Harry Potter and the Wild Stallion
By
Eric Thorsen
***Disclaimer: The characters and concepts employed in this story are the
sole property of their respective creators or those people to whom they have
seen fit to sell their rights. The author of this story makes no claims except
where the character or concept is original. In other words, what's mine is
mine, what's theirs is theirs, so leave me alone all right?
**************
Chapter One: Questions and Answers
**************
Harry Potter was bored.
Since he was lying on his bed at number 4 Privet Drive, where he lived
during the summer holidays with his aunt Petunia Dursley, her Husband
Vernon, and their son Dudley, this was normal. What was unusual about it
today was that his lack of activity was more by his own choice than because
of any rule from the Dursleys. Surprisingly, Uncle Vernon had given Harry
permission to work on his homework in his bedroom as long as he didn't
actually do any magic, which Harry wouldn't have done anyway. No, Harry
just wasn't interested.
He was grieving.
Three weeks had passed since he and five of his friends had gone to the
Ministry of Magic offices in London to rescue Harry's godfather, Sirius Black,
only to find out once they were there, that the vision Harry had been seeing
was part of a trap laid by Voldemort to gain access to a prophecy involving
Harry. Three weeks since Bellatrix Lestrange had dueled with his godfather
and sent him tumbling through the black veil in the Department of
Mysteries. Three weeks since the only person who seemed to care for Harry
unconditionally had… died.
"Boy! Have you contacted those freakish friends of yours lately?" Vernon
Dursley's gruff voice, tinged lightly with panic rang down the hallway. The
Dursleys had taken 'Mad-Eye' Moody's threat very seriously, so they made
sure that Harry contacted one of his friends at least once every three days.
Usually, it was only a minute long telephone call to Hermione Granger to let
her know that he was still alive and, no, he didn't want to talk about what
had happened at the Ministry of Magic in the beginning of June.
"I called Hermione last night Uncle Vernon!" Harry heard his uncle grunt in
acceptance and go back down the stairs, while Harry turned over and tried
to go back to sleep. Last night, Hermione had been rather angry with Harry,
calling him an 'enormous prat' and telling him that he needed to talk to
someone if he was ever going to come to grips with what had happened.
Harry had lit into Hermione, telling her to mind her own business. He'd hung
up on her immediately afterwards, furious at her interference and lack of
understanding. Didn't she realize what he'd done? That Sirius had died
because he, Harry Potter, had been too stupid and stubborn to get past his
own anger and learn Occlumency; too pitifully weak to keep Voldemort from
planting that vision in his mind. It was his fault, his fault that Sirius was
dead, and his fault that five of his friends and several members of the Order
of the Phoenix had almost met the same fate.
"Why can't they just leave me alone?" Harry buried his head under his
pillow. He was almost asleep again when he heard the doorbell ring, the
door open and his uncle bellowing in outrage.
"Harry Potter, get down here and explain this!" Harry sighed, wondering
what his uncle was blaming him for this time. Pulling his glasses on, Harry
rolled out of bed and shuffled to his door, pulling on the flannel robe that
Dudley had outgrown two years ago. He walked down the hall and was
walking down the stairs when he met his Uncle. Vernon was glaring at him
balefully. "Talked to your friend yesterday is it? Then explain this to me!"
Uncle Vernon dragged Harry the rest of the way down the stairs and through
the door to the lounge by the ear. Harry realized what his uncle was talking
about almost immediately.
"Mr. Dursley! There was no need to drag Harry around by his ear. He did
speak to his friend Hermione Granger last night. Unfortunately, something
occurred early this morning that made it necessary for us to pay him a visit
today." Harry could barely recognize Nymphadora Tonks, who seemed to be
trying to look as normal as she possibly could today. She was wearing a
skirted tweed business suit and black low-heeled pumps that, along with her
currently straight black hair, and 'normal' face, made her look like nothing
more than a school teacher come to visit one of her students. Unfortunately,
since it was the middle of summer holidays, this would have been complete
out of character. Her companion didn't help much either. Bill Weasley waved
apologetically at Harry from the other end of the Dursley's couch, his acid
green dragon-skin jacket making the room around him look about ten times
brighter. Aunt Petunia and Dudley sat huddled together on the love seat,
coincidentally as far from the two magical people as they could possibly get
and still be in the same room.
"Nothing's happened to Ron or Hermione has it?" Harry asked, worried that
one of his best friends might have been attacked after his telephone
conversation the night before. The confused expressions on both faces
reassured him at the same time that it annoyed him. "Then what happened
that made it so vital for you to come here now instead of waiting for my next
phone call in two days?"
"Harry, did Sirius give you a Bichon charm last year when you stayed with
him?" Tonks asked, nervously glancing at Bill for support. "Think carefully."
"What is a Bichon charm?" Harry thought of the mirror that was lying in
pieces at the bottom of his trunk. "You mean the two way mirror that he
gave me?"
"No Harry, unless the mirror was made entirely of metal, it wouldn't work for
a Bichon charm." Bill answered when Tonks looked at him questioningly.
"Bichon charms are usually disguised as Jewelry, charm bracelet and
pendants, things like that. The magic in a Bichon charm only really works
well when cast on something made out of metal."
"Then I don't think he did. Other than my Firebolt, that mirror was the only
present Sirius ever gave me, and it broke when I threw it in my trunk last
year." Harry could tell that the two adults were disappointed. Bill stood up
and indicated to Tonks that it was time to leave.
"Oh well, at least that's one less place we have to look to find this stupid
charm," Bill sighed in irritation, following Tonks to the front door. "Harry if
you think of anything else, then don't hesitate to call Hermione immediately
regardless of the time. We have people watching her family too."
"And don't forget that it's only until your birthday Harry." Tonks smiled at
him reassuringly and then followed Bill out the door. "Sorry to interrupt your
morning folks." She closed the door and Harry stood there for a few seconds
before turning to leave the room. Before he made it to the stairs, Uncle
Vernon spun him around by the shoulders.
"What did they mean by it hmm?" His tone told Harry that he wouldn't be
going any further until his uncle's curiosity had been satisfied. "What did
they mean 'we have people watching her family too’? And what happens on
your birthday?"
"Professor Dumbledore has people watching the house to make sure that
Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters doesn't come here and kill me. The
birthday thing is similar. According to Dumbledore, as long as I can call the
house where my only remaining family lives my home, we are all protected
from Voldemort."
"Not that rubbish again. Why would we need protection from this
'Voldything'? He's only after you isn't he?"
"Like that would make any difference." Harry muttered to himself, and then
looked his uncle in the eye. "You're right, Voldemort couldn't care less about
you, and all he really wants is me, but as long as I have relatives who I
could possibly live with, I could be protected from him. Don't fool yourself
into thinking that Voldemort would leave you alone if you threw me out of
the house. He would kill you all without a single thought; just so I would
have one less place to hide that was safe from him." Aunt Petunia gasped,
and Dudley whimpered when they heard how calmly Harry had tossed that
out. Uncle Vernon released Harry's shoulder, and Harry made good his
escape. When he got to his room, he was unnerved to see Pigwidgeon, Ron
Weasley's post owl standing on top of Hedwig's cage with a letter attached
to his leg. The color did not bode well for the content of the letter. It was the
vivid red of a 'howler.' Quickly, before the letter could open itself, Harry ran
down the stairs, ignoring his aunt and uncle's demands for an explanation,
slammed the cellar door shut. Just in time.
"YOU BLOODY GET! Where do you get off making Hermione cry like that!
She's worried about you, and you tell her to 'sod off?' I don't what is going
on in your head, but you had better get your priorities straight, or you might
not have any friends when you go back to Hogwarts!"
Harry shuddered as the letter tore itself to pieces in a flash of righteous fury.
Walking up the cellar stairs, Harry passed his aunt and uncle, who were
staring at him, speechless with shock. Harry left them where they were
standing and went back up to his room, noticing that Pigwidgeon was gone.
Collapsing onto his bed, he buried his face in his pillow to hide the tears
running down his face. No on understood what he was going through.
**************
Ranma smiled to his mother as she came in the door, stepping aside as the
two giggling nurses who had been taking his vital signs left.
"Hi Mom, when can I get out of here?" It was obvious to Nodoka that
Ranma's patience with staying in bed was fading fast. She was surprised to
see him awake though, especially since the doctors had told her it would be
at least two or three days before he had recovered enough to have long
term visitors.
"Soon dear, the doctors want to keep you here for at least a week to make
sure there aren't any complications from your injuries."
"Complications; Like what?"
"Strokes, brain hemorrhages, blood clots, little things like that." Doctor
Tamiya, the neurosurgeon who assigned to Ranma's case the night before,
smiled at his patient as he came into the room and checked Ranma's chart,
making some notes on a PDA. "So how is the worst patient on the fifth
floor?"
"I wouldn't know Doc, why don't you go ask him?" Ranma laughed at the
shocked expression on his mother's face. "So anything show up on the
pictures you took last night? You left without saying anything." Nodoka
looked at the doctor questioningly, catching him with a rueful expression on
his face.
"Last night, well before he should have, Ranma woke up from the
anesthetic. I came in to examine him last night because he was complaining
about seeing a huge black dog staring at him from the end of his bed. Since
no one on the staff could see the dog, which he insisted was still there, we
decided that a CT scan might be in order, especially since Ranma had just
undergone brain surgery. Hallucinations are one of the warning signs we
look for to identify complications." Nodoka nodded and motioned for the
doctor to continue. "Anyway, the CT scan showed that the healing process in
proceeding normally, if at an accelerated rate. Just to be on the safe side we
performed an MRI, to see if that could find something."
"Doc, I know you like hearing your own voice, but that's my brain you're
talking about. What did you find?"
"That's just it Ranma, we didn't find anything. You have completely
recovered. Even the part of your skull that we had to open up has
completely healed over. You have some rather amazing healing abilities."
Nodoka smiled at the blush Ranma wore, and then remembered part of the
doctor's explanation.
"Did you say that Ranma was complaining about a large black dog?" When
the doctor nodded, she continued softly. "Other than its presence, was there
anything strange about this dog Ranma?"
"You mean other than the fact that no one else could see it? All I really
remember was that the dog was huge and black, almost the size of a bear.
It had this strange silver glow around it, and I thought that I could see stuff
through it. Oh and for some reason I thought it was smiling at me a lot."
"Smiling; Glowing? Sounds like you might have seen a kami or something."
Doctor Tamiya chuckled, not noticing Nodoka's serious expression. Nodoka
drew her pendant out and caught Ranma's attention.
"Mom?"
"Did this dog look something like this?" Ranma looked at his mother's
necklace, and then stared at her in shock.
"That's it exactly Mom, did we have a dog like that? Is that where I'm
getting these images from?"
"No Ranma, Genma is allergic to dogs, and this pendant has been in storage
since before you were born. There is no way you could have seen it before."
"Where did you get that mom?"
"It was a wedding gift from your father."
"The old panda gave you something like that for a wedding gift? I didn't
know that he bought anyone anything, especially not something so cool."
"Doctor, I think that I need a moment alone with my son." Doctor Tamiya
nodded, and Nodoka escorted him from the room, and then returned to the
chair beside Ranma's bed after shutting the door. She thought for a few
moments, and then straightened her shoulders. When I said that this
necklace was a wedding gift from your father, I was not referring to Genma
Saotome."
"You weren't?"
"No, you see, when I was younger, I was very rebellious and went to Tokyo
University against my parents' wishes. I took many courses and came to
understand how computers worked. After I graduated, I got a job working
for a new company in Okayama that specialized in computer software for
industrial automation. I had been working there for two years when, at 23, I
met a handsome young man from England. Unfortunately, my parents had
been keeping an eye on me, and when I started dating this young man
seriously, they started arranging with the Saotome Family for me to marry
Genma. My parents did not know it, but my boyfriend had asked me to
marry him the week before they wrote to me, demanding that I come home
and fulfill my family duties by marrying Genma. When I found out what they
had agreed to, I was horrified. I pleaded with them to meet with my
boyfriend, but they refused. I was so angry after that, I told them I wanted
nothing more to do with them, and two weeks later, I married my boyfriend.
Two months later, my husband convinced me to try to make up with my
parents, but on the train, a large group of people intent on killing my
husband attacked us. We were separated during the fighting, and I barely
escaped with my life. When I couldn't find him anywhere, I continued my
journey to my parents' house. That was my worst mistake yet. The instant I
arrived, my father locked me in my old room and sent a letter to my
employer, resigning my position. He then attempted to cancel the lease on
my apartment and discovered that I had moved out two months before. I
attempted to contact my husband, but my parents refused all telephone calls
and mail addressed to me, cutting me off from the outside world completely.
After two weeks of this I discovered that I was pregnant."
"But Mom, you were talking about that necklace."
"It was a wedding gift from your father, as I said. He told me it was a means
to contact him if I couldn't find him. When I discovered that I was pregnant,
I tried to use it, but it didn't work. I finally concluded that your father must
have died in the attack, which destroyed any hope I had of escaping the
marriage my parents arranged. One month later, I married Genma, to
preserve my family's honor. After the wedding, I took a trip down to
Okayama and discovered that my new apartment, the one I had leased with
your father, had been broken into, but nothing was missing. I sent a letter
two your father's parents, but all I got back was a letter saying that I had no
claim on their family, and any further contact would be ignored."
"So these guys who attacked you killed my dad?"
"So I thought, until two years ago. Just after Genma sent me the letter
telling me that you had crossed into China, I received a letter from a lawyer
in England. Included with this letter was the necklace that I gave your
father, and a request for a copy of the divorce decree that allowed me to
marry Genma. Apparently, my husband, your father, had survived the attack
and tried to find me after recovering from his injuries. Unfortunately, he
didn't think of checking my parents' home until after I had married Genma.
Apparently, he assumed that I hadn't loved him after all, so he went back to
England. Shortly after that, he went to prison for several murder, which I
know he didn't commit. It seems that he escaped three years ago and was
putting his affairs in order, when he realized that he didn't have a copy of
our supposed divorce. When I realized that my love had survived, I wanted
to rush to him, but I couldn't leave without knowing where you were; and so
I waited.
After I found you again, I was trying to repair the damage Genma had done
to your life. It was only after you came here yesterday, that I decided to call
your father. I tried last night, but there must be something wrong with the
number I have. Now I have no way of telling him that you exist, and that I
still love him; no way to tell him that his son almost died yesterday."
"So, Genma Saotome isn't my father. That means that my name shouldn't
be Ranma Saotome at all. Who am I mom? Who is my father?"
Nodoka sighed and tried to compose herself, trying to bring her emotions
back under control. Finally, she decided that Ranma needed the whole truth.
"The name on your birth certificate, the original one, not the forgery that
your father has carried with him everywhere, is Ranma Theodoric Black.
Your father is Sirius Black."
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