Okay, so, onto the second chapter of Not Your Kind of People...

NOT YOUR KIND OF PEOPLE (ORIGINAL)

CHAPTER 2:

AN AWKWARD SITUATION, TO SAY THE LEAST

Harry was getting annoyed. Not that this wasn't an unusual state of affairs over the past year, especially with his being forcibly entered into the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but here he was, having just been questioned by the Japanese equivalent of the Aurors about what had happened, Naofumi having called them in. He'd asked for Veritaserum, having remembered Snape's reveal of earlier in the year, but the Auror in charge, a man called Hideyo Komakado, had claimed it wasn't necessary. Komakado was fairly certain that Harry hadn't murdered Cedric, and had even used a spell to check his wand. Never once had it been used to cast the Killing Curse.

But when Harry told his story, Komakado seemed disbelieving. Then again, given that Voldemort had come back from the dead, it would be hard to believe. Still, he at least listened.

The man leaned back on the lounge after Harry finished. He was a rather shabby and shady-looking man in a long coat, like a Japanese version of Columbo. Eventually, he said, "Mr Potter…I'm sure you can understand why I say that such a thing is hard to believe, to say the least. Voldemort was thought to have died when he attempted to kill you nearly sixteen years ago. He certainly vanished, and ceased to terrorise Britain. So, is it at all possible that you were mistaken, that they have used someone else to fake a resurrection, perhaps?"

"I don't think so. I've met Voldemort before, as a parasite clinging to an accomplice's body," Harry said. "I believe that really was Voldemort."

Komakado nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you certainly believe what you are saying, and I have no reason to believe you were responsible for Mr Diggory's death."

"But I brought him with me to…"

"Mr Potter, you didn't know that the trophy was a Portkey, or rather, one that would take you to this graveyard," Komakado interjected swiftly. "You couldn't have known, and you certainly could not have prepared for every eventuality, unless you were even more paranoid than Mad-Eye Moody. Though you are lucky that Mr Iwatani contacted me. Some of my colleagues would have clapped you in irons, to use the English term. I'd like to think of myself as being more open-minded. If you're still willing to testify under the influence of Veritaserum, then that will help your case, but Veritaserum testimony is not admissible in most courts of law, including Britain and Japan, as some skilled wizards can give misleading answers. The same goes for Pensieve memories, and I might bring one back later. In any case, I might send around a Healer of my acquaintance. Her name is Mari Kurokawa, and she's actually a medic in the JSDF, most of the time. Cruciatus exposure is nothing to sneeze at."

"What do we do with Harry?" Naofumi asked from where he looked on, Raphtalia next to him.

"Well, until we can get into reasonable contact with the British and finalise things, he can sleep here, if that's okay with you," Komakado said.

"If you say he's on the level, sure," Naofumi said. "Besides, Raphtalia would probably want him to stay here."

Komakado chuckled, even as Raphtalia remained silent, though her tail wagged vigorously. "Just don't pester him too much, Raphtalia. Mr Potter has gone through a lot." His expression became solemn. "Yes, a lot. Too much for someone your age. Why the hell they didn't get you out of the Tri-Wizard Tournament is beyond me. Then again, considering that Ludo Bagman was involved…"

Harry leaned forward urgently. "Are you going to be able to send me back home? I need to warn them, I need to…"

"Mr Potter, calm down. I intend to notify at the very least not only Professor Dumbledore, but also Madam Bones, the current head of the British DMLE. I doubt Fudge will listen, but Bones should. But I can't just send a witness in a murder investigation back without following something like proper procedure. As it is, I am stretching procedure somewhat in letting you stay here. And I do need you to stay here. Not strictly confined to the house, but, well, not going anywhere else from beyond this town. Once I get this sorted, we can send you back to Britain. Don't worry, the Iwatani's are trustworthy, even if Raphtalia here is the only actual magical amongst them, and even that's by adoption…"

Komakado had some more questions, before finally leaving with the Aurors in tow, though he warned Harry he was leaving one to keep an eye on things. Harry bristled at that, but the shambolic man had a point: even if Komakado didn't believe Harry responsible for Cedric's murder, he was still a witness. So he did need to stay put until someone from Britain got him.

Of course, after what happened to Sirius, he wasn't sure things would go that way. He actually brought up Sirius and his innocence with Komakado when he mentioned Pettigrew. The man had questioned him at length, before making a note to tell Madam Bones. Cedric's body had been taken away too.

After Komakado and the Aurors left, Naofumi sat down where Komakado had vacated his seat, as did Raphtalia. "Well, I suppose I should say welcome, Harry Potter. Heard a bit about you, albeit second-hand. Raphtalia's the one who's more in that world."

"Thanks, I guess. Your English is good."

"My parents made sure I could speak it well. Same for Raphtalia. Sorry about calling in Komakado, but when one of the most famous wizards in the world appears out of thin air with a corpse in tow…well, I was worried. I doubted you had done anything, though." He gave a sardonic chuckle. "Anyway, I don't think Raphtalia would forgive me if I gave the Boy Who Lived too much grief. I wouldn't call her a fan or anything, but she followed your exploits in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, though those clippings from The Daily Prophet reek of bullshit."

Raphtalia blushed a little, but there wasn't the same shyness as Ginny had, or any of the same febrile obsession in the eyes of Colin Creevey. "I was just interested in seeing what truth there was to the stories, that's all. I wasn't exactly expecting you end up in our house." Her face fell. "And under such circumstances…it's not the first time I have seen a corpse, but it's not an experience I wanted to repeat."

Harry peered at her. "…You were adopted into this family, weren't you? Did your parents…?"

"…I saw them die in front of me soon before I ended up here," Raphtalia said solemnly.

"…Sorry for asking," Harry said.

"No, it's fine. It's been six years, and while it's still painful to talk about, I'm better now," Raphtalia said with a sad smile. "The Iwatanis have been kind to me."

"It's her story to tell, Harry, so it's up to her to tell you. But I will tell you one thing. Believe it or not, Raphtalia comes from another world, one that sounds like it came from a fantasy novel," Naofumi said. "She's a tanuki demi-human. Most wizards here believe she's what we call a youkai in Japan, like the beings you know from myth and legend. But she is as close to me as if she was my actual sister by blood."

"…Another world?" Harry asked. He couldn't help the disbelief in his voice. True, he was a wizard, and he couldn't deny that Raphtalia wasn't human, but from another world? "So, if it's a fantasy world, it's a parallel world rather than an alien planet?"

"Yes," Raphtalia asked.

"And your people are common on your world?"

"To a degree. We're in a minority compared to humans, especially in the country I lived in, Melromarc, but we're numerous enough."

"They're also treated like crap," Naofumi said. "In Melromarc, anyway. I know, it sounds unbelievable, but I've seen copies of her memories in a Pensieve. You know what that is, right?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I only learned about one recently, though."

"Right…"

They spoke for a while longer, before Harry began feeling tired. They allowed him to doze on the lounge, remembering that it had to be night-time over in Britain. In Naofumi's room, the two siblings sat to discuss the matter. "So, what do you think?" Naofumi asked, sitting on his chair near the computer while Raphtalia sat on his bed.

"I believe him, or at least it's like what Mr Komakado said. Even if that's not Voldemort he saw, someone did abduct Harry and Cedric Diggory, and murdered Cedric. He seems too afraid. I remember seeing the same kind of fear when the Wave hit Lurolona, and when those knights came to cull or enslave the survivors," Raphtalia said solemnly. "And I think that wasn't just fear of Voldemort, but of what Voldemort and his followers will do to those he cares about."

"Nice to see that The Daily Prophet was talking bullshit about him, like with everything it prints," Naofumi said. The British wizarding newspaper was something they both perused, but they had been warned by Komakado to take it with a small mountain of salt, given its sensationalistic tendencies. "Still, for someone like Voldemort to come back from the dead, or at least being a wraith…well, I'm sure Komakado is following it up. What worries me is the British Ministry's reaction to this."

"Why?"

"Not long ago, I asked Komakado for more information about the magical governments around the world, like MACUSA or the various Ministries around the world. He told me Fudge, the Minister for Magic in Britain, was easily led around by bribes and flattery, and that many of his most generous financial backers are Death Eaters who claimed they were under the Imperius Curse. Who's to say they won't do something to fuck up Harry's reputation? Like framing him?"

"Do you think they would do that?"

"Like Komakado said, Fudge would probably believe anything if money and/or flattery was involved," Naofumi said with a shrug. "And Veritaserum testimony and Pensieve memories aren't legally acceptable in most courts of law. Hopefully, Komakado speaking to this Bones woman will head that off at the pass, but, well, Magical Britain's track record hasn't been that great. I mean, look at what Harry said about Sirius Black."

Raphtalia chewed at her lip. "I don't like this. It sounds too much like what happened at home. The injustice of it all, where the golden rule is he who has the most gold makes the rules."

"I don't like it either, but that's the way of the world. Besides, it's not as bad here as it was on your world, right? If it wouldn't breach the Statute with you showing off your features, I'm sure more than a few otakus would be geeking out over you," Naofumi said with a warm smile.

Raphtalia returned the smile, her tail wagging gently. Naofumi loved that smile, thinking back to the traumatised young girl he'd found. She didn't smile much for a long time, often plagued by night terrors, even wetting the bed several times. Even managing to remove that damned slave crest didn't help much. And there was also that chronic cough she had.

But gradually, they broke through her shell. She seemed to latch onto Naofumi in particular. Then again, he had experience being the older brother figure to Akira. And she helped him when Akira, buckling under the pressure of their parents' expectations, began acting up.

"Maybe," Raphtalia said. "Harry just seemed a little surprised when he saw me. Though I wouldn't like to meet one of those Purebloods there. They're bad enough here in Japan, and I think they don't go much further because I'm part-tanuki demi-human, and tanukis are symbols of good luck here."

Naofumi sighed, shaking his head. "Well, in any case, we'll let him catch up on his sleep until this doctor Komakado knows comes around. How about we go over this journal of Ignotus Peverell today, okay? I'm actually curious about it myself."

"Sure!"

None of those present in that household knew it, but events had been set in motion for their destinies to be changed, for better or for worse. A journey that would have seen two of them meeting much later, and under darker circumstances. And one of them would never have met the other two at all.

Betrayal, injustice, and prejudice would dog their very steps. Their experiences would test their morality in a way it should never have been tested. But they would prevail.

This, then, was but the first faltering steps of the Shield Hero and his companions, long before a summons to Melromarc would take place…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry may have some allies in Japan, but will that help? Plus, more of Naofumi and Raphtalia being adorable siblings.

Now, Naofumi seems pretty wide-eyed and idealistic originally, but I wanted to show hints of his darker side prior to heading to Melromarc. Most of it is cynicism, due to both his parents and (in this fic, anyway) to the nature of the wizarding world, as well as Raphtalia's past, but I think what Malty's betrayal did lifted the lid on what was already there.

You have a similar thing in both Arifureta and Failure Frame, where the main characters already had some trauma and, in the case of Touka from Failure Frame, he was actively suppressing his darker impulses. Of course, Hajime from Arifureta had a loving family, and Touka, once he got away from his parents, gained a better nature. Naofumi probably has some resentment at being written off as a lost cause by his parents, who also have some negligent tendencies, and I've got this notion in my mind that his experiences with girls hasn't been good, with Allen Blaster's Hope of the Shield Hero/Diligence of the Shield Hero being my personal fanon for his past. Malty wasn't the first time he was betrayed by a girl in that fic, apparently.

No numbered annotations this time.