at my display but I continued on regardless. "Did you sleep well?"

"Oh, um, yeah I did." He rolled his shoulders and did a little stretch. "It was actually the best sleep I've ever had. I wonder if it's because I'm not carrying around an extra burden anymore."

Probably and points to him for talking around the subject and not directly about it. Especially in a hallway. "I would think so." No telling how much influence that bit of soul had even if it was only a passenger and not directly connected to his magical pathways or soul. "Now, let's go get some breakfast and then we have another meeting with the Headmaster." I gave him a crooked smile. "Tut tut, Harry, called to the Headmaster's office twice in two days' time. One would almost think you're a delinquent."

"Hmph, that's just because you're such a bad influence just being near you is enough to get me in trouble." His expression turned serious. "Do you know why he wants to see us?"

"Hmm, something in regards to Gryffindor and probably seeing if you have an observer in mind. The first one I know for certain but the second is an educated guess." We started to wander towards the dining hall as we talked. "Were you able to do everything I asked last night?"

He suddenly looked a bit sheepish. "I tried to meditate but it was a lot harder than it sounded so I did the control exercise you said to do and went over my first year books. Although I don't know how transfiguring a matchstick to a needle will help me."

"It's simply a primer for the later years. Take this for an example." I pulled out my fake wand and conjured a log of wood. I saw his eye catch on the fake wand but he didn't say anything for now. "Conjuration is an advanced subset of transfiguration. Now that you have conjured something you are free to change it to whatever you desire." A wave of the wand and the log turned into a jet black panther that nuzzled against Harry who, after a moments pause, began to scratch it behind its ears. It let out a deep rumble in approval and began to walk alongside us.

"As you can see transfiguration can be quite useful. Of course any animals or living being that you transfigure are not real and obey any commands that you give them. This holds true to animals that you conjure as the avis spell creates a flock of pigeons that obey you." They acted like limited clones almost but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Brilliant, but…" his eyes darted between the panther and my fake wand. With a smile I handed the fake wand over to him and after a moment a look of understanding came. I gave him a wink as he handed it back before giving the wand a twirl and vanishing the panther. It was getting a bit more attention than necessary if the gasps and screams were any indication.

"Appearances are important and anyone that says otherwise is lying. Even if you're the kindest person on this planet you'll still form an opinion of someone in the first few seconds of meeting them. Whether that is good or bad depends entirely on how you look and how you act."

Harry looked a bit unsure on how to take that advice and I left him to his own thoughts as we entered the dining area. It wasn't completely full yet but the Gryffindors that were here seemed to deflate when Harry and I went towards the Ravenclaw table. I wonder why they would act like that if they were the ones to throw Harry out? I let the question percolate in the back of my mind as I slowly pretended to eat and observe the rest of the room. One of the most glaring things I spotted was the absence of Dumbledore at the head table.

'He must be preparing for the meeting.' I thought as I continued to eat. It was probably nothing good for us then or I'm just being fatalistic and he's just an old man that didn't want to walk down the stairs this morning… Nah, it's probably the first.

We finished our breakfast and we made to leave for Dumbledore's office. Before we could make it there we were ambushed by the frizzy haired girl that called out Harry's name last night. "Harry," she called out as she rushed up behind us. For a moment I thought she was going to grab his arm but at the last second she stopped and bit her lip instead.

"What do you want?" Harry's tone was cold and flat. She flinched at the almost casual dismissal in his voice but rallied.

"Can we talk?" Her gaze went to me and then back to him. "Alone?"

"I don't think we have anything to talk about Granger." She flinched away from him again as he said her name. "If you'll excuse me I have an appointment with the Professor Dumbledore that I need to get to."

Harry turned and walked away without a backward glance as I looked back and forth between them. Granger looked… lost as though she had suddenly found herself adrift at sea and I could see the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. Whatever was the deal between the two it wasn't my problem to fix and with one last glance at her I turned to catch up with Harry. He looked indifferent although I could see the spark of indecision in his eyes.

Sure enough when we had gotten far enough away that Granger couldn't hear us anymore he asked me a question. "Was it right what I just did?"

I mulled the question over for a bit before I answered. "She was one of your ex friends right?" He nodded and I continued. "My adopted brother has a saying that he lives by and it goes like this. 'In this world, those that break the rules are regarded as trash… but be that as it may… Those that disregard their comrades so easily are worse than trash.'"

A conflicted look appeared on Harry's face. "Are you calling both of us trash?"

"Hmm, I don't know all the details but that girl appeared to abandon you in your time of need. That she was seeking you out not a day later means that not everything is as it appears."

His shoulders slumped. "So what I did was wrong?"

"Right or wrong is meaningless. There are only choices and if you feel you can't stand by your choice after you make it then it is the wrong choice for you."

We continued for a bit in silence before Harry spoke again. "I guess I'll go find her after this if that's okay with you?" I glanced over to him looking mulish. Ah, teenage angst at its finest.

"I don't care one way or the other. I'm here to act as your mentor and I'll work around your schedule. If that means less training time because you're patching things up between you and your friend then so be it. As an addendum to making choices when you make a choice commit to it fully or not at all. Giving anything less than your best when you've made your choice means you might have well not made the choice at all."

I let him think things through until we came to the stone gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. I told it the password I heard yesterday and it moved upwards revealing stairs. With nothing stopping us we went up the stairs, once more going through the identifying ward, and knocked on the door leading to Dumbledore's office. "Harry and Mr. Shiro. Please do come in." His voice drifted out through the door and I held back a snort. More theatrics again to give off more of a semblance of power and all knowing aura if people didn't notice the ward walking up to his office.

I opened the door to see Dumbledore working away at a large stack of paperwork. It would seem that even with magic the joys of bureaucracy were still going strong or, as Minato would call it, the greatest evil ever dreamt up by man. He set his quill in an ink tray as we approached and moved the papers to the side. "Please pardon the mess. Having three different jobs can generate quite a bit of paperwork from time to time." I have no doubt that's true although why he would want three different jobs in his advanced age I don't know.

"Nothing to be worried about. I know how bureaucracies all around the world just love paperwork." He gave a polite chuckle before I continued speaking. "Now Professor McGonagall said you had something to share with us?"

"Ah yes," he turned his gaze to Harry and I was pleased to see that he didn't try to read his mind. It would seem that you can teach an old dog new tricks after all. "Minerva rushed off to get to the bottom of what happened two days ago and found something curious. As soon as she stepped near Gryffindor tower she found her anger being directed at you." I raised an eyebrow at that and Harry seemed to be similarly surprised.

"With a bit of experimentation she found that stepping away from the portrait made her no longer angry towards young Harry here and determined that something was wrong. After collaborating with Professor Babbling, our runes Professor, they found a ward that induces aggression above the Fat Lady's portrait." He looked over his half-moon glasses at Harry. "Specifically it caused aggression towards Harry and anyone that passed through the ward line would have every negative feeling towards Harry enhanced. I suspect you would have been induced to a near rage as well just by being near it."

By now Harry was looking quite sick and I couldn't blame him. This was an obvious ploy to kill or maim him what with a sudden magically binding contract happening out of the blue the other students would think he cheated his way in. Throw in some enhanced aggression and it was a miracle that they merely banished him and not cursed him to death. "Do you suspect that the same person who entered Harry into the tournament had a hand in the aggression wards?"

My question drew Dumbledore's gaze back to me and he nodded. "I believe so although in both cases it would seem that the magical signature is too degraded to be of use." I sat back thoughtfully as I considered this. The amount of people willing or able to do something like this was high and given the lax nature of the wards surrounding the school it made the pool of suspects even larger. I tuned back into the conversation as Dumbledore began to speak again. "In light of this I do hope you can find it in you to forgive your classmates."

I saw a myriad of emotions cross Harry's face before it settled on cautious hope with a little bit of melancholy. "I'll try sir but could I continue to stay where I am for at least this year?"

"You can, however; I would prefer if you attended at least some of your classes if you do so. Isolation from others is never the best when healing wounds." A complicated expression appeared on his face before he nodded. "Wonderful, and now there is simply the matter of an observer for your lesson with Mr. Shiro. Have you decided on anyone?"

Harry fidgeted in his seat for a moment before speaking. "Would, um, Professor Lupin be available?"

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair as he seemed to ponder the question. "I'm afraid, however much I would enjoy seeing him again, that dear Remus would be unavailable. With him being outed as a werewolf last semester it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to have him near or in the school."

"But that's not fair!" Harry blurted out before shrinking back in his seat with a blush. "Sorry sir."

Dumbledore waved off the outburst as nothing. "It is entirely fine my dear boy. The Wizengamot is being extremely difficult with their new laws regarding werewolves. I'm trying to enact less stringent measures but, alas, it would seem unlikely that I can repeal the new laws soon. Until then werewolves will be seen as dangerous beasts even though they merely transform once a month."

'That's pretty fucked up and dangerous.' I thought as Dumbledore finished speaking. Taking away people's rights and ability to live without persecution leads to nothing but violence. If Voldemort is still out there he would have a steady supply of new recruits from the disenfranchised werewolf population. I wonder how much this is a planned move for his return or sheer stupidity on the law maker's part. Still it was probably a good thing that Remus couldn't come because I had no idea how a werewolf would react to being near me.

"Regardless," Dumbledore started speaking again and I tuned back in. "Is there anyone else?"

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few time before glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. "No sir." I resisted raising an eyebrow at that. The fact that he only had one person he trusted in the whole wizarding world to observe him is actually kind of sad.

"I see." Dumbledore folded his hands together as he regarded Harry. "In that case, and in light of the coordinated attack on your person, may I suggest having an Auror serve as both an observer and a protector?"

'Oh, you cheeky old fudge packer. What a brilliant play.' I kept my thoughts from showing on my face as I ranted at him. I couldn't say no because then it would seem like I didn't care for Harry's safety or had something to hide yet at the same time having their version of the police monitoring me would keep me in check. What comes next would rely on Harry.

"An Auror?"

"Yes my dear boy. I'm told you had an interest in pursuing that career option and this would give you an opportunity to speak with one of them about their duties amongst other things." Harry looked to me for any hint of what to do but I kept myself completely neutral on the subject. Couldn't have Dumbledore thinking I didn't want an Auror tagging around.

When he saw no help was forthcoming from me he bit his lip and seemed to ponder for a while. Finally he spoke, "I would like that." Dammit.

Dumbledore's face lit up as he won this battle. "Wonderful. I shall have a chat with the head of the DMLE, one Madam Bones, and see that one Auror can be spared from duty. I expect I shall have one within the next day or two."

"Is that all Professor Dumbledore?" Please let this be all. I really don't want to fight anymore battles right now until I can regain some advantage.

"Of course," the bastard's eyes were twinkling madly. "I expect that will be all." He spared a glance towards the large stack of paper work. "If you'll excuse me I have to get back to my work."

"Have a pleasant rest of your day then." I said as I stood up. 'I hope you choke on those lemon drops.' I thought as I smiled politely at him.

"I will and I hope your day is just as enjoyable as mine." My forced smile went away as I turned towards the exit. Harry was silent until we were outside the office and back into the castle proper.

"Can our training be put on hold for a moment? I think I need to go see Hermione." He said it almost sheepishly and there was more than a bit of guilt in his voice as well.

"Go ahead." It would interfere with my schedule that I made for him but it would all work out. Besides I wouldn't stay here forever and having at least more than one person he could trust would be good for him.

"Right." He said and ducked into an empty classroom. Curious I followed behind and saw him pull out a worn piece of paper and his wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Before my eyes the blank piece of paper began to have ink spread across it to form a map of Hogwarts. A map that had the names of people as they walked along. My eyes instantly darted to where we were but curiously enough I wasn't named on the map. There was simply a pair of inked in feet standing next to Harry.

Harry seemed to notice this as well if his widened eyes and his not so hidden glances my way were any indication. "What a marvelous piece of paper. How does it work?" My voice seemed to startle him and he gave a nervous chuckle.

"Err, I don't really know. It belonged to my father and his friends." I regarded the map as my mind raced. Perhaps it's because I'm using my chakra dampening technique. I let up on the technique and sure enough my name appeared next to Harry. With a nod I ramped it back up to full and my name disappeared again much to Harry's chagrin.

"I see it can detect that someone is there but because I'm holding my chakra back it can't tell my name." It must be tied into the ward scheme somehow. How his father and his friends managed to do that without collapsing the entire thing I don't know. "It's not important though. I thought you were trying to find your friend."

"Oh, right." He blinked heavily and resumed searching the map for Hermione's location. Several minutes later he found her and tapped his wand to the map once more. "Mischief Managed." The map became blank once more and he folded it up before putting it back into his pocket. "Come on. I know where she is."

I followed after Harry until we came to a bathroom where I could hear the steady sound of crying emanating from it. I glanced at him to see he was looking distraught. "Well I'll just wait out here then while you sort this out. I suggest begging on your hands and knees if you want her to forgive you." He gave me a look that screamed coward but I just shrugged and made an invisible clone follow him in as I silenced the room. Trust but verify. If he made any mention of me being from another world then there would be a round of obliviate getting handed out. Mind magic was proving exceptionally useful although I wasn't sure how the Yamanaka's would take me having Legilimency. I took another look at the pop up for it.

Ding!

Learned Legilimency (Active B rank (200/min(150/min)) LVL 1 – 0%

Legilimencyis the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings. A person who practices this art is known as aLegilimens. Muggles might call this "mind-reading," but practitioners disdain the term as naive. The opposite of Legilimency is Occlumency, which may be used to shield one's mind from the invasion and influence of a Legilimens.

Learned Occlumency (Active/Passive) LVL 1 – 0%

Occlumencyis the act of magically closing one's mind against Legilimency. It is ancient, and has existed since medieval times. It can prevent a Legilimens from accessing one's thoughts and feelings, or influencing them. A person who practices this art is known as anOcclumens.

Perhaps if I trained Occlumency enough then it wouldn't matter because then the Yamanaka's wouldn't be able to get into my mind unless I allowed them. Although I feel like the influencing part of being an Occlumens is redundant what with Gamer's Mind still being in effect. Eh, redundancy is good. In fact it might even stop whatever was taking my memories but I didn't hold much hope for that.

I took out my book on runes again as I waited for Harry to make up with his friend. I really hope he doesn't expect me to train her as well or some nonsense like that. I'm far too young to have a genin team following me around like lost puppies. Although… no! I snapped out of that line of thinking. A mentorship is fine a team is not. Getting too distracted in the daily lives of the citizens of the multiverse would just slow my progress to get back home down.

About an hour later Harry and Hermione stumbled out of the bathroom looking better than they did before yet I still saw clear evidence of crying on Hermione's face. The rush of memories as my clone popped hit me but I ignored it for now as I focused on the two while I snapped my book shut and stowed it away. "Well, based on the fact that she's not hexing your face off I assume you both made up."

They both blushed before Harry rallied. "Err, yeah we did. Um, I don't think that you've been introduced yet. Hermione this is Shiro my mentor for the tournament and Shiro this is Hermione my friend."

We regarded each other. Myself with calm indifference and her with a searching gaze as though she was trying to pick me apart to learn all my secrets. "Hello Ms. Granger."

She blinked and her intense gaze disappeared. "Oh, um, hello Shiro. How did you two meet?"

"We met at the Quidditch World Cup." I turned to Harry with a smile. "Now that you've made up with your girlfriend I do believe it's time to train." My smile grew wider as they competed to see who had the deepest blush. I think I would have to give the award to Hermione in the end. "Well, come on then. Let's get going Harry."

That seemed to bring him out of his short circuit that his brain seemed to be experiencing but the blush still remained. "Err, actually is it okay if Hermione joins us."

"No," I stated firmly and continued before he had a chance to talk back. "You have the option to skip class while she does not. You are the one entered into a deadly tournament that you need to survive. If she comes and observes us or follows along with my instructions to you I won't mind but I will not directly teach her." Wisely they both held their tongues. If they hadn't I probably would have banned her altogether. "Now, Ms. Granger, I do believe that class is in session at the moment and you are absent."

A horrified look appeared on her face and she paled dramatically before rushing off towards her class. "Oh no, I'll have detention for sure." I heard her screech out as she ran around the corner and I turned back to look at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"She's not my g-girlfriend." He managed to finally stutter out after she was gone.

"Maybe not but it sure stopped her from asking anymore questions." I laughed at his indignant look and started to walk away. "Now let's get you some workout clothes and we'll begin."

I didn't look back but I heard him start shuffling along behind me so it was fine. The next half hour was spent getting dressed in appropriate clothes and making our way down to the lake where I spent some time showing him how to properly stretch out. "As we run around the lake I want you to set the pace just know that we'll be going around it at least twice. Secondly, I want you to try moving your magic through your body like you did last night while you're running."

"Why?" He grunted out as he bent to touch his toes.

"Regular humans have to gain muscle mass and strength the hard way but people with magic can cheat. As your magic runs through you it will strengthen and repair your body making you stronger faster than normal. I think that if we stick to my schedule you'll be a top tier athlete within 3 to 6 months and getting into the supernatural after a year if your magic reacts the way I think it will." I did the splits and laid flat on the ground but I didn't miss the shiver Harry had when I did that. "That will in turn give you more fuel for you to use your magic making you even stronger." I went into a handstand from my prone position then flipped to my feet.

"Alright let's get going. Set the pace but remember to push yourself." He nodded and we were off around the lake. I only had to prompt him several times to keep his magic flowing around his body and he multitasked admirably. At the end of the run he was gasping for breath and he almost collapsed as we came to a halt after a cool down jog. "Good. Now let's get started on your upper body."

"I always thought I would die from one of Voldemort's schemes not bloody torture." Harry gasped out and I shook my head ruefully.

"It's not torture it's exercise. Now get down on the ground and start doing pushups. I'll even do them with you just remember to keep your magic circulating throughout your body." He groaned but did as I said. We went through the pushups and then through a variety of other exercises until he literally collapsed on the ground.

"I think I died. I can't feel anything anymore." I rolled my eyes as I tossed him a field ration.

"Here, eat this and get some of your energy back." The ration bounced on his chest and with another groan he reached towards it with shaking arms. He made a face as he ate it but dutifully chowed down half of it before putting the rest away for now. I waited for a couple of minutes to let him rest and recover before speaking up again. "Are you ready to learn a bit of magic now?"

He perked up at that and slowly forced himself into an upright position. "Yes."

I smiled at him as I sat down across from him. "I've gone over all 7 years of Hogwarts spell casting and I feel that the first thing I should teach you to do, both with your wand and without, is summoning and banishing. If you perfect these two it is similar to having telekinesis and you can always rearm yourself if you lose your wand."

I pulled out my fake wand and ignored his incredulous expression when I said I've gone over all 7 years of Hogwarts as I conjured a pillow. "Call up your Mage Sight and watch." He did so and I sent the pillow flying away with a depulso before I summoned it back with accio. As I grabbed the pillow out of the air I threw it to the side so it was a good distance away from Harry. "Now try summoning it with your wand."

It took him a good five minutes to get both down with his wand but he still yelled whenever he did so. Before we attempted to do this without a wand I wanted to get rid of that habit. "Harry," he turned to me. "Have you ever heard me call out a name of something unless I was teaching you it?"

His face scrunched up as he thought. "No," he said finally and slowly. "I don't believe you have. How are you doing that?"

"Silent casting is part of your 6th year curriculum but I feel you can achieve it earlier. Saying the spell out loud is merely a trick to have your brain associate the word with your magic making the Will and Intent portion of spells easier for younger students. I know you have the Power to cast spells now we just need to ween you off saying the words to sharpen your Will and Intent. For now try whispering and trying something easy like the color change charm you learned in your first year on the pillow."

Harry nodded and his face changed into a look of concentration as he whispered while waving his wand at the pillow. Nothing happened and after a good 10 minutes of nothing happening I suggested that he use his Mage Sight then try whispering. That seemed to do the trick and his next cast was nearly silent. From there I had him work his way through the first three years of curriculum while trying to cast silently. He got the hang of it quickly enough and five hours later we had reviewed everything from his first three years. I'm almost positive he wouldn't have done as well as he was currently if he couldn't see magic but he could so he improved rapidly whenever he could turn on his eyes and a bit slower when he was allowing them to recover.

Throughout Harry's casting I had been intermittently exercising more or casting bits of magic with a focus on transfiguration. I just found the skill too useful to not practice and I got kind of bored watching Harry fly through his curriculum. Before we got back to the summoning and banishing charms I stood up and motioned him to do the same. "I think it's been long enough since your last exercise." I gave him a predatory smile as he paled drastically. "Time to run."

I looked down at Harry as he twitched in the grass after our latest workout. Just for the heck of it I conjured a stick and poked him repeatedly. "Are you still alive?" He didn't do anything other than moan and move his head the tiniest fraction in order to glare at me. "Oh, I see you are." I knelt down next to him and after making sure that no one was nearby healed him up a bit using my mystical palms technique.

As soon as I was done he slowly sat up and started to move his arms and legs in small patterns to work out any lingering pains. "You're a bloody sadist. I don't think I've ever used some of those muscles before." I shrugged unrepentantly.

"I think I'm a quite mentally stable mentor. At least I didn't create lions to nip at your heels to make you go faster or put weights on you. I know other people who trained their mentees that way." I shivered as I recalled the Green Beast of Konoha and his Flames of Youthtm.

"You are a saint amongst men good sir. Men anguish that they aren't a fraction as kind and benevolent as you as the women kiss the very ground you walk on." He said it all in a monotone voice that screamed insincerity.

"Stop. You'll make me blush." I mentally switched tracks. "So that was a taste of what your days will be like for the rest of the year. Of course as you grow stronger the exercises will increase but you frankly surprised me at how fast you're picking up magic. Were you always this good or is this a recent development?"

His hand unconsciously rose to trace his scar. "I was never this good and while my Mage Sight is helping tremendously I can't attribute everything to it." He looked down at his hands and slowly stood. "I think that the parasite was interfering with my learning. I've never been so clear headed before and everything seems to just be clicking together now as though I was blind before." A look of pure loathing appeared on his face. "It seems like everything that is wrong with my life can be traced back to that bastard Voldemort."

"Then when you see him next make him pay." I said simply and Harry blinked in surprise.

"You're not going to say let it go or any other cryptic advice a mentor usually gives?" I snorted and shook my head.

"No, why would I do that? There's a time to give out cryptic advice and a time to speak plainly. From what it sounds like and what I've read Voldemort is gunning to kill you. It would only be polite to return the favor or as the saying goes, 'Those who take a life must be prepared for those who would take theirs.'" Harry turned to the side with a frown on his face but I could practically see his mind turning as he thought about what I said.

I let him think for some time before I nudged him. "You should eat the rest of the field ration now." He made a face but did it anyways before washing out his mouth with some water.

"That is truly awful. Is there any other way I can get the required nutrients without having to eat those things?"

"Maybe, I would have to look into it, but I suspect it would be a potion of some kind." Potions were another thing that I couldn't just absorb the knowledge so I had left them almost completely alone for the moment. It didn't help that any potion knowledge I gained wouldn't translate into anything useful when I went to other universes what with certain ingredients probably not actually existing.

He made a disgruntled face. "Any potion I took would probably taste even worse than the field ration. Merlin I wish potions didn't taste so bad."

"It is what it is." I cast a tempus to see what time it was and then rolled my neck. "Well I think that it's time to head back inside. Diner is in an hour or so and I'm sure you want some time to shower at the very least." I took an exaggerated sniff. "I can smell your stench from all the way over here."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you're not smelling yourself?"

"Nope." I said as I popped the p. "I'm too awesome to smell anything less than divine." I also had a number of small chakra techniques going at all times that made me scentless but it wasn't worth mentioning that to him.

He simply snorted and started walking towards the castle with shaky legs. "Right, and I'm Merlin reborn."

"Oh ye of little faith." I said as I trailed along after him. An evil thought came to my mind and I smiled. "For your disturbing lack of faith I feel the need to remind you of all the stairs we have to climb to get to our rooms."

His foot paused halfway through his step and he nearly fell before he caught his balance. "If there's any higher power listening, please, strike me down now." His tone was very beseeching and after he finished speaking he stood still for a moment before continuing on. "Figures, they never listen when you ask for help."

"Are Gods here real?" I couldn't help but ask. Different universe different rules and all that jazz. It would be unbeneficial not have an open mind when seeing new things. After all in some universes 1 + 1 could be equal to 3 or 11 so the belief in God like figures or actual Gods wasn't all that difficult to imagine.

"What? No, or at least I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity mainly." He seemed to accept that and the rest of the slow walk was spent in silence until we got to our rooms. "See you in a half hour for dinner." Harry only grunted in reply and disappeared into his room. I went into my room as well as my tent, ignoring the clone practicing charms, and took a quick shower. After that I read more about runes before it was time to go to dinner.

Surprisingly enough Harry was waiting for me outside of his room. I completely expected him to collapse on his bed and not get up until tomorrow but it would seem he was made of sterner stuff. "Let's get going then." I said and he just nodded slightly as we made our way to the dining hall.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but I suppose so. I am after all your mentor so questions are expected." He gave me a sour look but continued regardless.

"What should I do with the Gryffindors?" I slowed to a halt and turned to face him fully with a raised eyebrow. "Err, what I mean is that they threw me out of the house but I know they were under a spell when they did so. I know I shouldn't be angry at them but…" He trailed off and I nodded.

"But regardless of why they still did so." He looked down as though ashamed and I continued on. "I won't lie and say this is an easy fix but this does provide you an opportunity to find those who would stand by you even under a spell. All you have to do is find out whose names were not on the list of people that expelled you. In addition you could ask them whether they believe your name came out of the Goblet because you cheated. If they do believe it they are, at best, fair weather friends who will abruptly change face as soon as you succeed in the first challenge or fail at something. From there you can categories people into groups; trustworthy, friends, acquaintances, neutral, untrustworthy and finally enemies."

He was silent for a minute before he spoke. "That sounds so… cold putting people into categories like that."

I shrugged. "With how famous you are, don't frown, it's a fact of your life learn to deal with it. You should learn this skill or you'll always be taken advantage of by others. People will approach you with honeyed words or desperate cries of help and if you can't tell what category of person they are you could die."

"So if someone asks for help I have to deny them?"

"Not necessarily, but try to see underneath what's going on. Say, for example, a woman is screaming for help from an alleyway. You run around the corner and see two men pushing her against the wall. What do you do?"

He didn't even hesitate to answer. "I would help her."

"Congratulations, you knocked out the two men with stunners and as soon as your back is turned the woman stabs you with a knife killing you. The entire thing was a scam to draw people in and rob them but the woman panicked when her accomplices were knocked out."

"What? That's… that's not fair. How was I supposed to know she was going to stab me for trying to help her?"

"By observing everything instead of running in without any knowledge. Look at her clothes, the way everyone was acting, if you saved her how does she react? Without information every engagement is a gamble heavily favored towards your opponent."

He was silent as he processed the new information before he turned away and resumed walking towards the dining hall. I didn't know if what I said sunk in and I didn't push it. He would either listen to the advice or not and either way it didn't really affect me. I could see the entrance to the dining hall when I saw Dumbledore standing with a woman in a brown trench coat and, oddly enough, pink hair.

"Ah, hello Harry and Shiro. Might I introduce you to your new protector, Auror Nymphadora Tonks." I watched as she gave him a glare as he introduced her and her hair shifted to a red color before going back to pink. My curiosity was sufficiently peaked when I felt her magic run through her hair to accomplish the change.

"Don't call me my first name, just call me Tonks. It's nice to meet you." I was going to speak but Harry cut me off.

"Err, it's nice to meet you as well. I'm Harry and if you don't mind me asking how did your hair change color?"

Her hair lengthened and she fiddled with it. "I don't mind at all. I'm what's called a metamorphmagus. I can change my body with my magic. I'm great at parties." She smiled as her nose became a pig snout. I smiled back at her, plans already forming.

"Fascinating. My name is Shiro and it is a pleasure to meet you. If you don't mind I would love to talk with you about your ability. For example, does it change you down to a genetic, a physical or merely a cosmetic level?"

"Genetic? What's that?"

"A muggle science that studies DNA. Which is just tiny chains of proteins, acids and other things that each person carry. DNA carries all the genetic information of a person from their hair color to what sex they are."

"Oh," she blinked and then grinned at me. "I don't really know but I know I can change on a physical level at the very least. If you want we can talk about it later."

"I would like that very much."

'I would also like a large sample of your blood for study. Who knows, maybe it's like a bloodline and I could integrate it like the crystal release. It would certainly solve quite a few of my problems if I could physically change into an older or younger version of myself and not have to worry about my henge failing.' My gaze traveled over to Dumbledore as he politely coughed gaining all our attention.

"I do believe it is time for dinner. If you would all follow me." He turned around and walked through the large double doors as we followed behind. Somehow, someway I'm going to get the lovely Miss Tonks' ability.

Age: 10 years - 4 months

Title: Root Shinobi, Son of a Kage

LVL: 31 - 3% to next LVL

HP: 1,760/1,760

Chakra: 97,287/97,287

Elemental Affinity: Water, Earth

Bloodline: Crystal Release

STR: 180(234)

VIT: 176

END: 168

DEX: 189(208)

INT: 200(214)

WIS: 150(160)

LCK: 50

Points: 18

Money: 921,402 ryo/ 15,276 galleons

Skill Updates:

Transfiguration 1 - 3