Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!
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"Parseltongue!"
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Hari sat by the large doors that led out to a patio and the woods right outside of the large lodge they were staying at. She leaned against the doorframe and looked up at the night sky and all the stars above them. They were twinkling happily, and she remembered the times she spent sitting at the windowsill at Hogwarts, watching the stars.
Sakuno and Tomoka were talking softly in the room behind her getting ready for the night while Yoshida was already lying on her sleeping mat reading a book. She could also hear the boys being chaotic and loud, sounding like they were having fun.
Where did they even get the energy from? She couldn't help but wonder because she was feeling exhausted from the day's training and this was only their first day. Ryuzaki really hadn't pulled back from pushing them right from the start with running uphill and the stairs… she almost groaned out loud just remembering running up and down those stairs… her legs felt like they would fall off.
But it was good, she supposed. They needed the extra practice, and they had a limited amount of time to get stronger before their match against Rikkai Dai. She wasn't sure, but it was like they all realised that they were behind and had to get stronger. Fast. The postponement of their match was really a blessing in surprise.
Especially for Ryoma… she frowned slightly as she thought about her brother. He had played Sanada in the rain despite being told not to play, and Hari wasn't even surprised because Ryoma never knew when to stop. He wouldn't let the rain stop him from challenging himself. She was more surprised that Sanada had agreed to play because he was more the type to follow the rules, but he had probably been eager to play as well and wanted to see how strong Ryoma was.
Or maybe he was just like any other teenage boy who loved tennis. The rain didn't matter and wouldn't stand in the way for a match. Who knew?
Hari knew that Ryoma would come back stronger, and he was determined to get stronger quickly so he could beat Sanada next time. And to think Hari had Akutsu to thank for getting Ryoma out of his funk… she shook her head, remembering how Akutsu of all people had come to see her the day before.
...
"Hari-chan," a voice called and brought her out of her thoughts.
She blinked before scowling as she saw Akutsu standing leaned against the fence and clearly waiting for someone… for her?
"Akutsu," she said.
"I've been waiting," he said, looking at her.
"Creepy," Hari deadpanned. "What do you want?"
He looked at her for a long moment before he huffed, "I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh?" Hari frowned. "Why?"
He straightened up and looked at her seriously, and she wondered what he was thinking. She also knew that she really didn't want to waste any time on him now.
"Well, I don't have all day…" She started.
He huffed, "what a way to talk to someone who wanted to share something about Echizen with you."
"What?" Hari narrowed her eyes. "What about Ryo-chan?"
"He's been acting off, hasn't he?" Akutsu asked. "He messed up at practice, right?"
"You watched," Hari stated, and he smirked.
"You caught me," he said.
"What do you want, Akutsu?!" Hari asked.
"Do you know that your little brother played against Rikkai Dai's Sanada yesterday?" Akutsu asked.
Hari blinked, surprised. Ryoma had played against Sanada? Despite the match being cancelled? She mentally scolded herself for not realising sooner. Of course, he had. Ryoma never was one to back down from a challenge…
"I see," was all she said.
"He lost," Akutsu stated, "without scoring a single point."
Ouch, Hari mentally winced. That was why Ryoma was off… it was similar to how he reacted after playing Tezuka. And Sanada was strong… she knew that, but she must admit that it surprised her that Ryoma hadn't been able to score a single point on him.
"I see."
Akutsu looked at her, "you don't seem surprised."
Hari shrugged but didn't answer, "and why are you here?"
He just stared at her for a moment before looking away and half-turned away from her.
"I saw the match," he said. "Sanada didn't even use any special moves, but his speed, power and ball control… he's simply at a higher level."
Hari looked at Akutsu. Why was he here telling her this? She couldn't help but wonder…
"Sanada-kun is good, I know," Hari said. "But why are you here telling me this?"
Akutsu turned and faced her. She narrowed her eyes as she met his eyes, trying to figure him out.
...
Hari wasn't sure she had done the right thing.
She watched as Akutsu walked over to him and saw how Ryoma's eyes widened when he spotted the other player. Hari had to fight the urge to run over and push Akutsu away from Ryoma, remembering how Akutsu had hurt her brother before. But she stood still and forced herself to just watch.
She watched as Akutsu took control of the match from the start and Ryoma struggled to keep up. She was pleased (and relieved) to see that Akutsu didn't get violent with Ryoma. He had promised that he wouldn't, but come on? Was she supposed to just trust that? But she was pleased to see that he was keeping his word.
It was hard watching Ryoma struggle, but she knew he needed to be dragged out of his funk or whatever it was. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to do it, so that was why she had agreed to allow Akutsu a chance. She wasn't sure why Akutsu wanted to do it, though.
She smiled when finally Ryoma returned a ball and stunned Akutsu at the same time. She noticed how the look in Ryoma's eyes had changed again and now was more determined and not fearful or defeated as it had been.
Good.
She heard Akutsu laugh and shook her head slightly. He was confusing her…
...
"Thank you," Hari said when she met Akutsu after he was done playing Ryoma.
He looked at her for a moment before he huffed, "don't get the wrong idea! I just wanted to teach the brat a lesson!"
Hari snorted, "sure."
He glared at her, "and now you owe me!"
"Do I?" Hari tilted her head. "We'll see."
He glared again but said nothing before walking away without a look back. Really, he was confusing her. She still felt wary around him and felt the need to prank him, but maybe he wasn't as bad as he wanted everyone to believe.
...
Well, that had been a surprise, but she was grateful. She might, possibly, kind of see what Dan from Yamabuki saw in Akutsu and how he could be such a fan of him. Maybe. Hari grimaced.
"Hari-chan?" Yoshida asked.
"Mm," Hari turned her head toward Yoshida and saw her looking at her worriedly.
"You okay?"
"Sure," Hari smiled. "I was just thinking."
Yoshida nodded. "You should try to get to sleep soon. I'm sure that the training menu will not be any easier tomorrow. Ryuzaki plans on pushing you all hard this training camp."
Hari nodded and pushed herself up before she closed the door and got to bed.
...
"Hello there," a voice said and Hari looked over at the teen that had been introduced as Yamato Yudai, the former Captain of Seigaku.
"Hey," Hari said, wondering what he wanted.
He smiled like he knew something she didn't, and she wished she could see his eyes so she could have an idea what he was thinking… because right now he was a mystery. He was tall and had dark hair that was not exactly long, but not short either. She couldn't tell what colour his eyes were because of the sunglasses he was wearing, he had even had them on when he was inside. Strange.
"Tezuka said a girl was on the team now," Yamato commented.
"Yeah?" Hari frowned slightly as she went back to pulling up some vegetation that Yamato had all dragged them out to do. He had gone on about how many hours they normally spent on the tennis court during their middle school years, and how much time a pro-tennis played used to play matches. Hari had been a little distracted by Ryoma, who had not looked impressed at all.
The others had been, though. She found it amusing how they thought everything he said or did had some hidden meaning to it. Though to be fair, she supposed that some of what he said could have another meaning… she was just not sure if he knew that it did.
"So, you don't think a girl can be good enough to be a part of a boys' team?" Hari asked when he said nothing else and just watched her.
"Hmm… no, that's not what I meant," he said. "I was just curious about you."
Hari frowned at him, "if you say so."
He smiled again and his eyes drifted over to where Ryoma was and Hari frowned as she watched him observe her brother.
"He's your brother, right?" Yamato asked.
"Yeah," Hari said. "So?"
He smiled.
She looked over at Ryoma as well and noticed that he was sulking. She rolled her eyes lightly he was sulking. This wasn't what he had imagined when they heard they would attend a training camp. Not that she had imagined something like this either. She wasn't so sure that this had anything to do with training like the others were thinking.
"He's not his usual self, is he," Yamato suddenly said.
"Eh?" Hari frowned.
"He's scared," Yamato said looking over at her meeting her eyes.
Hari looked away and back at her brother… was he still scared? Ryoma had been more himself after his game with Akutsu, but she supposed that he still had some issues he needed to work through.
"I suppose," she said grudgingly. It didn't mean that she enjoyed admitting it to someone she didn't know…
"I see," Yamato said and looked at her again. "Good talking with you, Hari-chan. Tezuka is very impressed with you and I can see why."
He walked away before she could answer, and she sighed. Seriously, what was up with him? He was so strange…
...
Ryoma scowled.
He had fallen over the cliff (luckily not far) edge and end up stuck with Yamato who was talkative and only talked nonsense. He just wanted to practice, and he didn't see the point in pulling up some bamboo shoots (or whatever it was). What a waste of time…
But Yamato had stepped too close to the edge, and the ground had caved making him slid down right before Ryoma's eyes, and he had moved closer to check if he was all right only to fall down himself.
He sighed. It was embarrassing… He didn't want to look at the others to see the amusement over the fact that they both fell down. Of course, when he refused to call out for help, Yamato sported things about how he was prideful and had battled his way this far by himself or something like that. Ryoma tuned him out.
"Let's return quietly then," Yamato said and Ryoma was pulled out of his thoughts. "The road back is much harder this way, but it is the path you chose."
Ryoma gaped as he watched Yamato walk away.
Yamato acted like they were lost in the jungle and used a stick to scare away scary snakes and when Ryoma pointed out that it was hardly a jungle all he was told was that it was all in the atmosphere and that they should act like it.
Not even Hari talked like that, Ryoma sighed. Had she noticed he was not there yet? Maybe he should have called out for help… she would have helped him.
They eventually reached a river (the water was clean) and Ryoma was grateful for the chance to get something to drink. He watched as Yamato sat down at a rock and worked on a stick.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Normally one would follow the river downstream," Yamato said not looking up, "you know why right?"
"Because you'll normally find a village that way," Ryoma said.
"Right," Yamato nodded. "But let's forget about the village today and let's fish."
"Fish?" Ryoma couldn't help but repeat.
"Yes, our bloodsucker level has decreased," Yamato said. "And since we can't do anything about the sugar let's use the protein from the fish to replenish ourselves."
"Why not just say you're hungry?" Ryoma asked with a sigh. Why did he have to say everything so complicated?
"We need to rest as well," Yamato said and glanced over at him as they waited for the self-made fishing poles to catch a fish. "We can do this without thinking about anything."
Without thinking? Ryoma wished… he couldn't help but think about the upcoming match and how far behind he was. He needed to catch up to Sanada…
"The best thing to do is not to think," Yamato said. "We should imagine things, not think about them. Over-contemplation is not fun, and it breeds impatience. Impatience lowers your potential. That's the biggest fear."
Ryoma looked thoughtfully over at Yamato and had a feeling that he wasn't talking about fishing anymore.
They ended up catching a few fish (to Ryoma's surprise), and Ryoma couldn't help the excitement he felt as they pulled the fishes up from the water.
Yamato then used a long time trying to light a fire by hitting two rocks together so they could grill the fish and just as Ryoma was about to fall asleep Yamato spoke up again.
"Seems like it won't work like in science," he said. "That's what makes it fun. We better use this then…"
He held up a box of matches. Ryoma sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Why didn't you use that right away?" he asked, exasperated. What was the use of struggling with the rocks if he had matches?
"You save the best for last," Yamato said and again Ryoma felt like he was talking about something else.
...
Hari frowned as she looked around. Ryoma had been gone for a long time now, and so had Yamato. Just where had they gone?
"You think they're lost?" Hari asked.
"Hm… well, they're not you," Fuji smiled and Hari glared at him. "But they have been gone for a long time now…"
"Seriously," Hari muttered. "Where could they have gone?"
They had a large pile of bamboo shoots now, and it would be wasteful to gather anymore. Hari noticed that the others also looked around for Ryoma and Yamato, who both had slipped away earlier.
"Huh…" Hari blinked. "I think I might have an idea where they are…"
"Eh?" Kikumaru asked and followed her eyes and his eyes spotted the smoke coming up behind the trees in a straight line.
"Come on," Hari said, leading the way. She had a feeling that she would find her brother by following the smoke. She just hoped that he wasn't hurt.
...
"Are you afraid of Rikkai Dai?" Yamato suddenly asked.
"Eh?" Ryoma looked over at him, startled. How had he known?
"Rikkai Dai is strong," Yamato said, not looking at Ryoma and only focusing on the fire. "In theory, you can't win."
Ryoma looked away and out on the water… so even he thought he couldn't win against Sanada. Maybe…
"But there's something they can't beat you in," Yamato continued, "your love for tennis. Am I wrong?"
"You're right," Ryoma said slowly.
"The will to become stronger, to win… Everyone aims for unseen heights, much like this smoke," Yamato said looking at Ryoma now. "But don't you think if you get caught up on how high the smoke goes, you'll suffocate?"
Ryoma glanced up at the smoke as he thought about the words Yamato said. It made sense…
"That's when you should just forget everything and enjoy tennis. I think the love of tennis will be stronger than anything else," Yamato said. "Take in all the hardships and enjoy yourself. Echizen-kun, are you afraid of Rikkai Dai?"
Ryoma smiled and was about to answer when they heard someone calling their names, and soon the rest of the team came running out of the trees toward them.
"Ryo-chan!" Hari looked at him. "You okay?"
"Fine," Ryoma said with a small smile and Hari blinked before she smiled and then looked over at Yamato who was talking to the others.
"Good," Hari said, sitting down beside her brother. "You scared me."
"Sorry," Ryoma said sheepishly.
...
Hari read a chapter for her Defence Against the Dark Arts in bed and tried to get a start at the paper Kasuya had asked her to do since she would be away on her training camp and miss their tutoring. Hari hadn't been sure how he would react when she told him about the training camp, but he had said as long as it was for something she had to do with her muggle schooling they would allow her to go. Though, he gave her homework to finish on her own and he would check that she finished it.
She sighed as she rubbed her eyes tiredly and glanced over at the sleeping girls she shared a room with. They both looked peaceful, and she longed to sleep, but she had to get this done.
At least Kasuya had given her a charm she could put on her magic books so they looked like any normal book to anyone who sees them. It made it easier if nothing else.
Finally, she closed her book and allowed her eyes to close.
...
Hari had finished breakfast with the others and looked over to see Yoshida talk with Ryuzaki. Hari hid a yawn behind a hand as she tried to push the sleepiness away, she had gotten too little sleep and now she was tired. Though, she knew that as soon as they got to work, she would get better.
"Wonder what we will do today," Momoshiro said.
"Lazy bum shouldn't complain," Kaido hissed and glared at Momoshiro.
"Oi! What was that?!" Momoshiro glared back. "I'll beat you today!"
"No way," Kaido huffed.
Hari smiled and shook her head, "always so energetic."
"You look like you could use some more sleep, Hari-chan," Fuji said.
"Maybe," Hari shrugged, "but I'll be fine as soon as we get started… it's this waiting around that makes me tired."
"Hari-chan," Kikumaru beamed and lunged for her, hugging her around the neck. "Morning, nya!"
"Good morning, senpai," Hari groaned, "but I still like to breathe."
"Eiji," Oishi sighed.
"Sorry," Kikumaru grinned sheepishly. "Let's pair up today, Hari-chan! I heard Ryuzaki say that we would work together two and two…"
Hari arched a brow and glanced over at Oishi. She knew that Kikumaru and Oishi normally worked together in these kinds of situations, but Oishi smiled and didn't look upset.
"Okay," Hari said, not really minding working together with Kikumaru.
"Yosh! I get Hari-chan!" Kikumaru cheered, pumping a hand up in the air.
"Loud," Hari mumbled but shook her head amused before she suddenly tensed and looked around sharply. She suddenly felt like she was being watched… where… her eyes scanned the treelines and bushes but she couldn't see anything.
She still felt like she was being watched… and she wasn't sure it was anything good. She turned around and frowned.
"Hari-chan?" Fuji asked.
"Hm?" she was distracted as she tried to see into the woods… she thought she saw something moving.
"Something wrong?"
Hari frown deepened as she shook herself and turned back to her team who were all looking at her.
"No," she said. "Just thought I saw something…"
"Eh?"
"What? An animal?"
The others looked a little concerned and eyed the woods, and she shook her head. She was probably just being stupid…
"I'm sure it was nothing," Hari said. "Probably just a rabbit or something…"
Or something… she frowned before she cleared her expression and smiled.
"Oi! Attention!" Ryuzaki called, bringing their attention away from the forest and back to her.
Hari threw one last look at the trees before she turned back to face Ryuzaki. She was probably just imagining things. Right?
...
"Come on, Hari-chan," Kikumaru yelled and Hari sped up as she ran after the hyper boy through the wooden trail that Ryuzaki had told them to run. The feeling of being watched had not left and she couldn't help but look around feeling slightly on edge. Seriously, why did she suddenly feel like someone was watching her?
Every time she turned her head or thought she noticed something, there was nothing there. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe it was just because they were out in the nature and away from Tokyo that she felt unsafe?
Maybe… but… she almost missed her step and only caught her balance at the last moment because of her fast reflexes.
"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru called out. "Be careful!"
"Yeah, sorry, senpai," Hari said.
He smiled at her, but she could tell he was concerned.
"Let's run, nya!" Kikumaru cheered.
"All right, senpai," Hari said, focusing on keeping up with him. They reached some ropes that were tied in a branch high up and Momoshiro and Kaido were both just finishing climbing them. Both arguing and spurring each other on… she smiled.
"Remember, you're not supposed to climb, Hari-chan!" Momoshiro said when he saw her.
Hari sighed but nodded and instead sat down on the ground to do some sit-ups while Kikumaru climbed. Ryuzaki didn't want to take any chances on her shoulder, so she was told to do sit-ups when they faced challenges that required her to burden her shoulder.
"Done," Kikumaru panted.
"All right," Hari said, jumping back to her feet. "Let's run faster!"
"Nya!" Kikumaru whined, but he followed.
Hari glanced at him and smiled. While he complained, he did his best and pushed himself, just like everyone else on their team. She could hear the sounds from the others running or yelling around them and smiled.
They reached the next post and Hari blinked when she realised that it was chopping wood with an axe. Again with something that would burden her shoulder… She sighed.
She did her sit-ups and varied it by jumping to her feet before falling down again to do her sit-ups. She decided that she wanted to do a little more than Ryuzaki had suggested.
"Ouch…" Kikumaru groaned. "This is hard…"
"You can do it, senpai," Hari told him. "You just have to allow the axe to help guide you and direct the axe to the wood."
Kikumaru looked at her before he nodded.
The next post was jumping from severed tree trunk to tree trunk while carrying a 10 kg sandbag on their backs. Hari felt the weight, but it was good in order to work on their balance.
"This is not too bad," Kikumaru said.
"Yeah," Hari agreed.
He smiled at her.
Again she felt she was being watched, and she glanced into the bushes causing her to nearly miss a step, but she caught herself in the last minute. Seriously, she was getting paranoid…
...
"Yosh! Good work!" Ryuzaki complimented when they all had finished and stood together breathing heavily. "Let's get back to the tennis court!"
"Yeah!" Momoshiro cheered.
"Does this mean you are lifting the ban on the rackets?" Kikumaru asked eagerly.
"Mm," Ryuzaki nodded.
Hari smiled as the others cheered and seemed to be filled with new energy and suddenly they were running back to the courts despite having been tired and almost falling over in exhaustion just moments before.
The thought of playing tennis did wondrous things to them all.
...
Hari did not pout. Really, she didn't...
She wasn't allowed to actually play tennis… not yet. She sighed and knew she was being childish, but watching the others playing when she couldn't was not that fun. Not when she wanted to grow stronger as well…
So she was forced to work on her strength at the side of the court while the others did their tennis exercises and she sighed sadly. She hoped Ryuzaki would lift her ban from tennis soon… she itched after getting the chance to play again. Ryuzaki smiled as she watched the team play tennis again and thought it was the right decision to come to the camp when
Ryuzaki smiled as she watched the team play tennis again and thought it was the right decision to come to the camp when the match had been postponed. She knew it upset Hari being told not to play tennis with the others, but Ryuzaki didn't want to take any chances with her shoulder. Not when they had gained a few more days for her to recover completely. Though, she didn't think it would be too long before she would allow her to hold a racket again.
"Ryuzaki-sensei!"
She looked away from the team and over at Horio, Kachiro and Mizuno who stood just outside of the fence looking troubled. She frowned as she walked away from the court and followed the three boys inside and found Sakuno and Tomoka waiting for them there, also looking troubled.
"What's wrong?" Ryuzaki asked after looking over them to make sure they weren't injured.
"Well…"
"They heard a weird rumour," Horio said, pointing at Sakuno and Tomoka.
Ryuzaki arched a brow. They called her in because of a rumour?
"When we were grocery shopping, we heard a rumour about a bear," Tomoka said.
"A bear?" Ryuzaki repeated.
"Yeah, that's why we got scared," Sakuno said.
"A bear, huh… If that's true, it might be a big problem;" Ryuzaki said concerned. They were, after all, practising out in the nature. "I'll go and ask around at the patrol just in case."
...
Hari noticed Ryuzaki bicycling off and wondered where she was going so suddenly. Though, she soon forgot about it and turned back to the practice. Or rather boring and lonely practice since she couldn't play like the others.
She sighed as she jumped up on the stool and counted to five before she jumped back down again. And so on and so on…
"Let's go eat!" Momoshiro exclaimed after a while.
"Yeah!"
Hari nodded in agreement and used a towel to dry off the sweat. It was tiresome to do the exercises she had been doing. She followed the others inside, lightly chatting and looking forward to the food.
"Eh?"
"Where is everyone?"
Hari blinked as they all entered the dining room and found it empty and no food was ready. She walked over to the other side of the room and found the kitchen empty as well and the food barely cooked.
"They're not even finished with the food," Hari frowned. "What could have happened?"
She had suddenly a bad feeling about this… she had been feeling like she had been watched since this morning. She frowned, had there really been something out there watching her? Or them? What if… could it have been someone after her?
Fear gripped her… no! She was being paranoid. Just because they couldn't find the freshmen didn't mean that there was anything magical or related to that going on. There had to be a more normal (and non-magical!) explanation to their sudden disappearance!
Her burst of panic didn't last long and before she could work herself up the sound of running footsteps came closer before Tomoka burst into the room, startling quite a few of them.
"What is it?" Kikumaru asked concerned.
"…"
"Calm down!" Momoshiro said.
"…."
"Maybe you should sit down," Kawamura said kindly.
Hari walked forward, forcing her legs to move, but again felt the familiar rush of adrenaline and the ability to move despite the fear that was building… what had scared Tomoka so much she couldn't speak?
"Tomoka-chan?" Hari spoke gently, trying not to spook her, and paused right in front of the younger girl.
"…"
"Hey, shh," Hari tried to calm her down. "What happened? We can't help if you don't tell us…"
Tomoka seemed to pull herself together and look at Hari. Hari tried to give her a reassuring look, but she wasn't sure if she managed.
"Bear... shed… trapped…!" Tomoka gasped before she fainted, and Hari reached her just in time to prevent her to fall to the ground. Oishi rushed forward to help her put Tomoka down.
A bear? She looked up and met the others confused and yet slightly scared looks as they all wondered what to do.
"Ryuzaki-sensei left earlier," Inui spoke up and Yoshida nodded worriedly.
"What should we do?" Yoshida asked.
So they were left on their own…
"Well, it's best to go and check out the situation," Hari said, making the other look at her. "From a safe distance, we won't learn anything new by standing here."
"Hari-chan is right," Fuji said.
...
They hid behind some bushes at a safe distance from the shed and heard the growls (though they sounded strange to Hari) coming from the inside.
"I'll sneak over to the window," Hari said.
"No! I'll do it," Kikumaru said, and Hari frowned when the others agreed. She huffed but said nothing as Kikumaru did just that, and they watched as he peeked inside before coming back.
"It's really a bear," Kikumaru said breathlessly when he got back to them.
Hari glanced toward the shed and frowned. A bear was trapped in there with Sakuno and the boys? And they were still alive… something was strange about this. Not that she wished they weren't alive or anything (she was very relieved that they were), but a bear trapped inside such a small space with four humans?
"It's probably a black bear that is common in Asia," Inui said.
"But what to do?" Kawamura asked worriedly. "We have to get them out of there…"
"Yeah," Kaido nodded.
Hari frowned as she looked at the shed. She wondered… She missed out on their discussion until she noticed Momoshiro standing in front of the window now, and Ryoma stepped forward… with their tennis racket.
She blinked.
Sure, let's try to use tennis against a bear trapped inside a shed with four kids. That didn't sound like a disaster waiting to happen at all. But again, what else could they do? She could use magic… but she winced. That should be their last resort. She couldn't risk exposing magic unless it was no other choice… and so far they seemed to be unharmed by the bear.
Again… there was something not right about all of this. That had her deciding to wait, she pulled out her wand, so she had it in hand (no one noticed), so she was ready to shoot off a spell if needed.
Momoshiro used his dunk smash and… - fail (it hit Horio instead).
Inui tried his special Inui-juice and… - fail (the bear threw it away and it hit Horio who had just gotten up and forced the liquid into his mouth and he passed out from the taste).
Kaido used his boomerang snake to get the ball in through a crack in the wall in an attempt to hit the bear from behind and…- fail (it hit Horio yet again who had just got up – though good precision to get the ball through the crack in the wall).
Oishi used his moon-volley and hit the windowsill and…- fail (it hit, you guessed it, Horio who jumped up clasping his leg because the bear had just trodden on it).
Hari arched a brow because this was so not a normal bear… she sighed. And poor Horio… she was about to step in when Kikumaru burst forward ready to have a go making her sigh again.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered quietly (no one heard her).
He used his acrobatic movements to confuse the bear, to give the hostages time to run and…- fail (though a good idea).
Kawamura used his burning power to destroy the bear and…- fail (it only risked the others as the ball bounced off the walls and eventually hit Horio).
Next was Fuji who used his Higuma Otoshi and…- fail (though he hit the bear the hit was too weak and it didn't affect the bear at all).
Hari bit back a smile as she shook her head. Again she opened her mouth to say something when Ryoma stated he would try. Well, she guessed there was no reason he shouldn't… though she hoped Horio wasn't hit again.
Ryoma performed the twist serve and…- success (after missing the bear and the ball hit the wall before bouncing up at the ceiling and hitting the lamp causing the lamp screen to fall off and land on the bears head who then was blinded and moved around until it knocked into a shelf that fell over and landed on the bear. A bear that said: "ouch!").
"You realise that the bear isn't really a bear, right?" Hari spoke up.
"Eh?!" They looked at her.
"Seriously, if that had been a real bear you would have pissed it off with all of those tennis balls and he would have attacked Sakuno-chan and the others inside," Hari said. "And he would have attacked them before we even got here…"
They gaped at her and she huffed and walked over to the cabin, still feeling slightly wary because there was something about the so-called bear and even if he wasn't a real bear didn't mean that he couldn't be dangerous.
Well, technically it could be a woman, but Hari thought the so-called roars had sounded too deep to be a woman.
The others had reached her now, and she was pulled back and she frowned at Momoshiro, who had been the one to do so. Were they trying to protect her?
Well, that was sweet and all, but she was the one with magic so she was the best to protect them if it really was needed… not that they knew that and she had not any good arguments to protest this so she allowed herself to fall back. She could still use magic if she had to.
"Okay..." Momoshiro said and Fuji opened the door and they rushed inside.
...
Chaos… the bear was just about to sit up and was muttering about it being dark, Sakuno and the three boys were in the corner. Ryoma pulled at the head of the bear, and it revealed a man inside. He looked sheepishly at them all while they glared at him.
"Um… well… you see…" the man stuttered.
Hari arched a brow. Seriously? A man in a bear costume? He didn't look like a wizard, though… but Hari still felt on edge.
"Well… you see…" the man was sweating and eyes flickered from side to side. She was instantly reminded of Pettigrew… she withheld a shudder. Suddenly he ran and dived out of the window and they blinked as they hadn't expected him to do that. They all ran outside after him (because obviously they were crazy) and Hari saw him pause when they heard sirens coming closer… wait, sirens?
"Shit…" he cursed.
He had the look of someone wanting to do anything to get away, and she couldn't understand why he didn't just run into the woods. She blinked when several things happened at once…
He came toward her…
… a fierce growl pierced through the air making several people shiver…
… she ducked just as he lunged for her and a massive dark something that jumped up and crashed with the bear-man and bit down on his shoulder making the man scream in pain as he fell to the ground.
Hari who had ducked away immediately found herself pulled back and this time it was Ryoma who did it and she inhaled deeply as she calmed down again and looked over her little brother's shoulder to see… a very familiar black dog standing over the bear-man while growling and showing teeth.
Her eyes widened in shock, and her mouth popped open.
How… what… could it really be…?
Her mind went blank.
"Eh… a beast?" Kikumaru exclaimed.
"Is that a bear?" Horio yelped.
"A giant wolf?"
"What kind of animal is that?" Momoshiro asked.
Hari worked to get her mind to work again because she knew that dog. It could only be...
...
What was that thing? Was it even a dog? Ryoma stared apprehensively at the dog that was growling viciously at the bear-man who had fainted, Ryoma suddenly realised. He wasn't sure if he blamed him…
The dog, because it was a dog, backed off the bear-man and turned toward them. Ryoma tensed as the dog's grey eyes locked on Hari who was behind him and…
The dog barked.
Ryoma glared when he noticed the dog stepping closer… he gripped his tennis racket tightly because that dog wasn't coming closer to Hari!
"Shoo! Shoo!" Kikumaru said waving a hand toward the dog who just blinked.
"Go away!" Momoshiro yelled.
The dog barked and stepped closer.
Ryoma wasn't the only one who seemed to think they had to do something because he wasn't the only one who suddenly had his tennis racket raised and a tennis ball ready to be hit. He used his twist serve again, and the dog yelped as he jumped back to avoid the ball (Ryoma was kind of impressed that the dog avoided it) and kept jumping around to avoid the others attack.
"Oi!" Hari suddenly yelled. "Stop it!"
She pushed past Ryoma and Fuji who were the ones in front of her and made them lower their rackets and the others also did so out of surprise.
"Hari-chan?" Oishi said.
"Don't hurt him," she said.
"But… he was going to attack you!" Kikumaru said.
"No, he wasn't," Hari rolled her eyes and turned to look at her godfather again who had stopped trying to get closer to her and was watching with wary eyes. But she saw the emotion in them and pushed back the apprehension she felt as she stepped closer…
...
"Don't…" Ryoma said, grabbing her hand. "He might be dangerous..."
Hari looked at her brother and saw the worry and fear in them as he stared at her. She smiled slightly.
"It's fine, Ryo-chan," she said. "He won't hurt me."
She turned and walked past the others, who all looked like they wanted to grab her and drag her forcefully away.
"Hey," Hari murmured as she got closer to Sirius (in dog form) and bit down on her lip trying to keep the storm of emotion that went through her under control. He barked and moved closer and when no one shot tennis balls at him he moved faster and suddenly he was knocking her over and licking her face as he grinned.
"Eh… Is he attacking?"
"Hari-chan!"
"Hari!"
Hari laughed, not able to stop it because it tickled and she pushed at him to get him away.
"Ew! That's gross!" Hari said when she pushed him off her and he barked happily at her.
"Guys!" Ryuzaki suddenly came running toward them with two policemen beside her who all stopped shocked when they saw the scene in front of them.
"Hey coach," Hari said waving absentmindedly at her not really looking away from the dog in front of her who licked her chin making Hari grimace and glare at it.
"What happened here?" Ryuzaki asked.
"Well…"
"…"
"Um…"
Hari rolled her eyes and got back to her feet and allowed a hand to rest on Sirius' head. She still couldn't believe that her godfather had found her…
"We came back to eat and found the dining room and kitchen empty," Hari said making them look at her. "Soon Tomoka-chan came running in, and she was scared. She barely managed to say that there was a bear in the shed and that the others were trapped inside with it."
Ryuzaki's eyes widened and Hari didn't miss the way she glanced at her granddaughter.
"We went to investigate and…" Hari continued and told them in simple terms what had followed before she pointed at the bear-man who was barely starting to move again now. "He was the so-called bear, and he moved to grab me when he heard the sirens coming closer and that's when this dog came rushing out of the woods and attacked him to get him away from me… The bear-man passed out after that."
Hari shrugged.
"Is he hurt?" one policeman asked.
"Not too bad, I think," Hari shrugged. "He was bitten in the shoulder, but his costume should have offered some protection."
...
Hari finally got away from the others without (hopefully) creating too much suspicion and curiosity. They were hidden behind a group of trees and when Hari turned around; she was face to face with her godfather.
"Hello Hari," Sirius said softly.
...
England
...
The man stood hidden behind a large tree and watched the crooked house… to think someone lived there. He grimaced in disgust as he saw the redheaded boy rush out of the house with the twins at his heel. They reached a shed, and each pulled out a broom before they set off toward the hill behind the house.
He knew the father, Mr Weasley, had left for work along with one of his sons (who know what number the son was in the line… there were a lot of them) and that left the three boys, who were now on the hill ready to play quidditch, and the mother and the youngest daughter (the only daughter) at home.
He knew that the youngest son was a close friend of Hari Potter. Pettigrew told him as much, and the bond between them seemed to be strong. So the best bet of finding Potter was to go through the youngest Weasley boy…
He should just grab him and torture him into telling him where Potter was….it would be easy. He was right there; ready to just be grabbed… but it would gather too much attention. He sighed. He couldn't afford to get any more attention to himself. Not right now… burning down that house in Surrey, where Potter had lived, and the muggles (filthy muggles) inside had gathered too much attention… and his Lord didn't want anyone to know that they were after Potter.
Not yet.
So - he watched.
He would watch until he could learn something… it was only a matter of time before the boy would slip up. He smirked.
...
...
AN: What do you think? XD
I had planned on having the chapter up earlier, but I just haven't been able to focus on writing the last couple of days. And I have been going back and forth between two paths I wanted the story to take before I ended up with this. Hope you liked it!
And Sirius showed up ;) You'll get the story about how he found her in the next chapter! XD
Also, I hope you're all safe and healthy wherever you are in the world! XD
Thank you for reading and supporting the story!